User talk:Sam/Archive 11

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WikiProject Films December 2007 Newsletter

The December 2007 issue of the Films WikiProject newsletter has been published. You may read the newsletter, change the format in which future issues will be delivered to you, or unsubscribe from this notification by following the link. Thank you.
This has been an automated delivery by BrownBot (talk) 22:01, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

Opinion

Can you please look at this and give a quick opinion? Lara❤Love 06:33, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

LGBT WikiProject Newsletter

Delivered sometime in January 2008 (UTC). SatyrBot (talk) 23:52, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Featured list of the day nomination

FYI, I have nominated List of longest suspension bridge spans as a featured list of the day for March. See User:TonyTheTiger/List of the Day/Nominees/200803. --Orlady (talk) 03:19, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Films January 2008 Newsletter

The January 2008 issue of the Films WikiProject newsletter has been published. You may read the newsletter, change the format in which future issues will be delivered to you, or unsubscribe from this notification by following the link. If you have any suggestions for improvement or desire other topics to be covered, please leave a message on the talk page of one of the editors.Thank you. Nehrams2020 (talk) 02:26, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Yichang bridges

I took an educated guess on which bridge it was when I moved that page. So I could be wrong because the Chinese media tend to be vague on names of lesser known objects. For official names, unless there are photos showing the names, I would not trust the names found on Internet. Here is a quick translation of the table that had the 5 bridges I mentioned. --Voidvector (talk) 10:55, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Name Literal Translation Purpose Province City/County Start of Construction Completion Main Span (meters) Type
宜昌长江大桥 Yichang Changjiang Bridge Road bridge Hubei Yichang Dec-97 Sep-01 960 Suspension bridge
宜昌长江铁路大桥 Yichang Changjiang Railroad Bridge Railroad bridge Hubei Yichang Feb-04 Under construction 810 Beam bridge
葛洲坝三江大桥 Gezhouba Dam Three River Bridge Road bridge Hubei Yichang   1981   Beam bridge
夷陵长江大桥 Yiling Changjiang Bridge Road bridge Hubei Yichang Nov-98 Dec-01 348 Cable-stayed bridge
西陵长江大桥 Xiling Changjiang Bridge Road bridge Hubei Yichang Dec-93 Aug-96 900 Suspension bridge

Featured sounds

I noticed that you have participated Wikipedia:Featured sound candidates in the past. There are now two candidates and the project appears to be abandoned. If you could look at the candidates and vote it would be appreciated. Zginder (talk) (Contrib) 18:16, 7 February 2008 (UTC)


Hi, I'm not sure where else to put this, so please go ahead and delete it right away, but thanks a lot for your very polite and helpful moderating! I appreciate it very much! Shadowshark (talk) 09:01, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Sorry for the intrusion but could you look at this article? A series of anon IPs (same person based on comments) has added an unusual addition under popular culture with no attribution other than his/her viewpoint/OR. Of a more serious nature, the editor has also made inappropriate comments on the article's discussion page and my talk page. Thanks for your assistance. FWIW, I may be asking a number of admins for their review of the article. Bzuk (talk) 19:10, 21 February 2008 (UTC).

Copyedit from my talk page: "I'm not sure I fully understand your concerns. If the comment was totally untrue - there were no doodles, you are correct to remove it as nonsense. If you are not sure, and perhaps it was the inspiration for ongoing use of 666 in films, you should not have removed it, but marked it as uncited and added a comment to the talk page. If it turns out to be a correct claim, you've pissed someone off -- not that their subsequent behavior was justified. -- ☑ SamuelWantman 21:09, 21 February 2008 (UTC)"
Sam, I'm going to post you the actual photo. thumb|screenshot This is the contentious frame that the editor has claimed is a satanic image with "666". If you believe that – first of all, it is upside down doodles that look more like "999" and what about the "333" symbol in the hair? FWIW, I didn't think the "666" claim warranted anything other than a removal as it was nonsensical. However, the wholly inappropriate comments left on the talk pages was my real concern. Bzuk (talk) 22:19, 21 February 2008 (UTC).
Thanks Sam, let's hope it is "case closed." FWIW, your assistance in resolving this issue is appreciated. Bzuk (talk) 06:46, 26 February 2008 (UTC).

WP:LOTD

Congratulations. List of largest suspension bridges was the leading votegetter at WP:LOTD and will be list of the month as well as be featured as list of the day twice. Let me know if you have any date preferences.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 02:22, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

The 21st was requested by another list and since you got the 4th I am going to give you the 22nd. Is this O.K.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 00:28, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Films February 2008 Newsletter

The February 2008 issue of the Films WikiProject newsletter has been published. You may read the newsletter, change the format in which future issues will be delivered to you, or unsubscribe from this notification by following the link. Thank you.
This has been an automated delivery by BrownBot (talk) 18:53, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

LGBT WikiProject Newsletter

Delivered by SatyrBot around 17:14, 3 March 2008 (UTC) SatyrBot (talk) 17:56, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Films coordinator elections

The WikiProject Films coordinator selection process is starting. We are aiming to elect five coordinators to serve for the next six months; if you are interested in running, please sign up here by March 28! Girolamo Savonarola (talk) 09:19, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Semi-protection

Hi Sam, I see you are interested in semi-protection. I'm looking at the issue from the point-of-view of an anonymous user and I was wondering if you have any figures concerning the percentage of total articles SPd, and more importantly the percentage of the most viewed (say the top 5%) of articles that are SPd? From my experience it seems that indefinite and long-term, often repeated SP, is a creeping disease that will soon mean virtually all the most popular articles are unavialable to edit for anons. This flies in the face of Jimbo's statement that "you can edit this article, right now" - paraphrased. What are your thoughts? Thanks, 82.20.24.97 (talk) 16:54, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't have any figures. What are my thoughts? I'm leaning toward requiring user account for ANY edits. It is real easy, you don't give up any personal information, and the level of abuse goes way down. Short of that, I think the current practice of SPing popular targets is alright. After 4 years here, I tend to distrust signatures that are IP numbers. I've had very few positive interactions with anons. Frankly, I don't understand the attraction of not creating an account but becoming an active participand. SP doesn't fly in the face of Jimmy's statement, you can edit any article, you just have to sign up. I understand the value of making it very easy to get people participating. SP seems like a reasonable compromise. -- ☑ SamuelWantman 08:24, 16 March 2008 (UTC)
Yes, there's no reason why people shouldn't sign up. I have an account, I'm an established editor with tens of thousands of edits to my name, but I haven't used the account for many months. But I'd be careful about a general distrust of IP editors. In my experience most of them are what might be called "impulse editors"; they see something that needs changing - a minor edit - and just do it immediately. Maybe they've no real interest in being a full member of the community. My problem with Jimbo's words are the "right now" element of them. This, as I pointed out, is rapidly becoming difficult for popular articles. If it remains the intention that "right now" should prevail, then there's far too much permanent SP. I have found very many articles that have been SPd for the flimsiest of reasons, or no reason at all. On the other hand, if it's no longer the intention that "right now" should prevail, then Jimbo and the community should say so, and stop IP editing all together. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. 82.20.24.97 (talk) 13:46, 16 March 2008 (UTC)
Why haven't you used your account for many months? Why are you having this conversation with me anonymously instead of logging in? I have to wonder these things when I see those numbers as a signature. The biggest question I have is about anons who are clearly experienced with policy and practice, and have IPs that change their IP address frequently. In these cases (and I include you), I can't help but wonder why you don't want me to see your complete editing history? I am going to assume good faith, and try to treat you with respect and fairly. But that doesn't stop me from being skeptical all the while. If I can't see your complete editing history then I have to consider the possibility that you might be a vandal, a troll and/or a sockpuppet. -- ☑ SamuelWantman 17:34, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Films March 2008 Newsletter

The March 2008 issue of the Films WikiProject newsletter has been published. You may read the newsletter, change the format in which future issues will be delivered to you, or unsubscribe from this notification by following the link. Thank you.
This has been an automated delivery by BrownBot (talk) 01:39, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Moon/Drum Bridge

Regardless of the technically correct terminology, the common English usage is moon bridge, and so I think it appropriate that the English WP title be such. In my opinion a minor note and a redirect from 'drum bridge to moon bridge would be more appropriate in this case than the other way around. I will also consult with my (non WP) China native resident friend concerning chinese useage. Also, it would seem possible that drum bridge may refer to the wooden type illustrated but perhaps not to the stone type shown. - Leonard G. (talk) 23:32, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

More on category intersections

Have you seen User_talk:BrownHairedGirl#Category_intersects_Real_Soon_Now_maybe? One thing shocked me there. It seems you can intersect categories using the search funtion. For example, like this. Never knew that. Carcharoth (talk) 22:47, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Sam - Thanks for letting me know about this. Any idea how long this has been there? It doesn't quite do what we want (well, at least not what I want), but it's pretty close. -- Rick Block (talk) 13:21, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

More on category intersections

Have you seen User_talk:BrownHairedGirl#Category_intersects_Real_Soon_Now_maybe? One thing shocked me there. It seems you can intersect categories using the search funtion. For example, like this. Never knew that. Carcharoth (talk) 22:47, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Sam - Thanks for letting me know about this. Any idea how long this has been there? It doesn't quite do what we want (well, at least not what I want), but it's pretty close. -- Rick Block (talk) 13:21, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Films April 2008 Newsletter

The April 2008 issue of the Films WikiProject newsletter has been published. You may read the newsletter, change the format in which future issues will be delivered to you, or unsubscribe from this notification by following the link. Thank you.
This has been an automated delivery by BrownBot (talk) 01:28, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Help requested with closing a discussion

I'm stopping by with a big request for help. There has been a discussion and !vote going on over the last 5 days at WT:Good articles#Good article signs about the possibility of adding a sign like the FA star at the top right of good articles as some other Wikipedias now do. This is a subject that has been raised many times in the past and has often generated heated debate.

By contrast, I believe, the latest discussion has been quite measured, but it is unclear whether any consensus is being established. I think it would be enormously helpful if an uninvolved admin with a lot of experience at evaluating consensus were to look at the discussion and close it in once it has run its course. However, finding such an admin is rather difficult, as most have been actively involved with GA, FA or both. You came to my mind because we overlapped at a controversial CfD over a year ago, and I was extraordinarily impressed by the way you closed it.

Would you be willing to help? And if not, do you have any suggestions whom I could ask? Geometry guy 20:10, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for thinking of me and the kind words. I'd be willing to look at it, but since it will involve quite some time and effort to read through it all and analyze the discussion, I'm wondering if you can answer some questions I have:
  1. Has the issue been widely publicized on pages like Village Pump, Request for Comments, etc...
  2. Has the volume of discussion settled down? Are issues still getting brought up and discussed or are people just waiting for something to happen and repeating things that have been already said?
  3. Is there already an expectation that an admin will come along and close the discussion?
Answers to these will help me decide if I want to jump in. I do think I would be impartial about this, I have had no involvement at all with Good Articles. -- ☑ SamuelWantman 20:23, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
(Copying over and indenting for convenience.) Yes, I recognise that it will take a lot of time and effort to do it well, and I know you'd do it well!
  1. The issue has been publicised at the Community Portal (24th), the Village Pump (26th), and Request for Comments (26th). It's been publicized in a few other minor places, but I'm not aware of any other broad posts.
  2. I'm not sure that the volume has settled down, but the number of new !votes has slowed significantly and people are repeating things that have been said, and responding to brief supports/opposes with arguments that have already been discussed elsewhere. There have also been some side threads trying to think outside the box (e.g. the idea of a six month trial). My impression is that the main points have been made, but that it might be wise to give it a little longer before closing.
  3. Yes, there's a short thread before the !vote where I suggested the idea, mentioning you as a possibility; another editor replied that the closing admin should be uninvolved with GA or FA to avoid bias. There have been no further additions to this thread, and I have received positive indications that a closing admin would be a good idea, and no negative indications.
I'm very grateful that you are thinking about doing this. Geometry guy 20:49, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
Just noticed your post at WT:GA. Many thanks Sam (and sorry for the typo!). Geometry guy 22:38, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
I just want to voice my opinions a bit. The issue has also been notified at various GA pages (such as WP:GAN, WP:GAR, etc.) The votes are still going on because not everyone logs on everyday. Most opposes were raised because the GA system is not perfect, not because the symbol doesn't look nice. And some cited problems in GA which are also found in FA. OhanaUnitedTalk page 01:16, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
Just to note. I was the admin who set up the voting procedure, made the RfC, promoted the process at Villape Pump (policy) and (proposals), and a number of project pages. Other editors and admins have notified the community portal, and numerous other pages. I'm certain that any editor who cares about this issue will have stumbled upon a notice somewhere. The two week mark will be 07 May. Sam, I hope you do accept 'closing' duties! Cheers! Wassupwestcoast (talk) 19:36, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
I have reverted your closing, because the proposal should be closed at least after May 7. OhanaUnitedTalk page 07:48, 4 May 2008 (UTC)
It has been mentioned in at least 2 different sections that it is supposed to be closed after May 7. If the discussion seems to be stalled, then might as well close it early. It's best to announce the change of the closing date because someone's (and not just one individual, but maybe more) probably sitting on the fence waiting for more discussions to pop up before casting their vote. OhanaUnitedTalk page 18:19, 4 May 2008 (UTC)
Well, if you think now is the time to close. By all means, go ahead. It does seem to stall now. OhanaUnitedTalk page 05:19, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Thank you Sam, for doing such an excellent and thorough job. I'm sure your objective assessment will be of value to everyone involved in the discussion, no matter how they !voted and for what reason. Geometry guy 10:25, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Change in categories link

Not sure if you're still checking on Wikipedia talk:Special:Categories, so I'm dropping you a note here... I just had an idea on a possible better solution for the Categories link. How about sending it to the Categories section of Special:Allpages? It's easier to navigate than Special:Categories since there's at least a rudimentary search, and as such I think it's an easier way to find more obscure categories than Portal:Categories/Categorical index. -- SonicAD (talk) 04:17, 3 May 2008 (UTC)