Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-12-03/From the editors Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-12-03/Traffic report Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-12-03/In the media
Deployments of MediaWiki 1.21wmf5 caused widespread problems for users across wikis when HTML and CSS updates were temporarily out of synchronisation. On the first wikis targeted for deployment, this was caused by the different cache invalidation rates for HTML (typically one month) and CSS (typically five minutes). The retrospective investigation of the problem highlighted the fact that the test wiki – the WMF's answer to a production environment that individual developers can no longer practically emulate themselves – actually demonstrated the exact problem that would later manifest itself on production wikis. It went unnoticed.
Despite attempts to ensure that future deployments did not cause the same problem, similar symptoms were immediately reported after Monday's deployment to the English Wikipedia. The issue was later identified as a repetition of a malfunction of ResourceLoader cache management dating back months (wikitech-l mailing list).
In unrelated news that generated similar reporting, the German Wikipedia (dewiki) was also briefly broken by a botched deployment of version 5 of the Article Feedback Tool. During its first deployment outside of the English Wikipedia, an oversight meant that the database schema changes supposed to precede the deployment had not been carried out, leaving dewiki users unable to access key pages on the site. The problem led to a review of the guidance given to staff attempting deployments, which was found to be out of date in a number of places.
In the latest episode of a saga dating back nearly two years, German systems administrator DaB. confirmed that he will not follow through on a previous threat to stop devoting his spare time to keeping the Toolserver up and running (toolserver-l mailing list; see also previous extensive Signpost coverage for context).
DaB., like many others involved with the Wikimedia Deutschland (WMDE)-run Toolserver, is concerned that the web tool and bot hosting facility will be switched off, or more likely simply left to die, before its replacement – Wikimedia Labs – has been fully prepared for the transition. If it is, DaB. argues, tool creators will be forced into attempting difficult transitions, a not unlikely scenario if development work to improve Wikimedia Labs overruns. Tools will necessarily be lost in the process, he has repeatedly warned (also toolserver-l).
As reported last week, the issue came to a head when DaB.'s ultimatum attempt to get WMDE to fund new hardware for the Toolserver to ensure its continued availability came before the chapter's AGM. After much deliberation, the chapter settled on a "wait-and-see" policy that aimed to balance DaB.'s concerns with the realities of the WMF-WMDE relationship. That policy centres on a request for a binding roadmap from the Wikimedia Foundation, accompanied by WMDE's own assurance that all "necessary resources" (notwendigen Mittel) will be made available to ensure the "almost uninterrupted functionality" (annähernd störungsfreie Funktionalität) of the Toolserver. WMDE also agreed to bear the brunt of any attempt by the WMF to withdraw their support-in-kind for the Toolserver, currently valued at $65,000/year. Writing after the AGM, DaB. said that he was "disappointed" and would need time to consider whether the amended motion was sufficient to entice him to stay.
On Monday DaB. announced his decision: he would stay for another twelve months, though he remains unconvinced that the need for a functioning Toolserver will cease any time soon. He cited a number of factors for staying, including a need to continue advocating for financial support and his personal pride in the project. Though the path ahead would be "rocky", he wrote, "the Toolserver and you all are worth my time, the Toolserver is still helpful, and there is always the possibility that WMDE will [make the right decisions]." As of time of writing, DaB. and other involved parties were still struggling to get the Toolserver's set of replicated databases back up to date, a process that requires technical assistance from the WMF.
Not all fixes may have gone live to WMF sites at the time of writing; some may not be scheduled to go live for several weeks.
Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-12-03/Essay Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-12-03/Opinion
The global jury of Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM), the world’s largest photo contest, announced its results on 3 December.
The contest, held in September in 35 countries across the globe, dwarfed the quantitative results of its European predecessor of 2011, with more than 350,000 submissions this year against 168,000 last round. However, European countries still dominated; Poland led the field with more than 51,400 files. Spain, which had an early lead thanks to submissions from Catalonia, came second, with 39,500 files, before Germany with 34,000 and Ukraine with 33,000. France made the fifth place with 27,000. The first non-European country in the quantitative ranking is the US on the sixth place. While volunteer coordinator Smallbones had hoped for 50,000 submissions in September, the US community managed to upload only 22,000 in the framework of the contest.
The global jury considered 324 submissions that had scored highly in 33 earlier national contests. The winning submission is from India and shows the tomb of a prominent 18th-century official, Safdarjung. Safdarjung was born as Muhammad Muqim in a region of historic Persia (today's Iran) and later immigrated to the Indian Mughal Empire, where he became an influential court politician and prime minister to Muhammad Shah. His tomb, the last symbol of late imperial architecture, was constructed in 1753–54 by his son, Shuja-ud-Daula. The dynasty Safdarjung served fell in the year the monument was finished: Imad-ul-Mulk—a nobleman the courtier had promoted in the past—overturned, imprisoned, and blinded Muhammad Shah's son and successor, the weak Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur, in June 1754 after defeating Safdarjung, who died soon after, aged 46.
The second and third places came from Spain and the Philippines, respectively; thus two of the three leading submissions came from beyond the scope of last year's European-only contest. In wider qualitative terms, more than 1,500 photos uploaded as part of the competition have been promoted to "quality" files on Commons. 30 have been promoted to "valued" status, and 35 to featured status.
While no new detailed participation statistical analysis has been published so far, the three winning accounts made their first significant contribution to the projects by taking part in the photo contest. Last year, some 70% of the 5000 participants made their first edit during the competition month. Statistics on the upload distribution have been published on the Toolserver. WLM 2012, which explicitly aimed at increasing the participation of new users in Wikipedia and Commons, provided new software tools to minimize barriers to competition.
However, the jury could not reach the winner, Pranav Singh. Because he did not confirm his contact data, the prize—a trip to the upcoming Wikimania in Hong Kong in 2013—was given to David Corral Gadea, the second-ranked photographer.
Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-12-03/Serendipity Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-12-03/Op-ed Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-12-03/In focus Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-12-03/Arbitration report Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-12-03/Humour
