User talk:Mark/Archive 1

Welcome to my discussion page. Please do not hesitate to leave me a message. I will respond to you as soon as I can.

Please note that I do not usually respond on this page - if you leave me a message, I will most likely reply on your user talk page, so that you will be notified when you receive my message.

OLD MESSAGES

Welcome to Wikipedia! Rest assured that just because you're young doesn't mean we won't take you seriously. Then again, just because you're young doesn't mean your work isn't going to escape criticism and editing. Seeing you're from WA, could you maybe extend the WA and Perth entries? Hope you can stick around --Robert Merkel

Yes, welcome Mark! There are a couple of other high school Wikipedians, Dreamyshade and Jzcool, both of whom are major contributors. Around here, we generally judge people by their contributions, not their ages. :) You commented elsewhere that you'd like to act as a "multimedia scout"; please do so! The fun thing about Wikipedia is that no one (except Larry Sanger) acts in an official position; we all do what is most interesting to us. --Stephen Gilbert

Regarding using IM rather than talk, there is a wikipedia IRC channel.

Hi, Mark, thanks for the kind words. -- Zoe

Well, you seem to be the most active wikipedian at the moment! You're doing great. P.S. why don't make a new redirect page at "Zoe" to go to your user page... saves typing that link every time - User:Mark Ryan

ok I just answered myself. Just type [ [ zoe ] ]

Mark, you don't have to do that. Just type three tildes (~) together and, if you're logged in, it automatically types your user page link. -- Zoe

just shows how long I've been away! Last time I was on Wikipedia, they used a completely different User Interface and software. You caouldn't do half the stuff you can now. - Mark Ryan

Right, the new stuff is pretty cool. -- Zoe

Zoe, can you look at the article Perth, Australia for me? I made an aerial map which I have put there, but I'm concerned it's too large and unnecessary a file (100Kb). Maybe I should reduce its size a bit? - Mark Ryan

It looks fine to me, it doesn't crowd into the margins and it isn't too long. -- Zoe

Hi Mark, I just saw your question about Fraser's appointment as PM. Yes he was appointed directly to replace Whitlam. It had nothing to do with the general election. In most parliamentary democracies, a PM is appointed by the head of state. Some require a prior nomination or subsequent confirmation. Like many, Australia's doesn't. The Governor-General, as he is constitutionally entitled to do through reserve powers, changed PMs the same day (at least I think it was the same day, but in any case, Fraser's appointment had nothing to do with the general election.

Technically the Queen has no role in the appointment, though if I remember the Commonwealth of Australia Act correctly, it might have been done in her name. In fact, even though a lot of the things the Governor-General does are done in HM's name, she has absolutely nothing to do with them, with the first information she gets being either a phonecall from Government House or reading it in the next morning's newspapers. I hope that clarifies matters STÓD/ÉÍRE 05:38 Mar 24, 2003 (UTC)

Hi. I was just browsing through your contributions (I'm very nosy), and noticed you made a comment on User talk:Tim Starling/Sodium Chloride Temp about 4 months ago. It was news to me: I didn't have it on my watchlist. Sodium chloride is in the unfortunate position (along with gallium arsenide) of being half-done and forgotten about. It's not quite as spiffy as the 20 tables I did in bulk. I should really do something about that. Anyway, thanks for the alternate m.p. and b.p. figures, I'll look into it. -- Tim Starling 13:56 Apr 25, 2003 (UTC)

Strawman alert! There is no legal right to murder. This is also not at all comparable to the issue of same-sex marriage esp since murder denies all rights to a person while same-sex marriage is about granting currently denied rights to people. --mav 05:59, 1 Dec 2003 (UTC)

I was tired, forgive me? lol - all I think I was trying to say is that surely the constitutional issue here is that only certain groups of people are afforded the right to marry? Whereas there was some sort of ambiguity with the original text of it - Mark Ryan

I should have said that I liked your edit, but just didn't like the edit summary. :) --mav

Apologies re Education in Australia. I don't know what I was thinking at the time... Dysprosia 10:21, 8 Dec 2003 (UTC)

I'm not entirely sure what you are apologising for. Is it my comment when I edited the article? Because I wasn't blaming you; what you wrote was perfectly valid for New South Wales. I really should watch what I say in my edit summaries, because they make me sound either exciteable or cynical... Either way, see my comment at Talk:Education in Australia. - Mark Ryan 11:56, 8 Dec 2003 (UTC)

:) I should have known better in any case. If I was in my normal, right frame of mind, I would have known better than to be all NSW-centric... Dysprosia 12:05, 8 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Your username has been changed from Mark Ryan to Mark, in case you haven't noticed. You should be able to log in with the same password. -- Tim Starling 11:14, Dec 27, 2003 (UTC)

I think he is taking a break from wikipedia for a while. (busy with exams etc.) Green Mountain 03:50, 8 Jan 2004 (UTC)

But Steve Irwin wasn't acting as if the crocodile was domesticated- that is something people are not realizing. It's why the Roy Horn comparisons don't work. - Lord Kenneth 02:50, Jan 9, 2004 (UTC)

Mark - I've been watching your edits for a little while now and I like what I've seen. If I nominate you to be an admin, would you accept? --Raul654 21:14, 9 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Well, I must say, I'm certainly impressed - it's not often that someone turns down an offer like that. One thing though - When it comes time that you want to be an admin, don't request it. Allow me to nominate you. It seems to me that 3rd party nominations are looked upon a lot more favorably, and tend to go through more easily. --Raul654 03:23, 10 Jan 2004 (UTC)

No, I don't mind you having the name at all. And I figure if someone is going to have it, it might as well be you ;) --Raul654 05:55, 10 Jan 2004 (UTC)

I am not who I may appear to be. 66.36.249.149 07:26, 9 Feb 2004 (UTC)

invitation

Please see Talk:American twenty dollar bill. You get this invitation because your name appears in Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style (US vs American). Feel free to ignore if you are disinterested. - Optim 05:16, 22 Feb 2004 (UTC)

trivial thing

The message you display when you quit IRC has a typo. "Merci, e bon soir" should be "Merci, et bon soir". :) fabiform | talk 14:18, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Requests for adminship

I have nominated you to be an administrator. If you would like to accept the nomination, please do so under my nomination. Kingturtle 23:10, 10 Mar 2004 (UTC)

premierships

Actually the word premiership with a small p is perfectly acceptable as a word to describe a Prime Minister's term of office. (eg "Under John Howard's premiership Australia has gone to the dogs.") Adam 03:09, 11 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Featured Article - Butterfly

Mark - if you think a particular article should be featured, it has to go through the a special process. You have to nominate it at Wikipedia:Featured article candidates. If no one objects after (at least) week, it becomes a featured article. I have moved your comment on MediaWiki:feature to the candidates page. →Raul654 17:42, Mar 17, 2004 (UTC)

Mark, I'm sorry I missed your message a couple of weeks back. I am in good form, working for an MP this year so spending a lot of time in Canberra. I hope your studies are going well. I'm off to see the Demons beat Hawthorn tomorrow. Adam 12:39, 26 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Fetus/Foetus

Thanks for your note on my talk page about Australia's use of "foetus" instead of "fetus". I'm well aware of the use of "foetus" outside of the US. However, as has been noted on the Talk:Fetus and User talk:Hephaestos, both the IUPAC and NEJM—along with the British Medical Journal [1]—have argued that "foetus" is an incorrect spelling or, in the very least, prefer the use of "fetus" over "foetus". In fact, User:MMGB raised a great point when he mentioned that fetus is derived from the Latin "fetus", and that the pseudo-Greek usage of "oe" in "foetus" is simply wrong. --Diberri | Talk

Thanks

I knew if I whined to Wikipedia I'd be proven wrong... moink 07:55, 19 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Minor Gloat

Dear Mark, I hope you enjoyed the Eagles v Demons match as much as I did, but I suppose you didn't. Nice to see more Australians here. Adam 02:52, 10 May 2004 (UTC) (see also Melbourne Football Club).[reply]

Mark, if you are implying that the Demons are an indecent and unpopular team, i shall have to slap you. (Also I am pleased to see that wing collars are making a comeback.) Cheers Adam 03:37, 11 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

With whom is Collingwood popular? Not with anyone I know. :) Adam 03:52, 11 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

They certainly have the largest membership and probably the largest supporter base of any of the Victorian clubs, although Essendon would be running them close. I doubt they have more supporters than the Adelaide or Perth teams, which have whole states to themselves. In any case they are certainly the most unpopular team in Victoria, since everyone who doesn't actually barrack for them hates them. This is partly traditional (when I was four my father said I could barrack for anyone I liked except Collingwood), but has been aggravated in recent years by McGuire's arrogance. Adam 04:24, 11 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Male

Thanks. Hyacinth 00:21, 19 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Gull

I've reverted your changes to Gull. These standard species lists are based on taxonomic relationships, so adjacent species should be each others closest relatives. They should therefore not be alphabetised. Thanks for showing an interest anyway, jimfbleak 05:15, 25 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Comments added by User:203.220.171.43

I do not believe that John Howard should have to say sorry. I'm not saying that what happened to the aborigines wasn't truly terrible. 'The Stolen Generation' is Australia's lowest point in history. However, should John Howard have to apologise for something that his predecessors decided upon before he was born. I don't think so. Would you blame Germany's current head of state for the horrors Hitler inflicted on the Jewish race during the Holocaust?

Go back several generations, and I am of Greek descent. Is it right to blame me for the Trojan War? For goodness sake, give our government a break!

John Howard can't be that bad- he's been voted for several times. He's doing something right. You're just biased because of the War. Want to talk about it?

Dirty Jokes

Good work Mark. After seeing recent complaints about sandboxes being used for spam, I wanted to see how well ours is screened. But you have to give me credit, it was a good little test :) →Raul654 06:58, Jun 9, 2004 (UTC)

Template: DYK

Mark, you added a comment about not using the "|right" image markup, this conflicts with the rules. Could you clarify the rules, or your comment, and maybe state why? Ydorb 22:47, Jun 29, 2004 (UTC)

Image Div on Selected Anniversaries

Hi Mark, I have to apologize- it was I that placed the image on Template:July 4 selected anniversaries. However, can you explain to me why the div is necessary? When I display it with just the |right| tag in the image tag, it looks fine in my browser. I understand that there are browser differences, so I'm just trying to see what I should be checking for when I modify these images. Thanks! -- DropDeadGorgias (talk) 15:00, Jun 30, 2004 (UTC)

Whoa, thanks for the very detailed reply, complete with ridiculously helpful diagram! I'll remember to put that in from now on. Other than the colored panels on the main page, are there any other areas where I should be careful about using divs for images? I notice that a lot of other articles use divs when it seems like the mediawiki markup will do fine. - DropDeadGorgias (talk) 19:34, Jun 30, 2004 (UTC)

Yup, you've converted me... Well, I troll the selected anniversaries regularly checking for past tense and the like, so I figured I'd fix some images while I was there. - DropDeadGorgias (talk) 13:29, Jul 13, 2004 (UTC)

Perth

I'd have thought that searching for Perth would mean the original Perth, and when mentioning the place where you live, would have deliberately entered Perth, Western Australia or Perth, Australia. See Wikipedia:Offline reports/This is one of the most linked to disambiguation pages; 104 pages link(ed) there. That's why I moved it. Dunc_Harris|☺ 16:41, 3 Jul 2004 (UTC)

You're a sysop!

I'm pleased to let you know that, consensus being reached, you are now a sysop. Congratulations! Please read the Administrators' reading list to learn about your new privileges and responsibilities and what special tasks sysops perform. Cheers! Cecropia | Talk 06:52, 12 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Mark Ryan

I was actually searching for another Mark Ryan, but it seems you're just as interesting. How'd you first find out about the Wikipedia?

Thanks

Bad luck about missing out on adminship. I would have voted, but I was up for adminship at the same time, and I wasn't sure if I was allowed to vote while nominated myself. I'm confident you will be an admin some day soon. :) - Mark 12:02, 17 Jul 2004 (UTC)
- Thanks for your kind words. They're appreciated. I'll be back on RfA before Sept. or Oct. is out. ;) Neutrality 15:55, 17 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Images on Childlove

Mark, why are you removing the images from Childlove movement? -- Cecropia | Talk 13:49, 20 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Yes, we do need the images and no, they are not redundant. You can't have an article that soft-peddles what people want to justify, and leave out images that illustrate what they really have in mind. -- Cecropia | Talk 14:10, 20 Jul 2004 (UTC)

What is the relevence of your point on the hopmosexuality article? We have no images on many Wikipedia articles because noone has posted any. Feel free to post a picture on the homosexuality article. If its appropriate, noone should object. -- Cecropia | Talk 14:58, 20 Jul 2004 (UTC)

If that's your concern, don't worry about it. The article and pictures are connected. The article needs context. As to IRC, I would be cautious about running debates on IRC, they have a life of their own which is very un-Wikipedian and (not referring to the current case) a little lynch-mobbish. -- Cecropia | Talk 15:09, 20 Jul 2004 (UTC)

I understand, Mark. The article needs work, but it does describe something real which it is appropriate for Wikipedia to cover in all aspects. There are many challengable assumptions other than that the activities are illegal. I'm particularly bothered that there is virtually no distinction made between pre- and post-pubescent activity. If you're interested, perhaps you could look for ways to allow the advocates to describe their movement, yet achieve balance so it isn't an uncritical acceptance of their claims. -- Cecropia | Talk 15:37, 20 Jul 2004 (UTC)

It isn't you

That subject is just very emotional for me. Damn it, I'm tearing up a bit now. I just can't talk about it. It hurts too much. Mike H 15:48, Jul 26, 2004 (UTC)

re: Internet Explorer

I just saw a special:newpage by an anon IP entitled "removing Internet Explorer" and decided to merge it into the main IE page as it was unencyclopedic as it was. I though there would be enough people watching that page to clean it up and decide whether they wanted it or not. I thought it was marginally meritting of inclusion in the main IE article, but have no strong opinion. Dunc_Harris|☺ 12:54, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Thanks

Thanks for your friendly comments on my talk page about the U.S. infobox. You're right, the flags of all nations should be displayed the same way, for clarity. Neutrality 21:09, 17 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Deleting Dodgy Content

Thanks for deleting the "James Lesh", "Nick Jones" etc range article - kids mucking around. You have restored my faith in the GNU community.

GMail invites

I assume "GMail invites" means inviting you to give someone else a GMail account? If so, yes please. Mintguy (T) 16:05, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Oh, can I have one too? I suppose you need my email address...if you do, I can give it to you. — Ilγαηερ (Tαlκ) 21:18, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Hey, thanks for my invite. After looking over the features I'm even making this my primary email address. — Ilγαηερ (Tαlκ) 16:07, 28 Aug 2004 (UTC)

If you still have invites left, I would be interested in one. email: [email protected] -- Thanks Solipsist 21:49, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Hi. I haven't received anything about this. did you mail me? Mintguy (T) 08:59, 28 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Any left? I would love to have one. Thanks —Michael Z. 18:52, 2004 Aug 28 (UTC)

I don't want the gmail invite, but if you need to email me for any reason ht1848 at yahoo dot com we can talk about reverse psychology. Hobie 20:53, 2004 Aug 28 (UTC)

Nick jones

Mark, I'm pretty sure that this article is patent nonsense and thus should be deleted. However, I didn't do it myself right away because I wanted to have a second opinion on this one. Not being well versed in Australian matters, I just might be mistaken. If the article is still around when you see this, could please take a look (also at the talk page) and delete both if you also agree that this is a hoax? Thank you. Lupo 12:14, 31 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Edit attribution

Hi Mark. Edits from 202.67.64.xxx have now been reattributed to you. Regards — Kate Turner | Talk 06:36, 2004 Sep 4 (UTC)