BoyWiki:Agora/7 November 2015

Agora/7 November 2015

Email notification

I just registered an account at ChildWiki. I notice an option for my email there to receive notifications that I don't find here on BoyWiki:

• Email me when a page or file on my watchlist is changed
• Email me when my user talk page is changed
• Email me also for minor edits of pages and files
• Email me when I make a change to a page on the wiki

Is this functionality available also here, and if so, how can I enable these options? I don't see any of these in my Preferences menu.

Did I get those options perhaps because I was immediately made an administrator over there? __meco (talk) 19:33, 7 November 2015 (UTC)

As far as I know, it is not an option we have. --Etenne (talk) 20:46, 7 November 2015 (UTC)

Do you use an older version of the MediaWiki software, perhaps? __meco (talk) 20:49, 7 November 2015 (UTC)

No, likely that function is an extension or it was turned off during the set up of BoyWiki because the tech. person thought it was a security risk. ‎Lysander would likely know --Etenne (talk) 20:56, 7 November 2015 (UTC)

The newer versions of MediaWiki are set up by default to allow these notifications. See mediawikiwiki:MediaWiki_1.23#Notifications and mediawikiwiki:Manual:Configuration_settings#Email_notification_.28Enotif.29_settings. Special:Version says that BoyWiki uses MediaWiki 1.24, so we should have that capability, if the tech person will switch it on. I agree that email notifications are more convenient than checking watchlists on several different wikis. Lysander (talk) 21:07, 7 November 2015 (UTC)

if the tech person will switch it on. You have been around here long enough to know that that is not going to happen. I have a question though, what do you use as a mail.server for ChildWiki? --Etenne (talk) 21:29, 7 November 2015 (UTC)

I don't use any special mail server; I just use what Dreamhost provides. I think they do set a quota on outgoing emails though. Lysander (talk) 22:08, 7 November 2015 (UTC)

Etenne you write: "if the tech person will switch it on. You have been around here long enough to know that that is not going to happen." I haven't been around for long so I don't know what this means. My first guess is that there are no tech persons around. Please elaborate! __meco (talk) 15:01, 10 November 2015 (UTC)

I have often described Free Spirits as the Great Boylove Bureaucracy. It took the BoyWiki counsel several years of begging just to get them to consider upgrading the software from MediaWiki 1.3.9 to the current version of MediaWik 1.24.1. You have to understand that the Free Spirits technical staff are all volunteers, all of whom have different skill levels, interests, and proficients. There are only two tech. people who know how to work on the software (both of whom are currently away) All the other tech. people are working on other major projects and are too busy to even try to learn how to manage working on the wiki software. There is also that I would have to convince them that 1. It is necessary and 2. It is not a security risk. If I could convince them of that, they might do it, when they get around to it. And even beyond all of that and at this current time, there are technical reasons (this I don't want to go into) why changes to FS email are all on hold for the time being. Some times you have to choose your battles and for me, this is a function I am not willing to go to war for with the powers-that-be. --Etenne (talk) 15:29, 10 November 2015 (UTC)

I appreciate your reply. __meco (talk) 17:03, 10 November 2015 (UTC)

It's stupid to worry about security risks from extensions that are deployed on major WMF projects like Wikipedia. If there were a way to exploit it, it would've been exploited by now. Lysander (talk) 01:22, 11 November 2015 (UTC)

Yes, that's reasonable! Then you know your argument with the Counsil, Etenne! It seems sound enough! __meco (talk) 13:25, 11 November 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, we have already had that discussion. In any event, my next goal is to get video. I want to be able to archive the IBLD Videos and A Decent Life: The Dissenting Narrative of Tom O'Carroll.