Editing User talk:SlashMe

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== Hey ==

Hey SlashMe,

Just wanted to say; wasn't trying to ignore you or anything. I created the new template well before I figured out where to actually look for discussions on the thing. I only noticed the discussions after I'd already created the thing and posted for discussion. Cheers. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:12, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

: No problem. I'm about to reply on Jeff's talk page. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 19:13, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

::Do you have any form of instant messenger? It would be easier to talk the changes through instantly than through piles of comments [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:25, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Yes, but not <del>today</del><ins>tonight</ins>. 1:27 AM in Germany. Good night... --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 19:27, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

:::Cheers. Have a good night. I guess I'll reply on the main page, that you can pick up in the morning. I'll be unavailable much of tomorrow. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:29, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

==Talkback==
New message for you on my talk page. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]''&nbsp;<sup>[[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]]</sup> 20:43, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

== Please watch [[Explain XKCD:Community portal/Administrators' noticeboard]] ==

I'd like to ask that the admins consider adding [[Explain XKCD:Community portal/Administrators' noticeboard]] to their [[wikipedia:Help:Watching pages|watchlists]].  On a similar note, I've just started a discussion there about spammers. -''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]''&nbsp;<sup>[[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]]</sup> 02:02, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Comic template ==

Hey,

Back after a weekend, and I'm getting kind of lost and confused with where discussions are going on, as a lot of conversations appear to have moved. Just want to check in on where we are with the comic template discussion. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 13:59, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

:Well, my discussion was moved to [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals#Automatic Import]], but the main discussion is at [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals#Header template]]. I haven't received much feedback and since more and more comics are created manually using {{tl|comic}}, I don't know if it still makes sense to start an import. I don't think I can reuse existing pages, so the explanations would have to be moved to the new pages. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 16:50, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

==User:SlashMe/Testpage==
We seem to have settled on template:comic for all comic pages. May we have permission to remove User:SlashMe/Testpage and all associated templates and categories? There's quite a few legacy templates that are only used in User:SlashMe/Testpage, and it'd be nice if we could clear them out. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u><font color="purple" title="I want you">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><font color="indigo" size="4px">²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:50, 5 March 2013 (UTC)

:Yes, feel free to do so --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 09:25, 5 March 2013 (UTC)

==Bot for time==
It's bad when you are doing wrong uploads. I'm using several sources to get this files, but when I'm downloading the files from here my script will not do so unless I delete them manually at my local folder. I can help because I think we do need a more reliable bot here. And my machine is online at 24/7. I'm trying to help you, but if this does not work I will start a bot by myself. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:48, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

: The problem is not really the bot, but the wiki. Sometimes, when the server is overloaded, it won't respond to api requests. I'm using python with mwclient, and I haven't found a way to specify a timeout yet. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 10:14, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

== Regex Golf Trivia ==

Do you have a source for the trivia you added to the regex golf explanation? I can't find his mention of it. Also, What If 78 was posted Tuesday (today), which is the day after the comic was published, it is currently impossible for you to know which What If will be published next week (unless you know Randall ;p). [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:41, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

: That was yesterday? Boy, I'm not back to my regular week schedule yet. My bad.
: For the mention, check the tooltip on the second reference, last link. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 19:56, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

:: Ah! I haven't read this week's What If yet. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:48, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

== German translation / Deutsche Übersetzung ==

First I have to say thanks for fixing typos done be me. I'm still working on a German page, and my local Wiki is looking better and better. Right now I do not understand the Wiki-Template; in German it should link to a German Wiki page. When this issue is solved I will ask admins here for a first shot.

Erst einmal muss ich mich für die Korrektur meiner Tippfehler bedanken. Ich arbeite nach wie vor an einer deutschen Seite, mein eigenes Wiki wird besser und besser. Probleme habe ich mit den Templates, ein <nowiki>{{wp}}</nowiki>-Tag sollte auf die deutsche Wiki verlinken. Wenn das Problem gelöst ist werde ich die Admins hier für einen ersten Versuch fragen.

Written original in English and translated back to German. You see it's not easy, but I'm hoping I can count on you on this future project. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:36, 16 March 2014 (UTC)

: Of course I'll do everything my timetable allows.
: Concerning the Wikipedia links: I'm not absolutely sure, but I think an interwiki link with the prefix "Wikipedia:" has been setup (might be that this is even default in the interwiki plugin). So basically, if you type "[[Wikipedia:Something]]" into the searchbox here (works the same way as links), you will be redirected to the page "Something" on Wikipedia. This even works for different languages: "[[Wikipedia:de:xkcd]]" will redirect to the article about xkcd on the German Wikipedia (this is probably due to the fact that interwiki links in Wikipedia work with "de:" prefixes). Hope it helps. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 21:11, 16 March 2014 (UTC)

: Addendum: see also [[Wikipedia:MW:Manual:Interwiki]] (yes, this is a double redirect). --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 21:15, 16 March 2014 (UTC)

::There's a setting that we can make in localsettings.php that lets us define other wikis in a family, making it possible to add a special kind of link to each explanation page that'll add a link to its corresponding page on each of the translation wikis. I'll do a writeup on it later, the end of this quarter's finals are in sight. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:13, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

:::Thanks SlashMe for your investigations but editing templates isn't that easy at all. But I got some progress (not much time today for me on this):
:::*The link is <nowiki>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/de:Programmiersprachen</nowiki>
:::*Result: <nowiki>https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmiersprachen</nowiki>
:::This seems to be a first resolution. But maybe there is a better way by help from David.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:18, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
::::Nah, that's what I was talking about. I need to define what the de: namespace means to mediawiki so that it knows to insert language links when it sees it, but that shouldn't be too hard. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:34, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
:::::Ok, no problem. Tell me some more about this, I can test it on my local English Wiki page. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:47, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

== Clarification ==

My edit to [[1713: 50 ccs]] wasn't adding a period after "ml", it was capitalizing the L (look more closely at the diff). I think that's technically more correct, although a little research seems to indicate that it's used both ways, so I'm not going to revert yours. [[User:SuperSupermario24|<span style="color: #c21aff;">Just some random derp</span>]] 02:01, 18 October 2016 (UTC)
: I can see that, and now I'm wondering what I was thinking when I wrote that.... --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 19:57, 18 October 2016 (UTC)

== reCaptcha ==

Since email notification is still broken I'm hoping you will see this soon. Please check the captcha issue (also at my talk page) and let's talk about one or two new admins here. There will be more issues soon. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:30, 11 April 2018 (UTC)

== Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb. ==

Sorry to bother you, but I think that this issue needs to be resolved. In every explain xkcd page, this appears at the top, and it seems unnecessarily mean, and also violates the first rule (don't be a jerk). This has already been mentioned in the discussion page of the main page, and some people (like me) think it should be removed or changed. Could you do that? Or does it needs to be discussed a bit more? Thanks. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 13:52, 18 April 2018 (UTC)

: Technically, I can do that. But I'd rather not until there is a consensus that it should be changed and what it should say instead. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 16:15, 18 April 2018 (UTC)

== Banning Bots ==

Hi SlashMe,

good thing to ban all the spamming bots, but apperantly if you look at their contributions they all just did one entry (or few directly following each other, but not a second after some time). Therefore I am not sure if banning really helps the issue. Protecting the pages they target as you did (for some reason it seems to be one talk page for a few days, then moving to another one) I guess is the better option.
Question: I assume the target of these bots is not for people to follow their spammed links, but to generate inbound links for SEO (search engine optimization). Is the wiki structure, which tracks and saves all edits a preferred target for them? If so: Is it possible to delete their edits from the history, instead of just undoing them, to disencourage that kind of behaviour? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:54, 21 May 2019 (UTC)

:I've seen this issue with other wikis as well. Unfortunately, there's little that can be done except for implementing more disruptive captchas. I can't do that here; I have admin access to the wiki, but not the underlying server (which would be required to install plugins or change settings). As for deleting revisions: I think it is generally possible, as I've seen it a few times in Wikipedia, but only to hide edits with legal issues. I believe they use another plugin for that. Fortunately, that's not required against SEO bots: older revisions are marked as <code>noindex,nofollow</code> which makes crawlers ignore both the page contents as well as the outbound links. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 10:11, 21 May 2019 (UTC)

::Thanks for the reply. Very interesting for me to learn a bit about the wiki structure here :) Spam has just emerged on the talk page of 2151. It may follow recent spamming trends, that this talk page will be a main target, just as in the past it has been 2141 and 2139, 2133. So please take a semiprotection into account. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:42, 22 May 2019 (UTC)

== Homeopathic Wiki ==

Has the Explain xkcd Wiki achieved the ability to self regulate?  Or have all but one of its caretakers gone into hibernation, even before the global Covid-19 crisis.  I mean, it's a wonderful indication of the site's maturity, but I've been trying to find someone to ask about a few things.

=== Really really difficult to get to the What If? page in the Wiki ===
The name of the page is '''what if?''' but if you make an internal link the usual way, as here: [[what if?|<nowiki>[[what if?]]</nowiki>]], you get a mostly blank page with the message ''No input file specified''. It would appear that page names with a question mark break something.  The failed form is what is used on the disambiguation page [[What If (disambiguation)|<nowiki>[[What If]]</nowiki>]], and so following the page link from there fails.  What does work is this internal link: [[whatif|<nowiki>[[whatif]]</nowiki>]], but when you get there and click what links here, that fails as described above.  If you really really want to get to the what links here page for the what if? page, you have to use an external link, as [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=what_if%3F&namespace%3D|<nowiki>[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=what_if%3F&namespace%3D]</nowiki>].  But but but.  On all those pages that it says link to the what if? page, the links are broken as described above.

My opinion is that the way to fix at this problem is to rename the what if? page to have no question mark, and then to visit all the pages in the old linked to list and update their links to the new page name.  Ugh.

:I have looked a little bit into it and it seems to be a configuration issue with the PHP installation. However, I don't have a definite solution for that and even if I had, I don't have access to the server and wouldn't be able to change it. I think [[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] has. Try reaching out to him. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 22:58, 10 July 2020 (UTC)

=== Randall's NYT Columns ===
This is what I really wanted to ask someone about.  In June I posted a proposal on the community portal ([[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#New_page_for_Randall.27s_regular_column_in_the_New_York_Times |New page for Randall's regular column in the NY Times]]) and I was sort of hoping to get feedback.  That post does include a proposed script for the page.

I'm not sure where the page would go or be linked from, but it would be similar to our page about [[whatif|what if?]].  Perhaps the see also sections of the [[Randall Munroe]] page and the [[xkcd]] page.

=== Where have all the administrators gone ===
On the page [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:ListUsers?username=&group=bureaucrat User list for group Bureaucrats] there are just two names, but they have had no activity in 2020:
: [[Special:Contributions/Jeff|Jeff]], last contribution was April 2019
: [[Special:Contributions/Lcarsos|Lcarsos]], last contribution was in May 2015

On the page [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:ListUsers?username=&group=sysop User list for group Administrators] there are ten names, but only one with activity in 2020:
: [[Special:Contributions/Davidy22|Davidy22]], November 2017
: [[Special:Contributions/Dgbrt|Dgbrt]], March 2019
: [[Special:Contributions/IronyChef|IronyChef]], November 2016
: [[Special:Contributions/Jeff|Jeff]], April 2019
: [[Special:Contributions/Lcarsos|Lcarsos]], May 2015
: [[Special:Contributions/Markhurd|Markhurd]], July 2016
: [[Special:Contributions/Mynotoar|Mynotoar]], April 2016
: [[Special:Contributions/Philosopher|Philosopher]], April 2016
: [[Special:Contributions/Slashme|Slashme]], '''July 2020 Hooray!'''
: [[Special:Contributions/Waldir|Waldir]], August 2018

So I'm posting this on the Slashme user talk page and hoping for a response.

[[User:JohnB|JohnB]] ([[User talk:JohnB|talk]]) 22:45, 10 July 2020 (UTC)

: I don't know the other administrators either. Jeff owns the server and has full access; I think he gave Dgbrt server access, too, who fixed a few issues with the MediaWiki installation in the past. No idea about the others. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 22:58, 10 July 2020 (UTC)

== A couple of issues ==

Posted this a long while ago in the community portal, but I don't think the admins saw. Since you seem to be the only admin who's still active, I'll leave this on your talk page:
1. Google seems to have changed something in AdSense again, and the ads have been appearing in random positions again since December, 2019. [https://wpadvancedads.com/adsense-in-random-positions-auto-ads/ This page] might have a solution? It's been quite a while, and the ads are still broken.
2. New site called xkcd.wtf is blatantly stealing/scraping explanations from our site (and has been since April 2020) and posting it with a new theme. Not sure if it's a mirror or just Ctrl+C Ctrl+V, but it's clear that it's taken from Explain xkcd. Is this even legal? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:33, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

: Unfortunately, I only have access to the wiki, not to the server below. The only ones with system access are [[User:Jeff|Jeff]] and [[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]]. About the explanations: yeah, that's perfectly legal. According to [[explain xkcd:Copyrights]], the explanations are subject to CC-BY-SA 3.0, and the site mentions explainxkcd.com at the very bottom, together with other sources, albeit rather small. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 13:08, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

::Ah, I see. Thanks. Also there's [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Technical#Random_page_sometimes_takes_me_to_an_invalid_address another problem] that a user mentioned in the community portal which I've been meaning to ask about as well. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:41, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

::: I believe that's a combination of a bug in PHP and the way permalinks are configured in the wiki. Another thing that requires server access to fix. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 01:13, 1 February 2021 (UTC)

::::Ok, thanks. I'll leave a message in their talk pages as well and see if they reply. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 02:01, 5 February 2021 (UTC)

==Museum==
This user page is referenced in the [[user:While False/xkcd museum|museum]].