Talk:Baltic

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Remark from Michael Tinkler (in the recent changes page): relinking Baltic the adjective to Baltic the Sea. Sometimes it's better to relink than to write a stub for a 'most wanted'.

That's true, but in this case, the word Baltic has more than one meaning. The use Baltic for from or of the Baltic Sea should of course be linked to the article on the sea. However, the use of Baltic for the three countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) may not be directly clear, and other countries also border the sea.

I just clarified this Michael. sjc

Yep, sometimes it's an adjective. But since Wikipedia isnt' a dictionary do we need to have links for adjectival meanings of words? When I revised Amber I de-linked the phrases 'Baltic Amber' and 'Prussian Amber' (Prussian, by the way, was there because [Amber] is a scarcely edited 1911 or even 1880 job) and instead linked the occurrence of Baltic Sea further down the entry. I suppose I don't MIND having entries that explain 'proper adjectives' (is that what they're called? I should remember - I've taught enough intro language). I can see Baltic Sea and Baltic States, but the list of countries that border the Baltic is on Baltic Sea already. --MichaelTinkler

I agree it's messy. But it does cover a lot of bases: if it was deemed to be crucial enough to need 13 or so links (to date), it's probably needed enough to get you from point A to point B somewhere else along the line. sjc

Ah, but at least 4 of those 'wanteds' really wanted Baltic Sea, and I gave it to them. If the rest of 'em want Baltic states, we could give 'em that.

I just knew you'd say that. Off you go then, quick as you can. PS Don't forget to catch all the future instances of Baltic as well :-) sjc

Well, that'll just give new folk a false sense of security, when they link Baltic *meaning* Baltic Sea or Baltic States and it works - and THEN we'll have to disambiguate them, because I don't think the software is up to the artificial intelligence job of a 'links that need disambiguating' page! MichaelTinkler

Fun, isn't it! But seriously, Michael, I wouldn't lose too much sleep about it. So long as everything points approximately in the right place it should be OK. Baltic points to Baltic States and Baltic Sea, so the disambiguation is managed at one slightly annoying remove. You and I have bigger problems in life, not the least of which being the perpetual and seemingly interminable Prussian situation... sjc

[edit] versus...

A popular mistake I have run into is people confusing "Balkan" and "Baltic". Would it be appropriate to make a note on the disambiguation page in this regard? I was just going to add the clarification but then thought I'd first solicit some editorial opinions. —PētersV (talk) 23:47, 10 December 2007 (UTC)