Community noticeboard/Archive 1

__NOINDEX__

A question about category extensions
First of all, having this community noticeboard is a great idea. I've wanted to ask just general stuff before now but there was never a place to post them. I know my question isn't directed at Meta but it is Miraheze related. I was wondering if anyone knows how the categories work on All the Tropes. I have noticed the same or similar on Public Test Wiki. I use categories extensively and the category system in place, especially on ATT, seems like the perfect tool. What is it called and is it even a possibility to get something like that installed on my wiki? If yes, I'll ask in the appropriate place, thanks. Borderman  talk 21:12, 22 July 2017 (UTC)
 * 'Sup Borderman. I'm pretty much responsible for all of the All The Tropes categories.  But I have no idea what you mean when you say "the category system".  There are a few things in play.  One is an extension I wrote called Highlight Links in Category, which is responsible for the green links.  Another extension is Category Tree which is enabled on all* of our wikis here.  Finally, there's HotCat, a gadget that allows you to easily add categories from the comfort of your page's category box.  Was there something else you see about ATT that you want? Anything from Category:Category extensions? --Labster (talk) 23:47, 22 July 2017 (UTC)
 * What I am interested in is the HotCat gadget to allow for easier adding, removing and editing of categories from the category box. This is what I meant by the "category system" (probably not the best wording on my part). I haven't used gadets before so don't really know how they work or are implemented. Are they set up by staff or are they something I can do in-wiki? There are a couple of other things I have seen on ATT that I like the look of but I'll ask about them in due course (probably message you direct if that's ok). Thanks.  Borderman   talk 07:11, 23 July 2017 (UTC)
 * It can be done by users. All you need to do is copy the contents of files included here. Reception123 (talk) ( contribs  ) 07:23, 23 July 2017 (UTC)
 * More specifically "MediaWiki:Gadget-HotCat.js", "MediaWiki:Gadget-HotCat", and "MediaWiki:Gadget-definitions". Reception123 (talk) ( contribs  ) 07:45, 23 July 2017 (UTC)
 * I've copied the contents and all seems to be working. Thanks for your help. Borderman   talk 09:08, 23 July 2017 (UTC)

Suggestions on Noindex issues
I was just wondering if someone could educate me why the pages where I have included the __NOINDEX__ tag aren't showing up in my Noindexed pages tracking category. I know Manual:Noindex states there are several ways to do this, one of which is directly on individual pages but none are showing up in the category. To make this work does $wgExemptFromUserRobotsControl need adjusting? I'd have though this option would automatically be available for the 'main' namespace. Thanks. Borderman  talk 13:22, 24 July 2017 (UTC)
 * the opposite is actually true. By default the robots control applies to everything except $wgContentNamespaces. I think content namespaces should always be indexed (real content) where other pages it depends. -- Cheers, NDKilla ( Talk • Contribs ) 13:45, 24 July 2017 (UTC)
 * So can I actually use the __NOINDEX__ tag in the main namespace on a Miraheze wiki? I agree content pages should be indexed but only when they have contain real content worth looking at. I don't really want redirects, certain admin categories etc. showing up in indexes. Borderman   talk 16:15, 24 July 2017 (UTC)
 * I think redirects and hidden categories aren't indexed. If they are and you want to use noindex in the main namespace you'll have to request an edit to the config option you mentioned, telling us where those tags should be disallowed. -- Cheers, NDKilla ( Talk • Contribs ) 16:33, 24 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Ok, thanks. If redirects and hidden categories aren't indexed that's fine. It was only those I was particularly bothered about. I haven't found any Mediawiki documentation yet that says for certain they aren't indexed. I noticed on Meta that templates, user and user talk pages have noindexed pages. Is this a global setting or unique to individual Miraheze wikis? Just trying to learn more about it. I realized that, even though I used to run a Mediawiki website a few years ago (with the help of someone who knew a lot more about it than me), I never really learnt the majority of it's functions - something I want to remedy. Borderman   talk 17:02, 24 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Those pages are noindexed because of the keyword. By default, those 3 namespaces (and more) ate allowed to use those tags, since none of them are content namespaces. I believe all of Miraheze currently uses the MediaWiki default. If you'd like it changed you can ask, or read more about it. -- Cheers, NDKilla ( Talk • Contribs ) 18:07, 24 July 2017 (UTC)

WikiForum: has anyone used it and when will it be "fixed"?
As the title suggests, I was wondering if any Miraheze user has WikiForum installed, what is like as a wiki-based forum and if anyone knows when the captcha issues will be resolved. I am currently archiving the majority of forum topics/posts from an old phpbb3 forum I administer but it is closing down in January 2018 because of soaring hosting costs (and one or two other reasons). I would like to be able to offer another forum to those who were regular users and I really like the ideas of an in-wiki forum. Any comments about the extension and when it might be fixed? Thanks. Borderman  talk 22:49, 26 July 2017 (UTC)
 * There is currently a Phabricator task for this issue. The problem is this is an upstream issue caused by some bad defining there, so it is up to the authors of the extension to fix it. Though, a volunteer at the WMF (Wikimedia Foundation) has made a change to MediaWiki core itself which could work, but things like this take a long time to merge at the WMF, due to requiring many reviewers, etc. So, therefore I can't really give you an estimate on when it "will be fixed". All I can say is that I will keep trying and asking around about the fix, and that I hope it gets fixed as soon as possible. Reception123 (talk) ( contribs  ) 05:09, 27 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Ok, thanks for letting me know. Do you know of any alternative extension that would the same or similar requirements of a forum? Borderman   talk 08:40, 27 July 2017 (UTC)
 * The closest I can suggest is Flow, but it's not exactly a "forum". I'm not currently aware of another forum extension existing besides WikiForum. Reception123 (talk) ( contribs  ) 11:30, 27 July 2017 (UTC)
 * I'd already looked at flow but it isn't really a suitable option as a forum replacement, thanks anyway. I'll wait and hope the developers fix the issue. Cheers. Borderman   talk 12:49, 27 July 2017 (UTC)

Login error for all new users
I added new users today and they all received this error message when logging in:

[78f6951e12248e54ad506ef5] 2017-07-31 21:31:12 Fatal exception of type "Exception"

It also redirects the out to the miraheze.org login page where this error is displayed. But when they go back to our wiki page they are logged in.
 * This error occurs occasionally when system administrators make configuration changes in Miraheze. Usually do not usually last long because they are detected and solved easily. Regards. —Alvaro Molina (✉  - ✔ ) 03:06, 1 August 2017 (UTC)
 * That is not exactly the case. It seems like an error with CentralLogin. Normally there are other errors when logging in, but I haven't seen exceptions yet. If you are still experiencing this issue please create a task here. Reception123 (talk) ( contribs  ) 05:25, 1 August 2017 (UTC)

Newcomer
Newcomer here, it's definitely still throwing error pages upon signup.Dennis.L (talk) 06:40, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
 * As a general rule when logging onto a new website, be sure JavaScript and cookies are enabled. Login session information is stored in a cookie on your computer to avoid looking it up whenever a new request comes in from you.  Now, are you getting the same type of error as shown above?   12:48 18-Oct-2017

special:userlogout
2 from 59 image wikis are currently down. (%) 83.24.17.137
 * I don't understand what you mean. Could you please be more specific? Which wiki(s) are you talking about? Reception123 (talk) ( contribs  ) 11:37, 10 August 2017 (UTC)
 * some image don't loads 83.24.17.137

Permission by default
I was wondering if there is such an option that lets me give the permission to edit/delete/create/upload and every other ones only to myself, instead of being an open source to everyone who visits the wiki? (Metrocka (talk) 11:51, 20 August 2017 (UTC))
 * That is possible, yes. Edit can be disallowed for users and anonymous users. Which wiki would you like this on? Reception123 (talk) ( contribs  ) 12:04, 20 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Pocket Monsters (Metrocka (talk) 12:13, 20 August 2017 (UTC))
 * ✅. If you have any other feature requests please request them on Phabricator. Reception123 (talk) ( contribs  ) 13:37, 20 August 2017 (UTC)

Question about restricting page view
Hello,

I have a question. I'm building my first wiki (it's a private Wiki). The wiki is for documentation purposes so, I'd like:


 * Create 3 sections: 1 for SupportStaff, 1 for Sales Representatives and 1 for Customers;
 * Each person will have their own login but:
 * 1) if the login is listed inside SalesRepresentative, can view Sales Representative pages and Customer Pages, but the SupportStaff pages should denied from access (read only)
 * 2) if the login is listed inside SupportStaff, can view all sections (read only)
 * 3) If it is a customer login, the user can only access to Customer Area. SupportStaff Pages and Sales Representative Pages should be denied

Is there a way to do that in only one wiki?

I'm trying to understand, since I'm new, but I have different ideas that don't match.

Thank you very much for your help!

Serinf.it Roverato (talk) 19:53, 26 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Unfortunately, this is no longer possible. It was done with an extension called AccessControl, only that 1) could cause leaks anyway 2) does no longer work with the newest version of MediaWiki. The only solution I see is created separate wikis. Reception123 (talk) ( contribs  ) 05:28, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

Adjusting current time to local country
I was just wondering if anyone knows how to show the correct local time pertinent to individual countries using the  magic word. I am guessing this will have to be done by staff to adjust settings rather than anything I could do in-wiki. The "Time offset" in preferences is set to my local time (+1 hour Europe/London) but the current time magic word is still using the server time. I am in the UK and currently we are in BST, therefore, the time is out by one hour. Also, is there a way that it can automatically change to GMT after daylight saving time ends on 29 October or can the time only be shown in UTC? Thanks. Borderman  talk 10:06, 28 August 2017 (UTC)
 * I have set the time for your wiki (so default unless specified in preferences) to "Europe/London", so the magic word should also display this time now. Reception123 (talk) ( contribs  ) 10:17, 28 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your quick response. My main page (top right) still seems to be showing the server time rather than the local time, which should be +1 hour for BST. Plus, the time doesn't refresh unless the page cache is purged, shouldn't it update with a simple page refresh? Or am I just missing something?  Borderman   talk 11:26, 28 August 2017 (UTC)
 * I will have to look into that. Reception123 (talk) ( contribs  ) 11:34, 28 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Found it! You need to use "LOCALTIME" instead of "CURRENTTIME" for it to work with your timezone. For the refresh vs. purge the cache I'm not sure, but it might be expected behavior. Reception123 (talk) ( contribs  ) 11:37, 28 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks, appreciate your help. That sorted the correct time, just not sure what to do about the refresh/purge issue. Borderman   talk 13:16, 28 August 2017 (UTC)
 * If I may kibitz: Wikis tend to use UTC to reflect their worldwide participation. Take a look at the timestamps in just this conversation and imagine the jumble if everyone signed with their local time.  If your wiki is aimed only at the UK, your situation may be different, and LOCALTIME is a solution.  Wiki time is always 4 or 5 hours off for me.  Spike the Dog (talk) 13:18, 28 August 2017 (UTC)
 * It is perfectly fine to use local time. As an example, Wikipedias (other than enwiki) use local times. If your editors are generally based in one timezone, it's preferable to use that timezone. Reception123 (talk) ( contribs  ) 13:24, 28 August 2017 (UTC)
 * My wiki is generally targeted at the UK simply because the subject matter is about a English battalion and the majority of people that look at it are typically from the UK. I say "typically" because in the past (prior to using Miraheze) I have had queries and research questions regarding descendants of soldiers from that battalion who were born and live in other countries, namely the US, Canada, Australia and NZ. However, that number is minimal and the date/time on the main page is there purely for recognition of a local UK time. Regarding signing comments, I very rarely get comments on talk pages so I don't really see it as an issue. I can, though, see your valid point how having BST/GMT and UTC timezone could get confusing but the point of having indented comments means that one comment usually follows from another regardless of timestamp. Borderman   talk 13:59, 28 August 2017 (UTC)

Reset indent: Would it be worth looking into using the extension MagicNoCache as an option for the caching issue? Using a magic word seems appropriate to stop the main page caching. If so I'll include ticket on phabricator. Borderman  talk 14:16, 28 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Looks like a simple extension. Feel free to make a ticket and review should be pretty quick as the code is really simple. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#d00404"> contribs  ) 14:27, 28 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Extension requested. I have added a temporary fix for now using purge as a link but hopefully this extension will sort the issue out. Cheers. Borderman   talk 14:43, 28 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Just an update for anyone reading this, the MagicNoCache extension works perfectly if anyone else was thinking of doing the same or similar. 21:27, 16 September 2017 (UTC)

Miraheze Best Hosting
Can I ask, how much large the storage miraheze can have? for 2000 wiki? Sptr (talk) 22:17, 30 August 2017 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure what you mean by "2000 wiki" but in theory, you should be able to use as much storage as you need. If there is no more free space left, we upgrade the servers. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#d00404"> contribs  ) 05:34, 31 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Wow.. And how If I will to join in your community or miraheze team? and what the requirement should I have? Sptr (talk) 10:26, 31 August 2017 (UTC)
 * You can be a volunteer. See Contributing. If you need any help or don't understand something feel free to ask me. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#d00404"> contribs  ) 10:50, 31 August 2017 (UTC)

Members
How can I grant my member into my wiki, which mean, I have many friends at university and I want them can edit my page [] How do I do?
 * Since it is a wiki, by default any user can edit that page. If you want to configure different user rights than are listed here please make a request on Phabricator. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 05:13, 1 September 2017 (UTC)

Pronouncing the name of the wiki farm
Have begun to contribute original material at  and have contemplated resuming recording narrations as I did at Wikia Uncyclopedia. One towering impediment exists: I would have to assemble a new outro, and I do not know how to pronounce "miraheze". Spike the Dog (talk) 02:05, 2 September 2017 (UTC)
 * We have gotten this question before a few times, I believe. I will quote one of the founder's responses, Southparkfan here: "Good question. The 'English' forms some use is my-ra-hez, or my-ra-he-zuh although as a Dutch guy I've also heard Mie-ra-he-zuh." I personally think the first one sounds better, "my-ra-hez" Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 05:47, 2 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks, . I assume those syllables are pronounced like the pronouns.  As the point of the outro is to advise the listener where to go to get more, "he-zuh" seems preferable.  This is truly the Touareg of wiki farms.  <span style="background-color:navy; -moz-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid yellow; white-space: nowrap"><span style="color:yellow; font-family: Cambria, Palatino, serif">Sp&#305;ke  (talk) 13:27 2-September-2017
 * It's quite an unusual word. I always thought it was pronounced Mie-ra-heez. Borderman   talk 14:14, 2 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Well, honestly I don't think there's a "correct" pronounciation and an "incorrect" one. Some people pronounce it in different ways, and since at Miraheze we have users who speak different languages, it is normal that pronounciation will differ between users, so I think any way that makes sense to you of pronoucing it is okay, and there doesn't have to be a single posibility. --Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 15:46, 2 September 2017 (UTC)

(reset indent) This is always super interesting every time it comes up and I just laughed thinking about this. I'm not even sure why but personally I know someone named Mira, like.. meer-uh so I've always pronounced it Meer-uh-heez I don't know if I'm doing the pronunciation things right tho. The "Mira" sounds almost like "mirror" but with an a not an o. -- Cheers, NDKilla ( Talk • Contribs ) 00:48, 4 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks; I recorded an outro last night for future use. As the only goal is to inform listeners where to click to get more, when they can't see the spelling, I elected "mira" with flapped r as in Spanish (where "mira" means "Look!"), then hee-zee.   23:12 22-Sep-2017
 * — And have finally recorded a narration that uses the outro, thanks to Reception123 via Phab enabling uploads of MP3. It is not an authoritative pronunciation, though it might become so, if no other pronunciation exists on the web.   02:07 13-Oct-2017

Signature files
Hello again! As you can see, I brought over a signature file; and as you can see in the source code,  is failing; it deposits the contents of the signature file at each signature, rather than the name of the signature file. It seems 's is doing the same thing. Mine failed even better when I tried to use  to isolate the last two digits of the year number at render-time. Are these optional features of MediaWiki? Is it known that these extensions are not supported on Meta? Should they be? <span style="background-color:navy; -moz-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid yellow; white-space: nowrap"><span style="color:yellow; font-family: Cambria, Palatino, serif">Sp&#305;ke (talk) 12:30 3-Sep-2017
 * My signature has always deposited the contents of the signature page as it seems others have as well. To be honest I thought that was normal. Reminds me to change my signature to something more simple. Borderman   talk 11:18, 14 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Don't work around the problem, solve it; planting just the name of your signature file in the talk page lets you make your signature as complex as you want, and lets changes be reflected in future and past posts. A web search suggests the magic word is  name of your signature file, but it isn't working here, as you can see.  Someone here must have figured out how to make this work.  User:Spike_the_Dog/signature 11:47 14-Sep-2017
 * I am quite happy to keep my signature simple. For purposes on Meta, even my own wiki, it doesn't need to be overly complicated. However, as a work around, why not just create another signature page, then on your current signature page transclude the new page into it. The new signature page can be as complex as you like and the end result when signing after comments will be . If, for any reason this is deemed impractical, frowned upon or forbidden in wiki society then simply ignore.  Borderman  (Talk) 12:17, 14 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks; that is the goal. But there is a way to make this work using a single file, and I'd like to stumble upon it.  <span style="background-color:navy; -moz-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid yellow; white-space: nowrap"><span style="color:yellow; font-family: Cambria, Palatino, serif">Sp&#305;ke  (talk) 12:26 14-Sep-2017
 * PS--Ultimately I adopted Borderman's two-file solution, both on Meta and on TheMirror. Surprising that the signature in Preferences is different per-wiki.  On Wikia there is one Preference for all wikis; for signature, the user has to make sure he can have similarly named signature files on every wiki he visits.   03:57 15-Sep-2017
 * PPS--There is a one-file solution even when MediaWiki extensions are not installed, and I think I have found it, involving sticking a null HTML tag somewhere in the middle of  so software doesn't match on it (until later).   23:15 22-Sep-2017
 * I use the two-page method on a lot of wikis. However, may also work? -- Cheers, NDKilla ( Talk • Contribs ) 20:10, 23 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Sorry; what I did is something like that in a pre-load page for a user-callable edit box, to make something not substitute until the user saves the edit. It seems I have not yet tried that for signatures.   02:21 24-Sep-2017

Wikia/Fandom may be in trouble
To whom it may concern: Recently, Wikia/Fandom went a little too far (again) with ads, deciding to insert their own custom videos at the tops of high-traffic pages on some wikis. A lot of users aren't happy with the staff's aggressive nature in rolling out these videos, especially when some of them were out-of-date, out-of-touch, and pieced together from other youtubers' footage. The biggest barrier against them forking, however, is that they feel depressed about overcoming their own wiki's SEO. But maybe you guys have some experience in coaxing people to fork, idk. This is a good time to offer this wiki farm as a good option. Relevant links: One, and two. I would have contacted the admins here, but they don't seem to be readily active. So hope they see it here anyway, by themselves or if someone notifies them. --UltimateKuriboh (talk) 01:23, 8 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Wikia Uncyclopedia forked in 2013 over a jihad against butt-crack photos and a cover-their-ass content warning that spoiled the satire encyclopedia concept. Admins have continually lamented the "cookie-cutter approach" in which authors are subordinated to a random theme devised by non-participants; mobile users are confronted by a series of content not by contributors, and a 2015 vandal hack resulted in a grand crackdown on the innocent.  Since then, Wikia has twice disinvited users of legacy browsers.  Your citation of a Wikia forum doesn't even render for me, but I took time to read the code and, yes, this crap happens all the time.  Since doing my individual fork, I have been pleased at how this farm just exists, and my writing is not put at the service of some San Francisco corporate awareness-raising concept.  Whether Wikia is "in trouble" I cannot say; even Twitter continues to thrive despite putting a Tweet from Velveeta at the top of everyone's timeline.  But past social sites choked the moment they tried to wring money out of their contributors.  Yes, it could be a recruitment opportunity for Miraheze, but you don't get web traffic without advertising; and hiring a marketing bureaucracy could be the beginning of the end.  <span style="background-color:navy; -moz-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid yellow; white-space: nowrap"><span style="color:yellow; font-family: Cambria, Palatino, serif">Sp&#305;ke  (talk) 01:53 8-Sep-2017
 * I am not quite sure if I understood what you meant, but any "advertising" for Miraheze would just have to be done by volunteers, and definitely not paid, as we are a non profit. If there are any users who are looking to move to another wiki farm (i.e. Miraheze) anyone is free to tell them about it and I or another sysadmin will be happy to help with the transfer. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 06:29, 9 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Word-of-mouth, though welcome, will not grow the website as quickly as will Wikia's payment to Google to goose it in web searches, nor even as quickly as non-MediaWiki alternatives for socializing/publishing/collaborating emerge on the Web. (I found you in the list of wiki farms on Wikipedia.  If a news outlet has anything to say about Miraheze, someone should document that, with a citation, at Wikipedia.)  Without saying that Miraheze should get anxious about growing quickly, being a nonprofit does not mean you cannot hire professionals.  (Being broke does.)  <span style="background-color:navy; -moz-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid yellow; white-space: nowrap"><span style="color:yellow; font-family: Cambria, Palatino, serif">Sp&#305;ke  (talk) 16:23 9-Sep-2017
 * News coverage is complicated, and would of course be something good for Miraheze, but has not yet happened. If we do have a reliable source, that would help us build a Wikipedia article, therefore more possibilities. Regarding the non-profit status, we're not actually incorporated yet, so the "hiring" part would also be slightly more complicated at the time being (IMO). I also think (I do not deal with the financial part, this is my opinion) that there isn't currently an interest in spending money on advertising/etc. and that users are rather interested in continuity and having enough funds to be able to keep Miraheze running. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 17:29, 9 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Okay; so back to OP's point, the current round of Wikia creative interference with its contributors may be an opportune time to "coax people to fork." (Me, I have just spent 4 years there blocking attempts to coax people to fork, on the theory that it's wrong to use the company's resources to induce its stakeholders to defect.)  <span style="background-color:navy; -moz-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid yellow; white-space: nowrap"><span style="color:yellow; font-family: Cambria, Palatino, serif">Sp&#305;ke  (talk) 17:37 9-Sep-2017
 * So uh... Your words are flying over my head; could you rephrase "on the theory that it's wrong to use the company's resources to induce its stakeholders to defect"? Do you mean you believe it's wrong to hold forking discussions on Wikia/Fandom itself? If not, I am interested (in a simple explanation) as to why you'd help Wikia/Fandom keep its wikis from forking.
 * My original intent here was, "Hey guys, maybe 1 or 2 of you guys want to visit these 'complaint' threads and suggest this wiki farm as an option." Lol, I had no intention of saying miraheze should pay for an advertising division. Also, snagging one of these popular wikis would be good for "advertising" this wiki farm, assuming the relevant wiki has good connections with the community to switch over successfully. Bigger audience = more exposure. Case in point: I found about this wiki farm by visiting the BGO wiki. Then again, this wiki farm is seemingly non-profit(?), so maybe you wouldn't want a lot of traffic. --UltimateKuriboh (talk) 20:57, 9 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes, I do believe that. I might steal your girlfriend from you, but not at your dinner table if you invited me over.  I do not like what Wikia is doing, and has been doing for years, but would not use its servers to help wreck it.  Snagging 2 wikis might be an accomplishment; not a significant one.  Significant ones generally require serious advertising.  <span style="background-color:navy; -moz-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid yellow; white-space: nowrap"><span style="color:yellow; font-family: Cambria, Palatino, serif">Sp&#305;ke  (talk) 21:23 9-Sep-2017
 * We haven't advertised ourselves in the past, and I don't think we will, in the foreseeable future. &mdash; <tt>revi</tt>  04:24, 14 September 2017 (UTC)
 * I think Wikia is just terrible. Wikia doesn't have nearly enough features to have a proper encyclopedia on a topic, and yet they are the most popular option (probably because it is easier to edit Wikia than Wikipedia), and therefore use that advantage to monetize their view counts. CoolieCoolster (talk) 05:35, 14 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Both Wikia and Wikipedia are working on a what-you-see-is-what-you-get editor; I edit both, the old way, and don't see much difference in usability. The focus is different, fan blog or humor versus carefully documented assertions.  Some Wikia sites, such as   on the Star Trek universe, are quite complete and follow rules as tight as Wikipedia's.  Wikia does try to parlay its contributors' work into revenue; that is both its strength and the basis for the perennial complaints that contributions are manipulated by people in suits who don't understand them.  <span style="background-color:navy; -moz-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid yellow; white-space: nowrap"><span style="color:yellow; font-family: Cambria, Palatino, serif">Sp&#305;ke  (talk) 13:05 14-Sep-2017
 * On Wikipedia, I fix promotional articles, as I believe that people trying to increase their revenue from a encyclopedia meant to freely spread knowledge is wrong. While I realize that Wikia could not survive off of donations like Wikipedia does due to it's sheer scale compared to its userbase, I think the fact that the same person founded two wikis with funding structures that are completely opposite in every single way is slightly troubling. Also, at least in my experience, the infoboxes on Wikia are much less developed than those on Wikipedia, although maybe there was something I was missing. CoolieCoolster (talk) 13:37, 14 September 2017 (UTC)
 * That is the basis of my chronic opposition to people using Wikia to advertise competing options such as forks. You can generalize Wikia as a corporation but should not generalize Wikia wikis, which are all over the map.  I am not "troubled," nor any time someone sets up a charity but parlays what he has learned into a profitable business.  A minor-league baseball team recently set up a nearby short-season team using college students on vacation.  No problem with that either, compared to one guy owning two teams in the same league and milking one to make the other excellent.  <span style="background-color:navy; -moz-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid yellow; white-space: nowrap"><span style="color:yellow; font-family: Cambria, Palatino, serif">Sp&#305;ke  (talk) 14:05 14-Sep-2017

Editing the footer links
Is it possible to edit the footer links (privacy policy, about, disclaimers etc.) to include additional links without having to request on phabricator? I am thinking about getting rid of the annoying cookie notice and have a simple link in-between "terms of use" and "mobile view". Thanks. Borderman  talk 11:01, 14 September 2017 (UTC)
 * I have code at https://TheMirror.miraheze.org/wiki/MediaWiki:Common.js to remove the usual page title, sidebar, and page options from my wiki's main page. You can use this technique to modify the footer before it renders.  <span style="background-color:navy; -moz-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid yellow; white-space: nowrap"><span style="color:yellow; font-family: Cambria, Palatino, serif">Sp&#305;ke  (talk) 11:51 14-Sep-2017
 * PS--I suspect a Phabricator request would not work, as the footer is probably common to all Miraheze wikis, so you should focus on changing the rendering on your wiki. <span style="background-color:navy; -moz-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid yellow; white-space: nowrap"><span style="color:yellow; font-family: Cambria, Palatino, serif">Sp&#305;ke  (talk) 11:54 14-Sep-2017
 * Thanks for the tip. I probably would use js if I knew how but alas it is beyond my scope of understanding. Miraheze wikis obviously have certain commonalities with each other and some changes simply cannot be done without affecting all wikis but I would have thought the footer links could be customised to reflect individuality. If not, then I might have to include a link in the sidebar instead. Btw, interesting site you have. Borderman  (Talk) 12:35, 14 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Thank you for sampling it! My code is not just JS but jQuery, the Tinkertoy of web programming.  I would be happy to devise code that would do what you want, but I would first have to cancel my local standing orders that remove the footer from all MediaWiki sites.  Click Talk and tell me "privately" what your wiki is and what you want.  <span style="background-color:navy; -moz-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid yellow; white-space: nowrap"><span style="color:yellow; font-family: Cambria, Palatino, serif">Sp&#305;ke  (talk) 12:57 14-Sep-2017
 * I wish I knew how code such as JS and jQuery worked so I could try myself but my lack of comprehension makes learning it moot, however, I would certainly take you up on your very generous offer. I'm not quite sure though what you mean by "I would first have to cancel my local standing orders that remove the footer from all MediaWiki sites." Also, just so you know, in your signature the name "Spike" red-links to a page on Meta that does not yet exist and "talk" links to a 404 on your wiki (I think you are missing /wiki/ in the address. Borderman  (Talk) 14:26, 14 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Now corrected; additional kudos to you for being the first person to actually click on that. 15:15 14-Sep-2017 (Memo: We continued this, and Void provided suitable coding, at User talk:Borderman.)   04:06 15-Sep-2017

Two Miraheze surveys a year
Miraheze seems to still be relatively new, and I think an additional survey every year would help improve communication between the users and administrators of Miraheze. CoolieCoolster (talk) 20:06, 16 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Do you have any suggestions as to how? I'm not entirely sure how staff use the data once the survey information is collated but the resulting graphical representations make interesting facts. 21:20, 16 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Data about how the platform is growing is always useful to try to predict where the platform will be several months from now. It can also be used for users of the platform to request features in mass to see which features would be the most popular if implemented. CoolieCoolster (talk) 23:02, 16 September 2017 (UTC)

Finance Graph
I was looking at the wiki farm finance data, and I thought it would be useful if there were a graph for the data. On Wikipedia, I have created graphs with the w:Template:Col-begin, w:Template:Left, and w:Template:Col end templates, so I was wondering if these templates could be imported here so I could make a graph of the increase of server costs, donations, and balance over time. CoolieCoolster (talk) 04:05, 17 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Aesthetically, this sounds like a good idea. I use both Col-begin and Col-end on my wiki and think they are extremely useful for organising columns in tables. How would you use them in creating graphs? 09:20, 17 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Link to the graph I made: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:CoolieCoolster/Charts/Categories/Wikilink%26Orphan_Related
 * It uses the templates I mentioned. CoolieCoolster (talk) 14:13, 17 September 2017 (UTC)

File storage and transfer
If Miraheze would have to shut down (which I hope never happens), or your wiki would be shut down because of a particular reason. Will there be an option to retrieve your own wiki or wiki files? SebastianG (talk) 17:49, 21 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Hopefully, that will never be the case. You can read Backups. You can either request automatic weekly/bi-weekly/monthly backups (if the wiki is public) or request an individual backup. You can request both of these on Phabricator. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 17:53, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

On a somewhat similar topic, if I had a sizable database dump from a wiki, is there anyone here who could help me import it successfully? It's big enough that mwdumper would probably be needed. EDIT: Ah, I see you do offer "import" support. But do you know of ways to speed up the process done by importDump.php? Would you mind sharing the script you used to import it successfully (upon request) as well? --UltimateKuriboh (talk) 05:04, 22 September 2017 (UTC)
 * the script is just the importDump.php script included with mediawiki. It works similar to the web interface but it's run via the server shell and it won't timeout like the web server. -- Cheers, NDKilla ( Talk • Contribs ) 12:57, 22 September 2017 (UTC)

How can I detach my global user account from individual wikis?
Is there a way to detach my global miraheze user account from individual wikis? CoolieCoolster (talk) 21:06, 23 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Technically speaking I believe it's possible, but we don't do it. It's complicated and would be moot point because your account would still exist and it would still be the same on that wiki. Unattaching the account doesn't delete the account [which we also don't do]. -- Cheers, NDKilla ( Talk • Contribs ) 22:07, 23 September 2017 (UTC)
 * I don't need a "detached" global account, but it's annoying that my global contribution report is cluttered up with all the wikis I've peeked in on (for example, Coolie's two) despite making no edits. It would be better if the local account were created on the first write rather than the first read.  Or if the table were sorted so that all those Spike accounts with no contributions appeared last.   16:26 29-Sep-2017

Add a page for outages
I'd like a page on Meta to record outages.

I'd also like to create a category of pages that show the pages for incidents and outages. Rsterbal (talk) 21:11, 8 October 2017 (UTC)
 * There is already one for incidents at Category:Incidents. You are free to create a page for outages. As you mentioned on IRC, this would be to record minor outages (ones not exceeding 30 mins downtime). I'm not sure what it would be called, though, so a title should be decided. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 15:36, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

I would suggest Category:Downtime and the page be call outages Rsterbal (talk) 02:42, 11 October 2017 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure about if a category is needed, considering there's not much point in creating a separate page for every minor outage. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 17:07, 12 October 2017 (UTC)

If you have such tight constraints on using basic wiki functionality why don't you just post the policies you want as html pages? Rsterbal (talk) 11:42, 17 October 2017 (UTC)
 * They aren't "constrains". I am not imposing anything, I am just giving my opinion as a user, and this is just a discussion. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 15:43, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

Rename a wiki
Is it possible to rename a wiki? I'm currently working on the following wiki: https://partup.miraheze.org. Is it possible to change this to for example https://r2.miraheze.org? Regards, Tim, Timboliu999 (talk) 14:10, 9 October 2017 (UTC)

Yes, it's possible. You can requeast to any one Admin. And you can see also: Request for Feature on a wiki page. আ হ ম সাকিব TALK   CONTRIBUTION  15:38, 9 October 2017 (UTC)
 * No, that is not correct. Meta administrators have nothing to do with this. It is up to System administrators. You can see Request features. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 16:53, 9 October 2017 (UTC)

. What's different between Meta Admin and Sysop normally? Because of, Every Meta Admin is Sysop currently. Yes, My advice was wrong. But, I didn't want to command him wrongly. Thank you! আ হ ম সাকিব TALK   CONTRIBUTION  18:20, 9 October 2017 (UTC)
 * Well first of all, we use "Sysop" as a synonym for "Administrator" and use System administrator to describe the people with technical abilities. As it says on the page, sysadmins are responsible of making sure that the servers are running smoothly, dealing with requests and other tech-related tasks. Meta administrators are responsible for maintaining Meta wiki. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 05:11, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

List of Miraheze Wikis with the most visitors
I think it would be interesting to see the Miraheze wikis organized by visitor count. CoolieCoolster (talk) 23:18, 19 September 2017 (UTC)
 * That sounds like an interesting idea which could be part of this project. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 14:17, 20 September 2017 (UTC)

Wiki Statistics
I'm looking at my wiki's statistics in Special:Statistics, and even though there are 4 active editors, it says -1. Is there a way to fix this? CoolieCoolster (talk) 21:43, 20 September 2017 (UTC)

Miraheze Wiki Statistics
When I go to https://wikistats.wmflabs.org/display.php?t=mh to look at the stats of different Miraheze wikis, there are always the same 1,253 wikis listed, with no new wikis ever being added. Is there a reason for this? CoolieCoolster (talk) 20:01, 22 September 2017 (UTC)


 * I have never visited your wiki, and you have probably never visited mine! At other websites styled as wikis, there is a community (and not just a Community noticeboard) and you get feedback.  At this website styled as a wiki farm, the pleasant staff cheerfully give you the keys to your own wiki, and you crank out your best stuff in your locked room and no one knows it.  I daresay the two recent conversations on site-wide policy are not so much because we need more policy documents than that we need a way to be part of something greater than ourselves.


 * Your last couple threads on this page inquire about ways to find out if you have gotten any nibbles. Let me ask if there isn't an underlying problem: the lack of any way to encourage nibbling.  I have visited All The Tropes, because it's famous, but truly do not know what else is available nor see any way of finding out.  My wiki is a humor "news site" and I'd enjoy knowing who else is here to write jokes, perhaps even merging wikis.  The "Uncyclopedia" here is in fact Chinese-language and I have no way to join forces with it.


 * So (apart from my mention above of the invigorating effects of paying to advertise Miraheze) I second your call for better metrics, but add: better (and cost-free) ways to "cross-sell" the wikis, even to the other people who are already tuned in to Miraheze.  23:08 22-Sep-2017


 * One problem I noticed is that there aren't enough wikis on here with significant editing communities. One solution would be for people who edit on here consistently to form a group that all help improve each other's wikis, but the problem with that would be the fact that a lot of wikis are about very specific topics that many people may not know enough about. Another solution would be to advertise Miraheze. I noticed that there was a inactive subreddit for Miraheze, so if we could revive it that could be a way to get more people to come and create their own wikis or help others with their wikis. We need more people to edit on here to improve the current wikis and to create new wikis that will get even more people to edit on here. CoolieCoolster (talk) 23:51, 22 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Perhaps if we had a "Wiki of the Week" on the front page it would encourage editors to improve their wiki to get it onto the front page. CoolieCoolster (talk) 23:57, 22 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Being willing to create wikis for people who don't want a community to begin with, is a feature not a bug; likewise if, as you say, someone creates a wiki about a very specific topic. Still, the wiki farm has attracted lots of people, some of whom could boost each other's edits.  Featuring a wiki on the main page is an excellent idea, though it boosts only one wiki at a time.  Meanwhile, there could be better ways to inventory, catalog, or present the wikis to help those so inclined find another wiki to help out.   02:48 23-Sep-2017


 * Perhaps we could create a Miraheze wiki improvement team, with a list of wikis to help improve, or possibly create. The team could help improve the look of wikis to make them stand out more, reply to questions from and help out new wiki creators, and copy edit articles to improve the standard of Miraheze wikis. For a wiki to be added to the official list of wikis to improve, requirements could include the participation of the owner of the wiki on the team, the wiki having a topic that might be of interest to more than just a few people, and the wiki having existed with an active administrator for a certain length of time. The team could also revive abandoned wikis that might be of interest to a wide audience, which would help bring more readers and editors to Miraheze. The team could help create wikis that would be far too big for just one person to create. The more big wikis like All The Tropes that we have, the more editors we have a chance of getting. CoolieCoolster (talk) 03:54, 23 September 2017 (UTC)
 * These are all very interesting ideas. I do agree that currently, it is very hard for users to find other wikis based on content/topics/etc. and that there are many interesting wikis who are only edited by one user currently, but other interested users could also help, if they knew that said wikis existed. For the team idea, I don't think it should be something "official", it could be something organised by the community and anyone willing to volunteer can join the team. The team could create tasks, goals, etc. for themselves. Ideas such as this one exist (for organizing wikis based on content) or this one for a statistic interface. The big issue that we face is that all of these technical projects need active developers willing to work on them, which we do not have. The priority now is ManageWiki, so that wiki bureaucrats can change settings on their wikis that currently can only be done via editing LocalSettings.php, but that one is also waiting on an active developer which we do not have. I also like the sub-Reddit idea, as people could share their wikis there, and maybe bring active editors to help them with their wikis. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 06:17, 23 September 2017 (UTC)
 * For the 1,253 thing, as of now we have 2512 wikis, and 1438 public wikis, so the count is wrong indeed. I will ask upstream about why the list is not updated. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 06:36, 23 September 2017 (UTC)

Wiki Creation Collaboration Idea
Many wikis on Miraheze are small wikis that only need the one person who created them to work on their wiki in order for their wiki to be near-complete. However, if Miraheze is going to grow it needs bigger wikis that will bring a bigger audience to Miraheze. Big wikis are not easy to create alone, so I suggest that there be a place for people who have ideas for wikis to ask if any other people on Miraheze would be interested in helping to create a wiki. CoolieCoolster (talk) 23:41, 13 October 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes. It is true that we have a lot of small wikis, which people don't know about. An automatic system for sorting them is currently a project, but it will probably take a lot of time. I think that this is a good idea, and would let users get to know about other small projects that are in need of editing. We should find a title for a page, and then maybe create a table of wikis, sorted by topic (and maybe a description about what is in need of improvement, etc.). Then users can add their wiki on the list, and whoever is interested can help edit it. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 05:33, 14 October 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes, please! I propose List of wikis as a name.  We can discuss what links to it, but it should be mentioned somewhere in the process of new-user familiarization.  Subsections would include wikis trying to assemble an authoritative reference (on a single event versus on a broad field of activity), wikis inviting collaborative fiction, participatory fantasy sites, fan-based wikis, and humor wikis.   12:26 14-Oct-2017
 * For the name, I'm not sure that List of wikis would work, since we already have Special:SiteMatrix and also because the list would not be including all wikis (since that's not possible unless it's automatic) but would only be including some wikis added by users. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 12:36, 14 October 2017 (UTC)
 * The name would work fine. It is not the same thing as SiteMatrix (which it should reference).  There should be no problem, provided it states what it is and what it isn't.  I'll get it started, subject to edits and perhaps even a decision on a better name.   13:25 14-Oct-2017


 * This is on its way., I had hoped you would fill in the name of that occasional list of the most active wikis; I can't remember where it is.  The other changes you made to the Intro strike me as unnecessary redundancy; for instance, we need not warn that the page is NOT a complete list, when that sentence is immediately followed by a bullet telling where the complete list is.  , I went to Appedia and saw that you had imported infrastructure but other than this skeleton, there seems to be nothing there.  List of wikis will not be useful to the reader if it links to bare rooms that he is to furnish.  Separately, are the sites about podcasts designed to deliver useful information and invite collaboration, or merely to goose traffic to those podcasts?   18:29 14-Oct-2017
 * As I wrote on Timpedia, the wiki for one of the podcasts was originally on Wikia, and we decided to move it away from Wikia due to all the advertising on Wikia. The wiki is just a place that new listeners to the podcast can go to for information. The other podcast wiki is also just to provide information to listeners of the podcast. CoolieCoolster (talk) 19:30, 14 October 2017 (UTC)
 * There is a list of active wikis here and here (although I can't figure out for the life of me what the ranking system is there). -- Void  Whispers 19:40, 14 October 2017 (UTC)
 * Why I wanted to make it obvious is because we have users from many countries and who speak different languages, and sometimes it is hard for them to understand, or even users who are in a hurry and don't have time to read everything. One example (though there are more, such as Requests for adoption) is Stewards' noticeboard where even though it is clearly mentioned that non-steward requests shouldn't be submitted, users still do so. Therefore, I still propose to rename the page. Why not have List of wikis by topic or List of wikis in need of improving? I just think it should be something that clearly states that it is not a list of all wikis, as the current title suggests. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 07:38, 15 October 2017 (UTC)
 * This native English-speaker pleads guilty to occasionally posting without reading! Yes, I see the problem, List of wikis does seem like a complete list.  "In need of improving" is a value judgement that existing wiki authors might not share.  List of wikis by topic (not so much topic, but emphasis: reference vs fandom vs humor, and "emphasis" is not the right word either) or List of notable wikis, yes.   15:31 15-Oct-2017


 * Or Gazetteer of wikis, a "gazetteer" defined as a "geographical index" to the lay-of-the-land of Miraheze, a Miraheze travel blog.  15:39 15-Oct-2017


 * Back to your original request, for "a place for people...to ask if any other people on Miraheze would be interested in" collaboration, a "Community noticeboard" (community meaning cross-wiki) would seem to be the place. But it is great that you have fleshed out the new gazetteer-or-whatever.   15:44 15-Oct-2017


 * That will be my nomination. If there continues to be no discussion (for two days), I'll rename this Gazetteer of wikis and will mention it in the FAQs.   13:10 17-Oct-2017


 * Hearing no objection, this is done. The old name remains as a redirect, but the page title will use the word "gazetteer" to avoid the impression that it is a complete "list."   11:27 19-Oct-2017

How do I request a wiki extension?
How do I request a wiki extension? --Shortwiki (talk) 07:45, 14 October 2017 (UTC)
 * Please see Request features. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 12:08, 14 October 2017 (UTC)

Incorrect article counts in Special:Statistics on wikis
On apps.miraheze.org, the vast majority of articles are only being counted as pages, and not as "content pages". How can I fix this? CoolieCoolster (talk) 01:21, 16 October 2017 (UTC)
 * Why not write some content? Project pages, templates, and standing orders in the MediaWiki: namespace are not content.  I mentioned above that this wiki looks unbegun; there is nothing there but a framework for future writing.   18:20 18-Oct-2017
 * You can read this for more information regarding how "articles" are counted. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 18:04, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

Private page sections?
Is there a way to have a portion of a page visible only to certain users? Or can it be done with an extension? New to mediawiki, not quite sure about capabilities and limitations yet. Googling does not get me any results either way. Thanks! Dennis (talk) 07:28, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
 * I don't believe Miraheze offers anything like Access Control Lists for individual pages. If "visibility" is the key, you could put text in a box, whose style is , and rely on the wiki's custom JavaScript (in MediaWiki:Common.js) to change the box's style, based on any criteria you could code.  The sensitive information would still be sent to the user, though; it would simply be unreadable.


 * Likewise, links to certain pages could be hidden from certain users, though people would eventually figure out how to get to them. Bottom line:  You have the tools to tailor a page to what's relevant to a given reader; but if you have secrets, the best strategy is to not put them on the web at all.   18:15 18-Oct-2017
 * There is an extension, but it has become incompatible with the newest version of MediaWiki, 1.29 so therefore we can't use it. MediaWiki isn't really made for having some private pages and some public ones. If you need to have private pages for only some users to be able to read, you could create another private wiki and have them there. Reception123 (talk) (<font color="#FF0000">'C' ) 05:23, 19 October 2017 (UTC)