Wikiquote:Village pump archive 27

From January to February 2009, originally posted to Village pump.

=Village pump archive 27=

Merging two completely different accounts
Hello, I recently converted my old Wikipedia account into a general Wikimedia Foundation account. However, I seem to have a problem. I had an old Wikiquote account with a similar name (but not quite the same), and a different email address. I would like to merge that old account with this one. I've searched the help sections but cannot seem to find a solution. Is it possible to have this done, and if so, whom should I ask? —MarsJenkar 05:47, 2 January 2009 (UTC)


 * This is similar to another user's recent problem, in which I stated that I didn't believe the slightly different names can presently be merged unless a steward temporarily removed the general SUL account, renamed your account here, and then allowed recreation of the SUL account, and that I had not dealt with such renaming issues in quite a while and am not actually sure of all the present procedures available. I don't know of any other alternatives to this rather tedious option at present. ~ Kalki 07:07, 2 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Well, if this is the best solution, I don't really have a major problem with it unless it screws up the edits I made on the other account (which, from what I can tell, is doubtful). I've barely used this account here, and I've used the other one a lot more.  I would like to see if anyone else has any input, though. —MarsJenkar 13:22, 2 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Incidentally, this is the "old" account, the one that I want to keep. —Mars Jenkar 21:16, 2 January 2009 (UTC)


 * The actual merging of two accounts' edits isn't possible. However, any local bureaucrat can rename the account you actually used here; there's a "this name is reserved" warning, but it's possible to ignore it and do it anyway. EVula // talk // &#9775;  // 04:13, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

(Un-indent for new, related question) All right. My next question is related, but I suspect it may need to go up on Meta or the main Wikipedia site....Would it be possible to or switch this account for the one currently part of my unified account, or at least temporarily "de-unify" my unified account so that I could finish the switch myself? (I successfully changed the email address on this account to be the same as on the unified account.) —Mars Jenkar 21:21, 8 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I think what you mean is to rename "Mars Jenkar" to "Mars Jenkar (old)", then rename "MarsJenkar" to "Mars Jenkar", which would put all the edits you've made as "Mars Jenkar" into your SUL. Correct? :) EVula // talk // &#9775;  // 22:26, 8 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I believe so. I would like my "old" edit history, not the relatively brief one under this username, to be the one associated with my permanent account. —MarsJenkar 20:19, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

All kidding aside, if you head over to Changing username, it'll probably get seen more readily. Just reference this thread and someone can take care of you. EVula // talk // &#9775;  // 21:07, 19 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Forgive my seeming impatience, but I've not seen a response to this "thread" in several days. Is there a problem? —Mars Jenkar 20:41, 19 January 2009 (UTC)
 * For what it's worth, if you can wait for my RfB to pass, I'd be more than willing to do it myself. ;)


 * Thanks much. 'Tis done. —Mars Jenkar 19:50, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

Looking for a challenge?
The Politics theme page is huge, and virtually none of the quotations have a remotely adequate citation. I've done a very few, but doing it right can take half an hour or more to locate the best available sources. This article needs lots of help, but if every Wikiquotian kicked in three or four citations, it would greatly improve the page. Many other theme pages are in a similar condition; I just noticed this one because it's on my watchlist and other people have been editing it recently. 121a0012 06:53, 2 January 2009 (UTC)
 * The page is also excessively long, and should be divided into smaller bits. Many of the quotes are only tertiarily related to politics, as well. BD2412 T 14:57, 2 January 2009 (UTC)
 * This is one of those topics on which one could fill an entire library and still leave important things out. It definitely need to be divided into narrower topics. I thought about doing so once, but the prospect of dealing with so much unsourced and poorly sourced material made my eyes cross. I will try to kick in three or four citations, and if several others do the same we may arrive at a sound basis on which to start a dozen manageable themes. ~ Ningauble 17:59, 2 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Some of the headings (and the quotes beneath them) have very little to do with politics anyway - Art? Education? BD2412 T 00:53, 4 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I've removed a couple big wodges of quotes -- many of them excellent if only they were sourced and on-topic -- to the talk page. 121a0012 03:59, 5 January 2009 (UTC)
 * It might make things easier if we remove all of the quotes that are attributed to an individual, but with zero source information given to verify this (or move all those unsourced quotes to the talk page or a temporary subpage). Cirt (talk) 01:28, 7 January 2009 (UTC)
 * A few of these are being sourced each day or two. I suggest holding off on expunging the relevant ones until the sourcing effort looses momentum. ~ Ningauble 14:30, 7 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Okay, sounds good. Cirt (talk) 22:16, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

edit fight
there is an edit fight in Macedonia.

User:Local_hero keeps on deleting the word fYROM from the intro even though many people know this country with that name as you can see in the Wikipedia article. please help. 150.140.225.146 23:41, 13 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I have rewritten the introduction, basing it on the intro in the Wikipedia article Macedonia (region). I also renamed the Wikiquote page as Macedonia (region) to match the WP article. - InvisibleSun 00:53, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
 * amen brother. thanx. --CuteHappyBrute 01:37, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

Quotes by you and I - after all we are intelligent too!
Hi folks:

This is a place for the ordinary folks with unproven credentials in articulation have a chance to create our own quotes:

Here are some of my own:

"We inherited a planet with no lines and managed to draw quite a few of them with human blood"

"Is the glass half empty, or half full - well that would depend on what is in the glass and how thirsty I am"

"Why do we human beings enjoy watching other people's realities instead of living our own"

"Circle the Walmart parking lot for 10 minutes to find a parking spot 10 feet closer and then go in and buy a tread mill - exercise in futility?"

Ravi Kallianpur Hope to add more.


 * Making up your own quotes is not within the mission of Wikiquote. You are welcome to post these on a user page, if you are otherwise a contributing member of the project. BD2412 T 15:55, 16 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Indeed, I have no problem with users having a list of their own quotes on their userpages, as long as that isn't the sole extent of their contributions to Wikiquote. EVula // talk // &#9775;  // 21:13, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

Adding the Armenian interwiki link to Main Page
I was wondering how I can add the interwiki link to the Armenian Main Page to the English Main Page. You can find the link to it here. Thanks in advance for the suggestions. Chaojoker 11:54, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Projects are considered Active Wikiquotes when they reach a threshold of 100 articles. According to the Table of Wikimedia Projects by Size at Meta (current as of January 15), hy.wikiquote has 74 articles. At the rate it is growing, it will reach 100 any day now, at which time it should be listed at Other language Wikiquotes. It looks like only three projects listed there are not also on the main page—probably an oversight, as there is room to list them all. Just remind us again when there are 100 articles. (Only a suggestion, but you may want to recruit more than one administrator when taking it global.) ~ Ningauble 14:35, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Actually, hy:Special:Statistics says that they have 108 content pages. I just compared the stats for the Basque, Latin, and Azeri Wikiquotes with the numbers listed at Wikiquote and found that the others are accurate. As a result, we can go ahead and add the Armenian link. EVula // talk // &#9775;  // 16:34, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Ningauble, I don't think that is the actual policy, as some of the languages that are actually listed on the Main Page have less than 100 articles. But yes, hy.wikiquote has 110 articles now, so please go ahead. Thanks for the help :) Chaojoker 16:53, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Just another note: It takes a while for the statistics on Table of Wikimedia Projects by Size to get updated, hence the inconsistencies. Chaojoker 16:55, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Հայերեն has now been added to both the navigation pane and the Community box. May you have many new visitors! ~ Ningauble 17:10, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Whoops, my mistake in not adding it there, too. Sorry. :) EVula // talk // &#9775;  // 17:55, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks to both of you :) Chaojoker 18:02, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Root Category
I have a couple suggestions regarding Category:Categories, the "root" category under which all other categories are organized: I raise these here to get community input on whether they are good ideas, and also because I do not know where to find the MediaWiki pages for implementing them. (And I am too lazy to look it up because I am confident somebody here knows off the top of their head.) ~ Ningauble 16:46, 24 January 2009 (UTC)
 * 1) The navigation pane has a standard link to Special:Categories. Due to the large size of the list, I don't think an un-indexed alphabetical listing of all categories is a useful navigation tool. I suggest replacing it with a link to Category:Categories. It would also be helpful to add a link to Category:Categories in the text of Special:Categories and vice versa.
 * 2) Noticing that the Main Page does not have a link to Category:Categories, an editor recently removed the category from Category:Main page. This makes it the only uncategorized category we have. There is a certain logic in not listing the root category under any categories, for it creates a circular reference. However, reducing accessibility of the root, even marginally, makes the tree less discoverable. I suggest adding a link to Category:Categories somewhere on the Main Page and/or, if we adopt suggestion (1) above, redefining Category:Main page to include categories that have links on the main page or on the navigation pane.
 * I think Category:Wikiquote maintenance is appropriate in this case. Cirt (talk) 16:49, 24 January 2009 (UTC)
 * While the category tree is relevant to maintenance, it is primarily a navigation tool. Not all users navigate that way but, for those who do, a navigation tree is an important front-end interface. ~ Ningauble 17:00, 24 January 2009 (UTC)
 * What do you suggest? Cirt (talk) 17:45, 24 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Sorry that was incoherent. Outdenting to re-express myself... <:-) Ningauble 19:08, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

I have edited Special:Categories and Category:Categories to link to each other. I would also like to: (a) replace Special:Categories with Category:Categories in the navigation pane; (b) add Category:Categories to the Main Page browse bar; and (c) add Category:Categories back to Category:Main page. If no one objects, I will go ahead and do these three things. ~ Ningauble 19:08, 26 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Makes sense to me - no objection here. ~ UDScott 19:16, 26 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I agree with that. How about keeping it in Category:Wikiquote maintenance, as well? Cirt (talk) 19:53, 26 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Done. ~ Ningauble 21:34, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Great! Thank you for taking care of that. Cirt (talk) 05:56, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

Article names
There is an article on Wikipedia called Greek genocide. The Greek genocide is not one which has a large body of scholarly historical analysis, and although the majority of scholars who work in this area consider that a genocide took place this is not a near universal view. It is also complicated because it is an active area of political tension between the Greek and Turkish governments and their peoples (so there is a lot of unreliable web sources presenting different points of view).

Some editors who edit Wikipedia created articles to support their point of view:
 * List of eyewitness accounts related to the Pontic Greek Genocide
 * Academic quotes on the Pontic Greek Genocide
 * List of press headlines relevant to the Pontic Greek Genocide

The first two have been moved internally in Wikipedia to talk pages. The last one has been moved to a more neutral title Contemporary press headlines on atrocities affecting the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)

When an editor suggested putting in a number of these quotes into the article (as the other article had been moved to a talk page), it was pointed out that Wikipedia is not a quote farm (w:Talk:Greek_genocide). So the quotes article has been copied here.

The original Wikipedia article was originally "Pontic Greek Genocide" which was moved to "Pontic Greek genocide" (Lowercase "g" indicates a descriptive name) and then to "Greek genocide". The name here has been moved in a similar fashion.

As I am just an infrequent visitor to Wikiquotes, I would like some experienced Wikiquotes editors to consider if the name "Greek Genocide" is a neutral name, or if it would be better to move the article to another name like "Selective quotes from Greek genocide scholars" or some such title. --Philip Baird Shearer

Cleaning out Advertising slogans
This seems to be a fair place to give notice that in 72 hours, I will delete all quotes in Advertising slogans which are not properly sourced to a printed publication other than one produced by the advertiser itself. Cheers! BD2412 T 19:58, 1 February 2009 (UTC)
 * You may also want to take a look at MTV slogans which, despite being more focused, exhibits the same problems. ~ Ningauble 16:55, 2 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I've nominated MTV slogans for deletion. If only the junk was cleaned out, there wouldn't be enough left to justify an entry. BD2412 T 01:29, 3 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Ok, all unsourced slogans have been deleted. Cheers! BD2412 T 20:24, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Monster Allergy and Monster Allergy (TV series)
These pages seem to be basically the same thing, not sure which one should be deleted/redirected to the other one... Cirt (talk) 11:30, 15 February 2009 (UTC)
 * An editor has now deleted all the quotes from Monster Allergy. Looking over the page as it had previously been, it would appear that the quotes were the same as the ones from the show. Since Monster Allergy, a comic book series, isn't the same thing as the TV series, a redirect wouldn't be advisable.  For now, Monster Allergy could be given a PROD for no quotes.  - InvisibleSun 23:29, 15 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I agree with this assessment and added a PROD to Monster Allergy. Cirt (talk) 02:41, 16 February 2009 (UTC)

Wikimania 2009
Wikimania 2009, this year's global event devoted to Wikimedia projects around the globe, is accepting submissions for presentations, workshops, panels, posters, open space discussions, and artistic works related to the Wikimedia projects or free content topics in general. The conference will be held from August 26-28 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. For more information, check the official Call for Participation.  Cbrown1023   talk   18:02, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers
Just wanted to bring this to the community's attention. There are supposed to be about 3,000 quotes there copied over from a public domain source linked on the page, some of which I have already moved into theme articles or author articles. Anyone who wants to jump in and format, correct scannos, and pop these into our entries, please have at it! Cheers! BD2412 T 21:23, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Completing the Neutral point of view policy
See talk, please. --Nemo 09:33, 28 February 2009 (UTC)