User talk:Simetrical

Criteria for getting various statuses
I will generally grant sysop status to you if you satisfy any one of the following conditions.


 * 1) You have commit access to the MediaWiki repository.  This should preferably be MediaWiki core, or some extension that's used on Wikimedia wikis, but other projects are fine if you're active or have been active in the past.
 * 2) I happen to personally know you fairly well, and trust you.
 * 3) You can demonstrate some clear use you could put the tools to that's lacking, such as translating site messages, and you can provide some evidence of being a respected contributor to some Wikimedia project for a lengthy period of time.  Being a sysop at a major Wikimedia wiki should be enough.  Being the only sysop at kshwikt or something, probably not, since that will go to anyone who volunteers to get the project going.  Likewise Wikia or other non-Wikimedia projects, testwiki, etc.  Saying you'll block vandals or delete random pages isn't very helpful, since there aren't exactly very many vandals and there are tons of sysops you could get hold of at any time on IRC.

I will generally grant bureaucrat status to you if you have commit access and have made substantial technical contributions to the MediaWiki software proper, or extensions used on Wikimedia.

I will grant transwiki status to anyone who promises to do some import work, and bot status to anyone whose bot's purpose I view as sane. These don't do so much and I can revoke them, so I don't have to be as cautious.

If you think you satisfy any of the above conditions, please leave a message on my talk page. If you're telling me that you're someone I know or have some credentials somewhere, be sure to give evidence (e.g., an edit by a known good account on the other wiki saying confirming your identity on mediawiki.org; or if I know you on IRC, tell me on IRC; etc.). Given that we don't have any formal policy right now, going bureaucrat-shopping will be frowned upon.

Importing pages from Meta
Please mark the local meta pages with  when you import them here, instead of putting redirects.  Cbrown1023  talk  02:09, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Okay, will do. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 13:54, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Bureaucrat
You have been promoted to a bureaucrat on this wiki. I encourage sysopping users who show a bit of sanity and desire to help out, while maintaining your good supply of Clue. robchurch | talk 13:15, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
 * k. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 03:16, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

Sysop request
(Related to the precedent, message :)

I want to locallise the links that are on the sidebar (since the text is localised) or doing some cleanup (RC patrol, ...) on this wiki, so i don't know if I could be a sysop here (I am already sysop on the french Wikipedia). i Alex  17:48, 7 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Done. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 17:53, 7 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks a lot. i Alex  17:53, 7 October 2007 (UTC)

Rename request
Please change my username from Jclerner to Jlerner, then it'll be consistent with en and meta, thanks! Jclerner 00:54, 16 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Done. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 00:58, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

BrettR -> Brett
I'd like to usurp user:Brett, which has no edits. I'm a bureaucrat with over 6000 edits on Simple English Wiktionary.--BrettR 12:35, 25 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I've tried to contact the user. I've given him a week to give me a new name.  If he doesn't respond, I'll probably forget, so remind me in a week. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 14:18, 25 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Will do.--BrettR 14:26, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Rename request
Hi Simetrical! Could you please rename User:CommonsDelinker to something else and then User:CommonsDelinker2 to User:CommonsDelinker? I am one of the operators of CommonsDelinker. Apparently something went wrong when the account was created and the password is unknown to any of us. Thanks, Bryan Tong Minh 17:57, 13 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Done. You may want to set an e-mail address, for the future (unless you forgot that too). —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 18:22, 13 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Ah, thanks, Bryan Tong Minh 11:07, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

+sysop request
Could I get +sysop on this wiki? Looking to do some maintenance work around here (deprecating Template:click, etc.). I'm +sysop on en.wiki ( verify ) and I have a pretty good knowledge of MediaWiki. Thanks! --MZMcBride 06:29, 14 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Done. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 17:18, 14 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks again! --MZMcBride 19:53, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

System Operator Request
User_talk:Robchurch. -PatPeter,  MediaWiki Support Team  20:56, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

Temporary Semi-protection
Could you semi-protect Project:Support desk for a couple days? We want to minimize any new entries until we have sorted the old topics into sections and finish remodeling the Support Desk? Oh and by "we" I mean me (since I am acting on Project:Current events), I would just admin-protect it so that we don't have to put users on an honor system not to post, but then no one would be sorting. -PatPeter,  MediaWiki Support Team  00:02, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Uh, it seems like a bad idea to shut down one of the support channels for a few days? If people ask questions and they aren't answered because people are too busy reshuffling, well, I guess they aren't answered.  Semi-protection is for stopping vandals, not stopping people from asking questions. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 01:17, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
 * No, it wouldn't have been the question is not answered because of the reshuffling, it would be more work and another thread to have been sorted. And it wouldn't have stopped people from asking questions, it would delay their questions. If their questions are that important then they would have come back after the Support desk was "reopened".
 * Onto more recent news, I once again ask for semi-protection of this page, not to stop questions this time but rather to keep them coming; if you look at the source code of the page then you will see that questions are no longer made on the actual Support desk, but rather in the subsections. Also if you can, please delete all the redirects in this space, as they are not necessary. -PatPeter, [[Image:Tournesol.png|20px]] MediaWiki Support Team  21:58, 1 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay, done (and I added a comment in the page source). It seems like you already got Skizzerz to delete the unneeded redirects. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 00:21, 2 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Ja, sorry I didn't notify you sooner about that. The plan is to eventually have it addy-protected, but not until we are sure we have enough categories. -PatPeter, [[Image:Tournesol.png|20px]] MediaWiki Support Team  06:00, 2 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Curses, I thought there would be [edit] sections even though the page was protected, because of the transclusions. I am going to have to find a way to get around this. -PatPeter, [[Image:Tournesol.png|20px]] MediaWiki Support Team  06:27, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Sysop request
Hello. Could you make me a sysop here? I would like to get a lot of this cleared out. I have rollback rights on the English Wikipedia; sysop, bureaucrat, and povwatch on the Test Wikipedia; and sysop and bureaucrat rights on the cards wiki (different user name there). So I am already familiar with the tools. Thanks for your help. Maximillion Pegasus 03:17, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I've added you to the transwiki group, so you can import pages. You didn't state the need for any tools more than that. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 13:05, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
 * My bad. Sorry. I would like to add a couple things to the sidebar and do rc patrol to catch any vandals, which I would warn and be able to block if they insist on vandalizing. I could also protect any pages that receive a lot of vandalism and if I make any mistakes in importing pages, I could delete it and redo it. Maximillion Pegasus 15:22, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
 * We currently have 33 sysops. You could probably find one in #mediawiki at any time of day or night, and you could possibly do that just by throwing a rock in the event of needed deletions or blockings.  I don't know you and have no reason to believe you know anything in particular about MediaWiki, which is after all the subject of this wiki. Given the preponderance of requests for sysop status from me lately, I have formulated a set of criteria under which I'll grant it, which I've stated at the top of this talk page.  Please consult those and ask again if you think you meet one. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 22:57, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I do have pretty good knowledge of MediaWiki and I have rollback rights on the English Wikipedia. Would like to do some maintenance work. It seemed to meet your requirements here? Maximillion Pegasus 23:32, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I am personally acquainted with MZMcBride, to some extent. He's also a sysop on enwiki, not a rollbacker (which anyone can get, come on).  That was also before everyone on Wikimedia started asking me for sysop here.  Emphasis on personal acquaintance may seem unfair, but that's the way things tend to work in open-source communities: you have to gain someone's trust personally before you're given any kind of elevated access.  If not mine, then that of some other dev. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 13:59, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
 * This only looks like the third or fourth request, so it looks like you are contradicting yourself. Also, you seem to be elevating sysop status to some special group above everyone, when actually, its no big deal at all. But I will stop pestering you about it (sysop status, that is. I still have another question). Do you know anyone willing to help set up a wiki? I would like to do some testing with the settings of a wiki. But even if you do know someone, would I be able to have access to the wiki's LocalSettings.php? Maximillion Pegasus 21:33, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
 * No, I don't know anyone willing to help set up a wiki. If you have some web space, with some web server with PHP and MySQL/PostgreSQL, it's very easy to set up yourself.  See Manual:Installation. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 23:59, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I hope you did not take any offense to the above remark, I meant nothing by it. But I actually have one more question, sorry to keep bothering you. If a sysop on enwiki confirmed they knew and trusted me, would you reconsider? Maximillion Pegasus 02:08, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
 * No, unless I happen to know and respect that administrator highly myself. There are 1,521 admins on enwiki, so finding one who trusts you (or even five) is not very difficult if you've spent some time there.  You've complained that I'm taking sysop too seriously, but your qualifications are no more than practically any semi-active user on the project ― anyone can get rollback, status on testwiki, founder on some Wikia wiki somewhere that they think up, trust of a couple enwiki admins, etc.  Whatever sysop should be, it's not designed for every semi-active user to have. To be blunt, because you still haven't taken a hint and backed off, you're transparently begging for power and recognition and no longer even attempting to justify any need or use for it.  I'm not interested and am no longer going to respond to any more requests in this vein, sorry. —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 13:34, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Very well. Just to be clear, I am not begging for power and I am not even the founder of that wikia wiki. But I understand your decision and will not keep asking. Thank you for your time. Cheers :) Maximillion Pegasus 13:58, 14 March 2008 (UTC)