Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/16 December 2011/File:Continental models.gif

Where is the dispute?
Hello. I've come here to see whether there might be any way to resolve what's turned into a bit of an edit war at File:Continental models.gif. Thank you in advance for your time and assistance!

(Note: If you feel this should be solved at the Dispute resolution noticeboard, I'll... take it there when I have time. It's 1:30AM right now, I'm exhausted and I'll be waking up to a big pile of work in real life. Simply let me know, and my apologies if I jumped any guns. I'm not used to situations on Wikipedia where I need to look for any kind of mediation.)

Who is involved?

 * User:Aridd
 * User:Corticopious

What is the dispute?
Simply put, the disagreement is over whether the map should use the name "Australia" or "Oceania" (or arguably something else) to refer to the "continent"/region shaded in pink. Over previous years, users AlexCovarrubias and Corticopious reverted each other several times, and this year Corticopious and I have done the same.

My view, as I've stated when attempting to discuss the issue on the talk page, is that it's objectively incorrect to have a map that says or suggests that Polynesian and Micronesian countries are "part of Australia". Whatever the definition of Australia as a continent, there is none which includes countries such as Tonga or Samoa as being "part of Australia". I have said that the only valid word to refer to all the countries shaded pink on the map is "Oceania". The articles on the continent of Australia, on Australasia and on Oceania back this up.

Corticopious contends that "Australia" is a "common term in English" to refer not only to Australia (the country) but also to New Zealand, PNG, Fiji, Samoa, etc... I believe rather firmly that it is obviously not. I'll ask Corticopious to come to this page and explain his view in more detail.

What steps have you already taken to try and resolve the dispute?
I explained my reasons when reverting. Corticopious's reverts always provided the same explanation ("common term in English"), seemingly not taking into account my point to the contrary. His most recent revert concluded with the comment "duh".

The recent edit explanations to the file are as follows:
 * 1 March: AlexCovarrubias: "Most extended use "Oceania" not Australia"
 * 22 March: Corticopious: "common use in English"
 * 15 October: Aridd: "Nobody would say New Zealand, PNG and the Pacific Islands are part of "Australia". The only feasible term is "Oceania"."
 * 30 October: Corticopious: "common term in English"
 * 6 December: Aridd: "It's quite simply wrong to say that New Zealand or Fiji are "part of Australia". Nobody would say that. Please look up the definitions of "Oceania" and "Australia"."
 * 12 December: Corticopious: "common term in English, and matches article lead - duh"

By which he presumably means that it "matches the lead" in the article "Continent". Which misses my point: I don't dispute that there is a continent called Australia; I'm pointing out that the continent Australia does not match the area presented as being "Australia" on the map. Thus the map is incorrect and misleading.

I've raised the issue on the talk page, but Corticopious has neither participated in the discussion nor responded to my points in any form so far. Which is why I'm bringing the matter here, to avoid a pointless continued edit war.

What issues needs to be addressed to help resolve the dispute
As I see it, either the map needs to be fundamentally rethought (with the islands adjacent to each continent shaded grey?), or there needs to be a mediated agreement as to what name is appropriate for the area shaded pink on the map.

What can we do to help resolve this issue?
As I said just above, really... I'm not sure what else to suggest.

Discussion
I have commented a few times in the discussion and have decided to reiterate and expand my points here: 1) Corticopious is right that the usual name of the continent in English is "Australia", 2) Aridd is right that the Pacific islands are not part of any continent, 3) I have tried to reconcile the dispute by adding the following comment to the file description: "Oceanic islands are colored to match the most commonly associated continental mainland. Note that when such islands are included with Australia, the terms "Australasia" or "Oceania" are used for the resulting region." I have to agree that the map needs to be redone. --Khajidha (talk) 02:39, 17 December 2011 (UTC)


 * IMPORTANT NOTE:
 * User Corticopious is a sockpuppet of an already blocked and banned user by the name Corticopia. He was blocked and banned for multiple cases of sockpuppetry and abuse of Wikipedia's policies. Please see [] to see his multiple banned accounts, both registered and anonymous IP. He is known for his incivility, impossing of POV and most importantly for geography-related problems, Canada-related topics, Sci-Fi stuff (such as Star Trek and Issac Assimov stuff). That account should be immediatly banned accordingly with Wikipedia's policies.  Alex Covarrubias  ( Talk? )  03:27, 17 December 2011 (UTC)

Closing notes: The real problem here is that this is really a Commons dispute, not an English Wikipedia dispute, so en.Wikipedia dispute resolution processes do not apply and, should administrator intervention be needed, a Commons administrator must provide it. It should probably be taken to the Commons Village Pump for advice on finding the proper forum there to deal with this. (And, yes, if this was an en.Wikipedia dispute, you would need to attempt some other dispute resolution, such as DRN, before bringing it here. — TransporterMan  ( TALK ) 05:06, 17 December 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. I've moved the issue here. Aridd (talk) 22:40, 17 December 2011 (UTC)