Wikinews:Water cooler/assistance/Archive/10

Interviews in the works
Chances are none of you have even heard of these people, but I've got a few interviews on the way, and want question ideas.


 * Tyler Kyte, was host of Popular Mechanics for Kids, now on Instant Star, and a singer.
 * Lindsey Cardinale, American Idol season four finalist.
 * Drake Bell, it'll take a while, but it sounds hopeful, star of the popular Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh, currently touring for a new CD, and he's a heart-throb to millions of teen girls.

Anyway, let me know if you know anyone with question ideas. -- Zanimum 17:34, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Not to steal attention from those 3 people (I love watching Drake & Josh [thats embrassing...]) but I've also put up a page User:Terinjokes/Interviewees. However I've got no questions for here... sorry terinjokes | Talk | Come visit the WikiBistro 16:15, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

User Pages guidelines....
Hi I am a newbie... If I follow the instructions for How to join user groups and add... /nowiki>

Then my User name gets put in the user category page as listed under the Letter "U" and not "S" for SriMesh.

If I change this command on the page...

...

to be this new command instead... then my user name SriMesh gets alphabeticized under "S" and not under "U" can someone retype how to do the additions on this page User directory for the user groups

I don't know what to do to this one  to get placed under "S". If I only change region to the right region and interest to the right interest, I get filed under "U"... If I change the wording userinfo to my user name of SriMesh I get a template thingie which is not correct.


 * Do what now? Can you explain it in simpler terms? You got me confused, it got all scrunched up... Thunderhead - (talk) Congrajulations to Kat! 03:24, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Hello Thunderhead, thank you, I will try again...

Go to 'edit this page' for the water cooler and then you will see my question without the scrunching. I would like to edit User directory but it will get scrunched again. Somehow when I follow the instructions for joinging user groups, the user names all get filed under "u" unless I change my coding to look like how User:Blast did their joining into user groups. So look at the water cooler page under edit this page, and see if it makes sense there. Several other Users are filed under "U" and not under the first letter of their User Name SriMesh (talk)
 * Oh, I see what you mean. Erm, the only thing that I can think of is using the extention somehow so that the namespace doesn't get counted in. Thunderhead - (talk) Congrajulations to Kat! 04:13, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
 * I fixed the template. Note that templates kinda of ugly and really old. you might be better off just doing .user:Bawolff 04:43, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Need a page moved
Hi. I cannot find where to request moves, so I will do it here; I hope that's okay. Portal:Apple Computer needs to be moved to Portal:Apple Inc. to comply with their new name (see )--68.17.227.207 19:56, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Just a second. P.S. to link to wikipedia, use w: prefix (e.g. apple Inc.) user:Bawolff
 * Maybe we should use just Portal:Apple as we didn't have inc before or use that on any other portal. user:BAwolff
 * Moved.--RyanB88 23:17, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

Need Help With Covering Bias in the Boston Globe
Hi,

The editor seems to be claiming that I am editorializing, but the problem is the subject.

Last week we had an extraordinary series of articles related to the ongoing Roxbury Mosque controversy, and I began discussing it with people knowledgeable in journalism and in Jewish studies.

They made two points:

1) the direct and indirect coverage was exceptionally biased (an analogous story was covered in Germany -- something extremely unusual in the Globe). One side is being scrutinized in microscopic detail; the other side is treated as a font of truth and wisdom.

2) the bias that the Globe shows in the broader context looks a lot like modern anti-Semitism as in developed in Central and Eastern Europe from the late 18th through the early 20th century, e.g., one side is publishing books and articles with titles that appear translated from anti-Semitic texts.

Now I suppose that in the aftermath of 9/11, I might not have considered Globe bias so newsworthy, but 5-6 years later it becomes so.

If I were editorializing, I would have addressed what appears to me to be a form of vigilantism that pursues a racist agenda under the cover of identifying suspicious terrorist linked activities. I would have pointed out that such vigilantism decreases security, and as a security expert, I would have explained how it does. I would also have offered my opinion that the growing association of Boston and Massachusetts with extreme Islamophobia is beginning to affect Massachusetts economically because potential Gulf and Saudi investors are no longer putting money into the Massachusetts high tech and biotech industries.

I did point out that there is the possibility of a crime, but that comes from reading the court filings, which referred to a conspiracy to deprive American citizens of the right of free assembly and of the right to practice their religion as well as my knowledge of civil rights law, which is fairly extensive. I do not know if there is a crime, but the lack of interest both by the federal prosecutor and Boston newspapers, where we have had years of litigation on issues of racial exclusion is also extraordinary.

The issue of whether Islamophobia is the new anti-Semitism is news because there is currently a lot of discussion in the media whether there is a resurgence of anti-Semitism against Jews, and the recent PBS documentary from my standpoint as an expert on modern Jewish and Eastern European studies was quite poor in the data presented, in the contextualization, and in the rather peculiar set of experts, whose opinions were provided.

So where do the editors believe that I am editorializing in "Islamophobia the New Anti-Semitism?"? I need some advice.

ThorsProvoni 08:00, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

copyright status of Image:Fidel12-6.jpg Image:Fidel12-1.jpg
Normally these would be unacceptable as there from a competing news organization, but I was wondering since its a state run newspaer would that be considered a publicity photo, as the newspaper would be used by the state for pr purposes (I assume), and also it might have been released under liberal copyrights as some state run things like that are. (I can't read it as its not in english). Anyways, does anyone know if these are okay? Bawolff ☺☻ 01:07, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I don't see a copyright notice on the site, and I guess it could be seen as PR... The only way to no I think is to send them an email.--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 21:46, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Double redirects
Apparently, my bot hasn't been picking up on them, so please do your best to fix some of the double redirects on Wikinews. ★ MESSED ROCKER ★  02:41, 6 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Ok. When I have some free time, I will get to work on this. — F e  llow  Wiki  News   (W)   (sign here!)  17:46, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Need WikiNews Contact for Wikimedia Foundation
Hi this is Sandy from the Wikimedia Foundation. A student journalist in Brazil is doing research on new types of journalism. She wants to know if it can be classified as participatory journalism, citizen journalism, open source journalism, etc. And she would appreciate talking to someone from this project. If you are intersted, please email at sordonez@wikimedia.org. Thanks :)
 * irc perhaps. Bawolff ☺☻ 23:41, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Sinkhole swallows twelve houses in Guatemala‎
Can we use an image from here? There is no copyright notice, so I assume that we can use it. — F e  llow  Wiki  News   (W)   (sign here!)  19:46, 5 March 2007 (UTC)
 * nope. no copyright notice does not mean no copyright. the photos appear to be shot by this flickr user. have tried to contact this person, but no response so far. &mdash; Doldrums(talk) 19:58, 5 March 2007 (UTC)
 * holy crap that's scary. Doldrum's is correct unfortunately. No copyright notice means all rights reserved. Bawolff ☺☻ 00:09, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
 * I read the article and it didn't sound that bad. But when I seen the photos I was amazed. That's the reason why we should use a photo for this article. — F e  llow  Wiki  News   (W)   (sign here!)  16:50, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
 * if you want to know more, there's a place to ask: Broken stormwater drain led to Guatemala sinkhole. &mdash; Doldrums(talk) 16:53, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Prince Harry
Along the same kinda lines as above are we allowed to use this image for the prince harry artical as i cant find a suitable image on commons.--MarkieTalk 20:18, 5 March 2007 (UTC)


 * The link isn't working, but I'd say no, based on this. The article is good like that, we know what he lookes like right?--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 20:56, 5 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Well surely we are media as shown in this:

reproduction of text extracts for the purpose of reporting such written material in news publications (in any media)provided that the material is reproduced accurately and not in a way that could confuse or mislead others and the source of the material is acknowledged. so we could use it??--MarkieTalk 21:09, 5 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Yes as a gol image. use &#123;{pgol|URL}}, however a free image is highly preferred. (Note this may change soon). However i don't see that line in the copyright notice. Also depending on context image may be publicity. Bawolff ☺☻ 00:12, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
 * copyright notice on the website sez, "Copyright in all photographs on the site belongs to Empics unless otherwise stated. Photographs may not be copied, used or reproduced by any means or in any format (including other web sites) without the prior permission of the copyright holder. To obtain copies of the photographs please contact Empics on +44 (0)151 844 7447 or e-mail on info@empics.com." &mdash; Doldrums(talk) 04:19, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

replacing olympic rings images
Please replace the Image:Olympische Ringe.svg with Image:Olympic flag.svg. As the firt one will be deleted on Commons.

The image is used on:


 * Day 2 Results - Olympic Winter Games
 * Day 4 Results - Olympic Winter Games
 * Day 5 Results - Olympic Winter Games
 * Day 6 Results - Olympic Winter Games
 * Day 7 Results - Olympic Winter Games

--ALE! 14:52, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

I think this image has already been changed by a bot. I will try and find the log entries for you.--MarkieTalk 14:58, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Oops sorry im wrong it only seemed to change a few --MarkieTalk 15:01, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
 * I've corrected them, the Commons bot can't change protected pages. --Brian McNeil / talk 15:03, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
 * What bot are we talking about? Can you give me the name? --ALE! 13:33, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

replacing image
Please replace in KLM flight to Mexico sent back by U.S. Homeland Security, inquiry follows the seal image with image:US-DeptOfHomelandSecurity-Seal.png --ALE! 13:35, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Done. I assume you ment to replace it with the new vector scaled image.--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 13:45, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
 * of course. Sorry --ALE! 10:27, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Sports coverage
I've created a project page, Sports coverage, for our sports writers (there seems to be quite a few at the moment). If you spot someone doing sports writing make sure they know about the page. Also take a look and make some suggestions on how the sports portal can be arranged. Looking at Portal:Football I'd say these guys are talented and we want to keep them around and help them out. --Brian McNeil / talk 20:58, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

Youth Parliament help
I am planning on becoming a press gallery member at the youth parliament in New Zealand this year. And to enter I can submit some, or one (not sure) of my article(s) I have written.

I need help with this, as I am not sure on which ones are my best ones, etc. I have selected Wikinews exclusive: 'speed not behind New Zealand's road toll', Minimum wage to be increased in New Zealand, Apple launches iTunes in New Zealand, A1 Grand Prix Taupo, New Zealand results, and New Zealand ex-politician gives valedictory speech. But those are just some, I haven't really looked at all of them, and that is why I am asking for your help.

A full list of the articles I have written, or contributed significantly, is here: User:Nzgabriel/Article list.

For more information about New Zealand's youth parliament and becoming one of youth parliament's press gallery member, see this website: http://www.myd.govt.nz/ayv/youthparliament/youthparliament.aspx. --Nzgabriel | Talk 06:26, 14 March 2007 (UTC)


 * I wouldn't chose Wikinews exclusive: 'speed not behind New Zealand's road toll': the opinion of those people is possibly controversial although I can agree on the need to be more evidence-based... also the fifth paragraph needs re-writing (problem with commas and capital letters). If you'd have to chose between the others, maybe the minimum wage and ex-politician stories are the most relevant for a youth parliament event.--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 15:52, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your opinion, I threw the execlusive on in based purely on the face that it was, well, an, er, exclusive. --Nzgabriel | Talk 20:15, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
 * If no one else is going to come into this discussion, then my decision is to submit the article of Don Brash giving his valedictory speech. --Nzgabriel | Talk 07:54, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

A message from Commons - replace images
Please replace the Croatian flag in Hungary rebukes other EU members for their negative stance towards Croatia with image:Flag of Croatia.svg. --ALE! 10:27, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Please also replace the Taiwan flag in China and Taiwan react to "326" rally, 2005/March/25, and 2005/March/15 with Image:Flag of the Republic of China.svg. --ALE! 10:51, 19 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Done.--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 12:04, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

A message from Commons - replace images - new request 1
Please also replace the computer icon in Net skills to be taught by kids with Image:Computer-aj aj ashton 01.svg. --ALE! 16:40, 21 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Done.--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 14:43, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Spamlinks on a protected article
Can someone with admin rights please revert Pfizer and Microsoft team up against Viagra spam - the last edit was an addition of spam links (how fitting!), and now the article is protected so I cannot fix it myself. And please also remove the inclusion of that deleted image while you're at it. Ahoerstemeier 16:24, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Done and done. --Brian McNeil / talk 16:27, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Top ranking UK chat site suspected by users of having paedophiles
Can the subject matter not be original reporting? The bulk of the material relating to the incident was destroyed by the UKCB Administration Team. All they use to talk about such issues is their own forums, of which information was grabbed before it was removed. 88.107.231.137 13:38, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Republican Candidate
Hello. I requested some help last night but no one got back to me. I would like to know if this news tip will be good to make a wikinews article - if not, then I know. News Tip and Website were I found the information. 65.43.22.201 05:41, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
 * i'd earlier replied on your user talk page. creating an account will make it easier to communicate with you. –Doldrums(talk) 06:16, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Wikicast- News Coverage.
Help Wanted :

2-3 Interested people to record a digest of stories from Wikinews and other 'free' news sources (like WP:ITN) for use on WikiCast.

Initally a 15 min slot has been reserved, but if there is interest this could be extended.

Anyone interested in this should get in touch with me ShakespeareFan00 over on the WikiCast wiki. ShakespeareFan00 10:15, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Shooting at Virginia Tech college in USA; at least 33 dead
This article: Shooting at Virginia Tech college in USA; at least 33 dead is out of control. There does not seem to be enough credible editors at this hour to handle to unsourced edits and vandals. Should it have been at least semi-protected? --SVTCobra 02:06, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I think that it is long enough past the incident to make a minor protect for at least 5 hours or so. DragonFire1024 02:07, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I am not an admin, so I can't do it. Also, there is so much info and so many sources it would take a long time to sort out. I can't do it. It's near my bed-time. --SVTCobra 02:12, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
 * The "External links" section is a nightmare. --SVTCobra 02:18, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Bawolff protected it...for external links or sources, all sources that are used in the article should stay in the section unless they are repeats of other sources...DragonFire1024 02:21, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I know, that's why I didn't just remove them although WN:SG frowns upon "External links" --SVTCobra 02:27, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Participatory Journalism Questions
Hello. My name is Lisa, and I was wondering if the administrators of WikiNews could possibly answer a few questions for me.

I'm a journalism major at the University of Iowa, and I am currently taking a course on Participatory Journalism. We have studied various forms of Citizen journalism online, and the website that I have been analyzing is Wikinews.

If any of the administrators feel like answering my questions, I'd be most appreciative.


 * 1) What was the original premise behind the idea when Wikinews was first created?
 * 2) Has the evolution of Wikinews held to the original idea?
 * 3) Are most of your users citizens, or reporters and journalists?
 * 4) What are the revenue sources of Wikinews?
 * 5) Do you consider the articles on Wikinews to be 'journalism'? What is the difference between what is done on Wikinews and more traditional media journalism?
 * 6) Why is it important that citizens have places like Wikinews to participate?

Thank you very much for your time! Feel free to answer any of my questions that you feel comfortable with. Thanks again!

-Lisa, University of Iowa Journalism Major.


 * Hi Lisa,


 * I'm a relatively new admin here on the site, I'm sure that others with more experience will answer your questions in greater detail. Just some answers to start off:
 * See our mission statement and original manifesto.
 * I think it has, for the greater part. Neutrality remains a problem, in my eyes, simply because the editor population on Wikinews is not heterogeneous enough, we still are biased towards progressiveness, tolerance, disapproval and value judgements over human rights violations etc. You can say that's a good thing, but it's clearly not neutral. Or as an editor asked somewhere: "Where is the last pro-Bush article we have recently written?" I hope there is no pro-Bush article, because we should write neither pro- nor contra-Bush; but merely due to the selection of stories, the contra side is more favoured, I think.
 * I think 98% are citizens with an interest for news. Some of us have relevant experience with news, e.g. true the school paper or other affiliations with citizen journalism, but most don't and are just here because it's fun, useful, you learn something... Sometimes we do original reporting as citizen journalists, which can sometimes result in great quality (which you can admire at our featured article list).
 * Wikinews is financed by the Wikimedia Foundation, and as such we are supported by donations. Some of the greater donators you can find here. This is very important: we are free of advertising, and not influenced by our sponsors. There is no editor-in-chief who decides what stories we should have more or less.
 * Yes, I consider it to be 100% journalism. This is obvious when we do original reporting, but even if you compare other good stories with their sources, you'll find that the quality is sometimes equal, but always free and more neutral. As I see it, we are doing a great job with less money and despite our lack of training in and experience with journalism (compared to normal journalists).
 * Good question. I don't think many people will spontaneously feel the urge to write news; most people just watch the news on tv or listen to the radio, and are happy with it. What I have learned from working here on Wikinews is that first of all, we are not critical enough of the media, and we should, especially of the lesser-quality newspapers for example. When I do original reporting, and I compare my story with the equivalent in the local pages of the big newspapers here in Belgium, I notice that (a) their articles are a lot shorter, and (b) it often contains factual inaccuracies. I think this is because the reporters covering those local stories don't put enough energy into it: for them, it's just another story like they see every day, they're not interested any more in the details, for them a cute picture and a nice quote are enough.
 * By working here I've become more aware of the processes behind the news, the pitfalls, where to find quality, etc. I find it very enriching to actively participate in the news instead of just swallowing without thinking.
 * Plus, you become a lot more aware of your surrounding. When I see a camera crew in my neighbourhood, I follow them to find out what's going on. I look for press releases and subscribe to mailing lists to stay in touch with events around me, which is nice, I think.
 * So, maybe there's not really a need for participation, but individuals can really gain from getting involved -or at least that's what I've experienced.


 * By the way, I learned a lot from reading this paper. See also Criticism and In the news. An interesting discussion of what we can achieve has been held here: User:Kinnerc/WhereToWikinews?, but I'm not sure if you will understand it if you haven't worked on this site, it's more of a private discussion not intended for outsiders, but maybe you'll still get something out of it. And of course, don't forget to read A citizen among journalists.


 * Good luck, don't hesitate to ask more critical questions, or hesitate to answer back to us, to tell us how you feel as a future journalist about sites like ours!
 * --Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 12:19, 30 April 2007 (UTC)


 * PS: If you have finished your analysis, we'd appreciate a copy!

I thought i may give your survey a go. If you want real historical insight into the beginnings, consider maybe asking m:user:Eloquence, who has not been active as of recently, but is very knowlagable about the start of wikinews [and is the founder].
 * 1) People like news, they like talking about it and reading it. People will write about what their intrested in.
 * 2) More or less. its shown some problems with this model, like the insane amount of Australia articles (now has evened out) at one point, and the severe lack of African articles (due to demographics). At one point there was such things as country of the week to try and even this out.
 * 3) depends how you define your terms. Also its hard to know how many people actually _Read_ stuff that aren't activly participating. I personally was a reader originally, and sort of got sucked in.
 * 4) Donations. (No one actually makes any money, all donations go strictly to the wikimedia foundation and is used for hosting, and some other things. ) Also there is the occasionally contests with cash prizes (ex wikinews design contest, or IWWC2 (which actually involves writing) among many others)
 * 5) yes. It gets the job done that the traditional people do. Its a different method, and its a bit more social and two way (especially with irc), but at the base of it all it preforms the same function
 * 6) Thats an interesting question. If this site ceased to exist, no major bad things would happen. It is not important in the sense the world would end without it. However, the fact that we exist, and continue to create a product daily, proves that enough people care to make it sustainable. Isn't that the measure of importance that matters most? Bawolff ☺☻ 05:17, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

Thank you very much for your replies; as soon as I finish the paper I have to write, I'd be more than happy to post it here, if you'd like. Thank you again!

-Lisa Rubenking


 * Yes I would appreciate that!--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 07:47, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Is there any particular area of the website where you would like me to post my article on the Wikinews website?

-Lisa Rubenking

I think prob the best place to put it for the min is under your userspace ie User:Lisarubenking/Participatory Journalism. It can then be moved from there to other areas if people think it would be better elsewhere. --Mark Talk 17:48, 5 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Be careful, if you post anything here on Wikinews people might think you licence it under the creative commons attribution licence... You could also email us a copy, my email is on my user page, but then we can see your email address. Or you can post a link to your work on an external website. Or you can still just post it here.--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 22:10, 5 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Lisa has emailed me her work, I'll be happy to forward it to anyone who requests it.--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 21:32, 6 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I think we should post it on User:Lisarubenking/Participatory Journalism so everyone can see it. — Fellow Wiki  Newsie  16:36, 7 May 2007 (UTC)


 * I'll ask her, but I think she read my comment and prefers not to license it freely... I'll send you a copy anyways.--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 16:38, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Found a way around that - post it on the mailing list. Bawolff ☺☻ 23:24, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Actually she asked to wait until the assignment is over, then she will post it on a user subpage.--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 14:32, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Help! - SNP victory in Scotland‎
Please help me get this article up, I don't know what to do with it. It's the most important Scottish political breakthrough for fifty years, and may have rammifications for the future existence of the UK.

For some reason wikinews is harder to use than wikipedia. I thought this event should be reported. --MacRusgail 22:05, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Hebrew WikiNews - Getting started?
Hello all. My name is Zohar and I'm a sysop on Hebrew Wikipedia. Lately we've decided to remove the link to WikiNews from our startpage, since the Hebrew version is a very poor one. More like non-existent. The latest articles there were from Feb 07 and even those on minor topics at best, publicity exploits at worst.

So that woke me up and I decided to try and revive the project. So far I've enlisted one friend and together it seems that we are able to publish about 5-6 articles a day (though that was on the weekend and tomorrow's a workday...), which seems to me as a nice start. However, beyond mere staff problems, there's still a lot of ground work, such as guides, community pages and so on.

I have a few questions on which I hope you could help me with:


 * 1) Would you define your Wikinews to be working well? How many stories a-day should I strive for?
 * 2) How many regulars do you have here? What do you consider as the min size required for a working project?
 * 3) on the same subject - what do you find as the best way to recruit writers? Does wikipedians make good writers in your experience?
 * 4) What do you think are the most important guidelines and guides I should translate? Some of them were already translated by past attempts to make the project work, but many are still missing.
 * 5) How can I make some notice to WikiNews? Does Google News considers us relevant?
 * 6) Are there any limitations on what subjects I should write? I'm not talking about political issues, but more not serious news like movie premiers, sport events, atr galleries etc.. The kinda subjects which comes at the second 30 minutes of the evening news...
 * 7) So far I've written reports by reading original reports from other sites and then changing the text enough so there won't be a problem with the copyrights. Is this how I should work on non-original stories?

Those are the questions I have for now. I would very much like your help on the subject, since I'm wandering in the dark so far. i think that WikiNews may really make a difference in today's commercial\geo-political influenced news world by making a relevant, non-biased, NPOV reports. Thank you in advance, Zohar 22:20, 5 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Hi,


 * Your personal life should still come first... I think if everyone should write 1 story per week that would already make this place better. I think it would be a bad idea to try and write 5 stories yourself each day: just write one, or even better translate one per day. It's working well if there are no redlinks on the mainpage and you have one story each day. Don't set your standards too high, realise that it all needs time, and that you'll be better of with long term objectives instead of short term frustrations.
 * Depends on how you define regulars... I'd say about 40? I haven't been here long enough to remember tough beginnings, but I'd say you need at least 5 dedicated people to keep the project floating.
 * I came from Wikipedia but I wasn't recruited, I just came here and decided to stay because I thought Wikinews would be a greater project but it was missing some stories, which I tried to add.
 * Neutral point of view, Content guide and Style guide. Cite sources, Copyright, Dispute resolution, Deletion guidelines, Three revert rule, Username guidelines. But you can start by simply explaining everything in say 3 paragraphs, and link to Wikipedia for most policies. Oh yeah, once people get coming it's important to have a good welcoming template to greet newbies and anons, with links to how they can write an article and such.
 * Google News does not list us because we are too open and we don't have an editorial process. What you could do, I don't know if you have a Hebrew Indymedia (probably not), and if they would be included on Google News, than you could copy part of the story with a link to Wikinews. Just let the project grow and people will pay attention... we haven't received that much of notice. One thing that works great for us is an RSS feed, maybe you could have that...
 * Wackynews often get's more readers on news websites than the headline of the day... but then people have already heard the headline news somewhere else maybe. Try to remain professionel but also think what people would read. Remember to write what you like yourself, because in the end there is really no way to find out how many people are reading over your shoulder... (which I think is a pitty, they have counters on wikia)
 * Yes. Be careful to avoid writing from different newspapers who all use the same agency as a source... I would use at least 3 different agencies if possible. Or even better: translate from English Wikinews for stories we've covered. It always makes it more comfortable to use sources that are on your side of the copyright barrier, such as Voice of America.


 * I'm glad my English is just good enough to work here because the Dutch Wikinews is a dead project, with 1 active contributor. He tried to write 1 story each day and lasted for about a week. You really can't do it alone.


 * We're glad to help you, if you have more questions don't hesitate.--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 22:53, 5 May 2007 (UTC)


 * PS: does anyone else think that Zohar's initiative might be an interesting thing to blog on planet.wikimedia?
 * Thats great. Here's is my response to questions:


 * 1) Well thats a question I probably shouldn't answer (due to my lack of story writing ability). At the beginnings (I'm assuming, I wasn't here at the real start) you need to have content to attract more content. The content doesn't necceasily have to be long. (Look at the stories from 2005 here. Quite a lot of them are 1 paragraph crap) but their should be at the very least 1 story every 2 days, preferably 2 every day, to begin with, just to attract more people. However don't do too much, because having a little content over a long period of time is more important than a lot over the short. Once you have a couple dedicated people (this would be a bit in the future), you could have a writing contest. (basically, to stay in the contest you have to write 1 article per day (you can write 2 articles 1 day, and 0 the next etc), last person standing gets sopme sort of prize, (typically a bit of money). See IWWC2 for details of the last one.
 * 2) Well right now we have quite a few (depending on how you define that) &mdash; under 40, but over 15 in my opinion. In the past, we've sometimes been dominated by 2-3 people. At one point I remember user:NGerda and User:Dan100 having about 75% of the edits in the recent changes (of course there were lots of others here to). For a self-sustaining project, you probably need at least 3 really active people, and about 7 semi-active I think, but thats just a random number.
 * 3) I know some have been recruited from wikipedia (via talk pages, or irc), but in general, most people who are from wikipedia come here through seeing w:template:wikinews on a page, or clicking the link in the sisterlink section out of curiosity. Several of them don't stay for very long though. In my experience, wikipedian's can make very great users (Great example is Steven Fruitsmaak). The only bad thing about wikipedians is sometimes it takes them a little time to get used to the culture of a smaller wiki, relative to something colossal as the english wikipedia.
 * 4) All of them should have been translated before the project was launched. See Wikinews/Start a new edition for more information. The basic ones are WN:NPOV How to write an article as well (optionally), a very very basic (nothing anywhere near as long as ours to start off with) version of WN:SG, something similar to WN:E (figure things out as you go. there is plenty of time to make rules, find out whats best first)
 * 5) Google news hates us as we don't have an official peer review process (and to a lesser extent they're concerned about vandalism, but their main worry is no official review process). Note: at one point we had an official review process, and number of articles fell dramatically. Main thing is make content, and talk about it on your blogs. Most important thing is content. Try interviews, as they get noticed the most as they are: original, and interesting. No one else has the interview about whomever you're interviewing, everyone has all your other content. Also if you interview (at least for us), tech people, and people associated with open source, then the tech sites will link, and that draws a lot of viewers. (interview with Jimbo Wales (linked from slashdot), and "Avast ye scurvy file sharers!": Interview with Swedish Pirate Party leader Rickard Falkvinge have been very popular). See also Awareness statistics
 * 6) Write what you feel like. At one part we had 4/5 of all news from Australia, as we had a large number of crazy Australians writing. Also try and get interviews. Everyone loves interviews. See also IOTM. Only thing thats problematic is reviews, due to npov.
 * 7) Yes. You should always try to have at least two different sources.
 * Last of all, I would recommend you poke your head around fr: the french wikinews. They do some intresting things there, and might give you ideas). Bawolff ☺☻ 02:13, 6 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Thank you both, I will consider all that you say, though I don't know about that private life thingy... I write about 2-3 stories each day and my friend (and me helping) writes another 2-3, it ain't that bad. Then again, time will tell how soon we'll wore out. What we really aim for is to make sure no red link is displayed on the startpage. Thank you for all of your input, I will work on those guidelines and help pages that are still missing and/or need extensions. I will bother you more if I'll have any more questions, but in return I'll try to send some translated material your way, so as not to be too annoying and demanding. Oh, and if any one wants to add something or have a suggestion or a helpful tip for me - please do write on my talk page. Zohar 18:23, 6 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Don't worry, we're glad to help. By the way, you may want to subscribe to wikinews-l (or then again you may not, nothing ever happens there anyways). As well, since you're coming from a wikipedia background, you may want to read up on DynamicPageList (Although in the beginings thats not too important), Happy editing. Bawolff ☺☻ 22:57, 6 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Some answers, or at least opinions...


 * 1) en.wikinews ticks over okay, during good times we can get up to 15-20 stories a day. If you can manage at least five then I'd expect the wiki to attract contributors.
 * 2) Check our list of administrators, that's probably the best indicator of how many contributors we have. Not everyone is an administrator, but not all administrators are that active. For a working project I'd say you need 5-10 reasonably dedicated people to keep it alive.
 * 3) Wikipedians need to adapt to the news environment, writing style is different - but it is still a good place to recruit. Use links from your language's wikipedia to articles that are relevant and you'll slowly attract people.
 * 4) A clear NPOV policy is the key one, beyond that I'd say work on your style guide and welcome templates. I'm sure you'd rather work on content than guides so if you're not going to upset people copy english versions and make a little template to put at the top asking for help translating.  This gives people a guide they can probably read, and a job sitting in front of them that might encourage them to contribute.
 * 5) Google news doesn't list us, the odd article turns up from sources that mirror some of our content. I'd advise trying to recruit people and build the project, get yourself an RSS feed running and if you're managing 5 articles a day list the last 3 or 4 days in it.  Then try to be creative in promoting it.  I've wondered in the past if our RSS feed should always have a "Wikinews - the free news source you can write" link as the last entry.
 * 6) Editorial and review content is out, write what you like to read about - you'll probably pick up a few sports people given enough time and if you can get someone to cover something like a university sport tournament with each match reported on then you'll attract people.
 * 7) First rule to avoid accusations of plagiarism is to have multiple sources. As someone else warns, beware of AP, AFP, and Reuters. You can find half a dozen news sources who all use one wire report (eg AP) and do minor edits.  If it speeds things up for you, translate stories from here and add interwiki links. There used to be a translation project for original reporting but I think WORTNET died off.


 * Lastly, make sure you keep enjoying working on the wiki. --Brian McNeil / talk 10:16, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks again. I don't think that translating a-lot from you guys will be a good thing - first, most of your stories do not attract the Hebrew speaking readers (let's be honest - Israelis, mostly jewish). You don't cover much from our area and most of that is things that don't catch the headlines. Israelis are very news hungry and will probably won't think highly of the project if it doesn't mention some of the two-three main events in the politics, another couple of army related, some economy and at lest two sport articles (as you see, I've been thinking along these lines already). They won't like non-translated English guides either, even though probably everyone will be able to read and comprehend fully. I think I'll have to present them with a working project, all ready for them to start adding content, and that's basically what I'm working on at the moment, which of course makes a deep vacant in the stories department. Right now I'm giving it a bit of a rest as I consider all your tips, and will continue in full throttle next week (I've realized that I'm going on vacation for 4 days this week, so it will be more sensible to work on the next one for a full active week). Did I say thanks again? Well - thank again. zohar 21:30, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

ATTN: doldrums/other mods
you didnt like my edits of the paris hilton article

however she has according to CNN been returned to jail, I want the article altered to reflect this. your help in editing the article would be appreciated http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/08/paris.hilton.ap/index.html

Coordination on US elections
Hi,

I read somewhere that User:Zanimum is preparing questionnaires for presidential candidates, maybe all the efforts on the US elections should be centered somewhere, possibly WikiBureau United States?

--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 12:44, 17 May 2007 (UTC)


 * The most recent mention was the talk page for the Sesame Place photoshoot. I had previously mentioned it on the watercooler, but that was a few months back. I guess we can collaborate on the "please let us in" email... WikiBureau United States/Presidental candidate intro letter. I figure it should be easy, because at least three of the candidates successfully petitioned C-SPAN to free distribution rights to their footage, and most are using so-called "Web 2.0" things. --  Zanimum 15:03, 18 May 2007 (UTC)


 * First draft completed, please edit ruthlessly, everyone... WikiBureau United States/Presidental candidate intro letter. Remember, we want to make it as tempting as possible. --  Zanimum 20:53, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Anyone interested in press releases for events?
I'm a UK media contact for Wikimedia, so I get all sorts of stuff in my email. One I just got was for a demonstration/picket to be held in London soon, from the group protesting. Let's assume I'm unable to make it to cover it myself ... is there anywhere to put these things for those who may be interested in going out with a notepad and camera? - David Gerard 15:44, 17 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Maybe we could create Event Alerts (WN:EA) where such things could be posted. This would be very handy. --Skenmy(t•c•w•i) 15:21, 18 May 2007 (UTC)


 * In the mean time, Guillom was inspired to created Upcoming events. --  Zanimum 15:45, 18 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Perfect! Added to watchlist! --Skenmy(t•c•w•i) 15:54, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Company markets IED Jammer direct to troops
The contributor of this article, which I tagged as a copyvio, has stated on Talk:Company markets IED Jammer direct to troops that he/she can release the article and that he/she can be reached via e-mail at the company's root domain. It still looks like spam to me, but I am unsure how to respond to him/her. A little help from someone who has been here longer would be appreciated. --SVTCobra 01:02, 26 May 2007 (UTC)
 * this has the makings of a news story, but the article should be written by a Wikinews contributor not associated with the company. and of course, should not be promotional - attribute claims of functionality to the company, make an attempt to look for independent evaluation. some potential sources for background   (all more or less the same) –Doldrums(talk) 07:47, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

Dealing with difficult interview subjects
I put out a call for all independent US presidential candidates, asking them whether they'd participate in a email-based interview, much as I did with city council candidates in Canadian cities recently. Jim Gilchrist sent this:

Nick, Thanks for contacting me, but Wikipedia has just about everything about me and the Minuteman Project wrong. Much of the postings there are extremely prejudiced against me and the MMProject.

So, what is the point of doing an interview with a site known for its hostility toward, and blatant indifference to, truthful representations of a person or an issue? There is little to no credibility with Wikipedia, and that lack of credibility will spill over into the public opinions about those you write about.

This is not an attack on you personally. It is my blunt observation of Wikipedia after hearing years of complaints from readers of the postings on your site.

Comments?

Nick, Why do you let strangers post all that ugly, untrue stuff about people and organizations? I have been told that only I should have access to my Wiki info, but almost everything posted there about MMProject has been posted by strangers.

What's the proper way to deal with this? Do I ignore him, do I simply state "you're a fringe candidate, so you shouldn't be questioning the motives of someone offer free publicity", or do I waste a few days of my life going over the articles on Wikipedia, trying to please him, and eventually he says "no, I'm still not interested in the interview, if you're not willing to remove that opposing view junk". -- Zanimum


 * Certainly not the wasting your life option :-). (1) If he is dissatisfied, he should voice his concerns on the article talk page to address specific facts and NPOVs, (2) We are not Wikipedia, and there is probably less possibility to paint a twisted image of a candidate in an interview. He should read some of our articles (e.g. on one of the other fringe parties we had an article about NS8 or something) to check us out. --Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 15:21, 26 May 2007 (UTC)


 * some things to say -
 * point out WP policies are responsible. w:WP:BLP in a nutshell- Wikipedia articles that present material about living people can affect subjects' lives. This gives us an ethical and legal responsibility. Biographical material must be written with the greatest care and attention to verifiability, neutrality and avoiding original research, particularly if it is contentious. (non wiki-ites are unlikely to know WP's definitions of verifiability, neutrality and OR. so this needs to be explained or linked to)
 * point out WP's open editing model, so material falling foul of BLP may turn up on articles, but there is a way to alert WP to fix such problems.
 * we are not WP. we are a sister organisation.
 * an interview gives the candidate an opportunity to "set the record straight" - have his say on disputed issues, point out "falsehoods", respond to criticism, etc.
 * be clear that you do not represent WP, but are informing him about what you know of WP as a contributor.
 * some things to do
 * inform WP about what happened, either at w:Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons/Noticeboard or OTRS.
 * some things not to do.
 * rewrite or offer to rewrite WP articles as a precondition for interview.
 * –Doldrums(talk) 19:24, 26 May 2007 (UTC) ( modified since then )


 * keep in mind, If you speak to someone who deals with the press often, you should be mindful of the fact that such people often become expert at manipulating the impressions of reporters. Your ability to see through manipulation techniques will improve with practice. If your source has more practice being interviewed than you do asking questions, then it is important to consider what slant the person may want to give your final story, and to make sure that you, rather than the source, decide which questions are appropriate.. (from WN:OR.) –Doldrums(talk) 19:30, 26 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I'd go with the do you want the interview or not option. Bawolff ☺☻ 04:16, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * I'm tending to agree with Bawolff here, point out you do not represent the foundation or Wikipedia, and that Wikinews is not Wikipedia. Point out that Wikipedia should have all items in an article properly sourced, in many cases for him to get information removed he'd have to get the source to issue a retraction. --Brian McNeil / talk 08:36, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

HELP!!!!
Two users have completely destroyed my article on Protests in Venezuela. They have taken it so much they put it back in Develop stage. There are now no external links, sources, or even wikinews related news. They have taken almost everything out of the article as well overnight, I guess hoping that no one would notice. Here is the article in questionVenezuelan protests continue over closure of RCTV look at my last edit and what the story is now. I really think they have some type of malicious intent when doing this. The 13th 4postle 12:10, 1 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Hi,


 * No they hadn't. Doldrums just made a little mistake adding a comment, causing the second part of the article to become hidden. It's fixed now. --Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 12:42, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
 * For the record, it was me, not Doldrums, who formatted the comment on the article page incorrectly that led to 13th 4postle calling here for help. -Edbrown05 07:30, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Level of copyright infringement?
Hi,

I'm considering using sections of some Wikinews content (with full attribution, of course) for some reading-comprehension material in a commercial product that I'm thinking about creating. However, I'm a little concerned about copyrighted material creeping in, which is why I wanted to ask: do people here feel that the Wikinews community is vigilant in removing any traces of copyrighted sentences from the news reports, or realistically speaking, might the occasional long sentence or half-paragraph be directly lifted from another news report? I'm a little wary of using Wikinews content blindly, and then getting a note from the Associated Press identifying parts of my material that are suspiciously similar to their copyrighted content. Should I be? --Michael --201.8.19.212 19:39, 29 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I don´t read enough articles and sources to actually be able to tell you how often this happens. My feeling would be that, in those cases that it happens, it usually doesn´t stay that way for long. So with articles a few days old (or older) you should be pretty safe. Of course, unless you wish to use a large number of articles, you can always do a quick proofread, and check the sources for very similar sentences. Regards Sean Heron 07:55, 30 May 2007 (UTC)


 * We do try very hard to ensure there is no copyright infringement. recent changes is watched fairly closely for new articles, vandalism, etc. Unfortunately many source links go stale so there's not always an easy way to check for yourself.  As Sean says, stick to stuff that's moved down the front page a bit - or dig into the archives. --Brian McNeil / talk 08:28, 30 May 2007 (UTC)


 * We're are pretty good in my opinion. Obviously it might happen, but if you stick to stuff that is more then a week old, I think its pretty safe. On a side note (I think anyways, ianal) If it did happen, you could always blame us, as we said (via the copyright notice at the bottom of each page), that the content was copyrighted by anyone who didn't want it here. Bawolff ☺☻ 22:08, 30 May 2007 (UTC)


 * The safest thing in my mind is to use articles categorized as original reporting. Since they (generally) require documentation on the talk page about the methods used in researching the articles, and they generally don't have any third party media outlets as sources, they'd be really safe to use. --  Zanimum 17:23, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Template talk:Featured picture
I could use some assistance with this project! You can help by:
 * Looking for pictures: Commons, w:Portal:Current events, Creative Commons images on Flickr, ...
 * Advertising this initiative on Commons, Flickr, the mailingslists, ...
 * Writing an article to go with the picture if it doesn't already have a full article.
 * Updating the template with a candidate image every evening (say between 17:00 UTC and midnight UTC).
 * Signing up for the project.

--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 18:42, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

G8 question from Sean Heron
Hi, I got accredation for the press center of the G8 in Heiligendamm (not that I can realy believe it...). Anyway, I must admit I don´t really know what its going to look like there and what kind of information and stuff is going to be available to me. As far as I can see from the press "timetable" there are mainly photo sessions, with only the big final press conference (which I´m probably not going to make, as I have to work Friday :. What I wanted to ask is what would you think would be worth looking out for, what would you like me to check out if possible (please be realistic, and if possible check the timetable and infos on www.g-8.de yourself). I´m leaving in half an hour, but I´m reconning I´m going to be able to get internet access sometime tommorow (likely morning). Many Regards Sean. P.S. Post your stuff on a sub of my userpage ?
 * Wow, i don't believe you actually got there. congrats. I have no idea for suggestions though. Take pretty pictures? Bawolff ☺☻ 23:20, 5 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Be - pardon my French - bloody cheeky, ask for interviews. If you're declined ask for an office email contact for a post-G8 interview. I suspect other than photographs the best you can do here is networking, make friends with someone at the Press Office and see if you can get anyone helpful. Heck, you could even track down who represents AP or the Beeb at the conference and interview them. That might be interesting. You could ask their opinions and analysis on the topics of the conference - and we might end up with them doing a piece on us. May be before your time, but the BBC did have one wikinewsie in their office for a week. --Brian McNeil / talk 23:33, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Im in Rostock now, will be leaving for the press centre now :D. I don´t think I can make the arrivals, transfer was at 7:00 (I was still in the train then). I´ve got a camera, and will definetly try to get some good pictures :). I´ll think about interviews... I don´t think there are other people other then the press guys available, and I´m not sure about interviewing them. I think I´ll try to take notes on whats happening and transfer them here asap. regards 87.188.237.247 07:08, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Hmm, what actually to do is looking to be my main problem. I´ll give it a bit of a think. There are people repressenting Attac leaving their contact number lying around... I think I´ll try to make a picture event tomorrow. —Sean Heron 15:47, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Maybe instead of doing a press conference this, press conference this guy, I should rather put together one article... (Merkel is making a statement at the moment. Sean Heron 15:50, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Venezuelan protests continue over closure of RCTV
I have debated with The 13th 4postle over the use of External links in this article. I think they are inappropriate as per WN:SG External links section. Could someone else please take a look at this. Thanks. --SVTCobra 00:13, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Photos
How do I add a photo to my stories

Thanks


 * See Help:Images and other uploaded files. –Doldrums(talk) 03:46, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

Renaming
I wanted to rename myself, is this the place to do it? If it is can I be renamed from Skunkmaster to Skunkmaster VII?

Please contact me by my user page.

Thanks, Skunkmaster 02:15, 15 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Done --Cspurrier 02:21, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Choke (film)
Richard_Deagon has primary sources and original reporting regarding the production of the upcoming film, Choke directed by Clark Gregg and starring Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston. If anyone is interested in this story, please contact him on his talk page as he has not specified an e-mail address. If this is not the correct place to leave this message, please move it to the appropriate location or let me know what to do. Thanks. Viriditas 00:10, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Iraq US Troop withdrawal
I need some information and details for why our troops should withdraw

Digg on Wikinews Reports blog
Who put these icons on? They're really great, except that they try to get you to Digg the blog itself. Click on one and see. Can we make them so that they let you Digg the articles themselves? -- Zanimum 18:39, 27 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Both are usually on digg. But I am going to start adding just a submit to dig button on the blog. I always put WN stories on digg before I put the blogs on digg. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 18:41, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Help save the Bear
Hey, anyone can help save the Bear? The article in development - please help improve it!

Combining efforts with Wikipedia on science news
For a year or two now I've been supplying items (somewhat sporadically) for the news section of the English Wikipedia Chemistry Portal. There is a similar news section on the Physics portal (in fact we copied their format), though it is a bit out of date. The Astronomy Portal maintains a news section that links directly to Wikinews articles. It seems to me that we are wasting much of this content; ideally anything chemistry-related posted on Wikinews would appear linked on the Wikipedia Portal automatically, and vice versa. Is there some way of doing this, either directly through transclusion or by setting up an RSS feed? Currently there is no chemistry news feed here at all - indeed there seems to be almost no chemistry news recorded here - perhaps this would allow one to be added. I would be more inclined to spend time on this if I knew that the content went to two places rather than just one. Can it be done? Walkerma 19:32, 15 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Hi Walkerma,


 * As a former maintainer of Portal:Medicine, I know there is no way to transclude news items directly, nor can you use an RSS feed on Wikipedia. Check out the news section on the Medportal: since there aren't that many stories, you can simply update the list twice a week manually.


 * If you would like to report chemistry news, we'd be very much interested. Just start writing, set up a Category:Chemistry and copy a portal, putting everything under Category:Science and technology. Ask for help if you need it with anything. I'd be willing to copy-edit some science articles. Feel free to ask some of your friends on science WikiProjects. I originally came to Wikinews after working on health stories for Portal:Medicine, and I definitely think we need more of that.


 * --Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 20:04, 15 August 2007 (UTC)
 * OK, I'll try setting this up during September. We just have short 2-3 sentence news stories, but that would be a start at least!  I'd be more inclined to keep it updated if I knew my work was being used in two places. Walkerma 05:36, 2 September 2007 (UTC)


 * If you want any help setting the portal etc up, i'd be happy to help. I like the idea of more science stuff etc especially if we are collaborating with Wikipedia users. TheFearow 05:48, 2 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Although you can't use rss feeds, you can have auto-updated news on the wp portal via a bot. Bawolff ☺☻ 03:52, 22 September 2007 (UTC)
 * On a side note, don't link the pub field on a source template to wikipedia, it should link automatically. Bawolff ☺☻ 05:35, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

OK, I finally got around to doing this! (I got very busy.) I've just created the chemistry category, and wrote an article on the death of the biochemist who first made DNA in a test tube. I then wrote a short summary for the news section of w:Portal:Chemistry, and linked to the Wikinews article through the "Read more..." link at the end. This approach is I think the ideal - have a short summary on WP linking to a fuller news article on Wikinews - but I honestly don't think I have the time to produce a large stream of articles. Hopefully someone else will help! I really like the bot idea - but I'll start with "manual transclusion" and see how things go.

Please can someone go ahead and create the chemistry portal for Wikinews, if you think it is warranted? Thanks a lot, Walkerma 05:26, 8 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Usually it isn't warranted unless there is at least 5 articles, but considering this project I'm going to go ahead and create one anyway. Bawolff ☺☻ 05:28, 8 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks a lot for cleaning up my piece and publishing it. I'll try and write another piece soon about the discovery of the shortest ever metal-metal bond.  Is there a good way to cite scientific journal references? Thanks, Walkerma 05:44, 8 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Try Source-science (see the template page for instructions). If that doesn't work, you can go through the full list of templates at category:Citation templates, Bawolff ☺☻ 06:27, 8 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks, that's very helpful! Now, I'd like to write other chemistry wikinews pieces, but some may seem a bit technical.  For example, I wanted to write a piece about a new compound with the shortest metal-metal bond being isolated.  Should I aim this at a general intelligent reader (like a New York Times reader) or can I aim a little higher (like a New Scientist reader)?  I'm not planning to aim it at a typical Journal of the American Chemical Society reader!  The danger with the former is that either you dumb down the news so much it loses its excitement, or else you fill the page up with explaining what a metal is, what a chemical bond is, etc.  I assume that anyone clicking on the story will at least know these terms - and if they don't they can click on the links to Wikipedia.  Is that OK?


 * BTW, this is all very useful for me to learn about, as I'm attending the European Forum on Science Journalism next month, representing the Wikimedia projects. Is anyone else here going? I can write a short story on it for Wikinews if you like...! Walkerma 17:05, 8 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Hi there,


 * I think it's a good compromise to aim at a NYT-reader level, by linking common keywords to wikipedia and assuming a basic high school level of knowledge. I've struggled with this problem myself in articles like Russian mathematician declines Fields Medal (the last paragraphs on the Poincaré conjecture), but I think I found a good balance in Vaccine targets obesity in rats and 2006 Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to American scientists.


 * I'd be pretty surprised if anyone was going to Barcelona, and I'm sure we'd love to have a report from the convention, after all the topic matters a lot to us! You could pick out some interesting debates, and also highlight the talk you are giving!


 * --Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 19:20, 8 November 2007 (UTC)


 * The Arthur Kornberg article was well written but the news event is one week old. Try to write about current science events. Aside from that, I am glad you are editing Wikinews! It would be nice to see some more science articles, especially an original reporting one on the conference you are going to.  —Fellow Wiki  Newsie 20:13, 8 November 2007 (UTC)


 * I completely agree about the Kornberg news being stale, though I only just learnt the news - it was in this week's issue of C&E News (the first source) which arrived in my mailbox yesterday. For the Wikipedia Chemistry Portal news section that's fine, but I'm aware that for Wikinews I need to "go after" news rather than waiting for it to come via snail mail (though generally chemists are used to reading their news weekly, not daily).  But I thought that if I didn't do this piece, I'd probably never get around to starting anything on Wikinews - and you have to start somewhere! I'll try to get the news done faster in future, if I can.  Cheers, Walkerma 21:00, 8 November 2007 (UTC)
 * No problem.  —Fellow Wiki  Newsie 03:52, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

Zeitgeist
Could somebody please write an article on the documentary Zeitgeist released in 2007. I do not have the knowledge to create a page, or one of the calibre this movie/documentary deserves. This is an amazing film, which is free to watch at zeitgeistmovie.com, and is a mind blowing presentation of how governments use fear and panic to manipulate the populace. I believe it is essential viewing for any free thinking cultured human being and needs a page to further knowledge about it as well as create a base for discussion. I am using this area because i believe i may be able to contact like minded people who believe that truth should be taken as the authority, not authority taken as the truth 124.186.102.103 12:13, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
 * It seems to be more of an advertisement rather than any news, in my opinion. For other opinions, see Requested articles Thunderhead - (talk) 16:13, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
 * This seems more appropriate on Wikipedia, but it may not be notable enough for there either. TheFearow 02:00, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

how old can the "news" be?
Let's says something important happened three or four days ago in my country. Something of continental or even world importance, yet not covered by english speaking media. Can I write about this today, 7 September, or not? I know a regular news agency would rarely write an article that happened two days ago, but Wikimedia is no regular news agency

Thanks in advance for you advice :)

—Olahus 15:39, 7 September 2007 (UTC)


 * There is no strict rule, but I would say three days is generally the limit. If it is something that has an ongoing aspect, for example comments have been made more recently, there is a bigger margin. If it is news from somewhere in Africa, there is even more margin since we get few stories from that area. Same goes if it hasn't been covered by English-speaking media at all, I think 4 days might still be ok. You can try anyways. --Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 15:44, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

Thanks a lot, Steven!

who is lothar?

and i'm not talking about the futbol player......he had a more famous brother

6 deaths in Surrey, BC
Hi. I don't know where I post this, or if this is the right place. I'm here to ask if this news article has been created yet or not. 6 people have been found dead in an apartment complex in Surrey, BC. I think it needs a news article, 6 people is the same number that died in the California wildfires. Please point me to an article if it exists, a place to post this if this is not the right place, or an appopriate title for this if an article hasn't been written yet. Can someone help? Thanks. AstroHurricane-007 00:24, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Just go to Portal:Canada and type in "Six found dead in Surrey, BC apartment complex" and write the article with sources according to our style guide.  —Fellow Wiki  Newsie 00:36, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

Reverting vandalism
Someone is removing content and replacing it with a link to a commercial website... Everytime I change it they change it back, and its getting tedious. What to do, what to do?

gene@alltanks.com


 * Hi there. First off, thank you very much for your hard work fighting vandalism. It is very much appreciated. If that happens try and talk to somebody onWN:IRC (web chat) - say !admin@enwikinews and in theory someone should respond and block the vandalizer. If no one responds you can try leaving a message on WN:ALERT. If the situation starts to become more desperate, and no one responded on the wikinews irc, you can ask for assistance on the #wikimedia (only as a last resort. or #wikimedia-stewards if they are doing mass vandalism like 100 edits a minute). For more information you can also read Vandalism. Bawolff ☺☻ 06:28, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

UN Climate Conference in Bali
Greetings! As some of you may now, I´ve applied for accreditation for the UNFCCC in Bali, which I have recieved :). With regard to my experiences at the G8 conference in Rostock, I won´t be brashly expecting other people to write articles from the notes I make this time round (thanks again Stevenfruitsmark for what you made out of my notes). So, while not relying on others, I still would be very pleased if anybody were to say that he has time during the first two weeks of December, and wants to give me a hand with something or other. I am available on Skype, so we could also chat things out that way, perhaps splitting up some research work, or debating what topic would be good to cover. If anybody is interested in a closer involvement, please leave a note on User:Sean Heron/UNFCCC, which is where I´ll be aggregating all the infos and plans I have. Regards Sean Heron 00:59, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

Some grammar fixes needed..
..in here. Any help would be much appreciated. odder 19:36, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

Uh oh! We have a problem!
There is a blog post about the recent interview with Reggie Bibbs here. Problem is the interview is not even created yet!! How embarrassing, I guess all we can do is transcribe the interview ASAP. I cannot right now. Please someone or people help with publishing and transcribing this interview ASAP.  —Fellow Wiki  Newsie 03:30, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
 * i just transcribed the first two minutes and found it differed a great deal from what was already transcribed. --SVTCobra 03:38, 11 December 2007 (UTC)


 * I can't even watch the video because I'm on a hospital IT network that blocks certain applications... guess it's bad timing I can't finish this interview myself so I really need people to help out!
 * I sent Reggie and his friend Lou the questions, Lou did the questions and filmed it. The transcript was more based on the questions we originally sent him I think, but I told Lou he could improvise a little as well. --Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 20:21, 11 December 2007 (UTC)