Talk:R.A.B.

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On February 7, 2007, R.A.B. was linked from Slashdot, a high-traffic website. All prior and subsequent edits are noted in the revision history.

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This article was nominated for deletion on 23 July 2005. The result of the discussion was keep (no consensus).

This is not a forum for discussing possible identities of R.A.B.. Any such messages will be deleted. If you do wish to speculate, please do so at a fan forum

Contents 1 Portugese Translator "leak" 1.1 More problems with the "Portugese leak" 2 Foreign Translations 3 multiple candidates

[edit] Portugese Translator "leak"

Before we can post any "allegations" that some supposed portugese translator (illegally) leaked the identity of R.A.B., we MUST have a Reliable Source that is fully Verifiable. We cannot use second and third hand rumours and speculation, even if it is sourced externally. There are a few relatively reliable sources in the Harry Potter realm - either J. K. Rowling as quoted in an interview or on her web site in FAQ or whatever, or from one of the relatively firm fan web sites that she has given the nod to publicly - like the HPANA, Leaky Cauldron, Mugglenet, etc. Just because someone makes a website called "harrypotterwizardnews.com" or something does NOT make it a reliable source for spectacular news and rumours. We cannot support claims to the identity of RAB without a reliable source. The Wikipedia policy is to favor verifiable information from reliable sources, over the "truth" - every time. The Wiki is not the place for spreading the latest theories and gossip. If anyone can come up with an acknowledged reliable source for the "Translator Leak", then please post it here for audit examination and traceability checks by the HP project team. Thanks! --T-dot 22:26, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Well, she has revealed information about the books before. And also, the news has now reached the Harry Potter Fan Zone website, and is beginning to spread [1]. I think that the HPFZ is a reliable enough source, although it does stress that it is still a rumour. I think that it should be re-added, as when I sourced that information, it was emphasized that it was a rumour. 0L1 Talk Contribs 18:23 8/11/2006 (UTC)

OK there's a very good start. What can be posted in our R.A.B. article then is to state exactly that: There are rumours that the Portugese Translator of the books either inadvertently or deliberately leaked the identity of R.A.B. as Regulus Black, and then provide a verifiable link directly to that information on the Fan Zone site (or other reliable source). That moves the "pure speculation" of the leak, into a reasonably reliable source that can be verified as existing by anyone. We cannot however make the claim that this Portugese Translator leak actually happened - unless the reliable source makes such a definitive claim. I hope this is starting to make sense to you. We can only state the facts here. The fact that the rumor exists is a fact, and we can say that, but the information within the rumour itself is not factual until proven, so we cannot suggest that it is factual by posting it as such. All the links I have seen refer to gossip and rumours that the Portugese Translator leaked the info, but nothing at all that is traceable from and to a Reliable and Verifiable Source. The sources that claimed to "know for a fact" that the Portugese translator leaked it, are unreliable blog pages and fan-created web sites and such. We would need to verify that the person claiming to be the official translator was in fact the official translator, and that the person in fact made the claims, in order to make the statement here that it happened. Otherwise we are dead in the water. --T-dot 21:51, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

The fact is the translator only had the published americian copy. They assumed RAB was Regulus Black. The publisher didn't pick it up or assumed it was RAB. Either way they didn't 'leak' it because they really don't know.

[edit] More problems with the "Portugese leak"

I think we are going to have to delete the information on the Portugese "leak" as unverifiable. The reference link provided is not in and of itself a reliable source. It simply refers to this report, which at this time says nothing about R.A.B., nor Regulus Black. It is a forum page, which anyone can add to, and is therefore also not a reliable source. Unless we can get a solid unrefutable proof of this claim, then I think it is going to have to go away for this article to remain encyclopedic. --T-dot (Talk | contribs) 18:07, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't know if anyone here speaks portugese, but if so they may be interested in this pdf file[2]. It was referenced by mugglenet. It appears to be a portugese magazine from november 2005 in which the translator is being interviewed and questioned, on page 15. The article appears to identify RAB as Regulus Arthur Black. middle of right column it says,

O dito medhalhao passa por umas quantas maos e acaba por ser roubado por alguem que assina RAB O nom do ladrao incognito foi decoberto pelos tradutores que pediram a editora inglesa que revelasse se era um homem ou uma mulher, por uma questao de pronomes. Quando a reposta voltou espantaram-se os tradutores por ver que Londres Ihes tinha dado um nome. O ladrao que assina RAB e Regulus Arthur Black, imao de Sirius Black, o padrinho de Harry. Para quem segue a historia e um dado importante.

which is plainly discussing this, but exactly what it says.... (yes, it says Arthur) Sandpiper 18:01, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Well that appears to be a verifiable and reliable source that cannot be confused with original research or fancruft. I also have no skills in Portugese reading, even though it sounds a little like French. Can you make a full or partial translation of the paragragh using a babelfish translator or something, and then post that along with the source link? I think this would make a lot of the Pottermaniacs pretty happy with us. Good work! --T-dot (Talk | contribs) 18:07, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

May I also note that this wasn't illegal, from MuggleNet: "A translator doesn't have to sign a contract of confidentiality... Translators can share that type of information as long as it's public. If JKR told her the middle name and the gender, it's public information." Just to clear things up. --Fbv65edel / ☑t / ☛c || 23:36, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Foreign Translations

I am a little confused by the discussion above. It was my impression that the proof of the identity of RAB depended upon cross referencing different foreign editions. As explained in the article, different editions translate names differently. Thus we start in English and have maybe 5 people with possible names. Then in language two one of these is eliminated. In language three a different one is eliminated, and so on. In no single language are all possible alternate candidates eliminated. It is a while since I saw this presented, but it was my recollection that the matter hinged on Scandinavian translations, not portugese ones. It is my further recollection that this process was completed perhaps 6 months after publication of the english editions. As such, Rowling knew that the puzzle would be conclusively solved relatively quickly after publication. Sandpiper 00:23, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

The "Portugese Leak" issue is regarding the alleged "leak" by the Portugese translator who supposedly told the Portugese Press and others that Rowling told her that Regulus is RAB, when she asked her about the RAB's sex (m/f); presumably to make sure she used the correct sex in verb forms or something in sentences where RAB appeared. The problem is that there are no current reliable sources available regarding this unprecedentedly phenomenal bit of information. The only source link provided goes back to a fan site that makes the claim and cites another fan forum web site, which is in Portugese, and says nothing at this time about Regulus or RAB. So we are stuck in an unverifiable speculation loop. I have a mind to delete it as unverifiable and in violation of wiki-policy, unless somebody is able to come up with a truly reliable source. The only reason I have not done so is I think it would spark another revert war, as it did before. --T-dot (Talk | contribs) 16:20, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] multiple candidates

Oh, and how did the original statement that hermione found only two wizards with the initials RAb turn into one that she found many wizards with these initials? Sandpiper 00:37, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

I am sure it was one of those 4am drive-by rapid-deployment multiple-edits, done by an HP troll who made his last edit look benignly innocent, making it difficult to spot by the Recent Changes Patrol and CVU squad. Please feel free to change it so it matches exactly the information provided in HBP. --T-dot (Talk | contribs) 16:37, 22 February 2007 (UTC)