Archive 10Archive 13Archive 14Archive 15Archive 16Archive 17Archive 20

Another web archive to add to Theo's Little Bot

Hi Theo, could you add the Australian Pandora Archive to the list of archive URLs to process with Theo's Little Bot? The syntax would be similar to the Wayback Machine; here's an example URL. I've used the Pandora Archive extensively when writing and expanding articles about the Paralympics in Australia, and I did not fill in the "url=" parameter in the citation templates because I didn't see the point (some of the sites listed on the Pandora Archive have been off the Internet for well over a decade). Thanks! Graham87 03:18, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

Graham, thanks for letting me know! I've made the necessary changes. Keep the suggestions coming, Theopolisme (talk) 13:50, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

GLAM citation tool

Hi Thoe. Thanks for volunteering. Chris from the Library of Congress has put something together at their end, which you can view here - does the job well, but if you can tie it into a citation template as well somehow that would be very cool. Cheers, Yunshui  21:08, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

A Barnstar

  The da Vinci Barnstar
For Theo's Little Bot - Task 14

Braden 19:46, 25 May 2013 (UTC)

Thanks! Now I'm just waiting for approval :) Theopolisme (talk) 13:47, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Happy Memorial Day!

Thanks, Automatic! Wishing you and yours the best, Theopolisme (talk) 15:00, 27 May 2013 (UTC)
Right back at you! Btw, is the time in your edit notice correct? AutomaticStrikeout  ?  15:02, 27 May 2013 (UTC)
Yep, why do you ask? Theopolisme (talk) 15:05, 27 May 2013 (UTC)
Because I was going by what time it is here and I thought Memphis was also in the Eastern time zone. AutomaticStrikeout  ?  15:08, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

  The Technical Barnstar
For the {{cite wdl}} template - ideal! On behalf of lazy article expanders across Wikipedia, I thank you. Yunshui  08:45, 28 May 2013 (UTC)
Thanks Yunshui, happy to do it! Right now, if you'd like to publicize the template, that would be great--I'm currently running a trial of the bot to gain approval by the BAG, so I need people to actually use the template. :) Theopolisme (talk) 16:20, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

I do :)

[1], I care! (Plus, they're a useful snapshot for later analysis so thanks for taking the trouble to add them!) --regentspark (comment) 18:59, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

regentspark, I feel so appreciated...finally, a purpose....meaning to my life...okay, twenty seconds. ;) Theopolisme (talk) 19:22, 28 May 2013 (UTC)
Yep. You've already done better than me. I'm still waiting for my fifteen seconds! --regentspark (comment) 19:52, 28 May 2013 (UTC)
There's no better way to get notoriety fame than closing an RfC on PC2 ... either of you interested, and do you have an idea when you want to close it? - Dank (push to talk) 20:47, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Invitation to look at edits on IQ reference chart

I see the article IQ reference chart has been tagged for expert review since October 2012. As part of a process of drafting a revision of that article in my user sandbox, I am contacting all Wikipedians who have edited that article since early 2009 for whom I can find a user talk page.

I have read all the diffs of all the edits committed to the article since the beginning of 2009 (since before I started editing Wikipedia). I see the great majority of edits over that span have been vandalism (often by I.P. editors, presumably teenagers, inserting the names of their classmates in charts of IQ classifications) and reversions of vandalism (sometimes automatically by ClueBot). Just a few editors have referred to and cited published reliable sources on the topic of IQ classification. It is dismaying to see that the number of reliable sources cited in the article has actually declined over the last few years. To help the process of finding reliable sources for articles on psychology and related topics, I have been compiling a source list on intelligence since I became a Wikipedian in 2010, and I invite you to make use of those sources as you revise articles on Wikipedia and to suggest further sources for the source on the talk pages of the source list and its subpages. Because the IQ reference chart article has been tagged as needing expert attention for more than half a year, I have opened discussion on the article's talk page about how to fix the article, and I welcome you to join the discussion. The draft I have in my user sandbox shows my current thinking about a reader-friendly, well sourced way to update and improve the article. I invite your comments and especially your suggestions of reliable sources as the updating process proceeds. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 20:56, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

A cup of coffee for you!

  Thanks for being bold regarding the WDL news. I appreciate it. I've had a small family emergency that kept me a bit busy this week. So I appreciate you doing that! SarahStierch (talk) 05:58, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

Precious

little bots
Thank you for quality contributions, for taking care of deletions and reverting unconstructive edits, for today's articles for improvement and Theo's Little helpful bots, for singing edit summaries and for appreciating the best Main page design, - you are an awesome Wikipedian!

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:30, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

Gerda, thank you! This means a lot to me--I appreciate the recognition, and, while of course I'm happy to work under the cover of darkness and anonymity, a little pat on the back goes a long way. So thank you once again, and happy Wednesday! :) Theopolisme (talk) 14:14, 29 May 2013 (UTC)
And--wow--I just realized it, but today is also my half-birthday. What a nice surprise! Theopolisme (talk) 14:18, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 27 May 2013

Are my requests annoying?

Hello,

I do realise that I'm constantly finding more and more stuff to request or bugs to report while I'm looking at the bot and its functions. Maybe it's just because of the way I think (I tend to find all such problems relatively quickly) and because I myself am currently not qualified enough to try doing so myself. But I just wanted to know if these are becoming annoying or problematic from your POV. (If not, I have a couple more requests waiting in standby mode :P)

TheOriginalSoni (talk) 14:35, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

@TheOriginalSoni: It's fine--I just might not be able to get to them for a day or two. Keep 'em coming! It's also a lot easier if you file them here--you just need a github account, which is free. Cheers, Theopolisme (talk) 14:39, 31 May 2013 (UTC)
Filed.
Also, I am pasting it here so I don't forget about the github request.
TheOriginalSoni (talk) 15:01, 31 May 2013 (UTC)
The issues

These are the issues/feature requests that I have, which are yet not resolved. (I may be repeating what I said in other places, so my apologies for the redundancy)

  1. A way to notify all wikiprojects that the article is being selected as TAFI, maybe.   Done At BRFA
  2. A list of plain links for the entire schedule   Done
  3. Update the schedule archive at Schedule archive whenever the current week is removed -   Done and to be verified during bot run
  4. Optimise and find a way to add a new month at the listings at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Today%27s_articles_for_improvement/Archives/Unsuccessful_Nominations, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Today%27s_articles_for_improvement/Archives and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Today%27s_articles_for_improvement/Archives/Successful_Nominations every month so these pages do not stay outdated.
  5. Spelling of archived in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Today%27s_articles_for_improvement/Archives/Unsuccessful_Nominations/May_2013   Done
  6. Update the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Today%27s_articles_for_improvement/Archives/Successful_Nominations page whenever the schedule for a week is prepared (Note - Don't do the archiving while moving to HA, as discussions continue there, and future plans are for To-Do lists).
  7. A possible option to maybe automate the picture box updation?

Bot to fast review - Category:Non-free images for NFUR review

There are over 100,000 items in Category:Non-free images for NFUR review, and I'm finding a number of them already have a rationale that descends from {{non-free use rationale}} or {{non-free use rationale 2}} etc.

It would be appreciated if you would consider adding a function to Theo's Little Bot which looks for the presence of a relevant rationale template and appends "|image has rationale=yes" as the last param of the non-free licence tag.

This task was previously being performed by Legobot ( for which a BRFA exists) but an apparent issue with the bot concerned means that it is not currently.

Bot Frequency should be weekly. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 16:58, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

@Sfan00 IMG: Is this the task in question? I'll reach out to Legoktm (ping, ping!) and see what his thoughts are first. Theopolisme (talk) 18:59, 1 June 2013 (UTC)
It is :) Sfan00 IMG (talk) 19:37, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Flow

Is there any way to avoid it? I imagine consensus would be against it as it would drive a lot of people away. AutomaticStrikeout  ?  03:08, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

@AutomaticStrikeout: Let's wait and see how this plays out--for now, I still have an inkling of hope that the powers that be (in this case, the WMF) will do the right thing and listen to their community. But is this just fantasy? Theopolisme (talk) 03:29, 2 June 2013 (UTC)
Okay. I sent you an email, by the way. AutomaticStrikeout  ?  03:33, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Theopolisme, we moved your Teahouse host profile

Hello Theopolisme! Thank you for being a host at the Teahouse. However, we haven't heard from you lately, so our bot has moved your Host profile from the host landing page to the host breakroom. No worries; you can always just Check in and our bot will move your profile back. Editing any Teahouse-related page will do the same thing for you. If you would prefer not to receive reminders like this, you can unsubscribe here. Thanks for your help at the Teahouse! HostBot (talk) 03:50, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

CVA request

Hello, I am Citrusbowler. I would like you to train me on vandalism. I have lots of experience and would like to learn more. Thanks, Citrusbowler (talk) 23:59, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Citrusbowler, my plate is rather full at the moment with other commitments; perhaps you'd like to consider asking another trainer? Happy editing, Theopolisme (talk) 01:10, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

BLP prod

Howdy. In the end it doesn't really matter, but I disagree with part of your comment here at ANI. The part I disagree with is "Since the author (as xe is entitled to do) removed the PROD tag...". This is true for normal prods, but not for BLP prods. For BLP prods, a reliable source must be added before the prod can be removed. If I'm misunderstanding something, I apologize. --Rockfang (talk) 01:01, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Hey Rockfang--in the article's history, you'll see that the author added sources after removing the tag...in this case, we AGF; while not the most opportune order, it still all worked out in the long run. As they say, "Give them time and [insert positive thing here]." :) Theopolisme (talk) 01:08, 3 June 2013 (UTC)
Thank you for replying. I understand your point.--Rockfang (talk) 01:26, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Hi

See here and here. Exaggeration is one of many talents! Killiondude (talk) 00:37, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

@Killiondude: I love you Killion...in a strictly Wikipe-tan way. ;) Thanks for the link; it is quite revealing. Not to mention hilarious. Theopolisme (talk) 00:52, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

GOCE May drive wrap-up

Guild of Copy Editors May 2013 backlog elimination drive wrap-up newsletter
 

We have completed our May backlog elimination drive.

The drive wrap-up newsletter is now ready for review.

– Your project coordinators: Torchiest, BDD, and Miniapolis

Sign up for the June blitz! To discontinue receiving GOCE newsletters, please remove your name from our mailing list. Newsletter delivered by EdwardsBot (talk) 05:11, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

Bug error

Hello,

Please see the HOlding Area Language and Philosophy sections. I am pretty sure those are bugs, and I would want them squashed immediately.

TheOriginalSoni (talk) 12:14, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

Yep, you are correct in that something funky is going on. I will look into when new machine arrives this afternoon. Theopolisme (talk) 15:33, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

Next step

If I want you to implement Anonymity of Third opinion requests should I seek evidence of broader support (such as from 3O requesters) at (WP:Village_pump_(proposals)? this notice just brought in the 3O providers. --Elvey (talk) 18:24, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

@Elvey: I think more support needs to be demonstrated before I spend the time implementing a request system. So, yes, VPP is a good idea, as are any other dispute resolution-related talk pages. Theopolisme (talk) 18:28, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

  The Barnstar of Good Humor
For "getting" it! TY :) Doc talk 06:19, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 05 June 2013

Talkback- you've got new messages!

  Hello. You have a new message at WP:Bot requests's talk page. jcc (tea and biscuits) 11:11, 9 June 2013 (UTC)

Bots

Hi Theopolisme,

I was referred here from the Teahouse, and I am looking for information about how to create a bot. Also, thanks for your invitation to the teahouse.

Thanks, Matty.007 18:26, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

Matty, hi! Glad you popped by. :) In order to create a bot, you need to first know what you'd like it to do--is there a specific repetitive task that you want a bot to accomplish automatically? Theopolisme (talk) 22:12, 10 June 2013 (UTC)
Hi again User:Theopolisme,
All I wanted is a bot that can revert vandalism, perhaps do spelling corrections, and maybe tag new articles.
Thanks, Matty.007 16:18, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
Matty--I don't know if that would be feasible. Why? Well, for starters, ClueBot already handles anti-vandalism. Spelling correction is a good idea in theory, but check this out. As for tagging new articles, other bots already add orphan tags and such, but what specifically did you have in mind? Theopolisme (talk) 16:58, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
Hi, red link bots to be in high demand...
Thanks, Matty.007 18:13, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
Take a look at Wikipedia:Bots/Requests_for_approval/Cyberbot_II_3 Theopolisme (talk) 18:19, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
OK, thanks. On a different note, at the Guild of Copy Editors, the link to catscan, at section "Selecting articles for copy edit by category" on this isn't working.
Thanks, Matty.007 18:24, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
For proseresize, perfect! That's exactly right. You might need to clear your cache for it to take effect.
Catscan probably isn't working due to ongoing problems with the Toolserver. The only advice I have for you is to try reloading frequently...it works intermittently. Theopolisme (talk) 18:38, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
OK, thanks for the help! Matty.007 18:49, 11 June 2013 (UTC)

Theo's Little Bot

I know you keep the code in a repo on Github, but can I have a link please? TechFilmer - Please reply on my talkpage 03:46, 11 June 2013 (UTC)

Hey TechFilmer. All source code can be found here. It's kind of like a time machine, from my first commits (my first experience programming ever) to now...I like to believe I've improved exponentially, but of course you're welcome to draw your own conclusions. :) Let me know if there's anything I can do for you. Theopolisme (talk) 03:51, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
If you wouldn't mind my asking, I see that there is a password file being imported, and I also noticed that you have it set to make sure github doesn't upload it, but what sort of things are in the password file. Thanks again - I am looking the gather as much info as I can about bots and their codes before I get down to fully coding my bot. TechFilmer - Please reply on my talkpage 20:04, 11 June 2013 (UTC)

theobot/password.py contains

# password.py

username = "Theo's Little Bot"
password = "REDACT"

main_username = "Theopolisme"
main_password = "REDACT"

wp_username = "WP 1.0 bot"
wp_password = "REDACT"

githubuser = 'theopolisme'
githubpassword = 'REDACT'

Here's how I can use it:

>>> from theobot import password
>>> password.username
"Theo's Little Bot"

Let me know if you'd ever like any help with your bot! Theopolisme (talk) 20:30, 11 June 2013 (UTC)

All right, thanks - and I'll be sure to ask for help if I need it. TechFilmer - Please reply on my talkpage 23:49, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

Wikilove

Pray tell, why would you revert a Wikilove message sent by an editor? Cindy(talk) 02:06, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

Hey Cindamuse, no worries--the revert was accidental, and I reverted myself a few minutes later (when I noticed my mistake...namely, wondered why your contribs were open on my screen  ). Thanks for understanding! Theopolisme (talk) 02:10, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
Absolutely no problemo. Glad to see you're keeping an eye on things Sarah's way. Hope you're having (had?) a great day.   Best regards, Cindy(talk) 02:17, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 12 June 2013

RfC on PC2

I see you're busy, but the big RfC on Pending Changes Level 2 closes in about two days, and we at least need to know who the closers will be, so a reply would be most helpful, if you're still interested. Discussion is welcome at Wikipedia:Pending changes/Request for Comment 2013#Looking for closers. - Dank (push to talk) 19:30, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for replying there. - Dank (push to talk) 03:26, 15 June 2013 (UTC)

WP:Snuggle is live at snuggle.grouplens.org

 
The snuggle logo

Snuggle, the newcomer socialization tool I've been building, is finally ready for general use. All you need to do to get started is point your browser to https://snuggle.grouplens.org. Let me know if you run into any trouble. I'll be watching WT:Snuggle. Or you can also just contact me directly. Thanks for your patience.

See also:

--EpochFail(talkwork) 19:46, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

BAGBot: Your bot request Theo's Little Bot II

Someone has marked Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval/Theo's Little Bot II as needing your input. Please visit that page to reply to the requests. Thanks! AnomieBOT 18:54, 16 June 2013 (UTC) To opt out of these notifications, place {{bots|optout=operatorassistanceneeded}} anywhere on this page.

Bot Request

Finding Commons

I'd been using this to find stuff for Commons Transfer: [6=1&templates_yes=Information&templates_no=Description+missing+%0D%0Adi-no+source%0D%0Adi-no+permission%0D%0AWrong+license%0D%0AKeep+local%0D%0ADo+not+move+to+Commons%0D%0ACopy+to+Wikimedia+Commons%0D%0AFile+at+CCI%0D%0Apuf%0D%0Affd%0D%0AConvert+to+SVG+and+copy+to+Wikimedia+Commons%0D%0ANon-free+in+US%0D%0AFree+in+US+media%0D%0APD-URAA+%0D%0Am-cropped&smaller=300&ext_image_data=1&file_usage_data=1] Any chance of an automation of it? Sfan00 IMG (talk) 16:36, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

Definitely possible. I'll look into this in a bit. Theopolisme (talk) 17:07, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
It looks like unsupervised bot migration of files to Commons is frowned upon, since "the bot has no way of knowing if the licenses that were used when the files were uploaded are accurate or not." Is my interpretation of this correct? Theopolisme (talk) 19:27, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
Not sure, but the idea I had in mind was candidate identification,not the direct transfer. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 20:51, 16 June 2013 (UTC)

Adding Author/Source for self claimed images

For images that are tagged as a {{PD-self}} etc., could a bot attempt to insert an information block if one is not present, using the most recent uploader name for a subst expansion of {{tl|usernameexpand), in the relevant fields? (The username will need spaces converting to _'s for reasons to do with how that template expands things.) Sfan00 IMG (talk) 16:36, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

Sure, this could be done. Would the following be what would need to be added?
{{Information
| description = 
| source      = {{own}}
| date        = UPLOADDATE
| author      = {{subst:usernameexpand|UPLOADER}}
}}
Thanks, Theopolisme (talk) 17:07, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
Thats what would need adding... mostly.. I've tended to put the subst in BOTH the author and source fields...Sfan00 IMG (talk) 17:10, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
By adding this though, one of the other tasks you already have a BRFA for will pick it up as underdescribed though.Sfan00 IMG (talk) 17:11, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
I see no other way of "magically" generating a description, sadly. ;) Wouldn't your request above this one move the image to commons anyways? Theopolisme (talk) 17:14, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
If someone manually added the descriptions yes... but your other bot task should encourage that :) Sfan00 IMG (talk) 17:16, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
Yep! Bot tasks working together...circle of life...great. I'll look into coding this probably tonight/tomorrow morning. Theopolisme (talk) 17:18, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

As far as selecting files to process, could I just run through Category:Self-published work? Theopolisme (talk) 05:53, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

Also, just checking to make sure the page doesn't have {{Information}} won't be enough, due to templates like {{Non-free use rationale}} (and countless others!). But would searching for the string "description" in the raw page contents suffice? If the string wasn't found, then I'd think it would be safe to add an {{Information}} template...thoughts? Theopolisme (talk) 06:05, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

Well {{Non-free use rationale}} checking is easy to do, (you already have the code for that). Perhaps items with non-free licenses should be excluded? Sfan00 IMG (talk) 09:44, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
And yes running through the category you mention would be an excellent starting point:) Sfan00 IMG (talk) 09:46, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
Hmmm. I think just searching for the string "description" is the safest method...sure, we'll have some false positives/negatives, but I think that's worth it in this scenario (rather than spedning a bunch of time coding a list of template handlers). Theopolisme (talk) 16:23, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

RotTomBot

Do you think a bot such as the idea described WP:THQ#Rotten Tomatoes? for a RotTomBot would be considered useful and survive a BAG request? Technical 13 (talk) 19:32, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

Hey T13. I got your ping and somehow forgot to respond. :) I'm looking into the Rotten Tomatoes API now and will register for an API key for Theo's Little Bot momentarily (using the guise of "Wikipedia Editor," of course) so I can try it out...if things look feasible then I can look into coding a template for this similar to {{cite wdl}}, which I created recently, if you think that would be a good idea. Cheers, Theopolisme (talk) 20:45, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
Okay, that's really cool! They actually condone machines interfacing with their service, unlike BoxOfficeMojo, which I tried to build a similar service for before (and which I actually did...it just, erm, wasn't legal). Like you said at the Teahouse, though, what specifically would you (or the original asker, I'm pinging them now  ) like the bot to do? The more details the better...the sky's the limit. Or rather, "the API's the limit"...hey, I smell a t-shirt... Theopolisme (talk) 20:53, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
Well, I started working on {{Rotten Tomatoes score}}. Give it a look, and remember it's still very much "in progress." Theopolisme (talk) 21:51, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
I've coded the bot. See {{Rotten Tomatoes score}} for what it can do right now, and let me know your thoughts! I'll file a BRFA if y'all are ready. Theopolisme (talk) 05:15, 14 June 2013 (UTC)
  • I would ditch "audience". It is not reliable, misleading, and probably OR. Rest looks good so far, but I am in a rush at the moment.. Will look it over again in about half an hour when I am settled in. Technical 13 (talk) 11:12, 14 June 2013 (UTC)
    Well, I just missed the first bus waiting to pay for my coffee, so I have an hour to kill until the next one shows up... Looking it over some more, and I think that expecting everyone to put in the URL encoded movie title "might" be pushing it. I expect there will be some less "attuned" editors that will just want to type the name of the movie "The Night Chicago Died" or what-have-you... I'm assuming that Rotten Tomatoes "always" uses all lower case titles? Also assuming that they use percent encoded strings when needed. Could the bot URL encode on its own? The trick is for it to be able to handle both decoded and encoded incoming strings; double encoding would be bad. What if the bot decoded and then encoded the string. This way, encoded stuff wouldn't get double encoded and non-encoded stuff would be skipped by the decode (presumably nothing to decode) and come out right. What do you think? Doable? Also, I'm not sure what the "tomatometer" is based on. That might fall into unreliable OR as well. Technical 13 (talk) 11:33, 14 June 2013 (UTC)
I suggest you do your research before coming to these assumptions next time.   First of all, the "tomatometer" score is basically the most important and useful thing that Rotten Tomatoes puts out. It is also what is incorporated in all articles that mention Rotten Tomatoes--see Iron Man 3#Critical_reaction, the Tomatometer score is the "78% approval rating." So definitely not getting rid of that. Audience rating is a bit more iffy. I can remove it.
As far as URLs go...they don't actually percent encode, but rather underscore-encode and such...however, I'll look into using their search API, which could allow people to simply type in the film name...hrmm... Theopolisme (talk) 15:43, 14 June 2013 (UTC)
Wait, here's the problem with that--too much variation. If we allow people free reign over what they type in for the movie name, then it will be impossible much more complex and still prone to error to determine the subpage that actually contains the movie's information. For example, we'd want it so that {{Rotten Tomatoes score|Iron Man 3|fhdjkh}} would display the contents of Template:Rotten Tomatoes score/iron_man_3...yeah, coding that (with Lua, find and replace, and what have you) would be (IMHO) a colossal waste of time and resources. I think making editors spend thirty seconds to get the actual URL is definitely worth it...it still saves them plenty of time. Theopolisme (talk) 15:47, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

@Koopatrev and Technical 13: Thoughts? Ready for BRFA? Theopolisme (talk) 04:36, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

Sorry I didn't respond; wasn't on for a while. I'm not sure how the template works, but I can see that there can be some difficulty inserting text into the template parameter to match the url of the RT site. For instance you would have to check on the Rotten Tomatoes site for the url (which would take more time) if your film has a similar or same name to another film; they distinguish this by adding the year (of when the film was released) to the end of the url. Koopatrev (talk) 08:51, 17 June 2013 (UTC)
Yeah, you are probably right then Theo. If they need to make sure they get the right disambiguous page title, they might as well be forced to use URL encoded movie title. {{IMDb title}} uses ids in the url (does rotten tomatoes have an id counterpart for every page? That would be easiest) and a normal typed title|description after... This might be the way to go. Technical 13 (talk) 10:34, 17 June 2013 (UTC)
@Technical 13: According to the API docs, yes, each film has an id--for example, Toy Story 3 is 770672122...but this number isn't publicized at all on the regular view description page, only when you search for it using the API. So it looks like the IDs are, sadly, rather useless. @Koopatrev: do you have an example of the behavior? I haven't looked into that behavior yet and it would probably require some exception handling on my end. Theopolisme (talk) 15:31, 17 June 2013 (UTC)
@Theopolisme: Ah, sorry, I was actually a bit wrong. I'm not sure if any other film has a same name (and has an RT entry) as Ted, but what I describe happens to this film - in the url it adds 2012 to it. An example of two films with the same name would be Planet of the Apes (1968/2001) or Crash (which are unrelated) (1996/2005), where they actually insert codes, like you said above (but in this case, the code is public). Plus, if you remove the code (for Planet of the Apes), this is what happens. Koopatrev (talk) 08:25, 18 June 2013 (UTC)
T13: Okay, so I was perusing their documentation a bit more, and it turns out that they support something called "movie alias"...in a nutshell, it allows users to just enter the movie's IMDB id...this seems like it would be a fairly ideal method, and as a bonus it resolves the issue with movie URLs that Koopatrev mentioned. Thoughts? Theopolisme (talk) 13:51, 18 June 2013 (UTC)
See Template:Rotten_Tomatoes_score for an implementation of IMDB ids based on commit Theopolisme (talk) 14:13, 18 June 2013 (UTC)
I don't need to see. That seems perfect, submit the request for approval. :) Technical 13 (talk) 14:29, 18 June 2013 (UTC)

WikiProject AFC needs your help... again

WikiProject Articles for creation Backlog Elimination Drive
 

WikiProject AFC is holding a one month long Backlog Elimination Drive!
The goal of this drive is to eliminate the backlog of unreviewed articles. The drive is running from July 1st, 2013 – July 31st, 2013.

Awards will be given out for all reviewers participating in the drive in the form of barnstars at the end of the drive.
There is a backlog of over 1000 articles, so start reviewing articles! Visit the drive's page and help out!

A new version of our AfC helper script is released! It includes many bug fixes, new improvements and features, code cleanup, and more page cleanups. If you want to see a full list of changes, go to Wikipedia:WikiProject Articles for creation/Helper script/Development page. Please report bugs and feature requests there, too! Thanks.

Delivered at 12:49, 19 June 2013 (UTC) by EdwardsBot (talk), on behalf of WikiProject AFC

The Signpost: 19 June 2013

WP G&R request

Hi Theopolisme, could you fulfill the request posted at my talk page? (Auto-assessing all articles of unknown importance in the Wikiproject Classical Greece and Rome as "low") Many thanks, Bahnheckl (talk) 09:02, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

Hi Bahnheckl, I'll be able to look into this in the next few days. Thanks for getting in touch! Theopolisme (talk) 16:24, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
Alright, I already have approval for this task, so I can run it without going through another request from approval. Just making sure this is exactly what you want:
For all articles in Category:Unknown-importance Classical Greece and Rome articles, add |importance=low to the WikiProject Classical Greece and Rome template.
If you could just confirm that then I'll schedule the task immediately. Thanks! Theopolisme (talk) 18:49, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
That is it. I thank you very much... Bahnheckl (talk) 19:40, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
I'm just going to leave a note at the project to make sure this is OK, and then I'll give you the nod in a day or two. Cynwolfe (talk) 01:07, 14 June 2013 (UTC)
Sure, Cynwolfe, that's great. Theopolisme (talk) 04:07, 14 June 2013 (UTC)
I think we can go ahead with this. Cynwolfe (talk) 00:23, 15 June 2013 (UTC)

Hey there! I saw some articles didn't get picked up by the bot. Could you look into this? Bahnheckl (talk) 08:44, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

GOCE June/July 2013 events

Guild of Copy Editors July 2013 backlog elimination drive wrap-up newsletter
 

We have completed our June blitz and are about to commence our July backlog elimination drive.

The June/July 2013 events newsletter is now ready for review.

– Your project coordinators: Torchiest, BDD, and Miniapolis

Sign up for the July drive! To discontinue receiving GOCE newsletters, please remove your name from our mailing list. Newsletter delivered by EdwardsBot (talk) 20:39, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 26 June 2013

Theopolisme, we moved your Teahouse host profile

Hello Theopolisme! Thank you for being a host at the Teahouse. However, we haven't heard from you lately, so our bot has moved your Host profile from the host landing page to the host breakroom. No worries; you can always just Check in and our bot will move your profile back. Editing any Teahouse-related page will do the same thing for you. If you would prefer not to receive reminders like this, you can unsubscribe here. Thanks for your help at the Teahouse! HostBot (talk) 03:50, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

TAFI scheduling

A quick question: Does Theo's little bot still schedule entries from the TAFI holding page to the schedule page? I noticed that the queue is only in place through July. Also, per your comment at Tafi talk, hope you had a nice vacation! Cheers, Northamerica1000(talk) 05:11, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

Hi NA--yeah, it does, but it will only schedule articles a week in advance, per TheOriginalSoni. It can of course be changed if that's what y'all decide you want. Hope that clears everything up, and thanks, my vacation was fabulous! Theopolisme (talk) 14:29, 1 July 2013 (UTC)
Err, i never said that. I meant only one week is scheduled at a time. 4 to 6 weeks is the optimal length of the schedule, in my opinion. TheOriginalSoni (talk) 14:38, 1 July 2013 (UTC)
Hmm, I thought you did. :p How many weeks in advance would you like articles to be scheduled, then? Theopolisme (talk) 14:45, 1 July 2013 (UTC)
Look to the second line of what i said. TheOriginalSoni (talk) 15:06, 1 July 2013 (UTC)
Hello all (including User:TheOriginalSoni): 4-6 weeks in advance would be great, simply to avoid any problems that may occur with the queue running out, which led to TAFI's entry being pulled from Main page. E.g. if the bot goes down, there would be a buffer already in place. Actually, I wouldn't mind a full 6 weeks of advance scheduling whatsoever. Another matter, hopefully your vacation was invigorating while also providing time for rest and relaxation. Cheers, Northamerica1000(talk) 18:34, 1 July 2013 (UTC)
  Done [2] Theopolisme (talk) 18:48, 1 July 2013 (UTC)
Great! Really appreciate it. Thanks, Northamerica1000(talk) 19:16, 1 July 2013 (UTC)
Northamerica1000, you might have noticed that I included a list of all descriptions for all the TAFIs for the next few weeks. I really think we should decide on a basic design right now, so we can start an RfC about it and get it approved. TheOriginalSoni (talk) 09:44, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

The mess you call common.js

Hey... I've gone through your common.js as you requested last night on IRC. What I've managed to create so far that should help with some of your problems it located at User:Technical 13/SandBox/Theopolisme/common.js. I would probably suggest that you importScript( 'User:Technical 13/SandBox/Theopolisme/common.js' );//[[User:Technical 13/SandBox/Theopolisme/common.js]] for now as I have a lot of scripts to review to see what they are and what they are suppose to do, I have a feeling you have a lot of redundant code in there and it is causing you all kinds of other issues as well. When I am done with it, I'll add an alert to the top of the page clearly identified as removable to inform you I am done, then since you have the power, you can just move my sandbox to your Special:MyPage/common.js and delete the sandbox. Technical 13 (talk) 16:08, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

T13, I really owe you one for this (can RotTomBot count?  )! I appreciate your help to no end. Let me know if I can ever do anything for you. Theopolisme (talk) 16:13, 1 July 2013 (UTC)
Technical 13, I temporarily moved it back to my common.js since I needed to make a fix (remove a broken script) to make the VisualEditor work with my setup. Feel free to move the updated version back to your sandbox and work your magic whenever you're ready. Thanks, Theopolisme (talk) 03:14, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

Pretty much lost...

OK, I'm pretty web-savvy, but I've never submitted to Wiki. After surfing around the five or six places for new users, I'm more confused than ever--and I didn't get here UNconfused.

I'm trying to write an article for a company that is EXTREMELY relevant within their industry, but without an industry publication, notable sources are somewhat non-existent. And, this company happens to provide the data for the Electronic Program Guides that you use to access TV programming.

There are only three companies in the US that do this.

So, my questions are: 1. How do I get around the "notable sources" when all I have are brief mentions and no substantial articles? 2. How can I get a rough draft of my article to the proper editor? 3. How do I get past the feeling I'm not all that bright, having been through the labyrinth of Wiki?

Thanks very much for your help! TomGulley (talk) 16:26, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

Hey Tom! I'd love to help you out. I totally sympathize with your confusion--when I started editing, I was fairly befuddled, too! But never fear -- it gets better. :) One quick question: before I can help, could you tell me what company you're talking about? Theopolisme (talk) 17:13, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

Yes. That might just make things easier. The company is FYI Television. Their two competitors are Rovi (owner of TV Guide but now into a lot of other things) and Tribune Media Services (an offshoot of the Tribune media monolith). FYI is a dedicated to program listing data, metadata, and rich media imagery. They have a site and a blog site, and I would venture to guess that you and your loved ones have used FYI data and services in conjunction with an Electronic Programming Guide (what you see on your screen when using Verizon or Time Warner or any large television content provider--even over the air stations) or print listing TV books (remember them? they're still in use!) and yes, rich media images of entertainment programs, actors, etc.| TomGulley (talk) 17:33, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

Bot

Hi, I simply took the suggestion from the bot, to stop receiving messages. If that was not the intended meaning of the message then you might consider new phraseology to better convey just how to stop receiving the bot messages. __Ancheta Wis   (talk | contribs) 23:08, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

@Ancheta Wis: Thanks for the suggestion; I'll look into it. I've told the bot to stop giving you the "description missing" messages. For future reference, here's the page with instructions: User:Theo's Little Bot/opt-out. Theopolisme (talk) 23:12, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 03 July 2013

On that bot

I know the bot you were trying to set up for putting rationales on non-free cover art/logos didn't go through, but could I ask if you could simply modify the bot + request so that instead of adding the rationale to the image, it just tags it for a category for human review, say "Non-free images lacking rationales believe to be (cover art/logo)"? This would be something that can then be human-reviewed and rationales added, but otherwise should not tag for deletion, add a rationale itself, etc. I'd say 99% of the work would be done on that. --MASEM (t) 19:07, 5 July 2013 (UTC)

Masem, that's definitely possible, but before I get to work re-coding anything I'd like for there to be a bit more discussion...I'm sure you understand, given the previous incident. Thanks! Theopolisme (talk) 22:30, 5 July 2013 (UTC)

I've been in touch with the closer, and he suggests the appropriate forum to review the close is to raise it at WP:BRFA. I believe his close was totally out of line, for reasons I have just expressed in detail at WT:NFC (diff). I therefore would like to take this to WP:BRFA and ask for the close to be reviewed; but of course I want to make sure that would be okay with you. It is deeply inappropriate for an admin to place his personal view of what policy should be ahead of the settled view of the community, and a close made on that basis ought not to be allowed to stand. Jheald (talk) 00:16, 6 July 2013 (UTC)

@Jheald: You are welcome to raise the issue--I'm just a clueless code wrangling monkey when it comes to images, though, so I don't know enough about the policy to be able to comment personally (all of my bot tasks are requested by others). Somehow I doubt that WT:BRFA would be sufficient, however: you'd probably need a full-fledged RfC, at least imh(and uninformed)o. Theopolisme (talk) 00:40, 6 July 2013 (UTC)
I'm going to leave it overnight (it's now 2am here), and see whether any more develops on the WT:NFC thread. I've also notified Chris G (talk · contribs) of that thread, in case he wants to comment any further on his close, though I'm not sure what timezone he's in (Australian?). WT:NFC is the accepted policy board in this area, so we'll see what transpires. Jheald (talk) 01:12, 6 July 2013 (UTC)
Just to note that while Jheald normally don't see eye-to-eye on NFC policy, I totally agree with Jheald in this case, and that I think that the original task was completely reasonable and do worry that the closer was jumping ahead. That said, on my original post, it would be a secondary option if there is clear resistance to a bot doing any NFC rationale tagging, but it does make sense to check given this situation. --MASEM (t) 05:43, 6 July 2013 (UTC)

Wikipedia:User Advocacy

Theopolisme, if you haven't noticed it already you may be interested in contributing to the Wikipedia:User Advocacy effort. If you'd be willing to add your bot skills to the group, you could add your name here. Or simply contribute to the brainstorming discussion. --RA () 13:26, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

Hey RA, thanks for the invite. If the project does gain traction I'd be happy to assist, just give me a ping. Theopolisme (talk) 17:26, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

Views on Bot

Hi Theopolisme,

I was wondering what your views were on adapting/creating a bot which could go through articles for creation removing blue links?

Thanks, Matty.007 14:36, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

@Matty.007: Hey Matty! Hmm, removing blue links. Do you mean automatically declining article submissions that already exist in the mainspace? If so, then I'd be opposed to it, if only for the fact that sometimes (or even frequently, at least in my experience) content from the submission can be merged into the mainspace article, creating a fuller and more detailed page. However, if I'm misunderstanding your question, just let me know. Cheers, Theopolisme (talk) 15:04, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
Grr. Wrong link again. Sorry, I meant requested articles... So the articles which had been created could be removed. Matty.007 15:05, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
  • (talk page stalker) and the person that sent Matty.007 to you from IRC... Let me clarify for him... He wants to know your thoughts on creating a bot that removes already created article links from WP:RA since they are technically not "requested" anymore if they exist. I have no opinion one way or the other at this time. Technical 13 (talk) 15:07, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

Haha--okay, that makes some more sense! ;) Thanks for clarifying, guys. That's totally possible, doable, and sounds quite useful. Matty, as a learning experience--and only if you're interested of course--would you be interested in coding the bot yourself with me acting as more of a mentor? Alternatively, I can write it (it would only take a few minutes). Let me know what you'd like to do, Theopolisme (talk) 15:09, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

So you would help me make it? That sounds like a great experience to have, if that is what you mean. Thanks, Matty.007 15:11, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
Totally! I'm always happy to help new bot operators. I'll create a subpage of my userpage for us to discuss how you'll create the bot, and ping you on it when it's created. Theopolisme (talk) 15:14, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
OK, thanks. Matty.007 15:17, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
I've replied there... Matty.007 15:26, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
I've added the page to my watchlist so no need to ping me here as well. Theopolisme (talk) 15:29, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Wikipedia appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited Vít Zouhar, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page Czech (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver). Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject.

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The Signpost: 10 July 2013

 
Start Snuggle

GOCE Menu Page

Hello,

I appreciate your skills in designing pages; hence, would like to show you the following page: User:JustBerry/GOCEMenu. The "menu page" is a potential menu tab for WP:GOCE. The idea has already been accepted by the WP:GOCE coordinators, but I would certainly appreciate if you could let me know any ideas/suggestions you may have for the page. Thanks. --JustBerry (talk) 18:12, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

Will make a few tweaks probably later tonight. Theopolisme (talk) 21:06, 13 July 2013 (UTC)
Cool. I was wondering why you made the changes you made; they're fairly unique. Just curious. --JustBerry (talk) 12:34, 14 July 2013 (UTC)
Most of the changes were made by Technical 13, actually. I like his 2-1-2 layout, but I'm not crazy about removing the subtitles. All I did was a minor size change to the logo. Theopolisme (talk) 13:58, 14 July 2013 (UTC)
I spoke to a couple of other users about the idea of him removing the subtitles; it doesn't appear to be the best idea. I will go ahead and remove that, just to let you know. Thanks for taking a look though. Let me know if you think something else should be changed. I am currently working on fixing the page so that mobile/tablet viewers can easily view the page (apparently the logos are acting funny on mobile displays). Currently, I have not figured out a way to do this, so if you have any ideas on that, please let me know about that as well. Thanks again. --JustBerry (talk) 18:56, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

DRN needs your help!

Hi there. I've noticed it's been a while since you've been active at DRN, and we could really use your help! DRN is going to undergo some changes soon, so it'd really be great if our backlog is cleared before the start of August and we have as many people on board to help with the changes (they include a move to subpages and the creation of a rotating "co-ordinator" role to help manage things day-to-day. Hope to see you soon! Steven Zhang Help resolve disputes! 11:41, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

IRC office hours for wiki-mentors and Snuggle users

Hi. We're organizing an office hours session with the Teahouse to bring in mentors from across the wiki to try out Snuggle and discuss it's potential to support mentorship broadly. The Snuggle team would appreciate it if you would come and participate in the discussion. We'll be having it in #wikimedia-office connect on Wed. July 17th @ 1600 UTC. See the agenda for more info. --EpochFail(talkwork), Technical 13 (talk), TheOriginalSoni (talk) 19:05, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

I'll be there. Theopolisme (talk) 19:16, 12 July 2013 (UTC)
Awesome! In the meantime, you can find us in #wikipedia-snuggle connect --EpochFail(talkwork) 19:27, 12 July 2013 (UTC)
Hi! I just wanted to post a reminder that this discussion will be happening in about 24 hours. See you there. :) --EpochFail(talkwork) 15:28, 16 July 2013 (UTC)