User talk:YBG

NaCl polyhedra
Hi, I hope you can help me out as I have nominated this image to become a Featured Picture and now there is some questions about this image. I hope you have the knowledge to provide answers to the questions. The questions are; 1) This representation is different to all the others I've Googled. Does it have Academic authentication? 2) But could you add to the description about which colors are which elements. I'm a graphic worker and have no knowledge of this subject. I really hope you can help me or tell me someone else who might be able, thanks. --always ping me-- Goran tek-en (talk) 17:15, 23 August 2021 (UTC)
 * I have got the needed information from another user so this is ✅, thanks. --always ping me-- Goran tek-en (talk) 19:55, 23 August 2021 (UTC)

Template:List of aqueous ions/header
My edit was to get Template:List of aqueous ions/header out of Database reports/Invalid Navbar links when it next runs. Your revert will mean that it remains in the report. Please also note that the namespace prefix is unnecessary. -- Red rose64 &#x1f339; (talk) 16:14, 4 October 2021 (UTC)
 * , I saw you did the same in here. But actually, the v-t-e links should lead to the templatepage with the content. The database report title is wrong in these cases. I have no idea on how to prevent these, eh, incorrect edits. -DePiep (talk) 16:28, 4 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Why is a navbar needed anyway? How often is an edit to Template:List of aqueous ions required, for which a navbar would make that edit easier to carry out? -- Red rose64 &#x1f339; (talk) 17:50, 4 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Is an unrelated question. (The answer is in the wiki principles). -DePiep (talk) 12:26, 5 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Excluding navbars from infrequently edited templates could be misunderstood as a claim of WP:OWNership. Including them is a subtle way of inviting editors to collaborate.
 * I have modified the parent template to pass the navbar in as a parameter so that it only appears in the parent template, and not when the header appears independently or as a part of testcases. This should remove it from next month's report. perhaps this same technique could be used in ISO 15924 script codes and related Unicode data and its /header sub-template.
 * In my opinion, the process that generates these reports should explicitly recognize the template-header pattern and make provision for it, not by excluding them as it apparently does /sandbox templates, but by stripping off the /header (or perhaps /anything) before making the comparison.
 * In an unrelated side note, (as it says in navbar, I had contemplated making the edit link point to the /data subtemplate, which I expect would be the most likely place editors would wish to make changes.
 * YBG (talk) 14:31, 5 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Needslessly complicating (isn't this why the header is separated in the first place?), and only use would be to mislead a non-understanding administrative bot. -DePiep (talk) 14:36, 5 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes, needless. But it looks like most of the errors found by the bot are things that can and should be fixed, e.g., typos like "Hungaru" instead of "Hungary" (which I just fixed) and obsolete links left over from page moves. So to help editors like RR64 focus on things that really make a difference, I don't mind a little bit of complication. It's my little bit to facilitate the overall improvement of the encyclopedia. An even better solution would be to make the bot smarter, but that requires more research and time than I'm willing to invest. YBG (talk) 14:46, 5 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Not jumping for joy, but I think it is OK if editors like understand this database-dump-limitation quirk and so can edit/notedit accordingly.
 * BTW, I met this solution I already employed (the table rows are in-article today, so no top-v-t-e-links useful): Isotopes table. Looks nice imo. -DePiep (talk) 00:03, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

Template problems
Hello, YBG,

It seems that you added a CSD tag to Template:List of aqueous ions/row/sandbox which has now caused every template that includes this one to have a speedy deletion tag on them. Are all of the templates in Category:Candidates for speedy deletion by user supposed to be deleted? Can you fix this? If you have a template you want deleted, maybe approach an administrator so that the CSD tag doesn't get transcluded on other templates. Thank you. Liz Read! Talk! 02:43, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you. I meant to change the calling template before adding the CSD tag. It should all be OK now. YBG (talk) 03:34, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Yeah, templates are an area I don't understand so thank you for fixing the problem. The templates are gone from the CSD category now. Liz Read! Talk! 04:12, 9 October 2021 (UTC)

U.S. state and territory temperature extremes
Hi. The data from Hawaii from the NOAA page, as per "Unreferenced data assumed to be from NOAA" --Jbaranao (talk) 02:00, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Thank you for the explanation. Feel free to restore your edit, but please make sure you include an edit summary. Edit summaries are always a good idea, but especially when doing something that could be viewed some skepticism, such as removing a reference. I occasionally forget to include an edit summary myself, and so I have selected the preference that reminds me when I forget. Thank you for your contributions, and happy editing. YBG (talk) 03:22, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

Dutch Bros History request
Hi there! I'm following up on some interest you expressed on the Dutch Bros Talk page. I responded to your comments about my History request but didn't hear back, so I thought I’d reach out a little more directly. If you feel I didn't quite address your concerns, I'm happy to discuss further. Otherwise, any additional time and input you might be willing to give to help me with my draft is much appreciated. Thanks in advance! Hillaryjbrown (talk) 04:46, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

Invitation to discussion: FAC 4 nomination of nonmetal
Please accept this note as an invitation to participate in the discussion of this latest FAC nomination for the nonmetal article.

The context is that you were involved in the FAC 3 discussion for the article (which was not prompted) or you are an editor who made a recent edit to the nonmetal article.

Thank you. Sandbh (talk) 07:05, 4 February 2022 (UTC)

"Swearing in of John Adams" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Swearing in of John Adams and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 November 26 until a consensus is reached, and anyone, including you, is welcome to contribute to the discussion. JJLiu112 (talk) 02:09, 26 November 2022 (UTC)

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Nomination for deletion of Template:List of aqueous ions
Template:List of aqueous ions has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the entry on the Templates for discussion page. Gonnym (talk) 13:10, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:List of aqueous ions/row/cell
Template:List of aqueous ions/row/cell has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the entry on the Templates for discussion page. – Jonesey95 (talk) 02:07, 23 July 2023 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:List of aqueous ions/notes
Template:List of aqueous ions/notes has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the entry on the Templates for discussion page. – Jonesey95 (talk) 02:07, 23 July 2023 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:List of aqueous ions
Template:List of aqueous ions has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the entry on the Templates for discussion page. – Jonesey95 (talk) 23:43, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

NaCl images
Here’s what I had in mind to replace the picture and quote is at  YBG (talk) 00:45, 29 October 2023 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:Periodic table (list of metalloid lists)
Template:Periodic table (list of metalloid lists) has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the entry on the Templates for discussion page. – Kjerish (talk) 19:45, 24 November 2023 (UTC)

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“Metal” & “nonmetal” in their articles
Metal/Nonmetal articles 358 234  (metal per se) - includes metallic 18 246  “nonmetal” - includes nonmetallic 9  53  “metalloid” 3   2  “metallicity” 387 536  “metal” total

Other article pairs for comparison

Vertebrate/Invertebrate articles 126  17  (vertebrate per se) 6  93  “invertebrate” 133 110  “vertebrate” total

Rational/Irrational number articles 110  46  (rational per se) 12 104  “irrational” 122 150  “rational” total

Algebraic/Transcendental number articles 65  53  “Algebraic” 6 106  “Transcendental” 71 159  (total)

YBG (talk) 16:17, 19 December 2023 (UTC)


 * @Sandbh: As an aside, I’m wondering if you could speculate why “metal” is mentioned so much more in nonmetal than “vertebrate” is in invertebrate, or “rational” in irrational, or “algebraic” in transcendental number? Can you think of any other similar pairs of opposites worth comparing? YBG (talk) 21:32, 30 December 2023 (UTC)
 * In chemistry, the properties of nonmetals are often understood in terms of how they differ from metals. This contrast is fundamental to explaining what nonmetals are, hence the frequent mention of "metal" in the context of "nonmetal." On the other hand, terms like "invertebrate," "irrational," and "transcendental number" are defined by the absence of certain characteristics (backbones, rationality, algebraic properties) but do not always require the direct contrast to their counterparts for their definition or understanding.
 * Metals were known and used since antiquity, so much of early chemistry was focused on metals. As a result, when nonmetals were studied, they were often described in terms of how they differed from the already familiar metals. In education, students typically learn about metals before nonmetals, so the teaching and discussion of nonmetals often references metals for context.
 * Other similar pairs: acids and bases; cations and anions; matter and antimatter; conductors and insulators; day and night. --- Sandbh (talk) 00:12, 14 January 2024 (UTC)
 * @Sandbh: Thank you, this stimulates more thinking. In retrospect, another significant difference occurs to me: in the other pairs (vertebrate/invertebrate, rational/irrational, algebraic/transcendental), there is a clear single-property that distinguishes the two: the presence of a backbone, being equal to the ratio of integers, and being the solution of a polynomial with integer coefficients. I suspect that if there were a universally accepted single-property distinction between metal and nonmetal, the comparisons would have seemed significantly less necessary. If you were to create a table to contrast the other pairs, it would end up being something rather trivial:
 * (has a backbone) vs. (lacks a backbone)
 * (equals the ratio of two integers) vs. (not the ratio of any two integers)
 * (equals the solution to a polynomial with integer coefficients) vs. (not the solution to a polynomial with integer coefficients)
 * You might be able to add another row or two to such tables, but it would certainly not be anywhere near a interesting or necessary as the contrasts between metals and nonmetals.
 * Thanks! YBG (talk) 01:11, 14 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Surely there are nonmetallic elements, such as carbon and sulphur, that were as well known to the ancients as gold and copper. -- Red rose64 &#x1f339; (talk) 10:42, 14 January 2024 (UTC)
 * In terms of physics, there is a clear single property: (has a Fermi surface) vs. (lacks a Fermi surface). It's just that physicists would be more interested in classifying simple substances than abstract chemical elements, so allotropy in C and As poses a problem if you want to apply it to chemical elements. With that said, physical and chemical properties of elements change under pressure too (e.g. polyhydrides showing unusual valencies), so chemistry also inherently has this issue.
 * In education, metals and nonmetals are surely introduced at about the same time. After all, nonmetals are the majority if you stick to the first three rows, where beginning chemistry courses usually start. I would need to research more to say anything about the history, but something that might be relevant is that the elemental gases H2, N2, and O2 were not really identified correctly until Lavoisier's time. Double sharp (talk) 12:17, 14 January 2024 (UTC)
 * The problem is a lack of a “universally accepted single-property distinction” between metals and nonmetals. YBG (talk) 16:21, 14 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Well, that definition is universally accepted by physicists. So, it seems to me that the issue is that there is a single-property distinction accepted by one field using the term but not another. Double sharp (talk) 17:27, 14 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Yup. That’s the problem when universal ain’t really universal. YBG (talk) 17:42, 14 January 2024 (UTC)

Happy New Year, YBG!


Happy New Year! YBG, Have a prosperous, productive and enjoyable New Year, and thanks for your contributions to Wikipedia.

Complex / Rational 03:55, 1 January 2024 (UTC)

Send New Year cheer by adding {{subst:Happy New Year fireworks}} to user talk pages.

Complex / Rational 03:55, 1 January 2024 (UTC)


 * Thank you, @ComplexRational! Same to you and yours! I note that you still have a few minutes left of the old year, but I still have over three hours. Your Atalanta BC has been enjoying the new year for nearly six hours, and @Sandbh for nearly 16 hours. YBG (talk) 04:59, 1 January 2024 (UTC)

Happy New Year! Double sharp (talk) 09:27, 1 January 2024 (UTC)

thought of your skill with tables/diagrams
Do you have any suggestions on how the tables at Candidates Tournament could be made clearer? Double sharp (talk) 05:02, 4 January 2024 (UTC)


 * I’ll have a look. YBG (talk) 05:23, 4 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Those tables are complicated! I’ll start to nibble around the edges. YBG (talk) 05:54, 4 January 2024 (UTC)
 * @Double sharp: I did some initial tweaking, replacing punctuation in all numbered lists with simple newlines so that the numbers line up. I’d be interested to know what you think.
 * For the next step, I’d suggest working on the last three columns. The candidates winners and the seeded into final conveying the same type of information: finals contestants and how they qualified. I’d suggest combining them into two pairs of lines: yyyy champion: / name / candidates winner: / name. The last column includes (1) venue, date, format then (2) results. It is possible that this could also be combined with the info in the previous columns, but I can’t tell for sure.
 * After regularizing the format of the last three columns into one or two new columns, only then do I think it would be time to start thinking about the previous columns.
 * — YBG (talk) 06:28, 6 January 2024 (UTC)

Highly conductive nonmetals
@Sandb: I think this little table is superior to the prose note in nonmetal, but I can’t figure out how to get it into the note and I don’t think it belongs in the main text. YBG (talk) 07:03, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
 * It should probably be noted that this is in the in-plane electrical conductivity for carbon. Perpendicular to the planes its conductivity is lower than any metal.
 * Is the thermal conductivity supposed to be for graphite or diamond? We should probably say which, though both are high. But in fact this has nothing to do with metallicity: all the network-covalent nonmetals join the true metals. (Se and Te are a bit below the range of metals, but there is a big gap between them and the molecular nonmetals. For black phosphorus, see these papers.) I guess the major factor here should be large lattice structures reducing phonon scattering. Double sharp (talk) 08:58, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
 * The thermal conductivity for C is as graphite, in the direction of its planes. This is stated in the associated part of the article: "Among nonmetallic elements, good electrical and thermal conductivity is seen only in carbon (as graphite, along its planes), arsenic, and antimony." --- Sandbh (talk) 05:10, 14 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I didn't see that YBG had already mentioned this to you. --- Sandbh (talk) 05:11, 14 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Yes, all has been clarified. But thanks for the ping regardless! Double sharp (talk) 07:48, 14 January 2024 (UTC)
 * @ Double sharp: This table is intended to replace note 8 which currently says
 * The note is attached to this sentence:
 * which covers your concerns.
 * However, I think it would be better to move the weasel words into the note and shorten the in-text sentence.
 * I propose changing the sentence to say:
 * Among nonmetallic elements, only carbon, arsenic, and antimony are good conductors of both heat and electricity.
 * then change the table header to
 * Nonmetals with good electrical and thermal conductivity
 * and add a footer to the table:
 * Carbon values are for graphite which conducts electricity well only along its planes.
 * and finally, fix the refs; I incorrectly assumed all electrical values were from one ref and all thermal from the other.
 * YBG (talk) 14:39, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
 * YBG (talk) 14:39, 5 January 2024 (UTC)

RFA2024 update: no longer accepting new proposals in phase I
Hey there! This is to let you know that phase I of the 2024 requests for adminship (RfA) review is now no longer accepting new proposals. Lots of proposals remain open for discussion, and the current round of review looks to be on a good track towards making significant progress towards improving RfA's structure and environment. I'd like to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has given us their idea for change to make RfA better, and the same to everyone who has given the necessary feedback to improve those ideas. The following proposals remain open for discussion:


 * Proposal 2, initiated by, provides for the addition of a text box at Requests for adminship reminding all editors of our policies and enforcement mechanisms around decorum.
 * Proposals 3 and 3b, initiated by and, respectively, provide for trials of discussion-only periods at RfA. The first would add three extra discussion-only days to the beginning, while the second would convert the first two days to discussion-only.
 * Proposal 5, initiated by, provides for a trial of RfAs without threaded discussion in the voting sections.
 * Proposals 6c and 6d, initiated by, provide for allowing users to be selected as provisional admins for a limited time through various concrete selection criteria and smaller-scale vetting.
 * Proposal 7, initiated by, provides for the "General discussion" section being broken up with section headings.
 * Proposal 9b, initiated by, provides for the requirement that allegations of policy violation be substantiated with appropriate links to where the alleged misconduct occured.
 * Proposals 12c, 21, and 21b, initiated by, , and , respectively, provide for reducing the discretionary zone, which currently extends from 65% to 75%. The first would reduce it 65%–70%, the second would reduce it to 50%–66%, and the third would reduce it to 60%–70%.
 * Proposal 13, initiated by, provides for periodic, privately balloted admin elections.
 * Proposal 14, initiated by, provides for the creation of some minimum suffrage requirements to cast a vote.
 * Proposals 16 and 16c, initiated by and, respectively, provide for community-based admin desysop procedures. 16 would desysop where consensus is established in favor at the administrators' noticeboard; 16c would allow a petition to force reconfirmation.
 * Proposal 16e, initiated by, would extend the recall procedures of 16 to bureaucrats.
 * Proposal 17, initiated by, provides for "on-call" admins and 'crats to monitor RfAs for decorum.
 * Proposal 18, initiated by, provides for lowering the RfB target from 85% to 75%.
 * Proposal 24, initiated by, provides for a more robust alternate version of the optional candidate poll.
 * Proposal 25, initiated by, provides for the requirement that nominees be extended-confirmed in addition to their nominators.
 * Proposal 27, initiated by, provides for the creation of a training course for admin hopefuls, as well as periodic retraining to keep admins from drifting out of sync with community norms.
 * Proposal 28, initiated by, tightens restrictions on multi-part questions.

To read proposals that were closed as unsuccessful, please see Requests for adminship/2024 review/Phase I/Closed proposals. You are cordially invited once again to participate in the open discussions; when phase I ends, phase II will review the outcomes of trial proposals and refine the implementation details of other proposals. Another notification will be sent out when this phase begins, likely with the first successful close of a major proposal. Happy editing! theleekycauldron (talk • she/her), via:

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 10:53, 14 March 2024 (UTC)

Reminder to vote now to select members of the first U4C

 * You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki. 

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RFA2024 update: phase I concluded, phase II begins
Hi there! Phase I of the Requests for adminship/2024 review has concluded, with several impactful changes gaining community consensus and proceeding to various stages of implementation. Some proposals will be implemented in full outright; others will be discussed at phase II before being implemented; and still others will proceed on a trial basis before being brought to phase II. The following proposals have gained consensus:

See the project page for a full list of proposals and their outcomes. A huge thank-you to everyone who has participated so far :) looking forward to seeing lots of hard work become a reality in phase II. theleekycauldron (talk), via MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 08:09, 5 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Proposals 2 and 9b (phase II discussion): Add a reminder of civility norms at RfA and Require links for claims of specific policy violations
 * Proposal 3b (in trial): Make the first two days discussion-only
 * Proposal 13 (in trial): Admin elections
 * Proposal 14 (implemented): Suffrage requirements
 * Proposals 16 and 16c (phase II discussion): Allow the community to initiate recall RfAs and Community recall process based on dewiki
 * Proposal 17 (phase II discussion): Have named Admins/crats to monitor infractions
 * Proposal 24 (phase II discussion): Provide better mentoring for becoming an admin and the RfA process
 * Proposal 25 (implemented): Require nominees to be extended confirmed

Nonmetal at FAC #9
Are you able to comment on this nomination(?); there's no obligation. Thanks Sandbh (talk) 05:06, 27 May 2024 (UTC)

See hatnote any talk page?
Hi. Can you tell me what this phrase in your edit summary means? Thanks. Johnjbarton (talk) 00:50, 4 June 2024 (UTC)


 * @Johnjbarton It is a typo. I meant to say "see hatnote and talk page. Does that explain things? YBG (talk) 00:53, 4 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Yes, thanks, plus now I know what a hatnote is. Johnjbarton (talk) 02:38, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

About metalloids and a new IP user
Hey there, I hope you are doing alright. I am messaging you because I noticed that a new IP user Special:Contributions/1.165.87.45 started editing today on chemistry pages, and they've been quite disruptive. Most of their edits have been reverted already, but as I am going through the rest I am also realizing that I need to revert more of them myself. Among them were edits made on metalloid and Template:Periodic table (metalloid), basically changing what elements count as metalloids without any references or discussion, which is pretty major ; I am contacting you specifically because I see that they did the same on Lists of metalloids, but there you made an edit going in their direction (merely finishing a color change to match what they did). I was planning to revert to before their first edit, but I figured I would contact you first. Choucas Bleu (T·C) 09:26, 18 June 2024 (UTC)


 * @Choucas Bleu: Thanks for your watchful eye. My first reaction to this IP editor was to roll them all back, but then I looked closer and (mistakenly) thought that these edits were merely making the coloration of the table match the legend for percentages, so I made further changes along the same line.
 * I have now reverted Lists of metalloids to the status quo ante.
 * Thank you for assuming good faith on my part and kindly bringing this to my attention. YBG (talk) 15:47, 18 June 2024 (UTC)
 * That is understandable indeed. You're welcome! Choucas Bleu  (T·C) 16:15, 18 June 2024 (UTC)


 * @YBG Well, unfortunately it looks like the same editor is back at it, under a new IP. Both IPs being from Taiwan, and the edits and interests being almost identical, I think it's safe to say it's the same person. It looks like it might become a recurring problem. I had to revert (almost) every new change they made again. I am unsure what the way forward should be on this one. Semi protection request of some of these pages maybe? Choucas Bleu  (T·C) 09:49, 21 June 2024 (UTC)