User talk:Johnwhelan

Welcome!

Welcome, Johnwhelan!

Getting started with Wikibooks
Wikibooks is a collection of open-source textbooks. Find out what this means. To sign your name (on talk pages), use four tildes, like this: ~~~~ For help in using the wiki, see Using Wikibooks. For information about the community here, see Wikibooks Community. Explore, be bold, and have fun!

Come introduce yourself at the new users page. If you have any questions, you can ask there or contact me personally.--Whiteknight (Page) (Talk) 02:04, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

Copyright problem with Image:Lod 11.jpg

Looking much better, but remember that {{fair use}}, {{screenshot}} etc are the license; please don't have {{PD-self}} etc. on there as well, as that's nonsensical. You can choose the fair use templates in the dropdown box on Special:Upload (they're way at the bottom). Thanks for your efforts here, it makes things a lot smoother when people take care when uploading files.  – Mike.lifeguard | ^talk 01:47, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Last one :)  – Mike.lifeguard | ^talk 02:25, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, I was wrong:

1. Image:Gmax13.jpg isn't used, so the fair use claim is invalid. If you're going to use it that's fine, but otherwise, we shouldn't have it hanging around. Same for Image:Lod 9.jpg and Image:Box textures.jpg and Image:Folder image.jpg
2. Image:Lod 9.jpg is still incorrectly marked as {{PD-self}}
3. Image:Thumb.jpg needs a description

I also changed a ton of the {{fairuse rationale}} templates to say accurately where they're used. If you upload more images, please make sure that the |book= parameter points to the exact module where the image is used. There is an automatically-generated list at the bottom of the image description page that you can simply copy-paste from. Thanks!  – Mike.lifeguard | ^talk 17:11, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

February 2008 screenshots

Similarly to Mike's comments above, please use correct templates for screenshots. See an overview of these at Wikibooks:Templates/Files. These will need to be cleared up if the images are to stay.

You can find a full list of your uploads on your upload log. --Swift (talk) 08:22, 28 February 2009 (UTC)

Can you be more precise about what exactly is missing then I can correct the uploaded images, I copied the previous screen shot details thinking these would be acceptable as to be honest I find it quite difficult and time consuming to follow your complicated exacting requirements.

Thanks John—Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.138.27.147 (discuss • contribs) 21:30, 28 February 2009

These images are screen-shots of software that has a particular license. You need to upload the images under a license that is compatible with the software license. If the software license is non-free, you can upload under a fair-use license. If it is free, you need to comply with the requirements placed on derivative works.

Make a list of your images, note which software each screen-shot is of, and look up and add to the list which license each of these uses. Then check the Wikibooks:Templates/Files (there is a section on screenshots). Find the most fitting one for each, and add it to that list. Then report back to me and I'll see where we'll go from there.

I'm not sure if this is clear enough for you. Please keep in mind that those of us who do the bulk of the maintenance work here on Wikibooks have limited time to donate to the project and dealing with copyrights issues is not always easy but certainly time consuming as well. We're happy to help you along, but I'm afraid we're not able to do your work for you. --Swift (talk) 17:00, 28 February 2009 (UTC)

I'll take a look. Thanks for the explanation. Cheerio John

Try it all the images except one are from GIMP which is Open source, the other is a screenshot of propitiatory software, hopefully I have the correct licences now. Thanks John

I only checked a few from your (many :-)) uploads and they all look good now. Thanks! --Swift (talk) 02:39, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

Trainz/When to use lod

This page isn't linked to by Trainz and you created the page. If you don't want it to be part of the book or if you yourself added the content elsewhere, please leave {{delete|reasoning}} on it. -- Adrignola ^{talk contribs} 18:34, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

Now included.

Many thanks John.

File:Tutorial how to normal map32.jpg is missing a fair use rationale

This message box is using an invalid "type=warning" parameter and needs fixing.

I think I have fixed it but I'm not absolutely certain could you check please. Thanks John

Trainz/Polished metal using Blender

I've no idea what I'm supposed to do about this. I have added extra descriptive text to the page. We wished to document that it could be done and a starting point on how to do it. We are currently doing research and conformation tests to determine exactly what to do.

Thanks for responding. The best place to respond would be on the module talk page. You could perhaps move the bits you added to the module page over to the talk page and explain what's going to end up there. It's just that placeholder pages are often added with the best of intention but end up never attracting any content. This means that a reader may find himself browsing around a bunch of placeholders where he at first glance saw a fairly complete book. In that case the red-links are better.

Furthermore, discussing this off-wiki gives others the impression of inactivity. Thanks for explaining this. I'll remove the tag, but it would be helpful if in the future you would leave slightly more information about your plans for the page, or hold off creating it before the content is decided. No big deal, though, and thanks again for your response.

One last note: You can sign comments by adding four tildes (~~~~) to it. This will expand to your user-name and a time-stamp. --Swift (talk) 13:40, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

Thank you, we thought that we had the information pinned but one of the contributors is in the middle of moving house hence some slight delays.

Cheerio John

Johnwhelan (talk) 23:43, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

Can you elaborate on this

Just trying to figure out how to paginate this beast and stumbled onto this edit by you. Can you flesh that out a bit and update the precautions you clearly mean to convey? A little step by step would be good.

• Are there any others you've notice editing this wikibook lately? Recently been skype-co-ordinating in Yesrerdayz-Trainz and would be nice to have a brainstorming session of how to fix this thing up!

Best regards, Frank//FrankB 00:29, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

And another loose end

See edits made here on page you created. Can you fix up the intro and replace the {{Trainz-sect-stub}} section with some description of what and how the data might be used in creating content. Thanks! Skype me anytime! // FrankB 22:01, 10 March 2014 (UTC)

DIY Book Scanner/main

This page has been queried because it seems to be part of book which doesn't exist - there is no book called DIY Book Scanner. Any page called DIY Book Scanner/main would be part of such a book. Additionally, the page hasn't been categorized meaning it would be difficult for readers to find. The page may be deleted if further edits or clarification isn't made.--ЗAНИA ^talk 21:55, 27 May 2014 (UTC)

It appears I have not set up the title correctly, there should be a book called "DIY Book Scanner" which has the sections in DIY Book Scanner/main. This project has been delayed by other projects so not that much additional information has been added and my own kit of parts is still sitting in the basement. However the information on the four pages already entered is correct and valid. Perhaps you could rearrange it correctly? Thanks John

Great, thanks. I'm going to rename this page to DIY Book Scanner. Seems best as it links to the other pages of the book. Other pages can be added in the future.--ЗAНИA ^talk 22:15, 27 May 2014 (UTC)

The new location is DIY Book Scanner. The other pages in the book have also been moved accordingly.--ЗAНИA ^talk 22:19, 27 May 2014 (UTC)

Thank you.

Cheerio John

Had me going cross-eyed LOL

re: Our mutual agreement the wiki needs reorganized...

This didn't help! Not with my vision issues!!! LOL.

1. Tutorials_for_Content_Creation vs.
2. Tutorials_For_Content_Creation - yikes! Give my eyes a break! I almost did a diff between articles to see what was up, then spotted the different cases. My word! LOL Here, have some fun...

Fundamentals for Trainz Trainees

TOC | Beginnings | Fun | AM&C | Creation | InBook Refs | ORP Refs:  • Index • Containers • Kinds • Tags | Appendixes  • Vers

Glossary

HKeys-CM

HKeys-DVR

HKeys-SUR

HKeys-WIN

Mouse use

Notations

Organizing

I want to split your excellent tutorial for reskinning to something like:

1. Reskinning standard traincars or some such title, possibly with and without a suffixes like '-GMAX techniques', '-Blender techniques' as the discussion branches to such subject matter.
   1. Where is the GMAX coverage alluded to in the longer of those two pages?
   2. Did it get written, and how well does it thread and tie back? (I'm a bit tired right now, so I'm being lazy and not looking--content creation articles are neither my strong suite, nor the pages I've already surveyed and been fixing up.)
   3. Regardless, all these should be recategorized into something like Category:Trainz basic content creation tutorials, Category:Trainz intermediate content creation tutorials, and Category:Trainz advanced content creation tutorials.
2. Write the upper part of that Title (one turned into a redirect--you choose!) as an intro surveying various kinds of content modification methods with apropos sub-techniques or alternatives that are reasonable for someone with less than ayear Trainzing...
3. Write the main body of whichever title wins as a Table of Contents to the collection such pages. These lists of pages without grouping convey little. Better to present a category tying things in a larger group, and build TOC links with a blurb stating what the link is all about.
4. Make the other a redirect to said TOC page... which will be listed on/in the AM&C introductory material.
5. Each tutorial should start with a pre-requisite knowledge 'Be familiar with ... Be skilled in lists as links to puruse first before proceeding with the current page; then introductory background/basics material, then exposition and training.

Arrangements and grouping

The philosophy is to put the harder hardcore content creation sections in the Content Creation group, the simpler get your feet wet topics into the AM&C pages, organizationally speaking. The attempted progression is to introduce material from the very basic to elementary, to intermediate to advanced in measured doses of knowledge and interleave Windows, CM, Driver and Surveyor skills building topics and Howto in a natural way for newbies to assimilate gradually. For example, AM&C will have a big block of pages on using various tools (asset management) with Trainz needs (error fixing, graphics programs, screenshot management, some batch file techniques and better editors than Notepad!) Don't want newbies to run into the pages with this header right off the mark! {{TRScc-top}} There will be a (long planned, half worked-out) progressive tutorials 'challenges' set of threaded skills building tutorials (which I outlined 14 months ago now!) once I get enough polish into the existing pages. Now that I'm comfortable the linking templates will keep things grouped properly, the copyediting and revisions and relocating pages to sub-TOCs will go fairly quickly, I hope. The basic topics of the old Wikibook revised, and augmented pages added (e.g. CM and DLS and Driver as well as others now begun as expandable stubs) I can finally begin putting up the progressive programmed instruction tutorials I envisioned last June!

Progressive scheming

These will start with intro to Driving, and snooping using surveyor to study a route before driving it. Then pop over to CM and a first download or two including one route I've targeted as a place a pair of consists, intro to adjust the properties, intro of setting surveyor bookmarks, finishing with a twin Driving challenge. Next, probably a sidestep into some asset fundamentals and a carefully chosen asset or three to use as an error fixing experience, with another targeted route download. Progress then into that selected route and it's session to use as a modify in this way to achieve this goal (e.g. take old dead stations and replace them with interactive industry types, replace scenery with industries, modify track and terrain to add portals then signals and switches validation eventually segue off that surveying into a basic driver commands and session editor primer, do some session writing and industry and portal setup, then drive it whilst dodging the AIs. Point is that will be a fun series of thought provoking sequences of tasks and that method can be repeated with more advanced knowledge and techniques to build skills in a module by module way. We'll be back stopping that with Video clips demonstrating the same modifications in the tasking—in fact, probably do those first, and take screenshots with some voice coaching as we go. We can use the stills as stopping points for the students to catch up. I did that particular modification one morning last summer as a demonstration in about 40 minutes, including adding a board, shaping it's terrain to blend with the base route, and get four portals and switching and signals integrated. It'll take a newbie closer to two or three hours I'd wager.

Wikibook tool kit

If you poke around in the few pages I've had time to edit since May, you'll see I have a pretty good system of organizing and linking sections in place (and working!) using templates {{TL}}, {{TA}}, {{TC}}, {{TG}}, {{TN}}, {{TR}} and {{TBS}}. Also a family of header and footer templates which enable flexible title bar headers with navigation, a threading template (difficult to know which pages lead to the next so mostly unused so far), and a notations lookup page (links above! Why I stuck that in, in fact. Haven't heard from you since we last Skyped, IIRC) to go with the glossaries to go with beginner help links to hotkeys. (Introductory and Fundamentals pages can display that automatically along with a couple of common main title mixes (Fundamentals + References is the most common--See Content Manager and Download Station stubs for a look). Oh, Yeah, stub templates for section and incomplete pages, plus an Trainz underconstruction template for very rough pages, and complimentary tracking categories to track what pages still need a lot of TLC! There's even a stealthy template {{FAB-todo|List problem or work needed here}} to insert inline to assert the Category:Trainz pages needing attention which is common to all the pages with unfinished business.

Commons prepped for images

Similarly on the Wikimedia commons I've set up a set of licensing templates for Trainz related images. commons:category:Trainz templates (I need to refine the help on some still, been some months since I've been able to devote regular time to wiki work.)

Just answer here and I'll check back. I'm going to email a few Yz-Tz members who expressed the most interest in tutorials to peek here and comment as well. I'm pretty much ready for cross-pollenation ideas and some help! Especially the later.

Best regards, Frank