User talk:Cid Highwind

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.

This is my talk page. To contact me with anything regarding Memory Alpha, just click on "Start a new discussion" below. Thanks.

The small print:

1. Discussion stays in one place - if you ask here, expect an answer here. However...
2. Discussion might be moved - if I'm answering simple questions, I might move the discussion to your talk page, or some other discussion page that is a better fit (including an archive subpage of this page). If you're missing a section that once was here, check the page history. I will indicate in the edit summary where a specific section ended up. Eventually...
3. Discussion might be removed - inactive discussions will eventually be removed completely if they don't seem to have any long-term value (typically requests for participation, technical questions that have been answered on other pages etc.). You can still find those discussions by searching the page history for the latest edit containing the relevant section title. Between 2004 and 2007, discussions have been archived on special pages: 2004 - 2005 - 2006 (1-6) - 2006 (7-12), 2007

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Contents 1 Scope for Help? Help with Scope?! 2 Earth edit war 3 Terran Again, Ep Link Question 4 Image Request 4.1 Insignia Fix 5 Star Trek Voyager DVD Repack 6 Your protection notice circumvented 7 Request copy of your main.css file for my wiki 8 Help on Federation article 9 Re: Main Page 10 XML Export fix 11 IP guy 12 About HighwindBot 13 Re: Portal:Main 14 Good for you 15 Harem 16 Hidden elements on ns:Portal 17 Show/Hide tables 18 Interwiki links 19 Printing from Memory Alpha 20 Thanks 21 RE: FA vote, private message 22 Qualor II forum 23 Mirror Universe MA edition 24 Esperanto version 25 CSS Tweaks todo 26 "Unused" maintenance files 27 Nitpick

[edit] Scope for Help? Help with Scope?!

The article "scope" desperately needs some cleaning-up and sorting-out!! Please can you assist with it? Any help would be most appreciated, and you already seem to have some ideas about how to improve the article or thoughts that could at least be tried out! For example, I had the impression that the sections about the specific scopes (T'Pol's, Spock's, etc.} included too much unnecessary plot details and were written in a style that was too repetitive ("While such-and-such happened, the scope was used...", etc.). You therefore helpfully suggested breaking the info into other sections, but I'm curious as to whether you have any further ideas on this - how the info might be better organized? As stated above, any assistance would be greatly appreciated - please respond to this distress call!! --Defiant 23:22, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Earth edit war

Hello, I was hopeing you could help to disolve a small problem I have been having with a couple members that have been removing every edit I make. Its on the Earth article. I noticed the entire article takes the stance that life on earth evolved from simple life forms. I do not have a problem with the theory of evolution on the page especially with all the shows about evolution. However there have been several shows that involved religion, showing that it still exists on Earth in the 24th century. Examples, the chapel in TOS: "Balance of Terror", and the ensign praying in the same episode. Kasidy Yates said her mother would prefer her to be married by a minister, and she told Benjamin Sisko she married him but didn't convert. All I added to the page was two sentences noting that some people still beleive in christian beliefs and put a simple link to the Christian article. Please help me. (User:Preator Dec. 2, 2007)

Continued on User talk:Preator. -- Cid Highwind 23:01, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Terran Again, Ep Link Question

It's me again, this is a discussion we started long ago, and I never returned to it, got busy with life and whatnot. Anyways, what I wanted to know, after transforming the code slightly from MAs version to this one (as I didn't need everything within it):

"{{#ifexist:Template:Titles/{{{1}}}|{{#ifexist:{{{1}}} (Episode)|{{Link Tip|{{{1}}} (Episode)|{{:Template:Titles/{{{1}}}}}|{{{1}}}}}|{{Link Tip|{{{1}}}|{{:Template:Titles/{{{1}}}}}}}}}|[[{{{1}}}]]}}"

Is there a way to edit out the "templates:titles/" part, and the rest of the code still work? I have no need for the titles template, really. Everything else I think works, unless of course that also makes the link tip part not needed?

I hope I explained what I needed properly, and in an understanding manner.--Terran Officer 12:04, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Image Request

Hello! Could you please create a new image just like this one Image:Ekos SS patch 2.png but WITHOUT the internal silver bar. I need a blank silver trimmed collar patch for the Gestapo section.

Things are coming along nicely with that article. Thanks for all your help! -FleetCaptain 04:13, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

I finished up the article for the most part. If you want to draw the picture mentioned above and fix any background colors, we can move forward. What an outstanding feature article this will be! -FleetCaptain 05:44, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi there. I uploaded the requested patch as Image:Ekos SS patch 4.png and added it to the article. I will work on further images and article layout over the next few days. It indeed has come a long way during the last week. :) -- Cid Highwind 10:43, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Can you again work your magic so that this patch appears without the outer silver border (in other words make it into this patch with an internal silver bar). This is the last rank insginia picture for the entire article!! -FleetCaptain 14:31, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Can do... :) Is this an official SS patch, or one "invented" for PoF? -- Cid Highwind 14:36, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

It is visable on the guard who is standing by John Gill's broadcast booth in "PoF". Guard wears the standard light blue collar uniform with bare shoulder boards and a borderless black patch with a single silver stripe. Is actually a 1944 era Sturmmann (PFC) patch. His picture is here. Thanks for your help! -FleetCaptain 15:20, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Uploaded, added to the article. However, are you sure about the ranks (PFC - 1 bar; Lance Corporal - 2 bars?)? The Wikipedia article seems to suggest otherwise - or is that one incorrect? -- Cid Highwind 15:27, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

I think "approximite positions" are all one can ask for for the Ekos ranks since they don't match up very well. I call that guy a lance corporal simply becuase the next highest rank seen is a "Corporal" who wears one pip and one bar (actually the insignia for a Sergeant in the real SS). I guess we could call them all soldiers if someone makes an issue of it but as long as the word "approximite" is in the title of the Ekos rank table we should be okay. Thanks for your great work on these pictures. -FleetCaptain 15:44, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

I was more concerned with the "Real-SS" section at the moment. There, the insignia with no trim, two bars and no pip is "Rottenführer=Lance Corporal". The Wikipedia article, however, claims that two bars is "Rottenführer=Corporal", while 1 bar is "Sturmmann=Lance Corporal". Of course, as you stated elsewhere, this may well be due to the WP article being incorrect. It might just be worth double-checking. -- Cid Highwind 19:09, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Insignia Fix

Hi there. Favor to ask about Image:Ekos SS patch 1.png. It is slightly inaccurate in that the insignia Kirk wore had the third silver pip sitting centered on the silver bar. I think this picture should be modified so that a second silver bar is to the left of the first, thus making the third pip sit evenly upon it. It's all about being accurate, you know. Here is Kirk to compare: Image:KirkSSBlack.jpg. You'll see that his pip is sitting on top of the bar while the current picture only has the bar touching. Should be pretty easy to fix. Thank you!! -FleetCaptain 02:37, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

You're absolutely right about that - I uploaded a new patch graphic... -- Cid Highwind 11:39, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

Awesome! I put us back in for featured article status. I think it will go through without a problem largely due to your efforts with those images and background colors. Thanks again! -FleetCaptain 13:01, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

Don't forget to vote! We need five to push it thorugh and only have three so far. best. -FleetCaptain 02:50, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Star Trek Voyager DVD Repack

Hi, I know that, at least in Sweden, Star Trek Voyager DVD Repacks will be available from February 13 2008. I hope that you can get some pictures of the Star Trek Voyager DVD Repacks into the Star Trek DVD article on Memory Alpha.

[edit] Your protection notice circumvented

Thanks for your comment and help with Deputy Director, however User:Gvsualan just reverted the article while it was still protected to an early version before I had even started editing it. In a sense, blanking the background section which was already worked out and discussed and agreed upon. Editing a protected article, in which you were a party in the editing, is uncalled for. I ask these changes be reverted and this user spoken to. I'm losing patience with this abuse of admin powers. -FleetCaptain 22:39, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Request copy of your main.css file for my wiki

Hi there -- cool site. I've created a new wiki at http://www.WikiMusician.org and have hit a snag on CSS formatting. I created a Google ad box just like yours on the right side of the page. Main text is flowing underneath on some browser, and looks fine on others. I would really appreciate seeing a copy of your main.css file to analyze how you handled .CSS formatting on this. Would it be possible to mail me a copy? Thanks for your consideration. ukiahbass@pacific.net

Hi, and thanks. The formatting here is actually spread across several CSS files, even changing with your personal settings, so the best idea would be to have a look at the source code of any page, which includes links to all stylesheets currently in use. -- Cid Highwind 14:48, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Help on Federation article

You said that the choice of articles in the related topics section was a bit random. Please explain, so that I can eliminate this problem I REALLY want this to be Featured Article material. Also, if you have any suggestions as to anything else that can be improved, please tell me.– Watching... ^listening... 20:50, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Re: Main Page

Hey Cid, I was wondering what you thing of this: User:Nat.tang/Sandbox Main Page ? It's a slightly modified version of the Main Page that IMO is a bit more organized that the current main page. I just like to hear your thoughts about it. Regards, Nat.tang 17:02, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

Why don't we discuss this on Portal talk:Main so everyone can get some input? :-)– Cleanse ^talk 06:34, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

I like the way the section headers are formatted... :) Cleanse is correct, though. It would be best to suggest possible Main Page updates in a central location for all to see. -- Cid Highwind 13:46, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

I've started a new discussion on Portal talk:Main as Cleanse has suggested. Nat.tang 00:27, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] XML Export fix

Regarding this, I'm having a slight issue that I have concluded is as a result of one of two things. First of all I get the message, when I try to login, stating "IndentationError: unindent does not match any outer indentation level", which I am quite sure is in reference to the [...] part of the code. If I remove it, I can log in, but the problem still exists. If I adjust the indentation any, I get "SyntaxError: invalid syntax". The only other thing I can figure, aside from how it is placed, is perhaps where it is place, or if it should or should not replace any existing code (as I noticed that the first line is already included in the wikipedia.py. I will try to be on IRC Wednesday night so as to review this further, just wanted to give you heads up. Thanks, Alan 03:32, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

Ouch. You're right, the instructions I put there are probably very misleading to everyone besides me... I'll edit it to be more clear about what should be put where, and should be available in the chat for further help. -- Cid Highwind 09:28, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] IP guy

Thanks for resolving that issue. You really wonder why some people can't use edit summaries or talk pages.– Cleanse 10:58, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

No problem. I only blocked for two hours this time - as a warning, and because I don't have the time to read through all of his changes right now... You have the article pages under control? :) -- Cid Highwind 11:00, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

I think the pages are all right now; about half of the changes appear legitimate. I think he/she just assumed Captain's logs couldn't be written by anyone other than Picard.– Cleanse 11:07, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] About HighwindBot

Hi Cid, I don't know how to put that flag in that user... any suggestion? --Sr Vulcano 17:45, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Hi. If it's OK for you and the MA/es community, I will just ask Wikia staff about it (only they can give bot flags). See: User talk:Sannse#Bot rights request. -- Cid Highwind 17:49, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it's OK for us! Thanks!! --ElAuriano 18:23, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Re: Portal:Main

I have a new proposal (User:Nat.tang/Sandbox Main Page 3‎/test) for the main page which has been posted on the talk page for the last few days and no one seems to be interested in discussing this....so I was wondering what you thought of this new proposal... Nat.tang 01:19, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Good for you

I commend you on voicing your opinions while still remaining professional. That's how an admin should behave. Have a wonderful day. -FC 14:29, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Harem

Hey Cid, is it really necessary to remove a one line explanation of what a term means? --- Jaz 00:13, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Yes - because we've been removing these "translation hints" throughout the site for quite some time. We're an encyclopedia, not a dictionary. In fact, I think it was even worse in this case (where a real-world term was translated/"explained") than in others, where the name of a fictional item is related to some obscure earth term. -- Cid Highwind 08:55, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Hidden elements on ns:Portal

Hi, Cid. I found your edit to MediaWiki:Common.css where you were able to hide .firstHeading, #siteSub and #contentSub elements just for articles in the Portal namespace. I assume .ns-102 corresponds to the namespace. Might you know how to pull this CSS for one individual page that's not in a namespace? I'd appreciate any hints you can offer. Thanks! —Scott (talk) 02:51, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

If you have a look at the HTML source of a page, you'll see that the <body> of each page has a CSS class according to its full title - for example, this talk page has the CSS class "page-User_talk_Cid_Highwind". Using that, you should be able to style individual pages. -- Cid Highwind 05:23, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Oh sweet, I never noticed that each page had its own class. Thanks for that! —Scott (talk) 22:37, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Show/Hide tables

Hey Cid, is it possible if a [show] [hide] css code could be added to MediaWiki:Common.css so that a certain format could be achieved. (much like this template - an example: wikipedia:Template:Hidden) Nat 19:20, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Interwiki links

Cid, I suspect that this is a byproduct of your bot cleaning up interwiki links, but there are a set of new interwiki links on the bottom of the date pages (i.e. 14 April) that are outside the <noinclude> </noinclude> tags that were already there, eliminating the page footer on transclusion. The net result is that when the date pages are transcluded on the main page, bogus interwiki links are showing up on the main page. All those interwikis need to go inside the noinclude tags. I've manually fixed today's and tomorrow's dates, but the rest need to be repaired. Can the bot do that? Thanks! -- Renegade54 13:21, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Printing from Memory Alpha

Hello, Cid: I don't know if you're the right person to mention this to, but it has to do with page formatting.

I often print articles from various wikis and put them in three-ring binders for my own reference... even a Trekkie can find themselves without access to a computer sometimes :-)

One of my favorite Memory Alpha articles- the main article on Vulcans -has been updated recently, and so I wanted to print out a hard copy. But, when I hit "print preview" the ads that make up a bar on the right side of the screen were overlapped onto the article obsucring the pics and blotting out some of the text.

Usually printing something from a wiki is pretty easy, and I've printed a lot of stuff from Memory Alpha with no such problem in the past, so I'm hoping this is just a temporary formatting issue.

I did open the same pages in Firefox, and the ads weren't there- but that's because Firefox cuts out all the ads automatically. The formatting in Firefox isn't near as good as it is in IE, though. So, I usually print anything from a wiki in IE.

If this is something that can be cleaned up, and you, or one of the other admins has the time to work on it; it would be really great to be able to print from Memory Alpha's wiki again. I use the information a lot in writing fanfics, and in on-line role-playing and sometimes a printed hard copy makes looking something up very convinient.

--Jadza 13:17, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Under the left hand column of the site (assuming you are using Monobook), you will see a number of boxes of links. The 4th down, "toolbox", has an option called "printable version". Use that, it cuts out ads. --OuroborosCobra ^talk 13:56, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, what he said... ;) If the problem persists even with using that way, let me know and I'll have another look into it! -- Cid Highwind 14:20, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

-- I found the printable version link, and clicked it. Same problem. In Firefox the page is oddly formatted... sometimes with sections of text being pushed down, leaving as much as half a blank sheet of paper between paragraphs. But, the adds aren't there. In IE, where the page is formatted a lot better, the adds are still overlapping onto the print. I'm sure the formatting problem is a browser-based issue 'cause I have the same problem printing anything on Firefox (even HTML pages I make myself). But, the overlapping add problem on IE is a new one. It wasn't going on last week. But, thank you, OuroborosCobra, the "print friendly" link is a good one to know about. --Jadza 05:34, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks

I'm probably going to spend the next few days making sure I understand all the procedures involved. I'll let you know if I need some guidance. And likewise, if I screw something up, let me know. :-) Anyway, thanks! – Cleanse 00:12, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] RE: FA vote, private message

It's nowhere near as unspecific as you rhetorically make it sound. Your second bullet hits it right on the head. Thank you for being unequivocal there. To have expressed that opinion didn't in any way rule out considering your first or fourth bullets.

Of course, ending discussion and proceeding immediately to some race-to-implement is not what would happen. I think my personal record shows that I collaborate, and that I don't contribute what the community does not want.

...and: Voting doesn't work on wikis? Especially not this one? Hm. This site's members tell contributors all the time that consensus has determined what contributions are acceptable. FA, FA deletion, category creation, article deletion, merging, all of that happens by vote around here. I followed those examples when asking for "yea"s and "nay"s. I guess I've learned a lesson. Sincerely - thanks for teaching me it. I honestly see that it will help me around here in the future. Sorry if it caused more pain in the neck than there could have been. --TribbleFurSuit 19:00, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Well, first of all, a simple "majority vote" is not the same as "reaching a consensus". Second, even the examples you cite are not just "majority votes". FA nomination needs a reason to "oppose", and once that reason is taken care of, the "opposing" comment counts towards the necessary minimum of 5 comments - not a majority vote. Category creation is a simple matter of "discuss first, act later" to bring up possible problems before they even become problems - not a majority vote. Deletion suggestions aren't resolved based on just the number of pro and contra "votes", but also based on the interpretation of existing policy - not a majority vote. Also, this "vote-like process" is one we agreed on, by consensus, as a means to standardize an otherwise very complicated consensus-finding discussion in each and every individual case. Merging isn't really a process at all, but rather a "request for comments", again to allow for discussion of problems before something is done (the page history merge) that can't easily be undone.

In case you're interested, there's this Wikipedia guideline page that details some of the underlying ideas better and more thorough than I could do on this page: Wikipedia:Polling is not a substitute for discussion. -- Cid Highwind 19:40, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

OK, thanks again. I'll look at at that. --TribbleFurSuit 19:47, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Qualor II forum

Hiya! I think what happened was I clicked the "cancel" button and that deleted the text. And also I think that it made it look like I didn't use create new forum box (which i did). Sorry anyway. :-)--Tribble 1771561 13:45, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Mirror Universe MA edition

The Mirror Universe edition is rather deserted right now, but still a few people are working on it. However, since none of the admins are among the active crowd (god, what an overstatement! XD) and since I do want to see this project continued, I was wondering about how and where to apply for an admin position for that edition. You were listed as one of the MA/mu admins, so I thought I'd ask here, since MA/en is still the most frequented one of all. I'd appreciate a reply either to any of my three talk pages on MA/de, MA/en or MA/mu, or via E-Mail: click! - Bell'Orso 14:15, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Esperanto version

Um... After your experiments with the stubby articles and the new skin, I only have one question... What's going on with the images? Several pages seem to have lost their pictures check out Kapitano Kirk. Others look fine, except in edit mode... then they disappear. It smells like a database update issue, but it's not a good smell. In fact, I'm guessing that all of the images will be gone soon... but I might just be paranoid. I'm guessing there's a default image directory variable somewhere in the Monaco skin that needs a tweak. -- Hoogamagoo 03:22, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

In looking at the images on MA/eo, there don't seem to be many at all. Were you using ones from MA/en previously, or? (ie, the ones in the shared pool). Cid or I will raise the issue with the Wikia staff in the morning. -- Sulfur 03:32, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

I just used the ones from the shared pool. Thanks! -- Hoogamagoo 03:42, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Been talking with sannse. It appears that a few things have occurred:

1. the path to the logo for monobook was somehow incorrect in the server settings,
2. the favicon.ico got munged on MA/en,
3. the shared/commons image directory got reset to the default, which is wrong,
4. the images that were being used there, were deleted ~3 weeks ago. I've changed them to the replaced versions now, but it may be worth uploading them directly to MA/eo at some point.

Hopefully this will all get sorted shortly. -- Sulfur 10:37, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

These should now be all sorted out. Some of the articles may need a forced reload, but things should be (more or less) back to normal shortly. -- Sulfur 10:54, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] CSS Tweaks todo

New messages notification on recent changes has a ghastly background, making it very hard to read with our colour scheme.

Added to that, when you go to a page for a non-existing article (not the "edit window version" from a red link, but a straight connection, the white background looks rather glaring. -- Sulfur 10:50, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

The second of these should now be fixed. Check for me? -- Michael Warren | Talk 10:58, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Second is fixed. Removed image. :) -- Sulfur 11:28, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] "Unused" maintenance files

Unused, was used by custom Quartz skin	still used by Quartz skin (per user preferences)	eventually used by current page CSS (although I switched most of it to a central MA/eo location)	Unused, was used by custom Quartz skin
Unused, was used by custom Quartz skin	most probably still used by Monobook skin (per user preferences)	This site's Favicon (that's the small MA graphic browsers show as the icon)	probably still used via css, formatting for specific links
probably still used via css, formatting for specific links	was uploaded as a hack when Wikia added an ugly search box graphic; probably no longer in use

I cant tell if the following are used or linked anywhere but do we know why they were (are otherwise) showing up in limbo? --Alan 22:57, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

I added some comments to the above image gallery. There are three that are most definitely not in use (+1 probably) and could be deleted. The others are still in use in one or another fashion and should not be deleted (will check the "unsure" cases later). They show up as "unused" because they are not included using the Wikicode for images anywhere, but just via some CSS formatting instruction. -- Cid Highwind 23:43, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Nitpick

You really think this is a nitpick? On what grounds, might I ask, is something judged as such? This is an error in dialog pertaining to 2 significant items. That, to me, is not a nitpick. Please explain.– Watching... ^listening... 22:11, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

Rather than having this discussion on 30 pages spread throughout MA, why not have it on the one discussion on MA that you haven't involved yourself in: the reasoning behind why it was removed... --Alan 22:17, 3 September 2008 (UTC)