User talk:Crazynas
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The Signpost: 1 January 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimedia Foundation ousts, bans quarter of Arabic Wikipedia admins
Plus admin update and cool tools for the new year.
- In the media: Odd bedfellows, Elon and Jimbo, reliable sources for divorces, and more
Sometimes you need to read more than just the headlines!
- Interview: ComplexRational's RfA debrief
Interview of ComplexRational about their recent request for adminship.
- Technology report: Wikimedia Foundation's Abstract Wikipedia project "at substantial risk of failure"
Wikifunctions might drag it down.
- Essay: Mobile editing
Frustrations and successes.
- Arbitration report: Arbitration Committee Election 2022
Congratulations.
- Recent research: Graham's Hierarchy of Disagreement in talk page disputes
And other new research findings.
- Serendipity: Wikipedia about FIFA World Cup 2022: quick, factual and critical
How Iranian press agencies help Wikipedia to reflect football in a better way.
- Featured content: Would you like to swing on a star?
You head into the featured content report. Amongst the features you see astronauts, both Gilbert and Sullivan, Ursula K. Le Guin's incredibly talented mother, and Billboard charts. It is pitch black, you are likely to be eaten by a grue.
- Traffic report: Football, football, football! Wikipedia Football Club!
It is mostly about football!
- CommonsComix: #4: The Course of WikiEmpire
In which a couple sentences of text recontextualises an image.
- From the archives: Five, ten, and fifteen years ago
Photographers, Sandy Hook, the shocking use of Nazi symbols in articles about Nazis, and "You wouldn't recognise a fact if it bit you in the ass".
Administrators' newsletter – January 2023
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (December 2022).
Administrator changes
Interface administrator changes
CheckUser changes
Oversighter changes
Guideline and policy news
- Speedy deletion criterion A5 (transwikied articles) has been repealed following an unopposed proposal.
Arbitration
- Following the 2022 Arbitration Committee elections, the following editors have been appointed to the Arbitration Committee: Barkeep49, CaptainEek, GeneralNotability, Guerillero, L235, Moneytrees, Primefac, SilkTork.
- The 2021-22 Discretionary Sanctions Review has concluded with many changes to the discretionary sanctions procedure including a change of the name to "contentious topics". The changes are being implemented over the coming month.
- The arbitration case Stephen has been closed.
Miscellaneous
- Voting for the Sound Logo has closed and the winner is expected to be announced February to April 2023.
- Tech tip: You can view information about IP addresses in a centralised location using bullseye which won the Newcomer award in the recent Coolest Tool Awards.
The Signpost: 16 January 2023
[edit]- From the team: We heard zoomers liked fortnights: the biweekly Signpost rides again
It's not just a phase! Well, maybe it is.
- Special report: Coverage of 2022 bans reveals editors serving long sentences in Saudi Arabia since 2020
Long-time contributors imprisoned for 32 and 8 years after "swaying public opinion" and "violating public morals".
- News and notes: Revised Code of Conduct Enforcement Guidelines up for vote, WMF counsel departs, generative models under discussion
UCoC draws nearer, alongside the rise of the machines, in mainspace this time.
- In the media: Court orders user data in libel case, Saudi Wikipedia in the crosshairs, Larry Sanger at it again
Wikipedia's birthday, a cute dog, and nipplefruit.
- Technology report: View it! A new tool for image discovery
The depths of Commons, at your fingertips. Or eyetips.
- In focus: Busting into Grand Central
Debunking widely-told myths about New York's grandest and centralest railway station.
- Serendipity: How I bought part of Wikipedia – for less than $100
The economics of Wikipedia.
- Gallery: What is our responsibility when it comes to images?
When notability conflicts with what it might be used for.
- Humour: New geologically speedy deletion criteria introduced
7,000,000-year Landmasses for Subduction discussions considered "too long".
- Opinion: Good old days, in which fifth-symbol-lacking lipograms roam'd our librarious litany
Allow us to bring you back, back, back, to days of Wikifun rampant.
- Featured content: Flip your lid
...and your ambigram. Also: Boring lava fields, birds of Tuvalu, and commelinid family names with etymologies.
- Traffic report: The most viewed articles of 2022
War, sports, and all types of chaos.
- From the archives: Five, ten, and fifteen years ago
The editor with five million edits, the death of Aaron Swartz, and rollback.
Administrators' newsletter – February 2023
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (January 2023).
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Guideline and policy news
- Following an RfC, the administrator policy now requires that prior written consent be gained from the Arbitration Committee to mark a block as only appealable to the committee.
- Following a community discussion, consensus has been found to impose the extended-confirmed restriction over the topic areas of Armenia and Azerbaijan and Kurds and Kurdistan.
Technical news
- The Vector 2022 skin has become the default for desktop users of the English Wikipedia.
Arbitration
- The arbitration case Armenia-Azerbaijan 3 has been opened and the proposed decision is expected 24 February 2023.
- In December, the contentious topics procedure was adopted which replaces the former discretionary sanctions system. The contentious topics procedure is now in effect following an initial implementation period. There is a detailed summary of the changes and administrator instructions for the new procedure. The arbitration clerk team are taking suggestions, concerns, and unresolved questions about this new system at their noticeboard.
Miscellaneous
- Voting in the 2023 Steward elections will begin on 05 February 2023, 21:00 (UTC) and end on 26 February 2023, 21:00 (UTC). The confirmation process of current stewards is being held in parallel. You can automatically check your eligibility to vote.
- Voting in the 2023 Community Wishlist Survey will begin on 10 February 2023 and end on 24 February 2023. You can submit, discuss and revise proposals until 6 February 2023.
- Tech tip: Syntax highlighting is available in both the 2011 and 2017 Wikitext editors. It can help make editing paragraphs with many references or complicated templates easier.
The Signpost: 4 February 2023
[edit]- From the editor: New for the Signpost: Author pages, tag pages, and a decent article search function
Last issue's vow for "something to show for these efforts" revisited.
- News and notes: Foundation update on fundraising, new page patrol, Tides, and Wikipedia blocked in Pakistan
As well as the continued rise of the machines, and Amanda Keton's WMF departure.
- Section 230: Twenty-six words that created the internet, and the future of an encyclopedia
Section 230 before the Supreme Court in two cases, with broad implications for the web.
- Disinformation report: Wikipedia on Santos
Or Santos on Wikipedia?
- Special report: Legal status of Wikimedia projects "unclear" under potential European legislation
WMF issues salvo in latest battles of the Posting Wars
- In the media: Furor over new Wikipedia skin, followup on Saudi bans, and legislative debate
The good, the bad, and the ugly.
- Op-Ed: Estonian businessman and political donor brings lawsuit against head of national Wikimedia chapter
Isamaa party sponsor Parvel Pruunsild files claim in Tartu County Court against WMEE head Ivo Kruusamägi and Reform Party politicians.
- Opinion: Study examines cultural leanings of Wikimedia projects' visual art coverage
English Wikipedia among most "global" and Thai Wikipedia's among most "Western", but non-Western works neglected overall.
- Recent research: Wikipedia's "moderate yet systematic" liberal citation bias
And other new research publications.
- WikiProject report: WikiProject Organized Labour
An interview with those who pitch in together
- Tips and tricks: XTools: Data analytics for your list of created articles
Letting you find out about yourself (and others).
- Featured content: 20,000 Featureds under the Sea
An exceptionally good period for featured articles.
- Traffic report: Films, deaths and ChatGPT
Can we have a chat?
The Signpost: 20 February 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Terms of Use update, Steward elections, and Wikipedia back in Pakistan
UCoC Enforcement Guidelines pass, Wikimedia Enterprise financials, GPTs gone wild, and a speedy deletion criterion removed.
- In the media: Arbitrators open case after article alleges Wikipedia "intentionally distorts" Holocaust coverage
Also: Russ Baker's BLP, the digital commons, the NSA, and more on Pakistan.
- Disinformation report: The "largest con in corporate history"?
Gautam Adani and his companies possibly behind scheme featuring scores of socks, infiltration of articles for creation process.
- Essay: Machine-written articles: a new challenge for Wikipedia
GPT: friend or foe?
- Tips and tricks: All about writing at DYK
Your one-stop hooker's handbook.
- Featured content: Eden, lost.
But much else to be found.
- Gallery: Love is in the air
Lovey-dovey stuff for Valentine's.
- Traffic report: Superbowl? Pfft. Give me some Bollywood! Yours sincerely, the world
And maybe a side of AI.
- From the archives: 5, 10, and 15 years ago: Let's (not) delete the Main Page!
Also: let's delete images of Muhammed! Let's delete portals!
- Cobwebs: Editorial: The loss of the moral high ground
Yesterday's controversies, reported on today.
- Humour: The RfA Candidate's Song
A musical interlude.
Administrators' newsletter – March 2023
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (February 2023).
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Guideline and policy news
- Following a request for comment, F10 (useless non-media files) has been deprecated.
- Following a request for comment, the Portal CSD criteria (P1 (portal subject to CSD as an article) and P2 (underpopulated portal)) have been deprecated.
- A request for comment is open to discuss making the closing instructions for the requested moves process a guideline.
Technical news
- The results of the 2023 Community Wishlist Survey have been posted.
Arbitration
- Remedy 11 ("Request for Comment") of the Conduct in deletion-related editing case has been rescinded.
- The proposed decision for the Armenia-Azerbaijan 3 case is expected 7 March 2023.
- A case related to the Holocaust in Poland is expected to be opened soon.
Miscellaneous
- The 2023 appointees for the Ombuds commission are AGK, Ameisenigel, Bennylin, Daniuu, Emufarmers, Faendalimas, JJMC89, MdsShakil, Minorax and Renvoy as regular members and Zabe as advisory members.
- Following the 2023 Steward Elections, the following editors have been appointed as stewards: Mykola7, Superpes15, and Xaosflux.
- The Terms of Use update cycle has started, which includes a
[p]roposal for better addressing undisclosed paid editing
. Feedback is being accepted until 24 April 2023.
The Signpost: 9 March 2023
[edit]- News and notes: What's going on with the Wikimedia Endowment?
A lack of transparency.
- Technology report: Second flight of the Soviet space bears: Testing ChatGPT's accuracy
Using failed AI Galactica's worst mistakes to test a new AI.
- In the media: What should Wikipedia do? Publish Russian propaganda? Be less woke? Cover the Holocaust in Poland differently?
Probable answers: No, no, maybe?
- Featured content: In which over two-thirds of the featured articles section needs to be copied over to WikiProject Military History's newsletter
Seriously, even the chef has a major military history connection.
- Recent research: "Wikipedia's Intentional Distortion of the Holocaust" in Poland and "self-focus bias" in coverage of global events
And other new research publications.
- From the archives: Five, ten, and fifteen years ago
Wikizine, Wikipedia Zero, Single User Login, and Wales allegedly editing his girlfriend's article.
The Signpost: 20 March 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimania submissions deadline looms, Russian government after our lucky charms, AI woes nix CNET from RS slate
Be part of the Wikimania 2023 program!
- Eyewitness: Three more stories from Ukrainian Wikimedians
One year in: volunteering, science, art, and candlelight.
- In the media: Paid editing, plagiarism payouts, proponents of a ploy, and people peeved at perceived preferences
Everything is broken, again.
- Featured content: Way too many featured articles
Seriously, it's only a fortnight's worth!
- Interview: 228/2/1: the inside scoop on Aoidh's RfA
An interview with Wikipedia's newest admin.
- Traffic report: Who died? Who won? Who lost?
All the pop culture that's fit to print, with a sprinkling of cocaine (bear).
The Signpost: 03 April 2023
[edit]- From the editor: Some long-overdue retractions
Errata regretted.
- News and notes: Sounding out, a universal code of conduct, and dealing with AI
Skynet believed to be in violation of the new Universal Code of Conduct.
- In the media: Twiddling Wikipedia during an online contest, and other news
Taking the phrase "gaming the system" to the next level.
- Arbitration report: "World War II and the history of Jews in Poland" case is ongoing
Desysop case request still in accept/decline phase.
- Featured content: Hail, poetry! Thou heav'n-born maid
Thou gildest e'en the Signpost's trade.
- Recent research: Language bias: Wikipedia captures at least the "silhouette of the elephant", unlike ChatGPT
And a dataset of article revisions to provide a corpus for promotional content.
- From the archives: April Fools' through the ages
A retrospective of the best and worst pranks.
- Disinformation report: Sus socks support suits, seems systemic
Do important banks sock? Maybe – but don't grab your money and run just yet!
Administrators' newsletter – April 2023
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (March 2023).
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Guideline and policy news
- A community RfC is open to discuss whether reports primarily involving gender-related disputes or controversies should be referred to the Arbitration enforcement noticeboard.
Technical news
- Some older web browsers will not be able to use JavaScript on Wikimedia wikis starting this week. This mainly affects users of Internet Explorer 11. (T178356)
- The rollback of Vector 2022 RfC has found no consensus to rollback to Vector legacy, but has found rough consensus to disable "limited width" mode by default.
- A link to the user's Special:CentralAuth page will now appear in the subtitle links shown on Special:Contributions. This was voted #17 in the Community Wishlist Survey 2023.
Arbitration
- The Armenia-Azerbaijan 3 case has been closed.
- A case about World War II and the history of Jews in Poland has been opened, with the first evidence phase closing 6 April 2023.
The Signpost: 26 April 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Staff departures at Wikimedia Foundation, Jimbo hands in the bits, and graphs' zeppelin burns
Plus: Wikipedians get own Mastodon account, and Wikiprojects move to uniform quality assessment.
- In the media: Contested truth claims in Wikipedia
Covering Russia, Poland, the Vatican, the U.S., and the "perilously thin" boundary between real life and Wikipedia.
- Obituary: Remembering David "DGG" Goodman
The prolific editor, former Arbitration Committee member and co-founder of Wikimedia New York City died in April.
- Arbitration report: Holocaust in Poland, Jimbo in the hot seat, and a desysopping
No news is good news, and this isn't no news.
- Opinion: What Jimbo's question revealed about scamming
The problem we haven't solved.
- Op-Ed: Wikipedia as an anchor of truth
Can Wikipedia help keep AI agents honest?
- Special report: Signpost statistics between years 2005 and 2022
In this article, we will look at The Signpost statistics. More precisely: Signpost article statistics by year, TOP 20 titles of Signpost articles, TOP 20 article authors, and the home wikis of article authors.
- News from the WMF: Collective planning with the Wikimedia Foundation
First of a two part series summarising the priorities for the Wikimedia Foundation's next fiscal year (July 2022–June 2023) including staffing, budget and other changes, and how to provide your feedback.
- Featured content: In which we described the featured articles in rhyme again
And somehow made it more readable than when it's not rhyming.
- From the archives: April Fools' through the ages, part two
2011 and on.
- Humour: The law of hats
The Selfish Hatnote, the Disambiguation Singularity, and other information-theoretic conundra of encyclopedic note.
- Traffic report: Long live machine, the future supreme
Wrestling bumps world-changing technology from the #1 spot, imagine that.
Administrators' newsletter – May 2023
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (April 2023).
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Guideline and policy news
- A request for comment about removing administrative privileges in specified situations is open for feedback.
Technical news
- Progress has started on the Page Triage improvement project. This is to address the concerns raised by the community in their 2022 WMF letter that requested improvements be made to the tool.
Arbitration
- The proposed decision in the World War II and the history of Jews in Poland case is expected 11 May 2023.
Miscellaneous
- The Wikimedia Foundation annual plan 2023-2024 draft is open for comment and input through May 19. The final plan will be published in July 2023.
The Signpost: 8 May 2023
[edit]- News and notes: New legal "deVLOPments" in the EU
... and at WP:Mastodon.
- In the media: Vivek's smelly socks, online safety, and politics
Fake fines, false alarms and faux headlines!
- Recent research: Gender, race and notability in deletion discussions
And other new research publications.
- Featured content: I wrote a poem for each article, I found rhymes for all the lists; My first featured picture of this year now finally exists!
...Layout lovers will hate this featured content's title.
- Arbitration report: "World War II and the history of Jews in Poland" approaches conclusion
There will likely be more to say next issue.
- News from the WMF: Planning together with the Wikimedia Foundation
The second article in a series describing the priorities and work of the Wikimedia Foundation. The article invites Wikimedians to collaborate with the Foundation.
- Special report: There Shall Be Seasons Refreshing – Stories from WikiConference India 2023
First national-level conference in the Indian subcontinent in seven years.
The Signpost: 22 May 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Golden parachutes: Record severance payments at Wikimedia Foundation
... and a referendum on Jimmy Wales' traditional role as a final court of appeal in arbitration policy.
- In the media: History, propaganda and censorship
Opposing scholars on ArbCom case.
- Arbitration report: Final decision in "World War II and the history of Jews in Poland"
Includes stronger sourcing restriction, and a nod to the UCoC.
- Recent research: Create or curate, cooperate or compete? Game theory for Wikipedia editors
And other new research results.
- Featured content: A very musical week for featured articles
Bird is the word for featured pictures.
- Traffic report: Coronation, chatbot, celebs
Celebs and Bollywood film dominated reader interest, as usual, but with a new persistent presence on the lists of a certain AI.
- WikiProject report: Wikipedians Convene for Queering Wikipedia 2023: The First International LGBT+ Wikipedia Conference
An online conference with 12 distributed trans-local in-person meetup "Nodes" on 5 continents.
The Signpost: 5 June 2023
[edit]- News and notes: WMRU director forks new 'pedia, birds flap in top '22 piccy, WMF weighs in on Indian gov's map axe plea
Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee Building Committee Commences Command By Convening.
- In the media: Section 230 stands tall, WP vs. UK bill, Miss Information dissed again
Also: Goog gets delist ask for en-wp yt-dl ar-ticle, wacky football fails.
- Featured content: Poetry under pressure
Now is not this ridiculous, and is not this preposterous? A thorough-paced absurdity - explain it if you can.
- Traffic report: Celebs, controversies and a chatbot in the public eye
Plus mortalities, and movies about mermaids.
Administrators' newsletter – June 2023
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (May 2023).
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Guideline and policy news
- Following an RfC, editors indefinitely site-banned by community consensus will now have all rights, including sysop, removed.
- As a part of the Wikimedia Foundation's IP Masking project, a new policy has been created that governs the access to temporary account IP addresses. An associated FAQ has been created and individual communities can increase the requirements to view temporary account IP addresses.
Technical news
- Bot operators and tool maintainers should schedule time in the coming months to test and update their tools for the effects of IP masking. IP masking will not be deployed to any content wiki until at least October 2023 and is unlikely to be deployed to the English Wikipedia until some time in 2024.
Arbitration
- The arbitration case World War II and the history of Jews in Poland has been closed. The topic area of Polish history during World War II (1933-1945) and the history of Jews in Poland is subject to a "reliable source consensus-required" contentious topic restriction.
Miscellaneous
- Following a community referendum, the arbitration policy has been modified to remove the ability for users to appeal remedies to Jimbo Wales.
The Signpost: 19 June 2023
[edit]- News and notes: WMF Terms of Use now in force, new Creative Commons licensing
Problems with emergency emails sent to WMF.
- In the media: English WP editor glocked after BLP row on Italian 'pedia
... and an AI writer explains why he just bought a paper encyc.
- Featured content: Content, featured
Poetry still present.
- Recent research: Hoaxers prefer currently-popular topics
And other new research findings.
Administrators' newsletter – July 2023
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (June 2023).
Administrator changes
Bureaucrat changes
Guideline and policy news
- Contributions to the English Wikipedia are now released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) license instead of CC BY-SA 3.0. Contributions are still also released under the GFDL license.
Technical news
- Discussion is open regarding a proposed global policy regarding third-party resources. Third-party resources are computer resources that reside outside of Wikimedia production websites.
Arbitration
- Two arbitration cases are currently open. Proposed decisions are expected 5 July 2023 for the Scottywong case and 9 July 2023 for the AlisonW case.
The Signpost: 3 July 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Online Safety Bill: Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia UK launch open letter
... and a new Elections Committee.
- Disinformation report: Imploded submersible outfit foiled trying to sing own praises on Wikipedia
A few editors who fought many times to keep advertisements out.
- In the media: Journo proposes mass Wiki dox, sponsored articles on Fandom, Section 230 discussed
Are you now, or have you ever been, a Wikipedia editor?
- Featured content: Incensed
In which featured pictures have a pleasing orange/blue colour scheme for some reason.
- Traffic report: Are you afraid of spiders? Arnold? The Idol? ChatGPT?
Don't worry, they are mostly harmless.
- Humour: United Nations dispatches peacekeeping force to Wikipedia policy discussions
Mission to ensure stability in conflict-ridden area.
The Signpost: 17 July 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Big bux hidden beneath wine-dark sea as we wait for the Tides to go out?
Gitz666 unglocked, Wikimania scholarships given and a new admin anointed.
- In the media: Tentacles of Emirates plot attempt to ensnare Wikipedia
Ruwiki on the Ruinternet, Rauwerda on TEDx, and Jimbo on Fridman.
- Obituary: David Thomsen (Dthomsen8) and Ingo Koll (Kipala)
Philadelphians and Tanzanians say goodbye.
- News from the WMF: ABC for Fundraising: Advancing Banner Collaboration for fundraising campaigns
The collaboration process for the 2023 English fundraising campaign is kicking off now, right from the start of the fiscal year.
- In focus: Are the children of celebrities over-represented in French cinema?
Wikidata queries investigate nepo babies.
- Tips and tricks: What automation can do for you (and your WikiProject)
A summary of various tools designed over the years.
- Recent research: Wikipedia-grounded chatbot "outperforms all baselines" on factual accuracy
And various other research on large language models and Wikipedia.
- Humour: New fringe theories to be introduced
Bold move intended to "get some variety" into Wikipedia arguments.
- Cobwebs: If you're reading this, you're probably on a desktop
The annual report that tries to understand the Signpost through data, written in 2020, which never saw the light of day until now.
- Featured content: Scrollin', scrollin', scrollin', keep those readers scrollin', got to keep on scrollin', Rawhide!
In which choices have been made™.
- Traffic report: The Idol becomes the Master
Sex, drugs and violence, English, math and science.
The Signpost: 1 August 2023
[edit]- News and notes: City officials attempt to doxx Wikipedians, Ruwiki founder banned, WMF launches Mastodon server
And French gov't proposes legislation to slam Wikipedia, others.
- In the media: Truth, AI, bull from politicians, and climate change
Or just another brouhaha?
- Disinformation report: Hot climate, hot hit, hot money, hot news hot off the presses!
Hot damn, it's damned hot!
- Obituary: Donald Cram, Peter McCawley, and Eagleash
Three editors have departed.
- Tips and tricks: Citation tools for dummies!
You don't really want to do this stuff by yourself, do you?
- Humour: Does Wikipedia present neutral perspectives?
A serious visual investigation.
- In focus: Journals cited by Wikipedia
A compilation of over 3M citations.
- Opinion: Are global bans the last step?
Possible solutions after being re-harassed.
- Featured content: Featured Content, 1 to 15 July
Due to unfortunate events, this issue is published as is, in its unfinished state.
- Traffic report: Come on Oppie, let's go party
Oppenheimer, Barbie, and a couple other scandals.
Administrators' newsletter – August 2023
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (July 2023).
Administrator changes
Interface administrator changes
Technical news
- The tag filter on Special:NewPages and revision history pages can now be inverted. This allows hiding edits made by automated tools. (T334338)
- Special:BlockedExternalDomains is a new tool that allows easier blocking of plain domains (and their subdomains). This is more easily searchable and is faster for the software to use than the existing MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist. It does not support regex (for complex cases), URL path-matching, or the MediaWiki:Spam-whitelist. (T337431)
Arbitration
- The arbitration cases named Scottywong and AlisonW closed 10 July and 16 July respectively.
- The SmallCat dispute arbitration case is in the workshop phase.
The Signpost: 15 August 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Dude, Where's My Donations? Wikimedia Foundation announces another million in grants for non-Wikimedia-related projects
Jimbo promises more transparency, Wikimania in Singapore, move away from Tides still planned, and Wikifunctions rolls out.
- In the media: An accusation of bias from Brazil, a lawsuit from Portugal, plagiarism from Florida
Harsh words from problematic fave Glenn Greenwald.
- In focus: 2023 Good Article Nomination drive is underway: get your barnstars here!
Rigorous Review of Content for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Wikipedia.
- Special report: Thirteen years later, why are most administrators still from 2005?
Damn kids need to get off our lawn and onto RfA.
- Tips and tricks: How to find images for your articles, check their copyright, upload them, and restore them
Because one gets some secondary skills when one has 645 featured pictures.
- Cobwebs: Getting serious about writing
The innards of the Signpost received a major overhaul in March/April 2019. Here's how we reduced behind-the-scenes busywork and improved writers resources.
- Opinion: Copyright trolls, or the last beautiful free souls on this planet?
For whom does the Creative Commons enforcement clause toll?
- Serendipity: Why I stopped taking photographs almost altogether
An announcement of 335,000 new images on Wikimedia Commons.
- Featured content: Barbenheimer confirmed
Some improvement on last week.
- Humour: Arbitration Committee to accept case against Right Honorable Frimbley Cantingham, 15th Viscount Bellington-upon-Porkshire
Case request cited misuse of tools by administrator who last used tools in 1661.
- Traffic report: 'Cause today it just goes with the fashion
Barbenheimer, Pee-Wee Herman and the Women's World Cup.
The Signpost: 31 August 2023
[edit]- From the editor: Beta version of signpost.news now online
News for the editoriat. Stuff that matters.
- News and notes: You like RecentChanges?
Wikipedia really comes into its own, editorially and artistically.
- In the media: Taking it sleazy
"Poli", which means "many", and "tics", which means "under-the-table Wikipedia article whitewashing campaigns".
- Recent research: The five barriers that impede "stitching" collaboration between Commons and Wikipedia
And other recent research publications.
- Draftspace: Bad Jokes and Other Draftspace Novelties
The good, the bad, and the nonsense.
- Humour: The Dehumourification Plan
A message from the Counter-Fun Unit.
- Traffic report: Raise your drinking glass, here's to yesterday
I just poured HOT GRITS down my pants ohh yeah
Administrators' newsletter – September 2023
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (August 2023).
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Guideline and policy news
- Following an RfC, TFAs will be automatically semi-protected the day before it is on the main page and through the day after.
- A discussion at WP:VPP about revision deletion and oversight for dead names found that
[s]ysops can choose to use revdel if, in their view, it's the right tool for this situation, and they need not default to oversight. But oversight could well be right where there's a particularly high risk to the person. Use your judgment
.
Technical news
- Special:Contributions now shows the user's local edit count and the account's creation date. (T324166)
Arbitration
- The SmallCat dispute case has closed. As part of the final decision, editors participating in XfD have been reminded to be careful about forming
local consensus which may or may not reflect the broader community consensus
. Regular closers of XfD forums were also encouraged tonote when broader community discussion, or changes to policies and guidelines, would be helpful
.
Miscellaneous
- Tech tip: The "Browse history interactively" banner shown at the top of Special:Diff can be used to easily look through a history, assemble composite diffs, or find out what archive something wound up in.
The Signpost: 16 September 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimedia power sharing – just an advisory role for the volunteer community?
Plus: Africa news, funding report, U4C draft, roads fork and another ChatGPT block.
- In the media: "Just flirting", going Dutch and Shapps for the defence?
Plus a new judge, an "unimportant" record, and staying in the swim!
- Obituary: Nosebagbear
A Wikipedian and a friend.
- Serendipity: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no paywall, for thou, Wikipedia Library, art with me
Non-flammable, BPA-free, and really whips the llama's ass.
- Featured content: Catching up
Covering all of August. Pretty much.
- Concept: Strange portal opened by CERN researchers brings Wikipedia articles from "other worlds"
The Signpost brings you the latest from the source.
- Traffic report: Some of it's magic, some of it's tragic
Sports, film and singers. We've got it all!
The Signpost: 3 October 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimedia Endowment financial statement published
Finances during Tides Foundation management of the endowment are shown for the first time.
- In the media: History is written by whoever can harness the most editors
Plus Harvard, Yale, Lords and Commons, partners and trolls!
- Recent research: Readers prefer ChatGPT over Wikipedia; concerns about limiting "anyone can edit" principle "may be overstated"
And other new research publications
- Featured content: By your logic,
The first issue to feature two poetry article
- Concept: Wikipedia policies from other worlds: WP:NOANTLERS
Material must be written with the greatest care and attention; the level of detail and commentary regarding the antlers of living persons is to be kept to a minimum.
- Poetry: "The Sight"
Tamzin reflects on the hunt.
- Traffic report: There shall be no slaves in the land of lands, it's a Bollywood jam
Taylor Swift with an NFL tight end and Lauren Boebert with a Democrat?
The Signpost: 23 October 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Where have all the administrators gone?
Long time passing
- In the media: Thirst traps, the fastest loading sites on the web, and the original collaborative writing
Also: High fives, Wikipedia as a guide for counterfeiters and crossword makers, and Iskander at the UN.
- Gallery: Before and After: Why you don't need to know how to restore images to make massive improvements
The benefits of research.
- Featured content: Yo, ho! Blow the man down!
These titles never make much sense even at the best of times, so why not be random?
- Traffic report: The calm and the storm
They are still fighting.
- News from Diff: Sawtpedia: Giving a Voice to Wikipedia Using QR Codes
Sounds good!
- Humour: New citation template introduced for divine revelations, drug use, and really thinking about it
"Cite altered state" to join the distinguished ranks of CS1 templates
The Signpost: 6 November 2023
[edit]- Arbitration report: Admin bewilderingly unmasks self as sockpuppet of other admin who was extremely banned in 2015
"Is this an ArbCom case request or an M. Night Shyamalan movie?"
- In the media: UK shadow chancellor accused of ripping off WP articles for book, Wikipedians accused of being dicks by a rich man
Plus Gaza bias, Speaker Johnson, Maher, the music of websites, and antisemitism.
- News and notes: Board candidacy process posted, editors protest WMF privacy measure, sweet meetups
And three new admins!
- Opinion: An open letter to Elon Musk
You should learn some of our rules!
- WikiCup report: The WikiCup 2023
The winner is...
- News from Wiki Ed: Equity lists on Wikipedia
Do you ever wonder where Wikipedia articles come from?
- Recent research: How English Wikipedia drove out fringe editors over two decades
And other new research findings.
- Featured content: Like putting a golf course in a historic site.
Only literally.
- Wikidata: Evaluating qualitative systemic bias in large article sets on Wikipedia
A systematic approach.
- Traffic report: Cricket jumpscare
Plus Kollywood, Killers of the Flower Moon, and ongoing war.
Administrators' newsletter – November 2023
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (October 2023).
Administrator changes
Interface administrator changes
Guideline and policy news
Technical news
- The WMF is working on making it possible for administrators to edit MediaWiki configuration directly. This is similar to previous work on Special:EditGrowthConfig. A technical RfC is running until November 08, where you can provide feedback.
- There is a proposed plan for re-enabling the Graph Extension. Feedback on this proposal is requested.
Arbitration
- Eligible editors are invited to self-nominate themselves from 12 November 2023 until 21 November 2023 to stand in the 2023 Arbitration Committee elections.
- Xaosflux, RoySmith and Cyberpower678 have been appointed to the Electoral Commission for the 2023 Arbitration Committee Elections. BusterD is the reserve commissioner.
- Following a motion, the contentious topic designation of Prem Rawat has been struck. Actions previously taken using this contentious topic designation are still in force.
- Following several motions, multiple topic areas are no longer designated as a contentious topic. These contentious topic designations were from the Editor conduct in e-cigs articles, Liancourt Rocks, Longevity, Medicine, September 11 conspiracy theories, and Shakespeare authorship question cases.
- Following a motion, remedies 3.1 (All related articles under 1RR whenever the dispute over naming is concerned), 6 (Stalemate resolution) and 30 (Administrative supervision) of the Macedonia 2 case have been rescinded.
- Following a motion, remedy 6 (One-revert rule) of the The Troubles case has been amended.
- An arbitration case named Industrial agriculture has been opened. Evidence submissions in this case close 8 November.
Miscellaneous
- The Articles for Creation backlog drive is happening in November 2023, with 700+ drafts pending reviews for in the last 4 months or so. In addition to the AfC participants, all administrators and New Page Patrollers can conduct reviews using the helper script, Yet Another AFC Helper Script, which can be enabled in the Gadgets settings. Sign up here to participate!
The Signpost: 20 November 2023
[edit]- In the media: Propaganda and photos, lunatics and a lunar backup
Comic-con, Media summit, and a classic!
- News and notes: Update on Wikimedia's financial health
Plus: Sockpuppet investigators asking for help.
- Traffic report: If it bleeds, it leads
Or if it's Indian sport or cinema.
- Recent research: Canceling disputes as the real function of ArbCom
And other new research findings.
- Wikimania: Wikimania 2024 scholarships
Scholarship applications for Wikimania 2024 are now open!
ArbCom 2023 Elections voter message
[edit]Hello! Voting in the 2023 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23:59 (UTC) on Monday, 11 December 2023. All eligible users are allowed to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.
The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.
If you wish to participate in the 2023 election, please review the candidates and submit your choices on the voting page. If you no longer wish to receive these messages, you may add {{NoACEMM}} to your user talk page. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:22, 28 November 2023 (UTC)
The Signpost: 4 December 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Beeblebrox ejected from Arbitration Committee following posts on Wikipediocracy
Just as his term was ending!
- In the media: Turmoil on Hebrew Wikipedia, grave dancing, Olga's impact and inspiring Bhutanese nuns
Plus Apple Pay, fiction, registration, expulsion, and elimination!
- Disinformation report: "Wikipedia and the assault on history"
An analysis of a literary mystery.
- In focus: Tens of thousands of freely available sources flagged
Continuing years of efforts to improve free-to-read access.
- Comix: Bold comics for a new age
"I think we ought to read only the kind of comics that wound or stab us. If the comic we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for?" — Franz Kafka
- Essay: I am going to die
And so are you.
- Featured content: Real gangsters move in silence
Quite literally, and other fascinating featured articles, pictures and lists
- Traffic report: And it's hard to watch some cricket, in the cold November Rain
If you don't fancy the sport that occupies over 25% of the slots in these lists, there's always movies, celebrities, and political follies to fall back on – or an unusual fired-for-the-weekend CEO.
- Humour: Mandy Rice-Davies Applies
This page in a nutshell: Whether or not someone has denied unsavory allegations — though such a denial may not merit being given equal weight in an article — a worthless shitpost should still be included.
Administrators' newsletter – December 2023
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (November 2023).
Administrator changes
Guideline and policy news
- Following a talk page discussion, the Administrators' accountability policy has been updated to note that while it is considered best practice for administrators to have notifications (pings) enabled, this is not mandatory. Administrators who do not use notifications are now strongly encouraged to indicate this on their user page.
Arbitration
- Following a motion, the Extended Confirmed Restriction has been amended, removing the allowance for non-extended-confirmed editors to post constructive comments on the "Talk:" namespace. Now, non-extended-confirmed editors may use the "Talk:" namespace solely to make edit requests related to articles within the topic area, provided that their actions are not disruptive.
- The Arbitration Committee has announced a call for Checkusers and Oversighters, stating that it will currently be accepting applications for CheckUser and/or Oversight permissions at any point in the year.
- Eligible users are invited to vote on candidates for the Arbitration Committee until 23:59 December 11, 2023 (UTC). Candidate statements can be seen here.
The Signpost: 24 December 2023
[edit]- Special report: Did the Chinese Communist Party send astroturfers to sabotage a hacktivist's Wikipedia article?
Wikipedia article histories are public records that can be easily examined, so unlike other websites, we can answer this question thoroughly.
- News and notes: The Italian Public Domain wars continue, Wikimedia RU set to dissolve, and a recap of WLM 2023
Not the best of times for Wikipedians across the world, but there are still glimpses of hope...
- In the media: Consider the humble fork
Forky on forky on forky, plus a strange donation scheme and other interesting bits of news.
- Discussion report: Arabic Wikipedia blackout; Wikimedians discuss SpongeBob, copyrights, and AI
Wiki goes dark and adopts Palestine flag logo; intellectual property rumblings from the bowels of the law.
- In focus: Liquidation of Wikimedia RU
Wikimedia Russia closes after founder is declared a "foreign agent".
- Technology report: Dark mode is coming
No more must Wikipedia always be a lightbulb in the dark — except metaphorically of course.
- Recent research: "LLMs Know More, Hallucinate Less" with Wikidata
And other new research publications.
- Gallery: A feast of holidays and carols
Peace on earth, goodwill to all!
- Comix: Lollus lmaois 200C tincture
the dilution makes it stronger.
- Crossword: when the crossword is sus
The Signpost Crossword is a 2018 online multiplayer social deduction game that takes place in space-themed settings where players are colorful, armless cartoon astronauts.
- Traffic report: What's the big deal? I'm an animal!
Bollywood, Hollywood, and both kinds of football to close out December.
- From the editor: A piccy iz worth OVAR 9000!!!11oneone! wordz ^_^
The debugging will continue until performance improves.
- Apocrypha: Local editor discovered 1,380 lost subheadings in ancient Signpost scrolls. And what he found was shocking.
Heartwarming — MUST READ — You Won't BELIEVE #4!!!!!
- Humour: Guess the joke contest
Winner receives a special prize!
- BJAODN: Bad jokes and other deleted nonsense
Edit summary: "Only need this page for about 30 minutes to demonstrate to a friend how easy it is to create a Wikipedia page. Then it will be deleted."
Administrators' newsletter – January 2024
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (December 2023).
Administrator changes
CheckUser changes
Oversighter changes
Arbitration
- Following the 2023 Arbitration Committee elections, the following editors have been appointed to the Arbitration Committee: Aoidh, Cabayi, Firefly, HJ Mitchell, Maxim, Sdrqaz, ToBeFree, Z1720.
- Following a motion, the Arbitration Committee rescinded the restrictions on the page name move discussions for the two Ireland pages that were enacted in June 2009.
- The arbitration case Industrial agriculture has been closed.
Miscellaneous
- The New Pages Patrol backlog drive is happening in January 2024 to reduce the backlog of articles in the new pages feed. Currently, there is a backlog of over 13,000 unreviewed articles awaiting review. Sign up here to participate!
The Signpost: 10 January 2024
[edit]- From the editor: NINETEEN MORE YEARS! NINETEEN MORE YEARS!
The Signpost can now drink beer and chant slogans in Canada. What slogans should we chant for the next nineteen years?
- Special report: Public Domain Day 2024
Mickey & You: What can you do?
- Technology report: Wikipedia: A Multigenerational Pursuit
A techie looks at the big questions.
- News and notes: In other news ... see ya in court!
Let the games begin! The 2024 WikiCup is off to a strong start. With copyright enforcement, AI training and freedom of expression, it's another typical week in the wiki-sphere!
- In focus: The long road of a featured article candidate
The first of two installments, regarding a process of many installments.
- In the media: What is plagiarism? Oklahoma Disneyland? Reaching a human being at Wikipedia?
Watch out for those space ships!
- WikiProject report: WikiProjects Israel and Palestine
What are the editorial processes behind covering some of the most politically polarizing and contentious topics on English Wikipedia?
- Obituary: Anthony Bradbury
Rest in peace.
- Traffic report: The most viewed articles of 2023
Around the world in 365 days (with many stops in India).
- Crossword: everybody gangsta till the style sheets start cascading
The good news is that I've perfected the templates that allow other people to make actually good crosswords.
- Comix: Conflict resolution
Getting down to brass tacks &c.
The Signpost: 31 January 2024
[edit]- News and notes: Wikipedian Osama Khalid celebrated his 30th birthday in jail
Plus WMF child rights impact assessment, Chinese Wikipedia changes admin rules
- Opinion: Until it happens to you
A stream of consciousness about plagiarism on Wikipedia from the perspective of a user who directly witnessed it.
- Disinformation report: How paid editors squeeze you dry
And how you can stop them!
- In the media: Katherine Maher new NPR CEO, go check Wikipedia, race in the race
Another wobble, more Ackman, our usual pathological optimist, and football in dirty pants!
- In focus: The long road of a featured article candidate, part 2
Everything you really wanted to know about writing featured articles.
- Recent research: Croatian takeover was enabled by "lack of bureaucratic openness and rules constraining [admins]"
And other new research publications.
- Comix: We've all got to start somewhere
Writing a good subheading for a one-sentence joke is basically like writing an entire second joke so I'm not going to do it.
- Traffic report: DJ, gonna burn this goddamn house right down
Job changes, death, sex, murder, suicide and a vacation!
Administrators' newsletter – February 2024
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (January 2024).
Administrator changes
Bureaucrat changes
Guideline and policy news
- An RfC about increasing the inactivity requirement for Interface administrators is open for feedback.
Technical news
- Pages that use the JSON contentmodel will now use tabs instead of spaces for auto-indentation. This will significantly reduce the page size. (T326065)
Arbitration
- Following a motion, the Arbitration Committee adopted a new enforcement restriction on January 4, 2024, wherein the Committee may apply the 'Reliable source consensus-required restriction' to specified topic areas.
- Community feedback is requested for a draft to replace the "Information for administrators processing requests" section at WP:AE.
Miscellaneous
- Voting in the 2024 Steward elections will begin on 06 February 2024, 14:00 (UTC) and end on 27 February 2024, 14:00 (UTC). The confirmation process of current stewards is being held in parallel. You can automatically check your eligibility to vote.
- A vote to ratify the charter for the Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee (U4C) is open till 2 February 2024, 23:59:59 (UTC) via Secure Poll. All eligible voters within the Wikimedia community have the opportunity to either support or oppose the adoption of the U4C Charter and share their reasons. The details of the voting process and voter eligibility can be found here.
- Community Tech has made some preliminary decisions about the future of the Community Wishlist Survey. In summary, they aim to develop a new, continuous intake system for community technical requests that improves prioritization, resource allocation, and communication regarding wishes. Read more
- The Unreferenced articles backlog drive is happening in February 2024 to reduce the backlog of articles tagged with {{Unreferenced}}. You can help reduce the backlog by adding citations to these articles. Sign up to participate!
The Signpost: 13 February 2024
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimedia Russia director declared "foreign agent" by Russian gov; EU prepares to pile on the papers
"the exact extent of the obligations" unclear... many such cases!
- Disinformation report: How low can the scammers go?
Lower, trust me!
- Gallery: Before and After: Why you don't need to touch grass to dramatically improve images of flora and fauna
Finding the right bumblebee among all the bumblebees!
- In the media: Speaking in tongues, toeing the line, and dressing the part
The usual odd articles about Wikipedia.
- Serendipity: Is this guy the same as the one who was a Nazi?
The hunt for Bertil Ragnar Anzén.
- Traffic report: Griselda, Nikki, Carl, Jannik and two types of football
Plus films, Grammys and a rumble!
- Crossword: Our crossword to bear
&c.
- Comix: Strongly
That's more than weakly!
Administrators' newsletter – March 2024
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (February 2024).
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Guideline and policy news
- Phase I of the 2024 RfA review is now open for participation. Editors are invited to review, comment on, and propose improvements to the requests for adminship process.
- Following an RfC, the inactivity requirement for the removal of the interface administrator right increased from 6 months to 12 months.
Technical news
- The mobile site history pages now use the same HTML as the desktop history pages. (T353388)
Miscellaneous
- The 2024 appointees for the Ombuds commission are だ＊ぜ, AGK, Ameisenigel, Bennylin, Daniuu, Doǵu, Emufarmers, Faendalimas, MdsShakil, Minorax, Nehaoua, Renvoy and RoySmith as members, with Vermont serving as steward-observer.
- Following the 2024 Steward Elections, the following editors have been appointed as stewards: Ajraddatz, Albertoleoncio, EPIC, JJMC89, Johannnes89, Melos and Yahya.
The Signpost: 2 March 2024
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimedia enters US Supreme court hearings as "the dolphin inadvertently caught in the net"
Plus, the U4C Charter keeps planting seeds, the RfA process is set to become more sustainable, and more news from the Wikimedia ecosystem.
- Recent research: Images on Wikipedia "amplify gender bias"
And other new findings
- In the media: The Scottish Parliament gets involved, a wikirace on live TV, and the Foundation's CTO goes on record
Plus, naughty politicians, Federal judge not a fan, UFOs and beavers.
- Obituary: Vami_IV
Rest in peace.
- Traffic report: Supervalentinefilmbowlday
If you say it loud enough the views will come your way!
- WikiCup report: High-scoring WikiCup first round comes to a close
135 battle it out; 67 advance
The Signpost: 29 March 2024
[edit]- Technology report: Millions of readers still seeing broken pages as "temporary" disabling of graph extension nears its second year
Much effort was spent drafting a movement charter about becoming "essential infrastructure of the ecosystem of free knowledge". How much is spent maintaining it?
- Interview: Interview on Wikimedia Foundation fundraising and finance strategy
Signpost interviews Wikimedia Foundation leadership on fundraising banners
- Special report: 19-page PDF accuses Wikipedia of bias against Israel, suggests editors be forced to reveal their real names, and demands a new feature allowing people to view the history of Wikipedia articles
And does it have anything to do with the unusual decision to let a zero-edit user open an arbitration request?
- Op-Ed: Wikipedia in the age of personality-driven knowledge
Can we compete with social media? Will aoomers forget Wikipedia?
- Recent research: "Newcomer Homepage" feature mostly fails to boost new editors
And several papers look at climate change on Wikipedia
- News and notes: Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee Charter ratified
WLM winners announced, Wikimania 2024, a new Wikimedia movement affiliate, and active enwp admins reach a record low.
- In the media: "For me it’s the autism": AARoad editors on the fork more traveled
Worldwide women turned blue and controversies on Serbian & French Wikipedia.
- Traffic report: He rules over everything, on the land called planet Dune
Let me take you to the movies.
- Humour: Letters from the editors
The only worthwhile grievance is the one that prompts satire.
- Comix: Layout issue
margin: 0 auto !important;
Administrators' newsletter – April 2024
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (March 2024).
Administrator changes
Guideline and policy news
- An RfC is open to convert all current and future community discretionary sanctions to (community designated) contentious topics procedure.
Technical news
- The Toolforge Grid Engine services have been shut down after the final migration process from Grid Engine to Kubernetes. (T313405)
Arbitration
- An arbitration case has been opened to look into "the intersection of managing conflict of interest editing with the harassment (outing) policy".
Miscellaneous
- Editors are invited to sign up for The Core Contest, an initiative running from April 15 to May 31, which aims to improve vital and other core articles on Wikipedia.
The Signpost: 25 April 2024
[edit]- In the media: Censorship and wikiwashing looming over RuWiki, edit wars over San Francisco politics, and another wikirace on live TV
Plus, tribute songs and shout-outs outweighing vandalism and hoaxes, a dispute about the real king of the platform and other bits of news.
- News and notes: A sigh of relief for open access as Italy makes a slight U-turn on their cultural heritage reproduction law
Plus, new updates on the privacy and research ethics whitepaper and the graphs outage situation, and an Iranian former steward is globally banned from Wikimedia projects
- WikiConference report: WikiConference North America 2023 in Toronto recap
Outcomes of the event including newly published videos and photos, the archived conference website and program, and some attendee reflections on its significance.
- WikiProject report: WikiProject Newspapers (Not WP:NOTNEWS)
A WikiProject report on the 📰🌍 globe's finest news source!
- Recent research: New survey of over 100,000 Wikipedia users
And other recent research publications
- Traffic report: O.J., cricket and a three body problem
Plus Godzilla meets Francis Scott Key!
Administrators' newsletter – May 2024
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (April 2024).
Guideline and policy news
- Phase I of the 2024 requests for adminship review has concluded. Several proposals have passed outright and will proceed to implementation, including creating a discussion-only period (3b) and administrator elections (13) on a trial basis. Other successful proposals, such as creating a reminder of civility norms (2), will undergo further refinement in Phase II. Proposals passed on a trial basis will be discussed in Phase II, after their trials conclude. Further details on specific proposals can be found in the full report.
Technical news
- Partial action blocks are now in effect on the English Wikipedia. This means that administrators have the ability to restrict users from certain actions, including uploading files, moving pages and files, creating new pages, and sending thanks. T280531
Arbitration
- The arbitration case Conflict of interest management has been closed.
Miscellaneous
- This may be a good time to reach out to potential nominees to ask if they would consider an RfA.
- A New Pages Patrol backlog drive is happening in May 2024 to reduce the number of unreviewed articles in the new pages feed. Currently, there is a backlog of over 15,000 articles awaiting review. Sign up here to participate!
- Voting for the Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee (U4C) election is open until 9 May 2024. Read the voting page on Meta-Wiki and cast your vote here!
The Signpost: 16 May 2024
[edit]- News and notes: Democracy in action: multiple elections
WMF trustee elections, U4C results, Italian ArbCom, WMF and Endowment annual reports.
- Special report: Will the new RfA reform come to the rescue of administrators?
We don't know yet, but there is some encouraging news, nevertheless.
- Arbitration report: Ruined temples for posterity to ponder over – arbitration from '22 to '24
Some go out with a bang, some with a whimper, few with much of a comprehensible explanation.
- In the media: Deadnames on the French Wikipedia, and a duel between Russian wikis
Plus, the WMF joins the Unicode Consortium, Chris Albon talks about AI tools on Wikipedia, communities address under-representation on the site.
- Op-Ed: Wikidata to split as sheer volume of information overloads infrastructure
More queries are failing, and more frequently, so what is to be done?
- Comix: Generations
It do be like that sometimes.
- Traffic report: Crawl out through the fallout, baby
With cricket and some cute baby reindeer!
Administrators' newsletter – June 2024
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (May 2024).
Administrator changes
Bureaucrat changes
Guideline and policy news
- Phase II of the 2024 RfA review has commenced to improve and refine the proposals passed in Phase I.
Technical news
- The Nuke feature, which enables administrators to mass delete pages, will now correctly delete pages which were moved to another title. T43351
Arbitration
- The arbitration case Venezuelan politics has been closed.
- The Committee is seeking volunteers for various roles, including access to the conflict of interest VRT queue.
Miscellaneous
- WikiProject Reliability's unsourced statements drive is happening in June 2024 to replace {{citation needed}} tags with references! Sign up here to participate!
The Signpost: 8 June 2024
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimedia Foundation publishes its Form 990 for fiscal year 2022-2023
The Form 990, as well as highlights and FAQs, are now available for review.
- Technology report: New Page Patrol receives a much-needed software upgrade
A new model for collaboration between the WMF and the community?
- Deletion report: The lore of Kalloor
Hoaxes and the genesis of information.
- In the media: National cable networks get in on the action arguing about what the first sentence of a Wikipedia article ought to say
First line, sixth paragraph, body text or unified Reich?
- News from the WMF: Progress on the plan — how the Wikimedia Foundation advanced on its Annual Plan goals during the first half of fiscal year 2023-2024
Outlining progress against the four key goals
- Opinion: Public response to the editors of Settler Colonial Studies
A letter.
- Recent research: ChatGPT did not kill Wikipedia, but might have reduced its growth
And various research findings about Wikidata and knowledge graphs.
- Featured content: We didn't start the wiki
No we didn't write it, but we tried to cite it
- Essay: No queerphobia
An essay.
- Special report: RetractionBot is back to life!
... and flagging your articles with big ugly red notices! (This is a good thing.)
- Traffic report: Chimps, Eurovision, and the return of the Baby Reindeer
Movies, deaths, elections (but no cricket).
- Comix: The Wikipediholic Family
Some stuff's only okay in the privacy of the home.
- Humour: Wikipedia rattled by sophisticated cyberattack of schoolboy typing "balls" in infobox
Project in shambles – "it had never occurred to us that this was possible".
- Concept: Palimpsestuous
Hypertext.
The Signpost: 4 July 2024
[edit]- News and notes: WMF board elections and fundraising updates
Three new admins, but overall numbers still shrinking.
- Special report: Wikimedia Movement Charter ratification vote underway, new Council may surpass power of Board
Will we weather the storm?
- In focus: How the Russian Wikipedia keeps it clean despite having just a couple dozen administrators
Unbundling, automation, fighting spirit, and a bot named Reimu Hakurei.
- Discussion report: Wikipedians are hung up on the meaning of Madonna
Debate unsettled after seventeen years.
- In the media: War and information in war and politics
Advocacy organizations, a journalist, mycophobes, conservatives, leftists, photographers, and a disinformation task force imagine themselves in Wikipedia.
- Sister projects: On editing Wikisource
A journey to a sister project.
- Obituary: Hanif Al Husaini, Salazarov, Hyacinth, and PirjanovNurlan
Rest in peace.
- Opinion: Etika: a Pop Culture Champion
An article about Etika's appeal and legacy in pop culture.
- Gallery: Spokane Willy's photos
A virtual visit to the Inland Northwest.
- Op-Ed: Why you should not vote in the 2024 WMF BoT elections
"Simply not good enough".
- Crossword: On a day of independence, beat crosswords into crossploughshares
How well do you know the main page (no peeking)?
- Humour: A joke
...!
- Cobwebs: Counting to a billion — manuscripts don't burn
Special:Diff/1 and related techno-trivia more complicated than you'd think.
- Recent research: Is Wikipedia Politically Biased? Perhaps
And other new publications on systemic bias and other topics.
- Traffic report: Talking about you and me, and the games people play
Elections, movies, sports.
Administrators' newsletter – July 2024
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (June 2024).
Administrator changes
Technical news
- Local administrators can now add new links to the bottom of the site Tools menu without using JavaScript. Documentation is available on MediaWiki. (T6086)
Miscellaneous
- The Community Wishlist is re-opening on 15 July 2024. Read more
The Signpost: 22 July 2024
[edit]- Discussion report: Internet users flock to Wikipedia to debate its image policy over Trump raised-fist photo
Iconic photograph, invalid fair use exemption criterion #3a claimant, or both?
- News and notes: Wikimedia community votes to ratify Movement Charter; Wikimedia Foundation opposes ratification
Establishment of power-sharing agreement between WMF corporation and volunteer user community in limbo.
- News from the WMF: Wikimedia Foundation Board resolution and vote on the proposed Movement Charter
Natalia Tymkiv, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, on the Charter vote results, the resolution, meeting minutes, and proposed next steps.
- Essay: Reflections on editing and obsession
A lost Signpost submission from fifteen years ago brought into the light, as good and true now as it was then.
- In the media: What's on Putin's fork, the court's docket, and in Harrison's book?
Failing forks, smart and well-researched stories, LGBT rights, and oral sex!
- Obituary: JamesR
Rest in peace.
- Crossword: Vaguely bird-shaped crossword
Do you know these Wikipedia quotes?
- Humour: Joe Biden withdraws RfA, Donald Trump selects co-nom
Dems in disarray, GOP in chaos — analysts say news expected, but few can predict how race will shape up from here.
Administrators' newsletter – August 2024
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (July 2024).
Technical news
- Global blocks may now target accounts as well as IP's. Administrators may locally unblock when appropriate.
- Users wishing to permanently leave may now request "vanishing" via Special:GlobalVanishRequest. Processed requests will result in the user being renamed, their recovery email being removed, and their account being globally locked.
Arbitration
- The Arbitration Committee appointed the following administrators to the conflict of interest volunteer response team: Bilby, Extraordinary Writ
The Signpost: 14 August 2024
[edit]- In the media: Portland pol profile paid for from public purse
A STORM over an AI that writes articles. And other notes of interest.
- Recent research: STORM: AI agents role-play as "Wikipedia editors" and "experts" to create Wikipedia-like articles, a more sophisticated effort than previous auto-generation systems
And other findings.
- In focus: Twitter marks the spot
Musk's Twitter acquisition and rebranding have caused long debates on Wikipedia.
- News and notes: Another Wikimania has concluded.
And Movement Charter ratification vote comments have been published
- Special report: Nano or just nothing: Will nano go nuclear?
Possibly paid articles.
- Opinion: HouseBlaster's RfA debriefing
HouseBlaster's reflections on his RfA. In particular, do not ask superlative questions.
- Traffic report: Ball games, movies, elections, but nothing really weird
Just normally weird!
- Humour: I'm proud to be a template
Come in, you whippersnapper, have a cup of tea.
Administrators' newsletter – September 2024
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (August 2024).
Guideline and policy news
- Following an RfC, there is a new criterion for speedy deletion: C4, which
applies to unused maintenance categories, such as empty dated maintenance categories for dates in the past
. - A request for comment is open to discuss whether Notability (species) should be adopted as a subject-specific notability guideline.
Arbitration
- Following a motion, remedies 5.1 and 5.2 of World War II and the history of Jews in Poland (the topic and interaction bans on My very best wishes, respectively) were repealed.
- Remedy 3C of the German war effort case ("Cinderella157 German history topic ban") was suspended for a period of six months.
- The arbitration case Historical Elections is currently open. Proposed decision is expected by 3 September 2024 for this case.
Miscellaneous
- Editors can now enter into good article review circles, an alternative for informal quid pro quo arrangements, to have a GAN reviewed in return for reviewing a different editor's nomination.
- A New Pages Patrol backlog drive is happening in September 2024 to reduce the number of unreviewed articles and redirects in the new pages feed. Currently, there is a backlog of over 13,900 articles and 26,200 redirects awaiting review. Sign up here to participate!
The Signpost: 4 September 2024
[edit]- News and notes: WikiCup enters final round, MCDC wraps up activities, 17-year-old hoax article unmasked
JCW compilation now tracks free DOIs, Wiki Loves Monuments getting started, WMF's status as UN observer stymied by China for fourth time.
- In the media: AI is not playing games anymore. Is Wikipedia ready?
Updates from the Portland pol's case, the war in Gaza, and other Wiki-related reports.
- Recent research: Simulated Wikipedia seen as less credible than ChatGPT and Alexa in experiment
And other new research findings
- News from the WMF: Meet the 12 candidates running in the WMF Board of Trustees election
Who are they, why are they running and what are they bringing to the Board?
- Wikimania: A month after Wikimania 2024
What all happened in Katowice?
- Serendipity: What it's like to be Wikimedian of the Year
Hannah Clover shares her fondest memories of her first Wikimania.
- Traffic report: After the gold rush
The Olympics (yay!) and the American election (oh no).
- Humour: Local man halfway through rude reply no longer able to recall why he hates other editor
"I can't remember whether he is an incompetent moron, or an incorrigible POV warrior, or some other thing, but either way, to hell with him."
The Signpost: 26 September 2024
[edit]- In the media: Courts order Wikipedia to give up names of editors, legal strain anticipated from "online safety laws"
ANI (but probably not the one you're thinking of), bias and bans, crisis and Clover, Engelhorn's euros, and will the zoomers inherit the project?
- Community view: Indian courts order Wikipedia to take down name of crime victim, editors strive towards consensus
In response to a takedown request, Wikipedia editors reached a consensus on how to handle it appropriately.
- Serendipity: A Wikipedian at the 2024 Paralympics
User Hawkeye7 opens up on his experience as a media representative following the Australian team at the latest Summer Paralympics in Paris.
- Opinion: asilvering's RfA debriefing
User asilvering reflects on their recent successful request for adminship.
- News and notes: Are you ready for admin elections?
More changes to RfA on the way in October, final results for the U4C elections revealed, and other news from the Wikimedia world.
- Gallery: Are Luddaites defending the English Wikipedia?
Picture this: medicine, drugs, JFK, Cleopatra, anachronism, and global catastrophe.
- Recent research: Article-writing AI is less "prone to reasoning errors (or hallucinations)" than human Wikipedia editors
And other recent research publications.
- Traffic report: Jump in the line, rock your body in time
Band reunions and Beetlejuice!
Administrators' newsletter – October 2024
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (September 2024).
Administrator changes
CheckUser changes
Guideline and policy news
- Administrator elections are a proposed new process for selecting administrators, offering an alternative to requests for adminship (RfA). The first trial election will take place in October 2024, with candidate sign-up from October 8 to 14, a discussion phase from October 22 to 24, and SecurePoll voting from October 25 to 31. For questions or to help out, please visit the talk page at Wikipedia talk:Administrator elections.
- Following a discussion, the speedy deletion reason "File pages without a corresponding file" has been moved from criterion G8 to F2. This does not change what can be speedily deleted.
- A request for comment is open to discuss whether there is a consensus to have an administrator recall process.
Arbitration
- The arbitration case Historical elections has been closed.
- An arbitration case regarding Backlash to diversity and inclusion has been opened.
- Editors are invited to nominate themselves to serve on the 2024 Arbitration Committee Electoral Commission until 23:59 October 8, 2024 (UTC).
Miscellaneous
- If you are interested in stopping spammers, please put MediaWiki talk:Spam-whitelist and MediaWiki talk:Spam-blacklist on your watchlist, and help out when you can.
The Signpost: 19 October 2024
[edit]- News and notes: One election's end, another election's beginning
Find more about the new Trustees, the first election cycle for admins, and other news from the Wikimedia world.
- Recent research: "As many as 5%" of new English Wikipedia articles "contain significant AI-generated content", says paper
And other searchings and findings.
- In the media: Off to the races! Wikipedia wins!
Perplexing persistence, pay to play, potential president's possible plagiarism, crossword crossover to culture, and a wish come true!
- Contest: A WikiCup for the Global South
Can it be fun to address systemic bias? Eighty participants say yes, it can!
- Traffic report: A scream breaks the still of the night
Help me make it through the night!
- Book review: The Editors
A novel about us, from the point of view of three of us.
- Humour: The Newspaper Editors
Where do I even start?
- Crossword: Spilled Coffee Mug
Pasta, acronyms, and one computer-crashing talk page.
Administrators' newsletter – November 2024
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (October 2024).
Administrator changes
CheckUser changes
Oversighter changes
Guideline and policy news
- Following a discussion, the discussion-only period proposal that went for a trial to refine the requests for adminship (RfA) process has been discontinued.
- Following a request for comment, Administrator recall is adopted as a policy.
Technical news
- Mass deletions done with the Nuke tool now have the 'Nuke' tag. This change will make reviewing and analyzing deletions performed with the tool easier. T366068
Arbitration
- RoySmith, Barkeep49 and Cyberpower678 have been appointed to the Electoral Commission for the 2024 Arbitration Committee Elections. ThadeusOfNazereth and Dr vulpes are reserve commissioners.
- Eligible editors are invited to self-nominate from 3 November 2024 until 12 November 2024 to stand in the 2024 Arbitration Committee elections.
- The Arbitration Committee is seeking volunteers for roles such as clerks, access to the COI queue, checkuser, and oversight.
Miscellaneous
- An unreferenced articles backlog drive is happening in November 2024 to reduce the backlog of articles tagged with {{Unreferenced}}. You can help reduce the backlog by adding citations to these articles. Sign up to participate!
The Signpost: 6 November 2024
[edit]- From the editors: Editing Wikipedia should not be a crime
But not everybody is able to legally read Wikipedia, and not everybody is able to legally edit Wikipedia.
- News and notes: Wikimedia Foundation shares ANI lawsuit updates; first admin elections appoint eleven sysops; first admin recalls opened; temporary accounts coming soon?
Defamation, privacy, censorship, and elections.
- In the media: An old scrimmage, politics and purported libel
Plus human knowledge and Ozzie places!
- Special report: Wikipedia editors face litigation, censorship
Asian News International, the Delhi High Court, and the encyclopedia.
- Gallery: Why you should take more photos and upload them
Your photos are more valuable than you may realize.
- In focus: Questions and answers about the court case
What is going on?
- Traffic report: Twisted tricks or tempting treats?
And Tata too!
- Technology report: Wikimedia tech, the Asian News International case, and the ultra-rare BLACKLOCK
IP address privacy tools, and mysterious archive sites.
- Humour: Man quietly slinks away from talk page argument after realizing his argument dumb, wrong
Many such cases.
The Signpost: 18 November 2024
[edit]- News and notes: Open letter to WMF about court case breaks one thousand signatures, big arb case declined, U4C begins accepting cases
Many cases: many such cases.
- In the media: Summons issued for Wikipedia editors by Indian court, "Gaza genocide" RfC close in news, old admin Gwern now big AI guy, and a "spectrum of reluctance" over Australian place names
Publisher versus intermediary, bias versus verifiability, and probing questions about Gwern's personal finances.
- Recent research: SPINACH: AI help for asking Wikidata "challenging real-world questions"
And other recent publications.
- News from the WMF: Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia Endowment audit reports: FY 2023–2024
An overview of the finances and an explanation of what the numbers mean.
- Traffic report: Well, let us share with you our knowledge, about the electoral college
It's so over.
Administrators' newsletter – December 2024
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (November 2024).
Administrator changes
Interface administrator changes
CheckUser changes
Guideline and policy news
- Following an RFC, the policy on restoration of adminship has been updated. All former administrators may now only regain the tools following a request at the Wikipedia:Bureaucrats' noticeboard within 5 years of their most recent admin action. Previously this applied only to administrators deysopped for inactivity.
- Following a request for comment, a new speedy deletion criterion, T5, has been enacted. This applies to template subpages that are no longer used.
Technical news
- Technical volunteers can now register for the 2025 Wikimedia Hackathon, which will take place in Istanbul, Turkey. Application for travel and accommodation scholarships is open from November 12 to December 10, 2024.
Arbitration
- The arbitration case Yasuke (formerly titled Backlash to diversity and inclusion) has been closed.
- An arbitration case titled Palestine-Israel articles 5 has been opened. Evidence submissions in this case will close on 14 December.
The Signpost: 12 December 2024
[edit]- News and notes: Arbitrator election concludes
New arbs to be seated in January.
- Arbitration report: Palestine-Israel articles 5
Will the fifth try at achieving peace be a mudfight, or something better?
- Disinformation report: Sex, power, and money revisited
Should old acquaintance be forgot?
- Op-ed: On the backrooms
An editor's reflection on social capital and their changing relationship with Wikipedia culture. by Tamzin
- In focus: Are Wikipedia articles representative of Western or world knowledge?
Wikipedia aims to represent the sum of all knowledge. Is there an imbalance between Western countries and the rest of the world.
- In the media: Like the BBC, often useful but not impartial
Ballooning British bias bombast!
- Traffic report: Something Wicked for almost everybody
Fighting and killing – on screen, in politics, and in the ring – competes for attention with Disney.
- Opinion: Worm That Turned's reconfirmation RfA debriefing
The importance of feedback.
The Signpost: 24 December 2024
[edit]- News and notes: Responsibilities and liabilities as a "Very Large Online Platform"
What the VLOP – findings of an outside auditor for "responsibilization" of Wikipedia. Plus, new EU Commissioners for tech policy, WLE 2024 winners, and a few other bits of news from the Wikipedia world.
- Op-ed: Beeblebrox on Wikipediocracy, the Committee, and everything
A personal essay.
- Opinion: Graham87 on being the first-ever administrator recall subject
Explanations for what led to it and what it was like to undergo it.
- In the media: Delhi High Court considers Caravan and Ken for evaluating the ANI vs. WMF case
Plus, the dangers of editing, Morrissey's page gets marred, COVID coverage critique, Kimchi consultation, kids' connectivity curtailed, centenarian Claudia, Christmas cramming, and more.
- From the archives: Where to draw the line in reporting?
Who's news?
- Recent research: "Wikipedia editors are quite prosocial", but those motivated by "social image" may put quantity over quality
And other new research findings.
- Humour: Backlash over Santa Claus' Wikipedia article intensifies
Good faith edits REVERTED and accounts BLOCKED.
- Gallery: A feast of holidays and carols
Peace on earth, goodwill to all!
- Traffic report: Was a long and dark December
Wicked war, martial law, killing, death and an Indian movie with a new chess champ!
Administrators' newsletter – January 2025
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (December 2024).
Administrator changes
CheckUser changes
Guideline and policy news
- Following an RFC, Wikipedia:Notability (species) was adopted as a subject-specific notability guideline.
- A request for comment is open to discuss whether admins should be advised to warn users rather than issue no-warning blocks to those who have posted promotional content outside of article space.
Technical news
- The Nuke feature also now provides links to the userpage of the user whose pages were deleted, and to the pages which were not selected for deletion, after page deletions are queued. This enables easier follow-up admin-actions.
Arbitration
- Following the 2024 Arbitration Committee elections, the following editors have been elected to the Arbitration Committee: CaptainEek, Daniel, Elli, KrakatoaKatie, Liz, Primefac, ScottishFinnishRadish, Theleekycauldron, Worm That Turned.
Miscellaneous
- A New Pages Patrol backlog drive is happening in January 2025 to reduce the number of unreviewed articles and redirects in the new pages feed. Sign up here to participate!
The Signpost: 15 January 2025
[edit]- From the editors: Looking back, looking forward
The 20th anniversary of The Signpost.
- Traffic report: The most viewed articles of 2024
A lot of psephology!
- In the media: Will you be targeted?
HUMINT or humbug?
- Technology report: New Calculator template brings interactivity at last
Hallelujah!
- Essay: Meet the Canadian who holds the longest editing streak on Wikipedia
Johnny Au has edited for 17 years straight without missing a day.
- Opinion: Reflections one score hence
Some thoughts from the original editor-in-chief.
- News and notes: It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me... and I'm feeling free
Public Domain Day 2025, Women in Red hits 20% biography milestone, Spanish Wikipedia reaches two million articles, and other news from the Wikimedia world.
- Serendipity: What we've left behind, and where we want to go next
The Signpost staff on achievements of '24 and hopes for '25.
- Op-ed: Elon Musk and the right on Wikipedia
The latest crusade?
- In focus: Twenty years of The Signpost: What did it take?
Our alumni speak!
- Arbitration report: Analyzing commonalities of some contentious topics
Applying the scientific method to a model of conflict that leads to arbitration.
- Humour: How to make friends on Wikipedia
This post fact-checked by real Wikipedian patriots.
Administrators' newsletter – February 2025
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (January 2025).
Administrator changes
CheckUser changes
Oversighter changes
Technical news
- Administrators can now nuke pages created by a user or IP address from the last 90 days, up from the initial 30 days. T380846
- A '
Recreated' tag will now be added to pages that were created with the same title as a page which was previously deleted and it can be used as a filter in Special:RecentChanges and Special:NewPages. T56145
Arbitration
- The arbitration case Palestine-Israel articles 5 has been closed.
The Signpost: 7 February 2025
[edit]- Recent research: GPT-4 writes better edit summaries than human Wikipedians
But an open language model is ready to help.
- News and notes: Let's talk!
The WMF executive team delivers a new update; plus, the latest EU policy report, good-bye to the German Wikipedia's Café, and other news from the Wikimedia world.
- Opinion: Fathoms Below, but over the moon
Editor Fathoms Below reminisces over their successful RfA from February 2024.
- In the media: Wikipedia is an extension of legacy media propaganda, says Elon Musk
Plus, reports on the ARBPIA5 case, new concerns over projects targeting Wikipedia editors, John Green gets his sponsor flowers, and other news.
- Community view: 24th Wikipedia Day in New York City
Wikimedians and newbies celebrate 24 years of Wikipedia in the Brooklyn Central Library. Special guests Stephen Harrison and Clay Shirky joined in conversation.
- Arbitration report: Palestine-Israel articles 5 has closed
Ending with some bans, and a new set of editing sanctions.
- Traffic report: A wild drive
The start of the year was filled with a few unfortunate losses, tragic disasters, emerging tech forces and A LOT of politics.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * Sent manually via MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 05:44, 7 February 2025 (UTC)
The Signpost: 27 February 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Administrator elections up for reapproval and 1bil GET snagged on Commons
French Wikipedia defends a user against public threats, steward elections, and other news from the Wikimedia world.
- Serendipity: Guinea-Bissau Heritage from Commons to the World
"The only time I ever took photos in my entire life".
- Technology report: Hear that? The wikis go silent twice a year
From patrolling new edits to uploading photos or joining a campaign, you can count on the Wikimedia platform to be up and running — in your language, anywhere in the world. That is, except for a couple of minutes during the equinoctes.
- In the media: The end of the world
Or just the end of Wikipedia as we know it?
- Recent research: What's known about how readers navigate Wikipedia; Italian Wikipedia hardest to read
Of "hunters", "busybodies" and "dancers".
- Opinion: Sennecaster's RfA debriefing
User Sennecaster shares her thoughts on her recent RfA and the aspects that might have played a role in making it successful.
- Tips and tricks: One year after this article is posted, will every single article on Wikipedia have a short description?
What are they? Why are they important? How can we make them better? And what can you do to help?
- Community view: Open letter from French Wikipedians says "no" to intimidation of volunteer contributors
Liberté, liberté chérie.
- Traffic report: Temporary scars, February stars
Grammys, politics and the Super Bowl.
- Essay: The source, the whole source, and nothing but the source
Straight from the source's mouth. A source is a source, of course, of course!
- Obituary: Ümüt Çınar (Kmoksy) and Vinícius Medina Kern (Vmkern)
Turkish linguist wrote about languages and plants; Brazilian informaticist studied Wikimedia projects and education.
Administrators' newsletter – March 2025
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (February 2025).
Administrator changes
CheckUser changes
Oversighter changes
Guideline and policy news
- A request for comment is open to discuss whether AI-generated images (meaning those wholly created by generative AI, not human-created images modified with AI tools) should be banned from use in articles.
- A series of 22 mini-RFCs that double-checked consensus on some aspects and improved certain parts of the administrator elections process has been closed (see the summary of the changes).
- A request for comment is open to gain consensus on whether future administrator elections should be held.
Technical news
- A new filter has been added to the Special:Nuke tool, which allows administrators to filter for pages in a range of page sizes (in bytes). This allows, for example, deleting pages only of a certain size or below. T378488
- Non-administrators can now check which pages are able to be deleted using the Special:Nuke tool. T376378
Miscellaneous
- The 2025 appointees for the Ombuds commission are だ＊ぜ, Arcticocean, Ameisenigel, Emufarmers, Faendalimas, Galahad, Nehaoua, Renvoy, Revi C., RoySmith, Teles and Zafer as members, with Vermont serving as steward-observer.
- Following the 2025 Steward Elections, the following editors have been appointed as stewards: 1234qwer1234qwer4, AramilFeraxa, Daniuu, KonstantinaG07, MdsShakil and XXBlackburnXx.
The Signpost: 22 March 2025
[edit]- From the editor: Hanami
It's an ecstasy, my spring.
- Opinion: Talking about governments editing Wikipedia
Let them know what you think!
- News and notes: Deeper look at takedowns targeting Wikipedia
Read this, then forget all about it.
- In the media: The good, the bad, and the unusual
Life on the Wiki as usual!
- Recent research: Explaining the disappointing history of Flagged Revisions; and what's the impact of ChatGPT on Wikipedia so far?
And WMF invites multi-year research fund proposals
- Traffic report: All the world's a stage, we are merely players...
The Oscars, politics, and death elbow for the most attention.
- Gallery: WikiPortraits rule!
The photographers are the celebrities!
- Essay: Unusual biographical images
And very unusual biographical images.
- Obituary: Rest in peace
Send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
Administrators' newsletter – April 2025
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (March 2025).
Administrator changes
Bureaucrat changes
CheckUser changes
Oversighter changes
Miscellaneous
- Sign up for The Core Contest, a competition running from 15 April to 31 May to improve vital articles.
The Signpost: 9 April 2025
[edit]- Special report: Wikipedian and physician Ziyad al-Sufiani reportedly released from Saudi prison
Fellow doctor Osama Khalid remains behind bars for "violating public morals" by editing.
- In focus: WMF to explore "common standards" for NPOV policies; implications for project autonomy remain unclear
Major changes to core content policy, or still-developing plan for new initiative?
- In the media: Indian judges demand removal of content critical of Asian News International
Defeat, or just a setback?
- News and notes: 35,000 user accounts compromised, locked in attempted credential-stuffing attack
Plus: 30-year anniversary of wiki software commemorated.
- Op-ed: How crawlers impact the operations of the Wikimedia projects
Our content is free, our infrastructure is not!
- Opinion: Crawlers, hogs and gorillas
What is to be done?
- Debriefing: Giraffer's RfA debriefing
Advice to aspirants: "Read RfA debriefs", including this one.
- Obituary: RHaworth, TomCat4680 and PawełMM
Rest in peace.
- Traffic report: Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, off to report we go...
Snow White sinking, Adolescence soaring, spacefarers stranded, this list has it all!
- News from Diff: Strengthening Wikipedia’s neutral point of view
The Wikimedia Foundation's announcement from Diff.
- Comix: Thirteen
Gadzooks!
The Signpost: 1 May 2025
[edit]- News and notes: India cut off from Wiki money; WMF annual plan and Wikimedia programs seek comment
As always, Wikimedia community governance relies on user participation; plus, more updates from the Wikimedia world
- In the media: Feds aiming for WMF's nonprofit status
Scrapers, an Indian lawsuit, and a crash-or-not-crash?
- Recent research: How readers use Wikipedia health content; Scholars generally happy with how their papers are cited on Wikipedia
And other new research findings.
- Arbitration report: Sysop Tinucherian removed and admonished by the ArbCom
And don't bite those newbies!
- Discussion report: Latest news from Centralized discussions
And don't bite those newbies!
- Traffic report: Of Wolf and Man
Television dramas, televised sports, film, the Pope, and ... bioengineering at the top of the list?
- Disinformation report: At WikiCredCon, Wikipedia editors and Internet Archive discuss threats to trust in media
Community volunteers network among themselves and use technology to counter attacks on information sharing.
- News from the WMF: Product & Tech Progress on the Annual Plan
A look at some product and tech highlights from the Wikimedia Foundation's Annual Plan (July–December 2024).
- Humour: Crisis erupts as furious admins, functionaries complain about crappy t-shirts
Hey! At least it is something!
- Comix: By territory
Zounds!
- In focus: Using AI on the Russian Wikipedia: opportunities or challenges?
Would a billion articles be a good idea?
- Community view: A deep dive into Wikimedia
There's a lot more to this than you think.
- Debriefing: Barkeep49's RfB debriefing
I wonder about having crats, but decided to become one anyway.
- Gallery: Meet the winners of Wiki Loves Monuments 2024
Just beautiful photos!
- Obituary: JarrahTree, JohnClarknew and Yashthepunisher
Rest in Paradise.
Administrators' newsletter – May 2025
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (April 2025).
Administrator changes
Rusalkii
NaomiAmethyst (overlooked last month)
Interface administrator changes
Guideline and policy news
- Following an RfC, administrator elections were permanently authorized on a five-month schedule. The next election will be scheduled soon; see Wikipedia talk:Administrator elections for more information. This is an alternate process to the RfA process and does not replace the latter.
- An RfC was closed with consensus to allow editors to opt-out of seeing "sticky decorative elements". Such elements should now be wrapped in {{sticky decoration wrapper}}. Editors who wish to opt out can follow the instructions at WP:STICKYDECO.
- An RfC has resulted in a broad prohibition on the use of AI-generated images in articles. A few common-sense exceptions are recognized.
Miscellaneous
- A New Pages Patrol backlog drive is happening in May 2025 to reduce the backlog of articles in the new pages feed. Sign up here to participate!
The Signpost: 14 May 2025
[edit]- News and notes: WMF to kick off new-CEO quest as Iskander preps to move on — Supreme Court nixes gag of Wiki page for other India court row on ANI — code-heads give fix-up date for Charts in lieu of long-dead Graph gizmo
And comment is requested on a privacy whitepaper.
- In the media: Wikimedia Foundation sues over UK government decision that might require identity verification of editors worldwide
And other courtroom drama.
- Disinformation report: What does Jay-Z know about Wikipedia?
And how he knows it: all about lawyer letters and editing logs.
- In focus: On the hunt for sources: Swedish AfD discussions
Why the language barrier is not the only impediment to navigating sources from another culture.
- Technology report: WMF introduces unique but privacy-preserving browser cookie
And QR codes for every page!
- Debriefing: Goldsztajn's RfA debriefing
When an editor is ready to become staff at a public library (not a brother in a fraternity).
- Obituary: Max Lum (User:ICOHBuzz)
Rest in peace.
- Community view: A Deep Dive Into Wikimedia (part 2)
The technology behind it, and the other stuff.
- Comix: Collection
Gadzooks!
- From the archives: Humor from the Archives
And more.
Administrators' newsletter – June 2025
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (May 2025).
Administrator changes
Interface administrator changes
Guideline and policy news
- An RfC is open to determine whether the English Wikipedia community should adopt a position on AI development by the WMF and its affiliates.
Technical news
- A new feature called Multiblocks will be deployed on English Wikipedia on the week of June 2. See the relevant announcement on the administrators' noticeboard.
- History merges performed using the mergehistory special page are now logged at both the source and destination, rather than just the source as previously, after this RFC and the resolution of T118132.
Arbitration
- An arbitration case named Indian military history has been opened. Evidence submissions for this case close on 8 June.
Miscellaneous
- Voting for the Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee (U4C) election is open until 17 June 2025. Read the voting page on Meta-Wiki and cast your vote here!
- An Articles for Creation backlog drive is happening in June 2025, with over 1,600 drafts awaiting review from the past two months. In addition to AfC participants, all administrators and new page patrollers can help review using the Yet Another AFC Helper Script, which can be enabled in the Gadgets settings. Sign up here to participate!
- The Unreferenced articles backlog drive is happening in June 2025 to reduce the backlog of articles tagged with {{Unreferenced}}. You can help reduce the backlog by adding citations to these articles. Sign up to participate!
The Signpost: 24 June 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Happy 7 millionth!
Admins arrested in Belarus.
- In the media: Playing professor pong with prosecutorial discretion
Pardon our alliteration!
- Disinformation report: Pardon me, Mr. President, have you seen my socks?
A get-out-of-jail card!
- Recent research: Wikipedia's political bias; "Ethical" LLMs accede to copyright owners' demands but ignore those of Wikipedians
And other new research publications.
- Traffic report: All Sinners, a future, all Saints, a past
Holy men and not-as-holy movies.
- News from Diff: Call for candidates is now open: Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
Get your self-nomination in by July 2nd!
- Opinion: Russian Wiki-fork flails, failing readers and editors
After two years RuWiki fails to thrive.
- Debriefing: EggRoll97's RfA2 debriefing
With some sweet-and-sour sauce!
- Community view: A Deep Dive Into Wikimedia (part 3)
Every thing you need to know about the Wikimedia Foundation?
- Comix: Hamburgers
Egad!
Administrators' newsletter – July 2025
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (June 2025).
Administrator changes
Interface administrator changes
Guideline and policy news
- Following a talk page discussion, speedy deletion criterion G13 has been amended to remove "Userspace with no content except the article wizard placeholder text."
- WP:Manual of Style/Superscripts and subscripts was upgraded to a guideline following a RfC discussion.
Miscellaneous
- The 2025 Developing Countries WikiContest will run from 1 July to 30 September. Sign up now!
- Administrator elections will take place this month. Administrator elections are an alternative to RFA that is a gentler process for candidates due to secret voting and multiple people running together. The call for candidates is July 9–15, the discussion phase is July 18–22, and the voting phase is July 23–29. Get ready to submit your candidacy, or (with their consent) to nominate a talented candidate!
The Signpost: 18 July 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Is no WikiNews good WikiNews? — Election season returns!
Endowment tax form, Wikimania, elections, U4C, fundraising and a duck!
- In the media: How bad (or good) is Wikipedia?
And how do we know?
- WikiProject report: WikiProject Medicine reaches milestone of zero unreferenced articles
Five-year journey comes to healthy fruition.
- In focus: Wikimania 2025: Connecting Wikimedians across the world for 20 years
Wikimedians from around the world will gather in person and online at the twentieth annual meeting of Wikimania.
- Recent research: Knowledge manipulation on Russia's Wikipedia fork; Marxist critique of Wikidata license; call to analyze power relations of Wikipedia
As well as "hermeneutic excursions" and other scientific research findings.
- News from the WMF: Form 990 released for the Wikimedia Foundation’s fiscal year 2023-2024
The report covers the Foundation's operations from July 2023 - June 2024
- Discussion report: Six thousand noticeboard discussions in 2025 electrically winnowed down to a hundred
A step towards objective and comprehensive coverage of a project nearly too big to follow.
- Comix: Divorce
Drawn this century!
- Opinion: Women are somewhat under-represented on the English-language Wikipedia, and other observations from analysis
How data from the Wikipedia "necessary articles" lists can shed new light on the gender gap
- Community view: A Deep Dive Into Wikimedia (part 4): The Future Of Wikimedia and Conclusion
Annual plans, external trends, infrastructure, equity, safety, and effectiveness. What does it all mean?
- Obituary: Pvmoutside, Atomicjohn, Rdmoore6, Jaknouse, Morven, Martin of Sheffield, MarnetteD, Herewhy, BabelStone
Rest in peace.
- Traffic report: God only knows
Wouldn't it be nice without billionaires, scandals, deaths, and wars?
- Humour: New forum created for people who don't care about Wikipedia
If you are too blasé for Mr. Blasé and don't give a FAC.
Administrators' newsletter – August 2025
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (July 2025).
Administrator changes
Guideline and policy news
- Following a request for comment, a new speedy deletion criterion, G15, has been enacted. It applies to pages generated by a large language model (LLM) without human review.
- Following a request for comment, there is a new policy outlining the granting of permissions to view the IP addresses of temporary accounts. Temporary account deployment on the English Wikipedia is currently scheduled for September 2025, and editors can request access to the permission ahead of time. Admins are encouraged to keep an eye on the request page; there will likely be a flood of editors requesting the permission when they realize they can no longer see IP addresses.
Technical news
- Administrators can now restrict the "Add a Link" feature to newcomers. The "Add a Link" Structured Task helps new account holders get started with editing. Administrators can configure this setting in the Community Configuration page.
Arbitration
- The arbitration case Indian military history has been closed.
- South Asia (WP:CT/SA) is designated a contentious topic. The topic area is specifically defined as
All pages related to the region of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal), broadly construed, including but not limited to history, politics, ethnicity, and social groups.
- The contentious topic designations for Sri Lanka (SL) and India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan (IPA) are folded into this new contentious topic.
- The community-authorized general sanctions regarding South Asian social groups (GS/CASTE) are rescinded and folded into this new contentious topic.
- South Asia (WP:CT/SA) is designated a contentious topic. The topic area is specifically defined as
- The arbitration case Article titles and capitalisation 2 has been opened. Evidence submissions in this case closed on 31 July.
- The arbitration case Transgender healthcare and people has been opened. Evidence submissions in this case will close on 11 August.
Miscellaneous
- Wikimania 2025 is happening in Nairobi, Kenya, and online from August 6 to August 9. This year marks 20 years of Wikimania. Interested users can join the online event. Registration for the virtual event is free and will remain open throughout Wikimania. You can register here now.
The Signpost: 9 August 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Court order snips out part of Wikipedia article, editors debate whether to frame shreds or pulp them
Plus a mysterious CheckUser incident, and the news with Wikinews.
- Discussion report: News from ANI, AN, RSN, BLPN, ELN, FTN, and NPOVN
A review of June, July and August.
- Disinformation report: The article in the most languages
Who is this guy?
- Community view: News from the Villages Pump
Threads since June.
- In the media: Disgrace, dive bars, deceased despots, and diverse dispatches
And slop.
- Crossword: Accidental typography
It's not a conlang, it's a crossword puzzle.
- Comix: best-laid schemes o' wikis an' men
gang aft agley, an' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, for promis'd joy!
- Traffic report: I'm not the antichrist or the Superman
Everybody's Somebody's Fool.
Administrators' newsletter – September 2025
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (August 2025).
Administrator changes
Interface administrator changes
Guideline and policy news
- An RfC is open on whether use of emojis with no encyclopedic value in mainspace and draftspace (e.g., at the start of paragraphs or in place of bullet points) should be added as a criterion under G15.
Technical news
- Administrators can now access the Special:BlockedExternalDomains page from the Special:CommunityConfiguration list page. This makes it easier to find. T393240
Arbitration
- The arbitration case Article titles and capitalisation 2 has been closed.
- An RfC is in progress to amend the structure, rules, and procedures of the Arbitration Committee election and resolve any issues not covered by existing rules.
The Signpost: 9 September 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimedia Foundation loses a round in court
UK Online Safety Act remains undefeated.
- In the media: Congress probes, mayor whitewashed, AI stinks
Plus Wiki rules, Wiki Spin, and physicists get street cred!
- Disinformation report: A guide for Congress
The price of Liberty is eternal vigilance.
- Recent research: Minority-language Wikipedias, and Wikidata for botanists
And other new research findings.
- Technology report: A new way to read Wikisource
Tis true: there's magic in the web of it.
- Traffic report: Check out some new Weapons, weapon of choice
With the usual mix of war, death, super heroes, a belt, and Wednesday.
- Essay: The one question
It's an easy one.
The Signpost: 2 October 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Larry Sanger returns with "Nine Theses on Wikipedia"; WMF publishes transparency report
This time "not merely negative".
- In the media: Extraordinary eruption of "EVIL" explained
Wickedpedia wrangles post-truth politics.
- Disinformation report: Emails from a paid editing client
Unexpected news!
- Discussion report: Sourcing, conduct, policy and LLMs: another 1,339 threads analyzed
Fifty hot topics from fourteen noticeboards.
- Community view: The pressing questions of the modern WWW, as seen from the Village Pump
Policy, politics, icons, captchas, and LLMs.
- Recent research: Is Wikipedia a merchant of (non-)doubt for glyphosate?; eight projects awarded Wikimedia Research Fund grants
And other recent publications.
- Opinion: Some disputes aren't worth it
When to walk away.
- Obituary: Michael Q. Schmidt
Rest in peace.
- Traffic report: Death, hear me call your name
Celebrities, deaths and software.
- Comix: A grand spectacle
All invited!
Wikiproject Magic: The Gathering
[edit]Hi! I was wondering if you are still interested in WikiProject M:TG. Please respond to this within a week if you are still interested in helping out. If you do not respond within a week you will be classified as inactive on the WikiProject member list. Thanks! Snuggle 🖤 (talk) 21:12, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – October 2025
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (September 2025).
Administrator changes
CheckUser changes
Arbitration
- After a motion, arbitration enforcement page protections no longer need to be logged in the AELOG. A bot now automatically posts protections at WP:AELOG/P. To facilitate this bot, protection summaries must include a link to the relevant CT page (e.g.
[[WP:CT/BLP]]), and you will receive talk page reminders if you forget to specify the contentious topic but otherwise indicate it is an AE action.
The Signpost: 20 October 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Board shuffles, LLM blocks increase, IPs are going away
And the "Global Resource Distribution Committee" emerges.
- Special report: The election that isn't
Two shortlisted WMF Board candidates removed from the ballot.
- Interview: The BoT bump
Who was bumped and why?
- In the media: An incident at WikiConference North America; WMF reports AI-related traffic drop and explains Wikipedia to US conservatives
...while Musk prepares to launch "Grokipedia".
- Traffic report: One click after another
Serial-killer miniseries, deceased scientist, government shutdowns and Sandalwood hit "Kantara" crowd the tubes.
- Humour: Wikipedia pay rates
Don't get too excited before you read this.
Administrators' newsletter – November 2025
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (October 2025).
Administrator changes
CheckUser changes
Guideline and policy news
- The speedy deletion criteria U5 has been repealed, with U6 and U7 replacing it. See the FAQ for more clarifications.
- Community-designated contentious topics may now be enforced and appealed at the arbitration enforcement noticeboard (AE) as a result of an RfC.
Technical news
- You can enable a handy user info card next to usernames, which when clicked displays edit count, blocks, thanks, and other information. To enable this feature, visit Preferences → Appearance → Advanced options →
Enable the user info card
Arbitration
- The arbitration case Transgender healthcare and people has been closed
- Uninvolved administrators may impose an AE participation restriction on any thread at the Arbitration Enforcement noticeboard.
Miscellaneous
- An unreferenced articles backlog drive is happening in November 2025 to reduce the backlog of articles tagged with {{Unreferenced}}. You can help reduce the backlog by adding citations to these articles. Sign up to participate!
The Signpost: 10 November 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Temporary accounts go live and WMF board member self-suspends
ArbCom elections draw close, and Wikimania '27 in Santiago.
- Community view: Six Wikipedians' thoughts on Grokipedia, and the humanity of it all
It ain't a five course meal, according to one of our interviewees.
- Wikicup report: BeanieFan11, WikiCup victor of 2025, covers the results
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
- In the media: Jimbo's book, an argument about genocide, and a train of shame
Wikipedia's new rival, political controversy in Italy and other Wiki-reports.
- Recent research: Taking stock of the 2024–2025 research grants
$400,000 USD in total funding: what did we get?
- Opinion: With Grokipedia, top-down control of knowledge is new again
Does it shed any light on particular topics that are better suited to LLM-generation than others?
- Obituary: Struway
Rest in peace.
- Traffic report: The documentaried, the disowned, the deceased, Diwali and the Dodgers
You know your man is working hard, he's worth a deuce.
- Comix: Head of steam
'Sblood!
The Signpost: 1 December 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Election cycles come and go, and Wikimedia Foundation achieves record revenue in 2024–2025!
Admin and ArbCom elections upcoming, BoT elects two new members, task force advises to close Wikinews and keep Wikispore, and other news from the Wikimedia world.
- In the media: Wales walk-off, antisemitism, supernatural powers, feminism turmoil, saints, and sex
Plus mammoth mummy sex-change operation completed!
- Recent research: At least 80 million inconsistent facts on Wikipedia – can AI help find them?
And other recent publications about contradictions and retractions.
- Disinformation report: Epstein email exchanges planned strategy, edits and reported progress
At work on Wikipedia whitewashing. How much should they be paid?
- Traffic report: It's a family affair
Even in these times there is something to be thankful for!
- Book review: The Seven Rules of Trust
Jimmy Wales and Dan Gardner write a book inspired by Wikipedia. What's in it?
- From the archives: "I have been asked by Jeffrey Epstein ..."
The twists and turns of Epstein’s portrayal on Wikipedia.
- Humour: An interview with Wikipe-tan
A conversation about being the mascot of Wikipedia.
- Opinion: AI finds errors in 90% of Wikipedia's best articles
Using ChatGPT to fact-check a month's worth of Today's featured articles.
- Serendipity: Highlights from the itWikiCon 2025
A recap of the latest convention of the Italian Wiki-community, held in Catania from 7–9 November.
- Comix: Madness
It could happen to anyone.