User talk:Dying

• Today's blurb: I'd prefer that you dial back some of the preposition edits a bit ... I've gotten a lot of feedback over the years where people objected to my changing their prepositions (such as changing "in 1924 and 1926") if they thought their meaning was reasonably clear. It's just something people feel strongly about sometimes. - Dank (push to talk) 15:38, 12 September 2021 (UTC)

  interesting. i don't recall changing prepositions often, so i had no idea about that. i had admittedly made the change noted because i had stumbled over the phrasing many times, and had thought the addition would be helpful, but i have no problems with my change being reverted, having noted that the change was "not strictly necessary". in the future, i will try to refrain from changing prepositions unless i think their use (or lack thereof) is actually erroneous. thanks for the advice, Dank! dying (talk) 04:00, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

  I might be confusing your edits with someone else's ... this is the only preposition edit I can find at the moment. - Dank (push to talk) 04:11, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

  no worries, Dank. even if they were someone else's edits, i think it's still good advice. dying (talk) 14:00, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

• Raymond Pace Alexander (blurb):

  there were a few minor issues with this blurb that i had left alone, as i did not know if changes to address them were warranted, but i thought i might bring them up with you to determine if any changes should be made.

  • although the blurb refers to the "Wharton School of Business", the name of the school is "Wharton School" according to wharton.^[1] also, despite the wharton article stating that "Wharton Business School" is another name for the school, i have a vague memory of once having referred to the school by that name, and being corrected by someone affiliated with the university, so i would be hesitant to use it. i believe both "Wharton School of business" and "Wharton business school" would be technically correct, but may appear to be capitalized incorrectly by people unfamiliar with the school's name. i tried looking through the blurb archives to see if any precedent had been set, but could not find a previous reference to the school, even though its founder had been mentioned in two blurbs. one interesting alternative is to use the name "Wharton School of Finance and Commerce", which was the school's name in 1920 when alexander graduated.^[1]
  • the blurb does not consistently use "African-American" or "black". technically, being the first african-american judge to sit in certain courts has a different meaning than being the first black judge to sit in those courts. however, in this case, i am presuming that alexander was the first of either group to do so.
  • along the same lines, even though they are technically different descriptions, using both the phrases "the first African-American judge appointed to the Pennsylvania courts of common pleas" and "the first black judge to sit on the courts of common pleas" in the blurb feels repetitive.
  • the photo has a bit of white along its borders that has not been cropped out. it is not really visible to readers using a white background, but since a similar issue had been corrected recently, i thought i might bring it up.

  in any case, i think the blurb is fine as is, so nothing needs to be changed if you don't think anything should be. dying (talk) 04:00, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

  If you're happy with it as it is, let's go with that. - Dank (push to talk) 13:27, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

  sounds good. thanks for looking over my concerns. dying (talk) 14:00, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 18, 2021: If my edit summary says just "trimming", that only means that I'm removing something rather than changing or adding ... it doesn't necessarily mean I'm trying to reduce the character count. (In this case, I decided I didn't like my previous edit, which left two instances of "probably" in close succession, among other problems.) Now it's 924 characters, which is fine, but if you want to add something now that it's shorter, that's fine too. - Dank (push to talk) 14:27, 15 September 2021 (UTC)

  good to know, Dank. i had been wondering about those two instances of "probably" in quick succession. i was aware that i was moving them closer in my edit, but wasn't sure what else i could do to avoid it. i remember you questioning my replacement of "probably" with "likely" in the shelley blurb, and since you had replaced "likely" with "probably" in your earlier edit to the blurb, i had figured that you may have had good reason to do so.

  i had briefly considered whether it was appropriate to add how the discovery of the species led to a different understanding of how the ichthyosaurs became extinct, but i don't think this can be easily summarized in about 100 characters, so i think Wehwalt was right in removing it from the blurb. i also think the blurb is fine as it currently is. thanks for checking to see if there was anything that i wanted to add. dying (talk) 01:22, 16 September 2021 (UTC)

• William IV (blurb):

  Dank, the image currently being used for the blurb has a filename that suggests that it is a cropped version of another file. however, the latest edit to this image appears to have largely undone the original crop, replacing the earlier image with what appears to be, at the time, the latest version of the source file, but with four rows of pixels cropped out. since then, the source image has been replaced by a different version of the image that does not appear to be a simple retouching of the earlier version, differing enough from the image it replaced that i wonder if there were originally at least two copies of the portrait painted. (notice, for example, the difference in the placement of the cord in the background relative to the architectural elements of the arch. also, the initial version of both files appears to be yet another version of the portrait.) i found a copy of the latest version of the uncropped portrait on the site of the royal academy of arts, and the prior version on the site of the royal collection trust. i am bringing this up because i am assuming that the intention was to present a cropped version of the image with the blurb, while what is currently present is largely uncropped. also, both the accounts of the two editors who last revised the two images appear to now be globally locked for long-term abuse, so i don't know how reliable the two revisions made are.

  by the way, the data on commons states that the portrait was painted circa 1833, while the royal collection's copy is listed with a date range of 1833–1834, and the royal academy reports a date of 1835, so i don't know if it would be better to change the caption to read "c. 1833" or simply omit the year altogether. dying (talk) 03:16, 18 September 2021 (UTC)

  If a blurb is within 48 hours of hitting the Main Page, I'd prefer that you raise image issues at WP:ERRORS. People there like to hear about these things. - Dank (push to talk) 04:19, 18 September 2021 (UTC)

  good to know. i will raise these issues there. thanks, Dank. dying (talk) 05:00, 18 September 2021 (UTC)

• Star Control 3 (blurb):

  Dank, i have included the full date of first publication in the blurb because the blurb date was chosen to commemorate the 25th anniversary of this date. i recognize that when a biographical article is featured on the anniversary of the subject's birth date or death date, the relevant full date is usually included in the blurb. however, i am not sure if the same applies to dates of first publication.

  i think this may be the most significant addition that i've made to a blurb that was not a direct result of either a correction or a clarification, so i wanted to make note of it, in case it was unwarranted. admittedly, there is now a slight imbalance since a full date is not similarly used for the mac os release, but no full date for the later publication was provided in the article. dying (talk) 03:57, 21 September 2021 (UTC)

  Really fine work. - Dank (push to talk) 05:14, 21 September 2021 (UTC)

• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 27, 2021: Two great edits there. Directional words: I get that there was a problem but I tried a different solution, what do you think? - Dank (push to talk) 13:23, 24 September 2021 (UTC)

  oh, that's a good edit, Dank. i had thought about dropping the directional adjectives (such as "southwestern" and "northwestern"), as there were so many directions that i was confused after reading the sentence multiple times, despite actually knowing where ecuador and venezuela were. however, i did not want to remove any detail unilaterally. admittedly, it had not occurred to me to simply drop the "south and east" that was causing my confusion.

  by the way, should the "from" and "in" be swapped?

  Done. - Dank (push to talk) 01:43, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

  the original text had used the construction "two species ... found in forests [range]", where the range was described as "from ... to ...". using the south and east directions simultaneously confused me, but i had attempted to keep the meaning behind their usage, so i had described the range by using "as [adjective] as ..." with three directions used as adjectives. in doing so, i had dropped the "from". i am assuming that you had meant to return to the original construction, but accidentally ended up using "two species ... found from forests [range]", with the range being described as "in ... to ...".

  the current wording could also be interpreted as using the construction "two species ... found [range]", with the range being described as "from forests in ... to (forests in) ...", with the parenthetical "forests in" implied, but i wasn't sure if this was deliberate. dying (talk) 00:02, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

I'm mostly leaving the hard work for you, but I'm making a few edits that I hope will make your job easier. I'm making sure the length starts off between 925 and 1025 900 and 1050 characters (and then you can aim for anything between 900 and 1050). Other than that, I'm aiming to troubleshoot certain sorts of problems before they arise.

• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 2, 2021: My version: "The blackcap's range has been expanding, even though it is hunted in some countries." You occasionally hear the misconception that that's grammatically incorrect, because it's the blackcap that is hunted and not the blackcap's range. People who make that claim generally break their own rule without noticing it. (I believe Pinker says something similar in The Sense of Style; I should be able to find it if you're interested.) No one reads the sentence "Mary's dog whined all night while she was out of town" and starts from the assumption that the dog was out of town. Grammatically (in versions of the Cambridge Grammar, anyway), the referent is the genitive "Mary's", not "Mary's dog". (Of course, when any actual confusion is possible, then disambiguation of some kind is necessary.) - Dank (push to talk) 15:28, 16 September 2021 (UTC)

  a former housemate's cat vomited in our living room when she had health issues (the cat, not the housemate). i miss her (both the cat and the housemate).

  anyway, Dank, i agree with your edit; it is difficult to see someone misinterpreting this, unless they were doing so deliberately. dying (talk) 16:02, 29 September 2021 (UTC)

  Great edits on this one, btw. Clearly, I'm going to have to up my game. - Dank (push to talk) 16:44, 29 September 2021 (UTC)

  thanks, Dank. actually, i think your game is already plenty great, as you regularly tackle copyediting issues that i have trouble with or do not dare touch. for example, in the recent transandinomys blurb, you were able to resolve the issue of confusing directional words far better than i did. of course, there is always room for improvement for all of us, but please don't feel pressured to up your game on account of me. dying (talk) 15:48, 1 October 2021 (UTC)

• One more thing ... I don't adopt the position of some Wikipedians of labeling certain self-described copyeditors as "pedants" and trying to prove that they're guilty of hypercorrection. If a lot of so-called pedants believe that X is wrong, then I'll generally make at least an effort to avoid saying X. Copyeditors are people too, and most of them are doing the best they can; I don't go out of my way to tweak their noses. Where I draw the line is the rare times when they're being hypocritical or inconsistent ... in those cases, I can't go along, because then I might look hypocritical or inconsistent. I'm not talking about you of course. - Dank (push to talk) 15:50, 16 September 2021 (UTC)

  i don't think i've ever seriously tried putting my view on pedantry into words, but i think your statement pretty much captures my position as well. i am generally pretty happy when an editor corrects an error in my writing that i may have overlooked, though when i think an edit is unnecessary and mostly addresses an issue of style not covered in wikipedia's manual of style, i'll just let it be, and try to avoid the issue in the future.

  that being said, i understand that where people draw the line for unnecessary pedantry varies, so i won't pretend that all my edits will fall on everybody's necessary side, or that an edit i personally think is unnecessary would also be considered unnecessary by others. i actually try to regularly question myself if i am being unnecessarily pedantic, as i think it is healthy to reevaluate one's position every so often. so, if you ever think any of my edits cross where you draw the line, please let me know, and feel free to revert them. your previous comments have not led me to suspect that you were talking about me, but i appreciate the addendum.

  by the way, whenever i use "to avoid interpretation that" in my comments, it is generally because i personally made that interpretation on my first reading. (if not, then i likely made it on my second reading.) in such cases, i know i'm not editing something simply for the sake of making a correction, as i had been misled by the earlier wording myself. however, just because i was misled doesn't mean that others would be, so these edits can be reverted too if they seem unnecessary. dying (talk) 10:32, 17 September 2021 (UTC)

• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 3, 2021:I'll warn you if the character count strays outside 925 to 1025 ... this one is 1043. - Dank (push to talk) 02:30, 17 September 2021 (UTC)
• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 4, 2021: I added "with some fossils indicating". That's a guess, but if they were talking about estimates, the numbers wouldn't usually be that precise. "likely": I left it alone; the likely/probably distinction isn't important to me. You can change it if you like. - Dank (push to talk) 19:58, 16 September 2021 (UTC)

  the volume actually appears to have been directly calculated from six specimens, with the range given being the range of those specimens (and not the estimated range of the subspecies), which explains the accurate measurements. i am not sure how best to word this, so i left your wording alone.

  by the way, there were additional specimens, but the article states that the range is for the specimens "for which the metric is calculable". also, there appears to have been at least two skulls with brain volumes outside of this range, but it is unclear if these specimens belong to the solo man subspecies, as it "depend[s] on classification". dying (talk) 04:30, 3 October 2021 (UTC)

  In that case, I agree that the current wording works. - Dank (push to talk) 06:05, 3 October 2021 (UTC)

• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 14, 2021: Jargony, but I'm not a cricket fan so it's not up to me to figure out how much jargon is the right amount to keep the cricket folks happy. Opinions vary on whether the birth and death dates or years should be included (and whether they're better off in the first sentence or placed after "Ring" in the second sentence). - Dank (push to talk) 13:52, 17 September 2021 (UTC) If the blurb is running on the death date, we don't call attention to the date unless the death itself was notable for some reason. - Dank (push to talk) 20:04, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

  Dank, this blurb is running on an anniversary of ring's birth date, not ring's death date. does this mean that we should consider including the date? admittedly, ring's birth itself does not seem notable (aside from the fact that ring was born). personally, i think it would be nice to include it for blurbs of biographical articles, but as this article is not wikipedia's biographical article on ring, but rather an article about ring's performance in 1948, i have no preference. also, i agree that the blurb is somewhat heavy on the cricket terminology, but i also hesitate to significantly change that. dying (talk) 06:35, 10 October 2021 (UTC)

  I asked the coords about this; we're no longer mentioning the birth date, even if that's the reason we're running the blurb on that day, unless the name of the page is the name of the person. This one is about something that person did. - Dank (push to talk) 14:43, 10 October 2021 (UTC)

  sounds good, Dank. also, i recently realized that, compared to other blurbs that require specialized knowledge, this blurb does not have many links. i had been thinking of adding a few, but these links would constitute a rather bold edit if added all at once, so i'd like to seek your opinion on them beforehand.

i believe i'm erring on the side of suggesting more than enough links, as i'm not sure what is obvious to the reader and what isn't. also, the last link is to the same article that is linked from "1948 team", but as the proposed link leads directly to a section of that article, i'm not sure if it violates mos:dl. dying (talk) 19:34, 11 October 2021 (UTC)

I don't know enough about cricket to answer the question. @TFA coordinatorsUser:Wehwalt User:Gog the Mild User:Z1720 ... anyone? - Dank (push to talk) 19:40, 11 October 2021 (UTC)

I don't know what to tell you; feel free to ask at WP:ERRORS if you like. - Dank (push to talk) 18:40, 12 October 2021 (UTC)

no worries, Dank, they were merely suggestions. i don't think they are important enough to raise at wp:errors, though i appreciate the ping to the other coordinators to see if they thought adding these links would be an improvement. dying (talk) 20:25, 12 October 2021 (UTC)

I should have thought of this earlier: the best thing to do (and it would have been better if I had done it yesterday) is to broach the subject at ERRORS like I just did, and see if there's any discussion. Then if people appear open to the idea of adding links, that might be the best time to add them. - Dank (push to talk) 16:43, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

Dank, thanks for raising this issue at wp:errors. it got a much more positive response than i was expecting. i think this was a good way to approach the issue, and if i have a similar issue in the future that i think might be worth addressing, i'll try to remember this approach.

by the way, when you brought up the issue on wp:errors, you mentioned that you "w[ere]n't sure if [you] should say anything", and i wasn't sure if this was because i stated that i didn't think it was important enough for wp:errors. if that was indeed the case, please don't let that stop you in the future. i only didn't bring it up because i didn't think others would be interested in what i thought was a minor issue, but clearly i was wrong about that. so, if you think something is important enough for wp:errors, please feel free to raise it. dying (talk) 07:51, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 24, 2021: 1044 characters. - Dank (push to talk) 03:31, 17 September 2021 (UTC)

  the sentence "It is distinguished from the other raptorial sperm whales by the basin on the skull, and how it spans the entire length of the snout." feels somewhat redundant to me. the other raptorial sperm whales all also appear to have had a supracranial basin, so the distinction is not that livyatan had one and the others did not; i believe the main difference was that livyatan had a supracranial basin that extended down the whole snout, while it did not in the other raptorial sperm whales.^[a] i believe the sentence "It is distinguished from the other raptorial sperm whales by how the basin on the skull spans the entire length of the snout." has the same intended meaning using eight fewer characters. i admittedly added one character to the length of the already long blurb with my edit, so this may compensate for it. dying (talk) 17:34, 20 October 2021 (UTC)

  Very short answer: I recommend not making that edit. - Dank (push to talk) 17:49, 20 October 2021 (UTC)

  interesting; obviously, i'll be following your advice.

  by the way, i don't think i've made this clear before (largely because i didn't realize myself that this was happening until recently), but in general, once i've copyedited a blurb, i think i've pretty much made all the edits i'm comfortable with making myself. i might bring up some points for your consideration, but after noticing that you generally implement what you think is worth implementing, and suggest that i try wp:errors if you think a point may benefit from additional consideration, i've been pretty happy with letting you be the one to make any further edits. is that okay with you? dying (talk) 14:08, 21 October 2021 (UTC)

  Sure, and if you have any issues with an edit I do or don't make, let me know. - Dank (push to talk) 14:56, 21 October 2021 (UTC)

• Btw, I'm not in any hurry here, take as long as you like to edit or respond or neither. I'm doing my part (which is less than your part) for the whole month ... I should be finished tomorrow. - Dank (push to talk) 04:40, 17 September 2021 (UTC)

  Dank, apologies for the delayed response. i had been composing the response above for your earlier comment, but admittedly ended up being distracted by something else. this is all good information. i will likely respond to each when i am working on the corresponding blurb, so that i have a better understanding of the context when replying. thanks for leaving these notes! dying (talk) 10:32, 17 September 2021 (UTC)

• I'm having some health problems, mainly with sleeping. I'm going to stop for now. I was making a list of October blurbs that were too long or too short (which I'm now taking to mean less than 900 or more than 1050): Oct 12, 19, 22, 26, 29. On the other dates, the length should be right. Feel free to ask questions whenever you like, and I'll get to them when I can. - Dank (push to talk) 22:39, 19 September 2021 (UTC)

  Dank, sorry to hear that you are having issues with sleeping. your health takes precedence over wikipedia, so although i may continue to post any questions i have for you, please don't feel pressured to respond in a timely manner, or at all. if i think something is important enough that it should be addressed before the blurb appears on the main page, i'll raise it at wp:errors. hope you regain your health soon! dying (talk) 06:58, 20 September 2021 (UTC)

  Thanks. Btw, in the future, if you see that a blurb is too short or too long, it may just mean that the blurb hasn't really been written yet ... sometimes waiting a while to see if anyone gets to it is the best course. - Dank (push to talk) 13:47, 20 September 2021 (UTC)

• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 31, 2021: There are general rules that usually work for writing blurbs ... and then there are the blurbs where we're never going to be able to follow all the rules-of-thumb, such as this one. Please don't be offended if I revert some changes (by anyone) on this one ... I think discussion is the best way to proceed here (despite my own edits). - Dank (push to talk) 15:41, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

  Dank, i smiled in understanding when i saw the subject of the new blurb. by the way, i don't know if you've ever refrained from reverting any of my edits for fear of offending me, but please don't feel like that should be a concern. i think all of your reverts of my edits have been insightful so far, and from what i've seen of your edits in general, it is difficult to see myself getting offended by any in the future. dying (talk) 11:15, 28 September 2021 (UTC)

  I'm feeling a bit down at the moment and needed that, thanks. - Dank (push to talk) 13:21, 28 September 2021 (UTC)

  sorry to hear that you were down, though i'm happy to know that, due to serendipitous timing, i was able to cheer you up when you needed it. dying (talk) 16:02, 29 September 2021 (UTC)

  Dank, copyediting this was quite an unusual experience compared to the other blurbs. my heart rate rose even though all i did in my copyedit was completely trivial and pretty much unarguably an improvement. there has been so much discussion over the blurb that i was too afraid to touch anything else there.

  1. the caption and the title of the image do not match. is this acceptable? i think it's too trivial of a matter to bring up at wp:errors, considering the blurb's subject matter, so if you don't really have anything to say about it, i'm happy to leave it alone.
  2. "Climate change" is used as the subject for the first two sentences. would it help to replace the second instance with a pronoun? (cf. edit summary here.)
  3. i had been thinking about replacing "in line with the Paris Agreement ambitions requires" with "in line with the ambitions of the Paris Agreement requires". when parsing the former, i initially thought that the paris agreement was a noun (and the end of the noun phrase), so i may have tried parsing "ambitions" as a verb, which made no sense. then, i saw "requires", and i think at that point, i couldn't figure out what was a verb and what was the plural form of a noun anymore and just went back to the start of the sentence to give it another try. to be clear, i think the sentence is unambiguous. i simply thought it was more difficult to parse than was necessary.

  dying (talk) 13:43, 23 October 2021 (UTC)

• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 5, 2021: "American leaders and some Native leaders": I'm not a fan of leaders ... leaders, but you'll probably do a better job investigating this than I would. - Dank (push to talk) 19:28, 28 September 2021 (UTC)
  • I don't understand your hidden comment; there's no <abbr> tag at for instance Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 21, 2021 (a page that corresponds to one of the ids you gave). I think what probably happened was that (somewhere, sometime) one person added a template, then Ravenpuff subst'd the template to reduce the total number of transcluded templates on the Main Page, and <abbr> magically appeared from the code for the template. (And maybe after that, people thought that was the way it was supposed to be, and copied it.) Anyway: we haven't used html tags in blurbs for as long as I've been doing blurbs (or at least, until I became inactive at TFA in January); code meant for coders and machines is off-putting for humans who want to edit. I'll revert. (I don't have a preference whether we include the {{circa}} template or not, I'm only opposed to html tags.) - Dank (push to talk) 17:49, 2 October 2021 (UTC)

    oh, sorry about not having made that clear. i had only meant that abbr tags were used, not that they were used directly. i think they have generally been used indirectly via the circa template. i had only used the tags directly in order to emulate Ravenpuff's example of expanding templates used on main page blurbs, but i don't recall Ravenpuff expanding a circa template before, so the direct use of abbr tags is entirely my fault. (i had only understood the practice since this edit summary, which is why i had not been expanding circa templates before.) i believe we have consistently been using the abbr tags (via the circa template) for the first instance of "c." for at least since the start of 2020, so i had thought that adding them would make this blurb consistent with the others. in any case, i will try to avoid using html tags directly in blurbs in the future. thanks for letting me know, Dank! dying (talk) 04:30, 3 October 2021 (UTC)

    Done. - Dank (push to talk) 06:13, 3 October 2021 (UTC)

  • Also ... I'm just going to get rid of the "alarmed" sentence if that's okay ... I don't think it adds much. Blurb length is good without it. - Dank (push to talk) 18:26, 2 October 2021 (UTC)

    i think that's a good idea. i agree that the repetition of "leaders" felt a bit clumsy, but could not figure out any alternative much better than replacing the second "leaders" with a pronoun. dying (talk) 04:30, 3 October 2021 (UTC)

• Sooner or later, someone's going to ask me why I keep referring to you as "them" (assuming you plan to keep working on blurbs, and I hope you do!) Do you have a pronoun preference? - Dank (push to talk) 17:34, 30 September 2021 (UTC)

  i have no preferred personal pronouns.

  when i was a child, i made up my own set of gender-neutral pronouns, having found the english custom of denoting gender in pronouns strange. (wikipedia did not exist at the time, so i had not known that other gender-neutral pronoun sets had existed before.) i had considered them a replacement for the gendered pronouns (as opposed to an alternative coexisting with them), but did not use them since i did not think any such set would be successfully adapted within my lifetime, and the point of my gender-neutral pronouns was to sidestep any gender issues, not highlight them if i was the only one using them. apparently, i might have foreseen the issues of the current debate over such pronouns, though i was wrong regarding how quickly our society would enter such a debate.

  so please feel free to use whatever pronouns you prefer for me. thanks for asking, though. i think you might have been the first to do so. dying (talk) 15:48, 1 October 2021 (UTC)

  I hear that the fashion these days is to ask about personal pronouns. OTOH, I resist the fashion (online) ... I think it's nosy, unless the person has signaled that they're open to the question. OTOOH, there will almost always be someone nosy enough on WP to ask eventually, and I like to be prepared. I'll use they/them unless otherwise directed. I go by "he", FWIW.^{[dubious – discuss]} - Dank (push to talk) 16:43, 1 October 2021 (UTC)

  oh, i personally had not considered it nosy, but simply thought it was interesting that i think that was the first time anyone has asked me the question. it seems natural for you to have asked it if you saw yourself referring to me by a pronoun in the future, and wanted to make sure you were not offending me by using a pronoun i did not approve of. admittedly, since i do not communicate online much outside of e-mail and wikipedia, and my e-mail correspondence is largely with people i know in real life, in retrospect, it makes sense that the first time the question would be posed to me would be on wikipedia. in real life, it is not uncommon for people to ask me if i am male or female, though the issue of pronoun preference seems to largely be ignored, at least in my experience. dying (talk) 04:30, 3 October 2021 (UTC)

• I've still got health issues, good days and bad days, and you're making important edits almost every day that sometimes require feedback, so we've got a problem here. If you're comfortable with editing, say, a week's worth of blurbs at a time, I should be able to keep up. Otherwise, one of the other TFA coords may be able to help out here. - Dank (push to talk) 20:02, 2 October 2021 (UTC)

  oh, i am so sorry, i had not known that my edits had been causing you unnecessary stress! i am assuming that the issue is that the two-day buffer is too short, and not that i actually have to edit blurbs a week at a time, correct? if so, then if you give me a few days, i should be able to shift my (now-external) deadline to a week before the blurb appears on the main page. i can also simply jump ahead and start reviewing blurbs a week away, skipping those of the next few days, if that is a better alternative. dying (talk) 04:30, 3 October 2021 (UTC)

  You're not causing any stress. Yes, editing a week ahead would work well for me. No need to skip any blurbs, you're doing fine. - Dank (push to talk) 06:13, 3 October 2021 (UTC)

• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 8, 2021: I don't know if my edit made sense, but I like to draw a line between facts and statements that have some element of interpretation or point of view ... for the latter, my position is that it's better to ping the FAC nominator before making an edit (and some prefer to post a question on the article talk page instead). In this case, at least four people have claims to being co-founders, so there's probably some element of POV or interpretation involved. - Dank (push to talk) 22:05, 5 October 2021 (UTC)

  thanks for the partial revert, Dank. you made a very good point that i had inadvertently overlooked. i had assumed that Shooterwalker had meant that both miller and whitehead were co-founders, since the article body stated that miller and whitehead "start[ed] Activision in October 1979". the cited gamasutra source actually appears to state that crane and miller were the ones who first started activision, and that whitehead and kaplan joined later, so i reasoned that if whitehead was considered a co-founder, it seems evident that miller would likely be considered one too. also, the activision article led me to believe that miller's status as a co-founder was not in question. in any case, to be on the safe side, i had reworded the blurb to be noncommittal regarding exactly how many co-founders the company had, in case there was something that i was missing. (a simpler revision to "who had both previously co-founded Activision" may have more strongly suggested that there were only two co-founders.)

  however, because who the co-founders of a company were is often the subject of acrimonious dispute, and what seems evident in such disputes may be subject to interpretation (since, as you state, "who the 'founders' were tends to be a truth that shifts over time"), i agree that i should have been more cautious and raised this issue in a discussion before determining if such an edit was appropriate. this was an error on my part, not having thought through the nature of claims of being a company's co-founder.

  admittedly, i think the wording as it stands is fine, since i believe the blurb remains correct under the interpretation that "who had previously co-founded Activision" applies only to whitehead, since it is agnostic regarding whether miller is considered a co-founder or not. i had only made the edit to clarify something that i now am not sure was clear in the first place. do you think we should raise this issue with Shooterwalker? dying (talk) 05:27, 6 October 2021 (UTC)

  I don't have a preference. Good work. - Dank (push to talk) 14:11, 6 October 2021 (UTC)

  thanks, Dank. actually, during this past day, i have been wavering between bothering Shooterwalker with this concern and leaving the blurb as is since i believe it is technically correct. i've now decided to ping Shooterwalker, largely because i know that if another editor had a good faith suggestion for me, i would probably be interested in hearing it and wouldn't personally be bothered myself. (by the way, i'm still impressed by how beautifully worded the phrase "a truth that shifts over time" is, and am surprised that google returns no results for the phrase.)

  Shooterwalker, apologies for troubling you regarding your blurb on accolade so shortly before it is to appear on the main page, but i had a little trouble when reading the noun phrase "Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead, who had previously co-founded Activision", and thought i might bring it up with you. i had interpreted the phrase to mean that whitehead was a co-founder before i realized that it could also mean that miller was one too. i made what i thought was an edit to clarify this before Dank reverted it, pointing out that an edit of this nature should probably be discussed beforehand. details can be found above and in the blurb's history. (i want to make clear that, despite there being a revert, there is no disagreement here, and i fully agree with the revert. Dank has been nice enough to spend some time to review my blurb edits, and sometimes i make mistakes.) in short, i had three questions.

  1. did you mean to state that both miller and whitehead were co-founders of activision?
  2. if so, are you confident in stating that they are still considered co-founders of activision?
  3. if so, would an alternate wording better serve your purpose? i had come up with "both previously co-founders of Activision", but don't know if you think it is an improvement.

  in any case, please don't feel rushed to address these questions, as i think the blurb is currently fine as is. dying (talk) 13:51, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

  Hey guys, just finding this now. Thanks for the ping. I suppose if you wanted to be completely accurate, "who were among the co-founders of Activision" or "who were two of the co-founders of Activision." I'm not sure what's appropriate in terms of grammar, except to say, Activision had a few co-founders, they were a subset, and they split off to form their own company. If it helps, it's more or less spelled out at the top of this article. I'm juggling a lot this week but I realize that this is going up soon, so feel free to ping me again to get my attention. Shooterwalker (talk) 14:30, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

  thanks, Shooterwalker. my previous rewording had been chosen to roughly preserve the character count, but now that the logo has been resized in the blurb, i believe it might be better to include a few more words to be more clear. between your two possibilities, i'd prefer the latter as it avoids the issue of "among" versus "amongst". Dank, thoughts? dying (talk) 15:27, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

  No preference with this one. - Dank (push to talk) 15:31, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

  Shooterwalker, i admittedly have a preference to "who were two of the co-founders of Activision" over "who had previously co-founded Activision", mostly because i was confused by the current wording. i gather that you believe the "two of" version is more accurate than the "who had" version, but am not sure if you have a preference over which to use in the blurb. if you have no preference or prefer the "who had" version, i'll just chalk my confusion up to me being ditzy, but if you have a preference to use the "two of" version, hopefully Dank will see this and make the appropriate change. (i cannot add it myself, as i'm not an administrator.) dying (talk) 17:41, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

  If you two agree, I can make the change. - Dank (push to talk) 17:52, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

  I prefer fewer words where possible, and I'm not even partial to the suggestions I just made. The current wording was already clear to me, but I could see how someone less familiar with the topic might have questions. It's the kind of thing that would just invite someone to read the article, if they really wanted to know exactly the connection between Activision and Accolade. I defer to you, if that's okay. Shooterwalker (talk) 19:11, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

  Okay, so what do we like? - Dank (push to talk) 19:58, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

  Dank, as Shooterwalker finds the current wording already clear, let's leave it as is. thanks for your time and input, Shooterwalker! dying (talk) 22:26, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

• Eastern brown snake (blurb):

  Dank, i am skeptical about the accuracy of the snakebite fatalities statistic. the source cited, a study by the australian snakebite project (asp), appears to qualify its statistic of 19 deaths by noting that these were only the deaths that were recorded by the asp^[b] where "[t]he snake type was accurately determined".^[c] in fact, box 3 of the asp source includes a further four deaths that were recorded by the national coronial information system. in addition, a quick comparison between the list linked in the blurb and box 3 of the asp source shows that many deaths are missing from both lists.^[d] i don't know if it is worth it to qualify the statement of the statistic appropriately without going into a level of detail that may be inappropriate for a main page blurb,^[e] but since you state that "[t]here are other options", is there another option that you think would be more appropriate?^[f]

  also, i was originally thinking of replacing "meters" with "m", to conform with the article lead and to avoid the issue of "meters" versus "metres", but had then realized that you had changed it from "m" to "meters" yourself. i see that another editor has already brought up the issue of using the australian spelling, so although that point now appears to be moot, i am still interested in whether there are any standards when it comes to expanding (or abbreviating) units in blurbs. for example, is there a general preference to expand "m", or is it a case-by-case determination? are there similar preferences for "ft" or other units? also, i am currently assuming that, if there is such a preference, it only applies to units not in parentheticals, as "ft" remains abbreviated in this blurb.

  apologies for bringing these issues up so soon before the blurb appears on the main page. i had quickly typed up some notes on the issues and resolved to address them after i had gone over the asp source one more time to make sure i wasn't missing anything, but i have obviously been distracted by other blurbs since. i might bring the first issue up on wp:errors if you don't have the time to address it properly, though the second issue can obviously wait. dying (talk) 13:00, 8 October 2021 (UTC)

• Hurricane Fay (blurb):

  Dank, is there a reason why this article is being featured so soon after the last time it was featured, about four months ago? admittedly, i do not know much about the scheduling process, but i have noticed that articles are sometimes featured for a second time on an anniversary of a date important to the subject of the article. however, i do not recall an article featured twice in such a quick succession before (aside from nick drake). also, i noticed that hurricane fay is listed on wp:fadc, but am not sure if the list is considered current. personally, i do not mind if a blurb is featured for a second time so soon after the first, but i thought i might ask to better understand the scheduling process. dying (talk) 01:13, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

  Oops, thanks for catching that. Pinging @TFA coordinatorsUser:Wehwalt User:Gog the Mild User:Z1720. This TFA ran in June. - Dank (push to talk) 01:16, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

  oh, in case you weren't aware, a note at the bottom of Jimfbleak's talk page currently states that Jimfbleak is on vacation. dying (talk) 13:51, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

  Dank, i edited the hurricane fay blurb on the assumption that it will run again, since i am not sure if i'll have the time to edit a replacement blurb. as i've already edited a hurricane fay blurb before, i'm simply replicating the same edit i made for the previous blurb. also, as this blurb's date appears to have been chosen because it is the anniversary of fay's evolving into a subtropical storm, i am assuming that this date should be explicitly mentioned somewhere in the blurb. i did not add the date myself, since this would be a significant addition to the blurb, and i did not want to do so unilaterally. there also may be a mos:egg concern with "1987", though simply including "in" in the link text may violate mos:seaofblue. one alternative i'd suggest is "Emily landed in 1987", though i'm not sure if this wording is better. dying (talk) 17:34, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

  Thanks ... my guess is Fay won't run. - Dank (push to talk) 17:37, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

• Hurricane Rosa (2018) (blurb):

  Dank, i noticed that the article is part of a featured topic, so have added a link to the featured topic in the blurb. however, i am not sure when topics are linked and when they are not. are there any relevant guidelines to follow? feel free to revert me if that change was inappropriate. by the way, the extra length due to the addition of the featured topic link pushed the blurb to just under 1050 characters.

  also, i am not positive that rosa is the "first tropical cyclone to make landfall in Baja California since 1997".^[g] the sources cited, azcentral and mercurynews, appear to discuss storms as they relate to the southwestern united states, not as they relate to baja california. looking through the List of Baja California Peninsula hurricanes, i found that hurricane juliette apparently "ma[de] landfall in northeastern Baja California" in 2001. this statement appears appropriately sourced, and can easily be confirmed by looking at a map provided by the noaa. i am not sure how this storm was missed previously, but it seems possible that it was overlooked because it had made landfall in baja california sur first, and by the second time it made landfall, the storm was weak enough that it was largely ignored. however, i hesitate to replace "1997" with "2001" because my reasoning is clearly original research, and i have no source to back up this modified claim. admittedly, i'm not even sure that juliette was the most recent storm before rosa to make landfall in the state, since i don't know if the list of hurricanes i worked off of is complete.

  one possibility is to replace the statement with the claim that the hurricane was "one of only a few tropical cyclones to make landfall in Baja California during the last few decades". this statement still reeks of synth, and i don't know enough about reliable sources for pacific hurricane seasons to source this claim properly, but at least i'm fairly confident about that statement. alternatively, the statement can simply be removed altogether, since the blurb's length is now near the hard upper limit anyway. dying (talk) 23:41, 8 October 2021 (UTC)

  Sorry, I'm not going to be able to help with these. Hopefully I'll be back online in a couple of days. - Dank (push to talk) 03:44, 9 October 2021 (UTC)

  no worries, Dank. i'll post the concern regarding the year of the previous landfall in baja california to wp:errors, but the question about featured topics can wait. dying (talk) 08:36, 9 October 2021 (UTC)

• "Home" (blurb):

  this issue is somewhat unusual, as it deals with a discrepancy between the blurb and the article, but i believe the article is incorrect, and not the blurb. i don't think it's important enough for you to address until after you're back, but also don't think it's important enough to raise at wp:errors, so i'm mentioning it on the off-chance that you're back before the blurb leaves the main page.

  recently, the article has been edited to state that the episode had not received "a viewer discretion warning for graphic content", contrary to the last statement in the current blurb. the editor's reasoning is that the tv parental guidelines were not in effect at the time of the episode's airdate. however, sources have led me to believe that viewer discretion advisories existed before the tv parental guidelines did. unfortunately, i don't have access to the offline sources originally cited, and the editor who made the recent changes did not provide any sources that i could review, but i did find an latimes source which states that the episode was the first of the series to carry the advisory, as well as a upenn source from 1994, years before the episode's airdate, which states that each episode of the television series nypd blue had been preceded with the advisory.^[h] admittedly, though, i am not familiar enough with television in the u.s. to know if my interpretation of the sources is correct, so i'm going to leave this issue alone.

  i also have a separate question about the image, but will bring it up at wp:errors as you requested. dying (talk) 08:36, 9 October 2021 (UTC)

  Viewer discretion warnings occasionally ran in those years on American TV. I don't see a problem here yet. - Dank (push to talk) 19:22, 9 October 2021 (UTC)

  Dank, the blurb states that the episode aired with a warning, while the article states that the episode did not. i admittedly see a problem, but am not sure if it needs to be resolved. by "I don't see a problem here yet", do you mean that the discrepancy does not need to be resolved? dying (talk) 06:09, 10 October 2021 (UTC)

  Have you found a source for the statement? Is anyone arguing in favor of the statement? If not, I don't plan on investigating further. - Dank (push to talk) 14:39, 10 October 2021 (UTC)

  sounds good. i was just worried that i was missing something significant, since those edits hadn't been reverted. thanks for looking it over. dying (talk) 19:34, 11 October 2021 (UTC)

• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 16, 2021

People have generally over the years tolerated some divergence between the blurb and the article lead, but Duncan objected strongly to "eight decades" vs. "seven decades" in today's blurb, and I think he's probably not alone in that opinion. I admit a little hypocrisy here ... my edits have tended to the the kind that haven't directly contradicted the previous text, but sometimes I've strayed into that territory. In cases where the blurb appears to directly contradict the article, it's not going to surprise me if the voices at ERRORS get louder on this issue over time, if they perceive that edits are being made that aren't taking feedback like Duncan's into account. For tomorrow's blurb: "1955" vs. "1960" seems jarring. There are no black and white rules, but things that people have asked for in the past have included:

Notifying the FAC nominator of the change by a note on their user talk page ... User:DrGregMN in this case

Posting a note on the article's talk page

Giving people enough time to do what they need to do ... they might not still have the source they used originally, and might not be watching Wikipedia every day, for various reasons. - Dank (push to talk) 14:40, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

Making changes to the article lead first and seeing if anyone reverts or discusses it, before changing the blurb. (This has been a handy rule of thumb in the past ... people haven't been bringing it up recently, but if we get more comments like Duncan's, then I'm guessing people will start asking for that again.) - Dank (push to talk) 15:40, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

I'm reverting the change from 1960 to 1955, because I don't think there's been enough time to discuss it, and a case could be made for 1960 ... namely, the census is a stronger source in general, and even if an author knows that one person left at a specific time doesn't mean that we can know for sure that no one returned after that. It's an interesting question, and I'm not confident that we'll be able to get it resolved in the next few hours. Of course, if the change is made to the article text and isn't reverted, then please let me know and I'll be happy to change the blurb to 1955. - Dank (push to talk) 15:14, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

i'm fine with letting the original wording stand, as the wording remains technically correct, though possibly misleading (in the same way that "tecumseh lived between 1800 and 2000" is technically correct, though possibly misleading), and i admittedly don't think it is important enough to ask DrGregMN for such a quick turnaround at this point. i think i had thought that the year may have been simply copied from the statement about the census at the end of the lead's first paragraph, with the "by" before the year accidentally overlooked.

i agree that the u.s. census is generally a strong source, though in this case (assuming that this cited source is the source used for the 1960 census), the census's only direct mention of manganese appears to be in footnote 16 on page 25-26 (page 26 of the pdf), where it states "Manganese village disincorporated and area annexed to Wolford township"; since the township is listed as having a population of 67 (on page 25-18 (page 18 of the pdf), on the left, listed under crow wing county), this does not appear to confirm that manganese was uninhabited in 1960.

interestingly, the sutherland source i mentioned was used by the article to support the statement that "Most of the remaining residents moved out around 1955.", although the source itself actually states that all of them moved out in 1955. the source also states that most of them moved out in 1954, so these two statements in the source may have been accidentally conflated (or perhaps purposefully so, considering the use of the word "around").

by the way, i encountered a few other issues that seemed worthy to mention. i think the first point is somewhat important, while everything else is rather minor.

1. "ore-producing unit" was linked to Geological formation in response to this featured article review edit, but i am unsure if it is the best article to link. geological formations are relevant to the subject of the article, and a stratigraphic column is included in the article, but, given that "ore-producing" is part of the linked text, i would have assumed that the ore-producing nature of the unit would have been highlighted in the linked article. however, the "geological formation" article appears to focus on how rocks are formed, and does not appear to mention ores explicitly at all, so instead of finding myself at an article discussing how the rock produced ore, i found myself at an article discussing how the earth produced the rock that will produce ore. one possible replacement is a link to ore#Ore deposits, a section that discusses such deposits that is followed by a discussion on how to extract the ore.
2. i was surprised to find that "U.S. state" was linked. is this a case of overlinking? recent earlier instances of the phrase (or the phrase "US state") in blurbs do not seem to link it, as seen in the blurbs for hurricane rosa, m-1, achelousaurus, and interstate 296.
3. it seemed like a link to manganese was warranted, so i linked the first instance of the word "manganese" (being used to refer to the element), as was done in the lead. alternatively, i think "the mineral" could be linked instead, even though this wasn't done in the lead.
4. "United States" is used in this blurb, even though the abbreviation "U.S." had already been used. i do not know if this was left unabbreviated deliberately, so have left it alone. are there any relevant guidelines regarding leaving a previously abbreviated term unabbreviated in a blurb? personally, i have no issue with them, but simply do not recall seeing one before in a blurb.

apologies for not having brought these points up earlier. i am seriously falling behind schedule, and am trying to prioritize increasing the buffer for now over raising smaller issues. there are some other possible issues in the next two blurbs, but i'll only raise one issue here for now, and let you decide whether or not you want to take action regarding it. there is a discrepancy between the blurb and the article body regarding the release date of the first issue of lazarus. i believe the article body is correct, but both sources cited do not appear to support the stated publication date (or mention it at all). this source, though a primary one, supports the article body's date. i suspect that there are reliable secondary sources, but have not seriously looked into it. dying (talk) 07:51, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

In general, primary sources are acceptable for release dates. - Dank (push to talk) 13:24, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

No objection to delinking Geological formation; no opinion on other links. "U.S. state" should never be linked. "United States" vs. "U.S." vs. "US" vs. nothing is often problematic; there's no general advice. - Dank (push to talk) 13:27, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

And btw, for the blurb that's on the Main Page right now, if I had seen these things yesterday, I would have delinked "U.S. state" and changed "the United States" to "the country". I don't like to make changes when something is live unless the changes feel important. - Dank (push to talk) 18:05, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

And (I know it's a lot of little rules to keep track of ... feel free not to!), since we were recently talking about when and how to mention countries ... note that tomorrow's blurb starts off "a semiaquatic rodent occurring from southernmost Texas south to northwestern Colombia", without mentioning the U.S. The rule in my head here only requires the mention of one country ... you can get by not mentioning the other one if the other one is clear from context, and it is, because the state is very well known, and the country has to be north of Colombia. In my experience, we can generally survive WP:ERRORS with that much. - Dank (push to talk) 18:12, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

Dank, i completely understand the reluctance to edit a blurb that is already on the main page. i think for now (at least until i get the buffer up to a week), i'll raise issues with you without looking seriously into the matter, in the hopes that they'll at least be addressed in time if deemed important enough.

also, i agree with you regarding not needing to state that texas is in the united states. however, i think the country should probably be added to the war memorial blurb, as i think it's really unclear to a reader unfamiliar with the context. if character limits were not a concern, i would add "the English city of" before "Portsmouth". what do you think?

also, i don't mind trying to keep track of a lot of little rules, as i think it's better to be aware of them than to attempt to infer them and accidentally violating them, so please feel free to mention any little relevant rules that come to mind. dying (talk) 23:49, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 17, 2021

For a change that you have reason to believe people have already supported somewhere, such as "probably breeds year-round", you probably have a choice: you can make the change to the article text directly and leave a note in the edit summary or on the article talk page giving your reasons, or you could leave a note on the article talk page first stating your intention to make the change to both the article text and the blurb text. - Dank (push to talk) 15:26, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

this is a good point; i am still thinking about how i would go about addressing such changes. two quick points about the blurb:

1. i'm not entirely sure why "buff" was replaced with "brownish". if it was because "buff" is linked to a wiktionary article in the lead, i believe Ravenpuff has previously resolved this by linking to the appropriate wikipedia article. if it was because "brownish" is a word likely more familiar to our readers, then an argument could also be made to use "yellowish" instead, as the wikipedia article states that buff is "a light brownish yellow, ochreous colour".
2. from the taxonomy section, i can see why someone who studies rodents may state that there is "much geographic variation", though i don't know if using "much" is appropriate for an uninitiated blurb reader.

dying (talk) 23:49, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

Not done; this one is already live. - Dank (push to talk) 00:37, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

Dank, understood; i obviously didn't expect a quick turnaround for this. the first point was actually meant more as a question for future reference, as "buff" has appeared in a number of blurbs, though i probably should have more clearly phrased it as a question. dying (talk) 00:58, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

• Lazarus (blurb):

  Dank, two minor points:

  1. i have generally found mos:seaofblue to not be strongly enforced for the first few sentences of article leads, though it seems to be pretty evenly applied on blurbs. if so, should either one of the links in "dystopian science fiction" be dropped, or both replaced by something more appropriate? if the latter, i thought either a link to the article Utopian and dystopian fiction or its section Utopian and dystopian fiction#Dystopian fiction seemed appropriate, even though they technically also cover dystopian fiction that is not science fiction.
  2. i could not figure out why "collected into" was replaced with "published in". to someone unfamiliar with comics, i am assuming that the latter may suggest that the monthly issues were also published in paperback and hardcover formats.

  dying (talk) 00:21, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

  Done. - Dank (push to talk) 00:37, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

• John, King of England (blurb):

  Dank, a question, and then three points:

  • should "the death itself was notable for some reason" (in the earlier statement regarding death dates) be construed to consider "the manner of death" rather than "the death itself"? obviously, the death of a monarch of england is likely considered notable under any circumstances. the notability of the manner of death, however, is questionable, as john died of dysentery while on campaign during the first barons' war. it is less notable than dying in battle, but more notable than dying of old age.

  1. i partially addressed this in my earlier edit of the blurb, but in addition to william ix, count of poitiers, henry ii also had illegitimate sons. the article on henry ii mentioned that he "had several illegitimate children", and lists geoffrey and william as "amongst the most prominent",^[i] but does not give an explicit number of sons he had in total. should their existence be taken into consideration by, for example, adding "legitimate" after "surviving"?
  2. i had significant trouble parsing the third sentence because "then absent on the Third Crusade" is a postmodifying phrase modifying a noun in a premodifying phrase. i don't know if i'm the only one having trouble with it, but if rephrasing it is warranted, the sentence "After King Richard died, John became king, despite having rebelled against him when Richard was away on the Third Crusade." avoids the awkward construction.^[j] also, i think "against him" can be dropped, but had kept the phrase to parallel the original sentence.
  3. i've noticed that, for images appearing with biographical blurbs, the caption (if there is one) will generally not mention that the image is a depiction^[k] if it is a known depiction of the subject of the blurb.^[l] the image accompanying this blurb is captioned as an effigy of the king. an effigy is a depiction, so if this image was an image of an effigy of the king, i would assume the caption is sufficient, and possibly even not necessary. however, this image appears to be an image of a depiction of an effigy of the king. (photographs of the effigy can be seen here.) should the caption note that this is a depiction of the effigy, and not the effigy itself? alternatively, since a depiction of a depiction of a subject can still be a depiction of the subject, i also see nothing wrong with simply dropping the caption.

  by the way, while reviewing this blurb, i learned that louis viii of france had been proclaimed king louis i of england during john's reign, only to later agree that he was never king of england in the treaty of lambeth about a year later. what an interesting truth that has shifted over time! dying (talk) 07:47, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

Since I've asked the coords about the death date already for this one, I'd rather not ask again ... let's wait until the next time this comes up. The phrase "illegitimate children" has fallen out of fashion, even though of course its historical meaning is not meant to be inflammatory. "There is no such thing as illegitimate children, only illegitimate parents." "surviving sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine" seems clear to me. I think you make a good point about "absent", so I reworded to use "away". Although this sentence doesn't appear in the lead word for word, a longer sentence with the same basic structure does, so I'd prefer to leave the rest of it alone if that works for you. The caption question can be handled at WP:ERRORS. - Dank (push to talk) 14:53, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

of course, no worries about the death date concern. also, i'm glad that you brought up the concern over the term "illegitimate children". i had felt that there was something i was overlooking, but i couldn't figure out what that was. you're also right about the current phrasing being clear now. i was looking so hard for issues (ha!) that might not have been taken into account that i was ignoring the fact that a standard reading of that phrase would assume that the sons are sons of both named parents. anyway, i'll bring the caption issue up at wp:errors. thanks, Dank! dying (talk) 15:59, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

• MLS Cup 1996 (blurb):

  i don't know whether the "the" should be added to the linked text in the "1996 season" link. the link leads to a specific instance of a 1996 season, but i doubt many readers would think that the current link would go to a page that covers all seasons of 1996. dying (talk) 15:59, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

In general, I don't want to get involved in arguments over what should or shouldn't be included in a link. Do whatever you like ... ask someone else, or bring it up at ERRORS, or (my favorite choice) do nothing. - Dank (push to talk) 16:23, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

sounds good. doing nothing was my default solution for this one, but i didn't know if you had any additional insight. i'll avoid bothering you with similar issues in the future if i think they aren't that important. dying (talk) 16:48, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

• Smooth newt (blurb):

  this one has a few minor issues, but since the blurb is already near the maximum length, and addressing these issues may result in adding to the length, i was worried about doing so without additional feedback.

  1. "widespread in much of Eurasia" seems a bit inappropriate if this is the distribution of the species. it's definitely widespread in europe, but asia is nearly five times the size of europe, and the newt is only really present in western asia and a bit of central asia. perhaps "widespread in much of Europe and parts of western Asia" would be more appropriate. simply dropping the reference to asia would work too.
  2. "is introduced to Australia" sounds a bit off to me, but i don't know if this is perhaps an engvar issue. to me, "has been introduced to Australia" sounds better if "introduced" is interpreted as a past participle, and "is introduced in Australia" if "introduced" is interpreted as an adjective.
  3. adult newts apparently can live up to 20 years in captivity, so the statement "adults can live up to 14 years" may be more accurate if qualified by the phrase "in the wild", assuming there is space for it. alternatively, "14" can simply be replaced with "20" if there is no need to point out that this was observed in captivity.

  dying (talk) 09:39, 19 October 2021 (UTC)

I'll change "can live" to "live" and add "introduced species". Since the first point depends on an interpretation of an image, I'd rather that you raise that at ERRORS. The main problem with animal lifespans at TFA is that most readers have intuitions that are based on how human lifespans work; in the wild, it's common for individuals of a species to have vastly differently lifespans, even when nothing eats them and they're basically healthy. Because many readers will misunderstand "live up to x years", it might be better not to mention lifespans at all at TFA. But I'd rather not invite a discussion on this right now. - Dank (push to talk) 16:03, 19 October 2021 (UTC)

oh, good point; i will plan to raise the eurasia issue there then. thanks for addressing my other points. admittedly, i don't think i've ever thought that deeply about stating lifespans in tfa blurbs before, but i agree with your insight. by the way, i thought your dropping the "can" was a great edit, effectively addressing my point while also shortening the blurb. dying (talk) 21:36, 19 October 2021 (UTC)

should i be sending a ping to the nominator whenever i post something to wp:errors? in the past, i have assumed that people simply posted their concerns and a responding administrator would send a ping whenever it was appropriate. i didn't want to violate that by sending a ping to a nominator presumptively, but i also don't want to avoid my duty if one should send a ping when posting a concern, but administrators usually ended up sending the ping simply because most people weren't familiar with the practice. dying (talk) 14:53, 21 October 2021 (UTC)

For now, don't ping, and if someone complains, I'll take the blame. All things considered, that's probably safer. - Dank (push to talk) 15:13, 21 October 2021 (UTC)

that's really gracious of you, Dank. thanks. dying (talk) 16:09, 22 October 2021 (UTC)

• Hoopoe starling (blurb):

  would it be helpful to link "introduced species"? i believe every instance of the phrase's use in blurbs since 2018 appears to have had it linked. obviously, it was linked in the blurb for smooth newt. others include the blurbs for durrell's vontsira, cactus wren, snoring rail, and cape sparrow. dying (talk) 14:08, 21 October 2021 (UTC)

You don't have to do this much work to justify your choices (especially, linking choices) ... usually, either I'll agree with you or it won't be a burning issue for me. Your call. - Dank (push to talk) 15:27, 21 October 2021 (UTC)

sounds good, Dank, thanks. dying (talk) 16:09, 22 October 2021 (UTC)

• 1989 (blurb):

  ideally, would "1989" in the featured topic link not be in italics? i've often seen things normally written in italic type being written in roman type if it is part of a longer string of text that is written in italic type. i don't know if this is covered in the mos, but i've seen it practiced on wikipedia before. the tfafull template currently doesn't seem to support this, but i'd be up for modifying it if you think doing so is worthwhile, but don't feel like coding it yourself. (obviously, i'd ask you to make the actual edit to the template, as it's fully protected.) dying (talk) 14:08, 21 October 2021 (UTC)

Even though reverse italics (i.e normal font in place of italics and italics in place of the normal font) are somewhat standard in these situations in the publishing industry, we've found that they confuse many Wikipedia readers ... so generally if something should be italicized for two different reasons, I italicize it. OTOH, if people would like to change the FT format so that we use normal italics for the name of the topic [1989 (Taylor Swift album)], I'd have no objection. But beware: you can get pushback for even bringing up questions like this ... some editors think of the question as too geeky, and others think of it as above our paygrades. So generally, if no one is complaining, I don't raise questions of font or punctuation. It doesn't bother me a bit if other people raise the questions, though. - Dank (push to talk) 15:27, 21 October 2021 (UTC)

you're right; that template is probably best left alone absent a request to change it. i should have realized this when i looked through the template's history while surveying how difficult it would be to implement the change. some time ago, i had the same idea as you did regarding the lack of a space before the ellipsis, and felt really bad for the pushback you had received, since i had thought that your edit was justified. since then, i had admittedly forgotten that you were the one who had did it, so you can imagine my surprise when i looked through the history again! anyway, if you ever feel like adding the space back in, you will at least have my support, for what it's worth. in the meantime, i'm also fine with leaving the reverse italics issue alone.

by the way, thanks for bringing up the term "reverse italics". i vaguely remember encountering the term before, but couldn't recall the term, since the topic comes up so rarely in normal conversation. dying (talk) 16:09, 22 October 2021 (UTC)

• 1920–21 Cardiff City F.C. season (blurb):

  Dank, i feel that this blurb may be suffering from some jargon issues not unlike those found in the recent cricket blurb. i think your edit that replaced one instance of "side" with "team" was a good idea, though i think it could still benefit from some more work. most glaring to me was the statement "a fixture clash forced them to field a reserve side". though i understood it, it may sound unintelligible to someone unfamiliar with football.

  1. i think linking "reserve side" to reserve team is a simple way to make it more clear that "side" means "team" without actually replacing the term, and may also help readers unfamiliar with reserve teams.
  2. there appears to be enough detail in the lead to suggest to a reader what the term "fixture clash" means. however, this detail has been dropped in the blurb. i had been considering replacing the term with "scheduling conflict", which better follows mos:commonality practices, but hesitated to do so because the nominator clearly likes using the word "fixture", as its overuse was noted during review. there's also the possibility of linking "fixture" to Glossary of association football terms#F, but i am not sure if that solves the problem, as "clash" could be misinterpreted if it isn't clear that it was based on scheduling.^[m] alternatively, "fixture clash" could simply be added to the glossary, and then linked to in the blurb. admittedly, i don't really know what the best thing to do here is, and if you choose to do nothing, that's fine with me.
  3. my mind thinks "with" should be added before "Billy Hardy playing in the most games", while leaving it as is would be considered acceptable but informal. however, i don't know if this is simply a mos:engvar issue.
  4. "Pontypridd" links to Pontypridd F.C., an article about an amateur welsh football club that appears to have been founded in 2018. although it was inspired by the professional football club mentioned in the blurb, i think it may technically be a different team.^[n] however, i left it alone because additional details about the professional team are mentioned in the linked article, and i cannot suggest a better link.^[o]

  dying (talk) 13:43, 23 October 2021 (UTC)

• "Rejoined" (blurb):

  1. the blurb states that this episode is the sixth of the fourth season, although the article lead and infobox states that it is the fifth. i believe the discrepancy is due to the season premiere of the fourth season being a double-length episode. it appears to be aired as two separate episodes in syndication. the edit summary here states that startrek.com considers "rejoined" the fifth episode. memory alpha labels it "4x06", having labelled the season premiere "4x01/02". wikipedia's own list of episodes for that season considers "rejoined" the sixth episode.
  2. terry farrell is not mentioned in the text at all, despite being pictured and her character being mentioned in the text. the blurb is also missing the usual "(pictured)", and i am not sure if this is because farrell is not mentioned. is this unusual, or is this perfectly acceptable and happens every so often? i'm not sure if this is considered an image issue, but i can bring it up at wp:errors instead if you'd prefer.

  dying (talk) 13:43, 23 October 2021 (UTC)

• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 24, 2021: "10 000 km3" looks wrong to me, but I don't understand the issues (and I haven't been keeping up like I used to). The November blurb pages haven't been created yet, so this is just a placeholder. - Dank (push to talk) 20:26, 3 October 2021 (UTC)

  Dank, thanks for calling attention to this. i believe sources in the relevant literature regularly use the unit "km³", and the unit has appeared before in blurbs on volcanoes, as seen in the blurbs for newberry volcano and mount takahe, so i left the unit alone. however, i replaced the delimiting gap with a comma to conform with mos:digits, which advocates for a consistent delimiting style, and i also added a value in imperial units. dying (talk) 23:34, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

• Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 29, 2021: When you get to the November blurbs, I recommend working on this one first. The old (2006) blurb is pretty bad. - Dank (push to talk) 14:15, 18 October 2021 (UTC)

  interestingly, i had actually started thinking about how to rewrite this blurb not long after you left me this note, but shortly before i was going to present Gog with a proposed revision, i noticed that two other editors (who had done significant work with the article recently) had already rewrote a good deal of the blurb, and did so in a manner surprisingly similar to how i was doing it. the differences between our versions are not very significant, and there are sections that i had written more briefly to fit in more material, but as resolving the discrepancies would have largely been an issue of personal preference, i was happy to simply copyedit what they had already done. in any case, i appreciate the heads-up. dying (talk) 01:49, 29 November 2021 (UTC)

• I asked you a while back to try to copyedit at least week in advance so that everyone has sufficient notice to respond. You asked me if it would be okay to skip some upcoming blurbs to make it easier for you to catch up. I've changed my mind ... yes, please skip some upcoming blurbs ... we really need to be giving people a week's notice, sooner rather than later. No one has said anything specific that makes me think we're in trouble, but past experience tells me, if we don't give people enough time to look things up in their sources and have on-line and off-line discussions about the points raised, eventually we're going to regret it. - Dank (push to talk) 15:08, 20 October 2021 (UTC)
  • sure, i completely understand. the blurbs for the past two weeks seem to have been more involved than usual, so i grossly underestimated the time i needed to get that buffer up to a week. i'll finish off the blurb for Livyatan with the same level of quality as before, as i already did most of the work for it, but the next four reviews will be comparatively superficial. that should give us the desired buffer in short time. dying (talk) 16:23, 20 October 2021 (UTC)
    • Great, thanks. - Dank (push to talk) 16:27, 20 October 2021 (UTC)
      • done. i have a few questions, but i will ask them separately. dying (talk) 19:42, 20 October 2021 (UTC)
• I've marked myself out, on a short wikibreak. Back soon. - Dank (push to talk) 15:38, 23 October 2021 (UTC)

  thanks for letting me know, Dank. take care. dying (talk) 15:42, 23 October 2021 (UTC)

I'm sorry, my mind isn't on Wikipedia right now. I'll be taking a break for a while, aside from my plant lists. I recommend that you just make whatever edits you're willing to defend. I hope to have better news within a couple of weeks. - Dank (push to talk) 23:05, 23 October 2021 (UTC)

take all the time you need, Dank. i'll miss you, though hopefully, my editing without you will be much improved compared to how it was before you dropped by, as your feedback has been invaluable. i may still post a few questions here for you from time to time, but i don't expect them to be answered until you're back, and they will generally be of a nature where the answer will be useful for future reference. dying (talk) 04:45, 24 October 2021 (UTC)

Thanks kindly. Copyediting requires calmness, and I just can't manage it at the moment, but I hope to be editing again soon. The coords haven't specifically offered to help with this particular job, but they're always available to help with blurbs, and of course WP:ERRORS is often helpful. - Dank (push to talk) 14:46, 24 October 2021 (UTC)

I've got some health issues to work on, and I just stepped down as a coord. I'm still available (for anyone) for institutional knowledge, things like "Where did I see X?". Thanks for all your TFA work, it's been a pleasure to work with you. - Dank (push to talk) 16:37, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

Dank, i'm sad to see you go, but your health obviously comes first. it has been a pleasure to work with you as well. if you ever feel like it, you are, of course, always welcome to comment on any edit i make, or revert anything that needs reverting, whether or not you're a tfa coordinator, and whether or not it has anything to do with tfa blurbs. hope you get well soon. dying (talk) 19:57, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

Thanks. Fingers crossed. - Dank (push to talk) 20:48, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

My take-away from all of this is that images might be a bit of a problem going forward, and if so, you might want to make image suggestions to the TFA coords. - Dank (push to talk) 21:30, 13 November 2021 (UTC)

understood. greatly appreciate your help, Dank. dying (talk) 21:44, 13 November 2021 (UTC)

Quick facts

December songs

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Thank you for your care for what to say for TFAs, today an Italian opera, my second ever, as the TFA written by two dear people, and a park where I went with dear people, as pictured DYK --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:35, 14 December 2021 (UTC)

thanks for the acknowledgement, Gerda. just trying to be of help. hope all is well in bavaria! dying (talk) 00:36, 16 December 2021 (UTC)

back home (infbox on my user page), Bavaria was great, today memories of singing Monteverdi, Handel, Rossini - a triple nod to Brian --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:36, 17 December 2021 (UTC)

You recently participated in a TFA discussion that I have referenced here. —  AjaxSmack  10:48, 8 January 2022 (UTC)

On 16 January 2022, In the news was updated with an item that involved the article Marlon Bundo, which you updated and nominated. If you know of another recently created or updated article suitable for inclusion in ITN, please suggest it on the candidates page. PFHLai (talk) 21:00, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Quick facts frozen ...

February songs

frozen

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Thank you for ITN, and for great help with tfa blurb, such as my joy! - more on my talk - The next is on March 25. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:29, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

Valentine's Day edition, with spring flowers and plenty of music --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:10, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

stand and sing --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:37, 25 February 2022 (UTC)

Quick facts

March songs

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Bach's No. 1 today (see above), thanks for the copy-edit! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:18, 25 March 2022 (UTC)

next on 13 April, looking forward - I had three ITN RD today (not at the same time which can be depressing --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:20, 25 March 2022 (UTC)

An article you recently created, Novus (supermarket), is not suitable as written to remain published. It needs more citations from reliable, independent sources. (?) Information that can't be referenced should be removed (verifiability is of central importance on Wikipedia). I've moved your draft to draftspace (with a prefix of "Draft:" before the article title) where you can incubate the article with minimal disruption. When you feel the article meets Wikipedia's general notability guideline and thus is ready for mainspace, please click on the "Submit your draft for review!" button at the top of the page. Akevsharma (talk) 01:45, 28 March 2022 (UTC)

This was a little short to start with, and I just subtracted a few words ... if you feel like fiddling with it, great. It's a rerun btw. You've been doing great work ... anything I can help with? - Dank (push to talk) 01:34, 1 April 2022 (UTC)

Dank! it's a pleasure to see you gracing my talk page again. i was just thinking the other day about how i missed your input. thanks for the feedback and the heads-up regarding that blurb. as for any requests, would you be willing to field questions from me again from time to time? of course, as before, there's no pressure for you to answer them in a timely manner, or at all. dying (talk) 20:28, 3 April 2022 (UTC)

Happy to help, any time. I'm not completely out of the woods, but I'm optimistic. - Dank (push to talk) 20:46, 3 April 2022 (UTC)

This morning, it came to me where to draw the line: I can provide institutional memory in cases where I actually remember stuff that might be helpful, but I will shy away from most judgment calls. - Dank (push to talk) 12:11, 4 April 2022 (UTC)

Dank, that sounds like a good place to draw the line. admittedly, it also allows me to feel a bit less guilty about bothering you regarding an issue in which your institutional knowledge would be helpful, although if i ever accidentally ask a question that feels more like a judgement call, please let me know.

also, i took the liberty of trying to rewrite the blurb that you mentioned, since our blurb standards have changed significantly since it was first written, and it seemed more difficult to try to work with what was there. however, i did not want to replace the current blurb with my version unilaterally, and wanted to get your opinion on my draft.

please let me know what you think. of course, you are welcome to edit the proposed blurb directly, as at tfar. dying (talk) 23:58, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

I think I like "died off"? "range has decreased [to ...]" would work, too. - Dank (push to talk) 01:34, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

The problem with "extirpate" is that it was being used in a sense that's nearly the opposite of the meanings given in m-w.com and ahdictionary.com, which have connotations of intentionality. Many biologists do use the word "extirpate" in the sense used in the article lead ... but if they want to be understood by non-biologists, then they shouldn't. TFA blurbs are one place where, over the years, we had some success with gently bringing text more in line with dictionaries, but without making a big thing of it ... the rare times when we were asked directly about changes like these, we'd typically say something like: non-technical language was perhaps more suited for the Main Page, with its broader readership. But I may be misunderstanding the problem. - Dank (push to talk) 12:57, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

oh, ha! you were actually right about the length; i had completely forgotten to add the tfafull template to the blurb. i have now added the template and dropped a few additional characters by replacing "characteristics" with "traits".

i also like your edit; i had decided to use "extirpated" from the article lead, but had also been worried about it being more technical than usual for the main page. your version is easier to understand, and is shorter too. your analysis is also quite helpful; my experience with the term has largely been through wikipedia, meaning that i was previously unaware of the other connotations, so thank you for the insight. dying (talk) 20:30, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

Thanks kindly. Your blurb looks good to me. - Dank (push to talk) 21:41, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

There's a complaint about this one at WP:ERRORS you might want to look at. I made an edit. - Dank (push to talk) 01:28, 23 April 2022 (UTC)

interestingly, when i first drafted the blurb above, there were three points i was thinking of bringing up with you, but ended up not doing so due to lack of time. as it turns out, two of the points have now been raised: the use of possibly overly technical terms, and the discrepancy between the blurb and article regarding the age of the fossil record. the third point was completely trivial, but i thought i might share anyway at this point.

i had wanted to lament the fact that i could not find space in the blurb to mention that the american paddlefish had been accidentally successfully crossbred with the russian sturgeon. if i am understanding the paper correctly, scientists had mixed russian sturgeon eggs with (non-radiated) american paddlefish sperm as a negative control in a gynogenesis experiment, not expecting the hybridization to be successful. the sturddlefish was announced in 2020, so it would have been an upbeat update since the last blurb (as opposed to the decidedly less upbeat one about it now being the only extant taxon in its family).

in any case, thanks for letting me know about the error report. dying (talk) 11:56, 23 April 2022 (UTC)

• Following your encouragement, I'll try to update the American Paddlefish article with more accurate information on the fossil record etc. In fact, looking quickly now, the information seems to be already in there, but there is additional incorrect information that needs cropping. Those errors arise both because some statements are not actually supported by the references cited and because some cited references contain false information (some examples of which you noted yesterday). This is a case where I think Wikipedia's preference for secondary sources over primary ones (i.e. the original scientific articles) is misguided. I'm a zoologist, but with no special knowledge of fish. Jmchutchinson (talk) 07:56, 24 April 2022 (UTC)

Done now! Jmchutchinson (talk) 12:05, 24 April 2022 (UTC)

Jmchutchinson, i'm glad that that section of the article has now been straightened out by an editor with some expertise in the area. (i'm not a zoologist, but i try to cosplay as one whenever a blurb on an animal species shows up in the tfa queue.) i agree that there are times when wikipedia would be better served with a primary source, though can also understand why there is a general preference for secondary sources. unfortunately, it appears that this was a case of secondary sources containing erroneous information. thanks for updating the article! dying (talk) 03:31, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

• Battle of Vrbanja Bridge (blurb):

  Dank, what are your thoughts on the applicability of mos:gnl to tfa blurbs? the issue does not seem to come up often, so i think your institutional knowledge could be helpful here. for the blurb in question, there are two instances where the choice of words may be questionable: "French-manned" and "infantrymen". the context is a 1995 battle during the bosnian war, so it seems likely that all involved were considered male, although i have not followed any sources to confirm this. however, i also know that there is often a preference for the use of gender-neutral language even when all that are described are of one gender. interestingly, the article body (but not the article lead) avoids using "infantrymen" by dropping "men" from the word, but the resulting noun phrase, "70 French infantry", seems unusual to me, as i am unfamiliar with the use of "infantry" as a countable noun.

  offhand, if i were to pick substitutes, i might use "French-staffed" and "infantry soldiers" (and then drop the "were" after "seventeen" to get under the character limit), though i would obviously defer to any better suggestions you may have, if you think the original phrasing should be reworded in the first place. dying (talk) 03:15, 20 May 2022 (UTC)

  I'd rather not comment on anything involving MOS:GNL. Apologies. - Dank (push to talk) 03:35, 20 May 2022 (UTC)

  no worries, Dank, i understand. i will leave the blurb as is, then, and keep an eye on wp:errors in case there is any useful feedback. dying (talk) 23:51, 20 May 2022 (UTC)

• Time in Finland (blurb):

  Dank, i thought your edit improved the flow of the opening sentence and resolved the issue of the first link not being to the featured subject, but one thing that has been bothering me for a while is that it appears to violate mos:egg, since i think i had initially believed that the blurb was about clocks in finland when i first started reading it. would replacing "Clocks in Finland follow" with "For timekeeping, Finland follows" be an improvement? it resolves the mos:egg issue, but the link text's span is unusual. dying (talk) 03:29, 29 June 2022 (UTC)

  Agreed, that's better. - Dank (push to talk) 03:53, 29 June 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for the dit you did on the May 29 FA blurb. I'd stared at it for a while but couldn't identify what about it made me uncomfortable. The inline comments you make are helpful for an aspiring copyeditor like myself. Ovinus (talk) 00:28, 22 May 2022 (UTC)

As you are fond of adding notes in hidden text to articles, I wanted to let you know that a project is underway to have a bot move all older instances of hidden text of more than 50 characters to the article talk pages, to avoid clutter of the wikitext, since hidden text is often not updated as the article changes. Since this will eventually catch up with text that you may have provided, please make sure than any passages of hidden text left by you are under 50 characters. Cheers! BD2412 T 17:43, 29 May 2022 (UTC)

Regarding the refs here , I suggest using the citation bot on WP:REFB and then archivebot to add the archive urls. The problem right now is that all the refs are missing the title and the newspaper names. Venkat TL (talk) 13:38, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

Hello, Dying

Thank you for creating Saint Michael's Square.

User:SunDawn, while examining this page as a part of our page curation process, had the following comments:

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✠ SunDawn ✠ (contact) 01:29, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

Hello, Dying

Thank you for creating Poznań Marathon.

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✠ SunDawn ✠ (contact) 07:07, 22 June 2022 (UTC)

Hello, Dying,

Thank you for creating Iron diplomacy.

I have tagged the page as having some issues to fix, as a part of our page curation process and note that:

Interesting article, but it might not meet the criteria for a neologism. Please see the tags I put on the page to remedy the problems.

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CollectiveSolidarity (talk) 00:17, 4 July 2022 (UTC)

Quick facts

July songs

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Thank you for your care of the TFA blurbs! - Last Friday, I attended a unique concert - the 18th Thomaskantor after Bach conducting - and with some good luck caught him happy afterwards! Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:36, 10 July 2022 (UTC)

thanks, Gerda, happy to help. i should also thank you for keeping up with the precious awards. it is a pleasant surprise whenever i revisit a fac nominator's talk page and see that they have received that well-deserved award. i'm glad you had a good time in wiesbaden last friday. dying (talk) 10:06, 15 July 2022 (UTC)

thank you, that feels good, and yes, another great concert yesterday, Voces8. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:42, 15 July 2022 (UTC)

more July songs, from Swiss Alps and a funeral --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:30, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

On 6 August 2022, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Iron diplomacy, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that Oleksandr Kamyshin, the head of Ukrainian Railways, who runs the iron diplomacy program that brings world leaders to Kyiv by rail, carries his gun and his son's stuffed owl with him? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Iron diplomacy. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Iron diplomacy), and if they received a combined total of at least 416.7 views per hour (i.e., 5,000 views in 12 hours or 10,000 in 24), the hook may be added to the statistics page. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

— Maile (talk) 00:02, 6 August 2022 (UTC)

Quick facts

August songs

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thank you - pics and thoughts on 13 August --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:52, 13 August 2022 (UTC)

Look at the church where I heard VOCES8. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:29, 30 August 2022 (UTC)

Precious anniversary

Quick facts Two years! ...

Precious

Two years!

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... and also just precious --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:09, 30 August 2022 (UTC)

oh, i had seen the sapphire grow on other user talk pages before, but i hadn't realized that it would look so large when it was on my own talk page. many thanks, Gerda! dying (talk) 14:08, 30 August 2022 (UTC)

at present, it will grow to nine, and then shrink and be stable for 10 ;) - glad you like it! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:28, 30 August 2022 (UTC)

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Hi Dying, hope you're well. I'm feeling better than I was a year ago, and I'd like to offer some input on some September blurbs that you haven't worked on yet. After some discussion, if you decide you're on board, then you can make the edits during your normal copyediting, and if not, that's no problem at all. The first thing I'd like to talk about, if you're willing, is "British former javelin thrower" in the first sentence of the blurb on the 13th. "British former" is a popular phrase in first sentences of our sports articles and I'm pretty sure nothing I say will ever succeed in eradicating it, but it's got three or four major problems IMO, and during my seven years of coordship, I was generally successful at changing it to something like (in this case) "former javelin thrower from Britain" (or the United Kingdom) or "British javelin thrower, active [in some regard] from [date] to [date]". - Dank (push to talk) 15:40, 3 September 2022 (UTC)

Dank! so glad to hear that you're doing better. your input is always welcome. i had actually wanted to ask for your advice regarding this blurb, so your timing is serendipitous.

i'm not sure if we both have the same issues with "British former", or find it problematic on different grounds, but to me, it seems strange to label sanderson as a "former javelin thrower" if she presumably still has the faculties to throw a javelin. the article body states that she "retired from competition in 1997", so using "retired" seems more appropriate to me. also, according to my understanding of the order in which attributive adjectives are typically presented, "former" (or "retired") should precede "British", so if i were rewriting the phrase, i would have stated "retired British javelin thrower". however, wikipedia categories such as "Lithuanian former pagans" seem to disagree with me.

i can see the argument that "British" should precede "former" so that there is no danger of a reader believing that sanderson is no longer british. i have also switched the order of adjectives myself in a previous blurb, after having been confused by the previous placement of the word "former". however, i don't think it is likely that a reader would misinterpret "former British" in this case, as pragmatics suggests that her current (rather than former) nationality would be mentioned in the opening sentence. in any case, the point would be moot if "retired" is used instead.

that being said, had i been copyediting this blurb unilaterally, i would probably have left it as is, following the article lead. however, if you also think that there are issues with the current wording, i think changing it is warranted. your first suggestion sounds good (assuming that you have no issues with "former"), although the second, in this case, may require a bit of original research (as when sanderson started her career seems unclear), and the added length may be an issue since the blurb is already near the character limit.

i had also wanted to ask you about post-nominal letters, as two blurbs scheduled for september include them: this one for sanderson, and the one for alexander cameron rutherford. i had previously assumed that, if mentioned, such distinctions were generally described unabbreviated in the prose, as in this blurb for etta lemon. unfortunately, in both the sanderson and rutherford blurbs, it looks like squeezing in such a description without breaking the character limit would be difficult. has there been any previous guidance on the matter? dying (talk) 02:17, 4 September 2022 (UTC)

My answer to most of these questions is: I'm not sure. I was never the answers-to-all-your-language-questions person; my main contribution (if any) was doing some minimal copyediting designed to reduce conflict among Wikipedians (not an easy task, but an important one, I think). And then I got sick, and I haven't been keeping an eye on language discussions like I used to ... so, any information I have could be dated or just wrong. But I'd like to pass along some of what I learned during my years at TFA, and when I'm wrong, I'm sure people will figure that out ... in many ways, TFA is healthier than it ever was, with lots of smart contributors, including you of course. More soon. - Dank (push to talk) 17:23, 4 September 2022 (UTC)

I really like your edits on this one, especially "retired". But, for bios, aren't we still using the name as it appears in the page title rather than as it appears in the first sentence? I checked all the blurbs for August and September and they seem to follow that rule (even for the fictional C.J. Cregg). It sounds like you've found plenty of support in other articles for "retired", but if that's challenged, please let me know. - Dank (push to talk) 01:35, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

thanks, Dank! it was your raising of the issue that made me question whether the phrase should be reworded, so i'm glad you mentioned it. also, please don't worry if you don't have the answers to all of my questions; if you can't answer one, it's likely no one can. by the way, i agree that your conflict-avoiding style has made a big difference. i review our discussions here every so often to make sure i haven't strayed too far from your guidance, and became aware the other day of yet another group of potential conflicts that i could have accidentally walked into had i not followed your advice.

i believe you're right about the bolded link using the name in the article's title rather than the one in the article's opening. that issue was admittedly troubling me for a while, but i could not recall ever seeing someone correct it, so at the time, i had just made sure it conformed to mos:nickname. i've edited the blurb accordingly. thanks for pointing this out!

also, in case you haven't noticed, i have been trying to post my copyedits eight days before a blurb's run date (taking advantage of that schedule reshuffle about a month ago), so if something happens in meatspace that is out of my control (or if i simply forget to hit the publish button, like i did here), i should still be able to get my copyedits done at least a week before. of course, all my edits remain up for discussion, so feel free to revert anything that seems amiss. dying (talk) 07:20, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

Sure, thanks for the timely copyediting, that helps a lot. Btw, I've just made a few edits on Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 26, 2022 that I hope dealt with a few potential problems, but feel free to revert or change things, as always. - Dank (push to talk) 03:06, 8 September 2022 (UTC)

admittedly, i am having trouble understanding why the road is being referred to as "U.S. Highway 8" rather than "U.S. Route 8", the article title. did you understand why during your copyedit? to me, it seems like most of the articles on the u.s. numbered highway system generally prefer to use the wording "U.S. Route x" over "U.S. Highway x". also, i found the image selection unusual, as the route marker probably will not noticeably improve a reader's understanding of the subject, and may be a violation of mos:decor, so i will likely try to ask Wehwalt about that later. dying (talk) 07:25, 11 September 2022 (UTC)

False alarm ... the nominator objected to running this article at TFA, and Wehwalt has pulled it. Imzadi has a personal preference for the word "Highway"; I don't really understand the issue, but I've tried to keep that in mind. - Dank (push to talk) 16:01, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

oh! somewhat unexpected on both counts. thanks for letting me know. dying (talk) 06:44, 14 September 2022 (UTC)

• First Battle of Newtonia (blurb):

  one of the articles linked to in the blurb, "Native Americans in the American Civil War", is a set index article. is this acceptable for tfa blurbs? personally, i have no issues with it, but i do not recall a tfa blurb linking to a set index article before, so i wanted to check to make sure there was no policy against it.

  the featured article mentions that the cherokee, the choctaw, and the chickasaw all fought in the battle, so it would be difficult to choose just one of the articles in the set index to link to instead. (the chickasaw are covered in the choctaw article.) also, since none of these groups are mentioned by name in the blurb, a main page reader encountering the set index article may be unsure which articles in the index are relevant.

  one alternative is to ignore mos:specificlink and simply link to "Native Americans in the United States" instead. dying (talk) 12:33, 29 September 2022 (UTC)

  Off the top of my head, I don't recall using a link to a set index article in a blurb before. I see it's on the Main Page now, and no one has said anything. - Dank (push to talk)

• Today's featured article/October 4: Sorry, I just caught this one ... I don't like to cut it this close ... any thoughts on my edit before we go live? - Dank (push to talk) 18:02, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

  great edit. i had also thought the phrase was somewhat out of place in a tfa blurb, but had left it alone because i try to avoid removing details unilaterally. i also like how you expanded iucn as a way to keep the blurb about the same length. dying (talk) 21:32, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

• Just a quick note on Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 5, 2022: I just increased the character count a little bit, up to 1049. The upper limit was 1025 for many years, and it's fine by me if anyone wants to remove something to get it under 1025, but I'm personally comfortable with anything between 900 and 1050 these days (with the idea of making do-it-yourself blurbs easier). My edit: I thought "historical figure" was confusing; I removed that and added what they were known for. (No need to look at this until you're ready to copyedit it, of course.) - Dank (push to talk) 16:37, 10 September 2022 (UTC)

  oh, i am happy with anything between 900 and 1050 as well, but i have been trying to keep my copyediting within the more conservative range, since i know that Gog prefers to strictly observe the narrower set of limits and i wanted to respect that. if you are regularly reviewing my blurbs again, should i revert back to observing the more lenient limits? i feel bad whenever i end up rewording something solely due to the character limit. dying (talk) 07:25, 11 September 2022 (UTC)

  Whichever works best for you. I wouldn't say I'm "regularly reviewing", I'd say that sometimes I see something in a blurb where I think I might be able to avoid a problem by making an edit, either before or after you do your thing. - Dank (push to talk) 13:12, 11 September 2022 (UTC)

  sounds good. i think i have decided to try to stay within the more conservative range, but if i notice that you have previously edited a blurb and it is outside that range, i will assume that that length for that blurb is okay too. dying (talk) 06:44, 14 September 2022 (UTC)

  Well, you guys are doing the heavy lifting so it would make more sense for me to get on board ... I'll stick with 925 to 1025 (unless it's not clear to me how to do that, but then I'll note that I'm over the limit and ask for help). - Dank (push to talk) 10:01, 14 September 2022 (UTC)

  i tried to figure out how to squeeze in your description of george burroughs, but ended up being unsuccessful in doing so. one additional complication to consider is that, when describing the characters of a historical fiction novel, it may be unclear whether the description pertains to the real world or the fictional world. so if we state that burroughs was executed during the salem witch trials, a reader may be unsure if this execution occurred in the novel, or if burroughs was a real person who was actually executed during those trials (or both).

  i admittedly also had issues trying to determine, from reading the blurb alone, whether "fictional" was used to state that the character of rachel dyer was not based on a real person, or to state that dyer was a victim of fictional witch hunts, in the sense that the accusations in these witch hunts were fabricated. after rewording to conform with mos:seaofblue and adding "(depicted)", i could not figure out how to use the space left to better clarify who burroughs was.

  by the way, i should note that the only reason why i'm adhering to the stricter character limits is because Gog prefers to do so. if Gog only prefers to do so because you used to do so, and you no longer have such a preference, i don't see why we can't all collectively relax the limits (assuming, of course, Wehwalt and Jimfbleak are on board). i'm happy to adhere to whatever works best for everyone. dying (talk) 12:33, 29 September 2022 (UTC)

  I don't have a preference. - Dank (push to talk)

• Today's featured article/October 6: Outstanding job. I made a tiny edit; feel free to revert or discuss (this is a standing offer, so I'll stop repeating it). - Dank (push to talk) 01:36, 28 September 2022 (UTC)

  oh, nice catch! by the way, i prefer your rewording of the sentence regarding the cretaceous over my rewording, though i am guessing that you may have also had trouble preserving the link to "Period (geology)". (i admittedly think i had misinterpreted the intended meaning of the latter part of that sentence; i had found it strange that the period was only described by one of its endpoints, but did not think to question it.) would it be better to simply drop the link and just state "Cretaceous Period" instead? the term is also linked in the first sentence of the "Cretaceous" article. dying (talk) 12:33, 29 September 2022 (UTC)

  Over the years, we've had a problem with editors writing and linking "Late Cretaceous Period" in a way that seems to imply that the Late Cretaceous was a period (it was an epoch). So my main goal is trying to make sure that doesn't happen ... other than that, I don't have a preference. - Dank (push to talk) 15:07, 30 September 2022 (UTC)

  Apologies, dealing with hurricane prep here, I'll get to this tomorrow. - Dank (push to talk) 04:19, 30 September 2022 (UTC)

  oh! no worries about responding; this can wait. stay safe! dying (talk) 05:46, 30 September 2022 (UTC)

Another WP:WTW issue to consider: "A 2021 study stated that the impactor likely originated in the outer main part of the asteroid belt." I'm not sure what meaning the readers are going to assign to "stated" ... is the writer saying "it's just one study, don't take it seriously until it's confirmed or denied by other studies"? (If so, my take is that it probably doesn't doesn't belong in a TFA blurb, with our space restrictions.) What do you think ... you've read that part of the article (I think), does the article take the position that the study is credible? - Dank (push to talk) 13:43, 4 October 2022 (UTC)

i had thought it was strange that this study was mentioned in the blurb but not in the lead. i had noticed that it was added during tfa/r, after you had raised the point that the sentence it had replaced was no longer supported by the article. i had figured that the heightened scrutiny it had received meant that it was appropriate for the blurb, so i admittedly did not think to question it. the study is mentioned in the article in the middle of a list of theories, but i did not sense that the article took a position that this is now an established theory, or that it is a fringe or debunked one.

ultimately, i did not think the statement was as strong as the rest of the blurb, but do not think i have the experience to determine if it really belonged there. regardless, i would support a decision either way. if you do decide to remove the sentence and are looking for something to replace it, i would suggest mentioning the shocked quartz, gravity anomaly, and tektites. they are mentioned in the lead, and were also mentioned in the previous blurb. dying (talk) 01:32, 5 October 2022 (UTC)

Okay. The next time I see this issue at TFAR, I'll discuss it there. Since the blurb is protected now and will run tomorrow, I'm probably too late to change it. - Dank (push to talk) 02:21, 5 October 2022 (UTC)

I just noticed that "extinct" or "extinction" is now mentioned three times in one sentence ... this is the kind of thing that would have jumped out at me before. I'm getting concerned about how out-of-practice I am; I'll think about whether I want to throttle back at TFA and try something simpler for a while. Anyway: I think it would help to remove something ... maybe "a mass extinction"? - Dank (push to talk) 09:56, 5 October 2022 (UTC)

the repetition is my fault; that sentence was taken near verbatim from the article lead. i had also noticed the repetition, but had figured that it was alright since it was present in the version that was kept during far, and i could not think of a more proper rewording. i had debated removing "a mass extinction", but did not want to remove a link unilaterally, and i believe its removal (at the time i had decided against it) would have resulted in a blurb less than 925 characters long. now that the blurb is slightly longer, i agree that removing it is a good idea. also, i think you out of practice is better than me trying my best, but i'll understand if you want to focus on something else for a while. dying (talk) 10:42, 5 October 2022 (UTC)

You're being kind, but thanks. I'm still here and paying attention, the best I can, I'm just going to set my sights lower and spend more time on other wiki-things. I've been reviewing some old files I wrote for myself where I tried to make sense out of how blurbs should handle contrast words (whereas, although, etc.) and implication words (because, thus, due to) ... I don't know. These are two subjects where it might be more helpful to try to cover the whole subject rather than just making drive-by comments now and then. Do you have any general thoughts, or links or RSs you want to point me to, concerning the use of contrast and implication words in general? - Dank (push to talk) 10:59, 5 October 2022 (UTC)

Okay, maybe it would be helpful to at least say the main thing: don't use a contrast word (but, however, although, etc.) in a sentence if there's no actual contrast visible in that sentence, or at least some kind of violated expectation. (Sounds obvious but ... bad examples are surprisingly common. I'll add some of these examples below, soon.) Savvy readers know that there are many types of contrast that can be implied by a "but", and if they can't figure out what's being contrasted, they may keep digging in a vain attempt to find it. It's best if the contrast can be located immediately ... so, for instance, if a sentence starts with "Although", keep that first phrase short, and put the thing that's being contrasted immediately after that first phrase. Some common contrast words can be problematic: don't use "while" to indicate contrast, because it has so many meanings (at the same time as, although, whereas, except for), and the clues to its real meaning can be subtle. Also, since "however" can sometimes be complex and ambiguous, always replace it with "but" if "but" seems to make sense. - Dank (push to talk) 17:43, 8 October 2022 (UTC)

• Today's featured article/October 7: Your thoughts are welcome, here or at ERRORS. Conceivably, the way I handled the discussion wasn't what you were expecting ... I have to be somewhat bureaucratic or "wonkish" in discussions at ERRORS because of the tight deadlines and all the unknown expectations. - Dank (push to talk) 01:23, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

  no worries, Dank, i completely understand. all had been excused even before you left me this message. dying (talk) 01:49, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

• Today's featured article/October 8: AFAIK, MOS:CURRENT doesn't apply to TFA blurbs (or to any parts of the Main Page that are meant to appear for only one day). Many people use "it was built to hold X ... it now holds Y" to mean "it no longer holds X"; but of course there are various clever ways to imply "it no longer holds X" (if it's not already clear from context), if you prefer to get rid of the "now" (as you did here). More sophisticated readers will probably know right away that if it's a museum now, it's not likely to still be used for collecting duties ... but other readers, I don't know. That's always been the curse of the Main Page; no one seems to know who our readership is, which of course makes it very hard to know how to proceed. - Dank (push to talk) 16:47, 30 September 2022 (UTC)

Here too, it looks like I was distracted ... I think the general point was worth making, but the last sentence makes this point a non-issue here. Sigh. - Dank (push to talk) 10:07, 5 October 2022 (UTC)

• "Delicate" (blurb):

  i am not sure if the "revealed by the pouring rain" wording is yours, but if so, i thought i might ask you to watch the music video, if you haven't already, to see what you think. apologies for the late notice; i had previously thought i was just misinterpreting things, but recently took a look at the video again. dying (talk) 20:10, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

  Thanks ... my edit is clearly wrong. I'll change it to something very close to the text in the article lead, but feel free to change it to something better if you like. - Dank (push to talk) 20:44, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

  looks good, thanks! dying (talk) 22:30, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

• Operation Sandwedge (blurb):

  i think one of the first five links in the blurb may have a mos:egg issue, but do not know if it's just me. if, after checking them, you can't tell which link i am referring to, then it's probably just me. dying (talk) 20:10, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

  Did that fix it? I also reworded one "would". - Dank (push to talk) 21:08, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

  oh! i actually had another link in mind, but i had thought the one you fixed could also have used some editing, so thanks for that. also, i noticed that the enemies list was apparently neither compiled nor written by nixon, so i am not sure if "designated" is the right word to use. would "targeted people that U.S. president Richard Nixon considered his political enemies" be more appropriate?

  the link i was surprised about was "1972 re-election campaign", which links to an article about the election rather than the campaign. there isn't an article on nixon's 1972 campaign (though there is one for mcgovern), but with that link text, i would have perhaps expected a link to the relevant section on nixon's biography. i don't know if you had also found that link to be an easter egg, but i thought "planned to help Nixon's campaign in the 1972 election" would be an improvement. dying (talk) 22:30, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

  You're right about that one too. I added "re-election", so that the reader wouldn't be thinking (even for a moment) "why are you calling him the president if he's running for the presidency?". - Dank (push to talk) 23:19, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

  oh, good point. thanks, Dank! dying (talk) 12:07, 11 October 2022 (UTC)

• My take on today's discussion at WP:ERRORS: At TFA, it's probably safer and better to reword to avoid prefixing a hyphen or dash when we know that not everyone is going to agree, rather than relying on MOS:PREFIXDASH. (And anyway, PREFIXDASH itself recommends rewording in some cases.) - Dank (push to talk) 16:02, 12 October 2022 (UTC)

  i was admittedly rather surprised by that report, since i don't recall any editors stating that an en dash should be replaced with a hyphen-minus against mos:prefixdash (though this discussion comes close, debating whether there should be any punctuation at all). i had made the replacement to conform with the mos while keeping as much of the original wording intact as possible, but you make the excellent point that it may be better to simply bypass the issue in the future (which is something i should have realized before, given the length of the discussion i just linked). dying (talk) 23:05, 13 October 2022 (UTC)

  Just realized my wording was ambiguous: I meant "in those cases where we know that not everyone will agree". Figuring out which cases those are is the rub. We actually don't get very many of these at TFA, and I'll keep an eye out for them. - Dank (push to talk) 01:29, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

  no worries, Dank, i understood your point. my current strategy for mos:'s issues is to leave it as is if it already follows the mos, but reword it if it doesn't. so far, i don't think anyone has complained about this, so i think i'll be adopting a similar strategy for mos:prefixdash and mos:suffixdash issues. dying (talk) 09:26, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

• Today's featured article/October 18: I took a whack at this one as well. I'll take another look after you do your thing, whenever that is. - Dank (push to talk) 21:44, 18 September 2022 (UTC)

  thanks, the blurb was much improved after your edits. by the way, i wasn't sure if the duplicate uses of "confirmed" and "mid-fourth millennium BC" were deliberate. if not, the first duplication isn't that noticeable, but can be resolved by replacing "confirmed a construction date" with "also concluded that it was constructed" or something similar. i can't figure out a good solution for the other without going into more detail about the dating. dying (talk) 20:10, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

  I edited to address those points, but now it's 24 characters short, so something more is needed. Thoughts? - Dank (push to talk) 20:34, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

  what surprised me the most when reading the article after reading the blurb was the extent the site had already been damaged prior to the excavation. the fac nomination blurb highlights the site's gradual destruction by quarrying and ploughing, and the lead also mentions the prior ploughing (though not the quarrying). mentioning the earlier ploughing in the tfa blurb would allow the "Further", which i had removed in my copyedit, to be restored (since proper context is now provided), while mentioning the quarrying would better explain the map, which references the chalk quarry.

  one possible addition is the sentence "By this time, it had been badly damaged by ploughing and partially obliterated by a chalk quarry.", which would follow the mention of drewett but before the list of finds. most of the wording and diction in this sentence was taken from either the first sentence of the article lead's second paragraph, or from the article's second section. "obliterated", based on the article's use of "obliteration", was chosen to avoid using "destroyed", as the blurb already uses "destruction".

  i had also been thinking of mentioning how drewett cleared a large part of the site down to the chalk, but including the associated reasoning and findings would take up too much space. dying (talk) 12:07, 11 October 2022 (UTC)

  Agreed to all of that. - Dank (push to talk) 13:54, 11 October 2022 (UTC)

  thanks. i have incorporated the sentence into the blurb. feel free to revise if you think of any better options. dying (talk) 23:05, 13 October 2022 (UTC)

• Today's featured article/October 20: This is the one you just copyedited ... when there's possibly outdated "as of" information, I used to leave a comment like the one I just left at User_talk:Deltawk#Amador_Valley_High_School_scheduled_for_TFA. - Dank (push to talk) 00:20, 12 October 2022 (UTC) Strike that ... rethinking it, I'm aware those numbers could cause any number of problems even if they're up to date (and such numbers are notoriously difficult to determine and defend if challenged). I took the numbers out ... does that work for you? Should we rewrite? - Dank (push to talk) 00:34, 12 October 2022 (UTC)

  normally, i would have considered numbers from 2020 reasonably current enough, and the "As of" providing a sufficient out if challenged, though i would have preferred to give an approximation for the student population, as seen here, as that can easily vary during a school year, and opinions may differ on how to count students. also, i am admittedly worried that dropping the numbers for advanced placement courses and varsity sports may deprive the sentence of much of its meaning, as i think they were mentioned because they were significantly higher than average. (i am somewhat less concerned about keeping those latter numbers updated, as they generally do not change much over a year or two.) by the way, i get the sense that Deltawk, the fac nominator, is interested in keeping the blurb and article updated and has significant respect for wikipedia's standards, so Deltawk may provide us with a better solution if made aware of how the previous wording was an issue. dying (talk) 23:05, 13 October 2022 (UTC)

  I've asked for Deltawk's input on their user talk page. - Dank (push to talk) 03:25, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

  Thank you both for helping edit the blurb - I am happy with the version it is currently! Deltawk (talk) 01:59, 19 October 2022 (UTC)

  thanks, Deltawk! i am glad that you are happy with the current blurb. by the way, it is impressive that you were not only able to get this article promoted to fa status back in 2009, but also able to maintain its status for over a decade. thanks for adding a bit of variety to the featured articles on wikipedia! dying (talk) 02:27, 19 October 2022 (UTC)

  Glad I can help! Thanks to you as well for making sure the front page blurbs are in good shape before being featured. Deltawk (talk) 02:44, 19 October 2022 (UTC)

• Today's featured article/October 21: I removed "Because of its Internet-driven success" (and added another song chart to keep it above 925 chars). Either that phrase was saying the same thing as what had come before, or if it meant something new, it's problematic. - Dank (push to talk) 00:36, 13 October 2022 (UTC)

I see I was just reverted. Do you have any clear preference one way or the other? - Dank (push to talk) 03:58, 13 October 2022 (UTC)

Okay, the offending phrase was just changed to "Driven primarily by streams and digital sales", which is much better. That was the only thing I was concerned about. I haven't looked at the other edits (but I'm happy to discuss them, if you like, as always.) - Dank (push to talk) 13:39, 13 October 2022 (UTC)

This edit seems to put a finger on a problem. Main Page people are used to moving words around to avoid consecutive links, but that doesn't work well when wikiprojects and review processes have longstanding processes of figuring out where they want to put the words, and then those processes are ignored for reasons that seem arbitrary. I've generally dealt with this problem by not dealing with it, making it someone else's problem. How you want to deal with it is up to you. But if someone thinks you've put a word in a place that's clearly wrong, then they're not likely to believe that your other edits (which they may not be so sure about) are right. So sometimes it's better to just leave things alone. Delinking may be an option in some cases; if you want to do that but you need someone to publicly argue the case for it before you try, I can do that. - Dank (push to talk) 14:34, 13 October 2022 (UTC)

Your Power's editing style is currently fascinating to me, as they are often second-guessing themselves, as seen in the blurb's history as well as that of the tfa/r nomination. (i do the same, but just don't hit the publish button as often.) the original blurb was actually written by Your Power themself, so much of the subsequent editing is self-critique. this appears to be Your Power's first tfa blurb, and it is clear that they want it to look as best as they can, so i would give them plenty of leeway. i think they take suggestions well, since they did not revert the comma i had removed from the caption (even though they had originally added it), and took the initiative to split a sentence when i had pointed out that it had been a string of independent clauses.

regarding mos:seaofblue, it isn't something i strongly adhere to, but i try to conform to it if i think it can be done easily without serious rewording, following your advice here. if another editor has an overriding concern, as seen here, i'm generally fine with it. in case you missed it, you might find this blurb's history interesting, as it lead to this discussion.

with respect to this blurb, i don't think the reason stated in Your Power's edit summary is actually true for tfa blurbs for songs. however, it may be true for recent tfa blurbs within the genres of their interest, which i would consider to be a sufficient enough reason. in any case, i admittedly don't really care to enforce mos:seaofblue against an fac nominator who prefers to override it, even if the fac nominator's preference had been whimsical (which i don't think is the case here anyway). however, i really appreciate the offer of you backing me up had i cared to enforce it. dying (talk) 23:05, 13 October 2022 (UTC)

I wasn't following many MOS discussions while I was sick, which is one reason I'm very happy that you and the coords have been putting so much effort into blurbs. As long as you're aware of the pros and cons, I don't have a preference how you choose to tackle SEAOFBLUE issues. - Dank (push to talk) 03:25, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

And ... good for you. IMO, making an effort to get a sense of what kinds of edits writers might be open to is indeed an integral part of this job. - Dank (push to talk) 13:32, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

• And Today's featured article/October 24. - Dank (push to talk) 01:05, 19 September 2022 (UTC)

  I just gave that one another try ... but I haven't checked the length ... it may be too short now. Thoughts? - Dank (push to talk) 21:34, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

  A little explanation:

  We used to have a lot of castle articles that started out with something like "X Castle is a castle in X". The thinking went: the two things readers are most likely to want to know are "what do you mean by 'castle'?" and "where is X?", and you can't put either of those links in the bold part, so you have to repeat the words, to give readers access to the links they'll want. I was never on board with that ... the tone is wrong, for one thing ... and I see we've largely stopped doing that. We had a similar problem here IMO with "the Jamaican rice rat is an extinct rodent of Jamaica". It's perfectly reasonable to want to answer the question "where was this rat's habitat?" ... there are lots of animals named after a country that lived in other places as well ... but there's a better way to do it, I think ... I moved "Jamaica" down a bit.

  "the Jamaican rice rat is an extinct rodent ... similar to O. couesi of mainland Central America": well, that's a handy first sentence if you're familiar with O. couesi, but otherwise, not. And it's not generally the style in reviewed articles on Wikipedia: we don't start off an article on a star by telling the reader that it's similar to some other star. I moved the O. couesi bit down.

  I rewrote "incisive foramina (perforations of the palate)" to tell the reader what that means. - Dank (push to talk) 15:18, 11 October 2022 (UTC)

An edit summary on a TFA blurb edit yesterday by one of the Main Page folks implied (to me) that more needs to be done. I'm not blaming you, obviously, but maybe a good place to catch some of these things would be around a week before they go live ... which, happily, is about when you're doing your copyediting. Before I dive in, I'd like to get a better sense of your own preferences ... I want to do my best to support your approach to these things. Maybe we could start with a few conversations about issues relevant to our words-to-watch guideline? I'm open to talking about pretty much anything relevant to that page, including words that contrast, contradict, promote, editorialize, add ambiguity, get the time sequence wrong, or make grand assumptions about the reader's knowledge. But if you'd rather take it one blurb at a time, that's fine too. - Dank (push to talk) 20:32, 25 September 2022 (UTC) To repeat myself: I'm not blaming you ... you're very good with all of these things. I'm just saying that making maybe a few more tweaks to existing blurbs each month will help to keep the peace. - Dank (push to talk) 21:53, 25 September 2022 (UTC)

sure, i'm happy to discuss anything about the words-to-watch guideline (or anything else you'd like to discuss) whenever you would like, though i do appreciate you checking in to see if i had any preferences. by the way, i have noticed that the rate at which i post copyedits has been able to provide me sufficient motivation to focus my efforts on a decently finalized copyedit on a regular schedule (and, i have also found, generally allows me to let go of certain issues that i may be overthinking). however, this doesn't preclude me from addressing blurbs out of order. i currently don't have the habit of responding quickly to issues in blurbs that are weeks away (partially to focus on that day's copyedit and partially because i may not have any idea what my thoughts on the issue are at that point), but i can change that if you'd like.

anyway, i'm pretty flexible, so feel free to dive in, and i can follow your lead. dying (talk) 01:55, 26 September 2022 (UTC)

Quick question before we start: would it be helpful if you had the option of subscribing (long-term) to the TFA section of WP:ERRORS, so that you'd get a notification when someone posts there? ("Notifications" are what you get when, for instance, someone "thanks" you with the thank button). After some testing, it looks like I can make that work if I get permission from the ERRORS folks to pin a comment at the top of the section. I've started asking around. - Dank (push to talk) 15:33, 26 September 2022 (UTC)

oh! good idea. i believe the subscribe link relies on javascript, which i generally don't use, so it had never occurred to me to subscribe to that section of the errors page. in any case, i am subscribed now, or at least until the comments currently there are cleared out.

does the pinned comment have to be visible, or can it be hidden in ways other than commenting it out? also, can the comment be empty, aside from its timestamp? for example, i am wondering if the following comment would work.

<!-- please do not remove this timestamp. it allows editors to subscribe to this section. --><span style="font-size: 0">00:00, 1 January 2000 (UTC)</span>

it may also be useful to ask other editors to comment below the timestamp, rather than above, if subscriptions are based on the timestamp of the top comment rather than that of the first comment. also, i am currently assuming that subscriptions are based on timestamps in signatures, though if they are based on timestamps in metadata, hiding such a timestamp may actually be easier. in any case, if this ends up being a successful long-term solution, i think it may be helpful to update the "Clear all reports" button to link to a version of the page that includes the timestamp. dying (talk) 20:59, 26 September 2022 (UTC)

When I tested a hidden comment at a random WP-space page (I used WP:UPDATE), it didn't work ... I'm guessing that means that no hidden comment will work, but I don't know. Glad to hear you like this; I'll post my request at WT:ERRORS and see what happens. More to come! - Dank (push to talk) 21:02, 26 September 2022 (UTC)

I've just added the hidden comment you suggested to an old, generally unvisited page in WP-space that I use sometimes to test things: Wikipedia:Update (at the top of the first section). It doesn't seem to be working. - Dank (push to talk) 21:37, 26 September 2022 (UTC)

The "Clear all reports" button won't be a problem ... I see how to fix it to leave any comment I like ... if I can get consensus for the change. - Dank (push to talk) 21:38, 26 September 2022 (UTC)

oh, interesting! it looks like the code for determining the first timestamp is more involved than i thought. thanks for testing my suggestion. dying (talk) 22:13, 26 September 2022 (UTC)

Success! I kept trying things until your suggestion worked. You can see the results at WP:Update#Content policy and WT:ERRORS. - Dank (push to talk) 22:27, 26 September 2022 (UTC)

oh, sweet! thanks for tinkering with it until something worked. really glad that my suggestion helped. dying (talk) 22:51, 26 September 2022 (UTC)

Update: instead of "diving in", I think I'd prefer to deal with words-to-watch issues as we come to them, but feel free to ask if you have questions. - Dank (push to talk) 16:52, 30 September 2022 (UTC)

An article you recently created, Bulgaria Square, is not suitable as written to remain published. It needs more citations from reliable, independent sources. (?) Information that can't be referenced should be removed (verifiability is of central importance on Wikipedia). I've moved your draft to draftspace (with a prefix of "Draft:" before the article title) where you can incubate the article with minimal disruption. When you feel the article meets Wikipedia's general notability guideline and thus is ready for mainspace, please click on the "Submit your draft for review!" button at the top of the page. Onel5969 ^{TT me} 12:48, 6 October 2022 (UTC)

I promised above to share some things that I think I know about implication words in blurbs (because, due to, therefore, etc.). This is your user space, and I'm hoping you'll change and adapt much of this to match your own understanding and fit your own needs, but the main thing I want to say here is: heavy reliance on implication words almost always creates a non-encyclopedic tone. People start using ... and especially, misusing ... implication words in speech by age five. These words figure heavily in text where people are trying to assert without evidence that they know what's really going on and why, and in promotional and bombastic text. If implication words appear in blurbs when they're not being put to some legitimate use, they can quickly start to signal the wrong tone. So, my proposal is that we keep a running list of "things that should never or almost never be asserted as the cause of something in a blurb". I'll get us started.

1. Ambiguous things. Working out what constitutes an ambiguous cause can be hard, but I'm hoping that if we struggle with this for a while, eventually it will seem obvious enough that we can just condense it to a few snappy points that will be clear enough going forward. So, I'll start out by stumbling around a little. Here's a fictional example: the writer gives us "It had been raining all day, and the fallen leaves made the roads slick. A heavy fog had just settled in. Because of this, the next car that rounded the curve skidded into a ditch". A bad copyeditor might decide that the problem is the ambiguity of the word "this" and change it to "Because of all three of these things ...". Better would be to simply remove "Because of this". A big problem for Main Page writers is that we never really know who we're writing for ... the Main Page presumably has a broad readership, which makes precise advice impossible. But I think it's reasonable to assume that our target readership understands that the point of the first two sentences is to set the scene for the third sentence, and to suggest some actual or possible causes. What makes "Because" wrong is that there's some ambiguity here ... it might have been the rain or the leaves or the fog that was the biggest problem, or maybe the car was going too fast. Maybe the writer's sources didn't hazard a guess, or maybe the writer is skeptical. Bottom line: if there's any ambiguity in the cause, then "Because" is a mistake.
2. Anything connected to shame or blame. I've removed implication words from blurbs that seemed to be saying (paraphrasing): "The man was bad and, therefore, had to die" or "The habitat is inaccessible and, therefore, no one has provided a description of the species". Of course, some men have been bad, and some species are inaccessible. But criminal guilt and innocence are (ideally) decided at the courthouse, and whether a species description is up to scholarly standards is a matter for scholars to decide. Words like "therefore" can lead a reader to come to a conclusion before they've been presented with relevant evidence or with the full story of how things turned out.
3. Anything reflecting basic, universal knowledge of how the world works. One blurb used "causing" in the following sense (but the other words have been changed, as usual, to protect the guilty!): "The plane slammed into the cliff, causing it to burst into flames". None of my advice is guaranteed to work, because language changes all the time, sometimes in strange ways, but I'd be very surprised if this language ever catches on, in part because of the risk that it will come off as talking down to the reader. The usual way to write this is: "The plane slammed into the cliff and burst into flames".
4. Things that are being evaluated by scholars and critics. People who are paid to render an opinion on things really hate it when they're told that whatever it is they're studying "caused" them to come to some conclusion, as if they had no choice in their assessment.
5. Gatherings of all sorts. It's surprisingly common for writers to say that a race caused a death, or a technical conference caused a change in the industry. I don't know where this is coming from, other than: writing is hard, and sometimes writers say things that are kind of true because they don't have the details they need to give a more accurate picture. Whatever the problem is here, the word "caused" makes things worse rather than better.
6. Any reason given by an advertiser, promoter or personal agent. This used to be a "duh" point, cut-and-dried, but it's become much more complicated to identify and discount promotional language in the social media age ... promotion has become the fashion. I'm not the best person to give advice on this; I hate social media. You're probably better at picking up on these clues than I am. - Dank (push to talk) 18:40, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

wow, this is really good advice. i'm sorry that i still haven't directly responded to your earlier question. i'm actually still reflecting on my current position, and have come to realize things about myself this past week that i haven't before. i'll take some time to digest this information, but wanted to thank you for it first. dying (talk) 22:06, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

Thanks. An occupational hazard of copyediting is learning things about yourself. I'm looking forward to finding out! But take your time. - Dank (push to talk) 23:13, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

Just a heads-up ... I seem to be sick again, hopefully nothing serious. I'll be back in a few days. - Dank (push to talk) 22:57, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

oh, so sorry to hear. get well soon! dying (talk) 23:01, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

Okay, yes, new health problems, but I'm not going anywhere. If you ask a question and I don't answer for a while (or at all), ask around. - Dank (push to talk) 13:32, 17 October 2022 (UTC)

oof. well, please take care of yourself, and thanks for letting me know. as before, please don't feel obligated to respond to anything here in a timely manner, or at all.

by the way, i am slightly alarmed that i seem to have inadvertently inserted an 'i' in two successive blurbs (corrected here and here), incidentally forming different words that are also valid, but inappropriate in the context. i don't recall a pattern of erring in this manner before, but i've made a note to myself to watch out for this in the future, and thought i might also inform you so that you know of this apparent weakness of mine. dying (talk) 08:21, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

I'll keep an i on it. - Dank (push to talk) 13:20, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

ha! i was ... not expecting that. found its mark pretty well. thanks, Dank. dying (talk) 16:57, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

• Roberta Williams (blurb):

  i couldn't figure out why this blurb doesn't have an image, as the infobox image appears to be licensed under cc by-sa 4.0 and its release was confirmed via vrt. normally, i wouldn't bother you with image issues, but since you were the one who drafted this blurb, i thought i might ask you first. dying (talk) 23:33, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

  It's only because I haven't been giving any thought to images. But I definitely think someone should :) Yep, it's certainly usable. (Btw, I see you copyedited a sports article tonight ... FWIW, I've stopped looking at those, too.) - Dank (push to talk) 00:39, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

  thanks for letting me know, on both counts. i will ask about including the image on the blurb's talk page. dying (talk) 23:09, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

On 15 October 2022, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article 2022 Berlin Marathon, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that in the 2022 Berlin Marathon, Tigist Assefa won by running the third-fastest marathon ever by a woman, in just her second marathon, breaking her personal best by nearly 20 minutes? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/2022 Berlin Marathon. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, 2022 Berlin Marathon), and if they received a combined total of at least 416.7 views per hour (i.e., 5,000 views in 12 hours or 10,000 in 24), the hook may be added to the statistics page. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:02, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

Quick facts

October songs

Close

thank you! - it's also featured on Portal:Germany --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:32, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

oh, wow, that's great! thanks, Gerda! dying (talk) 12:59, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

such a pleasure to have something which isn't nazi or music ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:12, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

oh! i am slightly ashamed to admit that i have never noticed the bias, but am glad that i was able to help correct it. there is so much that germany has to offer! dying (talk) 21:18, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

thank you for changing the bwv 56 blurb, but i'll be out now for the rest of the day, opera! don't feel ignored ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:23, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

no worries, we have a week to get it right, so there's no rush, though i do appreciate the note. hope you enjoyed the opera! dying (talk) 21:18, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

yes, spectacular music in an interesting interpretation, and two of "my subjects" singing well, others to follow - i looked at the blurb, and it works, - nice work about the collaboration! i'll look again with a bit more distance. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:54, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

today's DYK: two facts from the two concert of this years Rheingau Musik Festival I liked best, both a cappella singing. If you follow the songs, you see a circus, where I performed singing, and in the end the whole tent joined for Dona nobis pacem. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:10, 19 October 2022 (UTC)

who shall separate us --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:43, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

thank you for your help with the blurb of Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 18:16, 23 October 2022 (UTC)

no problem, Gerda! i'm glad that we ended up with a blurb that you are happy with. always a pleasure working with you. looks like you had a good time at the circus! dying (talk) 08:36, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

leaving the month with reformation and a cat treat --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:56, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

On 16 October 2022, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Ice XVII, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that ice XVII (structure shown) potentially has a use in green technology as a medium for storing hydrogen? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Ice XVII. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Ice XVII), and if they received a combined total of at least 416.7 views per hour (i.e., 5,000 views in 12 hours or 10,000 in 24), the hook may be added to the statistics page. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 12:02, 16 October 2022 (UTC)

		Hook update
		Your hook reached 10,407 views (867.3 per hour), making it one of the most viewed hooks of October 2022 – nice work!

theleekycauldron (talk • contribs) (she/her) 04:41, 17 October 2022 (UTC)

On 19 October 2022, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Zunda Towers, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the Zunda Towers (pictured) in Riga, Latvia, changed their name from "Z-Towers" to avoid being associated with Russia's invasion of Ukraine? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Zunda Towers. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Zunda Towers), and if they received a combined total of at least 416.7 views per hour (i.e., 5,000 views in 12 hours or 10,000 in 24), the hook may be added to the statistics page. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 00:02, 19 October 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for your work on this, feel free to put up your articles at Wikipedia:WikiProject Europe/The 10,000 Challenge.♦ Dr. Blofeld 08:51, 19 October 2022 (UTC)

thanks, Dr. Blofeld! i had actually stumbled upon your project page some time ago, and had given some thought about joining it, but came to realize that i would likely be more productive working outside of the project rather than within it. in any case, i am glad that your project has been so successful, and if you think it will help the project, you are welcome to add to the list any contributions of mine that i could have added myself. thanks for the invitation! dying (talk) 08:29, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

		Hook update
		Your hook reached 8,644 views (720.3 per hour), making it one of the most viewed hooks of October 2022 – nice work!

theleekycauldron (talk • contribs) (she/her) 07:57, 20 October 2022 (UTC)

Quick facts

November songs

Close

Thank you for working while I was on vacation. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:44, 20 November 2022 (UTC)

Thanksgiving in the U.S. - Bach said it in music for peace --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:45, 24 November 2022 (UTC)

thank you for your work to the writer who shaved their head. i'll look later today. opera and advent choral music on my talk --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:56, 28 November 2022 (UTC)

• WP:Today's featured article/December 23, 2022: This is a rerun ... it ran without an image the first time, but at the current length, it should have an image if possible. There's an image of the Stamper brothers in the article ... do you think that would work? - Dank (push to talk) 00:25, 11 November 2022 (UTC)
  • Wait, great minds and all that ... someone just now gave it an image! - Dank (push to talk) 00:26, 11 November 2022 (UTC)
    • actually, i liked your suggestion, as it would have added a little variety to the video game blurbs, since they are often run with an image of one of the consoles the game was released on. however, i am admittedly somewhat worried about the image's provenance, as the picture appears to be the only upload to commons by that editor. also, since the uploader appears to have last edited over six years ago, i am assuming that clarifying the copyright status of the image may be difficult, so i have no issues with using the image Schwede66 selected. in any case, thanks for the image suggestion! dying (talk) 02:25, 16 November 2022 (UTC)
  • (Btw, while I'm here ... great job on WP:Today's featured article/November 22, 2022. Impressive.) - Dank (push to talk) 16:50, 13 November 2022 (UTC)
    • thanks, Dank! dying (talk) 02:25, 16 November 2022 (UTC)
• FWIW ... health problems, and I've unsubscribed for now from the TFA section of WP:ERRORS. Back soon. Keep up the great work. - Dank (push to talk) 14:28, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

  thanks for letting me know, Dank. get well soon! dying (talk) 00:05, 9 December 2022 (UTC)

  Well ... not back soon. But then, you and all the participants at TFA are doing a great job ... no need to come back, I think. But I'm still available whenever you have questions such as "where did we last see X" ... there's a chance I'll remember. Thanks much for doing an amazing job at TFA, it really makes me feel better about the years I put into it, knowing that the tradition continues. - Dank (push to talk) 18:27, 6 January 2023 (UTC)

Hello, Dying. Thank you for your work on Kherson Art Museum. User:SunDawn, while examining this page as a part of our page curation process, had the following comments:

Thanks for creating the article!

To reply, leave a comment here and begin it with {{Re|SunDawn}}. Please remember to sign your reply with ~~~~. (Message delivered via the Page Curation tool, on behalf of the reviewer.)

✠ SunDawn ✠ (contact) 04:41, 15 November 2022 (UTC)

Hi dying,

This edit? - completely my own oversight in reverting some odd changes. If there was some cussin' in Spanish there as well, I completely missed that too.

Pedro en Australia aka User:Shirt58 (talk) 🦘 09:35, 16 November 2022 (UTC)

no worries, Pete! we all make mistakes, and i do appreciate you reverting the unconstructive edits before i had even seen them. i had only brought it up because i am still working on that article, and did not want to accidentally get into an edit war with you if i sorted the categories again.

by the way, i was completely not expecting your "Pedro" signature. hilarious! muriendo (talk) 22:11, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

The article Oleksii Makeiev has been proposed for deletion because of the following concern:

Per WP:NPOL, ambassadors do not get automatic notability. Apart from his ambassador work, there is no special notability shown in the article.

While all constructive contributions to Wikipedia are appreciated, pages may be deleted for any of several reasons.

You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the {{proposed deletion/dated}} notice, but please explain why in your edit summary or on the article's talk page.

Please consider improving the page to address the issues raised. Removing {{proposed deletion/dated}} will stop the proposed deletion process, but other deletion processes exist. In particular, the speedy deletion process can result in deletion without discussion, and articles for deletion allows discussion to reach consensus for deletion. ✠ SunDawn ✠ (contact) 02:58, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

Hello, Dying. This is a bot-delivered message letting you know that Draft:Novus (supermarket), a page you created, has not been edited in at least 5 months. Drafts that have not been edited for six months may be deleted, so if you wish to retain the page, please edit it again or request that it be moved to your userspace.

If the page has already been deleted, you can request it be undeleted so you can continue working on it.

Thank you for your submission to Wikipedia. FireflyBot (talk) 18:01, 24 November 2022 (UTC)

Hello! Your submission of Template:Did you know nominations/Kim de l'Horizon at the Did You Know nominations page is not complete; if you would like to continue, please link the nomination to the nominations page as described in step III of the nomination procedure. If you do not want to continue with the nomination, tag the nomination page with {{db-g7}}, or ask a DYK admin. Thank you. DYKHousekeepingBot (talk) 01:05, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

Hello, Dying. Thank you for your work on Central Post Office (Kyiv). User:SunDawn, while examining this page as a part of our page curation process, had the following comments:

Thanks for creating the article!

To reply, leave a comment here and begin it with {{Re|SunDawn}}. Please remember to sign your reply with ~~~~. (Message delivered via the Page Curation tool, on behalf of the reviewer.)

✠ SunDawn ✠ (contact) 14:24, 12 December 2022 (UTC)

On 22 December 2022, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Kim de l'Horizon, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that Kim de l'Horizon (pictured), winner of the 2022 German Book Prize, shaved their head during the award ceremony in solidarity with those protesting in Iran? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Kim de l'Horizon. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Kim de l'Horizon), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Cwmhiraeth (talk) 00:02, 22 December 2022 (UTC)

		Hook update
		Your hook reached 24,896 views (1,037.3 per hour), making it one of the most viewed hooks of December 2022 – nice work!

GalliumBot (talk • contribs) (he/it) 08:19, 26 December 2022 (UTC)

Quick facts happy new year ...

December songs

happy new year

Close

Thank you for the article! It's also featured on Portal:Germany. - Enjoy the day, and the season! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:41, 22 December 2022 (UTC)

Today, pictured, the soprano of our choral concert of the year. More in the context: User talk:Gerda Arendt#DYK for Talia Or, in case of interest. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:42, 26 December 2022 (UTC)

many thanks, Gerda! by the way, i really appreciated your fighting to get the hook back into the lead spot. i'm sorry that you ended up feeling guilty for its initial removal from the prep areas, but if it helps, i had never blamed you for it, and admittedly hadn't even realized that you had blamed yourself until you mentioned it. personally, i think all parties involved had acted in good faith, and thankfully, things worked out in the end. anyway, i hope that your christmas went well, and that you are enjoying the rest of the holiday season! dying (talk) 05:03, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

thank you, - and while i'm all for peace some things need a fight. I doubt that the singer did, though (check the nom, and there was an extra discussion on WT:DYK), and believe I need a break from DYK to not have more of that drain on lifetime, - or should we fight DYK becoming like a bookstore only for bestsellers? christmas brought good singing (pictures when you click on songs), and keep watching for calendar and more events here! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:02, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

A tag has been placed on Category:Swiss Wiccans indicating that it is currently empty, and is not a disambiguation category, a category redirect, a featured topics category, under discussion at Categories for discussion, or a project category that by its nature may become empty on occasion. If it remains empty for seven days or more, it may be deleted under section C1 of the criteria for speedy deletion.

If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and clicking the button labelled "Contest this speedy deletion". This will give you the opportunity to explain why you believe the page should not be deleted. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag from the page yourself. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 01:09, 24 December 2022 (UTC)

On 4 January 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Monument to the Founders of Kyiv, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that after being made of reinforced concrete to conform with orders from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Monument to the Founders of Kyiv (depicted) partially collapsed? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Monument to the Founders of Kyiv. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Monument to the Founders of Kyiv), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

BorgQueen (talk) 00:02, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

		Hook update
		Your hook reached 25,986 views (1,082.8 per hour), making it one of the most viewed hooks of January 2023 – nice work!

GalliumBot (talk • contribs) (he/it) 03:27, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

Quick facts happy new year ...

January songs

happy new year

Close

Thank you for the article! The colours of my January calendar image are Ukrainian for a reason. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:35, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

today, I point at two singers I whose performance I enjoyed, - looking forward to your comments regarding the 7 Feb TFA! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 18:19, 6 January 2023 (UTC)

I'm on vacation, - click on songs! I tell my own stories now, instead of relying on DYK. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:34, 14 January 2023 (UTC)

Happy to see the architect's article on DYK, great Germany content while I'm on strike! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:40, 16 January 2023 (UTC)

Back home, I updated my vacation images a bit, but three days are missing and will take more time. - Thank you for copy-eding the TFA blurb for February 7! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 18:04, 30 January 2023 (UTC)

Cantata article: do you happen to know a way to suppress the level 4 headers in the socalled TOC on the left? I really miss the structure by header level. - More pics, or: variations of looking at a lighthouse. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:20, 31 January 2023 (UTC)

oh, that is a good question! i am assuming that your preferences are set to use the vector-2022 skin, as mine are not and i admittedly could not understand what you were talking about at first. apparently, the toc limit template uses a css file that basically hides elements classified as "toclevel-x". vector-2022, however, names these classes differently, using the form "vector-toc-level-x", so the css file fails to hide the relevant elements, as they are being classified under different names. i cannot edit the css file as it is protected, so let me ping Pppery, who last edited the css file and may be able to help you and everyone else encountering the same issue. dying (talk) 02:07, 1 February 2023 (UTC)

My edit to that page 4 years ago was not related, and I have no interest in solving this. Bring it up at Template talk:TOC limit or WP:VPT * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 02:19, 1 February 2023 (UTC)

Thank you, but not important enough. Dying, I tried (BWV 82) to just have anchors for those movement sections. What do you think, should I do that also for BWV 22? I tried to avoid having longish all-German movement names but the present skin doesn't indicate on which level, and the plain movement numbers numbers look silly to me. - I added the missing pics - Melitta Muszely died, RIP - the other story is 10 years old OTD ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:43, 2 February 2023 (UTC)

oh, sorry, Pppery! i had assumed that you were experienced enough to either quickly resolve the issue or determine if there is no trivial fix, though if you're not interested in helping out, that's also understandable.

Gerda, i think the way you used anchors in the bwv 82 article looks good. the movement section in the bwv 22 article is much longer, so if you decide to use anchors, i think some form of heading is still called for, though i am unsure which form would be the best to use. another alternative is to spell out the ordinal numbers, e.g., "First" and "Fifth", to sidestep the issue of unusually short headers entirely. dying (talk) 16:30, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

On 9 January 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Central Post Office (Kyiv), which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that Kyiv's Central Post Office was built after military forces deliberately destroyed its predecessor (pictured) less than a year after it was completed? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Central Post Office (Kyiv). You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Central Post Office (Kyiv)), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

BorgQueen (talk) 12:02, 9 January 2023 (UTC)

		Hook update
		Your hook reached 14,072 views (1,172.6 per hour), making it one of the most viewed hooks of January 2023 – nice work!

GalliumBot (talk • contribs) (he/it) 03:27, 10 January 2023 (UTC)

Hello! Your submission of Millennial pause at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and some issues with it may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) at your nomination's entry and respond there at your earliest convenience. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! Hameltion (talk, contribs) 04:52, 10 January 2023 (UTC)

On 16 January 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Meinhard von Gerkan, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that after Deutsche Bahn built Berlin's central railway station according to plans that had been altered against the original architect Meinhard von Gerkan's wishes, he sued them, and won? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Meinhard von Gerkan. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Meinhard von Gerkan), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

BorgQueen (talk) 00:02, 16 January 2023 (UTC)

Hello! Your submission of Template:Did you know nominations/New York City (painting) at the Did You Know nominations page is not complete; if you would like to continue, please link the nomination to the nominations page as described in step III of the nomination procedure. If you do not want to continue with the nomination, tag the nomination page with {{db-g7}}, or ask a DYK admin. Thank you. DYKHousekeepingBot (talk) 05:45, 1 February 2023 (UTC)

Quick facts

February songs

my daily stories

Close

yesterday's cantata, 300 years later - thanks for the advice further up --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:08, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

... and today the regional festival - DYK of 13 years ago ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:02, 17 February 2023 (UTC)

My story on 24 February is about Artemy Vedel (TFA by Amitchell235), and I made a suggestion for more peace, - what do you think? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:08, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

today: two women whose birthday we celebrate today, 99 and 90! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:27, 28 February 2023 (UTC)

Hello, I'm Denis tarasov. I wanted to let you know that one or more of your recent contributions to Zunda Towers have been undone because they did not appear constructive. If you would like to experiment, please use your sandbox. If you have any questions, you can ask for assistance at the Teahouse or the Help desk. Thanks. Don't agree with you, "sell" is advertising, reference was deleted, Bitcoin is classified as a virus by almost all antivirus software including Clam AV and Microsoft Defender Antivirus. Denis Tarasov (talk) 09:57, 11 February 2023 (UTC)

On 25 February 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Maryina Roshcha (Bolshaya Koltsevaya line), which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the upcoming Moscow Metro station Maryina Roshcha's four escalators (pictured) are the longest in Moscow? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Maryina Roshcha (Bolshaya Koltsevaya line). You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Maryina Roshcha (Bolshaya Koltsevaya line)), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

BorgQueen (talk) 00:02, 25 February 2023 (UTC)

Hi, you mentioned being unable to access a Jstor source at WT:DYK, have you tried WP:The Wikipedia Library, which should give access to Jstor? TSventon (talk) 20:38, 2 March 2023 (UTC)

TSventon, i have actually tried using the wikipedia library before, but unsuccessfully. i assume it has something to do with how old my machine is, but haven't invested enough time troubleshooting to pinpoint the issue. in any case, i do appreciate you reaching out to me to try to help! dying (talk) 11:39, 11 March 2023 (UTC)

Hello, Dying. This is a bot-delivered message letting you know that Draft:Bulgaria Square, a page you created, has not been edited in at least 5 months. Drafts that have not been edited for six months may be deleted, so if you wish to retain the page, please edit it again or request that it be moved to your userspace.

If the page has already been deleted, you can request it be undeleted so you can continue working on it.

Thank you for your submission to Wikipedia. FireflyBot (talk) 13:02, 8 March 2023 (UTC)

Template:Did you know nominations/Ron Labinski Hi. Since you are quite experienced in DYK, I thought I would find you on this query. I already reviewed and approved a nominated DYK as noted above. Yet for some reason it has still been stuck in this stage for weeks now. Is there a reason for that? Did I forget to do something? Imcdc Contact 02:12, 11 March 2023 (UTC)

wow, i'm flattered, Imcdc; i've only been at dyk for a few months!

i don't know for sure why the article has not been promoted yet, but i did notice that the article is a biography of someone from the united states. dyk sets generally have at most four biography hooks and four u.s. hooks, and people tend to try to avoid having two consecutive biography hooks in a set, or two consecutive u.s. hooks, so arranging hooks in a set to accommodate a u.s. biography hook is slightly more difficult than doing so for other hooks. also, hooks that state that a subject is the first (or described as the first) to do something tend to receive heightened scrutiny, so potential promoters may be reluctant to evaluate how valid that claim is, especially if they do not have expertise in the area.

in any case, this hook is nowhere near the oldest on the list of approved hooks, and hooks often remain at this stage for weeks, so i wouldn't worry about it. i don't think you've forgotten to do anything, if that's what you're wondering. hope this helps! dying (talk) 11:49, 11 March 2023 (UTC)

On 17 March 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Millennial pause, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... ... that millennials pause? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Millennial pause. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Millennial pause), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Aoidh (talk) 00:03, 17 March 2023 (UTC)

		Hook update
		Your hook reached 17,751 views (1,479.2 per hour), making it one of the most viewed hooks of March 2023 – nice work!

GalliumBot (talk • contribs) (he/it) 03:27, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

On 21 March 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article 2022 Joe Biden speech in Warsaw, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that in 2022 Joe Biden delivered a speech in Warsaw addressing the "task of this generation" that was overshadowed by an apparently ad-libbed nine-word comment? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/2022 Joe Biden speech in Warsaw. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, 2022 Joe Biden speech in Warsaw), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

-- RoySmith (talk) 12:02, 21 March 2023 (UTC)

		Hook update
		Your hook reached 14,662 views (1,221.9 per hour), making it one of the most viewed hooks of March 2023 – nice work!

GalliumBot (talk • contribs) (he/it) 03:27, 22 March 2023 (UTC)

Quick facts

March songs

my story today

Close

thank you! - sharing impressions from vacation on Madeira 20-30 March, pics now at 25 March with ups and downs and two cats --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:40, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

Hello! Your submission of 2023 Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and some issues with it may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) at your nomination's entry and respond there at your earliest convenience. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! Radzy0 (talk) 01:09, 22 March 2023 (UTC)

• NOTE: I cut and paste the above message on behalf of the reviewer who posted it to the wrong page. Flibirigit (talk) 16:53, 22 March 2023 (UTC)

New York City I (1941), upside down

On 1 April 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article New York City (painting), which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that after one of Piet Mondrian's paintings (shown) was discovered to have been hanging upside down for decades, the museum left it as is? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/New York City (painting). You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, New York City (painting)), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

-- Aoidh (talk) 00:02, 1 April 2023 (UTC)

Fantastic hook. Thanks for promoting it. — PerfectSoundWhatever (t; c) 03:01, 1 April 2023 (UTC)

thanks, PerfectSoundWhatever! dying (talk) 10:18, 1 April 2023 (UTC)

Quick facts

April songs

my story today

Close

clever and full of art - the best april fool's in years! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:09, 1 April 2023 (UTC)

thanks, Gerda! dying (talk) 20:16, 1 April 2023 (UTC)

I made an exception from my DYK abstinence for Good Friday, - see my story today. Interesting to compare a hook 2023 style to one in 2012 (see my story today). - I sang, including chorales from Bach's greatest Passion. I recently listened to one by Homilius: a discovery! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:41, 7 April 2023 (UTC)

I forgot to thank you for the brilliant idea to raise to the top news what deserved it, not one man's problems, even if a prominent man's. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:45, 7 April 2023 (UTC)

thanks, Gerda. i hope this week has been treating you well. dying (talk) 21:05, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

yes - just returned from singing the third day in a row, and one more: happy easter --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:24, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

I loved to see Marian Anderson and her story of protest against discrimination by singing on Easter Sunday 9 April 1939 on the Main page yesterday. Impressions of Easter here and music here. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 17:13, 10 April 2023 (UTC)

my story today, Messiah (Handel), was my first dip into the FA ocean, thanks to great colleagues. - a few pics added, one day missing --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:59, 13 April 2023 (UTC)

I added the one and a bit more. Today is the 80th birthday of John Eliot Gardiner. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:58, 20 April 2023 (UTC)

May music

Quick facts my story today ...

May songs

my story today

Close

I had a good story on coronation day: the Te Deum we sang that day. And the following day we sang it for the composer ;)

I heard pleasant music today - did you know a string quartet with two cellos (and no article yet in English? - I nominated Soňa Červená for GA just to give her a bit more exposure. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:40, 14 May 2023 (UTC)

Pentecost was full of music, and my story today is that 300 years ago today, Bach became Thomaskantor, with BWV 75, writing music history. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:47, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

On 25 May 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Breaking Barriers 50km, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that a world record has been set every year Gqeberha has held its Breaking Barriers 50km event? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Breaking Barriers 50km. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Breaking Barriers 50km), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

-- RoySmith (talk) 00:03, 25 May 2023 (UTC)

Hello, Dying. It has been over six months since you last edited the Articles for Creation submission or Draft page you started, "Artik and Asti".

In accordance with our policy that Wikipedia is not for the indefinite hosting of material deemed unsuitable for the encyclopedia mainspace, the draft has been deleted. When you plan on working on it further and you wish to retrieve it, you can request its undeletion. An administrator will, in most cases, restore the submission so you can continue to work on it.

Thanks for your submission to Wikipedia, and happy editing. ✗plicit 01:39, 26 May 2023 (UTC)

On 31 May 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Abu Dhabi Marathon, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that although he was expected to exit the race after about 30 km (19 mi), pacemaker Reuben Kipyego ended up winning the Abu Dhabi Marathon and US$100,000? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Abu Dhabi Marathon. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Abu Dhabi Marathon), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

-- RoySmith (talk) 00:03, 31 May 2023 (UTC)

Quick facts my story today ...

June songs

my story today

Close

Thank you, - amazing! - I like today's Main page, and here's why ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:34, 2 June 2023 (UTC)

Last weekend was nice, class reunion a funny number of years after completing school, and the lovely park where I spent many Sundays as a child. Today's story is quite dramatic, there's a yt trailer to the hook. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:56, 5 June 2023 (UTC)

Jörg Widmann is 50 today, and I began Stockholm pics. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:07, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for the help with the images. I didn't mean to be critical and I hope I didn't come across that way. All the best, Wehwalt (talk) 22:53, 3 June 2023 (UTC)

no worries, Wehwalt. i had interpreted your comments as constructive criticism, which i think we all need from time to time. i hope my response did not lead you to think that i had taken your comments badly, and if it did, i apologize. please feel free to raise any issues with my editing in the future if you think it needs improvement. thanks for your message. dying (talk) 01:14, 4 June 2023 (UTC)

On 6 June 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article 2023 Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that, as required by the New START treaty, Russia notified the US of a missile test, which US officials believe failed days before Vladimir Putin announced Russia's suspension of the treaty? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/2023 Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, 2023 Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

BorgQueen (talk) 00:03, 6 June 2023 (UTC)

Just dropping by to say that I'm feeling better and I'll be doing more with TFA from time to time. Your work at WP:ERRORS is inspirational. - Dank (push to talk) 14:47, 24 June 2023 (UTC)

oh, yay, Dank! i'm so glad to hear that you're feeling better. also, that praise means a lot coming from you. i learned from the best. dying (talk) 23:46, 24 June 2023 (UTC)

You're very kind, but thanks. Btw, when I work on blurbs and offer comments now, I'm including "User:dying might have some comments later on." I want to make sure no one gets the idea that I'm saying "you're good to go, nothing more will happen until it gets to WP:ERRORS", because lots of people ... primarily you ... are going to be making comments and editing after me, and I want to make sure the nominators know that that's fine, and expected. But if you'd like for me to handle this issue in a different way, that's fine, of course. - Dank (push to talk) 18:17, 6 July 2023 (UTC)

sounds good, Dank, thanks for the explanation. also, in general, would you prefer that i comment on those wikipedia talk pages? i think pings often suggest that one is seeking input at the location of the ping, so i wasn't sure if you were hoping for me to change my workflow. i don't mind being pinged, but just wanted to make sure that i wasn't inadvertently ignoring you. by the way, sorry about breaking my streak with this late copyedit; real life unexpectedly prevented me from logging in for an extended period of time, so there wasn't really anything i could do about it. dying (talk) 00:19, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

I was guessing that you wouldn't respond, I only wanted to let you see what I was doing. I won't ping you from now on when I write blurbs ... but if there are specific things that you want to know about in advance whenever I see them, then let me know and I'll ping you for those things. - Dank (push to talk) 01:28, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

oh, that makes sense, as the pings did help me understand what you were referring to. regarding any requests, i've noticed that, on occasion, i won't realize for a while that a blurb has been swapped out if i have already copyedited the original blurb, so if you see that happening, a heads-up would be appreciated. of course, i'd also welcome notices about anything else you think i should be aware of. thanks for asking, Dank. dying (talk) 00:09, 8 July 2023 (UTC)

I'll do that. - Dank (push to talk) 00:43, 8 July 2023 (UTC)

On 9 July 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Pidakala War, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the Pidakala War is a cow dung fight held every year? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Pidakala War. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Pidakala War), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Aoidh (talk) 00:03, 9 July 2023 (UTC)

Hi there. Just a thought on getting a grip on the FA process, which may or may not be of any help or use to you. Consider lurking at FAC and following the progress of three or four nominations; what the reviewers say, how the nominator responds etc. Feel free to chip in with your own comments - not necessarily a full review, but if (for example) you see something in a nominated article which is not MoS compliant, say so in a drive-by comment. This could help you get an insight into how FAs come to be.

In any event, many thanks for the invaluable work you do on TFA blurbs. Gog the Mild (talk) 12:00, 9 July 2023 (UTC)

Thanks from me too, and I'm glad Gog suggested this. - Dank (push to talk) 02:57, 10 July 2023 (UTC)

@Dying, a question: if I make a comment at WP:ERRORS/TFA that involves one of your edits in some way, would you prefer that I 1. ping you, 2. leave a comment here, or 3. do nothing special, on the assumption that you'll probably see it if you're "subscribed" to that section? (I just made a comment that involved one of your edits, and got shot down quickly, heh.) - Dank (push to talk) 14:08, 12 July 2023 (UTC)

Dank, there's no need to ping me or leave a comment here in such instances, but i won't mind either way. i regularly check wp:errors, not only to review error reports for tfa blurbs, but also to review those for other sections, to better understand common pitfalls in general. in any case, thanks for asking.

i'm sorry about you getting pushback regarding the most recent issue raised. whether seasons should be capitalized or not is a surprisingly contentious point. luckily, i was aware of it simply because i have been following wt:date for years now. i believe the example at mos:season most applicable to this situation is "details appeared in Quarterly Review, Summer 2015". also, Premeditated Chaos has been consistently capitalizing seasons of mcqueen's fashion house in a number of articles that have appeared at tfa (and at dyk). however, i completely understand if you had missed them, as i think their main page appearances have mostly been during the past year.

this part of my copyedit was admittedly the part that gave me the most pause, so i had patterned it after the earlier blurb for the widows of culloden, figuring that it would likely be acceptable since no issues were raised when that blurb ran. had the phrase in question been used simply as a description of a time period, though, i thought your suggestion was reasonable. dying (talk) 01:35, 13 July 2023 (UTC)

I'm happy with the outcome. Thanks for your edit on this one. - Dank (push to talk) 02:08, 13 July 2023 (UTC)

@Dying, one more question. I know you prefer to tackle blurbs at a set time (generally roughly 10 days before they run), but it's going to happen occasionally that people object to my blurbs (shocking, I know!) For instance, at User talk:Dank#What is this for?. I'll try to handle that myself, of course, and maybe the editor and I can agree on text, but if not, would it be okay for me to ping you and solicit advice on what blurb text you prefer in cases like this one? (And, needless to say, feel free to disagree with any of my choices.) - Dank (push to talk) 14:57, 19 July 2023 (UTC)

Some progress has been made, but ... well, your call. - Dank (push to talk) 17:22, 19 July 2023 (UTC)

Dank, you are welcome to ping me whenever you like for whatever reason; i can't imagine being annoyed by any of your pings.

you're right about the previous blurb; it could use a rewrite. although i usually try to take the time to read an article before copyediting its blurb, in this case, i actually remember finding this article some time ago (and being fascinated by it), so i can help with the rewrite if needed. currently, it looks like things are going alright, though if there is anything specific that you'd like me to address, please let me know. in any case, i have subscribed both to the discussion on your talk page and that on the page with the draft blurb, and may raise a few points later on. dying (talk) 07:56, 20 July 2023 (UTC)

Works for me. - Dank (push to talk) 11:57, 20 July 2023 (UTC)

You've been warned several times not to use bare references, but you haven't changed your style. May I ask why? If you don't know how to put full references, you may look at related pages. So please don't put bare references in pages. Egeymi (talk) 08:32, 10 July 2023 (UTC)

Egeymi, i have an old and idiosyncratic machine, and have been unable to use most of the scripts and bots that other editors use to fill in citation templates. after losing count of the number of hours i have spent trying to get something to work, i eventually found one script usable. however, as it generally takes me around a half hour to an hour to run the script for each of the sources i cite in an article and then properly format the output, i usually do not consider it an effective use of my time here, and prefer to contribute to wikipedia in other ways.

my current understanding is that providing only a url in citations is a perfectly acceptable practice, and that the main argument against doing so is to avoid linkrot, which is why i generally provide links to archived versions of the sources i cite. i acknowledge that certain projects within wikipedia require more than just a url for citations, and have taken the time to run the aforementioned script whenever i believed it was necessary. i have also noticed that you have added details to the citations of a number of articles that i have eventually submitted to dyk, a project which does require more than just a url for citations, and for that i thank you. if, however, you no longer wish to fill out citation templates for me, i completely understand. dying (talk) 23:45, 16 July 2023 (UTC)

Dying thank you very much for your sincere reply. I'm happy to see my edits help you. Best, --Egeymi (talk) 05:47, 17 July 2023 (UTC)

Quick facts

July songs

my story today

Close

Great music (in June, I'm behind: three great RMF concerts)! - Last Saturday, a friend played for us at her birthday party, on four instruments including baryton, with family (granddaughters!) and colleagues, from Renaissance to Haydn. - My story today is very personal: the DYK appeared on Wikipedia's 15th birthday, and describes a concert I sang. I was requested to translate the bio into German for a memorial concert ... - see background, and we talked about life and death. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:22, 12 July 2023 (UTC)

On today's Main page, you can find a cantata that Bach first performed 300 years ago, and an iconic saxophonist from East Germany. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:04, 18 July 2023 (UTC)

While today's DYK highlights Santiago on his day, I did my modest share with my story today, describing what I just experienced, pictured. I began the article of the woman in green. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:39, 25 July 2023 (UTC)

Today Jahrhundertring, and I'm listening to Götterdämmerung from the Bayreuth Festival, close to the scene pictured, - the image (of a woman who can't believe what she has to see) features also on the article talk. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:21, 31 July 2023 (UTC)

Bringing this to your talk page since I don't think the DYK talk page is a good place to be discussing an already-graced-the-Main-Page hook.

In retrospect, the hook kind of trivializes the 33 deaths in a way that I didn't quite intend to. Sorry.

I'm a big advocate of asking for forgiveness. As you mentioned, asking for forgiveness has been codified in Wikipedia law. WP:BOLD will never change, will never disappear, and will always stay relevant. I did leave a comment on the DYK page: I find this interesting enough to deserve a DYK nom. This is my first time doing this, so I hope I've done everything right; that was the extent of my asking for permission. Since I myself questioned whether or not the hook would be accepted (and was honestly suprised that it got as far as it did without complaint), I did include an alt hook that more clearly defined why the phrase was notable. I had no say in which hook they used. Most potential complaints that I imagined would've been made and were made were addressed in the alt hook.

Also, neither of the hooks are my hooks. They're simply hooks that I wrote. Other people allowed it to get to the Main Page; they are more relevant than I am, as I am but a lowly hook writer, while the reviewer and the promoters have ultimate discretion. If the reviewer or the promoters had expressed an issue with allowing the hook to run, I would've changed it, or asked them to use ALT1. It went through every level of vetting and was promoted to queue, so I assumed that it was okay.

There are dark, dark articles on Wikipedia, things that I don't even dare link to. There are lesser, but still quite shocking things that would cause me to truly question everything if they were allowed to grace the Main Page. Verbal profanity (excluding most pejoratives) will never be on that list in my case.

...i believe there has been a consensus that hooks should not be promoted to simply get profanity on the main page—I don't quite understand what this means. Could an article such as fuck grace the Main Page, in any capacity? I hope so.

hooks like this will be able to get clicks, but over time, if such hooks become a trend, more people will end up avoiding the dyk section, which will end up impacting dyk's main goal: showcasing new articles and recently improved articles—sure, I guess.

the hook does not do much other than present nudity to try to hook a reader; the hook does not provide much context to indicate why this specific instance of nudity was relevant or notable—hmmm... When I wrote the hook, my understanding of DYK was that one was supposed to use a notable fact to draw people into an article. A hook such as your example one is a great way to do that. I was unaware of any policy barring me from using profanity to accomplish the goal of drawing people into an article. I don't think there is any policy or local consensus barring anyone from using profanity to accomplish that goal. Again, providing little context in DYK hooks is done all the time; rarely do they use profanity, which might set this issue apart from them, but I don't really think it does to an insane extent.

I don't swear on my user page because my mother reads it :) Cessaune [talk] 04:02, 21 July 2023 (UTC)

Ravenpuff and User:dying: I want to do whatever works best for your process of copyediting. I'm experimenting with limiting myself to making certain kinds of edits and not others, in response to edits to blurbs. I think everyone's on board with the idea that "ambiguity is bad", so I attempted to remove an ambiguity in the blurb, without making judgment calls about other edits that might be needed ... the length is wrong now, and not everyone is going to like "in Midtown Manhattan in", so it might or might not be a good idea to swap in some other preposition. The approach I'm experimenting with here is using edit summaries to communicate this ... and in the future, I could just do that without leaving any comments on any talk pages ... whatever works best. - Dank (push to talk) 15:00, 14 August 2023 (UTC)

In this case: the simplest solution would be to replace the second "in" with a comma. MOS:GEOLINK would then say that we shouldn't link New York City. Regarding edit summaries is fine – is the intention to consolidate explanations of blurb changes in one place? If so I would be fine with that, although I don't normally consult revision histories before editing every TFA (except if pinged of course). — RAVENPVFF · talk · 15:25, 14 August 2023 (UTC)

Thanks, done. Yes, I'm consolidating, to some extent. My intention for now is to experiment with limiting myself to one edit and no reverts. - Dank (push to talk) 15:35, 14 August 2023 (UTC)

Dank, i think the current rewording is good enough, though if you wish to restore the earlier mention that midtown manhattan is a neighbourhood (to try to avoid, for example, suggesting that the phrase is being used as a descriptive term), you can modify Ravenpuff's construction with the rewording "New York City's neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan". i'm not sure if this rewording reads better, though.

i tend to review edit summaries before editing blurbs, so will likely see any comments there, though i quickly realized that proper explanations of some of my copyedits wouldn't easily fit in an edit summary that many editors wouldn't read anyway, which is why i have taken to generally using inline comments. i would be fine with whatever method you decide to adapt.

i was able to limit myself to one edit and no reverts for a while, especially when you were helping me out with any subsequent edits, though i eventually realized that some situations essentially gave me both the mandate and the responsibility to make an additional edit, so i reference a relevant edit whenever that happens. also, i'll admit that i generally rely on Ravenpuff to address any inadvertent mistakes left by later editors, and also may file an error report if it seems called for.

by the way, i recently learned that there is a term for the general aversion to repetitive constructions like the repeated use of a preposition: horror aequi. the article for the term was recently nominated at dyk, so i thought i might share, as i had found the article fascinating. dying (talk) 20:17, 14 August 2023 (UTC)

Thanks, I enjoyed that article too. So, if either of you have a problem with my process, let me know. I'll try to keep things transparent. - Dank (push to talk) 21:52, 14 August 2023 (UTC)

I added one sentence; length is good now. - Dank (push to talk) 22:08, 14 August 2023 (UTC)

The DYK has been published. Thank you so much for all your careful proofreading and suggestions, and helping me through the maze of guidelines! CohenTheBohemian (talk) 13:34, 15 August 2023 (UTC)

		The Writers Barnstar
		For your work on I, Rocket. Book articles on wikipedia seem to be unproportionally worked on, glad somebody is improving them.

Masohpotato (talk) 03:41, 28 August 2023 (UTC)

oh, wow. many thanks, Masohpotato! dying (talk) 23:41, 30 August 2023 (UTC)

Precious anniversary

Quick facts Three years! ...

Precious

Three years!

Close

in growing appreciation --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:40, 30 August 2023 (UTC)

thanks, Gerda. my, how time flies!

by the way, i thought you should know that i regularly enjoy looking through your picture gallery, and although i seem to never find the time to comment on it, i wanted to mention that i especially liked this photo, as i found the sculpture, and the fact that you took a picture of it, particularly whimsical. dying (talk) 23:41, 30 August 2023 (UTC)

On 12 September 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article 3rd EU–CELAC summit, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that UK prime minister Rishi Sunak complained when a joint declaration was made at a summit between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that used the term Islas Malvinas? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/3rd EU–CELAC summit. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, 3rd EU–CELAC summit), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 00:02, 12 September 2023 (UTC)

I would like to show my appreciation for your general contributions, and specifically you fixing tomorrow's main page. I also must ask out of curiosity, how did Dying become your legal name? Was it given at birth, or did you change it to that? (If you are uncomfortable with this question, I do not require an answer.) Have a good day! UnexpectedSmoreInquisition (talk) 15:48, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

UnexpectedSmoreInquisition, i've never asked, but i assume it was given to me at or around the time of my birth. dying (talk) 17:17, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

• See WP:TFAA for links to all the days listed below. - Dank (push to talk) 03:51, 28 September 2023 (UTC)
• I'll drop a few notes on October blurbs here as I think of them. First up: when a FAC nominator makes substantial edits in the last few days before the blurb's appearance, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do; that's always a tough call for me. I'll have to take it case by case, but usually there just isn't time for the usual processes to play out in the usual ways. I may do nothing, or I may mention at WP:ERRORS that there have been recent edits. Feel free to handle it however you like; I trust your judgment. - Dank (push to talk) 02:27, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

  yeah, i agree. i also tend to take them case by case. thankfully, i think the majority of such edits have no issues. regarding the rest, i think my plan of action generally depends on whether it appears that any of my changes were deliberately reverted. if so, i think i usually just do nothing, to avoid unnecessarily antagonizing anyone, and hope that others catch any obvious errors before the blurb hits the main page. i am admittedly not sure if this is the best plan of action, so am open to suggestions if you have any. in cases where i don't think my changes were deliberately reverted, i may open a discussion with the nominator, on the talk page of either the nominator or the blurb. dying (talk) 06:39, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

• Oct 5: You copyedited this one tonight. John M Wolfson used members of the British House of Commons (with a link) in their blurb at TFAR. I had to move the links around in the blurb so that the first link went to the TFA article, but I also liked "members of the British House of Commons". Something like "members of parliament (British House of Commons pictured)" (with links) would also work for me, but I'm happy to go with whatever you guys want. - Dank (push to talk) 01:06, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

  what i thought was strange here was that "Parliament" appears to be used to refer to a specific parliament before it was ever explicitly referenced in the blurb. (if "Parliament" is being metonymically used to refer to the house of commons, i don't think this is clear.) admittedly, i had assumed that using the wording already in the article lead wouldn't be controversial, and that the detail hadn't been included in the blurb due to space considerations, but i was wrong as i didn't realize there was a preference for the shorter wording. dying (talk) 06:39, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

• Oct 4: Sammi Brie, you went with "The NBC Tower in Chicago" for the caption at your TFAR nomination, and there were no objections. User:Dying prefers "Chicago's NBC Tower". I can think of some reasons you might prefer your version (and feel free to say so if that's true), but I don't have much of a preference. - Dank (push to talk) 03:42, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

  I prefer mine, but that is splitting hairs. Sammi Brie (she/her • t • c) 03:53, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

  I think I'll revert just that bit then. The possessive in English can mean around 20 different things, so there's always potential ambiguity; "The NBC Tower in Chicago" can only mean (AFAIK) that it's in Chicago. - Dank (push to talk) 03:58, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

  i actually thought the original caption was fine, but i have noticed that there seems to be a strong preference by others for short captions, so i will sometimes reword a caption if the result takes up fewer lines and i do not think there is much loss of information, if any. i usually use the comment "reworded to take up fewer lines" to indicate this in order to make more clear that i don't personally have an issue with the original wording. as always, feel free to revert me if you disagree with any of my rewordings. dying (talk) 06:39, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

  My only objection here is adding the possessive just to shorten something, because that can generate ambiguity (not always, but in many cases). For example, "[the city]'s airport" can mean exactly the opposite of "airport in [the city]", since the airport associated with a large city is often outside the city limits, and sometimes there's a smaller airport in the city. - Dank (push to talk) 15:07, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

  yeah, there are some instances where using a possessive instead would add ambiguity, but i had figured that, in this specific instance, it was okay; the only other interpretations i had come up with at the time appeared to be ruled out by pragmatics. i hadn't realized that rewording things in this manner may cause some issues, though, so will probably be using this method of removing characters more sparingly in the future. thanks for letting me know. dying (talk) 09:16, 6 October 2023 (UTC)

  Replying to "feel free to revert me" ... happy to do that rather than discussing it, if that works better for you, but feel free to revert me or start a discussion. If I revert anything you've done in blurb copyediting with the edit summary "benefit of the doubt", that's short for: "The original blurb writer nominated this article at FAC. It seems to me that they're trying for a more concise style in the blurb than they used in the lead, probably because they think that's what they're supposed to be doing (and generally, I agree). Even if they're not doing it precisely the way I would do it, I'd prefer to preserve their text when possible if it looks like they were making reasonable efforts to condense the lead; otherwise, it might look like I'm penalizing them for trying to do the right thing. Of course, if I think their text isn't likely to survive WP:ERRORS, then edits may be necessary." - Dank (push to talk) 20:00, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

  oh, some sort of discussion would be helpful so that i can figure out what i did wrong, if a proper explanation doesn't fit in the edit summary. i only wanted to make it clear that you don't have to feel like you need to reach out to me before reverting; i make my unilateral edits on the assumption that they are uncontroversial, so if you think something should be reverted, then i clearly did something wrong.

  also, that is a good point about trying to avoid appearing as if an edit is "penalizing [a nominator] for trying to do the right thing". i admittedly don't think i have thought about this before, as i have never had the intention of penalizing a blurb writer. i don't know how best to address this, but i think, following your statement about wp:errors, i may continue to restore details from the article lead if i think the issue being addressed has a good chance of coming up at wp:errors, or if the blurb writer was too good at condensing the lead and the blurb ended up being too short, but will generally punt more minor issues to a possible later discussion if i have the time. dying (talk) 09:16, 6 October 2023 (UTC)

• General note: Dying, when a FAC nominator is also the TFAR nominator and the blurb writer, I'm going to try to give them the benefit of the doubt when possible. You know this, but for anyone peeking in, the table at WT:Today's featured article/October 2023 makes it easy to see which ones are TFAR nominations. (For any blurb I write, "benefit of the doubt" doesn't exist :) - Dank (push to talk) 04:10, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

  i generally used to give them the benefit of the doubt too, but this discussion made me shift more in favor of the article whenever i noticed that there was a discrepancy between the article and the blurb. have i shifted too far? dying (talk) 06:39, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

  I'll just give you some specific examples, and leave it up to you to decide whether there's any general principle here. It's hard to characterize. - Dank (push to talk) 14:39, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

  yeah, it's tough trying to put into words some of the minutiae taken into account when copyediting blurbs. admittedly, while you were recuperating, i may have fine-tuned myself to be more in line with the practice at wp:errors than that at tfa, so feel free to send me any examples to help me recalibrate. dying (talk) 09:16, 6 October 2023 (UTC)

• medieval cuisine (blurb)

  • is there a reason why the caption refers to the image source as "the Decameron" instead of "The Decameron"? the caption in the article uses the latter, and the title of the article on the book includes the definite article. formatting the caption in this specific way seems deliberate, so i was trying to figure out what i was missing.
    • No preference. I went by the article ... just about everywhere after the first sentence, it's "the Decameron". - Dank (push to talk)
      • oh, that makes sense. i think it is correct with or without the definite article, so had just wanted to hear your reasoning. dying (talk) 09:16, 6 October 2023 (UTC)
  • i noticed that there are a lot of terms linked in this blurb that would ordinarily not be linked in other blurbs, so i just wanted to make sure that this was okay. since this is a blurb for a vital article about cuisine, linking to more basic terms related to cuisine seems appropriate. i also checked to see if all the terms linked in the blurb are linked in the article as well, and it seems that all but the one for "staple" are in the article, though i think linking that term makes sense.
    • I see some terms that could be unlinked without doing any damage, but personally, I'd keep links to food since this is about food. Happy with whatever you decide. - Dank (push to talk) 14:39, 28 September 2023 (UTC)
      • agreed. i had just wanted to make sure we were thinking the same thing, in case someone ended up reporting this at wp:errors. dying (talk) 09:16, 6 October 2023 (UTC)

  dying (talk) 06:39, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

• Oct 7 (feel free as always to wait until you're looking at the blurb before you read this): The nominator wrote the blurb, and I added the image and caption. If things had been done in the other order, then possibly the nominator would have wanted to mention Bucephalus sooner. I don't have a preference. - Dank (push to talk) 00:24, 29 September 2023 (UTC)

  i've already looked over all of the blurbs for this month, so feel free to comment on any of them whenever you'd like. dying (talk) 09:16, 6 October 2023 (UTC)

• There's something going on here that I'm not sure you're picking up on ... and maybe I wouldn't pick up on it either, except that I've been doing blurbs for a while. Replies such as this one and this one, and the lack of any reply at User_talk:LittleJerry#secretarybird, are suggesting to me that the nominators aren't entirely comfortable with these conversations about the blurbs. Are there other options? I always thought your strategy of editing the blurbs and leaving hidden comments with explanations and questions was working well, but it's your call. (I don't think they're being critical of your work; my guess is that they don't like to spend a lot of time talking about blurbs. I've noticed that many times over the years.) - Dank (push to talk) 22:24, 4 October 2023 (UTC)

  thanks for bringing this up. i was admittedly surprised about the first two, given their previous tfa-related edits. for the third, i wasn't really expecting a response other than from Ravenpuff, as the other three seem less active than before, and the main issue was minor enough that i wouldn't have brought it up on wp:errors if it was left unaddressed. in any case, i have recently been giving a lot of thought about whether this is the best way to go about addressing these issues.

  the practice originated from this comment, and at the time, i thought leaving notes on user talk pages made the most sense. i have had a lot of positive interactions with fac nominators since. i don't know if this would be the practice they would prefer most, but so far, only one has complained about walls of text on their talk page, and one has moved my comment to the article talk page, so for them, i now leave comments on the article talk page instead.

  you've probably noticed that i have been trying to understand the dyk process during this past year, and one thing i was really surprised about is how similar the position of dyk promoter is to what i have been doing at tfa. in case you aren't aware, issues in dyk hooks that are found by promoters are brought up at wt:dyk, a high-traffic and heavily watched page. promoters generally ping everyone else who previously worked on the nomination, but any editor is free to comment on the issues raised.

  i think doing this at wt:tfa would be a complete disaster. wt:tfa is also heavily watched, but it is a low-traffic page. however, now that we regularly have talk pages for the monthly tfa archive pages, i have been wondering if shifting discussions there would be a good option. these monthly talk pages are lightly watched, though presumably always watched by the tfa coordinator for the month. i'd ping any relevant nominators when posting there, but if none are interested in responding, the tfa coordinator can address any issues independently if it seems like any should be addressed.

  i am hesitating to do this because i think some nominators would prefer that i continue to leave comments on user talk pages. also, due to the fact that these comments would be on tfa project pages, i would probably focus my comments on the blurbs, and avoid making suggestions for the article itself, which i sometimes do in comments on user talk pages. do you have any thoughts about this option? dying (talk) 09:16, 6 October 2023 (UTC)

  My first reaction is "let's ask Gog and Wehwalt", but I'm actually not sure at this point what questions you'll be asking or how people will respond ... so I don't know what I'd be asking about. Sure, go ahead and try it for a couple of days so we can see how it works. - Dank (push to talk) 13:22, 6 October 2023 (UTC)

  sounds good. i will probably start posting there once i figure out how i would like to format such comments. feel free to offer any feedback if you have any, once i start posting there. dying (talk) 21:36, 8 October 2023 (UTC)

• Dying: Gog mentioned at WT:Today's featured article/October 2023 that he has no objection if you want to ask questions about November blurbs at WT:Today's featured article/November 2023, provided you post the questions at least 14 days in advance. I don't know how you feel about that, but I think there would be advantages to taking him up on his offer. I'm always happy for your help, but if you need to skip ahead in your October reviewing to October 26 in order to get on a regular 14-day schedule in preparation for the November blurbs, I think that's doable; I'll just ask for extra help at WP:ERRORS as needed.
• Also, I have a suggestion for your experiment of posting at WT:Today's featured article/October 2023: whenever you have more than two questions, try posting them here first (I keep this page watchlisted, so no need to ping me, but you can). I'd like to have a chance to talk about how I like to prioritize questions to FAC nominators. - Dank (push to talk) 03:01, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

  sure thing, Dank. i believe i usually don't have more than three questions, if any, so i think the volume of questions i asked for some recent blurbs was rather unusual. (i'd rather have no questions to ask!) i have more than two questions for the walt disney blurb, so i will present them below. (i preferred to ask questions rather than make unilateral changes for this blurb, as i know this was a joint effort between you, LittleJerry, and SchroCat.) for the five blurbs after that, i don't think i have more than two issues to raise each (for a total of five), unless i stumble upon any more while researching those issues.

  also, currently, i'm playing with the idea of splitting my queries into two parts, so that, hopefully, questions that either appear to have no clear resolution or are potentially contentious end up being asked earlier. (obviously, i can't do anything about it if i find a potentially contentious issue later.) i already do something like this on occasion, like when i think a blurb needs a serious rewrite, but i don't think i've formalized this process in any way. two weeks before actually sounds like a good deadline for such queries, as i think, in the past, i have raised similar concerns in roughly the same timeframe. i'm still trying to work out the details, but will probably post something on the november archive talk page within a week.

  to satisfy a two-week deadline for all my queries, i think i would have to drop all the work i've currently done for october and start with november straight away, as it generally takes a few days for me to get around to researching any issues i found during my unilateral copyedit. however, if you think this is a good idea, just let me know. dying (talk) 19:59, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

  I was happy that Gog made this offer, and I want to do my part to support it. I've gone back and done more editing to the October blurbs, and AFAIK we're in good shape for October, so: sure, it's fine to get started on November. But if there are things you discovered about October that you want to talk about, feel free. - Dank (push to talk) 20:11, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

  sounds good. i'll finish up one more october blurb, as i'm nearly done with it, and will try to wrap up what i've already done with october intermittently while i work on november. dying (talk) 20:30, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

• affine symmetric group (blurb)

  i thought i might give a brief explanation of how i try to shorten a caption when i think it probably should be shortened, in case you find it helpful.

  i generally try really hard to avoid removing any significant information from the caption that is not already present elsewhere in the blurb, and will sometimes rely on information that is self-evident from the image when rewording a caption. as the image in this blurb clearly shows a triangular tiling, i don't think it needs to be mentioned in the caption. (however, for the benefit of readers unable to view the image, i would either move this part of the caption to the image's alt text, or simply copy the alt text used in the article to the blurb.) in addition, since the prose already mentions what type of tiling is pictured, i can rely on the parenthetical "(pictured)" to explain that to readers.

  after playing around with the rest of the caption, i came up with "A tiling with symmetries described by the affine symmetric group S̃₃", which takes up two fewer lines than the original caption, removes no significant information from the blurb, and retains the explanation of how the image is relevant to the featured subject. what are your thoughts on this caption? i didn't include it in my unilateral copyedit because i noticed that you removed some details from the caption earlier and wanted to make sure you were okay with restoring it. dying (talk) 09:16, 6 October 2023 (UTC)

  I think I prefer the shorter version; should we ask at WP:ERRORS? - Dank (push to talk) 13:22, 6 October 2023 (UTC)

  oh, no need. i wasn't sure if you had a preference; the current caption is fine. dying (talk) 21:36, 8 October 2023 (UTC)

• private case (blurb)

  i am admittedly confused by the inclusion of "Page" in this caption. was it to signify that the illustration was not taken from the cover? technically, the whole page is not being shown, as the large margins have been cropped out. removing "Page" would appear in most cases to reduce the number of lines taken up by the caption by one. dying (talk) 17:39, 10 October 2023 (UTC)

  I don't follow. I think you're proposing that we say "Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies (1773)". How would the reader know what that is, and what relevance it has to the Private Case? "Page from" signals a book or periodical to most people, I think. Are you saying that "Page" is inaccurate because I didn't include the white space? Including white space in blurb images doesn't seem right to me. I wouldn't object to "Frontispiece from" (appropriately disambiguated), if that deals with your objection and WP:ERRORS people are on board, but it wouldn't be my choice; we'd confuse a lot of readers. - Dank (push to talk) 17:52, 10 October 2023 (UTC)

  oh, sorry, Dank! i had meant to suggest only dropping "Page" so that the caption would begin with "From", like it did before. i couldn't understand why "Page" was inserted, since, to me, the word didn't seem to provide any new information. are you saying that it was added to make more clear that the work is a book or periodical? if so, then the insertion makes more sense to me; i hadn't considered the possibility that a reader would think otherwise. i agree that the margins shouldn't be included in the image, and only brought them up to ask why the word "Page" specifically was chosen. "Frontispiece" seems more appropriate than "Page", and was used in the caption in the article, though the detail doesn't seem necessary; as you say, it could confuse many main page readers.

  by the way, i actually didn't have any issue with the earlier use of "an early work in the collection", as that had made the relevance of the image to the featured subject more clear. if "work" was replaced with "book", then including this phrase may make the addition of "Page" no longer necessary. if desired, the phrase could be shortened to "a book in the collection", since i don't think we need to suggest in the caption the importance of the work to the collection. alternatively, the caption could be shortened by dropping "of Covent Garden Ladies", as the article on the book often refers to it simply as "Harris's List", and the context already suggests what kind of list this is. dying (talk) 20:00, 10 October 2023 (UTC)

  Okay, now I follow. Your call. - Dank (push to talk) 20:27, 10 October 2023 (UTC)

• walt disney (blurb)

  • the phrasing "most Academy Awards earned (22) and the most nominations (59)" admittedly felt rather awkward to me. would "most Academy Award wins (22) and nominations (59)" be an improvement?
    • This "earned" phrasing is common at WP:FLC. Beyond that, I can't say. "Make it so" (in honor of Patrick Stewart's memoir, which just came out this month.) - Dank (push to talk)
      • haha! done. dying (talk) 23:55, 14 October 2023 (UTC)
  • the date of the founding of the original studio does not seem to be mentioned in the featured article. should it be?
    • It's a 100-year anniversary. The date is in the third sentence of Walt Disney Animation Studios. That seems good enough to support inclusion in the blurb. I rarely take a position on what the FA should say. - Dank (push to talk)
      • yeah, i thought the statement was backed by enough reliable sources to be included in the blurb, but i have also noticed that wp:errors generally considers it an error if a statement made on the main page is not sourced in an article linked in bold. whenever i notice this, i might bring it up, but will let others decide if it is something that should be addressed. dying (talk) 23:55, 14 October 2023 (UTC)
  • for the link targeted by the link text "Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio", was the target deliberately chosen to be "Walt Disney Animation Studios" rather than "The Walt Disney Company"? they both appear to be successors of the original studio after a 1986 corporate restructuring, so i think either would be technically correct, but i was surprised at the choice, since i think the walt disney company is considered the more important one today, and is the one mentioned in the featured article's lead.
    • The current Walt Disney Company has very little to do with Walt Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, or the things mentioned in this blurb. They use the Walt Disney name, and so in a sense they're an important part of his legacy ... and for that reason, I wouldn't object if people want to add a mention of the current company ... but given the 1025-character limit, I wanted to focus on the person and his accomplishments. I don't know if SchroCat felt the same, but his edits suggest that he did. - Dank (push to talk)
      • i had a suspicion the change was intentional. i'm glad i had left it alone. dying (talk) 23:55, 14 October 2023 (UTC)
  • the blurb states that the studio was originally named "Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio", while the lead states that it was founded as "Disney Brothers Studio". should one of these be changed to conform with the other? admittedly, i cannot tell which one is correct, as reliable sources seem to disagree, and even the wikipedia articles for the two aforementioned successors refer to the original studio differently.
    • I noticed that. Reliable sources can't seem to agree on a name. I don't have a preference. - Dank (push to talk)
      • me neither. dying (talk) 23:55, 14 October 2023 (UTC)
  • the use of "(both 1940)" in the list of feature-length cartoons broke the parallelism for me. would it be more appropriate to simply use "(1940)" after each of those two films instead?
    • Done. - Dank (push to talk)
  • i am not sure if it would be accurate to state that disney began work on disney world in 1965, as the featured article mentions that disney had been working on plans for another attraction in the early 1960s, and the article on disney world suggests that he began looking at orlando, florida, in 1963. i think 1965 was simply when disney first announced his plans publicly. would it be more appropriate to, for example, replace "began work" with "was working", or possibly "in 1965" with "by 1965"?
    • Done. - Dank (push to talk) 21:53, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

  dying (talk) 19:59, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

• "made you look" (blurb)

  i'm not sure if my understanding of the words "trended" and "viral" are outdated, but i generally think "trended" refers to a phenomenon that was popular for a short time, while "viral" refers to something that sharply increased in popularity over a short time. currently, the blurb has the word "trended" linked to the "viral phenomenon" article, and i am not sure if that is proper. note that wikipedia currently redirects "trended" to the "fad" article.

  it is possible that the dance challenge was a viral phenomenon as well, but the cited billboard article doesn't seem to state this, merely describing it as a "dance trend". if the challenge did indeed go viral, i think the blurb may be more straightforward if "trended" was replaced with "went viral". (although this would bump the blurb length up to 1026 characters, i believe there are plenty of places to trim a few.)

  interestingly, while researching this issue, i noticed that this link was mentioned during the fac nomination, but as a suggestion that was then implemented without discussion. i'm not sure about what to do in this case, as i think it's the first time i've come across such an issue. i don't want to relitigate anything previously discussed at fac, but this point doesn't appear to have been litigated, or even really discussed. anyway, i thought i might bring it up with you to see if you think anything should be done about it. dying (talk) 23:55, 14 October 2023 (UTC)

  I know less than most 12-year-olds about what "trended" and "viral" (and social media terms in general) now mean. - Dank (push to talk) 00:01, 15 October 2023 (UTC)

  haha, you and me both. i'll let the link be, then. dying (talk) 03:45, 15 October 2023 (UTC)

• second battle of independence (blurb)

  as i know that the fac nominator has expressed ambivalence over using the campaign map for the blurb image, and also previously stated in a discussion on a different blurb that "choosing one commander [for a blurb image] would be putting undue weight on that side", i thought i might raise the possibility of using images for both commanders for this blurb, and randomizing which one was shown whenever the cache for the main page is purged, by using code similar to that used in the blurb for elizabeth ii last year. admittedly, i can see arguments against doing this, and i think we should check to see if the fac nominator is happy with this idea before implementing it, but i thought i might bring it up with you to let you know that doing something like this is feasible and fairly easy to implement, in case you weren't already aware.

  to give you an idea of how it would work, i have placed a few code snippets in an invisible comment underneath this seedling: . note that i believe images included in a blurb in this manner are not necessarily protected via cascading protection, so if this idea is implemented, then i think placing the images in an additional gallery enclosed by noinclude tags, as in the elizabeth ii blurb, may be a good idea. dying (talk) 18:59, 20 October 2023 (UTC)

  No opinion. - Dank (push to talk) 19:04, 20 October 2023 (UTC)

• Dank, i admittedly don't think i'll be able to find the time to research many of the possible issues i found with the rest of the blurbs for the month, so i think i will just start typing them up below and let you decide if anything should be done about them, if that is alright with you.

• the kinks' 1965 us tour (blurb)

  • to me, the blurb currently suggests that the shows in the u.k. constituted a tour, while those in australasia and asia did not. however, i think the shows in australasia may have been considered a tour, or at least one leg of their world tour. (i am not sure about the shows in hong kong and singapore.) i noticed that the wording used in the article lead doesn't seem to make this an issue.

  dying (talk) 08:59, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

• south asian river dolphin (blurb)

  • is "of mammals" necessary? to me, this suggests that the iucn treats its red list entries on mammals as a distinct list, and i haven't found any evidence that they do.
  • sources appear to differ over whether or not a barrage is a dam. the linked "barrage (dam)" article seems to treat them as dams, but also mentions that the world commission on dams considered them distinct. if we are going to treat barrages as a type of dam, then i feel that it may be better to replace "dams, barrages" with something more appropriate, such as "barrages and other dams" or "dams such as barrages".

  dying (talk) 08:59, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

• howard florey (blurb)

  • the blurb mentions that clinical trials were held in the u.s., but i couldn't find any mentioned in the article. it seems plausible that there were clinical trials in the u.s., but i haven't done any significant research to independently determine if that was the case. the article does have a section mentioning the manufacture of penicillin in the u.s., but it doesn't seem to discuss clinical trials in the u.s.
  • as there are a lot of royal societies in australia, and florey was a part of major institutions both in the u.k. and in australia, i thought i might suggest adding "of London" to the link text for the royal society. i recognize that this would make the blurb exceed the character limit. one way to resolve this is by replacing "In addition to his work on penicillin, Florey studied" with "Florey also studied".
  • if "The Queen's College, Oxford," was replaced with "The Queen's College at Oxford", "The Queen's College of Oxford", or something similar, the flow might be improved with two fewer commas.

  dying (talk) 08:59, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

• 2022 tour championship (blurb)

  • would it be helpful to drop "one-year"? mentioning the 2021–22 snooker season seems sufficient, and "one-year" may be misinterpreted as referring to a calendar year, or to a rolling ranking list like the two-year list used for the snooker world rankings.
  • "2022" could be added to the link text for the links to the 2022 gibraltar open and the 2022 world snooker championship to avoid mos:egg issues, though i am not sure if doing so would result in too much repetition.

  dying (talk) 08:59, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

• battle of settepozzi (blurb)

  • to me, the parenthetical "(Venetian galley pictured)" strongly suggests that the image depicts a galley that participated in the battle, even though that is not necessarily the case. i couldn't figure out a way to reword this to avoid such a suggestion, but i remember another blurb where a parenthetical simply wasn't used when the accompanying ship image was not necessarily of one that took part in the featured battle. would it be better to simply remove the parenthetical (and possibly link "galley" in the caption)? note that doing so would make the blurb shorter than the required length.
  • i noticed that the article body mentioned that the details of the battle are not clear, and that it explicitly attributes to a genoese chronicle the assertion that only fourteen ships under two admirals engaged the venetian fleet. adding a similar attribution could bump the blurb back up to an acceptable length. alternatively, i thought it was interesting that the flagships of the two admirals were captured, so we could add ", including two flagships," after "four vessels".

  Both suggestions worked in. Character count is now 994. Gog the Mild (talk) 14:08, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

  dying (talk) 08:59, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

  Thanks. Pinging Gog the Mild for this last one. - Dank (push to talk) 13:47, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

• solar system (blurb)

  • the infobox caption explicitly mentions that the distances are not represented to scale. would it be helpful to do the same in the blurb caption, to avoid potentially misleading main page readers who are unfamiliar with the vast distances between the planets? (i don't think the other notes in the infobox caption need to be mentioned, as neither the colors nor the sizes are misleading.)

  • The caption already says that it's an artist's interpretation, I don't think confusion will set in. Z1720 (talk) 20:49, 27 October 2023 (UTC)

  • to me, stating that there are "numerous dwarf planets" immediately after saying that there are eight planets suggests to me that there are much more than eight dwarf planets. however, the article notes that astronomers only seem to generally agree on the identification of nine dwarf planets. (the "list of possible dwarf planets" article seems to suggest that estimates of the actual number of dwarf planets were much higher about a decade ago than they are now.) would it be better to replace "numerous" with "a number of" or perhaps "an unknown number of"? the article lead uses the latter.

  • I'm fine with adding in "an unknown number of" Z1720 (talk) 20:49, 27 October 2023 (UTC)

  • i noticed that you replaced one "formed" with "coalesced into". i thought that was a good idea as the sentence had three uses of "formed" before. i had been playing with the idea of replacing "formed the Sun" with "produced the Sun" to remove the second instance, but was unsure if it was an improvement.

  • I'm not sure if, scientifically, that "produced the Sun" is an appropriate replacement. Z1720 (talk) 20:49, 27 October 2023 (UTC)

  • the impression i got from the "interplanetary dust cloud" article is that there is only one such cloud in the solar system, and that the cloud doesn't really move, although the dust in the cloud does. (the featured article seems to treat dust around the kuiper belt as belonging to a different region of dust, but this region doesn't seem to really move either.) would it be more accurate to remove "cloud" "clouds" from the link text? if so, i am unsure if the "interplanetary dust cloud" article should remain the link target, or if the target should be changed to something like the "cosmic dust" article.

  • Solar system says there are two clouds in the solar system. I am not sure about the link targets as I am not an expert in this field.
    • oh, sorry, Z1720! i didn't mean to suggest that i know that there is only one interplanetary dust cloud, as i don't have the expertise to understand if the region of cosmic dust beyond about 10 au is generally considered a separate "interplanetary dust cloud". (i realize now that i had suggested removing "cloud" from the link text rather than "clouds", which may have contributed to the confusion.) my point was that the cloud (or clouds) do(es)n't really "freely travel between the Solar System's regions", in a way similar to how clouds in the terran atmosphere move across the sky. instead, the interplanetary dust cloud(s) pretty much stay(s) in the same place; it is the dust in the clouds that freely travels. apologies for not making that clear before. dying (talk) 17:59, 28 October 2023 (UTC)

  dying (talk) 22:59, 26 October 2023 (UTC) [copyedited. dying (talk) 17:59, 28 October 2023 (UTC)]

• Pinging Z1720. - Dank (push to talk) 23:20, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

Responses above. Z1720 (talk) 20:49, 27 October 2023 (UTC)

• velociraptor (blurb)

  • i thought it was funny that the current wording could invite the misinterpretation that velociraptor had a long tail on each hindfoot. i don't think a rewording is necessary though; all the alternatives i came up with were even more awkward.
  • i can't seem to find anything in the article body asserting that velociraptor is the genus with the most described fossil skeletons out of all the dromaeosaurid genera, though i may have simply overlooked it. i feel that an assertion like this should be verified again, since the article was promoted to featured article status in 2006, so the statement may no longer be true.

  • I removed this from the blurb and article as I also could not verify this information. Z1720 (talk) 20:57, 27 October 2023 (UTC)
    • thanks, Z1720. unfortunately, the blurb is now significantly under the minimum blurb length of 925 characters. how would you feel about adding ", first discovered in the Gobi Desert in 1923" to the end of the first sentence? i chose to highlight those details because (1) blurbs about extinct taxa often mention some sort of date or date range, presumably to give a sense of how familiar we are with the taxon; and (2) asia is very large, while mentioning the gobi desert may suggest that velociraptor fossils were primarily found in central asia. i'm not attached to this suggestion though, and am happy if you have any other ideas to suggest. dying (talk) 17:59, 28 October 2023 (UTC)

  dying (talk) 22:59, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

• Pinging Z1720. - Dank (push to talk) 23:20, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

• five nights at freddy's (blurb)

  • the cosplayer is wearing what appears to be a silver costume with spiked shoulder pads, even though the representations i have seen of freddy fazbear generally show the character as brown and without shoulder pads. i admittedly haven't played the game though, so i don't know if fazbear ever becomes silver or wears spiked shoulder pads during gameplay, and it seems plausible that this variant of fazbear appears somewhere else in the franchise or in one of the fan games.
  • i thought i might suggest reordering "his previous game, Chipper & Sons Lumber Co." so that it reads "Chipper & Sons Lumber Co., his previous game." to avoid the issue of having a sentence's terminal punctuation being the same as the one at the end of an abbreviation.

  dying (talk) 22:59, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

• On the first point, I think I'm going to admit defeat on captions and just not write any more of them. Presumably, someone will come along at some point with a suitable caption. No preference on the second point. - Dank (push to talk) 23:20, 26 October 2023 (UTC)
  • oh, sorry, Dank, i actually think your captions are fine! the uploader identified the character as fazbear, and the fac nominator, who has seen the image and caption, had no issues with the identification, so i assume it is fazbear. had i written the caption myself, it probably would have been similar to yours, if not exactly the same.
    i only mentioned the discrepancy because it seemed strange and surprising. it was just a possible issue that i typed up for you; i don't think much can be done about it unless someone else more knowledgeable identifies the costume as that for another character. apologies for not having made that more clear previously! dying (talk) 01:59, 27 October 2023 (UTC)
    • I had already decided to stop doing captions ... not your fault. I just don't know what WP:ERRORS people want from captions these days. You're doing great with November, btw. - Dank (push to talk) 02:36, 27 October 2023 (UTC)

• October 30, Velociraptor:
  • Current version, after my edit: a long sentence that starts out "Velociraptor was a bipedal carnivore with feathers ...". Your version: "Velociraptor was a carnivore that was bipedal, with feathers ...". You mentioned SEAOFBLUE in your edit, presumably because of "bipedal carnivore". Is "bipedal carnivore" acceptable? (921 charracters). If so, then I'll probably make more edits like this in the future during my months (1st month of each quarter). Happy to discuss it further. - Dank (push to talk) 23:27, 21 October 2023 (UTC)
    • oh, yeah, that is completely fine, Dank. i have been trying to find simple rewordings to conform with mos:seaofblue, as mentioned in this discussion above, though sometimes i'll get it wrong and my rewording will end up looking more awkward than i realize. dropping one of the links is a good solution. i had initially tried rewording because i aim to preserve links if i can, though in this case, i couldn't. dying (talk) 22:59, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

On 6 October 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article I, Rocket, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that Ray Bradbury's short story "I, Rocket" won an award 76 years after it was first published? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/I, Rocket. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, I, Rocket), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

♠PMC♠ (talk) 00:03, 6 October 2023 (UTC)

Hello, Dying. Thank you for your work on 2018 Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. User:SunDawn, while examining this page as a part of our page curation process, had the following comments:

Thank you for writing the article on Wikipedia! I genuinely appreciate your efforts in creating the article on Wikipedia and expanding the sum of human knowledge in Wikipedia. Wishing you and your family a great day!

To reply, leave a comment here and begin it with {{Re|SunDawn}}. Please remember to sign your reply with ~~~~. (Message delivered via the Page Curation tool, on behalf of the reviewer.)

✠ SunDawn ✠ (contact) 03:51, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

Just wondering if you were still wanting to pursue the DYK {{Did you know nominations/2023 Chicago Marathon}}? If so, please could you return to that nomination and suggest an up-to-date hook for it? Joseph2302 (talk) 21:50, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Joseph2302, thanks for checking in with me. i do intend to complete a proper update for the nomination, and have left a note on the nomination to also let others know. dying (talk) 18:59, 20 October 2023 (UTC)

On 24 October 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Gemüseschlacht, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that a 15-year-old student was brought to court over throwing an egg during a vegetable fight? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Gemüseschlacht. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Gemüseschlacht), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

RoySmith (talk) 00:03, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

		Hook update
		Your hook reached 15,632 views (651.4 per hour), making it one of the most viewed hooks of October 2023 – nice work!

GalliumBot (talk • contribs) (he/it) 03:29, 28 October 2023 (UTC)

Quick facts my story today ...

October songs

my story today

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Thank you today for a cute one, - added to Portal:Germany. - I left a suggestion at ERRORS, to add spice. - My story today is about an amazing woman (also mentioned on the Main page (as also also the subject of yesterday's story), but feel free to check other days as well ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:33, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

Towards the end of the month, I thought of Brian Bouldton, and his ways to compromise, - with musings about peace there, - feel free to join. Hevenu shalom aleichem. Today is Reformation Day, and I believe that reformation is a work in progress. -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:43, 31 October 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for your stellar work at the WP:TFAA monthly talk pages. Just letting you know there's been a substitution, just this morning. I wrote the blurb (borrowing heavily from PresN's text), but hopefully you or someone will come up with a caption, I'm backing off from captions for a month to see what happens. - Dank (push to talk) 15:58, 26 November 2023 (UTC)

I just checked to make sure you didn't lose the work you did on the Bohr blurb when it was at December 10; the Bohr blurb is now at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/December 27, 2023, and it includes your edits. Btw, how is the November experiment going? Do you plan to do something similar for the January blurbs? - Dank (push to talk) 15:58, 27 November 2023 (UTC)

thanks for the heads-up, Dank. i am admittedly falling a bit behind with my copyedits, so it might take me a few days to get around to completing one for the replacement blurb. offhand, though, i am worried about the copyright status of the image. although the photographer may have released the photo under cc by-sa 3.0, i am assuming that the model has not been released under a similar license. is this not the case?

also, i think the practice of using the monthly archive talk pages to raise issues regarding blurbs is going well, and was planning to do the same for january, if you also think it's a good idea. if you'd like, i can post my questions here first if i have more than two for a blurb, as you previously requested. (i haven't done the same for the other months as the other tfa coordinators haven't made a similar request.) of course, if you have any other suggestions, feel free to let me know. dying (talk) 07:59, 28 November 2023 (UTC)

No rush. I'm very happy with your work; no complaints. - Dank (push to talk) 13:48, 28 November 2023 (UTC)

New rule: parenthetical information about the image [such as (pictured)] no longer counts toward the 1025 character limit. - Dank (push to talk) 15:41, 1 December 2023 (UTC)

thanks for letting me know, Dank. do you happen to know if the exception also covers the additional space needed to accommodate the parenthetical? (i know that dyk generally does not count the space, as noted at wp:dykmos, though wp:dykhook previously didn't mention it.) of course, it's not a big deal if you're not sure, as i don't expect to encounter the issue often anyway.

also, did you have any special requests before i get started with the january tfa archive talk page? specifically, is there anything you would like me to do with sections that have already been addressed, as discussed here? if you don't know yet how you would like to handle them (if at all), you're welcome to play around with different ideas, and i can try to follow your lead. dying (talk) 07:59, 17 December 2023 (UTC)

Btw, this isn't just for January, the other coords agreed. What we're measuring is whatever is there, before (pictured) or whatever gets added. I don't have a preference on hatting or checkmarks, do whatever works for you. - Dank (push to talk) 15:45, 17 December 2023 (UTC)

Dank, i just wanted to let you know that my old machine has apparently given up. thankfully, i was able to resurrect an even older machine, though it is taking me some time to get used to it, so i apologize in advance if my copyedits end up suffering in quality for a bit. dying (talk) 23:59, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

They look great to me. Btw, if I don't say anything on the TFA/January page in response to your questions, it means that on balance I think it would be better if I don't say anything, generally because I think the eventual result is going to be acceptable to most Wikipedians and I'd prefer to maintain at least a little distance and neutrality (which may come in handy when bigger issues arise). - Dank (push to talk) 04:22, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

Quick facts story · music ...

December songs

story · music

Close

Today's story is about parts of my life. -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 18:20, 4 December 2023 (UTC)

... and today, I remember Paris (29 Nov) with a visit to the Palais Garnier, - to match the story of Medea Amiranashvili, - don't miss listening to her expressive voice. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:55, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

My story today is about Michael Robinson, - it's an honour to have known him. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:54, 13 December 2023 (UTC)

Today, I have a special story to tell, of the works of a musician born 300 years ago. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:55, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

Today, I'd have taken your phenomenal pictured hook if had not a dying Lady on the Main page, or actually two. I left a consideration at errors because I miss the painting's title. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:28, 30 December 2023 (UTC)

There's something at WP:ERRORS you might want to look at. - Dank (push to talk) 15:25, 11 December 2023 (UTC)

	A very happy Christmas and New Year to you!
	Have a great Christmas, and may 2024 bring you joy, happiness – and no trolls, vandals or visits from Krampus! Cheers SchroCat (talk) 15:20, 18 December 2023 (UTC)

thanks, SchroCat. merry christmas to you as well, and best wishes for the new year! dying (talk) 21:59, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

On 24 December 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article 2023 Chicago Marathon, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that four course records were broken during the 2023 Chicago Marathon (women's winner pictured)? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/2023 Chicago Marathon. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, 2023 Chicago Marathon), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Z1720 (talk) 00:01, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

Hello, Dying. Thank you for your work on Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy. SunDawn, while examining this page as a part of our page curation process, had the following comments:

Hello my friend! Good day to you. Thanks for creating the article, I have marked it as reviewed. Have a blessed day!

To reply, leave a comment here and begin it with {{Re|SunDawn}}. Please remember to sign your reply with ~~~~. (Message delivered via the Page Curation tool, on behalf of the reviewer.)

✠ SunDawn ✠ (contact) 01:59, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

On 30 December 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Dalí Atomicus, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that before photographer Philippe Halsman decided to photograph three cats flying through the air (pictured), surrealist artist Salvador Dalí had wanted to blow up a duck with dynamite? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Dalí Atomicus. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Dalí Atomicus), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Z1720 (talk) 00:01, 30 December 2023 (UTC)

		Hook update
		Your hook reached 62,203 views (2,591.8 per hour), making it one of the most viewed hooks of December 2023 – nice work!

GalliumBot (talk • contribs) (he/it) 03:28, 31 December 2023 (UTC)

I'm glad it's finally found its way onto the main page. Nice work! Schwede66 04:54, 30 December 2023 (UTC)

oh, wow, Schwede66, this article ended up being my most-viewed dyk nomination by far! thanks for advocating for the photo's use. i don't think the article would have reached such a wide audience without it. dying (talk) 23:59, 1 January 2024 (UTC)

Superb image. Brilliant hook. All backed up by a great article. I’m very happy with the attention this has received. Well done! Schwede66 00:27, 4 January 2024 (UTC)

Quick facts

Close

Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht

Happy New Year

2024

Same location pictured as 2019. -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:51, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

On the Main page: the person who made the pictured festival possible --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:29, 16 January 2024 (UTC)

Quick facts

story · music · places

Close

Today a friend's birthday, with related music and new vacation pics --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:32, 30 January 2024 (UTC)

Happy New Year!

Dying,
Have a prosperous, productive and enjoyable New Year, and thanks for your contributions to Wikipedia.
 — Amakuru (talk) 23:55, 5 January 2024 (UTC)

   Send New Year cheer by adding {{subst:Happy New Year fireworks}} to user talk pages.

 — Amakuru (talk) 23:55, 5 January 2024 (UTC)

Hello, Dying. Thank you for your work on Guillermo Ferraro. Chaotic Enby, while examining this page as a part of our page curation process, had the following comments:

WP:NPOL moment

To reply, leave a comment here and begin it with {{Re|Chaotic Enby}}. Please remember to sign your reply with ~~~~. (Message delivered via the Page Curation tool, on behalf of the reviewer.)

ChaotıċEnby(talk · contribs) 23:37, 28 January 2024 (UTC)

It would be nice to run that at TFA in April, but I don't want to do it without an image. Any suggestions? - Dank (push to talk) 03:33, 10 February 2024 (UTC)

@AirshipJungleman29 - Dank (push to talk) 03:35, 10 February 2024 (UTC)

No copyright-free image available, I'm afraid. Blame Mongolia's freedom of panorama laws. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 05:06, 10 February 2024 (UTC)

Also can you please give some thought to archiving your talk page, dying? I think the recommended size is 75kb; this is over 450kb. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 18:45, 12 February 2024 (UTC)

While I'm here talking about images ... I know Main Page folks don't want a caption as long as the one on April 1, but I'm concerned that someone may pull the image if they don't understand the relevance. Is there a better fix available here than that caption? - Dank (push to talk) 03:06, 15 February 2024 (UTC)

Maybe something like "The cathedral of the Bishop of Exeter, who condemned the Order in 1348"? - Dank (push to talk) 16:05, 15 February 2024 (UTC)

Re: Rumours (album) (the April 17 TFA): someone made a potentially problematic edit just today. Just passing this along for when you get to this one, which might be a while. - Dank (push to talk) 00:12, 19 February 2024 (UTC)

Quick facts

story · music · places

Close

your name ... - the image, taken on a cemetery last year after the funeral of a distant but dear family member, commemorates today, with thanks for their achievements, four subjects mentioned on the main page and Vami_IV, a friend here. Listen to music by Tchaikovsky (an article where one of the four is pictured), sung by today's subject (whose performance on stage I enjoyed two days ago). -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 18:35, 20 February 2024 (UTC)

more music and flowers on Rossini's rare birthday --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:10, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

I noticed that you did at least one blurb for March ... I'm wondering if you're interested in helping with two blurbs proposed for May, George Town, Penang and Mary Anning (a TFA rerun from 2012, blurb is here). No pressure if it's something you're not interested in. - Dank (push to talk) 13:10, 17 March 2024 (UTC)

"You do you", as the kids say ... feel free to make any comments you want, always. But ... also, be aware that I have to watch what I say, and minimize what I do, and be consistent, at TFA, maybe now more than ever. So: if anyone makes requests (such as at marshfield station) I have to ask myself whether I'm positive I know what's being required ... if I don't, then rather than getting into an extended back-and-forth, I have to say "show me the edits". So I'd prefer if you just make the edits you want on this one rather than talking about what's needed. For the same reasons, I prefer that we minimize the text in general at the monthly TFA pages ... but again, you do you. - Dank (push to talk) 15:58, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

Many of your comments this month are pinging other people to things that are relevant to previous discussions, so I should probably stay out of the those discussions this month unless it becomes clear that my input is necessary. Thanks for your great work. - Dank (push to talk) 13:10, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

Hello, Dying. Thank you for your work on Malaga Marathon. SunDawn, while examining this page as a part of our page curation process, had the following comments:

Good day! Thank you for contributing to Wikipedia by writing this article. I have marked the article as reviewed. Have a wonderful and blessed day for you and your family!

To reply, leave a comment here and begin it with {{Re|SunDawn}}. Please remember to sign your reply with ~~~~. (Message delivered via the Page Curation tool, on behalf of the reviewer.)

✠ SunDawn ✠ (contact) 12:10, 11 April 2024 (UTC)