Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Biography/Archive 46

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Frederick Ferris Thompson

The article about Frederick Ferris Thompson contains inaccuracies and lacks documentation. Thompson's Bank Note and Reporter was not a bank -- it was a publication. I have expand and documented the entry about FF Thompson's father, John Thompson, and would be happy to attempt to research and reconcile the FF Thompson entry when time permits, but it may take me several weeks. In the meantime, I strongly suggest that the FF Thompson entry be removed from public view while it is being substantiatedDebracadabra (talk) 02:55, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

I am sure other editors will work on this, but I have created a Reference area and added a reference. On reading about him it does say he was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of New York on the site I have given as a reference.--BSTemple (talk) 03:19, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Michelle Beaudoin's parents names are Lorraine & Maurice, not Wilfred and Barbara!!!

Please correct this if you have the power.

Thanks,

Michelle —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.219.220.238 (talk) 23:59, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Manuel de Araújo Porto-alegre

Hi, I would like to ask for some comments of any member of this Biography project to have a look at Manuel de Araújo Porto-alegre's article. I worked on the article and stopped working on it some time ago, actually some years ago. However, a couple of months ago another user started making some edits to it, among them the deletion of more than half of the information. Just a week ago I noticed that and I decided to recover back again the information that was deleted while further including other changes he did such as the inclusion of some pictures, resulting in the following article: [1]. However, the same user undid my changes back again, and when I asked him the reason of such action he replied to me in my talk page that the "text was very confusing and heavy," and now, it is back again with much less than half the information the article originally had:[2]. Besides the removal of more than half the biography, the deletion included the list of publications and other works. I have to recognize that, as it was among the first biographies I worked, I failed to include many of the references, and unfortunately I don't have the book where most of the information came from (though I know the title and can request it again using ILL). I thought this may have been the cause of the removal of some paragraphs; however, it was not, the user even deleted lines that were properly referenced. I cannot imagine deleting half of the information of other biographies such as Charles Dickens or Edgar Allan Poe (which is an FA), just because they are heavy. Though the article I worked some time ago does not have the quality of other biographies, I would expect improvements, such as rewriting rather than removal of information, that would lead to a better article, just like the ones I mentioned. Unfortunately this article has not called the attention of many editors over time, and I don't want to engage in any edit war. The article had valuable information that could lead to better quality than a "start", but now it seems it is going back to a "stub." Any comments and improvements will be more than welcome. (Ctirado (talk) 19:05, 2 April 2010 (UTC)).

At first glance, the deletions do seem excessive, particularly given the deletion of the referenced bits; a you say, it needed a copyedit and more references, but the deletions feel a bit much to me. I'd encourage you to continue the debate on the talk page of the article to see if a consensus can be reached; I can't help with the references, I'm afraid, but may be able to help a little with the copyediting. Hchc2009 (talk) 07:35, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

150 changes to BLP policy in the last week, mostly by one editor, with few people discussing or overseeing

The editor seems to have a lot of chutspa.[3]

I really think this ought to be overseen. I can count the number of editors discussing all this on the fingers of my hands.

There seems to be a little ownership of the changes going on. -- Rico 22:19, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Seeking 3rd party to help reach a consensus

I'd apprciate it if someone would give their opinions/thoughts on the current dispute in the Kim Gu article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Kim_Gu#Dishonesty

Regards. Akkies (talk) 05:16, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Proposal: Bot request for assessment of lists

According to the usage instructions of Template:WPBiography, "living=no" should be specified on all pages that are tagged with {{WPBiography}} but are not articles about living persons (such as lists of people). However, for all such pages which contain "sensitive information about ... living persons", "blpo=yes" should be specified so that {{BLP others}} is added.

My proposal is to make a bot request to check Category:List-Class biography articles and perform two tasks:

  1. Convert any instances of "living=yes" to "living=no|blpo=yes"; and
  2. If the page name follows the List of {Topic} format, then specify "listas={Topic}, List of" for proper sorting.

Incidentally, the case that sparked this proposal is Talk:List of Brazilian diplomats. I want to check with the members of this project before filing the bot request to see whether my understanding of the functioning of {{WPBiography}} is correct and/or anyone has objections to the idea. Thanks, -- Black Falcon (talk) 20:34, 30 March 2010 (UTC)

Since a week has elapsed without objections, I have made the bot request; see Wikipedia:Bot requests/Archive 35#Checking parameters of List-Class biography articles. -- Black Falcon (talk) 21:06, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Need advise as it relates to your project

I am experiencing difficulty with a couple of editors at the page Draža Mihailović; while the issue has been temporarily resolved, my combat radar tells me that there will likely be trouble over the horizon. To better understand what I can do about the article I have been snooping around a little, and I have made the following findings:

  • According to DIREKTOR (talk · contribs), "these sort of complex EE issues require at least some back knowledge", and I have none;
  • The article has been protected on three separate occasions, including once by me, in response to content issues;
  • WP:PP states that admins make permanently semi-protect articles if there are ongoing NPOC/BLP issues
  • The current dispute has seen both involved editors blocked twice for edit warring.

My questions then are as follows:

  • In this project's opinion, is this article currently in compliance with NPOV and WP:RS standards;
  • Can semi-protection be permanently applied in the event that the edit warring does not stop, and
  • Is there anything that you can suggest to the editors that has not already been suggested to help resolve the edit dispute problem in/over the article? TomStar81 (Talk) 09:31, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

asking for some support

I have revised and improved the German article of Marcus Schenkenberg completely during the last months. The English needs certification, verification and some more biographical information. So I want to improve it the same way (step by step) like the German one next time. I guess a translation just one to one won’t do it? Would be very glad to receive some support and an explanation how to manage this without getting in trouble. Thanks in advance and best regards --Sat Ra (talk) 10:31, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Notification regarding Wikipedia-Books

Hadronic Matter
An overview
An example of a book cover, taken from Book:Hadronic Matter

As detailed in last week's Signpost, WildBot has been patrolling Wikipedia-Books and searched for various problems in them, such as books having duplicate articles or containing redirects. WikiProject Wikipedia-Books is in the process of cleaning them up, but help would be appreciated. For this project, the following books have problems:

The problem reports explain in details what exactly are the problems, why they are problems, and how to fix them. This way anyone can fix them even if they aren't familiar with books. If you don't see something that looks like this, then all problems have been fixed. (Please strike articles from this list as the problems get fixed.)

Also, the {{saved book}} template has been updated to allow editors to specify the default covers of books (title, subtitle, cover-image, cover-color), and gives are preview of the default cover on the book's page. An example of such a cover is found on the right. Ideally, all books in Category:Book-Class biography articles should have covers.

If you need help with cleaning up a book, help with the {{saved book}} template, or have any questions about books in general, see Help:Books, Wikipedia:Books, and Wikipedia:WikiProject Wikipedia-Books, or ask me on my talk page. Also feel free to join WikiProject Wikipedia-Books, as we need all the help we can get.

This message was delivered by User:EarwigBot, at 00:37, 8 April 2010 (UTC), on behalf of Headbomb. Headbomb probably isn't watching this page, so if you want him to reply here, just leave him a message on his talk page. EarwigBot (owner • talk) 00:37, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Missing biographies

I've updated my list of miscellaneous missing biographies - Skysmith (talk) 13:39, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Religion listings for Supreme Court Justices

I noticed on Justice Bader Ginsberg and Justice Breyer's pages, their religion is listed as "Jewish." Isn't the religion actually "Judaism" and persons who practice it are "Jewish"? Also, I'm curious why the other justices are listed as "Catholic" and "Protestant," rather than as "Christian" with Catholic or Protestant as a subset. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.218.173.161 (talk) 20:31, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

Discussion on the usage of "Turkmen" and "Turkmenistani" on categories and templates

Please see Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Countries#Turkmen or Turkmenistani? for further discussion. Thanks. Arteyu ? Blame it on me ! 19:43, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

Diane Wood

At Diane Wood, part of this project, a discussion is occurring as to the of necessity of including 13 references in the lead for the proposition that a person has been mentioned as a potential nominee for the Supreme Court. -Rrius (talk) 01:04, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

Vicente Acero

Resolved

- Jmabel | Talk 08:07, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

I have very strong doubts about the article Vicente Acero. There is an architect about 150 years later by that name (and I just wrote Vicente Acero (18th century)), but I am extremely suspicious about even the existence of a 16th century architect by that name. Nothing in the article seems solid (he supposedly built cathedrals, but it doesn't say which; he was rumored to be involved in building the Invincible Armada; etc.). It may be a hoax, or an honest error, or some such. Anyway, someone should look into it. - Jmabel | Talk 01:27, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

The original article was a genuine one, but it was later vandalised in 2008, I think. Have left a fuller message on your talk page. Hchc2009 (talk) 06:15, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

  • Resolved: pretty certain the 16th century date was a hoax or error. Material variously deleted or moved, accordingly. - Jmabel | Talk 08:07, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

Childhood trivia

All though I never followed Bret´s profesional career, I remember the last day at Cantara St. Elementary School playing softball where Bret pulled of a tipical "Babe Ruth" play in the last inning, bases loaded and homerun.

Steve Bulbow M.D. Elementary School Friend —Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.166.146.16 (talk) 00:36, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Frank Guida: Store Identified Correctly?

The article on Frank Guida says that he founded Birdland Records in Norfolk, Va. When I was growing up in the Norfolk area, Guida's store on Granby Street was called Frankie's Got It. The "About Us" page on Birdland Music's web site doesn't mention Guida. Somebody should check that reference. --Jdcrutch (talk) 03:20, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Johanna Budwig

There's something of a debate going on at Talk:Johanna Budwig about what is appropriate to include in an article about this person (developer of the Budwig diet/Budwig protocol, which still has its enthusiasts as a supposedly beneficial diet for cancer patients). At the moment two of us take a similar position, whilst a third wants to make drastic cuts. I would appreciate the perspective of people who aren't already involved. Nunquam Dormio (talk) 18:53, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

POV wording: Reinhard_Heydrich#Assassination_in_Prague

Opinions needed here. Thanks, --Piero Montesacro (talk) 20:08, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

captivated

I think that the word captivated (by the germans) should read captured...

194.30.184.48 (talk) 01:59, 13 April 2010 (UTC) Smudger 13/04/2010

Thanks for the suggestion, but without telling us the article you are referring to it will be a little difficult to fix. Road Wizard (talk) 22:07, 15 April 2010 (UTC)
The article is Marcel Pourchier. I fixed captivated/captured. That was easy. However, there were a fair number of other language/grammatical errors that I also fixed. That was harder because I wasn't always sure what the article creator meant. I don't think the article was written by an English-speaking person - probably French. I did the best I could.--Bbb23 (talk) 00:58, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

Guidelines for Biographies of Dead People

I know there's a policy about sourcing biographies of living people, but what about people who have died? I wrote something on the Discussion page of the Emanuel Feuermann article. No one's responded. Instinctively, I rebel when I see fairly bold assertions and quotations without sources, but I don't feel comfortable editing the article without knowing the protocols.

Can someone help me out here?--Bbb23 (talk) 21:59, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Dead people have no special considerations. I encourage you to edit the article as you would if it were not about a person. Besides noting any concerns on the talk page, you might or might not want to append tags, remove troublesome parts (with or without copying them to the talk page, or discuss it with the editors involved (on their talk pages). Maurreen (talk) 22:33, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Simon Bradstreet

The photo pictured was long thought to be the Bradstreet house, but research conducted in the 1950s established it was built about 1715, after the deaths of Anne and Simon Bradstreet. It now belongs to the North Andover Historical Society and has been renamed the Parson Barnard House. Nahistorian (talk) 11:45, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

information pretaining to a gold record charm !

        I HAVE RECENTLY AQUIRED A PENDANT OF A 33 RECORD , ITS LABELED ET MAINTENANT , THE BACK IS HAND ENGRAVED
          Pour Ma Fille Lee. COULD THIS HAVE BEEN A GIFT GIVEN BY GILBERT BECAUD , AND WHO IS LEE.

          74.4.86.131 (talk) 16:08, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

Move discussion at Talk:Seki Kōwa

Please come participate in the move discussion at Talk:Seki Kōwa#Move discussion. Thanks! ···日本穣? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 18:02, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

Maybe just a good idea.

Is there a bot already that updates current ages of living people on their infoboxes automatically, by looking at birthday, etc.? If so, is it in use? If not, why not? Ptharien's Flame (Alexanderaltman) 03:02, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

Not that I know of. Maurreen (talk) 03:09, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
(edit conflict) If the template {{Birth date and age}} is used, then the current age is recalculated and updated automatically. Hard-coded information about the current age of living persons ideally should be formatted and presented using this template. -- Black Falcon (talk) 03:10, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

Disagreement over the Massimo family article

There is currently a disagreement over some of the content in the article on the Italian Massimo family. Two editors have been edit warring over the status of some members of the family while claiming that one another are actually part of the family and attempting to push their views. I've been contacted (as an admin) by one of the editors to intervene in this article, but it appears to be a content dispute to me - particularly as I know nothing of this topic and am in no position to evaluate any of the content or sources which are being disputed. As such, I'd appreciate it if editors and/or admins active in this project could look in on this article. Thanks Nick-D (talk) 12:08, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

Brian Cantwell Smith

I added the name of a book, On the Origin of Objects to Brian Cantwell Smiths biography. I also added the word, 'ontology' after philosophy at the very top of the article. I could not figure out how to make an editing summary. So maybe someone can give me better help than I read in the help of Wikipedia's instructions for where to describe what changes I made. 4-22-2010. michelle.mundt@live.com209.152.49.234 (talk) 02:41, 23 April 2010 (UTC)michellemundt at live dot com

Hi, and welcome. When you make an edit, the "edit summary" box is between the editing window (where you make the changes) and the "save page" button. Hope that's helpful. Let us know if you have other questions. Maurreen (talk) 03:47, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

FAR

I have nominated John Vanbrugh for a featured article review here. Please join the discussion on whether this article meets featured article criteria. Articles are typically reviewed for two weeks. If substantial concerns are not addressed during the review period, the article will be moved to the Featured Article Removal Candidates list for a further period, where editors may declare "Keep" or "Remove" the article's featured status. The instructions for the review process are here. —Ed (talk • majestic titan) 06:16, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

I have some questions about the use of infoboxen on biographies

I have some questions about the use of infoboxen on biographies. I use them, but by example. I have never come across a manual of style for them, or a tutorial for tuning their schema.

Is there a manual of style for these infoboxen?

Is there a tutorial for tuning the infoboxen schema?

I see that some of these templates have scaffolding, telling one to click on a link to create the template's own sandbox, and to click on another link to create its own test data. But this mechanism -- if it is currently working -- could really benefit from some further documentation.

Thanks! Geo Swan (talk) 12:18, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, I don't use them, so I can't help you. Maurreen (talk) 17:10, 24 April 2010 (UTC)
Try WP:VPT or WP:HELPDESK. Rd232 talk 17:15, 24 April 2010 (UTC)

Category deletion discussion

Jesse Wallingford

The guy is virtually unknown in New Zealand yet should be a legend if even half what's written is true. I'm looking forward to the day Peter Jackson does a Spielberg/Hanks and films a mini series on the Anzacs at Gallipoli. This guy is sure to feature. Try typing Wallingford into http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast for some fascinating reading. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Halod1 (talk • contribs) 12:30, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

You can change it. Maurreen (talk) 18:35, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Edward Franklin Albee (II) error

The entry for Edward Franklin Albee II (adoptive grandfather of the playwright Edward Albee) indicates that he is the son of "Edward Franklin Albee I." In fact, his father was Nathan S. Albee. I'm not sure where the original information came from or how he acquired the "II" designation. Does anyone know? [1] Teriqueen (talk) 18:27, 22 April 2010 (UTC)Teri Campbell

Ask on the article's talk page. Maurreen (talk) 18:34, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Mikita Brottman

Mikita Brottman declares herself a psychoanalyst even though she has never completed any training and has no credentials whatsoever for that. This has been researched by Kathleen Seidel for her article critiquing Brottman's notorious article, "Nutty Professors," which argues that autistic people should not be hired as college faculty. Here is the link: http://www.neurodiversity.com/autopsy_of_a_violent_diagnosis.pdf

Jeankearnsmiller (talk) 02:18, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

You can change it. Maurreen (talk) 18:34, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Looks to me as though she has a PhD in psychoanalysis: http://www.heed.edu/mikita_brottman.htm (DeniseFranklin (talk) 17:49, 5 August 2010 (UTC))

Not really. It's a humanities degree through which she may have focused on Freudian literary criticism. This has nothing to do with a clinical psychology degree. The site you refer to, http://www.heed.edu, is "under construction" and "Heed University" is listed by the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization as an unaccredited university State residents should be wary of. Jeankearnsmiller (talk) 01:44, 6 August 2010 (UTC) Bold text

Thanks, but I re-edited the entry. Most psychoanalytic institutes are unaccredited; that doesn't mean their graduates are not allowed to call themselves psychoanalysts. "Psychoanalyst" can mean all kinds of different things; it is not a formal title. Plenty of people without "accredited" training refer to themselves as psychoanalysts, including Slavoj Zizek, who calles himself a "theoretical" psychoanalyst.

James Garner

User:Wildhartlivie has been removing valid info from the James Garner article, per this diff (without any edit summary) and following. As the user appears to be an editor in good standing, I'm having difficulty comprehending what he is doing here. I've not contacted him ditectly at this point as I'm trying to avoid a one-on-one confrontation. He is active in the Film project, so i am asking here for a neutral party to review my attempts to moderate his deletions. Thanks. - BilCat (talk) 02:16, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

I think I see what he was trying to do: much of the info was unsourced and so unverified. The methods were rather heavy handed but the idea was not wrong. Anyway, Jack Merridew has weighed in and made some constructive edits (including the addition of three references) that should help stabilise the article --Jubilee♫clipman 07:38, 25 April 2010 (UTC)
Thanks to both of you. However, on some of Wild's points he is wrong. For example, his claim that Support Your Local Gunfighter was not released in 1971 - the film's article confirms this is true. Also, why remove these entries entirely (including Skin Game from the same year), rather than just fixing or removing the offending parts? It is this type of thing ("heavy-handedness") that has really got me confused about his edits. - BilCat (talk) 07:53, 25 April 2010 (UTC)
OK, I think he was confusing Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) and Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971). Some good faith might be warranted here on his part, or even reading the linked articles first! - BilCat (talk) 08:04, 25 April 2010 (UTC)
First of all, BilCat, when you post somewhere complaining about someone else's edits, you are beholding to notify them. Secondly, when you reverted it, I went back through and gave rationale for each step. You failed to mention that, and you also failed to mention that what you edit warred about to the point of 3RR warning was it mostly was not sourced, contained POV assertions, and you then came back and removed some of what I had also removed. You also failed to mention that you accused me of vandalism and added pointy, totally inappropriate hidden notes that were addressed to or about me. Let's not then overlook that you pulled the "dyslexia" card when I commented on the incomplete sentences and spelling errors in what you did return. Oh, and folks, Jack Merridew didn't make reference edits to what BilCat was edit warring about. And Bil, please bother to learn the gender of persons whom you are tattling about. Speaking of bad faith... Wildhartlivie (talk) 18:31, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

John Augustine Hartford

The article currently states: "His brother Edward Hartford was not involved in the family business, but his son George Huntington Hartford II would become heir to the business following the deaths of his uncles." It would be clearer if the sentence read, "His brother Edward Hartford was not involved in the family business, but Edward's son George Huntington Hartford II would become heir to the business following the deaths of his uncles." Perhaps the ambiguity of the original quoted above is responsible for the error in the info box, which lists John's "children" as "Huntington Hartford." Huntington Hartford (George Huntington Hartford II) was John A. Hartford's nephew (as Huntington Hartford's wiki page correctly identifies).Rjp54 (talk) 17:14, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

You can change it. Maurreen (talk) 18:33, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Wikiproject status

As far as I can tell, this has little collaboration or responses. I'm considering whether it would be best to mark it historical or somesuch. Maurreen (talk) 18:38, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

The assessmet department is working dilligently and the project and subprojects are turning out GAs and FAs. It's not inactive. Hekerui (talk) 18:47, 25 April 2010 (UTC)
OK, thanks, I wasn't aware of that. Maurreen (talk) 18:53, 25 April 2010 (UTC)
(edit conflict) That's correct. Also, just because few respond directly to the messages posted here (thanks for your efforts in that department, BTW, Maurreen) does not mean the project is inactive. Many requests are dealt with without any actual reply being posted here. Perhaps we need a coordinator? I am the coordinator for WP:CTM (another apparently semi-active project) and my role is defined here: Wikipedia:WikiProject Contemporary music/Coordinator. Given how important it is to help out genuine requests for help (especially where the articles are BLPs or otherwise potentially controversial) then it is imperative that this project remain active and continues to assess articles and help out those people that ask that problematic articles be cleaned up, sourced, etc --Jubilee♫clipman 19:03, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Violation

Resolved

Please, erase the names Kostas Mitroglou and Antonis Nikopolidis in Giorgos Zampetas article. This is not funny!...--ΑΝώΔυΝος (talk) 19:55, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

I believe i have fixed the problem --pls double check this --> here....thank you for pointing this out!!..Moxy (talk) 20:02, 25 April 2010 (UTC)
My pleasure, all the best, --ΑΝώΔυΝος (talk) 00:15, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Filiz Odabas-Geldiay seems to fulfill notability requirement

There is a question at the top of the Filiz Odabas-Geldiay page about whether the article fulfills the notability requirement. It says she is the Executive Director of the International Association for Human Values and Director of Government Relations for the Art of Living Foundation. Both of those are major NGOs with their own wikipedia pages and many hits come up for them on Google. If you search the founder of these organizations, under the spelling Sri Sri Ravishankar, it returns 1.4 million hits. So seems OK to include. Someone might want to research this person. Astrid999 (talk) 20:06, 29 April 2010 (UTC)Astrid999

You can cite reliable sources proving her notability, like newspaper articles about her, etc. and if you have done that you can remove the notability parameter. Hekerui (talk) 20:29, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Notable Names Database (NNDB)

NNDB is a useful resource for research. The website is NNDB: Tracking the entire world, which says "NNDB is an intelligence aggregator that tracks the activities of people we have determined to be noteworthy, both living and dead." -- Wavelength (talk) 01:01, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

  1. ^ http://www.bostonoperahouseonline.com/EdwardFrankAlbee.htm
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