User talk:Ben MacDui

This user is a Scottish Wikipedian. There are things particularly relevant to Scottish Wikipedians at the Scottish Wikipedians' notice board. Please feel free to help us improve Scottish related articles in Wikipedia!

Polite intercourse: some of my correspondents may not be sure how to address a person such as myself. I take no offence whatever at being called 'Ben' - it's an understandable error. However, this name is an honorific. My local friends call me 'MacDui'.
If you leave a new message on this page, I will usually reply here unless specifically asked to reply elsewhere.

Happy Christmas

Hi. I just wanted to wish you a Happy Christmas. Mugginsx (talk) 10:03, 18 December 2011 (UTC)

You are very kind and my very best wishes to you too. We have seasonal snow at present and I am listening to And Winter Came.... It's all quite relaxing for a change. Ben MacDui 15:47, 18 December 2011 (UTC)

Just listened to it on U-tube. Must go out and buy it - it's quite beautiful. No more snow yet here in New England. Mugginsx (talk) 21:01, 18 December 2011 (UTC)

	Season's greetings and best wishes for 2012!
	Thanks for all you do here, Ruhrfisch ><>°° 22:03, 24 December 2011 (UTC)

And to you. Our keyboards haven't crossed much of late, but looking forward to working with you in 2012. Ben MacDui 12:37, 28 December 2011 (UTC)

A cup of coffee for you!

Hello MacDui. I'm having a cup of coffee (it's 10:35AM here in California) and wanted to share with you as you've done such nice work on Scottish related articles, and I've just come to notice that. Rosiestep (talk) 18:38, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

You are most kind and I'd be happy to return the favour if you ever venture to these parts. All the best for 2012. Ben MacDui

Your GA nomination of Scandinavian Scotland

The article Scandinavian Scotland you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Scandinavian Scotland for comments about the article. Well done! There is a backlog of articles waiting for review, why not help out and review a nominated article yourself? It was a pleasure to read this article. — Dmitrij D. Czarkoff (talk) 17:50, 6 January 2012 (UTC)

Many thanks for this prompt review. Ben MacDui 11:18, 7 January 2012 (UTC)

Congrats! I seem to recall that it was that viking ship burial find that prompted you to bite the bullet. Nice to know that the consumed vessel had a wee something more to contribute, a thousand years on. --Mais oui! (talk) 12:40, 7 January 2012 (UTC)

Thank-you for noticing. WP:SCO's list of recognised content is something I've lost track of of late and no-one else seems to be interested. Sabred's Scotland in the Late Middle Ages isn't listed as a recent example. I'm drafting a JL-Bot auto list here. You can't see anything yet but the next bot update should create a list. I'm going to try and get the DYK's listed separately as they may be very numerous. Comments welcome. Ben MacDui 12:54, 7 January 2012 (UTC)

I think what WP:SCO really needs is a wee newsletter. Nothing fancy, and not too often, but just to say hello to interested Users sometimes, and/or highlight pertinent issues.--Mais oui! (talk) 18:08, 7 January 2012 (UTC)

That's an excellent idea. My suspicion is that having a single person to produce all the content might soon become wearisome for them, but having a co-ordinating editor and half-a-dozen contributors providing a say monthly update on various topics might do the trick. I'd be happy to produce a sentence or two on e.g. recognised content and island goings-on. Ben MacDui 10:44, 8 January 2012 (UTC)

Wonderful! --Mais oui! (talk) 12:17, 8 January 2012 (UTC)

Nimbley6

Hi, did you mean to place this SPI here? Catfish Jim and the soapdish 11:10, 10 January 2012 (UTC)

No worries... it seems to be in the right place now. It appears to be a fairly cut and dried case of sockery, if a slightly odd variant (but then that's nothing out of the ordinary on wikipedia) Catfish Jim and the soapdish 19:56, 10 January 2012 (UTC)

Re: k.d. lang RM

I'm just going to copy my previous statement here to show you the issue

This is just a self-admitted crusade on Kauffner's part to eliminate any sort of leeway in MOS:TM and the other manuals of style when it comes to people's stage names. Kauffner, Dicklyon, and Greg L are simply editors who think that the manual of style is a set of rules written in stone. I believe they are seeking to make a point after I attempted to get some clarity at WT:AT#Names of individuals over the apparent kerfluffle I started when I requested that Kesha be moved to "Ke$ha", with an RM at DJ OZMA, based on the fact that this page is at k.d. lang and we have pages like bell hooks, brian d foy, and will.i.am. I believe you, and other interested parties, should add your opinion to the discussion at WT:AT, because this very vocal minority of 3 editors should not be the ones to enforce a set of guidelines as unbending rules, such as Greg L's insistence that "[he] can only assume that a bat-shit-crazy, rabid following on [k.d. lang] established a local consensus in violation of WP:LOCALCONSENSUS".—Ryulong (竜龙) 23:55, 10 January 2012 (UTC)

Timeline of prehistoric Scotland at WP:TFL

Hello MacDui, just a quick note to ask you to revisit the nomination at TFL (it's been a while!) and cap any comments you feel no longer apply. I've asked bamse to come back to it and an independent reviewer to have a final check before I schedule it for main page inclusion. Sorry it's taken so long, with just one slot a week, you can understand how long it may be before nominated lists make it to the homepage! All the best, The Rambling Man (talk) 18:49, 12 January 2012 (UTC)

That's no problem at all. I'd like to get it sorted out but there is no hurry whatever. I'll comment there asap. Ben MacDui 15:12, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Gael 91

I noted your edit here. That User, and their countless ip sockpuppets (a Dublin educational institution) has been trolling Wikipedia for far too long. I, and other Users, revert all the ip edits we discover, but I suspect that it is time Admins took some concrete action. Mais oui! (talk) 09:43, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

I will keep my eye on them but they have only just received a final warning. As far as socking is concerned all you need to do is submit a report at WP:SPI and the sleuths there will take a look. Anyone can do that. Ben MacDui 19:33, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

Dear Sir, I am not a spammer. We had contact on several occasions. I wrote 23 articles for the Dutch Wikipedia and till recently 5 (partly) for the English version. I have a conflict with another moderator who calls me unreliable. He removed my name and you put it back several times.I have 28 books in the Royal Library in The Hague. My name is removed with my English articles. Even for William H. Mounsey (it is completely my article and I wrote a book about it). I am not an imposter. My name is Lex Ritman. I worked with the archaeologist Richard Feachem. May be you can do something about it. I feel humiliated by this other moderator. You can see several books of mineon: www.google.com: lex ritman (choose: images).Romeinsekeizer (talk) 14:51, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

I am sorry you feel that way. Whether or not you are Lex Ritman isn't much of an issue as far as I am concerned The question for me is, what is the status of "Ritman, Lex (2010). Major William Henry Mounsey, a British spy. The Hague (The Netherlands): Antoninus Pius." Is it a reliable source by an independent publisher (that has ideally received favourable reviews)? Google hits indicate that:

• The National Library of the Netherlands is quite happy to list Lex Ritman's titles, but
• I can't find any independent verification of the publisher "Antoninus Pius" other than listings involving Lex Ritman himself.
• Nor can I find an independent review of any book by this publisher in English or Dutch - although the search is largely confounded by hits for the Roman Emperor of the same name.

This may then be a vanity publication of some kind, and not a reliable source. Ben MacDui 15:40, 4 February 2012 (UTC) PS I see you have already been advised to take the subject to Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard

The odd dram

I noticed your note at FAC. What do you favor? I'm currently meandering through a Lagavulin 16 and a Bunnahabhain 12. Lovely, both. --Laser brain (talk) 17:43, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

Lagavulin is my favourite Islay malt, and The Macallan from Speyside, although my budget rarely stretches beyond the fat bird. Isle of Jura is a treat too. In all honesty I'm not that much of an afficionado, but I receive a small retainer from the tourist board to ham up the Scottish image.:) Ben MacDui 17:57, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

MSU Interview

Dear Ben,

My name is Jonathan Obar user:Jaobar, I'm a professor in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University and a Teaching Fellow with the Wikimedia Foundation's Education Program. This semester I've been running a little experiment at MSU, a class where we teach students about becoming Wikipedia administrators. Not a lot is known about your community, and our students (who are fascinated by wiki-culture by the way!) want to learn how you do what you do, and why you do it. A while back I proposed this idea (the class) to the community HERE, were it was met mainly with positive feedback. Anyhow, I'd like my students to speak with a few administrators to get a sense of admin experiences, training, motivations, likes, dislikes, etc. We were wondering if you'd be interested in speaking with one of our students.

So a few things about the interviews:

• Interviews will last between 15 and 30 minutes.
• Interviews can be conducted over skype (preferred), IRC or email. (You choose the form of communication based upon your comfort level, time, etc.)
• All interviews will be completely anonymous, meaning that you (real name and/or pseudonym) will never be identified in any of our materials, unless you give the interviewer permission to do so.
• All interviews will be completely voluntary. You are under no obligation to say yes to an interview, and can say no and stop or leave the interview at any time.
• The entire interview process is being overseen by MSU's institutional review board (ethics review). This means that all questions have been approved by the university and all students have been trained how to conduct interviews ethically and properly.

Bottom line is that we really need your help, and would really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. If interested, please send me an email at obar@msu.edu (to maintain anonymity) and I will add your name to my offline contact list. If you feel comfortable doing so, you can post your name HERE instead.

If you have questions or concerns at any time, feel free to email me at obar@msu.edu. I will be more than happy to speak with you.

Thanks in advance for your help. We have a lot to learn from you.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Obar --Jaobar (talk) 15:48, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

Scotland in the High Middle Ages...

...just to say, nice work over at Scotland in the High Middle Ages. It's looking a lot better. Hchc2009 (talk) 18:24, 11 February 2012 (UTC)

Thanks - the problem is that I don't have a lot of the sources and may be lacking some crucial ones to fill in the gaps, but I think its slowly getting there. Ben MacDui 19:18, 11 February 2012 (UTC)

I'm better on English than Scottish medieval history, but drop me a line if there are particular sources you're after. Hchc2009 (talk) 20:06, 11 February 2012 (UTC)

I believe the page numbering issue has been addressed save for one ref to Foster 96 and another to Gillingham 2000 neither of which I have and nor do I have anything to hand as an alternative. Any assistance gratefully received. Ben MacDui 20:08, 11 February 2012 (UTC)

I also wanted to say good work and to offer to help if I can. I did wonder if it might be better than trying to clean up the warfare section it might be easier to produce a something based on the text at Warfare in Medieval Scotland#High Middle Ages. I put that together, starting from scratch, after I decided that it would be too much work to try to support the statements this section in the article you are revising. Obviously the references style needs adaptation and the subject needs to be integrated. I can do this if it would help.--SabreBD (talk) 11:10, 13 February 2012 (UTC)

That would be great - go right ahead! I have very little on the subject at all - although we should mention Norse sea power, which I do have something on somewhere. Ben MacDui 16:55, 13 February 2012 (UTC)

Will do. If you have something on Norse sea power (and I should have realised you would) it would be great to add that to the Warfare in Medieval Scotland article as well, as that is exactly the topic that I didn't have anything significant on.--SabreBD (talk) 17:04, 13 February 2012 (UTC)

Happy to - although I'd like to finish SitHMA first if that's all right, or I shall be in danger of exploding. BTW, as I shall be dipping in and out of that article, and sometimes individual edits can take a long time if they involved a lot of twiddling with refs, can you let me know when you want to tackle the Military section? If I don't reply in a minute or two I'm probably out sunbathing. Ben MacDui 17:10, 13 February 2012 (UTC)

I did it before I read this. Hope that is OK. I have done my best to fit in with the ref style used and other format issues, but it is sometimes hard to get these right when an article is in the process of being cleaned up. By all means be ruthless with re-editing. I will take a look and see if more detail can be found. Hope the sunbathing went well.--SabreBD (talk) 17:43, 13 February 2012 (UTC)

You have reminded me to put the wretched thing on my watchlist! Now that the sun's gone down I will take a peek - many thanks. Ben MacDui 17:52, 13 February 2012 (UTC)

I see I need to look out my copy of Hammer of the Gods as well. Ben MacDui 15:21, 14 February 2012 (UTC)

No luck on my side for those two books, BTW; I'll have a look for alt sources this week. Hchc2009 (talk) 19:18, 13 February 2012 (UTC)

Okey-dokey. Ben MacDui 15:21, 14 February 2012 (UTC)

Hello MacDui. Just read your remarks re Scotland_in_the_High_Middle_Ages. The section on Christianity and the Church really needs a complete re-write and brought up todate. The text is simply a cut and paste from the main article Christianity in Medieval Scotland and so it would also need to be substantially updated. I'm not back until the end of next week and won't be able to get to the library until 5 March at the soonest but if that sort of timescale is ok then I'll give it a go. Even if this is too late this time I'll still do the revisions. Hats off to you though for what your doing at the review; pity our Premier League medievalists on this, Deacon and Angus, aren't around at the mo but I'll apply my Highland League abilities as best I can. --Bill Reid | (talk) 17:12, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

I am quite unfamiliar with the FAR/FARC process, but hopefully we can stall it until you get a chance to check the section over. There are a few bits and pieces I can fill in in the meantime. Have a good trip - and here's to the Highland League! Ben MacDui 19:56, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Uí Ímair and Earls of Orkney

Brilliant work, Ben, and very important to me personally, but for quite a long time I'll remain unable to return there. My current circumstances prevent me, as will those in the forseeable near future. Thank you for asking me, and I'll return when I can. Take care! Nora lives (talk) 13:58, 21 February 2012 (UTC)

OK and thanks. Ben MacDui 19:57, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Thank you!

Hi Ben, Thanks for blocking User:125.19.209.66. The user has been seriously counter-productive and has done everything to sully the spirit of WIkipedia. The user deleted a whole page (Kanti Bajpai) and replaced it with 'he's a cool dude'. And, then of course, the user also has a long history of vandalism. Thanks very much indeed! [[User:Merlaysamuel|Merlaysamuel]] ([[User talk:Merlaysamuel#top|talk]]) (talk) 13:47, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

That's a shared IP address registered to an educational institution (The Doon School), not an individual user. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 15:05, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for the info Demiurge. But, as far as I've figured out, it's a person called 'Tanay' as as adds his/her name on alumni pages and credits him/herself for founding the doon school (oc course, through vandalism!)

Also, Ben I'm sorry I told him that he will be blocked. It was only out of complete frustration. Because it is maddening to see a page being vandalised (not 1 line, not 2....but the whole page) when you care for it so much! I knew I couldn't block him, therefore, I never wrote "I am blocking you" :P, I used a ploy saying "You are being blocked". Though I apologise for it. And once again, thanks very much! [[User:Merlaysamuel|Merlaysamuel]] ([[User talk:Merlaysamuel#top|talk]]) (talk) 16:03, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Oops! I have apparently ruined my signature :P [[User:Merlaysamuel|Merlaysamuel]] ([[User talk:Merlaysamuel#top|talk]]) (talk) 16:04, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

As I said, it's a shared IP address. It would be entirely possible for it to be used by someone calling themselves "Tanay" at some times, and by other people at other times. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 16:15, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Timeline

Not a problem. I saw how much effort you put into addressing the various concerns, it deserves a bit of show-casing! Any ideas if/when this "referendum" may take place? Would be nice to synchronise it if we can! The Rambling Man (talk) 09:43, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

It looks like it will be held in October 2014 - see Scottish independence referendum, 2014, although there is pressure from the UK govt to have it in 2013. Ben MacDui 09:47, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Wow, that's a way off. Perhaps we can think of a better time to run it? St Andrews Day? The Rambling Man (talk) 09:48, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

That would be good. Do you think the joke would be well-received it was timed to co-incide with the forthcoming Falkirk by-election? Ben MacDui 09:53, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

I think we'd both have a chuckle about it but it might not quite reach out to the masses! The Rambling Man (talk) 10:02, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

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Rachel Chiesley, Lady Grange

Congratulations - just saw it got its well-deserved gold star! Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 22:20, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Many thanks for you help and indeed encouragement. Ben MacDui 09:00, 1 March 2012 (UTC)

WP:FOUR for Rachel Chiesley, Lady Grange

		Four Award
		Congratulations! You have been awarded the Four Award for your work from beginning to end on Rachel Chiesley, Lady Grange. TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 05:58, 2 March 2012 (UTC)

--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 05:58, 2 March 2012 (UTC)

Thanks Tony. Ben MacDui 08:23, 2 March 2012 (UTC)