Engine room: Difference between revisions

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{{divbox|blue|Welcome to the engine room|This is a place to ask about and discuss the inner workings of the charity.  To discuss our external projects and activities, see how you can get involved or suggest ideas that could help our charitable mission, head over to the [[water cooler]].}}
{{divbox|blue|Welcome to the engine room|This is a place to ask about and discuss the inner workings of the charity.  To discuss our external projects and activities, see how you can get involved or suggest ideas that could help our charitable mission, head over to the [[water cooler]].}}
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|align=center|{{#ifexist:Engine_room/2013|[[/2013|2013]]}}{{#ifexist:Engine_room/2014|<br>[[/2014|2014]]}}
| align="center" |{{#ifexist:Engine_room/2013|[[/2013|2013]]}}{{#ifexist:Engine_room/2014|<br>[[/2014|2014]]}}{{#ifexist:Engine_room/2015|<br>[[/2015|2015]]}}
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== Where can I find 2014 programmes as opposed to just budget? ==
==Suggestions of potential events to attend==


I was wondering where last year's ideas for activities around this year's centenary of the First World War had gone, or what outcomes there had been in this area even if it had been reduced, considering there was originally '''[[2013_Activity_Plan#World_Wars_I_and_II_project|£20,000]]''' agreed by the trustees to be spent on it. Checking [http://wikimedia.org.uk/w/index.php?title=2014_Activity_Plan/GLAM_Outreach&oldid=54330 2014 Activity Plan/GLAM Outreach] I was surprised that this document contains no details of any GLAM projects, in fact it only appears to link to a budget for 2013 and the section on "timelines" remains blank apart from the note ''please add details''.
[[Project grants/Photographs covering African cultural events in London]] asks for suggestions of potential events to attend. My suggestion would be classic car rallies. A lot of wikipedia's car photos are taken of parked cars which tends to result in wide angle shots with messy backgrounds which tend not to look that great. Rallies where cars are driven allow you to get shots at longer focal lengths with cleaner backgrounds. A specific recommendation would be Great Dorset Steam Fair. As well as steam they have a lot of cars and bikes. I went there last year and was able to get stuff [[:commons:Category:Great Dorset Steam Fair (2016)|like this]]


Where can I find a tangible 2014 plan for GLAM, with details that can be measured as opposed to reports of stuff that has already happened? --[[User:Fæ|Fæ]] ([[User talk:Fæ|talk]]) 11:07, 9 May 2014 (BST)
== Confirmation emails not arriving ==


:Based on the fact that it has now been a week, this appears to be a "non-success".
[[Special:ConfirmEmail]] does not seem to be working for me. How long is the lag, typically? Please [[w:WP:NOTIFY|notify]] me in your reply. Thanks! [[User:Zazpot|Zazpot]] ([[User talk:Zazpot|talk]]) 20:18, 28 June 2017 (BST)
:I suggest that the board of trustees consider changing the Activity Plan wording so that there is a realistic expectation given to members that when we discuss plans, the charity means standard budget forecasts, reports of what happened in the previous quarter and actions (not plans) for the coming quarter.
:These would normally be called "reports" and in addition one would expect the CEO to ensure a schedule spanning the funded programmes is maintained (the next 12 months in the case of this charity) and a work breakdown with associated measurable outcomes. The board of trustees may find this a useful strategic discussion at some point soon, in order to help provide the quality of oversight that most large national charities would expect. --[[User:Fæ|Fæ]] ([[User talk:Fæ|talk]]) 12:21, 15 May 2014 (BST)


::While it has been almost a week since your question, our GLAM Organiser is part-time. A considerable amount of his time has been spent on helping with FDC reporting for Q1 so you may have to wait for an answer. When he is next in I will ask Jonathan Cardy when he has time to answer. [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 14:49, 15 May 2014 (BST)
:Hi {{ping|Zazpot}}, thanks for letting us know. I've [https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org.uk/show_bug.cgi?id=433 asked our developers to take a look]. [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 10:27, 29 June 2017 (BST)
:::I was expecting either a link to the plan so I could look at it, or a statement saying there is no plan. My question was not intended to be directed at anyone, I certainly am not asking employees direct questions. This could be answered by the CEO, any trustee as they follow and review these documents, or another unpaid volunteer up to date on programme reporting, who might be comfortable answering.
:
:::As it happens I have been in discussion with Jonathan on other matters in this time. I note that the Activity Plan does not name Jonathan as being responsible for a plan, and that the supporting detailed document says "Daria Cybulska with delegated support from Jonathan Cardy" which I was aware of, but had made no assumptions about. --[[User:Fæ|Fæ]] ([[User talk:Fæ|talk]]) 15:09, 15 May 2014 (BST)
::{{ping|Richard Nevell (WMUK)}} thanks for this. Confirmation email still not received. Other emails to the same address seems to be reaching me fine. [[User:Zazpot|Zazpot]] ([[User talk:Zazpot|talk]]) 11:32, 29 June 2017 (BST)
::::Likewise Daria and the CEO have been extraordinarily busy in particular with drafting the FDC report. I'm afraid an answer will have to wait until staff workloads are more manageable. [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 16:10, 15 May 2014 (BST)
::
:::::Thanks. I am sorry that the last week had been a bad time. Again, it was never my intention for this to be seen a question directed to an employee.
:::It hasn't ended up in spam by any chance? It sounds likely that something's broken. Special:PasswordReset is working so the wiki is able to send out some emails, so it might just be an issue with Special:ConfirmEmail. [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 12:14, 29 June 2017 (BST)
:::::{{ping|MichaelMaggs}} Would a trustee or a knowledgeable volunteer like to answer my question? It seems a simple and short one if anyone knows the answer. Thanks --[[User:Fæ|Fæ]] ([[User talk:Fæ|talk]]) 16:57, 15 May 2014 (BST)
:::
::::{{ping|Richard Nevell (WMUK)}} no, sadly not. I checked the spam folder before posting here (and have checked it again just now). Pressed the "Mail a confirmation code" button again today, just in case it had started working again, but still no joy. Will try signing up to the Bugzilla instance, so that I can follow up there. [[User:Zazpot|Zazpot]] ([[User talk:Zazpot|talk]]) 21:48, 4 July 2017 (BST)


:It has now over <s>2 weeks</s> 6 weeks since my question "Where can I find a tangible 2014 plan" was raised. I am sorry if this has been seen as a trick question of some sort, it was not intended that way. --[[User:Fæ|Fæ]] ([[User talk:Fæ|talk]]) 10:36, 25 June 2014 (BST)
== Meta: Spam ==


== Latest draft of annual review for comments ==
Hi all, heck of a [[:Category:Speedy deletions|lot of spam]] which could do with deleting. Whilst I'm here, could someone rename my account to [[User:There'sNoTime]]? [[User:Samtar|Samtar]] ([[User talk:Samtar|talk]]) 14:36, 4 December 2017 (GMT)
:Oh, and an edit filter would be good eh? [[User:Samtar|Samtar]] ([[User talk:Samtar|talk]]) 14:37, 4 December 2017 (GMT)
::I've renamed your account as requested, and am taking a look at some of the spam. An edit filter would definitely be worthwhile, but I don't know how to set one up. [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 17:05, 4 December 2017 (GMT)
:::{{ping|Richard Nevell (WMUK)}} I'm +sysop/EFM on enwp, happy to set something up if you'd like? [[User:There&#39;sNoTime|There&#39;sNoTime]] ([[User talk:There&#39;sNoTime|talk]]) 17:52, 4 December 2017 (GMT)
::::{{ping|There'sNoTime}} Yes please, do you need admin access here to set it up? [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 14:20, 5 December 2017 (GMT)
:::::{{ping|Richard Nevell (WMUK)}} I will do, if that's alright?  -- [[User:There'sNoTime|There'sNoTime]] <sup>([[User talk:There'sNoTime|to explain]])</sup> 14:22, 5 December 2017 (GMT)
::::::{{ping|There'sNoTime}} Absolutely, you're now an admin. [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 10:44, 12 December 2017 (GMT)
:::::::Cheers, just testing something now  -- [[User:There'sNoTime|There'sNoTime]] <sup>([[User talk:There'sNoTime|to explain]])</sup> 11:09, 12 December 2017 (GMT)


Hello everyone. I've been working on our 2013-14 annual review booklet which we will be giving to visitors to Wikimania. It still needs some images but it is taking shape now. If you like to take a look, [[:File:Wikimedia_AR_2014_v4.pdf|it's here]]. All sensible and constructive comments welcome. [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 10:15, 27 June 2014 (BST)
== Staff group photo ==
:Stevie - It looks really good. love the front cover! [[User:Richard Symonds (WMUK)|Richard Symonds (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Symonds (WMUK)|talk]]) 10:35, 27 June 2014 (BST)
:On page 7 and on page 20 (twice) the word "''licences''" as a noun is incorrectly spelled the American way: "''licenses''". I expect you're aware of the placeholder link that will need replacing on page 9, the caption on page 14 and the pull quote on page 17. On page 18 Jimmy Wales is listed as "pictured" when he is not (unless he is one of the Globe Kittens...). The standard WMF trademark disclaimer still needs to be added to the back page, as the roundel above uses WMF trademarks. Hope that helps. --[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 10:53, 27 June 2014 (BST)
:On the back page, we still have "''The image on the front cover shows the '''....''' Salisbury Cathedral''". The missing words are probably 'nave of'. --[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 11:11, 27 June 2014 (BST)
:The back cover family logo images need to be [[:File:Wikimedia logo family 2013 with WMUK in center.svg|updated]] to include Wikidata & Wikivoyage. -- [[User:Katie Chan (WMUK)|Katie Chan (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Katie Chan (WMUK)|talk]]) 11:14, 27 June 2014 (BST)
::Thanks for all comments so far, much appreciated. These will certainly be dealt with at the proofing stage and I will definitely refer back here - most helpful! [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 11:16, 27 June 2014 (BST)


:::Hello again, I now have an [[:File:Wikimedia AR 2014 v4.pdf|updated version]] with the images included. I do still need to make the changes suggested above, and add the statistics page, but it's almost there. Would love useful and constructive comments. [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 17:46, 30 June 2014 (BST)
I've just spotted that the staff group photo is rather out of date - it still features Richard S who hasn't been staff for a couple of years now for example. I suggest someone puts this in the diary for a day when you have a full house in the office and it isn't snowing! [[user:Thryduulf|Thryduulf]] (talk: [[user talk:Thryduulf|local]] | [[w:user talk:Thryduulf|en.wp]] | [[wikt:user talk:Thryduulf|en.wikt]]) 17:29, 2 March 2018 (GMT)
:Agreed. 2015 is a long time ago and there have been several staff changes since then.  [[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 21:48, 8 July 2018 (BST)
::I will try to take one at the Christmas lunch. It's not been easy to get everyone in the same place at the same time! [[User:John Lubbock (WMUK)|John Lubbock (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:John Lubbock (WMUK)|talk]]) 14:44, 5 December 2018 (GMT)


===Latest version===
== Wikimedia VLE ==
Hello again. I've just uploaded the latest version of the annual review. [[:File:Wikimedia_AR_2014_v4.pdf|It's here]].  Please do feel free to comment by the end of Wednesday. There are some required amends I have noted: P4 - need to rewrite the end of column 1. P7 - remove stray (see below) and correct spelling of licences. P9 - remove one of "created developed". Correct "also a focused on". P11 - correct "you can see a selection". P13 - fix stray capitalisation. P14 - fix stray capitalisation. P16 - fix stray capitalisation and duplication of "project" in para 3. P17 - fix stray caps and image caption. P18 - fix stray full stop in col 3. P20 -  fix two spellings of licences and add standard WMF disclaimer.  Thank you [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 15:33, 8 July 2014 (BST)


== Matters reserved for the Board ==
Is the [http://moodle.wikimedia.org.uk/ Wikimedia VLE] dead?  If so, [https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Virtual_Learning_Environment information about it] should be updated.


As recommended by our governance reviewers, we have today published a list of [[Matters reserved for the Board]]. This is an explanatory and informational document which is intended to be read in conjunction with the [[Scheme of Delegation]], the formal document of April 2013 which continues to define the responsibilities that have been placed on the Chief Executive by the board. --[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 10:13, 3 July 2014 (BST)
==Recent changes==
Is the wiki going to be updated with the new recent changes interface? [[User:Leutha|Leutha]] ([[User talk:Leutha|talk]]) 11:03, 29 November 2018 (GMT)
::Hi [[User:Leutha|Leutha]], we would love to update lots of things on the wiki. I hope that once we sort out other things with the site we can get around to this, but we probably need assistance fom people who are expert at MediaWiki. [[User:John Lubbock (WMUK)|John Lubbock (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:John Lubbock (WMUK)|talk]]) 12:31, 2 April 2019 (BST)


== Moving pages on this wiki ==
== Watchlist broken ==


I noticed the page-move vandalism on this wiki earlier today and an increase in vandalism in general since the migration of this wiki away from the WMF wiki family (which was done for reasons I still don't fully understand, and I'm extremely sceptical as to whether it was worth the increased hassle), but since page moves don't need to be done that frequently and are rarely urgent, should the function be restricted to administrators?<p>I would also suggest to the board that, since we no longer have the benefit of assistance from the small wiki monitoring team and stewards (some of whom are often awake while most of the UK is asleep), it takes a more liberal approach to the granting of admin rights on this wiki (and that some effort is put into recruiting volunteers to look after the wiki). [[User:HJ Mitchell|Harry Mitchell]] ([[User talk:HJ Mitchell|talk]]) 00:18, 7 July 2014 (BST)
Nothing is showing on my watchlist. In the box, there is the text:
: This makes a lot of sense to me - although it would be better to restrict page moves to [auto]confirmed users instead of just admins. I've echo'd the suggestion on the technology mailing list, since RecentChanges is rather busy at the moment: [http://lists.wikimedia.org.uk/pipermail/technology/2014-July/000106.html]. Thanks. [[User:Mike Peel|Mike Peel]] ([[User talk:Mike Peel|talk]]) 18:38, 7 July 2014 (BST)
:Below are the last '''0''' changes in the last '''720''' hours, as of 30 November 2018, 12:26.
:: According to [[Special:ListGroupRights]] the page move function is now restricted to administrators. I don't have any great objections to this, as pages don't need to be moved that often, though I don't think it was even restricted to autoconfirmed users before, so as Mike says, trying this first might be better.
Under the box, it says
:No changes during the given period match these criteria.
At [[Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-watchlist|Preferences]], I have the following relevant settings:
*Days to show in watchlist: 30
*Maximum number of changes to show in watchlist: 250
*{{tick|12}} Expand watchlist to show all changes, not just the most recent
*{{cross|12}} Hide minor edits from the watchlist
*{{cross|12}} Hide bot edits from the watchlist
*{{cross|12}} Hide my edits from the watchlist
*{{cross|12}} Hide edits by anonymous users from the watchlist
*{{cross|12}} Hide edits by logged in users from the watchlist
One of my watched pages is [[Events]], which normally attracts at least one edit each week. But not even the last edit (which was at 12:23, 22 November 2018) is showing. Has there been a MediaWiki config change that would affect this? --[[User:Redrose64|Redrose64]] ([[User talk:Redrose64|talk]]; [[:wikipedia:User:Redrose64|at English Wikipedia]]) 12:28, 30 November 2018 (GMT)
:Supplemental: I also have the setting
::{{tick|12}} Add pages and files I edit to my watchlist
:and I made sure that the "Watch this page" checkbox was ticked before I saved; but despite both of those, this page (Engine room) was ''not'' added to [[Special:EditWatchlist]] after I saved the above post. Nor was [[Water cooler]] added after I made [[Special:Diff/80704|this edit]]. This suggests that there seems to be a wider problem. The "watch" star works, but it's an extra step that I don't need to make on other wikis. --[[User:Redrose64|Redrose64]] ([[User talk:Redrose64|talk]]; [[:wikipedia:User:Redrose64|at English Wikipedia]]) 12:44, 30 November 2018 (GMT)
:I think this relates to the Recent Changes not working, which led to my query aboce. [[User:Leutha|Leutha]] ([[User talk:Leutha|talk]]) 12:48, 30 November 2018 (GMT)
:I'm seeing exactly the same issue with both watchlists and recent changes. I'll ping the mailing list as that gets a bit more traffic these days. [[user:Thryduulf|Thryduulf]] (talk: [[user talk:Thryduulf|local]] | [[w:user talk:Thryduulf|en.wp]] | [[wikt:user talk:Thryduulf|en.wikt]]) 12:51, 30 November 2018 (GMT)
::Hi Chris, I'll try to forward this issue on, but it is possible that it is part of the same problem we are having with a lot of our sites at the moment. I'll try to keep you informed when i hear what the problem is.[[User:John Lubbock (WMUK)|John Lubbock (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:John Lubbock (WMUK)|talk]]) 16:14, 30 November 2018 (GMT)


:: I also agree with taking a more liberal approach on giving out the admin tools, and I would be happy to see it given to any member of the chapter in good standing, since staff probably have better things to be doing than dealing with vandalism and spam. I'll put my hand up as someone interested – I regularly check recent changes, sometimes at odd hours of the day. I've got the tools already on the Wikimania 2014 wiki to help keep spam and vandalism at bay and I'm happy to offer my services here too. [[User:CT Cooper|CT Cooper]]<small><span style="font-weight:bold;">&nbsp;·</span>&#32;[[User talk:CT Cooper|talk]]</small> 18:45, 7 July 2014 (BST)
Any progress to report on this? [[User:TheOverflow|TheOverflow]] ([[User talk:TheOverflow|talk]]) 06:21, 22 July 2019 (BST)
::::Thanks for volunteering. You are now an admin! --[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 19:02, 7 July 2014 (BST)
:I thought I would check recent changes by adding this edit . . . [[User:Leutha|Leutha]] ([[User talk:Leutha|talk]]) 07:34, 19 October 2019 (BST)
::::ps If any other trusted members would like to help out, please see [[Permissions Policy]].--[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 19:02, 7 July 2014 (BST)
::. . . and then seeing if the edit comes up – which it does not, so I think we are left with the old adage of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Soldier_%C5%A0vejk Good Editor Schweik]] "beg to report there is noting to report". [[User:Leutha|Leutha]] ([[User talk:Leutha|talk]]) 07:47, 19 October 2019 (BST)
::::: Thank you. [[User:CT Cooper|CT Cooper]]<small><span style="font-weight:bold;">&nbsp;·</span>&#32;[[User talk:CT Cooper|talk]]</small> 20:15, 7 July 2014 (BST)
:::That this has been outstanding for more than a year doesn't reflect well on the charity: most people would expect Wikimedia UK to be able to make its own wiki work... but I suppose that's not a priority any more. [[User:TheOverflow|TheOverflow]] ([[User talk:TheOverflow|talk]]) 09:05, 29 December 2019 (GMT)
::: "Move pages (move)" is also listed as a right that 'users' have... Thanks. [[User:Mike Peel|Mike Peel]] ([[User talk:Mike Peel|talk]]) 18:47, 7 July 2014 (BST)
:::: Indeed it is. My mistake. [[User:CT Cooper|CT Cooper]]<small><span style="font-weight:bold;">&nbsp;·</span>&#32;[[User talk:CT Cooper|talk]]</small> 20:15, 7 July 2014 (BST)
::::Yup - it is still a right of the "users" group. It ought to be editable in LocalSettings.php, according to the Mediawiki manual, but I can't see that page (no doubt for good reason!).
::::AbuseFilter looks helpful but is a little too technical for me to be able to us it. [[User:The Land|The Land]] ([[User talk:The Land|talk]]) 19:49, 7 July 2014 (BST)
::::: Same with me. I can do range blocks if needed, but I've never gotten to grips with the abuse filter. [[User:CT Cooper|CT Cooper]]<small><span style="font-weight:bold;">&nbsp;·</span>&#32;[[User talk:CT Cooper|talk]]</small> 20:15, 7 July 2014 (BST)
::Emmanuel has reported that the abuse filter extension has been installed. Jon Davies has asked for page moves be restricted to admins, in the meanwhile the high profile pages on this wiki have been fully move protected individually.
::There are no "confirmed" or "auto confirmed" user groups on this wiki so there is no permission level between user and administrator. Personally therefore I think restricting moves to admins makes sense in that context. The priv can be extended to a trusted user group if desired at a later date if one is created (a separate discussion I feel). [[User:Chris McKenna (WMUK)|Chris McKenna (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Chris McKenna (WMUK)|talk]]) 18:53, 7 July 2014 (BST)
::: Yeah, in the longterm a user group with the ability to move page, the autopatrol flag and anything else useful would be nice. [[User:CT Cooper|CT Cooper]]<small><span style="font-weight:bold;">&nbsp;·</span>&#32;[[User talk:CT Cooper|talk]]</small> 21:06, 7 July 2014 (BST)
:::: I've just made an editfilter to tag edits from new users who dramatically reduce a pagesize or blank it. Sadly the filter won't save, so I've filed a bug (282). Once we get the editfilter working, we can have precisely defined checks on vandalism by adapting what's available already on en-wp or by writing our own. --[[User:RexxS|RexxS]] ([[User talk:RexxS|talk]]) 21:23, 7 July 2014 (BST)


It looks like unregistered users can create pages on this wiki too. It might be helpful if this was restricted to registered accounts, though I do recognize that much of the recent spam/vandalism has come from registered users anyway. [[User:CT Cooper|CT Cooper]]<small><span style="font-weight:bold;">&nbsp;·</span>&#32;[[User talk:CT Cooper|talk]]</small> 20:55, 8 July 2014 (BST)
== Recent changes to MediaWiki namespace files ==


== Naming of pages in dated series ==
Hi all - just a courtesy message letting you know I've made some changes to a couple of MediaWiki namespace files (namely [[MediaWiki:Common.js]]). These [[Special:Diff/82763|changes]] ''affect all users'', and were implemented solely due to function depreciation. Please let me know (preferably on [[:en:User talk:TheresNoTime|my English Wikipedia talk page]]) if there are any issues ~[[User:There'sNoTime|TNT]] (she/her • [[User talk:There'sNoTime|talk]]) 14:58, 5 October 2021 (BST)


As can be seen from [[:Category:Meeting agendas]], we used to name pages logically, like [[Meetings/2009-03-02/Agenda]]. This meant that they sorted chronologically, and could be easily found using the wiki search feature's autocomplete (someone could, for example, type "Meetings/2009-03" without needing to know the exact date was the 2nd).
== Installed versions of MediaWiki and PHP are end-of-life ==


More recently, formats like [[Agenda 29Jun10]] have been used; this is far less useful.
The currently installed version of MediaWiki ([[:mw:MediaWiki 1.31|1.31]]) went [[:en:End-of-life_product#Computing|EOL]] on the 30th September 2021 - we should urgently upgrade to the latest LTS version ([[:mw:MediaWiki 1.35|1.35]]), and ideally to the latest stable version ([[:mw:MediaWiki 1.36|1.36]]).


I'd like us to resume using the former pattern, and to move the existing pages with the latter type of name, if there is no objection. <span class="vcard"><span class="fn">[[User:Pigsonthewing|Andy Mabbett]]</span> (User:<span class="nickname">Pigsonthewing</span>); [[User talk:Pigsonthewing|Andy's talk]]; [[Special:Contributions/Pigsonthewing|Andy's edits]]</span> 12:33, 8 July 2014 (BST)
We will ''also'' need to upgrade to [[:mw:Compatibility#PHP|PHP]] version 7.3.19 or higher, as our currently installed version ([[Special:Version#sv-software|7.2.30]]) is not supported (and is also EOL).
:Full support from me for that. [[User:Chris McKenna (WMUK)|Chris McKenna (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Chris McKenna (WMUK)|talk]]) 12:40, 8 July 2014 (BST)
:Sounds sensible to me, I've wondered why that format is used too. Perhaps there was a reason for the shift? [[User:Sjgknight|Sjgknight]] ([[User talk:Sjgknight|talk]]) 12:41, 8 July 2014 (BST)
::The newer form is more human-readable, in my view.... [[User:The Land|The Land]] ([[User talk:The Land|talk]]) 13:24, 8 July 2014 (BST)
::: It's also easier to link to... Thanks. [[User:Mike Peel|Mike Peel]] ([[User talk:Mike Peel|talk]]) 13:29, 8 July 2014 (BST)
::::How so? And even if it is, that can be dealt with by redirects. <span class="vcard"><span class="fn">[[User:Pigsonthewing|Andy Mabbett]]</span> (User:<span class="nickname">Pigsonthewing</span>); [[User talk:Pigsonthewing|Andy's talk]]; [[Special:Contributions/Pigsonthewing|Andy's edits]]</span> 13:55, 8 July 2014 (BST)
:::I don't find "29Jun10" particularly human readable. <span class="vcard"><span class="fn">[[User:Pigsonthewing|Andy Mabbett]]</span> (User:<span class="nickname">Pigsonthewing</span>); [[User talk:Pigsonthewing|Andy's talk]]; [[Special:Contributions/Pigsonthewing|Andy's edits]]</span> 13:55, 8 July 2014 (BST)
::::I'm with Andy on this - "29Jun10" is less readable to me than "2010-06-29" and redirects (which are generally underused on this wiki) are the perfect solution to linking issues. [[User:Chris McKenna (WMUK)|Chris McKenna (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Chris McKenna (WMUK)|talk]]) 14:37, 8 July 2014 (BST)
::::: I also prefer [[w:ISO 8601|ISO 8601]] dating, it's more logical for use of sub-pages and is easily readable, though I know not everyone is used to it. [[User:CT Cooper|CT Cooper]]<small><span style="font-weight:bold;">&nbsp;·</span>&#32;[[User talk:CT Cooper|talk]]</small> 20:58, 8 July 2014 (BST)
:::::: The common use in the UK is to refer to dates as Day / Month / Year, at least when they are intended to be read by the general public. ISO 8601 is a wonderful thing for databases but is rather less familiar to people who aren't used to them. So I think the current version is significantly more usable. [[User:The Land|The Land]] ([[User talk:The Land|talk]]) 19:59, 10 July 2014 (BST)
::::::: If readability for the general public is the primary concern then I see no reason why the date can't written in full i.e. "29 June 2010". [[User:CT Cooper|CT Cooper]]<small><span style="font-weight:bold;">&nbsp;·</span>&#32;[[User talk:CT Cooper|talk]]</small> 21:27, 10 July 2014 (BST)
:::::::I think the point re: changing is readability is moot if you can't find the page, the 2009-03 format makes it easier to get an overview of (and find individual) meetings from 2009, and isn't that odd to read. [[User:Sjgknight|Sjgknight]] ([[User talk:Sjgknight|talk]]) 21:34, 10 July 2014 (BST)
:::::::: I've always preferred the YYYY-MM-DD format for use in page titles as it allows Ajax to suggest autocompletions and aids manual searching - even more so if you're looking at a category with lots of pages. As an example, when I created the page for the first meeting of the Audit & Risk Committee, I named it [[Audit and Risk Committee/Meeting 2013-04-29]]. Since then, a different scheme has been used, so that perusing [[:Category:Audit and Risk Committee]] gives the September 2014 meeting before the May and January ones. Using 2014-01-14; 2014-05-21; 2014-09-01 would arrange them in chronological order and ensure that 2013 comes before 2014, before 2015, etc. It's not a big deal when there's only a few pages, but soon gets annoying when the category becomes larger. --[[User:RexxS|RexxS]] ([[User talk:RexxS|talk]]) 22:09, 10 July 2014 (BST)
:::::::::I also personally prefer the 2014-05-21 naming convention.  --[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 23:07, 10 July 2014 (BST)
:::::::::: To be clear my position on this is that ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) is best, with the longhand dates (e.g. 29 June 2010) being either used in re-directs or as an alternative if ISO 8601 isn't wanted. The current format of "29Jun10" seems to be the worst of both worlds. [[User:CT Cooper|CT Cooper]]<small><span style="font-weight:bold;">&nbsp;·</span>&#32;[[User talk:CT Cooper|talk]]</small> 23:18, 10 July 2014 (BST)
:::::::::::It looks like we should use ISO 8601, possibly with redirects from "normal" dates.. I'll ping {{u|Richard Nevell (WMUK)}} and if he agrees (he organises this sort of thing) we'll go with that. [[User:Richard Symonds (WMUK)|Richard Symonds (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Symonds (WMUK)|talk]]) 11:06, 11 July 2014 (BST)
::::::::::::I don't mind especially either way. Each style has its merits and drawbacks. Whatever is decided, consistency would be preferable so some pages will need moving. [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 13:19, 11 July 2014 (BST)
:::::::::::::ISO 8601 with redirects it is. [[User:Richard Symonds (WMUK)|Richard Symonds (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Symonds (WMUK)|talk]]) 14:39, 11 July 2014 (BST)
::::::::::::::{{ping|Jonathan Cardy (WMUK)}} sorry Jonathan, idly looking at recent changes and moved what I thought was a mistaken ISO 8601 without dashes, I now see that is the historic format for the GLAM committee (apologies, obviously feel free to revert me!) - just to note here that clearly there are really a ''number'' of different formats being used...will changing require a manual edit to all? [[User:Sjgknight|Sjgknight]] ([[User talk:Sjgknight|talk]]) 16:46, 23 July 2014 (BST)
Is there a volunteer willing to do all the redirects. I don't really want to see staff time wasted on this bicycle shed kinda stuff? [[User:Seddon|Seddon]] ([[User talk:Seddon|talk]]) 16:45, 23 July 2014 (BST)
:I imagine that creating standard format redirects to pages in a different standard format would be a trivial task for a bot. I'm not a bot operator/programmer though. [[User:Chris McKenna (WMUK)|Chris McKenna (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Chris McKenna (WMUK)|talk]]) 20:55, 23 July 2014 (BST)


== Train the trainers - how can we make it perfect? ==
Have we previously reached out to the Wikimedia Foundation, as I am certain they would happily host this MediaWiki installation? ~[[User:TheresNoTime|TheresNoTime]] <sup>([[User talk:TheresNoTime|to explain!]])</sup> 14:40, 1 November 2021 (GMT)


First of all many thanks to those of you who gave up your Saturday for the Train the Trainers refresher session recently.  I am awaiting the feedback analysis from Midas and will share it but the comments we have had so far was really positive.
== Spam ==
As the programme develops it is clear that we need to make sure that you are all supported and that the experience for those you train is as good as possible.


So to the point. While most of the trainee feedback has been positive
Hi, yesterday I stumbled upon a site (off-wiki) that had a spam link pointing to a page of this wiki. Having had a closer look I fell off my chair and added wikimedia.org.uk to my [[commons:User:Achim55/Wikis that are abused by spammers|list of spam servers]] as it is highly contaminated. The account creating rate by spambots has increased here to about 1000 per day. The rate of spam page creations (or edits) is the same. I happen to be the one who is holding the high score of blocks on the Commons and thought about offering some help cleaning up this crap but it's impossible. Deleting or at least tagging tens of thousands of pages and accounts while continuously new ones are created is a joke. One could seriously consider to shut down this wiki. If not, following had to be done ASAP
there have been a few event attendees who have felt that we could have done better:
# Restrict the account generation either by adding a captcha on creation or even by using a closed user group (acc creation disabled by default)
 
# Get the SBLs running. As I just checked on my tp neither the local nor the global SBL are in effect. And I didn't find a SBL log.
    'The woman sitting next to me did not know how to sign her name by the end of the session'
# A publicly accessible wiki like this one should not be run without any abuse filter, there seems to be no [[Special:AbuseLog]].
    'Why were there no proper handouts, no outcomes, no checking whether or not people were following'
Pinging [[User:TheresNoTime|Sam]], [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard]] and [[User:Mike Peel|Mike]]. Regards, [[User:Achim55|Achim55]] ([[User talk:Achim55|talk]]) 11:59, 12 August 2022 (BST)
    'I felt there should have been a lesson plan for the sessions that could have been adapted'
:Good suggestions, recently raised on https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org/thread/EZSPL7QGSVFUCPTBFKRPR4DVZAW3WYDM/ ~[[User:TheresNoTime|TheresNoTime]] <sup>([[User talk:TheresNoTime|to explain!]])</sup> 20:46, 13 August 2022 (BST)
    'He questioned the point of belonging to WMUK' from someone who wanted to join :(
:Just noting I've created [[Spam]] [[User:TheresNoTime|TheresNoTime]] ([[User talk:TheresNoTime|talk]]) 19:13, 15 August 2022 (BST)
 
::Sysop action wanted → [[User:Achim55/Spam]]. Cheers, [[User:Achim55|Achim55]] ([[User talk:Achim55|talk]]) 09:44, 10 August 2023 (BST)
These could just be small isolated instances but I thought it important to listen to your thoughts.
Daria, Katie and I have discussed this, and think it would be useful to know if there are things we can do to support you and whether there are resources that are being neglected or need to be created.
 
I have set up a [[Train the trainers - how can we make it perfect?|discussion page]].
 
Jon.
 
[[User:Jon Davies (WMUK)|Jon Davies (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Jon Davies (WMUK)|talk]]) 13:08, 15 July 2014 (BST)
 
:I don't know what to make of this.
:Firstly, presumably, the feedback copied above is feedback at sessions that trained trainers have run, not feedback on the refresher. This isn't made entirely clear.
:Secondly, if it is feedback on sessions run by trained trainers, I don't really know what we can do with this information, without knowing which specific sessions each point relates to. I guess it serves as a useful reminder of what can go wrong.... but that's about it.
:Presumably, following the analysis by Midas, individuals will be contacted to discuss feedback specific to the sessions they were involved in. That will be much more useful.
:[[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 14:48, 15 July 2014 (BST)
 
:: Yes theses were from sessions where we had trainers present. A very small sample of what are generally pleased people but pose some useful questions and I hope you will share your ideas on the discussion page - some good stuff there already. [[User:Jon Davies (WMUK)|Jon Davies (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Jon Davies (WMUK)|talk]]) 14:51, 15 July 2014 (BST)
 
:::The first question these quotes pose to me is "which session do they come from?" But I think we have clarified the situation now. What you are actually after is answers to the questions on the linked page. I think the questions there provide sufficient prompt. [[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 06:34, 16 July 2014 (BST)

Latest revision as of 09:45, 10 August 2023

Welcome to the engine room
This is a place to ask about and discuss the inner workings of the charity. To discuss our external projects and activities, see how you can get involved or suggest ideas that could help our charitable mission, head over to the water cooler.
Archives.png
2013
2014
2015

Suggestions of potential events to attend

Project grants/Photographs covering African cultural events in London asks for suggestions of potential events to attend. My suggestion would be classic car rallies. A lot of wikipedia's car photos are taken of parked cars which tends to result in wide angle shots with messy backgrounds which tend not to look that great. Rallies where cars are driven allow you to get shots at longer focal lengths with cleaner backgrounds. A specific recommendation would be Great Dorset Steam Fair. As well as steam they have a lot of cars and bikes. I went there last year and was able to get stuff like this

Confirmation emails not arriving

Special:ConfirmEmail does not seem to be working for me. How long is the lag, typically? Please notify me in your reply. Thanks! Zazpot (talk) 20:18, 28 June 2017 (BST)

Hi @Zazpot:, thanks for letting us know. I've asked our developers to take a look. Richard Nevell (WMUK) (talk) 10:27, 29 June 2017 (BST)
@Richard Nevell (WMUK): thanks for this. Confirmation email still not received. Other emails to the same address seems to be reaching me fine. Zazpot (talk) 11:32, 29 June 2017 (BST)
It hasn't ended up in spam by any chance? It sounds likely that something's broken. Special:PasswordReset is working so the wiki is able to send out some emails, so it might just be an issue with Special:ConfirmEmail. Richard Nevell (WMUK) (talk) 12:14, 29 June 2017 (BST)
@Richard Nevell (WMUK): no, sadly not. I checked the spam folder before posting here (and have checked it again just now). Pressed the "Mail a confirmation code" button again today, just in case it had started working again, but still no joy. Will try signing up to the Bugzilla instance, so that I can follow up there. Zazpot (talk) 21:48, 4 July 2017 (BST)

Meta: Spam

Hi all, heck of a lot of spam which could do with deleting. Whilst I'm here, could someone rename my account to User:There'sNoTime? Samtar (talk) 14:36, 4 December 2017 (GMT)

Oh, and an edit filter would be good eh? Samtar (talk) 14:37, 4 December 2017 (GMT)
I've renamed your account as requested, and am taking a look at some of the spam. An edit filter would definitely be worthwhile, but I don't know how to set one up. Richard Nevell (WMUK) (talk) 17:05, 4 December 2017 (GMT)
@Richard Nevell (WMUK): I'm +sysop/EFM on enwp, happy to set something up if you'd like? There'sNoTime (talk) 17:52, 4 December 2017 (GMT)
@There'sNoTime: Yes please, do you need admin access here to set it up? Richard Nevell (WMUK) (talk) 14:20, 5 December 2017 (GMT)
@Richard Nevell (WMUK): I will do, if that's alright? -- There'sNoTime (to explain) 14:22, 5 December 2017 (GMT)
@There'sNoTime: Absolutely, you're now an admin. Richard Nevell (WMUK) (talk) 10:44, 12 December 2017 (GMT)
Cheers, just testing something now -- There'sNoTime (to explain) 11:09, 12 December 2017 (GMT)

Staff group photo

I've just spotted that the staff group photo is rather out of date - it still features Richard S who hasn't been staff for a couple of years now for example. I suggest someone puts this in the diary for a day when you have a full house in the office and it isn't snowing! Thryduulf (talk: local | en.wp | en.wikt) 17:29, 2 March 2018 (GMT)

Agreed. 2015 is a long time ago and there have been several staff changes since then. MichaelMaggs (talk) 21:48, 8 July 2018 (BST)
I will try to take one at the Christmas lunch. It's not been easy to get everyone in the same place at the same time! John Lubbock (WMUK) (talk) 14:44, 5 December 2018 (GMT)

Wikimedia VLE

Is the Wikimedia VLE dead? If so, information about it should be updated.

Recent changes

Is the wiki going to be updated with the new recent changes interface? Leutha (talk) 11:03, 29 November 2018 (GMT)

Hi Leutha, we would love to update lots of things on the wiki. I hope that once we sort out other things with the site we can get around to this, but we probably need assistance fom people who are expert at MediaWiki. John Lubbock (WMUK) (talk) 12:31, 2 April 2019 (BST)

Watchlist broken

Nothing is showing on my watchlist. In the box, there is the text:

Below are the last 0 changes in the last 720 hours, as of 30 November 2018, 12:26.

Under the box, it says

No changes during the given period match these criteria.

At Preferences, I have the following relevant settings:

  • Days to show in watchlist: 30
  • Maximum number of changes to show in watchlist: 250
  • Yes check.svgY Expand watchlist to show all changes, not just the most recent
  • X mark.svgN Hide minor edits from the watchlist
  • X mark.svgN Hide bot edits from the watchlist
  • X mark.svgN Hide my edits from the watchlist
  • X mark.svgN Hide edits by anonymous users from the watchlist
  • X mark.svgN Hide edits by logged in users from the watchlist

One of my watched pages is Events, which normally attracts at least one edit each week. But not even the last edit (which was at 12:23, 22 November 2018) is showing. Has there been a MediaWiki config change that would affect this? --Redrose64 (talk; at English Wikipedia) 12:28, 30 November 2018 (GMT)

Supplemental: I also have the setting
Yes check.svgY Add pages and files I edit to my watchlist
and I made sure that the "Watch this page" checkbox was ticked before I saved; but despite both of those, this page (Engine room) was not added to Special:EditWatchlist after I saved the above post. Nor was Water cooler added after I made this edit. This suggests that there seems to be a wider problem. The "watch" star works, but it's an extra step that I don't need to make on other wikis. --Redrose64 (talk; at English Wikipedia) 12:44, 30 November 2018 (GMT)
I think this relates to the Recent Changes not working, which led to my query aboce. Leutha (talk) 12:48, 30 November 2018 (GMT)
I'm seeing exactly the same issue with both watchlists and recent changes. I'll ping the mailing list as that gets a bit more traffic these days. Thryduulf (talk: local | en.wp | en.wikt) 12:51, 30 November 2018 (GMT)
Hi Chris, I'll try to forward this issue on, but it is possible that it is part of the same problem we are having with a lot of our sites at the moment. I'll try to keep you informed when i hear what the problem is.John Lubbock (WMUK) (talk) 16:14, 30 November 2018 (GMT)

Any progress to report on this? TheOverflow (talk) 06:21, 22 July 2019 (BST)

I thought I would check recent changes by adding this edit . . . Leutha (talk) 07:34, 19 October 2019 (BST)
. . . and then seeing if the edit comes up – which it does not, so I think we are left with the old adage of Good Editor Schweik] "beg to report there is noting to report". Leutha (talk) 07:47, 19 October 2019 (BST)
That this has been outstanding for more than a year doesn't reflect well on the charity: most people would expect Wikimedia UK to be able to make its own wiki work... but I suppose that's not a priority any more. TheOverflow (talk) 09:05, 29 December 2019 (GMT)

Recent changes to MediaWiki namespace files

Hi all - just a courtesy message letting you know I've made some changes to a couple of MediaWiki namespace files (namely MediaWiki:Common.js). These changes affect all users, and were implemented solely due to function depreciation. Please let me know (preferably on my English Wikipedia talk page) if there are any issues ~TNT (she/her • talk) 14:58, 5 October 2021 (BST)

Installed versions of MediaWiki and PHP are end-of-life

The currently installed version of MediaWiki (1.31) went EOL on the 30th September 2021 - we should urgently upgrade to the latest LTS version (1.35), and ideally to the latest stable version (1.36).

We will also need to upgrade to PHP version 7.3.19 or higher, as our currently installed version (7.2.30) is not supported (and is also EOL).

Have we previously reached out to the Wikimedia Foundation, as I am certain they would happily host this MediaWiki installation? ~TheresNoTime (to explain!) 14:40, 1 November 2021 (GMT)

Spam

Hi, yesterday I stumbled upon a site (off-wiki) that had a spam link pointing to a page of this wiki. Having had a closer look I fell off my chair and added wikimedia.org.uk to my list of spam servers as it is highly contaminated. The account creating rate by spambots has increased here to about 1000 per day. The rate of spam page creations (or edits) is the same. I happen to be the one who is holding the high score of blocks on the Commons and thought about offering some help cleaning up this crap but it's impossible. Deleting or at least tagging tens of thousands of pages and accounts while continuously new ones are created is a joke. One could seriously consider to shut down this wiki. If not, following had to be done ASAP

  1. Restrict the account generation either by adding a captcha on creation or even by using a closed user group (acc creation disabled by default)
  2. Get the SBLs running. As I just checked on my tp neither the local nor the global SBL are in effect. And I didn't find a SBL log.
  3. A publicly accessible wiki like this one should not be run without any abuse filter, there seems to be no Special:AbuseLog.

Pinging Sam, Richard and Mike. Regards, Achim55 (talk) 11:59, 12 August 2022 (BST)

Good suggestions, recently raised on https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org/thread/EZSPL7QGSVFUCPTBFKRPR4DVZAW3WYDM/ ~TheresNoTime (to explain!) 20:46, 13 August 2022 (BST)
Just noting I've created Spam TheresNoTime (talk) 19:13, 15 August 2022 (BST)
Sysop action wanted → User:Achim55/Spam. Cheers, Achim55 (talk) 09:44, 10 August 2023 (BST)
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