User talk:Dpjudge

February 2023
Hello. This is a message to let you know that one or more of your recent contributions, such as the edit(s) you made to Polish notation, did not appear to be constructive and have been reverted. Please take some time to familiarise yourself with our policies and guidelines. You can find information about these at our welcome page which also provides further information about contributing constructively to this encyclopedia. If you only meant to make test edits, please use your sandbox for that. If you think I made a mistake, or if you have any questions, you may leave a message on my talk page. Thank you. CiaPan (talk) 13:26, 13 February 2023 (UTC)


 * Hello,
 * I appear to have done something wrong If so, I apologize but ...
 * surely:
 * 7 − 6 (read as "subtract from 7 the operand 6")
 * is simply wrong? No big deal. Just a typo maybe?
 * But 7- 6 is most assuredly read as "subtract 6 from 7"
 * OK, not looking for a fight, I can live with your version :-)
 * Dave Judge Dpjudge (talk) 20:07, 13 February 2023 (UTC)
 * I really don't think it is my version. It's been present in the article since 2018, when it got introduced (with a different sign for the subtraction operator) with this edit: Special:Diff/827243655. And I restored it not because it might be mine, but because it is correct: according to the description, the expression − 7 6 in a prefix notation has the meaning of 7 − 6 in an ordinary infix notation, which means subtracting 6 from 7, while your version was saying "subtract from 6 the operand 7". --CiaPan (talk) 18:34, 15 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Gosh! ... you are, of course, absolutely right
 * How on earth did I manage to stare at this for so long and still get it wrong!!
 * I do not try to defend myself. I acted without reading the rules sufficiently (at all?). I tried the edit as a bit of an experiment and was VERY surprised that my edit was accepted without query? I was expecting at every stage to be stopped from making any sort of edit without some sort of challenge, some sort of demand to submit my case for change to the community. I had no idea that I had such individual "power"!!
 * It will not happen again, I retire from all aspiration to do more than be an avid consumer of that which Wikipedia offers.
 * I have discussed with my better informed friends and now have a slightly improved understanding of how things work.
 * I do, however, remain surprised that the Wikipedia articles are not better protected from the interference of well intentioned fools such as I?
 * I thank you for your patience in this matter.
 * DPJ Dpjudge (talk) 19:56, 15 February 2023 (UTC)


 * Don't worry, ! Remember, it's not a mistake that matters! And don't be sorry, I didn't get offended by your edit.  Literally, everybody makes mistakes, so even in cases as obvious as this one I assume it could be me who is wrong, so I try to explain and discuss my point of view (...well, usually) rather than push it forcibly.
 * This is the way defined by important Wikipedia guidelines (which, by the way, well apply not just to Wikipedia, but to a hypothetical mythical Real Life, too):
 * * Assume good faith,
 * * Be bold,
 * * BOLD, revert, discuss cycle,
 * and, last but not least, by
 * * Please do not bite the newcomers.
 * So don't be afraid - you made a mistake, any you will make many others in future, if you decide to join this crazy community to improve and expand Wikipedia. Just be sure if you make a mistake someone is going to fix it, sooner or later.
 * What concerns your expectations of some approval process – there is no one for simple editing. First, this would require some dedicated staff, and there is no regular staff here, all Wikipedians are volunteers; and second, it would incredibly slow down the Wikipedia growth. Some sort of approval process actually exists, but it applies to creating new articles. It is optional for experienced users and required for beginners only. That's because creating a proper encyclopedic article is really hard, next to impossible for those who are not familiar with multiple Wikipedia policies and guidelines. You may want to see Article creation, Help:Your first article and Articles for creation for more information on how it works.
 * Should you have any questions about how all it works, please come visit the Help desk. There are many Wikipedians there, who will love to answer them. Good luck! --CiaPan (talk) 09:04, 16 February 2023 (UTC)
 * ...or the Teahouse CiaPan (talk) 14:08, 16 February 2023 (UTC)