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Welcome!

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Some cookies to welcome you!

Welcome to Wikipedia, EdSaperia! Thank you for your contributions. I am Marek69 and have been editing Wikipedia for quite some time, so if you have any questions feel free to leave me a message on my talk page. You can also check out Wikipedia:Questions or type {{helpme}} at the bottom of this page. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

Also, when you post on talk pages you should sign your name using four tildes (~~~~); that will automatically produce your username and the date. I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian!

Marek.69 talk 15:34, 23 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

A kitten for you!

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Thank you for the lack of Pommy butt crack. :) And for being a well dressed Brit. The braces and waistcoat did an excellent job at hiding your probably attractive butt crack.

LauraHale (talk) 17:44, 5 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Cloud seeding vandalism

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Please refrain from editing articles with the "cloud-to-butt" browser extension installed. Even though the vandalism was inadvertent, it still required cleanup. Kolbasz (talk) 18:37, 7 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

So it turns out that my delightful coworkers installed that extension onto my computer a few months ago and I hadn't noticed until this happened... EdSaperia (talk) 19:17, 7 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Real Life Barnstar

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This may not be much compared to UK Wikimedian of the Year 2014, but you certainly deserve it:

The Real-Life Barnstar
EdSaperia, you have without a doubt earned this Real Life Barnstar as director of the largest Wikimania held so far, in London 2014. The whole Wikimedia community is in your debt for making this showcase event a great success. MartinPoulter (talk) 14:52, 13 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you so much MartinPoulter! My first ever barnstar too :) EdSaperia (talk) 15:17, 13 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 13 August 2014

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Slate reports that Tom Scott, co-creator of the emoji social network Emojli, created a Twitter bot called Parliament WikiEdits to automatically tweet a link to any Wikipedia edits made from an IP address belonging to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Scott's bot initially did not tweet any links to edits made from Parliament and, according to Scott, an "insider" reports that their IP addresses changed. Despite this, Scott's Twitter bot has inspired similar creations in numerous other countries.
It's been a grim few weeks. It says something that formerly arresting crises like the war in Ukraine, Boko Haram and the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, despite still being ongoing, have fallen out of the top 10 to make way for the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak and the equally if not more intense conflict against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
"Education is at the core of the Wikimedia Foundation’s mission."
Wikimania 2014 was held last week in the Barbican Centre in London. Below, the Signpost's former "Technology report" writer Harry Burt (User:Jarry1250) shares his thoughts on a bustling conference.
Wikimedia Foundation staff members have now been granted superpowers that would allow them to override community consensus. The new protection level came as a response to attempts of German Wikipedia administrators to implement a community consensus on the new Media Viewer. "Superprotect" is a level above full protection, and prevents edits by administrators.
Erythrophobia is the fear of, or sensitivity to, the colour red. Recently, I have seen more and more erythrophobic Wikipedians; specifically, Wikipedians who are scared of red links. In Wikipedia's early days, red links were encouraged and well-loved, and when I started editing in 2006, this was still mostly the case. Jump forward to 2014, and many editors now have an aversion to red links.
The Observer reported (August 2) that Google would "restrict search terms to a link to a Wikipedia article, in the first request under Europe's controversial new 'right to be forgotten' legislation to affect the 110m-page encyclopaedia."
Eight article, six lists, and two topics were promoted to featured status last week.

Wikimania user

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Ed, if you're interested, I've created fairly basic userboxes for all of the Wikimania, like this one:

This user attended Wikimania 2014 in London, United Kingdom.

Cheers! bd2412 T 16:06, 19 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! Want to update it to use the 2014 logo? https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania_2014_London_Shard_Logo_Large.png EdSaperia (talk) 10:59, 20 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 20 August 2014

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Dorothy Howard interviews Michael Szajewski, archivist for digital development and university records at Ball State University.
Comedian Robin Williams' untimely death takes the top spot.
At the plate with WikiProject Baseball!
Denny Vrandečić argues that "We should focus on measuring how much knowledge we allow every human to share in, instead of number of articles or active editors."
Ten articles and three pictures were promoted to featured status last week.

The Signpost: 27 August 2014

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Journalistic integrity, Congressional edits, and other news.
More discussions about Media Viewer, Superprotect, and software development
"This was a week when an actual virus, Ebola, competed for attention with several viral social phenomena; most notably the Ice Bucket Challenge..."
Sixteen articles, five lists, five pictures, and one topic were promoted.

The Signpost: 03 September 2014

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"On 1 September, the Arbitrators voted to suspend the Media Viewer case for 60 days. After the suspension period is up, the case is to be closed unless the committee votes otherwise. The case suspension comes in response to several new initiatives and policies announced by the Wikimedia Foundation that may make the case moot. In the same motion, the committee declared that Eloquence's resignation of the administrator right was "under the cloud" and that he can only regain the right through another RfA."
Two articles, one list, and ten pictures were promoted
Doc James and some collaborators are working on quick detection of copyright violations
"This week we saw three of the top ten articles remain in place, with the Ice Bucket Challenge at #1, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at #2, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant at #5, all for a second straight week..."
"This week, the Signpost went out to meet WikiProject Anatomy, dedicated to improving the articles about all our bones, brains, bladders and biceps, and getting them to the high standard expected of a comprehensive encyclopaedia."
The latest roundup of research about Wikimedia

The Signpost: 10 September 2014

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Last month, I wrote an open letter to the Wikimedia Foundation, inviting others to join me in a simple but important request: roll back the recent actions—both technical and social—by which the Wikimedia Foundation has overruled legitimate decisions of several Wikimedia projects.
Even though it's not quite 3/4 over, it's safe to say that 2014 will go down as a year of war, mass murder, plane crashes and terrible diseases. While certainly paying it some heed, it's not surprising that Wikipedia viewers tried this week to find any alternative to that litany of tragedy and pain, and their chosen method of escape was, as usual, celebrity.
The amazing and strange tongue-eating louse replacing a fish's tongue! Because isopods, the subject of a new featured article, are both awesome and really damn weird!
This week, the Signpost decided to have a look around with WikiProject Check Wikipedia a maintenance project not concerned so much with articles' content, but in all the tiny errors that are to be found scattered within them. Their front page gives a list of things they mainly focus on ...

The Signpost: 17 September 2014

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The Hürriyet Daily News reports on a series of posts on Twitter from Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Ömer Çelik.
As Scotland is deciding its future this week, we thought it might be a good idea to get to know the editors of WikiProject Scotland and talk to them about the project.
A prominent Wikipedia researcher has discovered that the encyclopedia's widely used article traffic statistics are missing out on approximately one-third of total views.
There is no unifying theme we can slap on top article popularity this week.
Four articles, two lists, and 51 pictures were promoted to "featured" status this week on the English Wikipedia.

The Signpost: 24 September 2014

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Six articles, four lists, one topic, and 17 pictures were promoted to "featured" status this week on the English Wikipedia.
The Hindustan Times speculates (September 18) that politicians and their supporters are "sanitizing" their articles in advance of the 2014 Maharashtra State Assembly election. The Times notes the absence of significant controversies in the articles of particular politicians and the presence of heavily promotional language.
0.75% of Wikipedia birthdates are inaccurate, reported Robert Viseur at WikiSym 2014. Those inaccuracies are "low, although higher than the 0.21% observed for the baseline reference sources". Given that biographies represent 15% of English Wikipedia, the third largest category after "arts" and "culture", their accuracy is important.
This could be the beginning of a new era for this list. Until now, decisions to remove suspicious content have been largely educated guesswork. This week though, we have a new collaborator who can shine a light on the origins and patterns, sorting once and for all the webwheat from the cyberchaff.
A year and a week later, we're with some of the members of WikiProject Good Articles, who wanted to share the news of their upcoming contest within the project, the GA Cup. The aim of this friendly competition, which is held in the same light friendly manner of the WikiCup and the Core Contest, is to reduce the backlog of unreviewed articles at Good article nominations which has been a constant problem for quite a few years for those running the GA process.
Banning Policy finishes the workshop phase on 23 September. Parties have proposed findings of fact on the topics of the 3RR, the role of Jimbo Wales, and proxying for banned users. A request for arbitration was posted on 20 September about Landmark Worldwide.

WikiProject leaflets from Wikimania

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Hi Ed! I don't know if you are the best person to ask about this but I'm interested in getting the WikiProject leaflets printed for Wikimania reprinted, as our project is doing some upcoming events that I think they would be useful at. RE: our project leaflet. Were these pamphlets originally printed using Wikimania funds and/or who has the design/printing information and is/was in command of this project? Thanks, OR drohowa (talk) 17:10, 2 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Hi OR drohowa! Indeed these were printed using Wikimania funds, so you'll have to find some resources to get them done. You can find the file here: https://wikimania2014.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_art_and_Feminism_Leaflet_front_copy.png EdSaperia (talk) 18:42, 2 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 01 October 2014

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Contributing to the Signpost can be one of the most rewarding things an editor can do.
This article was first published in the Signpost in 2009. Written by several long-standing editors, including the late Adrianne Wadewitz, the article was subjected to extensive commentary and ultimately influenced the English Wikipedia's plagiarism guideline. With recent debates about close paraphrasing vis-à-vis plagiarism, we feel that this dispatch retains its relevance and deserves a second airing.
The argument on Wikipedia over the benefits of crowdsourcing versus the primacy of "expert" contributors stretches back to co-founder Larry Sanger's break with the project to start the alternative Citizendium.
This week, the Signpost went down to the farm to have a look at the work of WikiProject Agriculture, which has been in existence since 2007 and has a scope covering crop production, livestock management, aquaculture, dairy farming and forest management.
Jews wished each other Shanah Tovah ("Good year") this week as Rosh Hashanah was our most popular article. It was also a week not dominated by heavy news and tragedies, so aside from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (#2, sixth week in the Top 10), our popular article list runs the gamut of current events including new television series Gotham (#3), the 2014 Asian Games (#4), and Reddit-fueled popularity for German director Uwe Boll (#7).
As the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the American Civil War draws to a close, the race to improve content continues. The Battle of Franklin, fought on November 30, 1864, will, quite appropriately, be Picture of the Day for November 30, 2014, its 150th anniversary. If you want to help commemorate the American Civil War, why not help out at the Military History WikiProject's Operation Brothers at War. Or help out with the World War I centennial, just starting up, Operation Great War Centennial.

VisualEditor newsletter—September and October 2014

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Did you know?

TemplateData is a separate program that organizes information about the parameters that can be used in a template. VisualEditor reads that data, and uses it to populate its simplified template dialogs.

With the new TemplateData editor, it is easier to add information about parameters, because the ones you need to use are pre-loaded.

See the help page for TemplateData for more information about adding TemplateData. The user guide has information about how to use VisualEditor.

Since the last newsletter, the Editing team has reduced technical debt, simplified some workflows for template and citation editing, made major progress on Internet Explorer support, and fixed over 125 bugs and requests. Several performance improvements were made, especially to the system around re-using references and reference lists. Weekly updates are posted on Mediawiki.org.

There were three issues that required urgent fixes: a deployment error that meant that many buttons didn't work correctly (bugs 69856 and 69864), a problem with edit conflicts that left the editor with nowhere to go (bug 69150), and a problem in Internet Explorer 11 that caused replaced some categories with a link to the system message, MediaWiki:Badtitletext (bug 70894) when you saved. The developers apologize for the disruption, and thank the people who reported these problems quickly.

Increased support for devices and browsers

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Internet Explorer 10 and 11 users now have access to VisualEditor. This means that about 5% of Wikimedia's users will now get an "Edit" tab alongside the existing "Edit source" tab. Support for Internet Explorer 9 is planned for the future.

Tablet users browsing the site's mobile mode now have the option of using a mobile-specific form of VisualEditor. More editing tools, and availability of VisualEditor on smartphones, is planned for the future. The mobile version of VisualEditor was tweaked to show the context menu for citations instead of basic references (bug 68897). A bug that broke the editor in iOS was corrected and released early (bug 68949). For mobile tablet users, three bugs related to scrolling were fixed (bug 66697, bug 68828, bug 69630). You can use VisualEditor on the mobile version of Wikipedia from your tablet by clicking on the cog in the top-right when editing a page and choosing which editor to use.

TemplateData editor

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A tool for editing TemplateData will be deployed to more Wikipedias soon.  Other Wikipedias and some other projects may receive access next month. This tool makes it easier to add TemplateData to the template's documentation.  When the tool is enabled, it will add a button above every editing window for a template (including documentation subpages). To use it, edit the template or a subpage, and then click the "Edit template data" button at the top.  Read the help page for TemplateData. You can test the TemplateData editor in a sandbox at Mediawiki.org. Remember that TemplateData should be placed either on a documentation subpage or on the template page itself. Only one block of TemplateData will be used per template.

Other changes

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Several interface messages and labels were changed to be simpler, clearer, or shorter, based on feedback from translators and editors. The formatting of dialogs was changed, and more changes to the appearance will be coming soon, when VisualEditor implements the new MediaWiki theme from Design. (A preview of the theme is available on Labs for developers.) The team also made some improvements for users of the Monobook skin that improved the size of text in toolbars and fixed selections that overlapped menus.

VisualEditor-MediaWiki now supplies the mw-redirect or mw-disambig class on links to redirects and disambiguation pages, so that user gadgets that colour in these in types of links can be created.

Templates' fields can be marked as 'required' in TemplateData. If a parameter is marked as required, then you cannot delete that field when you add a new template or edit an existing one (bug 60358). 

Language support improved by making annotations use bi-directional isolation (so they display correctly with cursoring behaviour as expected) and by fixing a bug that crashed VisualEditor when trying to edit a page with a dir attribute but no lang set (bug 69955).

Looking ahead

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The team posts details about planned work on the VisualEditor roadmap. The VisualEditor team plans to add auto-fill features for citations soon, perhaps in late October.

The team is also working on support for adding rows and columns to tables, and early work for this may appear within the month. Please comment on the design at Mediawiki.org.

In the future, real-time collaborative editing may be possible in VisualEditor. Some early preparatory work for this was recently done.

Supporting your wiki

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At Wikimania, several developers gave presentations about VisualEditor. A translation sprint focused on improving access to VisualEditor was supported by many people. Deryck Chan was the top translator. Special honors also go to संजीव कुमार (Sanjeev Kumar), Robby, Takot, Bachounda, Bjankuloski06 and Ата. A summary of the work achieved by the translation community has been posted here. Thank you all for your work.

VisualEditor can be made available to most non-Wikipedia projects. If your community would like to test VisualEditor, please contact product manager James Forrester or file an enhancement request in Bugzilla.

Please join the office hours on Saturday, 18 October 2014 at 18:00 UTC (daytime for the Americas; evening for Africa and Europe) and on Wednesday, 19 November at 16:00 UTC on IRC.

Give feedback on VisualEditor at mw:VisualEditor/Feedback. Subscribe or unsubscribe at Meta. To help with translations, please subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact Elitre at Meta. Thank you!

— Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 00:10, 8 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 08 October 2014

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Also, Wikimedia Norge and Nobel Peace Center edit-a-thon
2 Featured articles, 4 Featured lists, 62 Featured pictures, and 2 Featured portals were promoted.
The first case of the Ebola virus on US shores sent people into a tizzy, rushing to their keyboards to try and learn what they could.
No seriously, it is.

The Signpost: 15 October 2014

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Why does Wikipedia still use the gendered pronouns "she" and "her" for ships?
Ben Koo of the sports blog Awful Announcing investigated how player Joe Streater's name became involved in recent years with a historic sports scandal.
The Banning Policy case was closed on 12 October. Arbcom affirmed that users have "considerable leeway" in terms of how their talk pages are managed.
Nine articles and twenty-six pictures were promoted to featured status on the English Wikipedia.
This week we sat down with The Earwig to learn about his wikitext parser.
We are pleased to report that the WP:5000 has now been updated to include mobile views, including a column reflecting the percentage of views coming from mobile devices.
Today, it's the turn of WikiProject Ohio to give us an interview probing deep into of how they manage to run a project covering one fiftieth of the United States, and the workings of how they manufacture their successes and other articles.

The Signpost: 22 October 2014

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Four articles, four lists, and fifty-three pictures were promoted to featured status.
Our op-ed writer this week opines that the organization of Hong Kong's "Umbrella Revolution" resembles how Wikipedia is organized.
Among many newsworthy stories this week, the Signpost notes the passing of Italian Wikipedia administrator and former Wikimedia Italia treasurer [Cotton
Ebola, movies and television articles appear in this week's top ten.
PaintedCarpet explains that "WikiProject Orphanage aims to connect all Wikipedia pages, so that pages can be found and read more easily."

The Signpost: 29 October 2014

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By the way, there is a monster at the end of this article
Noam Cohen reports in The New York Times (October 26) that Wikipedia's "Ebola Virus Disease article has had 17 million page views in the last month," an indication of the public's reliance on the online encyclopedia.
Rather than the usual WikiProject Report, this week our guest author Jheald is telling us about a campaign to identify thousands of old maps which have been digitised, to make them available for georeferencing and upload
Ebola virus disease leads the Report for the fourth straight week. The rest of the list is primarily a mix of pop culture topics, including movie Avengers: Age of Ultron (#4) whose trailer was leaked early, and the death of Oscar de la Renta (#7). A BuzzFeed article on creepy Wikipedia articles, no doubt well-timed with Halloween (#9) around the corner, was responsible for three articles in the Top 25, including June and Jennifer Gibbons (#10), Taman Shud Case (#17), Joyce Vincent (#25). And the internet-run-amok controversy of Gamergate cracked the Top 25 for the first time at #19.
In new research conducted in light of proposed changes to data protection legislation in the European Union (EU), authors Bart Custers, Simone van der Hof, and Bart Schermer conducted a comparative analysis of social media and user-generated content websites’ privacy policies along with a user survey (N=8,621 in 26 countries) and interviews in 13 different EU countries on awareness, values, and attitudes toward privacy online.

VisualEditor newsletter—November 2014

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Screenshot on an iPad, showing how to switch from one editor to the other
Did you know?

VisualEditor is also available on the mobile version of Wikipedia. Login and click the pencil icon to open the page you want to edit. Click on the gear-shaped settings in the upper-right corner, to pick which editor to use. Choose "Edit" to use VisualEditor, or "Edit source" to use the wikitext editor.

It will remember whether you used wikitext or VisualEditor, and use the same editor the next time you edit an article.

The user guide has information about how to use VisualEditor. Not all features are available in Mobile Web.

Since the last newsletter, the Editing Team has fixed many bugs and requests, and worked on support for editing tables and for using non-Latin languages. Their weekly updates are posted on Mediawiki.org. Informal notes from the recent quarterly review were posted on Meta.

Recent improvements

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The French Wikipedia should see better search results for links, templates, and media because the new search engine was turned on for everyone there. This change is expected at the Chinese and German Wikipedias next week, and eventually at the English Wikipedia.

The "pawn" system has been mostly replaced. Bugs in this system sometimes added a chess pawn character to wikitext. The replacement provides better support for non-Latin languages, with full support hopefully coming soon.

VisualEditor is now provided to editors who use Internet Explorer 10 or 11 on desktop and mobile devices. Internet Explorer 9 is not supported yet.

The keyboard shortcuts for items in the toolbar's menus are now shown in the menus. VisualEditor will replace the existing design with a new theme from the User Experience / Design group. The appearance of dialogs has already changed in one Mobile version. The appearance on desktops will change soon. (You can see a developer preview of the old "Apex" design and the new "MediaWiki" theme which will replace it.)

Several bugs were fixed for internal and external links. Improvements to MediaWiki's search solved an annoying problem: If you searched for the full name of the page or file that you wanted to link, sometimes the search program could not find the page. A link inside a template, to a local page that does not exist, will now show red, exactly as it does when reading the page. Due to a error, for about two weeks this also affected all external links inside templates. Opening an auto-numbered link node like [1] with the keyboard used to open the wrong link tool. These problems have all been fixed.

TemplateData

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The tool for quickly editing TemplateData will be deployed to all Wikimedia Foundation wikis on Thursday, 6 November.  This tool is already available on the biggest 40 Wikipedias, and now all wikis will have access to it. This tool makes it easier to add TemplateData to the template's documentation.  When the tool is enabled, it will add a button above every editing window for a template (including documentation subpages). To use it, edit the template or a subpage, and then click the "Edit template data" button at the top.  Read the help page for TemplateData. You can test the TemplateData editor in a sandbox at Mediawiki.org. Remember that TemplateData should be placed either on a documentation subpage or on the template page itself. Only one block of TemplateData will be used per template.

You can use the new autovalue setting to pre-load a value into a template. This can be used to substitute dates, as in this example, or to add the most common response for that parameter. The autovalue can be easily overridden by the editor, by typing something else in the field.

In TemplateData, you may define a parameter as "required". The template dialog in VisualEditor will warn editors if they leave a "required" parameter empty, and they will not be able to delete that parameter. If the template can function without this parameter, then please mark it as "suggested" or "optional" in TemplateData instead.

Looking ahead

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Basic support for inserting tables and changing the number of rows and columns in tables will appear next Wednesday. Advanced features, like dragging columns to different places, will be possible later. The VisualEditor team plans to add auto-fill features for citations soon. To help editors find the most important items more quickly, some items in the toolbar menus will be hidden behind a "More" item, such as "underlining" in the styling menu. The appearance of the media search dialog will improve, to make picking between possible images easier and more visual. The team posts details about planned work on the VisualEditor roadmap.

The user guide will be updated soon to add information about editing tables. The translations for most languages except Spanish, French, and Dutch are significantly out of date. Please help complete the current translations for users who speak your language. Talk to us if you need help exporting the translated guide to your wiki.

You can influence VisualEditor's design. Tell the VisualEditor team what you want changed during the office hours via IRC. The next sessions are on Wednesday, 19 November at 16:00 UTC and on Wednesday 7 January 2015 at 22:00 UTC. You can also share your ideas at mw:VisualEditor/Feedback.

Also, user experience researcher Abbey Ripstra is looking for editors to show her how they edit Wikipedia. Please sign up for the research program if you would like to hear about opportunities.

If you would like to help with translations of this newsletter, please subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact us directly, so that we can notify you when the next issue is ready. Subscribe or unsubscribe at Wikipedia:VisualEditor/Newsletter. Thank you!

— Whatamidoing (WMF) 20:41, 6 November 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 05 November 2014

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"Rachel Feltman, in The Washington Post (November 4), examined research in which a team, mostly from Los Alamos National Laboratory, headed by Kyle Hickman developed a model that enabled them "to successfully predict the 2013-2014 flu season in real time" by employing "an algorithm to link flu-related Wikipedia searches with CDC data from the same time." Apparently when individuals search for information about the flu and its symptoms in Wikipedia when they feel ill, this generates data useful in forecasting the the flu season."
"It is, perhaps, ironic that humanity chose the week of Halloween to finally put its fears to bed. Let's face it: 2014 has been a year of tragedies, conflicts, plagues and pain, and eventually something had to break... Whether we at last came to terms with our limited ability to affect events, shoved those events under the carpet, or just decided to let go and move on, we turned our eye to more positive things, such as sports heroes, hotly anticipated movies, and lifelong learning; two Google doodles appeared in the top 25 for the first time since the beginning of August."

The Signpost: 12 November 2014

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"Technology media outlets are abuzz after the November 6 unveiling of the Amazon Echo, an Internet-connected voice command device"; "The EUobserver talks (November 4) with Dimitar Dimitrov (User:Dimi z) about the lack of freedom of panorama in some European Union countries and its implications for Wikimedia projects"; "Scott Cantrell, classical music critic for the Dallas Morning News, recounts efforts to verify an uncited claim in the Wikipedia article for the Béla Bartók opera Bluebeard's Castle."
This was very much a week dominated by holidays and pop culture over current events, with new film Interstellar taking the top spot followed by holidays Day of the Dead (#2), Guy Fawkes and his Night (#4 and #5), and Halloween (#8, and its third week on the list). And a foursome of television shows, all return visitors, appear to setting up residence on the greater Top 25: The Walking Dead (#11), American Horror Story: Freak Show (#14), Gotham (#16), and The Flash (#18).
Nine articles, two lists, and 55 featured pictures were promoted during the week of 26 October.
We return to our interview format this week, speaking with the participants of WikiProject Hospitals. This project, formed in 2010, has no Featured content and only three Good articles, yet aided by around 30 hard-working Wikipedians covers a topic that is essential to life.

The Signpost: 26 November 2014

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Four articles, four lists, eleven pictures, and one topic were promoted.
Numerous media outlets are reporting on a November 14 statement on the website of the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library announcing the formation of a Russian "alternative" to Wikipedia, a "regional electronic encyclopedia" dedicated to "Russian regions and the life of the country".
The monthly roundup of research related to Wikimedia.
It's time for this year's edition of the Report looking at possibly our largest wikiproject: Military history. Since our last interview in June 2013, the project has had no break in its huge quest to document everything in their scope, that is, militaries and conflicts of the past. As usual, its participants were eager to answer the questions posed by The Signpost and update us on how they are doing.
Often times in popular culture, a subject will be quite popular among a distinct niche of people or region of the world, but little-known elsewhere -- like a musical artist that is boasted to be "big in Japan". The Traffic Report provides a bevy of examples this week.

The Signpost: 03 December 2014

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The Signpost: 10 December 2014

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The Signpost: 17 December 2014

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VisualEditor newsletter—December 2014

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Screenshot showing how to add or remove columns from a table

Did you know?

Basic table editing is now available in VisualEditor. You can add and remove rows and columns from existing tables at the click of a button.

The user guide has more information about how to use VisualEditor.

Since the last newsletter, the Editing Team has fixed many bugs and worked on table editing and performance. Their weekly status reports are posted on Mediawiki.org. Upcoming plans are posted at the VisualEditor roadmap.

VisualEditor was deployed to several hundred remaining wikis as an opt-in beta feature at the end of November, except for most Wiktionaries (which depend heavily upon templates) and all Wikisources (which await integration with ProofreadPage).

Recent improvements

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Basic support for editing tables is available. You can insert new tables, add and remove rows and columns, set or remove a caption for a table, and merge cells together. To change the contents of a cell, double-click inside it. More features will be added in the coming months. In addition, VisualEditor now ignores broken, invalid rowspan and colspan elements, instead of trying to repair them.

You can now use find and replace in VisualEditor, reachable through the tool menu or by pressing ⌃ Ctrl+F or ⌘ Cmd+F.

You can now create and edit simple <blockquote> paragraphs for quoting and indenting content. This changes a "Paragraph" into a "Block quote".

Some new keyboard sequences can be used to format content. At the start of the line, typing "*  " will make the line a bullet list; "1.  " or "# " will make it a numbered list; "==" will make it a section heading; ": " will make it a blockquote. If you didn't mean to use these tools, you can press undo to undo the formatting change. There are also two other keyboard sequences: "[[" for opening the link tool, and "{{" for opening the template tool, to help experienced editors. The existing standard keyboard shortcuts, like ⌃ Ctrl+K to open the link editor, still work.

If you add a category that has been redirected, then VisualEditor now adds its target. Categories without description pages show up as red.

You can again create and edit galleries as wikitext code.

Looking ahead

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VisualEditor will replace the existing design with a new theme designed by the User Experience group. The new theme will be visible for desktop systems at MediaWiki.org in late December and at other sites early January. (You can see a developer preview of the old "Apex" theme and the new "MediaWiki" one which will replace it.)

The Editing team plans to add auto-fill features for citations in January. Planned changes to the media search dialog will make choosing between possible images easier.

Help

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If you would like to help with translations of this newsletter, please subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact us directly, so that we can notify you when the next issue is ready. Subscribe or unsubscribe at Meta.

Thank you! WhatamIdoing (WMF) (talk) 23:37, 20 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 24 December 2014

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The Signpost: 31 December 2014

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Wikidata, Wikimedia's free linked database that supplies Wikipedia and its sister projects, is gearing up to submit a grant application to the EU that would expand Wikidata's scope by developing it as a science hub. The proposal, supported by more than 25 volunteers and half a dozen European institutions as project partners, aims to create a virtual research environment (VRE) that will enhance the project's capacity for freely sharing scientific data.
A "study tour" by the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation for the purpose of researching development projects has been the subject of much controversy and criticism in the Indian press... The Indian Express described a government report about the trip as having copied extensively from the Wikipedia articles for Port Blair and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
Unlike last year, Wikipedia viewers seem to have embraced the Christmas spirit, with three topics in the top 10 (and eight in the top 25) focused on the holiday season.
Chris Troutman has been a campus ambassador for six classes in the Los Angeles area over the past four consecutive semesters. He is currently a Wikipedia Visiting Scholar at University of California, Riverside.
Three articles, three lists, fifteen pictures, and one topic were promoted.
A paper titled "Factors that influence the teaching use of Wikipedia in Higher Education" uses the technology acceptance model to shed light on faculty's (of Universitat Oberta de Catalunya) views of Wikipedia as a teaching tool.

The Signpost: 07 January 2015

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ISIL hostage quotes Wikipedia in propaganda video; AirAsia articles draw complaints regarding Flight 8501; Article errors reveal US political approaches to Wikipedia editing; Rhode Island Governor numbering debate
User:Jakec has been a Wikipedia editor for over two years and has been a writer of many recent Did you know articles on Wikipedia, including multiple articles on rivers and streams in the state of Pennsylvania.
Two lists and twelve pictures were promoted.
We end 2014 and and start 2015 with the normal array of year-end activities, including movie watching with Bollywood film PK (#1) topping the list, followed by The Interview (#2), 2014 in film (#10), and five other films in the rest of the Top 25, plus a number of articles about the subjects of these films. We celebrated the New Year by singing "Auld Lang Syne" (#11), or perhaps watching Adam Lambert (#9) perform with Queen. But we could not avoid a final tragedy with the crash of Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 (#4) on December 28.

The Signpost: 14 January 2015

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Ever since the Wikipedia Seigenthaler biography incident in 2005 triggered the restriction against un-registered editors creating new pages, WikiProject Articles for creation (AfC) has stood in the breach. The WikiProject's purpose is to review draft submissions from IPs (and frequently new registered editors) to sort the wheat from the chaff.
This anniversary issue, the WikiProject report is returning to WikiProject Articles for creation for one of our largest interviews ever. Last looked at in 2011, AfC is the method used by unregistered or new users to create articles, and provides an effective filtering system to remove all unsuitable or unsourced submissions to save them needing to be found and deleted later.
On the fourteenth anniversary of the founding of the English Wikipedia, the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation has announced that its prestigious annual Erasmus Prize will be awarded to the worldwide community that has built Wikipedia.
Wikipedia turned 14 on January 15. A few media outlets took note of the anniversary.
Six featured articles, five featured lists, and sixteen featured pictures were promoted this week.
It's a grim certainty what topic most interested Wikipedia viewers this week. The horrific attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine have drawn anger and resolve from around the world, and also the attention of an English-speaking world that had previously never heard of it.

The Signpost: 21 January 2015

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A letter from departing Signpost editor-in-chief The ed17.
Celebrating and remembering ten years of community journalism.
Over seventy years ago, the US destroyer Mahan was patrolling off Ponson Island in the Philippines when eleven Japanese kamikaze aircraft appeared over the horizon and attacked. George Pendergast, who edits Wikipedia with the username Pendright, was eighteen years old when he joined Mahan '​s crew in April 1944.
The municipality of Esino Lario in Italy will host Wikimania 2016.
Our contributor opines that WikiProjects are failing to live up to their potential. WikiProject X is a new project funded by a Wikimedia Foundation Individual Engagement Grant that focuses on figuring out what makes some WikiProjects work and not others.
Quotes from Jimbo on Wikipedia in education; net neutrality; preserving musical heritage; Wikipedia in audio; a cheerful vandal credits high school with papal visitations.
Nine articles, one list, and ten pictures were promoted.
ArbCom's three open cases are GamerGate, Wifione, and Christianity and sexuality.

The Signpost: 28 January 2015

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The editorial board is not complete without you. We are looking for Wikipedians with all kinds of experience levels.
The English Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee has closed the colossal GamerGate arbitration case, whose size—involving 27 named parties—recalls large and complex cases of the past.
A murder suspect edits Wikipedia, Russia is kidding when it says it wants to censor Wikipedia.
Does the committee facilitate stability... or is it a circus. Two users, two perspectives.
It is pretty clear what the theme is this week: people.
A paper presented at the International Conference on Pattern Recognition last year presents an automated method to improve Wikipedia's coverage of theatre plays.
As with last year, music stars were the majority of celebrities on the list, as their frequent concerts and media appearances keep their flames alight longer than others of their stripe.
Ten featured articles, three featured lists, and 22 featured images were promoted this week.

VisualEditor News 2015—#1

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Since the last newsletter, the Editing Team has fixed many bugs and worked on VisualEditor's appearance, the coming Citoid reference service, and support for languages with complex input requirements. Status reports are posted on Mediawiki.org. Upcoming plans are posted at the VisualEditor roadmap.

The Wikimedia Foundation has named its top priorities for this quarter (January to March). The first priority is making VisualEditor ready for deployment by default to all new users and logged-out users at the remaining large Wikipedias. You can help identify these requirements. There will be weekly triage meetings which will be open to volunteers beginning Wednesday, 11 February 2015 at 12:00 (noon) PST (20:00 UTC). Tell Vice President of Engineering Damon Sicore, Product Manager James Forrester and other team members which bugs and features are most important to you. The decisions made at these meetings will determine what work is necessary for this quarter's goal of making VisualEditor ready for deployment to new users. The presence of volunteers who enjoy contributing MediaWiki code is particularly appreciated. Information about how to join the meeting will be posted at mw:Talk:VisualEditor/Portal shortly before the meeting begins. 

Due to some breaking changes in MobileFrontend and VisualEditor, VisualEditor was not working correctly on the mobile site for a couple of days in early January. The teams apologize for the problem.

Recent improvements

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The new design for VisualEditor aligns with MediaWiki's Front-End Standards as led by the Design team. Several new versions of the OOjs UI library have also been released, and these also affect the appearance of VisualEditor and other MediaWiki software extensions. Most changes were minor, like changing the text size and the amount of white space in some windows. Buttons are consistently color-coded to indicate whether the action:

  • starts a new task, like opening the ⧼visualeditor-toolbar-savedialog⧽ dialog:  blue ,
  • takes a constructive action, like inserting a citation:  green ,
  • might remove or lose your work, like removing a link:  red , or
  • is neutral, like opening a link in a new browser window:  gray.

The TemplateData editor has been completely re-written to use a different design (T67815) based on the same OOjs UI system as VisualEditor (T73746). This change fixed a couple of existing bugs (T73077 and T73078) and improved usability.

Search and replace in long documents is now faster. It does not highlight every occurrence if there are more than 100 on-screen at once (T78234).

Editors at the Hebrew and Russian Wikipedias requested the ability to use VisualEditor in the "Article Incubator" or drafts namespace (T86688, T87027). If your community would like VisualEditor enabled on another namespace on your wiki, then you can file a request in Phabricator. Please include a link to a community discussion about the requested change.

Looking ahead

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The Editing team will soon add auto-fill features for citations. The Citoid service takes a URL or DOI for a reliable source, and returns a pre-filled, pre-formatted bibliographic citation. After creating it, you will be able to change or add information to the citation, in the same way that you edit any other pre-existing citation in VisualEditor. Support for ISBNs, PMIDs, and other identifiers is planned. Later, editors will be able to contribute to the Citoid service's definitions for each website, to improve precision and reduce the need for manual corrections.

We will need editors to help test the new design of the special character inserter, especially if you speak Welsh, Breton, or another language that uses diacritics or special characters extensively. The new version should be available for testing next week. Please contact User:Whatamidoing (WMF) if you would like to be notified when the new version is available. After the special character tool is completed, VisualEditor will be deployed to all users at Phase 5 Wikipedias. This will affect about 50 mid-size and smaller Wikipedias, including Afrikaans, Azerbaijani, Breton, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Mongolian, Tatar, and Welsh. The date for this change has not been determined.

Let's work together

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Subscribe or unsubscribe at Wikipedia:VisualEditor/Newsletter. Translations are available through Meta. Thank you! Whatamidoing (WMF) 20:23, 2 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 04 February 2015

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The Signpost talks with the creator of a grant proposal to create an on-wiki exclusive space for women to discuss issues.
Hundreds of posted jobs offer money to edit Wikipedia. These jobs appear to be thriving, with tens of thousands of dollars changing hands each month.
Media fallout continues from the January 29 decision in the mammoth Gamergate arbitration case.
The American heartland appears to dominate the Report this week, with Chris Kyle leading the Report.
Three featured articles, five featured lists, and thirty-nine featured images were promoted this week.
One case has been closed, two cases remain open, a third is undergoing a review, and three clarification or amendment requests remain open.
A small band of dedicated editors seek to improve articles relating to a less lively topic. If you haven't yet guessed, this week's focus is WikiProject Death.
The Signpost has arranged to mirror Tech news from the Meta-Wiki.
A new Signpost feature.

The Signpost: 11 February 2015

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Please take this survey about the Signpost.
Also: GLAM-Wiki Conference; Ombudsman Commission announced; Slovak Wikipedia now has 200,000 articles
Edina edit war illustrates disconnect between new and experienced editors; Wikipedia is "astroturf's dream come true"; Canadian government investigating even more Wikipedia editing; academics on Gamergate as "clash of civilizations"?
Two articles, three lists, and twenty five pictures became featured.
Wikipedia presents itself as a repository for the world, and while that is a noble sentiment, it is still true that, Conservapedian complaints notwithstanding, the English language Wikipedia is very often the American Wikipedia, and never has that been more apparent than this week.
This week, we bring three of the most recently created WikiProjects to come into being on the English Wikipedia. While many long-established projects are becoming inactive, (as we have covered before), that doesn't stop new ones forming every now and then to cover a topic that a group of editors feel should be better cared for.
This week, we feature subjects that are about love of all kinds.

The Signpost: 18 February 2015

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Go Phightins! shares his thoughts on admin attrition and the size of the administrative backlog.
The Australian ("Wikipedia not destroying life as we know it", February 11) and Times Higher Education ("Wikipedia should be 'better integrated' into teaching", February 10) reported on a recent study performed at Monash University, titled "Students’ use of Wikipedia as an academic resource – patterns of use and perceptions of usefulness".
The authors of this report inform us that the "goal in the Revision Scoring project is to do the hard work of constructing and maintaining powerful AI so that tool developers don't have to. This cross-lingual, machine learning classifier service for edits will support new wiki tools that require edit quality measures."
Darwin Day is observed annually on February 12 to commemorate the life and work of scientist Charles Darwin. Here is a selection of images of life on the Galápagos Islands, where Darwin made key observations leading to his scientific theory of evolution by natural selection.
This week saw the 57th Annual Grammy Awards (#13 on the Top 25) held on 8 February dominating the traffic chart, as music lovers checked out Sam Smith (#3) picking up four awards, Beck taking album of the year, and performances including Sia (#9), Madonna (#11), and Annie Lennox (#16). But Valentine's Day (#1) proved the perfect time for the release of Fifty Shades of Grey, with the movie coming in at #5, the book of the same name at #2, and the primary actors at #14 and #15.
Five pictures, six lists, and seventeen pictures were promoted
The most significant item on ArbCom's agenda this fortnight has been the closure of the Wifione case and subsequent fallout, although the fallout from GamerGate continues to linger.

The Signpost: 25 February 2015

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A report from the external research firm Lafayette Practice has declared that the Wikimedia Foundation is the "largest known participatory grantmaking fund." Several concerns have been raised with the report, the phrase being used (participatory grantmaking), the now-former Wikipedia article on that phrase, and an alleged conflict of interest by WMF staff members.
Doc James tells us that "The one good thing that has come out of all of this is that Wikipedia’s content passing a major textbook publisher review processes is some external validation of Wikipedia’s quality."
Andrew McMillen's February 3 profile of and his quest to rid Wikipedia of the phrase "comprised of" has been one of the most widely circulated and commented upon media stories about the encyclopedia recently.
Eleven articles and twenty pictures were promoted in the week covered by this report.
The Gallery is an occasional Signpost feature highlighting quality images and articles from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons based on a particular theme, as well as an article you could help improve. This week, we feature subjects that are "far from home".
An odd juxtaposition this week, as interest in Fifty Shades of Grey coincided with the observance of the Chinese New Year and the annual festival of penance, Ash Wednesday.
A monthly roundup of Wikimedia-related research
This week's project is on a youth activity, one of the largest in the world; its project is commensurately large, containing around 136 active editors. It's WikiProject Scouting, a group of editors whose remit is everything relating to the Scouting movement, which has around 42 million members worldwide and celebrated the centenary of its founding only eight years ago.
Editor's note: the Blog will be a recurring Signpost section that will highlight a recent post from the Wikimedia blog, run by the Wikimedia Foundation. This week's installment is written by Philippe Beaudette, the Foundation's Director of Community Advocacy, and focuses on planning for the future of the Wikimedia movement.

The Signpost: 25 February 2015

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A report from the external research firm Lafayette Practice has declared that the Wikimedia Foundation is the "largest known participatory grantmaking fund." Several concerns have been raised with the report, the phrase being used (participatory grantmaking), the now-former Wikipedia article on that phrase, and an alleged conflict of interest by WMF staff members.
Doc James tells us that "The one good thing that has come out of all of this is that Wikipedia’s content passing a major textbook publisher review processes is some external validation of Wikipedia’s quality."
Andrew McMillen's February 3 profile of and his quest to rid Wikipedia of the phrase "comprised of" has been one of the most widely circulated and commented upon media stories about the encyclopedia recently.
Eleven articles and twenty pictures were promoted in the week covered by this report.
The Gallery is an occasional Signpost feature highlighting quality images and articles from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons based on a particular theme, as well as an article you could help improve. This week, we feature subjects that are "far from home".
An odd juxtaposition this week, as interest in Fifty Shades of Grey coincided with the observance of the Chinese New Year and the annual festival of penance, Ash Wednesday.
A monthly roundup of Wikimedia-related research
This week's project is on a youth activity, one of the largest in the world; its project is commensurately large, containing around 136 active editors. It's WikiProject Scouting, a group of editors whose remit is everything relating to the Scouting movement, which has around 42 million members worldwide and celebrated the centenary of its founding only eight years ago.
Editor's note: the Blog will be a recurring Signpost section that will highlight a recent post from the Wikimedia blog, run by the Wikimedia Foundation. This week's installment is written by Philippe Beaudette, the Foundation's Director of Community Advocacy, and focuses on planning for the future of the Wikimedia movement.

The Signpost: 04 March 2015

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We received a large amount of feedback in our survey indicating that our readers found the idea of contributing to the Signpost difficult due to our opaque internal structure.
The Wikimedia Foundation released their Quarterly Report last week covering the three months October to December of 2014.
Last week, my colleagues on the Signpost produced a news report covering a minor controversy about a report commissioned by the Wikimedia Foundation. Written by the staff of The Lafayette Practice, a French research firm, it proclaimed the WMF as a leader in the practice of participatory grantmaking.
The Report this week is dominated by the Academy Awards, taking the top 4 spots and 13 of the Top 25.
In the first of what the author hopes will become a regular feature of the Arbitration report, the Signpost speaks to veteran arbitrator Newyorkbrad, who recently retired from the committee after almost seven years of arbitrating. The Signpost was keen to hear his thoughts on his time on the committee and on the past, present, and future of ArbCom.
Before being indefinitely blocked, User:FergusM1970 made more than 4600 edits on the English Wikipedia, spread over eight years. In the last two years, he was paid to edit several articles for clients that included the Venezuelan energy company Derwick Associates. We spoke with him about his experiences.
Numerous news outlets are reporting that the domain loser.com now redirects to the Wikipedia article for rapper Kanye West. Page views on West's Wikipedia article skyrocketed to almost 250,000 views on March 2, up from less than 19 thousand the previous day.
Two featured articles, four featured lists, and 38 featured pictures were promoted this week..
The Signpost has arranged to mirror Tech news from Meta-Wiki to supplement the long-form tech coverage in our infrequent Technology report..
Black History Month is celebrated annually in the United States in February, to commemorate the history of the African diaspora. For this occasion, Wikipedians worked together to honor black history and to address Wikipedia's multicultural gaps in the encyclopedia, hosting Wikipedia edit-a-thons throughout the United States, from February 1 to 28, 2015.

The Signpost: 11 March 2015

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The Wikimedia Foundation gave the Signpost an advance copy of the results of a survey of English Wikipedia readers regarding Wikimedia fundraising, due for official release today.
The community has arranged a number of commemorative initiatives focused on the gender gap, under the banner "WikiWomen's History Month".
ThinkProgress tech reporter Lauren C. Williams wrote a long article on how the Gamergate controversy has spilled over onto Wikipedia.
In an effort to protect and maintain the privacy of Wikipedia's thousands of editors, the Wikimedia Foundation has filed a lawsuit against the United States' National Security Agency, Department of Justice, and the Attorney General.
A dull week, with only three new entries in the top 10; a UFC champion, a Google Doodle and a Hindu festival involving people throwing powder at each other (though that does sound fun).
Six featured articles, three featured lists, and forty featured pictures were promoted this week.
I continue to be excited about the Core Contest because I see it as a way of encouraging the expansion of broad articles that are typically neglected by our article improvement incentives.

The Signpost: 18 March 2015

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We announce with sadness and gratitude that Signpost publication and newsroom manager Pine will be stepping back to focus on other Wikipedia and Wikimedia-related endeavors.
This process is now entering its long-awaited final phase with the upcoming SUL finalization, scheduled for April 15, less than a month away. ... Wikimedia Foundation chief talent and culture officer Gayle Karen Young announced her retirement from the Foundation this week. Young will be replaced in that role by interim chief operating officer Terry Gilbey. According to the Foundation's job description for the title as it was applied in the past, Gilbey will be in charge of "overall administration and business operations of the Wikimedia Foundation."
On March 13, Kelly Weill of Capital New York revealed that numerous Wikipedia edits originated from 1 Police Plaza, the headquarters of the NYPD. Most of the attention has focused on a number of their edits to articles about incidents of alleged police brutality and controversial police practices.
The publication of the Wikimedia survey findings on fundraising questions came three months after significant concerns were voiced about the design and wording of the December 2014 fundraising banners and e-mails.
Four featured articles, four featured lists, and thirty-five featured pictures were promoted this week.
If not for Kayne West's dubious repeat at #1, the 2015 Cricket World Cup (#2) would have made the top spot, albeit in a generally slow news week.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 03:34, 21 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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The Signpost – Volume 11, Issue 12 – 25 March 2015

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Last week the WMF announced the release of its long-awaited open-access policy.
Once when I was young, growing up in the 1990s, my father pulled his collection of railroad slides out from the basement, set up his projector, and shared a glimpse into American railway history with our family.
Four featured articles, three featured lists, and twenty-two featured pictures were promoted this week.
The Wikipedia Commons annual Picture of the Year contest has concluded, with 6,698 people voting, its largest participation yet.
This week's list is reminiscent of lists from the early days of this project: a preponderance of famous faces, Reddit threads, and Google Doodles.
The authors attempt to answer the question "Who are the most important people of all times?" Their findings clearly show that different Wikipedias give different prominence to different individuals.
A university gives a top Wikipedia editor free and full access to the university library's entire online content—and the Wikipedia editor, who is unpaid and not on campus, then creates and improves Wikipedia articles in a subject area of interest to the institution.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 03:24, 27 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost, 1 April 2015

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The Wikimedia Foundation this week released a State of the WMF report, a 38-page "snapshot" of where it is and where it wants to go in the future.
TruthRevolt targets another editor; edit stage right; the Nine Best Hoaxes to Have Hit Wikipedia
Six featured articles, first featured lists, and twenty-four featured pictures were promoted this week.
The Report is more of a mix of random topics than usual this week. The top spot is taken by Bhutanese passport, a Wikipedia article which contained a crazed spoken word version which drew widespread attention.
The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) will announce later today that it will begin accepting edits by mail for all of the projects under its scope, including Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Commons.
The Wikimedia Commons' annual Picture of the Year contest has concluded. The first 53 top-voted entries were disqualified because they were all nude.

The Signpost: 01 April 2015

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The Wikimedia Foundation this week released a State of the WMF report, a 38-page "snapshot" of where it is and where it wants to go in the future.
TruthRevolt targets another editor; edit stage right; the Nine Best Hoaxes to Have Hit Wikipedia
Six featured articles, first featured lists, and twenty-four featured pictures were promoted this week.
The Report is more of a mix of random topics than usual this week. The top spot is taken by Bhutanese passport, a Wikipedia article which contained a crazed spoken word version which drew widespread attention.
The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) will announce later today that it will begin accepting edits by mail for all of the projects under its scope, including Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Commons.
The Wikimedia Commons' annual Picture of the Year contest has concluded. The first 53 top-voted entries were disqualified because they were all nude.

VisualEditor News #2—2015

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Did you know?

With Citoid in VisualEditor, you click the 'book with bookmark' icon and paste in the URL for a reliable source:


Screenshot of Citoid's first dialog


Citoid looks up the source for you and returns the citation results. Click the green "Insert" button to accept its results and add them to the article:


Screenshot of Citoid's initial results


After inserting the citation, you can change it. Select the reference, and click the "Edit" button in the context menu to make changes.


The user guide has more information about how to use VisualEditor.

Since the last newsletter, the Editing Team has fixed many bugs and worked on VisualEditor's performance, the Citoid reference service, and support for languages with complex input requirements. Status reports are posted on Mediawiki.org. The worklist for April through June is available in Phabricator.

The weekly task triage meetings continue to be open to volunteers, each Wednesday at 11:00 (noon) PDT (18:00 UTC). You do not need to attend the meeting to nominate a bug for consideration as a Q4 blocker. Instead, go to Phabricator and "associate" the Editing team's Q4 blocker project with the bug. Learn how to join the meetings and how to nominate bugs at mw:Talk:VisualEditor/Portal.

Recent improvements

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VisualEditor is now substantially faster. In many cases, opening the page in VisualEditor is now faster than opening it in the wikitext editor. The new system has improved the code speed by 37% and network speed by almost 40%.

The Editing team is slowly adding auto-fill features for citations. This is currently available only at the French, Italian, and English Wikipedias. The Citoid service takes a URL or DOI for a reliable source, and returns a pre-filled, pre-formatted bibliographic citation. After creating it, you will be able to change or add information to the citation, in the same way that you edit any other pre-existing citation in VisualEditor. Support for ISBNs, PMIDs, and other identifiers is planned. Later, editors will be able to improve precision and reduce the need for manual corrections by contributing to the Citoid service's definitions for each website.

Citoid requires good TemplateData for your citation templates. If you would like to request this feature for your wiki, please post a request in the Citoid project on Phabricator. Include links to the TemplateData for the most important citation templates on your wiki.

The special character inserter has been improved, based upon feedback from active users. After this, VisualEditor was made available to all users of Wikipedias on the Phase 5 list on 30 March. This affected 53 mid-size and smaller Wikipedias, including Afrikaans, Azerbaijani, Breton, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Mongolian, Tatar, and Welsh.

Work continues to support languages with complex requirements, such as Korean and Japanese. These languages use input method editors ("IMEs”). Recent improvements to cursoring, backspace, and delete behavior will simplify typing in VisualEditor for these users.

The design for the image selection process is now using a "masonry fit" model. Images in the search results are displayed at the same height but at variable widths, similar to bricks of different sizes in a masonry wall, or the "packed" mode in image galleries. This style helps you find the right image by making it easier to see more details in images.

You can now drag and drop categories to re-arrange their order of appearance ​on the page.

The pop-up window that appears when you click on a reference, image, link, or other element, is called the "context menu". It now displays additional useful information, such as the destination of the link or the image's filename. The team has also added an explicit "Edit" button in the context menu, which helps new editors open the tool to change the item.

Invisible templates are marked by a puzzle piece icon so they can be interacted with. Users also will be able to see and edit HTML anchors now in section headings.

Users of the TemplateData GUI editor can now set a string as an optional text for the 'deprecated' property in addition to boolean value, which lets you tell users of the template what they should do instead (T90734).

Looking ahead

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The special character inserter in VisualEditor will soon use the same special character list as the wikitext editor. Admins at each wiki will also have the option of creating a custom section for frequently used characters at the top of the list. Instructions for customizing the list will be posted at mediawiki.org.

The team is discussing a test of VisualEditor with new users, to see whether they have met their goals of making VisualEditor suitable for those editors. The timing is unknown, but might be relatively soon.

Let's work together

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  • Share your ideas and ask questions at mw:VisualEditor/Feedback.
  • Can you translate from English into any other language? Please check this list to see whether more interface translations are needed for your language. Contact us to get an account if you want to help!
  • The design research team wants to see how real editors work. Please sign up for their research program.
  • File requests for language-appropriate "Bold" and "Italic" icons for the character formatting menu in Phabricator.

Subscribe, unsubscribe or change the page where this newsletter is delivered at Meta. If you aren't reading this in your favorite language, then please help us with translations! Subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact us directly, so that we can notify you when the next issue is ready. Thank you!

-Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk), 17:50, 3 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 08 April 2015

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Wikipedia has been gravitating towards a vehicle for business and product promotion for too long.
March saw a number of high-level hirings and executive reorganizations in the Wikimedia Foundation.
The venerable CBS news program 60 Minutes profiled Wikipedia and the Wikimedia community.
How appropriate that the theme of Easter week would be resurrection from the dead.
Four featured articles, seven featured lists, and 23 featured pictures were promoted this week.
With Holy Week having recently drawn to a close, it is an apt time to examine WikiProject Christianity, which was created in 2006, and boasts over 200 active members.
The Committee has voted on the 2015 appointments to the Functionary team.
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community.

The Signpost: 08 April 2015

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Wikipedia has been gravitating towards a vehicle for business and product promotion for too long.
March saw a number of high-level hirings and executive reorganizations in the Wikimedia Foundation.
The venerable CBS news program 60 Minutes profiled Wikipedia and the Wikimedia community.
How appropriate that the theme of Easter week would be resurrection from the dead.
Four featured articles, seven featured lists, and 23 featured pictures were promoted this week.
With Holy Week having recently drawn to a close, it is an apt time to examine WikiProject Christianity, which was created in 2006, and boasts over 200 active members.
The Committee has voted on the 2015 appointments to the Functionary team.
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community.

The Signpost: 15 April 2015

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The Wikimedia Foundation's vice president for engineering, Erik Möller, will leave the WMF on April 30.
Time profiles Lila Tretikov, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, and paints a grim picture of the challenges faced by Tretikov and the encyclopedia.
Later this month, everyone will be able to use the same user name on every wiki, thanks to Single-User Login.
If it wasn't for Easter, Fast and Furious related articles would have taken the top four spots this week. The latest installment of the movie franchise, Furious 7, tops the chart for the second straight week.
Six featured articles, four featured lists, and fourteen featured pictures were promoted this week.

The Signpost: 22 April 2015

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A Signpost investigation of the released data has revealed Sony's corporate practices regarding Wikipedia and uncovered what appears to be undisclosed advocacy editing of Wikipedia by Sony employees and possibly by others.
Wikipedia appears to have been drawn into the drama of the upcoming, hotly contested UK general election.
The Affiliates Committee this week announced the organization of a community referral for comment, currently open on the meta-wiki, to address upcoming changes to the way that the Affiliations Committee will review movement-affiliated user-groups in the future.
2015 will see through the biennial community election for the three community-elected seats on the Board of Trustees—the "ultimate corporate authority" of the Wikimedia Foundation and the level at which the strategic decisions regarding the Wikimedia movement are made.
Six featured articles and fifteen featured pictures were promoted this week.
Couch potatoes rule this week, as 9 of the top 10 slots were taken by either movies, TV, or sports.
The Gallery is an occasional Signpost feature highlighting quality images and articles from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons based on a particular theme.

The Signpost: 29 April 2015

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Esino Lario is set to host Wikimania 2016, but volunteers and others have raised a host of concerns that raise serious questions about the town's suitability for hosting such a large conference.
The evaluations reveal that in the last three years, WLM has possibly fallen victim to its own success and seen diminishing returns.
David Coburn, a Member of the European Parliament for the Scotland region for the UK Independence Party, was blocked from editing Wikipedia on April 6.
Ten featured articles, nine featured lists, and twenty-eight featured pictures were promoted this week.
Though the continued predominance of movies, TV, and sports noted in last week's report largely continues, three additional topics joined the Top 10 this week.
Reader demand for some topics (e.g. LGBT topics or pages about countries) is poorly satisfied, whereas there is over-abundance of quality on topics of comparatively little interest, such as military history.

The Signpost: 06 May 2015

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The Wikimedia Foundation this week announced the winning grantees in March's "Inspire" grant-making campaign.
Seven articles, three lists, and ten pictures were promoted to "featured" status this week. The second round of the WikiCup has ended.
artnet and The Next Web report (May 6) that the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is releasing a hundred images of works in its collection under Creative Commons licences in conjunction with a May 19 editathon.
Elections have begun for five community members of the Funds Dissemination Committee, the Foundation's volunteer body for judging and recommending millions of dollars worth of annual grants to affiliates in the movement. The election lasts just eight days, from Sunday 3 May until 23:59 UTC on Sunday 10 May, so at the time of publication, voters will need to act promptly.
Like colliding ocean liners, rousing entertainment and harsh reality merged ungainly in this week's top 10 list. The much heralded pay-per-view pummeling of Manny Pacquiao by Floyd Mayweather, Jr. dominated the list's top slots, giving this list one of its highest total view counts in months.

The Signpost: 13 May 2015

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Three community-elected seats on the Board of Trustees—the ultimate governing authority of the Wikimedia Foundation—will be decided by Wikimedians in the election to be held 17–31 May.
This week has been a busy one for the Wikidata project, with nearly simultaneous Wikidata contests, both organized by Wikimedia Sweden, now underway.
Casual viewers may think I've posted the same list twice. But no, readers just happen to be really interested in May 2's Big Fight. In fact, last week was just the weigh-in and the trash talk. This week, the numbers actually increased.
Grant Shapps, who was the co-chairman of the UK's Conservative Party until this week, has been accused of maliciously editing the Wikipedia biographies of his party's rivals.
There is a public misconception of Wikipedia: that any anonymous editor can edit Wikipedia at any time, and cannot be tracked or identified.
Eight articles, one list, and five pictures were promoted to featured status on the English Wikipedia in a slow week.

The Signpost: 20 May 2015

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The Wikimedia Foundation's bi-annual Board of Trustees election is open for voting. Of the ten seats on the board, three are elected representatives of the global Wikimedia community—you.
The article counts of many Wikimedia wikis suddenly changed on 29 March 2015: as the Signpost reported at the time, sixty-five wikis fell below milestones tracked at the Wikimedia News Meta page, and three increased to new milestones.
The list is topped this week by Danish scientist Inge Lehmann, thanks to a Google Doodle celebrating her 127th birthday. Lehmann discovered in 1936 that the Earth has a solid inner core. It is sometimes surprising to realize how recently such basic scientific knowledge of the Earth, which we now take for granted, was discovered.
Wikipedia editors logging in on May 19 found themselves walking into an unexpected amount of anti-vandal work to keep the site in line with its extensive biographies of living persons policy. A plethora of Wikipedia articles related to the United States House Committee on Appropriations, and the fifty-one representatives serving on it, have been hit by a raft of anonymous editors making often vulgar edits referencing "chicken fucker," or more creative combinations: "sexual conduct", "sexual congress", "fornicator", "intimate relations", or "trysts with chickens."
Three articles, seven lists, and seven pictures were featured on the English Wikipedia.
Jimmy Wales and five others accepted the 2015 Dan David Prize at Tel Aviv University on May 17. The prize comes with US$1 million, ten percent of which goes to doctoral and postdoctoral scholarships.
This week, we had the pleasure of interviewing WikiProject Molecular and Cellular Biology, which has come a long way since our last interview in 2008. Like most projects, it has a long member list, but only a small subset of that group regularly contributes. With 28 featured articles and 58 top-importance start class ones, the project has clearly had some success, but has a ways to go. We talked to three regular project contributors.
The Arbitration Committee has an unusually large case load at present. Although perhaps not on a par with the high-profile, multi-party cases seen towards the end of last year and the beginning of this year, with five open cases the arbitrators are likely to be kept busy for the next several weeks.

VisualEditor News #3—2015

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Did you know?

When you click on a link to an article, you now see more information:

Screenshot showing the link tool's context menu


The link tool has been re-designed:

Screenshot of the link inspector


There are separate tabs for linking to internal and external pages.

The user guide has more information about how to use VisualEditor.

Since the last newsletter, the Editing Team has created new interfaces for the link and citation tools, as well as fixing many bugs and changing some elements of the design. Some of these bugs affected users of VisualEditor on mobile devices. Status reports are posted on Mediawiki.org. The worklist for April through June is available in Phabricator.

A test of VisualEditor's effect on new editors at the English Wikipedia has just completed the first phase. During this test, half of newly registered editors had VisualEditor automatically enabled, and half did not. The main goal of the study is to learn which group was more likely to save an edit and to make productive, unreverted edits. Initial results will be posted at Meta later this month.

Recent improvements

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Auto-fill features for citations are available at a few Wikipedias through the citoid service. Citoid takes a URL or DOI for a reliable source, and returns a pre-filled, pre-formatted bibliographic citation. If Citoid is enabled on your wiki, then the design of the citation workflow changed during May. All citations are now created inside a single tool. Inside that tool, choose the tab you want (⧼citoid-citeFromIDDialog-mode-auto⧽, ⧼citoid-citeFromIDDialog-mode-manual⧽, or ⧼citoid-citeFromIDDialog-mode-reuse⧽). The cite button is now labeled with the word "⧼visualeditor-toolbar-cite-label⧽" rather than a book icon, and the autofill citation dialog now has a more meaningful label, "⧼Citoid-citeFromIDDialog-lookup-button⧽", for the submit button.

The link tool has been redesigned based on feedback from Wikipedia editors and user testing. It now has two separate sections: one for links to articles and one for external links. When you select a link, its pop-up context menu shows the name of the linked page, a thumbnail image from the linked page, Wikidata's description, and/or appropriate icons for disambiguation pages, redirect pages and empty pages. Search results have been reduced to the first five pages. Several bugs were fixed, including a dark highlight that appeared over the first match in the link inspector (T98085).  

The special character inserter in VisualEditor now uses the same special character list as the wikitext editor. Admins at each wiki can also create a custom section for frequently used characters at the top of the list. Please read the instructions for customizing the list at mediawiki.org. Also, there is now a tooltip to describing each character in the special character inserter (T70425).

Several improvements have been made to templates. When you search for a template to insert, the list of results now contains descriptions of the templates. The parameter list inside the template dialog now remains open after inserting a parameter from the list, so that users don’t need to click on "⧼visualeditor-dialog-transclusion-add-param⧽" each time they want to add another parameter (T95696). The team added a new property for TemplateData, "Example", for template parameters. This optional, translatable property will show up when there is text describing how to use that parameter (T53049).

The design of the main toolbar and several other elements have changed slightly, to be consistent with the MediaWiki theme. In the Vector skin, individual items in the menu are separated visually by pale gray bars. Buttons and menus on the toolbar can now contain both an icon and a text label, rather than just one or the other. This new design feature is being used for the cite button on wikis where the Citoid service is enabled.

The team has released a long-desired improvement to the handling of non-existent images. If a non-existent image is linked in an article, then it is now visible in VisualEditor and can be selected, edited, replaced, or removed.

Let's work together

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  • Share your ideas and ask questions at mw:VisualEditor/Feedback.
  • The weekly task triage meetings continue to be open to volunteers, each Wednesday at 12:00 (noon) PDT (19:00 UTC). Learn how to join the meetings and how to nominate bugs at mw:Talk:VisualEditor/Portal. You do not need to attend the meeting to nominate a bug for consideration as a Q4 blocker. Instead, go to Phabricator and "associate" the Editing team's Q4 blocker project with the bug.
  • If your Wikivoyage, Wikibooks, Wikiversity, or other community wants to have VisualEditor made available by default to contributors, then please contact James Forrester.
  • If you would like to request the Citoid automatic reference feature for your wiki, please post a request in the Citoid project on Phabricator. Include links to the TemplateData for the most important citation templates on your wiki.

Subscribe, unsubscribe or change the page where this newsletter is delivered at Meta. If you aren't reading this in your favorite language, then please help us with translations! Subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact us directly, so that we can notify you when the next issue is ready. Thank you! Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 17:31, 6 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 03 June 2015

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The Wikimedia Foundation's volunteer election committee has announced the election results for the three vacant seats on the Board of Trustees. Dariusz Jemielnak, James Heilman, and Denny Vrandečić are set to take up their two-year terms on the Board. They will replace the three incumbents, all of whom stood this time unsuccessfully: Phoebe Ayers, Samuel Klein, and María Sefidari.
Caitlyn Jenner—the American hero of the 1976 Olympics, a film actor, and prominent member of Keeping Up with the Kardashians—may now be the most famous openly transgender person in the world.
Since the dawn of Wikipedia, or at least since 22 December 2005, the template named Persondata has existed.
Two featured articles and ten featured pictures were promoted this week.
Over the past few weeks, developers have been working on improving Wikimedia's performance when users connect to it using SPDY.
Wikipedia appears to be the single most used website for health information globally, exceeding traffic observed at the NIH, WebMD, WHO et al..
More UK government vandalism; legend has it; minding the gender gap
The traffic report is nothing unusual this week, with a Google Doodle for astronaut Sally Ride topping the list, the accidental death of famous mathematician John Forbes Nash, Jr. at #2, and the normal fare of recent popular American movies and television.

The Signpost: 10 June 2015

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This week saw the publication of the Chapter-wide Financial Trends Report 2013, a now-completed research project that examines the finances and outlays of the 36 movement-affiliated chapters.
"Happy families are all alike," Leo Tolstoy said, "but unhappy families are unhappy after their own fashion."
UK media covers Wikipedia Arbitration case; Lila Tretikov visits Israel.
Four featured articles, two featured lists, one featured topic, and twenty-eight featured pictures were promoted this week.
Today it was announced that Wikimedia sites are going to become HTTPS only, finishing up 10 year effort of rolling out HTTPS.
The Medical Translation Project, an ambitious attempt to improve and translate Wikipedia’s medical content from English into other languages, began in 2012.

The Signpost: 17 June 2015

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The Princess of Asturias Foundation announced that Wikipedia would be the recipient of the 2015 Princess of Asturias award in the category of International Cooperation.
The Arbitration Committee delivered its final decision in a case that reached the attention of the UK national press.
This would end a long-standing tradition in many countries that the skyline and the public scene should belong to everybody.
We need to be ever-diligent in ensuring that articles remain of high quality.
The rollout of HTTPS only has now been completed across all Wikimedia wikis.
We interviewed an Australian veteran who deployed to the region as a peacekeeper and now writes articles on the region's history to help him understand what he encountered there.
A more than usually severe outage Wikimedia Labs occurred after a massive database corruption implosion on June 17.
Six featured articles, seven featured lists, and seven featured pictures were promoted this week.
Author's note: This might be a violation of WP:BEANS; read at your own risk.
It wouldn't be the WikiProject report if we didn't feature an Australian topic once in a while, so this week we're looking at the left side.

The Signpost: 24 June 2015

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Over more than a decade of weekly publication, The Signpost has accumulated an incredibly lengthy and detailed record about the issues, controversies, successes, and failures of the English Wikipedia community and the movement at large.
The Wikimedia Foundation's Language Engineering team plans to introduce Content Translation—a tool that makes it easier to translate Wikipedia articles into different languages—as a beta feature on the English Wikipedia.
During 2009–2011 Google ran the Google Translation Project (GTP), a program utilising paid translators to translate most popular English Wikipedia articles to various Indian language Wikipedias.
Four articles and nine pictures were promoted to featured status this week.
One paper looks at the topic of Wikipedia governance in the context of online social production.
This past week saw the kick-off of the 2015 MediaWiki architecture focus of improving our content platform.
The Board of Trustees is the "ultimate corporate authority" of the Wikimedia Foundation and the level at which the strategic decisions regarding the Wikimedia movement are made ...
The Hürriyet Daily News reports that the Turkish Wikipedia has posted banners on the top of the encyclopedia to warn users that a number of articles are being blocked by the Turkish government.
After six years of work, a residency in the Canadian Rockies, endless debugging, and more than a little help from my friends, I have made Print Wikipedia.
Clausewitz' pithy summary of warfare as "politics by other means" seems to be the motto of some Wikipedia editors.

The Signpost: 01 July 2015

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This week The Center for Internet and Society published a promotional blog post highlighting the heritage of the center's creation of the Train the Trainer program.
A week now remains until the vote, expected on 9 July, when the European Parliament will express either its approval, disapproval, or lack of opinion on the question of freedom of panorama in the European Union.
Here to share their wisdom are Dodger67, Penny Richards, LilyKitty, and Mirokado of WikiProject Disability
Four featured list and twelve featured pictures were promoted this week.
For the week of June 21 to 27, 2015, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the most viewed pages.
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community.
Like many editors of the world's largest encyclopedia, Karanacs was browsing the site's articles and found that they were of relatively poor quality—and that the traditional narrative she'd learned was not necessarily accurate.

The Signpost: 08 July 2015

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It seems like a good time to discuss the various communications channels available to community members.
Lila Tretikov this week posted an email to the wikimedia-l mailing list announcing the final publication of the Wikimedia Foundation's 2015 annual plan.
The mayor of Esino Lario warns that Wikimedia 2016 is "at risk of disappearing".
It's July 4 weekend and on this list that means only one thing: Wimbledon. Sure, the American Independence Day gets noticed too, but it can't hold a candle to that staggeringly British sporting event.
12 featured articles, 2 featured lists, and 15 featured pictures were promoted this week.
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community.

The Signpost: 15 July 2015

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"How long will this take?" This is one of the first questions new clients ask. They come to us because the Wikipedia entry about the company at which they work is wrong, incomplete, or even just outdated. The answer varies ...
However coy they may be about it in public, Americans love to win. And when they do, they make no secret of it.
We return this week with an interview with a historical project that's still fairly active, WikiProject Former countries.
In The Register, Andrew Orlowski reports that three weeks ago, Grant Shapps filed a request with Wikimedia UK (WMUK) under the Data Protection Act 1998 "for all data relating to him".
The Wikimedia Foundation is pleased to announce the release of our latest transparency report.
Wikimania 2015 is underway in Mexico City, and one of its sessions—a scheduled follow-up to the annual Wikimedia Conference that was held in Berlin in May—is good reason to provide a retrospective of that Conference.
One featured article, seven featured lists, and 14 featured pictures were promoted this week.
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community

The Signpost: 22 July 2015

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We want to take a moment to ask you to consider contributing to the Signpost.
Wikimania features remarks from some leading players from the Wikimedia Foundation as well as the free knowledge movement.
WMF's Executive Director, Lila Tretikov, gave the opening plenary address.
Three novelists "have found a way to control the Wikipedia narrative" by using the annotation website Genius to annotate their own Wikipedia articles.
Summary:When I was a kid, being a nerd meant wanting to go to Pluto.
WikiProject Politics of the United Kingdom
Three featured articles, two featured lists, and 29 featured pictures were promoted this week.
46 years ago this week, humanity set foot on the Moon.
Community technical news.

The Signpost: 29 July 2015

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An RFC proposes to create a "Bureaucrats' Admin Review Committee" (BARC) composed of bureaucrats empowered to remove adminship rights.
Two years ago, I discovered that I was on the autism spectrum.
An article argues that Wikipedia displays some key characteristics of a collective intelligence process.
"Editors representing rival political tribes [are] frequently attempting to impose their respective narratives as the official version of one or another cultural controversy."
Five featured articles, five featured lists, and sixteen featured pictures were promoted this week.
For the first time since this list began, India-related topics have claimed both the top two slots.

The Signpost: 05 August 2015

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That particular artists would be omitted through oversight or happenstance is reasonable, but that one of the world's leading publishers of art books is completely unaware of their major omissions is startling.
The public interest in remembering the facts about trials and convictions is, in my view, at least as strong as any "right to be forgotten."
VisualEditor is now on slow roll-out on the English Wikipedia.
The Report checks in with WikiProject Templates.
The Indian government has launched an investigation into the source of Wikipedia edits regarding Jawaharlal Nehru that caused outrage in that country.
Death is no stranger to this list, but it has never cast such a pall as this week, when for the first time half the slots in the top 10 were devoted to it, including the top 3.
Three featured articles, seven featured lists, and twenty-two featured pictures were promoted this week.
What if there was a gathering place on Wikipedia for newer editors to find a mentor?

VisualEditor News #4—2015

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Read this in another language • Local subscription list • Subscribe to the multilingual edition

Did you know?

You can add quotations marks before and after a title or phrase with a single click.

Select the relevant text. Find the correct quotations marks in the special character inserter tool (marked as Ω in the toolbar).

Screenshot showing the special character tool, selected text, and the special character that will be inserted


Click the button. VisualEditor will add the quotation marks on either side of the text you selected.

Screenshot showing the special character tool and the same text after the special character has been inserted


You can read and help translate the user guide, which has more information about how to use VisualEditor.

Since the last newsletter, the Editing Team have been working on mobile phone support. They have fixed many bugs and improved language support. They post weekly status reports on mediawiki.org. Their workboard is available in Phabricator. Their current priorities are improving language support and functionality on mobile devices.

Wikimania

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The team attended Wikimania 2015 in Mexico City. There they participated in the Hackathon and met with individuals and groups of users. They also made several presentations about VisualEditor and the future of editing.

Following Wikimania, we announced winners for the VisualEditor 2015 Translathon. Our thanks and congratulations to users Halan-tul, Renessaince, जनक राज भट्ट (Janak Bhatta), Vahe Gharakhanyan, Warrakkk, and Eduardogobi.

For interface messages (translated at translatewiki.net), we saw the initiative affecting 42 languages. The average progress in translations across all languages was 56.5% before the translathon, and 78.2% after (+21.7%). In particular, Sakha improved from 12.2% to 94.2%; Brazilian Portuguese went from 50.6% to 100%; Taraškievica went from 44.9% to 85.3%; Doteli went from 1.3% to 41.2%. Also, while 1.7% of the messages were outdated across all languages before the translathon, the percentage dropped to 0.8% afterwards (-0.9%).

For documentation messages (on mediawiki.org), we saw the initiative affecting 24 languages. The average progress in translations across all languages was 26.6% before translathon, and 46.9% after (+20.3%).  There were particularly notable achievements for three languages. Armenian improved from 1% to 99%; Swedish, from 21% to 99%, and Brazilian Portuguese, from 34% to 83%. Outdated translations across all languages were reduced from 8.4% before translathon to 4.8% afterwards (-3.6%).

We published some graphs showing the effect of the event on the Translathon page. Thank you to the translators for participating and the translatewiki.net staff for facilitating this initiative.

Recent improvements

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Auto-fill features for citations can be enabled on each Wikipedia. The tool uses the citoid service to convert a URL or DOI into a pre-filled, pre-formatted bibliographic citation. You can see an animated GIF of the quick, simple process at mediawiki.org. So far, about a dozen Wikipedias have enabled the auto-citation tool. To enable it for your wiki, follow the instructions at mediawiki.org.

Your wiki can customize the first section of the special character inserter in VisualEditor. Please follow the instructions at mediawiki.org to put the characters you want at the top. 

In other changes, if you need to fill in a CAPTCHA and get it wrong, then you can click to get a new one to complete. VisualEditor can now display and edit Vega-based graphs. If you use the Monobook skin, VisualEditor's appearance is now more consistent with other software.  

Future changes

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The team will be changing the appearance of selected links inside VisualEditor. The purpose is to make it easy to see whether your cursor is inside or outside the link. When you select a link, the link label (the words shown on the page) will be enclosed in a faint box. If you place your cursor inside the box, then your changes to the link label will be part of the link. If you place your cursor outside the box, then it will not. This will make it easy to know when new characters will be added to the link and when they will not.

On the English Wikipedia, 10% of newly created accounts are now offered both the visual and the wikitext editors. A recent controlled trial showed no significant difference in survival or productivity for new users in the short term. New users with access to VisualEditor were very slightly less likely to produce results that needed reverting. You can learn more about this by watching a video of the July 2015 Wikimedia Research Showcase. The proportion of new accounts with access to both editing environments will be gradually increased over time. Eventually all new users have the choice between the two editing environments.

Let's work together

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  • Share your ideas and ask questions at Wikipedia:VisualEditor/Feedback.
  • Can you read and type in Korean or Japanese? Language engineer David Chan needs people who know which tools people use to type in some languages. If you speak Japanese or Korean, you can help him test support for these languages. Please see the instructions at mw:VisualEditor/IME Testing#What to test if you can help.
  • If your wiki would like VisualEditor enabled on another namespace, you can file a request in Phabricator. Please include a link to a community discussion about the requested change.
  • Please file requests for language-appropriate "Bold" and "Italic" icons for the styling menu in Phabricator.
  • The design research team wants to see how real editors work. Please sign up for their research program.
  • The weekly task triage meetings continue to be open to volunteers, usually on Tuesdays at 12:00 (noon) PDT (19:00 UTC). Learn how to join the meetings and how to nominate bugs at mw:VisualEditor/Weekly triage meetings. You do not need to attend the meeting to nominate a bug for consideration as a Q1 blocker, though. Instead, go to Phabricator and "associate" the main VisualEditor project with the bug.

If you aren't reading this in your favorite language, then please help us with translations! Subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact Elitre directly, so that she can notify you when the next issue is ready. Thank you! Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 00:01, 8 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 12 August 2015

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Superprotect was a novel page protection level implemented on August 10 last year, without warning.
The Atlantic discusses "The Covert World of People Trying to Edit Wikipedia—for Pay".
The community speaks out on paid editing.
Our ongoing Wikimanía coverage.
The charts are led this week by UFC women's champion Ronda Rousey, who won her last match at UFC 190 (#9) in 34 seconds.
Watch out for icebergs.
Wikimedia technical news.
During World War II, the German battleship Tirpitz was a major threat to Allied convoys travelling across the North Atlantic and Arctic Sea.

The Signpost: 19 August 2015

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Nothing makes Wikipedians more angry than a discussion of gender and feminism on Wikipedia.
A new article in PLOS ONE about Wikipedia's science coverage has attracted media attention.
This week's featured content.
Tony the Tiger tours New York City.
It's a long way from the leafy bowers of Greenwich, Connecticut to the concrete barrens of Compton, California.
Community technical news.
Wikipedia is capable of covering news like any news agency.

The Signpost: 26 August 2015

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Does the data mean good news for the encyclopedia?
The Russian Wikipedia is blocked, more blocks may be on the on the horizon.
Should paid event staff supplement the work of volunteers?
The Wikimedia Foundation's grant structure.
This week's featured content.
The recently closed Arbitration Enforcement case.
A look at the research presented at the OpenSym 2015 conference.

The Signpost: 02 September 2015

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Nearly 400 accounts blocked in largest paid-editing bust ever.
The WMF collaboration team announced this week that Flow will no longer be under active development.
A conflict regarding fundraising banners on the Italian Wikipedia is resolved.
This Signpost "Featured content" report covers material promoted from 16 August to 24 August.
Also vital statistics regarding Ja Rule.
The late-summer smash success of Straight Outta Compton remains the chief talking point of the English-speaking world, interrupted only by the welcome return of a Google Doodle.
Community technical news.

The Signpost: 09 September 2015

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The National Library is now releasing some of the nation's most treasured collections to Wikimedia Commons for everyone to use and enjoy.
Tony1 interviews a prolific featured content participant, Ian Rose.
Fram tells us why DYK is a problem.
First bot-created article generated from Wikidata; the Orange Bar of Doom has finally met its doom; active editor numbers still on the rise; arbitrator to resign; ne templates added in wake of Orangemoody case
This week's theme in popular articles revolved entirely around mass media productions.
section begin "tech-newsletter-content"
A recap of Wikipedia in the media this week

The Signpost: 16 September 2015

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On Wikipedia's commitment to open access and its obligations to readers and editors.
WMF CFO to depart, notifications come and go, and questions about the possible editing by a recently arrested terrorism suspect.
Probably not. Also, Whitehall still editing Wikipedia.
This week's featured content.
No particular trends to spot in this week's top article traffic.
Community technical news.

The Signpost: 23 September 2015

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PETA launches a copyright lawsuit over the infamous photograph.
No, really, just stop.
This week's featured content.
This time of year features the Latin Grammy Awards, so here for an interview are WikiProject Latin music.
This week, drug lord and wannabe Bolivar Pablo Escobar was joined by a whole host of somewhat more primetime-friendly political insurgents.
Community technical news.

The Signpost: 30 September 2015

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A year of fundraising and a controversial decision.
More Wikipedia editing in the news.
Low numbers of active admins and high standards for adminship make a troubling combination.
A look at newly published Wikipedia research.
Community technical news

VisualEditor update

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This note is only delivered to English Wikipedia subscribers of the visual editor's newsletter.

The location of the visual editor's preference has been changed from the "Beta" tab to the "Editing" section of your preferences on this wiki. The setting now says Temporarily disable the visual editor while it is in beta. This aligns en.wiki with almost all the other WMF wikis; it doesn’t mean the visual editor is complete, or that it is no longer “in beta phase” though.

This action has not changed anything else for editors: it still honours editors’ previous choices about having it on or off; logged-out users continue to only have access to wikitext; the “Edit” tab is still after the “Edit source” one. You can learn more at the visual editor’s talk page.

We don’t expect this to cause any glitches, but in case your account no longer has the settings that you want, please accept our apologies and correct it in the Editing tab of Special:Preferences. Thank you for your attention, Elitre (WMF) -16:32, 7 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 07 October 2015

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Kazakhstan and Wikipedia: A marriage made in hell.
English speakers, like most of humanity, are primarily a northern-hemispheric people, and as autumn draws close and the days grow shorter, as a group we tend to huddle around our flickering screens and remember what matters: TV, movies, sports and, of course, crazy doomsday prophecies.
Some of Wikipedia's newest featured content.
These winners of the Wiki Loves Monuments Pakistan 2015 contest were shared with the Social Media mailing list recently.
A new case was opened for ArbCom as the Genetically modified organisms case was accepted and opened on 28 September.
A reproduced version of the Wikimedia tech newsletter.
A summary of Wikimedia's mentions in the media

The Signpost: 14 October 2015

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We believe that human interaction can only make Wikipedia stronger.
Three days at the US National Archives.
The news coverage we usually see about Wikipedia is neither in-depth, nor specialized, nor systematic.
Everyone's talking about money.
For the second consecutive week, the most viewed article had less than one million views, the only two weeks that has happened in all of 2015.
This week's featured content.
Community technical news.
On September 25, 26 and 27, Wikimedia Spain celebrated its third Wikimedia Conference at the Colegio Mayor Universitario Isabel de España in Madrid.

The Signpost: 21 October 2015

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Time to clean up our mess.
District court judge decrees that the WMF lacks standing.
"The lunatics are running the asylum."
Examining the conflict and its participants.
Featured content
When given a choice between journals of similar impact factors, editors are significantly more likely to select the “open access” option.
Open cases before the Arbitration Committee.
We live in a harsh, uncertain world.
Community technical news.

VisualEditor News #5—2015

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Read this in another language • Subscription list for this multilingual newsletter

Did you know?
You can use the visual editor on smartphones and tablets.

Screenshot showing the menu for switching from the wikitext editor to VisualEditor

Click the pencil icon to open the editor for a page. Inside that, use the gear menu in the upper right corner to "Switch to visual editing".

The editing button will remember which editing environment you used last time, and give you the same one next time. The desktop site will be switching to a system similar to this one in the coming months.

You can read and help translate the user guide, which has more information about how to use the visual editor.

Since the last newsletter, the VisualEditor Team has fixed many bugs, added new features, and made some small design changes. They post weekly status reports on mediawiki.org. Their workboard is available in Phabricator. Their current priorities are improving support for languages like Japanese and Arabic, making it easier to edit on mobile devices, and providing rich-media tools for formulæ, charts, galleries and uploading.

Recent improvements

[edit]

Educational features: The first time you use the visual editor, it now draws your attention to the Link and ⧼visualeditor-toolbar-cite-label⧽ tools. When you click on the tools, it explains why you should use them. (T108620) Alongside this, the welcome message for new users has been simplified to make editing more welcoming. (T112354) More in-software educational features are planned.

Links:  It is now easier to understand when you are adding text to a link and when you are typing plain text next to it. (T74108, T91285) The editor now fully supports ISBN, PMID or RFC numbers. (T109498, T110347, T63558)  These "magic links" use a custom link editing tool.

Uploads:  Registered editors can now upload images and other media to Commons while editing. Click the new tab in the "Insert Images and media" tool. You will be guided through the process without having to leave your edit. At the end, the image will be inserted. This tool is limited to one file at a time, owned by the user, and licensed under Commons's standard license. For more complex situations, the tool links to more advanced upload tools. You can also drag the image into the editor. This will be available in the wikitext editor later.

Mobile:  Previously, the visual editor was available on the mobile Wikipedia site only on tablets. Now, editors can use the visual editor on any size of device. (T85630)  Edit conflicts were previously broken on the mobile website. Edit conflicts can now be resolved in both wikitext and visual editors. (T111894) Sometimes templates and similar items could not be deleted on the mobile website. Selecting them caused the on-screen keyboard to hide with some browsers. Now there is a new "Delete" button, so that these things can be removed if the keyboard hides. (T62110) You can also edit table cells in mobile now.

Rich editing tools:  You can now add and edit sheet music in the visual editor. (T112925)  There are separate tabs for advanced options, such as MIDI and Ogg audio files. (T114227 and T113354)  When editing formulæ and other blocks, errors are shown as you edit. It is also possible to edit some types of graphs; adding new ones, and support for new types, will be coming.

On the English Wikipedia, the visual editor is now automatically available to anyone who creates an account. The preference switch was moved to the normal location, under Special:Preferences.

Future changes

[edit]

You will soon be able to switch from the wikitext to the visual editor after you start editing. (T49779) Previously, you could only switch from the visual editor to the wikitext editor. Bi-directional switching will make possible a single edit tab. (T102398) This project will combine the "Edit" and "Edit source" tabs into a single "Edit" tab, similar to the system already used on the mobile website. The "Edit" tab will open whichever editing environment you used last time.

Let's work together

[edit]

If you can't read this in your favorite language, then please help us with translations! Subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact us directly, so that we can notify you when the next issue is ready. Thank you!

— Whatamidoing (WMF) 04:16, 30 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 28 October 2015

[edit]
A call for volunteers.
The community reacts to another milestone.
The week's news coverage about the encyclopedia.
Gangs of bullies and trolls rove the internet and make life difficult for the rest of us.
A divisive case before the Committee opens.
What's this all aboot, eh?
New research about Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects.
This week's featured content.
Community technical news.
The community celebrates.

The Signpost: 04 November 2015

[edit]
The WMF wants your ideas for technical improvements.
WMF funding and the death and life of a controversial feature.
The difficulties of verifying encyclopedia content.
The week in article traffic.
This week's featured content.
Wikipedia received the 2015 Princess of Asturias Award for global cooperation on October 23.
Community technical news.

The Signpost: 11 November 2015

[edit]
Assessing the end of a controversial feature.
It's that time of the year again.
Fallout from a recent security breach.
Featured content
Are the inmates running the asylum? Are journalists copying Wikipedia? Are monkeys filing lawsuits?
More doodles, more traffic.
Reflecting on the tragedy in France.

The Signpost: 18 November 2015

[edit]
Our annual election coverage.
Icelandic Wikipedia hits 400K articles; how do Wikipedia editors stay neutral?
Discussions around the encyclopedia.
Updates on the Committee. You know, besides the election.
The week in Featured Content.
Paris and Diwali.

The Signpost: 25 November 2015

[edit]
Wikidata is set to become the main open data repository worldwide.
Updates on the Wikimedia Foundation.
The worldwide community wins a prestigious award while the Russian community struggles with government interference.
Scholarly research about Wikipedia and related projects.
Featured content
The week's most read articles.
Another long-running case has been closed, while the voting process for this year's Arbitration Committee Elections has begun.
Community technical news.
The suit concerns copyright claims related to 17 images of the museum’s public domain works of art.

The Signpost: 02 December 2015

[edit]
Issues of quality and verifiability threaten the project.
How the community can have its say on two important matters.
Concerns about Wikidata and WMF fundraising.
The new Netflix series heads the list.
Newly promoted featured content.
Community technical news.

The Signpost: 09 December 2015

[edit]
The three scrutineers announced the results, a little more than three days after the close of voting.
A response from Wikidata.
Another election, another series of edit wars.
The top 25 images.
Another death tops the report this week.
This week's featured content.
Community technical news.

The Signpost: 16 December 2015

[edit]
Creating content in the sky.
Jimmy Wales finds his words edited on the Internet.
Keeping up with the committee.
Featured content
Tackling content gaps through collaboration.
More data, more problems.
A look back at October.

VisualEditor News #6—2015

[edit]

Read this in another language • Subscription list

Did you know?

A new, simpler system for editing will offer a single Edit button. Once the page has opened, you can switch back and forth between visual and wikitext editing.

Screenshot showing a pop-up dialog for switching from the wikitext editor to VisualEditor
If you prefer having separate edit buttons, then you can set that option in your preferences, either in a pop-up dialog the next time you open the visual editor, or by going to Special:Preferences and choosing the setting that you want:
Screenshot showing a drop-down menu in Special:Preferences

The current plan is for the default setting to have the Edit button open the editing environment you used most recently.

You can read and help translate the user guide, which has more information about how to use the visual editor.

Since the last newsletter, the VisualEditor Team has fixed many bugs and expanded the mathematics formula tool. Their workboard is available in Phabricator. Their current priorities are improving support for languages such as Japanese and Arabic, and providing rich-media tools for formulæ, charts, galleries and uploading.

Recent improvements

[edit]

You can switch from the wikitext editor to the visual editor after you start editing.

The LaTeX mathematics formula editor has been significantly expanded. (T118616) You can see the formula as you change the LaTeX code. You can click buttons to insert the correct LaTeX code for many symbols.

Future changes

[edit]

The single edit tab project will combine the "Edit" and "Edit source" tabs into a single "Edit" tab, like the system already used on the mobile website. (T102398) Initially, the "Edit" tab will open whichever editing environment you used last time. Your last editing choice will be stored as a cookie for logged-out users and as an account preference for logged-in editors. Logged-in editors will be able to set a default editor in the Editing tab of Special:Preferences in the drop-down menu about "Editing mode:".

The visual editor will be offered to all editors at the following Wikipedias in early 2016: Amharic, Buginese, Min Dong, Cree, Manx, Hakka, Armenian, Georgian, Pontic, Serbo-Croatian, Tigrinya, Mingrelian, Zhuang, and Min Nan. (T116523) Please post your comments and the language(s) that you tested at the feedback thread on mediawiki.org. The developers would like to know how well it works. Please tell them what kind of computer, web browser, and keyboard you are using.

In 2016, the feedback pages for the visual editor on many Wikipedias will be redirected to mediawiki.org. (T92661)

Testing opportunities

[edit]
  • Please try the new system for the single edit tab on test2.wikipedia.org. You can edit while logged out to see how it works for logged-out editors, or you can create a separate account to be able to set your account's preferences. Please share your thoughts about the single edit tab system at the feedback topic on mediawiki.org or sign up for formal user research (type "single edit tab" in the question about other areas you're interested in). The new system has not been finalized, and your feedback can affect the outcome. The team particularly wants your thoughts about the options in Special:Preferences. The current choices in Special:Preferences are:
    • Remember my last editor,
    • Always give me the visual editor if possible, 
    • Always give me the source editor, and 
    • Show me both editor tabs.  (This is the current state for people using the visual editor. None of these options will be visible if you have disabled the visual editor in your preferences at that wiki.)
  • Can you read and type in Korean or Japanese? Language engineer David Chan needs people who know which tools people use to type in some languages. If you speak Japanese or Korean, you can help him test support for these languages. Please see the instructions at mw:VisualEditor/IME Testing#What to test if you can help, and report it on Phabricator (Korean - Japanese) or on Wikipedia (Korean - Japanese).

If you aren't reading this in your favorite language, then please help us with translations! Subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact us directly, so that we can notify you when the next issue is ready. Thank you!

Whatamidoing (WMF), 00:54, 24 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 30 December 2015

[edit]
In a monumental move, the Board ousted one of its own
The latest news from ArbCom
A report covering material promoted from 13 to 26 December
In a development that should surprise no one, Star Wars takes the first place prize
We review the top ten stories that defined the Wikimedia movement in 2015
The latest news coverage from around the movement
Christmas time is here.

The Signpost: 06 January 2016

[edit]
Trouble with the Board of Trustees
Wikipedia's science articles are "effectively incomprehensible"
Current Committee decisions
Featured content
Current academic research on Wikipedia and related projects
Sports!
Community technical news

The Signpost: 13 January 2016

[edit]
A look at movement coverage "in the media"
Liam Wyatt shares his thoughts in "community view"
Our co-editor-in-chief, Gamaliel, shares his thoughts on the 15th anniversary of Wikipedia
William Beutler discusses problems inside the WMF.
James Heilman talks about why he was removed from the WMF board.
What was the most-viewed article of 2015? Read to find out!
WE LOVE PUBLIC DOMAIN DAY!
A look at community objections to a new Board trustee
Jeff Elder talks sports vandalism on the Wikimedia blog
A review of the featured content promoted this week
We sat down with both incoming and outgoing arbitrators to get their thoughts on the committee.
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community.

The Signpost: 20 January 2016

[edit]
The continuing controversy over a new Board appointment.
Is Wikimedia taking the right approach?
The news media remembers we're still around.
A cheery week.
Newly promoted content.
A talk with MediaWiki developer : Magnus Manske.

The Signpost: 27 January 2016

[edit]
Participate in the new strategy initiative.
Newly appointed trustee leaves following a community outcry.
Board turmoil gets the attention of journalists.
Current research involving Wikipedia.
Some things never change.
Newly promoted content.

The Signpost: 03 February 2016

[edit]
Help us continue to publish on a weekly (-ish) basis.
New member María Sefidari joins the Board of Trustees.
James Heilman speaks out about the events leading up to his dismissal from the Board.
Examining the issues at the heart of recent Board disputes.
A survey released, another major departure from the Foundation.
More cases, more problems.
Some sort of sporting contest tops this week's traffic.
Newly promoted content.

The Signpost: 10 February 2016

[edit]
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 05:29, 15 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 17 February 2016

[edit]
Examining the impact of the knowledge engine
A new column that examines the articles that are helping to fight systemic bias
One article, three lists, and five images attained featured status this past week
The biggest annual event in America takes over Wikipedia viewership
The news for the nerd inside of us
The American Supreme Court justice's impact on the life of a Wikipedia editor

The Signpost: 24 February 2016

[edit]
The Board of Trustees may be deciding the direction of the Foundation.
Parting words from a WMF employee,
Another grim week in traffic statistics.
Wiki Loves Africa photo competition focuses on continent’s varied fashion traditions from north, south, east, and west.
Committee motions and business.
Newly promoted featured content.
Community technical news.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 05:05, 25 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

VisualEditor News #1—2016

[edit]

Read this in another language • Subscription list for this multilingual newsletter

Did you know?
Among experienced editors, the visual editor's table editing is one of the most popular features.
Screenshot showing a pop-up menu for column operations in a table
If you select the top of a column or the end of a row, you can quickly insert and remove columns and rows.

Now, you can also rearrange columns and rows. Click "Move before" or "Move after" to swap the column or row with its neighbor.

You can read and help translate the user guide, which has more information about how to use the visual editor.

Since the last newsletter, the VisualEditor Team has fixed many bugs. Their workboard is available in Phabricator. Their current priorities are improving support for Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Indic, and Han scripts, and improving the single edit tab interface.

Recent changes

[edit]

You can switch from the wikitext editor to the visual editor after you start editing. This function is available to nearly all editors at most wikis except the Wiktionaries and Wikisources.

Many local feedback pages for the visual editor have been redirected to mw:VisualEditor/Feedback.

You can now re-arrange columns and rows in tables, as well as copying a row, column or any other selection of cells and pasting it in a new location.

The formula editor has two options: you can choose "Quick edit" to see and change only the LaTeX code, or "Edit" to use the full tool. The full tool offers immediate preview and an extensive list of symbols.

Future changes

[edit]

The single edit tab project will combine the "Edit" and "Edit source" tabs into a single "Edit" tab. This is similar to the system already used on the mobile website. (T102398) Initially, the "Edit" tab will open whichever editing environment you used last time. Your last editing choice will be stored as an account preference for logged-in editors, and as a cookie for logged-out users. Logged-in editors will have these options in the Editing tab of Special:Preferences:

  • Remember my last editor,
  • Always give me the visual editor if possible,
  • Always give me the source editor, and
  • Show me both editor tabs.  (This is the state for people using the visual editor now.)

The visual editor uses the same search engine as Special:Search to find links and files. This search will get better at detecting typos and spelling mistakes soon. These improvements to search will appear in the visual editor as well.

The visual editor will be offered to all editors at most "Phase 6" Wikipedias during the next few months. The developers would like to know how well the visual editor works in your language. They particularly want to know whether typing in your language feels natural in the visual editor. Please post your comments and the language(s) that you tested at the feedback thread on mediawiki.org. This will affect the following languages: Japanese, Korean, Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Thai, Aramaic and others.

Let's work together

[edit]

If you aren't reading this in your favorite language, then please help us with translations! Subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact us directly, so that we can notify you when the next issue is ready. Thanks!

– Whatamidoing (WMF) 17:46, 25 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 02 March 2016

[edit]
A tumultuous time at the Wikimedia Foundation
Newly promoted articles and images.
Politics and wrestling top the traffic statistics.
Current academic research about the encyclopedia and related projects.
The WMF reports on incoming requests.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:01, 8 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 09 March 2016

[edit]
Controversy, change, and everything between.
Perhaps we're turning over a new leaf as a front-runner in the fight for equality?
A look at the future of our parent foundation.
This week's featured content
Finally, a break for the vandalism fighters!
Your detailed look at one of Wikipedia's largest contests.
By night, she smites trolls on the Internet with positive punishment: for each harassing email she receives, one Wikipedia article on a woman in science is created.
Wherein I am STILL fucking angry about systemic bias and am highlighting kick-ass articles we created and improved this month in our never-ending quest to fix it.
The Oscars, Super Tuesday, and Super Saturday"

The Signpost: 16 March 2016

[edit]
Parties could not agree on extending the 2009 agreement.
Two board members on stage at the popular yearly event.
The road ahead for the WMF.
Wikipedia news sparks editing disagreements.
Featured content
An interview with a MediaWiki developer.
Time to move abroad.
The popular podcast returns.
A Deutschland anniversary.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:13, 19 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 23 March 2016

[edit]
The Signpost speaks with the incoming WMF interim executive director.
The outgoing ED to be honored at Davos.
Piracy and controversy.
Are readers exhausted?
All of us can do better.
The week in newly promoted content.
Motions from the Committee.
Discussing the upcoming Italian Wikimania.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 03:25, 27 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 1 April 2016

[edit]
A surprise political announcement.
Police haul away some article content.
Rock out to this interview with project editors.
¿Quién es más macho?
.
Set your Wayback Machine.
Current research about Wikimedia projects.
A roundtable discussion about current Wikimedia issues.
Using hashtags to track the results of Wikimedia outreach.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 20:12, 1 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Do you want one Edit tab, or two? It's your choice

[edit]
How to switch between editing environments
Part of the toolbar in the visual editor
Click the [[ ]] to switch to the wikitext editor.
Part of the toolbar in the wikitext editor
Click the pencil icon to switch to the visual editor.

The editing interface will be changed soon. When that happens, editors who currently see two editing tabs – "Edit" and "Edit source" – will start seeing one edit tab instead. The single edit tab has been popular at other Wikipedias. When this is deployed here, you may be offered the opportunity to choose your preferred appearance and behavior the next time you click the Edit button. You will also be able to change your settings in the Editing section of Special:Preferences.

You can choose one or two edit tabs. If you chose one edit tab, then you can switch between the two editing environments by clicking the buttons in the toolbar (shown in the screenshots). See Help:VisualEditor/User guide#Switching between the visual and wikitext editors for more information and screenshots.

There is more information about this interface change at mw:VisualEditor/Single edit tab. If you have questions, suggestions, or problems to report, then please leave a note at Wikipedia:VisualEditor/Feedback.

Whatamidoing (WMF) 19:22, 11 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 14 April 2016

[edit]
They do have plenty of time on their hands
More turnover in the foundation
Copyright laws, prisoners, and the future of technology
Featured content
American politics seem to have finally bored people
The drought is finally over!
A look at political satire, brought to you by Wikipedia and Commons
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:46, 14 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 24 April 2016

[edit]
Maybe the rover could find an ED on the moon...
When is competing with Google not competing with Google?
Help wanted!
What's better than one traffic report? Two!
10 articles, 6 lists, and 11 pictures have been promoted in this cycle
When it rains, it pours
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:42, 24 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 2 May 2016

[edit]
Wikimedia Switzerland board members involved in paid-editing firm
More reports surface of pirates' new favorite database: Wikimedia Commons
Prince's death breaks traffic report records
Seven articles, six lists, and four pictures were promoted these weeks
Arbitration news
Making sense of Wikipedia's social network
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 03:09, 2 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 17 May 2016

[edit]
Christophe Henner and Nataliia Tymkiv respond to the Signpost's questions
Paid-editing controversy
Citations needed
Nine featured articles, eight featured lists, and six featured pictures
Prince gives way to Captain America
News from two arbitration cases
35 competitors move on to round 3
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:33, 17 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 28 May 2016

[edit]
Dates and venues for WikiCon USA 2016, WikiCon India 2016, 2016 Glam Boot Camp and 2016 Wikimedia Diversity Conference
Sue Gardner appears to be earning more money as the WMF's special advisor than she did as its executive director
Not everything you read online is fact
Another eight featured articles, three featured lists and five featured pictures
Mental health carries a powerful stigma. The more we are open about it, the less that weighs all of us down
Gamaliel and others case nears its end, and there are new 30/500 rules
Round-up of recent Wikipedia research
We've recently come into possession of a new tool.
Albin Olsson has been right there with them, capturing dramatic images of singers from around the world.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:13, 28 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 05 June 2016

[edit]
The Signpost analyzes the WMF's revised annual plan
Recent press interviews
One article, one list, and seven images were featured this week
Film and television maintain a strong grasp on Wikipedia's readership
The final results of the heated case
We sat down with the writers of some of the most vistied Wikipedia articles
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 20:13, 5 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 15 June 2016

[edit]
WMF board chair Patricio Lorente answers questions
Wikimedia enters academic publishing
Eleven featured articles, nine featured lists and fourteen featured pictures
Recent media coverage of Wikipedia and Wikimedia
Two for the price of one—do the popular Commons image contest and Wikidata licensing serve the community as well as they should?
Wikipedia's most read articles in the last two weeks
Poetry: “it is the stuff of the soul; it speaks to the body, the mind, and the spirit alike.” Sonja Bohm worked for years to get all of Florence Earle Coates’ poetry online, and now proofreads poetry on the English Wikisource, the free library. We asked why.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:58, 15 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Editing News #2—2016

[edit]

Editing News #2—2016 Read this in another language • Subscription list for this multilingual newsletter

Did you know?

It's quick and easy to insert a references list.

Screenshot showing a dropdown menu with many items

Place the cursor where you want to display the references list (usually at the bottom of the page). Open the "Insert" menu and click the "References list" icon (three books).

If you are using several groups of references, which is relatively rare, you will have the opportunity to specify the group. If you do that, then only the references that belong to the specified group will be displayed in this list of references.

Finally, click "Insert" in the dialog to insert the References list. This list will change as you add more footnotes to the page.

You can read and help translate the user guide, which has more information about how to use the visual editor.

Since the last newsletter, the VisualEditor team has fixed many bugs. Their workboard is available in Phabricator. Their current priorities are improving support for Arabic and Indic scripts, and adapting the visual editor to the needs of the Wikivoyages and Wikisources.

Recent changes

[edit]

The visual editor is now available to all users at most Wikivoyages. It was also enabled for all contributors at the French Wikinews.

The single edit tab feature combines the "Edit" and "Edit source" tabs into a single "Edit" tab. It has been deployed to several Wikipedias, including Hungarian, Polish, English and Japanese Wikipedias, as well as to all Wikivoyages. At these wikis, you can change your settings for this feature in the "Editing" tab of Special:Preferences. The team is now reviewing the feedback and considering ways to improve the design before rolling it out to more people.

Future changes

[edit]

The "Save page" button will say "Publish page". This will affect both the visual and wikitext editing systems. More information is available on Meta.

The visual editor will be offered to all editors at the remaining "Phase 6" Wikipedias during the next few months. The developers want to know whether typing in your language feels natural in the visual editor. Please post your comments and the language(s) that you tested at the feedback thread on mediawiki.org. This will affect several languages, including: Arabic, Hindi, Thai, Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam, Urdu, Persian, Bengali, Assamese, Aramaic and others.

The team is working with the volunteer developers who power Wikisource to provide the visual editor there, for opt-in testing right now and eventually for all users. (T138966)

The team is working on a modern wikitext editor. It will look like the visual editor, and be able to use the citoid service and other modern tools. This new editing system may become available as a Beta Feature on desktop devices around September 2016. You can read about this project in a general status update on the Wikimedia mailing list.

Let's work together

[edit]

If you aren't reading this in your preferred language, then please help us with translations! Subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact us directly, so that we can notify you when the next issue is ready. Thank you!

Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk), 21:09, 30 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 04 July 2016

[edit]
News from Wikimania and the courts
Paid-contributions disclosure vs. outing
Reliability worries
Six articles, nine lists, one topic and thirteen pictures promoted
European football and politics dominate the top-10
From the Wikimedia Foundation blog
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 18:47, 4 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 21 July 2016

[edit]
Four seats to be filled in top WMF grantmaking body; General Counsel and Secretary Geoff Brigham leaves Wikimedia
New ArbCom restrictions; genetically modified food safety
Female scientists in India; Cracked.com probes Wikipedia's weaknesses
Promotions in four featured-content forums
Northern summer makes sport the winner
Plus a clerk appointment and two motions
Plus navigating the Chinese Wikipedia, and talkpage sentiment
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 13:19, 21 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 04 August 2016

[edit]
And the Signpost loses and gains a co-editor-in-chief
WMF and Alphabet are developing an algorithm designed to detect personal attacks
Plus Android and Taylor Swift
Condolences are being left on his English Wikipedia talk page
Pokémon Go led the chart for two weeks running
Eight articles, two lists and fourteen pictures were promoted
Plus: new Wiki Studies journal, Wikipedia usage on Twitter and more
WMF announces enhancements to the notifications system
New user scripts and other tech news
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:33, 4 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 18 August 2016

[edit]
Conference draws highly diverse and productive participation, and several years' advocacy pays off in a new government policy
Guest post recaps in-depth engagement of experts to address Wikipedia gender gap while improving coverage of their field
Wikipedia coverage ranged from sobering to playful in this issue's roundup
Eight articles, eleven lists, one topic and five pictures were promoted
Politics gives way to sports, TV and film
A review of numerous useful Wikipedia customizations
New case opened, and a reminder to administrators not to impose blocks based on private information
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 16:40, 18 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 06 September 2016

[edit]
The Board’s two-year moratorium on new chapters and thematic organisations has expired; presentation of new criteria is reigniting smoldering controversies and introducing new ones
A comparison of the 15 most-read articles related to the Olympics, in seven language editions of Wikipedia
Wikipedia gaining ground in credibility among librarians; and a healthy helping of media coverage
An interview with WikiProject TV member CAWylie
Twelve articles, eight lists and four pictures were promoted
An update on two weeks of Wikipedia traffic, based on a new and improved tracking tool
New scripts and technical news
One study encounters critique of its ethics from Wikipedians; another critiques the ethics employed by Wikipedia
Switzerland's largest public science library is uploading 134k photos
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:44, 6 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 29 September 2016

[edit]
Medical school class's Wikipedia contributions profiled as case study; and a remembrance of Ray Saintonge, Wikimedian since 2002
This edition's roundup of media coverage
Nineteen articles, eleven lists, one portal and twelve pictures were promoted
TRM, CUOS '16, R&I, RfC
Four weeks of Wikipedia's most popular articles examined
Titles with numbers now sort numerically, and a new tool to check how template parameters are used
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 04:21, 29 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Editing News #3—2016

[edit]

Read this in another language • Subscription list for this multilingual newsletter • Subscribe or unsubscribe on the English Wikipedia

Did you know?

Did you know that you can easily re-arrange columns and rows in the visual editor?

Screenshot showing a dropdown menu with options for editing the table structure

Select a cell in the column or row that you want to move. Click the arrow at the start of that row or column to open the dropdown menu (shown). Choose either "Move before" or "Move after" to move the column, or "Move above" or "Move below" to move the row.

You can read and help translate the user guide, which has more information about how to use the visual editor.

Since the last newsletter, the VisualEditor Team has mainly worked on a new wikitext editor. They have also released some small features and the new map editing tool. Their workboard is available in Phabricator. You can find links to the list of work finished each week at mw:VisualEditor/Weekly triage meetings. Their current priorities are fixing bugs, releasing the 2017 wikitext editor as a beta feature, and improving language support.

Recent changes

[edit]
  • You can now set text as small or big.[2]
  • Invisible templates have been shown as a puzzle icon. Now, the name of the invisible template is displayed next to the puzzle icon.[3] A similar feature will display the first part of hidden HTML comments.[4]
  • Categories are displayed at the bottom of each page. If you click on the categories, the dialog for editing categories will open.[5]
  • At many wikis, you can now add maps to pages. Go to the Insert menu and choose the "Maps" item. The Discovery department are adding more features to this area, like geoshapes. You can read more on MediaWiki.org.[6]
  • The "Save" button now says "Save page" when you create a page, and "Save changes" when you change an existing page.[7] In the future, the "Save page" button will say "Publish page". This will affect both the visual and wikitext editing systems. More information is available on Meta.
  • Image galleries now use a visual mode for editing. You can see thumbnails of the images, add new files, remove unwanted images, rearrange the images by dragging and dropping, and add captions for each image. Use the "Options" tab to set the gallery's display mode, image sizes, and add a title for the gallery.[8]

Future changes

[edit]

The visual editor will be offered to all editors at the remaining 10 "Phase 6" Wikipedias during the next month. The developers want to know whether typing in your language feels natural in the visual editor. Please post your comments and the language(s) that you tested at the feedback thread on mediawiki.org. This will affect several languages, including Thai, Burmese and Aramaic.

The team is working on a modern wikitext editor. The 2017 wikitext editor will look like the visual editor and be able to use the citoid service and other modern tools. This new editing system may become available as a Beta Feature on desktop devices in October 2016. You can read about this project in a general status update on the Wikimedia mailing list.

Let's work together

[edit]

Do you teach new editors how to use the visual editor? Did you help set up the Citoid automatic reference feature for your wiki? Have you written or imported TemplateData for your most important citation templates? Would you be willing to help new editors and small communities with the visual editor? Please sign up for the new VisualEditor Community Taskforce.

If you aren't reading this in your preferred language, then please help us with translations! Subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact us directly, so that we can notify you when the next issue is ready. Thank you! Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 18:18, 14 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 14 October 2016

[edit]
Wikimedia Foundation reports on fundraising challenges and new initiatives; Indian botanists rally to build Wikimedia Commons' photo collection
A new "peer academy" is proposed to find and support leadership in volunteer communities
And this edition's roundup of media coverage
A new editor, a new parsing algorithm, and another server switch
Twelve articles, twelve lists and twenty-one pictures were promoted
Donald Trump remains a view-magnet, others change their channel
We explore the study, which sought insights from Wikipedia metadata into global events
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 19:29, 14 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 4 November 2016

[edit]
Victoria Coleman to fill long-vacant CTO role; Trustee Kelly Battles joins Quora executive team; last week for community input on Creative Commons 4.0 license
Plus our roundup of recent media stories
Winners of the tenth annual WikiCup competition announced and profiled
Progress on the 2015 Community Wishlist for tech features; and plans for a new Wishlist
Proposed best practices for communication and community involvement, and an improvement to Wikipedia's citation infrastructure
Fourteen articles, six lists and fourteen pictures were promoted
Two weeks of insights into the mind of the mob
Two cases closed, and an administrator loses editing rights
A recap of recent research in our realm
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:51, 4 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 4 November 2016

[edit]
An overview of the English Wikipedia ArbCom election; brief notes as Asian and African initiatives wind down
Election prompts media to explore themes important to Wikipedians, including news literacy, privacy, and data security
115,000 images were submitted as part of the annual competition.
A sampling of photo submissions to the annual photography campaign
Eight articles, two lists and nine pictures were promoted
A close examination of the efficacy of the GA Cup contest, a longstanding effort to reduce the backlog of articles awaiting review
Empowering volunteers and local chapters to engage with fundraising would yield varied benefits
Someone is likely to dominate traffic for a long time
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 09:06, 26 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 22 December 2016

[edit]
Roundup of the year's news from the Wikimedia world, featuring Wikipedia's 15th anniversary and organizational disarray at the Wikimedia Foundation
WMF reflects, to some degree, on its past approaches to strategic planning
The German Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee loses more than half its members amid political feud
A proposal from the Inspire Campaign to address harassment was recently implemented to prevent unconstructive and malicious editing on user pages
Even a well executed outreach event can yield disappointing results
Wikipedia women in the news, and media reacts to 2016 ad banner campaign
Twenty-three articles, ten lists and twenty-one pictures were promoted
And a roundup of recently-added tools
Four weeks of popular article analysis
Winning photos in world's largest photography contest reveal a world of monuments—and the volunteers who love them
Privacy and Tor, and several other studies
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 03:04, 22 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 17 January 2017

[edit]
Building toward better recruitment and retention
A close look at the history of approving administrators on English Wikipedia, and a roundup of news
The wiki environment can appear deceptively uniform, but it masks strikingly different editorial experiences
The latest media reports
Twelve articles, thirteen lists and twelve pictures were promoted
Various minor developments
If you're reading this, you escaped 2016 alive
Data sets now available on Commons, wishes to be worked on in 2017, and a recap of the Wikimedia Developer Summit
And several other research papers reviewed and summarized
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 10:39, 17 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 6 February 2017

[edit]
The two statements prompt extensive community discussion; plus, our updates on recent ArbCom decisions
Undisclosed paid editing by a financial broker mired in scandal spans years, impacting Wikipedia's editors and readers
Foundation's latest foray into political waters, and grants funding structured data and anti-harassment measures, met with enthusiasm and concern
Several developments in the $2.5 million strategic planning process explored, and a team within the software production department is sidelined
Our second interview with the productive WikiProject Birds crew
Veteran editing workshop leader responds to a previous Signpost op-ed
Wikipedia's response to Trump inauguration and a fruitful, public "edit war" lead our media updates
Plus the latest scripts, bots, and tech news
Three weeks of the most popular Wikipedia articles
Twenty-eight articles, seven lists, two topics and four pictures were promoted
Women's marches on seven continents attracted strong Wikipedia engagement; Media luminaries and a presidential candidate joined WMF boss Katherine Maher at a New York gathering
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 10:46, 6 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 27 February 2017

[edit]
The Signpost's poll suggests we should take a cautious approach to the Newsletter Extension, under development; and our RSS feed is functional once again
This month's edition focuses on research about the role of Wikipedia in education
Demonstrations of developers' experiments and works in progress
Is the Daily Mail fake news and your media roundup
A selection of CC0 images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
An overview of English Wikipedia's peer review process
Increased WMF spending every year is not sustainable
Fifteen articles, two lists, and six pictures were promoted
They may not mix in life, but they do in popularity
Republished from the Wikimedia blog
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:20, 28 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Editing News #1—2017

[edit]

Read this in another language • Subscription list for this multilingual newsletter

VisualEditor
Did you know?

Did you know that you can review your changes visually?

Screenshot showing some changes to an article. Most changes are highlighted with text formatting.
When you are finished editing the page, type your edit summary and then choose "Review your changes".

In visual mode, you will see additions, removals, new links, and formatting highlighted. Other changes, such as changing the size of an image, are described in notes on the side.

Toggle button showing visual and wikitext options; visual option is selected.

Click the toggle button to switch between visual and wikitext diffs.

Screenshot showing the same changes, in the two-column wikitext diff display.

The wikitext diff is the same diff tool that is used in the wikitext editors and in the page history.

You can read and help translate the user guide, which has more information about how to use the visual editor.

Since the last newsletter, the VisualEditor Team has spent most of their time supporting the 2017 wikitext editor mode which is available inside the visual editor as a Beta Feature, and adding the new visual diff tool. Their workboard is available in Phabricator. You can find links to the work finished each week at mw:VisualEditor/Weekly triage meetings. Their current priorities are fixing bugs, supporting the 2017 wikitext editor as a beta feature, and improving the visual diff tool.

Recent changes

[edit]

A new wikitext editing mode is available as a Beta Feature on desktop devices. The 2017 wikitext editor has the same toolbar as the visual editor and can use the citoid service and other modern tools. Go to Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-betafeatures to enable the ⧼Visualeditor-preference-newwikitexteditor-label⧽.

A new visual diff tool is available in VisualEditor's visual mode. You can toggle between wikitext and visual diffs. More features will be added to this later. In the future, this tool may be integrated into other MediaWiki components. [9]

The team have added multi-column support for lists of footnotes. The <references /> block can automatically display long lists of references in columns on wide screens. This makes footnotes easier to read. You can request multi-column support for your wiki. [10]

Other changes:

  • You can now use your web browser's function to switch typing direction in the new wikitext mode. This is particularly helpful for RTL language users like Urdu or Hebrew who have to write JavaScript or CSS. You can use Command+Shift+X or Control+Shift+X to trigger this. [11]
  • The way to switch between the visual editing mode and the wikitext editing mode is now consistent. There is a drop-down menu that shows the two options. This is now the same in desktop and mobile web editing, and inside things that embed editing, such as Flow. [12]
  • The Categories item has been moved to the top of the Page options menu (from clicking on the "hamburger" icon) for quicker access. [13] There is also now a "Templates used on this page" feature there. [14]
  • You can now create <chem> tags (sometimes used as <ce>) for chemical formulas inside the visual editor. [15]
  • Tables can be set as collapsed or un-collapsed. [16]
  • The Special character menu now includes characters for Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics and angle quotation marks (‹› and ⟨⟩) . The team thanks the volunteer developer, Tpt. [17]
  • A bug caused some section edit conflicts to blank the rest of the page. This has been fixed. The team are sorry for the disruption. [18]
  • There is a new keyboard shortcut for citations: Control+Shift+K on a PC, or Command+Shift+K on a Mac. It is based on the keyboard shortcut for making links, which is Control+K on a PC or Command+K on a Mac. [19]

Future changes

[edit]
  • The VisualEditor team is working with the Community Tech team on a syntax highlighting tool. It will highlight matching pairs of <ref> tags and other types of wikitext syntax. You will be able to turn it on and off. It will first become available in VisualEditor's built-in wikitext mode, maybe late in 2017. [20]
  • The kind of button used to Show preview, Show changes, and finish an edit will change in all WMF-supported wikitext editors. The new buttons will use OOjs UI. The buttons will be larger, brighter, and easier to read. The labels will remain the same. You can test the new button by editing a page and adding &ooui=1 to the end of the URL, like this: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Project:Sandbox?action=edit&ooui=1 The old appearance will no longer be possible, even with local CSS changes. [21]
  • The outdated 2006 wikitext editor will be removed later this year. It is used by approximately 0.03% of active editors. See a list of editing tools on mediawiki.org if you are uncertain which one you use. [22]

If you aren't reading this in your preferred language, then please help us with translations! Subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact us directly, so that we can notify you when the next issue is ready. Thank you! User:Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 19:18, 9 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 9 June 2017

[edit]
Inviting new writers, editors, and ideas
WMF Board election results, and FDC elections begin
Two cases were closed from 19 February to 27 March.
Lead sentence metadata is out of control and a serious impediment to readability
Eighty-eight articles, forty-three lists, five topics and twenty-two pictures were promoted
Garfield is male, and other places Wikipedia made the news
...but are they real?; personality and attitudes to Wikipedia; large expert review experiment
Bots, scripts, tools, and changes from February to June 2017
Two weeks of film dominance: Baahubali and the Academy Awards
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:18, 9 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 23 June 2017

[edit]
While the English Wikipedia community produces no new requests for adminhood in June, the Wikimedia Foundation makes changes to the Product and Technology departments.
The anatomy of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick's chest area has been the talk of the month. But so have high-profile edits, hacked articles, and one particular newborn growing up.
Exploring sourcing issues in Wikimedia projects, a solution in Wikidata and fact mining, and a newsletter to continue the conversation.
22 featured articles, 17 featured lists, 7 featured pictures
Summer blockbusters and sports, Trump and world events.
A researcher applies Marxist critiques of political economy to investigate whether gamification, a culture of altruism, and other anti-corporatist influences on peer production can create a sustainable gift economy in a project like Wikipedia.
Search now can include sister projects; EpochFail
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 07:32, 23 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 15 July 2017

[edit]
The English Wikipedia sees its first new admin of the season, discord rocks Wikimedia France, some tweaks to the WMF reorg, and a new WMF annual plan mark this issue's community news.
Recently promoted articles, lists, and pictures.
A grab bag of alt-right speech, classical scholars, the dark web, elicited European tourism, $500,000 golden parachutes, forgery, the Great Firewall, net neutrality, nukes, paid editing, porn, and terrorism.
A closer look at the research that found that the 2013 Snowden revelations coincided with a significant drop of pageviews for privacy-sensitive Wikipedia articles
...and is there anything we can do to stop it? Opinions and examples from across the project.
An interesting mix of patterns and colors to brighten your day...
Enjoy the Parameters: The Infobox Game can be enjoyed by everyone, not just those interested in water buffalo breeds, volcanic hotspots or the mysterious heteroisoform, and some day just might spawn an important facet of the financial derivatives industry.
Popular interest in celebrities, blockbusters and an upcoming season of a popular television show drive traffic, with a smattering of world events, holidays and a Reddit storm around – surprise – free porn for the U.S. Congress.
Syntax highlighting, changes to Recent Changes, Wikidata on the enhance watchlist, accessible editing buttons and jQuery upgrade may break scripts.
The heat turns up on the 32 contestants who entered round three: 13 featured articles, 82 good articles, 167 DYKs, but we had to pick just eight of them to advance.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:49, 15 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 5 August 2017

[edit]
Wikimania in Montreal, lawsuit in Sweden, challenges in France
Local tourism gains +9% when Wikipedia articles are improved; significant improvements in predicting article quality with deep learning; recent editor behavior is a strong predictor of content quality
An interview with a project that is centered around comics.
Wikipedia and reliable sources of information continue to define each other
Plus plenty of sports, film, and television
The Canadian Supreme Court ruled that Google must remove search results worldwide, dismissing concerns that this may impede freedom of expression for people outside of Canada or inspire other countries to censor speech.
Wikimedia contributors support each other's projects in many unexpected ways
Recently promoted articles, lists and pictures – with a very heavy one in the mix
The Architecture Committee adopts a new charter and name; and the latest in script, bot, and tech news
An elite squad of highly insightful editors can lead the way for other editors who may need to retrain their faces into forming a smile.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:22, 5 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 6 September 2017

[edit]
Please share your Wikimania 2017 experiences!
Some of the goings-on from Wikimania 2017.
Take your pick of the best of Wikipedia.
White supremacists v. anti-fascism groups, Mayweather v. McGregor, Moon v. Sun.
Wikipedia's medical and scientific content has come a long way since 2001. Here are some thoughts on how it may continue to evolve.
A list of recent research publications on various topics.
Plus the latest reports of vandalism and mistakes in Wikipedia.
WikiProject YouTube is a new project on both English and Simple English Wikipedia.
Syntax highlighting, failed login notifications, watchlist filters, and more.
Ships, typhoons, birds, and more!
They do the things you don't want to do (and sometimes things you don't want done).
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 03:45, 6 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 25 September 2017

[edit]
News from Wikimedia France, Wikimedia Macedonia, and Wikimedia Israel's; Autoconfirmed article creation trial begins
Also: Jeopedia, Dubaipedia, shaping science, fake quote reused by scholarly sources
The best that poultry has to offer
Plus the latest research publications.
Plus more tech news, and the latest scripts and bots
Complimenting this issue's Humour about chickens...
Finally we're seeing some initial successes, but the Wikimedia movement is still far from being environmentally sustainable.
Boxing, hurricanes, clowns, and more!
Newly featured birds, planes, and high achievers
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:20, 25 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 23 October 2017

[edit]
The Wikimedia Foundation publishes the latest fundraising report, convenes over the close of the strategic plan discussion, and moves into a new space.
A variety of topics promoted.
If your name is Ralph, well sorry.
Advocates for sharing offline information gather to make content, software, hardware, and social decisions.
A chat with a developer of open source software which allows users to download web content for offline reading, and the future of offline access to Wikipedia.
Fighting fake news and plagiarism.
Wikimedia UK's partnerships and achievements working with GLAM institutions.
Readers interested in the the death of Hef, Puerto Rico, films and television.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:37, 23 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 24 November 2017

[edit]
The first ever Wikidata conference was a con we wanted. Problematic paid editing while in a position of trust: not so much.
Arbitration matters from October and November.
A new advanced search interface; the Community Wishlist Survey is back.
Brianboulton talks about featured articles on his 100th promotion.
A novel approach to recruit members for your project!
Wikipedia seen as flawed but important; conservative think-tank fellow wants his say; volunteer in Madison wants to close the gender gap.
Readers intrigued by the Netflix show Stranger Things, and by sexual assault allegations.
War memorials, soldiers, extinct species, and devastating hurricanes are some of the most recently promoted featured content.
And other new research publications.
The entertainment value of Wikipedia.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:40, 24 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 18 December 2017

[edit]
Global article creation contest/editathon exceeds expectations.
Astronaut is first to specifically contribute to Wikipedia from space.
Seventeen articles, twenty-nine lists, three pictures and one featured topic were promoted.
The media discuss online copyright issues, Wikipedia's coverage of the capital of Israel and creation of a "reasonably clean, honest and reliable" work on Earth and in space.
Evidence phase in Mister Wiki editors case is complete; the community is proposing remedies and the Arbitration committee is slated to make a decision by end of year. Meanwhile, voting has closed on 2017 elections.
Winners of the international photo competitions Wiki Loves Earth and Wiki Loves Monuments.
Looking back on a decade of contributions including over 1,000 images and over three dozen Featured Pictures, Charles shares his wildlife photography experience and tips.
And other recent research publications.
Including improved blocking tools, new user scripts, and the latest technical news.
We like our heroes and bad guys.
u-nye-loo-lay-doo? Dochvetlh vISoplaHbe’.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 06:28, 18 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 16 January 2018

[edit]
Two new WMF Communications department leadership appointments; a new way for Wikimedia communities to communicate their capacities.
Wikipedia manipulated and copied – again
Historical and pop culture articles promoted.
How do you make an average of 3,600 edits a week for over a decade? And what do you learn when you've done it?
Plus the latest technology upgrades, tools and news.
Notable missing articles.
In deciding to de-sysop an admin for efforts to evade discussion and review of paid edits made on behalf of a PR firm, Arbitration Committee doesn't significantly change the rules around paid editing, and leaves it up to the community whether to apply special restrictions to administrators.
A look back at the most popular articles in a tumultuous and intriguing year.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 15:28, 16 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 5 February 2018

[edit]
Should an editor's block history be a permanent "rap sheet", or does Wikipedia forgive and forget? A reform initiative has begun.
Exemplary content recognized between January 12 and January 20, 2018
Also: Polish quality, Russian political mythologization, and multilingual analyses
The Wikimedia Foundation's Analytics team compiles a clickstream dataset, now available as a series of monthly data dumps for English, Russian, German, Spanish, and Japanese Wikipedias.
Lessons on Creating a Featured List
The most popular articles for January 14 to 27
A partnership to improve and update Wikipedia's medical content
Politeness and collegial behavior about to be taken up by Arbcom, and perhaps a revisit of the infobox question.
Also, did UCF really win?
Enjoy the humour of another contributor
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 05:13, 5 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 20 February 2018

[edit]
Sweden selected for Wikimania 2019; research report on shaping the future; a scarcity of RfAs.
There might be good things about an edit war.
Editor in self-imposed exile and infobox wars a thorn in the side of arbitration committee.
The Superbowl, the Winter Olympics, death, and accusations of unspeakable things.
An eclectic mix of promotions.
And other recent tech news.
Stubs get a lot of pageviews.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:12, 20 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Editing News #1—2018

[edit]

Read this in another language • Subscription list for the English Wikipedia • Subscription list for the multilingual edition

Did you know?

Did you know that you can now use the visual diff tool on any page?

Screenshot showing some changes, in the two-column wikitext diff display

Sometimes, it is hard to see important changes in a wikitext diff. This screenshot of a wikitext diff (click to enlarge) shows that the paragraphs have been rearranged, but it does not highlight the removal of a word or the addition of a new sentence.

If you enable the Beta Feature for "⧼visualeditor-preference-visualdiffpage-label⧽", you will have a new option. It will give you a new box at the top of every diff page. This box will let you choose either diff system on any edit.

Toggle button showing visual and wikitext options; visual option is selected

Click the toggle button to switch between visual and wikitext diffs.

In the visual diff, additions, removals, new links, and formatting changes will be highlighted. Other changes, such as changing the size of an image, are described in notes on the side.

Screenshot showing the same changes to an article. Most changes are highlighted with text formatting.

This screenshot shows the same edit as the wikitext diff. The visual diff highlights the removal of one word and the addition of a new sentence. An arrow indicates that the paragraph changed location.

You can read and help translate the user guide, which has more information about how to use the visual editor.

Since the last newsletter, the Editing Team has spent most of their time supporting the 2017 wikitext editor mode, which is available inside the visual editor as a Beta Feature, and improving the visual diff tool. Their work board is available in Phabricator. You can find links to the work finished each week at mw:VisualEditor/Weekly triage meetings. Their current priorities are fixing bugs, supporting the 2017 wikitext editor, and improving the visual diff tool.

Recent changes

[edit]
  • The 2017 wikitext editor is available as a Beta Feature on desktop devices. It has the same toolbar as the visual editor and can use the citoid service and other modern tools. The team have been comparing the performance of different editing environments. They have studied how long it takes to open the page and start typing. The study uses data for more than one million edits during December and January. Some changes have been made to improve the speed of the 2017 wikitext editor and the visual editor. Recently, the 2017 wikitext editor opened fastest for most edits, and the 2010 WikiEditor was fastest for some edits. More information will be posted at mw:Contributors/Projects/Editing performance.
  • The visual diff tool was developed for the visual editor. It is now available to all users of the visual editor and the 2017 wikitext editor. When you review your changes, you can toggle between wikitext and visual diffs. You can also enable the new Beta Feature for "Visual diffs". The Beta Feature lets you use the visual diff tool to view other people's edits on page histories and Special:RecentChanges. [23]
  • Wikitext syntax highlighting is available as a Beta Feature for both the 2017 wikitext editor and the 2010 wikitext editor. [24]
  • The citoid service automatically translates URLs, DOIs, ISBNs, and PubMed id numbers into wikitext citation templates. This tool has been used at the English Wikipedia for a long time. It is very popular and useful to editors, although it can be tricky for admins to set up. Other wikis can have this service, too. Please read the instructions. You can ask the team to help you enable citoid at your wiki.

Let's work together

[edit]
  • The team is planning a presentation about editing tools for an upcoming Wikimedia Foundation metrics and activities meeting.
  • Wikibooks, Wikiversity, and other communities may have the visual editor made available by default to contributors. If your community wants this, then please contact Dan Garry.
  • The <references /> block can automatically display long lists of references in columns on wide screens. This makes footnotes easier to read. This has already been enabled at the English Wikipedia. If you want columns for a long list of footnotes on this wiki, you can use either <references /> or the plain (no parameters) {{reflist}} template. If you edit a different wiki, you can request multi-column support for your wiki. [25]
  • If you aren't reading this in your preferred language, then please help us with translations! Subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact us directly. We will notify you when the next issue is ready for translation. Thank you!

—User:Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 23:14, 28 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Signpost issue 4 – 29 March 2018

[edit]
Is The Signpost on its last legs?
Wikimedia events, group recognition, and individual appointments are ongoing.
Arbcom considers new discretionary sanctions for infoboxes and an extension of 1RR.
Diplomats join Wikipedia for International Women's Day, the perfect "Human", how fringe theories are sustained, and perennial plagiarism from our pages.
Wakanda still fascinates; the Oscars happened; Winter Olympics come to a close; and International Women's Day gets over a million page views.
A plethora of content.
Reviewing a browser skin providing equal emphasis on both content and editing tools simultaneously.
Retrospective on article creation trial.
Nostalgia and trips down Memory Lane.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 18:49, 29 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 26 April 2018

[edit]
Following Kudpung's op-ed "Death knell sounding for The Signpost?" in the 29 March issue, user comments encouraged a burst of enthusiasm to keep the newspaper in print.
How to revive and evolve The Signpost? Big blue-sky proposals and small concrete proposals from the community and from two regular Signpost contributors.
Finally a free image Kim Jong-un. WMF wins legal battle. Stephen Hawking death tops all Wikipedia hits.
Internet companies use Wikipedia to police truth; Citogenesis proven yet again; early birthday greetings; and trains
A recent Community Health Initiative survey found only 27% of respondents are happy with the way reports of conflicts between Editors are handled on the Administrators' Incident Noticeboard (ANI).
New major editing policy starting immediately: creation of articles in mainspace is to be limited to users with confirmed accounts
The standards have been raised for sources used in judging the notability of nonprofit and for-profit organizations.
Wikipedia's myth of the clean Wehrmacht and what you can do about it. Or, how not to be one of "the worst distributors of pro-Nazi perspectives and the Wehrmacht myth".
Can Wikipedia mobilize the same energy to fill other gaps in coverage?
What should we do about Portals? Keep them, delete them, or mark them as historical? Or should they be more closely connected with their WikiProject(s)?
Quiet month for the Arbitration Committee
Combat, weapons, monuments and personalities.
What we learned about reader motivation from a recent research study
You might not get all excersized about essays but they can be as fun as talk pages
The most popular articles from March 25 to April 14.
Plus the latest tech news and userscripts.
Material promoted from March 2 through April 20.
Honoring a day in military history, as well as peaceful borders
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:51, 26 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 24 May 2018

[edit]
A busy office with minimal staff.
Kudpung has some thoughts on the reasons for becalmed forums and the reluctance of candidates to (wo)man the rigging.
Thoughts on how looking for the truth on Wikipedia brings out unexpected things in the real world.
After a recent Village Pump discussion, the Signpost looks at WikiProject Portals.
A busy month for discussions on major topics.
Science, sportspeople, video games, and history feature heavily in the community's picks this month.
Has an attempt to prevent historical revisionism become a content battleground?
De-recognition of Brazil user groups; brute-force attack on Wikipedia; Wikimedia Conference 2018; and assorted other silly things.
And the burning question of the day, is the monkey selfie going to space with the rest of Wikipedia?
No surprises here as the summer movie season begins.
Improved mobile app, searching, citations, inline maps, voting, and more.
Editor SusunW delves into reasons why she has created hundreds of articles about women.
Too many women still don't know that Wikipedia is editable.
Down the rabbit hole into the realm of third-grade mind.
May 25 is National Wine Day in the United States.
The dark and twisted world of Wikipedia's most powerful media institution: The Signpost.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 14:25, 24 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 24 May 2018

[edit]
A busy office with minimal staff.
Kudpung has some thoughts on the reasons for becalmed forums and the reluctance of candidates to (wo)man the rigging.
Thoughts on how looking for the truth on Wikipedia brings out unexpected things in the real world.
After a recent Village Pump discussion, the Signpost looks at WikiProject Portals.
A busy month for discussions on major topics.
Science, sportspeople, video games, and history feature heavily in the community's picks this month.
Has an attempt to prevent historical revisionism become a content battleground?
De-recognition of Brazil user groups; brute-force attack on Wikipedia; Wikimedia Conference 2018; and assorted other silly things.
And the burning question of the day, is the monkey selfie going to space with the rest of Wikipedia?
No surprises here as the summer movie season begins.
Improved mobile app, searching, citations, inline maps, voting, and more.
Editor SusunW delves into reasons why she has created hundreds of articles about women.
Too many women still don't know that Wikipedia is editable.
Down the rabbit hole into the realm of third-grade mind.
May 25 is National Wine Day in the United States.
The dark and twisted world of Wikipedia's most powerful media institution: The Signpost.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 15:19, 24 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 29 June 2018

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A Wiki not so Simple, a mayor motivating an editathon, a Marshall Plan, and a Wikimania under a cloud of criticism
Further developments on New Page Review and Articles for Creation work sharing
Admins volunteer to be abused – or so it seems
So it shouldn't get credit for our work, either.
Major grants announced, a new milestone for Afrikaans Wikipedia, a new WMF technical engagement team, an effort to start up a new library, two new admins – or maybe three fewer depending on your math.
Several online battles are juxtaposed with stories about cooperation and good deeds, Arbcom hovering over it all; notwithstanding, a good action movie script is not necessarily found here.
Community discussions include style updates to project-wide icons and the main page, procedural questions on royal names and jettisoning unsuitable drafts, and deeper questions of compliance with European privacy laws and the perennial issue of shrinking admin corps.
Enjoy the superb content
British politics case enters workshop phase and German war effort closes workshop, goes to Arbcom for proposals.
Two celebrities hang themselves, and the FIFA World Cup is underway
An AI assistant comes to watchlists; better mobile compatibility; new bots, tools and scripts; and more
Colorful and moving.
WMF appeals to Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime, and Communications Ahmet Arslan to lift the block of all language versions of Wikipedia for over a year.
Studying ourselves: 'driven by a sense of mission' according to researchers.
In our next episode...
Some essays are funny, some are serious; some are just, well what exactly?
Revisiting an editor's warning to count our kidneys and keep the wolves at bay
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:29, 30 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 31 July 2018

[edit]
Ships and shoes – and if you don't like it here, just go away!
How admin would-bes run the gauntlet.
Wikipedia referees wag a finger at Professional Wrestling editors.
New admins and Kudpung finally leaves NPP after 7 years.
One secret cabal that watches out for conspiracy theories, and another one out to stymie venture capitalists?
And more: a new user group for editing code, Women in Red, and arbitrator articles.
Spanning the gamut from warfare and destruction to pop culture to celebrations of nature and humanity's achievements.
We don't have "state agents" in a political debate, but couldn't talk about it if there were.
Finding the mathematician and Supreme Court nominee in this list is like playing Where's Waldo?.
Useful new gadgets.
Depictions of July events in several countries.
Those who study ancient Egypt.
And other recent findings, plus a roundup of research presentations at Wikimania.
Merge WikiProject Professional wrestling and ANI.
Get over it!
They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:51, 31 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 30 August 2018

[edit]
Keep straight on – there are trolls in the hedgerows.
"Imagine a world in which every single human being is a Wikimedian. That's my commitment!"
WMF pays possible Orangemoody ring for user research, and ditches MediaWiki for publishing its own blog. Knife-edge closures at RfA.
But unfortunately its output is incompatible with open licensing.
Plus: Simple English Wikipedia stays open, a discussion on draft header templates, bias blind spot by admins offered cash?
Astronauts named Armstrong, babes of the Brits, Cortinarius caperatus and all that.
"Bridging knowledge gaps, the ubuntu way forward".
Very high and very low hits; love and loss.
Citation bot and mapframe enhancements; new licenses for Data space; possible hiccup on 12 September; per-user page, namespace, and upload blocking; and miscellaneous new bots and tools.
Some of the best pictures of 2017.
Readers prefer the AI's version 40% of the time – but it still suffers from hallucinations.
Nothing funny about it.
Remind you of any Wikipedia articles?
The Wikipedia Plays.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:03, 30 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 1 October 2018

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We keep on publishing as long as you keep on reading.
Wikipedia dodges a bullet in Brussels... maybe.
Can Wikipedians help save the world's knowledge and shine a light on current events?
Plus: signatures, shortcuts, and reliable sources.
No valid new requests for arbitration, no new cases.
Fourth highest view count of the year; lowest view count since 2014; death, sports, and movies ever constant.
Plus the latest scripts, bots, and tech news.
A pictorial ode to the end of summer.
As the global community of volunteer Wikimedia editors mourns the destruction of this amazing museum, this post pays tribute to all editors who have contributed restlessly to tell the story of the National Museum, our history.
And other recent research papers.
What is a four-letter word for...
You know you should...
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:44, 1 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 28 October 2018

[edit]
A slightly thinner issue, but out on time.
Is a missing article on a Nobel laureate a fail? What if her draft biography was declined as non-notable?
And it's richer than ever.
Breitbart begone; rescued by archivists; celebrating trolls?
Plus: two pending changes-related discussions, notability, and naming conventions.
Who's reading what?
Bots can do anything you want – well, almost.
WMF continues to stonewall development; NPP wishes again relegated to stocking fillers.
SPARQL adds sparkle to WMF projects.
We are all writing for Amazon.
No special effects here, just beautiful celestial images.
If it weren't free, of course.
Wikipedia has a long history of talk page tomfoolery.
The reviewer who declined the article gives his perspective.
The "holy-shit" slide.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 19:09, 28 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Editing News #2—2018

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Read this in another language • Subscription list for this multilingual newsletter • Subscription list on the English Wikipedia

Did you know?

Did you know that you can use the visual editor on a mobile device?

Screenshot showing the location of the pencil icon

Tap on the pencil icon to start editing. The page will probably open in the wikitext editor.

You will see another pencil icon in the toolbar. Tap on that pencil icon to the switch between visual editing and wikitext editing.

Toolbar with menu opened

Remember to publish your changes when you're done.

You can read and help translate the user guide, which has more information about how to use the visual editor.

Since the last newsletter, the Editing Team has wrapped up most of their work on the 2017 wikitext editor and the visual diff tool. The team has begun investigating the needs of editors who use mobile devices. Their work board is available in Phabricator. Their current priorities are fixing bugs and improving mobile editing.

Recent changes

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Let's work together

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  • The Editing team wants to improve visual editing on the mobile website. Please read their ideas and tell the team what you think would help editors who use the mobile site.
  • The Community Wishlist Survey begins next week.
  • If you aren't reading this in your preferred language, then please help us with translations! Subscribe to the Translators mailing list or contact us directly. We will notify you when the next issue is ready for translation. Thank you!

— Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 17:11, 1 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 1 December 2018

[edit]
Lay down your verbal weapons.
The experiences of a new user on Wikipedia, told in their own words.
What do the WMF devs have in store for the community?
Suppose they gave a blog and nobody came?
Looking both backward and forward to events concerning the community.
A personal reflection on Wikipedia's role as a repository of history.
Real-world news competes with the usual celeb fascination for Wikipedia's commentators.
It was a good 15 years. Plus: admins, notability, substubs, and new padlocks.
Arbcom takes its first new case since June.
The "Queen" of stage and screen, that is. Is there another?
Biology or technology? Form follows function in nature and the constructed world.
And other new research results.
Nope, don't care!
Wonky carrots invoke terror.
ARS might continue, but some Wikipedians might not.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 04:47, 1 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 24 December 2018

[edit]
Tell us what you think!
Did World Patent Marketing pay to get Wikipedia to include flattering information on their board member, now the Acting United States Attorney General?
A statistical insight into the English Wikipedia's very own online community newsletter.
NPP wins the wish list poll; Wikipedia editors will be able to work better at night; new WMF appointments and new arbitrators; and who wants to be an admin?
Wikipedia says 'ta' to British M.P. and 'buh-bye' to U.S. President's image vandals.
Plus: reliable sources, notability, and fallout from the self-blocking software changes.
Discovering how new and unregistered users make articles with the members of WikiProject Articles for Creation.
GiantSnowman asked to chill, and other disputes addressed by Arbcom (or not).
The band relinquishes its first place hold; Aquaman is swimming into view for late December.
Happy solstice, and happy New Year!
In and around the WMF and its projects from the WMF's web site.
Are you a believer?
When the desire to continue to have the privilege of editing Wikipedia overrides the body's innate desire to choke the living shit out of some bastard who really has it coming.
Compromised accounts – especially those of inactive admins.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 13:35, 24 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 31 January 2019

[edit]
Lab rats deflate research to be performed on the Wikipedia community.
Did you know that there was an admin who thought that the metaphor of the mop was a joke, and now they know it's not?
Rude or just forgetful? Eight-year WMF manager has disappeared; Facebook gives a million bucks, gets no love.
Heroes and unsung heroes: many good news stories about the work we are all doing together.
Plus: plagiarism from Wikipedia, user categories, and admin activity requirements.
Get yourself lost in 1730's Paris, and a wide range of other recently promoted content.
Snowman flames newbies? Or just oversensitive snowflakes?
The most popular articles of 2018 include a cornucopia of superheroes (Avengers: Infinity War)
Emergency server switch goes smoothly; technical glitches resolved; a new way to transfer files to Commons.
A tour of some of the world's greatest memorials courtesy the Prime Minister of India.
The world’s largest photo contest, a $1 million gift, Wikipedia’s birthday, WF appoints Valerie D'Costa.
And other new research publications.
A narrative to get you oriented to how this place works, and to the key policies and guidelines.
More talk pages you don't want to miss.
Four years - and nothing changed?
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 06:50, 31 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 28 February 2019

[edit]
This may be too wordy, verbose and loquacious – and possibly redundant – but as you know, it takes others to check our work, and if there were more people in the Newsroom, we'd be able to double check ourselves and produce a better product for our readership; if you think you are up to it, you are welcome to join us and even copyedit the Editor-in-Chief's article intros.
Encyclopedias for Deletion; Corinne; scholarships; partial blocks; and administrators headcount.
This election will select 2 of 10 seats on the board. All Wikimedia users are stakeholders in the election outcome and should participate.
This month's major discussions include a WMF talk page consultation and a proposed current events noticeboard.
Horsemen of the apocalypse all represented in recently promoted content, alongside new life, pretty birds, great music, and other miscellaneous topics.
Snowed in, maybe.
Netflix shows and TV sports dominate. A US politician breaks into the top 10.
Tool labs goes kaput, bots running wild (not really), interface administrators step into the breach, new gadgets and other tech happenings.
A gallery of user signatures created by Wikipedians themselves.
When watchers want the whole truth, they wind up with the wiki! And Cultural Context Content comes out of a complete cartography.
Assume good faith even if it kills you.
The creation of the Esperanza group.
Not feeling blurbish right now.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 11:15, 28 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 31 March 2019

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* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 15:02, 31 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 30 April 2019

[edit]
New Administrators, April Fools, our competitors, and other associated updates
Harassment, a black hole, the Mueller Report, and Mötley Crüe - just another social media site?
Plus: another round of paid editing discussion.
April's admirable additions.
Policies and procedures, cases and controversies, and other ArbCom updates
Round up the unusual suspects
Welcoming English Wikipedia's newest admin (bot)
Photos and videos show the damage
Wikimedia Foundation data scientists are using machine learning to predict whether—and why—any given sentence on Wikipedia may need a citation in order to help editors identify areas of content violating the verifiability policy.
And other recent research results
"The future of portals", a year later
Some editors will do anything to get a laugh
What we know we don't know, and why it might matter more than you might think
Maher discusses her tenure as ED, the editing community, harassment and diversity, the WMF's 3-5 year plan, airplane travel, books, and her future.
An overview of Wikimedia Summit 2019, a working conference to discuss the Wikimedia 2030 Movement Strategy Process, preparing draft recommendations for Wikimania 2019 in August.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:36, 30 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 31 May 2019

[edit]
The North Face sneaks in advertisements, apologizes after being caught
Get ready to go to Wikimania in Stockholm where you might meet two new trustees
Wikipedia finds itself up against China, Pennsylvania politicians and the Detroit Tigers
Neutrality and copyright concerns lead and part 2 of the talk pages consultation.
Resignations, new cases, administrator security, and more
Who will be next to fill the throne at the top of the list?
Admin bots, approved bots, bots on trial, lots and lots of bots
The WMF keeps working to stop Turkey from blocking Wikipedia.
And other new research publications
We've been talking about paid editing forever
A debate from 5 years ago on whether we use to prohibit undisclosed paid editing
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:11, 31 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The June 2019 Signpost is out!

[edit]
Could this be a new relationship between the Foundation and ArbCom, and between the Foundation and enwiki?
Many administrators resign related to Fram case; Wikimedia Thailand to host Wikimania 2020.
Or is it the information error?
A selection of good news and encouraging stories that are from the Wikiverse.
Readers look for info on what they watch, mostly Chernobyl.
Database changes, new scripts, Tech News, and more.
Wikimedia photographers surge to contribute to the Wiki Loves Earth campaign even while rogue clothing company The North Face replaces wiki illustrations with advertisements.
(DELETED ARTICLE)
And other recent research publications.
"If you don't clean up this mess, the adults are going to come and take your toys away from you."
To reduce the incentives driving undisclosed paid editing, Wikipedia could simplify the process and meet outsiders halfway.
Academic peer review meets Wikimedia.
How an Irish state-level paid editor tried to turn me into the villain.
Wikimedia community organizations elect two members for the Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 15:52, 30 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Editing News #1—July 2019

[edit]

Read this in another language • Subscription list for this multilingual newsletter

Did you know?

Did you know that you can use the visual editor on a mobile device?

Every article has a pencil icon at the top. Tap on the pencil icon to start editing.

Edit Cards

Toolbar with menu opened

This is what the new Edit Cards for editing links in the mobile visual editor look like. You can try the prototype here: 📲 Try Edit Cards.

Welcome back to the Editing newsletter.

Since the last newsletter, the team has released two new features for the mobile visual editor and has started developing three more. All of this work is part of the team's goal to make editing on mobile web simpler.

Before talking about the team's recent releases, we have a question for you:

Are you willing to try a new way to add and change links?

If you are interested, we would value your input! You can try this new link tool in the mobile visual editor on a separate wiki.

Follow these instructions and share your experience:

📲 Try Edit Cards.

Recent releases

[edit]

The mobile visual editor is a simpler editing tool, for smartphones and tablets using the mobile site. The Editing team has recently launched two new features to improve the mobile visual editor:

  1. Section editing
    • The purpose is to help contributors focus on their edits.
    • The team studied this with an A/B test. This test showed that contributors who could use section editing were 1% more likely to publish the edits they started than people with only full-page editing.
  2. Loading overlay
    • The purpose is to smooth the transition between reading and editing.

Section editing and the new loading overlay are now available to everyone using the mobile visual editor.

New and active projects

[edit]

This is a list of our most active projects. Watch these pages to learn about project updates and to share your input on new designs, prototypes and research findings.

  • Edit cards: This is a clearer way to add and edit links, citations, images, templates, etc. in articles. You can try this feature now. Go here to see how: 📲Try Edit Cards.
  • Mobile toolbar refresh: This project will learn if contributors are more successful when the editing tools are easier to recognize.
  • Mobile visual editor availability: This A/B test asks: Are newer contributors more successful if they use the mobile visual editor? We are collaborating with 20 Wikipedias to answer this question.
  • Usability improvements: This project will make the mobile visual editor easier to use.  The goal is to let contributors stay focused on editing and to feel more confident in the editing tools.

Looking ahead

[edit]
  • Wikimania: Several members of the Editing Team will be attending Wikimania in August 2019. They will lead a session about mobile editing in the Community Growth space. Talk to them about how editing can be improved.
  • Talk Pages: In the coming months, the Editing Team will begin improving talk pages and communication on the wikis.

Learning more

[edit]

The VisualEditor on mobile is a good place to learn more about the projects we are working on. The team wants to talk with you about anything related to editing. If you have something to say or ask, please leave a message at Talk:VisualEditor on mobile.

PPelberg (WMF) (talk) and Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 21:25, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 31 July 2019

[edit]
WMF grants program changes position on funding random individuals globally and 100 crore people in one region
Are we ready for the sharp elbows?
Resysop requests on the ’crat board prove controversial; plus, aftermath of Framgate.
Arbitration begins setting new boundaries after the June blow-up
It looks nice and cool up in those mountains
A selection of good news and encouraging stories that are from the Wikiverse.
It's easy, education saves lives.
Or, how to avoid Artificial Ignorance
And other new research publications
A new record set: fewer than 500 active admins.
and don't forget the movies
Who is growing? Who is not?
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 16:17, 31 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 30 August 2019

[edit]
The oldest surviving Wikipedia edit restored to article history, Wikimania, and the mystery of a disappearing Funds Dissemination Committee.
Working with leadership and the community, taking on both operational and strategic responsibilities
And the media report it all
Can we survive without IP addresses?
And some summer flicks with the usual heroes and villains
Should we break the law or publish the truth?
Or how to make a concentration camp disappear?
From streets to Wikipedia - What are editors from Hong Kong facing?
Emna Mizouni was named the 2019 Wikimedian of the Year.
A roundup of many recent publications examining Wikpedia's gender gaps in participation and content, and their possible reasons
A selection of good news and encouraging stories that are from the Wikiverse
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:41, 30 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 30 September 2019

[edit]
Our constitutional crisis may continue
Summary of actions around a formerly banned former administrator: Arbitration Committee action and withdrawn request for adminship
The internet may not be as stable as it seems
Luck, Serena, Bianca, 9/11, bad films, mass murderers and other good stuff
Wikipedia's footprint is equivalent to 251 average US homes’ energy use. Yes we can go green.
And other recent research publications
Wikimedia Commons is not the only place to find freely licensed photos
A selection of good news and encouraging stories that are from the Wikiverse
National libraries are planning to leverage Wikidata to interoperate and to bring information to the public
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 11:06, 30 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Editing News #2 – Mobile editing and talk pages – October 2019

[edit]

Read this in another language • Subscription list for this multilingual newsletter

Inside this newsletter, the Editing team talks about their work on the mobile visual editor, on the new talk pages project, and at Wikimania 2019.

Help

[edit]

What talk page interactions do you remember? Is it a story about how someone helped you to learn something new? Is it a story about how someone helped you get involved in a group? Something else? Whatever your story is, we want to hear it!

Please tell us a story about how you used a talk page. Please share a link to a memorable discussion, or describe it on the talk page for this project. The team would value your examples. These examples will help everyone develop a shared understanding of what this project should support and encourage.

Talk Pages

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The Talk Pages Consultation was a global consultation to define better tools for wiki communication. From February through June 2019, more than 500 volunteers on 20 wikis, across 15 languages and multiple projects, came together with members of the Foundation to create a product direction for a set of discussion tools. The Phase 2 Report of the Talk Page Consultation was published in August. It summarizes the product direction the team has started to work on, which you can read more about here: Talk Page Project project page.

The team needs and wants your help at this early stage. They are starting to develop the first idea. Please add your name to the "Getting involved" section of the project page, if you would like to hear about opportunities to participate.

Mobile visual editor

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The Editing team is trying to make it simpler to edit on mobile devices. The team is changing the visual editor on mobile. If you have something to say about editing on a mobile device, please leave a message at Talk:VisualEditor on mobile.

Edit Cards

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What happens when you click on a link. The new Edit Card is bigger and has more options for editing links.

Toolbar

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The editing toolbar is changing in the mobile visual editor. The old system had two different toolbars. Now, all the buttons are together. Tell the team what you think about the new toolbar.
  • In September, the Editing team updated the mobile visual editor's editing toolbar. Anyone could see these changes in the mobile visual editor.
    • One toolbar: All of the editing tools are located in one toolbar. Previously, the toolbar changed when you clicked on different things.
    • New navigation: The buttons for moving forward and backward in the edit flow have changed.
    • Seamless switching: an improved workflow for switching between the visual and wikitext modes.
  • Feedback: You can try the refreshed toolbar by opening the mobile VisualEditor on a smartphone. Please post your feedback on the Toolbar feedback talk page.

Wikimania

[edit]

The Editing Team attended Wikimania 2019 in Sweden. They led a session on the mobile visual editor and a session on the new talk pages project. They tested two new features in the mobile visual editor with contributors. You can read more about what the team did and learned in the team's report on Wikimania 2019.

Looking ahead

[edit]
  • Talk Pages Project: The team is thinking about the first set of proposed changes. The team will be working with a few communities to pilot those changes. The best way to stay informed is by adding your username to the list on the project page: Getting involved.
  • Testing the mobile visual editor as the default: The Editing team plans to post results before the end of the calendar year. The best way to stay informed is by adding the project page to your watchlist: VisualEditor as mobile default project page.
  • Measuring the impact of Edit Cards: The Editing team hopes to share results in November. This study asks whether the project helped editors add links and citations. The best way to stay informed is by adding the project page to your watchlist: Edit Cards project page.

– PPelberg (WMF) (talk) & Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 16:51, 17 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 31 October 2019

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Sweden, Poland, Armenia, Russia, the Vatican, and clueless English pubs.
"It's time for Wikipedia to grow up."
But they aren't entirely sure they see it
A discussion on info wars, government editing and our defences.
A different point of view
An "unblockable" is blocked; a former arb resigns.
Plus a few celebrities.
The future of public broadcasting has arrived.
And other new research publications
Editing can have serious consequences.
Twenty questions to get you started.
A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 16:11, 31 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 29 November 2019

[edit]
"We get by with a little help from our friends"
And when will we get the second extraterrestrial edit?
Everybody wants to change Wikipedia.
A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.
Important or imprudent? Pondering portals. And an editor gets transported off-wiki for good.
Could this be the end of the Terminator?
The latest tech news and updates.
Some interesting and unusual winter and holiday images.
And other new research publications.
Some humor about the otherwise serious subject of burnout.
Veteran editor: Wikipedia is losing existential battle against spam.
Coming to the end of a long road formulating the strategy.
Only now can we say!
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:23, 29 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 27 December 2019

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You can buy "cleaners" but you might not come away clean.
Active administrators and articles achieved are marking milestone metrics, but in diverging directions. Plus, the first time any court has found there exists a constitutional right to read Wikipedia.
Son of Wiki-PR.
Praise for possibly pansophic Wikipedia from a Nobel laureate collides head-on with real-world events in December.
Regarding integrity of information presented by Wikipedia, as well as the processes and people who ensure it remains trustworthy.
ArbCom election results and status of open and requested cases.
We may have scrambled the headlines a bit.
Customise your Wikipedia experience
Messages of holiday cheer from us to you.
16 recent papers, and other research news
A look at different approaches taken by Wikipedia's founders in 2002, as seen from the perspective of nine years when it was written; nearly twenty years ago now.
A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.
There's still a long way to go.
Eight years after our last interview, WikiProject Tree of Life continues to thrive.
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The Signpost: 27 January 2020

[edit]
How long can we ignore Wiki-PR?
You ain't seen nothing yet.
How to survive the asshole consensus.
Plus politics and other oddities.
The new arbs have a big load.
As only The Signpost can describe them.
The top 15 international photos.
Growing our community and our abilities.
Well, it's a bit subjective.
Everybody needs to make a buck somehow — just not here, thanks.
And other new research publications.
The first 10 years are the hardest.
A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.
An interview with four members of the WikiProject Japan.
I may fall in love all over again!
A mentor to us all
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:09, 27 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 1 March 2020

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How to stop abusive commercial editing.
Falling behind Chinese websites.
A statistical insight into the English Wikipedia's very own online community newsletter.
We're all over the map this month.
Wikimedia or Wikipedia?
Arbitration Committee and the "blue wall of silence".
Numbers for vandalism and sockpuppeting included at no additional charge!
No more "Hidden Figures", let's work to make women visible on Wikipedia!
Covering Wikipedia for another five years!
And other new research results
How long has Wikipedia been for sale? When will it stop?
Kobe sets another record.
Renewing our vows.
A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.
Getting across the Wikipedia experience to the press.
Or: how to best bite a newbie.
WikiWorld is back.
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The Signpost: 29 March 2020

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Getting ready for anything.
Wheel war on Tatar Wikipedia.
An interview with members of the COVID Project.
Wikipedia presents solid widely-consulted information on COVID-19 and related topics.
COVID-19, Zika, edit-a-thons, and macrons.
Plus: geonotices, reliable sources, and job titles.
A new case, a case returns from limbo, and an RfC being prepared.
The twists and turns of Epstein’s portrayal on Wikipedia.
Individually and in organized groups, Wikimedians stand up and make a difference.
New research publications on "the fear of being erased" and other topics.
Five years ago with a different crisis.
Going to movies and sport stadiums is history, and readers turn to Wikipedia for crucial medical information and updates.
Images from the Whose Knowlege? campaign.
The WMF responds.
A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.
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Editing news 2020 #1 – Discussion tools

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Screenshot showing what the Reply tool looks like
This early version of the Reply tool automatically signs and indents comments.

The Editing team has been working on the talk pages project. The goal of the talk pages project is to help contributors communicate on wiki more easily. This project is the result of the Talk pages consultation 2019.

Reply tool improved with edit tool buttons
In a future update, the team plans to test a tool for easily linking to another user's name, a rich-text editing option, and other tools.

The team is building a new tool for replying to comments now. This early version can sign and indent comments automatically. Please test the new Reply tool.

  • On 31 March 2020, the new reply tool was offered as a Beta Feature editors at four Wikipedias: Arabic, Dutch, French, and Hungarian. If your community also wants early access to the new tool, contact User:Whatamidoing (WMF).
  • The team is planning some upcoming changes. Please review the proposed design and share your thoughts on the talk page. The team will test features such as:
    • an easy way to mention another editor ("pinging"),
    • a rich-text visual editing option, and
    • other features identified through user testing or recommended by editors.

To hear more about Editing Team updates, please add your name to the "Get involved" section of the project page. You can also watch these pages: the main project page, Updates, Replying, and User testing.

– PPelberg (WMF) (talk) & Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 15:45, 13 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Mailing list change

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You don't seem to have edited any of the wikis for more than two years, so I have removed your name from the mailing list for this newsletter. You can sign up again whenever you want by re-adding your name to that page. Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 23:12, 13 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, I am in fact very active but I work on evangelism rather than editing, so it's important for me to know how the tools are changing. EdSaperia (talk) 08:02, 14 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 26 April 2020

[edit]
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs pitches in.
Plus the importance of language.
The Wikimedia community discusses modifying or hiding the sidebar on the left of every page.
Movies, roads, awards and more.
Even our best editors sometimes disagree.
Coronavirus, coronavirus, and Joe Exotic.
A coronavirus cruise can't stop Roy!
And other new research results.
And it could get worse!
What COVID-19 data are available from the WMF?
In an increasingly factious world, Wikipedia's approach to collaboration and trust-building point to a brighter future.
A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.
A Wikipedia editor reflects on his recent RfA and the health issues that became part of it.
How to better integrate articles across language editions.
An interview with members of the WP:GOCE
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 18:17, 26 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 31 May 2020

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Or will it be meltdown June?
Many of these accounts now blocked on the English-language Wikipedia.
Worth Every Goddamn Second!
It's no April Fool's joke, but we discuss those, too.
Cultural context, diversity, and the future of languages.
Battles, bombs, wars, and more storms.
Sanctions of multiple flavors, and a non-decision on the breadth of discretionary sanctions.
Time to bring on the Bulls.
Straight down the tubes.
Birds, insects, elephants, a macaque and more.
Enacting new standards to address harassment and promote inclusivity across projects.
New results from academic research
Hello Columbus.
Community harnesses new technologies for remote participation in events and gatherings
Can our energy be turned into long-term change?
A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.
Rest in peace.
* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 19:05, 31 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Editing news 2020 #2 – Quick updates

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Mockup of the new reply feature, showing new editing tools
The new features include a toolbar. What do you think should be in the toolbar?

This edition of the Editing newsletter includes information the Wikipedia:Talk pages project, an effort to help contributors communicate on wiki more easily. The central project page is on MediaWiki.org.

– Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 18:11, 15 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 28 June 2020

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Editing news 2020 #3

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On 16 March 2020, the 50 millionth edit was made using the visual editor on desktop.

Seven years ago this week, the Editing team made the visual editor available by default to all logged-in editors using the desktop site at the English Wikipedia. Here's what happened since its introduction:

  • The 50 millionth edit using the visual editor on desktop was made this year. More than 10 million edits have been made here at the English Wikipedia.
  • More than 2 million new articles have been created in the visual editor. More than 600,000 of these new articles were created during 2019.
  • Almost 5 million edits on the mobile site have been made with the visual editor. Most of these edits have been made since the Editing team started improving the mobile visual editor in 2018.
  • The proportion of all edits made using the visual editor has been increasing every year.
  • Editors have made more than 7 million edits in the 2017 wikitext editor, including starting 600,000 new articles in it. The 2017 wikitext editor is VisualEditor's built-in wikitext mode. You can enable it in your preferences.
  • On 17 November 2019, the first edit from outer space was made in the mobile visual editor.
  • In 2019, 35% of the edits by newcomers, and half of their first edits, were made using the visual editor. This percentage has been increasing every year since the tool became available.

Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 02:05, 3 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 2 August 2020

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The Signpost: 30 August 2020

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Editing news 2020 #4

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Reply tool

[edit]
The number of comments posted with the Reply Tool from March through June 2020. People used the Reply Tool to post over 7,400 comments with the tool.

The Reply tool has been available as a Beta Feature at the Arabic, Dutch, French and Hungarian Wikipedias since 31 March 2020. The first analysis showed positive results.

  • More than 300 editors used the Reply tool at these four Wikipedias. They posted more than 7,400 replies during the study period.
  • Of the people who posted a comment with the Reply tool, about 70% of them used the tool multiple times. About 60% of them used it on multiple days.
  • Comments from Wikipedia editors are positive. One said, أعتقد أن الأداة تقدم فائدة ملحوظة؛ فهي تختصر الوقت لتقديم رد بدلًا من التنقل بالفأرة إلى وصلة تعديل القسم أو الصفحة، التي تكون بعيدة عن التعليق الأخير في الغالب، ويصل المساهم لصندوق التعديل بسرعة باستخدام الأداة. ("I think the tool has a significant impact; it saves time to reply while the classic way is to move with a mouse to the Edit link to edit the section or the page which is generally far away from the comment. And the user reaches to the edit box so quickly to use the Reply tool.")[27]

The Editing team released the Reply tool as a Beta Feature at eight other Wikipedias in early August. Those Wikipedias are in the Chinese, Czech, Georgian, Serbian, Sorani Kurdish, Swedish, Catalan, and Korean languages. If you would like to use the Reply tool at your wiki, please tell User talk:Whatamidoing (WMF).

The Reply tool is still in active development. Per request from the Dutch Wikipedia and other editors, you will be able to customize the edit summary. (The default edit summary is "Reply".) A "ping" feature is available in the Reply tool's visual editing mode. This feature searches for usernames. Per request from the Arabic Wikipedia, each wiki will be able to set its own preferred symbol for pinging editors. Per request from editors at the Japanese and Hungarian Wikipedias, each wiki can define a preferred signature prefix in the page MediaWiki:Discussiontools-signature-prefix. For example, some languages omit spaces before signatures. Other communities want to add a dash or a non-breaking space.

New requirements for user signatures

[edit]
  • The new requirements for custom user signatures began on 6 July 2020. If you try to create a custom signature that does not meet the requirements, you will get an error message.
  • Existing custom signatures that do not meet the new requirements will be unaffected temporarily. Eventually, all custom signatures will need to meet the new requirements. You can check your signature and see lists of active editors whose custom signatures need to be corrected. Volunteers have been contacting editors who need to change their custom signatures. If you need to change your custom signature, then please read the help page.

Next: New discussion tool

[edit]

Next, the team will be working on a tool for quickly and easily starting a new discussion section to a talk page. To follow the development of this new tool, please put the New Discussion Tool project page on your watchlist.

Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 18:47, 31 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 27 September 2020

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The Signpost: 27 September 2020

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Editing news 2021 #1

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Reply tool

[edit]
Graph of Reply tool and full-page wikitext edit completion rates
Completion rates for comments made with the Reply tool and full-page wikitext editing. Details and limitations are in this report.

The Reply tool is available at most other Wikipedias.

  • The Reply tool has been deployed as an opt-out preference to all editors at the Arabic, Czech, and Hungarian Wikipedias.
  • It is also available as a Beta Feature at almost all Wikipedias except for the English, Russian, and German-language Wikipedias. If it is not available at your wiki, you can request it by following these simple instructions.

Research notes:

  • As of January 2021, more than 3,500 editors have used the Reply tool to post about 70,000 comments.
  • There is preliminary data from the Arabic, Czech, and Hungarian Wikipedia on the Reply tool. Junior Contributors who use the Reply tool are more likely to publish the comments that they start writing than those who use full-page wikitext editing.[28]
  • The Editing and Parsing teams have significantly reduced the number of edits that affect other parts of the page. About 0.3% of edits did this during the last month.[29] Some of the remaining changes are automatic corrections for Special:LintErrors.
  • A large A/B test will start soon.[30] This is part of the process to offer the Reply tool to everyone. During this test, half of all editors at 24 Wikipedias (not including the English Wikipedia) will have the Reply tool automatically enabled, and half will not. Editors at those Wikipeedias can still turn it on or off for their own accounts in Special:Preferences.

New discussion tool

[edit]
Screenshot of version 1.0 of the New Discussion Tool prototype.

The new tool for starting new discussions (new sections) will join the Discussion tools in Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-betafeatures at the end of January. You can try the tool for yourself.[31] You can leave feedback in this thread or on the talk page.

Next: Notifications

[edit]

During Talk pages consultation 2019, editors said that it should be easier to know about new activity in conversations they are interested in. The Notifications project is just beginning. What would help you become aware of new comments? What's working with the current system? Which pages at your wiki should the team look at? Please post your advice at mw:Talk:Talk pages project/Notifications.

–Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 01:02, 23 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 31 January 2021

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The Signpost: 28 February 2021

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Editing news 2021 #2

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Junior contributors comment completion rate across all participating Wikipedias
When newcomers had the Reply tool and tried to post on a talk page, they were more successful at posting a comment. (Source)

Earlier this year, the Editing team ran a large study of the Reply Tool. The main goal was to find out whether the Reply Tool helped newer editors communicate on wiki. The second goal was to see whether the comments that newer editors made using the tool needed to be reverted more frequently than comments newer editors made with the existing wikitext page editor.

The key results were:

  • Newer editors who had automatic ("default on") access to the Reply tool were more likely to post a comment on a talk page.
  • The comments that newer editors made with the Reply Tool were also less likely to be reverted than the comments that newer editors made with page editing.

These results give the Editing team confidence that the tool is helpful.

Looking ahead

The team is planning to make the Reply tool available to everyone as an opt-out preference in the coming months. This has already happened at the Arabic, Czech, and Hungarian Wikipedias.

The next step is to resolve a technical challenge. Then, they will deploy the Reply tool first to the Wikipedias that participated in the study. After that, they will deploy it, in stages, to the other Wikipedias and all WMF-hosted wikis.

You can turn on "Discussion Tools" in Beta Features now. After you get the Reply tool, you can change your preferences at any time in Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-editing-discussion.

–Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk)

00:27, 16 June 2021 (UTC)

The Signpost: 27 June 2021

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Editing newsletter 2022 – #1

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New editors were more successful with this new tool.

The New topic tool helps editors create new ==Sections== on discussion pages. New editors are more successful with this new tool. You can read the report. Soon, the Editing team will offer this to all editors at most WMF-hosted wikis. You can join the discussion about this tool for the English Wikipedia is at Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)#Enabling the New Topic Tool by default. You will be able to turn it off in the tool or at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-editing-discussion.

The Editing team plans to change the appearance of talk pages. These are separate from the changes made by the mw:Desktop improvements project and will appear in both Vector 2010 and Vector 2022. The goal is to add some information and make discussions look visibly different from encyclopedia articles. You can see some ideas at Wikipedia talk:Talk pages project#Prototype Ready for Feedback.

Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk)

23:14, 30 May 2022 (UTC)

The Signpost: 26 June 2022

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The Signpost: 1 August 2022

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Editing news 2022 #2

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Graph showing 90-minute response time without the new tool and 39-minute response time with the tool
The [[[:int:discussiontools-topicsubscription-button-subscribe]]] button shortens response times.

The new [[[:int:discussiontools-topicsubscription-button-subscribe]]] button notifies people when someone replies to their comments. It helps newcomers get answers to their questions. People reply sooner. You can read the report. The Editing team is turning this tool on for everyone. You will be able to turn it off in your preferences.

–Whatamidoing (WMF) ([[User talk:Whatamidoing (WMF)|int:Talkpagelinktext]]) 00:35, 26 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 31 August 2022

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Editing news 2023 #1

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This newsletter includes two key updates about the Editing team's work:

  1. The Editing team will finish adding new features to the Talk pages project and deploy it.
  2. They are beginning a new project, Edit check.

Talk pages project

Screenshot showing the talk page design changes that are currently available as beta features at all Wikimedia wikis. These features include information about the number of people and comments within each discussion.
Some of the upcoming changes

The Editing team is nearly finished with this first phase of the Talk pages project. Nearly all new features are available now in the [[Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-betafeatures|Beta Feature for int:discussiontools-preference-label]].

It will show information about how active a discussion is, such as the date of the most recent comment. There will soon be a new "int:skin-action-addsection" button. You will be able to turn them off at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-editing-discussion. Please tell them what you think.

Daily edit completion rate by test group: DiscussionTools (test group) and MobileFrontend overlay (control group)

An A/B test for [[mw:Special:MyLanguage/Talk pages project/Mobile|int:discussiontools-preference-label on the mobile site]] has finished. Editors were [[mw:Special:MyLanguage/Talk_pages_project/Mobile#Status_Updates|more successful with int:discussiontools-preference-label]]. The Editing team is enabling these features for all editors on the mobile site.

New Project: Edit Check

The Editing team is beginning a project to help new editors of Wikipedia. It will help people identify some problems before they click "int:publishchanges". The first tool will encourage people to add references when they add new content. Please watch that page for more information. You can join a conference call on 3 March 2023 to learn more.

–Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 18:19, 22 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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