User talk:Brianboulton/Archive 100

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Please help me with Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 6, 2016

Brianboulton,

Thank you very much for your comment:

"I would have no objection to a "date requested" note being inserted into the date in question."

I did as you suggested, and inserted a "date requested" note into the date in question.

However, the page at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 6, 2016 was subsequently immediately deleted and then your suggested note of a "date requested" inserted into the date in question was removed.

Can we please allow your direct suggestion to take place, and have the "date requested" note inserted into the date in question ?

Thank you,

Cirt (talk) 13:38, 31 March 2016 (UTC)

Could you please restore the page at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 6, 2016 so I don't have to write the note again? Thank you ever so much Brian, — Cirt (talk) 14:14, 31 March 2016 (UTC)
Update: All  Done, for now. Thanks very much for your valuable input, Brian, most appreciated !!! — Cirt (talk) 14:32, 31 March 2016 (UTC)

The Signpost: 1 April 2016

Phantom

FYI, The Phantom Tollbooth is at FAC. Comments very welcome.--Wehwalt (talk) 13:48, 2 April 2016 (UTC)

Noted - I will be there. Brianboulton (talk) 15:04, 2 April 2016 (UTC)

Your argument is well made though I did not see any canvassing. I suppose if one had thought about it earlier the Dublin General Post Office would have been more appropriate but it is so way off being an FA at this stage. I have quite some background literature in my library about the GPO if you care to think about it for another Irish FA. A good job well done. ww2censor (talk) 12:10, 3 April 2016 (UTC)

Thank you. I thought about working up the GPO article, but decided that its centrality to the Rising might present a problem. As I said earlier, I wanted a basically neutral topic, with just a hint of the Rising, in the hope of avoiding controversy at the anniversary (which helpfully falls several weeks after the formal celebrations). It is true that there is a sad lack of Irish-themed featured articles, making it impossible to recognise significant Irish dates at TFA. I have a full schedule of planned work for the next several months, but I might consider working on another Irish article in the autumn. Let's see how the Pillar fares on 24 April (it might get blown up again). Brianboulton (talk) 13:19, 3 April 2016 (UTC)
Well let me know if you start working on a new Irish potential FA. If I have an interest and enough knowledge and/or access to sources, I would try to assist. Again well done. ww2censor (talk) 10:22, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
I happend across this Nelson's Pillar related reference from the Easter Rising that seems to confirm at least one attempt to destroy the pillar during the rising. Perhaps one can use it as a citation. ww2censor (talk) 23:54, 9 April 2016 (UTC)
I'm not sure about the Handbook's reliability. It was patched together very quickly, as a record of the Rising from the rebels' point of view, without I suspect too much editorial supervision (I have an original copy somewhere; in view of what ABE are selling them for I really ought to try and find it). It doesn't really say more than is covered by what we have said in the article: "According to some histories, insurgents attempted to blow up the Pillar..." etc., so I'd be inclined to leave it as it is, but if you want to add the citation, that's fine. Brianboulton (talk) 12:59, 10 April 2016 (UTC)
It does appear to have been produced by the then weekly Irish Times so one might assume there was some journalistic overview. It does basically confirm the article's prose. ww2censor (talk) 22:52, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

Yet another drain on your precious and limited time...

Hi Brian, Many thanks for the Senghenydd review, which is much appreciated on top of the PR. I wonder if I could impose on you once again with a new PR on the next Bond book in the series, which is open here. I've taken up an awful lot of your time recently, so if you'd rather pass on the PR to look in at the (hopeful) FAC later, please feel free to say so. Cheers – SchroCat (talk) 20:51, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

Harper

Hello Brian, hope you're well. If you have the time and are interested I have William Harper up for FAC here. If you thought the UDI affair was something with Smith in charge, just try to imagine what might have happened if this chap had been PM of Rhodesia instead. Any thoughts would be very much appreciated. Cheers, —  Cliftonian (talk)  09:48, 7 April 2016 (UTC)

Yes, he seems a pleasant sort of chap. I will get round to this in a day or so – all I'll suggest at the moment is that you look again at the "Later Life and Death" section, which is a potted history of the 1978–80 events but scarcely mentions Harper at all. If there is nothing to say about the last 25 years of his life, maybe the section title should change? On another matter, I see that Mutiny on the Bounty has been chosen as TFA on 28 April, so we'd better check that it still says what it's supposed to, and that all the links are still working. Brianboulton (talk) 12:30, 7 April 2016 (UTC)
I'll try to find some way to fix the ending of Harper, as the problem is he didn't really do very much by this point, but it is important to clarify what was going on politically to explain why he left. Re: Bounty—yes, will try to find some time to have a look. All the best, —  Cliftonian (talk)  12:57, 7 April 2016 (UTC)

GBS FAC

I wish to put it on record that collaborating with you on this mammoth undertaking has been a joy. Our upgrading of this article has been by a long way the most demanding thing I have ever undertaken on Wikipedia, and the thought of attempting it without your comradely support and scholarly input makes me feel faint. I am now about to declare a two-month or so Wikibreak while I concentrate on a publishing project that has become quite pressing. Meanwhile, happy editing, BB! See you in the summer, I hope, in these columns or at the Wehwalt Arms. Tim riley talk 16:18, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

  • Wowee, that's generous! I always considered myself the junior partner is this massive venture, but I agree, certainly one of the most demanding of the many WP projects I've undertaken in the past 8 years (possibly Michael Tippett cost me more in blood, sweat, toil and tears, but I was alone there). I made life very difficult for myself by running Nelson's Pillar at the same time, but mercifully that was passed through fairly rapidly. Anyway, it was, as always, a joy working with you, and your break is well deserved – I shall be also take a bit of a breather when I've done my duty for Wales. I assume your publishing venture is G&S-related, and I wish you every success with that. In the meantime the WA beckons – I'll be in touch. Brianboulton (talk) 16:33, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

I have to compliment both of you on this wonderful achievement. I really enjoy seeing topics of such prominence at FAC. Your hard work is very much appreciated. --Laser brain (talk) 16:38, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

Thank you, Laser brain! It's reassuring and extravagantly pleasing to receive such a compliment from an FAC coordinator. Tim riley talk 16:48, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

Baton

  • Hi Brian, I've scheduled up to April 30 and the documentation pages are all up to date. May is all ready for you. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 07:17, 10 April 2016 (UTC)
  • Much obliged, thanks for all your efforts in an occasionally troublesome month. I will shortly publish an analysis of TFAs by topic area over the three months to March 2016, to indicate areas of under- or over-representation. Brianboulton (talk) 12:09, 10 April 2016 (UTC)
  • Sounds great. Visual media is overrepresented, for sure. Don't know about the others. (Crisco) Crisco 1492 mobile (talk) 13:05, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

TFAs scheduled January to April 2016

@WP:TFA coordinators : This shows what we scheduled in the Jan–April period, compared with the "target share" for each subject, based on the number of available FAs in each subject category. A few surprises:

  • We were spot on in a number of categories
  • The only seriously over-represented category during the period was Literature/theatre
  • We significantly underrepresented Sport, Media and Music.
TFA scheduling January–April 2016 Target share Actually scheduled + or -
MilHist 23 23 0
Biology 15 15 0
Sports 12 10 -2
Media (films, tv etc) 11 8 -3
Music (all) 11 9 -2
History/Politics 9 9 0
Video gaming 7 8 +1
Literature, theatre etc 6 9 +3
Transport 5 4 -1
Meteorology 5 5 0
Geography/geology 3 4 +1
Art, architecture etc 3 4 +1
Royalty and nobility 3 3 0
Business/econ/coins 3 3 0
Physics/astronomy 2 3 +1
Sundries (Religion, Law, Ed, Culture etc 3 4 +1
Total 121

These figures should help us to plan May and June scheduling – although we can't control what may be requested. Brianboulton (talk) 11:22, 12 April 2016 (UTC)

  • Alright, thanks for tabulating this. I'll keep it in mind for when I schedule June. Glad to see we weren't too far off target. Though I am surprised by the "Media" shortage. I could have sworn we'd gone over. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 23:51, 12 April 2016 (UTC)

The Signpost: 14 April 2016

Great job on the article. I've done a bit of tidying up, not much, hope that's all OK. 93.93.219.240 (talk) 11:36, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

Books & Bytes - Issue 16

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 16, February-March 2016
by The Interior (talk · contribs), UY Scuti (talk · contribs)

  • New donations - science, humanities, and video resources
  • Using hashtags in edit summaries - a great way to track a project
  • A new cite archive template, a new coordinator, plus conference and Visiting Scholar updates
  • Metrics for the Wikipedia Library's last three months

Read the full newsletter

The Interior via MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 15:16, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

Emailed

..♦ Dr. Blofeld 07:28, 16 April 2016 (UTC)

If you have a moment, could you take a look at the above, now at PR? Note that the images are in process (Godot13, I believe, is photographing some coins). Much obliged.--Wehwalt (talk) 15:08, 16 April 2016 (UTC)

Brian, Cla68 was just blocked indefinitely in March by Arbcom. There's no evidence in the block log or on his talk page concerning what it's about or how long before it will be resolved. If he's gone for good, then I don't see a problem running the article he nommed at TFA, but if it's temporary, I expect he'd prefer to be able to participate. - Dank (push to talk) 17:33, 17 April 2016 (UTC)

I would like to run it if possible, as it's an important battle. If Cla68's block is related to issues that concern this article, that would be a problem; otherwise, we've got by without principal author's input before. I will carry out some general checks (prose, citations, links) before its scheduled day, and pull the nomination if things look dicey. Brianboulton (talk) 17:53, 17 April 2016 (UTC)
Thanks. - Dank (push to talk) 17:58, 17 April 2016 (UTC)

FRWL

Hi Brian, I hope all is well. After a positive PR for From Russia, with Love, the article has now made its way to FAC. Should you have the time I'd be grateful of your input, but don't worry if you're tied up elsewhere. Cheers – SchroCat (talk) 11:29, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

I have a few review commitments to fulfil, but I'll find my way there ere long. Brianboulton (talk) 16:07, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

Thunder and Pharoah TFA

Please see my request at Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/May 6, 2016. Thanks! Montanabw(talk) 20:25, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

I understand you want to withdraw Thunder from 6 May and nominate it later in the year; no problem with that. I will schedule American Pharoah on 7th as you request; perhaps you would assist Dan by doing the blurb rather than leaving it to him? Brianboulton (talk) 21:01, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
Done! Montanabw(talk) 22:07, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Time for the toons...

Hi Brian, I have recently been working on Walt Disney, which is now up for PR. Any thoughts or comments on his huge figure would be much appreciated. Cheers – SchroCat (talk) 11:37, 23 April 2016 (UTC)

Very important article and well done for taking it on. I will try to get to the peer review soon, but some off-wiki problems are limiting my participation at the moment. Brianboulton (talk) 19:11, 24 April 2016 (UTC)
Thanks Brian. No rush: I expect a few people will want to have a say in this one, so it may take a little longer than normal. Cheers - SchroCat (talk) 19:12, 24 April 2016 (UTC)

The Signpost: 24 April 2016

Emailed

Emailed.♦ Dr. Blofeld 08:04, 29 April 2016 (UTC)