WikiProject Albums

WikiProject news

News in brief

• The July 2011 Copyedit Backlog Elimination Drive is underway. Join in the fun, meet nice people, and earn a barnstar for your efforts.
• These projects could use new members to help improve articles and increase activity on the projects' talk pages: WikiProject Chinese History, WikiProject Firearms, WikiProject Norway, and WikiProject Schools

Submit your project's news and announcements for next week's WikiProject Report at the Signpost's WikiProject Desk.

This week, we listened to the members of WikiProject Albums as they shared their experience improving articles about music albums. Started in October 2002, WikiProject Albums has grown to include nearly 130,000 pages, including 78 Featured Articles, 35 Featured Lists, and 385 Good Articles. Despite an active group of editors, the project's members have acknowledged that the project has some difficulty keeping up with assessments, evidenced by the 36,000 unassessed articles under the project's scope. The project is a child of WikiProject Music and overlaps with several projects, including WikiProject Songs, WikiProject Discographies, and WikiProject Record Charts. WikiProject Albums maintains a to-do list, follows a watchlist, and contributes to the Music Portal.

We interviewed three of the project's members. Zidane tribal joined after creating an article for one of his favorite bands and "receiving very nice feedback from a member." His favorite albums are Legend and the Hola/Chau twin concerts. Backtable is a musician and music collector. He joined WikiProject Albums a while ago but only recently became active in the project. Among his favorite albums are Wish You Were Here, In the Court of the Crimson King, Red, Close to the Edge, Blackwater Park, Frances the Mute, Sub Templum, and Heligoland. Freekee joined both Wikipedia and WikiProject Albums "partly because one of my favorite albums had an article that really needed improvement. I won't tell you what album it was because in the five and a half years since then, I never fixed it." He describes himself as a wikignome who fixes categorization, grammar, and wording. He adds that he would just like "to make sure that there is a good source for information on the music that I love so much."

What motivated you to join WikiProject Albums? Do you have experience in the music industry? What is your favorite album?

Zidane tribal: Most of the albums of my favorite band lacked articles and after creating one and receiving very nice feedback from a member I decided to join the project. I do not have experience in the music industry. My favorite album is either Legend or the Hola/Chau twin concerts.

Backtable: I joined WikiProject Albums because I have a very active interest in music, and am a physical music collector, especially when it comes to CDs. I joined a while back, but I didn't become an active member until recently. As for music industry experience, I am working on a career as a musician, and I have a few musical projects going on. I'm working on music that I want to release sometime. I am not signed to any labels, nor do I play live, although I want to do the latter sometime soon with some of my friends. Some of my favorite albums include Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, In the Court of the Crimson King and Red both by King Crimson, Close to the Edge by Yes, Blackwater Park by Opeth, Frances the Mute by The Mars Volta, Sub Templum by Moss, and Heligoland by Massive Attack.

Freekee: I joined Wikipedia and the project partly because one of my favorite albums had an article that really needed improvement. I won't tell you what album it was because in the five and a half years since then, I never fixed it. I'm not in the industry, and have no vested interest in any of this music - I just want to make sure that there is a good source for information on the music that I love so much.

The project is home to over 100 pieces of featured content and nearly 400 Good Articles. Have you worked on any of these articles? What are some common elements found in most FAs and GAs about albums?

Zidane tribal: I haven't participated significantly in any FA or GA.

Most GA and FA have extensive references on account of the large reception and production sections.

Backtable: I don't specialize in GA and FA articles, but I edit them once in a while. Some common elements of such articles is that they're longer and more detailed and thorough than lesser-ranked articles.

Freekee: I haven't participated significantly in any FA or GA. I'm not great on references and citations, and I'm not that great a writer either, so I tend to Wikignome tasks, like categorization and fixing grammar and wording.

How does the project handle notability of albums and promotional material added to articles about albums? How frequently does the project deal with editors who have a conflict of interest?

Zidane tribal: I myself had a couple of articles proposed for speedy deletion. I took the time window to make my case in favor of keeping the articles and it was also a lot of help that a highly respected member of the project gave arguments in support of my case. Also it is worth mentioning that there are a lot of articles with very obscure backgrounds that don't even get the necessary attention to get deleted.

Just recently a discussion [took place] over how to implement the guideline over the proper place for the reviews; in a reception section or the infobox. In my time in the project, the discussion has reached if not good results, at least they have never ended in a heated exchange of insults.

Backtable: Well, I personally usually remove promotional material from articles, and anything else that violates POV customs. And this project deals with conflicts of interest occasionally, but not horribly often. There may be review sites in question for use on album pages, for instance. Also, there are a handful of people who don't like the direction the review layout is going, but I'll go into more detail about that later.

Are some music genres underrepresented by Wikipedia's coverage of albums? What can be done to improve coverage of these neglected genres?

Zidane tribal: I am of the opinion that there are FAR too many music genres so I'm okay if Techno retro punk salsa isn't well represented.

Backtable: By default, I wouldn't quite say so. This WikiProject doesn't seem too partial or too overlooking of any particular genre.

Freekee: I see articles and I edit them. I never notice a lack, unless it's of a particular album that I own.

Does WikiProject Albums collaborate with any other projects?

Zidane tribal: Well, mostly songs, jazz, hip-hop and to a lesser degree country specific projects.

Freekee: I wouldn't say we collaborate, so much as overlap. We copy some of the work done by the Songs Project, and they us. And there are many artist projects and task forces.

What are the project's most pressing needs? How can a new editor help today?

Zidane tribal: There are 127,236 articles, of those 83,448 are either unassessed or Stubs and the amount of new articles by far is bigger that the amount of newly assessed or upgraded stubs. In my time, I have assessed well over 8K articles and they just keep coming.

Backtable: As Zidane Tribal stated, there are the stubbish articles and the unassessed articles. And here's another one: moving infobox reviews into article space. Reviews have been determined not to belong in the infobox anymore, and they are now to be placed in their own table, preferrably in the respective article's reception section. There are upwards of 45,000 left as of my postings here, and that drive could always use a little more help from willing inidividuals. Another thing I'd like to point out doesn't apply only to album pages, but music pages in general. There are those foolish genre warriors. Their presence is loathsome.

Anything else you'd like to add?

Zidane tribal: I love Wikipedia.

Backtable: Wikipedia is awesome. I hope that visits to Wikipedia are generally informative and productive to people. Stay thirsty for knowledge, my friends!

Next week, we'll try not to infringe on Hormel's trademark as we investigate some mystery meat that has been clogging up the internet's arteries. Until then, clean out your junk mail folder and visit the WikiProject Report Archives.

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2011-07-11

The best of the week

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By Tony1 and Dabomb87

This week's "Featured content" covers Sunday 3 – Saturday 9 July

Featured articles

Eight articles were promoted to featured status:

• Deusdedit of Canterbury (nom), a rather obscure early Anglo-Saxon archbishop of Canterbury, and the first native holder of the office. (Nominated by Ealdgyth)
• Californium (nom), a radioactive metallic element first produced in 1950 at the University of California, Berkeley. (Mav)
• Dengue fever (nom), a viral tropical disease that is not as well-known as malaria (the WHO considers it a "neglected tropical disease"), but which affects 50–100 million people per year, and has been linked to thousands of deaths (often in young children). (Jfdwolff, Jmh649)
• 1952 Winter Olympics (nom), held in Oslo, Norway, that attracted 694 athletes representing 30 countries, who participated in six sports and 22 events. (H1nkles)
• John McCauley (nom) (1899–1989), a graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, who became a leading figure in the Royal Australian Air Force. (Ian Rose)
• Vidkun Quisling (nom), the Nazi collaborationist leader of Norway, who seized power in 1940 in a Nazi-backed coup that garnered him international infamy. His government participated in Germany's Final Solution. He was executed by firing squad at Akershus Fortress, Oslo, on 24 October 1945. During World War II, quisling became a synonym for traitor. (Jarry1250)
• Kenneth Walker (nom), a US Army aviator and a US Army Air Forces general who had a significant influence on the development of air-power doctrine and posthumously received the Medal of Honor in World War II. (Hawkeye7)
• Into Temptation (film) (nom), a 2009 film about a prostitute and a Catholic priest. (Hunter Kahn)

Featured topic

• Thatgamecompany (nom), with seven articles, is an American independent video game developer. The studio is currently a second-party developer for Sony Computer Entertainment, and is under contract to create three downloadable games for the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network service. The company focuses on creating video games that provoke emotional responses from players. When designing a game, Thatgamecompany employees start by mapping out what they want the player to feel rather than by establishing game mechanics. Readers will find links to many technical and field-specific terms in the seven articles that make up the topic. (nominator PresN) (pictures at right)

Featured lists

Four lists were promoted:

• List of colonial governors of Massachusetts (nom) (Nominated by Magicpiano.)
• List of awards and nominations received by Madonna (nom) (Legolas2186.)
• List of France national football team captains (nom) (Joao10Siamun.)
• Philadelphia Phillies all-time roster (L) (nom) (Killervogel5.)

Featured pictures

Two images were promoted. Medium-sized images can be viewed by clicking on "nom":

• Five and one-hundred dollar Confederate notes (nom; related article), part of the fascinating subject of Confederate war finance). The image shows the front sides of Confederate States of America banknotes, printed December 1862 (the back sides were unprinted). (Creator: unknown (Confederate government), scanned by User:Michael Holley).
• Hurricane Rick (nom; related article), near peak intensity, with a clear view of the eye (created by NASA; MODIS]).

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2011-07-11

Tree shaping case comes to a close - what does the decision tell us?

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By Ncmvocalist

The Arbitration Committee opened no new cases. Two cases are currently open.

Open cases

MickMacNee (Week 4)

(See earlier Signpost coverage for background about this case.) An additional kilobyte was submitted in on-wiki evidence.

Tree shaping (Week 11)

The case was opened after allegations of long-term COI editing on the Tree shaping article, and problematic usage of the article's talk page. 9 editors submitted evidence on-wiki, and several proposals were submitted in the workshop, including proposed principles and findings of fact by drafter Elen of the Roads. Drafter Elen of the Roads amended the proposals before submitting them in the proposed decision for arbitrators to vote on, and remedy proposals were considered over the last week. 13 active arbitrators voted on the final decision before the case came to a close today.

What is the effect of the decision and what does it tell us?

• The subject/topic involved in this case is a relatively new art form in which three-dimensional works of art are created by modifying the growth of living trees. The dispute focuses on what title to give the article on the subject. Practitioners have developed their own names for their particular techniques and forms of the art, some of which have commercial status as brand names. There are also a variety of terms from arboriculture and elsewhere that are used to describe both the techniques used and the final results. As editors of the article have not reached a consensus as to a consistent preference within reliable sources on the use of any one term, the title of the article (currently Tree shaping) has continued to be disputed.
• Some of those editing the article are themselves practitioners of the art, or have a professional or commercial interest in the art. These editors potentially have a conflict of interest, as it may be in their interests to have the title of the article reflect the description used for their own artworks, and this may conflict with Wikipedia's policies. Although expert editors (including those with a professional or commercial interest in the subject of the articles they edit) are welcome on Wikipedia, the guidelines concerning conflicts of interest must be observed where applicable, and expert editors must at all times avoid editing (or appearing to edit) the encyclopaedia in order to promote their own professional or commercial interest. Any editor who focuses primarily or exclusively on a narrow subject—sometimes referred to as SPAs— should avoid creating the impression that their focus is on advocacy rather than neutrally presenting information. Contributors who engage in tendentious or disruptive editing, such as by engaging in sustained aggressive point-of-view editing, may be subjected to editing restrictions or bans.
• Discretionary sanctions have been enabled for the topic covered by the article, broadly interpreted.
• Sydney Bluegum (talk · contribs) is banned from the topic of tree shaping/arborsculpture/pooktre (widely construed), anywhere on Wikipedia until July 2012.
• Blackash (talk · contribs) & Slowart (talk · contribs) are each banned from all discussion on the correct name for the tree shaping/arborsculpture/pooktre topic until July 2012. These bans apply anywhere on Wikipedia, but only cover discussion of what name should be given to the practice and what title should be used for any articles on the subject. These restrictions will supersede the existing community-placed restrictions.
• Due to their experience and familiarity with the area, Sydney Bluegum (talk · contribs), Blackash (talk · contribs), and Slowart (talk · contribs) will be given limited exceptions from their topic bans to outlay proposals and background rationale at the commencement of a particular RfC on the article. That particular RfC should determine the consensus name and scope for the subject matter, and whether it should stand alone or whether it is best upmerged to a parent article.
• Article titles should be based on the name by which reliable English-language sources refer to the article's subject. When there is no single obvious term that is obviously the most frequently used for the topic, as used by a significant majority of reliable English language sources, editors should reach a consensus as to which title is best by considering recognisability, naturalness, precision, conciseness and consistency. In determining which of several alternative names is most frequently used, it is useful to observe the usage of major bodies and English-language media outlets, as well as quality encyclopedias and journals. In a few cases, there will be notable topics which are well-documented in reliable sources, but for which no accepted short-hand term exists. Although it can be tempting to employ a neologism in such a case, it is preferable to use a title that is a descriptive phrase in plain English if possible, even if this makes for a somewhat long or awkward title.
  
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2011-07-11

WMF works on its release strategy; secure server problems; brief news

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By Jarry1250

Debate over WMF release strategy continues

Wrangling over the optimal release strategy for the MediaWiki software that powers both Wikimedia wikis and other websites continued this week on the wikitech-l mailing list. It follows the publication of a Foundation-led "post-mortem" of the 1.17 release, which discussed what was done well and what could use improvement at a time when 1.18 is looming. The team were generally happy with the finished product, but identified weaknesses in the early-stage release process (particularly under-documentation) that made it difficult to distribute among multiple staff members.

The main point of contention, however, is the desirable number of releases per year: the report noted that "The range of opinion seems to be anywhere from 'multiple times a day' to 'every six months'", whilst a follow-up post by volunteer MZMcBride concluded that there was a fundamental difference between the view of the release manager (Tim Starling), who argues for slower release, and "Brion, Neil, Chad, Roan, and in some ways Erik, among others" who want quicker releases. As a consequence, he argued, Tim achieved his own goals but not necessarily those of the broader community. More broadly, the accompanying thread saw the first significant discussion about actively trying to break the current system of similar WMF and non-WMF ("tarball") release schedules. Developer Roan Kattouw summarised his own view, namely that "3 [tarball] releases per year is fine. However, I think we should deploy to WMF sites much more often than that". This got agreement from Bryan Tong Minh and implicit support from MZMcBride.

As a result of the process issues identified, the WMF tech team held meetings on 7 and 8 July to discuss "the code review, deployment and release management process" – including the timing issues above – and to answer questions such as"how do we dissipate key skills more widely among both staff and volunteers" and "how/when can we split "big hairy projects" with integration issues into more manageable chunks" (also wikitech-l). The draft results of the meeting, published on mediawiki.org, suggest that a move to more rapid deployment is likely to carry the day, as are an effort to reduce the stigma attached to being reverted and further pushes towards a "continuous integration" model.

In brief

Not all fixes may have gone live to WMF sites at the time of writing; some may not be scheduled to go live for many weeks.

How you can help

Register at Bugzilla

To comment on bugs, you need to be registered at Bugzilla. This is a great first step for users anxious to help direct software developments (Note that Bugzilla exposes your email address to other users.)

• Bugmeister Mark Hershberger called for a triage of bugs attached to old versions. Given that the task only required attempting to reproduce the bugs, he argued that it was ideal of non-coders anxious to help (wikitech-l mailing list). A second triage aimed to identify "easy" bugs perfect for 'wannabe' developers (also wikitech-l).
• Users reported problems with using the secure server. Although almost certainly related to changes made to the configuration of the secure (HTTPS) servers, the problem is yet to be authoritatively declared fixed at time of writing.
• An error that impaired the display of those interface messages shown by JavaScript in some web browsers was fixed (bug #29726).
• The JSMin+ library will now be included with MediaWiki. Its JavaScript parser, the only part to be utilised initially, will mean that bad JavaScript will now give the correct line numbers for errors for the first time since the ResourceLoader was deployed in February.
• The Romanian Wikipedia has become the latest to take up for-profit company Linterweb's offer to archive its links (Linterweb blog). Other Wikipedias, such as the English Wikipedia, have traditionally sought to avoid reliance on advertising-supported Linterweb, instead favouring sites such as WebCite with mixed success.
• In light of recent improvements to the parallel system of 'unit tests' (see previous Signpost coverage), there were discussions on the wikitech-l mailing list this week about whether support for the more heavy duty Selenium test suite needed to be retained ("Do we need Selenium for anything anymore?", spun-off from "Selenium IDE test for regressing bug"). In separate news, Foundation contractor Sumana Harihareswara opened an RfC on the future of unit tests.
• More than two years after Revision Deletion was enabled, the ability to apply traditional oversight measures to malicious edits was withdrawn from oversighters on the English Wikipedia (bug #18511).
• On the English Wikipedia, this week saw the approval of a new ClerkBot to help with Arbitration Committee administration and a bot to remove stale {{In use}} templates (JL-Bot 6). Meanwhile, BRFAs are currently open for a number of tasks, including a replacement for WebCiteBOT.
• With the resolution of bug #22689, registered users of Wikimedia Commons will be able to see hidden categories by default.
  
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