User talk:Robert W King: Difference between revisions

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imported>Russ McGinn
(→‎Vanderlip and Metadata: thanks and a question)
imported>Pat Palmer
(I intend to return to Computers soon)
 
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==Speedydeletes==
== Why is contribution down lately? ==
This one, too? [http://en.citizendium.org/wiki?title=Test_Article_Two&rcid=322374] --[[User:D. Matt Innis|Matt Innis]] [[User talk:D. Matt Innis|(Talk)]] 16:43, 16 September 2007 (CDT)
:Yep.
::K


==Image display problem you raised==
Any ideas? [[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 17:06, 4 August 2011 (UTC)


I'm the one who uploaded the [[Guilt in U.S. law]] images you complained of on its talk page.  (I'm also the one who created them and will modify their content if/when I decide to.)  CZ's computer won't let me upload JPGs, so I can't convert them -- by e-mail on 5/30/07 Constable Zach Pruckowski told me other users had the same problem and to upload PNGs instead of JPGs. After I put them up the first time, they were too wide, and I asked for someone to scale them properly, and User John Stephenson did, but then they were black rectangles I couldn't view. There's a discussion of it, dated 8/2/07, on his talk page (harking back to a discussion of black rectangles on the Talk:Main Page that you may access thru 7/23&24/07 entries on my talk page).  I was away for about six weeks, and when I got back no one had fixed the problem, so I did it myself, by reverting from black boxes to the figures and then reducing their size so their full width fits on my monitor screen.
:Well, the most obvious reason is that by far the most prolific contributor has been banned. And then there are those who have reduced or halted their contributions because they're not happy with the way the site's being run. And others may be able to suggest other reasons. You might like to discuss it at RationalWiki, where they find this site holds a horrible fascination. [[User:Peter Jackson|Peter Jackson]] 17:33, 4 August 2011 (UTC)


You are welcome to manipulate those images any way you want, as long as I can still view them, so I can modify their content if I want to.  Because I only wrote the article, and created the figures, because Larry Sanger suggested it (at [[Talk:Innocence Project]]), I feel responsible for the content of the article, and the format is immaterial to me as long as it doesn't keep me from getting to the content-- [[User:K kay shearin|k. kay]] 17:50, 22 September 2007 (CDT)
::I'd speculate that (i) the financial situation casts a shadow over the future, and (ii) the quality of articles is declining as the number of participants to keep things in review is too small. A snowball effect may be in progress. [[User:John R. Brews|John R. Brews]] 18:21, 4 August 2011 (UTC)
:::Well, then. [[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 17:36, 5 August 2011 (UTC)
::::It was fun while it lasted!  Feel free to email me or leave a message on my page if you wish to stay in contact while I pursue my academia(I am not optimistic.) [[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 17:37, 5 August 2011 (UTC)


==electron orbitals==
:::::Yes' we've lost Howard Berkowitz who was very prolific.  His abundant edits did tend to make recent changes look impressive, and overall the other contributions are down some as well.  A couple of our editors jumped ship when the financial situation caused them concern that their edits wouldn't last.  This is a quiet time of year, though, so I am looking for things to pick up once school goes back in session.  That could just be my optimistic outlook!  The good news is that we now have some case law that can help quell behavior issues before they drive people away this time. [[User:D. Matt Innis|D. Matt Innis]] 03:30, 6 August 2011
Robert how are these supposed to be written into the chem info boxi just did a partial fix in the Polonium article to stop the info box width being forced wideWhile the width seems correct I don't think the resulting notation is correctCan you take a look at it and do it correctlyThanks.  [[User:Chris Day|Chris Day]] [[User talk:Chris Day|(talk)]] 20:21, 23 September 2007 (CDT)
::::::I'm concerned that some of the external analyses of the project are accurate and that there are some serious issues with the way things have been run; so much so that I have less reasons to be optimistic.  I've vaguely caught up on some of the issues and while I can see why they happened, I don't agree with the methodology.  Also I'm troubled by the adoption of... "fringe" subjects and being a staunch atheist and someone who is dedicated to factual representation and presentation, I'm not sure I am motivated enough to continue on (but let it be known: I'm not here to drag the wiki through the mud on these issues, they're just my personal motivations.)  [[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 18:11, 6 August 2011 (UTC)
:::::::I believe the main advantage of CZ over WP is the environment for contributors, which is much less subject to crackpot criticism than WP. I attribute that improvement to having full disclosure of identity, rather than attributing it to the supposed emphasis of CZ upon "experts". Unfortunately, many CZ contributors left anyway and went off to niche wikis like Knowino. It is important to know why this happened. I was too late to actually witness any of these departures, with the exception of Howard. That episode did CZ no good, and showed the so-called "experts" were no better at reaching agreement than the Tea Party. Aside from pissing matches, however, some departures seem to be the result of simple impatience of "expert" contributors with criticism, a tendency to think that their expertise included an undeniable ability at exposition, while actually some long-winded interaction was necessary for the presentation to develop so it could reach a broad readership, as opposed to communication with the more familiar audience of cognoscenti. Some CZ environmental development is needed to help ''prima donnas'' to work together. [[User:John R. Brews|John R. Brews]] 18:42, 6 August 2011 (UTC)
::::::::John states my view well. I also understand your concern about fringe, but I think context is everything.  Fringe is out there; if we don't cover it, we won't be complete.  The trick is how we cover itThe "external analysis" you mention is likely a one sided view.  Surely those sites aren't meant to be the authoritative answer for how to deal with fringe content, but simply a tool for like minded people to drive one point of view.  I have no problem with those views, or with web sites whose purpose is to generate and perpetuate those views - they are actually fodder for us to produce the more balanced view.  Ultimately, however, neutrality is the direction that we are committed to follow; some don't want that - or at least don't understand how it works.  Everyone is welcome as long as they can write neutrally and act professionally - editors and authors alike. That has always been our genre. Nothing wrong with being an athiest, or a devout BuddhistAs for administration, its job is to get the best from everyone. I think we have the tools in place to keep working in that direction now. At least I don't seem to be spending my time holding "''prima donnas''" at bay! [[User:D. Matt Innis|D. Matt Innis]] 13:51, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
:::::::::I get what you guys are saying, I really do.  However you can't just ignore external criticisms and say that they're a conjecture of crackpots and agenda pushers, because sometimes they aren't (even if they *seem* negative or you just don't like what they have to say).  They should absolutely be taken with a grain of salt, but being dismissive of external perception is dangeous, unless you choose to adopt this "We simply don't care and f what the other people say!" kind of totalitarianism.
:::::::::And sure, it can be a goal to reduce drama or problem users over time; no one wants constant headaches from people who cause issues in your community, but sometimes outright and unprecedented removal isn't the way to go (and I'm not talking about Howard here, just in general now that there *is* a precedent.)  
:::::::::I am also completely aware of the goal of a knowledge wiki to cover the entire gamut of ... well knowledge, but even when you have dubious or contentious issues covered on your site, it is ethically responsible to make sure they are covered in a factual way, and not by people who are experts whose main motivation is continue pushing untruthful and innaccurate information DESPITE their volume of knowledge on the topic.  Just because someone is entirely obsessive and "well-informed" (contextual) about boogeymen doesn't mean that boogeymen *actually exist*, and that's the part that worries me. [[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 16:00, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
::::::::::"...''it is ethically responsible to make sure they are covered in a factual way, and not by people who are experts whose main motivation is continue pushing untruthful and innaccurate information DESPITE their volume of knowledge on the topic''..."  I am sure that we are talking about the same thing.  I am just confused that you might think that this isn't the case here. [[User:D. Matt Innis|D. Matt Innis]] 16:19, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
{{Image|Average CZ edits per day.PNG|right|250px|Page edits from [[CZ:Statistics|statistics page]] with superposed trend lines.}}
←''outdent'' Good points, Robert; maybe not so obvious in how to implement. I'm also inclined to point out that contributions to CZ are not just articles and amendments, nor even the important administrative functions. Contribution has to be fun, and commentary can make it more fun. As a particular example, I think a bit of a Procrustean-bed approach to rule-enforcement in the recent bruhaha was a bit myopic, and may be significant in explaining the recent downtrend in page-edit activity. [[User:John R. Brews|John R. Brews]] 16:28, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
:Another good point, John.  Consider the possibility that the recent past (since October 2009) has been preoccupied with the charter process and the subsequent disagreements/conversations and discussions about how to handle behaviorActual content building (and those that build it - save Howard) took a back stageNow that that process is complete, the contributions/edits related to that process are no longer necessary - and therefore the numbers of edits are down. [[User:D. Matt Innis|D. Matt Innis]] 16:41, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
::RE: The chart - As I pointed out on Daniel's page: Howard started in May of 2008, Larry Sanger took a sebatical in March of 2009, and the charter process started in October of 2009. [[User:D. Matt Innis|D. Matt Innis]] 16:43, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
:::According to the chart, the most recent decline has happened since Octoberish of 2010.  Ideally, we're supposed to have user and article growth; so much so that having people do administrative work isn't supposed to drag down the productivity of the wiki.  The overall trend from the graph does not look good and it's indicitive ''that we're not doing something right''.  I can't simply believe that summer break is what's killing us; the data doesn't reflect that.  [[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 16:52, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
:::: I agree with you, Robert. The steady drop in edit activity is long and unprecedented on CZ, and is quite contrary to previous rebounds following setbacks. I suppose the hypothesis is that the steady drop is due to a steadily increasing diversion of edits to administrative matters during recent re-organization and away from the editing of articles. I don't think this distraction is likely to be a steadily increasing matter, especially over such a long period. In any event, that distraction is over, but editing of articles is not on an upswing. [[User:John R. Brews|John R. Brews]] 16:58, 7 August 2011 (UTC)


== The article I need is.... ==
::::: Larry was a driving force for public relations.  This is what we are missing.  I am encouraged that Larry is back on the MC and I would be surprised if that doesn't make the difference. One of Larry's principles, though, is to hand over activities to citizens. So, it behooves us to learn how to fund raise and interest others in the project (something that has not been done since Larry left in March of 2009). [[User:D. Matt Innis|D. Matt Innis]] 17:13, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
::::::Again, that's fine, except there shouldn't be a mass exodus of edits just because users are changing responsibilities.  Whatever it is that needs to be changed or done in order to increase contributions and users should be a priority, whatever that needs to be. [[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 17:18, 7 August 2011 (UTC)


''Ain't Jus' Any Ole Dawgs'' by Dr. Sally Reed. ''Bloodlines Magazine'' Jan./Feb 1992.  
:::::::I agree.  To start, we can do things that encourage discussion and conversation about article content and direction.  Larry used to get us all involved in things like "The Big Delete" and "Core Article Development" and things that caused us all to see the loopholes and places that needed filling.  Ideas such as red links in articles encouraged people to start new articles.  Now they are filled with lemmas... there are many places that we can start.  We just need leadership to draw us all back together and allow us to trust each other again, like we used to - regardless of our individual beliefs.  We need something and someone that can heal the wounds that were caused by trying to divide us. We also need time. [[User:D. Matt Innis|D. Matt Innis]] 17:32, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
::::::::Seconded, but time is not on our side, Matt. [[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 18:22, 7 August 2011 (UTC)


I have attempted to e-mail the United Kennel Club (publisher) Kentucky, I think, to no avail.
:::::::::I hear ya! [[User:D. Matt Innis|D. Matt Innis]] 20:21, 7 August 2011 (UTC)


To the best of my knowledge, Bloodlines Magazine is not available in Australia.  It's only available in a few libraries in the US, but maybe one near you?
For those interested in the TL;DR version: do something about the hole in the boat first while you start pitching out water as fast as you can; it's almost sunk.  It would be a shame to lose something with a noble intent and have it completely fail.  [[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 22:40, 7 August 2011 (UTC)


I'd love to read this, if this can be arranged.
: I do not have the opportunity to fully join this discussion since I am often away from home right now. When talking about low contrbution we should not count edits -- this is not the most important parameter. It is much more serious that CZ lost more active authors (disregarding proficiency) than it gained. Of those still here some contribute less content than before. Often this is caused by being occupied by other issues (administration, etc.) but some may hesitate to invest effort in a project that has a very uncertain future. It is easier to gain contributors for a growing project than for a stagnating one. (I just heard the news that WP also loses editors -- but that does not help CZ much, doesn't it?)
[[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 21:30, 26 September 2007 (CDT)
: Personally, I feel that new content is now less important than putting effort in shaping the environment for a better future. --[[User:Peter Schmitt|Peter Schmitt]] 23:57, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
::I agree on all points there Peter.  Content is still important though(people judge sites by it now that WP has set some kind of metric for wiki standards).  WP loses editors and authors because the project is reaching or has reached critical mass; the amount of new information able to be documented (without getting into obscure information, which WP frowns upon) is shrinking at a quick pace, and so out of sheer boredom and "completion", people are leaving because they simply aren't needed anymore.  I think Communication of the ACM did an article on this some time ago.  If only we had that problem here, but the environment required to attract growth (with a certain standard) somehow just isn't here. [[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 00:18, 8 August 2011 (UTC)


== All's good ==
:::Actually, the WP edit rate reached a plateau in 2007. Since then the same amount of work has been distributed over an ever-increasing numberf articles. [[User:Peter Jackson|Peter Jackson]] 10:33, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
::::Are you sure about that?  I distinctly remember reading what I wrote about; maybe it was in IEEE Spectrum magazine instead of Communications of the ACM.  [[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 14:46, 8 August 2011 (UTC)


Thanks, [[User:D. Matt Innis|Matt Innis]] [[User talk:D. Matt Innis|(Talk)]] 21:35, 29 September 2007 (CDT)
:::::The two statements aren't necessarily incompatible. The information I gave was drawn from a graph published on WP itself, in a discussion somewhere. I could track it down if it's important. [[User:Peter Jackson|Peter Jackson]] 16:59, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
::::::You're right, they aren't, and it's not that important to the scope of this topic.  :) [[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 17:05, 8 August 2011 (UTC)


Do you have an email address in "my preferences" above? --[[User:D. Matt Innis|Matt Innis]] [[User talk:D. Matt Innis|(Talk)]] 21:39, 29 September 2007 (CDT)
::::::: Of course, Robert, content is the most important issue at all and always will be, but CZ must focus on quality instead of quantity. Ideally all present content should be checked if it is acceptable under our claim of reliability. (Some embarrassing material may have to be made invisible.) However, the most important task is finding a sustainable and long-lasting hosting solution, the next important (probably related) task is promoting CZ and making it (again) well-known. Unfortunately I have neither the skills nor the means to help with these tasks -- that's why I concentrate on other issues. --[[User:Peter Schmitt|Peter Schmitt]] 22:36, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
:Yes. --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 21:40, 29 September 2007 (CDT)
::::::::I'd like to give a quick sarcastic kudos to RationalWiki.  Thanks for keeping this whole debacle up-to-date, guys.  I hope this makes your WIGO:CZ feed. [[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 18:53, 16 August 2011 (UTC)
::Says verified on 6 April 2007.
:::When I try to email you, it says no valid email on file...  does yours have a hyphen in it? Or anything that might make it invalid? --[[User:D. Matt Innis|Matt Innis]] [[User talk:D. Matt Innis|(Talk)]] 21:44, 29 September 2007 (CDT)
::::It has two "."s to seperate first middle and last...
:::::That might be it, but I also see that it says "This user has not specified a valid e-mail address, or has chosen not to receive e-mail from other users."  Check to see if you have "Enable other users to email me" checked at the bottom of the page. --[[User:D. Matt Innis|Matt Innis]] [[User talk:D. Matt Innis|(Talk)]] 21:47, 29 September 2007 (CDT)
::::::I just enabled it.
:::::::Now All's Gooood! --[[User:D. Matt Innis|Matt Innis]] [[User talk:D. Matt Innis|(Talk)]] 21:59, 29 September 2007 (CDT)
::::::::Hehe, back at ya, Eye-gor!--[[User:D. Matt Innis|Matt Innis]] [[User talk:D. Matt Innis|(Talk)]] 22:05, 29 September 2007 (CDT)


== Japanese article ==
:For what it's worth, I intend to return to writing (and editing, if requested) in Computers after the end of this year, if the project is still limping along at that point.  I'm teaching now at night (a second job) and so have very little free timeHowever, I have felt good enough about content here sometimes to send students here to read some things instead of to WikipediaLet's don't all quit just yet.  I still have hopes that we may revive the project, but I've not been able to do much towards that at present due to my double work life.[[User:Pat Palmer|Pat Palmer]] 18:18, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 
Hehe yepp. I'm not that into CZ though :-) and of course I rarely use school computer to access it. [[User:Yi Zhe Wu|Yi Zhe Wu]] 21:09, 9 October 2007 (CDT)
 
== That poor lil dog that's always accused of biting people ==
 
Saw your note.  Can you reply at [[Talk:Rottweiler#High priority]]?  Thanks!  [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 17:28, 11 October 2007 (CDT)
 
==Thanks==
 
Robert, thanks for your observation on the Bailey article. I've followed your implicit suggestion and radically reduced the number of quotations and made the whole article much tighter.  [[User:James Davis|James Davis]] 10:55, 12 October 2007 (CDT)
 
== Plural ==
 
Hello, Robert.  Since you ask...!...I reckon you made a valiant attempt to improve on a sloppy draft which had already doomed itself.  And also that this is a case where Wikipedia is impressive.  What do you say to starting from there? [[User:Robert Thorpe|Robert Thorpe]] 16:29, 12 October 2007 (CDT)
:I prefer not to start from wikipedia; I avoid it at all cost.  In my opinion it is a greater credit to ourselves if we begin an article anew, even if it's not as thorough (from the start).  I find more satisfaction in it. --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 16:33, 12 October 2007 (CDT)
::That's the style.  I think I'll let you develop it for a bit, then... [[User:Robert Thorpe|Robert Thorpe]] 16:51, 12 October 2007 (CDT)
:::Don't worry, I do understand you.  I've started a few articles here without looking at WP, so believe me I buy into the ethos.  But, faced with the daunting task of developing this article, inertia overwhelms: there are more enjoyable things to do here.  I'm too old to be writing assignments.  That said, I'll be delighted to help with specifics at any stage.  [[User:Robert Thorpe|Robert Thorpe]] 09:40, 13 October 2007 (CDT)
::::I totally appreciate your stance ;).  I suppose one man's coffee is another man's tea, chai, vinegar... I'm inventing a new "old saying".  I am sure you see where this is going. --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 09:56, 13 October 2007 (CDT)
:::::That's fine - [[User:Robert Thorpe|Robert Thorpe]] 14:10, 13 October 2007 (CDT)
 
== Enjoy ==
 
... your weekend!  I'm not sure what you do for stress relief, but I like camping..  it's just getting cool enough for a nice hike ;-)  [[User:D. Matt Innis|Matt Innis]] [[User talk:D. Matt Innis|(Talk)]] 23:02, 12 October 2007 (CDT)
:I've been waiting for a good opportunity to test out some TF2.  --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 23:28, 12 October 2007 (CDT)
::TF2, the game? That would stress me out!!!  But then that just shows my age :-) [[User:D. Matt Innis|Matt Innis]] [[User talk:D. Matt Innis|(Talk)]] 23:43, 12 October 2007 (CDT)
 
== I need a template designed ==
 
Robert, I would like to have a template made for viruses.  They something like that on WP.  It would include
things like Family:  Genus:  Sero-Complex: and Species: or something like that, in a box on the right hand side of the page.  CZ also has something like this for chemical elements.  Do you have the know-how to make something like this for me?  So far, we have [[West Nile virus]] and [[Dengue fever]] pages that could use this. I would like to
make a template for viruses before doing much more work on this catagory.
 
Thanks, [[User:David E. Volk|David E. Volk]] 14:55, 16 October 2007 (CDT)
 
 
== Virus taxonomy box, trying it alone first==
 
Just got your message.  I am trying to make one myself by doing a little reading and cluging off of the chem infobox. I'll write back for suggestions later.  Thanks, [[User:David E. Volk|David E. Volk]] 17:10, 16 October 2007 (CDT)
 
== ¡Me llamo José Rapido! ==
 
Actually, the name comes from my Dutch ancestorsMy great great grandfather was named Wilhelmus Kvik when he got off the boat in New York but the immigration officials at Ellis Island decided that he would be named William Quick now that he was in the U.S. [[User:Joe Quick|Joe Quick]] 22:22, 16 October 2007 (CDT)
 
== chem infobox -radio isotopes? ==
Have you considered a spot to list radio-active isotopes?
 
I would put it underneath the hazards, and call it radio-isotopes.
Then we could input the isotopes using superscripts like
 
<sup>3</sup>H for titritium, as an example, on the proton(hydrogen) element page.
:Do you want anything else, as far as context goes?  Electron config, anything? --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 12:59, 18 October 2007 (CDT)
 
Actually, lets make two catagories, "stable-isotopes" for all elements, and "radio-isotopes" for those elements that have them.  We might use a flag like radio=yes/no; then display the radio-isotope heading and include radio-isotopes=<sup>3</sup>H
 
We might also put in gyromagnetic ratios and other nuclear parameters. [[User:David E. Volk|David E. Volk]] 13:04, 18 October 2007 (CDT)
 
 
:I'll get on it today.  I appreciate your input greatly as it's (unfortunately) the only input I've had on the chem infobox to the date! --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 13:08, 18 October 2007 (CDT)
 
 
Disregard previous moronic statement regarding deuterium and tritium not being NMR active! had brain freeze for a moment.
 
this site (http://www.acornnmr.com/periodic%20table.htm) shows a periodic table with the NMR active nuclei, i.e. those with nuclear spin.  Note that <sup>18</sup>O has a nuclear spin of -5/2, for example.  Practically speaking, it means it sucks for nuclear magnetic resonance. In generally, if both the number of protons and the number of neutrons are equal numbers, then nuclear spin=0.  Sensitivity (proportional to gyromagnetic ratio) is maybe too much for your box. Let's stick with nuclear spin?
[[User:David E. Volk|David E. Volk]] 13:36, 18 October 2007 (CDT)
 
:Honestly, whatever you think would be worthy of being inclusive but doesn't end up "messy" or "overloaded".  --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 13:41, 18 October 2007 (CDT)
 
I just left a note on [[Oxygen:Talk]] asking Paul if he thought a separate isotope_infobox might be more useful.  Some of the nuclei are going to have > a dozen isotopes and that could get messy.  In [[Oxygen]], you can see that Paul has basically made a list showing 3 oxygen isotopes with masses and natural abundances, so we could expand into a separate isotope infobox and keep things neat and tidy. [[User:David E. Volk|David E. Volk]] 13:48, 18 October 2007 (CDT)
 
== crane flies ==
 
Robert, the software won't let *me* move the image, but I moved everything else.  You should be able to upload again... will that work? --[[User:D. Matt Innis|Matt Innis]] [[User talk:D. Matt Innis|(Talk)]] 19:41, 18 October 2007 (CDT)
:Sure.
 
 
== Fire testpage ==
Please go ahead with the testing, and leave it up to the editors to argue with Larry about it. It will be much easier to discuss it with real info...--[[User:Martin Baldwin-Edwards|Martin Baldwin-Edwards]] 18:09, 21 October 2007 (CDT)
 
== Water ==
 
Robert: Pardon my interloping and changing the approach to 'water'.  You should feel free to undo and/or change it any way you see fit.  Consider it only a suggestion.  --[[User:Anthony.Sebastian|Anthony.Sebastian]] [[User talk:Anthony.Sebastian|(Talk)]] 23:07, 22 October 2007 (CDT)
 
== Index.php ==
 
Robert - yes, I mean that index.php is in several places on the server. Did you have a question about something on the server? [[User:Eric M Gearhart|Eric M Gearhart]]
 
== Photos and things ==
 
Hi again Robert,
 
Some fine day (literally--like with bright sunshine) when I have some time, I'd like to upload some flower pictures to liven up the [[flower]] articleNow, I noticed on someone's page that Stephen has a gallery thingy.  I honestly can't spare the time right now to figure out how it works and I don't know what it looks like, but it sounds intriguing.  WP has a lovely thing that changes the flower picture every second or so, like a fast slide show.  I'd like that, or a montage or something.
 
If that's something you would be able to/interested in deal with, drop me a line and I'll let you know when up uploading.  If not, just ignore this--no harm, no foul.
 
[[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 15:11, 31 October 2007 (CDT)
 
== new tennis template, a quickie ==
Hi! Would it be possible for you and/or Chris to spend 5 minutes (or less) designing a *very* simple template that we could insert between the existing templates at [[Famous tennis players]]? Right now I'm alphabetizing the list so that it starts with Austin, Borotra, Brugnon, and Budge. Next up will be Casey. What I'd like would be a simple template that I could stick in between Budge and Casey, say. All I want to then put into the new template would be something like: "Bob Cane, American, September 23, 1940—December 13, 2005" In other words, we could take all of those other players who are listed below the players in the tables and put them into some sort of order amongst the tabled playersMany thanks for considering this! [[User:Hayford Peirce|Hayford Peirce]] 17:25, 4 November 2007 (CST)
:I don't understand why you can't do this already? --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 17:45, 4 November 2007 (CST)
::If I just try to insert a line between two existing table entries, one of which ends with }} and the next one that begins with {{, the new line is inserted into the bottom of the Davis Cup info box or the Trivia box, whichever is the last item in the top table. If I try putting brackets around the new line, then that just shows as a red-linked Template.
:::Do you have a demonstration so I can see? --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 19:41, 4 November 2007 (CST)
::::Sure, I just stuck Martin Mulligan in between the two top entries. As you can see, it ends up in the Triva box of William Renshaw.[[User:Hayford Peirce|Hayford Peirce]] 19:46, 4 November 2007 (CST)
 
== Metadata clean up ==
Thanks! I saw that you had done that -- but I didn't realize that it had to be done. Now I know what to do, however.
:Now there's another problem that I can't resolve -- the damn article isn't listed in the Foodscience Workgroup under the P's -- it's way down at the bottom. I know that it has something to do with the ABC category in the Metadata (or I think it does) but I can't get it to work.... [[User:Hayford Peirce|Hayford Peirce]] 13:16, 7 November 2007 (CST)
::It still doesn't sort correctly, even though I put the name of the title next to the "abc" in the Metadata.... [[User:Hayford Peirce|Hayford Peirce]] 15:53, 7 November 2007 (CST)
:::I fixed it by removing the comma. [[User:Hayford Peirce|Hayford Peirce]] 16:20, 7 November 2007 (CST)
 
== You're too fast for me ;) ==
 
Seems like whenever I start adding subpages (on the article page first) in the wrong order, somebody beats me to most of them.  I'm not complaining, mind you, but it's disconcerting to see an edit conflict when you only just opened the page ten seconds ago. :-\ --[[User:Joe Quick|Joe Quick]] 21:57, 7 November 2007 (CST)
:Fastest subpagerer in the east. --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 21:58, 7 November 2007 (CST)
 
== Re: aircraft terminology ==
 
See the "terminology" and "types" sections of [[airship]]. [[User:Dan Nachbar|Dan Nachbar]] 22:20, 7 November 2007 (CST)
 
== Cricket infobox ==
 
It's already there.  Just go to [[Michael Holding]] and start editing - [[User:Ro Thorpe|Ro Thorpe]] 07:45, 8 November 2007 (CST)
 
==subpages9 to subpages==
Good job, i saw you chugging through the list. Thanks [[User:Chris Day|Chris Day]] [[User talk:Chris Day|(talk)]] 19:20, 13 November 2007 (CST)
:I think I did over 300 edits.  I know there are a little over 200-250 left.  --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 20:26, 13 November 2007 (CST)
::Sorry to barge in--okay, no I'm not, really--am I supposed to be putting "subpages" on top of every single page, not just main article, talk and approval?  Because I've been making catalogs all over the place and not doing that.  Mon bad.  [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 22:58, 13 November 2007 (CST)
 
== Marketing materials ==
It was noted that you may be the person to talk to regarding [http://forum.citizendium.org/index.php/topic,1344.0/topicseen.html this discussion] about marketing stuff?<br/>
--[[User:Morten Juhl Johansen|Morten Juhl-Johansen Zölde-Fejér]] 00:59, 15 November 2007 (CST)
:Can do, what do you have in mind? --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 01:10, 15 November 2007 (CST)
::Don't know if I can say much more than I have... I would just like to put together some print material to promote Citizendium. --[[User:Morten Juhl Johansen|Morten Juhl-Johansen Zölde-Fejér]] 01:28, 16 November 2007 (CST)
:::What kind of print materials?  What kind of theme?  Funny or not?  What format?  --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 11:22, 16 November 2007 (CST)
 
== Couldn't wait ==
 
[[CZ:Humor]] :-) [[User:Stephen Ewen|Stephen Ewen]] 01:59, 15 November 2007 (CST)
 
== my sig ==
 
testing three tildes D. Matt Innis
 
testing four tildes D. Matt Innis 20:11, 16 November 2007 (CST)
--[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 19:13, 16 November 2007 (CST)
 
== Bot? ==
Hi Robert, are you possibly using a bot, too? --[[User:Larry Sanger|Larry Sanger]] 12:51, 18 November 2007 (CST)
:Beep.  Boop.  Actually no, I'm just fast and systematic.  Once I develop a "mental" algorithm I'm capable of mindlessly repeating it until I get tired of it.  My personality lets me do these tasks, unfortunately, even though my mind is capable of much more. --[[User:Robert W King|Robert W King]] 12:56, 18 November 2007 (CST)
 
== Tea set? ==
 
I don't see it.  AND my watchlist was acting up.  Don't see anything out of the ordinary--Whadididonow?  [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 20:55, 18 November 2007 (CST)
 
 
== Vanderlip and Metadata ==
Robert, I was trying to learn this metadata thing on the [[Frank A. Vanderlip]] article, but you seem to know what's going on with it.  Did I fill it out right? [[User:Russell D. Jones|Russell D. Jones]] 14:05, 19 November 2007 (CST)
 
==Categories==
Hey Robert, thanks for sorting out the subpages9 issues on some of my pages - I thought I'd return the favour and dive into some of the 'unchecklisted articles'. How would you categorise [[Albert Eckstein]] - we don't seem to have a Medicine workgroup? --[[User:Russ McGinn|Russ McGinn]] 08:07, 22 November 2007 (CST)

Latest revision as of 13:18, 13 October 2011

[User bio is in User:Your Name]

Why is contribution down lately?

Any ideas? Robert W King 17:06, 4 August 2011 (UTC)

Well, the most obvious reason is that by far the most prolific contributor has been banned. And then there are those who have reduced or halted their contributions because they're not happy with the way the site's being run. And others may be able to suggest other reasons. You might like to discuss it at RationalWiki, where they find this site holds a horrible fascination. Peter Jackson 17:33, 4 August 2011 (UTC)
I'd speculate that (i) the financial situation casts a shadow over the future, and (ii) the quality of articles is declining as the number of participants to keep things in review is too small. A snowball effect may be in progress. John R. Brews 18:21, 4 August 2011 (UTC)
Well, then. Robert W King 17:36, 5 August 2011 (UTC)
It was fun while it lasted! Feel free to email me or leave a message on my page if you wish to stay in contact while I pursue my academia. (I am not optimistic.) Robert W King 17:37, 5 August 2011 (UTC)
Yes' we've lost Howard Berkowitz who was very prolific. His abundant edits did tend to make recent changes look impressive, and overall the other contributions are down some as well. A couple of our editors jumped ship when the financial situation caused them concern that their edits wouldn't last. This is a quiet time of year, though, so I am looking for things to pick up once school goes back in session. That could just be my optimistic outlook! The good news is that we now have some case law that can help quell behavior issues before they drive people away this time. D. Matt Innis 03:30, 6 August 2011
I'm concerned that some of the external analyses of the project are accurate and that there are some serious issues with the way things have been run; so much so that I have less reasons to be optimistic. I've vaguely caught up on some of the issues and while I can see why they happened, I don't agree with the methodology. Also I'm troubled by the adoption of... "fringe" subjects and being a staunch atheist and someone who is dedicated to factual representation and presentation, I'm not sure I am motivated enough to continue on (but let it be known: I'm not here to drag the wiki through the mud on these issues, they're just my personal motivations.) Robert W King 18:11, 6 August 2011 (UTC)
I believe the main advantage of CZ over WP is the environment for contributors, which is much less subject to crackpot criticism than WP. I attribute that improvement to having full disclosure of identity, rather than attributing it to the supposed emphasis of CZ upon "experts". Unfortunately, many CZ contributors left anyway and went off to niche wikis like Knowino. It is important to know why this happened. I was too late to actually witness any of these departures, with the exception of Howard. That episode did CZ no good, and showed the so-called "experts" were no better at reaching agreement than the Tea Party. Aside from pissing matches, however, some departures seem to be the result of simple impatience of "expert" contributors with criticism, a tendency to think that their expertise included an undeniable ability at exposition, while actually some long-winded interaction was necessary for the presentation to develop so it could reach a broad readership, as opposed to communication with the more familiar audience of cognoscenti. Some CZ environmental development is needed to help prima donnas to work together. John R. Brews 18:42, 6 August 2011 (UTC)
John states my view well. I also understand your concern about fringe, but I think context is everything. Fringe is out there; if we don't cover it, we won't be complete. The trick is how we cover it. The "external analysis" you mention is likely a one sided view. Surely those sites aren't meant to be the authoritative answer for how to deal with fringe content, but simply a tool for like minded people to drive one point of view. I have no problem with those views, or with web sites whose purpose is to generate and perpetuate those views - they are actually fodder for us to produce the more balanced view. Ultimately, however, neutrality is the direction that we are committed to follow; some don't want that - or at least don't understand how it works. Everyone is welcome as long as they can write neutrally and act professionally - editors and authors alike. That has always been our genre. Nothing wrong with being an athiest, or a devout Buddhist. As for administration, its job is to get the best from everyone. I think we have the tools in place to keep working in that direction now. At least I don't seem to be spending my time holding "prima donnas" at bay! D. Matt Innis 13:51, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
I get what you guys are saying, I really do. However you can't just ignore external criticisms and say that they're a conjecture of crackpots and agenda pushers, because sometimes they aren't (even if they *seem* negative or you just don't like what they have to say). They should absolutely be taken with a grain of salt, but being dismissive of external perception is dangeous, unless you choose to adopt this "We simply don't care and f what the other people say!" kind of totalitarianism.
And sure, it can be a goal to reduce drama or problem users over time; no one wants constant headaches from people who cause issues in your community, but sometimes outright and unprecedented removal isn't the way to go (and I'm not talking about Howard here, just in general now that there *is* a precedent.)
I am also completely aware of the goal of a knowledge wiki to cover the entire gamut of ... well knowledge, but even when you have dubious or contentious issues covered on your site, it is ethically responsible to make sure they are covered in a factual way, and not by people who are experts whose main motivation is continue pushing untruthful and innaccurate information DESPITE their volume of knowledge on the topic. Just because someone is entirely obsessive and "well-informed" (contextual) about boogeymen doesn't mean that boogeymen *actually exist*, and that's the part that worries me. Robert W King 16:00, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
"...it is ethically responsible to make sure they are covered in a factual way, and not by people who are experts whose main motivation is continue pushing untruthful and innaccurate information DESPITE their volume of knowledge on the topic..." I am sure that we are talking about the same thing. I am just confused that you might think that this isn't the case here. D. Matt Innis 16:19, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
(CC) Image: John R. Brews & Aleksander Stos
Page edits from statistics page with superposed trend lines.

outdent Good points, Robert; maybe not so obvious in how to implement. I'm also inclined to point out that contributions to CZ are not just articles and amendments, nor even the important administrative functions. Contribution has to be fun, and commentary can make it more fun. As a particular example, I think a bit of a Procrustean-bed approach to rule-enforcement in the recent bruhaha was a bit myopic, and may be significant in explaining the recent downtrend in page-edit activity. John R. Brews 16:28, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

Another good point, John. Consider the possibility that the recent past (since October 2009) has been preoccupied with the charter process and the subsequent disagreements/conversations and discussions about how to handle behavior. Actual content building (and those that build it - save Howard) took a back stage. Now that that process is complete, the contributions/edits related to that process are no longer necessary - and therefore the numbers of edits are down. D. Matt Innis 16:41, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
RE: The chart - As I pointed out on Daniel's page: Howard started in May of 2008, Larry Sanger took a sebatical in March of 2009, and the charter process started in October of 2009. D. Matt Innis 16:43, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
According to the chart, the most recent decline has happened since Octoberish of 2010. Ideally, we're supposed to have user and article growth; so much so that having people do administrative work isn't supposed to drag down the productivity of the wiki. The overall trend from the graph does not look good and it's indicitive that we're not doing something right. I can't simply believe that summer break is what's killing us; the data doesn't reflect that. Robert W King 16:52, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
I agree with you, Robert. The steady drop in edit activity is long and unprecedented on CZ, and is quite contrary to previous rebounds following setbacks. I suppose the hypothesis is that the steady drop is due to a steadily increasing diversion of edits to administrative matters during recent re-organization and away from the editing of articles. I don't think this distraction is likely to be a steadily increasing matter, especially over such a long period. In any event, that distraction is over, but editing of articles is not on an upswing. John R. Brews 16:58, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
Larry was a driving force for public relations. This is what we are missing. I am encouraged that Larry is back on the MC and I would be surprised if that doesn't make the difference. One of Larry's principles, though, is to hand over activities to citizens. So, it behooves us to learn how to fund raise and interest others in the project (something that has not been done since Larry left in March of 2009). D. Matt Innis 17:13, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
Again, that's fine, except there shouldn't be a mass exodus of edits just because users are changing responsibilities. Whatever it is that needs to be changed or done in order to increase contributions and users should be a priority, whatever that needs to be. Robert W King 17:18, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
I agree. To start, we can do things that encourage discussion and conversation about article content and direction. Larry used to get us all involved in things like "The Big Delete" and "Core Article Development" and things that caused us all to see the loopholes and places that needed filling. Ideas such as red links in articles encouraged people to start new articles. Now they are filled with lemmas... there are many places that we can start. We just need leadership to draw us all back together and allow us to trust each other again, like we used to - regardless of our individual beliefs. We need something and someone that can heal the wounds that were caused by trying to divide us. We also need time. D. Matt Innis 17:32, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
Seconded, but time is not on our side, Matt. Robert W King 18:22, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
I hear ya! D. Matt Innis 20:21, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

For those interested in the TL;DR version: do something about the hole in the boat first while you start pitching out water as fast as you can; it's almost sunk. It would be a shame to lose something with a noble intent and have it completely fail. Robert W King 22:40, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

I do not have the opportunity to fully join this discussion since I am often away from home right now. When talking about low contrbution we should not count edits -- this is not the most important parameter. It is much more serious that CZ lost more active authors (disregarding proficiency) than it gained. Of those still here some contribute less content than before. Often this is caused by being occupied by other issues (administration, etc.) but some may hesitate to invest effort in a project that has a very uncertain future. It is easier to gain contributors for a growing project than for a stagnating one. (I just heard the news that WP also loses editors -- but that does not help CZ much, doesn't it?)
Personally, I feel that new content is now less important than putting effort in shaping the environment for a better future. --Peter Schmitt 23:57, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
I agree on all points there Peter. Content is still important though(people judge sites by it now that WP has set some kind of metric for wiki standards). WP loses editors and authors because the project is reaching or has reached critical mass; the amount of new information able to be documented (without getting into obscure information, which WP frowns upon) is shrinking at a quick pace, and so out of sheer boredom and "completion", people are leaving because they simply aren't needed anymore. I think Communication of the ACM did an article on this some time ago. If only we had that problem here, but the environment required to attract growth (with a certain standard) somehow just isn't here. Robert W King 00:18, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
Actually, the WP edit rate reached a plateau in 2007. Since then the same amount of work has been distributed over an ever-increasing numberf articles. Peter Jackson 10:33, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
Are you sure about that? I distinctly remember reading what I wrote about; maybe it was in IEEE Spectrum magazine instead of Communications of the ACM. Robert W King 14:46, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
The two statements aren't necessarily incompatible. The information I gave was drawn from a graph published on WP itself, in a discussion somewhere. I could track it down if it's important. Peter Jackson 16:59, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
You're right, they aren't, and it's not that important to the scope of this topic.  :) Robert W King 17:05, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
Of course, Robert, content is the most important issue at all and always will be, but CZ must focus on quality instead of quantity. Ideally all present content should be checked if it is acceptable under our claim of reliability. (Some embarrassing material may have to be made invisible.) However, the most important task is finding a sustainable and long-lasting hosting solution, the next important (probably related) task is promoting CZ and making it (again) well-known. Unfortunately I have neither the skills nor the means to help with these tasks -- that's why I concentrate on other issues. --Peter Schmitt 22:36, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
I'd like to give a quick sarcastic kudos to RationalWiki. Thanks for keeping this whole debacle up-to-date, guys. I hope this makes your WIGO:CZ feed. Robert W King 18:53, 16 August 2011 (UTC)
For what it's worth, I intend to return to writing (and editing, if requested) in Computers after the end of this year, if the project is still limping along at that point. I'm teaching now at night (a second job) and so have very little free time. However, I have felt good enough about content here sometimes to send students here to read some things instead of to Wikipedia. Let's don't all quit just yet. I still have hopes that we may revive the project, but I've not been able to do much towards that at present due to my double work life.Pat Palmer 18:18, 13 October 2011 (UTC)