User talk:Ottava Rima/Archive

 Hello Ottava Rima, and welcome to Wikiversity! If you need help, feel free to visit my talk page, or contact us and ask questions. After you leave a comment on a talk page, remember to sign and date; it helps everyone follow the threads of the discussion. The signature icon in the edit window makes it simple. To get started, you may


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--JWSchmidt 07:14, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

Would you like to make it a project learning resource?
Perhaps User:Ottava Rima/BLP could be moved to Ethical Management of the English Language Wikipedia/BLP, Ottava Rima's investigation? WAS 4.250 12:08, 3 September 2008 (UTC)
 * If you don't mind. Ottava Rima 13:55, 3 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Please do incorporate your investigation into the Ethics Project, alongside the parallel one from JWSchmidt. —Moulton 15:25, 3 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Done. Anything else needed? Ottava Rima 16:42, 3 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes. Now that you have as a baseline your own independent case study, I would be grateful if you would conduct an Umpiric Peer Review of some of the other independent case studies and append your comments and questions to them, with a view toward crafting a consensus view that meets the most stringent tests for scientific and journalistic peer review. —Moulton 17:10, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

Thanks
Hi Ottava Rima, I just wanted to say thanks for your recent work here in trying to keep things productive and civil. I'm interested in teasing out the meaning of "attack pages" - asking questions like: what is (scholarly) inquiry, and when does it tend towards provocation? Also, have you seen the Learning from conflict and incivility project? Cormaggio talk 14:45, 13 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, I can fully appreciate it's difficult to get one's head around the various (often interpersonal) dynamics at play here - but hey, this is Wikimedia. ;-) Any development on such a project would be discussed, or at least announced, on the Colloquium. Cormaggio talk 11:06, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

custodianship
I would be thrilled if you accept my nomination for custodianship. Please see Candidates for Custodianship. --JWSchmidt 01:23, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Thank you for being willing to serve Wikiversity as a custodian. Reading list: Policies and the official and proposed policies, including the research policies located at the Wikiversity hub, History of Wikiversity and Approved Wikiversity project proposal. New custodians should become familiar with Category:Wikiversity policy and Category:Wikiversity administration. Please list yourself at Support staff. During your probationary period, be sure to respond to any questions from the community related to your editing in general and your custodianship in particular (watch at Probationary custodians). If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Again, thanks for participating at Wikiversity! --JWSchmidt 14:16, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

A random mascot
 Woof! My name is Jack(Russell). I am a dog and a Wikiversity mascot. I am pretty new around Wikiversity. Perhaps we can learn together! Tail wag...

How to be a Wikimedia sysop
Hi - just thought you might be interested in this page and possibly being a participant. It's entirely optional. Sincerely, James Neill. -- Jtneill - Talk - c 02:25, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

Please update info about yourself on: Support staff
Thanks and welcome in the team, Erkan Yilmaz uses the Chat (try) 14:13, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

Hope (and work) springs eternal
I know, and I knew the block was coming while I was admiring your style and effort. Even indefblocks can be lifted, eventually, but not right now.

He can still edit his user talk page, so he can still do what you've requested on that page for now, then move it elsewhere later when the dust clears. Please don't give up... it will all work out in the end! --SB_Johnny talk 19:35, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I will discuss with all parties that I can think of and see if they agree that this is worth it. I would not want to go against the community in this matter. Ottava Rima 19:43, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Oh yes, please do continue the good work. :-) Cormaggio talk 20:08, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

Re:
I didn't get a "New Message" box. Why?

Well, I'm not here to participate, so I saw no need for a username.

I wasn't being unkind. I also don't consider it kind when you post trollish comments on WR. It's not nice and amiable. Jonas Rand 68.96.213.118 21:27, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
 * The types of decorum required is different than that expected in WR, but I do apologize for my unseemly behavior there. Ottava Rima (talk) 21:31, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
 * A modicum of decorum is usually expected everywhere except Encyclopedia Dramatica. I meant Everyking, Kelly Martin, and mostly everyone who disagrees with the Pro-wikipedia POV. 68.96.213.118 21:34, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I believe in a pro-Wikimedia POV. That includes this project. If you are not here to participate, then please make sure to respect the fact that many are. Your comments may hinder our ability to recover. Ottava Rima (talk) 21:38, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

image
Did you see ? I guess that was where I found the image. --JWSchmidt 02:24, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

re: Spam Policy
We don't really have one, but it's certainly outside our scope. Personally I'd just welcome the user and voice your concern on his talk, and then if he hasn't contributed actual learning content after a few days just delete the page. This sort of thing is fairly common. --SB_Johnny talk 14:40, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

Deletion review
Sorry about that. I'm still fairly new here, but not to Wikimedia projects. Made some anon edits on enwiki between 2004-2005, did some in 2006, and had a few odd accounts which I lost the password to (not sockpuppets!). Thanks, AC --Sunstar NW XP 19:48, 15 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I should just add, if anyone sees the username SunStar Net on en.wikipedia/wikibooks/quote etc. it is not affiliated with me, and was a hoax account set up by someone who I know. My username comes from my website and it is Sunstar Net with lowercase s. Thanks, AC --Sunstar NW XP 19:55, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

Request from Moulton
Please see this edit Dzonatas 03:43, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

Previous Version
''Note - the below has been taken off of Moulton's talk page temporarily to promote his continued progress on his exercises. The conversation can be continued, but please keep it to the secondary section so we can differentiate between what was moved over and what is current. Thank you.'' Ottava Rima (talk) 04:41, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

You seem to be confused. You have "instructed" me to follow Scholarly ethics. That is not only not policy, it has failed utterly. 6 oppose, 1 support, and 1 neutral. OTOH, you are failing to abide by the actual policy of WV:CIVIL. Your edit summary characterizes me as "antagonistic and adversarial editor" and you continue to edit war on a page which is clearly titled as JWSchmidt's investigation. As JWSchmidt has thanked me for my corrections, your edit warring is merely to keep inacurracies and attacks which are not needed nor wanted and which are against policy in that page. You seem to have trouble telling the difference between your idea of what the rules should be and what the rules actually are. If you check the WV:RULES page, you will save yourself such embarassement in the future. Let me know if I can help. KillerChihuahua 13:22, 14 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I have already answered this on your own talk page. All participants in the Ethics Project are obliged to adhere to Scholarly Ethics whilst editing within the confines of the project.  These are the terms of engagement established and agreed to by those who initiated the Ethics Project at Wikiversity.  —Moulton 13:34, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

Nonsense. I didn't agree to that. KillerChihuahua 13:48, 14 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Agreeing to the terms of engagement for participants in the Ethics Project is a requirement if you wish to participate in the Ethics Project. If you do not agree to the terms of engagement, then you may not be a participant.  Your edits of the content prepared under the byline and signature of others is unauthorized tampering with the scholarly work of others.  Each scholar has pledged to respond to scholarly questions about their contribution.  If you corrupt their contributions, you disrupt the ethical foundations for scholarly research.  —Moulton 16:31, 14 September 2008 (UTC)


 * My understanding is that any content on any Wikimedia project, as they are released under GFDL in our wiki systems, are required to be free to be edited by any other user at any other time. Can you please link the consensus accepted approved Wikiversity policy or guideline that supports your position that none may edit others' materials? Do not answer on my talk page. I prefer all conversation in one place at all times for naked transparency. Rootology 16:52, 14 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Rootology, There are numerous types of content on English Wikipedia which it is inappropriate for users other than the author to edit in place (though the GFDL of course allows you to take the words and adapt them elsewhere): Discussion page comments, RFC summaries, Arbcom evidence and workshop proposals; just to name a few. Those are all "meta-space" stuff and not actual content, since Wikipedia is an encyclopedia -- but the nature of Wikiversity is sufficiently different that, at least to an outsider such as myself, it seems not entirely unreasonable for some projects to be structured such that some of the content has a specific author. Random832 18:59, 14 September 2008 (UTC)


 * And I understand that, Random. I'm unfamiliar with the specifics of the WV rules on this, for "content", which is why I'm asking if there is a specific policy or guideline that says authors' edits are sacrosanct, for clarification for myself. Rootology 19:07, 14 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Moulton, You said "unauthorized tampering with the scholarly work of others" but KC has clearly indicated the edits were authorized. Do authors in the academic world not have editors that propose changes to their written material before publishing? Random832 19:05, 14 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I have not enlisted her to edit the cases which I have prepared under my own byline and signature. She is free to write up her own cases or alternative versions of events, and she is welcome to put questions to me (and other scholars) in accordance with protocols of scholarly peer review.  All scholars in the Ethics Project are committed to responding to scholarly questions.  Since I am committed to answering questions on what I have written, it is inappropriate for others to alter my report, as that corrupts the process.  I cannot defend the content of my research if others are free to tamper with it.  —Moulton 19:28, 14 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Perhaps it was a mistake for your report and JWSchmidt's to be combined on a single page. Random832 12:55, 15 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Not at all. JWSchmidt prepared his independent investigation. I then read it and provided my commentary, just as it might appear in old fashioned "transactions" of yesteryear.  We do it this way because we don't presume we will come to a single unified account or analysis (especially since parts of my response are reporting personal knowledge or personal experience).  —Moulton 00:38, 16 September 2008 (UTC)


 * KC, as much as some people would like to claim it is, the "clique" or "cabal" that Moulton and others perceive to exist is not coterminous with the entire membership of the wikiproject. If you would like to propose an alternate name, that would be more productive than insisting on replacing references to it with references to the wikiproject. Moulton, the 9/11 towers imagery is blatantly offensive and I have trouble imagining that you believe that this would be acceptable in a real-world academic context. Random832 12:55, 15 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I cannot, for so far as I can determine, the only defining factor or parameters for "membership" change according to who is doing the lableing and the context. If there were some defining parameters listed, I might be able to suggest something. KillerChihuahua 17:25, 15 September 2008 (UTC)


 * The allied editors are not all signatories to the WikiProject on ID. For example, Raul is one of the allied editors who never signed on to the ID Project.  And three or four of them have since taken their name off, retired from WP, or simply vanished.  The main tool for statistical proof of allied editing is the new WikiStalk tool.  The other source of data is the many historical RfC's and RfArs where cliques, tribes, and other alliances may be observed over long periods of time.  ArbCom has conclusively voted in a finding of allied editing (see Finding 3E).  Such observations date back at least to the Ferrylodge ArbCom case.  —Moulton 00:38, 16 September 2008 (UTC)


 * At Ottava Rima's request, I grant him permission to move the above thread from this talk page to his, under the proviso that everything already here remain intact, and if anything is subsequently edited after the move, I have the right to alter, amend, or extend my responses accordingly, so as to maintain the illusion and pretense of civil discourse. Moulton 03:33, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

Current conversation
Moulton states he is speaking of "allied editors" who are not all participants in the Intelligent design Wikiproject; then states "cliques, tribes, and other alliances may be observed" - this is simply saying "they hang". That's not a defined group, that's a vague and nebulous association. KillerChihuahua 07:08, 16 September 2008 (UTC)


 * This has been extensively addressed elsewhere. See Fear and Loathing in Lost Vagueness.  —Gastrin Bombesin 15:00, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

Blanked page(s) at ethics project
To avoid an edit war, I put a DR on your page: Wikipedia Ethics/BLP, Ottava Rima's investigation. If you wish to immediately keep the content, I suggest to move it to your userspace, and you may remove the DR tag once moved to your userspace. I hope this was fair. Dzonatas 18:58, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

Mentoring
Hi Ottava. I think there are plenty of people here who will queue up to be your mentor! Count me in. Have you signed up for How to be a Wikimedia sysop yet? --McCormack 06:01, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Silly me. Yes - you have...! --McCormack 06:03, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
 * If you would be willing, would you want to step up and fill in any gaps in time/commitment that SB Johnny would be unable to cover as a mentor? I wouldn't mind having multiple mentors. Ottava Rima (talk) 12:13, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
 * In practice, mentoring has always been a village job :-). you should always feel free to ask questions from any custodian (or even someone who's just been around for a while). The mentor's role has primarily been to accept the candidate and vouch for them, and then to write the recommendation for full status after the probationary period ends. --SB_Johnny talk 14:35, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I would be willing to write up a statement for multiple admin to have the right to ask for my status to be revoked, and then also just have one who would write up the above. If you want the job to write up the above, and others to take more responsibility, or whatever, just state. I don't mind any which way. :) Ottava Rima (talk) 20:40, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

Ethics
How is the new, leaner, cleaner Ethics project going? anything I can do to help? KillerChihuahua 21:55, 26 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure. I'm in a slump and we are still sorting some things out. I'm still waiting for my FAC to close on Samuel Johnson before I devote a lot of time into something else. Ottava Rima (talk) 13:26, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

User:Moulton's didactic character subpages

 * Montana Mouse
 * Barsoom Tork
 * Gastrin Bombesin
 * Caprice
 * Albatross

He has been using these in fake sig lines on Wikiversity and now Wikipedia. I do not think it is fair for Moulton to use Wikiversity pages to make it appear as if he is an unblocked user, especially on other Wikimedia servers in which he is blocked. Ottava Rima (talk) 13:55, 28 September 2008 (UTC)


 * He was signing with those names and not linking those names to "Moulton". The point of those pages is so that when he signs with other names, he links to "Moulton". Deleting those pages does not prevent him from signing with other names; it only makes thing worse by then not having a link to "Moulton". If you wish to achieve the goal of Moulton not making comments while blocked, you need a different solution than the proposed one of deleting those pages. In short, while your concern seems valid, the proposed method of dealing with that concern appears poorly thought out. WAS 4.250 14:27, 28 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Suggestions are most welcome. One thought is to blank the page, post a notice that the user account who created the page is blocked, and then protect it.  I don't know if that is a course that we wish to take at this time, and I request that others comment.  There are a couple of things to think about.  One is that Moulton can not edit these pages while logged in as himself, and so the purpose of using the pages to respond to others is moot.  He is a blocked user who has abused the right to edit his own talk page while being logged in.  That page was protected to prevent personal information from being posted, which has required oversight.  Another issue is that he is giving the false impression that he has an active account at wv.  --mikeu talk 14:51, 28 September 2008 (UTC)


 * He is a retired Ph.D. in computer related stuff who has money and friends at MIT. He can get around any technical measure this community uses to try to block him, if he puts his mind to it. How much effort do people here really want to use in dealing with this? Some have suggested that WikiMedia needs to have some sort of useage of resources statement that would allow it to sue especially difficult cases. I don't see a solution at all as long as WikiMedia insists on "anyone can edit" combined with blocking/banning based on "consensus" as this does in fact eventually create a game where the only people willing to spend the time reverting blocked users' "contributions" are mostly motivated by the game aspectand the feeling of power. WAS 4.250 15:09, 28 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Money and friends are not what sustains Moulton. Moulton is sustained by an unquenchable passion as a veteran (if laughably inept) science educator.  —Montana Mouse 14:08, 3 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Another possible avenue to explore is filing an abuse report with Moulton's ISP. --mikeu talk 13:02, 29 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes, I would urge this avenue of redress be fully explored. —Caprice 13:13, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

(<---)WAS 4.250, you are 100% correct. However, it is insulting for Moulton to link to Wikiversity "profiles" while going around his block on Wikipedia, like he did here. Ottava Rima (talk) 16:22, 28 September 2008 (UTC)


 * It is only "insulting" if you take seriously claims that WikiMedia sites are capable of blocking/banning intelligent adults with the money to change ISPs and travel to various libraries and such. It can not. It can effectively block children and can ban people who want to play the wiki-game under an established avatar and so will willingly not get around the ban until they are allowed to continue playing the game. Anyone with intelligence and resources is capable of playing the game wearing the robes of the adversary in the wiki-game. I do not wish to play that game as either the adversary who gets his comments deleted because "banned means banned"; nor do I wish to play the role of the banniator going around blocking and deleting banned users contributions. I think Moulton is being childish, but I certainly am not insulted. I suppose he has time to kill and this helps him fill his days. I wish he found cooperation more fun than confrontation. I know I do. WAS 4.250 17:37, 28 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Moulton is engaged in the traditional practice of Didactic Education. I am curious to discover what (if anything) anyone is learning, and what emotions (if any) are surfacing in the course of the discovery learning process.  —Barsoom Tork 13:25, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

I can quickly and efficiently ban Moulton from this project if it is requested. Salmon of Doubt 18:41, 28 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks, but I think we'd rather have humans pushing the buttons for now :-). --SB_Johnny talk 19:26, 28 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes, I agree. You won't get an interesting through-line on the dramaturgy if it's all mindlessly automated.  So, as SBJ indicates, Moulton's cast of dramaturgical characters are required to engage with the other fluidic characters, so as to sufficiently elevate the issues above radar sonar to reveal the thrilling conclusion to the Chronicles of Wikia.  —Montana Mouse 13:25, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

If he were contributing constructively, it would be one thing, but, as can seen above, Moulton's alter egos are used primarily for his flat attempts at jokes, making them disruptive. The recent experiences here tell me that Moulton will continually push to see just how much he can get away with. As a result, I suggest the pages be Deleted as a step towards discouraging the behavior. If he continues, the custodians can work on the next step. Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 16:24, 29 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I call for a sober scholarly review of the didactic value of Moulton's use of Muppet-like character voices. How well is Moulton employing the venerated methods inspired by the famous pioneers of 20th century education such as Burr Tillstrom, Jim Henson, Shari Lewis, and Fred Rogers?


 * The use of puppet characters in educational sketches is a time-honored tradition. Burr Tilstrom pioneered it on children's educational television with Kukla, Fran and Ollie, quickly followed by "Buffalo" Bob Smith with Howdy Doody.  Shari Lewis, Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo), Fred Rogers, and (especially) Jim Henson used puppetry in a creative and appropriate manner to craft high-quality edutainment aimed at children of the late 20th Century.  I expect that some of our academically dry material can be usefully presented through Aesopian sketches populated by such Muppet-like players.


 * Moulton, the Schmeggegy Scientist has long used well-known character voices like Montana Mouse, Barsoom Tork, Gastrin Bombesin, and myself (among many others) to voice different perspectives in dramatized presentations of fundamental educational ideas.


 * Caprice the Flying Goat 17:04, 29 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Moulton has claimed he's using characters as a sketch/show. However, that's not what he's doing, so that excuse is worthless. He's doing the equivalent of pulling out hand-puppets in board meetings.  It might be considered funny once or twice (if there's an obvious purpose), but doing it constantly would be intentionally disruptive (or just nuts). Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 17:36, 29 September 2008 (UTC)


 * If you are going to posit theses like that, then you have an ethical obligation to support your thesis with evidence, analysis, and reasoning, and submit your thesis to scholarly peer review, in accordance with the academic principles of scholarly ethics. What evidence do you have to posit the thesis that we are not engaged in an educational discourse among Muppet-like characters arguing in the manner of Bert and Ernie? —Moulton 13:25, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * No, you're dodging by trying to avoid any responsibility for defending your position. Your characters are being used in an inappropriate context for disruption, not education.  I think you know it, too, as you have yet to give one reason for your use of them beyond the "sketch" excuse, which I already showed to be inappropriate. Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 19:53, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Are you admitting that you are not learning anything? If you would disclose to me 1) your personal learning objectives and 2) your preferred learning style and learning orientation, I'll adapt to your special needs as best I can.  —Moulton 20:06, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * You're still dodging the issue. Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 20:38, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * If the issue is your thesis, above, the burden is on you to support your thesis with evidence, reasoning, and analysis. So far you have failed to support your thesis with a shred of evidence or analysis.  Hillgentleman already called you out on that once.  Pay attention to him, because he is rigorous when it comes to supporting one's theses with evidence, reasoning, and analysis.  —Moulton 21:28, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I answered Hillgentleman, and you're still dodging. Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 21:45, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * His comment (just below) is that your thesis is an opinion and not a fact. You have stated an opinion, unsupported by evidence, reasoning, or analysis.  Therefore it has no weight as a scientific thesis. It is merely a flight of fancy.  You are entitled to your flights of fancy.  If you wish to act on your flights of fancy, you may do that, with the understanding that acting on one's flights of fancy converts a venue like Wikiversity from an authentic academic culture into a post-modern theater of the absurd.  It's your choice, whether you wish to convert Wikiversity from a venue of scholarly studies into a post-modern (pre-apocalyptic) theater of the absurd.  If that is your preference, then populating the theater with Muppet-like characters makes even more sense than it does when I use them in didactic sketches.  —Moulton 21:58, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * And you're pretty much back where you started: claiming that you use your characters for didactic sketches, which you don't. When you ask for evidence for something everyone is already aware of, it's just an obvious misdirection technique.  I'm not going to go in circles with you, because that's something you seem to enjoy, not me.  If and when you have a relevant question or argument, we can pick this up again. Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 23:16, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Science doesn't work that way, Sxeptomaniac. Your name implies skepticism.  In science, one treats every thesis with healthy skepticism &mdash; especially one's one pet theories.  And then a diligent and conscientious scientist tries like the devil to disprove his hypothesis.  What experiments have you done, per the protocols of the scientific method, to falsify your thesis?  —Albatross 23:22, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * (undent) Oh please. Why are you asking others to do what you don't even do yourself?  You act on assumptions, then play obtuse when anyone points out why you're wrong.  However, please feel free to prove me mistaken.  When have you, clearly and openly, admitted to one of your "theses" being wrong? Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 00:13, 1 October 2008 (UTC)


 * See, for example, this recent exercise in Hypothesis Testing, where I pose both the Null Hypothesis and an alternate one:




 * I then set up a sequence of experiments, trying like the devil to falsify H1. Time and again I created opportunities for the custodians to falsify H1.  Alas, every time, they firmly reified it, rather than refuting it. That's how real science is done, Sxeptomaniac.
 * Moulton 00:29, 1 October 2008 (UTC)


 * That's what I thought you'd say. Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 01:22, 1 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Keep unless he keeps defying the ban, in which case, delete. Emesee 19:51, 29 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Sxeptomaniac, The present problem is that Moulton is using different ip addresses to go around a block, not whether these pages are appropriate. That doing it constantly is disruptive is your opinion and is not a fact. I feel unease at your mention of "board meeting" (which makes me think of power, struggle and formality); for what we have on wikiversity is a Colloquium and what we do in a Colloquium is to talk and to listen to as many voices as possible.  Wikiversity is experimental and exploratory and using clearly defined alter-egos to represent different voices is an interesting thing to try, so long as the attribution ("who said what") is clear.   It may be funny to you sometimes but, as I have seen it, the point of any humour is not to be funny but to get a message across.   Before these pages on wikiversity these characters were on external sites and it was much more difficult to track "who did what" in any discussion.    Deleting these pages will not solve your problem;  it would only make it worse, for Moulton will continue to go around the block, linking his alter-egos to external sites.  Hillgentleman|Talk 01:58, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I appreciate your sober, sane, and insightful commentary, Hillgentleman. I sincerly hope that, going forward, your scholarly example becomes the norm here.  —Moulton  13:28, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I think you misunderstand my point. I never claimed that deleting the pages would magically solve any problems.  It's just a step in discouraging disruptive behavior.


 * Perhaps you've not been to many board meetings for small organizations. I've been to good ones and bad ones.  A certain level of formality is absolutely necessary, or all you have is chaos, and nothing ever gets done.  Process is necessary (as long as it's balanced with flexibility and not process for the sake of process).


 * The point of humor is not to be funny? That's got to be one of the saddest things I've heard in a long time.  Nevertheless, Moulton has frequently not been making any relevant points to the topic at hand, either.  The edit war we have going on now on this page isn't much better, unfortunately.  I suggest that only the off-topic material get deleted from this page for now.  Encourage him to stay on-topic and discourage disruption. Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 16:12, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Sxeptomaniac, let us resume our dialogue here. If this one also gets disrupted, we can move it off-wiki.  —Moulton 16:56, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Note - I just wanted to note that I put these up here just so that he won't be using our servers to link to other projects like Wikipedia. I would prefer that other Wikimedia projects know that we are not hosting his content so he can simply link back to it. If some other website hosts his content and he links to it constantly, I'm sure that they could be asked to remove it as it is part of his constant avoiding blocks and possibly harassing. That is all. The community can decide if they agree with my belief or not. Ottava Rima (talk) 18:00, 30 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I, for one, take issue with your system of belief. —Caprice 20:54, 1 October 2008 (UTC)

A Novel Approach to Feelings: Using Literary Characters to Teach Emotional Intelligence
From Edutopia, published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation...

A Novel Approach to Feelings: Using Literary Characters to Teach Emotional Intelligence

When it comes to learning real-life lessons, fictional characters offer a strategy all their own.

By Traci Vogel

"I've picked you to accompany me on the greatest adventure of our mutual lives," the character Claudia tells her younger brother Jamie in E.L. Konigsburg's Newbery Medal-winning young-adult novel, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The adventure Claudia is referring to is running away from home to take up residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but the invitation addresses young readers as well. Reading is an adventure, full of discoveries: new lands, new words, and new emotions.

That last subject, emotions, hasn't traditionally been addressed in language arts curricula. But in the past decade, spurred on by growing scholarly evidence of the impact social-and-emotional-learning (SEL) initiatives can have on classroom productivity and academic performance, teachers have begun to weave such lessons into their literature segments. Books like From the Mixed-Up Files provide a starting point for discussions about community building, handling anger, listening, assertiveness, cooperation, mediation, celebrating differences, and countering bias.

--More at the link-- Moulton's use of didactic characters to enhance discussions about community building, fairness, conflict resolution, and related topics in Emotional Intelligence is all part of the mix of modern educational thinking. —Montana Mouse 20:10, 1 October 2008 (UTC)
 * You're making up excuses after-the-fact, Moulton. The article describes a specific lesson plan, in which characters from a story are discussed separately from the reading.  It has absolutely nothing to do with what you've been doing. Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 21:27, 1 October 2008 (UTC)


 * See below. —Montana Mouse 23:30, 1 October 2008 (UTC)

Stage Craft: Taking Cues from Theater Class to Help Make Math and Science Fun
More from Edutopia, published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation...

Stage Craft: Taking Cues from Theater Class to Help Make Math and Science Fun

Why can't a classroom have the passion of drama or sports?

By Carl Engvall

I recently had a chance to read an article by Herb Childress called "Seventeen Reasons Why Football Is Better Than High School." The ethnographer spent a year observing students in a high school, noting the contrast between their boredom and discontent in the classroom and their joy and success on the playing field. Quite a few of the reasons he lists resonated with me as a high school teacher and drama director.

--More at the link--

I'm not making this up, Sxeptomaniac. I've been a member of the George Lucas Educational Foundation since its inception. I've long worked with other GLEF pioneers like Bonnie Bracey. —Moulton 23:30, 1 October 2008 (UTC)


 * So what? Does founding the organization make George Lucas an expert on education, too?  If you're going to pretend authority, you should pick at least pick an example that demonstrates some level of expertise.  You didn't.


 * Not to mention, this article doesn't describe the kind of thing you've been doing any more than the last one. It describes a structured lesson plan, and structure is the opposite of your actions. Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 05:58, 2 October 2008 (UTC)


 * GLEF has funded some of the most innovative professionals in education. But the use of didactic characters isn't all that new.  It goes all the way back to Aesop.  —Moulton 14:32, 3 October 2008 (UTC)


 * I see one fundamental problem with your approach, Moulton: You're not the teacher teaching the students.  We are all peers discussing an important issue to the community.  It may be perfectly appropriate to use "puppets" to teach in a classroom setting (or even the Wikiversity equivalent), but it strikes me as terribly condescending to use a similar tack with one's peers.  The Jade Knight (d'viser) 07:39, 2 October 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree that we are all co-equal learners here, each working at our own idiosyncratic frontiers of discovery learning. By the way, all the characters in the Muppet Factory are my own peers as well.  I learn as much from them as they learn from me, since we are all learning together, each of us at our respective frontiers.  —Moulton 14:08, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

Is this OK
Before this goes any further: Is the above an acceptable use of your talk page, Ottava? I haven't seen an indication that you're OK with this. Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 20:38, 30 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I rarely read my talk page and I don't pay attention. I noticed your tag in the recent edits and it seemed like you need an answer so - sure, whatever. I'm not paying attention. Feel free to do what you want. :) I'm not going to bother reading anything unless it appears to be something urgent that I can go out and do. You can contact me directly if you need me. My email is always available. Ottava Rima (talk) 21:10, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

ping
ping --mikeu talk 05:18, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

km's "Bill of rights" to "Bill of Rights"
Thanks for the suggestion. Can you please do that for me? km

You're up :-)
I assume you'll accept? Candidates_for_Custodianship. --SB_Johnny talk 14:32, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Congrats! You are now a permanent custodian.  Don't forget to update WV:STAFF.  --mikeu talk 23:47, 21 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Now if only my computer worked so I could get back to helping out. Its hard trying to use a tiny device to do everything while losing signal. I need my computer. :( Ottava Rima (talk) 01:11, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Trolling
You're just asking to get banned, aren't you? Please stop, it is not helpful in discussion, and is merely an obstacle to critical analysis. I wouldn't assume that you are being serious there, and it seems like "Look, I'm trolling WR, isn't it cute?" Well, it's not, and you should either be helpful and contribute to the forum's goal, or just not post. I thought you promised to cut it out, unless you do not interpret "apology" as a promise to stop, or you did not understand what I meant by "trolling". 68.96.213.118 07:04, 8 November 2008 (UTC)
 * You can disagree with what I say at WR review all you want, but it doesn't matter to me. It is obvious to people who look at WR that the moderators there are everything they claim that the admin at Wikipedia are, and possibly far worse. Ottava Rima (talk) 14:49, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

I disagree with many of the things that GlassBeadGame says, Herschelkrustofsky's rules about children, and some of the censorship that Somey, Gomi, etc. take part in, but other than that, they're pretty rational most of the time. More than the average Wikipedia admin...

Anyway, I don't think you are being serious with what you say, as every moderator at WR is not the same as the other. For instance GlassBeadGame, IIRC, had some conflicts with Gomi over whether Gomi should be moving arguments that s/he considered off-topic to new threads in the Tar Pit (correct me if I'm wrong, GBG). Being critical of Wikipedia is not something that is evil, and you are surely making it out to be. You bring up neutrality, but I really don't think that being blindly faithful to Wikimedia is neutral, nor do I consider it critical thinking. There are some good things about Wikipedia, such as that you can use it for quick reference (as I do) and that it is handy, but many people who run it are incompetent, and they are given a large amount of autonomy and freedom to treat other users however they want. There are so many other things wrong with Wikipedia. But being one-sided and neutral are incompatible, and IMO, so are neutrality and almost everything else. Being blindly faithful to anything is bad, and I'm not afraid to say that that is my opinion, and has no basis in fact (or whatever certain people twist it to be). 68.96.213.118 04:02, 9 November 2008 (UTC)
 * You can doubt my serious all you want. If you want to say that I am making disagreement against Wikipedia out to be evil, and that those admin are rational, please explain that (for example), when I state how consensus operates, I was accused of supporting mass murder. Ottava Rima (talk) 05:21, 9 November 2008 (UTC)
 * The Wikipedic manipulation of the word "consensus" is what Somey was referring to. The way Wikipedia is run, which is far from unanimity, mutualism, or agreeability, is like this: a number of high-powered users agree on something. Whether some did not wish to participate in the discussion, where what the powerful ones say goes, is irrelevant. If the powerful agree to make a proposal policy, no matter how large or small the ratio of dissidents to proponents, it is therefore made law. If some disagree, things are not negotiated, but instead people try to persuade the dissidents to bow down, "put up or shut up", to what the powerful say. If some disagree after the law is "agreed" upon, if that is what you want to call it, then it is their fault for having opinions of their own. From what I see, this is what Somey was trying to say, and you missed the point by focusing on his usage of "mass murder" as an example. The reason he probably used the term "mass murder" is because there is no choice to reverse something like that, and because some decisions are quite harmful. I thought you were not being serious because you did not seem to understand this comparison, which was not comparing the effects of mass murder to the effects of the Wikipedia process, but saying that the process can be, and is, fatal. I also doubted your seriousness as you never refuted claims that you were not serious, and my views haven't changed a bit. 68.96.213.118 06:41, 9 November 2008 (UTC)
 * "The Wikipedic manipulation of the word "consensus" is what Somey was referring to." I'm sorry, but there is no way to defend Somey's comparison of consensus to mass murder. Your continuation of such an argument is ridiculous to say the least. Ottava Rima (talk) 07:28, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

size matters
"When you go over a certain length, it makes it harder for people to keep up with what you are saying, and gives others the impression that you don't necessarily want to discuss, but just be heard." <-- I'm sensitive to this problem and I have similar feelings about this. There seems to be an interesting double standard at Wikiversity. If you are baninator-in-chief then you can do anything you like and never have to answer even the most basic question: on what authority did you impose that ban? If you are a member of the Ruling Party then you get a free ride for blocks and do not have to explain why you imposed a bad block. If you are a Probationary Member of the Ruling Party then other Party members will spring into action if someone starts asking you "too many questions". Things are so different for non-Party members. In my case, I've had a full measure of false and distorted charges thrown at me, but I've accepted the obligation of answering every one of those bogus charges, even though it is a sickening process that drains my precious wiki time. As soon as I started responding to this the Party Prosecutor sprang into action and tried to prevent me from responding to the false and distorted charges he had made against me. I had to move my responses to another page. Before I hardly got started answering the flood of false and distorted charges I was blocked from editing and prevented from responding at all. The false and distorted charges were then used to "justify" removing my custodianship. I was banned from #wikiversity-en with no warning, no discussion and reason given. It appears that you are perfectly happy with all that sickening abuse of power by the Party, but you need to complain to me that I give the impression that I "just want to be heard". We certainly do not want that at Wikiversity, do we: let people who are blocked and banned by the Party be heard? No, we cannot have that. "the sizes of some of your entries" <-- please explain what you mean by "some of your entries". Do you really mean "all of your entries that go over 10 sentences"? Is this another of the unwritten rules of Wikiversity that the Party will some day enshrine in Censorship Policy: "non-Party members must limit their entries to 10 sentences"? OMG! Did I just go over 10 sentences? --JWSchmidt 15:53, 11 November 2008 (UTC)


 * "too long, didn't read" <-- Thanks for your advice. I think this is one of the major problems at Wikiversity....we have busy 'crats who cannot keep up with what is going on so their solution is to delete, block, ban, intimidate and censor. It is a pathetic response from people who are supposed to be defending Wikiversity as a center of learning and scholarship. Just join the Ruling Party then you can eliminate anyone and anything that bothers you and you do not have to account for your actions. It is really such a time-saver for the busy 'crat. "help your audience" <-- the problem is that "my audience" is just those people who do not want to listen to me and do not want to have their judgment and actions questioned. I really feel I have nothing to lose by asking my questions...I know from many long weeks of experience that the Ruling Party has no intention of listening to me...they will not even let me participate in #wikiversity-en. When I get "uppity" I am just told to fuck off. It is really a matter of personal honor. I feel honor-bound to try to defend the Wikiversity project, even if the Ruling Party has the power to prevent me from being successful. --JWSchmidt 16:45, 11 November 2008 (UTC)


 * "I wish you would stop stereotyping or lumping people together." <-- What do you mean by "stereotyping"? I have describe and discussed the fact that a team of custodians has worked together, off wiki and in secret, to compile false charges against me and then publish those false charges on wiki in an attempt to "justify" blocking, banning and de-sysoping me. Sometimes I find it convenient to refer to this team as the "Ruling Party". Maybe you can suggest an alternative name. I feel that "Ruling Party" is a reasonable short description...I note that some Wikiversity participants are even stepping forward to proudly participate under the label of "ruling party member", so I am not the only one who finds this useful terminology. I have not lumped this team together, they formed their team and they continue to work as a team. I'm just observing and commenting on their activity...just my little learning project. Maybe I'll be able to move beyond the data collection stage and start Ruling party. "I don't rule" <-- some philosophers have made what I feel are interesting observations about people who, even just by remaining silent in the face of injustice, allow injustices to continue. I admit that I have myself often looked the other way when I have seen wiki ugliness. We all have to decide when we will look the other way and when we will make an effort to defend our principles. --JWSchmidt 15:44, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

Hey
I'm just stopping in to let you know I do still plan to contribute here; my time and attention has been taken by other things. Hoping all is going well here - KillerChihuahua 23:03, 5 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Thats good news! I'm in the same boat. All of my free time at the end of the year is hastily building Milton pages for his 400th on Tuesday! Ottava Rima (talk) 02:11, 6 December 2008 (UTC)

Reading groups
Hi Ottava,

Just contact me if you start a reading group.--Daanschr 09:15, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

I'm here
Where/What was it that you wanted help with?Balloonman 17:36, 20 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Right now, we have a learning project devoted to Wikipedia. Before, we have had various ethics projects and loose forums/discussions on many issues. Primarily, we deal with philosophy, proper conduct, and other important aspects. In conjunction, we have How to be a Wikimedia sysop. I believe that a strong, organized course of "studies" should be created based on experience working with those on Wikipedia that deal not only with understanding policies and guidelines, but in the application of such things. There should be an individual set up for each of the various administrative activities (deletions, images, blocking, etc). Mostly, it will involve ethics and application. It would be similar to what you and those like JulianColton perform now. Wikiversity is dedicated to teaching, and it offers various resources that Wikipedia cannot. It can also allow people to get hands on training as a sysop (after an agreement that deals with trust, background knowledge, and basic community approval), which Wikipedia cannot. Right now, too many people think that "common sense" or "anyone can do it" applies to RfA, which is why we have hundreds of admin who cause serious problems. Not only would source a program help create better candidates, but better users in general. Even if people don't become an administrator on any project, they know policies and guidelines in a way that mere base exposure cannot accomplish. Eventually, this can be expanded into understanding consensus, when to close and how to close, and other activities that are similar to what Bureaucrats or higher accomplish. In general, its to better educate through common experience all people, including those who already have admin status. It would also allow people who aren't admin (or who feel that they cannot ever be admin) to work on various issues and get an understanding of what adminship is in order to promote a greater understanding all around. Obviously, someone like Malleus would be able to get exposure in an area that he is locked out of so he no longer feels isolated, has a better sense of what is happening, and can more easily deal with issues when they arise.
 * But why did I ask you? Because you have worked in similar areas before and because Wikiversity was dealing with similar projects until they fell apart during a controversy that erupted during the end of last summer. Such a Wikiversity project would help bond Wikiversity and Wikipedia, along with the other projects and help educated people. Ottava Rima (talk) 21:42, 20 January 2009 (UTC)


 * They didn't "fall apart". The ethically challenged goons of IDCab destroyed them.  —Barry Kort 21:47, 20 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Moulton, as I explained to you constantly - 1. Their actions do not justify your own breaking of policies. 2. Using personal information in the way you do is completely unacceptable. 3. You were given a chance to prove your understanding of policies and guidelines, to talk about ethics in a neutral manner, and to demonstrate that you can fit in here without constantly personally attacking others and you chose to start a fight with other users. This three points are what ruined the previous attempt. I closed down that project because you broke your contract with me. Nothing more, nothing less. Ottava Rima (talk) 21:56, 20 January 2009 (UTC)


 * The behavior of the goons of IDCab violated every precept of scholarly ethics. There is no excuse for their outrageous, unseemly, unscholarly, and unprofessional conduct.  —Barry Kort  22:44, 20 January 2009 (UTC)
 * As I stated before, degradation of the human condition is not a justification nor an excuse to defy standards and act in an inappropriate manner. Ottava Rima (talk) 23:14, 20 January 2009 (UTC)


 * The only standards that were violated were the standards of scholarly ethics, which Jimbo and his goon squad from IDCab unceremoniously pitched aside. —Barry Kort 23:51, 20 January 2009 (UTC)


 * "Scholarly ethics" according to...? There is no such thing. Few "scholars" are ethical and seek to destroy each other through cabals. All of scholarship has become what Adam Smith feared and warned about. There is no ethics within the system, only exclusionary rules to get rid of free speech and thought promoted by those with agendas. Thus, your premise is flawed and inaccurate. However, there is a community agreed set of procedures that involve proper decorum and treating others, and your personal attacks and use of real life identities violates these in a manner that makes you unfit to be allowed to participate. You were given the opportunity to correct this behavior and you refused. Ottava Rima (talk) 00:23, 21 January 2009 (UTC)


 * The Course in Applied Ethics expressly adopted the Wikiversity Policy on Scholarly Ethics. All participants in the Course on Applied Ethics were obliged to adhere to the Wikiversity Policy on Scholarly Ethics.  —Barry Kort 00:42, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Wait, did you honestly just use -wikiversity- to as a basis for ethics? And yet you choose to ignore other wikiversity requirements such as treating people with respect? Selectively choosing aspects to agree with while disregarding others is directly contrary to the scientific method. Ottava Rima (talk) 03:53, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I was expressly invited here (by SBJ) to build a Course on Applied Ethics in these pages. I was expressed asked (by Hillgentleman) to provide actual cases studies of Ethical Conundrums from experiences at Wikipedia.  The examples I provided detailed egregious cases where Wikipedia admins (led by the now disgraced FeloniousMonk) had treated hundreds of scholars with profound contempt and disrespect.  —Barry Kort 11:40, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Outdent - An invitation is not a license to do whatever you wish. Instead, an invitiation requires more respect to one's host. You disrespected people who are part of this community and you still continue to use their real identities, personally attack them, and other such abuses without remorse. You were given the chance to move on, to show that you can deal with things neutrally, and be willing to start afresh. You declined. Ottava Rima (talk) 03:21, 22 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I did not "do what I wished." I did what I was asked to do.  I was asked to construct an academic module on the Foundations of Ethics.  I did that.  For reasons unbeknownst to me, the Fahrenheit 451 Book-Burners summarily baleeted it.  I was asked (primarily by Hillgentleman) to provide some authentic examples of real ethical conundrums from Wikipedia.  I did that (as did PrivateMusings and Dzonatas).  JWSchmidt constructed an independent scholarly review of these cases.  That's what I was asked to do (by the senior leadership here) and that's what I did.  And then I invited others to review, comment, and critique those cases, per the precepts of scholarly ethics.  —Barry Kort  10:46, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Please link where someone explicitly told you that attacking others, using their personal information, and doing things in which administrators asked you to stop was appropriate? Ottava Rima (talk) 17:43, 22 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Mu. It was the other way around.  Hillgentleman, for example, asked Jimbo to explain why he deemed my contributions inappropriate.  Jimbo failed to respond.  Then Jimbo deleted the page with the unanswered questions.  —Barry Kort 18:07, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't care what Jimbo says or do. -I- gave you explicit criteria. -I- gave you ample warning. -I- gave you unheeded advice. -I- terminated the project for you to prove that you should be unblocked across all Wikimedia projects Moulton. You showed yourself unacceptable to be brought back. You chose to continue a pattern of behavior that cannot be tolerated. You can admit it, recognize it, apologize for it, and move on. If you do so, then you can show that you deserve to come back. Otherwise, right now you are not accomplishing anything. Ottava Rima (talk) 00:51, 23 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but I am not your obedient servant. Barry Kort 00:56, 23 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I never asked you to serve me. You asked me for advice. I showed you the steps and procedures to get your end results. I worked hard to carve you out a path. You chose not to follow it. Ottava Rima (talk) 03:31, 23 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I have never asked you for advice. Why would I, a 64-yr old semi-retired researcher in 20th Century Systems Theory seek advice from an erratic and unseasoned 25-yr old grad student specializing in 19th Century English Literature?  You proposed a discussion on Applied Ethics, which I agreed to.  Then you pulled the rug out from under me, thereby demonstrating your own epic failure with regard to the fundamental principles of scholarly ethics.  Even as you clambered aboard the Jimbonic Jackboot Juggernaut as it ambled on down the Puerile Pogrom Parade, the scholarly content which you and others in the Evil Censorship Cabal were gleefully baleeting here was simultaneously being highlighted and featured on the Front Page of Google Knol.  —Barry Kort 12:51, 23 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Unindent - so, if you didn't want advice, why did you talk to me so many times about various problems you were having? Because you wanted to use me as some kind of errand boy to do your bidding? If so, that didn't seem to do you any good, now did it? Ottava Rima (talk) 16:16, 23 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I'm an educator. I routinely dialogue with those who exhibit at least some interest in learning and thinking about issues and subjects of mutual interest. I'm interested in your personal sense of ethics, values, and methods of ethical reasoning and analysis.  —Barry Kort 16:39, 23 January 2009 (UTC)
 * If you seek to dialogue, you will have to adjust your ways. Ottava Rima (talk) 20:16, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

Hi there!
Hey there Ottava. - UntilItSleeps 04:16, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

How to use R
FYI, I've restored this page due to: (1) the significant number of incoming links; (2) I think the speedy delete proposal needs discussion - there is in theory no problem with content on both WV and WB. -- Jtneill - Talk - c 23:36, 18 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Why not just keep any discussion about it on Pre-Statistics Topics in Math, Introduction to Computing with R instead? It doesn't seem like we need the page when we can merely use the WikiBooks with the above. Ottava Rima (talk) 14:40, 19 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Yes, there could be discussion there or elsewhere. But there were also several links to that page - feel free to tidy/improve. -- Jtneill - Talk - c 15:32, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

The vandal IP you recently blocked
I've tinkered a bit with his block--upped it to indef because I felt that he disappointed us when the expiration of his block gave him another chance, but also gave his IP the right to create an account. I've explained my rationale in the block summary. In addition, I've semiprotected Hitler's Germany because it seems to be getting more than its share of IP vandalism (see page history). What are your thoughts? --AFriedman (talk) 16:34, 20 January 2010 (UTC)
 * I think that works. I see no real difference between a year and an indef (interchangable, basically). I originally didn't put him up for a year because I only saw the few live edits and then noticed the deleted edits after. A semi-protection for Hitler's Germany would work, especially with that not being a classroom page with IP students. Ottava Rima (talk) 17:41, 20 January 2010 (UTC)

Glad you agree. I see the "year" block as being for people whom there's reason to think might come back and make constructive edits later, such as 10 year olds who are vandalizing the site now but may eventually grow up. I see indef as being for people whom there's no reason to think will be constructive editors, such as the editor who'd been given a long term block and was basically vandalizing as soon as it expired. --AFriedman (talk) 21:30, 20 January 2010 (UTC)

Hi guys. I know it may seem like IPs never change owners, but they really do. Please revert to Ottava's original block, perhaps with account creation enabled or perhaps not (I'd do it myself, but have no idea what the IP was). --SB_Johnny talk 21:43, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Done. Account creation and talk page are available with a note so that if anyone has the IP and they honestly want to edit, they have the ability to request it. Ottava Rima (talk) 21:55, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

Pmlineditor
User:Pmlineditor is now a probationary custodian and the mentorship period has started. --mikeu talk 13:18, 18 February 2010 (UTC)
 * By the way - he is a regular IRC user (using the same name). I will mostly be in contact with him via IRC. I will introduce you two if you haven't met yet. Ottava Rima (talk) 14:26, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

That page you deleted
Hi Ottava. Would you mind if I undeleted that page at least while the CR discussion is ongoing? It's actually published elsewhere so not doing much harm, and I was thinking about getting some opinions on checkuser-l for the CR (none of the other CUs are custodians here, so they can't see it). --SB_Johnny talk 12:43, 14 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I was told by a few oversighters that it was oversighted on other Wikis. I do not believe it is in within Wikiversity's standards to allow the hosting or linking to material that was oversighted elsewhere. Ottava Rima (talk) 14:10, 14 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Hmmm, veeelly interesting :-). I think that's a bit paranoid of them, but I suppose we'll keep it deleted then. The interesting thing (to me) is that you'd more or less have to already know how to do all that spoofing in order to make any use of that document. It also wouldn't fool most CUs... people spoof all the time (just had one on commons yesterday!), but rarely do it perfectly enough to fool us. --SB_Johnny talk 14:38, 14 March 2010 (UTC)
 * En ArbCom ruled that the material put forth by McBride was inappropriate content (the socking guide) and other groups have made similar statements. Part of the discussion I had before deletion was with various stewards and some wikiversity admin. Most agreed that I was right to delete but expected it to be challenged. As a side note, I have offered my resignation if Jimbo and the Board felt that I did not do enough to correct the situation. I do not believe Wikiversity as a system should be brought into question over the matter. Ottava Rima (talk) 15:13, 14 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Uh, I don't think Jimmy was trying to make any statement at all about you personally. Or even me for that matter: his comments on WV:CR are focused on the community and its policies. Ramping things up with Cary (who has absolutely nothing to do with any of this) really isn't going to achieve anything. --SB_Johnny talk 17:13, 14 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Jimbo Wales made a statement that the community did not do enough. Since I removed the breaching experiment from Wikiversity, then it is me, and not the community, that would be at fault if it was not done thoroughly enough. It does not matter if he acknowledges that or not. It is not a problem with the community. Ottava Rima (talk) 14:09, 15 March 2010 (UTC)

File:Vietnam War Memorial.png
Could I ask why you don't think this should be deleted and removed the request? Adambro 16:43, 14 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I talked to those who specialize on copyright at commons and they said that it was a federal war memorial and thus publicly owned land. The statue would not have a copyright on it. Ottava Rima (talk) 14:03, 15 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I think it might depend on the date it was installed. I'll see what more I can find out about this. If all looks okay then I'll move it to Commons. Cheers. Adambro
 * I'm afraid it does look like it is protected by copyright. If you go here you can find more information about it. Wikipedia also has an article at The Three Soldiers. Both suggest it dates from 1984.
 * Now, looking at commons:COM:FOP, it says "For artworks, even if permanently installed in public places, the U.S. copyright law has no similar exception, and any publication of an image of a copyrighted artwork thus is subject to the approval of the copyright holder of the artwork." It seems there are exemptions only for works installed before 1923.
 * Additionally I would note that neither the Wikipedia article or Commons seem to have any images of this scupluture which would perhaps add weight to suggestions that it isn't covered by FOP. This has been discussed, albeit briefly, on Commons at commons:Commons:Deletion requests/File:Three Soldiers Closup.JPG which resulted in those images that were on Commons at that time being deleted. The Wikipedia article also describes how the copyright holder successfully sued someone for copyright infringement.
 * It is my view that it is pretty clear now that this would be a copyright violation although I would welcome any further comments from you before I look to delete it. Regards. Adambro 14:49, 15 March 2010 (UTC)
 * It is owned by the federal government. All federal government owned statues and memorials are public domain. FOP does not apply since it is superseded by it being federal property. Ottava Rima (talk) 16:39, 15 March 2010 (UTC)
 * By the way, that deletion discussion was rather pitiful. Once it was pointed out it was owned by the federal government, that would have been more than enough. Ottava Rima (talk) 16:40, 15 March 2010 (UTC)
 * It surprises me that COM:FOP makes no mention of that if that is the case, that the statue is owned by the federal government and so it is public domain. That the copyright holder, Hart and the VVMF, successfully sued for copyright infringement would suggest it isn't. If you could direct me to where I might be able to read up about this I would appreciate it. Adambro 16:49, 15 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Freedom of panorama has nothing to do with copyright but fair use. US Government owned items (this statue, for instance) makes the copyright their own. As it says, "Vietnam Veterans Memorial" has share in the copyright. By having joint copyright, it makes it impossible for them to enforce a no image claim under US federal law. Ottava Rima (talk) 17:00, 15 March 2010 (UTC)
 * As I've said, that the copyright holder, Hart and the VVMF, have successfully sued for copyright infringement is a pretty definitive indication that this cannot be considered public domain. You've not really said anything to discount that and so I've deleted this as a copyright violation. Nevertheless, if you could help me understand how this can be considered public domain I would appreciate your assistance and we can discuss restoring the image. Adambro 17:10, 15 March 2010 (UTC)
 * The lawsuit was based on the creation of similar works, which fall under different rules from images of objects. Regardless, this was what commons people told me when I originally checked the image. You could go ask someone at the commons chatroom on IRC or at a commons forum. Ottava Rima (talk) 17:24, 15 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I'd be happy to discuss this with anyone interested. Perhaps you could invite those you consulted on Commons to take part in the discussion here or leave me a message on my talk page about this. Adambro 17:59, 15 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I haven't been able to get IRC access in over a week. My internet at home has been down while my work internet doesn't allow for certain access. To be honest, I don't think a deletion would really be much of a problem as the matter is rather old and unimportant. I'm not going to challenge it and you could always tell someone to get something on commons first. Ottava Rima (talk) 18:11, 15 March 2010 (UTC)

G'day OR
couple of quick things; - I saw your post on Jimbo's talk page, and fwiw, Sue's last name is Gardner, not Gardener - no biggie, but you might want to correct it, I guess. Also, I saw that Jimbo has unblocked me - as you can see from the correspondance detailed on my talk page, Jimbo has asked me for 'a complete reformulation' of any such project - my reading of your comments, and indeed the bulk of the community review, is that there's probably consensus to leave the 'howto' page deleted (per our previous chats), but to restore the remainder, with a clear note that reformulation is underway. I'm not sure about the best way that I could help with this (but I do feel quite strongly that it probably represents the best way forward from this rather damaging experience) - your advice would be welcome... cheers, Privatemusings 00:54, 25 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Fixed the typo. Anyway, if you want a reformulation, think past and not future. Ottava Rima (talk) 01:03, 25 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Sounds good (I think I get you) :-) Privatemusings 01:04, 25 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Jimbo seems to think you have a problem with being impartial if I have understood some of his comments correctly. I suggest finding some past ones that have not already been discussed by you before on Wikipedia. Think no prior involvement. -- dark lama  01:19, 25 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Or some that were never on Wikipedia. Wikipedia is rather boring when it comes to scholarship on it. Ottava Rima (talk) 01:44, 25 March 2010 (UTC)

User:RTG
From discussions on IRC, you seem undeterred from acting to block User:RTG despite a number of users expressing concerns about that. I'm putting it on record here that I suggest you raise this for discussion at Colloquium or a similar appropriate venue since you are aware there is opposition at this time to blocking RTG. Let me be clear on my position, I have concerns about how RTG has acted and remain open to suggestions that he should be blocked. However, I don't believe that IRC is an appropriate place to discuss this and it is a difficult environment in which to assess the points you have raised. If you feel that RTG should be blocked, please start a discussion so that the community can consider the specific concerns that you have mentioned on IRC more formally. Regards. Adambro 21:24, 27 March 2010 (UTC)

Mediawiki:Sitenotice
Could you add Pmlineditor's custodian nomination to the sitenotice and bump Mediawiki:Sitenotice id? Also, could you add to Announcements. -- Jtneill - Talk - c 22:24, 27 March 2010 (UTC)

list of contributors
G'day Ott - per our quick chat on IRC, and the comment on my talk page - I think it would be useful to have a list of contributors to the various deleted pages within the ethics project - if you don't mind bunging a log in here, I'd appreciate it :-) cheers, Privatemusings 01:23, 29 March 2010 (UTC)

You Welcome...
...really I haven`t made time to attend here, but this is the elder son...:) --Antur 21:19, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

File:Girl with poster 2.jpg
Hi. I note you've recently restored this. What licence is it available under? Adambro 14:06, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Standard author uploading work under GFDL when clicking save per the standard Wikiversity edit agreement. Ottava Rima (talk) 14:20, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Special:Upload made no mention of agreeing to release any uploads under the GFDL, not does it now, so I don't think the uploader would have seen anything about it. I'm not sure that assuming the image is available under the GFDL is a safe assumption. Adambro 14:32, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
 * At the time, the form was different. "Permission - Supply a short quote of the permission the copyright owner of the file gave you". By putting in "own" at the time, you were releasing it per it being your own work for use. That was the standard at the time. Any work that has "own" in the -permission- section is a release. Ottava Rima (talk) 14:35, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Was this standard documented anywhere? MediaWiki:Uploadtext looked like this at the time of upload which doesn't seem to mention the GFDL. Adambro 14:39, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
 * If I recall correctly, you or someone else was going to contact the uploader regarding this. Do you know if that has got anywhere? Adambro 08:57, 17 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Email was sent last week. It is the end of the semester so responses may be delayed. Ottava Rima (talk) 12:57, 17 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Okay, thanks. Adambro 13:03, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

Hi, Ottava and Adambro. I noticed this discussion of that image, and looked at the image page, and there is, there, apparent general permission to use the image per what was standard at that time. As was pointed out by Sj, there is no legal (or moral) obligation to delete files like this, merely because of the lack of what later became a more formal technicality, designed to make things even more clear. Sj pointed out where we should focus our efforts. Deleting the file will simply break some links, specifically links from a page that the uploader created, which seems a tad rude. We should remember that, legally, the site has no obligation to waste time investigating every possible copyright violation, but should insure that uploaders understand the issues so that they don't upload copyright violations, and, currently, files without clear permissions. Legally, we can wait until there is a take-down notice, but, of course, we want to do better than that, but doing better does not mean going back and retroactively applying new policy (unless there was a legal obligation).

Adambro, a suggestion that might save everyone some time. If you see what looks to you like copyvio, and after proper notice (which arguably this file uploader had), certainly you can delete, but if another admin undeletes, simply letting go, knowing that you discharged your own responsibility, can be very efficient. If an admin is restoring copyvio, and the matter is clear, that's another issue and should be resolved at a higher level. Ad hoc wikiprocess is efficient unless it becomes a time sink with debate. This hasn't really become that yet, and there was an important issue to be raised about these old files in general, and you are to be commended for bringing the matter up at the Colloquium.

If you need help tagging files, you can ask me. Obviously, I can't do actual deletions, but I can set it up so it's easy for any admin to find them and delete. I'll follow standards you set (either one of you, or both), and you can "fire" me any time you like. --Abd 16:42, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

Query regarding suggestions
Hi Ottava Rima, I hope you are doing well. ;) You had recommended two pages to use as a model, these were and.

Are there any others you could suggest that might be good to model off from? Thank you for your time, -- Cirt (talk) 16:20, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Off the top of my head, no. Those seem to be the best in terms of "religion". I guess that would be the suitable model. If those two don't work for you, you could do a "lecture" method where you set out objectives at the top and then provide referenced material in order to establish conclusions. That way, you could keep much of the material and just tailor it to a specific "learning objective". Ottava Rima (talk) 19:38, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Are there any good "lecture" pages to use as models? Or perhaps psychology related pages to use as models? Or history pages of controversial groups and secretive movements and organizations, etc. ? -- Cirt (talk) 19:43, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Unfortunately, our featured process seemingly vanished over the past year (it died down) because of some inactivity so I can't really find you anything new that easily. Your best bet is to probably try and create your own structure based on how you feel that you learn. Ask yourself: do you prefer guided reading? Question and answer? Small informative pieces? An argument building up to an answer? Etc. Ottava Rima (talk) 19:45, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Nod, okay, will do some thinking and mull over the above suggestions. Thanks! ;) -- Cirt (talk) 19:50, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Just drop a link if you want anything checked or the such. I've been distracted by some projects and the maintenance work about here, but I can devote some time to looking at such things. Ottava Rima (talk) 19:52, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Hello!
Thanks for the welcome! I've decided to gnome around the non-wikipedia projects, but I don't really know of anything to do but fix double redirects. Not really gonna be much of a big contributor around here, but I'll try and help out with cleanup! Do you have any idea if there's any other tasks that need doing? Audiosmurf ♪/♫ 01:05, 17 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Things get a little slow around here. I'd just participate in deletion discussions or some other related matters. Meta is just as slow. Ottava Rima (talk) 01:31, 17 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I suggested something above that could lead to improvement of administrative efficiency. Any user could tag problem pages or images or whatever, setting up conditions for use of tools, as a "clerk" working for an admin. (This would be done visibly according to standards previously approved by the admin. If the clerk encounters questions, the clerk should ask the admin, or possibly the community.) This would allow any admin to become more efficient, because it is much easier to look at what has already been set up. There is an obvious danger, so the admin should generally trust the user, at least provisionally, and should watch closely at first, but activity like this would leave an easily identifiable trail. In fact, if this is going to be done, it would be a good idea for the user to register an identified sock, and use only that account for it, making it very easy to follow what a clerk has done in that quasi-official capacity. The admin could shut this down immediately, and would have the right to block the clerk account without process or objection. It would leave a trail of edits that could be mass-reverted if needed, or semiautomatically reverted. I think the value for efficiency would be great, and it would be something that editors could do to prepare for adminship.
 * (By the time that the clerk is sufficiently trusted to implement the suggestions with hardly a glance, the clerk should be nominated for adminship instead, so that responsibility is clear.)
 * I see that WV has probationary adminship, which is a great idea, something that WP should do. But that's not what I'm recommending here, it's a pre-process to prepare for that, as well as to allow serving the wiki more deeply even if the goal is not adminship. (As I wrote long ago when I was nominated for adminship on Wikipedia, I had, and have, no desire to be an admin, particularly, and I accepted the nomination merely as a guest might accept a broom if it were handed to him while visiting a friend. As to what I came to Wikipedia to do, admin tools weren't needed.) --Abd 16:56, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

too quick on the trigger?
18 April 2010 * (Deletion log); 02:43. . Ottava Rima (Talk | contribs) deleted "Meissner Effect" (clean up) * (Deletion log); 02:42. . Ottava Rima (Talk | contribs) deleted "Talk:Meissner effect" (clean up) * (Deletion log); 02:42. . Ottava Rima (Talk | contribs) deleted "Meissner effect" (clone of Wikipedia article, started as a test, deleting as out of scope and test)

Ottava Rima, While I am not disagreeing with your deletion, please do not be too quick on the button and allow the discussion (which you have also deleted with the comment "clean up") to take place when the page is obviously not vandalism. Regards, Hillgentleman | //\\ |Talk 03:59, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
 * You can copy the discussion and put it at the colloquium if you want. I just deleted the talk page without looking because of the "delete talk pages without an article". The original article that I read (after seeing it in the long, as I check all the article histories in recent changes) was started as a test edit then replaced by another IP who just copied some from Wikipedia. I wish people would delete test edits as soon as they happen instead of letting pages just sit around in limbo with the IP's nonsense in the history. Ottava Rima (talk) 13:12, 18 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Notwithstanding the question of how I can copy a page of deleted content, you have completely skipped my simple and basic request - please do not be too quick on the button and allow the discussion (which you have also deleted with the comment "clean up") to take place when the page is obviously not vandalism. The community has elected you to do the mechanical task but not to judge.  --Hillgentleman | //\\ |Talk 04:03, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I assumed you were an admin but I never bothered to look. Here is what you stated:

Sj: "nice, but a slimmed version of a wp article" - why not? Some people may find it useful; others may wish to develop it in some other way. There is no hope for transwiki for wikipedia already has the article and it is not close to being a book. Hillgentleman | //\\ |Talk 02:18, 18 April 2010 (UTC)
 * - Ottava Rima (talk) 04:26, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

HELLO! LEAVE A MESSAGE AT MY TALK PAGE!
Hello! And welcome to Wikiversity], If you need [[help you can talk to my page, don`t go to the sandbox, I blanked the page--MikimoralMikimeral 20:52, 4 May 2010 (UTC)MikimoralMikimeral

account block
これらのアカウントの無期限ブロックをお願いします. *Gogochiben、Kanjy Kanji--Kanji 07:46, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
 * He was blocked for reposting vandalism. Please go to the Japanese Wikiversity if you want to continue posting Japanese content. Neither Japanese only content nor spam (in another language) are acceptable. The copyright infringment was also a problem. Ottava Rima (talk) 14:45, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

Strateegilise planeerimise konspekt


de:Wikiversity:Cafeteria

Short: This page is not in german.

-- MichaelFrey 15:36, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Estonian, then? I'll go to Beta. Ottava Rima (talk) 17:20, 5 May 2010 (UTC)


 * There is no need to delete. Just leave a soft redirect there.  Blank it or not, I don't care. Hillgentleman | //\\ |Talk 01:30, 6 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Um, why would we leave a redirect to a page in Estonian that was clearly misplaced here? That is just silly. Ottava Rima (talk) 03:45, 6 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Because that is a community work, possibly lecture notes or courseworks, and when the contributers come back they will certainly be confused as to where their stuff has gone and because I want more people to contribute to wikiversity and i want to guide all newcomers to become comfortable to wikiversity. By sitting quietly it doesn't hurt anyone except that you didn't understand it and you didn't even try to. Hillgentleman | //\\ |Talk 08:27, 6 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Doesn't work that way. Be happy that I gave someone the chance to import it elsewhere first. We don't do soft redirects to other languages based on mistakes. Redirects are for searched terms, the above would be infinitely improbable. I linked the users to the beta page. They are not english Wikiversity newcomers. Ottava Rima (talk) 14:21, 6 May 2010 (UTC)

Rename request
Hi and thanks for the welcome message. Could you please rename my project Human-like artificial intelligence to a more appropriate Model of human intelligence. It has two sub-pages at the moment. I just started the project, so don't be too harsh on me when you see it :-) Thanks, Robertvanco
 * Done, enjoy. :) Ottava Rima (talk) 21:45, 6 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks for quick response, Robertvanco 08:40, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Great Repeal Bill
This article seems to be used as a forum to develop party-political legislation proposals rather than any kind of tutorial. As far as I can tell it is was deleted from WP previously, and I'm not sure about whether it belongs here either. I'm not so familiar with Wikiversity (my usual hangout is en.wikipedia) so I'm loath to wade in if all is fine. Could you let me know if the page as it stands is OK? Pseudomonas 15:15, 13 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Feel free to bring it up Colloquium and start a discussion. I haven't a clue about the background or history of the page so I can't really say one way or another. Ottava Rima (talk) 15:45, 13 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I did ask about undeleting the article on WP, the deleting admin consented to its recreation there, because there are now better sources, but I haven't gotten around to it. Yeah, the page here is problematic, I've made some suggestions about how to make it more suitable for Wikiversity, but it's not happening, I think, unless I do it myself, wade in, so to speak. The editors, many IP, may not even be reading the Talk page. I'll probably get to it eventually. It just needs some structure, with, probably, NPOV coverage at the main resource page level, with proposals and the like deeper, as discussions. The WP page, if I remember the history correctly, was started by a British politician, asking people to make suggestions about laws to be repealed in his proposed "Great Repeal Bill." Because of the shift in government that just happened, there may be an actual proposed bill now. Wikipedians were offended by the use or abuse of Wikipedia by a politician, but it was an interesting idea. --Abd 05:28, 25 May 2010 (UTC)

Hello
Hey Ottava, thanks for the welcome! I'm really new to wiki-editing and everything (e.g. I just noticed you sent me a welcome message) but I think I am learning pretty fast. Anyway I was wondering what the general activity is here on Wikiversity. I would like to eventually make School:Chemistry as organized as School:Electrical engineering someday, but I fear with the current activity it may never become that good. Most of the posts on the talk page are from 2006-2007 and 2008. Few of the posts are recent. Anyway I was just wondering how active Wikiversity is. Thanks! Charcoal (talk) 01:05, 25 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Activity depends on a subject, to be honest. The most activity comes during the school year when there are classes using the project. If you want to get more people involved in a topic, the Colloquium is probably the best place to go. Ottava Rima (talk) 01:24, 25 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Ah ok that makes sense. I'll check out the Colloquium. Thanks. --Charcoal 03:15, 25 May 2010 (UTC)

RfA
Are you willing to list yourself as willing to mentor? Thanks... --Abd 03:58, 27 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the suggestion and support. I had to go to meta to Get It Done, but, done it is. Let me know if I screw up. --Abd 13:41, 9 June 2010 (UTC)

page imports
Wikiversity participants who actually participate in learning projects and create Wikiversity content should have access to the tool for importing pages from Wikipedia. I had access to that tool until a gang of abusive sysops decided to perform an emergency desysop procedure on me when no emergency existed. Maybe some day an honest 'crat will restore my access to the tools. I'm not going to wait around for someone else to import a page when I see useful content being threatened at Wikipedia....life is too short for such bureaucratic nonsense. --JWSchmidt 17:37, 11 June 2010 (UTC)
 * JWS, instead of holding a grudge about a perceived lack of "honest 'crats," and what happened in the past, how about going to the most appropriate place here, and asking for your tools back? It would be far less disruptive than, say, going to meta and trying to undo what was done by a steward, in a place where it could be expected to stir up all kinds of ... poop. There is no absolute standard for resysopping here; your tools were not removed as the result of a community decision, so I would myself consider suggesting to a 'crat that they look for no more than a sense of the community being more in favor of allowing resysopping than opposed, rather than a more usual supermajority, and a good 'crat will consider all the issues. I would think that a resysopping would involve examining the specific issues or actions that led to your "emergency desysop," if there were any, and if you made any mistakes there, something you would not do again this would be the time to acknowledge them. Or if you believed that you were punished for appropriate actions, then, by all means, stand up for them. But make sure you understand and can explain the objections, in a way that those objecting would say, "Yes, that's what we objected to!" I have no opinion on that, as to use of admin tools, I have not researched the situation with due diligence, and the community was under stress then, as you know. I have not approved of some of your other behavior since that unfortunate event, but would not consider that a reason not to resysop, if any legitimate issues around your sysop behavior then have been addressed.


 * Meanwhile, if you need any assistance with importing pages, you could coach me through it, thus, er, sheltering two birds with one stone. I don't like to kill birds, I assume you don't either. You can give me a list of pages, and perhaps write something in the sysop course here about how to import.... easy peasy, and I'd do a whole list of pages for you, I assume, or Diego will, the other probationary sysop, and you/we can set up an import request page, and we will have fixed not just your immediate problem, but the whole shebang for future generations. Is there a request page?


 * In fact, to make this all fast, look at my sysop request, and see if you could agree to something like what I did: i.e., you would consent to being reversed, ad hoc, without needing discussion, in any use of admin tools by any admin who supported you for resysop, i.e., a set of people, at least a mentor, someone or better some group regularly available. It was a sneaky trick to get support, think about it (actually not sneaky, quite open, and I will probably write something in my eventual permanent sysop application as a "call for recusal" procedure). With your long and illustrious history as a Wikiversity sysop, and your knowledge, and a reasonable response to any legitimate questions about your behavior, I think it could be done very quickly just like an ordinary mentored sysop request here, with a short comment period, if under a mentorship agreement. And if as a full, nonprobationary resysopping, it would take a bit longer, I'd think. For the welfare of the project, I'd suggest going the probationary route, it should cause minimal fuss and get you going with the tools again. I haven't noticed any difference between probationary tools and the "real thing" yet, and all the probationary period seems to really do is to seriously protect me from getting into trouble, since I shouldn't be doing what the community would not support anyway. --Abd 18:48, 11 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree. Let's create a Import requests page! ;-) --Diego Grez 18:51, 11 June 2010 (UTC)
 * We already have one: Import. Ottava Rima (talk) 19:28, 11 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I added the page to my watchlist and intend to clean it up when I get a Round Tuit, if someone don't beat me to it. JWS? How 'bout some wikignoming? That page shouldn't have fulfilled requests left on it, they should be archived. --Abd 20:21, 12 June 2010 (UTC)
 * JWS - I agree with the first part of your statement. I feel that import (and rollback) should be functions split off as in Simple English Wiki and allowed to be granted by sysops on demand. Ottava Rima (talk) 19:28, 11 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I also agree. A number of admin functions could be like that, profitably. Indeed, stuff like this, spreading out faculties where it's safe to do so, is part of my general wiki structural concept. On the other hand, we have probationary custodianship, so it's no emergency. I asked for rollback and you basically gave me admin tools. Clever trick to get me to wikignome. Worked for me, and I bet it would work for others. But if we grow, that won't be quite so safe. --Abd 20:21, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Bloom's syndrome
Arrgh. Saw that this new editor had created the page, looked at it, and it had formatting problems. Fixed them, spending way too much time, before I realized that these problems meant, probably, that the editor had copied it from somewhere else. Sure enough, it was easy to find. So I blanked the page and added a link to the original. I'd rather do that instead of deleting it, perhaps this editor has a special interest in Bloom's syndrome, perhaps has it or a family member has it. And participation by people like that could be highly useful. But it was irritating to put in the editing and then have to dump it.... And now I'm just dumping here, nothing to do unless you want to. Thanks for all your help. --Abd 20:14, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Copyright
There are a fair number of standing speedy deletion requests on images. Some of these appear to be for only technical reasons. Such as an author (originator of an image, or claiming to be so) explicitly stating that the release of rights is complete and absolute into the public domain, but not then specifying a specific license (which would actually be a lesser release, if I'm correct.)

The apparent policy page, Copyright_issues is very specific. And seems to be possibly more cumbersome than necessary, but this may also be something imposed from the WMF. We are not, as volunteers, obligated to enforce this, but there could indeed be a problem with removing a speedy deletion tag. I'd like to discuss this and make sure that policy is clear and enforceable without being a lawyer, so if we have to be very strict and start deleting images that the author may have uploaded or allowed to be used elsewhere, with no restriction at all, is not then, per what it says on the page, found and tagged for deletion as such, then, at least it's clear that it's consensus or reasonable. My opinion, as a non-lawyer, is that an explicit release of all rights into the public domain supercedes the specific license, allowing any re-use, including those that the Foundation is concerned about protecting. But we should have a specific template to use for that, so that it can be immediately identified and not dependent upon the individual wording that any contributor happens to use. And my interpretation should be cleared with WMF legal, or corrected. --Abd 16:28, 14 June 2010 (UTC)
 * As long as they public state with edit that it is released into the PD, then you can add the PD tag to the image if they did not. Any PD release cannot be re-licensed to a stricter license. PD images should also be moved to Commons. Ottava Rima (talk) 18:00, 14 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I'll follow that. I don't know if I'll move images to Commons though, Other Stuff To Do. --Abd 02:49, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Anything released as PD can be converted to fully privately copyrighted by the modifier if there is enough creative modification to it. That's why copy-left copyrights were invented in the first place. - WAS 4.250 18:54, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Only the modification can be copyrighted. The original document cannot. We are talking about original documents/files here. Ottava Rima (talk) 19:37, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

The invisible DNA
Hello Ottawa Rima; I am the finder of the invisible DNA and I am well desappointed with the presentation of my discovery on all the Wikipedia.Stéphane André Schmutz
 * Staphane, it is not impossible that you could create a learning resource here on "Invisible DNA," but to do so you'd have to be able to discuss it as a stable registered editor, it's complicated. Given what I've seen, and I spent quite a bit of time reading your web site and related sources, it's utterly inappropriate for Wikipedia, it's just not a notable concept, and there are few, if any, independent sources. Here, if you have some level of expertise or knowledge, or even if you just want to learn, you could cooperate with others to create some educational resource, even if the ideas are not generally accepted or even if they are quite fringe in nature. But you'll probably need to create a user account. If you don't now how to do that, ask for help! (I did find that you apparently did register an account at one time. Why aren't you using that?) Good luck. --Abd 16:55, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Electrical Engineering
Hello. I'm working on various things in math, science and engineering, and being as bold as I dare to be, as a new user. Many aspects of this place are much more confusing than, say, Wikipedia, with portals and lectures and schools and courses and topics.... This seems to be necessary, given what WV is about.

I work mostly on plain "articles", not being skilled in creating curricula, though my recent work in Intro Elec Eng is an attempt to be didactic. But it's still very confusing what the relationship is between "intro elec eng" and various other things. It seems that many people have created their own vision of what a didactic presentation of electrical engineering should be, with a lot of ground covered multiple times over.

Here's the point I'm getting at. I consider Intro Elec Eng and Intro Electro Eng to be HORRIBLE names! They aren't full words. I'd like to rename them to "Fundamentals of Electricity I" and "Fundamentals of Electricity II", suggesting, in my own immodest way, that these articles are where one should start.

By the way there is already a page Introduction to Electrical Engineering, which is a survey of the field (what the subdisciplines are, what the employment opportunities are, why you should get a degree in it, etc.) I think that page should end with something like "If you want to get started learning this subject, start here ".

Anyway, are the two name changes I suggested above OK? I've already moved a few files when the case for doing so was very clear.

SamHB 03:03, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Feel free to move to whatever name you feel like. If someone has a problem they will notify you. Just use that "move" option at the top. I don't see any problems. Ottava Rima (talk) 15:55, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

about courses
Hi! I'm new user on WV. I have got knowledge about History of Ottoman Empire, History of modern Turkey, Geography of Turkey, Anatolia, Middle east, North africa, asia, europe, america, india. I want to give courses about them. What should ı do? May ı open these courses? Good works... --Bermanya 15:24, 16 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I've placed a welcome template on your user talk page that should help guide you through the basics. You can open up courses on whatever topic you would like. Ottava Rima (talk) 15:30, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

Hi! Is it true? I will put on courses page. Good works... --Bermanya 16:17, 16 June 2010 (UTC)
 * That looks good. Keep up the work. Ottava Rima (talk) 16:27, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

Ottava, your messages don't come my message page. What is the problem? --Bermanya 16:40, 16 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I would have to edit your user talk page for that to happen. I thought it would be best to keep everything on one page. Ottava Rima (talk) 17:37, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

OK. I was working on Ottoman Empire. I wrote first lesson. May ı this page put on courses page? --Bermanya 18:10, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

OK. Excuse me for this problem. Good works... --Berm@nyaİleti 22:44, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Hi Ottava Rima
Discussion was about a new namespace to do stuff that isn't really determined as to scope. Proposals and such on the matter should go on Colloquium. Discussion should go there. Ottava Rima (talk) 17:00, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Hello!
Ottava, I would just like to say thank you very much for the welcome and everything. I am still searching around Wikiversity for exactly what I can do, but I have already begun a course that I have been wanting to teach for a while. It is called the Human Legacy Course. While I'm here, I had a bit of a question: When will I fully be able to upload lectures or audio files? I just signed up yesterday, so you can see how I am relatively new. Thank you very much for your time and cooperation! MrABlair23 13:35, 20 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't see why you can't right now. Just go to "upload file" in "toolbox" on the left side of the screen to do so. Ottava Rima (talk) 15:28, 20 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, but everytime that I try to do it, it always sends me to a page which states, "The action you have requested is limited to users in one of the groups: Autoconfirmed users, Custodians, Confirmed users." MrABlair23 17:13, 20 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Autoconfirmed status comes after a few days. Ottava Rima (talk) 22:30, 20 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Alright. I read the page and it says that I have access after 4 days. Thank you very much. MrABlair23 00:43, 20 June 2010 (UTC)