User talk:TinaSparkle

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[edit] Welcome!

Welcome!

Hi, and welcome to the Biography WikiProject! We're a group of editors working to improve Wikipedia's coverage of biographies.

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There are a variety of interesting things to do within the project; you're free to participate however much—or little—you like:

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If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask another fellow member, and we'll be happy to help you. Again, welcome! We look forward to seeing you around! plange 01:07, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Olay

Helpful copy edits on this page. Great work.Obina 23:28, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks - glad to be of help! -- TinaSparkle 09:33, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cosmetics

I liked what you did and what you're proposing for cosmetics. The big problem I have is that much of the information about cosmetics and the cosmetic industry either isn't published anywhere, is proprietary information, is in sales literature from cosmetic ingredient suppliers, or is published only in specialized trade journals, most of which aren't on the web. I've been a cosmetic chemist for many years, but I can't just write down what I know and load it onto Wikipedia - I don't have sources for half of it outside of personal experience, and the other half is proprietary and/or copyrighted. See http://www.ctfa-buyersguide.org/ and try to look up an ingredient (water?) for an understanding of what I mean.

I'd like to help, though. If you can think of a way, or of a specific topic, let me know. Bobzchemist 19:57, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Thank you very much for your thoughts, and for your offer of help - I'd be delighted if you could, in any way you like. Sounds like you have a perfect background for doing so!
The issue of proprietory/copyright information is presumably quite a serious one for Wikipedia, and I'm really glad you've raised it. In terms of cosmetics, I realise it may not be possible to do things like listing the ingredients in specific products. I was inspired by the piecemeal but interesting section on the article Cosmetics: I'm thinking of pages that might list or identify the sort of ingredients that create pearlescence, for instance, or specific pigments. What I'd really like to see are articles that blend the scientific facts with history and culture - the composition of Elizabethan white lead face-paint, for instance, or Ayurvedic recipes for kohl. I think it might be useful to link cosmetic products (current and past) with information on allergens, animal products, the geographical origins of various ingredients, etc.
As for what I suppose must be patented things such as Retin-A or Boswellox: I realise this could be legally complicated. But there must be at least some information in the public domain. -- TinaSparkle 20:19, 13 November 2006 (UTC)


  • In recent years there has been a growing number of books on chemistry in everyday life - aiming at a greater public, but probably read by students or teachers of chemistry only. Food and cosmetics are the topics mainly dealt with. That information on pearlescence looks like it is from one of those books, I'm not sure but I might have come across it there. Then there is the occasional bit of information in modern chemistry textbooks like the excellent "Organic Chemistry" by Clayden/Warren.
  • I don't see problems with patented compounds or systems. A patent IS a publication, as simple as that. At university we access that kind of information all the time. The problem is that it is difficult or costly for lay people to do so, and to work up the raw information into something useful is incredibly labor-intensive and difficult, even for chemists (It might even amount to original research, not sure...). But it needs not to be done, because that's basically what authors of the above books did already, plus adding whatever they happen to know from insiders like Bob, thus making it published information that can be quoted.
  • I like your project and will see how I can help as an organic chemist interested in history of science and chemistry (and reader of some of those "popular chemistry" books). What do you have in mind? Expanding the "incredients" section and split it from the original article? Or giving the "history of cosmetics" article a chemical focus?
Ahem, the reason I actually ended up on your userpage: Thank you very much for your great copyediting of the Elizabeth Báthory article! I've since added some more portions of text, with the occasional clumsy phrasing, probably. Maybe you could spare some minutes to see what it has become?--Sam195 10:01, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
Many thanks for your comments, Sam195! I'd be delighted if you could help with the Cosmetics project. I've been to the Báthory page and copyedited it again; I think the additions you have made are fantastic. -- TinaSparkle 15:31, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
Thank you very much for your effort there! Well, here is an article I think needs to be written (What you wrote about listing incrediences reminded me of something I've seen in the text book mentioned): Actually incrediences are listed on each cosmetic product, but in a jargon that makes sense only to the initiate. Clayden and Warren translated this mumbo jumbo for a handful of substances, this should be done for all of them.
I think of purely table form, alphabetic order. One column could be "chemical meaning", another one "purpose".
Examples (taken from Clayden/Warren):
aqua - water - solvent
PEG-150 distearate - polyoxyethylene glycol diester - surfactant.
This could even work as a kind of translation request: anybody can enter in the first column whatever he/she finds on a product, a short web search will in most cases yield the chemical meaning, and somebody in the know can add the purpose. Of course we would link to that list from the general cosmetics articles, but we could also consider using that list as a central piece from where to link to more specific articles. I will collect a few items, so there is enough to start that article. --Sam195 08:36, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
P.S.: The article on INCI gives a rough idea, and shows the problem: there are lists available online, but mostly limited to the products of a single brand, and not really systematic in some cases, and having such a list with an extra column for "purpose" would be really novel and highly useful. And I was glad to see that for quite a few compounds there are already useful wiki articles I can link to. So I should be able to start that article soon, though the "purpose" column still has a lot of blanks. I think I will replace the the list on the INCI article by a link to that new article. Any idea how to call it? --Sam195 08:17, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
Sorry not to have replied earlier, by the way. My feeling is that this is a great idea, especially on the basis of the article on INCI, though I can't pretend to have the technical knowledge to help much. I think the 'purpose' column would be really useful, though might it be controversial in some cases? Probably not if a reference was provided to whatever claim was being made. I'm thinking of companies that add, say, emerald dust (I think it's in Creme de la Mer lip balm), which I expect has the purpose of 'making the product more expensive so that silly people will buy it'. But, as I say, I'm not an expert. Maybe emerald dust is the secret of eternal youth.
So, yes, I reckon that a new article to incorporate the INCI information would be ideal: the present items on that list could be footnoted to INCI via the CTFA website referenced on the article now. The new page should probably just be called 'Cosmetic ingredients'. That fits with the INCI style, and is also the term that readers are most likely to search for.
One other point. It seems to me that the table of cosmetic ingredients is likely to get very long very quickly. Should it be subdivided into sections, and, if so, how? My first thought is something like 'solvents', 'emollients', 'surfactants', 'other' etc, but I see that this will mean ascertaining the purpose for most things before you start, which could be awkward. Maybe there's a better way? -- TinaSparkle 09:42, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

Those are difficult questions. Let's first answer to your last paragraph. I think there will be 300+ items in the list, maybe many more (so far I've found search engines, but not complete lists... not a good sign). Some compounds will have more than one purpose, like surfactants that are acids. I'm afraid anything but alphabetic wont work.

'Purpose' will be a short characterization of why things are added, describing the nature of the compound and it's role in a mixture. By sticking to technical/chemical discriptions, I think it should be possible to keep that information non-controversial. INCI seems not to list useless or fantasy compounds but chemicals that are added usually and for a reason (I hope I am not wrong on that...).

Verifiability could become difficult, because the discription is very brief and basic. When I see 'sodium hydroxide' in the list, I just add 'base', like any chemist would, and on some I don't know yet were to get the information from at all... I will look around, there MUST be at least some books dealing with cosmetic industrial chemistry, to obtain most of the information from one source. Information in chemical text books is awfully scattered.

Then I think there should be two articles (which could both be described 'Cosmetic ingredients'...). One is the list I am working at, with the very chemical/INCI focus. Although I know some people (chemists...) who would read it for fun, one would typically use that list only for looking up what is in one's body lotion. Second would be an article in prose, giving a general idea how cosmetics are made, from what kind of substances, from which resources - a bit like the existing 'incredients' section in 'cosmetics', only better and verified. The natural division of such an article would of course be by categories, just as you proposed. Maybe using a disambiguation page?

I'm glad those questions can be discussed before any of the articles exists, that makes things much easier.--Sam195 14:49, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

P.S. A disambiguation page for those two artcles, I mean. And did I write 'some books'? There are hundreds - so no problem there. --Sam195 12:00, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Good to know. References from real books are always a great thing. :)
Definitely in agreement about needing two articles. Is it worth doing 'Cosmetic ingredients' as a prose piece, and 'List of cosmetic ingredients' as something like the INCI article? I think they should probably have a disambiguation page, as you suggest. Also, have you considered doing the non-prose piece as a standard Wikipedia list (like List of biomolecules), or would this prohibit the inclusion of chemical meaning & purpose? I haven't done a list before, so this is all new to me.
Sounds very much like you're right about the list needing to be alphabetical, though. As for references for stuff like "sodium hydroxide = base", I think if that would just be incredibly obvious to any chemist it doesn't necessarily need a reference. We don't have to have references for things like people's dates of birth on Wikipedia, for instance, unless they're disputed. If it's completely accepted fact I don't think you need to worry about it too much. -- TinaSparkle 13:09, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
I thought of a table, looks like they offer a lot of flexibility (and are fun to make). Those wiki lists seem to bundle existing articles. For some of the incredients there are articles, some of them really good (though not necessarily focused on application in cosmetics), but most will be chemical stubs. And some compounds are probably too unimportant for ever getting an article of their own. I will of course link to all the articles I can find, so the first or second column will very much look like a wiki list. --Sam195 15:35, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
ok, done! List of cosmetic ingredients exists. --Sam195 18:19, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I have already executed a stub-class article on a late-1980's celebrity scent; since perfumes and fragrances are associated with cosmetics manufacturers, I consider perfume listings such as Electric Youth (fragrance) a potential include for WikiProject Cosmetics. Is this reasonable, or would you suggest a separate WikiProject on fragrances? - B.C.Schmerker 05:48, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately, WikiProject Cosmetics never really got off the ground. I'd love to see a WikiProject Fragrances (though I think it should be broadened to WikiProject Perfumery); it's a topic very underrepresented on Wikipedia, and as you can see from my user contribs I've been adding articles about perfumers recently. I'd definitely join such a project or help administer it, but I don't really have time right now to run it myself. -- TinaSparkle 08:49, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
Understood. I've re-prepped Electric Youth (fragrance) for the proposed WikiProject Perfumery; it is still a Stub-class, as I have little info on this product, other than what Revlon Consumer Products Corp. released back in the day. - B.C.Schmerker 03:57, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wiki Project Pakistan

The project Page for Pakistan has been started Wikipedia:WikiProject Pakistan plese join it so that we all could benifit from your input thankyou Hussain 08:55, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Welcome to WP:India

Welcome!

Hi, and welcome to the India WikiProject! We're a group of editors working to improve Wikipedia's coverage of India.

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[edit] On Akram Khan

Thanks for your edit in Suhrawardy's article. But Categorizing Maulana Akram Khan to only Akram Khan is misleading as it refers either to the cricketer of BD or the Dancer from India, So..... I have reverted it again to Maulana Akram Khan( the famous politician and Editor of Daily Azad of Calcutta/Dhaka)asdone before by Al-minar.

Thank you once again!

Hossain Akhtar Chowdhury 06:21, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

I understand your position and sincerely thank you for creating a page for Maulana Akram Khan.

Regards,

Hossain Akhtar Chowdhury 04:51, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] [[1]]

I agree entirely with your comments about the merger. Might a politely suggest they may be more credible if you correct the apparent slip refering to her as Gerard's wife - she is in fact his sister.  :-)Winstonwolfe 00:34, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Whoops! Many thanks for the tip-off. I stand corrected (as does the page). -- TinaSparkle 09:44, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject India Newsletter: Volume I, Issue 3 - December 2006

Project News
  • Name change of cities in Karnataka: A straw poll was conducted on the proposal to change the name of cities in Karnataka, per the Nov 1, 2006 decision by the Karnataka government to rename them from the current anglicised forms. The result of the poll was to change the names. As controversial as the decision may be in the real world, the article Bangalore in Wikipedia still reflects the old name. You may be interested in knowing why. Dig the archives.
  • New Project Noticeboard (Shortcut:WP:INB): WikiProject India now sports a new colourful centralised noticeboard. An effort to make the noticeboard current and dynamic was mooted a few days back, and Ganeshk came up with the new format. The new noticeboard will strive to be the one-stop shop for all project related information. The shortcut is WP:INB.
  • Members List: The old members list is being phased out to give way for the new members list. New members are requested to add their names to the new members list. As the newsletter grows, further issues of the Project Newsletter will be delivered to those enlisted in the new list. So dash down now, to check if ur name is in there.
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  • Welcome to the December 2006 edition of our newsletter. Time flies past like matter into the black hole. It is interesting to notice that we are already into the last month for the year of 2006. 2006 saw discussions and development beyond realisation. In the world of Wikipedia where quality counts than quantity, we have come a long way. We've made better than 'nothing', to say the least, and even that is an achievement. I take this opportunity to thank everyone including those who have dotted the i's and crossed the t's.
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  • How to?: The "how to" part of assessment is very simple. Just head on to the talk page of any India related page and you'll find the {{WP India}} template. Simply classify the article based on the content and the criteria mentioned here. You can find the detailed instructions here. If you think it may qualify for GA/FA status, first consider submitting the article for peer review.
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[edit] WikiProject India Newsletter: Volume II, Issue 1 - January 2007

Project News
  • Project tagging:After a brief edit war over the addition of {{WP India}} to ancient archaeological sites now located in Pakistan, a "pre" parameter was introduced to remove the ROI flag from the template for pre-1947 articles, following discussion. After another large discussion on ANI alleging that the automated tagging by Ganeshbot and LostBot was "nationalistic", Ganeshbot was briefly blocked. Currently, the bots are again in action.
  • Swastika on Hinduism templates:Recently, an extremely large and at times emotional debate broke out regarding the use of the swastika on Hinduism templates, given its association with Nazism. As a result, {{Hindu Links}} now contains an educational message about the use of the swastika, as discussion on a more permanent resolution continues.
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  • Weekly Collaboration (Shortcut:WP:INCOTW): Collaboration of the Week has fallen from its once high feats. Please drop by and help rejuvenate it.
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  • Translation Department: Can you read and write any languages of India? Do you know multiple languages and are looking to keep your skills at a high level or improve them? If so, the Translation Depeartment may be for you!

The translation department of the India WikiProject aims to utilize high-quality non-English material related to India for the goals of the project. This includes both translating articles from and to other-language Wikipedias as well as assisting contributors with non-English sources. The department aims to provide services in transliteration, formulating scripts for various languages, as well as translating articles from one language to another and validating sources in other languages to that of the encyclopedia article. If you are looking for a friendly translator here is your go-to point. Currently, we are still seeking representation for Kashmiri, Nepali, Oriya, Sindhi and Tulu, as well as reinforcements in all other languages.
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[edit] Chaanakya

Hi, hope I am writing this message in the appropriate place. Why this inconsistency in the spelling of this name? Why are we using Caanakya except for places where its the name of a book or so? Thanks ... Vineethtm 19:48, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

Hi Vineethtm. I'm sorry, I've just realised I undid an edit you made on the spelling of Chanakya. I had intended just to undo the edit in which you put an example picture on the end of the article. I agree with you that it should be consistent. I have no expertise in Sanskrit transliteration, but I do feel that most readers will recognise the spelling 'Chanakya', which is used in most English-language books and, of course, in Chanakyapuri. -- TinaSparkle 10:04, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Hi Tina, thanks for the reply. Sorry, I had not noticed the change about the picture you mentioned. Will be careful now. Thanks ... Vineethtm 14:34, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Peter Singer

Hi Tina, just to give you the heads-up for future reference, animalrights.net isn't an animal rights site. [2] It opposes animal rights. SlimVirgin (talk) 18:38, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for your tip-off - much appreciated. Either way, though, the site wasn't what the link implied it to be. -- TinaSparkle 18:52, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Maharaja Gulab Singh

Hi

Can you rename the Gulab Singh of Kashmir page to "Gulab Singh of Jammu and Kashmir", since that was the complete name of his kingdom?

See Jammu and Kashmir See http://www.indianembassy.org/new/Kargil/JSingh_BBC_July_19_1999.html

Maharaja Gulab Singh is considered a hero for the Rajputs and other people of Jammu and implying that he was a Kashmiri would be considered insulting. As it is many Pakistanis and their friends try to dilute the identity of Jammu and Ladakh by describing them as parts of "Kashmir", which is certainly not the case.

Thanks and regards, Jagat Singh Sambyal of Jammu. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 61.2.21.184 (talk) 00:10, 14 February 2007 (UTC).

Sorry it took me a while to get round to this, Jagat Singh Sambyal. I agree with your point about the name of the state and have moved the page. -- TinaSparkle 14:28, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] AfD Islamic socialism

You have edited the article Islamic socialism. This article is currently being considered for deletion under the wp:afd process. You may contribute to this discussion by commenting here. Thank you. Edivorce 01:38, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for experimenting with the page Elizabeth Báthory on Wikipedia. Your test worked, and it has been reverted or removed. Please use the sandbox for any other tests you may want to do. Take a look at the welcome page to learn more about contributing to our encyclopedia. Chris Griswold (☎☓) 09:05, 20 February 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Helping out with the Unassessed Wikipedia Biographies

Seeing that you are an active member of the WikiBiography Project, I was wondering if you would help lend a hand in helping us clear out the amount of [unassessed articles] tagged with {{WPBiography}}. Many of them are of stub and start class, but a few are of B or A caliber. Getting a simple assessment rating can help us start moving many of these biographies to a higher quality article. Thank you! --Ozgod 22:58, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

Happily. I'll get on to it ASAP. -- TinaSparkle 23:04, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wikiproject Biography March 2007 Newsletter

The March 2007 issue of the Biography WikiProject newsletter has been published. You may read the newsletter, change the format in which future issues will be delivered to you, or unsubscribe from this notification by following the link. Thank you. Mocko13 22:10, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Allama Mashriqi

Hi, having seen your name at Wikipedia:WikiProject Pakistan/Members, I was wondering if you could help in copyediting this biographic article. cheers--IslesCapeTalk 22:42, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

I've copyedited the article thoroughly and also edited for NPOV. I've also left a few further suggestions on the talk page. Hope this helps. -- TinaSparkle 16:43, 3 March 2007 (UTC)
Really appreciate it. Will try to fill-in the missing bits. --IslesCapeTalk 01:13, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject India Newsletter: Volume II, Issue 2 - March 2007

Project News
  • Jimbo's visit to India and the WikiCamp in Chennai: Jimbo recently visited India in late February and early March on wiki work. This included a trip to a WikiCamp in Chennai. The one day conference attracted 300 participants from across India and beyond dealt with issues facing wikis ([3]). It was widely covered by the press, eg The Hindu( [4]), which cited the efforts of Bhadani (edit count), Sundar (leadership on Tamil Wikipedia) and Ganeshk (Creation of Ganeshbot to create articles on Indian towns from census figures). Ganeshk himself travelled from California to attend the conference.
  • Wikipedia Weekly 15: Wikipedia Weekly, a informal Wikipedians' program that purports to give "A weekly audio roundup of Wikipedia happenings with news, interviews and roundtable discussions" recently interviewed two prominent editors Rama's Arrow and Ragib(listen). The entire 34 minute interview was entirely about the world of Indian subcontinent wiki-happenings, and was the first episode which was not entirely dominated by discussion of wiki-politics and wiki-bureaucracy, with the host Witty lama praising the efficiency of the project and its proliferation of featured content. Rama's Arrow cited the team spirit, friendship and respect among project members in discussing its success and FA productivity, as well as discussing subcontinental wiki-conflict. Ragib talked also of his public campaign to raise awareness of the Bengali Wikipedia in his native Bangladesh, which has seen a 30-fold increase in article count over the past year.
What's New?
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  • Welcome to the March 2007 edition of our newsletter.
  • Congratulations to one of our most respected writers, bureaucrats and administrators, Nichalp, who is now entrusted with the oversight permission. In addition Riana has joined the administrative ranks after a successful RfA.
  • On a sad note, Nobleeagle, who was responsible for the creation of the Punjab WikiProject, and was largely responsible for Indian cricket team, Bhagat Singh and Lage Raho Munna Bhai becoming GAs, as well as working heavily in Indian religious and cricket work, has left the project after having his identity revealed.
  • More generally, certain Indian users have recently been subject to real life harassment by banned users, etc. If this is affecting you in real life, please do not hesitate to contact Wikimedia board members for assistance, or ask a senior Wikipedian to solicit help on your behalf if required.
  • Nishkid64, a prolific contributor and administrator, is currently undergoing surgery to fix a congenital heart defect. You can wish him well here.
  • Weekly Collaboration (Shortcut:WP:INCOTW): Collaboration of the Week has fallen from its once high feats. Please drop by and help rejuvenate it.
  • As before, we'd like to stress, this is your newsletter, and we want you to be part of it as well. Provide us with news tips. It can be anything related to the project, from discussions to calls for help, and other interesting stuff within our community. Sponsored content for recruitments within your WikiProject sub-groups are also welcome, including requests for copyediting, photographic work, peer review, etc. We'll be very happy to include them here.
This edition special
  • Translation Department: Can you read and write any languages of India? Do you know multiple languages and are looking to keep your skills at a high level or improve them? If so, the Translation Depeartment may be for you!

The translation department of the India WikiProject aims to utilize high-quality non-English material related to India for the goals of the project. This includes both translating articles from and to other-language Wikipedias as well as assisting contributors with non-English sources. The department aims to provide services in transliteration, formulating scripts for various languages, as well as translating articles from one language to another and validating sources in other languages to that of the encyclopedia article. If you are looking for a friendly translator here is your go-to point. Currently, we are still seeking representation for Kashmiri, Nepali, Oriya, Sindhi and Tulu, as well as reinforcements in all other languages.
Signed...

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[edit] Indian collaboration of the week news

As mentioned in Wikiproject India newsletter of March 2007, the weekly collaboration of the Indian wikiproject has fallen from its once high feats. This message is to request the users to visit the collaboration page and help rejuvenate it.

The present collaboration of the week is Religion in India. Please go through the talk page of the article to see the proposed changes in the article. Regards.--Dwaipayan (talk) 05:11, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The WikiProject Biography Newsletter: Issue II - April 2007

The April 2007 issue of the WikiProject Biography newsletter has been published.You may read the newsletter, change the format in which future issues will be delivered to you, or unsubscribe from this notification by following the link. BetacommandBot 20:28, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject France

Hello! We are a group of editors working to improve the quality of France related articles. You look like someone who might be interested in joining us in the France WikiProject and so I thought I'd drop you a line and invite you! We'd love to have you in our project :-) STTW (talk) 20:09, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

Merci bien de votre invitation! :) -- TinaSparkle 09:46, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Liaquat Ali Khan ga stus

is this article ga class?User talk:Yousaf465

It still seems to be rated as B-class, though it is listed as a good article. I'll have another look at it when I next get a chance. -- TinaSparkle 08:01, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Jawaharlal Nehru

Hello Tina, I am RS. I am an atheist with a Hindu background. I am not an Indian. Was Jawaharlal Nehru, the first PM of India, an atheist? Do you have any reliable source that identifies Jawaharlal Nehru as an atheist? If yes, then, please add his name in the List of atheists. Thank You. RS

Hi RS! Nehru repeatedly declared in his 1936 autobiography that he did not believe in any form of god, and testified to the same in his will, so I think that's evidence enough. I'll add his name as requested. -- TinaSparkle 09:43, 26 June 2007 (UTC)
Hello. Thank you for adding Jawaharlal Nehru to List of atheists. Some fairly strict criteria for inclusion on that list have been developed, due to competing definitions and the potentially pejorative use of the word. Only persons who are specifically identified as "atheists" in reliable sources, or those who hold the position universally acknowledged as atheistic (denial of the existence of deities) are included there. A person who simply does not believe in any form of god--and this is what I gather about Nehru from your description of his views above--is a better addition to List of nontheists for the time being. I will move Nehru to that list until a more definitive identification of him as an atheist can be found (I have looked, but haven't found a reliable and impartial source for that so far).
Also, since you have access to the sources you cited, I wonder if you could find brief quotes from each in which Nehru affirms that he does not believe in a god of any sort and add them to the entry. That helps make these identifications much more authoritative, and is a valuable resource for those using Wikipedia for research. Thank you. Nick Graves 20:08, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Elizabeth Báthory

Hi. You posted some comments on Talk:Elizabeth Báthory and seem to be interested in keeping the article encyclopedic. Recently there's been a very aggressive anonymous IP address user editing the article to remove NPOV wording to outright try to make the article state that Bathory did, in fact, take baths in blood, did write a diary confessing to murders and witchcraft, and all sorts of other highly biased comments. I would appreciate it if you would add it to your watch list if it isn't already and take steps to prevent such blatant unscholarly personal opinions from remaining in the article. Thanks. DreamGuy 20:45, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Well done!

Hello Tina! Thank you for finding the source where Nehru is identified as a nonbeliever. However, to identify someone as an “atheist”, we need an impartial source where the person is identified as an “atheist”, or he/she should clearly say, “I don’t believe in the existence of God”.

The rules of the Wikipedia are strict. And, you know, we are serious atheists. Can you find a source where Nehru is identified as an “atheist”? Or, can you find a quote of Nehru where he affirms that he does not believe in the existence of God? If you can find those sources, then we can add his name in the List of atheists. Thank you.

RS

Let me just correct one thing RS said. A direct statement from someone to the effect of "I don't believe in the existence of God" may or may not indicate atheism. A statement such as "God does not exist" definitely indicates atheism. In any case, a couple quotes from those sources you cited (thanks for finding those, by the way) would be a most welcome addition to the entry for Nehru at List of nontheists, if you have the time to find them and add them. Thank you. Nick Graves 14:42, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
I will do my best - I do have a job to attend to as well! ;)
Incidentally, I understand that there may have been a strenuous debate on this on the List of atheists page, but since when did someone actively have to say "God does not exist", rather than "I do not believe in the existence of God", to indicate atheism? In the 1930s, when Nehru was writing, no distinction was drawn between these positions. To impose such distinctions now is completely inappropriate. I have not a second of doubt that Nehru considered himself to be an atheist, and nor could anyone who has read his writings. But under this constraining and thoroughly anachronistic definition, I suspect he will come out as a nontheist. Whatever one of those is. It's not a term he would have recognised, nor one that he would have identified with. Personally I think this sort of subsequent re-categorisation of religious feelings that people expressed quite clearly within the dialectic of their time is silly and offensive. -- TinaSparkle 23:30, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
Well, Tina, you have a job and I don’t want to disturb you. I also have a job. And, yes, I disagree with Nick. The statement “I don’t believe in the existence of God” indicates atheism. However, the statement “I don’t believe in God” may not indicate atheism. You can see the discussion on Talk:List of nontheists.
And, your name ‘Tina’ is a Hindu name. And, your surname ‘Sparkle’ sounds western. Tina, are you a Hindu? Tell me something about you. RS
I'm afraid my Wikipedia name is taken from a minor character in Strictly Ballroom, and has nothing to do with me personally! There's more information about me on my user page. -- TinaSparkle 17:36, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Elizabeth Báthory and Hostel 2

Hi, I hope this is the correct place to contact you. I made an addition to Bathory, re Hostel 2. Sorry this was unrequired but I genuinely felt I was making a positive contribution. This way anyone wanting to understand some of this history might want to watch that scene in Hostel 2 to illustrate the sadistic brutality of this torturer. Regards, Phil -- (Unsigned comment by 86.6.225.185)

Phil, there is an article called Elizabeth Báthory in popular culture which was created precisely for this kind of reference, as it was felt that EB's appearances as a fictionalised character in music, film, games, TV etc were clogging up the main article and had no bearing on the historical Elizabeth Báthory herself. I'm sorry if my edit seemed a little abrupt, but I'm afraid those of us who've been working on the article for some time remove dozens of similar references every month, and there are warnings all over the article asking editors not to add them!
Personally I have not seen Hostel 2, but what I've read about it does not imply that it is a historical documentary about Elizabeth Báthory. I fear that any scene in that film that features her as a character is more likely to illustrate the sadistic brutality of Eli Roth than give any insight into her real life story. If you want to add the reference to the popular culture article I'm sure it will be entirely appropriate there. -- TinaSparkle 19:56, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject Biography Newsletter 5

The Biography WikiProject Newsletter
Volume IV, no. 4 - September 2007
Project News
  • The three-month long Summer Assessment Drive, organized by Psychless, was a huge success! It ran from June 1 – September 1, and reduced the backlog of unassessed articles from 113,385 to 56,237. In all, over 100,000 articles were assessed. Over 60 people contributed in some way.
  • A barnstar has been created for exceptional work on Wikipedia biographies and for assisting the project. The Biography Barnstar is listed with the other WikiProject awards and can be awarded easily with a template. See the template page for more details.
Member News

Image:LinkFA-star.png Congratulations to the editors who worked on the newest featured biographies: Augustus; William Shakespeare; Adriaen van der Donck; Alfred Russel Wallace; Alison Krauss; Anne Frank; Anne of Denmark; Asser; Bart King; Bill O'Reilly; Bobby Robson; Bradley Joseph; CM Punk; Ceawlin of Wessex; Colley Cibber; Cædwalla of Wessex; Dominik Hašek; Elizabeth Needham; Frank Macfarlane Burnet; Georg Cantor; Gregory of Nazianzus; Gunnhild Mother of Kings; Gwen Stefani; Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery; Harriet Arbuthnot; Harry S. Truman; Henry, Bishop of Uppsala; Héctor Lavoe; Ine of Wessex; Ion Heliade Rădulescu; Jack Sheppard; Jackie Chan; Jay Chou; John Martin Scripps; John Mayer; Joseph Francis Shea; Joshua A. Norton; Kate Bush; Kazi Nazrul Islam; Kevin Pietersen; Martin Brodeur; Mary Martha Sherwood; Mary of Teck; Maximus the Confessor; Miranda Otto; Muhammad Ali Jinnah; P. K. van der Byl; Penda of Mercia; Pham Ngoc Thao; Rabindranath Tagore; Ramón Emeterio Betances; Red Barn Murder; Richard Hakluyt; Richard Hawes; Robert Garran; Roman Vishniac; Ronald Niel Stuart; Ronald Reagan; Roy Welensky; Rudolph Cartier; Samuel Adams; Samuel Beckett; Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; Sarah Trimmer; Sargon of Akkad; Shen Kuo; Sophie Blanchard; Stereolab; Sydney Newman; Sylvanus Morley; Tim Duncan; Timeline of Mary Wollstonecraft; Uncle Tupelo; Waisale Serevi; Wallis, Duchess of Windsor; Walter Model; William Bruce; William Goebel; Yagan; Zhou Tong; Æthelbald of Mercia; Æthelbald of Mercia

New Members

Congratulations to our 225 new members
From the Editors

The newsletter is back! Many things have gone on during the past few months, but many things have not. While the assessment drive helped revitalize the assessment department of the project, many other departments have received no attention. Most notably: peer review and our "workgroups". A day long IRC meeting has been planned for October 13th, with the major focus being which areas of the project are "dead", what should our goals be as a project, and how to "revive" the dead areas of our project. Contribute to the discussion on the the new channel (see below)

We decided to deliver this newsletter to all project members this month but only those with their names down here will get it delivered in the future.

This is your newsletter and you can be involved in the creation of the next issue. Any and all contributions are welcome. Simply let yourself be known to any of the undersigned or post news on the next issue's talk page

New irc channel

Lastly, a new WikiProject Biography channel has been set up on the freenode network:

#wikipedia-en-bio

Our thanks to Phoenix 15 for setting it up.

Contributors to this Issue
Complete To Do List

Assessment Progress
We couldn't do it without you!

To receive this newsletter in the future, please list yourself in the appropriate section here. This newsletter was delivered by the automated R Delivery Bot 16:04, 7 October 2007 (UTC) .

[edit] WikiProject Newsletter n°1

Bonjour and welcome to the first WikiProject France newsletter!! It should become a monthly special of our project, but until the next issue, here are some points to consider for the month:

  • In an effort to determine the active members from the inactive, all members are asked to simply sign on my special userpage.
  • I have slightly rearranged and updated the Project page, putting all the featured lists in collapsible tables. This unclutteres the page and you only have to see them if you want to. Give your feelings at the talk page.
  • I have made a Wikipedia advert for our project, Image:Qxz-ad108.gif, what do you think? Personally I feel the words need improving ...
  • There are still map problems at Template:French commune - any help at resolving them would be greatly appreciated.
  • What about starting a monthly drive? We currently have no Featured Portals (except for the Basque Portal which really isn't French any way), so how about improving Portal:France??? I don't know what's exactly wrong but the criteria can be seen at Wikipedia:Featured portal criteria.

It doesn't seem like a lot, so I hope we will still have enough problems for nexts months issue. Salut till the next issue, ChrisDHDR (17:21, 10 November 2007 (UTC)).

[edit] On Suhrawardy

You have edited Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy once. Seeing your interest in biographies, I would request you to convey me more references(books, articles, periodicals) on him if possible.Al-minar (talk) 12:38, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

I've replied on the Suhrawardy talk page. Thanks! -- TinaSparkle (talk) 14:38, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
Thank you once again!Al-minar (talk) 06:30, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject Newsletter n°2

It's been one high aiming month! The French WikiProject and related pages have been aiming high for Christmas - and have received an equal number of presents in return!

Well, that's this issue. Au revoir et à bientôt till the next time, ChrisDHDR (18:44, 9 December 2007 (UTC)).

[edit] Copyedit needed

Hi. Could you have a look at Akhtar Hameed Khan, which has just been relegated from GA.--IslesCapeTalk 20:51, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

Okay, we got the GA. But it would be good if you could check it for copy and style, while I put it for FAC.--IslesCapeTalk 13:29, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
Done. Good luck, Islescape! -- TinaSparkle (talk) 21:03, 27 April 2008 (UTC)
Thanks. You can also post you support or concern at Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Akhtar Hameed Khan --IslesCapeTalk 14:01, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Copyedit for GANs

Hi Tina. Could you pls help improve Sheesh Mahal and Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, which are up on GAN?. Cheers. --IslesCapeTalk 15:57, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

I will try to get on to these as soon as possible. However, I have a very busy couple of weeks ahead and am unlikely to be able to contribute straight away. Thanks for the alert, though. I hope to be able to help soon. -- TinaSparkle (talk) 06:42, 2 June 2008 (UTC)
Sorry to have you disrupted. Since these articles are already in GA process, time is of essence. So, I have also listed them at LOCE. Meanwhile, it would still be great if you could find time to copyedit them, especially Sheesh Mahal. In that case I will remove them from the list. --IslesCapeTalk 15:40, 2 June 2008 (UTC)
Although I have just obseved that response rate at LOCE is very low and there are articles lying there unanswered for months!. --IslesCapeTalk 18:00, 3 June 2008 (UTC)