Talk:Harris–Stowe State University

Do Not Place Links Next to Each Other - MOS:SOB
MOS:SOB - ''When possible, do not place links next to each other, to avoid appearing like a single link, as in chess tournament. Instead, consider rephrasing the sentence (tournament of chess), omitting one of the links (chess tournament), or using a single, more specific link as in chess tournament .'' --- As another editor requested, I'm opening a talk discussion regarding the opening paragraph of this article.

I'm mystified by the reverting of my edits in regards to avoiding the MOS:SOB condition of the paragraph, that have been repeatedly restored twice now. I saw a request to record this in this talk section. I hope the editor realizes that we could be getting into a 3RR situation over a terribly minor issue. The comments in the edits as put, imply that I'm removing crucial information, depriving readers of essential links. The last edit, admittedly, I removed the wikilink pointing to public university. If that is so essential, I'm proposing the change below, retaining the link, but also following the suggestions of the MOS:SOB guideline of how to avoid appearing like a single link. The suggested guideline first says to omit the link, which was objected to. The suggested guideline, next says to use a more specific link. Since there isn't a specific link that combines hbcu with public university that I can find, I think that making these into separate sentences will eliminate the MOS:SOB condition. --Old version: Harris–Stowe State University (HSSU) is a public historically black university in St. Louis, Missouri. --New version: Harris–Stowe State University (HSSU) is a public university. It is in St. Louis, Missouri. It is an HBCU, in other words, it is historically a Black university. -- My original edit, in which, among the things I changed was to move the size of the enrollment information to another section. This is the paragraph that was first reverted. I admit to using the term "adjacent to" in place of "immediately east of the" which I saw as more cumbersome. I was also interested in expanding the sentence regarding the Thurgood Marshall fund, to include the word "beneficiary." The information on the number of programs should be lined out in the History section that I expanded into six new divisions:

Harris–Stowe State University (HSSU) is in St. Louis, Missouri. Adjacent to Saint Louis University. It is an HBCU, a historically Black institution. It is a member-school, beneficiary of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

Original version, that was edited: Harris–Stowe State University (HSSU) is a public historically black university in St. Louis, Missouri. The university offers 50 majors, minors, and certificate programs in education, business, and arts & sciences. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. It is immediately east of the Saint Louis University campus. The school enrolled 1,098 students in 2023.

In any case I fail to see how these minor changes require so much discussion, and how the links are so essential to be connected in such a way so to infringe on the MOS:SOB guidelines. Please respect my edits. My edits are just as valid as the next person's and I am not trying to vandalize this page. 172.250.237.36 (talk) 14:35, 27 May 2024 (UTC)


 * Sorry but those proposed edits are just bad writing. The guideline that you are relying on explicitly says "When possible, do not place links next to each other..." (emphasis added). It's not possible in this instance, or at least no one has come up with a good proposal. In any case, guidelines do not require slavish adherence - in the final reckoning, WP:IAR is a core pillar of the project and it allows us to do what is necessary and proper to make the encyclopedia successful. ElKevbo (talk) 14:41, 27 May 2024 (UTC)


 * And now you're edit warring to impose your preferred version of the article. Please revert your edit to the status quo ante and resolve the disagreement here in Talk. ElKevbo (talk) 14:51, 27 May 2024 (UTC)