User talk:Dbachmann

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RFC discussion of User:Jagged 85

Just to follow up on my comments above, a request for comments has been filed concerning the conduct of Jagged 85 (talk · contribs). You are invited to comment on the discussion at Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Jagged 85. -- Syncategoremata (talk) 6:35 pm, Today (UTC+1)

Heads up

I intend a fairly radical re-organisation of entries at Gypsy (disambiguation) when I get a little time. Since you have taken a particular interest in this article lately, I just wanted to give you a courtesy notice. I don't anticipate any of my changes will be particularly controversial, but don't want to 'step on toes'. I'll flag it at the TP before getting started. Best. RashersTierney (talk) 10:25, 9 July 2010 (UTC)

no problem, thanks. --dab (𒁳) 10:36, 9 July 2010 (UTC)

Good work at above. You did a more comprehensive job than I was contemplating. RashersTierney (talk) 15:06, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

Your incivility

Some of your comments on the fringe theory noticeboard are rude. Example: [1] and elsewhere. Please be polite. Noloop (talk) 01:30, 11 July 2010 (UTC)

Adding this section to this talk page is quite rude. -- 98.108.211.71 (talk) 19:57, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Well, do you have anything to say that addresses the point? Why do you feel it is necessary that you should flog the dead and decayed horse of "define myth" at WP:FTN? Did you expect people to find this interesting? Are you surprised you provoke annoyed reactions? Then perhaps you should think more before posting. I cannot believe this is still an issue. Have you presented any new evidence? Any new angles? No. You are just churning out repetitions of a matter long discussed to death. I am not sure ignorance is an excuse for this, sorry. --dab (𒁳) 09:21, 11 July 2010 (UTC)

The content is not the issue. You need to disagree while being polite. As for the content dispute, you misunderstood my point. My point concerned systemic bias, not the definition of ""myth." Noloop (talk) 00:10, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

Ah, and there I was thinking we were discussing an article. You misunderstood my point: If you have no interest in addressing the content issue, please do not waste my time. If you do not care about what the term "myth" means, I fail to see why you think you should make a drama over how it is or is not applied. If you have nothing constructive to say, I must ask you to keep off my talkpage. If you want to wikilawyer about my behaviour, take it to ANI. --dab (𒁳) 08:26, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

It's interesting to meet an admin who doesn't realize that civility matters. Noloop (talk) 16:37, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

it is less than interesting to have one's talkpage frequented by somebody who just will not listen. I have been perfectly civil with you, even though you have insisted of ignoring the issue all along. Being civil is not the same as pretending that you have a point, or pretending that I enjoy our interaction. Thank you. --dab (𒁳) 16:39, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

Feel free to rename the page Flattering user talk:Dbachmann Noloop (talk) 18:30, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

sir you slay me with your brilliance.

Rta

Hi, dab. After I noticed the wiktionary template on Rta, I set out to see if the article could be saved. Since yesterday, I've fleshed out a temporary lead and the etymology section. Though much more remains to be done, I think there's enough material out there to warrant an article - maybe even a good one - and I hope you would agree. The problem is, I'm a bit stuck regarding how to move ahead in regards to encyclopedicity on this, and that's something I know you excel in. I feel myself swerving off into "essay" mode, and I'd appreciate any pointers you could give on a sensible article outline/structure. Cheers, --Aryaman (talk) 12:17, 13 July 2010 (UTC)

P.S.: Some online sources which may be of use include: Ara (2008:115-119), Holdrege (2004:215-216), Brown (1972:61-63).--Aryaman (talk) 12:44, 13 July 2010 (UTC)

I have no doubt that there could ultimately be a good Rta article in its own right. My suggestion is just to merge with Asha as long as we do not have material for such an article. If my tag inspires you to write the Rta article, this would of course be the best of all possible outcomes. Thanks. --dab (𒁳) 14:57, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the response. Since my last message, I've written three more sections, and it seems the article is beginning to take shape. If you have the time, drop by and see what you think of it so far. The next move is to write up something on the connection between Rta and Dharma on the one hand and Rta and Sat/Satya on the other. And yes, the tag was inspiring. :) Thanks again, --Aryaman (talk) 15:08, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

James the Brother of Jesus (book)

Hello. Since you created the article, I thought it would be appropriate to have your input on the proposed retitling as found on the talk page. Also, if you want to starting dredging through the Ebionite controversy again, once again ongoing, I think everyone would welcome your input. John Carter (talk) 00:00, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

Oracle

Hello, just thought I'd leave a note to let you know I left some comments at Talk:Oracle about the splits you proposed for Oracle. I'd be happy to hear your thoughts. - France3470 (talk) 07:20, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Germanic Europe

Sorry dab, but this edit really wasn't great, and left the article in a significantly worse state. There was a huge amount of unsourced, dubious and debateable material in the 9k you added.

On the larger scale it exacerbated the confused scope of the article by again making it a mix of linguistic, historical and political definitions with no clear rationale explained to the reader. But in detail it was even worse: Arubans may have Dutch passports, but the island is not in Europe by any definition. Alsace is listed in the language section, then has "all" of its inhabitants counted as "germanic minority" (hilariously inaccurate, and a sudden jump to the ethnic from the linguistic), gives a figure of one million which is certainly a massive (and unsourced) overestimate of the number of Alsatian speakers, and to top it all - the link Alsatian was piped to the article Germans as if the two are interchangeable (see South Tyrolians going to Austrians too). Germany appears in the list of countries with non-Germanic minorities, but the Netherlands does not - this does not make sense under any linguistic or ethnic definition I can think of - and the United Kingdom is just omitted (probably for the best, as trying to separate out the Germanic from the Celtic influence will be complicated case of them all). Even describing Belgium as unequivocally Germanic in the political section you added is hardly uncontroversial, and Finland pretty much unsupportable.

It's one thing to use sources with different definitions of Germanic Europe, but when you add unsourced material it's impossible to even tell what definition was being used. You even removed an unreferenced section tag from the religion section, without adding any references.

If you really, really want this "information" (which confuses and misleads more than it "informs") to go in the article, feel free to start a discussion on the talk page first to justify its inclusion but more importantly, you need to do the hard work of copy-editing, correcting and sourcing it first. Best, Knepflerle (talk) 18:17, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

I have not so much "added" this as restored it. I appreciate some of the points you raise, but they can just be fixed, no reason for a blanket revert.

Yes, I will try to do the "hard work" necessary. You are free to either tag or blank the offending parts.

I think there is a misconception on your part, you seem to assume that "Germanic Europe", Slavic Europe and Latin Europe somehow have well-defined boundaries. These terms just describe cultural or ethno-linguistic spheres, and these of course overlap. The Alsace is clearly within both the Latin and the Germanic sphere. I fail to see a problem with that. --dab (𒁳) 18:34, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Restoring is as good as adding, especially for material that was poor quality in the first place - the person (re-)adding material still needs to provide sources per WP:V. You can't put that volume of dubious material in an article and expect everyone else to sort out the mess with no stronger rationale than "it was there before". Put it this way - a blanket revert which doesn't remove a single sourced statement, but removes several factual errors is justified.

I'm under no misconception as to the rather fuzzy boundaries of these areas but, if anything, this should make us even more careful with our wording and more stringent with our sourcing. It should be clear which criterion is used for each section (and consistent for each - no jumping between linguistics, politics and ethnicity like in the tables you added), and the source for the information given.

I also certainly was not saying that the Alsace shouldn't be mentioned in an article on Germanic culture. I was instead pointing out that almost everything included about the Alsace in that edit was unexplained or just wrong, and every bit of it was unsourced.

I don't believe trying to "fix" the intrinsically flawed old material is an efficient way of proceeding; better would be to write coherent, sourced material from the outset by proposing themes for sections on the talk page, and then collecting the sourced data together. Anyway, this conversation should continue at Talk:Germanic Europe, if indeed it need continue at all. Best, Knepflerle (talk) 19:52, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Right. Look, you have blanked good material along with material that was flawed. You are exaggerating. But I have no desire to continue this discussion, I will sift through the material again and add restore only the valid bits. In exchange, I suggest you go easy on the hyper-criticism. --dab (𒁳) 20:46, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Has RegentsPark misused sysop powers?

Hi Dab, I hope you don’t mind me asking you about this, but I think you’re more likely than anyone else to be able to provide some perspective about it, especially since it’s something we’ve discussed before. In our discussion there, you wrote “I think RegentsPark is out there on a limb here, as it isn't at all usual to "protect until cleaned up". I don't want to wheel-war over this, but I will let him know how I see this and on what conditions I plan to invervene.”

There’s recently been an issue of RegentsPark using his sysop powers for something that I think should have been left up to an uninvolved administrator, which I’ve discussed with him on his userpage here. As I explained there, I don’t think RegentsPark can justifiably claim to be neutral and uninvolved in race and intelligence articles when he’s been involved in the debates over them heavily enough to be listed as an involved party in the arbitration case, and has expressed strong opinions about article content in the evidence he’s presented there. I don’t have much of an opinion either way about the particular dispute that led to the article being protected (over whether to include the numbers for variation in average brain size), but I’m very concerned about RegentsPark’s neutrality.

Mikemikev is intending to start a noticeboard thread, possibly at AN/I, asking that RegentsPark’s use of Sysop powers be reviewed. I’m kind of ambivalent about whether this is a good idea, though, because I don’t know how much leeway is typically granted to admins in situations like this. Do you have an opinion? --Captain Occam (talk) 13:28, 21 July 2010 (UTC)

well, as I am not up to speed with the R&I saga, it would be helpful to give me a few diffs. I can form an opinion if you like, but I don't want to spend an hour researching what happened. --dab (𒁳) 09:06, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

OK, I’ll explain it in a little more depth, although most of it is also described in the thread in RegentsPark’s user talk that I linked to.

For around two days, there was an edit war over whether the article ought to include the actual percentages for differences in average brain size between races, or whether it ought to just state that a difference exists without providing numbers. Muntuwandi reported the edit war at AN3 here, which resulted in the page being protected. Verbal, who was one of the people involved in the edit war, considered the “wrong version” of the article to have been protected, so he requested here that the article be unprotected. In response to Verbal’s report, RegentsPark reverted the article through page protection, restoring Verbal’s preferred version.

I’m not sure whether that’s an acceptable action or not. Neither version of the article appeared to have consensus; I can understand the sentiment that contentious information ought to be excluded until a consensus can be reached for it, but I was under the impression that using sysop powers to revert through page protection was reserved for dealing with blatant vandalism and BLP violations. I’m also not sure whether someone who has as strong opinions about this topic as RegentsPark does (as he’s stated in his evidence for the arbitration case) is uninvolved or neutral enough in this dispute to be using his sysop powers in a way that supports one side in it. According to Tariqabjotu’s comments in the page unprotection request, RegentsPark’s actions in this case were highly unusual. Mikemikev has brought this up at the administrators’ noticeboard, though, and the opinion there seems to be that RegentsPark was acting properly by doing this.

Can you offer an opinion about whether this action was an acceptable use of sysop powers? If your opinion is that it wasn’t, I’d also appreciate you letting me know what the appropriate way would be to deal with this problem. As I said, I don’t have a strong opinion either way about the actual content in question, but it definitely bothers me to see admins using their powers non-neutrally if that’s happening here. --Captain Occam (talk) 12:58, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Arnaiz-Villena

I have asked to one of my students to write in my name (AAV)

I have thought an alternative to edit the 3rd enbezzlement paragraph.Please.let me know your opinion or,please, do some editing yourself : "=False accusations= Several types of unproper and delictive conducts were directed against Arnaiz-Villena and some other people from his group.They were made public by members of staff of “12 de Octubre” Hospital,who are today still in office.They were coincidental with the Palestinian paper censorship.All accusations were declared by Judges to be unjust,unfunded,forced or interested. (see Discussion).However ,they caused a great damage to the concerned people and their families. See [[2]] and [[3]]"

--On the other hand Palestinians paper reference (3) is disrupted,who is interested in disrupting it? It is disruptrd in the AAV page .How can one Edit without trace?. I expect your news thruogh Symbio. If you read the paper,cocentration camps are referred to the ones in non-Israel countries. In Spanish,settlers and colonists do not have 2 different wordsSymbio04 (talk) 19:54, 21 July 2010 (UTC)

I think you misunderstand the purpose of Wikipedia. We cannot just take your word for anything. Also, personally I feel the public outrage over the Palestinian thing was kind of hypocritical, but the fact that the journal has withdrawn the paper stands. I also think you have brought this upon yourself. So you did a study on the genetic similarity of Jewish and Palestinian populations. Why couldn't you just publish the objective results? Instead you had to sex up the paper with references to the Middle East conflict. This is bad science. Of course the reaction was completely over the top, but you also kind of asked for it. --dab (𒁳) 09:04, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

AAV is a top international expert on HLA genes (or tansplantation genes),particularly in HLA-G and HLA and anthropology.All our anthropology papers have the same format A bit of history etc,I.e.;what anthropologists want.It was a great surprise for AAV the reaction with the Palestinian paper (written long before,it came out coinciding with the Twin Towers terrorist attack).AAV has never been in Muslim countries,only in Morocco when he was very young before finishing studies.His two bosses in London were Jewish and he learnt all what he is doing from them.We had to put some of the Palestinians history according with a Bible Atlas bought in Jerusalem when AAV was invited by his Jewish friends to give a seminar about our findings that Ashkenazi and non-Askenazi Jews were very similar (after 15 years they are making a fuss now about this “ new discovery”). Tell us where we can send the Jews paper to you (it was in Tissue A tigens 1996) Also,we have done a lot about birds phylogeny and about the equivalent to their HLA genes. AAV time in linguistics is not waisted .We followed a methodology (unorthodox,which pdf can be downloaded from AAV page). All that was is described as Judge sentences by us etc are with names and dates(fully documented).It is easy to verify.Dumu Eduba started (see June 9th 2010) and Dumu Eduba must finish with this.Now,he does not want:then he should be obliged to leave this 3rd paragraph as it finished and remove the proven false acusations.Please,help him.Thank you.Symbio04 (talk) 19:01, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Dab,we understand WP.All details about case outcome and termination have been given.Do you want we show the scanned documents? We only will send them to a full name or a lawyer, Please,ask Dumu Eduba to finishing the case he started.Or please ,We would suggest you edit appropriately yourself the 3rd paragrph.Thank you.Symbio04 (talk) 10:53, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

Caste issues

I've recently come under some fire on topics related to Saini people for attempting to clean up caste issues (transferring BLP's from Category:Saini people to List of Saini people). I've delved and found this discussion which seems to indicate a general distaste for caste based categories (and for lists too, but we can't always edit our values). I was wondering what your view was on the matter, seeing as how a number of caste battles seem to have drawn you in their fire.Pectore^talk 05:30, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Just saw the issues on Category:Kambojas and that mess. I'll try and patrol those pages and create some sort of encyclopaedicity in the area (Deletion of caste categories, listification, slash and burn unsourced hagiographies). Its going to require a tad bit of admin support however, because a lot of these roving casteists roll around Wikipedia with some sort of spiritual mission to prove their caste as superior, or even godly.Pectore^talk 07:16, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Yes, this is a gloomy corner of Wikipedia. I have no problem with caste articles as such, but the quality of editors attracted to them is just abominable. Basically this is just a matter of enforcing encyclopedicity, WP:V and WP:SYNTH. The problem is, as you say, that most people writing these articles do not even have an inkling of an understanding of these policies, or of what an encyclopedia is (there are exceptions of course). Mostly they are "family historians" trying to document their own genealogy. We get that problem at many family-name articles too, but nowhere as bad as with Indian castes and clans.

The only way forward is to just keep patrolling these categories and cut out the crap mercilessly. Any indulgence motivated by "ah well, why not tag it and leave it standing, perhaps somebody will still clean it up" is entirely misguided here. Unless you clean it out, it will only ever get worse :) So thank you for your contribution. --dab (𒁳) 08:57, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

The editor on the Saini topics (User:History Sleuth) understands where we are coming from, so that's progress. I'm in the process of cleansing and of all biographies. Tell me what you think about Rajput, because that (and Jat) are gray areas in terms of the caste/ethnicity/royal intersectionPectore^talk 04:06, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

I have never been an expert in Indian sociology. In fact I only ever looked at the topic because Wikipedia needed help in these areas. So I do not have a clear picture what the articles "should" look like when they're finished, I can only look at and appreciate the sources I am shown. It seems, as you say, that Rajputs and Jats are somewhere halfway between "caste", "ethnicity" and "super-clan". But this isn't the problem, we can just cover these groups for whatever they are, based on ethnographic sources. The problem are the enthusiastic family historians who come to Wikipedia to glorify their own groups. This is very easy to recognize, and very easy to fix, the problem is just that there are too many of them, with too much motivation, so any progress we make is buried under new additions in a matter of weeks. --dab (𒁳) 08:22, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

Proposed deletion of VISIS Software

{{PRODWarning}} Errant Tmorton166^(Talk) 11:34, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

doesn't concern me, I just created the VISIS disambiguation page. --dab (𒁳) 11:43, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Yes, sorry, my bad. I didn't realise it had notified you. --Errant Tmorton166^(Talk) 11:48, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

no problem! --dab (𒁳) 11:50, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Gaul

What was misplaces about the "{{History of France}}" navbox? Gaul seems like the perfect place for it (especially considering that it has an entry for Gaul). Do you object to my putting it back?  Glenfarclas  (talk) 14:27, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

I do. It isn't sufficient that an article is relevant to the template, the template needs to be relevant to the article. There will about a dozen other templates with at least as much relevance to the Gaul article, from {{History of Switzerland}} to {{Iron Age}}. Navigation templates that take up significant space at the top of the article need to be fully, centrally relevant. Perhaps in the format of a collapsed footer (like {{Celts}}, {{Classical antiquity}}), more tangential templates may be added, although I have never seen the point in a topic of six collapsed footers piled at the bottom of an article. --dab (𒁳) 14:56, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

Gaelic Ireland

Please desist from adding tags to Gaelic Ireland without prior discussion, as you did last March; or without even an edit summary, as you did yesterday; or against consensus, which you are well aware of since you took part in this discussion (after somebody else initiated it). Such behaviour is disruptive. Scolaire (talk) 09:09, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

please desist from removing them without addressing the concerns raised. Also read WP:CFORK.

Instead of trying to make this about me and my actions, how about you explain how you propose to fix the problem, or perhaps even sit down and do fix it? --dab (𒁳) 09:56, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

Please note I did not remove anything. That was somebody else. I don't propose to fix the problem, because there is no problem to fix. The discussion I linked to makes clear that that is the consensus. Now that you have finally spelled out what the "problem" is (actually, now I read it again, you didn't - you're still talking about duplication of "scope" when the problem is duplication of text), I have made certain proposals on the talk page. If you intend to respond, I suggest you try to take a less aggressive and more constructive tone; problems tend to get fixed much more quickly that way. Scolaire (talk) 12:56, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

well, apparently you do not agree that there is a problem, and you claim you do not understand what I am pointing to. Have you, or have you not, read the page at WP:CFORK as I have asked you to? The aggressive tone is all yours. I have pointed out a problem with the article, and tagged it appropriately. I have tagged hundreds if not thousands of articles for cleanup, and I have in fact fixed such problems in hundreds of articles. This one isn't in any way a special case for me at all, and my approach has never been anything but solution-oriented. It is you who came to my talkpage and attempted to make this personal, or an issue of user conduct rather than content cleanup. This isn't and has never been a problem of user conduct in my book. It is a broken article, and the solution to that is tagging it and then fixing it.

If you want to fix help fix the problem, your first step will be away from the standpoint that you do not understand what I am saying. Once you appreciate the concern raised, you will be in a position to explain why, if so, you think there isn't a problem after all. --dab (𒁳) 13:14, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

I agree that there is a problem, but the problem is text, not scope, duplication. I understand what you are saying but I disagree. Your tone is aggressive, especially on Talk:Gaelic Ireland; it's also condescending, which is never a good idea. There is a problem of user conduct: I've just discovered you are an admin; an admin should know that edits without edit summaries, edits against consensus and incivility are all problems. Scolaire (talk) 14:01, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

Muhammad's image

I don't have time to install content filter, because I spend too much time on Wikipedia talk pages since some users make mistakes. Regarding Muhammad's images, your post is in logical error since you are against disabling some pictures in the page, but not against disabling all of them. I think disabling all images on a specific page is a more terrible idea. You don't object to creating a section for "How can I hide the images using my personal Wikipedia settings?" on Talk page and publishing a procedure to disable all images in the page as follows "If you do not wish to view the images (and you have an account), you can change your personal settings so that you don't have to see them, without affecting other users. This is done by modifying your CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) page, which is individual to each user.

To do this:

   * Sign in or create an account
   * Click on this link to modify your personal stylesheet
         o If no page is there already, just go ahead and create a page

   * Add the following line to your css page:

body.page-Muhammad img {display: none;} This will permanently hide the images on the article for you as long as you are logged in.". You write "This would be a private project and does not concern Wikipedia", then why don't you delete this section for "How can I hide the images using my personal Wikipedia settings?" on Talk page. By the way, do you think Muslims object to these images because they see it as a sin? No, Muslims enjoy fighting with webservers pushing these images. Reha Muhtar achieved good television ratings while fighting with Der Spiegel in 2001. Kavas (talk) 12:51, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

Very simple. There is a difference between Wikipedia namespaces. We can keep interest-group specific how-tos in Wikipedia: and User: space. If you want to publish a "how to hide Muhammad images" page in your User space, I don't think anyone would object. This is project internal. The proposal to introduce "objectionable" content categories in our article namespace is something entirely different, and also completely unacceptable.

Do you understand the difference between client-side filtering and server-side censorship? Do you understand anything about how your browser works?? I am certainly against "disabling" any images server-side. Whatever you do client-side is your business and you don't need to tell us about it.

Also regarding "I don't have time to install content filter", give me a break. If you cannot control your own web browser, don't complain to random people on the internet about it. This is your responsibility, as everything else that concerns the computer you are using. If you have an IT department looking after your computer, contact them, otherwise you're on your own. You also don't expect people to come and cook your food for you because you "spend too much time on Wikipedia talk pages". Ask your mother, or else get a butler.

I understand that this Muhammad issue has nothing to do with religious piety, and everything with attention-whoring. Which is also why I think the people whining about this do not deserve respect or political correctness. They should be told to take it or leave it, nobody forces them to sit in front of their computer and get worked up over images they think are objectionable, and Muslims are hardly the only people who have seen content on the internet they consider "objectionable". --dab (𒁳) 12:58, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

The problem is when you go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Muhammad FAQ part, Q4 A4 you see a guide that disables seeing all images in the page and you don't see it as a server-side censorship. "Ask your mother" is unrelated with the topic.Kavas (talk) 13:19, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

um, no, I don't see it as "server-side censorship" because you disable all images in YOUR browser, not on Wikipedia. It's about you, your browser, and your configuring your browser. Seriously, ask somebody who can help you, if you are under twelve, ask your mother or your father. If you are over 70 ask your son or your daughter. If you are aged between 12 and 70, just ask any of your mates. But stop pretending this is Wikipedia's problem, or that you have any right to complain to people because your browser isn't configured to your liking. --dab (𒁳) 13:36, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

My suggestion is to change the guide in Talk:Muhammad FAQ part, Q4 A4 so that a user who is disturbed with the images can disable only those objectionable images in HIS/HER browser. Thanks to the guide, if someone is aged between 12 and 70, she/he does not have to ask any of his/her mates to disable all images in HIS/HER browser now, why don't you object to the existence of this guide? If it is not Wikipedia's problem, why Talk:Muhammad FAQ part, Q4 A4 has this guide? Kavas (talk) 13:44, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

wow. I am glad I am not your tech support. As in, I am not paid to fix your browser for you.

The problem is that in order to do that, you need to install a content filter first. This takes about 30 seconds of your time, but if you are too unfamiliar with the internet to follow simple written instructions, there is nothing we can write in the FAQ that is going to help you. Why should I object to the guide? It's at Help:Options to not see an image, and I wrote most of it. Especially this section, which tells you to install a content filter and just "disable only those objectionable images", i.e. exactly what you are asking for.

but then instead of following these instructions, you came to my talkpage and spent 20 minutes talking about how "I don't have time to install content filter, because I spend too much time on Wikipedia talk pages since some users make mistakes." What is wrong with you man? Either install this content filter or don't install it, but don't waste people's time over how you don't have time to install it. --dab (𒁳) 13:52, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

I don't have time to install it, but I have time to spend in talk pages. I am free to come to your talk page and you had the right to give no reply. It is not me that made you waste 20 minutes, but your replies. Have a fine day. Kavas (talk) 14:04, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

Yes. I hoped I could help you find Help:Options to not see an image. Perhaps when your important talkpage duties give you a few minutes' pause, you can look at it. --dab (𒁳) 14:10, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

Template talk:Wikipedias

Just in case you didn't put this onto your watchlist. See there. Choyoołʼįįhí:Seb az86556 ^{> haneʼ} 23:08, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

Can't edit E1b1b1a

Strange. I can not edit E1b1b1a. I wanted to undo some edits made by 90.194.181.6 which inserted new numbers that are not in the source. (I did re-check them.) This editor's series of edits all show a clear agenda as far as I can see. Am contacting an admin mainly only because of the technical issue that I can not do the undo.--Andrew Lancaster (talk) 08:39, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

why can you not undo the edit? The article isn't protected. --dab (𒁳) 09:17, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

I do not know. I made the edit and saved it three times, but I do not see it in the article history. That's what is weird. I have never seen that before.--Andrew Lancaster (talk) 14:55, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

I notice that although I still see no sign of the history page being updated, the current article seems to be as I intended it. Still strange.--Andrew Lancaster (talk) 12:01, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

Discussion at Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard#IP_socks

You are invited to join the discussion at Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard#IP_socks. Tadija^speaks 13:25, 27 July 2010 (UTC) (Using {{Please see}})

Did I understand your {{huh}}?

Hi Dbachmann, I have been doing some editing after a long time away, and I slightly reworded a paragraph at Witchcraft, removing your clarification needed tag in the process. I just want to check that I actually have provided the clarification you were looking for, because I can't find any explanation from you around the time you placed the tag. Cheers, Fuzzypeg★ 21:42, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

looks ok, thanks. --dab (𒁳) 07:31, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

Marduk, Tiamat, Python, Apollo, etc

Am I wasting my time reverting this IP? [4]. I'm not in only one but he/she just doesn't get it and is pushing virtually identical text into several articles, eg Python into Marduk[5] and vice versa. I've commented on some talk pages, got a response here [6]. But it's summer, and a lot of the serious editors who care about these subjects are away. Dougweller (talk) 15:47, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

this seems to be matriarchy-cruft. It led me to look at matriarchy, which was in a deplorable state. --dab (𒁳) 13:30, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

We're looking at pov-pushing. The angle is feminist pseudohistory / Goddess movement. It's nice to get a break from the same old four or five nationalisms for a change. --dab (𒁳) 14:02, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

IP blocked now for 48 hours. This pushed me into buying Cynthia Eller's book, I hope it isn't a waste of money! Dougweller (talk) 18:48, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

"it's summer, and a lot of the serious editors who care about these subjects are away." I regret that I am neither serious nor away. PiCo (talk) 10:11, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

he said "a lot", not "all". Also, I am "away" myself, but the internet is everywhere :) --dab (𒁳) 10:17, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

Bali Sacrifice

Appears to be a very obscure concept, but its been given its own section on the Hinduism page by User:Sikh-history, and linkspammed on a number of other pages. I started a discussion on Talk:Hinduism that I hope you can weigh in on.Pectore^talk 17:48, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

Abusive comment like this are not on Pectore^talk. DAB, knows me a a fair editor, and never resort to such abuse. You have been warned. --Sikh-History 10:34, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

Proposed Merge with Jhatka

Bali Sacrifice cannot me merged with Jhatka, because Bali entails, strangulation, piercing of heart with a spike and also Jhatka. In other words strangulation, heart piercing, and Jhatka are the method, and Bali is the sacrifice.Thanks --Sikh-History 09:19, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

Note also "Khatka" means one blow, and is a practice used by Sikhs as an antithesis of Ritual slaughter i.e. Bali, Kosher, Halal. So the concepts of Jhatka and Bali are not the same. Thanks --Sikh-History 09:24, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

yes, it needs a better solution. Above all, better references. "Bali" as a term just means "offering". Our main article on Hindu sacrifice is Yajna, perhaps it can be merged there. --dab (𒁳) 11:22, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

I have used research from Princeton University. I would say that was pretty good, wouldn't you?--Sikh-History 18:50, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

Except that this sort of sacrifice is not really Yajna. :-) Even if some Yajnas do include an animal sacrifice, this sort of offering to the local god/goddess is not usually considered a Yajna (probably won't have a Brahman priest officiating with Vedic rituals, for instance). I'm not even sure this deserves an article, tbh. There are various forms of Yajna and Puja and sacrifices and offerings. On some occasions in some regions they may include an actual animal sacrifice, among other offerings. Shreevatsa (talk) 17:36, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

Shreevatsa from a Vaishnav point of view Sakta's are not even Hindu's. :) Thanks --Sikh-History 18:51, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

Can we make it a standalone article? It seems to be a very obscure topic and almost no good references seem to be available. The Sanskrit dictionary says it's just a generic term for "oblation", not a specific class of sacrifice. We should perhaps pool the "Hindu sacrifice" articles in a central article such as Hindu sacrifice or Sacrifice in Hinduism or similar. --dab (𒁳) 18:52, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

dab (𒁳) your input maybe valuable here. I am open to suggestions. Thanks--Sikh-History 16:57, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for your edits to Sacrifice in Hinduism, would you also have a word with this editor, who seems to be changing your edits. There is an element of WP:Weasel Thanks --Sikh-History 17:29, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Opinion request

Would you please weigh in at the Examples discussion at Talk:Fringe theory? Thank you. Tom Reedy (talk) 20:47, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

sorry, but I am extremely bored with the "SAQ". --dab (𒁳) 10:18, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

Transl

Hi, as the creator of Template:transl, could you take a look at Template talk:Transl#Do we need the lang in the markup? and/or MediaWiki talk:Common.css#Get lang sa-latn to display in normal font? Wondering whether it's ok to remove the "span lang=" attribute from the template. Shreevatsa (talk) 22:43, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

QVC Vandalism

Hi,

Sorry to bother but I've been reverting the edits of several anonymous IP adresses on the QVC page for awhile now. The article is clearly biased, and going back in the article's history you can see these anonymous users omitted details about lawsuits against QVC, false claims about weight loss products etc. without giving a reason. I've tidied up the page and got rid of some of the more blatant advertising but they keep reverting those edits, as well as the advert tag I placed on. According to Wikiscanner QVC have made about three dozen edits to their own page (as well as mentioning QVC in a few other pages), however I'm fairly new to Wikipedia and am unsure of what to do apart from keep reverting their edits. There is also a user called Murphy86 who does the same thing and his only edits have been to the QVC article. Thanks. Deftera (talk) 11:53, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

• NVM, it's sorted now. You weren't responding so I pm'ed another admin. Deftera (talk) 16:03, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Rigveda

FYI. --Ragib (talk) 02:40, 1 August 2010 (UTC)

Sarazm

This proto-urban site was inscribed on the World Heritage List yesterday. It's not clear from the page what is so unique about it. You are best qualified to expand the coverage. There's some info on Google Books. --Ghirla^-трёп- 11:57, 1 August 2010 (UTC)

IP on matriarchy

She was here in April. But I'm annoyed with myself because a day or two ago I meant to look this up: Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Jackiestud/Archive - geolocate the IP addresses she used before to sockpuppet, this one is the same, as are her edits and style. Clearly our blocked editor evading her block. Dougweller (talk) 13:11, 1 August 2010 (UTC)

Akins

Hi Bachmann, I recall a little discussion we had about "a certain very ancient book" and it wasn't Geoffrey's. Does this here ring a bell? The discussion may not require an extra pair of eyes, but I thought you'd be interested to know. Cavila (talk) 12:33, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

Marco Polo

Hi. I wonder if you could have a look at the Marco Polo article. Some time ago, a separate article on the birthplace controversy was deleted and now it is in process to be recreated. As I was the one nominating the original article for deletion, I don't feel too neutral in this case so I'd like to have a second opinion. Thanks. --Tone 11:15, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

Forum shopping or not

Hi. I have a question to you. User:Teeninvestor who is currently in what may be called a dispute with me has accused me of User talk:Gun Powder Ma#Forum shopping. However, I am not aware that I acted against this guideline in these cases (actually I hate online shopping). Could you give some clarification on this? Regards Gun Powder Ma (talk) 01:55, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

sorry, I have been away. It's probably stale now. --dab (𒁳) 11:53, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Gothic alphabet

The recent changes made to Gothic alphabet could use a brief review when you have two minutes - I'm loath to enter silly a pissing contest as a lowly IP. This discussion is a good example of "I don't need to check sources; my logic is flawless", and apparently someone is planning to make pâté out of the Examples section (the secret ingredient is "some fennic", it seems). Cheers, --84.75.167.144 (talk) 07:32, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

Nezami Ganjavi and Secondary opinion

Hi That article has sometimes been a source of argument between Iranian and Azeri-Turkish users. Other than that, in general there is no conflict between these users (specially for a long time now). I would like to ask you to formerly get involved if there is any problems, since the users of both sides will probably not compromise on such an issue. Can you look at here: [7]

I stated these: C. A. (Charles Ambrose) Storey and François de Blois (2004), "Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey: Volume V Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period.", RoutledgeCurzon; 2nd revised edition (June 21, 2004). Pg 363: "Nizami Ganja'i, whose personal name was Ilyas, is the most celebrated native poet of the Persians after Firdausi. His nisbah designates him as a native of Ganja (Elizavetpol, Kirovabad) in Azerbaijan, then still a country with an Iranian population, and he spent the whole of his life in Transcaucasia; the verse in some of his poetic works which makes him a native of the hinterland of Qom is a spurious interpolation." and Nozhat al-Majales. Note Francois de Blois has written several of the Nezami articles in Iranica and the book: "Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey: Volume V Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period" (2004) is very well received in google scholar (comments by C.E. Bosworth, Yarshater and etc.).

The Nozhat al-Majales is a recently founded gem that was published in 1987. However there are two sources by Diakonov which seems to give two different intrepretations. So I am not sure what to do with this case.

Some facts about Nezami: 1) Lived in Ganja 850 years ago 2) All of his works are in Persian 3) Mother was Kurdish 4) Father's background is argued with different intrepretations. 5) It is a USSR nation building issue according to some sources (I quoted in the talkpage).

The article is generally good though but it needs some involvement from uninvolved/non-regional users.

Thank you.--Khodabandeh14 (talk) 15:20, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

Hi. I don't think there's any serious dispute there. The article was stable for years, and no one tried to make undiscussed changes. Maybe, there's just a debate as to whether we should refer to academic work of Diakonov or his memoir, which contain contradictory statements. But the article can do without Diakonov, imho, there are many other sources. But in any case, your opinion is always appreciated. Regards, Grandmaster 15:42, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

Never mind for now, since we only have one dab in wikipedia,..wikipedia is not going to be perfect. I believe we worked it out. I wish every user was dab (then wikipedia will be closer to perfect). --Khodabandeh14 (talk) 20:04, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

I agree. Grandmaster 20:21, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

thank you guys :) Glad you could work it out. --dab (𒁳) 11:25, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Re: Abuse On My Talk Page

Hi Fellow editor, is there anything you can do to prevent abuse like this of my talk page? Thanks--Sikh-History 13:32, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

I don't really think this qualifies as "abuse". --dab (𒁳) 11:14, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

You're being quoted

at Talk:Mitanni. Could you also please take a look at WP:RSN#Possible misuse of source. Thanks. Dougweller (talk) 20:58, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

While we're at it, you're being invoked here [8], by an IP address that I have a sinking feeling might be Ararat Arev sockpuppeting again. Thanatosimii (talk) 05:38, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

Dbachmann, this was accepted by you and the image handler User:Jkelly had approved this 4 years ago! Thanatsimii is wanting to remove this because of the Eupolemus quote "issue" we had earlier, and were figuring out where to use the Petrie source, which Dougweller suggested to use in "historical context". The Eupolemus quote has nothing to do with the Mitanni seal to be removed. Forsts23 (talk) 05:47, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

Here is User:Jkelly 's [9] <-- correct copyright template edit from Dec. 4, 2006. Forsts23 (talk) 06:02, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

What bit of " you are now topic-banned from all edits relating to the topics of Urartu, Mitanni and related aspects of early Armenian history, for a period of four months," did you not understand? Dougweller (talk) 06:27, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

Ararat arev

You might want to see the comments here Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Forsts23 - I don't know enough to do this myself or know who else might be able to do this, if it's worth while that is. Dougweller (talk) 12:19, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

Pictish Language

Hi, you reverted my edit on AS Settlement page about the Pictish language. The original editor had said Ogham and an unknown language, I think that the unknown language should actually have been undecipherable language and would have been Pictish hence my edit. There has been some progress on this, you were too quick for me as I put the press release up by mistake, the paper is here: [10], however I leave it up to you whether to put it up or not. I think that references to Pictish and Ogham are marginal on a page about AS anyway. Regards Wilfridselsey (talk) 10:11, 18 August 2010 (UTC) BTW- Ogham probably originated from Ireland and was also found in the northern parts of (now Scotland) then Pictland so is not really a language of the Britons. Wilfridselsey (talk) 11:05, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

well, we would need a reference that says Ogham inscriptions or "Pictish hieroglyphs" are relevant to the reconstruction of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, otherwise it doesn't make sense to mention them in the first place.

The paper is quotable, but it would make more sense to treat it at Pictish stones than at Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. Personally, I don't care much for it. These people are trying to tout their zero result. They have successfully shown that the arrangement of the symbols is "not random" but has semantic content. They have not show that it is a writing system proper. Compare the 2009 "computational study" here for a similar case. The study is interesting, but the presentation is disingenious because the authors are trying to be sexy.

This is my personal assessment, and I am not going to keep you from discussing the study in a pertinent article.

Ogham isn't a language at all, it is a script. It was used by the Gaels and apparently also to some extent by the Picts, and even by the Welsh. --dab (𒁳) 12:43, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Oops yes, thanks for correcting me on the script/ language definition.

Ogham is an interesting subject that is worthy of debate, but I agree not in the AS settlement article.

I felt that the unknown language of the original editor was somewhat too simplistic and out of date. I think that it is now regarded as Pictish ogham not an unknown script although some historians have suggested it could be Norse in origin. The Irish were raiding and settling the west coast of Britain post Roman occupation, so where they settled is where Irish ogham appears. I think to infer that it was used by the Britons is stretching it a bit, as the Picts and Scots (and Irish) were not regarded as Britons, whereas the Cornish, Welsh and Cumbrians were. I prefer your "Epigraphic evidence (in Anglo-Saxon runes and in Ogham).."etc. to how it was but maybe "Epigraphic evidence, such as Anglo-Saxon runes, provide another source of information on the settlements of Saxons and others in this period." would work better? I have commented on ogham in the AS settlement discussion page. I have also included the Rob Lee paper on the ogham page as I think that is where it belongs, hadn't thought of Pictish Stones, will give it a look.

As far as the quality of the Rob Lee paper, I notice that they are part of the mathematics department, I would rather they do this than tie up all their supercomputers to try and resolve pi to get their PhD!!!Regards Wilfridselsey (talk) 14:35, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

They have already quoted Rob Lee on the Pictish Stone page, without comment. regards Wilfridselsey (talk) 15:28, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

This is why I have removed the "unknown language" bit from the "AS settlement" page. Very often, improving an article means removing bad or off topic content. All this "Pictish hieroglyphs" stuff should be discussed, within WP:DUE, at Pictish stones, where it is on topic.

When I say that ogham was used by the Welsh, I am obviously referring to the ogham inscriptions found in Wales, not those found in Scotland. Ogham is essentially an Irish script, and all use by neighboring peoples is very marginal indeed anyway.

Since this is a discussion entirely about article content, can we please continue this on the pertinent article talkpages? --dab (𒁳) 16:01, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

I agree. Thanks. Wilfridselsey (talk) 17:01, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Speak of the devil

Look who posted to my talk page (Ararat arev). Dougweller (talk) 05:56, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

energy, energia, energeia

dab, I note you've worked on some of the relevant articles before. Did you know there was a dab page for energia (disambiguation), separate to energy (disambiguation), and energeia? BTW, I see you've worked on actus et potentia. This article turned out to be made independently long after potentiality and actuality, which it has now been merged into. actus et potentia, is now a redirect. In turn, before that page existed there were also energeia and dunamis (both started by me, but I would not have done so if the others existed first) and I have been trying to get through more merges, to get these into potentiality and actuality along with entelechy. Comments welcome. My draft merged article is here: I believe that maintaining the separate pages knowingly would be WP:CFORK, or at least know one has shown how that is not the case with the current materials in Wikipedia. Anyway, as energeia might soon turn into a redirect or dab this is why I was looking at energy-related dab pages. I was thinking of making energeia redirect simply, but to have a dab line at the top going to an energy dab page, preferably just the one.--Andrew Lancaster (talk) 16:57, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

I am definitely a mergist myself and I think I share your general outlook. I think this is a case where I got frustrated over the disambiguation bureaucrats ("why would I need a clue when I can obsess over MOSDAB?") but maybe I should take another look at the current situation. Anyway thanks for your note. --dab (𒁳) 17:18, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

An extra perspective might be helpful, especially someone with no connection to the "threatened" articles, and an understanding of the normal procedures. I think I am right in saying that merge discussions were positive and friendly for years (tagging started in 2008) until I recently started actually trying to progress. There is something of a consensus at least for making one main article, and logically, if we must avoid cforks that should be enough to say that one that basis we should merge to that main article at least while the amount of material in all the articles is still pretty basic and not very long.--Andrew Lancaster (talk) 17:26, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

dab, see what you think of change in dab: [11]. I guess I've done a minor merge here, from Energia (dab) to Energia (dab).--Andrew Lancaster (talk) 07:54, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

---

Wow, Andrew Lancaster is cross posting trash talk about me everywhere he can: Talk:Potentiality and actuality#Update on this article and Talk:Potentiality and actuality#refs to google books versus perseus, (07:45, 21 August 2010 and 18:54, 21 August 2010); Talk:Energeia#Update on events relating to this article; and Talk:Entelechy#Updates on events relating to this article; also the talk page of the draft he's referring people to; as well as directing users attention to those sections via their talk page: LoveMonkey! You didn't take the bait?

I need to figure out exactly what kind of administrative case I can open to put a stop to these prolific references to me and the 3RR/Edit waring case he blindsided me with. (And hopefully get those edits deleted). I'm not even sure the "voluntary 7 day vacation from the article" thing was part of the "protection" result... a block would have been shorter. At any rate, I want to appeal that too if it was, because there is no way I'm an edit warrior and that guy ain't!—Machine Elf 1735 (talk) 03:43, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

Machine Elf (I post here because you've asked me not to post on your talk page, sorry dab!) my understanding is that you have agreed not to edit on this anymore and that agreement was your response to a suggestion that you make such an offer in order to avoid other sanctions. Here is where you deleted the discussion. So if you are retracting the offer then you should discuss it with User:EdJohnston? Your tone above however certainly makes it seem like you have not been able to de-personalize things and take the necessary step back in order to be able to edit constructively on this again. For my part please understand that my "cross posting trash" is just getting on with life, improving an article which can be improved. What am I supposed to do? You really did edit war of your own free will and that is a matter of record which has affected the articles in question. It is not something I made up to talk about, and it is not some kind of trick which you fell for.--Andrew Lancaster (talk) 07:09, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

No, Mr. Lancaster, I did not agree to let you talk smack about me to anyone who will listen but sure, I'll consult the parole officer. Love it. I'm not able to let go. You're one in a million.

My asking you not to post on my talk page hasn't stopped you yet, why don't you give dab a break and fight that urge to have the last word?—Machine Elf 1735 (talk) 14:00, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for your contributions to so many articles.

Hi, Dbachmann,

I see that as I put up templates on articles related to the recent Arbitration Committee case on Race and intelligence that you have visited the talk pages of some of those articles. One thing that I find interesting is that many partisans in hotly disputed articles assume that you are on "their side" in the article disputes, I think because you are dispassionate and stick to issues rather than to personalities (thus appearing friendly to everyone). What you really seem to be about, I've figured out at length, is not pushing a point of view but rather editing an encyclopedia in a source-based, scholarly way for an international readership. That is admirable and a good example to a new editor like me. I'm glad to see that you are still active in editing and I hope your thoughtful insight will guide further editing of the pages where I'm putting up the template. Keep up the good work. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk) 15:43, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

I appreciate this, thank you.

I saw your reply on my talk page, and here I'll say I'm LOL at the image of the arms race among monkeys to build better content for Wikipedia to gain alpha monkey status. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk) 13:29, 26 August 2010 (UTC)

In principle, telling someone they are "editing an encyclopedia in a source-based, scholarly way for an international readership" should not be a compliment but simply a statement of the obvious (as this is the only reason anybody should edit here), but of course I know enough about the de facto average editor to realize that those editors who actually do this are far between and a valuable asset in a sea of pov-pushers, pseudo-intellectual narcissists, politicians and apparatchiks.

Wikipedia has taught me a lot about humanity. Not just the depressing truth about the pettiness and stupidity of the individual, but also the magical effect that things do work out in spite of it all, nearly every time. "Wikipedia cannot work in theory, only in practice" is a deep observation more generally on human community behaviour and the synergies emerging therefrom. It also tells us how you get the million monkeys to keep plodding away at their typewriters (you make it a primate power game, telling each monkey that the others are trying to get the better of them). --dab (𒁳) 07:34, 26 August 2010 (UTC)

Varuna

Hi, I wanted to bring to your attention that there was a reference (which was hidden in comments) lost in one of your edits (diff) to the article on Varuna, just in case you had not noticed. Happy editing! --Joshua Issac (talk) 20:01, 26 August 2010 (UTC)

I did this on purpose. The reference was a review of Mary Boyce, A History of Zoroastrianism (1975)[12] It's valid, but we don't need it, and it certainly has nothing to do with the nonsensical paragraph it was attached to. --dab (𒁳) 14:44, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

DYK for Sæbø sword

The DYK project (nominate) 06:04, 28 August 2010 (UTC)

Genetic history of the British Isles

I know you've made comments about this article before also. I've done some work on it today. I hope it is an improvement, but I thought it a good idea to ask your opinion. I have deleted large slabs of material, but also tried to insert quite a lot of more up to date material. The net effect is a big reduction in size but this is probably mostly because the old version was very repetitive and not really structured.--Andrew Lancaster (talk) 13:48, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

per your rant at FTN

I know you're not a userbox guy, but you might enjoy this

This user saw Bigfoot and a Mokele-mbembe cured by Magnet therapy at a Reportedly haunted location while debating Climate change denial with a UFO piloted by an Aquatic ape at the Fringe theories Noticeboard.

--Rocksanddirt (talk) 20:51, 3 September 2010 (UTC)

it's funny ... because it's true :) --dab (𒁳) 09:14, 4 September 2010 (UTC)

Shape of the Earth Merger Discussion

Your comments are welcome at the discussion of the merger proposals involving Flat Earth, Spherical Earth, and Shape of the Earth. --SteveMcCluskey (talk) 21:14, 5 September 2010 (UTC)

R1a stuff

Dab, can you take a look at this? It's been pushed off from the India page as it's undue there, but I think it has found its way across a few other articles. We are all too familiar with where the story comes from, but might you be able to comment on the refs? cheers —SpacemanSpiff 18:25, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

I have very little patience with this. new-indology.blogspot.com isn't a "source" for anything, and genetics research papers may well be cited at the R1a article, but only as primary raw material, we need secondary summaries of research for the broader view. --dab (𒁳) 18:38, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

Ok, I come across this quite often on the caste article cleanups as each one wants to prove some link to the Aryans or Scythians and stuff like that, but we've generally not seen it on the main articles like India or Demographics of India where it has started creeping in now. I'm not all too familiar with these genetics research papers, so figured I'd ask you. cheers. —SpacemanSpiff

Someone's talking about you

See User talk:Meeso#<real name redacted>, aka dab, aka dbachmann - I've no idea what this is about, but I'm probably going to WQA about the editor, which is how I saw this. Dougweller (talk) 12:15, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

German IPs who "reveal my identity" are mostly Albanian nationalists (from the comfort of an EU residence), whose agenda was thwarted by me at Kosovo. There are a number of these lurking about. If I remember correctly, Tubesship (talk · contribs) in particular was trying to make this personal.[13] Perhaps a usercheck will reveal all the IPs used disruptively by this user and lead to a general ban.

See this diff, it appears Meeso (talk · contribs) wants to "put me down forever". I won't hire a bodyguard, but I think its good enough for a permaban. --dab (𒁳) 12:22, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Ah, so not WQA then but ANI. I'm off to walk the dogs, if you want to take it there while I'm doing that, fine, or else I will when I get back. Dougweller (talk) 12:58, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

I'ver raised it there now. Dougweller (talk) 15:04, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Disruptive Nationalist user

Hi Can you ban this fellow [[14]]. I really think there needs to be power to ban such a user on first sight. There are patriotic users than there are simply illogical nationalist users like this one. Thank you--Khodabandeh14 (talk) 14:41, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Perhaps drop him a few friendly warnings first? It's quite a while since I have blocked anyone other than blatant socks or the like: these days my "admin" status mostly serves me as a "kick me" sign (i.e. the "you as an admin should know better" avenue, very popular with edit-warriors of the, ahem, more predictable sort), I'm not doing much else with it. So I'm not really the best place to call with "can you ban this fellow". --dab (𒁳) 18:22, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Mass renaming of articles without discussion

Hi Dbachmann, now that R&I articles have discretionary sanctions, I had asked Georgewilliamherbert what I should do when I think someone's being disruptive on the articles, and he said to leave a message on an uninvolved admin's talk. You seem to be more active and responsive than him, so I figured I'd ask you.

The user WeijiBaikeBianji has recently renamed [15] at least four different articles just this morning without discussing them with anyone, and now is trying to change the name of R&I too. He did bring that one up on the talk page, and several people are opposing it. He’s suggested renaming this article before, and one of the previous reasons people opposed him about it was because the title "race and intelligence" was consistent with these other articles. By renaming the other articles without discussion, he’s essentially short-circuiting that aspect of the renaming discussion.

Is it a problem to suddenly rename a bunch of different articles like this without discussing them? -Ferahgo the Assassin (talk) 16:14, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Apparently it is. Personally, I am interested in sticking to the issue, not procedure. And I must say I find it an improvement to move from "intelligence" to "IQ", because that's what is under discussion. That said, I would like to stay away from such disputes, so if you raise the issue on article talk, I suppose the article will be moved back as "undiscussed move". Unless it turns out most involved editors are happy with the move, of course. --dab (𒁳) 18:17, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for quick reply. WeijiBaikeBianji is continuing to make article name changes faster than they can be discussed, so if you don't mind I'd like to go to another admin about this. Is that alright with you? -Ferahgo the Assassin (talk) 22:06, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Ask for help

Hi, Dbachmann. I have just created German version de:Slawische Vornamen of the article Slavic names. Unfortunately my language skills are insufficient and the article de:Slawische Vornamen needs some orthographic and grammatic improvements. Could you please have a look? I will be grateful. Regards! Wojgniew (talk) 11:38, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

I am not too active at de-wiki. I think the residents have already tagged your contribution as valuable but in need of grammatical cleanup. So I hope this will sort itself out. --dab (𒁳) 08:03, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

ARYA

I don't understand your position. I have posted my comments so as to modify this article and you are removing it ? Why ?? I have given proper refs.Rajkris (talk) 14:04, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

Eventhough it is long, i'm trying to dicuss. There are some mistakes which must be corrected. Rajkris (talk) 14:07, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

This is not a Huge Essay but a discussion. I want to change some sentences of this article. I have provided the refs for.Rajkris (talk) 14:11, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

In what I have written, I underlined everything which is not correct in the Arya wiki article. I have given propers refs... You have removed what i have done by telling it is a counter article... I really don't understand. I am very busy in my professionnal life. I took me time to write and find all these refs.Rajkris (talk) 14:41, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

King

Hi, I was surprised (and a little disappointed, given your track record) to see you turned King into a disambig without discussion and without fixing any of the 1000+ newly misdirected links per WP:FIXDABLINKS. I've thought it over, and believe the Monarch sense of King is the WP:PRIMARYTOPIC, and have created a move request accordingly. --JaGa^talk 09:52, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

Yes, very good, I agree. I don't see why you are "disappointed" by any of this, it needed fixing and between us we fixed it. Am I to understand you expected me to fix 1000+ links manually? This is the sort of thing we have bots for. --dab (𒁳) 09:59, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

It's a common misconception. A bot might be able to fix some of the links, but most of them would have fallen on the WP:DPL project to be done manually. --JaGa^talk 13:46, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

How is it a "common misconception" that we can tell a bot to "turn all links to X into links to Y"?

King was a disambiguation page until 2007. There was nothing wrong with that. Then somebody made it into a redirect. Not a problem for me either. Then, in 2008, somebody (a then-novice user) turned it into a cfork for no apparent reason[16]. Somehow it was neglected to fix this for two years. I have now turned it back into a disambiguation page. You submitted that you preferred the "primary topic" redirect and I was happy to oblige. Case closed, I hope. --dab (𒁳) 13:56, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

DYK for Swastika (Germanic Iron Age)

Materialscientist (talk) 18:04, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

J. R. R. Tolkien's influences

Hello. I've shortened the Wagner section in the article per your concern. If you still think that it's too prominent, please let me know and I'll have another look at it. De728631 (talk) 14:10, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. I was going to work on it myself, but I was distracted. --dab (𒁳) 14:58, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

Boycott

It seems a user has been so frustrated with how certain admins are carrying out their duties that he has boycotted English Wikipedia. I don't know all the details to the case, but I suggest that whoever is involved investigate what is causing this problem and how the conflict could be resolved. I won't say anymore (I think you can fill in the details), but if something drastic is actually brought to my attention I will bring it before a mediation commitee as I already have done on another conflict.--Gniniv (talk) 04:29, 12 September 2010 (UTC)