Hello, Xionbox, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:
I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Where to ask a question, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Again, welcome! - Mailer Diablo15:57, 10 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the response. Yes, teachers aren't always right. I can remember a number of times I was pretty certain I had the right answer, and it got marked wrong, then later I found I was absolutely right. Doesn't mean I'm always right though. And guess what? Now I'm a teacher! HiLo48 (talk) 23:21, 3 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Note that your edits are contrary to WP:UNIT, which clearly states "US articles generally put United States customary units first". As the MQ-9 is clearly a product of US origin, your changes to put SI units first are contrary to existing guidelines. Please stop, or further action will be taken. Thanks. - BilCat (talk) 19:08, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Response on BilCat's talk page:
Dear BilCat,
First of all, please be civil when talking to people, even people you are in contradiction with (including me). The bare minimum is to start personal comments with a greeting, which you have not done during our previous conversations.
Regarding me edits, in which I add the metric conversion, I incite you to read the following extract from WP:Units:
The use of units of measurement is guided by the following principles:
[*]Avoid ambiguity: Aim to write so you cannot be misunderstood.
[*]Familiarity: The less readers have to look up definitions, the easier it is to be understood.
[*]International scope: Wikipedia is not country-specific; apart from some regional or historical topics, use the units in most ::widespread use worldwide for the type of measurement in question.
(...)
When the source uses one set of units, generally put that one first; if editors cannot agree, put the source's units first. If they are not first, this should be stated in the citation.
According to these rules, if the source does not explicitly use US Customary units for specific information, then the most widespread units must be used.
More specifically, my edit of the Pan American World Airways article respects these rules for two reasons: firstly, as you probably did not notice, I did not alter the units (nor even added the metric conversion) which were taken from sources expressed in the US Customary unit system. However, the unit I did in fact change is in regards to the weight of the plastic explosive used on Pan Am Flight 103. The source specified does not even mention the weight of the explosive (a citation needed flag could be raised) and, as the metric system is used throughout the world with the exception of US, Liberia and Burma, placing the metric system first is in accordance to the WP:UNITS. In addition, and it will be my final confer to the WP:UNITS, even if this part of the article may be strongly associated with a given place, it would be related to the UK as it occurred on its soil; WP:UNITS states the following: UK articles more often put metric units first.
Until you are able to precisely point out to the source of the article which clearly states the weight of this explosive in pounds, my edit placing kilograms before pounds will be committed. Should you revert this edition once more, I will feel obligated to place an Edit War banner on your talk page. I hope you understand my concert and I would greatly appreciate your respect of the Wikipedia rules for etiquette and unit system to use.
Xionbox (talk) 18:56, 25 February 2011 (UTC)
Xionbox (talk) 18:57, 25 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Hello Xionbox I have been asked by BilCat to look at your recent changes to the order of units. As far as I can see BilCat correctly challenged you changes to these articles, when the subject of the article is clearly American the consensus is to put american units first then metric. Before you make any more of these type of changes please take into consideration that they may not be appropriate for United States-centric articles, thanks. MilborneOne (talk) 20:26, 25 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I provided a few links that I believe showcased the continued use of the Fahrenheit temperature scale in Canada quite nicely (one especially good link was from Environment Canada, Canada's official government sanctioned weather tracking authority). You removed all these links and kept only one -- is this one link enough? I read in the "Fahrenheit" discussion forum that generally, the Fahrenheit scale (or any scale for that matter) must be "officially sanctioned" by a government in order for it to qualify as a secondary scale. Canada, as you may or may not know, is probably the only nation (not too sure about the UK) that officially maintains legal definitions for BOTH metric and imperial units and also officially allows for the use of EITHER system of measurement (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/W-6/page-9.html#anchorsc:2) and (http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/rail/1996/r96w0171/r96w0171.asp) and (http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/forecast/city_e.html?bc-74&unit=i). Australia, in contrast, has completely stripped all legal definitions for imperial units from its books. Fittingly, Australia's meteorology bureau (unlike Canada's) does NOT offer a "Fahrenheit" or imperial option next to weather reports (http://www.bom.gov.au/nsw/forecasts/sydney.shtml). Thank you in advance for your feedback :-) 173.180.196.28 (talk) 17:41, 9 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Xionbox, although there is no specific mention of "Fahrenheit" in Canada's Weights and Measures Act you have to consider that there is no specific mention of "Celsius" either -- as Celsius automatically corresponds to the SI system and Fahrenheit to the imperial. Do you see what I mean? The United States doesn't even explicitly say the "Fahrenheit scale" is the "official American temperature scale." Nonetheless, and based on the US' large use of customary units, one can presume the Fahrenheit scale is indeed "official." The US government, believe it or not, actually prefers the metric system but does not impose its use on Americans (http://www.nist.gov/pml/wmd/metric/metric-program.cfm).
The fact that Canada officially allows for EITHER system of measurement (which was actually done as a compromise to the fierce public resistance to metrication in the early 1980s; Customary units (3) In addition to the units of measurement otherwise referred to in this section, the customary units of measurement and the symbols therefor as set out and defined in Part IV of Schedule I may be used in Canada, which units of measurement are commonly used with the International System of Units; http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/W-6/page-2.html) suggests that the Fahrenheit scale should be viewed as an "official government sanctioned" secondary scale, perfectly legal for use among Canadians (the scale's 'officialdom' is assumed). The fact that Environment Canada still keeps a Fahrenheit/imperial "option" on hand further corroborates my point (http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/forecast/city_e.html?bc-74&unit=i) and with all due respect; most American visitors would theoretically use their own weather bureaus to check the weather in Canada. You have to ask yourself, if the Canadian government still keeps imperial measures on the books (and you should note that when the units are changed on the Environment Canada website, they are changed to "imperial" not "US customary" or "English units" so as to comply with the Act that mandates their use within Canada), isn't it perfectly normal to presume that the "imperial/Fahrenheit" option given on Environment Canada's website is for Canadians? I certainly think so. If you truly believe the Fahrenheit option on Environment Canada's website is for American use, why aren't most Canadian road signs listed in US customary measures? Canada certainly has its fair share of American visitors, the vast majority of whom have no trouble complying with Canada's largely metric road signage. Australia has plenty of American tourists and that nation's weather bureau only gives temperatures in Celsius (http://www.bom.gov.au/). Same with New Zealand (http://www.metservice.com/national/index). Mexico, another of the United States' neighbours and indeed the recipient of vast numbers of American visitors, only officially gives temperatures in Celsius (http://smn.cna.gob.mx/). So I'm afraid your premise that Environment Canada's "imperial" option is for American use only is fundamentally flawed and incorrect. Based on my above stated points, one can only assume, and pursuant to the Weights and Measures Act which authorizes the continued use of imperial measures in Canada; Environment Canada's imperial option is NOT for American tourists but rather for Canadians who prefer the imperial system (which includes the Fahrenheit scale, and thus fully qualifying it as an official scale of measurement in Canada). Also, how would you describe the dual imperial/metric unit listings of MANY Canadian products MADE in Canada FOR Canadians? The soup I had for lunch read "10 fl oz (284mL)." The soup was made in Canada, by a Canadian company, for Canadians ... NOT for American visitors/tourists. It is also important to note that virtually ALL ovens, refrigerators, etc, in Canada come defaulted to the imperial/Fahrenheit unit as imperial measures, by in large, still dominate in Canadian kitchens. Thanks for your response. 173.180.196.28 (talk) 23:57, 9 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks a lot for your input. I will consider opening an account :-) It seems you are interested in the topic of measurement systems (I am too). I'd like to know if the Cayman Islands is "imperial" or "metric." I do know that most weather is reported using imperial units, distances and speed limits are in miles and MPH, gas is bought by the imperial gallon, and most food in stores seems to be sold by the pound, ounce, etc. I haven't been able to locate anything that officially sanctions these practices in the islands though. Do you know anything about this? 173.180.196.28 (talk) 13:11, 10 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Apology- Rsteilberg
Dear Xionbox, I am sorry about the edits to the Constellation program... I find myself in denial that we aren't going to the moon (big supporter of NASA/space exploration) and I would like to formally notify you that I will cease to revert changes made to Project Constellation.
I saw your exchange with Rsteilberg (talk) re Constellation. I was interested, being a bit of a True Believer myself. I just updated the lead section of Space exploration, which was embarrassingly outdated. But you might like to look at the material I added to the "Future of space exploration" section about the Nautilus-X concept study, which I think is quite exciting. In my opinion we are in far better shape, technically, to settle the whole Solar System than we were to land on the Moon in May 1961, when JFK issued his famous challenge. So now all we have to do is sell it to the public, who have to pay for it. I think the ISS shows the path for that too, as it needs to be an international undertaking, and has the potential to draw support from the whole human familly. Cheers, Wwheaton (talk) 18:26, 10 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Re: Apology accepted
Thanks. And I understand you about the spaceflight, and hopefully we can make it to Mars/an asteroid at least once in my lifetime (regardless of whether the moon landings are bypassed). In my opinion, spaceflight holds the future of the world in the aspect that human's expanding demand of curiosity will one day extend pass the Earth and the Solar System into deep space, and I am an advocate of getting prelimenary space exploration underway. Rsteilberg 17:00, 11 March 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rsteilberg (talk • contribs)
When it comes to the the study of energy release [ Joules ( Foot pound-force )], I am a bit of a pariah around here.
I see you are a member of Wikiproject Spaceflight. It may be of interest to you that I have the the original photographs of the moon from the 1st soft landing of Surveyor 1 on the moon. My father was the “Press secretary” from Hughes Aircraft Company/JPL on that night: “First Press release”, June 1, 1966 11:17:37 Pacific Daylight Time; “LUNAR LANDMARKS”, VOL. II June 2, 1966 NO. 12, which I am copying from at this moment.
I have all the original photos that appear on the Surveyor 1 article page. If you are interested in seeing (handle and inspect)them, email me at: gregoryglove@yahoo.com
Hello. Your account has been granted the "reviewer" userright, allowing you to review other users' edits on certain flagged pages. Pending changes, also known as flagged revisions, underwent a two-month trial which ended on 15 August 2010. Its continued use is still being discussed by the community, you are free to participate in such discussions. Many articles still have pending changes protection applied, however, and the ability to review pending changes continues to be of use.
Reviewers can review edits made by users who are not autoconfirmed to articles placed under level 1 pending changes and edits made by non-reviewers to level 2 pending changes protected articles (usually high traffic articles). Pending changes was applied to only a small number of articles, similarly to how semi-protection is applied but in a more controlled way for the trial. The list of articles with pending changes awaiting review is located at Special:OldReviewedPages.
For the guideline on reviewing, see Wikipedia:Reviewing. Being granted reviewer rights doesn't grant you status nor change how you can edit articles even with pending changes. The general help page on pending changes can be found here, and the general policy for the trial can be found here.
Hello Xionbox! You restored a deleted PROD template at Marriage in the world. You shouldn't restore deleted PROD-templates, because they're for uncontroversial deletion only (and it seems this wasn't uncontroversial in the creator's opinion). If you don't mind, I'll get an AfD started on the case. Zakhalesh (talk) 18:45, 20 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Hi Zakhalesh, thanks for contacting me. The only reason I restored the PROD template is because the user didn't specify a reason to keep the article. I may have clock too fast.
Yes, that's probably true as I grew up in France, and did almost all my studies in French schools. I'm curious, what made you think that? Xionbox₪10:29, 21 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
By the way, what does Sydney to a brick mean. I've looked it up, but can't seem to find a definition. I guess it means you're ready to bet a lot that you are right. Did I get it? Xionbox₪10:31, 21 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Short answer:
Hi Shirt58! didn't check for copy-paste but I'm not impressed.
Just a tiny little nuance, but it was reads in English like you were not impressed with me, instead of the person that added the copyrighted text. In Romance languages you can leave out the inflected attributions, but not in Germanic languages. My own one of them is notorious for leading other languages down dark alleys, beating them up, and stealing their vocabulary. Like nuance, for example.
Hi Shirt58! Sorry for the later answer. You brought up a very interesting point, which you have remarkably applied to my sentence (and my though process). In fact, you are right, I was not impressed by the fact that the article contained copyrighted text: nothing to do with you then. ;-)
Hello Xionbox. Thanks for the speedy deletion work you are doing; it's a very important activity! I did want to let you know, though, regarding Eating For Two, that current consensus holds that it is bad practice to tag articles for speedy deletion as lacking context (CSD A1) or content (CSD A3) moments after creation, as users may be actively working on the article content. Ten to fifteen minutes is considered a good time to wait before tagging such articles under either of these criteria. Please note that before an appropriate waiting period is over, the articles should not be marked as patrolled, so that the wait does not result in the article escaping review at a later time. Nothing here is meant to apply to any other criterion; attack pages and copyright violations especially should be tagged and deleted immediately. Thanks.
Thanks for the heads-up. I'll look at it and get involved if I can, I am excited about it too. One of my best friends at Langley is in temporarily in charge of the collaboration there, until he can find someone else to manage it. Of course everyone is preoccupied with the danger of chaotic devastation from the current budget battles. We're clearly at a critical moment, like 1972, when the shuttle architecture was cast in stone for the next three decades. I hope we can do a little better this time around (as I'll never live to see the next iteration). :) Cheers, Wwheaton (talk) 20:27, 3 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I have drafted a letter to Mark Holderman at JSC and David Gilman (Assistant Director of Flight Projects at Langley) about your stub:
by another editor. I think it is not bad as a "stub" (just basic information, to give other editors a place to build), but you might like to take a look.
I hope this article may be helpful in building community and public awareness of (and support for) the possibilities now open to us for expansion into inner Solar System space.
we have to live with (even fanatics like me have to keep up appearances), so there are strict limits on what is permissible regarding source material, conflict of interest, "point-of-view pushing", etc, but most things that have a NASA or academic (university or journal) sources are considered acceptable.
I hope this may be helpful. While no editor owns a Wikipedia article, I wish not to cause you or the Agency more than the usual heart burn we all face in the rough and tumble of public discourse in a democracy, and would like to do anything I can to support you in this effort.
You might like to take a look and see if you agree it is permissible under WP POV & COI, etc, rules. I will hold it for a day or two in the meanwhile. Thanks! Wwheaton (talk) 15:00, 4 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Welcome to Wikipedia. Everyone is welcome to contribute to the encyclopedia, but when you add or change content, as you did to the article Bigelow Aerospace, please cite a reliable source for the content of your edit. This helps maintain our policy of verifiability. See Wikipedia:Citing sources for how to cite sources, and the welcome page to learn more about contributing to this encyclopedia. Thank you.
Re your recent edit on the Bigelow Aerospace article. I suppose this could be true, but do you have a source for it that you can cite? Cheers. N2e (talk) 16:29, 4 April 2011 (UTC)N2e (talk) 16:29, 4 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Hi, Xionbox.
DO you know why all my edits today have appeared under your name. eg. 09:43 Anticyclones page, and premier league football? -Gilderien (talk) 09:45, 5 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Hi Gilderien,
Interesting remark. No, I don't know why your edits show under my name. I am currently patrolling recent changes, so if you are too, and we both revert changes at the same time, maybe do my edits sometimes arrive to WP before yours. Hence, my name will be registered for the modification. Could that be a reason?
In addition, could you direct me to the exact pages which you think that might of happened?
Thanks!
Xionbox₪09:51, 5 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Hi, this is The Shadow Fighter. I noticed that you recently commented on 98.216.122.241's talk page. I have to tell you something: That account is a school computer account, so some middle schoolers are apparently vandalizing wikipedia on this account. I myself go to school here (I am 12 years old). I will keep watch so that kids won't vandalize wikipedia. Best, The Shadow-Fighter (talk) 13:55, 7 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
What's with the level 1 warning re the above? I just deleted an minor vandal entry which you then reverted - any special reason for that ??. VelellaVelella Talk 12:21, 12 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for pointing this out. There obviously was a mix up as you didn't vandalize the Mohammad Soleimani article.
Could you explain why you approved these two pending edits on the Tim Westwood article? The first introduces unsourced material in the article, and the second removes a citation request tag for uncited material. Both of these changes should have been rejected. --Jezebel'sPonyobons mots13:57, 13 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Hey, that IP was me, I somehow got logged out. Is there a reason you had to do this? I did my best to read up on guidelines before editing but I may have missed something. I didn't think the last sentence was particularly necessary, and I removed a link to the school's website to substantiate a claim that was easily sourced from the accrediting body themselves..BelloWello (talk) 06:35, 19 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the clarification. I already had redone it but your explanation makes sense. I didn't notice I had added the default image template. BelloWello (talk) 07:32, 19 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Talkback
Hello, Xionbox. You have new messages at Wikipedia talk:Twinkle/Bugs. Message added 06:33, 24 April 2011 (UTC). You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.
In all fairness, you're one of the fairer administators I've came across, what with all the corrupt administrators throwing bans around like confetti for disagreeing with them; this is what causes the majority of vandlism. I retract my previous insult. I shall still continue my vendetta against the unspeakable evil all the same. Fortune Teller's Dog (talk) 14:24, 29 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for putting my revision back! Was not a happy camper there for a minute! But, I can see why it might have looked like vandalism, with some big revisions at the front. (Yep, obviously I'm new to this!)72.95.55.7 (talk) 06:02, 3 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]