Talk:Speakers' Corner/Archive 1

Picture Locations
Seems that at anything above ~1024 in resolution, the amount of pictures interferes with the position of the edit links. I'm not experienced enough to fix this. 76.173.23.58 (talk) 06:29, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

Article title
Regarding my last change. I have no idea how to change the title of this article... TA


 * I think Speaker's Corner should redirect to Speakers' Corner rather than vice versa. Am I wrong? "Speaker's Corner" would suggest there was only one speaker, wouldn't it? For those who hate apostrophes altogether, Speakers Corner should be another redirect. But would we also need lower case c's (Speakers' corner etc.)?  22:43, Nov 9, 2004 (UTC)

The proper name is Speakers' Corner and such should be the title of the article... The question is: how to change it? TA (10-10-2004)


 * Hm ... I just tried the "move" function, not expecting it to work, but, surprisingly, it did. I have no idea why: I had always thought it wasn't possible to move a page to an already existing title. I hope that by doing so I haven't caused any trouble.  19:40, Nov 10, 2004 (UTC)

'without fear of legal repercussions'. Is there any authority for this?

"Climb down"
Need information specifically on war in Iraq demonstration paragraph (specifically intent of phrase "climb down", as well as general intent of paragraph (if it should be included at all)). See original intent here (previous revision). Due to no better { {expert} } option, listed at Pages_needing_attention/Applied_Arts_and_Sciences. Telso 09:31, 24 August 2005 (UTC)

Day & Time
This article has the day and time for another Speaker's corner. Shouldn't the same be listed for that in London? Is it not restricted to a certain day of the week, or at least a certain time of the day? I specifically remember the police telling everyone to leave at a certain time. If anyone knows about this, we should get this information up. Thx!- nmc. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.143.4.232 (talk) 17:23, 15 April 2007 (UTC).

Nearly expert
As a regular speaker and part-time researcher i count as nearly an expert, I've read the act and the parliamentary debates, as well as some history texts which I've been meaning to use to update the page for a while (in fact I did but then lost it due to connexion errors).

Speakers corner in Woodford Square in Port of Spain Trinidad is both delightful and civilised yet gets to the full story of virtually any subject broached. It's called "The University of Woodford Square" for good reasons and frequntly is divided by interest into "classes".

media reference - monty python life of brian
Re: request for citation - many versions of the script on the web have the phrase: "At one end of the market there is a speakers' corner, with many strangely bearded and oddly dressed PROPHETS attempting to attract an audience." eg: here & here

Speaker's Corner seems a fairly obvious inspiration for this scene, given the elements of competing speakers, religious topics and hecklers:

"the film depicts a row of such prophet-wannabes declaiming their visions a la Speaker's Corner at Hyde Park": here

Maybe an authoritative citation is going to be hard to come by so I've rephrased the reference instead and removed the citation request.

Hakluyt bean 16:00, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

A great german forum...
Yeah :) The link so described does not seem to have much (or anything) to do with the physical Speakers' Corner (any of them) but, although it seems to be spam, I'd like to leave it for now as the use of the name or idea of Speakers' Corner in for example commercial/political forums may be worth writing about.  I may move it somewhere more suitable then. Hakluyt bean 02:01, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

reprocution?
"any subject without fear of legal reprocutions" appears in the blurb or introduction of this article. I've looked up reprocution at answers.com, dictionary.com and i've googled "define:reprocution" and all come up blank. Surely "repercussions" would be a more fitting, appropriate word, since it's actually in most dictionaries?

None in US?
The last time I was there, there WAS a speaker's corner/soap box in Independence Park near the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its purpose is exactly as described in this article. Is it still there? 147.240.236.8 20:53, 27 March 2007 (UTC)


 * There is a space designated as a "speakers' corner" at an Ohio university mentioned here. 152.16.16.75 (talk) 11:46, 3 January 2009 (UTC)

Where is "Speakers Ccorner"?
Where is "Speakers Corner"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.13.142.88 (talk) 13:25, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Notable Speakers
'Socialist Studies' should be removed from 'List of notable Speakers' and e.g. Jim Huggon, Robert Ogilvie+, Bonar Thompson+, Peter Lumsden+, Ali 'Terminator 24', John Webster+, Robert Matthews+, Richard Headicar, Sharley Mclean, Father Vincent McNabb George Orwell etc. etc. etc. etc. should be added. Groups should include the Catholic Evidence League. I let this suggestion 'breath' a bit here in 'discussion' - if nobody acts upon it, I will make the amendments myself. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.106.46.119 (talk) 06:22, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Disamabiguation
‘Speakers’ Corner’ has more meanings than the one for this article and the single disambiguation given at the top (TV Programme). It can also mean, amongst other things:

- The Speakers’ Corner Trust (mentioned in the main article)

- An agency providing ‘the world’s leading after-dinner, motivational, business and keynote speakers’

- The readers’ feedback area in some journals, such as JECH

- The visitor comment area to some websites such as the ‘Speaker’s Corner’ at Syracuse University

- The name of the comment area of many blogs, such as the one hosted by ‘The Questing Feast Forum’ website

- A drinks and sandwich bar at Speakers Corner, Hyde Park, London

- A small town in Ontario County, New York, US

etc., etc. These should be added to main article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.106.39.106 (talk) 09:22, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Notable Speakers
Somebody called 'Psychonaut' just removed, inter alia, Bonar Thompson, Ishmahil Blagrove, Robert Ogilvie, Tony Allen, and Robert Matthews from the list of 'notable speakers', suggesting that 'If they don't have Wikipedia articles, then they almost certainly aren't notable'. Get a grip. There is life outside Wikipedia. Ishmahil Blagrove is one of the best current speakers, Bonar Thompson is often referred to as the greatest orator ever at Speakers Corner. The Catholic Evidence League has been speaking at SC since the early 1900 and produced, with Father Vincent McNabb, one of the great characters of SC. Whether 'Psychonaut' (or for that matter Wikpedia) 'knows' any of these people is of complete irrelevance. (Some of the above names have entries in Wikipedia, but that's not my point).

I am starting to understand why some people who actually know something about the subject of a Wikipedia article give up on it (the article and Wikpedia). I won't give up on Wikipedia but will stay well away from the SC article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.106.26.151 (talk) 22:33, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

Is this really true?
"'A Speakers' Corner is an area where public speaking is allowed.'"

This implies that public speaking isn't allowed elsewhere. To what degree is this sentiment true? How is this different between countries? Certainly there's some reference to Speakers' Corner being the only place Socialists could meet at one time, though even that explanation is ambiguous and hard to follow.

I think the problem here is that 'allowed' hasn't been qualified. Is it merely where people are expected to speak, or are there legal restrictions meaning they can't speak anywhere but here? In that case, are preachers on Oxford Street breaking the law? --smiler (talk) 16:15, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

'Public speaking is allowed'
Perhaps the phrase should be '...public speaking is expressively allowed'. By implication it's then merely, say, tolerated elsewhere. Speakers at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park have thus a slightly better degree of 'protection' from e.g. police interference... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sleuth21 (talk • contribs) 12:29, 8 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Re-phrased slightly. There are no special rights enjoyed solely at SC; the same entitlement to free speech, as long as the speech is itself lawful, applies everywhere, not just at SC. SC is however the most famous place to exercise free speech. Keristrasza (talk) 13:38, 11 September 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm going to restore "allowed" - public speaking is allowed there by the Royal Parks Act (there isn't a right), and holding a meeting on a street corner would be prevented by the Highways Act, for example.--Red Deathy (talk) 11:05, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

Malaysia
I doubt whether the recent addition of this paragraph and its length is justified. A short 3 or 4 line entry would appear to be enough for an, as yet, 'untested' speakers corner. Have there been speaking activities every weekend since its inception? Or was it just a PR exercise? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sleuth21 (talk • contribs) 09:10, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Hate Speech
The article implies that people can say what they want with immunity in Speakers' Corner, as if it was like in the United States. This is not true since the Public Order Act. Prior to 1986 people could really say what they wanted. This is no more. There has been numerous speech arrest in Speakers' Corner since 1986.
 * There have been laws introduced over the last 30 years that formally restrict what people can say, but this has been balanced to a right to freedom of expression (that did not exist before 1998) and a wider move towards the general respect of human rights by the police. I have removed your addition because it was unsourced and partially incorrect (by omission). If you would like to try to find sources (there will be plenty of books about the topic) and include both sides of the argument, then feel free to suggest an improved version. ninety:one  16:41, 24 November 2010 (UTC)


 * My addition was not incorrect, before 1986 people could say anything they wanted in Speakers' corner, now it is restricted, all sorts of opinions has been outlawed. It is people like you that caused the UK to lose freedom of speech. After 1986 free speech ended. You mean that is not a fact? You mean the arrests in the UK for speech crimes are not happening?


 * Good grief! What happened in 1986 when 'free speech ended'? What is a 'speech crime'? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.104.33.163 (talk) 19:34, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Obvious Self Promotion
If 'obvious self-promotion' were a reason to exclude a 'notable speaker' they all would have to go. Speakers Corner is all about blatant self-promotion. Besides I remember Victor Z. from the 1970's and he was quite good! And his attempts to offer conclusive evidence (as a lawyer) for the existence of God is very funny! Sleuth21 (talk) 07:12, 5 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I see the issue of notable speakers has come up before, but I've removed the following on the grounds that they don't have Wikipedia articles, which is kinda the Wikipedia definition of "notability" in this context. Feel free to create articles for these guys if you feel that they meet WP:NOTABILITY - as a broad guide, if you can find a newspaper article about them, they're notable. Otherwise it's too easy to clutter the article up with a long list of names, depending on who individual editors feel is "notable", which could be anyone from their granny to someone they were at school with. It doesn't matter how "good" they are as speakers, it's all about coverage in reliable third-party sources. You also need to check any links you put in - Peter Lumsden does not point to the person intended, and Harry Young is a dab for lots of sportsmen....


 * Harry Young (1906–1999)
 * Bonar Thompson (1920–1960)
 * John A. Webster (ca.1930-1980) (also Domain, Sydney)
 * Peter England (1936–2002)
 * Victor Zammit (1972-ca.2004) (also Domain, Sydney)
 * Peter Lumsden (ca.1980-2007)
 * Barry H. Roberts (1980 - 2001 regularly; occasionally since then)
 * Ishmahil Blagrove (human rights activist, freelance journalist, writer and film-maker) (since at least 2004) Le Deluge (talk) 13:39, 8 May 2011 (UTC)


 * I take your point: there are rules about 'notability' of names mentioned in WP, but they apply (or so I would think) only to people who have their own entry in WP. Much as I admire WP,the suggestion that these rules should be applied to names merely mentioned in WP articles (such as the ones on Speakers Corner) is difficult to justify, as I said before (above). Furthermore, there is a special aspect to 'notable speakers' at Speakers Corner: some of the most famous (notable!) speakers had no known existence outside Hyde Park but attracted huge audiences (or small and loyal audiences) over many years. To create a WP article on them first merely to justify their inclusion seems far-fetched and counterproductive. Then there are people like Bonar Thompson (he is mentioned twice (as author) in the bibliography), probably the greatest speaker ever: why should I create a WP article on him before I can add his name to the list of 'notable speakers'?


 * The incorrect hyperlinks to several names you delete were added later, not by me.


 * I will put back some of the names you deleted and add cites and refs. for each, when I find the time, without necessarily creating corresponding WP articles. I wasn't at school with any of them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sleuth21 (talk • contribs) 10:56, 12 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Peter Lumsden + obit. put back Sleuth21 (talk) 08:37, 29 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Bonar Thompson + ref. put back Sleuth21 (talk) 08:56, 29 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Ishmahil Blagrove + link put back Sleuth21 (talk) 12:23, 29 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Several other 'Noted Speakers' added Sleuth21 (talk) 12:52, 6 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I've removed Martin Besserman; the only reference was to his own company's website. Can someone provide a reliable reference, besides Besserman himself, for Besserman being a noted speaker? —Psychonaut (talk) 17:05, 17 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I put Martin Besserman back and added two references to him Sleuth21 (talk) 12:11, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

Toronto
Please include the birth and demise of the Speakers Corner at City TV in Toronto which was removed by Rogers when they purchased the building it was located at. Toby Lake (talk) 03:51, 15 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I've added a disambiguation hatnote to Speakers' Corner (TV series). Thanks, Paul Erik  (talk) (contribs) 22:27, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

Biased anti Christianity photo
The main photo exposes attitude of "political correctnes". You show some Christian speaker looking disgusting so in a sense this is a piece of anti-Christian overwhelming propaganda. This is like showing the most wretched character of "Jurassic park" praying in WC just before eating him by dinosaurus. Can you imagine that that "Jurassic Park" character reads koran in wc? Surely not, this would be againts multi-kulti society. I feel offended by this picture or - more correctly by your attitude to Christianity. Why won't you show some crazy islam community member with gun praying there? Don't you remember what they did in London some years ago? I will never donate Wikipedia if you show this photo and will suggest other people to do it. PS. I hope that this is about Speaker's Corner this comment will not be censored. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Losoid (talk • contribs) 19:01, 26 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I personally don't see what's so terrible about him. But if you're so offended by it then feel free to restore the previous photo, which was of Danny Lambert of the Socialist Party of Great Britain.  —Psychonaut (talk) 21:04, 26 July 2012 (UTC)

He's taking the piss — Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.62.231.38 (talk) 02:38, 15 October 2012 (UTC)

Iraq protest
I've cut this bit as it's about Hyde Park, not specifically Speaker's Corner:
 * In 2003 the park authorities tried to ban a demonstration set for 15 February against the War in Iraq. This caused uproar and forced a climb-down.

Ben Finn (talk) 21:03, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Speakers' Corner. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080723174851/http://www.newagenda.demon.co.uk/revspmccarron.html to http://www.newagenda.demon.co.uk/revspmccarron.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 18:46, 18 October 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Speakers' Corner. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20110716142005/http://www.worthing.gov.uk/news/title,60447,en.html to http://www.worthing.gov.uk/news/title,60447,en.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 01:18, 19 March 2016 (UTC)

Virtual Speakers Corners
The usenet newsgroups sci.logic and sci.math seem to be mondern variants of a speakers corner for many cranks. Jan Burse (talk) 12:30, 31 August 2016 (UTC)