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Addition of fringe categories

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Hello, Ben MacDui, you have recently been adding "cryptid" categories to articles, like here, here, and here. None of these articles discuss cryptozoology, which is a pseudoscience strongly associated with Young Earth creationism, and in those cases [[Category:Cryptozoology]] is appropriate rather than using pseudoscience-internal terminology. It appears then that you are promoting the notion that these entities are "cryptids" rather than simply, say, beach blobs or water monsters. Please self-revert your edits per WP:PROFRINGE. (Pinging Dlthewave (talk · contribs), who reverted one of these additions as a fringe category). :bloodofox: (talk) 18:05, 3 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Promotion and navigation are not the same thing. I have no interest in the former. If you don't like the category name please feel free to suggest an alternative - I can't think of a good reason not to have such categories designated by geography. If on the other hand what you are trying to do is supress navigational ease because you don't like the content then that is not covered by WP:PROFRINGE. Ben MacDui 10:01, 4 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I have in fact created an alternative, which is [[Category:Water monsters]]. Most others can just fit in [[Category:Monsters]] or, for beach blobs, there's no need for such categories. :bloodofox: (talk) 23:32, 4 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Your industry is commendable. However, you misunderstand my motivation. I am not especially interested in cryptids or water monsters in general, but I am interested in Scotland. I created the Scottish cryptids category to to make it easy to find such. Now as it happens, if you exclude my friend Am Fear Liath Mòr the majority of them that are occassionally treated seriously would seem to be water-related and therefore can sit nicely in your new cat and are also in Category:Scottish legendary creatures. However, the Stronsay beast is clearly not legendary and perhaps this is why you don't think it is a water monster. There are one or two others similar to this - the Beast of Buchan may or may not be legendary. The Kellas cat has been promoted (lucky creature) from being a creature of myth to being one of science. I am just thinking aloud here but it seems to me that what has happened here is that:
        • I created Scottish cryptids to be a hold-all for creatures that exist in the public mind somewhere between myth and reality;
        • You have interpreted the word 'cryptid' to mean acceptance of a psuedoscientific belief;
        • The story of the Kellas cat suggests that there are grey areas, at least on occasion, and it is in both 'Fauna of Scotland' and 'Scottish legendary creatures';
        • The Stronsay beast has an unknown scientfic provenance and does not fit neatly into either 'Fauna of Scotland' or 'Scottish legendary creatures'.
Possible solutions:
        • Move 'Category: Scottish cryptids' to a new name that reflects your definition of 'cryptid'. Something like 'Category:Scottish unknown fauna' and populate it with the blob and one or two others. Clumsy and unclear in my view - although I wonder if in your research of these matters there are other examples of creatures (other than blobs) that clearly exist but which have an uncertain provenance.
        • Ignore the Stronsay beast for this purpose. This seems to meet your requirements but not mine.
        • Create 'Category: Scottish water monsters' and add the Stronsay beast to this along with other, more clearly legendary creatures. It's not perfect but it seems to meet what both of us are looking for. Ben MacDui 10:23, 5 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Administrators' newsletter – January 2020

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Administrators' newsletter – February 2020

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The Great Britain/Ireland Destubathon

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Hi. The Wikipedia:The Great Britain/Ireland Destubathon is planned for March 2020, a contest/editathon to eliminate as many stubs as possible from all 134 counties. Amazon vouchers/book prizes are planned for most articles destubbed from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and Northern Ireland and whoever destubs articles from the most counties out of the 134. Sign up on page if interested in participating, hope this will prove to be good fun and productive, we have over 44,000 stubs!♦ Dr. Blofeld 18:25, 4 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Administrators' newsletter – March 2020

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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 11:20, 2 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Scottish islands

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I have created a number of new categories here (such as Category:Hoy and Category:Canna, Scotland) and also created Template:Jura. I have also added many islands to Commons such as those in Commons:Category:Islands of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute and Commons:Category:Islands of the Shetland Islands. Notice that there is also Commons:Category:Java, Isle of Mull! Maybe some of those should have articles here? Crouch, Swale (talk) 20:00, 20 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Good work, and thanks for letting me know. As you have probably noticed I am not very active at present - at present I am very busy work-wise but it is quite possible that that may change soon... Ben MacDui 14:49, 21 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Yes I had, I have User:Crouch, Swale/Islands which lists many missing ones (though many are probably not notable) anyway I hope to see you more active in the future! Crouch, Swale (talk) 18:54, 21 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Good list - see also Wikipedia:WikiProject Scottish Islands#To Do List. Ben MacDui 13:53, 22 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

TFL notification

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Hi, Ben. I'm just posting to let you know that List of freshwater islands in Scotland – a list that you have been heavily involved with – has been chosen to appear on the Main Page as Today's featured list for April 24. The TFL blurb can be seen here. If you have any thoughts on the selection, please post them on my talk page or at TFL talk. Regards, Giants2008 (Talk) 00:28, 30 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Administrators' newsletter – April 2020

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Administrators' newsletter – July 2020

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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 10:25, 1 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I hereby award you with the

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}
}
 Scottish Badge of National Merit
For your vigilant efforts and excellent points about SS Helēna Faulbaums and Belnahua. – Ivario (talk) 11:13, 24 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Many thanks! Ben MacDui 14:00, 26 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Island capitals

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I have produced a list at User:Crouch, Swale/Island capitals of Scottish islands with their capitals. I'm not sure if we could ever have a category for this since they might not be "official" enough. I see this was discussed at Talk:Isle of Arran#Issue with Capital. Note that on the Jura template the capital, Craighouse is in bold. I have also created User:Crouch, Swale/Island settlements which lists the number of settlements on some of the larger islands. Crouch, Swale (talk) 21:33, 25 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I am very busy in the real world but I hope to take a proper look at this soon - hopefully in the coming week. Ben MacDui 13:59, 26 July 2020 (UTC).[reply]
Re the Island capitals that all looks fine - but I doubt there is any kind of official designation save for the three island authorities' capitals. Not realy controversial in most cases - most islands have one obviously largest settlement - but when it comes to Arran and Islay where there are two contenders I don't think there is any unequivocal answer. Having visited both I'd say Brodick and Bowmore have the 'feel' of the main town based on their services, regardless of population size but that is pretty subjective.
Re the Island settlements that's useful - and there are a few others within Category:Villages on Scottish islands. Also I think you'd struggle to call some of the ones listed 'villages' (e.g. Rùm) hence 'Category:Populated places in the Isle of Skye'. Ben MacDui 13:07, 28 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Yes there doesn't seem to be any real authority though Tobermory being the capital of Mull does seem to be widely published. Regarding the authorities I presume you're referring to the Outer Hebrides and the Orkney/Shetland Islands? Note that in terms of English counties for example that the county town isn't always where the council is for example Leicester is the capital of Leicestershire but most of Leicester is no longer administrated by Leicestershire County Council, similarly although Truro is the capital of Cornwall, Falmouth is the largest settlement. So being the largest settlement or the administrative HQ doesn't necessarily make a place the capital. With Islay there does seem to be agreement that Bowmore is the capital even if Port Ellen is larger but since both Brodick and Lamlash are claimed for Arran I'd just keep it out of the articles since otherwise as you say it can be subjective.
Yes User:Crouch, Swale/Rùm notes that only 1 is an OS settlement but some of the others have sources classifying them to be settlements at least in some way. Category:Populated places in the Isle of Skye seems to be the odd one out perhaps because it was created for sub dividing Category:Populated places in Highland (council area). The other 2 Category:Villages on the Isle of Bute and Category:Villages in the Isle of Lewis leave Rothesay and Stornoway out. If you look at Jura for example it has 1 village but the other OS settlements (and non OS settlements) are hamlets (having no church though the definition seems to be less standard in Scotland) but since hamlets are a sub category of villages all hamlets go in the "Villages on island" category and "Hamlets in council area" such as Lagg, Jura being in Category:Hamlets in Argyll and Bute and Category:Villages on Jura, Scotland. As long as there is some reliable source claiming that a place is a settlement it should usually be in the "Villages on island" category. Interestingly Kinuachdrachd (Draft:Kinuachdrachd) seems to only be one house but it is an OS settlement[2]. Crouch, Swale (talk) 17:27, 28 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Fair enough, although your last point is an example of why we should treat the OS with some caution. Ben MacDui 13:43, 1 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]
And on the flip side it doesn't treat Ardlussa as being a settlement[3] even though that does appear to be more than just a single property and shows up on the county level. In any case other sources do treat Kinuachdrachd as being a settlement. See also the Google Books search which also returns a bit about it. Crouch, Swale (talk) 17:43, 1 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Administrators' newsletter – August 2020

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Today's Wikipedian 10 years ago

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A medal for you

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The Wikipedia Bronze Medal
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Administrators' newsletter – September 2020

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Administrators' newsletter – September 2020

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Administrators' newsletter – November 2020

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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 11:51, 1 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Glas-leac Mòr

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I'd note that the RL tabel gives the area as 22 and height as 20 but the Gazetteer for Scotland gives 27 area and 28 high, see Draft:Glas-leac Mòr. On Wikipedia:WikiProject Scottish Islands/Islands by area the area is 22. Crouch, Swale (talk) 18:38, 8 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for contacting me. The OS, which is the one I usually use for heights also has 28m so I'd definitely go with that. Areas for small islands are very tricky as, quite apart from the difficulty of getting an accurate estimate for a highly irregular shape, the result will also depend on the state of the tide when it is measured. I think either RL or the Gazetteer would be acceptable (or indeed both). The Gazetter is the better soruce in terms of academic credentials although we have no idea how they have done the claculations and as RL is kind enough to publish a table it is much easier to use that for the "Islands by area" page. Let me know which you prefer and I'll update that table. Ben MacDui 16:24, 14 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]
OK, I've changed the height to 28 but kept the area as 22, I don't think its plausible its a large as 27 given it appears to be around the same size as Soyea Island but then Tarner Island doesn't seem much larger either. As you say RL has it in a table so I'd keep RL for the area unless there's a better source so for now there's no need to change the table. Crouch, Swale (talk) 17:34, 14 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

FAR of Renewable energy in Scotland

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I have nominated Renewable energy in Scotland for a featured article review here. Please join the discussion on whether this article meets featured article criteria. Articles are typically reviewed for two weeks. If substantial concerns are not addressed during the review period, the article will be moved to the Featured Article Removal Candidates list for a further period, where editors may declare "Keep" or "Delist" the article's featured status. The instructions for the review process are here. Femke Nijsse (talk) 18:52, 13 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

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Administrators' newsletter – December 2020

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Nomination for merging of Template:Template:Scottish English editnotice

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Template:Template:Scottish English editnotice has been nominated for merging with Template:Scottish English. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for discussion page. Thank you. Joseph2302 (talk) 15:46, 2 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Administrators' newsletter – January 2021

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Precious anniversary

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Administrators' newsletter – February 2021

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Administrators' newsletter – March 2021

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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 19:13, 1 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Ardskenish

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I'm not sure you should have deleted this under A3 since although it seems to only be 1 property now its name origin is covered by Parliament Scot and its an OS settlement[4]. Crouch, Swale (talk) 17:58, 18 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Crouch, Swale: Well, it's not every day that someone takes me to task for something that occurred more than a dozen years ago! Some background - back then the inclusionist vs deletionist debate was probably more intense. My view, and that of others, was that pretending small collections of a dozen houses or fewer were 'villages' or meaningful settlements with notability was not especially encyclopedic and that 'Wikipedia is not a directory" applied. For good or for ill, that argument seems largely lost. Yes, some of these very small places do have meaningful history, but if so I'd prefer to see decent articles about parishes covering the topic with re-directs for the places themselves. Some of us however, prefer to create stubs that in some cases at least are unlikely ever to be genuine articles. C'est la vie and so far at least the Wikipedia servers show no sign of collapsing under the weight.

This is the farm on Colonsay? If you wish to re-create it with meaningful, notable content (including etymology) I am not going to object. Ben MacDui 17:04, 20 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Could you please just undelete it and then I can see if I can improve it sufficiently or if not merge it into Colonsay, thanks. Crouch, Swale (talk) 17:07, 20 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
There are errors in the template so I copied the content here where I'll keep it for a week from today. Ben MacDui 10:36, 21 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, I've improved a little but still not sure if its notable. If its moved back a history merge will be needed. Crouch, Swale (talk) 17:31, 21 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

FAR for St Kilda

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I have nominated St Kilda, Scotland for a featured article review here. Please join the discussion on whether this article meets featured article criteria. Articles are typically reviewed for two weeks. If substantial concerns are not addressed during the review period, the article will be moved to the Featured Article Removal Candidates list for a further period, where editors may declare "Keep" or "Delist" the article's featured status. The instructions for the review process are here. DrKay (talk) 17:47, 21 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Administrators' newsletter – April 2021

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Administrators' newsletter – May 2021

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Administrators' newsletter – June 2021

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GAN Backlog Drive - July 2021

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Good article nominations | July 2021 Backlog Drive
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Administrators' newsletter – July 2021

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Administrators' newsletter – July 2021

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News and updates for administrators from the past month (July 2021).

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  • An RfC is open to add a delay of one week from nomination to deletion for G13 speedy deletions.

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Notice of Featured Article Review

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I have nominated List of Shetland islands for a featured article review here. Please join the discussion on whether this article meets featured article criteria. Articles are typically reviewed for two weeks. If substantial concerns are not addressed during the review period, the article will be moved to the Featured Article Removal Candidates list for a further period, where editors may declare "Keep" or "Delist" the article's featured status. The instructions for the review process are here. Crouch, Swale (talk) 17:10, 30 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Administrators' newsletter – September 2021

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Administrators' newsletter – October 2021

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Arbitration

  • A motion has standardised the 500/30 (extended confirmed) restrictions placed by the Arbitration Committee. The standardised restriction is now listed in the Arbitration Committee's procedures.
  • Following the closure of the Iranian politics case, standard discretionary sanctions are authorized for all edits about, and all pages related to, post-1978 Iranian politics, broadly construed.
  • The Arbitration Committee encourages uninvolved administrators to use the discretionary sanctions procedure in topic areas where it is authorised to facilitate consensus in RfCs. This includes, but is not limited to, enforcing sectioned comments, word/diff limits and moratoriums on a particular topic from being brought in an RfC for up to a year.

Miscellaneous

  • Editors have approved expanding the trial of Growth Features from 2% of new accounts to 25%, and the share of newcomers getting mentorship from 2% to 5%. Experienced editors are invited to add themselves to the mentor list.
  • The community consultation phase of the 2021 CheckUser and Oversight appointments process is open for editors to provide comments and ask questions to candidates.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:03, 1 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Administrators' newsletter – November 2021

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News and updates for administrators from the past month (October 2021).

Guideline and policy news

  • Phase 2 of the 2021 RfA review has commenced which will discuss potential solutions to address the 8 issues found in Phase 1. Proposed solutions that achieve consensus will be implemented and you may propose solutions till 07 November 2021.

Technical news

Arbitration

Miscellaneous

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 16:43, 1 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

ArbCom 2021 Elections voter message

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Hello! Voting in the 2021 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23:59 (UTC) on Monday, 6 December 2021. All eligible users are allowed to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.

The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.

If you wish to participate in the 2021 election, please review the candidates and submit your choices on the voting page. If you no longer wish to receive these messages, you may add {{NoACEMM}} to your user talk page. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:11, 23 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Administrators' newsletter – December 2021

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News and updates for administrators from the past month (November 2021).

Administrator changes

removed A Train • Berean Hunter • Epbr123 • GermanJoe • Sanchom • Mysid

Technical news

  • Unregistered editors using the mobile website are now able to receive notices to indicate they have talk page messages. The notice looks similar to what is already present on desktop, and will be displayed on when viewing any page except mainspace and when editing any page. (T284642)
  • The limit on the number of emails a user can send per day has been made global instead of per-wiki to help prevent abuse. (T293866)

Arbitration


Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:24, 3 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
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