User talk:Ben MacDui/Archive 8

River Irwell

Hi, I think all the problems you mentioned have been fixed now - could you take another look? Richerman (talk) 17:02, 25 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I will do asap. I was hoping to have more time this week but off-wiki duties have closed in again - I will definitely get to it this weekend. Ben Mac Dui 20:31, 26 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Get your priorities right laddie - wiki first, real life second. You'll be telling me you've no time for a wee dram next! :) Richerman (talk) 00:08, 27 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks very much for your help: Richerman (talk) 23:54, 29 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You are very welcome. I visited Salford once you know. By the looks of your Waterloo Sunset style-photo in the infobox things have improved since then. Ben Mac Dui 19:45, 30 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Well the Irwell certainly has - and much of Salford and Manchester. I'm a Manchester lad myself, however, my great-grandfathers were both Scottish (creep, creep):) Richerman (talk) 17:09, 2 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

vandalism

sorry about that, computer's probably been hacked

St Kilda, Scotland

Fascinating article. — BillC ^talk 00:06, 2 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Why thank-you - its an extraordinary place. Ben Mac Dui 20:35, 2 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I would have to agree - one of the best I've seen on the front page. I've seen a couple of TV programme segments about it i.e. John Snow's on The One Show (I think) and Ben Fogle's on Countryfile, when they took one of the former residents back to see the place. As you say it's an extraordinary place, it's just tragic that the community became unsustainable. Richerman (talk) 10:14, 3 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I fear it is sort of metaphor for the 20th Century, but thank you for your kind comments. Ben Mac Dui 21:36, 4 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Help request: DYK nomination - Golf in Scotland

Hello Ben. I note that you have DYK experience, eg. Scotland during the Roman Empire recently. Could you cast your eye over this:

Template_talk:Did_you_know#Articles_created.2Fexpanded_on_December_1

I feel that the hook could do with "tightening up" (perhaps a total re-write or "ALT" hook proposal?), and the article needs a lot of work with copy editing, refs, expansion etc etc. Pretty photographs or other good images would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for any assistance whatsoever.--Mais oui! (talk) 07:40, 4 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You could try making a single sentence: ... that Scotland is the 'Home of Golf', the word golf first being recorded in a 1457 Act of the Parliament of Scotland, and the first Open Championship held at Prestwick in 1860?

Note that golf is italicised per WP: MOS "Words as words". You might get a grumble about the article title Golf in Scotland not appearing but its a redirect and "Home of Golf" certainly brightens up the hook. I'll have a longer look at the article when time permits. Good luck with the DYK - its a good start to a subject with a lot of potential. Ben Mac Dui 09:17, 4 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. So it should be:

The word golf was first recorded...

And not:

The word 'golf' was first recorded...

If I understand you correctly? --Mais oui! (talk) 09:23, 4 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That is my understanding and furthermore that single quote marks should only be used in very specific circumstances e.g. a quote within a quote - although they are widely used nonetheless. If you want to be further confused try looking closely at St Kilda, Scotland#Origin of names. I still see a mistake or two there... Ben Mac Dui 21:41, 4 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Alternative hook... that golf in Scotland was first recorded in the 15th century, and that "the fut bal ande the golf" (football and golf) were "vtterly criyt done" (utterly condemned) in an Act of the Parliament of Scotland of 1457.

I far prefer the look of this! However, I am a bit unsure if the Scots language bits need to be put in italics?

And should we put an eng lang template? eg:

... and that "the fut bal ande the golf" (English: football and golf) were "vtterly criyt done" (utterly condemned) in an...

--Mais oui! (talk) 11:46, 5 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Well it's an interesting question as MOS has (to the best of my knowledge) not really considered whether 15th Century Scots is a variant of English or a language in its own right. I would tend not to use italics myself. I would avoid the templates, if only on the grounds that the length may be an issue - worth checking anyway. Ben Mac Dui 20:11, 5 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

North Sea

Thank you for your contributions to the North Sea article. I have re-written some sections so that they can have sources, references and citations for every fact. Can you be a second set of eyes, and see if every number, year, new piece of info has a citation please. If you see a copy edit that needs being done, could you also help the article in the midst of the GA review. The GA review is currently studying the verifiablity of the article and if it is properly referenced with verifiable sources for facts. Kind Regards and thank you.SriMesh | talk 00:05, 6 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Re: FAQ

Hello there! I'm really struggling for editting time at the moment, but I will try and have an indepth look at this in the next 24 hours. I personally think there's alot that could be removed or rephrased, but then again I know it's still a draft. It only needs the bare bones to minimise the repetition of questions IMHO. --Jza84 | Talk 13:35, 8 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Fair enough - I won't have much time myself until Friday at the earliest, so no hurry. Ben Mac Dui 20:01, 8 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There's no talk page to discuss changes. I did say above that there is some material that ought to be removed. One whole question is based on opinion, not consensus. My only surprise is that this FAQ is already live. If you don't mind, I'm going to remove that question again until there's evidence to support its inclusion. --Jza84 | Talk 12:23, 17 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I suggested at Talk Scotland, that discussion takes place there. I also suggested it not go live yet, but this was ignored. Yes, I do mind - it is certainly an FAQ, and I am not sure what 'evidence' you might be looking for in the answer that isn't apparent. However, let's continue this at the above suggested venue. Ben Mac Dui 15:02, 17 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Re: Quick hello

Always glad to hear from you and happy to keep an eye on St Kilda. I revert if it is an IP with no edit summary, but when the IP left an edit summary and it checked out, I left it alone. Merry Christmas too, Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 03:38, 23 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

square metres

Hi,

It seems to me that larger areas should be expressed in square kilometres. They are easier to understand for ordinary people and are seen on maps as grid squares. Lightmouse (talk) 00:02, 24 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Seasons Greetings

	<font=3> Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year! Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 06:16, 25 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Cock up

Ben, due to my totally cocking up the tranclusion process your contribution has actually appeared on a Redirect page. i have requested help at Talk:GAR. --Mais oui! (talk) 10:53, 2 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

My mistake, you actually made the contribution at the Talk page. I am now thoroughly confused. --Mais oui! (talk) 10:57, 2 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Being confused is a wonderful state, and I practice it regularly myself. As you are the soi dissant reviewer I wanted to add the comment but not to the review itself. All the best for 2009. Ben Mac Dui 11:37, 2 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I hate to be a pedantic snob (heck, I'll admit it, I love it!), but it is spelt soi-disant.

Have a cracking 2009. My own engines are just beginning to fire into gear after about a half dozen colds and a serious ear infection after too much bathing/hour-long-beach-massages on my luxury November break to Thailand. Tis tough at the top. --Mais oui! (talk) 13:11, 7 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

FAC Review of Jagdgeschwader 1 (World War II)

Hi!

I have incorporated your comments. I assure you this is not typical. I'd appreciate if you could take a look. Perseus71 (talk) 11:55, 2 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Again!

First off, thanks a lot for the constructive feedback. Its appreciated. For the "Organization structure" Section, I have added citations from independent source. Could you please take a look and let me know if that's satisfactory ? Thanks Perseus71 (talk) 04:53, 7 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Edinburgh Castle

Thanks for the detailed and useful comments Ben, I'm working through them slowly. I certainly have FAC in mind, though my wiki-time is limited at present, but yes, I'll let you know. Cheers, Jonathan Oldenbuck (talk) 22:33, 5 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

List of Villages in Highland

Hey Ben MacDui, I never realised there was going to be so many, that for sure. Is some of the map grid references dodgy? I'll go back and check them, just jope it is not too many. Was it any particular ones you read, which were knackered. How do you set up the OS map link ? Any help is well appreciated. scope_creep (talk) 01:18, 6 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Peinachorran and Teangue would be examples, but I've fixed everything I found. Clicking on the OS Grid Reference in the infobox will take you to the OS's "Get-a-Map". Ben Mac Dui 20:12, 7 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

About the "list of over-achievers"

What do you think about listing the players like this? — chan dler — 08:16, 7 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Looks great and many thanks. The only bit missing from my sandbox version is the refs box. Is there a preferred method for lists of this kind? Any comments on the text welcome. Ben Mac Dui 09:12, 7 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know if there's a preference, just trying to take up ass little width as possible. I added a notes column, but as it takes up almost unnecessary space if references are needed they could perhaps go like "Franz Beckenbauer^[1]" — chan dler — 09:19, 7 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

And another thought, as Beckenbauer won the 1990 world cup aswell as a manager, that could perhaps be included somewhere, and (if there exists any) managers who've won the four competitions — chan dler — 09:23, 7 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Der Kaiser was also a losing World Cup finalist as both player and manager, which seems excessive somehow. Ben Mac Dui 18:35, 7 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Alright nice, I'll continue to look up players _—_CHAN _DLER ^#10^— 19:25, 7 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

All the players should be listed now (if I havent missed someone), as the Euros didnt exist until the 60's and European Cup 56. Copa Lib in 1960 I don't think there are any players before the on in 58 I found that could have managed it. _—_CHAN _DLER ^#10^— 22:56, 7 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Terminology of British Isles

Hi. Thanks for your advice. If I were Scots I'd be naffed off by being called English just as I was taken aback by being asked if my accent was South African when I was last in California (I am from Herts). By clearing up the fallacy we can, hopefully, correct American students.

I corrected the article in good faith and will enter references. What is the form when someone reverts your entire edit? Brixtonboy (talk) 21:13, 16 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

No more Biflation, thank you.

Please do not post any more messages about Biflation to my talk page. I am not watching the article anymore. It is a waste of time. Thank you.

PennySeven (talk) 20:04, 28 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

References / in-line citations

I think the problem is one of semantics. The Info box in Hebden, North Yorkshire only has one in-line citation; whereas the Info box in Gigha currently has no in-line citations, but the one that you have recently added to the Talk:Gigha/GA1 page has six separate in-line citations, some of which are called up more than once. The current Hebden, North Yorkshire is therefore more compliant than the current Gigha article, but will be less so than your proposed one on the Talk:Gigha/GA1 page.

P.S. I would not (personally) ask for in-line citations for OS grid ref and Island and Local Authority - but since you have provided them .... Pyrotec (talk) 12:45, 30 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Fair enough. I was just considering an alternative, which I will post to Talk:Gigha/GA1 soonest.

I've now passed Gigha, but if you want to discuss alternatives, I'm happy to do so. Out of interest I had a look at Papa Stour, I would also have given it GA, but we probably would have have similar discussions (where relevant).Pyrotec (talk) 17:57, 30 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

First of all, many thanks. Secondly, apologies once again for the reference problems. I will raise these issues at WP Scottish Islands. History is not my strong suit and we clearly need to up the ante a little in this department. I'll have a good look at Papa Stour as well. I am resisting the urge to make a POINT and decorate Hebden's infobox with fact tags! Please let me know if I can return the favour and be of assistance somewhere. Ben Mac Dui 19:23, 30 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Glen Shiel

Hi MacDui, just wondering whether you might have the time to cast an eye over this article and add anything you think needs adding. Cheers. Ericoides (talk) 12:43, 31 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Its a nice article, and I'm sure much more could be added. If I have time I'll take a longer look. Is there anything in particular you are looking for? Ben Mac Dui 15:16, 31 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. Yes, I think it would be good to have a bit more historical detail – not on the Battle, which is sufficiently covered here and in its own article – but on the history of settlements in the glen, the building of the military road, the clans (MacRae?), the effect of the Clearances (Prebble's The Highland Clearances has nothing on the glen) and the history of the Cluanie Inn. It would be nice also to have more detail and a more precise ref for "Prince Charlie's Stone" than the one in the Sgurr na Ciste Dhuibhe article. Do you have a copy of that book (The Story of Scotland's Hills)? In addition, the flora and fauna section is a bit thin. So, as you say, quite a bit more could be added. Regards, Ericoides (talk) 16:27, 31 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I don't have this book I'm afraid, nor much that would provide a lot of the detail you seek. I have a bit of a backlog at present but if I come across something useful I'll certainly let you know. Ben Mac Dui 19:52, 5 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Great, much obliged. Ericoides (talk) 12:26, 6 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Norse name for Gigha

Is a Norse name for Gigha actually attested? If it's being linked to Old Norse, I don't think hypothetical names should go in that column if they are only hypothetical. The column implies the Norse name as fact rather than hypothesis. Deacon of Pndapetzim (Talk) 01:06, 5 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'll reply at Talk:Gigha asap. Ben Mac Dui 19:53, 5 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Scotland during the Roman Empire

Hey, MacDui, love your work. Fabbo. You get around a bit for a Ben! This article is already fascinating, should soon be GA and I'd have thought FA eventually. I've made suggestions on the GA review comments page. I could implement them myself, but as a non-historian, non-geographer, non-Romanist and non-Scot (well, once a Scot, always a Scot, and I was born there, but... I don't know my Celtic from my Rangers, so...), I thought I'd let you decide! Cheers. hamiltonstone (talk) 10:26, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Many thanks - I'll start going through them asap. Ben Mac Dui 15:23, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I've been back - changes already positive - I've made some more suggestions too, esp. re Picts. Cheers. hamiltonstone (talk) 23:32, 7 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there! As the primary editor of this article I thought I'd direct these questions to you: (After seeing it pass GA I thought I'd give it a once over)

"but that he had visited one which was the retreat of holy men. He mentioned neither the druids nor the name of the island" Could you expand upon this? It looks a little odd to say that he mentioned the holy men but not the druids. Did you mean that he didn't name or describe the druids?

I do mean that. To a modern reader the remark immediately suggests Iona and possibly the druids, hence the qualification.

I did some rephrasing in the paragraph starting "In the summer of AD 78" to avoid repetitive use of including– can you check that this hasn't lost any of its original meaning?

Looks fine - thanks.

(More of a factual question) Seeing as his speech, and possibly the battle, were invented: is there any chance that "Calgacus" is also fictional?

I'd say that it is likely, but there is no way of knowing.

Maybe Agricola's Invasion could form a sub-article and be described in further detail?

That would certainly be possible.

This sentence is a little wordy, could it be expressed in a more concise way? "Their apparent success in holding back Roman forces may have due in part to the difficulties the latter encountered in subjugating a population that did not conform to the strictures of local governance that Rome usually depended on to operate through"

A few more words now, but the sentence is split into two.

Does "feirs lionis" mean fair lions? If so, add the translation in brackets.

Goodness no - "fierce lions"!

What is your source for the final paragraph of "Roman legacy"?

Koch, footnote imminent. Ben Mac Dui 20:01, 13 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You have used the Trimontium picture twice, care to choose which one to keep?

Fixed

Think that's about it, feel free to reply here, my talk page, or the article talk page. Great work by the way–it's nice to read an article that for once hasn't been endlessly toned down to the point of blandness. Sillyfolkboy (talk) 02:13, 9 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Gaelic infobox

Quick question. I'm working on sound files and infoboxes for pages that contain a lot of Gaelic names/words that don't (yet) have their own pages or are not linked at least. It keeps the IPA there, but out of the main text and there's the sound files for the grumblers who don't like the IPA. I've so far done one for Gigha and Skye. Do any pages spring to your mind that would benefit from that treatment sooner rather than later? I don't really have any preferences in terms of which one to do next but you seem to have a much better picture of what goes on with the Scottish geo pages in general. Cheers! Akerbeltz (talk) 00:07, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

This is wonderful stuff by the way - Encyclopedia Brittanica eat you heart out! Off the cuff I'd suggest some history articles: Áedán mac Gabráin; Dál Riata, and geography: Ulva - and I'm sure Sorley MacLean would appreciate some further attention to Raasay. Islay whisky has an interesting alternative solution that could be improved on. A quick way to search for likely candidates would be to visit Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Scottish Islands articles by quality/1 et. seq. Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Scotland articles by quality/1 is harder going and it's a pity there isn't a Highland equivalent. Ben Mac Dui 10:20, 14 February 2009 (UTC) PS There are also various hill-related articles although few of them are very lengthy. Ben Nevis and A' Bhuidheanach Bheag are candidates - see Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/British and Irish hills articles by quality/1. Come to think of it I could do with a simple one myself.[reply]

Thank you :) And thanks for the good suggestions. I may sidestep the Dàl Riada stuff initially until I've figured out what the best way of dealing with that would be. They're technically mostly middle Irish terms but I'll have a ponder. You're suggesting I work top down, right? As in, work on the higher quality articles first? Akerbeltz (talk) 11:21, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, I'm afraid I don't know my Middle Irish from my Sudric. I'm only suggesting "top down" as a search process as starting at the other end will just lead to innumerable stubs that have at most one or two relevant words or phrases. I'm not proposing you commence the actual work anywhere except wherever you feel inspired to do so. Ben Mac Dui 11:44, 14 February 2009 (UTC) PS More suggestions : Lewis, Barra Head, Skerryvore, History of the Outer Hebrides.[reply]

LOL now I just learned something. Don't apologise, it's a bit of a minefield. As a rule of thumb, if you see spellings with acute accentes (á, é etc) and the combination ae then it's anything but Scots Gaelic :)

Agree on the "order", I'll concentrate on the bigger ones first. I might start with St Kilda actually cause I got a thing for it. It'll be sporadic work but I might manage a couple per week, only takes about 30 mins to do about 10-15 entries. Akerbeltz (talk) 11:50, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Portree

Hello Ben MacDui, I was just linking to the Portree page and it seems to be damaged, somehow. The infobox is missing, although it is in the edit. Some of the editor accounts associated with it seem to be have gone as well. I can't really suss out why it's not showing the infobox. Can you take a look. scope_creep (talk) 13:46, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I believe I managed to sort it out, some ip vandalised the infobox and instead of the manual fix did not cover it all. Regards, Finn Rindahl (talk) 14:00, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

OK - thanks. Ben Mac Dui 14:28, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3

	<font=3> Thanks again for your comments and support - Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 made featured article today! Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 04:22, 20 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Many congratulations. Ben Mac Dui 14:37, 21 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Moving Scottish Independence article

I think this debate could do with your informed input -Talk:Scottish_independence#Request_move. They want to move Scottish independence to Scottish nationalism, I'm not sure that's appropriate, but the arguments either way are pretty weak just now.--MacRusgail (talk) 20:51, 24 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

OK - thanks for letting me know. I'll take a peak later. Ben Mac Dui 08:43, 25 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your input - it needed some sensible comments. Not all independence supporters describe themselves as nationalist, and Scottish nationalism covers other areas too. Akerbeltz made a good point about the SSP. --MacRusgail (talk) 19:21, 26 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Inse Catt (Shetland)

Last year, you removed a mention of the Old Irish name for Shetland, stating in your edit summary Rem uncited and erroneous remark about "Cat People". OK, so there was no reference given (it's actually well known, and could easily have been verified by any reader who was suitably interested) but the "erroneous" part still confuses me. Anyway, I've reinstated this name, and provided a reference for this being considered the pre-Norse name for the islands. Since I've done that for historical and toponymical reasons, rather than pro-Gaelic (which some Shetlanders might take exception to), I've also once again mentioned that the Cats also have Caithness and Sutherland named after them (other places too, but I didn't mention that). Lianachan (talk) 02:48, 5 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Ireland naming question

You are receiving this message because you have previously posted at a Ireland naming related discussion. Per Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Ireland article names#Back-up procedure, a procedure has been developed at Wikipedia:WikiProject Ireland Collaboration, and the project is now taking statements. Before creating or replying to a statement please consider the statement process, the problems and current statements. GnevinAWB (talk) 17:53, 5 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Country outlines project update - 2009/03/08

Remember "Around the World"?

Well, we've been around the World, and around again (virtually speaking, on Wikipedia), on this project.

Things have been slowing down again, so it's time for a big push...

We've gone live

This project needed a shot in the arm. Also, its draft pages have been littering Wikipedia's categories for months. The time seemed right to move all the country outline drafts to article space.

WHAT???

Well, the drafts had been sitting in Wikipedia space for a year.

WHAT???

Development has been moving at a snail's pace and we could use the help of the Wikipedia community at large (who are more likely to find these if they are in article space).

WHAT???

Yes, we've gone live. :)

This puts pressure on us to get the blatantly incomplete elements of these outlines done. The only glaring problem is the government branches sections. These need to be corrected ASAP.

I've mentioned THE GOVERNMENT BRANCHES SECTIONS many times to many people over the past year, but the problem just doesn't seem to have been taken seriously. So let me put it another way:

HELP!!! I need your help on this now. Almost all the countries have a government with an executive branch, a legislative branch, and a judicial branch. The links for these branches need to be completed for each country outline:

Here's a convenient list you can use WP:LINKY on to access and edit these quickly. Please copy the list's link to the top of your talk page so that you can access it easily.

If you spot any standardization in links, and ways we can automate parts of this process, or for groups of countries that have links in common, please let me know!

Administrative support for outlines

There has been growing pressure on me to write up the administrative pages for outlines - their instructions, guidelines, etc. Therefore, I'm now in the process of composing these. Fortunately, it is mostly a matter of gathering material from messages I've written to you guys over the past year. Still, this is taking up most of my time, and I will be buried in these for the foreseeable future.

Traffic control

The next big task after the government branches sections are cleaned up is link support for the outlines.

There's quite a list of links and notices that need to be put in place around Wikipedia, providing access to them to readers, and alerting editors to the need to develop and maintain these pages. This will keep our bot people very busy (and happy).

But the most important thing right now is to get the government branches sections completed. So please, put your bots aside, roll up your shirt sleeves, and start typing.

Thank you.

The Transhumanist 03:30, 9 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

New Page Patrols

Ben MacDui, I'm doing a bit of page patrols on and off, and a lot of the time, when I go to tell the editor that summat needs fixed, I notice that they've has been deleted. They are obviously being removed for a reason, but why so quickly. An article is created, then several minutes later, their gone. Any idea? scope_creep (talk) 01:36, 15 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I can only imagine that they were candidates for Speedy Deletion. Can you give me an example or two? Ben Mac Dui 08:47, 15 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]