Talk:Melnikov

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[edit] Redirecting

I completely disagree with replacing the content of this page with a redirect. WP:MOSDAB#Redlinks specifically says that red links are allowed on disambiguation pages as long as articles can be created under the titles they lead to. This version can definitely use some cleanup, but I do not see how replacing it with a redirect is justified and/or benefits readers. An explanation would be much appreciated.—Ëzhiki (Igels Hérissonovich Ïzhakoff-Amursky) • (yo?); 21:02, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

When another article on a person with this surname is created (or if you are planning to create a page on one of those people or feel that they are notable enough to be there) then it should be changed back to a dab page. What I'm saying is that people searching for "Melnikov" are searching for Konstantin anyway, so having a dab page just wastes time. shoeofdeath 21:16, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

Cross-posted from User talk:Ezhiki:

I don't normally work with bios, but I do occasionally help with dabs such as Melnikov. Speaking from my experience, I cannot agree that those red links are useless. The same way a multitude of red links to Russian locations helps organize the workflow (and ultimately reach the goal of full geographic coverage of Russia faster), these last name dabs help other people with their projects. With Russia, three things are important to remember. First of all, there are not that many Russian editors here in the English wiki. Every little bit of pre-organization helps them save time and work on content rather than on maintenance. Second, even notable Russian people might not get very many google hits, but that does not make them any less notable. We are here to write the best and the most complete encyclopedia, not to promote systemic bias (which is bad enough as it is). Cleaning up red links to "unnotable" people from the dab pages wholesale is the easiest solution, but it does not mean it's the best one. Why not check who exactly added those red links to seemingly unnotable people and contact those editors for explanations why they did it? That's a lot more work, but it's in line with WP:AGF, it furthers the Wikipedia goal of completeness, and, heck, it may even be enough of a nudge for those editors to create missing articles. Third, the situation with the Russian names is complicated because, as you probably know, Russian is written in Cyrillic alphabet, so for the purposes of the English Wikipedia all names must be romanized first. Unfortunately, quite a few incompatible romanization systems exist for that purpose, and an encyclopedia, being a structured compendum, would work best if only one is adopted. We do have a romanization guideline, but we cannot possibly expect new editors to know that it exists or what it is. If a new editor wanted to write an article on, say, Vitaly Melnikov, s/he could click on a red link on the dab page and create that article under a proper spelling, instead of using "Vitalij Mel'nikov", "Vitaliy Melnikov", or "Vitali Mel'nikov" (all of which are technically correct but not compliant with the Wikipedia romanization guidelines). In the end, this also helps reduce maintenance strain on those few editors who work on Russian topics. You wouldn't believe how much time and effort these simple dabs save editors in the end, and since they don't do readers any harm, why dispose of such a useful tool?

I hope you find this convincing. If not, I'll be happy to further explain any parts you find unclear. Best,—Ëzhiki (Igels Hérissonovich Ïzhakoff-Amursky) • (yo?); 22:47, 14 May 2007 (UTC)