Thank you today for Gerald Durrell, "about one of the most influential people in the history of conservation biology. Durrell became famous for his books, and used the money from them to found Jersey Zoo. As recently as the mid-1970s there was still opposition at the highest level of the zoo world to the idea that zoos could help with conservation of endangered species. Durrell's work is one of the main reasons that that's no longer the case. One point that reviewers will notice: the article depends heavily on a single source: the only book-length biography of Durrell, by Douglas Botting. There are other reminiscences, and I've cited some material to them, but they are essentially books of anecdotes rather than of encyclopedic material." - I remember Dada Masilo. - Happy new year! -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:22, 7 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

... and today, pictured on the Main page, Tosca, in memory of her first appearance on stage OTD in 1900, and of principal author Brian Boulton. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 18:40, 14 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you today for Freston (causewayed enclosure), "about another Neolithic site in England, this one being investigated by a Canadian research team, for some reason; only one excavation so far, so not a lot of findings to report, which is a pity as there's a possible Neolithic longhouse or Anglo-Saxon hall in part of the site, which I'm sure the team are keen to get to."! - I have an unusual musicologist on the same page, and a conductor waiting. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 06:59, 18 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Today I had a composer (trumpeter, conductor) on the main page who worked closely with another who just became GA, - small world! To celebrate: mostly flowers pics from vacation ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:40, 21 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Just to say congratulations on your Freston article; it was great to see it on the main page - an excellent piece of work! Hchc2009 (talk) 20:27, 18 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 21:18, 18 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Mike Christie The user Tim O'Doherty has transcluded the GA review discussion for the article Premiership of Liz Truss but the bot is yet to notify me on my talk page. Could you please take a look? Regards. MSincccc (talk) 18:58, 24 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The bot can be forced to crash when the system is low on resources, and it looks like that's what happened. In those cases the bot tries to pick up from where it left off, the next time it runs, but if it had already updated the database to show the review, and not yet notified you, there's no way it can tell. When it started up again twenty minutes later it would have assumed the notification had happened. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 13:30, 26 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hello. Just wanted to drop in and say that I hope everything is going well with you. Aoba47 (talk) 02:31, 2 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi - nice to hear from you! I'm well, and I hope you are too. I'm unusually busy in real life at the moment, and have been cutting back on Wikipedia editing -- it might be weeks, or longer, before I have more time to edit, so you might not see me around much for a while. All the best -- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 03:53, 2 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That is understandable. Everything is good with me at the moment. No major complaints at least. Best of luck with everything in real life. I hope that everything goes well. Aoba47 (talk) 00:24, 3 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Congratulations, Mike Christie! The article you nominated, Oriental Stories, has been promoted to featured status, recognizing it as one of the best articles on Wikipedia. The nomination discussion has been archived.

This is a rare accomplishment and you should be proud. If you would like, you may nominate it to appear on the Main page as Today's featured article. Keep up the great work! Cheers, FrB.TG (talk) via FACBot (talk) 00:05, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

This is to let you know that the above article has been scheduled as today's featured article for April 2025. Please check that the article needs no amendments. Feel free to amend the draft blurb, which can be found at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/April 2025, or to make comments on other matters concerning the scheduling of this article at Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/April 2025. Please keep an eye on that page, as notifications of copy edits to or queries about the draft blurb may be left there by user:JennyOz, who assists the coordinators by reviewing the blurbs, or by others. I also suggest that you watchlist Wikipedia:Main Page/Errors from two days before it appears on the Main Page. Thanks, and congratulations on your work! SchroCat (talk) 12:01, 21 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]