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By year


By topic

Some Signpost stories have been organized into series focusing on a particular topic, or tagged as pertaining to a particular topic. See the lists at Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Series

By author

You may also search for Signpost articles by author at this link, which shows author contribution pages by the most recent year of contribution.

All at once

If you want to see every Signpost article on one page in a gigantic cavalcade of tables, you can do so here.


January

Volume 14, Issue 01, 16 January 2018

Two new WMF Communications department leadership appointments; a new way for Wikimedia communities to communicate their capacities.
Wikipedia manipulated and copied – again
Historical and pop culture articles promoted.
How do you make an average of 3,600 edits a week for over a decade? And what do you learn when you've done it?
Plus the latest technology upgrades, tools and news.
Notable missing articles.
In deciding to de-sysop an admin for efforts to evade discussion and review of paid edits made on behalf of a PR firm, Arbitration Committee doesn't significantly change the rules around paid editing, and leaves it up to the community whether to apply special restrictions to administrators.
A look back at the most popular articles in a tumultuous and intriguing year.

February

Volume 14, Issue 02, 5 February 2018

Should an editor's block history be a permanent "rap sheet", or does Wikipedia forgive and forget? A reform initiative has begun.
Exemplary content recognized between January 12 and January 20, 2018
Also: Polish quality, Russian political mythologization, and multilingual analyses
The Wikimedia Foundation's Analytics team compiles a clickstream dataset, now available as a series of monthly data dumps for English, Russian, German, Spanish, and Japanese Wikipedias.
Lessons on Creating a Featured List
The most popular articles for January 14 to 27
A partnership to improve and update Wikipedia's medical content
Politeness and collegial behavior about to be taken up by Arbcom, and perhaps a revisit of the infobox question.
Also, did UCF really win?
Enjoy the humour of another contributor

Volume 14, Issue 03, 20 February 2018

Sweden selected for Wikimania 2019; research report on shaping the future; a scarcity of RfAs.
There might be good things about an edit war.
Editor in self-imposed exile and infobox wars a thorn in the side of arbitration committee.
The Superbowl, the Winter Olympics, death, and accusations of unspeakable things.
An eclectic mix of promotions.
And other recent tech news.
Stubs get a lot of pageviews.

March

Volume 14, Issue 04, 29 March 2018

Is The Signpost on its last legs?
Wikimedia events, group recognition, and individual appointments are ongoing.
Arbcom considers new discretionary sanctions for infoboxes and an extension of 1RR.
Diplomats join Wikipedia for International Women's Day, the perfect "Human", how fringe theories are sustained, and perennial plagiarism from our pages.
Wakanda still fascinates; the Oscars happened; Winter Olympics come to a close; and International Women's Day gets over a million page views.
A plethora of content.
Reviewing a browser skin providing equal emphasis on both content and editing tools simultaneously.
Retrospective on article creation trial.
Nostalgia and trips down Memory Lane.

April

Volume 14, Issue 05, 26 April 2018

Following Kudpung's op-ed "Death knell sounding for The Signpost?" in the 29 March issue, user comments encouraged a burst of enthusiasm to keep the newspaper in print.
How to revive and evolve The Signpost? Big blue-sky proposals and small concrete proposals from the community and from two regular Signpost contributors.
Finally a free image Kim Jong-un. WMF wins legal battle. Stephen Hawking death tops all Wikipedia hits.
Internet companies use Wikipedia to police truth; Citogenesis proven yet again; early birthday greetings; and trains
A recent Community Health Initiative survey found only 27% of respondents are happy with the way reports of conflicts between Editors are handled on the Administrators' Incident Noticeboard (ANI).
New major editing policy starting immediately: creation of articles in mainspace is to be limited to users with confirmed accounts
The standards have been raised for sources used in judging the notability of nonprofit and for-profit organizations.
Wikipedia's myth of the clean Wehrmacht and what you can do about it. Or, how not to be one of "the worst distributors of pro-Nazi perspectives and the Wehrmacht myth".
Can Wikipedia mobilize the same energy to fill other gaps in coverage?
What should we do about Portals? Keep them, delete them, or mark them as historical? Or should they be more closely connected with their WikiProject(s)?
Quiet month for the Arbitration Committee
Combat, weapons, monuments and personalities.
What we learned about reader motivation from a recent research study
You might not get all excersized about essays but they can be as fun as talk pages
The most popular articles from March 25 to April 14.
Plus the latest tech news and userscripts.
Material promoted from March 2 through April 20.
Honoring a day in military history, as well as peaceful borders

May

Volume 14, Issue 06, 24 May 2018

A busy office with minimal staff.
Kudpung has some thoughts on the reasons for becalmed forums and the reluctance of candidates to (wo)man the rigging.
Thoughts on how looking for the truth on Wikipedia brings out unexpected things in the real world.
After a recent Village Pump discussion, the Signpost looks at WikiProject Portals.
A busy month for discussions on major topics.
Science, sportspeople, video games, and history feature heavily in the community's picks this month.
Has an attempt to prevent historical revisionism become a content battleground?
De-recognition of Brazil user groups; brute-force attack on Wikipedia; Wikimedia Conference 2018; and assorted other silly things.
And the burning question of the day, is the monkey selfie going to space with the rest of Wikipedia?
No surprises here as the summer movie season begins.
Improved mobile app, searching, citations, inline maps, voting, and more.
Editor SusunW delves into reasons why she has created hundreds of articles about women.
Too many women still don't know that Wikipedia is editable.
Down the rabbit hole into the realm of third-grade mind.
May 25 is National Wine Day in the United States.
The dark and twisted world of Wikipedia's most powerful media institution: The Signpost.

June

Volume 14, Issue 07, 29 June 2018

A Wiki not so Simple, a mayor motivating an editathon, a Marshall Plan, and a Wikimania under a cloud of criticism
Further developments on New Page Review and Articles for Creation work sharing
Admins volunteer to be abused – or so it seems
So it shouldn't get credit for our work, either.
Major grants announced, a new milestone for Afrikaans Wikipedia, a new WMF technical engagement team, an effort to start up a new library, two new admins – or maybe three fewer depending on your math.
Several online battles are juxtaposed with stories about cooperation and good deeds, Arbcom hovering over it all; notwithstanding, a good action movie script is not necessarily found here.
Community discussions include style updates to project-wide icons and the main page, procedural questions on royal names and jettisoning unsuitable drafts, and deeper questions of compliance with European privacy laws and the perennial issue of shrinking admin corps.
Enjoy the superb content
British politics case enters workshop phase and German war effort closes workshop, goes to Arbcom for proposals.
Two celebrities hang themselves, and the FIFA World Cup is underway
An AI assistant comes to watchlists; better mobile compatibility; new bots, tools and scripts; and more
Colorful and moving.
WMF appeals to Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime, and Communications Ahmet Arslan to lift the block of all language versions of Wikipedia for over a year.
Studying ourselves: 'driven by a sense of mission' according to researchers.
In our next episode...
Some essays are funny, some are serious; some are just, well what exactly?
Revisiting an editor's warning to count our kidneys and keep the wolves at bay

July

Volume 14, Issue 08, 31 July 2018

Ships and shoes – and if you don't like it here, just go away!
How admin would-bes run the gauntlet.
Wikipedia referees wag a finger at Professional Wrestling editors.
New admins and Kudpung finally leaves NPP after 7 years.
One secret cabal that watches out for conspiracy theories, and another one out to stymie venture capitalists?
And more: a new user group for editing code, Women in Red, and arbitrator articles.
Spanning the gamut from warfare and destruction to pop culture to celebrations of nature and humanity's achievements.
We don't have "state agents" in a political debate, but couldn't talk about it if there were.
Finding the mathematician and Supreme Court nominee in this list is like playing Where's Waldo?.
Useful new gadgets.
Depictions of July events in several countries.
Those who study ancient Egypt.
And other recent findings, plus a roundup of research presentations at Wikimania.
Merge WikiProject Professional wrestling and ANI.
Get over it!
They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

August

Volume 14, Issue 09, 30 August 2018

Keep straight on – there are trolls in the hedgerows.
"Imagine a world in which every single human being is a Wikimedian. That's my commitment!"
WMF pays possible Orangemoody ring for user research, and ditches MediaWiki for publishing its own blog. Knife-edge closures at RfA.
But unfortunately its output is incompatible with open licensing.
Plus: Simple English Wikipedia stays open, a discussion on draft header templates, bias blind spot by admins offered cash?
Astronauts named Armstrong, babes of the Brits, Cortinarius caperatus and all that.
"Bridging knowledge gaps, the ubuntu way forward".
Very high and very low hits; love and loss.
Citation bot and mapframe enhancements; new licenses for Data space; possible hiccup on 12 September; per-user page, namespace, and upload blocking; and miscellaneous new bots and tools.
Some of the best pictures of 2017.
Readers prefer the AI's version 40% of the time – but it still suffers from hallucinations.
Nothing funny about it.
Remind you of any Wikipedia articles?
The Wikipedia Plays.

October

Volume 14, Issue 10, 1 October 2018

We keep on publishing as long as you keep on reading.
Wikipedia dodges a bullet in Brussels... maybe.
Can Wikipedians help save the world's knowledge and shine a light on current events?
Plus: signatures, shortcuts, and reliable sources.
No valid new requests for arbitration, no new cases.
Fourth highest view count of the year; lowest view count since 2014; death, sports, and movies ever constant.
Plus the latest scripts, bots, and tech news.
A pictorial ode to the end of summer.
As the global community of volunteer Wikimedia editors mourns the destruction of this amazing museum, this post pays tribute to all editors who have contributed restlessly to tell the story of the National Museum, our history.
And other recent research papers.
What is a four-letter word for...
You know you should...

Volume 14, Issue 11, 28 October 2018

A slightly thinner issue, but out on time.
Is a missing article on a Nobel laureate a fail? What if her draft biography was declined as non-notable?
And it's richer than ever.
Breitbart begone; rescued by archivists; celebrating trolls?
Plus: two pending changes-related discussions, notability, and naming conventions.
Who's reading what?
Bots can do anything you want – well, almost.
WMF continues to stonewall development; NPP wishes again relegated to stocking fillers.
SPARQL adds sparkle to WMF projects.
We are all writing for Amazon.
No special effects here, just beautiful celestial images.
If it weren't free, of course.
Wikipedia has a long history of talk page tomfoolery.
The reviewer who declined the article gives his perspective.
The "holy-shit" slide.

December

Volume 14, Issue 12, 1 December 2018

Lay down your verbal weapons.
The experiences of a new user on Wikipedia, told in their own words.
What do the WMF devs have in store for the community?
Suppose they gave a blog and nobody came?
Looking both backward and forward to events concerning the community.
A personal reflection on Wikipedia's role as a repository of history.
Real-world news competes with the usual celeb fascination for Wikipedia's commentators.
It was a good 15 years. Plus: admins, notability, substubs, and new padlocks.
Arbcom takes its first new case since June.
The "Queen" of stage and screen, that is. Is there another?
Biology or technology? Form follows function in nature and the constructed world.
And other new research results.
Nope, don't care!
Wonky carrots invoke terror.
ARS might continue, but some Wikipedians might not.

Volume 14, Issue 13, 24 December 2018

Tell us what you think!
Did World Patent Marketing pay to get Wikipedia to include flattering information on their board member, now the Acting United States Attorney General?
A statistical insight into the English Wikipedia's very own online community newsletter.
NPP wins the wish list poll; Wikipedia editors will be able to work better at night; new WMF appointments and new arbitrators; and who wants to be an admin?
Wikipedia says 'ta' to British M.P. and 'buh-bye' to U.S. President's image vandals.
Plus: reliable sources, notability, and fallout from the self-blocking software changes.
Discovering how new and unregistered users make articles with the members of WikiProject Articles for Creation.
GiantSnowman asked to chill, and other disputes addressed by Arbcom (or not).
The band relinquishes its first place hold; Aquaman is swimming into view for late December.
Happy solstice, and happy New Year!
In and around the WMF and its projects from the WMF's web site.
Are you a believer?
When the desire to continue to have the privilege of editing Wikipedia overrides the body's innate desire to choke the living shit out of some bastard who really has it coming.
Compromised accounts – especially those of inactive admins.
The Signpost is written by editors like you – join in!
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