Talk:Main Page/Archive 56

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Archive 56


Contents

Selected anniversaries

Can an admin correct the first bullet in selected anniversaries? When Cuza was elected in both Moldova and Valahia, the pricipalities formed "The United Pricipalities of Romania", not "The Kingdom of Romania". The United Pricipalities became the Kingdom of Romania in 1881. Dmaftei 18:26, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing this out. "Kingdom" is certainly wrong. And the merger of the principalities was made official in 1862. I've changed that, too. -- PFHLai 22:09, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

DYK grammar

...that the Philharmonia Hungarica made the first complete recording of Haydn's symphonies, was an orchestra founded by Hungarian exiles and funded by the West German government during the Cold War?????

Something's definitely wrong with that. I suggest rearranging it:

...that the Philharmonia Hungarica, an orchestra founded by Hungarian exiles and funded by the West German government during the Cold War, made the first complete recording of Haydn's symphonies? —Keenan Pepper 00:54, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Queen Elizabeth II in a treehouse

I really think the words "tree-top hotel" in the selected anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II should be linked to Treetops Hotel, the specific hotel where she was staying, rather than the Treehouse disambiguation page (which leads to the rather lacking Tree house article). --Someones life 04:34, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Agree. I've changed it now. Shanes 04:44, 6 February 2006 (UTC)
  • It should really be linked as The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh as this was her style immediately before her accession.

Superbowl Results

I object to the Superbowl results being placed in the Latest News section. They are completely irrelevant to non-American football fans, or to anybody outside of the USA.

I wouldn't mind them there if you put results of all other major national sporting events, such as the British FA Cup, but you don't.

If they will not be removed from the news, I'd like a half decent explanation as to why not. I have seen it being said many times that the Latest News section is reserved for those pieces of news that actually affect people on more than a local level. -81.157.231.18 06:21, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

I haven't performed a thorough analysis, but other sporting events have been included there, such as major cricket tournaments. — Knowledge Seeker দ 06:44, 6 February 2006 (UTC)
How would the standard apply for the upcoming Olympics? What would be considered eligible for ITN? --Madchester 06:45, 6 February 2006 (UTC)
Well, we only ever have one news item on any topic on at any time, and none of the wins will have an entire article devoted to them, so presumably we'll only have a permalink to the main page of the Turin Olympics. -- user:zanimum
I (non american, never seen a game of American Football in my life) was the one who listed it. My motivation for doing so is that the super bowl is mentioned in news broadcasts in many parts of the world today (it's in every morning TV-news broadcast in Norway, to take a far away example), but also that the article on it is quite good. I expect many people both wanting to read it and enjoy reading it. And FWIW, the article it replaced was one about the Greek telephone tapping case 2004-2005, which probably isn't of that world wide interest either. For further discussions on ITN, go to and write on Template talk:In the news. Shanes 07:52, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Yes, it is better to keep ITN fresh with recent news stories, that interest at least 50 million people, than to keep it old but epic. -- user:zanimum

The Superbowl XL victory may not be of interest to some, but others are still interested. --Calvinsupergenius 19:22, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

It is more than likely that the majority of the readers on the site are American and that not enough readers are from anywhere else to warrant articles about these other sports. It's called "Majority Rules". I personally like big breasted blondes but don't see front page articles about them too often, however, I don't bitch about it because I know most people would think I'm an idiot if I did.

That's plain daft... we don't know that the majority of readers are from America. I could argue that it is more likely that a reader is from elsewhere in the World - there are after all more people outside the US than inside. Where readers come from should not be an argument in this case. Sure - mention the Super Bowl, but make sure the site represents other sporting events as well - the Cup of African Nations for instance. Rob cowie 13:05, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
Uh yeah, it's an "English" wikipedia, not an "American" wikipedia. - Trevor MacInnis (Talk | Contribs) 00:31, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
Inverse cultural snobbery. American sport is not worthy of mention in the news, even though it is the pinnacle game of one of the premier professional sports? I await with interest the reaction when Chelsea achieves the EPL title again, or A.Golfer wins the Masters. Lighten up people - sporting news is news, and major sporting news carries several days' of currency. Darcyj 00:53, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

As a Brit living in Edinburgh, I have stayed up for the last 5 years until 4 in the morning to watch the game. Before this I work up extra early on the Monday morning to find out the result so I could talk to my friends about it. There is a big amateur following in the UK. There are 2 established teams in Edinburgh and another 2 possibly starting up this year. There are over 25 established teams in Scotland that I can think of off the top of my head. The game is also watched by 1 in 7 people WORLDWIDE (that's including China, Russia, etc). To say this game isn't of interest to people out North America is planly nonsense. Sorry soap box moment over ;-)

Yeah, exactly. Leave cultural bias out of it. Just because it's an American sport doesn't mean it shouldn't be in the news. Anyway, being solely American certainly doesn't make it 'local'. 'Local' means "[City] high school wins [state] football championship" or something. --Torgo 10:52, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

Creating PDF document from Wiki Web Pages

I am trying to do a PDF Web capture from some of the web pages with Acrobat. For sime unknown reason, it does not work. Is it possible to do this? Are there any other tools I can use? Rodger.wills 09:41, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Where to ask a question --please direct your questions to Wikipedia:Reference desk --Ancheta Wis 11:09, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Stephen Harper Sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada

This should be on the main page. --Mb1000 16:38, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

I see it has now made it to ITN. However, the second line of text "Several of his cabinet selections prompt controversy" is commmentary, not news. Darcyj 00:57, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

They did prompt controversy. That is news. Jaderaid 23:32, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

Face Transplant

Don't you think that this historic event should get a mention on the main page? It's a landmark in medical history (to me, more important than the result of the superbowl) and surley important enough to be included. [1] Yellowmellow45 18:40, 6 February 2006 (UTC)


There seems to be no response. Extrodinary for an important medical breakthrough. Yellowmellow45 17:59, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

But there hasn't been another one, has there? It was in ITN when it happened (look in the archives), I'm fairly sure. We just aren't reporting 'today she said this'.16:09, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

It was news six months ago (or whenever). The first media conference of the patient is news of lesser importance. Darcyj 00:50, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

DYK misspelling

"Xian Xing Zhe" should be "Xianxingzhe" both for the article name and for the link on the main page. Besides being correct pinyin (it is a single morphological word), it is also many times more common on google (846 vs 35).

I moved the page, but DYK needs to be changed by an admin. Pissant 21:09, 6 February 2006 (UTC)
Done and done. Spelling's been corrected. --Madchester 22:55, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Thanks.

WikiPotter?

Hey, I posted a request on the Wikipedia discussion page, and as I was so rudely butted by some guy named Dan T, I will ask again: can't RcMurphy or whoever is in charge of Wikipedia create a page on the Harry Potter page or on the Main Page with updates on the new 2007 film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? Thanks. Janet 23:10, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Well to be honest I can only give you the same answer you got at Talk:Wikipedia. This is an encyclopedia, not a Harry Potter fansite. I'm sure there are other websites out there that can give you the information you are looking for in a lot better detail. -- Francs2000 23:10, 6 February 2006 (UTC)
The existing page already has way more info. than one would expect for a film that is not being released until next year. If you find any encyclopedic, verifiable info., please feel free to add it. --Nelson Ricardo 00:07, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
If you haven't been to MuggleNet before, I would highly recommend it. If you're looking for up-to-the minute HP info, it's worth a look. I also hear their podcasts are good.--Uncultured 05:12, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
I'd recommend mugglepride.com. they started up a PotterPedia but they are sort of lacking in members

Bob Marley

Bob Marley day is a Christian holiday celebrated today, also his birthday. This should be on the selected anniversaries. Rmpfu89 23:42, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Where on the Bob Marley page says it's a Christian holiday ? --64.229.205.150 18:24, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

-Sorry about that, if you look in the history, I wrote Rasta. Someone changed it. Rmpfu89 20:29, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

No need to apologise, Rmpfu89. The prankster was User:216.195.166.23. The change was made at 1:35, 2006 February 10 (UTC).
I've added a link at February 6#Holidays and observances for now. Please revise that as needed. Thanks.-- PFHLai 21:28, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

Sino-German cooperation picture

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Hi, I was wondering who chose the picture for the main page? Based on the talk page of tomorrow's FA, I thought the first picture of the article would have been chosen. Plus, the picture of Japanese puppet Wang Jingwei having a toast with Nazis in 1941 was well after the period of intense Sino-German cooperation, which was focused on military and industrial cooperation in the 1930s. Am I missing something here? BlueShirts 00:07, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

  • The clip-art type picture is licensed fair use, and it is against policy to use such images on the Main Page. That's why I changed it.--Pharos 00:15, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
    • Is it possible to change it to any other picture besides the one currently on main page. Maybe to the one with a soldier decked in german gear or the one of chinese students? They're more representative of the theme of the article. If not then that's okay. Thanks for the explaination thouogh. BlueShirts 00:23, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
      • OK, fair point. I just chose the Wang Jingwei image because the ROC and Nazi flags were clearly visible. I've put the soldier up now instead. Thanks.--Pharos 00:43, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Can somebody change the current soldier picture to two soldiers shaking hands with each other? It accurately captures the spirit of the article. Plus, that picture is not a clip art! It's from ROC (Republic of China) Ministry of National Defense Archives, not from any clip art source or software! And I don't think it's against policy to put that on main page. 171.65.67.41 01:05, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Man, I kinda like that picture, it's really cool. :( OK, I've got 3 photos on the right, I think they show the "cooperation" more clearly, the helmets and stuff... Choose one if you like, to replace the current one which looks a tad too ambiguous? -- Миборовский U|T|C|M|E|Chugoku Banzai! (forgot to sign)

Why not Image:Junkers 1933.jpg? That seems to fit. Elle vécut heureuse à jamais (Be eudaimonic!) 00:57, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Hi Mibrovsky, I think the soldiers shaking hands is still my first choice because it captures the theme of the article. However, if we can't put that up (clip art reason, I don't know), the one with soldiers lining up facing forward as if marching is also very good (it's pretty symbolic). 171.65.67.41 01:05, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Yeah I like the second one. Or the Junkers aircraft pic. -- Миборовский U|T|C|M|E|Chugoku Banzai! 01:08, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
I changed to the Junkers now as the other ones are not in the article.--Pharos 01:11, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
Say Mib, do explain why such relevant photos aren't added to the article in the first place. Can't hurt, right? (Or at least one of the armed forces of the ROC pages.) :D Elle vécut heureuse à jamais (Be eudaimonic!) 02:23, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

thanks for the changes guys! BlueShirts 02:28, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

The FA keeps getting sabotaged with crap, any ways to lock this article for the time being? 128.12.193.184 08:56, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

selected anniverseries

I believe the European Union was first called, "The European Community. Should go like The European Community (now the European Union) ..." schyler 02:00, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

  • The Maastricht Treaty was actually the agreement among members of the European Community that led to the creation of the European Union, so I think the current wording is appropriate--Pharos 02:07, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
  • Ok. Just checking. schyler 03:32, 7 February 2006 (UTC)


"false pretenses"

i'm fairly certain the use of "false pretenses" in the "did you know" piece "...that the expression Children of Lieutenant Schmidt has become a Russian cliché for con men who use false pretenses in order to extract money from the victims?" is redundant. a quick check of 3 online dictionaries confirms this. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pretense http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pretense http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/PRETENSE

I think this is the most common error in the english language... Dreamer.redeemer 04:37, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Muhammad cartoon ambiguity

"Five people die in protests over the Muhammad cartoons in Afghanistan."

This is a somewhat ambiguous statement: were the Muhammad cartoons in Afghanistan or did the five people die there? Might it be better stated:

"Five people die in Afghanistan in protests over the Muhammad cartoons."

or, better,

"Five people die in Afghanistan in protests against the Muhammad cartoons."?--Ed's Babe 05:01, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Sino-German cooperation redirect

The "more..." link to Sino-German cooperation is a redirect to Sino-German cooperation (1911-1941). κаллэмакс 10:33, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Fixed. Elle vécut heureuse à jamais (Be eudaimonic!) 10:48, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Wikispecies Logo

The Wikispecies logo on the main page at the bottom is a low quality reproduction. Would someone mind replacing the picture with the current logo? Yorktown1776 02:23, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

This is based upon the SVG version of the official logo, which is better suited for display at the 35-pixel width (and a better match with the other sister project icons) than the three-dimensional version. Simplicity != low quality. —David Levy 02:35, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

DYK that William Shakespeare was an avid gardener

This is an unproven and misleading claim. Having it displayed prominently on the front page in such a manner gives credence to the claim. It's a profoundly controversial statement which distorts the article which is about themed gardens rather than Shakespeare himself. SilkTork 09:09, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

I second that sentiment.--Bkwillwm 15:58, 8 February 2006 (UTC)
The children have been tainted!   freshgavin TALK    02:50, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

DYK uninformative

The following DYK is qutie easilt missunderstandable "...La Vie en Rose, the Anaheim Electronics docking ship, is named so due to the fact that it opens up like a blooming rose, when not docked with a spaceship?"

Maybe someone should note that this apart of _anime_. maybe the "the fictional Anaheim Electronics docking ship."

Gillis 16:40, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

Fixed. Thanks for the suggestion. — BrianSmithson 16:52, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

La Vie En Rose

Can we somehow indicate in the blurb for La Vie en Rose that this is a fictional, Gundam, or Anime Universe? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Bear77 (talk • contribs) 16:48, 8 February 2006 (UTC).

Mary, of Scots

Ahm. Please. Kindly change that clumsy "Mary I of Scotland" to Mary, Queen of Scots. No civilized person uses that formulaic Mary I of Scotland - and all who have here participated the naming discussions of royals, know that it is just a systematic naming convention for article headings and in this case differs much from what is the actual usage in literature etc. 217.140.199.247 21:35, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

A bit too late, but done.—Ëzhiki (ërinacëus amurënsis) 23:19, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

Someone needs to check the server.

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The above text is on the top of the main page. It looks like something went wrong. Dposse 02:04, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

I saw that too. It lasted for several minutes and also appeared on the page I clicked. Bobak 02:36, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
It has been fixed. – ABCDe✉ 03:00, 9 February 2006 (UTC)


What was the problem? Dposse 03:11, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Mount St Helens

Care must be taken when condensing the text of main articles to produce the Featured Article text.

In today's (9 February 2006) example, a casual reader will read that people were killed, bridges and rails and roads destroyed "causing a massive debris avalanche."

Obviously, it was not the property destruction and loss of life which caused the avalanche, but the editing-down of the main article has generated this false connection. In the main article, there is a sentence break so that the context is clear: "... highway were destroyed. The eruption caused a massive debris avalanche ...". Darcyj 08:56, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing this out; on your advice, I think I've fixed the wording now.--Pharos 16:10, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

I fixed the typo in the main article, but it's still shown here....there needs to be a period after the St in the name of the Lord St Helens. It should be St. Helens

I think this is just the form used for the Baron St Helens British peerage title; it's understandable that the volcano's modern name has a slightly different punctuation.--Pharos 21:17, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Someone has vandalised the Mt St Helen's page, or one of the templates, inserting a picture. I can't see how they did it, or how to undo it. Anyone? Carcharoth 18:16, 9 February 2006 (UTC)


Someone either has to remove the offending image immeditly or Remove the link from the main page immediltly. THanks —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.155.121.101 (talk • contribs) 19:14, 9 February 2006 (UTC).

Ashurah

It is a misconception that Ashurah is exclusive to Shi'a Islam. While Shi'as are more public about their observance, Sunni Muslims too observe the day. Pepsidrinka 18:32, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Thanks; I've fixed this.--Pharos 21:07, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

I believe the Sunni and Shia Muslims observe Ashurah for different reasons. The Sunnis to commemorate Moses saving the tribes of Israel, the Shias to commemorate the death of Husayn grandson of the Prophet. frankiemacdee

Not the only active volcano in the continental US

Perhaps the author means "contiguous" US--Mt. Augustine is blasting away in Alaska. Check out the Alaska Volcano Observatory. 137.229.42.134 20:55, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

The "Continental United States" in normal use excludes Alaska.--Pharos 21:24, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
Hi, you talk about 'normal', I'm interested in what could be expected of the typical reader to normally think when they read 'only' volcano. I would suggest that at best, its technically accurate, but in normal use is misleading. There are many serious threats by volcanoes in the area mentioned. The threats are not just by volcanic activity, but perhaps even more serious are lahars, often a result of heavy rain and/or snow, combined with relatively minor earthquake. Mt Hood and Mt Ranier are two examples. If the article is about a volcano, and a threatening mountain, then perhaps the geographic area of the relevant tectonic plate is more useful to the world readership of Wiki. That could be the Pacific Rim, or 'ring of fire' on which I also live. We have 'only one' active volcano (Mt Ruapehu) on our mainland, but many areas of geothermal activity, and a particularly serious lahar threat (Mt Taranaki) to the inhabitants. There are many more in Alaska, Mexico, Hawaii, Japan, and so on. The actual threat is poorly understood; the mountains are created of material with diverse composition, layers of loose 'slippery' material that can accelerate and travel large distances under the force of gravity. No volcanic activity is necessary. Millions of humans are now living in the danger zones, a fact that is not apparent to a casual reader of this article. 'Americas most dangerous Volcano' is said to be Mt Rainier, [2] I acknowledge the difficulty of reducing the article for the main page though. Mozasaur 22:42, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
I am not an American, and I interpreted "continental United States" to mean the 48 contiguous states. Darcyj 00:45, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
Heh—I am an American, and I interpreted "continental United States" to to include Alaska. I can accept that the non-Alaska interpretation is more prevalent, but the usage strikes me as bizzarre at best; the illogic of the usage could certainly be confusing to both non-Americans and Americans alike. If it were still up I would reword it, but I think it better to use less ambiguous terms in the future. — Knowledge Seeker দ 04:59, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
I read the article on continental and I also see it pointless to argue, even though 'continental' is usually applied to entire land masses larger than islands, ie is Australia an Island or a continent? whatever, thanks guys, good to read. I am concerned though, that debating use of terms is very much less important than the danger to human life of those other mountains, and my point was more that the term 'only volcano' leads the readers' focus away from that important fact. The band played on while the Titantic went down. The positive response would be to nominate Mt Rainier for article of the day... Mozasaur 23:23, 10 February 2006 (UTC)


By the technical meaning of the word though, Continental US refers to the 49 states, excluding hawaii. Contiguous refers to the 48 states, excluding alaska and hawaii. Alaska is therefore continental, but not contiguous. Hawaii is neither continental nor contiguous. ⇒ SWATJester Ready Aim Fire! 05:02, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

ITN Bird flu

Oh dear. Millions die every year in Africa of malaria and In The News carries a single case of influenza contracted from an annoying flapping squawking thing that's only a decapitation away from getting intimately acquainted with my saucepan and a jar of Patak's Rogan Josh. Sorry, this isn't really a serious complaint, as I know that ITN covers 'what's in the news' rather than 'what's actually important', just a general gripe. Carry on. --Malthusian (talk) 23:31, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

From the article:
The current projected worst case scenario for a H5N1 pandemic is somewhere around 150,000,000 human deaths directly due to H5N1 infection.
There's a reason for why the bird flu is in the news and has been for quite some time, now. Read the article. Shanes 23:39, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
Nah, sorry, I'm not going to read the article. I got tired of that particular prophecy of doom months ago. Can't we have a different one? The flesh-eating virus that was going to destroy us all was cool, let's give it a revival tour. Or how about a new disease? I suggest marrow-devouring acute respiratory dromedary tonsilitis. It's transmitted by thinking, so everyone is advised to stop thinking now in order to contain the epidemic that will surely kill 125 billion people (a side-effect of the disease is that all sufferers become pregnant and within two days give birth to at least ten babies which immediately explode). If you can't keep yourself from thinking, try watching the news, which experts say is a very potent antidote. --Malthusian (talk) 18:53, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
love it.. creativity is likely to get deletion here though.. such an in-human representation of the world, news has only one function with the network majors, increased revenue from advertisers reaching greater numbers by designer sentences in headlines. The science is relegated to whatever supports the increase, for or against, it's all showbiz now. I havent really looked for the science, where is it? what does it say? if it's NEW is it somehow more important? even though millions are hurt and dying of lots of other stuff, if its NEW then we are exhorted to take more notice? principles of chaos indicate that some of this smaller activity may swing upwards and overwhelm us, but what about the existing overwhelming activity? a significant reduction to the death and injury by car/water/fire/self would be more interesting news to me, why havent we got those under control in an age of technology and personal power? some things appear to be inverted in our society, and simple logical reasoning can be quite useful to the individual, as opposed to blind belief in the media presentations. Laughter and joy is a great alternative to contrived doom and gloom, and more likely to sustain life on our planet. I hope the bird flu is a fizzer, i dont know what to believe though, due to insufficient data. Mozasaur 02:42, 11 February 2006 (UTC)
  • I agree with the first poster, it is a sensationalized disease that gets associated with words like "deadly" and "pandemic" for dramatic news coverage. And if we persent it in such a way we contribute to a biased and leading interpretation. It is a small threat when compaired to the likes of malaria. - Jaf
I thought the bird flu is considered news because it's a new threat in Africa. Malaria is an existing threat that we all know about already. Both can be "deadly"... etc. -- PFHLai 17:00, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 205.251.151.139 (talk • contribs) 02:11, 11 February 2006 (UTC).

I took out the word 'deadly'. Hope everyone is happy now. -- PFHLai 07:56, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

Plame Affair

to the National Journal, Scooter Libby has claimed that Vice President Dick Cheney authorized him to use the classified information to discredit a Bush critic. Becd22 01:31, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

So ? What does this have to do with Wikipedia ? If this is big news, please post it on Current events with a newslink. If there are articles that need updating, please do so. When articles related to this news story are well updated and you think they should be featured in the In The News section on MainPage, please post a suggested headline on Wikipedia:In the news section on the Main Page/Candidates. Please note that Wikipedia is not a news service, and that postings on Talk:Main Page (this page here) should only be about things on the MainPage. Thanks. -- PFHLai 17:10, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

POTD

I realise i may have missed the discussion along the line, but has the featured picture of the day stopped appearing on the main page? i used to look forward to it more than the featured article!!!!

The picture of the day appears on the weekends; during the week, it's "Did you Know". Raul654 06:21, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Olympics on MainPage ?

The Athens Games in 2004 had its own section on MainPage between ITN & DYK. Will the Turin Olympics be featured on the MainPage, too ? Just curious. -- PFHLai 17:14, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

I think our Wild West days of altering the basic structure of the MainPage for a special event are probably behind us. See my alternate proposal at Wikipedia:In the news section on the Main Page/Candidates.--Pharos 17:21, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Authority and constitution notice

Following on from a discussion here, I would like to propose that the following text (or words to the same effect) features prominently on the main page, to make it very clear to newbies the basis on which third party participation on Wikipedia is tolerated:

"Wikipedia is not a democracy. Jimbo Wales has ultimate authority on any matter. This is a foundation issue of all Wikimedia projects, and is beyond debate. It is unacceptible to defy his orders."

These are direct quotes from Administrators and I have no reason to believe they are not true. It they are true, this should be disclosed in the most forthright manner to all comers. ElectricRay 18:08, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Of course it's true, but since when is truth a good thing? --Nelson Ricardo 21:31, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
depends what you mean by good, doesn't it? ElectricRay 22:49, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
Something editors here often forget is that not everyone who comes here wants to edit Wikipedia, and they certainly don't care about our constitutional issues. --Malthusian (talk) 17:04, 11 February 2006 (UTC)
They'll care even less about this notice, therefore. That's no reason at all not to post the notice. A lot of people - those who donate intellectual capital to this place, will want to know about this. ElectricRay 01:05, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
Space on the Main Page is limited. We should only put stuff on it that nearly everyone cares about. --Malthusian (talk) 18:20, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
Well, you and I clearly differ on how an important issue we think this is, then, don't we? ElectricRay 23:27, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

Picture of the Day

Heads up: the picture of the day on Sunday is due to be an illustration of Gosper's glider gun in Conway's Game of Life - see Wikipedia:Today's second feature/February 12, 2006. This is the first time we had an animation here, so no doubt this will cause some fun and games :) Past experience has shown that it is best not to rescale animated gifs, although this one actually seems to scale quite nicely. -- Solipsist 19:07, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

It looks good on my screen. Good luck, tonight (midnight UTC time). :-) -- PFHLai 20:32, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

Picture of the day is repeated twice

Picture of the day is repeated twice

I was going to say that.  --OneWeirdDude 00:17, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

subsocial on POD

I think "eusocial" is meant? ("subsocial" doesn't appear on the linked page as a word.) Sdedeo (tips) 00:19, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

Actually I think subsocial was correct in the original article, but we don't have a link for that an although "eusocial" is a more sophisticated level of social insects it was the closest link I could find. -- Solipsist 21:06, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

Jean Genet

Perhaps theatre lovers have heard of this French play writer, belonging to the 20th century.An effort to translate one of his popular, probably most controvential plays "The Maids" was first taken when I tried to create the role of "Madam" on Tehran stages , directed by a very close , talented friend of mine to no avail.

As the play includes certain social aspects ,restrictly in contrast with my country's norms and modesty, ethics and religious beliefs, it required major senurship , with which the director did not agree and it was eventually bounded from being shown.

Having rehearsed the play for six months,the group of four torn apart, except for two of them who stuck together for another three years, editing and translating the play from French and English for the second time after almost 40 years.

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Nmalekan (talk • contribs) 07:17, 11 February 2006 (UTC).

That's excellent! It's a great play. Have you seen our articles on Jean Genet and The Maids? Natgoo 11:28, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

two spots events on main page?

Why do we have two sports events on the ITN section? --HamedogTalk|@ 12:42, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

News just happen that way. There's no pre-set schedule.... :-) Is there a quota on sports ? Or news about Africa ? If there are other good articles in Wikipedia updated with big news stories, please suggest a headline for ITN and post it on the ITN candidates page. Thanks. -- PFHLai 20:56, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

Can someone please fix the portal link font?

Someone over at Template:MainPageIntro seems to have broken it... --81.104.41.42 12:52, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

Broken ? What's wrong with it ? I ain't sure what needs to be fixed over there. It looks fine to me.... -- PFHLai 20:23, 11 February 2006 (UTC)
It isn't really broken, just inconsistent with the near-identical template on Wikipedia:Quick_index. I've always though the two templates were supposed to display the same menu. --81.104.41.42 21:27, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

Egyptian tomb ITN

Perhaps change it to "An Ancient Egyptian tomb, the first found since that of Tutankhamun"? Surely we've found a tomb somewhere since Tooty's, and 'new' is a bit misleading and redundant. --Malthusian (talk) 18:00, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

I agree. I've changed the word "new" to "ancient". -- PFHLai 20:20, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

Today's featured picture

The headline for "Today's featured picture" currently appears twice on the main page. -Siradia 00:11, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

Fixed. RexNL 00:22, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

How can you miss this?

This isn't really much of a topic for discussion, but on February 12, wikipedia failed to notice that it was Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Unbelievable, considering some of the other obscure (yet still interesting) anniversaries they recognized. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.231.142.200 (talk • contribs) .

Thank you for your comment. I'll make sure that gets listed. :) Remember that many of our users and admins are from other countries, and may not have noticed or known this. --Phroziac . o º O (♥♥♥♥ chocolate!) 04:10, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
As many trivia nuts will know, Charles Darwin was also born on that very same day as Lincoln in 1809. But I guess one birth day anniversary for 1809 is enough. Shanes 08:06, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
I'm American, but how much Lincoln do we need? The featured article is the Gettysburg Address! --Nelson Ricardo 15:44, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
Someone's added Lincoln's birthday but forgot to bold his name. —Cuiviénen (Cuivië) 16:51, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
Fixed. Sango123 (talk) 16:54, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
Why list Abraham Lincoln's but not Charles Darwin's birthday? I do not know where these anniversaries are drawn from, but perhaps the list can be improved. 198.60.22.24 14:24, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
As a matter of policy for Selected anniversaries, mav noted that we should put in birthdates etc only as a last resort, when selecting an anniversary. Preference is for notable events, and also observed days for cultures/societies/religions, when appropriate. Thus the date of the Gettysburg address might have been selected rather than the date of Lincoln's birth; he wouldn't have been notable as an infant. Likewise, the date of publication of Darwin's evolution book would have been selected over Darwin's birth date. --Ancheta Wis 15:48, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

No, it wasn't missed. It was removed. Sorry, we don't do birthdays on the MainPage, except for special 100th, 200th, etc. birthdays of very notable people. Lincoln & Darwin will probably be on the MainPage in 2009 for their 200th birthdays. For a list of people born on the same day, please see February 12#Births. Furthermore, Lincoln's Birthday is a redirect to Presidents' Day, which will be on the MainPage on February 20. If the Lincoln's Birthday page actually has some good content, the link may be next to Darwin Day on the MainPage today. But I doubt there will be such a page. Besides Illinois, where is Lincoln's Birthday still a holiday ? Most of the United States aren't observing this former holiday on February 12, so we should just have Presidents' Day on the February 20 on the MainPage. -- PFHLai 17:39, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

Exactly. The Selected Anniversaries section on the main page is for notable events and holidays. The birth of very few people is notable in and of itself except, of course, to their family. What people like Lincoln did that is historically significant is what we list. Simply being born is not notable ; everybody who has ever lived was born. --mav 21:47, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

Today's featured picture > image?

I propose changing "Today's featured picture" to say "Today's featured image", since several past images (including today's) have been animated, and since picture redirects to image. Jokestress 08:12, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

Winter Olympics section...

There should be a link to the 2006 Wintr Olympics somewhere on the page. The section right now has a little bit about the Biathlon, but I would think a lot of people would want more results or information about the event, making a direct link approprate. 24.224.143.142 20:20, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

The sub-heading "2006 Winter Olympics" already links to that article. --Malthusian (talk) 23:26, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

There is one website: http://www.nbcolympics.com

Northeast Blizzard.

There should be a article on the Blizzard in the northeast of the United States that happened on 2/12/06. I mean, New York City got a record amount of snow. i think it would be cool to see it on the front page...

Dposse 23:24, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

  • Well, it may not be on the main page (yet), but if you want more information on the storm, go here. --G VOLTT 23:31, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

thanks, GVOLTT. I just kinda wanna see that on the front page. Dposse 23:46, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

It's not very 'world news worthy' though, I doubt that anyone outside the United States would be interested. Yellowmellow45 23:51, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

I've seen non-world news worthy stories on there before. For example, the Samuel Alito nomination. Dposse 00:47, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

  • However, the US Supreme Court has a much larger impact in world events, no? :^) --Niteice 03:28, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
Not really, no. --Descendall 05:00, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

Older DYK?

Is it just me, or is the current DYK identical to one we had last week? 70.28.70.5 00:34, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

Historic surrender of the British

Perhaps this would be better worded as surrender of 'British forces' or something similar as the current wording seems to me to give the impression that Britain surrendered to Japan rather than simply a specific Army of the former capitulating.

An Siarach

Also, it should say "that the Old Ford Motor Factory, Ford's first assembly plant in Southeast Asia, built in 1941" instead of "that the Old Ford Motor Factory, Ford's first assembly plant in Southeast Asia and built in 1941." – Minh Nguyễn (talk, contribs) 02:28, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney shooting a man hunter is hardly note worthy news. Sir Jimmy 03:44, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

The Vice President of the most powerful nation in the world shot a man in the face with a shotgun. If that's not newsworthy, I don't know what is. --Descendall 04:57, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
That is totally biased. Just because its the most powerful nation doesn't mean every tiny element has to be stated. How is the ACCIDENTAL shooting of a man while hunting good news? It does not effect the public in anyway. --Sir Jimmy 06:10, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
The vice presidency is not a "tiny element" of American society. --Descendall 16:55, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
Definatly news! And accidentaly should be changed to 'accidentaly'! Adjam 06:41, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
Not important at all. unless the person who got shot dies and Cheney is sentenced to jail to something. Do you think all the media around is bringing "exclusive coverage" of the "accidental shot." Agree with Sir Jimmy. DaGizzaChat © 06:46, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
Google News. Search. "Dick Cheney". Shooting story. 827 related. Thus news. End of story. Harro5 06:48, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a news outlet. That's what Wikinews is for. This incident is wholly irrelevant to his conduct as Vice President.--Pharos 06:56, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

WIKIPEDIA IS A NEWS SOURCE. There are entries for recent news. The media directs readers here for recent news. Therefore it is a news source. Wikinews is an outlet for original reporting. Lotsofissues 09:11, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A NEWS SOURCE. It's just an encyclopedia, not a news outlet. The media directs readers here for background information on things related to recent news, but this doesn't make Wikipedia a news source. Wikinews is not part of Wikipedia, but a sister project of Wikipedia. --64.229.229.32 15:56, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

A news source is a source that readers go to for recent news. Ppl go to Wikipedia for that. How is it not a news source? Or how about you struggle for another definition? Lotsofissues 02:31, 14 February 2006 (UTC)
I guess we can't stop ppl from using an online encyclopedia in ways it is not intended for. There are much better news sources elsewhere. Wikipedia is probably as good a news source as Dick Cheney is a hunter. --64.229.176.226 08:15, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

Regardless, the incident is non-notable, even if the figure involved is important. --Madchester 18:39, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

How can Cheney shooting a man in the face not be news? This site is unreliable enough as it is, at least show something funny and somewhat amusing. And of course it's news. The man was standing behind Cheney and somehow was mistaken for a quail. Is that not suspicious in any way to you people? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Noisylax (talk • contribs) 13:52, 2006 February 16 (UTC).

2006 Olympics

According to http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/torino2006/medals and, ironically, 2006_Winter_Olympics_medal_count, Norway actually leads the medals race with 7. Some quick googling failed to produce an authoritative winnings table. If there is such a source, someone please provide a link. Thank you. --Uncle Bungle 04:28, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

- if you noticed that Norway does have 7 in the medal tally, except the Wiki medal tally is based on gold/silver/bronze counts rather than the total number of medals. Sir Jimmy 04:34, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, who leads depends on how you count. As the 2006 Winter Olympics medal count article states, the ranking here is sorted by first number of gold, then silver, etc, as this is the most widely used way to sort it, and also the ranking used on the oficial Turin games site, http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/MDL/MDL_Big.html Shanes 04:39, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
It doesn't change the fact that "leads the medal count" is an inaccurate summary and contradicts the article. --Grocer 06:34, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

It seems to me that most places that sort by Golds first use the term "Medal Standings" rather than "Medal Count" (ie. tsn.ca/olympics). I would also dispute that this is the most widely used method to sort them, as most of the sites with a lot of coverage (CNNSI.com, ESPN.com, NBC.com, CBC.ca, Sportsnet.ca) all seem to be going by total medals (although thats a debate for the medal count page) Priester 06:38, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

Hopefully Norway will win another gold soon to make this "who leads" dispute mute ;-). But I changed "count" to "standings" on the main page now. Thanks for the sugestion. Shanes 06:46, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
I noticed it changed pretty quick and thought I was going crazy, and that it may have been that all along :) Good Job! Priester 06:53, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
Yes, 'standings' is more appropriate than 'counts', but isn't it a bit too early to tally the medals after merely 2 days of competition ? I've replaced it with some results. -- PFHLai 08:06, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

Where is the news on the British troops' abuse?

did i miss it or do ppl think it outdated, since everyone is talking about the british troops' abuse of iraqis. The video is what i'm talking about. there is no mention of it in the fron page. plz explain. i don't have time right now. This is 'important to create this page if it does not exist already. Tx Idleguy 08:25, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

Also missing are the recently discovered royal tomb from the 2nd or 3rd century BC in Pella, Greece, Ibrahim al-Jaafari nominated for Iraqi Prime Ministership, René Préval leading in the Haitian Presidential election by a wide margin ...... -- 64.229.229.32 16:04, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

WIKI PEDIA DOSNT TEACH ME NOTHING

So it teaches you something then? Glad to hear it. Yellowmellow45 18:41, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

About the missing news sotries, I think there is a bug or something with the Wikipedia servers (i'm just guessing because I've had error messages all day) Yellowmellow45 18:45, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

Well to me that sounds like a current event, and as someone stated above, "wikipedia is not a news source," therefore it should not be mentioned. I Say Good-day, bitches —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Noisylax (talk • contribs) 14:00, 2006 February 16 (UTC).

Glorious Revolution entry

Surley the point isn't that James Francis Edward Stuart didn't take the throne, but that James II (his father) was deposed for being a Catholic. It was only after the death of James II that opponents of the revolution proclaimed J.F.E. Stuart the rightful king. Also Mary was the younger James' half sister, not his sister. A Geek Tragedy 17:37, 13 February 2006 (UTC) 17:15, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

I Want to Hold Your Hand

How cute: Is today's choice of featured article a nod towards St. Valentine's Day? Just as well that I Want Your Sex hasn't been written up to featured standard... -- Solipsist 08:30, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

"I Want Your What" ???? I begin to worry what Featured Image would be displayed on the MainPage when a Valentine's Day happens to be on a weekend ...... -- PFHLai 22:52, 14 February 2006 (UTC)
Yes, it was a special request. Deltabeignet 05:28, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

Make this page your homepage

I think we should have a link allowing people to make wikipedia their homepage. It would only need to be minor and down the bottom. --HamedogTalk|@ 10:05, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

People can choose do this anyway without the need for a link. Normally under: Tools > Options > Homepage. KILO-LIMA 13:35, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

The Badger Syndrome

The Badger Syndrome, also known as MSS, is a rare disorder mostly in the Southeast Regions of the United States (such as Florida or Georgia). MSS is transfered by prions that exist in the saliva of squirrels.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Venuamar (talk • contribs) 17:22, February 14, 2006 (UTC).

If you have some more information, and can provide reliable sources about this, please feel free to create an article on the subject. Please be aware that Wikipedia has a policy on verification of information, and if a google search for "Badger Syndrome" is any indication, an article on the subject will be quickly deleted as a hoax unless proper references are provided. --Allen3 talk 17:44, 14 February 2006 (UTC)
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