Wikipedia:Motto of the day/Nominations/Decisions
Closing procedure
This page contains mottos that have been closed, or are about to be. The instructions below describe how to close a nomination. Any discussion on the In review page that is more than two weeks old or is obviously snowballing may be closed by following the process below and copying the whole discussion to the top of the Decisions section below. Anyone can close a discussion; you don't have to be an administrator, however to avoid conflicts of interest, we ask that you not close any nomination that you started, when possible.
Determine consensus, if any
- Decide if the motto should be approved, rejected, or reopened. Keep in mind:
- a) Nominations may be approved only if consensus favors support of the motto.
- b) Nominations may be reopened only once and only if there is no consensus.
- c) All other nominations should be rejected, including those that have not reached consensus after being reopened.
- Try to keep closings as uncontroversial as possible. If in doubt, reopen.
- Do not approve similar versions of the same motto. If the nomination contains edits, only approve the version with the most support. Reject the others.
- The exception to this is if an edit is significantly different from the others, and has gained enough support to be approved on its own.
- Please note that WP:SNOW should only be used in closure when the consensus for or against a motto, taking into account the reasons behind, is unanimous, therefore approved or declined by everyone.
- Remember, this is not a vote count. Read through all of the comments, and if there are any good points that people haven't answered, supporting or opposing, then reopen. Don't just count up the supports and opposes.
Display the result
Once the result of the discussion has been determined, add one of the following to the bottom of the discussion (without the bullet):
- To approve: add
{{Approved}} for [[Wikipedia:Motto of the day/MONTH DAY, YEAR]] (optional comment) ~~~~
- The next open space for a motto can be found here.
- To reject: add
{{Thrown out}} (reason) ~~~~
or{{Declined}} (reason) ~~~~
- To reopen: add
{{reopened}} (reason) ~~~~
Then, move the entire discussion to the top of the Decisions section. From there it should be archived after a period of time. If you chose to reopen the motto, move it to the top of the In review or Specials page, depending on where it originally was.
There are templates that can be used to make closing easier; they are Template:Appr, Template:Rej, and Template:ThrowMotto.
A list of common reasons used for closing can be found at WP:Motto of the day/Guidelines#Reasons but please note that these are only examples.
Example
Here is an example of what a reopened, then approved, nomination would look like:
=== Example motto === * Votes and comments. ~~~~ {{reopened}} ~~~~ * Additional votes and comments. ~~~~ {{Approved}} for [[Wikipedia:Motto of the day/February 31, 2012]]. Enough additional votes have been added to form a consensus. ~~~~
Excerpt :
Siberian: [after audition] Bullshit.
Igor: How come?
Siberian: No commercial potential. Go America, everything goes there.
Of course i could have used WP:BAND ("the worst rock band in the world") but it's right below. — benzband (talk) 17:59, 16 February 2012 (UTC)
- Support –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:53, 28 February 2012 (UTC)
Reopened (not enough discussion) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 09:10, 13 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support •martyx• tkctgy 13:53, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
Reopened (FOR THE LAST TIME; not enough discussion) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 12:29, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
Approved per consensus. Simply south...... going on editing sprees for just 6 years (as of 28/03/2006) 22:26, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
Frank Zappa on Thicke of the Night (1984). benzband (talk) 10:42, 11 March 2012 (UTC)
- oppose - Mocking references to God and republicans is not the purpose of Wikipedia. The spirit of the real silly article link should be applied to the real silly motto which should not be accepted. Fartherred (talk) 02:21, 12 March 2012 (UTC)
- comment - i neither wish to "mock" or offend you (or anybody) with this this motto, and i do not think/assertain doing so is "the purpose of Wikipedia" :-) Motds should be taken on a different level than the simple phrase, in which the author expresses his POV of something being ridiculous and (jokingly) that shouldn't have been created. Now, the link[s], is [are] key to understanding: thus, here, the ridiculous thing is not Republicans as you may have thought, but a preposterous article, and the creator is actually a Wikipedian unaware [or not?] of the guideline. This quote is intended as humour, just as is the linked essay; the quote may (or may not) make you smile; in any case i for one thought it was hilarious (of course, i am probably biased on that last comment for being an atheist and leftist ;) benzband (talk) 19:13, 12 March 2012 (UTC)
- comment - You write: "the ridiculous thing is...a preposterous article" but there is no relation between the motto and a preposterous article other than the link. You might as well write: "Which Backstreet Boy is Gay", link it to WP:RRRSAITYRRRSNC and write I did not mean to offend, the whole point is the link. Still there might be Backstreet Boy fan or a homosexual who is offended (I read often enough in the paper about homosexuals being offended). If the link is the whole thing write: Eat an apple every day. But since you wrote what you wrote I believe you intended to make fun of God and Republicans with the excuse that it was only a link to policy. Your motto is as ridiculous as the excuse, not very funny, not an earth shaking insult, but not a high quality motto. Fartherred (talk) 06:09, 13 March 2012 (UTC)
- comment - "Which Backstreet Boy is Gay" is different from this nom. Here, Zappa is (jokingly) saying that something (in this case, the Republican Party, i think) is so bad it shouldn't have been created in the first place. I am quoting him and linking to an essay about "really silly things you shouldn't create" (get the parallel?). Now, your AfD proposal isn't even attributed, which of course would lead to confusion. It is an example of things you shouldn't create, i suppose, but i believe it is a pretty lame idea for a motto, in any case compared with this one.
- Also, i'm not "make fun of God and Republicans", Zappa is. If you think about, God here isn't attacked. God created everything, therefore he created the Republican Party. The perceived insult being that he then realized it wasn't such a good idea, would be perceived by Republicans. Now, i believe they can take a joke. But if you don't like it, that's your unalienable right. You can oppose it. Simple a that. benzband (talk) 13:29, 17 March 2012 (UTC)
- comment - It is not required that a motto be a quote and have attribution. The "Look both ways" motto and many others have not had attribution. The important thing is that this motto makes fun of God and republicans. The song title making fun of the Backstreet Boys is not suitable for a motto for good reason and the same principle applies to any other group that a motto might make fun of. Fartherred (talk) 01:08, 20 March 2012 (UTC)
Reopened (not enough discussion) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 12:26, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
Declined - no consensus. Simply south...... going on editing sprees for just 6 years (as of 28/03/2006) 22:26, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
Chinese saying as quoted by Ambassador Zhang Weidong taken from Minestry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Fartherred (talk) 17:00, 10 March 2012 (UTC)
Comment-Motto lacks wikilink.benzband (talk) 17:19, 10 March 2012 (UTC)
- Comment - The application to Wikipedia would be that an editor cannot become an experienced editor by one day of reading policy and editing. Is there an essay or policy that says about that that the saying can link to? Fartherred (talk) 17:50, 10 March 2012 (UTC)
- Comment - Now I have added a link. If the motto is not approved, I might nominate it again with a different link. Fartherred (talk) 23:12, 10 March 2012 (UTC)
- Comment - You can always make an "edit", with different links. (see example below :) ~ benzband (talk) 10:08, 11 March 2012 (UTC)
Declined in favour of edit 1. Simply south...... going on editing sprees for just 6 years (as of 28/03/2006) 22:26, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
Edit 1, with an extra link. benzband (talk) 10:08, 11 March 2012 (UTC)
Reopened - not enough discussion. Simply south...... facing oncoming traffic for over 5 years 23:11, 24 March 2012 (UTC)
- Weak Support •martyx• tkctgy 14:05, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support (edit 1) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 11:31, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
Approved per consensus. Simply south...... going on editing sprees for just 6 years (as of 28/03/2006) 22:26, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
Edit 2, different linkes. •martyx• tkctgy 13:45, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
Declined in favour of edit 1. Simply south...... going on editing sprees for just 6 years (as of 28/03/2006) 22:26, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
"Leaving" by Hate Dept. form their 1998 album Technical Difficulties. –pjoef (talk • contribs) 09:27, 7 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support - benzband (talk) 17:55, 7 March 2012 (UTC)
- Oppose - This motto is a simple expression of bigotry. Fartherred (talk) 20:27, 8 March 2012 (UTC)
- Óppose, procedural oppose, this one may result in too much acrimony, we probably ought to be cautious, and not take that risk. NewbyG ( talk) 20:02, 13 March 2012 (UTC)
Reopened - no consensus. Simply south...... facing oncoming traffic for over 5 years 21:42, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
Declined - no consensus. Simply south...... going on editing sprees for just 6 years (as of 28/03/2006) 19:15, 5 April 2012 (UTC)
- Support - benzband (talk) 17:56, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- Support –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:03, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
Approved for Wikipedia:Motto of the day/May 17, 2012 (per consensus; 3 in support and 0 opposed) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:41, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), french/corsican general and emperor. benzband (talk) 17:41, 17 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support –pjoef (talk • contribs) 11:13, 20 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support - Fartherred (talk) 22:22, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
Approved for Wikipedia:Motto of the day/May 16, 2012 (per consensus; 3 in support and 0 opposed) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:38, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
Edit 1, with WP:AGF (probably a more often linked to page). benzband (talk) 15:48, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
{{reopened}} - not enough discussion. Simply south...... going on editing sprees for just 6 years (as of 28/03/2006) 20:20, 31 March 2012 (UTC). – striked-out –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:38, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
- Comment - The first version is better simply because it links to a less common policy page, and a good one. We do not operate by only the most popular 10% of WP policies. Fartherred (talk) 04:37, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- I know that's why i stated that in edit intro :-) Also i try to come up with obscure essays glad that's seen positively
benzband (talk) 17:27, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- I know that's why i stated that in edit intro :-) Also i try to come up with obscure essays glad that's seen positively
Declined (in favour of the original) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:38, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
- by Sir Walter Scott in The Lay of the Last Minstrel - Fartherred (talk) 04:33, 31 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support :-) benzband (talk) 09:36, 31 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support •martyx• tkctgy 09:41, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
- Support –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:06, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
Approved for Wikipedia:Motto of the day/May 15, 2012 (per consensus) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:34, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
→ I'm starting with the man in the mirror; I'm asking him to change his ways
In a nutshell we EDIANS are all the same and I'm asking you to be BOLD when editing •martyx• tkctgy 13:51, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support. Simply south...... going on editing sprees for just 6 years (as of 28/03/2006) 17:27, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support. benzband (talk) 09:36, 31 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:06, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
Approved for Wikipedia:Motto of the day/May 14, 2012 (per consensus) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:33, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
→ Nil posse creari de nihilo.
("Nothing can be created from nothing.")
Titus Lucretius Carus (ca. 99 BC – ca. 55 BC), De rerum natura ("On the Nature of Things"), Book I, line 156–157. Variant translation: "Nothing can be created out of nothing." –pjoef (talk • contribs) 13:39, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
Declined (in favour of Edit 1) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:31, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
→ Nil posse creari de nihilo.
("Nothing can be created from nothing.")
Edit I –pjoef (talk • contribs) 13:39, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support Edit zero? :) •martyx• tkctgy 13:52, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support - nothing can be created out of pessimism. benzband (talk) 15:39, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
Approved for Wikipedia:Motto of the day/May 13, 2012 (per consensus; 3 in support and 0 opposed) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:31, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
Oscar Wilde <removed confusing comment> This phrase accounts for lots of people taking a go at Wikipedia, although it [WP] is probably the most awesome encyclopedia the world has ever seen (as yet :) benzband (talk) 10:42, 11 March 2012 (UTC)
- support
weakly- Wikipedia has limitations and faults, but the cursory examination I gave to the WP:Criticisms article reveals disparaging comments that are mostly not based in fact. If some one has ulterior motives for thinking something is ugly, they are likely able to convince themselves. The motto is aesthetically displeasing considering the implication of the link that some people consider Wikipedia ugly. Fartherred (talk) 04:22, 12 March 2012 (UTC)- comment - you probably meant WP:Criticism, not WP:Criticisms, as it was WP:Criticism that was linked on this motto. Once again, the link enlightens the reader. The word "ugly" should not be taken "à la Lettre"; the inferred meaning is more that Wikipedia is a great encyclopedia, but even being such does not make it perfect. That is, i think, also Wilde's intention. Cheers
~ benzband (talk) 19:44, 12 March 2012 (UTC)
- comment - you probably meant WP:Criticism, not WP:Criticisms, as it was WP:Criticism that was linked on this motto. Once again, the link enlightens the reader. The word "ugly" should not be taken "à la Lettre"; the inferred meaning is more that Wikipedia is a great encyclopedia, but even being such does not make it perfect. That is, i think, also Wilde's intention. Cheers
- comment - It makes more sense now that ben sent me to the correct link. There is no use explaning how I got to the wrong link. Fartherred (talk) 07:20, 13 March 2012 (UTC)
Declined (in favour of Edit 2) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:29, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
→ No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.
Edit 1 –pjoef (talk • contribs) 08:19, 13 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support - benzband (talk) 14:38, 17 March 2012 (UTC)
Declined (in favour of Edit 2) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:29, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
→ No object is so ugly that, under certain conditions, it will not look beautiful.
Edit 2 by rewording the sentence (if possible) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 08:19, 13 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support - benzband (talk) 14:38, 17 March 2012 (UTC)
Reopened (all 3 vesrsions; not enough discussion) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 12:28, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support Edit 2 •martyx• tkctgy 13:41, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
Approved Edit 2 for Wikipedia:Motto of the day/May 12, 2012 (per consensus; X in support and X opposed) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:29, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
Walter Parks Thatcher in Citizen Kane. benzband (talk) 18:58, 25 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support –pjoef (talk • contribs) 11:29, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support •martyx• tkctgy 13:42, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
Approved for Wikipedia:Motto of the day/May 11, 2012 (per consensus; 3 in support and 0 opposed) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:23, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
Orson Welles. benzband (talk) 18:54, 25 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support –pjoef (talk • contribs) 11:29, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support Maybe only link so many things... and exclude the 'At twenty-one,' part? •martyx• tkctgy 13:43, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support - Orson Welles might have considered that some faults of thinking are proper to one age group, but the link does not indicate only one age group should consider improving things. Fartherred (talk) 04:33, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
Approved for Wikipedia:Motto of the day/May 10, 2012 (per consensus) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:20, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
→ They think they're so clever, they think they're so right
But the truth is only known by guttersnipe
The Clash in Garageland. benzband (talk) 12:21, 24 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support –pjoef (talk • contribs) 11:32, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support - Linking to outdated and imperfect policy pages is OK. It might motivate some people to contribute to updating policy. Fartherred (talk) 04:29, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- Which one is outdated/imperfect? benzband (talk) 17:37, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
Approved for Wikipedia:Motto of the day/May 9, 2012 (per consensus; 3 in support and 0 opposed) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:19, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
→ Give it to him. Why? It's his.
--Ankit MaityTalkContribs 16:29, 8 March 2012 (UTC)
- Comment This one is OKish, no reason to rule it out, (I tidied the punctuation). NewbyG ( talk) 03:51, 14 March 2012 (UTC)
Reopened - not enough discussion. Simply south...... facing oncoming traffic for over 5 years 17:45, 23 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support –pjoef (talk • contribs) 11:34, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support - I can understand something from this motto. Fartherred (talk) 04:26, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
- Support - Give 'Em Enough Rope! benzband (talk) 17:36, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
Approved for Wikipedia:Motto of the day/May 8, 2012 (per consensus) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:16, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
"Bellum omnium contra omnes" by Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 11:29, 20 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support - benzband (talk) 16:29, 23 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support - Fartherred (talk) 22:27, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
Approved for Wikipedia:Motto of the day/May 7, 2012 (per consensus; 2 in support and 0 opposed) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 07:14, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
Decisions (Special nominations old discussions)
→ April fool, n. The March fool with another month added to his folly.
For April Fool's! From The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce (1911). Apologies if it's hard to understand :/. Bulldog73 talk da contribs go rando 03:28, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
- That's a cute one! VanessaLylithe (talk) 14:22, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
- Yes, funny ^^ benzband (talk) 20:46, 23 March 2012 (UTC)
- Support –pjoef (talk • contribs) 13:06, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
Approved for Wikipedia:Motto of the day/April 1, 2012 (per consensus; 4 in support and 0 opposed) –pjoef (talk • contribs) 13:06, 27 March 2012 (UTC)