User talk:Greg Williams

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] A Warm WikiWorld Welcome

Greetings! Starting on Monday, December 11, 2006, the WikiWorld comic found a home in The Wikipedia Signpost. You can check out the Signpost's introductory article here. And, if you come across any articles that might be well suited to a cartoon-style interpretation, please be sure to let me know. --Greg Williams 13:13, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wow is the word for WW!!

Hi Greg, WikiWorld was great - I'm planning to use some of the strips to motivate students to contribute to Wikipedia. I understand that you would like to explore Wikipedia on your own for comic strip ideas but you may also want to look at WP:PINQ and its archives as they comprise several interesting and obscure facts about India as well as around the world. Having 1 or 2 WikiWorld comic strips on Indian topics would also make my job of motivating students in India easier. I may also talk to a couple of publications to see if they will carry it out in their issues. Most importantly, I wanted to say that I am impressed by your resolve in ensuring that this initiative took off despite being new to Wikipedia. And a small award, to say thank you for that... --Gurubrahma 07:18, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

The Exceptional Newcomer Award
Greg richly deserves this award for displaying creativity and resolve in bringing forth "WikiWorld", which, I hope would attract newer audiences to benefit from and contribute to Wikipedia. --Gurubrahma 07:18, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

P.S. I am not sure if you have received this message before, but to make sure, I am leaving the standard welcome message and some useful links along with it!

Welcome!

Hello, Greg Williams, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Again, welcome!  Enjoy your stay on Wikipedia!! --Gurubrahma 07:18, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks very much, Gurubrahma. I'll definitely take a look at the articles about India that you've mentioned. If you talk with any publications that would like to reprint the WikiWorld comic, please let me know - since these Web-based versions of the comic might cause problems for a print publication. I'd be happy to provide another version that would be better-suited to their needs. --Greg Williams 14:04, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] suggestion for a future comic

Greg, one of my favorite articles is Apples and oranges. It seems like it would make a good WikiWorld comic someday.--ragesoss 21:34, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Comic

Hi there! I just spotted your comic in the signpost. Nice work, it looks great there! (Radiant) 15:16, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I really liked it too... I know its probably okay under the license, but wanted to clear it with you first, can I go ahead and throw the Redshirt comic up on my user page?? Thanks.. EnsRedShirt 20:46, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Sure, feel free to add it to your user page. Can you use it full-size (650 pixels wide), to make it as readable as possible? If not, it would be great if you could make it as close to that width as possible. Thanks for checking in. --Greg Williams 20:53, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Biographical

WikiWorld cartoonist Greg Williams is shown below in a portrait by son Jeremy, 11. --Greg Williams 03:22, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Neat! Put it on Wikipedia Facebook if you want. :) W3stfa11 06:11, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Redshirt comic

Loved the redshirt comic! Your caricature of Kirk made me laugh out loud. Keep em coming! :) Kaldari 08:01, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

I love your cartoons - my favorites are the pet skunk and red shirt. You might also have some fun with Kitsune (which is currently a featured article candidate). Raul654 04:35, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
Great cartoons. I love the Pet Skunk and Facial Hair. Good work! W3stfa11 06:11, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Just saw the Redshirt comic, care of the Signpost. Needless to say, I look forward to seeing more. Excellent work, and informative. An excellent benefit to Wikipedia. Kaiser matias 05:39, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wikipedia signpost

Have you talked to the guys who do the Wikipedia community paper? The signpost? You could probably do a weekly update for them, it's pretty cool, and might get others to contribute too. - hahnchen 02:12, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

Several people have made the same suggestion. I've sent an e-mail to the Signpost editors, but we haven't talked. Thanks.--Greg Williams 04:05, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
Congratulations on the Signpost thing; it will bring some well-deserved recognition to your work. It will be a real addition to the Signpost too. Anyhow, keep up the good work.--ragesoss 04:45, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
This barnstar is presented in recognition of the sheer awesomeness of WikiWorld. ragesoss 04:45, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
Thanks, Ragesoss! I'm not sure when the comics will start showing up in Signpost, but I appreciate the support WikiWorld has received. Up until now, only active editors could have known about the comics - along with a few random readers who called up the articles I've illustrated, I suppose. Signpost is geared toward "insiders" but should provide a stable home for the comics. That will make it easier to tell people how to find them, at any rate. I'm not sure whether the Signpost editors are planning to archive the comics or just to display the most recent posting. But Wikipedia is a fluid medium, so I'm hoping for the best. --Greg Williams 11:55, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Older discussions

I am removing your cartoon/comic drawings from Wikipedia. Your posting them into the relevant articles is unfortunately a major breach of WP:COI, and you've apparently given no notice or claim that your infringement of the Wikipedia logo trademark in your own logo is actually approved by the Wikimedia Foundation. They are cute cartoons, but entirely inappropriate for Wikipedia article main space. -- JossBuckle Swami 02:55, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the note. My cartoons were posted - and the WikiWorld logo was developed and used - with the knowledge and assistance of folks at Wikimedia, although this would not be apparent to other editors. --Greg Williams 23:27, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
Ecch. I for one am thankful for the images, although using them full-sized in their respective articles is counterproductive, as they're large enough to make reading difficult. I'm surprised and disappointed to see that no centralized location to talk the matter through has apparently been created. Without one, we get an awful lot of mess for few results. I'd quite like to found and oversee one myself but, alas, I'd also like to pass at least one of my upcoming exams. I'll see if there's something I can do. --Kizor 23:17, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, Kizor. Good points. I think it's perfectly reasonable to keep the cartoons outside of the articles themselves - because of the size they'd need to run, and because of concerns that they don't add encyclopedic value. For me, the cartoons would work best as an illustrative promotional feature, to shine a light on some of the fascinating but little-seen articles in Wikipedia. Unfortunately, that only works if a casual user of Wikipedia could actually stumble across them. (Displaying them inside the little-seen articles themselves becomes a COMPLETELY nonsensical exercise, if promotion is the primary goal.) Another editor suggested posting them on a Project Page. But is there any chance that a casual user would ever encounter them there? --Greg Williams 13:12, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

I saw them too. While I'm not sure that they suit articles, I wonder if the folks at the The Wikipedia Signpost, a kind of newspaper for Wikipedia, would be interested in them? They'd brighten up the pages and encourage people to work on these undervisited articles. Laïka 19:31, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
I'll keep an eye on The Wikipedia Signpost. Maybe that would be a good option. Thanks for the link. --Greg Williams 17:17, 26 November 2006 (UTC)
I created the {{Illustrated Wikipedia}} template at the behest of Danny Wool as a ground-breaking exercise for what will hopefully become WikiProject Illustrated Wikipedia (analogous to WikiProject Spoken Wikipedia). It is somewhat regrettable that a user of all of 10 days standing should take it upon themselves to be quite so bold without consulting the person who created the template as to intention. It does provide somewhat of a incentive to get on with creating the WikiProject, but the lack of manners doesn't exactly improve the atmosphere. It should be noted that the template does not display the actual cartoon, merely provides a link to it…as the slightest effort on the part of the remover would have revealed. Greg: please don't take this as any kind of sign that your cartoons are unwelcome here. HTH HAND —Phil | Talk 08:45, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for the note, Phil. I appreciate it! I'll be adding a new comic strip to my Wikimedia gallery and User Page today; Should I try to add the Illustrated Wikipedia template to the pertinent article(s) myself, or would I need some additional information before proceeding? --Greg Williams 12:09, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
I'd say "be descreet"... {{Illustrated Wikipedia| }} is the format for the template. Just paste that into the external links section of an article, replace the spaces with the image file name, and just save the page. -- Zanimum 21:32, 28 November 2006 (UTC)
While the "template deletion" discussion continues, I think I'll steer clear of the editing process. Others can add the Illustrated Wikipedia templates for now, if they like. --Greg Williams 04:07, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Project now started

You are cordially invited to participate in WikiProject Illustrated Wikipedia. Now it's on a more official footing, maybe people will start using those manners their mothers no doubt attempted to teach them. HTH HAND —Phil | Talk 14:48, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Wow! Thanks. This should be interesting. What do I need to do, apart from producing and uploading the comics? (I've already received a few suggestions of topics for future strips; That will be a great help - although I also enjoy doing my own explorations.) Phil, if you have specific thoughts about how to link to the comics, how to archive them, etc., please let me know here, or in an e-mail. --Greg Williams 15:19, 29 November 2006 (UTC)
The best place for discussion of these topics is at the project itself. Recruiting some of your buddies to join in would be fun also: it would be interesting to have different styles of cartoon, and we might spark some fruitful discussion over whether certain types of article suit certain types of cartoon…or not. HTH HAND —Phil | Talk 21:29, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Greg, I am much more comfortable, now that your project has been formalized, involves the participation of more cartoonists than just yourself, and doesn't hijack the articles themselves (which, you have to remember, are being viewed by many people on things like 56K modems and cell phones with slow connections). I hope that people like Phil who seem to be on a high horse about manners also see that my concerns were based more on the trademark use of the Wikipedia logo, the obvious violation of WP:COI, and the fact that the cartoons do not "add" to Wikipedia's mission (at least in the traditional sense). I honestly wish you all the best of success and happiness -- I just wanted it in the proper format, with proper licensing/permission, in the proper forum. I wish the leaders at the Wikimedia Foundation had done this properly (by executing through "beta testing" with the community, and asking for community input), rather than running it like the "boys club" that it too often appears to be. I still don't get how WMF can get so upset about the use of merely the Wikipedia NAME in something like a press release, whilst unofficially endorsing the complete theft (albeit for creative purposes) of the Wikipedia logo by a private artist. You can see, that by their failure to communicate this project to the community, it led to a lot of needless energy wasted by the slave-volunteers. --JossBuckle Swami 04:17, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree, it has been a bumpy ride so far, as the Wikipedia community attempts to sort out how (or whether) these comics fit into the site's current landscape. Obviously, this project doesn't fit neatly within the previously established parameters for submitting content. Hopefully, things will sort themselves out - especially now that it's a little clearer that the concept (and logo) weren't developed in a vacuum. Honestly, it doesn't bother me a bit if the comics aren't posted or linked within the articles themselves. I've always envisioned this project as a way to entice casual readers to check out some of the fascinating but little-known articles in Wikipedia - not merely to entertain the handful of readers who might somehow stumble across "Facial hair" or "Pet skunk" on their own. (Although the promotional usage I've described might not please absolutely everyone, I suspect it wouldn't raise quite the same concern about protecting the encyclopedic integrity of the articles themselves.) --Greg Williams 16:14, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Hosting

If it ends up you cannot do your comic project here, then I can set up a MediaWiki server outside of the wikimedia foundation, but with the same copyright policies dedicated to the project. It is a great idea, and I am a real believer in creating free content for the masses, while respecting the artists right to be attributed. HighInBC (Need help? Ask me) 22:33, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

As I understand the licensing arrangement, others are free to reprint or adapt the comics regardless of how they are used within Wikipedia. I'll continue to make the images freely available on Wikimedia Commons - as requested - but if you'd like to use them as part of an outside project, go right ahead. If you need anything, let me know. Thanks. --Greg Williams 04:03, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../g/r/e/User_talk%7EGreg_Williams_11db.html"