User:Washburnmav/adoption

Adopt Offer

Since I'm already your "de facto" adopter, I figured we might as well make it official. Yes? –xenocidic (talk) 15:52, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Sounds good! Glad you came along, I figured you may be a little busy, you seem to have a number of adoptees already. Didn't want to add any pressure I already ask you 2-3 questions a day lol. Thanks! Washburnmav (talk) 15:54, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Yea, it's not a problem, a lot of them are fairly inactive or self-sufficient. To keep things together, from now on when you ask me a question, I'll reply at my talk page and then just leave you a quick note here (basically update my signature). –xenocidic (talk) 15:56, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

So I put QUI and twinkle in my monobook.js file and neither is showing up anymore even though I reset the cache. QUI showed up once, but Twinkle never did anything. -A very confuddled Washburnmav (talk) 18:35, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Are you using Firefox now? Twinkle isn't compatible with IE. You will find Twinkle's functionality when you click on a "diff", you will see options to "[rollback (AGF)] || [rollback] || [rollback (VANDAL)]". Rollback "AGF" is when you are reverting good faith edits, rollback "vandal" is for clear and obvious vandalism, and "rollback" is for anywhere in between. You should put a reason in the box explaining the revert if it's not plain vandalism. Click this, it is an example of a diff. Feel free to use Twinkle to roll it back. Qui is that little dot in the top right of your screen. –xenocidic (talk) 18:39, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

I am using firefox. Neither the twinkle options under "diff" nor the green dot is appearing. Washburnmav (talk) 18:43, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

You pressed Ctrl-Shift-R to reset the cache? This is what to click for the test diff. What version of FF? –xenocidic (talk) 18:45, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

I did rese the cache multiple times. I'm using firefox 3.0. There are no twinkle options to speak of when I check that difference. Washburnmav (talk) 18:47, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Hrm, I just upgraded to FF3 and it's working for me. Perhaps consider installing the modules manually? See Wikipedia:WikiProject User scripts/Scripts/Twinkle/doc#Installing individual Twinkle modules. Try starting with just the first three modules. –xenocidic (talk) 19:04, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Just to confirm, Image:TW-rback.gif is what it will look like should it work. –xenocidic (talk) 19:09, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Tried the manual install, still having nothing working. Definitely do not see the twinkle tools. Argh don't spend too much time on this I'll figure it out. Washburnmav (talk) 19:20, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Quite strange. You've got multiple morebits in there, only need it once, at the top. Try taking off Qui and see if that fixes Twinkle. Then close the browser, re-open, press Ctrl-Shift-R and see if you can see the rollback buttons. –xenocidic (talk) 19:21, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Block IP?

Sorry I don't know the proper avenues for block request but this ip User talk:206.213.40.100 has not stopped vandalizing despite the proper warning protocols. How do I request blocks properly in the future? Thanks Washburnmav (talk) 22:21, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

If someone continues disruptive edits even after final warning, file a report at WP:AIV - Adolphus79 (talk) 22:24, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Adolphus is correct here, WP:AIV is a good way to get many administrator eyes on one particular vandal. For this particular IP however, he hasn't edited in over half an hour and as far as IPs go that's what we would call "stale". They need to be active at the time ( I usually say within the last 20 minutes, but it's up to each admin's personal judgment ). Did you get Twinkle sorted yet? The "ARV" system is a really easy way to report vandals to AIV. –xenocidic (talk) 22:25, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Ok Thanks good to know. No I've hit a dead end with QUI and with twinkle.Washburnmav (talk) 02:49, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Rollback

What are you feelings about me being eligible for rollback? I think my contribs show a good understanding of what vandalism is and a strong commitment to reverting it. Washburnmav (talk) 19:00, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Right, I saw your request at RFR... It's probably still a little early, you've less than 500 edits. Most admins look for at least a week or two of solid vandal fighting; that being said, it's going to be tough if you can't sort out your Twinkle issue because you'll have to do manual undo vandal fighting. Do you have javascript disable or something? Try posting for help at WT:TW. –xenocidic (talk) 19:04, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Twinkle/QUI

Twinkle & QUI just randomly decided to start working today. Can you explain more in depth the difference between the undo tool and the rollback options twinkle provides? ThanksWashburnmav (talk) 19:08, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

Rollback will allow you to roll back all the consecutive edits by a particular edit. So say they vandalized by making 6 different edits, you could roll all of them back. there's three different rollbacks, "AGF" should be used whenever the editor may have been trying in a good-faith way to improve the article but "fails" (twinkle prompts for an edit summary), rollback "vandal" should only be used for blatant vandalism and doesn't bother asking you for an extra edit summary. rollback (just rollback) should be used for anything in between and a descriptive edit summary should be used. glad they're working now, it will be much easier to justify giving you rollback with some solid vandal fighting under your belt. –xenocidic (talk) 19:14, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia Formatting Query

Question: Were the following edits appropriate? Or do corresponding locations in lists not get linked internally? Washburnmav (talk) 15:19, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

It looks fine to me... I'm not sure if there's any guideline that speaks to that. –xenocidic (talk) 15:22, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Twinkle

If you get a chance could you reply to my twinkle question regarding preferences. Thanks Washburnmav (talk) 19:38, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Answered there. –xenocidic (talk) 19:51, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the help, and for the archives box. Washburnmav (talk) 20:00, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Anytime =) –xenocidic (talk) 20:02, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Also replied here.

Thanks! Its always nice (and disappointingly rare) to get positive feedback out here :) I appreciate the advice on the blanking, I'll be sure to remember that in the future. Looking forward to that rollback, Washburnmav (talk) 21:38, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Morning

Morning! It was odd not having asked you a question by this point in the day lol. At the risk of being slightly stalkerish, I admit I have been reviewing your user pages quite extensively and stumbled upon your 360 games played list. From your game records, I see that you have excellent taste :). Re Mass Effect, I'm thinking about getting it in the near future. I loved KOTOR I & II, but I heard it is different. Your input? Washburnmav (talk) 15:52, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Hrm, I only played KOTOR I very briefly and never even got the shrinkwrap off KOTOR II (blasphemy, I know), but Mass Effect was very enjoyable one of the best games for 360 imo. Highly recommended. Cinematic brilliance. Make sure you turn off your notifications if your friends list is very active what with the "came online" every 5 minutes, that really spoils the immersion. –xeno (talk) 15:55, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Sigh. Your blasphemy is somewhat forgivable I suppose. I have played KOTOR enough for the both of us... I'll keep that in mind. Disappointed to see you don't own COD 4 anymore, I was very active on live on that game, never seemed to get old. Washburnmav (talk) 15:59, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

My Twinkle is having major issues and it happened in the middle of me editing. Could you go here and restore the version of the page as of 16:47, 9 July 2008? That's what I meant to do but my twinkle won't let me rollback or restore right now. Thanks Washburnmav (talk) 16:56, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Nevermind, got it working. Washburnmav (talk) 17:00, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Sure thing. Try reloading your cache because I may have futzed with twinkle trying to prevent some massive vandalism. Just a tip if you want to restore to a previous version manually, just look at the history of the article, click on the timestamp that you want to revert to, edit the old version, and save (of course using a descriptive edit summary). –xeno (talk) 17:01, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

For what my opinion is worth, the KOTORs are probably some of the best games I've ever played, on any system. Of course, I'm a massive Star Wars junkie, so YMMV. GlassCobra 21:19, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Rollback

Well, I'm well on my way in my pursuit of the 500 edit mark. I believe I have kept the quality of my edits high as well. I'm planning on re-applying for rollback at that point. Do you think I would succeed this time? Also, could you explain the difference between the granted rollback and those that Twinkle provides? Thanks Washburnmav (talk) 18:52, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Native rollback is faster and is done in the server-side so it's a lot lighter load traffic-wise. It doesn't give you an option to change the edit summary so unlike Twinkle's "rollback" or "rollback (agf)" it is only ever to be used to rollback obvious clear-cut vandalism (or yourself). I can have another look thru your contribs since I last reviewed you if you want. –xeno (talk) 18:54, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

I will be going on vacation until Monday (Big Bend National Park =)), but I'm going to try to reach 500 edits by the end of today. Let's go ahead and wait till I get back to review my edits. Don't want it falling through too many times ;). Washburnmav (talk) 18:59, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Sounds like a plan. Just remind me once you get back and I'll take a look. –xeno (talk) 19:01, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Back

Back from vacation. Thanks for the heads up, it seems I got a little confused on nomenclature in my little speech to Waltzingmatilda. Overall was it appropriate though? I tried to be very courteous and down to earth. 28 edits away from 500 :)Washburnmav (talk) 14:22, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it was a reasonable response. The person has stopped discussing it, and we've greatly improved the sourcing of the article in the mean time. Welcome back =) xeno (talk) 14:26, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Rollback

Just completed my 500th edit =]. Would you mind reviewing my contribs one more time for rollback eligibility? Thanks Washburnmav (talk) 18:10, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Sure, give me a minute. –xeno (talk) 18:13, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Everything looks good to me. Rollback granted. Just ensure that you never use the native rollback if there is any question about the edit. If it could be considered good faith, use the Twinkle rollback with an edit summary. –xeno (talk) 18:47, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the rollback! I'm looking forward to some more down-and-dirty vandal fighting. Now I have one more weapon in my 'arsenal' =). I won't let you down. Washburnmav (talk) 18:50, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Huggle

So i got huggle to work at one of the places I edit from but not the other... but thats beside the point. I was wondering how I get myself to show up as a trusted user (blue), as opposed to my current status as reverted user (yellow)? Do you know? Washburnmav (talk) 14:55, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Should eventually happen automatically I think. I'm not too familiar with huggle but I found this at WT:HUGGLE: Anyone that huggle sees with other (currently) 500 edits will be added to the whitelist. ·Add§hore· Talk/Cont 06:17, 8 July 2008 (UTC) –xeno (talk) 14:58, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

NPOV/COI

Unrelated question: I am giving user Amberknight85 advice regarding Jay McGovern. He had trouble with formatting and how to edit but I am helping him through that. However, the material he is adding is very much like a political ad. This is obviously not appropriate for wikipedia. How do I proceed? Washburnmav (talk) 15:50, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Pointing them to NPOV was a good move, do you think there might also be some WP:COI concerns? –xeno (talk) 15:55, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I believe there is. For example, an excerpt from the Early life section:

"He will bring to the halls of government a strong work ethic, practical experience and recognized excellence in professional judgment"

Obviously political campaigning. Should I dive in and try to fix it? He is probably an employee of the politician. Washburnmav (talk) 15:59, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Could also just be a well-meaning supporter, but yes, you might want to consider that. –xeno (talk) 16:00, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Talk page vandal

Check out the latest vandalization of my talk page. Its pretty absurd, even for my standards. Glad to see I'm annoying the worst of them. Washburnmav (talk) 19:06, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Bloody hilarious. I wonder if he wrote that himself or just copied and pasted it from somewhere. –xeno (talk) 19:10, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Dear god. I hope he copied it. That was extensively developed (and admittedly well written). Washburnmav (talk) 19:12, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

I remember reading a similar story about someone who simply collected the "specimens", but that one went way further. –xeno (talk) 19:13, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

• Eeek! I think I'm gonna throw up! --Dave1185 (talk) 19:27, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Gives new meaning to "pinch a loaf", now, doesn't it...  Frank  |  talk  23:21, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

indeed. in this case, telling the vandal to "eat shit" wouldn't be taken as a personal attack! –xeno (talk) 23:22, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Spoilers

I recently encountered a user attempting to add a spoiler warning to a page. I noticed the spoiler template existed once but was deleted. Is there any protocol re information considered a spoiler, or are spoiler comments left untouched? Washburnmav (talk) 16:08, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia does not omit spoilers, as it should be obvious an encyclopedia will cover subjects in detail. Relevant policy is here: WP:SPOILER. –xeno (talk) 16:43, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Gotcha, I was just wondering if there was a notification of "spoilers to follow", but I see now there is not. Thanks Washburnmav (talk) 17:54, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Celebratory

Hello Washburnmav, Washburnmav has smiled at you! Smiles promote WikiLove and hopefully this one has made your day better. Spread the WikiLove by smiling at someone else, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend. Go on, smile! Cheers, and happy editing!
Smile at others by adding {{subst:Smile}} to their talk page with a friendly message.

I just hit 1,000 Edits! I've come a long way =) Washburnmav (talk) 21:07, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

nice! congrats =) but remember: edits don't define your worth as an editor... consider trying to unplug from the vandal fighting once in a while and work on articles (lol as if I am one to be saying this ;>) –xeno (talk) 21:10, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice. I'm more of a copyeditor, and I have unplugged to heavy amounts of that to various pages such as Seax and Persian war elephants(a work in progress). I'll try to expand more in the future. Washburnmav (talk) 00:04, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

Ah, ok, glad to hear it. =) By the way, someone just told me it would be naive to unblock our 'hypothetical' vandal... ;> –xeno (talk) 00:08, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

Haha, well I don't blame them, I did seem tlike an unlikely case. However, it seems it's definitely worth the chance, as its so easy to fix any future vandalism had you been wrong in unblocking. When giving a 2nd chance is so harmless, its hard not to warrant it in my mind. Especially if a decent unblock/2nd chance template request is made. Washburnmav (talk) 16:55, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

Pretty much what I said =) "Vandals are a dime a dozen, but constructive contributors are golden". –xeno (talk) 16:57, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

Curiosity

I was wondering about the fact that I'm more of a copyeditor persay then an article creator/ content contributor. Will this hold me back on Wikipedia? Not that I'm rearing to be an admin anytime soon I was just wondering overall how that would affect things. Washburnmav (talk) 05:35, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

FWIW, my best contribution to the article space was not sufficient to get the page to GA, let alone FA, and I still passed my RFA. J.delanoy^gabs_adds 05:51, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

We're all volunteers--as long as you're here to improve the encyclopedia, do what you enjoy doing. Darkspots (talk) 06:33, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, I'm no GA/FA factory myself, but I do add content from time to time. The best place to do that is in what you know best, so whatever you're interested in IRL, I'm sure you can find somewhere to improve the relevant article. Since I watch the video game news, I'm sometimes first on the scene to create a new VG article, like Highlander: The Game, for example. –xeno (talk) 12:20, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

I'll keep all of that in mind. I appreciate the advice. Washburnmav (talk) 18:10, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

Potentially controversial query

I encountered this situation while scanning recent changes: Is 'god' capitalized in articles as a whole? The article in question was not pertaining to god. Not sure if that has any relevance. Are there any guidelines pertaining to this? Seems like a potential revert war situation. Washburnmav (talk) 15:57, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm unsure about guidelines regarding this but I would think that 'God' is capitalized due to it being a proper noun regarding a single name entity when used in that context. Lympathy ^Talk 16:04, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Hrm, Lympathy is probably right here... Any particular article in question or...? –xeno (talk) 16:06, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

This is the article and edit in question. It was done by a ip user, and later reverted by a user. Although I am religious, I'm not one to care enough to engage someone about this. However, I can forsee this being a problem I would encounter in the future. How would you proceed?Washburnmav (talk) 16:35, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I am not religious but I think that in this instance respect for a deity should be considered and I undid the edit accordingly Lympathy ^Talk 17:01, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Hrm in this particular case I think that "god simulator" is more appropriate. See, for example, the hat note at the top of God. The "god" (male deity) is lower-cased. The article isn't talking about a specific "God" but that the player is acting as a god. Make sense? I could be totally wrong, mind you =) –xeno (talk) 17:06, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Xeno makes a valid point and "god simulator" seems more accurate but when respect to a singular god, I still feel it should be articulated as "God". The discussion should probably be opened up to a wider audience. Lympathy ^Talk 17:11, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Confirmation

Is this (what he said re strikethrough) correct? Washburnmav (talk) 21:46, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

• For Huggle misfires, I think (most) people would prefer you take the comment right out. For anything else, strikethrough is more appropriate. In the future, perhaps just leave a quick note after deleting your comment. –xeno (talk) 22:31, 4 August 2008 (UTC)