User talk:Quadell

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I am currently on Wikidramabreak

Due to a recent irl loss, I find myself less able than usual to deal appropriately with interpersonal stress. Therefore I'm in the middle of a Wikidramabreak.
I'm still editing, but I'm trying to completely sidestep all conflict for the time being. (It isn't easy, but I'm doing my best.)
If I seem rude or unresponsive, it's nothing personal, I assure you.

Quadell's talk archive
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Archive 1

Contents

[edit] Polbot

Hello,

How are you choosing which works you import with Polbot? Can we make suggestions? Yann 21:35, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

I just pick whatever interests me. Sure you can make suggestions! The worst I can do is say no, right? ;-) What's your fancy? —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 21:58, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
I would like texts of John Ruskin [1] and Annie Wood Besant [2]. Thanks, Yann 00:12, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

I wonder if PolBot could handle this? I was going to do it manually, but the footnotes seem daunting. Sherurcij Collaboration of the Week: Author:Augustus John Cuthbert Hare 09:37, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Wow! Footnotes, sidenotes, everything! I'll have her look into it. —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 11:57, 18 February 2008 (UTC)
Okay, I imported it, but that was a beast. Ligatures, special characters, double-apostrophes instead of quotes at random places, etc. Probably the hardest work I've ever imported. But it's a great read, and still timely in many ways, so it was worth it! —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 18:59, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Shaw, Extension 2

Candida complete. You Never Can Tell next. Wugo 22:18, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

You Never Can Tell proofed. Capitan Brassbound next. Wugo 03:40, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Captain Brassbound's Conversion finished. Man and Superman is next. No, wait! Shouldn't you break M & S up into sub-pages before I tackle it? Meanwhile I'll do Pygmalion Oops. Pygmalion needs your touch as well! So does Dark Lady of the Sonnets which I've already proofed. Please let me know what I should do.Wugo 02:07, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Looks like M&S and Pyg. both need some cleanup before you can formally proof them. Are there any more left, or are these the last 2 plays we have? —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 03:24, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

There are many more plays, some novels and some essays. I'd like to work on Heartbreak House after doing Pyg and M&S. While I work on those perhaps you'll try your hand at Back to Methuselah, which is the longest of his works. We must do Saint Joan as well; it won his Nobel prize (1925). The plays I list are available at Gutenberg; do you need the URLS? Insatiably, Wugo 04:28, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

They are:

Wugo 05:27, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Okay, I split Man and Superman and Pygmalion into acts, and fixed some minor errors in each. Dark Lady of the Sonnets really doesn't need any further splitting, though, since it's a one-act play.
I would love to import Saint Joan, but I can't--it's not PD in the U.S. Here's the thing: All Shaw's plays are considered copyrighted in the UK, since Shaw died in 1950, and the UK won't consider any of his plays to have fallen into the public domain until January 2021. The U.S., however, considers Shaw's pre-1923 plays to be in the public domain, and since Wikisource is hosted in the U.S., we can use those plays. But "Saint Joan" was published in 1924, and its copyright was registered and renewed with the U.S. Copyright Office, so its copyright won't expire (in the U.S.) until 2019. In Australia, however, the rules are different. Australia's copyright law is complex, but basically all works published by authors who died before 1957 are in the public domain there. That's why "Gutenberg Australia" has host Saint Joan, since the servers are down under, but the U.S. Project Gutenberg can only host Shaw's pre-1923 plays, and Project Gutenberg Europe can't host any of his plays at all.
There is no "Wikisource Australia". . . but there is something called WikiLivres, hosted in Canada. (Canada only honors copyright for 50 years after the death of the author, so all Shaw's works are PD there.) So the work could be added there.
Anyway, enough law. I'll import a few other plays now. Good working with you! —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 18:56, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for WikiLivres. When pre-1923 Shaw is all posted here, I'll add his later works to Livres. Who knows?—by then I may understand the process. For now, I'll take a poke at Pyg then tell you when it's proofed. High compliment: You are the most dependable associate I've found in this whole big Webworld! Wugo 20:24, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Wow, thanks! As for dependability, it takes one to know one. ;-) By the way, are you interested in Shaw's novels? I just imported The Irrational Knot, An Unsocial Socialist, and Cashel Byron's Profession. They're not as enjoyable to read, but they're easier to import. :-) —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 21:23, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Certainly the novels. Cashel, for example, contains Shaw's first reference to land reform and all the novels provide useful information about his developmental years. I suggest you upload, as well, Love Amoung the Artists [3]]. It is a truly boring story, but who are we to pick and choose? Immaturity, his first novel, is beyond our reach because it was published long after 1923. I've read a paper copy of it, and it's better than it's painted by reviewers. Wugo 22:27, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Shaw developed his system of punctuation over the years and never became consistent in it's usage. For apostrophes, I favor the use predominating in the writing I am actually proofing. Fortunately, it makes little difference if my guess is wrong or right, as far as understanding is concerned. What troubles me the most is his erratic use of colons; at times it is impossible to stay my hand! I also routinely replace his double hyphens (--} with an —; I feel sure he would approve of that. (The poor guy only had a typewriter, and those didn't recognize HTML!} Wugo 05:54, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
(I should have known you were already hip to Shaw's typographical vagaries.) Oh, yeah, if you're using a specific printed edition then by all means stick with it. It would be a good idea to list it in the "textinfo" template on the talk page. —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 11:55, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Concerning "textinfo", I hear and will obey. Not to interrupt my carping, I will say Shaw's use of the apostrophe also presents a challenge. I respect omissions when contractions are involved but callously restore them where they indicate possession if confusion seems a possibility. Wugo 15:58, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Have read this one?– http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300461h.html  Shaw, in shirtsleeves! Wugo 19:37, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

I have now! What an odd little play. —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 01:35, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

Pygmalion proofed, Man and Superman comes next. Wugo 05:33, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Category:Science fiction

As a heads-up, I noticed that you had created the above category about a week ago. Perhaps you didn't know this, but a Category:Science Fiction was created three or four years ago. I posted a notice on the deletions page suggesting that the two categories be merged. Wild Wolf 16:57, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for letting me know. —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 18:33, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Automating Author pages

I wonder if it would be possible for Wikisource/PolBot/You to devise something similar to your Copyright page, wherein I can paste a "list" of authors, in this case 19th-century Canadian poets;

A. H. Reginald Buller (1874-1944)
William Wilfred Campbell (1858?-1918)
Bliss Carman (1861-1929)
Isabella Valancy Crawford (1850-1887)
William Henry Drummond (1854-1907)
Caroline Hayward (fl. 1855)
Anne Hecht (fl. 1786)
Joseph Howe (1804-1873)
E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) (1861-1913)
Raymond Knister (1899-1932)
Sonnet L'Abbé (1973-)
Archibald Lampman (1861-99)
Stephen Leacock (1869-1944)
Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon (1829-1879)
Evan MacColl (1808-1898)
Dr. John McCrae (1872-1918)
James McIntyre (1827-1906)
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942)
Susanna Moodie (1803-1885)
Simon Joseph Ortiz (1941-)
John Arthur Phillips (1842-1907)
Marjorie Pickthall (1883-1922)
Charles G. D. Roberts (1860-1943)
Alexander MacGregor Rose (1846-1898)
Duncan Campbell Scott (1862-1947)
Frederick George Scott (1861-1944)
Robert W. Service (1874-1958)
Annie Louisa Walker (1836-1907)


Your bot would then grab the template;

{{author
|firstname =
|lastname =
|last_initial =
|birthyear =
|deathyear =
|description =
|image =
|wikipedia_link =
|wikiquote_link =
|commons_link =
}}

and auto-create an author-page, with the {{Populate}} tag and a blank ==Works== header or something? I think it's becoming increasingly relevant to our task to keep authorPages for as many authors as possible, but nobody wants to spend ten minutes filling in the basic details for each author on a list of twenty authors. Sherurcij Collaboration of the Week: Author:Honoré de Balzac 01:21, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

That's certainly doable, and it sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately you're asking me this right after you start of CotW that I can really sink my teeth into! For now, go ahead and make a list and I'll go to it. If you know other info that you can group by (e.g. "This author has a Wikipedia page at this name" or "All these authors get Category:Canadian authors and Category:Poets), then so much the better. —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 01:34, 22 February 2008 (UTC)
Might as well make the bot link to a Wikipedia link at the same name as the authorPage. I doubt it's worth linking to Commons or Quote in the same way however, whereas WP is likely to have an article on an author - WQ and Commons are not. Sherurcij Collaboration of the Week: Author:Honoré de Balzac 02:39, 22 February 2008 (UTC)
I'll try to get a few notable lists posted at User:Sherurcij/lists for now, awaiting this ability :) Sherurcij Collaboration of the Week: Author:Honoré de Balzac 19:16, 22 February 2008 (UTC)
Wikisource:Quakers has three new texts that need importing at the bottom. Sherurcij Collaboration of the Week: Author:Honoré de Balzac 23:30, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Shaw, Extension 3

Q., Man & Superman should include The Revolutionist's Handbook" as an appendix. Bartleby has it at http://www.bartleby.com/157/5.html Can you tack it on to the version you've uploaded? Wugo 19:54, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

Got it. Man, that's delightful! I'd never read it before. I love it! —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 11:46, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm glad you salvaged it. The "Handbook" is mentioned often in the play so a void is left if it is unavailable. I'm done with Act III now; it took more editing than usual. I usually italicize Shaw's stage directions but—this time—didn't on those that introduce the scenes: In M&S they tend to be quite lengthy, so italics would be annoying to a reader.Wugo 15:54, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Man and Superman is proofed. Note: Your link "11X" at the end of Handbook leads to nothing; please correct it. The Irrational Knot comes next.Wugo 00:50, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
I don't see an 11X link anywhere. Where do you mean? —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 14:27, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

Please follow http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Man_and_Superman/The_Revolutionist%27s_Handbook Look at the last item in the Table of Contents Wugo 15:04, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

The Irrational Knot is now corrected and proofread. Please upload Heartbreak House at your convenience: http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext02/hrtbk10.txt Wugo 03:04, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Cashel Byron proofing finished. Next An Unsocial Socialist Did you notice the two novels have some characters in common? I think that's worth pointing out. Wugo 00:09, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

An Unsocial Socialist is proofed. Nothing else is now available. I'll try to upload an easy one myself, while waiting for your next. Wugo 00:52, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] PG

Gutenberg texts are the easiest for your bot, right?


would be appreciated if they'd be easy for you. If they're going to eat up an hour of your afternoon though, don't worry about it :) Sherurcij Collaboration of the Week: Author:Honoré de Balzac 03:48, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Collaboration project

This weeks collaboration project is G. W. Bush. Please take the time this week to identify and/or transcribe one important work by, or involving, this very prominent person who is relevant to us all. John Vandenberg (chat) 02:28, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] a bot issue

Hi, just an FYI for future runs of the polbot task that created the redirects: a few redirects have turned out to be double redirects, and have been fixed by User:Computer. [6][7][8][9].

All is well that ends well :-) John Vandenberg (chat) 07:23, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Coalition Provisional Authority

After the webpage for the w:Coalition Provisional Authority under w:Paul Bremer went offline for a year, it's recently come back online and I was wanting to make sure we mirrored all its documents due to their incredible historic interest. I was hoping your bot would be able to somehow help fill out the texts I've listed at Wikisource:Coalition Provisional Authority, all of which are handily held at http://www.cpa-iraq.org/regulations/ (at least for the time being). Worst-case scenario I suppose even if the bot could just upload the PDFs to Commons, or create Page: textspaces or something...it would be a great help in preserving these documents. Sherurcij Collaboration of the Week: Author:Karl Marx 02:46, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, I haven't checked here much lately. Face-blush.svg Yeah, I think this is pretty important. I'll see what I can do. —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 12:42, 7 August 2008 (UTC)
I manually put all of the PDFs on commons under Category:Coalition Provisional Authority, so it is now a matter of transcription/OCR. Sherurcij Collaboration of the Week: Author:Charles Spurgeon 12:44, 7 August 2008 (UTC)
Terrific. At first I'll just upload the output of Adobe Acrobat's "save as text" function. In this case, it's pretty bad. Entire pages are randomly missing (not encoded as text), and there are lots of bad-OCR artifacts. Later I'll OCR the PDFs myself and put better versions up. These should be the best text-versions available anywhere. —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 13:05, 7 August 2008 (UTC)
Sorry, it seems I uploaded two types of files to Commons, those at commons:Category:Coalition Provisional Authority documents and those at commons:Category:Financial Coalition Provisional Authority documents. Hopefully this just means one or two extra clicks. Sherurcij Collaboration of the Week: Author:Charles Spurgeon 13:09, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Okay, I've added the PDF->text output for all the documents that allowed it. I'll OCR all these docs at some point. —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 16:50, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Update: I have OCR software that's very good at converting pagescan images to text, but it doesn't read PDFs. The basic Adobe Acrobat doesn't have a way of saving pages as images, and I don't feel like using screencapture software for this. I'm in the process of getting Adobe Acrowriter, and I believe it will allow "save as image" functionality. Developing... —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 20:17, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

[edit] MediaWiki:Gadget-TemplatePreloader.js

Hello,

I think this script is one of the most useful feature of Wikisource, so I an trying to improve it a bit. ;o) Could you look at MediaWiki talk:Gadget-TemplatePreloader.js? Thanks, Yann 21:59, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume I/IRENAEUS/Against Heresies: Book I/Preface.

Do you know why the footnote section skips note 2? Note 2 is linked to no 3 in the footnote section, etc. 83.176.231.198 03:58, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

That's really weird. It looks like a bug in the MediaWiki software. —Quadell (talk / swapmeet) 20:15, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fanny Farmer

I've raised some questions at Talk:Boston Cooking-School Cook Book about which you may have comments. Eclecticology 18:42, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Question

Seeing as you've uploaded your fair share of texts, I had a question that I couldn't figure out where else to ask: according to the guidelines for naming conventions, chapters, acts, etc. should be named "/Chapter 1" or whatever (I worded that awkwardly, I'm tired, but I understand that part, so don't worry about sifting through its meaning). Anyway, the point is: what if a book doesn't use any words like "chapter" or "section" or whatever? What if it just has names? Am I supposed to assign it chapters (which seems utterly incorrect), or what? — The Man in Question (sprec) 10:09, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

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