This page is currently inactive and is retained for
historical reference. Either the page is no longer relevant or consensus on its purpose has become unclear. To revive discussion, seek broader input via a forum such as the
village pump.
It remains an open question whether the custom content for Feb 11 would literally be located at Mainpage or whether it would be stored on a page of its own.
Most participants seem to agree that "Today's Article(s)" should be Featured Articles, or articles about to become Featured Articles.
Question: Will we have enough time to improve an article to FA status in time for February, or should we just go for one of the already-FA options?
FA takes a long time-- we might "discover" a Good Article that is very close to FA, but we can't manufacture a FA in 2-3 weeks. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 08:25, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Featured Articles that have never appeared as "Today's Featured Article"
The Afroyim decision opened the way for a wider acceptance of
dual (or multiple) citizenship in United States law. The
Bancroft Treaties—a series of agreements between the United States and other nations which had sought to limit dual citizenship following naturalization—were eventually abandoned after the
Carter administration concluded that Afroyim and other Supreme Court decisions had rendered them unenforceable.
Stevens was born in rural Vermont, in poverty, and with a
club foot, giving him a limp he kept his entire life. He was elected to the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where he became a strong advocate of free public education.
He was elected to Congress in 1848, where he spoke out against the
Compromise of 1850 which allowed for some of the
territories recently gained from Mexico to become slave states. As the debates continued, he stated, "This word 'compromise' when applied to
human rights and constitutional rights I abhor. We are not asked, but commanded, to compromise away the Constitution."
Elected to Congress again in 1858, Stevens argued that slavery should not survive the war; he was frustrated by the slowness of President
Abraham Lincoln to support his position. Stevens came to believe that not only should slavery be abolished, but that African-Americans should be given a stake in the South's future through the confiscation of land from planters to be
distributed to the freedmen. His plans went too far for the Moderate Republicans, and were not enacted.
Although I just wrote this, I suspect it may be a tad too pointed, but trying to provide lots of options. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 01:09, 20 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Featured Articles that have previously appeared as "Today's Featured Article"
Normal Main Pages do not contain Featured Articles that have previously appeared on the mainpage. Inclusion of a page that has previously appeared is extremely controversial with multiple editors.
The Wire is an
Americantelevision drama set and produced in
Baltimore,
Maryland. Created by writer/producer and former police reporter
David Simon (pictured). The Wire premiered on
June 2,
2002, with
60 episodes airing over the course of six seasons. The plot of the first season centers on the ongoing struggles between police units and drug-dealing gangs on the west side of the city, and is told from both points of view. Subsequent seasons focused on other facets of the city, exploring themes of surveillance and institutional dysfunction. Simon has said that despite its presentation as a crime drama, the show is "really about the American city, and about how we live together. It's about how institutions have an effect on individuals. Whether one is a cop, a longshoreman, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge or a lawyer, all are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution to which they are committed." Despite only receiving average ratings and never winning major television awards, The Wire has been described by many critics and fans as one of the greatest TV dramas of all time. The show is recognized for its realistic portrayal of urban life, its literary ambitions, and its deep exploration of social and political themes. (Full article...)
I like this one for a couple reasons. Firstly, it's very neutral and doesn't imply any "position" on surveillance. The title is instantly relevant, and the blurb discusses complex societal issues without simple answers, clear heroes or clear villains. It's not explicitly about the NSA and reminds us that surveillance isn't just limited to one agency. Additionally, it will provide balance, reminding us surveillance can be legitimately used by law enforcement. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 13:56, 18 January 2014 (UTC)reply
This seems promising, so long as it doesn't come across as an endorsement. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 13:31, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
ROT13 is a simple
Caesar cipher for obscuring
text by replacing each
letter with the letter thirteen places down the
alphabet. A becomes N, B becomes O and so on. The
algorithm is used in
online forums as a means of hiding
jokepunchlines,
puzzle solutions,
movie and
storyspoilers and
offensive materials from the casual glance. ROT13 has been described as the "
Usenet equivalent of a
magazine printing the answer to a quiz upside down." ROT13 originated in Usenet Internet discussions in the early
1980s, and has become a de facto standard. As a Caesar cipher, ROT13 provides no real
cryptographic security and is not used for such; in fact it is often used as the canonical example of weak encryption. Because ROT13 scrambles only letters, more complex schemes have been proposed to handle numbers and punctuation, or arbitrary
binary data. (more...)
In
cryptography, a Caesar cipher is one of the simplest and most well-known classical
encryption techniques. It is a type of
substitution cipher in which each letter in the
plaintext is replaced by a letter some fixed number of positions further down the
alphabet. For example, with a shift of 3, A would be replaced by D, B would become E, and so on. The method is named after
Julius Caesar, who used it to communicate with his
generals. The encryption step performed by a Caesar cipher is often incorporated as part of more complex schemes, such as the
Vigenère cipher, and still has modern application in the
ROT13 system. As for all single alphabet substitution ciphers, the Caesar cipher is easily broken and in practice offers no communication security. (more...)
Richard Nixon (1913–94) was the
37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. He graduated from
Whittier College in 1934 and
Duke University School of Law in 1937, returning to California to practice law. He served in the
United States Navy during
World War II. Nixon was elected to the
House of Representatives in
1946 and to the
Senate in
1950. He served for eight years as vice president, from 1953 to 1961, and waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in
1960, narrowly losing to
John F. Kennedy. In 1968,
Nixon ran again for president and was
elected. He initially escalated the
Vietnam War, but ended US involvement in 1973. Nixon's
visit to the People's Republic of China in 1972 opened diplomatic relations between the two nations. Though he presided over
Apollo 11, he scaled back manned space exploration. He was
re-elected by a landslide in 1972. A series of revelations in the
Watergate scandal cost Nixon much of his political support in his second term, and on August 9, 1974, he resigned as president. In retirement, Nixon's work as an
elder statesman, authoring several books and undertaking many foreign trips, helped to rehabilitate his public image. (Full article...)
Gerald Ford was the 40th
Vice President and the 38th
President of the United States. He was elected House
Minority Leader in 1963 and served in the House until 1973. When
Spiro Agnew resigned, Ford was appointed Vice President of the United States during the height of the
Watergate scandal. Following the resignation of
Richard Nixon, Ford ascended to the presidency on
August 9,
1974. The Ford administration saw the withdrawal of American forces from
Vietnam, the execution of the
Helsinki Accords and the continuing specter of
inflation and
recession. Faced with an overwhelmingly
Democratic majority in Congress, the administration was hampered in its ability to pass major legislation and Ford's
vetoes were frequently overridden. After Ford was criticized by many for granting a
pardon to Nixon, Democrat
Jimmy Carter narrowly defeated Ford in the
1976 presidential race. Ford is the only U.S. President never
elected to either the Presidency or Vice Presidency. Along with his own Vice President,
Nelson Rockefeller, he is one of two people appointed Vice President rather than elected. (continued...)
Speech had an NSA joke; If Colbert cancels on a
the speech at RSA, this might become appropriate --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 01:12, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Anti NSA. Too pointed. N--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:51, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Proposal:Emma Goldman , activist arrested & imprison for speech
He gave a speech today, promising changes to the mass surveillance programmes; some critics say it's not enough.
[1][2] Choosing the article about him could be seen as an endorsement. If any actual changes turn out not to be substantial, Wikipedia will look like the Nobel committee that awarded the man a peace prize. —
rybec 23:33, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
As nom, I share the worry this could be seen as either implied endorsement or implied dis-endorsement. ---
HectorMoffet (
talk) 21:44, 18 January 2014 (UTC)reply
The article has already appeared twice as a TFA. A third appearance would not be appropriate since most articles only get a single "day in the sun". Imzadi 1979→ 03:41, 23 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Someone else wrote "impeached and resigned after misuse of surveillance". Choosing this could be perceived as calling for impeachment of the current US president. —
rybec 23:33, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Proposal:A Vindication of the Rights of Men a political pamphlet, written by the 18th-century British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, which attacks aristocracy and advocates republicanism.
Proposal:Overman Committee investigated German and Bolshevik elements in the United States. It was an early forerunner of the better known House Un-American Activities Committee,
[These are] Not FA. Not enough time to get it to FA. Why create another problem? N--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:51, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I concur that it would be extremely difficult to get an article to Featured Quality status given our timetable. N ---
HectorMoffet (
talk) 19:01, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Edward Snowden, needs to be improved to Featured status, but if that were possible, it would be a relevant topic.
JehochmanTalk 20:44, 14 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I worry Snowden channels us into an unhelpful discussion about the ethics of whistleblowing. We may have more luck keeping the focus on the issue of surveillance and privacy itself. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 21:45, 14 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Unless we doubt the Verifiability of this statement, I feel like some mention of this merits inclusion. Both sides of the aisle have commented on this. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 14:22, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
This is an essential tidbit, and has not been disputed. petrarchan47tc 20:13, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Unfortunately, a tidbit is all this is. It really is quite insignificant when you get down to it. It's one tiny bit of - pointed mind you - trivia related to a falsehood that a guy told in relation to the NSA. Politicians do thousands of those a day. N--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:28, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
This politician
committed a felony (for which he has gone unpunished), and was then caught red-handed due the leaks. That does not happen often. petrarchan47tc 21:28, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Disagree that this is trivial, however it's received wide, recent news coverage so we might be telling people something they already know. If we use it, I think it would best be worded differently. The initial wording comes close to accusing a living person of a crime he hasn't been convicted of. —
rybec 01:55, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
"...telling people something they already know" - though all your points are valid, this one is reason enough to drop this candidate. petrarchan47tc 02:45, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Easily fixed by stating who reported it. YFirst Light (
talk) 23:57, 19 January 2014 (UTC)reply
The story appeared in Panorama[3] and they cite unspecified documents released by Wikileaks. The Telegraph says
According to US State Department cables released by WikiLeaks in March this year, the US embassy to the Holy See drew up a profile of him, describing him as a "wise pastor" who had been praised for his "humility".
The Vatican responded that they didn't know about any wiretapping and have "no concerns" about it.
[4] —
rybec 22:50, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
... That in 1964, government surveillance of
Martin Luther King was used by the FBI in an attempt to blackmail the civil rights leader[5] into committing suicide?[6]
I like. It's pretty interesting. Y--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:28, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Like It's also important and illuminating. petrarchan47tc 21:34, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
... That the first global wide area network was built beginning in 1981, for the
ECHELON surveillance system?[7]
... That in 1988 a
Lockheed employee revealed the
ECHELON surveillance network when she "blew the whistle" on interception of a US senator's telephone calls?[8]
Random trivia that assumes people know what ECHELON is... among other things. N--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:28, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
"Surveillance network" and the linked article explain what ECHELON is. As for this being trivia, perhaps a change of wording is in order. The American Senate holds a fair bit of power, and ECHELON was being used to specifically collect the telephone calls of a particular senator,
Strom Thurmond. There was a congressional investigation, which found that "targeting of U.S. political figures would not occur by accident, but was designed into the system from the start." Yet the Congress didn't shut it down. —
rybec
... That the American telephone company AT&T has a database of telephone call metadata dating back to 1987, and turns data over to law enforcement agencies—without search warrants—through the
Hemisphere Project?[9][10][11]
Like I genuinely didn't know this, and it's important to mention non-govt surveillance. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 03:09, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Like The only drawback would be the US-centricity, but if that can remain balanced, this addition would add vauable context. petrarchan47tc 21:34, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
A little pointed (will need tweaking), but the idea is sound. Very nice. Y--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:28, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
... That the famous physicist
Albert Einstein, an outspoken supporter of civil rights, was placed under government surveillance?[15][16]
Get rid of "famous", get rid of "outspoken supporter of civil rights", and then explain why he became a target. But it's okay. Y--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:28, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Alternative: That due to his political views, government surveillance of
Albert Einstein was employed in a campaign to discredit and expel him from the United States[17][15]
Like Could even more be illuminating alongside mention of MLK (above) and allegations that MI5 spied on
Mandela. petrarchan47tc 23:28, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
The article currently has a link to Einstein's FBI file, but doesn't otherwise contain the words "FBI" or "surveillance" (I searched instead of reading). The surveillance went on for 22 years, from the year he entered the United States until the year he died. Perhaps that could be mentioned. —
rybec 01:44, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Rather than having multiple hooks followingt he formula "[famous person] was placed under surveillance by [agency], may I suggest something like "[insert names of multiple famous people] have all been placed underr serveillance by [agency[ due to [political views or whatever it is]". A joint hook.--
Coin945 (
talk) 19:46, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Like The list idea is good. petrarchan47tc 23:32, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
POV statement: Charlie Chaplin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Martin Luther King, John Lennon and Princess Diana were all under surveillance. Today,
every famous person is under surveillance, and
so are we all. —
rybec
Interesting, relate-able, informative. petrarchan47tc 02:10, 18 January 2014 (UTC)reply
... That under the rule of
Muammar Gaddafi, the
Libyan government forged a partnership with Britain and the United States to spy on Libyan dissidents living in the
West?[18][19]
Ehhh.. I'm not sure about this one. I think there are better options. The use of the word "spy" seems pointed. Do we know why they did this? Was there a valid reason in their eyes? N--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:28, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I suppose that if saying "spy" is out, then a mention of Lockerbie is right out. Both sources do use the word "spy", but "exchange information" or "turn over information" would be accurate. The CNN story says "the Libyans were interested to learn about alleged Islamic radicals involved in anti-Gadhafi activity in Canada, the United States and Europe. The United States and Britain were interested in any detail Libya could provide about al Qaeda." It also says and "Reports of cases of U.S. rendition to Libya have emerged." The BBC story says "...UK intelligence appeared to give Tripoli details of a Libyan dissident who had been freed from jail in Britain."
Readers in the "Five Eyes" countries may be surprised to learn that their governments would consider secretly turning over information on them to a foreign government. —
rybec
...That the Australian and German governments both knew about the
PRISM surveillance program long before
Edward Snowden made details public?[20][21]
I don't like references to the current issue. This seems pointed. N--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:28, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
...That in 1974, US President
Richard M. Nixon resigned following an attempt to wiretap his political opponents.
Very lukewarm about this one-- everyone should already know this; but better too many nominees than not enough. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 13:59, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I like. I didn't know about the Watergate scandal til relatively recently. Anyway the topic is sound, though the hook may need a bit of tweaking. Y
The article says that there have been unsuccessful plots since September 2001, and says that in 2004 "Security in the United States was put on high alert after a plot ..." but I don't see a statement in the article that "increased security measures" figured in the prevention of attacks. I think that such statements have been made in the press; get it into the article first? —
rybec 18:11, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I understand the intent, but we have to be consistent with facts: NSA spying resulted in at most one foiled terrorist plot. See
here and
here and
here and
here. If raising awareness of the issue appears to be an attack, it may be a sign that the spying program is faulty, and not a POV issue on our end. Further, this justifies the need for an "awareness day", as untruths and half-truths are being
promulgated as full-truths: the very antithesis of an encyclopedia. petrarchan47tc 21:54, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
The topic is covered in
National_Security_Agency#Official_responses in the paragraph that opens with "Regarding the necessity of these NSA programs...." One of the citations
[5] contains the "54 attacks" statement. I get a 404 error for the Pro Publica page. —
rybec
The link is working for me... but it was only supplemental. Here is
another one. petrarchan47tc 09:01, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
This very fact was discussed on CNN today, once
here and again
here (comment by Bergen). petrarchan47tc 02:08, 18 January 2014 (UTC)reply
...That right until months before her death, the actress
Marilyn Monroe was placed under constant surveillance due to her alleged ties to
communism?[25]
...That right until moments before her death,
Princess Diana's phone conversations were routinely intercepted by the NSA?[26]
...That in the United States, thousands of surveillance drones are expected to be deployed at major public events such as protest gatherings?[30]
Alternative...That in the United States, over 30,000 surveillance drones are expected to be deployed by 2020?[31]
...That
Lustre refers to a
secret treaty signed by France to faciliate the transfer of French
metadata records to foreign governments?[32]
...NSA surveillance helped identify and convict four San Diego men who sent funds to the
Al-Shabaab, a militia that conducts terrorism in Somalia.[33][34][35]
Included because we need balance and we're having a hard time finding other documented successes. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 07:32, 18 January 2014 (UTC)reply
...that almost all employees at
Bletchley Park, where nazi messages in World War 2 were decrypted, didn't know about the goal of their work? --
Constructor 09:39, 18 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Alternative:
...that the fictional spy James Bond is
inspired by real stories his creator Ian Fleming encountered, including his own work for the British government in World War 2? --
Constructor 09:39, 18 January 2014 (UTC)reply
...That an NSA slide presentation leaked by Edward Snowden claims that information from the
XKeyscore Internet monitoring program led to the capture of 300 terrorists by 2008?[36]
^Pilkington, Ed.
"Burglars in 1971 FBI office break-in come forward after 43 years". The Guardian. One notorious letter sent by the FBI to Martin Luther King contained materials relating to his extra-marital sexual activity intended to blackmail him into suicide, with a note that said: "King, there is only one thing left for you to do. You know what it is."
^Campbell, Duncan (1988-08-12),
"Somebody's Listening", New Statesman, archived from
the original on 2013-04-20, The Congressional officials were first told of the Thurmond interception by a former employee of the Lockheed Space and Missiles Corporation, Margaret Newsham, who now lives in Sunnyvale, California.
"It illustrates the subject in a compelling way, making the viewer want to know more."
"It might be shocking, impressive, or just highly informative."
Already Featured Pictures
Magna Carta - the limiting of power to authority figures.--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:46, 14 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Ehh.. too tangential? Probably. But it does illustrate that absolute power corrupts absolutely. So Y--
Coin945 (
talk) 18:20, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Its political message, that the commoners have rights, should be uncontroversial. —
rybec 23:08, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Hrant Dink's funeral - Hrant Dink "was best known for advocating Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and human and minority rights in Turkey; he was often critical of both Turkey's denial of the Armenian Genocide, and of the Armenian diaspora's campaign for its international recognition.[2][3] Dink was prosecuted three times for denigrating Turkishness, while receiving numerous death threats from Turkish nationalists".--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:46, 14 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Seemed like a good idea at the time. N--
Coin945 (
talk) 18:20, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
President Ford at the pardon of Richard Nixon - for the Watergate Scandal etc.--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:46, 14 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Watergate is probably the most famous spy/privacy/etc. story within living memory, save Wikileaks. Very notable event. Y--
Coin945 (
talk) 18:20, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Of the three FP nominated so far, this one wins. --
HectorMoffet (
talk)
It does come closest to the topic, but it could be seen as a call for a régime change in the US. —
rybec 23:08, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Not Featured Pictures
Not FPs. Not enough time to get into to FP. Why create another problem? N--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:51, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Consensus is free to judge the BEST picture(s) for Feb 11, regardless of existing FP status. Y --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 19:57, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
In response to Coin945's comments about "not enough time", discussion at
Wikipedia:Featured_picture_candidates lasts 10 days, so a nomination would have to be made by 1 February. Also
Wikipedia:Featured picture criteria says that a picture must be used in an article to qualify, and recommends waiting a week after adding it to the article. Some of the suggested pictures are already used in articles; for those that are not, the last day to add them would be 25 January (for a 1 February nomination). There does appear to be enough time for featured picture designation. —
rybec 20:04, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I think we can get an image to FP in time, and I also think that the community might decide to merely change the name of the section to "Today's Picture" if we want to spotlight a free but not-currently-featured picture. (In contrast, our featured article really does need to be a featured article-- FPs are subjectively better than normal pictures-- but FAs are objectively better than normal articles. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 04:45, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
One of the images jumped out at me as a candidate for Featured Picture, so I nominated it. If you sincerely believe an image should be FP, please nominate it. Please adhere to our guidelines about
WP:Canvassing-- do NOT support images for FP just because you support this proposal and always disclose how you found out about the discussion, etc. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 08:20, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
The
Bad Aibling Station near
Munich, Germany. It was originally run by the NSA (until 2002) and is currently the largest listening post outside Britain and the United States
The
National Reconnaissance Office launched spy satellite
NROL-39 in December 2013. It received a relatively high level of press coverage due to the mission's choice of logo which depicted "a monstrous octopus with its massive arms wrapped around the world" and the motto "Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach".
This was nominated for FP, but looks like it will fail due to the resolution and a request that it be vectorised. Converting it to SVG may be feasible but is beyond my skills. —
rybec 10:04, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I've now found an actual scan of the patch that bumps it up to 900px. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 14:25, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
This is low-resolution, which could be a problem at FP Candidates. Asking that it be converted to SVG would be unreasonable, particularly because of the globe in it. We might try the angle that the office has been defunct for over 10 years and this is the best version that has come to light. —
rybec 10:04, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Doesn't meat the resolution criterion (which asks for at least 1500x1500 pixels). A request that it be vectorised would not be unreasonable. —
rybec 10:04, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
NSA headquarters at night, officialNSA-supplied photo originally titled "The Mission Never Sleeps"
As I noted, these are non-free media (the NSA used other people's copyrighted images to make these slides). Hence they don't conform to the featured picture criteria. My thought was to put them in place of the day's featured picture; the "today's featured picture" heading could be changed to indicate that they do not have a featured picture designation.
WP:NFCC would have to be satisfied; some sourced commentary about the slides may suffice. I realise that including non-free content on the main page will be controversial, but found these slides memorable so I feel they are worth consideration nonetheless. —
rybec 20:43, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
This is not a Featured Picture, but it's been evaluated as a Quality Image on Commons. —
rybec 17:44, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Thankyou Rybec for that clarification. Y--
Coin945 (
talk) 18:16, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
If anyone feels like nominating this for FP, the description should be checked for accuracy first. The site seems to have been run first by the US army then by the NSA. —
rybec 10:04, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
top secret slide reading "Why are we interested in HTTP? Because nearly everything a typical user does on the Internet uses HTTP" with Wikipedia logo, among others
Better under "on this day", I think. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 14:22, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Good point, moved. I'm not sure about the standards for "On this day" so feel free to provide an alternate phrasing.
Ross HillTalk to me! 16:09, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
OTD includes events from previous years. Even events from one year ago usually are regarded as ineligible, with the two-year anniversary considered the start of eligibility. —
David Levy 22:45, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
So should this be moved back to the DYK section?
Ross HillTalk to me! 23:34, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Yes (with different formatting). —
David Levy 01:24, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Normally, we would never include "today" in 'On this day'. But if we generate consensus to hold a 'special day', I think we could potentially include "today" in the "On this day" box. Or we can put it in ITN. Or DYK. :) We'll figure it out. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 00:43, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Including a current event in OTD would essentially break the section. ITN is for current/recent events, but it's doubtful that this one will generate sufficient media coverage to meet that section's criteria (and if it does, we won't know until after the fact). —
David Levy 01:24, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I should just chime in to say I'm in a mindset of "there's no judgements in brainstorming"; Which isn't to disparage you-- "behind every great writer there is an even greater editor" and your feedback is very very helpful. I just want to clarify that I'm taking a shotgun approach to this process, creating the widest possible menu of options for the community to choose from. I have no idea where the wisdom of our community will ultimately fall. At this point, I don't even know which of my own proposals I'd support. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 14:32, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
The campaign is not that notable in its own right and we would be giving it too much credt to give it a slot on the main page. In the DYK section, possibly. But ITN or OTD? No. N--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:51, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
2008 – The controversial
FRA law is enacted by the
Parliament of Sweden, allowing warrantless wiretaps of all telephone and Internet traffic that crosses Sweden's borders.
Is this connected to an anniversary of Feb 11? --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 02:12, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
No, the article says it was passed on 18 June. —
rybec
Would make more neutral by getting rid of the "controversial" and rewording "warrantless", but it fits with the theme nicely.?--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:51, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Scratch that. Did not even occur on February 11th. N--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:51, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
2001 – The controversial
Patriot Act is enacted by the
United States Congress, allowing warrantless wiretaps of telephone records and e-mails in the United States.
Is this connected to an anniversary of Feb 11? --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 02:12, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
No, it was proposed and passed in October 2001. —
rybec
Did not occur on February 11th. N--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:58, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
They fit with the theme of seperation of church and state.--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:14, 14 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Probably not related to the theme quite enough. N--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:58, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
1764 (250th anniversary) – Joseph Chénier was born. "His [work] Charles IX was kept back for nearly two years by the censor. Chénier attacked the censorship in three pamphlets, and the commotion aroused by the controversy raised keen interest in the piece."
Showing that political activism can make change for the better? Ehhh.... not such a good choice in retrospect.. ((cross))--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:58, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
This one reminds me of the
FISA court. —
rybec 05:44, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I feel like this one hits the right tone-- educational and inspirational but not 'pushy'. Elsewhere I'm nominated pointed content and I've nominated cheesy content, but this style is what I think is probably going to work best. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 08:45, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I don't understand the hook (because I'm Australian..?) what's a "star chamber"? Anyways I think the event itself is a sound choice, so Y--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:10, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Y A sound choice on any Feb 11, and one tied to this year's theme. --17:16, 16 January 2014 (UTC)
Freedom of speech.--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:14, 14 January 2014 (UTC)reply
1916 – American activist
Emma Goldman is arrested and imprisoned for the "crime" of speaking to promote public education of
contraception.
I do like this illustration of free speech vs. censorship. Would probably change "crime" to then-crime (without the quotation marks). Y--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:58, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
AltText:
1916 – American activist
Emma Goldman is arrested and imprisoned for the then-crime of speaking to promote public education of
contraception.
Y Good nomination that has been improved by Coin945. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 17:21, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
From a 'messaging' point of view, I worry this is off-message. Giving the A-bomb to Stalin isn't really about mass surveillance or privacy rights. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 03:16, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
ties in with the suggested Einstein DYK; NYT says "In the '50s, he made headlines by appealing for clemency for the Rosenbergs"
[7] —
rybec
Hmm... nice espionage story, but yeah. Too tangential in retrospect. N--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:10, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Protesting for equality? I can see the relevance to the theme. I think this could be worded rather nicely, demonstrating that a protest was held by poeple who noticed what they perceived as wrongdoing by authority and wanted to change it. Whether or not they were right is irrelevant, and it is not our place to say what we think. But we can certainly state the facts. Y--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:10, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Another to file under 'cheesy'. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 09:56, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Not quite sure what the relevance is. Am I missing something..? N--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:10, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
<groan> This one is very bottom of the barrel. The title alone can be re-interpreted to have meaning in the present context. Unless we are really starved for ideas, it's an N --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 18:00, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
1971 – 87 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union, sign the
Seabed Arms Control Treaty outlawing
nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters.
In the midst of the
Cold War, these countries overcame their egos for the sake of humanity as a whole.--
Coin945 (
talk) 15:21, 14 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Terrible suggestion by me. N--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:10, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I really like this one too. Y--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:10, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Possible connection to spying: when Mandela became president, someone came forward with a claim that the CIA had tipped off the police about his whereabouts, leading to his arrest.
[8][9] —
rybec
Cheesy, but just in case we ever want something lighthearted but very very tangentially related. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 08:35, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
1914: Dutch parliamentary historian and constitutional lawyer Frans Jozef Ferdinand Marie Duijnstee is born.
[10]
I don't think 100th anniversary is enough. If this were not a themed day, sure. But it doesn't really fit with the theme. N--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:10, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Just in case we decide to include it.--
Coin945 (
talk) 14:56, 14 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Currently Featured Lists
Benjamin Franklin, the 6th President of Pennsylvania, was a strong advicator of freedom of speech. In 1722 he said: "In those wretched countries where a man cannot call his tongue his own, he can scarce call anything his own. Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech ... Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom, and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech, which is the right of every man ..."
I like this one very much.
JehochmanTalk 20:46, 14 January 2014 (UTC)reply
So ... but could we have a Featured List instead of the Today's Featured Article in the Featured Article space? — Cirt (
talk) 23:36, 14 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I also like this once very much, but propose alternate text featuring the oft-quoted "They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 01:12, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
ALT 1:Benjamin Franklin, the 6th President of Pennsylvania, was a strong advocate of Liberty and of the Freedom of Speech. In 1755, Franklin wrote "They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." This quote was later used as a motto on the title page of a book published by Franklin.'
This is not a featured article, but rather a featured list, which incidentally contains no content whatsoever about Benjamin Franklin aside from listings in a couple tables. I get the idea behind this suggestion, but this isn't a good way to get there IMO.
Maralia (
talk) 16:55, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I think that my original wording was way too rhetorical and i could imagine an american flag waving in the background as i read it aloud. But I still like my idea. It's a great quote. Y--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:34, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I really like the idea of talking about Big Brother / 1984. I'll support it here, but really if the topic gets included anywhere it will be a valuable addition IMO. Y--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:34, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Have no time to get it to FA. N--
Coin945 (
talk) 16:34, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Sitenotice for Feb 11
Any banner to be featured on every article needs extreme scrutiny from a diverse sampling of our community. Banners may point to the main page, to a special statement about Surveillance Awareness Day, both, or neither.
Past communications have used the phrasing (First "Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge" and later "Imagine a world without Wikipedia"...) --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 21:40, 14 January 2014 (UTC)reply
"Mass spying is a grave threat to a free and open Internet. Surveillance stifles dissent, empowers governments at the cost of individual liberties, and challenges our basic right to privacy"
Rough draft text from TheDayWeFightBack.org
Hm, I don't think we can really take a position on those things. Implying that stifling dissent is a bad thing, that individual liberties (beyond those necessary to sustain Wikipedia) are a good thing, or that people have a "basic right to privacy", seems to go quite a bit far away from NPOV. --
Yair rand (
talk) 07:05, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
I agree that the banner text will be the more crucial and hardest to nail down, as it will affect the most people. That said, the banner doesn't have to be NPOV-- the whole point of putting it in a banner would be for the community to, however subtly, editorialize. But we have to do it "our way", which is way more low key than DemandProgress's tone.
So I don't expect we'll be able to just take TheDayWeFightBack's text and paste it onto our banner. We're more educators than we are activists. --
HectorMoffet (
talk) 07:24, 15 January 2014 (UTC)reply
My first thought is that it might be too many words for a banner. My second is that it over-emphasises the Internet.
CCTV,
ANPR,
spy satellites,
mobile phone tracking and storage of
phone call metadata are important too. How about "mass surveillance stifles dissent, empowers governments at the cost of individual liberties, and challenges our basic right to privacy"? —
rybec 23:58, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
John Q Madeupname is reading the Wikipedia article on potentially embarrassing topic.
Learn more.
If we do a sitenotice (and I'm not yet convinced that we should) this is my attention getting suggestion. The link would explain that we don't actually track what you are reading, and we don't think that governments should either, blah blah blah. I'm sure we can come up with plenty of different articles which people might not want others to know they are reading for whatever reason (
bedwetting,
divorce,
Depictions of Muhammad...)
the wubtalk
Yes, this one is funny but the destination page does need to say that we're just kidding and we haven't changed the privacy policy. —
rybec
"
Total Information Awareness was discontinued by the United States government in 2003. Today, we are bringing it back for a moment, so that we will be totally aware of how
globalized surveillance is affecting all of society.
Learn more"?!"]] 23:34, 15 January 2014 (UTC)
It has three links, two of which go to unassessed articles. The
global surveillance article, at roughly 11,500 words, is a bit longer than the maximum recommended size (see
WP:SIZESPLIT). Besides that, we'd also offer the TIA page and a third page? Could be too much reading material. —
rybec
"Wikipedia has chosen February 11 to put mass surveillance in the spotlight.
Learn more
"Today, Wikipedia is putting mass surveillance in the spotlight.
Learn more
Very very neutral, no advocacy, just the facts.
HectorMoffet (
talk) 03:41, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
This strikes a good balance. petrarchan47tc 23:24, 17 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Scratch that, I didn't realize this was open for editorializing. I would go with something more informative. From some questions and comments I've seen, there really is a lack of awareness about this subject. petrarchan47tc 00:36, 18 January 2014 (UTC)reply
The banner shows a map with
Fort Meade, Maryland on one side and
Ashburn, Virginia on the other.
[11] The Wikipedia logo appears over Ashburn, and the NSA logo over Ft. Meade. The words "today, take a look at the listeners" appear (perhaps calling to mind quis custodiet ipsos custodes?). Or, something like that but not animated (easier to make and less annoying). Note, the links I put here aren't supposed to be in the banner itself. —
rybec
Official statement for Feb 11
We need a serious, highly-polished statement explaining why we're taking any special action on February 11. In contrast to other content, this statement should be minimally controversial and reflect the widest possible spectrum of points of view. This statement should have the support of Jimmy Wales, our board, and be polished by our foundation staff.
(Possible addition - "This is critically important because a significant portion of writers are self-censoring their work after learning about the recent surveillance disclosures in the news media.
1").
Comment: writers supply the encyclopedia's lifeblood. If one in six are changing their ways due to surveillance, this directly effects Wikipedia. petrarchan47tc 22:00, 16 January 2014 (UTC)reply
"The freedom to read and learn what you wish, without being spied upon, is a fundamental human right which is core to everything that we do and everything that we stand for."
How the NSA Almost Killed the Internet "Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and the other tech titans have had to fight for their lives against their own government."
Gaming magazine editorial on the case (What is interesting is that the author explicitly suggests the Chinese solution, namely roughing up offensive posters at the police station. If this is the path the U.S. means to go, perhaps they should pay the PRC to send political advisors...)
Burglars in 1971 FBI office break-in come forward after 43 years Early evidence of
COINTELPRO "Among a huge stash of confidential documents the group retrieved were secrets about the FBI’s blanket surveillance of the peace and civil rights movement, the tactics of disinformation and deception the bureau used to silence protesters and even an attempt by agents to have Martin Luther King commit suicide." See also:
NYT (video)
+1. The anti-SOPA blackout was one thing. That protest wasn't completely well received, but at least copyright law has a very direct connection to the functioning of this website. The connections between government surveillance and Wikipedia are too tenuous to me to support. Any change in the normal order of operations on the Main Page needs an RfC to implement. Imzadi 1979→ 03:47, 23 January 2014 (UTC)reply
Things You Can Do
You don't need Wikidebates, "consensus", or rule changes to take action now to raise public awareness of these issues! There are many ways to work within the rules of Wikipedia to ensure that we do not disappoint people who want to research the issues involved on February 11:
T:DYK's. Start an article and get it featured. You can even request them to hold an article for February 11. How do you find new articles to start? Just read
http://thedaywefightback.org/ and
http://thedaywefightback.reddit.com/ ! Write about the bills they mention, the
USA Freedom Act (now headed into DYK) and the
FISA Improvement Act. Read the relevant news links above and look at where they come from - for example, the PEN report
[12] put out by the
The FDR Group (no, not
The FDR Project). Our coverage of these issues, like most things, is still more misses than hits, and you can change that.
WP:Portals. There's a
Portal:Intelligence that has had the same Selected Article since [
2011]. Do you suppose it's time for an upgrade? Play with theirs or start
Portal:The Day We Fight Back, either way you can have the custom Main Page you're dreaming of, not as some mock-up for debate but as a link you can send out on your favorite social networks and try to get featured on The Day We Fight Back site itself.
And of course, above all, don't forget the importance of humdrum ordinary editing to keep our articles up to date and with better detail. We can make a splash on one day or another if we want, but the water we're using trickles in one edit at a time from ordinary people all over the world, and we should always respect that above all else.