Jump to content

Wikipedia talk:Reference desk

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 90.208.173.186 (talk) at 15:31, 27 November 2017 (→Google Translate). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Skip to the bottom
Shortcut

[edit]

To ask a question, use the relevant section of the Reference desk
This page is for discussion of the Reference desk in general.
Please don't post comments here that don't relate to the Reference desk. Other material may be moved.
The guidelines for the Reference desk are at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines.
For help using Wikipedia, please see Wikipedia:Help desk.


Notice of ArbCom Request

I have requested that the ArbCom open a case concerning conduct at the Reference Desks. I have suggested that the ArbCom can take this on either of two tracks. The fast track would be to implement ArbCom discretionary sanctions as a device to permit expedited sanctions for editors who are disruptive in any of various ways. The slow track would be a full evidentiary hearing, which should result in discretionary sanctions as well, but could also result in the ArbCom imposing their own sanctions. Robert McClenon (talk) 22:42, 30 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case#Conduct_at_Reference_Desks. Statements may be made to the ArbCom to support (or oppose) accepting the case. Robert McClenon (talk) 22:42, 30 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Arbitration request removed; unanimously declined by the Committee. -- ToE 09:33, 8 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

archiving change

It's been noted that some of the desks have been getting rather empty. As such, there's no need to archive them as quickly; page size isn't as much of a problem these days.
Archiving used to kick in after 4-6 days, depending on the desk. For simplicity, I've just readjusted the archiver to a consistent interval of 7 days, for all desks. (As always, this is easily changed, whenever consensus dictates.) —Steve Summit (talk) 13:15, 3 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds good. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:22, 3 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Good work. I was wondering if it's also worth considering consolidating the desks. So it wouldn't seem so slow.
ApLundell (talk) 15:22, 3 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Ironically, it was pretty much a single desk originally (if I'm remembering correctly) and was gradually expanded. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:33, 3 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Even earlier it was just one combined Help/Reference Desk. Earliest preserved history is now at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous. Rmhermen (talk) 23:07, 10 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Proposal: operation WTF Renaissance

There has been a tremendous amount of bad energy affecting the Refdesks lately, and as pointed out above, the volume is way down at the moment. So let's strike a blow at all the Debbie Downers here and simultaneously try to make the Refdesk more valuable to Wikipedia...

1) Read a few articles on Wikipedia. I know you do anyway. 2) STOP when you feel a "WTF???" coming on. Don't just let it lie -- see if there is a real question an article raises that you want to know about. 3) Make a reasonable try to answer it (we don't want people saying "hey just search gooooogle"). 4) Post it. 5) If you get a decent answer, add the source to the article. 6) Repeat, ideally daily, until the Refdesks have recovered their pre-AfD volume.

Anyone up for this? I just tried my first one at the Science desk, about hammock (ecology)s in Namibia. Wnt (talk) 23:18, 3 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Not that I don't appreciate your positive attitude, and I certainly don't enjoy being one of the Debbie Downers, but I interpreted what I read from the long recent discussions at WP:ANI, WP:VPP etc differently:
If you want the reference desk to thrive and become a place where people actually want to ask questions and expect solid answers, the focus of change/improvement probably should be on the answers, not on the questions. Try to understand what the querent is seeking, keep it referenced and informed, and keep it friendly, don't belittle OPs and their questions (if you feel they're ridiculous, just don't respond), try not to speculate and guess in your answers, don't proselytize and soap-box, don't slip in your personal POV, etc. If we stick to certain principles, then we have a chance of turning this into a useful service, else I, too, think the refdesks have become obsolete and don't care whether they're abolished or not. As pointed out in discussions above, StuRat was an easily targeted warning-example, but the "community's patience" for keeping a reference desks won't increase if we continue as before (or as though StuRat was the crucial problem).
If we offer a good service, then we probably need not worry about traffic, but I don't believe in artificially perpetuating the desks (which is what your proposal looks like to me, even if that wasn't your intention). ---Sluzzelin talk 01:28, 4 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed. If I were new here this year, I don't think I'd be back. So much of our responses are "just google it" or "you can't ask this", or people giving "answers" without references. While some of us are still providing good service, I can see why a lot of people are going elsewhere for their needs at present. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:53, 10 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
So they can ask their trolling questions elsewhere? Why is that a problem for Wikipedia? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 18:48, 10 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
WP:AGF Bugs. Or continue to WP:BITE and push away our patrons. Your call, but until you convince me that you are WP:HERE in good faith to help people find good references, I'll not be discussing this with you further. SemanticMantis (talk) 15:09, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • Ref desk postings should be like bowel movements, natural, not forced. That being said, the WE ARE ABOUT TO DELETE THIS SHIT tag at the top of each desk does nothing other than scare people off. I suspect that is actually their real purpose, just as closing the StuRat threads with the comment "only people who oppose StuRat's banning support alternatives" and his being summarily blocked without any history of escalating blocks and warnings was meant to achieve a preconceived end. Let's have those tags removed. I post questions when they occur to me, I am not about to start making stuff up. μηδείς (talk) 05:15, 4 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I moved the tag to this page. I guess it should be somewhere until that discussion is closed. ---Sluzzelin talk 20:47, 4 November 2017 (UTC) .... Oh crap, I did no such thing, only moved it from Wikipedia:Reference desk, but not from the individual desks where it must be transcluded, but I couldn't figure out immediately where to look, and am about to leave the keyboard. I support removing those tags from the six desks (but leaving one on this talk page until the discussion at the Village Pump has been closed). ---Sluzzelin talk 20:51, 4 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I removed it from Wikipedia:Reference desk/header, since anyone who saw it and wanted to contribute to the discussion almost certainly has done so. It should disappear from the individual pages once the queue catches up. Deor (talk) 21:00, 4 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • The trouble with not responding is that someone else will respond. This is in response to "if you feel they're ridiculous, just don't respond". I think the desks are necessarily conversational. It would be hard not to respond to someone in real life. If something seems ridiculous I think it's OK to brush them off with a dismissive comment. We are not required to be saints. We err when our responses are lengthy and ridiculous. Bus stop (talk) 14:11, 4 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I like the idea of increasing Ref Desk usefulness ....
... but regulars generating more question on our own seems like it's just reinforcing the "exclusive social club" aspect of the desk and not the "service to readers" aspect.
This proposal is well-intentioned, but I think it would be counter-productive. ApLundell (talk) 23:12, 6 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Well, It would help defend against the (silly, imo) argument that the ref desks are not helping the greater goals of WP. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:53, 10 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Closure reverted

I have reverted this [1] closure. Please follow our guidelines, which clearly state that we should sanction answersthat violate our guidelines, rather than closing any question that may seem to be soliciting e.g. medical or legal advice [2]. SemanticMantis (talk) 14:50, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The guidelines say discouraged and not forbidden. Those are not synonyms. --Jayron32 17:27, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for pointing that out. I assure you that I have read that section many times, and know what it says. I do not think it is unreasonable to ask our users to follow our guidelines, and I do think we should at least make some effort to do what they say, which is that removal offending responses is preferred, and removal of questions is discouraged. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:36, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
You're saying "censor responses, not questions"[3] yet you're negating that by insisting on restoring the responses also. What gives? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:42, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I've re-closed the responses, per SM's own words, and replaced Medeis' signature with mine, so that SM won't be confused. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:49, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I didn't see any responses there that gave legal advice. I have deleted every single response I've ever seen that gave legal or medical advice. If you feel a response contains medical advice, I encourage you to delete that, not the question. and PS:Hey User:Medeis and User:Baseball Bugs. Do you know about WP:BRD? When someone reverts an edit, and then opens a discussion on the talk page, you're supposed to discuss, not edit war. I have re-opened it because that how it should stay until consensus is reached, vis. BRD. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:53, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
You're the one that's edit-warring, and I have now reported you for it. And why did you say "Follow our guidelines. Censor RES[P]ONSES, not questions" if you didn't actually mean it? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:55, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I don't see any reason the question can't be addressed without providing legal or financial advice, and it is not explicitly a request for either.
In general, this word "advice" has been stretched all out of its natural meaning by people whose trigger is set way too light. Look, I have this weird mole, what should I do? is a request for medical advice, but what are the possible things that an oddly shaped mole can be? is not. Similarly, I've been arrested for barratry, what should I do? is a request for legal advice, but what are the possible defenses against a charge of barratry? is not.
In the instant case, the poster asks whether an EU citizen can become a US resident without a degree or job. Then he/she gives background, but the background is not part of the question. The question itself can be answered without giving advice of any sort. --Trovatore (talk) 17:51, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
"Could I become a resident if I am financially independent but without a degree or an "official" job?" How do you figure that doesn't require legal advice? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:54, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
"Could" can mean "Is it possible". It's not restricted to "What should I do". We could, for example, find an example of someone who was in exactly these circumstances and became a resident. Then we proffer that example, with a disclaimer that that's just one isolated case and it may not be appropriate for the OP, but it does demonstrate that it's possible. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 18:16, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
My apologies, I sometimes use bold text to get people's attention. I have now removed the bolding. As for edit warring, that is what I was trying to stop. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but I think WP:BRD goes like this: 1) a bold closure was made. 2) I felt it was in error, so I reverted it and brought it here for discussion. 3) We are supposed to leave things as-is until consensus is reached. SemanticMantis (talk) 18:56, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Your comment "censor responses, not questions" implies you would approve of "censoring" the responses. Yet you "un-censored" them. Why? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 19:01, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Let me direct you to where I answered that question, when you asked me just a little bit ago :[4]. It's just a few lines up the page, and you responded there, so please forgive me if my assumption that you read and understood the comment is inaccurate. SemanticMantis (talk) 19:17, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
What statement there explains why you said "censor responses, not questions" on the edit summary and then contradicted yourself? When you commented on "censor responses" I changed the hat to include the question but "censor" the responses... per your own words.[5] Then you said "BRD Medeis":[6] as you missed that it was I who restored the hat and left the question visible per your own words. If you hadn't said "censor responses", I would have left the whole thing alone. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 19:24, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Hey Bugs, I will not explain myself to you again. Read my comments or do not, but you've wasted enough of my time already. Yes, I got it wrong, I thought medeis had reverted me when it was you, I apologize for not checking that before accusing her of reverting me. She did that later, [7], still in violation of BRD and good faith editing. SemanticMantis (talk) 21:14, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I will take that as an admission that you messed up with that "censor responses" comment. Consequently, I have closed the edit-warring complaint. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:17, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
That's an odd taking, and not at all how I would have interpreted SemanticMantis's statement. ---Sluzzelin talk 22:08, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
It's the closest he's come to admitting he messed up. His comment said he supported "censoring" responses, and then he apparently changed his mind. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:18, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Note that legal advice is the giving of a professional or formal opinion regarding the substance or procedure of the law in relation to a particular factual situation and medical advice is the provision of a formal professional opinion regarding what a specific individual should or should not do to restore or preserve health. On nearly all websites that discuss medical or legal topics, the disclaimer is descriptive ("Whatever we tell you, it's not professional advice in the legal sense of the term"), not prescriptive ("We are forbidden from giving you medical/legal advice in the broader sense") - otherwise sites like WebMD or LabourBlawg would be impossible (or at least very very boring). Our rules similarly should be read not to forbid a general discussion of legal or medical topics (not even for a specific case), but as a rule against giving formal, professional advice, as in "I am a lawyer, I've carefully considered your case, my opinion is X (and you can send my fee to address Y)". The oversensitiveness of some editors for these questions is very hard to understand for me - I can only explain it by either a misunderstanding of the law or a mindset that puts form over substance. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 21:39, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Or putting the interests of Wikipedia ahead of the interests of editors who think we should answer everything even when it requires professional advice. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:44, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
There is no chance that anything we say on Wikipedia is professional advice unless someone explicitly claims he or she is an appropriate professional. This is not a risk to Wikipedia. Your reaction is based on a misunderstanding of the legal situation. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 21:50, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Has that theory ever been tested? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:54, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
In what sense? As far as I know, there never even has been a lawsuit against Wikipedia for providing legal or medical advice (much less for legal or medical malpractice, which would be more to the point), so no legal case has been decided. But in that sense the theory that eating tofu is not aggravated battery also has never been tested... --Stephan Schulz (talk) 22:00, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Does the WMF say it's OK to give professional advice as long as you make it clear that you're not a professional? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:05, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Well, according to a discussion years ago, it's on you, not on the WMF, no matter what your declaration. ---Sluzzelin talk 22:08, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
(ec) You cannot (in the sense "you are not able to", not "you must not") give professional advice unless you are a professional, so the question is vacuous. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 22:13, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
That's a strange interpretation of "cannot" in this context. Also, you talked about other sites having disclaimers. Where is it on the ref desk? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:18, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Bugs, see also this discussion as well as, e.g., Cyberadvice: "The Ethical Implications of Giving Professional Advice over the Internet". Basically, as a professional, you have even less business giving medical or legal advice anonymously via internet. ---Sluzzelin talk 22:22, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Whatever became of the assertion that requests for professional advice are subject to removal? When was that abandoned? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:26, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia:Medical disclaimer and Wikipedia:Legal disclaimer. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 22:31, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I'm only seeing those items on the main ref desk page, and not particularly emphasized. Shouldn't they be linked anytime someone asks for professional advice? Especially if you're saying we're not allowed to box up responses to such requests. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:46, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Comment. Ideally we would work a disclaimer into our response. We would preface what we are about to say with some words that would serve the purpose of distancing ourselves and Wikipedia in general from what we are about to say, on grounds that legal/medical advice should be given by a professional in a more appropriate setting. Bus stop (talk) 04:03, 14 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, this is completely reasonable. I often write something like "we cannot give legal advice, but we can point you to references on the matter, such as..." This is also what actual reference librarians do if you ask a question that can be interpreted as a request for legal/medical advice. However, we cannot stop certain aggressive and hostile parties from closing down anything they like, so. SemanticMantis (talk) 19:30, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

To SemanticMantis

hat [removed]|I think we're done here. --Jayron32 13:32, 17 November 2017 (UTC)}}[reply]

Resolved

←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 20:54, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

To SemanticMantis (talk · contribs): Thank you for contributing to the feeding of a blocked user. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 19:38, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

While one learned volunteer laboured to cleanse the Science Ref desk of an Evil Entity, another learned volunteer had been labouring to provide an apt and well referenced answer to what is a sensible and answerable question. Rather than expend more efforts or hard feelings on the consequent existential confrontation,[8] I suggest the solution of deleting the whole exchange that Baseball Bugs has hatted, while allowing to stand the question and answer both signed by SemanticMantis. This way the Science desk gains and the Evil Entity is expelled from view. Both BB and SM have earned thanks here. Blooteuth (talk) 22:26, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Normally I would agree that it should be deleted. But given that SM's "I heard somewhere" refers to the blocked editor's question immediately above, keeping the hatted item there puts it in the proper context. And by the way, the IP-OP was blocked long before SM posted his response. SM's lack of vigilance is no justification for keeping his precious pearls of wisdom intact. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:40, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Take it to user talk. You didn't even reference what this was about. Should you not be welcome on SM's talk page (no idea, haven't checked, just saying "if") then you can post your comment, including the ping, on your own user talk page. It's not needed here. ---Sluzzelin talk 23:05, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
This is about Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science. Review the "baked beans" stuff and you'll see that it precisely belongs here. I didn't want to get into an edit war over this topic. I want some other views on this besides just SM, whose view is pretty much "don't delete anything." ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 23:13, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
This belongs here with some explanation of the "figuring" involved. The bickering between you insects gives cause to wish like Mercutio almost did "A Pyrethrin o' both your houses". Blooteuth (talk) 13:16, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
No, it doesn't. We've already fed the trolling questioner too much. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:15, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Baseball_Bugs The Science Ref. Desk is not for you to treat as a Twitter account for ruminations such as "I figured IP User 91.47.17.210 was the banned user Light Current". Your preoccupation with that user has been going on for YEARS from as far back as 12:07 12 July 2012 when you declared "DriveByWire --> 'Wire' as a hint for "Current" is pretty obvious". Really? It seems you wish to keep adding to the present over 200 pages in category "Suspected Wikipedia sockpuppets of Light Current" but you haven't realized that it is you (if anyone) that puppet has most to thank for encouragement. The bug should stop here. Blooteuth (talk) 17:52, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) The question of whether to answer serious questions about a puerile subject from IP users who can be identified with a varying degree of probability with a certain blocked/banned user may have some interest, but neither the pointy echoing of such a question nor this aggressive thread (seriously, the first post here needs at least a diff) will help to answer it. However, what it probably does is encourage further such questions (trolls enjoy being fed), more than either approach (ignoring/hatting the question, or answering it in a serious tone). I do not know what to suggest since apparently only cold ashes are left of the bridges between you two, but the current modus operandi is probably suboptimal. TigraanClick here to contact me 18:00, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I think suspected trolling should be addressed by careful engagement with the suspected troll. If we don't want to encourage trolling we should attempt to converse with a suspected troll. In general we should want to expose the troll as being a troll. This is sometimes accomplished by asking questions for "clarification". Most trolls do not even respond. Some trolls respond once. But no real troll will carry on a sustained conversation. Dealing with trolls is a battle of wits. The form that most trolling takes is the one carefully crafted post. It may look haphazard but I think it often is not. That is because a ploy is to play on the sympathies of those responding to such posts. I think the most effective response is the carefully crafted followup question. Trolling becomes ineffective in extended conversations. It becomes increasingly uncomfortable for a troll to carry on a conversation that they can see will eventually expose their pranksterish motivation. Bus stop (talk) 18:37, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
That never worked with Light Current. I got tired of fighting that banned user, and instead offered him an olive branch, which he spat on. However, after I stopped posting his socks at AIV, he mostly went away. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 18:57, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Blocked. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 19:06, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
I'm the OP of the question. I very rarely ask questions on the reference desk, but when I do I use open proxies for privacy reasons.
This is allowed per Wikipedia:Open proxies "Open or anonymising proxies, including Tor, may be blocked from editing for any period at any time. While this may affect legitimate users, they are not the intended targets and may freely use proxies until those are blocked." What happened here is that shortly after use an automated bot will block the open proxy. It was not a targeted block at me for "being a troll" or anything like that, it is an automated process by a bot that searches for open proxies. It will happen again with this IP address too. But nothing I did contravenes any Wikipedia rules, per WP:PROXY.
In terms of the question itself, it was a serious question and I didn't mean to cause any disruption. I didn't think that a serious scientific question about the carbohydrate content of food would be off-limits on the science desk. I'm sorry it has caused so much drama, that was not my intention. Thanks. 60.48.51.173 (talk) 18:41, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for posting. The OP of the question had IP address 91.47.17.210 which locates to Stuttgart, Germany. Your IP address 60.48.51.173 locates to Malaysia which is a long way from Stuttgart. You will need to provide more information to prove credibility. I hope some of the response at the science desk is useful to you. Regards Blooteuth (talk) 13:11, 17 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Open proxy. You don't have to believe OP is acting in good faith, but the Germany/Malaysia bit is in this case completely consistent with a good faith question asked via proxy. SemanticMantis (talk) 20:02, 20 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Placing my above commentary into context, I neglected to even look at the post under discussion, the one on the science desk. My comments are just general comments. Bus stop (talk) 18:49, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Resolved

←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 20:54, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I removed the hatting of this because the question is still a football. I found it unhatted, hatted the off-topic policy stuff, came back later and found the whole thing hatted. I don't think we should hat talk-page discussions even if 'resolved', but this isn't really. As for the uncanny ability of one editor to recognize a troll when no one else can, I remain unconvinced, and if I were convinced, I'd be recalling recent accounts of racism in the Air Force [http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/08/us/air-force-academy-racist-message-trnd/index.html and be wondering if "he that smelt it dealt it". Wnt (talk) 04:10, 20 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I'm glad you find this useful. I'd like to see you show where one of these conversations ever led to anything more than false feelings of moral superiority. --Jayron3213:19, 20 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Jayron32 please sign your posts. Blooteuth (talk) 16:21, 20 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I have fixed my mistake. --Jayron32 16:39, 20 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Random observation

[moved from 'talk:/Header']

...from a random user: it would be appreciated if the ref-desk regulars would keep process bickering to this talk page only. 2606:A000:4C0C:E200:C9A:4B44:2E28:1611 (talk) 08:52, 19 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

That would be ideal, for sure. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 11:27, 19 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Enough. If anyone wants to open a thread with a nonzero chance of resulting in anything more than false feelings of moral superiority, which this one clearly isn't, go for it. Otherwise, inclinations to answer each and every post should be dialed down. TigraanClick here to contact me 08:11, 21 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
We're damned either way. Last time I tried to discuss a change here, medeis and bugs edit warred me until I gave up, and almost nobody discussed (probably because they know the value of discussing with some of these users is nil). More recently, I decided not to bother mentioning my change here, and people still felt a need to go an hat fest and shit up the ref desk with attractive nuisance. So, enjoy destroying the desks with hostility to questioners I guess. SemanticMantis (talk) 20:13, 20 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
(probably because they know the value of discussing with some of these users is nil) Thumbs up icon ―Mandruss ☎ 20:15, 20 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
SM wants to own the ref desks, and can't handle being challenged. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 23:38, 20 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Even if that were true, which it is not, SM-owned ref desks would be a marked improvement over what I've witnessed for the past 4 years. ―Mandruss ☎ 00:05, 21 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
From you, for one. And I thought this issue was settled.[9] Why is SM bringing it up again? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:12, 21 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
From me, for another. Though I would advise SM (in a chummy way, I have no clout and no intentions) to dial it down a bit. I still think the best chance you have here, individually, is to provide referenced answers to genuine questions and, basically, ignore the rest. I know not everyone's that keen on advice here, but I hope you might be. ---Sluzzelin talk 00:54, 21 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
User:Sluzzelin, noted, thanks, had already come to that conclusion myself about 10 minutes too late :) I will admit that I have gotten very frustrated recently with a few users who are dedicated to closing down threads for baseless reasons (e.g. It is literally impossible for WP to give legal advice, and doubly so for hypothetical scenarios.) It is my continued opinion that hostility toward questioners is a prime reason for the decline of our desks, but alas, I simply cannot prevent such hostility. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:41, 21 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
This latest thing seems to stem from disagreement over whether a given question is a request for legal advice, or not. It sure looks like it to me. But I don't own the ref desk. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:00, 21 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Then why do I keep seeing your name here with posts telling us how to deal with IP users etc. Point is no one owns the desks (and maybe soon no one could potentially own them either, because they might disappear). It's just ironic that you, one of the most frequent posters on this page and one of the frequent definers of which questions should not be legitimate now have recently been accusing others of being a clique and owning the desks. That's all. ---Sluzzelin talk 01:15, 21 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
You yourself, with your years of experience, should be well acquainted with the styles of the handful of trolling questioners here. So I don't understand your complaint. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:07, 21 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Random reply: UhWxD8VhHjozi4X9P0DWj6cNoyBIMkjsat6SuizUrdoeS2jPiYFdLE4RfFF09P27ONRILLWFz3o3X4QMviTXFiZTmYfRlqH7joLXR3L1qX8wQ0doJoeRm3ZH VSq5RRn5iACdeuDyCVlXHMPbNT25xBfYLTfCvHLDKDYk9QwjXmJG8F4nPWlCwxj9Npt1lMhAzlZRfgDt Count Iblis (talk) 08:03, 22 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Can I quote you on that? Bus stop (talk) 08:14, 22 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Whaddya mean, "doJoe"? You want we should make mincemeat outta the bum, or just pay his article a little visit? And are we talkin' Joey Riley (footballer, born 1996) or Joey Riley (footballer, born 1991) here? Ambiguously violent and/or sexual innuendo has no place in the stream of garbage characters racket no more, boss. Kids these days, they still love the mindless drivel, but they want to scan it fast, without having to stop and recognize familiar fragments, much less provocative pareidolia.
That aside, I agree with MPbNT25xB. And when I Googled "SuizUrdoeS", it asked if I was concerned with "SeizUreS" instead. A fair question, I think. InedibleHulk (talk) 02:57, November 23, 2017 (UTC)
I was especially alarmed by the notion of dLE4RfFF09P27ONRILLWF. How could that be? Bus stop (talk) 03:54, 23 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
It could have been worse. It could have been YSBzaWxseSBjb21wdXRlciBudXJkIGpva2Ug. —Steve Summit (talk) 12:58, 23 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
TnVyZCBpcyBub3QgYSB3dXJkLg== ―Mandruss ☎ 21:24, 24 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
But of course we are expected to lXHMPbN. Bus stop (talk) 13:45, 23 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
That's easy for you to say. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.208.173.186 (talk) 09:54, 24 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Beginning with Count Iblis's comment this has been one of the more useful discussions I've seen on this page. ―Mandruss ☎ 13:48, 23 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I think we are finally beginning to free ourselves from the confines of the pointless rules of language. Bus stop (talk) 13:56, 23 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, if I may say so. Gandalf61 (talk) 10:42, 24 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Jeezus. This thread is like the Wikipedia version of a Usenet cascade. Wnt (talk) 22:11, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Google Translate

Can we formally establish a rule that says Google Translate should not be used as a source for translations on the Language Desk? Otherwise, Baseball Bugs is just going to continue trolling us. Apparently "literally everyone telling him that it's inappropriate" is not sufficient.

Of course he is not the only one doing it - someone used for the question about the Catalan poem, with equally useless results - but he's the most egregious offender. Adam Bishop (talk) 12:37, 27 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Your lack of good faith is appalling. A lone user ordering me not to use it (which I don't do very often anyway) and with no rule-based authority for issuing that order, does not qualify as "literally everyone". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 13:27, 27 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
There are rules, and then there is common sense. When we have active, relevantly bilingual Ref Desk regulars and/or contactable editors, who in some cases have already provided informed and colloqial translations, and in others can be relied upon to do so shortly, the use of an automatic system known to be highly fallible by someone not fluent in the (non-AmE) language in question is actively unhelpful. *Ducks and runs.* {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.208.173.186 (talk) 15:31, 27 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_talk:Reference_desk&oldid=812382844"