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User talk:Wrh2

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[edit] Jam Wiki

Is Jam Wiki your brain child and how feasible is it for lay people (anyone who who doesn't even know what HTML stands for) to maintain a website using Jam Wiki? -- Andrew H. (Sapphire) 21:53, 27 October 2006 (EDT)

Hyper Text Markup Language ;-) Yeah, JAMWiki is my little project, although to be completely fair the code started out with the Very Quick Wiki codebase. The install isn't as simple as a normal Windows install - you'd first need to install a web application server such as Tomcat, and you'd need to read through the Tomcat docs to understand how to deploy a WAR file. In addition, upgrades are occasionally painful, although the process is slowly getting easier. I'd encourage you to install JAMWiki if you're interested, but if you're willing to wait a few more releases I'm sure the documentation will only improve, the code will only get more stable, and there will probably be more people at jamwiki.org who could help you out if you run into problems. Hope that answers your question, and thanks for the interest! -- Ryan 22:30, 27 October 2006 (EDT)

[edit] Template

Thanks. I go by the rules. I have deleted the templates on the individual pages. You can delete the Template page itself. Sorry, for the trouble. -- P.K.Niyogi 03:07, 28 October 2006 (EDT)

[edit] Block

The IP that you blocked has begun spamming Wikitravel Shared. Here's the Contributions for 81.177.14.26 on Shared. I don't know if you want to investigate and take a similar measure that you used today. Personally, I don't feel it's necessary to block the IP, because it seems to be random and very weird vandalism, but it seems to go away after a few minutes. -- Andrew H. (Sapphire) 16:24, 29 October 2006 (EST)

I don't have admin access on shared. I agree that the spambot is pretty easy to revert, but since it's an obvious bot and since policy is pretty clear that blocking bots is both OK and expected I figured it was a good way to keep the recent changes from getting too cluttered. Sorry about the Bengals by the way - Browns won :) -- Ryan 20:24, 29 October 2006 (EST)
Thanks for the sympathy. What really gets me is that a miracle was very possible. All we needed were 2 points to tie the game and my beloved Bungles fumbled it away! Oh, well at least the Steelers are doing horrible this year. :) Are you a Browns fan? (If so, Congrats on the win.)
Back the the minor issue compared to the Bengals, if you're convinced that it's a spambot I might block it on Shared, but I'm kind of worried that if it isn't a spambot I've blocked a real person and I don't want that to happen. -- Andrew H. (Sapphire) 20:53, 29 October 2006 (EST)
I'm fairly positive it's a bot - see Special:Contributions&target=81.177.14.26, particularly the edits from October 3. The reason I suspect the edits are so bizarre is that the spam list is blocking whatever URL is being added, and that's causing the script to make a bizarre second edit. And yeah, lifelong Browns fan, much to the chagrin of my dad who is a lifelong Steelers fan - he doesn't know what went wrong with his two boys. -- Ryan 00:38, 30 October 2006 (EST)

[edit] University of Chicago Links

Hello, Ryan. Thank you for reverting Your Servant's edit to link University of Chicago. You have nipped in the bud an effort Your Servant undertook. As you indicate, universities are not something for which you normally create individual articles; and Your Servant was about to do just that. Instead, Your Servant will study Wikitravel:What is an article?; and he will ask his questions in the Wikitravel:Travellers' pub. Best regards, User:Dionysios | DYYYY2006 | DMMDD1103 | THHMMSS141900 | BXT | 14:18, November 3, 2006 (CST)

How about you correct the entry yourself. Here's your source: http://www.indiana.edu/~arch/saa/matrix/naa/naa_web/mod15D.html

Look at Item 2b, subitem 3, where the chronology mentions that the Anasazi start to "identify" themselves through the material record. The same is true for Mimbres, Hohokam, etc. We, as archaeologists, cannot even begin to assume that we can truly identify a culture solely through material remains. When you read enough SW arch. journals, you'll begin to understand that cultural associations such as that with the Anasazi, are purely based on recognition of pattern via basketware, ceramics, etc. That's precisely why anything pre-formative is classified as Archaic or Paleo. Is that enough for you?

[edit] Navajo Nation

Thanks for the welcome. I saw your note on deleting the external link to the navajo nation website. I put my justification on the talk:Navajo Nation. If you'd care to elaborate. I actually thought there was useful information for travellers going to the Navajo nation on that website.Charles 21:12, 4 November 2006 (EST)

As a member of the Diné, Ryan, it amazes me how you have infiltrated wikitravel with your mediocre postings/edits on the Southwest and Diné culture. Although my "abuses" will most likely continue, I cannot help but feel sorry for you, a typical Californian who goes to Phoenix on occasion, and has what is most obviously a limited, surficial knowledge of the region.

I live 30 minutes from White Sands N.M. How many times have you been there? How much of New Mexico have you truly seen? (It's evident that you have visited Utah more than a few times, however, based on your partiality towards its natural resources.) How extensively have you traveled Arizona? Have you hiked Palm Canyon in the Kofas, or spent a week at Organ Pipe? Have you seen a coati troupe meandering through the red rocks (I know you love these particular geologic features) of the Chiricahuas near Portal?

Do you consider the Navajo Nation to be the only native nation worth mentioning, while ignoring our brothers and sisters (the pueblos, Apache, etc.)? Did you realize that Taos and Acoma pueblos are among the longest continuously inhabited sites in the United States? Do you realize that the Apache are related to the Diné linguistically and genetically? Did you know that the Mescalero Apache operate the southernmost "high mountain" ski resort in the country?

I could bother you with endless questions, of which I know you would not feel in the least bit compelled to humble yourself and ask whether or not you are truly qualified to have your fingers in so many articles pertaining to this region.

[edit] Cody

Thanks for the welcome! This is the first time on WikiTravel that I've got such a quick one. I was on a bit of a hiatus after the birth of my baby, but it's good to be back. I'm also working on another wiki (www.wikioutdoors.com). Check it out if you get a chance. Kirasw 17:09, 10 November 2006 (EST)

[edit] Proofread

Would you please proofread the understand section of Deadwood? I'd appreciate it. I tend to let sentence run on and throw commas about so you may want to pay particular attention to that. -- Sapphire 18:02, 10 November 2006 (EST)

Hope that helps. I'm an engineer by training, so my writin skills ain't always no good. -- Ryan 18:20, 10 November 2006 (EST)

[edit] Valencia

Check out WikiPedia:Valencia, Santa Clarita, California. This seems to be some sort of Very Special issue seen frequently in Southern California: places wih names that make them appear to be cities, but they are actually just a section of an incorporated city. Besides the three parts of Santa Clarita, a bunch of locales within the City of Los Angeles pretend to be stand alone cities too. Argh. I guess for the traveller, it makes a lot of sense to follow this convention, but I'm concerned that without clear borders on these pseudocities there will eventually be regionlike ambiguity over which article a particular listing belongs in. That's kinda why I ran away from the problem when injecting California hotel entries. If you check out User:Cjensen/project/hotelmaker/California and look for listings whose articles have not yet been created, about 60% of them are for pseudocities. -- Colin 22:14, 12 November 2006 (EST)

...continued at Talk:Valencia (California). -- Ryan 22:32, 12 November 2006 (EST)

[edit] Sleep tags

Any opinions on which tags should be in by default (we should totally make this a recommendation at Wikitravel:Listings). I'm thinking just the "recommended tags". -- Colin 23:53, 16 November 2006 (EST)

I don't think "hours" applies to a sleep tag. What do you think? (Though I could see the case for adding check-in and out someday, but those would probably be different tags.) -- Colin 00:06, 17 November 2006 (EST)

I don't understand why hotels can list on WikiTravel but I can't list a luxury vacation home rental company. I stayed there. Its great. One of the nices places I've stayed.  :-( -- Gutsche

[edit] Jet lag article

I thought that Wikipedia was completely uncopyrighted. The noticle on their site says :

The Wikimedia Foundation does not own copyright on Wikipedia article texts and illustrations. It is therefore useless to email our contact addresses asking for permission to reproduce content.

Did I miss something or has there been a change? -- MMKK 18:00, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, Wikimedia Foundation is saying they can't give permissions because they don't own the copyrights for the articles. They are not saying that no one owns the copyrights. In fact, the contributors still own the copyright -- so you would have to ask for their permission to copy their stuff. This is similar to Wikitravel where you own the copyright to every bit of text you've typed in. Your continued ownership of the copyright is the only legal guarantee you have that wikitravel.org/wikimedia foundation won't someday rip you off and print a commercial travel guide/encylopedia based on your contributions.
And btw, thanks for your continued contributions -- I for one notice that you contribute a ton-o-stuff here! -- Colin 13:24, 17 November 2006 (EST)

[edit] NYPD

moved to Talk:New York (city) -- Colin 23:30, 27 November 2006 (EST)

[edit] Los Angeles

Thanks, Ryan. I appreciate the kind words! There certainly isn’t a dearth of (quality) restaurants in Los Angeles, so it’s nice to be able to get them written-up in the travel guide. I stray to other cities occasionally, but since I live in Los Angeles I feel like I really have a better grasp of the culinary scene. Now I’m hungry! (I was unsure where to respond. If it's easier to do so on my Talk page just let me know. Thanks.)

[edit] WikiOutdoors

Ryan, I wonder if you have an opinion to share on Wikitravel:Cooperating with WikiOutdoors? --Evan 20:00, 4 December 2006 (EST)

[edit] Chiricahua National Monument

I agree, it's "Usable," but the reason I didn't change the status myself is that I've been trying to decide what a "UsablePark" template might look like, and was delaying until I had a satisfying answer. Any thoughts? The things that make a "park" article useful are not necessarily identical to those for city, region, etc. -- Bill-on-the-Hill 17:04, 9 December 2006 (EST) (P.S. Give WikiOutdoors a try; she's doing a good thing, and needs all the help she can get.)

I just realized that there's a usable park template, and it appears to cover most of the items that I'd think are important (lodging, get in, what to do) - if there's a discussion ongoing about this issue somewhere let me know and I'd be able to add my two cents. As to WikiOutdoors, I'll definitely take a look, although I've just started a new job and my time has been limited. I'd also like to see her change the license, which I think is something that's being discussed. -- Ryan 18:31, 9 December 2006 (EST)
Moved from Wikitravel:Requests for comments by Andrew H. (Sapphire) 18:47, 9 December 2006 (EST)
  • Wikitravel:Park guide status Just finished creating a whole set of status templates and guide status guidelines specific to National Parks. Would appreciate if a few people would go through and check what I've put down and add anything else needed. Tim 15:39, 18 August 2006 (EDT)
I just updated the Chiricahua status (and made a couple of minor changes to the Usablepark template). -- Bill-on-the-Hill 18:49, 9 December 2006 (EST)

[edit] Union (Maine)

Discussion moved to Wikitravel talk:Deletion policy#Union (Maine)

[edit] Culver City

Guide indeed, good article! Surfas is great and the traffic lights, indeed, are not - I kept my ticket though, the photo was fairly decent  :) Cacahuate 01:57, 25 December 2006 (EST)

Thanks - this article has been in that gray area between usable and guide for a while, so I somewhat impulsively upgraded it today. And my traffic ticket photo was none too great, and it (along with my $350, argh) are now long gone. -- Ryan 02:43, 25 December 2006 (EST)

[edit] LA districts

Do you have opinions regarding either of these related discussions? I'd like to move forward with them soon... sorry they're so long-winded, but if you have a second...

If not, well keep on ignoring them  :) Cacahuate 02:02, 26 December 2006 (EST)

[edit] Admin nomination

I've nominated User:Cacahuate to become an admin; please comment on Wikitravel:administrator nominations when you have some time. --Evan 01:31, 6 January 2007 (EST)

[edit] CCSA & GDFL

sorry, i thought that the rule applied only for images. could you please re-format the text. i mentioned it in the edit history, so just compare it with the last version, pick out the text and write it in your own words. i'll have a shot at it myself, if it looks different enough from the original, i'll add it. Take care. Upamanyuwikitravel 13:38, 30 January 2007 (EST)

[edit] Re: JensAndMarian Discussion

No problem; I almost put it there myself, and probably would have except that the Copyleft talk page was already fairly long.

The real question is whether we've learned anything from this episode and whether anything needs to be done. It would be nice if the "discussion" (to use the polite word) were to continue under circumstances that prevent a recurrence. I'm not optimistic. -- Bill-on-the-Hill 14:44, 2 February 2007 (EST)

[edit] Joseph Stalin

Hi Ryan, this guy is making life hell for everyone by changing names. You're an administrator, can't you tell him to get lost and bump him off permanently.

Upamanyuwikitravel 09:28, 6 February 2007 (EST)

[edit] changes in Wikitravel talk:External links

Apologies for my deletion in Wikitravel talk:External links, I didn't mean to do that.

BTW, after your unrevert, I also restored my comment in Wikitravel talk:External links#Guidebooks (Reference to), hopefully you don't mind (or let me know if you do). --DenisYurkin 22:42, 8 February 2007 (EST)

[edit] Deletion archives

Hey Ryan, thanks. I only left that in case someone objected with my reasoning, but perhaps I should have raised that question somewhere else like on the deletion policy page... thanks! - Cacahuate 20:06, 21 February 2007 (EST)

[edit] Images

You're pictures are great, never noticed before, until I just came across the White Sands one... nice work! If you're ever bored we should meet up for coffee or something, I'm back in LA semi-permanently for now - Cacahuate 20:11, 22 February 2007 (EST)

Thanks! Some of the photos are better than others... I'm living in Culver City and working in El Segundo right now - weekdays are pretty much a lost cause due to work, but if you're in the area on a weekend let me know and you can regale a poor cubicle dweller with stories from your most recent trip. -- Ryan 20:20, 22 February 2007 (EST)

[edit] Myer centre

Hahah, I wish it was only food and beverage theft! I was drugged TWICE with sodium oxybate AND gassed with hydrogen sulfide at this centre. Security failed to do a single thing about any of the three incidents!

[edit] Ha!

Thanks I forgot about how dangerous the Myer Center was. Seriously, though, your reply was pretty funny. -- Sapphire • (Talk) • 23:36, 24 February 2007 (EST)

What's funny about it?

[edit] Israel

Hi, thats alright, I just thought that being fact it might need to stay, although as you say I don't think the traveller needs to know political details, thanks for your input --MiddleEastern 08:50, 1 March 2007 (EST)

[edit] Spam

Hi, Do we warn main page spammers? Just seems like anon users haven't been being warned recently? --MiddleEastern 14:35, 5 March 2007 (EST)

The vast majority of the spam on the site comes from automated scripts, many of which are running on computers without the computer's owner knowing about the script, so there's generally no point in issuing a warning since there isn't a person who would read it. -- Ryan 14:45, 5 March 2007 (EST)
No problem --MiddleEastern 16:35, 5 March 2007 (EST)

[edit] Questions

Hi Ryan,

can you send me an email at fagstein@gmail.com? I have some questions I'd like to ask you.

Thanks

[edit] Galapagos

Greetings from the Midwest,

National Geo is televising a documentary about the Galapagos Islands and I know you've been there. How much did it cost you to go? -- Sapphire • (Talk) • 21:38, 18 March 2007 (EDT)

It's not a cheap place to go (see Galapagos#Get around), and you really get what you pay for. If you had tons of time you could fly there and visit some of the towns for probably $1000, but to see the best wildlife spots on a good boat over 10-14 days is gonna cost anywhere from $3000 - $6000+. The last two times I've gone I've chartered an entire boat and brought 16 friends, which kept costs down, but it was still around $2500 - $3500 per person plus airfare. -- Ryan (talk) 21:44, 18 March 2007 (EDT)

[edit] User pages

No problem with that revert. This one just caught my eye and irritated me because he does not contribute, only advertise. I'll vfd a photo from the same user in a moment Image:Romanya60.JPG

My apologies for stuffing up your talk page when I tried this reply earlier, connection to wikitravel is on a go-slow and firefox did not want to play nicely. I think it is an indication that I now need to step away from the keyboard and call it a day --NJR_ZA 13:31, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

[edit] IsIn

Thanks for the info about the isin template? I tried to find the answer but got lost. Oh well, again, thanks!!! Celticevergreen 18:07, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

[edit] User:76.18.80.24

Any idea what's with that guy? -- Bill-on-the-Hill 20:22, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

See also Talk:Southwest (United States of America). -- Colin 20:58, 31 March 2007 (EDT)
In addition to the talk page for the Southwest, see the second comment under #University of Chicago Links and #Navajo Nation above. I had hoped that my evil plans to infiltrate Wikitravel by making mediocre edits to articles about places that I haven't lived in for my entire life would go unnoticed, but apparently I've been discovered. -- Ryan (talk) 21:50, 31 March 2007 (EDT)
You're in good company; now he's started in on me, my Texas affiliations (huh? I've spent maybe 20 days in Texas in my life), my Ph.D., and you name it. Obviously a borderline personality at work; I suppose the best thing is just to do quiet reverts. -- Bill-on-the-Hill 22:27, 31 March 2007 (EDT)
I don't know why this guy feels the need to lash out, but while totally inappropriate the personal attacks are pretty easy to ignore. I can't tell if he's trolling of if there are other issues at play, but some of the edits regarding Southwestern history do seem helpful, so reverts may not always be needed. In any case, it's nice to have some company in the mischaracterize-the-Southwest conspiracy; I was getting lonely being the only one with a secret agenda! -- Ryan (talk) 22:36, 31 March 2007 (EDT)
Actually, I did incorporate his concerns about heat in southern New Mexico, biliously expressed though they may be. The fraction of the state in which summer heat is an Arizona-like hazard is fairly small (maybe 20%, and most of that territory is lightly traveled), but it's non-zero, so may as well apply the TTCF principle. The rest of the stuff I reverted is just Way Out There. Only a "Texan" calls the Rio Grande "the Rio" rather than "the river"? Then 90% of the population of New Mexico has been proclaimed a "Texan" -- and them's fightin' words. Seriously. It's a serious insult here. -- Bill-on-the-Hill 23:32, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Spam filter

What goes through your mind when you blacklist sites like tightpu%%^? -- Sapphire • (Talk) • 03:51, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

...how happy I am that my name will forever be associated with such wonderful prose? Any chance I ever had of running for political office has most likely been ruined by my association with our spam filter. -- Ryan (talk) 03:55, 1 April 2007 (EDT)
Yup, your political career is ruined — "rubber glove (which Earthing doctors use in unspeakable ways to treat the male of the species)." -- Sapphire • (Talk) • 16:43, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Wikitravel ToC

Ryan: once again through the ToC grind. If you have a few seconds, please share your impressions about [1] on [2]. --Evan 12:31, 5 April 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Lost Paddle Rafting

Hi Ryan! I apologize for posting multiple listings for my web on wiki-travel. I was so excited to discover this site I guess I got carried away with posting it to what I believed to be relevant categories. If you could please remove my site www.lostpaddlerafting dot com from the blacklist I will repost it only in the city I am located. Or, can I place it under Colorado since we operate through-out the state? Please let me know where you think it might be most appropriate and I'll place it only once. Thanks! jwick p.s. I had to write out dot com as I am still black listed:)

[edit] Revert

What's the reason for the revert of my contribution to Kyoto? 61.46.195.94 22:31, 3 May 2007 (EDT)

He probably reverted your edits because you deleted most of the article. -- Sapphire • (Talk) • 22:38, 3 May 2007 (EDT)

Oops...now that was of course NOT intended. It is some weird mechanism that i haven't figured out yet. I think this has happended before. Sorry. 61.46.195.94 22:43, 3 May 2007 (EDT)

No worries. It's happened to everyone at least once. -- Sapphire • (Talk) • 22:47, 3 May 2007 (EDT)

[edit] spam blacklist

Hi, I added the "generic terms" because that's what the spambot is using. I don't think they'll ever relate to wikitravel, whereas the hostnames used (mostly university proxies) probably will. Jordanmills 15:10, 10 May 2007 (EDT)

Looks like you guys just blocked the IP, so I reckon it's a non-issue now. Jordanmills 15:12, 10 May 2007 (EDT)
It was a bunch of IPs, so either they gave up voluntarily or the blacklist sent them away. -- Colin 15:15, 10 May 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Mountain View (California)

There are a lot of female travelers that would welcome information on nail salons etc. I know a number of professional woman that seldom gets time to pamper themselves while doing the 9 to 5 thing, so they always incorporate this into their holidays. Maybe information like that can go under the Cope section? --NJR_ZA 05:42, 15 May 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Contact

Hi there!

This is Ryan from Internet Brands. I've been in touch with Evan and Michele over the past several months, but I haven't had a chance to introduce myself to you and the other sysops, so I'm taking some time out now to address each of you. I'd love to solicit your opinion on something, so I'd very much appreciate it if you could email me directly at the following address: rfujitani@internetbrands.com

In any case, keep up the good work, and I look forward to hearing from you! - Pastrami on Ry 17:43, 17 May 2007 (EDT)

Thanks Ryan! I appreciate the contact from Internet Brands, but in all honesty I'm a bit uncomfortable with utilizing private channels of communication for wiki-related discussions. If you'd like to you can contact me using the "email this user" link in the left-nav, but preferably it would be great if communication about wiki-related issues could be open to the entire Wikitravel community, rather than just a chosen few. I realize that the nature of open discussions is a bit chaotic and scary, but despite its shortcomings it has proven to be remarkably productive when things are done as transparently as possible - the fact that Wikitravel has come so far is an example of what is possible. -- Ryan • (talk) • 02:12, 18 May 2007 (EDT)
Oh sure, I will definitely utilize the E-Mail this user button on the left. It isn't showing up on your default User Talk page, but I see it here, now that I'm editing (is that normal?). In any case, I completely understand the value of open discussions on the Wiki and so forth, and I will most certainly address or bring up any future issues in the open community channels. Thanks for responding! - Pastrami on Ry 19:02, 31 May 2007 (EDT)

Wait... I stand corrected... I DO see the "E-Mail this user" button now. How strange... - Pastrami on Ry 19:04, 31 May 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Wiki rules

Hello there hoss, Your history is evidence that you spend a considerable amount of time on your site. I think it can be a great resource, I want to understand the rules.

I wanted to beef up some san diego content and so I posted a link to a neighborhood guide from our visitors site and you nuked it.

I am not going to go through the trouble of redoing it nor am i looking to challenge you. I merely would like to understand where you find the line to be drawn. I understand you fight a constant battle daily and so you seem to have it nailed down.

However there is not many sites left on the web that does not have some affiliate with making money. I understand these pages have ads but I was not going to rewrite their whole guide and i figured a dot org would have held some grace with you.

Thanks for taking the time to explain and then go get some fresh air!

[edit] universal edit button

→ interesting – cacahuate talk 02:51, 23 May 2007 (EDT)

[edit] CotW unscheduled nominations are getting a bit thin!

We could do with a few more suggestions for articles that could be future CotWs, so if you know of any please be sure to add them to the list! Thanks -- Tim (writeme!) 08:04, 4 June 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Thanks for redirection help!

LADave 01:16, 6 June 2007 (EDT)

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