Blood Red Sandman

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EIs and your availability

Any chance you would be able to spare some time today at around 5 PM UTC? I have something important to discuss.
27.59.110.10 (talk) 06:22, 10 January 2019 (UTC)

After careful thought, it's likely I will be moving from one place to another around then and eating shortly thereafter. But, feel free to try. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 15:07, 10 January 2019 (UTC)

Mind joining IRC?

Need some urgent help. Pi isn't online. Any chance you could spare some time?
•–• 15:37, 23 January 2019 (UTC)

I'm now around. --Pi zero (talk) 18:19, 23 January 2019 (UTC)

Glad you are, PiZ; I was at work, in a shift where multiple things broke down, and am now tired and unlikely to be of much help now that I am here. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 19:03, 23 January 2019 (UTC)

Mails sent from wikinewsies are not getting delivered. Are you facing the same issue? And pi suspects this is because of scoop. While I am not sure if that is the reason, I would suggest forwarding mails to only those who can and might review. For example, I am not on scoop, and thus can't review. And even when sent to scoop, odds are that only pi would be the one who reviews it. So.
•–• 04:47, 24 January 2019 (UTC)

Yeah. I got repeated max defer errors last night hour after hour. There are some full mailboxes on scoop that may not be helping matters, here. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 10:24, 24 January 2019 (UTC)

I am not sure how it works, but it is likely that we can't send more than five mails an hour.
•–• 11:10, 24 January 2019 (UTC)

┌─────────────────────────────────┘
still did not work. Any chance you could send the message on my behalf?
•–• 13:19, 24 January 2019 (UTC)

@Acagastya: Mine's in bad shape too, but I got a message away this morning UTC. Email me (PiZ has my deets if you need them) your message and who you need to get it to, and I'll make an attempt. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 19:55, 24 January 2019 (UTC)

Just to let you know, I received your email. Landed in spam, but I have read it. I would join IRC. I hope you know my nick. In case if you can come by, I would like to ask some questions.
•–• 11:12, 28 January 2019 (UTC)

Should I send it?
•–• 16:04, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

Go for it! Wikinewsie.org emails seem to be functioning atm. :) BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 16:09, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

┌─────────────────────────────────┘
Same issue again.
•–• 23:23, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

Responsibility for Jolo Cathedral bombings

The update went sideways; 'tis a matter of who claimed responsibility and how they're related to Abu Sayyaf. --Pi zero (talk) 03:16, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

That's not what the source says. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 07:21, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

The source says, emphasis added, "It claimed responsibility". Which is as ambiguous as the antecedent of the pronoun. I recommend consulting one (or more) other source(s). --Pi zero (talk) 11:39, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

I had an early shift today, complete with early finish. Gimme a bit to sit down and do very little; thereafter, I'll see what I can find. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 14:46, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

Male Magellanic penguins pine for pairings: Wikinews interviews biologist Natasha Gownaris

I figured on leaving Darkfrog24's c/e for you to make the call on. --Pi zero (talk) 13:17, 1 February 2019 (UTC)

I've gone ahead and accepted; no strong feelings either way, there. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 13:19, 1 February 2019 (UTC)

Wikinews:Neutrality

I'm got through a complete draft, fwiw. --Pi zero (talk) 05:46, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

(Heh. Just couldn't resist a proofread the morning after.) --Pi zero (talk) 13:21, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

Re: welcome-a-bit

Hi Blood Red Sandman,

You recently signed up for the 'welcome a bit' notification delivery by e-mail. The software for this is now up and running and is in beta.

To add yourself, please add the User:Blood_Red_Sandman/wab/dev/email page to the tracking category. To do this you need to edit the last line and remove the colon.

In this URL, the 'dev' part means you get instant notifications of new submissions (intersection of your topics of interest and the 'Developing' category). You can create a similar page for User:Blood_Red_Sandman/wab/pub/email and it will only deliver freshly published articles on the specified topics. The topics are specified using an un-numbered list at the top of the page. The software will only track such pages after they are agged to the tracking category.

Please see that I have not added 'science' or 'anything' categories. Category:Science does not exist.

At the moment I am checking for new pages every 10 minutes. The notifications are not instant, although I guess this is better than not having any.

Please let me know if there are any questions. This is the first day of this software running and it may have bugs, and knowing them is really important at this stage. Again thank you for signing up! :)

--Gryllida (talk) 09:54, 18 February 2019 (UTC)

Correction: 'anything' topic can be specified by adding a '* Developing' line (overlap of 'Developing' with 'Developing' comes out with the full list, this works really well). I added this to your page, but you still will need to make the edit which I described above in paragraph three above.

Correction #2: if there are any problems with the content of the messages, not only you can ping me on-wiki, but also you can simply reply to these messages. This is delivered to my personal inbox.

--Gryllida (talk) 10:23, 18 February 2019 (UTC)

Actually, I asked for talkpage notifications. I'm impressed and intrigued by the level of automation you're going for here, but I wonder if you're going to lose the specific details of what people are, or are not, interested in. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 19:50, 18 February 2019 (UTC)

Oh for some reason it was in my memory as a strong preference for email. Sorry! I'll update you on the progress of talk page notifications in several days. Gryllida (talk) 22:54, 18 February 2019 (UTC)

I've implemented wiki page delivery in the codes and moved User:Blood Red Sandman/wab/dev/email to User:Blood Red Sandman/wab/dev/wiki, someone needs to edit the last line for it to begin working.

The example of it working is at User_talk:Gryllida#Wikinews_about_Crime_and_law, there is one known issue, it may send the same news article repeatedly for different topics as it delivers them separately, I think this is the next high priority to do the delivery in one message ('foo' (UK), 'bar' (disasters and accidents) in one message indicating topics for each, not in separate messages) Let me know if you find any other issues. Gryllida (talk) 03:36, 19 February 2019 (UTC)

The duplication because of one page in multiple categories of your interest has been fixed, example is in the last section on my talk. Gryllida (talk) 10:37, 19 February 2019 (UTC)

Constitutions

I'm trying to set up a framework for constitution categories; I'd been thinking of setting up a cat for the US one, and quickly found there are a slew of different constitutions with some coverage in our archives, and the US probably isn't the most mentioned. We've been thinking about some sort of way to handle large groupings of categories many of which may be individually very small; well, this is a case in point. For now, I've set up a catch-all category for articles about constitutions that don't yet have their own category, which allows me to move forward, but this could be a great opportunity to try out... something. I'd got the impression you were thinking of a possible approach, recently. Thoughts? --Pi zero (talk) 14:43, 26 February 2019 (UTC)

I am indeed, although it's more a related approach than one applicable here. One of these days I'll get an example up and running which will show where I'm going here; a way to populate regional categories easily without the region being named in the article or any sources used. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 22:00, 27 February 2019 (UTC)

De-escalation and dispute resolution

I could use some tips on procedure. A few days ago I requested dispute resolution but the template is so old that I don't think anyone uses it any more. Tried to start a guideline thread to address the underlying issue, but it's in the process of being sabotaged. Any tips on how to de-escalate this situation? What do we use for formal dispute resolution, these days? Darkfrog24 (talk) 12:35, 3 March 2019 (UTC)

Relevant links (the first has also been linked from WN:DISPUTE):

• Talk:Mummified 'Crusader' found decapitated in Dublin church vault
• Talk:Singing mice show scientists key to conversation#Time to ask for help
• Wikinews talk:Style guide#Disputes about use of present tense could be avoided by updating this guide

--Pi zero (talk) 13:51, 3 March 2019 (UTC)

Please review

Hi Blood Red Sandman

Please review:

Current review queue as of 22:51, 18 April 2019 (UTC):

• 18 April 2019: Donation drive raises over US$1 million to rebuild Louisiana churches after Notre Dame de Paris also catches fire
• 17 April 2019: Sudanese protesters protect defense ministry sit-in
• 17 April 2019: Officials find fire alarm sounded 23 minutes before the fire was reported in Notre Dame, Paris
• 7 April 2019: Students compete in world's second Neurosurgery Olympiad in Tyumen, Russia

For inspiration here is kefir bread and kefir drink:

Happy holidays!!!

--Gryllida (talk) 22:51, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

New RfA - acagastya - LINK

Hi Blood Red Sandman

Please consider commenting.

I pinged you previously, but there was no response. This may be the last notification before the vote is closed.

Also, merry Christmas!

--Gryllida (talk) 19:46, 25 December 2019 (UTC)

privilege expiry applied

Busy elsewhere? We understand, but this is a notice of privilege expiry!

Note! Your privileges on English Wikinews have been reduced.

Under the Privilege expiry policy (enacted October 13, 2012) the rights held by your user account have been reduced due to inactivity, or lack of privilege use. You can view your user rights log here.

Point 4 of the Privilege expiry policy provides for fast-tracking reacquisition of privileges. We all understand that real-life commitments can severely curtail the level of commitment you can give to Wikinews; the privilege reduction is in no way intended as a reflection on your past work, or to imply you are unwelcome. The aim in curtailing privileges is to address security risks, and concern that a long period of inactivity means you may not be up-to-date with current policy and practices.

Bureaucrat access was removed for inactivity. * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 01:48, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

Questions

Hi, BRS. If you come by IRC, could you please ping me? I have added the questions -- could you just go through them once, checking if everything is all right and if something I ought to ask?
•–• 07:23, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

Oh, and I have also nominated you for b'crat -- would you please accept it? Here is the link
•–• 07:25, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

I'll come on shortly, if it's not too late. :) BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 11:04, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

You can suggest anything until 1415 your time -- after which I would be passively monitoring the RC and IRC.
•–• 11:16, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

Re that story

Hi, BRS. I made a few phone calls. With new information, there is a different approach we would have to use. When can I expect you on IRC?
•–• 10:27, 5 June 2020 (UTC)

Probably not til tomorrow, I'm afraid BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 16:19, 5 June 2020 (UTC)

Positive update. Hopefully will discuss on the IRC.
•–• 10:21, 7 June 2020 (UTC)

Are you joining IRC later tonight, BRS? Or should I tell pi and share the IRC log via email later?
•–• 17:53, 7 June 2020 (UTC)

Nicely timed, not long home :) I'd say the second one. I might be on, might not; I've got a shift tomorrow. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 18:10, 7 June 2020 (UTC)

Won't be long, but I was hoping for a real-time discussion rather than just sync up. Just had a thought. Veterans might have had ages ago (I certainly had this idea years ago). I am waiting for pi, right now. Let's wait for some time.
•–• 18:12, 7 June 2020 (UTC)

┌─────────────────────────────────┘
I have emailed it to you.
•–• 21:36, 7 June 2020 (UTC)

New Cats

Hi, BRS. I see you have been creating new categories. (And by the number of edits that you make, I am sure as hell I will lose the track of it.). Unfortunately, we will lose track of it until someone comes along, notices it isn't using {{topic cat}}, and would have to add it. I understand it is tedious; I honestly don't like doing the repetitive tasks of topic cat; but it needs to be done. If we create categories at a slower pace, but do all the things the page should have; that would be really great. That is my understanding; unlike Wikipedia, Wikinews doesn't go with "someone will fix it in future". Would you be able to add topic cats, iwls and other necessary elements on the category pages please?
•–• 19:36, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

I have, traditionally, usually added {{topic cat}} in batches of around a dozen. This produces better results, needing fewer tweaks. Virtually all the ones get some form of modification by PiZ. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 19:55, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

Um, maybe since I use a code editor for editing wiki, I think it doesn't take much time. That is one of the advice I have shared with the programmers on-wiki, but I don't know they are implementing. Just be sure you don't forget adding them soon.
•–• 20:00, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

Most of the cats in the list on WN:S needs {{topic cat}}. Maybe if you, me and pi did just three each day, that would mean we can finish that in two months.
•–• 11:29, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

I saw you working on that. With two massive, and worthy, OR efforts in the review queue, this seems like a solid project for me. I shall hopefully make a start tonight. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 11:30, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

┌─────────────────────────────────┘
Okay. Thank you. Just two things I would like to say: when a category is completed, please remove it from that list. Second, please indent the {{topic cat}} like how it is in Lionel Messi. I will hope to target three/day average so in two months, this is over.
•–• 12:17, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

If you wish to add whitespace for aesthetic reasons, visible only when editing, you may do so, but I shall not. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 19:30, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

It is not for aesthetics. It is for better readability of a complex template. We sometimes mess up with big templates, this will make it easier for maintenance. Like for the same reason we have |key= on new lines.
•–• 19:51, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

I'm struggling with the concept of non-aesthetic readability. In any event, I'm not stopping you adding blankspace, but if you want me to use the template, I will not be doing it. It's already piped and, unusually, normally features linebreaks. Adding blankspace, for me, merely serves to add complexity to the already laborious task of filling these out correctly (as already mentioned, almost every one I have ever done is subsequently tweaked, and I leave them unsighted to encourage this). BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 21:49, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Help needed

Hi BRS. (Also pinging the usual gang @Green Giant, Gryllida, Pi zero, SVTCobra:, hello to you all, too). I should let the community know, I am preparing for an exam that is roughly 200 days from now.  I would say, it really affects my future. My activity on-wiki will be significantly reduced until February -- I will be doing the basic admin bits, and some semi-automated tasks. (Yes, I know ArbCom is coming -- and I will perform my duties without giving anyone any reason to complaint.) This is most likely my last week on-wiki, this year, where I will be writing news articles. I will be checking my emails once each day -- (I have dedicated some time for on-wiki work -- but only for the mop and the bucket for enwn, and other cleanup activities for commons). Well, this was the part I should inform the community.

I am hoping you all might help create a "Wikinews 2020: An 'Original reporting' year in review", similar to BRS's Wikinews 2014: An 'Original reporting' year in review. Over the years, pi didn't like the idea for synthesis articles, but had a special affinity for this OR compilation's overview. By my count, we will have at least 9 interviews for that (heck, we can also call it: An "Interview" year in review). We are most likely to get more ORs -- as @William S. Saturn: will be doing the wonderful US Presidential election monthly compilations too. Could you all please do that? (I will be honest and open here). In my five years on-wiki, I always wanted to write a year-overview, and we never had enough ORs for that. I am not going to pretend I have worked nearly as hard as any of you. Maybe 9 interviews might not cut it, and maybe I need to have much better interviews next year, but could you all please try to do that?  I know I am asking a lot here. And I appreciate your time going through my request. Kind regards,
•–• 07:02, 9 July 2020 (UTC)

Noted. I'd like to get some science interviews done too. I reckon we'll have sufficient this year. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 12:52, 9 July 2020 (UTC)

That would be wonderful! Thanks, BRS!
•–• 13:54, 9 July 2020 (UTC)

ArbCom nomination?

Would you be willing to stand for ArbCom this year? Nominations are open. I'd be happy to nominate you if you don't wish to nominate yourself. To be clear, five of the six current Arbs, including me, have already been nominated, and we'll likely hear back from the sixth; so it's likely that if, you stand, we'll have a contest, and somebody won't get on — which is not, after all, a tragedy if we've got a strong set of nominees. --Pi zero (talk) 14:20, 9 July 2020 (UTC)

I'm willing to stand, and won't be at all upset if not ultimately selected. :) Feel free to nominate. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 23:17, 9 July 2020 (UTC)

Congratulations, BRS. You have been elected to be a part of this season's ArbCom member! The new term starts on August 4.
•–• 23:16, 30 July 2020 (UTC)

Email

I sent you one. --Pi zero (talk) 16:28, 30 July 2020 (UTC)

Noted. I shall look soon. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 16:41, 30 July 2020 (UTC)

@Pi zero: replied BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 17:31, 30 July 2020 (UTC)

email

Do you have a non-wikinewsie.org email address? There's a problem with wikinewsie.org, but the only email address I have for you (that I can readily find atm) is the wikinewsie.org one. --Pi zero (talk) 02:38, 8 August 2020 (UTC)

I'm afraid I do not. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 18:28, 8 August 2020 (UTC)

Well, wikinewsie.org appears to have gone up in a puff of smoke, and so far we haven't been able to find a way to pay the outstanding bill to restore it. If you have any idea how to get control of it so we can pay them to turn it back on, now would be a good time. --Pi zero (talk) 22:52, 9 August 2020 (UTC)

(It's been pointed out to me that I'm oversimplifying a bit. Apparently the domain is reserved until about next July 4, but the host, with all the data on the site, has suspended service wanting to be paid. And we're still trying things to convince them to accept payment from one of us, on grounds that brianmc is currently unavailable.) --Pi zero (talk) 23:07, 9 August 2020 (UTC)

@Amgine: for any thoughts you may have. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 21:17, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

@BRS: We briefly have wikinewsie.org back. Now is the time to back up your mail, and generally do whatever you need to do to prepare for losing your wikinewsie.org email again in a little while (best assume it's only to the end of the month). The host is only accepting payment from someone else for a single month. --Pi zero (talk) 15:27, 17 August 2020 (UTC)

I suggest using Thunderbird to login, from where it should be easy to take a backup.
2401:4900:4BBF:BAE8:A117:127D:6DD1:9AAC (talk) 15:35, 17 August 2020 (UTC)

@BRS: Apparently I foolishly changed the e-mail for my account. I can happily pay for this hosting service and domain, if it is possible to usurp the account. My thoughts on the subject: you should set up an informal ngo/social organization which can own the accounts for the domain & hosting (it does *not* need to be government-registered.) You should also have someone able and willing to manage whatever software you choose to use. If you dogfood, make sure they are current with media wiki hosting issues. - Amgine.not.logged.in

We are currently running the mail server and other tools on wn-reporters.org
•–• 05:03, 16 February 2021 (UTC)

Ping

Whenever you read this, please contact us on irc. --Pi zero (talk) 04:36, 16 February 2021 (UTC)

You.....

....around these days??--Bddpaux (talk) 19:13, 18 June 2021 (UTC)

failed review. Where can I read why?

You reviewed and discarded my article Two Israelis injured while Israeli rocket prevention system succeeds. Where can I read why?

Thanks! Moshe aka Pashute Pashute (talk) 11:16, 24 June 2021 (UTC)

You..........

....still around??--Bddpaux (talk) 15:44, 16 July 2021 (UTC)

I really want to vote re: your nomination for 'Crat, but I just want to make certain you are still involved here first. --Bddpaux (talk) 14:44, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

How we will see unregistered users

Hi!

You get this message because you are an admin on a Wikimedia wiki.

When someone edits a Wikimedia wiki without being logged in today, we show their IP address. As you may already know, we will not be able to do this in the future. This is a decision by the Wikimedia Foundation Legal department, because norms and regulations for privacy online have changed.

Instead of the IP we will show a masked identity. You as an admin will still be able to access the IP. There will also be a new user right for those who need to see the full IPs of unregistered users to fight vandalism, harassment and spam without being admins. Patrollers will also see part of the IP even without this user right. We are also working on better tools to help.

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We have two suggested ways this identity could work. We would appreciate your feedback on which way you think would work best for you and your wiki, now and in the future. You can let us know on the talk page. You can write in your language. The suggestions were posted in October and we will decide after 17 January.

Thank you. /Johan (WMF)

18:14, 4 January 2022 (UTC)

Temporary change to article length

Hello. As a reviewer, this note is just to let you know we are implementing a trial from February 1 to April 30 to encourage more articles to be published per the outcome of a current proposal. The minimum requirements for article length will be one paragraph of at least a hundred words. At the end of the trial the requirements will return to normal (3 paragraphs etc) and there will be an evaluation discussion about the trial. Happy reviewing! [₂₄Cr][talk] 23:17, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

Temporary change to freshness

Hello. As a reviewer, this note is just to let you know we are implementing a trial from July 4 to October 4 to enable more articles to be reviewed per the outcome of a current proposal. The freshness window is being extended to about five to seven days. At the end of the trial the window will continue to be at 5-7 days while we discuss whether to adopt the change permanently or not. Happy reviewing! [₂₄Cr][talk] 17:38, 4 July 2022 (UTC)

Request to de-sysop you

As I see, your last edit was August 2020, and your last log was July 2020. I made a request to de-sysop you at Wikinews:Requests for permissions/Removal/Blood Red Sandman. George Ho (talk) 07:58, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

As a double-check, are you still around?--Bddpaux (talk) 14:48, 6 December 2022 (UTC)

Last call, say something if you're still around.--Bddpaux (talk) 22:38, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

Your (in)activity as a reviewer

Hello again. As I see, your last review log was July 2020, at least three years ago. Per WN:PEP, your lack of reviewer activity for two or more years would lead you to loss of your reviewer permission rights. Of course, you could've used the Easy Peer Review tool, whose actions aren't recorded in the Review log, within the past two years. If you also haven't used the gadget tool within the time frame, then a request that you no longer be a reviewer may more likely be possible. George Ho (talk) 11:26, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

Hello again. This is your second notice about your reviewer tools. As I see, since the last notice, I've not yet seen your review log lately. I may likely soon start a request at WN:FR/RFP to have your tools taken away, despite the Easy Peer Review tool. --George Ho (talk) 09:23, 13 August 2023 (UTC)

Removal of your reviewer tools requested

I have requested the removal of your reviewer tools. Your input there is welcome. George Ho (talk) 16:14, 8 September 2023 (UTC)

Sorry but the request has had to be closed after eight months. The reviewer permission has been removed. I hope you are doing well and you will return soon. [₂₄Cr][talk] 17:26, 31 May 2024 (UTC)

social media (cross-posted to all members of reviewer group)

Hi, Wikinews:Water_cooler/miscellaneous#social_media_for_reviewers_and_authors_and_developers may be of interest to you as a reviewer, thanks and regards, Gryllida (talk) 05:53, 12 December 2023 (UTC)