GCS Step 1

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Wikizine - number: 25

Technical news
  • [Bad Image] - there is now the page [[MediaWiki:Bad image list]]. Imageslisted there can not be displayed in that Wiki.Example; If you put on that page [[:Image:George-W-Bush.jpeg]] then theimage will be changed to a link to that pictures description page.Why; some users where vandalizing articles by including to them images.Especially images from a very explicit sexual nature are popular forthis. Even when the only remain on it for a couple of minutes it cangive a very bad impression. Also on the article where the image issupposed to be used the image is not displayed, only a link to thedescription page.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki:Bad_image_list
  • [Magic word] New magic word __NEWSECTIONLINK__ was introduced, whichallows users to add a "new section" link (shown as a tab in Monobook) topages which aren't talk pages.
  • [New tools] Especially useful is "Commonshelper", which semi-automatesmoving images to Commons with a correct history summary.
    http://tools.wikimedia.de/~magnus/commonshelper.php

Request for help

Foundation

  • [Tron] Some time ago there where legal problems for the German Wikipediaabout the article of the deceased hacker Tron. His parents did not likedit that the article contains the real name of Tron, Boris Floricic. Andthe sued Wikimedia about this. The lost but appealed that discussion.Now the have also lost the appeal. Further appeal is not possible. It isallowed to include the full name of Tron in the article.
    http://www.wikimedia.de/2006/05/landgericht-berlin-weist-berufung-in-sachen-tron-zuruck/
  • [New chapter] The Swiss Wikimedia chapter has been officiallyestablished on 14th of May 2006.
    http://www.wikimedia.ch/
  • [pl.wikimedia] Polish Wikimedia Meeting 2006 took place on 29 April-1May in w:en:Wrocław. There was 42 participants including 5 from abroad.10 lectures were delivered and many discussions took place amongparticipants.During the meeting General Member Assembly 2006 I was organized. 17Association's members and several guests accepted Realization of Boardplans for 2006 and Interim Budget. There was discussion aboutWikicontest and several other issues.
  • [Jimbo Time100] Like reported before Jimbo made the Time Magazine top100 of the most influential people of 2006. And there is also a partyfor those 100. Amanda Congdon of rocketboom.com made a video reportabout this.
    http://www.time.com/time/2006/time100/
    http://www.rocketboom.com/vlog/archives/2006/05/rb_06_may_09.html -Jimbowatching (and some other people)

Community

  • [*!*Soviet Alert*!*] The licence template PD-Soviet in its current formwill very probably be deprecated on Commons, and replaced by somethingthat is more accurate. The reason, as put forth by[[commons:user:Lupo]], is that images published in the Soviet before1973 are, simply put, not necessarily public domain as the templatecurrently claims.Images with the template will not necessarily be deleted, but manyprobably will. So do not be surprised if some images disappear.
    http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:PD-Soviet
  • [$] Money offers for an Admin-account... Maybe a new way to get fundingfor Wikimedia?
    http://tinyurl.com/mlt4e

Awards

Media

Stats

  • [Poll] The Dutch newspaper [[w:en:NRC Handelsblad]] had this poll onthere website for one day;"Websites like wikipedia, where everybody can edit the contents, areunreliable."agree 24.27 %, disagree 46.6 %, neutral 29.13 %; Total votes: 206Remark; all visitors to there website could vote on this poll withoutregistration.
  • [nrm.wikipedia] The Norman Wikipedia has reached 500 articles. Thenumber of speakers is unknown, but it is a very small language so 500 isvery nice.
    http://nrm.wikipedia.orghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_language

Other news

  • [Sickipedia] Like all things created by men it can be used for good andalso for very questionable purposes. So also for MediaWiki. There is anew (non-wikimedia) project to collect sick jokes. Racism, Paedophile,Old people, Dead babies ... if there is a topic where it is highlyinappropriate to joke about you can find jokes about it there. This is aproject of an author who has made a book full of sick jokes.Editorial remark: very few of those "jokes" are actually funny.
    http://www.sickipedia.org
    http://www.robertmanuel.com/category/sick-joke-book/
  • [Commercial] Being listed in Wikipedia is important for companies. "Howto Place a Company in the Wikipedia?"
    http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/003782.html

Did you know ...
... you can use the gmail-spell function without gmail?

Put this url on your user page; http://orangoo.com/spell/
And when you are working on your wiki when you are not at home you canuse that easy to use spellchecker that is actually using the spellcheckfunction of gmail.

Ferengi Rules of Acquisition

"Once you have their money, you never give it back." - Rule 1
"Ask not what your
profits can do for you, but what you can do for yourprofits." - Rule
89"
There's
nothing wrong with charity... as long as it winds up in
yourpocket." - Rule
144


Editor(s): Shizhao, Walter