View source for Wiki143:2007

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==Events==
*[[January 4]], The [[:ca:|Catalan Wikipedia]] has reached 50,000 articles.
*[[January 6]]: 
**The English Wikipedia reached 7,000,000 total pages (of which over 1,570,000 are articles) ([[m:Wikimedia News]])
** The [[:ro:|Romanian Wikipedia]] has reached 50,000 articles.
*[[January 18]]: [[user:Hu12]] discovered an elaborate, running for 8 months linkspam scheme, see  [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Spam&oldid=102098817 WT:WSPAM: "Reference Spam, 8 Months of S.E.O."], [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard&oldid=102276660 WP:AN: "Community ban of sneaky spammer"]
*[[February 13]]: [[Fuzzy Zoeller]] [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2007-02-26/Fuzzy_suit |filed a wikipedia-related defamation lawsuit]] 
*[[February 16]], Turkish historian, sociologist, author and professor [[Taner Akçam]] was detained  at [[Trudeau International Airport]] in [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], [[Canada]], [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-04-23/Wikidetainment|because of his vandalized Wikipedia bio claiming him to be a terrorist]].
*[[February 20]]: Wikipedia hits daily [[alexa rank]] of 8 for the first time<ref name=morepop>[http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia.org_is_more_popular_than...&oldid=723261 meta:Wikipedia.org is more popular than...], a version of</ref> 
*[[February 26]]: The onset of the [[Essjay controversy]]: ''[[The New Yorker]]'' publishes the correction to its article with an interview with Essjay
*[[March 10]]: [[Wikipedia:Meetup/Singapore 3]]
*[[March 17]]:  [[:id:Wikipedia:Kopi darat Wikipediwan dan Wikipediwati/Jakarta (17 Maret 2007)|Wikipedia:Meetup/Jakarta]]
*[[March 24]]: a "[[Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Starwood#Who's who|Who's Meatpuppet Who]]" precedent is established, [[Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/COFS#Multiple editors with a single voice|later referred in other arbitration]] 
*[[March]]: Wikipedia enters top 10 for 3 month average [[alexa rank]] with rank of 10 for the first time<ref name=morepop/>
*[[April 19]], {{admin|Robdurbar}} went on [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-04-23/Robdurbar|an inexplainable vandalism spree]]
*[[April 23]], [[Wikipedia:Meetup/Adelaide/Meetup 2]]
*[[April 24]], [[Wikipedia:Meetup/Perth/2]]
*[[April 25]], [[Wikipedia:Meetup/Sydney/April 2007]]
*[[April 27]], [[Wikipedia:Meetup/Melbourne 5]]
*[[April 28]], Ranveig Mossige Thattai (known as [[:nn:Brukar:Ranveig|Ranveig]]), [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-05-07/Wikipedian scholarship|was awarded a scholarship]] of 50&nbsp;000&nbsp;[[Norwegian krone|NOK]] (approx. 8&nbsp;170&nbsp;[[United States dollar|USD]]) for writing articles on the [[:nn:Hovudside|Nynorsk Wikipedia]].
*[[May 1]], [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-05-07/Fair use|a heated discussion]] about applicability of [[fair use]] for screenshots in TV episode lists.
*[[May 2]], [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-05-07/The key to Wikipedia|Wikipedia was hit]] by the spam of the postings of the [[AACS encryption key controversy|HD DVD key]].
*[[May 7]], [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-05-07/Admins desysopped|Four admin accounts were hijacked]] because of weak passwords, prompting the call for increased password security.
*[[May 28]]: [[Wikipedia Selection for Schools]] [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-05-28/News and notes|launched]]
*[[June]]: [[Polish Wikipedia]] DVD [http://helion.pl/ksiazki/wikipe.htm released],  {{ISBN|978-83-246-0469-2}}. See [[m:Polska Wikipedia na DVD (z Helionem)/en]] for details.
*[[June 16]]: {{User|Matthewsweet20007}} [[Wikipedia:Editing of Wikipedia by the media|inserted false statements into wikipedia]]. the test was reported in media on June 28 
*[[July 3]]: [[Mike Godwin]]'s [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2007-July/031128.html  appointment as general counsel for the Wikimedia Foundation announced] (He is the namesake of the [[Godwin's Law]])
*[[July 23]]: Controversial edits of the [[Rein Lang]] article [[Rein_Lang#"Wikigate" incident|caused attention]] of [[Estonian media]]
*[[August 3]]-[[August 5|5]]: [[m:Wikimania_2007|Wikimania 2007]] in [[Taipei]]
*[[August 14]]: 
**[[WikiScanner]] released,  "to create minor public relations disasters for companies and organizations I dislike," in author's words.
**[[WP:BJAODN]] [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-08-20/BJAODN|controversy sparkled]]
**[[m:WikiMiniAtlas|WikiMiniAtlas]] is enabled in wikipedia articles with geographical coordinates
*[[September 9]], 8:21 UTC, '''[http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Reaches_2_Million_Articles 2,000,000th article]''' created in English Wikipedia,  [[El Hormiguero]]
*[[September 10]], [http://wikidashboard.parc.com/ WikiDashboard]: visualisation of edits on Wikipedia; alpha-release [http://asc-parc.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2007-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=17 announced]
*[[October]]: [[Veropedia]], a for-profit selection of wikipedia articles beta site launched (the domain registered 26-aug-2007)
*[[October 23]]: Wikipedia hits 3 month average [[alexa rank]] of 8 for the first time <ref name=morepop/>
*[[October 28]]: "The first-ever university-sponsored examination of the online encyclopedia that is written and edited by the general public" <ref>{{cite news 
|first=Geoff
|last= Larcon
|title=Wikipedia has plenty of pros and cons
|url=http://www.mlive.com/news/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/news-25/1193552002225980.xml&coll=2
|newspaper=[[The Ann Arbor News]]
|date= 28 October 2007
}}
*Report on "Wikipedia: The Democratization of Knowledge or The Triumph of Amateurs?'', a week of lectures at [[Eastern Michigan University]] organized by [[Marshall Poe]].
</ref>
*[[December 13]]: ''[[The Register]]'s'' story about criminal record of the departed Wikimedia Foundation employee Carolyn Doran<ref>[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/13/wikimedia_coo_convicted_felon/ "Wikipedia COO was convicted felon"], ''[[The Register]]'', 13 December 2007 </ref> caused [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-12-17/Former COO|some stir]].

==Features==
*[[January 14]]: [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-01-15/Cascading protection|cascading protection]] feature introduced in Wikipedia, to protect a page and all pages included into it
*[[September]]: [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-10-01/Technology report|RSS feed for RecentChanges added to all pages]] 
*[[October 28]]: [[Wikipedia:Article wizard]] was devised by {{user|Mr.Z-man}} (see also [[Wikipedia:Article wizard 2.0]])

==Organizations==
===Establishments===
*[[January 2]]: [[Wikipedia:WikiProject_Pharmacology]] was (re)started (after a March-October 2006 attempt fizzled/deleted)
*[[February 10]]: [[Wikipedia:Community sanction noticeboard]] was established  ([[Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Community sanction noticeboard (second nomination)|shut down]] on [[October 11]], [[2007]])
*[[July 14]]: [[Wikipedia:Article Rescue Squadron]] was established, with the purpose to fix articles that are or may be threatened with deletion.
*[[October 13]], the operation of [[User:RedirectCleanupBot|RedirectCleanupBot]] ([[User talk:RedirectCleanupBot|talk]] <small>•</small> [{{fullurl:Special:Log/delete|user={{urlencode:{{{User|RedirectCleanupBot}}}}}}} deletion log]), a [[WP:BOT|bot]] whose sole purpose is to delete broken redirects, was [[Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval|approved]]. It is the first bot in  Wikipedia with [[Wikipedia:Administrators|administrator]] status. See [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-10-15/Adminbot approved| the Signpost story]].
*[[September 26]]: an idea of [[Wikipedia:WikiCup]] introduced: a contest in the skill of editing
*[[November 25]]: [[Wikipedia:The Core Contest]] ($$$ prizes for improvements of [[wikipedia:Core topics]]) started

===Dissolutions===
*[[January 1]], a wikiProject [[wikipedia:Esperanza|Esperanza]] was deleted and the page rewritten with its brief history.
*[[January 10]], [[Wikipedia:Personal attack intervention noticeboard]] (created [[Wikipedia:2005|Oct. 7,2005]]) was shut down as deteriorated
*[[January 29]]: [[Wikipedia:Requests for investigation]] board (initially established  [http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VANDALISM_IN_PROGRESS&oldid=53359 on 1 December 2001] as [http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/wiki/VANDALISM_IN_PROGRESS VANDALISM IN PROGRESS] for investigation of vandalism & abuse and renamed to the current title on [[March 11]], [[2006]]) was [[Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Requests for investigation|shut down]], itself becoming a magnet for abuse.
* [[March 7]]: wikiProject [[Wikipedia:Concordia|Concordia]] [[Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Concordia|was deleted]]
*[[May 25]]: [[Wikipedia:Association of Members' Advocates]] (created in [[Wikipedia:2004|2004]]) was discontinued (page tagged as "historical")
*[[September 19]], [[m:Proposals for closing projects/Closure of Siberian Wikipedia|Siberian Wikipedia]] was closed after a long and heated debate. After that the creator [[m:Talk:Proposals_for_closing_projects/Closure_of_Siberian_Wikipedia#Zolotaryov_reveals_the_truth|confessed that it was a hoax]].
*[[October 11]]: [[Wikipedia:Community sanction noticeboard]] (created [[February 10]], [[Wikipedia:2007|2007]]) was [[Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Community sanction noticeboard (second nomination)|shut down]], merged back into [[WP:AN/I]]

==Wikipedians==

===Adminship granted===
*[[January 8]]: {{admin-abbr|Nilfanion}}
*[[January 30]]: {{admin-abbr|Daniel.Bryant}}
*[[January 30]]: {{admin-abbr|Yandman}}
*[[January 30]]: {{admin-abbr|Qwghlm}}
*[[February 1]]: {{admin-abbr|Chrislk02}}
*[[February 2]]: {{admin-abbr|Jersey Devil}}
*[[February]]: [[User:Cuchullain|Cuchullain]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Cuchullain|nom]]), [[User:Hu12|Hu12]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Hu12|nom]]), [[User:Riana dzasta|Riana dzasta]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Riana dzasta|nom]]), [[User:VegaDark|VegaDark]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/VegaDark|nom]]), [[User:Persian Poet Gal|Persian Poet Gal]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Persian Poet Gal|nom]]), [[User:Heimstern|Heimstern]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Heimstern|nom]]), [[User:ShadowHalo|ShadowHalo]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/ShadowHalo|nom]]), [[User:Zzuuzz|Zzuuzz]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Zzuuzz|nom]]), [[User:Delldot|Delldot]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Delldot|nom]]), [[User:Llama man|Llama man]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Llama man 2|nom]]), and [[User:Heligoland|Heligoland]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Heligoland 2|nom]]).
*[[March]]:
**1st week: [[User:Fram|Fram]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Fram|nom]]), [[User:Trebor Rowntree|Trebor Rowntree]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Trebor Rowntree|nom]]), [[User:Rlevse|Rlevse]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Rlevse 2|nom]])<ref>[[User:PumpkinSky]] says he is the guy</ref>, [[User:BigHaz|BigHaz]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/BigHaz|nom]]), [[User:Andrwsc|Andrwsc]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Andrwsc|nom]]), [[User:Georgewilliamherbert|Georgewilliamherbert]] ([[Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Georgewilliamherbert_%282%29|nom]]), [[User:Deryck Chan|Deryck Chan]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Deryck Chan 2|nom]]), [[User:Adam Cuerden|Adam Cuerden]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Adam Cuerden|nom]]), [[User:Bubba hotep|Bubba hotep]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Bubba hotep|nom]]), [[User:Harryboyles|Harryboyles]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Harryboyles|nom]]), [[User:Jesse Viviano|Jesse Viviano]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Jesse Viviano|nom]]), [[User:Veinor|Veinor]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Veinor|nom]]) and [[User:AuburnPilot|AuburnPilot]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/AuburnPilot|nom]]).
**2nd week: [[User:Seraphimblade|Seraphimblade]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Seraphimblade 2|nom]]), [[User:John Reaves|John Reaves]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/John Reaves|nom]]) and [[User:Ryanpostlethwaite|Ryanpostlethwaite]]&nbsp;([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Ryanpostlethwaite|nom]]).

===De-adminship ===

*[[January 15]]: {{admin-abbr|Crzrussian}} '''Voluntary''': ''A new admin corps must rise to deal with new challenges. I am happy to report that I have been instrumental in promoting several high caliber individuals who will carry on my work.''
*[[February 4]] *{{admin-abbr|Philwelch}} voluntarily relinquished his sysopness upon [[Wikipedia:Requests_for_arbitration/Philwelch]], i.e., in controversial circumstances, hence may be resysopped only via [[WP:RFA]]
*[[23 February]]: As a result of [[Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Daniel Brandt deletion wheel war|Daniel Brandt deletion wheel war]] the following editors were desysopped
**{{admin-abbr|Yanksox}}
**{{admin-abbr|Geni}}
**{{admin-abbr|Freakofnurture}}, reinstated by the [[March 8]] decision of the ArbCom.
*[[March 4]] {{admin-abbr|Essjay}} : ([[wikipedia:Bureaucrat]]) resigned as a result of the [[Essjay controversy]]
*[[March 24]] {{admin-abbr|RobertG}} [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Bureaucrats%27_noticeboard&diff=next&oldid=117516944 was desysopped by their request]
*[[5 April]] {{admin-abbr|Darwinek}} [[Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Darwinek|desysopped by Arbcom]]
*[[April 19]], {{admin-abbr|Robdurbar}} deadminned and banned after his [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-04-23/Robdurbar| inexplainable vandalism spree]]. Account hijacking conjectured.
*[[May 2]] {{admin-abbr|ChrisGriswold}} voluntarily desysopped after [[Wikipedia:Requests for checkuser/Case/ChrisGriswold|the checkuser]] revealed their sockpuppetry on April 28
*[[May 23]] {{admin-abbr|Henrygb}} desysopped for sockpuppetry; also banned until he responds to ArbCom
*[[June 13]] {{admin-abbr| Vancouverguy}} desysopped and indef-blocked after the account was compromized after 18 months of inactivity
*[[October 20]]: {{admin-abbr|Tregoweth}} requested their desysopping and thoroughly disappeared
*[[December 7]]: {{admin-abbr|^demon}} [http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Requests_for_permissions&diff=prev&oldid=780801 resigned  adminship] after a controversy related to his speedy deletion of [[Mzoli's]] ([[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/^demon 3|reinstated after RFA]] [[23 February]] [[2008]])

===Bot accounts===
*[[January 27]]: The [[User:AlexNewArtBot|AlexNewArtBot]] was created to sift through new articles and announce them in the relevant wikiprojects, see the ''[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-03-12/News and notes|Signpost]]'' article.

===Other ===
*[[February]]: {{admin-abbr|Dmcdevit}} [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Dmcdevit&diff=prev&oldid=108127904 announced] his resignation from the [[wikipedia:Arbitration Committee]].

<!---
Online births comment: no babies. must be notable 
-->
===Death and retirement===
<!-- bans are not listed; no Herostrates glory here -->

*[[January 15]]: {{admin-abbr|Crzrussian}} Good-bye words: ''I am abandoning this account and all the baggage that comes with it. This is not some kind of a third-rate Wiki-drama. It's just that life is moving on....I have registered another account and will continue as an editor, but will probably not be as prolific.''
*[[January 26]]: {{user|dr31}} (was {{user|dryazan}} during 2003-2005) announced his departure (''Enough is enough. Bye, Wikipedia. <-- I really am gone for good this time. The amount of in-fighting and the easiness with which one's hard work is wiped out is incredible.-->'')
*[[March 3]]: 
**Following the [[Essjay controversy]], {{admin-abbr|Essjay}}, admin and freshly appointed member of  [[Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee|Arbitration Committee]] was asked by [[Jimbo Wales]] to resign. Last words: ''I've enjoyed my time here, and done much good work; my time, however, is over, and leaving is the best thing for me and for Wikipedia. I walk away happy to be free to go about other things. I hope others will refocus the energy they have spent the past few days in defending and denouncing me to make something here at Wikipedia better.''
**{{admin-abbr|Robdurbar}} announced his departure (''I've closed this account off because I've decided I want to spend more time doing other stuff.''), but on April 19 the account went on an [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-04-23/Robdurbar| inexplainable vandalism spree]] and was banned. Account hijacking assumed.
*[[April 21]]: {{user|David Shear}} died 
*[[May 20]]: Emil Petkov ([[User:Espetkov|Espetkov]]) [[:bg:User:Emil|Emil Petkov]] ([[:bg:Потребител:Emil|Емил Петков]]), one of the first editors of the [[:bg:|Bulgarian Wikipedia]], died.
*[[May 23]], Norwegian Wikimedian, journalist, and author [[Tron Øgrim]] ([[:no:User:Togrim]]) died.
*[[May 26]], [[User:Rydel]] ([[Uladzimir Katkouski]]) died after almost a year struggle for life after being hit by a fire truck in [[Prague]] on June 15, 2006.<ref>[http://rydel23.livejournal.com/419558.html Obituaries] at ''[[LiveJournal]]''</ref>
*[[September 14]]: [[User:Dalf]] (Scott Laws) died of [[colon cancer]]
* [[October 14]]: {{user|Rbraunwa}} (Robert Braunwart) died of [[melanoma]]
*[[October 20]]: {{admin-abbr|Tregoweth}} requested their desysopping and thoroughly disappeared themselves
*[[December 5]]:{{admin-abbr|Jeffrey_O._Gustafson}} disappeared (still lurking during 2008 (5 edits during Apr-Aug))
*[[December 15]]: {{user|CanadaGirl}} (Carli Ann Ward) dies of [[adenocarcinoma]]

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