User talk:Miszatomic

• News and notes: Departments reorganized at Wikimedia Foundation, and a month without new RfAs (so far)
  While the English Wikipedia community produces no new requests for adminhood in June, the Wikimedia Foundation makes changes to the Product and Technology departments.

• In the media: Kalanick's nipples; Episode #138 of Drama on the Hill
  The anatomy of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick's chest area has been the talk of the month. But so have high-profile edits, hacked articles, and one particular newborn growing up.

• Op-ed: Facto Post: a fresh take
  Exploring sourcing issues in Wikimedia projects, a solution in Wikidata and fact mining, and a newsletter to continue the conversation.

• Featured content: Will there ever be a break? The slew of featured content continues
  22 featured articles, 17 featured lists, 7 featured pictures

• Traffic report: Wonder Woman beats Batman, The Mummy, Darth Vader and the Earth
  Summer blockbusters and sports, Trump and world events.

• Recent research: Utopian bubbles: Can Wikipedians create value outside of the capitalist system?
  A researcher applies Marxist critiques of political economy to investigate whether gamification, a culture of altruism, and other anti-corporatist influences on peer production can create a sustainable gift economy in a project like Wikipedia.

• Technology report: Improved search, and WMF data scientist tells all
  Search now can include sister projects; EpochFail

• News and notes: French chapter woes, new affiliates and more WMF team changes
  The English Wikipedia sees its first new admin of the season, discord rocks Wikimedia France, some tweaks to the WMF reorg, and a new WMF annual plan mark this issue's community news.

• Featured content: Spectacular animals, Pine Trees screens, and more
  Recently promoted articles, lists, and pictures.

• In the media: Concern about access and fairness, Foundation expenditures, and relationship to real-world politics and commerce
  A grab bag of alt-right speech, classical scholars, the dark web, elicited European tourism, $500,000 golden parachutes, forgery, the Great Firewall, net neutrality, nukes, paid editing, porn, and terrorism.

• Recent research: The chilling effect of surveillance on Wikipedia readers
  A closer look at the research that found that the 2013 Snowden revelations coincided with a significant drop of pageviews for privacy-sensitive Wikipedia articles

• Op-ed: Why Task Forces are Dying in 2017
  ...and is there anything we can do to stop it? Opinions and examples from across the project.

• Gallery: A mix of patterns
  An interesting mix of patterns and colors to brighten your day...

• Humour: The Infobox Game
  Enjoy the Parameters: The Infobox Game can be enjoyed by everyone, not just those interested in water buffalo breeds, volcanic hotspots or the mysterious heteroisoform, and some day just might spawn an important facet of the financial derivatives industry.

• Traffic report: Film, television and Internet phenomena reign with some room left over for America's birthday
  Popular interest in celebrities, blockbusters and an upcoming season of a popular television show drive traffic, with a smattering of world events, holidays and a Reddit storm around – surprise – free porn for the U.S. Congress.

• Technology report: New features in development; more breaking changes for scripts
  Syntax highlighting, changes to Recent Changes, Wikidata on the enhance watchlist, accessible editing buttons and jQuery upgrade may break scripts.

• Wikicup: 2017 WikiCup round 3 wrap-up
  The heat turns up on the 32 contestants who entered round three: 13 featured articles, 82 good articles, 167 DYKs, but we had to pick just eight of them to advance.

• News and notes: Non-English special edition! 99% no news about English-based wiki communities!
  Wikimania in Montreal, lawsuit in Sweden, challenges in France

• Recent research: Wikipedia can increase local tourism by +9%; predicting article quality with deep learning; recent behavior predicts quality
  Local tourism gains +9% when Wikipedia articles are improved; significant improvements in predicting article quality with deep learning; recent editor behavior is a strong predictor of content quality

• WikiProject report: Comic relief
  An interview with a project that is centered around comics.

• In the media: Wikipedia used to judge death penalty, arms smuggling, Indonesian governance, and HOTTEST celebrity
  Wikipedia and reliable sources of information continue to define each other

• Traffic report: Swedish countess tops the list
  Plus plenty of sports, film, and television

• Blog: Canadian Supreme Court rules against Google in favor of worldwide court orders
  The Canadian Supreme Court ruled that Google must remove search results worldwide, dismissing concerns that this may impede freedom of expression for people outside of Canada or inspire other countries to censor speech.

• Special report: Sharing Wikipedia offline medical information in the Dominican Republic
  Wikimedia contributors support each other's projects in many unexpected ways

• Featured content: Everywhere in the lead
  Recently promoted articles, lists and pictures – with a very heavy one in the mix

• Technology report: Introducing TechCom
  The Architecture Committee adopts a new charter and name; and the latest in script, bot, and tech news

• Humour: WWASOHs and ETCSSs
  An elite squad of highly insightful editors can lead the way for other editors who may need to retrain their faces into forming a smile.

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 23, June-July 2017

• Library card
• User Group update
• Global branches update
• Spotlight: Combating misinformation, fake news, and censorship
• Bytes in brief

Chinese, Arabic and Yoruba versions of Books & Bytes are now available in meta!

Read the full newsletter

• From the editors: What happened at Wikimania?
  Please share your Wikimania 2017 experiences!

• News and notes: Basselpedia; WMF Board of Trustees appointments
  Some of the goings-on from Wikimania 2017.

• Featured content: Warfighters and their tools or trees and butterflies
  Take your pick of the best of Wikipedia.

• Traffic report: A fortnight of conflicts
  White supremacists v. anti-fascism groups, Mayweather v. McGregor, Moon v. Sun.

• Special report: Biomedical content, and some thoughts on its future
  Wikipedia's medical and scientific content has come a long way since 2001. Here are some thoughts on how it may continue to evolve.

• Recent research: Discussion summarization; Twitter bots tracking government edits; extracting trivia from Wikipedia
  A list of recent research publications on various topics.

• In the media: Google's Ideological Echo Chamber; What makes someone successful?
  Plus the latest reports of vandalism and mistakes in Wikipedia.

• WikiProject report: WikiProject YouTube
  WikiProject YouTube is a new project on both English and Simple English Wikipedia.

• Technology report: Latest tech news
  Syntax highlighting, failed login notifications, watchlist filters, and more.

• Wikicup: 2017 WikiCup round 4 wrap-up
  Ships, typhoons, birds, and more!

• Humour: Bots
  They do the things you don't want to do (and sometimes things you don't want done).

• News and notes: Chapter updates; ACTRIAL
  News from Wikimedia France, Wikimedia Macedonia, and Wikimedia Israel's; Autoconfirmed article creation trial begins

• In the media: Monkey settlement; Wikipedia used to give AI context clues
  Also: Jeopedia, Dubaipedia, shaping science, fake quote reused by scholarly sources

• Humour: Chickenz
  The best that poultry has to offer

• Recent research: Wikipedia articles vs. concepts; Wikipedia usage in Europe
  Plus the latest research publications.

• Technology report: Flow restarted; Wikidata connection notifications
  Plus more tech news, and the latest scripts and bots

• Gallery: Chicken mania
  Complimenting this issue's Humour about chickens...

• Special report: Two steps forward, one step backward: The Sustainability Initiative
  Finally we're seeing some initial successes, but the Wikimedia movement is still far from being environmentally sustainable.

• Traffic report: Fights and frights
  Boxing, hurricanes, clowns, and more!

• Featured content: Flying high
  Newly featured birds, planes, and high achievers

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 24, August-September 2017

• User Group update
• Global branches update
  • Star Coordinator Award - last quarter's star coordinator: User:Csisc
• Wikimania Birds of a Feather session roundup
• Spotlight: Wiki Loves Archives
• Bytes in brief

Arabic, Kiswahili and Yoruba versions of Books & Bytes are now available in meta!

Read the full newsletter

• News and notes: Money! WMF fundraising, Wikimedia strategy, WMF new office!
  The Wikimedia Foundation publishes the latest fundraising report, convenes over the close of the strategic plan discussion, and moves into a new space.

• Featured content: Don, Marcel, Emily, Jessica and other notables
  A variety of topics promoted.

• Humour: Guys named Ralph
  If your name is Ralph, well sorry.

• In focus: Offline Wikipedia developed at OFF.NETWORK Content Hackathon
  Advocates for sharing offline information gather to make content, software, hardware, and social decisions.

• Blog: The future of offline access to Wikipedia: The Kiwix example
  A chat with a developer of open source software which allows users to download web content for offline reading, and the future of offline access to Wikipedia.

• In the media: Facebook and poetry
  Fighting fake news and plagiarism.

• Special report: Working with GLAMs in the UK
  Wikimedia UK's partnerships and achievements working with GLAM institutions.

• Traffic report: Death, disaster, and entertainment
  Readers interested in the the death of Hef, Puerto Rico, films and television.

• News and notes: Cons, cons, cons
  The first ever Wikidata conference was a con we wanted. Problematic paid editing while in a position of trust: not so much.

• Arbitration report: Administrator desysoped; How to deal with crosswiki issues; Mister Wiki case likely
  Arbitration matters from October and November.

• Technology report: Searching and surveying
  A new advanced search interface; the Community Wishlist Survey is back.

• Interview: A featured article centurion
  Brianboulton talks about featured articles on his 100th promotion.

• WikiProject report: Recommendations for WikiProjects
  A novel approach to recruit members for your project!

• In the media: Open knowledge platform as a media institution
  Wikipedia seen as flawed but important; conservative think-tank fellow wants his say; volunteer in Madison wants to close the gender gap.

• Traffic report: Strange and inappropriate
  Readers intrigued by the Netflix show Stranger Things, and by sexual assault allegations.

• Featured content: We will remember them
  War memorials, soldiers, extinct species, and devastating hurricanes are some of the most recently promoted featured content.

• Recent research: Who wrote this? New dataset on the provenance of Wikipedia text
  And other new research publications.

• Humour: Good faith (but still incomprehensible)
  The entertainment value of Wikipedia.

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 25, October – November 2017

• OAWiki & #1Lib1Ref
• User Group update
• Global branches update
• Spotlight: Research libraries and Wikimedia
• Bytes in brief

Arabic, Korean and French versions of Books & Bytes are now available in meta!

Read the full newsletter

• Special report: Women in Red World Contest wrap-up
  Global article creation contest/editathon exceeds expectations.

• Blog: Close encounters of the Wikipedia kind
  Astronaut is first to specifically contribute to Wikipedia from space.

• Featured content: Featured content to finish 2017
  Seventeen articles, twenty-nine lists, three pictures and one featured topic were promoted.

• In the media: Stolen seagulls, public domain primates and more
  The media discuss online copyright issues, Wikipedia's coverage of the capital of Israel and creation of a "reasonably clean, honest and reliable" work on Earth and in space.

• Arbitration report: Last case of 2017: Mister Wiki editors
  Evidence phase in Mister Wiki editors case is complete; the community is proposing remedies and the Arbitration committee is slated to make a decision by end of year. Meanwhile, voting has closed on 2017 elections.

• Gallery: Wiki loving
  Winners of the international photo competitions Wiki Loves Earth and Wiki Loves Monuments.

• Interview: Interview with Charlesjsharp, regular contributor of Wikipedia's Featured Pictures
  Looking back on a decade of contributions including over 1,000 images and over three dozen Featured Pictures, Charles shares his wildlife photography experience and tips.

• Recent research: French medical articles have "high rate of veracity"
  And other recent research publications.

• Technology report: Your wish lists and more Wikimedia tech
  Including improved blocking tools, new user scripts, and the latest technical news.

• Traffic report: Notable heroes and bad guys
  We like our heroes and bad guys.

• Humour: On their way to the WMF Incubator
  u-nye-loo-lay-doo? Dochvetlh vISoplaHbe’.

• News and notes: Communication is key
  Two new WMF Communications department leadership appointments; a new way for Wikimedia communities to communicate their capacities.

• In the media: The Paris Review, British Crown and British Media
  Wikipedia manipulated and copied – again

• Featured content: History, gaming and multifarious topics
  Historical and pop culture articles promoted.

• Interview: Interview with Ser Amantio di Nicolao, the top contributor to English Wikipedia by edit count
  How do you make an average of 3,600 edits a week for over a decade? And what do you learn when you've done it?

• Technology report: Dedicated Wikidata database servers
  Plus the latest technology upgrades, tools and news.

• Humour: Why don't we have an article about _________?
  Notable missing articles.

• Arbitration report: Mister Wiki is first arbitration committee decision of 2018
  In deciding to de-sysop an admin for efforts to evade discussion and review of paid edits made on behalf of a PR firm, Arbitration Committee doesn't significantly change the rules around paid editing, and leaves it up to the community whether to apply special restrictions to administrators.

• Traffic report: The best and worst of 2017
  A look back at the most popular articles in a tumultuous and intriguing year.

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 26, December – January 2018

• #1Lib1Ref
• User Group update
• Global branches update
• Spotlight: What can we glean from OCLC’s experience with library staff learning Wikipedia?
• Bytes in brief

Arabic and French versions of Books & Bytes are now available in meta!
Read the full newsletter

• Op-ed: Do editors have the right to be forgotten?
  Should an editor's block history be a permanent "rap sheet", or does Wikipedia forgive and forget? A reform initiative has begun.

• Featured content: Wars, sieges, disasters and everything black possible
  Exemplary content recognized between January 12 and January 20, 2018

• Recent research: Automated Q&A from Wikipedia articles; Who succeeds in talk page discussions?
  Also: Polish quality, Russian political mythologization, and multilingual analyses

• Blog: New monthly dataset shows where people fall into Wikipedia rabbit holes
  The Wikimedia Foundation's Analytics team compiles a clickstream dataset, now available as a series of monthly data dumps for English, Russian, German, Spanish, and Japanese Wikipedias.

• Interview: Interview with The Rambling Man, Wikipedia's top contributor of Featured Lists
  Lessons on Creating a Featured List

• Traffic report: TV, death, sports, and doodles
  The most popular articles for January 14 to 27

• Special report: Cochrane–Wikipedia Initiative
  A partnership to improve and update Wikipedia's medical content

• Arbitration report: New cases requested for inter-editor hostility and other collaboration issues
  Politeness and collegial behavior about to be taken up by Arbcom, and perhaps a revisit of the infobox question.

• In the media: Solving crime; editing out violence allegations
  Also, did UCF really win?

• Humour: You really are in Wonderland
  Enjoy the humour of another contributor

• News and notes: The future is Swedish with a lack of administrators
  Sweden selected for Wikimania 2019; research report on shaping the future; a scarcity of RfAs.

• Recent research: Politically diverse editors write better articles; Reddit and Stack Overflow benefit from Wikipedia but don't give back
  There might be good things about an edit war.

• Arbitration report: Arbitration committee prepares to examine two new cases
  Editor in self-imposed exile and infobox wars a thorn in the side of arbitration committee.

• Traffic report: Addicted to sports and pain
  The Superbowl, the Winter Olympics, death, and accusations of unspeakable things.

• Featured content: Entertainment, sports and history
  An eclectic mix of promotions.

• Technology report: Paragraph-based edit conflict screen; broken thanks
  And other recent tech news.

• Humour: Impossible and unexplained traffic report
  Stubs get a lot of pageviews.

• Op-ed: Death knell for The Signpost?
  Is The Signpost on its last legs?

• News and notes: Wiki Conference roundup and new appointments.
  Wikimedia events, group recognition, and individual appointments are ongoing.

• Arbitration report: Ironing out issues in infoboxes; not sure yet about New Jersey; and an administrator who probably wasn't uncivil to a sockpuppet.
  Arbcom considers new discretionary sanctions for infoboxes and an extension of 1RR.

• In the media: The media on Wikipedia's workings: the good and not-so-good
  Diplomats join Wikipedia for International Women's Day, the perfect "Human", how fringe theories are sustained, and perennial plagiarism from our pages.

• Traffic report: Real sports, real women and an imaginary country: what's on top for Wikipedia readers
  Wakanda still fascinates; the Oscars happened; Winter Olympics come to a close; and International Women's Day gets over a million page views.

• Featured content: Animals, Ships, and Songs
  A plethora of content.

• Technology report: Timeless skin review by Force Radical.
  Reviewing a browser skin providing equal emphasis on both content and editing tools simultaneously.

• Special report: ACTRIAL wrap-up.
  Retrospective on article creation trial.

• Humour: WikiWorld Reruns
  Nostalgia and trips down Memory Lane.

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 27, February – March 2018

• #1Lib1Ref
• New collections
  • Alexander Street (expansion)
  • Cambridge University Press (expansion)
• User Group
• Global branches update
  • Wiki Indaba Wikipedia + Library Discussions
• Spotlight: Using librarianship to create a more equitable internet: LGBTQ+ advocacy as a wiki-librarian
• Bytes in brief

Arabic, Chinese and French versions of Books & Bytes are now available in meta!
Read the full newsletter

• From the editors: The Signpost's presses roll again
  Following Kudpung's op-ed "Death knell sounding for The Signpost?" in the 29 March issue, user comments encouraged a burst of enthusiasm to keep the newspaper in print.

• Signpost: Future directions for The Signpost
  How to revive and evolve The Signpost? Big blue-sky proposals and small concrete proposals from the community and from two regular Signpost contributors.

• News and notes: Photo of Kim Jong-un. Stephen Hawking death tops hits on many Wikipedias.
  Finally a free image Kim Jong-un. WMF wins legal battle. Stephen Hawking death tops all Wikipedia hits.

• In the media: The rise of Wikipedia as a disinformation mop
  Internet companies use Wikipedia to police truth; Citogenesis proven yet again; early birthday greetings; and trains

• In focus: Admin reports board under criticism
  A recent Community Health Initiative survey found only 27% of respondents are happy with the way reports of conflicts between Editors are handled on the Administrators' Incident Noticeboard (ANI).

• Special report: ACTRIAL results adopted by landslide
  New major editing policy starting immediately: creation of articles in mainspace is to be limited to users with confirmed accounts

• Opinion: Guideline for Organization Notability revised
  The standards have been raised for sources used in judging the notability of nonprofit and for-profit organizations.

• Op-ed: World War II Myth-making and Wikipedia
  Wikipedia's myth of the clean Wehrmacht and what you can do about it. Or, how not to be one of "the worst distributors of pro-Nazi perspectives and the Wehrmacht myth".

• Community view: It's time we look past Women in Red to counter systemic bias
  Can Wikipedia mobilize the same energy to fill other gaps in coverage?

• Discussion report: The future of portals
  What should we do about Portals? Keep them, delete them, or mark them as historical? Or should they be more closely connected with their WikiProject(s)?

• Arbitration report: No new cases, and one motion on administrative misconduct
  Quiet month for the Arbitration Committee

• WikiProject report: WikiProject Military History
  Combat, weapons, monuments and personalities.

• Blog: Why the world reads Wikipedia
  What we learned about reader motivation from a recent research study

• Humour: Our Favorite Places to Whine About Stuff
  You might not get all excersized about essays but they can be as fun as talk pages

• Traffic report: A quiet place to wrestle with the articles of March
  The most popular articles from March 25 to April 14.

• Technology report: Coming soon: Books-to-PDF, interactive maps, rollback confirmation
  Plus the latest tech news and userscripts.

• Featured content: Featured content selected by the community
  Material promoted from March 2 through April 20.

• Gallery: A look at some famous and not as well-known border tripoints
  Honoring a day in military history, as well as peaceful borders

• From the editor: Another issue meets the deadline
  A busy office with minimal staff.

• Op-ed: Has the wind gone out of the AdminShip's sails?
  Kudpung has some thoughts on the reasons for becalmed forums and the reluctance of candidates to (wo)man the rigging.

• Opinion: Integrating my many lives on Wikipedia
  Thoughts on how looking for the truth on Wikipedia brings out unexpected things in the real world.

• WikiProject report: WikiProject Portals
  After a recent Village Pump discussion, the Signpost looks at WikiProject Portals.

• Discussion report: User rights, infoboxes, and more discussion on portals
  A busy month for discussions on major topics.

• Featured content: Featured content selected by the community
  Science, sportspeople, video games, and history feature heavily in the community's picks this month.

• Arbitration report: Managing difficult topics
  Has an attempt to prevent historical revisionism become a content battleground?

• News and notes: Lots of Wikimedia
  De-recognition of Brazil user groups; brute-force attack on Wikipedia; Wikimedia Conference 2018; and assorted other silly things.

• In the media: Wikipedia in Turkish politics; COI politics in Wikipedia; most cited work
  And the burning question of the day, is the monkey selfie going to space with the rest of Wikipedia?

• Traffic report: We love our superheroes
  No surprises here as the summer movie season begins.

• Technology report: A trove of contributor and developer goodies
  Improved mobile app, searching, citations, inline maps, voting, and more.

• Blog: Why I write about women on Wikipedia
  Editor SusunW delves into reasons why she has created hundreds of articles about women.

• Recent research: Why people don't contribute to Wikipedia; using Wikipedia to teach statistics, technical writing, and controversial issues
  Too many women still don't know that Wikipedia is editable.

• Humour: Play with your food
  Down the rabbit hole into the realm of third-grade mind.

• Gallery: Wine not?
  May 25 is National Wine Day in the United States.

• From the archives: The Signpost scoops The Signpost
  The dark and twisted world of Wikipedia's most powerful media institution: The Signpost.

• From the editor: Another issue meets the deadline
  A busy office with minimal staff.

• Op-ed: Has the wind gone out of the AdminShip's sails?
  Kudpung has some thoughts on the reasons for becalmed forums and the reluctance of candidates to (wo)man the rigging.

• Opinion: Integrating my many lives on Wikipedia
  Thoughts on how looking for the truth on Wikipedia brings out unexpected things in the real world.

• WikiProject report: WikiProject Portals
  After a recent Village Pump discussion, the Signpost looks at WikiProject Portals.

• Discussion report: User rights, infoboxes, and more discussion on portals
  A busy month for discussions on major topics.

• Featured content: Featured content selected by the community
  Science, sportspeople, video games, and history feature heavily in the community's picks this month.

• Arbitration report: Managing difficult topics
  Has an attempt to prevent historical revisionism become a content battleground?

• News and notes: Lots of Wikimedia
  De-recognition of Brazil user groups; brute-force attack on Wikipedia; Wikimedia Conference 2018; and assorted other silly things.

• In the media: Wikipedia in Turkish politics; COI politics in Wikipedia; most cited work
  And the burning question of the day, is the monkey selfie going to space with the rest of Wikipedia?

• Traffic report: We love our superheroes
  No surprises here as the summer movie season begins.

• Technology report: A trove of contributor and developer goodies
  Improved mobile app, searching, citations, inline maps, voting, and more.

• Blog: Why I write about women on Wikipedia
  Editor SusunW delves into reasons why she has created hundreds of articles about women.

• Recent research: Why people don't contribute to Wikipedia; using Wikipedia to teach statistics, technical writing, and controversial issues
  Too many women still don't know that Wikipedia is editable.

• Humour: Play with your food
  Down the rabbit hole into the realm of third-grade mind.

• Gallery: Wine not?
  May 25 is National Wine Day in the United States.

• From the archives: The Signpost scoops The Signpost
  The dark and twisted world of Wikipedia's most powerful media institution: The Signpost.

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 28, April – May 2018

• #1Bib1Ref
• New partners
  • Rock's Backpages
  • Invaluable
  • Termsoup
• User Group update
• Global branches update
  • Wikipedia Library global coordinators' meeting
• Spotlight: What are the ten most cited sources on Wikipedia? Let's ask the data
• Bytes in brief

Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Italian and French versions of Books & Bytes are now available in meta!
Read the full newsletter

• From the editor: The Admin Ship is still barely afloat, while a Foundation project risks sinking
  A Wiki not so Simple, a mayor motivating an editathon, a Marshall Plan, and a Wikimania under a cloud of criticism

• Special report: NPR and AfC – The Marshall Plan: an engagement and a marriage?
  Further developments on New Page Review and Articles for Creation work sharing

• Op-ed: What do admins do?
  Admins volunteer to be abused – or so it seems

• Opinion: Google isn't responsible for Wikipedia's mistakes
  So it shouldn't get credit for our work, either.

• News and notes: Money, milestones, and Wikimania
  Major grants announced, a new milestone for Afrikaans Wikipedia, a new WMF technical engagement team, an effort to start up a new library, two new admins – or maybe three fewer depending on your math.

• In the media: Much wikilove from the Mayor of London, less from Paekākāriki or a certain candidate for U.S. Congress
  Several online battles are juxtaposed with stories about cooperation and good deeds, Arbcom hovering over it all; notwithstanding, a good action movie script is not necessarily found here.

• Discussion report: Deletion, page moves, and an update to the main page
  Community discussions include style updates to project-wide icons and the main page, procedural questions on royal names and jettisoning unsuitable drafts, and deeper questions of compliance with European privacy laws and the perennial issue of shrinking admin corps.

• Featured content: New promotions
  Enjoy the superb content

• Arbitration report: WWII, UK politics, and a user deCrat'ed
  British politics case enters workshop phase and German war effort closes workshop, goes to Arbcom for proposals.

• Traffic report: Endgame
  Two celebrities hang themselves, and the FIFA World Cup is underway

• Technology report: Improvements piled on more improvements
  An AI assistant comes to watchlists; better mobile compatibility; new bots, tools and scripts; and more

• Gallery: Wiki Loves Africa
  Colorful and moving.

• Blog: Wikipedia should be open for editors in Turkey
  WMF appeals to Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime, and Communications Ahmet Arslan to lift the block of all language versions of Wikipedia for over a year.

• Recent research: How censorship can backfire and conversations can go awry
  Studying ourselves: 'driven by a sense of mission' according to researchers.

• Humour: Television plot lines
  In our next episode...

• Wikipedia essays: This month's pick by The Signpost editors
  Some essays are funny, some are serious; some are just, well what exactly?

• From the archives: Wolves nip at Wikipedia's heels: A perspective on the cost of paid editing
  Revisiting an editor's warning to count our kidneys and keep the wolves at bay

• From the editor: If only if
  Ships and shoes – and if you don't like it here, just go away!

• Op-ed: The last leg of the Admin Ship's current cruise
  How admin would-bes run the gauntlet.

• Opinion: Wrestling with Wikipedia reality
  Wikipedia referees wag a finger at Professional Wrestling editors.

• News and notes: Another newspaper for Wikipedia; Wikimania 2018 ends; changes at NPR
  New admins and Kudpung finally leaves NPP after 7 years.

• In the media: Blackouts in Europe; Wikipedia and capitalists; WMF Jet Set
  One secret cabal that watches out for conspiracy theories, and another one out to stymie venture capitalists?

• Discussion report: Wikipedias take action against EU copyright proposal, plus new user right proposals
  And more: a new user group for editing code, Women in Red, and arbitrator articles.

• Featured content: Wikipedia's best content in images and prose
  Spanning the gamut from warfare and destruction to pop culture to celebrations of nature and humanity's achievements.

• Arbitration report: Status quo processes retained in two disputes
  We don't have "state agents" in a political debate, but couldn't talk about it if there were.

• Traffic report: Soccer, football, call it what you like – that and summer movies leave room for little else
  Finding the mathematician and Supreme Court nominee in this list is like playing Where's Waldo?.

• Technology report: New bots, new prefs
  Useful new gadgets.

• Gallery: Independence days, national holidays, and football – all in July
  Depictions of July events in several countries.

• Blog: Motivation of two editors
  Those who study ancient Egypt.

• Recent research: Different Wikipedias use different images; editing contests more successful than edit-a-thons
  And other recent findings, plus a roundup of research presentations at Wikimania.

• Humour: It's all the same
  Merge WikiProject Professional wrestling and ANI.

• Essay: Wikipedia does not need you
  Get over it!

• From the archives: The pending changes fiasco: how an attempt to answer one question turned into a quagmire
  They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 29, June – July 2018

• New partners
  • Economic & Political Weekly–10 accounts
• Wikimania
• Wikimedia and Libraries User Group update
• Global branches update
• Bytes in brief

Hindi, Italian and French versions of Books & Bytes are now available in meta!
Read the full newsletter

• From the editor: Today's young adults don't know a world without Wikipedia
  Keep straight on – there are trolls in the hedgerows.

• Interview: 2018 Wikimedian of the Year, Farkhad Fatkullin
  "Imagine a world in which every single human being is a Wikimedian. That's my commitment!"

• News and notes: Flying high; low practice from Wikipedia 'cleansing' agency; where do our donations go? RfA sees a new trend
  WMF pays possible Orangemoody ring for user research, and ditches MediaWiki for publishing its own blog. Knife-edge closures at RfA.

• In the media: Quicksilver AI writes articles
  But unfortunately its output is incompatible with open licensing.

• Discussion report: Drafting an interface administrator policy
  Plus: Simple English Wikipedia stays open, a discussion on draft header templates, bias blind spot by admins offered cash?

• Featured content: Featured content selected by the community
  Astronauts named Armstrong, babes of the Brits, Cortinarius caperatus and all that.

• Special report: Wikimania 2018
  "Bridging knowledge gaps, the ubuntu way forward".

• Traffic report: Aretha dies – getting just 2,000 short of 5 million hits
  Very high and very low hits; love and loss.

• Technology report: Technical enhancements and a request to prioritize upcoming work
  Citation bot and mapframe enhancements; new licenses for Data space; possible hiccup on 12 September; per-user page, namespace, and upload blocking; and miscellaneous new bots and tools.

• Gallery: Leapfrog, historic Thai cave, and a rhythmic beat
  Some of the best pictures of 2017.

• Recent research: Wehrmacht on Wikipedia, neural networks writing biographies
  Readers prefer the AI's version 40% of the time – but it still suffers from hallucinations.

• Humour: Signpost editor censors herself
  Nothing funny about it.

• Essay: Principle of Some Astonishment
  Remind you of any Wikipedia articles?

• From the archives: Playing with Wikipedia words
  The Wikipedia Plays.

• From the editor: Is this the new normal?
  We keep on publishing as long as you keep on reading.

• News and notes: European copyright law moves forward
  Wikipedia dodges a bullet in Brussels... maybe.

• In the media: Knowledge under fire
  Can Wikipedians help save the world's knowledge and shine a light on current events?

• Discussion report: Interface Admin policy proposal, part 2
  Plus: signatures, shortcuts, and reliable sources.

• Arbitration report: A quiet month for Arbcom
  No valid new requests for arbitration, no new cases.

• Traffic report: John McCain's death generates over 7 million hits, followed by historical low
  Fourth highest view count of the year; lowest view count since 2014; death, sports, and movies ever constant.

• Technology report: Paying attention to your mobile
  Plus the latest scripts, bots, and tech news.

• Gallery: A pat on the back
  A pictorial ode to the end of summer.

• Blog: After a catastrophic fire at the National Museum of Brazil, a drive to preserve what knowledge remains
  As the global community of volunteer Wikimedia editors mourns the destruction of this amazing museum, this post pays tribute to all editors who have contributed restlessly to tell the story of the National Museum, our history.

• Recent research: How talk page use has changed since 2005; censorship shocks lead to centralization; is vandalism caused by workplace boredom?
  And other recent research papers.

• Humour: Signpost Crossword Puzzle
  What is a four-letter word for...

• Essay: Expressing thanks
  You know you should...

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 30, August – Septmeber 2018

• Library Card translation
• Spotlight: 1Lib1Ref spreads to the Southern Hemisphere and beyond
• Wikimedia and Libraries User Group update
• Global branches update
• Bytes in brief

French version of Books & Bytes is now available in meta!
Read the full newsletter

• From the editors: The Signpost is still afloat, just barely
  A slightly thinner issue, but out on time.

• Op-ed: Wikipedia's Strickland affair
  Is a missing article on a Nobel laureate a fail? What if her draft biography was declined as non-notable?

• News and notes: WMF gets a million bucks
  And it's richer than ever.

• In the media: Bans, celebs, and bias
  Breitbart begone; rescued by archivists; celebrating trolls?

• Discussion report: Mediation Committee and proposed deletion reform
  Plus: two pending changes-related discussions, notability, and naming conventions.

• Traffic report: Unsurprisingly, sport leads the field – or the ring
  Who's reading what?

• Technology report: Bots galore!
  Bots can do anything you want – well, almost.

• Special report: NPP needs you
  WMF continues to stonewall development; NPP wishes again relegated to stocking fillers.

• Special report 2: Now Wikidata is six
  SPARQL adds sparkle to WMF projects.

• In focus: Alexa
  We are all writing for Amazon.

• Gallery: Out of this world!
  No special effects here, just beautiful celestial images.

• Recent research: Wikimedia Commons worth $28.9 billion
  If it weren't free, of course.

• Humour: Talk page humour
  Wikipedia has a long history of talk page tomfoolery.

• Opinion: Strickland incident
  The reviewer who declined the article gives his perspective.

• From the archives: The Gardner Interview
  The "holy-shit" slide.

• From the editor: Time for a truce
  Lay down your verbal weapons.

• Op-ed: Looking back, looking forward: A beginner's experience on Wikipedia
  The experiences of a new user on Wikipedia, told in their own words.

• Special report: The Christmas wishlist
  What do the WMF devs have in store for the community?

• Opinion: The blogosphere migrates to Galaxy WMF
  Suppose they gave a blog and nobody came?

• News and notes: Reviewer of the year, WikiCup winner, and the 2019 Wikimedia Summit
  Looking both backward and forward to events concerning the community.

• Reflections: Wikipedia, history, and the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day
  A personal reflection on Wikipedia's role as a repository of history.

• In the media: Court-ordered article redaction, paid editing, and rock stars
  Real-world news competes with the usual celeb fascination for Wikipedia's commentators.

• Discussion report: Farewell, Mediation Committee
  It was a good 15 years. Plus: admins, notability, substubs, and new padlocks.

• Arbitration report: A long break ends
  Arbcom takes its first new case since June.

• Traffic report: Queen reigns for four weeks straight
  The "Queen" of stage and screen, that is. Is there another?

• Gallery: Intersections
  Biology or technology? Form follows function in nature and the constructed world.

• Recent research: Why do the most active Wikipedians burn out?; only 4% of students vandalize
  And other new research results.

• Essay: No one cares about your garage band
  Nope, don't care!

• Humour: The dark side of our favorite root vegetable
  Wonky carrots invoke terror.

• From the archives: Ars longa, vita brevis
  ARS might continue, but some Wikipedians might not.

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 31, October – Novemeber 2018

• OAWiki
• Wikimedia and Libraries User Group update
• Global branches update
• Bytes in brief

French version of Books & Bytes is now available on meta!
Read the full newsletter

• From the editors: Where to draw the line in reporting?
  Tell us what you think!

• Op-ed: Wikipedia not trumped by Trump appointee
  Did World Patent Marketing pay to get Wikipedia to include flattering information on their board member, now the Acting United States Attorney General?

• Special report: The Signpost got 380,000+ views in 2018, sounds reasonable enough, right?
  A statistical insight into the English Wikipedia's very own online community newsletter.

• News and notes: Some wishes do come true
  NPP wins the wish list poll; Wikipedia editors will be able to work better at night; new WMF appointments and new arbitrators; and who wants to be an admin?

• In the media: Political hijinks
  Wikipedia says 'ta' to British M.P. and 'buh-bye' to U.S. President's image vandals.

• Discussion report: A new record low for RfA
  Plus: reliable sources, notability, and fallout from the self-blocking software changes.

• WikiProject report: Articlegenesis
  Discovering how new and unregistered users make articles with the members of WikiProject Articles for Creation.

• Arbitration report: Year ends with one active case
  GiantSnowman asked to chill, and other disputes addressed by Arbcom (or not).

• Traffic report: Queen dethroned by U.S. presidents
  The band relinquishes its first place hold; Aquaman is swimming into view for late December.

• Gallery: Sun and Moon, water and stone
  Happy solstice, and happy New Year!

• Blog: News from the WMF
  In and around the WMF and its projects from the WMF's web site.

• Humour: I believe in Bigfoot
  Are you a believer?

• Essay: Requests for medication
  When the desire to continue to have the privilege of editing Wikipedia overrides the body's innate desire to choke the living shit out of some bastard who really has it coming.

• From the archives: Compromised admin accounts – again
  Compromised accounts – especially those of inactive admins.

• Op-ed: Random Rewards Rejected
  Lab rats deflate research to be performed on the Wikipedia community.

• In focus: The Collective Consciousness of Admin Userpages
  Did you know that there was an admin who thought that the metaphor of the mop was a joke, and now they know it's not?

• News and notes: WMF staff turntable continues to spin; Endowment gets more cash; RfA continues to be a pit of steely knives
  Rude or just forgetful? Eight-year WMF manager has disappeared; Facebook gives a million bucks, gets no love.

• In the media: The Signpost's investigative story recognized, Wikipedia turns 18 and gets a birthday gift from Google, and more editors are recognized
  Heroes and unsung heroes: many good news stories about the work we are all doing together.

• Discussion report: The future of the reference desk
  Plus: plagiarism from Wikipedia, user categories, and admin activity requirements.

• Featured content: Don't miss your great opportunity
  Get yourself lost in 1730's Paris, and a wide range of other recently promoted content.

• Arbitration report: An admin under the microscope
  Snowman flames newbies? Or just oversensitive snowflakes?

• Traffic report: Death, royals and superheroes: Avengers, Black Panther
  The most popular articles of 2018 include a cornucopia of superheroes (Avengers: Infinity War)

• Technology report: When broken is easily fixed
  Emergency server switch goes smoothly; technical glitches resolved; a new way to transfer files to Commons.

• Gallery: Let us build a memorial fit for such pain and suffering
  A tour of some of the world's greatest memorials courtesy the Prime Minister of India.

• News from the WMF: News from WMF
  The world’s largest photo contest, a $1 million gift, Wikipedia’s birthday, WF appoints Valerie D'Costa.

• Recent research: Ad revenue from reused Wikipedia articles; are Wikipedia researchers asking the right questions?
  And other new research publications.

• Essay: How
  A narrative to get you oriented to how this place works, and to the key policies and guidelines.

• Humour: Village pump
  More talk pages you don't want to miss.

• From the archives: An editorial board that includes you
  Four years - and nothing changed?

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 32, January – February 2019

• #1Lib1Ref
• New and expanded partners
• Wikimedia and Libraries User Group update
• Global branches update
• Bytes in brief

French version of Books & Bytes is now available on meta!

Read the full newsletter

• From the editors: Help wanted (still)
  This may be too wordy, verbose and loquacious – and possibly redundant – but as you know, it takes others to check our work, and if there were more people in the Newsroom, we'd be able to double check ourselves and produce a better product for our readership; if you think you are up to it, you are welcome to join us and even copyedit the Editor-in-Chief's article intros.

• News and notes: Front-page issues for the community
  Encyclopedias for Deletion; Corinne; scholarships; partial blocks; and administrators headcount.

• In focus: Wikimedia affiliate organizations seek community participation in 2019 board election
  This election will select 2 of 10 seats on the board. All Wikimedia users are stakeholders in the election outcome and should participate.

• Discussion report: Talking about talk pages
  This month's major discussions include a WMF talk page consultation and a proposed current events noticeboard.

• Featured content: Conquest, War, Famine, Death, and more!
  Horsemen of the apocalypse all represented in recently promoted content, alongside new life, pretty birds, great music, and other miscellaneous topics.

• Arbitration report: A quiet month for Arbitration Committee
  Snowed in, maybe.

• Traffic report: Binge-watching
  Netflix shows and TV sports dominate. A US politician breaks into the top 10.

• Technology report: Tool labs casters-up
  Tool labs goes kaput, bots running wild (not really), interface administrators step into the breach, new gadgets and other tech happenings.

• Gallery: Signed with pride
  A gallery of user signatures created by Wikipedians themselves.

• Recent research: Research finds signs of cultural diversity and recreational habits of readers
  When watchers want the whole truth, they wind up with the wiki! And Cultural Context Content comes out of a complete cartography.

• Essay: Optimist's guide to Wikipedia
  Assume good faith even if it kills you.

• From the archives: New group aims to promote Wiki-Love
  The creation of the Esperanza group.

• Humour: Pesky Pronouns
  Not feeling blurbish right now.

• From the editors: Getting serious about humor
  .

• News and notes: Blackouts fail to stop EU Copyright Directive
  .

• In the media: Women's history month
  .

• Discussion report: Portal debates continue, Prespa agreement aftermath, WMF seeks a rebranding
  .

• Featured content: Out of this world
  .

• Arbitration report: The Tides of March at ARBCOM
  .

• Traffic report: Exultations and tribulations
  .

• Technology report: New section suggestions and sitewide styles
  .

• News from the WMF: The WMF's take on the new EU Copyright Directive
  .

• Recent research: Barnstar-like awards increase new editor retention
  .

• From the archives: Esperanza organization disbanded after deletion discussion
  .

• Humour: The Epistolary of Arthur 37
  .

• Op-Ed: Pro and Con: Has gun violence been improperly excluded from gun articles?
  .

• In focus: The Wikipedia SourceWatch
  .

• Special report: Wiki Loves (50 Years of) Pride
  .

• Community view: Wikipedia's response to the New Zealand mosque shootings
  .

• News and notes: An Action Packed April
  New Administrators, April Fools, our competitors, and other associated updates

• In the media: Is Wikipedia just another social media site?
  Harassment, a black hole, the Mueller Report, and Mötley Crüe - just another social media site?

• Discussion report: English Wikipedia community's conclusions on talk pages
  Plus: another round of paid editing discussion.

• Featured content: Anguish, accolades, animals, and art
  April's admirable additions.

• Arbitration report: An Active Arbitration Committee
  Policies and procedures, cases and controversies, and other ArbCom updates

• Traffic report: Mötley Crüe, Notre-Dame, a black hole, and Bonnie and Clyde
  Round up the unusual suspects

• Technology report: A new special page, and other news
  Welcoming English Wikipedia's newest admin (bot)

• Gallery: Notre-Dame de Paris burns
  Photos and videos show the damage

• News from the WMF: Can machine learning uncover Wikipedia’s missing “citation needed” tags?
  Wikimedia Foundation data scientists are using machine learning to predict whether—and why—any given sentence on Wikipedia may need a citation in order to help editors identify areas of content violating the verifiability policy.

• Recent research: Female scholars underrepresented; whitepaper on Wikidata and libraries; undo patterns reveal editor hierarchy
  And other recent research results

• From the archives: Portals revisited
  "The future of portals", a year later

• Humour: Jimbo and Larry walk into a bar ...
  Some editors will do anything to get a laugh

• Opinion: The gaps in our knowledge of our gaps
  What we know we don't know, and why it might matter more than you might think

• Interview: Katherine Maher marks 3 years as executive director
  Maher discusses her tenure as ED, the editing community, harassment and diversity, the WMF's 3-5 year plan, airplane travel, books, and her future.

• Community view: 2019 Wikimedia Summit gathers movement affiliate representatives to discuss movement strategy
  An overview of Wikimedia Summit 2019, a working conference to discuss the Wikimedia 2030 Movement Strategy Process, preparing draft recommendations for Wikimania 2019 in August.

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 33, March – April 2019

• #1Lib1Ref
• Wikimedia and Libraries User Group update
• Global branches update
• Bytes in brief

Read the full newsletter

• From the editors: Picture that
  The North Face sneaks in advertisements, apologizes after being caught

• News and notes: Wikimania and trustee elections
  Get ready to go to Wikimania in Stockholm where you might meet two new trustees

• In the media: Politics, lawsuits and baseball
  Wikipedia finds itself up against China, Pennsylvania politicians and the Detroit Tigers

• Discussion report: Admin abuse leads to mass-desysop proposal on Azerbaijani Wikipedia
  Neutrality and copyright concerns lead and part 2 of the talk pages consultation.

• Arbitration report: ArbCom forges ahead
  Resignations, new cases, administrator security, and more

• Traffic report: Dark marvels, thrones, a vile serial killer biopic, that's entertainment!
  Who will be next to fill the throne at the top of the list?

• Technology report: Lots of Bots
  Admin bots, approved bots, bots on trial, lots and lots of bots

• News from the WMF: Wikimedia Foundation petitions the European Court of Human Rights to lift the block of Wikipedia in Turkey
  The WMF keeps working to stop Turkey from blocking Wikipedia.

• Recent research: Wikipedia more useful than academic journals, but is it stealing the news?
  And other new research publications

• Essay: Paid editing
  We've been talking about paid editing forever

• From the archives: FORUM:Should Wikimedia modify its terms of use to require disclosure?
  A debate from 5 years ago on whether we use to prohibit undisclosed paid editing

• Discussion report: A constitutional crisis hits English Wikipedia
  Could this be a new relationship between the Foundation and ArbCom, and between the Foundation and enwiki?

• News and notes: Mysterious ban, admin resignations, Wikimedia Thailand rising
  Many administrators resign related to Fram case; Wikimedia Thailand to host Wikimania 2020.

• In the media: The disinformation age
  Or is it the information error?

• On the bright side: What's making you happy this month?
  A selection of good news and encouraging stories that are from the Wikiverse.

• Traffic report: Juneteenth, Beauty Revealed, and more nuclear disasters
  Readers look for info on what they watch, mostly Chernobyl.

• Technology report: Actors and Bots
  Database changes, new scripts, Tech News, and more.

• Gallery: Unlike the North Face, Wiki Loves Earth
  Wikimedia photographers surge to contribute to the Wiki Loves Earth campaign even while rogue clothing company The North Face replaces wiki illustrations with advertisements.

• Special report: Did Fram harass other editors?
  (DELETED ARTICLE)

• Recent research: What do editors do after being blocked?; the top mathematicians, universities and cancers according to Wikipedia
  And other recent research publications.

• From the archives: Women and Wikipedia: the world is watching
  "If you don't clean up this mess, the adults are going to come and take your toys away from you."

• Opinion: Why the Terms of Use change didn't curtail undisclosed paid editing—and what might
  To reduce the incentives driving undisclosed paid editing, Wikipedia could simplify the process and meet outsiders halfway.

• In focus: WikiJournals: A sister project proposal
  Academic peer review meets Wikimedia.

• Community view: A CEO biography, paid for with taxes
  How an Irish state-level paid editor tried to turn me into the villain.

• Op-Ed: 2019 Wikimedia Affiliate Selected Board Seats Election Results
  Wikimedia community organizations elect two members for the Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees.

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 34, May – June 2019

• Partnerships
• #1Lib1Ref
• Wikimedia and Libraries User Group update
• Global branches update
• Bytes in brief

French version of Books & Bytes is now available on meta!
Read the full newsletter

• News and notes: Wikimedia grants less accessible for travel, equipment, meetups, and India
  WMF grants program changes position on funding random individuals globally and 100 crore people in one region

• In the media: Politics starts getting rough
  Are we ready for the sharp elbows?

• Discussion report: New proposals in aftermath of Fram ban
  Resysop requests on the ’crat board prove controversial; plus, aftermath of Framgate.

• Arbitration report: A month of reintegration
  Arbitration begins setting new boundaries after the June blow-up

• Gallery: Classic panoramas from Heinrich Berann
  It looks nice and cool up in those mountains

• On the bright side: What's making you happy this month?
  A selection of good news and encouraging stories that are from the Wikiverse.

• Community view: Video based summaries of Wikipedia articles. How and why?
  It's easy, education saves lives.

• News from the WMF: Designing ethically with AI: How Wikimedia can harness machine learning in a responsible and human-centered way
  Or, how to avoid Artificial Ignorance

• Recent research: Most influential medical journals; detecting pages to protect
  And other new research publications

• Special report: Administrator cadre continues to contract
  A new record set: fewer than 500 active admins.

• Traffic report: World cups, presidential candidates, and stranger things
  and don't forget the movies

• In focus: The French Wikipedia is overtaking the German
  Who is growing? Who is not?

• News and notes: Documenting Wikimania and our beginnings
  The oldest surviving Wikipedia edit restored to article history, Wikimania, and the mystery of a disappearing Funds Dissemination Committee.

• In focus: Ryan Merkley joins WMF as Chief of Staff
  Working with leadership and the community, taking on both operational and strategic responsibilities

• In the media: Many layers of fake news: Fake fiction and fake news vandalism
  And the media report it all

• Discussion report: Meta proposals on partial bans and IP users
  Can we survive without IP addresses?

• Traffic report: Once upon a time in Greenland with Boris and cornflakes
  And some summer flicks with the usual heroes and villains

• Op-Ed: We couldn't have told you this, but Wikipedia was censored
  Should we break the law or publish the truth?

• Opinion: The Curious Case of Croatian Wikipedia
  Or how to make a concentration camp disappear?

• Community view: Chinese Wikipedia and the battle against extradition from Hong Kong
  From streets to Wikipedia - What are editors from Hong Kong facing?

• News from the WMF: Meet Emna Mizouni, the newly minted 2019 Wikimedian of the Year
  Emna Mizouni was named the 2019 Wikimedian of the Year.

• Recent research: Special issue on gender gap and gender bias research
  A roundup of many recent publications examining Wikpedia's gender gaps in participation and content, and their possible reasons

• On the bright side: What's making you happy this month?
  A selection of good news and encouraging stories that are from the Wikiverse

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 35, July – August 2019

• Wikimania
• We're building something great, but..
• Wikimedia and Libraries User Group update
• A Wikibrarian's story
• Bytes in brief

Read the full newsletter

• From the editors: Where do we go from here?
  Our constitutional crisis may continue

• Special report: Post-Framgate wrapup
  Summary of actions around a formerly banned former administrator: Arbitration Committee action and withdrawn request for adminship

• In the media: A net loss: Wikipedia attacked, closing off Russia? welcoming back Turkey?
  The internet may not be as stable as it seems

• Traffic report: Varied and intriguing entries, less Luck, and some retreads
  Luck, Serena, Bianca, 9/11, bad films, mass murderers and other good stuff

• News from the WMF: How the Wikimedia Foundation is making efforts to go green
  Wikipedia's footprint is equivalent to 251 average US homes’ energy use. Yes we can go green.

• Recent research: Wikipedia's role in assessing credibility of news sources; using wikis against procrastination; OpenSym 2019 report
  And other recent research publications

• Gallery: Finding freely licensed photo collections
  Wikimedia Commons is not the only place to find freely licensed photos

• On the bright side: What's making you happy this month?
  A selection of good news and encouraging stories that are from the Wikiverse

• In focus: Wikidata & Wikibase for national libraries: the inaugural meeting
  National libraries are planning to leverage Wikidata to interoperate and to bring information to the public

• In the media: How to use or abuse Wikipedia for fun or profit
  Sweden, Poland, Armenia, Russia, the Vatican, and clueless English pubs.

• Special report: “Catch and Kill” on Wikipedia: Paid editing and the suppression of material on alleged sexual abuse
  "It's time for Wikipedia to grow up."

• In focus: The BBC looks at Chinese government editing
  But they aren't entirely sure they see it

• Interview: Carl Miller on Wikipedia Wars
  A discussion on info wars, government editing and our defences.

• Community view: Observations from the mainland
  A different point of view

• Arbitration report: October actions
  An "unblockable" is blocked; a former arb resigns.

• Traffic report: Wrestling with a couple of teenagers, a Nobelist, and a lot of jokers
  Plus a few celebrities.

• Gallery: Wiki Loves Broadcast
  The future of public broadcasting has arrived.

• Recent research: Research at Wikimania 2019: More communication doesn't make editors more productive; Tor users doing good work; harmful content rare on English Wikipedia
  And other new research publications

• Essay: Wikipedia is in the real world
  Editing can have serious consequences.

• News from the WMF: Welcome to Wikipedia! Here's what we're doing to help you stick around
  Twenty questions to get you started.

• On the bright side: What's making you happy this month?
  A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 36, September – October 2019

• #1Lib1Ref January 2020
• #1Lib1Ref 2019 stories and learnings

Read the full newsletter

• From the editor: Put on your birthday best
  "We get by with a little help from our friends"

• News and notes: How soon for the next million articles?
  And when will we get the second extraterrestrial edit?

• In the media: You say you want a revolution
  Everybody wants to change Wikipedia.

• On the bright side: What's making you happy this month?
  A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.

• Arbitration report: Two requests for arbitration cases
  Important or imprudent? Pondering portals. And an editor gets transported off-wiki for good.

• Traffic report: The queen and the princess meet the king and the joker
  Could this be the end of the Terminator?

• Technology report: Reference things, sister things, stranger things
  The latest tech news and updates.

• Gallery: Winter and holidays
  Some interesting and unusual winter and holiday images.

• Recent research: Bot census; discussions differ on Spanish and English Wikipedia; how nature's seasons affect pageviews
  And other new research publications.

• Essay: Adminitis
  Some humor about the otherwise serious subject of burnout.

• From the archives: WikiProject Spam, revisited
  Veteran editor: Wikipedia is losing existential battle against spam.

• In focus: An update on the Wikimedia Movement 2030 Strategy
  Coming to the end of a long road formulating the strategy.

• Special report: How many people edit in your favorite language? Where are they from?
  Only now can we say!

• From the editors: Caught with their hands in the cookie jar, again
  You can buy "cleaners" but you might not come away clean.

• News and notes: What's up (and down) with administrators, articles and languages
  Active administrators and articles achieved are marking milestone metrics, but in diverging directions. Plus, the first time any court has found there exists a constitutional right to read Wikipedia.

• Special report: Are reputation management operatives scrubbing Wikipedia articles?
  Son of Wiki-PR.

• In the media: "The fulfillment of the dream of humanity" or a nightmare of PR whitewashing on behalf of one-percenters?
  Praise for possibly pansophic Wikipedia from a Nobel laureate collides head-on with real-world events in December.

• Discussion report: December discussions around the wiki
  Regarding integrity of information presented by Wikipedia, as well as the processes and people who ensure it remains trustworthy.

• Arbitration report: Announcement of 2020 Arbitration Committee
  ArbCom election results and status of open and requested cases.

• Traffic report: Queens and aliens, exactly alike, once upon a December
  We may have scrambled the headlines a bit.

• Technology report: User scripts and more
  Customise your Wikipedia experience

• Gallery: Holiday wishes
  Messages of holiday cheer from us to you.

• Recent research: Acoustics and Wikipedia; Wiki Workshop 2019 summary
  16 recent papers, and other research news

• From the archives: The 2002 Spanish fork and ads revisited (re-revisited?)
  A look at different approaches taken by Wikipedia's founders in 2002, as seen from the perspective of nine years when it was written; nearly twenty years ago now.

• On the bright side: What's making you happy this month?
  A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.

• Op-Ed: Why we need to keep talking about Wikipedia's gender gap
  There's still a long way to go.

• WikiProject report: Wikiproject Tree of Life: A Wikiproject report
  Eight years after our last interview, WikiProject Tree of Life continues to thrive.

• From the editor: Reaching six million articles is great, but we need a moratorium
  How long can we ignore Wiki-PR?

• News and notes: Six million articles on the English language Wikipedia
  You ain't seen nothing yet.

• Special report: The limits of volunteerism and the gatekeepers of Team Encarta
  How to survive the asshole consensus.

• In the media: Turkey's back up, but what's happening with Dot-org and a new visual identity?
  Plus politics and other oddities.

• Arbitration report: Three cases at ArbCom
  The new arbs have a big load.

• Traffic report: The most viewed articles of 2019
  As only The Signpost can describe them.

• Gallery: Wiki Loves Monuments 2019, we're all winners
  The top 15 international photos.

• News from the WMF: Capacity Building: Top 5 Themes from Community Conversations
  Growing our community and our abilities.

• Community view: Our most important new article since November 1, 2015
  Well, it's a bit subjective.

• In focus: Cryptos and bitcoins and blockchains, oh no!
  Everybody needs to make a buck somehow — just not here, thanks.

• Recent research: How useful is Wikipedia for novice programmers trying to learn computing concepts?
  And other new research publications.

• From the archives: A decade of The Signpost, 2005-2015
  The first 10 years are the hardest.

• On the bright side: What's making you happy this month?
  A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.

• WikiProject report: WikiProject Japan: a wikiProject Report
  An interview with four members of the WikiProject Japan.

• Humour: Predicting the 6,000,000th article
  I may fall in love all over again!

• Obituary: Remembering Wikipedia contributor Brian Boulton
  A mentor to us all

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 37, November – December 2019

• #1Lib1Ref
• Wikimedia and Libraries User Group

Read the full newsletter

• From the editor: The ball is in your court
  How to stop abusive commercial editing.

• News and notes: Alexa ranking down to 13th worldwide
  Falling behind Chinese websites.

• Special report: More participation, more conversation, more pageviews
  A statistical insight into the English Wikipedia's very own online community newsletter.

• In the media: Mapping IP editors, Smithsonian open-access, and coronavirus disinformation
  We're all over the map this month.

• Discussion report: Do you prefer M or P?
  Wikimedia or Wikipedia?

• Arbitration report: Two prominent administrators removed
  Arbitration Committee and the "blue wall of silence".

• By the numbers: How many actions by administrators does it take to clean up spam?
  Numbers for vandalism and sockpuppeting included at no additional charge!

• Community view: The Incredible Invisible Woman
  No more "Hidden Figures", let's work to make women visible on Wikipedia!

• In focus: History of The Signpost, 2015–2019
  Covering Wikipedia for another five years!

• Recent research: Wikipedia generates $50 billion/year consumer surplus in the US alone
  And other new research results

• From the archives: Is Wikipedia for sale?
  How long has Wikipedia been for sale? When will it stop?

• Traffic report: February articles, floating in the dark
  Kobe sets another record.

• Gallery: Feel the love
  Renewing our vows.

• On the bright side: What's making you happy this month?
  A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.

• Op-Ed: What I learned as Wikimedia UK Communications Coordinator
  Getting across the Wikipedia experience to the press.

• Opinion: Wikipedia is another country
  Or: how to best bite a newbie.

• Humour: The Wilhelm scream
  WikiWorld is back.

• From the editors: The bad and the good
  Getting ready for anything.

• News and notes: 2018 Wikipedian of the year blocked
  Wheel war on Tatar Wikipedia.

• WikiProject report: WikiProject COVID-19: A WikiProject Report
  An interview with members of the COVID Project.

• Special report: Wikipedia on COVID-19: what we publish and why it matters
  Wikipedia presents solid widely-consulted information on COVID-19 and related topics.

• In the media: Blocked in Iran but still covering the big story
  COVID-19, Zika, edit-a-thons, and macrons.

• Discussion report: Rethinking draft space
  Plus: geonotices, reliable sources, and job titles.

• Arbitration report: Unfinished business
  A new case, a case returns from limbo, and an RfC being prepared.

• In focus: "I have been asked by Jeffrey Epstein …"
  The twists and turns of Epstein’s portrayal on Wikipedia.

• Community view: Wikimedia community responds to COVID-19
  Individually and in organized groups, Wikimedians stand up and make a difference.

• Recent research: Disease outbreak uncertainties, AfD forecasting, auto-updating Wikipedia
  New research publications on "the fear of being erased" and other topics.

• From the archives: Text from Wikipedia good enough for Oxford University Press to claim as own
  Five years ago with a different crisis.

• Traffic report: The only thing that matters in the world
  Going to movies and sport stadiums is history, and readers turn to Wikipedia for crucial medical information and updates.

• Gallery: Visible Women on Wikipedia
  Images from the Whose Knowlege? campaign.

• News from the WMF: Amid COVID-19, Wikimedia Foundation offers full pay for reduced hours, mobilizes all staff to work remote, and waives sick time
  The WMF responds.

• On the bright side: What's making you happy this month?
  A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.

• News and notes: Unbiased information from Ukraine's government?
  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs pitches in.

• In the media: Coronavirus, again and again
  Plus the importance of language.

• Discussion report: Redesigning Wikipedia, bit by bit
  The Wikimedia community discusses modifying or hiding the sidebar on the left of every page.

• Featured content: Featured content returns
  Movies, roads, awards and more.

• Arbitration report: Two difficult cases
  Even our best editors sometimes disagree.

• Traffic report: Disease the Rhythm of the Night
  Coronavirus, coronavirus, and Joe Exotic.

• Gallery: Roy is doing fine and sending more photos
  A coronavirus cruise can't stop Roy!

• Recent research: Trending topics across languages; auto-detecting bias
  And other new research results.

• Essay: Wikipedia:An article about yourself isn't necessarily a good thing
  And it could get worse!

• By the numbers: Open data and COVID-19: Wikipedia as an informational resource during the pandemic
  What COVID-19 data are available from the WMF?

• Opinion: Trusting Everybody to Work Together
  In an increasingly factious world, Wikipedia's approach to collaboration and trust-building point to a brighter future.

• On the bright side: What's making you happy this month?
  A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.

• Interview: Health and RfA's: An interview with Guy Macon
  A Wikipedia editor reflects on his recent RfA and the health issues that became part of it.

• In focus: Multilingual Wikipedia
  How to better integrate articles across language editions.

• WikiProject report: The Guild of Copy Editors
  An interview with members of the WP:GOCE

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 38, January – April 2020

• New partnership
• Global roundup

Read the full newsletter

• From the editor: Meltdown May?
  Or will it be meltdown June?

• News and notes: 2019 Picture of the Year, 200 French paid editing accounts blocked, 10 years of Guild Copyediting
  Many of these accounts now blocked on the English-language Wikipedia.

• In the media: CBS on COVID-19, Sanger on bias, false noses, and five prolific editors
  Worth Every Goddamn Second!

• Discussion report: WMF's Universal Code of Conduct
  It's no April Fool's joke, but we discuss those, too.

• Special report: The sum of human knowledge? Not in one Wikipedia language edition
  Cultural context, diversity, and the future of languages.

• Featured content: Weathering the storm
  Battles, bombs, wars, and more storms.

• Arbitration report: Board member likely to receive editing restriction
  Sanctions of multiple flavors, and a non-decision on the breadth of discretionary sanctions.

• Traffic report: Come on and slam, and welcome to the jam
  Time to bring on the Bulls.

• Op-Ed: Where Is Political Bias Taking Us?
  Straight down the tubes.

• Gallery: Wildlife photos by the book
  Birds, insects, elephants, a macaque and more.

• News from the WMF: WMF Board announces Community Culture Statement
  Enacting new standards to address harassment and promote inclusivity across projects.

• Recent research: Automatic detection of covert paid editing; Wiki Workshop 2020
  New results from academic research

• Community view: Transit routes and mapping during stay-at-home order downtime
  Hello Columbus.

• On video: COVID-19 spurs innovations in Wikimedia video and virtual programming
  Community harnesses new technologies for remote participation in events and gatherings

• WikiProject report: Revitalizing good articles
  Can our energy be turned into long-term change?

• On the bright side: 500,000 articles in the Egyptian Arabic Wikipedia
  A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.

• Obituaries: Dmitrismirnov, Kattenkruid, Muidlatif, Ronhjones, Tsirel
  Rest in peace.