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20 March 2023

 

2023-03-20

Wikimania submissions deadline looms, Russian government after our lucky charms, AI woes nix CNET from RS slate

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By Andreas Kolbe, Bri and robertsky

Wikimania 2023 will be held on 16–19 August 2023 in Singapore. If you'd like to host a session, hands-on workshop, discussion, performance, lightning talk ... the Wikimania wiki will accept program submissions until 28 March 2023, 23:59 AoE. The conference will have a hybrid format, so speakers can submit proposals for in-person or virtual sessions.

Wikimania Singapore lettering
Wikimania Singapore currently accepts program submissions. The conference will be a hybrid event, so both in-person and virtual sessions can be proposed. The deadline for submissions is 28 March 2023, 23:59 AoE.

There are 11 tracks to submit your proposal to:

  • Community Initiatives
  • Education
  • Equity, Inclusion, and Community Health
  • ESEAP (East, South East Asia, and the Pacific) Region
  • GLAM, Heritage, and Culture
  • Governance
  • Legal, Advocacy, and Risks
  • Open Data
  • Research, Science, and Medicine
  • Technology
  • Wild Ideas


Click here to submit a Wikimania program proposal


For further information about Wikimania 2023 and the submissions process see:

Community submissions to date can be viewed here. – AK, r

Court date in Russia

The Wikimedia Foundation will have another court date in Russia on 6 April. The Russian authorities complain that the Wikimedia Foundation has failed to remove misleading information about Russian military operations in Ukraine from Wikipedia. The Signpost has reported on many previous instances of similar interactions with state actors over the years, with the Russian government taking a harsher stance recently.

CNET deemed unreliable due to AI use

CNET lettering

The technology website CNET was recently found by consensus to be no longer a reliable source for material published since November 2022, in part due to its publishing content created with some sort of "AI" (presumably a large language model) beginning circa that date. Consensus was not reached for reliability between October 2020, when the outlet was purchased by a new owner and editorial standards changed, and November 2022.

The website was founded in 1994 and described by The Verge as "once a high-flying powerhouse of tech reporting". According to The Verge, the content came from some thing called "Wordsmith", by a company called "Automated Insights" (see, "AI", get it?) and was published without attribution or acknowledgement of the source.

According to Signpost research, CNET is used as a source in as many as 10,000 articles or more, including Apple Inc., Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and Wikipedia. It is not known at this time how many of these are using CNET articles from after its expiration date.

In January, CNET published a new policy saying they had "changed the byline for articles compiled with the AI engine ... clearly say[ing] the story was created in part with our AI engine" and "moved the disclosure so you don't need to hover over the byline to see it", dutifully following the Signpost's example of doing this in August of last year.

Is this the beginning of a trend? – B

Brief notes

A photo of the Tabouna Falls [fr] in Kindia, captured as part of a photoshoot conducted by the Wikimedia Community User Group Guinée Conakry. As Voice of America reports, the area is "the type of tropical paradise that draws tourists. But the West African country has few visitors and earns almost all its foreign revenue from mining, which can damage that environment. Now some are working to change that." Then again, tourism is not without impact on the environment either.



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2023-03-20

Three more stories from Ukrainian Wikimedians

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By Anton Protsiuk and Vitalii Petrushko

Recently we marked the first-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainians are continuing to fight back the invasion, and the Ukrainian wiki community keeps on working, despite the challenges like blackouts arising from Russian attacks on civilian energy infrastructure. We've reported for The Signpost before on stories of Ukrainian Wikimedians during the war – serving in the army, volunteering, and just trying to go about their daily lives. Here are three new stories.

Why Anton Senenko spends all his free time volunteering

Anton Senenko, first to the right, at the awards ceremony for the Science Photo Competition in 2019

Anton Senenko is a scientist and prominent Ukrainian science communicator. His main job position is senior research fellow at the Institute of Physics of Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences. In the Wikimedia movement, he is a long-term member of the jury for the Science Photo Competition in Ukraine.

For a year now, Anton spends almost all of his spare time volunteering on the ground. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion in early 2022 he helped evacuate civilians from Irpin and Bucha – towns in Kyiv Oblast that were attacked by the Russians. After the region had been liberated, Anton focused on delivering vehicles for Ukraine's armed forces and humanitarian goods in wartorn east and south of the country. Here's his story.

First month of the all-out war: rescuing people from Irpin and Bucha

When Russian forces openly invaded Ukraine on February 24th of last year, Anton first focused on evacuating his wife and young son from Kyiv to the safer western part of the country. Then he started to consider where he would be most useful.

In Lviv he met Andrii Piven, a volunteer and an old friend, and on February 28th they went back to Kyiv. Anton says that their initial idea was to sign up for Kyiv's territorial defense forces, but it proved almost impossible – there were so many volunteers that the territorial defense unit didn't have enough space for them. So they decided to focus on volunteering on the ground.

In the first few days Anton and Andrii delivered food packages across Kyiv, which was under direct Russian attack at the time, and helped the local territorial defense force. But soon they were invited to join the convoy that was bringing humanitarian aid to Irpin.

They entered the city for the first time on March 3, when shelling was already taking place there – they brought humanitarian assistance, and the convoy took one woman and her child to nearby Kyiv, which was safer. The next time they managed to get to Irpin was on March 5; then the volunteers witnessed a large-scale battle between the Ukrainian defenders and the occupiers – and barely made it back to Kyiv, losing their transport on the way.

Since then, Anton and Andrii went to Irpin or the surrounding villages every day for almost the entire month of March and evacuated people. They developed a routine: the volunteers received and analyzed messages from people who had no contact with their relatives, prepared a route every evening for the next day, and cleared the route with the military and security forces.

Overall, Anton and Andrii evacuated dozens of people in their car on their own and helped several hundred more people leave. Later, together with like-minded people, they brought aid to the northern city of Chernihiv, which was also under attack by the Russians.

Before the full-scale invasion Anton had been a popular blogger on Facebook and had some 30,000 followers, writing mostly about science. It was extremely helpful in the first weeks of the all-out war. When Anton and Andrii lost their car on March 5 during a trip to Irpin, just one Facebook post helped find several replacement cars in a matter of hours.

Volunteering as a second job

A building in Irpin damaged as a result of the Russian invasion

When the Ukrainian army liberated Ukraine's north in the spring of 2022, and life in the capital more or less normalized, Anton changed his focus to regular trips to the east and south: Kharkiv, Donetsk Oblast, Zaporizhzhia, and recently also Kherson Oblast.

During working hours, from Monday to Friday, Anton works at the National Academy of Sciences, but he devotes almost all evenings and weekends to volunteer work. He is part of the "Gurkit" charitable foundation, created last year. Every Saturday early in the morning, Anton leaves Kyiv by car or bus, which his foundation sends to the east or south, and returns on Sunday.

Since June, they have transferred over 40 cars to the front (including only those cars that have gone through a "full cycle": volunteers found them, repaired and equipped them, and then transferred to the front) and helped transport another 20 cars.

The charitable foundation also helps with drones, thermal imagers and other optics equipment, as well as other equipment such as generators. They focus on helping the military, but they also help civilians; tens of tons of humanitarian goods were transported thanks to their efforts.

What motivates Anton

Anton recalls that the most difficult part of his volunteer work is to realize the terrible reality in Irpin and Bucha in the first weeks of the invasion, and also to forget those people who could not be evacuated from there.

However, there are also many things that motivate him. Most notably, a realization that his work is bringing about Ukraine's victory – and the sooner it comes, the sooner Anton will be able to see his wife and child, who are now abroad. That's why he says that he is absolutely happy to use all his free time for volunteering.

Science and art during the war – the story of Yana Sychikova

Yana Sychikova with her co-author Serhii Kovachov
Micrograph of nanopores in an etced section of porous silicon, obtained using a JEOL scanning microscope, by Yana Sychikova and Serhii Kovachov, that won the first place in the “Microscopy” category of the Science Photo Competition on Wikipedia in 2020

Yana Sychikova is a regular participant of the Science Photo Competition on Wikipedia, vice-rector of Berdiansk State Pedagogical University and author of the project "Nanoart. Science is art" (nanoart.ukraine). With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, she had to leave her city of Berdiansk in southern Ukraine, which now is occupied by Russian troops. Here is her first-hand account:

On February 23, 2022, I worked late. Many important things were planned for the next day. I made lists of tasks and wrote down the time for their completion. I was afraid that I would not have time to complete all the planned tasks.
On February 24, Berdiansk, like other cities of Ukraine, woke up to explosions. At 5 a.m. I was sitting in the kitchen and reading the news on my smartphone, which completely changed my life. I had no more important plans. I called my university's rector. "What are we doing today?". He replied: "I will be at the university. Other managers can come at their own discretion. All other employees should stay at home."
We were sitting in his office in silence. Then we began to think about the work of the university. Should they stop studying? What to do with students who live in the dormitory? How to work in general? We did not understand anything. Everyone said that this war would end in three days. We also believed in it.
On February 27, the occupiers entered Berdiansk. The first thing they did was to bring down the flag of Ukraine at our university. It is interesting that they were less interested in the flag on the city administration building – it was removed only a few days later. This shows that any occupying power is primarily focused on destroying the culture, ideology and national identity of the conquered people.
On March 2, Russians with weapons came to the office of the rector of the university. They kidnapped him and offered to head the new Russian Berdiansk University. They received a categorical refusal. From that moment, we realized that it was risky to be in the university building. After that, we met in the city park.
On March 24, the Russian ship Saratov was destroyed in the port of Berdiansk. The student dormitory of our university is located near the port. Occupants broke into the dormitory 20 minutes after the explosion; they interrogated students and beat some of them. They also stole the university's servers, and damaged the building of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, where our “Nanoart Gallery” was located.
For the first three months of the war, I lived in occupied Berdiansk. To be honest, at first I did not understand what to do. Evacuation of the population was not organized, this was impossible under the conditions of occupation. We were not able to save university property or help our colleagues leave. In the first weeks of the occupation, there was no food, medicine, or hygiene products in the city. It was very cold in the houses because gas was not supplied to the city. Russian vehicles were driving everywhere.
After three months of occupation, we were able to evacuate. It was then possible only through filtration in Vasylivka, which is called the "road of death". There, people wait for permission to leave, sometimes up to 10 days, often without food or water. We spent the night at a bombed gas station, we were not allowed to get out of the cars or turn on the lights or the phone. All night from this place, the occupiers shelled the neighboring villages, and we were like a "human shield".
In the morning we went to look for a detour; after several unsuccessful attempts we found the way and arrived in Zaporizhzhia by nightfall. We drove along mined roads, completely burned villages and understood how close this war was. It has been in every cell of the body. The war forever changed the life of every Ukrainian.
During the war, I realized that everyone can contribute to our future victory. So now all my energy is focused on work. There are no weekends, vacations or holidays for us during the war. Every day is another step towards the victory of Ukraine.

The story of Dmytro Ostapchuk – a teacher from occupied Mariupol

Mariupol downtown street destroyed by the Russian siege

Dmytro Ostapchuk (User:ДмитрОст) is an administrator of the Ukrainian Wikipedia from Mariupol, a city in southeastern Ukraine that become the target of the three-month-long siege by Russian invaders almost a year ago. Dmytro is also a teacher of Ukrainian language and literature, philologist and literary editor.

Dmytro was born in Kyiv but spent almost his entire life in Mariupol, which became his hometown. On February 24, he met a full-scale Russian invasion there.

"The first days of the all-out war, when there were no strong explosions yet, people continued to live their lives, go to work", Dmytro Ostapchuk recalls. Everything changed on February 26, when the city lost electricity and mobile connection for the first time.

During the first days of fighting for Mariupol, Dmytro stayed in his apartment with his mother. Later, Dmytro's brother and his family joined them. To do this, they had walked for three hours to the other end of the city under artillery fire.

When, on March 4, a cannonade of Russian BM-21 “Grad” exploded near Dmytro's apartment, he and other residents of the building went down to live in the basement. Up to 80 people lived in this shelter at the same time.

The bomb shelter was quite well adapted, so not only the residents of the building above it lived there, but also people from the neighboring buildings. From 6:00 pm to 6:00 am, the entrance to the basement was closed. One of the shelter's technical rooms was converted into a toilet.

The basement was lit by candles, flashlights and a lamp powered by car batteries. There was no water in the city; Dmytro used to walk for five blocks to a well in one of the city parks near Azovstal.

Dmytro says that soon the city was engulfed in anarchy, and looting of shops and supermarkets began. Some shop owners opened the doors themselves and allowed people to take goods but asked not to smash the windows. First of all, people were looking for food, batteries, flashlights, hand tools etc. No one knew how long the Russian siege of the city would last, so everyone tried to stock up as much as possible: "People understood that if there is no light, no water, no heat, no anything, then it's better to have at least some food".

In early March, when Dmytro was sleeping in his apartment, he was awakened by a loud explosion. The blast wave shattered windows throughout the house, and one of the shells punched a large hole in his apartment. At that time, it was very cold outside, so Dmytro had to cover the hole with an industrial tarpaulin to protect the house from wind and snow. Despite this, the apartment was constantly at sub-zero temperatures.

In the third week of the siege, the cannonade increased significantly, and Mariupol was constantly bombarded by Russian aircraft from the sea. Fires from shelling broke out in the city.

"People quickly packed their valuables and tried to leave the occupation in the direction of Zaporizhzhia," Dmytro recalls. They moved across the front line, and therefore, for security reasons, the Ukrainian military often didn’t allow passage. However, some people were ready to risk their lives just to escape from the besieged city.

Dmytro's mother categorically did not want to leave Mariupol. I was born here, and I will die here, she was saying. Only at the end of May, after seeing the completely destroyed city, did she agree to the evacuation. Meanwhile, Dmitro had to stay in the city. He is a teacher of Ukrainian language and literature, so it was risky to leave the occupied territory through the Russian filtration camps.

Dmitro had to live in occupied Mariupol all summer. There he received a SIM card from a Russian-controlled mobile operator. This is how he was able to maintain contact with the world, in particular with his mother and some members of the wiki community.

The opportunity to leave Mariupol appeared in the first half of September 2022. "On September 11, we left Mariupol, passed the 'filtration' in Manhush, and then went to Berdiansk. The next day we arrived in [Russian-occupied] Vasylivka, where we passed another 'filtration'. So, 20 Russian checkpoints later, we arrived in [Ukrainian-controlled] Zaporizhzhia."

The story of Dmytro's escape from Russian occupation ended successfully – today he lives in Kyiv and even continues to actively contribute to Wikipedia.




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2023-03-20
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By Andreas Kolbe, Adam Cuerden, and Bri
Firms offering Wikipedia editing services – including several who are banned – are looking for customers

We're banned! Hire us!

Startupguys.net has a piece on the "Top 10 Wikipedia Page Creation Services to Look for in 2023" that acknowledges the conflict-of-interest guideline and then goes straight on to recommend hiring a business. It's this kind of stuff that the paid editing policy was created to address ...

Several of the firms recommended by the article (or is it an advertisement?) are fronts for ABTACH Ltd, who are community banned. The fronts are listed at WP:PAIDLIST. – B

In brief

A toaster. Not invented by Alan MacMasters, whatever you may have read on Wikipedia
  • Alan MacMasters hoax: German YouTube channel Simplicissimus features English-language interviews (with German subtitles) of the (former) students responsible for the Alan MacMasters "inventor of the toaster" hoax (see previous Signpost coverage and the archived hoax article). (The video includes a one-minute ad starting at 01:00.)
  • Disinformation event: A press release by the Italian Embassy in Washington, D.C. (Google translation) reports on an event featuring the U.S. State Department's James Rubin as well as the Wikimedia Foundation's Anti-Disinformation Strategy Lead Costanza Sciubba Caniglia. Held at the Embassy on 9 March 2023, the event focused on "Trust, Truth and Influence in the Digital Age". A recording is available on YouTube here.
  • Annie Rauwerda continues to be in demand: This time it's the Mozilla blog's turn to feature an interview with the Depths of Wikipedia creator.
  • Duck Duck Go AI "DuckAssist" summarizes Wiki articles: Tech Crunch (March 7); Ars Technica, Engadget, Search Engine Journal (March 8)
  • Plagiarism from Wikipedia turned into $1M city payout: "Author of plagiarized Santa Clara County book to keep $1M in taxpayer money" (San Jose Mercury News)
  • Birthday complaint: Kangana Ranaut complains that "Wikipedia is totally hijacked by leftists, most of the information about me like my birthday or my height or background is totally wrong … no matter how much we try to rectify it, it's warped again … anyway many radio channels, fans clubs and well-wishers start to send birthday greetings on 20th March … I don't mind but honestly many are confused because Wikipedia says my birthday is on 20th March and I celebrate on 23rd March, my birthday is on 23rd March …" Reported in the Indian Express, Hindustan Times and others.
  • ChatGPT is the Wikipedia of today: Kids used to be told not to use Wikipedia to cheat, muses a CNET article. Now they're told not to use ChatGPT. They didn't listen then and they won't listen now, the writer argues. (Incidentally, much the same goes for CNET itself; see News and notes.)
  • Golfer should feel inspired by his Wiki "Fairway Jesus" photo: Golf Digest muses that the increasing profile of golfer Tommy Fleetwood may "finally be enough for Wikipedia to update the decades-old profile photo of Fleetwood without his trademark Fairway Jesus look", quoting him as saying "It's not a great one, is it? I should get an update whether I win or not, really. We'll work on it". Well, we can get a new one in there any time if you release a new one under any of these free licenses!
  • Aussies on edit-a-thons: abc.net.au covers an edit-a-thon at the National Gallery of Australia.
  • Rancor over gay marriage userboxes: Anti-gay UK charity Christian Institute says that not allowing userboxes that state you're against gay marriage (per a deletion nomination some three years ago) is "censorship of marriage supporters". Elsewhere, their website clarifies their views on the subject, which are that gays should not be allowed to marry, and that all sex outside marriage is wrong.



Do you want to contribute to "In the media" by writing a story or even just an "in brief" item? Edit next week's edition in the Newsroom or leave a tip on the suggestions page.




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2023-03-20

Way too many featured articles

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By Adam Cuerden
This Signpost "Featured content" report covers material promoted from roughly 15 to 28 February. Quotes are generally from the articles, but may be abridged or simplified for length.

As I write this, it's just before St. Patrick's Day, and I'm really hoping we publish soon, because otherwise this is going to get exceedingly long and make all my work to get it ready while feeling ill worthless. There's nineteen featured articles, and that's getting near the limits of readability. On the other hand, have to appreciate all the hard work.

Myself, I've not done that much this fortnight. I'm prone to ear infections, and, well, they've been pretty bad. Hell, due to a lot of personal issues – suffice to say my family has not been doing well – I don't even have my first featured picture of 2023 yet. Looks like my restoration of Li Fu Lee will be done soon, though.

Anyway, have a fair bit to get done, so will leave the introduction here and get to summarising all the articles, because I really don't want this one getting held back, forcing a longer issue.

Nineteen featured articles were promoted this period.

Reverend John C. Young
John C. Young (pastor), nominated by PCN02WPS
John Clarke Young (August 12, 1803 – June 23, 1857) was an American educator and pastor who was the fourth president of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. A graduate of Dickinson College and Princeton Theological Seminary, he entered the ministry in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1828. He accepted the presidency of Centre College in 1830, holding the position until his death in 1857, making him the longest-serving president in the college's history. He is regarded as one of the college's best presidents, as he increased the endowment of the college more than five-fold during his term, and increased graduating class size from two students in his first year to forty-three in his final year. Young is the namesake of several facets of the college today, including Young Hall and the John C. Young Scholars Program. He was the father of William C. Young, who later became Centre's eighth president.
Death of Kevin Gately, nominated by SchroCat
Kevin Gately (18 September 1953 – 15 June 1974) was a student who died as the result of a head injury received in the Red Lion Square disorders in London; it is not known if the injury was caused deliberately or was accidental. He was not a member of any political organisation, and the march at Red Lion Square was his first. He was the first person to die in a public demonstration in Great Britain for at least 55 years. The article's rather unclear on whether he was part of the fascist march or the anti-fascist march, and really shouldn't be.
1920–21 Gillingham F.C. season, nominated by ChrisTheDude
During the 1920–21 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League for the first time. The team had previously played in Division One of the Southern League, but in 1920 the Football League added the Third Division to its existing set-up by absorbing the entire Southern League Division One. The club appointed Robert Brown as manager, but the arrangement turned out to be only a casual one and he accepted another job before the season started. Under his replacement, John McMillan, Gillingham's results were poor, including a spell of over three months without a league victory, and at the end of the season they finished bottom of the league table.
8th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Confederate), nominated by Hog Farm
The 8th Missouri Infantry Regiment, originally called the 7th Missouri Infantry Battalion or Mitchell's Missouri Infantry, was an infantry regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It participated in a Confederate offensive at the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, and made several charges against the Union lines but was repeatedly repulsed by artillery fire. On July 23, 1863, the unit was officially named the 8th Missouri Infantry Regiment. Later that year, it was part of the abortive Confederate defense of Little Rock before retiring to Camp Bragg near Camden. In March 1864, the regiment was sent south into Louisiana to help defend against the Red River campaign. It was part of a failed attack at the Battle of Pleasant Hill on April 9. After the Union troops involved in the Red River campaign retreated, the 8th Missouri Infantry was sent back to Arkansas, where it pursued the retreating Union soldiers led by Major General Frederick Steele. The regiment took part in a failed attack against Steele on April 30 at the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry. For the remainder of 1864 and the first half of 1865, the unit was stationed at several points in Louisiana and Arkansas. The Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department surrendered on June 2, 1865, and the men of the 8th Missouri Infantry Regiment were paroled on June 7, ending the regiment's military service.
Edward I of England, nominated by Unlimitedlead
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307) was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 to 1306, he ruled Gascony as Duke of Aquitaine in his capacity as a vassal of the French king. Edward spent much of his reign reforming royal administration and common law, but the King's attention was increasingly drawn toward military affairs. After suppressing a minor conflict in Wales in 1276–77, Edward responded to a second one in 1282–83 with its conquest. He then established English rule, built castles and towns in the countryside and settled them with English people. After the death of the heir to the Scottish throne, Edward was invited to arbitrate a succession dispute. He claimed feudal suzerainty over Scotland and invaded the country, and the ensuing First Scottish War of Independence continued after his death. Simultaneously, Edward found himself at war with France (a Scottish ally) after King Philip IV confiscated the Duchy of Gascony. The duchy was eventually recovered but the conflict relieved English military pressure against Scotland. By the mid-1290s, extensive military campaigns required high levels of taxation and this met with both lay and ecclesiastical opposition. When the King died in 1307, he left to his son Edward II a war with Scotland and other financial and political burdens. Modern historians are divided in their assessment of Edward; some have praised him for his contribution to the law and administration, but others have criticised his uncompromising attitude towards his nobility. Edward is credited with many accomplishments, including restoring royal authority after the reign of Henry III and establishing Parliament as a permanent institution, which allowed for a functional system for raising taxes and reforming the law through statutes. At the same time, he is also often condemned for his wars against Scotland and for expelling the Jews from England in 1290.
The Longing, nominated by The Night Watch
The Longing is a 2020 point-and-click adventure game created by independent developer Studio Seufz. Set in an underground kingdom, the player controls the Shade, a creature tasked with watching over a sleeping king for 400 days. The Shade performs recreational activities, including reading and exploring, as it waits out the 400 days in real time. The in-game timer continues regardless of the player's actions, but moves faster if the Shade performs certain actions inside its home, such as decorating the walls with drawings. Developer Anselm Pyta conceived of The Longing after hearing the Kyffhäuser legend while visiting the Barbarossa Cave.
Doc Savage (magazine), nominated by Mike Christie
Doc Savage was an American pulp magazine that was published from 1933 to 1949 by Street & Smith. It was launched as a follow-up to the success of The Shadow, a magazine Street & Smith had started in 1931, based around a single character. Doc Savage's lead character, Clark Savage, was a scientist and adventurer, rather than purely a detective. Lester Dent was hired to write the lead novels, almost all of which were published under the house name "Kenneth Robeson". A few dozen novels were ghost-written by other writers, hired either by Dent or by Street & Smith. The magazine was successful, but was shut down in 1949 as part of Street & Smith's decision to leave the pulp magazine field completely.
Logan (novel), nominated by Dugan Murphy
Logan, a Family History is a Gothic novel of historical fiction by American writer John Neal. Published anonymously in Baltimore in 1822, the book is inspired by the true story of Mingo leader Logan the Orator, but weaves a highly fictionalized story of interactions between Anglo-American colonists and Indigenous peoples on the western frontier of colonial Virginia. Set just before the Revolutionary War, it depicts the genocide of Native Americans as the heart of the American story and follows a long cast of characters connected to each other in a complex web of overlapping love interests, family relations, rape, and (sometimes incestuous) sexual activity.
Donkey Kong Land, nominated by TheJoebro64
Donkey Kong Land is a 1995 platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It condenses the side-scrolling gameplay of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) game Donkey Kong Country (1994) for the handheld Game Boy with different level design and boss fights. The player controls the gorilla Donkey Kong and his nephew Diddy Kong as they defeat enemies and collect items across 30 levels to recover their stolen banana hoard from the crocodile King K. Rool.
Sayf al-Dawla, nominated by Cplakidas (a.k.a. Constantine)
ʿAlī ibn ʾAbū'l-Hayjāʾ ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥamdān ibn Ḥamdūn ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Lūqman ibn Rashīd ibn al-Mathnā ibn Rāfīʿ ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Ghatif ibn Miḥrāba ibn Ḥāritha ibn Mālik ibn ʿUbayd ibn ʿAdī ibn ʾUsāma ibn Mālik ibn Bakr ibn Ḥubayb ibn ʿAmr ibn Ghanm ibn Taghlib, more commonly known simply by his honorific of Sayf al-Dawla, was the founder of the Emirate of Aleppo, encompassing most of northern Syria and parts of the western Jazira. The most prominent member of the Hamdanid dynasty, Sayf al-Dawla originally served under his elder brother, Nasir al-Dawla, in the latter's attempts to establish his control over the weak Abbasid government in Baghdad during the early 940s CE. After the failure of these endeavours, the ambitious Sayf al-Dawla turned towards Syria, where he confronted the ambitions of the Ikhshidids of Egypt to control the province. After two wars with them, his authority over northern Syria, centred at Aleppo, and the western Jazira, centred at Mayyafariqin, was recognized by the Ikhshidids and the Abbasid caliph. A series of tribal rebellions plagued Sayf al-Dawla's realm until 955, but he overcame them and maintained the allegiance of the most important of the nomadic Arab Bedouin tribes. Sayf al-Dawla is well known for his role in the Arab–Byzantine wars, facing a resurgent Byzantine Empire that in the early 10th century had begun to advance into the Muslim-controlled territories on its eastern border. In this struggle against a much more numerous and well-resourced enemy, Sayf al-Dawla launched raids deep into Byzantine territory and scored a few successes, for which he was widely celebrated in the Muslim world. The Hamdanid ruler generally held the upper hand until 955. After that, the new Byzantine commander, Nikephoros Phokas, and his lieutenants spearheaded a sustained offensive that broke Hamdanid power. The Byzantines annexed Cilicia, and even occupied Aleppo itself briefly in 962. Sayf al-Dawla's final years were marked by military defeats, his own growing disability as a result of disease, and a decline in his authority that led to revolts by some of his closest lieutenants. He died in early 967, leaving a much weakened realm, which by 969 had lost Antioch and the Syrian littoral to the Byzantines and had become a Byzantine tributary.
Red-throated wryneck, nominated by Jimfbleak
The red-throated wryneck (Jynx ruficollis) is a species of wryneck in the woodpecker family closely related to the Eurasian wryneck. Its three subspecies are resident in much of sub-Saharan Africa in open habitats with some trees. It is a slim, elongated bird about 19 cm (7.5 in) in length, with a small head, fine bill, long fan-shaped tail and cryptic plumage intricately patterned in greys and browns. The sexes look similar, although males are slightly larger. The diet of the adults and young is almost entirely ants at all stages of their life cycles. The call of the red-throated wryneck is a series of repeated harsh, shrill notes. When threatened, a bird will twist its neck and head in a snake-like manner while making a hissing sound, presumably to deter predators.
Frilled lizard, nominated by LittleJerry
The frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii) is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. This species is the only member of the genus Chlamydosaurus. Its common names come from the large frill around its neck, which usually stays folded against the lizard's body. It reaches 90 cm (35 in) from head to tail and can weigh 600 g (1.3 lb). Males are larger and more robust than females. It is generally grey, brown, orangish-brown, or black in colour. The frills have red, orange, yellow or white colours.
Angela Lansbury in 1950
Angela Lansbury, nominated by Midnightblueowl
Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury DBE (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American actress and singer. In a career spanning over seventy years, she played various roles across film, stage, and television. Although based for much of her life in the United States, her work attracted international attention. Lansbury was born to an upper-middle-class family in Central London, the daughter of Irish actress Moyna Macgill and English politician Edgar Lansbury. To escape the Blitz, she moved to the United States in 1940, studying acting in New York City. Proceeding to Hollywood in 1942, she signed to MGM and obtained her first film roles, in Gaslight (1944), National Velvet (1944), and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945). She appeared in 11 further MGM films, mostly in minor roles, and after her contract ended in 1952, she began to supplement her cinematic work with theatrical appearances. Lansbury was largely seen as a B-list star during this period, but her role in The Manchurian Candidate (1962) received widespread acclaim and is frequently ranked as one of her best performances. Moving into musical theatre, Lansbury gained stardom for playing the leading role in the Broadway musical Mame (1966), winning her first Tony Award and becoming a gay icon. Amidst difficulties in her personal life, Lansbury moved from California to Ireland's County Cork in 1970. She continued to make theatrical and cinematic appearances throughout that decade, including leading roles in the stage musicals Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, and The King and I, as well as in the Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). Moving into television in 1984, she achieved worldwide fame as the sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the American whodunit series Murder, She Wrote, which ran for twelve seasons until 1996, becoming one of the longest-running and most popular detective drama series in television history. Through Corymore Productions, a company that she co-owned with her husband Peter Shaw, Lansbury assumed ownership of the series and was its executive producer during its final four seasons. She also moved into voice work, contributing to animated films like Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Anastasia (1997). In the 21st century, she toured in several theatrical productions and appeared in family films such as Nanny McPhee (2005) and Mary Poppins Returns (2018).
Burnley F.C. in international football, nominated by Eem dik doun in toene
Burnley Football Club is an English professional association football club, founded in 1882. Burnley first played against foreign opposition – Scottish club Cowlairs – in 1885, and embarked on their first overseas tour in 1914, playing sides from the German Empire and Austria-Hungary. Further trips to foreign countries followed in the next decades. In 1955, UEFA launched the first officially sanctioned European club competition, the European Cup. Burnley won their second First Division title in 1959–60, qualifying for the 1960–61 European Cup. They eliminated French champions Stade de Reims in the first round before being sent out of the contest by West German champions Hamburger SV in the quarter-final. Burnley's next campaign in a European club competition came six years later, in the 1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, where they were again eliminated by a West German side (Eintracht Frankfurt) in the quarter-final. In 2018, Burnley qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League, reaching the play-off round. The side also competed in minor international football tournaments in the 1970s and early 1980s. Burnley participated in two editions of the Texaco Cup, a competition involving sides from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland that had not qualified for UEFA-sanctioned European competitions or the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. They reached the 1974 final but lost against Newcastle United after extra time. Burnley later competed in the Anglo-Scottish Cup – the Texaco Cup's successor – on five occasions and won the tournament in 1978–79, after they defeated Oldham Athletic 4–2 on aggregate in the final.
Battle of Utica (203 BC), nominated by Gog the Mild
The battle of Utica was fought in 203 BC between a Roman army commanded by Publius Cornelius Scipio and the allied armies of Carthage and Numidia, commanded by Hasdrubal Gisgo and Syphax respectively. The battle was part of the Second Punic War and resulted in a heavy defeat for Carthage.
In the wake of its defeat in the First Punic War (264–241 BC) Carthage expanded its territory in south-east Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal). When the Second Punic War broke out in 218 BC a Roman army landed in north-east Iberia. After a disastrous Roman setback in 210 BC Scipio took command and cleared the peninsular of Carthaginians in five years. He returned to Rome determined to carry the war to the Carthaginian homeland in North Africa. Appointed consul in 205 BC Scipio spent a year in Sicily training his army and accumulating supplies. In 204 BC the Romans landed near the Carthaginian port of Utica with four legions. The Romans defeated two large Carthaginian scouting parties, besieged Utica and set up a fortified camp.
The Carthaginians and their Numidian allies each set up their own camps about 11 kilometres (7 mi) from the Romans but close to each other. The Romans were outnumbered and so avoided battle; the Carthaginians were wary of Scipio's skill as a field commander and content to wait for reinforcements. During this pause, Syphax offered to act as an intermediary to broker a peace, and the three parties entered into a long series of negotiations. With his delegations Scipio sent junior officers disguised as slaves to report back on the layout and construction of the Numidian camp, as well as the size and composition of the Numidian army. As the weather improved Scipio made conspicuous preparations to assault Utica. Instead, he marched his army out late one evening and divided it in two. One part launched a night attack on the Numidian camp, setting fire to their barracks which were made from reeds. In the ensuing panic and confusion the Numidians were dispersed with heavy casualties. Not realising what was happening, many Carthaginians set off in the dark to help extinguish what they assumed was an accidental blaze in their allies' camp. Scipio attacked them with the remaining Romans, stormed their camp and set fire to many of the Carthaginians' wooden huts. Again the Romans inflicted heavy casualties in the dark.
Hasdrubal fled 40 kilometres (25 mi) to Carthage with 2,500 survivors, pursued by Scipio. Syphax escaped with a few cavalry and regrouped 11 kilometres (7 mi) away. Over the following year the Carthaginians raised two more armies and each was defeated by Scipio, at the Great Plains and Zama. Carthage sued for peace and accepted a humiliating treaty, ending the war.
Battle of Winwick, nominated by Gog the Mild
The Battle of Winwick (also known as the Battle of Red Bank) was fought on 19 August 1648 near the Lancashire village of Winwick between part of a Royalist army under Lieutenant General William Baillie and a Parliamentarian army commanded by Lieutenant General Oliver Cromwell. The Royalists were defeated with all of those who took part in the fighting, their army's entire infantry force, either killed or captured. The Royalist mounted component fled but surrendered five days after the battle. Winwick was the last battle of the Second English Civil War.
Glycerius, nominated by Iazyges
Glycerius (fl. 470s) was Roman emperor of the West from 473 to 474. He served as comes domesticorum (commander of the palace guard) during the reign of Olybrius (r. 472), until Olybrius died in November 472. After a four-month interregnum, Glycerius was proclaimed as emperor in March 473 by Gundobad, the magister militum (master of soldiers) and power behind the throne. Very few of the events of his reign are known other than that an attempted invasion of Italy by the Visigoths was repelled by local commanders, diverting them to Gaul. Glycerius also prevented an invasion by the Ostrogoths through diplomacy, including a gift of 2,000 solidi. Glycerius was not recognized by the Eastern Roman emperor Leo I (r. 457–474), who instead nominated Julius Nepos (r. 474–475/480) as Western Emperor and sent him with an army to invade the Western Empire. Glycerius was without allies because Gundobad had abandoned him, and therefore was forced to abdicate on 24 June 474, and was succeeded by Nepos. He was appointed Bishop of Salona, which position he held until his death, possibly in 480. A nearly contemporaneous source blames him for the assassination of Nepos, but the records for this event are muddled.
New Amsterdam Theatre, nominated by Epicgenius
The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater on 214 West 42nd Street, at the southern end of Times Square, in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City. One of the first Broadway venues to open in the Times Square neighborhood, the New Amsterdam was built from 1902 to 1903 to designs by Herts & Tallant. The theater is operated by Disney Theatrical Productions and has 1,702 seats across three levels. Both the Beaux-Arts exterior and the Art Nouveau interior of the building are New York City landmarks, and the building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Widows of Culloden, nominated by Premeditated Chaos
The Widows of Culloden (Scottish Gaelic: Bantraich de cuil lodair) is the twenty-eighth collection of the British designer Alexander McQueen, made for the Autumn/Winter 2006 season of his eponymous fashion house. Widows was inspired by his Scottish ancestry and is regarded as one of his most autobiographical collections. Widows makes extensive use of the McQueen family tartan and traditional gamekeeper's tweeds, as well as other elements taken from Highland dress. Historical elements reflected the fashion of the late Victorian era and the 1950s. The collection's runway show was staged on 3 March 2006 during Paris Fashion Week. It was dedicated to Isabella Blow, McQueen's friend and muse. The show marked a return to theatricality for McQueen, whose shows in the preceding two seasons had been comparatively conventional. Widows was presented on a square stage with a glass pyramid at its centre. Fifty-one ensembles were presented across roughly three phases, ending with a Pepper's ghost illusion of English model Kate Moss projected within the glass pyramid. Critical response was positive, especially towards McQueen's tailoring and the collection's balance of artistry and commercial practicality.

Twelve featured pictures were promoted this period, including the ones at the top and bottom of this article.

Eight featured lists were promoted this period.

"flowers on a rock face"
Saxifraga, from Latin for "stone-breaking"
List of Saxifragales families, nominated by Dank
Saxifragales is an order of 15 families of flowering plants. It belongs to the superrosids, a group of around 150 related families, including the rose family. The order includes fruit-bearing shrubs, woody vines, succulents, aquatics, and many ornamental trees and garden plants, including stonecrops, currants, peonies, and witch-hazel.
74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, nominated by RunningTiger123
The 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honored the best in artistic and technical achievement in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2021, until May 31, 2022, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. A total of 99 Creative Arts Emmys were presented across 93 categories. Adele One Night Only, The Beatles: Get Back, Euphoria, Stranger Things, and The White Lotus each received five awards, leading all programs. Euphoria also tied with Succession for the most nominations, with each receiving 13. Overall program awards went to Adele One Night Only, Arcane, The Beatles: Get Back, Carpool Karaoke: The Series, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents: Once Upon a Time in Late Night, George Carlin's American Dream, Love, Death & Robots, Love on the Spectrum U.S., The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show, Queer Eye, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, and When Claude Got Shot. HBO and HBO Max led all networks with a combined 26 wins from 93 nominations.
Figür by Zerrin Bölükbaşı
50th Anniversary of the Republic Sculptures, nominated by Gazozlu
The 50th Anniversary of the Republic Sculptures are 20 sculptures erected in Istanbul that were created by selected Turkish sculptors to mark the 50th anniversary of the Turkish Republic. The sculptures were erected in various parks and squares in Istanbul in around 1973. Many of them were damaged, destroyed, lost, stolen and sold for scrap, or moved, and only a handful remain today. It was difficult for Turkish sculptors to get their works seen in the years between 1950 and 1960; what sculptors needed was for their sculptures to be displayed in public spaces. Until 1973, there were very few public sculptures in Turkey, other than monuments. In May 1972, the Committee for the 50th Anniversary of the Republic Celebrations gathered at the headquarters of the Governor of Istanbul. It initially planned to commission 50 sculptures to mark the anniversary; however, due to limited funds the number was reduced to 20. On 13 September 1973, the sketches and photographs sent by the 20 selected artists were approved by the board members of the committee. The initiative was a turning point for Turkish sculpture.
List of cities founded by Alexander the Great, nominated by AirshipJungleman29
Alexander the Great (July 356 BC – June 323 BC), a king of ancient Macedon, created one of the largest empires in history by waging an extensive military campaign throughout Asia. Alexander founded numerous settlements during his campaigns, naming them after himself or close followers. These have been the subject of intense debate, as the accounts of ancient and medieval scholars differ wildly and are often contradictory. Plutarch provides the maximum estimate of seventy cities in his Life of Alexander, but most texts attest to between ten and twenty foundations.
List of Hot R&B Sides number ones of 1960 and List of Hot R&B Sides number ones of 1961, nominated by ChrisTheDude
Another of our series on the Billboard record charts, featuring the most popular music in various genres for each year. ChrisTheDude seems to be working through these, and it wouldn't surprise me if one day everything was featured.
List of Billboard Tropical Airplay number ones of 1998, nominated by Magiciandude (a.k.a. Erick)
Similar to the above, but it's probably worth noting that "Tropical Airplay" in this context refers to Spanish-language songs in styles from the Caribbean.
The Microphones discography, nominated by PerfectSoundWhatever
The Microphones are an American indie folk, indie rock, and experimental project from Olympia, Washington. The project was founded in 1996 and ended in 2003, with a short reunion following in 2007 and revivals in 2019 and 2020. Across every iteration of the Microphones, it has been fronted by Phil Elverum. Elverum is the principal songwriter and producer behind the band's albums, but he has also collaborated with other local musicians on his other recordings and tours. Many of Elverum's recordings from the project's initial period were released by the Olympia label K Records.




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2023-03-20

The inside scoop on Aoidh's RfA

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By FormalDude

Aoidh's request for adminship (RfA) closed on 10 March, with 228 editors expressing approval, two opposed, and one neutral. We interviewed him about his experience.

1. Did you have any apprehensions about running for adminship beforehand?
I had a lot of apprehension beforehand. I've seen how contentious and stressful some RfAs can go and the negative part of my mind was convincing me that all of my worst fears and every worst case scenario I could dream up would come to pass, so I was very nervous and stressed about the prospect of the RfA prior to it going live.
2. How would you describe your experience being a candidate at RfA?
It went much better than I had anticipated. My experience was relatively a good one, despite the slight controversy thet surrounded the first oppose in the RfA itself that resulted in a block/unblock situation and a couple of AN/I discussions. While there was some contention about parts of the RfA, there was no serious contention about me as a nominee, so I didn't have to experience the really negative aspects of RfA that some nominees unfortunately have to deal with.
3. If you could change anything about the RfA process, what would it be?
There is a general consensus that the RfA process is flawed in one or more ways, and I agree with that. Unfortunately I don't have any answers to those issues because a lot of the issues are how editors interact with the RfA process. The change I would have liked to have seen the most is automatically placing the RfAs on hold after the allotted time has passed, which was just implemented in late 2022. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that change and how relieved I was when it happened automatically. Once it closed I knew that that part was concluded and that I didn't have to keep refreshing the page looking for questions or anything; even though my RfA went well there was still a small level of stress that went away once I saw that automatically close. "It's been 7 days why isn't it closed yet" seems like the last thing a nominee wants to be worrying about.
4. In an answer to a question about an oppose !vote you received, you said "oppose comments turning into these large threads of that nature would make some hesitate to even make an oppose comment". Do you find moving the threads to the talk page ameliorates or worsens this problem?
I think it helps, but I've seen valid concerns about who is doing the moving/closing of those threads. Seeing a large thread on each oppose might put someone off of commenting their own oppose, so even if it's a "out of sight, out of mind" thing I think it might help in that regard, though I recognize that it introduces other concerns in doing so.
5. It is honorable to advocate for the necessity of oppose !votes (calling them "insightful feedback and critiques") after going through an RfA where you faced seemingly ideological opposition. Did you find any insightful feedback or critiques in the opposes to your RfA?
Yes I did. However, since there were only three, and one wasn't about me specifically and one later moved to neutral, there wasn't a lot in that regard. There were however things to take away from them, even if they weren't the intended message, and even if they were just reminders/reaffirmations of things to keep in mind, like the fact that just because you personally have a higher tolerance for uncivil commentary directed at you doesn't mean that should be the baseline expectation for everyone or that concerns about such incivility shouldn't be taken seriously.
6. What degree of freedom is appropriate for oppose !votes? Should oppose !voters be allowed to blanket oppose candidates because they believe the process is broken?
I'm kind of on the fence about this but ultimately don't think they should, and this is reflected at the "Too many admins" section of Wikipedia:Advice for RfA voters#Voting 'Oppose'. I don't know about removing the comments, but they should absolutely be given zero weight because it's an opposition to the concept of the current admin process, not a comment on the RfA nominee themselves. I don't find it to be a particularly compelling oppose rationale in any way.
7. Before running, you were discouraged from responding to !voters individually because candidates who do are routinely opposed for it. An editor temporarily blamed you for not intervening in the block of an oppose !voter and you were able to address it while avoiding directly responding, as someone asked you a question about it. If nobody had asked you, would you have considered responding on your own in some manner?
With the benefit of hindsight I feel like only commenting to respond to questions does a lot towards making the process less stressful based on observations of previous RfAs, but that particular situation certainly made me uncomfortable. I was strongly considering responding in some way the entire time, from the moment it escalated into a block. I'm not sure if it would boiled over into me breaking that self-imposed "rule" of only responding to questions directed at me, but I was weighing it the entire time and was very relieved when it was actually brought up to me as a question.
8. In your RfA, some editors called for the forced erasure of certain oppose !votes. Is it ever appropriate to delete someone's !vote when it is made in good faith?
There might be situations where that might be appropriate, I don't know, but I don't think this RfA was one of them. If it came to a situation where it went to a 'crat chat, I'm sure the rationale would have been given very little to no weight in the determining of consensus, so the only thing it hurts is the percentage and in this case it made it go from 100% support to 99% support, which does not harm the RfA nominee (myself in this case) in the slightest. Sure, you can't go "My RfA was unopposed" but my saying that would just sound like a prideful boast and it's not something that matters. Also, if it had been 100% only because the oppose comment was removed would have been an even more meaningless statistic. I think if we're going to go the route of removing rationales then we as a community need to establish under what circumstances that would be appropriate, and to do so with great care. Ideally this would be something to resolve before an RfA, not in the middle of one after the comment had already been made.
9. One editor asked you about recall and why your opinion on it mattered since it is not a binding process. What would you think of making recall binding?
There have been at least four RfCs on this subject from 2009 to 2019, none of which came to a consensus that it should be binding. This tells me that it's a longstanding question without an easy answer. When I answered Q10 I was being sincere, so for me personally it may as well be binding. As for being binding for admins in general, I don't know. As the RfCs show, it's not a simple question with a simple answer. I'd certainly be open to the idea of it being a binding process, but it's very much the details that matter and would shape how I would view any such proposal.
10. What is your opinion on the RfA philosophy of WP:NOBIGDEAL?
I think giving someone the ability to make the kind of changes that administrators can make is a big deal in that it is a responsibility, one granted because the community trusts the editor. If it is a big deal in any way it's that it is a big deal for that editor; they should take those tools very seriously and strive to validate the trust of the community. That is a big deal. That said, being an administrator is not a big deal in that it doesn't make you a better editor, and shouldn't give your opinion any additional weight when discussing content on article talk pages, for example. It's not a status symbol, it's more like working in IT at an office building. Sure, you may have a special keycard to get into all the doors because you need to access all the equipment and you're trusted to use it responsibly, but that doesn't make you a better employee than someone who only has a keycard that lets them into the front door. It's not a big deal, it's just something you're entrusted with.
11. What is one piece of advice you would give to someone considering running for adminship?
I don't think I can stick to just one, so like Galadriel, I will give three. (1) Look through previous RfAs, both successful, unsuccessful, and especially ones that are contentious. Look at the questions being asked of the nominees, and look at reasons editors opposed the nominees. This will give you an idea of what to expect and what editors often look for, but also be prepared for something to happen that you don't anticipate. (2) If you're being nominated by someone, ask them questions and listen to their feedback. Even if you think you're already an expert at Wikipedia, keep an open mind and be prepared to learn, even during the RfA itself there are teaching moments. (3) It's so tempting to just stay at your computer and hit refresh every few minutes for seven days. Don't. Take care of your physical and mental health during this time as it's very important. Go for walks, stretch, see friends, don't give into the temptation to become a recluse for seven days.

See also

Category:Wikipedia RfA debriefings



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2023-03-20

Who died? Who won? Who lost?

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By Igordebraga, Max BuddyRoo, TheJoebro64
This traffic report is adapted from the Top 25 Report, prepared with commentary by Igordebraga, Max BuddyRoo and TheJoebro64.

All sorts of delays and schedule slips kept this off the last edition, but here are the most viewed articles for half of February and March alike.

Termination, expiration, cancellation, human race (February 19 to 25)

Rank Article Class Views Image Notes/about
1 The Last of Us (TV series) 1,650,001 The HBO show based on an acclaimed video game returns to #1 for the first time since its premiere, and this week there were 2 new episodes, including a commune and lesbians.
2 Jimmy Carter 1,433,368 The 39th president made the list this week for unfortunate circumstances, going in hospice care to spend more time with his family, instead of additional medical intervention.
3 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania 1,416,896 Reception has been all over the place for the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie of the year and Phase 5, where the families of Ant-Man and the Wasp are brought into the microscopic war waged by Kang the Conqueror. A big indicator was Quantumania having the biggest second weekend drop of the franchise (while not leaving first place), albeit it will probably still have made much money by the time the next movie arrives in May.
4 Mac McClung 1,328,516 During the 2023 NBA All-Star Game, the Slam Dunk Contest was won by this guy who showed some impressive moves even if he's still relegated to the developmental G League (in fact, McClung's only played 4 NBA games so far, none for the Philadelphia 76ers to whom he's currently signed).
5 Richard Belzer 1,199,030 The actor who played the role of John Munch died this week, with his last words being, "Fuck you, motherfucker!".
6 ChatGPT 1,123,325 The chatbot continues to make the list, becoming a frequent contender these past few weeks, with people hoping that robots won't turn out like how we feared they would.
7 Pathaan (film) 1,091,387 The Indian film is on the list yet again, becoming the 7th highest grossing film worldwide of 2023 (although that's not saying much since we're in February) and the 5th highest grossing Indian film of all time.
8 Deaths in 2023 1,041,565 All the years I've tried with more to go
Will the memories die, I'm waiting?
Will I find you, can I find you?
We're falling down, I'm falling
9 Murdaugh family 880,976 A Netflix show about these family of attorneys came out this week, and with no article about the show, people came to the article about the family - and wouldn't you guess, it's another crime story, because one of the Murdaughs is on trial since last month, accused of having killed his wife and son, hence the show's title is Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.
10 Cocaine Bear 778,324 This movie came out this week about a bear on cocaine (based on the real life Pablo Eskobear), and released to great reviews and being only behind #3 at the box office, on top of many memes on TikTok about it, which probably pushed it into the top 10.

There was a friend of mine on murder, and the judge's gavel fell (February 26 to March 4)

Rank Article Class Views Image Notes/about
1 Murdaugh family 1,880,917 True crime Netflix show brings its subject to the this list, and to the top, no less. Some things don't change. Namely, the family of South Carolina attorneys chronicled in Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, who have been the subject of multiple investigations involving wrongful death, murder, corruption, and other alleged crimes, and the show gives most focus to one Murdaugh causing the death of a woman in a boating accident and his eventual murder, along with his mother, for which his father was found guilty.
2 Tom Sizemore 1,448,687 This actor with many roles as soldier (Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down), policeman (Point Break, Hawaii Five-0) and criminal (Heat, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City), while also having a well-chronicled fight with drug addiction, suffered an aneurysm on February 18, and after nearly two weeks in intensive care died on March 3 at the age of 61.
3 The Last of Us (TV series) 1,355,138 Wonder how many tune into this hyped HBO series and give up when it turns out to have zombies.
4 ChatGPT 1,156,469 A chatbot that can even give his attempts at a knock-knock joke - "Who's there?" "ChatGPT" "ChatGPT who?" "ChatGPT careful, you might not know how it works!"
5 Tommy Fury 1,201,461 Professional boxer and lover (plus brother of champion Tyson Fury) boxed #9 at the beginning of this week in Saudi Arabia and won by split decision.
6 Deaths in 2023 1,021,697 And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end...
7 Cocaine Bear 891,244 Elizabeth Banks directed this lurid comedy-horror where a bear eats nose candy and goes on rampage, inspired by the true story of Pablo Eskobear.
8 Pedro Pascal 753,506 Most of the attention might be because he's Joel in #3, but let's not forget that this week Pascal returned to the armor of The Mandalorian, trying to redeem himself before his race with the help of his adorable adopted child, while having a scene straight out of The Terminator during the attempt at reviving TaikaWaititiBot.
9 Jake Paul 752,957 Professional YouTuber known for too much to count boxed #5 and lost.
10 Trial of Alex Murdaugh 684,165 In June, this member of #1 called the police warning his wife and son were found dead. All the investigations pointed to him being the culprit, and on Thursday he was found guilty of murder, receiving two life sentences.

Just a man and his will to survive (March 5 to 11)

Rank Article Class Views Image Notes/about
1 The Last of Us (TV series) 1,600,712 For the third time, HBO's adaptation of the acclaimed game, leaving out the frustrating parts, tops this list with its penultimate episode. It will be hard for it to lead the Report next week in spite of the season finale, given the Academy Awards.
2 Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 1,375,422 In 2014, this plane vanished in the middle of its Kuala Lumpur-Beijing trip. The still unsolved mystery was chronicled on Netflix by documentary miniseries MH370: The Plane That Disappeared.
3 ChatGPT 1,314,137 The chatbot makes the list yet again, with the new version, GPT-4, coming out in a week, along with South Park making an episode about it, with Stan using it to respond to texts from his girlfriend, and it backfiring.
4 Satish Kaushik 1,247,301 The famous Indian actor and director died this week at 66 from a heart attack in Gurugram.
5 Jon Jones 1,064,400 The professional mixed martial artist made the list this week for becoming #1 in the in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings..
6 International Women's Day 1,054,352 The holiday celebrating women (all women) is on the list this week for happening this week, with some debate over who can be considered a woman.
7 Deaths in 2023 987,315 Here I am, not quite dying
My body left to rot in a hollow tree...
8 Chris Rock 954,707 In the lead-up to the Academy Awards, one of the people in last year's most infamous moment decided to discuss that in a comedy special on Netflix, Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, including the line “I love Will Smith, my whole life. I have rooted for Will Smith my whole life … now I watch Emancipation just to see him get whupped.” Other subjects are also touched by the special, with the title noting cancel culture is not the same for everyone ("You know what I’m talking about… people who play Michael Jackson songs but won’t play R. Kelly. Same crime, one of them just has better songs.”).
9 Pedro Pascal 876,097 A survivalist with a girl in #1, along with a mercenary with a 50-year old baby in The Mandalorian.
10 Scream VI 769,636 For the second time a movie called Scream gets a sequel right in the following year, with the return of the most meta slasher franchise (and the numbers in the title after the last one ditched them!). Unlike Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Ghostface actually went to New York rather than spend most of the screentime on a boat - although again what is supposedly the Big Apple was mostly filmed in Canada. The cast includes the return of the four survivors of the last movie, Hayden Panettiere revealing she wasn't killed in the fourth movie, and Courteney Cox as the only one aside from Ghostface's voice to appear in all six installments (because last time around one got his character killed and the other felt the producers weren't paying her enough). In any case, Scream VI got positive reviews and had the franchise's best opening, already recouping its relatively cheap $35 million budget in a single weekend.

After winter, must come spring, Everything Is Everything (March 12 to 18)

Rank Article Class Views Image Notes/about
1 Everything Everywhere All at Once 3,565,337 On March 12, the Oscars (#5) were held, honoring the films of 2022. Leading the pack was this absurdist multiversal comedy-drama film from #20's directorial duo, winning seven awards (including Best Picture) out of eleven nominations. Three of the four acting categories went to Everything Everywhere All at Once actors, represented on this list in slots #3, #4, and #7.
2 Brendan Fraser 2,499,197 We're in the midst of the Brenaissance and I am all for it. Fraser saw his film work slow in the late 2000s and early 2010s following health problems and his accusation that he had been sexually assaulted by the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, but a career revitalization began with a string of well received TV roles, including as Robotman in HBO's Doom Patrol. Now, Fraser has taken home the Academy Award for Best Actor for his starring role in Darren Aronofsky's The Whale. Fittingly for a film of that title, his emotional speech was filled to the brim with nautical references.
3 Ke Huy Quan 2,492,154 In the mid-80s the Vietnamese immigrant then-known as Jonathan Ke Quan was Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data in The Goonies, but once he grew up a role with the above in Encino Man was one of the last before he went to college and worked more behind the scenes. Following the success of Crazy Rich Asians, Quan decided to try acting again, and now his role as the husband in #1 earned him the Best Supporting Actor award.
4 Michelle Yeoh 2,473,647 A Malaysian icon of martial arts movies, who even managed to transition to Hollywood and be a Bond Girl, a Marvel character (two, in fact), do voice acting, and act opposite #2 in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Her lauded performance as a housewife brought into a multiversal madness in #1 made Yeoh the first Asian woman to win Best Actress.
5 95th Academy Awards 2,235,142 Disclaimer: this here writer found #1 well-made and creative but nowhere near a worthy Best Picture winner (it's so weird, often just for the sake of being weird, that it turned exhausting and at times drew me away rather than enthrall me). He also thought Elvis and The Fabelmans should've won something, and maybe The Batman too - thankfully Top Gun: Maverick didn't go empty handed with Best Sound. Other winners included All Quiet on the Western Front four times, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio as Best Animated Feature, the script of Women Talking, the costumes of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the effects of Avatar: The Way of Water. And yes, host Jimmy Kimmel gave reminders of last year's infamous incident, like saying anyone trying to slap the presenter this year would have to go through Adonis Creed, #4, the Mandalorian, Spider-Man, Fabelman, and Guillermo (no, not del Toro, Rodriguez - who certainly fights better than plays basketball).
6 Lance Reddick 2,175,052 Reddick, best known for portraying Cedric Daniels in The Wire and who just starred in this month's John Wick: Chapter 4, died suddenly on March 17.
7 Jamie Lee Curtis 1,894,767 Self-described in the SAG Awards as "a proud nepo baby" (her parents Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis are famous actors), the star of Halloween, Trading Places, True Lies, Freaky Friday and Knives Out, among others, won Best Supporting Actress while uglying herself up in #1. (discussions on whether Curtis earned it more than Stephanie Hsu for the same movie soon broke out)
8 The Last of Us (TV series) 1,545,810 The ninth episode of HBO's adaptation of the acclaimed video game aired on March 12, concluding the first season of what many critics have called one of the best video game adaptations ever. That doesn't mean we're done when it comes to video game adaptations, however—fellow PlayStation franchise Gran Turismo is getting a feature film later this year, while rival Nintendo's The Super Mario Bros. Movie is poised to break box office records within a matter of weeks.
9 Saint Patrick's Day 1,531,150 #5 didn't give anything to the five Irish actors nominated or to The Banshees of Inisherin, but the Emerald Isle still makes itself present through the holiday celebrated on March 17.
10 The Whale (2022 film) 1,486,094 Darren Aronofsky directed this adaptation of a play about a teacher who became a morbidly obese recluse after losing his boyfriend, and is now trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter. #5 recognized the two most lauded aspects of the movie, #2's acting as the protagonist (helped by a good overall cast, including Supporting Actress nominee Hong Chau, and Sadie Sink as the daughter) and the extensive prosthetics awarded with Best Hair and Make-Up.

Exclusions

  • These lists exclude the Wikipedia main page, non-article pages (such as redlinks), and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Since mobile view data became available to the Report in October 2014, we exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (5–6% or less) or almost all mobile views (94–95% or more) because they are very likely to be automated views based on our experience and research of the issue. Please feel free to discuss any removal on the Top 25 Report talk page if you wish.


Most edited articles

For the February 5 – March 6 period, per this this database report.

Title Revisions Commentary
2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake 3,455 The big tragedy of the first months of the year, causing billions in damage and over 50,000 dead.
Deaths in 2023 2,057 Of course this page had to be here! The famous departed including actors Lisa Loring and Taraka Ratna, and one of the victims of the above, Ghanian footballer Christian Atsu.
2023 China balloon incident 1,883 A Chinese "weather balloon" spent several days flying over North America, before being shot down by the United States Air Force on February 4. Why? Simply, the US believes it was a spy balloon. Of course, China denies this, saying that this is an over-reaction. The remains of the balloon are now being analysed by the FBI. Since then, further objects have been shot down over Alaska and the Yukon.
Humanitarian response to the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake 974 The commotion for one of the deadliest and costliest earthquakes of the century even led the United States to temporarily remove the economic sanctions on Syria due to the still not solved civil war so the country could properly receive the humanitarian efforts.
2023 Ohio train derailment 898 A train carrying hazardous materials derailed on East Palestine, Ohio, and people were worried about the Airborne Toxic Event it left behind.
2023 Scottish National Party leadership election 802 Nicola Sturgeon announced her resignation, hence a new article having to be frequently updated.
Cyclone Freddy 796 The longest-lived tropical cyclone on record, that managed to cross the entire Indian Ocean before causing some damage in Madagascar, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Collaboration with the Axis powers 763 A group of users are trying to clean up the page on this World War II topic that they found overlong and undercited.
List of earthquakes in 2023 717 The tragedy in Turkey helped more people try to help here. Thankfully the only event as strong caused no deaths and not as extensive damages.
Cataract surgery 714 One user, Pbsouthwood, has been cleaning up the article on this eye operation.
2022–23 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season 673 The very dedicated crew who documents storms, hurricanes, cyclones, and such was updating this article a lot, with the above mentioned Freddy being a major factor.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania 656 The flawed and divisive first Marvel Cinematic Universe film of the year, considered either another fun installment or a mess that doesn't improve the post-Endgame slate.
2022–23 Australian region cyclone season 618 More storms. Freddy appears again for emerging north of Australia and there's also Cyclone Gabrielle, which hit New Zealand.
2023 Tripura Legislative Assembly election 592 Frequent updates on this Indian election.
Disappearance of Nicola Bulley 580 Now Death of Nicola Bulley, as a British mortgage adviser vanished near St. Michael's on Wyre on January 27, and in spite of an extensive search the body was only found in February 19 by a man walking his dog.



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