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Conspiracy theory

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University of Pennsylvania - Evolution from a Commuter School to a Residential University

– Discussion in progress.

Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

Users involved

Dispute overview

eed assistance here with an editor has previously deleted content in the subject previously entitled "Evolution from a Commuter School to a Residential University" and now renamed to "Campus Expansion to student housing"

The editor in question is relatively new to Wikipedia and has previously indicated via the University of Pennsylvania Talk page that "commuter school" should not be included in the because "...the term "commuter school" has a negative connotation..." However, the facts and references support this fact. The references that are (were) in Evolution from a Commuter School to a Residential University use the phrase "commuter school" in more than one era by multiple authors.

I have tried, unsuccessfully, to make my point that negative connotations are allowed especially since this article is not a promotional piece for the University of Pennsylvania. I refuse to be drawn into an edit war and I request the assistance of a more senior editor.

Have you tried to resolve this previously?

Unsuccessfully Talking via Talk page

How do you think we can help?

I think that it needs to be made clear that "negative connotations" is not a reason to delete text especially when the references support the term "commuter school" Wikipedia is not a place for puffery or promotional articles.

Summary of dispute by Mrfeeny

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

I realize that Wikipedia is not a place for puffery but it also is not a place for slanted views about topics. Before the user in question made changes to the article to substantiate the section in response to my deletion for the lack of substantiation of the claims, it was based solely on opinion columns that take a negative or critical view of the University. He then very hastily threw together a replacement section that I had to edit because it was full of grammatical errors. In compromise, after I made my edits to remove hyperbolic statements and grammatical errors, I left the title the same. Some time after, the user changed the section again, which was an extremely negative take on the topic replete with quotations to substantiate his claims that was in my view too lengthy and out of place on a page that is supposed to be an informational page about a university. In response, I made edits to the section for neutrality and changed the title, while creating a section on the talk page for users to provide input about the section. I also made notes on the talk page justifying the changes I made so people could respond. The user in question is the only person who is invested in keeping the section the way it was, and a separate user had advocated for its deletion previously, as can be seen on the talk page. I'm not opposed to changing the title back, but I'd prefer it to be a community decision rather than the unilateral action of this user. I don't think his experience with Wikipedia entitles him to unilaterally decide what the page will look like when multiple users on what is supposed to be a community site have voiced opposition to it. I tried my best to be diplomatic in making changes to the page and invited comments on the talk page whenever I made changes. Rather than debating my changes there, the user decided that it was not necessary to do so, since the changes were already made, and opened a dispute here rather than resolving things diplomatically on the page. Throughout my dealings with the user, he has been combative and unwilling to compromise and has even made false accusations toward me. This is all visible on the talk page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mrfeeny (talkcontribs) 00:18, 25 February 2019 (UTC)

University of Pennsylvania - Evolution from a Commuter School to a Residential University discussion

Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary.
  • Volunteer note - There has been discussion at the article talk page. The filing editor has not notified the other editor. Robert McClenon (talk) 17:51, 20 February 2019 (UTC)
  • UPDATE - the filing editor has notified the other editor as of 22 February 2019 Wa3frp (talk) 12:43, 22 February 2019 (UTC)
  • UPDATE - I have added comments to the section I had added to the talk page to discuss this issue that may be of interest. Thanks. Mrfeeny (talk) 00:57, 25 February 2019 (UTC)
  •  Volunteer note: I read through the debate on the Talk page. Names and label can be contentious. I suggest first focusing attention to the content of that section of the article and not on the label "commuter school". Aside from the label "commuter school", does the first paragraph reasonably describe the history of the campus prior to World War II? If not, what is missing or incorrect?Coastside (talk) 07:29, 27 February 2019 (UTC)
  • UPDATE - This section of the article was never meant to describe the myriad of changes to the campus nor the history of the changes to residential housing. The original article, which was deleted on 4 December 2018 at the start of this dispute, focused not on residential housing but on the transition the University undertook as it evolved, over time, from a commuter school and regional institution. Perhaps, there should be a new section that completely documents how student housing construction proceeded from the 1800s until the present day. However, I have to note with emphasis, that the intent of this paragraph is to inform the reader about the University and a student population transition that did occur over the past one hundred plus years.Wa3frp (talk) 16:37, 27 February 2019 (UTC)
  •  Volunteer note: I think you're headed in the right direction. The way to move this dispute forward is to focus on how the article falls short and suggesting positive changes. With controversial edits, it can be helpful to write a paragraph in your personal sandbox and ask other editors to provide feedback before editing the article directly. The idea is to focus on improving the article and being willing to tug in different directions, sometimes making big leaps forward, sometimes little tweaks. And don't get too fond of any one paragraph. I like your suggestion about having a paragraph about student housing. Why don't you write one and have other editors provide feedback? Regarding the transition over the past one hundred years, I take it you mean the fact the students used to live primarily at home in the local area and over time shifted to on-campus residential housing? Personally, it seems to me the first paragraph of this section makes that point, at least to a degree. What is it you think readers are missing here? Do you think it's important readers understand more precisely the percentage of students who lived on campus (or conversely at home) over time? Coastside (talk) 05:25, 28 February 2019 (UTC)
  • UPDATE - Currently, there are thirteen college houses on the University of Pennsylvania campus. These are W.E.B DuBois College House, Fisher Hassenfeld College House, Gregory College House, Harnwell College House, Harrison College House, Hill College House, Kings Court English House, New College House, Riepe College House, Rodin College House Stouffer College House and Ware College House. Additionally, there are former University residences, such as Sergeant Hall, that need to be added to that list. It would an excellent project for an editor to develop paragraphs about each of these current and former residential facilities including the location, start of construction, architect, layout, capacity, terms of occupancy, history of occupancy, the history of renovations and any other applicable topics. This however is only a side note to the current dispute.
The point that I am making is that the University of Pennsylvania, through most of its history, has been documented and clearly referenced as being a commuter school and that fact cannot be whitewashed simple because (1) other college and university Wikipedia articles, i.e., Columbia's do not possess a similar paragraph, (2) the term "commuter school" has a negative connotation to one editor User:Mrfeeny. I am disappointed that User:Coastside has not already pointed out that if an editor violates the community standards described in policies and guidelines, other editors can persuade the person to adhere to acceptable norms of conduct, over time resorting to more forceful means, such as administrator and steward actions. WP:ENFORCEMENT WP:DELPRO In this instant case, User:Mrfeeny deleted the paragraph on 4 December 2019. I indicated to User:Mrfeeny (at that time an unregistered user) "...You really have to stop deleting information on Wikipedia! First of all, defending a position based on a negative is never a good approach. The fact that no one has taken the time to write about Columbia's commuter status has little effect on an article about the University of Pennsylvania and its commuter population...."
Subsequent to that action, an unknown and now quiet user "Sbaatz1" made an interesting point on 20 November 2018 that the Medical School does have a different history and was a national, if not global, institution as far back as the 1850s. In my opinion, this information should have been added to the paragraph versus wholesale deleting of information as was clearly done by User:Mrfeeny. Further, User:Mrfeeny on 20 February 2019, and after my attempt to pursue failed, starts a Talk page discussion about changing the title of the paragraph to "Campus expansion and student housing" but only after making that change.
I suggest that User:Mrfeeny undertake starting a new paragraph in the University of Pennsylvania article entitled "Student housing" by writing a number of paragraphs about student housing to include but not be limited by what is covered in the first paragraph of this update. Further, I request that the original title of the paragraph be returned as I read that no other editors have agreed with User:Mrfeeny on this proposal. expired PROD Finally, I request that all edits that have removed "commuter school" from the subject paragraph because the term "commuter school" has a negative connotation to one editor be returned. WP:IMPARTIAL Wa3frp (talk) 14:18, 28 February 2019 (UTC)
  •  Volunteer note: You make some excellent suggestions above. I would think adding content about the residential facilities would improve the article. I think you make another good point about the history of the medical school. I'd like the other participants to comment on these suggestions.
Regarding content that was previously deleted, if there is content that helps improve the article, whether previously deleted or not, it makes sense to discuss adding it, or otherwise editing the article to incorporate that content. Normally, the best way to do that is to be bold and edit the article. It's a back and forth process among multiple editors. Certainly, it can be frustrating. Once edit warring and disputes ensue, being bold no longer works well. In that case it is more constructive to suggest edits on the talk page or make large scale edits in a sandbox and ask other editors to review and comment before introducing these changes into the article. That's what I suggest doing here.
I'm sorry you are disappointed I haven't done more to reprimand other users regarding their behavior. I would like to point out that the DRN board is for content disputes only. This isn't the place to address behavioral issues. Even when editors are very frustrated with one another, it's been my experience that working toward consensus, although frustrating, can be rewarding for all participants when it actually happens. The key is to focus on the content, making positive changes to the article, and not focusing on behavior per se. Most editors are accepting of improvements to the article, and when bias or "unreasonableness" intrudes, other editors will typically help nudge things in the right direction. For this DRN, I would like to ask all the participants to focus on specific changes, large or small, and to discuss. In order for the DRN process to be effective, the discussion must focus on content and not behavior and all participants must actively contribute in a good faith effort to improve the article. Coastside (talk) 15:35, 28 February 2019 (UTC)
  • UPDATE - That's not fair Wa3frp. When I made the original deletion the paragraph was completely unsubstantiated and based on two old opinion articles from The Inquirer in the 90s. My deletion and the ensuing debate were the reason why you made improvements in the sources referenced (which I still had to edit because you made the revisions hastily). We don't need to whitewash but I will continue to edit for brevity if the changes again include a ton of superfluous quotations. I'm more than happy to help out with the housing side of things, and I hope we can work together on this in a civil manner. Thanks Coastside for your help. Mrfeeny (talk) 02:53, 1 March 2019 (UTC)
  • UPDATE - Let's let the facts speak for themselves. You deleted the following paragraphs "...As recently as the 1950s, the University of Pennsylvania was considered a "commuter school". The Pennsylvania Urban Redevelopment Act of 1954 enabled the university to expand and build facilities better suited to a residential university. Gradually, over the second half of the 20th century, the school raised its profile, became more selective and dramatically increased its endowment. Between 1995 and 2005, the university spent over a billion dollars on campus improvements to attract top students and faculty..." Everything in these four sentences are factual. You have yet to show that any of these sentences contain false or misleading information. You made no attempt to improve the references which were easily located in the University of Pennsylvania archives.
You are also the only editor who has negatively commented on the use of "commuter school". Instead of using Talk, you simply deleted the text that met your disfavor. And then, you partially quoted a statement to make a point. In checking, your partial quote, when revealed as a full sentence, demolished your argument.
It is time to dismiss your dispute and to return the paragraph "Evolution from a Commuter School to a Residential University" on the following grounds:
(1) you have failed to elicit support for your proposal to change the title of the section in question. (2) Your argument is specious in the first place, i.e., Columbia doesn't have this paragraph in their Wiki page so Penn shouldn't either and "commuter school" has a negative connotation to you alone (based on feedback on the Talk page. (3) There is sufficient use of the term "commuter school" in the references provided thus far. (4) I identify with the term Penn commuter based on the fact that I commuted to Penn for all four Undergraduate years and work on the Commuter Activities Board.Wa3frp (talk) 12:53, 1 March 2019 (UTC)
  • UPDATE - I've already admitted to deleting that material almost 3 months ago at this point, and I have already provided my reasoning (opinion articles from the Inquirer were not enough to substantiate the claim). It was this deletion that led to the improvement of the section using sources from Archives, a number of which I dug up myself. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The use of the term is misleading because (a) the school required on campus living by default as early as 1931, which is extremely uncharacteristic of a “commuter “ school. (b) as you admit, students were moving to Philadelphia to attend the medical school throughout its early history (c) the opinion of a trustee of the university is not the be all end all and ultimate authority on the matter. I’m willing to compromise and suggest we add to the new section to briefly discuss the large commuter population through the 1960s in the first paragraph, then continue to discuss expansion during the post war period in the subsequent paragraph/paragraphs. It’s fine to discuss this large commuter population by noting that a trustee and a student thesis gave the school the label of commuter school or to use the term in this discussion in another reasonable manner, but we don’t need a full section with a commuter school title covering it. As User: Coastside has mentioned, the first paragraph already does a good job at discussing the information you want to discuss in the article. You’re missing the point of this dispute and showing your unwillingness to compromise by continuing to fixate on the use of the term and title of the section instead of how we can make improvements to the actual content of the section. We do not need a lengthy section on the matter replete with (opinion) quotations, it’s simply not relevant to a factual article about the university. You keep saying that no one agrees with me about the section but at the same time another user advocated for the deletion of the section before I made any changes. I will make some changes to the first paragraph to better incorporate the material about the commuter population and hopefully we can put an end to this dispute. Mrfeeny (talk) 15:08, 1 March 2019 (UTC)
  • UPDATE -I made some changes to the section that I hope you will find satisfactory. Interestingly, I wasn't able to find statistics about the actual percentage of students who were commuting to campus into the 60s. If you have this information, I'd like to include it. Since I'm in Philadelphia, I can possibly swing by the Archives to see if this information is available. As you can see from my changes, the use of the label "commuter school" is not a factual issue but an issue of opinion, and there are reasons to reject that label even though it is documented in some sources. I did note that some used the label to describe the University and laid out other relevant facts. Mrfeeny (talk) 16:23, 1 March 2019 (UTC)
  •  Volunteer note: I appreciate the effort to find compromise, collaborate and move forward in improving the article. As I said at the outset, focusing on a specific label, especially one that is being disputed, is not the best way to start a collaboration. Also, we should recognize that consensus building is not voting (Wikipedia is not a democracy). Even if one person has a different opinion than several other editors, it doesn't mean that opinion is not valid. Remember that one editor's dissenting opinion could correspond to the views of millions of readers. It's important to understand the concern and try to address it if possible. Coastside (talk) 20:06, 1 March 2019 (UTC)
  • UPDATE - I think that we have agreement on at least one issue. That issue is the Medical School as it is documented that this school attracted students from a wide geographic area. I feel that this addresses the original concern that prompted the questioning of the section back in November 2018.
I do strongly feel that the title of the section in question must be returned to its original label for the following reasons (1) the paragraphs should not be seen in a negative light. The facts speak for themselves and are documented by many writers. I feel that we have agreement on this point. (2) Times have changed and so has the University and this section of the article speaks to that important transition in the current geographic diversity of the student population. (3) Having a large commuter population does not and should not infer that the commuter students were inferior. To state otherwise indicates bias against the student population within commuting distance of the University (4) The proposed section title of "Campus expansion and student housing" addressed neither campus expansion nor student housing in any meaningful way. It was only a "neutral title"
I will be improving the section later today via a number of edits that will improve the readability and eliminate one key word that smacks of puffery and promotion and is not relevant given a stated neutral point of view. See WP:NPOVWa3frp (talk) 20:05, 4 March 2019 (UTC)
  • UPDATE - I'm still having trouble with a large commuter population="commuter school." I've laid out other facts that weigh against this characterization in my updated section. I think the characterization may be fair for non-Medical School Penn until some time after the construction of the Quadrangle, but I'm not sure I would apply the term to 1960s Penn. EDIT: The numbers for 1961 and 1970 appear to show 21% of males and 43% of females living at home in 1961 (for 1971 the percentages are 24% for males and 39% for females). [1] So a non-negligible minority of students were "commuters." I don't see how this warrants the label, but we may have a fundamental disagreement about what makes a school a "commuter school." I agree that we need a more descriptive title but I am pushing back against reversion to the old title because of the factual reasons for rejecting the commuter school characterization even if it was used in reference to the University by some writers, a fact I have already documented in my revised paragraph. "Evolution from Regional Institution to National Residential University" or something along those lines could be a suitable compromise. Mrfeeny —Preceding undated comment added 22:11, 4 March 2019 (UTC)

References

  • UPDATE - For women, we have an unambiguous statement in "Becoming Penn: The Pragmatic American University", page 45 that states "At the time (1948), two-thirds of Penn women students were commuters..." One might infer that this statistic continued into the early 1960s when Hill College Hall was constructed. The co-author of this book is Mark Lloyd. Mark is the Director of the Penn Archives. You might ask him about the men and what data might exist. His telephone number is 215-898-2001. I continue to favor the former title.Wa3frp (talk) 13:25, 5 March 2019 (UTC)
  • UPDATE - We agree that, in 1948, two-thirds of Penn women were commuters. We know that Hill College House was completed in 1960. Does it surprise you that a year later, in 1961, that fewer women were commuters? How many men were commuters in 1948? Wa3frp (talk) 21:57, 7 March 2019 (UTC)
  •  Volunteer note: I have been away for a few days for personal reasons. I have to commend you both for demonstrating such a striking example of collaboration toward improving an article when there is an ongoing dispute. If all editors worked as positively and constructively as you two, there would be much less need for mediation. I do realize there is still a degree disagreement on the term "commuter school" and its connotation, but you have quite admirable shown how two editors can sidestep a dispute to focus on common ground. Kudos to you both. Coastside (talk) 04:00, 9 March 2019 (UTC)
  • UPDATE - The only data I was able to find online was the 61 data. I have a copy of Becoming Penn lying around somewhere that may have information. Is there another name we can agree upon? "Campus Expansion and Development as a Residential University"? It appears that we both agree that by the 60s Penn was not really a "commuter school" but a school with a non-negligible number of commuters (especially for men). The statistic for women is not very surprising for a large urban university at the time. Mrfeeny (talk) 21:53, 10 March 2019 (UTC)
  • UPDATE - "Campus Expansion and Development as a Residential University" is a non-starter for the following reasons (1) you would then have to cover the move from Center City Philadelphia to West Philadelphia and all of the expansions since that date. (2) This moves drastically away from the intent of the original section of the article which was the shift from a local student population to a global student populations. Forgetting the section's title for a bit, I've slimmed down the section and corrected the formats and fully articulated the references to read:


In the 1800s, Penn was primarily a regional institution as the great majority of students resided in the Philadelphia area. An exception was the Medical School which attracted a more geographically diverse population of students. By the mid-1850s, over half of the population of the Medical School was from the southern part of the United States. Outside of the Medical School, the majority of the University student population was from the Philadelphia area.[1][2]
By 1931, Freshmen were required to live in the Quadrangle unless they received official permission to live with their families or other relatives.[3] However, throughout this period and into the early post-World War II period, the school continued to have a large commuting population.[4][5] Into the late 1940s, two-thirds of Penn women students were commuters.[6][7] Nonetheless, in addition to a significant student population from the Delaware Valley, the University attracted international students and students from most of the fifty states as early as the 1960s.[8]
After World War II, Penn began a capital spending program in order to overhaul its campus, especially student housing. The large number of students migrating to universities under the GI Bill, and the resultant increase in Penn's student population, highlighted that Penn had outgrown previous expansions, which ended during the Depression era. Referring to the developments of this time period, Penn Trustee Paul Miller stated in 1989, “[t]he bricks-and-mortar Capital Campaign of the Sixties . . . built the facilities that turned Penn from a commuter school to a residential one . . . "[9]Wa3frp (talk) 13:53, 11 March 2019 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ Linck, Elizabeth (1990). "The Quadrangle". University of Pennsylvania Archives & Records Center. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  2. ^ Pieczynski, Denise (1990). "National Crisis, Institutional Change: Penn and the Civil War" (PDF). University of Pennsylvania Archives & Records Center. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  3. ^ Linck, Elizabeth (1990). "The Quadrangle". University of Pennsylvania Archives & Records Center. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  4. ^ Bessin, James. "The Modern Urban University". University of Pennsylvania Archives & Records Center. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  5. ^ "Keeping Franklin's Promise' is the Billion-Dollar Goal". The Almanac. 1989. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  6. ^ Puckett, John; Lloyd, Mark (1995). Becoming Penn: The Pragmatic American University, 1950-2000. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0812246803.
  7. ^ https://penntoday.upenn.edu/2015-06-11/record/record-sergeant-hall
  8. ^ "Integrated Development Plan" (PDF). 1962. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  9. ^ "Keeping Franklin's Promise' is the Billion-Dollar Goal". The Almanac. 1989. Retrieved March 4, 2019.

Talk:Lynching of Shedrick Thompson

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Talk:Hell's Angel: Mother Teresa of Calcutta#Redirect classification

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Talk:Detransition

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Talk:Tartary

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Talk:Tihomir Orešković#Ordinal_numbering,_yes_or_no?

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Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province

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Talk:Curcumin#Curcumin page_edits

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Talk:Dogsbite.org

– Discussion in progress.

Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

Users involved

Dispute overview

In these four diffs:

I am contesting the following changes:

  1. Removal of the link to Fatal dog attacks in the United States in the article body, substituting it for a link in "Related topics". This page can directly be tied to the article's prose, and should be linked there
  2. Removal of statement saying the organization advocates for Breed-specific legislation. This is a clear part of their activities, justified by inclusion by the site's own words, as well as the two sources discussing the MD Tracey v Solesky case, where dogsbite.org was heavily involved, and the now-removed austintx.gov, where dogsbite.org was involved in a local public hearing
  3. Removal of aforementioned austintx.gov source, of which several documents to and from DBO are listed on their website, this speaks to DBO's lobbying activities for breed-specific ordinance changes, here addressing no-kill shelters. This source needs to be reinstated
  4. Unrelated information about the Chapple attack needs to be removed per WP:SYNTH. This is an article about dogsbite.org, and all sources and statements need to address dogsbite.org directly.
  5. Propose "After being injured in a pit bull attack while jogging on June 17th, 2007,(avma source) Colleen Lynn anonymously founded DogsBite.org in October 2007. Shortly after, her identity was disclosed and she began receiving harassing emails, and was threatened by a lawsuit. Numerous anti-breed specific legislation advocates set up blogs and websites posting theories attempting to cast doubt on Lynn.(buzzfeed source)". as text for "History" section

Have you tried to resolve this previously?

Extensive talk page discussion, largely futile

How do you think we can help?

Provide commentary and consensus on above issues so article creation and expansion can go forward

Summary of dispute by Nomopbs

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

The short story (in 100 words): Dwanyewest and PearlSt82 created an attack page about DogsBite.org to push their own POVs. Months later, I discovered it and started to try to move the article closer to NPOV. Everything I did was reverted or edited to death (including 6 reverts by PearlSt82 on Feb 26, WP:3RR).[24][25][26][27][28][29] I tried using the Talk page to explain in detail the reasons for each of my edits. Didn't make a difference. Dwanyewest is waiting on the sidelines for some 'wiki admin on high' to grant him permission to continue. 1#Taken_it_to_Administration_noticeboard PearlSt82 has been bucking me at every turn (WP:EW) and writes WP:OR and WP:SYNTH sentences in his criticism without appropriate citations.

Four years ago, in 2015, PearlSt82 had a lengthy argument with another wiki editor on the subject of DogsBite.org. Basically, PearlSt82 refused to allow someone to use a Huffington Post citation solely because HuffPost mentioned DogsBite.org within it. It was pretty heated. I summarized it and provided links to the argument on Talk:Dogsbite.org at this subheading [30]. I mention this to point out that (a) DogsBite.org has been on PearlSt82's shit list for a long, long time, and (b) discussions between PearlSt82 and other wiki editors didn't bring resolution back then, as it didn't bring resolution in this last month on Talk:Dogsbite.org.


Nomopbs' responses to PearlSt82's (P's) 5 points above:

1. I really don't care about fighting on this. I don't understand why P thinks a "See also" section is not appropriate "just because there's a link to it above". One cannot expect all readers to read a complete article and click on every link. A link to Fatal dog attacks in the United States is absolutely relevant to any discussion about DogsBite.org since the Wikipedia list is a summary of the same information (though different sources) as is covered by the website dogsbite.org.

2. I agree with P that someone could infer DogsBite.org is "advocating for BSL" in the sense that the DogsBite.org founder promotes the idea, however, there is no citation that says it that way and wiki editors are forbidden to write their inferences (WP:NOR). There's other language used in citations about DogsBite.org and BSL such as "Breed-specific laws strengthen existing dangerous dog laws by targeting some of those prime offenders" (AVMA), and "The organization's website includes ... and an overview of breed-specific legislation throughout the country" (AVMA), and "Lynn supports laws that specifically regulate pit bulls" (DallasNews), but none of these support what P writes, and leads only to an allegation of SYNTH and/or NOR.

2B. Also, P keeps trying to lump together in the same sentence "advocating for victims" and "advocating for BSL" which are two entirely different kinds of activity. P's lump-together comes out like "DogsBite.org advocates for victims of dog bites and breed specific legislation". Putting them together in one sentence is improper editorial synthesis. See the sample synth-and-no-synth examples in section of the article WP:SYNTH. It describes how two concepts pushed together into one sentence can be SYNTH, but left as two sentences is NOT SYNTH. Specifically, the verb "advocate" in this instance has two different meanings. If you mean "promotes" as relates to BSL, then P's composite sentence sounds like DogsBite.org is "promoting dog bite victims". No, DogsBite.org spends time and effort to HELP dog bite victims and reduce attacks by dogs. So, you see, P's composite sentence does NOT convey what he wants to say. It should be re-worded instead. I tried to pull it out into a separate sentence, but P reverted it and squished them back together.

2C. The Solesky citation currently in the DogsBite.org article is not about DogsBite.org but only uses footnotes referencing it in places. It does not mention anywhere that DogsBite writings were pro-BSL. The problem is that P is pulling from information he knows, or think he knows, from elsewhere that's not in citations, then writing his conclusions as WP:NOR in the DogsBite.org article and tacking on a citation that does NOT support what P is writing. It is that method of SYNTH that I object to.

2D. The austintexas.gov citation is irrelevant to the topic of BSL. It's a response to a request for information by DogsBite.org to Austin Animal Services, and was about a discussion as to whether their No-Kill policies were what led to increased dog bites in the Austin TX area. It's not about Breed Specific Legislation at all, which is why/where P keeps trying to add it. It does NOT support any discussion for inclusion (or exclusion) of BSL language. It's a response to a letter, not something to do with a hearing. I don't know where P get those ideas about that citation/document, because they are NOT in the citation. One must assume any Wikipedia reader knows nothing about the topic. And citations must support what one writes, and not lead to more confusion in the reader.

2E. One should find a real citation that says it, or P should re-word concepts to match what one CAN find citations to support.

3. See 2D above.

4. I really don't know what Wikipedia editor guideline P is using to say that every citation in an article must directly reference the title/name of the article and cannot be a citation to support something said in the article. As an example of how ridiculously strict that would be: In an article on Joe Schmoe, an editor writes "Joe Schmoe says that tractor trailers are dangerous on the roads." P's viewpoint on citations would preclude adding a citation to the end of that sentence that is an article on "tractor trailers are dangerous on the road" but which doesn't mention "Joe Schmoe" in the citation. See WP:WHYCITE.

4B. The 'unrelated' information to which P refers are the three citations I added to explain/refute P's Radio-Canada criticism sentence and citation. If P wants to include the criticisms, then he should include "who said what" in the criticism (which I did for him), and not just write his own SYNTH/NOR on the topic (which I removed). And P cannot object to another editor coming along and adding the other side of the story in an attempt at NPOV (which I did). If P would rather I pick apart the Radio-Canada citation and take it to the "reliable sources noticeboard", I can go that route, too. Instead, I had left P's citation there as a compromise.

5. P's recommended language exposes his true WP:G10 purpose here: to discredit and attack DogsBite.org and its Founder (a living person), NOT to write an article about DogsBite.org, and NOT to adhere to Wikipedia editor guidelines on NPOV. Here, the specific day of the pit bull attack is irrelevant — P insists on the specific date (not just the year) all the while omitting the time interval of four months before the founder started the website dogsbite.org. The way P constructs his sentence implies she did it as a revenge tactic, when in fact P's own added citations clearly mention that while she was laid up from her injuries from the pit bull attack, that she started to research the topic of dangerous dogs and pit bulls, and THEN four months later started the website. I've removed the month and day; P et al have added it back in. P's proposed language includes "and was threatened by a lawsuit," while glaringly removing my addition (from P's own citation, I might add) "which didn't materialize". So much for NPOV. Since the founder is a living person, see also WP:NOCITE, WP:BLP, WP:G10.


One last salvo showing that the article was intended as a G10 attack from the beginning.

The original article was created by Dwanyewest, and at the end of his edits that day the article contained three sentences and thirteen citations, all criticisms, in the worst case of citation overkill I've seen: “The website has being accused of using unreliable methods to collect dog bite data.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]”. [31]

Later, there were two hidden edits that were made.

1. In this pro-pitbull article, someone added a vicious easter egg: [32]

[[Dogsbite.org|Anti pitbull advocates]] accused Bronwen Dickey of...

2. Then added an invisible template to the DogsBite.org article: [33]

{{short description|Anti-Pitbull website}}

I found, and removed, both. Both were done by an IP editor. Both IPv6 addresses resolve geographically to “Manchester, England, UK” which coincidentally Dwanyewest says on his User page that he lives in England. (The topic at issue is USA-related.) He’s also the creator and main editor of both the article on which the easter egg was placed, a book review, [34] and the article for the book's author.[35]

Coincidence? Or evidence?

Nomopbs (talk) 10:28, 9 March 2019 (UTC)

Talk:Dogsbite.org discussion

Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary.
I feel I should disclose I am the creator of the article. On a personal note after a resolution is completed if I can add certain sources to the Dogsbite.org for example this one [36] by the The Dodo (website) and [37] by the American Dog Breeders Association to Dogsbite.org. If the editors say no I will accept their final decision. Dwanyewest (talk) 15:50, 8 March 2019 (UTC)

Am I correct that this filing will close soon? If this is not the right venue for this dispute, would a volunteer be able to recommend a more appropriate one? PearlSt82 (talk) 02:42, 19 March 2019 (UTC)

Talk:Joey Allaham#BLP_violations

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Closed discussion

Talk:British Empire#Suez_crisis_and_its_aftermath

Dispute resolved successfully. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Talk:Colonial history_of_the_United_States

– General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

Talk:Answers in_Genesis#And_(thus)_rejects_vs_(thus)_rejecting

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Closed discussion

Talk:Sampling (music)

– This request has been open for some time and must be reviewed.

Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

Users involved

Dispute overview

I and another editor, Liftarn, disagree over whether to include a paragraph in the article Sampling (music) in the section " Legal and ethical issues". The paragraph summarises a case of plagiarism in a particular song by Timbaland.

We seem to agree that the section should not merely list every case of plagiarism in sampling history. Instead, cases should only be included if they've had a notable impact on legal and ethical issues in sampling. We disagree about whether the sources demonstrate this.

Sergecross73 responded to a request for comment and felt the paragraph should not be included. The discussion has lasted over a month, with no consensus in sight.

Have you tried to resolve this previously?

Placed a request for further opinions on Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Albums 11 days ago. So far, only Sergecross73 has responded.

How do you think we can help?

We need some more experienced editors to review the sources and help reach a consensus about whether they justify the content.

Summary of dispute by Liftarn

The Timbaland plagiarism controversy gives a description of the case in question. It is an interesting example since Timbaland refereed to what he did as "sampling" when what he did was mute the bassline, add some drums and song on top of an existing track and passed it off as his own work. This new and novel definition of what sampling is should be enough for the case to be included, but it has also have a lasting impact on what is called "collective forensic musicology" and it is used in books about music education. // Liftarn (talk) 13:32, 15 March 2019 (UTC)

Summary of dispute by Sergecross73

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

Here’s my take on it, as the only person who looked into the dispute from the WikiProject notification. “Sampling” is a widely used technique in modern music. As is frequently an issue on Wikipedia, is “example bloat” - everyone always wants to add their preferred example to illustrate an idea. Because there are just thousands upon thousands of examples of sampling in music, Popcornduff requested that he prove his specific example regarding Timbaland was particularly noteworthy. He’s provided a couple relatively weak sources noting Timbalands sample usage, but no particular commentary on its importance or impact. He wants to make grand claims of importance, but popcornduff and I have pointed out that none of his sources back that claim. He insists they do. We’ve asked him to outline the exact content he’d add, and the exact content from the source he felt backed the assertions. He has so far refused to do so, stating he feels he has already proven his point (even though he’s 0 for 2 on convincing anyone.) Sergecross73 msg me 13:22, 15 March 2019 (UTC)

List of sources from Liftarn

Wow... There is a lot of them...

That Timbaland plagiarised Sunni's track:

That he refereed to it as sampling:

That is had a lasting impact:

  • Tobias, Evan (1 September 2014). Promising Practices in 21st Century Music Teacher Education. Oxford University Press. p. 207. ISBN 9780199384754.

Talk:Sampling (music) discussion

  •  Note to participants: All participants have been informed of this dispute resolution request via their talkpage by me. Discussion will start only after all involved editors have given a summary of the dispute. MrClog (talk) 12:11, 15 March 2019 (UTC)
  •  Volunteer note: I hereby open this dispute resolution. Please note that this resolution is meant to find a compromise that you all can agree on, and that this resolution is non-binding (but it is very much requested that users do follow the agreed-to decision). @Liftarn: It seems like a good first step to me that you list all sources that support your side of the story under "List of sources from Liftarn". MrClog (talk) 15:03, 15 March 2019 (UTC)
  •  Volunteer note: @Liftarn: If possible, could you share the specific quote in which Evan Tobias says that it had a lasting impact, that would be great. Note that unless Tobias explicitly states that Timbaland plagiarising and calling it sampling had this lasting impact, it could be considered WP:SYNTH. MrClog (talk) 17:20, 15 March 2019 (UTC)
Yes, you’ve pretty much experienced one full cycle of the looping argument we’ve had going on with Liftarn now. He’ll list off a few sources, but refuse to explain what in the source specifically verifies the claim. And while of course off-line sources are generally acceptable, his refusal to supply or understand the issue here - that we need a source that explains impact specifically - makes me rather wary to be persuaded by a source I can’t verify the contents of personally. Sergecross73 msg me 21:38, 16 March 2019 (UTC)*{{
  •  Volunteer note: @Sergecross73: @Liftarn: @Popcornduff: I have managed to find an online version of the book Liftarn uses as source, and the closest to the "lasting impact" claim I could find was this:

    The phenomenon surfaced throughout the Internet and eventually in mainstream media sources across the world, forcing Timbaland to address the issue in interviews. Even after the case was officially closed in 2007 (according to a statement by the original composer of “Acidjazzed Evening”), the discourse continued through text-based comments and video responses posted on YouTube or related sites, a process that continues years later. Note: This is part of a copyrighted work of Evan Tobias, shared under the fair use doctrine of United States copyright law.

    From my perspective, this doesn't prove that there was this lasting impact, therefore making it WP:SYNTH. Thoughts (especially from Liftarn)? Also, saying that the fact that it is used as an example in the book proves it had this impact is also SYNTH. --MrClog (talk) 23:03, 16 March 2019 (UTC)
Yes, you citing SYNTH runs parallel with our claims of “not being supported by source” - I think we’re all arguing the same thing against Liftarn here. It’s been days here, and had been going for days at the talk page prior, and there’s still no actually excerpts from reliable sources. I’m getting the vibe Liftarn doesn’t have anything specific prose in a source to verify his claim, or he would have presented it by now... Sergecross73 msg me 23:20, 18 March 2019 (UTC)

Please explain how WP:SYNTH is applicable here as there is no synthesis. FYI, there is en entire section of the book with the title "Timbaland steals music? A case of collective forensic musicology". // Liftarn (talk) 07:30, 19 March 2019 (UTC)

@Liftarn: Let's use the ABC structure: Timbaland said his plagariasm was sampling ("A") and this is used in a book as example ("B"). You argued that it therefore had a lasting impact ("therefore C"), but this violates WP:SYNTH, which states:

"A and B, therefore C" is acceptable only if a reliable source has published the same argument in relation to the topic of the article. If a single source says "A" in one context, and "B" in another, without connecting them, and does not provide an argument of "therefore C", then "therefore C" cannot be used in any article.

I have read the part on Timbaland in the book and nowhere does it seem to say and/or explain that the example had a lasting impact. MrClog (talk) 07:51, 19 March 2019 (UTC)
That is incorrect. A and B are not connected, thus it's no synthesis. The lasting impact is implied with the phrase "continues years later". // Liftarn (talk) 10:41, 19 March 2019 (UTC)
@Liftarn: Timbaland justified plagariasm with sampling ("A"), this has been discussed for years ("B"), therefore it had a lasting impact ("therefore C"). The source doesn't argue that C is true. THe fact that the case has been discussed for many years doesn't neceessarily prove it had a lasting impact. You should bring WP:RS that say that it had a "lasting impact", and saying that the fact it has been discussed for many years proofs this impact is WP:SYNTH. MrClog (talk) 12:27, 19 March 2019 (UTC)
No, it has been discussed for years, thus is had a lasting impact. "A" does not enter into it. // Liftarn (talk) 12:05, 20 March 2019 (UTC)
@Liftarn: Certain murder cases have been discussed for years, yet they had no lasting impact on the legal/ethical aspect of murder. "Discussed for years" doesn't necessarily mean "lasting impact". MrClog (talk) 12:26, 20 March 2019 (UTC)
Thank you. That is finally a valid argument instead of the straw man. It certainly changed the interpretation of the Berne convention and US law. See International Copyright Law: U.S. and E.U. Perspectives: Text and Cases (p. 198-204). Also see Making and Unmaking Intellectual Property: Creative Production in Legal and Cultural Perspective (chapter 13). // Liftarn (talk) 07:26, 21 March 2019 (UTC)
If you can’t find a source that directly states it, then it’s not a valid addition according to Wikipedia policy. It’s original research to equate “lots of mentions” to “lasting impact”. If you can’t pull an excerpt from a source that directly verified your addition, it’s either WP:SYNTH or a source verification error. Sergecross73 msg me 20:22, 21 March 2019 (UTC)
Oh, like "The decision is notable for its sweeping conclusion as to what constitutes a U.S. work under § 411."[46] // Liftarn (talk) 07:52, 22 March 2019 (UTC)
That seems like a good source that supports your claim to me. @Sergecross73: @Popcornduff: What do you think? MrClog (talk) 08:33, 22 March 2019 (UTC)
Sorry, but I don't buy it. The source, if I'm reading it correctly, states that in this case the court decided the work in question could be considered a US work. The source then gives an example of another, later case, when a different court reached the opposite conclusion. I think the "sweeping conclusion" here means that the court's conclusion about which works fall under US copyright was "sweeping" (ie included a lot of different works), not that it had a sweeping effect. Popcornduff (talk) 10:35, 22 March 2019 (UTC)
Your claim seems to be unsupported by the source as it says "Given the ramifications of the ruling in Kernel, the case may well go up on appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.". Another article says "As a result of this decision, foreign authors face increased uncertainty as to whether the provisions of the Berne Convention will serve to exempt them from the copyright registration requirements applicable to owners of U.S. works."[47] and "the court’s decision adds yet another reason to the long list of reasons why foreign authors should consider timely registration of their works with the U.S. Copyright Office, despite the exemptions provided by the Berne Convention."[48] // Liftarn (talk) 12:38, 22 March 2019 (UTC)
That 1) is all speculative, with no examples of how it has changed anything and 2) describes US copyright law generally, n:ot sampling specifically. This really isn't a great or necessary example of an ethical and legal issue in sampling. Popcornduff (talk) 12:43, 22 March 2019 (UTC)
Liftarn, what do you think about Popcornduff's comment? MrClog (talk) 08:48, 25 March 2019 (UTC)
He is entitled to his opinion, but I think the facts speak for themselves. // Liftarn (talk) 09:04, 25 March 2019 (UTC)
Uhhhh it really feels like Popcornduff’s statement would require a bit more of a rebuttal from you here if you’re deciding to stick to your guns on this. Usually when someone says “there’s no evidence”, you...counter it with evidence...? Sergecross73 msg me 17:42, 25 March 2019 (UTC)
Sergecross, what do you think of Lifturn's newest sources? Popcornduff (talk) 00:56, 26 March 2019 (UTC)
He didn't say there isn't an evidence (as there is). He just don't like it. Facts should matter, not personal taste. Kernel Records Oy v. Mosley have indeed (as the sources say) had a major impact on how internationally copyright law is interpreted in the US. While the impact is on anything published online it stems from a case of sampling. // Liftarn (talk) 08:12, 26 March 2019 (UTC)
But time and time again, you cant (or aren’t) explaining how. You say “no you’re wrong” and “look at the source” but you never really explain your understanding of what the source says other than a basic “the source says so”. It’s clear you’re adamantly arguing something...but it continually feels like you yourself don’t even understand the crux of your own argument. Sergecross73 msg me 01:18, 28 March 2019 (UTC)
OK, I'll try to explain it in a simpler way. Don't hesitate to ask if something is unclear. Timbaland found a track by Glenn Rune Gallefoss. He muted the bassline, added drums and song. He then published it as his own work (for simplicities sake we can leave out the ethical aspects of that). This he (and several media articles) refereed to as sampling. OK, so this is a case of sampling according to himself and several sources. You with me? It later went to court as Kernel Records Oy v. Mosley. So we have a court case about sampling. In the case it was ruled that if you published something on a diskette in Australia it was a US work. This reversed the precedence from Moberg v. 33T LLC. Possibly as a revenge for Dow Jones & Co Inc v Gutnick. Anyway, as the sources say this new way to interpret the jurisdiction of works published digitally is a major game changer. // Liftarn (talk) 08:08, 28 March 2019 (UTC)
It's the final part we're questioning: "a major game changer". I don't see how the sources you have provided demonstrates how the game has changed, for the reasons I gave above. Can you address those concerns?Popcornduff (talk) 09:01, 28 March 2019 (UTC)
I'm thinking about this some more, because I'm trying to figure out how we'd incorporate what you're saying here into the article, if we were to do it. I actually have no idea, based on your summary above, what the outcome for Timbaland was. I tried reading the Timbaland plagiarism controversy article, but it's not clear there either, and it's not an easy article to read generally. I tried rereading the source mentioning the "sweeping changes" we discussed before, but it seems to have been moved behind a paywall - perhaps something has changed on my end?
As best as I can manage right now, the relevant parts of what you're arguing should actually amount to something like this (very different from what you've added to the Sampling (music) article so far):
In 2011, the US producer Timbaland won a copyright infringement case after sampling a composition owned by the Finnish record label Kernel Records without permission. Under US copyright law, a work must first be registered with the US copyright office to become the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit. The court held that by being published online, the composition had been simultaneously published every country with internet service, including the US. The work therefore satisfied the definition of a US work, and as it had not been registered with the US copyright office it could be sampled without permission.
Does that look reasonable to you?
But please note that I would not advocate to include this in the article, as it lacks the critical element: what makes this different from any of the thousands of other plagiarism and sampling disputes, why is this more important, what lasting impact has this had? I can't find anything in the sources we can use to add to the text I wrote above. Popcornduff (talk) 09:18, 28 March 2019 (UTC)
In short the case caused a fundamental shift in how online publication and international copyrights work. Basically the court threw out the Berne convention. That is no small thing. // Liftarn (talk) 10:34, 28 March 2019 (UTC)
And yet the same source also says that in another, later case, a different court reached the opposite conclusion, indicating that it might have had no lasting impact. The sources you're relying on now also phrase everything in terms of general copyright law, rather than giving specific indication about how this affects sampling.
We're getting lost in the swamp here. Stand back and look at the big picture. This section should summarise major legal and ethical arguments in sampling, ones that really changed things and are important to sampling. Like Sergecross said a thousand years ago, we can't throw in every case. We have to figure out which ones are a big deal and which ones aren't. This one isn't a big deal. Popcornduff (talk) 10:44, 28 March 2019 (UTC)
I think you are referring to Moberg v. 33T LLC that was in 2009 and before Kernel Records Oy v. Mosley (2011).[49] "On October 6, the United States Court for the District of Delaware ruled in a case of first impression that a photograph posted to the Internet from a foreign server is not a “United States work” within the meaning of section 411 of the Copyright Act, and thus need not be registered in the U.S. in order to bring suit for infringement.". The case Moberg v. 33T LLC did not change anything as it just preserved the status quo. However Kernel Records Oy v. Mosley reversed that and it's a big deal. // Liftarn (talk) 10:59, 28 March 2019 (UTC
You're right, I misread the source. The case you're talking about did indeed come after the other, not before. Sorry about that.
... But in my view it still doesn't provide any evidence of any lasting impact. And that's what I've been asking for since day one. Popcornduff (talk) 10:35, 31 March 2019 (UTC)

This has dragged on for almost two months, now, so here are (hopefully) my final thoughts on this matter:

Like Sergecross said, there are countless examples of court cases and disputes over sampling we include in this section. But this isn't supposed to be an exhaustive list of such events. It's supposed to be a concise summary of major events that have shaped the use of sampling in music.

We have a few weak sources that describe the Timbaland incident, but nothing to show it has had any serious impact on anything. The source Liftarn is pushing now focuses mainly on the implications for copyright in general, with little discussion of what it means for sampling, and with no examples of anything having changed.

As you can probably guess, I would still prefer to exclude the Timbaland incident in this article. But in the interest of reaching some conclusion, if other editors would like to review these sources again, and feel they demonstrate reason to be included in this article despite my objections, then I'll live with that. Sergecross73? MrClog? Any thoughts? Popcornduff (talk) 10:35, 31 March 2019 (UTC)

I’m pretty much in the same spot as you. As I’ve said since the beginning, I could probably be swayed if Liftarn proposed specific prose, a specific source, and the specific excerpt of the source that backed it. But I still don’t think he’s managed to do that. (If I missed this in the massive wall of text above, feel free to re-add it down here, with the 3 parts I’m requesting. Sergecross73 msg me 18:28, 31 March 2019 (UTC)
As I've made the edit[50] there is some very specific text right there, but the main points I'm trying to get across is 1) Timbaland expanded the definition of sampling to also include taking someone else's work and pass it off as your own with just some minor changes. (This is the ethical aspect) The resulting court case reinterpreted US copyright law contra the Berne convention (this is the legal aspect). // Liftarn (talk) 11:38, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
The text you added doesn't make clear what relevance, if any, the case has. The quote from Timbaland is baffling, and the supposedly important part (the outcome of the lawsuit) isn't mentioned at all. I notice you haven't responded to my proposed text, above. Popcornduff (talk) 06:40, 2 April 2019 (UTC)
That would work with some tweaks. The text "after sampling a composition" is incorrect. Something more in line with reality would be "passing off somebody else's work as his own. Something he called sampling". Or "Apart from the lyrics the song was nearly identical to used a piece from 2000 for the Commodore 64." // Liftarn (talk) 10:50, 2 April 2019 (UTC)
  •  Volunteer note: Due to holidays, I'll not be able to further be engaged with this dispute resolution. I'll change the case status to reflect this and to request other volunteers to take over. --MrClog (talk) 12:33, 4 April 2019 (UTC)

Talk:Sholom Dovber_Schneersohn#Treatment_in_Vienna

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http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Editor assistance/Requests&action=edit&section=9

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Right Left_Wrong

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Talk:Ayanda Patosi

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