Talk:Main Page

Main Page error reports

To report an error in content currently or imminently on the Main Page, use the appropriate section below.

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Administrators: Clear all reports

Errors in the summary of the featured article

Please do not remove this invisible timestamp. See WT:ERRORS and WP:SUBSCRIBE. - Dank (push to talk) 01:24, 29 September 2022 (UTC)

Errors in "Did you know ..."

Current DYK

Capital Bicycle Club

• ... that residents reported the first cycling club in Washington, D.C. (uniform pictured), to the police over concerns that bicycles posed a danger to pedestrians?

The article does not say or claim that this was "the first cycling club in Washington", just that it was "early".

Also, the source doesn't seem to mention pedestrians specifically – just of the "dangerous potential for accidents". Perhaps a concern was the risk of collisions with horses and/or people and property in general?

Note that the hook wasn't checked in the nomination even though it included a first. It was just waved through as AGF.

Andrew🐉(talk) 06:27, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

I added the "first" claim to the article, citing the same source. Pinging Generalissima and BeanieFan11 to consider the other issues. Beanie, we strongly suggest additional scrutiny for "first" hooks. Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 13:34, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

I have to take some of the blame here, since I promoted the queue. It's especially embarrassing since ranting about "first" hooks is one of the top ways I make myself annoying at WT:DYK. The unfortunate truth is that when I'm processing queues, I don't have time to read every article in full. I generally just read the hook and then search for keywords in the text to verify the facts. Looking back at the article, I suspect I found "the first such club in the country" and didn't notice this was immediately preceded by "Boston Bicycle Club".

I know this has been said before, but Andrew, you have a keen eye for detail and critical reading. These are valuable skills and in great demand at DYK, so thank you for the much-needed quality control. But it would be even more useful if it was done on the #Next DYK and #Next-but-one DYK sections, so we could catch these problems before they hit the main page. RoySmith (talk) 15:02, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

• Different point: the comma after the "(uniform pictured)" should instead come before. So, " ... Washington, D.C., (uniform pictured) to the police". JMCHutchinson (talk) 13:42, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

Emmanuella Atora

• ... that Olympic taekwondo practitioner Emmanuella Atora described her career as "I hit people for a living"?

According to the source, what she actually said was "Je tape les gens pour vivre". This was not translated by the source and it's not clear what she meant by it as Taekwondo is not usually a professional sport while she appears to have a career as an aspiring professional model. Andrew🐉(talk) 06:27, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

• Also, the line was a meme already, having been used by MMA fighter Francis Ngannou a year earlier [1]. Black Kite (talk) 07:23, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

  Well spotted. Francis Ngannou is a successful professional fighter and so the boast works better for him. There's merchandise too... Andrew🐉(talk) 08:51, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

In the fourth hook, there doesn't seem to be any reason for "The" in "The Proms" to be capitalized. Primergrey (talk) 19:53, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

Errors in "On this day"

Today's OTD

Albert Stanley is also today's FA. Should he be replaced? Mjroots (talk) 05:15, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

 Fixed I've swapped him for someone else. Schwede66 05:25, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

Errors in the summary of the featured list

Friday's FL

(August 9, tomorrow)

Monday's FL

(August 12)

Errors in the summary of the featured picture

Notice to administrators: When fixing POTD errors, please update the corresponding regular version (i.e. without "protected" in the page title) in addition to the Main Page version linked below.

General discussion

Add a few links to help newcomers with editing

For as much as Wikipedia relies on volunteer work, the main page is surprisingly absent of anything that would help newcomers learn to edit and contribute. This is why I an suggesting adding a second column to the "Other areas of wikipedia" section and add the following help pages: Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia, Help:Your first article, Wikipedia:Writing better articles, Help:Editing, and Wikipedia:Why create an account —JackFromWisconsin (talk | contribs) 15:38, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

The left sidebar on every desktop page already includes a "contribute" subsection that links to Help:Introduction as "Learn to edit", and a multi-column approach would look awful on mobile - that would really be advocating a new section aligned vertically, similar to how mobile view stacks sections rather than uses columns. The main page is aimed at readers. Editors are rare. Would-be editors who decide to read the documentation rather than just dive right in are even rarer. And would-be editors who want to read the documentation first, but need to be directly prompted to do so with a Main Page link rather than digging up the info themselves, seem to me to be an insanely rare case. I don't think it'd be that fruitful a use of main page space, which should probably cut more things out (IMO) rather than add more links. SnowFire (talk) 18:21, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

The Main Page is deliberately designed to be useful to readers, not editors, because the vast majority of users never make an edit. That's weakened slightly in recent years e.g. adding links to 'nominate an article' and the teahouse, but it's nevertheless the underlying design philosophy. The MP isn't really the place for helping new editors - the sidebar does some of that, as do the welcome templates for new users. Most people accessing the MP are looking for encyclopaedia content, not how to start their own article etc. Modest Genius ^talk 13:07, 15 November 2021 (UTC)

Did you know ... that

Is there a reason "that" is repeated eight times; wouldn't it be easier to retitle the section "Did you know that ..." instead. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:5cc:8300:a7f0:d576:4211:3f12:c0b2 (talk) 04:25, 17 November 2021 (UTC)

That comes with the bullet-point.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.189.58.95 (talk) 17:52, 17 November 2021 (UTC)

I'm fairly sure that it did say "Did you know that..." in the past but this was changed for some reason. Probably in the DYK archives somewhere. Pawnkingthree (talk) 00:09, 18 November 2021 (UTC)

There was a discussion about that last year. Armadillopteryx 00:24, 18 November 2021 (UTC)

Ah, that's what I was vaguely recalling... so not implemented then. Thanks. Pawnkingthree (talk) 00:26, 18 November 2021 (UTC)

"a discussion about that last year" ... well played. Anyway I'm not quite sure I understand how it would uproot anything exactly, but I guess it doesn't make any sense to rehash the same thing twice over. I don't know how to formally withdraw the request like the last one was or even if I ever properly formally requested something in the first place, but anyone should feel free to dot the Is and cross the Ts on whatever forms are needed to end this inquiry if desired. 2601:5CC:8300:A7F0:91CE:D324:F0BC:EE54 (talk)

edit request: please add a hatnote

Maybe add

Due to technical restrictions, titles like # redirect here. For # and a disambiguation of similar-looking symbols, see number sign.

or

Due to technical restrictions, titles like # redirect here. For the # symbol, see number sign.

Not to be confused with the sharp sign ♯, the Viewdata square ⌗, the equal and parallel to symbol ⋕, the Looped square ⌘, the Chinese character Well-field system 井, or the game Tic-tac-toe's grid. For uses of number signs within Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Number sign.

or

"#" redirects here. For #, see number sign. For ♯, see Sharp (music). For ⌗, see Viewdata square. For ⋕, see Parallel (geometry) § Symbol. For ⌘, see Looped square. For 井, see Well-field system. For the similar-looking game, see tic-tac-toe. For uses of number signs within Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Number sign.

Thanks. 96.244.220.178 (talk) 05:21, 19 November 2021 (UTC)

Do you mean on the Main Page itself? While it's true that # does redirect here, the Main Page isn't an article, and a hatnote would look rather jarring and out of place. — RAVENPVFF · talk · 14:08, 19 November 2021 (UTC)

 Not done Sorry no, while we would do that on articles - it would be to intrusive and take up too much high-end screen space on the Main Page. — xaosflux ^Talk 14:14, 19 November 2021 (UTC)

Belle Delphine GIF

I can't imagine anyone would object to this being on the main page. -- Veggies (talk) 03:22, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

The DYK gif really seems wrong for wp; there must be a policy that covers this. What a poor decision. Maneesh (talk) 04:50, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

How did this get here? horny jail bonk Holidayruin (talk) 05:04, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Zero idea why anyone thought the front page needed a gif of a woman imitating an expression from Japanese porn cartoons. What's the next Did You Know, a diatribe on the rise and fall of sales of scatological porn? It's not that culturally significant and it's not even an interesting factoid, it's just saying what kind of porn she sells. 166.182.80.87 (talk) 05:43, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Remove image. What the fuck is this? This image is WP:GRATUITOUS offensive material that has no place on the Wikipedia's main page. Also, has anyone considered the BLP implications of placing this image on the front page? JBchrch talk 06:14, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

To be honest, I am more concerned by the fact that it was put on top of a hook about the Pope. Normally we avoid the two being next to each other in a set The C of E God Save the Queen! (talk) 06:25, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

And directly next to the on this day section where the trans day of remembrance is today DogsRNice (talk) 06:28, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Could you explain what is offensive about this? —Kusma (talk) 07:17, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Do you need me to explain what's offensive about a pornographic actress' signature orgasm face? JBchrch talk 07:22, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

It is a fully clothed woman making a funny face. The only thing relating this to sex to people who do not already know her or this facial expression is the hook text. —Kusma (talk) 07:48, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

@Kusma: "Ahegao" images specifically have a history of unwelcome public display which makes me, at least, uncomfortable to see one on the main page of Wikipedia. I don't know if that's offensive enough for you, but the nomination discussion that put this image on the main page cited "sex sells" and no other reason for favoring it. That seems to match WP:GRATUITOUS to a T. Autumnontape (talk) 07:27, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

In the name of Jesus H. Christ, when did wikipedia become such a place of idiocy? Forgive me for the language. But this is apparently unacceptable. We need to preserve the pure nature of wikipedia away from the erosion from youtube, fb, etc... Theanonymity.de (talk) 07:35, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Can anybody point me to how this section got its place on MainPage in the first place? Theanonymity.de (talk) 07:42, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

To avoid having competing threads, please discuss at WT:DYK. - Wikmoz (talk) 06:23, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

@Wikmoz: I disagree. The gif is in the jurisdiction of the Main Page since it currently appears in there, instead in the Did You Know? nom page. And the fact that this page has more viewership compared to the DYK talkpage. --Regards, Jeromi Mikhael 06:34, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Many more editors are involved in the thread on WT:DYK. I assume interested editors will see this thread and follow the link. But you may be right regarding page watchers. Honestly, no strong preference for one page over another but we should definitely avoid having the same conversation in parallel. - Wikmoz (talk) 06:38, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

@Wikmoz and Jeromi Mikhael: I have now notified WT:DYK of this discussion [2]. That will take care of it. JBchrch talk 06:43, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Pull it. This was extremely poor decision making on my part as a promoter, and I take full responsibility for what I did. NOTCENSORED, yes—tasteful and informative, no. Just hunting for attention. I don't care if consensus decides that NOTCENSORED means this has to stay up—I still say pull it. theleekycauldron (talk • contribs) (they/them) 06:54, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Replace image. I'd supporting swapping the current image with File:Belle Delphine - 2020-c.png. Remove “(example pictured)” and the image caption. - Wikmoz (talk) 06:59, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Pull it - Who thought this was a good idea? Saucy^{[talk – contribs]} 07:08, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

• Pulling this without a policy based argument would make a mockery of WP:NOTCENSORED. —Kusma (talk) 07:12, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

• @Kusma: See WP:GRATUITOUS. JBchrch talk 07:17, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

• You can't just uncritically cite GRATUITOUS. The subject is treated in an encyclopedic manner and describes what is happening an links to further information. Your only argument so far is that you don't like it, which is explicitly contradicted by the essay you keep linking to: "Wikipedia editors should not remove material solely because it may be offensive, unpleasant, or unsuitable for some readers." — Wug·a·po·des​ 07:21, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Read the rest of WP:GRATUITOUS. It is a very relevant guideline. I agree that removing the DYK entirely or removing the GIF from the topic page would go against WP:NOTCENSORED. However, I genuinely don't see how swapping the main page image with File:Belle Delphine - 2020-c.png would go against WP:NOTCENSORED. - Wikmoz (talk) 07:23, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

The hook is specifically about the cause of her popularity as it relates to making faces like that. Replacing the image as suggested would require reworking the hook just so people don't have to see a fully clothed woman making a silly face on a podcast. — Wug·a·po·des​ 07:28, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

You're damn right that I don't like it. I don't like the way porn seeps into every aspect of our culture. I especially don't like how a pornographic actress whose business is selling the image of a sexualized pre-pubescent child is being promoted by our media and culture, and projected onto the minds of millions of people as something that's fashionable and noteworthy. Was that clear enough, you think? Ok, so with that in mind, I encourage you to return to WP:GRATUITOUS and read the sentence Images containing offensive material that is extraneous, unnecessary, irrelevant, or gratuitous are not preferred over non-offensive ones in the name of opposing censorship. It's pretty obvious to me how we should apply such a principle to the DYK section of the main page, but perhaps, you know, it's just because I don't like it. JBchrch talk 07:42, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

well ... if it wasn't going to run the twelve hours before, it definitely is now. theleekycauldron (talk • contribs) (they/them) 07:46, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

I don't like porn either, but it's an encyclopedic topic like any other and has a place on Wikipedia. The GIF in question is not itself remotely pornographic, it's a parody of a parody of an orgasmic face that nobody actually made at the height of orgasm, ever. It also happens to be an excellent illustration of the hook in question, so not in the least "unnecessary, irrelevant or gratuitous" in my view. Again this is not a pornographic image, it's just an image of a young woman making a silly face to poke fun at a particular phenomenon. With all due respect, I think you are overreacting to what is a pretty innocuous image. Gatoclass (talk) 07:53, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

That page is about offensive material. This is a gif of a woman making a weird facial expression. I only learned from the hook that it has sexual connotations in some cultures. Educate me what is offensive about it. Do you think the word "orgasm" should not be on the Main Page? —Kusma (talk) 07:25, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

No Kusma, as I have already explained to you above, this is a GIF of a pornographic actress showing her signature orgasm face. JBchrch talk 07:46, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

• We posted a thirst trap last year featuring a shirtless man in order to thirst trap readers into clicking on the thirst trap link. In January we ran a hook describing Napoleon's leathery and shriveled penis. In January 2020 we posted a nude woman as the image hook. I don't see the current hook and image as potentially more offensive than any of the other hooks; I wouldn't even put it in the same league as those ones. — Wug·a·po·des​ 07:14, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Thank you Wugapodes, I could not agree more. Gatoclass (talk) 07:31, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

The first one is not a terribly strong counter example but it's not worth getting into WP:WHATABOUT. As I mentioned elsewhere, the question in my mind is whether we need to apply a higher standard to main page content that is pushed into view of young readers. Personally, I'm not offended by the image but everyone can draw their own line (I know it when I see it). Looking forward, maybe there could be consensus to follow Miller test or some other standard that more clearly defines what is acceptable on the main page. I think it is definitely worth a broader discussion. - Wikmoz (talk) 07:52, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

• Obviously don't pull it (although at least apparently we've gotten to a centralized discussion finally, after eight hours of people running around yelling in different places). Wugapodes said what I came here to say -- this is in no way worse than other things that have passed through the main page without issue. A gif of a clothed person making a sexualized facial expression is obviously not worse than a nude image -- of which we've had many go through both DYK and TFA -- or uncensored swearing, which also routinely goes through both processes. Vaticidalprophet 08:10, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

  this is remarkably wrong my friend... we are indeed in the end time now. RIP the wikipedia I used to know. Theanonymity.de (talk) 08:14, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Convert GIF to JPG

Does the image really need to be in GIF? Some phones don't render GIFs properly. My dad's phone, for example, renders the gif as a still image, and it only displays her smiling. A lot of readers would be confused with this and it would probably be better if we convert the image to a JPG. --Regards, Jeromi Mikhael 05:23, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

think there might be other issues with your dad seeing the porn gif mate 166.182.80.87 (talk) 05:41, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Welp, the gif is in the main page now, and apparently, an average of 5.5 million people are seeing Wikipedia's main page every day. I hope that doesn't mean that 5,5 million are having "other issues" for looking at an image placed on the main page. --Regards, Jeromi Mikhael 08:08, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

I would second the suggestion to use a static image on the Main Page instead. I have no opinion on the content as such and whether it is unfit for being on the Main Page in the first place, but I find the fact that it's animated very distracting: it constantly draws your attention when you are trying to read the rest of the page. 188.108.121.147 (talk) 08:17, 20 November 2021 (UTC)