This is an archive page. If you wish to leave me message, please visit my talk page.

Thanks - and a question

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Thanks for your welcome note. Much appreciated. A question: I have started off a number of articles including British Seafarers' Union, National Union of Seamen and Amalgamated Marine Workers' Union. This was probably a little ambitious for a newbie, but I think they will develop well and will make a contribution. My question is, why don't they show up when I type them into the search box? Mattley 16:21, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Hi, Mattley. Ambition is a good thing. After all, if you find that you get in over your head, there is always somebody around that is willing to help. As for your new articles, they don't appear in the search because the search (except for the first character) is case-sensitive. I would recommentd that you do one of two things:
  1. Create a new redirect page at (for example) Amalgamated marine workers union that points to Amalgamated Marine Workers' Union. (That way, both listings are perfectly good, so this is probably the best option)
  2. Click the "move" tab at the top of the article, and relist it under a title that would make it more searchable.
Hope that helps, and thank you for your contributions!

Thanks again

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Thanks for your help with above, and for positive comments. Much appreciated. Mattley 16:49, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC)

And thanks for the award

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Thanks for the exceptional newcomer award. It really means a lot and it has definitely encouraged me to continue. My impression of wikipedia before joining was a little negative as it seemed to be dominated by disputes and incivility. You've done a lot to emphasise the more positive and supportive side of the community. Thanks again. Mattley 17:46, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for your welcome

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Dear ClockworkTroll thanks for your welcome. Im german and interested in aviation. I just do some interwiki links and trace down some errors concerning aviation, espacially german or russian aviation. -- Stahlkocher 17:11, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Thank you!

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Thank you very much for the Sunflower of Gratitude. I'm truly touched. Now let's get Photosynthesis up to FAC! --Whosyourjudas (talk) 19:21, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Thanks. That vandal's been at it for a couple days now. I put him up on WP:VIP. --Whosyourjudas (talk) 20:36, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Moldy sandwich?

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May I ask what is the meaning of the great and mysterious moldy sandwich? -- FirstPrinciples 21:48, Nov 8, 2004 (UTC)

  • It's an award I gave him. I checked out the most recent edits at some stage, and they were good, so ClockworkTroll gets a Moldy Sandwich.

[maestro] 23:41, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Welcome

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Thanks for the welcome note! --Sp82 12:21, 10 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I have a question

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I've been working on the Pet Sematary page, and I'm thinking of putting up a picture of the book's cover. My question is, would posting such a picture count as copyright infringment? Leroi henri christophe 01:23, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)

  • Hi, Leroi. Fortunately for die-hard fans like you, book and CD album covers are covered by the fair use doctrine, as described on the page Wikipedia:Fair_use page. Just be sure when you upload the image to include the {{fairuse}} in the image description! ClockworkTroll 02:26, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Ta for t'welcome!

Just getting the hang of this.

Thesatirist 13:29, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)

  • My pleasure! Welcome, good luck, and feel free to ask me (or anybody else) any questions you may have. ClockworkTroll 13:36, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Did I do something wrong?

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Eh.. did I do something wrong? I'm sorry if I did because my English is not too good, nor is my experience of editing in Wiki.. YamFun 13:55, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)

  • No, you did nothing wrong. I was only welcoming you because you are a newcomer. Good luck, and feel free to ask me for help if you need any help at all! ClockworkTroll 13:59, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)


Many thanks for the welcome

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I have returned the friendliness by correcting a typo on your user page, which is probably a massive cheek from a newcomer... Your links prompted me to attend to a Page Needing Attention - heck, this is going to be fun, for a pedantic nitpicker like me. Looking forward to catching up on your WMD stuff - Good luck. --Francisco Del Piero 14:54, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Newcomer Award

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Salve, Clockwork!
Came across your poll for an award for newcomers and have voted in the affirmative. My comment: " Support absolutely. One of the frustrating aspects of Wikipedia is one so rarely hears anything positive about one's work. People finding fault--and I'm including myself--are quick to speak up. I think any encouragement that could be given for good work is worth doing." Ave!PedanticallySpeaking 15:34, Nov 12, 2004 (UTC)

  • I agree entirely! A little recognition of a job well done goes a long way. ClockworkTroll 22:28, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Thank you

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Posted on David

Thank you so much for the Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar! It really means alot to me that people like you appreciate the hard work of others! ClockworkTroll 23:37, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Adminship

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Hi, I noticed that one of your goals is to become an admin on Wikipedia. In my opinion, you're already qualified. You meet most people's numeric standards (approximately 1500 edits, presence of 3 months or longer) and have participated in a wide range of article and maintenance fields (VfD, welcoming committee for example). You're civil, open, welcoming and not very controversial on the whole, it seems.

Personally, I very much prefer self-nominations on RfA, but if you want, I'd be happy to nominate you anyway. Or, if you want, nominate yourself and I will be first in line to support you based on your edit history.

The only objection I can think of is that some may not like your name. There have even been movements to ban the use of "troll" in usernames, even though I cannot understand the reasoning behind that. I'm pretty sure that will not be a problem, though. — David Remahl 04:29, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)

  • Amazing - I just made that change about an hour ago! And thank you! Personally, I feel awkward self-nominating for adminship: in a community such as this, I feel that nomination is - and should be - an honor bestowed by others. I guess that I'm more comfortable with that "officalness". Of course, if you choose to nominate me, I would certainly accept. As for my name, I hope it isn't a problem - I've used it for quite some time and I'm rather attached to it. After all, I'm the furthest thing from a troll, and to date only one Wikipedian has actually assumed that I was a troll simply because of my name. If it is a problem, well, we'll simply cross that bridge if and when we come it it. ClockworkTroll 05:09, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)

A human face to all these articles.

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Funny, that even though I was wading through a mass landscape of articles penned by humans, I felt a little alone in this new society because I knew no one and it seemed nobody could agree on anything in the hot/controversial articles. But I got this message from you. At first, I thought it was an automated bot that tracked down newcomers, but I find that you are a person! What a surprise! I appreciate that you do this. Out of curiosity, how do you track down newcomers? Is it automated? Given the time necessary to do it manually, I expect that it is. I briefly looked at your bio and noticed you had a computer related job. I'm a CS undergrad at CMU, if that's at all relevant. Anyways, thanks for the electronic welcome mat. It was nice. DoesPHalt 05:23, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)

  • Hello, DoesPHalt! - I'm very glad that I could help make your experience here seem a little more human. I know that things here can seem very overwhelming at first -- even hostile -- but you'll find very quickly that there are patterns in the chaos. After all, like many communities, Wikipedia is just made up of human beings with their own thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Honestly, all you need to do is find some activities that interest you, and get out there and work on them! If you run into some people that disagree with you, just try to be as respectful and unbiased as you can be. If you are dedicated to those ideals, you'll find your niche, and your time here will be a pleasure. As for finding new people: all I do is poll Recent Changes looking for people with red (i.e., unedited) user talk pages. No black magic necessary.  ;) Feel free to drop me a message if you have any questions at all, even if you just need a sounding board for something. I'm on often, and enjoy lending a helping hand when I can. ClockworkTroll 05:39, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)

You're welcome! And thanks for the compliment on the photo (it's a pretty view from up there, after a stiff climb). I've been noticing your work for a while and I think it's superb--keep it up! Best wishes and happy editing, Antandrus 06:07, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)

  • I'm flattered, thank you! Do you mind if I ask which work you've noticed? I always like to know what the highest profile edits are, so I can put some emphasis on them. ClockworkTroll 06:12, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)
    • Certainly: what I really like is your interactions with other users, especially welcoming newcomers; your attention to VfD, which is a slum and avoided by many (including me sometimes... but I think it is a bit of a duty for us to labor in such unsavory locales from time to time); and also I just like your positive attitude. It's one of my favorite soapboxes too that people here don't spend enough time noticing the good work of others. Hope that answers your question!  :-) Happy editing, Antandrus 06:22, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)

You're welcome

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That was my first time voting on the RfA page. As for the Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar, I wouldn't say I was the brains behind it. That honor goes to TheCustomOfLife, who created the first version (no longer available); I did create the new version though. It would be nice for all the barnstars to get more use, but people seem a bit apprehensive about handing them out -- myself included. Good luck with your nomination. - MattTM | talk 06:59, Nov 13, 2004 (UTC)

Welcome

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Quick question, what is the tag you use to welcome users? Wyllium 20:05, 2004 Nov 13 (UTC)

  • I use one that I made myself. I'll copy it here for you, and I also keep it posted on the bottom of my user page for reference:
{{subst:User:ClockworkTroll/welcome}}

~~~~

Changing names

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You may have already discovered that I also changed my username (after becoming an admin), from "Tokerboy" to "TUF-KAT" (The User Formerly Known As Tokerboy). Just don't forget to keep your old userpage on your watchlist so you can see if a newbie tries to contact you (the process of changing names will change the name credited in the history, but not where you have signed on talk pages) -- I didn't redirect because I wanted to keep the old name as an archive and I thought it might be confusing to be redirected from one userpage to another. I'll see if I can come up with some good naming suggestions for you. Tuf-Kat 21:39, Nov 13, 2004 (UTC)

  • Actually, I did not know that - that's pretty witty. I would very much appreciate any suggestions you may have. The more brains, the better! ClockworkTroll 21:50, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • I suggest #REDIRECT [[User:NewName]]'ing from the old user and talk pages to the new. — David Remahl 21:54, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)

It's sad about your name. Just to reiterate my comments on RfA, it's nothing personal. VeryVerily 23:44, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I am giving you my support for you adminiship nomination. I hope you win - your username really has no issue with me, but if you change it pick something good. Best of luck. --Whosyourjudas (talk) 23:49, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)

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I'm right now engaged in a debate over a move I requested at WP:RM of dark reaction to dark reactions. Given that you've contributed heartily to photosynthesis, maybe you could weigh in with your thoughts. See WP:RM#Dark_reaction_.26rarr.3B_Dark_reactions. Thanks. Whosyourjudas (talk) 02:40, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Suggestions

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MPF Sent to ClockworkTroll by email

Thanks for the note; I'll be happy to support, with a couple of small suggestions arising from the Cunninghamia article; (1) when starting a new article, see if there is already a redlink with a name-in-waiting; if you'd gone to conifer and worked your way down the families, you'd have found a redlink Cunninghamia waiting for it at Cupressaceae, thus (a) avoiding a page move and (b) making it easier for others to find (I only found it by chance when looking at a 'what links here' page); (2) - the inevitable that nearly all Americans need to learn!! - that 95% of the world's population use metric measures for preference, and about 85-90% only use metric: i.e., metric is the one to use!

  • Hello, MPF! It is good to hear from you again.
    1. I'm sorry I missed the redlink. I chose to use that particular name because I found it listed under Request Science Articles: Biology, and didn't even consider alternatives. If I inadvertantly placed in an awkward place, I apologize.
    2. As a scientist, I agree that the United States should have converted to metric long ago, but this is not the case. Most Americans aren't familiar with SI units, and to exclude the only system that the world's 3rd most populous nation uses (in practice) seems presumptuous to me. I heartily (but respectfully) disagree with the elimination of parenthesized measurement equivalencies.

Regards, ClockworkTroll 03:01, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC)

  • Hi CWT - thanks; must admit, I'd missed the requested articles entry (I tend not to look in there very much, there's enough redlinks everywhere else to keep me busy!). Of measurements, I wasn't objecting to the inclusion of imperial units, so much as their being given primacy in a science article. MPF 01:24, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)
    • Hmm, looking back at the article's history, it seems I did quote the Imperial units first. Usually I cite measurements in metric first with the Imperial conversion parenthesized, but occasionally I forget to switch them if the source information comes from the US. I'm as comfortable with SI units as I am Imperial, and I'm more more "multinationally minded" than the "American stereotype" holds. ClockworkTroll 01:38, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Newcomer Award

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How did I get the newcomer award after being registered for an hour? Well, I guess that if you go to the Blue Hen Chicken article and click on the IP address of the creator (that's me) you see a lot of contributions Bart133 16:32, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Train toilets

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Hi there,

I recently rewrote the passenger train human waste disposal, I'm not sure if you saw this before posting to the talk page. It now does not go into specifics for the US, merely noting that the traditional method (i.e. dump on the tracks) is still used in most of the world (except for newer stock). While it's hard to discern the exact situation in the Western world (without checking each country), some Western countries definitely still have it (certainly here in Ireland we have "dump it" trains, I presume Britain also), so along with the developing world, the traditional method is still used in most of the world (I'd actually be reasonably confident in saying most of the Western world, but that is less certain).

zoney talk 23:01, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC)

  • You're right - I didn't see your changes (which were excellent, I might add). Similarly, when you wrote on my talk page, I had already retracted my hasty remarks. It looks like our thoughts crossed in th email. :) ClockworkTroll 23:13, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC)

update taxobox format

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CT - I reverted your recent (revert) edit of Dire Wolf, because the ToL policy has changed. - UtherSRG 14:11, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)

  • Ah, okay. Thanks for letting me know. ClockworkTroll 14:15, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)