Wikipedia:WikiProject Ireland Collaboration/Poll on Ireland article names/Position statements/Rockpocket

What's in a name?
The term Ireland, when used as a proper noun, is ambiguous. It may refer to either an island in Europe, or a sovereign state, comprising approximately 75% of that island by landmass. This dispute concerns the title of the articles about these two overlapping, but non-identical entities.

According to WP:DAB, "Disambiguation in Wikipedia is the process of resolving conflicts in Wikipedia article titles that occur when a single term can be associated with more than one topic," How, therefore, do we disambiguate between the two overlapping but non-identical entities called Ireland: the state vs. the island? Three fairly self evident options are available to us:


 * 1) Have a disambiguation page that directs readers to two daughter articles, each of which has a different title.
 * 2) Have one of the articles under the title "Ireland" and the other under another title.
 * 3) Do not disambiguate, instead covering both subjects under the same article title.

Furthermore, there are alternatives available within each option (for example, if disambiguation is to occur, what titles should be used for the state: Ireland (state) or Republic of Ireland?) All these options can justified by policies, and no one is inherently more "correct" than another. There are advantages and disadvantages associated with each. Here I argue that everyone needs to Calm The Fuck Doun and get some perspective: any of these options would serve the readers of Wikipedia admirably. With intelligent use of inline piping, redirects and hatnotes, the title of an article is of much lesser concern than the content. Or as Juliet said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. What is important is that which is beneath the title; whether the title is Montague or Ireland is of little ultimate consequence.

The elephant in the room in this discussion, is the multi-generational geo-political dispute over the re-unification/segregation of Ireland (the state) with/from Ireland (the island). It would be naïve to suggest that this dispute has not influenced the process of resolving the article titles here on Wikipedia. I would caution, therefore, that this should be borne in mind when considering impassioned arguments stating that only one solution is acceptable and the others are entirely intolerable. Ask yourself, also, if you feel particularly strongly about this, to what extent your national or cultural interests are influencing your perspective.

Nevertheless, to participate in a ballot one must express a preference. My preference is no more notable or authoritative than anyone else's, so its hardly fair that I should be extolling its virtues to you. You've got a brain, you have found your way onto the largest repository of information the world has ever seen, so go read, learn, think, then vote.

Users who endorse this perspective

 * Bastun Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ! 10:54, 30 July 2009 (UTC)
 * rannṗáirtí anaiṫnid (coṁrá) 21:59, 30 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Fmph (talk) 16:49, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

Alternative perspectives

 * Users who have alternative perspectives sign here