Talk:Spillers Records

Tom Jones
According to the telegraph here the Tom Jones (singer) record will only be sold from here as a limited edition tri colour vinyl. Or at least that's how I read it, probably deserves inclusion EdwardLane (talk) 17:52, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

D'Amato Records, Valletta
and I have been exchanging edits about the D'Amato Records store in Valletta, Malta. It is claimed that this opened as a record store in 1885 and has been operating as such ever since. The best source I have found reported an investigation that failed to uncover definitive evidence to confirm this claim. It is possible that the store opened in 1885 to sell something else, or that it opened later. Zackdeg's latest edit claims that an investigation 'is currently underway'; this is unsourced as the cited source is dated 2016. The Valletta store staying at the same location is not relevant here.

On reflection my footnote saying 'It has been claimed that' may be too dismissive. I propose to reword the footnote to:
 * The shopfront of the D'Amato Records store in Valletta, Malta, indicates that it was established in 1885, and is claimed that it has been operating as a record store since then. A 2016 investigation failed to find definitive evidence to confirm or reject this claim.

Zackdeg has also added 'claimed to be' to the lead. I think this is too dismissive, as anyone can claim anything. However, some indication of dispute is appropriate, and I will change this to the stronger 'recognised as', as the claim is recognised by Guinness World Records. Verbcatcher (talk) 01:01, 22 August 2018 (UTC)


 * , please discuss the issue here rather than reverting my edits without giving a comment. I have some issues with your current text:
 * D'Amato Records store in Valletta, Malta, was established in 1885 (according to the storefront, and marble motif embedded into the floor of its entrance), and has been operating from their original premises ever since. An investigation is currently underway to verify this fact.


 * 1) I feel it is unnecessary to mention the motif on the floor, as the shopfront is sufficient to indicate the claimed opening date. The cited source is not of the highest reliability, but the shopfront is confirmed by a picture whereas the floor is only mentioned in the text. There is no indication that the floor dates from 1885.
 * 2) Neither the shopfront or the marble floor indicate the shop has always been a record store. The source says 'they originally opened as a furniture store'. It is of course possible that it was a furniture store that sold gramophones and gramophone records.
 * 3) You have given no source for "An investigation is currently underway", the cited source is dated 2016. Wikipedia articles should not refer to things as being 'current', as this will become outdated.
 * 4) "Verify this fact" is a unbalanced.
 * 5) It is a minor point, but we do not need to link Malta, particularly if Valletta is linked, see MOS:OVERLINK.
 * I am not trying to defend Spillers Records against threats to its status, but this article is about Spillers Records, and we do not want unnecessary detail about other shops. I invite you to add a paragraph about the D'Amato Records to the Record shop article. We might create a new article on D'Amato Records, but I suspect that there are insufficient reliable sources to establish sufficient notability. I will restore my text, and also add to the note to say that Spillers was recognised as the oldest by Guinness World Records. If you are unhappy with this then please discuss it here. Verbcatcher (talk) 19:06, 23 August 2018 (UTC)

Image selection
In my view the gallery has too many images. It is out of proportion to the size of the article, and some of the pictures are too similar to each other. There are guidelines at WP:GALLERY, including: has reverted my edit, restoring three images (and incidentally has deleted the commonscat link). His edit summary was: I disagree with this principle: the article covers the history of the shop, and an image of the old shopfront helps this (although Darren has not deleted this image). We currently have two pictures of the 2017 interior and three pictures of the 2017 exterior, plus the infobox image of the 2016 exterior. This is excessive. Verbcatcher (talk) 18:45, 8 May 2019 (UTC)
 * A gallery section may be appropriate in some Wikipedia articles if a collection of images can illustrate aspects of a subject that cannot be easily or adequately described by text or individual images. Just as we seek to ensure that the prose of an article is clear, precise and engaging, galleries should be similarly well-crafted. Gallery images must collectively add to the reader's understanding of the subject without causing  unbalance to an article or section within an article while avoiding similar or repetitive images, unless a point of contrast or comparison is being made.
 * The 2017 images take precedence over those several years old. Edit undone.Most updated photos should not