Encyc:Community portal/Archive 2

Archived 2/19/19

Upgraded

We just upgraded to Mediawiki 1.25.1. Seems to be working fine. If anyone notices any issues please let me know. Auggie (talk) 13:37, 6 July 2015 (CDT)

We just upgraded to 1.26.2. :) Auggie (talk) 00:06, 1 January 2016 (CST)

Mobile Frontend Extension enabled

Encyc should now work much better on mobile devices, and will get a bump in Google rankings, because it is mobile-friendly. I just installed the Mobile Frontend extension. I tried it out on my Android phone and it seems to be working fine. If anyone else would care to test it on their device and let me know how it is, I would appreciate the feedback. Auggie (talk) 20:20, 17 July 2015 (CDT)

Logo redesign

I've been thinking about replacing the logo with something new. Here are some contenders. Auggie (talk) 18:18, 20 July 2015 (CDT)

• 
• 

I like the blue one. Alexander (talk) 18:57, 20 July 2015 (CDT)

Blue --DonLandry (talk) 19:34, 20 July 2015 (CDT)

I like the blue one, too. --Merry Christmas from stranger195 (talk • contribs • guestbook) 01:22, 30 December 2015 (CST)

Special characters

I like how Encyc skips these. Often when reading articles I like to used ctrl-f and find the word I'm interested in. On Wikipedia I just tried konig in the East Prussia article to find the word Konigsberg and nothing came up, because the o is a special character on Wikipedia. Personally I think whatever advantage is gained by having those characters is lost by search and typing difficulties. English reference books got by for hundreds of years with Anglicizing words and I see an advantage in continuing that tradition. Auggie (talk) 07:51, 25 July 2015 (CDT)

Extension: Hitcounters

I just installed the Hitcounters extension. Because I like seeing how often people read our stuff right on the page. In the past, this feature was default for all MediaWikis but it was removed in version 1.25. I know, it's not necessarily the most accurate statistic but I always thought it was one of the cool things about MediaWiki. I don't really see any performance hit but if we get really bogged down I can always remove it. This also gives us back Special:PopularPages. Auggie (talk) 21:22, 1 August 2015 (CDT)

Permitting SVG files to be uploaded

Millions of portable network graphics (PNGs) are converted to scalable vector graphics. Also, what if someone imported a Wikipedia article to Encyc? They wouldn't be able to upload the SVGs used on that page. So, maybe we should permit SVG files. It would be a good idea, I think. The code to be put in LocalSettings.php is: $wgFileExtensions[] = 'svg';. --Merry Christmas from stranger195 (talk • contribs • guestbook) 01:21, 30 December 2015 (CST)

Hello and welcome! I'll check into this, probably after the new year. Do you know of any disadvantage to allowing SVG's? Auggie (talk) 12:49, 30 December 2015 (CST)

I don't see any. Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons both use tons of SVGs, so we won't be able to import them if we don't allow them. --Merry Christmas from stranger195 (talk • contribs • guestbook) 23:01, 8 January 2016 (CST)

Installing Scribunto

So, I've noticed that some templates, those that were imported from Wikipedia that use Lua modules, weren't working. I know the reason! Scribunto isn't installed. Yeah. Maybe we should get it on Encyc. --Merry Christmas from stranger195 (talk • contribs • guestbook) 01:35, 30 December 2015 (CST)

No one ever needed it before, and I have been trying to keep the installation simple. Easier upgrades, fewer things to go wrong, etc. If you think you would use it I can look into installing it. Auggie (talk) 12:51, 30 December 2015 (CST)

I see your point. I'm just gonna replace them with the pre-Lua versions. --Merry Christmas from stranger195 (talk • contribs • guestbook) 23:02, 8 January 2016 (CST)

 Done

Hi Stranger! Thanks for the tip. I installed Scribunto today.

I'm still hoping we can develop simply without the need for too many complicated tricks, but this should make importing articles from Wikipedia much easier. Auggie (talk) 14:10, 3 September 2016 (CDT)

Happy New Year!

A big thank you for making 2015 a great year for Encyc and I wish you a happy new year! Auggie (talk) 00:09, 1 January 2016 (CST)

InstantCommons enabled, and an update.

Hello everyone and glad you're with us!

I have updated Encyc to the current version, 1.27.0. As usual, please report any bugs here or on my talk page.

We are excited to announce a new feature, called InstantCommons. This allows you to take any image you see on Wikipedia, and use it here using the exact same code. The software handles checking Wikimedia Commons and caching a version here so that we don't overtax Wikimedia's servers. Very cool! Auggie (talk) 09:51, 18 August 2016 (CDT)

Here is an example:

HB graphite pencils

References

Thanks to a helpful suggestion from Stranger, I've installed Scribunto. What this means on a practical level is that the reference templates are working better, so when we bring an article over from Wikipedia, it won't need as much work. The new templates are pretty powerful. I couldn't resist.

This doesn't mean I've abandoned my KISS philosophy, but that I've just made a minor concession to the reality that most people are going to expect Wikipedia's functionality. I've always said we should try to be as seamless as possible between here and there. Auggie (talk) 14:22, 3 September 2016 (CDT)

How to move pages?

I want to move the article United States presidental election to United States presidential election, but I don't know how. --Turkeybutt JC (talk) 18:24, 26 October 2016 (CDT)

Move has been disabled for regular users, to reduce vandalism. Admins can do it. Just mentioning it here is good enough. I'll go ahead and make the move. Auggie (talk) 19:09, 26 October 2016 (CDT)

Update notice

I just updated Encyc. If anyone finds errors, please let me know. Auggie (talk) 16:34, 8 January 2017 (CST)

Notice: Discontinuation of Encyc PmWiki and Encyc Forum

I am planning to take the PmWiki and the Forum offline soon. This should affect virtually no one, because they are unused. The reason for the change is because they are not mobile-friendly, and taking them down will make the site do better in search rankings and be easier to maintain. Auggie (talk) 13:53, 12 January 2017 (CST)

Recent Changes messed up

Recent changes is messed up for the time being. I will fix it later today. Auggie (talk) 08:23, 6 February 2017 (CST)

fixed, mostly. greater than 50 changes still gives an error, but that should shake out soon. Auggie (talk) 16:04, 6 February 2017 (CST)

Updated MediaWiki

As usual, please let me know if anything isn't working right. Auggie (talk) 10:27, 24 September 2017 (CDT)

ok little snag. I forgot to move over the images file. It's in the right place now but some of the articles still haven't caught up. I'm going to give it a few hours and then recheck. Auggie (talk) 17:43, 25 September 2017 (CDT)

I think it's fixed. I ran some scripts. If any articles are still missing images that you know are there, try making an edit. They usually appear. Auggie (talk) 18:13, 25 September 2017 (CDT)

This wiki is kinda dead

Any ideas for how to attract new people? 1966 ^Chat! 22:46, 20 April 2018 (CDT)

We're working on a new logo which should really shake things up. :) Auggie (talk) 18:05, 24 April 2018 (CDT)

Hmm, interesting. Do you think that we could try to create a project to Un-stubify smaller articles? RenYifan 18:07, 24 April 2018 (CDT)

Admin

May i have admin, so i can perform a massive revdel spree of deleting revisions made by the NEDM Vandal? either this account or 1966 is fine. RenYifan 18:24, 24 April 2018 (CDT)

Auggie, could I have your input on this? Ren! ^t_c 18:56, 24 April 2018 (CDT)

No thank you. First, having a bunch of old revisions in the system is not a problem. They are not indexed by Google. The only people who will even know they exist are power users who understand the revision system and want to look for them. I'd like to resist the temptation to hide old revisions from regular users (unless there is a really good reason), because restricting access to information is one of the ways admins on Wikipedia enforce their superiority and two-tiered social system. Second, you're still way too new around here. Auggie (talk) 07:59, 25 April 2018 (CDT)

Also no, if my vote counts at all (as this is a benevolent dictatorship, it only "sometimes" counts ;) ). I've told him on my wall that I find it extremely dubious that a new user arrives on the scene and in the same day, asks for admin. He agrees, yet yet he does so anyway, which I find puzzling. I said "wait a while" and I meant it. To be clear, "a while" is not a few days, "a while" is months or years - however long it takes to establish yourself and show us you can be trusted. When I was made admin ages ago, Auggie had a pretty good idea who I was already.

To be blunt, I question his intentions. Call me overly suspicious, paranoid or just plain cautious, I haven't figured out which one yet. He's new here and as they say, we don't know him from Adam. He could be anyone & he could have ulterior motives. As well, I'm probably the most active admin there is and if anything needs doing, I'll be more than happy to do it. Why we need someone else to do things we are more than capable of doing ourselves, I have no idea. I offer a counter-proposal, Ren Yifan/1966 - if you find something so objectionable that it shouldn't be seen (language/libel/etc), I'll be happy to discuss it with you on my talk page. I'll decide on a case-by-case basis and I'll handle it myself. I remind you again, for a second time, there are no rules about these things. A new person storming in, trying to make the rules and do our jobs for us is something I find strange, not to mention a bit insulting. We can handle the wiki. We've been doing so for years. That particular vandal is not an issue and strikes rarely. We've got this. Thanks but no thanks.

Also, there is no need to hide entire revisions except in cases of personal information. That's a bit excessive. I would think that hiding the edit summaries is perfectly fine if there's language or libel. I'm with Auggie on this one too.

On a personal note, I would discourage users making sockpuppet templates to tag other users with. This is not Wikipedia. We are a much more relaxed bunch of folks than they are and I don't think you know how things work. Please do not do this again. Leave the policy and rules to us. If it helps, you may consider this a warning. Thanks. Alexander (talk) 22:24, 25 April 2018 (CDT)

Yes, ok. Ren! ^t_c 23:58, 25 April 2018 (CDT)

Also please don't blank other people's work. You're new here and already you're stepping on toes. That is not a good sign! Ask if you're not sure. I realize you had good intentions at heart but a) he's a long-established editor here and b) it's not spam. (Even one section of "buy this thing" doesn't make the entire page an advertisement. Try to use some good judgment.) We aren't the edit police, ready to pounce on you for the slightest infraction, like Wikipedia admins. Again, we are pretty easy-going here. If you come here with expectations that things work the same as on Wikipedia, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Thanks. Alexander (talk) 00:35, 26 April 2018 (CDT)

It's even more shady that, when you don't get what you ask for, you mark both your accounts inactive. You know you can help out without being admin, right? But no, you absolutely have to be. Hmmm... Alexander (talk) 07:39, 26 April 2018 (CDT)

I had some further criticisms that I posted on my talk page that I think would suit here better:

I am pretty sure that when I said "I wouldn't care about deleting revisions", I didn't mean "hey, let's keep doing it, that would be an awesome idea". I am also pretty sure that when I said "wait a while before asking for admin", "a while" was not "a week". It's like you weren't even listening to what I said and just did the opposite anyway. Listen to us. We've been around a while. Don't just ignore us and do your own thing. If we think something's a bad idea, it probably is and maybe you shouldn't be doing it. (Don't get me wrong, it's not Do What We Say Because We Say So. We've been here longer than you, we know how things work, we've helped to make the place what it is. Try listening to us.)

You're taking it upon yourself to change The Way Things Work™ just because you disagree with something, even butting heads with people, editing stuff in their userspace without asking, reverting people because you think Wikipedia rules apply here. Some of that stuff wouldn't even fly on Wikipedia! There are some who would come down on you like a ton of bricks and we're here going, "This isn't a good idea, don't do it." You know the expression "a bull in a china shop"? That's you. You're a little too militant. Again, this is much more of a relaxed atmosphere here and we don't have our heads up our own asses like most Wikipedia admins. We're a pretty agreeable bunch here. My advice would have been to slow down and think before you do anything. Ask yourself things like, "Would this be a good idea? Should I be doing it? Will it cause trouble?" If the answer to even one of those is "yes", don't do it. If you want to change the way things work, there are less confrontational ways to go about it. You could have considered posting somewhere "I think this is offensive. Should we do something about it?". Actually engage people on the topic and start a discussion instead of storming in and trying to rewrite the rules. Do you agree that maybe there's a possibility that you went about things the wrong way? Maybe you should have stuck around for a while and observed how we do things first. Alexander (talk) 09:14, 26 April 2018 (CDT)

Hello and a suggestion

Hello, My name is Robert Paulson, I'm new to this wiki, but not to Wikimedia software. I like the idea of having a fork of Wikipedia as well. I have one suggestion (for the admin - since neither I nor any other user can do this ), you may want add custom 404 messages, since the current one shows your webhost, that's not too secure! See you all around
His name isRobert Paulson 15:23, 3 May 2018 (CDT)

I like this idea. Alexander (talk) 15:31, 3 May 2018 (CDT)

Done. Thanks for the tip. Auggie (talk) 09:45, 6 May 2018 (CDT)

Captchas

Can we have some sort of "autoconfirmed" status so that we don't have to work with the Captchas when creating articles. I just had to answer the same Captcha 4 times in a row to create an article, and had to do pretty much the same thing when posting on this board (I'm referring to the message above ). It's pretty annoying when we're trying to create articles. how about it ?
His name isRobert Paulson 10:38, 5 May 2018 (CDT)

This already exists in the MediaWiki software. There's already a group called "autoconfirmed users" but I don't know what the criteria is for it. Maybe Auggie can answer that. Alexander (talk) 19:06, 5 May 2018 (CDT)

I'm not sure what's going on here. I was just able to edit and create articles from the Public account without answering Captchas. I then tried the same thing from a newly created account and it worked. Do you want to try again from your side and see if it goes away? What browser are you using? Does the same thing happen to you on other wikis? Auggie (talk) 09:15, 6 May 2018 (CDT)

User:Auggie I'm using IE (I'm at work, so I have little control over what browser I can use) and no it doesn't happen on Infogalactic or Rational Wiki. Just here. When I say "Captchas" I'm talking about the question that has to be answered when anything is posted, like "What animal looks like it's wearing a mask ".
His name isRobert Paulson 09:44, 7 May 2018 (CDT) _{PS: It stopped as of this message, so if you changed anything about my account, thank you. This is resolved!
OOPS!! Spoke too soon, it's back
His name isRobert Paulson 09:48, 7 May 2018 (CDT)}

I think Auggie knows what a captcha is. It shouldn't be happening is his point. Alexander (talk) 12:57, 7 May 2018 (CDT)

I used to have more normal questions but the spammers kept figuring them out too quickly.

I wonder if maybe you're posting from an IP that got caught up in one of our old bans. I've let most of them expire but it's possible. Does it happen on your phone too? Auggie (talk) 16:24, 7 May 2018 (CDT)

I'll try it on my phone to see if it happens there as well. It's likely the IP issue, though I'm a work so this is a corporate IP :)
His name isRobert Paulson 16:39, 7 May 2018 (CDT)

Ok - so, I tried this on my phone a few times and it works just fine. It's likely my IP address (at work) that's causing the problem. Thanks for the troubleshooting on this!
His name isRobert Paulson 07:46, 9 May 2018 (CDT)