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Did you know?
Did you know that you can now use the
visual diff tool
on any page?
Sometimes, it is hard to see important changes in a wikitext diff. This screenshot of a wikitext diff (click to enlarge) shows that the paragraphs have been rearranged, but it does not highlight the removal of a word or the addition of a new sentence.
If you
enable the Beta Feature
for "?visualeditor-preference-visualdiffpage-label?", you will have a new option. It will give you a new box at the top of every diff page. This box will let you choose either diff system on any edit.
Click the toggle button to switch between visual and wikitext diffs.
In the visual diff, additions, removals, new links, and formatting changes will be highlighted. Other changes, such as changing the size of an image, are described in notes on the side.
This screenshot shows the same edit as the wikitext diff. The visual diff highlights the removal of one word and the addition of a new sentence.
You can read and help translate
the user guide
, which has more information about how to use the visual editor.
Since
the last newsletter
, the
Editing Team
has spent most of their time supporting
the 2017 wikitext editor mode
, which is available inside the visual editor as a Beta Feature, and improving
the visual diff tool
. Their work board is available
in Phabricator
. You can find links to the work finished each week at
mw:VisualEditor/Weekly triage meetings
. Their
current priorities
are fixing bugs, supporting the 2017 wikitext editor, and improving the visual diff tool.
- The
2017 wikitext editor
is
available as a Beta Feature
on desktop devices. It has the same toolbar as the visual editor and can use the citoid service and other modern tools. The team have been comparing the performance of different editing environments. They have studied how long it takes to open the page and start typing. The study uses data for more than one million edits during December and January. Some changes have been made to improve the speed of the 2017 wikitext editor and the visual editor. Recently, the 2017 wikitext editor opened fastest for most edits, and the 2010 WikiEditor was fastest for some edits. More information will be posted at
mw:Contributors/Projects/Editing performance
.
- The
visual diff tool
was developed for the visual editor. It is now available to all users of the visual editor and the 2017 wikitext editor. When you review your changes, you can toggle between wikitext and visual diffs. You can also
enable the new Beta Feature
for "Visual diffs". The Beta Feature lets you use the visual diff tool to view other people's edits on page histories and
Special:RecentChanges
.
[1]
- Wikitext syntax highlighting
is available as a Beta Feature for both
the 2017 wikitext editor
and the 2010 wikitext editor.
[2]
- The
citoid service
automatically translates URLs, DOIs, ISBNs, and PubMed id numbers into wikitext citation templates. It is very popular and useful to editors, although it can be a bit tricky to set up.
Your wiki can have this service. Please
read the instructions
. You can
ask the team to help you enable citoid at your wiki
.
Let's work together
[
edit source
]
?
Elitre (WMF)
20:56, 2 Mayrnt 2018 (UTC)
From May 8,
AdvancedSearch
will be available as a
beta feature
in your wiki. The feature enhances the
search page
through an advanced parameters form and aims to make
existing search options
more visible and accessible for everyone. AdvancedSearch is a project by
WMDE Technical Wishes
. Everyone is invited to test the feature and we hope that it will serve you well in your work!
Birgit Muller (WMDE)
14:53, 7 Boaldyn 2018 (UTC)
[
reply
]
Hello Wikimedians!
The Wikipedia Library
is announcing signups today for free, full-access, accounts to research and tools as part of our
Publisher Donation Program
. You can sign up for new accounts and research materials on the
Library Card platform
:
- Rock's Backpages
? Music articles and interviews from the 1950s onwards - 50 accounts
- Invaluable
? Database of more than 50 million auctions and over 500,000 artists - 15 accounts
- Termsoup
? Translation tool
Expansions
Many other partnerships with accounts available are listed on
our partners page
, including
Baylor University Press
,
Loeb Classical Library
,
Cairn
,
Gale
and
Bloomsbury
.
Do better research and help expand the use of high quality references across Wikipedia projects: sign up today!
--
The Wikipedia Library Team
18:03, 30 Boaldyn 2018 (UTC)
- You can host and coordinate signups for a Wikipedia Library branch in your own language. Please contact
Ocaasi (WMF)
.
- This message was delivered via the
Global Mass Message
tool to
The Wikipedia Library Global Delivery List
.
Global preferences are now available, you can set them by visiting your new
global preferences page
. Visit
mediawiki.org for information on how to use them
and
leave feedback
. --
Keegan (WMF)
(
talk
)
19:19, 10 Jerrey Souree 2018 (UTC)
(Please help translate to your language)
Hi all,
I'm preparing a change in who can edit sitewide CSS/JS pages. (These are pages like
MediaWiki:Common.css
and
MediaWiki:Vector.js
which are executed in the browser of all readers and editors.) Currently all administrators are able to edit these pages, which poses a serious and unnecessary security risk. Soon, a dedicated, smaller user group will take over this task. Your community will be able to decide who belongs in this group, so this should mean very little change for you. You can find out more and provide feedback at
the consultation page on Meta
. If you are involved in maintaining CSS/JS code, or policymaking around adminship requests, please give it a look!
Thanks!
Tgr
(
talk
)
08:45, 12 Jerrey Souree 2018 (UTC)
(via
global message delivery
)
[
reply
]
(Please help translate to your language)
Hi all!
To improve the security of our readers and editors, permission handling for CSS/JS pages has changed. (These are pages like
MediaWiki:Common.css
and
MediaWiki:Vector.js
which contain code that is executed in the browsers of users of the site.)
A new user group,
interface-admin
, has been created.
Starting four weeks from now, only members of this group will be able edit CSS/JS pages that they do not own (that is, any page ending with
.css
or
.js
that is either in the
MediaWiki:
namespace or is another user's user subpage).
You can learn more about the motivation behind the change
here
.
Please add users who need to edit CSS/JS to the new group (this can be done the same way new administrators are added, by stewards or local bureaucrats).
This is a dangerous permission; a malicious user or a hacker taking over the account of a careless interface-admin can abuse it in far worse ways than admin permissions could be abused. Please only assign it to users who need it, who are trusted by the community, and who follow common basic password and computer security practices (use strong passwords, do not reuse passwords, use two-factor authentication if possible, do not install software of questionable origin on your machine, use antivirus software if that's a standard thing in your environment).
Thanks!
Tgr
(
talk
)
13:08, 30 Jerrey Souree 2018 (UTC)
(via
global message delivery
)
[
reply
]
Hi all!. A policy regarding the removal of "advanced rights" (administrator, bureaucrat, etc.) was adopted by community consensus in 2013. According to this policy the sysop Alison meet the inactivity criteria (please see
[4]
). If there is no response at all after approximately one month, stewards will proceed to remove his administrator rights. Thanks.
DARIO SEVERI
(
talk
)
08:54, 5 Luanistyn 2018 (UTC)
[
reply
]
- Hi everyone. Unfortunately, there are only two admins here now - myself and
Mactire
and no bureaucrats other than myself. I'd like to retain these, and basically spend a bit more time here (agus ar an Vicipeid Ghaeilge freisin), so am petitioning the community here to retain these. Gura mie ayd! -
A
l
is
o
n
?
23:50, 8 Luanistyn 2018 (UTC)
[
reply
]
(Please help translate to your language)
Hi all,
as
announced previously
, permission handling for CSS/JS pages has changed: only members of the
interface-admin
(Interface administrators) group, and a few highly privileged global groups such as stewards, can edit CSS/JS pages that they do not own (that is, any page ending with .css or .js that is either in the MediaWiki: namespace or is another user's user subpage). This is done to improve the security of readers and editors of Wikimedia projects. More information is available at
Creation of separate user group for editing sitewide CSS/JS
. If you encounter any unexpected problems, please contact me or file a bug.
Thanks!
Tgr
(
talk
)
12:39, 27 Luanistyn 2018 (UTC)
(via
global message delivery
)
[
reply
]
Read this message in another language
? Please help translate to your language
The
Wikimedia Foundation
will be testing its secondary data centre. This will make sure that Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia wikis can stay online even after a disaster. To make sure everything is working, the Wikimedia Technology department needs to do a planned test. This test will show if they can reliably switch from one data centre to the other. It requires many teams to prepare for the test and to be available to fix any unexpected problems.
They will switch all traffic to the secondary data center on
Wednesday, 12 September 2018
.
On
Wednesday, 10 October 2018
, they will switch back to the primary data center.
Unfortunately, because of some limitations in
MediaWiki
, all editing must stop when we switch. We apologize for this disruption, and we are working to minimize it in the future.
You will be able to read, but not edit, all wikis for a short period of time.
- You will not be able to edit for up to an hour on Wednesday, 12 September and Wednesday, 10 October. The test will start at
14:00 UTC
(15:00 BST, 16:00 CEST, 10:00 EDT, 07:00 PDT, 23:00 JST, and in New Zealand at 02:00 NZST on Thursday 13 September and Thursday 11 October).
- If you try to edit or save during these times, you will see an error message. We hope that no edits will be lost during these minutes, but we can't guarantee it. If you see the error message, then please wait until everything is back to normal. Then you should be able to save your edit. But, we recommend that you make a copy of your changes first, just in case.
Other effects
:
- Background jobs will be slower and some may be dropped. Red links might not be updated as quickly as normal. If you create an article that is already linked somewhere else, the link will stay red longer than usual. Some long-running scripts will have to be stopped.
- There will be code freezes for the weeks of 10 September 2018 and 8 October 2018. Non-essential code deployments will not happen.
This project may be postponed if necessary. You can
read the schedule at wikitech.wikimedia.org
. Any changes will be announced in the schedule. There will be more notifications about this.
Please share this information with your community.
/
User:Johan(WMF)
(
talk
)
13:33, 6 Mean Fouyir 2018 (UTC)
This has been posted here because your wiki allows local file uploads. Please help translate to your language.
Commons
will no longer allow
uploads of photos, paintings, drawings, audio and video that use the GFDL
license
and no other license. This starts after 14 October. Textbooks, manuals and logos, diagrams and screenshots from GFDL software manuals that only use the GFDL license are still allowed. Files licensed with both GFDL and an accepted license like Creative Commons BY-SA are still allowed.
There is no time limit to move files from other projects to Commons. The licensing date is all that counts. It doesn't matter when the file was uploaded or created. Every wiki that allows local uploads should check if bots, scripts and templates that are used to move files to Commons need to be updated. Also update your local policy documentation if needed.
The decision to allow files that only have a GFDL license, or not allow them, is a decision all wikis can make for themselves. Your wiki can decide to continue allowing the files that Commons will no longer allow after 14 October. If your wiki decides to continue to allow files after 14 October that Commons will no longer allow those files should not be moved to Commons. ?
Alexis Jazz
,
distributed by
Johan
using
MassMessage
18:11, 20 Mean Fouyir 2018 (UTC)
The Community Wishlist Survey. Please help translate to your language.
Hey everyone,
The Community Wishlist Survey is the process when the Wikimedia communities decide what the Wikimedia Foundation
Community Tech
should work on over the next year.
The Community Tech team is focused on tools for experienced Wikimedia editors. You can post technical proposals from now until 11 November. The communities will vote on the proposals between 16 November and 30 November. You can read more on the
wishlist survey page
.
/
User:Johan (WMF)
11:06, 30 Jerrey Fouyir 2018 (UTC)
Read this in another language
?
Subscription list for this multilingual newsletter
Did you know?
Did you know that you can use the visual editor on a mobile device?
Tap on the pencil icon to start editing. The page will probably open in the wikitext editor.
You will see another pencil icon in the toolbar. Tap on that pencil icon to the switch between visual editing and wikitext editing.
Remember to publish your changes when you're done.
You can read and help translate
the user guide
, which has more information about how to use the visual editor.
Since the last newsletter, the
Editing Team
has wrapped up most of their work on the
2017 wikitext editor
and
the visual diff tool
. The team has begun investigating the needs of editors who use mobile devices. Their work board is available
in Phabricator
. Their
current priorities
are fixing bugs and improving mobile editing.
Let's work together
[
edit source
]
- The Editing team wants to improve visual editing on the mobile website.
Please read
their ideas
and tell the team what you think would help editors who use the mobile site.
- The
Community Wishlist Survey
begins next week.
- If you aren't reading this in your preferred language, then please help us with translations! Subscribe to the
Translators mailing list
or
contact us
directly. We will notify you when the next issue is ready for translation. Thank you!
?
Whatamidoing (WMF)
(
talk
)
14:17, 2 Mee Houney 2018 (UTC)
Change coming to how certain templates will appear on the mobile web
Please help translate to your language
Hello,
In a few weeks the Readers web team will be changing how some templates look on the mobile web site. We will make these templates more noticeable when viewing the article. We ask for your help in updating any templates that don't look correct.
What kind of templates? Specifically templates that notify readers and contributors about issues with the content of an article ? the text and information in the article. Examples like
Template:Unreferenced
or
Template:More citations needed
. Right now these notifications are hidden behind a link under the title of an article. We will format templates like these (mostly those that use Template:Ambox or message box templates in general) to show a short summary under the page title. You can tap on the "Learn more" link to get more information.
For template editors we have
some recommendations on how to make templates that are mobile-friendly
and also further
documentation on our work so far
.
If you have questions about formatting templates for mobile,
please leave a note on the project talk page
or
file a task in Phabricator
and we will help you.
Thank you!
CKoerner (WMF)
(
talk
)
19:34, 13 Mee Houney 2018 (UTC)
[
reply
]
The Community Wishlist Survey. Please help translate to your language.
Hey everyone,
The Community Wishlist Survey is the process when the Wikimedia communities decide what the Wikimedia Foundation
Community Tech
should work on over the next year.
The Community Tech team is focused on tools for experienced Wikimedia editors. The communities have now posted a long list of technical proposals. You can vote on the proposals from now until 30 November. You can read more on the
wishlist survey page
.
/
User:Johan (WMF)
18:13, 22 Mee Houney 2018 (UTC)
Advanced Search
will become a default feature on your wiki on November 28. This new interface allows you to perform specialized searches on the
search page
, even if you don’t know any
search syntax
. Advanced Search originates from the
German Community’s Technical Wishes project
. It's already a default feature on German, Arabic, Farsi and Hungarian Wikipedia. Besides, more than 40.000 users across all wikis have tested the beta version. Feedback is welcome on the
central feedback page
.
Johanna Strodt (WMDE)
(
talk
)
11:02, 26 Mee Houney 2018 (UTC)
[
reply
]
Please help translate to your language
The Wikimedia Foundation security team is implementing a new
password policy and requirements
.
You can learn more about the project on MediaWiki.org
.
These new requirements will apply to new accounts and privileged accounts. New accounts will be required to create a password with a minimum length of 8 characters. Privileged accounts will be prompted to update their password to one that is at least 10 characters in length.
These changes are planned to be in effect on December 13th. If you think your work or tools will be affected by this change, please let us know on
the talk page
.
Thank you!
CKoerner (WMF)
(
talk
)
20:03, 6 Mee ny Nollick 2018 (UTC)
[
reply
]
Please help translate to your language
Love is an important subject for humanity and it is expressed in different cultures and regions in different ways across the world through different gestures, ceremonies, festivals and to document expression of this rich and beautiful emotion, we need your help so we can share and spread the depth of cultures that each region has, the best of how people of that region, celebrate love.
Wiki Loves Love (WLL)
is an international photography competition of Wikimedia Commons with the subject love testimonials happening in the month of February.
The primary goal of the competition is to document love testimonials through human cultural diversity such as monuments, ceremonies, snapshot of tender gesture, and miscellaneous objects used as symbol of love; to illustrate articles in the worldwide free encyclopedia Wikipedia, and other Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) projects.
The theme of 2019 iteration is
Celebrations, Festivals, Ceremonies and rituals of love.
Sign up your affiliate or individually at
Participants
page.
To know more about the contest, check out our
Commons Page
and
FAQs
There are several prizes to grab. Hope to see you spreading love this February with Wiki Loves Love!
Kind regards,
Wiki Loves Love Team
Imagine... the sum of all love!
--
MediaWiki message delivery
(
talk
)
10:12, 27 Mee ny Nollick 2018 (UTC)
[
reply
]