User talk:Geofferybard/Drafts

Fiddle

 * There are several problems with the revert:


 * "The term fiddle may refer to..." is a poor way to begin an article insofar as it is


 * tentative ("may" is not authoritative)


 * "refer to" is passive voice; the recommended usage is active voice


 * It is factually incorrect to physically equate violin and fiddle simply because some but not all fiddlers use high, arched bridges. Most don't, and any luthier who sets instruments up identically for orchestral and string band use does not know what they are doing. You are correct that there are some exceptions, but the job of encyclopedias are to inform people not to gloss distinctions.


 * The cited reference says the exact opposite. It states clearly that the instrument did not exist at the time of Nero. That was the primary reason for the modification to the text, although not the only one.


 * Wikipedia is not a dictionary. I don't usually like to resort to cliches because you probably have heard that before, but, it is applicable. The job of WP is to deliver information not to waffle around or argue about definitions.


 * Since we do provide definitions in passing, they should be accurate and precise. The fact that some violin players call their instruments fiddles on occasion is ironic and humorous, not definitional. Folk music is not classical music. How does one go about explaining Bartok if the distinction is blurred?


 * The distinction is not based upon only physical set up the distinction is based also on playing style and material as well as the sociology of who the players are and what the music is all about. By pushing the point of view that the distinction should be blurred, what point are you trying to make?


 * The logic of the argument is flaw to the extent that it is that simply because the lede has been there for a certain amount of time it is inviolable. If it is not correctly cited it is subject to modification. Truth is not based on seniority. The theory that the sun revolved around the earth predated Copernicus.

Please do the following: either lighten up in your reverting and accept rewording of the lede or find a citation that actually supports the lede.

Alternatively, you might want to think about some compromise wording which does not conflate violin and fiddle. Look for instance at this earlier version of the page: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fiddle&action=historysubmit&diff=251028&oldid=251027

 Geo Bard  Rap 00:29, 29 June 2011 (UTC)