User talk:NGerda/Archive 6

This is User talk:NGerda Archive 6, performed at 11:28, November 28, 2005 (UTC).

Community Service

Thanks. Since you're starting college, you might be able to answer a question of mine. I'm wondering since Wikipedia and Wikinews are not for profit if I can get community service hourse for my work on the site. I'm going to be starting college this time next year, and the primary area where I need to improve is my communtiy service. Many of my activities are internet-based, including editing for Wikipedia and Wikinews. Anyway, I'm curious if you've ever heard of anyone doing this &mdash I'll have to consult with my high school and specific college policies, but has this been done? Theshibboleth 07:41, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

I was just in high school, too. Hang in there, college is a lot better! I believe you can get community service for contributing to non-profit organizations, but there are a couple of hurdles related to wiki-contributions. First of all, you must prove to your counselor (or whoever) that you indeed helped out in some way. Second, they probably require a written note of some kind from an official person at the organization you contributed to. Since the power structure of wikis are somewhat communistic, or more appropriately directly democratic, there are no "officials" to sign a note. However, if there's anything I can do to help (like send an email to your counselor verifying the fact that you contributed), please do not hesitate to ask me. I've been through this, I know what it's like, and I'd be glad to help you. Also, check out Wikinews Real Time Chat. Good luck! -- NGerda 07:49, August 20, 2005 (UTC)

NPOV Tag

Hey, could you quantify your objections to Hockey:_Pittsburgh_Penguins_going_from_rags_to_riches on its talk page? BTW, I'm back now - after coming home from backpacking I decided to take a 1 week wikibreak. Doing great now though :) ----RossKoepke^Talk 20:29, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Hey, glad you're back! ;) Perhaps we can work together on the International Wikinews Writing Contest, and I'm working on a new Main Page. About the NPOV tag, I realized that it wasn't the POV that was the issue, but the style of writing which made it seem like an editorial. I replaced the NPOV tag with the Cleanup tag. See you around (and get your butt in IRC)! -- NGerda 21:19, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

Dance Party

Hey..I was just gonna put it in featured but you're too fast on the draw for this oldie:) Paulrevere2005 23:03, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

:D Yeah, you might also enjoy this article. -- NGerda 23:04, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

Currency conversions

Hello... You say "Additionally, I'll fix that volume conversion for you" - Was I wrong in what I wrote? - I got the information from the english version of wikipedia's article on 'litre'. Rainbird 23:19, 26 August 2005 (UTC)

Oh yeah, I just added the actual prices, you had just the standard conversion. It's hard to explain, perhaps this will help. Cheers, NGerda 23:23, August 26, 2005 (UTC)

This next comment is just conversation, it's not a recommendation to change what you've written. From my perspective, I think it reads less clearly now. I'm not personally invested in wikinews, so it doesn't bug me either way. However, I am a professional writer, and I think that there are tangible measurements of how well words communicate with readers. Furthermore, there is a tangible measurement of how much context has been given to the reader, in regards to the subject. A writer's job is to give context, which is, by definition what educates the reader. It saddens me that somehow at wikinews, NPOV is interpreted to mean "falling in line with what the mainstream press has intoned about issue a b or c". It would be considered POV, if people put things into social, historical, or local contexts. Maybe that's more than you wanted to hear, today; but when someone wants to talk about a project they're working on side by side with me, I'll let them hear all I think about the issue. Goodbye. --Rainbird 23:44, 26 August 2005 (UTC)

Oh I agree, although I don't quite understand what I did to incite what you wrote. Wikinews is whatever the people want it to be so if there is no historical context, please, be my guest and add whatever you know.  :) -- NGerda 00:04, August 27, 2005 (UTC)

Actually I'm quite indignant about the course which wikinews has taken, and maybe it all comes out at once, the first time I see an edit that needs to be made, and someone talks to me about it. My larger ideas weren't addressed to you, in particular. But, you are the only person I've ever personally talked to, who's been working on the project. So, perhaps given you've made 5,000 edits to the project, I felt I could air my feelings to you. A wiki ought to, by definition, be a public project, which can be taken wherever the public wants it to go - it should draw on the wisdom and insight which everybody has to share. But there's so much impetus from wikipedians, who's project works very differently than wikinews. There, they can debate NPOV all day long - and still be embellishing the article with extra context, day after day, and year after year. --Rainbird 00:48, 27 August 2005 (UTC)

OK, well, it'd be great if you could bring you concerns to the Wikinews community as a whole. I'm sure we'd be very responsive, and please keep in mind that the vast majority of us are not Wikipedians. -- NGerda 01:09, August 27, 2005 (UTC)

De-admin. castration

Hi,Nick, If a rogue admin., or even cliques of them, can't be subject to de-admin; we have a big problem. Please see my comments in the watercooler[[1]]. Also see the history of the request for de-admin. of Mrmiscellanious made by one of the new rave contributors[[2]] and how that request was handled. Obviously it makes no sense that anyone can delete a request for de-admin. without being blocked but anyone who tries to allow a vote can be blocked...according to the weird determination that that is "disruption".Bottom line is , these guys are protecting themselves from even being subject to a community vote. The 3 or 4 of them can take turns just deleting any request whenever it comes up and then blocking anyone who tries to put it back. Paulrevere2005 03:20, 29 August 2005 (UTC)

I agree. That is the Worst Case Scenario, though.  ;) -- NGerda 03:23, August 29, 2005 (UTC)

I think the worst case is what we have seen here which is the community did not get to vote. And the next worst thing is that someone in the future who should be kicked off, can, with the help of 1 or 2 supporters, avoid a vote. Paulrevere2005 03:29, 29 August 2005 (UTC)

update?

hey! its been a bank holiday in britain so i've been out in the rain, only able to view recent changes and do little edits. what's happened with portals? please let me know if you have the chance. glad you're enjoying college so far, behave yourself: i've heard about you crazy LA college kids :) ClareWhite (no tildes) x

:D Well, I got everyone the last person who opposed the Portal namespace (besides Dan) to go along with it, and it's been real hard trying to convince Dan. [ http://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Dan100&diff=129349&oldid=129248 I was real nice], but that didn't seem to work.  :( Plus, my cool, colorful navigation system got replaced a few minutes ago with Pechorin's boring mono-color scheme.  :( Oh well. And I'm working on a cool new Main Page redesign just in time for the Writing Contest! I'm off to lunch. Ill be back in a couple of hours or so. See ya! -- NGerda 20:52, August 29, 2005 (UTC)

Hey,Bud, you could be missing the story of the decade; cholera outbreak in the big easy

Please help me with this story Louisiana locked down; New Orleans now a "toxic soup" Think about it...1.2 million people with no sewage system....we're talking cholera etc. the mayor is saying 80% of new orleans is already underwater and its getting worse http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/30/katrina.neworleans/index.html

http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2005/08/30/local/iq_3662657.txt

http://www.freep.com/news/nw/katrina29e_20050829.htm

Read my comments on the discussion page. I JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH THE tORONTO sTAR...they're no dummies...they're sending a team down there today just to cover the upcoming diseases. CNN said their news trucks are not being allowed ioto the city. New Orleans is the story of a lifetime..maybe bigger than 9/11... don't be surprised if Bush attacks Syria now to deflect attaention. Paulrevere2005 16:34, 30 August 2005 (UTC)

main page

First impressions are good.. I'm racing off now so will try and comment properly on the page tomorrow. Question: do you mean that it displays the three topics with most recent stories, and that automatically updates? If so, that's rather nifty: it does look less repetitive than the previous proposals with fuller category listings. More from me tomorrow, have a nice day! ClareWhite 16:37, 30 August 2005 (UTC)

Yes, it does update automatically, and it's all based on the categories we already tag each article with.  :) See you later! -- NGerda 22:56, August 30, 2005 (UTC)

IRC

Where the heck are ya? Get on! :P --Mrmiscellanious 01:00, 31 August 2005 (UTC)

Where the hack are you? Off in "neutral land"? :P -- NGerda 01:03, August 31, 2005 (UTC)

Yeah... the roller coaster broke down three times today.  :( --Mrmiscellanious 01:04, 31 August 2005 (UTC)

Oh, poor Mr M. That still doesn't give you the right to wander of into "neutral land" ;P -- NGerda 01:07, August 31, 2005 (UTC)

• Me likes "neutral land" :P --Mrmiscellanious 01:35, 31 August 2005 (UTC)

Methinks Mrmiscellanious needs to be a little more of an activist in support of his true beliefs. -- NGerda 01:37, August 31, 2005 (UTC)

Original reporting opportunity

Hey... are you around? Any chance you could have a look at Talk:Louisiana officials accused of blocking rescue volunteers? Someone has posted an eyewitness report that they received in an email. The receiver has supplied a phone number in Louisianna. Someone in the US (cheaper phone call - I'm in Aus or I'd do it myself) could give him a call and try to get contact details (e.g. email address) from the person who wrote the eyewitness report. It would assist in providing a little bit of confirmation of the report. - Borofkin 05:54, 2 September 2005 (UTC)

I'll see if I can contact him, but I believe all telecommunications are down in Louisiana. -- NGerda 16:08, September 2, 2005 (UTC)

Latest news: excluding local stories when required

I've only just come back to this and I don't get what you meant, can't find the date templates. Can you add notcategory=Local only onto the template that generates new days? For those of us that would like to use it :) Also, see what you think about my suggested rejig of Category Portals - I think this is how many people are doing it anyway but that proposal says it should be done on the category pages not the portal pages and I agree with the people who've been saying that the category pages should be places for all stories, not portals. And I would rather build guidelines that reflect how everyone wants to do it before going too far on what is, er, actually being done. Blah blah blah etc. Anyway, have a nice weekend! ClareWhite 15:18, 2 September 2005 (UTC)

Clare, this whole time I've been trying to get portal pages where they need to be: in the Portal namespace. So I thank you for helping me. In regards to this "template that generates new days", I am not sure what you mean by that. If you could point me to what you mean, that'd be great.  :) And I believe we're now going with [[Category:Local]] instead of Local only. Dan is driving me nuts! -- NGerda 16:19, September 2, 2005 (UTC)

Heh, I think you're doing fine (otherwise no comment!). I really want to spend some time helping sort it out but am snowed under with projects, hopefully next week now unless I can get to a reliable machine this weekend. What I mean with the dates is there is something that generates new dates like [[today's and so the DPL is created. At least, I don't think someone copies and pastes it to create it each day. So wherever that is, it should include Local only - and I maintain it shoudl be local only because that's a specific category-as-message whereas something can be local but still of international interest. Local only should be something you take off, or view, if you just want to see those that are Local only. Gotta run, thank for the help! ClareWhite 16:26, 2 September 2005 (UTC)

Unfortunately, those are all copy-and-pasted.  :( -- NGerda 16:28, September 2, 2005 (UTC)

Sig line

Could you maybe cut down the amount of code in your sig line? It's a little excessive. Thanks! -- Phyzome is Tim McCormack 18:57, September 2, 2005 (UTC)

Sure thing. :) -- NGerda 04:06, September 3, 2005 (UTC)

Better? -- NGerda 04:09, September 3, 2005 (UTC)

New Orleans Disaster

Hurricane Katrina did not just effect New Orleans so calling it the New Orleans Disaster, is inaccurate. --Cspurrier 22:37, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

I know it didn't, however I'm only tagging this infobox to artcles that are directly about the New Orleans disaster, as most of our articles are. -- NGerda 22:47, September 3, 2005 (UTC)

leaving?

to what... corporate news write? earth to Nick, we need a story on Gulf States refugees spreading out north... you have no choice in the matter if you wanna have a job. Write a 600 to 800 mini feature story and you will be paid $200... that's generous, corresponent -Edbrown05 02:43, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

Nick, you won't be reimbursed for mileage or batteries. -Edbrown05 02:45, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

or water

:) I already explained, it's just a break (from the politics of Wikinews at least). Not to worry! -- NGerda 04:36, September 4, 2005 (UTC)

The bus has air conditioning

Thanks for your suggestions about improving the story I submitted about the failures in the local execution of the disaster plan during the New Orleans/Katrina disaster.

Do you have any other specific suggestions so that we can gain a consensus to republish this article? - Busted 06:55, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

Well, I do think it has some POV issues. Perhaps a better title would be Controversy over whether New Orleans Mayor failed to follow hurricane plan. -- NGerda 06:57, September 4, 2005 (UTC)

OK, no problem. I renamed the article per your suggestion. Do you have any other specific suggestions to help improve the article and reach a consensus to allow it to be published? - Busted 07:19, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

I believe it is already is published, and I've made a few changes in the structure of the article. -- NGerda 22:53, September 4, 2005 (UTC)

Fund raising drive

The fund raising drive continues until the 9th of September, even though it has achieved it's financial goals. Just thought you'd want to know. - Amgine/^talk 01:48, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Well, Wikimedia doesn't appear to be so desperate for money anymore. If they request us to, we can put it back up. -- NGerda 01:50, September 7, 2005 (UTC)

How fast is the system for you? They requested that all projects run the sitenotice for 21 days, until Sept. 9. But do as you wish, of course. - Amgine/^talk 01:52, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

skills portfolio

Hi there! I've been working on a sort of skills demonstration scheme here here (v rough so far). It would be great if you could have a look over it and as you said you'd sign Theshibboleth's community service letter, would you be my first supporting admin on the list? All feedback happily received :) ClareWhite 16:23, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Checking it out.  :) -- NGerda 17:20, September 7, 2005 (UTC)

WNL 0.2

Hey, over at the wiki license poll you said that the WNL 0.2 had too many restrictions on content. Sorry, but i don't understand this comment. 0.1 seems to have too many restrictions, but 0.2 is basicly the same as the BSD license but without reference to source code. It seems to me that it (along with BSD) have by far the least number of restrictions (fewer than CC-BY). Anyway, im confused, could you clarify exactly what your objection is. ~The bellman | Smile 04:24, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

I was referring specifically to the required copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2004-2005, Original Authors All rights reserved. -- NGerda 04:48, September 8, 2005 (UTC)

NGerda, you are aware that CC-BY requires the same thing right? --Cspurrier 12:05, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

Yes, and I am also aware that Public Domain, which we currently use, does not require an explicit copyright notice for ever duplication. -- NGerda 15:09, September 8, 2005 (UTC)

Sorry about that I though I saw you vote for cc-by. While PD is nice in theory, it does not work well under US law unless you are the government or long dead. --Cspurrier 18:30, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

Basically, I think PD can work. We're pretty much just saying "we won't sue you because you copy our content", which is perfectly allowable under the law, and I think is consistent with the mission of the Wikimedia Foundation. -- NGerda 19:48, September 8, 2005 (UTC)

Oh crap!

I take it the greeting template change you made to my talk page was an accident? —Brent Dax (talk) 03:46, 10 September 2005 (UTC)

Yes it was. I thought you were a vandal, but I quickly realized I was mistaken.  :) -- NGerda 04:36, September 10, 2005 (UTC)

Cheers for the welcome!

Many thanks! --PopUpPirate 21:18, 11 September 2005 (UTC)

No prob! -- NGerda 03:16, September 12, 2005 (UTC)

User space

Nick, unless there is an open invitation to edit, you KNOW that user space is somewhat sacred on wikis. I cannot imagine copying something out of your user space to another area of wikinews without asking you first -- I cannot imagine how you think it's okay to copy something from my user space to another area of the site without asking. Please consider carefully the precedent you are setting and also consider my feelings. --Chiacomo (talk) 05:29, 16 September 2005 (UTC)

Chiacomo, this is a wiki, as you and others so frequently remind me. If you have a problem with your content being replicated and edited as a community, then it shouldn't be submitted anywhere on the wiki. -- NGerda 05:34, 16 September 2005 (UTC)

I'm holding my tongue somewhat, but what about mercilessly editing your "beliefs" page? It is certainly not NPOV and is part of the wiki. Of course I would not edit it (except perhaps for spelling and grammar) as it is in your User space. Again, Nick, I would ask you to respect User space and to remove the unfinished copy of my story. --Chiacomo (talk) 05:39, 16 September 2005 (UTC)

Oh well, I was just trying to see if Wikinews could do prewritten obituaries anyways. So no big deal. We won't have a centralized obituary collaboration list. Peace be with you. -- NGerda 07:10, 16 September 2005 (UTC)

It would be no big deal, really, if I had finished the story, I suppose. If you had moved the article and then improved it or continued editing it I would be less upset -- as it stands, you've got an incomplete (even for a prepared story) article. I had hoped to get the article to a certain point, by including some recent news sources etc., before submitting to a prepared story. I'm still not certain, however, that putting obits even in the Wikinews space is wise as we don't want to be perceived as being morbid. The biggest thing is that before moving something from user space to another area, it would be polite to ask -- I hope that makes sense. --Chiacomo (talk) 23:25, 16 September 2005 (UTC)

FMR

hey NGerda, what happened with your WNN show on FreeMatrix Radio? We miss you on irc in there! Contact me sometime! (not by my discussion page, I rarely check it --AppleBoy

t3h w00tage p0w3rs

I have now have my, my, my, SUPERHERO POWERS!!!!!!!!!!1 Errr, admin powers. --TUFKAAP 23:34, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Awe-didly awesome! Use your powers wisely, luke... I mean A*******P*****! As always, your partner in media reform, NGerda 02:16, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

Your vote is needed

Amgine is up for de-admin. Neutralizer 16:28, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for the welcome, but...

I'm a member of Wikipedia, just not Wikinews. I should probably set up an account, though. I do wish the accounts would carry over. Have a great day.  :)

-Aly / Thorns Among Our Leaves / 69.132.232.89 22:57, 7 November 2005 (UTC)