After a successful first iteration of the “Months of African Cinema” last year, we are happy to announce that it will be happening again this year, starting from October 1! In the 2018 edition of the contest, about 600 Wikipedia articles were created in at least 8 languages. There were also contributions to Wikidata and Wikimedia commons, which brought the total number of wikimedia pages created during the contest to over 1,000.
On English Wikipedia, we would be recognizing participants in the following manner:
Overall winner (1st, 2nd, 3rd places)
Diversity winner
Gender-gap fillers
For further information about the contest, the recognition categories and how to participate, please visit the contest page here. For further inquiries, please leave comments on the contest talkpage or on the main project talkpage. See you around :).--Jamie Tubers (talk) 00:50, 30 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
In the months of November and December, WikiProject Numismatics will be running a cross-wiki upload-a-thon, the 2019 US Banknote Contest. The goal of the contest is to increase the number of US banknote images available to content creators on all Wikimedia projects. Participants will claim points for uploading and importing 2D scans of US banknotes, and at the end of the contest all will receive awards. Whether you want to claim the Gold Wiki or you just want to have fun, all are invited to participate.
If you do not want to receive invitations to future US Banknote Contests, follow the instructions here
The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.
Hi Steven! I recently stumbled upon the RfC you spearheaded back in 2013 about updating the left sidebar. I've long thought that it could use some revamping, and I would've supported most of your proposed changes had I been around back then, but sadly it looks like it didn't get enough consensus to go anywhere. So I'm wondering (a) have there been any updates in this area since 2013 that I should be aware of, and (b) do you have any suggestions about what I might be able to do to have a higher chance of getting this done? Cheers, Sdkb (talk) 07:38, 23 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]
These templates which you created years ago are up for deletion. See the discussion here. If the research was done they may be worth tagging {{Historical}}, if not you may wish to {{G7}} them, or have some other opinion to express.
All the best: RichFarmbrough16:56, 3 June 2020 (UTC).[reply]
The article will be discussed at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Talk:Goat curry until a consensus is reached, and anyone, including you, is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on high-quality evidence and our policies and guidelines.
Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion notice from the top of the article. Ghinga7 (talk) 02:51, 30 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
The article will be discussed at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Connectipedia until a consensus is reached, and anyone, including you, is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on high-quality evidence and our policies and guidelines.
Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion notice from the top of the article. Graywalls (talk) 20:13, 17 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Join us in this exciting venture, by helping to create or expand contents in Wikimedia projects which are connected to this scope. Kindly list your username under the participants section to indicate your interest in participating in this contest.
We would be awarding prizes to different categories of winners:
Overall winner
1st - $500
2nd - $200
3rd - $100
Diversity winner - $100
Gender-gap fillers - $100
Language Winners - up to $100*
We would be adding additional categories as the contest progresses, along with local prizes from affiliates in your countries. For further information about the contest, the prizes and how to participate, please visit the contest page here. For further inquiries, please leave comments on the contest talkpage or on the main project talkpage. Looking forward to your participation.--Jamie Tubers (talk) 19:22, 22nd September 2020 (UTC)
Ýou can opt-out of this annual reminder from The Afrocine Project by removing your username from this list
Join us in this exciting venture, by helping to create or expand contents in Wikimedia projects which are connected to this scope. Kindly list your username under the participants section to indicate your interest in participating in this contest.
We would be awarding prizes to different categories of winners:
Overall winner
1st - $500
2nd - $200
3rd - $100
Diversity winner - $100
Gender-gap fillers - $100
Language Winners - up to $100*
We would be adding additional categories as the contest progresses, along with local prizes from affiliates in your countries. For further information about the contest, the prizes and how to participate, please visit the contest page here. For further inquiries, please leave comments on the contest talkpage or on the main project talkpage. Looking forward to your participation.--Jamie Tubers (talk) 19:22, 22nd September 2020 (UTC)
Ýou can opt-out of this annual reminder from The Afrocine Project by removing your username from this list
The Months of African Cinema Contest Continues in November!
Thank you very much for participating in the Months of African Cinema global contest/edit-a-thon, and thank you for your contributions so far.
It is already the middle of the contest and a lot have been achieved already! We have been able to get over 1,500 articles created in over fifteen (15) languages! This would not have been possible without your support and we want to thank you. If you have not yet listed your name as a participant in the contest page please do so.
Please make sure to list the articles you have created or improved in the article achievements' section of the contest page, so that they can be easily tracked. To be able to claim prizes, please also ensure to list your articles on the users by articles page. We would be awarding prizes to different categories of winners:
Overall winner
1st - $500
2nd - $200
3rd - $100
Diversity winner - $100
Gender-gap filler - $100
Language Winners - up to $100*
We are very excited about what has been achieved so far, but your contributions are still needed to further exceed all expectations! Let’s create more articles before the end of this contest, which is this November!!!
Hello! Voting in the 2020 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23:59 (UTC) on Monday, 7 December 2020. All eligible users are allowed to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.
The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.
Steve, I noticed that the Fitbit article you created had a pretty major edit (sections removed) without any prior discussion on the talk page. I was going to revert, but do not have the bandwidth to get in an edit war, not that it's ever fruitful anyway.
21:55, 14 January 2021 Jawz101 talk contribs 35,093 bytes −5,078 This was not a minor edit. I removed the accuracy and effectiveness sections and moved the recall further down in the article. It felt like filler to describe everything mentioned about a thing. Much of it could be for a discussion on activity trackers in general. The same could be said for running shorts.
The article will be discussed at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Slow Food Nation until a consensus is reached, and anyone, including you, is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on high-quality evidence and our policies and guidelines.
Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion notice from the top of the article.
Hi there! I have recently made a request for an assessment of the article Puppetry of the Penis on WikiProject Theatre. I have been editing this article for over a month, adding almost 3000 words, new sections, an infobox, media and more references for verifiability. I noticed you were a very active (and helpful) editor of WikiProject Theatre, and was wondering if you had the time if you could have a look at the article and provide me any feedback. Any general feedback would be much appreciated and possibly an assessment of the article for importance and quality. Thank you very much. Rubyredgirl (talk) 10:19, 11 June 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@Steven Walling: Hello Steven Walling, thank you for taking the time to reply! The article has been assessed and some very helpful feedback was provided by other editors, but of course any suggestions for improvement from you would be greatly appreciated. No rush at all, I am grateful for your time. Have a lovely day! Rubyredgirl (talk) 02:56, 12 June 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. An automated process has detected that when you recently edited Timberline Trail, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page Ramona Falls. Such links are usually incorrect, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of unrelated topics with similar titles. (Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject.)
The AfroCine Project core team is happy to inform you that the Months of African Cinema Contest is happening again this year in October and November. We invite Wikipedians all over the world to join in improving content related to African cinema on Wikipedia!
Please list your username under the participants’ section of the contest page to indicate your interest in participating in this contest. The term "African" in the context of this contest, includes people of African descent from all over the world, which includes the diaspora and the Caribbean.
The following prizes would be recognized at the end of the contest:
Overall winner
1st - $500
2nd - $200
3rd - $100
Diversity winner - $100
Gender-gap fillers - $100
Language Winners - up to $100*
Also look out for local prizes from affiliates in your countries or communities! For further information about the contest, the prizes and how to participate, please visit the contest page here. For further inquiries, please leave comments on the contest talkpage or on the main project talkpage. We look forward to your participation.--Jamie Tubers (talk) 23:20, 30th September 2021 (UTC)
Ýou can opt-out of this annual reminder from The Afrocine Project by removing your username from this list
It is already past the middle of the contest and we are really excited about the Months of African Contest 2021 achievements so far! We want to extend our sincere gratitude for the time and energy you have invested. If you have not yet participated in the contest, it is not too late to do it. Please list your username as a participant on the contest’s main page.
Please remember to list the articles you have improved or created on the article achievements' section of the contest page so they can be tracked. In order to win prizes, be sure to also list your article in the users by articles. Please note that your articles must be present in both the article achievement section on the main contest page, as well as on the Users By Articles page for you to qualify for a prize.
We would be awarding prizes to different categories of winners:
Hello! Voting in the 2021 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23:59 (UTC) on Monday, 6 December 2021. All eligible users are allowed to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.
The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.
A recently closed Request for Comment (RFC) reached consensus to remove Autopatrolled from the administrator user group. You may, similarly as with Edit Filter Manager, choose to self-assign this permission to yourself. This will be implemented the week of December 13th, but if you wish to self-assign you may do so now. To find out when the change has gone live or if you have any questions please visit the Administrator's Noticeboard. 20:06, 7 December 2021 (UTC)
Hi Steven Walling! I've nominated you (along with all other active admins) to receive a solstice season gift from the WMF. Talk page stalkers are invited to comment at the nomination. Enjoy! Cheers, {{u|Sdkb}}talk ~~~~~
You get this message because you are an admin on a Wikimedia wiki.
When someone edits a Wikimedia wiki without being logged in today, we show their IP address. As you may already know, we will not be able to do this in the future. This is a decision by the Wikimedia Foundation Legal department, because norms and regulations for privacy online have changed.
Instead of the IP we will show a masked identity. You as an admin will still be able to access the IP. There will also be a new user right for those who need to see the full IPs of unregistered users to fight vandalism, harassment and spam without being admins. Patrollers will also see part of the IP even without this user right. We are also working on better tools to help.
We have two suggested ways this identity could work. We would appreciate your feedback on which way you think would work best for you and your wiki, now and in the future. You can let us know on the talk page. You can write in your language. The suggestions were posted in October and we will decide after 17 January.
Hi, Steven - since you didn't respond to the ping from Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Dogs#Confirmation request, I thought it best to follow up with a post to see if you are still active on WP:WikiProject Dogs. I'm updating our list of participants and removing those who are no longer active. Please ping if you respond here, or better yet, respond to the ping and let us know if you're still active. Happy editing! Atsme💬📧02:33, 16 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, I've noticed that your signature is using the html5 obsolete tags <font style>. Would you be willing to change it to <span style> for the same look, but without the Lint errors?
This:
<span style="font-family:Georgia, serif;">[[User:Steven Walling|Steven Walling]] • [[User talk:Steven Walling|<span style="color: #8080b0">talk</span>]]</span> gives you the visually identical: Steven Walling • talk
Thank you. They actually took massive content from Britannica [while removing/changing original words], and kept corrupting the page even though the source accompanied says otherwise. The main issue here is plagiarism too, this isn't the first time, so if the page is kept edited by autoconfirmed and experienced users that would indeed help. Fragrant Peony (talk) 17:48, 21 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]
If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and clicking the button labelled "Contest this speedy deletion". This will give you the opportunity to explain why you believe the page should not be deleted. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag from the page yourself. LizRead!Talk!01:15, 24 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Liz: Given that in my edit summary when creating this I specifically said I was about to create articles for this category and it’s obviously a type of common elections category, was this really necessary? It hasn’t even been one day. This kind of useless bureaucratic nonsense is what drives editors away from the project. Steven Walling • talk01:19, 24 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Jonwilliamsl: Thanks for pinging me. Including the individual species article isn't necessary / is duplicative, because the root genus (Delosperma) and the overall family Category:Aizoaceae is already included. There are thousands of succulent plant species, so the category is much easier to browse if we tag the root genera and family in cases where 100% of them are succulents. Steven Walling • talk16:38, 8 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Hello @Steven Walling I recently created Draft:Darwin Del Fabro, about a queer Brazilian actor and was hoping that you or another member of WP:Theatre would be kind enough to take a look and let me know how it could be improved. Or, if it looks ok, to move it to the mainspace. Thank you in advance for your help and consideration Volcom95 (talk) 21:43, 11 October 2022 (UTC) Volcom95 (talk) 19:28, 10 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Hello! Voting in the 2022 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23:59 (UTC) on Monday, 12 December 2022. All eligible users are allowed to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.
The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.
Glad to see you appear in my watchlist and even happier that you're still active here after all these years :) I hope you're well! Acalamari20:42, 15 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Acalamari: Good to hear from you! Also great to see you're still editing as well. I definitely took a break for a few years but 2022 and hopefully 2023 to has had more time for article writing. Steven Walling • talk04:34, 26 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]
This editor seems to be cherry picking facts based on personal bias and personal interpretations, cherry picking sources based on personal views. Newb here just learning wiki, trying to share facts. Editor has expressed disdain for “cyclists” and “Los Angeles” and the publication “Bicycling Magazine”.
Editor made false accusations as to my intent and personal identity. WP:PA
WP:NPOV
All encyclopedic content on Wikipedia must be written from a neutral point of view (NPOV), which means representing fairly, proportionately, and, as far as possible, without editorial bias, all the significant views that have been published by reliable sources on a topic.
@Baudrillard6969: You added a bunch of citations and references about a certain individual, watered down the language used by the sources, and then when I edited one of these items to make it more encylopedic, I immediately got a request on LinkedIn to connect to the person who is the subject of the references you added. How stupid do you think Wikipedia editors are? Please refrain from editing things about which you have a conflict of interest. This can and will result in being blocked from editing. Steven Walling • talk23:49, 3 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Please keep in mind that attempting to continue an edit war, especially while avoiding the talk page after previous requests for editors to use the talk page and in violation of WP:ONUS policy is extremely disruptive. That's doubly so for an admin to be doing it. The proper course of action then (or after a self-revert) would have been to read the previous edit summaries that made it clear it was time for you to come to the talk page. Instead, doubling down on the problem of editors refusing to get consensus for edits on the talk page and just continuing edit wars only hinders us regulars there trying to protect the page from it.
More concerning though is WP:INVOLVED though. When you take an admin action like closing a request and immediately go to the article to continue an edit war and violate policies like ONUS, that is a sign of a more serious problem. That really showed when you closed that saying to use the talk page and you did the opposite of your own advice. That very problem is what editors have been trying to protect the article from and isn't something an admin should be encouraging.
If you had read the talk page or history, you would have seen that us regulars had been dealing with promotional issues with this fringe group and had to focus on activities that had independent sources for WP:DUE to filter out those issues. That dispute led to reverts that we finally got mostly under control. The reason for RFPP was because an IP that appeared to be a logged out account was the only one continuing edit warring without using the talk. Instead of deescalating with semi-protection, we're now in a position where full protection may be justified after your edit. I alluded to this at the above ANI about you, but please take more care about making situations worse and in this case creating extra work for us volunteers trying to keep persistent edit warring behavior at least somewhat contained. KoA (talk) 05:09, 24 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
You brought a good faith content dispute to RFPP which is most definitely not a candidate for protection. I saw that and jumped in after you posted the obviously wrong request for protection application. You need to rethink the level of lecturing you're doing here. Edit wars sometimes merit full protection, and in this case no admin would do so, given that there's an active and completely normal Talk page discussion already underway. Steven Walling • talk05:25, 24 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for offering to be my mentor! I am very new to Wikipedia so I appreciate your taking the time out.
I've suggested an article for deletion because it's about a person who really isn't noteworthy. I don't really have a personal interest in the matter except that the article references people I do know.
Another user has said that deletion of the article ought to be discussed on the "Articles for Deletion" forum. I don't know how to do this. Can you help me move this forward?
@Dan Sevastopol: Yes, I can show you how to nominate something at Articles for Deletion. It's not super easy to understand, but there is a guide to nominating a page. Basically what you're doing is putting a tag on the article, which leads to a deletion discussion page. There will then be a week minimum for editors to discuss. If the template process is too daunting just let me know and we can screenshare. Steven Walling • talk17:12, 21 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The argument made there is completely and totally ridiculous to the degree that it's either total ignorance of sourcing standards or made disingenuously. The nominator is not a new editor to say the least and should know the policies they are citing, which means pleading total ignorance of what constitutes a reliable source is not even remotely convincing. Steven Walling • talk17:50, 26 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I was watching the Tines AfD, not really wanting to weigh in, but I clicked through to your profile after seeing you were taking such a beating.
There's a firmly held view, among the relatively small number of editors who make a habit of participating in corporation/organization deletions, that the "I" in SIRS means that only facts derived independently of any information from the article subject qualify for the purposes of notability. So a journalist can collect a hundred data points of information published by the company in press releases, interviews, earnings releases, etc. and synthesize it into a critique of the company, and it won't count for notability because the information itself isn't "independent content". Instead, so the logic goes, you have to first excise all of those tainted facts and then see if what's left of the article talks about the company in sufficient depth.
I have said, and I will continue to say (possibly to my peril), this is not a logical reading of NCORP/ORGIND but I am picking my battles. Some cats have claws.
When I looked at this AfD, I checked out some of the sources and it seemed to be more or less a lost cause for that reason. I don't think it should be deleted, because common sense says it's notable, but it's a close call. Oblivy (talk) 05:57, 29 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Interesting, thanks for the note. That interpretation of SIRS makes no sense whatsoever to me. News organizations, book publishers, and journal peer reviews all have fact checking and editors whose function is to review work and challenge poor sourcing. Just because a news article or book direct quotes a source a few times doesn't mean the entire piece isn't reliable. If the New York Times quotes someone, it's still useful and verifiable material for referencing depending on what facts you're trying to add a citation for. This is why verification is a policy and notability is just a guideline where common sense should be applied. Steven Walling • talk14:54, 29 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]
It comes from the part of WP:ORGIND that uses the term "independent content". I can see a valid concern that journalists may be uncritically shoveling information provided by an executive or PR rep into articles - it happens - but that puts a pretty low opinion on journalists, editors, and outlets like the NYT. There is a modest proposal brewing over at the talk page for NCORP to add language saying non-independent sources don't include "earned media" but I'm not sure if it will fly. Oblivy (talk) 00:50, 30 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Question from AxhtonCole (19:30, 8 September 2023)
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Peace is a state of balance and understanding in yourself and between others, where respect is gained by the acceptance of differences, tolerance persists, conflicts are resolved through dialog, people's rights are respected and their voices are heard, and everyone is at their highest point of serenity without social tension. Happy Holidays to you and yours. The editor retention project was created back in July of 2012 and is still considered active. The lights are on and the rent is paid for the foreseeable future. Stop by for a chat. Start a thread. Nominate a fellow editor to be Editor of the Week. It was a good idea then and it's still a good idea. ―Buster7☎
Dyer Lum has been nominated for a good article reassessment. If you are interested in the discussion, please participate by adding your comments to the reassessment page. If concerns are not addressed during the review period, the good article status may be removed from the article. Grnrchst (talk) 14:52, 11 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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A disastrous technical glitch with Temporary Accounts has been reported on fr:wp and administrators there are mounting a cover-up. What happened is that a French administrator ran a test in which he forbade the Wikimedia to place a cookie on his device but it did, as he found out when he closed the window and the cookie was cleared. The report at fr:Wikipédia:Le Bistro/4 décembre 2024#IP, not IP et maintenance was swiftly removed, but here is an English translation:
From this discussion [link] you will see that "Temporary accounts" (which will arrive on Fr:wp in just eight weeks unless we stop them) will sound the death knell of the Wikipedia movement. The Regional Court will go berserk (it happened in Germany and it will happen here). They will issue an injunction to take down the website and impose a huge fine which will eliminate the Foundation's financial reserves and put an end to donations (who will make a donation to Wikipedia when their donation will go to the European Union?) How much will the fine be? Five airlines have just been fined 200 million euros for contravening European Union regulations. For popular websites like Google (and Wikipedia) the amount will be billions.
As someone with knowledge of product development, can you open a dialogue with the appropriate authorities on how to avert this impending disaster? 156.61.250.249 (talk) 13:06, 7 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
When you watch the Pippi Longstocking video on YouTube, before it starts you see an ad for Hertz Car Rental. A clickbox in the ad invites you to "Learn more", just as the notice which the consumer asking about Temporary Accounts does. The difference is that when you accept the "Learn more" invitation the page comes up with two boxes "Accept Cookies" and "Reject Cookies".[1]. You cannot go any further until you have clicked one of the two boxes. Every website displays the options because it's illegal not to. Wikipedia is the sole exception. Do the Foundation realise what the European Union will do to them or do they just not care? 156.61.250.249 (talk) 14:29, 8 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
If there is an issue with temporary accounts and cookies, I would assume it's a bug, not intentional or some kind of cover up conspiracy. As to cookie acceptance banners, there is likely a good reason Wikipedia doesn't have them, such as that obtaining consent for strictly necessary cookies isn't required by GDPR, as opposed to third party marketing cookies (which Wikimedia does not allow). Steven Walling • talk19:04, 8 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with you so far, that "strictly necessary cookies" can be used without specific authorisation from the consumer, but the temporary account cookie records the consumer's movement across locations by logging each IP address used. The Regional Court is pledged to take down every website which uses these additional cookies without telling the consumer in advance their purpose, that the consumer can continue to use the website without them, that she has the right to deletion of all the information they collect, and specifying the third parties who can access the information.
The Regional Court orders takedown of websites which do not comply as a matter of course, but the threat to Wikipedia is the unique features of this cookie, involving tracking which will enable those in possession of the information to "doxx" consumers, the release of the information to third parties who cannot be identified, and the inability to recall the information when the data subject asks for it to be recalled. It's not the third party marketing aspect but the third party possession aspect which worries the Regional Court.
Never before in data protection history has personal data been revealed without the consent of the data subject to more than a handful of website employees whose identities are known. What is proposed here is revelation to hundreds of thousands of unidentified third parties whose activities will go unmonitored because there is no requirement to make an entry in a transparency log detailing what information has been abstracted and the purpose for which it has been abstracted. Once the information has been collected there is no way of recalling it. The impending sh**storm will make the ongoing proceedings in the Indian High Court look like a vicarage tea party. 156.61.250.249 (talk) 12:33, 9 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hello again. I'm delighted that you're asking pertinent questions of the development team over at MediaWiki. The major question has yet to be asked - perhaps you could ask it? Currently, virtually everyone will have access to tracking data as editors move between IP addresses, thus making real-life identification easy. It's true you will need 300 edits, but as they point out, you can amass 300 edits in an hour if you know where to fix typos. This invasion of privacy is illegal because the victims have not been told about it and have not given their consent to it. They say in their defence that the scheme is an improvement because fewer people than at present will have access to IP addresses, but that's not the point. The people who at present give out their IP addresses have consented to do so, possibly because they know that if they change IP address no link can be made to those used previously. Not only will the people who will be caught up in this scheme be unaware of how at risk they are but most of them will not know what a temporary account is. They may assume the account number is an IP address with the guaranteed anonymity that currently brings with it. Please run these points past the team and make sure they respond. The Arbitration Committee conducts thorough investigations of doxxing, so I am notifying @Liz: (congratulations on your appointment!) so they can be ready to act if necessary. 156.61.250.249 (talk) 12:35, 10 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry but I don't think I agree that it's an invasion of privacy. If you edit Wikipedia it's a public action and you are warned that your IP address will be shown. Temporary accounts are actually more private than the system we have today. If you have concerns you should post them yourself. Steven Walling • talk17:18, 10 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
To avoid hiding the wood with the trees, can we take the points one by one? Here's a flowchart:
Is a cookie which links all IP addresses used by the data subject "a strictly necessary cookie?" YES...NO...(Please check appropriate box).
As soon as I get your response I'll continue the chart as follows:
13.1 Where personal data relating to a data subject are collected from the data subject, the controller shall, at the time when personal data are obtained, provide the data subject with all [emphasis added] of the following information:
(a) the identity and the contact details of the controller and, where applicable, of the controller’s representative;
(b) the contact details of the data protection officer, where applicable;
OK, I'm wending my way through GDPR and I've reached Article 13 (unlucky for someone). I've added paragraph numbers to the above quote. Other provisions of this Regulation read as follows:
13.1 (d) where the processing is based on point (f) of Article 6(1), the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party;
13.1 (e) the recipients or categories of recipients of the personal data, if any;
13.1 (f) where applicable, the fact that the controller intends to transfer personal data to a third country or international organisation and the existence or absence of an adequacy decision by the Commission, or in the case of transfers referred to in Article 46 or 47, or the second subparagraph of Article 49(1), reference to the appropriate or suitable safeguards and the means by which to obtain a copy of them or where they have been made available.
13.2 In addition to the information referred to in paragraph 1, the controller shall, at the time when personal data are obtained, provide the data subject with the following further information necessary to ensure fair and transparent processing:
13.2 (a) the period for which the personal data will be stored, or if that is not possible, the criteria used to determine that period;
13.2 (b) the existence of the right to request from the controller access to and rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing concerning the data subject or to object to processing as well as the right to data portability;
Now, we know that when the unregistered editor says she wants to edit she is told a temporary account will be created for her, and after she edits this is confirmed. She is told nothing else, so in my book the scheme is illegal for violation of Article 13 (apart from any other violations). Do you agree? You don't need to be a lawyer to answer, just have a normal command of the English language, and as a former WMF executive you obviously do. I'm asking because if you do agree it's 99.99% certain I'm right. Then we can go to Trust and Safety and say "It's cast iron that your scheme is illegal, what are you going to do about it? 156.61.250.249 (talk) 19:43, 11 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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You gave User:Angel Keleyan a final warning [2] on 2 January 2025 for adding unsourced information to pages—especially Tijjani Reijnders. I wanted to let you know that tonight this same user made the same unsourced edit for which they were originally warned [3]. You can see in their edit history that they have made this same unsourced or poorly-sourced edit many times before [4]. I appreciate your help with this. Anwegmann (talk) 02:58, 5 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for flagging this. The user appears to be editing in good faith but simply misunderstands Wikipedia sourcing and neutrality policies. I've blocked them for 3 months, and if you notice similar edits again after they're unblocked feel free to ping me. (I have watched their talk page as well.) Steven Walling • talk04:52, 7 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for uploading File:SlowFoodNation sf.jpg. I noticed that this file is being used under a claim of non-free use. However, I think that the way it is being used fails the first non-free content criterion. This criterion states that files used under claims of non-free use may have no free equivalent; in other words, if the file could be adequately covered by a freely-licensed file or by text alone, then it may not be used on Wikipedia. If you believe this file is not replaceable, please:
If you have uploaded other non-free media, consider checking that you have specified how these media fully satisfy our non-free content criteria. You can find a list of description pages you have edited by clicking on this link. Note that even if you follow steps 1 and 2 above, non-free media which could be replaced by freely licensed alternatives will be deleted 2 days after this notification, per the non-free content policy. If you have any questions, please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. 廣九直通車 (talk) 08:52, 14 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
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Hello, Steven Walling. This message is being sent to remind you of significant upcoming changes regarding logged-out editing.
Starting 4 November, logged-out editors will no longer have their IP address publicly displayed. Instead, they will have a temporary account (TA) associated with their edits. Users with some extended rights like administrators and CheckUsers, as well as users with the temporary account IP viewer (TAIV) user right will still be able to reveal temporary users' IP addresses and all contributions made by temporary accounts from a specific IP address or range.
How do temporary accounts work?
Editing from a temporary account
When a logged-out user completes an edit or a logged action for the first time, a cookie will be set in this user's browser and a temporary account tied with this cookie will be automatically created for them. This account's name will follow the pattern: ~2025-12345-67 (a tilde, year of creation, a number split into units of 5).
All subsequent actions by the temporary account user will be attributed to this username. The cookie will expire 90 days after its creation. As long as it exists, all edits made from this device will be attributed to this temporary account. It will be the same account even if the IP address changes, unless the user clears their cookies or uses a different device or web browser.
A record of the IP address used at the time of each edit will be stored for 90 days after the edit. Users with the temporary account IP viewer (TAIV) user right will be able to see the underlying IP addresses.
As a measure against vandalism, there are two limitations on the creation of temporary accounts:
There has to be a minimum of 10 minutes between subsequent temporary account creations from the same IP (or /64 range in case of IPv6).
There can be a maximum of 6 temporary accounts created from an IP (or /64 range) within a period of 24 hours.
Temporary account IP viewer user right
How to enable IP Reveal
Administrators may grant the temporary account IP viewer (TAIV) user right to non-administrators who meet the criteria for granting. Importantly, an editor must make an explicit request for the permission (e.g. at WP:PERM/TAIV)—administrators are not permitted to assign the right without a request.
Administrators will automatically be able to see temporary account IP information once they have accepted the Access to Temporary Account IP Addresses Policy via Special:Preferences or via the onboarding dialog which comes up after temporary accounts are deployed.
Impact for administrators
It will be possible to block many abusers by just blocking their temporary accounts. A blocked person won't be able to create new temporary accounts quickly if the admin selects the autoblock option.
It will still be possible to block an IP address or IP range.
Temporary accounts will not be retroactively applied to contributions made before the deployment. On Special:Contributions, you will be able to see existing IP user contributions, but not new contributions made by temporary accounts on that IP address. Instead, you should use Special:IPContributions for this (see a video about IPContributions in a gallery below).
Rules about IP information disclosure
Publicizing an IP address gained through TAIV access is generally not allowed (e.g. ~2025-12345-67 previously edited as 192.0.2.1 or ~2025-12345-67's IP address is 192.0.2.1).
Publicly linking a TA to another TA is allowed if "reasonably believed to be necessary". (e.g. ~2025-12345-67 and ~2025-12345-68 are likely the same person, so I am counting their reverts together toward 3RR, but not Hey ~2025-12345-68, you did some good editing as ~2025-12345-67)
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In the voting phase, the candidate subpages close to public questions and discussion, and everyone who qualifies to vote has a week to use the SecurePoll software to vote, which uses a secret ballot. You can see who voted, but not who they voted for. Please note that the vote totals cannot be made public until after voting has ended and as such, it will not be possible for you to see an individual candidate's vote total during the election. The suffrage requirements are similar to those at RFA.
Once voting concludes, we will begin the scrutineering phase, which will last for a few days, perhaps longer. Once everything is certified, the results will be posted on the results page (this is a good page to watchlist), and transcluded to the main election page. In order to be granted adminship, a non-recall candidate must have received at least 70.0% support, calculated as Support / (Support + Oppose), and a minimum of 20 support votes. Recall candidates must achieve 55.0% support. Because this is a vote and not a consensus, there are no bureaucrat discussions ("crat chats").
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You are invited to participate in the Destubathon of the Americas, a contest/editathon which will run from May 1 to May 31. The goal is to destub as many of our 475,000+ stubs for the Americas (from Alaska down to Chile) as possible. A good chance to have fun in expanding many of our old stale stubs and win up to £2000 ($2680) in Amazon vouchers for expanding stub articles. Sign up in the Contestants/participants section on the contest page if interested. Even if not interested in prizes you are still warmly welcome to participate in it as an editathon! Hopefully we can achieve something significant in the month of May together! ♦ Dr. Blofeld17:36, 15 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
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