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On the bright side

What's making you happy this month?

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By Pine

There are many opportunities to discuss bad news, problems, and concerns in the Wikiverse, and I think that having candid discussions about these issues is often important. Many days I spend more time thinking about problems than about what is going well. However, also I think that acknowledging the good side and taking a moment to be appreciative can be valuable.

The content of this Signpost piece is adapted from email threads titled "What's making you happy this week?" that are sent to Wikimedia-l.

I encourage you to add your comments about what's making you happy this month to the talk page of this Signpost piece.

Week of 1 December 2019

A mail coach in an historic town in Arizona. This photo was uploaded as a part of the Wiki Loves Monuments 2018 campaign.


There was no regular content for this week. There was a discussion on Wikimedia-l regarding the design of WMYHTW emails that took place during the last week of November.

Week of 8 December 2019:
Что вас радует на этой неделе?

Aniva lighthouse, on a rocky promontory on the island of Sakhalin in Russia, with a flock of gulls circling in the surrounding mists. This was the Commons Picture of the Day for 9 December 2019. The photo was taken by Commons contributor Yaroslav Shuraev.


In the light of recent suggestions that these emails become shorter (see the discussion from the last week of November 2019 in the Wikimedia-l archives), this week I will share only two comments of my own.

  • I am thankful for useful feedback regarding these emails.
  • I am thankful to someone who did a random act of kindness for me. Their action felt like gentle sunshine amidst many challenges.


Week of 15 December 2019:
这个星期让您感到开心的是什么？

  • An earlier building of what was then known as the Washington State Museum
    An earlier building of what was then known as the Washington State Museum
  • The newest Burke building, seen under construction in 2018
    The newest Burke building, seen under construction in 2018
  • Early Autumn by 钱选
    Early Autumn by 钱选


I recently visited the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. The museum opened a new building this year. Although I wish that the exhibits were larger, I enjoyed seeing the museum staff at work and talking with them.

Also, I happened to see a piece of art that I liked, called Early Autumn on English Wikipedia. The piece was made in the 13th century by 钱选 (on English Wikipedia: Qian Xuan).

Week of 22 December 2019:
Co sprawia, że jesteś szczęśliwy w tym tygodniu?

A Christmas wreath in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.


For those who celebrate these occasions, I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

I am happy to learn about holidays from diverse origins, and I would welcome people sharing information about holidays that they celebrate.

Wikimedia Commons hosts several audio recordings of Christmas carols that have Polish or German associations. Here are a few selections. Any corrections to English translations would be appreciated.


"El desembre congelat II" / "December Frozen II"; organ solo performance by User:Metzner
"O Tannenbaum" / "O Christmas Tree", sung in German and English by the U.S. Army Band. According to the English Wikipedia article for the carol, the lyrics to the modern version were written in 1824, and the history of the lyrics can be traced to a 16th century folk song.
"Wśród nocnej ciszy"/ "The Silence of the Night"; produced in association with Wikimedia Polska (the Wikimedia Poland chapter). Vocal performances by Magdalena Wasylik, Natalia Piotrowska, Wiktor Korszla, Kuba Jurzyk, and Marta Rytter. Musical arrangement by Marcin Kuczewski. Direction and implementation of recordings, mixing and mastering by Bartłomiej Kozielski of Studio Accantus. According to the article on Polish Wikipedia, the original authors of the lyrics and tune are unknown, and the carol was first published in the year 1853.

Requesting a new lead writer for "On the Bright Side" and "What's making you happy this week?"

I'm happy with the generally positive effect that I think that WMYHTW emails have in Wikimedia-l and that "On the bright side" has in The Signpost. I would like these publications to continue. As we approach the new calendar year, and mindful that the Lunar new year starts on the 25th of January, I respectfully request that someone replace me as the main writer for these pieces. Maybe more than one person would like to volunteer. I can continue to contribute periodically while someone else has the lead writer role. So, colleagues and friends, please consider volunteering to replace me as the lead writer for WMYHTW emails and for "On the bright side". (I intend to continue with two other initiatives, NavWiki and the Wikimedia Café.) If you would like to volunteer for WMYHTW and "On the bright side", then please leave a message at The Signpost's newsroom talk page.


A "thank you" sign. In your case, thank you for reading this publication.


Regarding translations

Skillful translations of the sentence "What's making you happy this week?" would be very much appreciated. If you see any inaccuracies in the translations in this article then please {{ping}} User:Pine in the discussion section of this page, or boldly make the correction to the text of the article. Thank you to everyone who has helped with translations so far.


Your turn

What's making you happy this month? You are welcome to write a comment on the talk page of this Signpost piece.


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  • Hi Pine. I tend to comment on In The Bright Side and enjoy reading the Signpost, especially this series. I've wanted to help the Signpost for awhile, but I don't think I'd be able to write an entire article by myself for it. I've tried before and for me at least, it's a lot harder than it looks. That said, I'd like to keep trying. I like the idea of a team of volunteers, though, for In The Bright Side. Many hands make light work, right? Clovermoss (talk) 19:26, 27 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Hi Clovermoss, I would be happy to collaborate with you on future issues. There are a few ways that this could happen. One is that we could alternate weeks. Another is that each of us could contribute one point to each week's content. Do either of those sound appealing to you? I am open to other suggestions too. ↠Pine (✉) 22:26, 27 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Pine: I like the idea of each of us contributing a point each week. I'm not a super active Wikipedian especially with being a student but I think I'm active enough for that kind of commitment. When we collaborate, would it be in the Newsroom? Clovermoss (talk) 22:33, 27 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Clovermoss: the way that I usually start "On the bright side" is with a template that has placeholders for each week's content. Then each week I add some content to the draft, including a translation of "What's making you happy this week" in to a language that is relevant to the content. We can both edit the draft each week. If we want to discuss the draft then the Newsroom talk page would be one good place to do that. If we want to have realtime conversations then there are additional tools that we can use such as Google Hangouts or Internet relay chat. ↠Pine (✉) 22:52, 27 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Pine: Okay, that sounds good. I'd prefer to keep communication on-wiki or through email but I might consider the Google Hangouts idea. Thanks for letting me collaborate wih you... I'm really excited about it. Clovermoss (talk) 23:52, 27 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Clovermoss: that sounds fine to me. Would you like to introduce yourself in the Newsroom talk page? Mainly what would be good to state there is that you are volunteering to collaborate on "On the bright side". Biographical information is unnecessary but can be included if you are okay with that information being public. In your introduction, I recommend pinging the current editor in chief of The Signpost, who is Smallbones, and his primary assistant, who is Bri. Thank you for volunteering. After your introduction, let's discuss content for next week on that page. ↠Pine (✉) 23:59, 27 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately my Wikipedia experience this month (indeed, this year) has been more in the nature of "what is making you unhappy". I've not been keeping a diary or commonplace book, but as Qian Xuan is so delightful (thank you) and in the spirit of sharing, here we are some recent things that I have found uplifting:

Good luck with your plan to crowdsource some happiness. God knows, we need it. Just keep swimming. Theramin (talk) 01:12, 30 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for sharing, Theramin. I hope that 2020 treats you well. ↠Pine (✉) 07:15, 30 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
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