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October 23

Creating an artist page for Wikipedia

Hello! My name is Lex, and I’m an artist from Mobile, AL. I recently seen that my page was declined for reasons I simply cannot understand, and I was wondering how should I create a wiki page about myself where it will not get declined? I am fairly new to all of this, and any help would be great help! — Preceding unsigned comment added by FreshestFreshmenIssue (talk • contribs) 02:23, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Welcome to Wikipedia. I'm sorry it's not going well, but please read Help:Your first article, especially the section headed Things to avoid. If you need further help, the place to go is Wikipedia:Teahouse, "A friendly place where you can ask questions to get help with using and editing Wikipedia". Good luck! Alansplodge (talk) 08:29, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The reason your draft was declined was explained as being that its references do not show that the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article—that is, they do not show significant coverage (not just passing mentions) about the subject in published, reliable, secondary sources that are independent of the subject. This is a stock formula, but the explanation also referred to the guidelines on the notability of music-related topics. These guidelines contain a section Criteria for musicians and ensembles, which states that the subject must have been the subject of multiple, non-trivial, published works. So a single article in a local newspaper is not enough. --Lambiam 10:49, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Your page about yourself will not get declined if you put it on your own website. That's how I do it. —Tamfang (talk) 00:37, 24 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The Status of Extant/Lost Films

Good morning.

I appreciate that your time as volunteers is precious, but my question might be one that spreads right across Wikipedia as a whole, rather than to one specific article or group of articles.

I was looking through a list of films from the Hollywood Studio Warner Bros. and some of those titles, especially the earlier ones, came up as 'Lost,' or, if a film had originally been shot in Technicolor, might be extant only in a black and white reference print, or similar.

Please bear with me.

I'll give you an example: The film In the Next Room was released by Warner Bros. on January 26, 1930. It is now considered a lost film - no more prints exist (sniff!). But when I hover over the title, the abstract reads "In the Next Room is a 1930 American Pre-Code mystery film...", etc.

It occurred to me that, when someone with a Wikipedia page dies, their status is immediately changed from "is" to "was." If a film no longer exists in any known copy in the world, should it also be referred to in the past tense instead of the present? And should a copy of the film be found, it would be easy to change its status from "was" back to "is," would it not?

Is this possible? I would certainly be happy to volunteer to make such changes as would be required wherever they could be found.

What do you think?

Thank you so much for your time, and making it this far into the email.

With best wishes, Stephen Butler Gloucestershire, UK Stephen Butler (talk) 10:35, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

This isn't really the right place to establish a consensus. May I suggest reposting at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Film, where those who regularly edit film articles can have their say. Alansplodge (talk) 10:44, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The issue is much more general; see Lost literary work. A not unusual formulation uses this style: "... is a lost work by ..." (or "mentioned in ..."); see e.g. History of Alexander, Phoronis (Hellanicus) and Story of the Prophet Iddo. This fate may also befall works of art such as paintings and sculptures, such as The Battle of Anghiari, which is a lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci, or Head of a Faun, which is a lost sculpture by Michelangelo. For more examples, see Lost artworks. When using the formula "a lost <work>", you have to use the present tense. The past tense would suggest the original (or, for a reproducible form of expression, a copy) had been found after all, in which case one usually says a work "was thought" to have been lost, such as Archimedes' The Method of Mechanical Theorems or the film The Cave of the Silken Web. More examples can be found at the long List of rediscovered films. --Lambiam 11:30, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The Wikipedia guidance for this can be found at MOS:TENSE. According to that guideline, the past tense can be used for "subjects that are dead or no longer meaningfully exist", but the distinction between "periodicals and similar written material that are no longer being produced" (past tense) and television/radio series that are no longer being produced (present tense) may seem somewhat artificial. I think that Lambiam's suggestion of "is a lost film" would be a good way to characterize such a work in the opening sentence. Deor (talk) 17:01, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I agree these should remain in the present tense. If a film is still lost, then it is a lost film; if it was a lost film, that implies it is no longer lost.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 19:10, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

One way to get around it is to say, for example, "That Royle Girl is the name of a lost film..." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:27, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Please don't say that. Wikipedia articles are supposed to be about stuff, not about the names of stuff. --Wrongfilter (talk) 21:56, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, Bugs; please see WP:REFERS. Deor (talk) 22:55, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

How many thousands of edit wars have there been over the names of things? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:52, 24 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Henry Reed (poet) even wrote a poem about it: [1]. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 03:19, 26 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Name for type of online game

My daughter and I are both occasional gamers (okay, maybe my thousands of Skyrim hours qualify me as more than occasional) and we'd like to find a game to play together. What I'm asking for here though is not so much specific suggestions, but rather a name for this kind of game: a two person, online shared experience. The thing is, when I search for games to play with friends, there are two huge groups of games I'd like to filter from the results: MMORPGs, like World of Warcraft, which would have us mixed in with strangers, and puzzle games, like Words with Friends, which are fun but do not contain a shared experience. What we'd like is something similar to the gaming experience of Goldeneye or Mario Kart, but where we each connect via our PCs rather than on a console. Or, even better, ones where we play together against NPCs. Does this type of game have a name I could include in my searches? Matt Deres (talk) 16:04, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I think they're simply called "two player games"; searching that term will yield results such as: https://www.twoplayergames.org. --2603:6081:1C00:1187:C1F6:2046:A287:CD75 (talk) 17:39, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Further searching has revealed that the term I needed was "remote play together". Matt Deres (talk) 13:43, 24 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

While you can play with only two players (invite one other player), according to Steam: Using Remote Play Together, one player owns and runs the game, then up to four players — or even more with fast connections — can quickly join in the fun. with support for Remote Play Together. Invite anyone to play. (Emphasis added). --2603:6081:1C00:1187:E8DC:AD79:E57:EA87 (talk) 01:49, 25 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

It sounds like you're specifically looking for cooperative multiplayer. Often just abbreviated "Co-op".

Steam has a tag that you can search for. (However, do read the games' descriptions before purchasing. Tags are not always 100% accurate.) ApLundell (talk) 02:22, 28 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

A Perfect World - one of Clint Eastwood's best/favorite movies

How come the film A Perfect World is one of Clint Eastwood's best and favorite movies? 86.156.133.20 (talk) 21:23, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"Best" according to what definition?

"Favorite" according to what metric?

Even if you could answer the above, we still could not tell you why it is so. Nobody can. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 23:06, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion about the film, within the article, explains why it was critically acclaimed. That's probably the closest you can come to "best". As to it being Eastwood's favorite (a factoid that I don't see in the article), if you can find a source for that, he might say why. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:51, 24 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

October 25

The background music

It sounds more American than Scottish, [2] sorry, English is no me vernacular. Fossa_?! 01:34, 25 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Here is a link to the series for those looking into this Burnistoun. MarnetteD|Talk 01:37, 25 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Is there a hidden question in this statement? --Lambiam 05:16, 25 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Whatever, it's been answered here. --91.47.28.97 (talk) 20:06, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

October 26

Bough and branch

Did you ever remember from your childhood a song about a tree in a wood where each verse is cumulative?? Some versions of the song have one nonsensical verse; "and on the branch there was a bough". This verse is nonsense because bough means large tree branch. Do some versions of songs like this have some nonsensical verses?? Georgia guy (talk) 01:19, 26 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The song is The Rattlin' Bog. DuncanHill (talk) 01:29, 26 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Here's a version by the Irish Rovers:[3] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:39, 26 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I've looked at various lyrics versions. Some say branch/limb, limb/branch, branch/twig, bough/limb, and god only knows what other combinations, but I don't see any branch/bough combos. Clarityfiend (talk) 12:49, 26 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Our article says there are 180 distinct versions, an American one being And the Green Grass Grew All Around but an almost identical English version is usually called The Everlasting Circle. Alansplodge (talk) 21:36, 26 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

There are versions with a branch and a bough, although not co-occurring in the same line. Now, on the tree, there was a bough. ... Now, on the bough, there was a limb. ... Now, on the limb, there was a branch.^[4] --Lambiam 22:25, 26 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

October 27

Dialog doubt from The Suicide Squad (film)

A doctor speaks about a recovering patient:

Doctor: I wasn't certain how safe it was, shipping him back here. But, if anything, he's shown he's resilient. It'll take some surgery, but eventually we'll get him back up to speed.

What does "get him back up to speed" mean? I find "bring someone up to speed" means "to give someone all the latest information about something", but here context is about medical, so how to understand this phrase? Rizosome (talk) 05:57, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The term is a broad metaphor for returning someone or something back to their usual, or expected, or required level of good repair, health or performance, and can have different specific meanings in different circumstances.

The "latest information" meaning is used whan someone needs the information in order to perform a job or function properly. In the case of this doctor, however, he is talking about someone unwell (probably due to injury, from the reference to surgery) who he (and others) will help to heal so that they can once again do whatever they are intended to do. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.200.65.29 (talk) 07:24, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

In this case, it means back to normal (i.e. healthy). Clarityfiend (talk) 07:25, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The Cambridge Dictionary definition of "up to speed" is "performing at a desirable level" and gives as an example, "It took me a while to get up to speed after the flu." Clarityfiend (talk) 07:30, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

October 28

'Red Shirley' premiere

Our article on Lou Reed's short documentary Red Shirley says that it was premiered at the Vienna International Film Festival, and there's a source for that. But in the infobox, and elsewhere in the article, it says that the premiere took place at the Visions du Réel Film Festival in Nyon, Switzerland. Which is correct? --Viennese Waltz 07:35, 28 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

One of the existing sources is The Guardian. It, The Globe and Mail[5] and Reuters [6] agree it premiered at Visions du Réel. They're all just a bit more reliable than the International Business Times (which also just says it "surfaced" in Vienna). Clarityfiend (talk) 10:34, 28 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The programme for 2010 is here: https://www.visionsdureel.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/Documents/VisionsDuReel/WWW/Archives/programmes/VDR2010_Pogramme.pdf See page 6. 41.165.67.114 (talk) 10:58, 28 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]