User talk:Jimbo Wales/Archive 252

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Archive 245

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Archive 250

Archive 251

Archive 252

Potential move from the US

Hi Jimbo,

There is a slight chance you remember me from the WM mailing list, on which I was quite active nearly 20 years ago. Anyway, I found a reason to bother you again.

The recent electoral victory of Annoying Orange plunges the United States into a sea of uncertainty. He has on numerous occasions proposed or suggested dictatorial policies. Even if he does not manage to realize these plan, utter chaos is likely to be ahead. Many liberties are at stake, including those that safeguard Wikipedia's neutrality, veracity, and accessibility for everyone.

As we have seen recently in India and several times before elsewhere, countries that were formerly considered 'free' can descend into authoritarianism very quickly. No checks and balances are to be trusted if those in power purport to act with the support of 'the people', whoever that may be. In a few years, the US may no longer be a safe haven for the either WMF as a legal entity, or for the physical servers containing the information.

I would therefore like to know whether the boards has been considering a move out of the United States. Naturally, no country is entirely free of this vile brand of populism, but some countries seem relatively safe. These include Canada and Spain. A major brain drain from the United States to Canada is to be expected anyway, so you can no doubt follow some of you acquaintances.

I know I am probably not the first person suggesting this to you, but since I couldn't find this suggestion here or anywhere else, I felt compelled to make it. Just to be sure: I am a veteran Wikipedian, so I know that I normally should speak to someone else for issues concerning Wikipedia. For offline threats to the very existence of Wikipedia, however, I make an exception. Steinbach (talk) 20:52, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

@Steinbach: Well there's a similar thread at the WMF village pump section. Graham87 (talk) 00:07, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

We will obviously do whatever is needed to keep Wikipedia safe, but I'm not that concerned about the US. The First Amendment is still very strong, and there seems to be no wavering in support for it from the justices that Trump supported. There are other elements of public policy about which I do have some concerns, particularly around Section 230 which is pretty crucial for people's ability to post openly on the Internet without premoderation, etc. But even there, I would expect any modifications would tend to be somewhat narrowly targetted. (I'd be opposed to that, but my point is that it might or might not be existential for us depending on the details.)--Jimbo Wales (talk) 11:49, 22 November 2024 (UTC)

Speaking of that Section, this news from Fortune: Trump’s pick for FCC chair wants to eliminate the law shielding social media companies from legal consequences for posts on their platforms - link to article. Not surprising to me. They might finally get their way, if they may really will it. 2601AC47 (talk|contribs) Isn't a IP anon 12:54, 22 November 2024 (UTC)

Quick note re: Checkuser and privacy

Since you're on the board of the WMF, I figure that you may want to be aware of Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)#CheckUser for all new users. — Red-tailed hawk _(nest) 04:32, 23 November 2024 (UTC)

Found this from the talk archives. How would he handle it? 2601AC47 (talk|contribs) Isn't a IP anon 14:54, 23 November 2024 (UTC)

@2601AC47: That was a legitimate concern in 2008 when that discussion was carried out but he can't do that sort of thing now. Graham87 (talk) 05:05, 24 November 2024 (UTC)

Early Thanksgiving

Understandably, it's 2 days early and today would be George Segal's 100th birthday, but since you may have been distressed by things of late (including a hopefully resolved controversy, which needs complete closure)...

2601AC47 has given you a turkey! Turkeys promote WikiLove and hopefully this has made your day better. Spread the WikiLove by giving someone else a turkey, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend. Happy Thanksgiving! 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 12:32, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

Spread the goodness of turkey by adding {{subst:Thanksgiving Turkey}} to their talk page with a friendly message.

So, shall I suggest Moana 2 - in theaters ~~tomorrow~~ - and The Brutalist next month for you to see? 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 12:32, 26 November 2024 (UTC) Actually, Moana 2 is in theaters today (I checked), and there are seats for it. 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 15:22, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

And the reviews are in: 70%+ out of 46 so far according to Rotten Tomatoes (no consensus yet), "an exhilarating, romping sequel with songs that put Wicked to shame" (Tim Robey, The Telegraph), "reminds you that Moana is a certified star" and "another win for Disney animation" (Belen Edwards, Mashable), and 6/10 (middling) by IGN. 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 17:37, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

Last day to vote in the Arbcom-election

Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Elections December 2024 Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 07:37, 2 December 2024 (UTC)

Three proposed Amendments for ArbCom procedures

Courtesy link: Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Motions § Arbitrator workflow motions

Your input, as usual, is welcomed here. 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 21:09, 1 December 2024 (UTC)

On a very unrelated note: I’m starting to see more mentions of The duck test, which surely does explain different types of sockpuppets, but not exactly AI-generated ones of the sort. No, this isn’t mentioned by anyone there, but at the latest RfC regarding LLMs in comments. 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 00:44, 3 December 2024 (UTC)

On another unrelated (but far more serious) note: One lame duck from South Korea got the idea to subvert the will of his people. 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 18:20, 3 December 2024 (UTC)

Perhaps, since that martial law was nullified, he will next say something to the effect of I am the Senate. And with a thunderous round of applause… 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 19:42, 3 December 2024 (UTC)

@Jimbo? 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 21:20, 3 December 2024 (UTC)

And now, I painfully added that alongside a wizard’s trip through the alternate universes to my watchlist. 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 18:58, 3 December 2024 (UTC)

New Arbitration Committee appointments for 2025

The Electoral Commission is pleased to announce the certified results of the Arbitration Committee Election 2024. CaptainEek has extended her term for another two years, and Primefac has extended their term for another year. The new and returning appointees for the next two years are Daniel, Elli, KrakatoaKatie, Liz, ScottishFinnishRadish, Theleekycauldron, and Worm That Turned.

Congratulations!!!

On behalf of ElectCom: —CYBERPOWER (Merry Christmas) 13:52, 9 December 2024 (UTC)

A question

Jimmy, is the "woman won the Nobel Prize" you mentioned in the Intelligencer interview Donna Strickland, or were you thinking of someone else? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 07:50, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

Yes, I believe that's who I had in mind. She won the Nobel Prize and we didn't have an article on her beforehand. I'd love a second or third opinion and examination of the questions: Should we have had an article about her already? And was sex/gender in any way an issue regarding why we didn't? It's an important question.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 12:29, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

Thanks, it was the "recently" that made me a bit uncertain. Talk:Donna_Strickland/Archive_1#A_selected_timeline_of_the_edit_history_of_this_article and Talk:Donna_Strickland/Archive_1#Notability and Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Women_in_Red/Archive_50#Donna_Strickland might be of interest. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 12:49, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

Yeah, recently. I'm old, and the pandemic also messed with my sense of time. :) Jimbo Wales (talk) 15:15, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

Don't feel alone... BusterD (talk) 15:17, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

You're not old. When you do approach "old" remember Clint Eastwood's advice, "Never let the old man in". With adequate Vitamin C and water intake, as well as walking daily and a few other major things, you'll be surprised how young "old" is when you get there. Randy Kryn (talk) 15:20, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

Yes, I was only joking really. But the truth is, time is moving faster for me than it used to. Per Time perception, "Psychologists have found that the subjective perception of the passing of time tends to speed up with increasing age in humans. This often causes people to increasingly underestimate a given interval of time as they age.". I find that to be true!--Jimbo Wales (talk) 16:16, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

(TPS) Jimbo is *gasp*...aging? The horror! ☩ ^{(Babysharkboss2)} 16:17, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

Of course, given your age, this could also be caused by exposure to freezing or pyrexia; which I should know causes that because, when I was ill months ago, I heard things at a lower semi-tone pitch (95% of the normal pitch, I can confidently attest). Now, response about what I noted above? 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 16:28, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

I apologize but I'm not realy sure what you're asking me. I see a couple of comments up above from you but I'm not sure which one you're referring to. The one about checkuser says "How would he handle it?" and I don't know what "it" refers to. Input on ArbCom procedures, is there anything specific that you'd like my views on? There's one "@Jimbo?" and I definitely don't know what the question is on that one.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 22:29, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

I apologize if you are confused or whatever.

Let me explain in this order: First, I gave you a warm WikiTurkey, than I suggested 2 films; asked how you would handle using checkuser on all newcomers and IPs; asked for any input from you (comments you may have) about KevinL's 4 motions for improving Arbitrator workflows (which include Correspondence clerks, WMF staff support, Coordinating arbitrators and grants for corresponding clerks); wondered if you are aware of the duck test; also wondered if you have something to say about a wannabe military ruler in South Korea; and I simply hoped you would respond in kind. 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 23:47, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

Ha, ok. Let's tick through them. Thanks for the WikiTurkey, and I think my kids will drag me to the Moana soon enough whether I like it or not, so I hope it's good. I definitely don't support checkuser on all newcomers and IPs although I understand the temptation and I have reflected on whether there's something clever we could do to continue to both protect privacy but also discourage sockpuppeting. (Example: an automated system warns a user: "A user who appeared from a technical perspective to be very similar to you, also edited similar articles in a similar way, and got banned for it. You may want to reconsider." That might be a bad idea, but it flicked across my mind.). I have no opinion about the 4 motions for improving Arbitrator workflows, but would be interested to hear if anyone thinks they are of grave constitutional import, and I'm definitely opposed to martial law in South Korea.@ Jimbo Wales (talk) 23:53, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

There's actually one other thing I recently noticed, and it's the latest DeepMind model that generates gameplay-like videos in full 3D. And worse, it's interactive (and blurry)! Although, as you said in that interview: It would be very hard for an AI run by a person even to just come and pretend to be a Wikipedian and get away with it. Not that this relates specifically towards what Genie 2 has on offer, but do think about it for a few moments. 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 13:00, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

AND one more thing; Chris Vallance, BBC: Google unveils "mind-boggling" quantum computing chip (link), codename Willow. 2601AC47 (talk·contribs·my rights) Isn't a IP anon 15:03, 10 December 2024 (UTC)