Help talk:Unified login/Archives/2014

Bug or Potential Issue

So, long ago when this feature was first enabled I unified my account without incident (no conflicts with usernames on other wiki's, etc). I've remained intermittently active, usually no more than 2-3 months without doing something somewhere. Sometime in 2010 on pt-wiki, a user there wanted the name User:Locke Cole, and (I'm guessing) a local 'crat somehow renamed them to the name even though I was, at that point, unified across all of the Wikipedia sites. Now my status shows as "in migration", and the one unjoined account is (you guessed it) the one from pt-wiki.

Is this a technical issue? Should a 'crat be able to rename a local user like that? Or were there other steps I missed in the process? Maybe (unlikely, but maybe) my memory is foggy and my account wasn't unified. I've already began the process of asking for the account on pt-wiki so I can finish re-unifying my account, it just seems bizarre if my memory is correct that the system would even allow someone in to perform that action. After all, what's the point of unified login if someone on a wiki you haven't visited yet can usurp the name locally, re-creating the problem of having separate sign-ins again for the person ostensibly after they've already resolved the issue by unifying their account. —Locke Cole • t • c 00:07, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Your problem seems to have originated here. Local renaming is needed because there are some users who have a different user name on some projects and may need the local account renamed to match the SUL account. After SUL finalisation, you should get the user name back on Portuguese Wikipedia. --Stefan2 (talk) 00:22, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply. So just to be clear, local wiki's are able to "un-unify" a unified account? Or my memory is incorrect, and I was never unified? —Locke Cole • t • c 06:17, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

Optionally make/set user preferences globally?

I know the "What it doesn't change" section says preferences are not merged. But, is there some way to set similar preferences globally, or do I really have to set preferences on each wiki individually? Also, if this was the wrong place to ask, where should I ask? Thank you and have a great day~^^ ZeniffMartineau (talk) 04:04, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

Currently, you have to set preferences for each wiki separately as there is no way to do this. There is a beta version of an extension which can make this happen; mw:Extension:GlobalPreferences. However, it is not even close to being deployed according to the author of the extension. See bugzilla:14950. That being said, there is a tool on labs that can let you set your language preferences globally. --Glaisher [talk] 06:16, 25 February 2014 (UTC)

Thank you! I'll look into those now and I look forward to the deployment~ ZeniffMartineau (talk) 21:36, 1 March 2014 (UTC)

Unified login on other wikis

Hello! I would like to implement Unified login option on another wiki. How to do it? Is it an extension that I will have to instal? Thank you for your help! AleksWo (talk) 23:21, 24 March 2014 (UTC)

Trouble with reclaiming user name on PT wiki

So I posted here some time ago asking if it was a bug that a unified account could be "un-unified" by a local b'crat, but didn't really get any response. I posted a request on PT wiki for usurpation of the username since it has gone unused since 2010, but have received no response from anyone there (and looking at the page there are dozens of requests unanswered, and even some newer requests that have been answered). Should I ask a Steward here for help? I'm a little concerned the entire situation happened in the first place since my account was already unified, but would like to get the issue corrected. —Locke Cole • t • c 15:02, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Happy New Year

{{editprotected}} Can a link to 2014 be added to the archive box (at /Intro)? —Locke Cole • t • c 15:06, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Done. -Mys_721tx (talk) 23:12, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Merging via Special:MergeAccount does not work

Dear Administrators,

I would like to merge User:Wolfing from german wikipedia and german wikibooks. In english wikipedia there is also a Wolfing with 3 edits (http://tools.wmflabs.org/quentinv57-tools/tools/sulinfo.php?username=Wolfing), which is not me.--Wolfing (talk) 17:12, 25 July 2014 (UTC)

You can't merge the account because you're not the "winner". Just make two more edits on de.wiki and it will work. --Nemo 12:44, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

Setting global interface language

Tracked in Phabricator:
Bug 14950

It's clear that the preferences for each wiki are set independently, however when I travel around each wiki I'm required to try to find the preferences and set the interface language on each wiki. Is there a tool or a change to global.js that could set the interface of all global accounts to the same interface language? - Technophant (talk) 22:54, 30 August 2014 (UTC)

I'd assume that the software needs the language setting before running Javascript code. If not, try adding mw.config.set('wgUserLanguage', 'en'); to Special:MyPage/global.js. --Stefan2 (talk) 23:33, 30 August 2014 (UTC)

Local username policies

(I'm not sure that I post this in the right place, if not, please move where it should be.)
What is the official stance these days on the local username policies? The unified login seemingly should make those obsolete, but at least currently they aren't. For example, Croatian Wikipedia (hr.wp) is quite restrictive, and usernames "with three or more consecutive uppercase letters are not allowed". This is embedded into the login filter, and so I (User:YLSS) cannot log into hr.wp in any way – neither automatically, nor manually. I have discussed the issue with local admins, but with no result... YLSS (talk) 17:16, 9 September 2014 (UTC)

@YLSS: please go and create your account, I have removed that filter, though can never tell when someone will reintroduce it.  — billinghurst sDrewth 08:46, 20 September 2014 (UTC)

Thanks, billinghurst, I logged in OK. YLSS (talk) 12:54, 23 September 2014 (UTC)

Great. If this sort of issue recurs, then my recommendation is come and whine at Stewards' noticeboard. We have manners and contacts, and if all that fails, clubs and keys. ;-) semi-joking  — billinghurst sDrewth 01:38, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

• I hope that local username policies will become obsolete, and admins who try to enforce local policies on global usernames will be gently encouraged to find something else to do. Local username policies are useless gatekeeping. That Croatian policy is absolutely absurd, but the English "UAA" policy has been way over-enforced for years as well. People just can't resist making bots and queues to block people whose name looks the slightest bit suspicious, and it seems they end up seeing new users as just sequences of characters to approve or deny, instead of people. Rspeer (talk) 06:15, 18 September 2014 (UTC)
  • I wouldn't focus too much on policies. After SUL was introduced in 2008, several wikis kept screaming that their policies were alive and strong, including things like forcing Latin alphabet usernames. However, in reality common sense has prevailed and the enforcement of local policies has not caused huge problems. --Nemo 13:21, 18 September 2014 (UTC)
    • I'd take YLSS's complaint as evidence that common sense hasn't prevailed. Also, getting English Wikipedia to stop banning Arabic usernames for being "confusing" was a policy change I had to fight for. It didn't just happen naturally. Every instance where the enwp policy shows common sense are due to the persistent effort of a minority. Rspeer (talk) 05:50, 20 September 2014 (UTC)

      There will always be the need to utilise local blacklists to manage issues, and some local processes will be necessary to prevent certain usernames, so saying no local policies is always going to be difficult. That said, stewards will look to address problematic blacklists/filters, especially where they clearly block users of good reputation, as per the example quoted. So it is not the policy that is the problem, it is a poor implementation. The globalisation process is managing numbers of these issues, and we will just need to slowly step through and modernise.  — billinghurst sDrewth 08:52, 20 September 2014 (UTC)