User talk:Bfinn

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I'm sorry that it has taken a month to welcome you properly.

Gareth Hughes 18:03, 5 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Double clarinet

I removed the Wikilink to Bass clarinet because the Wikipedia article doesn't mention the organ stop. I thought of adding a reference, but couldn't immediately see where it should go. If the stop were to be mentioned, then the link could be returned, but otherwise I think that it's more misleading than helpful. Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 21:51, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Sequencer Groups

I'll just move the discussion on this over to the talk portion of the sequencers page and set myself to watch that since I think it'll be easier to track there.

[edit] RE:Queen Mum

Hi Ben. Don't worry about, I knew you had good intentions and you didn't mean any harm. Best thing is just to compare the two edits and copy in what you want in the new version. Happy editing! Thanks :-) Craigy (talk) 21:49, July 25, 2005 (UTC)

Ben,

Please be careful with your additions. An encyclopædia has to use neutral sources and neutral language. Some of your edits weren't NPOV. And the article produced by the Socialist Worker is from a comment page. It is blatently POV and would never be used as a source for anything any more than an editorial on the Sun or The Telegraph would be suitable as a source. Commentaries, columns and editorials are by their nature POV. That is the whole point to them. All they can be used for is evidence of an opinion, not evidence of a fact, and as the article does not use editorials we can hardly use one from a minority publication with its own anti-royalist agenda.

NPOV can be tricky. Don't tell the reader what to think. Use neutral language that lets them reach their own conclusion. A lot of your language was more editorial and comment than NPOV and so is not encyclopædic.

FearÉIREANNImage:Ireland coa.png\(caint) 22:33, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

No problem, Ben. The problems with the Socialist Worker piece are threefold:
  1. Publications such as it tend to be agenda-driven so are usually best avoided as sources. (The same is true of republican publications, monarchist publications, extreme left, extreme right, etc.) Basically they are propaganda publications aimed at their own members and rarely subscribe to any pretence at NPOV. In contrast even the most biased mainstream publication tends to have to temper its bias to get a general readership.
  2. A comment column is invariably even more POV than the rest of the publication.
  3. Comment columns rarely give any sources whatsoever and often just reflect the personal twist on events of the author. (I've written columns and you are expected to push an agenda, by painting the message as starkly, and indeed as unfairly against those you are criticising, as possible.) So unless there was a section on comments in columns, commentaries and editorials are usually best avoided.

FearÉIREANNImage:Ireland coa.png\(caint)

[edit] style wars

I've proposed a possible solution to end the style wars. you opinions are most welcome. The discussion is at Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style (biographies)/Style War proposed solution. FearÉIREANNImage:Ireland coa.png\(caint) 03:46, 11 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Linda's Website

Linda Moulton Howe's website ishttp//:www.earthfiles.com[1]

Thought I might give you a buzz, and give you the above website. Seen the article.Martial Law 07:33, 1 November 2005 (UTC) :)

Can you merge the Article:"Earthfiles" with your article:"Linda Moulton Howe" ? By the way, she is in Albuquerque,NM. Go to her Contact Info. area, click on that to see her "snail mail",Phone and FAX No.#s.Martial Law 08:03, 3 November 2005 (UTC) :)

Her Contact info. is designated as "Contact Us"Martial Law 08:08, 3 November 2005 (UTC) :)

[edit] Premature obits, Paul is Dead

Sorry about that one, didn't see that "interminable rumors" linked to Paul is Dead. Staxringold 14:03, 24 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Talk:Telepathy

Ive added a response to one your comments. -Psyche|logy 23:22, 27 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Jello Biafra

I don't know which media outlets, if any, mentioned it. I know that Biafra himself mentioned it, and made fun of it, on at least one of his spoken word albums over the past several years. --Cjmarsicano 16:05, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Britain in Europe: thanks :-)

Thanks for this [2]. Its nice to remember that Britain is part of Europe... William M. Connolley 11:39, 2 January 2006 (UTC).

[edit] Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

Although I agree with your reasoning in making changes to the criticism section, I don't think that your changes have improved the POV of the article- it now looks like one big attack on EBL. Instead I think the section should be rewritten to be more encyclopaedic, and rely less on claims in supposedly controversial books. Astrotrain 08:37, 10 January 2006 (UTC)


I concur. The criticisms' sources do need qualification. It seems that their only source Kitty Kelley's The Royals. See "Kitty Kelley: Colonoscopist to the stars" (http://www.slate.com/id/2106746/).

Michael Crowley, the author, is a senior editor at the New Republic -- hardly a conservative organ -- and Slate, of course is no more so. Crowley says of Kelley, inter alia, that her biographies are "juicy, gossipy, salacious, titillating, delightful, and factually suspect"; "it's clear that Kelley is no meticulous historian who nails down her facts with airtight precision. To the contrary, she is the consummate gossip monger, a vehicle for all the rumor and innuendo surrounding her illustrious subjects"; "an individual Kelley story, divorced from a larger narrative about a subject, will easily fall apart." If the article is to have any credibility it should not rely on such a source for bare assertions of fact; if it mentions allegations in such a source it must also mention that the source is suspect. It is noteworthy that Kelley's book has not been published in the UK; if she were confident of being immune to liability in a libel suit surely there would be no hesitation.

Please note that I am not suggesting that the article should not report criticism. I am saying that the reportage of such criticism should be credible. Kelley is marginally so and if she is to be quoted, an honest caveat as to her integrity needs to be entered. Otherwise the article lacks integrity. Masalai 08:52, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Grove

Hello,
Can you provide a source for the following paragraph in Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians: The second edition has been the subject of some academic and press criticism due to various errors it contains, reportedly due in part to students having been used to check it. One volume had to be re-issued in a corrected version after publication. ? I have heard that there are some errors, but I'm not sure what sort of publication might review the New Grove, and it would be good to have a source for that, if possible. Thanks! --Sesquialtera II 18:18, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

excellent, thanks! --Sesquialtera II 22:16, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tom and Jerry

Hi there. I have a question for you at Talk:Tommy Atkins - take a look? Cheers, JackyR 17:53, 16 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Edge of Darkness

Hi, Bfinn. Do you have a source for the claim that a real bullet was used in filming Edge of Darkness? It's typical hoax material, so I don't think it should stay on Wikipedia unless you can come up with a citation. Slowmover 20:09, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your reply. It's just so hard to believe they would actually do that. Strangely, I always thought the scene looked fake, but maybe that's because I've seen too many Hollywood style shootings. Anyway, I'll keep my eyes peeled for a source too. Slowmover 14:15, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Anglicanism and the Anglican Communion

Hello! I noticed that you have been a contributor to articles on Anglicanism and the Anglican Communion. You may be interested in checking out a new WikiProject - WikiProject Anglicanism. Please consider signing up and participating in this collaborative effort to improve and expand Anglican-related articles! Cheers! Fishhead64 23:27, 11 June 2006 (UTC)


[edit] First identification of AIDS

Greetings Bfinn. Could you please specify what you mean about 1 December, 1981 being when "AIDS was first identified"? It is usually stated that the CDC report of 5 June is was the first time the phenomenon was identified. The only references to 1 December I can find are on (or copied from) Wikipedia. I suspect there has been confusion with World AIDS Day somewhere. Thanks.

LachlanA 05:02, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Monster of Glamis

Good edits; I have responded.--Runcorn 06:22, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tom Baker

I remember reading the premature death report while flipping through a reference book for doll collectors back in the late 1980s. I can't remember the name of the book to save my life. Because there were several Dr. Who action figures made in Baker's image, this book listed him in a who's who section and all I remember is it said he died in 1982 of a drug overdose in a Los Angeles hotel. I was rather saddened by that and it wasn't until about 1990 when I saw an interview with Baker that I learned he was still alive. I've been trying to find that book for years, but I've never seen it again. So I wouldn't be able to add it to your list unless I could find or remember the source. Cheers! 23skidoo 16:11, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Whoops

I accidentally used the rollback function on your edits to the list of premature obituaries. I meant to hit "show details" but accidentally clicked rollback. I reverted myself. No response needed, just a notice of the accident :) Teke (talk) 02:31, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] List of premature obituaries

I failed the article as a GA, according to the GA criteria. See the talk page for further details. Let me know if you have any questions. --Nehrams2020 19:12, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

No problem. When I first read the title, I thought it was about premature babies' obituaries, and I thought that the list was really cruel with hundreds of entries. It was a good thing I looked the article over and was proven wrong. Keep up the good work on it, and look into seeing if you can get it a FA. --Nehrams2020 23:45, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Although I'm no expert on WP:FLC I would have thought people will ask for references for each person. Not sure what is the best thing to do - you may have to wait until you or other people find suitable references before nominating for WP:FLC. Then again you could move unsourced to the talk page as you suggested and hope references are found for them in the future. Sorry I can't really be of any help! - Suicidalhamster 23:04, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

I think you contacted me in error: I believe you are looking at this edit, and your question is for Fallout boy (talk · contribs). Best regards, --RobertG ♬ talk 09:00, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Thank you

This may seem stupid but thanks for inventing Sibelius!! Im on it all the time and it has given me an oppurtunity to publish my music [3] (please look :p), get it reviewed etc!! By the way it was me who put those names up on the SibeliusMusic article, sorry for that, (Dsims209 21:29, 18 February 2007 (UTC))

[edit] Harley Race premature obit.

Ben,

I was involved with the internet wrestling media between 1997 and 2001, and sometime around 1998 the e-mail sheet I was an editor of had gotten a tip about a man named Harley Race in Missouri committing suicide by handgun. As it would turn out later in the day, it wasn't THE Harley Race, but every popular website devoted to wrestling at the time covered the story. Unfortunately, most of these sites didn't keep very good archives so in this case we will have to rely on accounts from those like myself who originally covered the story. --CJ Marsicano 02:05, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nancy Allen

Ben, please see this link from the imdb discussion board from October, 2006. She was listed as being dead at that time.

[4]

Mikemoto 13:17, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] List of premature obituaries(Abe Vigoda)

I actually remember seeing it on WWOR TV (Ch.9) in Secaucus, New Jersey back in 1987. She briefly referred to him as "the late Abe Vigoda" in some other news story, and there was a rash of phone calls and telegrams to their news desk about it. The anchorwoman(Jennifer Valoppi) corrected herself the next day. The only thing I could possibly suggest is that you e-mail the station and ask to look through the archives. If not, try the the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City. Other than that, I really don't know what to tell you. ---- DanTD 17:23, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] List of premature obituaries (Frederick Fane)

The only reference I have to Fane's father having a similar experience is the one I quoted from the Wisden obit in 1961. Fane's father was Frederick John Fane, and though he played in one "important" cricket match (a XXII of Ireland vs an XI from the United South of England in 1865 – such mismatches were commonplace in those days) he didn't rate a Wisden obituary for himself (I've checked my copies through the 1920s). Such details as I have of him come from here. If I find more, I'll let you know. Johnlp 16:39, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

I added Rex Alston too. Johnlp 18:24, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Queen of Mothers

I added this to the exalted one's page

"A 1947 letter she wrote described "her decided lack of enthusiasm for the socialist government" and describes the British electorate as "poor people, so many half-educated and bemused" for electing Clement Attlee over war hero Winston Churchill. That said, this was to be expected since, as Lord Wyatt argues, the Queen Mother was "the most right-wing member of the Royal Family." [1]"

I expect it to be taken down soon. Gareth E Kegg 23:05, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] List of premature obituaries (Kevin Stoney)

I remember hearing about his "death" in 1986 or thereabouts. I am trying to find a reference for you (see Dreamwatch) Kransky 13:25, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] List of Prem. Obit. (Duns Scotus, Heinz Wolff)

I found a source for Duns Scotus buried away at safety coffin, but the net draws dry for Wolff. There was also a cite requested in the Nobel entry for a statement sourced in the lead, which I fixed. suspect that nothing can be done without at least a year. I recommend commenting out in the list and his article for the time being. Circeus 17:12, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] FL Main page proposal

You either nominated a WP:FLC or closed such a nomination recently. As such, you are the type of editor whose opinion I am soliciting. We now have over 400 featured lists and seem to be promoting in excess of 30 per month of late (41 in August and 42 in September). When Today's featured article (TFA) started (2004-02-22), they only had about 200 featured articles and were barely promoting 20 new ones per month. I think the quality of featured lists is at least as good as the quality of featured articles was when they started appearing on the main page. Thus, I am ready to open debate on a proposal to institute a List of the Day on the main page with nominations starting November 1, 2007, voting starting December 1, 2007 and main page appearances starting January 1, 2008. For brevity, the proposal page does not discuss the details of eventual main page content, but since the work has already been done, you should consider this proposal assuming the eventual content will resemble the current content at the featured content page. Such output would probably start at the bottom of the main page. The proposal page does not debate whether starting with weekly list main page entries would be better than daily entries. However, I suspect persons in favor of weekly lists are really voicing opinions against lists on the main page since neither TFA nor Picture of the day started as weekly endeavors, to the best of my knowledge. Right now debate seems to be among support for the current selective democratic/consensus based proposal, a selective dictatorial approach like that used at WP:TFA or a non-selective first in line/calendar approach like that used at WP:POTD. See the List of the Day proposal and comment at WP:LOTDP and its talk page.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/tcfkaWCDbwincowtchatlotpsoplrttaDCLaM) 19:33, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] LOTD proposal

You either voted on the original list of the day proposal or the revised version. A more modest experimental proposal is now at issue at WP:LOTDP. Feel free to voice your opinion.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/tcfkaWCDbwincowtchatlotpsoplrttaDCLaM) 17:31, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

I noticed you voted on the List of the Day proposal. A new one has been made and your comments are welcome. The Placebo Effect 01:47, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Featured List of the Day Experiment

There have been a series of proposals to initiate a Featured List of the Day on the main page. Numerous proposals have been put forth. After the third one failed, I audited all WP:FL's in order to begin an experiment in my own user space that will hopefully get it going. Today, it commences at WP:LOTD. Afterwards I created my experimental page, a new proposal was set forth to do a featured list that is strikingly similar to my own which is to do a user page experimental featured list, but no format has been confirmed and mechanism set in place. I continue to be willing to do the experiment myself and with this posting it commences. Please submit any list that you would like to have considered for list of the day in the month of January 2008 by the end of this month to WP:LOTD and its subpages. You may submit multiple lists for consideration.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:LOTD) 19:03, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] LOTD under way

Thanks for submitting a list to WP:LOTD. January nominations are closed and February nominations are open. The January nominee commenting has begun. Feel free to participate in the commentary.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:LOTD) 16:27, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for nominating a candidate at WP:LOTD. You may want to come by and address some of the feedback you have received before voting begins, which it will in less than 24 hours.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 00:25, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
I am surprised at the number of people who have nominated candidates and participated in feedback, but have not voted. If I had made voting mandatory, would it have kept you from nominating an article?--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 17:08, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Whicker

I donno, I'd hesitate to take it literally, it really seemed like self-deprecating humor to me. I find it hard to believe an obit would have been written in such a malicious way. Gigs 00:02, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] LOTD congratulations

Congratulations!!! List of premature obituaries has been chosen in the inaugural class of January 2008 LOTDs. I hope you will continue to participate in the WP:LOTD process. If you have a date preference get back to me by the end of 2007-12-23 UTC.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTD) 06:28, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Speedy deletion of John Parkin (infomercial presenter)

A tag has been placed on John Parkin (infomercial presenter) requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section A1 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because it is a very short article providing little or no context to the reader. Please see Wikipedia:Stub for our minimum information standards for short articles. Also please note that articles must be on notable subjects and should provide references to reliable sources that verify their content.

If you think that this notice was placed here in error, you may contest the deletion by adding {{hangon}} to the top of the page (just below the existing speedy deletion or "db" tag), coupled with adding a note on the article's talk page explaining your position, but be aware that once tagged for speedy deletion, if the article meets the criterion it may be deleted without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but don't hesitate to add information to the article that would would render it more in conformance with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. ukexpat (talk) 15:48, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Speedy deletion of Black's

A tag has been placed on Black's requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section A7 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because the article appears to be about a person or group of people, but it does not indicate how or why the subject is notable: that is, why an article about that subject should be included in an encyclopedia. Under the criteria for speedy deletion, articles that do not indicate the subject's importance or significance may be deleted at any time. Please see the guidelines for what is generally accepted as notable, as well as our subject-specific notability guideline for biographies.

If you think that this notice was placed here in error, you may contest the deletion by adding {{hangon}} to the top of the page (just below the existing speedy deletion or "db" tag), coupled with adding a note on the talk page explaining your position, but be aware that once tagged for speedy deletion, if the article meets the criterion it may be deleted without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but don't hesitate to add information to the article that would would render it more in conformance with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. Lastly, please note that if the article does get deleted, you can contact one of these admins to request that a copy be emailed to you. ukexpat (talk) 12:51, 25 March 2008 (UTC)