User talk:Eric Corbett

There are many aspects of wikipedia's governance that seem to me to be at best ill-considered and at worst corrupt, and little recognition that some things need to change. I appreciate that there are many good, talented, and honest people here, but there are far too many who are none of those things, concerned only with the status they acquire by doing whatever is required to climb up some greasy pole or other. I'm out of step with the way things are run here, and at best grudgingly tolerated by the children who run this site. I see that as a good thing, although I appreciate that there are others who see it as an excuse to look for any reason to block me, as my log amply demonstrates.

TPS alert ...

Anyone see anything DYK-worthy in Wighard? I'm not seeing anything, but you never know... Ealdgyth - Talk 12:49, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

• ...that although Wighard was selected as the 7th Archbishop of Canterbury, no-one is sure whether his death in Rome occurred before or after he was consecrated? Bencherlite^Talk 12:55, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

Saxon monk is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by other Saxons; instead of waiting for the pallium to arrive in the post (as his 6 predecessors did) he goes to Rome so that there would be no doubt that the Pope supports his appointment. He dies, apparently of some kind of plague, either before or after he's palliuminised. At which point a Libyan ancestor of Ghaddafi suggests that his mate Theo the Turk would be good for the job. Theo gets the job, arrives in England, tells the Saxons to stop shagging their sisters at the Synod of Hertford.

• ...that Wighard died of some foul disease after kissing the Pope's ring? Ning-ning (talk) 02:14, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

LOLOLOL... thank you for that laugh. What a great summary of the article (grins). Amazing what you can fluff out a tiny little bit of information with... Ealdgyth - Talk 02:17, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Anyone see anything in Libellus responsionum? Ealdgyth - Talk 18:14, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Gregory I might've said monks have always been monks? Gregory I dictated who could marry whom? Gregory I suggested punishments for church robbers? Gregory I wanted to control pregnant women and new mothers? Gregory I discussed the sexual dreams of priests? This sounds like a good opportunity to enrage large swathes of the population. Nikkimaria (talk) 03:39, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

...that in the 7th century, Pope Gregory I was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if a man could marry his step-sister? (or if pregnant women could enter churches, or if priests could hold mass after having a sexual dream). Dana boomer (talk) 12:21, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Support

Thanks for your support over there (and others who will be reading this I think), it gives me a bit more confidence that the blood running down my forehead isn't an illusion, but rather the result of banging my head against a brick wall built of ignorance. Parrot of Doom 19:11, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

Even I'm finding it frustrating and I've hardly touched the article, so I can only imagine how you must be feeling. I notice that we're back to one of PBS's favourite hobby horses now, his misunderstanding of the guidelines on the layout of references. Malleus Fatuorum 19:14, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

Am I alone in thinking that creating 5 headings in a short history section is overkill? I was thinking the 20th-century and effigy headings were fine, but no more. Parrot of Doom 19:22, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

WP:ANI 25 March 2011

See Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents#User:Malleus Fatuorum 25 March 2011 -- PBS (talk) 01:36, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Why? just more of your usual bollocks I expect. Malleus Fatuorum 01:37, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

I read through that thread. I was getting worried that I might be from Greater Manchester and not even know it. Then I realized that all you Greater Manchesterians apparently type "ce" and I generally use "c/e". Whew! That slash makes all the difference. LadyofShalott 02:33, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

If you ever use naughty words, or are disrespectful to your superiors, then you're from Greater Manchester, at least in spirit. BTW, do you know what "slash" means "oop north" amongst us barbarians? Urinating. Malleus Fatuorum 02:40, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Apparantly I'm from Greater Manchester (despite never having been there) as I routinely use "ce" all the time... it and "ref tweak" are my favorite edit summaries.... Ealdgyth - Talk 02:45, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

LOL, nope I didn't know that. I'll have to remember to ask the one person I actually know from those parts if he knows that usage or if it developed after he moved across the pond. LadyofShalott 02:54, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Ask him what "having a slash means". Malleus Fatuorum 02:58, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

I'm not from Greater Manchester; the closest I've been is the airport, unless listening to the Stone Roses counts. I worked with a guy in Scotland who used to call it a "single fish" though; do I win anything for that? --John (talk) 03:13, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

My brother calls it "checking the plumbing" when we're out on the piss, but y'all need to be careful lest you're branded as members of the Greater Manchester cabal. The irony is that PoD probably lives a couple of miles from me, J3Mrs maybe 15, Richerman probably even closer, but I've never met any of them. Last year I was in Chorlton library, looking through the local history stack, as was someone else who I thought I recognised from a picture I'd seen somewhere. I ended up having to explain what wikipedia was before being escorted to the door. (I'm exaggerating, of course, but he was bemused. ;-) ) Malleus Fatuorum 03:31, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia never sleeps, eh? Do you think English has more euphemisms for sexual and elimination acts than any other language? I certainly think it has more derogatory words for foreigners than any other language. These are both original research based off my own impressions though. I remember being really shocked when folks in the bar in France would say "je vais pisser" when going to the toilet, rather than using a euphemism. Makes you think. --John (talk) 03:55, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

I think English just has more words than any other language, because it borrows and incorporates them. I love France, but the public pissoirs are gross. Malleus Fatuorum 04:02, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

It's the biggest in the world. Makes you proud, doesn't it? Not to even mention all the dialect and slang. The euphemisms thing is still weird though, in my opinion. It's even worse out here; as you know, one goes to the restroom or the washroom or the bathroom here; to say "toilet" is extremely rude. --John (talk) 05:01, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Christ almighty. Someone break out the tinfoil hats. Parrot of Doom 08:35, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Oh dear, what a three ring circus. Greater Manchester Project, the rottweiler of Wikipedia, whatever next? --J3Mrs (talk) 09:01, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Its the WP:GM claque all over again - remember when that comment was made? Parrot of Doom 09:05, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

'Fraid, I don't but I can imagine, hope I haven't caused you any extra trouble.--J3Mrs (talk) 09:09, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

[1] Parrot of Doom 09:20, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Before my time. I'm surprised the Greater Manchester project hasn't been banned, it's participants are too forthright for their own good.--J3Mrs (talk) 09:36, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

I haven't done the stats, but I'd bet a pound to penny that most of these daft civility reports originate from the "have a nice day" American editors. Malleus Fatuorum 15:54, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

How come "Greater Manchester punching above its weight" has been deleted form the Guy Fawkes night discussion page? - I thought it was hilarious. However, I'm upset about not being included as one of the Greater Manchester sockpuppets - obviously I'm not aggressive enough. Still, that may change since I reverted this pointless edit - is PBS just trying to be awkward? Richerman (talk) 00:39, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

He's just another misguided admin on a mission, no shortage of them sadly. Malleus Fatuorum 01:06, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Ironically, an admin who was blocked for disruption a couple of months ago. Gotta love Wikipedia. – iridescent 01:14, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

... and who has apparently learned nothing from that block. Malleus Fatuorum 01:26, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

I'm just flabbergasted that an admin can have such a poor command of the English language, and be so woefully inept when it comes to understanding how to treat a subject with 400 years of history. He's clearly a complete ******* *****. Parrot of Doom 16:57, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

"You may well think that, I couldn't possibly comment." Malleus Fatuorum 17:00, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

As for that block - [2]. I'm surprised you don't recall, both of you commented on it.Prodego ^talk 06:19, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Is PBS a reincarnation of Tan39? I lose track—we really need a central register of these things. – iridescent 10:01, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

I've got no idea. It was certainly a rather cryptic response in any event. Perhaps PBS was the one who blocked Tan39? I really can't be bothered to check. Malleus Fatuorum 16:34, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Sorry, I misinterpreted your comments about PBS's disruption block for comments about the disruption block on myself. That wasn't very AGF on my part. Prodego ^talk 06:11, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

On the subject of blocks, you might be interested in this discussion as to whether block logs should be editable; the views of someone who's been on the receiving end would probably be worth hearing. (I can see both sides. The main argument for it is that it would stop editors who'd be incorrectly blocked from being stigmatised for their block log; the main arguments against are that everyone who'd ever been blocked for anything would demand their block log be examined and thus create a huge backlog of work, and that it would allow abusive admins to cover their tracks.) – iridescent 01:56, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

I noticed that discussion earlier, but I'm disinclined to take part in it. My view is very simple. It's inevitable that some will use the "look at the size of that block log" argument to encourage administrators to impose another block, but to remove incorrect blocks with no corresponding way to record them in the administrator's own block log as an illegitimate use of the block tool is to play into the hands of the poor administrators, of which there are already far too many. Malleus Fatuorum 02:43, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

I don't know if it's technically possible, but I really like Brad's idea of asymmetric logs (that is, a bad block is removed from the blocked users log, but remains on the record of the blocking admin). If a cop had a long record of arresting the wrong suspects, the suspects wouldn't get a criminal record regardless, but neither would the cop have all records of his incompetence removed. – iridescent 10:01, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

• I found this interesting reading, as its clear from the comments of others (see Slimvirgin) that PBS's tendency to repeatedly change articles to his preferred style, no matter how convincing the arguments against, remains unchanged. There seems to me to be a long-term problem with his behaviour. Parrot of Doom 10:50, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

Credo accounts

400 free Wikipedia:Credo accounts available - just in case you wanted one, but didn't already have access. Anybody else you can think of who would find one useful? --RexxS (talk) 02:24, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

I've already got one. Malleus Fatuorum 02:26, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

I use mine about once every month or so. I've not found it particularly useful for my work .. might be good if someone posted a list of available sources for those seeking the new accounts, so they know if they might get use out of it. Ealdgyth - Talk 02:31, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

To be honest I'm a little bit uncomfortable with the present allocation system, as it seems a little bit demeaning to me. I wouldn't have applied for the initial tranche of 100 had the same conditions been in place. Malleus Fatuorum 02:26, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

I haven't even looked at them, honestly. I'd highly recommend folks snap up Oxford Dictionary of National Biography acounts if they were ever offered (or to the ODNB's sister project the American Dictionary of National Biography) but Credo is a lot of tertiary encyclopedias, not many things as in depth as the ODNB. Ealdgyth - Talk 02:38, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Joining a library that offers online access to the ODNB is the best. Sadly though with the cuts taking place here in the wake of the banking crisis I've noticed a few public libraries quietly dropping it, or making it less available to those outside their area. My own local authority included. Malleus Fatuorum 02:45, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

I pay a yearly subscription fee for the ODNB, but I would pretty much be unable to write much without it. When I stopped and thought about how much I spend on fast food, it was easier to cut that back a bit for something educational! Ealdgyth - Talk 02:47, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Luckily I live in a big conurbation, with about 10 local authorities each of which has different priorities, and many (most?) of which still provide access to the ODNB. I agree with you that it would be a great loss. Malleus Fatuorum 02:55, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) I suspected you might have, but best to be certain ... maybe one or two of your TPSs might take advantage. @Ealdgyth: the Credo site has a list here, but editors have to follow the right links to find it. The full list might be a bit long to post. I've found that my local library lets me access Credo, OED, ODNB. etc. online now, but I guess not everybody has that facility. Cheers, --RexxS (talk) 02:43, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia email

You have email,  Roger ^talk 04:48, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

I've seen it, and I'm unimpressed. Malleus Fatuorum 04:55, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

April 1

Looks like a decent bit of work you have done for April 1. Perhaps Pigeon photographer should be worked on earlier for next year. ww2censor (talk) 21:39, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Pigeon photographer would make a great April 1 TFA, but time is short. Maybe next year, as you say. As regards reverting the move, best to ask one of the admins; I'm just a drone. Malleus Fatuorum 21:45, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

User talk:Dank/RFA

I'd like to ask some questions about the endorsements idea without distracting from the "Eureka" thread. Thanks. - Dank (push to talk) 00:30, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Somerset (again)

Thanks for all your help with Somerset Levels which got its little star last night. The next target is a list. It's not quite ready for FLC nomination but if you (or any of your talk page stalkers) had the time/inclination to turn your eagle eyes to the prose on List of hill forts and ancient settlements in Somerset that would be great.— Rod ^talk 08:22, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Brent Knoll was defended by a wall 10 cm in height? Designed by Spinal Tap? Ning-ning (talk) 10:15, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks changed to 10m - I don't think Spinal Tap ever played that venue ;-)— Rod ^talk 10:34, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Did you know that Brent Knoll (and Brean Head) feature in Dion Fortune's book Sea Priestess? --Elen of the Roads (talk) 10:18, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

No I didn't. Do you mean Brean Down?— Rod ^talk 10:46, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

I do indeed. She called Brean Down "Bell Head" and Brent Knoll "Bell Knowle", but her biographer, Gareth Knight confirms that these were the actual location of the novel [3]. I should probably add that to the articles. --Elen of the Roads (talk) 11:01, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

She had lots of local connections (mentioned in Glastonbury) but not someone I've ever read.— Rod ^talk 11:22, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Yes, she knew that area well. All her novels seem to be bedded into actual landscapes. I've been all round there taking photographs (although not as good as the ones in the actual articles). Elen of the Roads (talk) 11:45, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Talk:St Deiniol's Church, Llanddaniel Fab/GA1 / question to TPS-ers

Thanks for your note - I'd seen your review in progress over the weekend, although was unable to edit (pesky family getting in the way again!), and was going through my watchlist to find the link again when the orange bar came up. Over to you I think, when you get a moment (no rush, needless to say). The only point where I'm not sure I agree with you is whether this and similar articles should start "St Foo's Church, Llanfoo is a 19th-century church ... " or "St Foo's Church is a 19th-century church..." - i.e. whether the location is part of the name or not. Looking around WP (that well-known reliable source) both forms seem to be in use, so I wondered whether any of your talkpage stalkers had any words of additional wisdom. Bencherlite^Talk 19:17, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

It's obviously not a deal breaker, but I too will be interested to see what others have to say. Malleus Fatuorum 19:21, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Lead section TT first sentence format says "As a general rule, the first (and only the first) appearance of the page title should be in boldface as early as possible in the first sentence", so I've emboldened the location as well as the dedication or whatever in the first sentence, hoping that's correct. But I'm no expert; just written too many church articles (and I hope I do not have to go back and change them all). --Peter I. Vardy (talk) 20:14, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

It's obviously a matter of interpretation, but mine is that the article's title is whatever appears before the comma. What appears afterwards is redtape necessary for disambiguation. Malleus Fatuorum 20:19, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

(arguing against my point) I think we had a similar issue when you pre-FA copy-edited Buildings of Jesus College, Oxford in relation to how many times I needed to say "Oxford" in the opening sentence. We ended up with "The main buildings of Jesus College, one of the colleges of the University of Oxford, are located in the centre of the city of Oxford, England [etc]", so cutting down on repetitious repetition of "Oxford". Whether the title is "Buildings of Jesus College" or "Buildings of Jesus College, Oxford", removing one "Oxford" there helped improve the flow of the opening, and so perhaps the same could be said here - by only having to mention the village/town once, the phrasing improves. Bencherlite^Talk 20:24, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

I seem to remember that. A similar point came up at a current FAC, "The Broad Ripple Park Carousel is a carousel ...". Well blow me down, the carousel is a carousel. This isn't a GAN sticking point though, so I'll run through the article again later. Malleus Fatuorum 20:29, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Thank you once more. Bencherlite^Talk 19:48, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

Whenever I possibly can get away with it, I avoid "is" or "was" right after the article subject. There is nothing wrong with "The Broad Ripple Park Carousel, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA was first constructed in (whenever). Some people don't like it, and I've had some drive by changes I revert, but sometimes it is the best answer.--Wehwalt (talk) 05:40, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

A-Class Review Request

I was wondering if you could do an A-Class review on the Frank Buckles article. If you can't, that's cool, just please let me know either way. Take Care...Neutralhomer • Talk • Coor. Online Amb'dor • 22:43, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

A-class reviews are for members of the relevant project(s) to carry out, so I'm afraid I can't help. Malleus Fatuorum 22:45, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

Ah, I thought anyone could, my mistake. I will ask someone over at WP:MILITARY, since it falls under that category. - Neutralhomer • Talk • Coor. Online Amb'dor • 22:51, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

The Man in the Moone

I wrote the book up as a stub--at least, a stub of what it could be--for DYK review. Expansion should not be so difficult even with just Google Books. As you see, it's in pretty poor state, but at least it's something. Oh, I also had a second edition of The Green Child, with the Felix Kelly illustrations; I had hoped for tons and tons of illustrations, since I'm oddly fascinated with the book. You were right in saying that the second part isn't all that great, and plotwise it's rather unlikely. And what an odd statement that is, given that it's the "realistic" part of the novel! Thanks for tipping me off to it, which you did by writing it up. All the best! Drmies (talk) 04:37, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

That's a pretty damn good start! I've collected a few bits and pieces while investigating the green children that I can add when the muse returns. I'm glad you enjoyed The Green Child; it's an odd little book that I too found strangely fascinating. Malleus Fatuorum 04:52, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

Thank you Malleus. I've gotten some of my students interested as well in the children, since I was teaching SGGK. Did I tell you I read the story to my daughter in Kevin Crossley-Holland's version? I had to return the two editions of Read's book to the library, but will be on the lookout for a used version.

As for The Man--whenever you feel like it, sketch an outline and I can help fill things in. I'm a bit hesitant to do it myself since you are so familiar with writing larger articles, and I have a tendency to develop them from what I find in one source after another, never doing an overview first, and thus the intermediate stages are often choppy. I saw that The Man was republished by Broadview; I'm going to ask them for a copy--or two, if you'd like one. Ssht, don't tell them, or they'll accuse me of driving up book prices. I do hope your muse returns, by the way. Drmies (talk) 05:02, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

What did your daughter make of the book? For myself, it wasn't until I wrote the article that I began to feel that I had a real handle on what Read was saying. What initially attracted me was his use and understanding of language. I was kind of up to speed with the psychoanalytic aspects of the book, but the significance of Plato's allegory of the cave had completely passed me by. Malleus Fatuorum 05:19, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

Out of interest, why is the present tense ("plays") correct in the sentence, "The book is notable for the role it plays in what was called the "new astronomy""? My sense is that it both sounds wrong and is wrong, "played" sounding far more natural and corresponding to the "what was called" part of the sentence ... Ericoides (talk) 14:33, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

Hmmm. I was thinking of the literary present tense when I changed that, but on reflection I tend to think now that "played" is probably better. Malleus Fatuorum 15:48, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

Opinion on article Mary Enig sought

Hello. I hope you don't mind my posting here but this is the closest thing to an article content contributors' noticeboard I am aware of on Wikipedia and wanted an outside opinion of whether I'm off base. The issue is currently at ANI. For my willingness to fix the article up and not allow banners on it I'm being accused of ownership issues. I added nearly 20 sources to the article but the current banner and article (protected by an admin) includes request for additional references and suggests it needs to be wikified first. Am I out-to-lunch on this one or is this preposterous? Thank you for your observations.

• Diff from just before my first edit to my last edit.
• Before my edits
• latest
• Talk:Mary_G._Enig
• Article history

Lambanog (talk) 03:08, 31 March 2011 (UTC)

Fixing that article up is like "fixing up" the article about Gillian McKeith- it suggests that you're into promoting woo. Go fix some other article- it's not worth digging a hole for yourself on this one. Ning-ning (talk) 07:52, 31 March 2011 (UTC)