Peacemaker67 (talk | contribs) →ACRs for closure: can I have a check please? |
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:::::Yes, there's a process - please see the entry at [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Awards]]. It would be nice to hand out some more of these awards :) [[User:Nick-D|Nick-D]] ([[User talk:Nick-D|talk]]) 11:25, 2 October 2013 (UTC) |
:::::Yes, there's a process - please see the entry at [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Awards]]. It would be nice to hand out some more of these awards :) [[User:Nick-D|Nick-D]] ([[User talk:Nick-D|talk]]) 11:25, 2 October 2013 (UTC) |
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::::::No point in having it unless it gets awarded! There must be some deserving souls out there. [[User:Peacemaker67|Peacemaker67]] ([[User_talk:Peacemaker67#top|send... over]]) 11:40, 2 October 2013 (UTC) |
::::::No point in having it unless it gets awarded! There must be some deserving souls out there. [[User:Peacemaker67|Peacemaker67]] ([[User_talk:Peacemaker67#top|send... over]]) 11:40, 2 October 2013 (UTC) |
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== Flow == |
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I'd like to experiment with asking for a conversation about [[WT:Flow]] here rather than directing everyone to that talk page. (I've left a pointer at [[WT:Mil#Flow]].) The developer team isn't getting as much detailed feedback as they'd like; the conversations tend to go in other directions, so it's possible that inviting discussion within individual wikiprojects will get us where we need to go faster. When Wikipedia got started, Google was just getting off the ground, and people who knew what the internet was were likely to dial in with a modem. At that time, free-form talk pages made perfect sense, but these days, research suggests that our talk pages aren't meeting current expectations of new users. |
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Some new college campuses are built without sidewalks, so that the designers can see where the students are wearing ruts in the grass before the sidewalks go in. By the same theory, I think our free-form style (up till now) has been a net positive ... now the community has a lot of very detailed experience on what features Wikipedia talk pages do and don't need. The developers need to know what we know. It will be easier to answer some questions when they get a working prototype up that we can play with (currently planned for early November), but anything we can tell them now would be appreciated. You can get some basic information at [[WP:Flow]] and on [[User_talk:Jorm_(WMF)#Enlisting_wikiproject_help_for_Foundation_initiatives|Brandon's talk page]]. - Dank ([[User talk:Dank|push to talk]]) 19:33, 3 October 2013 (UTC) |
Revision as of 19:33, 3 October 2013
Handbook
- Please see the Academy course for coordinators for general information and advice.
Coordinator tasks
- These tasks should be done as often as needed—ideally, on a daily basis.
- Assessment
- Monitor the daily assessment log. The main things to look for:
- Articles being removed. This is usually legitimate (due to merges or non-military articles getting untagged), but is sometimes due to vandalism or broken template code.
- Articles being moved to "GA-Class" and higher quality. These ratings need to correspond to the article's status in the GA and FA lists or the A-Class project review.
- Deal with any new assessment requests and the backlog of unassessed articles.
- A-Class review
- For each ongoing A-Class review:
- Determine whether the review needs to be closed and archived, per the criteria here.
- If a review has been open for a month without at least three editors commenting, leave a reminder note on the main project talk page, using the following boilerplate:
{{subst:Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators/Toolbox/A-Class review alert|Name of article}} ~~~~
- If an article has been put up for A-Class review in the past and you receive a request for assistance per WP:MHR for a fresh review, follow the procedure below for creating an A-Class review or reappraisal. This will make way for the normal A-Class review initiation process, so advise the nominator to initiate per the instructions.
- Quarterly Reviewing Awards
Quarterly Reviewing Awards - manual process
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Quarterly reviewing awards are posted on the Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Military history/Awards page by the MilHistBot. As with other awards, change the status from "nominated" to "approved" to approve the award.
- Member affairs
- Invite editors to join the project, using the following boilerplate:
{{subst:Wikipedia:MILHIST/MILHIST Invitation|signed=~~~~}}
- Welcome anybody who joins the project, using the following boilerplate:
{{subst:Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators/Toolbox/Welcome|~~~~}}
- Miscellaneous
- Vote on any open proposals to award the WikiChevrons with Oak Leaves and approve any A-Class medal or A-Class cross nominations.
- Update the monthly newsletter with new developments within the project.
- Verify entries in the monthly article writing contest, hand out prizes, and update the monthly scoreboard and the newsletter accordingly.
- Fix the {{WPMILHIST}} invocation syntax on any articles in Category:Military history articles needing attention to tagging.
How to...
Create a new task force |
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Before a task force can be created, it is necessary to decide on a name for it. The process requires both a full name (e.g. "French military history" or "American Civil War") and a one- or two-word or acronym shorthand used for some template parameters (e.g. "French" or "ACW"). The instructions below use the "Fooish military history" task force (shortened to "Fooish") as an example; when creating an actual task force, remember to substitute the correct name, rather than actually creating the example pages.
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Creating an A-Class review or reappraisal |
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Creating a new A-Class review or reappraisalIf an article has been put up for A-Class review in the past and you receive a request for assistance per WP:MHR for a fresh review, a new version has to be created manually. Find the archive page
Find the last review
Move the review page
Update the talk page
Update the archive
Create the new review
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Establish coordinator election pages |
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Under the current system used by the Military history Wikiproject, coordinators are tasked with handling certain project-specific operations such as closing A-Class reviews. Because coordinators are held accountable to the project an election is held once a year to determine who among the community's members will serve as a coordinator. While the election itself is a simple approval vote, creating the pages needed for the election can be tricky. Therefore, this Academy page will serve as a walk-through on how to correctly set up the election pages. Before the electionBefore any election pages are created, the matter of the coordinator election must be brought up with the current coordinator tranche. Ideally, this should be done sometime between mid-July and early August. The reason that the coordinators must first discuss the matter of the election is to settle on the finer details of the upcoming election. Three key aspects should be decided. The first detail relates to the project's activity level: as the activity level in the project rises or falls, the number of coordinators judged to be needed to effectively run the project increases or decreases. Accordingly, then, the coordinators need to establish how many slots should be opened to the project members. In general, the project currently operates efficiently with roughly 8–11 coordinators, although the exact number settled on for the upcoming tranche must understandably be decided based on the workload and the efficiency of the current coordinator tranche. The coordinators must also decide if the total number should include or exclude the Lead Coordinator, which can cause the total settled on to fluctuate by one. The second factor that needs to be discussed is the election format. Historically, when the system was introduced, the format was 14 days for nominations followed by 14 days of election, which worked well for the community but created an illusion that the process was "slow". As a result of this perception the community approved a change in the process that now sees the election format using a 10-day nomination period followed by a 10-day voting period. This process is marginally faster than the older two week system, which helps speed the process up. While the coordinators have used this option for several years, they also have the option of introducing or implementing a new nomination/voting scheme if one is judged to be needed. Accordingly then, the coordinators will need to settle on which of the three options they feel will work the best for the upcoming election. The final matter that must be discussed is the exact date of the election. Ideally, the entire election should take place in the month of September, but as there are 30 days in September the coordinators will need to officially designate a starting day for the nomination period. Once this day is decided, the format the coordinators have agreed upon can be used to determine when the nomination period will end, and by extension when the voting period will start and end. Collectively, these three points once settled will provide the information needed to establish the election pages. Creating the election pagesOnce the above three factors have been settled on an editor can move to create the election pages. The first page that should be created is the election page proper. (A completed example can be found here: Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators/September 2017.) This page should be created asWikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators/(MONTH) (YEAR)replacing the MONTH and YEAR with the month and year in question. Once you have the correct red link the following information should be added to the page verbatim: {{WPMILHIST Navigation|no-banner=yes}} {{/Tally}} {{TOC limit|3}} == Overview == This election is to appoint the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators|project coordinator team]] for one year, from (ADD THE DATE OF THE INCOMING TRANCHE HERE USING DAY MONTH YEAR FORMAT) to (ADD THE ENDING DATE OF THE UPCOMING COORDINATOR TRANCHE HERE, USING DAY MONTH YEAR FORMAT). Coordinators are generally responsible for maintaining all of the procedural and administrative aspects of the project. All of the coordinators, and especially the lead coordinator (or lead coordinators), serve as the designated points-of-contact for procedural issues and focus on specific areas requiring special attention. They are not, however, endowed with any special executive powers. === Responsibilities === From [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators]]: <blockquote>The primary responsibility of the project coordinators is the maintenance and housekeeping work involved in keeping the project and its internal processes running smoothly; this includes a variety of tasks, such as keeping the announcement and open task lists updated, overseeing the assessment and review processes, managing the proposal and creation of task forces, and so forth. There is fairly little involved that couldn't theoretically be done by any other editor, of course—in only a few places have the coordinators been explicitly written into a process—but, since experience suggests that people tend to assume that someone else is doing whatever needs to be done, it has proven beneficial to formally delegate responsibility for this administrative work to a specified group. <br/><br/> The coordinators also have several additional roles. They serve as the project's designated points of contact, and are explicitly listed as people to whom questions can be directed in a variety of places around the project. In addition, they have (highly informal) roles in leading the drafting of project guidelines, overseeing the implementation of project decisions on issues like category schemes and template use, and helping to resolve disputes and keep discussions from becoming heated and unproductive.</blockquote> Practical information on coordinating may be found [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators|here]] and [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Academy/Being a coordinator|here]]. The current coordinators are: {| class="wikitable" |- ! Name ! Position ! Standing for re-election? |- | Add the name of the first current coordinator as shown on the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators|coordinator's page]] | The current position the above named editor holds. By virtue of the currently used system, this slot will always be "Coordinator" with the exception of the editor who holds the position of lead coordinator, whose position box should be filled in as "Lead Coordinator" | This slot MUST be added to for each coordinator and should be left blank since only the listed coordinator can decide if he or she wants to stand for reelection. |} === Election process === * '''Nomination period''': (Add the day and month the nomination will begin and the UTC time, day, and month the nomination will end here. For example, "8 September to 23:59 UTC 18 September") * '''Voting period''': (Add the day and month the election phase will begin and the UTC time, day, and month the election period will end here. For example, "19 September to 23:59 UTC 29 September") * Any member of the project may nominate themselves for a position by adding their statement in the [[#Candidates|"Candidates" section below]] by the start of the election. The following boilerplate can be used: <pre> === Name === {{user|Name}} : Statement goes here... ==== Comments and questions for Name ==== *''What have been the achievements of which you are most proud within the Military history WikiProject?'' ** *''What skills/qualities can you contribute as a coordinator?'' ** ==== Votes in support of Name ==== # </pre> * The election will be conducted using simple [[approval voting]]. Any member of the project may support as many of the candidates as they wish. The candidate with the highest number of endorsements will become the lead coordinator (provided he or she is willing to assume the post); this position may be shared in the event that multiple candidates receive the highest number of endorsements. The remaining candidates with twenty or more endorsements will be appointed as coordinators to a maximum of eleven appointments (including the lead coordinator). The number of coordinators ''may'' be increased or reduced if there is a tie or near-tie for the last position. * Both project members and interested outside parties are encouraged to ask questions of the nominees or make general comments. == Candidates== {{/Status}} <!-- As per long standing consensus both new candidates and returning coordinators are listed alphabetically below, so add your user name accordingly. Thank you for your cooperation. --> }} Create the status templateThe second page that will need be created will be the status template. (A completed example can be found here: Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators/September 2017/Status). This template uses a set of established parameters to inform editors, readers, and other interested parties when the nominations will open, when the voting will open, and when the elections have concluded. The template itself resides at the top of the Candidates section, and will be present in the page you just created by virtue of the its presence in code copied from the preceding section. To access the template, add/Statusto the current election page so that the election page looks like Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators/(MONTH) (YEAR)/StatusIt should give you a red link, click it and then add the following to the status page: ;{{#switch:{{CURRENTYEAR}} |2015={{#switch:{{CURRENTMONTH}} |8=<big>The election has not started yet. Please do not edit this page.</big> |9={{#ifexpr:{{CURRENTDAY}} < 8|<big>The election has not started yet. Please do not edit this page.</big>|{{#ifexpr:{{CURRENTDAY}} < 19|<big>Please <big style="color: red;">DO NOT VOTE</big> yet; the voting phase of the election will open at 00:01 (UTC) on 19 September.<br>If you wish to run, please sign up by 23:59 (UTC) on 18 September.</big>|{{#ifexpr:{{CURRENTDAY}} <= 29|<big>Voting is now open; project members should vote for any candidates they support by 23:59 (UTC) on 29 September.</big><br>(This is a [[approval voting|simple approval vote]]; only "support" votes should be made. All other votes will be discounted.)|<big>Voting is now concluded.</big>}}}}}} |#default=<big>Voting is now concluded.</big> }} |#default=<big>Voting is now concluded.</big> }} Current time is '''{{CURRENTTIME}}, [[{{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}}]] [[{{CURRENTYEAR}}]]''' (UTC) Once the above has been added take care the you change the year and the days to match the current election year and the days for the nomination and voting periods. Once the information has been updated save the page, this will result in the template on the election page being created and if done correctly should automatically switch messages to notify interested parties when the nomination and election phases open and when the election concludes.
Tally BoxThe final page that must be created is the Tally Box. This table tracks the number of editors in the election and the number of votes that each has received, respectively. To create the Tally Box, add/Tallyto the current coordinator election page so it looks like this: Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators/(MONTH) (YEAR)/Tallytaking care to replace the MONTH and YEAR tabs with the current election month and year. Once you have the red link, add the following to the page verbatim, taking care to not that MONTH and YEAR in the example below will already reflect the current election month and year: {| class="plainlinks sortable" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="2" style="width: 200px; background: whitesmoke; margin-left: 15px; float: right; border: 1px black dotted; " |- |+ <big>'''Tally'''</big> <br/> <small>[{{fullurl:Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators/MONTH YEAR/Tally|action=edit}} edit]</small> |- ! Candidate !! Votes |- |} After adding the section save the page, this will result in the Tally Box being created and added to the election page proper. With this done all three pages for the coordinator election should be created and no further action should be required on your part. With all three pages now live, the current coordinators and the editors of the Military history Wikiproject will be able to edit the pages to announce their candidacies or their decision not to seek reelection. Notify the projectSee Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Academy/Using MassMessage for Project Notification for details on how to send a mass message. Suggested form is: Nominations for the upcoming project coordinator election have opened. A team of up to ten coordinators will be elected for the next coordination year. The project coordinators are the designated points of contact for issues concerning the project, and are responsible for maintaining our internal structure and processes. They do not, however, have any authority over article content or editor conduct, or any other special powers. More information on being a coordinator is available [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Academy/Becoming a coordinator|here]]. If you are interested in running, please sign up '''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators/September 2024|here]]''' by 23:59 UTC on 14 September! Voting will commence on 15 September. If you have any questions, you can contact any member of the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators|current coord team]]. After the electionClose the voting{{archivetop|The election is now closed. ~~~~ }} to the top of the election page and {{archivebottom}} to the bottom of the page. Notify the winnersFor the newly elected coordinators, a suggested form is {| style="border: 2px solid lightsteelblue; background-color: whitesmoke;" |rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;" | [[File:US-O11 insignia.svg|100px]] |rowspan="2" | |style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The ''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators/September {{CURRENTYEAR}} |Coordinator stars]]''''' |- |style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid lightsteelblue;" | On behalf of the members of WikiProject Military history, in recognition of your election to the position of Coordinator, I take great pleasure in presenting you with the Coordinator's stars, and wish you the best of luck for the coming year! ~~~~ |} For the lead coordinator, a suggested form is: {| style="border: 2px solid lightsteelblue; background-color: whitesmoke;" |rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;" | [[File:US-O12 insignia.svg|100px]] |rowspan="2" | |style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The ''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators/September {{CURRENTYEAR}} |Lead Coordinator stars]]''''' |- |style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid lightsteelblue;" | On behalf of the members of WikiProject Military history, in recognition of your re-election to the position of Lead Coordinator, I take great pleasure in presenting you with the Lead Coordinator's stars, and wish you the best of luck for the coming year! ~~~~ |} For a coordinator emeritus, a suggested form is: {| style="border: 2px solid lightsteelblue; background-color: whitesmoke;" |rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;" | [[File:Milhist coordinator emeritus.svg|100px]] |rowspan="2" | |style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The ''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators/September {{CURRENTYEAR}}#Nomination for Coordinator Emeritus (<editor>)|Coordinator Emeritus stars]]''''' |- |style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid lightsteelblue;" | It is with immense pleasure that I pass on the unanimous decision of the members of the WikiProject Military History that as a mark of the great esteem in which they hold you and your judgement you be appointed a Coordinator Emeritus of the Project for as long as you should choose to remain one. Congratulations and many thanks for all that you have done for the Project. ~~~~ |} Update the coordinators listEdit the lead of Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators to reflect the current list. Update the notification templateEdit Template:@MILHIST to reflect the current list. Update the categoryEdit the coordinators' user pages to add Category:WikiProject Military history coordinators and remove it from coordinators who are no longer active. Update the BugleAdd the election results to The Bugle at Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/News/October 2024/Project news |
Establish military historian and newcomer of the year election voting |
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Under the current system used by the Military history Wikiproject, coordinators are tasked with handling certain project-specific operations. This Academy page will serve as a walk-through on how to correctly set up the election pages for military historian of the year and newcomer of the year elections. AboutThese elections are conducted between 1 and 30 December each year. Before the electionCreate the election pagesSubstitute the following on the Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Military history page before 1 December: {{subst:WPMILHIST Nominations for military historian of the year}} ~~~~ {{subst:WPMILHIST Nominations for military history newcomer of the year}} ~~~~ Notify the projectSee Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Academy/Using MassMessage for Project Notification for details on how to send a mass message. Suggested form is: Voting is now open for the WikiProject Military History newcomer of the year and military historian of the year awards for {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}! The the top editors will be awarded the coveted Gold Wiki. Cast your votes [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Military history#Nominations for military history newcomer of the year for {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}} are open!|here]] and [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Military history#Nominations for military historian of the year for {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}} are open!|here]] respectively. Voting closes at 23:59 on 30 December {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}. On behalf of the coordinators, wishing you the very best for the festive season and the new year. {{subst:Currentuser}} via ~~~~ After the electionClose the voting{{archivetop|Voting is now closed. ~~~~ }} to the top of the election page and {{archivebottom}} to the bottom of the page. Notify the winners on their talk pagesFor the winners of the Military History Newcomer of the Year, a suggested form is: {{tmbox | image = [[File:Goldenwiki 2.png|60px]] | style = background-color: #fdffe7; | text = '''{{font|text=The Golden Wiki|size=x-large}}''' {{hr}} Congratulations! You have been selected as the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Awards/MHNOTY|Military History Newcomer of the Year]] by a popular vote of your peers in recognition of your contributions to the English Wikipedia's coverage of military history. On behalf of the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators|coordinators]] of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history|WikiProject Military history]], it is my pleasure to present the coveted '''Golden Wiki'''; we hope to see more of you in the years to come. ~~~~ }} For runners-up, a suggested form is: {{tmbox | image = [[File:WikiprojectBarnstar.png|60px]] | style = background-color: WhiteSmoke; | text = '''{{font|text=The WikiProject Barnstar|size=x-large}}''' {{hr}} You have been selected as a runner-up for the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Awards/MHNOTY|Military History Newcomer of the Year]] by a popular vote of your peers in recognition of your contributions to the English Wikipedia's coverage of military history. On behalf of the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators|coordinators]] of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history|WikiProject Military history]], please accept this token of gratitude and appreciation on behalf of the project; we hope to see more of you in the years to come. ~~~~ }} For winners of the Military Historian of the New Year: {{tmbox | image = [[File:Goldenwiki 2.png|60px]] | style = background-color: #fdffe7; | text = '''{{font|text=The Golden Wiki|size=x-large}}''' {{hr}} Congratulations! You have been selected as the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Awards/MHOTY|Military Historian of the Year]] by a popular vote of your peers in recognition of your contributions to the English Wikipedia's coverage of military history. On behalf of the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators|coordinators]] of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history|WikiProject Military history]], it is my pleasure to present the coveted '''Golden Wiki'''. ~~~~ }} For second place: {{tmbox | image = [[File:Silverwiki 2.png|60px]] | style = background-color: WhiteSmoke; | text = '''{{font|text=The Silver Wiki|size=x-large}}''' {{hr}} Congratulations! You have been selected in second place for the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Awards/MHOTY|Military Historian of the Year]] by a popular vote of your peers in recognition of your contributions to the English Wikipedia's coverage of military history. On behalf of the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators|coordinators]] of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history|WikiProject Military history]], it is my pleasure to present the esteemed '''Silver Wiki'''. ~~~~ }} For third place: {{tmbox | image = [[File:Bronzewiki 2.png|60px]] | style = background-color: NavajoWhite ; | text = '''{{font|text=The Bronze Wiki|size=x-large|color=maroon}}''' {{hr}} Congratulations! You have been selected in third place for the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Awards/MHOTY|Military Historian of the Year]] by a popular vote of your peers in recognition of your contributions to the English Wikipedia's coverage of military history. On behalf of the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators|coordinators]] of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history|WikiProject Military history]], it is my pleasure to present the esteemed '''Bronze Wiki'''. ~~~~ }} Update the winners listsThese are located at
Update the BugleAdd the election results to The Bugle at Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/News/January 2025/Project news The suggested form is: The [[Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Military_history#Nominations_for_military_historian_of_the_year_for_2024_are_open!|Military Historian of the Year]] awards have been distributed, the Golden Wiki going to {{u|gold}} for third year in a row. The Silver Wiki was awarded to {{u|silver}} and the Bronze wiki jointly to {{u|bronze}} and {{u|bronze}}. {{u|runner up}} and {{u|runner up}} were runners-up. The [[Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Military_history#Nominations_for_military_historian_of_the_year_for_2024_are_open!|Military History Newcomer of the Year]] awards have also been handed out, with {{u|gold}} receiving the Golden Wiki and {{u|runner-up}} and {{u|runner-up}} the WikiProject Barnstar. Congratulations to all members of the project on your achievements last year, and best wishes for 2025! |
Boilerplate and templates
Public boilerplate notices |
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Hidden structural templates & boilerplates |
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Military history awards |
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Coordinator userboxes | ||||||
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Open tasks
Topics for future discussion
- Collaboration with galleries, libraries, archives, museums, universities, and various other institutions (e.g. Wikipedia:GLAM/NMM)
- Article improvement drives
- Featured portal drives
- Notability guideline for battles
- Naming convention guideline for foreign military ranks
- Using the "Results" field in infoboxes
- How far milhist's scope should include 'military fiction' (possible solution, see scope of Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels/Military fiction task force)
- Encouraging member participation in the various review processes (peer, GAN, ACR etc)
- Recruiting new members (see User:The ed17/MILHIST, etc.)
- Improving/maintaining popular pages
- Motivating improvement from Stub to B-Class
- Enabling editors to improve articles beyond B-Class (possibly utilising logistics dept, also see WP:FAT for related ideas)
- Helping new members (possibly involving improving/deprecating welcome template; writing Academy course)
- Recruiting copy-editors to help during ACR
- Recruiting editors from external forums/groups/etc.
- Simplifying ACR instructions (old discussion)
Missing academy articles
- Working with categories
- Exploring reference templates
- Asking for help
- Writing a B-Class article
- Performing a Stub- to B-Class review
- Performing a peer review
- Writing good articles
- Are style guides set in stone?
- How to improve images
- Working with free content images
- Battles: understanding the terrain
- Unit names and abbreviations
- Ranks and abbreviations
- Writing an Order of Battle
- Using media files
- How the Logistics Department works
- Handling FAC
- Reviewing featured articles
- Creating images
- Original photography
- Image quality and accuracy
- Developing consensus for a major initiative
- Routine coordinator tasks
Open award nominations
Nominations for awards are made and voted on by coordinators at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Military_history/Awards. An A-Class Medal nomination needs at least two coordinators' votes to succeed, and the Chevrons with Oak Leaves a majority of coordinators' votes. All coordinators are requested to review the following:
ACRs for closure
All A-Class reviews are eligible for closure 28 days after they were opened, or 5 days if there is a clear consensus for either the promotion or non-promotion of the article under review. Any A-Class review filed on or before 2 May may be closed by an uninvolved coordinator. A guide to closing A-Class reviews is available. Please wait 24 hours after a review is listed here before closing it to allow time for last-minute reviews.
Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Assessment/No. 36 Squadron RAAF:open since 16 September,fivesix supports (N.B. my nom). Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 07:50, 30 September 2013 (UTC)- While I was one of the article's reviewers, I've just closed this review given that it's been ready for closure for several days and the above request hadn't been actioned. Nick-D (talk) 10:58, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
- Seems justified to me as there was overwhelming support for its promotion. Anotherclown (talk) 12:02, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
- While I was one of the article's reviewers, I've just closed this review given that it's been ready for closure for several days and the above request hadn't been actioned. Nick-D (talk) 10:58, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Assessment/Battle of Fort Pulaski: been open since 9 August and unfortunately has not received any supports; probably needs to be reviewed for closing. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 11:20, 3 October 2013 (UTC)
- I had a good look at it the other day, I don't see how it is going to get to ACR without more work. I consider it could be closed as unsuccessful. I'd like to have a crack at closing if that's ok, AR? I'll shout if I get stuck. Peacemaker67 (send... over) 11:54, 3 October 2013 (UTC)
- can one of the old hands check this closure to make sure I've cracked it? Cheers, Peacemaker67 (send... over) 12:54, 3 October 2013 (UTC)
Discussion
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Is it that time again?
When do we open nominations for coordinators for 2013-14? Regards, Peacemaker67 (send... over) 05:40, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- ...Wow. Really? I mean it seems like just yesterday we were all being sworn in such as it were, and now here we are up for (re)election again. Time really seems to move fast these days... TomStar81 (Talk) 06:25, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- I find that too -- I think it's called getting older... ;-) Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 06:51, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- Think I'm going to step back from standing again.. I've found the experience of trying to be a coord utterly disappointing and I am all too aware of my lackluster efforts over the past year. My nomination last year was based on presenting ideas and trying to implement new ideas and reforms to the MilHist project, and most of the supports I received acknowledged and welcomed that idea. As it turned out, virtually ever suggestion I presented was either rejected or failed to blossom following brief or sporadic discussions within the first month. Since then I've failed to witness any real growth or renewed efforts in key areas of the project (i.e. task forces, special projects, membership in general is still down or dead). As a member, I've felt like an item gathering dust in an antique store, and I'm also in the opinion that we need to look towards having a complete overhaul of the coords nomination system, because electing a majority of the same people year after year is having a negative effect, in my opinion, it's more like a regime which gives the project their personality, rather than encouraging editors to inject fresh blood into the project so that it may develop its own personality. I think we need to stop the sycophancy with regards to the same circle of friends electing each other, and look at the bigger picture rather than who's in the local neighbourhood. Maybe a 2 or 3 year cap on how many subsequent terms an editor can stand should be introduced. It's all very well saying coords are performing all the hard work with regards closing reviews, etc.. funny that, because no other coord has approached me in the past year to ask if I want to get involved or learn the ropes and "get on the team", as it were, with regards input, there's no life and soul amongst the coords, no form of encouragement, no merit, except amongst those who are familiar with one another and don't appear to want to "pass the ball" to other players. Just my 2 cents, not attacking anyone, nor focused at any one in particular, it's just the unapproachable "cold shoulder" attitude I feel around coords in general. There's a very low level of "community spirit", I feel.. poor communication, poor task-sharing, I don't recall any coord dropping me a message this year to ask for a hand in doing something. Not sure what evey other coords self-esteem has been like over the past year, but I don't mind saying that due to the reasons I have addressed my commitment to the project has been impaired. Perhaps it's for the same reasons that few other members are willing to step up to the plate and give it a shot. I think there's a few weeks before the next election, and it might be worth other coords and members voicing their views with regards the nomination process, and it's not unfair to state that I believe the current method works more in favour of coords wanting to be re-elected due to over-whelming bias involved, than it does in encouraging other members to get on board. If I recall from last year's votes, two nominees didn't meet the minimum vote due to not being well known, yet other long-serving coords were reaching the minimum just from other coord votes alone, or close enough. It's a very slanted and undignified process, and too easily exploited with "unlimited votes" and editors returning to "top up" on who they need to vote for. There needs to be a fairer and balanced system, such as "3 votes each, all placed together, no mind-changing unless a nominee withdraws" type system. Given that we don't get a massive amount of editors participating in the voting anyway, most coords rely on each others support and usually get it.. I personally find this type of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" system a sham, because it's easy for a coord to vote for everyone in order to shame them each into returning the favour, taking him almost all the way to the minimum votes needed before non-coords even count. Limited vote casting would prevent this nonsense. It also helps to be an Aussie (Yes, I was kidding there!) Thoughts, opinions, disputes, etc let's hear them. Sorry about the wall of text, but then I haven't said much else all year. Ma®©usBritish{chat} 07:50, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- Okay, I'll bite... ;-) Marcus, you raise some fair points, such as coords encouraging participation from their fellows re. daily tasks, the possibility of capping the number of terms (or at least consecutive terms) that coords should serve, and limiting the number of votes in the election. Re. the first one, I have to admit that I tend to assume people will 'muck in' where they can and, if they're not, then perhaps RL or other pressures are telling. Re. the others, I'm sure we've discussed them before but I have no issue revisiting. Now in terms of fresh blood, a number of us 'old hands' have made a point in the past of encouraging new people to run, so I don't think we're all being 'clubbish' in that respect. Lastly, I think you could AGF re. people's voting patterns -- I'll support whoever I think will do a decent job, no matter whether they're old or new, and not because I'm hoping for a return vote... ;-) Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 08:48, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- To echo Ian's comments, I think you make a good point regarding our process (or lack thereof) for getting new coordinators "up to speed" and involved. Traditionally, we've all assumed that someone elected as a coordinator would be familiar enough with our work to simply pick things up organically; this has meshed well will many of the coordinators' personalities—I think it's fair to say that many of us have been self-starters—but you may be right that there are some coordinators who would be more comfortable with a more guided introduction. That's something we can try and do after this coming election.
- As far as your other points, while it's certainly good to bring in fresh blood—and, as Ian says, we've deliberately tried to do so in virtually every election—I don't see anything inherently wrong with the idea that veteran members of the project (whether current coordinators or not) will find it easier to get elected than people who aren't well-known to the project members at large. It's perfectly natural that members will more readily vote for people whom they recognize, and who have demonstrated experience in the role, than for someone who, while potentially very talented, has neither name recognition nor experience. This doesn't mean that having some degree of turnover isn't a good thing, of course—some of our best coordinators have been people who were not "regulars" when they were elected—but I think we shouldn't get so caught up in trying to artificially increase the turnover ratio that we eliminate otherwise perfectly good candidates or force the members into some convoluted voting scheme. Kirill [talk] 09:06, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- @Ian - I'm sure there are some who will "muck in" due to their experience, and those who can't due to inexperience. For example, I recall seeing one experienced coord ask a first-time coord to close an ACR, last tranche year, and due to not knowing the process the new coord had some difficulty. So by assuming all new coords are capable of assuming all the technical roles, because Wiki doesn't provide an User Interface to automate various processes in one click, some coords may be left in the dark. I will say now, I haven't learned a single thing from being a coord this year with regards dealing with the various more involved daily tasks.. I couldn't close an ACR, I don't know how the monthly competitions or review totals are quickly summed up.. no one asked me for help, no "coord training" as it were, nothing. It has been a thoroughly unrewarding experience, but I have no doubt no one will be sorry to see me go anyway.
- @Kirill - I don't think something such as "only 3 votes, make them all at once" is convoluted, if we are to AGF and request that voters self-managed their votes. It's not like we'd be operating a complex "first past the post" or "alternative voting" system which would require more involved considerations by both the voter and the people who tot up the results. It's about "balance" and I think unlimited voting which can be added and even withdrawn at any time during the voting period does not represent balance, or an even an honest representation of voters confidence. Sure, we can "AGF" as Ian suggests, but I've seen plenty of examples of voting over the past few years where coords would hold back their votes, then apply them "in return" to each coord who voted them. The quaint pattern of "you voted me, so I'll vote you" can hardly be considered "a coincidence" and I think it's something we need to put an end to. If people are voting with an affirmed opinion of the nominees then they should be capable of slapping their votes down, across the board, in one go.. not coming back and doing one or two a day over the voting week. That is not intrinsic behaviour, which voting should be based on, it is being influenced by other factors other than their confidence in the candidate. I'd like to hope that if people were voting for me, it was based on their trust in my ability to be a decent coordinator, not as a thank you gesture because I voted for them but they really don't have equal faith in me. But that's how I feel past years have gone, in part. Ma®©usBritish{chat} 10:47, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- Marcus, closing an ACR is easy. You just list it on the ACRs for closure and I'll come along and close it. Hawkeye7 (talk) 12:01, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- Which totally goes against my point of coords learning to do things so they can perform their role and become experienced instead of relying on other people to do the things they don't know how. i.e. anyone can hire a taxi, but most people would rather learn to take the wheel and responsibility that goes with it, eventually. Ma®©usBritish{chat} 12:11, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- My 2 cents: back when I was a first-timer lo those many years ago, nobody taught me how to do anything. But I saw the list of ACRs that needed to be closed, and so I figured it out. And to be sure, I had to have a browser tab open to the instructions while I was doing it. I guess that my point is, no, we don't have an equivalent of the new admin school (and maybe we should), but there's no reason why you can't jump in and get your hands dirty on your own.
- As an aside, I tried at least a couple times (including once when I was lead coord) to create a reviewing contest similar to the contest we have for writing. Nothing happened with the idea, and only relatively recently have we started the current ACR/FAC review award system. I wouldn't take our project's slowness to adopt new ideas personally, it's just our organizational culture. Parsecboy (talk) 13:49, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- Forget being a first-timer, I still have a browser tab open to the instructions while I'm closing an ACR...;-) Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 13:55, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- @Parsecboy - Don't get me wrong, I'm far from unsavvy with regards using website tools, but so far as changing things goes on Wiki, on the project's administrative side rather than editing, if you do something wrong during a close/move/archive then it often becomes someone else's job to clean up. Personally, I'm not in the habit of trying to do a task I'm not at least slightly familiar with, whether than be from some basic training to some other experience, like watching other people do it closely. We would hope that new site Admins wouldn't "experiment" with block functions without first knowing what they're doing, I think the same should apply to processing things such as ACR closes given that a lot of time has been taken to write and review the article, it would be awkward for one fresh coord to cock-up the process right at the last hurdle. I also think the project's "organisational culture" is mundane. We're in the 21st century, most of us are using broadband speeds and connecting daily, a discussion starts, various comments are made, a general idea is formed about something leaning towards a consensus, months later we don't see any changes or development in the thing discussed, it's like the discussion never even happened. And then you have to wonder why we bother having these discussions. It often feels like the project is being run by old men who prefer their traditional roots, and can't be arsed to progress with the rest of society. I think a lot of coords round here are already old men, in mind rather than in body. Call me impatient, but I often find the progression of many discussions on our project boards akin to standing in the queue at the Post Office on pension day.. takes bloody ages to get to the front, and when you do get there she closes the counter. In short, the organisational culture of this project is still living in the history it studies, and I haven't seen a lead coord yet take the initiative and try to get the project moved onto the fast rails. If "Lead coord" is nothing more than a title for show, as the Coordinators page specifically states "The position has no special responsibilities", then I just think we're wasting time having such a non-functional role.. in essence, I think there should just be a flat position of "coords" instead of some pointless "King of the castle" title. I imagine when the project started back in 2006, with Kirill as Lead coord for two years there were a lot of lead duties performed to get the project up and running, to build the project pages, to encourage membership, etc. Now, with all that done and established, the title is either a dysfunctional role, or we need to establish some duties for such a role with regards to them having some responsibility towards building membership and advancing the project. Especially when you consider how badly membership has been over the past few years, how the task forces have become worthless, how 3 of 4 special projects are dead in the water, etc. I don't feel like this project is a part of the greater Wikipedia system, more like one of those Wikia offshoot websites with its own self-contained content and very little interest in growth. I'll just conclude by saying, a year or two from now, I don't expect anything to be different.. still a "stuck in the mud" project with other projects climbing faster around it. Ma®©usBritish{chat} 22:30, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- @Parsecboy: When I saw the daunting list of steps for closing an ACR, I wrote a Bot to do it. I used it to close all the ACRs I close. The idea is that eventually all you'll have to do is post an entry on the ACRs for closure and the Bot will do it all for you. Hawkeye7 (talk) 13:42, 4 September 2013 (UTC)
- Forget being a first-timer, I still have a browser tab open to the instructions while I'm closing an ACR...;-) Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 13:55, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- Which totally goes against my point of coords learning to do things so they can perform their role and become experienced instead of relying on other people to do the things they don't know how. i.e. anyone can hire a taxi, but most people would rather learn to take the wheel and responsibility that goes with it, eventually. Ma®©usBritish{chat} 12:11, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- Marcus, closing an ACR is easy. You just list it on the ACRs for closure and I'll come along and close it. Hawkeye7 (talk) 12:01, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- Okay, I'll bite... ;-) Marcus, you raise some fair points, such as coords encouraging participation from their fellows re. daily tasks, the possibility of capping the number of terms (or at least consecutive terms) that coords should serve, and limiting the number of votes in the election. Re. the first one, I have to admit that I tend to assume people will 'muck in' where they can and, if they're not, then perhaps RL or other pressures are telling. Re. the others, I'm sure we've discussed them before but I have no issue revisiting. Now in terms of fresh blood, a number of us 'old hands' have made a point in the past of encouraging new people to run, so I don't think we're all being 'clubbish' in that respect. Lastly, I think you could AGF re. people's voting patterns -- I'll support whoever I think will do a decent job, no matter whether they're old or new, and not because I'm hoping for a return vote... ;-) Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 08:48, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- Think I'm going to step back from standing again.. I've found the experience of trying to be a coord utterly disappointing and I am all too aware of my lackluster efforts over the past year. My nomination last year was based on presenting ideas and trying to implement new ideas and reforms to the MilHist project, and most of the supports I received acknowledged and welcomed that idea. As it turned out, virtually ever suggestion I presented was either rejected or failed to blossom following brief or sporadic discussions within the first month. Since then I've failed to witness any real growth or renewed efforts in key areas of the project (i.e. task forces, special projects, membership in general is still down or dead). As a member, I've felt like an item gathering dust in an antique store, and I'm also in the opinion that we need to look towards having a complete overhaul of the coords nomination system, because electing a majority of the same people year after year is having a negative effect, in my opinion, it's more like a regime which gives the project their personality, rather than encouraging editors to inject fresh blood into the project so that it may develop its own personality. I think we need to stop the sycophancy with regards to the same circle of friends electing each other, and look at the bigger picture rather than who's in the local neighbourhood. Maybe a 2 or 3 year cap on how many subsequent terms an editor can stand should be introduced. It's all very well saying coords are performing all the hard work with regards closing reviews, etc.. funny that, because no other coord has approached me in the past year to ask if I want to get involved or learn the ropes and "get on the team", as it were, with regards input, there's no life and soul amongst the coords, no form of encouragement, no merit, except amongst those who are familiar with one another and don't appear to want to "pass the ball" to other players. Just my 2 cents, not attacking anyone, nor focused at any one in particular, it's just the unapproachable "cold shoulder" attitude I feel around coords in general. There's a very low level of "community spirit", I feel.. poor communication, poor task-sharing, I don't recall any coord dropping me a message this year to ask for a hand in doing something. Not sure what evey other coords self-esteem has been like over the past year, but I don't mind saying that due to the reasons I have addressed my commitment to the project has been impaired. Perhaps it's for the same reasons that few other members are willing to step up to the plate and give it a shot. I think there's a few weeks before the next election, and it might be worth other coords and members voicing their views with regards the nomination process, and it's not unfair to state that I believe the current method works more in favour of coords wanting to be re-elected due to over-whelming bias involved, than it does in encouraging other members to get on board. If I recall from last year's votes, two nominees didn't meet the minimum vote due to not being well known, yet other long-serving coords were reaching the minimum just from other coord votes alone, or close enough. It's a very slanted and undignified process, and too easily exploited with "unlimited votes" and editors returning to "top up" on who they need to vote for. There needs to be a fairer and balanced system, such as "3 votes each, all placed together, no mind-changing unless a nominee withdraws" type system. Given that we don't get a massive amount of editors participating in the voting anyway, most coords rely on each others support and usually get it.. I personally find this type of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" system a sham, because it's easy for a coord to vote for everyone in order to shame them each into returning the favour, taking him almost all the way to the minimum votes needed before non-coords even count. Limited vote casting would prevent this nonsense. It also helps to be an Aussie (Yes, I was kidding there!) Thoughts, opinions, disputes, etc let's hear them. Sorry about the wall of text, but then I haven't said much else all year. Ma®©usBritish{chat} 07:50, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- I find that too -- I think it's called getting older... ;-) Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 06:51, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- Assuming we follow the same schedule as last year, we're less than two days away from opening nominations. I've set up the election page at Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Coordinators/September 2013; I'd appreciate it if someone could check it over and make sure that I haven't missed anything. Kirill [talk] 08:49, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- Many thanks Kirill. I've just tweaked the wording to allow for the possibility of there being more than one lead coordinator, but would appreciate it if another editor could check my wording for precision, etc. Nick-D (talk) 11:44, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- For what it's worth, it reads clearly to me, Nick. Peacemaker67 (send... over) 12:03, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- Many thanks Kirill. I've just tweaked the wording to allow for the possibility of there being more than one lead coordinator, but would appreciate it if another editor could check my wording for precision, etc. Nick-D (talk) 11:44, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
Thanks for posting the notification Kirill. I've just posted messages of encouragement on the talk pages of a few of the editors who I think would make good coordinators (I think I've missed a few people), and would encourage the other coordinators to do the same. Nick-D (talk) 12:00, 4 September 2013 (UTC)
- I can't stand again, I don't think, next year, because of University commitments. Marcus, I think proposals next year should be put one-by-one on the main talk page, perhaps soliciting initial opinions at this page. I hope we can find some new blood, as always, and do what we can to ensure that new co-ordinators do the closes and whatnot, even if it means putting a bit more effort it. Grandiose (me, talk, contribs) 19:13, 9 September 2013 (UTC)
Just a reminder for anyone else planning to stand for re-election that there's less than 48 hours left before the nominations close. Kirill [talk] 04:24, 13 September 2013 (UTC)
August contest results
The results of what was a quieter month than we've seen in the recent past were: Peacemaker 67 - 56 points from five articles, Parsecboy - 37 points from five articles, Ian Rose - 26 points from four articles, Cdtew 25 points from three articles, Tomobe03 - 15 points from three articles, and Cuprum17 - Nine points from two articles. Cheers, Peacemaker67 (send... over) 12:39, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- I'd wager the resumption of university duties (among other things) has left some of us with a bit less time to spend writing :) Congrats on taking the top spot Peacemaker. Parsecboy (talk) 12:57, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- Thanks. I reckon you might be right. Thankfully, that's a long way behind me... Peacemaker67 (send... over) 13:12, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
- What's the drill with the contest awards? Do they go out when the Bugle goes out? Peacemaker67 (send... over) 21:58, 10 September 2013 (UTC)
- That's usually when I award them these days, no objection to anyone else doing it sooner, though of course you can't award yourself (actually now I think about it I might still be waiting on a second-place award from a couple of months ago, will have to check)... ;-) Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 22:19, 10 September 2013 (UTC)
- What's the drill with the contest awards? Do they go out when the Bugle goes out? Peacemaker67 (send... over) 21:58, 10 September 2013 (UTC)
- Thanks. I reckon you might be right. Thankfully, that's a long way behind me... Peacemaker67 (send... over) 13:12, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
First prototype of new membership directory
A few months ago, we discussed changing our current membership list to a more feature-rich membership directory based on subpages. I've now put together an initial prototype of what a page in the new directory would look like at Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Members/Example; the code that generates that page is as follows:
{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Framework/Member page
| image = Napoleon Wagram.jpg
| about me = Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
| British military history = yes
| weaponry = yes
| World War II = yes
| receive newsletter = yes
| receive announcements = yes
| receive notifications = yes
| active = yes
| joined = 2011
}}
Walking through the different features demonstrated in the prototype:
- The "
image
" parameter allows a member to place an image onto their member page; this can potentially be used for actual photos of people (for those members who are comfortable posting them) or for other images that members feel represent them in some way. - The "
about me
" parameter is a free-form text field that is placed under an "About me" header on the member subpage. It is intended to be used for a general description of a member's interests and activities relative to the project. - Each task force will have a corresponding parameter (e.g. "
British military history
", "weaponry
", etc.). Setting the parameter to "yes
" will display a link to the task force under a "My interests" header; it will also automatically generate a task force membership category (e.g. Category:WikiProject Military history members interested in British military history) as well as activity/subscription categories specific to the task force. - There are three parameters related to subscriptions:
- The "
receive newsletter
" parameter is intended to indicate whether the member wishes to receive copies of The Bugle. When both "receive newsletter
" and "active
" are set to "yes
" the page generates a corresponding category (Category:WikiProject Military history members receiving newsletters) that can be used to drive the newsletter delivery bot. Note that the check for "active
" means that inactive members will automatically be unsubscribed from the newsletter until they return to activity. - The "
receive announcements
" parameter is intended to indicate whether the member wishes to receive project-wide announcements (such as election announcements, etc.). When both "receive announcements
" and "active
" are set to "yes
" the page generates a corresponding category (Category:WikiProject Military history members receiving announcements) that can be used to drive an announcement delivery bot. As above, note that inactive members will automatically be unsubscribed from announcements. - The "
receive notifications
" parameter is intended to indicate whether the member wishes to receive Echo notifications from the project. When both "receive notifications
" and "active
" are set to "yes
" the page generates a corresponding category (Category:WikiProject Military history members receiving notifications) that can be used to drive a notification bot (more on this below). In addition, setting any task force parameter to "yes
" while "receive notifications
" is also set to "yes
" will generate a task force-specific notification category (e.g. Category:WikiProject Military history members receiving notifications about World War II) that can be used to target notifications at a more granular level. Again, note that inactive members will automatically be unsubscribed from notifications.
- The "
- The "
active
" parameter is intended to be updated by a bot, and will indicate whether the member has edited in a set period (e.g. the last 30 days). When "active
" is set to "yes
", the page generates a corresponding category (Category:Active WikiProject Military history members) that can be used to automatically generate statistics on active versus inactive membership. In addition, setting any task force parameter to "yes
" while "active
" is also set to "yes
" will generate a task force-specific activity category (e.g. Category:Active WikiProject Military history members interested in weaponry) that can be used to automatically generate the active participant lists on task force pages. - The "
joined
" parameter is intended to be automatically set when the page is created, and is included mostly for statistical purposes.
In the description above, I've alluded to the use of a notification bot. This is something that I've recently started developing; the basic idea is that the bot would cross-reference the interest/subscription categories generated by the new membership directory and the article alert feeds for each task force to automatically send members notifications on topics of interest to them. For example, if a World War II article is nominated for peer review, the bot would generate a post that would send a notification to everyone in Category:WikiProject Military history members receiving notifications about World War II inviting them to participate. The basic idea would be to reproduce the useful elements of the per-task force update system that we had a few years ago (when each task force had its own talk page) without actually requiring members to watch multiple pages, and without requiring any manual posting of announcements by the coordinators. The notification framework could potentially be expanded to allow direct notification of discussions as well (e.g. notifying aviation editors when an aviation-related question was posted on the project talk page), but that's something I haven't really considered in detail.
Obviously, the directory page template is still a prototype, is missing both the full set of task forces, and will require some stylistic work. Having said that, I would appreciate any feedback at this point, particularly with regard to what other features/data points we might want to include in the template. Kirill [talk] 20:04, 16 September 2013 (UTC)
- G'day, Kirill, I'm afraid I don't have the technical knowledge to provide much constructive feedback, sorry. I do like the idea, though, especially the idea of sending a notification about reviews etc. I think that would be a great way of facilitating increased participation. Thanks for working on this. Cheers, AustralianRupert (talk) 11:30, 18 September 2013 (UTC)
- I like this very much. An idea: I think it would be good to have parameters to denote administrators, coordinators, lead coordinators and such, probably to appear next to "Member since [year]" (we could just leave this up to individuals to put in their "about me" section, but I think my suggestion would be clearer) —Cliftonian (talk) 08:46, 25 September 2013 (UTC)
- Does the "joined" parameter refer to when someone first registered on Wiki, or first joined MilHist, as there may be a difference between the two, especially anyone who used an IP for a significant period as an anonymous contributing "member" before getting a proper account, or didn't join MilHist until a year or two after registering due to other interests or independent editing? Depends what the statistical purpose of the parameter is meant to show, though I realise only the account registering date can be automatically added.
- If Wiki markup allows for arrays, a parameter that lets members list the articles they created might be useful, as a way of tracking members in case they're interested in being notified of developments of an article (proposed moves, splits, mergers, deletions, etc). Alternatively, though I am hesitant to request this: members be allowed to list articles they created based on class. It's possible that could cause issues where articles have more than one class, e.g. GA/A, but if members could detail the top-class MilHist articles they created, i.e. A/AL, GA and FA/FL, to allow some way of auto-generating a "showcase" on each member page in a way that is uniform and accessible, it might be useful. I know some people already do this on their own userpage, in various ways, so it might be considered an extraneous feature. To be honest, I don't know how flexible Wiki is in allowing detailed member pages, given that you're limited to Wiki markup rather than raw PHP or whatever they use now, so these ideas are made ignorant of Wiki-workings and may not be feasible. Ma®©usBritish{chat} 09:41, 25 September 2013 (UTC)
- My thinking was that the "joined" parameter would be used to indicate when someone first joined MilHist, so that we can generate statistics about our membership growth and retention. I suppose there might be useful statistics that could be extracted from the date when people registered their accounts, but—as you point out—that's something that can be collected automatically anyways, and thus wouldn't necessarily need to be tracked in the membership form.
- There's no easy way to include (arbitrarily long) lists of articles as template parameters, but I'm not sure that's something we need to do through the membership directory; if someone has worked extensively on an article, wouldn't they have it on their watchlist (and thus be aware of any changes regarding it)? Conversely, if someone doesn't have it on their watchlist, we can probably assume that they don't really want to be notified of anything having to do with it.
- Having said that, some form of showcase mechanism might be useful for other reasons, and I'll continue looking into ways to implement one. Kirill [talk] 23:25, 25 September 2013 (UTC)
Changing "task force" terminology?
On a topic tangentially related to the discussion of the new membership directory above, one of the things that I heard mentioned a few times at Wikimania was that one of the possible factors contributing to the inactivity of our task forces was the fact that "task force" is not a self-explanatory name for new editors, who are unlikely to know the history behind our usage of the term, and would probably assume that the task forces were some mechanism for assigning tasks rather than groups related to certain topics. One of the people I spoke to suggested that using a more "obvious" name, such as "interest group", might help attract more participation from newer editors/members.
Is this something we want to explore further? I'd appreciate hearing everyone's thoughts on the matter. Kirill [talk] 20:10, 16 September 2013 (UTC)
- That actually could be worth looking into, especially in light of the "special projects" we run that are in fact specifically focused on one or two particular goals. I still feel that a complete overhaul of the task forces including a realigning and merging of relevant or closely related fields would also benefit by allowing the project to tighten up and broaden (to a certain extent) the task forces, which would help make them appear more active by increasing the number of people said to be listed in them. The more people that appear to be working in a particular area the better off the satellite groups like the TFs an the Special projects will be as it will lend an appearence of activity to the group in question. TomStar81 (Talk) 22:41, 16 September 2013 (UTC)
- Agree. I also think that many editors' interests often are narrower than those identified by our task forces, and that this may also be contributing to inactivity. For example, mine are essentially an intersection of two MILHIST task forces, Balkans and WWII. But even Balkans is too wide. We define the Balkans as including Greece and other countries in the region, most of which don't remotely interest me, as my interest is in Yugoslavia only. So my "area of interest" really is an intersection of our WWII task force and WikiProject Yugoslavia. This is why User:PRODUCER and I created Operation Bora, which we set up as a special project of WikiProject Yugoslavia, not MILHIST. I think changing "task force" to "area of interest" is a no-brainer, but I'd be interested to explore the idea of "Balkanising" the task forces into more specific "areas of interest" as well. Many task forces look like they are active, because they are adding new FA, A-class and GAs, but they really are not, because they are just benefiting from the work of editors that aren't even a member of that task force. Peacemaker67 (send... over) 03:34, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
- Indeed. In some case we have held on to inactive task forces because they function as a kind of fleet in being, a needed force to prevent other competing projects from gaining traction (of particular note here is the repeated suggestions that a dedicated WWI or WWII project be created). In other cases an inactive task force is shared by us and a relevant geographical project, and as a result there is reluctance to move on the matter for risk of alienating the other project. When I had suggested a merger of similarly minded geographical task forces into a regional/continental task force it was in part with the hope that a larger pool of geographical projects would help open up such task forces to more editor input. Over the years, and in particular over the last four or five years and Wikipedia as slowly begun to suffocate under the ever increasing policy, guideline, and bureaucratic creep is that those of us left who still edit are incline to edit a very particular set of pages, often times far too small to build a dedicated task force to/for, so as I learned with OMT it may be best in the long run to study what people are going to work on anyway and then structure something big enough to appeal to their interests so that the work group / special project / task force in question already has the editors it needs when it gets started. Otherwise, all the fanfare in the world isn't going to appeal to people who have little if any interest in the geographical area / time period / conflict in question. TomStar81 (Talk) 04:38, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
- Well, I think there's something to be said for viewing task forces primarily as ways to categorize our members according to interest for the purpose of reaching out to them individually (see e.g. the discussion of automated notifications in the preceding section) rather than as cohesive "groups" per se; in that context, narrower, more specific task forces are probably going to be more useful than broader, less specific ones.
- As a practical matter, with the exception of OMT, I don't think we've really seen a lot of activity centered around individual task forces or special projects (and, even in the case of OMT, it's arguable that such activity was already happening and having the special project there merely gave it a convenient central home rather than actually being the cause); while we can certainly keep exploring ways in which we can help foster a direct collaborative environment/process within individual task forces, I don't think we need to necessarily focus on that as our primary goal in developing them. Kirill [talk] 04:59, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
- Indeed. In some case we have held on to inactive task forces because they function as a kind of fleet in being, a needed force to prevent other competing projects from gaining traction (of particular note here is the repeated suggestions that a dedicated WWI or WWII project be created). In other cases an inactive task force is shared by us and a relevant geographical project, and as a result there is reluctance to move on the matter for risk of alienating the other project. When I had suggested a merger of similarly minded geographical task forces into a regional/continental task force it was in part with the hope that a larger pool of geographical projects would help open up such task forces to more editor input. Over the years, and in particular over the last four or five years and Wikipedia as slowly begun to suffocate under the ever increasing policy, guideline, and bureaucratic creep is that those of us left who still edit are incline to edit a very particular set of pages, often times far too small to build a dedicated task force to/for, so as I learned with OMT it may be best in the long run to study what people are going to work on anyway and then structure something big enough to appeal to their interests so that the work group / special project / task force in question already has the editors it needs when it gets started. Otherwise, all the fanfare in the world isn't going to appeal to people who have little if any interest in the geographical area / time period / conflict in question. TomStar81 (Talk) 04:38, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
- Agree. I also think that many editors' interests often are narrower than those identified by our task forces, and that this may also be contributing to inactivity. For example, mine are essentially an intersection of two MILHIST task forces, Balkans and WWII. But even Balkans is too wide. We define the Balkans as including Greece and other countries in the region, most of which don't remotely interest me, as my interest is in Yugoslavia only. So my "area of interest" really is an intersection of our WWII task force and WikiProject Yugoslavia. This is why User:PRODUCER and I created Operation Bora, which we set up as a special project of WikiProject Yugoslavia, not MILHIST. I think changing "task force" to "area of interest" is a no-brainer, but I'd be interested to explore the idea of "Balkanising" the task forces into more specific "areas of interest" as well. Many task forces look like they are active, because they are adding new FA, A-class and GAs, but they really are not, because they are just benefiting from the work of editors that aren't even a member of that task force. Peacemaker67 (send... over) 03:34, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
G'day, I think the "interest group" idea has merit. IMO the task forces/interest groups/etc continue to serve some purpose, providing a structure for categorisation (as mentioned above), but also providing editors with some idea of who they might contact for collaboration/help etc. They also serve to provide a list of resources etc, that can be used, which I personally have found helpful in the past and I think others have as well (this aspect might be little known by others, though, so perhaps we could advertise that a bit more as it might help others access sources). That said, the structure/form that they take probably could be improved. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 09:23, 18 September 2013 (UTC)
- I agree that "task force" sounds somewhat intimidating (and, to be pedantic, "task forces" are typically temporary organisations assembled for a specific purpose). "Interest group" or "work group" would be an improvement, and "community" might be better as well. Nick-D (talk) 10:00, 18 September 2013 (UTC)
- If I may be free to comment, I certainly think a moderate change in task force implementation would help. As I said in my self-nom for coord, the area I work in has about 4.5 task forces dedicated in part to similar topics; with a total of perhaps 5 active MILHIST contributors between them, there's no reason why Early Modern, AmRev, Three Kingdoms, part of Early Muslim, and Napoleonic Task forces couldn't be combined into an "Early Modern and Pre-Industrial Warfare Community". I think that Peacemaker's idea of "Balkanization" would best be reserved for Special Projects; task forces could be the logistical launchpad for those, and my hope would be that they would be able to do more focused recruitment of editors who share an interest in the subject-matter and content reviews of other editors within the TF. Just my 2 cents, but glad to listen to others' opinions. Cdtew (talk) 16:30, 18 September 2013 (UTC)
- I think a change of name to "interest group" or "work group" would be an improvement; makes the thing seem more open and less menacing to newcomers, and is also a better, more accurate description of what it actually is. —Cliftonian (talk) 18:36, 23 September 2013 (UTC)
- Not particularly fussed but would happily support a change to "work group". Anotherclown (talk) 11:02, 24 September 2013 (UTC)
- I think a change of name to "interest group" or "work group" would be an improvement; makes the thing seem more open and less menacing to newcomers, and is also a better, more accurate description of what it actually is. —Cliftonian (talk) 18:36, 23 September 2013 (UTC)
- If I may be free to comment, I certainly think a moderate change in task force implementation would help. As I said in my self-nom for coord, the area I work in has about 4.5 task forces dedicated in part to similar topics; with a total of perhaps 5 active MILHIST contributors between them, there's no reason why Early Modern, AmRev, Three Kingdoms, part of Early Muslim, and Napoleonic Task forces couldn't be combined into an "Early Modern and Pre-Industrial Warfare Community". I think that Peacemaker's idea of "Balkanization" would best be reserved for Special Projects; task forces could be the logistical launchpad for those, and my hope would be that they would be able to do more focused recruitment of editors who share an interest in the subject-matter and content reviews of other editors within the TF. Just my 2 cents, but glad to listen to others' opinions. Cdtew (talk) 16:30, 18 September 2013 (UTC)
As a practical matter here, before we change anything, we should seek the input of the active projects within who share a military themed task force to make sure that they understand what's being discussed here and allow for them to weigh in with regards to their particular task force so that when this change takes place they do not draw the incorrect conclusion(s) from the actions taken. The last thing we want would be for the US project and the Ships project and so forth in that manner to come to the conclusion that we are abandoning their/our task fores as a result of the renaming being discussed here. TomStar81 (Talk) 07:42, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
Election results
The coordinator election has now concluded, with the following candidates meeting the 20-vote threshold: AustralianRupert (44), Hawkeye7 (41), Nick-D (38), Anotherclown (35), Ian Rose (34), Dank (32), HJ Mitchell (30), The ed17 (30), Ed! (28), Cdtew (26), Peacemaker67 (26), TomStar81 (23), Cliftonian (22), and Tomobe03 (20).
Does anyone see any issues with these results? I assume that Rupert will be taking on the lead coordinator role this time around (unless he has any objections?). Kirill [talk] 00:09, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- I just checked, and those are the correct numbers of votes for each candidate. Congratulations to everyone - I think that this was the strongest field we've ever had, and I'm pleased to see several new faces in the Coordinator team :) Nick-D (talk) 00:19, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- I'm proud to have been elected to join such esteemed company, and hope I don't disappoint. Well done everybody! :) —Cliftonian (talk) 00:23, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- Good luck to all and happy coordinating. Enjoy MisterBee1966 (talk) 05:22, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- G'day, thanks to all that took part. I will start handing out the co-ord stars to those that gained the required support. I'm happy to take on the lead co-ord role (although I'd hope to avoid it this time!), but I'd like to reiterate that my opinion is that my role in that position is more to support all the other co-ords, not the other way round. As I said last year, if any new co-ords have questions about how to do things, please – I mean this sincerely – please ask. I am more than happy to talk through processes etc, as I am sure the other returning co-ords are. Also, if you have ideas about adjustments to processes etc. please feel free to put those forward. Everyone's opinion, whether new co-ord or returning, or even you are not a co-ord, is equally valid and worth considering. Cheers, AustralianRupert (talk) 06:12, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- Congratulations to all, especially to the new coordinators! Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 06:22, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- Ok, I've handed out the stars. Would someone mind awarding mine? Cheers, AustralianRupert (talk) 06:48, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- There we go. —Cliftonian (talk) 07:06, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- Thanks for the stars, guys, but I can hardly see them - or anything else - at the moment, as it appears I've got pink eye. All the same, I hope to be back in the saddle soon-ish. TomStar81 (Talk) 07:07, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- Congrats to all the new co-ords and the electorate! Hchc2009 (talk) 07:29, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- As has been said, it was a very strong field this year and great to see a significant proportion of newbies stepping up and getting the nod. Aside from the fact that one potential first-timer missed out, I suppose the main regret is that diversity-wise our field makes Tony Abbott's controversial cabinet look quite good by comparison -- perhaps we can try to remedy this over the coming year... Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 07:52, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- Congrats to all the new co-ords and the electorate! Hchc2009 (talk) 07:29, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- Thanks for the stars, guys, but I can hardly see them - or anything else - at the moment, as it appears I've got pink eye. All the same, I hope to be back in the saddle soon-ish. TomStar81 (Talk) 07:07, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- There we go. —Cliftonian (talk) 07:06, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- Ok, I've handed out the stars. Would someone mind awarding mine? Cheers, AustralianRupert (talk) 06:48, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- Congratulations to all, especially to the new coordinators! Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 06:22, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- G'day, thanks to all that took part. I will start handing out the co-ord stars to those that gained the required support. I'm happy to take on the lead co-ord role (although I'd hope to avoid it this time!), but I'd like to reiterate that my opinion is that my role in that position is more to support all the other co-ords, not the other way round. As I said last year, if any new co-ords have questions about how to do things, please – I mean this sincerely – please ask. I am more than happy to talk through processes etc, as I am sure the other returning co-ords are. Also, if you have ideas about adjustments to processes etc. please feel free to put those forward. Everyone's opinion, whether new co-ord or returning, or even you are not a co-ord, is equally valid and worth considering. Cheers, AustralianRupert (talk) 06:12, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
- Good luck to all and happy coordinating. Enjoy MisterBee1966 (talk) 05:22, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
Collapsing the "History of the coordinator system" section
The table we keep in the "History of the coordinator system" is starting to get long. Would there be any objections to collapsing the table and keeping just the current tranche visible? It would save space and probably make it easier for visitors to the page to determine who among us are currently serving as coordinators. TomStar81 (Talk) 07:37, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
- I have no problem with that. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 07:43, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
- I have no particular objections to collapsing the table, although I wonder if it's really necessary, since anyone looking for the current coordinators would presumably consult the list at the top of the page anyways. Kirill [talk] 08:10, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
- Agree with Kirill. Peacemaker67 (send... over) 08:48, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
- Yeah, not a big deal, but my feeling was more that a reader might tend to keep scrolling down to see if there was any more beyond the table and if it's collapsed you save 'em the trouble... Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 08:51, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
- I'd also support collapsing the table. —Cliftonian (talk) 13:29, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
- Its true that this isn't particularly necessary, but I think it helps to keep the page tidy such as it were. Granted the list is small, but other table pages are pretty long, and since this system's been in place for some time and doesn't appear to be going anywhere it'll only be a matter of time before the table grows to ridiculous lengths, hence the suggestion now for the sake of aesthetics. This is by no means a crucial task, just one I think will help keep things neat. TomStar81 (Talk) 00:43, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- I don't think it is necessary, but it is a pretty minor thing, I won't object if the consensus is to collapse it. Peacemaker67 (send... over) 01:45, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- Its true that this isn't particularly necessary, but I think it helps to keep the page tidy such as it were. Granted the list is small, but other table pages are pretty long, and since this system's been in place for some time and doesn't appear to be going anywhere it'll only be a matter of time before the table grows to ridiculous lengths, hence the suggestion now for the sake of aesthetics. This is by no means a crucial task, just one I think will help keep things neat. TomStar81 (Talk) 00:43, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- I'd also support collapsing the table. —Cliftonian (talk) 13:29, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
- Yeah, not a big deal, but my feeling was more that a reader might tend to keep scrolling down to see if there was any more beyond the table and if it's collapsed you save 'em the trouble... Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 08:51, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
- Agree with Kirill. Peacemaker67 (send... over) 08:48, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
- I have no particular objections to collapsing the table, although I wonder if it's really necessary, since anyone looking for the current coordinators would presumably consult the list at the top of the page anyways. Kirill [talk] 08:10, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
September contest results
Ian Rose - 61 (from 7 articles), Peacemaker67 - 51 (from 8), Parsecboy - 42 (from 6), Zawed - 30 (from 5), Cuprum17 - 24 (from 4), Tomobe03 - 23 (from 5), Cdtew and Djmaschek - 6 (from 1), and RoslynSKP - 5 (from 1). The scoreboard hasn't been updated for nearly six months, perhaps we could rotate that job amongst us? Regards, Peacemaker67 (send... over) 07:35, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- G'day, thanks for bringing this to my attention. I will work on updating it now. It might take a bit. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 08:26, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- I'm putting my hand up - volunteering to update the scoreboard - if that's alright with others.--Tomobe03 (talk) 08:55, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- I'll do one update for each month between April and now, just for the sake of archived monthly totals in editing history.--Tomobe03 (talk) 09:19, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- Good man! Peacemaker67 (send... over) 09:26, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- May and June updates are in, and I expect to post the remaining three by the end of the day.--Tomobe03 (talk) 09:50, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- We have been pretty slack about the ongoing scores (there was a suggestion a while back that perhaps we didn't need them, though I think the consensus was in fact to retain) and updating them is just the task for an incoming coord -- tks! Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 10:14, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- All done. --Tomobe03 (talk) 10:54, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- Would any of the two following charts be of interest to the project as addition below the summary table? I'm not sure if those are of any use except as a form of progress bars, but the data is readily available upon individual updates of the overall table - so I thought to ask.--Tomobe03 (talk) 11:36, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- We have been pretty slack about the ongoing scores (there was a suggestion a while back that perhaps we didn't need them, though I think the consensus was in fact to retain) and updating them is just the task for an incoming coord -- tks! Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 10:14, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- May and June updates are in, and I expect to post the remaining three by the end of the day.--Tomobe03 (talk) 09:50, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- Good man! Peacemaker67 (send... over) 09:26, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- Points awarded
- Articles improved
G'day, Tom, thanks greatly for updating the contest. I had plans to do it in one edit; but your way makes more sense. Cheers. Regarding the tables, not sure to be honest. I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm, but my concern is that they would create another thing to be updated manually. But, I'm more than happy to discuss the idea and see what everyone else thinks. What would you see as the main utility of the tables? Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 07:06, 2 October 2013 (UTC)
- Oh, I'm not bent on having any of those included. I just thought to offer those since the data required for a manual update - a single number to be added in the group1= parameter was readily available to me because I prepared updates copying the wiki tables into an offline spreadsheet automatically generating totals by month. As far as utility is concerned, I'm afraid there is little in that respect besides an activity level indicator.--Tomobe03 (talk) 09:21, 2 October 2013 (UTC)
- I think I'm on the same page as whoever raised the raison d'être for the big table in the past. I am not clear on what it tells us or why we keep the information in that way. Maybe we should have an January-December running tally of points and articles each year instead? With awards for the highest points and highest average at the end of the year. Such a system would reward the regular contributors to the contest but also allow for some catch-up if you had RW commitments in a couple of months and were off your game for a bit. Thoughts?
- G'day, yes that was what I was thinking when I proposed it ;-) We did have a discussion about it at the time, though, and I think consensus was against it. Happy to discuss again, if others want to, though. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 10:09, 2 October 2013 (UTC)
- I think I'm on the same page as whoever raised the raison d'être for the big table in the past. I am not clear on what it tells us or why we keep the information in that way. Maybe we should have an January-December running tally of points and articles each year instead? With awards for the highest points and highest average at the end of the year. Such a system would reward the regular contributors to the contest but also allow for some catch-up if you had RW commitments in a couple of months and were off your game for a bit. Thoughts?
Awards - Monthly MH article writing contest
G'day all, Largely because I was institutionalised into the idea that awards should be handed out in a timely manner, I propose we hand out the contest awards as soon as they have been worked out (ie first couple of days of the new month. I still think that we should advertise the results in the Bugle, where everyone that had a crack gets a mention, but the two awards should actually be handed out not when the Bugle comes out, but straight away. Same as ACMs. Thoughts?
- Any time suits me -- it's been convenient for me to award them out when I'm preparing the associated blurb for The Bugle that month but any coord can hand them out sooner. While we're at it, for completeness, before someone awards the first-placegetter for this month they might be able to dish out the Writers Barnstar to me for second place in the June contest, which I'm still patiently awaiting... ;-) Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 10:31, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- No prob. Done. Peacemaker67 (send... over) 11:22, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- This sounds sensible. At the risk of sounding preachy, I think that we should be seeking to process all the various awards more quickly as there have been some lengthy delays in recent months (which I, as a lead coordinator of the previous coordination team, am of course partially responsible for). Nick-D (talk) 11:35, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- I agree Nick (not with your self-criticism, but with the idea of timeliness being important). The change to ACM procedure was a wise move that went through under your watch, so no-one could accuse you guys of being asleep at the wheel on this issue (or anything else) in my view, and that change will help ACM awards to be more timely once we all get to used to it. Are there other awards we should be looking at in terms of timeliness? Peacemaker67 (send... over) 12:56, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
- There was also a lengthy delay with processing a nomination for the WikiChevrons with Oak Leaves (the project's highest award). Nick-D (talk) 10:53, 2 October 2013 (UTC)
- Not familiar with the process for nomination and award for that. Is there a process or is it organic? Peacemaker67 (send... over) 11:15, 2 October 2013 (UTC)
- Yes, there's a process - please see the entry at Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Awards. It would be nice to hand out some more of these awards :) Nick-D (talk) 11:25, 2 October 2013 (UTC)
- No point in having it unless it gets awarded! There must be some deserving souls out there. Peacemaker67 (send... over) 11:40, 2 October 2013 (UTC)
- Yes, there's a process - please see the entry at Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Awards. It would be nice to hand out some more of these awards :) Nick-D (talk) 11:25, 2 October 2013 (UTC)
- Not familiar with the process for nomination and award for that. Is there a process or is it organic? Peacemaker67 (send... over) 11:15, 2 October 2013 (UTC)
- There was also a lengthy delay with processing a nomination for the WikiChevrons with Oak Leaves (the project's highest award). Nick-D (talk) 10:53, 2 October 2013 (UTC)
- I agree Nick (not with your self-criticism, but with the idea of timeliness being important). The change to ACM procedure was a wise move that went through under your watch, so no-one could accuse you guys of being asleep at the wheel on this issue (or anything else) in my view, and that change will help ACM awards to be more timely once we all get to used to it. Are there other awards we should be looking at in terms of timeliness? Peacemaker67 (send... over) 12:56, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
Flow
I'd like to experiment with asking for a conversation about WT:Flow here rather than directing everyone to that talk page. (I've left a pointer at WT:Mil#Flow.) The developer team isn't getting as much detailed feedback as they'd like; the conversations tend to go in other directions, so it's possible that inviting discussion within individual wikiprojects will get us where we need to go faster. When Wikipedia got started, Google was just getting off the ground, and people who knew what the internet was were likely to dial in with a modem. At that time, free-form talk pages made perfect sense, but these days, research suggests that our talk pages aren't meeting current expectations of new users.
Some new college campuses are built without sidewalks, so that the designers can see where the students are wearing ruts in the grass before the sidewalks go in. By the same theory, I think our free-form style (up till now) has been a net positive ... now the community has a lot of very detailed experience on what features Wikipedia talk pages do and don't need. The developers need to know what we know. It will be easier to answer some questions when they get a working prototype up that we can play with (currently planned for early November), but anything we can tell them now would be appreciated. You can get some basic information at WP:Flow and on Brandon's talk page. - Dank (push to talk) 19:33, 3 October 2013 (UTC)