User talk:Simon Burchell

Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 23, 2016

Hi Simon, I'll start work on this one today. You nominated the article at WP:FAC. - Dank (push to talk) 13:36, 8 May 2016 (UTC)

OK - thanks Dank. Simon Burchell (talk) 15:42, 8 May 2016 (UTC)

DYK for Título C'oyoi

On 14 May 2016, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Título C'oyoi, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the 16th-century K'iche' language document Título C'oyoi contains an account of the death of the K'iche Maya hero Tecun Uman during the Spanish conquest of Guatemala? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Título C'oyoi. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Título C'oyoi), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

— Maile (talk) 13:11, 14 May 2016 (UTC)

DYK for Central Acropolis

On 22 May 2016, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Central Acropolis, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the Central Acropolis of the ancient Maya city of Tikal, built during the Late Preclassic period, served as a residence for Tikal's royal families? You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Central Acropolis), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 00:01, 22 May 2016 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 23, 2016

I've raised the issue with David that I don't think it's a good idea to delete images on the day an article is due to hit the Main Page. Personally, I don't keep up with image issues, and I don't know what the problem was. Do you have other images that might work? - Dank (push to talk) 14:42, 22 May 2016 (UTC)

Thanks @Dank:, how about one of the maps? Simon Burchell (talk) 19:07, 22 May 2016 (UTC)

Which one do you like? - Dank (push to talk) 19:08, 22 May 2016 (UTC)

@Dank: How about the one with the Yucatan Peninsula, with invasion arrows - it is then immediately evident where the events took place - I'm using an Android at the moment, so not easy for me to copy and paste filenames, it's about half way down the page. Simon Burchell (talk) 19:13, 22 May 2016 (UTC)

Looks like File:17th century Spanish routes to Petén flat.gif, I'll pass that along. - Dank (push to talk) 19:28, 22 May 2016 (UTC)

The image is relevant to the area's geography (the context in which it's presented in the article), but it provides no meaningful illustration of anything mentioned in the blurb (which, to be clear, isn't indicative of any problems therewith).

Please see my talk page for additional thoughts on the matter. —David Levy 03:53, 23 May 2016 (UTC)

Byzantine navy

Hi Simon! Regarding this edit, can you please point me to where it has been mentioned? As the main author, I'd like to see what it's about :). Cheers, Constantine ✍ 14:12, 23 May 2016 (UTC)

Hi @Cplakidas: - it was mentioned here on the Independent website. Best regards, Simon Burchell (talk) 14:15, 23 May 2016 (UTC)

Thanks a lot! Constantine ✍ 14:21, 23 May 2016 (UTC)

DYK for K'atepan

On 6 June 2016, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article K'atepan, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the small Maya archaeological site of K'atepan in Guatemala is said to have been the home of the Tojolabal Maya, a group now found in neighbouring Mexico? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/K'atepan. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, K'atepan), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 00:01, 6 June 2016 (UTC)

Reference errors on 7 June

Hello, I'm ReferenceBot. I have automatically detected that an edit performed by you may have introduced errors in referencing. It is as follows:

• On the Central Acropolis page, your edit caused a broken reference name (help). (Fix | Ask for help)

Please check this page and fix the errors highlighted. If you think this is a false positive, you can report it to my operator. Thanks, ReferenceBot (talk) 00:15, 8 June 2016 (UTC)

Books & Bytes - Issue 17

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 17, April-May 2016
by The Interior, Ocaasi, UY Scuti, Sadads, and Nikkimaria

• New donations this month - a German-language legal resource
• Wikipedia referals to academic citations - news from CrossRef and WikiCite2016
• New library stats, WikiCon news, a bot to reveal Open Access versions of citations, and more!

Read the full newsletter

The Interior via MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:36, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

TWL Questia check-in

Hello!

You are receiving this message because The Wikipedia Library has record of you receiving a one-year subscription to Questia. This is a brief update to remind you about that access:

• Make sure that you can still log in to your Questia account; if you are having trouble feel free to get in touch.
• When your account expires you can reapply for access at WP:Questia.
• Remember, if you find this source useful for your Wikipedia work, make sure to include citations with links on Wikipedia: links to partner resources are one of the few ways we can demonstrate usage and demand for accounts to our partners. The greater the linkage, the greater the likelihood a useful partnership will be renewed.
• Write unusual articles using this partner's sources? Did access to this source create new opportunities for you in the Wikipedia community? If you have a unique story to share about your contributions, email us and we can set up an opportunity for you to write a blog post about your work with one of our partner's resources.

Finally, we would greatly appreciate if you filled out this short survey. The survey helps us not only better serve you with facilitating this particular partnership, but also helps us discover what other partnerships and services The Wikipedia Library can offer.

Thanks! 20:25, 19 June 2016 (UTC)

FAC voluntary mentoring scheme

During a recent lengthy discussion on the WP:FAC talkpage, several ideas were put forward as to how this procedure could be improved, particularly in making it more user-friendly towards first-time nominees. The promotion rate for first-timers at FAC is depressingly low – around 16 percent – which is a cause for concern. To help remedy this, Mike Christie and I, with the co-operation of the FAC coordinators, have devised a voluntary mentoring scheme, in which newcomers will guided by more experienced editors through the stages of preparation and submission of their articles. The general format of the scheme is explained in more detail on Wikipedia: Mentoring for FAC, which also includes a list of editors who have indicated that they are prepared to act as mentors.

Would you be prepared to take on this role occasionally? If so, please add your name to the list. By doing so you incur no obligation; it will be entirely for you to decide how often and on which articles you want to act in this capacity. We anticipate that the scheme will have a trial run for a few months before we appraise its effectiveness. Your participation will be most welcome. Brianboulton (talk) 21:51, 29 August 2016 (UTC)

Many thanks for signing up. The response from would-be mentors has been most encouraging. Schemes like this are often slow to take off, and it may be a while before we know if it's working. But with this level of support, including that of many of our most experienced FA editors, I think it has every chance. Brianboulton (talk) 17:01, 30 August 2016 (UTC)

Books & Bytes - Issue 18

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 18, June–July 2016
by The Interior (talk · contribs), Ocaasi, Samwalton9, UY Scuti, and Sadads

• New donations - Edinburgh University Press, American Psychological Association, Nomos (a German-language database), and more!
• Spotlight: GLAM and Wikidata
• TWL attends and presents at International Federation of Library Associations conference, meets with Association of Research Libraries
• OCLC wins grant to train librarians on Wikimedia contribution

Read the full newsletter

The Interior via MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:25, 31 August 2016 (UTC)

Do you still perform spotchecks for Spanish-language sources?

Hello Simon! I was wondering if you still do spotchecks for Spanish-language sources for featured articles candidates. Thanks! Erick (talk) 22:06, 30 September 2016 (UTC)

Hi @Erick: - yes I am still willing to do Spanish-language spotchecks when I have the time. Did you have a particular article in mind? Simon Burchell (talk) 10:04, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

Yes. I have nominated Aries (album) for FAC which, like my previous nominations, has a large amount of Spanish-language sources. Thank you Simon. Erick (talk) 13:40, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

Latin American 10,000 Challenge invite

Hi. The Wikipedia:WikiProject Latin America/The 10,000 Challenge ‎ has recently started, based on the UK/Ireland Wikipedia:The 10,000 Challenge and Wikipedia:WikiProject Africa/The 10,000 Challenge. The idea is not to record every minor edit, but to create a momentum to motivate editors to produce good content improvements and creations and inspire people to work on more countries than they might otherwise work on. There's also the possibility of establishing smaller country or regional challenges for places like Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Argentina etc, much like Wikipedia:The 1000 Challenge (Nordic). For this to really work we need diversity and exciting content and editors from a broad range of countries regularly contributing. At some stage we hope to run some contests to benefit Latin American content, a destubathon perhaps, aimed at reducing the stub count would be a good place to start, based on the current Wikipedia:WikiProject Africa/The Africa Destubathon. If you would like to see this happening for Latin America, and see potential in this attracting more interest and editors for the country/countries you work on please sign up and being contributing to the challenge! This is a way we can target every country of Latin America, and steadily vastly improve the encyclopedia. We need numbers to make this work so consider signing up as a participant!♦ Dr. Blofeld 16:48, 21 October 2016 (UTC)

Thanks Doc. I seem to be really busy off-wiki these days, but I'll see what I can do. Best regards, Simon Burchell (talk) 12:25, 24 October 2016 (UTC)

Thanks.♦ Dr. Blofeld 18:11, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

Latin American 10,000 Challenge invite

Hi. The Wikipedia:WikiProject Latin America/The 10,000 Challenge ‎ has recently started, based on the UK/Ireland Wikipedia:The 10,000 Challenge and Wikipedia:WikiProject Africa/The 10,000 Challenge. The idea is not to record every minor edit, but to create a momentum to motivate editors to produce good content improvements and creations and inspire people to work on more countries than they might otherwise work on. There's also the possibility of establishing smaller country or regional challenges for places like Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Argentina etc, much like Wikipedia:The 1000 Challenge (Nordic). For this to really work we need diversity and exciting content and editors from a broad range of countries regularly contributing. At some stage we hope to run some contests to benefit Latin American content, a destubathon perhaps, aimed at reducing the stub count would be a good place to start, based on the current Wikipedia:WikiProject Africa/The Africa Destubathon. If you would like to see this happening for Latin America, and see potential in this attracting more interest and editors for the country/countries you work on please sign up and being contributing to the challenge! This is a way we can target every country of Latin America, and steadily vastly improve the encyclopedia. We need numbers to make this work so consider signing up as a participant!♦ --Ser Amantio di Nicolao^{Che dicono a Signa?}_{Lo dicono a Signa.} 00:52, 27 October 2016 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 19

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 19, September–October 2016
by Nikkimaria, Sadads and UY Scuti

• New and expanded donations - Foreign Affairs, Open Edition, and many more
• New Library Card Platform and Conference news
• Spotlight: Fixing one million broken links

Read the full newsletter

19:07, 1 November 2016 (UTC)

Interview invitation from a Wikipedia researcher in University of Minnesota

Hello Simon Burchell,

I am Bowen Yu, a Ph.D. student from GroupLens Research at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Currently, we are undertaking a study about turnover (editors leaving and joining) in WikiProjects within Wikipedia. We are trying to understand the effects of member turnovers in the WikiProject group, in terms of the group performance and member interaction, with a purpose of learning how to build successful online communities in future. More details about our project can be found on this meta-wiki page.

I would like to invite you for an interview if you are interested in our study and willing to share your experience with us. The interview will be about 30 - 45 minutes via either Skype or Google Hangout. You will receive a $10 gift card as compensation afterwards.

Please reach me at [email protected] if you are interested or have any questions.

Thank you,

Bowen

Hello, Simon Burchell. You have new messages at Bobo.03's talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

ArbCom Elections 2016: Voting now open!

Hello, Simon Burchell. Voting in the 2016 Arbitration Committee elections is open from Monday, 00:00, 21 November through Sunday, 23:59, 4 December to all unblocked users who have registered an account before Wednesday, 00:00, 28 October 2016 and have made at least 150 mainspace edits before Sunday, 00:00, 1 November 2016.

The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.

If you wish to participate in the 2016 election, please review the candidates' statements and submit your choices on the voting page. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:08, 21 November 2016 (UTC)

DYK for Beatriz de la Cueva

On 3 December 2016, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Beatriz de la Cueva, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that Beatriz de la Cueva, the first female colonial governor in the New World, died in a September 11 disaster two days after taking office? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Beatriz de la Cueva. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Beatriz de la Cueva), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

— Maile (talk) 00:01, 3 December 2016 (UTC)

DYK for Carazamba

On 6 December 2016, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Carazamba, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the criollista novel Carazamba may be seen as an allegory of the incorporation of the remote Petén Department into the Guatemalan nation? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Carazamba. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Carazamba), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 00:01, 6 December 2016 (UTC)

DYK for El Progreso Department

On 13 December 2016, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article El Progreso Department, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that El Progreso Department in Guatemala was dissolved 12 years after its creation, only to be recreated 14 years later? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/El Progreso Department. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, El Progreso Department), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 00:01, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 20

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 20, November-December 2016
by Nikkimaria (talk · contribs), Ocaasi (talk · contribs), UY Scuti (talk · contribs), Samwalton9 (talk · contribs)

• Partner resource expansions
• New search tool for finding TWL resources
• #1lib1ref 2017
• Wikidata Visiting Scholar

Read the full newsletter

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:59, 17 January 2017 (UTC)

Precious five years!

Precious

Five years!

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:06, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

Thank you! Simon Burchell (talk) 08:49, 19 February 2017 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Spanish conquest of Honduras

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Spanish conquest of Honduras you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Auntieruth55 -- Auntieruth55 (talk) 21:21, 2 March 2017 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for March 11

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Wikipedia appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited Alonso de Cáceres, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page Cáceres. Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject.

It's OK to remove this message. Also, to stop receiving these messages, follow these opt-out instructions. Thanks, DPL bot (talk) 09:56, 11 March 2017 (UTC)

DYK for Beacon Hill, West Sussex

On 12 March 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Beacon Hill, West Sussex, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that Beacon Hill, on the South Downs in West Sussex, supports the remains of a Bronze Age hillfort, an Anglo-Saxon burial mound, and a late 18th-century telegraph station? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Beacon Hill, West Sussex. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Beacon Hill, West Sussex), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Mifter (talk) 12:01, 12 March 2017 (UTC)

DYK for Blewburton Hill

On 18 March 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Blewburton Hill, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that Blewburton Hill in Oxfordshire features unusual lynchets of unknown age and function? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Blewburton Hill. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Blewburton Hill), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

— Maile (talk) 12:04, 18 March 2017 (UTC)

I amended the coords, for three reasons: (i) they weren't shown in the top-right, so I altered |display=inline to |display=inline,title; (ii) they were given to six places of decimals, which according to WP:OPCOORD, implies a precision of 10 cm, or an object about one metre across - so I altered it to three places, or a precision of about 100 metres; (iii) there were no type: or region: parameters, so I added them.

Do you live near Blewburton Hill? I live five miles away from it. You might be interested in a Wikipedia meetup in Oxford tomorrow. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 21:38, 18 March 2017 (UTC)

No worries about the coords - no I don't live locally (2 hours by train), I just had a day off work and went hiking out that way. All the best, Simon Burchell (talk) 21:41, 18 March 2017 (UTC)

DYK for Peñol de Cerquín

On 18 March 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Peñol de Cerquín, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the Peñol de Cerquín, a Lenca fortress in southern Honduras, successfully resisted the Spanish conquistadores for months? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Peñol de Cerquín. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Peñol de Cerquín), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

— Maile (talk) 12:04, 18 March 2017 (UTC)

DYK for King John's Hill

On 26 March 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article King John's Hill, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that King John's Hill, near Alton, Hampshire, is topped by an unusually small Iron Age hillfort, and is thought to have been the site of a hunting lodge of King John? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/King John's Hill. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, King John's Hill), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Mifter (talk) 00:02, 26 March 2017 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 21

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 21, January-March 2017
by Nikkimaria (talk · contribs), Ocaasi (talk · contribs), UY Scuti (talk · contribs), Samwalton9 (talk · contribs), Sadads (talk · contribs)

• #1lib1ref 2017
• Wikipedia Library User Group
• Wikipedia + Libraries at Wikimedia Conference 2017
• Spotlight: Library Card Platform

Read the full newsletter

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:54, 6 April 2017 (UTC)

I agree, but... what is the harm? 'younger then' list

I agree that one should not have to write to a list like that but if the change of a word that does not change the meaning of the sentence and removes a false positive which saves time for the editor working on that list; what is the harm? Thank you for considering another possibility. Bobdog54 (talk) 17:29, 12 April 2017 (UTC)

This is a classic case of the tail wagging the dog. The harm is the insidious creep of writing to keep the bots happy. We do not write articles for the bots/scripts etc. we write them for the general readership. If a false positive is being thrown up, the problem is not the article, it is the script, which should be amended. There was nothing wrong with the phrase as written, and rewording it is painting over the real problem. As for the list itself, it is effectively invisible to the normal readership, and by no means obvious to an experienced editor. There are potentially many, many instances where "younger then", with or without punctuation/capitalisation etc., is not a typo for "younger than". I would argue that word combinations should be removed from such lists altogether - any typos will be picked up by a reader sooner or later. All the best, Simon Burchell (talk) 08:28, 13 April 2017 (UTC)

Thank you for helping me to realize that I was being wagged a bit. Your considered response has given me food for thought. Regards, Bobdog54 (talk) 13:19, 13 April 2017 (UTC)

No problem - thank you for considering my response! All the best, Simon Burchell (talk) 10:29, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

DYK for Sagunto Castle

On 20 April 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Sagunto Castle, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that Hannibal sacked the Iberian settlement within the site of Sagunto Castle (pictured), an action that led to the Second Punic War? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Sagunto Castle. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Sagunto Castle), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Mifter (talk) 00:03, 20 April 2017 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Spanish conquest of Honduras

The article Spanish conquest of Honduras you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Spanish conquest of Honduras for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Auntieruth55 -- Auntieruth55 (talk) 19:21, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Copyeditor's Barnstar
	Thanks for copyediting Disappearance of Federico Tobares! Not sure if you have this barnstar already, but it is definitely well deserved. If you can, spread the WikiLove to someone else you think deserves it! Happy editing, ComputerJA (☎ • ✎) 22:35, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Thank you! All the best, Simon Burchell (talk) 07:53, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

DYK for Pedro de Portocarrero (conquistador)

On 12 May 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Pedro de Portocarrero (conquistador), which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that conquistador Pedro de Portocarrero founded the first Spanish colonial town within the territory of the modern Mexican state of Chiapas? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Pedro de Portocarrero (conquistador). You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Pedro de Portocarrero (conquistador)), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Mifter (talk) 04:23, 12 May 2017 (UTC)

DYK for Guaytán

On 18 May 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Guaytán, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that fragments of ancient Maya books have been recovered from the ruins of Guaytán in Guatemala? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Guaytán. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Guaytán), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Gatoclass (talk) 00:05, 18 May 2017 (UTC)

DYK for Spanish conquest of Honduras

On 30 May 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Spanish conquest of Honduras, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that infighting among the conquistadors hindered the Spanish conquest of Honduras? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Spanish conquest of Honduras. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Spanish conquest of Honduras), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Mifter (talk) 00:01, 30 May 2017 (UTC)

DYK for Spanish conquest of El Salvador

On 14 June 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Spanish conquest of El Salvador, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that during the Spanish conquest of El Salvador, the Spanish town of San Salvador was destroyed by natives within a year of being founded by Gonzalo de Alvarado? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Spanish conquest of El Salvador. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Spanish conquest of El Salvador), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Mifter (talk) 00:43, 14 June 2017 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 22

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 22, April-May 2017

• New and expanded research accounts
• Global branches update
• Spotlight: OCLC Partnership
• Bytes in brief

Read the full newsletter

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of The Wikipedia Library team --MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 18:35, 20 June 2017 (UTC)

This is to inform you that an attempt is being made to overturn an RfC that you voted on

This is to inform you that an attempt is being made to overturn an RfC that you voted on (2 RfCs, actually, one less than six months ago and another a year ago). The new RfC is at:

Wikipedia:Village pump (policy)#RfC: Allow private schools to be characterized as non-affiliated as well as religious, in infobox?

Specifically, it asks that "religion = none" be allowed in the infobox.

The first RfC that this new RfC is trying to overturn is:

• 15 June 2015 RfC: RfC: Religion infobox entries for individuals that have no religion.

The result of that RfC was "unambiguously in favour of omitting the parameter altogether for 'none' " and despite the RfC title, additionally found that "There's no obvious reason why this would not apply to historical or fictional characters, institutions etc.", and that nonreligions listed in the religion entry should be removed when found "in any article".

The second RfC that this new RfC is trying to overturn is:

• 31 December 2015 RfC: RfC: Religion in infoboxes.

The result of that RfC was that the "in all Wikipedia articles, without exception, nonreligions should not be listed in the Religion= parameter of the infobox.".

Note: I am informing everyone who commented on the above RfCs, whether they supported or opposed the final consensus. --Guy Macon (talk) 03:22, 26 June 2017 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Spanish conquest of El Salvador

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Spanish conquest of El Salvador you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Auntieruth55 -- Auntieruth55 (talk) 17:42, 4 July 2017 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Spanish conquest of El Salvador

The article Spanish conquest of El Salvador you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Spanish conquest of El Salvador for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Auntieruth55 -- Auntieruth55 (talk) 18:02, 4 July 2017 (UTC)

Toniná

Hi Simon, I do not agree with the archaeologists of INAH (I am sure, neither would David Stuart, Richard Hansen, Bill Saturno, Ian Graham, et al.) but I totally agree with you in undoing my revision.

Still, there persists a problem:

In the second paragraph, the last sentence ("Toniná possesses...") seems to contradict the first few lines of same paragraph (could a part be taller than the whole?).

May I suggest

• (A) fixing the 71m/74m controversy to 75m
• (B) replacing the last sentence with a new paragraph, ...

• either (B1) Toniná possesses one of the tallest structures (multiple temples and staircases built on the slope of a hill) in Mexico; at 75 metres (246 ft) in height, it is taller than the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan.
• or (B2) Archaeologists from INAH have defined a large group of terraces, staircases, monuments and temple pyramids as "La Gran Pirámide" of Toniná. According to this criteria, this would make it one of the largest pyramids in Mexico; at 75 metres (246 ft) in height, it is taller than the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan.

Note: I prefer option (B2).

Cordially,

Saludos desde Coyoacán CdMx, Wkboonec (talk) 07:43, 16 July 2017 (UTC)

Hi @Wkboonec:, there was a bunch of recent news reports about this. When it was first inserted into the page, my first instinct was to revert the claim of largest pyramid, but a bit of poking around backed this up - even though I think the news releases coming out of the Toniná archaeological project over the past few years have been over-hyped. A nice illustration can be found at news.com.au - and it wouldn't be the first Mesoamerican pyramid to have been mistaken for a natural hill. When I visited the site years ago, it certainly looked like a terraced hill, but the recent excavations seem to be turning this on its head - and it may well actually be a large pyramid with a whole bunch of stuff built on top, which has its own precedents in the Maya area, in the form of the triadic pyramid complexes of the preclassic. Putting an exact height on it seems problematic at the moment, given the varying estimates, perhaps it would be best to say "over 70m tall". There is no rush, and it might be safest to leave as is for the time being, until archaeological reports start being properly published, rather than relying on press reports, which may well be geared towards promoting the site for tourism and securing further funding for the archaeological project. All the best, Simon Burchell (talk) 15:02, 17 July 2017 (UTC)

Yes, Simon: Toniná is quite an extraordinay and impressive site, even without what I believe to be "extraordinary claims" (so far, still without the required evidence). I can't begin to imagine that the topmost temple-pyramid of Toniná is sitting under anything other than the hillside, aside from some cosmetics. I like to think that the INAH people didn't mean what came out on the press; and that afterwards, they prefered to remain silent and not try to clarify their statements. Hopefully, the hype will be of benefit for the region (you must be well aware of the EZLN uprising in 1994) and this matter will clear itself away, vanishing harmlessly.

P.S. By the way, if you haven't seen it already, you may want to see Richard Hansen's talk at the Library of Congress (2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE8BNer2H3k

Saludos, Wkboonec (talk) 03:12, 20 July 2017 (UTC)

Hi again. I climbed aboard Google Earth and flew over and around the temple of the "Espejo Humeante del Cielo" in "Zona Arqueológica de Toniná". No way there's a man-made 50-meter whatever under it. I don't think that Wikipedia should be stating those claims as fact - Wikipedia should, in any case, state that "according to INAH archaeologists, ...". Cheers,Wkboonec (talk) 00:47, 22 July 2017 (UTC)

Hi Wkboonec. A few points here - we don't need to say "according to INAH archaeologists", because this is already cited to INAH as a source, and is redundant. We must refer back to published reliable sources, and INAH is a reliable source, whether we agree with it or not - they have produced plenty of solid research - until we can find a more recent rebuttal of the claim in an equally reliable source. We certainly can't rely on a Google Earth flyby to source the article - which strays perilously close to original research (the dangers of that are painfully evident over at K'àak' Chi'). I think we should let it stand for now, in due course the archaeological reports will hopefully become available, and become subject to analysis and review. All the best, Simon Burchell (talk) 15:24, 22 July 2017 (UTC)

DYK for Spanish conquest of Nicaragua

On 22 July 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Spanish conquest of Nicaragua, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that within 100 years of the Spanish conquest of Nicaragua, the native population had been all but eliminated by a combination of newly-introduced disease, the slave trade, warfare, and mistreatment? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Spanish conquest of Nicaragua. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Spanish conquest of Nicaragua), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Alex Shih^Talk 12:28, 22 July 2017 (UTC)

DYK for Nicarao people

On 8 August 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Nicarao people, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the extinct Nicarao people of pre-Columbian Nicaragua shared many cultural traits with the Aztecs of Mexico, including their calendar, screenfold books, and human sacrifice? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Nicarao people. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Nicarao people), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

— Maile (talk) 00:03, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 23

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 23, June-July 2017

• Library card
• User Group update
• Global branches update
• Spotlight: Combating misinformation, fake news, and censorship
• Bytes in brief

Chinese, Arabic and Yoruba versions of Books & Bytes are now available in meta!

Read the full newsletter

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of The Wikipedia Library team --MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:03, 23 August 2017 (UTC)

Featured articles candidates

Hi there! I saw you listed under Wikipedia:Mentoring for FAC#Mentors, and hoped that I could ask you about three articles that have just passed GA. The real question is whether they have a shot at becoming FAs? They are all relatively short articles on minor subjects, yet cover all the literature on each.

1. Guilden Morden boar
2. Tjele helmet fragment
3. Gevninge helmet fragment

Thanks for any feedback! --Usernameunique (talk) 18:04, 16 September 2017 (UTC)

Hi Usernameunique, I will see if I have time to look at these later today. All the best, Simon Burchell (talk) 10:10, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

@Usernameunique: Sorry, I haven't had much time, I had a quick look through the boar article, I think it could use a paragraph upon the role of boars in Anglo-Saxon culture, but otherwise it looks very good. I see it is already up at FAC, unfortunately I won't have time to go through it in detail for at least a couple of weeks - but given the pace of review, it is likely to still be around and I will see what I can do to review it. Simon Burchell (talk) 10:35, 29 September 2017 (UTC)

With the Tjele helmet fragment, again some context would be good, a little bit about the culture that produced it, and the warrior class that used helmets. At the moment it seems to almost exist in a vacuum. The Gevninge helmet article is a little better in this respect, but still, a summary of who would be expected to own or use helmets in their culture would be good, and how common they were. The Gevninge helmet article indicates that it was a prestige item, so probably not that common. They are all fine articles, and the Gevninge helmet in particular could potentially pass FA with a bit of work. Best regards, Simon Burchell (talk) 10:39, 29 September 2017 (UTC)

WikiProject Women in Red/The World Contest

Hi. Thankyou for your participation in the challenge series or/and contests. In November The Women in Red World Contest is being held to try to produce new articles for as many countries worldwide and occupations as possible. There will be over $4000 in prizes to win, including Amazon vouchers and paid subscriptions. If this would appeal to you and you think you'd be interested in contributing new articles on women during this month for your region or wherever please sign up in the participants section. The articles done may also count towards the ongoing challenge. If you're not interested in prize money yourself but are willing to participate and raise money to buy books about women for others to use, this is also fine. Help would also be appreciated in drawing up the lists of missing articles. If you think of any missing articles please add them to the sub lists by continent at Missing articles. Thankyou, and if taking part, good luck!♦ Dr. Blofeld 08:49, 5 October 2017 (UTC)

Maya Astronomy

I put the comment in about American English because under WP:ENGVAR the article should use in the dialect in which it is originally written - in this case, American English. This can help when British English chauvinists come by and start to rewrite it as British English. Although this rarely happens, putting the comment in can help avoid this.

I know that many mayanists use the proleptic Gregorian calendar. Since this as an astronomy article, I hope editors will use astronomical dating. Use of the the proleptic Gregorian calendar and the Thompson correlation is a real nightmare for people trying to study the Maya calendar and Maya astronomy. The astronomical system of dating and the GMT correlation reflect mainstream scholarship on these subjects.

Also this is a rough partly-finished draft article so be patient. I'll get back to adding the rest soon. Senor Cuete (talk) 15:30, 20 October 2017 (UTC)

Sorry, I think I jumped the gun on that, and undid my edit. You're doing good work on it, and I'll hold off (and I'm not in the habit of changing established English varieties). I doubt I will get around to doing much work on the article anyway - I've long had half an eye on it, but there are plenty of other articles clamouring for my attention! All the best, Simon Burchell (talk) 15:33, 20 October 2017 (UTC)

I have all of the references about his and have programmed my computer to do the astronomical calculations based on Meeus, although I use a commercial program to study this. I've checked it and it does the calculations right. Checking the calendar conversions and dates of astronomical events in books about the Maya is a horrible experience. They're almost all wrong - a casualty of the proleptic Gregorian calendar and bogus correlation constants. I'll try to write a complete and accurate article. At some point I'll name the references, etc. Senor Cuete (talk) 15:58, 20 October 2017 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 24

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 24, August-September 2017

• User Group update
• Global branches update
  • Star Coordinator Award - last quarter's star coordinator: User:Csisc
• Wikimania Birds of a Feather session roundup
• Spotlight: Wiki Loves Archives
• Bytes in brief

Arabic, Kiswahili and Yoruba versions of Books & Bytes are now available in meta!

Read the full newsletter

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of The Wikipedia Library team --MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 04:53, 21 October 2017 (UTC)

Women in Red World Contest

Hi. We're into the last five days of the Women in Red World Contest. There's a new bonus prize of $200 worth of books of your choice to win for creating the most new women biographies between 0:00 on the 26th and 23:59 on 30th November. If you've been contributing to the contest, thank you for your support, we've produced over 2000 articles. If you haven't contributed yet, we would appreciate you taking the time to add entries to our articles achievements list by the end of the month. Thank you, and if participating, good luck with the finale!

Editor of the Week

		Editor of the Week
		Your ongoing efforts to improve the encyclopedia have not gone unnoticed: You have been selected as Editor of the Week in recognition of your collaborative efforts. Thank you for the great contributions! (courtesy of the Wikipedia Editor Retention Project)

User:MX submitted the following nomination for Editor of the Week:

Simon Burchell's work speaks for itself! 155 DYKs, 7 FAs, 22 GAs, and much more! He works extremely hard and is a team-player. He specializes in Mesoamerican articles (mostly for Guatemala and Mexico). He also creates maps and uploads free images to improve this encyclopedia. I've followed his work for years, but I first came in contact with him when he reviewed an article I promoted to DYK. Most editors will review an article without thorougly going thru it and copyediting along the way, but Simon Burchell made several fixes. And for that I appreciate him too! He's a pleasure to work with and I'm happy to have Wikipedia celebrate him for a week!

You can copy the following text to your user page to display a user box proclaiming your selection as Editor of the Week:

{{User:UBX/EoTWBox}}

Thanks again for your efforts! ―Buster7 ☎ 15:01, 3 December 2017 (UTC)