Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Syria/Archive 4

WP 1.0 bot announcement
This message is being sent to each WikiProject that participates in the WP 1.0 assessment system. On Saturday, January 23, 2010, the WP 1.0 bot will be upgraded. Your project does not need to take any action, but the appearance of your project's summary table will change. The upgrade will make many new, optional features available to all WikiProjects. Additional information is available at the WP 1.0 project homepage. &mdash; Carl (CBM · talk) 03:59, 22 January 2010 (UTC)

GA reassessment of Syrian American
I have conducted a reassessment of the above article as part of the GA Sweeps process. You are being notified as this project's banner is on the talk page. I have found some concerns which you can see at Talk:Syrian American/GA1. I have placed the article on hold whilst these are fixed. Thanks. Jezhotwells (talk) 03:22, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Muhammad Tulaimat
Is somebody able to find sources for this guy in Arabic sources, great if you also could add his name in Arabic letters to the article. Not much info in English is readily available. thanks Power.corrupts (talk) 14:16, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Gush Hispin deletion proposal, general problem with unreferenced articles about Golan Heights
Golan Regional Council

Re: the recent proposal to speedy delete the article about Gush Hispin: It seems to me that kibbutzim and settlements in the Golan Heights are notable. However, going through the articles in the Template above, a lack of references in these articles is a common problem. I believe I've just tagged more than half the articles in this Template with "unreferenced" or "nofootnotes." I suspect that many of the sources in question are in Hebrew or Arabic, and could someone please help address this problem? Thanks, AFriedman   (talk)  02:24, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

Unreferenced living people articles bot
Okip  23:25, 27 March 2010 (UTC)
 * thanks for joining. Happy referencing. Okip  08:43, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

Invitation to discussion
A discussion has been started at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Israel_Palestine_Collaboration/Current_Article_Issues. Please join in. Unomi (talk) 12:04, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

rfc on israeli settlement terminology
Requests for comment/Israeli settlements  nableezy  - 23:19, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

WP 1.0 bot announcement
This message is being sent to each WikiProject that participates in the WP 1.0 assessment system. On Saturday, January 23, 2010, the WP 1.0 bot will be upgraded. Your project does not need to take any action, but the appearance of your project's summary table will change. The upgrade will make many new, optional features available to all WikiProjects. Additional information is available at the WP 1.0 project homepage. &mdash; Carl (CBM · talk) 03:59, 22 January 2010 (UTC)

GA reassessment of Syrian American
I have conducted a reassessment of the above article as part of the GA Sweeps process. You are being notified as this project's banner is on the talk page. I have found some concerns which you can see at Talk:Syrian American/GA1. I have placed the article on hold whilst these are fixed. Thanks. Jezhotwells (talk) 03:22, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Muhammad Tulaimat
Is somebody able to find sources for this guy in Arabic sources, great if you also could add his name in Arabic letters to the article. Not much info in English is readily available. thanks Power.corrupts (talk) 14:16, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Gush Hispin deletion proposal, general problem with unreferenced articles about Golan Heights
Template:Golan Regional Council Re: the recent proposal to speedy delete the article about Gush Hispin: It seems to me that kibbutzim and settlements in the Golan Heights are notable. However, going through the articles in the Template above, a lack of references in these articles is a common problem. I believe I've just tagged more than half the articles in this Template with "unreferenced" or "nofootnotes." I suspect that many of the sources in question are in Hebrew or Arabic, and could someone please help address this problem? Thanks, AFriedman   (talk)  02:24, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

Unreferenced living people articles bot
Okip  23:25, 27 March 2010 (UTC)
 * thanks for joining. Happy referencing. Okip  08:43, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

Invitation to discussion
A discussion has been started at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Israel_Palestine_Collaboration/Current_Article_Issues. Please join in. Unomi (talk) 12:04, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

rfc on israeli settlement terminology
Requests for comment/Israeli settlements  nableezy  - 23:19, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

Syria and Golan Heights
Some eyes are needed on the Syria and Golan Heights. [redacted] Runs afoul of WP:CANVAS, please review WP:CANVAS and rephrase Pantherskin (talk) 10:50, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

Talk:Hims_Gap
Perhaps someone with Syria-related experience would like to make a comment in the discussion.  Spencer T♦ C 02:57, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Jobar, Damascus
Hi. Could anyone provide further details of Jobar's current status? It's a suburb of Damascus? Thanks. Chesdovi (talk) 11:00, 24 August 2010 (UTC)
 * It's now a part of the City of Damascus, like many other villages that used to surround the city and are now considered among its neighborhoods. "Suburb" is an ambiguous designation because it doesn't tell you if it's inside or outside of the city. Hope that helps. Regards, -- Orionist  ★  talk  16:45, 24 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Do you have any further details which could be added about the type of neighborhood it is today? Is it residential/commercial; are there any landmarks within it; demography, etc? Chesdovi (talk) 16:56, 24 August 2010 (UTC)
 * I found the Arabic Wikipedia article here. So you can have a look or maybe auto-translate if you can't read Arabic. It's unreferenced and rife with personal opinions though, so take it with a "bagful" of salt. If you face any difficulties with it I'll be happy to help. In general, searching the web for information about the Middle East (that have nothing to do with war or propaganda) is very frustrating. That's why I switched the focus of my work in Wikipedia to this region. It's really a daunting task to find references, especially when you're looking for the reliable kind. Your best bet is to search for printed sources in Arabic language, books, magazines, newspapers etc. Some Arabic newspapers have put their archives on the web, some are even translating a part of their material to English, so you might find something there. Regards, -- Orionist  ★  talk  19:52, 24 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Great for finding the arabic version! I will pick out a few bits I feel are worthy and see what we can do. Chesdovi (talk) 09:40, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Syria articles have been selected for the Wikipedia 0.8 release
Version 0.8 is a collection of Wikipedia articles selected by the Wikipedia 1.0 team for offline release on USB key, DVD and mobile phone. Articles were selected based on their assessed importance and quality, then article versions (revisionIDs) were chosen for trustworthiness (freedom from vandalism) using an adaptation of the WikiTrust algorithm.

We would like to ask you to review the Syria articles and revisionIDs we have chosen. Selected articles are marked with a diamond symbol (&diams;) to the right of each article, and this symbol links to the selected version of each article. If you believe we have included or excluded articles inappropriately, please contact us at Wikipedia talk:Version 0.8 with the details. You may wish to look at your WikiProject's articles with cleanup tags and try to improve any that need work; if you do, please give us the new revisionID at Wikipedia talk:Version 0.8. We would like to complete this consultation period by midnight UTC on Monday, October 11th.

We have greatly streamlined the process since the Version 0.7 release, so we aim to have the collection ready for distribution by the end of October, 2010. As a result, we are planning to distribute the collection much more widely, while continuing to work with groups such as One Laptop per Child and Wikipedia for Schools to extend the reach of Wikipedia worldwide. Please help us, with your WikiProject's feedback!

For the Wikipedia 1.0 editorial team, SelectionBot 23:41, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Who lives in Damascus?
Does the Jobar Synagogue still exist? Did it once house an Arab school? Chesdovi (talk) 23:38, 17 October 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm afraid I just came back from there, but I will ask around a couple of friends.Yazan (talk) 13:00, 18 October 2010 (UTC)
 * The synagogue still exists, it has been renovated lately. You can see a couple of photos here. Yazan (talk) 22:50, 18 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks Yaz, I guess that answers my question! Chesdovi (talk) 22:55, 18 October 2010 (UTC)

WikiProject cleanup listing
I have created together with Smallman12q a toolserver tool that shows a weekly-updated list of cleanup categories for WikiProjects, that can be used as a replacement for WolterBot and this WikiProject is among those that are already included (because it is a member of Category:WolterBot cleanup listing subscriptions). See the tool's wiki page, this project's listing in one big table or by categories and the index of WikiProjects. Svick (talk) 21:29, 7 November 2010 (UTC)

Deir ez-Zor Museum
I just wrote Deir ez-Zor Museum. Could someone perhaps add the Arabic name? Thanks! -- Zoeperkoe (talk) 06:35, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Ancient Near East archaeological sites reorganization (Suggestion)
Please see this discussion here. Yazan (talk) 19:04, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

RS noticeboard on Amina Abdallah Arraf al Omari
See Reliable_sources/Noticeboard regarding an RS noticeboard entry on the Amina Arraf/Minal Hajratwala interaction WhisperToMe (talk) 17:45, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

Experienced editors with specialist regional knowledge urgently wanted
The Arbitration Committee is seeking to appoint additional people to the CheckUser and Oversight teams, in particular people with specialist knowledge.


 * Because of increasing activity in the South Asian, Southeast Asian, or Middle Eastern regions, CheckUser applications are particularly sought from people who not only meet our general requirements but also are familiar with the ISPs and typical editing patterns of any of these regions.

Successful candidates are likely to be regularly available and already familiar with local and global processes, policies, and guidelines especially those concerning CheckUser and Oversight. CheckUser candidates are expected to be technically proficient, and previous experience with OTRS is beneficial for Oversight candidates. All candidates must at least 18 years of age; have attained legal majority in their jurisdiction of residence; and be willing to identify to the Wikimedia Foundation prior to receiving permissions. If you think you may be suitably qualified, please see the appointments page for further information. The application period is scheduled to close 18 September 2011. Roger Davies talk 15:48, 16 September 2011 (UTC)

Featured article review for Yom Kippur War
nominated Yom Kippur War for a featured article review here. Please join the discussion on whether this article meets featured article criteria. Articles are typically reviewed for two weeks. If substantial concerns are not addressed during the review period, the article will be moved to the Featured Article Removal Candidates list for a further period, where editors may declare "Keep" or "Delist" the article's featured status. The instructions for the review process are here. Brad (talk) 14:00, 28 September 2011 (UTC)

International_recognition_of_the_Syrian_National_Council
I can appreciate any criticism that can improve this article that I am working on.  Flutter shy  !xmcuvg2MH 12:38, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

Help with Fadwa Soliman
Hi, I need help on Fadwa Soliman article

Thank you, --Midrashah (talk) 09:42, 11 December 2011 (UTC)

WikiWomen's History Month
Hi everyone. March is Women's History Month and I'm hoping a few folks here at WP:Syria will have interest in putting on events (on and off wiki) related to women's roles in Syria's history, society and culture. We've created an event page on English Wikipedia (please translate!) and I hope you'll find the inspiration to participate. These events can take place off wiki, like edit-a-thons, or on wiki, such as themes and translations. Please visit the page here: WikiWomen's History Month. Thanks for your consideration and I look forward to seeing events take place! SarahStierch (talk) 21:45, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

Homs massacre
I have added a new, stand-alone article. Homs massacre. for the recent attack on Homs which has attracted worldwide attention and been characterized as a massacre by world media. Your contributions are welcome. -- The Anome (talk) 14:08, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

Book class
Now that class=Book articles are appearing, e.g. Book:Saladin. Could someone add class=Book to the projects assessment table? --Bejnar (talk) 19:55, 16 March 2012 (UTC)

Hewar
Could someone take a look please and fix the redlink? In ictu oculi (talk) 03:48, 17 March 2012 (UTC)

Post-Zeyzoun Dam collapse photo from 2002 not correct
The photo included does not match the description, which purports it to be a false-color image showing flood damage. There is some mismatch here and I am not clever enough to suggest where it might be. Adding this note here, per the guidelines on WikiCommons.MariaMitchell (talk) 19:57, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

Merger of Ottoman Syria article
After reading the article on Ottoman Syria if found a great deal of redundancy and a complete overlap of the meaning with Syria Vilayet. I hence propose to merge Ottoman Syria article into Syria Vilayet. Please vote at the talk page of Ottoman Syria article.Greyshark09 (talk) 16:43, 5 June 2012 (UTC)

Coordinates
Over at WP:COORD, we are attempting to geolocate the Maarzaf and al-Qubair articles, two geographic articles related to the al-Qubair massacre, and to find the correct Arabic names for each. In the case of Maarzaf, we already have coordinates, but it would be good if this could be checked. If anyone has local knowledge, please could you help geolocate these articles? -- The Anome (talk) 23:01, 7 June 2012 (UTC)


 * Using my only very rudimentary understanding of the script, and the ar: article on the massacre, I've also added what I hope is the correct Arabic for al-Qubair. Can someone who actually knows the language double-check whether it's actually right? -- The Anome (talk) 19:25, 8 June 2012 (UTC)

Merge comment requested - Asma al-Assad and Vogue
There is currently a discussion to move content from Joan Juliet Buck to Asma al-Assad and/or Vogue (magazine). Please comment at Talk:Asma al-Assad. Thanks, D O N D E groovily   Talk to me  04:12, 14 June 2012 (UTC)

Merge comment requested: Al-Akhbariya and Syria News Channel
I suspect that Al-Akhbariya may well be the same thing as Syria News Channel, but not having local knowledge or being an Arabic speaker, I can't be sure. Can someone with local knowledge confirm this one way or another? -- The Anome (talk) 11:16, 5 July 2012 (UTC)
 * It's the same. Akhbariya is an alternate spelling of Ikhbariya. --Al Ameer son (talk) 18:29, 5 July 2012 (UTC)

Help needed to complete List of Syrian defectors article
Click --> List of Syrian defectors

Thank you. --Midrashah (talk) 11:26, 12 July 2012 (UTC)

Assad's chemical weapons
I'm not a part of Wikiproject Syria (although don't mind being), but I wanted to bring to people's attentions that it may be useful to update this page with recent information. "Assad's chemical weapons" have been in the news with many different aspects to them. I'll be happy to contribute as well. -- Activism  1234  00:55, 25 July 2012 (UTC)

[And yet, were we not led to believe that Iraq had WMD that were ready to be fired within 45 Mins?] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.190.61.188 (talk) 12:03, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

Requested/missing articles
Shouldn't the front page have such section? Most other projects do. I have one important request, Syrian Revolt of 1919. FunkMonk (talk) 10:21, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
 * I'll try to work on that. I only have Moubayed and Moosa as sources though (not very detailed). If you have any extra sources, that would be great. Yazan (talk) 10:23, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
 * As for the requested articles section, there is one. Buried deep in the tasklist section (last box in the right hand column on the main page.) Add your request there. Yazan (talk) 10:26, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Done. I can maybe attempt to start a stub from the material already present in the Saleh al Ali article. An article could be expanded from that. FunkMonk (talk) 10:37, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Sure, do that, and I'll see how I can contribute to it. Yazan (talk) 12:28, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

FA nomination for Francis Marrash
Hello! Francis Marrash has been nominated for FA assessment. Feel free to review. Any improvement suggestion appreciated! Bryan P. C. C. (talk) 06:39, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

October 2012 Syrian–Turkish border clash
I didn't see it covered elsewhere, so I started it. I tried to make it look like December 2011 Syrian–Turkish border clash. Should it be expanded or merged, or deleted or what? Thanks, Anna Frodesiak (talk) 11:23, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

I also post this at Project Turkey, so please comment at article talk instead of here. Thanks, Anna Frodesiak (talk) 11:24, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

Merge comment requested - Lajat
I would like some input on a proposed merge between Trachonitis and Lajat. Another editor thinks that these may be the same place. Please comment at Talk:Trachonitis Ego White Tray (talk) 02:28, 20 October 2012 (UTC)

Syria Minister of Defence
You forgot to list Mamdouh Jaber who actually was Minister of Defence as you can read in the following newspapers, will be updated in the next days:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2506&dat=19650401&id=AFhJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FAoNAAAAIBAJ&pg=537,27109 http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2512&dat=19650401&id=luZHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Nv8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1786,3791513

And you can also read that in this book:

http://books.google.at/books?id=Fbk9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=%22mamduh+jaber%22+syria&source=bl&ots=Zl6MuDDh8G&sig=Y2RTZaCpX3D4nhdeRdBKsW6KQ2M&hl=de&sa=X&ei=viasUJq-DcSF4ASd6ICQBg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22mamduh%20jaber%22%20syria&f=false — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.114.161.178 (talk) 00:57, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

The Need For Fair And Balanced Reporting About Syria
Is it not interesting to see how one-sided many reports abort Syrian are? For while Wikipedia appears to highlight remarks that back "western" policy, it seems to play down a wide range of opinions on Syria. Most Anti-Syrian comments are taken on face value, but remarks from the Syrian government are put in quotes - such as "armed terrorist groups". The impression given is that, for reasons unknown, peace-loving protesters are being attacked by a totally evil government. And when anyone questions if "human rights" groups quoted might be US backed, they are banned. Anyone looking on the internet will find a whole range of opinions about Syria, yet Wikipedia seem to use "information" showing the Syrian government in very a bad light. Given US government policy on Syria, such reporting/tactics must be of real concern.

So the question is: Will these issues be addressed in a fair and balanced way, or will Wikipedia find another "reason" to ban any questioning its' reporting on Syria? (29 November 2012) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.141.87.239 (talk) 23:19, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
 * The problem is that mainly English language sources are used on the English Wikipedia. And such sources are usually pro-whatever the West supports these days. When the West is battling Islamists, they're referred to as terrorists, but when Syria is battling Islamists, they're freedom fighters. FunkMonk (talk) 23:52, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
 * You can put citations and news from other sources like RT(Russia Today), it is obvious that west wages media war on Russia and everyone else that they don't like. Nazara45 (talk) 16:06, 1 October 2015 (UTC)

Update: Suzanne Nossel - Executive Director of Amnesty International (USA)

"Most recently, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Organizations at the U.S. Department of State... At the State Department, Nossel played a leading role in U.S. engagement at the U.N. Human Rights Council, including the initiation of groundbreaking human rights resolutions on Iran, Syria,Libya..." During the Clinton administration she served as deputy to the Ambassador for U.N...

Nossel is the author of a 2004 article in Foreign Affairs magazine entitled "Smart Power" and coined the term that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made a defining feature of U.S. foreign policy..." Amnesty International website — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.190.61.194 (talk) 15:24, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

Flag on front page
A user has for some reason gotten the idea that Wikipedia needs to be more neutral than the warring factions in Syria themselves, and repeatedly removed the red Syrian flag, replacing it with a redundant map, already seen elsewhere on the page. He seems to ignore the fact that even the opposition uses this flag, along with the green one, and that it is therefore the most neutral flag. Please don't remove the flag. Let Syrians themselves decide what they want, do we even need to be schooled and dominated by seemingly all-knowing westerners here? FunkMonk (talk) 13:33, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
 * This ridiculous move seems to be spreading elsewhere, leading to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Syrian_civil_war#So.2C_has_Assad_ceased_to_use_his_flag.2C_or_what.3F FunkMonk (talk) 13:37, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
 * The Baathist flag should still be used because the Assad government is still the official govt recognized by the UN. Plus, we need that flag for military info-boxes.-- FutureTrillionaire (talk) 15:30, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Well, the video you provided was from July 2011, so it's a bit out of date. I haven't seen any significant opposition use of the flag in the last year as the conflict has deepened. Nevertheless, I do agree that it was a downright stupid move on the part of the admin who did it. Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 16:08, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Au contraire my dear Baron, not stupid but neutral. There are two de jure government on Syrian soil and it is just a question of time until the current one will collapse. It is best to be neutral and just use the map or something else instead of the current Baathist flag. Gryffindor (talk) 16:26, 11 January 2013 (UTC))
 * Lol, and your very comment and reasoning is very non-neutral. Whatever may happen in the future is irrelevant to Wikipedia now, and it is not up to us to decide what flag represents a country, and certainly not to change it before it has been so officially. The move may not have been downright stupid, but certainly reckless and uncalled for, as well as non-neutral. And even the Qatari mouthpiece al-Jazeera refers to the Syrian government as "Syria": http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/01/201315105044870123.html#.UOhlkOb0YWk.blogger FunkMonk (talk) 16:31, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes, but it doesn't change the fact that there are two governments that are recognised on Syrian soil, with two different flags. The WikiProject is just not about the Baathist Syria, but about all the history of Syria and the old flags certainly has a place as well. So what would you suggest we do in order to make the appearance more neutral? And I wouldn't disrespect al-Jazeera in such a way. Gryffindor (talk) 16:40, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
 * We cannot prematurely change the flag of the country before it does so itself. And most sources declare the "imminent fall of the government" as wishful thinking on behalf of the Gulf countries and some western nations. I am baffled that an admin could be so partisan and non-neutral. And how about reading up about al-Jazeera? Are you kidding? FunkMonk (talk) 16:44, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I agree with Gryffindor - France recognised a government in exile in November for example. And all Syrians are evidently not pro-Assad and have changed their flag. On the civil war page the flag could go back but the words changed to 'Assad government'. AS Lothar wrote above "haven't seen any significant opposition use of the flag in the last year as the conflict has deepened." so that argument is disingenuous . Sayerslle (talk) 16:48, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Ah, so France gets to decide over Syrian sovereignty! The good old colonisers of Syria. FunkMonk (talk) 09:39, 12 January 2013 (UTC)
 * the flag is partisan now - its not the flag over large tracts of Syria - the state system has kind of broken down in parts of the country -House of Assad doesnt control the whole country - its just a flag icon thingy, its not worth losing your rag over,  it would just be npov to replace it with a map imo. you saying  'the opposition uses it' is  a bit wishful thinking on your part Sayerslle (talk) 18:34, 12 January 2013 (UTC)
 * to FunkMonk: Please assume WP:GOODFAITH, you are portraying me here in the wrong way. As I wrote before, there are two governments recognised, yet you seem to keep on pushing for just one flag to show, in a project that should be free of any political bias. Since there are two governments, either show both flags or remove any flag and just show a map of the country (just as an example). Gryffindor (talk) 16:54, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
 * No need for any comments about editors, it's natural for users to try and reach WP:NPOV. That being said, this is the state flag not the Baathist flag (See File:Flag of the Ba'ath Party.svg.) It's not an issue of neutrality, just one of plain fact. Until the government is changed and selects a new flag, the current one should stay. The opposition has a quasi government where outside representatives have been given legitimacy by large parts of the international community while on the ground, there are numerous local councils and some rebel groups (read: FSA) who have pledged some level of affiliation with those outside representatives. They are not the official government as of now and we don't know if or when they ever will be. --Al Ameer son (talk) 02:55, 12 January 2013 (UTC)
 * There is no rule that states that Wikiprojects have to use national flags. And since this one seems to be particularly controversial, it is best to go with something more politically neutral. The projects are not just about the current form of government, but encompass everyone and everything in that country, past and present, and by insisting on sticking to a national flag creates unnecessary division. See for example WikiProject Greece, WikiProject China, WikiProject Northern Ireland, etc. Gryffindor (talk) 07:58, 12 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Whatever you personally think, you can't unilaterally make such a drastic move without consulting others first. All your relevant edits should be reverted, and then we can reach a consensus, before anything is changed, per Wiki conventions. Thank you. And I'm no admin, so I'm pretty sure less should be expected of me in the POV department than for an admin. FunkMonk (talk) 09:37, 12 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Then you should read up on WP:BEBOLD first before jumping to conclusions. Gryffindor (talk) 15:36, 12 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I understand your point that WikiProjects don't necessarily have to use national flags. Personally, I think the current flag should stay. In any case, we should probably have a vote involving the members of the project and see if we could reach a consensus. --Al Ameer son (talk) 18:01, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Syria's governorate names
This has been bugging me for a while because it is horribly inconsistent. The ones in question are Suweida, Hasakah, Raqqa, and Rural Damascus. Their names on Wikipedia seem to be literal transliterations of Arabic, going so far as to quote the "Al" when in Arabic, it is no more than a definite article corresponding to "the". It is found before numerous cities in Arabic such as Rabat, Casablanca, Algiers, Cairo, Alexandria, Riyadh, Doha, Kuwait, Basra, Mosul, and even Jerusalem and Constantinople. In the case of Syria, Latakia's actual name would be "Al-Lathiqiyya". But since in mainstream English, Latakia already has a common name, that is used instead. Same thing goes for Aleppo "Halab" and Damascus "Dimashq". Most sources tend to skip over the definite articles when referring to these governorates or cities, so if we're not gonna transliterate the names of the most notable Syrian cities, we should adopt the same standard for the rest of Syria considering that, despite lack of a historic Western name as in the case of Aleppo, Damascus and Latakia, or a famous modern one as in the case of Doha, Kuwait and Riyadh, most media sources seem to skip the "Al" anyways. The remaining governorate, Rif Dimashq, just means Damascus Countryside, and Damascus is the indisputable Western translation of Dimashq. So why transliterate Rif Dimashq as is? Most English sources refer to localities here as suburbs of Damascus, paying no heed to the governorate divisions. Most references to Rif Dimashq seem inspired by Wikipedia itself.

I didn't know where to put this. Addressing it on Syrian conflict discussions is futile because the naming scheme is intrinsic to Wikipedia's articles about Syria, so I'm putting it here. NightShadeAEB (talk) 03:54, 16 March 2013 (UTC)
 * I just remembered that Qusayr, Rastan, Mayadin, and Safira are district capitals (sub units of governorates) where battle articles or references have been made to on Wikipepdia, there is an "Al" that is skipped. On the other hand, At-Tal and Al-Bab seem to have the "Al" preserved. NightShadeAEB (talk) 04:09, 16 March 2013 (UTC)

Portal on Syrian civil war
Portal:Syrian civil war was created - contributions are welcome.Greyshark09 (talk) 07:51, 9 June 2013 (UTC)

2013 Ghouta attacks
I invite all members of WikiProject Syria to participate in editing this article 2013 Ghouta attacks USchick (talk) 22:06, 28 August 2013 (UTC)

Syrian azadi kurdi party flag.jpg
has been nominated for deletion -- 70.24.244.158 (talk) 07:10, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Syrian law
Do we have any experts in Syrian law? USchick (talk) 02:30, 10 September 2013 (UTC)

User Ali Attebi
As-salamu alaykum, my friends. I have a friend for you to meet and help out if possible. Considering that you all speak and/or understand Arabic can you help this guy set up his userpage and explain basic rules and guidelines of English Wikipedia. He wants to know how to upload images, and even write articles on Syria related topics, but doesn't understand where to sign up since his English (just like my Arabic) isn't good. He asked me for an e-mail but since I don't speak his language it will be hard for me to explain him anything (although I am trying). So, can someone come to his talkpage and help him out, please?! Many thanks in advance!!شكرا جزيلا مقدما--Mishae (talk) 13:41, 18 September 2013 (UTC)

Hafez al-Assad nominate for GA status
you read correctly. --TIAYN (talk) 19:35, 20 October 2013 (UTC)

Gay people in the Syrian war
Here is an article on gay people suffering in the Syrian war. WhisperToMe (talk) 08:11, 14 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Smith, Hannah Lucinda. "How Jihadists Are Blackmailing, Torturing, and Killing Gay Syrians." (Archive) Vice.

Discussion regarding renaming Category:African_people_of_Arab_descent and four other categories
You are invited to join the discussion at Categories_for_discussion/Log/2013_December_4.

Change to map: Template:Syrian civil war detailed map
Can somebody please check and maybe confirm the map on: http://www.syrianperspective.com/ and update the "Template:Syrian civil war detailed map"? 06/12/2013 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.221.81.11 (talk) 15:08, 6 December 2013 (UTC)

Translation from Arabic
Hello,

Could someone translate what is written in Arabic below the David Star on this vehicle ? It is a vehicle that was captured from Syrian troops (ALA) in 1948 :. Many thanks. Pluto2012 (talk) 08:45, 7 December 2013 (UTC)

Ma'an, Syria
the rebels has seized control of the village of Ma'an in the north of hamah. the source: http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/syria-hama-rebels-control-maan/

and three videos confirms the rebels victory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnoLjumoso8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQoRHR7jmss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHaTl-KGoKQ

it should be at least contested. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Amensnober91 (talk • contribs) 15:50, 9 February 2014 (UTC)

help, syrian people article
please participate in the very important discussion about Syrians in RfC Talk:Syrian people--Attar-Aram syria (talk) 12:53, 6 March 2014 (UTC)
 * the conflict was resolved, thanks any way--Attar-Aram syria (talk) 14:44, 6 March 2014 (UTC)

Pageview stats
After a recent request, I added WikiProject Syria to the list of projects to compile monthly pageview stats for. The data is the same used by http://stats.grok.se/en/ but the program is different, and includes the aggregate views from all redirects to each page. The stats are at WikiProject Syria/Popular pages.

The page will be updated monthly with new data. The edits aren't marked as bot edits, so they will show up in watchlists. You can view more results, request a new project be added to the list, or request a configuration change for this project using the Tool Labs tool. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know. Thanks! Mr.Z-man 23:22, 8 March 2014 (UTC)

Wiki Loves Pride 2014
You are invited to participate in Wiki Loves Pride 2014, a campaign to create and improve LGBT-related content at Wikipedia and its sister projects. The campaign will take place throughout the month of June, culminating with a multinational edit-a-thon on June 21. Meetups are being held in some cities, or you can participate remotely. All constructive edits are welcome in order to contribute to Wikipedia's mission of providing quality, accurate information. Articles within Category:LGBT in Asia may be of particular interest. You can also upload LGBT-related images by participating in Wikimedia Commons' LGBT-related photo challenge. You are encouraged to share the results of your work here. Happy editing! -- Another Believer ( Talk ) 21:19, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Languages in censuses and Race and ethnicity in censuses
Pleas add information about this country to this articles.--Kaiyr (talk) 20:51, 29 July 2014 (UTC)