Community noticeboard

Request for Feedback: making syntax highlighting enabled by default
While visiting a few new wikis I noticed that syntax highlighting is not enabled by default. It's a really helpful tool that's also standard for most code editing software, which can help avoid simple syntax errors and make editing easier. And because it features a toggle, it can be easily disabled if anyone prefers to not use it at any time. Advantages of having syntax highlighting by default:
 * It would make the source editor (and code editors) more accessible to beginner wiki editors, who might not even be aware it exists in the first place.
 * People who migrate from Fandom and are yet to learn about ManageWiki would expect for this feature to be enabled by default. This would make it more intuitive for them.
 * Marking it as default would make it more widespread on new wikis. It would be beneficial for editors who edit multiple wikis, and frequently use the multi-select feature the syntax highlighting enables.

Because syntax highlighting for wikitext and CSS/JS/Lua are handled by two different extensions (CodeMirror and CodeEditor respectively), I made a proposal for each.

Note: I was told those extensions may have an impact on performance and to mention in this post.  Xena  (talk)  22:12, 20 September 2022 (UTC)

Proposal 1: Wikitext syntax highlighting by default
Make the CodeMirror extension enabled by default when a new wiki is created. Existing wikis would stay unaffected.

Support (1)

 * 1)  as proposer.  Xena   (talk)  22:12, 20 September 2022 (UTC)
 * 2)  Long standing and widely used feature. Beneficial to both beginner and veteran editors alike. CodeMirror is a feature I frequently (read "nearly always") use myself, and also personally frequently forget to enable as part of my new wiki configuration process.  dross  (t • c • g) 22:27, 20 September 2022 (UTC)
 * 3) ZeusDeeGoose (talk) 22:44, 20 September 2022 (UTC)
 * 4) Executive2 (talk) 10:15, 21 September 2022 (UTC)
 * 5) I feel like it even might encourage new users, admins especially, to work more in source editor. Needless to say how handy it's gonna be for helping volunteers. KatozzKita (talk) 10:32, 26 September 2022 (UTC)
 * 6) CodeMirror is very useful.-- 1108-Kiju /▶talk  07:32, 1 October 2022 (UTC)

Proposal 2: CSS/JS/Lua syntax highlighting by default
Make the CodeEditor extension enabled by default when a new wiki is created. Existing wikis would stay unaffected.

Support (2)

 * 1)  as proposer.  Xena   (talk)  22:12, 20 September 2022 (UTC)
 * 2)  Tab support is a must on any project requiring the editing of code. Seems like a quality of life improvement (technical concerns aside) for this to be enabled by default.  dross  (t • c • g) 22:30, 20 September 2022 (UTC)
 * 3) Useful. by Buel ·Talk·Wikimail 06:56, 21 September 2022 (UTC)
 * 4) Executive2 (talk) 10:16, 21 September 2022 (UTC)
 * 5)  Per above.  -Cheers, Matttest (talk | contribs) 10:19, 21 September 2022 (UTC)
 * 6)  Absolutely. KatozzKita (talk) 10:32, 26 September 2022 (UTC)
 * 7)  I am surprised that this extension was not defol... -- 1108-Kiju /▶talk  07:32, 1 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 8)  --LisafBia (talk) 09:25, 1 October 2022 (UTC)

Qualitipedia Is Closing Their Wikias and I Want To Revive Them Help!
Well, it died. Why? https://qualitipedia.miraheze.org/wiki/Project_closure Is it because of Miraheze or something else? Is there an alternative Wikia Host that allows for article comments?

Grabbergirl134 (talk) 04:17, 5 October 2022 (UTC)


 * Refer to the RfC, the closure of QP was done by Miraheze steward in the requests of network bureaucrats, citing multiple issues like biased content, toxicity and high volume of vandalism originating from that network that can't be resolved without closing all QP-affiliated wikis. So if you want to revive this, you're better off starting from scratch. Good luck. TF3RDL (talk &#124; contribs &#124; FANDOM &#124; Wikipedia) 05:03, 5 October 2022 (UTC)
 * or wait until the wiki's are deleted so that you can recreate them LovingHaydeL (talk) 15:06, 5 October 2022 (UTC)
 * The reason of closure is linked through the page you mentioned (see where it mentions a Request for Comment, admittedly it's easy to miss if you don't catch the link text with the word 'this').
 * There is probably not another wiki host that would be interested in taking on Qualitipedia. --Raidarr (talk) 20:43, 5 October 2022 (UTC)
 * There are no other wiki hosts. The only other wiki hosts that use MediaWiki and are free and have the latest software are FANDOM, ShoutWiki, and Whiki, but FANDOM banned the wikis already, ShoutWiki's Wiki Creator is broken, and Whiki rejected the wikis. I tried to request a revival called Receptionpedia here on Miraheze that would start from scratch, but it was rejected, so I have officially given up on trying to revive Qualitipedia. Blubabluba9990 (talk) 19:33, 6 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Kudos for figuring something out. Sometimes you gotta let go, Qualitipedia is no different. If you’re truly dedicated to reviving the wikis, host it yourself; once you get the resources, it’s not that hard for a few wikis like that. I know I said I would do that, but to be honest, Qualitipedia is just not worth more of my time than it already was. -- Bukkit  [ cetacean needed ] 07:02, 9 October 2022 (UTC)
 * an user named JFred managed to revive the wikis via meta.qualtipedia.cf. You can go there if you want to help. The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 19:58, 18 October 2022 (UTC)

I just have one question
Hi, I just would like to ask that I shared in Phabricator (https://phabricator.miraheze.org/T9810) that I would like someone to rename my wiki. And when will this happen? Sorry for the question, just asking. Thank you so much :) Lois (talk) 16:14, 10 October 2022 (UTC)


 * It depends whenever the admins check it, and do it, so there's not really a set time. ImReal (talk) 19:19, 10 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Oh, okay. No problem. Lois (talk) 10:29, 11 October 2022 (UTC)
 * np! ImReal (talk) 03:07, 12 October 2022 (UTC)

Can I have forums on my wiki?
My fabric account won't work and I really need forums for my Talk About It! wiki so can I have it? CharlieFiddlesticks (talk) 15:49, 11 October 2022 (UTC)


 * An extension was here, but was disabled for security issues. Please wait for an update. --Zeus  (talk|contribs|accounts|email) 19:10, 11 October 2022 (UTC)


 * In Manage this wiki's extensions there is DPLForum. Would you like to enable it to see if it serves your needs? - PercyUK (talk) 20:43, 11 October 2022 (UTC)
 * yes please CharlieFiddlesticks (talk) 14:33, 13 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I can't find it. CharlieFiddlesticks (talk) 19:49, 13 October 2022 (UTC)

Working through the steps on MediaWiki
 * Create templates
 * Template:Forumheader The other wiki has the styling stored in MediaWiki:Common.css which I don't have access to. So placed in the template instead and you can easily change it to fit the style of your wiki.
 * Template:Forumpage At the bottom it reads . Hope that means Forum is working! [[User:PercyUK|PercyUK] (talk) 14:10, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * It works! now i need to know how to link the forums on the main page CharlieFiddlesticks (talk) 16:00, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

Best Worldingbuild wiki?
Is miraheze better alternative of Fandom in making your own private worldbuilding wiki? Capybread (talk) 20:51, 13 October 2022 (UTC)


 * If you're looking for a private wiki, Fandom is completely nonviable in this situation as they don't allow private wikis, on top of a bunch of odd policies I won't get into here. --Blad  (talk|contribs|accounts|email) 20:53, 13 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Yeah, personally for me, Miraheze is good for making any kind of wikis rather than fandoms, but for private wikis, Miraheze is 100% better in my opinion. ImReal (talk) 20:54, 13 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I agree! Miraheze is pretty cool to use since it has no ads but the loading time is slower and sometimes gives me 503 errors, is there a way to fix this? Capybread (talk) 17:02, 14 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Hmm, maybe trying to submit a report on Phabricator? ImReal (talk) 04:47, 16 October 2022 (UTC)
 * This was already reported. See T9794 --Blad  (talk|contribs|accounts|email) 12:44, 16 October 2022 (UTC)

About the recent drama...

 * The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section.
 * I don't want things to get ugly, therefore, I am closing this. --The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 22:06, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

(These are my personal experiences with him. Do NOT harass anyone mentioned for this. Also, this is NOT a hate topic about him, I just wanted to share what happened with me and him.)

TL;DR: Tried to talk to him on Qualtipedia Meta about this, but failed. Tried to talk to him on Steward's noticeboard about this, but it also failed. Was banned from talking to TF3RDL and talking about Qualtipedia. RfC about closing reception wikis, demanding me, Raidarr, and Blad blocked for treason because we shared our opinion, got banned. End Of Story

Entire thing: Hello. I decided to make this because after what happened today, I completely lost respect for Blubabluba9990. So when did it start...? Well... it all started on Qualtipedia Meta where I confronted him about his obsession. Being all defensive, it was a pain to deal with debunking each piece of evidence. After he was blocked, it didn't stop there, as he repeatedly tried to bring back and complain about being blocked that it escalated and this resulted in being banned to talk about Qualtipedia and user TF3RDL being banned from talking to him on Meta. After that, he went silent, and revealed him gave up on reviving Qualtipedia, and I started to respect him a bit, but then came this RfC and a few hours after it went live, Bluba demanded that me, Radiarr, and Blad get banned and warn Nidoking for treason because of this proposal (Mind you, I voted support on 2.2, oppose on 1 and 2, Radiarr voted oppose on 1 and 2.2, support on 2, and Blad voted support on 1, 2 and 2.2). He also proposed this on the Stewards noticeboard as well. We tried to talk to him about this, but like everything else, he still demanded we get banned. This prompted Agent Isai to block him for 1 month for disruptive editing on Meta. And RfC happened after I got a sock blocked (09limbua sock.) So this is what happened. Just wanted to give my side of story about the whole drama. The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 22:13, 13 October 2022 (UTC)


 * I don't see what the purpose is of essentially parading the drama around first on your talk page and now on the central noticeboard. I'd think we would want to get past it and I'm really not sure what your angle is here on Meta. He's blocked, if he causes issues elsewhere he'll be addressed, and posts like these are only a magnet for further drama. --Raidarr (talk) 23:34, 13 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I put it on here because nobody responded to my talk page.
 * Also BTW, he responded. With all caps on some sentences. The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 23:43, 13 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Nobody replied on your talk page because typically Meta does not wish to encourage gossip or further perpetrate drama than it needs to go. Frankly this seems like an overt attempt to get attention: it is not necessary or fruitful. --Raidarr (talk) 01:08, 14 October 2022 (UTC)
 * yes sir. The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 01:34, 14 October 2022 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section.

Dark mode?
Is there an option to enable dark mode on Miraheze wikis like there is on wikipedia? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Dark_mode thanks and inner and outer peace to you. MichaelTen (talk) 03:57, 14 October 2022 (UTC)


 * You can use those methods described there on your wiki. You can also enable the DarkMode extension in Special:ManageWiki/extensions. Agent Isai  Talk to me! 04:17, 14 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Pretty sure yes The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 04:19, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

Er... Wiki acting like it was DDoS'd. Not sure why
So, This morning, I created a wiki with the intent of chronicling a number of things about a game known as Grand Idea Mafia, however, just right now, I've started getting the site message "MediaWiki internal error.

Original exception: [bbf606b4e83dda43a7ed58ce] 2022-10-14 20:06:47: Fatal exception of type "MWException"

Exception caught inside exception handler.

Set $wgShowExceptionDetails = true; at the bottom of LocalSettings.php to show detailed debugging information." Not sure if I'm doing anything wrong, so uh, could someone please tell me what the heck's going on right now? Grand Idea Wiki Founder/Owner and BCrat, and GIM Player and Host (talk) 20:11, 14 October 2022 (UTC)


 * Hi, can you please file a bug report on Phabricator? This is a technical problem that should be investigated as such. Edit: Worth noting that this is not a DDoS, but an error in the MediaWiki software itself. -- Void  Whispers 20:35, 14 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Actually, in this case, we've identified and fixed the issue, but for future reference, please report these kinds of issues on Phabricator. Thanks! -- Void  Whispers 20:54, 14 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks a lot for fixing it! By the way, what was causing the whole situation to begin with? I'm not one to break a wiki again, so I'm hoping to figure out what was causing it to crash.
 * -Grand Idea Wiki Founder/Owner and BCrat, and GIM Player and Host (talk) 03:21, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I tried to search up on Google about this, but there were no results. The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 20:34, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

New Qualitipedia
I Was Told By Someone To Post This Here Sorry If This Isn't The Correct Place To

I Asked One Of My Friends To Help Me Install MediaWiki And With His Help, I Have Revived Qualitipedia. The New Qualitipedia Meta Is At meta.qualitipedia.cf We Are Importing All The Wikis And Have Completely Imported 5 Wikis So Far JFred (talk) 00:39, 15 October 2022 (UTC)


 * This is indeed not the place to post it here as not a lot of users want it here. --Blad  (talk|contribs|accounts|email) 01:17, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I'd honestly say remove this thread, as QP is causing a lot of unwanted drama on Meta, and we've had enough of it. --Blad  (talk|contribs|accounts|email) 01:26, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * You're going to get in serious trouble. (Whether this is a real account or a sockpuppet.) As far as I can tell, those sites were removed from the platform for a variety of reasons. Bringing discussion of it here is only going to reignite old fires and attract users to your site that you really don't want there.
 * (On a personal note, I don't get why anyone would want these sites up... I checked them out a bit before the ban, and they were full of really nasty content. Slurs slung around every other sentence, even in official articles(!), most of the sites (not pages, sites) dedicated to aimless rants about why media is abhorrent because they personally dislike it, barely anything that would pass as proper criticism. That's not exactly a healthy place to hang out, is it? Maybe you ought to find a more positive space to plant roots in instead of trying to dig up the corpse of an old site. (That being said, if these are for archival purposes only, ignore me. The good, the bad, and the ugly- all are made equal before The Wayback Machine.)) Chantolove (talk) 03:21, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * This isn't the place to put on Meta, ESPACILLY SINCE YOU ARE HOSTING IT INDEPENTDLY. I suggest going to other platforms to notify people about this (Or better yet, don't notify people about this at all) The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 03:27, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * well don't respond to MY comment with that lol /lh Chantolove (talk) 03:52, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * oops The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 13:55, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

Instaglobal Wikia
Matweyka2009 (talk) 02:59, 15 October 2022 (UTC)


 * (replying so it'll show up in your notifs hopefully- did you mean to put a blank post here?) Chantolove (talk) 03:25, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

Looking for contributors for the Shaw's Nightmare Wiki
Hello I'm looking for contributors for my wiki about a retro game. I've tried my best to jumpstart the wiki: basic pages, extensions installed but I'm still missing contributors.

Shaw's Nightmare is a retro 3D game. It uses the Build Engine by Ken Silverman.

The wiki can be found here: https://shawsnightmare.miraheze.org/ Mickey96 (talk) 13:50, 15 October 2022 (UTC)


 * People will naturally come and contribute if they have the time/want to, so just try to expand your SEO/wiki pages on your free time and give it time. ImReal (talk) 04:45, 16 October 2022 (UTC)

Miraheze Popularity Question
How come FANDOM is more popular and well-known than Miraheze? Will Miraheze ever reach that popularity? Capybread (talk) 16:18, 15 October 2022 (UTC)


 * FANDOM has been around since 2006, was founded by Jimbo Wales, and has a multimillion dollar company behind it doing all sorts of publicity. That's probably why. Agent Isai  Talk to me! 16:21, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Is Miraheze a multimillion dollar company to? Capybread (talk) 16:43, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * prob no. The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 18:46, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Finance and scroll all the way to the bottom. Agent Isai  Talk to me! 19:02, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 1. Fandom has alot of wikis, some of which, are for very huge series, and just has more brand exposure and more "easier" ui to edit on.
 * 2. Miraheze could reach that popularity if we create and maintain wikis for popular stuff since that brings more people in and more editors, Miraheze is also non-profit unlike fandom. ImReal (talk) 21:45, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

Dark mode bug?
there is a bug on dark mode on this wiki: https://learn.miraheze.org/wiki/Vertical%20farming

picture of bug: https://learn.miraheze.org/wiki/File:Dark_mode_bug_v0.jpg

if there is a better place for me to post this, please let me know MichaelTen (talk) 05:43, 16 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Is the error being that a part of the background is white? If so, this CSS code seems to fix this:
 * Add it to  of your wiki, and give it a moment to update. I am not sure if this will cause any problems but I haven't seen any, so it should be okay. Just keep in mind you added this code in case you encounter any issues with CSS in the future ^^  Xena   (talk)  19:36, 16 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks. that mostly worked. there is still a tiny line of not black background at the bottom of the screen, but I'll thank about that later. Thanks again! inner and outer peace to you MichaelTen (talk) 01:08, 24 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks. that mostly worked. there is still a tiny line of not black background at the bottom of the screen, but I'll thank about that later. Thanks again! inner and outer peace to you MichaelTen (talk) 01:08, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Shared repository bug
On Nintendo Wiki there is a (including with ) where the images are not showing & it's saying the files are on a shared repository when no such one exists. What's going on? Bawitdaba (talk) 16:28, 16 October 2022 (UTC)


 * This seems to also affect other wikis in Miraheze, including this wiki. Silicona (talk) 16:35, 16 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I’ll report the bug to Phabricator. Silicona (talk) 16:39, 16 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I have reported the bug to Phabricator (T9837). Silicona (talk) 16:46, 16 October 2022 (UTC)
 * ✔️ Fixed! Silicona (talk) 17:27, 16 October 2022 (UTC)

What Will Happened?
A dreadful question that I thought after learning their financial information, If there is a event of Miraheze requiring to be in shutdown their website and services due to lack of financial backing, would we will lose our wikis with no hope of getting them back or are they going to be transferred to somewhere else? Capybread (talk) 19:27, 18 October 2022 (UTC)


 * if that is the case, start archiving them on archive.org. The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 19:56, 18 October 2022 (UTC)
 * There is no need to start archiving as we already do that for everyone. We publish database dumps every few months on archive.org for all public wikis. I don't expect us to be in financial peril however as we get about 80% of the amount needed to operate every month via GitHub Sponsors and the rest usually through the fundraiser or through sporadic donations. Agent Isai  Talk to me! 20:31, 18 October 2022 (UTC)

Use HTTPS in interwiki URL if the external server supports TLS
Some interwiki URLs still use HTTP protocol, and some of them should be upgraded to use HTTPS protocol. For example, wiki http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?$1 can be upgraded to https://wiki.c2.com/?$1. AkiGoto (talk) 18:58, 19 October 2022 (UTC)

Anyone interested in security for visitors? --AkiGoto (talk) 23:42, 2 November 2022 (UTC)

Italics on the ShortDescription extension?
Hello, I would like to know if there is a way to put italic on some words on the ShortDescription extension. Indeed, here is what I have: Link of my wiki: https://fiction.miraheze.org/wiki/ Thanks in advance. Darkrai18 (talk) 19:30, 19 October 2022 (UTC)


 * Something like this placed into your common or skin-specific CSS file should do the trick to make the entire description italicized:
 * #siteSub.ext-shortdesc {font-style: italic;}
 * NotAracham (Talk | Contribs)
 * But what if I only want to italicize one part? Darkrai18 (talk) 07:48, 21 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I don't see a way to do this with the ShortDescription extension. Testing a few different ways, it only accepts either a text string (stripping out any HTML tags and treating wikitext as nowiki-literal) or a reference to the ShortDescription of another page, preventing inline formatting of individual parts of the description. NotAracham (Talk | Contribs) 15:05, 21 October 2022 (UTC)

Seeking volunteer writers for quyraness.miraheze.org (Taerel)
I am seeking volunteer writers to help me write pages for Taerel Setting, the wiki is here: https://quyraness.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page

Please contact me saying what pages you want to write tho before you write. Please friend Eytirth#1310 on Discord if interested. Eytirth (talk) 20:16, 19 October 2022 (UTC)

You want a nice and welcoming homepage? I am ready to do it for you.
Totally free of charge, and with a waiting period of a few days, I propose to build a nice homepage for your wiki, provided that you have a minimum of content to put (images, text, etc.). My Discord if you are interested: Aqua-Ace#2538 Darkrai18 (talk) 16:19, 20 October 2022 (UTC)

Roleplaying wiki overwritten by wiki about browser extension for child-oriented programming language
I was browsing the wiki requests queue when I stumbled upon this wiki (archive). I looked a little bit further into the events behind the current state of the wiki, and I'm assuming that the wiki creator who approved request # 27528 failed to check if the subdomain requested was available, since in August 2021, request # 20018 was approved with the same subdomain. I'm assuming that the subdomain was taken at the time request # 27528 was approved, since the wiki at the subdomain is now utterly broken (i.e. the special pages return a not found message). This is a technical bug and should probably go in Phabricator, but since it's a little amusing, I thought I'd share it here. Tali64³ (talk) 22:32, 20 October 2022 (UTC)


 * It appears that the wiki is behaving more as expected now, but it still has the skin from the previous wiki using its database name. Tali64³ (talk) 23:09, 20 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Also, I just found that there's already a wiki on the browser extension. Tali64³ (talk) 23:11, 20 October 2022 (UTC)

Deletion all pages(in article namespace)
Hello.I'd like to delete all pages in article namespace on Ysmwiki.How do I do it?Thank you for your advice. by Buel ·Talk·Wikimail 07:06, 21 October 2022 (UTC)


 * I don’t know how to do it. I am just guessing you would delete each page manually 2001:8003:B1B8:BF00:45AD:64A:3EBD:C4A7 21:57, 21 October 2022 (UTC)
 * You can file a request on Phabricator if it is extremely large (probably over 50-100 pages), and the Miraheze maintainance script should do it after sysadmins run the tool. If it is not too big, you should probably delete it yourself. --Blad  (talk • contribs • accounts) 22:16, 21 October 2022 (UTC)
 * @Buel Hi, you can use Nuke, simply go to Special:Nuke on your wiki, select the namespace (main), click on list pages, when they show up, go ahead with nuking em en masse :). --  Joseph  TB  CT  CA   14:30, 22 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much!! by Buel ·Talk·Wikimail 10:00, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

Request for Feedback: impose limits on static files
Currently Miraheze does not have a policy limiting the amount of storage space that uploaded static files (like images, videos, audio, etc.) can take. This is something that, in my view, could be easily abused and could negatively impact other wikis as well. In theory, I could enable upload of a file format that is usually larger (like WAV, BMP or something else) and upload big chunks of files that will probably never get used anywhere, taking up over 100 GB or more of storage. In my opinion, the wikis should have a static limit of around 25 to 30 GB, and wikis could request more storage space if they really need to (and of course, the wiki would be analysed first). &mdash;Lakelimbo (talk)&emsp; 17:07, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

Support

 * 1)  per request.  &mdash;Lakelimbo (talk)&emsp; 17:07, 22 October 2022 (UTC)
 * , but would like clarity on limits in final policy. Count of files? Total storage space devoted to files? Both? --NotAracham (Talk | Contribs) 17:10, 22 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Only files. &mdash;Lakelimbo (talk)&emsp; 17:11, 22 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Per discussion on discord, confirmed that the intent is total storage space devoted to files. I am in agreement on this as the proposed metric. (edit: Reduced my support in light of good opposing arguments) NotAracham (Talk | Contribs) 22:47, 27 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 1) --Blad  (talk • contribs • accounts) 22:01, 24 October 2022 (UTC)
 * As was recently pointed out in an RfGR request and which I think is much more relevant in a "Request for Feedback" - it is likely not very useful to not provide any sort of argumentation for your vote. This is even moreso the case for Requests for Feedback by SRE which do not have any threasholds and are more of a conversation/debate (in my opinion) rather than a strict vote. It would consequently be useful if you would let us know why you support the imposition of a hard limit. DeeM28 (talk) 19:18, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Okay, here goes then.
 * Miraheze has extremely limited resources, compared to something like Fandom or ShoutWiki, which earn money off of advertisements, and in ShoutWiki's case, paid subscriptions. This could help out with the resources, as I'd imagine most wikis don't need over 100GB of files, and I bet wikis over 100GB have a ton of unused files that could be removed. 30GB is a good limit as well. --Blad  (talk • contribs • global) 19:24, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 1) This is a great idea to prevent abuse, and the fact that limits can be changed by request doesn't cause trouble for wikis that actually need and use lots of files. (Plus, 25-30GB is still a lot of storage!) I can see it also being an incentive to clean up unused files or compress big ones. Agreed with NotAracham above: this policy should be clear on how the limits work. Also, I personally think limiting the total storage space would be better than the amount of files: some game wikis (including mine) store a lot of small icons, and that would cause the limit to be reached quickier if the amount of total files was restricted.  Xena   (talk)  08:48, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Oppose

 * 1) I'm opposed to a hard limit - that would create a more bureaucratic system, would be something we need to advertise and monitor/restrict on a technical level and remove all levels of discretion that we like to provide the community. We currently have a fair usage policy for Imports which is a pure guideline for usage - a 25-30GB guideline would be fine, but the way this is worded, it's a hard limit that you need permission to extend (probably on a technical level otherwise a limit would be pointless). John (talk) 17:26, 22 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I would suggest having a "hard limit" of 5GB for PNG files. If they want more storage, they should either request for more storage or move to lossless WebP (put this lossless WebP for like 30GB to encourage them to move).
 * Most PNGs are "uncompressed" and takes lot of storage. a zopfli compressed PNG is 30% smaller than "uncompressed" PNG and Lossless WebP is 30% smaller than zopfli compressed PNG.
 * Max20091 (talk) 17:43, 22 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I agree that while SRE has actually been planning some guidelines for fair use, a hard limit to implement technically wouldn't be a good idea. It's better to have guidelines and regular monitoring by SRE and discussion with communities who exceed them. There's not a need storage wise to have a hard limit - and I would certainly not say of 25-30GB. In addition, the Content Policy also prohibits wikis "whose main purpose is to act as a file sharing service". Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 18:44, 22 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 1)  Wouldn't it just be easier to do this on a case-by-case basis? Chantolove (talk) 17:40, 22 October 2022 (UTC)
 * That is what I believe but for that to be the case there still must be a general guideline so wikis are not unexpectedly told they should not be hosting that many images without them having been informed at all in advance as this would not be fair towards them. DeeM28 (talk) 19:19, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 1)  First, the fact that a member of the system administrator team has come out against this proposal gives me good reason to believe that there is not a need for this measure and that Miraheze is doing fine with space as otherwise it can be assumed that John would have not opposed this. Second, I believe Miraheze is special by not imposing hard limits on wikis and being flexible on this matter. I believe it is a good idea to have an indicative guideline and if it is exceeded by a wiki the SRE team can initiate a discussion with the wiki and investigate whether the wiki really has a need for that many images. But I do not think a hard limit which needs a request by the wiki to exceed is a good idea and may hinder some wikis' development. Additionally I strongly oppose a limit (even if just a guideline) that is as low as 25GB as I do not believe it is fair as some wikis I am sure have great use for images. In conclusion I believe that Miraheze should stay flexible and mostly limit intervention to cases where its "image hospitality" is clearly being abused and taken advantage of by wikis where they are hosting a lot of images (not only 25GB) but they do not actually need them for their wiki to function and/or are not using them within their wiki content. --DeeM28 (talk) 19:12, 28 October 2022 (UTC)

Comments
In theory it's not a bad idea, but I would like to hear from the SRE team first. Sario528 (talk) 17:19, 22 October 2022 (UTC)


 * We've talked about this inside SRE for a few months now and I mentioned it on Discord about some wikis which don't use their images yet have 100s of GBs of images on their wikis without any real meaningful use (one wiki has 300GBs) which prompted this. We have a draft policy ready but have been waiting for community input to implement this. Agent Isai  Talk to me! 17:24, 22 October 2022 (UTC)


 * In addition to a possible hard limit on individual or aggregate file size, wiki operators should be encouraged to use a compressed file format and avoid uploading files of outrageously high quality. The point of a wiki's File: space is usually to render a photo on a computer screen (or play an audio for the user), not to archive originals.   00:03 26-Oct-2022

Withdrawing my prior strong support, those opposing have given credible rationale in my view on why the proposal as it exists today should be altered. A quick recap of opposing points: I'd suggest that amending for clarity on the filesharing portion of Content Policy (or general fair use policy) with guidelines/expectations on appropriate usage (something like: 25-30GB max space used is preferred, provide best practices to limit file size, SRE team will engage to understand use case and propose alternatives (e.g. culling unused images) for those wikis that run afoul of that guideline) NotAracham (Talk | Contribs) 19:35, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Per members with back-end knowledge, a strict cap adds extra bureaucratic overhead and implementation challenges that should ideally be avoided
 * Additionally a strict cap would be need to be advertised + limits discretion by maintainers on what is a 'legitimate case' to exceed the cap
 * Adding a hard cap seems duplicative of the Content Policy's "Don't use your wiki as a file share" policy.

Miraheze logo = Sunflower x Honeycomb?
Miraheze is a wikifarm that is powered by MediaWiki. So I guess the logo of Miraheze is sunflower x honeycomb. Is it true? I cannot find the answer in the FAQ. I want to know the official answer. --AkiGoto (talk) 05:02, 23 October 2022 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure exactly but yes, people do usually describe it as a 'honeycomb'. I will admit I'm not sure what inspired QuimGil to make it exactly. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 09:55, 23 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks! --AkiGoto (talk) 18:41, 23 October 2022 (UTC)
 * @Reception123 Thank you very much for your ping on Commons. @AkiGoto, it's been a while and I'm not going to lie, one evening I opened Inkscape with some vague thoughts and later that night I came up with this. They say that constraints enhance creativity, and in my case I had abundance of constraints producing anything graphical. I took a color schema that roughly recalls the MediaWiki sunflower used back then, and I went for an hexagon of hexagons because (I think) of the easy cloning and the solid structure that assembling hexagons provides, with the honeycomb as a natural proof of concept. Miraheze's value was/is about cloning independent MediaWikis and sharing the benefits of a common infrastructure. Honestly, I might be adding details after the fact. Even counting my Inkscape ineptitude, the whole thing was done in an evening if I recall correctly. :) QuimGil (talk) 21:58, 24 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I am happy to hear the details of the creation of the logo. I like the logo since it is simple and expressive. Thanks. --AkiGoto (talk) 23:05, 24 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Some Admin should perhaps add a brief summary of this Miraheze folklore to FAQ, around Section 1.4.  00:08 26-Oct-2022
 * Agreed. A very cute detail!  Xena  (talk)  08:52, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Problems with images
As you can see here, a number of my images are not displayed: How can I fix this problem? Link to the page: https://fiction.miraheze.org/wiki/Galerie:Mario_(Super_Mario) Thanks in advance. Darkrai18 (talk) 14:31, 23 October 2022 (UTC)


 * I am having the same issue on my wiki, with a large number of images no longer rendering. This seems to have begun to occur after the scheduled server maintenance that Miraheze announced was going to happen late last night. – Mitchell Gore (talk) 16:48, 23 October 2022 (UTC)
 * So, I had already had this before the maintenance. But that may have made it worse. Darkrai18 (talk) 18:07, 23 October 2022 (UTC)


 * I purged the page and it works now. Looks like it was a side-effect of the maintenance and didn't refresh by itself after. Try purging any pages with this problem! ^^  Xena  (talk)  08:55, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

still a bug with dark mode?
i posted this Community_noticeboard and i appreciate the answer greatly....

https://learn.miraheze.org/wiki/File:Dark_mode_bug_2_v0.JPG (lots of white background still)

https://learn.miraheze.org/wiki/File:Dark_mode_bug_2_v2.JPG (white background on very bottom of page)

anyone have an suggestions how to work around that? something else that i should add to MediaWiki:Common.css?

thanks and limitless peace. MichaelTen (talk) 01:58, 24 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I found the issue, you also need to add this to your :
 * It should fix the white at the bottom of pages now. If you encounter any more issues feel free to ping me instead of creating a new question ^^ I didn't check meta for a few days, that's why your previous one was left unanswered.
 * EDIT: Also, there is a good chance the CSS I've sent in your previous question is not needed now. You can try removing it.  Xena  (talk)  09:03, 26 October 2022 (UTC)
 * EDIT: Also, there is a good chance the CSS I've sent in your previous question is not needed now. You can try removing it.  Xena  (talk)  09:03, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

How to update the RottenLinks list?
The manual of RottenLinks says that you have to run updateExternalLinks.php to update the list. How can I run the script? --AkiGoto (talk) 02:26, 24 October 2022 (UTC)


 * The script is automatically ran on Miraheze twice a month. It is automatically ran on all wikis on the 14th and 28th of every month. Thank you! Universal Omega (talk) 04:16, 25 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Thank you for the precise answer! --AkiGoto (talk) 04:21, 25 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 28th is past, but still nothing appeared in the list.. --AkiGoto (talk) 06:25, 30 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Sorry about that. I will take a look tomorrow and see if it was properly ran. Which wiki is this for? Universal Omega (talk) 06:27, 30 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks. The wiki is kagaku. --AkiGoto (talk) 06:32, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

Colored squares on the infoboxes?
Could someone tell me how to have something like this: on my infobox (https://fiction.miraheze.org/w/index.php?title=Mod%C3%A8le:Personnage)? Thanks in advance. Darkrai18 (talk) 12:12, 25 October 2022 (UTC)


 * Is it just adding background color to Template:Personnage? Template:Personnage PercyUK (talk) 16:06, 25 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Color on some parts only. As shown in the screenshot. Darkrai18 (talk) 16:59, 25 October 2022 (UTC)
 * It looks like your template is missing a few of the variables that could make this easy from the Template:Personnage link provided by Percy, specifically in the labelstyle and dataStyle sections.
 * If you modify the template to include the extra pieces for background and color, you can control outputs by using |labelcolor and |datacolor properties when calling the template. Looks like the label color value is #703000, data value is #F6DB82 NotAracham (Talk | Contribs) 18:59, 25 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the indications . Darkrai18 (talk) 19:08, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

What is a 'reception wiki'?
Following the closure of this RfC which formally prohibited for an indefinite amount of time the creation of new 'reception wikis,' a number of users expressed concern about the fact that there was no solid definition of a 'reception wiki' which leaves what it is up to the judgement of a wiki creator. Per my close of the RfC, I am initiating this community discussion to collect thoughts about how a 'reception wiki' for purposes of the RfC. From this discussion, I will then open a vote to see what community members think the definition of a 'reception wiki' should be. Agent Isai Talk to me! 15:26, 26 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Looks like a reception wiki is a wiki about 1) living or fictional individuals (Incredible/Loathsome Characters Wiki), groups or other immaterial things (Friday Night Funkin' mods, Ugly Logos Wiki, Crappy Software Wiki), 2) with a name that lists a good or bad attribute (incredible, garbage, astonishing, big etc., so anything or anyone subject to articles in that wiki is associated with this attribute) and 3) dedicated solely to this (per the About the reception wikis section). OrangeStar (talk) 15:54, 26 October 2022 (UTC)
 * reception wikis are wikis that describe good or bad qualities of media. The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 15:58, 26 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I'll take my best shot at this.
 * A 'reception wiki' is a wiki that primarily aims to describe what makes X so bad or so good, according to X's reception. Rarely, both at the same time. This does not mean wikis which cover media but typically include a 'Reception' section. --Blad  (talk • contribs • accounts) 17:55, 26 October 2022 (UTC)
 * The most accurate definition of a reception wiki I made is the following: a wiki that documents the reasons for a subject's reception through a series of numbered pointers. The good and bad qualities are usually separated with headers "Why It Sucks/Rocks" and "Redeeming/Bad Qualities". Tali64³ (talk) 19:24, 26 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I agree with you because these types of wikis you're described attracts biased content, controversies and dramas, and even outright disruptive editing. Also, some if not most pointers on Qualitipedia-like reception wikis (including character wikis) are unsourced, making it difficult or even impossible to verify these pointers are not made up. I'm not saying reception wikis are inherently bad, I'm just saying these wikis are controversial and prone to drama. TF3RDL (talk &#124; contribs &#124; FANDOM &#124; Wikipedia) 02:40, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * All of the above are too narrow and fail to sufficiently cover the amount of factors that make up reception wikis. Unfortunately the clearest way to explain is simply by pointing out examples of how things work. Individual points don't make a reception wiki. Most or all of the points together do.
 * Binary scope: (Good/Bad/Neutral-Decent-Average-etc) (thing) Wiki. Exception, certain wikis that glue the two together which hint at other factors or are clearly trying to subvert this principle explicitly.
 * Formula: The substance of a mainspace page is bullet points of indeterminate size and quality, designed to 'rant' about certain components of the thing. Sometimes they'll come with sources of various quality. The objective is to list these things, not necessarily to explain where they came from, how they connect together (though some particularly long-winded pages do go in bullet point paragraphs to partially achieve this) and critically they rarely take a third party point of view and tend to read as primary or secondary sources.
 * Overall slant: The above format will typically accompany a short, often pasted from Wikipedia opening or similar in style blurb; a tagline of indeterminate creativity, the main course of above, trivia and possibly a separate reception section attempting to tie in the pointers to how the 'thing' was popularly received. If the overall reflects a personal blog or an attempt to find consensus on a piece of material is completely at the mercy of who is writing the article.
 * Management: Less crucial since this is broad and not reception wikis specifically, but the following observations are often shared. Founders/owners are treated with a degree of reverence. Admins and bureaucrats tend to have far greater agency and get away with more nonsense than in a truly Wikimedia-inspired community. In the past this came with arbitrary decision making and decidedly petty block reasons, but it's more recently been infused with 'sloppy RfCs' and some attempt at rules (though often, in finding a reception wiki the rules tend to be less than ideal and often make things more confusing). Main page wise there are pretty much two types and the commonalities are uncanny; either the "new" front page eyesore that is iconic for Qualitipedia or an older style that slaps rules, staff and a basic description/tagline on the main page.
 * Other factors come in but they're more individuals or trends that aren't as strongly tied with how reception wikis work, while the above tend to be the main commonalities that come together and you end up with what is known as a reception wiki. --Raidarr (talk) 11:00, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks for clarification. However, this begs the question because this type of wikis with these commonalities above may have ruined Miraheze's reputation, is closure of original reception wikis on FANDOM/Wikia justified? TF3RDL (talk &#124; contribs &#124; FANDOM &#124; Wikipedia) 04:16, 30 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure how this question is pertinent. Fandom/Wikia's closures are based on their own approach which is mainly 'feel' for what they think is best for their platform's image and advertising, and more recently the types of content they want to promote. It's up to them, indeed, it's out of community input in that case. --Raidarr (talk) 11:25, 30 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I honestly agree with you. The closure of reception wikis in Miraheze, in other hand are closed following the successful RfC for Qualitipedia wikis, and for TF&HW and other user reception wikis, it was closed as of result of Content Policy and/or Code of Conduct violations iirc. TF3RDL (talk &#124; contribs &#124; FANDOM &#124; Wikipedia) 22:48, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

Closures of discussions less than 24 hours after the last vote or message
I have recently noticed on Meta that occasionally a practice exists where administrators or Stewards depending on the matter close requests very swiftly after the last comment and/or vote has been issued. While I do not think that there is a necessity for a hard rule stating that one must wait a period of time after the last comment, as this could easily be abused, I do not believe that generally requests should be closed if there have been meaningful contributions within the last 24 hours. The reason is not only that another person might wish to comment on a vote or respond to it but also because that would indicate that users are still finding the request and some users may be prevented from voting. This note is not aimed at a particular person as multiple have done so but I just wished to point out that in my personal view it would be better to not rush to close requests if there is still a chance that debate might continue. DeeM28 (talk) 16:51, 26 October 2022 (UTC)


 * Generally I think that's a good rule to follow, though it does depend on the circumstances. For example if there's been no activity for days and someone suddenly participates. But yes, as a general rule I would agree that the closer should wait at least a few hours (if not 24) since the last substantive comment before closing. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 27 October 2022 (UTC)

Adding a custom Skin to our Wiki
Hello! As I understand if we want to make a custom Skin for our Wiki we need to request to add it to our List of Skins through Phabricator, right? How long will it take to have our custom Skin online? And if we update it will we need to request to upload it for every update? Thank you! Boririna (talk) 15:53, 27 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Skins. Yes, you need to ask on Phabricator. Skins go through a review by Miraheze, so depending on the skin it could take more or less time. I guess not, but I don't know. OrangeStar (talk) 15:59, 27 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Are you talking about a completely custom skin not available on our list? Agent Isai  Talk to me! 19:28, 27 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Well we want to customize the avalable free one, I guess yes it will be a not available on your list. We have limited time of 2-3 weeks to change the skin so it is impostant to know how fast a custom skin is approved/uploaded. Is it a day or several hours? Or who can I ask for that info?
 * We need to decide if we use Miraheze hosting and upload a skin or if we do everything locally and then use another hosting for our whole Wiki.
 * Thank you! Boririna (talk) 09:29, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

Note from SRE Regarding the Swift Migration
On behalf of SRE,

As we have been mentioning for months, we are finally going to be beginning our file storage migration from our current software (GlusterFS) to a new, more modern software (Swift). GlusterFS is an outdated and inefficient technology. It has frequently caused issues with our MediaWiki performance, and some of the sporadic 503s can be attributed to it.

Swift is a much more modern storage software, which is used by the Wikimedia Foundation, and has better performance for the high volume of traffic. We have been working hard to get everything in order, and working with this new storage solution. There should hopefully not be to many user-facing interruptions during this migration, but you could at some points during it experience some issues. If you do, please let us know.

We have already started the migration by first switching over all new wiki creations to use Swift. Soon we will begin switching other wikis over. We will be doing it so that all wikis starting with the letter "a" will be switched over first, then once they are done, all wikis starting with the letter "b" will be switched over, and so on and so forth. We expect the total timeframe of the migration to last around one month before all wikis are switched over.

However, there is one unfortunate side-effect of this: during the migration, and potentially a little bit longer after the migration is done, we have to disable the ability for wikis to generate their own dumps using Special:DataDump. If you need to request a dump before we are able to get it working again, please request so on Phabricator.

— Universal Omega (talk) 20:50, 27 October 2022 (UTC)
 * AdvanceWarsWiki's images uploaded before 18:12 are showing up as errors. . The one I uploaded recently is ok though . OrangeStar (talk) 18:24, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * This issue is no longer happening, the first two images returned but the third got lost, I just decided to reupload the third and move on. The migration to swift looks like a success in that wiki, because I feel like the wiki's loading times are reduced notably, but still, it's a wiki that basically I edit and read only myself for now, we'll see how it goes in more famous wikis. OrangeStar (talk) 22:18, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I apologise for the issues that occured earlier. The issue at that time was caused by a configuration change that has been fixed. Please let me know if you encounter any further issues. I will note however, that during this migration there may be times that a few images might not appear correctly. That is because they are still being copied over to Swift. It shouldn't be a highly common occurrence, but it may happen at some times. Perhaps for a few hours to maybe a day or so. Universal Omega (talk) 05:41, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I’m lucky that I was on Googlepedia (mh:google:Main Page). It is editable and loaded content quickly as of now. Silicona (talk) 12:16, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Request for Feedback: Categories and the tagging system
For years now, Miraheze has used a categorization system which is integrated into WikiDiscover and is supposed to allow users to easily find wikis that they're interested in. Over time however, many users have expressed discontent with this system as the current categories are either too wide or to vague and their wikis may fall into only a specific category within a category or they may fall in multiple categories and thus their category very loosely fits them.

For a long time now, we have been discussing the possibility to adding a new 'tags' system and it seems that it is a necessity now. By allowing wikis to use tags, these wikis would be easier to find when using WikiDiscover as a user would be able to use multiple tags to find a wiki that matches all of them for example. There are two main ways this can be done, one proposes categories be kept but that they be complemented by tags which would allow you to narrow your search within a category. Another is to abolish the category system and replace it entirely with a tagging system. So now, we want to hear from you. What do you think we should do going forward? Let us know below and help SRE shape the future of WikiDiscover and categories. Note: If you oppose both proposals that means that you wish to keep the current category only system. Agent Isai Talk to me! 04:50, 28 October 2022 (UTC)

Proposal 1: Keep categories and add tags

 * Categories will be kept as they are but in addition it will be possible to add a maximum of 5 pre-defined tags for each wiki

Support

 * 1)  While I generally wouldn't vote in an RfF I thought I should here. The reason why I think we should preserve categories in addition to tags is because it would allow us to see what how many wikis dedicated for a main topic we have (gaming, fandom, etc.). I also think some wikis would still like to have a main overarching category that defines their main scope as well as more specific additional tags. For example, Meta's main category would be "community" but it could also have tags like "central wiki" and "official wiki" or something like that depending on what we might later decide regarding tags if they are implemented. --Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 08:09, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 2)  While I'm generally in favor of Proposal 1 (retaining legacy wiki categories for those that make use of them just makes sense, tags seem like they add depth and enhance categories instead of being a distraction), I'd like to hear any compelling arguments for the alternative before fully supporting this option. NotAracham (Talk | Contribs) 08:21, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 3)  I feel like this option will work very well if all tags are more specific in comparison to categories, in order to make both features differ enough. It would allow for both broad and more detailed categorisation, of course if all tags are available regardless of the category chosen (so the problem of wikis that can fit in many categories isn't made worse). I can see the benefit of being able to group wikis into main categories and then narrow the number of results from there using tags for sure.  Xena   (talk)  09:17, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 4)  Searching for new wikis on Miraheze is nothing short of a chore, not helping that Miraheze wikis aren't optimized for SEO, meaning wikis are even harder to find on search sites. Most attempts to mediate the issue have been middling at worst, and somewhat helpful at best, and I think this would be for the better. Tags could be a great way to find wikis in my interest, possibly a wiki search system could make tags extremely useful. --Blad  (talk • contribs • global) 11:12, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 5) as I belive it will make it easier to find wikis, ESPECIALLY since we have over 5000 wikis --The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 14:55, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 6) I think categories should be kept, but it makes sense to add tags. OrangeStar (talk) 17:31, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 7)  It seems to me that the main argument that exists for keeping a single category system in addition to a novel tagging system is for statistical purposes. I will admit I am not very convinced by this argument but I also believe there is no disadvantage to also keeping main broad categories. In either case I believing that allowing for more specific tags for wikis may be beneficial to them for searching purposes.  --DeeM28 (talk) 18:58, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 8) per above. Tali64³ (talk) 22:12, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 9) Miraheze will be easier to use if this is decided. by Buel ·Talk·Wikimail 09:58, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 10) I like the idea of retaining categories to allow wikis to set a broad "topic", with the tags providing any additional necessary detail. I'd also like to see the categories list reworked slightly to remove any overly specific categories and add a "multiple categories" option. Sario528 (talk) 12:00, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

Proposal 2: Remove categories and add tags

 * Categories will be completely replaced by tags and a maximum of 5 pre-defined tags for each wiki

Support

 * 1)  (While I'm already supporting Proposal 1, I have a few reasons to support this one as well) Removing categories altogether might be the way to fix the problem of wikis which scope fits into more than one category. For the ease of transition, all current categories could be added as respective tags, so broad categorisation would still be possible, but optional. I feel like using tags only could make the searching system more free, but only if checking all available tag options is doable easily (just like now while choosing the category, they all appear in a drop-down list).  Xena   (talk)  09:40, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 2)  For the reasons given in Proposal 1 I support adding tags to wikis. I am mostly indifferent as to whether they complement or replace categories but I support the idea of giving wikis the choice to also have tags and be discoverable via Special:WikiDiscover. --DeeM28 (talk) 19:00, 28 October 2022 (UTC)

Oppose

 * 1)  No real point in doing this. Tags would be helpful but not helpful enough to completely replace categories. --Blad  (talk • contribs • global) 11:14, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
 * 2)  In most cases, categories are useful for determining the "general location" of a wiki a user wants to find. Tags are a supplement to help decrease the amount of wikis the user has to sift through to find the one they want. Tali64³ (talk) 19:03, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

Comments

 * 1) While I am generally more in favor of Proposal 1, I'd like to hear any compelling reasons to remove categories entirely instead of just adding more emphasis on tags on discovery-related pages before making up my mind. NotAracham (Talk | Contribs) 08:18, 28 October 2022 (UTC)

Image display issue
I'm still aware of the file migration currently ongoing, but wanted to note that the Gnawty article on DKpedia has been having issues with displaying its images (because they're still on static.miraheze.org instead of static-new.miraheze.org, the latter of which it's pointing to) yet Donkey Kong article seems to be displaying just fine Bawitdaba (talk) 22:52, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Looks like you're having the same problem as AWW. It's because the wikifarm is migrating to a new storage backend. Give it some time and it will solve itself. OrangeStar (talk)
 * I'm very sorry, I didn't read your message fully, it seems you already know about the migration. Give it some time and it will solve itself when the files are copied over. OrangeStar (talk) 16:06, 30 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Good to know, thank you Bawitdaba (talk) 18:14, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

Good bye
Good bye everyone, it has been an honor helping in this page, I enjoyed helping in the pages, but as I see my ideas are not supported by anyone, so this is my last edit and my last change, good bye and if one day you need me you know how to contact me. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Oscargerardo (User talk:Oscargerardo • Special:Contributions/Oscargerardo)
 * The community noticeboard isn't the greatest place to put this. Instead, you may find intrest in putting your retirement on the Miraheze Login Wiki. Therefore any wiki you visited will show a message on your userpage. --Blad  (talk • contribs • global) 16:31, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

Request to leave Miraheze
Unfortunately, I have to leave Miraheze for my academic life. Do you apply global barrier?  Hey Türkiye  message? 16:01, 31 October 2022 (UTC)


 * You can request this at Steward's noticeboard as a Global Lock. The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 16:10, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

How to fix/debug: This server could not verify that you are authorized to access the document you requested
Probably a total rookie question, but I've read about how to handle files and see nothing related, so ...

I'm getting the error "This server could not verify that you are authorized to access the document you requested" when I try to access a file I just uploaded. I used the "Upload files" link under Tools in the menu at left. I did not see any options on the upload relating to setting upload location or permissions. The FAQ on handling files reads as if everything should just work -- it has no info on config that needs to be set to allow permission, and seems to have no info on problems like mine. I should mention that this is a PDF file. I've enabled the PDF Handler and PDF Embed. I would welcome help, even RTFM if you can point me to the FM that I haven't discovered so I can R it. I have tried both and File:filename.pdf. I can see the file on "Special pages:File list", and it knows it's a PDF. I'm too ignorant to know what to look at next. Thanks. Rreynolds (talk) 17:13, 31 October 2022 (UTC)


 * Is this still occurring? What wiki is this happening on? Agent Isai  Talk to me! 21:46, 2 November 2022 (UTC)

How do I make a bot for my wiki?
I wanted to make a bot for my Talk About It! wiki but I have no clue how to make one. I wanted one so the bot would make randomized post and upload random images for random threads and random replies and just overall do things on my wiki so it wouldn't close down (basically a bot that acts like a random mirahezen). Does any steward know if this is possible and if I can clone those bots too? CharlieFiddlesticks (talk) 19:43, 2 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Ummm, I doubt Stewards will like that kind of bot. OrangeStar (talk) 20:53, 2 November 2022 (UTC)
 * If you want to avoid your wiki from being closed down due to inactivity, and have a good reason, you should request a Dormancy Policy exemption, instead of making these kinds of bots. OrangeStar (talk) 20:54, 2 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Moved to Community noticeboard as this isn't a matter for Stewards. As for your question, are you using DPLForum or something for your wiki? Agent Isai  Talk to me! 21:44, 2 November 2022 (UTC)

Request for changing my wiki's local interwiki table
I need one of Interwiki Administrator to modify my local wiki's interwiki table.

Local Wiki: sfacgn.miraheze.org

Desired local interwiki table entries: ShengFu (talk) 08:41, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Hello, kindly give my account (User:Ugochimobi) a member right or make your wiki public in Special:ManageWiki for the meantime. --  Joseph  TB  CT  CA   12:51, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Hello, I have changed your account with "Confirmed users", "Editor", and "Member" groups. And changed the local wiki to public. Anything else? ShengFu (talk) 14:47, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * All done. --  Joseph  TB  CT  CA   15:38, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much! I have tested some interwiki links, and they work as I wish. You done a very good job. ShengFu (talk) 15:47, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

survey/poll regarding donation models
It is likely that many Miraheze users have seen developments related to a social media platform and a new funding model that its new owner has in mind. Miraheze is different as it is a non profit company and all funds must go to the platform and nothing ele. Miraheze's current donation model is simple - people donate the sum of their choice at the date of their choice. Miraheze's current spending model (as I understand it to be) is also relatively simple - funds go to servers/infrastructure and associated costs. As an experiment I would like to address some questions in the form of a poll/survey to the community. I know this is very unusual and it is likely that I will not elicit many responses. I will say from the outset that I do not believe that these questions will garner much support but I simply wish to confirm my prior thoughts about what the commnity's views on the matter are. DeeM28 (talk) 12:23, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Important Clarification: I wish to make clear that I have had no discussions with anyone affiliated with Miraheze about this and this is something I have thought about enterily by myself. I do not wish people to believe that this proposal is being made by someone affiliated to Miraheze and this is something planned for the future as some people may worry about this. --DeeM28 (talk) 12:25, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

=== #1: Would you be in favor of a specially created 'role' on Miraheze that would have to donate a small sum (i.e. $5/month) and get minimal additional "features"? If yes, what "features" would you have in mind? ===
 * 1) Opposing for features. The donator role is fine. --Blad  (talk • contribs • global) 12:37, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 2) All of Miraheze's features should be available to anyone, regardless of if they have donated. Locking features behind a paywall is a step closer to YouTube and is not where any wiki farm (even Fandom, a for-profit that is chock full of ads) wants to go. Tali64³ (talk) 14:28, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 3) because there is no need for this --The user who loves human heads on alien/animal bodies in cartoons for no reason (talk to me uwu!) 14:41, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 4) this would go against the founding principles of Miraheze Rob Kam (talk) 15:40, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 5) "Freemium" in this way (locking off features that already exist natively in MediaWiki) seems wrong. I could entertain tipping extension-builders or creating a small pool for developer compensation, though that could form its own rats-nest of conflict and diluted run-the-business revenue for Miraheze proper.  NotAracham (Talk | Contribs) 18:49, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 6) I just don't like these kinds of things. OrangeStar (talk) 19:01, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

=== #2: Would you be in favor of a system where wikis which are consuming a very large amount of disk space and/or have a large user base should have to pay a minimal donation to Miraheze? (this would be a small sum) ===
 * 1) No opinion --<span style="font-weight: bold; background:linear-gradient(#ff00ff,#c800c8,purple,#c800c8,#ff00ff);; -webkit-background-clip:text !important; -webkit-text-fill-color:transparent">Blad  (talk • contribs • global) 12:37, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 2) for similar reasoning as my vote in Proposal 1. Tali64³ (talk) 14:28, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 3) this would go against the founding principles of Miraheze Rob Kam (talk) 15:40, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 4) Communities and individuals already have the opportunity to donate should they feel the desire to do so, I'd prefer we set reasonable boundaries as a community for 'acceptable resource use' instead of creating a pay-for-play system of tiered products. NotAracham (talk • contribs • global) 19:48, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

#3: Would it make you want to contribute to Miraheze's technical team (such as a developer or infrastructure engineer) if you were paid a small amount of money for some tasks?

 * 1) No opinion. --<span style="font-weight: bold; background:linear-gradient(#ff00ff,#c800c8,purple,#c800c8,#ff00ff);; -webkit-background-clip:text !important; -webkit-text-fill-color:transparent">Blad  (talk • contribs • global) 12:38, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 2) This sounds a lot like users making money off of a non-profit. I'm not sure about British laws governing non-profit corporations, but if Miraheze were located in the United States, this would be a huge legal issue. Tali64³ (talk) 14:28, 3 November 2022 (UTC) Struck out reasoning because it was flawed. However, my vote still stands. Miraheze is a community of volunteers, not a for-profit business. Tali64³ (talk) 18:01, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Just to clarify, Miraheze isn't considered to be a "non profit" in the UK since the only similar structure that exists is "charity" which Miraheze wasn't eligible for. It operates as a "not-for-profit" and as such all donations go back to the project itself. At this time there are no plans to pay volunteers and funds are allocated to infrastructure and related costs. As a side note though, I'm sure larger non-profits in the US do pay their employees and volunteers for their work. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 14:42, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Non-profits can pay their employees, see the Wikimedia Foundation as an example, and in many cases (in the United States at least) must pay them under the Fair Labor Standards Act. What non-profit indicates is that a corporation isn't operating with the goal to earn a profit or to prioritize profits over their goal. Miraheze however is a not-for-profit organisation. Not-for-profit further means that most, if not all money funnels back to the organisation to try and keep it afloat which is what we are, we don't pay anyone, but that doesn't restrict being compensated for work. Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:58, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 1) this would go against the founding principles of Miraheze Rob Kam (talk) 15:40, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Quoting Agent straight from above, Non-profits can pay their employees, see the Wikimedia Foundation as an example, and in many cases (in the United States at least) must pay them under the Fair Labor Standards Act. What non-profit indicates is that a corporation isn't operating with the goal to earn a profit or to prioritize profits over their goal. Miraheze however is a not-for-profit organisation. Not-for-profit further means that most, if not all money funnels back to the organisation to try and keep it afloat which is what we are, we don't pay anyone, but that doesn't restrict being compensated for work. --<span style="font-weight: bold; background:linear-gradient(#ff00ff,#c800c8,purple,#c800c8,#ff00ff);; -webkit-background-clip:text !important; -webkit-text-fill-color:transparent">Blad  (talk • contribs • global) 16:11, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 1) I have seen other not-for-profits go this route with some success - given that a stable foundation is critical to delivering on the intended mission, increasing the incentive to attract/retain SRE/developers/infrastructure team members even by a minor gratuity may be worth considering.  That said, my weak support is due to concerns about potential labor & employment law problems down the road if pursued. NotAracham (talk • contribs • global) 19:49, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 2) I personally wouldn't contribute to those things because of money, but of course, this is just because of personal opinions regarding me working in, well, IT in general. As an incentive for others, however, I doubt this is effective at attracting talent. OrangeStar (talk) 19:05, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

General comments

 * What I might suggest here is a model where certain wikis may be able to get certain 'premium' features (purely additional to what is already offered) if they pay a minimal fee, and possibly an inherent DP exemption that lasts as long as that commitment lasts (DP exemptions would be considered as normal but require justification, as now, and be subject to periodic review as now). I would not be in favor of users getting any particular bling or modification for payment. Drive space/the ability to be a bit more of a file host by design could be a component to this payment idea. I suspect a number of people would be willing to chip in for a nominal fee on the tech side but I doubt many of those people are actually already present on Miraheze and outreach would be required to pursue that idea. There are dangers but I've personally mused over a 'donation' in the form of paying someone to make certain things (in an open, easily updated and sustainable way) that will help out the platform in a tech and feature capacity. Even if that is say, updates to the usability of extensions that we offer. It's an interesting topic and maybe it's something Miraheze will have to consider seriously if it finds itself more strapped in the future. Obviously any of this would have to be approached with the upmost caution to retain trust. I think we also need to do more operational cleanup for these ideas to even be considered, as there are few things worse than controversies of a platform with paid components being in over its head. Introducing any of this would also change the model in a way that might damage the image of the platform, and is something that would only go over well if a/the platform was made for it in the first place. --Raidarr (talk) 13:06, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * I think right now we aren't doing terribly in terms of finance therefore making these proposals unnecessary at this time. If the third proposal is aimed at attempting to attract more technical volunteers (which we do very much need!) I'm not sure how efficient that would be given that most tasks aren't tasks that require investing a large amount of time into them. --Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 14:37, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * I understand very much that the ideas I propose are not attractive from an ideological and principles perspective. I imagined that the community would oppose in the way that it does. The only worry that I have is that even if there are supposedly enough funds right now - are there enough for real growth of the project or just preserving the status quo and slowly upgrading things here and there? --DeeM28 (talk) 15:18, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Problem with the borders of the circles
I have a slight problem with some of my borders. As I show you here: https://fiction.miraheze.org/wiki/Mod%C3%A8le:R5, I couldn't figure out how to place simple borders that I could color. I can only put double borders, or single borders or all black, which is not what I want. I could use some guidance. Thanks in advance. Darkrai18 (talk) 17:32, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

Problem with uploading media files
I have a problem with my wiki that I cannot upload media files, the error is: "An unknown error occurred in storage backend "miraheze-swift"." How can this be fixed? Thank you. Verycutecat (talk) 10:53, 4 November 2022 (UTC)