Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

News and updates for administrators from the past month (January 2020).

Administrator changes Ergo Sum • Nick Moyes • QEDK • Wugapodes Dennis Brown Aude • BrownHairedGirl • CALR • Jengod • John Reaves • J.smith • Kim Dent-Brown • K1Bond007 • MECU • Refdoc • RHaworth

CheckUser changes Opabinia regalis • Premeditated Chaos Interface administrator changes Ragesoss

Guideline and policy news

• Following a request for comment, partial blocks are now enabled on the English Wikipedia. This functionality allows administrators to block users from editing specific pages or namespaces rather than the entire site. A draft policy is being workshopped at Wikipedia:Partial blocks.
• The request for comment seeking the community's sentiment for a binding desysop procedure closed with wide-spread support for an alternative desysoping procedure based on community input. No proposed process received consensus.

Technical news

• Twinkle now supports partial blocking. There is a small checkbox that toggles the "partial" status for both blocks and templating. There is currently one template: {{uw-pblock}}.
• When trying to move a page, if the target title already exists then a warning message is shown. The warning message will now include a link to the target title. [1]

Arbitration

• Following a recent arbitration case, the Arbitration Committee reminded administrators that checkuser and oversight blocks must not be reversed or modified without prior consultation with the checkuser or oversighter who placed the block, the respective functionary team, or the Arbitration Committee.

Miscellaneous

• Voting in the 2020 Steward elections will begin on 08 February 2020, 14:00 (UTC) and end on 28 February 2020, 13:59 (UTC). The confirmation process of current stewards is being held in parallel. You can automatically check your eligibility to vote.
• The English Wikipedia has reached six million articles. Thank you everyone for your contributions!

Guild of Copy Editors 2019 Annual Report Our 2019 Annual Report is now ready for review. Highlights: Overview of Backlog-reduction progress (a record low backlog!); Summary of Drives, Blitzes, and the Requests page; Automated archiving of requests; Membership news and results of elections; Annual leaderboard; Plans for 2020. – Your Guild coordinators: Jonesey95, Baffle gab1978, Reidgreg, Tdslk and Twofingered Typist. To discontinue receiving GOCE newsletters, please remove your name from our mailing list. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:10, 7 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Happy Adminship Anniversary!

Have a very happy adminship anniversary on your special day!

Best wishes, CAPTAIN RAJU^(T) 08:31, 12 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Miniapolis/Archives/2020,

Source Guide Discussion

The first NPP source guide discussion is now underway. It covers a wide range of sources in Ghana with the goal of providing more guidance to reviewers about sources they might see when reviewing pages. Hopefully, new page reviewers will join others interested in reliable sources and those with expertise in these sources to make the discussion a success.

Redirects

New to NPP? Looking to try something a little different? Consider patrolling some redirects. Redirects are relatively easy to review, can be found easily through the New Pages Feed. You can find more information about how to patrol redirects at WP:RPATROL.

Discussions and Resources

• There is an ongoing discussion around changing notifications for new editors who attempt to write articles.
• A recent discussion of whether Michelin starred restraunts are notable was archived without closure.
• A resource page with links pertinent for reviewers was created this month.
• A proposal to increase the scope of G5 was withdrawn.

Refresher

Geographic regions, areas and places generally do not need general notability guideline type sourcing. When evaluating whether an article meets this notability guideline please also consider whether it might actually be a form of WP:SPAM for a development project (e.g. PR for a large luxury residential development) and not actually covered by the guideline.

Six Month Queue Data: Today – 7095 Low – 4991 High – 7095

To opt-out of future mailings, please remove yourself here

16:08, 13 February 2020 (UTC)

The Emeritus Fez

Dear Miniapolis, It has been a great pleasure to work so closely with you at the Arbitration Committee over the last four and a half years. As a fairly young Wikipedian (I believe it's public that I'm currently an undergrad) four and a half years is a long time, a significant chunk of my life. Thank you for all of your support and advice over the years, for your diligence and perspective, and most of all for your kindness and trustworthiness. You are one of the Wikipedians I most admire and respect, and even when we disagree I know I can count on you to hear and consider the other side fairly. If there is ever anything I can help with – a second opinion on something, a GA review, an administrative situation, or anything else – my talk page is thataway. And if you're ever in the Bay Area, let me know! All the best, Kevin (aka L235 · t · c) 20:19, 28 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks very much, Kev. I'd lost track of how long I've been clerking; it's taught me a lot of wikistuff, and for the most part it's been fun. I'll still be hanging around the Guild of Copy Editors, and look forward to supporting you in an upcoming ArbCom election if you're up to putting your head in the lion's mouth . See you around and all the best, Miniapolis 20:33, 28 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for all you have done for arbcom over the years. Your cheerful disposition and willingness to help have always been assets to the clerk team, and I've always found your positive attitude inspirational. I wish you well in whatever corner of this project you find yourself next, and I hope to see you around often. :) – bradv🍁 20:11, 28 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the kind words, and you're a valuable addition to the committee. Another double standard that sticks in my craw (which I didn't mention in my email; I was venting enough ) is that "length of service" (YMMV) excuses behavior which is sanctioned—rightly so, IMO—in newer editors. WP is a weird place, but on my better days I still think it's worth the aggravation. What I love best is article improvement, and I'm copyediting The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra (a great film, which I've seen on Classic Arts Showcase) for another run at FA. See you around and all the best, Miniapolis 20:25, 28 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with you about the double standard – if anything, people who should know better should be held to a higher standard. I think nearly everyone would agree with this, it's just tricky (and weird) how it plays out sometimes. At any rate, I'm glad you're still doing what you love, and I'm envious of your copy-editing skills. Keep it up! – bradv🍁 21:18, 28 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your time and passion. It has been a pleasure working with you as both an Arb and as a fellow Clerk. --In actu (Guerillero) ^{Parlez Moi} 21:10, 28 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Many thanks for the kind words, and the feeling is mutual. See you around and all the best, Miniapolis 00:12, 29 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]