User talk:ChildofMidnight/Archive 17

This is an archive of past discussions about User:ChildofMidnight. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.

Archive 10

←

Archive 15

Archive 16

Archive 17

Archive 18

link Grundle2600 (talk) 19:44, 28 February 2010 (UTC)

I'm speechless. ChildofMidnight (talk) 18:20, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

Yeah - it's that good! Grundle2600 (talk) 01:10, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Hey Grundle, if you're curious about how Wiki's work how they get started, a few people are trying to start their own at Neutralpedia. Having missed the early days of Wikipedia it seems like an interesting endeavor and is a way to get some perspective and to reflection on how a Wiki can or should be organized, how it can and should be administrated etc. Anyway, I think it's kind of neat. Whether it's a worthwhile effort or has any chance of being successful I have no idea. Cheers. ChildofMidnight (talk) 01:33, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Wow! Thanks for telling me about that. It seems like a great idea, if it can get off the ground. But I doubt it will ever catch on in a big way, or be anywhere nearly as well read and popular as the original wikipedia. Grundle2600 (talk) 21:26, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

... of me tweaking the images on your userpage, then feel free to continue tweaking mine. If not, reserve your userpage creativity for you own. Thanks, Lara 03:09, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Wait, that edit was saved? Thanks for fixing it. Why were those woodchucks nibbling on each other anyway? Seemed very strange. Maybe you want to "borrow" something tasteful from the gallery above? Which photos on my userpage do you think need changing? I'm always open to suggestions. Do you think the MC Hammer Doll should be bigger? ChildofMidnight (talk) 03:12, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

They are Prairie Dogs. They greet each other by touching teeth as a means of identifying each other. Unsurprisingly, Wikipedia has missed that fact. Anyway, the images and poems that I put on my page are for a specific reason and they go together. Not sure what compels you to play with the image on my page and be shocked with the result of clicking the [save page] button after typing out a mischievous edit summary, but maybe don't do it anymore. I haven't seen the photos of your userpage, so look elsewhere for suggestions about that. If I have any suggestions for you, it is simply "decaf." Lara 03:42, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

I don't drink coffee. But I love coffee ice cream and coffee milkshakes. Yesterday I had some good frozen yogurt in various exotic flavors with all sorts of toppings, for what that's worth. For someone bold enough to put their middle finger up on their user page, you seem a little touchy about good faith and well intentioned "updates". I take it you're not part of any kind of commune? Thanks for the info on prairie dogs, that's interesting. Do you think they can really tell each other's teeth apart? Seems weird. Maybe it's a breath check of some sort? Kind of like in certain culture's where people ask, "have you eaten"? I wonder what Grundle makes of this scenario. ChildofMidnight (talk) 03:50, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Bold enough to put the finger on my page and bold enough to keep it there. I thought you were just playing around, cutting and pasting the file name of the previous image over the current image, entering an edit summary, and then accidentally saving without realizing? Oh, the confusion... Maybe things will be less complicated if you relegate your "updates" to your own page, as I said. Maybe also feign ignorance less. Doesn't suit you.

There are weirder ways to greet. Dogs sniff each others' asses. Plus, weirdness is subjective. Lara 05:58, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

I don't feign anything, but I do joke good naturedly with friends. My apologies for having offended you with my playfulness. I will not touch your userpage again. ChildofMidnight (talk) 06:05, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

link to info on prairie dog teeth touching. Grundle2600 (talk) 01:04, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

• Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Hitler bacon, on the cusp of deletion, but it apparently exists and has an interesting backstory.--Milowent (talk) 14:11, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

User:ChildofMidnight/My Jewel ChildofMidnight (talk) 21:09, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Hello. I don't know if you've seen this Workshop talk page. I think it would help your case if you made some type of considered response there, even if it's just to say that you've noted the discussion. Jonathunder (talk) 22:37, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

I'll have a look. Honestly, I don't know where to begin in addressing all the smears, lies, distortions, hypocrisy, policy violations, conflicts of interest, and other issues related to that monstrosity. Harassment, baiting, and trolling are certainly at the core of the problem. ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:39, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

I've read the discussion. It's nice to see some of the usual good faith editors seeking solutions when difficulties arise. And then there other characters involved whose actions give me cause to avoid any involvement in that circus. It is a good demonstration of just how unhealthy Wikipedia is at the mo. Cheers. ChildofMidnight (talk) 06:08, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Hello! Your submission of James W. McLaughlin at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and there still are some issues that may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) underneath your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! Calmer Waters 02:54, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

I note the same regular suspects put Hitlerszalonna up for deletion, ignoring WP:BEFORE. *sigh*

		The Article Rescue Barnstar
		The Rescue Barnstar is awarded to people who rescue articles from deletion. This can be independent of or in cooperation with the Article Rescue Squadron. This barnstar is awarded to ChildofMidnight for his work in saving Hitlerszalonna. Wikipedia needs more editors like you. Okip 06:03, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks very much. Milowent deserves most of the credit. Malleus helped also. Nyttend gave the article a chance. And even LoS got in on the action. :) It still needs some work... but hopefully we can get some Huns to have a look. ;) ChildofMidnight (talk) 06:35, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Ooh. You merging, or fixing up for recreation?

TBH I was a bit miffed by that deletion, seeing as WP:OR was a reason given for deletion I'd just added sources showing it wasn't. Artw (talk) 22:06, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

I don't know exactly how to proceed, but I thought there was a better chance of the material being usefully reincluded if I at least stowed it in my userspace. :) What do you think should be done with it? The synthesis concern seems valid to me, but the content is well sourced and interesting. I'm not sure yet quite what to do with it and am open to ideas. :) I also haven't had a chacne to look into the article extensively yet. ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:09, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

TBH I think any article recreation is going to be so heavily opposed it's not worth doing - salvaging the lede and merging it into the main mermaid article might be worthwhile though. Artw (talk) 22:34, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

I asked Malleus what he thinks. So hopefully he and perhaps his talkpage stalkers will weigh in. Merging some bits to Mermaid is one way to go. Is there a broader subject that would work? Conundrums in mythology? :) I'm going to think on it, but if you or anyone else have your own ideas and want to run with it please be my guest. I think anything that preserves the history and includes more of the content appropriately would be helpful. ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:39, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Articles like this gem from 1947 might be of some help. Amusingly, the headline above the copy says "Problem That Is Facing 16 Nations In Western Europe" but it's quite obvious that the headline got swapped with the James Marlow story about the Marshall Plan on the same page. Personally, I think the OR claims were slightly overblown but I'd be more likely to suggest review if the term was more widespread. - Dravecky (talk) 23:56, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

• Thomas, Bob (December 30, 1947). "Problem: How to Create a Mermaid". The Owosso Argus-Press. Associated Press. Retrieved March 2, 2010.

An option would be to rework the article as: Mermaid morphology. I started an article on mythological conundrum, and some of it might fit there, but the new article is a bit of a mess so far. :) I'll add that cite to the article in userspace so it's not lost. ChildofMidnight (talk) 00:50, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

I did some brainstorming with Malleus and Iridescent. They didn't seem to think it had much potential. But my thoughts so far are that it may be possible to have an article on:

• mermaid morphology
• mythological animal morphology
• Anatomy of mythological creatures

or to integrate into the mess of an article on Mythological conundrums I created. (I think there may be a subject there somewhere with sources, but I haven't found it yet). So it's an uphill effort so far, but I'm hoping that a great inspiration will arise in an epiphany or, better yet, someone else will come up with a good idea? ChildofMidnight (talk) 04:59, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

No, sorry. I was on my way with family members to a wedding in the next county north of Napoleon, and I had a hard time persuading the driver even to go the two blocks to the church. Nyttend (talk) 04:19, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Wedding went okay; the bride was a relatively new member of the church in which I grew up, while the groom was from another church in my denomination in Maryland. And thanks for the photo compliments; you may have noticed that Jameslwoodward modified it tonight at my request — the original is File:First Presbyterian Church, Napoleon.jpg. I just wish I could have gotten it with blue sky, but that day was quite bland. I've never been to Henry County except on that day, so it's not as if I could easily go back to get a picture on a better day. And I wondered whether you'd be interested in the architect, so I ran "Wachter" in the architect query from Elkman and found nothing other than First Presbyterian. Wonder why I didn't find these other buildings? Nyttend (talk) 04:49, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Just wanted to let you know that I'm beginning an article on another DeCurtins church — St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (Maria Stein, Ohio), listed on the NRHP as "Maria Stein Catholic Church and Rectory". Nyttend (talk) 23:10, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

No, it's in a Notepad file on my hard drive. I hadn't checked my watchlist in a while, so tonight's Wikipedia time has been otherwise occupied. Nyttend (talk) 04:47, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

By the way, if you want to see something funny, look at Wikipedia:AN#This_is_what_happens... Nyttend (talk) 04:48, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for checking with Giano. As you may have seen, the article is now online. Today's mail included nomination forms for six of the Cross-Tipped Churches: Holy Family, St. Louis, and St. Nicholas in Darke County, and St. Michael, St. Patrick, and St. Remy in Shelby County. I'm planning to start soon on the Shelby County churches, but I'm going to wait until I get access to a good Darke County history volume (not currently on Google Books) before I work on its churches. Nyttend (talk) 19:19, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

• User:Sky Attacker/Bacon WikiCup 2010

Let's not make changes to the scoring methodology in the very last time period of this contest. Cirt (talk) 20:05, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Agreement on this, from Drmies (talk · contribs) [1]. Cirt (talk) 20:08, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

You're probably right, but Superhamster and I did discuss the scoring on his talkpage. My feeling was that this work is so much more important than that carried out in the WikiCup competition that the scoring should be adjusted appropriately. If the extra zeros are a major problem I can revert. ChildofMidnight (talk) 20:09, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, Drmies (talk · contribs) and I both disagree. This change might have merit, but should not be done at this very late stage in the event. Cirt (talk) 20:10, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Okay, no worries. It didn't affect the actual scoring, just how large the numbers are, but if you and Doc object I will yield. :) ChildofMidnight (talk) 20:11, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Heh, thanks. No worries, Cirt (talk) 20:13, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Indeed, no worries. You have to appreciate, though, that I care about grade inflation from a professional standpoint. Drmies (talk) 02:45, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Hi there ChildofMidnight. I saw that LadyofShalott userfied Mermaid problem for you, which is perfectly fine with me. I was just wondering, is there any reason you didn't ask me? Generally, people ask the deleting admin for this sort of thing, so I wondered if there might be a backstory. I didn't do anything to make you avoid me, did I? NW (Talk) 23:51, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

No reason at all Nuke. In this instance it just didn't occur to me for some reason, and perhaps because LadyofShalott had specifically offered to move articles for me (at least I think she did) I went to her first. If you check her talk page you'll see I asked her about a couple of other deleted articles also.

Asking the admin who closed the AfD has usually been the way I do it and usually that works out just fine. I've had a couple of occasions where someone has been antagonistic or ignored the request, but I think it's probably a good idea to approach things that way. In this case, as I said, I just asked her because she had offered, and it wasn't even something I thought about, she just seemed like a good person to ask. :) I'm not even sure about recreation or how best to handle those articles (the one you closed and a couple others). I haven't even had a chance to review them much yet, and I don't think I was involved in any of the AfD discussions so they're all new subject to me. I saw them noted in various other places, the food and drink website, Milowent's website, and ummm not sure on the other one.

Anyway, I hadn't done a request for userfication in a while, so I guess I just forgot the routine. I do think the last time I requested one the admin gave me a hard time and forced me to take it DRV, which was seemed like an unnecesairly confrontational route since it was something I just wanted userfied so I could give it consideration, so maybe subconsciously that's why I didn't think to look who closed the AfD, but truly it was not intentional or conscious and it most certainly didn't have anything to do with you, who've I've found to be collegial and respectful even on occasions where we disagree (which is how it should be and how other admins I respect (like LoS) handle themselves. And it's not even a case where I necessarily disagree with the outcome. I just wanted the opportunity to see what was there and if any of it could be useful. But I think you're question is spot on and that it's best to ask the closing admin and I will try to remember to do so in the future. How are things with you? I hope all is well. :) ChildofMidnight (talk) 00:15, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Things have been going pretty well for me. Bit busy, but that's life, ain't it? :) If I remember correctly, the Great Bacon Challenge 2010 was just held, right? How did that end up going? NW (Talk) 00:28, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

It went well Nuke. A little muddy this year, but I don't think anyone minded frolicking in the slop. :) Many articles went up during the challenge, several DYKs ran yesterday for National Pig Day and a bunch more of tardy ones are working there way through the queue now. We had a lot more participants this time, lots of photo uploads, Cirt worked up some GAs (which was a first), and there was a Bacon Wiki Cup that's still being scored (results are due after the 7th), so it's been pretty neat.

There's a link at the top of this page if you want to have a look. And I set up a page for the next challenge (which starts immediately) if you want to beat the rush and get in early. ;) ChildofMidnight (talk) 00:35, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

You aren't going by NW because of the Nuke thing are you? I think it's a nice name. The ultimate deterrent. :) ChildofMidnight (talk) 05:01, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, Cirt pulling these GAs out of his hat. Another nice example of administrator abuse--they should stick some of those little green labels on my articles. Oh, the tardy ones, yes that's me. Sorry again. Drmies (talk) 05:01, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

I think NW is trying out for N.W.A. Drmies (talk) 05:02, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

"Good" is not an adjective I would use in connection with any article about Claw Boys Claw, that advertorial for some Shakespearean newsletter you're trying to hype, or those spammy advertorials for imitation bacon substances. And why are you the only one trying to push bacon boundaries with these Yankee elitist "Bacons"? Tsk tsk tsk. ;) ChildofMidnight (talk) 05:05, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Dude, they were abolitionists! You should be proud of me, overcoming my racist heritage! And the Shakespearean newsletter is actually an anti-Shakespearean newsletter, since one of their kin proposes that Mary Sidney wrote what we mainstream idiots think of as written by "Shakespeare." Drmies (talk) 05:12, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

"His attitudes toward African-Americans was described as "patronizing...at best". (And it should be his attitudes were, but that's what happens when there are no standards or competition in public education).

It may be noble that he and the Kennedy clan were ahead of their time in wanting servants rather than slaves for their massive mansions, but my standards are higher than that separate but equal stuff that passes for okay down on the plantation and out in the Hamptons. ChildofMidnight (talk) 05:22, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

<--Why are you singling out the Kennedys? Why not keep it modern and mention that great southern statesman Trent Lott? or Wallace, who actually claimed that he was cool cause he had a black friend? Anyway, let's keep it real: I made lardons out of salt pork tonight, for a wilted salad. Now, the smell of salt pork cooking isn't very good--but those lardons, with a warm vinaigrette, man it was good...dare I say it? better than bacon. I just said it. Drmies (talk) 02:43, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for adding description to the bare URLs on Hitlerszalonna. Note, though, that it is best to give as much information as possible when replacing a bare URL, including author, title, publication, date, etc. if available, as well as the URL. That way the reference may still be tracked down and used for verification if the original page moves or is taken off the web. See also Wikipedia:Linkrot. Cheers, Cnilep (talk) 19:56, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Roger, roger. Unfortunately it's not a quality link to begin with, but I thought it worth including anyway. We need to track down some Huns to help with that article. Thanks for the courteous note. I will try to better. :) I half-expected that link to get removed anyway, so I didn't want to spend a whole lot of time on it. Cheers. ChildofMidnight (talk) 20:01, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Yep, that's why I didn't bother cleaning any of them. I've done that one now. Cnilep (talk) 20:11, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

An editor has nominated one or more articles which you have created or worked on, for deletion. The nominated article is Climate change denial. We appreciate your contributions, but the nominator doesn't believe that the article satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion and has explained why in his/her nomination (see also Wikipedia:Notability and "What Wikipedia is not").

Your opinions on whether the article meets inclusion criteria and what should be done with the article are welcome; please participate in the discussion(s) by adding your comments to Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Climate change denial (4th nomination). Please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~).

You may also edit the article during the discussion to improve it but should not remove the articles for deletion template from the top of the article; such removal will not end the deletion debate.

Please note: This is an automatic notification by a bot. I have nothing to do with this article or the deletion nomination, and can't do anything about it. --Erwin85Bot (talk) 01:16, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

This seems to have been nominated because climate alarmism was deleted. It's sunny and mild here (not that I've been outside as much as I should). I've been been working on other subjects. But if anyone wants to bang their head against a wall, good luck dealing with the propagandists ruling that subject area. ChildofMidnight (talk) 01:28, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

If you do anymore architect bios you can use this infobox -- 114.182.186.52 (talk) 04:25, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

{{Infobox architect
|image                = 
|image_size           = (if image is smaller than 250px)
|caption              = 
|name                 = 
|nationality          = 
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1993|2|24}} <!-- If they are still alive -->
|birth_place          = 
|death_date           = {{death date and age|1894|6|11|1816|8|4}}
|death_place          = 
|alma_mater           =
|practice_name        = 
|significant_buildings= 
|significant_projects = 
|significant_design   = 
|awards               = 
}}

The RfC on the Community de-Adminship proposal was started on the 22nd Feb, and it runs for 28 days. Please note that the existing CDA proposal was (in the end) run as something of a working compromise, so CDA is still largely being floated as an idea.

Also note that, although the RfC is in 'poll format' (Support, Oppose, and Neutral, with Comments underneath), this RfC is still essentially a 'Request for Comment'. Currently, similar comments on CDA's value are being made under all three polls.

Whatever you vote, your vote is welcome!

Regards, Matt Lewis (talk) 10:33, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

My search for answers has taken me far afield... Here are some notes.

Harry Wachter's buildings on pages 50, 65, and 83 (The Cratz House) are interesting. I can't find anything on Charles Crosby Miller despite his supposedly designing all the major buildings in Toledo (or some such thing).

I've discovered that Hungarian architecture has no article and Architecture of Hungary redirects to categories (which seems unhelpful).

Some photos I came across suggest Imre Makovecz and Odon Lechner (1845-1914) have done some interesting work. Here's aninteresting church by the former. And if anyone is wondering what this has to do with bacon, please don't forget Szalonna, the town and the bacon. And in fact it's the double pitched roof in the town photo that has sent me on this insane quest... ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:57, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

• traditional buildings with double-pitched rooflines
• And in case there's an Austro-Hungarian connection there's Friedensreich Hundertwasser

Although I've not left a comment at T:TDYK, someone else likely will: the article is too short. By my count, the article currently has 1456 characters of prose text — as you may remember, text in the lists doesn't count toward the total. Nyttend (talk) 23:50, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

I'll have to add something about him being very very very very etc. notable. ;) ChildofMidnight (talk) 23:55, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the fixes at St. John's Church, especially the comment; I should have thought to say something about the architectural style in the intro. You may also be interested in Holy Family Catholic Church (Frenchtown, Ohio), which I just finished a little bit ago. Nyttend (talk) 01:42, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for your interest in my picture of the Cornelius Hotel in Portland. You can find my answer on my page to keep the discussion together. --Eaaumi (talk) 01:58, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Bennes also credited with Broadway Hotel [2], [3] ChildofMidnight (talk) 02:54, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

• Source with list of Portland buildings by architect
• PDF with quite a bit about Bennes [4], Emporis listings for Bennes [5] Hot Lake Sanitarium near LaGrande? (asourced to PDF) The Venable Hotel (Hamilton Hotel)?
• Emporis listings for Morris H. Whitehouse [6] Who designed Temple Beth Israel (Portland)?

On March 4, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Thomas D. McLaughlin, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits your article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.

Gatoclass 12:04, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Gato. ChildofMidnight (talk) 19:24, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Hey, no problem... I liked the article - made me feel a bit hungry... :-) GregorB (talk) 18:14, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

How do they know what it tastes like? Geoff ^{Who, me?} 22:38, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Just try cleaning a lot of it off. It gets everywhere, including up your nose and into your mouth. Although you're probably getting it off with white spirit and tasting that just as much. Andy Dingley (talk) 22:50, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

I'm to be travelling for a couple days to Bloomington, Indiana, with a likely stop in Rushville to photograph the house of Wendell Willkie. I don't know the way that I'll be coming back, but I may be able to go through Franklin or Shelbyville. Any photo requests? As usual, can't promise anything in the smaller communities, but I'll likely have plenty of time in Bloomington. Nyttend (talk) 16:21, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Here are some "walking tours" for Bloomington. For instance here's the courthouse square one. I can't think of any architects from there and didn't come across any in a quick search. But those sources seem useful for building groupings and include maps. ChildofMidnight (talk) 17:26, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Okay, thanks; I just got online for the first time. I got some of the Bloomington NRHP listings when I was here in November, including the courthouse square, so I didn't go over there today; instead, I walked this route and then around campus a good deal. Any wonder why my feet are tired now? I'm hoping to get out to other parts of the city before we leave tomorrow; maybe I'll get over by the courthouse again. Nyttend (talk) 01:41, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

Well, schedule changed: I was in Bloomington with a family member who had meetings there; the meetings finished last night instead of this morning, meaning that we left early this morning — thus (1) I didn't have time to get pictures in Bloomington this morning, and (2) we had time to take a detour to downtown Greenville, Ohio and get some pictures there, including the old Carnegie library. Photos will be up in the next day or two. Nyttend (talk) 20:21, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

Hi Com, I popped in from my break to look up some information on outdoor children's games. I ran across this one, Poohsticks, and wondered if you've heard of it? Shinerunner (talk) 23:19, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

I've never heard that name used, but "boat races" with sticks such is definitely a popular childhood tradition. I prefer to work my way slong the shore and let my "boat" go somewhere upstream upon choosing a finish-line down stream. Then you run along with your craft and root it on as it faces eddys and other obstacles. :) ChildofMidnight (talk) 17:10, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

I believe the activity predates Pooh, so I would use a broader name like boat races or stick boat racing. And it seems there are the basic stick boat races and ones with constructed boats.

THE STICK BOAT RACE by John W Townsend January 05, 2010

I stood by the river

following it flow,

throwing in stick boats

watching them go.

Under hanging branches

pass the grassy banks

racing under bridges

navigating shallow beds,

there go the stick boats

moving at a pace

changing their positions

in the river race.

source

• Whoa, are you all kidding?? You don't know Pooh sticks? It is a GREAT game, very relaxing, and I am glad to see we have an article on it. Drmies (talk) 21:22, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Not everything in my life is named after Disney characters Doc. Did you read the above? Sarah Palin and I have lives oustide of frivolous popular culture and distorted mainstream media influences. ChildofMidnight (talk) 21:23, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Eh...Palin has a life? I thought she was a cartoon character. Drmies (talk) 21:27, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Rocky, Bullwinkle & Palin? ChildofMidnight (talk) 21:29, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Hey, are you following the proceedings there? My name was brought up by another editor as someone who could maybe work with you within certain proposed remedies, and I have just made an offer regarding a similar one. What do you think? LadyofShalott 21:24, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

It looks like the decision is being rendered. ChildofMidnight (talk) 21:25, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

That does not mean it is too late for you to comment. However, if you don't do it soon, it looks like it will be. If you want anything short of a year-long ban for you to come about, please comment there on alternate proposals ASAP. I'm writing as someone who thinks you make many good contributions to the encyclopedia, and I'd like to help you continue to be able to do so. LadyofShalott 05:09, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

I wouldn't know where to begin as far as commenting on that monstrosity LoS. I edit in good faith. I do a lot of article work. I contribute at AfD, in spurts at new page patrol, and am collegial with dozens of editors of all different viewpoints. But there are people here who simply can't tolerant those who don't see things their way. That kind of hateful pettiness is sad, but no one has the right to hound or bully those who don't share their opinions.

I am outspoken when I see abuse and while I don't hold grudges, I think Ncmvocalist's investigation of my block log was telling as far as my being on the receiving end of lots of improper admin actions. But that evidence is being ignored because it doesn't comport with the outcome desired by those driving this arbitration effort. I expect any attempt I make to correct the record as far as my editing history goes to also be ignored.

Do you really think those trying to silence me will be discouraged from continuing to do so if I point out how abusive and hypocritical they are being? Would calling out the bullies be helpful at this point?

Clearly I have pissed off some of the powers that be and they are using the arb hearing as an opportunity to come after me.

An admin's bad block was overturned, another admin made very uncivil comments about me during that process and then filed an arb proceeding even though there was no dispute. Arbs whose inappropriate behavior I've pointed out previously have led the charge in using the filing as an opportunity to come after me (and have failed to recuse or even note their prior conflicts). And of course there has also been a long term smear campaign against me by disruptive trolls who want have a history of harassing those they disagree with instead of using dispute resolution and working towards consensus.

Efforts at intimidation and censorship are disgusting, and I will never be silent in the face of this kind of dishonest corruption. Other than continuing to be outpoken about the rot, there's not much else I can do about it.

If someone has an issue with me or concerns about any of my comments they are most welcome to communicate with me respectfully. We haven't seen much that because those coming after me don't want to communicate with me or to reach an accord, they want to get rid of me and for me to be quiet.

Have you ever seen Ryan Postthwaite post a concern here? Newyorkbrad? Nope. When Coren was bullying a good faith editor I called him out on it, so now he's coming after me. I think that kind of behavior is pretty sick, but maybe it's "human nature" for some people. I'm certainly not going to kowtow to individual bullies or a pack of them. I'm at peace with trying to do the right thing and standing up to impropriety when I see it occurring.ChildofMidnight (talk) 05:37, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

		The Surreal Barnstar
		It's like, say, a white chocolate bacon bar. Sure, not everyone is going to love it, but it sure is a special flavor. Drmies (talk) 15:06, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Doc. I'm not sure what this is about though? Also, I'm of the opinion that there is no chocolate without cocoa. Nuts are okay though. ChildofMidnight (talk) 07:39, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

On March 6, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article James W. McLaughlin, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits your article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.

Materialscientist (talk) 18:02, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

A tag has been placed on Walter D. Pugh requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section A1 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because it is a very short article providing little or no context to the reader. Please see Wikipedia:Stub for our minimum information standards for short articles. Also please note that articles must be on notable subjects and should provide references to reliable sources that verify their content. You may wish to consider using a Wizard to help you create articles - see the Article Wizard.

If you think that this notice was placed here in error, you may contest the deletion by adding {{hangon}} to the top of the page that has been nominated for deletion (just below the existing speedy deletion or "db" tag), coupled with adding a note on the talk page explaining your position, but be aware that once tagged for speedy deletion, if the page meets the criterion, it may be deleted without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but don't hesitate to add information to the page that would render it more in conformance with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. Lastly, please note that if the page does get deleted, you can contact one of these admins to request that they userfy the page or have a copy emailed to you. 226Trident 01:49, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

Hello ChildofMidnight. I fully respect that I may not be the person you want to hear off most at this point in time but I wanted to make a suggestion to you. I see from your contributions you've been concentrating hard on articles - you seem to be doing some very good work. Why don't you write a note on the proposed decision page of your request for arbitration and state that you respect that there have been issues with your past conduct, that you apologise for them and that in the future you're going to make a real effort to act in a more collegial way with others. The two proposed remedies don't look good at the minute for you - one is a ban and one is an extremely severe editing restriction. If you do what I've suggested, I for one will campaign to have your editing restrictions reduced significantly and I expect others will as well. We all respect your work on articles, we just want you to work a little better with others - you have the potential to be on of our best editors here. Ryan Postlethwaite^{See the mess I've created or let's have banter} 22:49, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Ryan I have always devoted myself to constructive article edits and constructive input on various noticeboards and project pages. There's no question that I get frustrated at times and am sometimes overly direct in calling out foul play, as I've acknowledged previously (despite the misrepresentations made by you and Bigtimepeace in your statements and "evidence").

Dealing with abuse and incivility, especially when it comes from admins, is very taxing and it's not something I enjoy. But we've lost some very talented editors as a result of improper behavior, and I think it's important to make sure all editors are treated with respect and according to our policies. There's a lot of hypocrisy and arrogance here and it's very important that we confront it and get everyone to engage in collegial cooperation. Misconduct by those in positions of power isn't useful in building an encyclopedia.

If you'd like to apologize for your "drama loving troll" comments that would probably be appropriate. But you seem like a decent fellow, so I'm not too worried about it one way or the other. Sometimes people get flustered and do stupid things. I haven't seen a pattern of misconduct and incompetence from you, and you seem generally to be a good guy and a good editor, so I'm hoping your recent comments and abusive Arbcom report were just aberrations. Certainly following up on a bad block with an arbcom filing that includes a heap of distortions and mispresentations isn't a good look for you. That kind of thing is very disruptive, especially where there is no dispute between us. It certainly instigated a pile on from some of the trolls and abusive personalities that have been coming after me for a long time, but that's life. ChildofMidnight (talk) 23:25, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

In your response made Ryan the focus of this interaction, but it is not he who is the problem. AGK 01:05, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

Has bacon jumped the shark? Leah Zeldes wants to know. - Dravecky (talk) 04:02, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

The video for the bacon rocket has a catchy little tune.Shinerunner (talk) 14:28, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

"Bacon and rocketry, in perfect harmony..." Geoff ^{Who, me?} 15:08, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

I didn't know if you've seen the Republic of Bacon series [7] on You Tube.Shinerunner (talk) 17:05, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

The bacon rocket endeavor looked like a very interesting learning experience. I think the term jumped the shark jumped the shark, and I like the idea of an anthem, but I think that one needs work. I have a "list of micronation national anthems" in my userspace, I think, that might be a good starting point... Bacon still seems to be going strong. I tried to sidetrack people with doughnut/donuts, but bacon still seems to be the thing that sizzles. ChildofMidnight (talk) 04:42, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

I agree the anthem was weak, some of the related commercials gave me a chuckle.Shinerunner (talk) 15:13, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

It's an important starting point, anyway, for bacon nation. ChildofMidnight (talk) 19:08, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

You can see it here. My footnote was wrong; it's on page 3, not page 4. — Malik Shabazz ^Talk/_Stalk 08:14, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

Okay. I see it's noted in various sources on google books. The way it's written it seems like an organization and I had never heard of it and didn't see much on google news (only one recent link to a story) so I was concerned that it was vandalism. But I see that it's accurate. Additional notation of the organization of the event upfront might be helpful. That background is interesting. I also think the introduction could do a better job of laying out what was advocated in the speech. Isn't it a call for self reliance, independence, and black nationalism? An appeal to black pride and for empowerment as opposed to integration and assimilation? ChildofMidnight (talk) 08:19, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

LOL Yeah, something like that. Sometimes I get so bogged down in the details I forget about the big picture. Thanks. — Malik Shabazz ^Talk/_Stalk 08:40, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

It's a very interesting speech, and I was happy to find an article about it. Thanks for creating it! ChildofMidnight (talk) 17:34, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

On 8 March, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Bacon Deluxe, which you recently nominated. If you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.

Materialscientist (talk) 00:03, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Materialscientist. ChildofMidnight (talk) 03:46, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

		The Special Barnstar
		Awarded to ChildofMidnight. I am sure it would often have been better for all sides if you had altered your communication style to make it more conciliatory and less confrontational. But the fact remains that there have been notable situations (like the one just now) where you have been the only person to speak up with a missing perspective. For that reason, I will miss you around here, and look forward to your return. JN466 22:41, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

Wow. Thanks very much. :) Yes, I'm not perfect, but I do my best. If everyone was willing to work collegially and respectfully I'm sure an accomodation could be reached, but there are many here who treat Wikipedia as an MMPORG and who play at politics instead of encyclopedia building. But I've enjoyed working with lots of editors on a wide range of subjects. The vast majority here have been friendly and helpful, although there is some paranoia and suspicion that is fostered by the police state atmospherics. The world and Wikipedia will never be perfect places, but we do what we can. Thank you for your kindness and courage in giving me this barnstar. I acknowledge being bitey now and again, but when there are dogs constantly yapping at your heels, it's hard to put down the stick. :) ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:47, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

		The Special Barnstar
		I echo the sentiment above. Back when you first started editing here, I identified you as one of the most promising new editors I have ever seen and nothing I have seen since then sways my original judgment one bit. Trusilver 22:52, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

May your future be bright. I'll miss you. I still intend to get a pic for that article, and I'll work on the article itself. -- JohnWBarber (talk) 03:14, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

• Yes, best of luck and hope you find something more productive. I'll definitely miss editing with you as long as my wiki-career lasts. cheers. —SpacemanSpiff 03:21, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Spiff! All the best to you. Take care of yourself. ChildofMidnight (talk) 03:53, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

I'm going to echo the same thing, hope the best for you and look forward to seeing you back here. The fine pigs at the slaughter house awaiting a fate of smoked bacon will also miss you for the fine work you did relating to their dead and roasted bodies (excuse me for my gruesomeness, I turn like that at night). Best of luck, ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 04:07, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Ditto sentiments above. You're a great contributor. Take the things from arbcom to heart and see you around. tedder (talk) 04:58, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

		The Hitlerszalonna
		For pursuit of knowledge for all, where others were ignorant and sought to perpetuate ignorance. Its not a barnstar, and frankly, who knows what it is. Hopefully not cats. Its Hitlerszalonna. Be well, friend. Milowent (talk) 04:44, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

This arbitration case has been closed and the final decision is available at the link above.

• User:ChildofMidnight is banned from Wikipedia for one year.

• User:ChildofMidnight is restricted to editing main (article) space, the talk pages of articles he has edited, Template talk:Did you know, and his own talk and user talk pages only. In all cases he is forbidden from discussing the behavior of other editors, real or perceived, outside of his own user talk page. ChildofMidnight may apply to the Committee for exemptions to this restriction for the purposes of good faith dispute resolution on a case-by-case basis. This remedy is concurrent (and cumulative) with any extant topic bans, and consecutive to any editing ban.

On behalf of the Arbitration Committee, ~ Amory (u • t • c) 03:39, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Discuss this

• COM, I won't comment on the process. Don't think the outcome is terribly productive. Hope to see you return either in a year or earlier in the event of a successful appeal. Hang loose. ^Bongo_matic 04:27, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
  • Hmm. I'll chime in with Bongo. I'll miss seeing you around, buddy, and it will be a lot less fun while you're gone. Good luck if you appeal. Drmies (talk) 05:24, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
• Dang it, CoM, it won't be the same around here without you. We'll keep the bacon warm until you're back. (Doughnuts too, if you're good.) - Dravecky (talk) 05:40, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
  • Sorry to see this happen CoM. I had hoped the outcome would be better but hopefully you'll be back before too long. Shinerunner (talk) 11:09, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
• All seems rather odd to me. For the record I have never found you anything other than agreeable and pleasant. It all looks rather like a small storm in an even smaller teacup. Frankly a year's block means that you are unlikely to be back. That's a shame. Fiddle Faddle (talk) 11:20, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
  • Indeed, and even after a year, some things might continue to have a "permanent" effect it unfortunately seems. It's a shame that the arbitration office had some of its members persistently poking, even in the last moments prior to the ban, but no tactic they employ is exactly shocking anymore. Anyway, all the best in your endeavours ChildofMidnight, and we'll hopefully see you again sometime soon. Ncmvocalist (talk) 14:15, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
• <blink>I leave for two weeks and this is what I come back to....--kelapstick (talk) 17:04, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
• Words fail me. Nevertheless, all the best, Child. Geoff ^{Who, me?} 19:19, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
• Good luck to you in the future, CoM. Dayewalker (talk) 19:30, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
• Would it be TOO Pollyannaish of me to hope that you come back once the year is up? ::: sigh :::: Oh, CoM. This really does suck. Be well, hm? GJC 01:56, 10 March 2010 (UTC)
• Too bad it's come to this - I hope we'll see you back editing again in time. For all the problems that have apparently happened, I've never personally had a single bad experience with you, and I wish you the very best of luck. ~ mazca ^talk 09:14, 10 March 2010 (UTC)
• Your punishment is about 364 days too long. The fact that they keep adding DYKs based on your contributions even after your ban has taken effect proves that you are an asset to the encyclopedia. Grundle2600 (talk) 07:29, 15 March 2010 (UTC)
• Agreed. This seems like a grossly excessive punishment. Andy Dingley (talk) 12:22, 15 March 2010 (UTC)
• Criticizing the ones with extra buttons is dangerous work. Thanks for the effort. Zulu Papa 5 ☆ (talk) 19:34, 15 March 2010 (UTC)

Thank you all very much for your kind words. I am exploring my options, and as I've mentioned below I'm interested in seeing an alternative Encyclopedia Wiki develop. Anyone interested or with ideas is encouraged to e-mail me. Sadly I'm not very technical, but I'm willing to do my best to help in the effort in every way possible. ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:03, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

• I too think that this punishment is excessive. ChildofMidnight do you remember Prusurate? Sir Floyd (talk) 23:33, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

On March 10, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Kemper Nomland, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits your article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.

Materialscientist (talk) 00:02, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. And thanks to Aymath2 for helping thread some of the other peaceniks associated with this fellow into the great tapestry of encyclopedic knowledge. ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:03, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

This post is for bacon fans who are likely watching this page.

• http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2010/01/the_conscious_carnivore.html
• http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theethicalbutcher/the-ethical-butchers-custom-cured-bacon-heritag

There is talk of a "meat locker co-op", the Red Wattle, and "The Bacon Gospel: BCN/PDX". Let me know if you want photos of the stall or need me to do some WP:OR for the taste of this bacon. tedder (talk) 07:16, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

• You see, the fans are still here. I had a BLT for breakfast, in your honor, and will have another one for lunch, in my own honor. Take it easy. Tedder, some OR would be jes fine. Drmies (talk) 15:47, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

I'll expect a barnstar. After all, I'm taking one for the team. tedder (talk) 16:30, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

tedder stop making trouble or I will report you to the Oregon Cabal. ;) Of course we want photos! ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:03, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

On March 13, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article John Virginius Bennes, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits your article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.

Materialscientist (talk) 18:03, 13 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Material Scientist. His work was interesting to put together. Still lots of work to be done on his aritcle of course. :) ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:03, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

		Bacon WikiCup 2010 - Participant Medal
		Because of your work and dedication to expanding bacon-related content during the Bacon Challenge 2010, you have been awarded the Bacon WikiCup 2010 Particpant Medal for partipcating in the Bacon WikiCup 2010 with a final score of 32, earning yourself seventh place. Congratulations, and thank you for your great work! ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 02:05, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

Woo hoo! Thanks S.H. Congratulations to SpinningSpark for winning and to Cirt for coming in second with an impressive 4 (I believe) "Good Articles" (GAs). ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:03, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

I observed on Giano's page that you had enquired about the windows of that church. They are characteristic of Venetian Renaissance palazzo and were often imitated in 19th century buildings because they could be made with wooden or brick frames much easier than Gothic tracery could. That building is somewhat Medieval in its form, but is Classicising in its details. Hence the Renaissance-style windows. I don't know of a specific name for them. You shouldn't try to apply Gothic terminology to the, like "Geometric Decorated" etc. I would tend to describe them as "Venetian Renaissance-style" for want of something better. Amandajm (talk) 10:28, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

Thank you very much for the information Amandajm. I have learned a lot here from kind editors like yourself and Giano who are willing to share their expertise. Take care of yourself. ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:03, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

Just to confirm, is this person on encyc.org you or an impersonator? --J. 216.241.55.204 (talk) 21:53, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

Yes, that's me. Although I see a vandal followed me there invoking my username in their edit summaries. That character is not me. Trolls like Tarc frequently follow me around trying to cause problems, unfortunately. I've only edited there with the ChildofMidnight moniker. Tarc is not welcome here on my talk page either, and if anyone sees him post here I would appreciate having his messages redacted. His destrictive trolling is a good example of the nastiness that would be addressed on a healthy encyclopedia building project. ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:03, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

Come on over for some Jonnycakes tomorrow. With Tedder's help I'm trying to turn it into a GA. Take care. Drmies (talk) 04:51, 15 March 2010 (UTC)

Keep up the good work Doc! Sounds a lot better than those sperm related food subjects you were working on not too long ago. ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:03, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

ChildofMidnight (talk) 17:47, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

I have found at wiki that all the guidelines are fluid , you have made a lot of positive contributions to the article space. A year does not have to mean a year. I could see a chance to return to editing in perhaps a few months, perhaps with a few accepted conditions, a new beginning so to speak, meanwhile you can create content here on your talkpage and offer it for inclusion. Off2riorob (talk) 21:25, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

Screw that. You're contracted to set up our new EncycloWiki. We will crush Wikipedia so much so that Lord Jimbo will be begging for mercy! ;) And the Arbcons will have to find small animals to torture as they will be banished forever. MUAHAHAHAHA ChildofMidnight (talk) 02:06, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

at our local office in Ulan Bator. My charter to site is delayed. Twelve hours in the country and no bacon in site, but I did have a delightful meal at the Seoul Inchon Airport, but I think I will need Caspian Blue to identify one if the things on my plate...--kelapstick (talk) 02:18, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

See this, couldn't figure out what the red thing in the top left corner was, and my waitress didn't speak English, and I didn't speak Korean.--kelapstick (talk) 02:43, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

That looks like Kimchi my friend. You need to get out more. ;)

As far as your new home in Outer Mongolia goes, if it's chewy it's probably goat penis. And the white bits aren't cheese curds in your poutines. Watch out for bandits. ChildofMidnight (talk) 03:47, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Lots of little dishes of fermented things are very Korean: see our article on banchan. I hope you tried all of them. PhGustaf (talk) 04:12, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Likely right CoM, as it tasted like that. It was pretty good, the rest was great. I was just at a Japanese Hot Pot down the road from our local office, it was quite good, and a full meal for under US$5 (or T7,500). Although the soup left something to be desired. Maybe I am just not one for boiled tofu. I am taking part in a project that provides pictures and reviews of worldwide airports, there was a little coffee shop in the Ulan Bator airport, excellent espresso. --kelapstick (talk) 04:24, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Hope these will tide you over for a year... sorry to see you go and bring your contributions with you. In the meantime, enjoy these potato doughnuts!

Thanks Scalper. I think Dimitree is still trying to get Russia out of Europe and back into Asia if you want to help him. ChildofMidnight (talk) 03:49, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Here's some broccoli salad. So sorry it has to be in a takeout cup. I hope next time you can stay longer, and that this link doesn't stay red for an entire year. Jonathunder (talk) 01:31, 24 March 2010 (UTC)

I commend to your attention this article suggesting that the shark may have been jumped. - Dravecky (talk) 02:45, 25 March 2010 (UTC)

• Wheeler, Robin (March 24, 2010). "Ten Signs That the Baconpocalypse Is Upon Us". Riverfront Times.

Well, in case you happen by, you kindly asked me to update you when I update my blog, which I have done, in surely an earth-shattering post. Cheers.--Milowent (talk) 16:48, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Milowent. An interesting case study on arbitrary administration here on Wikipedia. Luck of the draw I suppose. I'm trying to foment interest in the development of an alternative Encyclopedia Wiki where the focus is on collegial cooperation and content development. I think the bureaucracy has taken over here. Unfortunately my skill set is lacking in the administrative expertise to start a Wiki on my own. Irony of ironies. :) ChildofMidnight (talk) 22:03, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

I'm not sure that this place is anything much to do with the construction of an encylopaedia, you know. It is more an amusing exercise in social interplay and social adequacy and inadequacy. That blog article displays this so well. The challenge with starting another is that, rather like Google in the search engine market, the market is probably full. And Mediawiki is both appalling and the only real game in town as software. I've deployed it a couple of times now and hated every moment!. Fiddle Faddle (talk) 00:32, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for volunteering to head up the alternative EncyclopediaWiki project! When should we expect it to be up and running? Have you picked out a name yet? ChildofMidnight (talk) 01:27, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

ROFLMAO I already run Train Spotting World and Plane Spotting World! These things are resource hungry and community is very hard to build. Tongue in cheek we could run a dumbed down WP and call it Thickipedia! But I bet it exists already! Fiddle Faddle (talk) 14:33, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

Those sites are very impressive. You've done a nice job with them.

Dummipedia is already in existence, but I was thinking of something better informed. But if you don't want to live a life of extravagant leisure as the "founder" of World Internet Encyclopedia a la Lord Jimbo then I guess I'll let you off the hook. Not everyone is cut out for that kind of globetrotting hob-nobbing amongst the glitterati. ChildofMidnight (talk) 16:29, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

If that job is available, I am confident in my ability to play a good glitter game and eat enough hob nobs and am clearly hot to trot enough to satisfy the employment conditions. Off2riorob (talk) 16:47, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

Are you any good at speechmaking and do you have any experience as an absolute monarch? Your food interest and pop culture savvy is impressive, and your familiarity with Hot to trot suggests you have plenty of time on your hands... ChildofMidnight (talk) 16:57, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

I could read an autocue and I am ready for living the dream that is God king . Off2riorob (talk) 23:53, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

This is all so exciting. Sir Floyd (talk) 00:15, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

Good enough for me. You're Hired! Or ummm... in charge. Now you just have to find a Larry Sanger to take care of all the nitty gritty nuts and bolts so you can start "leading". ;) ChildofMidnight (talk) 00:51, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

How about a Jerry Springer instead? (I was really only waiting for a chance to use that cool template!) Fiddle Faddle (talk) 08:55, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

COM, i have a new post up now.[8] cheers.--Milowent (talk) 18:25, 25 March 2010 (UTC)

to see you go :( I do hope that you return next year and help cordinate the next Bacon cup! Maybe then you can move the cup into the mainspace and out of a usersubpage (like the Wikicup). good luck this upcomming year and I'll see you around!--White Shadows ^{you're breaking up} 00:26, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

How's it going, Child? I thought of you today, when I was cutting up salt pork to make lardons, and later when I was searing a ham hock to make black-eyed peas. Bon appetit, Drmies (talk) 04:50, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, hi there ChildofMidnight! Grundle2600 (talk) 03:30, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

We're half way through round two, and everything is running smoothly. Hunter Kahn (submissions) leads overall with 650 points this round, and heads pool B. TonyTheTiger (submissions) currently leads pool C, dubbed the "Group of Death", which has a only a single contestant yet to score this round (the fewest of any group), as well five contestants over 100 points (the most). With a month still to go, as well as 16 wildcard places, everything is still to play for. Anything you worry may not receive the necessary attention before the end of the round (such as outstanding GA or FA nominations) is welcome at Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews, and please remember to continue offering reviews yourself where possible. As always, the judges are available to contact via email, IRC or their talk pages, and general discussion about the Cup is welcome on the WikiCup talk page.

Although unrelated to the WikiCup, April sees a Good Article Nominations backlog elimination drive, formulated as a friendly competition with small awards, as the Cup is. Several WikiCup contestants and judges have already signed up, but regular reviewers and those who hope to do more reviewing are more than welcome to join at the drive page. If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn, Fox, iMatthew and The ed17 Delivered by JCbot (talk) 22:11, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

...tell them this perfectly innocent reason for you stockpiling all those machine guns and buying up all that aluminum foil. They're bound to understand. - Dravecky (talk) 07:11, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

As part of a project funded by the European Commission (QLectives), we are collecting and analysing data to study quality control mechanisms and inclusion/deletion policies in Wikipedia. According to our records, you participated in a large number of AfD. We are currently soliciting editors with a long record of participation in AfD discussions to send us their feedback via a very informal survey.

The survey takes less than 5 minutes and is available at this URL. Should you have any questions about this project, feel free to get in touch.

Thanks for your help! --DarTar (talk) 10:34, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Because it wouldn't be the bacon challenge without you. Green Dragons Love Bacon (talk) 01:04, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

A link for bacon fat popcorn [9] Shinerunner (talk) 22:32, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

An editor has nominated one or more articles which you have created or worked on, for deletion. The nominated article is Can of whoop ass. We appreciate your contributions, but the nominator doesn't believe that the article satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion and has explained why in his/her nomination (see also Wikipedia:Notability and "What Wikipedia is not").

Your opinions on whether the article meets inclusion criteria and what should be done with the article are welcome; please participate in the discussion(s) by adding your comments to Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Can of whoop ass. Please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~).

You may also edit the article during the discussion to improve it but should not remove the articles for deletion template from the top of the article; such removal will not end the deletion debate.

Please note: This is an automatic notification by a bot. I have nothing to do with this article or the deletion nomination, and can't do anything about it. --Erwin85Bot (talk) 01:07, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

Round two is over, and we are down to our final 32. For anyone interested in the final standings (though not arranged by group) this page has been compiled. Congratulations to Hunter Kahn (submissions), our clear overall round winner, and to ThinkBlue (submissions) and Arsenikk (submissions), who were solidly second and third respectively. There were a good number of high scorers this round- competition was certainly tough! Round three begins tomorrow, but anything promoted after the end of round two is eligible for points. 16 contestants (eight pool leaders and eight wildcards) will progress to round four in two months- things are really starting to get competitive. Anything you worry may not receive the necessary attention before the end of the round (such as outstanding GA or FA nominations) is welcome at Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews, and please remember to continue offering reviews yourself where possible. As always, the judges are available to contact via email, IRC or their talk pages, and general discussion about the Cup is welcome on the WikiCup talk page.

Judge iMatthew has retired from Wikipedia, and we wish him the best. The competition has been ticking over well with minimal need for judge intervention, so thank you to everyone making that possible. A special thank you goes to participants Stone (submissions) and White Shadows (submissions) for their help in preparing for round three. Good luck everyone! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn, Fox and The ed17 17:32, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Hi CoM. As you an see that wiki is still rolling along. Disruptive block evasion is going to set your ETA date back, finger waving.... Off2riorob (talk) 03:46, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

Seriously, CoM, if you ever want to return to Wikipedia editing ever again, don't ever sock again. You're going to be discovered again like you were this time. Any admin could now reset your block to a year from today with no controversy (though I myself have no interest in doing so, I couldn't stop anyone else from doing so), and if you keep it up, you'll end up indeffed. You did a lot of good work on articles before your ban, and I'd rather see you come back to that when your ban is up than become another entry on the list of indefinitely banned users. Heimstern Läufer (talk) 09:26, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

Following evidence from Versageek at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/ChildofMidnight#Log of blocks, bans, and restrictions (as noted above) I have reset your ban for one year from May 3rd (363 days from today) for using a sockpuppet to evade your block. ~ Amory (u • t • c) 22:42, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

I have nominated First Presbyterian Church (Aurora, Indiana), an article that you created, for deletion. I do not think that this article satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, and have explained why at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/First Presbyterian Church (Aurora, Indiana). Your opinions on the matter are welcome at that same discussion page; also, you are welcome to edit the article to address these concerns. Thank you for your time.

Please contact me if you're unsure why you received this message. SchuminWeb (Talk) 14:44, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

An editor has nominated one or more articles which you have created or worked on, for deletion. The nominated article is List of most popular cat names. We appreciate your contributions, but the nominator doesn't believe that the article satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion and has explained why in his/her nomination (see also Wikipedia:Notability and "What Wikipedia is not").

Your opinions on whether the article meets inclusion criteria and what should be done with the article are welcome; please participate in the discussion(s) by adding your comments to Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of most popular cat names (2nd nomination). Please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~).

You may also edit the article during the discussion to improve it but should not remove the articles for deletion template from the top of the article; such removal will not end the deletion debate.

Please note: This is an automatic notification by a bot. I have nothing to do with this article or the deletion nomination, and can't do anything about it. --Erwin85Bot (talk) 01:09, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

An article that you have been involved in editing, Chiropractic controversy and criticism, has been listed for deletion. If you are interested in the deletion discussion, please participate by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Chiropractic controversy and criticism. Thank you.

Please contact me if you're unsure why you received this message. - I am notifying you because you participated in the original AfD. DigitalC (talk) 19:57, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

A file that you uploaded or altered, File:R2D2 style Boom Box art.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Possibly unfree files because its copyright status is unclear or disputed. If the file's copyright status cannot be verified, it may be deleted. You may find more information on the file description page. You are welcome to add comments to its entry at the discussion if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. --▫ JohnnyMrNinja 08:31, 30 May 2010 (UTC)

We are half way through round 3, with a little under a month to go. The current overall leader is Sasata (submissions), who has 570 points. He leads pool C. Pools A, B and D are led by Hunter Kahn (submissions), Sturmvogel_66 (submissions) and White Shadows (submissions) respectively. Anything you worry may not receive the necessary attention before the end of the round (such as outstanding GA or FA nominations) is welcome at Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews, and please remember to continue offering reviews yourself where possible. As always, the judges are available to contact via email, IRC or their talk pages, and general discussion about the Cup is welcome on the WikiCup talk page.

Two of last year's final 8, Theleftorium (submissions) and Scorpion0422 (submissions), have dropped out of the competition, saying they would rather their place went to someone who will have more time on their hands than them next round. On a related note, a special thank you goes to White Shadows (submissions) for his help behind the scenes once again. There is currently a problem with the poster, perhaps caused by the new skin- take a look at this discussion and see if you can help. The competition has continued to tick over well with minimal need for judge intervention, so thank you to everyone making that possible. Good luck to all! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn, Fox and The ed17 20:47, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

Coming soon to a Wiki near you...The Third Great Wikipedia Dramaout will be July 5-9. Please join us for serious content creation! Signup is here. You have received this message because you participated in The Second Great Wikipedia Dramaout.

I see you have signed up for the last dramaout. Consider notifying 3 good editors of this to encourage more participation. Perhaps saying

I am participating in this. Please consider doing the same! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:The_Great_Wikipedia_Dramaout/3rd#Participating_Wikipedians 15:13, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

see Talk:International Freedom Alliance. Regards, --JanDeFietser (talk) 06:24, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

I nominated the redirect from System malfunction for deletion, as being only loosely related to information crisis, even if the latter article is kept at AfD. — Arthur Rubin (talk) 20:25, 26 July 2010 (UTC)

We are half-way through our penultimate round, and nothing is yet certain. Pool A, currently led by Sasata (submissions) has ended up the more competitive, with three contestants ( Sasata (submissions), Sturmvogel_66 (submissions) and TonyTheTiger (submissions)) scoring over 500 points already. Pool B is led by Casliber (submissions), who has also scored well over 500. The top two from each pool, as well as the next four highest scorers regardless of pool, will make it through to our final eight. As ever, anything you worry may not receive the necessary attention before the end of the round (such as outstanding GA or FA nominations) is welcome at Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews, and please remember to continue offering reviews yourself where possible. As always, the judges are available to contact via email, IRC or their talk pages, and general discussion about the Cup is welcome on the WikiCup talk page.

Planning has begun for the 2011 WikiCup, with open discussions concerning scoring and flags for next year's competition. Contributions to those discussions would be appreciated, especially concerning the flags, as next year's signups cannot begin until the flag issue has been resolved. Signups will hopefully open at some point in this round, with discussion about possible changing in the scoring/process opening some time afterwards.

Earlier this round, we said goodbye to Hunter Kahn (submissions), who has bowed out to spend more time on the book he is authoring with his wife. We wish him all the best. In other news, the start of this round also saw some WikiCup awards sent out by Suomi Finland 2009 (submissions). We appreciate his enthusiasm, and contestants are of course welcome to award each other prizes as they see fit, but rest assured that we will be sending out "official" awards at the end of the competition. If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn, Fox and The ed17 22:32, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

Your name has been mentioned in connection with a sockpuppetry case. Please refer to Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/ChildofMidnight for evidence. Please make sure you make yourself familiar with the guide to responding to cases before editing the evidence page. Beeblebrox (talk) 17:19, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

I'm accused of being your sock!

I looked through the contributions on your userpage and I don't really understand why you were blocked, but after my experiences with admins here I suppose it's not hard to imagine. You certainly did a lot of good work. Some of the articles you created are great fun. I even added a couple to my watchlist. I especially like the Food and sexuality article and subjects like egomania (although it needs expansion). I was sorry to see that your can of whoop ass article got deleted. I would have liked to have read what was there. At the very least they could have redirected to Wiktionary.

Since you appear to be female it's kind of weird to be accused of being you. I suppose I could offer a sperm sample and (a photo of my genitals?) to the checkuser. But I think it's probably not a great idea given the lack of any appreciable sense of humor among those running the show here.

Anyway, just thought I'd stop by to say hi. I hope you are prospering. Keep up the good fight. And watch your bacon consumption. That stuff is supposed to be very hard on the arteries. Freakshownerd (talk) 00:18, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

This notice is to inform you that I have asked the Arbitration Committee to extend your ban to for an indefinite period. As you are blocked you can either post here or email ArbCom directly. You can read the request for amendment at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Amendment, and you can contact ArbCom via arbcom-llists.wikimedia.org . Beeblebrox (talk) 19:41, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

I have nominated Mythological conundrum, an article that you created, for deletion. I do not think that this article satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, and have explained why at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Mythological conundrum. Your opinions on the matter are welcome at that same discussion page; also, you are welcome to edit the article to address these concerns. Thank you for your time.

Please contact me if you're unsure why you received this message. Rd232 ^talk 17:44, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

We have our final eight! The best of luck to those who remain. A bumper newsletter this week as we start our home straight.

• Pool A's winner was Sturmvogel_66 (submissions). Awarded the top score overall this round, Sturmvogel_66 writes primarily on military history, favouring Naval warfare.
• Pool B's winner was Casliber (submissions). Awarded the top score for featured articles this round, Casliber writes primarily on natural sciences, especially botany and ornithology.
• Pool A's close second was Sasata (submissions). Awarded the top score for featured pictures this round, Sasata writes primarily on natural sciences, favouring mycology.
• Pool B's close second was ThinkBlue (submissions). Awarded the top score for good articles and topics this round, ThinkBlue primarily writes content related to television and film, including 30 Rock.
• The first wildcard was TonyTheTiger (submissions). Awarded the top score for did you knows and valued pictures this round, TonyTheTiger writes on a number of topics, including baseball, American football and Chicago.
• The second wildcard was White Shadows (submissions). Someone who has helped the Cup behind the scenes all year, White Shadows said "I'm still in shock that I made it this far" and writes primarily on Naval warfare, especially U-boats.
• The third wildcard was Staxringold (submissions). Awarded the top score for featured lists and topics this round, Staxringold primarily writes on sport and television, including baseball and 30 Rock.
• The fourth wildcard was William S. Saturn (submissions). Entering the final eight only on the final day of the round, William S. Saturn writes on a number of topics, mostly related to Texas.

We say goodbye to the six who fell at the final hurdle. Geschichte (submissions) only just missed out on a place in the final eight. Resolute (submissions) was not far behind. Candlewicke (submissions) was awarded top points for in the news this round. Gary King (submissions) contributed a variety of did you know articles. Suomi Finland 2009 (submissions) said "I'm surprised to have survived so far into the competition", but was extactic to see Finland in the semi-finals. Arsenikk (submissions) did not score this round, but has scored highly in previous rounds. We also say goodbye to Ian Rose (submissions), who withdrew earlier this month after spending six weeks overseas. Anyone interested in this round's results can see them here and here. Thank you to Stone (submissions) for these.

Signups for next year's competition are now open. Planning is ongoing, with a key discussion about judges for next year open. Discussion about how next year's scoring will work is ongoing, and thoughts are more than welcome at Wikipedia talk:WikiCup/Scoring. Also, TonyTheTiger is compiling some information and statistics on the finalists here- the final eight are encouraged to add themselves to the list.

Our final eight will play it out for two months, after which we will know 2010's WikiCup winner, and a variety of prizes will be awarded. As ever, anything you worry may not receive the necessary attention before the end of the round (such as outstanding GA or FA nominations) is welcome at Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews, and please remember to continue offering reviews yourself where possible. As always, the judges are available to contact via email, IRC or their talk pages, and general discussion about the Cup is welcome on the WikiCup talk page.If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn, Fox and The ed17 23:07, 31 August 2010 (UTC)

NPR has come to the odd conclusion that Elvis ate his fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches with bacon. - Dravecky (talk) 19:59, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

• Chillag, Ian (September 27, 2010). "Sandwich Monday: "The (Sandwich That Helped Kill) Elvis"". NPR.

Isn't that old news? (Along with the 727 flights to go to his favourite diner for them). Andy Dingley (talk) 20:05, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

According to Peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich, the inclusion of bacon is not universally accepted and is at best poorly documented. - Dravecky (talk) 21:21, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

We are half-way through our final round, entering the home straight. TonyTheTiger (submissions) leads at the time of writing with 1180 points, immediately followed by Sasata (submissions) with 1175 points. Sturmvogel_66 (submissions) closely follows in third place with 1100 points. For those who are interested, data about the finalists has been compiled at Wikipedia:WikiCup/History/2010/finalists, while a list of content submitted by all WikiCup contestants prior to this round has been compiled at Wikipedia:WikiCup/History/2010/Submissions. As ever, anything contestants worry may not receive the necessary attention before the end of the round (such as outstanding GA or FA nominations) is welcome at Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews, and please remember to continue offering reviews yourself where possible. As always, the judges are available to contact via email, IRC or their talk pages, and general discussion about the Cup is welcome on the WikiCup talk page.

Despite controversy, the WikiCup remains open. Signups for next year's competition are more than welcome, and suggestions for how next year's competition will work are appreciated at Wikipedia talk:WikiCup/Scoring. More general comments and discussions should be directed at the WikiCup talk page. One month remains in the 2010 WikiCup, after which we will know our champion. Good luck everyone! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn, Fox and The ed17 23:02, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

Would you please stop socking? Our interactions were positive enough that I was quite sad to see you sitebanned, and I'm not at all happy to see that you've gotten your block extended: I had hoped to work together on Ohio historic architecture before next August. In the event that you decide to wait until the ban ends and then come back to edit, I've asked ArbCom slightly to loosen your restrictions, so that we could work together more easily. The motion has been filed at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Amendment. Nyttend (talk) 02:09, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

I have mentioned you here[10]. I or someone else will pass on any responses you may have. PhGustaf (talk) 04:28, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

A tag has been placed on File:Shapely turkey bacon.jpg requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section F9 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because the image appears to be a blatant copyright infringement. For legal reasons, we cannot accept copyrighted images or text borrowed from other web sites or printed material, and as a consequence, your addition will most likely be deleted.

If you think that this notice was placed here in error, you may contest the deletion by adding {{hang on}} to the top of the page that has been nominated for deletion (just below the existing speedy deletion, or "db", tag; if no such tag exists, then the page is no longer a speedy delete candidate and adding a hang-on tag is unnecessary), coupled with adding a note on the talk page explaining your position, but be aware that once tagged for speedy deletion, if the page meets the criterion, it may be deleted without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but don't hesitate to add information to the page that would render it more in conformance with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. Acather96 (talk) 07:46, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

The 2010 WikiCup is over! It has been a long journey, but what has been achieved is impressive: combined, participants have produced over seventy featured articles, over five hundred good articles, over fifty featured lists, over one thousand one hundred "did you know" entries, in addition to various other pieces of recognised content. A full list (which has yet to be updated to reflect the scores in the final round) can be found here. Perhaps more importantly, we have our winner! The 2010 WikiCup champion is Sturmvogel_66 (submissions), with an unbelievable 4220 points in the final round. Second place goes to TonyTheTiger (submissions), with 2260, and third to Casliber (submissions), with 560. Congratulations to our other four finalists – White Shadows (submissions), William S. Saturn (submissions), Staxringold (submissions) and ThinkBlue (submissions). Also, congratulations to Sasata (submissions), who withdrew from the competition with an impressive 2685 points earlier in this round.

Prizes will also be going to those who claimed the most points for different types of content in a single round. It was decided that the prizes would be awarded for those with the highest in a round, rather than overall, so that the finalists did not have an unfair advantage. Winning the featured article prize is Casliber (submissions), for five featured articles in round 4. Winning the good article prize is Sturmvogel_66 (submissions), for eighty-one good articles in round 5. Winning the featured list prize is Staxringold (submissions), for six featured lists in round 1. Winning the picture and sound award is Jujutacular (submissions), for four featured pictures in round 3. Winning the topic award is Sturmvogel_66 (submissions), for forty-seven articles in various good topics in round 5. Winning the "did you know" award is TonyTheTiger (submissions), for over one hundred did you knows is round 5. Finally, winning the in the news award is Candlewicke (submissions), for nineteen articles in the news in round three.

The WikiCup has faced criticism in the last month – hopefully, we will take something positive from it and create a better contest for next year. Like Wikipedia itself, the Cup is a work in progress, and ideas for how it should work are more than welcome on the WikiCup talk page and on the scoring talk page. Also, people are more than welcome to sign up for next year's competition on the signup page. Well done and thank you to everyone involved – the Cup has been a pleasure to run, and we, as judges, have been proud to be a part of it. We hope that next year, however the Cup is working, and whoever is running it, it will be back, stronger and more popular than ever. Until then, goodbye and happy editing! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn, Fox and The ed17 03:03, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

Hey there ChildofMidnight, thank you for your contributions. I am a bot, alerting you that non-free files are not allowed in user or talk space. I removed some files I found on User talk:ChildofMidnight/Archive 12. In the future, please refrain from adding fair-use files to your user-space drafts or your talk page.

• See a log of files removed today here.

• Shut off the bot here.

• Report errors here.

Thank you, -- DASHBot (talk) 05:01, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for uploading File:FuFu flour.jpg. However, it currently is missing information on its copyright status. Wikipedia takes copyright very seriously. It may be deleted soon, unless we can determine the license and the source of the file. If you know this information, then you can add a copyright tag to the image description page.

If you have uploaded other files, consider checking that you have specified their license and tagged them, too. You can find a list of files you have created in your upload log.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them at the media copyright questions page. Thanks again for your cooperation. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 13:06, 6 November 2010 (UTC)

A file that you uploaded or altered, File:FuFu flour.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Possibly unfree files because its copyright status is unclear or disputed. If the file's copyright status cannot be verified, it may be deleted. You may find more information on the file description page. You are welcome to add comments to its entry at the discussion if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. --— ξ^xplicit 00:19, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

Hello. You are being contacted because you have previously shown interest in the WikiCup but have not yet signed up for the 2011 WikiCup, which starts at midnight. It is not too late to sign up! The competition will remain open until at least January 31, and so it is not too late to enter. If you are interested, simply follow the instructions to add your username to the signup page, and a judge will contact you as soon as possible with an explanation of how to participate. The WikiCup is a friendly competition open to all Wikipedians, old and new, experienced and inexperienced, providing a fun and rewarding way to contribute quality content to Wikipedia. If you do not want to receive any further messages about the WikiCup, or you want to start receiving messages about the WikiCup, you may add or remove your name from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. If you have any questions, feel free to ask on the WikiCup talk page or contact the judges directly. J Milburn and The ed17 06:46, 31 December 2010 (UTC)

• And this message not delivered by a bot: Happy New Year, CoM! I made oliebollen--there's still a few left. Drmies (talk) 03:17, 1 January 2011 (UTC)

We are half way through round one of the WikiCup. Signups are now closed, and we have 129 listed competitors, 64 of whom will make it to round two. Congratulations to The Bushranger (submissions), who, at the time of writing, has a comfortable lead with 228 points, followed by Hurricanehink (submissions), with 144 points. Four others have over 100 points. Congratulations also go to Yellow Evan (submissions), who scored the first points in the competition, claiming for Talk:Hurricane King/GA1, Miyagawa (submissions), who scored the first non-review points in the competition, claiming for Dognapping, and Jarry1250 (submissions) who was the first in the competition to use our new "multiplier" mechanic (explanation), claiming for Grigory Potemkin, a subject covered on numerous Wikipedias. Thanks must also go to Jarry1250 for dealing with all bot work- without you, the competition wouldn't be happening!

A running total of claims can be seen here. However, numerous competitors are yet to score at all- please remember to submit content soon after it is promoted, so that the judges are able to review entries. The number of points that will be needed to reach round two is not clear- everyone needs to get their entries in now to guarantee their places! If you are concerned that your nomination will not receive the necessary reviews, and you hope to get it promoted before the end of the round, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. However, please remember to continue to offer reviews at GAC, FAC and all the other pages that require them to prevent any backlogs which could otherwise be caused by the Cup. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages, or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn and The ed17 22:28, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

So begins round two of the WikiCup! We now have eight pools, each with eight random contestants. This round will continue until the end of April, when the top two of each pool, as well as the next 16 highest scorers of those remaining, will make it to round three. Congratulations to The Bushranger (submissions) (first, with 487 points) and Hurricanehink (submissions) (second, with 459), who stormed the first round. Casliber (submissions) finished third with 223. Twelve others finished with over 100 points- well done to all of you! The final standings in round one can be seen here. A mere 8 points were required to reach round two; competition will no doubt be much more fierce this round, so be ready for a challenge! A special thanks goes, again, to Jarry1250 (submissions) for dealing with all bot work. This year's bot, as well as running smoothly, is doing some very helpful things that last year's did not. Also, thanks to Stone (submissions) for some helpful behind-the-scenes updating and number crunching.

Some news for those who are interested- March will see a GAN backlog elimination drive, which you are still free to join. Organised by WikiProject Good articles, the drive aims to minimise the GAN backlog and offers prizes to those who help out. Of course, you may well be able to claim WikiCup points for the articles you review as part of the drive. Also ongoing is the Great Backlog Drive, looking to work on clearing all of the backlogs on Wikipedia; again, incentives are offered, and the spirit of friendly competition is alive, while helping the encyclopedia is the ultimate aim. Though unrelated to the WikiCup, these may well be of interest to some of you.

Just a reminder of the rules; if you have done significant work on content this year and it is promoted in this round, you may claim for it. Also, anything that was promoted after the end of round one but before the beginning of round two may be claimed for in round two. Details of the rules can be found on this page. For those interested in statistics, a running total of claims can be seen here, and a very interesting table of that information (along with the highest scorers in each category) can be seen here. If you are concerned that your nomination will not receive the necessary reviews, and you hope to get it promoted before the end of the round, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. However, please remember to continue to offer reviews at GAC, FAC and all the other pages that require them to prevent any backlogs which could otherwise be caused by the Cup. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages, or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn and The ed17 23:38, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

We are half way through round two of the WikiCup, which will end on 28 April. Of the 64 current contestants, 32 will make it through to the next round; the two highest in each pool, and the 16 next highest scorers. At the time of writing, our current overall leader is Hurricanehink (submissions) with 231 points, who leads Pool H. Piotrus (submissions) (Pool G) also has over 200 points, while 9 others (three of whom are in Pool D) have over 100 points. Remember that certain content (specifically, articles/portals included in at least 20 Wikipedias as of 31 December 2010 or articles which are considered "vital") is worth double points if promoted to good or featured status, or if it appears on the main page in the Did You Know column. There were some articles last round which were eligible for double points, but which were not claimed for. For more details, see Wikipedia:WikiCup/Scoring.

A running total of claims can be seen here. However, numerous competitors are yet to score at all- please remember to submit content soon after it is promoted, so that the judges are able to review entries. The number of points that will be needed to reach round three is not clear- everyone needs to get their entries in now to guarantee their places! If you are concerned that your nomination will not receive the necessary reviews, and you hope to get it promoted before the end of the round, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. However, please remember to continue to offer reviews at GAC, FAC and all the other pages that require them to prevent any backlogs which could otherwise be caused by the Cup. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages, or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn and The ed17 00:54, 1 April 2011 (UTC)

Round 2 of the 2011 WikiCup is over, and the new round will begin on 1 May. Note that any points scored in the interim (that is, for content promoted or reviews completed on 29-30 April) can be claimed in the next round, but please do not start updating your submissions' pages until the next round has begun. Fewer than a quarter of our original contestants remain; 32 enter round 3, and, in two months' time, only 16 will progress to our penultimate round. Casliber (submissions), who led Pool F, was our round champion, with 411 points, while 7 contestants scored between 200 and 300 points. At the other end of the scale, a score of 41 was high enough to reach round 3; more than five times the score required to reach round 2, and competition will no doubt become tighter now we're approaching the later rounds. Those progressing to round 3 were spread fairly evenly across the pools; 4 progressed from each of pools A, B, E and H, while 3 progressed from both pools C and F. Pools D and G were the most successful; each had 5 contestants advancing.

This round saw our first good topic points this year; congratulations to Hurricanehink (submissions) and Nergaal (submissions) who also led pool H and pool B respectively. However, there remain content types for which no points have yet been scored; featured sounds, featured portals and featured topics. In addition to prizes for leaderboard positions, the WikiCup awards other prizes; for instance, last year, a prize was awarded to Candlewicke (submissions) (who has been eliminated) for his work on In The News. For this reason, working on more unusual content could be even more rewarding than usual!

Sorry this newsletter is going out a little earlier than expected- there is a busy weekend coming up! A running total of claims can be seen here. If you are concerned that your nomination will not receive the necessary reviews, and you hope to get it promoted before the end of the round, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. However, please remember to continue to offer reviews at GAC, FAC and all the other pages that require them to prevent any backlogs which could otherwise be caused by the Cup. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages, or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn and The ed17 19:11, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

We're half way through round 3 of the 2011 WikiCup. There are currently 32 remaining in the competition, but only 16 will progress to our penultimate round. Casliber (submissions), of pool D, is our overall leader with nearly 200 points, while pools A, B and C are led by Racepacket (submissions), Hurricanehink (submissions) and Canada Hky (submissions) respectively. The score required to reach the next round is 35, though this will no doubt go up significantly as the round progresses. We have a good number of high scorers, but also a considerable number who are yet to score. Please remember to submit content soon after it is promoted, so that the judges are able to review entries. Also, an important note concerning nominations at featured article candidates: if you are nominating content for which you intend to claim WikiCup points, please make this clear in the nomination statement so that the FAC director and his delegates are aware of the fact.

A running total of claims can be seen here. If you are concerned that your nomination will not receive the necessary reviews, and you hope to get it promoted before the end of the round, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. However, please remember to continue to offer reviews at GAC, FAC and all the other pages that require them to prevent any backlogs which could otherwise be caused by the Cup. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages, or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn and The ed17 23:23, 31 May 2011 (UTC)

Sometimes you need filler text to complete a design. Why not fill that space with bacon? baconipsum.com You're welcome. - Dravecky (talk) 08:46, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

Awesome! ^Bongo_matic 08:49, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

Oh, that's hilarious! LadyofShalott 11:37, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

My, oh my! And much as I prefer my bacon straight up, I have to enjoy the filler version, as it gave me"drumstick swine excepteur," just for a taste. Brilliant! Geoff ^{Who, me?} 20:46, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

Wow, that is fantastic. Drmies (talk) 03:24, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

We are half way through 2011, and entering the penultimate round of this year's WikiCup; the semi-finals are upon us! Points scored in the interim (29/30 June) may be counted towards next round, but please do not update your submissions' pages until the next round has begun. 16 contestants remain, and all have shown dedication to the project to reach this far. Our round leader was Casliber (submissions) who, among other things, successfully passed three articles through featured article candidates and claimed an impressive 29 articles at Did You Know, scoring 555 points. Casliber led pool D. Pool A was led by Wizardman (submissions), claiming points for a featured article, a featured list and seven good article reviews, while pool C was led by Eisfbnore (submissions), who claimed for two good articles, ten articles at Did You Know and four good article reviews. They scored 154 and 118 respectively. Pool B was by far our most competitive pool; six of the eight competitors made it through to round 4, with all of them scoring over 100 points. The pool was led by Hurricanehink (submissions), who claimed for, among other things, three featured articles and five good articles. In addition to the four pool leaders, 12 others (the four second places, and the 8 next highest overall) make up our final 16. The lowest scorer who reached round 4 scored 76 points; a significant increase on the 41 needed to reach round 3. Eight of our semi-finalists scored at least twice as much as this.

No points were awarded this round for featured pictures, good topics or In the News, and no points have been awarded in the whole competition for featured topics, featured portals or featured sounds. Instead, the highest percentage of points has come from good articles. Featured articles, despite their high point cost, are low in number, and so, overall, share a comparable number of points with Did You Know, which are high in number but low in cost. A comparatively small but still considerable number of points come from featured lists and good article reviews, rounding out this round's overall scores.

We would again like to thank Jarry1250 (submissions) and Stone (submissions) for invaluable background work, as well as all of those helping to provide reviews for the articles listed on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Please do keep using it, and please do help by providing reviews for the articles listed there. However, please remember to continue to offer reviews generally at GAC, FAC and all the other pages that require them to prevent any backlogs which could otherwise be caused by the Cup.

Two final notes: Firstly, please remember to state your participation in the WikiCup when nominating articles at FAC. Finally, some WikiCup-related statistics can be seen here and here, for those interested, though it appears that neither are completely accurate at this time. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages, or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn and The ed17 23:28, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

--William S. Saturn (talk) 01:44, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

We are half way through the penultimate round of this year's WikiCup; there is less than a month to go before we have our final 8. Our pool leaders are Adabow (submissions) (Pool A, 189 points) and PresN (submissions) (Pool B, 165 points). The number of points required to reach the next round is not clear at this time; there are some users who still do not have any recorded points. Please remember to update your submissions' pages promptly. In addition, congratulations to PresN, who scored the first featured topic points in the competition for his work on Thatgamecompany related articles. Most points this round generally have, so far, come from good articles, with only one featured article (White-bellied Sea Eagle, from Casliber (submissions)) and two featured lists (Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story, from PresN and Grammy Award for Best Native American Music Album, from Another Believer (submissions)). Points for Did You Know and good article reviews round out the scoring. No points have been awarded for In the News, good topics or featured pictures this round, and no points for featured sounds or portals have been awarded in the entire competition. On an unrelated note, preparation will be beginning soon for next year's WikiCup- watch this space!

There is little else to be said beyond the usual. Please list anything you need reviewing on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews, so others following the WikiCup can help, and please do help if you can by providing reviews for the articles listed there. However, please remember to continue to offer reviews generally at GAC, FAC and all the other pages that require them to prevent any backlogs which could otherwise be caused by the Cup- points are, of course, offered for reviews at GAC. Two final notes: Firstly, please remember to state your participation in the WikiCup when nominating articles at FAC. Finally, some WikiCup-related statistics can be seen here and here. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages, or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn and The ed17 11:24, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

Indeed, teapartypooper. You might be back here soon. Will you promise to be a good boy this time? Drmies (talk) 16:16, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

Yeah . . . ya better watch out. Drmies is now the man. ^Bongo_matic 00:33, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

to comment here.--kelapstick^(bainuu) 00:34, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

• Blatant canvassing, K. I'm actually thinking of changing my vote. I'm still not sure on the matter as to what the best term is. Drmies (talk) 16:16, 22 August 2011 (UTC)

...and more good things besides. Hope you do come back. Geoff ^{Who, me?} 23:08, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

Indeed, and still more good wishes besides. In your honor, I'm having back bacon for breakfast this morning. - Dravecky (talk) 12:58, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

Some places to start:

• Wikipedia:Requested articles/Applied arts and sciences#Architecture
• Wikipedia:Requested articles/Arts and entertainment#Food, drink, and nutrition
• Wikipedia:Requested articles/Biography/By profession#Architects

LadyofShalott 13:50, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

Lady, those are BORING, want to know where the real money is? Check out Kinross Gold, all the mines are redlinks, but I have started on one, and my usual partner in crime is busy napping on his days off...besides, who doesn't like gold (and a potential 9-10x DYK!)--kelapstick^(bainuu) 13:56, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

If you come back to editing, I'll raise a Bloody Mary toast (with a slice of bacon in it, of course). Cheers. Jonathunder (talk) 15:49, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

I concur; we'd love to have you back. かんぱい！ Scapler (talk) 17:15, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

The finals are upon us; we're down to the last few. One of the eight remaining contestants will be this year's WikiCup champion! 150 was the score needed to progress to the final; just under double the 76 required to reach round 4, and more than triple the 41 required to reach round 3. Our eight finalists are:

• Casliber (submissions), Pool A's winner. Casliber has the highest total score in the competition, with 1528, the bulk of which is made up of 8 featured articles. He has the highest number of total featured articles (8, 1 of which was eligible for double points) and total did you knows (72) of any finalist. Casliber writes mostly on biology, including ornithology, botany and mycology.
• PresN (submissions), Pool B's winner and the highest scorer this round. PresN is the only finalist who has scored featured topic points, and he has gathered an impressive 330, but most of his points come from his 4 featured articles, one of which scored double. PresN writes mostly on video games and the Hugo Awards.
• Hurricanehink (submissions), Pool A's runner-up. Hurricanehink's points are mostly from his 30 good articles, more than any other finalist, and he is also the only finalist to score good topic points. Hurricanehink, as his name suggests, writes mostly on meteorology.
• Wizardman (submissions), Pool B's runner-up. Wizardman has completed 86 good article reviews, more than any other finalist, but most of his points come from his 2 featured articles. Wizardman writes mostly on American sport, especially baseball.
• Miyagawa (submissions), the "fastest loser" (Pool A). Miyagawa has written 3 featured lists, one of which was awarded double points, more than any other finalist, but he was awarded points mostly for his 68 did you knows. Miyagawa writes on a variety of topics, including dogs, military history and sport.
• Resolute (submissions), the second "fastest loser" (Pool B). Most of Resolute's points come from his 9 good articles. He writes mostly on Canadian topics, including ice hockey.
• Yellow Evan (submissions), who was joint third "fastest loser" (Pool A). Most of Evan's points come from his 10 good articles, and he writes mostly on meteorology.
• Sp33dyphil (submissions), who was joint third "fastest loser" (Pool B). Most of Phil's points come from his 9 good articles, 4 of which (more than any other finalist) were eligible for double points. He writes mostly on aeronautics.

We say goodbye to our seven other semi-finalists, Another Believer (submissions), Piotrus (submissions), Grandiose (submissions), Stone (submissions), Eisfbnore (submissions), Canada Hky (submissions) and MuZemike (submissions). Everyone still in the competition at this stage has done fantastically well, and contributed greatly to Wikipedia. We're on the home straight now, and we will know our winner in two months.

In other news, preparations for next year's competition have begun with a brainstorming thread. Please, feel free to drop by and share any thoughts you have about how the competition should work next year. Sign ups are not yet open, but will be opened in due course. Watch this space. Further, there has been a discussion about the rule whereby those in the WikiCup must delcare their participation when nominating articles at featured article candidates. This has resulted in a bot being created by new featured article delegate Ucucha (talk · contribs). The bot will leave a message on FAC pages if the nominator is a participant in the WikiCup.

A reminder of the rules: any points scored after August 29 may be claimed for the final round, and please remember to update submission pages promptly. If you are concerned that your nomination, be it at good article candidates, a featured process or anywhere else, will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. However, please remember to continue to offer reviews at GAC, FAC and all the other pages that require them to prevent any backlogs which could otherwise be caused by the Cup. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages, or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn and The ed17 23:54, 31 August 2011 (UTC)

We are on this year's home straight, with less than a month to go until the winner of the 2011 WikiCup will be decided. The fight for first place is currently being contested by Miyagawa (submissions), Hurricanehink (submissions) and Sp33dyphil (submissions), all of whom have over 200 points. This round has already seen multiple featured articles (1991 Atlantic hurricane season from Hurricanehink and Northrop YF-23 from Sp33dyphil) and a double-scoring featured list (Miyagawa's 1948 Summer Olympics medal table). The scores will likely increase far further before the end of the round on October 31 as everyone ups their pace. There is not much more to say- thoughts about next year's competition are welcome on the WikiCup talk page or the scoring talk page, and signups will open once a few things have been sorted out.

If you are concerned that your nomination, be it at good article candidates, a featured process or anywhere else, will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. However, please remember to continue to offer reviews at GAC, FAC and all the other pages that require them to prevent any backlogs which could otherwise be caused by the Cup. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages, or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn and The ed17 12:30, 1 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes. Bacon Cotton Candy is real. You're welcome. - Dravecky (talk) 15:02, 27 October 2011 (UTC)

The 2011 WikiCup is now over, and our new champion is Hurricanehink (submissions), who joins the exclusive club of the previous winners: Dreamafter (2007), jj137 (2008), Durova (2009) and Sturmvogel_66 (2010). The final standings were as follows:

1. Hurricanehink (submissions)
2. Sp33dyphil (submissions)
3. Yellow Evan (submissions)
4. Miyagawa (submissions)
5. Wizardman (submissions)
6. Casliber (submissions)
7. Resolute (submissions)
8. PresN (submissions)

Prizes for first, second, third and fourth will be awarded, as will prizes for all those who reached the final eight. Every participant who scored in the competition will receive a ribbon of participation. In addition to the prizes based on placement, the following special prizes will be awarded based on high performance in particular areas of content creation. So that the finalists do not have an undue advantage, the prize is awarded to the competitor who scored the highest in any particular field in a single round.

• The Featured Article Award: Casliber (submissions), for his performance in round 2. Hurricanehink (submissions) matched the score, but Casliber won the tiebreaker.
• The Good Article Award: Yellow Evan (submissions), for his performance in round 4.
• The Featured List Award: Miyagawa (submissions), for his performance in round 4. PresN (submissions) matched the score, but Miyagawa won the tiebreaker.
• The Recognised Topic Award (for good and featured topics): PresN (submissions), for his performance in round 3.
• The Did You Know Award: The Bushranger (submissions), for his performance in round 1.
• The In the News Award: Candlewicke (submissions), for his performance in round 1.
• The Reviewer Award (for good article reviews): Wizardman (submissions), for his performance in round 3.

No prize was awarded for featured pictures, sounds or portals, as none were claimed throughout the competition. The awards will be handed out over the next few days. Congratulations to all our participants, and especially our winners; we've all had fun, and Wikipedia has benefitted massively from our content work.

Preparation for next year's WikiCup is ongoing. Interested parties are invited to sign up and participate in our straw polls. It's been a pleasure to work with you all this year, and, whoever's taking part in and running the competition in 2012, we hope to see you all in January! J Milburn and The ed17 00:34, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Hello, ChildofMidnight, and thanks for your contributions to Wikipedia!

I wanted to let you know that I’m proposing an article that you worked on, Ring toss, for deletion because I don't think it meets our criteria for inclusion. If you don't want the article deleted:

1. edit the page
2. remove the text that looks like this: {{proposed deletion/dated...}}
3. save the page

It helps to explain why in your edit summary or on the article's talk page. If you have any questions, feel free to ask on the Help Desk. Thanks again for contributing! — RHaworth (talk · contribs) 13:26, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

I've added a few references and removed the prod tag. - Dravecky (talk) 14:48, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

• April fools joke becomes reality?--kelapstick^(bainuu) 22:16, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

Next time you find yourself in Dallas, you have to try these bacon cookies (then visit a cardiologist). - Dravecky (talk) 15:18, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

• "It's as if a pig sat on your face and farted." Charming! Drmies (talk) 16:27, 8 December 2011 (UTC)
  • When are you going to expand this?--kelapstick^(bainuu) 04:53, 10 December 2011 (UTC)

Can I ask you what your interest was in working so diligent on this article? I wanted to thank you for your contributions. I just found out that he is my great-great grandfather. I've learned so much thanks to your work.

-- RandorXeus. 19:42, 25 December 2011 (UTC)

Hi! As you've previously expressed interest in the competition, I'm just letting you know that the 2012 WikiCup is due to start in less than 24 hours. Signups are open, and will remain so for a few weeks after the beginning of the competition. The competition itself will follow basically the same format as last year, with a few small tweaks to point costs to reflect the opinions of the community. If you're interested in taking part, you're more than welcome, and if you know anyone who might be, please let them know too- the more the merrier! To join, simply add your name to Wikipedia:WikiCup/2012 signups, and we will be in touch. Please feel free to direct any questions to me, or leave a note on the WikiCup talk page. Thanks! You are receiving this note as you are listed on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. Please feel free to add or remove yourself. J Milburn (talk) 01:42, 31 December 2011 (UTC)

• Also, you're not blocked anymore! Yippee! Now you can update all those articles on those boring Dutch architects with their fancy eyeglasses. Also, Barack will be re-elected, of course, so you can look forward to four more years of dramah! And are you ready for the revenge of the millennium, on January 9? Drmies (talk) 03:54, 5 January 2012 (UTC)

Hey there ChildofMidnight, thank you for your contributions! I am a bot, alerting you that non-free files are not allowed in user or talk space. I removed some files I found on User talk:ChildofMidnight/Archive 15.

• See a log of files removed today here.
• Shut off the bot here.
• Report errors here.
• If you have any questions, place a {{helpme}} template, along with your question, beneath this message.

Thank you, -- DASHBot (talk) 05:40, 5 January 2012 (UTC)

WikiCup 2012 is off to a flying start. At the time of writing, we have 112 contestants; comparable to last year, but slightly fewer than 2010. Signups will remain open for another week, after which time they will be closed for this year. Our currrent far-away leader is Grapple X (submissions), due mostly to his work on a slew of good articles about The X-Files; there remain many such articles waiting to be reviewed at good article candidates. Second place is currently held by Ruby2010 (submissions), whose points come mostly from good articles about television episodes, although good article reviews, did you knows and an article about a baroness round out the score. In third place is Jivesh boodhun (submissions), who has scored 200 points for his work on a single featured article, as well as points for work on others, mostly in the area of pop music. In all, nine users have 100 or more points. However, at the other end of the scale, there are still dozens of participants who are yet to score. Please remember to update your submission pages promptly!

The 64 highest scoring participants will advance to round 2 in a month's time. There, they will be split into eight random groups of eight. The score needed to reach the next round is not at all clear; last year, 8 points guaranteed a place. The year before, 20.

A few participants and their work warrant a mention for achieving "firsts" in this competition.

• 12george1 (submissions) was the first to score, with his good article review of Illinois v. McArthur.
• 12george1 (submissions) was also the first to score points for an article, thanks to his work on Hurricane Debby (1982)- now a good article. Tropical storms have featured heavily in the Cup, and good articles currently have a relatively fast turnaround time for reviews.
• Sp33dyphil (submissions) was the first to score points for a did you know, with Russian submarine K-114 Tula. Military history is another subject which has seen a lot of Cup activity.
• Sp33dyphil (submissions) is also the first person to successfully claim bonus points. Terminator 2: Judgment Day is now a good article, and was eligible for bonus points because the subject was covered on more than 20 other Wikipedias at the start of the competition. It is fantastic to see bonus points being claimed so early!
• Speciate (submissions) was the first to score points for an In the News entry, with Paedophryne amauensis. The lead image from the article was also used on the main page for a time, and it's certainly eye-catching!
• Jivesh boodhun (submissions) was the first to score points for a featured article, and is, at the moment, the only competitor to claim for one. The article, "Halo" (Beyoncé Knowles song), was also worth double points because of its wide coverage. While this is an article that Jivesh and others have worked on for some time, it is undeniable that he has put considerable work into it this year, pushing it over the edge.

We are yet to see any featured lists, featured topics or good topics, but this is unsurprising; firstly, the nomination processes with each of these can take some time, and, secondly, it can take a considerable amount of time to work content to this level. In a similar vein, we have seen only one featured article. The requirement that content must have been worked on this year to be eligible means that we did not expect to see these at the start of the competition. No points have been claimed for featured portals or pictures, but these are not content types which are often claimed; the former has never made a big impact on the WikiCup, while the latter has not done so since 2009's competition.

A quick rules clarification before the regular notices: If you are concerned that another user is claiming points inappropriately, please contact a judge to take a look at the article. Competitors policing one another can create a bad atmosphere, and may lead to inconsistencies and mistakes. Rest assured that we, the judges, are making an effort to check submissions, but it is possible that we will miss something. On a loosely related note: If you are concerned that your nomination, be it at good article candidates, a featured process or anywhere else, will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. However, please remember to continue to offer reviews at GAC, FAC and all the other pages that require them to prevent any backlogs which could otherwise be caused by the Cup. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages, or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn and The ed17 00:00, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

Round 1 is already over! The 64 highest scorers have progressed to round 2. Our highest scorer was Grapple X (submissions), again thanks mostly to a swathe of good articles on The X-Files. In second place was Tigerboy1966 (submissions), thanks an impressive list of did you knows about racehorses. Both scored over 400 points. Following behind with over 300 points were Ruby2010 (submissions), Cwmhiraeth (submissions), Miyagawa (submissions) and Casliber (submissions). February also saw the competition's first featured list: List of colleges and universities in North Dakota, from Ruby2010 (submissions). At the other end of the scale, 11 points was enough to secure a place in this round, and some contestants with 10 points made it into the round on a tiebreaker. This is higher than the 8 points that were needed last year, but lower than the 20 points required the year before. The number of points required to progress to round 3 will be significantly higher.

The remaining contestants have been split into 8 pools of 8, named A through H. Round two will finish in two months time on 28 April, when the two highest scorers in each pool, as well as the next 16 highest scorers, will progress to round 3. The pools were entirely random, so while some pools may end up being more competitive than others, this is by chance rather than design.

The judges would like to point out two quick rules reminders. First, any content promoted during the interim period (that is, on or after 27 February) is eligible for points in round 2. Second, any content worked on significantly this year is eligible for points if promoted in this round. On a related note, if you are concerned that your nomination, be it at good article candidates, a featured process or anywhere else, will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. However, please remember to continue to offer reviews at GAC, FAC and all the other pages that require them to prevent any backlogs which would otherwise be caused by the Cup. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 23:54, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Boom box bag.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Possibly unfree files because its copyright status is unclear or disputed. If the file's copyright status cannot be verified, it may be deleted. You may find more information on the file description page. You are welcome to add comments to its entry at the discussion if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Stefan2 (talk) 20:47, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Candy cigarettes.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Possibly unfree files because its copyright status is unclear or disputed. If the file's copyright status cannot be verified, it may be deleted. You may find more information on the file description page. You are welcome to add comments to its entry at the discussion if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Stefan2 (talk) 20:48, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Palm nut concentrate.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Possibly unfree files because its copyright status is unclear or disputed. If the file's copyright status cannot be verified, it may be deleted. You may find more information on the file description page. You are welcome to add comments to its entry at the discussion if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Stefan2 (talk) 20:48, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Old Dutch Dill Pickle Chips.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Possibly unfree files because its copyright status is unclear or disputed. If the file's copyright status cannot be verified, it may be deleted. You may find more information on the file description page. You are welcome to add comments to its entry at the discussion if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Stefan2 (talk) 20:48, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Pearsons nut goodie and salted nut roll.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Possibly unfree files because its copyright status is unclear or disputed. If the file's copyright status cannot be verified, it may be deleted. You may find more information on the file description page. You are welcome to add comments to its entry at the discussion if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Stefan2 (talk) 20:48, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Patra in a box.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Possibly unfree files because its copyright status is unclear or disputed. If the file's copyright status cannot be verified, it may be deleted. You may find more information on the file description page. You are welcome to add comments to its entry at the discussion if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Stefan2 (talk) 20:48, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Sixlets 007.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Possibly unfree files because its copyright status is unclear or disputed. If the file's copyright status cannot be verified, it may be deleted. You may find more information on the file description page. You are welcome to add comments to its entry at the discussion if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Stefan2 (talk) 20:49, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Angel Brand Irish Moss.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Possibly unfree files because its copyright status is unclear or disputed. If the file's copyright status cannot be verified, it may be deleted. You may find more information on the file description page. You are welcome to add comments to its entry at the discussion if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Stefan2 (talk) 20:49, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

We are over half way through the second round of this year's WikiCup and things are going well! Grapple X (submissions), of Pool B, is our highest overall scorer thanks to his prolific writings on television and film. In second place is Pool H's Cwmhiraeth (submissions), thanks primarily to work on biological articles, especially in marine biology and herpetology. Third place goes to Pool E's Casliber (submissions), who also writes primarily on biology (including ornithology and botany) and has already submitted two featured articles this round. Of the 63 contestants remaining, 15 (just under a quarter) have over 100 points this round. However, 25 are yet to score. Please remember to update your submission pages promptly. 32 contestants, the top two from each pool and the 16 next-highest scorers, will advance to round 3.

Congratulations to Matthewedwards (submissions), whose impressive File:Wacht am Rhein map (Opaque).svg became the competition's first featured picture. Also, congratulations to 12george1 (submissions), who claimed good topic points, our first contestant this year to do so, for his work on Wikipedia:Featured topics/1982 Atlantic hurricane season. This leaves featured topics and featured portals as the only sources of points not yet utilised. However, as recent statistics from Miyagawa (submissions) show, no source has yet been utilised this competition to the same extent it has been previously!

It has been observed that the backlogs at good article candidates are building up again. While the points for good article reviews will be remaining constant, any help that can be offered keeping the backlog down would be appreciated. On a related note, if you are concerned that your nomination, be it at good article candidates, a featured process or anywhere else, will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 23:14, 31 March 2012 (UTC)

I saw this soon to be deleted article, and thought of you. "A Spaghetti Burger wrapped inside the Gettysburg Adress [sic]"--kelapstick^(bainuu) 02:29, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

In case you're looking for a reason to visit historic downtown Denton, Texas, may I humbly point out the new Atomic Candy with "a whole counter of bacon-themed candies" on the courthouse square. There are pictures with the article. Enjoy. - Dravecky (talk) 19:40, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

• Blankenship, Sara (April 10, 2012). "The Eclectic Treats of Denton's Atomic Candy". City of Ate. Dallas Observer. Retrieved April 10, 2012. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

Round 2 of this year's WikiCup is over, and so we are down to our final 32, in what could be called our quarter-finals. The two highest scorers from each pool, as well as the next 16 highest scorers overall, have entered round 3, while 30 participants have been eliminated. Pool B's Grapple X (submissions) remains our top scorer with over 700 points; he continues to gain high numbers of points for his good articles on The X-Files, but also Millennium and other subjects. He has also gained points for a good topic, a featured list, multiple good article reviews and several did you knows. Pool E's Casliber (submissions) was second, thanks primarily to his biology articles, with Pool H's Muboshgu (submissions) coming in third, with an impressive 46 did you knows, mostly on the subject of baseball. Casliber and Cwmhiraeth both scored over 600 points. Pools E and H proved our most successful, with each seeing 5 members qualify for round 3, while Pools C and D were the least, with each seeing only 3 reach round 3. However, it was Pool G which saw the lowest scoring, with a little under 400 points combined; Pool H, the highest scoring group, saw over triple that score.

65 points was the lowest qualifying score for round 3; significantly higher than the 11 required to enter round 2, and also higher than the 41 required to reach round 3 last year. However, in 2010, 100 points were needed to secure a place in round 3. 16 will progress to round 4. In round 3, 150 points was the 16th highest score, though, statistically, people tend to up their game a little in later rounds. Last year, 76 points secured a place, while in 2010, a massive 250 points were needed. Guessing how many points will be required is not easy. We still have not seen any featured portals or topics this year, but, on the subject of less common content types, a small correction needs to be made to the previous newsletter: File:Wacht am Rhein map (Opaque).svg, our first featured picture, was the work of both Matthewedwards (submissions) and Grandiose (submissions), the latter of whom has also gone on to score with File:Map of the Battle of Guam, 1944.svg. Bonus points also continue to roll in; this round, Ealdgyth (submissions) earned triple points for her good articles on William the Conqueror and the Middle Ages, Casliber and Cwmhiraeth both earned triple points for their work on Western Jackdaw, now a good article, Dana Boomer (submissions) earned triple points for her work on lettuce and work by Stone (submissions) to ready antimony for good article status earned him triple points. Jarry1250 (submissions) managed to expand Vitus Bering far enough for a did you know, which was also worth triple points. All of these highly important topics featured on 50 or more Wikipedias at the start of the year.

An article on the WikiCup in the Wikimedia Blog, "Improving Wikipedia with friendly competition", was posted at the end of April. This may be of interest to those who are signed up to this newsletter, as well as serving as another way to draw attention to our project. Also, we would again like to thank Jarry1250 (submissions) and Stone (submissions), for continued help behind the scenes. As ever, if you are concerned that your nomination, be it at good article candidates, a featured process or anywhere else, will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start receiving or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 23:07, 30 April 2012 (UTC)

A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Plan Toys 002.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Possibly unfree files because its copyright status is unclear or disputed. If the file's copyright status cannot be verified, it may be deleted. You may find more information on the file description page. You are welcome to add comments to its entry at the discussion if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Stefan2 (talk) 13:18, 10 May 2012 (UTC)

We're halfway through round 3 (or the quarter finals, if you prefer) and things are running smoothly. We're seeing very high scoring; as of the time of writing, the top 16 all have over 90 points. This has already proved to be more competative than this time last year- in 2011, 76 points secured a place, while in 2010, a massive 250 was the lowest qualifying score. People have also upped their game slightly from last round, which is to be expected as we approach the end of the competition. Leading Pool A is Cwmhiraeth (submissions), whose points have mostly come from a large number of did you knows on marine biology. Pool B's leader, Grapple X (submissions), is for the first time not our highest scorer at the time of newsletter publication, but his good articles on The X-Files and Millenium keep him in second place overall. Miyagawa (submissions) leads Pool C, our quietest pool, with content in a variety of areas on a variety of topics. Pool D is led by Casliber (submissions), our current overall leader. Nearly half of Casliber's points come from his triple-scored Western Jackdaw, which is now a featured article.

This round has seen an unusually high number of featured lists, with nearly one in five remaining participants claiming one, and one user, Muboshgu (submissions), claiming two. Miyagawa's featured list, 1936 Summer Olympics medal table, was even awarded double points. By comparison, good article reviews seem to be playing a smaller part, and featured topics portals remain two content-types still unutilised in this competition. Other than that, there isn't much to say! Things are coming along smoothly. As ever, if you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 23:27, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Apologies for the lateness of this letter; our usual bot wasn't working. We are now entering round 4, our semi-finals, and have our final 16. A score of 243 was required to reach this round; significantly more than 2011's 76 points, and only a little behind 2010's 250 points. By comparison, last year, 150 points in round 4 secured a place in the final; in 2010, 430 were needed. Commiserations to Pool A's igordebraga (submissions), who scored 242 points, missing out on a place in the round by a whisker. However, congratulations to Pool B's Grapple X (submissions), whose television articles have brought him another round victory. Pool A's Cwmhiraeth (submissions) came second overall, with an impressive list of biological did you knows, good articles and featured articles. Third overall was Pool D's Muboshgu (submissions), with a long list of contibutions, mostly relating to baseball. Of course, with the points resetting every round, the playing field has been levelled. The most successful Pool was Pool D, which saw seven into the final round. Pool B saw four, C saw three and Pool A saw only the two round leaders.

A quick note about other competitions taking place on Wikipedia which may be of interest. There are 13 days remaining in the June-July GAN backlog elimination drive, but it is not too late to take part. August will also see the return of The Core Contest- a one month long competition first run in 2007. While the WikiCup awards points for audited content on any subject, The Core Contest about is raw article improvement, focussing heavily on the most important articles on Wikipedia. As ever, if you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 10:48, 2 July 2012 (UTC)

We're approaching the beginning of 2012's final round. Pool A sees Cwmhiraeth (submissions) as the leader, with 300 points being awarded for the featured article Bivalvia, and Pool B sees Grapple X (submissions) in the lead, with 10 good articles, and over 35 articles eligible for good topic points. Pool A sees Muboshgu (submissions) in second place with a number of articles relating to baseball, while Pool B's Ruby2010 (submissions) follows Grapple X, with a variety of contributions including the high-scoring, high-importance featured article on the 2010 film Pride & Prejudice. Ruby2010, like Grapple X, also claimed a number of good topic points; despite this, not a single point has been claimed for featured topics in the contest so far. The same is true for featured portals.

Currently, the eighth-place competitor (and so the lowest scorer who would reach the final round right now) has scored 332, more than double the 150 needed to reach the final round last year. In 2010, however, 430 was the lowest qualifying score. In this competition, we have generally seen scores closer to those in 2010 than those in 2011. Let's see what kind of benchmark we can set for future competitions! As ever, if you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 22:20, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

The final is upon us! We are down to our final 8. A massive 573 was our lowest qualifying score; this is higher than the 150 points needed last year and the 430 needed in 2010. Even in 2009, when points were acquired for mainspace edit count in addition to audited content, 417 points secured a place. That leaves this year's WikiCup, by one measure at least, our most competitive ever. Our finalists, ordered by round 4 score, are:

1. Grapple X (submissions) once again finishes the round in first place, leading Pool B. Grapple X writes articles about television, and especially The X-Files and Millenium, with good articles making up the bulk of the score.
2. Miyagawa (submissions) led Pool A this round. Fourth-place finalist last year, Miyagawa writes on a variety of topics, and has reached the final primarily off the back of his massive number of did you knows.
3. Ruby2010 (submissions) was second in Pool B. Ruby2010 writes primarily on television and film, and scores primarily from good articles.
4. Casliber (submissions) finished third in Pool B. Casliber is something of a WikiCup veteran, having finished sixth in 2011 and fourth in 2010. Casliber writes on the natural sciences, including ornithology, botany and astronomy. Over half of Casliber's points this round were bonus points from the high-importance articles he has worked on.
5. Cwmhiraeth (submissions) came second in Pool A. Also writing on biology, especially marine biology, Cwmhiraeth received 390 points for one featured article (Bivalvia) and one good article (pelican), topping up with a large number of did you knows.
6. Muboshgu (submissions) was third in Pool A. Muboshgu writes primarily on baseball, and this round saw Muboshgu's first featured article, Derek Jeter, promoted on its fourth attempt at FAC.
7. Dana Boomer (submissions) was fourth in Pool A. She writes on a variety of topics, including horses, but this round also saw the high-importance lettuce reach featured article status.
8. Sasata (submissions) is another WikiCup veteran, having been a finalist in 2009 and 2010. He writes mostly on mycology.

However, we must also say goodbye to the eight who did not make the final, having fallen at the last hurdle: GreatOrangePumpkin (submissions), Ealdgyth (submissions), Calvin999 (submissions), Piotrus (submissions), Toa Nidhiki05 (submissions), 12george1 (submissions), The Bushranger (submissions) and 1111tomica (submissions). We hope to see you all next year.

On the subject of next year, a discussion has been opened here. Come and have your say about the competition, and how you'd like it to run in the future. This brainstorming will go on for some time before more focused discussions/polls are opened. As ever, if you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 00:10, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

We're over half way through the final, and so it is less than a month until we know for certain our 2012 WikiCup champion. Grapple X (submissions) currently leads, followed by Sasata (submissions), Cwmhiraeth (submissions) and Casliber (submissions). However, we have no one resembling a breakaway leader, and so the competition is a long way from over. Next month's newsletter will feature a list of our winners (who are not necessarily only the finalists) and keep your eyes open for an article on the WikiCup in a future edition of The Signpost. The leaders are already on a par with last year's winners, but a long way from the huge scores seen in 2010. That said, a repeat of the competition from 2010 seems unlikely.

It is good to see that three-quarters of our finalists have already scored bonus points this round. This shows that, contrary to criticism that the WikiCup has received in the past, the competition does not merely incentivise the writing of trivial articles; instead, our top competitors are still spending their time contributing to high-importance articles, and bringing them to a high standard. This does a great service to the encyclopedia and its readers. Thank you, and good work!

The planning for next year's WikiCup is ongoing. Some straw polls have been opened concerning the scoring, and you can now sign up for next year's competition. As ever, if you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) J Milburn (talk) 19:50, 2 October 2012 (UTC)

The 2012 WikiCup has come to a close; congratulations to Cwmhiraeth (submissions), our 2012 champion! Cwmhiraeth joins our exclusive club of previous winners: Dreamafter (2007), jj137 (2008), Durova (2009), Sturmvogel 66 (2010) and Hurricanehink (2011). Our final standings were as follows:

1. Cwmhiraeth (submissions)
2. Sasata (submissions)
3. Grapple X (submissions)
4. Casliber (submissions)
5. Muboshgu (submissions)
6. Miyagawa (submissions)
7. Ruby2010 (submissions)
8. Dana Boomer (submissions)

Prizes for first, second, third and fourth will be awarded, as will prizes for all those who reached the final eight. Every participant who scored in the competition will receive a ribbon of participation. In addition to the prizes based on placement, the following special prizes will be awarded based on high performance in particular areas of content creation. So that the finalists do not have an undue advantage, the prize is awarded to the competitor who scored the highest in any particular field in a single round.

• The featured article award goes to Grapple X (submissions), for four featured articles in the final round.
• The good article award also goes to Grapple X (submissions), for 19 good articles in the second round.
• The list award goes to Muboshgu (submissions), for three featured lists in the final round.
• The topic award goes to Grapple X (submissions), for three good topics (with around 40 articles) in round 4.
• The did you know award goes to Cwmhiraeth (submissions), for well over 100 DYKs in the final round.
• The news award goes to ThaddeusB (submissions), for 10 in the news items in round 3.
• The picture award goes to Grandiose (submissions), for two featured pictures in round 2.
• The reviewer award goes to both Ruby2010 (submissions) (14 reviews in round 1) and Grandiose (submissions) (14 reviews in round 3).
• Finally, for achieving an incredible bonus point total in the final round, and for bringing the top-importance article frog to featured status, a biostar has been awarded to Cwmhiraeth (submissions).

Awards will be handed out in the coming days; please bear with us! This year's competition also saw fantastic contributions in all rounds, from newer Wikipedians contributing their first good or featured articles, right up to highly experienced Wikipedians chasing high scores and contributing to topics outside of their usual comfort zones. It would be impossible to name all of the participants who have achieved things to be proud of, but well done to all of you, and thanks! Wikipedia has certainly benefited from the work of this year's WikiCup participants.

Next year's WikiCup will begin in January. Currently, discussions and polls are open, and all contributions are welcome. You can also sign up for next year's competition. There will be no further newsletters this year, although brief notes may be sent out in December to remind everyone about the upcoming competition. It's been a pleasure to work with you all, and we hope to see you all in January! J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 00:19, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

User:ChildofMidnight/My Jewel, a page you substantially contributed to, has been nominated for deletion. Your opinions on the matter are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:ChildofMidnight/My Jewel and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~). You are free to edit the content of User:ChildofMidnight/My Jewel during the discussion but should not remove the miscellany for deletion template from the top of the page; such a removal will not end the deletion discussion. Thank you. Mercurywoodrose (talk) 03:16, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

User:ChildofMidnight/Bacon economy, a page you substantially contributed to, has been nominated for deletion. Your opinions on the matter are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:ChildofMidnight/Bacon economy and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~). You are free to edit the content of User:ChildofMidnight/Bacon economy during the discussion but should not remove the miscellany for deletion template from the top of the page; such a removal will not end the deletion discussion. Thank you. Mercurywoodrose (talk) 03:24, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

User:ChildofMidnight/Mermaid problem, a page you substantially contributed to, has been nominated for deletion. Your opinions on the matter are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:ChildofMidnight/Mermaid problem and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~). You are free to edit the content of User:ChildofMidnight/Mermaid problem during the discussion but should not remove the miscellany for deletion template from the top of the page; such a removal will not end the deletion discussion. Thank you. Mercurywoodrose (talk) 03:29, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

User:ChildofMidnight/SuperHamster's Dad, a page you substantially contributed to, has been nominated for deletion. Your opinions on the matter are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:ChildofMidnight/SuperHamster's Dad and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~). You are free to edit the content of User:ChildofMidnight/SuperHamster's Dad during the discussion but should not remove the miscellany for deletion template from the top of the page; such a removal will not end the deletion discussion. Thank you. Mercurywoodrose (talk) 03:31, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

User:ChildofMidnight/Digital Architecture, a page you substantially contributed to, has been nominated for deletion. Your opinions on the matter are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:ChildofMidnight/Digital Architecture and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~). You are free to edit the content of User:ChildofMidnight/Digital Architecture during the discussion but should not remove the miscellany for deletion template from the top of the page; such a removal will not end the deletion discussion. Thank you. Mercurywoodrose (talk) 03:33, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

User:ChildofMidnight/Exploding chicken, a page you substantially contributed to, has been nominated for deletion. Your opinions on the matter are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:ChildofMidnight/Exploding chicken and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~). You are free to edit the content of User:ChildofMidnight/Exploding chicken during the discussion but should not remove the miscellany for deletion template from the top of the page; such a removal will not end the deletion discussion. Thank you. Mercurywoodrose (talk) 03:36, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

User:ChildofMidnight/Flandreau Cemetery, a page you substantially contributed to, has been nominated for deletion. Your opinions on the matter are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:ChildofMidnight/Flandreau Cemetery and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~). You are free to edit the content of User:ChildofMidnight/Flandreau Cemetery during the discussion but should not remove the miscellany for deletion template from the top of the page; such a removal will not end the deletion discussion. Thank you. Mercurywoodrose (talk) 03:39, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

User:ChildofMidnight/FAT (Architecture), a page you substantially contributed to, has been nominated for deletion. Your opinions on the matter are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:ChildofMidnight/FAT (Architecture) and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~). You are free to edit the content of User:ChildofMidnight/FAT (Architecture) during the discussion but should not remove the miscellany for deletion template from the top of the page; such a removal will not end the deletion discussion. Thank you. Mercurywoodrose (talk) 03:40, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

User:ChildofMidnight/Fictional trios, a page you substantially contributed to, has been nominated for deletion. Your opinions on the matter are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:ChildofMidnight/Fictional trios and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~). You are free to edit the content of User:ChildofMidnight/Fictional trios during the discussion but should not remove the miscellany for deletion template from the top of the page; such a removal will not end the deletion discussion. Thank you. Mercurywoodrose (talk) 03:45, 19 December 2012 (UTC)