WikiIndex:Community portal/News

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27 September 2014 - WikiCon 2014

The annual gathering for German-speaking Wikipedians WikiCon 2014 takes place from October 3 to 5 at Komed, Mediapark, Cologne, Germany. Manorainjan

7 September 2014 - Getting the email function to work

We took up this old issue again and are making good progress. First results are this List of domains on a new help page that shows how to work around the problem until it is fixed. Manorainjan

28 July 2014

From RayKing: Ben shut off that extension because it was somehow being abused and we were seeing problems on ICANNWiki which shares the same server (these are the only 2 sites on this server). I'm cc'ing Jonah (ICANNWiki) and Ben now, having just read the thread in your e-mail to see if there's a resolution to both issues. ~~ MarkDilley

From Emufarmers: I've added a robots.txt file telling bots not to crawl the dynamically generated pages; it looks like in this case it was probably a well-intentioned spider. I've re-enabled Semantic MediaWiki for now, though I can't guarantee that I won't have to disable it again.

29 June 2014

Category:Wiki Language Rather than use only English names (easy for navigation but arbitrary and defeats multi-lingualism), we could use some system of ISO codes such as "Category:en (English)", "Category:de (German, Deutsch)", "Category:es (Spanish, español)", "Category:zh (Chinese, 中文)". This would have some consistency and standardization while also allowing English to remain a lingua franca and let users find content in their own language. Thoughts? Koavf (talk) 16:02, 29 June 2014 (UTC)

I think this is a fantastic idea. What can folks do to help? ~~ MarkDilley

Converting I think it would be easy to do by myself. I'll leave this conversation here for a week or two and see if there's more feedback. Koavf (talk) 00:54, 4 July 2014 (UTC)

I'm not sure this is a good idea. Previous attempts of extended multilingual efforts on WikiIndex failed. The German de.WikiIndex.org failed, as did French & Swedish translations - despite having active editors in those languages.

I would also expect that only a tiny minority of folks fully understand ISO language codes. --Sean, aka Hoof Hearted • _{Admin / 'Crat} • talk2HH 23:58, 5 July 2014 (UTC)

Language sorting Then how should we sort them? Do we want this site to be multi-lingual? I would certainly hope so. Koavf (talk) 05:53, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

I look at is as an "easy" way to take a step in that direction. Makes it more friendly to multi-linguists. Or at least that is the perception I have. ~~ MarkDilley

06 April 2014 - why https?

https://WikiIndex.org fails for me, is this a browser issue or a configuration issue with the website? ~~ MarkDilley

Failing I also have a failure to connect. Koavf (talk) 15:58, 29 June 2014 (UTC)

Why the need for a secure https configuration? And you can't just put https infront of a standard url,.and expect it to load, without correctly configuring the server to accept https page access. --Sean, aka Hoof Hearted • _{Admin / 'Crat} • talk2HH 23:33, 5 July 2014 (UTC)

That's right. As well could You rename a picture.bmp into a picture-jpeg and expect it to become compressed ;-)

But back to the original question: It seams not to be important to have secure connection, because the content of a Wiki that is even IP-edited would not be in anyway private, rather the opposite, very, very public ;-) But for those who log on, they have to send a password which is unprotected and could be read out during login. And than look at admins whose passwords would be read out and anybody could mess around as they please.... --Manorainjan (talk) 13:40, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for the responses, at minimum, can it be redirected if anyone happens upon it? I would rather it didn't just fail. ~~ MarkDilley

I presume you mean can anyone else 'hijack' or steal https://WikiIndex.org? The answer to that is NO. "WikiIndex.org" is the domain name, and that is the important bit – providing the domain name registration doesn't expire (and I get the feeling from Ray's other interests, that is likely to be zero), you can't let anyone else take the domain name over. Furthermore, the "WikiIndex.org" domain can be configured in a number of related ways – in addition to our current "www.WikiIndex.org", you can also have "m.WikiIndex.org" (typically for mobile-configured displays), "ftp.WikiIndex.org" (file transfer protocol), and I'm sure I've missed a couple of others.

The "http" vs "https" can be applied to any of the above – but the "https" means in laymans terms a 'secure' communication method. In order to have an "https" site, you need an 'SSL' (secure socket layer) certificate (often regulated by the likes of VeriSign, Comodo, and many others). The secure "https" is typically used on internet trading sites (which take payment via Visa, MasterCard, Amex, PayPal, etc), banking, insurance and other commerce sites. As Manorainjan states above, there is no real need to have a secure connection on a wiki. If a password is compromised (which is honestly very doubtful), simply reset your password! Sean, aka Hoof Hearted • _{Admin / 'Crat} • talk2HH 21:52, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

Security on a wiki While wikis generally aren't as privacy-centered as (e.g.) banking, there are definitely times when added security is important. If a dissident journalist were dumping documents to Wikileaks (which is no longer a wiki) or Wikinews, he would certainly want greater security. Koavf (talk) 23:17, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

I did not mean to say that there is no need for a secure connection on a Wiki. I mean, "it looks like" there would be no need. But actually there is a need, because many people do logins. And every login procedure wherever should be secured. German end English Wikipedia connect via https by default. Wherever there is a SPAM or vandalism risk, there You need to have security as well to counteract it. Here and there I was reading about SPAMers, imposters and the like also here on WikiIndex. You need to have secure login at least for admins. And when the capability is installed, there is no reason whatsoever not to make it available for all. --Manorainjan (talk) 00:05, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

Agreed If you login, make it secure. Koavf (talk) 00:08, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

24 February 2014 Domain Name

Thoughts on moving this wiki from WikiIndex.org to Index.Wiki? I'd like to showcase this site as the main wiki directory as the new gTLD .wiki becomes available! Raymond King | talk

I think it is a fine idea. I like the idea of a name change to IndexWiki.Wiki !! ~~ MarkDilley

I agree with the change to the new dot wiki TLD, but I strongly disagree with an outright name change. My suggestion would be 'Wiki-Index.wiki'. --Sean, aka Hoof Hearted • _{Admin / 'Crat} • talk2HH 23:26, 5 July 2014 (UTC)

21 February 2014

I added confirmaccount permission to sysops as per the Feb 1 discussion below. Let me know if I should undo. ~~ BrandonCsSanders

Yay!! Many thanks Brandon! ~~ MarkDilley

17 February 2014

Seems like there is a consensus for QuestyCaptcha vs. ConfirmAccount. I can turn off ConfirmAccount and do the Questy questions -- are there suggestions for questions that new legit users can answer and will stop the spammers? Ray King

This site seems to have a good system. It removes a random letter from the wiki's name, and asks for a random number. Elassint 17 February 2014

01 February 2014

Ray King brought up the point again of making this wiki confirm by admin to ok the account, I have previously not liked that... but looking at all the account creation spam am open to reconsidering it... how do other folks feel? Best, MarkDilley

Wholly cow it's gotten bad, thoughts? Shall we and if so who's got the credentials to do it? Ray King

• I like my filters blocking most of them :D --YiFei | talk 04:01, 9 February 2014 (UTC)

I think Emufarmers does. ~~ MarkDilley

I think the problem is the capatcha asks for the name of the wiki and nothing else, which the spambots have already memorized. We need something more effective. Elassint 9 February 2014

We use QuestyCaptcha on tfwiki.net too, but we've had to change the questions semi-regularly (every few months or so) because the spammers work out the answer. Once we change the question, it stops them dead again though. --abates (talk) 23:22, 9 February 2014 (UTC)

Yea, we should try this simple solution first before trying something different. Elassint 15 February 2014

How do we change the QuestCaptcha? Or stop account creation from being shown in RecentChanges? ~~ ~~

LocalSettings.php has to be edited. 68.57.45.104 01:48, 12 February 2014 (UTC)

We installed ConfirmAccount as a stop gap measure - maybe too draconian but wanted to protect the wiki Ray King

Bad that only 'crats (which we doesn't many active ones) can confirm accounts --YiFei | talk 05:12, 15 February 2014 (UTC)

Yea, if we go so far to require confirmed accounts than we need to either set the permission to sysop or create more crats. Elassint 15 February 2014

Ok, so should we make some more crats or should we turn off the ConfirmAccount and try questy captcha first (and if so how do we determine what are good questions)? Ray King

I like the idea Elassint brought up if we are going to use this one, change the permissions to sysop. ~~ MarkDilley

15 January 2014

Stumbled onto this idea, highlighting a wiki a month? Sould like a good idea here? Best, MarkDilley

Sounds good, we could feature it on the home page Raymond King | talk

• I agree Let's spotlight some more interesting small wikis and ones that have unique features. We could probably do it on a weekly basis. Koavf (talk) 06:37, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

24 June 2013

I have added Template:Size to Form:Wiki. Now when you add a wiki, you can input the size too. --YiFei | talk 06:13, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

That is great! How easy do you think it would be for wikiFactor? :-) ~~ MarkDilley

What? --YiFei | talk 00:18, 25 June 2013 (UTC)

In the size template, there is also a wikiFactor, you put size into form wiki, can you do the same for wikiFactor? or can you show me? Best, MarkDilley

Already there. See Special:FormEdit/Wiki/WikiIndex:Sandbox. --YiFei | talk 05:26, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

20 June 2013

I installed some basic gadgets for now, didn't want to go too crazy. I added a gadget to display a UTC clock for those who prefer that, a gadget for a purge tab/page refresh option, wikiED (since we don't have the WikiEditor extension, I added this for those who want something similar). I also added an enhanced CharInsert option (you can see the difference when editing pages, as it's enabled by default, makes the custom character insert page a nice looking dropdown menu with easy to select options) and a "Sandbox" page option for those who want to do test edits (also enabled by default), and navigation popups, which allows people to see snippets of pages when hovering over links, as well as providing some extra editing options.

If you want me to change or remove anything, I'd be happy to. The gadgets that are enabled by default can be easily modified to be optional, and all of these gadgets can be enabled or disabled in the preferences.

Arcane (talk) 21:23, 20 June 2013 (UTC) Arcane

27 May 2013

MetaWiki is organizing information in a really interesting way, both from an information architecture and design view. ^[1]. Impressed, MarkDilley

20 May 2013

Edits made after around 2 AM UTC were lost today - Emufarmers has Upgraded software and extensions, still has a few to install, if he decides to. Bug reports need more detail. ~~ MarkDilley

April 2012

I have unified Form:Wiki and Template:Wiki, so now, when you click on "edit with form", the form is autofilled.

Also, I'm creating thousands of new wikis, from Referata, Wikkii and Wikia. emijrp 04:08, 6 April 2012 (PDT)

Cool. There a Wikia version of Form:Wiki? (in the style of Template:Wikia Boilerplate ) --EarthFurst 12:25, 16 May 2012 (PDT)

Template:Wikia_Boilerplate isn't being used. There's nothing special on Wikia wikis except adding Category:Wikia. --Ciencia Al Poder 14:16, 16 May 2012 (PDT)

The Wikia boilerplate template definately IS being used - virtually every Wikia entry on here that I've personally edited is based on or updated with the boilerplate. The 'WhatLinksHere' command won't work (nor will it work on any boilerplate) - the boilerplates are simply used as a 'copy and paste' to assist experienced editors. And Wikia wikis have some very unique attributes, which is why the Wikia boilerplate is so useful. Best regards Hoof Hearted • talk2HH 16:20, 31 August 2012 (PDT)

Add Template:Size to Form:Wiki ? --EarthFurst 09:48, 12 June 2012 (PDT)

"edit with form" doesn't seem to work well with "Show preview". Tried "edit with form" and "Show preview" and gave up after getting no Preview after six minutes. Retried same edit with traditional "edit" and the "Show preview" worked fine. --EarthFurst 14:55, 16 June 2012 (PDT)

Edit with form seems to remove editmode line from infobox. Is that intentional? --EarthFurst (talk) 02:01, 14 August 2012 (PDT)

January 2012

Spam fighting, less spam fighting but it is still here with account spam. Ray King raised the question with me of requiring accounts to be authorized as a way to try and cut spam down to zero. We both loathe this option... but... we wanted to put it out to folks, especially the heros of spam fighting on WikiIndex - to see what you thought about it. Best, MarkDilley

It's nowhere as bad as it once was, so for the moment, I don't think it's necessary. The anon edits were the real pain and they are mostly gone now, so I think that going to a account authorization system would place more of a load on the Admin I think at least. TeraS

From my own experience of discovering and flagging spam, I've noticed that the spammers are now 'registered users'. So, can we say have a minimum edit count (maybe 10 edits) before even registered users can add links . . . or would that put off someone who genuinely wants to add a new valid wiki? --Hoof Hearted • talk2HH 01:26, 26 January 2012 (PST)

I think this is an ok idea, is there a way that we can message around it? Also, I am wondering if we have to do what Ray King asked - do we require people to request accounts? Best, MarkDilley

SOPA fighting. What do folks think about adding WikiIndex to this: http://SopaStrike.com - I would like to if there is general consensus. Best, MarkDilley

• Sounds like a worthy protest. I think WikiIndex should join the strike. --EarthFurst 10:01, 16 January 2012 (PST)

Spam fighting, spam fighting and more spam fighting. Special mention goes to Tera for her spam fighting work the last 6 months (or more) and to many others who carried the torch before. We now have CAPTCHA on account creation and on anonymous edits. Didn't want to have to do it on anonymous edits without a link, but we were getting hit pretty hard the last week. Let's cross our fingers for a less spam 2012. Best to everyone here. ~~ MarkDilley

January 2010

Using this wiki to organize other wiki work, an idea, what you think? ~~ MarkDilley

The idea is called WikiHorde and it is a crew of wiki people (checking to see if we can get that domain) - Best, MarkDilley'

That sounds like a cool idea. By the way, is there a place on WikiIndex for discussing ideas for running a wiki? That would include the above "good methods for inviting/advertising people elsewhere to come edit my wiki", etc. Is there a category for wiki where such "wiki on wiki" conversations are welcomed? Conversations such as, for example, the "Building community" guide. --DavidCary 20:47, 30 January 2010 (EST)

David, wiki on wiki is perfect here - however you want to organize it, and I will go for WikiHorde also! Best, MarkDilley

Reddit mention in comments

Upgrade to MW 1.14.0 coming soon - Tentatively scheduled for 16 Apr 2009
Will be limited downtime. John 19:47, 9 April 2009 (EDT)

As for the upgrade: was it canceled? Best --Wolf | talk 04:26, 20 January 2010 (EST)

Wolf, yes it was and we are needing to figure out a different path to upgrading. Maybe we can chat off wiki? Best, MarkDilley

via WikiMail? --Wolf | talk 14:42, 18 March 2010 (EDT)

---

Looks like the DPL extension was the source of server outages, everything stable again.
John 19:54, 4 June 2008 (EDT)

Reducing the number of extensions to isolate the source of server load problems:

• Analytics
• Dynamic Page List
• Random Include
• Thumbnail

John 21:18, 3 May 2008 (EDT)

To avoid the Captcha, Login! and Confirm via Email John 18:24, 20 November 2007 (EST)

Changed reCAPTCHA permissions so that a logged in user who has confirmed via email address should be able to skip the CAPTCHA. We continue to tweek reCAPTCHA to combat the jibberish spam knowing that it was not meant for this purpose, it was meant for link spam. I can always ease off on the restrictions but the price we pay is more jibberish spam. John 18:23, 20 November 2007 (EST)

Upped reCAPTCHA permissions so that any anon edit will trigger the Captcha. This should cut out the jibberish spam but will likely annoy our non-logged in users - Sorry everyone but jibbersish spam is really bugging us. Let me know if any unintended consequences show up. John 21:24, 27 October 2007 (EDT)