User talk:Arapaima

Welcome

Hello and welcome to Wikipedia! We appreciate encyclopedic contributions, but some of your recent contributions do not conform to our policies. For more information on this, see
 * Wikipedia's policies on vandalism
 * Policies on banned or discouraged content

If you'd like to experiment with the wiki's syntax, please do so on Sandbox rather than in articles.

If you still have questions, there is a new contributor's help page, or you can write   below this message along with a question and someone will be along to answer it shortly. You may also find the following pages useful for a general introduction to Wikipedia. I hope you enjoy editing Wikipedia! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes ( ~ ); this will automatically produce your name and the date. Feel free to write a note on the bottom of if you want to get in touch with me. Again, welcome! EhsanQ (talk) 21:05, 10 May 2008 (UTC)
 * The five pillars of Wikipedia
 * How to edit a page
 * Help pages
 * Tutorial
 * How to write a great article
 * Manual of Style
 * Policy on neutral point of view
 * Guideline on external links
 * Guideline on conflict of interest

George Anson's voyage around the world
Hi thanks for the note to my user page regarding your edit to the RFClist template. English Wikipedia can certainly be a confusing place.

I have reposted your message to Editor assistance/Requests. Somebody there may be able to help.

Other place you could try for help are:


 * For general enquiries about sources and your query about living conditions and health risks involved with these type of expeditions try the Discussion Page.


 * For specific queries about how you should your translation, I would definitely contact Peter4Truth, although he hasn't edited for 4 months you may still be able to Email him.
 * You can also try the Reference Desk.

Good luck with your editing. -- EhsanQ (talk) 04:53, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Sorry that nobody has replied yet to the Editor assistance note. Give it a few more days and I will try and seek out some answers for you. You are quite right, both my parents are originally from Afghanistan. I haven't been to Afghanistan but you'll be pleased to know that Kabuli life still goes on in District Pekhawar in the same way it did when your friend was in Kabul. -- please let me know if I can help any further. -- (Parlez)  EhsanQ  (talk) 11:57, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

George Anson
Hello Arapaima,

I'm sorry I only just noticed your questions about this topic and your attempt to contact me. I've never actually looked at my own page till today and have not looked at the discussion page for the article for months.

To answer your questions: 1. Yes, of course you can translate. I'm delighted. I didn't think you needed to ask. 2. I regret I can't comment on the term jinx-boat. Sorry.

Speaking of translations, I read a book about the French naval captain La Pérouse which led me to the remarkable story of http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barth%C3%A9lemy_de_Lesseps. Using google's translation and the little material in the book, I made an English version, as his story deserves to be better known. There is so little material on the internet about him in English (and not much more in French). I'd be thrilled if you copied the map and perhaps some of the details of his journey over to the French version.

One more thing, in the French article, can you translate this: "Durant ce long voyage, Lapérouse l'initia à l'art naval." In particular, does "naval art" refer to cartography, or in other words, the making of maps? After all, one of the key objectives of the La Pérouse expedition was to come back with some accurate maps of the Pacific.

Thank you!

Peter4Truth (talk) 17:08, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

History of the Falkland Islands
I don't wish to dampen your enthusiasm but please don't make edits like the one you recently did to History of the Falkland Islands. I'd be happy to see the details of Bougainville's settlement expanded but we don't use main article space as a sandbox with comments like "new additions on way" or "TO BE CONTINUED . Thanks & sorry for the trouble ." Can I suggest you work up the proposed edit in your user space and discuss the proposed edit on the Talk Page first. Cheers. Justin talk 10:56, 29 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Addendum: Can I also suggest that in your edit, you don't duplicate information already in the article. You might also be interested in the article Timeline of the history of the Falkland Islands.  Justin talk 11:47, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

graines apportées d'Europe; le bétail amené de France prospère. Un obélisque est dressée au centre de la bourgade, sur laquelle est gravée le profil du roi, avec la devise "Tibi serviat ultima Thule.

Bougainville, lors d'une cérémonie, prend solennellement possession des îles (le 5 ) puis il les confie à la garde de son cousin Mr de Nerville, et le 8 avril repart pour la France.

Il est de retour le 5, avec des provisions et de nouveaux colons, trouve ses îliens " sains et contents". La chasse aux phoques et aux "pingouins "" a été fructueuse, l'huile et les cuirs formeront la cargaison de retour . Bougainville repart faire une coupe de bois dans le canal de Magellan, d'où il compte rapporter aussi des jeunes plants. Mais il croise là-bas l'escadre du commodore John Byron , en route pour le Pacifique . L'Anglais vient de reconnaître la côte Est des Malouines, et a même pris possession des îles au nom du roi Georges III.

Bougainville repart pour la France, pour assurer ses droits et aussi chercher des provisions et d'autres colons , et il en revient la même année 1765 , avec son navire l'Aigle, et une flûte de la Marine Royale, l'Etoile. La colonie compte maintenant 150 Français, en comptant l'état-major, et on construit en dur.

Mais des colons anglais débarquent en I766, et s'établissent dans le port de la Croisade, qu'ils rebaptisent Port-Egmont. Et en décembre 1766, rapporte Bougainville , la frégate HMS Japan mouilla dans Port-Louis face au fortin des Français. Le capitaine Mac Bride descendit à terre, proféra des menaces " et remit à la voile le même jour".

D'autre part Madrid, prend ombrage de cet établissement français, certes peuplé d'alliés, mais si proche de son empire colonial, et qui ne peut que faciliter l'accès des contrebandiers et des pirates aux côtes du Pérou. Bougainville reçut l'ordre de démanteler sa colonie, d'en rendre les clefs aux Espagnols, et de revenir par le cap de Bonne-Espérance. Le 31 Janvier 1767, il rencontre dans le Rio de la Plata le Commandante Don Felipe Ruiz Puente , comandant les frégates La Esmeralda et La Liebre ( le Lièvre ) , futur gouverneur des Islas Malvinas , chargé de prendre possession des îles , et d'en évacuer la population française. Aprés une traversée par trés mauvais temps ( les Espagnols eurent des avaries, et presque tout le bétail qu'ils avaient embarqué mourut ) , les 3 frégates arrivent aux Malouines le 25 Mars 1767. Bougainville écrit simplement : " Le 1° avril, je livrai notre établissement aux Espagnols, qui en prirent possession en arborant l'étendard d'Espagne, que la terre et les vaisseaux saluèrent de 21 coups de canon au lever et au coucher du soleil."

Bougainville, qui a fait voile vers Rio-de-Janeiro , escale décevante où il ne peut s'approvisionner , retourne ensuite ( 31 Juillet 1767 ) dans la Plata , pour s'approvisionner et faire réparer l'Etoile , qui a de sérieux problèmes de calfatage.

Il décrit ensuite comment les colons furent évacués des iles par les Espagnols ( sauf quelques familles que le roi autorisa par lettre signée de sa main à rester sur place si tel était leur désir ), regroupés à Montevideo, et rapatriés vers l'Europe sur la Venus, frégate de 26 canons "La frégate Vénus " : Bougainville ne précise pas sa nationalité. Mais ce nom ne parait pas désigner un vaisseau de guerre espagnol, mais plutôt un bâtiment français ... , en même temps que les jésuites expulsés de leur missions du Paraguay. Bougainville écrit  que, du chantier de la Encenada de Baragan , " il en était parti pour Cadix , à la fin de Septembre ( 1767 ) , la Vénus et 4 autres bâtiments chargés de cuir , et portant 250 Jésuites , et les familles françaises des Malouines , à l'exception de 7 qui , n'ayant pu y trouver de place , furent forcées d'attendre une autre occasion . Le Marquis de Bukarely ( Gouverneur et représentant du Vice-Roi ) les fit venir à Buenos-Aires , où il pourvut à leur subsistance et à leur logement ". Peut-être ces familles restèrent-elles sur les rives de La Plata, que Bougainville décrit à chacun de ses passages comme un séjour idéal pour des colons , et même trop attractif pour ses matelots et soldats , qui n'ont que trop tendance à déserter

Les Malouines ont-elles été vendues par la France à l'Espagne ? Bougainville évoque sous forme d'une note de bas de page le problème des sommes énormes ( 603 000 livres de l'époque ) que cette colonie lui a coûté, et il remercie le roi d'Espagne de lui en avoir spontanément offert le remboursement , alors que , dit-il , rien n'y obligeait le roi trés catholique. Cependant, il utilisera cet argent pour payer à Montevideo les réparations de ses bateaux et les provisions qu'il embarque pour son tour du monde. Il écrit ( début du Chapitre VIII ) qu'il put quitter La Plata en Octobre 1767, mais que " ce ne fut qu'à la fin de ce mois que nous pûmes solder avec le munitionnaire général et les autres fournisseurs  espagnols . Je pris le parti de les payer de l'argent qui m'avait été remboursé pour la cession des îles Malouines , plutôt que de tirer des lettres de change sur le trésor royal ( français ) . J'ai continué de même pour toutes les dépenses de nos differentes relâches en pays étranger . Les achats s'y sont faits par ce moyen à meilleur compte , et avec plus d'expédition ( de rapidité ) ". "A meilleur compte", pour le roi de France en particulier ...

RE: Your message
Bonjour! Thank you for the message you left on my talk page. Virtually all of the images I have contributed to Wikipedia are licensed with Creative Commons licenses that allow them to be used at will on the various wiki projects. You may view all four of the Ranger Uranium Mine photos that I have uploaded at User:Kralizec!/gallery. Additionally commons:Category:Uranium mining has several images of the Ranger mines by a variety of photographers.

While I took French class for four years in high school, the combination of the American educational system's treatment of foreign language education as an afterthought, coupled with an extreme lack of use ... unfortunately results in me having less than even a rudimentary of knowledge of the language 18 years later. Pardon moi! During our most recent trip through French Canada, I found myself giving lots of blank looks and saying "J'ne ce'pas" and "Parler en anglais?" a lot. Merci beaucoup! --Kralizec! (talk) 00:57, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

SHIBUMI (novel)
article edited 2009/4/02

help Can a user (indulgent and) versed in contemporary US fiction scan the new article Shibumi (novel) I have just edited ? Thanks a lot Arapaima (talk) 10:10, 2 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Hi Arapaima! It can be difficult to find another user to look over your work, but try having a look at the WP:BOOKS wikiproject. &lowast; \ / (⁂) 10:23, 2 April 2009 (UTC)

10 canoés, 150 lances et 3 épouses
Bonjour. Thank-you for your message on my talk page and I am glad my photographs have found some use outside the Australian Wiki. Unfortunately they are not of great quality, in my opinion, as they were just high resolution scans of 7" x 5" prints - taken with my old SLR at a time before digital photography became commonplace. I have visited the Wiki:FR article about '10 Canoes'. My French is very limited unfortunately, so I'm unable to appreciate your work. The article certainly appears to be a comprehensive treatment - even if I could not understand the text! I was surprised to see so many Wikilinks to other articles on the French Wikipedia project related to Australia, and the Northern Territory in particular. I did not realise that there was such a comprehensive array of Australian material available. Anyway, best regards to you. GlenDillon 14:09, 26 May 2009 (UTC)
 * ...and thanks for pointing out that 26 May is Sorry Day. I'm embarassed to admit that I didn't know that it was, but I will remember it in future. Stolen Generations is a useful article - I suspect you may have already have seen it. GlenDillon 17:17, 26 May 2009 (UTC)
 * I'll try and find out the name of the bird for you! GlenDillon 23:45, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

Questions to Miscellaneous about Arthur Fremantle 's "Diary"
I'm reading now Arthur Fremantle 's "Diary" to sum it up in the french article I'm now completing, and 2 words are puzzling me. They are on " july 3rd, 1863" page, after the Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg.

Could you explain me :
 * what is a "snake-fence" . Fremantle writes : " Longstreet was seated at the top of a snake fence at the edge of the wood, and looking perfectly calm and imperturbed". Is it a snake-proof fence ? If so, are snakes so obnoxious in Gettysburg that they must be kept away by fences? Or is "snake" ment for evil people (like in "copperheads") who must be kept out, or is it a barricade built up by soldiers against ennemy's charges ? Or is it a fence winding away like a snake ?.
 * what is the "run" spirit Fremantle offered to Longstreet in his silver flask : "He (Longstreet) asked for something to drink: I gave him some run out of my silver flask, which I begged he would keep in remembrance of the occasion; he smiled, and, to my great satisfaction, accepted the memorial.". Is it "rum"?.

Thanks a lot beforehand I just hope I'll be able to find my way back to that rubrique... . T.y. Arapaima (talk) 07:48, 4 May 2010 (UTC)


 * In case you're having trouble finding it, your questions and answers are here. It looks like your questions have been answered! :) 86.178.228.18 (talk) 22:52, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks awfully, I just "make only one leap" to it Arapaima (talk) 07:25, 7 May 2010 (UTC)
 * If you're looking for it later, you'll find it in the archive here. 86.178.228.18 (talk) 12:47, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Another question : "Polish Soviet War : is the soldier on the left a woman ?"
.

Hello. I am just giving a look to one of your fine star articles (though beeing an average educated 65 years old gentleman, I simply ignored until now the Red Army underwent such a wiping out, back in the 20, makes me understand '40 later events...) and stumble on that 1920 photo. Is the soldier on the left a ( # 40ish years old) woman ? I notice wide hips, inward knees, long hair (maybe tied up into a bun under the french helmet ?), & propension to self-adornment with flowers (more than the other soldiers...) on corsage AND belt (no man'd think of putting a flower in his belt, wouln't he ?). And if yes, is she known, and does she have an article on WP ? . Thanks a lot, & T. y. PS & I hope I'll be able to find my way back to your rubrique, my brain is really no more now what it used to be... Arapaima (talk) 07:25, 7 May 2010 (UTC)


 * This question is here, and you can see the consensus is that she is a woman. 86.178.228.18 (talk) 12:47, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Hello Arapaima, I posted some info about the woman in the photograph at the reference desk. — Kpalion(talk) 18:48, 7 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks a lot to everybody ! So I can yet detect a woman when I see one (with 4 dioptries reading glasses...) Arapaima (talk) 09:15, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Translation into french of Gettysburg Campaign  : thanks etc...
Hello Hal ! I am about to edit on WP:fr a big addition from your article on Gettysburg Campaign, the 1st draft of it is now on a sub-page on my french user's page.

Thanks for your good material ( & maps) I took a lot of pleasure to work on. I shunned the officers list, since for french use it looked superfluous to me (I think those who are interested in it can read your article) - & I put the time-table at the end. From the great number of red links, we can see the amount of work which we have yet to do in our WP:fr...

I hope you'll be kind enough to come over to WP:fr & cast a glance on your child. My big issue is about iconos : among the ones I collect in Commons, some come out very well, & some remain a line of red text. Why, but WHY ?

I saw your works list : WOW ! T.y. Arapaima (talk) 08:21, 20 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Hi. My French is very rudimentary, so I am sure that I missed a lot when I browsed the article. I thought you had an unusual selection of images, such as Paul Revere and John Dix. I do not know what you mean by "iconos" so I have no advice to offer. One thing that interests me -- is it a standard in French to precede punctuation with a space? Good luck with your article. Hal Jespersen (talk) 14:13, 20 May 2010 (UTC)


 * "selection of images" : I try to give french readers a general hint of anglo-saxon culture, along with description of war, which I think rather dreary in itself. About that, did you see my french Arthur Fremantle ?...
 * "Iconos"" are ""images"" in (scientific) french. You'll see if you come back on "Campagne de Gettysburg" that, for exemple : the Steeple-chase for St-Patrick's day - the panorama from Winchester's Old Hospital - the cottage and Meade head-quarters on Cemetery Ridge -... don't come as an icono, but as a simple red line of text, & it tears away my bowells, because I'm not even sure to be able to find them again.
 * Punctuation in french ? : well, we use to do it that way, but I may have blundered a lot. See?...
 * Thanks again, t.y. Arapaima (talk) 16:46, 20 May 2010 (UTC)


 * No, I have never heard 'iconos' in English. Regarding the images, the first one I looked at, steeplechase2, is incorrectly capitalized from the filename that is in Commons. Perhaps there are other examples of that problem. Your article on Arthur Fremantle is very lengthy in comparison to the man's importance. :-) Hal Jespersen (talk) 19:03, 20 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks again for giving me a key to my icono problems. As for Arthur Fremantle, of course he was just a speck on the surface of earth , but I think his "Diary" is a quite precious piece of observation. And anyway a soldier who became a general in England between 1865 & 1884 while staying in London Tower & guarding the Crown Jewels must have had some wit, no ? T.y. Arapaima (talk) 07:54, 21 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Arapaima, this is a bit of a tangent, but with your interest in Gettysburg, I'd highly recommend Michael Shaara's novel The Killer Angels, which centers on that battle. He shifts between 15 or so characters from both sides, and your friend Fremantle makes an appearance.  A very moving account.  --- OtherDave (talk) 03:53, 9 June 2010 (UTC)


 * De rien. J'avais lu des histoires de la guerre civile, mais The Killer Angels m'a présenté des individus comme Joshua Chamberlain et James Longstreet.  Selon Michael Shaara, Longstreet ne pouvait pas parler le mot pour commençer la charge de Pickett--il était certain qu'elle ne réussirait pas--il n'a que fait un signe de la tête.  --- OtherDave (talk) 12:46, 9 June 2010 (UTC)

Expected answers to my feed-back on "new features of WP:en "
Once more unplated old timers bending in dim-lighted attics over their out-dated but beloved machines (seem to) have been overlooked ! My old Windows Explorers, a #5 on an iMac & a #6 on a PC (both machines which cost me my heads-eyes only some lustres ago, go on grating along tolerably well, & allow me some thinking-over halts while they windmill) are just folding up their arms in front of your new configuration. But I understand I can choose to come back to good old habits ? Thanks a lot for it (if it is true, I've yet heard so many unkept promises in so many domains...) T.y. signed Arapaima (mainly french user but not adverse to some contributing in english) Arapaima (talk) 07:36, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks to Pkkphysicist for his good ACW material
Thanks for the ACW substratum : I just discover that the material I'm translating into french comes mainly from you. Lastly, about 1862 Burnside's expedition... Thanks a lot, please gon on ! Arapaima (talk) 17:38, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Hello Hal, I thought the article on Spencer rifle
needed one more JPG, so I added a sketch by Alfred Waud about troopers firing Spencers during the battle of Middleburg. Can you please check if my legend is correctly written ? And I try (unsuccessfully) to find a JPG showing an indian brave with a Spencer rifle, if you know of one such photo in Commons ?...Thanks beforehand, & I hope to see too tracks of your visit on my last traductions : "Fusil Henry" & "Campagne de Burnside en Caroline du Nord". Hope you're thriving ! Cheers, Arapaima (talk) 10:15, 3 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Hi. Yes, I am thriving away, but I really have little expertise in the small arms area. I don't know of any photographs of Indians with Spencers. And sorry, but I have no idea what " tracks of your visit on my last traductions" means. Hal Jespersen (talk) 15:59, 3 June 2011 (UTC)

Port Durnford
You're very welcome; I love questions like that. Luckily it was my day off, so I had time to dig deep. Sorry it didn't produce the answer you were looking for, but it revealed a bit of British history that I'd never heard of before. Alansplodge (talk) 12:03, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Spencer Rifle
I found this forum thread, the second post down has two photos of Native American scouts appaerently using "Spencer carbines". Much further down the page is a "photo of Lone Wolf's son Tau-ankia (Sitting in the Saddle) holding a Spencer carbine in his lap." I'm afraid I don't really understand the rules on whether you can use these images or not; hopefully they're old enough to be "in the public domain". Bon chance. Alansplodge (talk) 17:06, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

French translat. of Military history of African Americans in the American Civil War
Hello Hal ! Hope you are OK. Just to tell you I'm glad I've completed my french version of "Mil. hist. of Af. Am. in A.C.W." , & I'd be awfully happy if you'd cast a glance on it. As you'll see, I choose a chronological order. I hope I did not forget a battle where the Colored Troops rose & shone ! You can also of course look at my french U.S.C.T. and Corps d'Afrique.

Hoping to see tracks of your visit on the articles (i.e. : improvements, additions etc...), and with all my best wishes (health, riches, contrib. etc...) for 2012, t.y. Arapaima (talk) 22:19, 27 December 2011 (UTC)


 * hi there! Well, my French has not improved since we last communicated, so there's not much I can do to review your translated article. But thank you for the kind words and I hope you have a great 2012. Hal Jespersen (talk) 17:46, 28 December 2011 (UTC)


 * Stuart is David Stuart (Michigan politician), I presume. It looks like you may have overlooked Battle of Milliken's Bend. I don't have a particular interest in the subject, but you need to be careful of the controversy surrounding blacks in the Confederate Army. There is a current trend on the Internet to try to convince people that there were nontrivial numbers who actually fought in uniform (rather than slave laborers, cooks, Teamsters, etc.), but this theory is roundly denounced by virtually all credible Civil War historians. Gary Gallagher, for instance, has stated "If there were blacks serving as soldiers in the Confederate Army, Robert E. Lee would certainly have wanted to know about it." Hal Jespersen (talk) 23:20, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

Military history of African Americans in the American Civil War
Congratulations on your article - I can't find any obvious faults, except the following observation. In the UK, describing black people as "blacks" is considered derogatory these days. "Black men" or "black soldiers" is fine but "blacks" is a faux pas. I'm not sure if the same applies in the US. Similarly, I would avoid the use of the word "negro" unless you are directly quoting a contemporary source (quote from your article: 'The battle cry for the Negro soldier east of the Mississippi River became "Remember Fort Pillow!"'). See this news item.

You may also want to include a link (in the "See Also" section perhaps) to Glory (1989 film), which is where most people (including me) will have first come across this subject.

The *Parisoise" comment was a joke from this question, to someone who asked if an inhabitant of Niger might be a Nigeroise!

Happy New Year to you. Alansplodge (talk) 22:18, 31 December 2011 (UTC)


 * Bonjour, Arapaima, Bonne année et merci pour vos aimables paroles et pour vos traductions de la Wikipédia française! - Nunh-huh 16:30, 2 January 2012 (UTC)

Spruille Braden - pronunciation
In case you're still curious about Spruille Braden's unusual name, here is some background on "Spruille". As for the pronunciation, this video features an interview with Braden's eponymous son. The interviewer pronounces his name /'spru:l 'breɪdən/. "Spruille" is a single syllable, and rhymes with "school". "Braden" rhymes with "maiden", rather than "sadden" as one might expect. I've altered the article to include an IPA transcription and phonetic respelling. L ANTZY T ALK 06:57, 10 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks a lot Lantzy, I answered on your DP...Ooops (pang <--- afterthought) did I answer on your DP or on your User Page ? One more goofing from old brain-melting Arap., looks like ... Arapaima (talk) 08:10, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for September 20
Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Wikipedia appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited Norman Luxton, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page Red cedar (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver). Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ* Join us at the DPL WikiProject.

It's OK to remove this message. Also, to stop receiving these messages, follow these opt-out instructions. Thanks, DPL bot (talk) 11:02, 20 September 2012 (UTC)

Eric Dorman-Smith
Thank you for your very kind words on my article about Eric Dorman-Smith. Quevedo (talk) 11:29, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Ref desk
Hi there! Thanks very much for your message - it's what the ref desks are for. :) English doesn't have a word with the same meaning as "eupareunique" (as George Mikes said, "Continental people have sex lives; the English have hot-water bottles.").  In your sentence, "conjugal" would probably be the best translation of the metaphor, but it couldn't be used when actually referring to sex.  Your distinction between "thanatophily" and "necrophilia" is the same in English, despite our article. Tevildo (talk) 21:15, 11 July 2013 (UTC)

A question to Nortonius : "Meermin article : who was the first ?"
Hello Nortonius ! Browsing through the today's "On this day" rubric of WP en 1st page reminded me I had edited "Meermin", the french version of Meermin slave mutiny   between 20 & 30 of september 2011, & had mumbled at that time : "How queer, the Brits haven't written anything in WP en about that ship...I'll have to do with that dutch article and the documentary I just watched on TV Arte, instead of quietly translating a WP en good article...". As I don't know how to look back in the "History" farther than the last 500 edits, you'd be very kind to point me who was the 1st editor (you, maybe, as for Meermin (VOC ship) ? ), & when he (or she ?) launched it. Maybe too you've cast a glance on the french article, so you can tell me what are the grossest among the blunders it certainly contains ?...I had asked a question ("fluitschip or hoeker ?") on the dutch talk page (the sources I got then said "fluitship"). Thanks a lot beforehand, t.y. I notice the blue gem Gerda has just kindly presented you with really looks like the Hope (ex Regent)...Wouldn't it be safer for you to pass it to some museum ? ;-) Arapaima (talk) 09:36, 18 February 2014 (UTC) Answer in Nortonius talk-page : :Hello  the article was created on WP-en on 14 October 2011 by Gautier lebon – so, a little while after you were working on the French version! Maybe no coincidence... My first edit was on 28 January 2012. I have my own high-resolution JPEG copy of the 1760 plan for the Meermin, as used by Jaco Boshoff, and it is described as a hoeker there. The sources used in the English article are also quite clear that the Meermin was a hoeker, with no mention that I can recall of a fluyt; and the Dutch article says it was a hoeker too. My French is very rusty, but I'll try to have a look at the French article... Cheers. Nortonius (talk) 12:33, 18 February 2014 (UTC)
 * Indeed I started the article, but it has been much improved subsequently. I looked at the French version and it looks OK to me.--Gautier lebon (talk) 15:58, 18 February 2014 (UTC)


 * Hello Gautier lebon, evidently I don't need to ping you! ;o) I've had a quick look at the French article, there are some things I noticed:
 * Hoeker, not a fluitschip, as above.
 * It seems the ship was of 480 tons, not 450: see references in the English article, e.g. to Mountain, 2005 p. 204, which you can see on Google Books.
 * Apparently the Meermin sailed for Cape Town from north-west Madagascar, not Toliara in the south-west: search this link for "Betisboka Bay", though that place-name seems corrupt.
 * The precise number of crew was 56, per Mountain 2005, p. 204.
 * The precise number of slaves is unknown, one good source which it looks like you've used says 140, the Malagasy themselves said there were 150 of them – I see the French article mentions the private trade carried on by the crew!
 * That's all for now, I'll try to have another look later – there's at least one thing in the French article which isn't in the English (yet): the average age of VOC slaves in Cape Town! Cheers. Nortonius (talk) 16:38, 18 February 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks a lot Nort. & Gautier for the chat & precisions, take care Arapaima (talk) 07:40, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

ArbCom elections are now open!
Hi, You appear to be eligible to vote in the current Arbitration Committee election. The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to enact binding solutions for disputes between editors, primarily related to serious behavioural issues that the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the ability to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail. If you wish to participate, you are welcome to review the candidates' statements and submit your choices on the voting page. For the Election committee, MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 13:40, 24 November 2015 (UTC)