Revision as of 13:05, 2 April 2012 view sourceJayen466 (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Page movers, Mass message senders, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers56,627 edits →Shame: cmt← Previous edit | Revision as of 13:08, 2 April 2012 view source Tarc (talk | contribs)24,217 edits →April Fool's pranking policy?: - APril 1 and maturityNext edit → | ||
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:::::I rather liked Ron Ritzman's "leaving in a hissy fit", and of course I liked my addition to the top of RfA and my ]. ] (]) 12:27, 2 April 2012 (UTC) | :::::I rather liked Ron Ritzman's "leaving in a hissy fit", and of course I liked my addition to the top of RfA and my ]. ] (]) 12:27, 2 April 2012 (UTC) | ||
*Disagree with the proposal. Firstly there should be no April Fools pranks in mainspace (and if we did allow one who would get to decide which one?). As for the rest of the pedia some jokes are funnier than others, if you don't think a particular joke RFA is funny then don't participate in it. The mainpage is an institution, I doubt if we have consensus to move away from our strange but true tradition. If you don't think that this year was particularly good then please help make next year better. '']]<span style="color:#CC5500">Chequers''</span> 12:49, 2 April 2012 (UTC) | *Disagree with the proposal. Firstly there should be no April Fools pranks in mainspace (and if we did allow one who would get to decide which one?). As for the rest of the pedia some jokes are funnier than others, if you don't think a particular joke RFA is funny then don't participate in it. The mainpage is an institution, I doubt if we have consensus to move away from our strange but true tradition. If you don't think that this year was particularly good then please help make next year better. '']]<span style="color:#CC5500">Chequers''</span> 12:49, 2 April 2012 (UTC) | ||
*I think it just may be time to move on from the April Fools' "tradition" here, honestly. It may have been cool and hip 5-6 years ago here, but as the population has grown significantly since then its just no longer a case of "oh I know Person X, he wasn't being serious". There's too many names, too many admins for that familiarity to stay rooted. This year's run of jokes came across like a bunch of late 20-somethings who still hang around the college campus and get hammered every week. Sooner or later it is time to mature. ] (]) 13:08, 2 April 2012 (UTC) |
Revision as of 13:08, 2 April 2012
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Theroadislong
Thank you VERY much for the barnstar, User:Deh343 has managed to attach my user name to someone else on his off Wiki attack page, the photographs there relate to RHaworth both of us have tried to explain the situation to him but without success, sorry!Theroadislong (talk) 17:20, 31 March 2012 (UTC)
- The threats from User:Deh343 are now so frightening, I no longer feel able to edit. He seems to think I am someone else which is doubly scary. Support has been sadly lacking.Theroadislong (talk) 21:24, 31 March 2012 (UTC)
- User:Deh343 completely lacks civility. Try reporting to WA. --Τασουλα (talk) 21:49, 31 March 2012 (UTC)
- I have retired after further threats off Wiki and on.Theroadislong (talk) 08:36, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- User:Deh343 completely lacks civility. Try reporting to WA. --Τασουλα (talk) 21:49, 31 March 2012 (UTC)
Sockpuppetry case
April Fools' Day 2012 | |
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The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it. | |
Your name has been mentioned in connection with a sockpuppetry case. Please refer to Misplaced Pages:Sockpuppet investigations/Jimbo Wales for evidence. Please make sure you make yourself familiar with the guide to responding to cases before editing the evidence page. Jasper Deng (talk) 02:41, 1 April 2012 (UTC) |
New WikiProject Wikiputians
Effective today, there is a new WikiProject titled "Wikiputians" which addresses concerns about height-challenged users, as an issue of WP:Accessibility. The membership is growing quickly because statistical studies of editors have indicated that probably half of all Wikipedians are now shorter than 3 ft tall (0.91 m). The scientific analysis, which confirmed the reduced height of so many users, was based on counting the reduced frequency in text of the letters "w", "e", "o", "p" which are on the top row of the keyboard. It seems those users cannot easily reach those letters with their tiny hands. However, the height analysis has confirmed the fears of "declining editorship" because the average height of editors does, indeed, show a definite decline, year after year. It is uncertain if the taller editors are leaving, or if the height-challenged users are merely editing more, as mobile phones become smaller to fit their hands.
Anyway, among the major goals of WikiProject Wikiputians, there will be monthly edit-drives to remove the word "short" from Misplaced Pages articles, as being an NPOV slant in terminology, to be replaced with "less tall". Already, those editors are compiling a backlog-list of the 1,200,051 articles which will need to be edited to remove the word "short". Many of those million articles will be debated for deletion. For example, "short circuit" is an obvious wp:POV_fork of "Electricity" and "short sale" is to be deleted as an wp:Attack page against people who handle sales transactions. Wait, what day is it? Oh, I think all this information is false. Never mind. -Wikid77 (talk) 04:01, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Don't want no short people round here ;-) AndyTheGrump (talk) 04:10, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- What about short tempers? <g> Collect (talk) 18:22, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- There's no shortage of short tempers round here. ;-) AndyTheGrump (talk) 18:26, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Does Jimbo use a short tamper for his pipe? Collect (talk) 18:53, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- There's no shortage of short tempers round here. ;-) AndyTheGrump (talk) 18:26, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- What about short tempers? <g> Collect (talk) 18:22, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
Blocked...
April Fools' Day 2012 | ||
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The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it. | ||
Jasper Deng (talk) 02:55, 1 April 2012 (UTC) Speedy keep nomination of Template:Db-attack-noticePlease make statements attacking templates or pages. Misplaced Pages has a lax policy against content attacks. Pages and images are tolerated by Misplaced Pages and are not speedily deleted. Users who continue to create or repost such pages and images in violation of our biographies of living pages policy will not be blocked from editing Misplaced Pages. Thank you. If you think that the page was not nominated in error, contest the nomination by clicking on the button labelled "Click here to contest this speedy deletion" in the speedy deletion tag. Doing so will take you to the talk page where you can explain why you believe the page should not be deleted. You can also visit the page's talk page directly to give your reasons, but be aware that once a page is tagged for speedy deletion, it may be removed without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but do not hesitate to add information that is consistent with Misplaced Pages's policies and guidelines. Jasper Deng (talk) 03:37, 1 April 2012 (UTC) |
Shame
Jimbo, you take credit in the media for starting this project, so you should take responsibility for allowing it to be misused as it is to give living people a hard time. Take some responsiblity. Ayn Rand's philosophy didn't absolve you of taking responsibility, did it? Come on...do the right thing. Cla68 (talk) 08:03, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Can you point to any problems in the current article? I have engaged directly with Mr. Hawkins about the article, and personally went through it line-by-line looking for any inaccuracies or errors. I additionally courtesy-blanked the deletion discussions, reprimanded an editor who was rude, and asked another editor who the subject finds annoying to steer clear of the article. So, what is the 'right thing' that you think I've failed to do?--Jimbo Wales (talk) 08:29, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- Delete it. That's the decent thing to do, given the history. Kevin (talk) 11:36, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- Given what history, exactly? I've looked into this case in pretty close detail, and I see nothing from the history of the situation that would warrant deletion of the article today. Can you be more precise about why you think that's the right thing to do here? Also, to be clear, I think Cla68 is asking me to overrule community consensus, which would be extremely controversial to say the least. So, obviously, I'd need to have a really really good reason. Even if I agreed that the article should be deleted, that's no different from many hundreds or thousands of votes every year on the site where I might find myself voting in the minority of some issue. If I acted with special powers every little time I disagreed with something, we'd have a huge mess on our hands.
- So why is this case not just one in which you (or Cla68, at least) thinks that the community has come to the wrong decision, but that the decision is sufficiently and importantly wrong to such a degree that I ought to do something dramatic about it? I just don't see how that makes sense.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 11:43, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- It's in part a question of precedent. This is not a household name. Practically all the sources are primary, and regional, sources. There is no national coverage of him. Someone with that level of notability should have an opt-out from Misplaced Pages, especially if they feel distressed by the way their biography and its associated talk page have been handled by Misplaced Pages's anonymous editors.
- The number of biographies rises daily. The number of editors looking after them does not. If we allow that trend to continue, the problems caused by BLP violations will increase. --JN466 13:03, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- Judging by comments on Wifione's talk page, I believe the Hawkins AfD is headed for deletion review. JN466 13:05, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- Delete it. That's the decent thing to do, given the history. Kevin (talk) 11:36, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
Congratulations
If you like you can add this userbox to your extensive collection.
This user has been awarded with the 100 Pages of Archives Award. |
```Buster Seven Talk 10:30, 16 March 2012 (UTC)
- That milestone was reached a few months ago; see archives A–G that I retrospectively created to hold the earlier discussions. Graham87 15:22, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
UK law enforcement requests article removal
Apparently, UK law enforcement has recently requested (not ordered) removal of a crime article, or part of the article, so as to mitigate pre-trial publicity and ensure a fair trial for the defendant.
In the community discussion, so far the majority of commentators are saying "Tough if someone outside WP wants it removing", even though Misplaced Pages:Biographies_of_living_persons#Crime_perpetrators recommends giving serious thought to excluding such content.
Thoughts? --JN466 14:57, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- You are conflating two distinct issues. WP:BLPCRIME advises omitting material on the suspect. That can be accomplished without deleting the entire article; it can also be accomplished without deleting most of the content of the article (and then fully protecting it, as an admin has now done). We can adhere to Misplaced Pages policies without deferring to a single country's law enforcement officials. Nomoskedasticity (talk) 15:31, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Two thoughts come to mind. First, whatever they want removed is obviously covered elsewhere on the net, so removing it from our article won't help much. Second, Streisand effect. If this case is big enough that UK police are asking for a change or removal, then it is big enough that the media could well turn the removal into a story, thus ensuring greater coverage. Resolute 15:36, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- This looks like a rerun of the Murder of Joanna Yeates. The sub judice rules in English law can prevent the media from reporting certain information while an investigation or trial is in progress. Provided that material has appeared in reliable sources, such as the BBC, there should be no problems.--♦IanMacM♦ 15:55, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- To Resolute, given that it is all collected in one place here, rather than spread out across a hundred sites, it clearly does make a difference. Secondly, if we simply comply, in the interest of doing our bit as socially-minded citizens to help ensure a fair trial, there need be no Streisand effect at all. Thirdly, to Nomo, it's a UK case, and as such hardly of any vital interest to readers in the US or New Zealand. Fourthly, to Ianmacm, I do recall that in the wake of the Yeates murder, we, along with the UK tabloid press, for several weeks defamed a wholly innocent man. It was not one of our finest hours. We proved that we are no encyclopedia, but just a tabloid aggregator. --JN466 16:10, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- I fully agree that the conduct of the UK tabloid press following the murder of Joanna Yeates was disgraceful, this is why it led to successful libel action and contempt of court proceedings by the Attorney General. However, it would be worrying to prevent the mention of material that is already available in reliable sources. The same man (CH) has been charged with two murders, this cannot be easily hidden.--♦IanMacM♦ 16:18, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- There was a courteous request to OTRS to remove detailed reports of the investigation of the case in order that the defendant could have a fair trial. I was not sure what could be done although obviously the information may be not only inadmissible and prejudicial but wrong. I initiated a request for deletion, which is what the matter amounts to if all or nearly all references are removed, but realized Misplaced Pages:Biographies_of_living_persons#Crime_perpetrators applied. In fact, I can think of nothing that applies more than publication of a criminal investigation prior to trial. There are no court orders regarding this matter that I am aware of. User:Fred Bauder Talk 16:31, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- I fully agree that the conduct of the UK tabloid press following the murder of Joanna Yeates was disgraceful, this is why it led to successful libel action and contempt of court proceedings by the Attorney General. However, it would be worrying to prevent the mention of material that is already available in reliable sources. The same man (CH) has been charged with two murders, this cannot be easily hidden.--♦IanMacM♦ 16:18, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- To Resolute, given that it is all collected in one place here, rather than spread out across a hundred sites, it clearly does make a difference. Secondly, if we simply comply, in the interest of doing our bit as socially-minded citizens to help ensure a fair trial, there need be no Streisand effect at all. Thirdly, to Nomo, it's a UK case, and as such hardly of any vital interest to readers in the US or New Zealand. Fourthly, to Ianmacm, I do recall that in the wake of the Yeates murder, we, along with the UK tabloid press, for several weeks defamed a wholly innocent man. It was not one of our finest hours. We proved that we are no encyclopedia, but just a tabloid aggregator. --JN466 16:10, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- This looks like a rerun of the Murder of Joanna Yeates. The sub judice rules in English law can prevent the media from reporting certain information while an investigation or trial is in progress. Provided that material has appeared in reliable sources, such as the BBC, there should be no problems.--♦IanMacM♦ 15:55, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Agree with Fred and Jayen on this. The reason I wrote Misplaced Pages:Biographies of living persons#Crime perpetrators and included it in our BLP policy was exactly for these reasons, so we could strongly come out against including material that - even though adhering to NOR or V - could purport a living person to be guilty of a crime before an actual conviction is secured. My suggestion would be to strongly ensure the non-inclusion of any such material within the article, irrespective of the course the AfD takes. Wifione 17:09, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- It is arguably reasonable to omit information about the suspect. But in fact the article has been stubbed by removing significant amounts of information that had nothing to do with the suspect. It would be possible to have an article here that does not refer to the suspect, and in my view it's improper to accede to the request of a law enforcement official that there be no article at all. Nomoskedasticity (talk) 17:11, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Without a court order, this request has no legal validity. The suppression of material freely available in reliable sources is not what Misplaced Pages is about. The man CH has not only been arrested, he is facing two murder charges, and this has been reported by the BBC and other mainstream media outlets. The UK police have exceeded their powers with this request. There are no problems with linking to news coverage.--♦IanMacM♦ 17:18, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- So yet again it comes down to 'WP:NOTCENCORED' blah, blah, blah, 'free speech' blah, blah, blah - and no consideration whatsoever to the fact that we shouldn't have had the article in the first place, per multiple policies... AndyTheGrump (talk) 17:22, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Although I am not convinced about the WP:GNG angle at the moment, the UK police should have read Streisand effect before making such a poorly thought out request. It would be a sad day if ongoing court proceedings could not be mentioned at all.--♦IanMacM♦ 17:27, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Any Streisand effect is due to my efforts to initiate a policy discussion, and our anarchic response as a community. It is our encyclopedic content which is not censored, we do not, as a matter of policy, include news reports of criminal investigations, see Misplaced Pages:Biographies_of_living_persons#Crime_perpetrators. We are a reference work not a news outlet. User:Fred Bauder Talk 17:29, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- It would be a sadder day if the only reason that Misplaced Pages chose to include anything and everything was just because it would be 'censorship' to omit it. If people wan't to read about 'ongoing court proceedings', there are plenty of other sources to assist. AndyTheGrump (talk) 17:33, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- If we can make progress on this matter at the cost of only one serial killer going free it is worth it. Not going to England anyway... User:Fred Bauder Talk 17:32, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Ahem... 'alleged'? AndyTheGrump (talk) 17:35, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- If we can make progress on this matter at the cost of only one serial killer going free it is worth it. Not going to England anyway... User:Fred Bauder Talk 17:32, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Although I am not convinced about the WP:GNG angle at the moment, the UK police should have read Streisand effect before making such a poorly thought out request. It would be a sad day if ongoing court proceedings could not be mentioned at all.--♦IanMacM♦ 17:27, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- So yet again it comes down to 'WP:NOTCENCORED' blah, blah, blah, 'free speech' blah, blah, blah - and no consideration whatsoever to the fact that we shouldn't have had the article in the first place, per multiple policies... AndyTheGrump (talk) 17:22, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Without a court order, this request has no legal validity. The suppression of material freely available in reliable sources is not what Misplaced Pages is about. The man CH has not only been arrested, he is facing two murder charges, and this has been reported by the BBC and other mainstream media outlets. The UK police have exceeded their powers with this request. There are no problems with linking to news coverage.--♦IanMacM♦ 17:18, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- It is arguably reasonable to omit information about the suspect. But in fact the article has been stubbed by removing significant amounts of information that had nothing to do with the suspect. It would be possible to have an article here that does not refer to the suspect, and in my view it's improper to accede to the request of a law enforcement official that there be no article at all. Nomoskedasticity (talk) 17:11, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
Image:CensoredRhodesiaHerald.jpg
- What you see on this front page of the Rhodesia Herald is not censorship. It is overt opposition to censorship. Real and effective censorship always works in secrecy. -- Petri Krohn (talk)
None of you seem to understand how censorship in Britain works and I cannot blame you, as none of this is explained in any of the articles on Censorship in Britain. There is no lack sources for this case, it has been extensively covered in all of British media, with the name of the suspect splashed all over the news. British censorship law prevents not only publishing new stories on the subject, but existing on-line sources are being taken off-line and disappearing from Internet as we speak. This should not be a problem for Misplaced Pages, as there is no need for sources to be on-line. Even printed sources are known to have been used in some articles. Removing the on-line articles does not remove the information from the internet, much of the material is available through Google cache. Of the 20 references in the original article the five that first went off-line seen to be the ones suggesting a link between the murder and another body found.
I have voiced a strong objection to the way this has now been handled. This was a British "request". Will we abide by similar requests from Russia or China? Most likely not. If the article stays censored, it should be made clear this was NOT a community decision. The hat-note should explicitly state that the article has been deleted / censored as a result of a gag-order from British authorities.
As for Misplaced Pages:Biographies_of_living_persons#Crime_perpetrators, I believe the necessary action would at most be removing the suspects name from the article. We are not making accusations, we are not even sticking to "facts", we are only reporting what reliable sources have already stated. -- Petri Krohn (talk) 17:39, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- The links to news reports introduce details of the investigation which may be both inadmissible and prejudicial, to say nothing of possibly being wrong. News reports are notorious for getting things wrong and placing inappropriate emphasis on details. We are better than that. User:Fred Bauder Talk 18:01, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- There is no court order, just a courteous request. We are just following policy by not publishing defamatory information about a living person. User:Fred Bauder Talk 17:43, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- It is not defamatory to report court proceedings in reliable media sources.--♦IanMacM♦ 17:55, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Why would they bother with a trial when it is obvious from the Misplaced Pages article that they are guilty? User:Fred Bauder Talk 17:57, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- It is not defamatory to report court proceedings in reliable media sources.--♦IanMacM♦ 17:55, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- This type of "gag-order" does not require a dedicated court order. British authorities can censor the media without going to court. Only if this was a civil case would a super-injunction be needed. (And if that was the case, we would never hear about it either.) -- Petri Krohn (talk) 18:06, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Having read through the version of Death of Sian O'Callaghan that was suppressed, it did not have any major BLP issues. It pointed out that CH has been charged with two murders (Sian O'Callaghan and BGE), but did not imply guilt. The link of CH to the death of another woman, MH, is more speculative, and CH has not been charged with her murder. Since all of this information is on the BBC website, this would be covered by the now standard advice of a judge for jury members not to research the case on the Internet. --♦IanMacM♦ 18:18, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Reports of the investigation contain information which may be inadmissible or prejudicial, or even plain wrong. User:Fred Bauder Talk 19:27, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- In many commonwealth realm countries it's generally considered questionable if instructions to the jury to not research cases independently is sufficient, as evidence sometimes evidence emerges that juries have ignored such instructions. Plus you still run the risk of juries coming across the info inadvertedly. Nil Einne (talk) 01:56, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- Having read through the version of Death of Sian O'Callaghan that was suppressed, it did not have any major BLP issues. It pointed out that CH has been charged with two murders (Sian O'Callaghan and BGE), but did not imply guilt. The link of CH to the death of another woman, MH, is more speculative, and CH has not been charged with her murder. Since all of this information is on the BBC website, this would be covered by the now standard advice of a judge for jury members not to research the case on the Internet. --♦IanMacM♦ 18:18, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Petri, if we accede to a request to remove the article we retain the freedom to republish it at any time, and in particular to republish it after the trial is over (and update it). If you feel diminished by acceding to such a request, made in the service of a greater good, your reaction is simply not that of a responsible adult. Moreover, you are fetishising our freedom to regurgitate popular press statements and speculations – which, as the Yeates case proved, are often complete rubbish – to a degree that is completely disproportionate to their actual encyclopedic value. (That fetishisation of Misplaced Pages content was a worrying tendency equally apparent in the recent Hawkins AfD.) By the way, the SPI is a nice April Fool's joke! :) Sorry to break the festive mood. --JN466 19:05, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- How does service of a greater good differ from WP:ACTIVIM? What other greater goods and good causes should Misplaced Pages take up? Maybe bringing "freedom" and "democracy" to all the worlds oppressed peoples?
- In reality I do not object to censorship of the article. What I object to is the way this is done. What I would like to see is that the hat note be changed to something like: "This article has been redacted to comply with the Sub judice requirements of British law." -- Petri Krohn (talk) 19:41, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Why? It hasn't been. Nobody has suggested that it has. AndyTheGrump (talk) 19:50, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- The article was modified to comply with Misplaced Pages:Biographies_of_living_persons#Crime_perpetrators. The request from English law enforcement just brought the problem to our attention. User:Fred Bauder Talk 19:52, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- This is not the case and you know it. I am not going to take your word for it and neither has the community. -- Petri Krohn (talk) 20:00, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- The article was modified to comply with Misplaced Pages:Biographies_of_living_persons#Crime_perpetrators. The request from English law enforcement just brought the problem to our attention. User:Fred Bauder Talk 19:52, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- I see a pretty obvious difference between activism and enabling a fair trial. You don't? --JN466 20:39, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Why? It hasn't been. Nobody has suggested that it has. AndyTheGrump (talk) 19:50, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- I don't see any particular reason to think we won't abide by a similar Russian or Chinese request. Yes we'd get some objection just as we are getting some now. In fact, I'm pretty sure this issue has came up before and I said the same thing, we should abide by a similar Russian, Chinese or whatever request. Note 'similar' is a key word. If they are asking us to temporarily remove information to ensure a fair trial that's fine. If they are asking us to permanently remove stuff which they feel is prejudiced against them or untrue, that's not a similar example. Since China has a jury system similar to a number of other countries uses a jury system where a judge is involved and in Russia there is only very limited use of juries and I've seen no evidence they have a similar system of subjudice, it's unclear to me whether a similar request is likely. Nil Einne (talk) 02:07, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- I remember now there was the case of Peter Tobin, see Misplaced Pages talk:Biographies of living persons/Archive 20#Current legal cases & Misplaced Pages:Administrators' noticeboard/Archive177#Admin deletes article per Scottish police (probably more discussion in other areas) Nil Einne (talk) 02:34, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
Articles which make "allegations" make bad encyclopedia articles, especially when any sort of POV can be attached thereto. I suggest that articles subject to WP:BLP in any manner which make allegations be strongly constrained. Collect (talk) 18:21, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
Is this an April Fools thing? FormerIP (talk) 20:02, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- Not to my knowledge. --JN466 20:40, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
As this has been apparently referred to WMF legal, I won't do anything until such time as they respond. But I do have a view on this. As is well-known I take a strong view on the necessity to uphold the highest standards of dignity and responsibility on biographies of living persons. We ought not to repeat tabloid speculation in most cases. I think there are a number of newspapers, particularly in the UK, which we should (almost) never accept as sources due to their ongoing bias, inflammatory exaggerations, etc. But I think that the article it its current form is much too restricted. We have a valid report in the BBC, which among the popular media is at the very pinnacle of quality and reliability. The information that Mr. Halliwell has been accused of murder, the accusation coming at an open court hearing at which he appeared, is a fact that couldn't possibly prejudice his trial. (I mean, the fact that he's going to go on trial for murder will already be apparent to jurors when the case is heard, since he'll be on trial for murder!) I really like Collect's formulation, above: "I suggest that articles subject to WP:BLP in any manner which make allegations be strongly constrained."--Jimbo Wales (talk) 08:25, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- I'm not sure where this request came from; but it sounds highly suspicious and in my (unfortunately lengthy) experience of the UK justice system, is not something they would do (or try). The police have specific avenues to apply these measures to the press - which they have not used in this case (having checked). --Errant 08:50, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
Inclusion of Touré's surname in his article
Hi, Jimmy Since the matter of whether to include Touré's surname has come up again, can you cast your vote here? If anyone here would like to participate, we could sure use your input to get a bead on the community consensus. If you're unfamiliar with the arguments for and against doing including the surname, you can read them just above that section, or click here. The discussion is of considerable length, but not too long to get a gist of the primary arguments for and against. I really appreciate it. Thanks. Nightscream Nightscream (talk) 16:49, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- I commented over there. I hope we can get more eyes on the situation, as it's an interesting one and, I think can and should be handled with respect and dignity... but only so long as people don't get wound up and into "WP:NOTCENSORED!!!111!!! is ALL!!!" mode.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 10:06, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
April Fool's pranking policy?
Editors should be able to have fun once a year. However, some pranks are disruptive. I seek to strike a balance between those two aspects. I propose the following:
- There should be one April Fool's prank in article space. This should be clever, well-designed and funny, like Google's pranks. It should not be immediately obvious as a joke, but neither should it be so plausible that it lasts until after April 1 is over.
- Other pranks are OK so long as they stay within the community namespaces (project, user, and talk namespaces) and do not affect article space. For example, joke AfDs would be fine, as long as the joke-nominated articles didn't have deletion templates on them.
- Ruining of (legitimate) jokes by exposing them can result in a block after a warning.
- The best April Fool's pranks should be commemorated in an April Fool's Hall of Fame, the worst in an April Fool's Hall of Infamy.
- Editors should try to come up with original pranks, rather than repeating the same ones year after year.
- Standard vandalism remedies will be applied to violators of this policy.
What do you think? ChromaNebula (talk) 22:23, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- WP:VPP is the best place, as this is a community concept. I was inches from blocking some folks this morning due to horrifically idiotic AFD's, BLP vios. It's already being discussed at AN wrongly (talk→ BWilkins ←track) 22:30, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
Just for reference, this year's April Fool's DYKs included:
... that in 2007, the owners of a hairy Fabulous Willy were criticised for being homosexual?
... that Nintendo owns the rights to a pornographic film?
... that Santa Claus was a stud?
... that in 2009, the urinal known as "The Carousel of Love" (pictured), a well known place for gay cruising, was declared a Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site?
... that an Italian Protestant fathered The Virgin Mary in 1950?
... that T. vagina have eyes hidden behind their skin?
... that a Baker went into outer space with sea urchin sperm, later receiving a rubber duck and many bananas for her efforts?
... that if you want to talk to the anal it helps to speak their language?
... that Ralph Dewey (pictured) blows up animals for Jesus?
... that a Roman Catholic priest got five Super Bowl rings with the 49ers?
... that Nuns can fly at high altitudes?
... that red hot penises can be pickled, but it is recommended one not eat them? JN466 23:05, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- The first one and the last two are obviously BLP violations...--Jasper Deng (talk) 23:07, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
- BLP regards unsourced criticisms of particular persons, which does include misleading statements. The Ralph Dewey one is concerningly misleading, but I see no issue with any of the others. Miss Baker is a monkey, not a person. Nuns are a group, not a person. Santa Claus is a fictional character, not a person. And Nintendo really does own the rights to a pornographic film. Dcoetzee 02:56, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- OK, maybe not exactly BLP for the last two, but still, these aren't going to be found funny by many people.--Jasper Deng (talk) 03:37, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- For the last one, see what a penis pepper is. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 12:20, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- OK, maybe not exactly BLP for the last two, but still, these aren't going to be found funny by many people.--Jasper Deng (talk) 03:37, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- BLP regards unsourced criticisms of particular persons, which does include misleading statements. The Ralph Dewey one is concerningly misleading, but I see no issue with any of the others. Miss Baker is a monkey, not a person. Nuns are a group, not a person. Santa Claus is a fictional character, not a person. And Nintendo really does own the rights to a pornographic film. Dcoetzee 02:56, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- I disagree with this proposal practically in its entirety. To begin with, the Misplaced Pages April Fool's tradition doesn't (or at least shouldn't) involve any deception; the jokes must be obvious because the way the hooks are worded is practically all people have to work with. The article information is quirky because it just is quirky. Having all the hooks be something nutty is part of the tradition, and a good one.
- The obsession with sex affects censors and productive editors alike; this is an illustration of the Hodge-Podge principle from The Illuminatus Trilogy. Trying to ban sexual content (including humor) only makes it more on editors' minds when creative ideas are called for; likewise the desire to flourish it defiantly provokes the would-be censors. Wnt (talk) 05:00, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- There is a difference between censorship and exercising good taste. The former is imposed from without, the latter is a sign of intelligence and sensibility. --Anthonyhcole (talk) 08:18, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- That's 100% correct. The idea is not to censor things, but to actually be funny. To actually be funny takes more than cheap sex gags. We should always aim higher.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 08:31, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- Like I said on AN (because someone moved WP:BEANS and could not move it back): "So then create WP:Don't stuff Lima beans up your friend's nose, use pinto beans instead; make it humourous. Then nominate it for MFD - you then draw people's attention to your humour. Mindless MFD's are not positive, and are truly a disruption in all cases" (talk→ BWilkins ←track) 09:28, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- I rather liked Ron Ritzman's "leaving in a hissy fit", and of course I liked my addition to the top of RfA and my Temple of Artemis AfD. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 12:27, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- Like I said on AN (because someone moved WP:BEANS and could not move it back): "So then create WP:Don't stuff Lima beans up your friend's nose, use pinto beans instead; make it humourous. Then nominate it for MFD - you then draw people's attention to your humour. Mindless MFD's are not positive, and are truly a disruption in all cases" (talk→ BWilkins ←track) 09:28, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- That's 100% correct. The idea is not to censor things, but to actually be funny. To actually be funny takes more than cheap sex gags. We should always aim higher.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 08:31, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- There is a difference between censorship and exercising good taste. The former is imposed from without, the latter is a sign of intelligence and sensibility. --Anthonyhcole (talk) 08:18, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- Disagree with the proposal. Firstly there should be no April Fools pranks in mainspace (and if we did allow one who would get to decide which one?). As for the rest of the pedia some jokes are funnier than others, if you don't think a particular joke RFA is funny then don't participate in it. The mainpage is an institution, I doubt if we have consensus to move away from our strange but true tradition. If you don't think that this year was particularly good then please help make next year better. ϢereSpielChequers 12:49, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- I think it just may be time to move on from the April Fools' "tradition" here, honestly. It may have been cool and hip 5-6 years ago here, but as the population has grown significantly since then its just no longer a case of "oh I know Person X, he wasn't being serious". There's too many names, too many admins for that familiarity to stay rooted. This year's run of jokes came across like a bunch of late 20-somethings who still hang around the college campus and get hammered every week. Sooner or later it is time to mature. Tarc (talk) 13:08, 2 April 2012 (UTC)