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Archive for Wikitravel:Travellers' pub of conversation started in December 2007. If you can't find the chronicle that interests you here, try Wikitravel:Travellers' pub/November 2007 or Wikitravel:Travellers' pub/January 2008 for things that may have happened earlier or later, respectively.

[edit] Can't contact the database server?

Can someone please check to see if Central_Java opens OK. I am getting the following when I try to open that article

Sorry! This site is experiencing technical difficulties.
Try waiting a few minutes and reloading.
(Can't contact the database server: Unknown error)

I would like to confirm if it a real server side issue or just some local PC/browser/caching problem on my side --NJR_ZA 10:16, 3 December 2007 (EST)

I see the same. It's some sort of cache problem - the same thing happened to Greece yesterday and I was able to fix it by forcing a cache reload. If you enter "http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=" and then type the article name it should do the trick. -- Ryan • (talk) • 16:02, 3 December 2007 (EST)

I've had that once or twice, always transient and not in several weeks.

Yesterday I had a real weirdness. Several pages such as my watchlist and the results page for a search I tried — I think anything with "Special" in the name — produced utter garbage on the screen. Neither ctrl-reload to empty the cache nor restarting the browser had any effect. Other pages were fine, and there were no error messages. So I told the computer to reboot, wandered off for coffee, and it was fine when I came back. Recent Firefox on Win 2K, behind the Great Firewall. Anyone got any idea what that was? Pashley

I have no idea about the "Special" pages problem, but the other problem has already been diagnosed on Shared. --Peter ^Talk 22:02, 3 December 2007 (EST)

Ah, thanks. Forcing the cache reload did the trick. --NJR_ZA 00:22, 4 December 2007 (EST)

[edit] Where are the images?

Since a few days images are no longer shown in WT articles on my PC, just the caption and nothing more. Clicking on the link does not bring up the image either. This is also the case in WT de and nl (the only ones I checked). It cannot be my browser set-up, because in Wikipedia and in Wikivoyage and in other Wikis the problem does not occur. Just WT. Has anyone else got this problem? Dezwitser 03:27, 6 December 2007 (EST)

I used to have the exact same problem - images everywhere else but not at Wikitravel. It was quite some time ago, but I'm pretty sure I had to change my firewall settings. Good luck! -- Fastestdogever 09:30, 6 December 2007 (EST)

Thanks. The firewall was not the problem, but your hint gave me an idea. It was the NoScript add-on. Why WT of all wikis needs scripts to display images is beyond me - must be the commercial nature of this otherwise excellent site! Dezwitser 20:41, 6 December 2007 (EST)

[edit] template for inviting to discussion

I frequently leave a question on article's Talk page challenging/asking questions on a recent edit of other user. In many cases I also leave a question on the user's talk page inviting him to discussion on the article's Talk.

I'd like to create a template for such invitations to discuss. What name would be best for such template? Maybe someone have a good text in hand for such a template. And--maybe any objections? --DenisYurkin 13:12, 19 December 2007 (EST)

I plunged forward: now you can use Template:QuestionOnYourEdit: {{subst:QuestionOnYourEdit|articlename}}. Any comments would be appreciated. --DenisYurkin 06:23, 23 December 2007 (EST)

Yeah, I object on the grounds that any questions should be more personalized and we shouldn't use templates to interact with other users with the exception of a welcome message, which should be standard. -- Sapphire • (Talk) • 13:04, 3 January 2008 (EST)

Me too – cacahuate ^talk 18:52, 3 January 2008 (EST)

I always place every bit of specifics of my question in article's talk page, and appeal to user's talk page only to make sure he won't miss the comment and to invite to discuss right there in the article's talk page. Am I only one practicing this pattern? --DenisYurkin 14:46, 6 January 2008 (EST)

I think you are. For the most part, it's much easier to solicit a response from the user directly. If, however, it's an issue that requires greater community participation, then I'd mention it on the talk page, appropriate policy page, or travellers' pub. We also have to assume all users are new to wikis, so questioning an edit or explaining policy on their talk page is much more preferential than a new user receiving a message with the perceived message of: 'Hey, go to this page, because I don't like your edit and want to ask a question.' -- Sapphire • (Talk) • 16:03, 6 January 2008 (EST)

Well, I have my reasons for preferring to discuss in the article's talk page:

1. I can't be 100% sure I'm right in the comments I leave. When I leave a comment only on user's talk page, there's much less chances anyone else will verify whether I'm following the community policy and consensus.
2. It is quite typical that I challenge edit of an experienced wikitraveller (or he challenges mine), in some cases on the edge of WT policies. Placing discussion on article's talk page, I also ask for opinions from other wikitravellers.

Yes, there are simple cases when a newby posts an extlink or an apartment listing which doesn't meet our policy--in that cases I feel confident enough that any other pair of experienced WT eyes will say just the same as I did. I don't aim the above template for these cases--only for the former kind above. --DenisYurkin 11:49, 11 January 2008 (EST)

DenisYurkin, the template as it is written now doesn't really do anything for your second point, you need something like a 'request for participation in a discussion' for that. Your first point makes sense to me - if an edit is obviously gratuitous, one can revert it but marginal cases are probably better discussed on the article talk page because the user's talk page is useful only in the here and now. I don't see why a template, similar to the {{Template:Districts discussion}} can't be used here. I would rewrite it a bit "Hi Axolotl. I have a question about something you contributed to potrezbie and started a discusion in Talk:potrezbie. If you can, please take a look at the Talk:potrezbie page and leave you comments. Thanks!" But, I'm easy with the idea whatever the final text is. --Wandering 15:13, 19 January 2008 (EST)

Thanks for the suggestion on improving, I edited text in the template.

PS. I'm not sure I understood what exactly you called my first point, and what my second point. --DenisYurkin 19:19, 19 January 2008 (EST)

First point: I can't be 100% sure I'm right in the comments I leave. (I agree that almost everything is better discussed on the article talk page rather than on a user page.) Second Point: Placing discussion on article's talk page, I also ask for opinions from other wikitravellers.

(which, on reflection, I think I misunderstood and confused with your invitations to discuss the redistricting of Barcelona. Sorry!) --Wandering 22:10, 20 January 2008 (EST)

OK, I mentioned these two points as a response to proposal from Sapphire and cacahuate to comment on user talk pages most of the time. For the second point, the template also helps when someone edits an article and I am not entirely agree that the edit makes the article better. In such cases I normally leave a question on article's talk page before trying to change back anything in the article. So why do you think that it doesn't really do anything for second point? --DenisYurkin 06:46, 21 January 2008 (EST)

So why do you think that it doesn't really do anything for second point? It does. Like I said: I think I misunderstood and confused with your invitations to discuss the redistricting of Barcelona. Sorry--Wandering 13:00, 21 January 2008 (EST)