Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Sicily/Archive 1

I am trying to start up a Sicilian wikiproject
I am trying to start up a Sicilian wikiproject focussing on all matters Sicilian, attempting to fill in the many gaps relevant to her political structures, history, geography, and related biographies. This is a first draft, and I would appreciate any input from anyone on how to set this up properly. ρ¡ρρµ δ→θ∑ - (waarom? jus'b'coz!)  02:04, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
 * this is a great start! i'm so glad to see this project finally happen. Maybe we should have a task list on the page? - AKeen 03:38, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Hi AKeen! What I've done is collect bits and pieces from it.wiki and scn.wiki - much of it (probably all of it!) needs to be anglicised - but all the red links we end up with will effectively represent a task list.  Don't forget to add you name to the list of participants.  Let me know if you are unsure how.  I am confident we will attract stacks of users to this project!  ρ¡ρρµ δ→θ∑ -  (waarom? jus'b'coz!)  03:53, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Frazione
'Fractions' isn't really English. I note that it's about to be propagated via the Sicily project. Could we use 'Districts'? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Jigsawpuzzleman (talk • contribs).
 * I agree - I think we should leave it as "frazione" instead of "fractions." We can continue to link to frazione, so people can find out what this means specifically. They don't really have a precise English equivalent. "Fractions" is literal, but doesn't quite capture it.- AKeen 18:42, 3 May 2006 (UTC)


 * OK, 'frazione', in my humble prejudice would be OK but it should be in italics. This is, after all (cue strains of 'God Save the Queen') the English-speaking lump of Wikipedia and I note that the article on London in the Italian Wikipedia has it divided into 'distretti' and not boroughs. I'd be open to better suggestions though. Apols for not appending my moniker to my last post... Jigsawpuzzleman 20:38, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Sorry for joining in late - where is fazione getting used? Could "suburbs"  be used?  Otherwise, if there is no equivalent, I agree that frazione should be italicised.  ρ¡ρρµ δ→θ∑ -  (waarom? jus'b'coz!)  23:33, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Italics for sure - AKeen 23:40, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

Pippu, 'Frazione' is on the infobox template which is drawn from the Mazara page. My Italian isn't sturdy enough to contribute further to the debate, but what about 'outlying areas'? I'm not sure that 'suburbs' is really suitable for medium-sized provincial towns. Anyway, I feel I should leave this to you lot... I'll shut up now. Jigsawpuzzleman 07:15, 4 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Ok - I've simply italicized the word Frazioni in the template itself. Seeing that it is also a link to an article describing the word frazione, I think that is the best we can do.  No single English word will do because it can describe a range of possibilities:  formal and informal subdivisions, outlying hamlets and villages, and newer suburbs/estates/housing developments.  One thing for sure, frazioni is definitely better than "fractions"!  ρ¡ρρµ δ→θ∑ -  (waarom? jus'b'coz!)  07:31, 4 May 2006 (UTC)
 * How much better? About one-quarter to one-third better!  ρ¡ρρµ δ→θ∑ -  (waarom? jus'b'coz!)  07:32, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

Majorana
Do you have any source about Ettore Majorana being one of the Via Panisperna Boys? For sure they collaborated, but he was teaching (if my memory doesn't fail) theoretical physics in Naples. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Paolone (talk • contribs) 12:59, June 4, 2006 (UTC).

Syracuse poll
Hey all, there is a poll going on about the naming of Syracuse, your input would be appreciated at Talk:Syracuse. - FrancisTyers · 10:13, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

Commune
Hopefully John doesn't mind, but I have copied two notes he wrote to me today to this page because John is making a reasonable argument about the use of "Commune". I note that the whole of France has been done in en.wiki using "commune", and there is a decent argument there that we could do the same for Italy (and therefore Sicily). I probably have to withdraw from the debate because I just see hippies whenever I see this word (no disrespect intended). I can confirm that my Chambers dictionary carries the word with the definition intended here - so - what do you all think? ρ¡ρρµ δ→θ∑ - (waarom? jus'b'coz!)  12:54, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Hello, I've responded to your comments about translation of the Italian comuni over at Category talk:Cities and towns in Italy. In short, I argued that "commune" is the standard English translation for this term. Even if "commune" is not used in English to refer to municipalities in English-speaking countries, it is used to refer to French, Italian, etc. local government entities, and I provided dictionary entries to back me up on this. I don't think we should overtranslate. john k 11:35, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

I certainly know about the hippy meaning of "commune," but words can have more than one meaning. All of the English dictionaries either of us has so far mentioned include a definition of "commune" which includes French and Italian communes/comuni. The wikipedia article italicizing "commune" seems to be based on the same misconception as calling Italian comuni municipalities - that "commune" in English is not an appropriate translation of the French commune. But it seems clear from our readings of dictionaries that "commune" is an appropriate translation of French commune (and Italien comune). That this isn't the primary meaning of the word is irrelevant. Perhaps the word "count" would form a good example. The word "Count" has an English noun meaning related to the verb "count" - a "vote count," for instance. And I'd think that this would be the primary English noun meaning of "count." That doesn't mean that we should translate French comte, German graf, etc, as "Earl". "Commune" is the appropriate English term for these local government units. I don't see why we shouldn't use it. john k 12:44, 18 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Following on from both the Syracuse poll and the discussion on communes/municipalities, I have placed both questions before the broader wikipedia community, thinking that we are better of getting a broad consensus now before we go much further with the comuni than to get beat over the head once we have finished it all. I encourage you all to express your views at:  Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (city names).  ρ¡ρρµ δ→θ∑ -  (waarom? jus'b'coz!)  06:33, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

Italian municipalities bot
Most municipalities in Italy do not have a wikipedia article yet. I would like to add them automatically with a bot, using data from istat, the Italian statistical institute.

I would like some people to have a look at the proposed format, and as there is no WikiProject for Italy as a whole, I hope you can give me some feedback. Please take a look at the sample article at User:Eubot/Moretta, and comment on the format of the article. You can also edit the sample article; I will take your edits into account when writing the final version of my bot. Eugène van der Pijll 16:59, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Portal
I began creating the Sicily portal, feel free to contribute! :-) --GoHawks4 09:58, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Great idea - there are good ideas to get form the Italian version of the portal - thanks! πίππύ δ'Ω∑ -  (waarom? jus'b'coz!)  12:01, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Project directory
Hello. The WikiProject Council has recently updated the WikiProject Council/Directory. This new directory includes a variety of categories and subcategories which will, with luck, potentially draw new members to the projects who are interested in those specific subjects. Please review the directory and make any changes to the entries for your project that you see fit. There is also a directory of portals, at User:B2T2/Portal, listing all the existing portals. Feel free to add any of them to the portals or comments section of your entries in the directory. The three columns regarding assessment, peer review, and collaboration are included in the directory for both the use of the projects themselves and for that of others. Having such departments will allow a project to more quickly and easily identify its most important articles and its articles in greatest need of improvement. If you have not already done so, please consider whether your project would benefit from having departments which deal in these matters. It is my hope that all the changes to the directory can be finished by the first of next month. Please feel free to make any changes you see fit to the entries for your project before then. If you should have any questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you. B2T2 17:15, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Alcantara River
I just thought I'd let you know that there is already an English article on the Alcantara. The URL is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcantara_(river). I do not know why the link is still red, and I don't know how to fix it, but I think it would be good to get that article linked to the project page otherwise it seems like it has nothing to do with Sicily and WikiProject Sicily. Joseph

Wikipedia Day Awards
Hello, all. It was initially my hope to try to have this done as part of Esperanza's proposal for an appreciation week to end on Wikipedia Day, January 15. However, several people have once again proposed the entirety of Esperanza for deletion, so that might not work. It was the intention of the Appreciation Week proposal to set aside a given time when the various individuals who have made significant, valuable contributions to the encyclopedia would be recognized and honored. I believe that, with some effort, this could still be done. My proposal is to, with luck, try to organize the various WikiProjects and other entities of wikipedia to take part in a larger celebrartion of its contributors to take place in January, probably beginning January 15, 2007. I have created yet another new subpage for myself (a weakness of mine, I'm afraid) at User talk:Badbilltucker/Appreciation Week where I would greatly appreciate any indications from the members of this project as to whether and how they might be willing and/or able to assist in recognizing the contributions of our editors. Thank you for your attention. Badbilltucker 21:27, 29 December 2006 (UTC)