Talk:Main Page/Archive 49

message: The blurb currently runs ...that according to Breton folklore, not completing the 600 km long Tro Breizh in one's lifetime would condemn their soul to repeating a tour of equivalent length every seven years from within their coffin? Note that "their" has no antecedent. Should be changed to "...not doing the thingummy would condemn a person's soul to repeating a tour..." (or sweeter still, "...to repeat a tour...") Doops |  talk 09:56, 22 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I see this was never fixed. Now to all eternity the edit history will record our shame. Doops |  talk 21:58, 22 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Tro Breizh error 

message: How about adding some info regarding the recent state assembly elections in Bihar, India --128.211.244.81 18:36, 22 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Bihar elections 

message: The story about Sharon's new party re-directs to another page. The link may/should be re-written doktorb 22:52, 22 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Fixed. The Tom 19:25, 23 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sharon party story 

message: The blurb for the Sanhedrin article in Did You Know.. uses the word "principals" rather than the correct "principles" ... LeoO3 16:41, 23 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Principals vs. Principles 

message: I've added a request here at the Village Pump about adding RSS to the Main Page.--Steve Marquis 00:03, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Adding RSS to the Main Page 

message: does this belong on the main page?
I have updated the Kibaki page with information on
 this development.--Gozar 01:17, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I've posted this at Current events as per guidelines.  Please post a proposed headline for ITN on Wikipedia:In the news section on the Main Page/Candidates.  Many thanks. -- PFHLai 04:25, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Kenyan president dismisses entire cabinet 

message: "Beginning in the 10th century, the arrival of Europeans led to conflicts with the Natives and among the invading Europeans in the New World." should read "colonizing" vs. "invading".  
Also "has gone to war only within large, UN-sanctioned coalitions such as in the Korean War, the Gulf War, and the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan." is incorrect because of Canada's participation in the Kosovo War, which had no U.N. sanction.--M4-10 07:01, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: The statement "The victorious Americans looked to extend their republic and launched invasions in 1775 and in 1812." is false as written; there certainly existed no victorious Americans in 1775- prior to the Declaration of Independence in 1776.  In addition, while there was some conflict in and over areas that are now Canada during that timeframe, the description of the situation in 1775 as an invasion of Canada is too arguable to be presented as a declarative statement of NPOV fact. --Noren 16:48, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: "There certainly existed no victorious Americans in 1775" - you do realize that the revolution started in 1775 with the Battles of Lexington and Concord, right? (...and that Concord was a resounding American victory) Raul654 19:07, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I concede that there were individuals identifying themselves with the name Americans who had won local victories against British troops in 1775.  Describing these Americans in 1775 as a republic, as the paragraph did, is erroneous.  I should have said that there existed no victorious American republic to attempt to extend itself in 1775. --Noren 03:22, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Military History of Canada

message: I request that :Category:Art and :Category:Philosophy be added to the Row Of Links at the top, and for Template:Ten portals links to be used in Template:PortalPage instead of the Template:Eight portals links. I think the reasons are pretty much self-explanatory, and I don't see any reasons not to have those two extra links. Infinity0 18:43, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Links addition Request 

message: Today the featured article is military history of Canada on the top left hand side and the top news story is the next Canadian election on the top right hand side.  Comments on whether this could induce an apprehension of bias in North American coverage are welcome. Slac speak up! 19:27, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Obviously the best way of countering this is to discriminate against featured articles and news items appearing on the main page from North America. (is sarcasm welcome too?) --81.154.236.221 21:02, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: To be honest, yes.  This is the best way of countering systemic bias (I am not being sarcastic).  Encyclopedias are meant to to tell people about things they don't already know about (now I'm being slightly sarcastic).  Slac speak up! 00:05, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

text: This is obviously a pure coincidence. Neutrality dictates that we do not go out of the way to place many similar topics on the main page at once, but also that we do not go out of the way to keep it balanced. The featured articles are more or less random, and the news items are dicated by what's in the news (as hard as that is to believe). — Dan | Talk 23:46, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I scheduled the military history of Canada featured article three days ago... so assuming I have no psychic ability to see the future, the overlap with In-The-News is simply a coincidence. Raul654 07:29, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Featured is only a half of it - nobody's talked about placement and scheduling the In the News, which, to my mind, always seems to be filled with elections.  Slac speak up! 00:07, 26 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: [[Systemic bias]]

message: The In the News item added today about the non-confidence motion in Canada's Parliament is a little misleading in its wording. It says should the vote pass it will trigger an immediate election. In fact it will trigger an immediate election campaign, not the vote itself; I believe Canadian law says the minimum length of an election campaign of 35 days or thereabouts so the actually vote won't take place for at least a month. 23skidoo 19:31, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Caught and fixed. The Tom 21:21, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Canadian government news item

message: Can I please get some information on Zaire? I need it for a report. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.23.231.77 (talk • contribs) .
: Update: I found the following information from the top of this page you just edited
:* For questions, find out where to ask them.
: And this, from the bottom of the page you typed your question into
:* On discussion pages, please sign your comment by typing four tildes (~~~~).
''
: I hope that helps. --Afterword 21:20, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I love you Sherurcij 08:38, 26 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Zaire 

message: Koizumi set to pave way for female emperor - This seems like big news to me.  In short, a government panel has recommended that female heirs be allowed to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne with the title of Emperor, and Koizumi is planning on introducing a bill in the Japanese Diet next year.  Shouldn't this be on the main page? - Exitmoose 01:19, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Please see Wikipedia:In the news section on the Main Page. When headlines have been posted on Current events, when relevant pages in Wikipedia have been updated, please draft a headline to feature the updated articles for the MainPage and post it on Wikipedia:In the news section on the Main Page/Candidates. Thanks. -- PFHLai 04:08, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Koizumi set to pave way for female emperor

message: Could someone with admin privileges please add something about the death of George Best to the 'In the news' section? You can just copy the text from Current events here.
Thanks,  CTOAGN (talk) 14:45, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Ignore that.  I've just found the guidelines.  CTOAGN (talk) 14:54, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  Well, I think frankly it should be in "recent deaths", not ITN, since the death wasn't due to foul play nor does it have any political consequences, etc. -- Natalinasmpf 20:37, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: He's one of the most notable footballers of all time, even if his article doesn't do him justice at the moment.  It was a bit embarrassing that it took so long to get him on if anything.   CTOAGN (talk) 21:56, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: This is a disgrace. I bet if Muhammad Ali died  he would be on the front page? And I myself would be arguing for him to BE on the front page. Jooler 10:44, 26 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I tend to agree, it's the main story in the news here in the UK and I would guess in Ireland as well. Leithp (talk) 10:53, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

text:  I was under the impression that no deaths were ever put on the main page, due to their lack of real relevancy. I'm sure assassinations of world leaders and the like would be exempt. -- Shrinkness 20:21, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  George Best 

message: I don't know if this is the right place for this... but I was just wondering what happened to the featured picture section.
*Featured pictures are shown on weekends (UTC Saturday starts less than 3 hours from now), while Did you know.. is shown on weekdays.--Pharos 21:32, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Featured Picture 

message: Maybe this'd be way too US-centric or just not important at all, but it could be noted for November 25th that it is Black Friday today. -VJ 23:28, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I hate you. (Kidding, of course)Sherurcij 08:13, 26 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I had no idea what Black Friday was until I read this comment. It really is only a US thing, heh. --Chaosfeary 23:45, 26 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Black Friday 

message: I think the blurb should definitely make mention of the fact that the controversy was because they were Al Jazeera facilities in an allied country.  Simply wanting to bomb AJ facilities is not newsworthy; wanting to bomb their headquarters in a country that is allied to you, is. Sherurcij 05:20, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: When a democracy like the US starts intentionally targetting journalists to bomb them (anywhere), yes, it is newsworthy. Raul654 07:29, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

text: "Free nations don't attack each other." (GWB). "when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace" (GWB)  -- "War is Peace" (The Party) -- strange days dab (ᛏ) 13:04, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Al Jazeera in the News Header

message: "The featured picture for today (2005-11-26) is an image of a US soldier in combat firing a rifle, taken by a US Air Force photographer. At a time when much of the world is sick of American imperial aggression, do we really need this glorification of their armed forces? I think we are now owed a featured picture showing the bravery of some of their opponents, such as Iraqi freedom fighters."
* This contribution from me was removed by [[User:Raul654|Raul654] who called it "blatant trolling". On the contrary; the use of Wikipedia's main page to reproduce propaganda images published by US armed forces is itself blatant trolling. Whatever happened Wikipedia's NPOV policy? Has it been ditched in favour of support for US imperialism? 213.94.245.1 16:35, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: The image would have been used if it were Australian or Israeli certainly, and probably would've had just as much an objective chance if it were Pakistani.  The beauty in it isn't the nationality of the subject (which would be rather close to racism, to claim we should or shouldn't have a picture up there because of one's background), but because it captured the ejaculation of a shell casing with its smoke plume with a very fast shutter speed. Sherurcij 17:02, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I think you may mean 'ejection'. :) Raven4x4x 09:05, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Featured Picture, 26 Nov 2005 

message: Hello, you have no Interwiki-Links on your main page. I find that's not good. See also :de:Hauptseite 
We have all Interwiki-Links on the main page. That's important for globalization.
With kind regards Matze6587 16:38, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Interwiki-Links 

message: Did you get the news of the 6.1 temblor in Iran the epicenter of which was Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island?
--anon on 27 November 2005
: You mean 2005 Iran earthquake ? Yes, a handful of people died in this tragedy. Please feel free to expand the article. -- 64.229.221.143 21:23, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Earthquake in Iran 

message: Last time we had a crown copyright image on the main page - I think it was David Blunkett in the news - somebody said Wikipedia was obligated to caption it with the words 'crown copyright'. Since Image:Lord_goldsmith.jpg is similarly crown copyright, should somebody go ahead and do this again? --Afterword 22:33, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Goldsmith and Crown Copyright 

message: Congresswoman Jean Schmidt was mentioned in passing in the front page article about Tom Brinkman. After her embarrassing speech in the U. S. House of Representatives this past week, her appearance in the national body politic of America is likely to be a short one. After calling the most decorated military member of Congress a coward, she was forced to retract her words
:Just for the record, because someone is almost certain to claim that this article has been scheduled because of the Schmidt controversy -- the Brinkman article has been requested since early August; I was rather slow about scheduling it. Raul654 01:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Jean Schmidt Embarrassment 

message: I disagree with the use of "fiercely" in the blurb about Tom Brinkman. According to Webster's, "fierce" means "violently unfriendly or aggressive in disposition", which seems POV, unless this guy is actually a rabid animal or something. I wouldn't know.
Substituting something like "staunchly" (similar to the first paragraph of his article) would do the job just as well, and without the negative connotations of "fierce".
-- Ultra Megatron 04:05, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: American Heritage Dictionary:  fierce (fîrs) adj. fierc·er, fierc·est. 1. Having a savage and violent nature; ferocious. 2. Extremely severe or violent; terrible. 3. Extremely intense or ardent. 4. Strenuously active or resolute. 5. Informal. Very difficult or unpleasant. 6. Savage or threatening in appearance. --fierce“ly adv. --fierce“ness n. Raul654 08:45, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

text: If 'staunch' does not mean 'fierce' and you (by your own admission) 'do not know' if Brinkman is 'fierce', how can you know he is only 'staunchly' right-wing? --Afterword 04:25, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Brinkman "fiercely right-wing" 

message: Tom Brinkman is one of several thousand state legislators in the US.  Does he really merit featured article treatment considering that there is nothing particularly noteworthy about him?  The only reason I can think for making him the featured article is that he is considering running against Jean Schmidt in OH-2 and wouldn't mind the free Wikipedia advertising.
-- Ortcutt 08:39, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: He is noteworthy enough to merit a Wikipedia article. Featured articles are chosen based on the quality of their writing, not how important someone feels the subject is (aside from those who work on the article). If there are articles you'd rather see featured, please assist in bringing them to featured status. See Wikipedia:Featured articles for more information. — Knowledge Seeker দ 08:46, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

text: I see the comment I posted on this page a few hours ago (about 3 threads up) rings true: Just for the record, because someone is almost certain to claim that this article has been scheduled because of the Schmidt controversy -- the Brinkman article has been requested since early August; I was rather slow about scheduling it. Raul654 01:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  Are we going to see secret reasons about every featured article? How about just accepting them for what they are: a featured article without other intentions. Boneyard 09:44, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I know the Main Page is already super-cluttered (and being redesigned) and such a thing is probably a silly suggestion, but I'm going to suggest it anyway.  As the past few months have seen many debates such as this, I wonder if we could perhaps have some sort of notice concerning the independent article selection procedure on there.  Perhaps even just a link from "Featured Article" so people can get to the details quickly.  Jellypuzzle 11:30, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  Or people could just quit assuming that this is all part of a vast right-wing conspiracy.   That might help too.  Kade 19:34, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

text: Seriously, what's with all the obscure Southwest Ohio politicians recently? --155.45.81.25 18:34, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: That's the fault of hard-working obscure Soutwest Ohio wikipedians who are interested in politics Borisblue 05:04, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Apparently some "hard-working obscure Soutwest Ohio wikipedians" also happen to be right-wing neo-con fascists promoting their agenda anywhere they can, including on Wikipedia. But hey, life is political, so Wiki is also political. steve_meiers 01:51, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Brinkman - Wikipedia as Campaign Ad 

message: Pick a two-week period.  Now find fourteen of the most untraditonally encyclopedic featured articles and spill them on the front page day after day.  The talk page will go mad for days but finally the whiners will move away from their ideal.  Lotsofissues 11:36, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Let's shatter traditional attitudes by force 

message: The vote was actually 171 for to 133 against, not 131 against. 128.171.90.200 00:25, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Canadian no-confidence vote 

message: It says...
:A motion of no confidence, defeats Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government by a margin of 171 to 131 forcing an immediate election campaign.
:... and nowhere it is stated what is the county in question!
:(Yes, I know it's Canada). The Ogre 00:28, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  In the news - November 29 

message: Don't look now, but we seem to be neck and neck with a certain 24-hr cable/web site. It must be the coincidences on the Main Page.  --Ancheta Wis 05:22, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: ...in Alexa rating? Or what? Raul654 05:25, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: The latest Alexa rating as of 05:22 29 Nov 2005, when we spiked up (in the last few weeks it seems to be a weekly cycle correlated with homework) and they spiked downward (perhaps correlated with Thanksgiving?). --Ancheta Wis 11:45, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Actually, the latest upward spike corrosponds with the $50,000 worth of new servers they just installed. It's a well known effect that whenever wikipedia installs new servers and the site becomes faster, the traffic spikes and pretty much wipes out all the new gains :) Raul654 13:30, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Hey, Raul654 - I think that you should add that to your "laws." – ABCDe✉ 15:00, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  CNN 31, Wikipedia 32 

message: Full text searching is fine for many occasions when finding information; but having a well designed classification system can be invaluable in approaching relevant information from a different direction - and Wikipedia does not have one. The current categories are a mess - how do we improve this?
—preceding unsigned comment by Ncameron (talk • contribs) 13:24, 29 November 2005
: Please voice your concerns at Wikipedia talk:Categorization or at Wikipedia:Village pump. Talk:Main Page is intended for discussion about the Main Page. --64.229.178.118 20:24, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Classification

message: I strongly recommend something more relevant, like the cover of William Gibson's Neuromancer, or Blade Runner. Kade 18:59, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Something to do with copyrights. See Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/November 29, 2005. -- 64.229.178.118 20:13, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Why is the Sony Center the featured picture for Cyberpunk? 

message: Really? In the "In The News" section, sandwiched between Canada kicking out its PM and the summit to find a successor to the Kyoto Treaty, we find... Mozilla's releasing a Firefox update? What the heck? How does this qualify as "in the news"? Just because some admins use it? Can't wait till admins start posting "High Point wins a crucial Big South Conference men's basketball game against UNC-Asheville, 72-66", or any other fringe, non-newsworthy topic that has some basic element in reality and may be newsworthy to a small fragment of readers, but has no real spot in "in the news".
All this to say, could someone take it down (and maybe post something more newsworthy in its place)? Matt Yeager 06:24, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  I don't see you ponying up anything that could be more newsworthy.  Moreover, I don't think there IS anything more newsworthy going on right now (for an Anglocentric Wikipedia), so let the Firefox thing stay.  I think you're going to have to do better than "Firefox is well-known with the m$ sux crowd" to prove that this is somehow favoritism. Kade 06:33, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Not favoritism, unnecessary-ism. Gah, you made me make up a word. Here's three things that are more newsworthy: , , and, say, , all of which probably matter more to more people than an upgraded Firefox. (Alternately, just use old news stories.) Gah. Again. Matt Yeager 07:22, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

text: Isn't KDE 3.5 even more important, considering that it's the most-used desktop on the second most-used desktop operating system? It's also considerably larger, a browser being only one component of the project.Tommstein 07:58, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

text: I agree, Firefox notability isn't anywhere near the same level of the other items. If we allow Firefox we'll have to allow KDE, Gnome, Windows Vista, Mac OS X upgrades, etc ad nauseam. --Bk0 (Talk) 10:35, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  Yeah, but Firefox is rad! Babajobu 10:45, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  So is street luge, but are we to mention street luge tournaments in the news when they happen? 203.132.66.236 10:51, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  Street Luge is not nearly so rad as Firefox, obviously. Babajobu 11:00, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  Yeah, but I bet Street Luge 1.5 would at least be compatible with the Wikipedia Edit Extension.  Jellypuzzle 11:22, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  What is the Wikipedia Edit Extension? Please provide a link. Babajobu 11:28, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  To quote our own article on Firefox "Wikipedia editors using Firefox can even download a customised toolbar".  Sadly this toolbar has not been updated to version 1.5 yet which is amusing as it's probably used quite a bit by the people who put the article in ITN. Jellypuzzle 11:33, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  My attempt to add Wikipedia to the search engine in the upper right hand corner doesn't even seem to work on Firefox 1.5. And it screwed up my chatzilla, temporarily preventing make from participating in Wikipedia's IRC channel. Babajobu 11:35, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Firefox?! 

message: Why was the USA Today story on Wikipedia removed from ITN? I thought it was rad! Babajobu 08:20, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Wikipedia ITN!!

message: This e-letter was written to the last and most influential person to pass judgment against my mention in Wikipedia (he is known as User: Kschutte, and he holds a B.A. from Cal. State Univ. in Sacramento. It is shown to you because of your involvement in this troubling case of character defamation!
I thank you for proving to me beyond all reasonable doubt what it is that is really wrong with the world in which we live. You will, with the utter conviction and confidence that comes from years of hard mental work, be certain that one of the world’s problems is that of people like me, people you might think are malcontents, dysfunctional misfits, and radical non-conformists. To some extent, given that I am by no means an anarchist, there is much to worry about people who really do fit those labels. I do not. Yes, I am a non-conformist to some extent but not malcontent nor diagnosable as a dysfunctional misfit. I will, with equal confidence and conviction (imbued in me by laypersons, many of whom have had the quality of their lives improved upon by what I had to relate to them in the form of philosophical and practical advice, and some whose lives were saved in part due to my requested intervention), be certain that much of the world’s problems are the result of too much power, authority and influence being entrusted to a certain number of academics whose tendency to belittle the lives of non-accredited intellectuals is but only one of numerous repressive ways by which such academics serve the interests of an elite few (too often at the expense of society and the environments). You will it find it quite convenient to ignore my words as the ranting of a person of trivial consequence, ignoring the true meaning, depths and importance of my words, but I will write them nonetheless, if only as a means to vent my fury. Have you ever wondered why there are no major efforts to constantly, regularly remind the public at large about the need to ask the big questions, to dare to philosophize, to engage in deep introspect??? Is it any wonder that so many people right here in America live in such abject poverty and crime infested neighborhoods, when the highly educated elite have made higher education a very big, very exclusive, excessively costly, profit-making business out of higher education??? Why, if the upper class of America really cared about the lower, working class there should at least be signs, posters, billboards and public service announcements constantly inviting each and every citizen to ponder every and all major question that has always been on the minds of all true philosophers throughout the ages! Shamefully enough, instead of such major efforts at generating wisdom and enlightenment in the masses, all of which could be financed and made possible by a combined effort involving major institutions of higher learning, government and the private sector, we live in a world that not even Plato, with his elitist ideals concerning poets and philosophers, would approve of. In his times all that was required to be recognized as a philosopher was to sit out in public, be accessible and invite people to ask questions, to discuss opinions and observations, to engage in philosophical debate and discourse, and for that dedicated philosopher to show true love and respect for knowledge and wisdom. True, a professor of philosophy may also be a Philosopher, albeit most are far from the mark, for they live in their own disconnect, their own non-inter-disciplinary world of often convoluted abstractions and overly-complex constructs. These diploma-dependent praise-addicts are so disconnected and unaware of the real world and its everyday miseries that, insulated by the pseudo-paragons of their respective institutions, they cannot seriously consider the possibility of someone being a true auto-didactic intellectual genius. Perhaps without intending it, absent of any real malice, you have added your all-powerful voice to what I can only describe as a “mob of yuppies and overzealous PhD.s.” who may think that they have succeeded in disenfranchising me from Wikipedia, when all that has really happened is that a clique-mentality-controlled Wikipedia has played foul with wrong person and is about to find out just to what extent things have gone really wrong. This systemic problem spells disaster for Wikipedia as it now stands. Wikipedia’s days, unless significant changes are made and certain editing pro-deletionist users are weeded-out, are now numbered. Even so, I am making an effort to understand where your concerns really lie, for even I recognize the indisputable fact that the world would also be in grave danger if respect for qualified authority, professionals, experts, specialists and even, yes, technocrats! However, when such empowered formally accredited persons start mocking, bullying and dismissing the views of an auto-didactic intellectual, who really is recognized by some PhD.s as a true Philosopher in his own right, and whose only fault (if it really should be called such) is not having had the means (time, opportunity or money) to acquire a serious, advanced-level, well-structured formal education, then we must all watch out! For in so doing the illusion of an advanced civilization is then revealed to be a big, fat, and brutally cold lie, whose cleverly devised legal systems, rules of conduct and social expectations are simply there to create a vast construct whose only purpose is to protect the vast wealth and related interests of a select few! As I read your brief annotation to the debate I asked myself how can it be that a man of your professional background, significant accomplishments and well-above-average intelligence, someone who has shown great compassion for autistic persons (I’ve looked into your credentials, curriculum vitae, etc.), how could such a person, never having taken the trouble and courtesy of offering me a private audience over the Internet (you could even have called me) or at least making the honorable effort of contacting one, two, three or all four of the prominent individuals whose numbers I listed, how could you make a statement such as this: “ Even if he were notable in some other language (which I'm sure he isn't), he oughtn't be added to an English-language encyclopedia until he has reached multinational (i.e., multilanguage) prominence.” ??? The words I find most shocking are “which I’m sure he isn’t” !!! That kind of assumption stated with such certainty is by no means appropriate for someone of your caliber! That I am not listed in The Philosopher’s Index should come as no surprise to anyone with a real knowledge of my biographical record, and it has nothing to do with which languages I’ve published in or been interviewed. I am not a peer-review-dependent formally accredited PhD. who teaches the philosophical views of true Philosophers. I am a true Philosopher, whose main set of ideas are highly advanced and, as some of my friends and colleagues feel, are probably before their time (avant-garde). Anyway, I just thought I’d let you know what I think about your input and the sum effect of your fellow Wikipedians. Lastly, I am compelled to take all this to the media and hope that it will cause great condemnation and generate calls for a thorough revision of Wikipedia policy and practice, as well as a major detailed investigation into what I and others (including former Wikipedians) see as a dangerous bias on the part of the current gate-keepers of Wikipedia. 
I kindly request that no one should write about me on Wikipedia without my personal consent in writing. I was mentioned herein for over three years, after passing an initial line of inquiry and verification, but no more. Wikipedia does not deserve to have the right to mention me, as it is no longer living up to its original intent and reputation. I forbid anyone from further attempts to defame my character, and I have informed my solicitor in London to find the means to enforce my request, if need be. However, allow me to say this in closing: Wikipedia can still be, once more, a respectable source of information and an invaluable asset to our global cultural exchange. Good luck and good night!68.48.73.93 13:08, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: An allergy to punctuation? 203.166.111.34 04:20, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Wikipedia Has Lost Its Charm, Reports Jean-Pierre Ady Fenyo, The Philosopher once removed!

message: In a lot of places across Wikipedia, Hindi is written in the Devnagri script as हिन्दी. This pronounces as Han'di, which is obviously wrong and disrespectful. The actual spelling is िहन्दी. Please correct this, as this is a huge spelling error.
Sabretooth 14:11, Wednesday November 30 2005 (UTC)
*I'm not a Hindi speaker, but we have a fair number of native Hindi speakers here, and I rather suspect our spelling is correct.  Words aren't always spelled precisely as they're pronounced.--Pharos 14:21, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, one solution is to switch to a better operating system or convince Microsoft to repair their faulty implementation. And of course, be sure that  is placed on pages with such text. Other than that, what would you propose? We cannot force downloads on users or change their computers' settings. — Knowledge Seeker দ 05:21, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

text: another option is to quit using Devanagari altogether. Really, what use is it? IAST is completely isomorphic to Devanagari, and can be read by untrained readers.  Using Devanagari (instead, or beside IAST) adds no information, but leads to endless "corrections" by people with broken browsers. [this suggestion is obviously not intended for the Hindi version of Wikipedia, but for the spelling of Hindi/Sanskrit words on English Wikipedia]. Other than that, just don't use Microsoft products, there are lots of reasons apart from this particular one. dab (ᛏ) 12:38, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Important Spelling Error!

message: The post from 68.48.73.93 13:08, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Screed on this Talk page 

message: How did this flag of Hong Kong article get to be the featured article?
It was a blue Union Jack ensign (!!!) with the Hong Kong coat of arms (!!!) on a white disk centred on the outer half of the flag.
CORRECTED: It was the UK Blue Ensign “defaced” with the Hong Kong Arms, (Armorial Bearings), on a white disk centred on the outer half of the flag. The 1876 design featured a colonial badge, showing a local scene instead of the Hong Kong Arms.
NOTE: The current emblem is not the armorial bearings. It replaced the armorial bearings used before 1997. The best option is to have two linked articles - "Hong Kong Emblem" and "Hong Kong Armorial Bearings. Anyway "Coat of Arms" is both ugly and technically incorrect - Armorial Bearings (NOT Armorial Bearing) is correct; so ALL "Coats of Arms" should be altered! This is not pedantic - since the correct terms should always be used. Likewise a "Crest" is the thing on top of the helmet NOT the shield from the armorial bearings! Also an emblem can easily be replaced by Armorial Bearings, and visa versa - at the order of the ruling authority at the time! Skull 'n' Femurs 15:39, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: The stars in the svg version become tiny dots at 100px. I thought the png version with slightly bigger stars would be better. Turns out it isn't that much of an improvement. ... :-( -- PFHLai 23:09, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Hong Kong Flag

message: The image is showing incorrectly, with some kind of distortion at the bottom of the text in the image. Osgoodelawyer 18:29, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Montreal 2005 Image 

message: The did you know has this:
...that Jack Jouett, known as the "Paul Revere of the South", saved Thomas Jefferson and other Revolutionary leaders in Virginia by warning them of a British cavalry raid meant to capture them?
Can anyone make a link to Paul Revere article too? Because some people might not know who that is. -- WB 00:37, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Done.  Thanks, BanyanTree 00:45, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Paul Revere link 

message: Moriori wrote: Knowledge Seeeker, answer me this. If we had a Main Page feature tomorrow on Nelson Mandela, would you support it being illustrated with a pic of Mandela behind bars? As far as I'm concerned, such a photo could very well be appropriate. If spending years in prison is an important part of who you are and what you're known for, then it's not irrelevant. And it's not necessarily negative; if your imprisonment was unjust, then I would argue that there's no shame in being imprisoned. Of course that's not to say that a photo of Mandela behind bars is the only possible illustration. But if I were FA director, I would be looking for interesting photos. Mandela behind bars, Mandela shaking hands with De Klerk, etc. — interesting. Mandela posing for the camera — boring. Finally, bear this in mind: for children too young to remember apartheid, an image of Mandela behind bars isn't just interesting, it's powerful. This isn't just a dry topic of discussion on the Wikipedia; real people faced real consequences (like jail) for their stances — and this was only a couple of decades ago! Drama is not the exclusive province of the tabloids — they give Pulitzer Prizes for photos, you know. Doops |  talk 08:39, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Mandela?

message: I would just like to add that today is also the anniversary of Icelandic freedom from Denmark, i.e. the decolonization of Iceland. Important event, right? =)  —preceding unsigned comment by 80.208.231.130 (talk • contribs) 08:36, 2005 December 1
: I almost posted this. I didn't, because the Iceland page doesn't have much details on this event, and I can't find the Public holidays in Iceland page (See? It's red !) to confirm if this event is actually commemorated in Iceland. Is this Independence Day ? Freedom Day ? It would help if there is a page about this special day, with details on what happened that day in 1918, and how people in Iceland celebrate this over the years. Take pictures today ! We can use them on such a page. :-) -- PFHLai 13:49, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Todays anniversaries (01.12.05) 

message: Mostly out of curiosity, how is it that the Main Page Talk has been included in the category Articles with Indic Text? CAPS LOCK 21:09, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: See #Important Spelling Error! above, in which  was added, which I assume contains the category in question. - BanyanTree 21:14, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: You may blame me. As BanyanTree mentions, I added  to explain something, not realizing it would automatically categorize the page (although to be fair, it does contain Indic text!). I removed the template and placed a direct link, which I hope will fix the problem. Thanks for letting me know! — Knowledge Seeker দ 05:23, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Just a quick question... 

message: (1. dec)
as a matter of fact i didn`t know, that children beaten up by their parents were 'naughty'. i thought it was a crime in some countries already.
: I don't see any mention of parents at DYK. -- 199.71.174.100 00:40, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: The original poster is probably referring to mattenklopper which is on DYK now. As far as I know spanking isn't a crime in most places. It's fallen out of favor but is still practiced by many people in the U.S... I don't know about the Netherlands. Either way, let's resist the urge to rewrite history. Unless someone's saying spanking didn't happen in the Netherlands in the past, we shouldn't remove this bit from DYK. Rhobite 00:57, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Did you know ? 

message: Hey, I have recently come across a site related to kendo (not mine) and I was wondering if it is allowed to be posted in the japan section. The site has been up for about 2 weeks and in that time has received a wealth of info.
The site is http://www.international-kendo.com
:Yuck!  I vote no.  Nelson Ricardo 05:18, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: A complete load of junk. More interestingly I've seen quite a number of sites like these added as linkspam and I get the impression that the sites are being created specifically for the purposes of spamming. Although they usually have a unique topic related domain name, they all follow a similar design with a reasonably well produced banner at the top with three columns bellow with an average article on the subject in the centre panel and a liberal scattering of Google-Ads (e.g. ). Is this just because people are using some common website design software, or is there something else going on. -- Solipsist 08:21, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  A website. 

message: The sentence about the idiot who got caught doing something he knew would carry the death penalty contains a mistake: "...despite pleas of clemency" should read "despite pleas for clemency". --JohnO You found the secret writing! 03:00, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Fixed. Evil Monkey - Hello 04:16, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Wow, so now people are idiots because they don't appreciate being given the death penalty for non-violent crimes?  You must be real popular with normal human beings, pal. Kade 20:56, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Noted. --JohnO You found the secret writing! 12:24, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  DYK 

message: One glance at the face transplant article reveals that there are many face transplant cases before the recent one by the French team. This recent surgery is the first successful mouth and nose transplant. Could somebody clarify the misleading note in the In the news? -VJ 03:19, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  First successful human face transplant? 

message: I am going to construct a website like this in my company!
I need your help to achieve this mission. Who can help me?
*Wikipedia is run on MediaWiki, which is open source.  Good luck!--Pharos 06:08, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  How to construct a website like this? Is there any opensource software to use 

message: Look at the case of Canadian Nguyen Thi Hiep or Dutchman Johannes van Damme], one doesn't even have a wiki, the other only a foreign wiki...I'm quite sure neither ever made "Front Page Wiki News".  It seems there is a disturbing trend to report on our Main Page, things that are of very little significance on a global scale. Sherurcij 09:51, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Slow news day, perhaps? But I agree, the whole thing was sensationalized; I mean the US executed, or will execute, 1 or 2 blokes (plus the fact that it's the 1000th such execution in the US) but there's no mention at all.--Chinfo 12:45, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  In the U.S. you can only be executed for a capital crime. There's really not any comparison. Kade 18:10, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  Your argument is circular as a capital crime is by definition one you can be executed for. Talrias (t | e | c) 21:51, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

text: Yes, but "what Australians choose" isn't really top breaking news, anymore than Many Canadians enjoy the taste of mayonaisse and put it on french fries.  I'm sure I needn't remind you that Australians "chose to barbarically murder their citizens" as recently as the 1980s, so your righteous indignation perhaps is slightly misplaced.  But regardless of the morality of the situation, they had every legal right to execute him.  He was given a fair trial, for crimes committed in their country, and is subject to their laws.  I'm not trying to debate whether or not he should have been hanged, that is a moot subject, I'm merely saying that it's not exactly groundbreaking wikijournalism.  Does he deserve an article, yes possibly...but certainly not on the front page. Sherurcij 01:42, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: The last execution in Australia was carried out in 1967 203.132.66.236 05:08, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: But still legal, and therefore 'moral' in the eyes of the people, until 1984 :) Anyways, I'm not debating the death penalty, I'm debating whether a random drug trafficker being executed is worth front page news. Sherurcij 17:09, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: When did the law and individual morality become the same thing? 203.132.66.236 00:48, 4 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Execution of Drug Trafficker

message: Am I mis-counting, or does the page say "6 Sister-projects" and happily display 8 clickable logos? 
If there is a crux, it might be worth clarifying. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Fastifex (talk • contribs) 14:58, 2 December 2005  (UTC)
:I don't see where the page says "6 sister projects". – ABCDe✉ 16:41, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Wiki-siblings

message: The Dec. 2 lead article on acetic acid was so gripping and relevant to the times in which we live that I kept reading it over and over for the rest of the day. I never realized just how far-reaching and pervasive are the impacts of any acid, let alone mere acetic acid. This was truly an epiphany for me, intellectually. We need more of this sort of thing to counterbalance some of the base topics that have been seen on the homepage in the past.
Sca 19:44, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Pun intended on "base topics"? —Bunchofgrapes  (talk) 19:46, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: aaaahahah, doubt it --81.154.236.221 22:53, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: In my experience, it seems rather difficult to write a featured article on technical topics. Their impact is tremendous, resulting in an article that has to include quite a lot of material before everything reasonable has been covered... --HappyCamper 04:00, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Coming from a medical standpoint, I appreciate how difficult it is to write high-quality, detailed articles that are also accessible to laypeople. It's not easy at all. It's nice to see a science topic featured on the Main Page. — Knowledge Seeker দ 07:24, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  I once read about a professor who refused to teach any principle that he could not adequately explain to a first-year undergraduate class.  The idea being that something isn't really science until you can pull that off.  Kade 18:09, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  I'm not sure I agree with that—nothing about science should be inherently inaccessible, although of course the more complicated one gets in any field the harder it gets to understand. — Knowledge Seeker দ 00:55, 4 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: The acid test