User talk:Daniel Mietchen

 Where Daniel lives it is approximately: 00:22

Archives

Daniel Mietchen

Current talk page

Archive 1, Archive 2, Archive 3, Archive 4, Archive 5, Archive 6, Archive 7

Bot request - jogging Category:Pages with too many expensive parser function calls

Daniel, please could you see my post on the forums at this link. My experience in programming Bots is precisely zero, so I could use the opinion (and perhaps programming skills if you have the time) of someone with an interest in this area. --Chris Key 17:12, 4 June 2010 (UTC)

I think

python add_text.py -cat:Pages_with_too_many_expensive_parser_function_calls -text:" " -summary:"Test edit:Category jog for [[:Category:Pages with too many expensive parser function calls]]."

will add a space at the end of each page in that category and should do the trick.

Can't test this right now, as I am traveling, but getting the permission to run this script will take time anyway — can you arrange for that? Will try to do the test edits when I get a stable internet connection, but this won't be before tomorrow night. --Daniel Mietchen 19:19, 4 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Daniel. I'll do what I can to get approval (pending successful test edits) by the time you have a stable connection. Safe travels. --Chris Key 19:50, 4 June 2010 (UTC)

We have permission from Dan Nessett to perform test edits on the test wiki only (not the live wiki). Once these are done we need to get further permission from Matt Innis. We must ensure that the bot only does a null edit, and then as long as me, you and Dan are satisfied I believe that Matt will give approval as he has already looked at the discussion (see his comments). --Chris Key 21:30, 4 June 2010 (UTC)

I have made a Bot request. Please ensure that the summary of the bot reads is Category jog for [[:Category:Pages with too many expensive parser function calls|Pages with too many expensive parser function calls]]. [[CZ:Bot status/ExpensiveParserJog/Feedback|Give feedback.]] --Chris Key 23:02, 4 June 2010 (UTC)

OK. --Daniel Mietchen 17:44, 5 June 2010 (UTC)

About our new Psychology Editor

Hi, Daniel:

John Calvin Moore joined us as a Psychology Editor yesterday and has already dipped his toes into the water by editing the Abnormal psychology article. As the only other active Psychology Editor that I am aware of, would you be so kind as to introduce yourself to him and perhaps assist him in learning the ropes about clusters, subpages and so forth? Regards, Milton Beychok 22:19, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Done. --Daniel Mietchen 22:48, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Hello Daniel, interesting stuff you have here on Schizophrenia. I know you are familiar with Harry Stack Sullivan. He made the distinction between Dementia Praecox (organic brain disease) and Schizophrenia, by stating that Schizophrenia was a product of maladaptive living or circunstances in the individuals life that causes the person to become Schizophrenic. I'll be using that concept within the Whitman article with the tumor. As to your suggestions about classrooms and students, I am not involved in anyway with that scenario, but if there is a project of mentoring or helping in some other way, please inform me and we'll work something out. Thanks for your attention! BTW, has your research correlated anything with GABA and Schizophrenia? John Calvin Moore 02:59, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Hi John, my research is focused on developing early diagnostic tests for schizophrenia (and other psychiatric disorders, like Alzheimer's) by way of brain morphometry. I have no clinical experience with schizophrenia, but am fairly well acquainted with its literature, so that if you are interested in collaborating on some articles, schizophrenia could be a good start (incl. Sullivan, albeit he is not very prominent on this side of the pond). I haven't touched GABA for more than a decade, and never really was into it. As for coursework, we'll see. --Daniel Mietchen 19:55, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

stray article parts

Daniel, thanks for marking those "Article 1" article orphans for deletion. I wasn't very successful using the Eduzendium templates, so I've just started creating the articles the standard way and then adding the Eduzendium line to them, and that seems to be working. Hopefully, I won't create any more of these.Pat Palmer 16:14, 10 July 2010 (UTC)

Eduzendium header

Hi Daniel, I followed your advice and finally understood the process for creating new Eduzendium articles. It works, thank you! Now a question. Here's the header that goes onto each course page (for my course): CZ:Special_Topics_2010/EZnotice . It is awfully long; is there any way that the text (especially that stuff near the bottom) could be shortened so that it occupies less real estate on the page? I'm finding it a bit instrusive. Could all this stuff:

This article is currently being developed as part of an Eduzendium student 
project in the framework of a course entitled Special Topics at University 
of Pennsylvania. The course homepage can be found at CZ:Special_Topics_2010. 

One of the goals of the course is to provide students with insider experience 
in collaborative educational projects, and so you are warmly invited to join 
in here, or to leave comments on the discussion page. 

The anticipated date of course completion is 13 August 2010. One month after 
that date, this notice shall be removed.

Besides, many other Citizendium articles welcome your collaboration!

just be changed to this:

This article is currently being developed as part of an Eduzendium student 
project. The course homepage can be found at CZ:Special_Topics_2010

To provide students with experience in collaboration, you are warmly invited to 
join in here, or to leave comments on the discussion page. 

The anticipated date of course completion is 13 August 2010. One month after 
that date, this notice shall be removed.

It's OK if not but I thought I would ask.Pat Palmer 10:24, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

Done. --Daniel Mietchen 18:00, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

Food and Drug Administration > Catalogs > Therapeutic Equivalence Code

Pretty cool what you did to Food and Drug Administration > Catalogs > Therapeutic Equivalence Code. Do you have any suggestions on a better way to handle Preoperative care > Beta-blocker evidence table so that it shows on the subpages? - Robert Badgett 03:36, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

Done. Used the same hammer ;-) --Daniel Mietchen 07:41, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

Truth In Numbers

Thanks for your welcome! Have we met before?

I hope I can write some articles on Indonesian languages and literature here. I want to see whether this project is really different than Wikipedia. One of the few things that annoys me on English Wikipedia is the fact that it is based on consensus of general knowledge, not on the opinion of the experts. I have to admit that most of the time it is not relevant and it does not get into my way. However in couple of instances it quite annoying. Something which is said by a great number of people doesn't make it true. I was once involved in a silly discussion about the language of the motto on the coat of arms of Indonesia. It is actually in Old Javanese but someone, an American who taught English in Java thought it was in Sanskrit. Why? Because his sources, who were Indonesian laymen told him it was Sanskrit ...

However I will still edit Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, especially in other languages.

The Truth In Numbers will be available in October. You will be able to download the film or to buy the DVD also by then. I am not quite sure whether it is avaible by now as streaming video. The finished movie is a bit different than the trailer, which is a bit of a pity, as it is not only edited by Nick Hill but also Scott Glossermann.

I just took a peek on Koguma Main Bola. I have to say it is difficult for beginners! It uses complicated grammatical forms which can be avoided, but later on that :-)

As for the charter draft, I think it is okay. One of the things that I like is that original research is allowed.

Actually I have always wanted to take a look and join Citizendium but it never materialized. Too bad other alternatives to Wikipedia such as Conservapedia generates more traffic than Citizendium.

Cheers. Revo Arka Giri Soekatno 06:54, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, Revi. We haven't met before but I am active on several platforms for young scientists (the German equivalent of PNN as well as Eurodoc and ways.org), and in the framework of the latter I once made plans to get scientists in the developing world to contribute to the Wikipedias in their local languages. My initial focus then was on Central Asian languages, but I also had a look at the Swahili and Bahasa indonesia editions, from where I knew your name. However, this turned out to be even more difficult than getting them to contribute to the larger Wikipedias. Not sure yet whether opening Citizendium up to original research will help with that. --Daniel Mietchen 07:40, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks

Thanks for your help copying over the charter comments. That was getting a little repetitive. --Chris Key 15:25, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for your list of topics related to popular music and to topics from my bio. The current definition of popular music seems to me unhelpful, but my own perspective is a materialist one that probably won't satisfy a lot of scholars who prefer aesthetics sanitized from economics. I'll have a draft up in a bit, but with school starting, this is not an ideal time for in-depth work.

--Joseph Byrd 15:04, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

If time is scarce (and it usually is), then I like to work on definitions and Related Articles, so as to weave a web of context, on the basis of which the articles can be grown. Let me know if problems arise. --Daniel Mietchen 15:20, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

And thanks for catching my move gaffe on my User page and correcting it. Russell D. Jones 16:18, 1 August 2010 (UTC)

Theory of multiple intelligences

This is well outside of my area of expertise, but you are listed as a psychology Editor so perhaps you'd be able to help. A new author is a little unsure as to what to do next, could you perhaps give him some guidance? Talk:Theory of multiple intelligences. Thanks. --Chris Key 05:19, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

Done. --Daniel Mietchen 14:15, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions! I anticipate they will be very helpful as I'm beginning to navigate this site, and I hope to help get some of those sites up to approved. Thank you, and I'm looking forward to much fruitful collaboration! Rachael Cantrell 13:05, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Delete

Hello Daniel Mietchen. I'm new here. Could you please help me? I want to delete a userpage, what should I do? Is there a template? Thank you, Ed Jussen 21:35, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

You cannot delete pages, but we have the {{speedydelete}} template to request Constables to delete pages. They will not normally delete userpages, but will do subpages thereof on such requests. If you tell me what page you are after, I can put the template in there, so that you can see how to do this. --Daniel Mietchen 21:41, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

I think that what you probably want is to delete your User:Ed Jussen/Lifecycle page now that you have uploaded that new article into the namespace. I would suggest that next time you create a personal User:Ed Jussen/Sandbox . That sandbox subpage can be used over and over again many times. All you have to do then is to simply delete (erase) the content of that page whenever you have finished a project and are ready to start another one. If you wish, I could create that sandbox for you ... just let me know. Milton Beychok 22:13, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

I placed the template. Thank you for your help. Ed Jussen 06:35, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

Eduzendium

Hi Dan, I've just been trying unsuccessfully to help Nancy after your comments. We're trying simply to set up a new course for this year on the same lines as last year; some of the articles we proposed last year were not used so we'd like to reinstate those as fresh options this year. I'm afraid I've stumbled over the mechanics, and don't know what's happened to the Eduzendium notice. Any help much appreciated! Thanks, Gareth Leng 15:15, 6 August 2010 (UTC)

OK, I'll set things up then. Probably tomorrow. --Daniel Mietchen 15:23, 6 August 2010 (UTC)

Hi Daniel, thanks for your help!! Nancy Sabatier 15:32, 6 August 2010 (UTC)

Hi Daniel, I'll have a go at the articles. Could you help me setting up the Eduzendium notice about unapproved articles? should it be on each article or on the course homepage only? Thanks again for your help. Nancy Sabatier 09:22, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, I made quite a mess with this first article, hopefully the next ones will be better! Nancy Sabatier 12:02, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

New Physics Editor User:David William Tolfree

Daniel, I am sure you will be interested in getting acquainted with our new Physics editor. Milton Beychok 20:14, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the Dyscalculia edits

Thanks for the dyscalculia edits. I hope more people will add to the article. This is a little known learning disability that could use some face time. Thanks again!Mary Ash 20:01, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

This is the first of your articles that hit an area of interest to me, so there may well be further interaction on the topic. --Daniel Mietchen 00:10, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

Chipping at psychology

Partially in response to John E. Mack, I started transpersonal psychology.

Discovering that psychotherapy is an import, I split out psychoanalysis and humanistic psychology, with the WP commented out; I think I can completely rewrite at the level here and give us a fresh start. Unfortunately, my mother's library -- she was a psychiatric social worker -- is packed away.

Oh well. I can always do a Topic Informant article on the nuances of the ceiling cracks over my analyst's couch. Howard C. Berkowitz 01:22, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the note. Don't have any plans for these at the moment unless there is a fire to extinguish somewhere. --Daniel Mietchen 01:26, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

OK. Just wanted a Psychology Editor to know what I was doing, hopefully in a noncontroversial way. Apropos of fires, though, should I work on pyromania? Howard C. Berkowitz 01:36, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

What about starting with fire, candle, fire extinguisher, fire brigade for background? --Daniel Mietchen 01:41, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

You may be getting more than you expected with fire extinguisher. There is some material in 9-11 attack in New York about how not to do command and control for a high rise fire.

Lost my picture

Hello Daniel Mietchen. This picture Image:Lifetree.jpg miraculously disappeared. I really uploaded it[1] but it left me. Only the thumb stayed. Can you maybe see what's wrong? Thank you in advance. I did not keep the original ... Ed Jussen 21:49, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Hi Ed, and thanks for the note. We have had some problems with image files recently, and so far, all of them could be solved. I have notified the tech people of this case. --Daniel Mietchen 22:01, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Thank you, I uploaded this illustration again and from now I'll save them all on my computer> Ed Jussen 08:36, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. Yes, this seems to be the best way to do it. --Daniel Mietchen 08:37, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

I would appreciate your comments

Daniel, I have just written a new article and the title will be Smog when I upload it into the article namespace. It is currently in my sandbox at User:Milton Beychok/Sandbox.

I know that you are probably not an expert on the subject. However, I would very much appreciate your review of it and giving me any comments, additions, deletions, typo corrections, or revisions you care to offer on my sandbox talk page. I am fairly sure that there must be some parts which could be better written from the viewpoint of clarity and understanding.

Thanks in advance, Milton Beychok 02:17, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

Hi Milt, wrong timing, but I will try after coming back from this conference. --Daniel Mietchen 16:48, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

Creating subpages

Hello Daniel, I have begun to write articles but don't know how to create a "subpage" .The instructions for this are unclear to me. So could you help me with that please? The first article which will need a subpage is Diglossia. Thanks! Stefan Olejniczak 11:47, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Hi Stefan! Thanks for dropping by. I just set the subpages up via these edits. In doing so, I made one mistake that I also corrected in the process. Please take a look and let me know if something is not clear. --Daniel Mietchen 13:05, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Hello Daniel. It looks OK, thanks. And could you do the same now for Monophthong please? Stefan Olejniczak 13:08, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Can you give it a try? Just start by clicking the "[show]" link and do whatever you think is appropriate. I will go after you and correct things if necessary. --Daniel Mietchen 13:12, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, I clicked on " ...the "metadata template" and tried to fill in as it is told in the instructions, but it did not seem to work. So I think I will need more help with this. Stefan Olejniczak 14:15, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

You can use this link: Special:MetadataForm which gives you a form to fill in. (But following the Metadata link, filling in, saving it, creating talk page (with "subpages") and then using the links on the subpages template should also work.) --Peter Schmitt 14:38, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Hi Peter, thanks a lot! This should help. Stefan Olejniczak 14:53, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

It is important to note that for best results you should use Special:MetadataForm before creating the article. --Chris Key 15:44, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

What has happened to our Welcome page?

The Welcome page has a big white space in the left column (of the two column set-up) and the New Draft of the Week in the right column goes on and on and on ... way beyond what is ever has done before this.

Is someone playing around with it? Looking at the History doesn't seem to explain what happened. Milton Beychok 09:01, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

The reason: Editing the article changed the "NDotW"-markup. I added markup. To me, this proves that the page should not be transcluded. Instead an edited excerpt should be used. --Peter Schmitt 12:25, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

To me, this prove is not convincing — the transclusion has been in use for over a year and rarely caused problems of this kind. But perhaps we should use a template on the featured article or draft that indicates their being featured, and asks for special caution with the markup. In any case, we have a new featured draft now. --Daniel Mietchen 12:39, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Does the new Volatility (chemistry) article relate to Biology or Physics?

Daniel, does the new article Volatility (chemistry) relate meaningfully to physics or biology? If you think so, I will add either Physics or Biology as categories in the Metadata template so that it can be considered for nomination by you or another physics or biology editor. My reason is that there are no active engineering or chemistry editors other than myself and I am not eligible to nominate it.

I sure wish we could coax Paul Wormer into returning. Milton Beychok 05:05, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

Volatility is very relevant to things like pheromone signalling, so I added in Biology. Yes, getting Paul back in is a goal of mine too. But I guess we will have to do some clean-up first in how we handle expertise, especially in certain areas. --Daniel Mietchen 09:52, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

As a follow-up about Volatility (chemistry) , would you now please consider nominating it for approval? Please let me know. Milton Beychok 16:04, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

OK, I will take a closer look somewhen these days. --Daniel Mietchen 16:10, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, I will wait to hear from you whenever. Milton Beychok 17:05, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

Other kinds of volatility

In computers, volatile memory loses its contents when power is applied; the contents of nonvolatile memory are persistent.

Perhaps chemistry or perhaps military, the terms nonpersistent and persistent, when applied to chemical weapons, really mean more volatile (e.g., phosgene, sarin) or less volatile (e.g., mustards, VX). Howard C. Berkowitz 20:45, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

Howard, I know about volatile memory in computers as well as volatile stocks, markets, etc. in the world of finance. Then there is volatile as a description of human behavior.

That's why I named this article Volatility (chemistry) so as to disambiguate it from the many other meanings of the word "volatile". I really think that volatility as a measure of persistence for poison gases is a military term rather than a chemistryl one. Milton Beychok 20:57, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

Added to disambiguation page. Howard C. Berkowitz 21:15, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

More about Volatility (chemistry)

Daniel, as you suggested, I added a new section to the article that discusses ionic liquids and the ongoing research into how odors are used as social behavior signals by insects as well as by mammals. Milton Beychok 14:56, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

Thank you, Milt. I am still on the road but will get to it as soon as I can. It would be best for me to rework those passages directly, and I would prefer 3-editor approval here anyway. --Daniel Mietchen 20:00, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

What help is needed? Mind you, if one considers the perfumes worn by some people, sociology is probably in order to explain why they are not killed. Howard C. Berkowitz 20:25, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

I plan to rework the biological section and add a few words on intramolecular prerequisites for volatility. This would require a third editor for approval. I think we should stick to the chemistry here, not branch out. --Daniel Mietchen 20:31, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

Hi, Daniel ... just a gentle reminder now that you are back. Milton Beychok 17:45, 14 October 2010 (UTC)

I hope to get to it over the weekend. --Daniel Mietchen 17:46, 19 October 2010 (UTC)

Daniel, just a gentle reminder about your "plan to rework the biological section and add a few words on intramolecular prerequisites for volatility" ... the article is still waiting. Thanks, Milton Beychok 23:56, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

I actually went through two papers on the matter that weekend, but took my notes on paper and haven't found the time & mood to put them in here. I also thought about structuring some related articles (e.g. pheromone or olfactometre), and I was looking for images on the matter. So I am confident it will happen, but can't tell you when. --Daniel Mietchen 00:35, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Please see my roast turkey page comments

The question was not to spell out the word centigrade but whether to spell out the word degrees, which I did, or to use the degree symbol. Your edits returned the article so that it is now written both ways.Mary Ash 20:52, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

Sorry about that!

I hate when people get my name wrong. I'll make sure that no-one spelled your's wrong before running the software. D. Matt Innis 12:55, 14 October 2010 (UTC)

As long as it's a wiki page I can edit, I don't mind. Please also check for this typo and the erroneous listing I reported by email. --Daniel Mietchen 13:42, 14 October 2010 (UTC)

Got it (and did catch one). D. Matt Innis 14:36, 14 October 2010 (UTC)

Regarding lemma article, Thylakoid

Daniel, regarding your recently created lemma article, Thylakoid: I had already created an article entitled, Thylakoids. Probably should have named it in the singular. Redirect from the lemma doesn't seem to work.

Can I delete the lemma and move Thylakoids to Thylakoid? Please advise. Anthony.Sebastian 00:33, 26 October 2010 (UTC)

Okay, I fixed it. Thylakoid now redirects to already existing Thylakoids. Probably should reverse order. Anthony.Sebastian 02:41, 26 October 2010 (UTC)

I asked the constabulary to reverse the redirect. --Daniel Mietchen 07:49, 26 October 2010 (UTC)

Not sure what "reverse the redirect" means, as no article with the singular exists, so I supplemented your request, for clarity, I hope: here. Anthony.Sebastian 01:30, 7 November 2010 (UTC)

User page decision

Well done, Daniel, keep it up. Aleta Curry 21:50, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

And I concur!Mary Ash 22:14, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks! --Daniel Mietchen 22:23, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

Approval?

Hi Daniel, can you take a look at Interspike interval histogram with a view to approval, if you feel competent? it's a short article but says as much as I think needs saying. I wrote it so can't act.Gareth Leng 13:47, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

Upon first sight, I would think much of this would have to go to Interspike interval first. Will definitely chime in by the end of the week. --Daniel Mietchen 15:04, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

I commented at Talk:Interspike interval histogram. --Daniel Mietchen 23:30, 12 November 2010 (UTC)

We have started our campaign for donations and we already have $372

Daniel, I just wanted to let you know that we started our drive for donations a few hours ago and we already have $372. Regards, Milton Beychok 05:30, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Too late to be news - I already tested the button. --Daniel Mietchen 05:34, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Daniel, it looks like you added the donate button (which I presume is the one that Chris created) and it sure is simpler than my manual instruction. Thanks very much!! The whole CZ: Donate article looks very professional now. Milton Beychok 07:43, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Daniel, do you think it might be helpful to add a sentence to CZ:Donate explaining that donors do not need to log into citizendium@hotmail.com nor do they need to register to create their own PayPal account. The Donate button may possibly confuse some donors and they may believe that they must create their own PayPal account. What do you think? Milton Beychok 08:18, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Done. Can you start a stub on PayPal? I don't know them very well. --Daniel Mietchen 08:52, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Will do, but it may be quite some while. Much too busy with MC and donation drive at the moment. Milton Beychok 01:37, 12 November 2010 (UTC)

War criminals and crimes

The term war criminals and war crimes are accurate and factual. The Nazi war criminals were convicted for their war crimes by a war tribunal. All this is based on fact and documented. I'm not sure what the problem is when it comes to using these historically accurate terms. You can not re-write history to sanitize it. I hope I understood the problem correctly between the interested parties. Finally, page blanking is a no-no at some wikis. I don't know about here, but I would not do it myself. MHO Mary Ash 16:23, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

It's a bit more nuanced in this case, as Hitler and Mengele, for example, never appeared before a court. Nevertheless, there is historical reason to use the term, in these specific cases, and at this specific time. This is some of the material I would have placed on the blanked and locked page.

Martin is correct that something such as "alleged criminal" might be used today, but this is presentism as applied to historiography. Direct quotes should never be redacted for reasons of political correctness, and I've been attempting to explain the usage of Mengele's time. I note, for example, that the four-power proceedings at Nuremberg was titled "trial of the major war criminals". That trial also criminalized membership in the SS, and there is little question Mengele was an SS officer. Howard C. Berkowitz 17:38, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

Mary, I do not see why you posted this comment here on my talk page instead of any of the places concerned with the debate. Since you used "you" here without any further qualifiers, I assumed that you were addressing me and that what could otherwise (e.g. on one of the article talk pages) be rather neutral comments were in fact severe accusations. I have neither denied war crimes nor tried to re-write history, nor blanked a page, nor edited either of the disputed pages myself. What I did do is react to a request for clarification of the usage of these terms and rule that the blanked page be replaced by some meaningful text. In light of David Finn's comments below, I am willing to consider this a simple misunderstanding. I apologize for my part in it, and I have revised my original comment accordingly. --Daniel Mietchen 09:03, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

Please be more careful with the terms you throw around, Daniel.

Mary said:

Finally, page blanking is a no-no at some wikis. I don't know about here, but I would not do it myself.

She did not say that you blanked the page. She did not say that anyone blanked the page. She simply said that the page was blanked, which is a fact. How you interpreted that as an accusation that you blanked the page is not quite clear, but, to use your words, it seems that you did not understand the problem correctly when you replied that she was accusing you.

I would also note that Mary is using you in her initial comment to refer to the plural, although I realize this may have been too nuanced a use of English for some.

Nonetheless, your counter of having been falsely accused was ill-thought out. Please revise. David Finn 08:20, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

Thank you, David, for reading so attentively and for being frank. I have revised my comment. --Daniel Mietchen 09:03, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

No problem. I am going to take a break now, and I apologise that this and my other posts have been slightly abrasive. I really want there to be a good environment that promotes editing so that I can do some, but I found out today that someone who I would consider to be a great influence on my Citizendium contributions is being debated on in a negative way and it rather upset me. Howard is our most prolific contributor and has always been willing to compromise and collaborate in my dealings with him. I have also noted his ongoing relationship with Mary Ash which, although initially rocky, did serve both them and Citizendium well. I appreciate you taking the time to re-read your words, and also notifying Mary of that. Cheers. David Finn 09:37, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

Eduzendium article metadata pages

Thank you for your message on my User_talk page and for the new BEE 4640 home page on CZ. The metadata template task has me thoroughly confused. I followed the directions blindly and ended up with the following error message: < CZ:Cornell University 2010 BEE 4640 Bioseparation Processes

The ((subpages)) template is designed to be used within article clusters and their related pages. It will not function on CZ pages. Retrieved from "http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/CZ:Cornell_University_2010_BEE_4640_Bioseparation_Processes/Metadata_template" Category: Misplaced subpage"

I have begun creating new articles as needed using the "create new article with subpages" worksheet, though they lack the template structure set up earlier in the process. CZ:Cornell_University_2010_BEE_4640_Bioseparation_Processes/Template_article

Three students want to write about aspects of chromatography, expanding the existing stub article to include material on a) chromatographic methods (e.g. gas chromatography, HPLC, paper chromatography), b) adsorbent types (e.g. ion exchange, reverse phase, size exclusion) and c) chromatography theory (e.g. adsorption isotherms and column dynamics). Do you recommend that they work directly on the existing draft, or create new articles within the Eduzendium category, which the Editors can later merge as they see fit?

If you are too busy with the hosting/management issue to assist at the moment, please feel free to refer me to another editor. Thank you. Jean B. Hunter 03:13, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

Hi Jean, thanks for the feedback on the Eduzendium templates - there is certainly room for improvements, and they have not been integrated with Special:MetadataForm, since the latter does not yet allow customized preloading of content. The way things are supposed to work is the following:

1. Go to the course homepage and add the titles of new articles, as shown here, using dielectrophoresis as an example.
2. Follow the instructions displayed for Dielectrophoresis: Open this page in a separate tab or window to help you guide through the process, then go back to the window with the course homepage and click the button for Dielectrophoresis and try to follow the guide (reloading the course homepage after each "save" step is required). If there is anything not clear, please drop me another note - we really want these templates to be useful and will get rid of them if they are not. I have fixed the formatting for electrophoresis.

The error message you get about subpages is normal, since Eduzendium articles (and the course-specific templates) are in the CZ: namespace, for which the {{subpages}} template system was not designed. The articles to be created for the course, however, will all be in the main namespace, where the subpages template will function properly and set up the headers with links to the subpages.

As for chromatography, merging is complicated and very few people on the wiki have the technical permission to do that. So I would suggest that the students either jump right into the existing article, preferably after having familiarized themselves with basic formatting.

--Daniel Mietchen 09:49, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

Mr. Mietchen, I began an article Crossflow membrane filtration without realizing there was a template already set up for our BEE 4640 course, called crossflow filtration. Professor Hunter suggested I seek your help in remedying the situation, as there is no need to have both. Can you point me in the correct direction? Thank you. Justin D. Finkle 19:25, 17 December 2010 (UTC)

Hi Justin,

no need to call anyone Mr. here - we generally use first names instead, though you are probably right in treating your professor differently.

I moved your Crossflow Membrane Filtration to Crossflow membrane filtration to go conform with our CZ:Naming conventions and transferred the BEE 4640 formatting to it. I will ask Jean for his opinion on whether the final article title should be Crossflow filtration or Crossflow membrane filtration. --Daniel Mietchen 21:22, 17 December 2010 (UTC)

Hi Daniel,

Let's keep it in its current form Crossflow membrane filtration. Thanks for your help. Jean B. Hunter 21:55, 17 December 2010 (UTC)

Thank you both for the help. Justin D. Finkle 23:56, 19 December 2010 (UTC)

New Biology Editor

We have a new Biology editor named Dorian Q. Fuller. Perhaps you may wish to put a welcome message on his Talk page. Milton Beychok 16:47, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

Emails & forum messages

I was away for two days and now have more than a hundred of CZ messages in my inbox, and several hundreds of forum messages have been posted since I looked last. Will take a while to crawl through, and I will likely not respond to all that I normally would. If you think there is a post or message I should absolutely attend to, please give me a reminder here. If it absolutely has to remain private, then please send me a brief reminder message with "Citizendium reminder" in the subject line. Thanks! --Daniel Mietchen 09:27, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

Free space

I wonder if you would have an interest in contributing to the new article Free space (electromagnetism)? John R. Brews 20:29, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for your note, John - I will see what I can do. --Daniel Mietchen 15:32, 29 November 2010 (UTC)

ME request

Please see Talk:Wikileaks. D. Matt Innis 19:45, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for your note. I am still on the road and won't be back to normal before Monday evening. The matter seems too complex to be resolved on the fly, so I think that locking the page just for the two discussants is the best for the time being, and I will get back to the matter as soon as I can. --Daniel Mietchen 00:57, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the response. The article is currently unlocked to all as Sandy has volunteered to try a rewrite. I'll follow your advice if it should flare up again. D. Matt Innis 01:17, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

I see you've taken care of it already, thanks! I'll enforce your ruling. D. Matt Innis 01:21, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Final reminder about Volatility (chemistry)

Hi, Daniel: I know you have been busy ... we all are. But it was back in early October when I added the discussions that you asked to be included in the subject article ... and which you promised to re-work.

I promise that this is my last reminder. Happy Christmas! Milton Beychok 21:48, 13 December 2010 (UTC)

Hm - sorry, Milt. I have moved it up my list again, but may need another reminder. --Daniel Mietchen 22:14, 13 December 2010 (UTC)

Approvals help please

Hi Daniel

I'm requesting approval on Miniature Fox Terrier, which has been sitting stable for a good long while, and which I can't approve as author, and Heterotaxis. Can you spare the time to lend a hand? Aleta Curry 00:29, 14 January 2011 (UTC)

Hi Aleta, I am afraid both articles are beyond the areas in which I can approve, but I will check them (had actually followed the drafting of Heterotaxis at the time) and see what I can do. --Daniel Mietchen 12:04, 15 January 2011 (UTC)

None of our currently active biology editors really work in quite the right field for either of these articles. Perhaps it is time to consider trying an experiment. For a long while now, I have wondered whether we could convince a non-citizen with the appropriate expertise to review and approve one of our articles. If the article is good enough and we make the process easy enough, we might attract a new member or establish a sort of consultant relationship. Would someone like to make an announcement asking whether anyone has a friend who would be qualified to approve one of these articles? --Joe Quick 15:51, 15 January 2011 (UTC)

User Discussion Page and Warning Removal

The discussion in this section is incomplete, since Mary has removed her initial contributions to it. Peter's second comment (still present below) contains all there is to say about the matter.

Yes, the email said that you could clear your talk page, to which I did not object. Note that I commented on the archived thread. --Daniel Mietchen 02:53, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Mary, there appears to be a misunderstanding concerning your talk page. Daniel left his remark on your archived talk page. Anyone can do this. Your talk page was not reverted by Daniel and no-one else has reverted his edit either. I understand that when things are tense, misunderstandings can occur. This only means that it is very important that everyone double check and reconsider before clicking the 'send' button. You should also consider giving people 24 hours to respond to your emails. D. Matt Innis 16:18, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Mary, the diff you cite does not show a revert but a comment added on your archived talk page, just as Daniel has indicated above. --Peter Schmitt 17:18, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Be reasonable, Mary! There is no reason at all for your indignation:

• Nobody touched your user page
• Talk pages are not taboo. There is nothing wrong with adding a comment to a section on an archived talk page. There is only one "threat": It may remain unnoticed.
• Neither your talk page nor your archived talk pages were "reverted" or "rolled back".
• If you read what Daniel wrote then you will see that he did not issue a second warning. On the contrary, he "deleted" the first one.
• Doing so on an archived page is much more discreet than doing it on the current talk page. It shows that he accepts its removal from the talk page.
• Daniel's comment was -- as his signature shows -- an official message by the ME. He is fully authorized to leave such messages.

--Peter Schmitt 18:47, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

On the advice of a esteemed CZ contributor I have removed all comments concerning this matter. I will be leaving an opinion piece on my user page instead. If I accidentally removed any other user comments I apologize in advance. My only intent was to remove my own comments. Mary Ash 19:56, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

For all concerned I removed the talk page comments as advised by an esteemed Citizendium member. Let's be clear about that.Mary Ash 22:58, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

My Smog Discussion Page Comments

Daniel I just posted this on the Smog talk page. Here's what I posted:

(unindent) First I did offer sources see:

       * EPA Region 9 Owens Valley
       * The Lake Project
       * The Federal Register
       * ABC Australia
       * Where vehicles are not the primary cause of PM10 pollution
       * A picture from the area 

They all clearly state the importance of PM 10 air pollution and the man made causes thereof. The only part I was incorrect about was the percentages given by a forest ranger many years ago. As this is an informal discussion, and not sourcing an article, the inclusion of personal information as part of an informal discussion is professional and warranted. Also, I contacted a seasoned CZ contributor about this talk page discussion and was assured that my comments were professional on my part. I do believe lively discourse and intelligent discussion, even if the viewpoints differ, does much for collaboration. In fact, I was strongly supporting the writing of PM 10 by professionals far better informed than I am as I do believe this is an important issue that needs to be written about. I was sincerely trying to encourage and compliment those who could do the task. As to my professional credentials when writing about PM 10, I could give a brief non-technical overview as I was educated by the air pollution control board engineers, water board personnel and other environmental personnel during my two years of providing professional coverage of PM 10 and other air pollution matters during my years as an environmental journalist. I am well versed in air pollution and its effects thanks to the many professionals who kindly shared their expertise and time so I could write about these topics.Mary Ash 03:11, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the notification. I will not reply there, since you missed my points completely, and this is evident to anyone who actually reads my post there with some attention to detail. --Daniel Mietchen 22:30, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Nope. I did not miss your points but I do respectfully disagree with them. I made an attempt to compliment and discuss the authors concerned. I was hoping someone would write an article on PM 10 or add it to the smog article. It seems my comments were misunderstood as I originally commented on the man made events that caused significant and out of compliance PM 10 air pollution in the Owens Valley. Milt seemed to think I was writing about naturally occurring events and I was not. You can not compare naturally occurring PM 10 events to man made PM 10 events. The naturally occurring event will usually produce more PM 10 matter than the man made ones. I was using my personal experiences, and data, as a frame of reference as I do not have the background to comment otherwise. I'd offer the analogy of the old telephone party but that would be an American term and probably misunderstood. Suffice it to state I thoroughly understand the effects of PM 10 air pollution and non-compliance according to the local air quality control board, CARB, local water board officials and the EPA. They all thoroughly tutored me on the subject and I sold many a newspaper for a couple years covering this issue. Or a good journalist is a Jack (or Jill) of all trades but a master of none.Mary Ash 22:53, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

New user Joel M. Williams

Daniel, we have a new Chemistry editor. You may wish to post a welcome message on his Talk page. He is also a new physics author as well. Milton Beychok 03:07, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the note, Milt. Done. --Daniel Mietchen 16:43, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

OASPA

Daniel, note 10, the link to Poynder's blog about the alabama shooting seems to be a dead link. Russell D. Jones 16:57, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Just clicked on it in your post above, and it worked fine. Dunno what the problem was/ is. --Daniel Mietchen 17:26, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Financial Report as of March 15, 2011

Please read our Financial Report as of March 15, 2001 for complete details on our financial history and our current financial situation. If you have any questions, please ask them on CZ Talk:Donate. Milton Beychok 00:12, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the notification, and for compiling the report in the first place! I had read it already, though. --Daniel Mietchen 01:10, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

New Physics and Mathematics author

We have a new Physics author, Amin Yazdani, whom you might like to welcome to the project. He is a student at a university in Iran. Bruce M. Tindall 14:31, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, Bruce. Done. --Daniel Mietchen 23:22, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Nobel Prize

Hi, Daniel, please take a look at the discussion page at http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Talk:Nobel_Prize -- Thanks! Hayford Peirce 01:05, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

New Biology author

User:James Parker is a new Biology author, a student at Edinburgh interested in molecular genetics. Bruce M. Tindall 17:29, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks - I left him a note. --Daniel Mietchen 09:46, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

European views about Libya

Operation ODYSSEY DAWN is perhaps not the best place for all activity, but it's something I can keep updated. I am eager to get European views into it -- I know very little, for example, of the German position. Improvements in the article are welcome, as well as suggestion for reorganizing on a broader set of articles. Howard C. Berkowitz 10:23, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

The official German position is intentionally not a clear one, since there were elections last Sunday and there will be two more (in other Landers) this Sunday. Military interventions of any kind have very little support amongst German voters. --Daniel Mietchen 21:16, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

periodic table

As I was clicking through the periodic tables I noticed there was an improvement, if not fixed. Your recent edits must have been on the right track. Chris Day 16:13, 28 April 2011 (CDT)

I think it is fixed now. Good to see you back here! --Daniel Mietchen 16:18, 28 April 2011 (CDT)

I just checked some more and it is fixed. Good job. Glad to be back. I was just wading through some of the forum threads and the governance issues seems a little crazy. But nice to see many familiar faces working hard. I really must try and find more time for this. Chris Day 16:20, 28 April 2011 (CDT)

Thanks a lot for fixing that template problem, Daniel. And , Chris, it is wonderful to have you back. Milton Beychok 16:30, 28 April 2011 (CDT)

External Links for XML article

Daniel, I see that you posted a link on the XML article, in External Links. I really don't think that this is an ideal external link. If you're willing, I'll try to find some others, but remove that one. That link (http://lemire.me/blog/archives/2010/11/17/you-probably-misunderstand-xml/) is a rant by someone who doesn't seem to have a very broad understanding of how XML is used in the world, and his rant is one of those political stances (i.e., the rant against SOAP-XML) that I don't think CZ ought to represent unless the controversy is to be represented in full. Please let me know if it's OK to replace that link with some more general ones that would help someone get oriented more usefully about XML.Pat Palmer 10:47, 1 May 2011 (CDT)

Hi Pat, if you think another link would be an improvement (and I agree that there should be many better ones), then that's what wikis are made for. Surely no need to ask me (a relative newbie in that area) - just go ahead! --Daniel Mietchen 14:25, 1 May 2011 (CDT)

Speaking of XML, has anyone programmed an XML-to-MediaWiki converter? PLoS journals provide for downloading XML versions of articles, some of which CZ could import and develop further. Anthony.Sebastian 21:09, 1 May 2011 (CDT)

I have explored this in quite some detail over the last few months. So the general answer is no, but almost (see this discussion), while a specific answer for some kind of XML (which deals with taxonomic treatments) is yes, as shown in this article, and discussed more broadly here. However, discussing any application of that here at Citizendium is moot as long as PR-2010-013 is not amended, as discussed in the following section. --Daniel Mietchen 13:58, 2 May 2011 (CDT)

Re: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/User:Daniel_Mietchen/PR-2010-013#Revised_phrasing_.285.29

Daniel, as you know, five rephrasings of your original, now on http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/User:Daniel_Mietchen/PR-2010-013#Revised_phrasing_.285.29. Should you consolidate, submit as new proposal? What can I do to help? Anthony.Sebastian 21:04, 1 May 2011 (CDT)

It's probably time to submit it in some new form, yes. But for me, there are other important things to consider, e.g. Modifications to the Charter. Will see how we can move forward on these fronts, and any help and suggestion is welcome. --Daniel Mietchen 14:02, 2 May 2011 (CDT)

What do you think of using some BMC Q&A paper to test the waters? For instance, Who is H. sapiens really, and how do we know? could be used to beef up Homo sapiens, Human evolution, DNA, DNA sequencing and some related articles. --Daniel Mietchen 16:00, 2 May 2011 (CDT)

Press page

This http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/CZ:Press appears as number 2 on a google search. Obviously, it needs you as a contact (and some other updating maybe. Martin Baldwin-Edwards 20:40, 2 May 2011 (CDT)

Yes. Thanks. Updated it a bit. --Daniel Mietchen 06:28, 3 May 2011 (CDT)

What do you think of Los Alamos National Laboratory?

Daniel, I think that Los Alamos National Laboratory is ready to be nominated for approval. Would you consider nominating it? Milton Beychok 06:00, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

Hi Milt, I read most of it and concur that it is in a good state. However, I will not nominate it, as I do not have relevant expertise. --Daniel Mietchen 02:47, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

Criteria for becoming a Health Sciences Editor

Dear Daniel, I read the matter at http://ec.citizendium.org/wiki/EC:PR-2010-017/Healing_Arts_workgroup, which states, "Healing Arts Editors that are currently licensed to practice their discipline shall be accepted as Health Sciences Editors". May I ask you, as the CZ Managing Editor, how CZ verifies that a person is licensed - is it his/her Registration Certificate or his name being mentioned on his/her College web-site?—Ramanand Jhingade 18:03, 16 June 2011 (UTC)

I would assume this verification to be a task for the EPA. --Daniel Mietchen 02:53, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

New Physics author named Jim Earl

Hi, Daniel: We have a new Physics author named Jim Earl. Please visit his Talk page and leave him a welcome message. Regards, Milton Beychok 08:02, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

Funding for continuation of Citizendium

Daniel: Undoubtedly you have been thinking about ways to secure funding to continue CZ. Can you give us any encouraging progress reports? As ME, you have charter authority to contact outside sources for relations with CZ.

Have you put heads together with Larry on this issue?

Microsoft tried an Encyclopedia, then gave up. Perhaps they would like to participate in CZ. Funding-wise, partnering, making Encarta content available for updating, notifying their contributors about CZ.

Microsoft needs a much bigger toehold in the academic world.

I know you have many other passions besides CZ. How does CZ fit into your agenda? How do you see CZ's medium-term future?

Will you, as ME, speak to us on these issues? Anthony.Sebastian 19:20, 6 August 2011 (UTC)

It is entirely possible that Daniel will have an insight into the financial situation, I would also be interested to know his thoughts on the matter.

As far as his having responsibility for relations outside of CZ, you will also know that Cherter specifies that while the ME should represent the Citizendium in its relations with external bodies it is the MC who shall make all the financial and legal decisions for the Citizendium.

Since Larry is already part of the MC, and has indicated that he believes CZ shall not come to an untimely end due to finances alone, it might be more appropriate to ask the MC directly. Notwithstanding the fact that Daniel may well have been active on this issue, it is clearly one of responsibility for the MC, and Daniel would (I believe) only be representing the MCs wishes to outside authorities should he be discussing finances with them.

As to how CZ, or his role as ME, fits with Daniels agenda I of course have no clue. If your question was a personal one then excuse my intrusion - if your question was how his personal circumstances are affecting his role as ME then I think that a question best asked of all elected officials, for whom election carried some responsibility. I can assure you, however, that similar questions to Council members have found an unwelcome audience in the past.

You are correct that we have heard little about potential financial solutions, beyond paying for it ourselves. Really it is the MCs job to work out the finances, and while the outside world may need a go-between to explain the MCs position, here at CZ maybe we could all manage with just hearing what the MC are doing about it? Say, on the forum?

And as far as CZs any-term future goes, the statistics page will give you an idea of what direction CZ is heading in. CZ has been accused of being a "vanity site", alternatively a "hobby site", where a handful of members pay to have a space they can publish in, but that no-one will ever visit, much less use for encyclopedic purposes. Reversing that trend is likely to not be a purely financial consideration. David Finn 09:37, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

(CC) Image: John R. Brews & Aleksander Stos
Page edits from statistics page with superposed trend lines. Crisis points?

The figure at right shows some very broad trends. I wonder whether anyone at CZ has made an analysis of what has happened? If the trendlines are accepted there are three epochs: (i) Initial epoch of increasing activity ending mid 2008. This period ended with some catastrophic event that seems to be very tightly associated with mid-2008. (ii) Second growth period ending late 2009. This period ended with another catastrophic event and a short period of equilibration following it. (iii) Third period of steady decline, projected to end CZ altogether by late 2011.

What assessment has been made as to the origins and demise of the two golden ages and why has a third rebound not occurred? John R. Brews 14:34, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

The graphs on the statistics page do not show discontinuities in number of editors, although there has been a slow decline from the values in 2007-2008. The discontinuities in activity appear to be more related to activity of these authors on CZ. They became suddenly disillusioned? The really active authors left, leaving behind those not so productive? John R. Brews 15:01, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

Data points?

• User:Howard C. Berkowitz joined the project May 1, 2008.
• User:Larry Sanger drastically curtailed activity after March 19 2009.

D. Matt Innis 16:30, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

More points?

• Charter drafting process begins October 2009.

D. Matt Innis 16:34, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

←(Out-dent)
John, thanks for following up on my query to Daniel re funding for CZ. I agree with the points you make.

Re: "As far as his having responsibility for relations outside of CZ, you will also know that Cherter specifies that while the ME should represent the Citizendium in its relations with external bodies it is the MC who shall make all the financial and legal decisions for the Citizendium."

Yes. However, that doesn't mean that Daniel, in representing CZ in relating outside CZ, cannot explore funding opportunities in conjunction with exploring partnering in the broadest sense of the term. Certainly, the MC will make decisions in those matters, though the ME has additional discretionary powers/obligations that might bear on this issue.

Certainly, if I knew a 'philantropist', potential large CZ donor, I'd want to receive advice from the MC what they want for the next steps. The MC might decide to investigate and set terms and render decisions, but they might not want to spoil any special relation I already have.

Matt, I thought of starting a forum topic saluting CZ's most prolific content contributers. What do you think? Perhaps a better way to highlight them, especially if that better way stimulated the less prolific to want to make the 'Dean's List', so to speak. Anthony.Sebastian 19:34, 7 August 2011 (UTC) [sig added]

Anthony, I think that is exactly the kind of thing we need - especially if it included links to articles that have red links that need further developing ;-) D. Matt Innis 20:25, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

I think this thread is something for the Forums, where I will respond as soon as I get a decent internet connection. As for the graph, I can't pinpoint what is behind the plunge in 2008 but the two other spikes are due to bot activity being stopped (September 2009) and briefly resumed (January 2010). --Daniel Mietchen 21:20, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

My reply is here. As for opening up a thread to thank people, I don't think we need another forum thread, and the best way to thank people for their work on articles is generally to improve some of those articles. --Daniel Mietchen 02:47, 8 August 2011 (UTC)

Average edits

(CC) Image: John R. Brews & Aleksander Stos
Average edits

Daniel: A plausible explanation for the first discontinuity in this chart in 2008 is a sudden discontinuation of activity (for example the departure of a number of contributors), which removes a constant from the edit rate, causing an immediate downward step in Sept 2008. Casual observation in the science and math areas shows that there were indeed a number of withdrawals at this time. A departure naturally leads to a downward step, followed by a continuation of the same steady rise seen before that. The second drop, in 2009 may have the same cause,possibly augmented by a stop in bot activity, but the downward step is not followed by a continuation of the rise seen before the step, as expected from a step drop in activity.

And of course the steady subsequent decline is serious and unaccounted for. Without the brief bot resumption arresting this fall, causing a momentary flat plateau, the steady drop in editing activity would commence earlier, immediately after the second step drop. The onset of the present-day steady drop then would correlate with the event causing the second drop.

The steady decline seems to suggest the drop in activity is an ongoing phenomenon, as removal of one or more contributors would cause only a step down in edits upon withdrawal, not a continuing drop. Apparently CZ is seeing a net steady loss of contributors as time progresses.

I suspect the exodus in 2008 was not adequately addressed to find its causes, and a another, apparently more substantial crisis occurred in 2009, and is again being ignored. Whatever the underlying dissatisfaction, this time the impact is more serious. It undoubtedly is compounded by the financial situation, but I don't think that is everything. John R. Brews 15:46, 11 August 2011 (UTC)

I can't add much to what I already stated above - "I can't pinpoint what is behind the plunge in 2008 but the two other spikes are due to bot activity being stopped (September 2009) and briefly resumed (January 2010)" - except that (1) I think you underestimate the bot contributions to the 2009 and 2010 spikes, (2) the rising flank of the 2008 plunge had a bot component as well and (3) a number of prolific contributors left in 2008, or at least reduced their activity here, but having just joined in myself then, I am not sure of any specific event(s) that catalyzed the drop. To find out more, it's perhaps necessary to dig around the forums or email archives. --Daniel Mietchen 21:51, 15 August 2011 (UTC)