Wikipedia talk:Babel/Archive 2

message: I'd like to see userboxes concerning "Adamic" or Proto-World, or are they already made? Satanael 16:44, 26 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Would that be ? if you actually speak Proto-world, I'm sure there are lots of linguists who would love to meet you! (Sorry, couldn't resist!) --Singkong2005 03:13, 11 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sumerian 

message: Could someone familiar with Babel templates please take a look at Template:User ng-0?
And yes, I'm aware that xx-0 templates are discouraged. I didn't create it, but now that it has been, I'm just trying to help the poor man using it fix his user page. Any help appreciated.
cheers, pfctdayelise 09:05, 3 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't speak Ndonga, but the template looks okay to me.  Has it been fixed?  --Cromwellt|Talk 23:12, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: It apparently has, according to the edit summaries there. +Hexagon1 (talk)   06:23, 13 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Serious problem with a Babel template 

message: *Note that some userboxes were not adding to the relevant category. I have fixed this for id-3 & id-4 but it may also exist in other userboxes.
* A bigger issue is that the userbox for native speakers usually has no suffix, e.g. for Indonesian they have  rather than . However, non-natives such as myself are added to this category as well. This makes it impossible to list a category of just native speakers, as they are mixed in with everyone else (e.g. users with id-1 through id-4 are all in :Category:User id). Should we make a -N userbox and category for every language?  --Singkong2005 14:41, 8 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I ran into a similar problem with Template:User en.  The template places me in Cat:User en-N, but not Cat:User en.  I think it should place me in both (as should all templates except xx-0), so that the general category is a list of all speakers of the language, while the subcats divide the levels.  I think most Babelboxes already work that way.  If no one minds, I'm going to change the User en template so that it does that.  --Cromwellt|Talk 23:15, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Category problem 

message: I think there should be four sets of Babel boxes for each language, to make a distinction between being able to understand, speak, read, and write a particular language. Being a native speaker of Dutch, I have no problem understanding and reading Afrikaans, and having learnt a reasonable amount of Turkish, I can to a varying extent also read other Turkic languages. However, I could most likely not write a single sentence in those languages without making grammatical errors. --Benne ['bɛnə] (talk) 21:51, 15 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: True, the use for oral language skills is limited om WP. But the distinction between being able to read and write is still useful, I think, especially when it comes to translating from or to a certain language. --Benne ['bɛnə] (talk) 17:08, 19 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: For people able to read a language but not to write in it there already is xx-1 level. The converse is almost impossible. (The only example I can think of someone able to write but not to read is someone who knows hiragana and katakana but almost no kanji and therefore could write whatever they want (provided they know spoken Japanese) in kana, but would have serious troubles in reading text containing kanji. However this is so unrealistic that I believe the number of people to whom this (or similar situations) applies is so small that creating templates for this would be pratically useless.) --Army1987 20:33, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I think that having a plethora of boxes to identify levels in all language skills is highly non-useful.  The scale as it is now gives a sort of average of the skills and is fairly understandable.  If someone can read at xx-4 but only speaks, listens, and writes at xx-1, they should be about an xx-2 at best, I'd say, particularly since contribution is what this is really about.  Making things overly complicated is akin to instruction creep, a deadly virus.  --Cromwellt|Talk 23:24, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Distinction active/passive oral/written 

message: once again. Needs separate paragraph, because this has nothing to do with deciding how to change the wording in en-5: I said user:Prosfilaes was lying in this diff. Do you want to come to his defense here or are you feeling accused of lying by anything else in this diff?--Fenice 19:14, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: "Claiming here you took a look and you obviously didn't does nothing to give you credibility." I do consider this a rather explicit accusation of having lied, yes. This seems more like a personal conflict between you and me, though, so I don't really think it belongs in Wikipedia talk:Babel (although I doubt there'll be need for further discussion of it). EldKatt (Talk) 19:20, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I apologize for implying that you lied. --Fenice 20:18, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Diff about abusive nomination of two Babel-templates

message: If a template is part of (the functioning of) a Wikipedia policy or guideline, the template cannot be listed for deletion on TfD separately, the template should be discussed where the discussion for that guideline is taking place.
According to this the nomination was abusive.--Fenice 19:27, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I apologize for implying that you lied. --Fenice 20:18, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: What (and what not) to propose for deletion at TfD

message: Could we make it so that people who use a language level 0 template (eg. ) not be included in the category of that languages speakers, (ie. Category:User en) ..?
Currently, using any language level 0 userbox places that user into the category Category:User xx-0 (xx of course being the language in question) BUT that category is in all cases a subcategory of Category:User xx - ie. the users who speak that language.
Sorry if I'm being really unclear here, but wouldn't it make more sense for the users who use language level-0 userboxes not to be included in the category of users who speak that language?
In other words, make it so that (for example) :Category:User fr-0 is not a subcategory of :Category:User fr - I'm sure that would make it easier for people who want to use the Babel project to find a translator for a page, etc.
> (user talk) 15:14, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I disagree with this proposal as stated, but agree with its spirit.  fr-0 and other xx-0 templates should remain as subcategories of Cat:User xx, because they are related to ability or lack of ability with the language.  However, users who are included in a subcategory are not necessarily included in the general category that contains it, and I think that should be the case here.  Template:User fr-0 should include the user only in Cat:User fr-0, since Cat:User fr should be a list of all speakers of French at any level, not non-speakers.  All other levels, however, should include the user in both.  --Cromwellt|Talk 23:32, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Categories 

message: ¿Can I move this project to Wikipedia:Userboxes/Babel to get in line with all the other userbox pages? This is the only userbox page without a userbox prefix.--God of War 15:47, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I think the project should stay where it is, because even though Babelboxes are technically a kind of userbox, they are very different from the others.  The fact that they are Babelboxes is much more important than that they are userboxes.  --Cromwellt|Talk 23:34, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

text: How about finally changing the name to Anti-Babel in the process. Anti-Babel corresponds better to the intention of this page. Otherwise I support the move to a more logical location.--Fenice 17:08, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: No, the name should stay.  We are not trying to unite all languages (that would be Anti-Babel), only categorize them.  Because this deals with language diversity, though, "Babel" fits nicely.  --Cromwellt|Talk 23:34, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Naming conventions 

message: Per recent debate, I have drafted a proposal for an interproject Babel template standard at :meta:Interproject Babel template standardization (proposal).  Please review the proposal and improve and/or comment on it.  —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 17:25, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Interproject policy proposal 

message: I've added a description of xx for native speakers to the list of levels at the top of the page. Somehow it got removed. You might want to go back through the history to see how it was worded before it disappeared. - dcljr (talk) 11:51, 21 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Native went missing 

message: I think it would probably be a good idea to move the list of ability levels (xx-1, etc.) into a separate template so it can be edited (and therefore watched or even protected, if necessary) separately from the rest of the article. Opinions? - dcljr (talk) 05:15, 28 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Proposal to templify list of ability levels 

message: If a native speaker of xx moved into a yy-country as an adult only recently, she probably won't consider herself to be a native yy-speaker. Therefore, she would opt for xx. However, the definition seems to demand daily use of xx, maybe even exclusive use. What about changing 'users who employ' to 'users who are able to employ'? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jowagner (talk • contribs) 12:27, 1 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I personally don't object to this, but it's probably best to bring it up on Wikipedia talk:Babel, because we had several long discussion about the relevancy and definition of the native level there. As I said a million times in the past, IMO it should be removed entirely. -- Y Ynhockey || Talk Y 18:26, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: "Employ"

message: I want to make a point on these language boxes here: Concerning the "basic", "intermediate" and "advanced" skills, I would greatly appreciate if anybody wishes to show their support on the construction of the "lower intermediate", and "upper intermediate" skills. This would differentiate our language skills more easily and at a better. Without such features, I myself find it difficult to group some of my languages. Furthermore, I find no harm in having these language boxes. Please show your support here, and comments posted here and at my talk page are warmly welcomed, preferably with suggestions and reasons to your oppositions and supports. Thanks! Mr Tan 07:51, 18 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: This is unnecessary.  If a user is "lower intermediate" or "upper intermediate", they are intermediate.  If not, they are basic, advanced, or unable to contribute in that language.  Splitting hairs is not constructive, and is yet another cousin of instruction creep.  --Cromwellt|Talk 23:51, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Lower/Upper intermediate language boxes proposal 

message: The instructions currently given on the page -- find a language and just start clicking around -- are not very helpful in practice, in my experience. That is, if I want something translated from German to English, it is really a big pain to go through all of the people who have Babel tags for German, see which ones also have English, and then of those see who has been editing recently. 
Someone recently turned me on to this tool, though, which does the trick a little better. It allows you to search for people who have more than one category at the same time, so you can see ONLY the users who are listed as BOTH being native German and English speakers, for example. It makes it a much smaller list to sort through! 
Should this tool/method be incorporated into the main Babel page? I'll leave that up to other people more involved in the Babel project to figure out, but it was something I wasn't aware of at all. --Fastfission 20:03, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I think it's worth mentioning since it's a useful and relevant tool. -- Y Ynhockey || Talk Y 19:54, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Too bad the toolserver copy of English Wikipedia is corrupt at the moment.  But this is a great tool that should be on the Babel page.  --Cromwellt|Talk 23:54, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Finding people with certain skills

message: I put a link in Category:en back to Babel.  Somebody might want to think about a template to do this for all of the language categories.  (I was very annoyed when, as a brand-new user, I hit a dead end at the category, when I was trying to find out what it meant.)--TJ 16:27, 25 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Back links from Categories 

message: Wondering whether and how perhaps je might donne some indication of comprehension de le franglais. Laurel Bush 16:42, 27 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Does franglais even have an ISO tag associated with it? Je think not, mon dear. And if we include franglais, we'd also have to include Spanglish, Engrish and other such impromptu amalgams. Come to think of it, there doesn't seem to be any tags for speakers of the various pidgin/creole languages...oh boy, now I've opened une grande can de worms... -- Jalabi99 14:07, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: There are a few pidgins that deserve tags I think (like Hawaiian pidgin, which already exists, I think), but the vast majority do not.  Franglais is one of those.  --Cromwellt|Talk 23:56, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Franglais 

message: Wikipedia:Babel is really long to link someone to if only the guidelines are required. It take forever to load on a slow connection and wastes a lot of bandwidth when one doesn't need to see each language template. Would it break anything to move the list of templates off to another article, link to that, and leave this one and the explanatory guide? - Taxman Talk 16:49, 27 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I've thought of doing that for a long time, but didn't bring it up because I wasn't up to performing the task. Can't find an argument against though, so go ahead :) -- Y Ynhockey || Talk Y 17:15, 27 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: See also my comment #Proposal to templify list of ability levels above.  the introductory material from a subpage (to which one could link, if desired) may be a better choice than splitting the language material off to a separate page. - dcljr (talk) 21:19, 28 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Split the page 

message: Should Canadian English be added? The Coldwood 22:26, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I do not see any major problems here by adding Canadian English. --Siva1979Talk to me 14:42, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Is Canadian English really that different from other forms of English?  I would say (though I don't know) that British English and American English are more distinct than Canadian English is, but they do not have individual Babelboxes last time I checked, nor should they.  If they don't, neither should Canadian English.  Same goes for South African English, Zimbabwean English, Indian English, etc., etc., ad infinitum.  --Cromwellt|Talk 23:59, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Canadian English 

message: I propose a rename of the "Natural Languages" section of this page, and move the languages listed under the "language related pages" part to this section. The "Natural Languages" part would then be renamed "List of languages on Wikipedia". THe natural languages section already has one artificial language, esperanto, on it, and it would seem fair that the others (pig latin, Quenya) be placed there as well.
So in the "language related pages" section, would be the writing systems (e.g. cyrillic) and things like IPA and such.
Kailash rouge 02:15, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The heading "Natural Languages" should be removed (why replace it with anything?).  There is not just one constructed language, there are several (Ido, Occidental, Interlingua, etc.) mentioned there.  If there are others that are not on the list, I think they should be added.  I can't find the "language related pages" section, but if it has IPA, etc., I think it could be useful.  --Cromwellt|Talk 00:16, 6 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Natural Languages" Section Rename 

message: Babel has been deleted on wikinews, leading to much conflict & such.  An ArbCom request is pending , but I thought people here might find it interesting.  JeffBurdges 11:35, 6 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Babel deletion on Wikinews 

message: There should be a Roma category, I am Gypsy... but I can barely speak it (like brey, and con son)... --FlareNUKE 12:38, 9 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Roma Language 

message: In the English language Wikipedia, why aren't all Babel boxes in English?
For me it would seem more logical to instead of having:
sv
Den här användaren talar svenska som modersmål.
...change it to:
sv
This user is a native speaker of Swedish.
Reasons:
* This is the English version of Wikipedia so we expect users to communicate and find information in English. To me, this includes information about other users, as each language version of Wikipedia has its own set of user accounts.
* If I need help translating, validating or finding information in a different language to improve articles in the English Wikipedia, I would try to find someone with preferably native skills in that language and good skills in English. Though I can guess what the Babel boxes mean or simply search the categories, it would be even easier if the Babel boxes themselves were in English.
(Note: I know this subject has been brought up before in the discussion archives but I wasn't satisfied with the answers.)
- Wintran 17:22, 13 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The only convincing reason I've heard so far for not translating all Babel boxes into English is that it's too much work, and I won't argue against that. I don't quite understand how keeping the original languages will assist in translation. I mean, if we want someone to translate a piece of text into English, they must already understand some basic English, right? I'm not saying that we must start right away translating all boxes, but it could be a goal for a future version of English Wikipedia. Wintran 01:14, 21 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: To me, this project seems especially senseless since there are plans to use babel-templates in all WikiProjects, maintaining only one set of templates at some central point; obviously, these templates would necessarily be in the language they refer to, so that they can be used in all projects equally. —Nightstallion (?) Seen this already? 10:31, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

text: It's not supposed to help translators, it's supposed to help people who request translations, to find users who can translate for them. They may not know any English at all. Also, NightStallion has a point (even though decisions like this usually takes months or more on Wikipedia :() -- Y Ynhockey (Talk) Y 17:27, 21 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: We ran into the same thing on .  Our solution was to leave the text in the native language (so that people who know the language can read it) but to change the symbol to the English name of the language (keeping the appropriate number), since the symbols aren't very useful for language identification without looking them up, but we did keep the symbols as part of the template and category names.  That makes it obvious to everyone, whether they speak English or not.  What works or is accepted there may not work or be accepted here, of course, but I like it better than mixing the languages in the text of the boxes.  --Cromwellt|Talk 00:22, 6 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  English Babel boxes in English Wikipedia 

message: wtf deleted the 1337 babel templates, possibly vfd?! 66.169.0.252 09:53, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: sorry, jk, found the page 66.169.0.252 09:55, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  :O 

message: We need to interwiki all Babel templates, possibly to Meta or commons, so they can all be used everywhere, so smaller Wikipedia projects are missing even pretty common language's boxes. Is this possible? To relocate all the templates to Meta/Commons and use them from there? +Hexagon1 (talk)  07:25, 4 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: And can we subdivide the page into smaller pages? (maybe alphabetically)? This must be one of the longest pages on Wikipedia that is commonly accessed. +Hexagon1 (talk)   04:58, 9 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The first challenge of that is to get an agreement between Meta, Commons, and Wikipedia about number of levels and what each level mean, IMHO. -67.172.181.206 16:20, 11 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Great, where do we start? A link to an appropriate venue would be excellent. --Homunq 21:50, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: See this proposal on meta, although it never went anywhere. The issue has been discussed here (see above), and on TfD, at length, with no consensus. A standard policy would be great but given the tone of previous discussions it seems unlikely to me that consensus can be reached on this issue. ntennis 23:44, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Move? 

message: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Babel#kl_-_Kalaallisut_.28Kalaallisut.29
 refers to Kalaallisut, a natural Eskimo-Aleut language.
 refers to Klingon, the artificial language from Star Trek.
Despite this distinction, they appear in the same section and have the same babel code.
The language code of Klingon (ISO 639-2 and 3) is “tlh”. Please use Template:User tlh instead. -Hello World! 04:49, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Problem with Kalaallisut section 

message: The code given by Ethnologue to Alemannisch is gsw. als is a dialect of Albanian. Should we rename the template? -Hello World! 08:40, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Alemannisch (Alemannic German)

message: I need to update my language skill levels. The three-stage scale isn't enough to convey my skills at different languages.
Specifically, I need to:
* Raise my skill in Swedish to somewhere between "can speak very well" to "can speak almost like a native".
* Raise my skill in German to somewhere between "can speak enough to manage" to "can speak very well".
* Lower my skills in Hungarian and Klingon to somewhere between "can speak a bare minimum" to "never heard of the bloody thing".
* Change my skill in French to show that I'm able to read it just fine but am at a loss when trying to speak or hear it.
What do you suggest I do? JIP | Talk 19:41, 18 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: [Swedish]-3, de-2, [Hungarian]-1 or -0 (depending on wheter you'd be able to use an article in Hungarian as a reference) tlh-1 or -0 (idem), fr-1. (I don't know what the codes for Swedish and Hungarian are.)--Army1987 19:37, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Need to update my language skill levels 

message: why do th templates used to make up this page not work so good? I wanna by pass the redirects but it's not that simple is it? Ka-zizzl 05:25, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  ok, I'm new to babel 

message: لغة هذا المستخدم الأم هي العربية.	ar
 
משתמש זה דובר עברית כשפת אם.	he
فارسی زبان مادری این کاربر است.	fa
 
یہ شخص صاحبِ زبانِ اردو ہے
ur
דער באַניצער האָט ייִדיש װי מוטער־שפּראַך.
yi
It seems more logical to me if languages from right to left (like Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu and Yiddish) to have reverse userboxes. There are other languages that are normally written from right to left but the userboxes are written in English. Examples of my suggestion are on the right. What do you think ? --Sibahi(talk) 10:54, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I actually think that's a very good idea. All you would need to do is add the name of the language in English to the code boxes, as was discussed in the section "English Babel boxes in English Wikipedia" above. -- Jalabi99 14:12, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The English names are no-where near being accepted, he doesn't need to put English names at all, unless that is put to a vote and approved. +Hexagon1 (talk)   06:48, 13 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I concur. We don't need the English names, we've got the international ISO standard. —Nightstallion (?) 15:32, 15 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, except for Jalabi, no-one said anything about the original idea! --Sibahitalk 17:39, 15 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I concur. —Nightstallion (?) 09:11, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Languages from right to left.

message: Could someone please tell me where this weird idea that the language's name is written with a lower-case prefix (like with the Nguni languages) comes from? The name is written Sesotho "natively" (I would know). Just take a look at the text of the categories (which, incidently, I translated). As far as I can tell it's only on Wikipedia and its mirrors where the word is written seSotho (same goes for Xitsonga/Chitsonga). Tebello Thejane. Zyxoas (talk to me - I'll listen) 12:37, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  seSotho/Sesotho 

message: Let's rediscuss the color scheme for these Babel boxes.  There's a previous discussion (currently at the top of this talk page) that presented some much-improved schemes.  The alarm-red of xx-5 is particularly in need of changing, but any attempts to do so get reverted.  If we form a consensus here, we can fix that.  Powers 13:14, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Colors 

message: A proposal to delete all userboxes (including Babel has been created. Feel free to voice your opinion on its talk page.  Grue  08:53, 16 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I would not characterize the proposal in that way. And, because the proposal is still being discussed, it may very well be that Babel boxes will still be allowed under this proposal. There is support for that on the talk page. Please don't rush to any hasty conclusions. That said, everyone's input is welcome. —MiraLuka 09:58, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

text: Look Grue, I'm sorry that you think I'm a horrible bastard, but for heaven's sake try to give this a chance. This is a proposal to subst all userboxes, and maintain a listing of them. Hardly the black hole being implied here. Mackensen (talk) 11:11, 16 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: So, a user who wants to add a Babel box should add 4 lines of Wikicode instead of ? There is a reason why userboxes are templates and not substed.  Grue  13:15, 16 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Still, not much of a hardship. And you only have to do it once. Mackensen (talk) 13:24, 16 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  A proposal to delete all userboxes 

message: Erm... see title. Damiancorrigan 23:09, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I think it makes perfect sense. For example, someone may contribute to articles on the history and development of Esperanto but not know any Esperanto. Similarly, someone may have hundreds of edits on a Wikipedia which they don't know the language of - I saw a user once who had over 3,000 edits on interwiki links alone (checking the edit count for example does not make this immediately obvious). --  Ynhockey (Talk) 02:59, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

text: Or a user may have attempted to learn a language and forgotten it, but would still be able to understand a few phrases.  Another case would be if someone just started to learn that language. Emmett5 00:26, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

text: Just hijacking this: Can it also be used for languages that you've been exposed to and have a sparse vocabulary and sense of pronounciation of? In my opinion, this (together with having learned basic grammar and writing systems) ought to be distinguished from nor knowing the language at all (when you were expected to). Emil Kastberg (talk) 18:21, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: We are talking about languages here.  In any language, a word might have two subtly different meanings, and one is expected to intuit the difference, from context, etc.  There is no problem with a a babel level representing two things.  However, we may want to include this second "definition" with the definition of xx-0.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.212.110.120 (talk) 23:42, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

text: Yes, it is unfortunate that xx-0 can mean both "does not understand" and "very limited understanding", but don't forget that the levels are mainly an aid to other users. The message is that this particular user won't be able to read or write articles in language xx (not counting trivial stubs). Tasnu Arakun (talk) 14:32, 27 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: First point in xx-0 doesn't make sense

message: Should Pennsylvania Deitsch (or Pennsylvania Dutch; Pennsylvania German) be added?  Here are two links to existing wikipedia articles:  (1) (2)    --Thisisbossi 17:51, 21 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pennsylvania Deitsch 

message: I've commented out the NOEDITSECTION command, since I'll be editing quite a few languages names, and I have no idea what it was doing there. Please feel free to uncomment it if I've done a mistake (but please don't simply revert all my changes). Zyxoas (talk to me - I'll listen) 08:37, 24 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  NOEDITSECTION 

message: I have begun development of a replacement for the current system of Babel boxes, which can be found here, which I started as a result of the controversy over userboxes: I felt that if some separation could  be made between Babel boxes and other userboxes they would be less likely to face summary deletion.
The system uses two levels of template: one for the box and another for the individual languages.
The former will only display those language codes it is coded to understand; the latter encapsulate all available levels of expertise within a single template.
Obviously this framework could be adapted to cover other community-approved types of box also, possibly something to show which WikiProjects a user belonged to.
Please feel free to comment on the discussion pages as appropriate: please (pretty please!) don't fiddle with the code unless you see something egregiously wrong because it's still under development and I tend to have them open for editing for long periods (so it would be better to drop me a line…).
HTH HAND —Phil | Talk 14:23, 26 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Prototype replacement system for your perusal 

message: How do you subst individual templates in Babel
For instance
User:Rick86
User:Fdewaele
User:Davidizer13
I am trying to replace the Deleted & Subst template on their pages. per talk on the Deletion  Review.
	This user supports the use of green energy.
 --E-Bod 03:30, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  subst 

message: What would be considered "sizeable vocabulary" (written here as sizable), as used in xx-2? It's pretty vague. So, its definition would greatly vary from person to person (I can imagine that it would mean 500 words for one person, yet some 3000 to 4000 for the other). It seems to me that an approximate value for sizeable would be quite useful.
:I think the consensus is that for xx-2 a user must know enough words to converse and write without much trouble (as far as vocabulary goes - they may have trouble with fluency and actual understanding of the language). This does not mean they must know enough words to read the Encyclopaedia Britannica easily. I guess the description should reflect this. Why don't you suggest something? Or better, edit the article yourself? Also, it may be a good idea to sign your name with 4 tildes (~). On a side note, sizable is a proper spelling, as is sizeable. -- Ynhockey (Talk) 10:20, 15 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sizeable vocabulary 

message: 
I've been fiddling with this all afternoon, but It doesn't seem to be working as well as I had liked. Does anyone more technically minded know how to try to possibly reduce size or hyperlink properly?
Honestly, is this a lost cause? Thanatosimii 19:53, 28 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Egyptian 

message: I am disappointed to hear that the xx-5 userboxes are now restricted to English, French, and Spanish.  That decision is both unfair and misleading, in my opinion:  To use two examples which I personally don't speak, Mandarin Chinese and Hindi have more speakers than English, Spanish or French. There are probably several American users here who have learned Chinese well enough to translate technical or culture-specific articles:  should they have to choose between understating their ability or coding their own userboxes?
Judging by the inter-Wiki translation projects that I've read about, even professional fluency in a less prominent language is useful enough to mention on a userpage.  Many of my former teachers have described my fluency in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian as suitable for professional writing; would this justify a level-5 rating if I had been equally fluent in French or Spanish?  ISNorden 00:39, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Feel free to create new xx-5 templates for these languages if you need them. --Army1987 10:43, 2 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Would I need to substitute the Babel-box code on my user page in order to create those templates?  I'm a novice when it comes to WikiCode.  ISNorden 01:09, 5 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Level 5 deletions 

message: Please see my proposal on meta for a unified babel box. Maybe some find it useful. --grin ✎ 22:21, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Magical babel box 

message: Maybe we should make a template like the babel one, except it would be for all other stuff, like which projects you were in and what you've done and all... What do ya think? ~VNinja~ 01:15, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Stuff box 

message: There are buttons for all kinds of English other then just normal English. What is the done thing here? I mean obviously if I speak English I know simple English but do you say so? I can also understand 98% of Scots due to being from Northern England but...Its just a dialect of English, not another language. What is the done thing?--Josquius 11:20, 2 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Other kinds of English 

message: any plans to use ISO 639-3? "zh-min-nan" would become "nan". Tobias Conradi (Talk) 16:49, 7 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd be strongly in favour of that, yes. —Nightstallion (?) 07:48, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  ISO 639-3