User talk:Aaron Shafovaloff

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My to-do list

Please feel free to add bullets here

  • Simplify the writing guide pages into one page Jordan Barrett (talk) 16:41, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
  • Finish creating and use one template for the "books of the Bible" articles Jordan Barrett (talk) 16:41, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
  • Get 501c3 going -Aaronshaf 17:38, 15 May 2006 (PDT)

Contents


TOC Question

Hey there Aaron, is there somewhere you can direct me to do figure our how to add a table of contents? JenniferDent 13:12, 1 February 2006 (EST)

A heads up, I answered this question on her talk page. JordanBarrett (talk) 13:32, 1 February 2006 (EST)

Copyright Question

hi :) 1)what copyright terms do u use in your site? 2)Please get MediaWiki 1.3.4 from http://www.mediawiki.org and upgrade because versions priot to 1.3.4 have serious security problems (hackers can steal user passwords) especially with file uploads. 888 01:25, 30 Sep 2004 (EDT)

Howdy

Howdy from KeyStroke 14:48, 16 Oct 2004 (EDT)

Bible Versions

I read in the How To Contribute Section under Quoting Scripture that the preferred translations are NASB, ESV, and NIV. Is there a problem with quoting the KJV on a regular basis? I tend to quote from the bible version that I am currently using. Since I use the NASB, ESV, and KJV I just want to make sure there is no problem quoting from the KJV. Thanks Larryjf 15:10, 5 Nov 2005 (EST)

Thank you for the note. I love the NASB and ESV, too. My initial concern was copyright (because I posted whole chapters). If that's not an issue I won't worry about it. :-) Chuck 00:30, 17 February 2006 (EST)

I just noticed the notes about the ESV and licensing fees. I'll see how that turns out before posting any more whole chapters. --Chuck 00:39, 17 February 2006 (EST)

Adding Images

Do we use the Wikipedia image upload page, or is there one for this site? I'm thinking of adding maps, etc. in the Church History section later on. Warren 19:12, 5 Nov 2004 (EST)


I noticed that the names of articles for the books of the Old Testament are inconsistent - some are "Book of ___" while others are just the name, i.e., "Genesis". How do we fix this? - Eliana 22:19, 11 Nov 2004 (EST)

Confusing changes

I am curious as to why you have chaged some edits I made...

Would you not consider Calvinism a "Religious movement" (you removed it from that category)?
Is not Arminianism a legitimate topic under the category "Methodism"?
Since Methodism affirms total depravity (and always has), is it not a legitimate topic under the category "Methodism"?

It seems to me that many of your edits may be somewhat arbitrary and not entirely accurate. Please clear this up for me when you have an opportunity...thanks. KHM03 10:44, 1 Mar 2005 (EST)

Sorry to cause any confusion. "Religious movement" is basically a non-Christian religious movement. I chose it rather than "cult". Perhaps we should rename? "Pagan religions"? I didn't think that would fly :-) You're right, Arminianism should be under the category "Methodism". Regarding depravity: Methodism doesn't embrace total depravity as actual in the world, but rather as something that would be so if not for universal prevenient grace. Methodism, as I understand it, believes that man, because of universal prevenient grace, has the moral ability to discern and gladly receive spiritual things. Grace and peace in Christ! -Aaronshaf 11:26, 1 Mar 2005 (EST)
I misunderstood "Religious movements"...we'll need to neaten that up a bit, since there are several Christian groups listed there (Methodism, Roman Catholicism). Maybe "Non-Christian religions" would be better, since I'm not sure that Islam, for example, is truly pagan in the technical sense of the term. Just a suggestion.
Methodism does affirm total depravity, incidentally. Article VII of the Articles of Religion states, "Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly talk), but it is the corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined to evil, and that continually." The articles that follow maintain that doctrine while also affirming prevenient grace as the only way humans can respond or react to God as well as affirming that it we are saved only because of Christ and not because of our own works or decisions: "The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and works, to faith, and calling upon God; wherefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will...We are accounted righteous before God only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are justified by faith, only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort...Although good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and spring out of a true and lively faith, insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known as a tree is discerned by its fruit." So, total depravity (or "original sin" or "birth sin") is a very important part of traditional Methodist theology, in fact, an essential part. Wesley agreed 100% with Calvin on this point. Just to let you know. KHM03 09:32, 2 Mar 2005 (EST)
Maybe this will help clear things up between us: First, in regards to theology. Does Methodism hold that the unregenerate will is presently, in its current condition, depraved, i.e. unable to discern and receive holy and spiritual things? No, absolutely not, for universal prevenient grace has holds that, functionally-speaking, the condition of man is equal to that which is stated by the semi-Pelagians. The "island" or moral capacity in the will is restored, according to universal prevenient grace, in everyone--the conditions of the restoration are different than what semi-Pelagianism describes: according to semi-Pelagianism, the "island" was retained, and did not need to be restored. But in either case, the island of moral capacity to discern and receive spiritual things is present, and thus the deep, spiritually-paralyzing effects of moral depravity aren't actual. Summary: Total depravity according to universal prevenient grace is the condition that the will would be under, but is not under because of a universally restored "island" of moral capacity.
Historically speaking, "T" was formulated (Dutch Remonstrance) essentially in contrast to universal prevenient grace. From what I know, 390 years (or so) ago both Arminians and Calvinists would have vehemently disagreed with the assertion that universal prevenient grace accords with Calvin's formulation of total depravity.
Exegetically speaking, nearly all the passages that are used to support total depravity speak of unregenerate man's actual current state of affairs, not what would have been if not for prevenient grace.
I hope that elucidates the disparity between the two doctrines. To say that "Wesley agreed 100% with Calvin on this point" is not only incorrect, it is misleading. As always, grace and peace in Christ! -Aaronshaf 12:24, 9 Mar 2005 (EST)
Again...Methodism does affirm total depravity. Humans are innately unable to do anything morally good, unable to themselves move toward God. Article VII of the Articles of Religion - which Wesley himself adapted from the Anglican Articles - affirms that belief. In fact, "original sin" (which Wesley sometimes used interchangably with "TD") was one of Wesley's three "cardinal doctrines". It's HUGE for Wesleyan soteriology and missiology. (See Wesley's sermons: #44, #57, and #123).
Now, granted, Wesley and Methodism have not interpreted "TD" in the same manner as, say, Westmister Calvinism. But is that necessary? Isn't affirming the complete sinful nature of humankind the important point here? I would think that is the case.
Here is a link to an outline on TD from a Wesleyan perspective which may help clarify. Here is another.
Wesley did agree with Calvin that the sinful nature was completely corrupting; the disagreement came when they stated what God did next to deal with that corruption (Calvin - election, Wesley - prevenient grace). Shalom! KHM03 17:11, 9 Mar 2005 (EST)

Other Wikis

Hi there

I've just discovered Theopedia. It's a wonderful wiki site. My name is Graham Grove. At the beginning of this year I was involved in setting up another Christian wiki - www.wikichristian.org. I'd like to place a link from WikiChristian to your wiki. I'd also like to ask your permission to copy some of your articles accross into WikiChristian. Since then I've discovered that there are other Christian wiki sites. As far as I can tell, there are four sites, some more generalized than others. These are WikiChristian, Theopedia, Compass (http://theconnexion.net/compass/index.php/Main_Page) and an Eastern OrthodoxWiki (http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/Main_Page). I hope that one or more of these wikis takes off and is a good reference for Christians and non-Christians alike and that they give a good chance for people to voice their opinions. Good luck with Theopedia. I very much like your statement of faith. At WikiChristian we haven't formed any statements like that, but I'm praying that the people that contribute to WikiChristian do have a strong faith in Christ. Please feel free to contribute to WikiChristian any time. If you would like to be involved in it, I'm happy to make you a sysop. You can read about WikiChristian at http://www.wikichristian.org. (I've also left a message to your other users).

Thanks

Graham

Theopedia seems to have died on the vine.

I joined with enthusiasm, but find that there are essentially no active participants on a daily basis. I have expressed my thoughts on the Main Page Discussion as well as the Writing Guide Discussion. Are you happy with the way this thing is going?? Gomarus 20:13, 7 Jul 2005 (EDT)

Note: Things have picked up and I am happy with the way things are going. I have no problem with the evangelical and Reformed POV. Gomarus 17:49, 5 Nov 2005 (EST)

I have to agree. I guess Gomarus was an active participant but left. I do not say this out of pride, but I find myself to be the only one on this on a daily basis. My passion is quickly being dried up after each day. Is there any way to get more people to participate? JordanBarrett 21:06, 8 Aug 2005 (EDT)

I'll try to be more regular. I think the problem is that most people can't do regular help. Take myself, for example. I help in spurts, or intermittently, when I get the opportunity, or when I discover a great resource. If most people are like that, we need two dozen people, most of which will be intermittent, some of which will be regular contributors. I firmly believe that it will grow exponentially if it grows like it has. But that might take another 6 months to a year for significant development. Grace and peace in Christ! -Aaronshaf 17:36, 1 Aug 2005 (EDT)

To answer the question, am I "happy with the way this thing is going", I'd have to say, "yes". I have seen a tremendous growth in the past year. It can only get better. It is one of the only Christian wiki's on the web. It has a good introductory structure. Some of its articles are beginning to be linked to by other web pages, and thus it is recieving increasing publicity. But... I am still frustrated with the slowness of the Christian community to harness the potential of a wiki like this to edify the church. I think, honestly, it needs a solid base content to get started, so that all the bases are covered at least superficially, and then it needs some great marketing. Then it would explode. I don't know how that's going to come about, but I'm just going to keep truckin' away and pray for the best. I have a few ideas, one of which includes word of mouth when I get to seminary. I am pretty confident I can get quite a few guys to help out at Southern in Louisville. Grace and peace! -Aaronshaf 17:45, 1 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Peace out, for a short while

I have to devote the next 2 months to studying for the GRE. So, I won't be editing as much. I'll get on here and there, but I need to use my time to study. Didn't want you to think I bailed. Talk to ya soon. JordanBarrett 16:21, 18 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Just a note here to let you know I will be out on vacation for a week or so beginning Sunday Oct 2. I probably won't have time or internet access to participate during that period. In the meantime, upward and onward, Gomarus 11:57, 30 Sep 2005 (EDT)
I'm going to start wearing black. :-) Grace and peace bros, thanks for the heads up. -Aaronshaf 12:00, 30 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Request your review and comment

Aaron, take a look at the N. T. Wright quote on the Deity of Christ page and my comment on same TALK page. Thoughts?? Gomarus 09:18, 14 Oct 2005 (EDT)

Administrator?

Gee, Aaron. I think I'm flattered, but I'm not sure. :-) What does "administrator" mean? What new powers do I have? Heh! Gomarus 10:54, 26 Oct 2005 (EDT)

Hey, I'm new to this too. Check this out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators. -Aaronshaf 10:58, 26 Oct 2005 (EDT)


Conflict of Translation Abbreviations

Hey there Aaron what is the solution when you have two translations that share the same initials. In the noah's Cov. article my scripture was edited and linked to the WRONG translation. I had placed NET and MDR linked it to the New Evangelical Translation???? (Never heard of it lol) It should have been the New English translation, so I created a page for the New English Translation however it shares the same initials with the New Evangelical Translation. Suggestions? Can we ask that users, when editing, to NOT change the translation of what was quoted? Just a thought :^) JenniferDent 20:44, 3 Nov 2005 (EST)

Advice and guidance

I have reservations about the addition of Roman Catholic prayers as articles. I don't see them as germane to Theopedia or particularly helpful. I admit we need to fairly address Roman Catholic issues, but I am personally against adding what I see as "Catholic" trivia. So, I solicit some guidance from the Boss (Aaronshaf). Gomarus 10:50, 15 November 2005 (EST)

Thanks for the solicitation. Theopedia indeed isn't intended to be a showcase for trivia of other religious movements, so kindly please delete what you and Jordan agree is such trivia. Sorry for being so laissez-faire, my wife and I have some big changes coming up :-) :-) :-) Grace and peace in Christ. -Aaronshaf 10:55, 15 November 2005 (EST)

Before you keep going...

Please read Talk:Salvation (Mormonism) before you keep changing titles of articles etc... JordanBarrett 17:25, 18 November 2005 (EST)

summary of edits

Hey bro - when you make edits, could you drop something in the summary field so I (we) know what you did? You made a lot of edits to the Mormonism pages, and only a few times left a note, and since you made some fairly major changes, it takes a lot longer to look at what you did (and why you did it) when you don't leave notes. JordanBarrett 23:46, 18 November 2005 (EST)

Sorry bro, I'll pay more attention to that. -Aaronshaf 00:06, 19 November 2005 (EST)
No biggy at all. Just wanted to let you know - I know I do it too. ;) JordanBarrett (talk) 09:56, 19 May 2006 (PDT)
Hey, saw on the new preferences that you can check a box that won't let you save an edit until you put a summary below. Maybe that would help. :) (talk) 09:56, 19 May 2006 (PDT)
A handicap for Aaron :-) I checked the box ;) -Aaronshaf 11:00, 19 May 2006 (PDT)

ESV Question

I wasn't sure how else to get a hold of you, so i decided to post this in your discussion section. I noticed that the ESV bible is a preference among many at Theopedia. I also know that because of copyright issues it is suggested that we post from multiple versions where possible. I have been in contact with the ESV publishers, and there is some interest in working with Theopedia to license the ESV for the website. The first thing they would need to know is the extent the ESV would be used. If this would be of any interest to you please let me know. Larryjf

That would be excellent! We simply need permission to quote a chapter--verse by verse. Example: John 1 would quote a verse (probably in the ESV), and then commentate... through the whole chapter, for every book. So the quotes are not continuous, but the whole chapter ends up be quoted in an entire page. Thanks! -Aaronshaf 16:40, 5 December 2005 (EST)
After going back and forth with Dan Kok (VP of Operations for Good News/Crossway) about the format of Theopedia and how the bible text would be used, here is his response...
"So you will need to have the entire ESV text available in order to have access to other quotes etc., right? If this is the case, and there is no downloading of files by the end user, we would need you to enter into a Web Site usage agreement. There is an annual cost of $200 for the Web agreement. If this is acceptable to you I will have an agreement drawn up and send this to your attention."
Would it make a difference if no single web page article included more than one chapter or paragrah?? Gomarus 17:16, 19 December 2005 (EST)
Hrm, well I'd rather keep this expense free as possible, so my suggestion at this point is to stick with multiple translations with the ESV as the primary. Thanks for all the help guys! Back to work for me... -Aaronshaf 17:27, 19 December 2005 (EST)

I have a little more cooresponding to do with Crossway, i will keep you all updated. Since Theopedia is a non-commercial enterprise, we may be able to do something with the ESV API. That way all the text stays on the Crossway server. I'm just not sure yet if it is feasible. I will keep you all informed. Larryjf

I heard back from ESV. They are willing to reduce the licensing fee, but not remit it. They say they will reduce it to $20/year. That is quite a reduction (if it's not a typo). This is really the end of the bargaining process, so just let me know if you are interested at this price or not. Sorry i couldn't do better than the $20/year. Larryjf

o.k., I will just tell them you are not interested. Larryjf
Sorry bro... thanks for all your help. Pray that my job-workload lessens so that I can devote some more serious time to Theopedia. I actually am interested in the 20-dollar license. I'd be willing to pay that. Who does the money go to? Thanks. -Aaronshaf 21:43, 29 January 2006 (EST)
o.k.. If you are interested i think it would be best if i gave you Dan Kok's contact email so that you and he can discuss the particulars. I was acting as more of an intermediary as i have no official ties with ESV. If you could email (larryicr@yahoo.com) me the email address you would like me to give to Dan I will do that, then i will reply to your email by forwarding some of the stuff Dan and I discussed. Larryjf

Utah?

When and why did you move to Utah? I thought you were in Ohio? Regarding the Hiatus, you'd better not leave Theopedia unattended too long -- Jordan and I need your help. Gomarus 11:32, 15 December 2005 (EST)

My wife and I moved to Orem, Utah to be missionaries to the people (over 8 / 10 are Mormon). I'd like to put together an 11-page tract for people I get into really good conversations with, and I'm pouring into MormonWiki.org partly to develop material for it. -Aaronshaf 16:20, 15 December 2005 (EST)
You'll be in our prayers. We wish you success in your transition and new ministry. Gomarus 17:11, 15 December 2005 (EST)

Database Error

hi Aaron,

Sorry to bother you, but I get the following error when I save my edits on "Sacrament"

Database error From Theopedia A database query syntax error has occurred. This may indicate a bug in the software. The last attempted database query was: (SQL query hidden) from within function "SearchMySQL4::update". MySQL returned error "1062: Duplicate entry '1985' for key 1 (localhost)". Retrieved from "http://www.theopedia.com/Sacraments"

Thanks, Mrd 03:31, 20 December 2005 (EST)

I have also gotten the same thing a few times. JordanBarrett 04:35, 20 December 2005 (EST)
me too. It seems to save the edit OK, just doesn't return me to the edited article. Gomarus 07:39, 20 December 2005 (EST)
Weird, and only on that article? Hrm. I'll look into it. I'm going to talk to some folks for help. -Aaronshaf 12:00, 20 December 2005 (EST)
I don't know whether you got it resolved or not, but if nothing else works, try just copying the latest revision of it... then deleting it, and recreating it... --Ymmotrojam 02:39, 23 December 2005 (EST)

Wikipedia linking

Just wondering how you are doing the linking to Wikipedia. you can read the discussion ongoing at the following location.

How is Wikipedia linking being done? --Ymmotrojam 14:44, 23 December 2005 (EST)

Ending the recent vandalism

Unless you can somehow block the IP or stop this somehow, I vote we close down Theopedia to either an invitation only, or that in order to edit you have type (sign) your name to the statement of faith and then we will give you access. This isn't stopping, and people are having to fix this on Christmas - not cool. This is not the way to continue. If there are other options that would prove better, I'm all ears (perhaps protecting the pages they keep re-editing, since they're always the same ones), but I would like to have this done in the next 3-4 days. My .02 JordanBarrett 19:44, 25 December 2005 (EST)

Maybe we could do something similar to what Wikipedia has done recently. Just in case you didn't know, they lock all new page creations for only registered users... In other words, anonymous users can edit still, but only registered users can create pages. Of course we could also take it one step further and say that members need a certain amount of edits before they are allowed to create new pages. Anyways, I prefer keeping a wiki as open as possible, but I also understand that if it's being attacked, it's just a waste of time having to revert the vandalism when one could actually spend that time for doing some real editing. Especially with a small wiki (compared to the likes of Wikipedia), that doesn't have a sufficient userbase to keep up with lots and lots of vandals... --Ymmotrojam 23:20, 25 December 2005 (EST)
When you mean "registered users" do you mean simply getting a username? If so, that is how it is now, yet the vandal keeps creating a username and then vandalizing. I agree in keeping this as open as possible; I do not want to detract any potential editors, yet, the vandalism is absurd right now and is a waste of time. Maybe a temporary lock up is in need, but I guess they could strike in a few weeks, who knows. Perhaps only users who are given the privelage (sp?) can create new pages, yet, that still means a lot of rollbacks to do. Thanks for thoughts - keep them coming. JordanBarrett 03:59, 26 December 2005 (EST)
I also wonder whether the history pages are cached by Google. Because if they are, then the spammers win even if we revert the spam. The reason the spammers are here in the first place is because they want more activity to their sites. When I checked the source, I noticed that there aren't any rel="nofollow" attributes being used for the history links. I can't do it at the moment, but maybe someone could check in the CSS file to see if it's being applied globally... --Ymmotrojam 09:31, 26 December 2005 (EST)
I'm not sure what you meant by the above, but it sounds positive.  :) I vote that something needs to be done by tomorrow morning, otherwise we temporarily "protect" the pages they've been adding stuff to. Any last comments or thoughts against this? JordanBarrett 16:26, 28 December 2005 (EST)

Please contact me

hi Aaron, I'd like to contact you about some of the problems but don't want to discuss it in the open pages to avoid feeding the vandals. Your email is not activated, I tried Skype but couldn't figure it out so please send an email if that's OK. Thanks (I hope) Mike Mrd 06:24, 27 December 2005 (EST)

Vandalism is certainly becoming a big problem. Try aaronshaf [at] gmail.com or 937-684-4667 sometime in the evening. Grace and peace! -Aaronshaf 14:33, 27 December 2005 (EST)

Re: Database Errors and Spams

Aaaron, you said, "I've upgraded MediaWiki and installed this plugin."

Exactly what you did is a little over my head. Just tell me if this is a way to stop the -bot vandalism we have been subject to. And is there something I need to do? Thanks, Gomarus 07:43, 18 January 2006 (EST)

Got this just a second ago on the septuagint article

A database query syntax error has occurred. This may indicate a bug in the software. The last attempted database query was:
(SQL query hidden)
from within function "MediaWikiBagOStuff:_doquery". MySQL returned error "1064: You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near [crazy characters] at line 1 (localhost)".
JordanBarrett (talk) 01:22, 19 January 2006 (EST)
I've done everything I know to do to try to fix this. Right now I'm trying to contact MediaWiki experts on it. -Aaronshaf 11:43, 19 January 2006 (EST)
Totally cool. Just wanted you to be aware. Thanks for all your efforts with this craziness. JordanBarrett (talk) 12:49, 19 January 2006 (EST)
have you tried disabling all extensions? --Ymmotrojam 00:28, 30 January 2006 (EST)
The only extension I added was a spam-filter, and I added it after the db errors occured. Does Mediawiki already come with extensions? -Aaronshaf 00:38, 30 January 2006 (EST)
no it doesn't as far as I know... one thing that you could consider if it ever came to this would be to make a new installation of mediawiki, using the latest version, and just point the new installation to the older database. hopefully you wouldn't need to do that though. --Ymmotrojam 06:38, 30 January 2006 (EST)

Bot user accounts...

Have you looked at the user list recently? There's like a few hundred of what appear to be bot user accounts. Any way that these accounts could be deleted? --Ymmotrojam 01:47, 19 January 2006 (EST)

If they are inactive accounts they should be nixed. I'll look into it. Thanks bro. -Aaronshaf 11:34, 19 January 2006 (EST)

Add a summary

Hey man - keep at the work, but since you're making a ton of edits right now it would help if you left a short summary of what you did/are doing. Just a reminder. It helps us all when we comb through the Recent Changes as well as page-history. JordanBarrett (talk) 23:51, 5 February 2006 (EST)

Hey bro, have been noticing that your edits don't provide summaries. Just a reminder.  ;) It helps us flow through Recent Changes much faster. JordanBarrett (talk) 12:00, 12 May 2006 (PDT)

can we add wikible to the interwiki table?

just wondering if it would be possible to add wikible to the interwiki table in the database. This would allow easy linking to wikible articles using a format such as the following...

[[wikible:Article name here]]

I have done this on the Wikible.org site so Theopedia articles can easily be linked to from there. If you aren't familiar with the interwiki table, I'd be glad to assist in any way. The way to link to Theopedia articles on the Wikible site is the same way...

[[theopedia:Article name here]]

--Tom 15:06, 22 February 2006 (EST)

.htaccess not rewriting "edit" urls...

Htaccess-editurl-rewrite.png

just thought I'd let you know :) --Tom 01:44, 27 February 2006 (EST)

Review of potential changes to The Local Church

Aaron, we need your assistance and guidance in a pending re-write issue. Please see related TALK page. Jim -- Gomarus 08:25, 9 March 2006 (EST)

Quotes

Hey - rather than create a "quote" section, try and integrate those into the article. Or do you want a quote section on every article? JordanBarrett (talk) 22:58, 13 March 2006 (EST)

I think you're right that it's ideal and preferable to integrate quotes. Although I do personally think that pages can helpfully have an ending list of unintegrated quotes. -Aaronshaf 23:21, 13 March 2006 (EST)

Status?

Aaron - any update on the status of Theopedia? Thanks. JordanBarrett (talk) 13:41, 10 April 2006 (EDT)

Vandalism

Could someone with the keys have a look at the IP of the recent spate of vandals? If there's a pattern, might an IP block be the most effective way to deal with them? Wooster (talk) 13:27, 13 May 2006 (PDT)

I could be wrong, but I don't think it records one's IP if they are logged in. there are other things that can be done. I see that Theopedia uses the SpamBlacklist extension. I don't perosnally use that extension for my sites (I add the spam keywords manually), but I believe that extension can do the same thing. Basically if we added the word "poker" that would probably stop him for a while ;-). --Tom 18:22, 13 May 2006 (PDT)
That sounds like a good plan. Lets do it. JordanBarrett (talk) 19:30, 13 May 2006 (PDT)
that'd be a job for aaron... :-) --Tom 21:23, 13 May 2006 (PDT)
Aaron, could you do this asap? This is getting old - thanks bro. JordanBarrett (talk) 19:26, 15 May 2006 (PDT)

spam and the Username Blacklist extension

Aaron, this may be helpful in getting rid of that one recurring spammer... It allows you to blacklist/block a person from creating a user account with a certain expression/pattern in it... http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Username_Blacklist

If you notice that this recent spammer always has 10 digits in the user accounts he creates, and usually he creates multiple accounts at one time.

Example spammer username: 1148334188
The expression to use to block it: (1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|0)

Rather than writing out every combination of ten digits to block each possible username, the above expression says that any number found in the first digit will be blocked. When you put ten of those same expressions in a row, it says that any ten digit combination of numbers will be blocked... therefore getting rid of that particular spammer. You would add these expressions to MediaWiki:Usernameblacklist (I already added the expression, just the extension needs to be installed for it to take effect).

--Tom 14:36, 22 May 2006 (PDT)

To get a better idea of how this works, take a word that you might want to block.
The word/phrase we would like to block: foo bar
Let's block it even if it is in the middle of something else: *foo bar*
What if there isn't a space in between the two words?: *foo?bar*
What if the first letter is capitalized?: *(F|f)oo?bar*
How to prevent the changing of letter case at all: *(F|f)(O|o)(O|o)?(B|b)(A|a)(R|r)*
--Tom 14:55, 22 May 2006 (PDT)

Comparison between Mormonism and Christianity

Okay, but the redirect doesn't work, or are you planning to get the software to make it work? Wooster (talk) 07:16, 26 June 2006 (PDT)

database?

aaron, do you still have a good backup copy of the database before all these weird characters? --Tom (t|c|w) 03:18, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Congratulations on the baby

No wonder you haven't been so active lately. I'm excited about Theopedia! I've been studying the different Christian wikis over the past couple months and I'm finally starting to settle on some of them. You and the other regular contributors have done a great job maintaining the MediaWiki and making the site look professional. I hope to be able to jump right in and help out wherever needed. I'm very much a documentation kind of person, so I'll probably be working a lot on the mechanics of the site. Just my short intro to you - I'm zepfanman [at] gmail if you noticed my chat request...

Oh yeah, it looks like you have two Wikipedia IDs. How come I can't see the user contributions on AaronShaf? --RockOfVictory 01:17, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

Administrator-type Upgrades

  1. I would like to change MediaWiki:Copyrightwarning to include the ability to add the Greek and Hebrew letters (i.e. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 栆 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ). This requires the wikimedia extension CharInsert (click 'edit' on any Wikipedia page).
  2. I think the discussion at Template_talk:Books_of_the_Old_Testament has come to agree that we want at least the additional namespace Verse. I want to get rid of my site bible.imurphy.com by adding all the data here.
  3. Oh! What about EasyTimeLine? Can you install that too? Could I be any more demanding?! ;-( Let me know! :-) Aquatiki 09:06, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
  4. Have you noticed that Special:Uncategorizedimages doesn't work? Aquatiki 12:40, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Please remove me as an admin

Does what it says.  : ) The only reason I was up as one was that I was helping deal with some spammy/stubby non-pages; that problem has abated somewhat. Couple that with the fact that, while I do hope to continue to be involved in TP, I can't at present for practical reasons involving lack of a good internet connection. Wooster (talk) 08:03, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Heads up

http://www.theopedia.com/Talk:Seventh_Day_Adventism#Archive_Needed JordanBarrett (talk) 16:43, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Lordship Salvation

In case you haven't noticed, Zane Hodges' dog is in your backyard. :-) Gomarus 20:44, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Confusing section in article 1 Peter#Date of Composition

This is at the very bottom of the section 1 Peter#Date of Composition (emphasis mine):

A certain distance from the Pauline period is assumed because of the lack of debates over the Mosaic law and the switch to struggling as a Christian.

I changed it to the following (again emphasis added):

A certain distance from the Pauline period is assumed because of the lack of debates over the Mosaic law and the emphasis on responding to persecution.

I found the original confusing. --Whiteknox 20:02, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

Application?

Hey bro - people keep asking about the application. It was supposed to be done almost 2 weeks ago. What's the plan? Is there is a concrete expectation we can have that won't end up changing later? Thanks. Jordan Barrett (talk) 17:15, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

User List

Aaron, since we are essentially restarting with required approval for editors, does the current User List have any use?? Should all previous/old user accounts be deleted? Jim Ellis 13:42, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Aaron has been a little busy if you can't tell. ;) But to note, I vote that we just ditch them all and start over. Jordan Barrett (talk) 04:39, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
Sorry, it's a mixture of various priorities, penchants, and laziness. I likewise vote that we ditch all usernames that aren't in use (i.e. ones that aren't full names). -Aaron Shafovaloff
I think there's a maintenance script for modifying the user fields of tables, so that the contributions under old usernames are transferred to the full user name.
Also, it might be helpful it the old user pages are replaced with redirects to the new user page. Mark McConnell 21:24, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

New Editors

Aaron, I was contacted by Mark McConnell asking if and when he was going to be able to edit Theopedia again. Did he submit an editor's application?? Thanks, Jim Ellis 19:18, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

I looked into it, and it doesn't look like he submitted an application. -Aaron Shafovaloff 20:15, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
Thanks. I told him to do that. Jim Ellis 22:48, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
Thank you both, for your help. Mark McConnell 21:20, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Here or There?

Thanks for the comment! I want to message you back, but I'm not quite sure how this works? Shall I leave a message on my discussion page for you, or on here? --Andrew Maust 01:42, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Either place is fine, I would see it anyway. Grace and peace! - Aaron Shafovaloff 02:10, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Calvinism and solas

I'll move the discussion here since it's getting off-track on the talk:Calvinism discussion section. I think you missed my point: true, you see the need for qualification and thus it's not a simple copy/paste. But you're still being simplistic by the very qualifications you're wanting to make. You're not allowing a Wesleyan to affirm Sproul's quote because you believe only a rigid monergist could say such a thing and truly mean it (without lying, I presume). Categories like monergism/synergism can be helpful but often make the issues out to be more clean-cut than they really are. This is what I'm having a hard time sensing in your replies. Jordan Barrett (talk) 22:03, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

I would heartily affirm the sincerity of an Arminian who says they believe in "by grace alone", etc., but in the context of a theologically-oriented encyclopedia, where the five solas would be listed as a whole, they need qualification. I of course think the traditional Reformation view of the five solas is most robust and fully orbed and true (and yes, monergism was at the heart of the Reformation's affirmation of "by grace alone"). In a face-to-face, normal conversation with an Arminian Christian brother I wouldn't be feisty about this though. - Aaron Shafovaloff 22:09, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

Copying from Wikipedia

Aaron, Please see User:Infinitelink's latest info and comments on copying from Wikipedia: http://www.theopedia.com/User_talk:Infinitelink#Copying_from_Wikipedia_.28refresh.29 Jim Ellis 20:27, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

IPs

Sorry. I had right-clicked and selected "copy link location" and I think it listed the IP instead of the main site. Is there a way to still do this but avoid the IP address? Thanks, Jordan Barrett (talk) 18:24, 12 January 2009 (UTC)

It's cool. Unfortunately you have to manually insert the domain name in the IP address, but that particular site has put the IP into all their links. - Aaron Shafovaloff 18:32, 12 January 2009 (UTC)

Hello

I wanted to introduce myself and say hello. I have some ideas for Theopedia, and if you are interested I'd be happy to freely discuss them. Regards, -Anam 04:57, 27 April 2009 (UTC)

Question

I was wondering if I could have permission to use the source code from Theopedia's homepage onto my website without having to attribute it. --TheoLOLgian 21:55, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

It's not mine to give away. You'd have to abide by the Creative Commons license the content is under. Grace and peace! - Aaron Shafovaloff 15:52, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Theopedia editing capabilities

Hi Aaron. Does Theopedia have any advanced editing software similar to WikEd in WP? Thanks. G.H. 07:01, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

We use MediaWiki. I've never heard of WikEd. Grace and peace. - Aaron Shafovaloff 17:01, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

Question

Hi Aaron
i thinking about 1 or more year to start a wiki about biblical christianity in german language. Now after praying a while i found your english site.

Do you plan to start a german language version. Could we cooparate in this point.

Greatings from your brother in faith
Kai

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