User talk:Spurb/Archive 14

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This week's article for improvement (week 31, 2020)

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Hello, Spurb.

The following is WikiProject Today's articles for improvement's weekly selection:

Double standard

Please be bold and help to improve this article!

Previous selections: Teenage rebellion • Omakase

Get involved with the TAFI project. You can: Nominate an article • Review nominations

Posted by: MusikBot ^talk 00:05, 27 July 2020 (UTC) using MediaWiki message delivery (talk) on behalf of WikiProject TAFI • Opt-out instructions

Administrators' newsletter – August 2020

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

News and updates for administrators from the past month (July 2020).

Administrator changes

Red Phoenix

Euryalus • SQL

Jujutacular • Monty845 • Rettetast • Madchester

Oversight changes

GB fan

Keegan • Opabinia regalis • Premeditated Chaos

Guideline and policy news

There is an open request for comment to decide whether to increase the minimum duration a sanction discussion has to remain open (currently 24 hours).
Speedy deletion criterion T2 (template that misrepresents established policy) has been repealed following a request for comment.
Speedy deletion criterion X2 (pages created by the content translation tool) has been repealed following a discussion.
There is a proposal to restrict proposed deletion to confirmed users.

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 08:21, 1 August 2020 (UTC)

June/July 2020 Tree of Life Newsletter

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Shortcut

WP:TOLN

June and July 2020—Issue 015

Tree of Life

Welcome to the Tree of Life newsletter!

Newly recognized content
Canada lynx by Sainsf Gigantorhynchus by Mattximus Leech by LittleJerry, Chiswick Chap and Cwmhiraeth Orangutan by LittleJerry Secretarybird by LittleJerry, Aa77zz and Casliber Vermilion flycatcher by CaptainEek Bat virome by Enwebb, reviewed by Chidgk1 Doedicurus by Dunkleosteus77, reviewed by Hog Farm Dwarf dog-faced bat by Enwebb, reviewed by Dunkleosteus77 Echinodon by IJReid, reviewed by JurassicClassic767 Edvard August Vainio by Esculenta, reviewed by ChiswickCahp Hammer-headed bat by Enwebb, reviewed by Jens Lallensack Homo rudolfensis by Dunkleosteus77, reviewed by JurassicClassic767 Nina Demme by SusunW, reviewed by Enwebb Northern crested newt by Tylototriton, reviewed by Enwebb Pterodactylus by JurassicClassic767, reviewed by ChiswickCahp Zebra by LittleJerry, reviewed by Dunkleosteus77

Newly nominated content
Horseshoe bat by Enwebb Siamosaurus by PaleoGeekSquared Zebra by LittleJerry Australopithecus afarensis by Dunkleosteus77 Australopithecus africanus by Dunkleosteus77 Australopithecus bahrelghazali by Dunkleosteus77 Australopithecus deyiremeda by Dunkleosteus77 Australopithecus sediba by Dunkleosteus77 Bonelli's eagle by Sandhillcrane Great flying fox by Enwebb Homo habilis by Dunkleosteus77 Markham's storm petrel by Therapyisgood Ornithocheiridae by JurassicClassic767 Paranthropus aethiopicus by Dunkleosteus77 Paranthropus boisei by Dunkleosteus77 Paranthropus robustus by Dunkleosteus77 Tatenectes by Slate Weasel

News at a glance

This issue is a double issue, but the plan is to return to monthly henceforth.
A discussion at WikiProject Palaeontology about internal peer review processes led to the creation of a peer review space. In contrast to the more formal Peer Review, PalaeoPR focuses on short "fact checks", emphasizing content over style. Reviews are meant to be low commitment, with "drive-by reviews" encouraged. Since its inception on 8 July, seven articles have been submitted to PalaeoPR.
After a highly competitive third round, two Tree of Life editors advanced to the fourth round of the WikiCup: Dunkleosteus77 and Sainsf
A February 2020 paper published in PLOS noted that Mammalian Species is one of the most over-cited journals on Wikipedia relative to how frequently it is cited in other academic works.

Categorizing life with DexDor

DexDor is a WikiGnome with a particular interest in article categorization, including how organisms are categorized.

How did you become interested in editing biodiversity topics on Wikipedia?: I'm a wikignome who tries to remove unnecessary complexity and confusion in Wikipedia. I specialise in categorization. I've worked on categorization of several topic areas (e.g. military equipment) - anywhere where I see things like category tags on articles that the category text doesn't support. Categorization of organisms is one area I'm currently looking at (my essay on this).

You seem to be particularly interested in geographic categorization of organisms. What are some issues in this area?: One issue is that there are several possible relationships between an organism and a region (i.e. what the "of" in a "Xs of Y" means) - the organism may be found throughout the region, somewhere in the region, only in the region (i.e. endemic to that region) - there are categories for each of these (and others) and some categories have been unclear about their exact meaning. Then there's introductions by man, locally extinct species, occasional visitors...

Another issue is that some editors have thought it's appropriate to create categories for very small areas ("Spiders of Vatican City" is only a slight exaggeration) and put a few articles in them, thus creating a category that is both massively incomplete and non-defining for the articles in it.

There have been several (now blocked) editors who have been disruptive in this area, but a confusing and sprawling categorization scheme is also partly due to editors from a particular background categorizing a particular article in a way that appears to make sense, but doesn't really make sense in the wider categorization scheme - for example, if an article mentions the countries at the extremes of an animal's distribution, the animal is categorized just for those countries.

What potential solutions do you see for categorizing organisms by geography? How can other editors help address this issue, or at least, not make it worse?: We should have some guidelines that tell editors how to categorize any article about an organism (including any geographical categorization). I've started drafting guidelines at User:DexDor/BioCat. The guidelines are also a good way to ensure that the categorization of articles about organisms is aligned with categorization of other articles and may help us to identify where there are problems, inconsistencies etc in the categorization. I welcome suggestions for improvement of the guidelines (which should at some point be moved into WP:TOL).

Regarding geographical categorization of animals the main advice for editors would be to not create categories for any new areas and to only create a new category if you intend to populate it.

What have you learned from being a Wikipedia editor?: That lots of people (from varied backgrounds) each making (mostly) small improvements (like ants in an ants nest?) and only understanding some parts of Wikipedia can produce such a wonderful resource. But also, how that tends to result in ever-increasing complexity which negatively affects editors and readers.

Is there anything about your life outside Wikipedia that would surprise us?: Not sure - I'm a member of a band.

June DYKs

Blue calamintha bee

Culture of S. aureus

Ambay pumpwood

Heuglin's gazelle

Gold-striped frog

... that despite being a member of the cat family, the jaguarundi has several features in common with mustelids such as otters and weasels? (2 June)
... that scientists were unsure whether the blue calamintha bee (pictured) still existed until it was observed again in March 2020? (2 June)
... that many of the animals regarded as pests have co-evolved with humans, adapting to the warm, sheltered conditions that a building provides? (3 June)
... that the banteng is the second endangered species to be successfully cloned, and the first clone to survive beyond infancy? (5 June)
... that the colonial morphology of Staphylococcus species (culture pictured) is described as "creamy"? (5 June)
... that ant gardens are cultivated by several species of ant, including Crematogaster carinata? (6 June)
... that the presence of the beetle Coelomera ruficornis on its host tree (pictured) is tolerated by the ant Azteca alfari, but not by the ant Azteca muelleri? (8 June)
... that cattle and deer sometimes stand under trees where southern plains gray langurs are feeding in order to consume the edible pieces that the monkeys drop? (10 June)
... that Singaporean authorities hope that the Mandai Wildlife Bridge will reduce the risk of animals such as Sunda pangolins and leopard cats becoming roadkill? (13 June)
... that the gold-striped frog (pictured) sometimes breeds inside an active nest of leafcutter ants? (13 June)
... that Heuglin's gazelle (illustrated), reportedly last seen in Eritrea over a century earlier during Italian colonial rule, was sighted again in the country last year? (12 June)
... that Siamosaurus, a large bipedal carnivore from the Early Cretaceous of Thailand, is the first crocodilian-like dinosaur named from Asia? (14 June)
... that Homo ergaster may have been the first species of archaic humans to control fire? (14 June)
... that the small frog Cochranella nola has yellow intestines, a green tongue, and dark green bones? (16 June)
... that Nigel, nicknamed "the world's loneliest gannet" (species pictured), attempted to mate with a concrete decoy bird on Mana Island, New Zealand? (17 June)
... that the male giant glass frog has a hooked spur on his upper arm which is used when fighting rivals? (19 June)
... that vestigial organs in the Brazilian Callichirus major population (example species pictured) suggest Callichirus may be the only crustacean genus with basal, yet not universal, hermaphroditism? (20 June)
... that Megacephalosaurus was one of the last known pliosaurs and coexisted with some of the earliest mosasaurs? (21 June)
... that when boiled in milk, black coral (example pictured) emits a faint scent of myrrh? (21 June)
... that one of the factors affecting the future of the Huanchaca mouse is the increased cultivation of biofuels? (22 June)
... that the Strawberries and Cream Tree (pictured) is noted for producing pink blossoms on one side of the tree and white on the other, when it blooms every spring? (23 June)
... that the Chilean seaside cinclodes bobs its tail while it walks and flares its wings while it sings? (24 June)
... that Boie's frog (pictured) and the Banhado frog both resemble dead leaves on the floor of the forest? (25 June)
... that the extinct sumac species Rhus republicensis is named for Republic, Washington? (30 June)

Australasian gannet
C. brasiliensis, a species
in the C. major complex
Deep-sea Antipathes dendrochristos
Strawberries and Cream Tree
in full bloom in April 2020
Boie's frog

July DYKs

Amazon parrot

Life reconstruction of Pterodactylus antiquus

... that the Newland Oak in Gloucestershire took "200 years to grow, 200 years to exist, and 200 to die"? (2 July)
... that the hollow trunk of Queen Elizabeth's Oak was used as a prison? (4 July)
... that Markham's storm petrel, which nests in Peru and northern Chile, has been described as "one of the least known seabirds in the world"? (7 July)
... that the Asian freshwater leech Barbronia weberi has invaded North Carolina? (11 July)
... that a large, elderly, "decently behaved" Russian brown bear once lived in the Leeds suburb of Headingley? (12 July)
... that the female Andes marsupial frog carries her developing young in a pouch on her back? (14 July)
... that the Amazon parrot (depicted) was implicated as a source of the great parrot fever pandemic of 1929–30, in which more than 100 people died? (17 July)
... that the frog Corythomantis greeningi retreats into a hole, blocks the entrance with its spiny head, and injects venom into anything that tries to dislodge it? (18 July)
... that the reef box crab uses its powerful pincers to break open the shells of snails? (21 July)
... that carnivorous wildlife of North Macedonia as small as the Balkan lynx have been reported to attack not just livestock, but humans too? (22 July)
... that the sea slug Discodoris boholiensis exhibits photokinesis? (22 July)
... that the genus Pterodactylus (species depicted), the scientific name for a pterodactyl, had been considered a "wastebasket taxon" as many species were assigned to it and later reassigned? (23 July)
... that the sea urchin Abatus cordatus broods its young for nine months in pockets on its upper surface? (24 July)
... that Harold Clyde Bingham trailed a troop of gorillas for 100 hours in 1929? (25 July)
... that the sea urchin Goniocidaris umbraculum moves its eggs with its tube feet, assisted by cilia, to an area near its mouth where they can be brooded? (27 July)

Discuss this issue

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Delivered on behalf of Enwebb (talk) 16:33, 1 August 2020 (UTC)

This week's article for improvement (week 32, 2020)

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is an example of a New World crop, a crop native to the New World (mostly the Americas) before 1492 CE and not found anywhere else at that time.

Hello, Spurb.

The following is WikiProject Today's articles for improvement's weekly selection:

New World crops

Please be bold and help to improve this article!

Previous selections: Double standard • Teenage rebellion

Get involved with the TAFI project. You can: Nominate an article • Review nominations

Posted by: MusikBot ^talk 00:05, 3 August 2020 (UTC) using MediaWiki message delivery (talk) on behalf of WikiProject TAFI • Opt-out instructions

This week's article for improvement (week 33, 2020)

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Abraham Ortelius's world map, from the Typus Orbis Terrarum ("Theatre of the Orb of the World") atlas, first published in 1564

Hello, Spurb.

The following is WikiProject Today's articles for improvement's weekly selection:

World map

Please be bold and help to improve this article!

Previous selections: New World crops • Double standard

Get involved with the TAFI project. You can: Nominate an article • Review nominations

Posted by: MusikBot ^talk 00:05, 10 August 2020 (UTC) using MediaWiki message delivery (talk) on behalf of WikiProject TAFI • Opt-out instructions

This week's article for improvement (week 34, 2020)

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

An act is a division or unit of a theatre work, including a play, film, opera, and musical theatre. Pictured is a visual representation of the three-act structure.

Hello, Spurb.

The following is WikiProject Today's articles for improvement's weekly selection:

Act (drama)

Please be bold and help to improve this article!

Previous selections: World map • New World crops

Get involved with the TAFI project. You can: Nominate an article • Review nominations

Posted by: MusikBot ^talk 00:06, 17 August 2020 (UTC) using MediaWiki message delivery (talk) on behalf of WikiProject TAFI • Opt-out instructions

This week's article for improvement (week 35, 2020)

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Delivery is the process of transporting goods from a source location to a predefined destination. Pictured is a man delivering charcoal by bicycle in Uganda.

Hello, Spurb.

The following is WikiProject Today's articles for improvement's weekly selection:

Delivery (commerce)

Please be bold and help to improve this article!

Previous selections: Act (drama) • World map

Get involved with the TAFI project. You can: Nominate an article • Review nominations

Posted by: MusikBot ^talk 00:05, 24 August 2020 (UTC) using MediaWiki message delivery (talk) on behalf of WikiProject TAFI • Opt-out instructions

This week's article for improvement (week 36, 2020)

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Skurfing as a sport has two common forms: "water skurfing" and "street skurfing". Pictured is an example of water skurfing, water skiing on a surfboard.

Hello, Spurb.

The following is WikiProject Today's articles for improvement's weekly selection:

Skurfing (sport)

Please be bold and help to improve this article!

Previous selections: Delivery (commerce) • Act (drama)

Get involved with the TAFI project. You can: Nominate an article • Review nominations

Posted by: MusikBot ^talk 00:05, 31 August 2020 (UTC) using MediaWiki message delivery (talk) on behalf of WikiProject TAFI • Opt-out instructions

Editing news 2020 #4

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Read this in another language • Subscription list for this newsletter

Reply tool

The number of comments posted with the Reply Tool from March through June 2020. People used the Reply Tool to post over 7,400 comments with the tool.

The Reply tool has been available as a Beta Feature at the Arabic, Dutch, French and Hungarian Wikipedias since 31 March 2020. The first analysis showed positive results.

More than 300 editors used the Reply tool at these four Wikipedias. They posted more than 7,400 replies during the study period.
Of the people who posted a comment with the Reply tool, about 70% of them used the tool multiple times. About 60% of them used it on multiple days.
Comments from Wikipedia editors are positive. One said, أعتقد أن الأداة تقدم فائدة ملحوظة؛ فهي تختصر الوقت لتقديم رد بدلًا من التنقل بالفأرة إلى وصلة تعديل القسم أو الصفحة، التي تكون بعيدة عن التعليق الأخير في الغالب، ويصل المساهم لصندوق التعديل بسرعة باستخدام الأداة. ("I think the tool has a significant impact; it saves time to reply while the classic way is to move with a mouse to the Edit link to edit the section or the page which is generally far away from the comment. And the user reaches to the edit box so quickly to use the Reply tool.")[1]

The Editing team released the Reply tool as a Beta Feature at eight other Wikipedias in early August. Those Wikipedias are in the Chinese, Czech, Georgian, Serbian, Sorani Kurdish, Swedish, Catalan, and Korean languages. If you would like to use the Reply tool at your wiki, please tell User talk:Whatamidoing (WMF).

The Reply tool is still in active development. Per request from the Dutch Wikipedia and other editors, you will be able to customize the edit summary. (The default edit summary is "Reply".) A "ping" feature is available in the Reply tool's visual editing mode. This feature searches for usernames. Per request from the Arabic Wikipedia, each wiki will be able to set its own preferred symbol for pinging editors. Per request from editors at the Japanese and Hungarian Wikipedias, each wiki can define a preferred signature prefix in the page MediaWiki:Discussiontools-signature-prefix. For example, some languages omit spaces before signatures. Other communities want to add a dash or a non-breaking space.

New requirements for user signatures

The new requirements for custom user signatures began on 6 July 2020. If you try to create a custom signature that does not meet the requirements, you will get an error message.
Existing custom signatures that do not meet the new requirements will be unaffected temporarily. Eventually, all custom signatures will need to meet the new requirements. You can check your signature and see lists of active editors whose custom signatures need to be corrected. Volunteers have been contacting editors who need to change their custom signatures. If you need to change your custom signature, then please read the help page.

Next: New discussion tool

Next, the team will be working on a tool for quickly and easily starting a new discussion section to a talk page. To follow the development of this new tool, please put the New Discussion Tool project page on your watchlist.

Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 18:48, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

Scripts++ Newsletter – Issue 17

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

News and updates associated with user scripts from the past two months (July and August 2020).

Hello everyone and welcome to the 17th issue of the Wikipedia Scripts++ Newsletter:

Scripts Submit your new/improved script here

Yet another Articles for creation helper script ("AFCH"), a gadget used by Articles for creation reviewers, is this month's featured script

Opencooper's collapseBots declutters talk pages by collapsing comments made by bots

SD0001's GAR-helper is a script to easily create a GAR nomination and carry out the necessary related steps

SD0001's shortdescs-in-category can be used to view short descriptions of pages in a category

WikiMacaroons's Talk to Wiki allows for voice-activated functionality and navigation of Wikipedia

WikiMacaroons's AutoShortDesc simplifies the addition of short descriptions to pages

IagoQnsi's ipareader adds a button next to IPA pronunciations to have them read out by a text-to-speech program

Awesome Aasim's xfdvote makes it easier to participate in XFD discussions

BrandonXLF's CitationStyleMarker adds "CS1" or "CS2" beside citations to show their style with an optional toggle

GeneralNotability's spihelper a script to help CheckUsers, SPI clerks, and patrolling admins with sockpuppet investigation case pages

Evad37's TimestampDiffs adds a link at the end of every comment to the diff in which it was added

Twinkle has a number of improvements including additional redirect category templates

Updates to Enterprisey's reply-link include compatibility fixes with Mdaniels5757's markAdmins script and Kephir's unclutter script

Evad37's rater is now at version 2.6.0, which updates including OOUI tweaks and the inclusion of banners for inactive projects

Miscellaneous

If anyone would like to help contribute to this newsletter, please leave a note at Wikipedia talk:Scripts++

Pending requests

A script to simplify addition of "connected contributor" templates to talk pages
A script to simplify removal of the "persondata" template on mlwiki
...and many more, all available at Wikipedia:User scripts/Requests

Stay safe --DannyS712 (talk) 19:42, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – September 2020

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

News and updates for administrators from the past month (August 2020).

Administrator changes

Eddie891

Angela • Jcw69 • Just Chilling • Philg88 • Viajero

CheckUser changes

SQL

Guideline and policy news

Following a request for comment, the minimum length for site ban discussions was increased to 72 hours, up from 24.
A request for comment is ongoing to determine whether paid editors must or should use the articles for creation process.
A request for comment is open to resolve inconsistencies between the draftification and alternative to deletion processes.

Arbitration

A request for comment is open to provide an opportunity to amend the structure, rules, and procedures of the 2020 English Wikipedia Arbitration Committee election and to resolve any issues not covered by existing rules.
An open request for comment asks whether active Arbitrators may serve on the Trust and Safety Case Review Committee or Ombudsman commission.

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 09:57, 2 September 2020 (UTC)

August 2020 Tree of Life Newsletter

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Shortcut

WP:TOLN

September 2021—Issue 016

Tree of Life

Welcome to the Tree of Life newsletter!

Newly recognized content
Horseshoe bat by Enwebb Siamosaurus by PaleoGeekSquared Australopithecus sediba by Dunkleosteus77, reviewed by Jens Lallensack Homo habilis by Dunkleosteus77, reviewed by Enwebb Tatenectes by Slate Weasel, reviewed by FunkMonk

Newly nominated content
Black-and-red broadbill by AryKun Turtle by LittleJerry Symphyotrichum lateriflorum by Eewilson Dracophyllum fiordense by Dracophyllum Scarlet-and-white tanager by AryKun Viatkogorgon by FunkMonk Punctelia borreri by Esculenta Chivi vireo by AryKun Mountain kingfisher by AryKun Kererū by Ambrosia10

Hoax taxon sniffed out after nearly fifteen years

Cross posted from the Signpost

The jackalope, a close relative of Mustelodon

On August 7, WikiProject Palaeontology member Rextron discovered a suspicious taxon article, Mustelodon, which was created in November 2005. The article lacked references and the subsequent discussion on WikiProject Palaeontology found that the alleged type locality (where the fossil was first discovered) of Lago Nandarajo "near the northern border of Panama" was nonexistent. In fact, Panama does not even really have a northern border, as it is bounded along the north by the Caribbean Sea. No other publications or databases mentioned Mustelodon, save a fleeting mention in a 2019 book that presumably followed Wikipedia, Felines of the World.

The article also appeared in four other languages, Catalan, Spanish, Dutch, and Serbian. In Serbian Wikipedia, a note at the bottom of the page warned: "It is important to note here that there is no data on this genus in the official scientific literature, and all attached data on the genus Mustelodon on this page are taken from the English Wikipedia and are the only known data on this genus of mammals, so the validity of this genus is questionable."

Editors took action to alert our counterparts on other projects, and these versions were removed also. As the editor who reached out to Spanish and Catalan Wikipedia, it was somewhat challenging to navigate these mostly foreign languages (I have a limited grasp of Spanish). I doubted that the article had very many watchers, so I knew I had to find some WikiProjects where I could post a machine translation advising of the hoax, and asking that users follow local protocols to remove the article. I was surprised to find, however, that Catalan Wikipedia does not tag articles for WikiProjects on talk pages, meaning I had to fumble around to find what I needed (turns out that WikiProjects are Viquiprojectes in Catalan!) Mustelodon remains on Wikidata, where its "instance of" property was swapped from "taxon" to "fictional taxon".

How did this article have such a long lifespan? Early intervention is critical for removing hoaxes. A 2016 report found that a hoax article that survives its first day has an 18% chance of lasting a year.^[1] Additionally, hoax articles tend to have longer lifespans if they are in inconspicuous parts of Wikipedia, where they do not receive many views. Mustelodon was only viewed a couple times a day, on average.

Mustelodon survived a brush with death three years into its lifespan. The article was proposed for deletion in September 2008, with a deletion rationale of "No references given; cannot find any evidence in peer-reviewed journals that this alleged genus actually exists". Unfortunately, the proposed deletion was contested and the template removed, though the declining editor did not give a rationale. Upon its rediscovery in August 2020, Mustelodon was tagged for speedy deletion under CSD G3 as a "blatant hoax". This was challenged, and an Articles for Deletion discussion followed. On 12 August, the AfD was closed as a SNOW delete. WikiProject Palaeontology members ensured that any trace of it was scrubbed from legitimate articles. The fictional mammal was finally, truly extinct.

At the ripe old age of 14 years, 9 months, this is the longest-lived documented hoax on Wikipedia, topping the previous documented record of 14 years, 5 months, set by The Gates of Saturn, a fictitious television show, which was incidentally also discovered in August 2020. How do we discover other hoax taxa? Could we use Wikidata to discover taxa are not linked to databases like ITIS, Fossilworks, and others?

^ Kumar, Srijan; West, Robert; Leskovec, Jure (April 2016). "Disinformation on the Web: Impact, Characteristics, and Detection of Wikipedia Hoaxes" (PDF). Proceedings of the 25th International World Wide Web Conference: 591–602. doi:10.1145/2872427.2883085.

Spotlight with Mattximus

Apororhynchus hemignathi, a spiny-headed worm with the distinction of being one of the first named animal taxa when organized alphabetically

This month's spotlight is with Mattximus, author of two Featured Articles and 29 Featured Lists at current count.

How did you become involved with editing biodiversity articles?

I think I have a compulsion to make lists, it doesn't show up in my real life, but online I secretly get a lot of satisfaction making orderly lists and tables. It's a bit of a secret of mine, because it doesn't manifest in any other part of my life. My background is in biology, so this was a natural (haha) fit.

You have an impressive number of FAs under your belt. Two of your more recent ones, Apororhynchus and Gigantorhynchus, are part of what you referred to as an "experiment". How did you choose these articles, and what's next for you in this experiment?

This experiment was just to see if I could get any random article to FA status, so I picked the very first alphabetical animal species according to the taxonomy and made that attempt. Technically, there isn't enough information for a species page so I just merged the species into a genus and went from there. It was a fun exercise, but doing it alone is not the most fun so it's probably on pause for the foreseeable future.

Note: Aporhynchus is the first alphabetical taxon as follows: Animalia, Acanthocephala, Archiacanthocephala, Apororhynchida, Apororhynchidae, Apororhynchus

What advice would you give to someone who wants to nominate their first FAC?

I would recommend getting a good article nominated, then a featured list up before tackling the FA. Lists are a bit more forgiving but give you a taste of what standards to expect from FA. The most time consuming thing is proper citations so make sure that is in order before starting either.

Is there anything that would surprise us to learn about your life off-Wikipedia?

My personality in real life does not match my wikipedia persona. I'm not a very organized, or orderly in real life, but the wikipedia pages I brought to FL or FA are all very organized. Maybe it's my outlet for a more free-flowing life as a scientist/teacher.

Anything else you'd like us to know?

The fact that wikipedia exists free of profit motive and free for everyone really is something special and I encourage everyone to donate a few dollars to the cause.

August DYKs

Woolly thistle

Life reconstruction of Ankylorhiza tiedemani

Female cicada laying eggs

Acampe rigida

... that in the Brazilian state of Bahia, cerrado mice are often caught by barn owls, but seldom by researchers? (1 August)
... that ornithologist Corina Newsome and herpetologist Earyn McGee held events as part of the inaugural Black Birders Week, an effort to highlight the challenges faced by Black nature enthusiasts? (5 August)
... that the flower buds of the woolly thistle (pictured) can be eaten in a similar way to artichokes? (8 August)
... that the French peanut is native to Brazil? (10 August)
... that the 800-year-old Minchenden Oak is one of the oldest trees in London? (14 August)
... that the forward-facing incisors of the extinct dolphin Ankylorhiza (restoration pictured) may have been used for ramming their prey, similar to a hunting method used by modern orcas? (16 August)
... that scientists accidentally created a hybrid of two endangered fish species, called the sturddlefish? (17 August)
... that despite having the widest distribution in the United States, the arid-land subterranean termite causes less structural damage than other members of its genus? (19 August)
... that the Eocene leaf species Tetracentron hopkinsii was not confirmed from Washington state until 2018? (19 August)
... that Helen Ballard was a hellebore horticulturist? (22 August)
... that in 2021, the dwarf periodical cicada (pictured) is due to emerge in parts of eastern North America, not having been seen for 17 years? (24 August)
... that the fossil sumac Rhus boothillensis is named for a public fossil digging site in Republic, Washington? (25 August)
... that the orchid Acampe rigida (pictured) is pollinated by raindrops? (28 August)
... that fossils identified as Pentacentron sternhartae may actually be the fruits of another fossil species? (29 August)
... that American naturalist William Harvey Brown, who went to Africa to collect specimens, ended up fighting in two wars there? (30 August)
... that the rosy spindle cowry, a species of sea snail, lives exclusively on gorgonians? (30 August)

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August 2020 Tree of Life Newsletter

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WP:TOLN

September 2021—Issue 016

Tree of Life

Welcome to the Tree of Life newsletter!

Newly recognized content
Horseshoe bat by Enwebb Siamosaurus by PaleoGeekSquared Australopithecus sediba by Dunkleosteus77, reviewed by Jens Lallensack Homo habilis by Dunkleosteus77, reviewed by Enwebb Tatenectes by Slate Weasel, reviewed by FunkMonk

Newly nominated content
Black-and-red broadbill by AryKun Turtle by LittleJerry Symphyotrichum lateriflorum by Eewilson Dracophyllum fiordense by Dracophyllum Scarlet-and-white tanager by AryKun Viatkogorgon by FunkMonk Punctelia borreri by Esculenta Chivi vireo by AryKun Mountain kingfisher by AryKun Kererū by Ambrosia10

Hoax taxon sniffed out after nearly fifteen years

Cross posted from the Signpost

The jackalope, a close relative of Mustelodon

On August 7, WikiProject Palaeontology member Rextron discovered a suspicious taxon article, Mustelodon, which was created in November 2005. The article lacked references and the subsequent discussion on WikiProject Palaeontology found that the alleged type locality (where the fossil was first discovered) of Lago Nandarajo "near the northern border of Panama" was nonexistent. In fact, Panama does not even really have a northern border, as it is bounded along the north by the Caribbean Sea. No other publications or databases mentioned Mustelodon, save a fleeting mention in a 2019 book that presumably followed Wikipedia, Felines of the World.

The article also appeared in four other languages, Catalan, Spanish, Dutch, and Serbian. In Serbian Wikipedia, a note at the bottom of the page warned: "It is important to note here that there is no data on this genus in the official scientific literature, and all attached data on the genus Mustelodon on this page are taken from the English Wikipedia and are the only known data on this genus of mammals, so the validity of this genus is questionable."

Editors took action to alert our counterparts on other projects, and these versions were removed also. As the editor who reached out to Spanish and Catalan Wikipedia, it was somewhat challenging to navigate these mostly foreign languages (I have a limited grasp of Spanish). I doubted that the article had very many watchers, so I knew I had to find some WikiProjects where I could post a machine translation advising of the hoax, and asking that users follow local protocols to remove the article. I was surprised to find, however, that Catalan Wikipedia does not tag articles for WikiProjects on talk pages, meaning I had to fumble around to find what I needed (turns out that WikiProjects are Viquiprojectes in Catalan!) Mustelodon remains on Wikidata, where its "instance of" property was swapped from "taxon" to "fictional taxon".

How did this article have such a long lifespan? Early intervention is critical for removing hoaxes. A 2016 report found that a hoax article that survives its first day has an 18% chance of lasting a year.^[1] Additionally, hoax articles tend to have longer lifespans if they are in inconspicuous parts of Wikipedia, where they do not receive many views. Mustelodon was only viewed a couple times a day, on average.

Mustelodon survived a brush with death three years into its lifespan. The article was proposed for deletion in September 2008, with a deletion rationale of "No references given; cannot find any evidence in peer-reviewed journals that this alleged genus actually exists". Unfortunately, the proposed deletion was contested and the template removed, though the declining editor did not give a rationale. Upon its rediscovery in August 2020, Mustelodon was tagged for speedy deletion under CSD G3 as a "blatant hoax". This was challenged, and an Articles for Deletion discussion followed. On 12 August, the AfD was closed as a SNOW delete. WikiProject Palaeontology members ensured that any trace of it was scrubbed from legitimate articles. The fictional mammal was finally, truly extinct.

At the ripe old age of 14 years, 9 months, this is the longest-lived documented hoax on Wikipedia, topping the previous documented record of 14 years, 5 months, set by The Gates of Saturn, a fictitious television show, which was incidentally also discovered in August 2020. How do we discover other hoax taxa? Could we use Wikidata to discover taxa are not linked to databases like ITIS, Fossilworks, and others?

^ Kumar, Srijan; West, Robert; Leskovec, Jure (April 2016). "Disinformation on the Web: Impact, Characteristics, and Detection of Wikipedia Hoaxes" (PDF). Proceedings of the 25th International World Wide Web Conference: 591–602. doi:10.1145/2872427.2883085.

Spotlight with Mattximus

Apororhynchus hemignathi, a spiny-headed worm with the distinction of being one of the first named animal taxa when organized alphabetically

This month's spotlight is with Mattximus, author of two Featured Articles and 29 Featured Lists at current count.

How did you become involved with editing biodiversity articles?

I think I have a compulsion to make lists, it doesn't show up in my real life, but online I secretly get a lot of satisfaction making orderly lists and tables. It's a bit of a secret of mine, because it doesn't manifest in any other part of my life. My background is in biology, so this was a natural (haha) fit.

You have an impressive number of FAs under your belt. Two of your more recent ones, Apororhynchus and Gigantorhynchus, are part of what you referred to as an "experiment". How did you choose these articles, and what's next for you in this experiment?

This experiment was just to see if I could get any random article to FA status, so I picked the very first alphabetical animal species according to the taxonomy and made that attempt. Technically, there isn't enough information for a species page so I just merged the species into a genus and went from there. It was a fun exercise, but doing it alone is not the most fun so it's probably on pause for the foreseeable future.

Note: Aporhynchus is the first alphabetical taxon as follows: Animalia, Acanthocephala, Archiacanthocephala, Apororhynchida, Apororhynchidae, Apororhynchus

What advice would you give to someone who wants to nominate their first FAC?

I would recommend getting a good article nominated, then a featured list up before tackling the FA. Lists are a bit more forgiving but give you a taste of what standards to expect from FA. The most time consuming thing is proper citations so make sure that is in order before starting either.

Is there anything that would surprise us to learn about your life off-Wikipedia?

My personality in real life does not match my wikipedia persona. I'm not a very organized, or orderly in real life, but the wikipedia pages I brought to FL or FA are all very organized. Maybe it's my outlet for a more free-flowing life as a scientist/teacher.

Anything else you'd like us to know?

The fact that wikipedia exists free of profit motive and free for everyone really is something special and I encourage everyone to donate a few dollars to the cause.

August DYKs

Woolly thistle

Life reconstruction of Ankylorhiza tiedemani

Female cicada laying eggs

Acampe rigida

... that in the Brazilian state of Bahia, cerrado mice are often caught by barn owls, but seldom by researchers? (1 August)
... that ornithologist Corina Newsome and herpetologist Earyn McGee held events as part of the inaugural Black Birders Week, an effort to highlight the challenges faced by Black nature enthusiasts? (5 August)
... that the flower buds of the woolly thistle (pictured) can be eaten in a similar way to artichokes? (8 August)
... that the French peanut is native to Brazil? (10 August)
... that the 800-year-old Minchenden Oak is one of the oldest trees in London? (14 August)
... that the forward-facing incisors of the extinct dolphin Ankylorhiza (restoration pictured) may have been used for ramming their prey, similar to a hunting method used by modern orcas? (16 August)
... that scientists accidentally created a hybrid of two endangered fish species, called the sturddlefish? (17 August)
... that despite having the widest distribution in the United States, the arid-land subterranean termite causes less structural damage than other members of its genus? (19 August)
... that the Eocene leaf species Tetracentron hopkinsii was not confirmed from Washington state until 2018? (19 August)
... that Helen Ballard was a hellebore horticulturist? (22 August)
... that in 2021, the dwarf periodical cicada (pictured) is due to emerge in parts of eastern North America, not having been seen for 17 years? (24 August)
... that the fossil sumac Rhus boothillensis is named for a public fossil digging site in Republic, Washington? (25 August)
... that the orchid Acampe rigida (pictured) is pollinated by raindrops? (28 August)
... that fossils identified as Pentacentron sternhartae may actually be the fruits of another fossil species? (29 August)
... that American naturalist William Harvey Brown, who went to Africa to collect specimens, ended up fighting in two wars there? (30 August)
... that the rosy spindle cowry, a species of sea snail, lives exclusively on gorgonians? (30 August)

Discuss this issue

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This week's article for improvement (week 37, 2020)

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Hello, Spurb.

The following is WikiProject Today's articles for improvement's weekly selection:

Grease (song)

Please be bold and help to improve this article!

Previous selections: Skurfing (sport) • Delivery (commerce)

Get involved with the TAFI project. You can: Nominate an article • Review nominations

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Books & Bytes – Issue 40

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The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 40, July – August 2020

New partnerships
- Al Manhal
- Ancestry
- RILM
#1Lib1Ref May 2020 report
AfLIA hires a Wikipedian-in-Residence

Read the full newsletter

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of The Wikipedia Library team --10:15, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

Books & Bytes – Issue 40

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 40, July – August 2020

New partnerships
- Al Manhal
- Ancestry
- RILM
#1Lib1Ref May 2020 report
AfLIA hires a Wikipedian-in-Residence

Read the full newsletter

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of The Wikipedia Library team --14:26, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

This week's article for improvement (week 38, 2020)

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

The history of Asian art includes a vast range of influences from various cultures and religions. Pictured is Buddhist Temple in the Mountains, 11th century, China, ink on silk, by Li Cheng.

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Asian art

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This week's article for improvement (week 39, 2020)

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Pig Latin

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This week's article for improvement (week 40, 2020)

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The following is WikiProject Today's articles for improvement's weekly selection:

August 2016 Aden bombing

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Administrators' newsletter – September 2020

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News and updates for administrators from the past month (September 2020).

Administrator changes

Ajpolino • LuK3

Jackmcbarn

Ad Orientem • Harej • Lid • Lomn • Mentoz86 • Oliver Pereira • XJaM

There'sNoTime → TheresNoTime

Guideline and policy news

A request for comment found consensus that incubation as an alternative to deletion should generally only be recommended when draftification is appropriate, namely 1) if the result of a deletion discussion is to draftify; or 2) if the article is newly created.

Technical news

The filter log now provides links to view diffs of deleted revisions (phab:T261630).

Arbitration

The 2020 CheckUser and Oversight appointment process has begun. The community consultation period will take place from September 27th to October 7th.
Following a request for comment, sitting Committee members may not serve on either the Ombuds Commission or the WMF Case Review Committee. The Arbitration Committee passed a motion implementing those results into their procedures.

Miscellaneous

The Universal Code of Conduct draft is open for community review and comment until October 6th, 2020.
Office actions may now be appealed to the Interim Trust & Safety Case Review Committee.

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 10:43, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

This week's article for improvement (week 41, 2020)

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Trout Mask Replica

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This week's article for improvement (week 42, 2020)

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Many species can live at high altitudes. For example, the Himalayan pika lives at altitudes up to 4,200 m (13,800 ft).

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Organisms at high altitude

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This week's article for improvement (week 43, 2020)

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Reader Rabbit

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This week's article for improvement (week 44, 2020)

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Institutions and organizations of the United Nations, an intergovernmental organization

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Organization

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[1] Kumar, Srijan; West, Robert; Leskovec, Jure (April 2016). "Disinformation on the Web: Impact, Characteristics, and Detection of Wikipedia Hoaxes" (PDF). Proceedings of the 25th International World Wide Web Conference: 591–602. doi:10.1145/2872427.2883085.

[2] Kumar, Srijan; West, Robert; Leskovec, Jure (April 2016). "Disinformation on the Web: Impact, Characteristics, and Detection of Wikipedia Hoaxes" (PDF). Proceedings of the 25th International World Wide Web Conference: 591–602. doi:10.1145/2872427.2883085.

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