Talk:A. Mark Ratner

Issues with article
Please discuss here. The article creator seems to have something against article tags.  Enigma  message 03:24, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Enigmaman, yes I do not feel these tags are necessary, and compared to many of Wikipedia articles I think it is shaping up nicely. If you have specific issues with it please state them. And I would rather have what is here now instead of the dead link it has been for years. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chartmap (talk • contribs) 04:08, 18 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Admirable, but you can't simply remove tags if you don't like them.  Enigma  message 04:12, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Then stop adding them. What is the problem with the entry? Or better yet, you remove them. And I disagree, with your comment "you can't simply remove tags if you don't like them". Ward Cunnigham, the originator of Wikis would state that this is fair use. Chartmap


 * I don't believe what Ward Cunningham would say is relevant here in any way. What matters in this case is Wikipedia policy. By the way, I didn't even add the first two tags. I merely restored them after you inexplicably removed them. The third one is because Mark Ratner is not notable. In fact, I PRODd it, but you removed it. Finally, to sign your name, add ~ after each post.  Enigma  message 04:36, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Of course what Ward would say is relevant. This is a wiki. As for Wikipedia policy, reading through the guides still does not explain what specific grievances you have with the article. It's better than many others out there. And it keeps getting more cleaned up each day as I can verify details. As for being notable, well, he is a published author that was involved in the early gaming industry. Lot's of people who gamed in the late 1970s early 1980s know of him, and some of his publications are still in print. If you exclude PDF reprints, how many of the early game designers can still say that? Chartmap (talk) 10:21, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Something else notable is that there are still miniatures produced by the original miniatures company for his games. That is rare. Chartmap (talk) 11:42, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

I'm removing the tags after reviewing TAGGING. Chartmap (talk) 12:54, 18 June 2008 (UTC)


 * I don't think your review was very thorough, but I'm not going to stoop to your edit-warring.  Enigma  message 17:23, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Tone and Style
The tone and style is completely inappropriate for an encyclopedia entry. Please read WP:MOS and WP:BLP for how articles should be written. Do not remove the tags until it is cleaned up. Nouse4aname (talk) 08:14, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Sorry I don't get this blanket statement "completely inappropriate". Seems appropriate when I read through. Would you be a little more specific? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chartmap (talk • contribs) 10:23, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Perhaps if you read WP:MOS as I suggested that would help... The article has no structure or flow, but consists of random facts, which should be organised into sections. Like I said, read the manual of style and apply that to this article. Nouse4aname (talk) 11:02, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Also, what is his full name? That should be included and be the title of the article. The first line should read along the lines of:

A____ Mark Ratner (born November 1948 in New Jersey) is an American game designer, notable for his work on....

I've asked him what the A stands for, so that is pending correspondence back from him. Gary Gygax doesn't have his full name as the title either and it would be unrealistic for people to search on the full name. I'm not ready with enough confirmed data to start breaking this up into sections yet. Read the MOS. Not impressed with your comments as it does flow. His professional life in academia will remain a bit sparse until I can get more data (e.g. Scott Bizar said in an interview that Mark was a professor of literature, however all Mark's degrees are in engineering). Chartmap (talk) 11:39, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
 * The article does not flow. You include everything from birth to present in one long paragraph. It does not make for easy reading. Why you cannot accept advice I do not know...Nouse4aname (talk) 11:43, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Hey, son, watch it with the personal attacks...I made the change on the intro as you suggested. Is that not accepting advice? Chartmap (talk) 11:48, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Forget this. You need to calm down. There was no personal attack there whatsoever, so don't try and accuse me of such. Nouse4aname (talk) 11:49, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

"Why you cannot accept advice" sound's like a personal attack. Chartmap (talk) 11:55, 18 June 2008 (UTC)