Wikipedia talk:Motto of the day

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	Motto of the Day
	Schedule (Upcoming mottos) Discussion Approved Nominations (New mottos go here) Frequently Used Ideas

Today's motto...
→Yo encyclopedia's so fat, when I tried to find its weight, the scale said TO BE CONTINUED!

Archives
Motto of the Day talk archives 21 Apr 2005 — 05 Sep 2006 19 Aug 2006 — 20 Dec 2006 04 Jan 2007 — 24 Jan 2007 25 Jan 2007 — Motto of the Day/Desk archives 15 Aug 2006 — 08 January 2007 04 Jan 2007 — 16 Jan 2007

The Motto of the Day (MOTD) is a project dedicated to creating and displaying a daily unofficial Wikipedia motto included on various user pages. It is an effort to laugh a bit at ourselves, celebrate our achievements, and foster a sense of community. Mottos can be humourous or serious, but must reflect the community or purpose of Wikipedia. Nominate new mottos here.

This page is for discussion of the project itself, not the mottos.

[edit] How long are we keeping on to this?

"is an old project undergoing a revival initiative." It's been revived for at least a year now. How long will we keep it in the intro :D --TheDJ (talk • contribs • WikiProject Television) 06:56, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

True, I'll fix that. --Tewy 07:16, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Done, but feel free to fix it more if you want. --Tewy 07:22, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

What happened to the MOTD template? — zero » 00:25, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Pretty much it exploded. --Tewy 01:05, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Please restore the MOTD template. 68.111.92.229 01:38, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

(It's supposed to be like that). --Tewy 02:07, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New Username

Hello, everyone!! I just wanted to verify that it is I, Steptrip, and the statement which I am about to say is 100% true. I am having my username changed to "Magnus animum", which is Latin for "Great mind." All further edits made under the latter username will still be me, just under a different pseudonym. I just wanted everyone to know so that they would not be wondering if I retired, if someone was trying to impersonate me, or something like that. Thanks, ~ Step trip (for now) 01:47, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

A note on your user and/or user talk page would be best to let others know of the change (and the location is more appropriate). --Tewy 04:34, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Or including it in my signature for a couple of weeks :-) ~ Magnus animum _{(aka Steptrip)} 00:31, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] My personal motto:

It's isn't wikifriendly but...:

'There's a reason I'm so apathetic, but I can't be bothered to tell you. ' HalfShadow 23:56, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

If you wish to nominate a motto, please read the instructions on the nominations page and add it there. --Tewy 02:16, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bibliomaniac15's RfA

At Bibliomaniac15's RfA page, Kelly Martin is "neutral pending endorsement from a WikiProject," and since many of the contributors here are familiar with Bibliomaniac, I guess I should gain a rough consensus on whether or not this WikiProject should support him (to change Kelly's vote to support). On a related subject, his RfA is currently at 100% (due to the fact that neutral votes are not counted in the final tally). ~ Magnus animum _{(aka Steptrip)} 23:05, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Banning of redundant links

Sorry, I just got so frustrated at seeing the Wikipedia and WP:EDIANS links that I just had to start this discussion. There are a bazillion (more like 15) mottoes on the In Review that have one of these links. Can we ban the use of them (unless of course the link truly adds on to the motto)?? *Cremepuff 222* 01:54, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

Agreed. I've pointed out the same problem on several occasions. --Tewy 04:14, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

I thought there was somehting in the FUI about not using Wikipedia as a link. As for WP:EDIANS, sometimes, there is a need for a colloquial term for Wikipedians in general (such as the subject of a sentence). Maybe there could be a rule to the tune of "Linking Wikipedia or WP:EDIANS is fine, as long as there are other (e.g. 2) links in the motto"? '~ Magnus animum ∵ ∫ φ γ 11:25, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

I strongly believe that a simpler motto is almost always better (the KISS principle). As such, the removal of all unnecessary links (and others, if possible) will make for a more effective motto. Almost by definition, a motto is designed to be short, and grab one's attention, not be weighed down by multiple links. It's quite annoying to click on three or more links in a motto, and so I would actually say that it's more annoying to click on a redundant link when there are already two or more links, as you suggested. As for FUI, I think it was referring to mottos specifically about Wikipedia (self-references), not so much links to itself. --Tewy 02:28, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

The links in question: We/Us, You, and Wikipedia as in: We want you! to join Wikipedia. This motto would be excellent with no links at all, but the links clog the real meaning of the motto, distracting the reader from the main point, especially in the case of Special:Mypage. Of course "you" refers to the reader; I don't think they need a link to their own page to tell them that. --Tewy 02:28, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

I agree, but the Shakespearean motto would require one of the redundant links which you mentioned — WP:EDIANS. What I am trying to say is that if, without a link, in an arbitrary motto, the motto would not make sense. For example, the WP:EDIANS link is expressed as the text "the mind", and without the link, you would probably not perceive that I was referring to a Wikipedian's mind. That made it as clear as mud, didn't it? ~ Magnus animum ∵ ∫ φ γ 19:34, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes, of course. If a motto needs a link to explain the meaning, then it's fine. It's just when the meaning is clear already that a link is not needed. --Tewy 21:39, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

So..., shall we put this "ordinance" into affect? *Cremepuff 222* 00:22, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

/* Trumpets Blare */ Let it be mandated that no user shall use the links "Wikipedia" and "WP:EDIANS" when the motto's meaning is clear without them. However, if the motto's meaning would not be understood without said links, then the placement of the aforementioned links is acceptable. I never know I could speak legalese so fluently! ~ Magnus animum ∵ ∫ φ γ 19:34, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Project Rewrite

Say, on the nominations page, the Awaiting Decision and the Decisions to be acted on are not used. Do we really need them? Nowadays, the results are posted directly under the votes.

Not only that, but most of the pages or instructions on this project are not used either. Take the Approved page as an example. Do we really use it?

Please correct me if I'm wrong. --PostScript (info/talk/contribs) 23:03, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

I know I use each of those sections when closing mottoes. *Cremepuff 222* 23:04, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

They're used, but only for a moment (check the page history). I can just say that it would be extremely difficult to close more than any one motto in one fell swoop. --Tewy 21:57, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

OK, but they seemed redundent. Sorry! --PostScript (info/talk/contribs) 21:59, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Heh...

.. the amount of Star Wars quotes is unbelievable... I mean there's a lot of film quotes, but Star Wars in particular... :P ≈ The Haunted Angel 20:26, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes, there was a phase for about a month or two where contributors nominated several Star Wars mottos, and the approved ones are just now showing up as the Motto of the Day. --Tewy 20:35, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Lol, then again, one shouldn't be surprised! ≈ The Haunted Angel 20:52, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Various talk pages…

Hello, all! I've noticed that users seem to leave messages on this talk page, the nominations talk page, and the in review page; I think it would make more sense if we simply centralized all questions/suggestions/etc. on just one page (like this one). Would it be possibly to simply redirect the pages to here? Please let me know what you think. *Cremepuff 222* 20:58, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia talk:Motto of the day/Nominations is intended for discussion of specific nominations, nomination procedure, etc., while this page is intended for discussion of the project itself, as it says at the top of this page. Wikipedia talk:Motto of the day/Nominations/In review should be redirected, however, as it's just a maintenance section of the nominations page. --Tewy 21:20, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Okay, I've moved the messages from the in review to the nominations page and have redirected. *Cremepuff 222* 21:41, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

I just archived them to Wikipedia talk:Motto of the day/Nominations/Archive 3. --Tewy 22:05, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Exceptions to rules?

Hello, everyone. Is anyone opposed to closing mottoes before 14 days if the consensus obviously supports/opposes a motto? The size of the In Review section gets unbearibly large, so getting any mottoes out of there would help greatly. Also, isn't 14 days a bit long? How about a simple week? *Cremepuff 222* 01:48, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

I don't see any problem with SNOWing mottoes. After a clear consensus has formed, go ahead and snow-close it. WODUP 05:10, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

No complaints here. It seems kind of lame to wait 14 days when there is a real consesus at 6. --Random ^{Say it here!} 19:55, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

What's everbody's input on the lenght of time issue? *Cremepuff 222* 21:49, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

Nominations just need enough time to gain consensus. If 14 days is too much, then lower it, even if it's just to 10 days. If anyone has a good estimate of how long it takes the average motto to gain consensus, then that should be about the voting period. I agree with WODUP's above comment, by the way. --Tewy 05:31, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

So what's the final verdict? Keep it at 14 days unless there is obvious consensus? --Tewy 19:40, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Removal of motto

Hello. A few users have expressed negative views on this motto, and for good reason too. It's confusing, and I think it should be replaced with a different one. Anyone agree? *Cremepuff 222* 01:02, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

I'd forgotten this was up for today - I thought for a moment I had a new message. I'm personally fine with it, I think it's a good motto; but if people really don't like it, it should be replaced, I agree. Hersfold ^(talk/work) 01:06, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

I strongly agree it should be removed, or at least the formatting ditched so it doesn't look like the new messages bar. It has already caused confusion with at least one person wondering why such a bar was appearing on their userpage, not realising that it was the MOTD. Such use of things that look like the new messages bar is generally strongly discouraged. Will (aka Wimt) 01:08, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Okay, I've temporarily replaced the distracting motto with the default. Is this fine to leave it for the rest of the day, or should I use a recently approved motto for the June 11 MotD? --Tewy 04:36, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

And are there any other potential problems for the future? See Wikipedia:Motto of the day/Schedule. --Tewy 04:38, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

I didn't really look at content, but just skimming things, there are three template mottos coming up that could cause display issues or potentially annoy people. July 24's "Contradiction" motto, Nov. 13's unreferenced motto, and next year, Feb. 7th's cleanup motto. Note, however, that we have had similar template mottos before, and they haven't caused a problem that (I'm aware of) Hersfold ^(talk/work) 11:29, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Actually, Hersfold, the three you pointed out seem to me less of a problem, one, because they don't look like the "new message" bar, and more importantly, they have the word "motto" on them. --Smokizzy (talk) 14:05, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Which is why we've allowed the template mottos to get through. I agree that this most recent one, however, was quite misleading. --Tewy 19:29, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

I've just seen the willy on wheels one - and I thought for a second that the person with this on their userpage was promoting vandalism. We also have a policy of denying recognition to vandals. I'd strongly suggest that this 'motto' is inappropriate. Secretlondon 22:21, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

I have to agree with Secretlondon on this one. > Animum < 22:34, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

Please, I encourage everyone to look through the schedule page to find these "problem mottos" before they are transcluded as the motto of the day. That's partially what the page is there for. --Tewy 23:04, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Great project

Great idea this Motto of the day project! I'm from the dutch Wiki, but I'm taking a long wikibreak from there. If I ever get back there I might try to get a similar project off the ground. Freestyle 10:57, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

Thanks.c'mon, we've fished a good one.User:Kfc1864 Talk to me 09:07, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, it's nice to hear some positive feedback. --Tewy 09:19, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

I made a nice 'post-it' that I put on my userpage, but I had no idea what to put on it... and then I discovered this motto of the day. It's as if they were made for eachother. I'll try to think of a nice motto myself. Again, good work

Freestyle 11:04, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Alignment

The mottoes using {{Motd}} are now aligned to the left. Is there a way to correct that? Smokizzy (talk) 14:29, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

Here's the diff, which you could revert, but it would be nice to get a quick discussion here first, to see what everyone else's opinions are. Personally, I think the default should be to center the main template. If someone wants a left- or right-aligned template, or a bold one, or a blue one, they can work from the basic code, {{Wikipedia:Motto of the day/{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTDAY}}, {{CURRENTYEAR}}}}, and apply their own formatting. For now, Smokizzy, you can add the tags, <div align="center"></div> to the current, left aligned-template. --Tewy 19:49, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the tip. With a little maneuvering, I realigned it on my page. I agree that the default should be centered. Smokizzy (talk) 20:19, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Didnt update

~~The "Motd cquote" on my userpage still shows yesterday's motto, but it doesn't show that on the template page. Whats wrong?--Sunny910910 ^{(talk|Contributions)} 00:54, 25 August 2007 (UTC)~~

Nevermind, it work once I refreshed my userpage.--Sunny910910 ^{(talk|Contributions)} 00:56, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A Whole Day Missing...

There was no page created for August 31, so I tried to create a motto subpage but so far my changes have still left it as a red link. Also, it doesn't seem to pick up 8-31 on the schedule list either. I'm not to experienced with how you all format that list so anyone care to look?¤~Persian Poet Gal ^(talk) 00:46, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Edit: With some minor corrections its starting to pop up. Still not seeing it on my userpage yet but hopefully its up and running now.¤~Persian Poet Gal ^(talk) 00:48, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I've got it on mine. Nice shameless plug for the project. :-D Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 03:31, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Vandalism

I just took the MOTD off my user page. Far too many of the mottos are about vandalism. Mottos should be about building an encyclopedia. Stop feeding the trolls. — Randall Bart Talk 22:20, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I think the reason for that is because the vandalism mottos are the easiest to create. It's simple to make up a motto about good vs. bad (vandalism vs. WP:CVU, for example), whereas it's difficult to make up a motto about featured sound candidates. I know this is recruiting, but if you have a better idea, please, submit it! --Tewy 02:07, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Template mottos

For the template-inspired mottos, that could appear in the future, I wanted to ask how are they going to be compatible with some of our MOTD templates, most notably I think with the userbox, and should we have special conditions for them because of that? —May the Edit be with you, always. (T|C) 09:10, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Just looking at the options, you could (1) ignore it—it's only one day and only a few users with the userbox—and ban future template mottos, (2) create some complicated code in the userbox template that does one thing for regular text and does another for text marked as a special template, or (3) change all the existing template mottos to regular text. I don't think changing or removing the existing templates is a good idea, as I'm sure many users would be angered if their favorite template was suddenly gone. --Tewy 16:07, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Well, I'm lost. What now? —May the Edit be with you, always. (T|C) 19:24, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Just listing our options. And of these options, I like the idea of using plain text instead of the heavy markup, so the motto would be be compatible with any MotD template. I think we should also limit the future use of template mottoes, especially if their meaning cannot be determined by the raw text alone. --Tewy 20:39, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Good idea, maybe it could be mentioned in the "Your motto should" section on the nominations page, that while template based mottos are allowed, one should be mindful of the MOTD templates. What do you think? —May the Edit be with you, always. (T|C) 15:37, 7 October 2007 (UTC)

Sounds good to me. --Tewy 04:17, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] October 31st Emergency Motto

Apparently someone completely forgot that October has 31 days, and not 30, so the motto template for today ended up as a red link. I've created the page with the usual emergency motto ("Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"), but if we've got something we can bump up the list, now might be a very good time to do it.... Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 01:20, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Link to the motto page. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 01:21, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

It's okay, I like today's motto. It has a certain ring to it... But how could anyone forget Halloween? Superm401 - Talk 07:14, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Best of MOTD" week

Here's a random idea I came up with while listing some mottos just now - MOTD is approaching it's three-year anniversary (March 30th, according to the page history - I'm ignoring the fact that the first motto wasn't posted until a year and a few days later), and we've had a large number of new, original mottos posted on a daily basis for well over a year. I know we have a stigma against frequently used ideas and mottos that have been used before, but perhaps now would be a good time to do a "Best of MOTD" thing. We could pick a handful of mottos (ideally 7, if we're doing a week) that are nominated and voted on by the project contributors as the best, and repost them starting on March 24, 2008 and ending on March 30, 2008 with the #1 motto. Would anyone be interested in such a thing? Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 05:19, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

That is a good idea, but we have to clear out the current mottos first. I think we'll have enough time to do that, but we better hurry. I can't help currently, because of school work, but I will see what I can do in the next few days, anyway. —May the Edit be with you, always. (T|C) 22:23, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Ok. I should be available to help in January. I've also got finals, then a holiday vacation. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 03:26, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Will edit for food?

This doesn't seem to be up to the usual MOTD standards of inspiring or enlightening. What's up? Benjiboi 19:38, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Christmas MOTD

The motto is only properly bolded on the first line. I have no idea how to fix it as the template confuses me. If anyone who knows their way around the template would fix it, that would be excellent. Merry Christmas! Thereen (talk) 09:05, 25 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nice

I really like today's motto. :-) -- Menti fisto 04:33, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] 16th Jan

Why was this chosen, We will remember "them." when its a dead link. Kinda against the point isn't it?--Jac16888 (talk) 00:11, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

I have redirected the deleted category to Wikipedia:Missing Wikipedians.--_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk} 00:38, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Feb. 29th Emergency Motto

Apparently we all forgot that 2008 was a leap year - there's no entry for it on the schedule, and sure enough, there was a nice big red link on my user page which I only just noticed. I threw in the top motto from the approved list just now - here it is below. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 03:38, 29 February 2008 (UTC) I'd rather learn about a lot and be wrong 5% of the time than to only learn a few things and be wrong 4% of the time

[edit] Shouldn't it be

"What goes" up, must come down" ????????

Rox^mysoxo::Talk To Me 02:02, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Absolutely. Must be a mistake by whatever is responsible for this. Enigmaman (talk) 02:11, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

So fixed. Not sure why you lot had to call me in, the mottos aren't protected in any way... Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 02:21, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Well, now I know how. Sorry for bothering you. I couldn't find the pages for the individual days. Enigmaman (talk) 02:25, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Comment

Seems like a lot of the mottos lately have had something to do with blocking and/or vandalism. :) Enigmaman (talk • contribs) 03:36, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Yep. It is easier to come up with a motto that deals with a black-and-white issue like vandalism than it is to come up with a motto for featured sound candidates. WODUP 06:08, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Logo

Hey all, I recently changed the logo on {{User MOTD}} and {{User:DannyQuack/Userboxes/Motto}} because there was a recent thread on ANI about limiting the use of the Wikipedia logo in userspace. If anyone feels like creating a cooler looking logo, go right ahead and add to those two templates! Cheers,¤~Persian Poet Gal ^(talk) 01:07, 30 April 2008 (UTC)