Talk:Opelika, Alabama

message: IP only editor--it would be appreciated if you would fill out an edit summary when you make your deletions, or start a discussion on this page.  So far your changes have removed relevant information taken from the cited sources at the bottom of the References section, and as such I've had to revert them as vandalism.  If you have valid cites which counter those provided in the current article, I would welcome your discussing of them here so that we can reach a consensus. --Lissoy 22:16, 18 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Recent Deletions

message: I have a question. Where does your information about Opelika's gang problem come from? 
I work for the Auburn Plainsman and one of our reporters used your entry on Opelika for her story (no offense to you or the site, but she probably should not have done that). Long story short, some prominent citizens called us demanding to know where we got the info from, so me made some phone calls.
We talked to Officer McMinamin (I'm sure I'm not spelling it correctly) at the Opelika Police Department (he is in charge of all "gang related" crimes) and he said that while there is a "gang mentality" within certain sections of Opelika's youth, there are no real gangs, so to speak. He said that the whole "gang culture" of Opelika is really nothing more than a rumor. 
While I agree that the city's crime rate has gone up in the last few years, as a long time resident of the city, I see no evidence of any real gangs. And the leaders in the African American community that we have talked to say the same thing.
Just wondering. 
Thanks.
:Good timing.  I was just doing the research on this topic last night to get a better cite for that clause.  Opelika is cited by the National Youth Gang Center and the U.S. Department of Justice as "reporting youth gang problems" in The Growth of Youth Gang Problems in the United States: 1970-98.  Legally, in Alabama a gang is defined as "any combination, confederation, alliance, network, conspiracy, understanding, or other similar arrangement in law or in fact, of three or more persons that, through its membership or through the agency of any member, engages in a course or pattern of criminal activity." (Code of Alabama, Section 13A-6-26).  By that definition, gang activity is common in Opelika--Mayor Fuller noted such an understanding between criminal elements with respect to territory in his 2006 State of the City Address:  "Unfortunately, there are certain neighborhoods in our community where the people living there don't feel safe outside of their homes after sunset and would never entertain the idea of sitting out on their front porches - all because of the thugs, drug dealers and other criminal elements who have taken over those areas as their own "turf.""  Fuller, as a candidate for mayor in August 2004, stated in an interview with Auburn-Opelika This Morning on WANI that the problem wasn't localized--that one could hear gunshots after dusk from any front porch (he seems to like front porches) in the city.  I can't imagine anyone arguing that there aren't groups of youths in Opelika who commit patterns of crimes.  For what is probably the single best description of crime in Opelika, go back and read the Plainsman article on crime in Opelika written in the 1995-96 year--it is quite an eye-opener.
:Nonetheless, this technical definition of "gang" is not exactly what most people think of when they hear the word "gang".  I cannot find any direct evidence of any national gangs operating in Opelika, and so to eliminate confusion, I've changed "gang activity" to "gang-like activity".  That should eliminate confusion with respect to the national gangs, but also still describes the nature of much of the criminal element in Opelika.  -- Lissoy 13:20, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Gang issues

message: An image used in this article, , has been nominated for speedy deletion at Wikimedia Commons for the following reason: Copyright violations 
;What should I do?
Don't panic; deletions can take a little longer at Commons than they do on Wikipedia. This gives you an opportunity to contest the deletion (although please review Commons guidelines before doing so). The best way to contest this form of deletion is by posting on the image talk page.
* If the image is non-free then you may need to upload it to Wikipedia (Commons does not allow fair use)
* If the image isn't freely licensed and there is no fair use rationale then it cannot be uploaded or used.
* If the image has already been deleted you may want to try Commons Undeletion Request
This notification is provided by a Bot --CommonsNotificationBot (talk) 14:59, 1 November 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: File:East Alabama Medical Center.jpg Nominated for speedy Deletion

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just added archive links to  on Opelika, Alabama. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add  after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add  to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20121007073315/http://www.apa.org/divisions/div6/awards.html to http://www.apa.org/divisions/div6/awards.html
When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.
Cheers. —cyberbot IITalk to my owner:Online 11:01, 29 August 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: :
This sentence has no main verb; removing "which" would cure that.  Also: "greater Greater Columbus"?? —Tamfang (talk) 19:02, 21 August 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  toward greater greater sentences