Talk:Winnipeg

Missing

Seems odd to me that there is nothing about the city's First Nations' community, St Boniface, Winnipeg's francophone population, and its reputation for gang violence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.189.135.87 (talk) 20:23, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

Pictures...yet again

The current headline picture for the Winnipeg article is too dark in my opinion; it looks too much like a silhouette. Can we please get a GOOD photograph of Winnipeg's skyline without any effects(no special lenses that change the colours, no HDR, no other photoshop/GIMP effects besides the usual basic ones, proper lighting/focus, etc.). We've all seen the pictures I am talking about.

1ajs, you kind of come across with the impression that you want to use Wikipedia as sort of a personal Winnipeg photo gallery. Please remember that the pictures should be good and without abnormal editing/effects. 207.161.10.121 (talk) 13:31, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I agree that the picture currently showing is too dark. I think we could use this one, or maybe the one currently on French Wikipedia. The French one is okay to copy to English Wiki. • Supāsaru 14:02, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

1ajs here hmm i am just beening hard ball... if yer guna change it call a vote. my pic (current) and the 2 you have chosen(Supasaru). anyone have any other suggestions then? befor we vote?User:1ajs —Preceding comment was added at 03:51, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

you guys happy with the current one? User:1ajs —Preceding comment was added at 02:33, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

I would personally like to suggest that we use this picture, and be done with it. I think it's neutral, comprehensive, and representative. Pictures that are less representative can always be included in galleries or other parts of the article. Yes, I am aware that I took the picture in question, but that's my "vote". :) Any other opinions? --Kcumming (talk) 17:12, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

It is a nice picture, but I like what Adrian was trying to show with the winter theme. If we could find something between the two... Maybe if you photoshopped some snow into yours? vıdıoman 19:48, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

how about this during the winter we have a winter shot during the sping a spring shot during the summer a summer shot during the fall a fall shot hows that sound? o and we take turns with the pic while were at it User:1ajs —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.45.177.171 (talk) 02:49, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Yet again there is a photo war going on. The Winnipeg article is embarrassing to begin with let alone when all these terrible photos start showing up every so often, usually from 1ajs. I suppose it is fitting that the article is embarrassing, given Winnipeg is a somewhat embarrassing city. I can't even look at the article anymore. JacobTwo (talk) 23:38, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm gonna have to agree. Most editors of this article just keep changing pictures but no one seems to be putting forth as much effort to improve it. I'm not even going to both watching this article anymore because it's obvious it won't solve anything at this point. :( vıdıoman 10:13, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks Jdobbin JacobTwo (talk) 14:45, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

I am for deleting the introductory picture (which is absolutely hideous) until someone changes it to a better and larger one. No photo is better than that one. The introductory photo must be a summer photo. No other city uses a winter shot for the introductory picture. Does anyone not see how much better in quality the articles on Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, etc. are than this one? And people, they do not use winter photos to showcase the cities. The kcumming photo is good but it is taken from 55 Nassau and puts too much emphasis on the Evergreen Place apartment towers. The photos by 1ajs are better in my view. If people want one winter shot in the article then put it further down the article. --142.161.160.111 (talk) 22:04, 5 September 2008 (UTC)

It would be nice to find a better headline picture, but I have no problem with an attractive winter shot. Winnipeg is one of the few larger cities which actually has a good-looking snowy winter instead of a cold slushy period, so I don't mind representing it that way. —Michael Z. 2008-09-05 22:38 z

An embarrassment JacobTwo (talk) 01:15, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface

"Higher education

There are four universities and one major college in Winnipeg:

   * University of Manitoba
   * University of Winnipeg
   * Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface
   * Canadian Mennonite University
   * Red River College"

I see that the CUSB is included in the list of major universities of Winnipeg, as a student from there I know that while it operates seperately, it's officially a part of the University of Manitoba. I'm wondering if maybe the CUSB should be taken off the list, or added underneath the U of M or if we should leave it as it is? (Ghyslyn)

For the Education in Thunder Bay, Ontario article, I listed the main universities in bold and then their sub-colleges or schools or whatever below them. You could try that. Even better, convert it to prose! ;) Make it a paragraph; ie "Winnipeg is home to several post-secondary institutions including..." and then explain everything there. vıdıoman 22:01, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

What is better, point form or prose?  :-) The points being links is pretty handy and efficient (even though it may not be Encyclopedia like), and I have no clue what official standards there are for article information in Wikipedia. I've wanted to be lazy in the past, and fill in stubs with minor point forms, since I suck badly at writing. Nonprof. Frinkus (talk) 19:45, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

They both have their uses. Point form is great for listing things but if you want to be encyclopedic you would explain it. A short sentence or two about each post-secondary institution in one paragraph would be nice, but the point form isn't necessarily wrong. vıdıoman 20:15, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

Pictures

My goodness can't we get better photos than these? By and large they are absolutely terrible. And why is the main picture a winter shot? No other article on a Canadian city shows the main picture as one with snow on the ground. Check out the Wiki article for Vancouver to get some guidance on how to insert pictures and what types of pictures to utilise. This article was once one of the better ones on Canada's major cities but has now fallen well behind the articles on Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton among others. There are many potentially beautiful shots that could be taken in this city. As an example there is a photo in the Geography & Climate section depicting Winnipeg's urban forest, though unfortunately it is taken on a dumpy looking street in Fort Rouge. Aren't there far better examples of the urban forest on the beautiful streets in Wolseley, River Heights, Crescentwood, Fraser's Grove, etc.? Sure wish I had a digital camera.--142.161.162.194 (talk) 23:52, 31 August 2008 (UTC)

^^ wound something from this angle work but no so wide? i can re stich it properly and fix the issues just a crude sample http://pointdouglas.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/1335.jpg

would be something like this but wider possibly with the Esplanade Riel showing in the shot http://pointdouglas.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/1340.jpg

also i got a possible replacement of the mint shot yes no? http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3072/2766548449_6d6914d0aa.jpg?v=0

1ajs (talk) 00:20, 1 September 2008 (UTC)

^^ I would vote YES this mint shot looks very impressive compared to the present mint shot, also i like this skyline shot.. http://pointdouglas.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/1340.jpg Jd.101 (talk) 21:43, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

Either panorama looks pretty good. Can they be cropped down to just the downtown skyline, leaving out foreground industrial rooftops? A 2-to-1 crop might look good.

I also found your very pretty sunset shot with cruise boat. It might be improved a little bit by levelling it so that the tallest buildings have plumb vertical lines, if that's possible. —Michael Z. 2008-09-05 23:08 z

Esplanade Photo Alignment, Sunflowers Photo

This seems silly to argue about but it's being changed back and forth. First, should the esplanade photo go on the right or the left? Any arguments for either side? Right or Left. I vote right because the photo looks funny under the italicized lines.

Second, sunflowers: In or out? That's a great photo for Altona, Manitoba, for example, because it's the sunflower capital of Canada, but not Winnipeg. I've never seen sunflowers come up in Winnipeg. I vote out. justinfr (talk/contribs) 11:38, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

The esplanade photo should be on the right. Putting it on the left pushed the beginning text to the centre of the page and that's a no-no for layouts. The sunflowers shouldn't be here, but they can go into the articles for Altona or Geography of Manitoba. vıdıoman 15:54, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

User:Jd.101 is edit warring about the photo again. I've left a terse note on his talk page and will request intervention if this happens again. justinfr (talk/contribs) 01:14, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

Weather charts

We now have a duplication of information. I propose we keep the graph and place it on the right, and remove the table, as that is located in the Geography of Winnipeg article already. The smaller climate graph is better for an overview, which this section is providing. If readers want to know exact details, they can go to the Geography of Manitoba article. vıdıoman 15:54, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

Sounds great. It was removed yesterday without explanation so I reverted that. If it's in the other article, that's perfect. justinfr (talk/contribs) 15:59, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

Can someone reduce it in size. Most city pages have that chart in a smaller format. jdobbin (talk) 04:20, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

flood damage figure

A figure of $26 million is given for the 1950 flood damage. Much too low, I think. Here it says up to 1 billion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_of_the_North

It would be nice if in Wikipedia there were an easier way to point out such small things (other than adding a "citation needed")... I mean easier than starting a discussion.

Also: the second part of the article is awful (imho...). Long list of (often hardly relevant...) statistics, various facts etc. 212.171.245.68 (talk) 20:07, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

Constant Additions

So much is being added but so much of it is not developed further. If someone wants to add city parks or attractions to main page, please make sure they are in Winnipeg or in very close proximity. Likewise, just don't add something if it just adds a redlink or if it needs a citation needed.

I am spending a lot of time trying to end any redlinks on the main page. Don't put Maple Grove Park on the main page if you are prepared to write an article about it. jdobbin (talk) 03:58, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

Tourism

Hey there, I'm going to suggest that the 'attractions' section be cleaned up into possibly a 'tourisim' section or just a more proffesional looking attractions section.. maybe similar to Torontos or montreals and in the culture section? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.163.53.10 (talk) 18:58, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

I moved sports and attractions to the Culture section. Daniel (talk) 16:57, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

enlarged images to 250px

Not sure if everyones for the enlarged images but i think the difference is like night and day, i went ahead and enlarged the images, i think it looks good... Jd.101- Feb, 7, 09

Wikipedia:IMAGE#Forced_image_size: “as a rule, images should not be set to a fixed size.” By doing this you are disabling everyone's ability to use their preferences.

Setting a size may be appropriate for an unusual image, like the long narrow panorama, although 800px seems too wide as a default to me. Readers can click it to view it at a larger size. —Michael Z. 2009-02-08 17:06 z

Commentary, Weather, etc.

There is reference to the populations of various groups in the Demographics section. Why would those groups be entitled to additional mention when the English, Scottish, German and Ukrainian groups all comprise larger percentages of the total population? Crime statistics are referred to in the law and government section. Your assertion is perhaps a personal belief but I do not believe Winnipeg has a "reputation for gang violence" anymore than does Toronto, Montreal, Calgary or Vancouver.

To whomever keeps re-inserting the false assertion that Winnipeg is the coldest city in the world with over 600,000 population please stop this. Although Environment Canada (EC) published that information it is simply not true. There are Russian cities with greater populations that are colder including Yekaterinburg, which has approx. 1.3 million people. I have also seen stats that show Edmonton Int'l has a colder mean annual temp than Winnipeg Int'l by something like a tenth or a fifth of a degree. Note that the climate stats for the Wikipedia - Edmonton article are for Edmonton City Centre Airport. It would be more accurate to compare these stats to those from the weather station Winnipeg at the Forks. That station commenced operation in 2000 so long term stats are not available but it would be fair to say that the mean annual temp at the Forks is perhaps two degrees higher that that at the airport and in particular night time temps are much higher. EC's published stats are often inaccurate. For example on their website they indicate the average maximum temperature for Winnipeg for 14 Feb is -8C, when in fact, and according to their own statistics found in another print form, the average maximum for that day is -9.6C. I have had communication with EC regarding this and they indicated they use the averages for the entire Southern Manitoba region. Therefore the published norms are not exclusive to Winnipeg and Winnipeg's climate differs in measurable terms from Pinawa, Morden, McCreary, Wasagaming, Melita, etc. Also Environment Canada's website only provides stats commencing in 1938. If one was to rely solely on these stats one would believe that the hottest temperature recorded in Winnipeg was 40.6C on 7 Aug 1949, when in fact it was 42.2C on 11 Jul 1936. Environment Canada has other statistics which commence from the early 1870's but unfortunately they are not available on their website. EC does provide stats for Regina dating from 1884 on their website.

As for the picture, much, much improved over that horrible winter shot. It's clearly taken from 55 Nassau St. so does not show a good portion of the skyline to the west of that building but nonetheless is heaps better that any photo that greeted the visitor to the article previously.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.161.172.55 (talk • contribs)

^^ I agree for winnipeg having a reputation for crime... maybe provicially or locally, but once you leave manitoba winnipeg doesnt really seem to have a "rep" for gang violence anymore then 'swift current, saskatchewan' does...

Not the coldest city even in Canada!

It's official...let's put it to rest....Winnipeg is NOT the coldest city in the World with over 600,000 population, in fact it's not even the coldest in Canada! Winnipeg's mean annual temperature is 2.6C compared to 2.4C at Edmonton, Alberta. Edmonton is Canada's coldest large city. Saskatoon is even colder with a mean annual temp of 2.2C, but it has a population of just over 200,000.--142.161.179.208 (talk) 19:37, 15 March 2009 (UTC)

It is "official"? Okay, can you show us the official source for your figures? Cheers —fudoreaper (talk) 00:57, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

Confusion over Red River rebellion snippet

"a conflict between the local provisional government of Métis, led by Louis Riel, and newcomers from eastern Canada"

Er, what "newcomers"? Wasn't the whole point of the rebellion the "underdogs" (the French and Metis of western Canada) fighting for rights against "the big guys" (aka, eastern Canada and the Canadian gov't)? Who is "new" here in this situation? -- 205.200.0.105 (talk) 17:16, 30 April 2009 (UTC)