User talk:Nick-D

Welcome to my talk page. Please leave new messages at the bottom of this page. I generally watchlist other editors' talk pages I comment on during discussions, but please also feel free to leave me a {{talkback}} template when you respond. If you send me an email, I'd appreciate it if you could also drop me a note here as they're sometimes automatically sent to my spam folder and I don't notice them. Please note that I may reply to emails on your talk page, though I'll do so in a way that does not disclose the exact content of the email if the matter is sensitive.

As a note to my fellow administrators, I do care if you undo my actions without first discussing the matter with me. I have no delusions of perfection, but it's basic courtesy to discuss things rather than simply over-ride other admins' decisions (it's also required by policy). I'm quite likely to agree with you anyway!

Pretty Beach near the village of Kioloa

Talk archive 1 (November 2005–May 2008)
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Talk archive 13 (2014)

Awards people have given me

A good 2015 to you and yours!

Have a great year Nick, I really appreciate the support and patience you have shown to me. Cheers mate! Irondome (talk) 00:32, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Thanks - same to you Nick-D (talk) 00:34, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Sockpuppet at Battle of Hòa Bình, again

Hello again Nick. If you recall you protected Battle of Hòa Bình a little while back. Unfortunately the sockpuppet seems to have returned (or at least I believe its a sockpuppet). He is currently using the IP 117.5.102.229, although these edits are obviously very similar to those made by IP 113.190.46.130, who is a sockpuppet of MiG29VN (specifically changing the result from "French Union victory" to "Viet Minh victory" and adding "unknown" to the casualties section here [1]). Per Wikipedia:Sockpuppet_investigations/MiG29VN/Archive this bloke has used IPs in the 117 range before and a geolocate [2] shows the new IP is from Hanoi just like all the others. Per WP:DUCK I'm requesting a block on the new IP, or at the very least page protection so he is forced to discuss on the talkpage (I've asked several times now). Is this something you would pls be able to assist with? If more evidence is needed I'll dig it up of course. Kind regards. Anotherclown (talk) 08:27, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Hi, that does seem to be the same person. I've blocked the IP address, and will protect the article if they come back. Please let me know if you spot them elsewhere. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 09:47, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for your assistance again. Sorry to have to drag you into these things. Anotherclown (talk) 10:17, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

No worries at all - I'm happy to help Nick-D (talk) 10:19, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

@Anotherclown: as they've already returned under another IP I've semi-protected the article for 3 months (I note that the previous protection I instituted ran out yesterday - this person was obviously waiting for the protection to be lifted, which seems rather tiresome. 11:22, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Happy New Year Nick-D!

Happy New Year!

Nick-D,
Have a prosperous, productive and enjoyable New Year, and thanks for your contributions to Wikipedia. NorthAmerica¹⁰⁰⁰ 04:42, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

Send New Year cheer by adding {{subst:Happy New Year 2015}} to user talk pages.

Thanks - same to you! Nick-D (talk) 04:51, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

Style of operation names

Hi, how does this get progressed? Regards Cinderella157 (talk) 04:22, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Hi, I'd suggest that you propose some wording to be included in WP:MILMOS and invite people to discuss and endorse it. Given the time of year, participation in the discussion might be a bit subdued though. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 04:27, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Martinvl

I'm guessing from the message on his talk page, subsequently removed, that Martinvl is contacting other editors to suggest edits in contravention of his block. Is that something I should be bringing up at WP:AN or best leave it? WCM_email 21:13, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

FWIW this is the message in question. Kahastok talk 21:34, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

It certainly looks like an attempt to ask people to be meatpuppets for them, which is generally considered to pretty serious - especially as Martinvl has a history of misusing their continued access to the email functionality. I'd suggest that you post on one of the admins' boards asking for uninvolved admins to consider removing their access to email and/or their talk page. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 06:54, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Thanks Nick, done. [3] it elicited the usual response from Martin that false allegations are being raised. If you have a moment I would appreciate if you would comment on previous emails you've received from Martin. WCM_email 13:47, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Eureka Stockade Union Jack

G'day Nick, My apologies for the noobness. I'm currently undertaking some research for an article I am writing about the flags used at the miners rebellion in Ballarat. I normally start at Wikipedia and then branch off from there. Finding that there used to be a page on the Eureka Union Jack, and that you removed it. I was most disheartened as there seem to be very little of this subject to go off. Will you be reinstating it any time soon, or is it gone for good? It would be a great shame for information to be lost. Many kind regards.Grimnar85 (talk) 01:29, 6 January 2015 (UTC)grimnar85

What a coincidence. The article is available on Wikipedia mirrors if you Google the following: "eureka Jack" flag. Nick-D (talk) 07:32, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

List of Aircraft of the Malaysian armed Forces protection.

Hi nick,Im stan,Can you help me please to Unprotection RMAF And List of aircraft of the Malaysian armed forces.Please,We need to update the RMAF.F-5 Tiger II has been retired and Mikoyan Mig-29N Fulcrum also has been retired.Can you Unprotection please.Stan Mcharrison (talk) 11:43, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Hi, Can you please post references to reliable sources which support this at Talk:List of aircraft of the Malaysian Armed Forces? Unfortunately due to regular vandalism (people adding fantasy aircraft mainly) the page needs to remain protected. Thanks, Nick-D (talk) 06:42, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

The problem is They think that F-5 Was in service but The end of the year the F-5 Was been retired.Heres the Sorces.http://www.malaysiandefence.com/?p=5217.And Please just I Want to edit the Aircraft Malaysia armed forces.This is Inportant,And MIG-29 Also Reitred ok.Just shut down Protection.I will Look around About The Aircraft.Stan Mcharrison (talk) 13:54, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Nick, this user is more than likely the indef blocked User:Fonte de regaz. See User_talk:MilborneOne/Archive_24#Socks_and_Malaysian-oriented_vandalism for info on this. Thanks. - BilCat (talk) 14:20, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Thanks Bill, I've just blocked this account. The frequency of this kind of conduct concerning articles on the militaries of developing countries is pretty depressing. Nick-D (talk) 10:02, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Another one for The Bugle

I wrote another review for The Bugle. This time I wrote about Lothar Machtan's controversial book The Hidden Hitler. It's currently placed at my sandbox. I would appreciate if you would glance over it and maybe do some small copy edits if you see the need for it, and upload it to the review page. Cheers and Happy New Year. :) Jonas Vinther (speak to me!) 17:51, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Hi, I'm not sure about the introduction to User:Jonas Vinther/sandbox - it seems a bit confrontational (I don't think that many people would think about Hitler's sexuality, or even be very bothered by whatever it was these days). Could you please replace it with something more straightforward? (eg, "In 2001 Basic Books published the controversial work The Hidden Hitler by Lothar Machtan." Also, does the book discuss Hitler's military service or record as commander of the German military in depth? Nick-D (talk) 10:06, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

I have done my best to edit the review according your points, Nick-D. What ya think now? Jonas Vinther (speak to me!) 01:35, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

That looks OK. This is at the very edge of the inclusion criteria though IMO given that it's not strongly military-related, but might be useful as a warning for editors considering the book as a reference. Nick-D (talk) 23:10, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

Big Tree (chief), Big Tree (war chief), Maman-ti, User:Scarfaced Charley, User:Giorgio Traverso Coda

Hello. I notice that User:MuZemike seems to be on a Wikibreak, and because of your prior involvement I would like to request your assistance with the conversation I just started on their User talk page in User talk:MuZemike#Big Tree (chief), Big Tree (war chief), Maman-ti, User:Scarfaced Charley, User:Giorgio Traverso Coda. I will also be leaving a similar note at User talk:Moonriddengirl. —BarrelProof (talk) 22:55, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 9

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 9, November-December 2014
by The Interior (talk · contribs), Ocaasi (talk · contribs), Sadads (talk · contribs)

• New donations, including real-paper-and-everything books, e-books, science journal databases, and more
• New TWL coordinators, conference news, a new open-access journal database, summary of library-related WMF grants, and more
• Spotlight: "Global Impact: The Wikipedia Library and Persian Wikipedia" - a Persian Wikipedia editor talks about their experiences with database access in Iran, writing on the Persian project and the JSTOR partnership

Read the full newsletter

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:36, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Task Force 1-41

Nick I used that photo because that particular ODA was the very first to go into enemy territory. Task Force 1-41 was the first heavy element into enemy territory. That ODA performed recon for 1-41 in particular. In all there were 10 ODAs. How about reinstating the photo and I will reword it?

OK, please go ahead and sorry about the misunderstanding. Nick-D (talk) 21:54, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

<Smile>

Also, don't expect other editors to write good prose for you - do it yourself - Yes, there are limits to every-one's patience, aren't there.
Happy New Year! Pdfpdf (talk) 13:55, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

Yes there are limits ;) . Same to you Nick-D (talk) 07:41, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Battle of Labuan

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Battle of Labuan you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Ceradon -- Ceradon (talk) 18:41, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

USS Salute (AM-294)

Nick, I have been going through the Battle of Labuan article that you created recently and I came across this US Navy loss (USS Salute (AM-294)) during the lead up? Wondering if USS Salute (AM-294) should be written into the article. Regards Newm30 (talk) 03:44, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

I wasn't sure to be honest - none of the sources say whether it was operating near Labuan specifically. I might add it in Nick-D (talk) 06:40, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

I've just added this - thanks for poking me on this Nick-D (talk) 09:54, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

Battle of Luzon

Nick, I am flummoxed by Wikipedia citation method/style. Can you help me out on citing casualty numbers on battle of Luzon. here is battle of Luzon 205,535 Japanese killed (about 195k to 205k depending on how you count: https://books.google.com/books?id=BSrFX51AGPMC&pg=PA694&lpg=PA694&dq=US+Army+in+World+War+II,+War+in+the+Pacific,+Triumph+in+the+Philippines+appendix+h-2+japanese&source=bl&ots=jeBWkhNo3f&sig=FkinbcGFo3Jv7bEErQwG0Gam28w&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tFi1VP-2LMacgwTwx4L4AQ&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=US%20Army%20in%20World%20War%20II%2C%20War%20in%20the%20Pacific%2C%20Triumph%20in%20the%20Philippines%20appendix%20h-2%20japanese&f=false I have other references on the range of civilian deaths I am working on prviding.73.212.229.38 (talk) 17:48, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

Hi, there's advice on referencing at Help:Footnotes. I originally learned how to do it by copying from another article, so that works as well ;) Regards, Nick-D (talk) 06:58, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

WW2 template

Lord knows why the box should only include "the three main Allied leaders" considering the war began while Chamberlain was Prime Minister and ended while Truman was President. I think it's rather misleading to only include those three.

That's been the consensus of various discussions (and I was mistaken: it's actually the main four). If you think it's worth re-opening this, please start a discussion at Talk:World War II, but the consensus is likely to be to keep things simple by only listing the main leader for each country. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 05:09, 17 January 2015 (UTC)

Reviving a deleted page.

Hey Nick-D, back quite some time ago, you deleted a page about a Tasmanian soccer club - Nelson Eastern Suburbs FC. While I'm not questioning the lack of notoriety mentioned, or quality of the previous article, I intend to write up a new version of it, as they're now in the Tasmanian Championships. I'm more than happy to do the hard work and chase up sources and stuff, I was just hoping that you'd be able to unlock access to this and I could utilise what used to exist as a template for a newer, fresher page? If so, that would be really helpful. Cheers! - J man708 (talk) 10:45, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Sure - happy to do so. I've posted the contents of the article at User:J man708/Nelson Eastern Suburbs FC. I'm not sure if state-level Australian soccer teams are notable, but I imagine that you'll establish this as part of developing the article, and good luck with it. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 10:51, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Oh crap, I only just noticed this. It didn't notify me that you replied... Weird...

But yeah, thanks dude! All of the teams involved in the National Premier Leagues have been deemed notable, as have quite a lot of teams in lower leagues, generally dependent on a number of factors and stuff. I might create it and then link it for the guys at the Australian Football Taskforce to either green light, edit or purge. -- J man708 (talk) 11:59, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Hey Nick-D, I've done a really basic upgrade of the page. Seeing as how you can decide if a page is worthy of being deleted, I just thought I'd also get your opinion on it, as it stands at the moment? -- J man708 (talk) 16:39, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Can you provide references to independent reliable sources about the club? (eg, articles in the Mercury, ABC stories, etc). These are needed to demonstrate that this is actually a notable club. Nick-D (talk) 07:57, 22 January 2015 (UTC)

I'm still working on it. It will be a lot easier once the season kicks off in March to gain these sources. =) -- J man708 (talk) 07:51, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

If this is actually a notable club, references should be available right now. A search on the Hobart Mercury [4] and ABC [5] websites produces no references at all, and a Google search doesn't produce anything that looks useful. References are needed I'm afraid. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 08:19, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

The Bugle: Issue CVI, January 2015

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new Featured and A-Class content Book reviews: Jonas Vinther on Hitler and Cliftonian on the Rhodesia Regiment Interview: 2014 Military History Newcomer Award nominees Review essay: Nick-D on the Australian War Memorial Op-ed: TomStar81 on the birth of strategic bombing Timeline: This month in World War I

The Bugle is published by the Military history WikiProject. To receive it on your talk page, please join the project or sign up here.
If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Nick-D (talk) 13:27, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

October–December 2014 Milhist reviewing award

		The Content Review Medal of Merit
		For completing 9 reviews during October–December 2014, on behalf of the Wikiproject Military History coordinators, I hereby award you the Content Review Medal of Merit. Cheers, Peacemaker67 (crack... thump) 22:48, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

Thanks a lot Nick-D (talk) 23:03, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

DYK for Battle of Labuan

 — Crisco 1492 (talk) 01:00, 26 January 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Battle of Labuan

The article Battle of Labuan you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Battle of Labuan for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Happy editing! --ceradon (talk • contribs) 02:37, 27 January 2015 (UTC)

Re: Flydubai

Hello,

You left a redundant message on my talkpage. And I just wanted to let you know that the only reason I readded that what you removed was because you didn't explain it properly as to why you removed the other two sources. I did not understand "don't need 3 refs for a simple statement". Your recent reason as to why you removed it again made perfect sense. So I did not add it again. Also, please do not leave silly messages like you did. There is no real reason to tell me you removed it again. It is not really necessary to do so. Please carry on with your business and have a good day...

--PilotJaguar1996 (talk) 16:06, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

@PilotJaguar1996: I was explaining my edit as a courtesy so you didn't revert it again... It's actually considered good practice, and your condescending note here is itself rather silly. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 07:30, 29 January 2015 (UTC)

DYK for No. 300 Group RAF

Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 12:01, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

FACs

Nick, I have to say I'm becoming increasingly concerned at the way our minds are synching -- no sooner do I begin reading Ulysses S. Grant with a view to commenting than I find you've completed a review yourself...! No matter, it's bound to have saved me some work, and I might be able to focus more on his political than his military career. If you're in a reviewing mood, though, be happy to get your thoughts on the Les Holden FAC, as you weren't able to get to the ACR... :-) Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 14:18, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Hi Ian, Will do. I was feeling guilty for not commenting on the Grant ACR despite being a (low grade) US Civil War nerd! Regards, Nick-D (talk) 20:59, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

Question

Is there a noticeboard to ask for advice on notability?

Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Matilde Vernet y Sáez

By my interpretation of policy this person would never be considered notable, she is only known because of who her father is, its a stub and an orphan. WCM_email 18:35, 6 February 2015 (UTC)

I don't think that there is a notability noticeboard. WP:BLPN would be relevant if this person was living, and WP:RSN is relevant if there are questions around the reliability of sources used to support claims of notability, but the convention is generally to take instances of contested notability to AFD as you've done here. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 21:54, 6 February 2015 (UTC)

Hi Nick-D, you may recall my enjoyment of editing was rather curtailed last year by what I would characterise as one editor stalking my edits. At what point is it clear that WP:HOUND is taking place, when the same editor turns up at each and every edit I make eg [6],[7],[8]? WCM_email 14:13, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

I'm not sure what the threshold of WP:HOUND is to be honest, but I note that there's a discussion on the Self-determination talk page. Nick-D (talk) 07:32, 8 February 2015 (UTC)

[9] of the four pages I've edited of late, he has turned up at all 4. Even if you're Bulgarian you're accused of British POV editing? WCM_email 21:58, 8 February 2015 (UTC)

List of Military Special Forces Units (Japan)

"Central Readiness Force" is the special operations command of japanese SF units combined of: Special Forces Group, 1st Helicopter Brigade, 1st Airborne Brigade, 101st NBC Protection Unit. It is similar to U.S Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).

The "1st Helicopter Brigade" is the special aviation unit supporting special operation units of CRF. It is similar to U.S 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment .

The "Central Readiness Regiment" is a regiment ground combat unit of CRF, the main mission of which is to carry out operations on battlefields abroad as an advance force. As of now it is deployed in (DAPE base) in Djibouti, Horn of Africa, first overseas permanent military base of JSDF. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Keijhae (talk • contribs) 03:52, 8 February 2015 (UTC)

Per WP:V, please provide references to English language sources to support these assertions. Nick-D (talk) 05:04, 8 February 2015 (UTC)

Japanese Special Forces Group, 1st Helicopter Brigade, 1st Airborne Brigade and 101st NBC Protection Unit is under the command of "Central Readiness Force", which is the joint special operations command of JGSDF. (ref: Japan Ministry of Defence, GSDF Central Readiness Force, Japan Defence Focus, accessed February 2015.) Keijhae (talk) 05:20, 8 February 2015 (UTC)

Yet Time states that it's mainly a conventional unit. This book says the same thing. It seems that the CRF includes some special forces units, but the entire formation shouldn't be considered to be special forces as it's really an advance guard-type unit. Nick-D (talk) 05:16, 8 February 2015 (UTC)

It is the writer opinion, but we must considered that the Central Readiness Force command the special operations units of JGSDF. It is the 1st joint special operations command of JGSDF which command special forces units in it. Only the japanese pacifist constitution article 9 limits the role of its forces, but not its capabilities. Anyway, the Central Readiness Regiment of CRF are already deployed in DAPE base in Djibouti, Horn of Africa since 2011, the first overseas permanent full pledged military base of JSDF. Keijhae (talk) 05:40, 8 February 2015 (UTC)

Please provide references to reliable sources written in English to support your position. I have searched for references concerning the status of the CRF, and the above is the result. Nick-D (talk) 05:33, 8 February 2015 (UTC)

Please also continue this discussion at Talk:List of military special forces units#List of Military Special Forces Units (Japan). Thank you. Nick-D (talk) 05:36, 8 February 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Allied naval bombardments of Japan during World War II

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Allied naval bombardments of Japan during World War II you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Jonas Vinther -- Jonas Vinther (talk) 16:40, 8 February 2015 (UTC)

@Jonas Vinther: Thanks Jonas. As I'm considering developing this article to A-class status, I'd appreciate it if you could post a detailed review. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 08:00, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

Spill motion article

Do you think the historic Newspoll released this morning warrants a mention in the article? Timeshift (talk) 05:17, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I'd say so - there's lots of news stories directly connecting it with the spill which can be used to support this. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 05:19, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

Would you be so kind as to add it? Thanks for your expansions on the article thus far. Timeshift (talk) 05:20, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

You might want to respond to accusations/POV tag here. Timeshift (talk) 00:08, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

Use of opinion pieces

OK what is going on. Longstanding AUSPOL convention is that opinion pieces are not WP:RS. Using an opinion piece to reference a pundit's opinion is WP:OR. You should find an WP:RS quoting the pundit's opinion to establish that the opinion is actually important. Or do you really want people quoting Andrew Bolt articles everywhere? --Surturz (talk) 06:06, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

Hi, I've given those op-eds only as examples of the analysis journalists are putting forward, with them being used to cite their authors' views and nothing else. This is permitted under WP:NEWSORG ("Editorial commentary, analysis and opinion pieces, whether written by the editors of the publication (editorials) or outside authors (op-eds) are reliable primary sources for statements attributed to that editor or author, but are rarely reliable for statements of fact."). I don't think that anyone would judge that the statement in the article doesn't reflect what those journalists are writing - which is generally explicitly stated in the titles of the articles! If you're aware of any prominent journalists or political scientists who are putting forward different analysis, please add it (Annabel Crabb comes close here). I agree completely with your removal of op-eds which were being used as references for statements of fact. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 06:12, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

I should also note that I deliberately picked op-eds by the major commentators here given that their views are generally considered to carry more weight. Nick-D (talk) 06:18, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

Fine, keep your WP:ATTACK piece. The other day you agreed that if the vote failed the article should be deleted[10] and here you are today puffing it up with bad scholarship. Disappointing. --Surturz (talk) 06:25, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

How is it WP:ATTACK? As I said, if there is different analysis going please add it: I haven't seen this anywhere (even The Australian's commentators are saying that Abbott is in bad trouble). And in that comment I said that I'd be supportive of deleting the article if the challenge " fizzles out entirely", which obviously isn't what happened today given that about 40% of the Liberal Party MPs voted in favour of the motion to spill the leadership, and commentators are saying that there's more to come. From being a Labor (and Gillard) supporter during the Gillard era I appreciate that this isn't a fun time for Liberal Party supporters, and I hope that my editing is even handed. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 06:30, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Allied naval bombardments of Japan during World War II

The article Allied naval bombardments of Japan during World War II you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Allied naval bombardments of Japan during World War II for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Jonas Vinther -- Jonas Vinther (talk) 21:21, 10 February 2015 (UTC)

Worth a look?

[11] Cheers Buckshot06 (talk) 08:17, 12 February 2015 (UTC)

Are you serious? I suspect not ;) (and have reverted accordingly). Very much citation needed! Nick-D (talk) 09:36, 12 February 2015 (UTC)

Yes of course this was a joke ;) Buckshot06 (talk) 03:10, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

Phew - I actually wondered if I needed to rush to WP:BN to report that your account had been compromised ;) I was also very tempted to leave that in the article! Nick-D (talk) 07:05, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

Allied naval bombardments of Japan during World War II ‎

You asked for a detailed review and therefore I did my very best. But still, I was unable to find any serious flaws or any suggestions for improvement—other than the small edits I made along the way. I hope your still satisfied. Jonas Vinther (speak to me!) 21:29, 12 February 2015 (UTC)

User:YMB29

Do you think there's any reason, based on this user's recent contributions, why he shouldn't be blocked for disruptive editing? JUst asking you for a second opinion. Buckshot06 (talk) 03:11, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

Wait why should I be blocked? I went to your talk page and asked for you to look at a problem, but you did not answer. -YMB29 (talk) 03:38, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

I'll look into this later today Nick-D (talk) 07:05, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

I think there is a misunderstanding of what I did, see Buckshot06's talk page.[12] -YMB29 (talk) 07:46, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

I've just spot checked a source for the contentious material:

• [13] This is an accurate quote from the book review, but is only referring to Beevor and not criticising the statistics more generally as was implied. Indeed, immediately above this quote the Bird writes that "Perhaps 2 million German women were raped" and "The mortality rates for the 1.4 million raped in East Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia were probably much higher" without stating that these figures are incorrect or not feasible - the issue they raise is that it's difficult to verify any particulate figure rather than the scale of the rapes being greatly exaggerated. As such, the statement added to the article misrepresents the source. More generally, book reviews are not suitable sources for statements such as these given that they're an assessment of the book rather than being a piece of research or analysis.
• [14] this is also unacceptable for similar reasons to reasons above: Bird actually wrote that "Perhaps 2 million German women were raped, 100,000 in greater Berlin" without questioning this, and called the statistics in general "unverifiable" rather than this figure as was wrongly attributed to them. I can see no good faith way this mistake could have been made: it's an obvious distortion of the source.

The tendentious conduct on talk pages and ANI is also entirely unacceptable, and not in line with the conduct of a good faith editor. @Buckshot06:, I'd support a block. Nick-D (talk) 09:59, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

If Bird writes "perhaps," then he obviously is not sure. He is criticizing all the statistics Beevor is using (which come from a German doctor). How could this be a distortion?

Anyway, I am not the one who introduced this text originally (see this diff[15]), and it was in the articles for a long time with no one objecting.

As for tendentious conduct, what exactly have I said that leads you to say that? -YMB29 (talk) 14:07, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

Also, see this old discussion.[16] -YMB29 (talk) 14:16, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

Nick-D, same issue as with Bird occurred with a book by Geoffrey Roberts. See this discussion. Here is the source in gbooks [17]. So Bird isn't the only source which YMB29 misrepresented.Volunteer Marek (talk) 14:23, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

Again, the text sourced to Bird is not a misrepresentation, and was not even originally added by me. It was added by Paul Siebert, a respected user.

As for Roberts, see my response[18]. You accused me of something I did not do.

Anyway, I removed the disputed sentence,[19] so I don't know why you are still complaining and accusing me. -YMB29 (talk) 14:37, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

Even with the disputed sentence removed, you are still cherry picking info out of that text in a way which misrepresents the source.Volunteer Marek (talk) 16:01, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

The text is directly supported by the quote provided... If you want to discuss this, use the article's talk page. No point in arguing about content dispute on an admin's talk page. -YMB29 (talk) 16:18, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

From comparing this with the source, it's also clear to me that the source is being misrepresented. Roberts does indeed state that it's difficult to judge how many rapes took place and argues that estimates have been exaggerated to partially exonerate Germany. However, he also states that "hundreds of thousands of rapes in Germany" took place (and endorses the views of historian who estimates that the number may have been as high as 2 million), with this being much higher than the number which would be "normal" [his word] for a force of this size, and the focus of his analysis is what lead to such conduct. I can see no good reason for omitting this when discussing his analysis. This earlier edit was much worse - saying only that "Roberts concludes that, given the scale of the conlfict and the size of the territory involved, probably tens of thousands of rapes were normal for such a conquering force as the Red Army" deliberately misrepresents his argument that the Red Army's conduct was much worse than "normal" conduct for such a force. Again, I can't see any way that this could have been the result of a good faith mistake, especially given the agenda being advanced. I have blocked YMB29 for a week. Nick-D (talk) 22:03, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

Whoops, was not aware. Thankyou - and after all that time I took to try and explain etc !! Buckshot06 (talk) 03:17, 14 February 2015 (UTC)

@Nick-D Thank you for your swift action in this. From my knowledge of the dispute, I'm glad that you stood up and made the right decision to put a stop to the WP:TE. GeneralizationsAreBad (talk) 21:17, 1 May 2015 (UTC)

No worries. Nick-D (talk) 21:55, 1 May 2015 (UTC)

Bit of advice please

[20] Gaba has been editing in contravention of his topic ban and it is basically the same as before. [21] The topic ban violation has already been reported and I was pinged about it. I really don't want to get dragged back into the drama boards again, so I would rather not comment. Is that a sensible thing to do?

Also per WP:DENY should that edit be reverted? Regards, WCM_email 10:26, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

It looks like a pretty clear-cut topic ban violation to me, so I'd suggest not getting involved in the AN thread as there's simply no need. I'd suggest waiting until after that discussion ends in a conclusion that the edit was a topic ban violation to revert it. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 10:34, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

Thanks Nick, can I also ask what you would suggest for an editor who is filibustering a discussion in talk? I suppose the next thing would be an RFC but every time thats been tried in the past the same editor has managed to deter outside input with the tried and trusted tactic of generating walls of text. WCM_email 11:52, 14 February 2015 (UTC)

It's hard to respond to a hypothetical like that. An RfC is an option and can certainly work well (especially when it's one person annoying many), but often disruptive people who hide behind walls of text are best dealt with by an admin who's willing to take the matter on and consider the underlying behaviour. Nick-D (talk) 21:48, 14 February 2015 (UTC)

Would you mind taking a look at the talk page discussion at Talk:Self-determination and make a suggestion as to how to resolve this? Langus has made a wiki career out of fighting tooth and nail to assert the Argentine claim of an expulsion event in 1833 and against the inclusion of any reference to the fact that historians describe it as untrue. The discussion like so many before it has now gone full circle, from him trying to deny that's what Argentine claims, to claiming I've never provided sources again. I mean how do you deal with an editor who simply denies that what is in front of them even exists? WCM_email 14:34, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

To be honest, I don't have time to read through that in detail and I definitely don't have any expertise on the issues or sources to assess the situation properly. From skimming it, it would appear that Langus is currently in a minority of one in the discussion if that's helpful. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 10:27, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

SkyCity Auckland article

Hello! I was just hoping you could explain the revert you did on SkyCity Auckland as I'm a bit confused. Who's engaged in block evasion? To my eyes, there seems to be some useful material there which has got cut. Thanks! Ballofstring (talk) 01:56, 14 February 2015 (UTC)

Hi, AndrewRobust (talk · contribs) appears to be the latest incarnation of Offender9000 (talk · contribs). As I noted at User talk:AndrewRobust#Blocked the material they were adding contained serious (and rather obvious) misrepresentations of sources (which is a common tactic Offender9000 uses to push their agenda), so I don't think that the material is useful unless it's carefully checked/corrected. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 02:00, 14 February 2015 (UTC)

Ah right. That makes sense. I'll go through it carefully and see if there's anything worth keeping. Thanks! Ballofstring (talk) 02:06, 14 February 2015 (UTC)

I'd suggest very carefully reviewing the material before any of it is added - Offender has a habit of making things up to slur people and organisations he doesn't like, and you'd be the one held responsible if any of it was inadvertently re-added. The references themselves look useful, but the Wikipedia article text should be considered inaccurate until proven otherwise! Regards, Nick-D (talk) 02:09, 14 February 2015 (UTC)

YMB29

I question why you did not take advantage of the WP:ARBEE DS and issue a topic ban, rather than raising the block-level to indefinite. Would that not've been the more effective approach? RGloucester — ☎ 06:33, 14 February 2015 (UTC)

Hi, That's a good point, and thanks for raising it. My concern is that an editor who misrepresents references on one topic to push their view is likely to do so on other topics, so a block is more appropriate. The discussion at ANI is also heading towards a topic ban. There is a case for also applying the discretionary sanctions though. Nick-D (talk) 06:41, 14 February 2015 (UTC)

Possible sock

Hello, Nick-D. I am writing because I suspect that self-described "Guatemalan history buff" Nerdoguate might be the latest Horhey420 sockpuppet. Although there may not be enough evidence to be conclusive, in looking over their contributions it is obvious that they edited prior to creating the account. The massive size of edits like this is also a red flag, particularly considering (as with Horhey) the citations are formatted in several different ways due to the obvious copying-and-pasting. It might be wise to examine this accounts' actions more closely in the future. Regards,TheTimesAreAChanging (talk) 20:57, 14 February 2015 (UTC)

Hi, The behavioural evidence isn't conclusive. It appears that Nerdoguate is copying large amounts of material from one article to another (which seems unhelpful), but there isn't the explicit POV associated with Horhey420's editing, and some other of their common characteristics are missing. I agree that this person doesn't seem to have been a genuinely new editor though. Asking for a checkuser to look for technical evidence via WP:SPI may turn up something, and would probably be justified. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 00:27, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

Ballaarat

Thanks Nick - have added note about archaic spelling. regards Richard Bruce Bradford (talk) 07:26, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

OK, I thought it might be something like that. Nice work with these articles. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 09:29, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

Albania

Hi, I have noticed that you recently blocked LupinoJacky, I guess for his behaviour on Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard#Reporting_Illegitimate_Reversions and related articles. Now QTeuta tried to start the whole discussion all over again (the case is closed by now). He got already the interest from another user, culminating in Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/LupinoJacky/Archive. But there are to much coincidences on the way.

Could you take a look at this? Please, pretty please?

Thanks in advance. The Banner talk 02:09, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

There could potentially be off-Wiki collusion (for want of a better word) going on, but I think that these are different people: there are significant differences in their editing style and Checkuser didn't find technical evidence for a connection. Nick-D (talk) 07:20, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

Task Force 1-41

A former soldier is adding edits that are not supported by references. So far the info he provides is of little or no value, imo. Thought I would let you know.Don Brunett (talk) 20:41, 16 February 2015 (UTC)Don Brunett

Nick I took it upon myself to remove the information. I felt it was written with personal motive and it did not add any value to the article. You can look and determine if I was in error. Thanks.Don Brunett (talk) 21:04, 16 February 2015 (UTC)Don Brunett

Hi Don, I agree with removing this - such minor details clearly aren't appropriate. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 07:28, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

Re:Timeline

Yes I will, just as soon as I figure out whats wring with my machine (shes an old xp model that turned seven a few months back, but shes been having problems the last few days and I'm growing concerned that it may be something serious. TomStar81 (Talk) 20:43, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

OK, thanks Tom. That's not good news about your computer - when mine have gone that way it's been expensive to fix, at best. Do you think that you'll be able to finish the article by this weekend? Regards, Nick-D (talk) 07:37, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

I think I got her fixed. A few days of running long term diagnostics and some helpful suggestions from the IT reference desk here got the machine back in the game. I lament on the sorry state of Windows 8, if it wasn;t for the fact that I share the mass opinion that this abortion Microsoft called an OS never should have made it past the the "thinking about thinking about it" stage I'd have a two year old tower right now instead of a 7.25 year old tower. I've even entertained the idea of copyrighting the phrase "I Hate 8" or "I H8 Eight" too, just to see if I could make more money on the perceived flop by selling anti-Win8 merchandise than Microsoft has made off there sales of the system :)

...Anyway... The Op-Ed and Timeline are up and ready for publication save but for the spit and polish inherent to any piece of writing. Aside from that we should be ready to publish when you are, unless you wanted to expand on the end of the year awards we did to encourage increased participation in the months to come, in which case we'd need throw in a paragraph or two to that effect in the bugle, or perhaps create a one time page to announce the editors and the awards they received for FA content in 2014. TomStar81 (Talk) 11:43, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

Checkuser

A new user, Suneditor, has just popped up and is editing the same articles as our friend User:Keijhae. Making the same reverts too. Is it possible to request a checkuser? Cheers Buckshot06 (talk) 07:29, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

Yes, there do appear to be quite a lot of similarities in editing styles across those two accounts, so asking for a checkuser to look into it would be justified. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 07:33, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

Sorry, what I meant was, how do I do it? Cheers Buckshot06 (talk) 07:56, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

Fill in the form at WP:SPI (which is pretty user-friendly). Regards, Nick-D (talk) 07:57, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

Hello,

Great minds think alike! I just came to the same conclusion independently, and filed the case at WP:SPI. Feel free to comment there if you think I missed anything or got anything wrong.

Buckshot06, do you use any editing tools or plugins like Twinkle? Some of these can offer a simpler interface that fills in some of the boring SPI paperwork on your behalf. (Personally, I've customised my browser & wikipedia profile so much that I've lost track of which tool is doing what, but I'm pretty sure that it's Twinkle that makes SPI, ARV etc. easier). If you need a hand with any other sockpuppet investigations in future, just shout, as I get a perverse pleasure out of the research. bobrayner (talk) 02:53, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

Thanks Bob Nick-D (talk) 10:10, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

Another likely sockpuppet of MiG29VN

Gday Nick, User:Thandieu123 has made recent edits at Battle of Hòa Bình and a number of other pages that were the usual / similar haunts of User:MiG29VN and his socks, which makes me believe they are one and the same. This edit in particular at Hoa Binh changing "French Union Victory" to "Viet Minh strategic victory" here [22] is almost identical to that made by User:113.186.112.119 here [23] who is blocked as a MiG29VN sock. Pls also consider Thandieu123's interest in both Eastern Front (e.g Operation Bagration), weaponry (e.g. 5.56×45mm NATO), and Vietnam War topics which is a very similar editing pattern to MiG29VN and all his socks. His addition of "U.S. body count" to Operation Allen Brook with this edit [24] and the edit warring after it was disputed is also similar to the usual editing pattern of the MiG29VN socks which fixate on body count. If you could pls look at this when you get a chance that would be appreciated. To be clear I think a block of Thandieu123 as a sockpuppet is needed. Given that they are a logged in user as opposed to an IP is a different process req'd (i.e. sock puppet investigation and check user)? I imagine I will be able to dig up more evidence if its req'd so pls let me know. Regards. Anotherclown (talk) 22:37, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the clear report - I've just blocked that account Nick-D (talk) 02:57, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Hello again Nick. User:Chimtuhu looks like the latest sockpuppet of MiG29VN to me. Their latest edits are:

• Battle of Đồng Hới, Battle of Dak To, Battle of Ia Drang, Battle of Hamburger Hill and Battle of Dien Bien Phu most or all of which are articles that either been disrupted by User:MiG29VN or their various socks in the past.
• An example to show the similarity is here, with User:Chimtuhu adding this [25] at Battle of Dak To, which is very similar to the edit I removed here as part of one of the previous sockpuppet investigations [26] (particularly the part "...The U.S. estimates were almost exclusively gathered by indirect means: sensor readings...")
• In addition several of User:Chimtuhu's other edits involve the insertion of OR linking US claims of NVA/VC body counts and much smaller numbers of wpns captured as being evidence of those claims being inflated (almost certainly a true generalization during the conflict but not supported by the specific sources given for the operations in question), including here [27] at Battle of Hamburger Hill (which seems to have already been reverted by another editor).
• Lastly this edit [28] at Battle of Ia Drang shows the continued inserting of terms like "U.S. reported" and "estimated" which these sockpuppets all share - pls refer to the sockpuppet investigation dated 13 Dec 14 here for examples of this Wikipedia:Sockpuppet_investigations/MiG29VN/Archive.

If you have some time can you pls have a look at this one too and let me know what you think / take block action if justified? Thanks again. Anotherclown (talk) 02:34, 2 April 2015 (UTC)

In addition User:Thienhung1 seems to have appeared today magically at Battle of Hamburger Hill and Battle of Dak To making the same edits as User:Chimtuhu. Diffs here [29] and here [30]. Anotherclown (talk) 04:15, 2 April 2015 (UTC) ‎

Thanks for the clear report - I agree with your assessment, and have just blocked both accounts. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 06:45, 2 April 2015 (UTC)

Thank you again for your assistance. All the best. Anotherclown (talk) 01:36, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

The Bugle: Issue CVII, February 2015

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new Featured and A-Class content Book review: Nick-D on the British Pacific Fleet Op-ed: TomStar81 looks at the advent of chemical warfare Timeline: This month in World War I

The Bugle is published by the Military history WikiProject. To receive it on your talk page, please join the project or sign up here.
If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Nick-D (talk) 22:50, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

Removal of POV tag

Hi. RE: [31] I think in the future it would be more constructive to either consult with the person who added the POV tag, or explicitly obtain talkpage consensus before removing a POV tag. That said, I am much happier with the text at Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill motion, 2015 so I'm happy to let the tag removal stand. There is a polite way and an impolite way to resolve POV disputes, and you (uncharacteristically) chose the latter this time round. Peace. --Surturz (talk) 02:40, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Hi, I didn't intend to be rude. My understanding is that the current view is that tags relating to resolved or stale discussions should be removed ASAP, and that discussion had been over for about 5 days. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 02:44, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

ANI

Hi. I filed for a block review over at ANI in regards to the block of User:Thewolfchild. Caden ^cool 22:32, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the notification. I've responded there. Nick-D (talk) 23:21, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

I read your reply and I found it rather strange and odd to see you refer to me as a "she" when you very well know I'm male. Caden ^cool 00:01, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

Until reading this post I was not aware what your gender is (virtually all of my interactions with you have been you complaining about various blocks I imposed, so I don't know you at all). That's why I referred to you as "he or she", though on reflection I should have used a gender-neutral term such as "they". Regards, Nick-D (talk) 01:07, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 10

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 10, January-February 2015
by The Interior (talk · contribs), Ocaasi (talk · contribs), Sadads (talk · contribs)

• New donations - ProjectMUSE, Dynamed, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, and Women Writers Online
• New TWL coordinator, conference news, and a new guide and template for archivists
• TWL moves into the new Community Engagement department at the WMF, quarterly review

Read the full newsletter

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:40, 4 March 2015 (UTC)

Question

Hello,

I thought I'd check this with an admin, and as WCM's mentor I thought you might be a good choice. Would you mind reviewing this, in reference to this Commons deletion request? Thanks, Kahastok talk 20:15, 5 March 2015 (UTC)

Hi, What exactly would you like me to review here? That Commons discussion looks like the usual confused debate which occurs in their contested deletion discussions over this kind of thing, and I don't fancy reading all the way through it looking for trouble. The message at the top of Discasto's user page doesn't seem helpful (it's obvious canvassing given the non-neutral wording), but I can't do much about it. Nick-D (talk) 06:54, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

Sorry, should have been clearer. It was the user page on en.wiki I was asking about, but if there's not much to be done about it then there's not much to be done about it. Thanks for looking. Kahastok talk 07:16, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

@Kahastok: I should have also been clearer: there's not much that I can do about the user page given that I'm WP:INVOLVED due to my relationship with WCM. However, you may want to post at WP:ANI asking other admins to look into it. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 07:19, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

Ah - OK. Thanks. I've posted it to ANI. Kahastok talk 07:44, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

Speedy close of Warfare at RfD

Did you look at the thing on the top? Says "about a week"... I think your speedy close was a little abrupt. It's OK, I have listed at [[WT:MILHIST], but I think you were a bit trigger happy to close it, when I have never seen you before. That gives you the same right as I do... we all come here voluntarily, and I thank you for it, but that was a bit trigger happy I think... I said so on the forum but it is better I say to you personally. I will probably get in trouble for this, now. Si Trew (talk) 04:10, 7 March 2015 (UTC)

Hi Simon, I speedy closed that discussion as RfD simply wasn't an appropriate forum for it. There was no likelihood that the Warfare page was going to be deleted, the nominator hadn't made a clear proposal for people to respond to (they didn't seem to want the redirect deleted, which suggests that they picked something other than the optimum venue for the discussion), and a general discussion of where to best redirect what is presumably a high-traffic link belongs in a more prominent location. This is entirely consistent with the fourth and fifth points of Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion#The guiding principles of RfD given that Warfare is undoubtedly a valid redirect to something or other, and no admin was ever going to delete it, and RfD isn't the best place to discuss where redirects should point to. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 05:59, 7 March 2015 (UTC)

Everything OK mate?

Never seen you swear on the wiki before, hope everything is OK. WCM_email 09:59, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

Just got home from a busy business trip to find that a complete loser had attempted to racially abuse me by replacing the content of my user page with the n word. Not cool. Nick-D (talk) 10:04, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

Not nice but just remember that usually stems from feelings of gross inadequacy in themselves ie small dick syndrome. WCM_email 10:15, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, it's not the mark of a healthy, sensible person with any social skills at all. Nick-D (talk) 10:18, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

Sorry to hear about this Nick - second what Wee Curry Monster says... Buckshot06 (talk) 11:16, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

Draft Deletion

Our company recently had an article written for us by a third party called writersforhire. I show the draft was deleted by you on February 5, 2015. Our company is the Living Scriptures. Reading the article that was submitted we are confused as to why this draft was deleted. What do we need to do to get this fixed?

Hello, What you are describing is a clear violation of the guideline Wikipedia:Conflict of interest. Please be mindful that Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia, and not a business directory. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 22:02, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

Ban the user Alaney2k

Hello nick, can you ban the user Alaney2k also known as nirgensburg/grisuu_29 on youtube which was deleted yesterday, and this account will be on the ban community. 2600:1006:B10D:2F12:1D33:9AC3:5F5A:2325 (talk) 03:43, 15 March 2015 (UTC)

I can't see anything wrong with Alaney2k (talk · contribs)'s editing, and you've raised no specific concerns. Nick-D (talk) 03:49, 15 March 2015 (UTC)

DavidYork71 ?

Hi Nick-D, (@Gadfium:, as they may be interested)
FYI, see the edit (their 11th edit btw) here, at Australia–New Zealand relationsby 'new' editor Blancmagne (talk · contribs). Possibly long indeffed LTA account DavidYork71? - 220 of ^Borg 13:25, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the note - I see that Euryalus beat me to blocking this account. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 09:42, 19 March 2015 (UTC)

The Bugle: Issue CVIII, March 2015

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new Featured and A-Class content Book review: Recent external reviews Review essay: Nick-D on the Australian Fleet Air Arm Museum Op-ed: TomStar81 on submarine warfare in World War I Timeline: This month in World War I

The Bugle is published by the Military history WikiProject. To receive it on your talk page, please join the project or sign up here.
If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Nick-D (talk) 09:36, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

Rowley Richards

Tony1 suggested I could create an article on Rowley Richards. I would just like a second opinion on whether he is notable. (Richards, not Tony). Hawkeye7 (talk) 05:56, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

I'd be guessing that the SMH obituary was written by a relative (actually, she seems to be a SMH regular, with a focus on obits). The obituary in the SMH provides sufficient coverage to meet WP:BIO (I generally think that a detailed obit in a major newspaper gets someone across this line). There's also some useful-looking coverage of Ricards in Trove (for example, [32], [33], [34], [35], etc). His post-war career seems to be his main claim to fame. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 08:18, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

Okay! Thanks for that. Hawkeye7 (talk) 09:03, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, Nick. Hawkeye, I came to you because you're a prolific and high-quality write on Australian MilHist. Richards' two books might also help with notability. I see a video interview of him appears on the federal Dept of Veterans Affairs; he appeared on the ABC's 7.30 report in 2011. The War Memporial has put up pdfs of his war diaries: copyright status would be interesting, but either way they're possible info sources for an article. Cheers. Tony (talk) 11:29, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

What do you mean, "so what"?

It's perhaps one of the most iconic quotes about Australia and its economy to come out of the 20th century. It still generates discussion today, all you have to do is paste it into Google. That's what's "so what". Is it more to do with you not wanting any kind of quote that tarnishes or smears Australia's reputation or credibility on Wikipedia? Because I think it should be there. Ashton 29 (talk) 09:52, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

The material you were adding to those very high level articles was just what the Singaporean PM said. It's not really very useful to readers (and this comment didn't really have that much of an effect - Australia was already reforming its economy, and ended up implementing pretty much the same set of reforms as all the big English speaking countries did). Nick-D (talk) 07:11, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

Barbarossa: new suggested wording

It looks Buckshot06 does seemingly not have a suggest wording, so I propose we implement yours as the majority is already in favor of that. Thoughts? Jonas Vinther • (speak to me!) 23:44, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

I agree - it can be tweaked later. Nick-D (talk) 10:15, 31 March 2015 (UTC)

Convoy of Hope

Hello, Nick-D:

I have been asked to do a new article for the above title, which you deleted on 5 February. This will be a Paid Edit, and of course I will follow all the rules and guidelines and declare that I'm being recompensed. Can you resurrect the piece and put it in a Sandbox somewhere so I can see what had been done before? Thanks so much. BeenAroundAWhile (talk) 19:15, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

I'm afraid not: I am strongly opposed to paid editing, and don't think that what you describe is consistent with WP:NOPAY, especially considering that this is a much-spammed article which I protected from being recreated in February after discovering that I was the third admin to delete it due to concerns over copyright violations, notability and promotional content. Nick-D (talk) 06:40, 2 April 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the message. How do I appeal your decision? Sincerely, BeenAroundAWhile (talk) 06:43, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

Actually, that's all right. I don't have to look at the deleted page since I will be starting from scratch anyway, with new information and sources. BeenAroundAWhile (talk) 06:51, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

Deletion review for Convoy of Hope

An editor has asked for a deletion review of Convoy of Hope. Because you closed the deletion discussion for this page, speedily deleted it, or otherwise were interested in the page, you might want to participate in the deletion review. BeenAroundAWhile (talk) 05:15, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

Thanks

For your comments at ANI. WCM_email 11:14, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

Mmm, the accusation of being a cyberwarfare operative is a bit fruitcake barmy don't you think? WCM_email 17:08, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

You know we've discussed wikihounding regarding Langus previously, don't you think its a tad obsessive that he has followed my contributions so slavishly that he found a comment in a talk page on an obscure topic on a completely different wikipedia. WCM_email 18:54, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

I have been known to look into some editors' contributions on other Wikis to see if there's a pattern (especially in cases where people have been blocked/banned from here, but continued the disruption on Wikis with lower standards or weaker enforcement mechanisms). But I wouldn't raise them at ANI without a very good reason for doing so, which obviously wasn't the case here. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 08:44, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

Congratulations!

		The Military history A-Class medal with swords
		On behalf of the coordinators of the Military History Wikiproject, I am pleased to award you the A-Class Medal with Swords for your great work on Operation Goodwood (naval), Peter Raw, and Battle of Labuan. Well done! Regards, Peacemaker67 (crack... thump) 01:47, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

Thanks a lot! Nick-D (talk) 01:50, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

DYK for Kaname Harada

The DYK project (nominate) 12:02, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

Requesting possible assistance for a new user

Gday Nick. Recently I came across Draft:Queensland University Active Citizens Air Force Squadron. I've been attempting to assist a new / inexperienced editor with getting this one up to standard, and in the process I came to realize that the editor that submitted it hasn't had much luck with the system to date (the draft has bounced around since 2013). There are of cse quite a number of issues with the article which I will try and work through but I was wondering if you might assist in another way. Specifically the editor's username is "QUSRAAFCAF" which is contrary to our username guidelines. He was blocked a little while ago as a result and has now submitted a request to change his username - here: Wikipedia:Changing_username/Simple - so that he can continue to work on the article. Unfortunately there isn't much detail in the renaming request he submitted so I'm just a little concerned that a volunteer that comes across his request without some background knowledge might not understand what he requires and decline. As an Admin are you able to action such requests? If so would it be possible to ask you to have a look at his request and if you agree that its all above board make the required change for him? The background can be found at User talk:QUSRAAFCAF. Unfortunately its a bit of a saga and I was hoping to try to not chase off a new user that might be able to contribute something of value (he has also contributed some interesting images to Commons which I hope are legit...). Thanks again. Anotherclown (talk) 14:21, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

It looks like their user name change has been actioned. I don't think that admins can change user names; I think that only bureaucrats and similar have the necessary user rights. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 01:17, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for looking at this Nick. Yes I think its sorted now, I was perhaps unduly concerned. Anotherclown (talk) 01:49, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

No worries at all. Strange things can happen with even routine requests, so it's well worth providing new editors with assistance in managing their way through Wikipedia's processes. Nick-D (talk) 01:53, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

User talk:AWMOfficialRecords

Hello again. This one might interest you - User talk:AWMOfficialRecords. I seem to recall a little while back you were involved in a project to engage with the AWM, was that right? I wonder if this might be a useful lead. Of cse I understand why the account was block (i.e. due to our username policy) but I wonder if this bloke might be salvaged as a contributor somehow? Anyway just thought I'd mention it to you whilst I was here. All the best. Anotherclown (talk) 14:26, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

I might ping the email address they postd this weekend. By my reading of their talk page, they could edit in their "official" capacity if they created one or more non-shared accounts and identified that they worked at the AWM where necessary to meet WP:COI. However, the rules around public servants engaging online might rule this out at their end depending on what the AWM's internal internet use and communications policies are. Nick-D (talk) 23:13, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

(talk page stalker) It seems a shame to me to stop them contributing over the rule regarding organisational accounts when they have all the original information and seem to want to help out. Nick's proposal seems reasonable to me and I would hope the AWM goes for it. I'm sorry to see that, judging from the talk page linked to above, the curator seems to have been rather put off contributing. —  Cliftonian (talk)  00:10, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, the rule against organisational accounts does cause problems in situations like this. As I understand it, it's required by the legal policies which underpin Wikipedia (as edits have to be attributable and "owned" by a particular person) and also prevents organisations intimidating other editors (inadvertently or by design). However, it goes against the ethos of institutions like archives, libraries and museums where all the staff work to share materials for other people to use, and don't consider it appropriate to attribute such actions to just themselves: I've seen this kind of issue occur a few times now. Nick-D (talk) 01:21, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

I just sent this account an email explaining the above, and providing the name of the person I and a couple of others had been in contact with at the AWM (who was very helpful) Nick-D (talk) 01:54, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Thanks again for your efforts Nick. He sounds to me like he could be an real asset to the project if we can assist him to get involved and to navigate our bureaucracy / policies. Anotherclown (talk) 02:02, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Agreed. —  Cliftonian (talk)  02:03, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

A new reference tool

Hello Books & Bytes subscribers. There is a new Visual Editor reference feature in development called Citoid. It is designed to "auto-fill" references using a URL or DOI. We would really appreciate you testing whether TWL partners' references work in Citoid. Sharing your results will help the developers fix bugs and improve the system. If you have a few minutes, please visit the testing page for simple instructions on how to try this new tool. Regards, MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 18:47, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Barbarossa talk

Please join in with an opinion regarding a new edit conflict. Cheers, and have a nice weekend, Jonas Vinther • (speak to me!) 12:24, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Request to delete a redirect I created

Gday Nick. In my enthusiasm last week I created Queensland University Squadron as a redirect to RAAF University Squadrons. Unfortunately (for me) I'm now of the opinion that Draft:Queensland University Active Citizens Air Force Squadron is now ready to be moved in to mainspace but I can't move it over the redirect. I've requested deletion of the redirect but I'm not having any luck with getting someone to blow it away. Just wondering if you had the time to have a look at my request and action if you agree with my assertion that it is non-controversial. Thanks again. Anotherclown (talk) 12:27, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

(talk page stalker) Hey AC, I've deleted the redirect and moved the draft article to Queensland University Active Citizens Air Force Squadron. If you'd like it at the shorter title, feel free to move it again. Best, Ed ^{[talk] [majestic titan]} 13:03, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

Gday Ed. Thank you very much for your assistance. Nick - pls disregard this is sorted now. Anotherclown (talk) 22:37, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

Thanks also from me Ed Nick-D (talk) 08:09, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

Indonesian Army

This this article deserves a bit of watching. As the last talkpage note said, too much about unreadable sections of the army, and equipment, and not enough about its history, human rights abuses etc. Please keep an eye, because the equipment fanboy division will be back pretty quickly, I very much guess... Buckshot06 (talk) 10:08, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

I'll keep my eyes out. Nick-D (talk) 10:34, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

King of Italy

Hi, any chance you could protect the above article which is under attack at the moment? Regards Denisarona (talk) 11:40, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

Many thanks. Denisarona (talk) 11:48, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

No worries. You are massively in breach of WP:3RR here though, and I seriously considered also blocking you for this. Please use the article talk page and WP:AN3 rather than edit warring. Nick-D (talk) 11:49, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

I didn't consider that I was edit warring, having advised the IPs to use the article's talk page to resolve any problems that they had with the existing content. I also considered that what I was doing was protecting the article (using my obviously mistaken interpretation of WP:3RRNO). Until very recently I spent most of my time on Wikipedia counteracting vandalism. But in the last 2 months comments from a (now retired) admin and now you have convinced me to re-consider my participation in this wonderful project. Thank you. Denisarona (talk) 12:00, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

Hi, I don't think that the IP editor's changes constituted the clear vandalism which criterion 4 of WP:3RRNO specifies. I hope that you keep editing. Reports of edit warring lodged at WP:AN3 (especially very clear edit warring as was the case here), generally receive a quick response if you see something like this again. Nick-D (talk) 12:06, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

CEO Notability: Wikipedia: Wikiproject Food and drink

Hi Nick. You recently deleted an article for a food industry executive (Thomas F. Olin, Jr.) on the basis that the person was not notable. Apparently, we are getting mixed signals here, as Wikipedia:WikiProject Food and drink have been soliciting articles regarding chief/top executives of large national food corporations. Is it possible that you are not aware of this or perhaps there is a certain threshold of corporate size that 'qualifies' the company or the person for an article? Archway Cookies was the third largest cookie company in the United States, with retail brand sales exceeding $300,000,000 per year. Please compare to similar executive article listings: James Jenness-Kellog, John A. Bryant, Paul C. P. McIlhenny-Tobasco sauce. C. Joseph Genster-Diet drinks. John F. Grundhofer-BJs Restaurants, Michael W. Rice-Utz Foods, Thomas A. Garrett-Arbys, Sally J. Smith-Buffalo Wild Wings, Edmund A. Gann-Seafood, James B. Adamson, Dan Bane-Trader Joes, Lee Bickmore-Nabisco, Salli Setta-Red Lobster, Bernard D. Rubin-Tootsie Roll, Robert Holland (executive)-Ben & Jerry's ... and many other executives of varying importance and notoriety ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_chief_executives_of_food_industry_companies

Who are you referring to by "we"? This article didn't include anything which constituted a claim of notability, or references which looked at all likely to meet WP:BIO. Nick-D (talk) 22:36, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

The 'mixed signals' statement could have been couched in the third-person, I guess. I think that Wikiproject-Food was making the assertion that Chief Executive Officers of the largest food corporations in America are by their very nature, notable. If you perused the articles from the Wikipedia list of 'American Chief Executives of Food Industry Companies', their notability consists of the highest position they held (in most cases Chairman or CEO), the size of the company they managed, and perhaps the college they attended. There seems to be a disparity between the standards for these executives who already have established Wikipedia articles and the subject of this discussion. It appears that such a deletion decision is ad-hoc, potentially capricious, and is dependent on the personal opinion of a particular editor. In the case of Mr. Olin, his notability includes restructuring and doubling the size of the business in nine years, and building the third-largest cookie company in the United States (behind Nabisco and Keebler ... and outperforming Pepperidge Farm, Sunshine, Mothers, Stella-Doro, Little Debbie, etc.) as well as driving brand sales to more than a third of billion dollars annually. This performance certainly meets that of the majority of those executives with Wikipedia bios. The question is, then, how do we move this forward according to standards previously and consistently used for other CEOs and avoid editor arbitrariness? Thanks. FMIArchive (talk) 00:58, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

Hello, Can you please refer me to the relevant part of Wikiproject food? Also, who are you referring to with "we"? In regards to the article, please consult WP:BIO: it's not enough to assert that someone is important as Wikipedia's inclusion standards for people ultimately boil down to the availability of detailed coverage of them as a person. Nick-D (talk) 01:13, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

The use of the term 'we' was to assert that there were mixed signals between you and me, regarding the definition and interpretation of notability. It is clear that a person can be considered 'notable' by Wikipedia merely by being associated with a larger organization. Every NFL player who ever existed has a Wikipedia article (1,493 Green Bay Packers alone), even those who never played in a single NFL game (for example: Tony F. Elliott). They are considered notable for no other reason than they were on a team. Same for MLB baseball (three examples: Tim Lahey, Michael Antonini and Fred Van Dusen). Since there are many, many anonymous athletes who qualify for Wikipedia articles simply because they played (or not) on a particular sports team, notability takes on another context altogether, doesn't it? And why only sports? Can you explain this apparent double-standard with WP:BIO when it applies to Chief Executives of the largest and most elite corporations/brands in the country? Whether you know their names or not? Have they not also achieved the most elite status within their given industries? Not only are they notable for building brands that have become household names, but I would submit to you that their individual achievements are/were highly significant and impactful, not only within their given organization, but also to the public at large. Certainly more than an athlete who never played a game. Thus, based on this interpretation of notability, and the belief that notability standards should be applied evenly throughout all of Wikipedia, a top executive of a major national brand company should certainly qualify as notable.

More specifically, and pertaining to this particular article, I provided you with a list of hundreds of similar existing Wikipedia articles of corporate CEO-peers, with virtually identical background descriptions as the subject, and you have not been able to articulate why they qualified while this one does not. You mention lack of 'detailed coverage' of the subject. Of the dozen-plus references provided within the article, no less than six of them specifically featured (and/or profiled) the subject, including several trade journals, and newspapers (i.e. Battle Creek Enquirer, Ashland Times Gazette, Columbus Dispatch, Associated Press). At the same time, several of the hundreds of business executives with existing Wikipedia articles (link above, including those I listed earlier) have far fewer references (none in many cases). Why are WP:BIO standards not evenly applied in this case? Nick, maybe it might make sense to involve others who may be able to assist? Wikipedia:WikiProject Food and drink? FMIArchive (talk) 15:47, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

Of the reliable sources cited in User:FMIArchive/sandbox/Thomas F. Olin, Jr., only the first appears to be focused on Mr Olin (the articles and videos by him aren't useful for establishing notability). As for the comparisons you note, Wikipedia has lots of poor quality articles so unfortunately it can be misleading to compare prospective new articles with existing ones (please also see WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS for the consensus view on this kind of thing). Nick-D (talk) 10:01, 19 April 2015 (UTC)

As you have stated above, you acknowledge that you have unilaterally decided to hold this article to a higher standard than other, virtually identical, articles that have been accepted by Wikipedia. If certain articles meet Wikipedia's standards while they do not seemingly meet your own, is it possible that your ideals, as you interpret them, are not consensus-driven? It may be possible that you generally do not think that businesspeople, such as this subject, are (or should be) notable, as you personally view it. However, there may be other editors more directly involved in the topic than you are, who may believe otherwise. This is why I have requested third-party involvement.

Based on your comments regarding references, I have reviewed them again. At the outset, lets at least agree that this article has far more references than the majority of those articles listed in the Wikipedia "American Chief Executives of Food Industry Companies" index. You probably have not read this article's references, so it would be difficult for you to know that references #1 and #2 are both specific to Mr. Olin. Reference #3 is a video presentation of Mr. Olin, speaking at the company's annual meeting and outlining his rationale and strategies for restructuring the corporation (essentially what enabled the company to double is size during his tenure; to more than $300,000,000 annually and establishing Archway as one of the largest cookie brands in the world) ... by the way, Wikipedia is rife with virtually millions of references presenting a person's own work on their own bio page, either in written, photographic or video form and it is frequently used to help establish that person's notability - everybody from Albert Einstein to Donald Trump to Barack Obama to Andrew Carnegie. Reference #4 is a newspaper interview discussing the company's performance as well as another profile of Mr. Olin. The next several references provide credible evidence of the results achieved by Mr. Olin during his tenure (including an Associated Press report and interview); this is often provided in good Wikipedia business bios to substantiate individual claims. Reference "Fat Free Fervor" contains both an interview and more profile information on Mr. Olin. The remaining references are 'fact-check' resources to corroborate personal activities (i.e. publications, board involvement, etc).

Would it be wise to present this to Wikipedia:WikiProject Food and drink to ascertain what the standards are for CEO listings and whether this proposed listing, or some form of it, conforms to them? Wouldn't this be the best way assure that we have a consensus and resolve this to everyone's satisfaction? Thanks. FMIArchive (talk) 15:30, 19 April 2015 (UTC)

Articles aren't "accepted" on Wikipedia: this is a user-driven "Web 2.0" website, and stuff gets added without much oversight. Sometimes material which doesn't meet Wikipedia's inclusion criteria is spotted and deleted, and sometimes it isn't, so don't read anything into what is and isn't existent without considering the underlying policies (WP:BIO here). Also, attempting to lecture me about Wikipedia's notability criteria when you obviously haven't actually read WP:BIO (otherwise you wouldn't be claiming that primary sources can be used to meet it) is impolite. If you'd like to raise this elsewhere, by all means do so. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 08:23, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

I am familiar with WP:BIO policies and understand the position on primary sourcing. Nevertheless, primary sources are ubiquitous throughout Wikipedia. If a person has written an autobiography, it is almost certain to be included in Wikipedia references in his/her bio article. The same holds true for primary photographic/video sources as well. In the case of Mr. Olin, this is irrelevant because the majority of references are not from primary sources, but trade journals and newspapers. I did not attempt to lecture you in our discussion, but tried to make a logical case for inclusion. The objective was not to offend but to share with you how notability seems to be viewed in the context of large /major brand companies and their top executives. There are obviously distinct differences between your interpretation of this and others, as evidenced not only by the examples I provided, but the thousands of business executive bios that exist already within Wikipedia. It seems that in your opinion, virtually none of them should qualify as notable, and that somehow the majority of them slid through the cracks. As far as I understand it, Wikipedia:WikiProject Food and drink was established to help Wikipedia provide a more informative and comprehensive reference database on the subject of food and drink. Part of that ongoing effort is to include reference articles relating to important contemporary food brands, their companies, and the executives who shaped them. These executives are notable. They have created food and beverage brands that are part of our everyday lives. I understand that Wikipedia could potentially be abused by those attempting to use it as an online "Who's Who", and, Nick, I think that is where your concerns lie. A line should probably be drawn somewhere. But if Wikipedia can accommodate bios for all 1,439 Green Bay Packers (many of whom played only a game or two) then Wikipedia can certainly accommodate bios for the top executives of the largest food brands in the U.S. and/or the world.

In the case of Mr. Olin, he was a Co-Chief Executive Officer and President of one of the top three cookie brands (Archway Cookies) in the United States and manufacturer of the number one volume Oatmeal and Holiday cookie brands in the world. During his tenure with the company, he doubled brand sales and market share, and he increased retail brand sales to nearly a third of a billion dollars annually. This has been corroborated by third-party industry journals, as well as worldwide media. As I had provided previously, take the time to compare this with this list of existing Wikipedia food executive bios. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_chief_executives_of_food_industry_companies

We both now seem to agree that this needs to move to another venue. I will send our discussion to Wikipedia:WikiProject Food and drink and solicit their advice. Thanks. FMIArchive (talk) 15:14, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Categories_for_discussion/Log/2010_November_12#Military_bases_and_facilities

Hi Nick, not sure if you remember this discussion some years ago, which you contributed to. I've been slowly consolidating 'Military facilities' and 'Military bases' across a whole range of the subcategories. Now there is an opposed move of about three of the subcategories at Wikipedia:Categories_for_discussion#Opposed_nominations. Would you kindly consider giving your views there? Regards Buckshot06 (talk) 10:14, 25 April 2015 (UTC)

The Bugle: Issue CIX, April 2015

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new Featured and A-Class content Book reviews: Nick-D looks at the landing at Anzac Cove Op-ed: TomStar81 on the debut of poison gas in World War I Timeline: This month in World War I

The Bugle is published by the Military history WikiProject. To receive it on your talk page, please join the project or sign up here.
If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Nick-D (talk) 06:33, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

Request for Admin Assistance

Nick, could you do me a favour and move User:Hawkeye7/Sandbox6 to Kinsella v. Krueger, a redirect, and delete User talk:Hawkeye7/Sandbox6. The move template says to do it myself, but I cannot. Hawkeye7 (talk) 12:27, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

Sure, happy to do so, and I just made that change. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 12:30, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

(tps) Nick, you didn't delete their sandbox as requested. I think that was the point of asking an admin to do the move. Hawkeye7 could have moved it themselves, if they didn't mind leaving the empty sandbox with a redirect behind. @Hawkeye7: please use WP:RM#TR next time; I'll add that to the message. Thanks, Wbm1058 (talk) 17:27, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

It occurs to me that Hawkeye7 could also have needed assistance if the redirect page that was to be moved over was protected. Was that the case here? Thanks, Wbm1058 (talk) 20:16, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

It was not protected; I cannot move a page from my user space over an existing redirect. It looks like Template:Db-move was required; but is is far from clear as to whether the admin processing it would actually move the page. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:12, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

I have issued as CSD7 on the talk page. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:32, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

Wbm1058: the admin tools were needed here as it was a move being made over a redirect. I missed the request to delete the user page as I was about the knock off for the evening. I imagine that Hawkeye asked me to do this as he'd seen me editing shortly before and I could quickly handle it. Cheers, Nick-D (talk) 10:11, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

No worries, I was just trying to understand the problem as Hawkeye had an issue with a template error message that I support. I'll assume that the issue was that this was a redirect which had been edited, as unedited redirects can be moved over by non-admins. The distinctions here are so subtle, and easy to overlook. Wbm1058 (talk) 11:36, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

A beer for you!

Thank you for that move! Much appreciated! Hawkeye7 (talk) 12:33, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

No worries - happy to have been of assistance Nick-D (talk) 10:20, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

Your previous message

Paul B explained the situation in the article of Adolf Hitler very clearly, taking out the "Austrian-born" from the sentence was probably pointless from the start, I apologize for the inconvenience. (N0n3up (talk) 15:42, 26 April 2015 (UTC))

Request for semi-protect for Landing at Anzac Cove

Gday Nick. Would it be possible to request semi-protection for Landing at Anzac Cove pls? I've asked the IP that is making changes to discuss on the talkpage on a couple of occasions but haven't had any luck so far. Thanks in advance. Anotherclown (talk) 06:24, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

I'm afraid that I'm WP:INVOLVED here given that I commented on this Nick-D (talk) 10:05, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

Ack - yes fair point. No worries, I'll make a formal request. All the best. Anotherclown (talk) 10:46, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

Possible sock puppet issue

Gday again. Sorry in advance for the long post. As you have probably seen there have been a number of very similar edits made to the Battle of Singapore article that follow the line of highlighting reports of the poor performance of Australian forces during this battle (alleged or otherwise). Of course the information may be legitimate (even if I would say it is probably undue weight to include it in such detail and without probably historical analysis and comment, while the sources are also not of the highest quality and the referencing is of poor quality). Regardless, I think there may be some cause for concern here as it could be the work of one or a number of sock puppets. Without going in depth I think there is some evidence to support this concern (and more could be found if req’d).

Firstly, consider the IP recently making the edits at Battle of Singapore - User:121.44.135.48. According to Geolocate [36] this belongs to iiNet Limited and is located in Sydney, New South Wales. Now consider an IP that has recently been editing at Operation Compass - User:121.44.136.27. According to Geolocate [37] this also belongs to iiNet Limited and is located in Sydney, New South Wales. An established editor, User:100menonmars, recently admitted to being IP 121.44.136.27 here (they forgot to logon apparently), so given that the IPs are clearly the same person I'd say it is 100menonmars editing the Battle of Singapore article whilst logged out (at the least they have forgotten to log in again or for some reason it seems they do not want their identity to be known whilst making these edits).

Secondly, I am concerned that there may also be a connection between User:TimSala (who also recently made edits to Battle of Singapore) and User:100menonmars (who has apparently never edited the article - expect probably as an IP). Neither seem to have edited the same article (recently at least that I could see); however, one similarity I have noticed is that both have used a similar citation method on occasion (specifically being the inclusion of a question mark (?) next to a missing page number, presumably the result of a Google Book preview. Consider here [38] for User:100menonmars at Operation Compass and here [39] for User:TimSala at Battle of Singapore. This doesn’t seem like it is likely to be coincidental (and I’m fairly sure I can dig up other examples). At the very least it may be cause for a Check User.

Further to this the contributions of User:TimSala and IP User:121.44.135.48 are also similar in places, suggesting a connection between them, and reinforcing the possibility of a connection between User:100menonmars and User:TimSala by association. Consider TimSala inserted information about the defeatist attitude of Maxwell here [40], the two days later IP 121.44.135.48 makes this edit [41] with the edit summary “More on defeatist attitude of Maxwell.” Whilst it is possible that this is a coincidence, or a case of one editor’s work inspiring that of another to expand etc, I am dubious given the other similarities.

Lastly, my suspicion extends to User:Makesenseofit, who has also made edits to Battle of Singapore recently. Interestingly TimSala inserted the same SMH ref to a Peter Stanley article at Battle of Muar here [42] as Makesenseofit did at Battle of Singapore here [43]. Again possibility a case of one editor inspiring another but I doubt it.

Indeed these accounts, the IPs, 100menonmars, TimSala, and Makesenseofit seem to edit in some similar areas: for instance Battle of Greece, Battle of Singapore, Battle of Crete, Battle of Muar and a number of other North African campaign articles (although not so much TimSala admittedly) and they all seem to include similar information (i.e. to do with Australian military history, but more specifically information that might be seen to either be critical of the performance of Australian forces, or at least highlighting losses / failures). There is of cse some value in this, but I'd be very surprised if the isn't a connection between some or all of these accounts. TimSala has been around the longest (since Oct 10); however, pretty much stopped editing in 2013 and only resumed again in Apr 15, while 100menonmars and Makesenseofit were created in May 14 and Mar 15 respectively.

The pro Italian aspect to some of 100menonmars' edits at Greco-Italian War (and their temporary block in Feb 15) leads me to hold suspicions of possible connections to other editors working / disrupting work in that field but I really have no evidence of that at all (on taking a closer look some of the correspondence 100menonmars' talk page suggests they seem to be in contact by email so it is probably just a genuine shared interest there rather than the same editor – might be best to chalk this last one up to my natural over-suspicion). Anyway I’m interested in your take of my reasoning, and whether this should be pursued (and if so how) as I don't want to sling mud needlessly. I'm also fairly sick of WikiDrama but I'm concerned about possible motives here so I feel compelled to at least mention it. Thoughts? Anotherclown (talk) 11:01, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

Another similarity b/n 100menonmars and IP 121.44.135.48 (to draw the connect further) is in the inclusion of quotes within references. Pls see 100menonmars doing it here [44] at Operation Compass and IP 121.44.135.48 doing it here [45] at Battle of Singapore. Anotherclown (talk) 12:15, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

@Anotherclown Ah glad you noticed that too. Didnt figure the poss SP angle but the edits seemed POV and lacking in WP:DUE to me. Sources didn't seem that stunning either. I dropped a note on the Milhist board about it early this am. Cheers all Irondome (talk) 19:49, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

Hi Guys, I'd usually be happy to look into this, but I'm a bit unwell so I don't think I'll get up to it. It might be best to lodge a report at WP:SPI. I agree that these patterns of edits (which I've been seeing on my watchlist) look a bit odd, especially when considered together and taking the IPs into account. That said, the historiography on the 8th Division in Malaya and Singapore has been evolving over the last 10 years, so that should also be taken into consideration. Nick-D (talk) 01:26, 28 April 2015 (UTC)

Dunno really lads. The latest edits are beginning to make 8th Div sound worse than Yamashita's mob :/ Irondome (talk) 01:49, 28 April 2015 (UTC)

FWIW I have started an SPI here - Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/TimSala. I've only had limited involvement in this area so hopefully I haven't muffed it. P.S. Nick sorry to here you are unwell, all the best. Anotherclown (talk) 12:40, 28 April 2015 (UTC)

MiG29VN sockpuppets

Hello again. A couple more at Battle of Ia Drang - User:113.190.46.130 and User:113.190.46.114. One was previously blocked but the block expired. Also another at Massacre at Huế - User:113.22.115.149. Would you pls be able to have a look at some point? The disruption seems low level and has so far mostly been detected and reverted so its not urgent at this stage. Thanks again. Anotherclown (talk) 11:26, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

I've just blocked those IPs. It might be worth tracking them somewhere to see if a range block is possible (though another admin would need to implement this as I'm not sure how they work exactly, and I'm terrified that I could cut a country off from Wikipedia or something!): I have a couple of tracking projects at User:Nick-D/sandbox as examples. Nick-D (talk) 01:32, 28 April 2015 (UTC)

Thanks again for your assistance here - yes I'll get started on tracking these. Ack your concerns re the range block and cutting off an entire country (that would of cse be less than ideal and one imagines would result in considerable blowback...) Anotherclown (talk) 12:38, 28 April 2015 (UTC)

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Why do you think the category on countries in the Southern Hemisphere is not very useful? I think it is very useful in geography. Thebuck093 (talk) 15:42, 28 April 2015 (UTC)

CoruseHorse page deletion

Nick-D. Thanks for all the work you to do keep Wikipedia such an amazing community. I contributed to the CourseHorse page that looks like you deleted 2.25.15 (G11; unambiguous promotion). Intent here was not to be promotional and would like to help fit within guidelines. Could you please help me understand what changes would be needed to be made to make compliant? Thank you! --Emf1111 (talk) 20:54, 28 April 2015 (UTC)

The article was written as an ad for this website, with all wording having a promotional tone. If you want to redevelop the article, please reflect on the fact that this is an encyclopaedia and articles should be written in a dispassionate way. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 23:50, 28 April 2015 (UTC)

Request for Comment

Hello Nick-D

I need your urgent opinion on the recent talk entries: I will remove Bias / Opinion could you please jump in?

Myself, I've an overcoming feeling that such approach, is a bad way to try improve the article by pushing one owns personal preference in centre. It seems that User: Pensiveneko is engaging in multiple sites, with the commonly tenor to remove all the paragraphs and sentence who might not fit his POV in less than one week; See: 1,2, 3.

Also Pensiveneko is name-calling serious and reputable publications of scholars into an inappropriate magnitude. Such behavior is unacceptable. Please have a look. Thank you. LikePancakes (talk) 13:37, 3 May 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the note - I agree with you. Nick-D (talk) 10:20, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Many thanks, I'd really appreciate that. I hope some more fellows going to leave their sentiment and opinion. Bon voyage! Regards LikePancakes (talk) 11:02, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

You might want to also invite other editors to join the discussion via a post at WT:MILHIST. Regards, Nick-D (talk) 11:51, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Once again, thank you for your very generous assistance, I have filled a request on that site. Regards LikePancakes (talk) 13:01, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Hello Nick-D, I wanted to inform you that I've created an account and going to replace the ip-sign. Regards, Ben. LikePancakes (talk) 14:59, 4 May 2015 (UTC)