Monotonehell

Wikibreak

I'm on a semi-wikibreak at the moment. Due to real life issues. I pop in and out on occasion, I mostly edit anon these days. So sorry if my replies to your messages are tardy.

About me

I distrust editors who use exclamation marks in their edit summaries.
I do not trust those who use ALL CAPITALS in the edit summaries.
Don't even get me started on those who do both.
That's all you need to know.

. ;)

The ultimate!!1-11 solution to vandalism

This is a little note I placed on Talk:Main page after a few vandal attacks caused an onslaught of outraged comments. You may like to consider it...

Not really. But now that I have your attention.

Recent vandal attacks on the main page where an 'interesting' picture has been snuck in via unprotected subparts of the main page have been annoying at the least. Yes it's true. It was one or two lapses of concentration by admins who forgot to protect something that they placed on the front page templates. Admins are human, they do make mistakes. Everyone has been poked and reminded. I'm not saying that it won't happen again, but everything that should be done has. So leave them alone.

However.

What should happen when such a vandal attacks? Within minutes someone with admin ability spots it, quietly reverts it and covers the cracks that the vandal oozed in via. The vandal is blocked, defeated and deflated, they move on.

What does happen when such a vandal attacks? Everyone, their dog, cat, hamster and rabbits swamp this talk page with "OMG!11!! I'M OFFENDED!! ARGH! ARGH! MY EYES WTF!" style messages of outrage and indignation. The vandal says "HAR HAR PWND! I EMS TEH 1337", posts several taunting messages about how good they are and revels in the afterglow of their nuclear attack.

Eventually, within minutes someone with admin ability spots it, reverts it and covers the cracks that the vandal oozed in via. The vandal is blocked and moves on with a self-satified smug smile and sticky underpants.

People. If you get all up in arms about it, you're feeding the vandal's ego. Just let it pass. It will be reverted within minutes.

This has been a public service announcement on behalf of a (mostly)sane but (slightly) inebriated Monotonehell 16:30, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Opinion on FIFA2006 ITN debarkle

Here is a comment I put forward durning the FIFA on the front page debate, taken from the Mainpage Talk (since archived)...

Some people seem to be losing sight of what ITN is; it's a list of articles that have recently been updated to reflect current events. Not news for news sake. Relative notoriety isn't something that should dictate whether something makes it to the main page or not. Just because one event is perceived more popular than another doesn't make it more ITN-worthy. It may make it more news-worthy, but as has been said before WP is not a news service. In fact there's something that could be said for exposing readers to a variety of new information and new ideas. As long as the subject is encyclopedic then it should be considered.

We could take the Stanley Cup versus the FIFA World Cup for example. On my side of the world the World Cup is everywhere, while the Stanley Cup I only know about due to my rabid Canadian friends. Both deserve an encyclopedic article written about them. By that I mean a discussion of what they are, their impact on society(s), their history, specific events perceived to be important by their followers. The ultimate "winners" of each season could be listed in those articles but only as a sidenote to the article itself, not the entire season's or semi-finals results.

When such an event begins, and the article is updated with appropriate information, then it could be nominated for inclusion. Also when the "winner" is announced the same could occur. I see several people citing the Olympics and what occurred then. I honestly can't remember exactly what happened, but no matter, what should occur is similar to what I've mentioned above. If an article is updated regarding a sportsperson, event or other related subject with current event information then it could be nominated for inclusion.

Recap:

ITN's purpose is not as a news service
Relative notoriety should not bias inclusions into the ITN box, either way.
ITN candidates need articles with interest and content beyond "Australia 3 - Japan nil" ( GO AUSSIE!! *ahem* see? I like football too ;)

I suggested a name change for the ITN box a little while ago to help remove misconceptions about its purpose. We might like to reconsider this.

--Monotonehell 22:47, 13 June 2006 (UTC)