User talk:Aschlafly/Archive52

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Mr. Schlafly, I have a question regarding your teaching experience. I mean to insinuate no insult of course. You say that all of your students have passed a CLEP exam, or that some have done exceptionally well on some other standardized test. My question is this: How can we suppose that this success is not simply due to inherent student intelligence? My fellow classmates and I have taken many AP exams at my school, and we all have done very well on each test, even if the teaching was inadequate. Am i to still credit the inferior teacher with helping me to my successes? I am only curious. Thank you.



Hello Mr Schlafly, I've been reading a lot of Conservapedia articles about creation vs evolution. You are mainly expressing a Christian viewpoint. However, several of my friends are Hindus and it is written that Lord Brahma is the creator of all. How can you express disagreement over their viewpoints without that admitting that Bible is, after all, a book, too. Please reply. -Lily P.S. How do you pronounce your last name?



Hello Mr. Schlafly. User Jpatt redirected me to your biography, and I had several questions for you about your personal background and the site itself. If possible, our class work would be published in Loyola's primary publication, the Phoenix. http://www.loyolaphoenix.com/ 1. I read the information about the founding of Conservapedia, and I'm interested in more details. What drove you to make the choice to move from Ivy League law practice to online communication and media dissemination? Do you have any advice for someone looking to publish on the web, especially given that technology moves so quickly in the modern age? Thank you for the information. Sarah

The traditional media options have been:
  • write a book, with a typical best-seller reaching only about 30,000 people, and only one one topic
  • appear on television, prevented by the format from conveying anything of substance and reaching only a "dumbed down" audience
  • print a newspaper, which is too slow and anachronistic today, and dominated by biased liberals
Conservapedia is obviously better than all the traditional options. Conservapedia reaches far more people, on far more topics, than hundreds of best-selling books. Conservapedia provides substantive information in contrast with the television medium, and to an audience that is not dumbed down as TV viewers are. Conservapedia is also much quicker than newspapers, and free of the their liberal bias.
As an added, bonus, Conservapedia incorporates the best of the public. Your student newspaper should consider switching over to a format like Conservapedia to benefit from insights and information offered by your students, and to provide more content than the fixed format can. But some liberals in the media oppose opening their formats to more public input, because that reduces liberals' ability to censor and control. Increasingly, traditional media are about controlling information rather than providing it. Thank God that Conservapedia contributors are able to bypass that liberal censorship here.--Andy Schlafly 10:15, 3 March 2012 (EST)
I don't know how Loyola's newspaper works, but UConn's paper allows any student at the university to write for them, and with a few exceptions, can't censor content based on opinion (presumably because we are partially funded by University Funds. As of tomorrow, I'm going to be a writer for them, so I'm not going to cost myself a job by saying anything bad. But it does have a huge liberal bias. Gregkochuconn 19:22, 4 March 2012 (EST)
That's an interesting observation, Greg. As you suggest, I think that may be an advantage of state schools.--Andy Schlafly 20:39, 4 March 2012 (EST)
Could be. Then again, maybe not. It does lead to a lot of liberals getting in, but it also allows conservatives to voice their opinions. My understanding is that as long as it's not completely inappropriate (i.e. "kill all the black people") and as long as you can write 600 words about it, you'll get in. That does allow some people who are even further to the left than private papers to get in (we had one column a few weeks ago openly advocating socialism) but it also allows conservative students to get in when normally they would be ignored by the paper. But I should be careful what I say about it in public. Gregkochuconn 22:41, 4 March 2012 (EST)
Hello Mr. Schlafly,
My name is Ted. I'm another student in Communications 206, Writing for the Web, and I'd like to follow up on your responses to my colleague Sarah, if you don't mind. You describe how Conservapedia attracts an audience of a higher intelligence than television does, and this makes me curious, as studies have been conducted that find differing levels of intelligence among consumers of different forms of media. However, such studies have often had difficulty with mediums on the web because of the dynamic nature of their viewers. How do you quantify the average intelligence of your average viewer? Although it may be difficult, I would guess that it is certainly possible to create a rough estimate of the intelligence of an editor once they make several contributions, but I'm curious how this process works for someone who only views the project.
Also, you briefly discussed how the format of television prevents it from conveying anything of substance. Could you expand on this? Are you referring to technical limitations of television, like NTSC/PAL conflicts, or the traditionally non-interactive nature of television programs? If the latter, what is your opinion on newer forms of television that utilize Internet connections and interactive content, to list a few examples?
Our student newspaper functions on a similar model, since any student is allowed to submit work to the paper to have it published. The only editing or "censorship" that takes place is basic copy editing for grammar and location, because the newspaper has several distinct sections that are only filled with certain kinds of content. For example, if someone submits a classified advertisement to the section dealing with construction on campus, the article will be rejected with a note asking the student to resubmit it to the correct section. This is simply a courtesy to make the lives of the editing staff simpler. Also, as a private Catholic university, problems like the liberal bias you speak of are not widespread, least of all in our student works and publications. I do not speak for my university when I say this, but I personally believe that problems of bias would be *significantly* greater at a state school than a private religious institution. No population is homogenous, of course, but as a university that currently houses its own seminary, sends almost six buses worth of students to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. every year, and maintains a highly efficient budget that has allowed us to construct numerous new buildings and free ourselves from debt in less than two decades, I think the credentials of our university and student body are quite secure.
Thank you for the information and your time. I look forward to hearing from you.
Ted
It's a sad day when UConn sends more buses full of students to our basketball games in Hartford than you send to March for Life. But I digress. Yes, given that you have significantly more conservative students than the average institution, I'd imagine you're right. However, a private but nonreligious school could censor its students articles easily. I don't know if most of them do or not, though. I attended a summer program at Amherst College (hosted by the college but not directly affiliated with it) and at one point, we had to look through old campus newspapers. They have a huge liberal bias, far bigger than UConn's. Of course, Amherst is a far more liberal school than UConn. And I didn't work for the paper at Amherst, so I can't say for sure what goes on there. And as for our budget, we're going to go bankrupt in 2014 if we don't get a student fee increase passed. It's being voted on by students as we speak, and in a couple of days, I'll know if it got approved. Gregkochuconn 12:16, 5 March 2012 (EST)
Hi Greg. I think your comparison fallacy digresses, as you say, from the true intent of my statement, since a more valid comparison would be the number of buses each school sends to the March for Life, relative to their undergraduate populations. Moving past that, however, I do not believe the point is worth debating because there are many indications of the religious and political leanings of a school, outside of a bus count. I understand your point, though, and as a student, I know that the university could push our support for March for Life to a much greater extent. Even though "a private but nonreligious school could censor its students' articles easily," I fail to see how that applies to Loyola University, because we are most certainly *not* a nonreligious institution. The president of our university is himself a Catholic clergyman. What applies to private, nonreligious schools does not apply to our institution at all, because Catholicism is the core tenet of our school (our school's motto is a true testament to that, as it embodies our mission and goals succinctly). You openly admit that your school has a problem with bias, and impugning the integrity of a school that has a significantly lesser problem with the issue is irrelevant and a distraction from the issue at hand.
As to your other point, perhaps your university could learn a lesson from Father Garanzini's debt management expertise, if you are so close to becoming bankrupt? To be fair, a state school like yours is subject to the whims and problems of state budget difficulties, but nevertheless, Loyola University went through rough times and emerged a stronger school for it. Although the university does raise our tuition every three to four years to compensate for inflation, rising construction costs, etc. we have kept a handle on other costs, e.g. labor costs, through innovative means. Several of our more left-leaning students attempted to unionize student workers in the mess halls because several student workers complained about working when the mess halls were open, despite how contradictory that complaint may be. Thankfully, the school decided against these efforts and continues to use private contractors in every possible capacity to reduce costs. Maybe your school could adapt some of these ideas? I notice that the University of Connecticut is currently spending millions on its campus in Avery Point, including oceanography and marine biology programs. Perhaps your university should balance its budget *before* spending millions on programs like these? My university certainly spends money on programs that I question, but we have this ability because we are not in dire financial straits as you are.
However, university finances nor the biases of our respective universities are not the focus of my questions to Mr. Schlafly. I am interested in his work writing on the web, per the title of our course, and would like to constrain the discussion to those issues. If you have knowledge of the system from the server side, as I assume he does as the owner, then please feel free to incorporate your knowledge into an answer. Otherwise, I would greatly prefer his perspective on the site and my original questions. Thank you.
Ted, I'm surprised and impressed that Loyola sends six buses to the March for Life! That said, I don't think I criticized your college (I am not very familiar with Loyola, and would like to learn more about the school).
Conservapedia is a far better medium for communicating, educating, learning, etc., than television, books and newspapers are. I didn't say that Conservapedia users have higher intelligence than television-watchers, although on average I expect that is true. My point is that the medium and format of Conservapedia is far more substantive than television is. This simple conversation and debate could not even occur on television, with its limiting sound-bites, commercial breaks, and overall "dumbed down" format. Forty years ago a guest on a talk show would have something like 7 minutes to make a point. Today it is more like 7 seconds! Counterexamples to an Old Earth are profound and take longer than 7 seconds to communicate and understand, and benefits from the printed word just as textbooks do. Moreover, no host on mainsteam television is going to invite someone on to speak to profound issues that may "offend" a portion of the liberal audience, as the truth often does. We are not so constrained here.
Added to that are the discussions that ensue on Conservapedia, like this one. How often does a television viewer get a chance to open a dialog with the persons seen on the television? Virtually never, of course.
As to the student newspaper's procedures for accepting and editing submissions, why not allow that immediately, wiki-style, as Conservapedia does?--Andy Schlafly 18:17, 5 March 2012 (EST)
My point with the private university argument is that a private school (receiving no state funds) could easily censor the conservative viewpoint (which is what we were originally talking about). I don't know if any do, but they could. UConn's paper cannot do that. However, we do try to keep a journalistic standard, meaning "Stop hating on Obama" (actually the example used as what NOT to write) will not get in. I don't know if we've had any issues in the past with people being told they couldn't get printed because they failed to meet a journalistic standard, but as long as you're a competent writer capable of writing 670-760 words on your topic, you should get in. So that would be the problem with doing it wiki-style. Also, that would make it hard to distribute print copies, although we may scale back on those if the fee increase doesn't pass. (Results should be announced soon and since voting was done online, I have no idea what is taking so long) since the fee increase failed. Gregkochuconn 08:54, 8 March 2012 (EST)
Also, to clarify, the Daily Campus is in danger of going bankrupt. The University itself is not. Gregkochuconn 09:02, 8 March 2012 (EST)

Elvis Presley movies

Mr. Schlafly, in this article, the formatting is set off by the infoboxes used for each movie. Is there a way to fix this, or would creating a separate article for each movie (I am not necessarily sure on the site's policy) be more acceptable? And if the latter is the more acceptable option, could you delete the old article after I transfer the information? I will edit the Elvis template accordingly. I hope to also put up image requests for film posters to add to the infoboxes as the article(s) develop further. Thanks.--James Wilson 16:43, 3 March 2012 (EST)

Title

Andy, I have a disagreement with User:Ed Poor over the name of a page. The page is for the It Gets Better Project. The official name includes the word "Project". Ed disagrees that it is a real project and therefore believes it should not be part of the title. I, on the other hand, do not believe that personal opinions on that should get in the way of factual information. Such an opinion should be in the article if he wishes it to be included. I was hoping that you would offer your opinion on the matter since I do not wish to get into an edit war. Thanks, Ayzmo :) 15:59, 4 March 2012 (EST)

"It Gets Better" is a lot of things: a slogan, a video, an actual "dead tree" book [1] and a campaign. Feel free to make a section about any distinct project you may discern, at the It Gets Better page. And also remember even the media don't call Savage's partner a "husband". --Ed Poor Talk 20:41, 4 March 2012 (EST)

1

Dear Mr. Schlafly,

I saw that you deleted the vandalism at Talk:1. However, you must have inadvertently left the article page, 1, intact (even though it is vandalism created by the same blocked user). It is currently marked for speedy deletion. GregG 19:21, 4 March 2012 (EST)

Thanks. I just removed it as you suggested.--Andy Schlafly 20:30, 4 March 2012 (EST)

Endorsement

Dear Professor Schlafly,

Super Tuesday is tomorrow and we still haven't made an endorsement. I have raised this issue several times and done my best to edit the important articles in this area, but have received little support from anyone on this site. I am asking you with the utmost sincerity to make the right choice and endorse a conservative candidate in the Republican primaries ASAP. As I said in my post on the main page talk page, the left side of the main page is entirely devoted to the Question Evolution Campaign. This seems like a serious strategic error. There is a real campaign going on right now (the Republican Primaries) that will effect the course of the nation far more than a few youtube videos and a blog about evolution ever will. Please consider making an endorsement tomorrow, the fate of the nation could be in your hands... --CraigF 23:20, 5 March 2012 (EST)

Government funding for anti-Christian values

Hello Mr. Schlafly. I just created the article Government funding for anti-Christian values, and while I plan to continue to expand it, I just wanted to see if I could get your input on the topic (and maybe if a better name exists for the page). Thanks!--MorrisF 16:34, 7 March 2012 (EST)

Excellent Site Andy.

Just an libertarian-minded Conservative (since around 2007) passing through and letting you know that:

1. I like the site

2. Your Mom is an awesome lady!

Be well sir, and keep fighting!

-Pat Thoughts and Rantings DetroitRight 02:36, 14 March 2012 (EDT)

Archives for talk main page faulty

Hi Andy, the index for Talk:Mainpage's archives contains incorrect internal links, and is out of order. Archive 108 actually links to archive 109, nothing links to archive 108, and archive 107 is non-existant, it merely being a link to archive 106 again. I just thought I should bring this to your attention, if you should like to fix it--CamilleT 18:56, 14 March 2012 (EDT)

Mainstream media attacks on arbitration

So I was reading about the AT&T data throttling case where AT&T elected to pay the judgment and not appeal the small claims ruling [2] and the article, expectedly, misrepresents the nature of arbitration in saying that "[small claims court] also doesn't require parties in the proceeding to keep their mouths shut after a decision is rendered, as arbitration does." AT&T has not had a confidentiality requirement in its arbitration clause in over half a decade, and most of the major companies with arbitration clauses also do not require confidentiality of the award. To me, this seems like yet another attempt by the liberal media to malign arbitration and represent that the lawyer-benefiting class action is the only way that consumers can recover damages. We should cover this more on Conservapedia since the mainstream media appears to be content to lie and distort legal issues. GregG 17:15, 17 March 2012 (EDT)

This is an interesting observation and you may be right. But is the article wrong in its explanation? You did not cite anything to support your view that the article is wrong.--Andy Schlafly 19:51, 18 March 2012 (EDT)
At least with regards to AT&T, I can tell you that this article is wrong. In 2003, the 9th Circuit held a confidentiality provision in AT&T's agreement unconscionable (Ting v. AT&T). According to McKee v. AT&T Corp. (Wash. 2008), by March 2005, AT&T had revised its agreements to remove the requirement that the consumer keep the arbitration confidential. In the 2009 ninth circuit opinion in Laster v. AT&T Mobility (which was overturned by the Supreme Court in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion), the panel indicated that under revisions to AT&T Mobility's agreement between 2006 and 2008, customers were not required to keep arbitrations confidential. So as it pertains to AT&T Mobility, the article appears to make the suggestion that if Mr. Spaccarrelli had gone to arbitration instead of small claims court, he would not be able to post documents on the web relating to his claim. This is false, and it has been false for several years.
As I understand it, the trend in consumer agreements (at least prior to Concepcion) has been to remove non-consumer-friendly provisions (except for class-action waivers), such as unfair fee allocations, limits or bars against recovery of certain types of damages, inconvenient arbitration locations, and the like. With a few exceptions (the Starbucks gift card agreement and the Wells Fargo account agreement), I do not know of any consumer-business arbitration agreement that requires the parties to keep the arbitration confidential. I could try to research some law review articles to help make my point further, but I am short of time right now, and I had better be finishing up. The point is that the article is wrong in its claim that arbitration generally requires parties to keep the arbitration confidential (both with respect to AT&T and with respect to consumer-business agreements), and that this misrepresentation serves to discredit arbitration as an alternative to class action lawsuits.
Let me know if you want me to explain further. As I said, I'm a bit pressed for time right now, so I'll leave my response at this. GregG 21:33, 18 March 2012 (EDT)

Conservative Dictionary

Would you consider starting a conservative wiki dictionary similar to Wiktionary, but with a focus on conservative words? I think a lot of editors would be enthusiastic about the idea. KingHanksley 18:10, 18 March 2012 (EDT)

We already have Essay:Best New Conservative Words. I'm not sure building an entire dictionary is time well spent when, for example, that time could be spent on translating the Bible] instead.--Andy Schlafly 19:49, 18 March 2012 (EDT)
Well, I think it could serve a few purposes. It could work side-by-side with the CBP. As editors discover the biblical significance of certain words, they could add them to the dictionary. It could also help to sharpen the linguistic skills of Conservapedia editors, which is very important to protect the site. And it could be a project in which users with no expertise in ancient languages could participate more easily than in the fairly limited role they could play in translation. KingHanksley 00:27, 20 March 2012 (EDT)
You make some good suggestions here. How about starting it as a "category", and including terms like Son of Man?--Andy Schlafly 01:10, 20 March 2012 (EDT)
Andy, I took your suggestion, and began adding words to the project, only to discover this already existed (I had somehow missed this early). http://www.conservapedia.com/Conservative_Dictionary_Project . I'll redirect my efforts to helping with that existing project, which is much more developed than my own. KingHanksley 16:33, 21 March 2012 (EDT)

Stolen concept - new example

What’s wrong with my new example at Stolen concept? It’s almost identical to an existing example. Ann Coulter, George W. Bush and Tony Blair surely believe that we should invade other countries to bring freedom to their people. Is it just a lack of citations? Here’s one for Ann Coulter - http://web.archive.org/web/20010914225811/http://www.nationalreview.com/coulter/coulter091301.shtml. I can provide some more if that’s the only problem. And please don’t block me, I had to create a new account just so that I could ask this question. The create account page says “Real name is optional”, BTW, and can you please provide a link to your user name policy. Zsedcftgbhujmko 08:58, 19 March 2012 (EDT)

Weather?

I live in NJ not too far from you. How are you enjoying the weather? Look at the 10 day forecast. Is that not awesome?? I love warm weather. NSmith1 09:24, 20 March 2012 (EDT)

Would you consider a more Christian website name?

Hi Mr. Schlafly, I was considering the name of the site Conservapedia and wondering if you are open to rethinking the name. Conservatism is obviously great in a lot of respects. At the same time, God says: "The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself" (Proverbs 11:25). So God's people must be liberal, in some respect, at least in this respect. Conservative is an ideologically packed word that has a lot of meaning today, but it can create problems because it does not have a clear meaning. Also, it is not a Bible word, so we can't pinpoint a Biblical definition. Would you consider renaming to a more God focused and Biblical name? Is a redirect from conservapedia possible? What about Christapedia? God bless you. Joseph777 17:44, 21 March 2012 (EDT)

P.S. Some name that is glorifying to the Lord would be great. Joseph777 17:51, 21 March 2012 (EDT)

Thanks!

Thanks for the night-editing permission. That will be useful to me, here in the UK.--CPalmer 10:08, 23 March 2012 (EDT)

libbiesarefascist's pages

I cant delete them, so I thought you should know.JonM 21:26, 23 March 2012 (EDT)

Backup of pages lost during March 25/26 outage

Dear Mr. Schlafly,

I have RSS feeds with some of the edits made during March 25/26, as well as a copy of the talk page for E=mc^2. Please let me know soon if you want me to put up my copy of those pages, as otherwise, they will be deleted when I close my browser and/or reset my RSS feeds to the normal practice of deleting daily. Thanks, GregG 23:24, 26 March 2012 (EDT)

That's wonderful, Greg! If not too much trouble, could you repost your latest copies of those RSS feeds, perhaps as RSS:________ or as overwrites of the existing pages to which they refer? We were able to salvage most, but perhaps not all, of the key pages like E=mc2. Thanks!--Andy Schlafly 23:28, 26 March 2012 (EDT)
Fortunately, I have most of the edits going back to Tuesday the 20th, except for when my computer was not on. I also a copy of the 500-edit recent changes page before the crash. The former is about 6MB, so I'm looking for a good place to upload it, as well as the recent changes html and the copy of the talk page of E=mc^2. GregG 23:39, 26 March 2012 (EDT)
Would it be easiest simply to email the files to conservapedia@zoho.com?--Andy Schlafly 23:43, 26 March 2012 (EDT)
I will do that. GregG 23:46, 26 March 2012 (EDT)
Sent. I can also work on putting up user-readable versions of the texts on a page. GregG 23:50, 26 March 2012 (EDT)
The mail has not arrived yet, but I'll keep looking. Thanks again.--Andy Schlafly 23:56, 26 March 2012 (EDT)

Thanks for the promotion

I was not expecting to have my account promoted based on my work, but I appreciate the kind gesture. GregG 01:27, 27 March 2012 (EDT)

Attention Seeking :-)

I asked a couple of questions at Talk:E=mc²#A few questions for Aschlafly regarding the experiment of Cockroft and Walton to understand your objections against the formula. I hope that you will answer these questions! Thanks, AugustO 08:32, 28 March 2012 (EDT)

Kim Jong Il

Your latest addition to MPL regarding the golfing abilities of Kim Jong Il has caused some controversy. It may be that on reflection you might wish to reconsider your views on the meaning of the article cited. [3] [4]. --DamianJohn 20:43, 29 March 2012 (EDT)

I'm not sure what the issue is. "ESPN" is not part of the lamestream media. ESPN even has cordial interviews of Tim Tebow.--Andy Schlafly 20:48, 29 March 2012 (EDT)
You wrote "The lamestream media did not question the communist press's claim that Kim Jong Il scored 11 holes-in-one in his very first golf game", and then cited an ESPN article which some have argued [5] says the exact opposite of what this. Do you have another source for the claim that the lamestream media uncritically accepted the claim about Jong Il's golfing prowess? --DamianJohn 20:54, 29 March 2012 (EDT)
The statement says that "The lamestream media did not question the communist press's claim that Kim Jong Il scored 11 holes-in-one in his very first golf game." There would not be an affirmative link demonstrating a lack of questioning, and I'm not aware of any counterexamples.--Andy Schlafly 22:45, 29 March 2012 (EDT)

(I took away a rude and unnecessary comment. I know that's probably against the rules, but I hate stuff like that)
Here are some counterexamples I found.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45725040/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/t/cigars-cognac-mass-starvation-facts-divide-north-korea-world/#.T3UguXg-Mmk
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/sports/remembering-kim-jong-ils-ventures-into-the-sporting-world.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-20/golf-world-mourns-kim-jong-il/3739452
Cheers! EricAlstrom 23:03, 29 March 2012 (EDT)

Are your links to support my claim, or oppose it? I ask because your New York Times link (the only one I read) does not deny the communist press's claim that Kim Jong Il scored 11 holes-in-one in his very first golf game.--Andy Schlafly 23:18, 29 March 2012 (EDT)
The NYT article you refer to also quotes Rick Santorum as saying that Kim Jong Il was less of a security threat than Iran because Kim “doesn’t want to die; he wants to watch N.B.A. basketball.” reference. Are we also to assume that you think Mr Santorum was also being truthful in this and that as he did not explicitly condemn KYI in the quote he was in favour of him and supported him? Davidspencer 08:35, 30 March 2012 (EDT)
Santorum's statement in no way implies that he supported Kim Jong Il.
By the way, the New York Times's article absurdly implied that the communist media might have been partially truthful in claiming that Kim Jong Il bowled a perfect "300" in his first game.--Andy Schlafly 10:16, 30 March 2012 (EDT)
I assume that the New York Times hasn't the habit of inserting smilies, but relies on the intelligence of the readership to spot irony and sarcasm. Unfortunately this approach seems to fail sometimes. AugustO 10:23, 30 March 2012 (EDT)
Wow, maybe much of the liberal claptrap in the New York Times is actually irony and sarcasm that a reader who thinks for himself should quickly recognize!--Andy Schlafly 11:00, 30 March 2012 (EDT)
The probability of even the best golfer in the world getting that many hole in one is astronomical.

This illustrates the absurdity of taking news on face value, from a country where independent reporting is not allowed. Does anyone remember the Potemkin Village affair? Or the Pulitzer Prize that NY Times reporter got on false pretenses? Do people still think Healthcare in Cuba is anything to write home about?

Liberals love to make claims, confident that no one will check up on them. --Ed Poor Talk 10:17, 19 April 2012 (EDT)

Lost soul

You're a lost soul Andy, but we can save you. DavidKMoore 18:07, 30 March 2012 (EDT)

Anybody out there....

... to block JimReeves? AugustO 08:32, 2 April 2012 (EDT)

We should be nicer

After seeing all the ranting and harsh words to Liberals, Democrats, and Conservative users that are trying to fix something that's wrong (that category includes me), I want to share 2 Bible passages:

 1 John 3:11-15 NIV

11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

 Proverbs 15:1

1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

-JonnyAmerican 10:29, 5 April 2012 (EDT)

Question about blocking and username policy

Dear Mr. Schlafly,

I noticed that accounts with usernames violating our username policy are blocked, but account creation is typically allowed (to allow the user to choose another username) and autoblock is typically disabled. I noticed that username blocks are often for a finite but lengthy amount of time (1 year, for example). My practice has been to infinitely block an account with a username violating our policy (with account creation allowed and autoblock disabled), as the mere passage of time will simply not turn a unacceptable username into an acceptable one. But perhaps I am doing this wrong, so I am asking for your guidance in this regard.

(By the way, I find that the choice of username is often an indicator of whether the account will be used for spam. Typically, spammers who hit wikis like Conservapedia don't bother to adjust their scripts to account for our policies.)

GregG 18:10, 6 April 2012 (EDT)

Greg, your points are good ones. Your second paragraph is completely correct. As to your first paragraph, infinite blocks are disfavored because most people (particularly vandals) move within a few years and an infinite block can prevent a legitimate user from accessing via that same IP address. Also, while most vandals do not reform, some do, and "infinite" is a very long time indeed!--Andy Schlafly 18:21, 6 April 2012 (EDT)
As I understand it, when none of the blocking checkboxes are checked (which gives the description "autoblock disabled" in the block log), anyone from the IP address of the blocked account can edit using an existing account (if autoblock were enabled, it would cause a temporary block of the account used to make the edit), and a new account can be created from that IP address (which would not be allowed with the setting "account creation disabled"). I can check the MediaWiki documentation, but I think this is how it works. Of course, infinite blocks are a long time, but, as I understand it, blocked users can edit their own talk pages (unless the setting is changed on Conservapedia), so a reasonable justification of why their username meets Conservapedia's policy of having a username based on the user's real name should merit an unblock. GregG 18:27, 6 April 2012 (EDT)

John 3:16

Could you change the link on the main page from John 1-7 (Translated)#Chapter 3 (scroll below to see John 3:16) to John 1-7 (Translated)#3:16? That should be much more convenient!

AugustO 18:31, 6 April 2012 (EDT)

The link has been improved as suggested!--Andy Schlafly 21:07, 6 April 2012 (EDT)

Happy Easter!

I wish you a very blessed Easter/Resurrection Sunday! "Alleluia! Christ is Risen/The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!" GregG 01:23, 8 April 2012 (EDT)

Help

I keep noticing vandals on the recent changes, but because I cant delete thier pages, or block them, I am restricted to warning them via thier talk page, and hoping they stop. Is there a updated noticeboard for such activities?DorMouse 22:02, 8 April 2012 (EDT)

An idea (Elvis Presley directory)

I was working on the Elvis Presley movies series and thought of an idea. After I finish a write-up of each film, how about a reference page to the Elvis Presley series of articles? It would give basic information and links to articles on the films, albums, concerts, etc for users to go for information? Then link to this page on the main article. Does this seem like a good idea?--James Wilson 10:42, 29 March 2012 (EDT)

I hope you do not mind, but in the absence of a response I made a rough draft here. If you do not mind, I will continue working on as my schedule permits. Many thanks.--James Wilson 13:19, 30 March 2012 (EDT)

I have added some more entries to the page and hope it is suitable for this site. Many thanks, --James Wilson 11:43, 13 April 2012 (EDT)

For your information

Hi Aschlafly,

I (RolandPlankton) have recently taken part in a discussion re 'GPS and relativity'.

My main interest is in developing and improving articles in which I have some competence, as you can see from the lists of things I plan to do at User talk:RolandPlankton. In particular I will be looking at articles in the areas of formal grammars, computing, mathematics, plus a few assorted items in which I take a personal interest. I don't expect much controversy in these areas. My educational background at degree level includes mathematics, physics, economics, accounting, and computer science. I have a lot of experience with computers. I am also a Christian and active in my local church, including leading some services.

I don't intend to follow your edits or anything like that, but I am keeping an eye on various physics articles, so if I notice some strange claim (from you or anyone else) then I will certainly ask for some justification for that claim in the form of references. I feel that Conservapedia:Commandments 2 and 5 may be relevant (Always cite, Do not post personal opinion on an encyclopedia entry). May I suggest that you actually check your physics carefully before making strange claims (e.g. GPS clock rate being due to quantum mechanics), since making such strange claims which are then discredited does not help your reputation as an editor.

May Conservapedia become more trustworthy. RolandPlankton 19:42, 14 April 2012 (EDT)

Thanks for your suggestion, Roland, and for your substantive edits. I did research the lack of connection between GPS and the Theory of Relativity and am fully confident about it. Of course you (and anyone else) is free to form your own conclusions.--Andy Schlafly 20:19, 14 April 2012 (EDT)

Thanks for reverting the vandalism on my user page and user talk page

I appreciate it. GregG 17:31, 17 April 2012 (EDT)

Ditto. RolandPlankton 17:36, 17 April 2012 (EDT)

Update to differences with Wikipedia?

AugustO's recent edit summary brought to mind the differences that Conservapedia has with Wikipedia (see Conservapedia:How Conservapedia Differs from Wikipedia). I noticed that the page has not substantially changed since 2007, and in the span of five years (which is a lot of time by Web standards), it seems that Wikipedia has changed. Here are some examples:

  • Reuse of material. In 2009, Wikipedia migrated their content licensing to CC-BY-SA, so that people who want to reuse Wikipedia content can comply with the far simpler CC-BY-SA license rather than the GFDL (which I agree is a burdensome license). Also, a link to our page on Wikipedia copyright might be helpful.
  • Genuine volunteer effort. It is unclear what the "money-making scheme" referred to in point 3 is. Thus, it is hard to tell whether Wikipedia still promotes this purported money-making scheme today. I think some clarification would be good to help assist readers who do not recognize the money-making scheme referenced in this difference.
  • Conciseness. This is a good point. However, the second sentence's parenthetical phrase "(through its use of stubs)" should be changed to "(through its use of stub templates)", since the stub templates give the reader and volunteers the misconception that short articles are lacking.
  • Pornographic images. Wikipedia openly admits that it does not censor pornographic or otherwise adult images. I think the point should be clarified to state that the images on Conservapedia are family-friendly. As can be seen by featured content on the main page, Conservapedia has a role in providing informative conservative articles about sensitive topics; the difference is that Conservapedia does not shock the reader with obscene images just because the topic is sensitive.
  • Original works. This, I think, was misinterpreted by AugustO. It should be clarified to say that Conservapedia allows original, attributed work in the Essay, Debate, and Mystery namespaces, as well as conservative insights in articles. Those, however, do not need to be attributed to the author, in my understanding.
  • Not driving away newcomers. Since anonymous users (editing by an IP address) cannot edit Conservapedia anymore, this should be updated.
  • Professional usernames. This should link to our username policy that encourages usernames based on editors' real names.

These are my suggestions for updates to the differences. Of course, the page could be marked as "historical", since it is a crucial work in the history of Conservapedia (I can't believe it now over five years old!). Let me know what you think. GregG 02:00, 18 April 2012 (EDT)

Your comments are informative, but I don't see a need for substantial changes despite the passage of five years. To take the first example, the CC-BY-SA license is simpler, but still far more cumbersome than Conservapedia's policy. The claim of free knowledge for all rings a bit hollow with Wikipedia's licensing burdens. If Wikipedia wanted to do some real good for the world, then it would be more supportive of free, unburdened reuse, as Conservapedia is.--Andy Schlafly 21:35, 18 April 2012 (EDT)
Conservapedia's policy states that "This license is revocable only in very rare instances of self-defense, such as protecting continued use by Conservapedia editors or other licensees or stopping unauthorized copying or mirroring of entire parts of this site." This is hopelessly vague for reuse without legal ramifications (what is an "entire [part] of the site"? what does "protecting continued use by Conservapedia editors or other licensees mean"?, what is "self-defense"?). Although CC-BY-SA has many more legal terms, it is an absolute guarantee that if you comply with all the full legal terms, you are licensed and do not have to worry about copyright problems. This is far more useful for reusers of encyclopedia content. I do agree that if the text is Conservapedia is truly in the public domain (i.e., without the special exceptions noted above), it would be easier to use than Wikipedia. As it stands, though, these vague exceptions create such a legal liability that makes reuse by any sort of enterprise with funds legally risky. Further, "Conservapedia may clarify and amend its copyright from time to time by updating [its copyright document]." This means that even if a reuser complies with the current Conservapedia license, it may change. This may have unexpected costs. CC-BY-SA, on the other hand, is irrevocable (except for the untested case of termination of transfers that can only occur at least 25 years after the copyright is secured).
I've seen Wikipedia content all over the web. There are mirrors of Wikipedia, print versions, and Wikipedia content is incorporated into for-profit sites like Facebook and not-for-profit organizational and educational pages. CC-BY-SA allows this, so long as the requirements are satisfied. Conservapedia's reuse requirements and restrictions on material (which are a moving target) seem much more nebulous and legally difficult to comply with. GregG 13:51, 19 April 2012 (EDT)
I respectfully disagree. Conservapedia's policy is far more open and free than Wikipedia's. The narrow exception of self-defense on Conservapedia has never, as far as I know, caused any confusion or ever interfered with any legitimate reuse of content.
Wikipedia's complex rules, on the other hand, encourage people to impose restrictions on reuse of their own submissions. A truly free resource of knowledge like Conservapedia would not encourage people to place restrictions on what they post, as Wikipedia's policy does.--Andy Schlafly 00:32, 21 April 2012 (EDT)
Sorry, what complex Wikipedia rules? The CC-BY-SA licence applies which means that basically you can copy anything you like from Wikipedia provided you acknowledge the source, and you can't claim your own copyright on any copied material. How is this complex? RolandPlankton 13:28, 21 April 2012 (EDT)
The CC-BY-SA license is more than 3,100 words. Moreover, it is hypocrisy for Wikipedia to pretend to promote free, unrestricted knowledge while simultaneously encouraging use of the CC-BY-SA license.--Andy Schlafly 14:21, 21 April 2012 (EDT)
What hypocrisy? Herewith a summary of the CC-BY-CA license:

You are free:

  • to Share—to copy, distribute and transmit the work, and
  • to Remix—to adapt the work

Under the following conditions:

  • Attribution—You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work.)
  • Share Alike—If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same, similar or a compatible license.

With the understanding that:

  • Waiver—Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.
  • Other Rights—In no way are any of the following rights affected by the license:
    • your fair dealing or fair use rights;
    • the author's moral rights; and
    • rights other persons may have either in the work itself or in how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights.
  • Notice—For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do that is with a link to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Above adapted from Wikipedia.


You can copy it and adapt it, provided you say where you got it from (which is hardly a serious restriction). The only restriction is that if you adapt it and distribute it, then your adaptation must also be under the same licence, which is only a restriction on those who wish to keep it secret or charge for it. The general intention is that Wikipedia should always be freely available to anyone. The licence use copyright laws to ensure that it remains free. RolandPlankton 16:06, 21 April 2012 (EDT)
Your explanation is clearer than the 3,100+ word license itself, so you should be commended. That said, I don't think Wikipedia should be encouraging red tape like this. Wikipedia should be encouraging truly free knowledge ... as Conservapedia does. For example, requiring attribution is contrary to the public domain. Conservapedia does not require attribution, but apparently Wikipedia does by imposing this license. Given that Wikipedia is open editing and benefits from the public, why should it want to insist on attribution when the public uses what the public contributed there?--Andy Schlafly 22:21, 21 April 2012 (EDT)
Some authors reasonably have objections to their work being disseminated under someone else's name (see moral rights). Other authors want to require that derivative works be licensed under the same license, in order to promote free content in two ways: first, by ensuring that it is not closed up and commercialized by a for-profit company, and, second, to promote projects that also license works similarly by allowing them access to the same content for redistribution and modification. Of course, editors are free to give more permissions than the minimum, so some editors will waive the share-alike requirement, while others will place their edits in the public domain, free from any copyright restrictions. It's the same sort of difference of philosophy that distinguished public domain code from code licensed under a BSD-style license (which essentially only requires attribution) and from code licensed under a GPL-style license (similar to CC-BY-SA, but for software). By balancing the interests of contributors in determining how they want their contributions to be used with the interests of creating a freely based encyclopedia, Wikipedia tries to create the most content that can be used most freely.
Also, I should mention that there are lots of things that can be done with Wikipedia articles under CC-BY-SA (that, even excluding editors' choices to license their contributions more freely) which are not clearly allowed under Conservapedia's policy, such as
  1. Creating versions of articles tailored to a curriculum on a school or home school website.
  2. Publishing a print version of the encyclopedia.
  3. Creating an offline mirror copy of the encyclopedia.
  4. Engaging in criticism of the articles.
GregG 01:22, 22 April 2012 (EDT)
Note the red tape "Above adapted from Wikipedia" in the above summary of CC-BY-CA license; doesn't seem too excessive to me.
If I was placing the above in a serious article I would probably give a slightly more detailed attribution:
"Above adapted from Wikipedia [6] accessed 21 Apr 2012"
Some simple questions relating to Conservapedia articles (excluding talk pages, user pages, etc.):
Are Conservapedia articles in the public domain?
Are Conservapedia articles copyrighted?
If 'yes', who owns the copyrights?
Can I, without asking anyone, make say 50 copies of an article and hand these copies out to students?
Can I, without asking anyone, combine a number of Conservapedia articles and publish them as a book?
Can I, without asking anyone, take a complete copy of Conservapedia tfo put on a DVD for those without internet access?
Most of these questions should have yes/no answers. RolandPlankton 10:57, 22 April 2012 (EDT)
Conservapedia's copyright policy is less than 300 words long, compared with Wikipedia's 3100+ word policy. See Conservapedia:copyright. Conservapedia's policy has not changed substantively since July 2007, while Wikipedia has a patchwork of policies that apply at different times.
Accordingly, the easy answer to all of your last three questions above is an unqualified "yes". I don't think Wikipedia would give an unconditional "yes", but you're the expert on Wikipedia's policy, so can you tell us?--Andy Schlafly 11:06, 22 April 2012 (EDT)
What about explicit answers to the first three questions? After all, you wrote almost all of Conservapedia:copyright so you should know what it means.
Wikipedia also answers 'yes' to the last three questions. Indeed, relating to the book question, Wikipedia has a link in the left hand column (under print/export) which makes it easy to collect articles to form a book.
Would the Conservapedia answer 'yes' still apply if the purpose of handing out articles to students was to criticise or poke fun at Conservapedia?
I note that Conservapedia:copyright includes a phrase "revocable ... for stopping unauthorized copying or mirroring", while my questions explicitly said "without asking anyone", i.e. without seeking authorization. There seems to be a slight discrepancy here. Perhaps you could clarify. RolandPlankton 11:43, 22 April 2012 (EDT)
I don't think Wikipedia can answers those questions with an unqualified "yes". Please explain further, in light of the restrictions of the CC-BY-SA burdens. Also, your quote of Conservapedia:copyright left out a key limitation for "self-defense".--Andy Schlafly 13:14, 22 April 2012 (EDT)
"Can I, without asking anyone, make say 50 copies of an article and hand these copies out to students?"
Wikipedia says yes. From CC-BY-CA summary above:"You are free: to Share—to copy, distribute and transmit the work" ... "Under the following conditions: You must attribute the work". So on each copy add a line "copied from Wikipedia (article name)". Not really much of a burden, as I have already illustrated in my attribution for the CC-BY-SA summary above.
"Can I, without asking anyone, combine a number of Wikipedia articles and publish them as a book?"
Wikipedia says yes. Provided you attribute the articles to Wikipedia (whether you can persuade anyone to buy a book of articles you can read for free is another matter). As previoously mentioned, Wikipedia encourages this book idea by providing a convenient way of flagging articles which you wish to have as one book.
"Can I, without asking anyone, take a complete copy of Wikipedia to put on a DVD for those without internet access?"
As stated by GregG above:"There are mirrors of Wikipedia, print versions, and Wikipedia content is incorporated into for-profit sites like Facebook and not-for-profit organizational and educational pages. CC-BY-SA allows this, so long as the requirements are satisfied." i.e. acknowledge that the stuff comes from Wikipedia.
So I think I have shown that Wikipedia can answer the last three questions with an unqualified yes, and I have shown that complying with CC-BY-SA is hardly a burden (add one line).
Your mention of self-defence illustrates that Conservapedia can not answer with an unqualified yes to the last three questions.
Perhaps you can provide explicit answers to the first three questions, since I don't think that I am competent to unravel the implications of Conservapedia:copyright. RolandPlankton 15:41, 22 April 2012 (EDT)

A quick note about grabbing old revisions of wiki pages

You wrote in this edit the following:

"On a wiki it is very cumbersome and nearly impossible to separate contributions prior to a certain date from those after, for most entries."

For future reference, you might be interested in knowing that both Conservapedia and Wikipedia display the last modified date at the bottom of articles. For example, pulling up Conservapedia's page on Arbitration and scrolling to the bottom gives this footer text:

"This page was last modified on January 5, 2012, at 11:12.
"This page has been accessed 1,429 times."

Likewise, pulling up Wikipedia's page on arbitration gives the following footer:

"This page was last modified on April 8, 2012 at 18:59."

Thus, given a copy of a Wikipedia article, it is actually very straightforward to see when the last revision date of an article is. However, I do suspect that not many people know about this because web users tend not to scroll to the bottom of pages. Also, if you click on the History tab on Conservapedia or Wikipedia, you can grab nearly every old revision and get a permanent link to that revision. For example, here is the last edit to Wikipedia's article on arbitration before June 15, 2009. The same for Conservapedia. GregG 18:07, 22 April 2012 (EDT)

Greg, what you say is true, but the basic point remains: why does Wikipedia place burdens on the reuse of its content, such as requiring compliance with a 3100+ word license? I'm not going to spend much time on this, because I feel Wikipedia content is often not worth reusing, but the basic contradiction in its stated commitment to free information and its burdens on reuse cry out for explanation.--Andy Schlafly 19:42, 22 April 2012 (EDT)
Schlafly, I don't know why you persist in saying that it is a burden to comply with Wikipedia's copying policy. A full and detailed explanation was posted in the previous section above. As I illustrated in that section, compliance requires a single line "Copied/adapted from Wikipedia (article name)"; this hardly counts as a burden. As was also pointed out above, the reason for this policy is to use copyright laws in such a way as to ensure that freely available content remains free. By the way, I'm still awaiting your reply to the questions I posed re Conservapedia copyright in the previous section. RolandPlankton 11:54, 23 April 2012 (EDT)

Some comments about Wikipedia copyright

I left some comments at Talk:Wikipedia copyright that you might be interested in addressing. GregG 21:04, 22 April 2012 (EDT)

I notice that I can't currently edit Wikipedia copyright. I feel that some of the comments I made above, especially the summary of the CC-BY-SA license, could usefully be added to that article. RolandPlankton 13:19, 23 April 2012 (EDT)

I'm setting up a draft proposal of a revised version of the article at User:GregG/Wikipedia copyright for discussion of how to rewrite the article. I can't speak for Mr. Schlafly, who protected the article, but I would surmise that the article was protected to ensure that a stable version is visible to users while the content differences are ironed out. GregG 14:12, 23 April 2012 (EDT)

Final comments

Mr. Schlafly, Thank you again for providing my peers and I with information about Conservapedia. We chose to analyze a wiki with a more widespread and significant Internet presence for our final project, but I appreciate all of the information you gave me. If you have any final comments about your foray into the world of wikis, you are welcome to provide it and the writing team may try to work it into our final product. Thank you. LoyolaCOMM206Ted 09:58, 23 April 2012 (EDT)

Hi Mr. Schlafly. I work with Ted in COMM 206 as well, and I wanted to post my thank you as well. We are part of the same sub-unit for the final class project, so any comments can be directed to any of us. (Our class begins in a few minutes, 9:20 CST, which is why we are both posting this to you now. There is no rush in addressing comments, however). Thank you! LoyolaCOMM206Sarah 10:01, 23 April 2012 (EDT)
Let me guess ... I predict that the wiki your college group chose is more liberal, more pro-abortion, more politically correct, and more a part of the hearsay society than Conservapedia. Is Conservapedia proven right, again?--Andy Schlafly 11:57, 23 April 2012 (EDT)
I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Mr. Schlafly. Our group could not find a wiki with enough visitors or users to justify its inclusion, so we decided to profile an internal wiki that our Jesuits use, which was set up two years ago by a graduate student here at Loyola. Unfortunately, the more technical-minded members of our group identified system and technical issues with Conservapedia that made us choose a different wiki. I assume I can use your comments as your response to our project, correct? Thank you. LoyolaCOMM206Ted 13:21, 23 April 2012 (EDT)
An "internal wiki" has "a more widespread and significant Internet presence" than Conservapedia??? I don't think so. If this is not confidential information, how many million page views and hundreds of thousands of edits does your college's internet wiki have?--Andy Schlafly 14:08, 23 April 2012 (EDT)
You misunderstood my last statement, Mr. Schlafly. Because we could not find a wiki with enough visitors or viewers, we chose to pursue a different approach to our project and focused on the technical aspects of wiki design instead. Conservapedia did not meet our technical criteria because of a few system outages and a few HTML nuances that we did not want to profile. One example our technical group found was the raw HTML code found at the top of this page. As for page views, my university's internal wiki is viewed by many employees of the university system (which has campuses worldwide and edited by them as well.
Regardless of the comparison between those benchmarks, as I stated, Conservapedia did not meet our complete set of qualifications. We have been working on this project since early in our semester, and we are now finalizing it for presentation. The project encompassed many aspects of writing on the web, technical aspects of web design, etc, and Conservapedia was one piece of the project that we regretfully could not include. Thank you for your comments, however. It is always valuable for us to have feedback on our project from areas that were not included. They are a great help to our presentation. Doyou have any other feedback? Although Conservapedia will not be included in our project, your feedback is important to us. Thank you. LoyolaCOMM206Ted 15:53, 23 April 2012 (EDT)
My apologies on the delay in my respone. I also reverted a change in the page that was nothing but gibberish. LoyolaCOMM206Ted 15:53, 23 April 2012 (EDT)
There have been very, very few system outrages on Conservapedia, far less than 0.01% of the time. Moreover, your quote above expressly says, "We chose to analyze a wiki with a more widespread and significant Internet presence for our final project," but I'm confident your internal wiki does not exceed Conservapedia in either respect.
No problem, you can have the last word.--Andy Schlafly 16:01, 23 April 2012 (EDT)
My apologies, Mr. Schlafly, I have not been precise in my statements. I did not mention the technical aspects of our project in my initial post, and I apologize. We are still looking to fill in a few final pieces of the project, and your feedback is extremely helpful to us. Would you be interested in discussing some of your experience with wikis with our group? According to the records of our internal wiki, the graduate student who promoted the idea to the university used your advice, and we would greatly appreciate it if we could quote your experience as well. Thank you. LoyolaCOMM206Ted 16:09, 23 April 2012 (EDT)
(I can find the exact email of the conversation with our graduate student if the event is not clear. I think it has been a few years). Thank you. LoyolaCOMM206Ted 16:09, 23 April 2012 (EDT)

Mr. Schlafly/web writing students - Pardon the intrusion, but I think everyone needs to take a step back for a minute. @Ted/Sarah - I would rather not post this in a public forum, but I do not think you are representing the university well at all. In your initial comments, you did say that you had chosen a wiki with a more significant internet presence than Conservapedia for your final project, which according to Professor Lamberti, is not the case. How can a wiki that is available only to Loyola staff have a larger presence than one that is public? Regardless of Conservapedia's size, this is impossible by the definition of intranet vs. internet.' Although the university's internal wiki has several hundred editors on a daily basis, this is not equivalent to an internet presence. You should have stated this fact clearly, which you did not. In addition, your project is most likely due within the next few weeks before the end of the semester, and the fact that you only now informed one of the wikis you considering profiling now demonstrates a relaxed standard on your part. You should have informed Mr. Schlafly and the other sites you spoke to of your decision over a month ago. Please remember this for the future. I may write you in Groupwise to discuss this further after I discuss the issue with Professor Lamberti.

Mr. Schlafly - I hope my comments clear up this whole issue. Please don't let this sour your opinion of the university. It is a large school with positives and negatives like any institution. On a related note (I believe Ted hinted at this without being completely clear) but the School of Communications is interested in learning more about web design, "writing for the web" (as their class is so aptly named) and the benefits and challenges the medium holds. Would you be interested in providing us with more information on the subject? I mean no offense to our university, but according to your user page, you have degrees from Ivy League institutions. Any information or experience you have is considerably more valuable than that of some of our faculty (e.g. my experience as a journalist). I do not have many more details at this time, but would you be interested in providing basic information on your experience, either in written or spoken form? We are considering holding a panel, but I do not have details at this time because the event is a year or more in the future. Please let me know, and if you have any other comments on the COMM 206 students, you are welcome to forward these comments to me directly. Kevin Davis Talk 12:03, 24 April 2012 (EDT)

Also, I forgot to mention that you can find any details on the university or our classes on its website. Kevin Davis Talk 12:05, 24 April 2012 (EDT)

Message from User:JRegden

Dear Mr. Schlafly,

User:JRegden wrote the following on his talk page:

Apologies For An Idiot Coworker [NOTE: section heading in original]
Mr. Schlafly - It has come to my attention a colleague of mine created an account on your website and added nonsense to some of your articles. I apologise profusely on his behalf and hope the damage was all reversible.
One good outcome of this affair is that it turned me on to your website, which I am finding to be a very welcome change from Wikipedia. I look forward to CP's coverage of the upcoming presidential race.
Thanks from a British reader based in Japan! JRegden 21:00, 24 April 2012 (EDT)
(I couldn't edit Andy's talk page so I posted this here, I hope that's OK)

Because this user said that he or she couldn't write on your talk page directly, I have reposted his message here. I will inform this user of my post here. GregG 06:36, 25 April 2012 (EDT)

Maintenance

At the moment, there are 55 articles in Category:Speedy deletion candidates and another 40 in Category:Deletion candidates. In Category:Merge candidates, there are 269 candidates - the second one I looked up (Al-Fatiha) since Dec 2008! Could you please organize a spring-cleaning? AugustO 14:38, 25 April 2012 (EDT)

It seems that nothing has happened over the last 10 ten days. Just try to resolve one case a day - that shouldn't be too onerous a burden... AugustO 14:05, 5 May 2012 (EDT)

So who do like in the Stanley Cup playoffs now that Tim Thomas is out?

Who are you pulling for? Sylvain 11:26, 27 April 2012 (EDT)

Good question. It's worth seeing who is conservative among the remaining contenders. It was unfortunate that a missed call caused the defeat of conservative sports star Tim Thomas in overtime.--Andy Schlafly 11:42, 27 April 2012 (EDT)
Wait, you pick the team that you cheer for in a team sport based on individual political views? That's odd. What do you do if a conservative and a liberal play on the same team? Sylvain 17:05, 27 April 2012 (EDT)
senators (ottawa) for the win--
18:22, 29 April 2012 (EDT)

User: DFranks is on a vandalism spree

He's creating a lot of disgusting new pages, which I can't delete. Please block him quickly.--VPropp 10:52, 28 April 2012 (EDT)

Conservapedia mentioned several times in a recent public debate.

Intelligence Squared US had a debate about open mindedness and the internet and conservapedia was mentioned several times as an alternative to the other wiki. There is a transcript available at the URL which you can search if you like, and video and audio as well. --HHB 02:51, 29 April 2012 (EDT)

Regular expression account creation filters

Dear Mr. Schlafly,

I have been blocking users who have the pattern of a username ending in two or more digits for violation of our username policy. I was wondering whether there was a MediaWiki script that would block creation of those accounts automatically. This script could run on the regular expression /\d{2,}$/. I was just asking this because it seems like a waste of editor effort to manually block these noncompliant accounts. (I will also research whether this is possible on MW, but since you know the details of your installation, perhaps you will be better qualified to answer.) Thanks, GregG 16:48, 29 April 2012 (EDT)

I think you simply add it here
12:30, 30 April 2012 (EDT)

Humility is the root of wisdom

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." — Proverbs 11:2 --HHB 17:04, 1 May 2012 (EDT)

Is that from the Conservapedia version of the Bible? Sylvain 17:20, 1 May 2012 (EDT)
No, CBP reveals the original meaning better: Proverbs 9-16 (Translated)#11:2: "When intellectual arrogance takes hold, humiliation results; but modesty yields wisdom." Unsigned by user:Aschlafly (talk) (contribs)
"Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not" Jeremiah 5:21--HHB 02:31, 3 May 2012 (EDT)

Aschlafly, you re-wrote that Bible verse less than a minute before quoting it here. A verse about pride and disgrace. Do you not see how intellectually arrogant that is? Sylvain 09:27, 3 May 2012 (EDT)

The ongoing Conservative Bible Project welcomes new translations. This project never sought to rewrite the Bible, but to translate it with greater adherence to its original meaning.--Andy Schlafly 19:28, 4 May 2012 (EDT)

Namespaces

Mr Schlafly, when I click on random page I am often directed to student's homework page. Surely these should be in a separate namespace away from the encyclopedic content? Gerrard 19:05, 5 May 2012 (EDT)

We could, but this is a learning resource. Homework answers are educational.--Andy Schlafly 20:52, 5 May 2012 (EDT)

Editing

For the last two hours I wasn't able to edit: every page showed the banner

You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reason: The action you have requested is limited to users in one of the groups: Administrators, edit.

I would like to join the group edit to avoid such inconveniences. Thanks. --AugustO 17:52, 6 May 2012 (EDT)

Your account has been promoted as requested and deserved!--Andy Schlafly 18:07, 6 May 2012 (EDT)
Thanks! AugustO 18:10, 6 May 2012 (EDT)

Information about Conservapedia

Mr. Schlafly, Since the semester for our university is now over, I wanted to speak with you again about our previous discussion since I received no response. Since our School of Communications is in the preliminary stages of putting together a roundtable on various forms of media, is this something that would interest you? I did not receive a response from you in our previous discussion, for unknown reasons, but please let me know. I am happy to provide you with any details that interest you (although I include the caveat that we are in the very preliminary stages of planning this). Thank you. Kevin Davis Talk 09:50, 7 May 2012 (EDT)

Copyright

The page Militant atheism states on it's talk page that it "was copied from Wikipedia and the copied text contained contributions from Anupam‎, Alicewr, Sophia, NBeale, Peterdjones, Ttiotsw, Snalwibma, GregorB, Merzul, Laurence Boyce, Silence, Dannyno, Ttiotsw, Tassedethe, MatthewVanitas, Seegoon, Ninahexan, Phil Spectre, Frjohnwhiteford, LoveMonkey, Saddhiyama, EdJohnston, Vmenkov, Reesorville, DGG, DJ Clayworth, Cody7777777, LexCorp, Rab777hp, Noleander, Auntof6, Vajr, Hans Adler, Wikignome0530, Herman Shurger, HandsomeFella, Guydavies, 42elliott, Tryptofish, Efm, IRWolfie-, Mann jess, Lionelt, A Quest For Knowledge, PeaceLoveHarmony, Catwizzle, JimWae, Beetstra, Griswaldo, Rostz, Fastily, Obhave, Abhishikt, ArtifexMayhem, Turnsalso, Collect, Mandarax, Jkhwiki, Psalm 3:3, Mojoworker, Yunshui, Vis-a-visconti, Devilishlyhandsome, Stephfo, Dhidalgo, Nick Number, Binksternet, Sonicyouth86, Skomorokh, Woohookitty, Tabletop, Peterdjones, KillerChihuahua, Alan Liefting, Chris, Bobrayner, Qwyrxian, BD2412, Nyttend, Master of Puppets, and Lebrouillard."

I don't think the license on Conservapedia is compatible with the Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License, which is what Wikipedia is offered under. Can you fix this? Hipocrite 11:29, 7 May 2012 (EDT)

There have been so many edits and rewrites to that entry that fair use doctrine protects it fully. Your comment, however, does illustrate how unworkable the CC AS approach is for wikis.--Andy Schlafly 12:59, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
CC-ASA 3.0 applies regardless of edits to it. You still must release it as CC-by-SA, which is the beauty of the license.brenden 13:02, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
CC-ASA does not trump the First Amendment and fair use doctrine. Moreover, internet users should be defending the First Amendment, not trying to limit it.--Andy Schlafly 13:04, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
First Amendment only applies to Americans, although similar provisions exist in the Universal code of Human Rights. Fair Use is redundant, as CC-ASA specifically allows you to reuse, and remix the content, so long as you release it similarly.brenden 13:13, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
(edit conflict) CC-ASA does not limit fair use. However, the First Amendment generally does not protect speech that is copyright infringement, see Arista Records LLC v. Does, 551 F.Supp.2d 1, 8 (D.D.C. 2008). It is perfectly consonant to defend the First Amendment while enforcing reasonable copyright restrictions. (That said, some of the limitations of copyright law [17 U.S.C §102(b) bar on copyrights on "any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery" and fair use] are necessary to avoid First Amendment scrutiny, Eldred v. Ashcroft, 537 U.S. 186, 219 [2003]). GregG 13:20, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
P.S. I think the preamble of the GPL explains the rationale in the copyleft movement for having less permissive licenses than licenses like BSD:
The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed to take away your freedom to share and change the works. By contrast, the GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change all versions of a program--to make sure it remains free software for all its users. We, the Free Software Foundation, use the GNU General Public License for most of our software; it applies also to any other work released this way by its authors. You can apply it to your programs, too.

When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for them if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free programs, and that you know you can do these things.

To protect your rights, we need to prevent others from denying you these rights or asking you to surrender the rights. Therefore, you have certain responsibilities if you distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it: responsibilities to respect the freedom of others.

For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether gratis or for a fee, you must pass on to the recipients the same freedoms that you received. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their rights.

Developers that use the GNU GPL protect your rights with two steps: (1) assert copyright on the software, and (2) offer you this License giving you legal permission to copy, distribute and/or modify it.

For the developers' and authors' protection, the GPL clearly explains that there is no warranty for this free software. For both users' and authors' sake, the GPL requires that modified versions be marked as changed, so that their problems will not be attributed erroneously to authors of previous versions.

GregG 13:27, 7 May 2012 (EDT)

(edit conflict) If CC-ASA were to seek attribution of the long list of user ids above by any educational reuse of the much-revised entry here, reuse that is allowed by Conservapedia more freely than under CC-ASA restrictions, then such censorship by CC-ASA would be an infringement on both fair use doctrine and the First Amendment.

This dialog illustrates how unworkable CC-ASA is for wikis, and Wikipedia should considering dropping it and following the lead of Conservapedia.--Andy Schlafly 13:30, 7 May 2012 (EDT)

Well, I can tell you that fair use has four factors, and although educational use is presumptively fair, there is no guarantee that a use is fair because it is educational. If I were a user who had the option between CC-ASA or relying on fair use, I would go with CC-ASA every time.
By the way, I don't think Wikipedia can drop CC-ASA without either going back to all of its contributors and asking for a relicense or rebuilding the encyclopedia from scratch. Conservapedia does not have this problem of legacy edits not being free enough to license under a revocable, permissive license. GregG 13:37, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
@Andy, I think you mean public domain then. The current restrictions make it a special licence, which is unsuitable for anything, due to it's instability.brenden 13:41, 7 May 2012 (EDT)


Greg's diatribe smacks of an agenda to smear our project and its founder. His claim is baseless, demeaning, and close to earning him a ban.
The situation is just the other way around: Conservapedia is even more dedicated to crediting sources than Wikipedia is. If anyone has a suggestion on how we can improve our encyclopedia, they can always make it. But they must comply with our no personal attacks rule. --Ed Poor Talk 13:45, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
I apologize for the comments, which I misphrased in a way that came off as a personal attack. As someone who plans to go to graduate school, I understand that the academic community takes citing sources seriously. I also understand that plagiarism is a big problem not only in universities but also in grade schools. Nevertheless, I realize that Conservapedia is not a school assignment, and that there are legitimate reasons for not crediting sources. I think both approaches have merit. GregG 13:52, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
In your view, if a teacher were print a Wikipedia entry for classroom use, then does CC-ASA insist that the teacher go through the entry's history file (which many contain thousands of entries) and extract all the user ids who edited that entry, and print that list also? That process could take hours and would inevitably include errors of inclusion (edits that did not remain in the final entry) and omission (missed ids among dozens or hundreds). Again, this illustrates how unworkable CC-ASA is for wikis.--Andy Schlafly 14:03, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
There are alternatives. Wikipedia policy says:
To re-distribute a text page in any form, provide credit to the authors either by including a) a hyperlink (where possible) or URL to the page or pages you are re-using, b) a hyperlink (where possible) or URL to an alternative, stable online copy which is freely accessible, which conforms with the license, and which provides credit to the authors in a manner equivalent to the credit given on this website, or c) a list of all authors.
A list of authors is just one option; you can also provide the URL of the Wikipedia page. (This refers just to the attribution portion of the license, and not the sharealike part, although I don't see how this would apply in the classroom setting.) GregG 14:07, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
That's not what CC-ASA demands, all she needs to do is provide a hyperlink back, or even simply state where it came from.brenden 14:08, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
According to the Wikipedia edit window, all Wikipedia editors "agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license." GregG 14:13, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
So that would be a separate Wikipedia override somewhere else of the cumbersome CC-ASA licensing requirements. And what is the hyperlink or URL to - the entry or the edit history page? It would far be better for Wikipedia to adopt a more sensible, simpler, direct policy that works better with wikis.--Andy Schlafly 14:57, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
As discussed in more detail at User talk:GregG/Wikipedia copyright, there is no Wikipedia override. The inclusion of text such as:
             "copied from (or based on) Wikipedia article {name and link to article} accessed on {date/time}". 
is merely an example of how you can easily comply with the CC-BY-CA licensing requirements.
Aschlafly, can you explain how is this cumbersome?
I note that Conservapedia:Copyright includes the phrase "a link to the page copied is appropriate", which I interpret as meaning "you don't need to put in a link, but it would be nice of you to do so". If you do put in such a link it is going to be pretty much the same as what Wikipedia requires anyway. RolandPlankton 19:05, 7 May 2012 (EDT)

I want to point out that if you use the Download as PDF option from the Print/Export menu on the left, you can get a PDF document with all the attribution requirements of the license taken care of. I would upload a PDF example, but I don't have webspace. GregG 17:46, 7 May 2012 (EDT)

An aside

This reminds me that I've made a draft of changes to Wikipedia copyright at User:GregG/Wikipedia copyright after careful consideration of everything that you have said. Let me know what you think (which changes you agree with or disagree with). GregG 13:10, 7 May 2012 (EDT)

I've made a few comments on the talk page of your draft. RolandPlankton 17:34, 7 May 2012 (EDT)

Sorry, still confused

You are stating that the text taken from Wikipedia is done so under a fair-use claim? Have you reviewed the material, and the manner it is being used in? Would you be ok if we at Wikipedia chose to start using similar material here under a similar claim? Hipocrite 15:02, 7 May 2012 (EDT)

Conservapedia doesn't misuse copyright in order to censor. Conservapedia can be freely copied in good faith, with or without attribution, as explained in our simple, clear Conservapedia: Copyright. Conservapedia is more supportive of the First Amendment than Wikipedia and CC-ASA.--Andy Schlafly 15:40, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
Wikipedia doesn't use copyright for censoring either. It uses copyright to ensure that material remains freely available to all. RolandPlankton 17:37, 7 May 2012 (EDT)
I believe the "This license is revocable," part of the license makes it incompatible with CC-ASA. Hipocrite 10:59, 8 May 2012 (EDT). Agree RolandPlankton 13:54, 8 May 2012 (EDT)

Articles

Mr. Schlafly, I believe that we now have one of the most comprehensive articles on Elvis Presley on a wiki. Now, I want to expand Peter the Great to a similar degree, but will be needing images. Would you or another Administrator be willing to upload these, or could I be added to the group to do them myself, whatever is preferable? I think that expanding the many short articles that can be found on this site can add to its influence both in the conservative media and in the world of encyclopedias.

Also on an unrelated note, there are many "entries" in the speedy deletion categories and some merger candidates that are rather old. In the interest of keeping the site clean and easy to use, could you or another Administrator take care of those? Many thanks in advance. --James Wilson 10:42, 10 May 2012 (EDT)

Context-free grammar

Hi Aschlafly, You recently agreed with Damian's comment that Context-free grammar was currently a "a list of gobbledygook" (I agree with Damian).

I just about finished working on Chomsky hierarchy, which involves the same sort of things as Context-free grammar. Could I ask you, and anyone else who is interested, to have a look at Chomsky hierarchy and let me know if it is perhaps a little more accessible to the average reader (any constructive comments are welcome). If you are happy with my style and level of writing, then I intend to turn my hand to rewriting Context-free grammar in a similar vein. RolandPlankton 15:18, 10 May 2012 (EDT)

(moved to talk:Chivalry)

Theory of relativity

It is well known that Theory of relativity is a controversial article.

You say: "please discuss any objections on the talk page before reverting changes"

Aschlafly, should you perhaps discuss proposed changes on the talk page before making them?

I will discuss this further on the indicated talk page. RolandPlankton 18:23, 11 May 2012 (EDT)

That was an instruction from the editorial staff to others. This is not a collective. --Ed Poor Talk 15:15, 6 June 2012 (EDT)

Editing & reverting vandalism

Hello Mr. Schlafly - I'm keen to produce more articles and revert vandalism. May I be granted more privileges on my account? EJamesW 18:27, 12 May 2012 (EDT)

I promoted your account with an additional privilege. More privileges will likely be added based on a greater track record of editing.--Andy Schlafly 21:13, 12 May 2012 (EDT)
Thankyou. EJamesW 12:33, 13 May 2012 (EDT)
Thankyou again for another promotion. EJamesW 12:49, 16 May 2012 (EDT)

User:Kamal

Hello User:Aschlafly, one user, User:Kamal, contacted me and stated that he would like to create and edit medicine-related articles at Conservapedia. He will need night editing privileges to do so, however, just as User:AK did when he created his account. I am confident that he will be an asset to Conservapedia. Could you please enable them on his account as he has informed me that he is unable to edit right now? I would really appreciate it. Thanks, AnupamTalk 21:08, 12 May 2012 (EDT)

Done as suggested!--Andy Schlafly 21:12, 12 May 2012 (EDT)
Thanks a lot sir! I hope you enjoy your night! With regards, AnupamTalk 21:15, 12 May 2012 (EDT)

The banning/blocking of chosenbygrace

Hi, while trying to obtain the username chosenbygrace, noticed it had been taken, then went to the user page on the name, and found an odd block notice. I investigated to see what this was over, and after seeing, I honestly must say that the action taken against this person was clearly a malicious attack made against the spirit of the Bible's "do not be quick to judge" and to not be quick to show annoyance. It looks very immature and hypocritical to simply have accused this person of "liberal trolling" for posting a page on George Noory, merely because he is a liberal, when as cbg said, the article was clearly showing disfavor of George Noory for his liberalism. In effect, you've allowed this person to be libeled and defamed for what, three years now? I suspect also you've defamed and blocked a prominent person on top of that, as while writing this have just discovered that this username is associated with the theologian at http://eternian.wordpress.com who apparently, frequently uses that name. I've just searched his journal, and I'm guessing it must be the same person, since he's article is full of attacks against George Noory and his show Coast to Coast AM! Seems you've really messed up on this one! Perhaps an apology is owed to this person, if he admits to it being him. I'd also say that the user who blocked him should himself be blocked for attacking a person without any evidence for doing so, and based on his POV, rather than objectivity, or, a Christ-centered view. It's obvious that this JY23 didn't bother reading the article carefully before throwing his weight around at cbg.Electedbygrace

We prefer real names here, with rare exceptions. If you need to abbreviate your last name to an initial, that's okay too. --Ed Poor Talk 15:14, 6 June 2012 (EDT)

Blocking rights

How can I earn the right to be a moderator and/or administrator? JonnyAmerican 13:39, 17 May 2012 (EDT)

you edit alot, and revert vandalism.
  • Step 1: Edit a lot
  • Step 2: Revert vandals
  • Step 3: Wait a little
  • Step 4: ????
  • Step 5: Blocking rights!

brenden 13:50, 17 May 2012 (EDT)

I've done steps 1-3 already?! JonnyAmerican 13:52, 17 May 2012 (EDT)

Then I guess just let andy take his timebrenden 14:01, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
Yeah. I wish that there were requirements instead of the vague term "best of the best" (Hope you see my suggestion, Andy). JonnyAmerican 14:09, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
Mr. Schlafly will promote those he feels have contributed the best work in quality and quantity in Conservapedia, and all Jonny has done is talk. I was promoted and I have developed high-quality articles such as Elvis Presley. Conservapedia is a meritocracy, and the best will be recognized. No need to ask! :) --James Wilson 14:12, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
Well, I guess it's time to make articles on video games, anime, manga, history, and geography. And do some crime-busting at the same time! JonnyAmerican 14:20, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
meh, Andy's record, is - erratic. Just let time take it's course, and enjoy some whac-a-mole at the same timebrenden 14:22, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
Maybe it should change to if the the best of the best show up, then a team of about 10 elite admins can vote if that user should become a admin or not. JonnyAmerican 14:27, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
I'm actually a fan of WP's community vote kind of thing.brenden 14:28, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
Same here. I'm surprised it's not like that here since most users here love the democratic United States JonnyAmerican 14:31, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
Well, meritocracies have merit (ba-dum-crash bad pun). It helps prevent gaming of the system.brenden 14:34, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
Yeah, but then it's hard to speak our minds without first getting close to the 90/10 rule JonnyAmerican 14:36, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
90/10 seems to be archaic. It's not really enforced, or at least, not enforced correctly.brenden
Agreed. I remember someone getting banned for talking too much on his/her first day. The dude didn't even have a chance! JonnyAmerican 14:40, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
Yeah 90/10 is unreliable. Also my school's ip: 142.22.16.51 got blocked, cause some [expletive deleted] made a bunch of silly accounts.brenden 14:54, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
Fully agree, and stupid kid (not you) JonnyAmerican 14:57, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
 :3brenden 15:09, 17 May 2012 (EDT)
got to go JonnyAmerican 15:19, 17 May 2012 (EDT)

CP is an encyclopedia, not a chat room guys.--James Wilson 08:44, 18 May 2012 (EDT)

Yes, but our policies say to build consensus before making controversial edits. Which I think is a good thing, but in order to do that we need discussion. Gregkochuconn 14:44, 22 May 2012 (EDT)
You're confusing article editing with site policy. Obviously you intend to avoid being promoted to admin. --Ed Poor Talk 15:12, 6 June 2012 (EDT)

Embedding videos

I think MediaWiki has progressed in terms of embedding video. Here is a resource on this: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:EmbedVideo Could your webmaster add this function to Conservapedia with any permissions/restrictions that you feel should be added? Conservative 22:47, 19 May 2012 (EDT)

I have an open mind about this, but isn't the advantage of the internet in how it can provide good information more quickly, and with greater substance, than video can?--Andy Schlafly 23:52, 19 May 2012 (EDT)
Video content is part of the internet and sometimes video is better than text, graphs, etc. in conveying information. Currently, Conservapedia uses pictures and video is nothing more than a series of pictures so to speak. Interested in using video judiciously. In addition, I realize that not every user should be given the right to embed video lest inappropriate content be used. If a permission based system similar to uploading pictures could be used that would work. Also, embedding video would put the load on another server and not Conservapedia if I am not mistaken. Conservative 00:01, 20 May 2012 (EDT)

User:Conservative, I don't think that embedded videos will improve this site, judging especially from the videos to which you have linked until now. Often your pictures don't contain much information, but appeal only to emotions: and while the great masterpieces are uplifting, your contributions tend to be just silly. Sifting to similarly silly videos would be an even bigger waste of time. AugustO 14:22, 20 May 2012 (EDT)

On another note, security vulnerabilities. If it is streamed externally, who's to say that I don't include a video from my server, and inject some harmful material into the flash? I could hypothetically hijack the entire site.brenden 17:24, 20 May 2012 (EDT)
AugustO, it is not my problem that liberals often have poor self-control when it comes to their emotions. :) Also, my fellow conservatives have complemented me on my use of pictures at this wiki. In addition, your liberal ideology when it comes to evolutionism is silly - especially in light of the millions of missing link transitional fossils and your inability to satisfactorily answer the 15 questions for evolutionists. Conservative 17:37, 20 May 2012 (EDT)
And imagine User:Conservative's "response" (which has nothing to do with the points I made above) with some arbitrary videos tossed in for good measure! I rest my case. AugustO 17:49, 20 May 2012 (EDT)

The transitional life form flying kitty.gif I think embedding videos will only make the site more engaging and interesting. RCJackson 18:36, 20 May 2012 (EDT)

Of topic, we should upload nyan cat here :#brenden 19:51, 20 May 2012 (EDT)
OT, user:Conservative, I'm offended. You paid no attention to the security vulnerabilities, but still find time to go ad-hominem on AugustO?brenden 19:52, 20 May 2012 (EDT)

Mr. Schlafly, I know that you are a lawyer, but (in addition to what the other users have said) I would like to raise the issue of potential copyright liability if Conservapedia embeds videos (possibly making copies on Conservapedia's servers) as opposed to linking to them. Of course, if the right to embed is restricted to only trusted users, this should not be too big of an issue, but even the most careful user can run afoul of copyright law and license restrictions unwittingly. GregG 20:50, 20 May 2012 (EDT)

This is getting kind of out of hand, but I would say this - if it is Conservapedia's aim to be an accessible and reliable resource to as many people as possible, it seems illogical to include video embedding. Directly planting anything onto any page of this website that isn't hosted on it's servers is, to a certain extent, relying on the webmaster of whichever website is hosting the content to not change it. Youtube and Google are not above liberal trickery, and unless someone knows of a confirmed conservative video hosting service, I don't think relying on the big businesses is a good move. JRegden 23:48, 23 May 2012 (EDT)


Reach out

Hello Aschlafly,

I am a newcomer in Conservapedia, but not in the cause of conservatism. I have a suggestion about Conservapedia' Main Page, and having noticed your enormous contributions, I think you are the right person to direct my suggestion. Here it is:


INSTEAD OF PREACHING TO THE CHOIR, LET’S REACH OUT.

Gen. Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouting, gave the best advice how to reach out to recruit more new believers in anything: „When you want to catch a fish, you put on the hook what fish like, not what you like, right?.“ So, while his goal was to impress some values onto millions of boys, he did not start with saying that directly, but instead he offered to boys interesting outdoor games, which were gradually instilling those values. A short time passed, and his success was enormous.

A concern for Conservapedia enthusiasts: are we reaching out successfully?

There are two classes of people who do not share our views: the hard-core ones, and the grey area of the un-convinced ones. Our goal should be exposing the latter to our ideas, gradually.

All that our Main Page presently shows is what WE like. Any time grey-area visitors stray into Conservapedia’s Main Page, they see what THEY do not like, so they go elsewhere, often forever. It would be different if our message was not obvious.

Let us face it: The theory of evolution is so immensely popular, that if the first thing they see is that Conservapedia denies eevolution, they grin, shrug, and go to Wikipedia. In this way they will never see the hundreds of our other pages that some of them would be interested in reading.

I believe we would be achieving much more if we use our Main Page for those of our items which can attract people from the gray area; then we can slowly trickle to them questions which have chances to make them think.

Our fundamental principles are non-negotiable, but our tactics should be.

- - - -

Muteswan

Nice try, but Conservapedia does not deny evolution. Rather, it exposes the fact that the Theory of Evolution is taught dogmatically and that as presented it generally amounts to pseudoscience. There is plenty of room here for articles which agree with evolution, such as interpretations of the fossil record which are consistent with Old Earth Creationism as well as with Darwinism; mutation and pesticide resistance. It's not all "faith vs. science" here: in fact, I defy you to find even one article which requires readers to choose between one and the other.
The notion that there is an irreconcilable conflict between science and religion has been abandoned by historians of science, and you can even read about this at Wikipedia (the "conflict thesis"). --Ed Poor Talk 15:09, 6 June 2012 (EDT)

Pentecost

Do you intend to complete 1 Kings 1-11 (Translated)#3:16? Pentecost seems to be the ideal time for this... AugustO 11:41, 27 May 2012 (EDT)

Good suggestion, but how about reexamining the passage relating to Pentecost first, beginning with John 15:25?--Andy Schlafly 15:25, 27 May 2012 (EDT)
Why not first complete the translation already started? One completed section seems to be preferable over many half done. AugustO 15:32, 27 May 2012 (EDT)

Intermittent editing problems

Hello! Since at the moment I can actually put things on a talk page instead of pestering you through an email address I'm not sure works any longer, I just thought I'd mention that recently, half the time I log in, I find that on every page (articles, talk pages, everything) I only have a "View source" option, telling me that I can't edit because I'm not in the "edit" group. Since (to the best of my knowledge) I've broken no rules, and had no blocks or warnings on my talk page, I've assumed this was some sort of weird bug, and that I should report it. Right now everything seems to be working correctly, but I figured I'd leave this here while I could, as my ability to edit has disappeared and reappeared several times over the past few days, so I can't assume yet that everything's fixed. Anyway, I'd greatly appreciate if this problem could be looked into, and if it's been fixed already I do apologise :) Thanks lots! Marianne 16:51, 7 June 2012 (EDT)

User:Brenden

I think this user deserves a promotion. EJamesW 17:56, 7 June 2012 (EDT)

Similar favor to ask

I was writing an article when night editing was turned on. This has happened before and has interfered with my ability to make constructive edits. Could you grant me the privilege of editing while night editing is on? --JHunter 01:22, 8 June 2012 (EDT)

Additional privileges are granted to accounts based on merit. A glance at your edit history shows a significant percentage of talk edits. Can you make more substantive edits?--Andy Schlafly 10:32, 8 June 2012 (EDT)


User: Blitzman or was

I really like this site and visit almost every day. I was blocked in 2009 by TK for reasons he/she would not tell me. I saw some typos in several pages but did not want to write any articles. If I did something wrong tell me. I was Blitzman just added Blitzman7 so I could add this. I have no idea why you don't have a contact us area?!?! I wanted to tell you to post this news article on the main page if you want: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/creationists-convince-south-korean-officials-to-remove-evolutionary-references-from-high-school-textbooks/ Why is it so hard to leave a message???

We used to have an easy way to contact us about blocks, but too many people abused this. --Ed Poor Talk 21:42, 8 June 2012 (EDT)
So what do I do from here I understand TK has passed. How do I get unblocked?
I've unblocked your account.--Andy Schlafly 16:35, 9 June 2012 (EDT)

Probation

User:Ed Poor put me on probation.

All in all: I protest being put on probation - whatever this means! AugustO 18:29, 9 June 2012 (EDT)

Ed is a longtime, very reasonable Admin, August. He'll listen to your explanations.--Andy Schlafly 16:20, 10 June 2012 (EDT)
Thanks for vouching for Ed Poor - it shows how deceiving first impressions can be!
It would be more easy to explain things to him (and ask him for what I was put on probation) if his talk-page (User talk:Ed Poor) was't protected since Dec 2011. AugustO 00:16, 12 June 2012 (EDT)

As I said above, User:Ed Poor's talk page is protected against editing by non-sysops, so I try to reach him here:

  • My first problem: I don't know what I did wrong and what earned me my probation - my first strike. For me it seems that User:Ed Poor mistook me for User:PenelopeP.
  • This leads to my second problem: User:Ed Poor doesn't answer to my inquiries, but takes these as personal remarks - and threatens me fro them : I just banned someone for a personal mark like that. (my second strike)

Aschlafly, if you hadn't declared User:Ed Poor a longtime, very reasonable Admin, his actions would have lead me to the false conclusion that he is well aware of having done something wrong but is just avoiding to acknowledge his mistake. I hope that User:Ed Poor doesn't take this comment as worthy of strike three, but instead just links to the diffs which he thinks that they are justifying my probation.

We are all aware of the fact that for a volunteer-driven project like Conservapedia even apparent unfairness is very unfortunate as it repels otherwise motivated editors. So I think we should always be able (and willing) to explain our administrative measures at least to our small group of active editors.

AugustO 09:15, 13 June 2012 (EDT)

User:Toolsyoucantrust

Dear Mr. Schlafly,

I am asking for your advice on what to do with this user. On the one hand, the username is clearly not based on the user's real name; on the other hand, this user has recently begun editing again after making several contributions in 2007, so I don't know whether the user's username should be grandfathered in. Thanks, GregG 16:11, 10 June 2012 (EDT)

The username rule is discretionary, just as enforcement of loitering ordinances is. When a user looks legitimate or has a legitimate track record, as this one does, then no blocking is appropriate.--Andy Schlafly 16:18, 10 June 2012 (EDT)
Thanks for the quick reply! GregG 16:20, 10 June 2012 (EDT)

Proposed move for Best New Conservative Words

I think the page should be moved to Best New Conservative Words and Phrases, since many of the items there are more than one word in length. GregG 23:37, 11 June 2012 (EDT)

"Phrases" would suggest more words than most of the entries have.--Andy Schlafly 10:08, 16 June 2012 (EDT)
Yes, but some of the entries are simply not words at all. One entry is an abbreviation, and 176 of the entries are more than one word in length. I'm not suggesting a change to Best New Conservative Phrases; I suggest changing the title of the page to Best New Conservative Words and Phrases. Incidentally, Merriam-Webster's gives the following definition of phrase:
a : a brief expression; especially : catchphrase
b : word
[7]
GregG 12:39, 16 June 2012 (EDT)
The vast majority are single words, and some of the exceptions (like "A.M.") are used like a single word. A "phrase", as your definition explains, is "a brief expression," which these entries are not. These are words and used like words rather than like phrases, which may include verbs.--Andy Schlafly 13:13, 16 June 2012 (EDT)
Actually, based on my count, 38.3% of the entries are more than one word. All of the entries are words or expressions that are, indeed, brief. Additionally, words would still be in my proposed target title, so the title would more accurately reflect the content of the entries, more than half of which are single words, but a significant minority also having more than one word. GregG 13:50, 16 June 2012 (EDT)
Are "ordered pair" and "intelligent design" phrases? I don't think so. They are words, or word pairs.--Andy Schlafly 14:47, 16 June 2012 (EDT)

Template quotes

I somewhat suspect that my altercations with User:Ed Poor started when I was underwhelmed by his use of templates to carry single quotes. And though I still don't see much merit in this concept, I try to make it a little bit more usable for all editors: therefore I created the Category:Template quotes. I was able to put Template:Seligman-dissent into it, but other templates are protected. Could User:Ed Poor, or you, Aschlafly, please add the category to the following pages (or at least unprotect them)?

quote number of tranclusions
Template:Dictatorship-democracy-Hoover 2
Template:Dalrymple-rauf 0
Template:Famine of 1933 0
Template:Friedman-roosevelt-depression 2
Template:Gardner-things-names 1
Template:Lott-concealed 1
Template:Orwell-swearing 0
Template:Money and climate 2

There are other quotes which I haven't spot yet. I'd appreciate if User:Ed Poor would categorize them.

AugustO 04:56, 14 June 2012 (EDT)

I checked the first one, Template:Dictatorship-democracy-Hoover, and it's not protected, so I'm not sure I see what the issue is here.--Andy Schlafly 00:23, 15 June 2012 (EDT)
I thought that templates were generally protected. But of the above the only one I couldn't edit is Template:Famine of 1933. So, could someone add:
<noinclude>[[Category:Template quotes]] ==References== <references /></noinclude>
Thanks! AugustO 08:24, 16 June 2012 (EDT)
I added it, and also unprotected the entry because you might want to improve it.--Andy Schlafly 12:21, 17 June 2012 (EDT)
Thanks! I created the page List of quotations in templates, where all the quotations which I have found yet are assembled. I hope that Ed Poor will add the remaining ones to the Category: Template quotes and to the list.
AugustO 12:30, 17 June 2012 (EDT)

Inertial vs. gravitational mass

Aschlafly, how insulted were you by User:AndyFrankinsons's comment at Talk:E=mc²#Does Andy Schlafly Understand what E=mc^2 means? from Apr 27, 2012? You seem not to have any problem with it for at least six week, when User:Ed Poor decided that this was an Incivility: saying another user "doesn't know the difference between gravitational mass and inertial mass" and blocked User:AndyFrankinsons for this comment with an expiry time of infinite on Jun 11, 2012.

If this was a grave insult to you, it seems to be odd that it wasn't detected for six weeks. But if you don't read much of an insult into it (and I don't, neither), then an infinite block weeks after the edit seems to be excessive.

AugustO 05:59, 14 June 2012 (EDT)

Unblocked as you requested. Thanks for mentioning this.--Andy Schlafly 00:12, 15 June 2012 (EDT)

Polyamorous article reads like it was written by a liberal

The Polyamorous article reads like it was written by a liberal. Conservative 00:09, 15 June 2012 (EDT)

User rename request

Hi Andy. Would you mind renaming my username from User:Maratrean to User:ZackMartin. I've decided my current username is less than appropriate. It can be done here: Special:Renameuser. Many thanks, Zack. Maratrean 01:02, 15 June 2012 (EDT)

Renamed as requested.--Andy Schlafly 01:06, 15 June 2012 (EDT)
Thanks Andy! ZackMartin 01:11, 15 June 2012 (EDT)

Block of AugustO

I wrote the following email. But as this line of communication is often very insufficient, I repeat my objections to the block here:

User:Ed Poor blocked me for three days for incivility. I object to this block.
1) User:Ed Poor still hasn't explained why he put me on probation. The incident he alludes to was created by another user, User:PenelopeP. Am I punished because User:Ed Poor can't admit that he confused two editors?
2) When I'm asked By the way, is your "liberal Christianity" "pastor" a lesbian or sodomite? , that's just for the sake of the argument. But when I quip lightheartedly to Ed Poor's statement " It's not like calling New York the Big Apple. I live in New York and hardly ever hear that. Why would you say such and odd and untrue thing?" by telling him "Sorry if I hurt your feeling. My, these New Yorkers are delicate flowers :-) When someone talks about the Big Apple, everyone knows that New York is meant. That's neither odd nor untrue. But this moniker is not the official name of the city, or a generally accepted abbreviation." this is an incivility worth of a three days block? That's ridiculous, especially if this comment (obviously read by Ed Poor shortly after being posted) only started to annoy him after one month time!
Sorry, but somehow I got the (probably wrong) impression that I'm on the receiving end of a personal vendetta.
And no, this is not about get-out-of-the-jail-free-cards, this is about an unfair block. For more details please look at my talk-page.

AugustO 02:35, 15 June 2012 (EDT)

I'm recently returned from a two week stint on the block list myself :) My crime was showing a "lack of machismo" towards one particularly thin-skinned moderator, and violating the 90/10 rule by making 10 changes in a row (including minor spelling fixes) to talk pages. From now on I will make sure I only make nine consecutive changes to talk pages (no matter how minor) and spend more time on manly articles, like homebrewing. Come to think of it, I hope my addition of lorem ipsum wasn't too close to being a girly topic, given that it's about design aesthetics ... WilcoxD 02:43, 15 June 2012 (EDT)
For what it's worth, I would just like to say that I fully agree with AugustO's position in this matter. --FrederickT3 12:14, 15 June 2012 (EDT)

Aschlafly, thank you for unblocking me - I especially appreciated your email message. AugustO 02:34, 16 June 2012 (EDT)

Serial Comma

What does Conservapedia say about including the serial comma in lists? For instance, should I say "Democrats, Republicans, and Independents" or "Democrats, Republicans and Independents"? And should we make exceptions in cases of ambiguity such as "My parents, Andy Schlafly and Ayn Rand" or, conversely "My father, Andy Schlafly, and Ayn Rand", both of which would create ambiguity if they followed the standard usage. (That is - are you and Ayn Rand my parents, or is this a list of three separate people, and for the second one, are you my father, or am I including you on a list with him and Ayn Rand?) Gregkochuconn 10:46, 17 June 2012 (EDT)

Excellent question. Let's avoid the serial comma except where it is helpful for clarity purposes. I've added this to Conservapedia:Manual of Style. Further suggestions are welcome.--Andy Schlafly 11:59, 17 June 2012 (EDT)
Thanks. Gregkochuconn 21:24, 18 June 2012 (EDT)

@Ed Poor

User:Ed Poor, you wrote: If you can't contact an administrator by email or edit their user talk page, you can always post here or on Andy's talk page. . So somewhat reluctantly I use this talk-page to get into contact with you.

Thanks, AugustO 06:54, 18 June 2012 (EDT)

Vandalism

Today there is quite a lot of vandalism: User:JudyJ complained rightfully that she was left alone with it. - until User:Davidspencer took care of some vandals. Could the administrators have a look at Special:RecentChanges while putting on their stuff - that would be helpful. Thanks. AugustO 10:52, 18 June 2012 (EDT)

Request for immediate action

On the main page there is at the moment a section called Richard Dawkins' newest failure? The author (User:Conservative) has mistaken Richard Dawkins's new web-site for the web-site of his hosting platform. Especially the line By the way, why did Dawkins pick herokuapp.com as the web address of his newest website? It is not exactly memorable. I guess we will never understand the sublime workings of a great evolutionist mind. It is far, far above us - Not! makes Conservapedia look silly: herokuapp.com isn't a name invented by Dawkins, but a concatenation of heroku (a well known provider) and app.

Could this item please be deleted until this basic flaws get corrected?

Thanks, AugustO 17:27, 20 June 2012 (EDT)

That's a relief, thanks again. AugustO 17:50, 20 June 2012 (EDT)

@User:Conservative

My apologies to Aschlafly, but according to User:Ed Poor this is the go-to-page when you wish to contact sysops without contact details and protected talk-pages

User:Conservative, for the third time since I edit Conservapedia, you have explained some erratic behavior by your sleeping problems. In fact, in Dec 2011 you wrote:

AugustO, I recently had a bit of sleeplessness due to temporary medical condition I am in the process of overcoming.

while in Mar 2012 you stated:

Second, I sustained an injury which has almost completely healed up and it contributed to some sleep problems which I am in the midst of completely solving and your patience concerning any typos and other errors I make in the meantime are much appreciated (I am expecting to solve the sleep problems in 2012).

Now, it is:

I also should have been on the alert as far making a mistake due to receiving a few hours less sleep or gotten some additional rest after waking up earlier than I would have liked to.

I'm sorry to hear that you seemingly haven't solved your sleeping problems yet: judging from your edit history, you are still not having a regular sleeping cycle. I can only assume that you have put your health into capable hands, and that your fellow sysops (who certainly care for you) are fully appraised of your situation.

My view as an less involved onlooker is less compassionate, I'm afraid: I don't know you as a person, only as an anonymous contributor. Therefore, for me it is hard to decide which comments of you are to be taken serious and which are (excuse the pun) somewhat lunatic (i.e., written during too long a night). To help me with this, I'm asking you:

  1. drop the multiple persons act: It isn't funny, especially when you present yourself sometimes as a single person with troubles.
  2. create a channel for contact (ideally you would change the protection level of your talk-page to [edit=autoconfirmed]): this way problems can be addressed immediately and more easily
  3. stay on topic: a sleepy mind is a wandering mind

AugustO 09:05, 21 June 2012 (EDT)

AusgustO, it looks like you are going to be ignored - again

AugustO, I think you better prepare yourself for the possibility that you are going to be ignored again. It's been about a day and there still is no response from the owner of the website. Conservative 21:41, 22 June 2012 (EDT)

That's okay - the section above was addressed to you, not Aschlafly. I'm sure that Aschlafly is aware of your problems, and I'm certain that he'll help in any way if you ask him. I can only pray for you. AugustO 01:41, 23 June 2012 (EDT)

Move request for Den Bosch to 's-Hertogenbosch

I request that the article Den Bosch is moved back to 's-Hertogenbosch (see Talk:Den Bosch#Request_for_move).

  • User:Ed Poor - the sysop involved (and against) the move hasn't addressed the subject for a week.
  • There has been no valid reason given for moving the article for moving the article from 's-Hertogenbosch to Den Bosch in the first place.
  • Frankly the patience of a couple of editors (including me) has been seriously tested over this non-issue.

I'd appreciate a quick decision. Thanks, AugustO 03:02, 22 June 2012 (EDT)

There are actually quite a few pages that have built up in category:Move requests, so it would be a solid effort if you could look at those at the same time. I don't think many of them are controversial, so at least the routine ones could be tidied up. Thanks!--CPalmer 11:54, 22 June 2012 (EDT)
Made some good progress on the list.--Andy Schlafly 19:17, 22 June 2012 (EDT)
Thanks. AugustO 01:24, 23 June 2012 (EDT)