Wikimedia Forum/Archives/2024-02

Is it possible to have different usernames on different sites with the same global account?

I have been automatically banned from ar.wikipedia.org for “اسم مستخدم غير مقبول” (unacceptable username). Can I select a different username on ar.wikipedia.org? If I can, can I do this from outside ar.wikipedia.org itself (I don’t speak Arabic)? Theanswertolifetheuniverseandeverything (talk) 21:17, 11 February 2024 (UTC)

No. You can make multiple global accounts though (ensure you follow all project rules about how to use multiple accounts). — xaosflux ^Talk 21:21, 11 February 2024 (UTC)

This section was archived on a request by: — xaosflux ^Talk 13:14, 18 February 2024 (UTC)

Announcing the 2024 Ombuds Commission

Hello, everyone! I'm writing with information about the Ombuds Commission (OC), the small group of volunteers who investigate complaints about violations of the privacy policy, and in particular concerning the use of CheckUser and Oversight tools, on any Wikimedia project for the Board of Trustees. I apologize for the length of the announcement. :)

The application period for new commissioners for 2024-26 recently closed. The Wikimedia Foundation is extremely grateful to the many experienced and insightful volunteers who offered to assist with this work.

This year’s OC will consist of thirteen members and one Steward-Observer. We are experimenting this year with expanding the committee's "regular" member headcount and leaving vacant the "advisor" positions, which historically have basically functioned as alternates in case of committee member attrition.

I am pleased to announce the composition of the 2024 OC:

Ombuds Commission members

だ＊ぜ

<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=%E3%81%A0%EF%BC%8A%E3%81%9C>

だ＊ぜ, who also may be referred to as Dasze, has been contributing to Wikimedia since 2015. He's primarily active on Chinese Wikimedia projects, where he later served as a director of Wikimedia Community User Group Hong Kong from 2019 to 2023 while users in Hong Kong were suffering various affection in and out of Wikimedia projects. His expertise is international law, human rights law, and statistical and quantitative analysis thereon. He speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, English and some Japanese. This is Dasze's first year on the Ombuds Commission and he has been appointed for a 2-year term.

AGK <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=AGK>

AGK has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2008. He is primarily active on English Wikipedia, where he has been an administrator, Checkuser, and Oversighter and has served as an Arbitrator. AGK served on the Ombuds Commission in 2020 and 2021 and again in 2023. AGK's term on the Ombuds Commission expires in 2026.

Ameisenigel

<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Ameisenigel>

Ameisenigel has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2015. He is primarily active on German Wikipedia, where he served as an Arbitrator from 2020 to 2022, and on Wikidata and is an administrator on both projects. He is also active as a translation admin in several projects. Ameisenigel speaks German and English. He has been on the Ombuds Commission since 2021 and his current term expires in 2026.

Bennylin <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Bennylin>

Bennylin has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2004. He's primarily active on Indonesian and Javanese Wikiprojects, where he's sysop in 6 of them, Checkuser in Indonesian Wikipedia, bureaucrat in Indonesian Wiktionary, and also active in Commons, Meta, Wikidata, and MediaWiki. He has previously served as a global Steward. He speaks Indonesian, English, Javanese, Chinese and some Spanish. Bennylin has been on the Ombuds Commission since 2023 and his term expires in 2025.

Daniuu <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Daniuu>

Daniuu has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2019. They are primarily active on Dutch Wikipedia, where they are a sysop and have been a member of the Arbitration Committee. They are also a global sysop and focus on counter-vandalism work. Daniuu speaks Dutch and English. Daniuu has been on the Ombuds Commission since 2023 and their term expires in 2025.

Doǵu

<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Do%C7%B5u>

Doğu Abaris (Doǵu) has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2012. He is primarily active on Turkish Wikipedia, where he has served as an administrator, interface administrator, and oversighter. Additionally, he is a volunteer MediaWiki developer and is currently working on the Auditor MediaWiki extension. He is studying software and data engineering at Singidunum University in Belgrade. His term on OC runs through 2026.

Emufarmers

<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Emufarmers>

Emufarmers has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2005. He is a Metapedian who primarily edits the English Wikipedia; he is also a bureaucrat and sysop on MediaWiki.org, and has provided software support to many third-party, non-Wikimedia wikis over the years. He has served as a VRTS administrator since 2015 and has been on the Elections Committee since 2023. He served on the Ombuds Commission from 2019-2021 and again in 2023. His current term expires in 2026.

Faendalimas

<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Faendalimas>

Scott Thomson, user:Faendalimas, has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2006. Originally Australian though based in Brazil, he is a taxonomist and evolutionary biologist with a background in International Wildlife Policy, his main editing interest is reptiles and amphibians. He is most active on WikiSpecies, where he is a bureaucrat, Checkuser, and administrator. Faendalimas speaks Portuguese and English. He has served on the Ombuds Commission since 2021 and as Chair from 2022 to 2023, and has been appointed for a two-year term this year.

MdsShakil <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=MdsShakil>

MdsShakil has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2019. He is active on Bengali Wikipedia, Bengali Wikibooks, Wikidata, and Commons. He is an administrator on Bengali Wikipedia and Bengali Wikibooks and serves as a global renamer, global rollbacker, and global sysop. He speaks Bengali and English. MdsShakil has been on the Ombuds Commission since 2023, and his term expires in 2025.

Minorax <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Minorax>

Minorax has been active on Wikimedia projects since 2019. They are a Metapedian who is active on a large number of projects, including Commons, where they have over 400,000 edits, English Wikipedia, and Meta, where they are a Checkuser. They are also a global sysop. Minorax speaks English and Chinese. Minorax has been on the Ombuds Commission since 2023 and their term expires in 2025.

Nehaoua

<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Nehaoua>

Nehaoua holds a master's degree in Highway and Bridge Engineering and currently works as a Civil Engineer. However, his true passion lies with knowledge and its free access for all. Since 2009, Nehaoua has been an active Wikimedian, contributing significantly across various projects like French and Arabic Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikisource, and Wiktionary. Nehaoua is fluent in Arabic and French, and is actively improving his English language skills. Nehaoua's term on OC expires in 2026.

Renvoy

<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Renvoy>

Renvoy has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2014. He is primarily active on Ukrainian Wikipedia, where he serves as administrator. Also he holds roles of global sysop and global rollbacker. Renvoy speaks Ukrainian, Russian, English, Polish and Lithuanian. His current term runs through 2026.

RoySmith

<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=RoySmith>

Roy Smith has been editing Wikipedia since 2004. He has been an admin on English Wikipedia since 2005 and a checkuser since 2021. Previously an active sockpuppet hunter, as of late 2023, he has dialed that back to concentrate more on content creation. He is looking forward to working on the Ombuds Commission and meeting new colleagues from other wiki projects. His term on OC runs through 2026.

Steward-Observer

The Steward-Observer serves as a liaison between the Ombuds Commission and the Stewards. The Steward-Observer is a non-voting, advisory role. The Steward-Observer was nominated by the Stewards and is appointed by the Wikimedia Foundation to a one-year term. This year's Steward-Observer is…

Vermont <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Vermont>

Vermont (they/them) has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2016. They have been a steward since February 2022, and previously a global sysop and rollbacker. Vermont is an administrator and checkuser on Meta-Wiki and the Simple English Wikipedia, and formerly volunteered on the UCoC Phase 2 and Revisions drafting committees. They served as Steward-Observer for the Ombuds Commission in 2023-24 as well. Vermont's term as Steward-Observer expires in 2025.

Departing members

Please join me in thanking the following volunteers who are leaving OC, who have given substantially of their time to serve the commission:

JJMC89 <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=JJMC89>

JJMC89 has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2015. He is primarily active on the English Wikipedia, where he has more than 300,000 edits and is an administrator and bot operator, and Commons. He also serves as a tool administrator on UTRS. He speaks English. He has been on the Ombuds Commission since 2021.

Kbrown (WMF) (talk) 09:16, 1 February 2024 (UTC)

Floating or sidebar toolbar for Wikisource proofreading

This is a user comfort question. I am searching for a solution to access the advanced elements of the fixed toolbar. For those who don't edit is WS, this means that scrolling down the long textarea hides the toolbar. I looked at Help:User style/floating quickbar, but haven't tried it because I need an opinion if it's usable in the current environment.—Ineuw (talk) 12:53, 1 February 2024 (UTC)

WikiLiterature

I recently thought of a wiki which I name WikiLiterature. It is similar to Wikisource, but literary works here are community-driven. See the article for more information. FreedomWarWiki (talk) 14:24, 4 February 2024 (UTC)

Announcing the results of the UCoC Coordinating Committee Charter ratification vote

You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki. Please help translate to your language

Dear all,

Thank you everyone for following the progress of the Universal Code of Conduct. I am writing to you today to announce the outcome of the ratification vote on the Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee Charter. 1746 contributors voted in this ratification vote with 1249 voters supporting the Charter and 420 voters not. The ratification vote process allowed for voters to provide comments about the Charter.

A report of voting statistics and a summary of voter comments will be published on Meta-wiki in the coming weeks.

Please look forward to hearing about the next steps soon.

On behalf of the UCoC Project team,

RamzyM (WMF) 18:23, 12 February 2024 (UTC)

Text alignment

Hello, all Wikimedia projects now have the text aligned to the left (except Arabic and Hebrew I guess). It looks absolutely horrendous, especially on mobile browsers. Please put it back to justified. NaBUru38 (talk) 13:51, 16 February 2024 (UTC)

Declined tasks on phabricator

Hello. I could not found a help desk on phabricator so i'm writing in here. If a phabricator task is closed as declined, but i found the given reason to decline was wrong or no reason was given, and i want to re-open the task with proving the decline reason is wrong, what i can do? Must i change the status with giving the reason, or start a new task with the same topic? RuzDD (talk) 23:43, 21 February 2024 (UTC)

@RuzDD you certainly would not open a new identical task. First you should review mw:Phabricator etiquette and mw:Bug management/Bug report life cycle. Depending on what the task is about, it certainly will be a stronger case if you are going to claim it and write a patch. — xaosflux ^Talk 00:32, 22 February 2024 (UTC)

Okay, thanks for links, i will read these @Xaosflux. If you need to know, the task that caused me to ask this is T28269. By the way, why i can't see who was closed the task? RuzDD (talk) 00:48, 22 February 2024 (UTC)

@Xaosflux I read them but i have some doubts. Is writing some code that will help to fixing the task a valid reason to increase priority to High? And, should i do something else with reopening the task after proving the reason to decline is wrong? RuzDD (talk) 01:03, 22 February 2024 (UTC)

@RuzDD that task is so old that it was imported as a reference from Bugzilla bz26269. A good place to discuss this concept would be commons:Commons:Village pump/Proposals, gain community support for the task first. — xaosflux ^Talk 10:04, 22 February 2024 (UTC)

That's a good idea, thanks. RuzDD (talk) 22:30, 22 February 2024 (UTC)

Convenience link: phab:T28269. Commander Keane (talk) 01:47, 28 February 2024 (UTC)

Editor page shows function of markup on hover

Current hover context displays something like 'click to insert this markup' but does not describe the action the markup provides. This makes it extremely opaque to new contributors and reduces the baseline article quality. JohlBrownTFYQAbiz (talk) 16:38, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

Universal versions of existing wikimedia projects

Hello, I'm utterly frustrated about language barriers in internet and fell to account that Wikimedia projects, besides being multilingual, replicates this phenomena by branching for language barns, dividing efforts between different versions.

I've seen this possiblity as I installed a translator in my browser and started reading wikipedia in languages I don't speak, so why can't there be an Universal version of each project where everybody can read and edit in their mother language in the same version of the project by means of machine translation. It may have some limitations because of this last but it would be plausible.

I propose a model where each editor inputs his text by means of some language tag, so the rest of the code in foreign languages gets auto translated, so it's possible to edit something writting in foreign by changing language the language tag. For example: Stored code: [[it: Uno exemplo e uno caso particulare]}{{la: quia functionem, cassus generalis ad demonstrando est}}{{es: lo que permite inferir la generalidad a partir de lo particular.}}Template:En It's very useful to figure out things being complex by reducing it to a particular case{{pt:Sao multos os exemplos do exemplos que podem se dar}} What an english reader Sees: An example is a particular case that serves to demonstrate... What an english speaker must do to edit: An example{{en:, examplification, clarification is a figurative notion or}} particular case that serves to demonstrate... The resulting code: [[it: Uno exemplo {{en:, examplification, clarification is a figurative notion or}}{{it: caso particulare}}{{la: quia functionem, cassus generalis ad demonstrando est}}{{es: lo que permite inferir la generalidad a partir de lo particular.}}Template:En It's very useful to figure out things being complex by reducing it to a particular case{{pt:Sao multos os exemplos do exemplos que podem se dar}} Again what the final reader sees: An example, examplification, clarification is a figurative notion or particular case that serves to demonstrate...

Sometimes they would result some inconsistencies by means of back and forth autotranslation and false friends, but that may be just a feature of the Universal version. One case that's totally plausible to do is Wiktionary which has no needs of versification and the only main page simily advantage or difference between vesrion is language name in section and definition of word in version language, which can be super easy integrated ( adding D., T. to each section). Yet software would be needed at wiktionary for community discussion. Diosverde (talk) 17:08, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

w:Abstract Wikipedia may be of interest. Commander Keane (talk) 01:51, 28 February 2024 (UTC)

The Old Wiki Loves Monuments App

Hello, I was wondering if anyone who'd worked on the deprecated Wiki Loves Monuments app would be willing to talk about their experience developing it, and why it became deprecated? I'm trying to make an app that does the same thing for my final year university project, and it would be super helpful to find out more about challenges/insights that arose from it. Daytrick (talk) 15:38, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

I am not sure the old devs will be watching this page, maybe reach out to them individually. Eg User:Siebrand. Good luck with your project. Commander Keane (talk) 02:04, 28 February 2024 (UTC)

Ah neato thank you! I've started reaching out to them individually :) Daytrick (talk) 14:49, 2 March 2024 (UTC)