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Howdy, Online Ambassador!

This is a quick message to all the ambassadors about marking and tracking which articles students are working on. For the classes working with the ambassador program, please look over any articles being worked on by students (in particular, any ones you are mentoring, but others who don't have mentors as well) and do these things:

1. Add {{WAP assignment | term = Spring 2011 }} to the articles' talk pages. (The other parameters of the {{ WAP assignment}} template are helpful, so please add them as well, but the term = Spring 2011 one is most important.)
2. If the article is related to United States public policy, make sure the article the WikiProject banner is on the talk page: {{ WikiProject United States Public Policy}}
3. Add Category:Article Feedback Pilot (a hidden category) to the article itself. The second phase of the Article Feedback Tool project has started, and this time we're trying to include all of the articles students are working on. Please test out the Article Feedback Tool, as well. The new version just deployed, so any bug reports or feedback will be appreciated by the tech team working on it.

And of course, don't forget to check in on the students, give them constructive feedback, praise them for positive contributions, award them {{ The WikiPen}} if they are doing excellent work, and so on. And if you haven't done so, make sure any students you are mentoring are listed on your mentor profile.

Thanks! -- Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation ( talk) 18:13, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

I will be traveling tomorrow (Wednesday) through Friday. Most likely will not have any Internet access in that time. Mostly, I just ask that my tps keep an eye out for my adoptees, including four students. If you are a user I am mentoring, feel free to keep posting your questions here and either I or my talk page stalkers will get to them. Cheers, PrincessofLlyr ^{royal court} 03:35, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Happy travels! Airplaneman ✈ 03:47, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Of course... we're always watching. Bramble claw x 14:46, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

I'm back. Thanks for the comments; I did have a safe, although exhausting, trip. Now back into the wiki-world! PrincessofLlyr ^{royal court} 15:13, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

Hm... looks like nothing happened while you were gone. Bramble claw x 17:34, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

Got a message about an hour ago from Professor Obar of the Media and Telecommunication Policy project and I think it is viewed best in full:

Can you please communicate to the online mentors that I DO NOT want them moving student material into the main space for them. This is a big problem. I have noticed that this has happened with a number of the projects already, for example, in the broadband.gov article and the media cross-ownership article. We need the students to be doing this on their own, of course so they can learn how to do it, and also so that I can grade what they've done. How am I supposed to follow student submissions if the data is associated with online mentors? A BIG PROBLEM ALREADY... please help me with this. None of you responded to my post about this on the discussion page. This is about to get out of hand. Jaobar (talk) 05:27, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

With that, of course, please only give instructions on how to move, don't do it for them. Please only let them know what to do and let them do it themselves. If they run into problems, provide further instructions. Do not move it for them. This seems to be making a mess of Prof. Obar's grading system and I would like to avoid that. Thanks. - Neutralhomer • Talk • Coor. Online Amb'dor • 06:09, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

Hello. We could do with your assistance for suggestions of mottos and any decisions on current ones. Please see Wikipedia:Motto of the day/Nominations. In case this situation occurs again, we would like a discussion on emergency mottos. Please see WT:MOTD/N#Emergency mottos. Simply south.... .. 14:42, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Woah...easy with the 6-guns :) I am not a professional article editor, so I am not familiar with all these protocols of undue weight being given to something by putting it in a separate paragraph etc. I simply wrote what I knew in as concise a way as I could come up with. I'll get some sources and cite them later today. CelloerTB ( talk) 19:00, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Wait...why did you edit out my changes again? I told you I was going to put sources in...please stop snipping out my changes before I've had a chance to finish :( CelloerTB ( talk) 19:07, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

I apologize if I came across as harsh. Take a look at this guideline for an idea of what I'm talking about (you could also read this, but realize that I'm not comparing this to a conspiracy theory). The entire section about rules at BJ is concise, with a brief mention of some of the major ones. Adding an entire paragraph about one rule makes it seem like the most important/controversial. In addition, there is probably no need to mention the exact specifics of the rule. As I said, I've no argument with mentioning controversy if it's legit, just that we need a source to back it. If you can provide me with some sources I would be happy to work with you adding the info. PrincessofLlyr ^{royal court} 19:10, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

(ec)I removed your changes before I saw this reply. I still think the entire paragraph is unnecessary, so adding back a more concise version will be easier. PrincessofLlyr ^{royal court} 19:10, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

For what it's worth, I agree with you. Let me respectfully suggest that if CelloerTB is interested in continuing to edit in this fashion, it would be helpful to move the discussion to the article talk page.-- John Foxe ( talk) 19:29, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for your comment. For now he seems open to collaboration and adaptation, but if things continue as before I certainly will not hesitate in moving discussion to a more community based forum. PrincessofLlyr ^{royal court} 03:14, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

The newsletter of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program – Volume 3, 21 March 2011 This is the third issue of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter, with details about what's going on right now and where help is needed. Where the courses are - A brief summary of how each of the 31 Public Policy Initiative courses are faring so far in the Spring 2011 term, as of 9-11 March. Feel free to add more detail. Tracking students' articles - Make sure students' articles are tagged with {{ WAP assignment}} on the talk pages, and have the newly improved Article Feedback Tool active. Education portal in progress - Wikimedia staff have started work on an outreach portal for information about teaching with and about Wikipedia. Please help develop it! Online Ambassadors logistics - If you don't have a Wikipedia Ambassador sweatshirt, now's your chance to get one! (Also, some other more mundane, but important, details.) Steering committee preparing proposals - Look for discussions about two major proposals about the future ambassador program soon: the "Regional Ambassador" role, and elections for a new committee. Editing Friday returns - This Friday, join fellow ambassadors and others real-time collaboration on Wainwright Building.

Delivered by EdwardsBot ( talk) 22:26, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia. Although everyone is welcome to contribute to Wikipedia, at least one of your recent edits did appear to be constructive and has not been reverted or removed. Please use the sandbox for any test edits you would like to make, and read the April Fool page to learn more about not falling for silly pranks like this. Thank you. Kayau Voting IS evil 15:41, 1 April 2011 (UTC)

Work is being done on the article you are mentoring at the Online Ambassador program. - Neutralhomer • Talk • 03:21, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

Hi,princess. I just posted our work on the Comcast-NBC Merger page. But I'm still not sure whether our format is right. Please check it out for us and give us some precious advice. Thanks! XiaotianDavid ( talk) 18:50, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Hey! Great start to the page! A couple of things to work on:

• Try to convert your notes/references to inline citations, like in the "Similar Mergers" section. That makes it easier to trace each statement to its source.
• Write a lead, summarizing the article. That makes it easier for someone to just glance and tell what's covered.
• Thoroughly work through the grammar and tenses. That's something I always notice and it's very important to articles. Specifically the first section, "Proposal of Comcast-NBC Merger", needs work.
• Suggest moving the article to "Comcast-NBC Merger" for consistent punctuation. Look at this help page for instructions on how to do that and feel free to ask many any questions about that process.

Those are the major things. I know it may seem like a lot, but you guys really have a good start. PrincessofLlyr ^{royal court} 01:42, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

：A quick question: If I am gonna quote a large pieces of work (probably 100 words or more) from a academic journal, then do I have to use quotation mark from the very beginning to the end? XiaotianDavid ( talk) 20:10, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

：Another question： We decide to add an image of Comcast-NBC. But we cannot find one which is appropriate to the Wiki image rules. We already check the Flicker. However， most images are all rights reserved which is unavailable on Wiki. Give us some advice about this. XiaotianDavid ( talk) 21:48, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

First question: yes, you still need to use quotation marks. See this page for some ideas on how to format a quote. Second question: I'll have to do some research and get back to you. PrincessofLlyr ^{royal court} 22:25, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

My professor Obar suggests that he dislikes the citation we made. He keeps pointing out we did use the WP citation inproperly. Actually, I did not know what he really means. Additionally, we already posted more work on my sandbox. Could u check it as soon as possible and give us any advice of the citation part. I totally get confused about this.

Oh......I citate quite a lot in the "influence" part. Honestly, I'm scard to break the plagrism rule. Tell me how to modify that part. XiaotianDavid ( talk) 22:17, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

well, I am modifying my reference list. And I wanna know, do I only need to edit the every citation in the references section, I mean is there anything I have to add in the section which I use citation?

The other question is how to put up numbers in front of those citations. I know directly typing the number is incorrect. I tried

, but it did not work correctly. Let me konw ASAP.

Let me explain The "influence" thing. I typed it wrong last time. Actually, it's about the "scale of new company" section. I cite 300+ words from an online book. I know maybe it is too much citation. Because I remember that I once read a Wiki rule named " too much citation". However, The author summarizes so nice, it seems that it's hard to move or add any sentence of her/him. Really, I mean it,I love to cite his/her work. On the other hand, too much citation is not allowed. I know if I do not deal with this situation properly, I may break the plagiarism rule.That is my concern,honestly. You understand what I mean? And the stuff I edit are in my sandbox[ [1]] Hope hear from you asap. XiaotianDavid ( talk) 18:44, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

Okay, first question: you use the referencing format in the article section, not the references section. The numbers show up automatically if the reference is formatted properly. I'll fix one or two in the article for an example.

As far as plagiarism, it would really be better to simply rewrite the content, not quote them exactly. However, if you want to quote exactly, then just make sure you place it in quotes and clearly identify the source. PrincessofLlyr ^{royal court} 21:04, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, that helps alot. I cite sources from a book, but the isbn is lack, does that matter? XiaotianDavid ( talk) 22:45, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

No, that's fine. Although, if you want to look, www.loc.gov normally lists the isbn. The references look great! PrincessofLlyr ^{royal court} 02:51, 8 April 2011 (UTC)

hey, we still want to insert a logo for Comcast-NBC, but we cannot find an appropriate on online. Would you help us? And since the deadline of this project is approaching, we still need any advanced advice if we can make it even better.THx for helping so far. XiaotianDavid ( talk) 21:00, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Hello Princess! I'm in need of a bit of help, possibly. I will likely be quite busy this week, and the Moonrise GAN is on hold (once again, for reliable sources). I'm going to try to do this myself, but if you happen to have time, it'd be nice if you can find a RS for the UK publication dates (basically get rid of amazon from the citations). If an rs cannot be found, I personally suggest just modifying the article to say that the book was released to the rest of the world on so-and-so date, and cite american harpercollins for that date. I informed Airplaneman as well (Derild seems inactive, otherwise, I'd ask him too). Another editor said on my talk that Moonrise's prose is reads rather complicated. I'd ask her to do a copyedit as she suggested, but I'm not sure if I want that to happen in the middle of a GAN. Opinion? sorry for suing copypasted messages and many thanks, Bramble claw x 01:36, 12 April 2011 (UTC)

Okay, I'll look around and see what I can do. PrincessofLlyr ^{royal court} 13:37, 12 April 2011 (UTC)

Hi. Since you've rated fantasy in the past, could you possibly have a quick look at the Urban fantasy article? An issue is being discussed at the bottom of the Talk Page (in the "Examples" section), and I was just hoping to hear another opinion on the current state of the article. Thanks for your time if you can view it. -- James26 ( talk) 19:20, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

Done. Hope my comments helped. I'll keep an eye on the article for any future work I may be able to do. PrincessofLlyr ^{royal court} 21:56, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for your helpful comments. Replied. -- James26 ( talk) 21:38, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

Yes, I know I'm a bit late with this, but it would be very nice if we could have this nomination approved for next Sunday 24 April 2011. Please help, if you have a moment. Thank you, and happy Easter to you and your family!!! All the best. – pjoef ( talk • contribs) 09:22, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

The newsletter of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program – Volume 4, 22 April 2011 This is the fourth issue of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter, with details about what's going on right now and where help is needed. Voting begins for steering committee - The voting phase for the Wikipedia Ambassador Steering Committee election started this week, and will continue through 27 April. Seeking more Regional Ambassadors in the US - We are still looking for Regional Ambassadors for the United States! The deadline has been extended to Friday, April 29th. India pilot being organized now - Plans are currently underway for a pilot expansion of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program – in India! Hisham Mundol and other Wikimedia staff have begun recruiting Campus Ambassador candidates for Pune. Document DYK, peer review and other milestone at the trophy case - If students you are working with (or any others you notice) are doing work that makes to DYK, is nominated for Good Article status, or is just solid content worth marking, then please help us document the students' success at the trophy case. Ambassador program at Wikimania - We're planning a set of Wikipedia Ambassador Program presentations for Wikimania 2011, in Haifa this August. Changes to mailing list - A new low-volume mailing list, [Ambassador-announce-l], is being created. It will be reserved for key announcements and news, which we'd like all ambassadors to be subscribed to.

Delivered by EdwardsBot ( talk) 16:36, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

As you probably already know, we are facing some problems at MOTD. I am personally monitoring all the nominations on a daily basis and I'm finding very difficult to aprove the motto for the next day. The number of nominations has grown significantly, but even then it seems not enough. Please, if you have time, take a look at the nominations. And, if you like some of them but you think they are not good enough for being approved because of the set of links or and etcetera, please, try to improve them where it is possible. At this rate, I fear that we will see the end of the project. Thanks in advance.
I have also added a special nomination for this Sunday, 1st of May (International Workers' Day or May Day). Please, take a look at it if you can.
All the best. – pjoef ( talk • contribs) 15:10, 28 April 2011 (UTC)

P.S.: I'm sorry to bother you again, but take a look at this if you can. Once again, thank you. – pjoef ( talk • contribs) 18:32, 28 April 2011 (UTC)