User talk:Mandarax/Archive 18

I fully support Trump
... in his call for an investigation into election irregularities. Not, of course, about his ridiculous tales of illegal voters being bused in, or dead people voting, or whatever other nonsense he was spouting. It's clear to me that the only way he could possibly have been elected was via tampering with the actual election process: voting hardware and/or software. No need to bother with the messy realities of getting people, living or dead, to vote illegally, when it's so much easier to simply manipulate the data. That there was foreign influence during the campaign is well established; I don't know if the false election results are due to foreign or domestic hacking.

It's almost two months into his presidency (2 down, just 46 more to go!), so why am I finally bringing this up? Well, his policies are likely to set back health care, civil rights, the environment, etc., etc., etc., decades at least, and probably longer. He's made the United States a laughing stock. I guess I can deal with all of that. But now it looks like he's having a chilling effect on Wikipedia editors, so I felt I could remain silent no longer.

I'd like to thank Samantha Bee and Stephen Colbert for helping me through these tough times; I dunno if I would've made it without them. M AN d ARAX •  XAЯA b ИA M  00:17, 16 March 2017 (UTC)

Note: I have previously pointed out that I retired the word kakistocracy from my vocabulary after G. W. Bush left office. Well... it's baaaaaaack! M AN d ARAX •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:47, 17 March 2017 (UTC)

Magnanimous edits
Got your message. Your record on the Wiki looks amazing in the years you have been on here. Lots of amazing contributions just from taking a quick glance at your body-of-work. I will abide to your wishes. Red Director (talk) 19:33, 16 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks! M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  06:26, 17 May 2017 (UTC)

DYK error
Hi Mandarax, apologies for removing it, having a blind moment. Thanks for restoring it. The Rambling Man (talk) 07:34, 25 May 2017 (UTC)
 * No problem. It didn't end up making any difference, as no action was taken before it was off the Main Page. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  01:35, 26 May 2017 (UTC)

Article Review Query- Draft: Anita Yadav
Hello Sir

I am looking to get my article (draft Anita Yadav) reviewed as soon as possible so that it can be published fast. Am on a deadline. Can you please guide me through the process.

Thanks in Advance Buzz.media (talk) 10:48, 18 June 2017 (UTC)
 * You certainly picked the wrong person for your urgent request! This is my first time editing in the almost six months since your note. Plus, Wikiediting "on a deadline" sounds very suspicious. Was it some kind of paid editing? I would definitely not help unless that was clarified. Fortunately, the point is moot, as the article's already been "published", and you've been blocked. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  23:15, 10 December 2017 (UTC)

Replaceable fair use File:Chantal Joffe, Self-Portrait with Esme.jpg
Thanks for uploading File:Chantal Joffe, Self-Portrait with Esme.jpg. I noticed that this file is being used under a claim of fair use. However, I think that the way it is being used fails the first non-free content criterion. This criterion states that files used under claims of fair use may have no free equivalent; in other words, if the file could be adequately covered by a freely-licensed file or by text alone, then it may not be used on Wikipedia. If you believe this file is not replaceable, please:


 * 1) Go to the file description page and add the text   below the original replaceable fair use template, replacing   with a short explanation of why the file is not replaceable.
 * 2) On the file discussion page, write a full explanation of why you believe the file is not replaceable.

Alternatively, you can also choose to replace this non-free media item by finding freely licensed media of the same subject, requesting that the copyright holder release this (or similar) media under a free license, or by creating new media yourself (for example, by taking your own photograph of the subject).

If you have uploaded other non-free media, consider checking that you have specified how these media fully satisfy our non-free content criteria. You can find a list of description pages you have edited by clicking on [ this link]. Note that even if you follow steps 1 and 2 above, non-free media which could be replaced by freely licensed alternatives will be deleted 2 days after this notification (7 days if uploaded before 13 July 2006), per the non-free content policy. If you have any questions, please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. -- Marchjuly (talk) 05:35, 15 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Before uploading it, I had searched extensively for a free image. There was none to be found anywhere online. So, no, this was not "replaceable", but I don't have the desire or energy to dispute its deletion. Hi ho. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:47, 10 December 2017 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

 * Me, too. Miss seeing you around. - Sitush (talk) 13:48, 16 October 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks to both of you. I'm okay. Just kinda burned out. I see that I checked in just in time for the Arb election. (I cast just a single vote. Spoiler alert – it was an oppose.) Maybe one of these days I'll return to regular editing. I've still got my huge list of articles that need to be written. Plus, I need to turn all of my existing articles into GAs. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:36, 10 December 2017 (UTC)

Seasons' Greetings
...to you and yours, from the Great White North! FWiW Bzuk (talk) 03:22, 24 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Thanks. You too! M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  12:06, 24 December 2017 (UTC)

Happy Holidays

 * Thank you very much, . I wish the same for you.(Please note, however, that I'm not "Sarah".) M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  07:50, 25 December 2017 (UTC)

Happy New Year
Ah, you confused me happily, leaving a message for me at an old 99 address. I responded there, then realized that we were both encroaching on a different editor's home turf--I haven't worked from there in a few years. Deleted our conversation, but did catch up with you at my current address. Wishing you the very best, 2601:188:180:11F0:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 04:22, 29 December 2017 (UTC)
 * I was surprised to apparently see you at your old IP as I thought once you go IPv6 you can never go back. It did occur to me that it might be someone else, but here was good ol' 99, constructively editing, including something on my watchlist (which answers your question of how I found it). It's good to know that the new resident is contributing constructively, and not sullying your reputation. I just did a geolocate (which I know you love) on the IP, and it's now in Illinois.Thank you for your wonderful New Year's wish! M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  04:50, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

Favor to ask: quick look at Nolder
I just created a short article called Nolder, and I'm wondering if you could take a look, give it a look. It immediately received a tag for having an advertising tone, which is really odd, since nolder's aren't for sale and nothing in the article says they're good. It's a pretty technical article actually. At any rate, if you could take a look and give me some feedback, that would be great. 842U (talk) 13:05, 15 January 2018 (UTC)
 * . BTW, the tagger's "response" to your polite inquiry is a pretty good further indication that they really don't know what they're doing, or at least aren't willing to take the time to do what they think they're doing properly. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:47, 15 January 2018 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I appreciate your time and effort. I know when a new article is created, fairly quickly an editor will come, take a look, and see if the article passes basic muster.  I was pretty surprised at the advertising tag &mdash; so thanks for confirming my thoughts.842U (talk) 23:50, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

Rebecca Maria Israels
Apologies I added Rebecca Maria Israels as a daughter for Jozef Israëls without a source.

The source is the Netherlands official records available at FamilySearch. A (free) login is required to access the record

See

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X1QX-BYC

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X1CD-M2B

I have been dabbling on Wikipedia and have not got used to its ways. I guess I should create a login.

Is it OK to add these sources that require a login to see them?

Thanks for your help and guidance — Preceding unsigned comment added by 49.177.173.67 (talk) 00:03, 30 January 2018 (UTC)
 * Yes,  it's fine to use a source which requires a login (especially if it's free). However, I'm not familiar with that source and don't know how reliable it is; can users edit the information? One thing that vandals frequently do is change numbers, such as how many children someone had, so I'm glad to discover that you were editing constructively. Thank you for your contributions.  M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  10:15, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

And thank you for your advice, pointing out where I went wrong and how to fix it. I am editing constructively, even if I didn't go about it the right way.

The source is 100% reliable. It is relied on by genealogists. It references international archives many of which are not yet online. Users cannot edit any of the data. It even has its own Wikipedia article: FamilySearch. I also just searched Wikipedia for pages mentioning FamilySearch and there are a lot of them that reference its birth, marriage and death records.

I will add that source. The interesting thing will then be that one out of three children will then have their birth records sourced, but not the other two who are already listed with no source. That will look strange. So I will try to find sources for them too.

DYK Thank you
Thank you for the grammatical correction of the February 9 DYK candidate, WestJet Encore. It has sat there for 4 days without a review. Would you care to review and pass it? Vanguard10 (talk) 03:44, 13 February 2018 (UTC)
 * These days, I just pop in for a few minutes now and then to make a few edits here and there. When I do a DYK review, I try to do a very thorough job, and it generally takes at least a half an hour, and usually much more. Right now, I'm not inclined to devote that much time and effort. Besides, when it comes to DYK, four days is nothing! Someone will eventually get around to it, hopefully soon. Good luck. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  20:44, 14 February 2018 (UTC)

Peter Adriaens tag
Hi, I've left a message on the talk page of a page you've previously editing, the Peter Adriaens article, which my COI prevents me from editing about having the tag removed from the page. I'd love your input. Thanks! Alex Thermopolis —Preceding undated comment added 15:36, 13 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Perhaps, who indefinitely blocked the account used to create the article, can look into the situation. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  21:21, 14 February 2018 (UTC).
 * added the tag, would be better to ask them. -- Amanda  (aka DQ) 21:27, 14 February 2018 (UTC)
 * See here and the discussions linked. —&thinsp;JJMC89&thinsp; (T·C) 05:18, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

Precious anniversary
--Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:19, 14 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Thanks again, Gerda! You continue to be one of the nicest people around.Today is my 13-year Wikiversary. Did you know ...    ... that for the first few years of its existence, I avoided Wikipedia because I didn't trust content contributed by users?Yes, it's true!  M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  19:41, 14 February 2018 (UTC)


 * No, I didn't know about the anniversary, and the lack of trust ;) - I advertise AGF, even in an arb case, of all places. Happy Valentine's Day! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:48, 14 February 2018 (UTC)


 * Seven years now! - Happy Valentine! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:26, 14 February 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks yet again, Gerda! M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:22, 14 February 2019 (UTC)

A cupcake for you!
Thanks! M AN d ARAX •  XAЯA b ИA M  19:23, 20 February 2018 (UTC)

DYK Figure 5 in Gold
Thanks for positive comment in the discussion of I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold. I was heartened to put notes on TRM's and J's Talk pages, which resulted in this work of art getting at least part of a day as a DYK pictured. David notMD (talk) 21:54, 21 February 2018 (UTC)
 * You're welcome. When I saw what initially happened, I felt bad that it resulted from the discussion which I had started. But if I hadn't brought it up, and the copyright issue had been discovered while it was on the Main Page, the knee-jerk result could have been removal of the hook entirely. I'm very happy that it finally worked out, and that my comments probably helped convince people to act. Thank for writing the article about the iconic painting.  M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:48, 21 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Actually, it was entirely down to common sense to just request that the hook be replaced during the day. It was absolutely down to my disappointment over Jayron's response to David's note rather than anything else, and finding a decent admin in Vanamonde93 to help out made the big difference.  The Rambling Man (talk) 23:00, 21 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Thank you for going out of your way to point that out. It's very important for people to know that my contribution was worthless. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  06:43, 25 February 2018 (UTC)

RE Bush Brotherhood: thanks, Mandrax
Hi, yes I was being a bit sleepy there. As a boy I used to listen enthralled while our Vicar peppered his sermons with anecdotes about his time with the Bush Brotherhood. Ah, happy days... Bashereyre (talk) 06:22, 30 March 2018 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the note. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  11:22, 31 March 2018 (UTC)

A glimmer of hope
It's been just a day since the Worst Thing on Wikipedia last edited. But what a wonderful day! Let's hope that that cryptic edit summary refers to a permanent retirement. M AN d ARAX •  XAЯA b ИA M  01:37, 22 June 2018 (UTC)
 * D'oh! The bliss lasted a mere three days. Three glorious days. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  06:05, 24 June 2018 (UTC)

Prep 1
Hi, re your edit here and in Prep 1, the page creator said that this is a long poem, not a short one. Also, I felt that the italics worked better for the hook. Yoninah (talk) 13:12, 29 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Hi . When I made those edits, I had not looked at the article's history, so I was unaware that it changed from italics to quotes to italics to quotes to italics before I changed it to quotation marks. MOS:NOITALIC "particularly applies to works that exist as a smaller part of a larger work". While its specification of "shorter works" is open to interpretation, to me it unambiguously applies here: a video of the poet's full performance of the poem lasts just three and a half minutes. I agree that italics would work better for a hook, but that should not be a factor at all in the decision. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  19:58, 29 June 2018 (UTC)
 * OK. Thanks, Yoninah (talk) 18:50, 30 June 2018 (UTC)

A bowl of strawberries for you!

 * Thanks! M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  23:04, 16 July 2018 (UTC)

Albert Swinden
Hello, emigration is the act of moving to another country. Immigration is generally considered as a movement of people into a country or area. E.g. in the UK over the epast few years there has been a great deal of immigration from Europe, particularly EU contries, but a single person would generally be said to emigrate to another country. It is quite reasonably explained at Emigration, in most dictionaries and at various online sources here. Cheers. Eagleash (talk) 19:19, 17 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Your links clearly support my position, not yours: "Emigrate means to leave one's country to live in another. Immigrate is to come into another country to live permanently. ... The choice ... depends on the sentence's point of view." All of the links below that which I looked at also support my position. Merriam-Webster says immigrate is "to come to a country to live there" and proper usage "depends on a person's point of view. Emigrate stresses leaving a place, while immigrate focuses on entering a new one." The sentence says "in 1919 he immigrated to the United States", not that he emigrated from Canada. The source says he "lived in Canada from the age of seven until his immigration to the United States in 1919". M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  21:02, 17 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Nonsense, you emigrate to another country. That is quite clear from all the links. "Emigrate means to leave one's country to live in another." So, he emigrated to the US. Because the source misuses the grammar doesn't mean Wikipedia should do so too. 'Immigrate is "to come to a country to live there"'... the key word there is 'come'. I.e it is from the perspective of the country being moved to. See the difference? Eagleash (talk) 21:31, 17 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Did you even look at the links you're referencing? I'll examine them in order. Vocabulary: "If the sentence is looking at the point of departure, use emigrate. The point of arrival? Immigrate." Grammarist: "Immigrate is usually followed by to, and emigrate is usually followed by from." Writing Explained: "You immigrate “into” places. You emigrate “from” places." Grammarly: "Immigrate means to move into a different country. Emigrate ... means to leave your home country." English Grammar: "Emigrate is the term used when your point of view is leaving or moving FROM your country or place of origin. Immigrate is the term used when your point of view is arriving or moving TO your destination country." I could go on and on, but it should be obvious by now that they're all saying the same thing I've been saying ever since I first corrected you. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:24, 17 July 2018 (UTC)

ERRORS report
Sorry, I thought to put your signature twice to make it clear these were two different hooks. Sometimes admins start threads on each hook. Yoninah (talk) 23:14, 24 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Hehe. When I saw it, I didn't remember doing it. After removing the extra one from ERRORS, I went to remove it from DYK talk too, and saw that it wasn't there. It was then that I realized that you had added it when you copied my report, and why. I didn't bother restoring it, but you can if you think it'll be helpful. BTW, thanks for agreeing with me about the comma. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  23:38, 24 July 2018 (UTC)
 * I actually updated the first part of my report, and reinserted the extra signature for clarity. Hehe. Thanks, Yoninah. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  00:38, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

DYK edit
Not really a big deal, but in this edit you swapped the template back to  (Template:`), containing the grave accent symbol, which just redirects to Template:', the correct apostrophe symbol. And now I see that Template:'s exists, which is probably what we actually want. Modulus12 (talk) 05:26, 30 August 2018 (UTC)
 * The redirect is an error. When the error gets fixed, hooks, including those in the DYK archive, will again appear correctly. Either `s or is correct when the preceding text is not italicized, as was the case here. I always use the latter, but since you had used 's, I just changed the apostrophe. ' or  should only be used when the preceding text is in italics. Although there's no difference now, when the error is fixed, the extra space which is erroneously added with ` will disappear. See WP:Did you know/Supplementary guidelines.  M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  06:57, 30 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Interesting. But how does an error in redirection remain for two and a half years? That entire time it has been impossible to add  after a bolded word without an ugly space in between? Modulus12 (talk) 12:45, 30 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Well, I've been meaning to get it fixed for those two and a half years, but I just never got around to it. Thanks to your prodding, I finally requested the change today.  M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  18:47, 30 August 2018 (UTC)

Woman-Ochre edits
Thanks for your little tweaks to that article (So the names of art exhibits are italicized? OK ... I just went with the quotes because the museum's accession page for the painting uses quotes, and thus I figured that was how it was done in the arts community).

I am getting near to nominating the expanded article for DYK, and I'd like to ask if you're OK with me adding you to the nomination, as I feel your contribution, minimal as it is, is important enough to the article to be acknowledged that way. So, are you? Daniel Case (talk) 21:18, 24 September 2018 (UTC)
 * You're welcome for the tweaks. The article's interesting and should make for a good DYK. Too bad the image can't be used with it.Thanks for offering to include me in the nomination, but I don't feel my minor contributions are nearly sufficient. I wouldn't feel right getting a DYK credit that I haven't really earned. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  11:03, 25 September 2018 (UTC)
 * That's why I ask. Thank you for responding. Daniel Case (talk) 15:08, 25 September 2018 (UTC)

Greetings and Salutations



 * To Mandarax:


 * Hello!


 * Congratulations!


 * You have been included in my first, and possibly only, Very Early Christmas List!


 * As an earnest fellow believer in Santa Claus, and possibly in Our Redeemer Liveth as well, you may wonder how you got on this list.


 * I have no idea!


 * That's my story and I'm sticking to it.


 * Unless I tracked down the connection in our user talk archives, in which case you know who you are!


 * Or not.


 * All the best for you and yours this Christmas 2018 and New Year 2019!


 * – Athaenara jingles all the way 02:25, 19 December 2018 (UTC)


 * Thanks, ! I'd like to wish you a very happy holiday season.As for how I got on your list, it's been over a decade since we met while working on the Martinez & Caldwell hoax. I hope all's well with you. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  19:23, 19 December 2018 (UTC)

Happy Holidays

 * Thank you very much, Modernist! I wish a wonderful holiday season for you. BTW, that painting was for many years my favorite painting. I always had a print of it on my wall during college. Happy new year! M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:27, 25 December 2018 (UTC) Hmmmmm.... I always thought the title was Bal à Bougival, but according to the Dance at Bougival page, its French title is La Danse à Bougival. I'll have to investigate when I'm in a more investigative mood.  M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  23:13, 25 December 2018 (UTC)

2019


Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht

Happy 2019

begin it with music and memories

Not too late, I hope ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:02, 13 January 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Gerda. It's never too late; to demonstrate that, I'd like to wish you a very happy 2018! As well as 2019, of course! Congratulations on having the FA as well as the pictured DYK on New Year's Day. I looked through your page that you linked to. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful photos you took, particularly the red admiral butterfly. I recognized this as the species which Maria van Oosterwijck (whose article I wrote) incorporated into most of her paintings. You may be interested to know that in her paintings, those butterflies are symbolic of the Resurrection. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  18:51, 13 January 2019 (UTC)


 * Thank you! Happy Valentine and 14th wikiversary ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:29, 14 February 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Gerda! Happy Valentine's Day! M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:26, 14 February 2019 (UTC)

Gadget to put links to dabs in a different color
Where can I get it? EEng 21:56, 30 January 2019 (UTC)
 * Preferences/Gadgets. It's the fourth from last under "Appearance".BTW, keep up the good work on your Trump-related museum exhibits. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  00:34, 31 January 2019 (UTC)
 * You are most kind to praise my meager efforts. Thanks for the gadget. EEng 18:11, 31 January 2019 (UTC)

DYK credit help
Could you please check the DYK credits at Template:Did you know nominations/Vikram Sood? We have changed the DYK nomination from a biography on Vikram Sood into an article on his book (The Unending Game: A Former R&AW Chief's Insights into Espionage), and I am not sure if I update the credits correctly. Thanks! Flibirigit (talk) 00:09, 10 February 2019 (UTC)
 * It looks like the nom is now for both articles, and the current credit templates are correct. I did, however, adjust DYK nompage links. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  12:32, 12 February 2019 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!
Awwww, thanks for the barnstar. As I said in one of my edit summaries, I don't think those OCLCs and ISBNs were necessary, but it's better to add them than to have that ugly tag and possibly have someone try to stall the DYK because of it. M AN d ARAX •  XAЯA b ИA M  00:57, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

Hello
Would you like to review my DYK for Robert E. Lee on Traveller?MagicatthemovieS (talk) 12:05, 17 June 2019 (UTC)MagicatthemovieS
 * Hi. I haven't been doing reviews lately. Someone else will be along to review it. Good luck! M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  20:35, 17 June 2019 (UTC)

Hallelujah!
It is a joyous day indeed! M AN d ARAX •  XAЯA b ИA M  20:47, 25 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Does this reflect general existential joy, or is it referring to something specific? (Either way, I'm glad!) Lady  of  Shalott  16:26, 26 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Hi, good to see you! The Grateful Dead song "St. Stephen" includes the lyrics:


 * Well, St. Stephen has, at least for now, left the garden. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  21:12, 26 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Nope.  Just in hiding, but watching, everything. The Rambling Man (talk) 06:25, 27 June 2019 (UTC)
 * It's good that you're sufficiently self-aware to recognize that people complain when you're around, and rejoice when you leave. But I never mentioned you, so unless you're a psychic, you don't know what I had in mind. In any case, you are not welcome here. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:39, 27 June 2019 (UTC)
 * This is not going to a good place — I suggest ending it rather than escalating. Oh, and it's country garland. El_C 00:49, 5 July 2019 (UTC)
 * I don't know why you left this note for me. He is the one who escalated from my simple statement of joy, then he escalated it again today. I hadn't said a single thing for a week. I only responded on his talk page because he pinged me with his false accusation. Now you've removed my note defending myself, while his note attacking me stands. Why don't you also remove what he said about me?Anyways, thanks for pointing out the "garland". There are lots of sites with the lyrics, and almost all of them, including the one I copied from, say "garden". M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  01:21, 5 July 2019 (UTC)
 * I removed it because it was another attack that did not needed to be refactored. And I assure you that it is garland — though if I were to be clever about it, I'd say you lost some Dead points by not going with He's Gone. El_C 01:26, 5 July 2019 (UTC)
 * You didn't answer me: why did you let his note attacking me stand? There is no doubt that it was intended as an attack. Why selectively remove my note and let his attack remain?Your response seems to indicate that you thought I was disputing "garland". I assure you that I wasn't. I had changed it above in the lyrics, and thanked you for pointing it out. I had merely mentioned the "garden" sites to explain the source of my error. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  01:50, 5 July 2019 (UTC)
 * There is an attack on his talk page and an attack on yours — why not just call it even? El_C 01:52, 5 July 2019 (UTC)
 * I absolutely did not attack him. I left benign remarks which could have been about anything. I never mentioned him. He left an ominous reply, and I responded with an explanation for why he would assume that the comments were intended to be about him. It was not an attack, but a simple statement of fact. Nobody, not even his staunchest supporters, could possiby dispute the fact that many people complain about him, and are happier when he's not around. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  02:38, 5 July 2019 (UTC)


 * I was restricted to two comments per thread once, invented it myself ;) - There are more joyful Hallelujahs to be sung. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:22, 5 July 2019 (UTC)
 * It's always a pleasure to hear from you, Gerda. You know, I told you many years ago that I thought you were one of the nicest people on Wikipedia, and that's still true. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  12:16, 5 July 2019 (UTC)


 * Yes, I remember, it's kept under "blushing" (see my talk). Proud co-aothor of Kafka, I recommend you read some of his writing, about unresponsive bureaucracy and non-transparent controlling systems. Or better pick flowers? I came to hate the phrase "incredibly toxic personalities" (Wikimania speech, supposed to promote "kindness, generosity, forgiveness and compassion") in 2014. Now, I received an enlightening explanation of what "toxic behaviour" may mean .) Alleluja, in French this time. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:30, 5 July 2019 (UTC)

The Rambling Man violated his ArbCom civility restrictions
I was just going to let this fade away, but now I see that he ramped up the escalation by labeling my edit "disgusting", inciting to call it a personal attack. I wouldn't care if it was some apologist toady, but Amakuru is someone I respect, who's proved that it's possible to do DYK work – correcting errors, helping out in many ways, interacting with people, and even admitting to mistakes – in a civil manner. That shouldn't be a big deal, but unfortunately it is (and I think everybody knows why). I've never been uncivil to anyone, and I've never attacked anyone. It's ironic that I've been accused of this, because my entire issue with TRM is his incivility towards others. Up til now, none of his bile was directed at me. I explained above, but since I've been accused of making an attack, I feel like I have to defend myself, so I'll go into more detail as to why it wasn't an attack.

I was surprised when he showed up. It never occurred to me that he might be watching my talk page. When he left a message, one would wonder why he thought my benign remarks were intended to be about him. I had expressed joy and quoted some song lyrics. I never mentioned him. Obviously the only explanation was that he recognized himself. Saying that people complain about him is not a personal attack, but a simple statement of incontrovertible truth. If you need proof of that, all you need do is consult his extensive block log, his numerous ArbCom appearances, the countless times he's been brought to ANI, the complaints about him at DYK (before he was topic banned), or any of litterally a million other places. My statement of an indisputable truth may not have been the most polite thing anyone's ever said, but it definitely was not an attack.

He ominously said he's watching everything, which looks like a thinly veiled threat of stalking, and he demonstrated that he's watching by using the Thank feature on my edits. Such behavior could be viewed as a form of intimidation.

When he speculated that I was gravedancing, although I had merely made vague, innocuous remarks which could've been about anything, and never in any way mentioned him, he clearly and unambiguously violated one of his ArbCom civility restrictions, prohibiting him from speculating on the motivations of editors. M AN d ARAX •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:59, 7 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Mandarax, since you've pinged me I'll respond here. And thank for your kind words above and for the work that yourself and others do on DYK. It has a few issues with accuracy sometimes, but overall IMHO it's a great and useful project,and the page view hits on linked articles show that it is useful for readers too. On the point you mention, I would point out that I'm capable of making my own judgement on comments, I don't need TRM to incite me. And I don't see how saying people "rejoice when you leave" can be construed as anything other than a personal attack. Imagine if you were on the receiving end of such a comment, and how it would make you feel. El C said the same thing above. Yes, it was ill-advised for TRM to come and post here, and I understand that comments about watching everything are also unhelpful and could be construed as intimidating. But there doesn't seem much doubt that your initial post referred to him, coming just two hours after he posted a "retired" template, so I don't see this as a breach of the Arbcom speculation clause. In any case, as El C also says, it's time to knock this off and move on. You're probably even in the personal attack stakes now, so please both stop escalating it, stop posting about each other and just ignore if you're not capable of getting along. I hope you have a pleasant week ahead, and keep up the good work.  &mdash; Amakuru (talk) 08:22, 8 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your reply, and the kind words. Sorry to have dragged you into this, but in the fourteen years since my first edit, this is the first time I've ever been accused of attacking or incivility, so I really felt that an explanation was necessary. I appreciate your response, but I still respectfully disagree. I think of it as being analogous to a legal defamation case, in which truth is an absolute defense. It's not defamation if it's true. You asked how I'd feel if someone made those comments to me. Well, I'd probably be upset, but – and this is a very big but – that's because those comments would be false, and of course I'd be upset that someone was lying about me. Now, let me attempt to enter the mindset of a hypothetical person about whom those statements are true. In such a case, I truly and honestly believe that it wouldn't hurt my feelings; I would leave a message saying they were a frakking idiot (apparently this hypothetical person is a Battlestar Galactica fan) and add them to my Enemies List (inexplicably, he may also be a Nixon buff). Well, enough about this hypothetical person. Whatever anyone's interpretation, I can only say that my intention was not to attack, but merely state the truth – a harsh truth, yes, but the truth nonetheless. I acknowledge that it was a lapse of judgement on my part to allow myself to be baited into dispensing this harsh truth, but one lapse in fourteen years ain't bad. I know it's impossible to determine someone else's intentions. For example, in his note above – one of, I believe, only two interactions I ever had with him prior to this (the other one being totally innocuous) – I don't know if his intention was to be rude, but I certainly took it to be very rude. Anyways, since he's thankfully topic banned from DYK, I'll hopefully never have to see him again, and I certainly never intend to say anything to him ever again. Thanks again for your input. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  04:17, 9 July 2019 (UTC)

Template:POTD/2019-07-06
Hi, I noticed you contribute often to Frida Kahlo. I invite you to contribute to writing the blurb for a photo of her that is due to appear on the Main Page. --- Coffee  and crumbs  17:16, 29 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the notification. My contributions to the article have mostly been reversions, as it's, unfortunately, the most vandalized page on my watchlist. The blurb looks fine; I'll think further if there's anything I'd add or change. I like that you didn't mention Diego Rivera. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  18:48, 29 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Mission #1 was avoid her personal life. I wanted to focus on her work, her spirit, and relate it to the objects in the portrait photo. --- Coffee  and crumbs  19:11, 29 June 2019 (UTC)

Template:Did you know nominations/Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Hi, I promoted this to prep. Why won't the template close? Thanks, Yoninah (talk) 21:43, 23 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Hmm. It's showing as a redlink here. I have no idea what's going on. I do see a colon at the end of the template name. Here's my attempted closure. Thanks, Yoninah (talk) 21:46, 23 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Hi Yoninah. The redlink was easy to fix: it was just missing the ": New Horizons". The problem with the template was that the DYK checklist was missing its ending "}}". I inserted that and then was able to close the nomination correctly. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:43, 23 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks! Yoninah (talk) 22:45, 23 July 2019 (UTC)

What am I doing wrong here?
Another question:. I'm trying to update the page views, and the whole section is now screwed up. Thanks, Yoninah (talk) 22:19, 23 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Whew, I figured this one out. Yoninah (talk) 22:39, 23 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Excellent! I like when problems get resolved before I even look at them! M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:47, 23 July 2019 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

 * Thank you very much, . It's nice to know that my minor contributions are appreciated. Congratulations on your DYK's performance; I'm not surprised, as it was a compelling hook. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  08:03, 14 August 2019 (UTC)

Hello
And thank you for updating the link on my page. A pleasant surprise to hear from you, even obliquely. Very best, 2601:188:180:1481:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 01:28, 1 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks for dropping by. I just looked up those archived links to satisfy my own curiosity, wondering about the result of someone issuing you a level 4im vandalism warning, then going on to lecture you (incorrectly) about how to deal with copyright violations and further threatening a block. I was pleased to see that you were found to be completely in the right, and the other user ended up with the block. Based on that user's attitude, I suspect this is one instance where it didn't matter much that you were an IP. But I know that most of the reverts and warnings you get wouldn't've happened to a registered user. I admire your fortitude in continuing to edit as an IP despite the vast quantity of IP bigotry around.Anyways, I hope you're having a good Labor Day/Burn Day weekend! M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  02:40, 1 September 2019 (UTC)

Hey
Hey, Mandarax, long time no see! Your thanks reminded me, if they come up with a You're Welcome feature I'll use that too! – Athaenara ✉  21:47, 5 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Good to see you, Athaenara. Maybe your "you're welcome" idea will catch on!BTW, in case I never mentioned this before, I like your signature gallery. (I've got a mini-gallery of all the signatures I've used before settling on my current one many years ago.) M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:55, 5 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Athaenara, another thing I never mentioned to you.... You used to have a note on your user page about how long it took you to discover that the arrow in edit summaries was a link to the edited section. Well, that was a very long time ago, but I think when I first saw that, I was unaware of that functionality. So thanks for teaching me! Of course, that was back in the Olden Days, when you had to click on that tiny "→", unlike nowadays when you can also click anywhere on the text of the section heading in the edit summary. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  23:01, 14 September 2019 (UTC)
 * I was paring down my userpage awhile ago, that one went in February. – Athaenara  ✉  04:15, 15 September 2019 (UTC)

Lowercase "l" for litre/liter
In this edit you changed the abbreviation for litre/liter from "L" to "l". A standard reference (note page 124) notes that "L, l" are preferred, and one page 130 notes that an exception (from lowercase units) has been made to avoid confusion of "l" with "1" ("An exception, adopted by the 16th CGPM (1979, Resolution 6), is that either capital L or lower-case l is allowed for the litre, in order to avoid possible confusion between the numeral 1 (one) and the lower-case letter l (el)."). In medical contexts, the capital letter is often urged for that reason. Just wanted to ensure you're aware of these considerations - it's not a battleground for me, but I do think the "L" is a better choice (I care more about clarity than tradition). &mdash; soupvector (talk) 21:58, 8 September 2019 (UTC)
 * I wasn't aware of that convention. (Of course, there's no chance of confusion in this context, as it's "mg/l".)Convert handles "mg/L" and "mg/l" differently. The default conversions are to "lb/cu in" and "oz/cu in", respectively. In any case, I've changed it to "mg/L", converting to "oz/gal", which seems like a better conversion than either of the defaults. Please feel free to change it if you prefer something else. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:34, 8 September 2019 (UTC)

thanks for your help
thanks so much for your help. I was ready to give up. I am going to study what you did. you really helped with my DYK nomination!! thanks!!!--Sm8900 (talk) 01:31, 9 September 2019 (UTC)
 * You're very welcome. I appreciate your taking the time to leave me the barnstar and the note. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  01:38, 9 September 2019 (UTC)

A kitten for you!
I'd give you a dog, but maybe you have a day job and I'd hate for the puppy to be crated while you're at work. Thanks for all your help and your friendship, Mandarax.

Drmies (talk) 00:29, 20 September 2019 (UTC) 
 * Thanks, Drmies. Kittens are cute.As for this, I specifically left the other ones unchanged for that very reason (although I consider it a bit of a grey area regarding MOS:CONFORM). About the one I did change, all I can say is "D'oh! I didn't notice that it was in a long quote", because I was just quickly looking for any edit to make so I could give you that edit summary notification. I see that you put the quotation mark exactly where I thought it would go, but there were a coupla other possibilities. (In retrospect, I should've just added the quotation mark and asked you in the edit summary to verify its position.)And about the friendship, I'll quote Patrick Swayze: "ditto". M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  04:36, 20 September 2019 (UTC)

A page you might be interested in
Hi Mandarax! I came across this stub about a painting the other day via random article, and thought it was really interesting. I did a little bit to improve it, but I really know nothing about art! I just wanted to bring the page to your attention in case it's something that interests you. Ganesha811 (talk) 21:24, 20 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks. If anyone's able to expand it sufficiently, possibly with text from the Swedish Wikipedia page, I hope it becomes a DYK. (BabbaQ's the first Swedish-speaking DYKer who comes to mind, if they're interested.)BTW, Ganesha is one of my favorite deities, and I have used that name for myself on occasion. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  23:13, 20 September 2019 (UTC)
 * , it's a good name! :) Glad you're interested. Ganesha811 (talk) 00:18, 21 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Thank you. I will expand it tomorrow when I am back home at my computer. Looks interesting.BabbaQ (talk) 17:55, 21 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Excellent! Thanks, BabbaQ. I'll look forward to seeing the expanded article and its DYK. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  18:15, 21 September 2019 (UTC)

Long, strange trip
Robert Hunter (1941–2019)

I haven't listened to a cassette tape in many, many years, but today I spent considerable time searching for my Robert Hunter bootlegs. Alas, I've, so far, been unable to find them. Fortunately, there's plenty available at archive.org.

The songwriting team of Garcia/Hunter was extraordinary, rivaled only by Lennon/McCartney. As a solo performer, I consider "Promontory Rider" to be the quintessential Hunter song. The amazing songwriter and poet Robert Hunter will be greatly missed. M AN d ARAX •  XAЯA b ИA M  08:25, 25 September 2019 (UTC)

Kant's teleology
Thanks for your edits there, and also for pointing me to Walter Baxter. Although I don't think that pun can ever be forgivable! Andy Dingley (talk) 09:21, 26 September 2019 (UTC)
 * You're welcome for my minor edits. I assume you're referring to the April Fools' hook on my user page: ... that Walter Baxter wrote about the gay Batman–Kent relationship? I wrote the article specifically to create a hook about a gay Batman, but somehow the "Kent" thing eluded me until I had a moment of inspiration. Thank you for declaring it unforgivable – that's quite a compliment! BTW, the article ended up being one of my favorites. And, this being Banned Books Week, I'd like to finally read Baxter's books one of these days.... M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  10:26, 26 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Just to clarify: I'm not aware of Baxter's novels technically being banned, but I would be surprised if they weren't banned somewhere. I love the statement from his courageous publisher in response to calls for withdrawal – "We have not withdrawn the book, it just isn't for sale any more" – which amounts to a de facto ban. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  19:57, 26 September 2019 (UTC)
 * The surprising thing was that in all the coverage I've read of the Chatterley trial etc., I've never heard of him – even though Mervyn Griffith-Jones was involved in both. Andy Dingley (talk) 21:07, 26 September 2019 (UTC)


 * Mandarax, I wonder if I haven't looked at that article before; maybe I should just get the book, after I'm done reading every Mexican and African book I have on my stack here--about a dozen or so. Hey, if you have a moment, can you "do" your thing with hyphens etc. for Among the Lost? (I'm not as dumb as I seem, but as I'm preparing a book for publication all we use is "-" and "--"; I suppose the typesetter does the rest. Do typesetters still exist?) Thank you so much! Drmies (talk) 02:03, 30 September 2019 (UTC)
 * My hook may have alluded to superheroes, but you were the true superhero regarding the Walter Baxter article. You rescued it after someone had declined the submission at Articles For Creation. You mentioned it somewhere or another, and I noticed the April Fools' potential and expanded it. I really felt good writing it, as though I was giving a little recognition to this guy who was persecuted right out of writing. I see that his other book, Look Down in Mercy, is in your university library.I'm always happy to do my hyphen thing for you.Will this be your first book? Either way... how exciting! M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  07:07, 30 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Ha, yes, the history refreshes my memory. And I appreciate you picking up on these things. I was surprised that Monge didn't have an article yet--I suppose a lot of writers slip through the cracks. Yes, first book--fingers crossed. Thanks again, Drmies (talk) 14:08, 30 September 2019 (UTC)

Redirects
Thank you for fixing redirects, but I sometimes wish I could say please no when it's a bad redirect, such as Staatsoper Dresden, which should be an article, to Semperoper which didn't exist at the time. Eventually I may write Der Ring in Minden, - it would be pointless having to fix links then. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:55, 3 October 2019 (UTC)
 * I understand. I never "fix" such redirects in articles; I just do it when they'll only be on the Main Page briefly, per MOS:DYKPIPE. (The other redirects I fix are ones with typos.) I've noticed that when it's not done before it hits the MP, someone inevitably reports it to WP:ERRORS, and it gets taken care of then. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  01:27, 4 October 2019 (UTC)
 * I understand. In this case, I created the article, and changed the Thomas Mohr DYK nom. In case you know of other areas where you changed, please fix. I know the problem from Surtsicna regularly running into problems with the faithful believers in no redirects ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:33, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
 * As I said, I only change redirects where the MOS specifies that they should be: for brief appearances on the MP, or for typos. There's no place other than Template:Did you know nominations/Thomas Mohr (tenor) where I piped Stadttheater Minden to Der Ring in Minden. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  21:40, 16 October 2019 (UTC)
 * All fine. Looking forward to the singer's quirky hook on his birthday tomorrow ;) - quite a feat, Loge, Siegmund, Siegfried, Siegfried, often sung by four different singers, and all beautifully sung, with thougtful phrasing and lyricism on top of powerful thundering of extreme notes! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:54, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Template:Did you know nominations/Battle of the North Inch
I believe that I have made the required amendments to Template:Did you know nominations/Battle of the North Inch. Please confirm. Regards. QuintusPetillius (talk) 19:13, 2 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Yes, QuintusPetillius, thanks for adding the required links; I've made them bold. Your new ALT1, however, is 4 characters over the limit of 200. A reviewer may allow the extra few characters, but in general shorter hooks are preferred, so you might consider trimming it a bit. BTW, in one of your edit summaries, you refer to me as an admin, but (as you may have seen from my Editnotice here), I'm not one. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  19:36, 2 November 2019 (UTC)
 * I have trimmed ALT1. Regards. QuintusPetillius (talk) 20:25, 2 November 2019 (UTC)

Thanks for adding spaces
Your work is appreciated.

Any feedback is welcome.&#32; Uziel302 (talk) 13:02, 25 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your note, and for providing such a useful and easy way to make corrections. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  19:49, 25 November 2019 (UTC)

The glass is half empty
Now, of course, I'm constantly hitting "enter" on my edit summary, staring at the screen, and getting frustrated that it isn't posting. It takes an embarrassingly long time - each time - to remember what's happening. I need a script that, when you press enter in the edit summary field, causes a big red flashing window to pop up saying "hit save you idiot". --Floquenbeam (talk) 15:25, 9 December 2019 (UTC)
 * I tried the snippet, it was too uncanny for me. –xenotalk 16:05, 9 December 2019 (UTC)
 * (Context for curious stalkers.)Well, first of all, Floquenbeam, I've warned you before, so watch it!As for your feature request, the following is close:


 * If you hit in the Edit summary field, a window will pop up, asking "Publish changes?", but it's not big or red or flashing. Select  to submit or  to... uh... cancel. You may, of course, change the prompt from "Publish changes?" to something more self-deprecating if you'd like. Maybe this is sufficiently less uncanny for you, xeno?  M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  22:15, 9 December 2019 (UTC)
 * I ... I really thought I was just kidding. That's fantastic. Thank you. I did change the prompt, but to avoid giving you an excuse to block me, I left out the "idiot" part. --Floquenbeam (talk) 23:08, 9 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Preview! You’ll never hit 100k edits using preview old boy. –xenotalk 00:27, 10 December 2019 (UTC)
 * You're welcome, Floquenbeam. And, if I may be egotistically presumptuous, thanks for this, although I'm quite undeserving of your praise, assuming it was even intended to be about me. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  00:35, 10 December 2019 (UTC)
 * You are, and it was. --Floquenbeam (talk) 15:13, 10 December 2019 (UTC)
 * :-)I rarely literally LOL around here, but you made me do it with this. BTW, no, I don't have Writ's page watchlisted; I was just going to reply with the smiley, but clicked on my link and noticed your humorous reply. M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  20:37, 12 December 2019 (UTC)

A cupcake for you!
Thanks, Kaybeesquared, for the cupcake, which I will enjoy even though I received it under false pretenses. I didn't actually promote your hook. I noticed that the bot which issues credits had complained about the credit template, and failed to give you your credit, so I took care of posting it on your talk page. I'd be happy to share the cupcake with who approved the nomination,  who promoted the hook to prep, and  who promoted it from prep to queue.

In any case, welcome to DYK! M AN d ARAX •  XAЯA b ИA M  21:56, 19 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks - and first thanks are due to paul2520 who suggested this as a DYK and filled template. Kaybeesquared (talk) 22:10, 19 December 2019 (UTC)


 * I like sharing, thanks for the party, and sorry for my silly mistake to have caused the credit not issued the normal way. With Cullen and Clara Schumann, we had four women on DYK today! I remember my first DYK, back then "on" for six hours. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:24, 19 December 2019 (UTC)

Happy Holidays

 * Thanks, Modernist. Ditto! And I hope you have a wonderful new year! M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  07:28, 25 December 2019 (UTC)

Happy New Year Mandarax!
<div style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;float:right;margin-bottom:20px;margin-right:10px">Happy New Year! Hello Mandarax: Thanks for all of your contributions to improve the encyclopedia for Wikipedia's readers, and have a happy and enjoyable New Year! Cheers, Donner60 (talk) 00:04, 28 December 2019 (UTC) Send New Year cheer by adding {{subst:Happy New Year fireworks (static)}} to user talk pages with a friendly message.
 * Thanks, Donner60. I hope you have a great new year too! M AN d ARAX  •  XAЯA b ИA M  02:15, 28 December 2019 (UTC)