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On 1 May 2019, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Isaac Komnenos (son of John II), which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that though Isaac Komnenos was his oldest surviving son, John II Komnenos chose Isaac's younger brother Manuel to succeed him as Byzantine emperor? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Isaac Komnenos (son of John II). You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Isaac Komnenos (son of John II)), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

— Maile (talk) 00:02, 1 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hey Cplakidas, could you send me this entry when you have time?[1] - LouisAragon (talk) 17:31, 1 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Forgot to add; going for a full rewrite of Istakhr. - LouisAragon (talk) 14:40, 4 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi LouisAragon, I've got something even better, please check your email! Constantine ✍ 09:49, 5 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Wow, thanks a lot!! My sincerest thanks! One minor thing; could you perhaps send the Atlas of Islam as a different file? Its the only one I couldn't download/open, for some reason. No hurry of course! - LouisAragon (talk) 23:27, 7 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Please try again LouisAragon. Constantine ✍ 10:21, 9 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Got it this time! - LouisAragon (talk) 18:10, 9 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Back to the drawing board

Implementation of the new portal design has been culled back almost completely, and the cull is still ongoing. The cull has also affected portals that existed before the development of the automated design.

Some of the reasons for the purge are:

• Portals receive insufficient traffic, making it a waste of editor resources to maintain them, especially for narrow-scope or "micro" portals
• The default {{bpsp}} portals are redundant with the corresponding articles, being based primarily on the corresponding navigation footer displayed on each of those articles, and therefore not worth separate pages to do so
• They were mass created

Most of the deletions have been made without prejudice to recreation of curated portals, so that approval does not need to be sought at Deletion Review in those cases.

In addition to new portals being deleted, most of the portals that were converted to an automated design have been reverted.

Which puts us back to portals with manually selected content, that need to be maintained by hand, for the most part, for the time being, and back facing some of the same problems we had when we were at this crossroads before:

• Manually maintained portals are not scalable (they are labor intensive, and there aren't very many editors available to maintain them)
• The builders/maintainers tend to eventually abandon them
• Untended handcrafted portals go stale and fall into disrepair over time

These and other concepts require further discussion. See you at WT:POG.

However, after the purge/reversion is completed, some of the single-page portals might be left, due to having acceptable characteristics (their design varied some). If so, then those could possibly be used as a model to convert and/or build more, after the discussions on portal creation and design guidelines have reached a community consensus on what is and is not acceptable for a portal.

See you at WT:POG.

Curation

A major theme in the deletion discussions was the need for portals to be curated, that is, each one having a dedicated maintainer.

There are currently around 100 curated portals. Based on the predominant reasoning at MfD, it seems likely that all the other portals may be subject to deletion.

See you at WT:POG.

Traffic

An observation and argument that arose again and again during the WP:ENDPORTALS RfC and the ongoing deletion drive of {{bpsp}} default portals, was that portals simply do not get much traffic. Typically, they get a tiny fraction of what the corresponding like-titled articles get.

And while this isn't generally considered a good rationale for creation or deletion of articles, portals are not articles, and portal critics insist that traffic is a key factor in the utility of portals.

The implication is that portals won't be seen much, so wouldn't it be better to develop pages that are?

And since such development isn't limited to editing, almost anything is possible. If we can't bring readers to portals, we could bring portal features, or even better features, to the readers (i.e., to articles)...

Some potential future directions of development

Quantum portals?

An approach that has received some brainstorming is "quantum portals", meaning portals generated on-the-fly and presented directly on the view screen without any saved portal pages. This could be done by script or as a MediaWiki program feature, but would initially be done by script. The main benefits of this is that it would be opt-in (only those who wanted it would install it), and the resultant generated pages wouldn't be saved, so that there wouldn't be anything to maintain except the script itself.

Non-portal integrated components

Another approach would be to focus on implementing specific features independently, and provide them somewhere highly visible in a non-portal presentation context (that is, on a page that wasn't a portal that has lots of traffic, i.e., articles). Such as inserted directly into an article's HTML, as a pop-up there, or as a temporary page. There are scripts that use these approaches (providing unrelated features), and so these approaches have been proven to be feasible.

What kind of features could this be done with?

The various components of the automated portal design are transcluded excerpts, news, did you know, image slideshows, excerpt slideshows, and so on.

Some of the features, such as navigation footers and links to sister projects are already included on article pages. And some already have interface counterparts (such as image slideshows). Some of the rest may be able to be integrated directly via script, but may need further development before they are perfected. Fortunately, scripts are used on an opt-in basis, and therefore wouldn't affect readers-in-general and editors-at-large during the development process (except for those who wanted to be beta testers and installed the scripts).

The development of such scripts falls under the scope of the Javascript-WikiProject/Userscript-department, and will likely be listed on Wikipedia:User scripts/List when completed enough for beta-testing. Be sure to watchlist that page.

Where would that leave curated portals?

Being curated. At least for the time being.

New encyclopedia program features will likely eventually render most portals obsolete. For example, the pop-up feature of MediaWiki provides much the same functionality as excerpts in portals already, and there is also a slideshow feature to view all the images on the current page (just click on any image, and that activates the slideshow). Future features could also overlap portal features, until there is nothing that portals provide that isn't provided elsewhere or as part of Wikipedia's interface.

But, that may be a ways off. Perhaps months or years. It depends on how rapidly programmers develop them.

Keep on keepin' on

The features of Wikipedia and its articles will continue to evolve, even if Portals go by the wayside. Most, if not all of portals' functionality, or functions very similar, will likely be made available in some form or other.

And who knows what else?

No worries.

Until next issue...    — The Transhumanist   01:11, 2 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Γεια σου!

I notice that you rewrote parts of Septinsular Republic and other article mentioning an end in 1807 rather than 1814 (British occupation of Corfu) or 1815 (establishment of the subsequent constitution of the United States of the Ionian Islands). I think that this is debatable, and I seem to have always seen in sources I read about the period that they consider the Septinsular Republic to include the Imperial French period. I did not immediately look for sources for this claim, but we need to debate that.

In this diff comment, you write: while some of the forms of the Republic's administration were preserved by the French, as a state it was disbanded in 1807. The main argument for that is the actions of the first governor César Berthier upon his arrival in Corfu in terms of hosting the flag etc. It is quite clear that Napoléon disapproved vocally of these actions (I remember reading it in his correspondance with his brother Joseph, then King of Naples, a key player in this action, albeit a primary source). It is quite clear that the islands were never annexed by France, and never considered part of the 130 departments of the First French Empire (see the contemporary map of the greatest extent of the Empire at that page). They were clearly under the control of France, politically and militarily (except the islands occupied by Britain), but I wouldn't say that the state was dissolved or integrated or annexed to France. After all, many other states and territories were occupied or made into clients of France at this time, without being annexed, especially in the Italian peninsula or Germany. The civilian institutions of the Republic, and most importantly the Senate, seem to have been held in great respect by French occupiers.

The best would be to gather opinion of secondary sources on the issue. I have some at home, but I will be away for a week.

At least one most interesting quote gathered by a first rapid search:

• Jean Savant, Napoléon et les Grecs, Sous les Aigles impériales, 1970 , p. 15 (one of the major academic publications dedicated to this topic) : En 1808, les Septinsulaires lui envoient une députation composée de quelques sénateurs et de notables des Iles. Ils soumettent à Napoléon divers projets pour l'amélioration de la condition des Grecs de l'Heptanèse et en vue des progrès à faire accomplir au pays... Both words Septinsulaires and pays (country) are clearly used to describe the Ionian Islands.
• Another major work about the French period, Nos anciens à Corfou; souvenirs de l'aide-major Lamare-Picquot (1807-1814), consistently refers to Berthier as "gouverneur" or "gouverneur général" (a military title), and consistently refers to the period as """notre occupation" . However, this could be considered to be a primary source, even written long after the facts.

Did you find a source which could describe ore precisely the status of the islands during this period? Place Clichy (talk) 18:48, 3 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Place Clichy! I myself hesitated before making that change, but in the end it was inevitable. The Greek sources I have are unanimous that the Republic ended in 1807, as a seaparate state with its own legal identity and as a subject of international relations. After that the islands were a sui generis part of the French Empire, as seen both by Berthier's actions as well as the substance of French rule under Donzelot. As to the continuationo of the institutions, tgat was nominal: the Senate was appointed and hence no longer representative, and all decisions lay in French hands. The continued use of Septinsular as a political and geographic term does not mean the survival of the Republic, rather that it was the new common term for referring to the islands. I'll expand on that, and create an article on the second French occupation, over the coming days. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 21:37, 3 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article John Tzelepes Komnenos you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Gog the Mild -- Gog the Mild (talk) 12:40, 6 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

On 9 May 2019, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article John IV of Ohrid, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the 12th-century archbishop of Ohrid John IV was born as a Byzantine prince of the Komnenos dynasty? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/John IV of Ohrid. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, John IV of Ohrid), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

— Maile (talk) 00:02, 9 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I noticed this little gem on the main page yesterday. Obviously I didn't even have to look to know that it was one of yours. Good work. Gog the Mild (talk) 09:34, 10 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Any knowledge or preferences as to whether I should file this at GAs under J or K? Gog the Mild (talk) 09:34, 10 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Gog the Mild, I think under "K" for his last name, no? AFAIK from the usual practice, only monarchs get to be sorted by their first name... Could be wrong though. Constantine ✍ 14:35, 10 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

That's what I was about to do, then noticed that a lot of articles were listed by first name, so thought that I would check. If we both agree, how can we possibly be wrong? :) Gog the Mild (talk) 14:49, 10 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I think we are simply overthinking it :) Constantine ✍ 14:50, 10 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Possibly. But on closer scrutiny, the only exception to listing by first name is one of yours which I assessed and put there. So I have decided not to rock the boat. Gog the Mild (talk) 14:58, 10 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

On reflection, the listing is probably not done by first name as such, but in alphabetical order of the article title, which in such a list arguably makes sense: the GA lists are not only about biographies, they are simply collections of articles about all kinds of subjects that have reached a certain status. Constantine ✍ 15:02, 10 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The article John Tzelepes Komnenos you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:John Tzelepes Komnenos for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Gog the Mild -- Gog the Mild (talk) 09:42, 10 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hey Cplakidas, how are you?

As you're interested in Roman/Byzantine and Arabic history. I thought you could change this article's condition. The historical person in question is surrounded by mystery and historical misinterpretations (some of them were to push political agendas). One of the recent reliable sources about this subject is Modéran 2005. Kind Regards --TheseusHeLl (talk) 04:59, 11 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi TheseusHeLl, thanks for the pointer. This is definitely a topic where I want to get active, but right now I lack both time and knowledge about it. I've just recently gotten some books on the Arab conquest of the Maghreb, but haven't yet found the time to go through them, and even then I would sorely lack knowledge about the Berbers, so that I cannot really make a balanced judgment of the accuracy or even completeness of the sources. Just translating/incorporating Moderan, when the article also lists a number of other sources, would not do it justice. I do promise to keep an eye on it, though, should I find something relevant and feel more confident about my grasp of the topic's context. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 07:00, 11 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new featured and A-class content Book review: Hawkeye7 on Australia's leadership and medical services in World War II and Peacemaker67 on Israel's targeted assassinations Op-ed: TomStar81 looks at the fate of the German fleet at Scapa Flow

Portal:Umayyad Caliphate, a page which you created or substantially contributed to, has been nominated for deletion. Your opinions on the matter are welcome; you may participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Portal:Umayyad Caliphate and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~). You are free to edit the content of Portal:Umayyad Caliphate during the discussion but should not remove the miscellany for deletion template from the top of the page; such a removal will not end the deletion discussion. Thank you. BrownHairedGirl (talk) • (contribs) 23:22, 12 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

		The Military history A-Class medal with swords
		On behalf of the Military History Project, I am proud to present the A-Class medal with Swords for Battle of Hulao, Battle of Petroe, and Battle of Andrassos Zawed (talk) via MilHistBot (talk) 00:30, 13 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thirty nine A class articles! That is impressive. Congratulations. Gog the Mild (talk) 11:25, 14 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Constantine. I have come across a PDF of "Naval Warfare: Military, Institutional and Economic Aspects", a chapter from Y. Stouraitis, A Companion to the Byzantine Culture of War, 300-1204, Leiden / Boston, 2018. Let me know if you would like me to email you a copy. Gog the Mild (talk) 11:15, 14 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Gog the Mild, yes, I'd definitely be interested, especially as Stouraitis is one of the few authors dealing with the Byzantine military specifically. Thank you very much! Constantine ✍ 11:29, 14 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Sent. Gog the Mild (talk) 11:32, 14 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Received :) Constantine ✍ 11:35, 14 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Cplakidas,

WMF at work on NPP Improvements

Niharika Kohli, a product manager for the growth team, announced that work is underway in implementing improvements to New Page Patrol as part of the 2019 Community Wishlist and suggests all who are interested watch the project page on meta. Two requested improvements have already been completed. These are:

• Allow filtering by no citations in page curation
• Not having CSD and PRODs automatically marked as reviewed, reflecting current consensus among reviewers and current Twinkle functionality.

Reliable Sources for NPP

Rosguill has been compiling a list of reliable sources across countries and industries that can be used by new page patrollers to help judge whether an article topic is notable or not. At this point further discussion is needed about if and how this list should be used. Please consider joining the discussion about how this potentially valuable resource should be developed and used.

Backlog drive coming soon

Look for information on the an upcoming backlog drive in our next newsletter. If you'd like to help plan this drive, join in the discussion on the New Page Patrol talk page.

News

• Following a request for comment, the subject-specific notability guideline for pornographic actors and models (WP:PORNBIO) was removed; in its place, editors should consult WP:ENT and WP:GNG.

Discussions of interest

• A request for bot approval for a bot to patrol two kinds of redirects
• There has been a lot discussion about Notability of Academics
• What, if anything, would a SNG for Softball look like

Six Month Queue Data: Today – 7242 Low – 2393 High – 7250

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Delivered by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) on behalf of DannyS712 (talk) at 19:17, 17 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 33, March – April 2019

• #1Lib1Ref
• Wikimedia and Libraries User Group update
• Global branches update
• Bytes in brief

Read the full newsletter

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of The Wikipedia Library team --MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 06:41, 21 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

In the past you have said that the article on Basil II still needs improvement. Perhaps you can tell me what its flaws are and we can try to improve it. Векочел (talk) 20:13, 24 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

As I've said many times before, there is not a list of items to fix; the problems are structural. The article needs an overhaul top to bottom, with addition of much more detail than is there, possibly a restructuring of the sections to re-balance the chronological division with the thematical one, and much more depth of coverage and especially context and analysis from modern scholarly sources. Which is also why I can't really find the time to do this properly right now, especially since reworking an extant article is more difficult than writing up one from scratch. I will try to get myself to attack it bit by bit... Constantine ✍ 20:22, 24 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hey cplakidas,

I know you're still working on the Fatimid army article. There is an entry about the zawila town and its population in the encyclopaedia of islam ed2, volume XI, p:466. -TheseusHeLl (talk) 23:15, 1 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks a lot TheseusHeLl, that's very helpful! Constantine ✍ 06:48, 2 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

It's nothing. You're doing stupendous work in wikipedia (the other one is Al Ameer Son). -TheseusHeLl (talk) 07:54, 2 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your kind words :) Constantine ✍ 07:55, 2 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

If you are up for a challenge, could you expand Pericharaxis using the Greek sources? I can only command a basic level of Greek - certainly not up to doing the job (I'll stick with the Spanish, Italian, and Catalan translations :)). Carlossuarez46 (talk) 03:11, 7 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hey I just nominated this one for GA. Any thoughts/suggestions? Would appreciate any input. - LouisAragon (talk) 14:04, 11 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi LouisAragon, this looks interesting, I will do the GA review myself. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 08:19, 12 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, damn. A cursory look would be good enough really. You're a gem! - LouisAragon (talk) 19:49, 12 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new featured and A-class content Book review: Nick-D looks at the Dambusters, and Hawkeye7 at Allied code breakers and Australia in New Guinea and Vietnam Op-ed: TomStar81 on the treaty that ended World War I

Hi Constantine. I hope that you are keeping well. I came across the template below, which I think is one of yours. Whether it is or not, "with Constantine V as co-emperor, 720–751"; should that be '720–741'? Thanks Gog the Mild (talk) 21:16, 17 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Gog the Mild, you are right, of course. Thanks for pointing it out. Constantine ✍ 06:45, 18 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Should be ok now. Thanks Johnbod (talk) 03:53, 18 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, Cplakidas,

Thanks for creating Diateichisma! I edit here too, under the username Boleyn and it's nice to meet you :-)

I wanted to let you know that I have tagged the page as having some issues to fix, as a part of our page curation process and note that:-

Please add your references.

The tags can be removed by you or another editor once the issues they mention are addressed. If you have questions, leave a comment here and prepend it with {{Re|Boleyn}}. And, don't forget to sign your reply with ~~~~ . For broader editing help, please visit the Teahouse.

Delivered via the Page Curation tool, on behalf of the reviewer.

Boleyn (talk) 20:06, 18 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you again for the GA review. Re sources, yes, I'm very much interested in sources talking about the Nasrid Granada period. In the near future, I'm thinking of bringing Muhammad II to FA and then work on his son Muhammad III too. I have access to Kennedy's Muslim Spain and Portugal (as well as other sources I listed in Muhammad I, II, and III), but it seems you have other interesting sources. I can moderately read Spanish. HaEr48 (talk) 02:19, 26 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi HaEr48, that's great. I've got the work I cited, the Historia General de al-Andalus by Emilio González Ferrín, and the C. H. Beck Wissen series Das Maurische Spanien (in German). I can definitely look at Muhammad III, and perhaps assist with the maps as well. Constantine ✍ 06:49, 26 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. For the maps, do you mean that the borders and the conquest dates will need sources in FA review? HaEr48 (talk) 05:45, 27 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, a map is just like any other piece of information included in the article, it needs to have good and reliable sources. It will need to reference existing maps and/or information otherwise summarized in published literature and used to make this map. Constantine ✍ 14:27, 27 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I added some refs to File:Reino de Granada.svg. By the way there seems to be a mistake in the date for Huelma: the sources (e.g. O'Callaghan 2014, p. 52) say it's 1438, but the map says 1348 (probably a typo). Do you know how to edit the svg file to fix it? I tried but it's not as easy as editing a png or jpg file :) HaEr48 (talk) 13:58, 28 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed it for you. Looks much better and more credible now, well done. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 14:22, 28 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. Just curious, did you use any software to do it? Anyway, did you find anything major in your sources that's missed by Muhammad II of Granada? I'm thinking of putting it up for FAC, but checking to see if something needs to be worked on first. HaEr48 (talk) 23:00, 28 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I used Inkscape, it's pretty much the go-to software for vector graphics. On Muhammad II, I didn't find anything really major missing, but I am not sure about pushing it to FA yet. The article is a very good generalist overview, but my hunch, based on my experience in similar cases, is that there are a lot more specialist sources about both the man and specific aspects (political, administrative, financial, cultural) of his reign, most likely in the form of articles in journals. As with any ruler who reigned for so long, information about him must include information about his realm at the time. Off the top of my head, a few things I would ask if this came to FAC would be: Who were Muhammad's viziers, chief ministers, and main military commanders? What were the finances of his realm like at the time? Are there more details about his family (wife/wives and children)? How big was the native Granadan army compared to the Volunteers? Is there anything more about Granada's relationship with the Italian republics? In other words, some of the content in 'Evaluation of rule' could easily be expanded and provided with a sufficient context into a 'Domestic developments' section, leaving only the actual effect and long-term impact of his policies for the 'Evaluation' section. Constantine ✍ 07:28, 29 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the pointers. I'll try to find sources and work in that direction. It's hard to find journal articles about his reign, but probably I can get some content in more specialist books. By the way, based on the text you added, Carrasco Manchado seems to have some discussion about the domestic aspect of his reign (administrative reform, reason for his epithet, his preference for poetry and learned men). Is there more? If yes, may I trouble you to send me some relevant pages? HaEr48 (talk) 07:57, 30 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, checking again in case you missed the above question about whether your source has more discussion about the domestic aspect of Muhammad II's reign. HaEr48 (talk) 17:18, 9 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi HaEr48, indeed I had not noticed your message. There is nothing in the relevant section, although it definitely hints at more. I'll have a look whether other, thematical sections of the book cover this in more detail, but as I am abroad this will happen sometime next week. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 09:54, 10 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Cplakidas,

WMF at work on NPP Improvements

More new features are being added to the feed, including the important red alert for previously deleted pages. This will only work if it is selected in your filters. Best is to 'select all'. Do take a moment to check out all the new features if you have not already done so. If anything is not working as it should, please let us know at NPR. There is now also a live queue of AfC submissions in the New Pages Feed. Feel free to review AfCs, but bear in mind that NPP is an official process and policy and is more important.

QUALITY of REVIEWING

Articles are still not always being checked thoroughly enough. If you are not sure what to do, leave the article for a more experienced reviewer. Please be on the alert for any incongruities in patrolling and help your colleagues where possible; report patrollers and autopatrolled article creators who are ostensibly undeclared paid editors. The displayed ORES alerts offer a greater 'at-a-glance' overview, but the new challenges in detecting unwanted new content and sub-standard reviewing do not necessarily make patrolling any easier, nevertheless the work may have a renewed interest factor of a different kind. A vibrant community of reviewers is always ready to help at NPR.

Backlog

The backlog is still far too high at between 7,000 and 8,000. Of around 700 user rights holders, 80% of the reviewing is being done by just TWO users. In the light of more and more subtle advertising and undeclared paid editing, New Page Reviewing is becoming more critical than ever.

Move to draft

NPR is triage, it is not a clean up clinic. This move feature is not limited to bios so you may have to slightly re-edit the text in the template before you save the move. Anything that is not fit for mainspace but which might have some promise can be draftified - particularly very poor English and machine and other low quality translations.

Notifying users

Remember to use the message feature if you are just tagging an article for maintenance rather than deletion. Otherwise articles are likely to remain perma-tagged. Many creators are SPA and have no intention of returning to Wikipedia. Use the feature too for leaving a friendly note note for the author of a first article you found well made or interesting. Many have told us they find such comments particularly welcoming and encouraging.

PERM

Admins are now taking advantage of the new time-limited user rights feature. If you have recently been accorded NPR, do check your user rights to see if this affects you. Depending on your user account preferences, you may receive automated notifications of your rights changes. Requests for permissions are not mini-RfAs. Helpful comments are welcome if absolutely necessary, but the bot does a lot of the work and the final decision is reserved for admins who do thorough research anyway.

Other news

School and academic holidays will begin soon in various places around the Western world. Be on the lookout for the usual increase in hoax, attack, and other junk pages.

Our next newsletter might be announcing details of a possible election for co-ordinators of NPR. If you think you have what it takes to micro manage NPR, take a look at New Page Review Coordinators - it's a job that requires a lot of time and dedication.

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MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 04:38, 30 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Relief of Qasr al-Bahili you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 04:41, 30 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

On 1 July 2019, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Naysaburi, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that 11th-century scholar Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Naysaburi, an authority on the early history of Isma'ilism, composed the first official genealogy of the Fatamid dynasty? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Naysaburi. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Naysaburi), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Gatoclass (talk) 00:03, 1 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

		Content Review Medal of Merit (Military history)
		On behalf of the Military History Project, I am proud to present the The Content Review Medal of Merit (Military history) for participating in 8 reviews between April and June 2019 Peacemaker67 (talk) via MilHistBot (talk) 03:03, 4 July 2019 (UTC)[reply] Keep track of upcoming reviews. Just copy and paste {{WPMILHIST Review alerts}} to your user space

Hello! Your submission of Sarjun ibn Mansur at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and some issues with it may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) underneath your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! Kim Post (talk) 19:33, 6 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your red link insertion.Md iet (talk) 05:26, 7 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I started an article on a Greek Ottoman doctor named Spyridon Mavrogenis. Apparently there was a "Spyridon Mavrogenis" who wrote "The Life of Constantin Carathéodory" - https://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/metadata/e/e/6/metadata-455-0000004.tkl - I wonder if it's the same guy WhisperToMe (talk) 00:20, 9 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi WhisperToMe, yes it is the same person. The cover lists his titles as follows: chief physician and personal physician to HM the Sultan, senator, Grand Cordon of the Osmaniye and Medjidie orders, knight of the two Ottoman medals for merit (probably the Order of Distinction, I don't know which the second one would be), Grand Cross of the Imperial-Royal Order of the Iron Crown, the Royal Swedish order of Vasa, the Persian order of the Sun and the Lion, Commander of the Royal Belgian order of Leopold, Dr. Med. of the University of Vienna, honorary professor of pathology and clinical practice of the Constantinople Medical School, honorary member and twice chairman of the Constantinople Medical Society, ordinary member and twice chairman of the Greek Literary Society of Constantinople, corresponding member of the Algerian Climate Society, etc. etc. Constantine ✍ 09:53, 10 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

A tag has been placed on Category:Emirs of Sicily requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section C1 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because the category has been empty for seven days or more and is not a disambiguation category, a category redirect, a featured topics category, under discussion at Categories for discussion, or a project category that by its nature may become empty on occasion.

If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason, you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and clicking the button labelled "Contest this speedy deletion". This will give you the opportunity to explain why you believe the page should not be deleted. However, be aware that once a page is tagged for speedy deletion, it may be deleted without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag from the page yourself, but do not hesitate to add information in line with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 00:53, 9 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect ΥENED. Since you had some involvement with the ΥENED redirect, you might want to participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. –LaundryPizza03 (dc̄) 06:57, 11 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I started Imperial School of Medicine which is where Spyridon Mavrogenis taught. Anyhow looking through Google Books results:

Journal of the American Medical Association, Volume 79. American Medical Association, 1922. p. 646 refers to a "University of Constantinople" but it doesn't seem to be the same as University of Constantinople. Is it University of Istanbul? WhisperToMe (talk) 04:23, 12 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Also another idea: it would be good to have French stubs/articles written on some of these subjects, such as the imperial medical school, the Mavrogenis family, etc. as well as turn-of-the-century Greek subjects as French was the major "foreign language" in both the Ottoman Empire and Greece at the time, as well as the pan-Christian language. I only have a basic level of French and don't know which French speakers are really interested in the subject, but it would be something to think about. WhisperToMe (talk) 11:14, 12 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi WhisperToMe. University of Constantinople is a modern historiographic term for a Byzantine-era institution, and entirely different from the University of Istanbul. On the French articles, User:Phso2 and User:Place Clichy might be interested. Constantine ✍ 17:44, 12 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the info! I'll ask Phso2 and Clichy. Anyhow the list from the American Medical Association seems to be a list of currently-operating universities at that time, not a Byzantine historical list, so I'm not sure why the AMA chose that name. I wonder if the AMA in particular was referring to the University of Istanbul... (which would have had a different name) WhisperToMe (talk) 17:55, 12 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, upon reading it again I see I did not make my reply very clear: the 1922 source obviously refers to the modern institution, i.e. University of Istanbul which at the time would have been known as "University of Constantinople" to Westerners. So yes, the institution referenced in 1922 is the University of Istanbul. Constantine ✍ 17:59, 12 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you! I'll add a disambig link and cite the page on the article on the University of Istanbul WhisperToMe (talk) 18:08, 12 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 34, May – June 2019

• Partnerships
• #1Lib1Ref
• Wikimedia and Libraries User Group update
• Global branches update
• Bytes in brief

French version of Books & Bytes is now available on meta!
Read the full newsletter

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of The Wikipedia Library team --MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 14:20, 12 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello there, I read several of your GA articles and really enjoyed them, awesome work. I would like to ask you to take a look at Serbia article and tell me your opinion as to which paragraphs should be improved and is GA status an option in the near future? I would like to work on the article and some help from more experienced editors would be great. :) Mm.srb (talk)

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new featured and A-class content Book review: Haweye7, Peacemaker67 and Nick-D on recent books covering the world wars

Hi Constantine

You don't happen to have any source regarding 'Amr ibn Imru' al-Qays (or the Lakhmids as a whole for that matter)? I know his father switched his allegiance to the Romans, but I can't seem to find any source about the former. According to his article the Lakhmids once again became Sasanian vassals under him, but it's unsourced. --HistoryofIran (talk) 20:55, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi HistoryofIran, the only sources I have are Shahid's Byzantium and the Arabs, which focus more on the Byzantine clients. Constantine ✍ 07:10, 19 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The article Relief of Qasr al-Bahili you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Relief of Qasr al-Bahili for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 00:42, 17 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Battle of Kapetron you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Gog the Mild -- Gog the Mild (talk) 13:01, 21 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The article Battle of Kapetron you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Battle of Kapetron for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Gog the Mild -- Gog the Mild (talk) 14:42, 24 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

On 25 July 2019, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Sarjun ibn Mansur, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the Melkite Christian Sarjun ibn Mansur, who headed the fiscal administration of Syria under the first five Umayyad caliphs, was the father of Saint John of Damascus? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Sarjun ibn Mansur. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Sarjun ibn Mansur), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

— Maile (talk) 00:02, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Siege of Mecca (683) you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 18:41, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Battle of Velestino you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 18:42, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

		The Military history A-Class medal with swords
		On behalf of the Military History Project, I am proud to present the A-Class medal with Swords for Battle of Kharistan, Fatimid invasion of Egypt (914–915), and Battle of Settepozzi Peacemaker67 (talk) via MilHistBot (talk) 00:30, 29 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Aaron (son of Ivan Vladislav) you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Iazyges -- Iazyges (talk) 16:42, 30 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The article Aaron (son of Ivan Vladislav) you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Aaron (son of Ivan Vladislav) for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Iazyges -- Iazyges (talk) 17:22, 30 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Genoese occupation of Rhodes you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 19:01, 1 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps you already know, but a book is coming out later this year that you might be interested in. Srnec (talk) 23:59, 1 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the heads up Srnec. I know Bramoullé's work, but wasn't aware of this. So definitely interested, but unlikely to be able to afford it. Let's hope a university library will buy it ;). Cheers, Constantine ✍ 07:06, 2 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello! Your submission of Template:Did you know nominations/Amr ibn Hind at the Did You Know nominations page is not complete; if you would like to continue, please link the nomination to the nominations page as described in step 3 of the nomination procedure. If you do not want to continue with the nomination, tag the nomination page with {{db-g7}}, or ask a DYK admin. Thank you. DYKHousekeepingBot (talk) 08:16, 4 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The article Siege of Mecca (683) you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Siege of Mecca (683) for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 15:42, 11 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The article Genoese occupation of Rhodes you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Genoese occupation of Rhodes for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 02:21, 13 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new featured and A-class content Book review: Hawkeye7 and Peacemaker67 look at Italian, German and Australian forces in World War II

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new featured and A-class content Book review: Hawkeye7 and Peacemaker67 look at Italian, German and Australian forces in World War II

On 20 August 2019, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Amr ibn Hind, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the 6th-century Lakhmid ruler Amr ibn Hind was killed by the poet Amr ibn Kulthum after Hind's mother had insulted Kulthum's mother? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Amr ibn Hind. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Amr ibn Hind), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

— Maile (talk) 00:01, 20 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Precious anniversary

Precious

Six years!

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:00, 20 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you today for Al-Mu'tadid, "one of the most (and virtually the last) capable Abbasid caliphs, and definitely an interesting figure: passionate about "women and buildings", known for his cruel and ingenious punishments and fiscal stringency, and the greatest Abbasid warrior-caliph. During his decade-long rule, by virtue of constant campaigning and adroit diplomacy he managed to stabilize the state and restore many lost territories. His reign also saw the culmination of the dominance of the Turkish military, but strangely also the start of the emergence to power of the secretarial bureaucracy. During his reign (and that of al-Muktafi, which was essentially a coda to al-Mu'tadid's) the Abbasids were truly for the last time an imperial power to be reckoned with."! --

On 21 August 2019, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Konstantinos Smolenskis, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that Konstantinos Smolenskis (pictured), a future general and hero of the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, was expelled from the Greek military academy by his own father for unruly behaviour? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Konstantinos Smolenskis. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Konstantinos Smolenskis), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 00:01, 21 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

In the month of September, Wikiproject Military history is running a project-wide edit-a-thon, Backlog Banzai. There are heaps of different areas you can work on, for which you claim points, and at the end of the month all sorts of whiz-bang awards will be handed out. Every player wins a prize! There is even a bit of friendly competition built in for those that like that sort of thing. Sign up now at Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/September 2019 Backlog Banzai to take part. For the coordinators, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 08:18, 22 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, we have so many R1a maps for Europe but none for Asia. Do we also have the Asian maps for R1a haplogroup. Any Z93 or Z94 maps we can use? Regards! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.114.38.166 (talk) 13:01, 22 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Constantine. Any chance you could lend me access to the EI3 entries on Mu'awiya I and Busr ibn Abi Artat? Working on rewriting the former and starting a comprehensive article on the latter. I think the EI3 info would be very helpful toward those ends. Regards, Al Ameer (talk) 16:44, 22 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The article Battle of Velestino you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Battle of Velestino for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 00:22, 24 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Constantine. I thought that you may be interested in this - Wikipedia:Good article reassessment/Battle of Manzikert/1. Gog the Mild (talk) 22:25, 25 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

On 27 August 2019, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Battle of Kapetron, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that in the nocturnal Battle of Kapetron, the Byzantines in the flanks defeated their Seljuk opponents, but on the next morning learned of their Georgian allies' defeat in the centre? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Battle of Kapetron. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Battle of Kapetron), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 00:01, 27 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

On 30 August 2019, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Abu Abdallah ibn al-Hakim, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that when an angry mob overran the palaces in Granada in 1309, the sultan was spared, but his vizier, Abu Abdallah ibn al-Hakim, was killed? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Abu Abdallah ibn al-Hakim. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Abu Abdallah ibn al-Hakim), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

valereee (talk) 12:02, 30 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Greetings. There is a discussion about changing the naming convention of the Timeline articles at Timeline of Orthodoxy in Greece. Could you perhaps weigh in on this? ΙΣΧΣΝΙΚΑ-888 (talk) 20:30, 30 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Nominations for the upcoming project coordinator election are now open. A team of up to ten coordinators will be elected for the next year. The project coordinators are the designated points of contact for issues concerning the project, and are responsible for maintaining our internal structure and processes. They do not, however, have any authority over article content or editor conduct, or any other special powers. More information on being a coordinator is available here. If you are interested in running, please sign up here by 23:59 UTC on 14 September! Voting doesn't commence until 15 September. If you have any questions, you can contact any member of the coord team. Cheers, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 02:37, 1 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I just recently found scans of the Ottoman constitution of 1876 in Ottoman Turkish and modern Turkish, something I've wanted to get for awhile. Anyhow I am interested in finding any copies of a contemporary Greek translation. Armenian, Bulgarian, and Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish) versions would be interesting to find too.

I found printed copies of a French version from third party sources but I also wonder if the Ottomans directly kept a French version and if a PDF scan was made from that.

WhisperToMe (talk) 20:13, 9 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Update! Somebody from Elwiki found the Greek version! el:Συζήτηση_Βικιπαίδεια:Πρεσβεία#Ottoman_Constitution_of_1876_in_Greek? It is a PDF from the official Ottoman translation. Someone's planning to put it on Wikisource! WhisperToMe (talk) 16:21, 10 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

This is to let you know that the Al-Mu'tadid article has been scheduled as today's featured article for October 15, 2019. Please check the article needs no amendments. If you're interested in editing the main page text, you're welcome to do so at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 15, 2019, but note that a coordinator will trim the lead to around 1000 characters anyway, so you aren't obliged to do so.

For Featured Articles promoted on or after October 1, 2018, there will be an existing blurb linked from the FAC talk page, which is likely to be transferred to the TFA page by a coordinator at some point.

We suggest that you watchlist Wikipedia:Main Page/Errors up to the day of this TFA. Thanks! Jimfbleak - talk to me? 13:43, 10 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello I am very curious. Who was the first to note the battle's significance? Spyridon? Lambros? Eickhoff? Bury?

Was Bury not even the first to note it in the Anglo-saxon world?

En historiker (talk) 18:59, 10 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@En historiker: I would hazard a guess that Gibbon at the very least had this honour in the English-speaking world, but being "first" is not really of importance, as it is no great feat of intellect to determine that the failure of the siege, involving such huge forces on the part of the Caliphate and the two greatest empires of the western world, was a momentous event in world history. The scholars listed in the article are representative of the common opinion, and there mostly to satisfy the requirements of WP:VERIFY. Constantine ✍ 08:02, 12 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Constantine. I hope that things are ticking along well for you. I was about to tidy up Battle of Constantinople (1241) whan I realised that it was one of yours. I assume that you will be coming back to it in due course? Gog the Mild (talk) 19:24, 11 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Gog the Mild , please go ahead. I am rather busy in real life at the moment, and I have full confidence in your abilities. Constantine ✍ 08:03, 12 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Cplakidas,

Backlog

Instead of reaching a magic 300 as it once did last year, the backlog approaching 6,000 is still far too high. An effort is also needed to ensure that older unsuitable older pages at the back of the queue do not get automatically indexed for Google.

Coordinator

A proposal is taking place here to confirm a nominated user as Coordinator of NPR.

This month's refresher course

Why I Hate Speedy Deleters, a 2008 essay by long since retired Ballonman, is still as valid today. Those of us who patrol large numbers of new pages can be forgiven for making the occasional mistake while others can learn from their 'beginner' errors. Worth reading.

Deletion tags

Do bear in mind that articles in the feed showing the trash can icon (you will need to have 'Nominated for deletion' enabled for this in your filters) may have been tagged by inexperienced or non NPR rights holders using Twinkle. They require your further verification.

Paid editing

Please be sure to look for the tell-tale signs of undisclosed paid editing. Contact the creator if appropriate, and submit the issue to WP:COIN if necessary. WMF policy requires paid editors to connect to their adverts.

Subject-specific notability guidelines' (SNG). Alternatives to deletion

• Reviewers are requested to familiarise themselves once more with notability guidelines for organisations and companies.
• Blank-and-Redirect is a solution anchored in policy. Please consider this alternative before PRODing or CSD. Note however, that users will often revert or usurp redirects to re-create deleted articles. Do regularly patrol the redirects in the feed.

Not English

• A common issue: Pages not in English or poor, unattributed machine translations should not reside in main space even if they are stubs. Please ensure you are familiar with WP:NPPNE. Check in Google for the language and content, and if they do have potential, tag as required, then move to draft. Modify the text of the template as appropriate before sending it.

Tools

Regular reviewers will appreciate the most recent enhancements to the New Pages Feed and features in the Curation tool, and there are still more to come. Due to the wealth of information now displayed by ORES, reviewers are strongly encouraged to use the system now rather than Twinkle; it will also correctly populate the logs.

Stub sorting, by SD0001: A new script is available for adding/removing stub tags. See User:SD0001/StubSorter.js, It features a simple HotCat-style dynamic search field. Many of the reviewers who are using it are finding it an improvement upon other available tools.

Assessment: The script at User:Evad37/rater makes the addition of Wikiproject templates extremely easy. New page creators rarely do this. Reviewers are not obliged to make these edits but they only take a few seconds. They can use the Curation message system to let the creator know what they have done.

DannyS712 bot III is now patrolling certain categories of uncontroversial redirects. Curious? Check out its patrol log.

Go here to remove your name if you wish to opt-out of future mailings.

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:15, 11 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Just wanna say thank you for copyediting and expanding some of my stubs :) HaEr48 (talk) 14:41, 14 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

You are welcome, HaEr48, it's a pleasure. Likewise thanks for your constant and excellent work on such a neglected but fascinating topic as the Nasrid emirate! Cheers :) Constantine ✍ 14:53, 14 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Indeed, it is a fascinating topic. Just the joy of writing it is enough to keep me going :) HaEr48 (talk) 15:04, 14 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

G'day everyone, voting for the 2019 Wikiproject Military history coordinator tranche is now open. This is a simple approval vote; only "support" votes should be made. Project members should vote for any candidates they support by 23:59 (UTC) on 28 September 2018. Thanks, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 03:37, 15 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new featured and A-class content Book review: Nick-D looks at the legacy of World War II

		Four Award
		Congratulations! You have been awarded the Four Award for your work from beginning to end on Paul Palaiologos Tagaris. Gog the Mild (talk) 13:09, 20 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

		Four Award
		Congratulations! You have been awarded the Four Award for your work from beginning to end on Battle of Settepozzi. Gog the Mild (talk) 13:10, 20 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the rapid response, Gog the Mild :). Constantine ✍ 13:29, 20 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

We aim to please . I was amazed to see that these were only your second and third Four Awards, but many congratulations. The first in particular gave me several smiles. Gog the Mild (talk) 13:31, 20 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I've probably got a couple more somewhere that might qualify, I haven't really checked as I had quite forgotten this award existed; as for Tagaris, it is one of my favourite pieces of work I've ever done anywhere :). Cheers, Constantine ✍ 13:37, 20 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

G'day everyone, the voting for the XIX Coordinator Tranche is at the halfway mark. The candidates have answered various questions, and you can check them out to see why they are running and decide whether you support them. Project members should vote for any candidates they support by 23:59 (UTC) on 28 September 2018. Thanks, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 07:36, 22 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 35, July – August 2019

• Wikimania
• We're building something great, but..
• Wikimedia and Libraries User Group update
• A Wikibrarian's story
• Bytes in brief

Read the full newsletter

On behalf of The Wikipedia Library team --MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 06:58, 27 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I think Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of al-Andalus is a good source about al-ghuzat and banu abi al-Ula 's history. -TheseusHeLl (talk) 20:47, 29 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

		Military history reviewers' award
		On behalf of the Military History Project, I am proud to present the The Milhist reviewing award (2 stripes) for participating in 4 reviews between July and September 2019. Peacemaker67 (talk) via MilHistBot (talk) 00:31, 5 October 2019 (UTC)[reply] Keep track of upcoming reviews. Just copy and paste {{WPMILHIST Review alerts}} to your user space

On 7 October 2019, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that after leading a failed rebellion in his native Morocco, Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula led the Volunteers of the Faith in Granada and became a major political figure at court? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Vanamonde (Talk) 00:02, 7 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

On 7 October 2019, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Volunteers of the Faith, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that after leading a failed rebellion in his native Morocco, Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula led the Volunteers of the Faith in Granada and became a major political figure at court? You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Volunteers of the Faith), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Vanamonde (Talk) 00:02, 7 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new featured and A-class content Book review: Hawkeye7 and Nick-D look at three works Op-ed: Hawkeye7 on writing a military biography

Hi Constantine. Hope all is well. I've recently come upon an issue: This template, Template:Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire shows some errors for some reason, do you know what the issue behind it is? --HistoryofIran (talk) 20:08, 12 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi HistoryofIran, yes, it's due to some changes in the Lua interpreter module. Have a look here. I intend to fix them over the next few days, but any help is appreciated :) Constantine ✍ 20:10, 12 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Oh I see. Well that sure is a lot of text, but I'll take a look it at and see if I can help. --HistoryofIran (talk) 20:12, 12 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, thank you for your edits of the First Bulgarian Empire article, but please if you want to make your changes effective, change the description of the file in the Wikimedia Commons, of course you can also place there a special template with the inscription, that the flag is fictitious, unless you do this, other editors will come and they will return the flag to the infobox in the article again and again and edit war never ends. Thank you. Adding descriptions in the Wikimedia will only take a few minutes, it's the same as writing editing summary. Obviously, you have a history knowledge, editing summaries is not enough, because only few people read them. It's for all of us.