User talk:Chris G/Archives/2013/April

The Signpost: 25 March 2013

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 00:03, 29 March 2013 (UTC)

Hello bot owner! Have a nice day sire.

Hello Chris G, Eduemoni has given you a shining smiling star! You see, these things promote WikiLove and hopefully this has made your day better. Spread the Shining Smiling Star whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or someone putting up with some stick at this time. Enjoy! Eduemoni↑talk↓ 04:11, 29 March 2013 (UTC)

Minor grammar mistake

Your bot, Bot 3, when saying there is an unattached account on another wiki, it tends to miss the on. It says there is (number) unattached account other wiki. Numbermaniac - T- C 11:28, 30 March 2013 (UTC)

Thanks. That should be  Fixed now. --Chris 11:56, 30 March 2013 (UTC)

Brilliant. Thanks! --Numbermaniac - T- C 22:47, 30 March 2013 (UTC)

Please comment on Template talk:Inactive WikiProject banner

Greetings! You have been randomly selected to receive an invitation to participate in the request for comment on Template talk:Inactive WikiProject banner. Should you wish to respond to the invitation, your contribution to this discussion will be very much appreciated! If in doubt, please see suggestions for responding. If you do not wish to receive these types of notices, please remove your name from Wikipedia:Feedback request service. — RFC bot (talk) 19:15, 1 April 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 01 April 2013

• Special report: Who reads which Wikipedia?

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• News and notes: Grants given for Wikipedia Library, six others; April Fool's Day ructions

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 14:29, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

Bot died

Looks like the bot died. MBisanz ^talk 02:54, 8 April 2013 (UTC)

Sorry about that; it should be back up and running again. --Chris 11:34, 8 April 2013 (UTC)

Thanks! MBisanz ^talk 12:11, 8 April 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 08 April 2013

• Wikizine: WMF scales back feature after outcry

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 08:28, 10 April 2013 (UTC)

botclasses.php

The getpage function has an issue regarding elegant error handling when the API call fails. It throws back a whole bunch of syntax errors. I have made a few amendments to that function to fix this. Please refer to this request from details.—cyberpower ^Chat_Online 18:33, 4 April 2013 (UTC)

OK, thank you, but you lost me after the first sentence. You're absolutely right--there is basically zero error handling in the framework. Honestly, I've been meaning to rewrite the whole thing, and do it properly, but I never get around to it.

• "It throws back a whole bunch of syntax errors." <- Huh? A syntax error, is an error in how the code is written (e.g. forgetting a $ on a variable, or a closing bracket). If there was a syntax error, PHP would simply refuse to even run the program. Perhaps you mean a runtime error? Could you post more details of the errors that it is raising?
• "I have made a few amendments to that function to fix this." <- Thank you. Have you posted the code anywhere?
• "Please refer to this request from details." <- I am struggling to parse this sentence.

Anyway, I've updated botclasses.php to add some error checking. It now checks the HTTP status code that API returns. If it returns a bad code, it will firstly try and repeat the request. If that request also fails, it will throw an Exception (the exception is throws, is literally just called Exception. Yes, I know, that's bad programming practice, I'll fix it in the rewrite ;-) ). --Chris 01:21, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

Umm...FAIL on my part. 1) Yes, I meant runtime. 2) Yes I have posted the code in a BRFA request to fix someone's bot that is using your framework. 3) That sentence was supposed to have the link to the request. So, here it is in a collapsed section titled "function getpage".—cyberpower ^Chat_Online 01:51, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

Hi Chris, I like to nominate 2013 Thane building collapsefor good article. Can you do this for me, or tell how I could do it. Since, there seems to be a loop in guidelines for food article nomination, and I was not able to successfully nominate. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Samuelled (talk • contribs) 10:40, 11 April 2013 (UTC)

Incorrect fail

Please comment at Wikipedia_talk:Good_article_nominations#Incorrect_fail.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 18:16, 12 April 2013 (UTC)

Bot deleted the text field of an RfC template

In an edit of 11:31, 9 April 2013 (UTC), marked as "Maintenance", the RFC bot deleted the text field of the rfcquote template about the Sazerac Company. Any idea how to fix that? —BarrelProof (talk) 04:43, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 15 April 2013

• Op-ed: How do we fix RfA inactivity?

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 21:32, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

GA bot edit summary oddities

Chris G, this one just popped out at me as being so weird, it might help you track down the problems with the edit summaries on WP:GAN. All are times from today, within the past 70 minutes:

• 14:55 UTC: Summary: "Maintenance". Actual change: Circus (Britney Spears album) passes. (It disappears from page.)
• 15:05 UTC: Summary: "Passed: Circus (Britney Spears album)". Actual change: Thorp, Washington failed. (It disappears from page.)
• 15:15 UTC: Summary: "Maintenance". Actual change: Lopota incident failed. (It disappears from page.)
• 15:55 UTC: Summary: "Failed Virudhunagar Ugg boots trademark disputes. This is the actual change: both articles were failed ("Virudhunagar" and "Ugg boots trademark disputes"), and disappeared from the page.

It was the displaced "Circus" that caught my eye: it was removed from the page at 14:55 and characterized as "Maintenance", yet was then used for the subsequent edit summary instead of the article that was actually failed then. Hope this helps! BlueMoonset (talk) 16:04, 18 April 2013 (UTC)

I hope to look into this within the next week. Posting here so the bot doesn't archive it. --Chris 15:50, 21 April 2013 (UTC)

RfC bot not working?

I notice no new RfC's seem to have been added to the various lists like Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Biographies since 13th April. Dmcq (talk) 14:16, 21 April 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for reporting that. It should be back up and running now. --Chris 15:48, 21 April 2013 (UTC)

Bot not clerking at WP:CHU/SIMPLE

Just to make you aware, the normally super-efficient clerking seems to have dried up today. --Dweller (talk) 11:43, 22 April 2013 (UTC)

Please comment on Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Wikidata Phase 2

Greetings! You have been randomly selected to receive an invitation to participate in the request for comment on Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Wikidata Phase 2. Should you wish to respond to the invitation, your contribution to this discussion will be very much appreciated! If in doubt, please see suggestions for responding. If you do not wish to receive these types of notices, please remove your name from Wikipedia:Feedback request service. — RFC bot (talk) 23:16, 22 April 2013 (UTC)

Issue with One bot on archiving MfDs this year?

I was looking for WP:MFD archived debates that have happened in 2013. However, it seems like the pages either do not exist, or were never archived. If I follow the same naming scheme as the archived pages in 2012, the naming scheme should look like this:

• Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Archived debates/January 2013
• Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Archived debates/February 2013
• Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Archived debates/March 2013
• Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Archived debates/April 2013

...However, none of these pages exist. Since these do not exist, where are the archives going? One bot is still performing "archiving" on the WP:MFD forum, but the edit notes are not stating where these are being archived. Steel1943 (talk) 19:07, 21 April 2013 (UTC)

• I saw your note on WP:BON. Thanks for taking care of this for the time being. Steel1943 (talk) 18:25, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 22 April 2013

• In the media: Wikipedia inaccurate, says Florence; New Wikipedia app for breaking news

• WikiProject report: WikiProject Editor Retention

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 13:51, 25 April 2013 (UTC)