User talk:DuncanHill/Archives/2008/September

Thank you
I just wanted to say thank you for the good grace and collaborative spirit you showed by this - AfDs can get very heated, so it is refreshing to see a nominator prepared to close in this way. Best wishes, DuncanHill (talk) 10:07, 2 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Thank you. I am often wrong and am glad to correct mistakes when possible. Stifle (talk) 10:12, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

Ta
For sorting out the message placed on my userpage. LessHeard vanU (talk) 20:17, 3 September 2008 (UTC)
 * No problem. DuncanHill (talk) 20:18, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

This comment was uncivil
Just so you get your facts and interpretation thereof correct, here is what you said:


 * My response was civil, technical, and non-accusatory. It did not make an ad hominem attack on you, it specifically and logically stated why we should not answer this request.
 * Another response from a different editor was also civil and logical.
 * Your immature response and edit summary to a comment from another editor recommending you stop trying to make a WP:POINT.
 * Another pointy response and edit summary.
 * Uncivil and immature response and edit summary.
 * Commentary from another editor and admin.
 * Previous discussion about the same exact topic. I wonder why it's been discussed twice in two days.

You can type your apology here. Thanks. Orange Marlin Talk• Contributions 16:46, 4 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Go away, I am not interested in your sophistry, nor in your selective use of diffs to hide the most objectionable comment you made. DuncanHill (talk) 16:47, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

Advice needed! - How to contribute to 'my' pages
I was banned (for a short while) not long ago for posting links on pages to my own institution. Though the links were relevant, it was deemed a conflict of interest and it was suggested that I merely suggest links on the 'Talk' pages of the pages. I have done this, but no one seems to be picking up on my (often very good) suggestions, so I have no idea how to go forward. You were very helpful when I was banned before, so I was hoping that you might have the time to help advise me now. Thanks.Jamesfranklingresham (talk) 12:29, 5 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Hi James, I remember you - glad to know that you weren't put off! It's a good question - I'll have a think about it and get back to you soon. DuncanHill (talk) 12:45, 5 September 2008 (UTC)

Good morning! AN/I Derailment
I still think it should be possible to take the first diff you provided, and manually C/P those changes (there were five, by my count,) as one-at-a-time edits with a summary something like, "Restore lines obliterated in edit 236846909, 05:59, 7 September 2008. Consult me for more info."

The thing is, some of those have already been restored in the intervening edits. Maybe all?

But do each of the five separately, manually inserting each one.

I left a message at the User's Talk page User Talk:Einsteindonut, asking him to temporarily stop editing AN/I while it's sorted out, then saw that he had already seen your warning in a thread up the line in the page.

Were there any other edits he made that obliterated others replies? It still seems like it should be a simple, 10-15 minute resolution. Laughing Vulcan 14:27, 7 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm not aware of any other edits by him creating a similar problem (but I haven't looked that closely at his contributions). DuncanHill (talk) 14:28, 7 September 2008 (UTC)


 * FYI, Einsteindonu replied to me in his Talk that any deletions were purely accidental. I'm going to poison my lungs, then come back to this and see if my idea above still holds any water - that is, unless someone else has already fixed it.  It might also be best if an Admin full protected the page, made the changes, then unprotected it.  Could stop at least some edit conflicts while being straightened out.  (But I operate without any automated tools....)   Laughing Vulcan  14:37, 7 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm having a go at it - starting at the bottom of the diff and working up one section at a time. DuncanHill (talk) 14:39, 7 September 2008 (UTC)


 * OK. I see where you think you got it.  I was about to have another go, so I'm glad I saw that!  :D  Boy, that was a long way around for a fix to an accidental problem that was relatively minor.   I'll just do a backstop check, but I'll bet you nailed it.  :D  If only we had a "line item veto" way of undoing edits.  But that would cause more havoc than the problem when people tried to use it.  :O ;)   Laughing Vulcan  14:57, 7 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I think I've got it all - but I do really appreciate having another pair of eyes to check! So easy to miss something in a situation like that. DuncanHill (talk) 14:59, 7 September 2008 (UTC)


 * OK, I checked that the page was OK. Then I Added one note to the bottom of the AN/I section noting that I verified it, and signed it.  Then I hit "Save Page."  Now the page looks trashed even worse!!!!?!??!!  This has got to be a bug.  What - I don't know.  Laughing Vulcan  15:17, 7 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Also, I tried undoing my edit - still screwed up to hell and gone!  Laughing Vulcan  15:18, 7 September 2008 (UTC)
 * And now, I reloaded it after the undo and it looks OK. No intermediate edits after my undo, and it's fine. ? Definitely still looks like some kind of bug... MediaWiki, Firefox 3, dunno.  Anyway, I'll just say it here:  I did verify that you got all of the comments.  And, assuming it's quieted down, I can now do this:
 * Image:Vitruvian Barnstar.png

Oddd - it looks fine to me (both as it is now, and as it was when you added your comment). DuncanHill (talk) 15:21, 7 September 2008 (UTC)


 * What a day - I get slapped on the wrist by Jimbo and a barnstar! DuncanHill (talk) 15:24, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

Thank you, Duncan
Thank you for that difficult and time-consuming work of reconstruction, Duncan, on the ANI page. Very decent, and very generous.Nishidani (talk) 15:04, 7 September 2008 (UTC)
 * That's quite all right - I like discussions to be clear, and to be able to see who said what and when! And as I said, I've caused the same problem myself in the past, so it's nice to be able to help others out. talk) 15:06, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

Edwin Wright Brooks
I wonder if you could have a look at a draft article at User:Erp/Sandbox Edmund Wright Brooks, as my collaborator, User:Erp, a descendant of EWB, is concerned that he hasn't enough "WP Notability". I have put my thoughts on this on the User_talk:Erp/Sandbox_Edmund_Wright_Brooks. All the best Vernon White  '''. . . Talk''' 09:01, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks - Melksham lad makes good! I've commented there, with a couple of links which might be useful. DuncanHill (talk) 11:31, 9 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks for that. Vernon White  . . . Talk 21:52, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

Uploading images
Duncan,

Thanks for the help. I have just joined Wikimedia commons to see how I can upload a file only to discover I am not allowed to upload a logo. Is this correct? If I do upload the logo in question when I come to load my pages on Wikipedia all I do is insert the file link into the editing page?

Thanks,

Simon --Simonking67 (talk) 02:43, 11 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Hi Simon, I have replied on your talk page. DuncanHill (talk) 12:08, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

"Bizareness"
Thanks. Abtract (talk) 21:33, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
 * No problem. DuncanHill (talk) 21:33, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

Thanks
For 'fact' tag —Preceding unsigned comment added by Captain hoek (talk • contribs) 00:46, 15 September 2008 (UTC)
 * That's all right - thanks for starting to cleanup that article! DuncanHill (talk) 00:48, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

Thank you very much.


Editor510  drop us a line, mate  has smiled at you! Smiles promote WikiLove and hopefully this one has made your day better. Spread the WikiLove by smiling at someone else, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend. Cheers, and Happy editing! Smile at others by adding {{subst:Smile}} to their talk page with a friendly message.

I had always wondered what it was called from like, the age of 3! Thanks again!-- Editor510  drop us a line, mate  17:02, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

PS

I signed again because the SineBot thing looks ugly and horrible and WHY MUST YOU FORGET TO SIGN! OH WHY?


 * That's alright - glad to have helped! And thanks for the smile :) DuncanHill (talk) 17:05, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

Two dates
I smiled just seeing the allusion at the RefDesk. That is a Good Thing. --- OtherDave (talk) 22:47, 18 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Of course, I could claim that I was making a serious point - born out by the discussion within the thread. "History is not what you think. It is what you can remember". Most notable dates in history? The dates that most people remember. That, to me, would appear to be the Wikipedia answer :)DuncanHill (talk) 23:00, 18 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm not too big on the "top 20" kind of thing, except recreationally. The discussion did seem to get a bit... skewed?  Agendized?  E.g., Anglophilia and condescension in the "colonial" comment.  But as I write this, I wonder if maybe some of the most important dates are the 10 or 11 that disappeared when Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar.   --- OtherDave (talk) 11:03, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

thank you!
thanks for your help with that category name change request. Sssoul (talk) 11:55, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

Blanking
(moved here from Jc37's talk page by him)

I have undone this edit of yours, as it had the effect of blanking comments from the page. DuncanHill (talk) 00:02, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks for catching that.
 * When saving my comments, I got the "experiencing difficulties" message, so I hit "back", and "save" again. Apparently the system got confused : )
 * So yes, it was unintentional.
 * Thanks again : ) - jc37 00:07, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
 * No problem - the noticeboards are prone to loss of posts, I think the best thing to do, whether with an "experiencing difficulties" or an "edit conflict" is to abandon the edit and start again. This is the only way to be sure that one is not inadvertently removing other posts. DuncanHill (talk) 00:11, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
 * That's useful advice. I try to remember to copy my new edits to clipboard, in case I have an edit conflict response. Vernon White  . . . Talk 09:18, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

CfD nomination of Category:Theory of Deep Democracy
Category:Theory of Deep Democracy, which you created, has been nominated for deletion, merging, or renaming. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments at the category's entry on the Categories for discussion page. Thank you. Cgingold (talk) 11:03, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

Thank you...
When I leave notes, I like to take a look at people's User pages whenever I have the time. And I'm really glad I did have time to look at yours. First, I discovered that there's a very interesting story to the word "Moonrakers" -- I had always thought it was just the name of a James Bond story. :) (I'm sure I'm not alone on that... ) Even better, I spotted that link to WikiBlame -- something that's been at the TOP of my "Wiki Wish List" for as long as I've been editing here! Please tell me, have you made good use of it? - Does it work reasonably well, or is it overly time-consuming and frustrating? Hopefully, the former! Regards, Cgingold (talk) 11:23, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I've only used Wikiblame a handful of times - but when I have it has been very useful, like you I was looking for it for a long time! DuncanHill (talk) 13:06, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

Henry Clinton
Thanks for fixing my messes. i wasn't sure what you called Parliamentary Districts. Also I agree with you that the place of birth is suspicious as is the place of death, because I have seen Cornwall, Portland Place, or Gilbraltar. Geoff Plourde (talk) 15:53, 18 September 2008 (UTC)
 * No problem - glad to have helped. The ODNB article is probably reliable for the place of death - there was obviously a great deal of new research done between the original DNB article and the new ODNB one. I suspect that the Gibraltar thing arose because he died in office - just not in the colony! I'd not seen Cornwall given, but he doesn't seem to have had a great deal to do with Cornwall apart from being an MP (in those days an MP did not need any particular connexion with his constituency, just to be favoured by the principal landowners within it). DuncanHill (talk) 16:00, 18 September 2008 (UTC)
 * The Launceston constituency was in the pocket of Henry Pelham-Clinton, 2nd Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne at the time, which would explain Henry Clinton's election for it. DuncanHill (talk)
 * I suspected as much, once I was able to connect the dots but didn't have a way to prove it. Is there a source? Geoff Plourde (talk) 17:17, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Would you be able to write a more coherent lead, or is it fine as is? Geoff Plourde (talk) 17:39, 19 September 2008 (UTC)


 * (ec)I don't have access to the sources mentioned in the Launceston constituency page, but the ODNB article has this sentence "By the 1790s other friends from the American war—the second duke of Northumberland and Clinton's second cousin, the third duke of Newcastle—had found him a seat in parliament (for Launceston, 1790–94), an offer of active service (which he declined), and the governorship of Gibraltar (1794–5)." I assume that the "third duke" is a slip. I can email you a coopy of the article if you don't have access to it. DuncanHill (talk) 17:41, 19 September 2008 (UTC)


 * That would be most appreciated. My library is not a subscriber. :( Geoff Plourde (talk) 22:53, 21 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Have emailed a copy to your Yahoo account - and do feel free to ask for any others if they would be helpful. DuncanHill (talk) 23:04, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for asking
You asked if I had found the maps I needed for my road trip through the UK. I ended up buying the AA Close-Up Truckers Atlas of Britain online, and I think that it will suffice for the most part. I've also printed out dozens of towns maps from Google Maps (and bought a few key ones from Geographers AZ Maps) to help me navigate the towns. When I get to London, I will go to Stanfords and buy Ordnance Survey maps of places in Snowdonia and the Lake District where I plan to walk. You also ask whether I enjoyed my trip. Thanks for asking, but I haven't gone yet. My partner and I are leaving this coming Saturday and will be on your island for two weeks. I'm looking forward to it. Marco polo (talk) 22:27, 21 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, I hope you do have a good time here - for walking in Snowdonia and the Lake District I thoroughly recommend the OS 1:25000 maps - they are pretty much essential I would say (having walked in both areas). If you get the chance, do look at the A. Wainwright Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells of the Lake District too - they are excellent. DuncanHill (talk) 22:33, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

UK Coal Reserves
Hi there, could you let me know if you've decided not to correct the UK Coal Reserves/Coal Gasification entry on the United Kingdom - Economy section, please (in case you've forgotten, this relates to the Wiki science question pages of 6th September). Thanks, Daicaregos (talk) 16:01, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Oh god - my apologies, that had completely slipped my mind! DuncanHill (talk) 16:05, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
 * It's no problem. Are you sure that still want to do it. I'd be happy to have a stab at it myself. But I confess, it's not something I have much of a grasp of. It just looked intuitively wrong. Daicaregos (talk) 16:11, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't mind if you do it - after all it was your hunch that led to finding the information. DuncanHill (talk) 16:13, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I'll give you a shout when the edit's done, if you wouldn't mind checking it? Give me a day or so. Should be a laugh, if nothing else. :) Daicaregos (talk) 16:18, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
 * OK, sounds good. DuncanHill (talk) 16:21, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Hi DuncanHill, I've added the coal reserves/UGC information to the United Kingdom, Economy section. Would you mind having a look please. Let me know if it's ok. Please feel free to amend any errors as you think fit. Many thanks, :) Daicaregos (talk) 09:17, 23 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Mate, please don't forget this time too. Daicaregos (talk) 21:12, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * It looks good to me, clearly written and referenced. Sorry again for forgetting - and thank you for raising such an interesting question in the first place. DuncanHill (talk) 21:18, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks for doing that DuncanHill. At least I can blame someone else, now, when they ridicule me for having the scientific understanding of Prince Charles. Cheers, Daicaregos (talk) 21:32, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

Administrative conduct
Be sure to not exacerbate wiki's noted negatives by making redress even more odious, as you have in regard the abuses of "Realist2". The "handling" of matters like this in such an unacceptable way is a disservice. These kinds of things lead me to put in my students' syllabi that I'll not accept anything from wiki, and actively detract from it in lecture.

--Dr. America (talk) 02:58, 23 September 2008 (UTC)


 * You damaged a page, for which I warned you. I have no idea what else your problem is. DuncanHill (talk) 11:39, 23 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Also, why head this section "administrative conduct"? Neither Realist2 nor myself are admins. DuncanHill (talk) 11:43, 23 September 2008 (UTC)
 * We've never claimed to be admins either lol. Odd. — Realist  2  16:52, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Plural s
Whoops. Thanks for the heads up.--Tznkai (talk) 01:17, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

Courtenay of Tremere
I disagree on the content of the article Courtenay of Tremere and believe that the average reader (me included) would be left guessing as to what the following content means. It also does not follow Wikipedia's Manual of Style guidelines. For example:

i) William Courtenay b. 1509 = Elizabeth Bowerman ii) Dorothy Courtenay b 1515 = John Ley iii) John Courtenay Of Tremere = Elizabeth Trengrove (b. 1520/1521 - d. 1560) iv) Alice Courtenay b. 1525 = William Paynter

The editing and trimming of the article I did was done to help the reader better understand the subject since it is currently underwhelmingly incomplete and would give readers a false sense of what the Courtenay family of Tremere was. The main purpose of my edits were to eliminate one of the oldest articles marked for cleanup. Since you disagree with them do you have any suggestions, or would you be willing to cleanup the article instead?  Barkeep   Chat 20:38, 25 September 2008 (UTC)


 * "John Courtenay Of Tremere = Elizabeth Trengrove (b. 1520/1521 - d. 1560), Lanivet, near Bodmin in Cornwall.[3] In his youth he appears to have been attached to Cromwell’s household. In the autumn of 1553 Courtenay used his family's connexion with the Lostwithiel constituency to have himself elected the town's junior Member in Mary's first Parliament. In the autumn of 1555, he was elected as a Member for Penryn. He died on 1 Mar 1560, being buried at Lanivet, where a monument was erected to his memory. He left life interest in the Tremere property to his widow, who later married Thomas Arundell." certainly needs to stay in the article - this MP is the subject of a redirect to the page. DuncanHill (talk) 20:45, 25 September 2008 (UTC)


 * That's fine, that can be left in there. Would you be OK with my version of the article was restored as long as that it included the above text? If so, can I assume that "John Courtenay Of Tremere = Elizabeth Trengrove" means that they are married?  Barkeep   Chat 20:50, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * It does, it is a standard genealogical notation. It may be worth looking at previous versions of the page to see if anything of value has been lost along the way. I think Talskiddy has been the main contributor to the page. DuncanHill (talk) 20:54, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * That looks better, thanks. DuncanHill (talk) 21:25, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

Cream Tea Picture
Hiya, I'm intrigued by your message. Do you hold the view that cream on first is a Devon cream tea? :) Tuxraider reloaded (talk) 00:11, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

'Don't think I've ever had them with butter on :) Tuxraider reloaded (talk) 02:41, 27 September 2008 (UTC)