User talk:Chris the speller

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[edit] Welcome!

Hello Chris the speller, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you have any questions, check out Wikipedia:Where to ask a question or ask me on my talk page. Again, welcome!  216.159.75.180 17:27, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] caps on dog pages

Hi! I notice that you de-captizalized the dog breed name over at Greyhound - I certainly welcome the help, but for now I'd ask that you not decapitalize other dog breed names yet. Wikipedia dog project convention has historically been that the names of dog breeds are considered to be proper nouns and should be capitalized throughout the article.

There is some debate on this matter though, I for one, would welcome help in changing everything to or from one standard if consensus comes down on the side of non-caps or caps for breed names.

Join the discussion over on the dog project talk page.

Thanks! - Trysha (talk) 08:42, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks

Thanks for all your work on spelling corrections. Efforts like yours really help the encyclopedia. Cheers, -Willmcw 02:11, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

Eye am greatfull for the kind werds. Gladd two bee of hellp. Chears! Chris the speller 06:05, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Barnstar

I, Gaius Cornelius hereby award you this Minor Barnstar for all your brilliant minor edits!
I, Gaius Cornelius hereby award you this Minor Barnstar for all your brilliant minor edits!

Gaius Cornelius 18:14, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

I have some Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors - could I please have a hex sign instead (or in addition?) ;-) Chris the speller 18:21, 13 November 2005 (UTC)
Sure, why not, I am sure you deserve it - I just have no idea how to do it. Keep up the good work! Gaius Cornelius 20:37, 13

November 2005 (UTC).

[edit] Hey You!

Who do you think you are, making all those spelling corrections? Just joking (smile), I want to thank you for the corrections made on my articles. I was thinking about redirecting my articles to you for spelling verification (all 306 of them (smile)). You can start with my shortest article: Military history of Puerto Rico. Good job, I'll be looking forward to interacting with you. Tony the Marine 17:55, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

I have started, and only found a few typos so far; it's not as scary as you suggested. I hope you don't mind that I fixed a typo in a Spanish word, but I had 3 years of Spanish. Maybe I'll do one or two articles a month. This one will be finished today, but the system is very slow. -Chris ~ Chris the speller 22:23, 14 November 2005 (UTC)
Finished. I feel like some guy who waxed a Lamborghini - can't quite take all the credit for its looking good. ~ Chris the speller 00:32, 15 November 2005 (UTC)\
  • Great Job, Chris, You're the man (I mean speller). Tony the Marine 01:50, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Congrats

Congratulations on passing 1000 article edits. You're performing a valuable service. Soo 16:22, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for noticing. Now I better get someone to go back and check them all for quality. ;-) Chris the speller 18:28, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks for the corrections

Hi, just dropped by to say thanks for the spelling corrections you have been doing around the wikipedia. My spelling it terrible, I am always happy when someone goes through and fixes my mistakes. Helps make my work look more professional. --Martyman-(talk) 02:17, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

Nice of you to say so. We all have different strengths and interests. It's what makes wikipedia go 'round. Chris the speller 02:30, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] O.K., Chris

O.K. Chris, I would like to take a look at my new article Christopher Crommett and do your stuff. Tony the Marine 03:04, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

Sure, because his name is also Chris, and because I live very close to where he went to college. ;-) Chris the speller 03:34, 22 November 2005 (UTC)
That didn't need much help at all, and it wasn't very long. Era mi placer. Chris the speller 03:50, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] How did you get there?

Chris, what a great calling, chief spell checker. Thanks for the corrections to insurance. What drew you to that page?--Nowa 04:14, 23 November 2005 (UTC)

I did a search for articles containing 'benifits', a common misspelling. There are many others helping in this way; I'm just one of the few (or only) that put 'speller' in the user name. You can be "Nowa the comma-fixer" if you want ;-) Chris the speller 04:25, 23 November 2005 (UTC)
Very clever :-)--Nowa 05:20, 23 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Greetings, fellow spell-corrector

Hi!  I'm currently working on changing it's to its where appropriate.  I noticed in Aspen_Communications that you got there first!  Have you consider joining the w:Typo_Team?  jyavner 03:38, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

I joined the Typo Team on November 15. It appears we have been using similar searches. Today I tried "around it's", "besides it's", "through it's", "in it's". Chris the speller 04:03, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
This could be a problem. Today I also tried "around it's", but it was a waste of time because you had already fixed all of them! Perhaps we should divide up the list of prepositions? jyavner 04:57, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
No problem. I'll take another path. Until further notice, I will leave prepositions alone, and search elsewhere. My next target: VERBS! "had it's", "cut it's", and so on. This search works well, skips talk and user pages, but picks up errors that have been fixed in the last month or two: http://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&domains=en.wikipedia.org&q=%22in+it%27s%22+-talk%3A+-user%3A&btnG=Search&sitesearch=en.wikipedia.org Chris the speller 15:32, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Timeline of Entomology

Thanks for the corrections.Could you look at the rest of the timeline and keep a watchful eye on it. Probaly my Entomologists pages need some corrections if you have time. Snowing in Ireland today.Notafly 15:02, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

Sure, I'll take a look. ~ Chris the speller 15:34, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks for the barnstar

Thanks a lot for the barnstar, from another typo corrector. I just think that typoes, and especially grammar mistakes, make the encyclopedia look unprofessional, and also, they sound awful when using a screen reader. Graham/pianoman87 talk 03:09, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

I agree with you. I think you deserve more barnstars, but one per person per day is all I ever give out. ;-) Wear it in good health! Chris the speller 03:36, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Carmen

Thank you Chris, my aunt used to know Carmen as well as Lolita Lebron. In the case of Lolita, they were nieghbors and best friends as teenagers, they also participated in the same beauty contest which in mentioned in my article, Lolita came in first and my aunt second. My aunt passed away, if not I would have asked her about Carmen. I just finished the article Angela Meyer, want to do me the honors? Your pal Tony the Marine 04:20, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Barnstar

ÁÈÎÖŪThis Spelling Tireless Contributor Barnstar is presented to Chris the Speller for his continous contributions in Wikipedia. Presented by Tony the Marine 15:16, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
ÁÈÎÖŪ
This Spelling Tireless Contributor Barnstar is presented to Chris the Speller for his continous contributions in Wikipedia. Presented by Tony the Marine 15:16, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

Please accept this barnstar on my behave. For me it is an honor to have befriended you. Tony the Marine 15:16, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

Thanks, the honor is mine. You have put a lot of high-quality work into Wikipedia. For having less opportunity to learn the fine points of English when you were young, you have come a long way and have set standards that most others should envy. Chris the speller 15:30, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Romanian Culture

Thx a lot for the spelling corrections you made on the page about the Culture of Romania. I still have to work on that english spelling problem, but I try to fix my mistakes as I edit. Thx A lot one more time and I want you to know that I appreciate your work!! --Orioane 20:06, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

It was no trouble, and it was just a 'mechanical' correction, mostly. I will be glad to go over it carefully and do fine tuning of grammar, punctuation and so on when it seems to be nearly finished. Good work so far! Chris the speller 20:22, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Thank you

I appreciate the Barnstar you gave me. I admit, I tend to do mainly minor edits since I'm bored at work a lot of the time. You deserve a pat on the back as well. Good job! :) P.S. Do you have any helpful tools you use or a bot or anything like that? Gflores Talk 23:00, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

I have no tools except my favorite Google search (see 6 sections back). If I see a few more misspellings in an article, I usually run the whole thing through a spelling checker, then often get sucked into doing a whole copyedit. Bots sound dangerous! If you have any questions any time, feel free to ask. Chris the speller 23:30, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] More Thanks

I see you've been busy with Timeline of entomology. Very many thanks I appreciate your work!! The back to other century pages link was a great idea. Raining in Ireland today 81.144.158.195 14:29, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

I give the Timeline a few minutes now and then. Let me know when it's just cloudy in Ireland, not raining or snowing ;-) Chris the speller 14:45, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Allophone appreciation

As I deduct from your pseudonym I'm probably all but the only one to benefit from your spelling vigilance, let me say that as a non-native speaker of English (in my case mother tongue Dutch), not entertaining the illusion my English will ever be as flawless as a true Anglophone's, I can particularly appreciate such input, so keep up the good work - your nomen est omen ! Fastifex 14:37, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

I'm always glad to help those who make an honest attempt to improve Wikipedia, especially those whose earliest language skills were not in English. Many of them have come a long way, and they have my respect, especially because English gets harder and harder as you try to learn more of the fine points. Keep on giving me articles to polish up! Chris the speller 16:07, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Re : Scale of five

Hi Chris,

My apologies! I accidentally deleted Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Scale of five instead of Scale of five. It should be back now. If you have anything else you need to clarify, don't hesitate to let me know on my talkpage.

- Best regards, Mailer Diablo 23:57, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks!

Thanks, Chris. Your name says it all. :) Jarfingle 21:02, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

Ah, the Chilkoot trail! I'll make a point of seeing it some day. Chris the speller 22:24, 13 December 2005 (UTC)


Thanks, also! I'm generally a good speller,but the spelling of "restaurant" always escapes me. --Madchester 23:20, 15 January 2006 (UTC)
No problem, glad to help. Today alone I have discovered 7 new ways to spell "restaurant", none of them in the dictionary! Chris the speller 23:25, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Felix Navidad

Tony the Marine
Enlarge
Tony the Marine

O.K. Chris, so you don't believe in Santa, but I still want to wish you and your loved ones all the happiness in the world and the best new year ever. Your friend, Tony the Marine 05:05, 18 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Bjarkemål

Ah, excellent work. I am removing the tag. --W.marsh 18:09, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

It was a pleasure. Chris the speller 18:12, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Barnstar thanks

Chris, many thanks for the Minor Barnstar. I'd give you one too, but it seems someone else has already recognised your diligence. Best wishes anyway. Martpol 18:30, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

Happy New Year! Chris the speller 18:38, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Words

Do you think you could possible stop changing buufer to buffer zone as it is wrong. You should be using Buffer stop.--IanDavies 20:25, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

Sure, I had already stopped. I see you have already fixed the Kirkby and Ormskirk articles, and I had no other articles in my sights. Reading the articles more carefully, it makes better sense to me now. Sorry for the screw-up, and thanks for the enlightenment. Chris the speller 22:59, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] MoS:DP

I'm beginning to suspect that MoS:DP should be renamed MoS:Render disambig pages useless to the average user. BDAbramson T 05:32, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

  • Nothing against your work, I just think the Manual's tendency towards minimalism means that readers may not get enough information to know what they're interested in reading about (not everyone comes to Wikipedia with a specific target - some like to surf). BDAbramson T 05:51, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Apprentice Wizzard

Hi Chris thanks for the spell chequing (Whiteman Park) occassionallee my brain and fingers aren't on the same wave so like an apprentice wizzard the occassional Gnat appears where a goat would suffice - Keep up the good work Gnangarra 03:54, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. after fixing a bunch of "boundry", I got to fix a bunch of "foundary". English is such a bugger of a language. Chris the speller 04:03, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fixed link

No problem! I found your page from some fixes you made on a page I've contributed to, so in fact, thank you for your awesome spell checking, it's something I'm horrible at and really appreciate. Best of luck on Wiki! --Falcorian | Talk 16:58, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Playwright

You might need some sources to overturn the common spelling of a word, particularly when Merriam-Webster says it is correct. Harro5 01:51, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

  • My mistake, and I am sorry. I saw the edit to Caulfield Grammar School, and looked at some others, and thought you were incorrectly changing entries. I apologise. Harro5 06:50, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] John Smith (English statesman and John Smith of Jamestown

Chris - I've deleted your merge proposal of these two articles from Wikipedia:Proposed mergers, as it appears that these are two different people. Smith of Jamestown died in 1631, but Smith (statesman) was Lord of the Treasury in 1694-1695. If you have anything that supports your contention that they're the same cat, let me know and I'll restore your proposal. Thanks. | Klaw ¡digame! 19:47, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

Cool. Another editor already did half of the merge, by blanking the article of one cat. Two weeks ago they were the same cat. Chris the speller 20:54, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
Ah, makes sense. I just wanted to make sure you were aware that I had deleted the proposal in case you had any objection. Thanks! | Klaw ¡digame! 22:11, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Hyphens

It is quite a common difference between US and UK usage. The UK tends to use them more than the US. For example "South East" or "south-east" in the UK and Southeast in the US. The Allied command during World War II was South East Asia Command (with or without the hyphen) because it was largely a British Empire fight, but the Vietnam war the American command was a "Southeast Asia Command". --Philip Baird Shearer 14:57, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the offer on RT, but there were not many links to deal with. BTW I think your suggestion about including something on the AE CE differences on hyphen usage would be useful as I could not find a specific section on it anywhere in Wikipedia. --Philip Baird Shearer 14:40, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

Well done with your addition. One of the things I like about this project is learning things like counter-attack can be spelt as one word, or to take a wikipedia topical subject that most American do not know where the River Plate is. --Philip Baird Shearer 01:53, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

Strange as it might seem to a none fanatical football soccer nation "the hand of God" is far more important to both nations than the Falklands War. Similarly if an English man says to German man (the women have better things to do) "It was a goal" the German will know that it refers to the disputed goal of the 1966 world cup and will reply "no it was't". [1]. (The Anglo-French relationship is on a differnt level and points can be gained at all levels short of MAD). --Philip Baird Shearer 04:09, 2 February 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Wikipedia Project

Hi, my name is Federico (alias Pain) and I am creating a section for nominating th best user page, I was wondering if you were interested in joining the project.

The project has just started, and we need help to spread the word and ameliorate it.

Wikipedia:Votes_for_best_User_page

Best regards, Federico Pistono ✆ ✍ 00:51, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tent - thanks

Thanks for fixing my spelling.

That was nothing. I wasn't sure if you were typing too fast or if the 't' was sticking on your keyboard. I've see a lot worse. A whole lot worse. Happy editing! Chris the speller 16:16, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Work

Thanks for all of your work on this project. I just came across your correction of a disambiguation page, nice clean work, and then saw you've been making hundreds of helpful edits. Editors like you really make this encyclopedia get better every day. You have been around a while and have made many edits - are you interested in being an administrator? Cheers, -Will Beback 06:59, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

Your kind words are appreciated. I mostly clean up disambig pages and search for misspellings, so I don't often get involved with POV disputes. I think that being an admin might tend to draw me into more disputes, not something I really want. Occasionally I tire of waiting for an admin to finish a complicated page move, but I can stand it. Power corrupts. Cheers, and keep up your good work. Chris the speller 17:14, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Matthew Miller (pundit)

Deleted, ready for your merge. Just zis  Guy, you know? [T]/[C] 16:39, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit]  :-)

Dude, you're good. thanks!

(above unsigned comment by Twrigley) Chris the speller 01:26, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
Yep, about ready for my apotheosis ;-) Chris the speller 01:26, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Redirects

Thanks for letting me know that, Chris! You may already know that List of Doctor Who aliens was recently moved to List of Doctor Who monsters and aliens, and I was just trying to finish the clean-up after the move. Since anchored links to redirects still work, I suppose I don't need to correct most of the remaining links to List of Doctor Who aliens. I do have a few questions, though — until recently, all the pages that linked to List of Doctor Who aliens were listed on the "what links here" page for List of Doctor Who monsters and aliens, but now they're not. (There still are quite a few, which I can still see at the redirect's own "what links here" page.) Why aren't they visible on the main "what links here" page any more? Also, is it OK for image description pages to have links to the old page name? What about disambiguation pages, which as I understand it aren't supposed to have piped links? Thanks. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 19:33, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. I assumed you were talking about the monsters list, 'cause that's what I've been working on (s-l-o-w-l-y) in recent edits. (You and Sean Black seemed to have the Robert Holmes links under control, so I was mostly leaving that to your capable hands.) Anyway, thanks for the pointer. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 22:16, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Dab pages

Mmm, good, something relatively mindless to do! Thanks, and it was no problem. I believe there's a template ({{db-move}}) which can be placed on such pages when they need to be deleted. Anyways, thanks.--Sean Black (talk) 01:58, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sections in disambiguation pages

Thanks a lot for the advice. I must have missed that when checking MoS:DP. I don't think the sectioning of RMS is appropriate anyway. Maybe it should be split into sci/tech and non-sci/tech if anything. I'll probably leave it alone though, as I'm not an experienced wikipedian.

--Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley talk contrib 20:24, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

None of us were experienced Wikipedians when we started out. There is a lot to learn, and a lot of editors don't take the time and effort to do it right, but you seem to at least care. Better to be bold with good intentions than to do nothing. Happy editing!

Chris the speller 20:50, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Barnstar!

Nice work with fixing DAB pages! Gflores Talk 08:50, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

A barnstar for a tireless wikignome. Your work is appreciated! Gflores Talk 08:50, 5 March 2006 (UTC)
A barnstar for a tireless wikignome. Your work is appreciated! Gflores Talk 08:50, 5 March 2006 (UTC)
An honor indeed, coming from a huge contributor such as yourself, who is definitely one of the good guys. Chris the speller 15:43, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Disamb standards

Well, after a night's sleep, I am now sorry that I used those words. Please accept my apologies. All the best, Jorge Stolfi 00:19, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Apology not needed, you made no personal attack on me. Chris the speller 01:06, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] John Dickinson

Please see the response on my user page. stilltim 16:36, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] George G. Hall

Thanks for merging in George Garfield Hall. I've no idea how I missed that. I started from a redlink in International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science and went from there. The older article did say he was member of the Academy but did not link there. Otherwise that redlink would have been fixed. --Bduke 23:20, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

Reply is at Bduke's talk page. Chris the speller 01:12, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Request

My good old friend Chris, I have a request. Whenever you have the time, please check out my new article Puerto Rican migration to New York and fix any misspelled word that you may find (I'm sure there are many). Thanks before hand. Tony the Marine 04:13, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

  • Man, you're fast! Thanks buddy, Tony the Marine 04:43, 21 March 2006 (UTC)
    • Not as fast as my other bud, Gflores. There wasn't much work left to do after that. Nice work, Tony, keep 'em coming! Chris the speller 04:51, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Process tip

Thanks for the process tip regarding format voting. I appreciate your time and attention to this. However, I explain on my page why I think the minor edit (which restores two words I mistakenly deleted) serves the purpose of the no edit process. Vir 19:57, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

I feel it is important to stop when the discussion is closed, but I can't force anyone to comply. Happy editing! Chris the speller 20:02, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] John Wood (disambiguation)

Hi Chris, I'm afraid I disagree with you about the disambiguation - see reply on my talk. --BrownHairedGirl 21:46, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] TfD

I do apologise, I really did think I had added the template to the talk page, the edit must not have gone through. I felt the discussion was going around in circles. ed g2s • talk 12:06, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Coronated

I wasn't sure who best to ask, but I saw "coronated" in an article and replaced it with "crowned". I checked and saw that there's quite a lot of this word in wikipedia. One problem is that it's used both literally (i.e. crowned) and figuratively (i.e. elected, installed) fixing it might take time but I didn't want to jump in without consultation. It has an entry at dictionary.com but it still sounds awful to me. How does it grab you? Sumergocognito 01:57, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

It's certainly a valid word, completely equivalent to "crowned", as far as I can tell. Changing one word to another equivalent word in a Wikipedia article is generally frowned upon, if for no other reason than to show respect for the efforts of the original author. Imagine if an editor spent his life changing every occurrence of "big" to "large", and then a different editor made a similar effort to change every occurrence of "large" to "big". That would be a pitiful waste, and would certainly lead to edit wars. There are enough things in Wikipedia that are flat wrong and desperately need fixing that we don't need to change a word just because it sounds a little too pretentious or a little too common, or it just strikes us as odd or forced. I probably never used the word "coronated" in my writing, and maybe never will, but it's not up to me to second-guess an author who decides to use it. Chris the speller 03:42, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "All of which" to start a sentence ??

Hey, Chris the speller. I love the fact that your user name says you're out there (in here?) to make the word safe for correct spelling. Hurrah! I love correct spelling, but I hate bad spelling more intensely. I regularly proofread the magazine I own and publish (The Sondheim Review), so I make lots of fixes. I also hate bad grammar.

As a relative Wikipedia newbie, I've started making my own contributions. A recent grammar fix--which I thought was minor--to someone else's main article contribution, brought on a near-immediate reversion to the original by its author. This could balloon into something unnecessarily big. It may be too late to prevent that, as my grammar police impulse already feels wounded. (Ow.)

If you look at what is presently section 1.3 of Sam Harris (author)#Islam, you'll note it starts with "All of which lunacy...". To my American ear, this is an incorrect use of the word "which." Except in unusual cases, the pronoun "which," when referring to earlier antecedents, is nearly always used in a clause and not as the subject of a sentence. When the United Kingdom writer on 11 August 2006 restored my correction of "All of this lunacy" to "All of which lunacy," I hesitate to do battle, as perhaps the King's English allows such things, although I doubt it.

So, my question is, Chris the speller: Where can one go to find a Wikipedia-based grammar expert? Have I really erred in my correction? When and how does one decide which fray to enter? Why am I awake at 3:00 am in my time zone talking about grammar? Will Wikipedia soon take over my life? (Rhetorical questions end here.)

Thanks in advance for any pointers. I'm watching your page to follow any replies. :) -- RayBirks 08:09, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

I discovered a page that may get us an answer Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Language#"All_of_which"_to_start_a_sentence_??. I will be watching there as well. -- RayBirks 18:55, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
Ray, sorry for the delay. I took a few months off Wikipedia. Remember that when it takes over your life. My grammar skills are, I feel, sufficient for Wikipedia editing, so I do not often seek an expert. When in doubt, rummage around the Manual of Style. Correct any grammar that is clearly wrong. If the style grates a little bit, be careful; if nothing else is wrong, it's usually best to let it slide, but if the whole article or paragraph needs copyediting, give it the overhaul. Chris the speller 22:53, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Assistance requested

Chris, I have taken to heart your advice from several month ago, and removed the dates from the disambig. in the articles I have edited. Since nearly all these articles are about politicians, I am using their office; governor, senator, representative, delegate, etc instead. It nearly always works although sometimes requires a state name in front, and very rarely requires another qualifier. So, for instance, there were several James Williams' who were U.S, Representatives. I am calling the one in Delaware "James Williams (Delaware representative)." Do you think "James Williams (DE representative)" would be better, or anything else? What would you do if there were two in one state, as there are for some names in larger states, say (Delaware2 representative)?

Finally, could you assist me in a couple of moves associated with this. I want to move "James Sykes (physician)" to "James Sykes (governor)." And I want to move "Nicholas Van Dyke (1769-1826)" to "Nicholas Van Dyke (senator)." This will standardize the usage. Do you have the knowledge or juice to do this? I don't seem to, as the names have been used before. You help and advice is much appreciated. stilltim 21:35, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

I like "(Delaware representative)", but not "(DE representative)", as people who live outside the US may not be familiar with postal abbreviations. If there are two in one state, you have to wing it, based on some other distinction, such as "(Delaware representative and judge)" or "(Delaware representative and general)". I will look over the situations for James and Nicholas and get back to you. Chris the speller 23:02, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Request

Chris, my old friend, How you been? Man, I was thinking about you just yerterday. I wanted to know if you can take a look at my latest article and correct any mispellings. The article is "Puerto Rican women in the military" Cheers Tony the Marine 18:58, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Done. Glad to help. Another impressive article. Chris the speller 00:54, 29 September 2006 (UTC)


  • Chris. thank you for doing your thing, I like what you did. About Reinaldo Deliz-Santiago I agree with you, he isn't notable enough to merit an article in Wikipedia (you know that I would have written about him if otherwise). About the the Revolt against the U.S., I provided a link to the most notable of the revolts which was the Jayuya Uprising (I wrote that one) but, you are right, I will add on when the revolt came to an end (I bet you're goning to read about the revolt (smile)). Cheers Tony the Marine 01:41, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re:Carmen Durnier's husband

Carmen's surnames was Lozano Durnier (In Puerto Rico some people continue to use their fathers and mothers surname). She kept her maiden surnames. Her husband's surname was Dumler, but she preferred her surnames. I have kept in touch with some people in the Women's Military Memorial Committee. They have supplied me with info and clipboards on some of the women I've written about.

I only wish that I had a nurse as good-looking as her in the Marine Corps. Man, she was hot then (she still is alive). If you are wondering why some Puerto Ricans have French and Corsican (Italian) surnames (My ancestors were Corsican0, I invite you to take a look at two short articles that I've written (You can also do your thing), they are French immigration to Puerto Rico and Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico. It is fun interacting with you. Cheers! Tony the Marine 16:50, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

Hey Chris, you know what? After furthur investigation, I found out that Carmen was not a Durnier after all. It was a typo on my behave (I think that I need glasses). Her surname was only Lozano and then after marriage she became Lozano-Dumler. I made all the corrections plus, she was a 2Lt. and not a 1Lt. Thank you for bringing the surname thing to my attention. Cheers! Tony the Marine 02:05, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Laromlab

FYI, I have nominated this article for deletion; I noticed you had edited earlier. You can discuss it at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Laromlab --Aleph-4 09:40, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re: Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia, Thanks

Chris, thanks for letting me know. I want to share something with you. Sometime ago I wrote the articles about Captains Manuel Rivera, Jr. and Humbert Roque Versace. I realized that their names were not inscribed in Puerto Rico's Memorial dedicated to Puerto Rican fallen soldiers "El Monumento de la Recordacion" and those of Puerto Rican descent. I started a campaign to get this done by writting to the President of the Puerto Rican Senate and finally after many investigations I received this e-mail from the government two days ago:

Dear Tony Santiago:

I would like to notify that I received the confirmation of Mr. José Pagán, Public Affairs Officer, that indeed Captain Manuel Rivera and Captain Humberto Roque complete the requirements to be included in the list of soldiers at the Memorial Monument.

If you have any questions you can contact me at [omitted]. You can also write to my e-mail.

Our office (Tourism) will be coordinating the Memorial Day Event. That means that we will contacting you around the month March.l

Have a nice day,

Adrián J. Pacheco Suárez

According to them, I'll be invited to the unveiling on Memorial Day next May 2007. Pretty cool, don't you think? Tony the Marine 21:18, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Request

Hey Chris, how you doing? Could you please take a look at one of articles and do your thing? This is the one Fernando E. Rodriguez Vargas. Thanks a lot buddy. Tony the Marine 02:09, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] barnstar

The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
For dedication to improving and expanding Wikipedia. Good job! Sharkface217 02:26, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Quite Welcome

You are quite welcome for the Barnstar. Interestingly enough, I created that stub less than an hour ago. It turns out that while US Navy ships are seemingly well-represented on Wikipedia (hundreds, possibly thousands of US Navy ships articles), the surface has only been scraped. There have been many thousands more ships that have served since the late 1700s, and it seems for every blue link on the list of US navy ships page, there are 5 red ones.

[edit] Thank you

Thank you Chris, for checking out the Major Fernando Rodriguez Vargas article. I just wrote an article on Brigadier General Ruben A. Cubero. Funny thing, I wrote to the Air Force Academy Historian because I wanted some info about the General's eary years and they sent me his home phone number. Hell, it took me two days before I built up the courage to call him. I mean what if he told me "Who the hell you? Why should I give you my personal information?" It turned out that we both had a lot in common and we spoke as if we've known each other for years. Man, that was something. Tony the Marine 01:33, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Date formats

Hi Chris- I just have to ask. Are you a native speaker of American English? The date formats you have entered on Cardinal James Freeman's article are not in the Australian/English format- and I have to say that some of us who don't speak American English really notice these sorts of changes and are not pariculalry comfortable with them. You have made an article about an Australian prelate look like it was generated in America, and some of us get very thingy about that. We hate it. It's not the way we speak or write. Is there a wiki policy on this sort of thing? We can't really all be expected to conform to American English. I will have to lead the revolution if this is the case. For the moment, I have reverted the dates to a format Australians are comfortable with. Freman was an Australian (loved Americans, but didn't speak American English). My view is we should tolerate each valid form of English in their appropriate context (eg. American English in biographical articles which refer specifically to Americans, Australian (pretty much British) English in Australian article (especially biographical) etc. etc. What do you think? Cor Unum 09:23, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

(I answered on Cor's talk page) Chris the speller 17:11, 4 November 2006 (UTC)
Thanks Chris - but we still don't say 19 Novemeber - because it reads to us like "nineteen November" (which we never say or write- and sounds and looks unlike Asutralian English) not "the nineteenth of November" (which we do say and write). I'm still not exactly sure if there is a mutually satidfactory solution - though your change is a compromise (since it puts the day date first). I am saying this again based on my knowledge and experience of English teaching. I once did the TEFLA (Cambridge University) course for teaching English as a foreign langusge (whcih I taught in the former Eastern bloc), so I am pretty clear on these distinctions in the spoken and written language. Any other ideas?

Cor Unum 10:39, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

(I answered again on Cor's talk page) Chris the speller 17:57, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Barnstar!

The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
Good job! :-) 16:14, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Opening paragraphs for footballers

Hi, I notice that you change dates (not always consistently from that I can see, so not sure how that works) and opening paragraphs. Opening per WP:DATE is different from the guidance at Wikipedia:WikiProject Football/Players, so you might want to have a look there and suggest a consistent way forward. Would help for people like me who followed the Player manual of style anyway WikiGull 08:58, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

I have addressed this on the project's talk page. As far as I know, my changes have been consistent with each other, but, more importantly, consistent with the guidelines at WP:DATE and WP:MOSBIO. Chris the speller 18:01, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Date Formats

You have changed the dates on several articles lately from [[dd Month]] to [[Month dd]] with an edit summary of "date format per WP:DATE". However, WP:DATE states that both forms are acceptable. The Mediawiki software will actually convert linked dates to the reader's specified preference. Most readers won't see a difference in the changes you made. I'd suggest you hold off doing wholesale date updates as some people may react to it in the same manner others react to US & British spelling changes. I, personally, don't see the point in spending time doing something the software handles automatically. But if you want to continue, please use a more appropriate edit summary. -- JLaTondre 12:30, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

It is very difficult to respond to your complaint without knowing which articles have annoyed you. Please provide a few examples. Please note that WP:DATE states "Elsewhere, either format is acceptable", where "elsewhere" means articles that do not pertain to Ireland, Commonwealth countries, US, etc. And where do you get the information about "Most readers won't see a difference"? I always imagined that most readers are casual users of Wikipedia, who have not set date preferences. Also, what edit summary would be more appropriate? As far as I know, every article that I have changed was at variance with the named guideline. Chris the speller 16:54, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
It was not a complaint and I'm not annoyed, but it sure sounds as if you're annoyed by my comment. WP:DATE states "If the topic itself concerns a specific country, editors may choose to use the date format used in that country". WP:DATE does not specify that it should be in the local format so stating you are making the change in accordance with WP:DATE is not quite correct. It is in accordance with your choice. The particular article is not really relevant as my comment was generic. If you don't like my suggestion, then ignore it. -- JLaTondre 21:11, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
I don't generally change date formats in an article where they all adhere to WP:DATE, but where some of them don't, and the others have inconsistent formats ([[dd Month]] and [[Month dd]]), I try to make them consistent, taking into account the nationality of the topic. You will find that all the articles I have edited contained nonstandard and unlinked dates. WP:DATE refers to the section "National varieties of English" in WP:MOS, which states "Articles that focus on a topic specific to a particular English-speaking country should generally conform to the usage and spelling of that country." I feel that this means that it also applies to national varieties of date formats, so if there is a hodgepodge, I tend to convert to the format that fits the topic of an article or its prevailing style of spelling. Anyone who reads WP:DATE carefully and examines my edits carefully will see that "date format per WP:DATE" is an accurate edit summary. Thanks for your suggestion, but I plan to ignore it. Happy editing! Chris the speller 22:58, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
However, in the two articles that caught my eye, USS Arikara (ATF-98) & USS Atakapa (ATF-149), the dates were consistent and linked. The "National varieties of English" also states "If an article is predominantly written in one type of English, aim to conform to that type...". You're picking and choosing which parts you're compliant with. Anyhow, we're wasting too much time on a minor topic. Thanks. -- JLaTondre 23:19, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

Both articles contained "On the 19th", while WP:DATE states: "Do not use ordinal suffixes". OK, back to work! Chris the speller 23:35, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Stunts...

Sounds like you have it pretty well-covered.  :) The original stub was (I thought) a subject already covered under the "Barnstorming" header. Thanks for letting me know what's up! - Lucky 6.9 02:28, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sabato

I'm not sure that your changes got saved. What were they? I'm sorry if I somehow stomped on them. Dfass 20:42, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Eskaya

Just wonderinng if you saw the in use tag...I was on a major overhaul of the article, and much work that I did was lost because of your edit. Thanks, anyway. --Pinay06 19:13, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Hi! Thanks for the reply, and the advice. Actually, after I messaged you, I saw on the history that another editor was doing another major overhaul on my overhaul, like re arranging the sections around. The hard part was I was inputting the citations, and it was hard to do it with the sections all over the place. Anyway, I did not know the tag can be invisible. Maybe when you use the popups or other software huh? Anyway, since you asked, maybe you can go back to the article and spell check again for me. That will be a big help. Thanks again.--Pinay06 21:30, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
Thanks! We will use Eskaya for both plural and singular, so I will check. Is it okey if I have you go over my other articles, too? --Pinay06 22:27, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Spellcheck request

Hey Chris! Thanks! You will see my articles in my userpage User:pinay06, not priority, only when you have the time, but on top priority of my list are the currently peer reviewed ones I have contributed: Chocolate Hills, Philippine Tarsier, Philippine Tarsier Foundation. Best regards!--Pinay06 22:45, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Hi Chris, saw your edits in the articles. Thanks! BTW, is & acceptable? There are several in the sub-sections in Eskaya. Let me know. --Pinay06 23:50, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
Yehey! Congratulations!!! I'll find you more to do! hehehe! Well, I must say, I'm glad I found you! --Pinay06 00:15, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mazal Tov

Congrats on number 10,000! Live long and prosper. Dfass 00:21, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

I plan to live long, prosper, and edit, edit, edit. To do otherwise would be highly illogical. ;-) Chris the speller 00:32, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sandugo

Hey Chris! You still editing? I forgot about my own article Sandugo which is currently GA nominee. Please do the honors, too, of checking for misspelling. Maybe also Sandugo Festival? Thanks much! --Pinay06 04:13, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

really??? I can't believe in me anymore! hehehe Pinay06
Of course I need your help! Thanks, can you put that in the article talk page? hehehe Thanks and take care! --Pinay06 04:39, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Declaration of Independence Vandalism Repair

You got that pretty fast, man. Nicely done. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 130.207.39.100 (talk) 06:38, 13 December 2006 (UTC).

[edit] additional request

Hi Chris. How are you? Here's an additional list of articles for you: Panaghoy sa Suba, Dagohoy Rebellion, Francisco Dagohoy, Tamblot and Tamblot Uprising. Please do the honors...Thank you. --Pinay06 16:57, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I should write your counterpoint, too. You will have better context watching it (than I did) now that you've read about it. It's very patriotic! --Pinay06 18:48, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Smile

Guest818 has smiled at you! Smiles promote WikiLove and hopefully this one has made your day better. Spread the WikiLove by smiling to someone else, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend. Smile to others by adding {{subst:smile}}, {{subst:smile2}} or {{subst:smile3}} to their talk page with a friendly message. Happy editing!

re: corected speling on the B-17 page...thanck you.

Knot nesesary. Ime happie two asisst with a miner phlaw. Chris the speller 02:57, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
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