User talk:Rich Farmbrough/Archive/2007Aug

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[edit] Bad edit by SmackBot

Resolved.

SmackBot's last edit to Cambridge seems to have introduced ]a mistake. It removed one of the three square closing brackets at the end of

[[Image:CambridgeMarketSquare.jpg|thumb|left|The market in the centre of Cambridge, with Great St Mary's Church in the background · [http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/markets more]]]

I fixed it in the article, but you may want to have a look at the code. -- Jitse Niesen (talk) 03:35, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, as ever. Will raise as a WP:AWB bug. Rich Farmbrough, 07:01 26 July 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Re: Mediation

Resolved.

No, it's fine, what makes you think it's stalled? It's only gone a day or so without comment, that's not very long. Andre (talk) 06:55, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Not a problem. Andre (talk) 07:00, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] It's not easy being green

Resolved.
SmackBot is resting until Wednesday/Thursday.
SmackBot is resting until Wednesday/Thursday.

He's cool. Thanks for the pic. (If only I'd noticed & posted here rather than on SmackBot page. My brain is about the same size as Kermit's, here...) Jessica Simpson 18:55, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Smackbot and superscripts

Resolved.

I noticed in this edit that Smackbot changed <sup>2</sup> and <sup>3</sup> to ² and ³ respectively. As a matter of consistancy, I would suggest that smackbot either also convert <sup>1</sup> to ¹ (not my preference) or to leave any <sup>#</sup> instance be; I recommend the latter as most computers don't display superscript 4-9 (or zero) correctly so that articles that utilize superscript numbers past 3 would not have a consistant format. As I recall, Sburke started to go around changing superscript encoding this way for all numbers but it wasn't met with positive reception and most of these edits have been undone. Ƶ§œš¹ [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi] 01:50, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] SmackBot bad edit - switching cleanup-list/confusing tags

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[1] --- RockMFR 15:36, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Hmm. Thanks. Rich Farmbrough, 20:14 27 July 2007 (GMT).

[edit] JB article

Resolved.

Thanks for the note - No problem for the lead section, I'm cool with the one currently in place. --Skyelarke 18:17, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] List of shipwrecks in 1956

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Your Bot User:SmackBot has put a warning about the need for sources on the page List of shipwrecks in 1956. The reason why there are no sources listed is that all of the information displayed on the page is sourced from other wikipedia article pages, which is where the source information is listed. Could you please repond to my talk page User talk:Dreamweaverjack if you want any further information about this article. Thanks, Dreamweaverjack 02:25, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

usual reply. Rich Farmbrough, 08:03 29 July 2007 (GMT).

[edit] WP Zimbabwe

Resolved.

Together we can make the world a better place. Please spread the invitation for a country in dire need.

You have been invited to join the WikiProject Zimbabwe, a collaborative effort focused on improving Wikipedia's coverage of Zimbabwe. If you'd like to join, just add your name to the member list. Thanks for reading!

Part 04:11, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks for a great bot!

Resolved.

Noticed some edits to one of my pet articles, and just wanted to thank you for programming such a handy little bot. While the edits are minor, they were things I'd failed to notice myself, and they make a big impact on the article's organization! HamatoKameko 05:49, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Will comments by SmackBot removed by itself?

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I made some rewritings and citations to Wikivoyage. Can we remove the ad template by ourselves or will this be done by SmackBot? --RolandUnger 17:44, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Usual answer. RF

[edit] Smack Bot

Resolved.

Rich -- can you put the Clinton T. Casey Brennan Month document on the page?

http://pweb.netcom.com/~mthorn/clinton.jpg

replied to user: Rich Farmbrough, 16:28 2 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Smack Bot

Resolved.

You need to checkout this edit smackbot seems to be using a template that no longer exists ? --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 15:29, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, Caps error, all fixed. Rich Farmbrough, 16:28 2 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Smack Bot deleted navy-stub template

SmackBot -- that's nifty!

I see that SmackBot delete the navy-stub template from Lunar distance (navigation). Because the article is now no longer a stub?

Since this template includes Category:Navy_stubs, and since Category:Navy_stubs is a subcategory of Category:Navies, removing this template also removes Category:Navies.

Can SmackBot be told, when it decides a navy-stub templated article is no longer a stub, that it should become Category:Navies instead? Or maybe Category:Navies_please_check_and_categorize_this_former_stub! navy-stub is a real grab-bag. These articles need some other kind of categorization, but probably should not get completely dropped from the navies hierarchy as soon as they start to look like real articles. Thanks --SV Resolution(Talk) 16:06, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Hmm tricky one. The articles should have categories as well as stub categories. When I last looked the two hierarchies didnot correspond, so no automated solution was possible. Definitely, though, the stub category should not be thought of as a replacement, ersatz or place holder for a real category. These articles should have {{uncatstub}} put on them. Rgds, Rich Farmbrough, 16:23 2 August 2007 (GMT).

Will SmackBot now go and put "uncatstub" on those "navy_stubs" articles? --SV Resolution(Talk) 01:41, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

It has done in the past. I'll look into it - the difficulty as I remember is that cats can be concealed in templates. Rich Farmbrough, 11:46 3 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Smack Bot

Resolved.

Hey smack bot - trying to fix the Ravenchase page per your suggestion. Can you be a bit more specific for us non editing citation pros? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.8.131.10 (talk • contribs) 13:27, 2 August 2007

Replied on user page. Rich Farmbrough, 11:46 3 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Osteotome/[citation needed]

Resolved.

Hallo Smack Bot, I found your tag citation needed [citation needed] in the article on the osteotome in the English Wikipedia. The article is a stub and I am not sure if the definitions in the first lines are correct. The osteotome (German: Osteotom) that I know was invented by the German physician Bernhard Heine in 1830 and was used for opening the skull. In my Commons gallery you can see the pictures that I uploaded, I have some more on my computer. The usage of the instrument can be seen in the Bernhard Heine article. I am able to provide sufficient material about Heine’s invention, but I am not sure about the other “types” of osteotomes. My question: Do you know anything about the other meanings and types of this instrument?Hans555 08:37, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

Sadly I know little of this. However I've added a link to Wiktionary. Incidentally, SmackBot does not generally add tags, but merely dates those that are already there. Regards, Rich Farmbrough, 11:42 3 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Signpost updated for July 30th, 2007.

Apologies for the late delivery this week; my plans to handle this while on vacation went awry. Ral315

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[edit] 15° f (Smackbot)

Resolved.

Look at this edit: [2]

There it changed "15° from vertical" into "15°From vertical". 0xFFFF 14:06, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks this looks like an AWB bug, I will log it with the WP:AWB developers.. Rich Farmbrough, 18:44 4 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] The Microsoft Sound

I have started to implement a suggestion you made on Talk:The_Microsoft_Sound. Unfortunately, another editor keeps deleting my efforts without taking it to Talk. I just wondered whether you would like to contribute to the discussion. If there is a consensus that I am wrong then I will back down. Many thanks, HairyWombat 19:18, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] TfD nomination of All USRD Clean-up Templates

Resolved.

All of the USRD Clean-up Templates have been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for Deletion page. Thank you. master sonT - C 16:43, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Signpost updated for August 6th, 2007.

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[edit] Order of St. Benedict

Resolved.

Smackbot flagged the article Order of St. Benedict section on External Links for not having citations!  :) Okay if I remove it? Student7 11:40, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

Hi, thanks for your message, SmackBot does not generally add tags, but merely dates those that are already there. Regards, Rich Farmbrough, 12:11 7 August 2007 (GMT).
My error! Thanks for pointing that out! Student7 12:53, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Most edits by a single editor

Resolved.

Do you realize you hold this record? Just wanted to say that. LOZ: OOT 02:18, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

I'm fairly certain that he knew/knows, given that he generated the list for a long time. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 02:28, 7 August 2007 (UTC)
Yes, thanks I do. I have been interviewed twice Smith Magazine and The Rutland Mercury and The Stamford Mercury, an it has been mentioned in Signpost. Rgds Rich Farmbrough, 05:41 7 August 2007 (GMT).
Speaking of breaking Wikipedian records, I have a few questions which I would like to know: How did you manage to have so many edit counts throughout your life here as a Wikipedian? Are you really suffering from editcountitis? Plus, what would you do and how would you feel when somebody else has overtaken you in succeeding to hold such Wiki-world-record? Presently, you have a hundred sixty-four thousand and thirty edit changes in just a thousand and a hundred ninety-four days so far, when divided it is equivalent to around an average rate of 137.3786 edits per day!!! My goodness! How did you do that? :-O 14:41, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
Well some days I did 138.... The rest of the questions are in the Smith Magazine article. Rich Farmbrough, 22:22 8 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Smackbot printing $2 parameter

Resolved.

ON 11:39, 19 July 2007, SmackBot changed the merge-multiple tag at Wireless_tools_for_Linux from

mergefrommultiple|ifrename|iwconfig|iwlist|iwpriv|iwspy

to

Merge-multiple|$2|date=July 2007

... which seems wrong

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.159.85.56 (talk • contribs)

Well spotted. Fixed, should not happen again. Please let me know if you see any other errors. Rich Farmbrough, 10:31 8 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Air Canada Tags

Resolved.

Thanks for fixing my mistake with the tags I put on the AC page. ;) Greenboxed 00:48, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

No problem. Rich Farmbrough, 10:44 8 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Can SmackBot date uses of Template:Articleissues?

Resolved.

Hey, I use Template:Articleissues a lot when I'm stub-sorting. Sadly, however, it doesn't seem that SmackBot dates these. Would it be hard to change this? Thanks, Iknowyourider (t c) 03:05, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

It dates them when they include something that puts them in a sub category of Category:Wikipedia maintenance categories sorted by month. Rgds, Rich Farmbrough, 10:36 8 August 2007 (GMT).
Oops, so it does. Sorry, didn't see any mention of {{articleissues}} in the bot's documentation. However, it didn't get it exactly right on at least one article: see this diff, where for some reason copyedit was left un-dated. Thanks again! Cheers, Iknowyourider (t c) 14:58, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for that, fixed. Rich Farmbrough, 22:19 8 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] SmackBot and addition of Template:Rescue

Resolved.

Rich, I was surprised to see this edit of Square foot gardening where, among expected actions, SmackBot also unexpectedly added Template:Rescue. I don't notice this as one of Smacky's functions, but if it now is capable of adding this template, I'm curious about the rules that are used to determine when to add. Thanks for the clarification. --User:Ceyockey (talk to me) 01:02, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

No not added, just moved cats and stubs interwikis to end. Rich Farmbrough, 14:15 9 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Re: Degrees F and degrees from...

Resolved.

Hi Rich, From what i've seen, i'll take it your fairly Regex Savvy...?

If so, i've posted the code snippet, with regex's on the bug page - If you can fix/condense/improve the regex's, I'd appreciate it!

Im presuming it just needs a general case where if its only space, and other none letter characters it wants to change it!

Thanks

Reedy Boy 16:34, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

Done - See Page. If you can improve further, let me know :) Reedy Boy 20:08, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
([º°]( |)|(°|º)( |))\s* can be replaced with
([º°])\s* as far as I can see. Of course you need to renumber the relpacement variables.
Rich Farmbrough, 07:51 11 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Eureka Video

Resolved.

Hi, I would just like to make sure you are aware that all information on the Eureka Video page is both accurate and relevant- hence shouldn’t be deleted. The page is a stub- hence it shouldn’t be deleted. Thanks. Edito*Magica 23:16, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

Hi, thanks for your message, SmackBot does not generally add tags, but merely dates those that are already there. Regards,Rich Farmbrough, 06:44 11 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] List of chapters and verses

Hi there! I came across the "List of chapters and verses in the Bible" pages and would be willing to help! Let me know if that sounds OK. Thanks! jj137 2:47, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

Hi, my vision was that there would be a link for each verse which would redirect if appropriate to the chapter, passage or book. The various bible projects, however, have gone with a different scheme for references, which goes to an external site to provide the text from an appropriate version of the bible. In my view this is limiting, although useful, because the tapestry of links between passages and from text to commentary is broken. The lists themselves, are really of more use in user or project space as a tool to check which verses have article/redirects in place. Also worth knowing is that there seems to be a prejudice against the current ordering of the bible in books, chapters and verses, in favour of subject matter and pericopes (stories/passages). Clearly chapters and verses were added later by systemitisers, nonetheless chapter and verse is how people refer to the Bible. In summary thanks for the offer, I am not currently doing anything with these lists, although I may one day. You are of course welcome to use them for your own purposes. Rich Farmbrough, 10:19 13 August 2007 (GMT).
OK, that sounds fine. jj137 14:12, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Good Job

Resolved.

Well I just wanted to congradulate you on contributing so much to Wikipedia! :-)

Thanks for the congratualtions! Rich Farmbrough, 10:06 13 August 2007 (GMT).

Thanks for the message, and the tip! :D (Wikirocks2 10:36, 13 August 2007 (UTC))

[edit] Notification of proposal: Guideline/policy governing lists

Resolved.

Dear editor:

Given your extensive experience here on Wikipedia, I would greatly appreciate your input on the following topic:

Wikipedia: Village pump (policy)#Proposal to make a policy or guideline for lists

Thank you in advance for any thoughts you may have on the topic.

Regards,

Sidatio 15:24, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

FYI, this conversation has moved to User:Sidatio/Conversations/On list guidelines. I look forward to your continued input in order to reach a consensus on the issue! Sidatio 00:42, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] AfD nomination of Psalm 69

Resolved.

An article that you have been involved in editing, Psalm 69, has been listed for deletion. If you are interested in the deletion discussion, please participate by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Psalm 69. Thank you. -- Jreferee (Talk) 19:40, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Signpost updated for August 13th, 2007.

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[edit] Spelling of sulfur and related words

Hi Rich,

I noticed your edit to aluminium. You changed the spelling of sulfate and sulfide to sulphate and sulphide, respectively. I don't know why you did this, I'm sure you had a good reason. As set down in Wikipedia:Naming conventions (chemistry)#Element names, the word sulfur and its relatives must always be spelled with an F in chemistry contexts.

As such, I've changed your ph's to f's. I thought I would let you know why I undid some of your work, and also inform you of best practice for future editing.

Cheers

Ben 13:08, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Hi Ben, purely because the lead comment says that UK spelling is used in the article. Thanks for changing those back, I will fix the comment. Rich Farmbrough, 13:50 15 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Smackbot issue

Hi, I wasn't sure to stop the bot, so I'm just leaving a message to give you a headsup. Smackbot just posted a template on the Flowering tea article. Said template has a minor factual issue -- it states that it has been tagged since May 2007, when in fact the templates just when up today (making it August 2007). While this seems minor, it could have effects in AfDs where length of templates are sometimes used for reasons to Delete. Can you check this out to see if Flowering tea was the only article targeted, or is more widespread? Much thanks! Zidel333 13:41, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the note. That tag was added by User:TerriersFan on 4 May and dated by SB that day. Additional tags were added by you on the 14th ang dated by SB today. See history. Regards, Rich Farmbrough, 13:54 15 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Special Barnstar

The Special Barnstar
I award you this barnstar in recognition of your endless amounts of useful work, which include the creation of many articles and a really useful and fantastic Bot. You've been so valuable to Wikipedia, and long may your excellent work continue. :-) Lradrama 11:52, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
Thanks, Lradrama, that's It's nice to be appreciated. Rich Farmbrough, 11:55 17 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] You're welcome and...

...and thank you for all the good and varied work you put in the Wikipedia! --Goochelaar 14:01, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] More date conversions

You might also be interested in this BOTREQ. Andy Mabbett | Talk to Andy Mabbett 18:15, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Templates "current" and "current only"

I'd like to have a friendly conversation on the topic to understand your perspective, since I guess we're on opposite ends of the spectrum of the worthiness of these templates. My view is somewhere along the line that one tenth of all Wikipedia articles could use updating, that the fact there are sources for the articles to cite means that the topic is in the news and in some way current--and that it's pointless to make a template that states the obvious. I believe a template like {{current only}} is yet another invitation for massive mis-use, especially since there's no guide for its proper use. I admit I can't see the point in having the template for an article named "Current events in X." More bluntly, why should the template survive a discussion about its potential deletion? More generally...

  • Since no one is maintaining or monitoring the use of the various current templates, who's going to wade through the thousands of articles that will have the "current only" tags? Couldn't the same consequence be accomplished by mere use of a category?
  • I have not yet examied the various sports-related "current" and "future" template uses. But I bet the uses of the templates are cavalierly haphazard, and not much help. In that area, what's the point of having a template for the current year of a sports team's season. Shouldn't any intelligent be able to tell if the article is current and subject to change?
  • I would propose that Wikipedia is not a newspaper and never will be, and should not be concerned with the currency or how changeable an article may be, unless it is an article about a genuine crisis that literally thirty or fifty or a hundred contribute to in one day.

I'm looking for a good counter-argument to my views.
Best regards, Yellowdesk 05:00, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

A few points in no specific order:
  • The purpose of the distinction is that articles which are about current events in general need to belong to a different category than articles which are about an event that happens to be current.
  • There is already a WP:NOT policy covering news. Having said that I am not a great fan of WP:NOT, which could do with a total re-think and re-write IMHO.
  • In particular a significant amount of work is done to take articles out of the dated sub categories of Cat:Current_events when they are no longer current, removing the warning template (and, one hopes, to ensure they are brought to a reasonable standard, or at least tagged appropriately).
  • The template {{current only}} has limited application, and I have just modified {{current events}} to cover much of it. Once I have completed clean-up of the parent category, I will delete it if it is no longer needed.
Regards, Rich Farmbrough, 07:48 16 August 2007 (GMT).
  • Further to your notes on {{current}} you may wish to go through some of the dated categories and see which articles can have the tag removed. Rich Farmbrough, 09:31 16 August 2007 (GMT).
  • I'd be interested on some of the thoughts you have on WP:NOT. As to recent "news," it seems to be fairly silent; mostly guiding against original research.
  • The key problem is that WP:NOT does drive away valid content. The statement "we have wikiXXX" for that in particular is annoying, because WP is stand alone, and there is no guarantee that transwiki'd information will be accepted by sister projects, let a lone kept. Further I would like to see a solution for providing glosses for terms that does not take one off to Wiktionary. For this reason I am in favour, as the simplest solution, of allowing "dicdefs" - even when they have no chance of growing.
  • WP:NOT#Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information point 5.Rich Farmbrough, 15:35 16 August 2007 (GMT).
  • Category:Current_events_as_of_April_2007 shows some of the challenge of removing the last "current" items in a dated category. Lawsuits have a current template, and these could go on for years. I think something should be changed there, but I don't have a proposal. The other items seem to fit more closely to what I guess is your intent for "current only," but I'm not sure. The April 2007 category had about 500+ articles in it a couple of weeks ago, since it was (thanks to you and your bot) the first month all of the templates were dated. Quite a bit of junk was in there.
-- Yellowdesk 13:49, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
I think it's worth changing the dates to now if they are still current. I also wanted to mention the fewer templates (and redirects) the better frm my point of view, because my rule-base has to deal with all of them. Rich Farmbrough, 15:35 16 August 2007 (GMT).
  • Do you have an impression if the dozen or so redirects to "current" would actually be approved for deletion, in the Redirects for disscussion area? I don't have enough exerience to know how template redirects are handled, and how the discussion would likely go. I'd like to see most of them go, as I view them all as 'use me too" invitations. -- Yellowdesk 00:20, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
I would think most would go. Personally I am happy with one short redirect (eg cu->cleanup) for speed of tagging - these get renamed by my bot anyway, if not dated. Rich Farmbrough, 00:27 17 August 2007 (GMT).
Just another note, {{Current}} could take a
parameter which could be a word like "election" rendering nost of the variants obsolete as well. Rich Farmbrough, 09:26 17 August 2007 (GMT).
  • I'm rather unenthusiastic about encouraging use of descriptions "lawsuit" and "election" for {{current}}, as these take months and years to conclude, and fail to fall into the "many editors working on the article today" criterion (which I admit to thinking is the only manageable use for the template) . Consequently, they invite more use of the "this is a newspaper" templates. I would like to generate consensus that these uses are not really useful or helpful. I do see some use to {{future election}}, as there's a definitive end date, but I think it is needless too. The article should make clear that things are changing. For lawssuits and also criminal trials, nothing happens for months and years, wih occasional news, and then there's a decision, and then perhaps an appeal, and nothing happens for months, and then there's another decision. Your thoughts? -- Yellowdesk 14:08, 18 August 2007 (UTC)


  • I added an edited guideline for {{current}}. It's an edited version of the proposed draft floated at talk guideline. Perhaps a bit narrow. Comment invited. -- Yellowdesk 14:14, 18 August 2007 (UTC)
I have added the parameter already. The guidelines should indicate when the template is to be used, reflecting the wording in the template, or the wording should be changed to reflect the guidelines. For maintenance purposes, there is no need to have anything visible at all. Incidently I have deleted the April 2007 cat. Rich Farmbrough, 15:10 18 August 2007 (GMT).
And May and June. Rich Farmbrough, 22:27 18 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Smackbot -- Incorrect pluralisation of heading

Please prevent the bot from automatically changing 'External link' to 'External links' when there is only one, as it did with Janet Darbyshire. I believe I've mentioned this or a similar problem before. Espresso Addict 22:18, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

"External links" is correct. See WP:EL#External links section. --PEJL 02:45, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] SmackBot odd edit

Check this out http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andrew_Peters&diff=151359585&oldid=151099047 I'm not sure what was supposed to happen, but I'm guess this is a problem with your bot. just wanted to let you know. --T-rex 03:12, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

This is very odd, and reproducible. It will need looking into. Rich Farmbrough, 08:36 18 August 2007 (GMT).
The text was there next to a category. Rich Farmbrough, 08:39 18 August 2007 (GMT).

Here's another one: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ruby_%28programming_language%29&curid=25768&diff=152531807&oldid=152527715 See line 119, it shouldn't have added the extra ] and [. drbrain —The preceding signed but undated comment was added at 04:53, August 21, 2007 (UTC).

[edit] U2 WikiProject

You have been invited to join WikiProject U2, a WikiProject dedicated to improving the U2-related articles on Wikipedia. You received this invitation due to your interest in U2 and/or your many edits to U2 articles. If you would like to join, please visit the project page, and add your name to the list of project members.

Thank you, Joelster

Thanks for asking me. Rich Farmbrough, 19:44 19 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Defaultsort

Hi there. I recently saw SmackBot making loads of DEFAULTSORT edits. Well over 5,000. Good stuff! I saw you were only doing this with people stubs, and doing that on a regular basis will be wonderful. I wondered if you were aware of Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval/Polbot 3, which is a similar, if more ambitious bot request (it is not human-supervised AWB, unlike yours). Would you have any advice there, or at User talk:Carcharoth/Polbot3 trial run? I tried to get this going, but the momentum has died down a bit. What do you think of the aim of getting DEFAULTSORT on all the articles with WPBiography on their talk page, and what do you think of the problems that sometimes come up with names in other languages. See the archived discussion here and the guidance here? Any advice or help would be much appreciated. Carcharoth 19:20, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Oops. Missed a typo. Was wondering if you'd had a chance to look at this yet? Carcharoth 18:55, 19 August 2007 (UTC)
Yes this looks good, not sure what I can do to help. The problems are, I think, well known. Rich Farmbrough, 19:52 19 August 2007 (GMT). —The preceding signed but undated comment was added at 19:52:39, August 19, 2007 (UTC).
Thanks. Carcharoth 19:56, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] TfD nomination of Template:Mercurial

Template:Mercurial has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for Deletion page. Thank you. — Yellowdesk 21:05, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Plus also nominated:

  • {{Mercurial-section}}
  • {{Frequently updated}}
Yellowdesk 01:48, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Chain Barnstar of Recognition

Image:Bstar 500+.jpg The Chain Barnstar of Recognition
For making a difference! This Barnstar isn't free, this is a chain barnstar, as payment please give this star to at least 3-5 others with 500+ edits but no barnstar. So that everyone who deserves one will get one. Hpfan9374 01:07, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Chain Barnstar of Merit

Image:Mer2.jpg The Chain Barnstar of Merit
For your hard work! This Barnstar isn't free, this is a chain barnstar, as payment please give this star to at least 4 others with 1500+ edits but no barnstar or has few barnstars. So that everyone who deserves one will get one. Hpfan9374 01:07, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Chain Barnstar of Diligence

Image:Bstardil1.jpg The Chain Barnstar of Diligence
For shaping Wikipedia! This Barnstar isn't free, this is a chain barnstar, as payment please give this star to at least 3 others with 2500+ edits but no barnstar or has few barnstars. So that everyone who deserves one will get one. Hpfan9374 01:07, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Wikipedian's Chain Barnstar of Honour

Image:Wbstarhonour.jpg The Wikipedian's Chain Barnstar of Honour
For building Wikipedia! This Barnstar isn't free, this is a chain barnstar, as payment please give this star to at least 2 others with 5000+ edits but no barnstar or has few barnstars. So that everyone who deserves one will get one. Hpfan9374 01:07, 19 August 2007 (UTC)
Wow! Never had four-in-one like that before! Thanks. Rich Farmbrough, 08:41 19 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Your recent edits

Hi, there. In case you didn't know, when you add content to talk pages and Wikipedia pages that have open discussion, you should sign your posts by typing four tildes ( ~~~~ ) at the end of your comment. On many keyboards, the tilde is entered by holding the Shift key, and pressing the key with the tilde pictured. You may also click on the signature button Image:Wikisigbutton.png located above the edit window. This will automatically insert a signature with your name and the time you posted the comment. This information is useful because other editors will be able to tell who said what, and when. Thank you! --SineBot 08:47, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Standardising template parameters.

FYI:

Regards, Andy Mabbett | Talk to Andy Mabbett 09:44, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] You got it wrong

Look what you actually reverted, the IP was removing earlier vandalism. – Chacor 15:32, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Yep, sorry bout that. Rich Farmbrough, 15:34 19 August 2007 (GMT). —The preceding signed but undated comment was added at 15:34:25, August 19, 2007 (UTC).

[edit] User:Seadog365

...appears to be adding a bunch of random changes to articles. [3] I suspect vandaism, because he's changing names and dates for no apparent reason. But for all I know they could be legit. Have fun weeding those out. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? 12:37, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

The rest of the edits seem sound. (Even the Mr Blobby one.) I assume this is a Monday/Thursday thing. Rich Farmbrough, 12:59 20 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Hurricane warning template

It conceivably has a use for the storm's article, since there's storm info there that may be out of date, but it's useless on the Cayman Islands article, so I removed it from there (and from Jamaica, and from Grand Cayman...) – Chacor 15:20, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] SmackBot Default Sort fixes

It seems that while Smackbot is making an edit like this it could alphabetize the categories as well. Have you ever thought of programming smackbot to check for alphabetization and maybe do some sort of bubble sort on the categories.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/tcfkaWCDbwincowtchatlotpsoplrttaDCLaM) 22:35, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes, that used to be a "general fix" of WP:AWB, but caused a lot of kerfuffle, where the order of the categories had been manually sorted. Rich Farmbrough, 10:22 21 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] #1

I noticed you are #1 @ Wikipedia:List of Wikipedians by number of edits and have been for some time. Keep up the good work.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/tcfkaWCDbwincowtchatlotpsoplrttaDCLaM) 22:39, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks Tony, I guess it's been about a year. Most of my WP effort now goes into User:SmackBot Rich Farmbrough, 10:33 21 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] A gift.

Enjoy! --Dweller 15:23, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. Rich Farmbrough, 20:07 21 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Smackbot?

Hi, why did your bot remove the stub templates from Happyslip? (see here) It's referenced and everything but there are many paragraphs to add. cheers -- Outspan [talk · contribs] 20:57, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

I've put an {{expand}} in. It is not really a stub any more. Rich Farmbrough, 21:01 21 August 2007 (GMT).
Oh, I see. I'm a noob here, just joined a few days ago, but eager to learn :) -- Outspan [talk · contribs] 21:52, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Signpost updated for August 20th, 2007.

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[edit] Unnithan and Valiathan

Dear sir , i am new to wikipedia,,,Does wikipedia go by the available refrences, or by what somebody personaly thinks of it.. i've tried to compile a text about Unnithan,, but as manu thinks that nagam aiya is wrong in his travancore manual about unnithans,,& wants to express his opinions or personal research.. i think this is not fair.. as it'll be difficult then to create any page with refrences from whats written in history... .. If the wiki will be all about what we personally think & not what is taken from references then there is no point for us to go through refrences & compile texts..so please if possible check the page & then we should be coming to a consensus.. then i want to compile a text for valiathan & thampi also... user :Indianitihas

Unnithan and Valiathan Yes they do...these references are accessible at the Public Library of Trivandrum city as also with the Kerala Council for Historical Research..i personally possess one of them (the travancore state manual)..Manu

I will immeditely add the page refernce from the Travancore Manual but since i dont have the Census Report it might take time. Likewise the Kiriyathil Nair article. The topic is based on certain legends and so at every possible place i have mentioned in the article "legend has it" or "collection of legends" etc making it pretty clear that the thing cant be taken to be true history. Does it still qualify to be "deleted in 3 days" because it has no historical sources except legends? i have mentioned the books that repeat the legends as well Manu
The anonymous user is creating further trouble..Eg- Unnithan which is a proper noun is constantly being written as unnithan etc...but thats only the less important part of it. He seems to feel my references are false even now. What do i do? help!!! Manu
Page 368 for what? Ive added the page numbers for Kiriyathil Nair (215 volume I) and Malayala Kshatriyas..Yusuf Khan? First time im hearing of it...neways the guy asks me to quote the pages about Malayala Kshatriyas...now thats 319-326 volume II...how can he expect me to type out the whole thing...ive even told him i can tell him how to procure the book...And just so u dont get confused, there are two Travancore Manuals, the former of three volumes by Nagam Aiya and the later of Velu Pillai with 4 volumes..I personally own the Nagam Aiya books and the History of Travancore is on its way by post...btw i have a serious suspicion abt this guy...he seems to know exactly how to edit wiki and the perfect wiki terms etc...looks like an editor whose not using his id..Manu
Yup there are....as i said Nagam Aiya and Velu Pillai...Nagam Aiyas is from 1906 while Velu Pillai around the 1940s...the census reports are from 1901...Manu
This guy is causing trouble...ive mentioned the page number clearly for Kiriyathil Nair and Malayala Kshatriyas and yet he adds tags that state they are original research, povs and need to be deleted urgently...isnt there a way we can protect these articles from this anonymous user?? Can u please do something abt him...im getting pretty fed up reverting all the time..Manu
In reply to the message above by Indianitihas. He is reverting the article to a very old and wrong version with many discrepancies. He has stated that i think the author of one of the references mentioned was wrong. I am right on that account and have even explained to him as to why the error occured and why the entire manual was rewritten in 1940 with correct info, which is the 2nd ref of the Unnithan article. This is not original research but the prologue of the 2nd set of Manuals in 1940 mention that the main reason for the manuals to be re written was because the previous manuals contained a few errors such as these. Manu
please archive Rich Farmbrough, 11:36 24 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Barnstar

The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
Have a barnstar for being Wikipedia's most prolific contributer - Pheonix15 17:51, 18 August 2007 (UTC)
Thanks Pheonix. Rich Farmbrough, 13:36 23 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Random Smiley Award

Feel free to place this award on your user page, as a token of appreciation for your contributions. If you're willing to help spread the good cheer to others, please see the project page for the Random Smiley Award at: User:Pedia-I/SmileyAward

For your contributions to Wikipedia and humanity in general, you are hereby granted the coveted Random Smiley Award
originated by Pedia-I
(Explanation and Disclaimer)

Luksuh 03:51, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Protected page editing

I didn't think editors were supposed to be editing protected pages: [4]. Dreadstar † 09:28, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

"Admins should not edit pages that are protected due to a content dispute, unless there is consensus for the change, or the change is unrelated to the dispute." Admittedly I should in theory mention the edit on the talk page, but it would really be a waste of everybody's time in this case. Rich Farmbrough, 13:35 23 August 2007 (GMT).
Cool! I wasn't sure how that works. Appreciate the info! Dreadstar † 16:44, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] User page in Category:Formula One infoboxes

Hi Rich. Just wondering if you would be able to remove User:Rich Farmbrough/F1 race report infobox from Category:Formula One infoboxes? Thanks. DH85868993 03:01, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

Fixed. Rich Farmbrough, 11:40 24 August 2007 (GMT).

[edit] Wikify dates

I appreciate your work to fix dates. But, is it possible, when you change dates in tables like this, you use just 3 letters for months. That's important because those kind of tables sometimes are in the width limit, so if goes a bit wither, could make a one line row become two lines. Also, a long date takes the focus from other more important information. Because all that, I'm trying to keep a 3-letter month standard for those kind of articles. Thanks.--ClaudioMB 04:00, 24 August 2007 (UTC)