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Wikipedia talk:Wikipedia Signpost/Feedback

Congratulations
Congratulations. A great idea implemented well. Wikipedia has got to big to keep up with, without wasting too much time looking. I'd be interested in writing the occasional article. :ChrisG 20:13, 10 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * Congratulations from me as well. I expect to be an avid reader.-gadfium 21:23, 10 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * My congratulations too -- I really enjoy this, and look forward to seeing it develop. I'll keep my eyes open for things I can contribute. Catherine\talk 07:37, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * Congratulations from me too. I look forward to contributing sometimes. Are we to go all the way with a gossip column, small ads and a letters page??? Apwoolrich 08:33, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * Want to make Wikipedia wealthy? Start this:  Wikipersonals, and charge $4.99 to be listed. Blair P. Houghton 21:15, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Let me add to the chorus; I enjoyed reading this, and it was very well done. Jayjg |  (Talk)  21:45, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

This is cool :) Dan100 00:12, Jan 12, 2005 (UTC)

Yes very useful, well done. Paul August ☎ 19:26, Feb 11, 2005 (UTC)

Remarks
Hello. I think such a newspaper on Wikipedia is very usefull (mostly for those who don't stick everyday on it but want to stay in touch with the project). I don't know how you will handle archives but it could be interesting to keep old articles somewhere. I would say that, for each link on articles in the main page, one should be able to know a little more on the article : when was it written and what it the real topic. Don't forget that wp is read by a worldwide audience and your English must be "simple" (I know, "simple" prose is harder to write, takes more time, but it worth the effort : it is often the way to write beautiful prose, here I don't criticise those clear and precise article bodies, but their headers, cause I had to follow links to ensure I understood the topic). One more : I often use the "status bar" to check what is linking to what, so I would like the articles' filenames not to be obscure acronyms. I guess a date of publication plus a keyword or two could be better. Anyway, nice idea and nice work. I'm often completely lost in what is "going-on" in wp, what are the major changes and events. Here, I will find this info. gbog 05:15, 2005 Jan 11 (UTC)

Excellent work, Michael
When I saw the announcement of this project I was slightly sceptical that there was a niche for it. The depth and quality of your writing proved me completely wrong. I really like it (and not just because you chose to quote me in one of the articles :). Minor suggestions only-

 * When coming up with ideas of how best to integrate (if at all) goings-on and the signpost, please also consider the future of Announcements which itself has died off since goings-on got started.

 * For maintenance purposes consider using a subpage of form SignPost/Issue Number X/Article title rather than the current SignPost/Article title.

Pcb21| Pete 12:21, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * Yes, I've thought about what role the Announcements page might have as well. Brockert above mentioned the issue of ongoing things like new admins, which currently is hosted at Goings-on. I'm wondering if that kind of material (i.e. terse administrative announcements that don't really have a news story behind them) might be moved back to Announcements, while the Signpost takes over the news-report functionality from Goings-on, which could then be retired from service.

 * A proper scheme for organizing and naming the subpages has yet to be determined, but I do anticipate archiving by each issue, possibly in a manner similar to your suggestion. --Michael Snow 20:06, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * Agree totally with Pcb21. I also was sceptical at first, but now I think it is great! Well Done! -- Chris 73 Talk 04:29, Jan 25, 2005 (UTC)

Signpost Found
I stumbled onto Signpost today (I must have missed the memo) and how very nice it is. For the casual user (vs Wikiholic) it provides concise info about goings-on that "Goings-On" lacked. I feel more like an "insider" without having to expend my energy/time for example on arbitration pages. I like your NPOV editorial style - it reads very much like a newspaper. Well done and thank you. hydnjo talk 23:41, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Thanks also from me. After being away for a few weeks, it was the easiest way to catch up on WikiHappenings, and it's very well written. Cheers! — Matt Crypto 14:17, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

What they said. Thanks. –Hajor 14:39, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

wow
Michael I just want to say that your neutral writing is excellent. --Alterego 17:40, Feb 14, 2005 (UTC)

May 9 edition?
Is there going to be a new edition this week? Just curious—I always look forward to reading the Signpost each week! — Knowledge Seeker দ 06:46, 10 May 2005 (UTC)

1 August issue
I'm just wondering where this week's issue is? Thryduulf 16:45, 1 August 2005 (UTC)

 * It's been delayed a bit because Worldtraveller had a technical glitch mess up his piece, and I'm still trying to figure out whether one other story is going to happen. Looks like it will be a smaller-than-normal issue once it's ready, which will hopefully be soon. --Michael Snow 17:09, 1 August 2005 (UTC)

Size of current issue
Congratulations to everyone for the larger-than-usual events coverage in this issue. Keep up the good work! Ingoolemo talk 22:43, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

 * I concur. I loved the generous length of the edition this week. Fantastic. Babajobu 23:03, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Largest issue ever, in fact. Nice work to everyone else...Michael Snow wrote a ton of articles this week, Flcelloguy continued his ArbCom series, and Karmafist wrote an article for the first time this week.  Ral315 (talk) 04:00, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

Thank you
Just a thanks from me to the guys/gals who write for the signpost. I usually drop by to see what's going on in the Wikipedia world. Keep up the great work. - Akamad 12:55, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks
I just wanted to say thanks for everyone's excellent work on the signpost! -Ravedave 03:18, 18 January 2006 (UTC)

 * Thanks for your thanks! It's good to know the work is appreciated. — Catherine\talk 20:52, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

I'd like to say thanks as well. The Signpost is great! :-) --unforgettableid | talk to me 03:02, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Great Job!
Hey, I'd just like to say that this week's Signpost is the most well-written issue I've seen since so far! (I guess I can forgive you guys for being behind schedule with it lately.) May I suggest that you start saying that new issues come out on Tuesday, so that when they don't come on Monday, people won't be disappointed. Its kind of a stupid suggestion, but whatever. JaredW 12:19, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the compliments; all of us who contribute appreciate it. I'm not sure about the changing of the date - that would be something for Michael Snow or Ral315 to decide. Thanks! Flcelloguy (A note? ) 20:57, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

 * We just need to do a better job of sticking to the schedule. --Michael Snow 22:53, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

 * Agreed. Ral315 (talk) 19:11, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

TROLL (The Report On Lengthy Litigation)
I hate to be a party pooper, and I do appreciate the work of the people who write this, but would it be possible to change the name of The Report...? It smacks horribly of caballic in-jokery, which rather defeats the splendid work on improving openness which the Signpost otherwise does. It took me a long time to work out what this section was meant to be, and I've been here for ages. I can't imagine what the noobs make of it. --Markyour words 19:37, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

 * Suggestions would be good. "RFAs and Arbcom cases in progress" doesn't sound very euphonius, and at least this one is semi-amusing. --maru (talk) contribs 19:56, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

 * I personally like TROLL but how about "Arbitration Digest"? --Thryduulf 20:17, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

 * Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought TROLL was about RFAs in addition to Arbcom cases? (I could have sworn I saw a few...) --maru (talk) contribs 20:26, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

 * TROLL = The Report On Lengthy Litigation. Aren't RFA's (Requests for Adminship) covered in "Features and admins"? Arbitration is RFAr. Although I suppose TROLL could cover RFCs and Mediation but I don't recall it doing and AIUI those processes are in a bit of a mess at the moment? I see TROLL as the Wikipedia equivalent of a court reporter. Thryduulf 22:04, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

 * I suspect Maru means RfCs. --Markyour words 22:11, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

 * Oops. Er, yes, that is what I meant- I suppose I've been hanging around the durn Internet so long I can't associate an RFC with something bad. --maru (talk) contribs 01:07, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

 * TROLL currently only covers requests for arbitration (sometimes abbreviated RfA), and Features and admins covers requests for adminship, which is much more commonly abbreviated RfA. Covering mediation and RfC would be a logistics problem; first, speaking from my position as a mediator, I wouldn't wish for the dispute to be covered, and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to cover RfCs either. Regarding the name "T.R.O.L.L.", the issue would be up to Ral or Michael Snow to decide; please continue to give feedback, though. Personally, I like it, but I can see why some people would be confused and/or offended. However, note that the acronym is no longer actively in use; from the main newspaper page, it's spelled out, and the subpage is now always at "Arbitration report". Thanks! Flcelloguy (A note? ) 22:18, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

 * On an optimistic note, perhaps 'Dispute Resolution'? If it is just meant to be Arbcom matters, then something like 'Arbcom Digest', 'Arbitration Cases in Progress'?Markyour words 22:11, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
 * I like "T.R.O.L.L." It's community news, we can cope with community in-jokes. My 2 pennies. — Matt Crypto 22:21, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Here here! Raul654 22:21, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
 * I like this too. The name is a bit of a chuckle for me. (Hm, as an arb, perhaps I shouldn't admit that...) Mindspillage (spill yours?) 23:30, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
 * When I first figured out when TROLL meant, I started to ROFLMAO. Tito xd (?!? - help us) 01:19, 8 February 2006 (UTC)
 * What was hard to figure out about what this feature is? It is and always has been a report about arbitration cases, and I can't imagine anything that could have given an impression that it's not that. As for the joke, not everyone figures it out right away, but explaining it every week would spoil the joke. If you think it's snarky, keep in mind that the snark here can cut in all directions. A reader can see in it what they want, but that comes as much from their own preconceptions as anything that's inherent in the name. --Michael Snow 22:47, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
 * I assumed it was about some actual litigation which the foundation was involved in. And I don't thiink I'm more than averagely obtuse. Markyour words 22:52, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
 * We all have our blind spots. Apparently mine was that, knowing what real litigation is, it didn't occur to me that anyone would actually think that's what I was talking about. Rather that was part of the joke, and it's interesting to learn that it did get misunderstood this way. --Michael Snow 23:07, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

I'll stick my two pennorth in here and say that I've always been a little uneasy about this name as well. It took me no time to figure out what it meant, but my concern is the implication that arbitration is all about trolls, which is very far from being the case. --OpenToppedBus - Talk to the driver 11:20, 8 February 2006 (UTC) We use "The Report on Lengthy Litigation" primarily. That it's an acronym is more of an in-joke than anything. If you can't figure that it's arbitration cases by looking at the title, simply viewing the story pretty much makes it clear. Ral315 (talk) 18:22, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

My sentiments are exactly like OpenToppedBus's. I always try to avoid the word troll so as to avoid any chance of a personal attack. If it's never used in it's acronym form then I'm fine with the inside joke, but the word troll is just unecessary. - Taxman Talk 19:04, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

 * The only place the acronym gets used is the navigation links at the bottom of each story, which need to use shorthand titles. If we found a suitable substitute there, would that be satisfactory? --Michael Snow 19:19, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that would be fine, and I really don't have a huge problem with it, I've just never thought it was a terribly good idea either. - Taxman Talk 20:21, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
 * As per Taxman, I don't have a huge problem with it either, which is why I've not brought it up until someone else questioned it. I certainly don't mind keeping the name if the acronym's not used. --OpenToppedBus - Talk to the driver 09:30, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

TROLL and BRION are just fine. Relax, folks. If you're "in" enough to recognize that there's a joke there at all, then it isn't an "in-joke" at your expense. --FOo 10:12, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Weekly release date
The signpost seems to be released on the day after the date stamp of the article. For example, this weeks signpost has the time stamp Feb 27, but were not available until the 28th (possibly it was available in the evening in the US=the night in the EU). It would seem more intuitive to me if the signpost was available on the day of its time stamp, just like newspapers where the Feb 27th issue is the issue availble on the morning of the 27th. Thue | talk 15:31, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

 * Well, the Signpost is released weekly, summarising the events of the previous week, and Monday is the copy date and date stamp. Inevitably, some articles are not ready by 0:01 UTC on Monday, let alone 0:01 local time for New Zealanders, etc, (some Wikipedians do have lives at the weekend, some authors are in the US) and things slip a bit past the deadline, as is the way of things.  Like most readers in Europe, I suppose, I generally read it on the Tuesday, but I think the Monday date stamp is fine:  think of it as identifying the week of the issue, rather than the day of the issue. -- ALoan (Talk) 16:08, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Why not release on tuesdays? -Ravedave 17:33, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Yes, precisely. When at first you don't succeed, redefine success :). I mean that seriously, just change the official weekly release date to tuesday, and otherwise carry on releasing as you have done. Thue | talk 19:35, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
 * I'm still not sure why this is a problem... -- ALoan (Talk) 20:36, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Because the current release date is misleading. People looking for the next issue of the signpost will be expecting it a day before it is available. Thue | talk 08:56, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

I've been working harder to get my article(s) done on time (I found the FoxClocks Firefox extension, which gives me an extra browser clock set to UTC/Wikipedia time, which helps.) Would putting the Submission and Publishing deadlines on the Newsroom page help contributors to get things prepared in a timely manner? — Catherine\talk 20:22, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

 * I could do that. Ral315 (talk) 00:55, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

current admin noms
I think it would be nice if, in addition to listing the users who passed RfA last week, we listed also the users who were up for RfA at presstime. I don't go to RfA all that often, usually only if I know the people involved. I do read Signpost every week however, and sometimes discover that I've missed an RfA that I really would have liked to have voted on. What do you think? -lethe talk [ +] 12:39, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Support. I sometimes have the same need, so I regularly check the VfA page, and I would appreciate reading about it in the signpost. -- Chris 73 | Talk 15:03, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

 * As an aside, I find that keeping User:Dragons flight/RFA summary on my watchlist is a good way of keeping track of current RFAs. Leith p 15:12, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

 * Gosh - what an exceptionally useful page.

 * In the spirit of sharing, I stumbled across No angry mastodons and Beware of the tigers yesterday. -- ALoan (Talk) 15:30, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

 * Weak oppose. I think it might be a bit overkill, considering Dragon flight's link and the ability to type RfAinto the search box. But still, this isn't the worst idea ever or anything.  young  american  (talk) 15:20, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

 * Conditional support; needs a light copyedit. -- ALoan (Talk) 15:30, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

 * I personally don't see the need to include current RFAs...if people can't be bothered to check it once a week, then that's their fault. Someone being named an admin is newsworthy; someone applying isn't, in my opinion.  Ral315 (talk) 18:56, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

 * I tend to agree with Ral315, it is as simple as writing WP:RFA and looking at the TOC quickly... Mi kk er ... 19:09, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Features & admins
For recently featured and defeatured images, articles et al, I think you should link to the nomination as well as the item itself, similar to how you link to both userpages and nominations for RfAs. I lime to read nominations. :) pfctdayelise (translate?) 13:37, 31 March 2006 (UTC)

 * Can do. - RoyBoy 800 16:33, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

B.R.I.O.N. - Software
The Bugs, Repairs and Internal Operational News section is nice for users who want to keep abreast of some of the administrative issues going on behind the scenes, but it seems to cover hardware with quite a bias. What's the harm in adding something to report on changes to the software; which occur often, and which end users often aren't informed of? Rob Church (talk) 14:37, 9 April 2006 (UTC)
 * I'm sure Ral315, who writes that section, would be happy to report on such changes, if he were made aware of them. Raul654 17:19, 9 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Indeed the coverage of technical issues, whether by Ral315 or myself, is always coming from people who simply aren't heavily enough involved in those matters to do them justice. We'd be happy to have anyone more familiar with that side of things who can feed us information or even help in writing these reports. --Michael Snow 04:11, 10 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Frankly, I'd love to. Is there an easy way to get new fixed bugs, like the server admin log?  Ral315 (talk) 06:34, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
 * One of these has the details needed, which one.. dunno - according to Consanguinity in #wikimedia-tech its  -Ravedave 05:51, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

There's a Subversion commit log, and also a mailing list which the bug tracker spits out feeds to. If those are a bit too high volume (and they can get quite busy) then I've no problem with feeding you a list of things changed or fixed on a weekly basis; I'll go and review the logs now and put something together. Rob Church (talk) 15:58, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

 * Would also be very interesting to hear if there has been purchased/installed any new servers. As far as I can see from the serverlist there has been no new servers since last year, even though there has been a major fundraise in the beginning of this year. Ulflarsen 17:00, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

 * That would be greatly appreciated, Rob -- thank you! Wherever you build your list, drop a link in the Newsroom, and the info will be included in the Signpost's next issue.  — Catherine\talk 15:54, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

Done. I'll negotiate with Domas Mituzas about getting purchase info. available, when he's around. Rob Church (talk) 00:40, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

Wikimania report
Just a heads up that Wikipedia Signpost/2006-04-10/Wikimania report isn't linked from WP:POST. I don't want to stuff up the pretty formatting so I haven't done it myself... enochlau (talk) 12:36, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
 * There's a link on the main page to me... - Pureblade  | Θ 16:31, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
 * There is too. What was I thinking... enochlau (talk) 16:41, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

PUBLISHING!
Is the signpost ready to be published?! If not, what is the time it will be published (it's 11 1/2 hours late).

-- P  ri  m a  t  e  #  101  04:30, 18 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Fair go... it was just Easter! - Ta bu shi da yu 04:46, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

Highlighting updates visually
I wanted to suggest that somehow we highlight the Signpost when it is a fresh update (mondays). My eyes tend to skip over it (at the community portal), due to its fairly homogenous layout week-to-week, and i only remember to check it occasionally.

My own whimsical suggestion, would be to lighten the font by a shade on wednesdays and saturdays, then on mondays it becomes full-black again, making it visually pop. But i'm sure you can devise something better :)

Just a thought. -Quiddity 20:31, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

 * Watchlist is your friend. :) Rebecca 20:44, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

 * Alternatively, you might wish to join our "message" list and receive an update to your user talk page. Flcelloguy (A note? ) 21:59, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

I'd meant more for the benefit of others. To increase casual readership. As i'm guessing it's a common problem. Maybe something as simple as adding a "Fresh on Mondays" line, or similar? Or a 2nd "Signpost" logo in a different colour, and the two could alternate each week. See what i mean? -Quiddity 22:11, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

 * I see what you mean now. Well, it does include the issue/volume number and the date of publication in the template, so that in each update they will change. I'm not sure if people would like a different color; first, it would be hard to determine when a "new" issue becomes "old", and some people might view colors as garish and tacky. I'm open to suggestions, though. :-) Thanks! Flcelloguy (A note? ) 23:34, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Just a slight variant. eg. 1 black, 1 dark blue. Every monday you'd change to the other.
 * I'm picturing the 1920's boy on corner, shouting "Extra, extra! read all about it!" :)
 * Or the other idea of the logo getting slightly grayer over the course of the week. Then suddenly being black again on mondays.
 * Just some ideas, i'll leave them to percolate ;) -Quiddity 06:11, 18 May 2006 (UTC)
 * I like the idea of two colors that flip back and forth, or maybe a color for the nth edition of the month. Maybe just a little red 'New' icon for 24 hours after it gets updated. -Ravedave 15:21, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

in-jokes
I don't find the vaguely humorous but very contrived acronyms (such as T.R.O.L.L.) on the contents page to be particularly helpful. In the interest of wider accessibility, it would be better to scrap the in-jokes and rename the titles to the names of the pages to which they point (such as Arbitration Report). This is particularly because the contents list, as it appears in Community Portal, is one click away from the main page, so ought to be more outsider-friendly. Thanks. Arbitrary username 21:00, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

 * There's been some previous discussion on this. Thanks! Flcelloguy (A note? ) 00:59, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Maybe there was, but I have to say that I agree with Arbitrary username. It isn't particularly funny and it looks unprofessional. Rebecca 02:39, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Yes, the acronyms are very contrived. But that's what makes it fun.  I'm not personally trying to make this the Wall Street Journal or The Times.  It's a community in-joke that's been around for nearly a year and a half, and one that most people gloss over without recognizing its significance.  I guess I don't see how someone recognizing an acronym as "TROLL" (if they did) could be unfriendly.  Ral315 (talk) 06:15, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

 * To clarify, I used "outsider-friendly" in the context of accessibility. I don't of course think the acronyms are "unfriendly" in the sense of hostile, but they are less helpful than more descriptive titles would be. Arbitrary username 16:04, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

I think that the fact they've been around for a year and a half could also be interpreted to mean that the joke is getting kind of stale, although I'm certainly flattered by having everyone imitate my original model. What I'm inclined to suggest is that we continue the acronyms through this year's Wikimania, so as not to disrupt their use for that particular series, and then gracefully retire them. I'm sure we can still find ways to inject a little fun into the Signpost. --Michael Snow 16:25, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

T.R.O.L.L. doesn't seem notably unprofessional when taken in the context of WP's different nature from conservative publications like the Wall Street Journal. There seems to be utility in it's humourous and light-hearted approach to an often heated area, and it is consistent with the general views of WP readers and editors.--Nectar 17:04, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

 * I agree with User:Arbitrary username and User:Rebecca that the acronyms are contrived and unprofessional. Also, I was not aware at first that they were acronyms, and I changed the capitalization only to be reverted and told that they were acronyms. Well, in that case, they should be explicitly shown as such, and I made this change instead, only to be reverted again. I don't understand the reasoning behind this. If editors support the use of the acronyms, then why try to hide them, making the capitalization look extremely odd and unprofessional to viewers of the Signpost who are not aware of the acronyms? And if my change was reverted because explicitly noting the acronyms makes the Signpost look unprofessional, then does that not raise questions about whether we should be using the acronyms at all in the first place? —Lowellian (reply) 11:33, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
 * I would be interested to know why you would think that an internal newsletter for the enjoyment and enlightenment of contributors to Wikipedia should need to look "professional". This is not the sort of road down which we want to start travelling, because the next thing will be edit-wars between groups of people with their own ideas about what constitutes "professional". This is not the place for enforcing strict nomenclature, it's supposed to be fun and informative. HTH HAND —Phil | Talk 13:34, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Ditto Phil. I don't see what's wrong with in-jokes, considering this is a publication for in-house consumption. It's like suggesting the company newsletter shouldn't make references to internal terminology that an outsider wouldn't get. (Of course, this newsletter is unabashedly public, but nevertheless, its first audience is the editors of Wikipedia.) If we want to change the acronyms, then we should find a better reason to (e.g., better titles?) than just them being in-jokes or self-references. Johnleemk | Talk 13:40, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Agree. Keep the titles they are fine. The signpost is not press releases nor is it wikinews, so in-jokes are prefectly fine. I remeber getting a chuckle when I figured out the title was B.R.I.O.N and Brion Vibber is one of the main developers. -Ravedave 14:25, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
 * If it's supposed to be fun and informative, how about coming up with something that is either a) fun or b) informative? These are just irritating. Rebecca 06:41, 13 June 2006 (UTC)
 * I like the Signpost a lot. It's generally well-written, and I greatly appreciate the work of those who contribute to it. It plays a invaluable role in keeping the most-involved Wikipedia editors well-informed, but it is more than that: it is also a newspaper for the larger Wikipedia community of casual editors, and is increasingly extending beyond that, to the point that occasional viewers of Wikipedia read over it and outside bloggers and media/news agencies use it as a reference and a source of information. As such, I want it to be as good as possible. Of course it should look professional! Otherwise, let's just throw good grammar and spelling out the window as well. —Lowellian (reply) 18:30, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

In light of other comments . ..
I just wanted to drop you guys a note and say that, generally, I think you all do a very good job with this thing. People tend to focus on the problems with this free, non-paying, Wikipedia newsletter instead of on the interesting stories that are put out weekly by this free, non-paying, Wikipedia newsletter. Anyway, that's it, keep up the good work :) - Jersyko · talk  13:06, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

Laudatio

 * 1: You do a great job!
 * 2: Thanks for mentioning the two logo contests I initiated, I hope we'll get more input soon now. =]
 * — Nightst a  llion  (?) 06:15, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

 * I'd like to add my praise. TWS is a really good idea. - Heartofgoldfish 16:21, 25 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Strong support Wikipedia Signpost is an excellent way to keep the community informed! --Donar Reiskoffer 18:59, 25 June 2006 (UTC)
 * 100% agree - fantastic job, signposters :-) Required reading for myself every Tuesday, I very much look forward to it! Ta bu shi da yu 14:02, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

Date of single-page version not updated
For some reason, the date on WP:POST/1 hasn't been updated: the new articles for 3 July 2006 are all there but the topmost header still says "26 June 2006". I've used the "purge" link to be sure, to no avail. No biggie, but there's a glitch somewhere.

(And BTW, big thanks for that single-page version. I had suggested it some months ago, and it had been implemented, what, 6 hours later? Terrific.)

-- 62.147.113.238 01:31, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

 * I just needed editing (which I have just done). This is a wiki - you can fix errors yourself! -- ALoan (Talk) 11:35, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

 * But, as I understand it, the Single-page version is generated from the Multi-page version automatically by transclusion, not by hand; isn't the Single-page version's header (and its date) also automatically derived from the Multi-page version? -- In other words, I thought it was a bug in the transclusion process that generates the Single-page version, a bug that would have missed out the header and date part. Thus, I thought that fixing it myself wouldn't help in the long term, compared to reporting on a bug. Oh, well, sorry. -- 62.147.113.80 12:16, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

 * No problem - the contents are transcluded automatically, but the singe-page version is updated manually to pick up the articles for the relevant issue, to update the index, and to change the dates (see its history page). Anyway, thanks for pointing it out. -- ALoan (Talk) 13:15, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

 * Oh, right, I see. But then, I guess it should be possible to avoid duplicating the Signpost's TOC by making it a subpage like articles, and using in it three template variables (for the subtitle, the link to the other version, and the shortcut), so as to invoke it from both front pages, kinda like:

 * And:

 * Just a thought. -- 62.147.113.80 13:58, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

Where's B.R.I.O.N.?
There hasn't been a B.R.I.O.N. for two issues now… I miss it… Jon Harald Søby 14:41, 3 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Ditto. -Ravedave 16:57, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

On this topic, I'm working on it, but Rob Church, who used to give me write-ups on software changes, left last month, so it's tough to do. Ral315 (talk) 18:19, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Have you tried diffing the release notes every week? If you download a Subversion client, you should be able to do that, and since every nontrivial change is supposed to be added to the release notes, you should get a reasonable list of things changed. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 22:22, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Anyone try emailing him for how he assembled it? -Ravedave 01:22, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

There's a *LOT* of information floating around from the hacking days. Raul654 18:38, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

 * Maybe you can ask Brion Vibber, or Tim Starling if they will give you any software info. C  a  rm  el  apple  22:15, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

 * Seems you don't need an SVN client after all. Here's a link to changes made to the release notes since July 17.  Is that useful? —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 04:03, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

 * To some extent. The only thing is it's not weekly.  Someone bugged JeLuF about this a day or two ago; if nothing happens, I'll poke Brion or Tim.  Ral315 (talk) 05:30, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
 * You can make it weekly. Just go here (takes a long time to load), find the version prior to the one you want the earliest changes from (namely, the latest change that was included in the previous BRION), click "select for diffs" next to it, wait a while for the page to reload, find the top revision, and click "diff to selected #####". —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 19:07, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Next issue
Is everything OK with the Signpost? When is the next issue due? - Ta bu shi da yu 22:19, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

 * Ral's yet to log on yet; and if he doesn't log on in the next few hours some one may have to cover him. All stuff has been proofread, and moved for publication, it's just that he's yet to log on to finish his articles and do finishing touches to aritcles. Issue should be out by 03:00, if Ral's not one. Should Ral log on before that he'll publish. Several stories that can be seen at the newsroom have not been finished such as wikicharts etc. ForestH2  t/h/c 00:04, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

 * Published. ForestH2  t/h/c 02:37, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
 * A bumper issue: well worth the wait! Great work folks. - Ta bu shi da yu 12:47, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Lets drop the "Good Article" mentions, eh?
Almost every single report on foreign Wikis has mentioned that they do not have an equivelant of our or deWiki's Good Articles. It's obvious that almost everyone has some form of Featured Article standard, but almost no-one has anything like GAs. So, why continue to mention it unless they do? --Jeffrey O. Gustafson - Shazaam! - <*> 17:30, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

 * A good point, though I think the point was partially to emphasize that the GA standard is in its infancy in that it hasn't yet been adopted by many languages. I fully expect it to take hold on many other wikis in the next 3-6 months.  Ral315 (talk) 03:29, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

 * It could also illustrate that GA was never a good idea and was simply ignored by the other 200 wikis... --Jeffrey O. Gustafson - Shazaam! - <*> 02:50, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Missing: Wikipedia in the news
Why is this section missing from this edition? Did nobody write a new article about us this week?? Or do we need more volunteer-power for the 'post?--Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus 02:02, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

 * More volunteers are always helpful. This week, nobody else took it and I was unable to get it, so we published without it.  We haven't had anyone really doing it on a week-to-week basis since July, so if someone wants to handle it, that's great.  Ral315 (talk) 03:27, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

 * I'd be happy to chip in as I consider that section to be one of the most interesting and valuable :) Any templates, tips (Google News:Wikipedia?) etc. for info where to look for new stories?--Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus 17:43, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

 * Trödel actually just volunteered to do that this week. Feel free to help him on that, or if you see an article worth a full story (I think the Jimbo/Chinese censorship stories in the news this week would merit a full article, for one thing), go ahead and chip in there.

 * As to where to find stories, we've mostly used Google News and such in the past. Let me know if you have any other questions.  Ral315 (talk) 19:24, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

 * Also, a just a note, there wasn't many stories in the news last week; so it wasn't really worth of an article. If you remember we published 9/6 so there was only a couple days for an ITN story, and nothing really big came out. Sugar  pine t 23:53, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

 * Tnx for the info. Where is the draft article being prepeared?--Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus 04:40, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

 * Some people collect articles at Press coverage, if you need a list. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 21:23, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

 * Trodel's doing this one at here. User talk:Sugarpine 23:03, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm sorry I dropped out of doing this one; I was getting a bit burned out on it and then had a busy summer full of paying work... when I was doing it regularly, I found it helpful to subscribe to Google alerts (search Google News for "wikipedia", then look for "News Alerts" in the sidebar - you can set up separate alerts for "according to Wikipedia" or "Jimmy Wales" or anything else that suits your fancy. Then you get a digest email every day there's a news story concerning us, and if you're smart you can collect a little each day for "In the news" instead of scrambling the night/morning before deadline.  :)  Also makes it easy to watch for duplicate stories (many stories are syndicated or reprinted), and you get a sense of what the BIG stories are. There are some non-notable sources cataloged by Google; we don't have to report it all. And remember that Google doesn't get everything; I always tried to do a quick search at Yahoo News or the like as well before wrapping up. BBC News is also good for catching non-US stories. I also kept Village pump (news), Press coverage and Wikipedia as a press source 2006 (and pages linked in sidebar) on my watchlist to catch stuff noted by other Wikipedians. Hope that helps — Catherine\talk 02:29, 27 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the suggestions -- Trödel 03:27, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

Tech report
Just wondering why the Tech report is no longer a regular beat. Not enough notable stuff? - RoyBoy 800 20:58, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

 * More like nobody with the time and talent to write it. We'd love to resurrect it if somebody capable wants to step up and volunteer. --Michael Snow 06:52, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

"Litigation"
Is it possible to change the name of the "Litigation" article something in regards to Arbitration Committee? When I saw that I thought it was talking about real litigation and somebody had sued Wikipedia... Just H 01:41, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

 * It's a somewhat humorous (depending on the person judging) acronym. Arbitration is, in practice, roughly equivalent to litigation, actually, though it's not referred to as such.  Ral315 (talk) 12:54, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Subscription
Didn't know where else to ask but my subscription to Signpost seems to have stopped. Curious as to what might have happened. I've missed the read. Thanks. Ekotkie 01:08, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

My approval...
...to whoever made the comment about the color of legal writing. 68.39.174.238 19:53, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
 * This would be a reference to the recent article on court citations written by Michael Snow. I figured that, as a lawyer himself, he may have been having law school flashbacks and needed to work out some issues. :p - BanyanTree 19:39, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Well done
Just wanted to say thanks to all those who write/edit/publish the Signpost- it makes great reading, especially helpful for keeping up to date with the big things while I'm not very active :) Petros471 14:33, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Historian detained after his Wikipedia article is vandalized
This Signpost article says:

 * The story was first reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune on February 21, but received little attention (the original article is not available online, but excerpts are available here). The story was publicized by professor Juan Cole in a April 14 blog entry. On April 15,

But in fact two days after it was reported in the Star Tribune, I mentioned it here on this talk page. Nonetheless, it was not until April that it appeared in the Signpost. I'd have put it there in February, but I'm really not familiar with the conventions of the Signpost. I thought someone who was familiar and who edits the Signpost would consider it worthy of mention there. Should I conclude that those who edit the Signpost pay more attention to Juan Cole's blog than to this talk page? Michael Hardy 17:00, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

 * Michael, I'm sorry we missed your suggestion, but in fact you didn't post it to this talk page. Looking through your contributions, I discover that you did leave a note on Wikipedia talk:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-02-19/In the news. That's the talk page for an individual Signpost article, which is normally for discussion of that particular story, rather than suggestions for new ones. Also, the note was posted rather late in that week, by which time activity on previous stories has usually died down as we focus on the upcoming issue.

 * The best place to leave suggestions is our "tip line" at Wikipedia Signpost/Newsroom/Suggestions. This is where we noticed it after other readers posted about the incident there. One of them apparently saw it on professor Cole's blog, which I understand is fairly widely read, and brought it to our attention as a result.

 * I would add that as volunteers, we do the best we can, but we cannot guarantee that potential stories won't be missed. We need more people to write stories, as there are always issues that might be worth covering, but which we don't have time to work on. --Michael Snow 17:28, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Would it be worth redirecting all talk pages of individual Signpost articles either here, or perhaps to the front page of the Signpost for that week? I'm sure this page gets a lot more readers than any individual Signpost article talk page does.- gadfium 20:55, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

 * No, I don't think so. You'd end up with crosstalk on too many subjects, and occasionally confusing posts here that don't make it terribly apparent which story the comment relates to. Keeping discussion related to published stories distinct from newsroom planning of upcoming stories helps our work stay at least somewhat organized. --Michael Snow 21:23, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Book review
I'm very happy with the new book review section. Thanks for coming up with new ways for The Signpost to inform readers. – Quadell (talk) (random) 13:26, 17 July 2007 (UTC)
 * It's very good! :-) Ta bu shi da yu 13:31, 17 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I liked it, it seemed very "professional". Well done! Walkerma 01:29, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

 * Ditto. I happened to read the book as well, and the review was fairly good (although I would've liked some more well-founded criticism, especially of the economics). --Gwern (contribs) 03:26 18 July 2007 (GMT)
 * Unfortunately, I'm not equipped to really get into the economics side of it; and the book is less focused on that. I mostly just found it interesting that after I wrote the review, and I went to see what others had said, I found other people saying much the same thing I had tried to say. He makes a huge call for user-generated content to disappear and expert-content to redominate, but in the parts of the book that I'm qualified to discuss (I've been on networked bulletin boards since I was 13, got my first USENET account in 1987 at age 16, and have been using the web since Lynx and I'm occasionally paid to write for newspapers and I went to j-school and have read a lot about journalism history over the last 20 years), I found that he was in the 'enough knowledge to sound competent at a VC meeting.' area about things I knew about, but he was missing key arguments that both punctured and supported his premise. I included the link to the economics criticism because I couldn't assess that, but here was someone else who had had the same reaction. I was rather surprised by it, but after a little looking on Google News for reviews of it, you'll find a large number of reviewers said, 'he has some points about X, but I know a bit about Y, and he might not be up on this.' I grow suspicious the more things like that I encounter, the more I might also be missing. Not *baseless*, just not fully backed by a deeper understanding. --Thespian 09:40, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

I'd like to add my kudos to those above. The review was well-written, and a great addition to the Post. Confusing Manifestation 07:12, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Add my voice to the chorus of "good job" s for the new book review section. You chose a great title to open with and the review is well-written. I hope it becomes a regular feature. --Bookgrrl holler/ lookee here 17:08, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Kudos
I do not know whether you people get enough credit for what you do, so here's a little something from an appreciating reader: I wait for the Signpost every Monday and read it with pleasure. I'm yet to read this week's book review, but will definitely do it. Thanks for your great work! Cheers from Kraków, Ouro (blah blah) 20:02, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

This issue
First off, I want to be clear. I love the signpost.

However, this latest issue was definately different - it had the regular features etc, but no stories. I know they do not write themselves, but in cases like this you should consider rerunning updated stories from archives, or something similair. It becomes boring to read, like a newspaper with only the comics and movie listings. I'm assuming there was just a few editors inactive, but I believe you should take steps and consider re-running stories, or running smaller ones. I was a bit disappointed.

Anyway, keep up the (otherwise) fantastic work! Matt/TheFearow (Talk) (Contribs) (Bot) 07:59, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

 * Honestly, nothing that notable happened, as far as I could tell. I tried in vain to find something that I could write more than a paragraph about, but couldn't find anything.  Next week will have at least a few stories.  The problem is that rerunning stories doesn't make much sense for us, since they're often out-of-date very quickly.  If you ever have a suggestion for a story, we always welcome story ideas at the tip line.  Ral315 » 21:04, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

 * Yeah, I know that often not many things happen. I would recommend, in cases like that, having several stories a paragraph long. They won't be the best, but better than nothing. Matt/TheFearow (Talk) (Contribs) (Bot) 21:46, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

Litigation?
Litigation is, by definition, a legal proceeding. As such, I think that the title "The Report on Lengthy Litigation" to describe our in-house arbitration procedures is inaccurate. -Chunky Rice 06:03, 30 July 2007 (UTC)
 * It's a play on words. The abbreviation spells out TROLL. - Ta bu shi da yu 10:50, 30 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I appreciate that, but the title does not describe the contents. That should take priority over a joke. It is as if there  was a headline about soccer when the article was about golf.  -Chunky Rice 14:45, 30 July 2007 (UTC)
 * LOL, I never got the acronym! Maybe I should troll more... How about capitalizing the O to make it a bit more obvious for the rest of us? HG | Talk 14:57, 30 July 2007 (UTC) PS I love the Signpost !
 * Ok, tried adding capitalized 'O' but maybe the editors could to it properly? HG | Talk 15:49, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Sure, it isn't 100% litigation, but it's almost quasi-litigation, the way some people approach it. enochlau (talk) 16:09, 30 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Litigation means lawsuit. That's very different from non-court related dispute resolution.  After opening the article, my first impression was taht CharlotteWeb was suing Wikipedia.  I don't understand why people are against an accurate title for this section. -Chunky Rice 16:20, 30 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Aside from your very restrictive interpretation of that one word, I'm not sure what in the article would give you the impression that anybody was suing Wikipedia. If you're so literally-minded as not to understand how litigation can mean anything short of an actual suit filed in a court of law, I'm not surprised you don't get the joke. But I can assure you that plenty of attorneys describe their work quite casually as "litigation" even at stages long before any lawsuit is filed, regarding matters that may well be settled without it ever being filed in the end. In terms of etymology, litigation simply means a dispute, and that's a perfectly accurate characterization of Wikipedia arbitration. Language is versatile and flexible; reading it too inflexibly will miss a lot of color and nuance, and often leads to entirely erroneous conclusions. --Michael Snow 08:05, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
 * In 7 years of working in civil litigation, I have never heard anybody use the term to describe anything other than a suit. Further, that is how it is defined, not just how I define it.  I looked it up and everything.  -Chunky Rice 12:34, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I have never heard anybody use the term to describe anything other than a suit.
 * Well, you have now! There's descriptive linguistics for you. --Kjoonlee 16:02, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

 * Pretty clearly, presenting a case before the ArbCom is the Wikipedia equivalent of litigation.     A lawsuit is simply a case in court.  Even if you're interpretation of "litigation" is dogmatically literal, the ArbCom is a place where people submit cases before a panel of arbiters who issue a ruling.  Perhaps, you've forgotten the definition of law.  From Merriam-Websters: "Law. 1) a binding custom or practice of a community : a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority."  Is that not apt? --JayHenry 16:18, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Those "definitions" are closer to descriptions of how people use those words, rather than formal definitions that should be obeyed. (Heh, the word "definition" has lots of definitions. Woah..) --Kjoonlee 17:03, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I just think it's confusing, because the Signpost does run stories about actual litigation. -Chunky Rice 17:14, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Well, it'll continue to bug me, but if everybody else thinks it's great, I'll just deal. I will admit that I am very particular about word choice, but I realize that not everybody is like that. -Chunky Rice 17:09, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Kinda unrelated, but is "Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News" intentionally BRION (Brion Vibber)? Clever that (yes, apparently I'm a bit slow as I didn't realize the TROLL thing either).  Wickethewok 16:26, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Yes, that's right. enochlau (talk) 05:57, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

Feedback
Not sure where feedback goes exactly, but just wanted to say I really appreciated the article on the top 5 bugs. It's really nice to know why certain bugs haven't been implemented, what their status is etc. Please do this again, maybe with the top 10 or 20, perhaps every 3-6 months or so. Thanks! Stevage 01:13, 15 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Agree - It was nice especially the SUL update. - Ravedave 02:02, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Survey?
In the time I've been editor, I haven't received a ton of specific feedback on the project itself, what people would like in the Signpost, etc. Anyone think an optional survey would be good? Possible questions might include:

 * Which regular section(s) do you find most important: WikiWorld, In the news, Features and admins, Technology report, Arbitration report?
 * Which of these options do you use to read the Signpost: Wikipedia Signpost, single-page view, the Signpost transclusion template, the Signpost spamlist, and/or the e-mail list?
 * Which do you prefer: Bundling short, two-to-three paragraph articles together in News and notes, or splitting them into their own story pages?  (NB:  I've wondered about this because when I first took over as editor, I ran a lot of short stories that I'd probably combine into News and notes today, so I'm curious as to users' opinions).
 * Have you ever suggested something for us to cover?
 * Are there any stories you thought we should have covered (or covered better), but didn't?
 * Are there any stories you thought we should NOT have covered, but DID?
 * If the Signpost were to interview people on a semi-regular basis, who do you think we should interview, and why? Wikipedians, non-Wikipedians who affect Wikipedia (i.e. Andrew Keen), Jimbo, board members, staff, etc.
 * Plus, an additional comments field for anything else.

I'd like to know what's useful, and what's not; I'd also like to know what stories are useful to Wikipedia readers. Any thoughts? I'm thinking about running the survey with next week's Signpost. Ral315 » 05:53, 28 August 2007 (UTC)
 * I think a survey is a great idea. If there were a survey, I might make these suggestions: try ahead of time to find people to cover certain stories for the Signpost such as meetups and other real-life events that are relevant to Wikipedia.  Another possibility: a new column covering policy discussions and proposals.  For developing and getting feedback on new policy proposals, announcements on the Community Portal and Village Pump generate too little attention, while watchlist notices (e.g., as was done for a few hours with WP:Flagged revisions) generate too much attention in a short period of time.  Signpost coverage might split the difference.--ragesoss 06:28, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

Headlinese
This is more of a pet peeve than anything but would the editors mind reducing the amount of headlinese. For example this week's headline 'Study examines Wikipedia authorship, vandalism repair' could easily be 'Study examines Wikipedia authorship and vandalism repair', which is what I assume it is meant to be, or 'Study examines Wikipedia authorship, vandalism and repair', which might be the 1st guess of some readers not used to US headlines (in this case it doesn't matter too much as the 2 meanings are similar). We aren't particularly space limited are we? To me the current version just reads as incredibly American, I don't know if changing it would make it sound incredibly wrong to Americans though? JMiall ₰  17:51, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

 * The compressed style of headlines is due to layout constraints, rather than the absolute capacity for content. Layout matters for a website on a computer monitor just as it does for print on paper, even if the execution may be different. So the usual mantra that Wikipedia is not space-limited doesn't apply to this issue because it's not a question of disk storage. The layout for the Signpost main page may not be spectacularly impressive, but it's deliberately designed toward a newspaper aesthetic within the limitations of the wiki format. Considerations include that whitespace is valuable, and to be honest, making headlines read like headlines. I hope that explains the rationale.

 * I must admit that I don't see what's particularly American about headline style, which can certainly be found in the British or Australian press, or even in other languages for that matter. If by "headlinese" you only mean the inadvertent double meanings sometimes created in such writing, I don't see this as an applicable case. I really see no material difference between either expansion you offer on the original headline. The study of vandalism repair inherently includes some degree of studying the underlying vandalism. Or else I'm just not getting the distinction you're trying to make. But we have had real cases of headlinese before, so feel free to watch out for it. --Michael Snow 18:57, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

 * I didn't know this happened in Australia so I've done some brief research (looking at a a couple of pages of headlines etc for each) into replacement of 'and' with ',' in various news sources:
 * CNN, Washington Post - use ,
 * The Guardian, Independent, BBC, Sun, Nature (news), The Age - use and not ,
 * The Australian - use both
 * The nicest contrast was Washington Post:'The Fix: Debate Winners, Losers' & The Guardian:'The winners and losers'. All of this confirmed my impression that I can't remember ever seeing British news sources doing this, I'll have to recalibrate my impression that this is just an American style though. JMiall  ₰  20:17, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

 * Sorry, I didn't mean to have you do an inventory of this particular style issue, I was referring to headline style generally. I'm sure that there are regional idiosyncracies, and this one may be more commonly (but not exclusively) an American practice. If you want a British example, though, I found the Daily Telegraph uses commas this way. --Michael Snow 20:50, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

 * When I write my headings for ITN, I make them sound vaguely newspaper-like, just because I like to do it. enochlau (talk) 23:33, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

it's a monster!
Is this the largest issue, by number of articles, ever? Nice job, writers and editors. - BanyanTree 19:28, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

 * It's a record, yes. Though really it was a busy week, and several things come to mind that didn't get covered, or could have been covered in more detail. More help needed, always; but definitely thanks to those who did so much work. --Michael Snow 19:37, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

 * Exactly. A lot of it was the busy week, but certainly it's an improvement.  10 different users (11 including Greg Williams) wrote at least one article; that's another record.  It's nice to see more people helping out.  Ral315 » 20:37, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

 * Congrats, and thank you for this great feature! Bravo. Jon Harald Søby 12:11, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

WikiProject reports - add interview questions?
I currently find reading the WikiProject reports slightly dull and bland - perhaps we could spice it up by adding a short (2-3 questions) interview with someone who is heavily involved in the project? enochlau (talk) 01:49, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Awesome idea! I'll add that in :) ( ar  ky  ) 01:28, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

Featured Content Details
What would you think of expanding on the current FACstuff by introducing each one (if its subject is not apparent from the title) and giving a report on how it fits in with other feature content? Like this:

 * Knut is an individual polar bear who became the subject of international media attention because he's exceptionally cute, and is the first polar bear with a featured article.
 * History of Baltimore City College is the third featured article on the history of a specific college or university, joining History of Michigan State University and History of Texas A&M University.

I think one benefit of this is that it would give a tie-in for reporters interested in a local interest story (first town in the Yukon with a featured article, for example), and give publicity to the FAC process. I'd be willing to help out with such a thing, but I probably couldn't actually complete it reliably. Would there be interest in it? Tuf-Kat (talk) 02:33, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

 * I'd definitely be interested in seeing such a thing, if it's feasible. Ral315 » 02:44, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

 * Agreed, the more prose the better. When starting out I wrote actual stories about particular articles going through the process, and while I trust people find the current data-driven compilations useful, I think there's untapped news value we could do more to bring out. --Michael Snow (talk) 03:37, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

 * I'd like to see a one line explanation for each bot approved, saying what it will do.- gadfium 05:19, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

Hoffman Arbcom case
I edit under my own name. Can you please report this case a bit more neutrally, and not go talking about proposed decisions about how awful I am before I have even had a chance to write my evidence, like you did on the 3rd? Adam Cuerden talk 20:42, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

 * The problem exists in the attempt to balance reporting on proposed remedies and making it clear that such remedies are proposed, and not effective unless they're voted in by arbitrators. The article's here -- any thoughts as to how I could improve the wording?  Ral315 (talk) 21:09, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

 * I don't know, I suppose it's a case that's gone rather strangely, with the rush to voting and deciding punishment a day after it opened, and so on. I'd have been inclined to just leave out the remedies, but, I don't know. Sorry, the whole thing really is stressing me out, particularly as it happened over exam time, with no delay to give me a chance to make up evidence. Hell, there were proposals asking for my head when the only thing I had been able to post was "I have exams, could we delay a bit?" I don't know... Adam Cuerden talk 21:58, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

Featured articles
Featured articles in Wikipedia Signpost/2007-12-17/Features and admins are the same as in Wikipedia Signpost/2007-12-10/Features and admins. Visor (talk) 21:45, 18 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Has now been fixed. Carcharoth (talk) 23:46, 19 December 2007 (UTC)


text: User talk:24.21.74.132

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User talk:24.21.74.132


text:
Severn Beach line

The Severn Beach line is a local railway line in Bristol and Gloucestershire, England, which runs from Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach, and used to extend to Pilning. The first sections of the line were opened in 1865 as part of the Bristol Port Railway and Pier; the section through Bristol was opened in 1875 as the Clifton Extension Railway.

The line has faced several threats of closure over the years, and has been reduced to single track in many places. In the 21st century it has experienced a surge in passenger numbers, with a 90% increase in the years 2007–2011. All services along the line are operated by Great Western Railway, generally two trains per hour in each direction between Temple Meads and Avonmouth, calling at all stations, with one train per hour extended to Severn Beach. The line carries little freight traffic, with most of the heavy freight traffic to Avonmouth Docks being routed via the Henbury Loop Line through Filton. The line was highlighted by Thomas Cook as one of the scenic lines of Europe.

Route
From Bristol Temple Meads, the line heads east, diverging from the Great Western Main Line, Wessex Main Line and Heart of Wessex Line at Bristol East Junction. The line curves to the north, passing under the A4320 and then joining with a chord from the Great Western Main Line at Dr Day's Junction. At this point there are four tracks, but in the past this narrowed to two before Lawrence Hill. Four tracks were restored as part of the Great Western route improvements. Continuing north, the line passes under the old Midland Railway Bristol to Gloucester Line, passes through Stapleton Road station, then diverges west from the Cross Country Route at Narroways Hill Junction. The line from here is single track, passing through woodland and circling the St Werburghs area, then passing under the B4052 (Ashley Hill) before reaching Montpelier. The line then passes over the A38 Cheltenham Road on a viaduct known as "The Arches", before reaching Redland and continuing along a straight cutting through Cotham before reaching Clifton Down. This is the line's main passing point, as it is one of the few remaining places with double track.

The line then enters the mile-long Clifton Down Tunnel, reappearing in the Avon Gorge. It follows the Avon, passing through Sea Mills before heading inland to Shirehampton and Portway Park & Ride, under the M5 Avonmouth Bridge and through an industrial estate before reaching Avonmouth. Beyond Avonmouth, the line passes through a small residential area before reaching Avonmouth Docks. A freight yard is to the east of the line here, used for coal trains. St Andrews Road is within the yard, and to the north the Henbury Loop Line diverges to the east. The Severn Beach line continues north along the bank of the River Severn to the terminus at Severn Beach.

Beyond Severn Beach, the line used to continue north through the town and further along the bank of the Severn, meeting the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway's line near New Passage Pier. It then joined with the South Wales Main Line at Pilning.

The line was listed among Thomas Cook's most favoured attractions for its scenic route along the River Avon and River Severn.

Services
Services along the line are operated by Great Western Railway, mainly using diesel Turbo units. Until mid-2017, the line had been operated by Sprinter units, occasionally supplemented by  Super Sprinter and  Express Sprinter units. Until 2012, Pacer units were a regular sight, but these were moved south to work in Devon following a cascade of Class 150/1 units from London Midland and London Overground.

Monday to Friday, two trains per hour run from Bristol Temple Meads to Avonmouth, with one extended to St Andrew's Road and Severn Beach, giving a service at Clifton Down of one train approximately every 30 minutes in each direction. Services start alternately from Bristol and Weston-super-Mare. There is a similar level of service on Saturdays. Sunday sees a roughly hourly service to and from Bristol, with all daytime services extended to Severn Beach.

Clifton Down is the line's main passing point, so trains to Avonmouth usually arrive at the same time as trains to Bristol Temple Meads. Most trains call at all stations. The typical journey time from Temple Meads to Avonmouth is 28 minutes, and 37 minutes to Severn Beach.

All stations on the line are in Travel Zone A (Bristol City) apart from Severn Beach which is in Zone C.

The Bristol Port Railway and Pier
Bristol sits on the River Avon, with its docks several miles inland. By the 19th century, ships had grown to such a size that navigating the Avon was not possible any more, and so ships would have to dock at the head of the river at Avonmouth instead. The Bristol Port Railway and Pier company (BPRP) was founded in 1862 with the intent to build a single-track standard gauge railway the 5.75 mi from Avonmouth to the city centre alongside the Avon. The railway's act of parliament was passed on 17 July 1862, and the railway opened on 6 March 1865, running from a terminus called Clifton in the Avon Gorge.

As built, the railway was isolated from the rest of the national network, having not been intended for anything more than local traffic, so a connection to the main line railways was needed in order to develop Avonmouth as a port. However, due to the position of Clifton station and the large amount of developed land in the Hotwells area, an extension towards Bristol Temple Meads, the city's main station, would have been prohibitively expensive. Instead, a link was proposed from the BPRP at Sneyd Park, running under Clifton Down and through the suburbs to connect to the main lines of the Midland and Bristol and South Wales Union railways. The connection was authorised in 1867, but the BPRP was in financial difficulties, and so unable to complete the line. It entered into negotiations with the Midland and Great Western Railways (the latter now the owner of the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway).

Clifton Extension Railway
The Clifton Extension Railway initially ran from Clifton Down to Narroways Hill Junction with what is now the Cross Country Route north through Bristol, then part of the Great Western Railway; and over a viaduct from Narroways Hill to the Midland Railway's Bristol to Gloucester line near Fishponds. The line was managed by the Clifton Extension Railway Joint Committee, but in 1894 responsibility was passed to the Great Western & Midland Railways Joint Committee. Services began to Clifton Down on 1 October 1874.

The initial service provided by the Midland Railway was between Clifton Down, Fishponds and Mangotsfield, where passengers could change for services to Bath, Birmingham and other Midland destinations. The Great Western provided services from Clifton Down to Bristol Temple Meads, the city's major station, where passengers could change for trains to London, Exeter and Wales, among others. The Great Western also provided occasional through services to Weston-super-Mare. There were a total of 23 trains in each direction between the two companies Monday-Saturday. On Sundays, there was no Midland service, but seven Great Western trains. The fare to Temple Meads was 6d first-class and 3d third-class.

The Clifton Down Tunnel, the final link to the Bristol Port Railway and Pier, was opened in 1877, initially allowing freight trains to reach Avonmouth Docks. It was not until 1885 that it was cleared for passenger use, which allowed services to Avonmouth via Sea Mills and Shirehampton. There was a trial Midland service between Bristol St Philip's and Avonmouth in September 1885, but this was ended after a month. In 1886, the daily Great Western service was six trains each way between Avonmouth and Temple Meads, 24 trains from Clifton Down to Temple Meads and 26 the other direction. The Midland provided 12 services from Clifton Down to Fishponds, and 11 back.

There was not initially a station at Redland, but there was local support, with several petitions submitted to the line's Joint Railway Committee. The first was received in October 1885, but was rejected due to the estimated cost of £3,410 to provide the station. A second petition was rejected eighteen months later. The Bristol Chamber of Commerce petitioned for a station in 1892, but the Committee again rejected the request, stating that estimated traffic levels would not justify the expense. It took until 1896 until a revised plan was accepted by the committee. The station finally opened on 12 April 1897.

In 1910, Clifton Down saw 17 Great Western services from Avonmouth to Temple Meads and 15 the other way, a further 20 trains each day operating between Clifton and Temple Meads, and 13 Midland trains each way between Clifton and Fishponds or Mangotsfield. Midland services were suspended from 1 January 1917 to 15 May 1919 due to the First World War. The Hotwells section of the Bristol Port Railway and Pier closed in 1922, so to compensate, an additional six trains were provided from Clifton Down to Avonmouth, and four back.

In 1923, grouping resulted in the Midland Railway being absorbed into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), and the line continued in a joint arrangement between the Great Western and the LMS. From 1924, many trains to Avonmouth were extended to Severn Beach, a growing seaside resort, and some on to Pilning, then back to Temple Meads via Patchway. The Second World War saw the end of services to Fishponds and Mangotsfield, the last operating on 31 March 1941. By 1947, just before the start of the British Rail era, there were 33 services each direction between Avonmouth and Temple Meads, and 18 on Sundays. Some trains made circular trips to and from Temple Meads via Clifton Down and Henbury or Pilning.

British Rail
When the railways were nationalised in 1948, the Severn Beach line came under the aegis of the Western Region of British Railways. Passenger numbers however dropped sharply in 1961 as the result of a fare increase, and so in 1962 a new reduced timetable was enacted, which lost more passengers, and saw the withdrawal of a special schoolchildren's service. A year later in 1963, the Beeching report suggested that all services along the line be withdrawn. Following meetings with staff, it was decided to keep the line open to Severn Beach, but to close the section to Pilning, and also end services via Henbury. These services duly ended, but the line was still threatened, and on 10 February 1967 it was announced that all services between Stapleton Road and Severn Beach would be discontinued. An enquiry followed, and in June that year the decision was reversed, on the condition that tickets be issued on the trains. Thus, on 17 July 1967, all stations along the line, other than Temple Meads, had their staff withdrawn. The decrease of costs allowed a reduction of ticket prices, but the line was still under threat until in June 1969 it was decided that the line's closure would result in significant hardship, and so a grant was allocated to ensure continued services. Most of the line was reduced to single track in late 1970, leaving Clifton Down as one of the few passing places.

In 1971 the weekday service was 20 trains in each direction, 19 calling at all stations between Bristol Temple Meads and Severn Beach and 1 train that terminated at St Andrews Road.

On 20 October 1981, the Severn Beach line saw one of the first uses of a railbus on passenger services, when British Rail Engineering Limited Railbus RB003 operated the 10:08 service from Bristol Temple Meads. The first railbus concept, LEV1, would begin operations on the line less than a week later. Later model Pacer railbuses would be a regular sight on the line until 2012.

British Rail was split into business-led sectors in the 1980s, at which time operations passed to Regional Railways. At this time, all trains ran to Severn Beach, but the service pattern was irregular. The state of the line was brought up in Parliament in 1990 by MP for Bristol North West Michael Stern, who asked why British Rail was not willing to publicise the line and protect the frequency of services. Cecil Parkinson MP, then-Secretary of State for Transport, replied that the line was using "out-of-date, worn-out rolling stock" due to late deliveries from manufacturers, and that British Rail would not encourage people to use it until there was a better service. In 1995, an hourly timetable was introduced for peak times, but services terminated at Avonmouth so that a single Sprinter unit could work the service. There was a better service on Saturdays as more rolling stock was available, but there was no Sunday service. Talk arose again of the line being closed completely. Local tourism expert Bernard Lane described the line's state as: "... the line the railway wished was not there. It was the line that got bus substitution whenever they were short of trains or queues, when a rugby match in Cardiff needed a special. It has a problem in that the route is slow and not very direct; for years it was invisible, short of marketing and lacking a regular interval timetable."

Post-privatisation
When the railway was privatised in 1997, local services were franchised to Wales & West, which was succeeded by Wessex Trains in 2001.

21st century
Following action by Friends of Severn Beach Railway (FOSBR, later renamed Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) and a string of protests, services had increased to 10 per day in each direction by 2005, with Bristol City Council paying a subsidy of £138,000 per annum to fund services. A new subsidy agreement had been reached in 2003, following a threat that the end of subsidy would see services along the line halved. However, even with the subsidy, the line still suffered to keep the rest of the network running. Mike Holmes, station manager for most of the line's stations, told the Bristol Evening Post that:

"Before we put real effort into the Severn Beach line it was really the sacrificial lamb for other services. So if we needed a spare train, we would pull one off the line and cancel it, which was why punctuality and reliability was so poor. After the public campaign in 2006 we decided that we didn't want to take that to carry on any more."

Protesters would chant "The Severn Beach is a mighty fine line; Clean and friendly and sometimes on time."

The Wessex franchise was amalgamated with the Great Western franchise into the Greater Western franchise from 2006, and responsibility passed to First Great Western, rebranded in 2015 as Great Western Railway. A 1-hour minimum service requirement was written into the new franchise agreement. In 2007, the council agreed to subsidise a service of at least one train every 45mins in each direction along the line, unanimously agreeing to pay £450,000 per annum to fund extra services from May 2008 for three years, which resulted in a 60% increase in passenger numbers along the line, and a 25% year-on-year increase between June 2009 and June 2010. Sunday services to Severn Beach were restored in 2010, funded by South Gloucestershire Council. The line was designated a community rail service in 2008, and is one of the lines covered by the Severnside Community Rail Partnership.

The council subsidy was halved in 2011 at the end of the three-year deal, with the council stating that with the large increase in passenger numbers, such a large subsidy was no longer necessary. Local groups, including FOSBR and the Green Party claimed that services became less reliable following the cut, but First Great Western and the council stated that reliability problems were not due to the cut in subsidy, but instead due to breakdowns and track maintenance. The council subsidies, for both increased services and Sunday services, were due to be replaced by national funding in 2015. An additional evening service was agreed in February 2012, to start in September 2012, after protests about a 100-minute gap in the timetable.

First Great Western declined an option to continue the Greater Western franchise beyond 2013, citing a desire for a longer-term contract due to the impending upgrade to the Great Western Main Line. The franchise was put out to tender, but the process was halted and later scrapped due to the fallout from the collapse of the InterCity West Coast franchise competition. A two-year franchise extension until September 2015 was agreed in October 2013, and subsequently extended until March 2019.

With the coming upgrade to the Great Western Main Line, the main line from London to Bristol was due to be electrified by 2016; however, delays and cost overruns led to removal of Temple Meads from the programme. The electrification was not planned to extend beyond the main lines, so the Severn Beach line continues to be served by diesel trains. Stephen Williams, MP for Bristol West, questioned whether electrification could continue to Clifton Down. Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond replied that it would have to be looked at in the future. Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR) supports the electrification of the entire Severn Beach line.

Improved services along the line are called for as part of the Greater Bristol Metro scheme, a rail transport plan which aims to enhance transport capacity in the Bristol area. There is an aspiration for half-hourly services, however due to the large sections of single-track and the congested main line from Temple Meads, such frequency is not currently feasible. However, it is expected that with the four-tracking of Filton Bank, including the Severn Beach line between Temple Meads and Narroways Hill Junction, that there will be sufficient capacity to allow half-hourly services. The Invitation to Tender for the Greater Western franchise asked bidders to include costs for two trains per hour each direction on the Severn Beach line, one between Severn Beach and Portishead, the other between Severn Beach and Bath Spa, both calling at all stations. These services are to run from December 2017, operating 18 hours a day Monday-Saturday and 9 hours a day on Sundays.

The metro plan also calls for the reopening of the Henbury Loop Line, which could allow a service from Temple Meads to Bristol Parkway via the Severn Beach line. The metro scheme was given the go-ahead in July 2012 as part of the City Deal, whereby local councils would be given greater control over money by the government, but it is as yet unclear which elements will be implemented. FOSBR and other local groups lodged concerns with the Department for Transport that the reopening of the Henbury Loop was not included in the ITT for the new Greater Western franchise. A one-off service, operated by First Great Western, ran on the line on 27 July 2013.

The Portway Park and Ride railway station was opened in August 2023 between Shirehampton and Avonmouth to serve the A4 Portway Park & Ride scheme. The new station plan was included in the Bristol Metro proposal, and for some years the project had the support of the FOSBR and the Bristol branch of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers.

Passenger volume
Below are the passenger usage statistics from years starting April 2002 to April 2022. Comparing 2002 with later years has shown a general increase on the line in usage. The most recent figures have been attributed to an improved service. The high usage at Clifton Down is due in part to its proximity to Bristol Zoo (though that closed in September 2022) and a major shopping area.

Comparing over a full decade from April 2012 to April 2002, on the main line, Lawrence Hill and Stapleton Road have increased 130% and 82% respectively. On the branch line, the stations with the biggest changes were Severn Beach, St Andrews Road and Clifton Down with 363%, 228% and 178% respectively. The lowest increase was at Shirehampton with only 35%. Montpelier, Redland, Sea Mills and Avonmouth have increased by 103%, 89%, 68% and 144% respectively.

The annual change from the year starting April 2011 to the year starting April 2012 varies from an increase of 63% at St Andrews Road through to a decrease of 2% at Redland. During this year, Redland was the only station to see a decrease, with the average change for all stations on the line being an increase of 11%.

Whilst not based on the same methodology, the Severnside Community Rail Partnership carry out a passenger count on a particular day every June and the 2014 count had an increase in passenger usage of 16% over the 2013 count, indicating that the high growth on this line seen in previous years continues.

title: Severn Beach line


text:
User talk:206.72.11.46

Nomination of Junior varsity team for deletion
A discussion is taking place as to whether the article Junior varsity team is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.

The article will be discussed at Articles for deletion/Junior varsity team until a consensus is reached, and anyone, including you, is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on high-quality evidence and our policies and guidelines.

Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion notice from the top of the article until the discussion has finished. An anonymous username, not my real name 01:20, 2 April 2023 (UTC)

title: User talk:206.72.11.46


text:
R143 (New York City Subway car)

The R143 is a class of New Technology Train subway cars built by Kawasaki Rail Car Company for the New York City Subway's B Division. Delivered between 2001 and 2003, the cars displaced R40s and R42s that operated on the in conjunction with the BMT Canarsie Line's signal system being automated.

The R143 was the first "B" Division order of the NTT series, and the first 60 ft B Division car built for the New York City Subway system since the R42s delivered in 1969. A total of 212 cars were built, all arranged as four-car sets. First delivered in late 2001, they entered a 30-day period of revenue service testing on December 4, 2001, and officially entered service on the Canarsie Line on February 12, 2002. By March 2003, all cars had been delivered.

Description and features
The R143s are numbered 8101–8312. The 212 cars were expected to provide enough service for years, but the fast growth of the Williamsburg neighborhood overloaded the L by mid-2006, which resulted in some R160s being placed on the line.

The R143s are the first 60 ft B Division cars built for the New York City Subway system since the R42 from 1969, the first NTT model for the B Division, and the first automated fleet in the subway system. They are currently based at East New York Yard and assigned to the L, but sometimes run on the J/Z. The R143s are very similar to the R160s and R179s, but the three car types are not interoperable with each other due to electrical incompatibilities between them.

Like the R142s, R142As, and R188s, the R143s feature electronic strip maps. Originally, they only depicted stops on the L, but since 2020, they were retrofitted to include the J/Z. These newer installations depict the L and J/Z routes using two separate maps side-by-side, using the same 63-light console.

Unlike the rest of the NTT fleet at the time, the R143s are equipped with interior LED screens, which take the place of the MTA Arts for Transit cards that are usually located there. These screens can display advertisements, public safety announcements, and other information. Several cars of the NTT fleet were similarly retrofitted with LCD screens after they were delivered, and all subsequent orders are built with these screens. However, the LCD screens have the capability to display multiple colors instead of only red, orange, and green.

Communications-based train control
The Transit Authority had projected that 212 Kawasaki-made R143 subway cars would be enough to accommodate ridership demands for years to come, but ridership has risen higher than expected. Therefore, sixty-four new R160A cars manufactured by Alstom were equipped with CBTC so they could run on the L along with the R143s.

Timeline of contract
The contract for the R143 was put out to tender in January 1998. The initial contract called for 100 60 ft cars that would come in five-car sets. The new cars would be expected to have automatic PA announcements, high efficiency lighting, emergency intercom and customer alarms, AC propulsion motors, speedometers and event recorders, electronic information display signs, artwork, a central diagnostics monitoring system, microprocessor-controlled air compressor, brake and communication systems, roof-mounted microprocessor-controlled HVAC, and to be compliant with ADA requirements.

Kawasaki Rail Car Company was awarded a $190 million contract for 100 new B Division cars in late December 1998, with an option for 112 more cars. The new design was based on the A Division's R142A, which Kawasaki also built, and incorporated many features from the R110A and R110B prototypes. The cars were built with an average cost of about $1.5 million per car.

Delivery
Delivery of the cars began in late 2001. A 30-day revenue acceptance testing with one train of eight cars (8101–8108) began on December 4, 2001. According to Kawasaki, the test was "extremely successful". The cars began running on the Canarsie Line on February 12, 2002, where they have been assigned to. All 212 cars were delivered by March 2003.

Along with displacing older equipment from the Canarsie Line, the R143s also displaced the R42s on the now-extended weekend shuttle service on the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line, when that line became the first BMT Eastern Division line to be placed in a weekend One Person Train Operation (OPTO) service. The R143s on the M were later displaced by the R160As in February 2008. OPTO service was also tested on the L during mid-2005, but it ended due to safety issues.

Post-delivery
Cars 8205–8212 were originally delivered with experimental Siemens SITRAC traction systems, that would be later found in R160B cars 8843–9102. These cars were eventually refitted with the Bombardier MITRAC traction systems found on all other R143s.

On April 18, 2004, an eight-car R143 train overshot the bumper at Eighth Avenue after the operator suffered a possible seizure. The lead car, 8196, presumably suffered damage while the rest of the consist did not. By 2007, it had been repaired and returned to service.

On June 21, 2006, another eight-car R143 train overshot the bumper, this time at the end of the tracks in the Canarsie Yard after the operator suffered a seizure. The first car, 8277, suffered significant damage and was stripped of damaged parts before being sent to the Kawasaki plant in Yonkers to receive repairs. The other cars in the set (8278–8280) suffered minor body damage and were moved to the 207th Street Yard and repaired. Eventually, 8277 was sent back to New York City Transit property and repaired. By 2016, car 8277 was finally recoupled with 8278–8280, but the consist needed component upgrades to become operational. The set returned to service in December 2017.

In 2017, a set of R143s was equipped with measuring gauges to test out the curve radius and gangway flex in the existing 60 ft-long cars in order to collect data for evaluating the R211T order, which began running in revenue service on February 1, 2024.

In September 2020, the interior strip maps for these cars, which originally only depicted stops on the L route, were replaced with combined strip maps that includes stops on both the J/Z and L services.

title: R143 (New York City Subway car)


text:
Margaret Balfour

Margaret Balfour (1889 – January 1961) was an English classical contralto of the 1920s and 1930s. She is best remembered as the angel in Elgar's own recorded excerpts of The Dream of Gerontius (1927) and one of the 16 soloists in the original performance of Vaughan Williams's Serenade to Music (1938).

She was also recorded by HMV singing Bach's Mass in B Minor with Elisabeth Schumann and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Albert Coates in sessions in 1929 at Kingsway Hall, London. She sang in the St Matthew Passion in November 1929 (with Keith Falkner and Elsie Suddaby) at Westminster with the Bach Cantata Club under Charles Kennedy Scott. She sang in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the BBC Choral Society and the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini at the Queen's Hall, London, on 22 May 1939. She was a soloist at the Handel Festival conducted by Sir Henry Wood at Alexandra Palace in 1939.

title: Margaret Balfour


text:
Talk:Esteban Terradas i Illa

Untitled
I have performed an extensive re-write of this biography. Some of it was difficult or even impossible for me to understand due to the translation, and therefore information may have been lost (it still ought to be in the Catalan original though). Overall I have tried to phrase it in more natural English, remove some of the translation errors (e.g. "real" for "royal", "on 1911" instead of "in 1911") and use the en.wikipedia style for biographies (so the first paragraph should serve as a brief introduction and summary in plain English rather than a long list of achievements and honours split by semicolons). I have also removed the section headings. While this biography probably (though not certainly) needs them, they really need to be accompanied by a reordering of material. The previous section splitting was illogical, with the section heading referring only to first sentence of the next paragraph before the subject changed again. I recommend that anybody planning further work on this article does one of the following: either (1) put it in chronological order after the introduction - at the moment it seems to jump around a lot or (2) arrange it by theme e.g. have a section on his early life; then one on his research; one on his teaching; one on his administrative work; one on his industrial career; one on his awards. That would make it easier to break down into logical sections.

At the moment it falls somewhere between (1) and (2) and is therefore quite messy. It is also very hard for an international reader to understand the importance or function of some of the institutions listed, especially since almost none of them have .en articles. Is the Academy/Institute/etc etc merely a "nominal one" membership of which is granted as an award; does it pursue research; is it a teaching organisation; or is it an administrative body? A (very brief) introduction to these bodies would be welcomed when they are mentioned. At the moment the article still reads very much like a "checklist" of achievements or as a C.V. rather than as a biography. However, hopefully it will improve a lot over the next few weeks! :) VivaEmilyDavies 23:54, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

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title: Talk:Esteban Terradas i Illa


text: User talk:68.220.125.40

title: User talk:68.220.125.40