Wikipedia talk:Requests for arbitration/Sortan

Mass changing on style issues (dating)

 * This was originally posted as a request for clarification on Requests for arbitration. --Tony Sidaway 14:38, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

BEGIN --Tony Sidaway 14:38, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

user:SuperJumbo has been mass changing articles to use the British dating system. The relavant manual of style entry is as follows


 * "If the topic itself concerns a specific country, editors may choose to use the date format used in that country... For topics concerning the UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, most other member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, and most international organizations such as the United Nations, the formatting is usually 17 February 1958 (no comma and no "th"). In the United States, it is most commonly February 17, 1958. Elsewhere, either format is acceptable"

SuperJumbo's edits have been to articles pertaining to a non-Commonwealth nations (such as France and Suriname). The arbitration committee's ruling in the Sortan case (in which Jguk was doing similiar editing with regard to BC-AD/BCE-CE) says
 * Wikipedia does not mandate styles in many different areas; these include (but are not limited to) American vs. British spelling, date formats, and citation style. Where Wikipedia does not mandate a specific style, editors should not attempt to convert Wikipedia to their own preferred style, nor should they edit articles for the sole purpose of converting them to their preferred style, or removing examples of, or references to, styles which they dislike.

SuperJumbo's editing, however, appers to totally disgard this ruling. He claims that converting articles to the dating system used in those countries justifies per the first line of the MOS entry allows him to make these mass changes, when the more specific statement (3 sentences later) explicitely allows a number of styles. A number of admins, including myself, have objected to the changes he is making. I would like the arbitration committee to inform him that his claim is false, and have him reverse all the changes he made to non-commonwealth nation articles. Raul654 14:11, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
 * I agree that this SuperJumbo should be warned to stop making these make date format changes. Jayjg (talk) 15:05, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Yes, another trip down a bad road we have been on before. Fred Bauder 14:05, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Can they not just wikify the dates and then the engine will render it appropriately to people's settings? Stifle (talk) 16:01, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

END --Tony Sidaway 14:38, 12 September 2006 (UTC)