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Tech News: 2022-24

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

Changes later this week

  • The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 14 June. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 15 June. It will be on all wikis from 16 June (calendar).
  • Some wikis will be in read-only for a few minutes because of a switch of their main database. It will be performed on 14 June at 06:00 UTC (targeted wikis). [3]
  • Starting on Wednesday, a new set of Wikipedias will get "Add a link" (Abkhazian Wikipedia, Achinese Wikipedia, Adyghe Wikipedia, Afrikaans Wikipedia, Akan Wikipedia, Alemannisch Wikipedia, Amharic Wikipedia, Aragonese Wikipedia, Old English Wikipedia, Syriac Wikipedia, Egyptian Arabic Wikipedia, Asturian Wikipedia, Atikamekw Wikipedia, Avaric Wikipedia, Aymara Wikipedia, Azerbaijani Wikipedia, South Azerbaijani Wikipedia). This is part of the progressive deployment of this tool to more Wikipedias. The communities can configure how this feature works locally. [4]
  • The New Topic Tool will be deployed for all editors at Commons, Wikidata, and some other wikis soon. You will be able to opt out from within the tool and in Preferences. [5][6]

Future meetings

  • The next open meeting with the Web team about Vector (2022) will take place today (13 June). The following meetings will take place on: 28 June, 12 July, 26 July.

Future changes

  • By the end of July, the Vector 2022 skin should be ready to become the default across all wikis. Discussions on how to adjust it to the communities' needs will begin in the next weeks. It will always be possible to revert to the previous version on an individual basis. Learn more.

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

16:57, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

I'll Be Vandalizing More Pages Soon!

Dear Roy Smith, I wanted to let you know that i am User:The Bloodhound wanting to let you know that i will be vandalizing even more pages soon i have way more accounts then you think! — Preceding unsigned comment added by JosephP.O (talk • contribs) 17:03, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

Roy, I've blocked but left the post for you to see in case you wish to do something further.--Bbb23 (talk) 17:08, 13 June 2022 (UTC)
Sure. I'm going to finish my lunch, then work on my latest WP:DYK submission some more. Thanks. -- RoySmith (talk) 17:14, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

SPI query

Hello, Roy,

You didn't find any sleepers in this SPI case about Ginginie11 but I just came across unblocked editor User:Gingie11 when looking at some page moves done about Momar Sakanoko. Could they be related to the Williamchaupin SPI case? I don't know why anyone else would be messing around with pages about Momar Sakanoko.

This may be all part of some paid editing ring though which would allow for different editors to work on the same job as Ginginie11 and Gingie11 did write about other people which never happened with the Williamchaupin socks. Any way, thanks for any help you can offer, sorting this out. Liz Read! Talk! 20:04, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

Hi Liz, could I ask that you file a new SPI at WP:Sockpuppet investigations/Ginginie11. I'll take a look at it and see what I can figure out. Thanks. -- RoySmith (talk) 20:08, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

Wildlife in the Bronx DYK

I also like your hook the best but just to clarify how I reasoned about the first ... The Bronx was established in 1898 and the beavers returned in 2007 after having disappeared for 200 years. My conclusion was that there was no way a beaver could have set up anything in the Bronx before 1898. But a lodge doesn't seem credible, the housekeeping business though (or facility management as its called in my area) is possible. I see it as a good article for a DYK, people will learn a lot about NYC, its fun, surprising, nature in NYC...? Thank you for making wikipedia a bit more green... Paradise Chronicle (talk) 20:36, 16 June 2022 (UTC)

Ah. You are certainly correct about the previous beavers being gone before the Bronx was the Bronx. I hadn't thought of that! -- RoySmith (talk) 20:38, 16 June 2022 (UTC)

A Symplocarpus foetidus for you!

Thank you Roy for all your contributions to the New York Botanical Garden / Wikimedia New York City Environment of the Bronx Edit-a-thon event! It would not have happened without you. Please enjoy this beautiful eastern skunk cabbage illustration from the NYBG collection. -Wil540 art (talk) 12:00, 17 June 2022 (UTC)

Arbitration case opened

You recently offered a statement in a request for arbitration. The Arbitration Committee has accepted that request for arbitration and an arbitration case has been opened at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Conduct_in_deletion-related_editing. Evidence that you wish the arbitrators to consider should be added to the evidence subpage, at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Conduct_in_deletion-related_editing/Evidence. Please add your evidence by July 9, 2022, which is when the evidence phase closes. You can also contribute to the case workshop subpage, Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Conduct_in_deletion-related_editing/Workshop. For a guide to the arbitration process, see Wikipedia:Arbitration/Guide to arbitration. For the Arbitration Committee, firefly ( t · c ) 11:20, 18 June 2022 (UTC)

Tech News: 2022-25

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

  • The Wikipedia App for Android now has an option for editing the whole page at once, located in the overflow menu (three-dots menu ). [7]
  • Some recent database changes may affect queries using the Quarry tool. Queries for site_stats at English Wikipedia, Commons, and Wikidata will need to be updated. Read more.
  • A new user_global_editcount variable can be used in abuse filters to avoid affecting globally active users. [8]

Changes later this week

  • The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 21 June. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 22 June. It will be on all wikis from 23 June (calendar).
  • Users of non-responsive skins (e.g. MonoBook or Vector) on mobile devices may notice a slight change in the default zoom level. This is intended to optimize zooming and ensure all interface elements are present on the page (for example the table of contents on Vector 2022). In the unlikely event this causes any problems with how you use the site, we'd love to understand better, please ping Jon (WMF) to any on-wiki conversations. [9]

Future changes

  • The Beta Feature for DiscussionTools will be updated throughout July. Discussions will look different. You can see some of the proposed changes.
  • Parsoid's HTML output will soon stop annotating file links with different typeof attribute values, and instead use mw:File for all types. Tool authors should adjust any code that expects: mw:Image, mw:Audio, or mw:Video. [10]

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

20:17, 20 June 2022 (UTC)

June 22: ONLINE WikiWednesday Salon NYC

June 22, 7pm: ONLINE WikiWednesday Salon NYC
Welcome to Wikimedia New York City!

You are invited to join the Wikimedia NYC community for our monthly "WikiWednesday" evening salon (7-8pm) and knowledge-sharing workshop. To join the meeting from your computer or smartphone, just visit the Zoom link on the meetup page.

We look forward to seeing local Wikimedians, but would also like to invite folks from the greater New York metropolitan area (and beyond!) who might not typically be able to join us in person!

If there's a project you'd like to share or a question you'd like answered, just let us know by adding it to the agenda or the talk page.

7:00pm - 8:00 pm online via Zoom (optional breakout rooms from 8:00-8:30)

(You can subscribe/unsubscribe from future notifications for NYC-area events by adding or removing your name from this list.)

--Wikimedia New York City Team 14:51, 21 June 2022 (UTC)

Sun June 26: Bronx Wiki-Picnic

June 26, 3-6pm: Bronx Wiki-Picnic
Charlotte Street BBQ area, Crotona Park.

You are invited to join us for a planned outdoor gathering with the local Wikimedia NYC community at the Charlotte Street barbecue area of the Bronx's Crotona Park.

All attendees are subject to Wikimedia NYC's Code of Conduct. In addition, to participate in person you should be vaccinated and also be sure to respect others' personal space, and we may limit overall attendance size if appropriate.

3:00 - 6:00 pm
(Crotona Park, The Bronx)

(You can subscribe/unsubscribe from future notifications for NYC-area events by adding or removing your name from this list.)

--Wikimedia New York City Team via MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 19:47, 23 June 2022 (UTC)

Solve This, And You'll Get All My Accounts

If you want to stop me, Then come and solve this Wikipedia vocabulary code

¡ |¡k£ V₳₦₯₳|¡$¡₦G ¡ ₳ℳ †₰£ ฿|◌◌₫₰◌u₦D †₰¡$ ¡$ ₳₦🜨†₰£R ☉₦£ ☉ƒ ℳy ₳¢¢☉u₦†$ ₰£r£ ¡$ ₳ |¡$†

DYK for Bronx County Bird Club

On 24 June 2022, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Bronx County Bird Club, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that a bunch of "smart-assed teenagers" drove around the Bronx looking for birds in garbage dumps? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Bronx County Bird Club. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Bronx County Bird Club), and if they received a combined total of at least 416.7 views per hour (i.e., 5,000 views in 12 hours or 10,000 in 24), the hook may be added to the statistics page. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Cwmhiraeth (talk) 00:04, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

Hook update
Your hook reached 18,289 views (762.0 per hour), making it one of the most viewed hooks of June 2022 – nice work!

theleekycauldron (talk • contribs) (she/they) 08:43, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

Email

Hello, RoySmith. Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

~ Pbritti (talk) 16:26, 22 June 2022 (UTC)

Sorry to bother again, but could you take a look at IP editor 2402:8100:3905:2B4A:A094:BA57:A713:D680, who is editing articles frequented by the editor I mentioned in the email and using language very similar to that final message (I could see that but about "colonial" in my email notification). ~ Pbritti (talk) 03:31, 23 June 2022 (UTC)
I'll keep an eye on that range, thanks for the heads up. -- RoySmith (talk) 14:27, 23 June 2022 (UTC)
Thank you for the initial notice. Bringing it up again because a pattern is detectable. Like in the Qaumrambista and Jude Didimus case, IPs are in a range alternating between the Kerala area (Q/JD IP in Kerala) and Punjab regions (Q/JD IP in Punjab) have been making concurring edits on pages relating to Indian Christianity. I can provide more info on these prior IPs as needed. The new edits, like Q/JD, are sometimes sourced very well and other times less so. IP editor also demonstrated same tendency towards edit warring and strongly anti-Indian Catholic POV preferences. The list of pages involved are linked here: 1, 2, 3, 4, and others. All pages were at some point or another edited by a Q/JD sock or IP. New IPs involved are listed here: 1 (first Kerala IP), 2, 3 (Punjab region IP), 4. Let me know if any more is required for a check user or some other evidence to this end. I think it looks and quacks like a duck. ~ Pbritti (talk) 20:16, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
Hi. Could I ask you to open an SPI report. That really makes it easier to process. I will note that IPv6 ranges in India tend to be very large, so trying to track socks just by IP address can be difficult. -- RoySmith (talk) 20:19, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

DYK for Wildlife in the Bronx

On 26 June 2022, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Wildlife in the Bronx, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that in 2007, José the beaver set up housekeeping in the Bronx? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Wildlife in the Bronx. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Wildlife in the Bronx), and if they received a combined total of at least 416.7 views per hour (i.e., 5,000 views in 12 hours or 10,000 in 24), the hook may be added to the statistics page. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Cwmhiraeth (talk) 00:03, 26 June 2022 (UTC)

The Signpost: 26 June 2022

* Read this Signpost in full * Single-page * Unsubscribe * MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:32, 26 June 2022 (UTC)

Tech News: 2022-26

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

Changes later this week

  • The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 28 June. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 29 June. It will be on all wikis from 30 June (calendar).
  • Some wikis will be in read-only for a few minutes because of a switch of their main database. It will be performed on 28 June at 06:00 UTC (targeted wikis). [11]
  • Some global and cross-wiki services will be in read-only for a few minutes because of a switch of their main database. It will be performed on 30 June at 06:00 UTC. This will impact ContentTranslation, Echo, StructuredDiscussions, Growth experiments and a few more services. [12]
  • Users will be able to sort columns within sortable tables in the mobile skin. [13]

Future meetings

  • The next open meeting with the Web team about Vector (2022) will take place tomorrow (28 June). The following meetings will take place on 12 July and 26 July.

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

20:01, 27 June 2022 (UTC)

Question regarding an admin's behavior

Over the last day, I have been contacted off-wiki by an editor, CalderRC, who was blocked by admin TheresNoTime following what appears to be a 27 March check user. I do not know either editor nor care much for whatever personal dispute they may have, but judging by these two reverting edit summaries on TNT's talk page and this unblock decline immediately after I raised the issue, I have reason to believe that the block in question might not have something to do with the check user that TNT claims it does. Besides TNT being uncivil towards me in the edit summaries, this suspicion makes me wonder if I should bring the issue to ANI. Seeing as you have provided me with very good advice in the past and share some of TNT's privileges, I figured you were the right person to ask for advice. I want to AGF, but the lack of that from TNT and CalderRC's coyness about why he may have been blocked makes me concerned. Thank you. ~ Pbritti (talk) 23:08, 29 June 2022 (UTC)

Hmmm. I'm not seeing anything particularly uncivil in those edit comments and I think bringing this to ANI would be excessive. As far as being contacted off-wiki, my recommendation is to just ignore any such communications. -- RoySmith (talk) 15:53, 30 June 2022 (UTC)

IP block exemption

Greetings, I am making an inquiry because I am unable to log in via mobile editing because there is a range block. In the past I was hit with an unexplained block twice and both were resolved. Once I received a temporary exemption and currently am global IP block exempt (global) but there are times at work when I would use Wikipedia on my cell phone.
I feel it would be a benefit to Wikipedia if I had a permanent block exempt but don't know the process (if anything else is needed) except to ask. Thanks, -- Otr500 (talk) 21:44, 30 June 2022 (UTC)
Hi, thanks for your note. I'm not an expert on IP block exemptions, so I'll just refer you to WP:IPBE. Also @GeneralNotability: who is more familiar with the IPBE process than I am. -- RoySmith (talk) 23:29, 30 June 2022 (UTC)
Otr500, IPBE granted for a year. GeneralNotability (talk) 14:15, 2 July 2022 (UTC)
Thanks for all the help. -- Otr500 (talk) 14:20, 2 July 2022 (UTC)

Mentioned you at ANI

Hi I mentioned you here Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents#GBFEE's aspersion casting and likely sockpuppetry. While it concerns a sock, I didn't report this to SPI because it concerns an archived case and the only thing new is a single comment at ANI. Also while I have a preference, I don't care a great deal so I'm fine if you feel it changes noting. (I'm only here because I dislike mentioning people at ANI without telling them even when not critical of them or starting a new thread.) Nil Einne (talk) 11:19, 4 July 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for the note, I'll take a look. -- RoySmith (talk) 11:31, 4 July 2022 (UTC)

Tech News: 2022-27

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Changes later this week

  • The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 5 July. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 6 July. It will be on all wikis from 7 July (calendar).
  • Some wikis will be in read-only for a few minutes because of a switch of their main database. It will be performed on 5 July at 07:00 UTC (targeted wikis) and on 7 July at 7:00 UTC (targeted wikis).
  • The Beta Feature for DiscussionTools will be updated throughout July. Discussions will look different. You can see some of the proposed changes.
  • This change only affects pages in the main namespace in Wikisource. The Javascript config variable proofreadpage_source_href will be removed from mw.config and be replaced with the variable prpSourceIndexPage. [14]

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

19:31, 4 July 2022 (UTC)

Thank you

Thank you for taking your time at Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Resonantia. 84.250.14.116 (talk) 00:23, 7 July 2022 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – July 2022

News and updates for administrators from the past month (June 2022).

Technical news

  • user_global_editcount is a new variable that can be used in abuse filters to avoid affecting globally active users. (T130439)

Arbitration

Miscellaneous

  • The New Pages Patrol queue has around 10,000 articles to be reviewed. As all administrators have the patrol right, please consider helping out. The queue is here. For further information on the state of the project, see the latest NPP newsletter.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 13:29, 10 July 2022 (UTC)

Thu July 14: Astoria Beer Garden Wiki-Picnic

Thu July 14, 7-9pm: Astoria Beer Garden Wiki-Picnic
Beer garden at Bohemian Citizens' Benevolent Society.

You are invited to join us for a planned outdoor gathering with the local Wikimedia NYC community at the beer garden of Queens's Bohemian Citizens' Benevolent Society, better known as "Bohemian Hall".

All attendees are subject to Wikimedia NYC's Code of Conduct. In addition, to participate in person you should be vaccinated and also be sure to respect others' personal space, and we may limit overall attendance size if appropriate.

7:00 - 9:00 pm
(Bohemian Citizens' Benevolent Society / "Bohemian Hall", Astoria, Queens)

(You can subscribe/unsubscribe from future notifications for NYC-area events by adding or removing your name from this list.)

--Wikimedia New York City Team via MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 14:38, 11 July 2022 (UTC)

Tech News: 2022-28

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

Changes later this week

  • There is no new MediaWiki version this week.
  • Some wikis will be in read-only for a few minutes because of a switch of their main database. It will be performed on 12 July at 07:00 UTC (targeted wikis).

Future changes

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

19:23, 11 July 2022 (UTC)

Left a message that concerns you

Hi, RoySmith. I left a message at User talk:Reaper Eternal that concerns you. It's about the SPI case involving me.[17] GBFEE (talk) 04:59, 12 July 2022 (UTC)

Seeking advice on deleting personal attacks

Seeking: Advice. I want to delete or at least strike a bunch of "stuff" at Talk:GrapheneOS. I understand editing other editors' comments to be a sensitive thing, and don't want to break any wiki-rulez. Background: Thanks for blocking one of two admitted sock puppets, and pointing out another uses a proxy.[18] This now archived, overly long, ANI had no outcome I can see.[19] Offensive Talk additions: This[20] primarily added a bunch of personal attacks against me, with absolutely no foundation in reality. It should be completely deleted, IMO. This[21] added a "Ted Talk" focused primarily on editors and their history, with some discussion of article issues. It should be completely deleted, IMO. Thanks for your time. -- Yae4 (talk) 15:59, 14 July 2022 (UTC)

Hi, and thanks for your note. I took a look at Talk:GrapheneOS and I don't see anything that looks like a personal attack, nor anything which needs to be deleted. -- RoySmith (talk) 17:26, 14 July 2022 (UTC)
I can only request you to search for "grudge", and "feud", and scan what is said about me by 142.126.170.15. The statements are lies, and would be slander or libel if said about a known or named person. As I understand WP:INTERPOLATE, such statements should be removed. What are the consequences if I delete them? -- Yae4 (talk) 18:16, 14 July 2022 (UTC)
It's not the best example of WP:CIVIL, but I really don't think it rises to the level of a personal attack. My suggestion is to just avoid the controversy completely by finding some other articles to work on. -- RoySmith (talk) 21:25, 14 July 2022 (UTC)

Found recently blocked user on a new account

Hey Roy. An editor was recently indeffed at AN3 for a pattern of edit warring. Suspicious due to some IP editing, I ran a check and notice that he just created a new account. Appears that the new account should also be indeffed This does not look to be part of an existing farm. Should I open a whole SPI for this? It does not seem to need a behavioral investigation. Is there a quick way or is there an SPI shortcut button, for those who know the scripts? (he said hopefully).. EdJohnston (talk) 18:04, 15 July 2022 (UTC)

What I usually do in cases like that is open an SPI and note that it's "pro-forma" in the comment. Then I immediately close it. That at least gets the action into the SPI archives, which I assume is your goal? -- RoySmith (talk) 18:09, 15 July 2022 (UTC)
OK, now done at WP:Sockpuppet investigations/NikolaosFanaris. Finally deduced how to start an SPI using Twinkle. Such a blessing! My guess is that you *do* leave tags in this case. Thanks for your reply. EdJohnston (talk) 18:36, 15 July 2022 (UTC)
Yeah, Twinkle is wonderful. I don't know how I survived before discovering Twinkle. -- RoySmith (talk) 21:56, 15 July 2022 (UTC)

Movement Strategy and Governance News – Issue 7

Movement Strategy and Governance News
Issue 7, July-September 2022Read the full newsletter

Welcome to the 7th issue of Movement Strategy and Governance News! The newsletter distributes relevant news and events about the implementation of Wikimedia's Movement Strategy recommendations, other relevant topics regarding Movement governance, as well as different projects and activities supported by the Movement Strategy and Governance (MSG) team of the Wikimedia Foundation.

The MSG Newsletter is delivered quarterly, while the more frequent Movement Strategy Weekly will be delivered weekly. Please remember to subscribe here if you would like to receive future issues of this newsletter.

  • Movement sustainability: Wikimedia Foundation's annual sustainability report has been published. (continue reading)
  • Improving user experience: recent improvements on the desktop interface for Wikimedia projects. (continue reading)
  • Safety and inclusion: updates on the revision process of the Universal Code of Conduct Enforcement Guidelines. (continue reading)
  • Equity in decisionmaking: reports from Hubs pilots conversations, recent progress from the Movement Charter Drafting Committee, and a new white paper for futures of participation in the Wikimedia movement. (continue reading)
  • Stakeholders coordination: launch of a helpdesk for Affiliates and volunteer communities working on content partnership. (continue reading)
  • Leadership development: updates on leadership projects by Wikimedia movement organizers in Brazil and Cape Verde. (continue reading)
  • Internal knowledge management: launch of a new portal for technical documentation and community resources. (continue reading)
  • Innovate in free knowledge: high-quality audiovisual resources for scientific experiments and a new toolkit to record oral transcripts. (continue reading)
  • Evaluate, iterate, and adapt: results from the Equity Landscape project pilot (continue reading)
  • Other news and updates: a new forum to discuss Movement Strategy implementation, upcoming Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees election, a new podcast to discuss Movement Strategy, and change of personnel for the Foundation's Movement Strategy and Governance team. (continue reading)

RamzyM (WMF) 01:39, 18 July 2022 (UTC)

Tech News: 2022-29

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Problems

  • The feature on mobile web for Nearby Pages was missing last week. It will be fixed this week. [22]

Changes later this week

  • The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 19 July. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 20 July. It will be on all wikis from 21 July (calendar).

Future changes

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

22:58, 18 July 2022 (UTC)

Question

Hi Roy, thanks for your advice at the SPI. My question was whether there is any equivalent way of investigating canvassing? The repeated out-of-the-blue timings look impossible to have been just chance, particularly as they have come about within the narrow band of c.100 edits since the two he.wiki editors became extended-confirmed on en.wiki. Onceinawhile (talk) 01:51, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

I'm afraid I don't have any good answer for you. Canvassing happens, and it's unlikely we'll be able to do anything about it. -- RoySmith (talk) 03:06, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

Thank you for handling my SPI!

I probably submitted my request (WP:Sockpuppet_investigations/Lord777) prematurely. I saw WP:SPI first so reached for it, but it seems like WP:RIS is a better tactic against dynamic IPs. Thanks for your help, from a novice editor. Ductwork (talk) 22:32, 24 July 2022 (UTC)

Glad I could be of assistance. -- RoySmith (talk) 22:48, 24 July 2022 (UTC)

Tech News: 2022-30

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

Problems

  • Last week, some wikis were in read-only mode for a few minutes because of an emergency switch of their main database (targeted wikis). [24]

Changes later this week

  • The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 26 July. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 27 July. It will be on all wikis from 28 July (calendar).
  • The external link icon will change slightly in the skins Vector legacy and Vector 2022. The new icon uses simpler shapes to be more recognizable on low-fidelity screens. [25]
  • Administrators will now see buttons on user pages for "Change block" and "Unblock user" instead of just "Block user" if the user is already blocked. [26]

Future meetings

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

19:26, 25 July 2022 (UTC)

SPI Case

Hi RoySmith , I had reported two cases of SPI. Both those cases have failed[27] [28]. Can it have any effect on the user who filed the case? I did not report this case knowingly or as a target. I reported this case as there was doubt and little evidence. PravinGanechari (talk) 06:39, 25 July 2022 (UTC)

Pravin, thanks for your note. The general rule we use is "if you're not sure, don't block". Both of the cases you opened were reasonable, but I just didn't see quite enough to get me to "I'm sure". You might find User:Blablubbs/How to file a good SPI useful for filing future cases. -- RoySmith (talk) 13:12, 25 July 2022 (UTC)

"Tamzin" Mam also told me this sir in the Teahouse. But I did not understand this information well then. When I read this completely yesterday, this information is very useful. Thank you. PravinGanechari (talk) 09:49, 26 July 2022 (UTC)

For clarity

Hi, Roy - I just need some clarity about your mention of Martin's socking. He would jokingly use a different user name on TP discussions but typically linked it to his main user account. In reviewing the "sock farm" that got him blocked, it's appears that those fake names were never used nefariously or against policy, unless I've overlooked something. The reason I ask is because there are more than a few users who have signed their name jokingly using a fake name - for example ImaScered, or InfernalOptimist. Is that considered a violation of socking? Atsme 💬 📧 13:51, 26 July 2022 (UTC)

WP:ILLEGIT talks about accounts, not signatures. We've got lots of people who change their signature all the time. As long as your signature links back to your real account, I don't see any problem. Well, maybe what I should say is while I do find it annoying sometimes (because it makes it harder to know who's writing what), it's not against policy. Also see WP:CUSTOMSIG/P. -- RoySmith (talk) 14:01, 26 July 2022 (UTC)

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Recent sock

You recently blocked ChristopherLL as a sock per this SPI. They are now apparently back as an IP (compare [29], [30]). Is there any chance you could do a quick block and/or semiprotection of Variable speed of light (the current target of crankery)? Or would you prefer I got to SPI / RPP? Thanks, JBL (talk) 18:45, 27 July 2022 (UTC)

It makes things easier if you open an SPI, thanks. -- RoySmith (talk) 19:14, 27 July 2022 (UTC)
In the meantime, semi-protected for a week [31] -- RoySmith (talk) 19:18, 27 July 2022 (UTC)
Thanks very much. I have added the IP at SPI. --JBL (talk) 18:46, 28 July 2022 (UTC)

Sockpuppet Investigation Question

Hi there, sorry to bother you. I have submitted an investigation about a suspected sockpuppet. However, I was wondering if I am obliged to inform the user of this investigation. Usually I would, but considering this involves a user at an AFD, I don’t want to make any situation worse than it has to be.

Thanks for you help. Fats40boy11 (talk) 21:00, 28 July 2022 (UTC)

Informing suspected socks is not a requirement. -- RoySmith (talk) 21:08, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
Thanks Roy. I imagined that would be the case, but it’s always best to be 100% certain. Fats40boy11 (talk) 21:11, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
Happy to have been of service, and thanks for asking. -- RoySmith (talk) 21:33, 28 July 2022 (UTC)

Sockpuppet Investigation

I noticed the recent sockpuppet investigation on a user named Thundercloss, which concluded that the user was sockpuppeting. Was the user TCElectrified also a sock puppet of the same person? I had a prior situation linked here where TCElectrified briefly appeared to make a Thundercloss style edit. Seeing the ruling, I thought I should raise the question. I see your note to editors, but I post here since that report was closed. Hopefully that's correct in the situation and that I have not annoyed you. JArthur1984 (talk) 21:54, 28 July 2022 (UTC)

Hmmm, at first glance, I don't know what's going on there. One of them reverted an edit by the other one, which doesn't sound like a sock, but you never know. My suggestion is to file an SPI. -- RoySmith (talk) 23:01, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
If account creation had been blocked, reading from the log for Estnot, how would they be able to make another sock such as Thundercloss then? Vacosea (talk) 21:59, 31 July 2022 (UTC)
JArthur1984 I noticed that account and was going to ask if you knew about it. In the end I forgot to follow up, because I was hurried last week. Vacosea (talk) 21:59, 31 July 2022 (UTC)

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21:20, 1 August 2022 (UTC)

Pal Babu

Hi , Case should not have been closed early Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Pal Babu/Archive. Now the time card match has started. [32]. PravinGanechari (talk) 17:36, 2 August 2022 (UTC)

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