User talk:Xeno

Notes: I will usually reply where original comments occurred and add notifications if thought necessary. You may email me regarding anything sensitive, private, or confidential. I work for or provide services to the Wikimedia Foundation, but this is my personal account. Edits, statements, or other contributions made from this account are my own, and may not reflect the views of the Foundation. Feel free to post a message or ask a question. Please be sure to [[wikilink]] appropriate subjects. Thanks for visiting! click here to leave a new message...

This user is addicted to Texas Hold 'em and is going all in with pocket aces.

Page background

Oh, oh, oh... how do you change how the background of a page looks, like you did on your userboxen page. -)'The Ninjalemming'' 12:54, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

style="background:none;" –xeno (talk) 12:56, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

Do I need any thing else as I tried,tt>style="background:FF0000;" and it didn't work. 'The Ninjalemming'' 15:55, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

[1] –xeno (talk) 16:16, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

Is the none important then? 'The Ninjalemming'' 16:18, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

"none" as is no background. –xeno (talk) 16:19, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

oh, I probable could have guessed that if I still wasn't being retarded; sorry, my IQ normally is 140 something. So any way, how do I change the background colour and everything , is it like changing a userbox? 'The Ninjalemming'' 16:25, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

yea, just use a web color instead of "none". –xeno (talk) 16:34, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

Done so didn't work though, I tried FF0000. 'The Ninjalemming'' 16:40, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

That works fine, it makes the background white instead of off-white. I don't know if you can change the background of the entire page, you could enclose the entire workable area in a table though. –xeno (talk) 16:42, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

And how would I go about doing that? 'The Ninjalemming'' 14:49, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

By starting the table at the top of the page, and making the width as wide as the page. –xeno (talk) 21:14, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

Neat, can I change the boarder and every thing? 'The Ninjalemming'' 18:34, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Probably, see Help:Table. –xeno (talk) 18:35, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Yo, thanks man 'The Ninjalemming'' 19:09, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Inactive template

Bonjour, c'est encore moi.

You're a Master of Bots, and an expert in abuse filters and a hater… Can you understand why this template is so inactive ? Thanx.

Budelberger (   ) 10:34, 11 April 2009 (UTC).

If you're wondering why no one has responded to your thread, it's because it's a brand new template and you're probably the only one watching it. WP:VPT or the WP:HELPDESK are probably good places to ask about templates. I'll see if I can try to fix it in a bit, or maybe some helpful talk page stalker could take a look. –xeno (talk) 20:28, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

If you call the template as follows:

<ref>{{Atlas UNESCO|First paramater|Second paramater (if needed)}}</ref>

it should work fine. It's probably best to do it this way to explicitly mark the reference in the wikitext. –xeno (talk) 20:36, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I thought it was because of <ref> tags ; but you see, your correction must be corrected as this <ref name="Atlas UNESCO">{{Atlas UNESCO|First paramater|Second paramater (if needed)}}</ref> to be used twice as in Latgalian language. A template used with so long tags, <ref name="Atlas UNESCO"></ref>, is a little bit useless… Thank you very much. --Budelberger (   ) 21:42, 11 April 2009 (UTC). (I was the only one watching this template, sure ; but Votic and Latgalian articles too ! And… Do you understand why this template can't be used with ref tags included in it ?) 22:10, 11 April 2009

I'm not quite sure. The paramaters don't seem to make it through when <ref> is used. WP:VPT should find you more knowledgeable folks that can assist with this, but I'm not sure we should be hiding the ref tags inside a paramater; it may be failing by design, in other words. (UTC) –xeno (talk) 22:10, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

« failing by design » ? Sure ! Compare Votic, Latgalian and Ingrian ! --Budelberger (   ) 01:58, 12 April 2009 (UTC).

Yes, it appears that paramaters cannot be used inside the ref tags... –xeno (talk) 02:05, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

What a wonderful Wikipedia and so Gentle People !. Thanks a lot. --Budelberger (   ) 21:50, 12 April 2009 (UTC).

Indef blocks of IPs

Re I've been away, and so missed your comment on my talk page.

Of course, you're entirely correct that IPs should not be blocked indef, and I obviously made an error there. I appreciate you watching my back, and hope that - in my absence - you correctly reversed my actions. - Philippe 00:05, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

My reply here.

Wikipedia talk:AutoWikiBrowser/CheckPage

I've added some comments in relation to User:Dream Focus's application; if you agree, I think he could have AWB, but not for WP:CANVASSing. Rodhullandemu 17:56, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

Likewise. Replied there as well. –xeno (talk) 17:57, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

Your opinion

If you have a moment... would you say this is a valid change, or would you change it back? I changed it from "rave" to "very positive" as part of a major cleanup of what had been a very unencyclopedic article, then it was changed back this morning. I rather gently fixed a few other things that were changed back, but I don't know any way to do this one without just changing it, and I don't want to get into an edit war. This seems sort of borderline to me, and I'm just not sure what to do. I value your opinion, and I look forward to hearing what you think. Thanks. :) -- edi(talk) 21:02, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

P.S. To be clear... I think "rave" inserts an unacceptable feeling of POV that "very positive" doesn't quite give, but that could be my bias. I'm happy to leave it as it is if you feel it's neutral enough, or to change it to something else or to remove it entirely if you think that's best. Either way it's an unsourced statement about a BLP, so..... -- edi(talk) 21:06, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

I agree. "rave review" is definitely POV. –xeno (talk) 02:54, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

deletion of page Offley Place

copied here from user talk:Xenocidic

Dear Xeno,

I am writing this message as I am appalled by the fact that either you (or another admin) has forced deletion of my page, about my business. This page had absolutely no kind of advertising on it whatsoever (and i would like you to give quotes/examples of this 'blatant advertising'). I have spent a lot of time writing this page and can assure you that all sources are reliable, as this is my own business. I have written mostly about the history of the building, which is both informative (encyclopedia material) and not advertising.

You have written that you wish to see my sources, then here they are, our businesses official website.

http://www.offleyplace.com/html/Hotel%20History.html

http://www.offleyplace.com/html/Offley%20Todayu.html

I look forward to recieving your reply,

Offley —Preceding unsigned comment added by Offley (talk • contribs) 19:36, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

Deleted content

Offley Place is a 17th Century country house hotel situated between Hertfordshire towns, Hitchin and Luton in the village of Great Offley. Situated less than Six miles from Luton Airport,it is surrounded by 27 acres of green parkland overlooking the Great Offley Church. It is a convenient location for Weddings, Business Conferences and to spend a few nights in the luxurious Hotel. The very recently renovated and upgraded Spencer Restaurant of Offley Place has proven an ideal location for situations ranging from business lunches to romantic dinners, enjoyed while overlooking the wonderful surroundings.

History

Offley Place has been a significant building since the Eighth Century. The Saxon King Offa was known to build his Palace here.At the time of the Norman Conquest, there was no less than four manors on the premises.

The 17th Century Manor is historically located on the edge of a small deer park, and the area has been left untouched over the last 250 years. The building was soon passed to the St. Ledger family. The manor was renamed Offley St. Ledger in 1533. Henry VII is said to have held courts at Offley.

The ownership changed hands to John Farmer, but then it was resold to Sir John Spencer of Althorpe, who himself and his descendants owned the estate for several centuries.

This followed with ownership from Guy Hughes, who resold it to Colonel Acland who made major alterations to the house.

The Acland family resided at Offley Place for 10 years in which time they became very involved in village affairs both spiritual and secular. In 1939 the Frobel Institute rented the house and the estate, eventually buying it in 1943, running residential courses on gardening and natural history.

Offley Place Today

Offley Place previously acquired by Hertfordshire County Council in 1953 is now privately owned and its reputation continues to flourish. Due to its tranquil environment and surroundings, Offley Place continues to be an excellent choice for conferences and training days as well as being the perfect setting for special occasions, civil ceremonies, baby naming ceremonies, private functions and fine dining.

Do you have any 3rd party reliable sources that can attest to the encyclopedic notability of this subject? The page is written like a brochure ("luxurious Hotel", "ideal location for situations ranging from business lunches to romantic dinners, enjoyed while overlooking the wonderful surroundings", "reputation continues to flourish", etc.), that's probably why User:Ryan Delaney deleted it as "blatant advertising" –xeno (talk) 17:44, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Your bot request

Hi Xeno I wanted to let you know that Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval/Xenobot 6 has been approved. Please visit the above link for more information. Thanks! BAGBot (talk) 18:00, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Bots and minor edits make xeno a sad panda. –xeno (talk) 18:39, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Cool picture though. 'The Ninjalemming'' 19:40, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Gotta love the commons. –xeno (talk) 19:42, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Just an information

Hi xeno.

No, it's not about this *censored* Kumiki Gibson article this time ;-) It's *way* better news, just in case you once need my help: I've been elected sysop on dewiki. --PaterMcFly (talk) 18:28, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Oh, hey, congrats! Now get elected on pl.wiki as a 'crat and push through my usurp of pl:user:xeno so I don't have to wait another year to fully unify! ;> –xeno (talk) 18:29, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

There might be a slight problem about this. I don't talk polish very well. Actually, I don't talk it at all. So I'd have to bribe some steward, but I do think that'll be a bit difficult. --PaterMcFly (talk) 18:35, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

hehe =] –xeno (talk) 18:37, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Why don't you just take over the world for the day, then do it. 'The Ninjalemming'' 19:43, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Or quickly run for Steward yourself...--PaterMcFly (talk) 20:43, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Nah, thats boring. 'The Ninjalemming'' 20:19, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

Edit notice

Thanks for the heads up. As for the edit notice, no matter how big I make it, some people still manage not to read it.... :P --Ryan Delaney ^talk 19:48, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

I've placed some comments on his talk page. --Ryan Delaney ^talk 22:07, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

VPP

Done-- Agathoclea (talk) 23:01, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Eukaryote

Hi, could Eukaryote be semi-protected please? There's repetitive vandalism from IP addresses: [2] Thanks. Smartse (talk) 01:25, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

Semi-protected for a period of 1 year, after which the page will be automatically unprotected.. These "high school science" subjects (osmosis, amoeba, etc.) seem to be quite susceptible to vandalism... –xeno (talk) 12:20, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. Smartse (talk) 13:34, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

User Page Help

I just noticed your comment on my talk page (which I'd barely even noticed existed) and I decided to join WikiProject Xbox. I noticed that everyone else on the list had a user page and I thought that I should probably have one too. Now... umm... how do I do that? *is an idiot* --Thejadefalcon (talk) 10:03, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

My reply here.

Hey, can I get your opinion?

I've seemed to have gotten off on the wrong foot with CalendarWatcher, and my attempts to re-engage with him/her have been pretty much rebuffed. I decided to ask you about it, as you just ce'd my entry in 1976, which added the GN series '76 (the source of the kerfuffle). I am unsure how my initial actions provoked the unfriendly response I received, and would like some insight. - Arcayne (^{cast a spell}) 14:31, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I've been watching this brew, definitely a wrong-foot here... –xeno (talk) 14:32, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

Plagiarism

Thanks for the heads up, sorry we disgreed about CFD. Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 16:12, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

No problem, and no worries. –xeno (talk) 18:15, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

Just a late "thanks" as well for the Admin noticeboard heads-up! Thank goodness this didn't drag on ad infinitum ;)Skier Dude (talk) 05:04, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Anytime =) –xeno (talk) 13:16, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

pointless userbox to gallery effect

Yo dude, where would this go in the gallery? 'The Ninjalemming'' 20:15, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

I think somewhere in Wikipedia:Userboxes/Education makes the most sense. –xeno (talk) 02:02, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

OMG! Ban for confusing me

so did you do what I needed to, or do I need to do something? I don't understand templates in the slightest. Never have, which is why you had to fix it from the get go. Probably never will so long as wonderful like you take care of them for me :) I forget what I was supposed to have it do to show on my page. StarM 00:28, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Just type {{admin dashboard}} wherever you want it to appear. You had copied and pasted an old version, I just gave you the new version. =] –xeno (talk) 01:34, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Did it! Of course I don't think that's where I should put it, but I wanted to play. Thanks for your help! StarM 02:14, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

That's exactly where I was going to stow it =] I added a clear template so that it starts after your main userpage content (feel free to rv if you prefer it the other way). You can safely delete User:Star Mississippi/dashboard if you like it there on your main page. –xeno (talk) 02:17, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the clear, it's what I was just looking to find out how to do because I just saw it on someone's talk after a cookie or easter template. I like having it on my userpage -- I might actually remember to use it. Afterall, been *so* active of late. Thanks again - for the nifty tool and showing me how to use it. StarM 02:46, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

No problem. I have to admit I have not been doing too much work via the dashboard either... Mostly just floating around =) –xeno (talk) 02:48, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Redirect supression

Thanks for the info. Is there a help page detailing exactly what the 'supress redirect' option does? Martin (Smith609 – Talk) 17:05, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Super, thanks! Martin (Smith609 – Talk) 19:13, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Early?

What's going on with Jubal Anderson Early? You've reverted it to a rather old version. Hal Jespersen (talk) 17:15, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Yes,...I am trying to complete a long overdue history merge... but getting SQL errors for the last half hour. Apologies... –xeno (talk) 17:17, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

 Fixed the early version of Early is now properly merged into the history. –xeno (talk) 17:36, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia:AutoWikiBrowser/Tasks#Easy U.S. States outlines search/replace task

 Done –xeno (talk) 20:14, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Thank you! The Transhumanist    20:17, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Why edit war?

Please see Wikipedia talk:Redirect#Edit warring. Thank you. -GTBacchus^(talk) 20:23, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

The user is being difficult. I have no patience for people who don't have a basic grasp of the English language preventing others who do explaining important interface features to other administrators. –xeno (talk) 20:26, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

I have an acute grasp of English - I've taught it for a living - and I've moved thousands of pages here. I agree with that editor that your language was so unclear that I couldn't tell what you were talking about. -GTBacchus^(talk) 20:37, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Heads up

In case you are interested, I've posted another task at WP:AWB/Tasks.

The Transhumanist    20:25, 16 April 2009 (UTC)