User talk:Climie.ca/Archive14#Precious

Image:Information.svg

Following a community discussion in June 2011, consensus was reached to provisionally suspend the administrative permissions of users who have been inactive for one year (i.e. administrators who have not made any edits or logged actions in over one year). As a result of this discussion, your administrative permissions will be removed pending your return if you do not return to activity within the next month. If you wish to have these permissions reinstated should this occur, please post to the Wikipedia:Bureaucrats' noticeboard and the userright will be restored per the re-sysopping process (i.e. as long as the attending bureaucrats are reasonably satisfied that your account has not been compromised, that your inactivity did not have the effect of evading scrutiny of any actions which might have led to sanctions, and that you have not been inactive for a three year period of time). If you remain inactive for a three year period of time, including the present year you have been inactive, you will need to request reinstatement at WP:RFA. This removal of access is procedural only, and not intended to reflect negatively upon you in any way. We wish you the best in future endeavors, and thank you for your past administrative efforts. (X! · talk)  · @173  ·  03:08, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Good articles/Newsletter/January 2013/Delivery}}

This newsletter was delivered by EdwardsBot (talk) 14:39, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

Hi! You're getting this message because you are or have been a Wikipedia Ambassador. A new term is beginning for the United States and Canada Education Programs, and I wanted to give you an update on some important new information if you're interested in continuing your work this term as a Wikipedia Ambassador.

You may have heard a reference to a transition the education program is going through. This is the last term that the Wikimedia Foundation will directly run the U.S. and Canada programs; beginning in June, a proposed thematic organization is likely to take over organizing the program. You can read more about the proposal here.

Another major change in the program will take effect immediately. Beginning this term, a new MediaWiki education extension will replace all course pages and Ambassador lists. (See Wikipedia:Course pages and Help:Education Program extension for more details.) Included in the extension are online volunteer and campus volunteer user rights, which let you create and edit course pages and sign up as an ambassador for a particular course.

If you would like to continue serving as a Wikipedia Ambassador — even if you do not support a class this term — you must create an ambassador profile. If you're no longer interested in being a Wikipedia Ambassador, you don't need to do anything.

;Please do these steps as soon as possible

First, you need the relevant user rights for Online and/or Campus Ambassadors. (If you are an admin, you can grant the rights yourself, for you as well as other ambassadors.) Just post your rights request here, and we'll get you set up as quickly as possible.

Once you've got the ambassador rights, please set up at a Campus and/or Online Ambassador profile. You can do so at:

• Special:CampusAmbassadorProfile
• Special:OnlineAmbassadorProfile

Going forward, the lists of Ambassadors at Special:CampusAmbassadors and Special:OnlineAmbassadors will be the official roster of who is an active Ambassador. If you would like to be an Ambassador but not ready to serve this term, you can un-check the option in your profile to publicly list it (which will remove your profile from the list).

After that, you can sign on to support courses. The list of courses will be at Special:Courses. (By default, this lists "Current" courses, but you can change the Status filter to "Planned" to see courses for this term that haven't reached their listed start date yet.)

As this is the first term we have used the extension, we know there will be some bugs, and we know the feature set is not as rich as it could be. (A big wave of improvements is already in the pipeline. And if you know MediaWiki and could help with code review, we'd love to have your help!) Please reach out to me (Sage Ross) with any complaints, bug reports, and feature suggestions. The basic features of the extension are documented at Wikipedia:Course pages, and you can see a tutorial for setting up and using them here.

;Communication and keeping up to date

In the past, the Education Program has had a pretty fragmented set of communication channels. We're trying to fix that. These are the recommended places to discuss and stay up-to-date on the education program:

1. The education noticeboard has become the main on-wiki location for discussion of the Education Program. You can post there about broad education program issues as well as issues with individual courses.
2. [https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/ambassador-announce-l The Ambassadors Announce email list] is a very low-traffic announcements list of important information all Ambassadors need to be aware of. We encourage all Ambassadors (and other interested Wikipedians) to subscribe to the list; follow the instructions on the link to add your email address.
3. If you use IRC regularly, or need to try to reach someone immediately, the {{freenode|wikipedia-en-ambassadors}} IRC channel is the place to find me and fellow Ambassadors.

;Ambassador training and resources

We now have an online training for Ambassadors, which is intended to be both an orientation about the Wikipedia Ambassador role for newcomers and the manual for how to do the role. (There are parallel trainings for students and for educators as well.)

Please go through the training if you feel like you need a refresher on how a typical class is supposed to go and where the Ambassadors fit in, or if you want to review and help improve it. If there's something you'd like to see added, or other suggestions you have for it, feel free to edit the training and/or leave feedback. A primer on setting up and using course pages is included in the educators' training.

The Resources page of the training is the main place for Ambassador-related resources. If there's something you think is important as a resource that's not on there, please add it.

Finally, whether or not you work with any classes this term, I encourage you to post entries to the Trophy Case whenever you see excellent work from students or if you have great examples from past semesters. And, as always, let students (and other editors!) know when they do things well; a little WikiLove goes a long way!

--Sage Ross (WMF) (talk) 20:54, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

|}

right

Signups are now closed; we have our final 127 contestants for this year's competition. 64 contestants will make it to the next round at the end of February, but we're already seeing strong scoring compared to previous years. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sturmvogel_66}} currently leads, with 358 points. At this stage in 2012, the leader ({{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Grapple X}}) had 342 points, while in 2011, the leader had 228 points. We also have a large number of scorers when compared with this stage in previous years. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|12george1}} was the first competitor to score this year, as he was last year, with a detailed good article review. Some other firsts:

• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|12george1}} was also the first to score for an article, with the good article Hurricane Gordon (2000). Again, this is a repeat of last year!
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Buggie111}} was the first to score for a did you know, with Marquis Flowers.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Spencer}} was the first to score for an in the news, with 2013 Houphouët-Boigny stampede.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Status}} was the first to score for a featured list, with list of Billboard Social 50 number-one artists.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Adam Cuerden}} was the first to score for a featured picture, with :File:Thure de Thulstrup - L. Prang and Co. - Battle of Gettysburg - Restoration by Adam Cuerden.jpg.

Featured articles, portals and topics, as well as good topics, are yet to feature in the competition.

This year, the bonus points system has been reworked, with bonus points on offer for old articles prepared for did you know, and "multiplier" points reworked to become more linear. For details, please see Wikipedia:WikiCup/Scoring. There have been some teething problems as the bot has worked its way around the new system, but issues should mostly be ironed out- please report any problems to the WikiCup talk page. Here are some participants worthy of note with regards to the bonus points:

• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Ed!}} was the first to score bonus points, with Portland-class cruiser, a good article.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Hawkeye7}} has the highest overall bonus points, as well as the highest scoring article, thanks to his work on Enrico Fermi, now a good article. The biography of such a significant figure to the history of science warrants nearly five times the normal score.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|HueSatLum}} claimed bonus points for René Vautier and Nicolas de Fer, articles that did not exist on the English Wikipedia at the start of the year; a first for the WikiCup. The articles were eligible for bonus points because of fact they were both covered on a number of other Wikipedias.

Also, a quick mention of {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|The C of E}}, who may well have already written the oddest article of the WikiCup this year: did you know that the Fucking mayor objected to Fucking Hell on the grounds that there was no Fucking brewery? The gauntlet has been thrown down; can anyone beat it?

If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 00:56, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

Hey Cam, I'm working on this A-class article of yours, do you want to collaborate? - Dank (push to talk) 19:37, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Good articles/Newsletter/February 2013/Delivery}}

|}

Round 1 is now over. The top 64 scorers have progressed to round 2, where they have been randomly split into eight pools of eight. At the end of April, the top two from each pool, as well as the 16 highest scorers from those remaining, will progress to round 3. Commiserations to those eliminated; if you're interested in still being involved in the WikiCup, able and willing reviewers will always be needed, and if you're interested in getting involved with other collaborative projects, take a look at the WikiWomen's Month discussed below.

Round 1 saw 21 competitors with over 100 points, which is fantastic; that suggests that this year's competition is going to be highly competative. Our lower scores indicate this, too: A score of 19 was required to reach round 2, which was significantly higher than the 11 points required in 2012 and 8 points required in 2011. The score needed to reach round 3 will be higher, and may depend on pool groupings. In 2011, 41 points secured a round 3 place, while in 2012, 65 was needed. Our top three scorers in round 1 were:

1. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sturmvogel_66}}, primarily for an array of warship GAs.
2. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Miyagawa}}, primarily for an array of did you knows and good articles, some of which were awarded bonus points.
3. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Casliber}}, due in no small part to Canis Minor, a featured article awarded a total of 340 points. A joint submission with {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Keilana}}, this is the highest scoring single article yet submitted in this year's competition.

Other contributors of note include:

• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sven Manguard}}, whose Portal:Massachusetts is the first featured portal this year. The featured portal process is one of the less well-known featured processes, and featured portals have traditionally had little impact on WikiCup scores.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sasata}}, whose Mycena aurantiomarginata was the first featured article this year.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Muboshgu}} and {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Wizardman}}, who both claimed points for articles in the Major League Baseball tie-breakers topic, the first topic points in the competition.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Toa Nidhiki05}}, who claimed for the first full good topic with the Casting Crowns studio albums topic.

Featured topics have still played no part in this year's competition, but once again, a curious contribution has been offered by {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|The C of E}}: did you know that there is a Shit Brook in Shropshire? With April Fools' Day during the next round, there will probably be a good chance of more unusual articles...

March sees the WikiWomen's History Month, a series of collaborative efforts to aid the women's history WikiProject to coincide with Women's History Month and International Women's Day. A number of WikiCup participants have already started to take part. The project has a to-do list of articles needing work on the topic of women's history. Those interested in helping out with the project can find articles in need of attention there, or, alternatively, add articles to the list. Those interested in collaborating on articles on women's history are also welcome to use the WikiCup talk page to find others willing to lend a helping hand. Another collaboration currently running is an an effort from WikiCup participants to coordinate a number of Easter-themed did you know articles. Contributions are welcome!

A few final administrative issues. From now on, submission pages will need only a link to the article and a link to the nomination page, or, in the case of good article reviews, a link to the review only. See your submissions' page for details. This will hopefully make updating submission pages a little less tedious. If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) J Milburn (talk) 11:52, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

|}

We are halfway through round two. Pool A sees the strongest competition, with five out of eight of its competitors scoring over 100, and Pool H is lagging, with half of its competitors yet to score. WikiCup veterans lead overall; Pool A's {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sturmvogel_66}} (2010's winner) leads overall, with poolmate {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Miyagawa}} (a finalist in 2011 and 2012) not far behind. Pool F's {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Casliber}} (a finalist in 2010, 2011 and 2012) is in third. The top two scorers in each pool, as well as the next highest 16 scorers overall, will progress to round three at the end of April.

Today has seen a number of Easter-themed did you knows from WikiCup participants, and March has seen collaboration from contestants with WikiWomen's History Month. It's great to see the WikiCup being used as a locus of collaboration; if you know of any collaborative efforts going on, or want to start anything up, please feel free to use the WikiCup talk page to help find interested editors. As well as fostering collaboration, we're also seeing the Cup encouraging the improvement of high-importance articles through the bonus point system. Highlights from the last month include GAs on physicist Niels Bohr ({{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Hawkeye7}}), on the European hare ({{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Cwmhiraeth}}), on the constellation Circinus ({{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Keilana}} and {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Casliber}}) and on the Third Epistle of John ({{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Cerebellum}}). All of these subjects were covered on at least 50 Wikipedias at the beginning of the year and, subsequently, each contribution was awarded at least three times as many points as normal.

Wikipedians who enjoy friendly competition may be interested in participating in April's wikification drive. While wikifying an article is typically not considered "significant work" such that it can be claimed for WikiCup points, such gnomish work is often invaluable in keeping articles in shape, and is typically very helpful for new writers who may not be familiar with formatting norms.

A quick reminder: now, submission pages will need only a link to the article and a link to the nomination page, or, in the case of good article reviews, a link to the review only. See your submissions' page for details. This will hopefully make updating submission pages a little less tedious. If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) J Milburn (talk) 22:50, 31 March 2013 (UTC)

|}

The WikiProject Report would like to focus on WikiProject Military History's Operation Normandy for a Signpost article. This is an excellent opportunity to draw attention to your efforts and attract new members to the project. Would you be willing to participate in an interview? If so, here are the questions for the interview. Just add your response below each question and feel free to skip any questions that you don't feel comfortable answering. Multiple editors will have an opportunity to respond to the interview questions, so be sure to sign your answers. If you know anyone else who would like to participate in the interview, please share this with them. Have a great day. –Mabeenot (talk) 19:38, 4 May 2013 (UTC)

We are a week into Round 3, but it is off to a flying start, with {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sven Manguard}} claiming for the high-importance Portal:Sports and Portal:Geography (which are the first portals ever awarded bonus points in the WikiCup) and {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Cwmhiraeth}} claiming for a did you know of sea, the highest scoring individual did you know article ever submitted for the WikiCup. Round 2 saw very impressive scores at close; first place {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Casliber}} and second place {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sturmvogel_66}} both scored over 1000 points; a feat not seen in Round 2 since 2010. This, in part, has been made possible by the change in the bonus points rules, but is also testament to the quality of the competition this year. Pool C and Pool G were most competitive, with three quarters of participants making it to Round 3, while Pool D was the least, with only the top two scorers making it through. The lowest qualifying score was 123, significantly higher than last year's 65, 2011's 41 or even 2010's 100.

The next issue of The Signpost is due to include a brief update on the current WikiCup, comparing it to previous years' competitions. This may be of interest to current WikiCup followers, and may help bring some more new faces into the community. We would also like to note that this round includes an extra competitor to the 32 advertised, who has been added to a random pool. This extra inclusion seems to have been the fairest way to deal with a small mistake made before the beginning of this round, but should not affect the competition in a large way. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please feel free to contact one of the judges.

A rules clarification: content promoted between rounds can be claimed in the round after the break, but not the round before. The case in point is content promoted on 29/30 April, which may be claimed in this round. If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 16:14, 7 May 2013 (UTC)

|}

|}

We are down to our final 16: the 2013 semi-finals are upon us. A score of 321 was required to survive round 3, further cementing this as the most competitive WikiCup yet; round 3 was survived in 2012 with 243 points, in 2011 with 76 points and in 2010 with 250 points. The change may in part be to do with the fact that more articles are now awarded bonus points, in addition to more competitive play. Reaching the final has, in the past, required 573 points (2012, a 135% increase on the score needed to reach round 4), 150 points (2011, a 97% increase) and 417 points (2010, a 72% increase). This round has seen over a third of participants claiming points for featured articles (with seven users claiming for multiple featured articles) and most users have also gained bonus points. However, the majority of points continue to come from good articles, followed by did you know articles. In this round, every content type was utilised by at least one user, proving that the WikiCup brings together content contributors from all corners of the project.

Round 3 saw a number of contributions of note. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Figureskatingfan}} claimed the first featured topic points in this year's competition for her excellent work on topics related to Maya Angelou, the noted American author and poet. We have also continued to see high-importance articles improved as part of the competition: {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Ealdgyth}} was awarded a thoroughly well-earned 560 points for her featured article Middle Ages and 102 points for her good article Battle of Hastings. Good articles James Chadwick and Stanislaw Ulam netted {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Hawkeye7}} 102 and 72 points respectively, while 72 points were awarded to {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Piotrus}} for each of Władysław Sikorski and Emilia Plater, both recently promoted to good article status. Collaborative efforts between WikiCup participants have continued, with, for example, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Casliber}} and {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sasata}} being awarded 180 points each for their featured article on Boletus luridus.

A rules reminder: content promoted between rounds can be claimed in the round after the break, but not the round before. The case in point is content promoted on the 29/30 June, which may be claimed in this round. If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. We are currently seeing concern about the amount of time people have to wait for reviews, especially at GAC- if you want to help out with the WikiCup, please do your bit to reduce the review backlogs! Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 10:23, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

|}

We're halfway through this year's penultimate round, and the competition is moving along well. Pool A's {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sasata}} currently leads overall, while Pool B's {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sturmvogel_66}} is second. Both leaders are WikiCup veterans, and both have already scored over 600 points this month. If the round were to end today, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Miyagawa}}, with 274 points, would be the lowest-scoring participant to make it through. This indicates that participants will need a score comparable to last year's (573, the highest ever) to qualify for the final. The high scores this year are a testament both to the quality of participants and to the increased focus on significant content (eligible for bonus points) in this year's competition. So far this round, both Sasata and {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Cwmhiraeth}} have made up over half of their score through bonus points, with, for example, high importance FA koala earning Sasata a total of 440 points (from a multiplier of 4.4) and high-importance GA sea earning Cwmhiraeth a total of 216 points (from a multiplier of 7.2). Other articles on important topics submitted this round include a featured article on the Norman conquest of England by {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Ealdgyth}}, and good articles on Nobel laureate in literature Henryk Sienkiewicz, Nobel laureate in physics Hans Bethe, and the noted Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū. These articles are by {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Piotrus}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Hawkeye7}} and Sturmvogel_66 respectively.

Other than that, there is not much to report! If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. If you want to help out with the WikiCup, please do your bit to reduce the review backlogs! Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 23:50, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

• As a listed GA participant, you are invited to contribute to a formal Request for Comment on the question of whether Good Articles should be eligible to appear in the Did You Know? slot in future. Please see the proposal on its subpage here, or on the main DYK talk page. To add the discussion to your watchlist, click [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Did_you_know/Good_Article_RfC&action=watch this link]. Thank you in advance. Gilderien Chat|Contributions03:12, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

|}

This year's final is upon us. Our final eight, in order of last round's score, are:

1. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Hawkeye7}}, a WikiCup newcomer who has contributed on topics of military history and physics, including a number of high-importance topics. Good articles have made up the bulk of his points, but he has also scored a great deal of bonus points. He has the second highest score overall so far, with more than 3000 points accumulated.
2. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Casliber}}, another WikiCup veteran who reached the finals in 2012, 2011 and 2010. He writes on a variety of topics including botany, mycology and astronomy, and has claimed the highest or joint highest number of featured articles every round so far this year. He has the third highest score overall, with just under 3000 points accumulated.
3. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Cwmhiraeth}}, 2012 WikiCup champion, who writes mostly on marine biology. She has also contributed to high-importance topics, seeing huge numbers of bonus points for high-importance featured and good articles. Previous rounds have seen her scoring the most bonus points, with scoring spread across did you knows, good articles and featured articles.
4. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sasata}}, a WikiCup veteran who finished in second place in 2012, and competed as early as 2009. He writes articles on biology, especially mycology, and has scored highly for a number of collaborations at featured article candidates.
5. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sturmvogel_66}}, the winner of the 2010 competition. His contributions mostly concern Naval history, and he has scored a very large number of points for good articles and good article reviews in every round. He is the highest scorer overall this year, with over 3500 points in total.
6. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Ealdgyth}}, who is competing in the WikiCup for the second time, though this will be her first time in the final. A regular at FAC, she is mostly interested in British medieval history, and has scored very highly for some top-importance featured articles on the topic.
7. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Miyagawa}}, a finalist in 2012 and 2011. He writes on a broad variety of topics, with many of this year's points coming from good articles about Star Trek. Good articles make up the bulk of his points, and he had the most good articles back in round 2; he was also the highest scorer for DYK in rounds 1 and 2.
8. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Adam Cuerden}} has previously been involved with the WikiCup, but hasn't participated for a number of years. He scores mostly from restoration work leading to featured picture credits, but has also done some article writing and reviewing.

We say goodbye to eight great participants who did not qualify for the final: {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Piotrus}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Figureskatingfan}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|ThaddeusB}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Dana boomer}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Status}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Ed!}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|12george1}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Calvin999}}. Having made it to this stage is still an excellent achievement, and you can leave with your heads held high. We hope to see you all again next year. Signups are now open for the 2014 WikiCup, which will begin on 1 January. All Wikipedians, whatever their interest or level of experience, are warmly invited to participate in next year's competition.

This last month has seen some incredible contributions; for instance, Cwmhiraeth's Starfish and Ealdgyth's Battle of Hastings—two highly important, highly viewed pages—made it to featured article status. It would be all too easy to focus solely on these stunning achievements at the expense of those participants working in lower-scoring areas, when in fact all WikiCup participants are doing excellent work. A mention of everything done is impossible, but here are a few: Last round saw the completion of several good topics (on the 1958, 1959 and 1962 Atlantic hurricane seasons) to which 12george1 had contributed. Calvin999 saw "S&M" (song), on which he has been working for several years, through to featured article status on its tenth try. Figureskatingfan continued towards her goal of a broad featured/good topic on Maya Angelou, with two featured and four good articles. ThaddeusB contributed significantly to over 20 articles which appeared on the main page's "in the news" section. Adam Cuerden continued to restore a large number of historical images, resulting in over a dozen FP credits this round alone. The WikiCup is not just about top-importance featured articles, and the work of all of these users is worthy of commendation.

Finally, the usual notices: If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. If you want to help out with the WikiCup, please do your bit to reduce the review backlogs! Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 06:04, 29 August 2013 (UTC)

Greetings from WikiProject Military history! As a member of the project, you are invited to take part in our annual project coordinator election, which will determine our coordinators for the next twelve months. If you wish to cast a vote, please do so on the election page by 23:59 (UTC) on 28 September! Kirill ^[talk] 16:26, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

|}

{{You've got mail}} Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 00:30, 28 September 2013 (UTC)

In 30 days, we will know the identity of our 2013 WikiCup champion. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Cwmhiraeth}} currently leads; if that lead is held, she will become the first person to have won the WikiCup twice. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sasata}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Hawkeye7}}—who has never participated in the competition before—and {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Casliber}} follow. The majority of points in this round have come from a mix of good articles and bonus points. This final round is seeing contributions to a number of highly important topics; recent submissions include Phoenix (constellation) (FA by Casliber), Ernest Lawrence (GA by Hawkeye7), Pinniped, and red fox (both GAs by Sasata).

The did you know (DYK) eligibility criteria have recently changed, meaning that newly passed good articles are accepted as "new" for did you know purposes. However, in the interests of not changing the WikiCup rules mid-competition, please note that only articles eligible for DYK under the old system (that is, newly created articles or 5x expansions) will be eligible for points in this year's WikiCup. We do, however, have time to discuss how this new system will work for next year's competition; a discussion will be opened in due course. On that note, thoughts are welcome on changes you'd like to see for next year. What worked? What didn't work? What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? All Wikipedians, new or old, are also warmly invited to sign up for the 2014 WikiCup.

If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. If you want to help out with the WikiCup, please do your bit to reduce the review backlogs! Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 23:25, 1 October 2013 (UTC)

|}

This is a note to let the main editors of Japanese battleship Haruna know that the article will be appearing as today's featured article on November 14, 2013. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. If you prefer that the article appear as TFA on a different date, or not at all, please ask {{user|Bencherlite}}. You can view the TFA blurb at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 14, 2013. If it needs tweaking, or if it needs rewording to match improvements to the article between now and its main page appearance, please edit it, following the instructions at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/instructions. The blurb as it stands now is below:

{{TFAIMAGE|Haruna 1934.jpg|Haruna}}

Haruna was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. Designed by the British naval engineer George Thurston, she was a battlecruiser of the {{Sclass|Kongō|battlecruiser|4}}, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Named after Mount Haruna, she was laid down in 1912 and commissioned in 1915. Beginning in 1926, she was rebuilt as a battleship, strengthening her armor and improving her speed and power. In 1933, her superstructure was completely rebuilt, her speed was increased, and she was equipped with launch catapults for floatplanes. Now fast enough to accompany Japan's growing carrier fleet, Haruna was reclassified as a fast battleship. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Haruna transported Japanese troops to mainland China. On the eve of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she sailed as part of the Southern Force in preparation for the Battle of Singapore. Haruna fought in almost every major naval action of the Pacific Theater, including the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In 1945, Haruna was transferred to Kure Naval Base, where she was sunk by aircraft of Task Force 38. {{TFAFULL|Japanese battleship Haruna}}

UcuchaBot (talk) 23:01, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

{{clear}}

The WikiCup is over for another year! Our champion, for the second year running, is {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Cwmhiraeth}}. Our final nine were as follows:

1. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Cwmhiraeth}}
2. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Hawkeye7}}
3. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sasata}}
4. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sturmvogel_66}}
5. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Casliber}}
6. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Adam Cuerden}}
7. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Miyagawa}}
8. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Piotrus}}
9. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Ealdgyth}}

All those who reached the final win prizes, and prizes will also be going to the following participants:

• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Casliber}} wins the FA prize, for four featured articles in round 4, worth 400 points.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sturmvogel_66}} wins the GA prize, for 20 good articles in round 3, worth 600 points.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Another Believer}} wins the FL prize, for four featured lists in round 2, worth 180 points.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Adam Cuerden}} wins the FP prize, for 23 featured pictures in round 5, worth 805 point.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sven Manguard}} wins the FPo prize, for 2 featured portals in round 3, worth 70 points.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Hawkeye7}} wins the topic prize, for a 23-article featured topic in round 5, worth 230 points.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Cwmhiraeth}} wins the DYK prize, for 79 did you know articles in round 5, worth 570 points.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|ThaddeusB}} wins the ITN prize, for 23 in the news articles in round 4, worth 270 points.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Ed!}} wins the GAR prize, for 24 good article reviews in round 1, worth 96 points.
• The judges are awarding the Oddball Barnstar to {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|The C of E}}, for some curious contributions in earlier rounds.
• Finally, the judges are awarding {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Cwmhiraeth}} the Geography Barnstar for her work on sea, now a featured article. This top-importance article was the highest-scoring this year; when it was promoted to FA status, Cwmhiraeth could claim 720 points.

Prizes will be handed out in the coming weeks. Please be patient!

Congratulations to everyone who has been successful in this year's WikiCup, whether you made it to the final rounds or not, and a particular congratulations to the newcomers to the WikiCup who have achieved this year. Thanks to all who have taken part and helped out with the competition. While it has been an excellent year, errors have opened up the judges' eyes to the need for a third judge, and it is with pleasure that we announce that experienced WikiCup participant Miyagawa will be acting as a judge from now on. We hope you will all join us in welcoming him to the team.

Next year's competition begins on 1 January. You are invited to sign up to participate; it is open to all Wikipedians, new and old. Brainstorming and discussion remains open for how next year's competition will work, and straw polls will be opened by the judges soon. Those interested in friendly competition may also like to keep an eye on the stub contest, being organised by Casliber. The WikiCup judges will be back in touch over the coming months, and we hope to see you all in the 2014 competition. Until then, it only remains to once again congratulate our worthy winners, and thank all participants for their involvement! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 01:07, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

As you are listed as a member of Operation Majestic Titan, you are receiving this message to notify you that a new Titan's Cross nomination has been opened. You are therefore cordially invited to iVote or offer your opinion on the nomination. Sincerely, TomStar81 (Talk) 05:38, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

A year ago, you were the 662nd recipient of my PumpkinSky Prize, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:08, 14 November 2014 (UTC)

|}

Your upload of :File:51-Highland-Division-Memorial.JPG or contribution to its description is noted, and thanks (even if belatedly) for your contribution. In order to help make better use of the media, an attempt has been made by an automated process to identify and add certain information to the media's description page.

This notification is placed on your talk page because a bot has identified you either as the uploader of the file, or as a contributor to its metadata. It would be appreciated if you could carefully review the information the bot added. To opt out of these notifications, please follow the instructions here. Thanks! Message delivered by Theo's Little Bot (opt-out) 11:17, 3 December 2013 (UTC)

• Another one of your uploads, :File:Camatvimy.JPG, has also had some information automatically added. If you get a moment, please review the bot's contributions there as well. Thanks! Message delivered by Theo's Little Bot (opt-out) 14:44, 8 March 2014 (UTC)

|}

|}

The 2014 WikiCup is off to a flying start, with, at time of writing, 138 participants. The is the largest number of participants we have seen since 2010. If you are yet to join the competition, don't worry- the judges have agreed to keep the signups open for a few more days. By a wide margin, our current leader is newcomer {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Godot13}}, whose set of 14 featured pictures, the first FPs of the competition, was worth 490 points. Here are some more noteworthy scorers:

• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|12george1}} and {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|TropicalAnalystwx13}} were the first people to score, for the good article Tropical Storm Bret (1981) and its good article review respectively. 12george1 was also the first person to score in 2012 and 2013.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Sven Manguard}} scored the first ITN points for 2014 North American polar vortex.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|WonderBoy1998}} scored points for an early good topic, finishing off Wikipedia:Featured topics/She Wolf.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|TheAustinMan}} scored the first bonus points of the competition, for his work on Typhoon Vera.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Igordebraga}} has scored the highest number of bonus points for a single article, for the high-importance Jurassic Park (film).

Featured articles, featured lists, featured topics and featured portals are yet to play a part in the competition. The judges have removed a number of submissions which were deemed ineligible. Typically, we aim to see work on a project, followed by a nomination, followed by promotion, this year. We apologise for any disappointment caused by our strict enforcement this year; we're aiming to keep the competition as fair as possible.

Wikipedians interested in friendly competition may be interested to take part in The Core Contest; unlike the WikiCup, The Core Contest is not about audited content, but, like the WikiCup, it is about article improvement; specifically, The Core Contest is about contribution to some of Wikipedia's most important article. Of course, any work done for The Core Contest, if it leads to a DYK, GA or FA, can earn WikiCup points.

If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. If you want to help out with the WikiCup, please do your bit to help keep down the review backlogs! Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email), The ed17 (talk • email) and Miyagawa (talk • email) 19:54, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

It's that time again! Starting on March 1, there will be another GAN Backlog Drive! There will be several changes compared to previous drives:

• This drive will introduce a new component to it; a point system. In a nutshell, older nominations are worth more points than newer nominations. The top 3 participants who have the points will be awarded the Golden, Silver, or Bronze Wikipedia Puzzle Piece Trophy, respectively.
• Unlike the December 2013 Backlog Drive, earning an additional barnstar if you reached your goal has been removed.
• The allowance to have insufficient reviews has been lowered to 2 before being disqualified.
• An exception to the rule that all reviews must be completed before the deadline has been created.

Also, something that I thought I would share with all of you is that we raised $20.88 (USD) for the WMF in the December 2013 drive. It may not sound like a lot but considering that that was raised just because we reviewed articles, I would say that's pretty good! With that success, pledges can be made for the upcoming drive if you wish.

More info regarding the drive and full descriptions regarding the changes to this drive can be found on the the drive page. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a message on the drive talk page.

I look forward to your participation and hope that because of it, some day the backlog will be gone!

--Dom497

--MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:58, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

|}

And so ends the most competitive first round we have ever seen, with 38 points required to qualify for round 2. Last year, 19 points secured a place; before that, 11 (2012) or 8 (2011) were enough. This is both a blessing and a curse. While it shows the vigourous good health of the competition, it also means that we have already lost many worthy competitors. Our top three scorers were:

1. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Godot13}}, a WikiCup newcomer whose high-quality scans of rare banknotes represent an unusual, interesting and valuable contribution to Wikipedia. Most of Godot's points this round have come from a large set of pictures used in Treasury Note (1890–91).
2. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Adam Cuerden}}, a WikiCup veteran and a finalist last year, Adam is also a featured picture specialist, focusing on the restoration of historical images. This month's promotions have included a carefully restored set of artist William Russell Flint's work.
3. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|WikiRedactor}}, another WikiCup newcomer. WikiRedactor has claimed points for good article reviews and good articles relating to pop music, many of which were awarded bonus points. Articles include Sky Ferreira, Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus and "Wrecking Ball" (Miley Cyrus song).

Other competitors of note include:

• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Hahc21}}, who helped take Thirty Flights of Loving through good article candidates and featured article candidates, claiming the first first featured article of the competition.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Prism}}, who claimed the first featured list of the competition with Natalia Kills discography.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Cwmhiraeth}}, who takes the title of the contributor awarded the highest bonus point multiplier (resulting in the highest scoring article) of the competition so far. Her high-importance salamander, now a good article, scored 108 points.

After such a competitive first round, expect the second round to also be fiercely fought. Remember that any content promoted after the end of round 1 but before the start of round 2 can be claimed in round 2, but please do not update your submission page until March (UTC). Invitations for collaborative writing efforts or any other discussion of potentially interesting work is always welcome on the WikiCup talk page. Remember, if two or more WikiCup competitors have done significant work on an article, all can claim points equally.

If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. If you want to help out with the WikiCup, please do your bit to help keep down the review backlogs! Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email), The ed17 (talk • email) and Miyagawa (talk • email) 00:01, 1 March 2014 (UTC)

The March 2014 GAN Backlog Drive has begun and will end on April 1, 2014! Sent by Dom497 on behalf of MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:01, 1 March 2014 (UTC)

|}

A quick update as we are half way through round two of this year's competition. WikiCup newcomer {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Godot13}} (Pool E) leads, having produced a massive set of featured pictures for Silver certificate (United States), an article also brought to featured list status. Former finalist {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Adam Cuerden}} (Pool G) is in second, which he owes mostly to his work with historical images, including a number of images from Urania's Mirror, an article also brought to good status. 2010 champion {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Sturmvogel_66}} (Pool C) is third overall, thanks to contributions relating to naval history, including the newly featured Japanese battleship Nagato. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Cliftonian}}, who currently leads Pool A and is sixth overall, takes the title for the highest scoring individual article of the competition so far, with the top importance featured article Ian Smith.

With 26 people having already scored over 100 points, it is likely that well over 100 points will be needed to secure a place in round 3. Recent years have required 123 (2013), 65 (2012), 41 (2011) and 100 (2010). Remember that only 64 will progress to round 3 at the end of April. Invitations for collaborative writing efforts or any other discussion of potentially interesting work is always welcome on the WikiCup talk page; if two or more WikiCup competitors have done significant work on an article, all can claim points equally. If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. If you want to help out with the WikiCup, please do your bit to help keep down the review backlogs! Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email), The ed17 (talk • email) and Miyagawa (talk • email) 22:55, 31 March 2014 (UTC)

|}

Round 3 of the 2014 WikiCup has just begun; 32 competitors remain. Pool G's {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Adam Cuerden}} was Round 2's highest scorer, with a large number of featured picture credits. In March/April, he restored star charts from Urania's Mirror, lithographs of various warships (such as SMS Gefion) and assorted other historical media. Second overall was Pool E's {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Godot13}}, whose featured list Silver certificate (United States) contains dozens of scans of banknotes recently promoted to featured picture status. Third was Pool G's {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|ChrisGualtieri}} who has produced a large number of good articles, many, including Falkner Island, on Connecticut-related topics. Other successful participants included {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Cliftonian}}, who saw three articles (including the top-importance Ian Smith) through featured article candidacies, and {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Caponer}}, who saw three lists (including the beautifully-illustrated list of plantations in West Virginia) through featured list candidacies. High-importance good articles promoted this round include narwhal from {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Reid,iain james}}, tiger from {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Cwmhiraeth}} and The Lion King from {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Igordebraga}}. We also saw our first featured topic points of the competition, awarded to {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Czar}} and {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Red Phoenix}} for their work on the Sega Genesis topic. No points have been claimed so far for good topics or featured portals.

192 was our lowest qualifying score, again showing that this WikiCup is the most competitive ever. In previous years, 123 (2013), 65 (2012), 41 (2011) or 100 (2010) secured a place in Round 3. Pool H was the strongest performer, with all but one of its members advancing, while only the two highest scorers in Pools G and F advanced. At the end of June, 16 users will advance into the semi-finals. If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. If you want to help out with the WikiCup, please do your bit to help keep down the review backlogs! Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email), The ed17 (talk • email) and Miyagawa (talk • email) 17:57, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

Image:Information.svg

Following a community discussion in June 2011, consensus was reached to provisionally suspend the administrative permissions of users who have been inactive for one year (i.e. administrators who have not made any edits or logged actions in over one year). As a result of this discussion, your administrative permissions will be removed pending your return if you do not return to activity within the next month. If you wish to have these permissions reinstated should this occur, please post to the Wikipedia:Bureaucrats' noticeboard and the userright will be restored per the re-sysopping process (i.e. as long as the attending bureaucrats are reasonably satisfied that your account has not been compromised, that your inactivity did not have the effect of evading scrutiny of any actions which might have led to sanctions, and that you have not been inactive for a three year period of time). If you remain inactive for a three year period of time, including the present year you have been inactive, you will need to request reinstatement at WP:RFA. This removal of access is procedural only, and not intended to reflect negatively upon you in any way. We wish you the best in future endeavors, and thank you for your past administrative efforts. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 04:48, 11 May 2014 (UTC)

|}

Hello there, a proposal regarding pre-adminship review has been raised at Village pump by {{noping|Anna Frodesiak}}. Your comments here is very much appreciated. Many thanks. Jim Carter through MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 06:46, 28 May 2014 (UTC)

Image:Information.svg Following a community discussion in June 2011, consensus was reached to provisionally suspend the administrative permissions of users who have been inactive for one year (i.e. administrators who have not made any edits or logged actions in over one year). As a result of this discussion, your administrative permissions will be removed pending your return if you do not return to activity within the next several days. If you wish to have these permissions reinstated should this occur, please post to the Wikipedia:Bureaucrats' noticeboard and the userright will be restored per the re-sysopping process (i.e. as long as the attending bureaucrats are reasonably satisfied that your account has not been compromised, that your inactivity did not have the effect of evading scrutiny of any actions which might have led to sanctions, and that you have not been inactive for a three year period of time). If you remain inactive for a three year period of time, including the present year you have been inactive, you will need to request reinstatement at WP:RFA. This removal of access is procedural only, and not intended to reflect negatively upon you in any way. We wish you the best in future endeavors, and thank you for your past administrative efforts.

Image:Information.svg

Following a community discussion in June 2011, consensus was reached to provisionally suspend the administrative permissions of users who have been inactive for one year (i.e. administrators who have not made any edits or logged actions in over one year). As a result of this discussion, your administrative permissions have been removed pending your return. If you wish to have these permissions reinstated, please post to the Wikipedia:Bureaucrats' noticeboard and the userright will be restored per the re-sysopping process (i.e. as long as the attending bureaucrats are reasonably satisfied that your account has not been compromised, that your inactivity did not have the effect of evading scrutiny of any actions which might have led to sanctions, and that you have not been inactive for a three year period of time). If you remain inactive for a three year period of time, including the present year you have been inactive, you will need to request reinstatement at WP:RFA. This removal of access is procedural only, and not intended to reflect negatively upon you in any way. We wish you the best in future endeavors, and thank you for your past administrative efforts. –xeno^talk 15:03, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

|}

After an extremely close race, Round 3 is over. 244 points secured a place in Round 4, which is comparable to previous years- 321 was required in 2013, while 243 points were needed in 2012. Pool C's {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Godot13}} was the round's highest scorer, mostly due to a 32 featured pictures, including both scans and photographs. Also from Pool C, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Casliber}} finished second overall, claiming three featured articles, including the high-importance Grus (constellation). Third place was Pool B's {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Sturmvogel_66}}, whose contributions included featured articles Russian battleship Poltava (1894) and Russian battleship Peresvet. Pool C saw the highest number of participants advance, with six out of eight making it to the next round.

The round saw this year's first featured portal, with {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Sven Manguard}} taking Portal:Literature to featured status. The round also saw the first good topic points, thanks to {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|12george1}} and the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. This means that all content types have been claimed this year. Other contributions of note this round include a featured topic on Maya Angelou's autobiographies from {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Figureskatingfan}}, a good article on the noted Czech footballer Tomáš Rosický from {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Cloudz679}} and a now-featured video game screenshot, freely released due to the efforts of {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Sven Manguard}}.

The judges would like to remind participants to update submission pages promptly. This means that content can be checked, and allows those following the competition (including those participating) to keep track of scores effectively. This round has seen discussion about various aspects of the WikiCup's rules and procedures. Those interested in the competition can be assured that formal discussions about how next year's competition will work will be opened shortly, and all are welcome to voice their views then. If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. If you want to help out with the WikiCup, please do your bit to help keep down the review backlogs! Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. {{user|J Milburn}} {{user|The ed17}} and {{user|Miyagawa}} 18:48, 30 June 2014 (UTC)

|}

Hello everyone! Hope you've all been having a great summer!

TheQ Editor recently proposed the idea of having another Backlog Drive in either September/October or November/December of this year. For those of you who have participated in the past two drives you know I was the one who organized them, however, come September, this will be my most important year in school so I will not be able to coordinate this drive (if it happens). TheQ Editor has volunteered to be a coordinator for the drive. If any of you would like to co-coordinator, please notify TheQ Editor on his talk page.

If you would be interested in participating in a Backlog Drive sometime before the end of this year, please notify TheQ Editor. Also, make sure to specify what month(s) work best for you.

At the time this message was sent out, the backlog was at 520 nominations. Since May, the backlog has been steadily increasing and we are currently near an all time high. Even though the backlog will not disappear over one drive, this drive can lead to several others which will (hopefully) lead to the day where there is no longer a backlog.

As always, the more participants, the better, and everyone is encouraged to participate!

Sent by Dom497--MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 15:52, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

|}

Hello everyone! We hope you have all been having a great summer!

As we all know, the recent GAN Backlog Drives have not had any big impact on the backlog. Because of that, me (Dom497), Figureskatingfan, and TheQ Editor have worked on an idea that could possibly finally put a dent into the massive backlog. Now, I will admit, the idea isn't entirely ours as we have took the general idea of the WikiCup and brought it over to WikiProject Good Articles. But anyways, here's what we have in mind:

For all of you that do not know what the WikiCup is, it is an annual competition between several editors to see who can get the most Good Articles, Featured Article's, Did You Know's, etc. Based of this, we propose to you the GA Cup. This competition will only focus on reviewing Good articles.

For more info on the proposal, click here. As a FYI, the proposal page is not what the final product will look like (if you do go ahead with this idea). It will look very similar to WikiCup's page(s).

The discussion for the proposal will take place here. Please let us know if you are interested, have any concerns, things to consider, etc.

--Dom497, Figureskatingfan, and TheQ Editor

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:28, 31 August 2014 (UTC)

The final of the 2014 WikiCup begins in a few short minutes! Our eight finalists are listed below, along with their placement in Round 4:

1. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Godot13}}, a WikiCup newcomer, finished top of Pool A and was the round's highest scorer. Godot is a featured picture specialist, claiming large numbers of points due to high-quality scans of historical documents, especially banknotes.
2. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Casliber}} is a WikiCup veteran, having been a finalist every year since 2010. In the semi-final, he was Pool B's highest scorer. Cas's points primarily come from articles on the natural sciences.
3. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Czar}} was Pool A's runner-up. Czar's points come mostly from content related to independent video games, including both articles and topics.
4. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Adam Cuerden}} was Pool B's runner-up. Another featured picture specialist, many of Adam's points come from the restoration of historical media. He has been a WikiCup finalist twice before.
5. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Cwmhiraeth}} won the WikiCup in 2012 and 2013, and enters this final as the first wildcard. She focuses on biology-related articles, and has worked on several high-importance articles.
6. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|12george1}} is the second wildcard. George's points come primarily from meteorology-related articles. This year and last year, George was the first person in the competition to score.
7. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Sturmvogel 66}}, the third wildcard, was the 2010 champion and a finalist last year. His writes mostly on military history, especially naval history.
8. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Bloom6132}}, the fourth and final wildcard, has participated in previous WikiCups, but not reached any finals. Bloom's points are mostly thanks to did you knows, featured lists and good articles related to sport and national symbols.

We say goodbye to this year's semi-finalists. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Matty.007}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|ThaddeusB}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|WikiRedactor}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Figureskatingfan}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Yellow Evan}}, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Prism}} and {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Cloudz679}} have all performed well to reach this stage of the competition, and we hope they will all be joining us again next year.

There are two upcoming competitions unrelated to the WikiCup which may be of interest to those who receive this newsletter. The Stub Contest will run through September, and revolves around expanding stub articles, especially high-importance or old stubs. In addition, a proposal has been made for a new competition, the GA Cup, which the organisers plan to run next year. This competition is based on the WikiCup and aims to reduce the good article review backlog.

There is now a thread for brainstorming on how next year's WikiCup competition should work. Please come along and share your thoughts- What works? What doesn't work? What needs changing? Signups for next year's competition will be open soon; we will be in touch. If, at this stage of the competition, you are keen to help the with the WikiCup, please do what you can to participate in review processes. Our finalists will find things much easier if the backlogs at good article candidates, featured article candidates, featured picture candidates and the rest are kept at a minimum. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. {{user|J Milburn}} {{user|The ed17}} and {{user|Miyagawa}} 22:09, 31 August 2014 (UTC)

|}

Greetings from WikiProject Military history! As a member of the project, you are invited to take part in our annual project coordinator election, which will determine our coordinators for the next twelve months. If you wish to cast a vote, please do so on the election page by 23:59 (UTC) on 28 September! Ed ^{[talk] [majestic titan]} 22:15, 23 September 2014 (UTC)

In one month's time, we will know our WikiCup 2014 champion. Newcomer {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Godot13}} has taken a strong lead with a featured list (historical coats of arms of the U.S. states from 1876) and a raft of featured pictures. Reigning champion {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Cwmhiraeth}} is in second place with a number of high-importance biology articles, including new FA Isopoda and new GA least weasel. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Casliber}}, who is in his fifth WikiCup final, is in third, with featured articles Pictor and Epacris impressa.

Signups for the 2015 WikiCup are open. All Wikipedians, new and experienced, are warmly invited to sign up for the competition. Wikipedians interested in friendly competition may also like to sign up for the GA Cup, a new WikiCup-inspired competition which revolves around completing good article reviews. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. {{user|J Milburn}} {{user|The ed17}} and {{user|Miyagawa}} 22:11, 30 September 2014 (UTC)

|}

|}

File:Flag of the Smithsonian Institution.svg

File:Flag of Wales.svg

File:Flag of Scotland.svg

The 2014 WikiCup champion is {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Godot13}}, who flew the flag of the Smithsonian Institution. This was Godot13's first WikiCup competition and, over the 10 months of the competition, he has produced (among other contributions) two featured lists and an incredible 292 featured pictures, including architectural photographs and scans of historical documents. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Cwmhiraeth}}, 2012 and 2013 WikiCup champion, came in second, having written a large number of biology-related articles. {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Casliber}}, WikiCup finalist every year since 2010, finished in third.

A full list of our prize-winners follows:

• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Godot13}} wins the prize for first place and the FP prize for 181 featured pictures in the final round.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Cwmhiraeth}} wins the prize for second place and the DYK prize for 65 did you knows in the final round.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Casliber}} wins the prize for third place and the FA prize for four featured articles in the final round.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Czar}} wins the prize for fourth place
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Sturmvogel 66}} wins a final 8 prize.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Bloom6132}} wins a final 8 prize.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|12george1}} wins a final 8 prize.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|ChrisGualtieri}} wins the GA prize for 27 good articles in round 2 and the review prize for 28 good article reviews in round 1.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Caponer}} wins the FL prize for three featured lists in round 2.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Sven Manguard}} wins the FPo prize his work on featured portals.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Figureskatingfan}} wins the topic prize for a nine-article featured topic in round 3.
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|ThaddeusB}} wins the news prize for 28 in the news articles in round 3.

Congratulations to everyone who has been successful in this year's WikiCup, whether you made it to the final rounds or not, and a particular congratulations to the newcomers to the WikiCup who have participated this year. We warmly invite all of you to sign up for next year's competition. Discussions and polls concerning potential rules changes are also open, and all are welcome to participate. The WikiCup judges will be back in touch over the coming months, and we hope to see you all in the 2014 competition. Until then, it only remains to once again congratulate our worthy winners, and thank all participants for their involvement! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. {{user|J Milburn}} {{user|The ed17}} and {{user|Miyagawa}} 22:51, 4 November 2014 (UTC)

|}

In July 2013, the featured article 2nd Canadian Infantry Division was merged into 2nd Canadian Division. Please contribute to the discussion at Wikipedia:Featured article review/2nd Canadian Infantry Division/archive1 to decide whether the combined or original article should retain featured article status. DrKiernan (talk) 09:12, 30 November 2014 (UTC)

The Military history Wikiproject has opened nominations for the Military historian of the year and Military history newcomer of the year. Nominations will be accepted until 13 December at 23:59 GMT, with voting to begin at 0:00 GMT 14 December. The voting will conclude on 21 December. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:35, 7 December 2014 (UTC)

Hello everyone, and may we wish you all a happy holiday season. As you will probably already know, the 2015 WikiCup begins in the new year; there is still time to sign up. We have a few important announcements concerning the future of the WikiCup.

• We would like to announce that Josh (J Milburn) and Ed (The ed17), who have been WikiCup judges since 2009 and 2010 respectively, are stepping down. This decision has been made for a number of reasons, but the main one is time. Both Josh and Ed have found that, over the previous year, they have been unable to devote the time necessary to the WikiCup, and it is not likely that they will be able to do this in the near future. Furthermore, new people at the helm can only help to invigorate the WikiCup and keep it dynamic. Josh and Ed will still be around, and will likely be participating in the Cup this following year as competitors, which is where both started out.
• In a similar vein, we hope you will all join us in welcoming Jason (Sturmvogel 66) and Christine (Figureskatingfan), who are joining Brian (Miyagawa) to form the 2015 WikiCup judging team. Jason is a WikiCup veteran, having won in 2010 and finishing in fifth this year. Christine has participated in two WikiCups, reaching the semi-finals in both, and is responsible for the GA Cup, which she now co-runs.
• The discussions/polls concerning the next competition's rules will be closed soon, and rules changes will be made clear on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Scoring and talk pages. While it may be impossible to please everyone, the judges will make every effort to ensure that the new rules are both fair and in the best interests of the competition, which is, first and foremost, about improving Wikipedia.

If you have any questions or concerns, the judges can be reached on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, on their talk pages, or by email. We hope you will all join us in trying to make the 2015 WikiCup the most productive and enjoyable yet. You are receiving this message because you are listed on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk), The ed17 (talk), Miyagawa (talk), Sturmvogel 66 (talk) and Figureskatingfan (talk) 18:53, 7 December 2014 (UTC)

|}

right

Round one of the 2015 WikiCup has begun! So far we've had around 80 signups, which close on February 5. If you have not already signed up and want to do so, then you can add your name here. There have been changes to to several of the points scores for various categories, and the addition of Peer Reviews for the first time. These will work in the same manner as Good Article Reviews, and all of the changes are summarised here.

Remember that only the top 64 scoring competitors will make it through to the second round, and one of the new changes this year is that all scores must be claimed within two weeks of an article's promotion or appearance, so don't forget to add them to your submissions pages! If you are concerned that your nomination will not receive the necessary reviews, and you hope to get it promoted before the end of the round, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. However, please remember to continue to offer reviews at GAN, FAC and all the other pages that require them to prevent any backlogs which could otherwise be caused by the Cup. As ever, questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup and the judges are reachable on their talk pages. Good luck! {{user|Figureskatingfan}}, {{user|Miyagawa}} and {{user|Sturmvogel 66}}

If you wish to opt-out of future mailings, please remove yourself from the mailing list or alternatively to opt-out of all massmessage mailings, you may add :Category:Opted-out of message delivery to your user talk page. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 20:51, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

|}

|}

File:FRG-2a-Allied West Germany-1 Deutsche Mark (1948).jpg

That's it, the first round is done, sign-ups are closed and we're into round 2. 64 competitors made it into this round, and are now broken into eight groups of eight. The top two of each group will go through to round 3, and then the top scoring 16 "wildcards" across all groups. Round 1 saw some interesting work on some very important articles, with the round leader {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant6|Freikorp}} owing most of his 622 points scored to a Featured Article on the 2001 film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within which qualified for a times-two multiplier. This is a higher score than in previous years, as {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant5|Godot13}} had 500 points in 2014 at the end of round 1, and our very own judge, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant4|Sturmvogel_66}} led round 1 with 601 points in 2013.

In addition to Freikorp's work, some other important articles and pictures were improved during round one, here's a snapshot of a few of them:

• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant6|Cwmhiraeth}} took Bumblebee, a level-4 vital article, to Good Article;
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant6|AHeneen}} worked-up the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 article, also to Good Article status;
• {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant6|Rodw}} developed an extremely timely article to Good Article, taking Magna Carta there some 800 years after it was first sealed;
• And last but not least, {{Wikipedia:WikiCup/Participant6|Godot13}} worked up a number of Featured Pictures during round 1, including the 1948 one Deutsche Mark (pictured right), receiving the maximum bonus due to the number of Wikis that the related article appears in.

You may also wish to know that The Core Contest is running through the month of March. Head there for further details - they even have actual prizes!

If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. {{User4|Figureskatingfan}}, {{user4|Miyagawa}} and {{User4|Sturmvogel 66}}

Thanks for your assistance! Miyagawa (talk) on behalf of Wikipedia:WikiCup.

(Opt-out Instructions) This message was send by {{U|Jim Carter}} through MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 04:54, 1 March 2015 (UTC)