Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2011 December 23

= December 23 =

FeSi Production
Dear Sir. i would like to know about processes in fixing raw materials required for FeSi Production. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.2.96.106 (talk) 05:00, 23 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia's article Ferrosilicon might be a start.  (Why is it always "dear sir"?) --Shirt58 (talk) 05:53, 23 December 2011 (UTC)
 * They probably never learned "dear Sir/Madam" --203.22.236.14 (talk) 01:41, 24 December 2011 (UTC)

can view the list of x meical students of state medical university moscow
respected sir

i jus want to know that can able to see the list of x medical students name studied                in state medical university moscow115.240.198.77 (talk) 06:05, 23 December 2011 (UTC)

Trey Burke - Basketball Player - Deleted Question - not good PR for Wiki????????
I posted a question earlier today asking how the article posted by Wikipedia on its Main Page 'Did You Know' could refer twice to Trey Burke's Height and Weight giving 2 different answers. His height had INCREASED by 2 inches whilst his weight had DROPPED by 10 pounds - all in the space of 2minutes reading time. I also said how I wished I could achieve the same results as quickly. BUT when I came to check for any responses, I discovered my question had been deleted by person or persons unknown. And yet, on opening Wikipedia, I am constantly confronted by an appeal from Jimmy Wales or others, asking me to subscribe to Wikipedia's survival fund. My question this time? Why should I, when my questions that are clearly embarrassing and offensive (about the accuracy of Wiki articles) to its self appointed editors can be summarily deleted? By the way, I will not be surprised to later discover that this current question has also been deleted. And if it is, do not be surprised to note that my intended subscription to the Jimmy Wales survival fund has also been deleted. 62.30.176.76 (talk) 20:42, 23 December 2011 (UTC)


 * Your question was removed by LarryMac, here: . You do have a rather nasty way of putting things.  Obviously his height didn't change, although a 10 pound weight change could happen (I expect as much over the holidays).  The height figures likely come from different sources.  Since people often lie about their height, that could explain the incorrect figure.  In any case, comments on the accuracy of an article belong on that article's talk page, not here.  Would you complain to a librarian that one of the books contained inaccurate info ?  (Perhaps you would, but I doubt if they could get it corrected.) StuRat (talk) 20:51, 23 December 2011 (UTC)


 * Hi Stu. Original Poster here. Clearly I have rattled your cage. No apologies are forthcoming. You accuse me of being nasty. I accuse you of being supercilious and presumptious. It is no wonder that British Universities have forbidden students and undergraduates from using Wikipedia articles as source materials in their research projects when any criticism of said articles are resoundingly attacked by such as yourself - even when such attacks are unfounded, personally vindictive, and plainly wrong. Oh, and by the way, I recently purchased a very expensive world tour from an otherwise highly reputable travel operator whose brochure, confirmation letter, and itinerary description were totally in conflict with each other. When I challenged them over this, they carefully reviewed their publications, wrote to me apologising for their misinformation, issued me with revised details, and have undertaken to, at significant expense to themselves, reprint their brochure so as not to mislead other potential customers. I am so happy that you do not work for or represent that company. Have a nice Christmas. Signed Mr. Nasty. 62.30.176.76 (talk) 00:41, 24 December 2011 (UTC)
 * It is no wonder universities don't allow Wikipedia as a source. We are an encyclopedia. That's all. By university you should be using primary sources, not tertiary ones. And politicians should stop "quoting" our articles too. Rmhermen (talk) 01:19, 24 December 2011 (UTC)
 * To expand on what Rmhermen says: Wikipedia has no expectations for University students to use it as a research source. It never would, and that is not what Wikipedia is supposed to be used for.  Indeed, I'm not sure any university which regularly accepted Wikipedia as a source for serious research wouldn't have degrees worth the paper they were printed on.  Saying so is not particularly insulting to Wikipedia, so you don't hurt anyone's feelings here by noting that.  It isn't an expectation for this encyclopedia for it to ever be that sort of work.  -- Jayron  32  01:47, 24 December 2011 (UTC)
 * I doubt any credible university would allow the Britannica to be cited either. An encyclopedia provides a guideline or ideas for detailed research. Wikipedia serves that function quite well. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:09, 24 December 2011 (UTC)
 * That's kinda the point. -- Jayron  32  02:16, 24 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, and the OP disparaged wikipedia as if it were somehow different from Britannica. I wonder if the OP got the point? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:46, 24 December 2011 (UTC)


 * There are often differences in sources about such things. http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/burke_trey00.html says "Height / Weight: 5-11 / 180" as in the infobox at the top right of Trey Burke. http://rivals.yahoo.com/basketballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/commitments/2011/alabama-29 says 6'1" 170 as in the later box. Both are linked in the article. It's unfortunate if an article has internal inconsistencies but all the numbers have sources I think are usually considered reliable. Do you have a way to determine which (if any) is right? PrimeHunter (talk) 02:19, 24 December 2011 (UTC)

Recruit box template measurments are from high school (usually before the senior season, sometimes before the sophomore season). For short players like Burke, they may at times be inflated to increase his desirability for scholarship offers. The height in the infobox is from the school he chose to attend (after starting college and generally from the most recent season). The one in the infobox will change over the course of his career. The one in the recruit box will remain constant.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 02:50, 24 December 2011 (UTC)


 * LarryMac's edit summary says he deleted a "non-question". That is, he deleted your (rhetorical) question because it couldn't be answered with a reference, not because it was embarrassing. I don't think this was a great decision, but the motivation wasn't the one you suspect. Card Zero  (talk) 05:31, 24 December 2011 (UTC)


 * Hi Card Zero. OP here again. When I was studying English at school, a question mark at the end of a question indicated that the sentence was a question. Having just re-examined my deleted original question as removed by LarryMac, I was stunned to discover that I had, in fact, placed a question mark ie ? at the end of the opening sentence. So according to you and LarryMac, it seems that Wikipedia have changed the rules of English punctuation. Or have I missed something along the way? By the way, the previous sentence as suffixed by a question mark, is a question. Signed Mr. Nasty. 62.30.176.76 (talk) 10:55, 24 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Just because something has a question mark in it, doesn't make it a genuine question. What was posted seemed to be a rhetorical question, which is a question that does not require an answer.  And even if a sentence is a genuine question it may not belong in the reference desk: questions about how Wikipedia operates do not belong here.  They go on Help Desk.  Are you going to argue that your question wasn't really about Wikipedia?  (Although that last sentence ended with a question mark I don't expect an answer.) --Colapeninsula (talk) 11:56, 24 December 2011 (UTC)
 * OK, so let's clarify. Your question was titled "Trey Burke - Mr. Basketball", but your actual question was "How does Wikipedia do it?" (for simplicity here's a permalink to the diff). It must be noted that the topic and question seem somewhat unrelated, but anyway, we help where we can. So to answer what you in fact asked can I direct you to start by reading the article called Wikipedia. If you have any more specific questions about 'how Wikipedia does it' after reading that, then let us know. You're welcome! --jjron (talk) 14:25, 24 December 2011 (UTC)


 * Comment from Trey Burke page creator My attention was called to this discussion. The discussion is now a dick-swinging contest about understanding of semantics, grammar and wikipedia protocol. My input as the page creator seems irrelevant. I am unwatching this page. If you need me to come back and clarify anything about the content of the page, you know where to find me.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 20:30, 24 December 2011 (UTC)