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Burger

--mono 01:16, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

Talkback

fetch·comms 16:04, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

The Wikipedia Signpost: 2 August 2010

Make a barnstar

Can you make a Bihar Barnstar. Maye by rounding off or any image that you like, but not the one like the BoNM. --Extra 999 (Contact me + contribs) 01:54, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

Um... I will think about it, but I'm rather busy. If you find an image that is good, flick me the link and I'll see what I can do. sonia♫♪ 02:12, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

Talkback

Hello, Sonia. You have new messages at Chevymontecarlo's talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Chevymontecarlo 12:24, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

Thank you!

Thank you very much for creating the user page.  Even though I have an account, I still have the habit of editing while not logged in. Much of my best work was written before I created the account, and I wanted to keep a modicum of privacy by not using it to create the user page for my current IP address. 69.251.180.224 (talk) 15:00, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

Ah, I see- no problem whatsoever :) sonia 21:45, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

YGM

Hello, Sonia. Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

~~ Hi878 (Come shout at me!) 21:19, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

And you have a very very long reply. Sorry if it's overwhelming, but I do take these things quite seriously. sonia 07:36, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Question

Are you alive? Kevin Rutherford (talk) 01:14, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

Nope, she's died in the last 6 hours. Or she's a zombie. Sonia, are you a zombie? (Can zombies edit WP?) (Sorry Kevin, your question was just too hilarious for me to ignore. Also, if there is a serious meaning behind this, I sincerely apologize.) PrincessofLlyr royal court 02:06, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
See here, now I have to go. sonia 03:12, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
Yeah, but you've been MIA for like three days! Princess, it's alright, someday she'll become a zombie if she keeps playing to the intensity that she does. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 03:55, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
I have? It's news to me- my 'tribs show a decent amount of activity, but I just haven't been able to catch you online. "Playing to the intensity"- playing what, exactly? Cello? Games? Wikipedia? (Good to know you missed me too, though...*hugs*)
@Princess: It's a running gag, but with the kind of things we both get up to one of these days that question's going to be in earnest... sonia 05:59, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
It better darn well not be. Courcelles (talk) 06:05, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
Seconded.  Ed (talkmajestic titan) 06:11, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
Thirded. Third...ed? Ed ed ed. *babbles* —La Pianista 06:16, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
(edit conflict × 2) Wow, I'm loved. I'll do my best not to die on any of you guys(girl). At least until our FLC gets promoted, Courcelles. sonia 06:22, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
Well, then, I'll just have to keep getting you to do my bidding for lots and lots of FLCs. *evil laugh* Courcelles (talk) 06:27, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
Your wish is my command...(actually, that would probably work better if I was a zombie/undead slave, wouldn't it?)What are you doing with that knife? Put it down! *runs* sonia 06:37, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
Okay, as long as you aren't dead. Or undead. Just be alive! Good luck with the FLC. PrincessofLlyr royal court 13:12, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

Ding! Mail

Hi. Ms Sonia.
Any success on the 'camping' front? Zombie? not likely!--220.101 talk\Contribs 04:15, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

Hi 220.101~ Well, it got postponed by a week- and it's great, as we completely weren't ready. We've organised most of the stuff now, setting off at 8 on Saturday morning. Just finalized a route- I think it's about 18k each day across steep terrain. Should be good except that the forecast is for rain and thunderstorms...! Will bring my camera if I think I can risk it, and I'll try to get pics up on Commons if I do bring it. I'll keep you posted! sonia 05:57, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

Hi, Zombia Whuups! Sonia rather! Sorry about delay! Had (urgh) 'Real World' things that "Had to Be Done".
• Re Camping, good for you! Be careful, take GPS, mobile phone, first aid kit, wet weather gear, pack covers, (EPIRB if you've got it )etc
• Coffee has 'gone' (for now) for career reasons, but long time editor AnmaFinotera (talk · contribs) has retired too! Rather depressing!
• Do you know Grutness?, he's a long term editor & admin from NZ too. 220.101 talk\Contribs 10:40, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

AnmaFinotera retired? Oh no! (Yes, I sort of know Grutness- doubt he knows me though.) It's a bit depressing at times when I think about how many of the people that were around when I joined have retired... but I suppose, it's our job to take up the torch. (In Flanders Fields...)
We don't have an EPIRB or a GPS, just cellphones and old-fashioned paper maps and compasses. Not the best I suppose, but the four of us aren't going to be gone for many days or much off the beaten track. Food basically consists of dark chocolate, tuna and rice! First aid kit- we've each got our own, plus a big one. Wet weather gear, check. Pack covers... no, but we've got liners. And lots of polyprops and wool, which should keep us dry. Here's hoping for relatively good weather... sonia 10:49, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

Sounds like you're set. Don't want to hear about a bunch of young ladies missing on a camping trip in NZ! Actually I've never camped in the bush! Only at Caravan parks for a cheap holiday. (No Steve Irwin or Les Hiddins me!) Got your other reply too! Make sure the phones are fully charged! 220.101 talk\Contribs11:02, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

I'm a bit nervous. Haven't done something near since I did the Crossing as part of a 5-day road trip ten months ago, but that was with a very well-organized group of 40! One of us girls is doing a challenge that requires a hike as part of it, and it has to be done by next week, which is why this has all been rather hastily put together... I haven't even started packing yet! Well, God willing, you'll hear from me by Tuesday about how it went. No doubt I'll be rather sore and in need of a good sleep though. Four city girls out there 'gainst the elements- romantic in a movie, but much more muddy in real life, and a little dangerous :P sonia 11:13, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

Had a look at the Tongariro Crossing. Impressive, your mountains are much younger than ours! We don't even have any active volcanoes! You seen to be well prepared, and unless something untoward happens or someone does something silly you should be OK. Warm up before you start off and remember to stretch your legs when you stop too! A nice long, hot bath at the end for mud and muscles! G'night, have to cook/heat my dinner! 220.101 talk\Contribs11:40, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

Sonia, don't die. Remember, always go down if you are lost and need to keep moving. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 22:37, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

Will do. (Just packed my bag, and it's quite a large fraction of my weight- I'm carrying a stove amongst other things!) I got your email, and you're getting a slow painful death when I get back. You should know better, Kev. sonia 09:50, 6 August 2010 (UTC)
Hahaha, silly Sonia. You have a lot to learn about camping (assuming you are carrying a ten pound stove and not just a simple tiny stove)! I remember when I carried thirty pounds up a mountain when I was a bit above your weight. That wasn't fun but we learned to get lighter stuff! By the way, thanks for the encouragement here. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 23:25, 6 August 2010 (UTC)
it's 6lb with fuel I think. guess what? today we walked 5km in kneedeep mud, took us an hour- and when we set out it decided to start hailing! i dont have my camera but the others do so i may have pics in the end. lots more to tell but takes forever to type and we should move on. openstrings 06:02, 8 August 2010 (UTC)
Typing? what about the co$t! Per your other post "weather is nasty and its getting dark" I would strongly urge your whole party to stay where you are, if it is a safe spot! —220.101—talk\Contribs 06:34, 8 August 2010 (UTC)
Just got a new phone plan that comes with three months of free internet, so I may as well use it. Anyway, I'm back...luckier than this guy. So apparently there was a hut, but it was unmarked on the map- would have saved us some worry! When I get the photos off the other girls I'll decide how much is uploadable. Two guys our age decided to join us at the last minute, it made a little more stress for our group's "chef" but proved to be a rather good idea- at one point up an old riverbed a huge kauri had fallen across the path and I wouldn't have been able to climb across on my own! Pity that I ended up having to use my first aid kit though... an older Asian tramper (looked a bit unprepared, tbh) from a party of about ten over-50s had done something to his knee when a rock came loose. The worst that happened to us was that I got a split lip&ndash from a clumsy fall; we're all really sore now though. sonia 20:50, 8 August 2010 (UTC)
Is this the official "welcome Sonia back" thread? Welcome back! I think I may just have caused you an edit conflict at an RfA - sorry! (Though there's probably a joke about Kiwis and neutral !voting in it, though I'm blowed if I can think of one right now...) TFOWR 09:55, 9 August 2010 (UTC)
shh! I just got told off for myspacing... Thanks :) About the ec, it's okay. I feel kind of bad because it's a pretty close call, and I nearly moved to support a few times. After all, I don't think he'll break the wiki- but... And I didn't get to post in your welcome back thread! (What is it with all of us and wikibreaks around this time? HJ's on one too, isn't he? :P) Unfortunately, as I have another composition due on Friday, I shouldn't really be online now either. Or until November, really, because this semester is packed with due dates and "free writing" assignments (some new-fangled thing, apparently from European universities- it's basically writing stories and journals about the music and our personal responses/observations instead of having papers and exams. Interesting but time-consuming!) sonia 10:09, 9 August 2010 (UTC)
Put your education first Sonia! Who "told you off?" >:-s 220.101 talk\Contribs04:33, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
That was me. ;) But I was kidding.  Ed (talkmajestic titan) 06:08, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
Oh, okay. Literal minded me, plus Sonias' poor (depressing) weather seems to have moved here. :-( 220.101 talk\Contribs 06:27, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
How interesting- it was a beautiful day here, sunny but crisp. Maybe you stole our weather. :P What do you think of the Signpost article (below) about the lack of admins? sonia 10:26, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
Well, we had a week of very nice sunny weather, now it's going wet and supposed to be windy too soon! I'll have a look at the article about admins. 220.101 talk\Contribs 14:45, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

Talkback

Hello, Sonia. You have new messages at Dave1185's talk page.
Message added 05:16, 6 August 2010 (UTC). You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Jingle jingle

Ping mail. —La Pianista 21:16, 6 August 2010 (UTC)

Talkback

Hello, Sonia. You have new messages at User talk:Antandrus/observations on Wikipedia behavior.
Message added 12:53, 7 August 2010 (UTC). You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Usurpation at es.wiktionary

Hi, the account Sonia has been vacated at es.wiktionary, so you can use it from now. Greetings --Juan renombrado (talk) 11:48, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

Notice

Hey you, look at this please. Since you live there, I figure that you should be a part of something I have very little understanding about. Thanks. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 20:21, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

Will do. sonia 20:50, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

WN

I'm not sure if this, simple, or WN is the right place for this note, but well, thanks for the copyedit over at WN. I have read your note and I'd like to say that it was copied from the Bloomberg source. BTW could you answer my question at RDL? It's related to the article... Cheers Kayau Voting IS evil 10:53, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

If I'm online, any of the three pages is always on my feed. It'd probably be best either way to keep it on the most relevant page... I'm not entirely sure about the translation at RDL, but I'll see what I can do. Nice to keep bumping into you on so many projects! :) sonia 11:00, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

The Wikipedia Signpost: 9 August 2010

Help

Hello. I do not speak English and I speak to you with googel translator. I am inter-braces in the project and wonder what it is like. how do I use the project? When I make a change to the pages, how do I do?. I like these projects, and how do I use the account so I can be anonoym.

Much obliged. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.109.207.160 (talk) 12:07, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

Hello. If you do not speak English, it will not be easy for you to edit here. I would suggest you edit on the Wikipedia in your own language. If you want an account, go to this page and make one. I will drop you a welcome message in a moment. sonia 12:11, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
But to use translation apparata, for me much easier. If I make use of translation apparata, can here I change? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.109.207.160 (talk) 12:14, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
Certainly. I would recommend that you create an account, because automatic translations can sometimes be seen as vandalism and reverted. If you have an account, people will know that you are not fluent in English and understand that you are trying to help. sonia 12:20, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
But for account to make, persona see me name. Persona come to home of mine! --83.109.207.160 (talk) 12:24, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
My username is a name, yes. But yours does not have to be. You can make many different names, it can even be just numbers. So if you are careful with the choice of name, no one will know your real name or anything else about you. sonia 12:26, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
But for user name, to edit project fluently to do? 83.109.207.160 (talk) 12:28, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
No, anyone can have a username- many named users do not even use their accounts. You do not need one to edit the project, but it is not difficult to make one and it will help you greatly. sonia 12:32, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
Well, I got to tell ya. I have just been pulling a prank - in reality, I am a fluent english speaker. I had little to do so I just decided to pull a prank :p 83.109.207.160 (talk) 12:34, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
Well, your language errors were for the most part quite convincing. Well done. :) If you've got little to do, why not join us? The welcome I dropped you is still relevant, and you can have fun alongside writing the world's biggest encyclopedia! sonia 12:36, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
Well, I will consider it. Thank you :p 83.109.207.160 (talk) 12:37, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
Any questions you have, I'm always here to answer them. Might I ask how you came across the group of editors you pranked? Are you one of our regular editors logged out? :p sonia 12:39, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
Haha, nice. You try to help someone and assume good faith, and you get pranked. What a wonderful world we live in. I had a feeling that I was being trolled... who doesn't speak English these days? Hayden120 (talk) 12:48, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

I wonder by which criteria 83.109.207.160 found the userpages to post in. Do User talk:SummerWithMorons, User talk:Forty two, User talk:Sonia, User talk:Hayden120 and User talk:Swarm have anything in common?Sum (talk) 18:55, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

Nota bene* IP 83.109.207.160 (talk · contribs) has been AUTO-BLOCKED, as having been used by Burropene (talk · contribs) who is Blocked Indefinitely for BLP Violation. <sigh> 220.101talk\Contribs 05:07, 11 August 2010 (UTC)
Aye. I have a watchlist :P. sonia 11:31, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Welcome!

Thank you! sonia 11:31, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Your help desk query

Has been answered. Kind regards. ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ ―Œ ♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣ 06:55, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Has again been answered. Kind regards. ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ ―Œ ♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣ 09:55, 11 August 2010 (UTC)
Noted, but I have no idea what you mean by vulnerabilities. sonia 09:59, 11 August 2010 (UTC)
Vandalism perhaps? (Just a suggestion!) 220.101 talk\Contribs 11:28, 11 August 2010 (UTC)
Well, those pages can only be edited by sysops, so I don't really see how it could be a problem... 220, have you read the article about the "admin drought"? sonia 11:31, 11 August 2010 (UTC)
Yep, perhaps not in great detail. Certainly editors have higher expectations compared to a few years ago. It also matters how active the Admin is as some are only marginally/moderately active while other such as HJ are extremely active. It is a problem, long term, if Admins get pi$$ed off and get blocked or leave. I think there should be some minimum standards set before editors can apply as there have been a few RfAs recently by those who would never pass ie. very new editors. 220.101 talk\Contribs 12:17, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Dear Sonia, this is a reply to your query above. Yes, you're right; these pages are editable only by administrators. However, they're pages accessible through the net and giving links to them might encourage a few in the hacker league to gain access to them. Not that links to them cannot be found; they can be easily found by anyone interested. But it's just a matter of not bringing it into their perspective in a forum where there might be a higher probability of some taking up the challenge. Warm regards. ♪ ♫ Wifione ♫ ♪ ―Œ ♣Łeave Ξ мessage♣ 17:29, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Okay. Thanks for clarification. sonia 22:33, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Just want to make sure you know you're invited ...

to clerk at UAA all you like :) I didn't respond at first out of concerns to stay "neutral", but that shouldn't stop me from being friendly :) Best of luck. (Watching) - Dank (push to talk) 18:54, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

All right, thank you! BLPprod seems like a good place to watch as well, and I must say that the discussion on this is going remarkably well ffor something that started at WT:RFA. I'll see what I can do. :) sonia 22:33, 11 August 2010 (UTC)
Haha, yes, as one of those masochistic long-time watchers of RFA, I feel the same :) - Dank (push to talk) 23:10, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

DYK for 2002 Continental Tire Bowl

I replied to the comment you left on the DYK hook on T:TDYK. Grondemar 23:19, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Hmm. I'll leave it for more experienced reviewers. sonia 10:44, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Christmas motto series

Hi! As a contributor to the MOTD, I thought I would draw your attention to a discussion for a possible Christmas Motto series. If you get a chance, could you please pop in and give your thoughts? Thanks! Stephen! Coming... 15:57, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

Weighed in. sonia 10:44, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

I love you

I love you--180.234.41.144 (talk) 10:42, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

How nice. I wish I could say the feeling is mutual, but as you forgot to close your </font> tag, I cannot reciprocate. sonia 10:44, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

User talk:Tinny8787

Hi Sonia! It's always a pleasure to see another person becoming a help desk//WP:NCHD/helpme etc. helper. I just thought I'd drop by with one issue regarding the above user's helpme request. Being pretty involved in copyright issues (though by no means as expert as some) it is my take that it's much better to instruct people on how to add a releasing tag themselves, so that there is a direct link between the free licensor or the public domain release to the user doing so. A person should be able to look in the history and see X released it. If you are going to add the tag for someone else, it should certainly include in the edit summary the diff url of the user making their statement of release. But even that seems to me to be a problem. Releases here are moved to Commons, and once it gets too attenuated, when years later someone questions whether it was really released or freely licensed, the path to show that becomes complicated (especially because talk pages get deleted sometimes). Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:57, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

All right, thank you. I was intending to include a diff, but I suppose it's a case of "give a man a fish..." there and your approach would have been better in the long run. sonia 23:41, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

1972 Cup Winners' Cup riots

Just a short note to thank you for your great work on the article, it is much appreciated. 90.200.240.178 (talk) 08:31, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

No probs. It was a most interesting read- even for someone who doesn't know a thing about team sports. By the way, I nominated it for DYK as well, so it may be up on the main page in a few days. sonia 09:29, 14 August 2010 (UTC)
Um, thanks...? :) sonia 23:52, 15 August 2010 (UTC)
Have now done so :/ sonia 08:32, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I was wondering...

How come you became an admin at simple-wiki and did not run for admin here? I noticed your calm and clueful reasoning at WT:RFA and was surprised that you are not an admin, so...how come? Regards SoWhy 18:55, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

Really? I'm flattered that you think I would make a good admin. I don't think I've been around for long enough that others can evaluate the quality of my judgement in the context of admin-related tasks. To be honest, I'm also quite liking being not having the mop here. As for simple, I'd guess that being an admin there is quite different to being one here in terms of the degree that IAR applies and the amount of blood pressure involved. sonia 23:52, 15 August 2010 (UTC)
...and so it begins! Putting it off as long as possible is admirable (and something I did), but sooner or later you will must should succumb. If SoWhy is your nom, can I be your co-nom? TFOWR 23:56, 15 August 2010 (UTC)
What...? I don't get to nominate her? Courcelles 04:39, 16 August 2010 (UTC)
Since my PC has suffered a complete mainboard failure (I think), I was not able to do a thorough check of your contributions but from what I have seen, you seem to be clueful enough to become one sooner or later. As for missing experience, I'd like to showcase Maedin (talk · contribs) who successfully ran for adminship last year with little more than 3300 edits and roughly the same time active (a bit longer iirc). So it's possible to pass RFA without having more than 10k edits and 2 years activity. When I ran for admin, I had only been actively editing for 4-5 months (see WikiChecker - I became an admin on 1 October 2008), so don't worry about the time you were active. Quality is more important than quantity ;-) Regards SoWhy 07:27, 16 August 2010 (UTC)
IIRC, Taelus' numbers were smaller than Maedin's, and her RFA more recent....Courcelles 07:37, 16 August 2010 (UTC)
True, but I can't brag with Taelus' achievements Regards SoWhy 08:09, 16 August 2010 (UTC)
That's somewhat surprising. That said, I hold both of those editors in high esteem, and I don't think I come anywhere near them ;) Ignoring whether or not I'd pass, I don't forsee myself wanting or needing the mop in the near future. Thanks to all of you for your confidence- should I ever have a burning desire to help clear admin backlogs, I'll contact you. :) sonia 09:09, 16 August 2010 (UTC)
Too bad but I can understand your hesitance. If you do think you want to help, feel free to contact me and I'll evaluate you (and nominate you if I like what I see ;-)). Regards SoWhy 09:47, 16 August 2010 (UTC)
Hmm. The adminship application process on English Wikipedia is like running the gauntlet.  Davtra  (talk) 10:01, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Just wondering

Have you considered running for adminship? You help out a lot here and on the test wiki; I should think granting someone like you the sysop tools would only help the project. You can also email me if you'd like. -Tommy! [message] 14:22, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

For the record, I totally did not see the above convo-- just so you know. But I think you'd be a great admin. Tommy! [message] 18:25, 16 August 2010 (UTC)
I was going to say that Sonia shouldn't really consider an RfA until there are two separate thread on her talkpage suggesting she do an RfA... Dammit! TFOWR 18:27, 16 August 2010 (UTC)
At least I haven't told her to "Go get her own damn mop" yet... ;) Courcelles 18:42, 16 August 2010 (UTC)
And that makes 8 enquiries in the last week. This is getting somewhat unnerving. (That said, I've reached for the block button here once or twice only to find it's not there...) sonia 20:47, 16 August 2010 (UTC)
And we need a new project, per [1]... Courcelles 20:54, 16 August 2010 (UTC)
*victory dances* I'm open to any project, as long as I get to do more sourcing than writing coherent prose. Funnily enough, I have no issue with tweaking other people's writing. What do you want to work on? sonia 22:57, 16 August 2010 (UTC)
All the Quietly Confident Quartet stuff that has been coming through FAC lately makes me want to do something relating to Moscow, so... 1980 Summer Olympics medal table as an easier project than some of the New Zealand lists? (Only the National Parks list is anywhere near ready, if we're honest with ourselves.) (1984-2004 Summer tables need to get done eventually, but are all going to be somewhat trickier. Note that Moscow doesn't appear on List of stripped Olympic medals, which is surprising considering how much we now know about East German doping programs in the run-up to the fall of the Berlin Wall). Courcelles 06:53, 20 August 2010 (UTC)
Another medal table would be good, since I know what that should look like. The National Parks one would benefit from a bit of old-fashioned archive sourcing after the concert; that should turn up a good amount of info for the other NZ lists as well, but I won't be able to set aside time to write them yet. (In other words: Good idea! :P) sonia 07:12, 20 August 2010 (UTC)
Check the image I put in the lede. It's a bit unusual, (and we do have a shot of just a gold medal if you think it works better), but it is something different, especially since all the Summer medals of the period were pretty much identical except for the text. (see [2] for what I mean, 1928 Amsterdam to 2000 Sydney are all about the same.) Courcelles 09:56, 20 August 2010 (UTC)
Oh, I like it. There's a bit more interest, a bit more connection in that picture. sonia 10:00, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Hello

Hello, Sonia. You have new messages at WikiKiwi's talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

:) WikiKiwi (askme) 11:45, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Again ;) WikiKiwi (askme) 02:44, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Hey, anon vandal!

Thanks! I suspect you may be making yourself into a target as well, so give me a shout if you need protection. Do you have an alternative talkpage for IPs? TFOWR 10:08, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the userpage protect; I'd rather not have this page protected just in case any of the anons I interact with at AfC wants to talk to me. I'll consider an alt talk if it starts getting personal, but I don't mind a bit of silly trolling. sonia 10:11, 19 August 2010 (UTC)
Cool. The userpage protection is short-term: if this continues beyond that I'll either ping zzuuzz (or someone who's rangeblock-savvy) or see what I can do about rangeblocks. TFOWR 10:13, 19 August 2010 (UTC)
Good lord. What the children won't stoop to doing these days. TFWOR conflicted me in RD2'ing that garbage, and I hit an indefinite user-page semi-prot. No reason for an IP to be editing it. Courcelles 10:17, 19 August 2010 (UTC)
Okay, so, in an RD conflict, nothing happens at all. Now they're RD2'ed! Courcelles 10:31, 19 August 2010 (UTC)
Thanks again. sonia 06:32, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

FTP1690

Sorry Sonia - I've been bold on this one and softblocked the username. It might not be offensive to most people, but go around Ireland or Scotland with 'FTP 1690' on a tshirt and you'll get arrested, or worse, killed. See Google for some info of the sort of violence that this phrase is linked to. Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry (talk) 10:14, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Hmm- my bad. I did google it, but without the space, and turned up few hits. I guess I should have checked more thoroughly. Cheers. sonia 10:17, 19 August 2010 (UTC)
No worries - I live near Birmingham and I'm in the military, so we get taught about things like this. You weren't to have known! Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry (talk) 10:21, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

AfC Help

I am looking into this article but I cannot see if there is a copyright violation or if there is a public release of the information from the ref on this article. I was wondering if you could check it and see if there is a copyright policy on the site. Also, thank you for telling me about the article, I'm new to this AfC so thanks! Link to the Held AfC: [[3]] —Preceding unsigned comment added by Joe Gazz84 (talkcontribs)

Hello, if there is no copyright policy it is always assumed there is copyright, and this is true for the great majority of websites. The text is a minor copyright violation, but because copyvios tend to be promotional it should be declined as such anyway. I have removed the offending section and declined the submission. Thank you for asking before doing anything. Cheers. sonia 20:50, 19 August 2010 (UTC)
Thank you for the tip, I will keep that in mind. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Joe Gazz84 (talkcontribs)
Hello, Sonia. You have new messages at Joe Gazz84's talk page.
Message added 23:33, 19 August 2010 (UTC). You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

I responded on your section 6.1 Joe Gazz84 (user)(talk)(contribs) 23:33, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

If the references are in another language but the page is in english and the references are correcty when translated is that OK to approve the page? Joe Gazz84 (user)(talk)(contribs) 14:19, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Happy Sonia's Day!

User:Sonia has been identified as an Awesome Wikipedian,
and therefore, I've officially declared today as Sonia's day!
For being such a beautiful person and great Wikipedian,
enjoy being the Star of the day, dear Sonia!

Peace,
Rlevse
00:04, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

A record of your Day will always be kept here.

For a userbox you can add to your userbox page, see User:Rlevse/Today/Happy Me Day! and my own userpage for a sample of how to use it.RlevseTalk 00:04, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Congrats, Sonia! *scuttles back to work* —La Pianista 01:24, 20 August 2010 (UTC)
Whoo! Congrats Sonia and enjoy your day! Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 06:18, 20 August 2010 (UTC)
I will! :D sonia 06:32, 20 August 2010 (UTC)
Thanks! Not entirely sure what you're asking there, but that page does need some work... I'm almost definitely not the right person to do it, though. sonia 10:32, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

AfC Barnstar

The Articles for Creation barnstar
Thank you for your help creating articles and helping those who are new at it. Joe Gazz84 (user)(talk)(contribs) 20:35, 20 August 2010 (UTC)
Thank you! In response to your question above, which I just saw, it's certainly acceptable to have foreign-language references. Which submission are you talking about? sonia 20:42, 20 August 2010 (UTC)
You are moat certainly welcome, the article was about OSSI (OSSI is abbreviation) or something.Joe Gazz84 (user)(talk)(contribs) 12:18, 21 August 2010 (UTC)
Ah, I see. That article looks okay, although clarification is probably needed as to whether it's OSSI or OSSA, which is used throughout the article. sonia 12:20, 21 August 2010 (UTC)
I will check and clarify in the article. Joe Gazz84 (user)(talk)(contribs) 13:20, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Another Barnstar that Fits You!

The Excellent User Page Award
Awesome creation with the picture and text to link to other parts of your Userspace.Joe Gazz84 (user)(talk)(contribs) 19:15, 22 August 2010 (UTC)
Thanks. sonia 19:18, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Thought I should run this by you...

...bit silly, really, but I've been recording certain events on my userpage. This one is obviously not on en.wiki, and involves you, so I figured I should check you're OK with it. I'm happy to remove it if you're not. (Oh, and thanks again for your prompt action earlier). TFOWR 13:28, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Heh, I've got no problem with it– if you want to publicize your rougeness, I can't stop you ;) sonia 19:18, 23 August 2010 (UTC)
I could probably get myself blocked on commons as well... Hmmmm... Actually, that's probably not a bad point. Dammit, should have thought of that this morning. Anyway, you are now named-and-shamed as having blocked "me" ;-) TFOWR 19:26, 23 August 2010 (UTC)
Yup, managed to get mesel' blocked on commons ;-) TFOWR 07:40, 24 August 2010 (UTC)
;) sonia 19:33, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

Mlpearc

Thank you Sonia for your comment at my review [4]. Unfortunately I did not get a very good response. I been thinking of what you said about my userboxes, I have done a lot of user space editing, anyway, asking your opinion, the boxes you refer to the other Wiki's, if I were to separate them into a their own area maybe labled "Other Wiki's" or something, would that soften the uncomfortable feeling you speak of ? Just looking for some feedback, Thanx. Mlpearc powwow 19:28, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

Sorry that you haven't gotten much of a response there; ER is very backlogged. My "uncomfortable" feeling is based on more than the fact that they are misleading; I will send you an email later today if I have the time. Cheers. sonia 19:33, 24 August 2010 (UTC)
Thank you. Mlpearc powwow 20:30, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

GA Suggestion

Since I have seen you doing great work at AfC, I think you would be perfect for GA review. GA is Good Article. You seem like a good person for it, there is a HUGE backlog and we could use some help. Thanks! Joe Gazz84usertalkcontribsEditor Review 18:20, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Hmm. It's a process I'm a bit afraid of, but I will try. sonia 10:43, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
It is vary simple if you look here GA Review Cheatsheet It will help you. All you have to do is make sure it follows manual of style.
Aye, but I'm a rather meticulous reviewer- it'd take me about an hour, if not more, to do a review. sonia 10:22, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

Talkback

Hello, Sonia. You have new messages at Laangus's talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Thank you!

Nota bene* (talk page stalker) I have fixed the u/s TalkBack link to Laanguss's talk page by removing brackets ( ) around their username.
Ok? 220.101 talk\Contribs 02:16, 26 August 2010 (UTC)
flag Redflag Looky here! This works too! 220.101 talk\Contribs 10:26, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
Very very nice indeed, 220.101. Don't be getting yourself too comfortable though- it'll still be better getting an account! sonia 10:43, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

it.wiki Sonia

it.wiki username Sonia is now available for your SUL account. Ciao, Ary29 (talk) 22:11, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Thank you so much! sonia 10:43, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

DYK for 1972 Cup Winners' Cup Final riots

The DYK project (nominate) 06:04, 26 August 2010 (UTC)

Talkback

Hello, Sonia. You have new messages at Nikkimaria's talk page.
Message added 12:02, 27 August 2010 (UTC). You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.
Replied. Nikkimaria (talk) 12:46, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
Thanks so much, I'll do it when I find the time. sonia 10:22, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

Hello!

Hi, Sonia! I apologize for my statements at my profile on Simple. I wonder if there is a remote chance that I could return. Editing with The Big Boys has been enlightening, but I am beginning to feel a yearning to revert to Simple. Protector of Wiki (talk) 06:33, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

You were indefinitely blocked for a reason- your aggressive behaviour toward other users had outweighed the good you were contributing toward content. Whilst not a de jure community ban, I wouldn't dream of overturning a block like that.
If you wish to appeal, email the mailing list (simple-admins-l@lists.wikimedia.org). However, unless you can show (through your contributions here or otherwise) that you understand the problem and have rectified it, the chances of an unblock are very slim. An indef does not mean that you can never return- but it does mean it will take a good amount of time away and a drastic change in behaviour to get there.
In the meantime, it's good that you're keeping busy here. Try enabling Twinkle and Friendly in your preferences- you may find them useful. And please, remember that this is all a website at the end of the day. No one is intending to hurt you personally, nor is an XfD an attack on your competence. We always have the choice to step away and do more important things and often restraint is the greatest form of strength. sonia 09:46, 29 August 2010 (UTC)
Wow, Sonia, you give awfully good advice. I will continue editing here, and after a few months, I'll check with you to see if I am ready to return. Protector of Wiki (talk) 05:50, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

RfC: Partisan sources

I have proposed an edit for the mainspace of an important Wikipedia policy, the Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources policy. Essentially, I believe that some sources are so partisan that using them as "reliable sources" invites more problems than they're really worth. You've previously participated in the RfC on this subject, or another related discussion indicating that you are interested in this important policy area. Please indicate here whether you support or oppose the proposed edit. The original discussion is here. Phoenix and Winslow (talk) 12:58, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

I was unaware that telling two users to calm down in a thread related to this subject was counted as registering my interest in it. sonia 10:22, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

Which will(shall) it be?

Now I don't even have to type it out!

Speaking of 'Hellcats', some people don't know who they're dealing with do they? You go girl!

Quote: final lines from "Things to Come", 220.101 talk\Contribs 11:45, 30 August 2010 (UTC)
That... is a absolutely epic reply. Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 17:45, 30 August 2010 (UTC)
Which one? The excellent piece of prose 220's just dropped off here surely smothers any of my own... Hey, look at this picture! sonia 20:19, 30 August 2010 (UTC)
• Thanks Ed + sonia. I should have added that line was 'spake' by Raymond Massey (story by HG Wells). See the movie if you haven't already! Interesting piccy, I haven't seen it before. (20:19! Early riser Sonia!) Is that 'behemoth' being dealt with? 220.101 talk\Contribs 22:29, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

We are done doing work for you

We at RAB are no longer contributing to Wikipedia. You get onto our leader (ACSBehemothHellcatCruiser) just for uploading an image of Blue Angels. How rough do you think that makes it for all of us? If we can't upload them, then how do you get them on here?! It's not like the owner is going to put them on here when they're all busy working, for example: Someone thinks an image needs to be replaced with a better one. They know the source, but do not own it. They upload it to Wikipedia and license it. Yet you still go chewing them out, even when they identify the license! You tell them to tell you the license, they tell you, and you still go crazy on them?!!! I don't see any sense in that. RAB is tired of being harassed and bossed around by you admins for no reason!!! Invid Commander (talk) 23:54, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

Not really sure what this is all about, but he's now blocked (by someone other than me). Cheers, Nikkimaria (talk)
Obvious socks are obvious. They all use the same phrases, and are obviously not clueful enough to be three-year veterans or "eliminate" me, whatever that means. Thanks for the note, Nikki. sonia 01:30, 31 August 2010 (UTC)

Help getting a page back?

I was just wondering, you seem much nicer than the other guy, if I could get my page back before people added a whole bunch of nonsense to it? also, the stuff you posted on my pagey thing confused me, could you explain without the excessive symbols + stuff in brackets? thanks =] —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jimjamtaphead (talkcontribs) 11:32, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

You were the one who added the nonsense to it, so no. sonia 04:24, 2 September 2010 (UTC)
Is it weird that I thought of this when I read "So you think you know Carl Daniel Taylor?" :p Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 04:45, 2 September 2010 (UTC)
...probably... sonia 12:03, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

1980

Good work so far. Tomorrow 'll try to rearrange/copyedit/expand it, and see it we can take it up to FLC. Sorry I've been somewhat slack. Courcelles 01:00, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

No probs whatsoever- you've had a heck of a lot more on your plate than I have. There's no hurry after all. sonia 04:24, 2 September 2010 (UTC)
I'm guessing what it needs most badly is rescuing from my prose; otherwise, I've tried to source almost everything, and I'm not sure how much there is to add to it. Take your time about it. :) sonia 12:03, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

'Shaky Isles' Shaking?

Hi there, was surprised to hear you'd had a quake! And a well developed article on it already 2010 Canterbury earthquake (Well it was bout 12 hours ago now!). All OK? 220.101 talk\Contribs 04:39, 4 September 2010 (UTC)

That's what I love about Wikimedia- things get updated in nearly real-time as information comes out. I'm safe and sound though, and so is the cello. sonia 05:04, 4 September 2010 (UTC)
Indeed, the article was started by the 'usual suspect' from the other side of the world, less than 45 mins after it happened! Pics I saw on TV very reminiscent of the 1989 Newcastle earthquake, which I certainly felt and I was 160km away in Sydney! 220.101 talk\Contribs 07:16, 4 September 2010 (UTC)
Aye. There's a matching simplewiki article up, I'm going to try to get that onto the main page soon. This sort of thing is kinda a side effect of living on a fault line, I guess! I'm very thankful that there have been no casualties. sonia 07:24, 4 September 2010 (UTC)
More than a side effect, no Fault line, no NZ!. Did you sleep through, or actually feel it? 220.101 talk\Contribs 07:35, 4 September 2010 (UTC)
They don't call it the ring of fire for nothing. Glad to hear you're well. Courcelles 02:47, 5 September 2010 (UTC)
@220.101: I was driving out to find a 24-hour clinic, feeling rather ill, so I was a bit too preoccupied to notice much out of the ordinary. Nothing compared to the folks nearer to central Chch though! @Courcelles: thanks. The thing about NZ is, its isolation and awesome geology are what make it a great place to live, but they both have their very real disadvantages. I wouldn't trade it for the world though. sonia 03:29, 5 September 2010 (UTC)
<sheepish>Sorry to hear that, feeling better? 220.101 talk\Contribs 05:02, 5 September 2010 (UTC)
No need to feel sheepish, it's not your fault. Been coughing my lungs up for the last few hours, looks like I'll have to take tomorrow off :( sonia 08:08, 5 September 2010 (UTC)

Meeeeeeeeh! Thanks for 'watching over my shoulder' at 2010 Canterbury earthquake. The 'hot Whisky and lemon' (below) sounds good anytime. (except when driving!) Take care. 220.101 talk\Contribs 11:14, 5 September 2010 (UTC)

For all the little things. (now finish your assignments! (please) ) :P - 220.101 talk\Contribs 07:10, 9 September 2010 (UTC)
Thanks :) As I've said on your talk, no more "assignments" for a little while. Which is a relief- I enjoy composing, but it's good to be able to just soak up other people's music for a change, writing only what I want and not what I have to. sonia 07:48, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

Symbiosis

Came up on my watchlist - you just needed to select all - Path - Object to Path - to convert the type to paths so Wikipedia doesn't try to render the font, but uses shapes instead. I did it for you as I was passing... Sorry if I confused you - it looks good.  Begoon&#149;talk 08:26, 5 September 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for that- I'm altogether too used to working with raster images, I think. sonia 08:41, 5 September 2010 (UTC)
Your vectors look pretty good to me. I'm fortunate enough to have Illustrator CS5, which I need for my RL work - so I don't have to use Inkscape, which I find pretty "clunky". (although I do still use Inkscape for quick scales and recrops, and there are some files Illustrator just plain refuses to open). Anyway, you should be drinking hot whisky and lemon, not drawing logos...  Begoon&#149;talk 09:31, 5 September 2010 (UTC)
During office hours I have access to CS4, but the director is unwilling to get CS5. In your opinion, how much am I missing out on? On weekends, I'm stuck with GIMP and Inkscape, I'm afraid. As for resting- meh. Image work is easier on my eyes than sourcing articles, and I find I feel better if I leave no time to feel sorry for myself. ;) sonia 09:56, 5 September 2010 (UTC)
There's a few things: There's variable width strokes, and some stuff with arrows and dashes on a path, perspective drawing, and the shape builder is quite cool. Draw inside, and draw behind modes are quite nice too - linky. It seems a bit more stable in general than CS4 was, too - although still not perfect (on Windows).  Begoon&#149;talk 10:20, 5 September 2010 (UTC)
Hmm... stability is always good, the other features look quite cool. Perhaps I'll bring it up again. sonia 07:48, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

5pm (Software)

Hi there, re. Wikipedia_talk:Articles_for_creation/5pm - you put it 'on hold'; please could you give me a bit of advice, more information, about what I can improve

I started the article because some clients of mine refer a lot to: http://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/List_of_project_management_software , which is a great source of information on PM tools

As you noticed a bunch of PM tools are listed there. But the list does not include some good new tools, like 5pm (well, this one has been around since 2007) and others. I want to make the list more complete and updated. But need an article about 5pm first. I noticed other articles covering PM tools are short and in about the same format. I plan to expand it, and hope others will help.

This is my first software coverage and I plan to add more apps coverages. So any help is appreciated.

Disarea (talk) 12:14, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

(talk page stalker) Hi Disarea. Apologies for butting in but I believe Sonia may be fairly busy at the moment. I'm not an "articles for creation" person, but I do have experience with notability in general and the requirements with regard to speedy deletions in particular. Sonia left the comment "This suggestion doesn't sufficiently explain the importance or significance of the subject. See the speedy deletion criteria (A7) and/or guidelines on notability. Please provide more information on why the subject is worthy of inclusion in an encyclopedia." Take a look at the two links in Sonia's comment, and in particular focus on demonstrating why 5pm is significant or important. I'm going from memory here, but I seem to recall that 5pm may have been the first web-pased PM tool, and is well regarded in the technical press. If that's the case (and it's not just my ancient memory playing tricks on me!) then get that into the article, supported by references.
Sonia, feel free to correct me or clarify: you know I'm an idiot ;-) TFOWR 12:36, 10 September 2010 (UTC)
Gracias, TFOWR. As for "fairly busy at the moment", it's quarter to 1 am, so it's safe to say that on a normal day I wouldn't be busy at all!
Disarea: Thank you for your efforts, the article is a very good start to one as it stands. The thing that I am concerned about, as TFOWR has stated, is notability, or whether it is important enough to be in an encyclopedia. The only prose in the article at the moment is one sentence about what it is very briefly, then another about the company, which is somewhat irrelevant. A quick bit of research seems to say to me that it is indeed notable enough for an article, but that notability has to be demonstrated- you have to tell us why the subject is important. The reviews you've linked are a good starting point.
That reminds me- this is much more minor, but inline citations are always nice. Basically, to prevent false information slipping in, we do prefer that every statement/fact has <ref> website or book information is from </ref> at the end of it. I'm sure you've noticed that several of our articles do not have such, but it is good practice to add references in this format to as many statements as can be sourced. For more information about this, this page, and this guide may be of use.
Just these two things, and we're sorted for a brand new article! Thanks again for your efforts on this, it's always great when people see holes in our content and join us to fix it. If you have any more questions, do feel free to ask and I'll do my best to help you. (if my talk page stalkers don't get there first!) sonia 12:50, 10 September 2010 (UTC)


Sonia: Thank you for getting back to me. I extended the article information and made use of "ref"tag, as suggested. As far as I know, 5pm is not the first web based PM software as TFOWR mentioned. But, you are right - it's very Notable, has been around for a while and is fairly popular at this point - it gets mentioned together with Basecamp and other top PM web apps.
As I mentioned, my main goal is to include 5pm in this list: http://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/List_of_project_management_softwareink 5pm fits there no less than other apps. Since it's my first article, I checked other PM apps from this list, like: http://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/Goplan, http://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/Collabtive, http://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/Huddle_%28software%29, http://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/Projectplace_%28software%29. I did not find those article more descriptive or having more Notability than 5pm. So I tried to keep it short.
Let me know if I can expand the article more, or it's enough at this point to share with others. I'm sure there are enough 5pm users out there who can add more. Disarea (talk) 13:59, 10 September 2010 (UTC)
The editor asked my opinion; I think it's good enough for mainspace, & I moved it there. If I short-circuited your review, I apologize, but it seemed simpler & I hate intricate procedures--they make Wikipedia seem to bureaucratic. What we need is informal personal contact. So if there are any details to be cleared up about the AfCreation process, please do so for me, as I've never worked there. You (and TROW) gave good advice, the article is OK, and the references demonstrate the notability more than adequately--since they are primarily about the article. We've accepted software articles with less. Further comments on the user's talk p. DGG ( talk ) 16:49, 10 September 2010 (UTC)


DGG>thank you. So the article is live now and other users can edit and contribute to it? That's great! I'll proceed with modifying other pages. Thank you so much for making it simpler!!! Disarea (talk) 18:09, 10 September 2010 (UTC)
DGG: freel free to "short-circuit" anytime, I'd appreciate the additional pair of eyes. Disarea: certainly, please do go ahead and edit other pages- you've got the hang of it, so you can also make your articles "live" without going through AfC if you choose. sonia 22:17, 10 September 2010 (UTC)
Sonia> How do I get my articles live without AfC? Disarea (talk) 01:39, 11 September 2010 (UTC)
Just type the name of your article into the search bar, and if it doesn't exist this line will show up at the top of the results, saying You may create the page "pagetestname", but consider checking the search results below to see whether it is already covered. Click on the red link and create your page there- when you hit save, it'll be live immediately. But by all means get DGG or one of us to give it a quick once-over after you've created it, so that any minor style issues can be fixed. Thanks again for your work! sonia 04:55, 11 September 2010 (UTC)
As a rule of thumb, if the topic of the new article doesn't come under these lists and the article isn't a copy violation or biased then it should be fine. Set Sail For The Seven Seas 285° 1' 29" NET 19:00, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

Adoption

Hi! my name is Ana Laura Beltran and im in a school project. I would pretty much apreciate if your would like to become part of it by adopting me. I leave and thank you in advance :)ALauBeltran (talk) 23:42, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

Sure! You are hereby adopted :) sonia 00:40, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
Woah! You're adopting users too? It seems to be the trend of the time, alongside WP:MOTD. Set Sail For The Seven Seas 17° 57' 30" NET 01:11, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
I only recently felt like I was ready to adopt users. How is it a trend, actually? If anything, I'd say it's dying off- Adopt-a-User hasn't seen much action in a while. For me, Wikipedia's about the community... some of my work is actually off-wiki, speaking at schools to raise awareness that Wikipedia can be used for school projects, and the "proper" way to go about it. So adopting students with projects is fantastic- I can steal ideas, and lend my own. sonia 01:30, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
It is a great idea! In fact, it's already used in schools. Even university lecturers tell students to look things up on Wikipedia! You might be interested in these pages and I'm sure your name will magically appear here in the very near future! :D Set Sail For The Seven Seas 310° 25' 0" NET 20:41, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
Yep. At one of the schools I'm most involved with, Wikipedia is the only website students can access without an internet password (which is great, but also means that the school's IPs are indeffed.) However, I'm more into integrating "editing assignments" with the NCEA curriculum, which actually works very well. The internal "research" standards incorporated into many subjects is ideal for Wikipedia editing in the way it is assessed. sonia 20:49, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
An assignment involving editing Wikipedia? That's brilliant, since then we'd have more editors. I take it you're part of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority? Since you appear to be someone who's actively working to improve education and teaching. Also, if some of these students are administrators, they'd be able to do even more. It would warm Jimbo's heart! Set Sail For The Seven Seas 338° 20' 30" NET 22:33, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
Aye, it's fantastic. I've tentatively got two groups in the works (a ton of paperwork and approval from parents/higher ups still pending), but one is a handful of bright ten-year-olds in a pilot program- I'm thinking I'll start them off with simplewiki as it's a much safer place for them to be. Easier to learn the ropes, plus more coordinated support for young editors as well. Student admins? Well- I'm not sure if students should be that addicted- school first! (Half-joking- I do believe there are many underage editors who are more than capable, and who indeed do a great job as admins/crats.) I reckon this place is an excellent learning ground to pick up life experience, judgement and writing skills- if I can enable students to do that through school, why not? They benefit personally from broader experience, the school benefits from a much richer assessment of skills than an essay would ever provide, and the world benefits from having more information available here on Wikipedia. sonia 23:04, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
Sound good! Simplewiki is a quieter wiki, I'm not sure about safer though, since enwiki isn't really dangerous. There's probably a lot less drama over there than there is here and it's a lot slower as well, so that could be a good thing. There are quite a few underage admins/crats about here. What's best is that Wikipedia itself benefits from it too! Set Sail For The Seven Seas 356° 53' 15" NET 23:47, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
Safer- simple has a much lower tolerance of children giving out personal information, and newbs are rare enough that they're a treasure and helped along the way- of course, recentchanges being slow enough to catch every newbie helps as well :). sonia 07:53, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
I guess so, and since admins can now delete revisions, you'd be able to expunge any personal information from the public. Recentchanges is indeed slower over there, but the more newbies join, the faster it will become. It's most probably because there aren't many editors using scripts like huggle, twinkle, popups, igloo and all the others. Set Sail For The Seven Seas 324° 39' 45" NET 21:38, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
There's no point using anti-vandalism scripts where there's not enough vandalism to revert. :P Once in a while we'll have an open-proxy/sockpuppet spree, but we've always got a CU and OS online ready to wield the banhammer. sonia 22:30, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
I guess they appear on every wiki, so you need to be prepared. All in all, when you're a newbie here it's nice to have someone watching over, since it can be quite an unfamiliar place. Adoption schemes are usually good for that, but they seem to run on an "if you don't ask, you don't get" basis. I find it doesn't take too long to learn the basics, and once you've got that, you're off and going, right into the world of Wikipedia! Set Sail For The Seven Seas 340° 39' 30" NET 22:42, 16 September 2010 (UTC)

thank you :)

The project is about writing, we have to publish something here. It would be in November or something like that but we have to write some fragments before. I would like you to help me editing and improve my writing. My mail is ana.laura.bs@hotmail.com ALauBeltran (talk) 01:46, 14 September 2010 (UTC)

All right, I will email you. Cheers. sonia 07:53, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

You have mail

Does what it says on the tin. Courcelles 07:24, 14 September 2010 (UTC)

Re: AfC

Hello, Sonia. You have new messages at Grutness's talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.
Hello, Sonia. You have new messages at I-20's talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Moving over redirects in MediaWiki is actually legal. I-20the highway 22:14, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

on Kiwi admins, citizenship, and Commonwealth politics

There are a few of us southerners around here :) Grutness...wha? 10:56, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
The NZ sysops I know of are you, Gadfium and Brian- does TFOWR count? I'm not really sure, since he left the nest... sonia 11:04, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
(talk page stalker) I'd say no. Half my time on Wikipedia I've been in the UK. Only my passport says "Kiwi" - everything else says "fibber" ;-) TFOWR 11:07, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
Knew it'd draw you out here. :) At least your passport does say "Kiwi"- mine doesn't. :( sonia 11:20, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
You see - passports lie! Are you looking at getting Kiwi citizenship at any point? I've vaguely considered UK citizenship, but never really found I needed it. Kiwi citizenship seems to work just fine in the UK - we all get to vote, along with other Commonwealth citizens, and I have UK residency, so working (and, more importantly, living) are OK, too. I guess Kiwi citizenship would get you Aussie stuff - I've always loved that I could, in theory, work across the ditch if I wanted to (I'd prefer Auckland, though, so it's never been an issue, but I've plenty of rellies who take advantage of it). TFOWR 11:28, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
I think I might. It would mean giving up my old citizenship, but I'd be happy to rescind that to be a New Zealander. Two years ago, had you asked me, I would have replied with a vehement no; now I'm leaning the other way. I've certainly become a very different person in the years I've been here- bettered, I think, by learning Kiwi ways. sonia 11:35, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
Is that a condition of the country of "old citizenship"? I thought NZ allowed dual-citizenship. TFOWR 11:37, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
Yes, it is, unfortunately. Five years and I've gotten so attached to you peeps though. sonia 11:38, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
There are a couple of others as well - User:Moriori is one who springs to mind. And there are several others who probably should be by now but haven't put themselves up for nomination (Dramatic, Avenue, Axver, Adabow) Grutness...wha? 13:56, 15 September 2010 (UTC) PS - I'm a dual-citizen too. Was born in the UK, but my dad was born a Kiwi and I've lived in Otago most of my life.
User:Sabine's Sunbird and User:Good Olfactory are active admins resident in NZ. There are about half a dozen others who are not particularly active - User:Master Thief Garrett, User:Davidcannon, User:Evil Monkey and User:Robin Patterson spring to mind. I had forgotten TFWOR was a kiwi.-gadfium 22:18, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
Thanks- so there are a few of us. I'd somehow gotten the general impression that NZ's rather underrepresented. sonia 22:30, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
There's Ameliorate! (talk) as well, but they're not active at the moment. (I think Ameliorate!'s was my first-ever RfA... I may have given the impression that NZ was underrepresented by complaining about weekend mornings when America and Europe were asleep. I supported Ameliorate! mostly for that reason...) TFOWR 22:51, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
Wait, I'm Aussie, does that mean I can vote in any Commonwealth Realm if I happen to live there? I know you can travel to certain Commonwealth Realms without the need for a visa I just didn't know you got to have a say in who runs the country 0.o Ғяіᴆaз'§Đøøм | Champagne? 07:51, 16 September 2010 (UTC)
Don't quote me on this, but I think you (and TFWOR) could run for Parliament in the United Kingdom if you were resident there. Courcelles 07:58, 16 September 2010 (UTC)
Awesome :) Ғяіᴆaз'§Đøøм | Champagne? 11:09, 16 September 2010 (UTC)
I don't know about all Commonwealth Realms, but certainly the UK allows it. It used to be "UK, Commonwealth, and Irish" - now it is, I think, "UK, Commonwealth, EU". (I won't swear to the "EU" bit, but certainly Aussies can vote in the UK). Courcelles is correct (at least, according to Wikipedia...): British, Irish, and Commonwealth citizens can stand as MPs. I'd vote for you, Fridae'sDoom, and I don't make that promise too often ;-) TFOWR 11:23, 16 September 2010 (UTC)
I'm flattered TFOWR :) Wait, European Union or Europe, also are we talking about the same Commonwealth, I'm refering to the 16 countries and crown dependencies that recognise Elizabeth II as sovereign rule and head of state, not the Commonwealth of Nations, of which 2 countries were not formerly part of the British Empire. All this cross-country voting and political talk has me confused. —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne? 08:13, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
Re: voting: I happen to have an electoral registration form in front of me right now ;-) It says "British or Commonwealth Citizens, Citizens of the Republic of Ireland, or Citizens of other European Union Member States" (they love their Long Capitalised Noun Phrases, don't they?!) - so for voting, it's European Union. My council haven't sent me a "Standing As A Member Of Parliament" form, so all I have to go on is the Wikipedia article on MPs, but I'd assume all Commonwealth nations, including countries like Mozambique, which were never part of the British Empire. If you know any Mozambique citizens thinking about running as a UK MP, I'd recommend that they check with someone better informed than me, however...! Incidentally, which is the other Commonwealth country that wasn't part of the Empire? Good "pub-quiz" question! TFOWR 09:42, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
Too easy, Rwanda. Didn't even have to look it up. Courcelles 09:45, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
I so want you on my pub-quiz team... could have made a few bucks by now with you at the table ;-) TFOWR 09:47, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
Ditto me! sonia 10:00, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
So if I get an electoral registration form for said countries I can vote there if I happen to live there for awhile? Awesome, also why do I get the feeling we might see the UK or the USA's head of state becoming the leaders of a world government? Heh, when you have Courcelles you'll rarely lose, if ever, he has a huge head full of trivia just waiting to be unleashed. —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne? 10:56, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
I'd so suck at pub quizzes- if we even had them here. See, music since 1970, movies in general, the opera, and theatre of the last twenty years are just black holes of knowledge for me. There's a lot of subjects I know very well, but a lot of the Jeopardy! type areas I just know nothing on. Now, Mastermind or A Question of Genius... those I might be good at. Courcelles 11:05, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
Ah, but that's the beauty of having a team - you make sure you have someone on board who spends their days watching "Days of our lives", someone who follows every sport possible, etc! I'm amazed you don't have pub quizzes - what do people do in bars mid-week - drink?!!! TFOWR 11:21, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

I can only speak for the UK and NZ, but in New Zealand it was trivial registering to vote - a quick visit to the Post Shop, a short form, and that was me - in the UK you can register online, at the local council's offices, or the council send a form out every so often. You need to be resident in a "constituency" (the UK equivalent of NZ's "electorates") so you'd need an address (wee tiki tours in a camper van won't count!) But basically, aye - live in the UK and you can register to vote. You need to have been on "the electoral roll" at a certain date to qualify, so if you went to the UK for a two-week visit I doubt you'd be able to do it, but if you were living and working here you'd be OK. Depending on timing you might miss the first election, but you'd qualify for later elections. As far as I know that would cover local council, European Parliament and UK Parliament elections (and Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament elections if appropriate - I get to do Scottish Parliament, but not Welsh Assembly, elections because I'm in Scotland).

It's possible that the law is different for different elections, but I doubt it - I've voted in European elections, and I always put my nationality down on the electoral registration form - so the EU know I'm a Kiwi, but I still get to vote.

There's a column on the electoral registration form for date of birth, but it's only for 16 and 17 year olds - so that they get to vote on the first election after their 18th birthday. Also: top tip: there's a column for "edited register (opt-out)" - you should tick it, as there are two electoral registers - one of them includes everyone registered, and the other one just includes people who like getting spam ;-) I hates spam...

Oh, one final thing - different electoral systems. You don't have to vote in the UK (same as in NZ, but I gather you have to vote in Australia). Mostly the UK uses First Past the Post, but Scottish Parliament uses something very similar to NZ General Elections - you get an electorate ("constituency") vote, and a party ("list") vote. I think Wales may be similar.

Are you thinking about coming to the UK? I don't advise it - weather's awful! Also, David Cameron loses out to Julia Gillard on the "red-head" side of things ;-) TFOWR 11:21, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

LOL, we call the electorates here as well but the term is interchangable, but they're formally/officially called electorates. Lol my friend told me that it doesn't for 12 days, the other 353/4 days are just cloudy sky. We were watching a documentary on skin disease and this English woman had skin cancer and my friend thought it odd that you could get skin cancer in one of the darkest countries on earth. Half the time you watch the news the Queen's got a brolly...
It's always interesting to learn new things, Courcelles and Casliber would be a dream team :) —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne? 11:43, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

heads up- George N. Parks

hey its karen, kevin says watch george n parks page do not let anyone revert it. just found this out today. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.19.123.253 (talk) 04:45, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Karen, will watch it. (Once I figure out what page he meant.) sonia 05:03, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

Thanks

You have new message/s Hello. You have a new message at Bigger digger#More help's talk page. Just a brief thanks for your help. Bigger digger (talk) 05:28, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

The Milhist election has started!

The Military history WikiProject coordinator election has started. You are cordially invited to help pick fourteen new coordinators from a pool of twenty candidates. This time round, the term has increased from six to twelve months so it is doubly important that you have your say! Please cast your vote here no later than 23:59 (UTC) on Tuesday, 28 September 2010.

With many thanks in advance for your participation from the coordinator team,  Roger Davies talk 19:39, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for taking care of that troll

The Userpage Shield
Sure, it was my talk page and not my user page, but thanks for reverting that troll. The UtahraptorMy mistakes; I mean, er, contributions 13:15, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Seasons Greetings

...

Whack!

You've been whacked with a wet trout.

Don't take this too seriously. Someone just wants to let you know that you did something silly.

I think you know why. :) ~~ Hi878 (Come shout at me!) 04:52, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Aaarh! Ahoy Matey-ette! Should I turn me cannon on the scurvy knave that would whack a wee lassy wit' a trout? ☠ 220.101 talk\Contribs 14:28, 19 September 2010 (UTC)
Nay, it's time ye set sail fer th' seven seas! Set Sail For The Seven Seas 314° 6' 15" NET 20:56, 19 September 2010 (UTC)
Heh. Nope, the lad had good reason to do so; I be a lazy lass, and he be tryin' to get me to do some work fer a change! I suck at this... sonia 08:07, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

Presents and desysoppings

Hiya Sonia, I suppose I should apologise for my odd behaviour on other wikis, I was wondering if you could remove my sysop flags on flagged revs and liquid threads, I don't need to test anything anymore.



The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
Thanks for your patience over the time I've been back, I really appreciate it —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?6:00pm 08:00, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

Again thanks. Regards, —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?6:00pm 08:00, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

Apologies for being harsh with you; glad to see you advancing so quickly up the learning curve (it took me years!) There's no real issue with your flags, but I'll sort that out. Cheers. sonia 08:07, 20 September 2010 (UTC)
You'll need to ask the stewards a meta, since only the bureacrats at meta can desysop and decrat. Hope this helps. Set Sail For The Seven Seas 252° 0' 15" NET 16:48, 20 September 2010 (UTC)
Mercy did it. So,  Done sonia 00:48, 21 September 2010 (UTC)
Thanks sonia, no it was my fault I shouldn't have waltzed into every project that had "test" in the name and requested sysop when clearly I had no use for it (I assumed this was commonplace but boy was I wrong) I really don't need sysop bits left right and centre. Thanks for being frank :) and nice where it counted most. Regards and apologies for being a royal pain, —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?5:05pm 07:05, 21 September 2010 (UTC)

Proposed addition to Elgar's Enigma section

Thanks for your comments. I would be glad to "defend" against dissidents but due to space limitations I can probably only address a few. I am aware of a number of dissidents opinion/challenges but I would appreciate your input as to which or how many you think I should address.

Regards, Dick Dnlsanta (talk) 21:48, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

Hello, I received your email. I've drafted a reply, but as I'm currently between performances I haven't had time to send it. Expect it tonight. Cheers. sonia 00:48, 21 September 2010 (UTC)
Will do this week if I can. sonia 21:56, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

troll

I see he has been blocked already. I am appalled at Post. We have only talked peripherally, but nobody gets to talk that way, esp, to our Sonia! Namaste--DocOfSoc (talk) 06:59, 21 September 2010 (UTC)

Thank you very much for that, Doc! sonia 12:05, 21 September 2010 (UTC)
I popped over to verbally 'spank' Sonia for edit conflicting with me on my Talk page (You know I type slow!) Now I find somebody has been nasty to you. Details? 220.101 talk\Contribs 13:47, 21 September 2010 (UTC)
I'm afraid Baseball Bugs got most of the action; reverted the anon fast as the anon edited. Caused me a bit of an edit conflict here and there because my computer is slow. If you want to, you can always check out the anon's contribs in the history. I think the worst of the worst is well past though. :| TelCoNaSpVe :| 14:36, 21 September 2010 (UTC)
RevDel has struck first, though from 'Docs' edit summary...! - 220.101 talk\Contribs 16:04, 21 September 2010 (UTC)
Aye, it has. It was just your run-of-the-mill vulgar slander, nothing that you'd want to look at. Not a good end to a long day for me, but Doc's quick action (and edit summary!) cheered me up. :) sonia 22:30, 21 September 2010 (UTC)
You are quite welcome Sonia! I kept a copy, but it did make my 'puter blush! Namaste--DocOfSoc (talk) 00:01, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

Articles for Creation script

Hi Sonia, I noticed that you accept AFC submissions manually. I am not sure if you have heard about it so I thought I tell you. There is a AFC script that speeds up the creation process when you accept a article. If you wish to use it copy

importScript('User:Timotheus Canens/afchelper4.js'); 

to your current skin and refresh the page. When you go into the AFC space there will be a "review" tab next to the edit button. I hope this helps. --Alpha Quadrant talk 16:10, 21 September 2010 (UTC)

Hey Alpha Quadrant. Thanks for that- I have tried it before, and it didn't seem to work. I shall give it another go. However, unless it also works on IE, you'll still see me accepting submissions by hand from time to time- I computer-hop, and Firefox Portable doesn't work on many of them. Cheers. sonia 22:30, 21 September 2010 (UTC)
It works in Internet Explorer, but you will have to go to your preferences, on the gadgets tab enable the Javascript compatibility library (it is the option directly above the "save" button. I have grown to dislike IE8 for this reason, not to mention my own userpage doesn't show up correctly because of the incompatibility. So I use Apple Safari 5 web browser. I hope this helps. --Alpha Quadrant talk 01:15, 22 September 2010 (UTC)
...tried it out, still no luck. Meh. Twinkle works for me here, but not on simplewiki- I'm not competent enough with these things to work out why. Ah well, it was worth a shot. (IE8 is bad, but I've known people who are still adamantly using IE6! The js library screws things up when I'm on Firefox, which is about 60% of the time, and using two separate accounts/changing my prefs each time would be too time-consuming.) sonia 07:46, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

Good day user!

Have a cookie!--Souvalou (talk) 13:29, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

Adopt-a-user reminder

Hello, I have completed a general cleanup of the adopter information page for the adopt-a-user project, located here. During my cleanup, I have removed several inactive and retired users. In order to provide interested adoptees with an easy location to find adopters, it is essential that the page be up-to-date with the latest information possible. Thus:

  • If you are no longer interested in being an adopter, please remove yourself from the list.
  • If you are still interested, please check the list to see if any information needs to be updated or added - especially your availability. Thank you.
  • You are receiving this message because you are listed as an adopter here.

Delivered by MessageDeliveryBot on behalf of Netalarm (talk) at 03:49, 23 September 2010 (UTC).

Re-direct Assistance

Hi there, Sonia! Do you know about re-directs? I have altered one to 'point' directly to a section on a page rather just to the page, however this does not seem to work. It is HERE

It seems to work for me. Maybe caching? If not, I'm no more knowledgeable than you are, being a non-techie by Wikipedian standards, anyway. sonia 09:26, 24 September 2010 (UTC)
...a non-techie by Wikipedian standards, anyway. Had to smile at that! I've got a background in software development, systems administration, and technical writing. I reckon I'm a non-techie on Wikipedia... ;-) TFOWR 10:11, 24 September 2010 (UTC)
Well- you count as a techie, because you can at least speak tech. :P Apparently simply editing Wikipedia has given me "resident techie" status among my friends, who are sadly very mistaken... sonia 10:30, 24 September 2010 (UTC)
So when you click on Tropospheric ducting it goes straight to the correct section, which has a picture of

"Auckland, New Zealand 175.25 MHz ch4 TV received by Robert Copeman, Sydney, Australia." ? 220.101 talk\Contribs 09:36, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

Yes, it does indeed- in both Fx 3.6 and IE6. (Although the latter takes a good while to jump to the section.) sonia 09:44, 24 September 2010 (UTC)
Resolved
 – Pushing the wrong keys!

Well, I'm using IE7 and it was going to the top of the page, which is what it did before I changed the redirect! I was alt+F5 not ctrl+F5, so it seems it was caching! Seems like I've made that mistake before! Thanks! - 220.101 talk\Contribs 10:01, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

I was about to tell you to enable the dinky UTC clock gadget (that purges the page when clicked) in preferences, then I realized you can't, because you don't have an account...! Get an account already! sonia 10:13, 24 September 2010 (UTC)
220.101 talk\Contribs 10:22, 24 September 2010 (UTC)
D'aww, thanks! Not sure what I did to deserve that, but seeing as it's coming from your highness it's going in my treasure chest :) sonia 10:30, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

Holidaying in New Zealand

Is New Zealand a nice place, going there for a family Christmas Holiday this year :) AfC seems to be backlogged, but I'm afraid of taking care of anything but copyvios ever since my last kerfuffle and I can't get much help since I can't access IRC. Regards, —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?2:15pm 04:15, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

Agh, FD, I just sent you an email and come back to the new messages bar! If you reply, I can recommend places to go etc and talk in more detail about holidaying in NZ (and one event that might be coming up while you're over here!), as I don't particularly want to spam this page with stalker-friendly details. AfC? I'm recovering from food poisoning (and trying to recover stuff- my external hard drive got stolen when I was at the doctor's.) So I haven't had a good look at it in a while. I'll see what I can do. By all means do some reviews, and if they're not blatantly inappropriate pop them here for me to have a check over. You won't improve if you don't get a chance to practice. :) sonia 04:24, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Oh ok then thanks for the advice, righto I'll check my email and give a response there. Regards, —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?2:41pm 04:41, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Replied, get well soon and hopefully you catch that rotten thief! Regards, —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?2:56pm 04:56, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
• Excuse me for butting in but I just noticed the illness and stolen HDD. That sucks! Makes me think about my external HDD's security too. Hope you didn't lose any vital projects! - 220.101 talk\Contribs 09:57, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Ditto, that sucks. Only consolation I can offer is that Dick Smith's is consistently cheaper than the equivalent in Britain. I cry every time I have to buy a hard-drive here... I shop around here, I never bothered back home.
FD, where are you going in NZ? Since I'm not there, I can provide travel tips without clueing-up stalkers... TFOWR 10:04, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Both islands and the major cities (hopefully) for 5-7 days during Christmas. My dad made it final, we're getting our new passports soon :) Regards, —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?9:16am 23:16, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Ugghhhh email client's gone screwy, I hate the New South Wales Department of Education and Training... —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?9:38am 23:38, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Probably a better idea, both for safety and convenience, to not use your school email for Wikipedia correspondence. Webmail clients are more reliable than school-issued ones, from my experience. I always used to just forward my school email to my main account. sonia 00:25, 27 September 2010 (UTC)
Yeah but I can't be bothered creating a new email for Wikipedia correspondence, the NSWDET email server is hosted by Google and uses the Gmail software, they have to pay for it annually I believe. Google Apps or whatever it is. —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?3:37pm 05:37, 27 September 2010 (UTC)
A separate GMail (or other webmail) account will have the advantage that (a) you can use your real name on your school email (and in email signatures) but your Wikipedia username on your Wikipedia email account. I created a separate Wikipedia email account for that very reason. And (b) if some idiot troll gets hold of your Wikipedia email address and starts spamming it repeatedly it's very easy to just stop using it - Wikipedia editors can use Wikipedia's "email this user" to email you at your new Wikipedia email address. Just my 2c...
Long bit about tourism...
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
Back to your NZ trip: I'm guessing you won't be heading too far North, so Cape Reinga and the likes of Tāne Mahuta are out, but if you can do head up that way the Bay of Islands should be a definite stop-over. Round Auckland there's plenty of tourist stuff. You can see Sky Tower everywhere, so you could possibly give it a miss, but I'd imagine the view from the top is well worth it (and it's the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere...) Rangitoto is great, and I'd recommend it, but take stout boots and plenty to eat and drink. (There's a company called, I think, "Discover NZ" who do boat trips all over NZ - I went of a trip with them round the Bay of Islands and I'd thoroughly recommend them - they do trips to Rangitoto too, I think). Try and go up at least one volcano while you're in Auckland, so Rangitoto would cover that, and it's our newest volcano! Heading south/east from Auckland - the Coromandel is amazing. If you're into shellfish at all the western part is great for collecting mussels (poor road, however). Hot Water Beach is superb - not that touristy, surprisingly, but a great place to go - dig a hole in the sand and let if fill with hot water, mix in some cold sea water, relax! You should aim to definitely see Rotorua - NZ's tourist capital, but it's not as cheesy as it sounds, and it's full of Māori culture as well as the tourist stuff like zorbing. On the subject of "Māoritanga", King Country is nice, but maybe more for driving through. Taupo is another touristy place, but still very worth a visit. Mount Ruapehu is very scenic - you probably don't have time for heading up it, but it's good if you can. Snow and hot water...
Dammit, I don't know how useful this list will be - you probably know much of this already, and it's not very "Auckland-focussed". (It is, however, very North-of-the-North-Island-focussed... only been to "the Mainland" once...!) Anyway, I'll have a think about Auckland stuff. I tend to remember unimportant things like where you can buy beer at 5 in the morning, and the quickest way to get from the airport to the North Shore - probably not that useful ;-) TFOWR 09:43, 27 September 2010 (UTC)
Woah, thanks TFOWR :) I'll save this information, volcano? *gulp* ooh I like mussels, wait how tall are the mountains on average and how long does it take? I'm probably going to Sky Tower (my dad was telling me lots about it), thanks again TFOWR, shame I won't be able to meet you in person :( thanks again (again) regards, —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?7:26pm 09:26, 28 September 2010 (UTC)
Yes, volcanoes! I've not forgotten your email, and will get back to it, but for starters I'd highly recommend the Tongariro Crossing as something to do if your family is reasonably fit. Round Christmas time the view should be good and the weather cooperative. As for Rotorua, the Luge is pretty cool (although I can't drive them half as well as I can drive a car!) sonia 20:14, 28 September 2010 (UTC)
Volcanoes, active, dormant or dead? I don't mind them but they kinda scare me! Heh thanks for all the information, I'll be sure to visit most of those places, I'm getting information from resident Kiwis, what could possibly go wrong? :) Regards, —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?12:20pm 02:20, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
Active. sonia 10:40, 6 October 2010 (UTC)

Awesome :) and scared lol. My dad's finalised the trip, purchased the tickets, renewing our passports (my dad hasn't used his passport since he came to Australia 21 years ago O.o). Gonna stop at Christchurch first, definitely going to Auckland. I'm so excited :) For once I go somewhere other than China. —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne? • 4:37pm • 05:37, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

...21 years?! So you're working your way up then? Stop by Rotorua on your way up. Are you driving up or flying from city to city? Driving's much more fun, but of course time-consuming! If you're driving up to Auckland, don't forget to stop at Pokeno for icecream- it's very cheap and good. Popping into the Bay of Islands up north is also well-worthy, since a lot of NZ history happened there. Almost forgot- and MOTAT is absolutely fantastic, make a point of visiting it. Flick me over the dates you're in Auckland (if you know) and I'll see if there's anything in particular on in the city, and perhaps pop it in my calendar to go say hi :) sonia 00:41, 8 October 2010 (UTC)
Yep 21 years, unbelievable isn't it? I don't know yet my dad hasn't finalised all the trip details so we might be going with a tourist group (I hope not) I've half-coerced him into us going ourselves. Rotorua eh? Check. I looked at the airline website my dad wants to stop at Christchurch first. Heh it'd be the first time I've met a fellow Wikipedian :) Take care. Regards, —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne? • 8:59pm • 09:59, 12 October 2010 (UTC)

IP 220 asks about HJ's top-secret trip!

Have any idea about this as HJ has left me in the dark! <sniff> Clears up why he is in 'Frisco though! - 220.101 talk\Contribs 08:56, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

I do, though I suspect you know as much as me, really. As you know, HJ is in SF, and he's there to make screencasts for the WMF - userbility stuff, I gather, showing how people use the MediaWiki software. As part of that he needed an account that had no admin buttons or userscripts - basically, a completely new user account (so Whiskey Drinker wouldn't have worked, since HJ has Igloo anti-vandal stuff enable on Whiskey Drinker).
So HJ created HJ Mitchell (test) (talk).
All good, except that we've had problems with idiots impersonating HJ in the past - there was the "HJ Michelle" account, then I blocked the "HJ Mitchell's bot" account the other day.
Courcelles saw "HJ Mitchell (test)" and - not unreasonably - feared the worst, and blocked it. And you know the rest - it involves a serious instance of self-trouting! TFOWR 09:09, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
TFOWR, where is the source for the "HJ Michelle" account? Is it fake? Or was it renamed? For me it says it is not a registered account. Also, in the future, try following the WP:RBI rule. {{Blockedimpersonator|Name of real user}} should work just fine for blocked impersonators. HeyMid (contributions) 09:46, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Can't remember the exact name of the account, but if you trawl HJ's archives you'll find it. The account claimed to be HJ's wife, if I remember correctly. Not sure what you mean about revert, block, ignore - that's basically what we do here ;-) There often has to be some discussion - ideally later, after a suitable period of ignoring - but in this case the account certainly was blocked and ignored. I can't recall if they'd done anything that needed reverting...? TFOWR 09:56, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
OK, but I am wondering what makes further discussion worth it? Not to waste anyone's times, but maybe your just discussing this for fun, so we are aware of these impersonator accounts? HeyMid (contributions) 11:24, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
I think it's worth it, so that people are aware of a few issues:
  • HJ in particular, and editors in general, may be victims of impersonation. Impersonators may use tricks like claiming to be a bot account, or claiming to be a test account, or claiming to an editor's wife.
  • ...but, we need to be careful. Sometimes editors do create test accounts ;-)
"Ignoring" here really means - don't say any more than we have to to the account. Talking about it elsewhere is generally OK, though we should probably avoid highly-visible places like ANI. It's possible that the idiot who pretended to be HJ's wife is watching this page - but they won't get much gratification from it: 50 people, maybe, watch this page. 1000s watch ANI. So we're not really doing much to encourage or gratify the impersonators by discussing it here, and it may be useful - people watching Sonia's talkpage are clueful, and will likely find this discussion useful in helping to spot impersonation attempts in the future. TFOWR 11:31, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Impersonation attempts usually fail, or they get revealed later. Have there ever been any successful impersonation attempts that you know? HeyMid (contributions) 11:39, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Not in the long-run, but in the short-term they could so some damage before getting spotted. TFOWR 11:45, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Morning,T.FOul WeatheR,TFOWR. Yeh, not so much the account, that was explained by HJ. I was just a bit surprised by the trip to the US and then finding out is is 'secret' wiki bizness. (He might even get to meet Jimbo!!) - 220.101 talk\Contribs 09:40, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Ah! There was a discussion about a month ago on HJ's talkpage. Again, you'll need to trawl his archives to find it. Only pointer I can give is: look for my signature turning green with envy! (Why yes, I do like playing around with my signature for humorous effect ;-) TFOWR 09:56, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
I typically only change my signature colours for seasonal reasons (talk→ BWilkins ←track) 10:02, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Aargh! 'tis the season now, me 'earty! Capn. T. Fowr 10:23, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

Hard drive shopping...

TFOWR, Yeh I missed it! (I knew about his 'wife') Did you notice in the previous thread where some $#!7% has stolen Sonias Hard Disk! - - 220.101 talk\Contribs 10:06, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Not only noticed it, but commented! You'll be glad to note that I advertised an Australian store ;-) I'm guessing you have better sources for low-cost PC stuff than me, though - Dick Smith wasn't the cheapest, but compared to the UK it worked for me. And it was handy for the weekend grocery shopping experience, too ;-) TFOWR 10:19, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
...though I'll add that I opt for the Kiwi supermarkets over the Aussie supermarkets - New World, not Woolworths... TFOWR 10:21, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
(Note to self: must check before I post) Nooooo not 'Dick Heads'. I would go to Harvey Norman, if they are in NZ. I got mt ext. HDD (500Gb AUD$ 139) from Domayne, which is actually a part of Harvey Norman. Of course now you get twice as much for half the price! We best terminate this thread or Miss Sonia wil have cause to complain about us using her page for a mail box! - 220.101 talk\Contribs 10:37, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

Whoa! I have an early night and you guys take over! (And now my compulsive side has to refactor all the headings for my archives...) "Dick Heads", 220.101? That's rude. I've seen 1Tb in the shops for about NZ$110 now. My previous one was a 600 Gb, and I'm sure it cost more than that. JB Hi-Fi seems to be the place where lots of people are picking up bargains nowadays, but I must say that for a store that started off only selling music cds they have a horrendous choice of classical music.

rant about what I lost
To reply to your question about what was on the drive in one place: tons. :(
  • About ten gigs of music, including my own recordings
  • All my software
  • a ton of incomplete paperwork, sheet music, sketches, and graphics
  • and this one really gets me- a nearly complete website for a local non-profit. It was almost ready to go live.
And they also stole my phone. Fuck the phone itself (a low-end LG), but I lost all my contacts! I have no idea how much personally identifying information they have now, but I guess the good that came out of that is that I decided to create safeguards.

Use my talk page as a mailbox all you like- I still jump when I see the orange bar, and frequent exposure should cure me of that. :P sonia 21:56, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

Don't forget to get your phone 'disabled', if that is possible. (I had one via Vodafone and I got it turned off!) Maybe you should try ringing it? I was wondering what your safeguards were about! The thieves will get 'theirs'! (eventually, imho. See my comment 'part deux') - ;-) - 220.101 talk\Contribs 22:58, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Good idea- I'll do that. Thanks. sonia 00:25, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

So your wife shares your initials but not your last name?

Was really a bit of a laugh (see refactored section header). I'm glad I haven't had any impersonators. sonia 21:56, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

220 part deux

Apologies for 'rudeness', but Dick Smith is a bit of a 'DH' and the graphic on his stores signs were of Dicks' head!, so when I was attending a TAFE near his original store it was referred to as 'Dick Heads' ! (true!). JB HiFi would likely be a very good place for a new HDD though a computer 'market', if you have such, may be good(=cheaper) too. Possibly even Officeworks? (looks like thay are only in Oz)
• Woe unto those who have purloined your goods! Surely Karma shall work it's Wrath upon them and Smite them! ☠ (or something like that) - 220.101 talk\Contribs 22:46, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

Dick Smith actually has a line of matches called Dick Heads funnily enough. Didn't Dick Smith make biscuits similar in name to the Tim Tam? —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?9:30am 23:30, 26 September 2010 (UTC)
Correct, 'Temptin' , see Dick Smith Foods#Legal issues - 220.101 talk\Contribs 00:18, 27 September 2010 (UTC)
Interesting... learn somethin' new every day, huh? 220: you should use your telekinetic skillz to avenge me! :P
While I'm here, stalkers: I projectspaced my essay from simple. You can read/mutilate it at WP:Ignoring IAR. Thanks. sonia 00:25, 27 September 2010 (UTC)
Very nice essay Sonia :) it sums up what IAR is all about and when/not to use it. Better than mine (well everyone's is better than mine ;) ) What do you think of my thoughts on the RfX Process here??? Regards, —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?3:54pm 05:54, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

Computer

Sonia, I take it you still have your computer? You might be able to recover recent work from the temporary files on your internal HDD. I did this recently after IE crashed on me when I had a fairly large edit open. (I said "Oh bother, Darn it, and Gee whiz that is annoying!" (or something like that ;-)) ) However I am running WinXP sp3, and IE 7. Don't know what difference it makes if you have a differ operating system/web browser. But I was able to recover most of my edit! - 220.101 talk\Contribs 07:20, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

Thanks again! I'll see, although I use about two dozen different computers a week so that might be interesting... sonia 07:36, 27 September 2010 (UTC)
Just wondering: Is installing a new software the reason you removed 53kB of your talk page? oO Regards SoWhy 08:04, 27 September 2010 (UTC)
...oops. I really shouldn't attempt to archive and reply in one edit. sonia 08:21, 27 September 2010 (UTC)
LOL, heh I set the archive counter on my talk page to 20 once and it archived there instead of 5 because of that lol. Ah well we're all human we all make mistakes :) a quality shared by most animals? —Ғяіᴆaз'§ĐøøмChampagne?7:09pm 09:09, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

Bolognese AFC

Resolved
 – thanks, Courcelles.

That AFC is more than in un-English, it is rather unflattering to the subject! (excuse me if you are already aware). I suggest deletion! - 220.101 talk\Contribs 12:19, 28 September 2010 (UTC)

I love Chrome! It means I can pretend my linguistic skills extend beyond speaking English badly. Anyway... assuming this is the same AFC, Chrome says it ends with "...so I think that sometimes in this world rules the devil .... and he is a devil's personal secretary, the acolyte, the right hand of Satan." Looks to me like an attack article. If it had been created in article-space I'd be wielding the {{Db-g10}} hammer... Google News turns up nothing, and Google-proper only turns up a few uninteresting results (I searched for "Jimmy" and "James", naturally...) TFOWR 12:32, 28 September 2010 (UTC)
Si señor TFOWR, es como usted dice. Él es el diablo! - 220.101 talk\Contribs 13:04, 28 September 2010 (UTC)
*Fingers crossed* Don't let me down, translate.google.com...
Incluso el mismo Satanás está protegido por nuestra "biografías de personas que viven de la política".
How's that? ;-) It should be: Even Satan himself is protected by our "biographies of living persons policy". TFOWR 13:10, 28 September 2010 (UTC)
Él es el diablo! [cita requerida] - 220.101 talk\Contribs 13:19, 28 September 2010 (UTC)
220.101, next time you turn up something like that by all means don't wait for me to get back online- it should have been blanked right away. My fault, though, for not putting it into Google translate- my, what a vindictive rant! TFOWR, would this fall under revdel? sonia 20:14, 28 September 2010 (UTC)
Sí, señorita Sonia. <[;-) — 220.101 talk\Contribs 00:50, 29 September 2010 (UTC)

what I meant by "Good Wikipedian"

When I said "good Wikipedian" I meant that you don't vandalize things and stuff like that. I mean that you be good and don't do anything bad. If you don't understand what I said please discuss it on my talk page. —Preceding undated comment added 00:22, 29 September 2010 (UTC).

Hi again

It's me :) I have to do a project, to write about a municipality of Mexico and I am writing about Juchitepec, State of Mexico. Could you check it please? Thank you ALauBeltran (talk) 16:23, 29 September 2010 (UTC)