User talk:Sfmontyo

Hello there - I see you have been rather busy making positive contributions to the project. BTW welcome aboard! Cheers. --maveric149

Thanks! sfmontyo

NP - you need any questions answered, just ask and I should at least be able to point you in the right direction. --maveric149

RE your question about the conversion script. Wikipedia recently changed the type of wiki software that it uses. Before January of this year, we used UseModWiki, now we are using PHP-based wikiware that Bomis (the owner of Nupedia) and several volunteers are maintaining. The older version of the wikiware suported something called subpages which the new software does not. What the "conversion script" does, is take the content in an article and looks for subpages. If the particular subpage is in the form /Talk, then the script places all the content in that subpage in the Talk namspace for that article. If the subpage is anything else, the script creates a new article that simply appears to be a subpage - but is only a regular old article named with a / character. I'm sure the script works other magic but this is the most obvious thing it does. See Wikipedia:PHP script for more info. --maveric149

RE: Template for US states. See: Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. States --mav

I love the locator maps you are using in the State articles. Great work! --mav

Thanks for the pointer to the template and the kind words -- sfmontyo

Why are you making the Missouri page look so much different from all over the other state pages in the Wikipedia? Especially the nonstandard fonts and headings? -- Zoe

I don't understand Zoe. All Sfmontyo is doing is filling each one of the state articles per the guidlines in Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. States. I really like the new and improved format. --mav

The guideline says to use tiny little fonts, two-columned tables and italicized headings? -- Zoe

Hi Guys, Okay in response to some of your issues Zoe. First, I think the article follows exactly what the guidelines state. Could you tell me where I'm using non standard headings? Second, I believe that it differs from the other state articles only in the use of 2 columns in a smaller font for the counties and cities. I'm using the <small> tag to indicate that a small font should be used and placing the lists as a two column list. As you know, the global style sheets determine the font. The use of two columns has been done before by others in the country articles, but not in the states. The reason that I choose two columns is that I found those incredibly long lists of generally empty links to be:

1) hard to read

2) forcing the user to scroll even more to see the info

3) ugly. This, I realize is particularly subjective

I felt the information was not incredibly important information relative to the rest of the articles and by using small fonts and two columns, I was able to compact it substantially.

As far as consistency with the other pages, I will be more than happy to update the rest in a couple of weeks once I finish the conversion of a very long article from the 1911 Britannica on US Geography.

- sfmontyo

Nice picture for Portland! The article really needed that. --Nate 23:25 Feb 19, 2003 (UTC)

thanks! sfmontyo

Hi there. Image:Hawaii_map.png is simply a cropped version of the original Image:Hawaii_map.gif. They both look the same to me; am I missing something? -- Stephen Gilbert 00:35 Mar 25, 2003 (UTC)

I resent your outright remooval of the holidays section. There are very good arguments for it, please see the Talk:United States pages -- Egil 08:47 Apr 17, 2003 (UTC)

Hi! I am a new comer here, and I found your name at Queer Wikipedian. I am interested in programming too. Hopefully we can be friends! :D --Gboy 03:55 9 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Hi. I would like to replace us-regions.gif with a more accurate map showing the four region system (West, South, Midwest, and Northeast.) This is the system that is used by most Government Agencies. If we used these regions we could get regional information directly from the census bureau. Using this system may also put some of the "controversy" to rest over which state is listed in which region since this is how the Federal Government groups them. I know that several encyclopedias still use these regions, but the borders and members of the Southwest and Mid Atlantic are nebulous at best and vary from book to book. You can see how the Census Bureau divides the US at http://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf. Please post on my talk page, or here. I would appreciate any help resolving this issue. --JCarriker December 21, 2003

Reply also on User talk:JCarriker

Hi J,

First, just to be certain, I believe that you want to change the image Image:US regions.gif.

I personally have no objections if you wish to use a different map that has only 4 regions rather than the 5 in the aforementioned map. If you do, you should rework all the pages that make use of the US regions.gif pic as well as all pages that refer to the Southwest United States region article. You can determine these articles by examining the what links here page associated with each article. Cheers, Sfmontyo 16:24, 22 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Sfmontyo,

I have an objection to obliterating all references to the Southwest (and the Mid-Atlantic, etc.) by making this major change. Please see my comments to JCarriker on User talk:JCarriker.

Thanks, Jfitts 16:19, 23 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Hi, it's Jay again. Since you are a member of the Wiki US states project I thought you might have some suggestions. I have taken Jfitts concerns into account, I have tried to contact him through e-mail but he must still be vacation, and would like to propose the following guidelines to be added to the wiki states project. It was never my intent to delete articles, especially ones that have living cultures; like New England, the Southwest, and the Mid-Atlantic or all links to them. I would like the approval of all or most of the states project contributors before the guidlines would be added. The following is my proposal:

I would like to shift the emphasis to the official regions (Midwest, Northeast, South, and West) there boundaries because they are set in stone. Emphasis would be placed by preeminence. They could be differentiated from the unofficial by carrying the more formal prefix US, while unofficial regions could carry the more casual American prefix. I propose these guidelines.

1. Official Regions are always listed first on both state and national pages
2. All possible regional interpretations will be listed with out ommission
3. Defunct Regions i.e.. Trans-Mississippi and Regions that are no longer included
4. All other information; largest city, capital, comes last

Here are two examples:

Texas (Tejas) is a state in the US South. Texas is sometimes considered part of the American Southwest, American South Central, and American Southeast regions. Texas was once part of the defunct Trans-Mississippi region.

Louisiana is a state in the US South. Louisiana is sometimes considered in the American South Central and American Southeast regions. Louisiana was once considered part of the American Southwest but is rarely included in that region today.

The map of the four regions would replace the current US_regions.gif and be displayed on the US state and United States Article.

The unofficial regions would also have maps but only of that particular region. Thus, states that are always consdiered part of that region, and states that are sometimes considered part of the region could be shown. By portraying one “unofficial region” at a time regions could overlap, thus more acurately and effectively giving a visual aide.

I believe this format would be more beneficial and less contoversial than the current non specific system. Though as stated in the US state project it would onyl be a suggestion.

I would appreciate any advice you have on how to implement this policy.

Sincerly, JCarriker 7:24 am December 31, 2003.

License[edit]

Hi, I'd like to know if you have an idea of the license of Image:Us-mo.gif. Is it used as fair use or public domain ? Thanks for your answer. Tipiac 09:37, 13 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Highlighted map images[edit]

What's the licensing info for the images US_??_highlighted_map.jpg that you uploaded? GFDL? Public domain? Reply on my talk page.

Highlighted map images[edit]

What's the licensing info for the images US_??_highlighted_map.jpg that you uploaded? GFDL? Public domain? Reply on my talk page. [[User:Poccil|Peter O. (Talk)]] 04:46, Sep 11, 2004 (UTC)

Your family album image[edit]

Hi! Thanks for uploading Image:Army photo2.jpg. I notice it currently doesn't have an image copyright tag. Could you add one to let us know its copyright status? (You can use {{gfdl}} if you release it under the GFDL, or {{fairuse}} if you claim fair use, etc.) Thanks so much, – Quadell ^{(talk) (help)}[[]] 00:49, Oct 15, 2004 (UTC)