Talk:Main Page/Archive 105

message: There have been some odd problems with the main page lately.
I hesitate to presume them errors, though they don't seem to be correct behavior.
First, the "in the news" section is supposed to have new items added at the top and old ones dropped from the bottom, but I've occasionally observed new ones added in the middle (most recently, the Russian/Georgian thing -- it appeared within the last 24 hours below the older FREITLIN protest item, which had been there early yesterday morning -- and old ones dropped from the middle.
Second, yesterday's featured article thumbnail image was missing. This is especially troubling since the article was about a painting(!) and very obviously would have benefited from an image. But it's abnormal and seems erroneous regardless; normally there is one thumbnail in each section, with the POTD being a larger one of course. Today there are the usual complement of five thumbnails in particular. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.14.133.63 (talk • contribs) 
:See the long debate above discussing why yesterday's FA had no image; in a nutshell, there were no free or uncopyrighted images which could illustrate the topic, and people have been extensively debating the pros and cons of the policy which disallows unfree images on the main page. Laïka 13:12, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Items on ITN are listed chronologically, with the most recent news on top. Sometimes, old news getting onto ITN late won't show up at the top because some newer news is already there.  --PFHLai 16:36, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Odd problems 

message: August 16 is the feast day of Saint Roch, the patron saint of dogs. Could this be mentioned on the main page?  Sorry if this type of request is out of place on this talk page.  Keep up the good work. Steve Dufour 14:22, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Not important enough, methinks. —METS501 (talk) 15:53, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

text: I agree with Mets501.  If I had known about this earlier, I might have suggested to the TFA Director about using Beagle as TFA that day, rather than today.  It's too late now. :( --PFHLai 16:34, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

text: It has actually been added by someone else Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/August 16, I presume based on here (the edit summary says VP/A but there's no discussion at VP/A). IMHO it's okay since we currently only have one other item and the guidelines say up to 3. On the other hand, if there is other stuff that comes up that is arguably more important it could be removed Nil Einne 17:24, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Steve Dufour also asked at one of the village pumps, I don't remember which. Atropos 02:53, 11 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks. I asked the same question on the proposals board, not knowing where to ask such questions.  Someone saw it there and added it to the list.  It probably isn't so important.  I just thought that St. Roch's feast day coming in the dog days of summer was kind of cool. Steve Dufour 02:18, 12 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I thought the St. Roch thing is coming up in a week or two when it'll still be winter, not summer... Nil Einne 15:31, 12 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Damn Australians, always have to ruin everything :-D —METS501 (talk) 15:42, 12 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Indeed they do... Fortunately there's none here today Nil Einne 15:49, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

text: Would anyone be upset if I put it back on the anniversaries page?  I see that there is only one other holiday listed for that date. Steve Dufour 02:11, 13 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I presume Tariqabouti (who removed it) and Pharos might be. I suggest you discuss it on the talk page with Pharos et al Nil Einne 02:45, 13 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I will do that. Thanks for the advice. Steve Dufour 03:22, 13 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Dog Day" coming up 

message: :Moved to Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/August 10. 00:06, 14 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  On This Day, August 10th, 2007 

message: Merv Griffin's death doesn't warrant a front page news blurb? Applejuicefool 09:10, 13 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Please see criterion 5 at Wikipedia:In the news section on the Main Page.  —David Levy 09:14, 13 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  Yeah. Just read the criteria for putting a death in the "In the news" section...Although Merv was pre-eminent in the television field, his death was not sudden, nor was it unexpected. My bad. Applejuicefool 09:16, 13 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd also say that he isn't internationally known, but lets not spark another discussion about such things!  violet/riga (t) 16:14, 13 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Although it might be useful at some point (probably relative to a death that would otherwise be, to choose a rather indelicate word, more "significant" than this) to discuss more broadly whether the restriction of the second part of criterion five continues to command the support of the community; I'm inclined to think that the "unexpected" provision for those who are not in high-ranked positions when they die or whose deaths do not make a major international impact is appropriate inasmuch as ITN, rightly or wrongly, serves not simply to present breaking news headlines (any death, unexpected or not, after all, may be included on ITN where it has a significant impact, such that the relevant article(s) can be updated with at least a good bit of encyclopedic content—beyond, that is, So-and-so died from xx cause, aged yy years, which is the rather insubstantial form updates of the death of individuals who are not/no longer situated as by their deaths to generate more than cursory, non-memorial mention must usually take), but I gather from a few recent threads at WT:ITN and Template talk:In the news that there may be developing a consensus to the contrary. Joe 19:14, 13 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Merv Griffin 

message: Please, correct your template, because Slovak Wikipedia has reached more than 75,000 articles. Wwooter from Slovak Wiki 22:02 (CET) August 15, 2007
: so it has - admins?Man of Bravery!! 20:28, 15 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Done. --- RockMFR 21:18, 15 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Slovak Wikipedia 

message: Hi, could someone point me to where it is decided what goes in the todays news section. I find it interesting that a bridge collapse in USA gets on, but a worse one in China doesn't. I guess its because no one can be bothered to write a decent article about the China one?
Also anyone else think FA articles really tend to be filled with things that are so obvious they don't need to be mentioned: "Rail transport in India is one of the most common modes of long-distance transport." really?!?--Dacium 03:28, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: See WP:OBVIOUS. howcheng  {chat} 16:06, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

text: Wikipedia:In the news section on the Main Page/Candidates --- RockMFR 04:02, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

text: It isn't everywhere: the United States hardly even has railways for non-freight use. —Verrai 04:51, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: No use arguing now, but I daresay that I think you're mistaken on that account, Verrai; at least in metropolitan areas like New York City, trains and subways are extraordinarily common for commuting and just getting around in general. —METS501 (talk) 05:06, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm from the NYC area, so I think I'd know. Outside of the Northeast, you're lucky if you can find a train, and hardly anyone, even in the Northeast where Amtrak et al. actually have a fair number of trains, uses trains for long-distant transport. —Verrai 05:43, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

text: What?  Who cares about some bridge in China collapsing? this is America...we hate the chinese, don't we?  if there's a double standard it's because WE RULE!! ::Sarcasm intended:: Antimatter---talk--- 05:37, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

text: Actually, being serious again, I'd write it myself if I wasn't already bogged down with various stuff. I've written various articles on incidents that are similarly largely ignored by English-speaking countries. Blood Red Sandman (Talk)  (Contribs) 11:42, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

text: Please also note that news headlines should go to Portal: Current events (4th link under the logo), and only big news stories with a well-updated wikipage gets featured in the In the news section on MainPage.  Many news stories from outside the English-speaking (typing) world never get on MainPage.  To help, follow Blood Red Sandman's lead and write up (type) more.  Please feel free to start with a topic such as this. Thanks. --PFHLai 18:08, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  News and stuff 

message: On the featured picture, I didn't see the featured star visible. This leads me to believe that the picture might be the wrong one, possibly?N734LQ 18:50, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The displayed picture is :Image:Along the River 7-119-3 portion.jpg. The description says it's a detail of :Image:Along the River 7-119-3.jpg which is a featured picture. PrimeHunter 18:56, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Featured Picture 

message: From the main page:
Old Dan Tucker" is a popular American song. Its origins remain obscure; the tune may have come from the oral tradition, and the words may have been written by songwriter and performer Dan Emmett. The blackface troupe the Virginia Minstrels popularized "Old Dan Tucker" in 1843, and it quickly became a minstrel hit, behind only "Miss Lucy Long" and "Mary Blane" in popularity during the antebellum period. "Old Dan Tucker" entered the folk vernacular around the same time.
From the article itself:
"Old Dan Tucker", also known as "Ole Dan Tucker", "Dan Tucker", and other variants, was a denigrating American popular song of the antebellum period, conventionalizing the then-common blackface comic travesty of Black people. Its origins remain obscure; the tune may have come from the oral tradition, and the words may have been written by songwriter and performer Dan Emmett. The blackface troupe the Virginia Minstrels popularized "Old Dan Tucker" in 1843, and it quickly became a minstrel hit, behind only "Miss Lucy Long" and "Mary Blane" in popularity during the antebellum period. "Old Dan Tucker" entered the folk vernacular around the same time. Today it is a bluegrass and country music standard.
So why the rewrite? I thought Wikipedia wasn't censored? --293.xx.xxx.xx 02:55, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: When an article attains featured status, it gets archived, and that edition of the article can go onto the main page as TFA, what your looking at is that archived version, and subsiquent edits are living strong on the actual article. --Ferdia O'Brien The Archiver, Reformatter And Vandal Watchman (Talk) 03:21, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: This is the version from which the main page blurb was culled. Raul654 03:27, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Censorship on the main page? 

message: Should Typhoon Sepat (2007), Crandall Canyon Mine, Kazakhstani legislative election, 2007, Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting investigation or China Airlines Flight 120 get on ITN to displace some of the old news on ITN (2007 Qahtaniya bombings, 2007 Peru earthquake)? Please discuss at WP:ITN/C. --11:14, 22 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Many thanks to all those who went to ITN/C for the discussions. --11:56, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  replacing old news on ITN 

message: Isn't this the wrong article to link to? What does the moral philsophy topic have to do with architecture? Richard001 00:03, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: You are quite right that it should not be linked, though it would be better if you had posted it in the errors section above. Atropos 02:19, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

text: Requests for minor changes in the text on the mainpage can be made at WP:ERRORS. --02:37, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Link to utilitarianism in the DYK area 

message: How can you put Jake on your main page when Heath Ledger was every bit his equal in Brokeback Mountain and is much hotter? 68.248.235.36 05:32, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Because Heath's article is under  and Anne Hathaway made Brokeback Mountain more tolerable for me? --Howard the Duck 06:28, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

text: No way, Jake Gyllenhaal is way hotter. Atropos 06:37, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: What about this guy? BTW personally I think you all are gay (or female)! :-P Really if want 'hot' stars in Brokeback Mountain we should be asking why Anne Hathaway (actress) and Michelle Williams aren't there... Aren't most wikipedia readers heterosexual males? Shouldn't we cater to them more then others (reusing the ole' American make up most of wikipedia readers argument) Nil Einne 10:32, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

text: Any article that can be on Wikipedia can become a featured article, and any featured article can appear on the main page. Its about the quality of the article, not the subject.--Fyre2387 (talk • contribs) 22:39, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Jake Gyllenhaal 

message: There is an error in the piece about Rhinebeck Post Office in the claim it was opened by the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark and Iceland. Iceland is a republic and thus does not have a Crown Prince or Princess. It should be Greenland. The article has the same error.  —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.9.52.174 (talk) 13:21, August 23, 2007 (UTC) 
:Please use WP:ERRORS (at the top of this page). --Howard the Duck 13:56, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: And in any case, read the article and you'll see that Iceland was not a republic at the time. Bazza 16:06, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Rhinebeck Post Office 

message: what about jordan history and the country  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.39.113.228 (talk) 17:41, August 24, 2007 (UTC) 
: What about it?Tourskin 19:37, 24 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Try History of Jordan. Or Jordan (Katie Price)#Early life, if you prefer :) GeeJo (t)⁄(c) • 19:57, 24 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  It doesn't look to bad. Oh wait there is no History section in the page Jordan! Rats!! Tourskin 05:17, 25 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  jordan 

message: in the suicide attacks, it says "at least 500." now this horrid attack is over 550. can someone change it? Niyant 02:49, 25 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Try WP:ERRORS. --Anon 03:44, 25 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  request for news edit. 

message: with the Endeavor landing safely.  It happened a few days ago, and there must be -MUST BE- more news in the world and in Wikinews worthy of your front page.
I've found your "in the News" column on the front page of Wikipedia does not really reflect the most relevant, current, or interesting news.  What gives?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.73.104.65 (talk) 03:07, August 25, 2007 (UTC) 
Several points here;
# In The News is not a news service. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia not Wikinews. Items appearing in ITN are pointing to Wikipedia articles which have been substantially updated with information regarding current events that are currently in the news media's attention.
# ITN works through suggestions. There's no one with the specific job to update ITN. Anyone can make suggestions here.
# In an attempt to keep ITN sane, there's a set of criteria as a guide. This is to stop things like ITN becoming a sports or news ticker.
Hope that helps answer your questions. If either of you have any suggestions please check the criteria and make them. :) --Monotonehell 03:43, 25 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  enough already