Talk:Qonce

It is incorrect to say that King William's Town is in the "Cape Province" As of 1994, the Cape of Good Hope Province no longer exists, having been broken into Western Cape Province, Northern Cape Province, and Eastern Cape Province. King William's Town is located in the latter.

Kaffir wars? HIGHLY offensive wording. Please change! Even when I was at school (24 years ago) this term had long been abandoned in favour of Frontier Wars. 41.208.24.234 08:29, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

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Requested move 27 November 2021

King William's Town → Qonce – It has been almost one year since South Africa renamed King William's Town to Qonce. Despite the fact that this name is in use by both media and local government, Wikipedia has not updated the listing. South African towns and cities have been renamed in the past and the Wikipedia article has changed without issue.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2021-05-17-demolition-of-victoria-grounds-in-qonce-another-assault-on-the-eastern-capes-rich-history/

https://www.airbnb.com/qonce-south-africa/stays

https://www.artefacts.co.za/main/Buildings/towndetframes.php?townid=49

https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/mans-death-sparks-fears-of-werewolf-stalking-eastern-cape-village-20211112

https://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2021-11-26-bail-bid-postponed-for-qonce-church-leader-accused-of-sexual-assault-human-trafficking/

https://www.goexpress.co.za/2021/11/26/blood-drive-to-help-two-youths/

https://www.foodformzansi.co.za/eastern-cape-horse-owners-in-dire-straits/

https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/naked-body-of-woman-found-outside-qonce-with-bruises-and-stab-wounds/

https://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2021-09-29-qonce-bank-evacuated-after-bomb-scare/

I have included a ton of sources to show that this name is in use throughout South African media. Saying "African media isn't trustworthy" is a bad argument. There is a wholehearted denial in response to these name changes by a certain section of the population. I'm writing this to defend against many bad faith arguments that are often raised to discredit these name changes. This article highlights why some people are angered by these name changes and why many of these names are rooted in colonialism and racism. This process is very similar to denazification or decommunization.

https://mg.co.za/article/2018-09-21-00-change-the-names-to-rid-sa-of-its-colonial-apartheid-past/

Some South African cities and towns were renamed decades ago and still have the old names in article titles. It's time for Wikipedia to catch up to modern day South Africa and the people that live in the country. Apartheid ended in 1994 and the people of the country want names that reflect local languages or simply the names that were always used rather than embrace the names imposed by the apartheid regime. Desertambition (talk) 01:18, 27 November 2021 (UTC) — Relisting. (t · c) buidhe 00:52, 31 December 2021 (UTC)— Relisting. -- Aervanath (talk) 03:32, 11 January 2022 (UTC)

• Oppose as WP:TOOSOON. "King William's Town" continues to see significant use, and it does not appear that "Qonce" has become the common name yet (For example: 123456). Concerns about the reliability of South African media should not be relevant here, as the town recieves minimal coverage in non-South African media. I also note that much of the proposers arguments amount to WP:RGW, which while a noble endeavour is not one suitable for Wikipedia. BilledMammal (talk) 03:52, 27 November 2021 (UTC)
  • It's quite telling that none of the articles you linked actually used King George's Town in the title of the article. Articles that focus on it have Qonce in the title. It seems pointless to oppose this move when it is already in use and people are trying to adopt the name. Other South African cities have been renamed and moved without issue. This was a democratic decision. I do not believe I am engaging in WP:RGW, I am just trying to update the wikipedia to match current facts. It is what it is. Desertambition (talk) 14:34, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
    • You would make your case much stronger, and your statement that you are not attempting to WP:RGW more believable, if you stuck to usage and calmly dismantled the opposing arguments. This rhetoric may work well elsewhere but it's counter-productive here. The case is convincing enough on its own, and many of the opposing arguments weak, but every time you do so you distract from the argument and make the change less likely to happen. Greenman (talk) 10:10, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
      • I made a factual statement. The articles I linked have Qonce in the title, the articles BilledMammal linked do not use Qonce in the title. It is highly relevant to the discussion. I have calmly dismantled these arguments already. This has been discussed extensively. Editors should not dismiss evidence just because they disagree with the "rhetoric" of an editor. I encourage any editors that may be upset with my rhetoric to read through the sources I have provided as well as my extensive reasoning and draw their own conclusions. Desertambition (talk) 14:34, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
• Oppose. Yet to enter common usage. -- Necrothesp (talk) 14:29, 1 December 2021 (UTC)
• Comment relisting per request on my talk page today. (t · c) buidhe 00:52, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
• BilledMammal, if both names are about equally common, but one of them is WP:OFFICIALNAME, then shouldn't we use the official name? Is there some policy that prefers the old name when the new name is about as common as the old one?VR _talk 00:54, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
  • As far as I know, there is no explicit policy in either direction. However, it is policy that Wikipedia follows, it doesn't lead, and so in cases where it is unclear that the new name has become the common name (and to be clear, I don't believe it has become the common or even equally common name yet - to add to my previous !vote, see Britannica which continues to use King William's Town) I feel it is safer to delay the change until it is clear that the new name has become the common name, in order to prevent us from accidentally leading the change, rather than following it. BilledMammal (talk) 01:05, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
    • If old and new name are about as equal, then is not reasonable to say we are "leading" the change. In such a case, we are neither "following" the change, but rather keeping up closely with RS. And once a name becomes official, that name's usage is likely to only increase (I can't think of any examples where the usage of a name decreased after it became official). So if the old and new name are about as equal, we should favor the newer WP:OFFICIALNAME.VR _talk 01:31, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
      • The way I see it in such cases is that there is no harm in waiting (WP:NODEADLINE) and possibly harm in acting, as if we misjudge the level of support - as we easily might, in marginal cases - we could inadvertently lead, rather than follow. I also think such examples are relatively common; not every name change is lead by the government - an example of this would be the decline of the use of Ayers Rock prior to the 1993 renaming (though King William's Town is not an example of this; ngrams shows almost no use prior to the official renaming) BilledMammal (talk) 06:04, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
        • That ngrams link looks like the same one Rreagan007 used below, and it gives me a little red circle with an exclamation mark (!) and tells me "Ngrams not found...". Did I break it? P.I. Ellsworth - ed. ^put'r there 11:43, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
          • Ngrams appears to have an issue with links involving special characters such as ' that I was not aware of; I can't work out a way to fix it, so if you are interested in seeing the results, just enter "King William's Town,Qonce" in the search bar there. BilledMammal (talk) 14:55, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
            • And in your estimation, how applicable are ngram results that only go up to 2019 to a name change that occurred after 2019? P.I. Ellsworth - ed. ^put'r there 20:46, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
              • Quite applicable to my discussion with VR. Less applicable generally, but I would expect that if Qonce was going to become the common name shortly after the official name change it would see some use prior, particularly since renaming has been under discussion since 2007. Note that "Replaced King William's Town with King William 's Town to match how we processed the books." is not an issue; it is just how Ngrams processes apostrophes, as word separators rather than part of the word, and will not have any impact on these results (although note that it does not include common misspellings of King William's Town. BilledMammal (talk) 02:39, 1 January 2022 (UTC)
    • It is incorrect to state that both names are used equally. It is common knowledge that basically the only people opposing these name changes are white Afrikaners. That is mentioned in almost every article about the name changes. It has been reported in international as well as South African media. Desertambition (talk) 01:36, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
  • I might have been mistaken; WP:MPN seems to require that the new name become "predominant" in "common global usage" before we move the article. BilledMammal (talk) 02:45, 2 January 2022 (UTC)
• Oppose. The old name is still the most common name used in English. Rreagan007 (talk) 01:28, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
  • You did not provide reasoning, sources, or anything substantial. Please expand on your reasoning. Desertambition (talk) 01:37, 31 December 2021 (UTC)

    Here you go. The Google Ngrams clearly show the current title is the most common name in English. Rreagan007 (talk) 08:02, 31 December 2021 (UTC)

    Am I doing something wrong? That ngrams link gives me a little red circle with an exclamation mark (!) and tells me "Ngrams not found...". Did I break it? P.I. Ellsworth - ed. ^put'r there 09:12, 31 December 2021 (UTC)

    Google Ngrams shows the frequency of terms in printed sources up until 2019. Besides the broken link, its relevance in the discussion is limited. Greenman (talk) 09:53, 31 December 2021 (UTC)

    Yes, and when you get it to work, by placing the cursor in the search box and pressing ENTER, a gnarly note pops up... "Replaced King William's Town with King William 's Town to match how we processed the books." That plus the fact that the name change is about a year old and ngrams only go up to 2019 seems a bit squirrelly. P.I. Ellsworth - ed. ^put'r there 20:56, 31 December 2021 (UTC)

• Support. The thing about name changes goes like this: "Sometimes the subject of an article will undergo a change of name. When this occurs, we give extra weight to independent, reliable English-language sources ('reliable sources') written after the name change. If the reliable sources written after the change is announced routinely use the new name, Wikipedia should follow suit and change relevant titles to match. If, on the other hand, reliable sources written after the name change is announced continue to use the established name, Wikipedia should continue to do so as well, as described above in 'Use commonly recognizable names'." Judging by sources the Wikipedia community's policy consensus to change this title should have already taken effect, and any local consensus in opposition should receive little weight in comparison to article titling policy.

  Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

There are many, many books, news articles and scholarly sources that use the new name "Qonce", either exclusively or with the old name in parentheses after the new name. So there is no question that Wikipedia should follow suit. P.I. Ellsworth - ed. ^put'r there 07:36, 31 December 2021 (UTC)

Qonce in Google maps – KFC-King Williams Town-Corner of Cathcart & Mary Streets, Qonce, 5601, South Africa – and on and on. Some places in the city retain the old name; however, the city is named "Qonce".

Here is a news article from February which gives correct pronunciations of all the new names. "Qonce" sounds like "kone", as in "ice cream kone". P.I. Ellsworth - ed. ^put'r there 10:27, 31 December 2021 (UTC)

• Support per P.I. Ellsworth. Common name appears to be Qonce. --Spekkios (talk) 02:26, 2 January 2022 (UTC)
• Oppose Still yet to enter common use as most news outlets still seem to be including King William's Town alongside it. The C of E God Save the Queen! (talk) 15:39, 3 January 2022 (UTC)
  • Can you expand on that reasoning? Seems to run contrary to the facts here. Did you check the sources? Desertambition (talk) 21:46, 3 January 2022 (UTC)
    • Seems to still be being used here, here (in the banner headline), here and here as well as the fact that news reports still say it alongside "Qonce" here, here, here and here. If it was now a common name, they wouldn't use the quantifier. Also given the fact that media outlets still use King William's Town without the quantifier suggests that it is not yet a common name. The C of E God Save the Queen! (talk) 15:44, 4 January 2022 (UTC)
      • To editor The C of E: I have raised concerns about The South African in the past. Where are they based and are they a reputable source? Haven't been able to find anything proving they are reliable. You can't just cherrypick one headline, news24 regularly uses Qonce instead of King William's Town.

      https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/eastern-cape-initiate-killed-by-lightning-as-more-thunderstorms-expected-for-the-province-20211214

      https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/mans-death-sparks-fears-of-werewolf-stalking-eastern-cape-village-20211112

      https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/local/komani-karoo/devastating-storm-hits-amatole-district-20211215

      https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/local/mthathaexpress/saps-member-renovates-elderly-mans-house-20211214

      Your Daily Maverick link actually supports my argument rather than yours. It uses Qonce primarily. King William's Town is regularly in parentheses next to Qonce.

      https://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2021-12-28-churchs-food-drive-makes-christmas-special-for-1000-families/

      https://www.dispatchlive.co.za/sport/2021-12-21-football-associations-in-bcm-have-big-plans-after-difficult-year/

      https://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2021-12-14-berlin-november-organisers-slam-spcas-bush-race-reference/

      https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/four-dead-13-injured-in-two-seperate-head-on-collisions-in-polokwane/

      https://www.cajnewsafrica.com/2021/12/28/eastern-cape-tourism-undeterred-by-covid-19-scourge/

      It's like I'm shouting into the void. What problem do you have with these sources, which are all more recent than what you have provided? Desertambition (talk) 18:52, 5 January 2022 (UTC)

      I don't think it's fair to levvy the accusation of cherry-picking when I could equally state the same to you for picking specific sources. Indeed the fact that the Maverick one (and others that do it) still feel the need to put King William's Town in parentheses shows that it clearly has not become a COMMONNAME yet as Mumbai has for Bombay for example. If you feel you are shouting in the void when consensus appears to be against you. Might I respectfully suggest it might be a good idea to drop the WP:STICK and let these things come naturally? It may be that in time, it does become commonname but at the moment, WP:NOTNOW. The C of E God Save the Queen! (talk) 19:19, 5 January 2022 (UTC)

      You did not address what The South African is and whether it is a reliable source. Putting the name in parentheses means the exact opposite of that. Just because they include a reminder of the old name for clarity does not mean that they are rejecting the new name. It means they are adopting the new names and have the old name in parentheses for clarity. I would appreciate it if you explained why you used the sources you did and how they are more legitimate than what I have provided. To editor The C of E: Desertambition (talk) 22:28, 5 January 2022 (UTC)

      "I have cited news sites such as news24, Daily Maverick, The South African, and Herald Live. If these sources are illegitimate please tell me why. I do not see large amounts of disinformation and inaccuracies in their reporting." BilledMammal (talk) 09:45, 6 January 2022 (UTC)

      BilledMammal Ok I gotta admit, I was asking for that. So, I believe it was incorrect for me to use The South African. I do not know whether they are a reliable source or not and they seem to be the least reliable out of the sources both you and I provided. Desertambition (talk) 22:10, 6 January 2022 (UTC)

      Apologies, The C of E, and please know that your opinion continues to be vital and welcome! The fact remains that, while the old name is sometimes (not always) used to disambiguate the new name, that new name is set off as the preferred name by being first and not in parentheses. That satisfies policy, and the new name is now the prominent name, a Wikipedia community consensus which nullifies any local consensus that disagrees with Wikipedia policy. P.I. Ellsworth - ed. ^put'r there 09:51, 6 January 2022 (UTC)

      Reading that, I don't see it telling us how to interpret sources that choose to use both names, as they both "routinely use the new name" and "continue to use the old name"; I believe that at the moment we don't have a community consensus on that particular question. BilledMammal (talk) 09:57, 6 January 2022 (UTC)

      It's very clear to me and has been clear to most editors for many years. If a source wants to use the new name prominently and decides to give its readers a gentle reminder in parentheses of the name change, then the new name should prevail on Wikipedia. P.I. Ellsworth - ed. ^put'r there 10:28, 6 January 2022 (UTC)

• Oppose (already !voted above P.I. Ellsworth - ed. ^put'r there 21:46, 5 January 2022 (UTC)) per WP:COMMONNAME. -- Necrothesp (talk) 14:55, 5 January 2022 (UTC)
  • Why? Can you expand on that? What is wrong with my sources exactly? To editor Necrothesp: Desertambition (talk) 18:52, 5 January 2022 (UTC)
  • Wait, you can't vote twice. I think this oppose should be removed. To editor Necrothesp: Desertambition (talk) 18:58, 5 January 2022 (UTC)
    • My apologies. I had no memory of voting on this at all. -- Necrothesp (talk) 09:05, 6 January 2022 (UTC)
      • 'Sokay, Necrothesp, you remind me of me. P.I. Ellsworth - ed. ^put'r there 09:34, 6 January 2022 (UTC)
• Note: The proposer has since been blocked, following a discussion on WP:AN. The C of E God Save the Queen! (talk) 11:37, 8 January 2022 (UTC)
• Support Per Ellsworth, and looking at all the sources the re-name is the present Common Name per Name Changes -- and to the extent both names are still used in sources, King William is generally not used as the present name but as a former moniker. -- Alanscottwalker (talk) 14:03, 8 January 2022 (UTC)
• Oppose, both names are in use in current news stories as shown by a Google News Search:

• "King William's Town", excluding Qonce 282 results
• Qonce, excluding "King William's Town" 253 results
• Both "King William's Town" and Qonce 278 results

Most articles that used both names used the Qonce (formerly King William's Town) formula (or similar), but there are a few examples of both names co-existing in a different way in the same article:

• King William’s Town's second annual Qonce Home Coming entertainment event was allocated R400000.^[1]
• “Hopefully the Premier’s office will now respond to us,” said Ziya Gaxa from Qonce High School in King William's Town.^[2]

-- Toddy1 (talk) 11:56, 9 January 2022 (UTC)

• support per PI—blindlynx 15:21, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
• Support Per PI. While there is clearly room for argument that either is more of a common name, given the split it seems logical to go with the one there is no debate is official.--Yaksar (let's chat) 21:26, 11 January 2022 (UTC)

• Just noting that WP:MPN requires the new name to have become "predominant" in "common global usage" prior to us switching; in other words, that if there is an even split, we should continue to use the old name. BilledMammal (talk) 21:29, 11 January 2022 (UTC)

Just noting further that the {{Find sources|Qonce}} links given above clearly show the predominance of the new name over the old one. What then should happen when local opposition to a page move is faced with community support through policies and guidelines? P.I. Ellsworth - ed. ^put'r there 00:57, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

• Support - reminiscent of how long it took Wikipedia to change Burma to Myanmar. Per PE, the usage has shifted enough that we should go with the official name. I still call it the Sears Tower every time I see it, but we dont. nableezy - 01:01, 12 January 2022 (UTC)