User talk:Pointillist/Archive 2010

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91.109.242.63

I don't know who you think you are but I would prefer it if you didn't refer to the comments I added about Xchanging as vandalism. I thought Wikipedia was interested in factual information about the subjects it contains. What I entered was factual information about the company and therefore cannot be considered as vandalism. Admittedly, what I entered was not positive about the company, but then there are lots of companies in the world that do negative things. So I don't think you are in any position to state that what I entered was vandalism!!!!!!!!!!! The trouble with people like you is that you think you're right an nobody else is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.109.219.131 (talk) 09:19, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for getting back to me. Actually when you started pasting that text I did leave you a neutral note (at User talk:91.111.90.136) saying:

“ The text that you keep adding to the Xchanging article isn't suitable for Wikipedia in its current form. Please find a reliable source that shows how these allegations are notable and allows readers to verify the story. - Pointillist (talk) 09:50, 17 May 2010 (UTC) ”

However, you've now added the same text fourteen times and you've been reverted by half a dozen different editors, not just me. I suggest you apply your admirable persistence and energy to getting a local newspaper to report the story. Once it has been published in a reliable source, it will be verifiable and can (if it is sufficiently notable) be added to the article. Good luck - Pointillist (talk) 13:58, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Unreferenced

I don't appreciate what you did just now. I have all 52,000 BLPs on my todo list and I have my eyes on that list!!. Please don't spam my talk page again otherwise I'll have you eliminated and eaten by one of my deadly piranhas that can strip a man to the bone in 30 seconds. Grrrrr.... Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 23:15, 9 January 2010 (UTC)

I've replied on your talk page (diff). Let's discuss there? - Pointillist (talk) 23:21, 9 January 2010 (UTC) Or, if you are serious about your recent task listing, thanks and how can I help? - Pointillist (talk) 23:33, 9 January 2010 (UTC)

I was kidding yesterday LOL although the piranha tank trap door is only a foot away...., but I do have the entire list on my to do list and I have been working through that list at times but I have a tremendous amount to do on here with geographical content... I will try to work through that list gradually but any help would be appreciated... Thanks... P.S. I very mkuch like your outlook on wikipedia "if you think we can improve Wikipedia by collaborating. ". This is what we should be about and I'm glad you genuinely want to improve the whole encyclopedia (unlike some of the other time wasters on here...) Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 11:16, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

Icke

The books cited at the end of the paragraph discuss it, as do several others e.g. his In the Light of Experience, p. 44. SlimVirgin ^{TALK contribs} 01:31, 16 January 2010 (UTC)

In case it's not online anywhere, the last book I cited above says, "In the 1960s when you reached the end of your time at junior school you took an exam called the eleven plus which most people in Britain will remember. If you passed you went on to the academically superior grammar school and if you failed you went to the so-called secondary modern. I failed and so did most of the junior school football team ... we went to Crown Hills Secondary Modern" (p. 44). SlimVirgin ^{TALK contribs} 01:34, 16 January 2010 (UTC)

Someone added the football website for Icke's football career. It's subscription only so I've never seen it, and I'm inclined to remove it because everything we need about his football is in his books, I believe. SlimVirgin ^{TALK contribs} 01:39, 16 January 2010 (UTC)

Barnstar

Thanks! Much appreciated. Bencherlite^Talk 20:42, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

Thank you

thank you for the notification last week :) Okip 02:37, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Final discussion for Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Biographies of living people

Hello, I note that you have commented on the first phase of Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Biographies of living people

As this RFC closes, there are two proposals being considered:

1. Proposal to Close This RfC
2. Alternate proposal to close this RFC: we don't need a whole new layer of bureaucracy

Your opinion on this is welcome. Okip 03:25, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Talkback

Hello, Pointillist. You have new messages at Wikipedia_talk:Vandalism#Temporary_Autoblocking_of_probable_.27vandalism-only.27_IP_addresses.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

And here, too:

Hello, Pointillist. You have new messages at Wikipedia_talk:Village_pump_(technical)/Annotate.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

ManishEarth^{Talk • Stalk} 02:06, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

• Many thanks for the tip about Credo - it sounds quite useful and interesting. Colonel Warden (talk) 22:27, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

Happy Pointillist's Day!

User:Pointillist has been identified as an Awesome Wikipedian, and therefore, I've officially declared today as Pointillist's day! For being such a beautiful person and great Wikipedian, enjoy being the Star of the day, dear Pointillist! Peace, Rlevse 01:05, 14 April 2010 (UTC) A record of your Day will always be kept here.

For a userbox you can add to your userbox page, see User:Rlevse/Today/Happy Me Day! and my own userpage for a sample of how to use it. — Rlevse • Talk • 01:05, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

Golden Age of Sci Fi

Hey Pointillist, long time no chat. Anyway, some time ago, 6 months to be precise, you answered a comment of mine on Talk:The Golden Age of Science Fiction (anthology), then asked me on my Talk page what I was looking for. I got distracted by some other Wiki matters, but I am back looking for this sci fi textbook that I had in HS way back in the early to mid 80's. It was black in color, I am 99% certain of that, and a paperback. It had some of the great classics, some of which are in the Amis anthology (Nine Billion Names of God and Harrison Bergeron are the only two that I recognize). But it also had some other great stories that don't appear in the Amis volume, most of which I have forgotten the titles of. A Sound of Thunder was one. Another one, I am fairly certain, was called "The Gun"- a space explorer gets stranded on another planet, he has what is supposed to be the perfect gun which also happens to be completely soundless. When finally rescued, he is discovered using an improvised bow and arrows to combat local wildlife and using the Gun instead as a hammer. Another was written entirely as a series of letters to the editor of various (fake) sci fi mags in which the letter writer constantly complains of the magazines rejecting his submissions as plagiarisms of some other writer (whom the letter writer claims never to have heard of). In the final letter of this story, the letter writer complains to an editor that his latest story, about a man who travels through time in order to steal another mans sci fi manuscripts and submit them himself, is original and not the work of the other guy. There are several other stories: one about oil being the blood of the earth; another about a small box in which two scientists can view a tiny world (only to turn out that the world in question is their own, with fatal consequences); one about a future where violence has been weaned out of the human psyche by a tyrannical government, but a cabal of rebel scientists have raised a child with the ability to use weapons using a child's talking bear toy. These are the only ones that I can think of right now. It is entirely possible- given how much time has elapsed- that all or some of these other stories were not in the same book, but I seriously doubt it. Anyway, if you know of any books that contain stories such as these, or can think of somewhere for me to look, I greatly appreciate it. Or, if you recognize any of these stories and know the authors, even better. Thanks for any help. The Original Historygeek (talk) 07:30, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Hi there and apologies for the delay replying. I've done some ferreting around but no luck so far. The nearest I've got might be the "Science Fact/Fiction" anthology published in 1974 (contents listed here). It does contain both The Gun Without a Bang and A Sound of Thunder. Maybe you will have better luck searching? FYI I started at www.philsp.com but unfortunately according to Wikipedia A Sound of Thunder is the most anthologized SF short story ever.... Good luck anyway - Pointillist (talk) 21:32, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

You sir are a God among men. I do believe that is the very book in question!! I have the vice principal of my old HS looking through the records, but going through the list of stories (and I recognized several of the others too, ones that I didn't even mention above), I do believe that is it! Now, to find the book! The Original Historygeek (talk) 01:40, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

I went through the list some more- The Ifth of Oofth, I Always Do What Teddy Wants, and The Wound are the three stories that I mentioned above but couldn't remember the titles, in addition to The Gun (The Gun Without a Bang, as it turns out) and A Sound of Thunder. I also remember The Sound Machine. Curiously, neither Harrison Bergeron nor Nine Billion Names of God are there, but I could have sworn they were in the book I had. Then again, There Will Come Soft Rains is on this list, but I thought I remembered it from an entirely different literature book, so my memory is definitely not 100% on this one. No matter, I am highly pleased because this book that you have found (and I am 99% certain it is indeed my old HS textbook) has the very stories that I have been looking for. Thanks again! The Original Historygeek (talk) 04:23, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Glad to help. I see that ABE books has a copy for sale (here). - Pointillist (talk) 10:09, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

I've deleted my entire watchlist...

...so if you want me to do, undo, explain or apologise for something, please leave a message here, as I won't see messages on other talk pages. Thanks - Pointillist (talk) 13:08, 14 June 2010 (UTC)

Minor requests to add descriptions to my uploaded cc-by-sa-3.0 images, etc

[collapsed for brevity]

{{ File:Boat Race 1st Milestone and bust.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race 1st Milestone and bust.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 22:07, 19 July 2010 (UTC) File:Memorial to Charles Parnell.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Memorial to Charles Parnell.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 22:49, 19 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race 1st Milestone.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race 1st Milestone.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 23:06, 19 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race Steve Fairbairn memorial.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race Steve Fairbairn memorial.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 23:10, 19 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race Steve Fairbairn bust.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race Steve Fairbairn bust.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 23:14, 19 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race Craven Cottage.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race Craven Cottage.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 23:17, 19 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race Putney Bridge.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race Putney Bridge.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 23:21, 19 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race Harrod's Depositary.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race Harrod's Depositary.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 23:24, 19 July 2010 (UTC) Possibly unfree File:Whistle and Flute pub sign.jpg A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Whistle and Flute pub sign.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Possibly unfree files because its copyright status is unclear or disputed. If the file's copyright status cannot be verified, it may be deleted. You may find more information on the file description page. You are welcome to add comments to its entry at the discussion if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 23:41, 19 July 2010 (UTC) Image tagged to support deletion (diff). - Pointillist (talk) 22:07, 20 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race St Paul's.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race St Paul's.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 23:44, 19 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race Finish post.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race Finish post.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 23:44, 19 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race Crabtree Reach.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race Crabtree Reach.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 23:44, 19 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race Fullers Brewery.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race Fullers Brewery.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 23:44, 19 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race start section.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race start section.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 23:44, 19 July 2010 (UTC) File source problem with File:Margaret Eliot cropped for infobox.jpg Thank you for uploading File:Margaret Eliot cropped for infobox.jpg. I noticed that the file's description page currently doesn't specify who created the content, so the copyright status is unclear. If you did not create this file yourself, you will need to specify the owner of the copyright. If you obtained it from a website, please add a link to the website from which it was taken, together with a brief restatement of that website's terms of use of its content. However, if the copyright holder is a party unaffiliated from the website's publisher, that copyright should also be acknowledged. If you have uploaded other files, consider verifying that you have specified sources for those files as well. You can find a list of files you have created in your upload log. Unsourced and untagged images may be deleted one week after they have been tagged per Wikipedia's criteria for speedy deletion, F4. If the image is copyrighted and non-free, the image will be deleted 48 hours after 00:07, 20 July 2010 (UTC) per speedy deletion criterion F7. If you have any questions or are in need of assistance please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 00:07, 20 July 2010 (UTC) Clarified source per OTRS ticket 1495641 - Pointillist (talk) 22:08, 20 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race Bandstand.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race Bandstand.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 00:17, 20 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race Barnes Railway Bridge centre span.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race Barnes Railway Bridge centre span.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 00:17, 20 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race Mortlake Brewery.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race Mortlake Brewery.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 00:17, 20 July 2010 (UTC) File:Westminster School Boat Club early morning.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Westminster School Boat Club early morning.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 00:17, 20 July 2010 (UTC) File:Boat Race Start stone.jpg missing description details Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:Boat Race Start stone.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers. If the information is not provided, the image may eventually be proposed for deletion, a situation which is not desirable, and which can easily be avoided. If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 00:17, 20 July 2010 (UTC) Fair use rationale for File:Roche cartoon in Spare Rib 48.png Thanks for uploading or contributing to File:Roche cartoon in Spare Rib 48.png. I notice the file page specifies that the file is being used under fair use but there is not a suitable explanation or rationale as to why each specific use in Wikipedia constitutes fair use. Please go to the file description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. If you have uploaded other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on those pages too. You can find a list of 'file' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "File" from the dropdown box. Note that any non-free media lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 00:36, 20 July 2010 (UTC) }}

Courtesy note

You are receiving this message because of your participation in this discussion, now continued at Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Microformats. –xeno^talk 13:44, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

Talk page edit

Hello, I've removed the RFA link. While it's not hard to find the information if somebody wants to, I did change my username for a reason. Esteffect (talk) 21:49, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

OK, perhaps you could redirect Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Esteffect to your RFA instead? - Pointillist (talk) 21:52, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

A

nd lo, there was a great edit war over minutiae... (I think this A is better, no? I don't want to edit your thingee again, since you reverted me once, but that "modern-type" A looks really out of place!) –xeno^talk 23:23, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

Cheers. Displacement-indeed! heh. –xeno^talk 23:30, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

Your new proposal trumped everything and is now the official version. I had searched commons, wondered about creating a custom svg (as you do when you have sold your first-born son into slavery to pay for Adobe Creative Suite upgrades) and even considered trying to install my early renaissance edition of Fontographer under Windows 7 64-bit, just to get something a good as yours. It is just what I wanted: how did you find it so quickly? - Pointillist (talk) 23:33, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

'Twasn't far down the page commons:Category:A =) –xeno^talk 03:41, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Barnstar

		The Surreal Barnstar
		Because I saw this post and thought "I have to give that guy a barnstar!" HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 09:55, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks a million for that! - Pointillist (talk) 10:42, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Talkback

Hello, Pointillist. You have new messages at Wikipedia talk:Requests for Adminship.
Message added 02:06, 4 September 2010 (UTC). You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

I've replied to your response at WT:RFA. Tyrol5 [Talk] 20:31, 4 September 2010 (UTC)

Filter out the ugliest ducklings (proposals)

Hi Guy - I thought you might take the time to view the 10 ugliest random ducklings I listed there, plus descriptions, and make firther comment. Regards Mark^Dask 17:30, 5 September 2010 (UTC)

Many thanks. I've left comments in the ugliest ducklings section, though about the general principle rather than your specific examples. Cheers - Pointillist (talk) 00:29, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

IB Diploma Programme

Hi Pointillist, I don't know whether you still have this article on you watchlist, but as it was such a difficult situation, thought everyone involved deserves recognition. Best, Truthkeeper88 (talk) 00:13, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

This user helped promote IB Diploma Programme to good article status.

Thanks very much! - Pointillist (talk) 12:05, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Pending changes/Straw poll on interim usage

Hi. As you recently commented in the straw poll regarding the ongoing usage and trial of Pending changes, this is to notify you that there is an interim straw poll with regard to keeping the tool switched on or switching it off while improvements are worked on and due for release on November 9, 2010. This new poll is only in regard to this issue and sets no precedent for any future usage. Your input on this issue is greatly appreciated. Off2riorob (talk) 23:45, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

closing AFD on House organ

Hey, I saw you tried to close the AFD on House organ, but forgot to do the actual closing of the discussion. Please see WP:DPR#AFD for the procedure to follow when closing a discussion. Also I am sure you acted in good faith, but per WP:NAC you are not allowed to close any discussion you voted in. Should be all fixed now, but please keep this in mind next time you do a non-admin closure. Yoenit (talk) 22:37, 4 October 2010 (UTC)

Sorry about that: I thought that when an AfD had been withdrawn by the nominator anyone could close it, even the nom. I'll be more careful in future. - Pointillist (talk) 07:30, 5 October 2010 (UTC)

Going down under

You may be interested in the history of an NZ institution which was based upon the Oxbridge equivalents. See Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Otago University Debating Society. Colonel Warden (talk) 23:13, 10 October 2010 (UTC)

Done. There's an open issue about canvassing editors in Category:Wikipedians by alma mater: University of Otago. Perhaps you could take care of that question? - Pointillist (talk) 11:44, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

• Here's another academic topic FYI: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/UCL Faculty of Engineering Sciences. There are some points of principle which make this an interesting case. Colonel Warden (talk) 00:40, 17 October 2010 (UTC)

DGG is a good judge, as you'd expect from his academic librarian roots. Personally, I'm not that keen on points of principle having dived into the Otago AfD at your suggestion (shudders). Despite UCL's early leadership in chemical engineering, I couldn't find any mentions in the index of Aftalion's History of the Chemical Industry. I suspect the problem is that academic sources tend to index contributions by people rather than by specific institutional units, e.g. you typically hear "researchers at Oxford University have discovered...", rather than "some mathematicians, computer scientists, physicists and a former chemist who is now a quantum something expert have discovered...". OK, I haven't explicitly named departments in that example but you know what I mean. Anyway, good luck tilting at windmills but I'm not going to be editing for a week or so anyway and by then it will all be over. - Pointillist (talk) 22:21, 18 October 2010 (UTC)

BTW, I just dropped by the Tiger vs lion AfD and it struck me that you are essentially treating Articles for deletion as being "Titles for deletion", which would imply that you decide in principle whether a title should have an article before considering whether the current text demonstrates notability using reliable sources etc. Have I got that right? - Pointillist (talk) 23:18, 18 October 2010 (UTC)

Verifiability vs readability of Wikipedia

Re this section on your user page, please note that it is worse than you suggest. A big problem with heavy citation is that it doesn't just make the article more difficult to read; it also makes it almost impossible for a naive editor to edit. When they click the edit button to edit a piece of text, the footnotes dominate the raw source code and the markup language is quite inpenetrable to anyone but mathematicians and computer scientists. I feel sure that this is the reason that such types are found in undue numbers amongst active editors (me too). This then has an unfortunate effect upon the nature of the community because computer geeks are notorious for their poor social skills and so Wikipedians resemble the cast of The Big Bang Theory.

I gather from Sue Gardner that the Foundation is aware of the problem and a WYSIWYG interface is a high priority for them. But this is easier said than done...

Colonel Warden (talk) 13:53, 18 October 2010 (UTC)

It would be interesting to move all the references into a database, so when you want to find a source you can start from the list of all sources that have ever been used on wikipedia, with smart filtering according to the sorts of articles that cite them. When you try to add something to the database, the system tells you what's already there (e.g. other issues of the same newspaper, or other pages from the same website). If you want to cite something that's already known to the database, all you have to add is the detailed location info (e.g. page/chapter, url/accessdate etc) so you don;t have to enter redundant information about publisher, location etc. This approach would make it easy for novice editors to generate citations and could automate archiving of fragile web sources. We could assess the reliability of sources at the author, periodical or website level; bulk maintenance issues like url changes, translations, copyright violations, NPOV and paywalls could be addressed systematically rather than piecemeal, and expert contributors could quickly check that the most authoritative sources are being used. Best of all, because the bulk of citations would be transcluded from the database (rather that generated from complex templates and markup), pages would preview more quickly and footnote display could be much more flexible. Win win win win win IMO - Pointillist (talk) 16:38, 18 October 2010 (UTC)

Query

Thanks for the helpful advice. Except for responding to questions posted on my talk page, I've dropped the issue entirely, since I don't feel like bothering with the situation. Nyttend (talk) 22:02, 30 October 2010 (UTC)

Well, I'm sorry to have intruded: I just felt uncomfortable with the possibility that either you (or SandyGeorgia) might be unnecessarily distressed—probably a benign residue of my Anglican upbringing! - Pointillist (talk) 22:17, 30 October 2010 (UTC)

Kilburn Priory

Good improvement job on the Kilburn Priory article, now heading for snowball keep. Bit more expansion we should be able to find a hook for DYK in there. Dylanfromthenorth (talk) 23:01, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the message—and for staying cool on Shadowjams talk page. FYI in this case the stub was one of several hundred recently created by a disruptive sockpuppet so IMO it would be better not to offer this for DYK if you don't mind. - Pointillist (talk) 23:50, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

Reviewer permission

Hello. Your account has been granted the "reviewer" userright, allowing you to review other users' edits on certain flagged pages. Pending changes, also known as flagged revisions, underwent a two-month trial which ended on 15 August 2010. Its continued use is still being discussed by the community, you are free to participate in such discussions. Many articles still have pending changes protection applied, however, and the ability to review pending changes continues to be of use.

Reviewers can review edits made by users who are not autoconfirmed to articles placed under level 1 pending changes and edits made by non-reviewers to level 2 pending changes protected articles (usually high traffic articles). Pending changes was applied to only a small number of articles, similarly to how semi-protection is applied but in a more controlled way for the trial. The list of articles with pending changes awaiting review is located at Special:OldReviewedPages.

For the guideline on reviewing, see Wikipedia:Reviewing. Being granted reviewer rights doesn't grant you status nor change how you can edit articles even with pending changes. The general help page on pending changes can be found here, and the general policy for the trial can be found here.

If you do not want this user right, you may ask any administrator to remove it for you at any time. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 00:18, 6 November 2010 (UTC)

robot warlords article

thanks for the help with the sources, i need help with an infobox ive put in the article, it looks very big and is squashing the text also it needs filling in a bit, can you or someone else help please--Lerdthenerd (talk) 12:25, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Given that the pack cover jpg is only 160px wide, I've set the size in the infobox to 200px instead of the usual 250px. That seems to help. I've also linked some more of the terms so there are no redlinks. Good luck - Pointillist (talk) 13:06, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks--Lerdthenerd (talk) 14:08, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Re: 82.219.197.42

So I used to think. But not long ago I saw an almost identical rampage and went straight to AIV, and at the same time, someone else sent them a uw-vand1. It was a while before it was picked up at AIV, but it turned out the vand1 alone led the person to stop. So I thought if it worked last time... Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 01:34, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

I sympathize, but in a case like that – when an IP has made at least a dozen vandalisms in a short period – IMO the integrity of the encyclopedia has to be the bright line. Because blocks are to prevent further damage rather than punish previous actions, reporting a still-currently-vigorous vandal to WP:AIV isn't a bad thing, even if in theory they haven't been warned enough. Actually, in your "not long ago" example your AIV report may have done the trick: some IP vandals are experienced socks who are watching WP:AIV using other accounts. If you don't wish to use AIV, upping the warnings is helpful too, at least so that other watchers can see the vandal's pattern of behavior. Anyway, good luck with your work here, whatever strategy you take. Best - Pointillist (talk) 02:03, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Happy Holidays

J04n(talk page) is wishing you Seasons Greetings! Whether you celebrate your hemisphere's Solstice or Xmas, Eid, Diwali, Hogmanay, Hanukkah, Lenaia, Festivus or even the Saturnalia, this is a special time of year for almost everyone!

Spread the holiday cheer by adding {{subst:User:WereSpielChequers/Dec10/Balloon}} to your friends' talk pages.

Please allow me to introduce myself :)

My name is Warren, I like the attention you paid to a detail on a particular article and would like to talk to you about possible collaboration on some edits I have found fault with which have been reverted. I am a sincere person who wants to help and am well educated in the area of study to which I would like to contribute. LET TRUTH PREVAIL!!! 08:46, 17 January 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wkdemers (talk • contribs)

Hi Warren. I just took a look at your user page and your contributions to get some idea of your areas of interest. Sorry, but I wouldn't be much help to you there. There are some archived threads here that discuss whether the Bible is a "reliable source" ...you might find those interesting. - Pointillist (talk) 00:24, 18 January 2011 (UTC)

Brucie

Hi

I would just like to say the only edit I did was to remove the reference someone had put up about Bruce Forsyth dying. I didn't add anything myself. Regards, Anonymous Internet user. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.86.213.106 (talk) 08:06, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. Actually, that reference (http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article3419687.ece) was for his date of birth! But as the article had been comprehensively messed around with by vandals and incomplete reversions, it must have been hard to see that. Anyway, the reference is back and I've removed the message from your talk page. All the best - Pointillist (talk) 09:48, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program is looking for new Online Ambassadors

Hi Pointillist! Since you've been identified as an Awesome Wikipedian, I wanted to let you know about the Wikipedia Ambassador Program, and specifically the role of Online Ambassador. We're looking for friendly Wikipedians who are good at reviewing articles and giving feedback to serve as mentors for students who are assigned to write for Wikipedia in their classes.

If that sounds like you and you're interested, I encourage you to take a look at the Online Ambassador guidelines; the "mentorship process" describes roughly what will be expected of mentors during the current term, which started in January and goes through early May. If that's something you want to do, please apply!

You can find instructions for applying at WP:ONLINE. The main things we're looking for in Online Ambassadors are friendliness, regular activity (since mentorship is a commitment that spans several months), and the ability to give detailed, substantive feedback on articles (both short new articles, and longer, more mature ones).

I hope to hear from you soon.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 17:42, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Catenanuova

Hi this has happened in the past with the specific user and the content resolution did not lead anywhere.I have also participated in the discussion section whereas the user has not.The references is valid.Please see this as a false positive. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.197.190.60 (talk) 21:26, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

You read the warning message. It says: the three-revert rule applies even if you believe you are right. You should not have reverted after you read that warning.
Also, if you are the same person as Weatherextremes (talk · contribs), please note that you should not edit logged-in as Weatherextremes and also logged out (e.g. from 147.197.190.60) because this is a type of sock-puppetry.
I will copy this section to your talk page to be sure that you have seen it. - Pointillist (talk) 22:31, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Your compromise proposal about Catenanuova

Thanks a lot for your contribution, which looks like objective and unpartial to me. What you wrote is what is documented. At this point I would suggest to lock the climate article subsection, at least until potentially new evidences emerge. These may be reported in discussion with the request to add them. In the current version the 0.5°C difference between the Athens record and the Catenanuova one is too much explicit, it will not remain for long. This kind of informations (anything "surpassing" Athens in heat, or letting it to appear cooler than how somebody says) get edited, deleted or sweetened very soon. I have done battle against that continuous entering the statement that the weather station is non-compliant with WMO specifications, and it has been all the times re-entered without references. But of course we do not see and we do not test the weather station conformity, we are not sure about. Osservatorio alle Acque supports the 48.5°C value (reported in discussion by another user who emailed them in order to ask). Forgive me for changing IP sometimes; each time my router is resetted or it connects again with the DSL after a fall of line, it negotiates a new IP, generally having in common only the 93.145 prefix (but of course I am not all the 93.145 users). Every quick check of my edits will reveal that after an initial time of lack of familiarity with Wikipedia (and some "battle" about scientific findings that that I found to be edited as I described above) my edits are constructive, pertinent and referenced at my best. Best regards --93.145.237.252 (talk) 17:57, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

Catenanuova: what about your text in the Italian wikipedia?

Hello, as the 48.5°C temperature measured in Catenanuova has been deleted from Wikipedia in Italian, would it be a problem for you if I enter there your version of the text simply translated in Italian? Here is a draft of it (as literal as I am able to and structural differences between Italian and English allow). Thanks and best regards.

DRAFT (title "Catenanuova climatic considerabe events" (eventi climatici particolari) or something like that)

Le temperature e le precipitazioni di Catenanuova sono registrate da una stazione di telemetria remota gestita dal Dipartimento delle Acque e dei Rifiuti della regione Sicilia, la quale il 10 agosto 1999 ha misurato una temperatura massima di 48.5°C (119.3°F), che risulta 0.5°C più alta del record europeo di temperatura massima ufficialmente riconosciuto dal World Meteorological Organization pari a 48.0°C (118.4°F), registrato ad Atene, Grecia il 10 luglio 1977. Catenanuova, tuttavia, non è una stazione meteorologica appartenente alla rete WMO, la più vicina delle quali dista 37 km (23 mi) ed è situata a Enna.

--93.145.237.252 (talk) 19:02, 4 February 2011 (UTC) --93.145.237.252 (talk) 19:04, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

Hi. Actually, I have rearranged the English text slightly since you wrote your suggestion, so maybe you would like to check that version in case it is useful? Of course it is entirely up to you. It would be very helpful if you could add a short summary of the Italian article to the English one. There seems to be much more to Catenanuova than just the climate! Ciao - Pointillist (talk) 22:48, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

Very nice

Pointilist the version does seem very nice and thank you.I do agree with it.However yes the 0.5 difference a)is much too explicit b) it might imply a comparison between an official WMO station that follows the strictest protocols in temperature measurements and a remote telemetry station of unknown standards internationally.Thus I would kindly ask you to remove this 0.5C difference and at the same time retaining Athens (if possible) as per officiality and since we are talking abou a continental official record being under scrutiny here I can accept it as totally objective.The same goes for the Italian version as well.Sorry as well for switching IP,sometimes it happens when my browser freezes or something.

Once again about Catenanuova

The points a) and b) mentioned by 147.197.190.60 alias Weatherextremes are non-encyclopedic in nature, in particular worrying for the degree of explicitness of a number seems odd. The 0.5°C difference is not pornography. These considerations are not proper matter for an encyclopedia. Nevertheless the current version of the Climate subsection of the Catenanuova article looks like very reasonable, non-deceitful, non-insinuative, and complete. So I translated it into Italian and added it to the Italian Catenanuova article. When I find systematic data about Catenanuova climate I'll add it to the Climate subsection.

This is the Italian text, the references are the same of the current English version. I have to apply some small corrections, for instance I can add the wikipedia internal reference to the Italian version of the WMO article that now is missing.

Clima

Le temperature e le precipitazioni di Catenanuova sono registrate da una stazione di telemetria remota gestita dal Dipartimento dell'Acqua e dei Rifiuti della Regione Sicilia,[1] che il 10 agosto 1999 ha misurato una temperatura massima pari a 48.5°C (119.3°F).[2] Quella di Catenanuova, tuttavia, non è una stazione meteorologica appartenente alla rete dell'Organizzazione Mondiale di Meteorologia (WMO) – la più vicina delle quali dista 37 km (21 miglia) ed è ubicata a Enna[3][4] – e il record europeo di temperatura massima riconosciuto dall'OMM è il valore di 48.0°C (118.4°F), registrato il 10 luglio 1977 ad Atene, in Grecia.[5]

OK for taking informations about Catenanuova from the Italian article and adding it to the English one. It will take some time; I'll progressively do that. Best regards and thanks. Ciao!

--93.145.248.208 (talk) 10:45, 6 February 2011 (UTC) (till yesterday 93.145.237.252, last night the router negotiated a new IP)

Thanks very much. If you are going to contribute more, why not set up an account? It only takes a few minutes! - Pointillist (talk) 11:44, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

I have one (Amending) and sometimes I login: when I recall the password; as it is a piece of programming language code and all the times it is panic and trials and errors to retrieve it. I never allow PC to remember my passwords and this has negative drawbacks. --93.145.248.208 (talk) 20:02, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

This one. Ciao. --Amending (talk) 20:45, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

Grazie mille - Pointillist (talk) 21:43, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

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