Wikipedia:April Fools' Main Page/In The News/Archive 2011

Please use this page for discussions surrounding the creation of "In The News" items for April Fool's day 2011

Areas of work needed to complete the front page are:

Ground rules for this activity along with a list or participants may be found on the Main talk page.

Template[edit]

Spider-Man completes his ascent of the world's tallest building (pictured) in Dubai.
NASA decodes signals sent by a messenger from Mercury.
Cape Town car raider Fred, deemed aggressive by authorities, is captured and executed.
A celebrated presence on Twitter fails to evade authorities, having never left home.
Yesterday was Thursday; today is Friday.

Japan · Middle East and North Africa
Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...

Nominations[edit]

Unusual titles of Queen Elizabeth II[edit]

If we can find a timely story featuring Queen Elizabeth II, then we could call her simply 'Queen of Belize' or one of the other minor titles. Suitably misleading. Modest Genius ^talk 21:00, 6 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Or call her Duke of Normandy. Modest Genius ^talk 21:17, 6 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Duke of Lancaster would be the one that would really confuse people... I'll bet that even the majority of Brits don't know that one ;) Physchim62 (talk) 21:23, 6 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The Duke ones are awkward though, since she doesn't actually hold the dukedoms - they're honorary titles. Once a peerage merges to the Crown, it technically ceases to exist, which is why it can be recreated for someone else. See Buckhurst Peerage Case, the relevant legal judgement, which states: "The fountain and source of all dignities [i.e., the Sovereign] cannot hold a dignity from himself. The dignity ... terminates, not by virtue of any provisions in its creation but from the absolute incapacity of the sovereign to hold a dignity." Modest Genius ^talk 22:54, 6 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

On the other hand, our article on the loyal toast reminds us that the ducal titles are still in use, whatever the legal situation! Physchim62 (talk) 23:02, 6 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I agree that dukedoms are awkward and should be avoided, for the above stated reasons.(If we must, a baronetcy would really throw people off) Outback the koala (talk) 02:27, 7 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Well, the grandson of Queen of Jamaica is getting married in April... Here's the story. --Tone 21:31, 3 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Detailed plans are released for the upcoming wedding of the grandson of the Queen of Belize and the Queen of Jamaica.

Hopefully that confuses things nicely - it implies that the wedding is between the Queen of Jamaica and the grandson of the Queen of Belize, when in fact it's referring to the grandson of both Queens, who are the same person. Modest Genius ^talk 23:59, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Brontomerus[edit]

I realize this is a little early to start colecting stories for April 1st, but i saw this on the news this morning and it is just too good to pass up.

An international team of scientists recently named the fosilized remains of Thunder thighs found in Utah. --Found5dollar (talk) 16:13, 23 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

But that's a good one ;-) --Tone 16:35, 23 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Mazda Recall[edit]

Somebody would have to research and write this article, but spiders forcing the recall of mazda's sounds like a perfect story for ITN.---Balloonman ^{NO! I'm Spartacus!} 01:33, 4 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

First lady of Guatemala[edit]

An actually true story, Sandra Torres (politician) filed for divorce to become eligible for presidential elections. The article is there but needs some polishing. --Tone 11:09, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Friday (Rebecca Black song)[edit]

It's Friday, Friday.... Nergaal (talk) 19:28, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Support as long as this is the only joke ITN, so that ITN can still keep its usefulness. Passionless -Talk 20:47, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Support --Dorsal Axe 20:48, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Alternative blurb proposed at ITNC: Yesterday was Thursday; today, it is Friday. Nergaal (talk) 05:44, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Love it. RxS (talk) 13:09, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

MESSENGER[edit]

Copied from ITN/C:

The messenger that we've sent to Mercury sends greetings home. To be posted on April 1st. --Tone 11:02, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Alt1 NASA decodes messages originating from (the vicinity of)(the direction of) Mercury. Passionless -Talk 19:02, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Alt2 NASA decodes signals sent by a messenger from Mercury.

See also below for suggested pictures. Modest Genius ^talk 23:55, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I like this one :). Is both fresh, funny, and arguably correct. Use "the vicinity of". Thue | talk 22:27, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Support Alt1 for April 1 only. Nergaal (talk) 03:32, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Support Alt2 for April 1, as it includes the probe. --A More Perfect Onion (talk) 15:55, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Spiderman[edit]

I like this: Spiderman climbs the worlds tallest building in Dubai. RxS (talk) 21:25, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Support Odd, humourous and true. Passionless -Talk 21:36, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Support per above. This is a good one.--NortyNort (Holla) 13:05, 1 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Fred is dead[edit]

Continuing the long-running violence and more recent animal death themes... Fred is captured in Cape Town after "misguided efforts" to befriend him. (insert "and euthanised" if this has happened or happens by Friday) --can dle •wicke 03:28, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It seems Fred is dead. --can dle •wicke 03:32, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Cape Town car raider Fred, deemed aggressive by authorities, is captured and executed by lethal injection. --can dle •wicke 22:19, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Support but I think it would be better if the "by lethal injection" is removed, to make it seem more like Fred was human/the execution was extrajudicial. Or you could replace that part with "is captured and executed, sparking outrage." as people were upset with the outcome. Passionless -Talk 22:32, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know if there was any real outrage though. Some people disagreed. Outrage is a bit eye-catching. Sometimes simple works best. Cape Town car raider Fred, deemed aggressive by authorities, is captured and executed. --can dle •wicke 23:01, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Egyptian cobra escape[edit]

A young Agoraphobic Egyptian is lost somewhere in the Bronx Zoo? RxS (talk) 17:32, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

A young Agoraphobic Egyptian is lost in New York maybe? RxS (talk) 17:39, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, why concealing the true story when we can say: People of New York excercise caution after the increased number of venomous snakes in the city? +1=increase. --Tone 21:11, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Slight problem with the hook. The snake has been found. [1] --Found5dollar (talk) 21:55, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Phooey...though maybe we could do something tabloid like, like MISSING SNAKE FOUND! PANIC AT THE BRONX ZOO SUBSIDES! And feel free to add more exclamation marks if needed. Passionless -Talk 21:59, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I guess they will take away its internet access so it can't tweet anymore... – ukexpat (talk) 22:02, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

A dangerous Egyptian is found hiding in a dark corner of the Bronx Zoo. But thus could seem a little racist....--Found5dollar (talk) 22:22, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Lol, I was thinking the exact same thing, but decided against it. Passionless -Talk 22:27, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

A blurb about this is definitely required, but what?? Little help? Passionless -Talk 23:53, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Twittering Cobra fails to evade authorities, never left its house. Passionless -Talk 23:59, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Updated to: A celebrated presence on Twitter fails to evade authorities, having never left home. --can dle •wicke 00:23, 1 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I don't understand. So did it never escape? Perhaps it could be updated better as well... one of the tenses is odd now that it has been found. This might be helpful so I'll leave it here. --can dle •wicke 00:21, 1 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The blurb is better now, and while did escape its cage, it never left the reptile house. Though it seems people don't want to follow the rest of the MP, so only 2 items were posted...boo.Passionless -Talk 00:25, 1 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Wish we could have used Tone's blurb...dumb snake. RxS (talk) 05:12, 1 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Choosing the items[edit]

So, the useful items that so far got some support, are:

Mercury MESSENGER
Fred
Spiderman
Friday
Bronx cobra
Royal Wedding

Feel free to add more. --Tone 22:45, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

What is nice is that they are rather recent, not more than one week old. In contrary to last year when we had news collected over all March. Still we need around 6-7 items for succesfully filled ITN box. And a photo. An image of Mercury would (a very serious one) do but there could be something even better. --Tone 22:52, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Easy - we use a picture of Mercury, but the element or the Roman god instead of the planet. Examples on the right. Modest Genius ^talk 23:52, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The Burj Khalifa would be a better photo IMHO. – SMasters (talk) 23:43, 30 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'd also prefer Burj Khalifa, as we should stick to the facts. Still, we need at least two more items, and remember, the April 1st starts on GMT here. Running out of time... --Tone 16:58, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I suggested a royal wedding blurb above too. Modest Genius ^talk 17:04, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Your last blurb version is good I think. RxS (talk) 17:14, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The NCAA blurb on the main ITN page is good, (San Beda defeats San Sebastian to win their 17th NCAA Basketball Championship) but there's a maintenance tag on it. RxS (talk) 17:55, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Just that it's extremely outdated event... --Tone 21:12, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Note that this is not updated, but if this will be added, tell me so I can do something about it. There's a nore recent development to this, but it won't be basketball and it would lose its shock value. –HTD (ITN: Where no updates but is stickied happens.) 04:17, 1 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Just thought of another one: The European Space Agency satellite shows that Earth actually looks like a giant potato. The article GOCE needs a couple of words of update. [2] In any case, I won't be here to post the items at 12GMT so someone please take care of it. --Tone 21:17, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I've done something for Fred. Might have time to expand it a bit more later. It's a new article as well which I think all the other are not. --can dle •wicke 22:19, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It should be noted that there is a fair bit of opposition to ITN being included with the April Fools stories on ITNC. -- Eraserhead1 <talk> 23:16, 31 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Probably time to move on, don't think any of this is going to work. Lot's of hot blooded opposition on the main page. I don't understand it personally but it's turning into something distinctly not-fun. RxS (talk) 04:22, 1 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

How can there be opposition on the Main Page when the ITNs aren't even on the Main Page? There are some positive comments, there like "Keep them coming year after year. I will always be looking forward to them. And shame on all the nay-sayers" and "+1 Love the April Fools updates. Including TFA. Great work!" and

"I don't think wikipedia's credibility is in any way damaged by the April Fool's Day MP. Everything is still factual and encyclopedic, but our ability to not take ourselves too seriously 1 day out the year is what reminds us this is a community of volunteers, not a bunch of stuck-up profit-driven "scholars". I really do look forward to the April Fools day MP...and yes, I know uncyclopedia exists, but dammit, we aren't professionals! Why should we act like them?"

and

"I feel that the jokes were cut back alot this year which is a real shame, I mean why is everything so politically correct now?".

--can dle •wicke 04:34, 1 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Being not allowed to celebrate april fools day, makes editing wikipedia feel a whole lot more work rather than something I would want to do. Passionless -Talk 04:39, 1 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I meant the main ITN/C page. Should have been clearer. I completely agree with you but it's turning into a pie fight that's generating some fairly bad ideas. At this point ITN sticks out on the main page like a dumb uncle. Dunno how to turn it around though. RxS (talk) 04:54, 1 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I suggest we nominate Candlewicke for instant adminship, and have her edit ITN for us. Passionless -Talk 05:17, 1 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]