User talk:Sross (Public Policy)/Archive 1

Archive 1

Archive 2

Note on ANI

Hi Sage, I wanted to drop you a note. A few of the administrators here (myself included) have suggested at Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/Incidents#User:Alin_.28Public_Policy.29 (in case you aren't continuing to monitor that discussion) that WMF employees be more transparent when creating role accounts. Since you seem to be in a supervisory position, I hope that you can maybe find a way to make knowledge of this issue more widespread within WMF so we can avoid these kinds of misunderstandings. Thanks! Syrthiss (talk) 13:21, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply there! Syrthiss (talk) 13:45, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for dropping me the note about it. Again, sorry about the confusion.--Sross (Public Policy) (talk) 14:10, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

The June ANI discussion about how WMF employees might more clearly identify themselves on user pages is now in the archives. It can be seen at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/IncidentArchive621#User:Alin (Public Policy). EdJohnston (talk) 16:36, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

What can I do?

Hey there- I just noticed your initiative after you tagged a few of the articles I wrote. It seems like a great idea, and I'm excited to see what comes of it. Is there any initial article organization work I can help you with? Back when I was working on the U.S. policy template, there seemed to be a few articles that have a great deal of depth, but a several subject areas that were completely missing (Business regulatory policy, Economic policy, Educational policy, Water policy, Immigration policy of the United States, Social policy, Tax policy), and a few that just framed policy issues in slightly different ways (Health care reform, Foreign policy vs. Defense policy). johnpseudo 19:00, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Here's the little project page I made while I was working on that template, for what it's worth. johnpseudo 19:02, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

johnpseudo, thanks! Yeah, one of the reason why this project is going to be focused on public policy as opposed to some other content area is that there's so much to do, just in terms of missing or weak content. At this point, the main priority is tagging and assessing articles, for two reasons. One is that we're going to be doing some quantitative analysis of how article quality improves over the course of the Public Policy Initiative, and the plan is to have a baseline by August 1, and then look again down the road and see how article ratings changed. (We're also going to be doing some testing of the rating system itself, basically seeing how consistent ratings are versus what independent reviewers would rate the articles.) And the second is that it's the best way find people to help out who care about public policy coverage and might want to join the WikiProject, since like you, they will be watching a lot of the articles that get tagged. Revamping and improving the categorization scheme for public policy articles is the next thing on the radar after that, and down the road, we'll probably be trying to compile lists of articles that need work (or don't exist) for students to work on. But yeah, anything you can do to help out would be super appreciated! --Sross (Public Policy) (talk) 19:36, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Oh, wow, looks like you've been busy thinking about some of these problems already! One possibility we might explore for the categories is the scheme used by PolicyArchive.org, which seems like a pretty decent framework for dividing up public policy topics. See User:Fschulenburg (Public Policy)/Public Policy.--Sross (Public Policy) (talk) 19:39, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Interested in helping out

I would like to see the Public Policy collaboration succeed. I will try to help in any way I can. Just let me know what you would like people to do. Remember (talk) 13:46, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

At this point, the top thing on the agenda is figuring out what the scope of the WikiProject should be, so that we can really start tagging and assessing articles. So if you want to weigh in on this discussion, please do. I'm still not sure what I think the optimal scope would be; in terms of the broad goal of improving content and finding ways to work with experts, I think bigger is better, but johnpseudo is right about all the complications it introduces to be too broad and fuzzy with the scope.

Later on, there will be a bunch of different things you could do, depending on what you're interested in doing... creating lists of potential topics for students to choose, mentoring a set of students, helping coordinate editing this fall in real time as an Online Ambassador, just helping to run the WikiProject. Thanks for the offer to help! I'm really happy to have an experience Wikipedian like you on board.--Sross (Public Policy) (talk) 14:14, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Online Ambassadors question

In this edit for Wikipedia:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Online Ambassadors, you removed the following question:

1. What is your perspective on issues of identity and pseudonymity? What is your username, and do you reveal your real name when editing? (Like other sensitive volunteer positions, Online Ambassadors will register their real identities with the Wikimedia Foundation.)

Does the project still require that we register our real identity with the WMF or has that requirement been dropped/removed? Smallman12q (talk) 17:23, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

Wiki-Conference NYC (2nd annual)

Our 2nd annual Wiki-Conference NYC has been confirmed for the weekend of August 28-29 at New York University.

There's still plenty of time to join a panel, or to propose a lightning talk or an open space session. Register for the Wiki-Conference here. And sign up here for on-wiki notification. All are invited!
This has been an automated delivery by BrownBot (talk) 15:40, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

Testing out "Select Mentor" button on WikiProject

Hi Sage! Alin (Public Policy) (talk) 19:34, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

YGM

Hello, Sross (Public Policy). Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

 ℳono  14:16, 3 September 2010 (UTC)

x2.  ʄlame  19:10, 3 September 2010 (UTC)

Feedback system

While this would probably be controversial, I'd be interested in enabling the rating feature on WP:APPLE articles. WP:APPLE is a suggestion, due to the nature of the topics the project covers. If you want to discuss this idea, please email me :). Note: I recognize this is unfair, I am writing this message with a COI, and stuff, but whatevs.  Ⓢock  04:41, 14 September 2010 (UTC)

Chaim Kaufmann on funded but 'respectable' sources

Sage, I have re-written that discussion on the 393 course page as well as responded to your points specifically. Btw, I'm having two troubles: I am able to insert some URLs into the text in the desired form, but others produce errors when I try to do that. second, attempts to edit that page often cause IE to creash, then recover the tab. No work lost yet but it would be nice to avoid this. Thanks.--Ck07 (talk) 00:31, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Beep

Hello, Sross (Public Policy). You have new messages at I-20's talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

—I-20the highway 23:39, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

Hi Sage,

My name is K.C. and I'm currently enrolled in the Wikipedia and Public Policy course at Syracuse University. As of right now, we're in the process of developing stubs and beginning the article writing process and I would like to have you as my mentor moving forward with my work. My current focus is on the "Endangered Species Act of 1969." Any ideas of suggestions you may have for me moving forward and beginning the process would be very much appreciated.

Thanks, Kcahlber (talk) 19:35, 28 September 2010 (UTC)

Be my mentor please

Hi, my name is Nigel Gross. I am a graphic design major at Syracuse, thus my interests include, but are not limited to, advertising, typography and photography. I am in the Paf 400 class and I am just getting started.

p.s. thanks for chatting with us in class

- nigel —Preceding unsigned comment added by Legin-gross-drawkcab (talk • contribs) 04:12, 29 September 2010 (UTC)

Syracuse PAF 400

Hey Sage,

Thanks so much for skyping with the class the other week (I was the student that asked about social media). I'm a communications design student and have recently started getting interested in social media (specifically geosocial networks). I was wondering if you could mentor me this semester for class. Please let me know if you're too overloaded with students already.

Best, Hayes Thornton Communications Design —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hathornt (talk • contribs) 04:32, 29 September 2010 (UTC)

IUKim

Hi Sross,

I'm in the Indiana University V622 course. I would like you to be my mentor. Thanks

Kim —Preceding unsigned comment added by IUkim (talk • contribs) 18:45, 29 September 2010 (UTC)

Zlotto

What up Ragesoss. I'm Zach Otto and go to IU. I am in Seminar in Urban Economic Development and may need your help throughout the semester as I have never done anything but read Wikipedia. I am more interested in public and environmental policy than in economic development so we will see how all of this works out. Hope to hear from you soon man.

Zlotto (talk) 22:16, 29 September 2010 (UTC)Zach Otto

Online ambassador

I saw (in the Signpost article that you linked to at the assessment talk page) a note saying to contact you if interested in becoming an Online Ambassador. I don't know if that advice is out of date, and if I should now go to the Online Ambassadors page instead. I am specifically interested in working with the students and/or professors working on the projects to assist the PPI. I did a fair amount of work supporting students in WP:MMM, and also supported the subsequent course the professor ran, WP:NRG, which was not quite as successful. I believe that there's a good deal of potential for courses like this to generate high quality content for Wikipedia and I would like to be involved -- it was an exhilarating experience working with the more motivated students, and I would love to have the opportunity to be part of such an effective team again. Please let me know what I can do to help -- I'm open to any form of communication, mentoring, or assistance that would be useful. Thanks. Mike Christie (talk) 00:19, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

MediaWiki talk:Watchlist-details

When drafting a watchlist notice, please think about how it sounds to editors who are well outside the target audience and may have no idea about what it refers to. If you don't do that, you risk wasting the time of thousands of editors – time that could have been used more constructively for editing Wikipedia. I will also notify User:TheDJ, who should not have done your requested edit without reading it. See also my rant at WT:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Assessment#WTF? Hans Adler 08:25, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

Re: Geosocial Networking

That's great! I'm really excited. My professor is having us stick to editing stubs, but I found myself really interested in geosocial networking as you said. I chose David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act for my article, but only because it was listed on the public policy list. If there is any social networking page you could think of that correlates with public policy I could work with I would love to pitch it. On the other hand, I would love to work with the G.S. article or anything related on my own if you have any ideas!

Best, Hayes Thornton —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hathornt (talk • contribs) 21:06, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

Re: Geosocial Networking

Perfect! I ran it by my professor and she said I can change my article to Geosocial Networking. Thank you so much for the suggestion- I'm excited to begin working on it.

Best, Hayes Thornton —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hathornt (talk • contribs) 01:01, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

Fair Sentencing Act DYK

Hey, Sage! I think it would be fantastic to nominate the Fair Sentencing Act article for "Did You Know"? I would greatly appreciate your help with the process because I really don't know anything about it. This is exciting!

Thanks! Graham, Gsrogers (talk) 02:34, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

Article Feedback

Hi Sage. I am just about to start my assessments when I notice that each page has an assessment feedback form on it - example: Equal Access to COBRA Act. I note that this is as a result of adding Category:Article Feedback Pilot to the article page, as per your instructions. Was the intention to have the feedback form on the article page itself, or on the talkpage where assessments and other discussions about articles normally take place? I can see the value of having the form on the article itself as that will likely result in more responses, and we do have various other tags on article pages in order to aid development, though its placement there does have issues which might be better discussed more widely. I assume that if this is deliberate, that it would be temporary - though even then it would be good practise to pass it by the community to get some consensus. SilkTork *^YES! 10:19, 5 October 2010 (UTC)

Yes, that feedback form is aimed primarily at readers and is intended for the articles themselves; it's complementary to the standard kinds of assessment we put on talk pages.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 13:03, 5 October 2010 (UTC)

Could you direct me to the discussion about using the assessment form on the article page. SilkTork *^YES! 14:18, 5 October 2010 (UTC)

The main place to discuss it is mw:Talk:Article feedback. If you'd like to discuss en-wiki specific issues, the talk page of Category:Article Feedback Pilot would be a good place to do so.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 14:25, 5 October 2010 (UTC)

Suggestion

Here. Low visibility article, so reposting it to your talk page :) If there are any other places user templates can be used - my suggestion is "use them", too :) --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk} 22:15, 5 October 2010 (UTC)

Feedback tool

Not sure what to do, but moving the discussion to a wiki that doesn't show up on my watchlist is a sure way to exclude me, and most of en.wiki. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 02:08, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

Yes, I realize that having discussion off of en.wiki creates a big barrier to participation. It's a balance between centralizing discussion and making it easy to participate at the cost of having two unconnected discussions going on at once. The devs are trying to make mediawiki.org the habitual place to go for all things related to the software. The problem would be mostly solved if we had transwiki transclusion (and watchlists), but alas.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 02:42, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

As long as you're aware. It's going to cut down conversation by maybe 90-99%, is my guess. A technical solution would be awesome, but it's not going to happen in time. It's the same things that's hobbled a bunch of stuff so far, so whatev. I guess I'll hear about the result in the signpost, maybe. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 02:47, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

I'll continue the discussion and bring up your complaint. It's partly a question of how badly we want lots of feedback versus focused but less feedback. (Just to give you an idea of my personal perspective, I wrote this essay recently.)--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 03:04, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

Great essay. Everything but "For activities that are broader than one project, use Meta if you can". It just doesn't work. It may not be fair, but because en is so much bigger, that should be the default. It's no harder for the 10% (if that) of others, and it's way easier for the 90%. The other wikis are kinda like wikprojects. People think if they create them, others will come, but they don't. Wikimedia created them, but still, no one comes. But, wikimedia created them, so I guess we're stuck with it. A poll would just draw in people who use that wiki, after all. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 03:32, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

Pragmatically, I agree with you that even for cross-project activities en-wiki would generally be the place that would foster the most participation and be easiest for the most people. But many people from other wikis would take it as linguistic chauvinism and Wikipedia-centrism if en-wiki were given homefield advantage (and that wouldn't be entirely an unfair complaint). Meta, at least, is equally inconvenient for everyone, and does have somewhat of a core of active users and the associated social momentum. But yeah, cross-project coordination is hard and we don't do it well.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 15:09, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

Well, I've enjoyed this conversation and it's good you're aware. I was in SF recently for a thing Pete Forsyth was doing (screencasts). He also started his thing on meta, and it didn't go far until it was on en. I think you're in SF as well, based on your user page, so hopefully you have the ear of the powers that have the money. If this doesn't get much response, you can mention Pete's project to, and maybe we can have the next thing on en. Good luck with it either way. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 15:28, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

Actually, I work from Pittsburgh, but yes, I'm in regular contact with the SF staff. Transwiki transclusion may not actually be too far off; there was some progress towards a workable system this summer, one of the Google Summer of Code projects. I'm not sure how much remains to be done, but we shouldn't abandon hope just yet. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 15:39, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

Go Ambassadors!

Thanks for the shiny barnstar; you are too kind! If anyone deserves one, it is you, for all you are doing for this project, which must be a crushing workload. In fact, I think I will give one to you right now!:

		Wikipedia Ambassador Barnstar
		For outstanding leadership of the entire Public Policy Initiative, including its Ambassadors program, I award Sross this Wikipedia Ambassador Barnstar. -- Ssilvers (talk) 20:31, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

Reply from Jentuser

Thanks so much for your message, Sage. We have modest ambitions at the moment: just to add a bit to the theory and criticism sections (or, in some instances, create them) for some of the nineteenth century American women writers whose work appears already on the site (Fanny Fern's Ruth Hall; Harriet Wilson's Our Nig: Sketches from the Life of a Free Black; Edith Wharton's Bunner Sisters, and perhaps one or two others). Students have already posted short critical summaries to the talk page of Ruth Hall. It still needs editing. Perhaps the Online Ambassadors would be willing to work with one or more of these groups? Thanks again for your quick reply. I look forward to hearing from you. Jentuser (talk) 16:02, 9 October 2010 (UTC)

Reply

I have replied to your email. --Alpha Quadrant ^talk 16:36, 11 October 2010 (UTC)

And unrelatedly I assume, I've replied at my talkpage. Great stuff! -- Quiddity (talk) 04:43, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

research for an article on font IP

Hey Sage, thanks a lot for your advice. I have been struggling with my direction. It seems more important to speak in depth about how we, computer users, interact with fonts and how we can properly use them as well as how they are used in the business world. But I also need to find a spot for the specifics of the current copyright laws. Also I agree with your advice about the name change and I will change it until a more sound one is created. Legin-gross-drawkcab (talk) 03:11, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

Citing Help

Hey Sage!

Thank you so much for the citing help. I haven't used any information from the student- published presentation yet (thankfully) and will be sure to stick to resources approved by Wikipedia. I will be sure to work out my citing this week as well, thanks to your guidance. I'm excited to see where it goes as well! I'm having a lot of fun with it. Again, thank you.

149.119.215.228 (talk) 01:26, 18 October 2010 (UTC)Hayes

Delisted mentees

Oh, I'm still helping them, they're in the Georgetown class where I've been in touch with the teacher and TA, so I'm not sure if I should list them on the official Online Ambassadors page with the others, who specifically contacted me about mentoring though the page.-- Patrick, _oѺ^∞ 23:13, 18 October 2010 (UTC)

User:Kcahlber

Hi Sage, are you mentoring Kcahlber? If not, I'd be glad to help, but I saw you had already been talking with them about DYK and stuff. /ƒETCHCOMMS/ 02:43, 19 October 2010 (UTC)

being bold...

Made this change, fyi. Revert if it's not a good idea. :) sonia♫ 03:34, 20 October 2010 (UTC)

Like the screencast

Great screencast at File:Citing sources tutorial, part 1.ogv, very thorough and useful, definitely having my students watch it. Sadads (talk) 17:10, 24 October 2010 (UTC)

Feedback Box Help

Hey Sage,

I was wondering how I could get the "your feedback" and "ratings" boxes on the bottom of my classmates Fair Sentencing Act Article . I don't have one and just realized.

Hathornt (talk) 03:49, 25 October 2010 (UTC)Hayes

Higher visiblity

Wikipedia:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Courses/Students without mentors needs higher visibility, I suggest linking it from the header like the workbench is. Ditto for Wikipedia:Ambassadors/Resources. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk} 17:45, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Sounds reasonable. Go for it.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 19:17, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Lane et al. v. Facebook et al.

Hi. There is no need to re-create the redirect Lane et al. v. Facebook et al.. It's not the correct case name (that would be Lane v. Facebook, Inc.), and is not a plausible search term. Searching on "Lane v. Facebook" will find the correct article sufficiently. Se WP:R#DELETE. TJRC (talk) 22:56, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

I'm not picky either way, but it did seem like a plausible search term to me. That's what the case is called sometimes, e.g., http://www.beaconclasssettlement.com/ .--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 00:34, 28 October 2010 (UTC)

Assigning mentors

Sage, I saw your note about assigning mentors, and I wasn't sure if a note to you was necessary, but I thought I'd just say that I'd be happy to be assigned to anyone looking for a mentor. I've left notes for three of the students in this class but have had no response yet; I do have one mentee but have seen no real activity yet. I would like to limit it to five -- if they're all active that would be a lot, though I suspect they won't all be. The other limitation is that I am unlikely to be able to spend a lot of time on IRC -- I don't mind using it but my availability is fragmented enough that I am better off promising only asynchronous response on talk pages. Anyway, please assign me wherever you think I might be able to help, and if you really need us to take more than five mentees, that's fine too. Thanks. Mike Christie (talk) 01:41, 28 October 2010 (UTC)

Will do; thanks for assigning them. Mike Christie (talk) 22:52, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

Re: students to mentor

Sure, I will introduce myself to them. One thought, though: "...and I've been assigned as your mentor." Volunteers prefer to volunteer, rather than to be assigned. In the future, I'd suggest using the following formula: "...and I've volunteered as your mentor". --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk} 21:49, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

I was just trying to be straightforward; no one really took to the 'voluntarily match yourself up with a student from class X' approach, and several ambassadors were explicitly suggesting that mentors be assigned. But of course, they also volunteered more generally, so your wording works as well.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 23:02, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

Sure, I will help out with that article, too. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk} 16:02, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

Editors to invite

I didn't even realize there was a list here, but now I think those editors could be invited to become ambassadors, too (if they aren't already). --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk} 15:11, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

Good catch; I hadn't seen that either, or I would have invited them earlier. At this point, though, I'd rather wait a little bit until we settle on a new selection process, agree on the need to increase the number of OAs, and refine the process for on-boarding new ambassadors and clarify the different roles that are emerging. Once things start to settle down this term, in other words.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 15:29, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

Now we are six

I added those two as you suggested, and signed up on the course page, and added them to my mentor list. Yes, that's six, but so far I've had zero response from any of them. If you find yourself short of mentors feel free to ask me if I can take on any more. Mike Christie (talk) 00:21, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

Which class?

Is editing the sociology of the family article ([1])? I was suspecting it is a part of some educational assignment for several weeks now, but I don't see this article linked to from any Wikipedia namespace... --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk} 20:09, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Courses/Sociology of the Family fall 2010. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 20:16, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. By the way, Sage, having actually taught that very course in the past, what's the connection between it and US Public Policy? If we are including that under USPP, it seems to me that we are really stretching that label. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk} 21:03, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, it's a stretch. We're including it because it's vaguely policy related and ambassadors are supporting it, but I'm not adding the WikiProject banner or anything.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 21:06, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

As it is sociology-related, I'd be happy to help out more with that course. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk} 22:03, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

Go for it. They signed on late and I'm not sure how big an assignment they have planned, but you should sign up as the coordinating ambassador on the courses page, at least.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 22:36, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

Coordinating ambassador? Never heard that term (rulecreep!). Do you mean online ambassador here? PS. Good news :) --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk} 03:43, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Yes, there. I described it in message to the Google Group asking people to sign up on the courses page, and it's also briefly described here. You call it rulecreep, I call it role definition. Leaving student-mentor matches to happen on their own is too chaotic and leaves a not insignificant number of students with less help than they need. So having someone for each class checking in on how the whole thing is going, making sure all the students have mentors or are getting help when they need it, etc., seems pretty essential as the number of students and classes expands. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 12:06, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Ok, I added myself there and to Theorizing Culture and Politics fall 2010 course, where I am also helping out. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk} 01:20, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

Mentors vs. "Additional" online ambassadors

Just a heads' up: Some new ambassadors signed up at the very bottom of the list here: Wikipedia:Online Ambassadors/Mentors; but the button says that they are available to be Mentors, so I think they meant to sign up on the list of available Mentors above. -- Ssilvers (talk) 05:36, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

Subsections

Thanks Ross! That makes a lot more sense.

Hayes —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hathornt (talk • contribs) 22:45, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Live article help

Hey Ross,

While trying to preview my article (US Wine Shipping laws) before going live I accidentally saved it. I was wondering if you could delete it (typo in the actual title) as soon as you could and possibly let me know a better way to transfer my article from the sandbox.

Best, Hathornt (talk) 15:00, 12 November 2010 (UTC)Hayes

Awesome! Thank you so much.

Hathornt (talk) 15:24, 12 November 2010 (UTC)

Campus Ambassador Geonotice: please post

Annie

Hi Sage, could you please post a geonotice about the Campus Ambassador role at the following geographical locations?
San Francisco, CA
Berkeley, CA
San Diego, CA
Washington, DC
Baton Rouge, LA
Bozeman, MT
Lexington, KY

I've crafted the geonotice message (also on the office wiki's communications corner): "Interested in training university students in person on Wikipedia-editing skills? Will you have fun organizing on-campus activities in support of Wikipedia? If so, the Wikimedia Foundation wants you! Apply to be a Wikipedia Campus Ambassador in your region for the spring 2011 semester." Let's link the geonotice to my user talk page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Alin_(Public_Policy)? What do you think?

Thanks very much! I can look up the geographical coordinates, too, if you prefer. Annie Lin (Campus Team Coordinator, Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 20:58, 13 November 2010 (UTC)

PJ

Hey Sage. Ditto on Annie's request above.

• Boston, MA
  
• Houston, TX
  

The message she wrote is fine for me too and could like to my talk page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Pjthepiano.

Thanks! Pjthepiano (talk) 13:23, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

Cheryl

Hi Sage! You know the drill! :)

• Lansing, MI
  
• Bloomington, IN
  

And, the message previously sent by Annie looks good. Here's my talk page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:MichChemGSI Thank you! --MichChemGSI (talk) 14:24, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

Fetchcomms

I don't know how to do the coordinates part of the geonotice, or I would have done it myself. Cities are Troy, Alabama; Syracuse, New York; and it seems like Baton Rouge is already up. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Fetchcomms> is the link. Thanks, /ƒETCHCOMMS/ 16:29, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

Sadads

Hi Sage, ditto on above for Cullowhee. NC and Harrisonburg, VA. The link can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Sadads#Ambassador, Sadads (talk) 17:50, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

A better way to notify us if somebody asks for help

I would bet that nobody but me noticed this, because nobody but me watches that subpage (maybe you do... that would make two). How many other requests for help we missed and will miss because of that? Perhaps we should merge the subpages back to the article, so the watchlists would work properly? --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk} 19:58, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

No one but you and me, probably. That page is on my watchlist. But, yeah, I'm not sure. That's a non-standard usage of that page, a request for help from a class that's going on now.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 20:04, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

Houston Campus Ambassador

Hi! I'll post a notice at the Houston WikiProject at it, if there isn't one already

I will not be able to be a campus ambassador, but I will try to let people know about it so those who can be campus ambassadors will join Thanks, WhisperToMe (talk) 19:58, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

You are welcome! Your message is at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Houston#Campus_Ambassador_program_at_TSU WhisperToMe (talk) 20:04, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Campus Ambassador for TSU in Houston

You've left me a message at my talk page regarding becoming a campus ambassador for Texas Southern University. I'd much rather perform this type of duty at my own university where I am currently a student and resident: the University of Houston. Brian Reading (talk) 23:07, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

re: Wikipedia Ambassador Program at MSU

Hi, thanks for your note regarding the Campus Ambassador program at Michigan State. As I am no longer in the East Lansing area, I would be unable to help; but I'll keep your program in mind in case I think of anyone who might be interested. Regards, Kevin Forsyth (talk) 22:08, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

I would also like to thank you for your invite to the Campus Ambassador program (posted on my old user talk page), but I am also no longer in the East Lansing area. Good luck finding someone who can help. Spidey104^contribs 02:42, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

Campus Ambassador at Michigan State University?

I'm willing to help in a limited way. I live and work in Ann Arbor, but I often come up to the Lansing area on Wednesdays. Kestenbaum (talk) 22:26, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

Third and Final Article

Hey Sage!

I was wondering if you could assist me in figuring out the subject for my third and final article. I am having trouble finding anything of interest to me that does not already exist. I wanted to do something along the lines of unconventional or modern laws (cell phone safety and driving, Gay adoption, US prostitution laws) but everything I can think of already exists. Is there any article you could think of off the top of your head I might like to start or expand?

Hathornt (talk) 22:48, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

Campus ambassador

Hit up User:Mike Cline he lives in Bozeman. I'm a couple hours away, wouldn't work for me. Montanabw^(talk) 22:08, 3 December 2010 (UTC)

Campus Ambassador -- MSU Bozeman

Hi, Sage ... I live in Bozeman, and might be interested in the Campus Ambassador program here, depending on scheduling commitments. Thanks! Pitamakan (talk) 23:39, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

PAF 400 - Article Review

Hey Sage,

Just wondering if you could take a look at my two other articles (Homeland Security Grant Program and the article in my sandbox) and let me know if there's any advice you might have for improving them. I've been editing the Alaska Ballot Measure 2 article using some of your comments and found them very helpful. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks! Kcahlber (talk) 03:43, 6 December 2010 (UTC)

Reply to your message re. campus ambassadors in Troy, AL

Thanks for your inquiry. Unfortunately, I live in Independence, Missouri (just outside Kansas City), though I grew up in Alabama and went to school at Troy about twenty-five years ago. My apologies for not being able to assist you here, but I deeply appreciate the consideration, and the invitation. Best wishes! - Ecjmartin (talk) 16:08, 6 December 2010 (UTC)

Campus Ambassador in Louisiana

Being flattered by your gracious invitation, I wish you every success. I am at Southeastern Louisiana University and very seldom venture near Louisiana State University, the traffic in Baton Rouge being horrible. I have, nonetheless, possibly done, on my campus, some of what you have in mind. Although I am probably too overwhelmed right now to be of much use to you anywhere, I still support what you are doing and would try to maintain some curiosity on how it develops. Rammer (talk) 06:11, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

Template:WAP assignment

Created boldly and in use on a couple of pages now. I imagine that with next semester's expansion a new set of categories etc will need to be created as not all will be under USPP; perhaps this is a useful first step? Not sure about the template name, but that can always be changed. Cheers. sonia♫ 08:57, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

Very nice!--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 15:26, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

Third article

Hey Sage! wow, thank you for all the ideas! I looked at Berkeley's page and one red link that jumped out at me was Playboy Enterprises, Inc. v. Netscape Communications Corp.. Unless yu have an objedction otherwise I'm going to start work on that one. Thanks again! Hathornt (talk) 15:56, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

AWB run

Could you run AWB real quick for mw:Article_feedback/Public_Policy_Pilot/Additional_Pages#WP:USPP_articles_without_AF_Tool? My AWB skills are ... not high. Thanks, /ƒETCHCOMMS/ 01:42, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Looks like Openstrings already got to it. It was on my todo list, it had just gotten bumped lower a few times recently because of ambassador recruitment stuff.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 14:19, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Interested in the ambassador program

Hello! I would be interested in participating as an ambassador in next semester program. I do not have e-mail enabled, so here is my application.

1. Why do you want to be a Wikipedia Ambassador?

I love helping new users. I've been here just long enough to know the ropes, but not long enough to have forgotten what it was like being new. There were a couple of users who were very friendly and welcoming when I was new, which aided me in finding my feet and sticking around. I think the Ambassador program is a great way of reaching out to students and teaching them the truth about Wikipedia and how to use it.

2. In three sentences or less, summarize your involvement with Wikimedia projects.

The English Wikipedia is the project where I am most active and the second is Simple English Wikipedia. I am active in Wikiproject Novels, Wikiproject Warriors, Percy Jackson task force, New Page Patrol, Recent Changes Patrol, Editor review, and Motto of the Day.

3. How have you been involved with welcoming and helping new users on Wikipedia?

I am an active adopter, having worked with 9 adoptees, 2 of whom are still active. I frequently welcome new users with an offer of help and try to guide newbies I come across on New Page Patrol.

4. What do you think are the most important values to impart to newcomers?

Assuming good faith and keeping your cool, no matter what other editors are doing. Learning Wikipedia's guidelines to most efficiently edit and always doing quality work over quantity.

5. What do you see as the most important ways we could welcome newcomers or help new users become active contributors?

Teach them. How to edit and how to interact with others are probably the most important. Having someone to guide them through the labyrinth that is Wikipedia guidelines is invaluable. Emphasizing small edits is important too. We need all types of editors. Not everyone is going to write good or featured articles. Even the ones who work with templates, fixing typos, filling in references, and formatting are important. Wikipedia could not function without them. So as long as a new contributor is being useful they do not necessarily have to be writing good articles.

6. Have you had major conflicts with other editors? Blocks or bans? Involvement in arbitration? Feel free to offer context, if necessary.

No, not really. I try to avoid conflict, or when I come across it, respond calmly and coherently.

7. How often do you edit Wikipedia and check in on ongoing discussions? Will you be available regularly for at least two hours per week, in your role as a mentor?

I am on Wikipedia at least once a day, but most often several short spurts during the day. When I am busy and cannot make it on very often, my adoptees are the first thing I check on when I can log in. Barring acts of God or nature, I will be available for at least 2 hours every week.

8. What else should we know about you that is relevant to being a Wikipedia Ambassador?

I do not have any access to e-mail or IRC. I have some experience with GA and GA reviewing, but none with DYK.

If you do not feel that I can be used as an actual ambassador, I would be glad to be a secondary mentor/go-to person for any of the students. (Oh, and User:Sadads should get recruiting credit for this!) Thanks, PrincessofLlyr ^{royal court} 18:28, 14 December 2010 (UTC)

Response To Message about Student Position at Troy (AL)

I am not near Troy, sorry for the late Response. weems (talk) 08:18, 18 December 2010 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:Ambassadors course table

Template:Ambassadors course table has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for discussion page. Thank you. Mhiji (talk) 15:51, 16 December 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program

You have new messages

Hello, Sross (Public Policy). You have new messages at Chzz's talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{user:chzz/tb}} template.    File:Ico specie.png

 Chzz  ►  02:14, 17 December 2010 (UTC)

Re

Unfortunately I don't have as much time to devote to the project as I'd anticipated, so can I simply remove myself from the mentor list? Juliancolton (talk) 21:01, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

Harvard Wikipedia Ambassador

Thank you for the offer. Unfortunately I live in Southern California, so I do not think I'm the right person for the job. Ebikeguy (talk) 22:35, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

Your message re: BU Ambassador

Hi there,

Thank you very much for your interest. However, i should let you know that I graduated from BU in 2004 and I actually currently lives in South Florida. However, I am still interested in helping out in the Online Ambassador program. --Bud (talk) 06:50, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

How to resolve a dispute re: "separation of c & s" ?

Hi. I've been locked in an unproductive back-and-forth with another editor on the article Separation of Church and State in the United States. A request for comment a few weeks ago drew no useful responses. I'm wondering if you know of a way to get some additional voices to weigh in here. The issue is about the first sentence of the article, which currently reads "The phrase 'separation of church and state' (sometimes "wall of separation between church and state") describes a legal and political principle embedded in the Constitution of the United States." Editor North8000 insists that the sentence as written is false and unsupportable; "separation...", in his or her view, does not describe a constitutional principal. He or she has repeatedly modified the sentence to read "...describes a legal and political principle, elements of which are embedded in the Constitution...", or words to that effect. Any help will be most welcome. --BTfromLA (talk) 20:33, 22 December 2010 (UTC) PS: The reason I'm posting this here is because one of the content dispute guidelines suggested going to a wikiproject that claimed the article, and public policy project came up in this case. If there is a more appropriate place for me to post this, please advise. --BTfromLA

Thanks for explaining... I was a bit confused! Yeah, the best place would be to the talk page of the WikiProject itself, rather than asking an individual member of the WikiProject. The best one would probably be this one: Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_United_States_Government. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 21:08, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

Campus Ambassador

You left me a talk page comment asking if I was interested in being a campus ambassador for Michigan State. Although I'm an alumnus, I live more than an hour away, so I think that's out of the question, but if/when there is a program at Eastern Michigan University, or maybe the University of Michigan, I'd be willing to help out with those. Thanks, cmadler (talk) 17:36, 23 December 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program is looking for new Online Ambassadors

Hi SilkTork! I noticed your activity as a Good Article reviewer, and wanted to encourage you to look into 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 you're interested, take a look at the Online Ambassador guidelines; the "mentorship process" describes roughly what will be expected of mentors in the coming term. 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) 20:40, 27 December 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for thinking of me Sage, and I will consider this as I can see the educational value of the project, and the knock on value to Wikipedia. SilkTork *^YES! 09:21, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Ambassadors

Hey,

Sure! As a current Harvard student, I think I can do it. Let me know what is exactly required.

Cheers! Λuα ^{(Operibus anteire)} 15:47, 29 December 2010 (UTC)

Ambassador v. Public Policy userbox

This user is a Wikipedia Ambassador.

Sage, being a noob to this program, I'm sometimes finding it difficult to figure out the difference between the Public Policy Initiative and the Ambassadors program. I'm thinking I may not be the only one. Maybe the ambassadors could do with a user box? I think ambassadors are using the PP userbox, when really, that's not appropriate because they don't work with WMF? Could make it a requirement for their user pages as they would now be public faces of the project with 'real' responsibility. upstateNYer (Ambassador) 23:14, 29 December 2010 (UTC)

Some of the ambassadors (and many of the students in relevant courses) are using the WikiProject United States Public Policy userbox, but I do think it's time for an ambassador userbox as well. Thanks for making it!--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 23:56, 29 December 2010 (UTC)

Also, there's this one that some of the Campus Ambassadors are using: Wikipedia:Ambassadors/Userboxes/Campus ambassador. I don't fancy requiring people to use a specific userbox, though. (And I'd say I don't have the authority to make that kind of requirement unilaterally, anyhow.)--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 00:05, 30 December 2010 (UTC)

Yea, that's true. I was just thinking it would keep things consistent so you (and students/profs) can easily identify those people you're looking for. upstateNYer (Ambassador) 03:36, 30 December 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program is looking for Campus Ambassadors in Houston

Thanks for the invitation. I'm a former college professor - and an admin, so I'm sure I can help. However, I live in the St. Louis area - not the Houston area. Sorry. Rklawton (talk) 00:48, 31 December 2010 (UTC)

Mail

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It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

--The Utahraptor^Talk/_Contribs 23:45, 31 December 2010 (UTC)

Re:Wikipedia Ambassador Program is looking for new Online Ambassadors

Hi, Excuse me. I'm too busy and do not have enough time to help you. I hope this is a successful program.--Seyyed(t-c) 12:09, 1 January 2011 (UTC)

Invitation to join WikiProject United States

Hello, Sross (Public Policy)/Archive 1! WikiProject United States, an outreach effort supporting development of United States related articles in Wikipedia, has recently been restarted after a long period of inactivity. As a user who has shown an interest in United States related topics we wanted to invite you to join us in developing content relating to the United States. If you are interested please add your Username and area of interest to the members page here. Thank you!!!

--Kumioko (talk) 03:38, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL :)

Hello, Sross (Public Policy). Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

*that reminded me of Blues Clues Dusti^*poke* 04:41, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program is looking for new Online Ambassadors

Hi SilkTork! I noticed your activity as a Good Article reviewer, and wanted to encourage you to look into 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 you're interested, take a look at the Online Ambassador guidelines; the "mentorship process" describes roughly what will be expected of mentors in the coming term. 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) 20:40, 27 December 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for thinking of me Sage, and I will consider this as I can see the educational value of the project, and the knock on value to Wikipedia. SilkTork *^YES! 09:20, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

I've just looked at Wikipedia:Online_Ambassadors#Becoming_an_Online_Ambassador and I'm not comfortable with there being a selection process, especially one in which the community is not involved in making the selection decision, but a self-elected committee. If the process by which people become involved in this project were more open and in line with Wikipedia principles I would be interested, but not with the current set up. SilkTork *^YES! 11:53, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

I'm an LSU alumni from 1996, and I do live in Louisiana, but not in Baton Rouge. I am not actively involved in any LSU academic or extra-curricular program, nor have I been for 14 years. Thanks for the offer though. Heavy (talk) 22:54, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

Tutorial Template

First shot at making a template, this one covers DYK

How's this for a start? I shortened your version a bit, though I'm not opposed to going into two pages. I made this in PowerPoint (Word was acting up on me). I figure once we get a template down that we like, somebody that's proficient in Scribus (which isn't me quite yet) can translate a given PDF into Scribus and I can go from there (I think I'll be fine as long as I work off an already created file). My idea is that the title bar at top and the bottom bar will be universal across the handouts. Then the topic will be in large black letters as shown; if the topic has a logo, the logo will be included as well (like shown here). Then a nutshell box will be included on the right, under the topic title (hey, the nutshell idea works well online, why not off?). Then a "How it Works" section, then a "Requirements" section, then a "Wikicode" section. I think giving a blank version and example version of the code will be helpful. I'm thinking I could have added a grey box next to the example that said something like "Try this code in your sandbox! Paste it at User:<your username>/Sandbox". Obviously new sections can be included based on necessity. One requirement here is that users understand that the shortcuts and links I'm including here always go after en.wikipedia.org/wiki/. That should probably be made clear somewhere.

So in the end, you get a recognizable (and trusted, since you know where it's coming from) document that includes some minor graphic attributes to keep your eyes pleased, but not too much color or shading as to feel like you're wasting valuable ink when printing (I think it's safe to assume professors and teachers will print these out for their students, even if they do link to them on their course websites).

So let me know what you think. Open to all comments and criticism. Also, we probably should ask around to see if there are any graphic designers around the wiki (professional or amateur). We really only need one standardized template to start. This looks reasonably professional, but there are some attributes that could be more so. But hey, I don't have any training or anything. upstateNYer (Ambassador) 05:27, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

I like the design a lot! Maybe a request at the Wikipedia:Graphic Lab would turn up a talented designer to refine it a little bit.

For copy, I think it does need to be two pages... the instructions on how to actually go about nominating it are the most important part, I think. At least for the students we're working with, they will already have a bit of background about what DYK is, because it's part of their assignment and the Campus Ambassadors or instructor will have briefed them. The main reason for the handout is to walk them through as they actually go through the process, so they don't have to click back and forth between instructions and the page they are working on.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 15:41, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Request for mentorship

Hi Sage, I've received a request from someone for mentorship, should I just update the Wikipedia:Online Ambassadors/Mentors page with his details once I've accepted his request? The Rambling Man (talk) 09:18, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Yep, exactly. I think you're the first to get a mentorship request this term! I'm about to make a template that you can use to add to his userpage to give quick access to the key links.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 15:46, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Okay, I've made the template: {{WAP student}}. I'm not very happy with it yet, but I think it does it's job; see your mentee's userpage. Let me know what you think, or make changes. Once it's in a little better shape, I'll document its usage. Think this will work as something for each mentor to put on the userpage of their mentees?--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 16:12, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Looks like a good start. If I think of anything else then I'll work it in. Otherwise, yes, adding it to the mentee pages seems like a good idea. I guess you need to update the instructions for mentors? Cheers! The Rambling Man (talk) 16:27, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

reply.

I can't think of anything particular this moment except that I am just all open on good tips and pointers of how to do my best with it. Jhenderson ⁷⁷⁷ 20:06, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Ok. How does the application work? Jhenderson ⁷⁷⁷ 18:43, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

Online Ambassador

Actually, I played an informal role in the fall. I interacted with a Syracuse University undergraduate in the Public Policy Initiative and he ended up working on a number of articles including an update to Syracuse University, which I then nominated for GA and shepharded through the process. Hence, the statements that the PPI has not yet resulted in GA content is incorrect. Racepacket (talk) 20:09, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

• Flattery will get you everywhere Sage :) Sure, I'll give it a look. - Jarry1250 ^{[Who? Discuss.]} 22:00, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Online Ambassador note

Could I suggest to be a bit more carefully with those invitations in terms of who you contact? Of the three main criteria, I fail on all counts -- and wouldn't regular activity be somewhat obvious to check? My last 500 edits go back to September 2009. Maxim_(talk) 01:44, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

Online Ambassadors

Thanks for the consideration! :) I'm not really the mentoring type, I don't think, and life's a bit hectic to commit to something like that. But I'll certainly keep the program in mind for the future. - The Bushranger _{One ping only} 02:55, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

Online Ambassador help

Thanks for the message Sross, after considering everything I'm willing to take up the post. Would you kindly tell me the process to do so, or when can I start helping? — Legolas ^(talk2me) 06:36, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

User:Bearian send you an email

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Bearian (talk) 17:33, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

Ambassador Program

I received your message on the program. Unfortunately, I have to decline the invitation. As a college student myself, things are hectic enough for me as it is, between school and the editing and reviewing I do now. I simply don't have the time to spare that the program would require. However, I thank you for thinking of me and wish you the best of luck with this important initiative. Giants2008 (27 and counting) 21:28, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

FYI

I'm going to use my regular account name UpstateNYer (talk · contribs). Trying to juggle two names (one for regular editing, one for being an Ambassador) is too much. I have a new appreciation for socks... upstateNYer (Ambassador) 21:42, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

Probably a good idea. I wouldn't if it wasn't necessary for keeping my role as WMF staff separate from my volunteer editing.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 15:55, 22 January 2011 (UTC)

Online Ambassador

Hello, Sross (Public Policy). Please check your email; you've got mail!
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--Wustefuchs (talk) 17:53, 22 January 2011 (UTC)

Hello, Sross (Public Policy). Check your email

Hello, Sross (Public Policy). Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

--Wetman (talk) 21:51, 22 January 2011 (UTC)

Responded.--Wetman (talk) 21:51, 22 January 2011 (UTC)

Online Ambassador invitation

Hi Sross, and thanks for the invitation. I am indeed much involved in helping contributors, and is something I could do in terms of time and capabilities, however I have some concerns regarding the most effective way to help the Wikimedia project. My first concern is that I don't think I would be a good mentor on topics I am not interested in at all. I'm OK with arts or social sciences but quite sincerely wouldn't be a good mentor for a contributor interested in let's say second league Indonesian soccer players. Is there a way to be as an online-mentor self-restricted to certain topics? Second, in about a month or so I am starting a PhD at the University of Melbourne, and I wonder if being a real-world mentor might be more effective. If you have any suggestions or feedback just let me know. --Elekhh (talk) 06:19, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

Yes, you can definitely be selective about which students/courses/topic areas you're willing to mentor for. For the pilot phase of this program, we're mainly working with professors in a single discipline: public policy (broadly construed). You can see the list of courses at Wikipedia:Ambassadors/Courses. So if any of that is a topic area you'd be comfortable working with, then I encourage you to apply.

As for being a real-world mentor, I take it you're talking about the Campus Ambassador role? We're definitely hoping to get the Campus Ambassador program started in Australia and other places--either with a yet-to-be-developed online training program or with a training event at Wikimania in August--but this term we aren't working with any classes in Melbourne. If you'd like to be a Campus Ambassador later on, being an Online Ambassador first is a great way to figure out what the program is like; you can do both, or one then the other.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 16:53, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

Really, the problem with this program (and thanks for the invite BTW) is the "always on" nature of the IRC requirement. Being available thoughout the day is impossible for anyone with a day job. My boss would go ballistic if he thought I was sitting on IRC, being interrupted all the time when I'm supposed to be working! On the other hand, if the nature of the interaction were of the more conventional Wiki talk page - or even email interaction, then I'd be able to use occasional "downtime" - or lunchtime - or early mornings and evenings to respond to messages. I can do the needed amount of work - but not in the tiny scattered bits of time implied by IRC. Sadly, the IRC requirement is a complete deal-breaker for me, I simply cannot commit to this project. I strongly suspect that most Wikipedians will feel the same way. I think the concept needs to be reformulated if it is to be a widespread success. SteveBaker (talk) 01:29, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

IRC is not a requirement. Most of the ambassadors don't use IRC, and that's fine. A fair number do, and that is enough to provide help to student through that means. The bulk of the role, and all core parts, are strictly on-wiki.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 01:33, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

OK - I'll take another look at the project. It sure reads like it's heavily IRC-based though! Thanks for the clarification. SteveBaker (talk) 01:51, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

I clarified the description at Wikipedia:Online Ambassadors. If there's somewhere else that gives the wrong impression about IRC, point me to it.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 02:00, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Note

I think this page was out of date: [2] upstateNYer 04:33, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

Yep, thanks!--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 14:02, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

Mentor Opportunity

Greetings! I'm a undergrad working on a project in my editing course. We are researching issues dealing with Public Policy and are in the process of developing an article on Wikipedia. Here is a link to our assignment page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_United_States_Public_Policy/Courses/Spring_2011/Professional_and_Technical_Editing_%28Cindy_Allen%29_). If you are able to work with me as a mentor this semester it would be much appreciated! Please don't hesitate if you may have any questions.

Thanks,

Matt — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mwbjmu620 (talk • contribs) 19:23, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

Mail-call

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Forgot the template yesterday!Worm 14:10, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the invite, but I write mainly on art history & am not at all interested in US public policy. I am also interested in the GLAM ambassador role that is emerging, which probably suits my skills better. But if there were courses on art history involved, I would probably apply. Johnbod (talk) 22:35, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Re: US Public Policy Ambassador Program

Hi. Thanks for the notice about AMBASSADORS. I'm not certain whether recieving the Awesome Wikipedian award gives any quantitative insight into my suitability for ambassadorship, but I have already previously indicated my interest in the program. As a concurrent participant in another editor improvement program, I hope to do some more in-depth quality work on select articles in the coming weeks and months, as I have contributed to few DYKs but no extant GAs or FAs. However, the time I have available per week typically (for now) ranges from 0.5 hours to 40 hours. When I have time to answer the questionnaire, I will get around to making a reply. Does the project only cover assistance to American students working on articles related to US Public Policy? Thanks. ~AH1^(TCU) 01:39, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks! I knew I had looked at your userpage recently, but couldn't remember why... it was because you signed the interest list. Right now (mainly because of the focus of the grant for the 1-year pilot phase of this project) we're working with American universities, mostly with public policy classes (although a few other classes). But we're working to spread the program to other countries, and won't focus on public policy in particular after this term. I look forward to getting your application. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 01:43, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Online Ambassador

Hi Sage,

I got your note regarding online ambassadorships. I appreciate your considering me, but I don't think I'd be a great match for the program. My main area of contribution is anti-vandalism, with occasional forays into citation hunting and grammar/typo fixing. I don't currently and never really have had much to do with new articles or significant addition of information. I do hope you find come good candidates; it sounds like a great program. Thanks for thinking of me. I'll let you know if things change on my end. --some jerk on the Internet (talk) 14:40, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter: 28 January 2011

The newsletter of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program – Volume 1, 28 January 2011 This is the first issue of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program newsletter. Please read it! It has important information about the the current wave of classes, instructions and advice, and other news about the ambassador program. Classes get active, students requesting mentors First mentor responsibilities Other news Things you can do

Delivered by EdwardsBot (talk) 00:35, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

TOC

Wikipedia:Ambassadors/Newsletter/1/Deliverable made the table of contents disappear on user talks; see fix.  Chzz  ►  04:54, 29 January 2011 (UTC) Whoops, thanks for catching that Chzz.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 14:06, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program

Thanks for the personal invite. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to commit to this program, given some of the other things I'd like to accomplish. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 01:35, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

I have to be honest and say that I am on the fence about participating in the program. I've heard about it, but I am not sure I am among the best qualified to participate in it. I'll think it over so more before giving a definitive answer, but I do thank you for the invitation to join. TomStar81 (Talk) 05:34, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Hmmm, "ambassador" eh... do they have one for "grumpy old man" ;-) Anyway, what do you think the job would entail? I think I would be able to do this is the administrative load was close to zero. I love helping people out, but hate trying to find the ones that need it. Maury Markowitz (talk) 02:06, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Mentor Buddy4919

Hi! Thank you for contacting me. If you are still available to be my mentor, I would greatly appreciate your help throughout this semester! Thanks Buddy4919 (talk) 21:34, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

Little overloaded

Hey Sage, I just got my seventh mentor request for this semester, and I'm wondering what's up. Can I turn this guy away, perhaps to one of the 26 other mentors that don't have any mentees? I'd resisted putting a "Full" label next to my name because I assumed folks could see that, but is that what we're doing now? Thanks for the help.-- Patrick, _oѺ^∞ 04:50, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

online ambassador

Sounds like a great job. I'd like to help if I can. Serendi^podous 07:56, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Hi Sage. I am actually more interested in the other side of the equation - the idea of incorporating Wikipedia editing into classroom assignments. Are there guidelines for things like that? Thanks. Guettarda (talk) 17:59, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Ambassador Dincher

Has a nice ring to it, but I must decline at the point. I am currently a grad student and have a full-time teaching job and a part-time retail job. I just don't have the time for wikipedia like I used to. Thanks for considering me. I am honored. Dincher (talk) 00:04, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Question from former mentee

Hi SageR, this is nerdpenguin. I worked with you a little last semester on my project, the National Democratic Party in Egypt. As you can imagine, my article has been getting a lot of traffic with all that has been happening in Egypt. I am thrilled that it has gotten so much attention. It makes me proud to know that my work is being consumed by so many people. There has been one use in particular, though, who has asserted that my work is biased and has flagged it. I am a bit tired of arguing with him, and "unflagging" the article, and I wonder if there is some way to send this dispute to an arbitrator -- if that exists. Thank you kindly! Nerdpenguin (talk) 05:43, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Sage: Thank you kindly for the advice. I am keen on learning how to deal with these things in the spirit of wikipedia. In the future, I will stick to your advice and not let the tone get to me :) -- A bit busy at the moment with school and keeping up with what is going on in the (Arab world) region. Again, really appreciate you taking the time to point me in the right direction on this. I see that the case has been taken up by a mediator, which is nice. This is all a good learning experience. Nerdpenguin (talk) 07:20, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

Sageross: Just a quick note to say thank you again for your help and input on my wikpedia article on the National Democratic Party in Egypt. I am currently taking your advice and making relevant changes to the article. Thanks again, sir!Nerdpenguin (talk) 00:23, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Meditation Cabal Case: Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/2011-02-03/National Democratic Party (Egypt)

Good day, This is a message to inform you that you are a named as a party having potential involvement in the following Mediation Cabal case: Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/2011-02-03/National Democratic Party (Egypt). The reason you are being informed by the mediator for this case is because this editor (the mediator) believes that you may have some sort of connection or otherwise involvement in this case and would like to hear your side of this particular case. Please leave relevant discussion or comment on the case page, or you may contact me directly on my talk page. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. LTC b2412 ^Troops _Talk 00:43, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

Re: Online Ambassadors

Thanks for the invitation to become one, from you and Sadads. I have given it real thought, as I fit your criteria pretty well. But I have realized that I don't really agree with the mission, i.e., I don't see why university students should be encouraged to write WP articles as part of course activities. The emphasis for them should be on what universities have always been about – learning how to develop new ideas and perspectives, how to analyze and synthesize facts in new ways, how to do (what we would call 'original') research ... all the things that WP frowns upon! Don't know if others have had this reaction, but I see a fairly fundamental clash here. There are no doubt other views on this of course, and good luck with your efforts in any case.... Wasted Time R (talk) 21:29, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

In defence of the ambassador program (I am sure other people can explain it far better, I am only here incidentally), many of the universities involved might be teaching their students the kind of material that is not appropriate on Wikipedia, or making them understand the difference between primary and secondary sources, or the difference between synthesis (welcomed in most undergraduate essays) and encyclopedic material, or making them consider the reliability of online sources (including Wikipedia). You are right that an undergraduate course should not be based on writing material for Wikipedia, but hopefully that's not what's suggested. There are some Middle School courses that are based on writing material for Wikipedia, but that was a cunning plot to see how people reacted ;) --Demiurge1000 (talk) 03:15, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

For being awesome!

		Wikipedia Ambassador Barnstar
		For being a super enthusiastic, awesome, cool and amazing coordinator of the ambassador project, I award you this barnstar recognizing your effort, energy and awesomeness! Keep it up! Basket of Puppies 21:08, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Thank you! I deeply appreciate that.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 21:17, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Mentee

Hi Sross,

I am a student at Indiana University and I am a part of 'United States Public Policy' Wikipedia project. My topic for article is 'Mobile Source Air Pollution'. Would you be my mentor for this project? I will be glad to learn some wikipedia skills from you. --Swgarg (talk) 22:25, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Online application

Sage, you may have already noticed this but the first online ambassador application went to Wikipedia:Online Ambassadors/Apply/USERNAME instead of to the user's name. The instructions could probably be clarified a little (or is that a little sub-test embedded in the application?!). I'll leave you to clean it up since I assume the original page will need to be deleted once the application is moved to the right location. Mike Christie (talk – library) 12:09, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks much, Mike! I'm not sure I would have caught that.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 14:31, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

When you put the page up I wondered if someone would make that mistake, so I watchlisted the USERNAME page. Didn't expect to catch anyone so quickly, though. Mike Christie (talk – library) 12:18, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Online Ambassador selection process

Hi SilkTork. I just wanted to let you know that an on-wiki process for Online Ambassador applications is active now: Wikipedia:Online Ambassadors/Apply. We'll see how things go; if it doesn't show signs of turning into the kind of toxic atmosphere of RfA, maybe it will make sense to have the on-wiki method be the only one.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 19:45, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for that Sage. I do have a strong interest in the principles and aims of the project, and fully understand that there will be teething problems with setting up an initiative like this. It is appropriate to be careful with who is chosen as an ambassador. I'll take a look at the amended process and give you my thoughts. SilkTork *^YES! 21:30, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Online ambassadors

Thanks for the invitation and the vote of confidence, but as I said to Sadads last month, I don't want to commit myself to something I won't always have the time for. —Bruce1ee^talk 05:24, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Online ambassador

Thanks for the invitation to the Online Ambassador program. As I am currently working on finishing an undergraduate degree, I won't have the time necessary to invest in the project—but maybe later? In any case, thank you for making me aware of the opportunity. — AlekJDS ^talk 15:26, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Yep, you can always apply some time down the road. Good luck with the last bits of your degree!--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 15:27, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter: 13 February 2011

The newsletter of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program – Volume 1, 28 January 2011 This is the second issue of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter, with details about what's going on right now and where help is needed. Userboxes and profiles - Add an ambassador userbox to your page, and make sure you've added your mentor profile! Be a coordinating ambassador - Pick and class and make sure no students fall through the cracks. New screencasts - Short videos on watchlists and a number of other topics may be useful to students. Updates from Campus Ambassadors - Ambassadors are starting to report on classroom experiences, both on-wiki and on the Google Group. Other news - There's a new on-wiki application for being an Online Ambassador, and Editing Friday #2 is today! Things you can do - This is just a sample; if you're eager for something to do, there's plenty more.

Delivered by EdwardsBot (talk) 18:26, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

Online ambassador (cannot add profile)

Hi Sross. My apologies for not contacting you sooner. I have tried to add my profile to the Online Ambassadors page and it will not let me. I must be doing something wrong. If you can advise, I would be most appreciative as I would like to engage in the ambassador project. Maple Leaf (talk) 18:45, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

• Much appreciated for the quick turnaround. I have filled out the bio and am very excited about getting involved. Thanks again Maple Leaf (talk) 20:00, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Talkback

Hello, Sross (Public Policy). You have new messages at Ronk01's talk page.
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Mentee pages

Hi, Sage. Thanks for the reminder. I received the #2 newsletter yesterday evening (having not read the previous one very thoroughly) and tried to work out what to do, but it started getting complicated and I aborted and went to bed. I was busy today, but will sort it out tomorrow (Tuesday). BTW, I've visited Seattle several times - excellent place, great restaurants, bars, beers, terrific but exhausting Gray Line trip up Mt Rainier. Best. --GuillaumeTell 00:55, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Hi Sross! My name is Ellen Barker, and I'm a Sophomore at James Madison University in Professor Allen's Professional and Technical Editing course. This semester we're working on the US Public Policy project. If you have a free spot, I'd like you to be my Wikipedia mentor this spring.

Hello! My name is Tom and I'm currently a junior at James Madison University working in Professor Cindy Allen's Wikipedia Public Policy Project. My article is on the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955. It would be great if you could be my mentor as the first mentor I requested is currently ill. Thanks Tom

Talkback

Hello, Sross (Public Policy). You have new messages at Dusti's talk page.
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Talkback

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Mentoring students: be sure to check in on them

This message is going out to all of the Online Ambassadors who are, or will be, serving as mentors this term.

Hi there! This is just a friendly reminder to check in on what your mentees are doing. If they've started making edits, take a look and help them out or do some example fixes for them, if they need it. And if they are doing good, let them know it!

If you aren't mentoring anyone yet, it looks like you will be soon; at least one large class is asking us to assign mentors for them, and students in a number of others haven't yet gotten to asking ambassadors to be their mentors, but may soon. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 20:08, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

Hi

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately my mentee appears to have disappeared off the face of Wikipedia. Not sure what to do about it really. Serendi^podous 20:15, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

Mentoring students

Hello Sage, Thanks for the message. I ageed to mentor three students, and gave some advice to one of them. All three have been very quiet on Wikipedia since then, but I am ready to engage with them when they need my help. I am happy to offer advice or suggestions to any student or any other new editor at any time. Cullen328 (talk) 20:47, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

Editing My Article

As I continue to add informational depth to my article, I was hoping to create headings and sub headings dividing my findings and making my article more user friendly. If you could assist me in this, that would be greatly appreciated. Tom — Preceding unsigned comment added by Simpsontg77 (talk • contribs) 19:30, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

Ambassador

Will wait and see if there are students that will be working on health care topics. If you find any feel free to send them my way. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 20:43, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

Groups of students in need of mentors

Thanks for the heads up. I am very interested and will look into it this weekend for sure. If I want to see some other projects going on, is there one page that lists all the potential projects? Maple Leaf (talk) 12:42, 23 February 2011 (UTC)

From one of your mentors

Did you see Buddy4919's edit here? I don't know if the student should be migrating to another article right away, can you verify that their is still more to do on the article? Sadads (talk) 23:08, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Air Pollution Control Act

I was wondering if you could provide some suggestions as to how I may better my Wikipedia article. If there are any other subheadings that I should include or any websites that you know of that I should include please feel free to let me know. Also I have hit a wall when researching what the specifics of the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 actually says; again if you know of any sites that I haven't already utilized please let me know. Thanks Tom — Preceding unsigned comment added by Simpsontg77 (talk • contribs) 19:37, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Media and Telecommunication Policy spring 2011 (Obar)

Question since you are updating the Areas of Study. Should the many lawsuits under the "Cases" section have "FCC" or "Federal Communications Commission"? - Neutralhomer • Talk • 01:07, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

I'm not sure; use your best judgment if you thing they should be changed. I'm just trying to make sure the ones that actually have articles already are linked. And thanks for your email to the group. I'm going through and individually asking people to mentor each of the remaining groups right now. Perhaps you could follow up afterward and find mentors for the groups that don't get picked up from my current round of requests? Thanks again, NH!--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 01:22, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Okie Dokie, will do. I put out a post on the Google Group a couple ago, but I will throw another post about that on there. - Neutralhomer • Talk • 01:24, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Actually, I'd highly suggest asking people individually. The mailing list emails will probably be ignored, if earlier ones (like from Annie) didn't work, and a fair number of Online Ambassadors aren't on the list anyway.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 01:27, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Okie Dokie, I will do the individual emails or talk page messages. - Neutralhomer • Talk • 01:34, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Mentor for the students working on Children's Television Act and ATT v. FCC

I would be happy to do it. Let me know what you need from me. Coincidentally, I'm an Ex AT&T Employee.--Mike - Μολὼν λαβέ 02:13, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Done!--Mike - Μολὼν λαβέ 02:36, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Please be the mentor for the students working on Data discrimination

Hi Sage Ross. Thank you for getting back to me. My apologies for not replying sooner. I had some personal issues to look after. I have signed up for Data discrimination. If there any other details I need to know, please do not hesitate to contact me Maple Leaf (talk) 02:41, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Reply to your message.

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Talkback

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Media and Telecommunication Policy spring 2011 (Obar) (Part 2)

Got a slight problem. We have more students in the "Students" section than we do in the "Areas of Study" section. Some students aren't signed up for an area of study. Should we send off an email to the prof about this, or do we need more Areas of Study since it seems they are pretty well packed. - Neutralhomer • Talk • 10:07, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Hmm... I think the prof is on top of this, but if it doesn't sort out within the next week, Annie or I will poke the prof. Thanks for the update! This is really helpful.--00:59, 4 March 2011 (UTC)

Sure, no problem. :) - Neutralhomer • Talk • Coor. Online Amb'dor • 01:01, 4 March 2011 (UTC)

Hello, Sross (Public Policy). You have new messages at J Komara's talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Check Your Area of Study

Hello, I have updated the Project Page you are mentoring on with usernames for all the students in your Area of Study. Please send them a message introducing yourself and let them know you are there to help.

As always, please let me know if I can be of assistance. Take Care...Neutralhomer • Talk • 10:17, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. I'll get to this soon.  :) --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 00:58, 4 March 2011 (UTC)

Just wanted to let you know, we are full up on mentors. :) - Neutralhomer • Talk • Coor. Online Amb'dor • 01:01, 4 March 2011 (UTC)

Mentoring Area of study

Hi, you had contacted me about mentoring the students working on Tying of Apple products. It looks like User:Worm That Turned took up that group. I am now mentoring the group working on the Comcast NBC merger. PrincessofLlyr ^{royal court} 16:16, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Great, thanks! Sorry about the confusion; Neutralhomer and I were intersecting a bit with trying to find mentors, so there were some conflicts like that.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 01:00, 4 March 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Ambassadors/Steering Committee/Elections

IDK if you got the memo or not, but it was decided at the last ASC meeting that you and I have the ASC elections proposal up by March 11. I put up a draft at the above link, but you should look over it and clarify some things, because I wasn't really sure whether all of it has been decided yet. Cheers, /ƒETCHCOMMS/ 03:04, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

Cool, thanks! I'll go over it first thing on Monday.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 03:13, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

It seems like there's a little of a gap between what was in your starting point version and what was in the notes. See the message I left on the draft; are those things undecided bits that you took a stab at, or things that you remember from the meeting that didn't make the notes? Anyhow, let me know what you think of the changes I made, and the ideas I proposed; I'll be watching that page, so you can just make changes and I'll follow along.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 19:10, 7 March 2011 (UTC)

I don't think we figured out whether it should be onwiki or secret ballot yet (see [3]), but [4], says voters should vote for two candidates for CA and two for OA. I'd also prefer an open, onwiki voting system; that works fine for steward elections, the MILHIST coordinator elections, and the GOCE elections. /ƒETCHCOMMS/ 01:41, 8 March 2011 (UTC)

Ah, I see. It looks like that was a question, rather than a decision. I don't remember what the reasoning was, though, and don't see an advantage over approval voting. What do you think?--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 01:47, 8 March 2011 (UTC)

I agree with what you noted on the elections page; voting for as many candidates as you want seems easier and more logical to me at this point. Go ahead and update the draft as you think is best in regards to this, cheers. /ƒETCHCOMMS/ 03:29, 8 March 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassadors Program - Translation

Hi Sage Ross, I'm a brazilian volunteer interested on incorporating the program here in Brazil. Now, Nevinho and I are translating some resources to use them here. We want to know if you could give us the original files (editable files) of the handouts (and others, if possible) in order to translate them keeping the original design (sorry for my terrible english). —– Jaider ^Msg 13:42, 9 March 2011 (UTC)

Hello!!! Thank you so much for being a mentor for our class at MSU!! Look forward to working with you. Brittany

Balbaugh (talk) 21:30, 14 March 2011 (UTC)

Best practice for class leader and student accounts

An open discussion at Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/Incidents#Apparent_annual_creation_of_role_accounts_for_a_class_assignment has raised questions about the use of role accounts for classroom collaboration. Traditionally such accounts are seen as highly suspect, but no-one wants to discourage involvement from students from participating in well-supervised improvement drives. What we need are guidelines that address the key issues, which might include:

• How should content be prepared before it is put into article space? Is a user subpage the best way to sandbox draft content by multiple contributors?
• Should the course instructor register a role account for each iteration of the course, in order to have a dedicated sandbox?
• Should sandboxes be obfuscated, blanked or deleted so that later classes can't find the work of earlier students?
• Should all students in a class share a role account (or IP address) or should they be encouraged to register as individuals?
• Should students be pointed to generic "welcome" materials or something more specific?

If there's a forum in which experienced course instructors discuss this stuff, perhaps you could post details back to the discussion. If not, are you OK with individual editors developing policy for this on the fly, or...? Thanks - Pointillist (talk) 23:47, 14 March 2011 (UTC)

Request for mentorship

Hi- I am a student currently enrolled at Syracuse University looking to get a mentor for my involvement in the US Public Policy Wikiproject. I am going to be working on the Oxfam America page, as well as the Serve America Act page. If you would be willing to help I would be very appreciative! I anticipate needing assistance more in the formatting/citing side of things versus content. Thanks so much in advance! Orangefan32 (talk) 01:29, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

Marking articles students are working on

Howdy, Online Ambassador!

This is a quick message to all the ambassadors about marking and tracking which articles students are working on. For the classes working with the ambassador program, please look over any articles being worked on by students (in particular, any ones you are mentoring, but others who don't have mentors as well) and do these things:

1. Add {{WAP assignment | term = Spring 2011 }} to the articles' talk pages. (The other parameters of the {{WAP assignment}} template are helpful, so please add them as well, but the term = Spring 2011 one is most important.)
2. If the article is related to United States public policy, make sure the article the WikiProject banner is on the talk page: {{WikiProject United States Public Policy}}
3. Add Category:Article Feedback Pilot (a hidden category) to the article itself. The second phase of the Article Feedback Tool project has started, and this time we're trying to include all of the articles students are working on. Please test out the Article Feedback Tool, as well. The new version just deployed, so any bug reports or feedback will be appreciated by the tech team working on it.

And of course, don't forget to check in on the students, give them constructive feedback, praise them for positive contributions, award them {{The WikiPen}} if they are doing excellent work, and so on. And if you haven't done so, make sure any students you are mentoring are listed on your mentor profile.

Thanks! --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 18:14, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

your interest

Hello, I am yoor mentee for the wikiproject United states public policy. I was just wondering what made you interested in our Verizon vs. FCC topic? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tinu1 (talk • contribs) 20:39, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

Not sure if requests are for mentorship

I have now gotten three mentorship requests, but only one seems academic and that person has not clarified if it is part of the online ambassador program after I queried him. I am not sure what I am suppose to do?--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 07:33, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Here is the text of the email of the one that looks academic: "My name is X, a undergraduate that is currently studying Econ and Stats at the University of California, Berkeley. This semester I am taking an very interesting and wikipedia-based class called the Politics of Piracy. Our semester long project is to contribute to the Wikipedia community by editing and refining articles chosen by the students. And one of the requirements is to obtain some advice or simply comments from an online ambassador. I would like to contribute to some articles on Wikipedia that are related to my major, which is Economics and Statistics. To be more specific, I would like to make some contributions to the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) page by changing some information so that it is up to date. I have noticed that a lot of the things on the CFA page were based on last year’s information including the requirements, fees and curriculum. I would like to update those information so that they are as recent as possible using the CFA official website as the main source for reference. I would also specifically expand the information in the Curriculum section so that it is more comprehensive and thorough. I would do so by finding and adding missing curriculum or subjects, and add more hyperlinks to the subjects so that viewers of this CFA page will find it convenient to browse about a specific subject that they are interested in finding more information on."

I have tried to confirm if he wants to be part of the online ambassador program and get a feel for his editorial goals (interest in pursuing a GA).--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 07:38, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

I have just discovered Wikipedia:WikiProject_United_States_Public_Policy/Courses, so I think this is an ambassador request. I am going to formally accept this one.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 07:41, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Yep! Sorry about the confusion; that's one of the classes we're working with. I think I may have recommended you specifically, because of your econ background. Thanks!--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 13:13, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Professor Obar Concerns

Got a message about an hour ago from Professor Obar of the Media and Telecommunication Policy project and I think it is viewed best in full:

Can you please communicate to the online mentors that I DO NOT want them moving student material into the main space for them. This is a big problem. I have noticed that this has happened with a number of the projects already, for example, in the broadband.gov article and the media cross-ownership article. We need the students to be doing this on their own, of course so they can learn how to do it, and also so that I can grade what they've done. How am I supposed to follow student submissions if the data is associated with online mentors? A BIG PROBLEM ALREADY... please help me with this. None of you responded to my post about this on the discussion page. This is about to get out of hand. Jaobar (talk) 05:27, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

With that, of course, please only give instructions on how to move, don't do it for them. Please only let them know what to do and let them do it themselves. If they run into problems, provide further instructions. Do not it for them. This seems to be making a mess of Prof. Obar's grading system and I would like to avoid that. Thanks. - Neutralhomer • Talk • Coor. Online Amb'dor • 06:16, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

Editing Fridays article for 25 March

--Guerillero | My Talk 17:37, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter: 21 March 2011

The newsletter of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program – Volume 3, 21 March 2011 This is the third issue of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter, with details about what's going on right now and where help is needed. Where the courses are - A brief summary of how each of the 31 Public Policy Initiative courses are faring so far in the Spring 2011 term, as of 9-11 March. Feel free to add more detail. Tracking students' articles - Make sure students' articles are tagged with {{WAP assignment}} on the talk pages, and have the newly improved Article Feedback Tool active. Education portal in progress - Wikimedia staff have started work on an outreach portal for information about teaching with and about Wikipedia. Please help develop it! Online Ambassadors logistics - If you don't have a Wikipedia Ambassador sweatshirt, now's your chance to get one! (Also, some other more mundane, but important, details.) Steering committee preparing proposals - Look for discussions about two major proposals about the future ambassador program soon: the "Regional Ambassador" role, and elections for a new committee. Editing Friday returns - This Friday, join fellow ambassadors and others real-time collaboration on Wainwright Building.

Delivered by EdwardsBot (talk) 22:27, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Thank you!

This is a little late, but thank you for the feedback! I've had a little trouble finding information about the history of retention elections and how they've developed, but I found a few solid sources and should be expanding that soon. I found a bit of text from the California State Constitution that covers retention elections and would like to incorporate it in the "History" section of my article (maybe make a reference to it?), but I'm not sure how to do this best so any feedback would be great! Thanks again Barkerel (talk) 19:09, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

got my acct back

• Got my acct back. I cannot commit to anything that involves a committed block of time... I'll try to lurk, watching the talk pages of various folks who are being Ambassed, plus the various Ambassing pages of course. Feel free to drop me a line if you need any help anywhere. But the sign up page is looking a lot more image-heavy than I remeber it, so you may not need me... • Ling.Nut (talk) 03:37, 23 March 2011 (UTC)
  • Cool, thanks! I do appreciate any lurking, flagging of problems you notice, or just pitching in here and there, and I'm glad you got your old account back. Cheers --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 20:38, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Mentor

I have agreed to be mentor for User talk:NicEMyer on his artcile on Barcelona Development Agenda. I also provided some useful references and guidance on referencing. However, there is no progress as the student appears to be busy with other studies. You can probably assign me as mentor on any other projects and students of your choice on subjects of environment, engineering, history etc.--Nvvchar. 09:00, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks! Those students will probably get active soon, so don't worry, I think your advice to them won't go to waste. And I'll keep you in mind for the next sets of ambassador assignments that are needed. There are many classes that haven't paired up with mentors, but I'm still waiting to hear from them about actually wanting / being ready to have mentors assigned or have students pick mentors.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 20:37, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Note of Above

I replied further up the page in case you missed my new question. =) CycloneGU (talk) 00:41, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Question re: Online Ambassadors

I have noticed in the list of types of Ambassadors the following:

IRC coordinator – This potential role hasn't been used yet, but entail an ambassador being responsible for keeping the IRC schedule up-to-date, making sure ambassadors are available on IRC at specific times requested for courses, and making sure ambassadors have the proper IRC permissions.

Now, I myself am not really in a position to be an ambassador in the general sense, in that I am in Canada and not in a position where I could serve such a role in any of the American institutions that has such people (I can't even cross the border ATM because I can't even afford the $100 or whatever for the damn passport that we now need). However, being a former chat administrator on a non-Wikimedia server and a moderator on another (at which point I was also a moderator on the Website's forums, a role I have since left), I do have knowledge of some of the things that would be needed for such a role. Therefore, prior to applying directly, I am curious what you would be seeking for such a role as far as Wikimedia goes and whether based on my history here whether I have a snowball's chance of succeeding in such an application. I could be a helper to Ambassadors in the sense of the role, and work to manage a section of the chat server dedicated to ambassadors once I get a good and working IRC client here. So can you tell me more about what this role would entail?

Updated the above - meant to say moderator of a channel on the same server I was an administrator of. I did have the privilege to ban from the server at one point.

You can reply on this page, I am watching it. CycloneGU (talk) 01:16, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

Hi Cyclone! In general, there are two kinds of ambassadors in this program: Campus Ambassadors and Online Ambassadors. The specific roles listed, like a possible IRC coordinator, are subroles within those two kinds of ambassadors. For Online Ambassadors, there's no in-person component, and we have Online Ambassadors from all around the world right now. (We do hope to get involved with universities in Canada with Campus Ambassadors in the next academic year, though.) So you'd first want to apply to be an Online Ambassador, and spend some time helping people on IRC and on-wiki and being a mentor, and then you could figure out if something like being an IRC coordinator makes sense for you. There's not really much need for a moderator; the role would be more like rounding people up when help is needed, managing permissions for the ambassadors in the relevant channels, and documenting best practices on-wiki for how to help newcomers on IRC.

But yeah, with a (very quick and shallow) check of your talk page history and contribs, I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be likely to be accepted as an Online Ambassador. If you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask!--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 14:22, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

Replying first to one line: "There's not really much need for a moderator; the role would be more like rounding people up when help is needed, managing permissions for the ambassadors in the relevant channels, and documenting best practices on-wiki for how to help newcomers on IRC." - that's what I was understanding from the details there. It's been a little while since I had the IRC experience and I would need to find me a new (good, many suck) IRC client before being able to just jump right back in, but I figure once I'm back in action I'd be able to do the job well; it's just a matter of relearning all sorts of things. I actually used to have little scripted things (I would say how many days are left until Christmas, or what song I'm listening to, for instance), and such. So I had fun with it, and very seldom had to use any server banishment actions or the like as it wasn't the busiest server on the planet (unlike some). But yes, I would be able to manage permissions easily once I know how my selected IRC program handles that type of setting, and if there were necessary to be a group meeting of all ambassadors (truthfully, I think doing that once a month would be a grand idea), I'd be able to ensure that whoever needed certain permissions had them (and even to mute the channel to those without voice - rendering them speechless as if at an IRL event - if necessary), and perhaps direct other conversations to other channels if need be. I have the experience, just not fully active on the Wiki chat except a few times during Pending Changes (and that was DEAD, ouch).

I do agree that moderating would not be needed; the only time I've ever really done that was in brief command of a channel on a very busy gaming server where I volunteered to help out with a special chat with a game's developers; it involved taking questions through private messaging and airing selected questions through the main chat channel, and I took the submitted questions and put them in a private channel which then got relayed as selected. Obviously, I don't foresee anything like that coming from this type of role, but I have that experience if it were ever needed (such as a public chat with Jimbo). Coincidentally, that public game chat log - excluding all the private messaging - got posted somewhere at the Atari forums, not sure if it's still there or not.

So I guess for me the thing is determining what I'd be doing as a standard online ambassador. Is it generally about hanging out in the chat room and offering direction to those needing help? Since the IRC position is of interest, that would be part of where I would focus my energy, but it's really the rest I have to figure out. My only other concern is if I get a job and thus am not available as frequently; I'm trying to get back on my feet, and "Wiki"ing is a way to use some of my time. =) CycloneGU (talk) 20:28, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

The main role for standard online ambassadors, which hopefully everyone will be doing at least a little bit of, is helping students on-wiki... this term, through the mentor role. See the guidelines here for an outline of what it entails. But yes, hanging out in IRC and helping when people show up asking for help is something we need more of, and if that's what you would want to focus on, great!--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 10:54, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

re. Welcome to the Wikipedia Ambassador Program

Great, thanks.

Sorry for a short delay; the pending changes thing has been taking far too much time.

I've half-drafted up my entry for the mentors page, and want to spend a little more time thinking about it; also I want to just spend an hour or two refreshing my knowledge of the programme before accepting mentees. I hope to find that required couple of hours during the next 24-48. After which, I will be ready. Thanks again,  Chzz  ►  10:11, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

Sure. No rush.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 14:23, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

Sorry it was slightly longer than anticipated. OK; I've added myself to mentors, and put my name here. What next? I'm still working my way through the linked docs. Is there some official way of saying "hi", or what?  Chzz  ►  20:30, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

No, there's no official way of saying hi. Next is... if you're eager to jump in... get up in other people's business and give help to any students that seem like they could use it, in case their mentors are proactive enough. Most of the course pages have a link in the template at the top that basically gives a list of contributions of all the students (although some pages are polluted with links to mentors, so the activity streams are clogged with non-student activity).--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 20:35, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

OK, I will do that. If there are any specific things that you think I can help with, please let me know; it's a bit hard to navigate all this stuff, and see what is happening.

Regarding that specific course - those 2 people - I'm not quite sure what they're doing, and when - or what type of help I should give; what the plan is, what they're intending to do, and when?  Chzz  ►  07:52, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Chowbuk

You have got to be kidding. Do we really need entire groups trained in bullying? Really? That's the 'new Wikipedia'? Flatterworld (talk)

He means me, if you're confused. He keeps misspelling my name.—Chowbok ☠ 03:09, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

I'm still confused.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 16:38, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Removal of group update section from course talk page

Hi Sage,

I have removed the section you added to our course talk page because I do not feel that it is appropriate to have mentors publicly criticizing the students. I am unclear as to why this discussion needed to be conducted on our course page. If you would like feedback from your mentors, I think it is best to conduct this privately, as teachers do in faculty meetings, not during class-time. I am sure that intentions were only good here, and that the goal was just to encourage students to participate. That being said, the way that the discussion was developing, I did not feel that it was appropriate to allow it to continue. While that sort of public criticism may be appropriate for Wikipedia, I do not feel that it is conduct that Michigan State University would find appropriate. Public criticism, to me, is not an effective tool for getting students to participate, and in fact, I fear that it could potentially have negative consequences for a number of the parties involved.

I recognize that by criticizing you this way I am doing the same thing, so I apologize. I recognize that Wiki-culture is butting up against "traditional"? classroom culture, and again, I commend what you were trying to accomplish. Please communicate to the mentor who posted the final comment, in case they have not seen this post, that I have communicated the expressed concerns to the group privately. I encourage (and have encouraged) mentors to contact me directly if they have similar concerns. Another option would be for you to collect feedback and communicate it to me in one long email. This would save me time, as well as keep all of the concerns in one central location.

Again, I thank you for what you were trying to do. Please have someone remove the posts I deleted from the course talk page's history as I do not want any students reading what was written. Thanks. Jaobar (talk) 05:28, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Actually, I am the one who started the "Group Update" section, not Sage. Since all the mentors have the group page watchlisted, I figured it was easier to just ask there and get a ton of responses, rather than spam everyone the same question and watchlist 30+ talkpages. Their answers, well, that is from them. But I didn't see anything that criticized the students, more it was things were moving slower than the mentors would like. As for RevDel'ing the posts written, that is generally saved for vandalism, crude comments and other stuff that isn't found on that page. Please see WP:CFRD for what the criteria of RevDel'ing is. - Neutralhomer • Talk • Coor. Online Amb'dor • 05:37, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

My apologies to Sage then. I must have misread the first post.

To respond to your post:

"Their answers, well, that is from them. But I didn't see anything that criticized the students, more it was things were moving slower than the mentors would like."

"Moving slower" - That sounds like criticism to me, and when mentors are even linking to student user pages, I think it's pretty clear what is going on.

I have expressed my concerns about what was said, and still would appreciate the comments being removed. If a quote from Family Guy can be removed as "vandalism" from the FCC's article (though I don't know if it was completely deleted), then I think something that I feel could potentially get me in trouble with parents who may not understand what is going on here should be removed as well. I am perfectly happy to be volunteering my time to Wikipedia and am thrilled with what I have learned and contributed thus far. That being said, I am in no way at ease with anything that could potentially jeopardize my position at MSU. I hope that you can understand this, and trust my judgment in this regard. Remember that this is MSU + WP, not just WP. Both have rules and policies that must be followed. Jaobar (talk) 06:03, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Well, once you took it off the talk page it is out of view, but remains on the history page. I will ask admin friend if it can be RevDel'd. Stand by. - Neutralhomer • Talk • Coor. Online Amb'dor • 06:06, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

I emailed my admin friend, since she is available via email more than on Wiki and will let you know of her response when it comes in. - Neutralhomer • Talk • Coor. Online Amb'dor • 06:17, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

So I am the mentor who provided the feedback that Neutralhomer asked for. It was simply a descriptive statement of the lack of engagement of by my three mentees, over what is now one month that I've been onboard, and over two months of the progress of the course. I have one question, and two comments:N2e (talk) 14:09, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

• Question: Where is the exact location on the wiki where this sort of discussion ought to go on? Is it the professor's Talk page? Elsewhere? ^{(By the way, I had been thinking for the past week, that I would provide this feedback to Prof. Obar after a full month had passed with no activity by two of my three mentees, and no engagement by the third. I then ran into Neutralhomer's request for feedback, realized the month was up, and simply wrote it on the page where Neutralhomer asked it.} N2e (talk)
• Comment1: I don't think my comment was particularly critical. Just more descriptive: little help will be gained by mentees who are (a) not regularly communicating with their mentors, and (b) who try to make their contribution to Wikipedia all in a tight time frame of a couple of weeks or less near the end of the term (like is often done, and is widely acceptable, with "traditional" college term papers). This important concept—or, if you prefer, argument I have put forward—should not be missed in the discussion. N2e (talk)
• Comment 2: After the semester is over, when the "retrospective" (look back) is done for this course (Obar/Neutralhomer)—and for the Public Policy Mentor program in general (Sage Ross)—I think one question that ought to be asked is whether or not it is a good practice to have the students involved in these projects use their real names, as was apparently done in the course we are discussing. I suspect, but do not know, that my descriptive comments about the student's engagement would have been received rather differently had the students real names not been associated with their Wikipedia user IDs (the latter association is something that I, of course, had no control over or input into). N2e (talk)

• If I may comment: yes, as someone who has been concerned about his privacy online since 1999 (doesn't explain why my Facebook uses my name...), and who has been the subject of an attack on another site that led to my first Yahoo! Mail account being permanently closed...yes, I think it is rather unfortunate that the use of their real names is expected. They should be able to use whatever nickname they want and not have to reveal their real ID. If a profile of a mentee says they are Susie Q. from Michigan State University...well, I'm about half an hour away from Michigan itself; if I were a stalker type and she let something slip about there she lives in relation to the university (and being a student, some are more naive, so you never know), I could track her down. Not good. CycloneGU (talk) 15:38, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

It's not quite normal procedure, and there wasn't anything particularly bad in the edits, but out of courtesy to Professor Obar and his students, I've deleted the revisions that included Ne2's comments. Criticism of students' performance (as opposed to criticism of the content of contributions they have made) isn't something we probably want to be doing on-wiki. However, open discussion of issues, problems and so on is a core part of Wikipedia culture, and in this case, I think the critical comments were intended more to convey the fact that expectations differed from reality in terms of how active students have been, rather than call any students out. The course talk page isn't the place for that discussion, but it's important for us (the ambassadors) to have it. (This was the origin of the section that Neutralhomer started in the first place, the observation that there wasn't as much activity from students on the whole as online ambassadors were expecting. This is something that has actually been very common across all the classes, and is an area where we'll need to do a better job managing expectations and changing role responsibilities for in the future.)

However, if critical public comment on students' contributions isn't acceptable to a particular professor or institution, then Wikipedia assignments probably aren't appropriate. Wikipedia has a strict policy of "no personal attacks", which means any critique should be about article content rather than about the individuals who made the contributions. But we can't (and don't want to) expect anyone to hold back in pointing out the shortcomings of articles, no matter who wrote them.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 23:06, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

I do want to clarify my original post, asking how things were going, was just that to ask how things were going. But I think, since this is a class and not just general editors (me, Sage, N2e, etc.), that we are holding them to a different standard, since they are being graded and we are helping them to achieve that grade. So, I think some constructive criticism is necessary, which is given to all editors, not just the students, everyday. Just take a look at ANI. I also don't think N2e's comments fell under NPA, but we're just an update and some constructive criticism. I think if we are going to help the students, sometimes we are going to have to give out criticism along with praise. If not, the students are going to be in for a surprise when they take a look at the rest of Wikipedia. It is full of criticism, some of it not all constructive and some of it not all nice. - Neutralhomer • Talk • Coor. Online Amb'dor • 23:28, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Responding to what Sage had to say, I would like to clarify that I am 100% comfortable with online mentors critiquing the content of articles. In fact, I think Wikipedia's online mentor system provides students with a great support system from which to receive constructive feedback on their articles. With students given only a few months to become editors, without all of us working together to teach the students the code, the method, giving them tips on how to improve content, etc. I don't think that this initiative would be possible or as successful as it has been. I once again reiterate my sincerest thanks for your efforts and for your time.

That being said, this debate was all started because of something completely different. Students were being called-out for not showing up, something that I did not feel should be addressed in a public forum. Furthermore, I figured that N2e's comment could potentially lead to other similar (or perhaps even harsher) comments ... something that I felt I needed to protect against. I recognize that some of the students in the class are not as engaged as we all would like... this is something that the ambassadors and I are working on. So why did I delete the post? As I have said in other comments, there are two institutions operating here, and the rules and policies of both need to be respected. Clearly, embarrassing students in public is not a method that any university would support (that I am aware of anyways). I recognize that N2e did not mean to do this, and again, I recognize that only good intentions were in play here. Nevertheless, a pedagogical method was employed that I disagreed with, so I stopped it.

Sage, thank you for going against the general policies and deleting the post from the record. Perhaps I overreacted to the post, but in the end, the students are protected, and I think airing on the side of caution is probably a good thing at this stage (especially considering the level of engagement in wiki-culture among students that are not participating).

I'll respond quickly to the privacy issue raised earlier. I will say again that we must remember that this project is not only a Wikipedia project, it is also part of an MSU course, which requires student identification for a variety of reasons. Two benefits that I have already seen: a) students who don't know how to use Wikipedia or one another being able to communicate, and b) an easier system for those who have to grade and organize the class. I am sure that the size of the class is linked to this issue.

Again, many thanks for all your help and support. At the end of all of this, PLEASE DO SEND ME YOUR CONCERNS. I cannot keep track of everything, nor would I want to handle this all on my own. For those mentors that want to get in touch with OUR :-) students directly to address participation concerns, I will be happy to provide you with student emails. I will also be happy to contact students on your behalf. Please just contact me directly, as is probably obvious by now, I don't feel comfortable discussing this in public :-) Thanks again. Jaobar (talk) 03:52, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Talkback

Hello, Sross (Public Policy). You have new messages at The Utahraptor's talk page.
Message added 00:30, 29 March 2011 (UTC). You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Ball State University

Hey Sage, I've identified another university that is working with various coursework projects on Wikipedia. I've welcomed the professor, Dr. Newbold, and invited him to become involved in the Campus Ambassador Program. I'm currently working with six students, but don't mind helping in a greater capacity, if needed. I'll also fill in as Coordinator anywhere you need me. Just hit me back and let me know where I can pick up the slack. Cind.amuse 22:30, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

• I'll help with Ball State. • Ling.Nut (talk) 00:56, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, Cind and Ling! Cind, please keep me updated about how that class goes. And I'll keep you in mind for additional mentees and suggest a class or two for you to coordinate. Expect to hear soon about that.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 17:59, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

Strategic trade theory

Hi,

I saw that Strategic trade theory got into the Public policy project. In case you haven't noticed, it was originally written by an Israeli student, as a part of a project to write about International Political Economy. I mentioned that project when we spoke in a Wiki Meetup in NYC in August. It's nice to see that ends meet even in the huge English Wikipedia :) --Amir E. Aharoni (talk) 17:31, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

Interesting! And now another student is working on it. Thanks for letting me know. I remember that project from your talk, but never would have picked up the connection.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 17:50, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

I wrote it on the talk page there, but you may have missed it :)

For what it's worth, all the lecturers to whom i spoke about it want to have credit for their work...

If your project has a template, maybe we should create one, too: Last year we had 18 articles in Hebrew and 2 in English and this year we hope to have many more than 20. --Amir E. Aharoni (talk) 19:15, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, you should definitely make a template. Feel free to base it on ours, if that's helpful. I think crediting them with a talk page template in whatever way they wish is fine. Our template it more geared toward pointing out the fact that it's a student project and pointing to the course page, rather than giving the instructor or student credit, but there's nothing wrong with doing the credit thing too.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 19:48, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

Yes, that's what i meant - they don't necessarily want to credit the instructor, but it's usually important for them to credit the school as prominently as possible. That's perfectly understandable. --Amir E. Aharoni (talk) 21:15, 30 March 2011 (UTC)