User talk:Sross (Public Policy)/Archive 2

Archive 1

Archive 2

Article feedback/Public Policy Pilot

Please see User_talk:Joseph_A._Spadaro#Follow_up. Thanks,  Chzz  ►  21:43, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

First edit complete!

Hi Sage - I wanted to touch base with you to see if you might have feedback for me on the Serve America Act article I just reorganized/cleaned up a little bit. I tried to use the article's discussion page, and no one got back to me, so I went ahead and made the edit. Not sure how it is going to be responded to so I wanted to see if you could take a look. I also just left a note on a user's wall who seems to have done a substantial amount of work on the article to see if they might have suggestions as well. Thanks so much! Orangefan32 (talk) 22:03, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

Article Feedback Category

To My76Strat ... Whatever became of this Article Feedback Category? Is this now something that we can add into any article on Wikipedia to get user feedback? Or is it still in some limited / pilot test program, where it can only be added to certain articles (as it was when we first discussed this issue several months ago)? Thanks. (Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 21:15, 30 March 2011 (UTC))

My76Strat is, I think, taking a break.[1]

As far as I know, the article feedback thing is still just a pilot - see mw:Article feedback/Public Policy Pilot.

I'll double-check that with Sross (Public Policy) (talk · contribs) (Sage Ross, of WMF), who might know more. Cheers,  Chzz  ►  21:41, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

Right, it's still a pilot. It's being used now on all the articles in WikiProject United States Public Policy, and any other articles students in classes working with the Wikipedia Ambassador Program are writing, as well as 3000 additional articles that were recently added. See the blog post about the second phase for more info.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 23:55, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

To -  Chzz  ►  and Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) ... thanks for the follow-up. I found it quite bizarre that I had not contacted My76Strat for several months. And, when I finally decided to do so, he (or she) had just left Wikipedia not even an hour earlier! Very strange coincidence! Thanks for all of the information. (Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 22:05, 31 March 2011 (UTC))

This thread was copied here [2] from [3], see [4] - see also User_talk:Chzz#Article_Feedback_Category.  Chzz  ►  11:54, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Input requested

I'd appreciate it if you could give some input on Wikipedia talk:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Courses/Media and Telecommunication Policy spring 2011 (Obar)#Students moving their own articles into mainspace; it basically expresses my worry that students moving their own pages into mainspace w/o advice from a mentor may end up with them facing the deletion gauntlet unnecessarily. One possibility would be, of course, to IAR-keep any articles thus in danger under the principle that it is good for the overall growth of the encyclopedia to reel in these new potential editors gently, but I'm not so sure if that would withstand community scrutiny. Qwyrxian (talk) 03:15, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

It wouldn't. IAR is for things that help the project; personally, if they were not ready, I'd move 'em back to another namespace. These articles are in no way exempt from normal processes - nor should they be. If they're deleted, they're deleted, and we should deal with that in the normal manner - WP:REFUND etc. Chzz  ►  11:51, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

New class editing Wikipedia

Hi! It appears that a new class is editing Wikipedia, and they do not seem to have an online ambassador. I stumbled across it while patrolling C:SD, where I found a student had been trying to send a message to his professor (User talk:Mportolano). He had apparently messed up the title, so it was created in article space with a title of something along the lines of "title=User_talk:Sross_(Public_Policy)&action=edit&section=new", and was tagged for speedy deletion under A1. I copied the message to the professor's talk page before the "article" was deleted under G1, so at least the professor will get the message. I also welcomed all the students (except one, who happened to be a 5k+ editor already ;). Do you think they will need an online ambassador/mentor? Reaper Eternal (talk) 17:36, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

OMG, Chzz moved pages :-)

[5] [6]

See User_talk:Chzz#Mentoring_Metallica_vs._Napster_Article_TC210. Chzz  ►  11:46, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Make sure that you are checking in on your students work for WP:USPP/C/11/PTE

Hey, just a happy reminder to make sure that you are regularly checking in on your mentees work for JMU'S Technical editing class, Sadads (talk) 11:09, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

Updated my article

Thank you so much for giving me feedback on my last edits of the Serve America Act! I have gone back and made some more changes to the article, and was wondering if you could take a look. Also, it still has the cleanup banner on the page - was wondering if it can be removed at this point? Orangefan32 (talk) 18:59, 10 April 2011 (UTC)

Mentor

I'm wondering if I'm offering the right advice to my mentees. Do you think you could check my mentee's talkpage (User talk:TrueBlueWolverine, and see if I'm giving the right advice, or whether I should be offering more specific advice? Serendi^podous 17:31, 12 April 2011 (UTC)

Mentor United States Public Policy Obar

Hello Sage, our group is not registering with the leaderboard of the WikiProject so there is not any collective contribution added to the course overall participation. Let us know what we can do and we'll keep our edits going. Thanks J Komara (talk) 07:07, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

Message

Hi Sage, testing! Ldavis (Public Policy) (talk) 20:09, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

thanks for accepting me

despite the red flag. I have never used the sandbox function, so think I will toss together some article and try it out. My life goes in ebbs and flows of activities and it will be two or three days before I leap in. Starting with reading your instructions again. Einar aka Carptrash (talk) 19:05, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

Greetings

I saw your comment and I wanted to make you aware of my related reply elsewhere on this issue. Thanks. Shootbamboo (talk) 23:05, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

Message

Tyw7  (☎ Contact me! • Contributions)   Changing the world one edit at a time! 02:02, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

your ambassadorwikilove.js plugin is not working as you can se above! --Tyw7  (☎ Contact me! • Contributions)   Changing the world one edit at a time! 02:02, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

Edit: according to niham on freenode IRC this is normal. If so, I recommend a similiar feature for the "message" feature for non ambessador users. --Tyw7  (☎ Contact me! • Contributions)   Changing the world one edit at a time! 02:45, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

DYK Eval

Hi Sage,

Not sure who runs the "Leaderboard" section of the USPPI page, but how about we reinstate the DYK ranking that you had the last semester? We have had two articles approved for DYK status! Direct lobbying and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. Jaobar (talk) 20:04, 18 April 2011 (UTC)

Touching bases

Just touching bases:

1. Signed on as the mentor for this group of students.
2. Signed up at Wikipedia:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Courses/Spring 2011/Environmental Law (Aaron Frank) as one of the volunteers for that class.
3. Signed on as the coordinating ambassador for:

• Wikipedia:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Courses/Spring 2011/Economics of Public Policy (Eugenia Toma)
• Wikipedia:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Courses/Spring 2011/Public Policy Design and Evaluation (Matt Dull)
• Wikipedia:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Courses/Approaches to Development (V576)
• Wikipedia:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Courses/Transnational NGOs in World Affairs spring 2011

I'm also working informally with some students from Ball State University. I'm finding that most of my assistance with students is taking place through email. I'd like to see the University participating in an official capacity. I've spoken with the professor a few times and he is definitely interested, just wasn't aware of the PPI before his course started. I was going to sign up to work with Wikipedia:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Courses/Spring 2011/Case Studies in Modern Leadership (Dan Schnur), since my professional background includes corporate training in leadership and management development. However, it looks like the class never started up. If anything happens there, please let me know. Thanks, Cind.amuse 15:42, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Discussion related to Wikipedia article from public policy course

User:Neutralhomer suggested I contact you to suggest you take a look at the discussion at Talk:SAFE Port Act#Merger with Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006?, as this relates to Wikipedia:WikiProject United States Public Policy/Courses/Media and Telecommunication Policy spring 2011 (Obar). OCNative (talk) 08:04, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter: 22 April 2011

The newsletter of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program – Volume 4, 22 April 2011 This is the fourth issue of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter, with details about what's going on right now and where help is needed. Voting begins for steering committee - The voting phase for the Wikipedia Ambassador Steering Committee election started this week, and will continue through 27 April. Seeking more Regional Ambassadors in the US - We are still looking for Regional Ambassadors for the United States! The deadline has been extended to Friday, April 29th. India pilot being organized now - Plans are currently underway for a pilot expansion of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program – in India! Hisham Mundol and other Wikimedia staff have begun recruiting Campus Ambassador candidates for Pune. Document DYK, peer review and other milestone at the trophy case - If students you are working with (or any others you notice) are doing work that makes to DYK, is nominated for Good Article status, or is just solid content worth marking, then please help us document the students' success at the trophy case. Ambassador program at Wikimania - We're planning a set of Wikipedia Ambassador Program presentations for Wikimania 2011, in Haifa this August. Changes to mailing list - A new low-volume mailing list, [Ambassador-announce-l], is being created. It will be reserved for key announcements and news, which we'd like all ambassadors to be subscribed to.

Delivered by EdwardsBot (talk) 16:37, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Chat?

Sage, I'll be in irc (irc://freenode/wikipedia-en-classroom for one) for a couple of days, or drop a note on my talk page, if you have a minute, please. - Dank (push to talk) 21:22, 24 April 2011 (UTC)

Strike that. I was hoping Milhist folks were in the mood to investigate some classroom collaborations, but AFAIK it's not happening yet. - Dank (push to talk) 13:53, 25 April 2011 (UTC)

Comment

Hi Sross. Unless someone has changed the approach since last time I looked (which is possible) this is in the wrong place: since the Category concerned is about the content generation process not about the article content itself the Category I think is supposed to go on the talk page. --BozMo talk 08:01, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Nope, that was intended to go on the article itself. It's a hidden category, so it doesn't show up with the other categories. It's purpose is to active the Article Feedback Tool, which is being tested on articles that students in the Public Policy Initiative are working on.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 15:32, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Started my second article

Hi Sage - I just began editing the UN Foundation page and was wondering if you might be able to take a look at the edits I've made. I also did some more editing to the Serve America Act if you could look at that also. I have my final presentation on edits coming up this week so whatever assistance you can provide me with would be much appreciated. I am going to continue editing the UN Foundation page over the next day or so. Thanks so much! Orangefan32 (talk) 18:44, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

I have to give my presentation in class on Thursday on contributions and was wondering if you might be able to take a look before then on the edits I've made on the UN Foundation. I seem to be struggling to find some sources beyond their webpage for references. Thanks! Orangefan32 (talk) 20:23, 26 April 2011 (UTC)

Thank you so much! I am going to do a lot more work on the article later today based on your recommendations. I'm going to do my best to find additional sources beyond their website to verify this information. I'm definitely struggling in my research to find effectiveness/controversy, but if I do come across some literature I will be sure to add it. I took out that info about the $446 billion because I'm not sure where I found it.--Orangefan32 (talk) 15:27, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Sorry for so many posts today! I'm really struggling to find additional sources on the specific issue areas, and am finding more on the Foundation itself. I added a lot more journal articles and background - does it look better? --Orangefan32 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 20:19, 27 April 2011 (UTC).

I can't open that first link through my library unfortunately. I guess the reason I am concerned is that I thought I was headed in the right direction and I am supposed to be done making edits by class tomorrow (and to start rewriting the entire article might be a little bit of an undertaking in the next few hours). In regards to the background section, I definitely found a lot more sources that I just put in that are journal articles. I guess I can go ahead and remove the specific topic areas and just put the UN/US one in the examples of campaigns since I was able to find information on that. I don't want to not include the information, it's just a matter of while those are the issues they focus on, and they are mentioned repeatedly throughout the additional sources I've found, none of the sources go into detail like their webpage does. If you have any other suggestions I'd be really appreciative. Again, sorry to bog you down with all of these concerns during "crunch time." --Orangefan32 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 20:44, 27 April 2011 (UTC).

Public Policy Making spring 2011 Team 3 Tobacco in Alabama

• Live article Tobacco in Alabama (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

• Tdale4 (talk · contribs) Takeeta Dale
• Kay king (talk · contribs) Kayla King
• BAMead (talk · contribs) Bethany Mead

Further to our earlier discussions, I have added myself as helping with this specific course.

However, I did note that the project page timetable indicates that the course is already over?

Regardless; I have put a greeting on the user talk page of the 3 students above, and a different one on that of the User talk:Dr. Rosell.

I emailed Dr. Rosell, and one of the students (Kay king). The other two do not have email enabled.

I have made comments on the talk page of the article, Talk:Tobacco in Alabama#Comments from Chzz.

Please let me know if there is anything further I can do. Regards,  Chzz  ►  02:06, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Archiving

Hi,

I've set up this page for auto-archiving, as discussed.

Normally, I prefer to explain how to do stuff, but in the case of archive set-up, it's easier to just do it for you. The voodoo to make it work is here; the bot should come along within about a day and kick things off. Note the archive box at the top; no need to create anything, just let the bot do its thing.

It's set to 45 days (45d), you might want to change that. Note that it won't archive very small threads or things with no sigs in (ie no date) - you can cut those yourself and paste 'em into the archive page if you want.

So - that's about it; no action required, just let the bot do its thing, and - if I've done it correctly - all should be well. If it goes wrong, of course, give me a shout. Cheers!  Chzz  ►  13:45, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Comment

Could you comment on whether the Death of Osama bin Laden is in the scope of at User_talk:Smallman12q#Category:Article_Feedback_Pilot_for_Death_of_Osama_bin_Laden?Smallman12q (talk) 23:22, 2 May 2011 (UTC)

Cooldenny?

Sage, I wanted to drop you a note...tho I realize you may not be the person who handles these requests. Cooldenny (talk · contribs · count) is requesting email addresses from people who contributed to her first(?) survey, and tho they have a project page on metawiki I don't know what kind of vetting process is used. I have asked them to stop their on-project canvassing for the moment until I can get clarifications as to their credentials. Can you answer to any of this, or point me to the person who can?

I really don't want to hinder their activities if it is indeed good faith, but at the same time I don't want to assist in a social engineering scheme.

Thanks! Syrthiss (talk) 14:23, 5 May 2011 (UTC)

This person has not gone through any vetting that I can tell... it looks legitimate to me, but I don't think they've had any contact with relevant people or groups, like the the meta:Research Committee. They should probably get in touch with Dario Taraborelli, the contact person for the committee: dtaraborelli@wikimedia.org .--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 14:44, 5 May 2011 (UTC)

Please help assess articles for Public Policy Initiative research

Hi Sross (Public Policy)/Archive 2,

Your work as an Online Ambassador is making a big contribution to Wikipedia. Right now, we're trying to measure just how much student work improves the quality of Wikipedia. If you'd like contribute to this research and get a firsthand look at the quality improvement that is happening through the project, please sign up to assess articles. Assessment is happening now, just use the quantitative metric and start assessing! Your help would be hugely appreciated!

Thank you, ARoth (Public Policy Initiative) (talk) 17:14, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Talkback

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

Regards, Rock drum _Ba-dum^Crash 18:34, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Online Ambassadors Program

Hi. I realize that a long period of time has passed since the last time we discussed the US Public Policy Wikipedia Ambassador Program, but is there still time to apply, or has the program ended for the year? I'd appreciate any further information from this point, and how the program relates to school years since the American public school and North American university grade years have now technically ended. Also, does this relate to WP:SUP? Thanks. ~AH1 ^(discuss!) 16:49, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

The program is wrapping up for this school year, but you can apply to be an Online Ambassador at any time: Wikipedia:Online_Ambassadors/Apply. We may have a few classes during the summer, but the next big wave (we're shooting for 60 or more classes) will be in the fall term beginning around late August / early September. The pilot phase of this, the Public Policy Initiative, is wrapping up in September, so in the fall we won't be open to all kinds of classes rather than focusing on US public policy.

As for SUP, the current plan is to merge that into the ambassador program over the next few months, so that we can keep a common set of resources and advice for instructors, whether or not they are being supported directly by Wikipedia Ambassadors. Jan Eissfeldt has some concrete plans for that.

(If you're interested in being a Campus Ambassador, let me know and we can talk about it over Skype or by phone.)

Cheers, --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 20:16, 16 May 2011 (UTC)

Please take the Wikipedia Ambassador Program survey

Hi Ambassador,

We are at a pivotal point in the development of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program. Your feedback will help shape the program and role of Ambassadors in the future. Please take this 10 minute survey to help inform and improve the Wikipedia Ambassadors.

WMF will de-identify results and make them available to you. According to KwikSurveys' privacy policy: "Data and email addresses will not be sold, rented, leased or disclosed to 3rd parties." This link takes you to the online survey: http://kwiksurveys.com?u=WPAmbassador_talk

Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments, Thank You!

Amy Roth (Research Analyst, Public Policy Initiative) (talk) 20:45, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

Ambassador

FYI I have applied please let me know if I can be of further assistance, I look forward to hearing form you at your convenience, Kind regards User talk:MikeBeckett Please do ask me your questions! MikeBeckett 00:25, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

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

I'm MikeBeckett if I can help ask! 22:26, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

Thank you very much! MikeBeckett 15:46, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

Barnstar

		The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
		For doing totally amazing work on the Wikipedia education resources portal! Annie Lin (Campus Team Coordinator, Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 21:55, 27 May 2011 (UTC)

Course page wizard

Hi Sage-- Thanks for the cup of coffee! I've done the tabs for "Discuss" and "Resources" but the "Getting help" button doesn't update itself to a tab when I try to save the page. It stays in button form and seems to want to endless add subfolders of "Getting help."

Question: are there guidelines about sandboxes on the user page? For example, should I include the word "sandbox" in them, or does it not matter? Greta Munger (talk) 14:39, 1 July 2011 (UTC)

Davidson?

Hi Sage, who needs help at Davidson? If it's about coursework I'm comfortable with, I can help. - Dank (push to talk) 12:59, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Hi Dank! The course is on cognitive psychology: Wikipedia:Ambassadors/Courses/Cognitive Psychology (Greta Munger). The Campus Ambassador role doesn't require any subject-matter expertise, though; basically, the CA serves as a general in-person Wikipedia expert to explain things like the basics of editing, Wikipedia policy, and how to communicate effectively and work with the community. So if you'd be willing to be there in person at Davidson several times through the fall term, you'd be great for it I think. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 17:21, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the encouragement, I need to sleep on it. We could use some improvement in our cognitive psych articles. - Dank (push to talk) 18:56, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

I need to discuss this with Milhist; please see WT:WikiProject Military history/Strategy#Ambassadorship. - Dank (push to talk) 16:09, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Good news/bad news: the history students I've talked to are enthusiastic and I'll probably be doing something with some of them in the fall. I think I'm going to pass on the Davidson assignment. - Dank (push to talk) 14:26, 5 July 2011 (UTC)

Cool. Thanks for getting back to me, and please let me know how the project with the history students progresses. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 15:57, 5 July 2011 (UTC)

Article draft

Hi! I've got a draft of an article using the userspace draft wizard (is that what they are called?)... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Greta_Munger/Representational_momentum Is my next step using the link at the top of that to ask for feedback? Greta Munger (talk) 15:52, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

Okay, this is really different from academic publishing! yes, I think it's a balanced introduction of representational momentum, so I just go ahead and move it and nominate myself for both "did you know" and "good article"?

culture question--with the talk pages, is there some kind of rule of thumb about replying on your own page or the others? I noticed what seemed to be a conversation on your talk page concerning a course ambassador for me (though he got busy) Greta Munger (talk) 18:12, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

I've moved it to mainspace--thanks! I'll explore the "did you know" nomination process in a bit. Greta Munger (talk) 19:19, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

Was I supposed to add Categories to my page? And, if so, can you point me towards instructions? thanks! Greta Munger (talk) 13:32, 8 July 2011 (UTC)

Another school working on Wikipedia

Hey there, sorry we weren't able to connect in Boston last week. I kept intending to connect, but we always seemed to be headed in different directions. Unfortunately, I experienced a bad migraine, and returned to the hotel on Saturday afternoon and wasn't able to make it back to Simmons. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the conference. The speakers and workshops were inspiring and highly informative. Just wanted to give you a heads up with another school currently working on Wikipedia for the summer semester. The professor's name is Tim Brunet. The Masters of Arts in Communications and Technology course, at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. (http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/mact/), (http://www.uwindsor.ca/ctd/session-descriptions). I returned from Boston with three more requests from students to mentor. As far as I can tell, there's just 12 students in the course. I've let the students know that I will be happy to also recruit additional ambassadors to work with each student, beyond the three I'm directly supporting. Let me know if you have any questions. Cind.amuse 22:39, 14 July 2011 (UTC)

example feedback style

This is the quoted text from the revision

— link to specific revision or diff

Feedback from the instructor goes here with a signature.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 16:40, 15 July 2011 (UTC)

Campus Ambassador Geonotice: please post!

Annie

Hi Sage, how about I go first for putting up geonotices to recruit Campus Ambassadors for fall 2011. Here's the message I have in mind:

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 fall 2011 semester.

Let's link this to my user talk page, more specifically to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Alin_(Public_Policy)#For_Fall_2011.

Could we post up this geonotice for the entire state of Georgia?

Thank you! Annie Lin (Campus Team Coordinator, Wikimedia Foundation) (talk) 22:44, 18 July 2011 (UTC)

Tom Cloyd (Region 9 RA)

UPDATE: Wow! This really works! I've got 3 responses from Seattle already. Fantastic! Thanks for jumping on it, and now I'd better go do the same. Hot mama! (And thanks for the wikilove cup of tea -- totally appreciated! Love that tea...[<===Whoops. Screwed up. Was from Matt. Must have gotten some tea in my eyes...!]Tom Cloyd (talk) 17:17, 25 July 2011 (UTC)

Hi Sage. I need some geonotices for my Region 9 Wikipedia Regional Ambassador work. The specifics, per A.L.'s instructive newsletter:

Seattle. WA area

MESSAGE: "Interested in training university students in person on Wikipedia-editing skills? Would you have fun organizing on-campus activities in support of Wikipedia? If so, the Wikimedia Foundation wants you! Apply NOW to be a Wikipedia Campus Ambassador in the Seattle metropolitan region, for the fall 2011 semester (you do NOT have to be university affiliated to do this).Learn more if your wish, then leave a message here to begin the process.

GEOGRAPHICAL TARGET: Washington state, cities of: Seattle, Renton, Bellevue, Redmond, Bothell, Kirkland, Shoreline.

WHEN TO LAUNCH: I want maximum exposure this coming week. I don't know how long it is customary for these things to run (I seem to recall something about 2 days). The days I'd like it up, in order of importance, would be: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday (tomorrow), Thursday, and as many more days as the law allows (!).

Spokane, WA area

MESSAGE: "Interested in training university students in person on Wikipedia-editing skills? Would you have fun organizing on-campus activities in support of Wikipedia? If so, the Wikimedia Foundation wants you! Apply NOW to be a Wikipedia Campus Ambassador in the Spokane metropolitan region, for the fall 2011 semester (you do NOT have to be university affiliated to do this).Learn more if your wish, then leave a message here to begin the process.

GEOGRAPHICAL TARGET: Washington state, cities of: Spokane, Spokane Valley, Airway Heights, Medical Lake, Cheney, Spangle, Liberty Lake, Post Falls, and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

WHEN TO LAUNCH: Same as Seattle, above.

Missoula, MT

One more!

MESSAGE: "Interested in training university students in person on Wikipedia-editing skills? Would you have fun organizing on-campus activities in support of Wikipedia? If so, the Wikimedia Foundation wants you! Apply NOW to be a Wikipedia Campus Ambassador in the Missoula metropolitan region, for the fall 2011 semester (you do NOT have to be university affiliated to do this).Learn more if your wish, then leave a messagehere to begin the process.

GEOGRAPHICAL TARGET: Missoula, Montana. If it's possible to target the "Missoula Metropolitan Statistical Area", please do so, as this is a region with a small population, and we need to include as much of the region as possible, to be successful.

WHEN TO LAUNCH: Same as Seattle, above.

Thanks!

Tom Cloyd (talk) 01:41, 24 July 2011 (UTC)

Ambassador Program: assessment drive

Even though it's been quiet on-wiki, the Wikipedia Ambassador Program has been busy over the last few months getting ready for the next term. We're heading toward over 80 classes in the US, across all disciplines. You'll see courses start popping up here, and this time we want to match one or more Online Ambassadors to each class based on interest or expertise in the subject matter. If you see a class that you're interested, please contact the professor and/or me; the sooner the Ambassadors and professors get in communication, the better things go. Look for more in the coming weeks about next term.

In the meantime, with a little help I've identified all the articles students did significant work on in the last term. Many of the articles have never been assessed, or have ratings that are out of date from before the students improved them. Please help assess them! Pick a class, or just a few articles, and give them a rating (and add a relevant WikiProject banner if there isn't one), and then update the list of articles.

Once we have updated assessments for all these articles, we can get a better idea of how quality varied from course to course, and which approaches to running Wikipedia assignments and managing courses are most effective.

--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 17:30, 27 July 2011 (UTC)

Hey Sage,

I just want to clarify: is this assessment more than the 4 ratings at the bottom of the page? Of the couple of pages that I have looked at and done that part, it looks like there have been 3-4 submissions already. Did you need more than this for the assessment? Thanks!

MichChemGSI (talk) 21:15, 27 July 2011 (UTC)

email

thou hast  – Ling.Nut (talk) 02:27, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

UofT Logo

Hey Sage,

When you have a second, can you check out the discussion on this page? So we won't use the logo? Where did other schools get their images from? Jaobar (talk) 14:36, 3 August 2011 (UTC)

Thank you

Hi Sage,

Thanks so much for the barnstar! I greatly appreciate the hoodie and decal as well; they look great and I will be sure to use them prominently. If there is ever a need for campus ambassadors in Halifax at any of the several universities located there, I would be glad to volunteer.

Neelix (talk) 14:32, 4 August 2011 (UTC)

Wiki reference sheet

Hey Sage. Do you happen to have the source file for File:Welcome2WP English Flap 081810.pdf, so that I can edit it? I'd like to try adapting this concept for Wikisource and printing the two together on a single double-sided card. Thanks! Dominic·t 21:37, 4 August 2011 (UTC)

Heh, you took too long. I'm doing it old-school! ;-) Dominic·t 03:49, 6 August 2011 (UTC)

Class

Hi Sage! I'd like to be the online ambassador for the Intro to Law and Technology class listed here. :) Bejinhan talks 04:14, 9 August 2011 (UTC)

Awesome! I'll put you in touch with Brad Rosen by email.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 14:30, 9 August 2011 (UTC)

Thanks! Bejinhan talks 05:50, 10 August 2011 (UTC)

Template synch

Something we talked about during the Skype call you missed: Template_talk:Wikipedia_Ambassadors_navbox#Synchronize_with_tabs_at_Wikipedia:Ambassadors. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk} 18:32, 13 August 2011 (UTC)

OA/Apply

Are you still the one passing these? There are two that have been up there for quite some time. Ed ^{[talk] [majestic titan]} 20:33, 14 August 2011 (UTC)

Hello, Sross (Public Policy). You have new messages at The ed17's talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Would like to withdraw from the Ambassador program

Hi Sage,

I am an ambassador in training. My life has gotten pretty busy as of late, and it will probably be a few years before I can take on any additional activities, such as the ambassador program. I believe it would be best to withdraw from the program now, before I am asked to get involved with a mentorship.

Thank you, The Dogfather (talk) 21:00, 17 August 2011 (UTC)

Online Ambassadors: Time to join pods

Hello! If you're planning to be an active Online Ambassador for the upcoming academic term, now is the time to join one or more pods. (A pod consists of the instructor, the Campus Ambassadors, and the Online Ambassadors for single class.) The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) explains the expectations for being part of a pod as an Online Ambassador. (The MOU for pods in Canada is essentially the same.) In short, the role of Online Ambassadors this term consists of:

• Working closely with the instructor and Campus Ambassadors, providing advice and perspective as an experienced Wikipedian
• Helping students who ask for it (or helping them to find the help they need)
• Watching out for the class as a whole
• Helping students to get community feedback on their work

This replaces the 1-on-1 mentoring role for Online Ambassadors that we had in previous terms; rather than being responsible for individual students (some of whom don't want or help or are unresponsive), Online Ambassadors will be there to help whichever students in their class(es) ask for help.

You can browse the upcoming courses here: United States; Canada. More are being added as new pods become active and create their course pages.

Once you've found a class that you want to work with—especially if you some interest or expertise in the topic area—you should sign the MOU listing for that class and get in touch with the instructor. We're hoping to have at least two Online Ambassadors per pod, and more for the larger classes.

If you're up for supporting any kind of class and would like me to assign you to a pod in need of more Online Ambassadors, just let me know.

--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 16:36, 19 August 2011 (UTC)

PS: There are still a lot of student articles from the last term that haven't been rated. Please rate a few and update the list!

Question

Hi Sage, I am interested in volunteering as an online ambassador this time, but have not previously been involved in the ambassador program. Should I go ahead and sign the MOU, or is there another place I should sign up first? LadyofShalott 17:22, 19 August 2011 (UTC)

Pod for Cognitive Psychology (Greta Munger)

Could you add me for Wikipedia:Ambassadors/Courses/Cognitive Psychology (Greta Munger)...amusing topics=P. Also, you should probably recommend against putting numbers and emails on wikipedia as with this course.Smallman12q (talk) 01:17, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

Pods

I am equally as non-expert in all of the possible courses, so use me where you need me.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 16:39, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

Editing Fridays

Hey sage. I have come up with a draft idea for an early fall editing fridays. I'm not sure if you had any dates that you were doing trainings or other related things. cheers --Guerillero | My Talk 05:27, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

Inactive

Hi Sage, I'm no longer going to be able to be active as an ambassador, as I am starting a new job that is devouring all my time. Can you please put me on the inactive list? Thanks. ɳorɑfʈ ^Talk! 09:27, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

Politics of Developing nations pod

Hi Sage, could you add me to the pod Politics of Developing Nations. I feel I would be able to help students a lot in this, since I'm from India myself :P :) . Thanks! Lynch7 17:46, 19 August 2011 (UTC)

Thank you :) Lynch7 17:49, 19 August 2011 (UTC)

Another thing. This lists me as an ambassador in-training. Do I get a promotion for this term? ;) or will I need to do some more work? (I'd be happy with anything, just asking). Lynch7 07:18, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

Hehe, thanks! Lynch7 13:46, 22 August 2011 (UTC)

Getting a head start

Hello, Sage. I realize my OA application hasn't ended yet, but I was wondering if I could get a head start on choosing a pod as well. I think I'll learn the workings of Ambassadorship faster on the fly. I hope I will be of some use in the upcoming academic term. —Arsonal (talk + contribs)— 19:13, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

All right. I went ahead and signed the MOU for The Anthropology of Cyberspace and Politics of Developing Nations. Do I need to put my name anywhere else? Is there a standard way to initiate contact with the professors? —Arsonal (talk + contribs)— 20:16, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

Sign the MOU, update the template to show your user name, and Join the specific POD. After that an introduction to the appropriate talk pages is reasonable. I think that covers the preliminaries. My76Strat (talk) 01:29, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

What My76Strat suggested sounds good; there's no standard way to initiate contact, although if you'd like me to make an introduction by email instead, I'm happy to do so.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 13:49, 22 August 2011 (UTC)

Mycology Online Ambassador

Hello - I would be interested in helping with this, depending on the timeframe and workload. Could you let me know some details? de Bivort 16:17, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

Sure. The timeframe for the mycology class is the US fall 2011 academic term, which generally runs from September until mid-December. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) explains the expectations for being part of a pod as an Online Ambassador. In short, the role of Online Ambassadors this term consists of:

• Working closely with the instructor and Campus Ambassadors, providing advice and perspective as an experienced Wikipedian
• Helping students who ask for it (or helping them to find the help they need)
• Watching out for the class as a whole
• Helping students to get community feedback on their work

Basically, a good Online Ambassador should be active regularly on-wiki, so that when students come to you looking for help and asking questions, you don't leave them hanging for a week at a time. The official estimated time commitment is 2 hours per week, but that varies a lot according to where the students are in their assignment plan... there's a rush of general newbie questions when they first get active on Wikipedia, and then more content and formatting and review process issues that come up when deadlines are approaching. And the time commitment also varies a lot based on how much effort the Online Ambassador puts into it and how pro-active they are trying to help students and watch out for them before they explicitly ask for help. Some people like to be more proactive, others more reactive, jumping in mainly when students ask directly. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 16:28, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

Hmm, too bad this isn't happening in the Spring. I'm going on the academic job market this fall, as well as a 3 week overseas trip for field work. I probably shouldn't sign on. de Bivort 17:11, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

The 3 week break shouldn't be a show-stopper; hopefully we'll have one or two other Online Ambassadors also supporting the class, and having you supporting the class when you can would still be a good benefit. But there should be even more classes in the spring (although I don't know whether there will be another mycology class then). Good luck on the job market!--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 17:14, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

Architectural Design

I'd be happy to help out as time allows per your note [7]. My commitment will depend on work-related matters: I'm a principal in my own architectural firm, but I'll help out where I can. Acroterion (talk) 17:33, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

Thanks Acroterion. Check out my response to de Bivort just above, which explains the general expectations for someone in the Online Ambassador role. If that sounds like something you can do, great! If not, you're still more than welcome to help out with that class as your schedule allows. (There's the formality of applying to become an Online Ambassador, but you should be a shoe-in for that.)--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 17:37, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

I'm sure I can find a couple of hours a week: I'd be glad to help. I'll make an application. Acroterion (talk) 17:49, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

Introduction to Organizational Communication @ JMU

Hi Sage - I think that's a good choice and I'm looking forward to assisting with this class. Looks like Freshman are arriving on campus this week so school should be starting soon. --Rosiestep (talk) 14:06, 25 August 2011 (UTC)

Course Page

Sage, No, go ahead and list the wizard-built page and list my other page as a relevant wikiproject. I would like for the students to list their usernames on the wizard-built page, so I'm going to at least use it for that. Maybe I'm crazy and I should just conform to the new system, but I'm going to do it one more time like this. Next semester, maybe I'll consolidate everything onto the wizard-built page... Brianwc (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 15:28, 25 August 2011 (UTC).

Sorry, too slammed to mentor this fall term

Hi Sage. Regarding your invitation on my Talk page, I've been thinking very hard about it. While I greatly enjoyed the mentoring I did last spring, I'm a bit too slammed to try to take it on this fall, in addition to my other jobs. I'm teaching a couple of university classes myself, and am simultaneously working to stand up a small technology company. So the Wiki-time has been in very short supply in the past few months, and will be even more scarce this fall term. So good on ya' for your work on this wiki-mentoring project, but I will have to bow out for the fall. Cheers. N2e (talk) 00:39, 26 August 2011 (UTC)

Online ambassadors for business classes

Hi,
Count me in. We'd really benefit from more editors in this area, and I'd love to help new editors with specialist knowledge... presumably this is for a term starting in September-ish? bobrayner (talk) 18:46, 26 August 2011 (UTC)

Great! Yeah, the terms are starting September-ish. The business-related classes that I know of so far are:

• Wikipedia:United States Education Program/Courses/Communication, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship (Dan O’Hair, Jennifer Dupuis)
• Wikipedia:United States Education Program/Courses/Business Data Communications (Kari Walters)

We may end up with a few more, though; a number of professors haven't started making their course pages yet.

You should take a look at what the expectations are for the Online Ambassador role by reading the Memorandum of Understanding between professors and ambassadors, then formally apply to be an Online Ambassador. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 18:54, 26 August 2011 (UTC)

U.S. Politics Ambassador

This idea sounds interesting, however, given the documented concern of bias that our community leans towards the U.S. Left, I would think it would be best to create teams, that can share availability periods, that have one from the U.S. Right one from the U.S. Left and one that enforces WP:NPOV. Granted all editors attempt to edit in a way that is neutral, however as editors of certain pages are "self selecting" that in itself creates certain biases. Having teams, that represent both sides of possibly contentious issues may help. --RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 19:56, 26 August 2011 (UTC)

Hi RCLC! The main role of the Online Ambassadors isn't to police the content students contribute, but to help them understand Wikipedia's policies and practices, to give advice, and to help when students are having trouble figuring out how to contribute. The instructors and students do get some instruction about the NPOV policy, and they will be selecting topics that are relevant to their courses rather than simply picking political topics they are interested in. There's definitely no plan to try to balance left-leaning and right-leaning ambassadors; the expectation is that all ambassadors will respect NPOV as best they can, and help students to do the same. You can browse the classes we've got lined up for the coming term here: Wikipedia:United_States_Education_Program/Courses.

And if you're interested in taking on the role of Online Ambassador for one of those classes, you should take a look at what the expectations are for the Online Ambassador role by reading the Memorandum of Understanding between professors and ambassadors, then formally apply to be an Online Ambassador. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 20:03, 26 August 2011 (UTC)

Hello. You have a new message at User_talk:SMasters#A_pod_suggestion_for_you:_Communication_Theory_and_Frameworks's talk page.

Online Ambassadorship

Hi Sage, I'm assuming I'll be on for this even though my application hasn't been given final approval (that I've seen). Anyway, I've been sort of torn which pod to choose; so just assign me where you need me. (I know several courses don't yet have any online ambassadors.) Just let me know where you'd like me! LadyofShalott 02:08, 1 September 2011 (UTC)

Plate tectonics

Hi, for the plate tectonics class people are signing up at Wikipedia:Online Ambassadors#Interest list. Hopefully that is the right place. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 13:10, 4 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for letting me know, Graeme, and I'm very happy to see some interest for that class. The next step to officially apply to become an Online Ambassador, and then you can sign on to support that class. Let me know if you have any questions. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 15:09, 6 September 2011 (UTC)

Question on demographics

Just realized I should have put this here. upstateNYer 19:51, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

Online Ambassadors

OK. Give me two or three days. I am really overworked. In last month I do only minor edits. It is not easy to edit on several wikis, but I will join. Thanks. Leszek Jańczuk (talk) 16:09, 8 September 2011 (UTC)

Question about pod signup

Sage, I just got back from vacation and am about to sign up for a pod, but I was wondering if I'm supposed to sign up for a class in the region that my regional ambassador works with. I assume the online ambassadors are not tied to a particular region, but since we had the online ambassadors attended regional meetings at the conference I thought I shuold check. Thanks -- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 10:16, 11 September 2011 (UTC)

Your assumption is right on. Associating with regions for that conference was just a convenient way to spread Online Ambassadors out to make sure each group had one or two to bring that perspective to the discussions. Feel free to sign up for whichever class(es) catch your fancy. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 13:46, 12 September 2011 (UTC)

student lists on course pages

Hi Sage, thanks for the note. I was removing that section b/c the faculty found it redundant to the Article lists; however I didn't realize it was linked to the Leaderboard. I will put them all back and make sure the listing is comprehensive as I know our faculty and students are excited about the Leaderboard feature. Thanks for letting me know.

Also, a couple notes about the course page. LOVE the wizard - it is great! Do you know that there is a glitch when you get to adding the "getting help tab"? For some reason you have to save it twice before it takes. Also, we've found the "immediate help" section not be very intuitive. For example, the text says "for immediate help, click the purple button." Reading something that tells me to click something else seems odd. For example, if the purple button were an image labeled with "click here for immediate help" you wouldn't even need the text line. Or if the text were just linked inline, that would be fine too (which is what we did to resolve the problem quickly).

We've got an exciting semester, with most of our courses centered around WP contributions. I'm thrilled to see that the online ambassadors who have volunteered to support our courses are actually subject-matter experts in addition to experienced Wikipedians! Thanks for all you help and keep the suggestions coming. I know we will be in frequent correspondence ;) Rburdette (talk) 17:04, 2 September 2011 (UTC)

One more thing for the course page wizard wish list - is there a way to tie it to the MOU so that it is one step? In other words, once the course page is created and the instructors name is listed, this serves as acceptance of the MOU? Could this be the case too when ambassadors add their names? Faculty would love the efficiency of making this an all-in-one step. Just daring to dream!Rburdette (talk) 18:23, 2 September 2011 (UTC)

Hi Sage, Our courses are starting to pick up now and I'm collecting student user ids. Can you help me add back the student list section to all of the LSU course pages? I've played with it to no avail, so I'm pleading ignorance, begging for forgiveness, and hoping you can help ;) Rburdette (talk) 22:15, 14 September 2011 (UTC)

Categories for discussion nomination of Category:Article Feedback Pilot

Category:Article Feedback Pilot, which you created, has been nominated for discussion. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments at the category's entry on the Categories for discussion page. Thank you. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 09:19, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

RA Geonotice Request

1. Message: Live near St. Louis/St. Charles, MO? Interested in training St. Charles Community College students in person on Wikipedia-editing skills? If so, the Wikimedia Foundation wants you! Apply to be a Wikipedia Campus Ambassador in your region for the fall 2011 semester. Leave a message at User_talk:Manumitany and take a look at the details and application here.

2. Page to link to: See above. Prefer my usertalk page if can only have one (have a link there to the second one).

3. St. Louis Metropolitan area. Not sure how you define these, though.Manumitany (talk) 21:45, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

Request to be added to Ambassador page for College of Staten Island, Professor Mandiberg's course

Hello Sage,

Your name was forwarded to me by Professor Michael Mandiberg who has one of his courses on Wikipedia.

I was asked to be one of the Campus Ambassadors for Professor Michael Mandiberg's course, "History of Design and Digital Media", College of Staten Island, CUNY, Staten Island, New York, U.S.A.--

I'd like to be added as an additional Campus Ambassador. I already submitted my application.

I cannot add my username (mappy1974) to this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:United_States_Education_Program/Courses (it's an index of courses in the U.S.)

All that is shown is a blank page. Please go to this page to see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:United_States_Education_Program/Courses

When I try to edit the listing, it shows a blank page with the tag "Fall 2011 courses" with no content below... I cannot add my name (mappy1974).

Thanks for your help and/or direction Mappy1974 (talk) 11:27, 22 September 2011 (UTC)mappy1974

My name still does not appear on College page.

Hi Sage, Thanks for your email. I still cannot add/edit this page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:United_States_Education_Program/Courses

I tried to add my username (mappy1974) but I still cannot edit the page.

Can you please add it for me? Thanks, Mappy1974 (talk) 15:23, 22 September 2011 (UTC)mappy1974

How do we add our name/affiliation to the list of Campus Ambassadors?

Sorry to bother you again Sage.

How do we add our name and College campus to the listing of Campus Ambassadors? There does not seem to be an "edit" for that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:United_States_Education_Program/Campus_Ambassadors

Thanks so much and sorry to bother you about this. Mappy1974 (talk) 15:27, 22 September 2011 (UTC)Mappy1974

I tried to add our CUNY college campus but it did not work

Hello Sage, I tried to add our CUNY College campus but it was added but looks pretty messy....It looks like it does not work...I did follow your instructions. If you could help me just a little bit more, I would really appreciate it. See URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:United_States_Education_Program/Campus_Ambassadors/Trained#College_of_Staten_Island.2C_CUNY Thanks, Mappy1974 (talk) 12:07, 23 September 2011 (UTC)Mappy1974

How do I upload a photo to my bio page (Campus Ambassadors?)

Hello Sage, I'm on the page to add/edit my little bio and photo and I must be BEYOND stupid because I do not know how to upload an image onto Wikipedia. I assume Wikipedia supports local files (to be stored on the Wikipedia server, like my photo). I do not see the upload link to go into my hard drive to locate the JPG and upload onto Wikipedia. I assume that this page supports HTML.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Campus_Ambassadors/CUNY,_College_of_Staten_Island/Trained_Ambassadors

Thank you! Mappy1974 (talk) 15:54, 23 September 2011 (UTC)Mappy1974

Did I accidentally delete the CUNY Graduate Center Campus Ambassador page by accident??? SORRY!!!

Hi Sage,

I was able to finally post a small bio and photo of myself. Did I accidentally delete the CUNY Graduate Center Campus Ambassador person? I cannot find it....I don't think I deleted it....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:United_States_Education_Program/Campus_Ambassadors

With apologies, Mappy1974 (talk) 16:39, 23 September 2011 (UTC)Mappy1974 PS- I'll stop bothering you. Thank you so much for your help!

Course discussion pages

Hi Sage, We are prompting students to ask WP questions via their course discussion page when appropriate. The hope is that by doing so, we will centralize all q's and essentially be able to form a valuable Q&A for the entire class (and possibly students in future sections of the course). We're monitoring the course discussion pages as ambassadors, but I was wondering if there was a way to have WP trigger email notifications when things are posted to the course discussion page? Much like it does when you get a message posted on your user talk page? This would help make us much more efficient and give us added relief that we won't miss anything. Ideas?? Is there a "secret code" we can embed in the page? Rburdette (talk) 14:05, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

There's no native way to do that within Wikipedia, but every page has an RSS feed of changes, which can but used with a service like Blogtrottr to send emails each time the feed is updated. You can get to the feed by going to the history tab for a page, and in the left sidebar in the "Toolbox" section there is an Atom link. (Alternatively, if you have a well-kept watchlist that only includes pages you want to be notified about, you could use the RSS feed for your watchlist.)--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 16:23, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

Update on courses and ambassador needs

Hello, Ambassadors!

I wanted to give you one last update on where we are this term, before my role as Online Facilitator wraps up at the end of this week. Already, there are over 800 students in U.S. classes who have signed up on course pages this term. About 40 classes are active, and we're expecting that many more again once all the classes are up and running.

On a personal note, it's been a huge honor to work with so many great Wikipedians over the last 15 months. Thanks so much to everyone who jumped in and decided to give the ambassador concept a try, and double thanks those of you who were involved early on. Your ideas and insights and enthusiasm have been the foundation of the program, and they will be the keys the future of the program.

Courses looking for Online Ambassadors

Still waiting to get involved with a class this term, or ready to take on more? We have seven classes that are already active and need OA support, and eleven more that have course pages started but don't have active students yet. Please consider joining one or more of these pods!

Active courses that really need Online Ambassadors:

• Sociology of Poverty
• Architectural Design
• Introduction to Educational Psychology
• Intro to Mass Communication
• Psychology Seminar
• Theories of the State
• Advanced Media Studies

Courses that may be active soon that need Online Ambassadors:

• Housing and Social Policy
• Anthropology, Wikipedia, and the Media
• History & Systems
• Horror Cinema
• Digital Media... just bits in a box
• Composition I
• Telecommunications Management
• Training Systems
• Stigma: Culture, Deviance, Identity
• Art and Terrorism
• Political Violence and Insurgency

--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 23:15, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

Moving on

Hi Sage,

I just received your notice. I'm sorry to hear that you're moving on! Is someone taking over your role as Online Facilitator? I hope all is well with you and that you will find joy and contentment in your future endeavours. You've done some great work here.

Sincerely,

Neelix (talk) 01:10, 28 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks so much, Neelix! My position was always scheduled to end at the end of this month (with the end of the Public Policy Initiative grant). There won't be an Online Facilitator going forward, although there will be someone starting soon who will be tasked with coordinating and growing the whole US ambassador program (primarily through working with the Regional Ambassadors) for the next year. After that, there may not be any WMF-funded position specifically to support US or English-language education programs, although I'm hopeful that Wikimedia chapters can secure some grants and pick up where WMF leaves off (which is the way it's supposed to work, anyway).

Personally, I'm feeling very positive. Although I would have really liked to keep working on this project, I'm excited to spend some time as a stay-at-home dad and develop some other wiki project ideas, and hopefully do a fellowship project with Wikimedia soon.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 16:36, 28 September 2011 (UTC)

• One thing is absolutely clear Sross, you did an outstanding job turning a good idea into a damn good project. The success of this trial is in no small measure a direct reflection of the effective leadership you provided from the start. Outstanding! -- My76Strat (talk) 16:52, 28 September 2011 (UTC)

You'll be missed; you've been a level-headed, hardworking, commonsensical and resourceful asset to the project. I recall you mentioning to me in Boston that this might happen, and I'm sorry to see that you were right. I hope you enjoy the stay-at-home dad stuff -- it's been years since I had a pre-schooler in the house but I miss it. Have fun; and perhaps we will see more of your Wikipedia content-editing personality? Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 18:36, 28 September 2011 (UTC)

Hi Sage! I've enjoyed working together with you on this project. You've been a wonderfully great Online Facilitator. Have fun being a stay-at-home dad and all the best in your future endeavors! Bejinhan talks 04:58, 30 September 2011 (UTC)

Are you still fielding problems?

It seems that perhaps you may not be doing work for the Public Policy project anymore, but I had a problem and I wanted to talk to whoever was watching a certain template you designed. I wrote about the issue here. Can I get a response from you? Is anyone now watching what you used to watch? Are you still watching these things? Thanks for all you have done. Blue Rasberry (talk) 19:40, 1 October 2011 (UTC)

Screencaasts

Hi Sage. you please let me know what software you use for making screencasts. Many thanks. --Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 07:50, 7 October 2011 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:USPP assignment

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Nomination for deletion of Template:Student needs help

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Nomination for deletion of Template:USPP course table

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Nomination for deletion of Template:Create a course page

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Speedy deletion nomination of Category:Wikipedia Ambassador Program courses, region 1

A tag has been placed on Category:Wikipedia Ambassador Program courses, region 1 indicating that it is currently empty, and is not a disambiguation category, a category redirect, a featured topics category, under discussion at Categories for discussion, or a project category that by its nature may become empty on occasion. If it remains empty for seven days or more, it may be deleted under section C1 of the criteria for speedy deletion.

If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and clicking the button labelled "Contest this speedy deletion". This will give you the opportunity to explain why you believe the page should not be deleted. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag from the page yourself. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 21:25, 19 May 2022 (UTC)