User talk:Staraction

“ I have been bent and broken, but — I hope — into a better shape. ” — Pip, Great Expectations

CfD closure

Something went wrong with the closure of this discussion. You closed it on 28 May, but the categories still exist. Marcocapelle (talk) 18:24, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Hey @Marcocapelle, I see it listed at WT:CFDW along with a couple others I closed around that time, am I missing something? Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 19:20, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

• To be honest I never check WT:CFDW. Is there really a backlog of more than two weeks? Wow. It used to be a few days. Marcocapelle (talk) 21:09, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

  Yep, pretty big. There's only a few admins helping out there, I believe. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 23:18, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

The Admin's Barnstar

Staraction, thank you for all of the behavioral analysis you have contributed to sockpuppet investigation cases this year. A few months ago, when the backlog contained numerous cases that had been pending for far too long, it was difficult to imagine the list of open cases shrinking to the reasonable length that it is now. Editors who depend on SPI owe it to you that their filings are now reviewed and processed promptly. I am thrilled to see that you are running for adminship, which would enable you to handle certain types of SPI cases more efficiently, and I offer my enthusiastic support. — Newslinger talk 12:16, 13 July 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for your kind words Newslinger! Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 15:37, 13 July 2026 (UTC)

Question from Newmexicorunner (02:56, 17 July 2026)

Hi, Elle, and thanks for the offer. I'll probably need some help at some point. Have you read We The People by Jill Lepore? Listening to the audiobook on Libby now. --Newmexicorunner (talk) 02:56, 17 July 2026 (UTC)

Hey @Newmexicorunner, welcome! I have not yet read We The People but it's (now!) on my list, and one of my friends who's read it said he enjoyed it too. Gotta check it out at some point. Do let me know if you have any questions, and happy editing!

P.S. writing a new article from scratch is usually not recommended for new editors, but if you find the book interesting and get some experience, it doesn't seem like we have an article on the book yet, despite it probably meeting our guideline for inclusion (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). So, something to look forward to, if you are interested Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 03:06, 17 July 2026 (UTC)

I've gotten behind with the book and it's pretty deep in the weeds. Newmexicorunner (talk) 23:35, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

No rush. Hope you're finding it interesting at least. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 01:42, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Original Barnstar
	Thanks for stopping the vandals here! Beyoncé and Rihanna's navy 🐝🪖 23:23, 23 July 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for the barnstar. Just FYI I would not recommend engaging with them if they are clearly up to no good (e.g. here) since it only wastes your time. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 23:24, 23 July 2026 (UTC)

Your common.js page

Hi Staraction! Congratulations on your successful RFA! If you run into any questions regarding the toolset or if there's anything I can assist you with, please don't hesitate to let me know. ;-)

I'm just giving you an FYI that I modified your common.js page to add commented backlinks for the scripts that you added. The changes have no effect on how the scripts function; those backlinks simply populate the Special:WhatLinksHere page, which makes it easier for me to communicate with anybody that uses them if any issues are found (for example). I didn't add them to my own common.js page after I created and published them, so if anything - it's my fault that you didn't do so either. ;-)

Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or issues with any of the scripts I wrote, and I'll be more than happy to help! :-D Enjoy! ~Oshwah~^{(talk) (contribs)} 05:57, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

Thank you Oshwah! Staraction (talk · contribs) 05:59, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

It looks like you removed those backlinks I added while reverting your common.js page to remove the QuickBlockScript I wrote. Don't worry! The QuickBlockScript isn't scary once you get used to it, though it could probably use a few updates with new blocking templates and reasons. It adds a lot of items to your "more" menu (which can cause a startle or scare, understandably), but trust me - they're very nice to have! ;-) Those backlinks I added are only a convenience thing; it's not imperative that they stay. I'll leave it to you if you'd like to add them back, and I won't edit the page again to do so. ;-) Cheers - ~Oshwah~^{(talk) (contribs)} 06:05, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

I restored the backlinks, since I didn't realise you'd edited the page! I uninstalled QuickBlockScript since a couple of the options are checkuser blocks and those seem like nuclear bombs for a non-checkuser. It does seem quite convenient, though; maybe I'll fork it at some point. Thanks Oshwah :) Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 06:08, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

I saw that, and I appreciate it! :-) You make a good point; I didn't anticipate that anyone would care about the scripts I've written, let alone use them. :-D Non-checkusers would be able to use the script without any issues, since a "checkuser block" only involves adding a note or a template like {{Checkuserblock-account}} or {{Checkuser block}} to the blocking summary. However, I understand your position of not using it, since it introduces the possibility of accidentally adding one. Your response gave me a great idea: I'll put this script on my to-do list and update it so that those options don't display for non-checkusers. It might require some refactoring of the important part of the code, but shouldn't be too difficult to implement. If anything, that code could use a good re-write, cleanup, and update. ;-) ~Oshwah~^{(talk) (contribs)} 06:19, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

I'd appreciate that a lot. Do let me know if you update the code! Thanks, Staraction (talk · contribs) 06:20, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

Alright, this should do the trick! The script should now skip displaying the block options that are checkuser blocks. If you're up to it, you should be able to use the script now. Let me know if you re-import it and if what I did fixed the issue. :-) ~Oshwah~^{(talk) (contribs)} 06:48, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

Looks like it did the trick. I'll test it out. Thanks Oshwah :) Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 06:49, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

You bet! I'm always happy to help. :-) ~Oshwah~^{(talk) (contribs)} 06:50, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

A beer for you!

Another day, another game of whack-a-troll, cheers to you for doing the dirty work keeping this place functioning! This round is on me. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 01:32, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

Thank you @Hurricanehink! I owe you a beer at some point though: back when I was just getting serious with Wikipedia you helped review one of my FLC noms, for which I am very grateful. It's been good to still see your name around, I hope you're doing well! Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 04:10, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

Question from Saqijanlewy on Frank Card (12:24, 25 July 2026)

Saqi Jan lewany --Saqijanlewy (talk) 12:24, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Staraction (talk · contribs) 14:24, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

Block of 129.232.237.211

Hi Staraction! I hope you're having a great day! I saw that you blocked the IP address 129.232.237.211, but the block log here shows that you applied it to the /32 CIDR range. For IPv4 addresses, a CIDR of /32 refers only to one IP; you can just apply the block to 129.232.237.211 and omit the /32 CIDR part. The block applies exactly the same whether or not you include the /32, but I thought I'd let you know that it isn't necessary. ;-) Cheers - ~Oshwah~^{(talk) (contribs)} 21:37, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

Gotcha, thanks for the info Oshwah! Hope you're having an amazing day as well. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 21:56, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

A salamander for you :)

Metromutt has given you a salamander! Salamanders show appreciation, and hopefully this one has made your day better. You can brighten someone's day by giving them a WikiCritter on their talk page with a friendly message, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend.
To give a salamander: {{salamander|message=Your message here. ~~~~}}

I know I'm about a week late, I haven't been active lately, but I saw you got promoted to admin! Thank you for being my first guiding force on the wiki, you more than deserve it :) — METROMUTT ❯❯❯ "Talk to me Goose." 07:21, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

Awh, thank you for the little guy, Metromutt! I appreciate it a lot. Feel free to ask if you've got any more questions! Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 15:23, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

Missed CfDW entry

Hi Staraction (and congratulations on the recent RfA). I was just looking through my XfD log and noticed that the 19th-century debut works CfD seemingly never got listed at (WT:)CFDW (Category:1874 directorial debut films et al). The 18th-century debut works entry just below it got listed here so I'm assuming some sort of script error. (Incidentally I've just closed a couple of CfDs myself for the first time recently so please let me know if there's any conventions I'm missing for NACs there, I'm mostly just trying to match what's already there since it doesn't as if much is particularly documented.) Thanks, ScalarFactor (talk) 18:14, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

Hi @ScalarFactor, thanks for the heads up; I've just listed the missed entry at WP:CFDW. I haven't looked too carefully but your NAC listings look good and it looks like another admin's already added them. Thanks for the helping hand, and happy editing. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 18:38, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

Interesting account

Just fyi there is an account named @Staraction had sex with Yue and Tsubaki. Might be of interest to you. ✶Quxyz✶ (talk) 19:46, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

Thanks, blocked. No clue how nobody's found it yet. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 19:47, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

I only found it through the search system when trying to ping you. ✶Quxyz✶ (talk) 19:48, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

Question from JMazing1 (22:17, 26 July 2026)

Hello, where can we find pages that need editing it pages that need answering. I'd rather be a contributor, helping to achieve the true understanding of curious topics, with my vast knowledge --JMazing1 (talk) 22:17, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

Hi @JMazing1, welcome to Wikipedia! The content at Special:Homepage that is suggested for you is a lot of what we need to improve on Wikipedia, and is a good place to get started. If you're looking for a specific type of issue to fix, you can check out Category:Clean-up categories, which will get you, for instance, Category:Articles needing examples from August 2018. Otherwise you can find topics we need coverage on at Wikipedia:Requested articles. Happy editing and let me know if you have any more questions. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 22:20, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

Thank you Staraction JMazing1 (talk) 22:22, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

July 2026

Thank you for your contributions to Wikipedia. Regarding your recent edits to Partypoker when you modified the page, you introduced unknown parameters. Just because you specify |some_param=some_variable does not always mean that variable will display. The |some_param= must be defined in the template. You can look at the documentation for the template you are using but it is also helpful to use the preview button before you save your edit; this helps you find any errors you have made and ensure that the values you have added are displaying correctly. Below the edit box is a Show preview button. Pressing this will show you what the page will look like without actually saving it. It is strongly recommended that you use this before saving. Note I have likely fixed the error by now so check the history of the page to see how it was fixed. If you have any questions, contact the help desk for assistance. Thank you. Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 02:28, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

Hi @Zackmann08 -- thanks for the notice. I've been careful to restore intermediate edits with the WPSPAM reverts but seemed to have missed this one (probably because the parameter fixes were in the problematic edit itself). I have the preview automatically loaded so I'll be sure to look out for the red param notices in future. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 02:34, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

Sounds good! Thanks for fighting the spam! Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 02:42, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

Question about SPI

Apologies for the ping, but I didn't want to take up more space in the active SPI. If a clerk has marked the SPI from new to open, does this mean that it is currently being investigated, or does it mean that investigation hasn't started yet? I posted what I believe was a smoking gun, but I haven't heard back from any admin about the status of the investigation after three days. –GM 17:06, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

Hey @GregariousMadness -- "open" means someone's looked at it and decided it isn't immediately / obviously actionable. SPI's unfortunately well-known for having a large backlog; we'll get to the case as soon as we can. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 17:11, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

@Staraction: Thank you for the quick reply. The person I reported to SPI for harassing me over the last two years has been continually harassing me as a result of the SPI, so would it be bad etiquette to ping the closing admins of the previous archived SPIs of the same case, as they would be more familiar with the case than a completely new admin? –GM 17:18, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

No need for pings -- at least two of them are probably well-aware of the case. We'll get it handled...eventually. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 17:19, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

Another Stephanie89T89 sock

I believe I have found another sock of Stephanie89T89: Hexnomad. This user's only edits are targeting Encyclopedia45 on other Wikipedias in the exact same manner as ForbiddenTales and Sailingacrosstheorion. Could you block that one too? Also, we should probably globally lock all their socks from now on. Link20XX (talk) 17:08, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

*sigh*. Yeah, you're right. Thanks for the report. Staraction (talk · contribs) 17:16, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

Your draft article, Draft:SCANDAL hypothesis

Hello, Staraction. This message concerns the Articles for Creation submission or draft page you started, "SCANDAL hypothesis".

Drafts that go unedited for six months are eligible for deletion, in accordance with our draftspace policy, and this one has been nominated for deletion. If you plan on working on it further, or editing it to address the issues raised if it was declined, simply , and remove the {{db-afc}}, {{db-draft}}, or {{db-g13}} code.

If your submission has already been deleted by the time you read this, you can request its undeletion. An administrator will, in most cases, restore the draft so you can continue to work on it.

Thank you for your submission to Wikipedia! DreamRimmer bot II (talk) 19:26, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

A beer for you!

Thanks for helping with this game of whack-a-troll. This LTA is trying to wear down our patience, but seeing some so passionate about harming Wikipedia just makes me want to edit more, and to thank fellow Wikipedians who are making this a better place. Cheers and thanks again. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 17:11, 29 July 2026 (UTC)

Thanks Hurricanehink -- & likewise, for you! Staraction (talk · contribs) 17:32, 29 July 2026 (UTC)

SPI

look I know you told us to stop commenting but i just wanna say it is wildly unfair that gm gets to keep dumping massive walls of text that i get no response to, they have added over 5,000 bytes to the topic after you explicitly told us to stop and are now actively shopping for an admin they feel will give them their desired outcome this is bordering on ridiculous bc i can counter argue their entire "forensic linguistics" but im not even allowed to defend myself because i am literally the only party listening to your directive to stop posting Ibnqirtaiba (talk) 01:39, 31 July 2026 (UTC)

I'm sorry for the slow pace on the cases, I've been unable to muster up the energy to conduct deep behavioural analyses for the past few days, but I'll try to look at the case soon. Thanks for making me aware of the other posts. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 03:01, 31 July 2026 (UTC)

@Staraction: That editor has now been indef'd for abusive trolling and harassment. They've been going on a rampage because they realized that they were about to be blocked in the face of undeniable evidence (which is why they went and contacted you to try and stop it). Sorry for the mess. –GM 03:44, 31 July 2026 (UTC)

The workaway community is becoming aware of your smear campaign

Please do not remove content or templates from pages on Wikipedia, as you did at Workaway, without giving a VALID reason for the removal in the edit summary.

This content removal does not appear to be constructive and has been temporarily reverted. Continued removal of the content describing the nature of the platform and replacement with a narrower version that disproportionately emphasised UK-specific and bipartisan issues such as Brexit-related visa issues and immigration/detention risks are of limited relevance to the large majority of users who have cultural exchange experiences with hosts OUTSIDE of the UK.

UK hosts have less than 200 profiles on the site with 50,000 MORE host listings in OTHER countries worldwide. Giving heavy weight to UK visa and immigration matters therefore misrepresents the international character and removes information that is useful to readers.

The page has been TEMPORARILY reverted solely to restore somewhat more accurate and nonpartisan content based on the previously established version (pre April 2026 edits) of the page and I will edit further in the next few days to remove any further unneutralities.

I would like to see you address Pats322 about the inaccurate bipartisan edits they made and also an explanation about why you blindly reverting the page content without conducting any prior research. ~2026-42593-92 (talk) 16:42, 31 July 2026 (UTC)

I have never edited the page Workaway. Are you Krackenwitchy / Lunaballena, or associated with them? If so, you are not allowed to edit and should appeal your block instead. Staraction (talk · contribs) 16:47, 31 July 2026 (UTC)

Bot request

Hi Staraction! Thanks so much for the work with the edit notices for WP:CT/PIA protections. Would it be possible to expand this to WP:CT/SA's subtopics of CASTE and IMH? No worries if you're busy at the moment though! Sennecaster (Chat) 01:35, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

I think it would be! It's been on my bucket list for a bit. I'll let you know when I (finally) get to it. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 01:43, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

New message to Staraction

Im genuinely thinking that the Randolph Bresnik mass vandal is done by User:Salebot1 with him spamming the name "Porya Azizi" earlier in one of the talk page --BengalMC (talk) 13:39, 4 August 2026 (UTC)

That would, indeed, be consistent with previous SB1 behaviour. Staraction (talk · contribs) 13:40, 4 August 2026 (UTC)

@StaractionIm pretty sure today's incident is significant enough to be put into the LTA Casepage of SB1 BengalMC (talk) 13:50, 4 August 2026 (UTC)

I disagree -- this is a known behaviour and far from the most extensive socking they've done, even in just the past month. No need to acknowledge their continued vandalism. Staraction (talk · contribs) 13:51, 4 August 2026 (UTC)

Seems like Please be a giant dick, so we can ban you I guess. BengalMC (talk) 13:53, 4 August 2026 (UTC)

About the "Rashtrakuta–Chola Wars" draft

Hi @Staraction, I hope you're doing well. I wanted to ask if you could take a look at my draft on Rashtrakuta–Chola Wars. I believe it is supported by multiple reliable secondary sources and aims to present the military conflicts in a neutral and well-referenced manner. If there are any issues preventing the draft from being accepted, could you please let me know what needs to be improved? I'd appreciate any feedback or suggestions so I can bring it in line with Wikipedia's standards. Thank you for your time. Vasilystepanov (talk) 19:44, 4 August 2026 (UTC)

@Vasilystepanov: I am not familiar with the subject area and you would be better off finding someone who is. That being said, please give WP:CT/IMH a read: in particular, since you are not yet extended-confirmed, you are not allowed to edit information that relates to Indian military history. Staraction (talk · contribs) 21:04, 4 August 2026 (UTC)

@Staraction: Thank you for your reply. My draft was previously declined by RangersRus, who requested additional published secondary sources and inline citations. I have since addressed those concerns by adding more independent secondary sources and inline citations throughout the draft, and I will continue improving it further where needed. I also understand that I am not yet extended-confirmed, so I will continue making constructive edits until I qualify for extended-confirmed status. Thank you for your guidance. Vasilystepanov (talk) 22:19, 4 August 2026 (UTC)

August 2026

{{uw-vandalism1|Wikipedia:Requests for page protection/Increase}}

@Leonidlednev -- I reverted an edit performed by a banned editor. Are you sure this message was intended for me? Staraction (talk · contribs) 01:23, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Probably not. --In solidarity, Leonidlednev (T, C, L) 01:24, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Crtbob (02:55, 7 August 2026)

Hello Staraction, I've recently taken to patrolling recent changes, and have encountered a user repeatedly adding an original poem to an article. I've issued warning templates, but don't know what to actually do after the final warning. Does this actually count as vandalism? Wikipedia is clearly not the place for this, but I don't think they're acting maliciously. Would this then go to WP:AIV, or is something else typically done in these cases? --~ crtbob (talk • contribs • talk) 02:55, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Hey @Crtbob and welcome to Wikipedia! My assessment of the situation is the same as yours. In this case I would probably have left a personalised message at some point trying to discuss with the user about why they were adding the poem -- they are not obviously acting in bad faith, although repeatedly restoring the content without communication is problematic. Templates can be great for general situations but this seems specific enough that a personalised message is probably worth it. If this behaviour continues I'd consider a report at WP:ANI, instead of WP:AIV, which I feel is more suited for this type of issue. I would also be careful yourself, so as to not find yourself in violation of WP:3RR and the edit warring rules -- for cases where the vandalism is not 100% clear you must always keep those in mind. Let me know if you've got any other questions. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 03:23, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

It looks like you did write a bit of a personalised message in your last template. It reads well, and I think you're on the right track in dealing with this situation. Keep up the good work. Staraction (talk · contribs) 03:24, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for your informative and considerate response. I wasn't well aware of WP:3RR or the fact that it could apply to me. If I understand correctly, does this mean that I am at risk of a temporary block if I revert the poem once more (for a total of four times)? If so, what should be done instead? Would it be left to a reader of WP:ANI? ~ crtbob (talk • contribs • talk) 03:36, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Your interpretation of 3RR is correct, provided that your reverts don't fall under one of the exemptions in WP:3RRNO. And yes, I would probably bring this to ANI. I won't action this myself but would not be surprised if the TA ended up with a partial block from Booderee National Park and Botanic Gardens. If you do file at ANI please remember to notify the TA on their talk page per the instructions at the top of the noticeboard. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 03:42, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Understood. Thanks for your help. If it happens again, I'll follow the guidance at ANI. ~ crtbob (talk • contribs • talk) 03:49, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Hello again,

Sorry for ending the conversation and then opening it again, but the poem has been added again. I was ready to report to ANI, but then realised that I've technically offered only three warnings, though a fourth was offered by ClueBot NG. Does this still warrant a report, or does the behaviour need to occur again? ~ crtbob (talk • contribs • talk) 04:11, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

@Crtbob -- go ahead and report. They've had plenty of chances to respond on their talk page and evidently haven't taken it. Staraction (talk · contribs) 04:14, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

About a Recent Blocked User

REVDEL needed. AIV history--edit summary. Enćenćecasïdća (talk) 04:56, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Dealt with, thanks. Staraction (talk · contribs) 04:59, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

No problem. Thank you. Enćenćecasïdća (talk) 04:59, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

It's happened again. I think it has something to do with WS. Enćenćecasïdća (talk) 05:02, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Haz215 (09:33, 7 August 2026)

Hi Elle! I did want to ask - I've noticed a couple of articles I feel lack sufficient notability. Is there a way to flag this beyond creating a thread on the Talk page? Thanks! --Haz215 (talk) 09:33, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Hi @Haz215, and welcome! You can flag this by using {{notability}} which will orange-tag the page. Alternatively if you're very confident you can PROD or nominate for deletion. Let me know if you've got any other questions. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 12:38, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Some bubble tea for you!

thanks for handling that so quickly, have a drink :3 pattersonuwu njz (talk) 20:06, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Thanks; I'm a real big bubble tea fan, actually! Staraction (talk · contribs) 20:08, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

:D me too! and sorry but... Special:Diff/1368222529 pattersonuwu ^njz (talk) 20:51, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Request for Review of Zalaraz’s Repeated Reversions and Unprofessional Conduct

@Staraction Ma’am, I need your help regarding Zalaraz. He has reverted almost every edit I made on the Vishnuvardhana and Govinda III pages, including edits supported by reliable secondary sources. Battle information I added to articles concerning the Vatapi Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Kalyani Chalukyas, and Hoysala kings has also been reverted or deleted. All of these edits were based on reliable secondary sources and properly cited. I feel this is unfair, and I do not want to get into a revert war. Please review Zalaraz's editing history and, if these repeated reversions are found to be disruptive, I request that you ask him to restore the pages to the versions supported by the reliable secondary sources and properly review the information I added. If his conduct is found to violate Wikipedia's policies, please consider blocking his account if warranted. Otherwise, I request that my valid, properly sourced edits be restored where appropriate. Vasilystepanov (talk) 11:16, 8 August 2026 (UTC)

@Vasilystepanov -- Zalaraz's reverts are technically correct. Like I said before, you are not yet extended-confirmed, and so are not yet allowed to add to information about Indian military history -- there has been a long, long history of problematic edits from new accounts that merit these restrictions; see WP:ARBIMH if you're curious. Instead you should try to reach out to Zalaraz directly, or use an edit request on the article talk page, to talk about what information you might want to add.

As an aside, are you using an LLM (such as ChatGPT) to generate your user talk comments and content? Staraction (talk · contribs) 15:32, 8 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Haz215 (19:28, 8 August 2026)

Hi, an editor has inaccurately accused me of having used an LLM, and provided no evidence for this claim. I'd like to speak with someone about escalating this up the ladder, please, as this isn't something it should be acceptable to use as a weapon in a disagreement. --Haz215 (talk) 19:28, 8 August 2026 (UTC)

Hi @Haz215 -- as your mentor I don't think I'm the right person to take action here. But you do have the right to ask them why they think you're using an LLM, and to defend yourself if you aren't. If you are using an LLM in either content creation or discussions, please refrain from doing so going forward -- see WP:LLMTALK & WP:LLM. Do make sure you are following the civility guidelines if you do so. The right place for this sort of discussion is probably WP:AINB. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 19:34, 8 August 2026 (UTC)

Thanks Elle. For the record, I'm not and never have - I'm on the autism spectrum, so I can sound bit like it sometimes! I'll have look at WP:AINB. Haz215 (talk) 19:36, 8 August 2026 (UTC)

All good -- and many of us are, see WP:HONEYPOT! It's also probably better to talk it out with whoever's accusing you instead of going to the noticeboards. I'm not sure who's accused you but I'm sure they're also acting with best intentions. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 19:39, 8 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Haz215 (06:44, 9 August 2026)

Hi, I'm finding it nigh on impossible to get the Proposed Deletion template to work consistently. I've done everything right, checked and checked again, Sometimes, I'm taken to a page where I can insert my reason, and things work as they should, but more often, nothing happens, and the template just ... pastes as text, looking like it does above. I can't puzzle out what I'm missing? --Haz215 (talk) 06:44, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

@Haz215 -- don't bother doing it manually. Use Twinkle instead and it makes it much easier.

Alternatively you can type {{subst:prod}} which will do what you want, I think. But I think it's just better to use Twinkle. Might take a bit to figure out but it's probably better in the long-term. Staraction (talk · contribs) 06:47, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

Huh, I can't actually show you the (correct) code I'm using, because it's been replaced in the above message by a warning box. What I'm trying to say is that there's no box or image of any kind when I do it, just the raw code itself, pasted at the top of the article as if it were typed text, and this is happening 9

80% of the time at random, despite me using an identical process every time. Beyond frustrating. Haz215 (talk) 06:47, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

If you want to write code I often wrap it in <code><nowiki> text here </code></nowiki> which will produce a codebox that has plaintext. Staraction (talk · contribs) 06:50, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

Thanks! I'm not spotting Twinkle on that gadgets list unfortunately, no results for it on a CTRL+F either. I'll keep slogging away manually. Haz215 (talk) 06:54, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

University of Delaware

It seems that you decreased the protection from August 20th to August 11th, did you mean to fully sysop? ~2026-43945-62 (talk) 20:14, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for the heads up. I did not, in fact, mean to "fully sysop" the page. Staraction (talk · contribs) 20:16, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

No problem. I also noticed that it was changed to indefinite semi-protection which is a little bit strange considering the fact that a auto-confirmed sock vandalized the page recently. Maybe extended-confirmed is needed here. ~2026-43945-62 (talk) 20:18, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

I don't find that necessary for now. Staraction (talk · contribs) 20:20, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

Okay. What about the sockpuppet investigation page? Should we just WP:DENY? ~2026-43945-62 (talk) 20:22, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

What about the sockpuppet investigation page? If you're asking about protection, I think we can leave it as-is for now too. Staraction (talk · contribs) 20:24, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

About User:CarefuI

I don't think this is a TL sock. Most of their socks are usually very obvious and Careful's edits don't seem suspicious except for their deletion review request to restore Mizzy which is a big red flag but their other edits such as the edit request made to Talk:Hurricane Ian seems to be made in good faith. What's likely is that this an editor who has an interest in social media pranksters. I think it's best to leave it to checkusers to determine whether or not it's TL as their suspicious request doesn't necessarily make them an obvious sock. ~2026-43787-87 (talk) 20:38, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

Hurricane Ian is also a recent sockpuppetry magnet. I do not buy that this an editor who has an interest in social media pranksters. They are free to appeal on UTRS if they wish, and I will not oppose an unblock if consensus is that they are not Timelash. I welcome review by any administrator or CheckUser who wishes to do so. Staraction (talk · contribs) 21:10, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

Global lock request – Oldabe8

Hi Staraction, I reported Oldabe8 at AIV for disruptive editing and spam in his edit summaries. He has now been blocked locally. Please also his cross‑wiki review contributions. Thanks. AriuCH (talk) 23:08, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

(talk page watcher) @AriuCH: Only stewards have the power to issue global locks, and Staraction is not a steward. You may go to M:SRG to request a global lock on a specific user/account. Left guide (talk) 23:38, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

Left guide, Thank you for your note and guidance. AriuCH (talk) 23:42, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

Potential slow-moving edit war (A question to you, as my mentor)

Hello again Staraction, and sorry if I ask too many questions.

Recently, the band Tally Hall issued an announcement about its future that led fans to believe that a member had been evicted from the band. It was uncomfirmed and vague, but nonetheless brand new TAs have been popping up and designating him a "past member" over the past few days. I opened a thread on the talk page and then at the teahouse, but then I let myself get really stressed and upset over it and vowed to retract myself from the discussion, but now I feel better and like taking part.

A user who seems to know more than me agreed with me on the talk page, which was cool as it suggested that opening the thread was the right thing to do.

Since then though, TAs who presumably aren't aware of the discussion have been removing him from the list of current members unsourcedly, so I guess my question is: Does this count as an edit war, and, if so, what should be done about it? Is there a way to point people to the talk page before they make changes? Does this warranty protection, or is that too excessive?

Sorry if this question is inappropriate, but thank you for your time. crtbob@talk:~$ ls contribs 08:10, 10 August 2026 (UTC)

Update: The article appears to have now been semi-protected. crtbob@talk:~$ ls contribs 10:49, 10 August 2026 (UTC)

Glad you're feeling better. Looks like you've got it figured out. Let me know if you need anything else. Staraction (talk · contribs) 13:20, 10 August 2026 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – August 2026

News and updates for administrators from the past month (July 2026).

Administrator changes

• MCE89
• Staraction

• Danaman5

CheckUser changes

• dbeef

Guideline and policy news

• Following an RfC, the 30-day requirement for extended-confirmed status now begins after an account's first edit instead of its registration (T431060).

Technical news

• Inactive editors can now be removed as mentors at Special:CommunityConfiguration/Mentorship automatically.
• The Suggested Edits' Revise Tone feature is now enabled. It encourages editors to identify and revise non-neutral language in articles.

Miscellaneous

• The Unreferenced articles August 2026 backlog drive is underway. Help to add references to 47,000 articles.
• The Articles for creation August 2026 backlog drive is under way. Help to review 4,500+ drafts.

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• Discuss this newsletter
• Subscribe
• Archive

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 19:52, 10 August 2026 (UTC)

Question regarding an SPI case you closed without action

Regarding Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Ananya Taye. I've stumbled upon this user via Commons where they uploaded a great number of files that seem to be copyvios. Since I was already going through their uploads, I also checked their abuse filter log. There I found at least one instance of them trying to overwrite a file that was originally uploaded by Paragkumardas (talk · contribs), see . Paragkumardas was found to be a sock (see Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Qwertywander/Archive). I've noticed that both users — Paragkumardas and AT — were/are being accused of POV-pushing about the Chutia kingdom. The uploaded files of Paragkumardas and AT also seem to show a noticeable overlap in topic area and it's common that socks overwrite images they had uploaded with a previous account from what I've noticed, that's why I checked Paragkumardas' carrier as a wiki editor and that's how I discovered the Quertywander SPI and the SPI on AT and that they are also being accused of the same type of POV-pushing.

So, with that in mind, do you think that there may be some merit to do a checkuser on AT as a potential sock of Quertywander (based on behavior, overlap in topic area interests, and the attempt to overwrite a sock's image with an updated version)? Nakonana (talk) 20:43, 10 August 2026 (UTC)

Here's some user interaction analysis between AT and known Qwertywander socks: . Nakonana (talk) 21:00, 10 August 2026 (UTC)

There's also a pattern of Qwertywander socking on Commons and uploading copyvios, see . And for some reason, a lot of Qwertywander socks are listed under Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Sairg/Archive with someone suspecting the are the same. AT made some quite similar uploads as the QW socks about Chutia, Bhismaknagar, Ahom Kingdom, Itafort etc.. Nakonana (talk) 22:26, 10 August 2026 (UTC)

If you think there's merit in that account being linked to others then please file a new case. The existing filing was not processable from a sockpuppetry perspective -- the reported sock did not even exist. Staraction (talk · contribs) 00:02, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

Courtesy ping: Nakonana. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 00:02, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

I've found that this has been suspected before (Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Sairg/Archive#13 August 2021), but I'm not sure I'd be able to provide the required strong evidence, especially since I'm not so familiar with the enwiki side of things. As mentioned, this user only caught my attention due to their copyvio uploads on Commons. A deletion request on copyright grounds for their files was opened on 26 May, but the Facebook images I stumbled upon were uploaded on 21 July, meaning that they continued with their copyvio uploads even after participating in the DR and being aware of the problem. There may be grounds to block them on Commons for that but probably not enough to run a CU. Nakonana (talk) 14:45, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

Hi @Nakonana -- thanks for the work you do on Commons. I'm not as involved on that project so won't be able to help you there but it looks like you've got that side handled. Good eye on finding the older SPI.  Possilikely (a mix between possible and likely) is a positive technical result and it looks like RoySmith closed the case on behaviour between Ananya Taye and Homogenie...and the case was five years ago. If you would like to file again, another clerk or CU might be able to take a look -- I'm a little busy at the moment, unfortunately. You should provide all the evidence you can there. If you're uncomfortable I might be able to take a look when I'm less busy, or find another clerk who likes gritty cases like these to take a look. Let me know what you decide to do. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 14:53, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Defender of the Wiki Barnstar
	Thanks. Drmies (talk) 15:14, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Defender of the Wiki Barnstar
	Thanks. Drmies (talk) 15:14, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

Thank you Drmies! Staraction (talk · contribs) 15:16, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

Haha I guess one is enough but you did a lot of work on this one. Thanks again. Drmies (talk) 15:21, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

Promotion of Nevada's congressional delegations

Congratulations, Staraction! The list you nominated, Nevada's congressional delegations, has been promoted to featured status, recognizing it as one of the best lists on Wikipedia. The nomination discussion has been archived.

This is a rare accomplishment and you should be proud. If you would like, you may nominate it to appear on the Main Page as Today's featured list. Keep up the great work! Cheers, PresN (talk) via FACBot (talk) 23:26, 13 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Crtbob (04:30, 14 August 2026)

Hello Staraction,

I sometimes see obvious vandals filing spurious false positive reports. Am I good to remove those reports, or should they stay there for an administrator to review?

Thanks, --crtbob@talk:~$ ls contribs 04:30, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

I'm not too active at edit filters but here's my understanding. If it's a sock you can WP:BLOCKREVERT them, or revert if it's egregiously and obviously vandalism. Otherwise {{EFFP|v}} produces Declined – Edits were vandalism.. Then, if things are egregious, find a sysop to rev-delete as normal. Staraction (talk · contribs) 04:36, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

The edits were pretty obviously vandalism — the user just added tung tung tung sahur to an unrelated article. Do I have the authority to decline the report though? crtbob@talk:~$ ls contribs 04:41, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

I don't see why you can't. If you get yelled at you can blame me, haha. Staraction (talk · contribs) 04:47, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

Alright, thanks.

By the way, I got an email from a user I contributed to the blocking of (I'm not sure if linking the page pings them, but their username was User:My ISP is SpaceX Services Inc (Starlink)) that featured an abusive/personal attack-y subject line and a word that might be a slur. The footer said to forward it to ArbCom if it was harassment, which I did, but I haven't received a reply back. I did it by clicking the forward button in my email client. Was there something I was supposed to do on this website to forward it instead? crtbob@talk:~$ ls contribs 04:54, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

@Crtbob, when did you send this email? In solidarity, asilvering (talk) 05:08, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

I forwarded it about 68 minutes ago. crtbob@talk:~$ ls contribs 05:10, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

I changed the subject line to "Fw: GO [redacted] YOURSELF!" because I felt that the original subject line would go to spam. Should I not have done that? crtbob@talk:~$ ls contribs 05:11, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

You're fine. It does, however, typically take more than an hour to get a response from the committee. In solidarity, asilvering (talk) 05:48, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

Okay, I'm really sorry for causing concern. I think my perception of email response time is skewed because all of my other emails have gone to oversight, who typically respond very quickly.

Sorry about this, and thanks for your reply. crtbob@talk:~$ ls contribs 05:52, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

@Asilvering your userpage says to ping you, so here it is just in case. Sorry if you're already here. crtbob@talk:~$ ls contribs 05:46, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

Question in WP:Help desk

Goodday Staraction, yesterday I asked this question: Wikipedia:Help desk#Invitation to admins in WP:AN for a request. I've seen that you wrote a reply in that page and that you're an admin, so I've tried turning to you. Could you help me with that request ("how to invite admins to reply to my request in WP:AN") or, even better, give me your reply to the request which I wrote in WP:AN please? ~2026-44462-88 (talk) 16:33, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

Hi @~2026-44462-88 -- per Wikipedia:Solicited administrator actions I'm not comfortable with actioning the AN request, sorry. I'm sure someone will take a look soon. Staraction (talk · contribs) 19:29, 14 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Juswritten (03:45, 16 August 2026)

Hello Elle, it's nice to meet you! I have never been on any type of forum or web page, where ppl can talk and edit on a site especially to this kind a scale! I guess I would be open to just learn anything you could teach and show me how to best use and help ppl use this space!

                                                                 Juswritten, --Juswritten (talk) 03:45, 16 August 2026 (UTC)

Hey @Juswritten -- I've left a welcome template on your talk page with a couple of helpful links. Do let me know if you have any questions! Staraction (talk · contribs) 03:57, 16 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Lomingo (04:02, 17 August 2026)

How do I change a photo or add a photo to a Wikipedia page --Lomingo (talk) 04:02, 17 August 2026 (UTC)

Hi @Lomingo -- Help:Image should give you some pointers. You'll probably want to start at the "thumbnails" section. Staraction (talk · contribs) 04:10, 17 August 2026 (UTC)

Organized Labour September Editing Event

You're invited to join the Organized Labour community editing event, a cross-wiki event taking place throughout September 2026!

The campaign brings together Wikimedians interested in improving coverage of organised labour, workers, trade unions, and labour history. We have confirmed collaborations with Wikipedia language editions in English, Dutch, Persian, Serbo-Croatian and French. If you want to add other language editions or other wiki projects you are strongly encouraged to do so! This event spans geography and languages!

This is a one-time invitation. You're receiving it because you previously signed a petition related to Wiki Workers United (WWU). We hope you'll join us!

Regards ~ Shushugah (talk) 14:20, 19 August 2026 (UTC)

A fox for you!

Thanks for the super fast rights change! I hope to keep fighting vandals with you c:

Lucas "nicatronTg" Nicodemus (talk) 19:48, 20 August 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for the cute fox, @NicatronTg! Much has changed since it seems like you were last active so I also suggest taking a gander around some of the other areas of the project too, if you're interested Staraction (talk · contribs) 19:50, 20 August 2026 (UTC)

Your submission at Articles for creation: Heysel 85 has been accepted

Heysel 85, which you submitted to Articles for creation, has been accepted!

Congratulations, and thank you for helping expand the scope of Wikipedia! We hope you will continue making quality contributions. Feel free to further improve your accepted article.

Future articles

• Since you have made at least 10 edits over more than four days, you can now create articles yourself without submitting a draft for review. However, you may continue submitting drafts to Articles for creation if you prefer.

• Once you have made at least 10 edits and had an account for at least four days, you will have the option to create articles yourself without posting a request to Articles for creation.

Next steps

• Find other Wikipedia articles related to your topic and add links pointing to the new article. This helps readers find it.
• Group the article with similar subjects by adding relevant categories.
• You may consider nominating a fact from the article within the next 7 days to appear on the Main Page's Did you know section.
• Wikipedia is a work in progress. You can continue to expand and improve the new article.
• The new article will become eligible to be indexed on search engines once patrolled or after 90 days; search engines may take time to reflect this.
• For friendly peer support regarding editing, sourcing, or policies, visit the Teahouse, a question and answer hub for new editors.

Thanks again, and happy editing!

Nomadwikiholic1 (talk) 12:14, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

New pages patrol September 2026 Backlog drive

September 2026 Backlog Drive | New pages patrol
On 1 September 2026, a one-month backlog drive for new pages patrol will begin at a particularly important time for NPP. The backlog has now passed 30,000 unreviewed articles, a level that has been described in current NPP discussions as exceptionally high and potentially difficult to overcome through normal reviewing alone. Backlog drives are one of the few measures that have historically produced a noticeable reduction in the backlog, so the participation of as many active patrollers as possible will matter this month. If you can review during September, please make articles your priority. Every article that is reviewed is a meaningful reduction in the backlog. With the queue at its current size, even a relatively small increase in the number of articles each patroller reviews can add up to a substantial difference over the course of the month. This is a hybrid drive, so redirect reviewing is still included. Redirects can be a useful way for newer patrollers to get comfortable with NPP and can help people build up to reviewing articles. However, the main goal of this drive is to tackle the article backlog, and experienced patrollers are particularly encouraged to spend as much of their available reviewing time on articles as they can. Barnstars will be awarded based on the number of articles and redirects patrolled. Each article review will earn 1 point, while each redirect review will earn 0.2 points. Streak awards will be given out based on consistently hitting point thresholds for each week of the drive. Barnstars will also be granted for re-reviewing articles previously reviewed by other patrollers during the drive. If you have been thinking about doing more NPP, this is an especially good month to jump in. Whether you can review a few pages or hundreds, every review helps. And if you are already an active patroller, please consider whether you can put in some additional time during September to help bring the backlog back under control. Interested in taking part? Sign up here.
You're receiving this message because you are a new page patroller. To opt-out of future mailings, please remove yourself here.

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:49, 24 August 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for protecting my user talk!

I would just like to personally thank you for helping erase vandalism and spam on my talk page, your contributions are dearly appreciated! <3 AGibberishUsername (talk) 23:46, 26 August 2026 (UTC)

Of course. Take care. Staraction (talk · contribs) 23:48, 26 August 2026 (UTC)

About sources listed at WP:ICTFSOURCES

Hi Staraction, I wanted to discuss about WP:ICTFSOURCES and the sources listed there. There are quite a few sources marked as reliable in the table, such as Catch News, Dinakaran and Stardust (magazine), etc many more, but I cannot find any discussion or consensus tagged to them in the table, establishing them as reliable, and many are also not even listed at WP:RSPSOURCES. There are also some other sources where there has been discussion, but it is not always clear whether there was an actual consensus.

Indian boxoffice reporting is already complicated, with no clear equivalent of Box Office Mojo or The Numbers used consistently for Hollywood films. For example, List of highest-grossing films generally uses these kinds of established sources, whereas List of highest-grossing Indian films currently uses many different sources. This seems to be contributing to repeated source-related edit warring across Indian cinema articles.

So how should we deal with sources that are currently listed as reliable in WP:ICTFSOURCES but do not appear to have any clear consensus supporting them? Does it make sense to review the list and narrow it down to a smaller number of more reputable and consistently reliable sources? I am honestly a bit confused about where to find a solution for this and where to get started. Should individual sources be discussed one by one, or is there a better place to have a wider discussion and establish some clearer consensus on which sources should be used for Indian box-office reporting?

I think having a more clearly established set of sources and stricter rules could help reduce the ongoing edit warring. Please let me know your thoughts on this as it would be really helpful. Thanks! Tonyy Starkk (talk) 06:46, 28 August 2026 (UTC)

Hi @Tonyy Starkk -- I must confess that I have next to no experience evaluating sources for Indian cinema, or working with WikiProject Film. I'll try to take a look shortly but can't promise I'll have anything useful to say. Staraction (talk · contribs) 14:16, 28 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Judith1129 (01:41, 29 August 2026)

Hello. I have been told to change my password. Cannot access the page I want to make changes on, so I guess it's a required change. How to change the password? --Judith1129 (talk) 01:41, 29 August 2026 (UTC)

Hi @Judith1129 -- you can go to Special:Preferences and under "Account security", hit "Change password". Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 04:09, 29 August 2026 (UTC)

Talk:August 2026 Nepal floods

Hey there, sorry for the traffic jam over there. Looks like we were both trying to resolve the same issue. Thanks for stepping in to help – that was my first time doing a WP:ROUNDROBIN. Dylan620 (he/they/she • talk • edits) 19:17, 29 August 2026 (UTC)

@Dylan620 -- all good. I've moved the page back to its original title at 2026 Nepal floods until someone closes the RM. FYI, there are a couple vandal fighters who are moving to a third title. In future User:BilledMammal/Move+ might be a script you want to check out. Staraction (talk · contribs) 19:20, 29 August 2026 (UTC)

Yeah, in retrospect, I definitely should have restored it to the original title instead of the title that the first vandal fighter moved it to. 'August' slipping in there seemed insignificant at the time, but the RM was still ongoing, plus WP:CONCISE and all that. Dylan620 (he/they/she • talk • edits) 19:28, 29 August 2026 (UTC)

WikiCup 2026 September newsletter

The fourth round of the 2026 WikiCup ended on 29 August at 23:59 (UTC). Everyone who competed in round 4 will advance to round 5 unless they have withdrawn or been removed. Round 4 was competitive, though slightly less so than round 3. Three contestants scored more than 1,000 round points; six scored over 500; and nine scored over 300. Each of the top five competitors had hundreds of points accumulated from multiple GAs. The following competitors scored more than 800 round points:

• Generalissima (submissions) with 1,318 points, mostly from 13 good articles and 3 featured articles about creeks and Chinese and Japanese subjects
• Vanderwaalforces (submissions) with 1,208 points from 2 featured articles, 2 featured lists, and 12 good articles about African leaders, along with over two dozen reviews
• A.Cython (submissions) with 1,084 points from 16 good articles and a small good topic about warfare and Greek elections, along with over two dozen reviews
• Vestrian24Bio (submissions) with 955 points, mostly from 2 FLs, 2 featured topics, and 16 GAs about cricket, and almost two dozen reviews
• Bgsu98 (submissions) with 837 points from 4 FLs and 8 GAs about figure skating, along with two dozen reviews

The full scores for round 4 can be seen here. During this round, contestants have claimed 10 featured articles, 11 featured lists, 8 featured-topic articles, 103 good articles, 6 good-topic articles and more than 30 Did You Know articles. In addition, competitors have worked on 11 In the News articles, and they have conducted 170 peer reviews, FA and GA reviews. The tournament points table has been updated.

Remember that any content promoted after 29 August but before the start of Round 5 can be claimed in Round 5. Invitations for collaborative writing efforts or any other discussion of potentially interesting work is always welcome on the WikiCup talk page. Remember, if two or more WikiCup competitors have done significant work on an article, all can claim points. If you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews Needed. If you want to help out with the WikiCup, feel free to review one of the nominations listed on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews Needed. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove your name from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:43, 30 August 2026 (UTC)

"He who does not keep peace shall lose his hand."

	The axe of responsibility
	Shiny new tools might be used to mete out justice, mercy or a dose of reality. Let us commit to not losing our cool when using them. Our only armor is the entire community's trust. We wear it for each other, each new contributor, and each new generation to come. May you ever be the community's champion. BusterD (talk) 15:58, 30 August 2026 (UTC)

Thank you! Staraction (talk · contribs) 18:14, 30 August 2026 (UTC)

Concern regarding Draft:Trader Joe's tote bag

Hello, Staraction. This is a bot-delivered message letting you know that Draft:Trader Joe's tote bag, a page you created, has not been edited in at least five months. Drafts that have not been edited for six months may be deleted, so if you wish to retain the page, please edit it again or request that it be moved to your userspace.

If the page has already been deleted, you can request it be undeleted so you can continue working on it.

Thank you for your submission to Wikipedia. FireflyBot (talk) 17:07, 30 August 2026 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

Good evening, @Staraction! 😊

I am giving you a barnstar!

		The "What a Brilliant Idea!" Barnstar
		Everyday, I check in Special:BlockList and you thought of a fantastic idea to block various sockpuppets of different sockpuppeteers, along with MCE89! Congratulations! Cheers, (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠) Zahrazamedahmedi (🗨️My Talk Page🗨️) (🫗My Mistakes🫗) 18:29, 31 August 2026 (UTC)

Happy editing! Cheers, (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠) Zahrazamedahmedi (🗨️My Talk Page🗨️) (🫗My Mistakes🫗) 18:29, 31 August 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for the barnstar. Staraction (talk · contribs) 18:29, 31 August 2026 (UTC)

Draft:Your Name Here (novel)

Hi there! Hope you're well. I see you created Draft:Your Name Here (novel) a while back and an IP editor (probably not you?) submitted it for AfC, where it was declined on the basis of WP:NBOOK not being met. I think that this is wrong (given the extensive coverage in the 'linkdump'), and that it probably got declined because it just doesn't look like an article yet. I'd be happy to develop it a bit and move it to mainspace, or let me know if you'd prefer to work on it yourself? Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 23:50, 31 August 2026 (UTC)

@Chocmilk03 -- I'd love it if you were to work on the article! I don't think I'll ever be able to get to it at this rate. The TA indeed wasn't me. Let me know if you want more sourcing or help with the article in any way! Staraction (talk · contribs) 23:54, 31 August 2026 (UTC)

@Staraction: Great. Thanks for the quick response and offer of assistance, I'll add it to my list. :) Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 01:49, 1 September 2026 (UTC)

@Staraction: Now published! Your Name Here (novel). I'm going to nominate it for DYK shortly, but would very much welcome any contributions or additions you might want to make in the meantime. :) I've also just had it arrive from our local library, I'm not usually a reader of experimental novels (and suspect I may not be smart enough for this one!) but thought I'd give it a go. Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 01:51, 15 September 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for your wonderful work! I'll be sure to read through it soon :) Staraction (talk · contribs) 01:59, 15 September 2026 (UTC)

Oh, and you are welcome to use a QPQ from my bank for the DYK if you so choose. But I understand you might want to just review another hook yourself. Staraction (talk · contribs) 02:00, 15 September 2026 (UTC)

Fuzheado petition

I just want to express concern that if the petition is closed at 25 signatures, and then the people claiming improper canvassing manage to disqualify some signatures, things will get very messy. Perhaps that can't happen, I don't know, but it worries me. M kuhner (talk) 04:15, 1 September 2026 (UTC)

If signatures are disqualified per consensus then the petition can be reopened. At present I don't believe there is consensus to disqualify those signatures (despite having been discussed) and thus closing the discussion now is fine. I will also note that recall petitions are not consensus-based, and thus canvassing may not be applicable, depending on your interpretation. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 04:24, 1 September 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for the reassurance.

I wish there were some way to prevent recall petitions filling up with discussions about the recall mechanism. That felt a lot more brutal than it needed to be. But at least it's done--and worries aside, thank you for the prompt close. M kuhner (talk) 04:39, 1 September 2026 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

Good evening, @Staraction! 😊

Here's a barnstar!

		The Half Barnstar
		Congratulations, Staraction! Here's this barnstar for you and MCE89's job on blocking sockpuppets! Cheers, (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠) Zahrazamedahmedi (🗨️My Talk Page🗨️) (🫗My Mistakes🫗) 22:40, 3 September 2026 (UTC)

Happy editing! Cheers, (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠) Zahrazamedahmedi (🗨️My Talk Page🗨️) (🫗My Mistakes🫗) 22:40, 3 September 2026 (UTC)

Thanks. Staraction (talk · contribs) 22:41, 3 September 2026 (UTC)

Talk:Sex

Just a heads up. I think I fixed Talk:Sex to how it was before the move vandalism, but let me know if not. SmartSE (talk) 16:31, 4 September 2026 (UTC)

Ah, I didn't realise there was more extant move vandalism. Thanks for your work. Staraction (talk · contribs) 16:47, 4 September 2026 (UTC)

Concern regarding Draft:Boat and Tote

Hello, Staraction. This is a bot-delivered message letting you know that Draft:Boat and Tote, a page you created, has not been edited in at least five months. Drafts that have not been edited for six months may be deleted, so if you wish to retain the page, please edit it again or request that it be moved to your userspace.

If the page has already been deleted, you can request it be undeleted so you can continue working on it.

Thank you for your submission to Wikipedia. FireflyBot (talk) 20:07, 4 September 2026 (UTC)

Please protect Obsession (2025 film)

Hi. Thank you for blocking the vandals at Obsession. However, please semiprotect it—I don't see how it's productive to let the vandalism happen. Axolitl (talk | contribs) 22:31, 7 September 2026 (UTC)

Done for two weeks. Staraction (talk · contribs) 22:34, 7 September 2026 (UTC)

Sorry to bug you on your talk page so quickly after you left a nice message on mine, but the vandal just made an account and did a page-move. ~2026-41404-95 (talk) 22:40, 7 September 2026 (UTC)

You're all good. Dealing with it... Staraction (talk · contribs) 22:41, 7 September 2026 (UTC)

Hello, recent spam was from Warframe Wiki being brigaded with fake error messages over here

Hello! Just informing you that the recent spam was caused by a vandal inserting fake error messages in WF wiki telling genuine, uninformed anons to send messages to you. We've since undone the fake error messages and put on stricter filters and protective measures, but just thought I'd let you know!

Please reconsider any bans for the following anons for this spam. ~2026-48709-81 (talk) 09:13, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for your swift action. Your wiki hasn't been the only ones targeted recently -- I would've tried to help but y'all had dealt with it by the time I noticed! I'll look through and see if there's anyone who should be unblocked. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 15:55, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

Hey (about vandals)

Due to the vandalism edits by banned user Timelash, I have made a sockpuppet investigation here ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sockpuppet_investigations/Timelash ) and due to you being an admin I was wondering if I would hear your say. - anonymsiy.user - (talk) 15:52, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

Replied there. Staraction (talk · contribs) 16:03, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

Advice regarding SPAs

hihihihi, recently got https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:AWAWorkplace as a mentee, and I don't know if they're allowed to stay or not? Just came to ask you, what should I do? I'm not very knowledgeable about SPAs and last time I warned an SPA with a name that obviously connected an admin just came by and blocked them lol pattersonuwu ^njz (talk) 17:11, 10 September 2026 (UTC)

Looks like @CoconutOctopus has given them an AGF username notice. We can see what happens from there. Staraction (talk · contribs) 17:40, 10 September 2026 (UTC)

rfa answer

I've been AWOL for a couple of months so missed seeing your RfA go by, but I just had to comment on this answer to a question: I created Gastronationalism because I was seeing it at so many articles and finally the penny dropped: we don't even have an article! :D I literally had to banner Cincinnati chili for WP:CT/EE because of the edit warring over whether the creators were Greek, Bulgarian, or Macedonian. Cincinnati chili! I created Politics of food in the Arab–Israeli conflict because Falafel had become so bloated with politics, there was more about politics than about food. I have been stewarding Hainanese chicken rice for years. Many of these disputes are already covered in some other CT, but if you ever see anyone discussing whether gastronationalism itself should be a CT, ping me. :D Valereee (talk) 17:44, 11 September 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for your work on the article and I definitely will do! Staraction (talk · contribs) 06:54, 13 September 2026 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – September 2026

News and updates for administrators from the past month (August 2026).

Administrator changes

Dclemens1971

• Lectonar

• Bucketsofg
• Keenan Pepper
• The Wordsmith
• Caknuck

Oversight changes

• Richwales

Guideline and policy news

• Speedy deletion criteria G15 has been renamed from "LLM-generated pages without human review" to "Unambiguously LLM-generated pages" and has an additional sign of detection added to it following a RfC.

Miscellaneous

• The September 2026 New Pages Patrol backlog drive is ongoing. Help tackle the 30,000+ article backlog!
• This week's article for improvement will be added to the Main Page to try converting readers into editors following a RfC.

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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 20:37, 14 September 2026 (UTC)

Question from Jayaryans (15:23, 21 September 2026)

Hello mentor Staraction, One of my articles was reverted because I asked ChatGPT to polish the language. I am now slowly re-editing that article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi_at_Ashtanga_Ayurveda_Vidyalaya_(1925)

However in the meantime other people have jumped on the bandwagon and have started reverting my other edits as well. This is patently unfair. This is cancel culture - and people cannot simply undo my 5 months worth of intense research with one-click of a button. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamini_Bhushan_Ray

Feeling very discouraged with developments. --Jayaryans (talk) 15:23, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

Hi @Jayaryans. You should discuss the changes with the editors who have been making them (in this case @Premeditated Chaos). So the easiest thing to do here would be to respond on your talk page and engage with a discussion with PMC. Please take note of our policies regarding LLM use, especially Wikipedia:Presumptive removal of AI-generated content. I'm sorry to hear that you've been feeling discouraged, but most people here are quite reasonable and you'll find that just discussing with them will lead to a resolution. Good luck, and feel free to reach out with any further questions. Staraction (talk · contribs) 17:13, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

Terraria wiki

Hi, terraria.wiki.gg currently has an error message many pages saying the page was vandalised by a certain Wikipedia user, and has a link to this page for 'Contact this administrator on this page to remove this vandalism'. SirJorb (talk) 00:39, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

I see the same several summoner weapon pages ~2026-52074-37 (talk) 00:49, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

Yeah no idea how this works, or if me chiming in has any value, but I see the same on a number of pages. Secret world seeds. Shroomite armor. NPCs. Just the ones I remember of the last couple minutes ~2026-51980-57 (talk) 00:51, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

(talk page stalker) @SirJorb, @~2026-52074-37, @~2026-51980-57: The Terraria wiki was vandalised with a fake error message directing readers to post here, but there's nothing that anyone on Wikipedia can do about any issues you're having on that site. It looks like the vandalism has all been fixed now anyway -- if you encounter further issues you'll need to contact the Terraria wiki's administrators. MCE89 (talk) 01:00, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

Sadly, not all vandalism has been fixed yet (e.g. the wandering eye). Pepiart (talk) 01:12, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

Queen slime and blade staff are broke too ~2026-52083-39 (talk) 05:02, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

Thanks. I thought it was weird it directed here, but won't pretend i actually know how its all run, so I just took it at face value. Appreciate the clarification ~2026-51980-57 (talk) 01:16, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

flask of ichor page vandalised

not sure what to put here but saw a post on Reddit and it is still vandalised currently ~2026-52219-47 (talk) 05:22, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

@~2026-52219-47 The best people to contact are Terraria Wiki's adminstrator's wiki so that they can remove any vandalism. English Wikipedia adminstrators cannot do much in this context. Based on looking at the Flask of ichor page, it does not appear to be vandalized at the moment, so you might be viewing a cached version of that page (you can purge the page by appending `?action=purge` to the URL. Sohom (talk) 05:29, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

griefing

https://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/Hexxed_Branch ~2026-52253-14 (talk) 20:52, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

New cross-language page link: Dinosaur emojis

A new page Dinozor emojileri on the Turkish Wikipedia has been linked to page Dinosaur emojis, which you created, via Wikidata (Q136718086).

You will not be notified in the future about new articles linked to any of the articles you have created, if you wish to opt-in to receiving these notifications, please follow the opt-in instructions.

NervousBot (talk) 15:42, 29 September 2026 (UTC)

Your draft article, Draft:Trader Joe's tote bag

Hello, Staraction. This message concerns the Articles for Creation submission or draft page you started, "Trader Joe's tote bag".

Drafts that go unedited for six months are eligible for deletion, in accordance with our draftspace policy, and this one has been nominated for deletion. If you plan on working on it further, or editing it to address the issues raised if it was declined, simply , and remove the {{db-afc}}, {{db-draft}}, or {{db-g13}} code.

If your submission has already been deleted by the time you read this, you can request its undeletion. An administrator will, in most cases, restore the draft so you can continue to work on it.

Thank you for your submission to Wikipedia! DreamRimmer bot II (talk) 17:24, 30 September 2026 (UTC)

Will you be my mentor?

I'll tell you up front that I come with a lot of baggage, but I'd really like a mentor and think you would suit me well. Would you be my? Could you be my? Won't you be my mentor? I'd like to trade all the luggage for a daypack. Lightbreather (talk) 23:29, 30 September 2026 (UTC)

Hi @Lightbreather. It's probably obvious based on my response time but my capacity for Wikipedia has dropped significantly in the past few weeks due to personal reasons. I'm not sure how long this will continue for. I'm sorry to say I won't be a great mentor for at least this time. Wishing you good luck and happy editing. Best, Staraction (talk · contribs) 02:08, 5 October 2026 (UTC)

OK. Thank you. Lightbreather (talk) 18:46, 5 October 2026 (UTC)

Retirement

I am retiring from Wikipedia. Wikipedia was built on the philosophy of curiosity leading to discovery. I believe this is why I was attracted in the first place. I'm stepping back while I still remember what the curiosity felt like. Thank you for your contributions! All messages on my talk page are welcome. CostalCal (talk) 02:54, 3 October 2026 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – October 2026

News and updates for administrators from the past month (September 2026).

Administrator changes

• Cleared as filed
• Dante Alighieri
• Doug Weller
• Gentgeen
• Vacant0

Oversight changes

• Doug Weller
• ToBeFree

Guideline and policy news

• Following an RfC, the good article criteria have been amended to add accessibility requirements.
• Following an RfC, late signatures added to administrator recall petitions after 720 hours from opening are reverted or struck and do not count towards the threshold, even if the petition has not yet been formally closed.
• The post-May 2026 administrator elections RfCs concluded with consensus for election monitors to curate blatantly inappropriate questions after posting, and to remove or merge true duplicates, clearly marking merged questions. Calls for candidates will include advisory guidance that users with less than one year’s experience or 5,000 edits generally lack a realistic chance of success.

Technical news

• Interface administrators no longer need to specify the ResourceLoader option in the definitions for gadgets on MediaWiki:Gadgets-definition as gadgets are always loaded through ResourceLoader. (T298199)
• The list=abusefilters API module now supports formatversion=2 and includes breaking changes to its responses. In particular, the actions property is now a JSON array rather than a string, regardless of the format version. Maintainers of user scripts and other code using this module should check compatibility and update their code as needed. (T435828)

Arbitration

• The arbitration case Gun control 2 has been closed.

Obituaries

• Doug Weller passed away on 30 September 2026. Doug Weller began editing Wikipedia in 2006 and became an administrator in 2008, making nearly 275,000 edits over two decades. He served on the Arbitration Committee from 2015 through 2018 and was also a longtime CheckUser and Oversighter.

Miscellaneous

• The October 2026 administrator elections are scheduled to run from September 29 to October 19. The call for candidates ends October 5.
• Self-nominations for the electoral commission for the 2026 Arbitration Committee elections is opened and closes on 8 October.
• The Good Article Nominations backlog drive has begun and is scheduled to end on November 3.

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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 07:31, 3 October 2026 (UTC)

Wikipedia:The Asia-Oceania Destubathon

Hi, just to let you know that I'm running The Asia-Oceania Destubathon in November in support of Wikipedia:Asia Month. £2000 (about $2,689.54) in prizes. As you have previously signed up for Asian Month, letting you know as it's a chance to produce content and win prizes too this year! We'd love to have you on board. Sign up if interested! ♦ Dr. Blofeld 13:47, 3 October 2026 (UTC)

Your draft article, Draft:Boat and Tote

Hello, Staraction. This message concerns the Articles for Creation submission or draft page you started, "Boat and Tote".

Drafts that go unedited for six months are eligible for deletion, in accordance with our draftspace policy, and this one has been nominated for deletion. If you plan on working on it further, or editing it to address the issues raised if it was declined, simply , and remove the {{db-afc}}, {{db-draft}}, or {{db-g13}} code.

If your submission has already been deleted by the time you read this, you can request its undeletion. An administrator will, in most cases, restore the draft so you can continue to work on it.

Thank you for your submission to Wikipedia! DreamRimmer bot II (talk) 19:24, 4 October 2026 (UTC)

Technical evidence

As a minor nit regarding Special:Diff/1379625579, I'm not sure what you meant by "technical" as in "Technical and behavioural (e.g. reference name format) evidence". In the context of SPI, "technical evidence" means "checkuser data", i.e. CheckUser results are often referred to as technical evidence, in contrast to publicly available behavioural evidence from WP:SPI, which I assume is not what you intended. RoySmith (talk) 11:49, 11 October 2026 (UTC)

@RoySmith -- 'twas a reference to TAIV. I probably could've just said that. Apologies for the confusion. Staraction (talk · contribs) 15:30, 11 October 2026 (UTC)

Not a big deal. TAIV certainly provides a plethora of opportunities for confusion :-) RoySmith (talk) 16:03, 11 October 2026 (UTC)

PS, see Special:Diff/1379728191. RoySmith (talk) 16:21, 11 October 2026 (UTC)

September 2026 NPP backlog drive – Points award

		The Invisible Barnstar
		This award is given in recognition of Staraction for accumulating at least 5 points in the September 2026 NPP backlog drive. Your contributions helped review 14549 articles and 3163 redirects during the drive. Thank you so much for taking part and helping reduce the backlog! Max (talk) 16:28, 13 October 2026 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Admin's Barnstar
	Thanks for the assist with the SPI archiving this evening/morning, Staraction! Much appreciated. It was a slog. TheSandDoctor Talk 06:03, 16 October 2026 (UTC)

Thanks, @TheSandDoctor. It's always nice to see you around. You're always welcome to join us in some gnarly behavioural analyses if that suits your fancy Staraction (talk · contribs) 06:04, 16 October 2026 (UTC)

Boo!

Happy Halloween!

---

Hello Staraction:
Thanks for all of your contributions to improve Wikipedia, and have a happy and enjoyable Halloween!
    – Zahrazamedahmedi (🗨️My Talk Page🗨️) (🫗My Mistakes🫗) 23:26, 17 October 2026 (UTC)

Send Halloween cheer by adding {{subst:Happy Halloween}} to user talk pages with a friendly message.

Zahrazamedahmedi (🗨️My Talk Page🗨️) (🫗My Mistakes🫗) 23:26, 17 October 2026 (UTC)

Thanks. Wishing you an enjoyable Halloween too. Staraction (talk · contribs) 00:10, 18 October 2026 (UTC)

You're Welcome!

Halloween is around the corner! 😇🎃🕸️

Happy editing! 😁 Zahrazamedahmedi (🗨️My Talk Page🗨️) (🫗My Mistakes🫗) 00:12, 18 October 2026 (UTC)

Assistance with Sockpuppet account

Hello Mr Staraction,

I hope you are doing well. I am requesting your quick intervention against a self-admitted socket puppet who has been abusing a countless number of articles and who continues to engage in edit wars with others. His previous or sock master account seems to have been swiftly banned due to engaging in the same behavior against other articles and editors. Re-fixing those articles isnt working because he continues to return to them and re-apply his disruptive edits. He's also been accusing me and attacking my character as an editor across articles as well. Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Roshan Jatt - Wikipedia is the link to the sockpuppet investigations. Pidgin Muivah is the new account. He seems to not have changed his behavior after the first ban and is obviously not here to make wikipedia a better place.

Thank you for your time A Human of Time (talk) 20:00, 20 October 2026 (UTC)

Hi @A Human of Time. Unfortunately given the reasoning at WP:Solicited administrator actions I do not feel comfortable actioning this request. Additionally I do not use the honorific "Mr". Thanks for your understanding. Staraction (talk · contribs) 21:26, 20 October 2026 (UTC)