Talk:Jimmy Wales

Date/age issue
There is a date/age issue in the second paragraph of the "Early life and education section". "When he was three, in 1968" cannot be correct if he was born on August 7 or 8, 1966. In 1968 he was either one or two, not three. Timothy Cooper (talk) 09:48, 2 January 2024 (UTC)


 * That Daily Beast source says "When he was three, his mother bought a World Book Encyclopedia from a door-to-door salesman..", so no year mentioned. I am unable to open the first source, The News Courier, either original or archived, so can't see what it says. Martinevans123 (talk) 09:59, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
 * @Martinevans123 Returning to this, the other source says: "Doris Wales’ husband, Jimmy, wasn’t sure what she was thinking when she bought a World Book Encyclopedia set from a traveling salesman in 1968. Their first-born son, also named Jimmy, was not yet 3." So the cited sources disagree about whether he was 3 or not yet 3.  Mystery Merrivale  (talk) 05:09, 12 May 2024 (UTC)

Jimbo
Sure we need to mention he’s username in the intro? Barely any sources mention it, and it isn’t a common name given to him. Cheers. Encyclopédisme (talk) 16:48, 2 January 2024 (UTC)


 * Errrm, the article opens with: "Jimmy Donal Wales (born August 7, 1966), also known on Wikipedia by the nickname Jimbo Wales..." So that's the 15th word in? Martinevans123 (talk) 16:55, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
 * What? That’s my point. It’s in the intro. Yet it’s a username without any real-life importance. (I mean that it’s not notable enough to be mentioned in the intro. It’s not a common name, it’s his username). Jimmy Wales has no special rights! Down with the dictatorship! Encyclopédisme (talk) 16:59, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I misunderstood your comment. I think it's been there for quite a long time. And I think it probably makes him more accessible, to editors and readers alike. I also can't imagine anything much less like a dictatorship. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:04, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Inform yourself better before making bold claims with no factual truth (see: Dictatorship of neo-socialism). As to Jimbo Wales, you might think I’m a picky asshole, and I might think it myself, and it might be true, but clearly this goes against policies, or more generally the way biographies are written. This is just a guy who created an online encyclopedia, might be this one, who knows? That this guy is also coincidentally a user on Wikipedia should not be in the article, and definitely not in the intro. Cheers. Encyclopédisme (talk) 17:30, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
 * What an wonderfully enlightening essay, full of "factual truth". Thank you so much for sharing that. And yes, what an amazing coincidence that is - an inventor occasionally using his own invention. Who knows, maybe that nice Mr Musk will be using "X" before too long? Martinevans123 (talk) 17:42, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
 * This biography is like any other. The username Jimbo Wales, is not a common way of calling him, and is not described enough in the sources to be notable. Encyclopédisme (talk) 17:45, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
 * And this is an article Talk page, like any other. So, as per WP:BRD, we need to arrive at a consensus to remove that detail, instead of just edit warring? Martinevans123 (talk) 17:53, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Sorry. Then let’s discuss. Taking aside what I said before, I did genuinely want to discuss if his username, which is not really notable in any way, should be mentioned in his article. Considering that, yes, genuinely, this article is nothing special, and if Elon Musk was editing Wikipedia, his account would not be mentioned. In other words, stating that he edits Wikipedia under Jimbo Wales, provided there is a source, can be added, but having Jimbo Wales in the intro just seems a little bizarre. He is not commonly referred to as such, and the Glossary has nothing to do at the very top of an article. He is not commonly referred to as such, only in Wikipedia, and only by those who know he is there. Encyclopédisme (talk) 18:37, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Experience shows that no good comes from new editors popping in here and poking the bear. I know it's terribly unfair that Jimbo gets special treatment just because he founded Wikipedia but most of us have learned to live with it. See WP:NOTBURO and WP:IAR for why rules that generally apply are not always applied if there is a good reason to do otherwise. Johnuniq (talk) 00:48, 3 January 2024 (UTC)
 * I get it. Again, sorry if it seemed that way. What I find frustrating is that what I said on my first message was serious, I genuinely want to discuss if we need to put his username in the Intro. It legitimately feels bizarre. It’s not a common name by which he is called, I also know that Wikipedia "rules" are just recommendations, and I also do not care that much about this intro. Cheers. Encyclopédisme (talk) 01:04, 3 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Ignore every single rule… This sums it up perfectly. I am legitimately asking if we can keep a not commonly known username of an online encyclopedia, as an alt/name of Jimmy Wales, in addition to making it sound professional by writing "is known on Wikipedia", instead of "known on Wikipedia by his username". And in fact, it makes this article a lot less professional, seriously, I’m not kidding. Cheers. Encyclopédisme (talk) 01:24, 3 January 2024 (UTC)
 * New Scientist Jimbo nickname source, took about 20 seconds to find this one. Randy Kryn (talk) 01:58, 3 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Ok. I better shut up now shouldn’t I? Cheers, and happy new year. Encyclopédisme (talk) 02:02, 3 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Looking forward to Twitterpedia. Now that might well be a dictatorship? But at least we'd get updates 25 times a day. Martinevans123 (talk) 10:14, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

Hatnote
recently removed the hatnote. I reinstated it for now but I do think this subject is worth discussing, given that projectspace links within mainspace are generally discouraged. I noticed that Steven Pruitt also has a similar hatnote but that this is not the case for the average person listed at List of Wikipedia people. Thoughts? Clovermoss 🍀 (talk) 03:44, 1 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Delete. JLCop (talk) 00:16, 8 June 2024 (UTC)


 * A link to a 2012 RFC discussion about this issue which doesn't seem to have been closed or concluded (first item on the page). Randy Kryn (talk) 13:04, 1 July 2024 (UTC)