Wikipedia talk:Wikipedia Signpost/Newsroom

Calendar: current deadline is highlighted, and current UTC date is 2024-09-05 17:45:08.
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The Signpost currently has 5585 articles, 698 issues, and 13613 pages (4441 talk and 9172 non-talk).

Current issue: Volume 20, Issue 12 (2024-09-04) ·

issue page · archive page · single-page edition · single-page talk (create)

Articles and pageviews for 2024-09-04

Pageviews for 2024-09-04 (V) Subpage Title 7-day 15-day 30-day 60-day 90-day 120-day 180-day Wikimania A month after Wikimania 2024 165 165 165 165 165 165 165 Traffic report After the gold rush 181 181 181 181 181 181 181 Serendipity What it's like to be Wikimedian of the Year 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 Recent research Simulated Wikipedia seen as less credible than ChatGPT and Alexa in experiment 507 507 507 507 507 507 507 News from the WMF Meet the 12 candidates running in the WMF Board of Trustees election 219 219 219 219 219 219 219 News and notes WikiCup enters final round, MCDC wraps up activities, 17-year-old hoax article unmasked 375 375 375 375 375 375 375 In the media AI is not playing games anymore. Is Wikipedia ready? 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 Humour Local man halfway through rude reply no longer able to recall why he hates other editor 265 265 265 265 265 265 265

Previous issue: 2024-08-14 · issue page · archive page · single-page edition · single-page talk

Articles and pageviews for 2024-08-14

Pageviews for 2024-08-14 (V) Subpage Title 7-day 15-day 30-day 60-day 90-day 120-day 180-day Traffic report Ball games, movies, elections, but nothing really weird 434 642 743 743 743 743 743 Special report Nano or just nothing: Will nano go nuclear? 545 755 895 895 895 895 895 Recent research STORM: AI agents role-play as "Wikipedia editors" and "experts" to create Wikipedia-like articles, a more sophisticated effort than previous auto-generation systems 1364 1714 1914 1914 1914 1914 1914 Opinion HouseBlaster's RfA debriefing 605 803 947 947 947 947 947 News and notes Another Wikimania has concluded 577 757 906 906 906 906 906 In the media Portland pol profile paid for from public purse 1315 1752 2029 2029 2029 2029 2029 Humour I'm proud to be a template 666 899 1062 1062 1062 1062 1062 In focus Twitter marks the spot 9326 9791 9998 9998 9998 9998 9998

Improving The Signpost

Firstly, regarding deadlines, I believe a significant shortcoming of The Signpost is that the editors themselves set the deadlines. There is a reason why teachers set the deadlines for students. It would be preferable if an uninvolved editor were responsible for setting these deadlines. I'm looking forward to contributing to future issues, and my hope is that The Signpost becomes a periodical, published on a regular schedule (such as on the 1st and 15th of each month). Readers know when to expect the new issue, and subscribers can look forward to their subscription template being updated on those two days. Contributors will also know these deadlines and work to them for their submissions.

Secondly, we should take further measures to boost morale. I suggest featuring a piece on the Main page (possibly a big suggestion, but I'm throwing it out there). This can be a new one or one from the archives. I don't know how the main page works (at all), I strongly oppose the idea of editors nominating their own articles, or anyone affiliated with The Signpost getting involved in this. Svampesky (talk) 11:46, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

Let's say you are in charge of 'the deadine'. What happens if the DEADLINE arrives, and half the articles aren't copy edited? Do you publish anyway? Do you sack the writers and hire new ones at the very competitive rate of 0$/hour? Do you demote them?

We're volunteers here, the Signpost isn't an assignment.

Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 11:53, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

I'm not much of a critic, but it was more about boosting morale. During my time as a reader, I wasn't particularly aware of The Signpost. I try to write my pieces for those outside the Wikipedia community. If we, as a community, collaborate to showcase our work, it may encourage others to participate for the deadlines. Perhaps I'm being overly ambitious... I think the Main page integration is something we should work towards. Svampesky (talk) 12:03, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

Looking through the archives, it seems that The Signpost used to be published on a regular schedule. What was the atmosphere like back then? In 2019, for example, it was published on the last day of each month. Svampesky (talk) 12:08, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

It kind of was, and it kind of wasn't. I am glad you mentioned this, because otherwise it would be another useless piece of information stuck in my head and of no use to anybody, which may be of some interest now. Some months ago I was going through the old revisions of the main Signpost page (to extract the subheadings out and store them in the module, which had previously just been lost forever after the page was overwritten each issue). Well, I figured I could just get a list of publication dates, then take the largest diff for each day, and then that would be that day's issue -- but not in the slightest. In reality, they seem to have almost all been somewhat late, ranging from one day to several days (the "date" of publication, i.e. the part of the URL that has the datestamp in it, only occasionally being the actual day on which an issue was published back in the days before SPS.js). jp×g🗯️ 13:43, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

Huh, I would be curious about the details of this data analysis, do have this posted somewhere? It does not match my recollection and certainly not the results of a quick-and-dirty data analysis I did myself a long time ago for 2009-2011, which indicated that during that timespan, publication delays of more than 24 hours were rare. Also, while I really do not want to be one of those former editors-in-chiefs (they exist) who go on and on about how everything was great at the Signpost during their own tenure and has gone terribly downhill since then, allow me for once to point out that I published over 60 weekly issues myself back then, the vast majority of them on time (i.e. at or slightly before the publication deadline). Similarly, while they likewise don't usually mention it, some other team members who have also weighed in in the various discussions on this page over the last two years or so trying to convince you of the importance of taking the stated publication deadlines more seriously (like Smallbones in this section) also have ample previous experience as editor-in-chief. This is to make you aware that they might find the multitude of explanations/rationales/excuses that have been offered in those discussions on why publishing on time is impossible/supremely difficult/a great hardship/unimportant etc. a bit less convincing than you might think. Regards, HaeB (talk) 21:37, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

If it helps, my memory of being EIC for the weekly editions in 2012–14 is that we were often late by a day or two but we made a strong effort to not fall farther beyond that. As far as I remember, we never moved the URLs for the new date and that would have fed into the issue JPxG mentioned. (I'm sure we skipped an issue + date here or there too.) Ed ^{[talk] [OMT]} 21:57, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

Since I was pinged, I'll just add that I edited about 36 monthly issues. I believe one was cancelled, and most of the rest went to the publisher 30-60 minutes after the deadline (remember this was Sunday night). There were a couple delayed by about 12 hours, maybe 1 of two days. The reason I was basically on time all the time was because I thought that this was my job - getting out an issue up to our standards on time. That's how newspapers work. There's enough chaos in this type of work that everybody else needs to have one fixed point that they can count on. It's the time that everybody can coordinate around. If somebody really needs to be an hour late - we can do it -as long as everybody else is on time and not 3 or 5 hours late. It's also good for the readers to know when we are coming out. As far as former editors saying how great things were back in the day - I don't think I'd say that. We had our challenges. But I don't think I have could handled those challenges if everything else was changing at the same time, as happens when the deadline is missed. I do think missing a deadline is understandable in case of wildfires, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, a family down with COVID, etc. but I did manage one of those without missing the deadline. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 03:06, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

On the broader issue of publishing intervals, I wrote about it at some length in Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2023-01-16/From_the_team; there's even a big graph of publication intervals over time. Basically, there was a weekly publication schedule from '05 through '16 or so. During 2016, publication slowed down a bit, and in 2017 it ate shit entirely for several months (there was nothing at all between February and June). The current schedule of publishing every three weeks is, depending on perspective, either a bold step up from running once a month or a cravenly retreat back from running once every two weeks (which we did a fairly adequate job of through '23 and part of '24). I must say, though, publishing every two weeks was quite arduous -- like Headbomb says, it would often be the case that we'd hit deadline and not have any articles. (not just that there was a bunch of stuff that needed copyedit/expansion, there would be straight-up nothing in some of the drafts besides lipsum).

At any rate, on the bright side, I think this is one of the fullest issues we've had in a while, in no small part due to some of the more recent additions. I think that if this energy can be sustained, it bodes well for the paper. jp×g🗯️ 13:50, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

I'll look at all of this later. I'm pleased that these suggestions (including blue-green user links) have not been perceived as the difficult-newbie telling everyone what to do, but I'm still not going to self-declare myself as the Peculiarity writer on the about page. I have several ideas prepared for upcoming issues. If I can write something good, my next piece will focus on the UK politics. An election is happening today, and I plan to write all my political pieces after. I'm not much of a critic, but I can provide suggestions. I have some notes with ideas that could help with engagement. I don't think anyone at The Signpost should get involved with Main page space; instead, we should continue our efforts and wait for an someone uninvolved to suggest it. I can also offer a non-Wikipedian-reader perspective, as I was only mildly aware that The Signpost existed. Are you able to see the page views from logged-out vs logged-in? Svampesky (talk) 14:21, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

I appreciate the sentiment, but it's just hard to reconcile with the day job sometimes. We all have to juggle work and other commitments along with Signpost deadlines. I actually think we are muddling through quite well at the moment. Andreas JN466 14:23, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

I'm consolidating all my thoughts here: User:Svampesky/Ideas/Signpost. Please feel free to add it to your watchlist. I prefer not to make too many suggestions outside my userspace. My knowledge is limited on technical restrictions and the time required for implementation. Svampesky (talk) 23:57, 6 July 2024 (UTC)

Let's get serious about the deadline

We have to have a real deadline in order to

• let readers know when we a coming out. People want to know when there is new material to read, without checking 2 or 3 times a month
• let authors know when to actually submit their work. If you don't have a real deadline, people will often wait until just before the time when they think you'll actually publish. In my experience, having a deadline is the only way that newspaper production is organized. It's a waste of contributors' time not having a deadline. If JPxG is going to show up for the first time after the deadline, so too will the submissions, but there won't be any any copyeditors around, or any chance to get early feedback on an article. In short it isn't a production process, it is just chaos. "News" is time dependent. If we want to have news in our newspaper, the news writers have to know when it is going to be published. (I'll have more tomorrow or Wednesday)
• Just a suggestion, if the eic consistently is 2 days late in publishing, he should just show up 2 days earlier.

Smallbones_(smalltalk) 00:09, 8 July 2024 (UTC)

• Support to light a fire under JPxG, who is a very competent EiC. I support The Signpost's mission of being the Wikimedia movement's online newspaper. While JPxG performs admirably to support and enhance this mission when active, his first appearance being after the deadline undermines the credibility of The Signpost and its mission. Svampesky (talk) 14:15, 8 July 2024 (UTC)

  Quick comment (as an alum from long ago): You can choose to have releases on a fixed schedule rather than to fixed quality. Then every issue is guaranteed to have a few easy-to-compile beats, basic stats, and a reminder of where and how to submit or discuss the next issue. In that case it's fine to have shorter issues published by a broader range of editors comfortable w/ the mechanics of publishing, even if the EiC isn't available. Experience running the shorter routine issues can be a way to get experience editing. Complex stories that would benefit from more review can still get pushed to a later issue. Since the wiki is not paper you can even include teasers pointing readers to drafts in progress if you want public input.

  And you could choose to, say, color the archives [or even the headers of the updates posted to talk pages :) ] to distinguish routine vs major issues, special editions, &c. – SJ + 16:40, 13 July 2024 (UTC)

  Same. One of the things that has been a problem is that deadline will roll around and there will not be a whole lot ready -- but as Sj says, it's not really the end of the world to put out an issue that doesn't have every possible thing in it. Probably Smallbones is right too, and consistently doing this for a while will stop people from thinking that it will be fine to get stuff in late anyway, and this chicken-egg thing will resolve itself. Well, at any rate: I'll be there. jp×g🗯️ 02:06, 16 July 2024 (UTC)

  Well, on this note, we went out merely one day late this time, albeit at the cost of not publishing some of the stuff that rolled in after the writing deadline. This of course feels bad, because there is a bunch of crap left over for the next issue that probably could have been ready with a couple hours of editing and checking, but on the plus side it was a hell of a lot less stressful than the typical process, and it was almost not published late to boot. jp×g🗯️ 10:20, 22 July 2024 (UTC)

  In case there are anyone here who don't know what Douglas Adams said about deadlines, it's on Wikiquote. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 12:10, 22 July 2024 (UTC)

I'm only a simple caveman, and your electronic boxes with words and sounds frighten and confuse me, but perhaps it would make more sense to publish stories as they are ready, and simply send out a digest of completed articles every month? ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 12:30, 22 July 2024 (UTC)

Epic hrrmery -- some five hours to publication

I have been looking over the stuff in the newsroom every few hours: I note we are missing a couple of things, particularly the discussion report. @Svampesky: any update on that?

At any rate, I have stuff I would like to write, and will not get to -- so it goes. I plan to run it with whatever we've got in those few hours, and if the issue ends up being very thin gruel, I suppose it can just be the thin-gruel issue. jp×g🗯️ 16:23, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

I finished it yesterday, but didn't want any inaccuracies in the page history. It will be published by the deadline. See Special:Diff/1235504982. I do all my Wikipedia writing at roughly the same time in the evening (which is now). Svampesky (talk) 16:30, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

Reminder for folks who would like to help out with copyediting that you can go through the list at Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Newsroom#Article_status and look for those that are marked "Ready for copyedit".

The top story in News and notes still looks very drafty - @Bri, Jayen466, and Bluerasberry: is any of you planning to wrap it up before the deadline? (to ping the three folks currently listed as authors there)

As usual, I'm aiming to have RR in a publishable state by the deadline.

Regards, HaeB (talk) 18:13, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

Y I have the top story in form which appears publishable but anyone else can edit it further. Bluerasberry (talk) 20:47, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

User:Svampesky/Drafts/Signpost/Trump_raised_fist_photo @JPxG Svampesky (talk) 20:52, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

Okay, well, it's almost midnight here so I guess this is a tomorrow task. Imagine being only one day late. jp×g🗯️ 06:48, 21 July 2024 (UTC)

20:12 Serendipity

I plan to eventually finish writing User:Clovermoss/Wikimania 2024. A snazzier title would probably be something like "what it's like to be Wikimedian of the Year". It's been awhile since I've written anything for the Signpost but I figured this would probably be welcome once I'm actually done writing the thing. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 22:20, 15 August 2024 (UTC)

Yes. jp×g🗯️ 00:17, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

@Shushugah: Would you be alright with waiting to copyedit until I'm actually done? I'm not even halfway through and I plan on rewriting certain things. It just seems like a lot of effort for a process that only needs to be done once at the end, y'know? Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 01:06, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

Of course! My apologies! ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 11:15, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

I'm not mad, I just didn't want you to have to spend more time on it than you had to. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 11:31, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

@Clovermoss, submit it on the submissions page when you're ready for it to be copyedited. Then the copyeditors know for sure you've finished. Svampesky (talk) 19:29, 17 August 2024 (UTC)

Will do. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 19:34, 17 August 2024 (UTC)

@Clovermoss: Hi, how is the article shaping up? Don't forget we can give you support to complete it and double-check it, if needed! : ) Oltrepier (talk) 10:54, 27 August 2024 (UTC)

Oh, I'm not concerned. It's not too detailed yet but it's high on the list of priorities to finish within the next few days. I took notes at wikimania so I already have somewhat of a rough draft. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 14:51, 27 August 2024 (UTC)

@Svampesky and Oltrepier: I haven't finished it yet but it's coming along nicely and I should be finished before the September 1 deadline. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 22:18, 30 August 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for the update. I look forward to reading it. Svampesky (talk) 03:32, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Same as per @Svampesky, I can't wait! : ) Oltrepier (talk) 17:32, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

@Svampesky and Oltrepier: I have finished pretty much everything I set out to do. Let me know what you think. :) Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 18:25, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

@Clovermoss: Thank you! I think some parts might need to be trimmed, specifically the August 8 section, but apart from that, the article looks good! If you don't mind, I've done a little bit of copy-editing myself at the top of the page. @Shushugah: If you want to finish the job, go ahead! Oltrepier (talk) 10:06, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

@Oltrepier: Why do you think parts of August 8 need to be trimmed? Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 11:55, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

@Clovermoss Because it looked much longer than the other sections, but thinking twice, I understand it was a very eventful day for you, so it's probably fine. : ) Oltrepier (talk) 12:49, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

@JPxG, Svampesky, and Clovermoss: By the way, where should we place this article? I think it would be a nice feature for the "Serendipity" section! Oltrepier (talk) 20:36, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

Is there anything else I'm supposed to do? I'm a bit anxious that this piece does not appear to be anywhere at Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 18:07, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Nothing you need to do no. It just needs to be moved to Wikipedia:Signpost/Next issue/Something, and then it'll appear in the preview. Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 18:52, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Yeah, basically -- the process is automatic, so long as the page is in the /Next issue/ namespace. By default it updates every day, but you can make it update manually by clicking on this link from the next issue page. jp×g🗯️ 19:15, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

It's still in my userspace for now. You're free to move it wherever you think it should be. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 19:16, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

I think this would be good for 'Featured content'. Svampesky (talk) 19:15, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

@Svampesky Actually, "Featured content" is usually reserved to FAs, FPs and FLs, so I don't think it would be the most appropriate section in this case... and obviously, since I'm an idiot, I only realized it after I had already moved Hannah's draft over there.

So, for now you can find the draft over at the "Serendipity" section, which should be a more fitting place. @Clovermoss I hope it still sounds good!

P.S. @JPxG, can you help me clean up the mess I've made with the "Featured content" article space, please? Oltrepier (talk) 20:15, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Yeah, I will unarseways everything when I prep it, no need to worry. jp×g🗯️ 20:28, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

I'm fine with the Serendipity. P.S. you're the first person to call me Hannah on-wiki. Congrats. :) Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 21:49, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

@Clovermoss Wait, really? That's astounding! : D Oltrepier (talk) 14:05, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

20:12 News and notes

Main page: Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2024-09-04/News and notes § Journal Cited by Wikipedia now tracks free DOIs

Going to ping @Trappist the monk, AManWithNoPlan, JLaTondre, and Nemo bis: for comments/sanity check on the above piece/section. Did I get anything wrong/forget something/someone? Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 21:16, 18 August 2024 (UTC)

It's fine for the JCW compilation. -- JLaTondre (talk) 00:09, 20 August 2024 (UTC)

20:12 Gallery

I'll take it a bit easy for the next issue and do the Gallery, as I want commit my time to creating a few more mainspace articles, as my two previous pieces consumed all of my 'Wikipedia-time'. The Trump piece was last-minute because I wasn't anticipating an assassination attempt, and the Twitter one was rushed since the move was relisted, and I wanted to use that headline. Svampesky (talk) 13:24, 19 August 2024 (UTC)

Still ploughing though Commons with this. It will be completed well before publication deadline, and won't need much copyediting. Svampesky (talk) 20:41, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

I'm fleshing out my draft (User:Svampesky/Drafts/Signpost/Luddaites). Is there a reason why paintings are used in medical articles on enwiki? I can't find anything in the policy or guidelines about it. Svampesky (talk) 19:30, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

CSD C4

Worth noting: WP:CSD#C4, via [1] ~ Amory (u • t • c) 11:16, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

20:12 In the media

Hello everyone! Just so you know, I've moved Bri's report on the Portland case to the top of the page, since this "part 2" might be worth a full blurb, as well. Unfortunately, I won't be able to write any of those this time, due to personal time constraints and total unfamiliarity with the subject; however, I did take care of the whole "In brief" section!

By the way, I apologize for being basically "ghost-like" in the last few months: aside of focusing on other tasks on Wikipedia, I also had (and I still have) to prioritize my real-life schedule, and it was likely the right choice. I hope I'll manage to contribute more in the last quarter of this year! Oltrepier (talk) 10:51, 27 August 2024 (UTC)

Separately, it might be the case that Clovermoss wasn't actually interviewed for that local media piece, so we may want to change wording. — Red-tailed hawk _(nest) 01:34, 28 August 2024 (UTC)

@Red-tailed hawk: Ooh, good catch! I'll re-tool that blurb as soon as possible! Oltrepier (talk) 07:52, 28 August 2024 (UTC)

@Smallbones: On a side note, is it OK if I merge the New Yorker article you provided with another one I've found on El País? Since I actually have time to write a full blurb, and I noticed these two articles both talk about Wikipedia and AI, I think we could kill two birds with one stone here! Oltrepier (talk) 17:21, 28 August 2024 (UTC)

3 things @Clovermoss, Oltrepier, Pine, HaeB, and JPxG:

1. Should somebody somewhere mention that Clovermoss wrote at least 4 articles for The Signpost with Pine in "On the bright side" starting about January 2020? I thought there were more but could not find any more. Clovermoss probably knows how many and the dates and whether she thinks they are important enough to mention.
2. Oltrepier. I've seen that El Pais article somewhere before, maybe in the last issue, or maybe we just skipped over it (so far) in this issue. I don't think it fits with the New Yorker article, which is about the beginning of Chat GTP and features 4 or 5 "Wikipedia articles", El Pais is about AI and and the current Wikipedia. I sent JPxG a copy of the article, but I'm not sure he received it. I'm technically a bit over my head on this. HaeB, can you do this? Basically I don't even know what a transformer is, but I can summarize almost anything and hope it makes sense!
3. As far as the Portland article, I'd rather not participate, except perhaps for the section title. I don't understand the meaning of the current "Portland pol possible problems post paid" means but I do suggest "Portland pol's publicly-paid profile: Part II" (Perhaps I have a special talent for P-alliteration?). I'll suggest for the section: first identify who is the subject of the section. Second: link to the articles in the usual way and use the quotes as part of the text. 3rd: make sure that they are in the proper order - that they flow correctly - and cover everything you want to cover. Then, maybe summarize, and connect the major points. This article is just not attractive to me this month. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 19:16, 28 August 2024 (UTC)

@Smallbones: Thanks for the ping, I edited the coverage of the New Yorker article a bit, it looks fine to me now.

I've got to say that as someone who never watched Jumanji, that pop culture reference went over my head.vAlso, what's the deal with that "Anti Feminism" photo?

Regarding AI, there was also this interview with two WMF staff which would be great to cover. I might take a stab at that soon but am also still working on getting a publishable version of RR ready, so others should feel free to call dibs on it.

Regards, HaeB (talk) 19:17, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Done now. @Oltrepier: It might be my imperfect Spanish, but I can't see where the El Pais article says anything like following: As García and Albon suggest, the overall effectiveness of the plans set by the WMF to regulate the use of AI on Wikimedia projects will likely play a key role in shaping Wikipedia's future .... And the claim seems quite surprising - the Foundation usually stays clear from setting such editorial policies, and leaves their development to the volunteer communities of the individual Wikimedia projects (which several of them have done by now). I have removed it for now from the draft, but feel free to add it back in case I overlooked something. Regards, HaeB (talk) 01:37, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

@Smallbones Actually, I intended to include the New Yorker article as a premise for the rest of article, which will be mainly built on the El Pais piece: I'll try to post my draft blurb as soon as possible, so you can have a look and see if it might still be suitable! Oltrepier (talk) 19:20, 28 August 2024 (UTC)

@Smallbones: Everything I ever wrote for the Signpost is linked on my userpage. Maybe what you're remembering is the work Pine did before I joined him? It was already a Signpost feature before we started working on it together. We both became inactive around the same time and it's never really been revived since (I think I've seen one person re-use the name for a piece?) Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 19:25, 28 August 2024 (UTC)

I think mentioning the essay I published in the Signpost in January 2023 would be the most relevant because one of the things I was recognized for in the award was my feedback in regards to mobile editing. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 19:37, 28 August 2024 (UTC)

@Clovermoss Thank you, I've just added a quick reference to the short blurb on the Thorold Today article. Oltrepier (talk) 09:00, 29 August 2024 (UTC)

@Smallbones: By the way, I've just posted a blurb that incorporates both the New Yorker article and the El País one (it hasn't been mentioned before), hopefully it's good enough. Apologies in advance for any linguistic or technical blunders!

@Bri: On a side note, I wonder if we could ask AI to create a Jumanji-inspired pic for that article, but I'm afraid the outcome could be terrifying... Oltrepier (talk) 09:21, 29 August 2024 (UTC)

I can't remember seeing a piece of WP news-coverage I thought was more stupid than this one:Wikipedia users mind-blown after finding hidden function they never knew about. I checked 3 times, it's not The Onion. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 16:05, 30 August 2024 (UTC)

@Red-tailed hawk, Smallbones, and JPxG: I just wanted to note that the blurb involving the latest updates on the Portland case (suggested by Bri) still need to be expanded, should anybody wish/be able to do so! Like I said, I can't do it myself, because I'm just not familiar enough with the subject... Oltrepier (talk) 20:59, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

20:12 Recent research

As usual, we are preparing this regular survey on recent academic research about Wikipedia, doubling as the Wikimedia Research Newsletter (now in its fourteenth year). Help is welcome to review or summarize the many interesting items listed here, as are suggestions of other new research papers that haven't been covered yet. Regards, HaeB (talk) 20:43, 29 August 2024 (UTC)

Might still edit it a bit further, but this should be publishable already. I'll add an image in a moment and then look at ITM next, per below. Regards, HaeB (talk) 23:32, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

COI declaration

Hi there! I added two texts to the Signpost yesterday, about MCDC and WLM, but was not aware I am not allowed to write about what I am involved in. Headbomb already rephrased some of my texts (thanks!), but I wanted to be transparent about the involvement just in case. Ciell (talk) 13:06, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

What do you mean you're not allowed to write about what you're involved in? People who are involved with things are usually the ones that can write the best about them! Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 14:53, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

I'm sorry, maybe I am misinterpreting: The Signpost contributors must declare any conflict of interest in the text of any article or editorial that they write. Ciell (talk) 15:04, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

People who are involved with things are usually the ones that can write the best about them! - sure, that is a bedrock principle of journalism! The best newspapers are those that are entirely written by PR representatives!</sarcasm>

Apropos, Headbomb, it's a bit odd that the lead story in N&N right now is not only yet another one in a line of many extolling one of your projects (I think it is fair to say that these form the vast majority of your writing contributions to the Signpost), but this time you are also praising yourself in the third person (Thanks to editors Headbomb and Trappist the monk for their efforts). Regards, HaeB (talk) 16:11, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Giving credit is hardly praise. As for it being the lead story, Oletrepied Oltrepier is the one that made is so [2], JPxG is free to change the order or pick a different one to lead. that is a bedrock principle of journalism, ever heard of "write what you know"? Merely being involved with something is not a conflict of interest. Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 16:55, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

@Headbomb and HaeB: Um... "Oletrepied"? Sounds like a very cozy French town, and I'd love to visit it! : D

But all jokes and arguments aside, yep, it was me who wrote the headline. Back to the topic, I think Ciell should be mostly fine, especially now that we've copy-edited his contributions, right? Oltrepier (talk) 18:11, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

(her contributions) Ciell (talk) 18:25, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

@Ciell Oh dear, I didn't realize that... My apologies! Oltrepier (talk) 19:37, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

No worries! Ciell (talk) 23:20, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

• @Ciell, Headbomb, HaeB, and JPxG: Yes, if you are writing about yourself, you definitely need to let our readers know about it. There are several ways to do this. Writing under the Opinion or Op-ed rubrics usually works pretty well. Starting out with "I've been working on this special project for the last 8 months" might do it in many cases. "Traffic report" falls in a category of it's own. Ciell, perhaps "I am reporting this as a member of MCDC". See what you are comfortable with. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 01:04, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

Survey request in News and Notes

@Headbomb I wonder if you could add this research request we are doing, in the News and Notes or a relevant area:

• The Campaigns teams would like to learn more about how your communities do online collaboration such as WikiProjects, please take this Google Form survey or share examples of successful collaborations on Meta Wiki.

We published it as part of the Wikimedia Foundation bulletin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_(WMF)#Wikimedia_Foundation_Bulletin_August_Issue_2 -- but this is a very experienced editor oriented request, Astinson (WMF) (talk) 18:03, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Don't see why not, I'll add a note. Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 18:04, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Done. I've tweaked the wording a bit. How does that look to you? Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 18:16, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Perfect thanks! @Headbomb Astinson (WMF) (talk) 18:38, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Morning, as it were.

Two hours as-the-template-flies seems overly optimistic, as there comes a time in every man's life when he must do what is right, and nap. But the issue is looking good so far, and I do not see anything that looks like it would require highly extensive dicking around with, so this is looking to be pleasantly on schedule, for the most part. My house did not burn down, just the job market, I guess. jp×g🗯️ 20:37, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

@JPxG I should address that this article is the only one who still needs to be expanded at "In the media" (I didn't have time, nor the expertise to do it myself), but indeed everything else should be alright. Oltrepier (talk) 20:56, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

I cleaned it up and signed it, it's probably good enough to publish now. Not sure if there's more to do there without starting to cast my own slant onto what is basically a local campaign finance (corruption?) story. Mentioning 2020 Oregon Ballot Measure 107 would probably have been WP:OR if not published in The Signpost. ☆ Bri (talk) 21:21, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

I've finished with the gallery, but I'm not sure how to create interlanguage links to the articles. When I try, it doesn't render. Svampesky (talk) 22:26, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

I worked out how to do it. Svampesky (talk) 22:36, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

This is strange. It renders in the preview: Cleopatra [cs] Svampesky (talk) 22:38, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

But doesn't render on the pages, Special:Diff/1243695691 Svampesky (talk) 22:40, 2 September 2024 (UTC) Solved Svampesky (talk) 22:42, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Yeah, it needs to be escaped with the colon, same as files and categories. Exemplis grata [[Category:Moths of Madagascar]] will just add the page to that cat, but "[[:Category:Moths of Madagascar]]" gives "Category:Moths of Madagascar". jp×g🗯️ 03:31, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

Okay, well, the goose is on the roost, this issue's out. I am running Wegweiser right now so the single talk should be ready in a few minutes. jp×g🗯️ 13:28, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

@JPxG: You didn't publish the Gallery (Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Gallery), was this intentional? It was ready to be published. I thought it would make a cohesive issue as three other pieces are AI-related. Svampesky (talk) 14:18, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

Same for Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Book review Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 15:32, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

@JPxG Any update on this? I'm working my way through writing for each column, and I have an idea for a humor piece in the next issue (if I can make it funny), so it would be great if the Gallery can be included in this issue. I think the global subscribers not receiving it will be an inconvenience, but as the enwiki ones are transcluded, it's not the end of the world. Svampesky (talk) 15:40, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

20:12 Wikimania

The article is about Wikimania "last month" and has a day-by-day account of events (day 1, day 2, etc.) but never mentions the actual dates. In fact I can't find the word "August" in the article. Is this intentional? ☆ Bri (talk) 22:28, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Hey @Bri, sorry! I added the dates earlier today, I missed that. I hope that this makes sense now, but if not, please feel free to change the text. Nadzik (talk) 17:24, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

Error on main Signpost page

@JPxG: The link to Traffic Report is missing and (near the bottom of the page) a short comment by John Forrest (dated August 3) is perhaps in the place of the Traffic report. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 17:00, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

It looks OK to me... ☆ Bri (talk) 17:35, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

OK, the traffic report has always been there. And there is this image.I guess somebody wanted to do that - it just looks odd. See on the pageSmallbones_(smalltalk) 19:07, 4 September 2024 (UTC)