User talk:SemperBlotto/2007

Can't argue with your assessment

on this tagging, but did my best... considering my mind was more engaged on the wikipedia side and finishing such, this was a good start. Thanks for the fix ups. Linguistics was and will never be my thing.

The essay (I'd left a link) might be better mined for alternative word choices, etc., but this term is apparently new enough that it's not covered by Dictionary.com Best regards // FrankB 23:42, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Censorship

Wiktionary is supposed to be free, not censored. --85.156.132.203 11:42, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

Should this be removed too: Hogwarts? --85.156.132.203 11:55, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

Plurals + reflexive verbs

Ciao! Wow, that's great! A question for you: how do we create entries for verbs which are reflexive and not reflexive at the same time (i.e. cacciare/cacciarsi, fermare/fermarsi)? Do we need two separate entries or a single one is sufficient? and what about conjugation? Tnx, Barbara.

• See andare / andarsene SemperBlotto 17:19, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
  • Ok, but you need to do tons of cut&pasting, we have zillions of reflexive verbs.. Barmar 17:35, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
    • I would add the base verb and its conjugation and a section pointing to the reflexive version, but leave it red linked for now (or add the reflexive form but not the conjugation table). We can always come back to it later. SemperBlotto 17:48, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
      • Ok, thanks! Barmar 12:59, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Re: large numbers of requests are often ignored

Thanks for telling me this. I'm making the requests for you guys' sake, not my own: I was under the impression the general userbase wants the wiktionary to be as extensive as possible, so when I (very frequently) find entries missing (often very basic ones, like "reload"), I add the request as a way to point it out (and if people think the request is invalid and want to delete it, that's fine with me). Is this behavior inappropriate??

• We have many lists elsewhere of words to be added - and we are getting round to them all in time. The request list is for words that a user actually wants to know the meaning of. SemperBlotto 22:31, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
  • Ok, please have someone add a link to a more appropriate list on the page which pops up when one searches without success

User:Grendelkhan

... knows too much to be a newbie? Robert Ullmann 00:04, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

has been around for a while, not doing much. WP admin. never mind. ;-) Robert Ullmann 19:25, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Blocking of 80.43.102.208

My home IP has been blocked for no reason that I can see - could you please unblock it or at least enable me to log in from my home IP?

Thanks, Mrbowtie 15:52, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

• Nice try - Wonderfool. SemperBlotto 15:55, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Telephone box pic

Thanks. I thought that's what I pasted in, but I just got a rectangle with a title written in it. Perhaps I hadn't copied it correctly. --Enginear 23:16, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Problem with zonal?

Hi, you reverted my edits on zonal without any explanation. Could you elaborate? 142.58.206.114 00:50, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

• Because it was incorrect - not in any dictionary that I looked in. SemperBlotto 07:49, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
  • It's a very common adjective used in the sciences; you just didn't look in the right places.142.58.206.114 00:41, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

haloenzyme

Are you sure of the etymology. I couldn't find any reference to them containing halogen atoms. SemperBlotto 12:52, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

No not really, I just couldn't see what else it could be. Could it be halo-#Etymology 1? Widsith 10:12, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

I wondered if it was an alteration of holoenzyme - seems to have the same sort of meaning. I prefer to leave out things that I'm not sure of. SemperBlotto 10:15, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Blocking of Mrbowtie

Owing to my being denied the right to talk, which in itself seems unreasonable for anyone, denying the right to a defence, I am forced to resort to contact your Wikipedia user through mine. However, it seems that you do not watch that account's talk page a zealously as this, so, by means of a third party, I have sent you this message. Due to extreme laziness I will not repeat what I said on your other talk page, but simply request that you review it. Written by 86.138.152.171 ( w:User:The_Fish) 10:25, 8 January 2007 (UTC) on behalf of Mrbowtie 10:28, 8 January 2007 (UTC).

That was me. I forgot to sign in as Mrbowtie as I was somewhat confused by this procedure - the denial of a right to defence is indeed puzzling especially from an apparently-experienced Wikipedian such as yourself.

That was me again. I forgot to sign the thing. Mrbowtie 10:27, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

• I have requested a CheckUser investigation from Connel MacKenzie (talk • contribs) SemperBlotto 10:32, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
  • p.s. You don't actually seem to be blocked?? SemperBlotto 10:45, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
    • Sorry, that's right, it's my home IP 80.43.102.208 that's blocked. Mrbowtie 10:52, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
      • I had intended that only account-creation was blocked from that range of addresses. You should be able to use an existing UserID. I have asked Connel to check. SemperBlotto 10:59, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
        • I see only this block:
          • 15:57, December 30, 2006, SemperBlotto (Talk | contribs | block) blocked 80.43.0.0/16 (contribs) (expires 15:57, January 30, 2007, account creation blocked) (unblock) (Tiscali UK (part used by Wonderfool))
        • Without the exact block message, I'm not sure there is anything more that I can check. --Connel MacKenzie 17:14, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

• • • • • OK, Unblocked and reblocked - definitely anon users only, + account creation blocked. SemperBlotto 17:24, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

• • • • • • Thank you greatly. I shall now celebrate this fact by not making use of it and allowing m account to stagnate further! Mrbowtie 19:22, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

copyhold

I don't understand your definition...Care to explain, "the title deeds were a copy of the manorial roll"?zigzig20s 23:08, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

• Details of the lease were written into the manorial roll (long, often continuous parchment document of all financial affairs of the manor) and a copy was given to the copyholder. SemperBlotto 08:00, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

wikify

Sorry, I don't know how to do that. zigzig20s 20:27, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Too much info. zigzig20s 20:32, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for all those "requested entries" you just created :)

You're the man!! Thanks!! Thanks to you I've learned the meaning of some awesome new words!

• Yay, yet another big slew of definitions from SemperBlotto the DefinitionMaster. Hallelujah!!  :-)

• Awesome, you have been defining requested words every single day. THANKS!!! Soon we will have to rename the page the "SemperBlotto-ictionary"  :)

• Thank you for helping write definitions for substubs lately. I particularly like your work on kingdom come. Those substub entries are for words for which I know the meaning, but find myself unable to articulate a definition very well. You seem excellent at articulating and I hope to become as good as you someday!!

• Once again, grazie for your inspiring and amazing work on the requested English entrees. Grazie for defining dreamgirl as well as dozens of other ones recently. We all appreciate it to the max!!!!!

• Thanks a lot for all the words you've been adding. I think you must add more distinct new words than almost anyone else (not counting things like plurals and "ness"es). Keep it up!!!

Big Thankyou

Thanks Jeff, your work on actionee is fantastic. Much appreciated. --Lbussell68 03:46, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

twistification

I can understand deleting twistification based on the empty content that was left after Eean moved the actual contents to the talk page, especially since I had forgotten to log in before entering it. However, it would have been better to check the talk page first (and I'll mention to Eean that it would have been better to leave "see talk page" or something in the main article).

I'm a bit touchy on the subject, having been through several wars over articles being removed for no good reason, losing useful work in the process. In this case, I'd made an effort to preserve what information I had found already and was unhappy to see it blown away. This is why I disagree (to at least some extent) with Connel's "you can always re-create it" argument. However, now that I've looked up "which trigger-happy admin" it was, I'm more inclined to give the benefit of the doubt.

Clearly the problem of keeping out garbage and vandalism while still encouraging new entries has not magically gone away in my absence. I'm thinking I might start (yet another) thread on the Beer Parlour about it. Anyway, keep up the good work -dmh 16:11, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

Patrolling edits

I think that if I can add Javascript patrolling features that you use, the current patrolling system might actually stand a chance of not being overwhelmed.

Currently, you don't mark anything that you clean up as "patrolled." I sincerely wish you would.

Are there any other patrol features you think I should pursue, from the Javascript side? Which features, in your mind, have the highest precedence? Which features would make you inclined to turn on the WT:PREFS advanced patrolling stuff and start using it?

Thanks in advance,

--Connel MacKenzie 20:07, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

P.S. In my mind, once something has been wikified, or tagged with RFV, the "patrolling" of that edit has been completed, and therefore it should be marked as patrolled. --Connel MacKenzie 20:08, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

• I tend not to mark things as patrolled after fixing them because it means extra work.
• I don't understand your prefs thing. I have tried ticking the "Use preferences on this page", "Sysops only: patrolling enhancements." and "Patrol in "expert mode" with no alerts." boxes and clicking on "Save Settings" but nothing seems to be different. What is supposed to happen? SemperBlotto 22:48, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

If you Special:Preferences's [recent changes] tab has "Enhanced recent changes" un-checked, then the WT:PREFS thing can work. It auto-marks users and pages that are whitelisted in User:Connel MacKenzie/patrolled.js...and gives you a handy "(mark?)" link that you can click without navigating to another page. --Connel MacKenzie 07:07, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I meant to say, apart from some issue of clearing caches re the PREFS generally, which eventually resolved itself before I worked out what it was, there seems to be some problem with IE7 & Lupin popups -- they work on my work computer (Windows 2003 & IE6) but not on my home comp (Windows 2003 & IE7) -- the normal tooltips (or whatever they're called) appear instead. Might be a McAfee problem though -- I haven't checked everything yet. --Enginear 15:05, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

Ah, I'll test that tomorrow (or the day after, if you remind me to, on my talk page or somewiktadmin@gmail.) <soapbox> How can you wiki, using IE? The only thing that works is AWB, but that is better run only as needed. Seems like an awful lot of pain to suffer through, just to use AWB. Well, better you, than me, I suppose. </soapbox> --Connel MacKenzie 07:07, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

One other "hidden feature" note...for several years now, I've had my RC preferences to show the last 49 edits (instead of the default 50.) This has the direct benefit of purging the RC cache during server slowdowns. When my auto-RC patrol thing sees "&limit=49" (or 499, or 4999) in the URL, it will reload the RC page once every ten minutes. And if it marks more than a dozen (hmmm...maybe that limit is 10, today,) as "patrolled" it will then (almost) immediately reload the page when it finishes. --Connel MacKenzie 07:14, 17 January 2007 (UTC) Bah. I've added a separate option for it now. --Connel MacKenzie 08:52, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

I HATE IE. You use this nonsense? Yikes.

Popups is working, when IE feels like honoring the cookies. The limitation seems to be that IE does not follow the w3c "standard" for cookie length - instead it is truncating it at about 200 characters. So random cookies get dropped each time you visit WT:PREFS. Lovely. I'll now have to convert all the named cookies to a bitmask. And parse the bitmask. And set the bitmask in stone. Thanks Microsoft. Jerks. --Connel MacKenzie 08:52, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

OK, this is just too silly. IE just doesn't work. How can you force yourself to use this junk? Trying to edit it with the same browser that is in the "IE debugger" (what other environments call "proper error messages") is just pathetic. I mean, yeah, it has been a couple months since I've tried to use it for testing, but sheesh. (Yes, there used to be a time when I'd regularly open it to test things...but since IE7, it has just been too slow to open up once a day.) Nothing works in IE. No DOM compliance, no standards, no sandbox, no debugger, no error messages. WTH? Please use something, ANYTHING else.

Oh no, Opera is probably set to IE compatible mode by default? I wonder why I haven't gotten any complaints from the Opera users. Yet. --Connel MacKenzie 09:31, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

Because while Opera emulates some IE nonstandardness, it stops short of intentionally emulating IE bugs? Robert Ullmann 11:11, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

I use IE because I am used to it, understand its little foibles, and like the look of it. (I have Firefox, but don't like its look or feel). I have poor eyesight so, in IE, I have View ==> Text Size set to "Larger" - but the Wiki popups (which DO work in IE) have small text that won't expand. I can't read it without getting a headache so don't use them. SemperBlotto 15:42, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

Why did you deleted it?

Wikking... What was so wrong about it?

It's in the protologisms.

• Exactly! It is a protologism - we don't accept them until they become neologisms. SemperBlotto 12:13, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

ache

Do you have a copy of the SOED handy, to check this over? --Connel MacKenzie 06:57, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

In S's absence, since I have OED2+ open, yes it has the same Etymology for the word ache meaning "properly the Smallage (i.e. Small-Ache) or Wild Celery (Apium graveolens), but loosely applied also to other species of Apium, and allied genera, as parsley"; last usage cites 1502 (Also ete fenel sede corny and ache) and 1601 (garden Ach, commonly called Parsely), but referred to as a former name for Celery in 1865. --Enginear 12:25, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks - I was slow in getting around to it. SemperBlotto 12:58, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Thank you both! --Connel MacKenzie 20:01, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Frequency lists

http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Wiktionary:Frequency_lists/TV/2006/1-1000&curid=247265&diff=1973431&oldid=1973389

I don't think that rollback was quite right. I know that when I've generated frequency counts, it has been a pain to get the capitalization correct. If someone manually fixes the auto-generated wikilinks, that is generally a Good Thing.

--Connel MacKenzie 22:33, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

• OK - can you fix it? SemperBlotto 22:35, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

• • I think I've helped it some. --Connel MacKenzie 01:14, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Today's WOTD

Sometime between when the entry it's all Greek to me was nominated, and now (when it actually is WOTD), someone added a plethora of wonderful, excellent Quotations.

But the focus of the entry (for the WOTD) is the translations. The translations section is not only hidden by default from the trans-top/trans-bottom thing, it is also several pages/screens down, hidden from anything but the most dedicated searching.

Do we have a hide-section thing for long quotations sections like that? --Connel MacKenzie 00:38, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

This is why I abstained on the vote regarding the new Translations section templates. The translations become all but invisible. --EncycloPetey 00:59, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Well, most of the time, for many people, that is desirable. Just not for today's WOTD. --Connel MacKenzie 01:13, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

For now, I'll switch the trans-top to just {{top}}/mid/bottom. --Connel MacKenzie 01:15, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps we should consider protecting WOTDs. Or have a hell of a lot more sysops watching them closely. --Connel MacKenzie 08:56, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

illiteracy

I really can't tell if I'm being objective with regard to illiteracy/WT:BP#illiteracy. Can you (or someone) please review this, and roll back Dmh's changes if you agree with me, or correct me if I'm out to lunch? --Connel MacKenzie 17:34, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

• I try to stay away from slanging matches. What I do have, is an offline list of words to correct or reformat "my way" - I wait for any squalls to have passed by at least a month, then quietly edit them. Nobody seems to notice. Mostly my present list contains words by two Users, a botanist and an electrical engineer. SemperBlotto 19:59, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

RE: blogs

I put the blog links with words as appropriate, at requested entries, so that people trying to define the word can see it in context. Also, it could be the case that the word has two senses, and when I see it in one sense, and put it on the list out-of-context, someone defines it with another sense. Thanks for all your hard work responding to the requested articles page, everybody really appreciates it :-)

Quoatations vs Citations

The ELE advocates the header "Quotations", not "Citations". This is of course at odds with the practice of having "Citations" pages, so it might be worth opening a discussion to standardize one way or the other. Technically speaking, I think a shift to Citations would be easier, though it would require a larger number of editorial changes. --EncycloPetey 17:59, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

• So it does! I think "Citations" is better. Do you know the numbers of each type we have (Connel will know - he analyses these things). SemperBlotto 18:05, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

  The near universal use as a page section is for Quotations, the use for a separate page is univerally Citations. I too think Citations might be better, as it sidesteps the occasional question of why these "quotations" weren't put on WikiQuote. I don't know the count for the former, but there are 377 entries in Category:Citations (though it is by no means guaranteed that the category contains all such pages). --EncycloPetey 18:10, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

  OK. I'll change to quotations. SemperBlotto 18:14, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

Info

Spam one you just blocked also created the same page on Books & Commons, blocked on books for the second time and I've put a note on the Admin board on commons (curiosity made me check!). Regards --Herbythyme 09:46, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Warning

• trickyness

See w:Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Trickyness. Uncle G 18:45, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Please be more careful

Please be more careful not to repeat spam/personal info in the deletion log (via tha deletion log comments.) --Connel MacKenzie 15:04, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

Chamaeleo rudis

Your cleanup of this article added a link to the article on Wikipedia; which doesn't exist. The original version of the entry should be transwikied. --EncycloPetey 01:43, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

• The orioginal article was of poor quality, in bad English, and did not quote it's sources. I have added something better to Wikipedia. SemperBlotto 08:01, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

sukiyaki

I'm not sure sukiyaki has to be made with beef as the meat or that it needs to be cooked at the table (I think you can get it to go). Instead of cooked quickly at the table maybe it should say stir fried and instead of beef say meat. RJFJR 17:49, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Protecting titles against creation

See User talk:Connel MacKenzie#Protecting titles against creation. Uncle G 14:09, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Adverbial phrases

Buongiorno! Which is the right category for adverbial phrases such as in anticipo, in orario, in ritardo? Category:Italian adverbs, Category:Italian phrasebook or both of them? Tnx. --Barmar 11:32, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

• I would just put them in the adverbs category (if I remembered to put them in any category at all!). SemperBlotto 15:08, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Concerning ازهر

Please see my entry on the RfD page. I may not have appropriately linked it, been a while since I used RfD. Paul Willocx 22:35, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Annoiarsi

Ah, good to know! I must admit I had't seen it.. But in this case it doesn't work, we'd need a {{it-conj-iarsi|}} instead. The right conjugation doesn't have that double i "ii" in the indicative present, subjunctive present and imperative tenses, but a single "i" (annoi, annoiamo etc.). Buona giornata. --Barmar 10:21, 9 February 2007 (UTC) OK - fixed I have generated one. SemperBlotto 16:58, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

• Thank you so much, have a nice day. B. --Barmar 07:29, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Paradiostole

Thanks for the definition. I was just trying to compose one when I noticed that you had added one much more precise than I would have achieved! Dbfirs 17:22, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

IRC

Hi, you've been invited to IRC. To get there, click the little IRC link to the right of [log out]. (That signs you in to irc://irc.freenode.net/wiktionary with your Wiktionary username.) At this point, it is still an experimental proof of concept. It uses Javascript to call a CGI-IRC page, which loads a Java client in a new window of your browser. If demand increases I'll put it on toolserver properly. Hope to see you there soon. --Connel MacKenzie 00:47, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

pfaffing

Hello Jeff. I would have thought the great value of wiktionary, without the page constraints of traditional printed dictionaries, is to give a fuller description of the English Language in it's richness. If words like pfaffing are deleted, I begin to understand why so many words which form part of my London English are not described in wiktionary. Are you aware of an alternative wiktionary I can use instead, which may be more useful?

• Words like pfaffing are welcome here if you can provide print references to their use. I did a Google books search and I couldn't find any (there IS a German word of this spelling). If the word gets used more widely it will make its way into print and then we will grab it up. In the meantime, you could try "Urban Dictionary". SemperBlotto 14:56, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Template:nuclide

With a bit of nuclear magic—if it meets with your approval—no more nuclide-2 and -3 ... ? Robert Ullmann 16:49, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

• Well done - I'll decommission the old ones - hopefully there won't be any fallout. SemperBlotto 17:34, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

pervaporation

There is a need for this chemical engineering term, but the explanations I can find are a bit complicated for me to attempt to summarize. --EncycloPetey 20:08, 18 February 2007 (UTC) OK - done. Ah, chemical engineering - I must see if we have a definition for bucket chemistry! SemperBlotto 22:25, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. Might as well do microchemistry while you're at it. --EncycloPetey 22:52, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

deltaplano

Hi! I didn't know about the It/Wikipedia thing, thanks! As to deltaplanista, the singular and the masculine plural forms are both correct, the feminine plural instead is deltaplaniste.--Barmar 06:46, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the corrections

You are welcome to check the rest of my contributes, too... I'm new in here, so it's possible that I have done some silly mistakes... Thank! Peleg

it-adj

Didn't even know said template existed, thanks. -E. abu Filumena 08:50, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

templates

Y'all done did come up with a heap a them there newfangled-like contraptions whiles I was away... thanks again.  :) -E. abu Filumena 09:32, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

Deletion log

Hi, I see you've been busy weeding out the chaff. Good stuff.

I've just added a note ("PLEASE READ") to RFD about why we should avoid "sum of parts" as a reason for deletion or for a RFD. I'm on a bit of a campaign - if enough of us stop using it, hopefully its use will die out. — Paul G 15:20, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

Flexitime

Many thanks for that instructive pice of edit / cleanup on my first foray into Wiktionary. Regards Chris

cronometro

I'm not familiar with this term in the sense of "time trial". Apparently it is indeed feminine - a Google search of "la cronometro" gives 21,900 hits. Do you know if it is short for something that is clearly feminine, like "la corsa cronometro"? There are no Google hits for that phrase. — Paul G 18:27, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

• This from Zingarelli (second definition) s.f. Gara ciclista a cronometro SIN. Crono - You learn something every day. SemperBlotto 19:52, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

sex-date

Hey :-) Thanks for all your great work lately deleting tosh entries. As well as your tireless inspiring work on the English requested entries page. When I saw sex-date (which you just deleted), I also wanted to flag it as {{rfsd}}, but something told me I should check b.g.c. first. To my surprise, "sex date" ( without the hyphen) actually seems to meet inclusion criteria. Hehe, you learn something new every day  :-)

Latin

Hi. Thanks for the welcome. I'm only a junior at Latin and also formatting so I don't know everything. Hopefully I'll pick it up as I work. I did look at the model examples you left. :D They seem quite complicated... I'll just try and get my head round it.Alakazam138 12:46, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

Conjugation (Declension, Inflection) headers

Hi, pretty sure that when these are used as headers, we want them at L4 under the L3 POS. (mind you, we don't list these headers anywhere ;-) Robert Ullmann 12:27, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Where can one include the doubts?

I.e. what is the adjective for contamination? I.e. This is a ... substance. Thanks in advance --193.144.127.231 14:45, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Template

Is it reasonable to alter Template:third-person singular of so if lang is not specified it adds a category for category:third-person singular with unspecified lang? So ones without lang (because I didn't know it needed it) can be fixed. RJFJR 05:49, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

• Yes, I suppose so. Will it happen automatically, or only when affected articles are looked at / edited? SemperBlotto 08:08, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Review

I was wondering why you reverted my edit to review back on 3 Dec? It's a legitimate definition which was otherwise missing from the page. --DrGaellon | Talk 04:39, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

The definition of the verb is simple to perform the noun. All the various meaning are listed under the noun. Your meaning seemed to be there already (and isn't just US). SemperBlotto 08:11, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

I was attempting to note the usage in contradistinction to the UK usage of revise. How would you suggest that be accomplished? Also, I disagree with your assessment: there is a difference between "a second reading of a text" and "the act of re-reading a text" - else, why distinguish between nouns and verbs at all? --DrGaellon | Talk 03:25, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

meretricio

Hello, I hadn't used the template as I don't beleive it is countable. Even in English it seems awkward.-E. abu Filumena 17:26, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

• Yes, you are correct. They are lots of Google hits for meretrici - but that is for the plural of meretrice - I'll undo my change. SemperBlotto 17:34, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for all these adverbs

Thanks a ton for all the adverbs you've been making. I'm always trying to find new adverbs since it seems that is the type of word of which English has the relative fewest. We definitely appreciate your terrific adverb hunting!!! By the way, I made a new template, {{Template:en-adv-lacks-inflect}}, so if you can't figure out the comparability stuff, you can use that and it will automatically put the entry in both Category:English adverbs and Category:English adverbs that lack inflection template. The former is really great since Category:English adverbs has less than a thousand entries :) Hope this is useful to you  :-) Signed, Language Lover

• I can't remember the names of all these templates, especially ones with long names. SemperBlotto 23:11, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

Plurals

Hi Houston, we have a problem! Please give a look at europei and europee (or italiani and italiane). The masculine form also includes the category English plurals. What's happening? -- (added: the plural of meretricio is meretrici, the same as meretrice. Only a few Italian nouns are invariable and most of them are foreign words). Barmar 14:58, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

• Yes, that is a recently added "improvement" (nothing to do with me) - you need to add lang=Italian SemperBlotto 15:03, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
  • Already tried; it doesn't work. --Barmar 15:04, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
    • Yes it does, you did the noun but missed the adjective. Cheers. SemperBlotto 15:07, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
      • I tried with the adjective as well, but I must have forgotten a | somewhere. I'm so happy about this 'improvement', we have to edit tons of Italian entries.. Cheers.

• Hang on! One of the other sysops knows about the situation and is writing a bot to fix them all automatically. SemperBlotto 15:12, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
  • Ok, thanks, I hope that bot will fix the problem. In effect your solution doesn't work, give a look at felici. Now it also includes the cat Italian plurals when the only correct category is Italian Adjective forms. --Barmar 15:18, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
    • Well, I suppose "plurals" doesn't just mean "plural nouns". I'm not going to lose much sleep over it - I am well known as thinking that Categories are more trouble than they are worth. Some people would argue that "adjective forms" is incorrect because "felici" and "felice" are both just adjectives - they just happen to have different number. SemperBlotto 15:22, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

Wiktionary:Easter Competition 2007

Since you're not running the competition this time, I hope you have lots of fun participating! --EncycloPetey 02:37, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

• Nice one! I'll see if I can come up with an Italian entry. SemperBlotto 08:17, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

vinyl

When you're back from your holiday, could you have a look at vinyl please? I've changed the hyphen in the chemical formula to a minus sign - is this correct? Is this meant to be minus sign or a single bond/simple bond (?) as opposed to a double bond? You're the chemistry pro, so please make any changes necessary if I've got it wrong. Thanks. — Paul G 12:03, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

It is a single covalent bond. I don't mind what character you use to symbolise it.

I have given definitions to your vinyl words that were lacking them, and will get round to the red links eventually. SemperBlotto 22:37, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Misspellings?

Hi. I saw you just deleted shakey. Don't we have redirects for common misspellings? --MathiasRav 22:28, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

• We don't do redirects for anything much. Every word gets its own definition. And we only do misspellings if they are very common (lots of Google hits). SemperBlotto 22:30, 24 March 2007 (UTC)
• And shakey is listed in the OED as an alterntive spelling rather than a misspelling. SemperBlotto 22:33, 24 March 2007 (UTC)
  • Alright then. Thanks for clearing that up! --MathiasRav 22:35, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

New to wiktionary

I am new to this branch of wiki so can you please tell me why you removed the meaning (music) choir or orchestra or both together; (as opposed to a cappella) from the word capella? VirtualSteve 04:04, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

It didn't seem to make sense. I will add something similar - but it is not "as opposed to a cappella". SemperBlotto 08:42, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

• Good thank you. I would appreciate that as it certainly deserved to be included as opposed to being just deleted without comment. Cheers! --VS ^talk 09:16, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Fingersatz

I am thinking - verb to finger as in on a guitar, adverb fingering as in he was fingering the piece on his guitar? But your thoughts are very welcome... --VS ^talk 10:48, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

You need to know what English parts of speech mean if you are going to edit Wiktionary. In "he was fingering", fingering is the present participle of the verb to finger. In "he was fingering fluently", fluently is an adverb. I shall delete fingersatz unless you can prove it is real. SemperBlotto 10:55, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Thank you again I appreciate supportive administrators and clearly you are attempting to be just that - however you are confusing me a little by writing to both my page and to your own page. Perhaps it is my fault because I tend to respond at the initial entry and then copy to other pages as necessary so as to keep the flow of any particular message string fluent. Perhaps it will better for you if I adjust this entry to a Noun - but then a question - is it written (in wiktionary) with a capital or not? --VS ^talk 11:03, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes, German nouns HAVE to start with a capital letter. And yes, it is much simpler if we reply ONLY in one place. SemperBlotto 11:10, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Also, for inflected languages, we like to add the gender and the plural forms. I have done that for Fingersatz and linked it to German Wikipedia. SemperBlotto 11:16, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

vigoroso

That's a lovely expansion on this word (and also I note for Fingersatz just now) - you clearly have a good dictionary or two at your disposal - I will be happy to commence words and leave editors such as yourself with a better grasp on this game to expand (well at least for the time being). But a question if I may (I promise I have other friends to write to (smile)) - are Italian nouns not in capitals or just not in capitals in this entry because it is more than just a noun listing? --VS ^talk 11:23, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

No, Italian nouns don't usually start in capital letters. Only Italian proper nouns. SemperBlotto 11:26, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Cheers! --VS ^talk 11:29, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Welcome back

...you were sorely missed.

On another note, please reconsider turning on the WT:PREFS sysop-only section "Patrolling enhancements." and "Patrol in "expert mode" with no alerts." items, and checking off items you've patrolled as you clear them. Turning these two items on adds "(Mark)" links on Special:Recentchanges, that don't do an extra page load to check off.

--Connel MacKenzie 13:48, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

• OK. (already had the first one set) SemperBlotto 14:53, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Kidnaped

Thank you for deleting the misspelling/redirect. I would have requested it, but I am much, much less familiar with wiktionary than wikipedia. Could you point me to a few pages that would help me with sush topics? Scoutersig 12:59, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

List of American Names

The data comes from Social Security Administration, and concerns the years 1880-2005. The periods listed refer to the decades when at least 0.5 per cent of the gender group bore the name. I will specify it in the article when I get the data written down, Glad to know somebody is interested.--Makaokalani 08:11, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Hallo SemperBlotto

I am Nino, Italian from Venice, and I am one of the sysops of the German Wiktionary. I am making here occasionally some contributions (not very much) in Italian and German. Will you please watch them and tell me if some time the syntax is not correct? You can be sure that the words are OK.

Excuse my bad English, it was very good forty years ago, now I am speaking only German all the time and I forgot half of it. Ciao --Nino Barbieri 15:32, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

• Hello Nino. Venice is my favorite city (but it is getting just TOO touristy). My wife and I will be back there next year for our 40th wedding anniversary! I have made a start on Category:Venice. I shall keep an eye on your contributions, but what I have seen so far is OK. SemperBlotto 15:44, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

difficileness

Difficile is an obsolete English word meaning "difficult" (see here). I will add the English form to its entry. Tim w. 16:33, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

Wiktionary's blocking policy

You frequently edit my edits and you know what my edits are like. Do you have an opinion on the problem described here?

No. SemperBlotto 18:54, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

любовь

Why you deleted my stub for любовь? :-O --Jaroslavleff 06:05, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

• It had no useful content. SemperBlotto 06:52, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

  Recently I started to write it, but there was electricity failure in my house and I have no time to finish it (my UPS works 10 minutes) :) --Jaroslavleff 07:35, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

old wives' tale

I added a second sense, as I didn't think that the initial sense really conveyed my own understanding of the word. If you have a problem with this, please feel free to let me know. Otherwise, I apologize for wasting your time. Atelaes 08:15, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

inimicus

I checked up on it, and it's a real Latin word. I'll add a reference. Galanskov 23:42, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

Patriot missile

I prefer that Patriot missile have its own page, and not a redirect, as you have done. But, how do we handle Patriot? Should it remain a separate page? Link to Patriot missile? Thanks Ben 19:53, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

early

I've just had a go at a thorough revision of early. The important part of which is that it didn't have an adjective definition! I have added three adjectival senses, though the defnitions I wrote might need some tweaking. Also, could you provide the appropriate Italian translations for the adjectival senses and verify that presto is the correct translation for the Adverb? Thanks. --EncycloPetey 20:06, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

• Well done. <rant> I wish more people would start improving bad articles rather than trying to delete perfectly good ones! </rant>. presto is fine for the adverb, Translating the adjective is more awkward as the Italians tend to use different words in different contexts. An early death would be prematuro, early man would be primitivo. I'll have a bit of a think. SemperBlotto 21:26, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

The second adjective sense feels like the adverb to me. Arriving a time before expected; sooner than on-time. In the example ("You're early today!"), doesn't early modify an implied verb? Ben 23:03, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

-in

I've added a chemistry sense for this suffix, but am not sure I trust my memory that it's used principally to form the names of proteins. Is its use more specific? More general? --EncycloPetey 21:47, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

• There are loads of different classes of compounds ending in -in. I've added a few but will see if there are others. SemperBlotto 21:57, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

bgc

What is the (Wiktionary-specific?) meaning of bgc - I keep coming across it. --Keene 10:01, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

It means books.Google.com - but the Google book search function is now at [1] - but the initialism seems to have stuck. SemperBlotto 10:06, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Deletion request

Hi there! Please can you delete this category http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:it:Bovines I've created by mistake? Poor me, I definitely need a pair of glasses. Thanks! --Barmar 13:15, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

udan noodles

Exactly what was stupid about this user (other than the user name)? All the edits I see look fine. Robert Ullmann 08:39, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

• I have unblocked him for the moment. The ones marked as minor looked strange to me. I'll keep an eye on him. SemperBlotto 08:42, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

• Look at bancaire and the edit summary by "Genericname". I'd say this is WF. Robert Ullmann 09:07, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

• As was the previously mentioned person. SemperBlotto 09:07, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

thanks

thanks--Ghaly 17:22, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

rv edits by 70.17.109.5

I'm besides my self that I made edits to penultimate and added comments on the topic on the talk page and you did an rv without commenting on the talk page. From Wiktionary:Dispute resolution:

"First resort: talk to the other parties involved "The first resort in resolving almost any conflict is to discuss the issue on a talk page. Either contact the other party on that user's talk page, or use the talk page associated with the article in question. If the latter, since the article Talk pages are little used, it is wise to add a <!--Hidden Note--> on the article page alongside your edit, in case the other editor fails to notice. Never carry on a dispute on the article page itself. When discussing an issue, stay cool and don't mount personal attacks. Take the other person's perspective into account and try to reach a compromise. Assume that the other person is acting in good faith unless you have clear evidence to the contrary.

"Both at this stage and throughout the dispute resolution process, talking to other parties is not simply a formality to be satisfied before moving on to the next forum. Failure to pursue discussion in good faith shows that you are trying to escalate the dispute instead of resolving it. This will make people less sympathetic to your position and may prevent you from effectively using later stages in dispute resolution. In contrast, sustained discussion and serious negotiation between the parties, even if not immediately successful, shows that you are interested in finding a solution that fits within Wiktionary policies."

please rv your rv and move it to the talk page.

I've requested your comments back at penultimate 70.17.109.5 22:57, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

I've offered evidence for penultimate=best back at the penultimate discussion. Care to comment? 70.17.109.5 02:28, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

empty set

Is the empty set countable or uncountable? (just a thought) SemperBlotto 13:48, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

The empty set is finite. Countable and uncountable apply to infinite sets. RJFJR 13:49, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

That's countable in the set theory sense, but I think Semper means in the grammatical sense. The empty set is considered a unique entity, so it might be correct to call it a proper noun. --EncycloPetey 20:25, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

DNA revert

I'm new to Wiktionary, so I'm just wondering why you reverted[2] my edit to DNA. "DNA" really is the stock ticker symbol for Genentech. My contribution seemed to be consistent with other entries like BLS. I don't work for Genentech nor do I own their stock, I just know sometimes stock market commentators refer to the company as "DNA". --Georgeryp 17:40, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

without the definite article?

Sorry to disturb you! Would you just tell me if the example sentence in swan on the Polish Wiktionary is correct to you? There are a lot of similar sentences there, and we somehow can't come to any agreement on this matter. Some people say it's American English, but I can't find any sources that confirm this. Thank you! :) Pomarancza (PL) 14:28, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

It is wrong. Should be "The swan is a large white bird." or "Swans are large white birds." (or "A swan is a large white bird.") (And UK/Commonwealth v American doesn't enter into it.) Robert Ullmann 14:42, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Yes, that is correct. I have edited it (thank goodness the buttons are in the same place!) SemperBlotto 15:38, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks a lot!!! Pomarancza (PL) 15:45, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

neroazzurro

Hi Jeff, could you please give a look at this to see if it's correct, so that I could create other similar entries? (i.e. giallorosso ->As Roma, bianconero-> Juventus, rossonero->Milan) Tnx! --Barmar 14:11, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

Looks good to me. I have linked to Wikipedia for Inter Milan, and changed soccer to football (only Americans (mostly) use soccer). SemperBlotto 14:50, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

What happened to NPOV, and being an international multilingual dictionary? "Soccer" is unambiguous and is useful for identifying the rare sport, in deference to real football. --Connel MacKenzie 19:56, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

in deference to real football *mdash; yes, Connel, what did happen to NPOV? ;) Italy's closer to the UK than the US is, so there you go. Maybe it should be changed to calcio though to be truly NPOV :P — Paul G 11:19, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

potter's field

Hi there. I didn't know the meaning of that phrase and, searching through Google books, I haven't yet found a usage outside of the US. I wonder why that is? SemperBlotto 08:40, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, it's weird, I agree. I had heard of it before, but now I come to think of it maybe that was always from US sources too. Because of America's religious history, they have always been partial to a good Biblical idiom. I am loth to mark it (US), but maybe that's what the citations indicate. Widsith 09:01, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

How surprising. Well, tagged religious might be more accurate; searching http://bible.com gives these (from the New International Version as well as the KJV): Matt 27:7 & Matt 27:10. --Connel MacKenzie 19:29, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

cleanskin

Is this really only applied to terrorists? And is this phrase used outside Oz? Widsith 19:13, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

• I think it is applied to both criminals and terrorists (can't find decent quotes on Google books). It is certainly much more common in Oz, but I have read it in UK papers. Also found a cricket usage on g.b.c. I'll see if I can find time to select some quotes. SemperBlotto 21:38, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Ta. Widsith 06:53, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

Is it one word or two? I've only ever seen it as two (but I haven't seen it in very many places). — Paul G 11:16, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

arsenic

You might know this already, but I came across a curious fact over the weekend.

In brushing up my (Modern) Greek, I looked up "masculine" (and "feminine" and "neuter") in my Greek-English dictionary, and found that "masculine" (in both the sense of "male" and as the grammatical term) is (transliterated) arsenikós. I then looked up the etymology of "arsenic" and it is indeed this word (or, rather, the Ancient Greek equivalent). Apparently in ancient times (when alchemy was popular, I suppose) metals were considered to be male or female, and arsenic was thought to be male.

"Feminine" is thilykós and "neuter" is "oudéteros" but I don't think any elements are derived from these; as you probably know, "lithium" comes from lithos, stone, and deuterium comes from deuteros, second. The Wikipedia page of etymologies of the names of chemical elements does not mention the "male" part of the etymology of "arsenic". — Paul G 11:29, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Pigin

Why do you request verification of pigin? Don’t you trust Wikipedia?

Of course not. It is a secondary source, written by people like you and me. SemperBlotto 16:16, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Tub frock

Hi Jeff - would you like to check out the Tub frock entry and talk page? You flagged it originally and I believe it has been cited sufficiently and should not be deleted. Your opinion will be respected. I would like the flag to be removed. Gekritzl 00:35, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

The way it works is - somebody else evaluates the evidence and makes a decision (often after a month). SemperBlotto 13:54, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

I see - thanks! Gekritzl 16:13, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

pacer

Yes, you are probably right. I have moved it - you will probably want to check I've done it right as I'm not yet familiar with all the style/formatting conventions here. Thryduulf 13:55, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

• OK. I have added "disambiguation see also" links between them. SemperBlotto 13:58, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

maggior

I've got an answer that gives us an answer to your original question. See my talk page. — Paul G 16:04, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

wikifying texts

I seem to remember you did something like this with Italian recently. Is there an easy way of wikifying every word in a given Word document? Bear in mind I have no programming skills and basically don't understand words like bot or applet.... Widsith 11:03, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

• I have written a MS-Word macro that does it (offline). If you have MS-Word, I could send it to you, or post it here for you to copy. SemperBlotto 11:06, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Great. Post it up, that'd be fab! Widsith 11:15, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

• Here it is. If you need help in implementing it just ask. I have removed part of it that dealt with Italian oddities.
  • It looks bad because Wiki is trying to format it. Edit this section and copy/paste everything between the lines

---

Sub Wikify()
'
' Wikify Macro
' Wikify text by removing strange characters and putting double square brackets around words
'
    Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
    Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
'
' Remove punctuation marks
'
    Punct = ".,;:?!%=/\()[]"
    For I = 1 To 14
    With Selection.Find
        .Text = Mid(Punct, I, 1)
        .Replacement.Text = " "
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        .Format = False
        .MatchCase = False
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchWildcards = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
    End With
    Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
    Next I
    For I = 0 To 9
    With Selection.Find
        .Text = I
        .Replacement.Text = ""
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        .Format = False
        .MatchCase = False
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchWildcards = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
    End With
    Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
    Next I
    With Selection.Find
        .Text = """"
        .Replacement.Text = " "
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        .Format = False
        .MatchCase = True
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchWildcards = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
    End With
    Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
'
' Replace double spaces with single (cheap and nasty method)
'
    For I = 1 To 5
    With Selection.Find
        .Text = "  "
        .Replacement.Text = " "
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        .Format = False
        .MatchCase = False
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchWildcards = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
    End With
    Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
    Next I
'
' Put wikifying brackets each side of the spaces
'
    With Selection.Find
        .Text = " "
        .Replacement.Text = "]] [["
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        .Format = False
        .MatchCase = False
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchWildcards = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
    End With
    Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
'
' Put wikifying brackets each side of a new line
'
    With Selection.Find
        .Text = vbCr
        .Replacement.Text = "]] [["
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        .Format = False
        .MatchCase = False
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchWildcards = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
    End With
    Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
'
' Put wikifying brackets at the end and beginning of the text
'
    Selection.WholeStory
    Selection.Range.Case = wdLowerCase
    Selection.EndKey Unit:=wdStory
    Selection.TypeText Text:="]]"
    Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdStory
    Selection.TypeText Text:="[["
'
' Remove any null entries
'
    With Selection.Find
        .Text = "[[]]"
        .Replacement.Text = ""
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        .Format = False
        .MatchCase = False
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchWildcards = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
    End With
    Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
End Sub

---

Fantastic. Works perfectly. You can delete all this if it's clogging up your talkpage. Widsith 12:20, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

I was wondering if it would be useful to others - but where to document it? SemperBlotto 13:20, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Isn't there a "Tips & Tricks" page somewhere? I can never find anything on this site... Widsith 13:26, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

WT:TAT. Since this is perhaps related to bookmarklets, possibly WT:BOOK? Widsith, additional shortcuts (WT:WT) are welcome. The more intuitive, the better. --Connel MacKenzie 12:10, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Past participles forms

Hi there! And what we do now with the It past participle forms (feminine, f plural, m plural)? We simply put them in http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Italian_past_participles or it's better to create a category Category:Italian past participles forms like http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Italian_adjective_forms? Last but not the least: how can I include a link here to a category without that http://en.. thing? thank you --Barmar 05:44, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

• Me, again. Can you please also give a look at this message by Ruakh on my discussion page? It's about the It pp code. http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Barmar&action=edit&section=23 --Barmar 06:12, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

• Yes - sigh. I suppose we need a category called Category:Italian past participle forms - would you like to create it? Just copy Category:Italian adjective forms mutatis mutandis. SemperBlotto 07:10, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

pappagallo

Is this the correct Italian term used for "parrot"? If so, would you mind creating a nice entry for it? If not, would you mind correcting the translation on the page for parrot? --EncycloPetey 22:01, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

• Yes, that's fine. Done. SemperBlotto 22:09, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

apocopic forms

Hi Jeff,

These entries really need a little more formatting. Compare these invented examples:

Verb

will foo

1. future of foo

Noun

bar

1. future of the human race

No difference in the formatting makes these ambiguous - "foo" in the first is a reference to the word, not a usage of the word.

Could you italicise or embolden (my preferred method) the words linked to, please? Linking is not enough to distinguish reference from usage. Thanks. — Paul G 09:51, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

PS: I'm not sure whether duplicating the definition is a good idea - it's redundant and can lead to inconsistencies... a gloss is good however if there is more than one meaning of the word linked to.

I shall generate {{apocopic form of}} and you can edit it if you don't like the format - give me 5 mins. SemperBlotto 10:00, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

OK. copied it from {{past participle of}} - see voler SemperBlotto 10:05, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for doing that, Jeff. The template looks good to me. — Paul G 10:17, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

A few other thoughts...

1. The note in vuol about being used only after verbs didn't sit well with the definition line (because the definition ends in a full stop), so I've moved it to a "Usage notes" section, which I think looks better.
2. I also mentioned the form used when fused with a pronoun, but that's rubbish because it only applies to the infinitive (eg, "volersi bene" - "to love one another"). I'll delete that. No, it's OK, it's voler I'm thinking of.
3. Is it true that it's only before verbs? I say "voler bene" for "to love [a friend]", but maybe I'm mistaken. There are 365,000 Google hits for "voler bene", so maybe it can be used before adverbs too, and maybe even other parts of speech. (As I've already mentioned, the apocopic form is used when the verb is fused with pronouns, too.) — Paul G 10:22, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
   1. Ues, usage seems to be greater than I first thought - perhaps we should either leave it out, or ptovide a short list of examples. SemperBlotto 10:25, 15 May 2007 (UTC) p.s. I'm trying to think of any apocopic noun usages. - OK fior if fior di latte

Your rv of vertex

Why is the meaning of vertex for a polytopy not suitable for inclusion in the wiktionary? Taemyr ((Talk)) from Wikipedia. 85.166.73.139 12:44, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

• It probably is suitable. It got reverted with all the other rubbish, most of which was encyclopedic. Feel free to add decent definitions. SemperBlotto 13:26, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Encyclopedic how? As far as I can see each entry has a bare minimum to get the meaning across. 85.166.73.139 14:08, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

• (Vertical Transport and Exchange of Oceanic Particulate Program), a study to determine just how much carbon in the form of deteriorated phytoplankton, sank to the sea floor over a given period of time.
• (Vertex Inc.) provides tax compliance software and services for U.S.
• (Vertex - Business Process Outsourcing.) Formerly a division of United Utilities plc.
• (Vertex Pharmaceuticals) a biotech company.
• (Vertex Media Group) a marketing company specializing in online advertising.
• (Vertex Systems Oy) a CAD software company.
• (Vertex Society) A society for people scoring above an IQ of 160 sd16 on professional, standardized intelligence tests
• (VerTex) a song in the game In The Groove.
• (Vertex) an album by Buck 65.
• (Vertex) is a band formed in 1996 by Stephen Pearcy from Ratt .

None of these belong in a dictionary - but in some sort of encyclopedia (probably Wikipedia). SemperBlotto 14:19, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

They don't belong in an encyclopedia unless there is more to say about them. Is the problem encyclopedic content or entries that are just names. 85.166.73.139 14:31, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

You could try taking it to the Tea room or you could read our Criteria for inclusion. SemperBlotto 14:36, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

"Automated import of articles"

That has been used by something else (Connel's) for a while, is it left over from the Webster process? ;-)

Maybe it could say "auto-generated from word" or something like that? Robert Ullmann 14:20, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

• Yes, I was thinking of changing it to something more specific. SemperBlotto 15:21, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Was that a whoopsie?

http://books.google.com/books?q=intrapreneurial&as_brr=0&hl=en --Connel MacKenzie 15:31, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

(Although, I confess I wasn't about to format that entry, just to nominate it on RFV.) --Connel MacKenzie 15:33, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

No. It was laziness. Other entries from the same person were dodgy and I didn't check it. I'll fix it. SemperBlotto 16:11, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

SemperBlottoBot

Ehi! great job Jeff! I really hope that your Spaghetti Bot will become soon an effective member of the Italian crew. (Shhh.. after your 'population' (?) Italian will probably reach the second position here.. or even the first one) --Barmar 21:07, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

I've given a look at the first entries generated by the bot. They look fine (great!) apart from the past participles forms. 1) there's a {{feminine/plural of|infinitive}} instead of {{feminine/plural of|past participle}} 2) in the plural forms we have an unneeded English plurals cat. Lastly please can you read the last Paul G comment on my user discussion page? I think it could apply to the bot-generated entries. Cheers --Barmar 13:53, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. I've fixed those errors (and the master file that they came from). SemperBlotto 14:00, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Noooo! Has my last comment disappeared? Then I'll write it again, uffa! I was saying that the problem isn't fixed yet. Now in the pp plurals we have an unneeded [[Italian plurals]] cat. It's the same bug we have experienced lately with masculine plural forms of adjectives which are not nouns at the same time. For example you can only create manually the plural of inflessibile (I mean by writing Plural form of inflessibile) if you don't want any unnecessary category. --Barmar 14:28, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Ah. You are saying that {{plural of}} should only be used for nouns. Yes, that is what the text at the top of Category:Italian nouns says. I shall try to rectify that. Please correct any that you come across. SemperBlotto 14:33, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

What is the plan to keep track of pages that already exist? (How many of these might there be?) Either they should be carefully tracked, or something else run later to check that they all exist.

If you'd like to add the section to an existing page, it is pretty easy; under if page.exists() in pagefromfile, lose the existing code that checks the options (append, force, etc) and do:

            old_text = page.get()
            if not re.search(r'==\s*Italian\s*==', old_text):
                contents = old_text + '\n\n' +contents + '\n{{rfc-auto}}\n'
                commenttext_add = commenttext + " - appended"
                wikipedia.output(u"Page %s already exists, adding to entry!"%title)
                page.put(contents, comment = commenttext_add, minorEdit = False)
            else:
                wikipedia.output(u"Page %s already exists with Italian section, not adding!"%title)

which will just add it on the end, AF will then sort the language section and iwikis correctly. Robert Ullmann 15:44, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Hmm. I'll have a think about that, and maybe try an experiment. I have already manually checked all the conjugation sections of the regular Italian verbs and have added Italian sections to those words that already existed (mostly Spanish).

Answer to question on my talk: example old page didn't end with a newline; I edited code above to add a couple extra; AF will fix. Robert Ullmann 22:42, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Hi Jeff! A little thing: affogare takes the -care conjugation not the standard -are one (i.e. it is affogherei not affogerei). You're really doing a stunning job! /Italian will reach Japanese very soon :-) --Barmar 09:15, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Well spotted. I have deleted the bad ones. Spotted similar problems and corrected them. "affogare" will get completed wehn I do the -care and -gare verbs. Cheers. SemperBlotto 09:33, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

"Special...

...welcome to our visitors from Tel Aviv, Israel"
LOL. That would probably be me :) Thanks! Shai 10:21, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

• Just based on your ip address - but you probably guessed that. SemperBlotto 10:23, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Yep :) Shai 10:26, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

foul up/foul-up

Finger-wagging time again, I'm afraid...

"Foul-up" is not an alternative spelling of "foul up". The latter is a phrasal verb, and the former is the noun derived from it. Phrasal verbs are never hyphenated, and the nouns derived from them are either hyphenated (eg, "slip-up") or single words (eg, "slipup", US spelling). — Paul G 14:08, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

. . . I'm glad it wasn't a wrist-slapping. SemperBlotto 14:11, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

It will be next time ;) — Paul G 14:18, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

I'd really appreciate these rules being written down somewhere (preferably with references!) --Connel MacKenzie 21:43, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps we should have an Appendix on spelling and grammar? (as long as I don't have to write it) SemperBlotto 21:55, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Well, my attempt at writing something was a non-starter. User:Connel MacKenzie/rules to remember. It would be interesting to see the British version of the same. We do need some appendix entries on grammar. I'm really at a loss as to where to begin, though. --Connel MacKenzie 16:31, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

I do possess a copy of Harrap's - English Grammar ("Ideal reference for all users of English") - but I rarely look at it, and I haven't got the time (so much to do, so little time). Maybe Paul would like to have a go. SemperBlotto 16:35, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

gastropod mollusc

You are quite correct. However, the OED describes these creatures as "gastropod molluscs" and there are 578 Google book hits for the phrase. I shall leave it as it is though. Cheers. SemperBlotto 16:50, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

A mollusc can be "a member of the phylum Mollusca" - this definition would include then both. SemperBlotto 16:54, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

At the time the OED was originally written, polyplacophorans were classified within the Gastropoda (gastropods). However, the Polyplacophora have been elevated to a separate class in the last 50 years because they have a multipart shell, lack torsion of the body during development, and a variety of more technical reasons. Phylogenetic studies support their classification outside the Gastropoda. (phylogenetics was my area of specialization during my graduate work and one of my supervisors was a malacologist) The OED definition is no longer correct. One of the hazards of taxonomy is that new information can overturn years of nomenclatural stability.

Aside: While there are such things as "gastropod molluscs", that phrase is redundant, since all gastropods are molluscs. It's a bit like saying "canine mammal" or "avian chicken". --EncycloPetey 17:34, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

verbal

Hi. I seem to have missed the discussion on this one. The verb sense (police attributing a verbal statement to a suspect) is well-known in the UK. This is from the OED -

trans. To attribute a damaging statement to (an accused or suspected person). Also const. up.

1963 Times 22 Feb. 6/5 Those chaps were about and they won't be able to verbal me. 1970 P. LAURIE Scotland Yard vi. 146 The aggravation of it. He verbals up my villain and then says he'll let him off. 1973 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 17 Oct. 10/4 Finch has claimed that detectives ‘verballed’ himfabricated a confession to arrest him. 1981 C. ROSS Scaffold 145 ‘He's made no statement yet either.’ ‘But you verballed him?’.. The police officer said nothing.

   Hence verballing vbl. n. 

1973 Observer 11 Nov. 15/2 ‘Verballing’putting damaging remarks or ‘verbals’ into suspects' mouthshas existed as long as detectives have been dealing with criminals. 1977 ‘C. AIRD’ Parting Breath iv. 47 It wasn't, the policeman consoled himself, really and truly verballing. Verballing was putting words into a man's mouthand statement.

Am I allowed to add it? SemperBlotto 16:41, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Of course... I struck the information because three examples of use were still not provided even after the one month RFV-period plus a several-month-long grace period (and because the noun sense had been provided with verb sense examples). If you have quotations/citatiosn for it or you can verify it from personal experience, do add it. — Beobach972 16:55, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Bot flag?

Hi, would you like a bot flag for this batch? Somebody is complaining (on IRC) that you're cluttering up RecentChanges. --Dvortygirl 16:30, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes please. Vote ended today - no objections. SemperBlotto 16:35, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

Done. Please use it with all due caution. --Dvortygirl 16:58, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

Thanks - I'll try to behave. SemperBlotto 16:59, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

turn in one's grave

I think I've overwritten your edit... what did you change? — Paul G 08:43, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

I removed a second definition (anon) that seemed to be incorrect. See the history. SemperBlotto 08:44, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Ah, yes. I did the same, so nothing has been lost. The second definition was wrong - it was an incorrect definition of the same sense (suggesting that the turning is done to the deceased by the living person). — Paul G 07:32, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Tidy up of category:Chemistry

Hello Semper, thanks for filling in those stubs for me, I was going to get round to them but this is a wiki and unexpected good things happen here! Anyway, I've also noticed that a lot of the chemistry terms were entered by yourself orginally. I just wanted to let you know, as if you hadn't guessed already, that I'm currently have a bash at tidying up category:Chemistry to make it slightly more useful (easier to browse) and to update the format standard of articles also. I have created a few context labels to help with this:

{{analytical chemistry}}

{{organic chemistry}}

{{organic compound}}

{{fatty acid}}

{{chemical compound}} - Should this be {{inorganic compound}}?

Yes that does sound better! should the label then be (inorganic chemistry) ? I quite like the sound of that! I can fix the current articles to and use a redirect to the old template for a temporary solution.--Williamsayers79 23:00, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

There are a few more but you'll probably come across them sooner or later.

They all display a tag (chemistry) or (organic chemistry) etc but correctly autocategorise.--Williamsayers79 21:39, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

debouch

Do you mind explaining why you summarily deleted debouches? --Evrik 16:32, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

We don't do redirects here (much). Every word gets a definition. SemperBlotto 16:34, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

• Yes ... thanks for fixing it. I edit conflicted with you. --Evrik 16:41, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

Definition lines that start with "# When "...

• Some of these are "Usage notes" not definitions. (Can I also have "# is when"?) SemperBlotto 07:17, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

the een prime minister otter if 暉 社 moonset wat underline crack supremacy -en maturity deadstick landing cut in chockablock double play double switch near death experience brainfart when the chips are down 女大不中留 backlist 心靜自然涼 心静自然凉 out of sight, out of mind there's no accounting for taste absence makes the heart grow fonder Microsoft moment 鷸蚌相爭，漁人得利 病急乱投医 病急亂投醫 hattrick 斩草不除根，春风吹又生 斬草不除根，春風吹又生 习惯成自然 習慣成自然 话不投机半句多 話不投機半句多 树倒猢狲散 樹倒猢猻散 love is blind Tappee higher being When you're up to your neck in alligators, it's easy to forget that the initial objective was to drain the swamp

Definition lines that start with "# when "...

come ir moonrise SHTF deployment homotypic 夕陽西下 夕阳西下 上來 上来 仇人相見，分外眼紅 仇人相见，分外眼红 先礼后兵 先禮後兵 起來 beggars can't be choosers 起来 khí-lâi qǐlái qilai shànglái shanglai

Roman numeral 鹬蚌相争，渔人得利 glamour waking blumpkin 언제 röijeli -lla hit one's stride

Re: Links in Latin verb templates

I think that there is no need to put links into any of these tables, the pages that are at the other ends of these links will almost invariably read. ""The particular part of [[word]]"" or words to that effect. It would be a very time consuming process to add these links, because of the WT:AL policy of using diatrical marks in the page, but not the page names. Each link would have to be of the form [[{{{2}}}eramus#Latin|{{{2}}}erāmus]]. I think it is more important to create templates for the other conjugations - and to start adding this template to articles. Conrad.Irwin 21:06, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Synonyms in taxonomy

In taxonomic nomenclature one has to be careful of labelling a term as a "synonym". That means something very specific in nomenclature, namely that the circumscription of membership is the same and the taxon names are of equal rank. As a result Cyanobacteria can be a synonym of Cyanophyta, because they are both of divisional/phylum rank. Cyanobacteria cannot be a synonym of Cyanophyceae because the latter is a class-rank taxon that was included within the Cyanophyta. --EncycloPetey 07:29, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

schuhplattler

A very evocative definition.

I assume that this comes from the German (Bavarian?) Schuhplattler, rather than directly from the German for "shoe" and "to slap", in which case the etymology needs to point this out. — Paul G 07:30, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

I'll leave that to you - my German is minimal. SemperBlotto 07:33, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

bot and server load

hi ... by default the pybot framework uses a put_throttle of 10 seconds (put_throttle = 10 in user_config.py). this is for the 'pedia itself, with 91 (last I looked) servers; it limits edits to 6/minute

I was going to suggest you change it to 20 or so, the wikt has much less server capacity, and you are causing periodic browser timeouts and sometimes DB sync lockouts, where no-one can edit until it catches up. But I also see you are running two at once?! Presumably because one was too slow? ;-) The total edit rate shouldn't exceed 3/minute or so. (And page creates have more overhead, a simple bot replace operation can go somewhat faster.) Robert Ullmann 11:12, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Wow, that is news to me. From what I've seen, it hasn't mattered how many instances of a bot I've thrown at Wiktionary. (Some DB servers are allocated for en.wikipedia exclusively, the remainder are for "all" others. All the apache & squid servers compose the vast majority of the servers. http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Image:Wikimedia_cluster.jpg) We haven't had any big bot-throttling efforts, as we simply can't throw enough bots at the WM cluster for it to even blink. I suspect the DB sync lockouts are caused by something else. Frankly, I've never seen the server log quite as colorful as its been for the last three days or so. http://nagios.wikimedia.org/cgi-bin/history.cgi?host=all Rest assured, the #wikimedia-tech channel has been going kindof nuts. It would be slightly beyond amazing to suggest that one bot on a "minor" wiki has caused all that. Maybe instead, the astrinomical load of page views on WP is responsible. --Connel MacKenzie 15:49, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes it seemed a bit strange to me, and noting the WM-wide problems did explain more. On the other hand, there was a definite correlation between DB lockouts and SemperBlottoBot running at speed. Probably the en.wikt DB itself, (e.g. whichever system is the master server for the en.wikt,) suffering from the wider problems, locked up with just a bit higher transaction rate.) Which means this is just temporary. Robert Ullmann 13:27, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

OK - I did ask, and Connel said two at once was probably OK - I'll slow down now. SemperBlotto 11:14, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

I've changed the throttle to 15. SemperBlotto 11:21, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Sounds all right, I'll tell you if I note anything ;-) Robert Ullmann 16:52, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

lavabo

Hi there! I've seen you have wikified lavabo but actually this word has 2 plurals: lavabo and lavabi. Maybe some day we would need a thing somewhat like that: {{en-noun|pl=bureaux|pl2=bureaus}}. (That said, I'm very curious to see the Italian position in next statistics update ;-) Buona domenica --Barmar 17:53, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Would you like to edit the page (without templates) so as to explain the difference. Is there a religious use of this word? SemperBlotto 18:41, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

There's no difference between the two plurals, you can use whatever you prefer. Yes, I've discovered there's also a religious use, that my Ragazzini dictionary translates into lavabo. This meaning is confirmed by En Wikipedia w:Lavabo. In conclusion, I've undone your edit and splitted the two translations... please give a look at the whole thing. Cheers.

it-nouns template

Thank you very much, I had never seen that template, bad luck! Sorry for the non-standard edits. Haragg 19:59, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Italian Wiktionary

Gerard mentioned on IRC last night that it.wikt: is restructuring their content. I don't read Italian; could you read their equivalent of WT:BP, and let me know what is going on there? Are they removing ====Translations==== sections, but keeping foreign entries? Are they removing foreign entries, but keeping ===Translations==== sections? Or are they planning to remove both foreign entries and ====Translations==== sections? Or is it all just a nasty rumor? --Connel MacKenzie 15:30, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

• I can't find anything obvious - I'll copy this to User:Barmar (she is Italian and will read things much faster than I can). SemperBlotto 15:39, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

I shall remain hopeful that it was just a misinterpreted rumor, then. Thank you both! --Connel MacKenzie 06:58, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

sotti

removed, no plural form for sotto Robert Ullmann 12:51, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

other minor note: I found one entry where the bot had appended text with a {{see}} template at the top; this doesn't end up in the right place, should be rechecked Robert Ullmann 13:42, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Plural of two-or three-words It nouns

Hi Jeff. I've just discovered this sooooo-nice thing viola da gamba -> {{it-noun| |f|[[viola]] da [[gamba]]|viole da gamba}} instead of the usual manual thing '''[[viola]] [[da]] [[gamba]]''' (''plural'' [[viole]] etc etc. Is this - as it seems - a correct template? If so, is it possible to automatically add it to all the Italian compound nouns? If is not, I'm voluntereeng to manually add it (I've created so many nouns without using that useful template..). Cheers. --Barmar 06:12, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

• Well, I didn't know we could do that! I was wonering why viola da gamba made my plural bot fail (It was because I was stripping spaces) but I never got round to investigating. Feel free to use it as much as you like. SemperBlotto 06:50, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
  • Your bot failed because there was a misspelling in the plural: violi instead of viole. Buona giornata. --Barmar 07:08, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

The template doc should probably point out that form of usage explicitly. (Else someone might make some useful enhancement, but break that usage).

One think I like about this project is that the Italian lemmata are getting systematically reviewed. Robert Ullmann 13:13, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

The template doesn't have much documentation at all yet - it is a very simple template with no clever logic at all, so the complex usage must come from underlying Wiki logic. And yes, we are finding lots of little errors and inconsistencies in Italian lemmata - adjectives next! SemperBlotto 13:21, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

It is very simple: the singular is parameter (1) + (3), the plural is (1) + (4). So if 1 is blank, they are just 3 and 4. No magic ;-) Robert Ullmann 13:31, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Ah, but the plural of acido acetico is "acidi acetici" not " acidi acetici" (with a leading space that my bot tried to add). - But I have just removed the mod to remove leading blanks and it still works fine - the Wiki must strip them off! SemperBlotto 13:44, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Um, the template parser treats | | and || as the same thing (strips whitespace around parameters, including newlines). So if your bot reads the template call, it should do the same thing: param = param.strip() But wikipedia.page strips out spaces and underscores: t = re.sub('[ _]+', ' ', t).strip() so you don't have to worry about it, unless you are using the title somewhere else. Robert Ullmann 13:50, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

400k en.wikt entries

Tonight, or tomorrow?  :-) --Connel MacKenzie 07:52, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

My plan was to stop bot activities when we get close, so that a human can get the credit. SemperBlotto 08:22, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

• But I didn't say it would be another human! SemperBlotto 21:20, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

Winchell

I'm curious by what process you deleted Winchell? Did you read the talk page first? Thanks. Mathiastck 18:54, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

The "Wanted" line of Special:Recentchanges

You do remember that Wiktionary:Wanted entries is there just to teast NEWBIES into making their first edit, right? --Connel MacKenzie 08:55, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

New It verbs

Here's some new verbs for the Bot: centrare, cooperare (I've added the It entry to the Spanish ones). Cheers.--Barmar 05:13, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

• Thanks very much - please add any more to this section. SemperBlotto 07:14, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

lavare, not a new verb but I've just added its conjugation. --Barmar 07:06, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

configurare --Barmar 06:12, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

divertire - animare Cheers. --Barmar 06:55, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

duplicare - pubblicare - separare --Barmar 13:34, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

tipographica etc

Hi there! Can you please fix this? tipographica ->tipografica tipographiche ->tipografiche tipographici->tipografici (Too long for me not being an admin :-) Thank u --Barmar 08:05, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

• Fixed. Thanks for spotting. SemperBlotto 08:23, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

rigadoon

The OED and Brewer's both say it's for 2 people, not 2 couples. Widsith 08:51, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

OK. Grove (online) says "It was popular as a social dance for individual couples at balls, as a virtuoso theatre dance and, in simplified form for several couples at once, as one of the many kinds of contredanse." SemperBlotto 10:49, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

tables

hey! if you go to złoty youll se a declension table, my question is, do these kinds of tables belong inside of article, or should they be rather somewhere else? Frizabela 10:30, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

That's fine. The words in the table should be wikified though. See any Italian verb (e.g. mangiare) for an example. SemperBlotto 10:32, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

Woiwurrung

That is correct. Also can you proof read my entries and leave comments for me as Im new at this, only if you have time. Thankyou Enlil Ninlil 21:29, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

NSPA

Why did you undo the RFV? It is an uncommon (technically incorrect) acronym, it should be NSAPA. See (e.g.) rfc:1707. Robert Ullmann 14:12, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

• I undid my own rfv when I found it in the Wikipedia entry. Feel free to correct / delete it - and then correct the -pedia article. SemperBlotto 14:15, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Cantare etc

Hi,

You appear to have reverted 26 separate edits that I made. I don't doubt you had a good reason, but it would be nice if you shared it. Meddlin' Pedant 19:25, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

• The format of Italian verb entries has been agreed by the Italian contributors - that's the way we like it. SemperBlotto 21:09, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

• • Is there a page anywhere detailing what the agreed format is so that others can use it? Meddlin' Pedant 21:59, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
  • The format was agreed when User:SemperBlottoBot was set up to populate the forms of Italian verbs. See intitolare as a recent example. There are, of course, many older verbs in various previous formats. SemperBlotto 07:05, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Traduttore, traditore.

Thanks for the cleanup.--SarekOfVulcan 12:20, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Food for the bot

Here's something needing to be conjugated: Verbs: eradicare Adjectives: semplificato Adj + Noun: sloveno, prematuro, preventivo, mafioso Buona domenica! --Barmar 09:58, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

OK. There is a restriction with the bot - if a word already exists with an Italian section, then it leaves it alone. Otherwise the programming would be rather tricky. So if a noun already exists, it won't add an adjective etc. These need to be done by a human. SemperBlotto 10:32, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

Ok, but is it fine that I continue adding the needing to be conjugated words here? (I have a long list of them) --Barmar 13:38, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Oh, oh.. just realized; I have to check my last edits then.. lately I have been creating the adjectives without adding the same-meaning past participles, the nouns without adding the verb forms and so on. --Barmar 13:45, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes please (until I can think of a better method) SemperBlotto 13:42, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Re better method: maybe a SemperBlottoBot tag? BTW here's the list: Nouns: genocidio carneficina congresso moratoria laurea laureando acclamazione giacca distanza gesto melodia espresso; Adjectives: breve regio abusivo; Verbs laureare, Past participles: espresso. Cheers. --Barmar 13:53, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

pope vs. Pope

I checked up on Wiktionary's articles on pope and Pope respectively before entering that phrase, and according to our articles it is supposed to be pope, with a minuscule "p". __meco 09:01, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

• A quick Google shows most combinations of pope/Pope + catholic/Catholic (or jewish/Jewish). I'm not sure if "supposed to be" has a meaning - both forms seem to have actual usage. Feel free to do what you like, I won't complain. SemperBlotto 09:24, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Appendix:Official languages of the European Union matrix

The table has a number of red links for Italian names of European languages. Thought you might be interested in creating the articles. --EncycloPetey 07:59, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

OK - I'll have a look at it soon (but see also too many irons in the fire!) SemperBlotto 08:25, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

Not a bot

No, I'm not using a bot software--these entries are so simple that it takes only seconds to complete. I'll do as you asked.--Jyril 09:26, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

a. of n.

I want to make it clear that I did not mean anything personal about you. I hope there is no misunderstanding about that. See you around! Dart evader 16:14, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

Keenebot

I'm keen on making a bot that does exactly what your bot does, but for French verbs/nouns instead of Italian ones. I know little about bots, but wonder if you could point me in the right direction for creating my Keenebot - do I need specialist software, and could I steal your Semperblottobot code and fiddle with it to make it French? --Keene 18:21, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

Jeff, since you are sharing code (a very good thing) would you please change in your bot:

               contents = old_text + '\n\n' +contents + '\n{{rfc-auto}}\n'

to

               contents = old_text + '\n\n----\n' + contents + '\n{{rfc-auto}}\n'

This puts the horizontal rule in between. Which means that AutoFormat won't keep saying "fixed ----'s", and if the languages happen to be in order, will just say "rm tag" (e.g. "all okay"), while doing the minor spacing. Just a bit more aesthetic. Robert Ullmann 15:40, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

• OK - done. SemperBlotto 16:38, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Cacciavite

Actually, it does have a plural form. If you google "cacciaviti" you'll find 143,000 results – is that not enough? --Emc2 09:53, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

Well, not according to both my paper dictionaries and to a good online one. I shall ask User:Barmar - she is Italian. SemperBlotto 09:57, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

The problem is that the part of the word being pluralized is "screw" - so the proposed plural sounds like "screwsdriver" SemperBlotto 10:05, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

entries with index.php tacked on the end..

Those are spambots - originally designed for forums, they don't work quite right on wiki's.. (eg: no links).. they are probably open proxies or zombies. I suggest blocking for 3-6 months, anon-only, account creation allowed. fwiw.. --Versageek 14:20, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

OK. I was wondering if we could automagically prevent the creation of such entries. Who would know? SemperBlotto 14:22, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

see my entry here. --Versageek 14:28, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Yes, but I would like *.index.php to be blocked. SemperBlotto 14:29, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Keenesbot

I've downloaded all that Python software, had a bit of a read and a bit of a play, but still have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. Could you send that bot code to me, as I've now set up a Wiktionary email. Maybe things will click. And perhaps a step-by-step how-to would be nice. Sorry for giving you more things to worry about! --Keene 14:44, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

The easiest thing is for you to send me a Wiki email, then I can reply with attachments - I don't think you can add attachments to a Wiki email. I will include instructions in the email. Cheers. SemperBlotto 14:47, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Also - you need to get a vote started - it takes a while to get permission. SemperBlotto 14:49, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Sorry for bugging you again, but it is hard! I've added onto user-config.py the following:

1. mylang='en'

   family='wiktionary'

   usernames['wiktionary']['en']='keenesbot'

   console_encoding = 'utf-8'

   put_throttle = 10

And an error message comes up:

1. TypeError: string indices must be integers

What are string indices, and how does one make them integers? --Keenesbot 11:44, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

if you have a string abc with value 'ABC', then abc[0] is 'A', abc[1] is 'B' ... so on, abc['a'] would give that error ... The config module defines usernames as a (two level) dict, not a string, so it should be right. (you do want to match case on Keenesbot though). Looks just like mine, so I don't know. Are you sure the error is there? which module are you running? Robert Ullmann 16:29, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

VolkovBot

Please unblock this account. I've placed contact info on its page and left a request in Beer parlour. --Volkov 21:02, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

May I ask you to unblock at least its IP 213.170.91.136 asap please? --Volkov 07:02, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

That address doesn't seem to be blocked. SemperBlotto 07:18, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Wiktionary:Votes/pl-2007-07/Brand names of products

Say SB, are you interested in putting your thoughts in on this proposal to (slightly) expand inclusion of brand names? Cheers! bd2412 T 19:03, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Talk:imperial system

I cannot see any justification for your deletion of this talk page. It was a thoughtful and legitimate question. DAVilla 19:04, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

• Quite correct. Table corrected. SemperBlotto 19:06, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Pluperfect

• True, but as you can see, the heading that I wrote that beneath says "English". Wolfdog 20:46, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Ferrous acid?

AFAIK, the term for the hypothetical acid H2FeO4 is ferric acid, and its salts are called ferrates. What is the term for the hypothetical H2FeO2? And what for its salts, such as Na2FeO2? Dart evader 13:26, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Yes, if it existed it would be ferrous acid. However, as far as I can tell, all attempts to make it yield the isomeric ferrous hydroxide Fe(OH)₂. The anion and its salts are ferrites, and sodium ferrite Na₂FeO₂ is commercially available (though I haven't investigated its use). SemperBlotto 16:16, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

I see. Perhaps we ought to create these entries. Thanks for the help. Dart evader 16:32, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Yes, there are still thousands of chemical compounds to be added - I'll get round to it one day. SemperBlotto 16:41, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

candid

Hi

Some time ago you added a definition of "candid" as being "without prejudice". I know dictionary.com has this definition but in practice I have never seen the word candid used in this way. Can you give an example of how candid is used in this way without the alternative and more usual interpretation of being open or frank?--Hauskalainen 08:54, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

• Done. SemperBlotto 10:23, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

capital equipment

Don't cha' just love edit conflicts? The dollar amount is relevant, though - I'm not sure how to tag it as specific to US Federal/IRS accounting nor how to indicate the date (range) for which it applies. Heck, I don't even know for certain where to check the accuracy of it. As I recall, it wasn't too long ago that limit was $2,000.00. --Connel MacKenzie 18:58, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

OK. I've added a more general definition first. SemperBlotto 19:01, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

aw hell no

This page doesn't explain to me why the page was removed, can you explain to me why it was removed? TheBlazikenMaster 17:33, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

Sadly, the MediaWiki software does not allow for fine-grained deletion summaries (yet.) The generic deletion message prevents libelous information from appearing in the (harvested) block log.

I assume it was deleted mistakenly as nonsense, as it wasn't obvious that it is an Americanism in widespread use. I'll restore it and clean it up.

--Connel MacKenzie 17:38, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

We do have aw, and hell no, so this could/should be considered sum-of-parts. But shouldn't be summarily deleted, should maybe go to RfD in that case. (I wasn't going to restore it for this reason.) Robert Ullmann 17:44, 18 July 2007 (UTC) I'm not going to RfD it; I'm fine with it staying. Robert Ullmann 17:48, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

I suppose that's what I get for being in a rush. It is sum-of-parts. I'll RFD it now. --Connel MacKenzie 22:03, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

Comment

If you haven't seen this comment, you may be flattered by it (since you've worked so hard on our Italian verbs). --EncycloPetey 11:11, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

I saw the comment (I can concur that it.wiktionary is not really very good). However, the sono verb is an old one, not in the current format (I may get around to fixing these some time). SemperBlotto 11:15, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

I'm back

Hi there! I’ve just returned from a week of holidays, sorry I forgot to post a message before leaving. Any news in Wiktionary apart from the grrreat stats? --Barmar 16:44, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

I wondered where you were. In September we (my wife and I) are off to Le Marche for a few days - we haven't neen to Italy for a few years now, and not in that region for quite a while. Not much other news - just plodding along. SemperBlotto 16:47, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

Use of their et cetera in the singular

You used their to mean his / her when you wrote the definition for the nounal sense of buttonholing. Though this is not laid down in policy or anything, I would strongly advise against using the third-person plural pronouns as epicene singulars — it’s horribly ungrammatical. Thanks. † Raifʻhār Doremítzwr 17:12, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

I know. But all the alternatives seem worse. SemperBlotto 17:14, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

I agree that there is no perfect answer. I still use the masculine pronouns, though I am occasionally criticised for being sexist (even though my criticisers see no such problem with using -or, -er, and -eur -terminal (originally masculine) agent nouns as epicene agent nouns). Counterculturalists use the feminine pronouns — with which practice I am perfectly happy; however, it is not a familiar enough usage and can therefore cause confusion (and is still, logically speaking, sexist). A common solution is to give both the masculine and the feminine pronouns, separated by a solidus or an or (which is how I rewrote the buttonholing definition); however, this can become very awkward in the case of reflexive pronouns, or if the pronouns are used multiple times in a sentence (e.g.: “tell him or her that if he or she doesn’t move his or her vehicle in the next hour, he or she shall be made to pay a fine sent to his or her insurance company”). One is often used, though this has the downside of having no distinct subject and object forms (its forms are one and one’s only); furthermore, it can sound very unnatural in a number of contexts (e.g.: “tell one that if one doesn’t move one’s vehicle in the next hour, one shall be made to pay a fine sent to one’s insurance company”).

The last option, and certainly the worst in my opinion, is to use the plural pronouns in the singular. As most conversations involve a discussion about third-person entities (indeed, in very formal contexts, even first- and second-person actors are referred to in the third person, such as when addressing monarchs and their immediate families, who are styled Your (Imperial) Majesty / Highness, and such as in parliamentary debates, wherein debaters refer to one another by titles such as The Right Honourable Member for [Constituency name]), this confuses whom or what is being talked about, preventing them from being distinguished by grammatical number (as with the ambiguity in this sentence: “the person told their family that they’d be going to Florida over the weekend” — who is/are going to Florida? –A parent on a business trip, or the family on a surprise holiday?). Apart from that immediate, practical problem, using they, them, their, and theirs in the singular obscures meaning insidiously, and in the long term. English no longer has distinct singular second-person pronouns (which were thou, thee, thy, and thine); instead the formerly plural-only second-person pronouns (you, your, and yours (as well as the now archaic ye)) now serve both functions. –It is not inconceivable for the same to happen to the third-person pronouns, and for English to lose he, him, his, she, her, and hers within the next few centuries. Secondly, nota bene the increasing frequency of the error of using the incorrect number form (be it singular or plural) for the noun possessed by their (as in this quotation that I heard from a television programme recently: “We just give all our food waste to our pigs, then they can stuff their face” — obviously, their sounder of swine did not all share a single face as it is implied by the grammar used). Yes — there are many problems with this “solution”.

Clearly, the perfect solution would be to coin a quaternion of singular third-person epicene pronouns. Many have tried, but none have gained sufficient usage to be credible standard pronouns. Unfortunately, until such a set of pronouns exists (if it ever does), all we can do is employ circumlocutions. It would be worth while for Wiktionary to have an appendix to house and discuss the respective merits of all the English singular third-person epicene pronouns which satisfy its CFI. † Raifʻhār Doremítzwr 23:47, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

TL/DNR SemperBlotto 22:05, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

Err… why the reference to the Tagalog Wiktionary? † Raifʻhār Doremítzwr 23:47, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

TL|DNR (where | is one of "/", ":", ";" or "-") means "Too long, did not read". Colons in entry names cause problems - see w:Wikipedia:Naming conventions (technical restrictions)#Colon.

To summarise and paraphrase SemperBlotto's long comment: they isn't perfect, but no alternative is either

• singular "they" might lead to "his", "her", etc. becoming archaic (cf how "you" supplanted "thou"
• "his/her"/"his or her" etc. gets rapidly confusing - e.g. “tell him or her that if he or she doesn’t move his or her vehicle in the next hour, he or she shall be made to pay a fine sent to his or her insurance company”
• Just using "his" leads to accusations of sexism
• "one" doesn't have all the required forms ("one" and "one's" only) and overuse sounds silly
• Many people have tried to coin gender-neutral third-person singular pronouns, but none have gained sufficient usage to be accepted as standard.
• Just using "her" is not universally understood to mean "her or his", and if using masculine words to refer to males and females is sexist, using female words to refer to females and males is equally sexist

To this last point I would also add that alternating "his" and "her" is also confusing, with the exception of where the usages are clearly separate examples. Thryduulf 10:16, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

Sort order, etc

Hi, thanks for the welcome. I wasn't aware of the policy against the use of templates in the translation table. Thanks for letting me know. --Saforrest 16:00, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

Why delete Backstop Technology?

Not idiomatic, bad capitalization, definition copy/pasted from external source. SemperBlotto 07:12, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the answer. It doesn't seem in the spirit of wiki to delete an entry bc it's not perfect. It's a start. Entry was lightly edited from the external source. "Not idiomatic"? "Backstop technology" is increasingly used in climate policy discussions. Not used much in ordinary conversation, to be sure, but ... I'm left scratching my head. What's the value in excluding it from the dictionary?

Qur'anic

I followed koran, which redirects to Qur'an in redirecting quranic and koranic to qur'anic. It seems that choosing some of these to be redirects and others not may not be uniform. Could I have discovered an old error in koran or perhaps not comprehended your intent? Thecurran 18:40, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

None of those should be redirects. Fixed. SemperBlotto 18:54, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

[Ta]. Thecurran 09:05, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Syntactic sugar

(thread copied from my talk page)

Was that a mistake? We already have syntactic sugar (lowercase). SemperBlotto 16:16, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes. I checked for syntactical sugar, tried to link to wikipedia, found the entry there for Syntactic sugar and cut and pasted it to make sure I had the spelling. Please delete the incorrect capitalization. Sorry about that. Should we add syntactical sugar? RJFJR 16:19, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

Well, possibly - but it is a lot rarer. SemperBlotto 16:22, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

We have syntactic sugar because I moved it to lc! Forget "syntactical sugar", just bad word formation on my part. Robert Ullmann 16:30, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

I'm confused now - I thought I added it ages ago! SemperBlotto 16:32, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

You added syntactical meaning syntactic 10 July 2006 ... Robert Ullmann 16:40, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes - I've checked. Perhaps I just meant to add it (senior moment) SemperBlotto 16:41, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

Bringing to attention things to delete

Which I normally don't do, but have a few. They're tagged for speedy deletion ...

brainbench Ancient rome doctors Geroge bernad shaw jllyz32248391350

Thanks much. Neskaya 07:07, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

• If they are tagged with {{speedy}} then somebody will review and probably delete them soon. You don't need to do anything else SemperBlotto 07:18, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

nigger rich

Sorry, but why delete the page? And even without RFV, at that. Although it does not appear to be in wide use, the term definitely exists and needs defining. The explanation of its origin and usage was quite interesting for me. Dart evader 17:10, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

• OK - I'll undelete it - and let you fix it (needs formatting and an actual definition instead of a ramble). SemperBlotto 18:57, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

Honestly, I cannot fix it. To fix such loaded and inflammatory terms one should be a native speaker, I suppose. I've never met the expression before reading that freshly created (and soonly deleted) entry. :) Dart evader 19:06, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

No good deed goes...

Well, thanks for your one line observation on WT:BP. You'll note that only generated more kilobytes of the same.  :-(   Anyhow, that should have been Wiktionary:Please don't feed the trolls / WT:TROLL, right?  :-)   --Connel MacKenzie 16:40, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes, we also need keep one's head down ;=( (and I'm too old to do smilies) SemperBlotto 16:48, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

The sun and the moon

I wasn't sure whether "the sun" (when it has no caps but the meaning of the Sun) should be placed with proper nouns or nouns. Could you still have a look at the pages moon, sun and earth and give me some further advice please. Thank you. :) Rhanyeia 18:32, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Ah, I was too hasty. When people say, e.g. "Look at the moon" they mean "Look at the Moon" - there are very many Google book hits for this usage - we should allow it. SemperBlotto 18:50, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for your answer. Could I place "the sun" in the same way than "the moon" is placed? Best regards Rhanyeia 10:47, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes. Go for it. SemperBlotto 10:48, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for advising. :) Rhanyeia 10:58, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

Bureaucrat

Hi, I know you've recently turned down the CheckUser nomination, but I was wondering if you would be more receptive to one of bureaucrat. I don't think you would be tempted to ignore any policies with regard to user flags, and even so there aren't legal privacy implications. Given that universal login is about to kick in, it may be wise to have more people on deck in the coming weeks, especially ones who are very active. I would only want to know if you think you could be diplomatic with those who run bots, which are very useful here since a lot of work that is done can be paralleled on so many pages. DAVilla 23:00, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

I'm not convinced that we have a pressing need. We already have six bureaucrats - though many of them are not regular contributors. I would probably accept if there are no fine print implications. Is there a writeup somewhere? All I know is that they can turn on/off the sysop and bot flags. SemperBlotto 15:43, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

A 'crat can't turn OFF a sysop flag; that takes a steward. They can turn 'bot flags on and off, which is useful. All it takes is not doing those things without community approval. Note how Dvortygirl carefully ran a vote on Dvortybot before flagging it. Connel's bot account sometimes gets temporarily flagged when it is up to something that would swamp RC. People seem to prefer AF to run visibly; and so on. Not too hard. Robert Ullmann 15:54, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Well, it does seem like one's always looking for those people. We have an admin vote that hasn't been closed, but it was probably just overlooked, seeing as Dvortygirl marked off a more recent nominee a few days later. Guess I'd better bring it up.

I'll ask Brion if he thinks universal login is going to create the need, and Connel to get back to you about the fine print stuff. DAVilla 16:05, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

I don't know if B'crat's have the same 'identification' fine-print as CUs, if that's what you mean. I don't think so, though. Paul is the only active b'crat we have right now...and Dvortygirl keeps making (very brief) surprising quick appearances, but can't be considered "active" nor "on call." I hope I'm not divulging too much personal information. Hippietrail is on the road again (therefore not logging in from internet cafes.) Again, I hope I'm not divulging too much personal information. I think having a second b'crat is a good idea. The User-rename requests from SUL won't start for a while yet...all of SUL is "opt-in" so most people won't need to use it anyhow...and even then, only on smaller projects. Aside: I don't think en.wikt is considered a "smaller project" anymore...based on total DB size we are much larger than many (most?) Wikipedias...by entry count we are way up there...by user count we are waaaay up there. Try Special:Emailuser/Paul G or Special:Emailuser/Dvortygirl? --Connel MacKenzie 16:21, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

OK, I give in. You may nominate me (but I don't like the word, and sometimes have trouble spelling it!). SemperBlotto 18:55, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

So nominated, please accept. DAVilla 12:50, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

presto chango

You deleted presto chango (which I had not made). Why? See User:Msh210/Sandbox. I plan to re-create presto chango and presto change-o with cites if the only reason you deleted the former was because you thought it was unattestable. Please let me know (here) why you deleted it, so I can know whether I should refrain from re-creating it.—msh210 00:39, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

I think he did it to prove that I'm not the only one capable of error. We set his error quota of annual errors at 1/100th my annual error rate, so he still has a lot of catching up to do.  :-)   --Connel MacKenzie 01:15, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

Fine, I've re-created it. I'd appreciate an rfd nomination instead of a delete if you think the latter is called for, SB.—msh210 05:15, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes, we all (most of us) make mistakes when we assume that something we have never heard of doesn't exist. The new version is also a much better definition. SemperBlotto 07:18, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

English prefixes

You are right, of course. I saw a prefix under mal and wondered why there was not one under mis ;-) 85.22.17.225 09:26, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

mata hari

Hi, about the 'mata hari' page, yes it is spelt in Malay as matahari. I am still checking whether the Malayalam word for 'sun' is really not 'mata hari', but there isnt any online Malayalam-English dictionary. But that's not what you were asking, is it? yes matahari is how it is written in Malay. So I would appreciate that to be changed. Thanks SemperBlotto :)

--Danazach 14:09, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

aguafiestas

Hi. I just re-created this page that you apparently eliminated on 10 April. I don't know why it was eliminated. I trust my present entry is OK. If not, please could you let me know on my talk page? Thanks. -- Algrif 09:46, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

• My memory doesn't go back that far! No problems with this one. SemperBlotto 09:53, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

Filipina

I believe you were right to remove the vandlism on the Filipina page but I disagree with entirely deleting the page. It seems to be the appropriate term for females ethnically attached to the Philippines. Please, explain your reasoning. Thecurran 02:07, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

• It was no trouble to generate a proper Filipina page - you could have done the same yourself. SemperBlotto 07:10, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

I wanted to but I committed a big faux pas editting ZW without asking permission, really angering User:Cynewulf, so User:Connel MacKenzie implied I should make a suggestion, wait to see if the parties involved agree and give permission, and then edit. I'm trying to follow that guideline. I didn't want to waste your time with something I could've done myself. I was trying to seek your permission without setting off a bomb. Thecurran 08:06, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

taxon

Hi Jeff, I am little concerned about definitions as the one on this page. In fact I think it is less than informative, does not reflect the meaning of the word as it is actually used but rather what a certain user thinks it should mean. I think your original one was much better. (Brya tried to do the same thing on nl.wikti and after some sleuthing at en.wikpedia about this (banned-suckpuppeteer) user, I gave her a first and final warning no to try and redefine words according to what she thinks they should mean. She got very angry and was clearly not going to change her ways so I blocked her. Swift and hard I know but we have very few users at nl. and cannot afford long legal procedures or users like this. Thought you should know nl:gebruiker:Jcwf

We have been having problems with Brya's edits here as well. Brya would come here and alter definitions, then cite the altered definitions to support arguments on Wikipedia. --EncycloPetey 19:54, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I have been meaning to review this user's edits for some time - I have cleaned up taxon. SemperBlotto 21:05, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

make

Hi,

Thanks for adding the sense I requested to make — but are you sure that's the right definition? It doesn't seem to fit the Numb3rs quote, and I'm not sure that it really fits the Ocean's Twelve quote, either.

Of course, if I could figure out a definition that did fit, I'd have added it myself, rather than just requesting it, so …

—Ruakh_TALK 18:19, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Well, it was my understanding of the intended meaning. I'll see if I can come up with something better - in the meantime you are welcome to improve it. SemperBlotto 21:24, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Internat

Hi, yhank u for warning me:) I'ce corrected it:) Sinek 16:33, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

It's a set phrase

Did you not notice I cleaned up I like pie while you were patrolling? --Connel MacKenzie 17:39, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

• Sorry - too hasty. SemperBlotto 17:41, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
  • NP, thank you. --Connel MacKenzie 17:46, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

sopraffare etc.

Hi there! First of all, as you can see I'm finally back (the situation has improved a bit.. crossing fingers ;-). Regarding sopraffare, it has not a regular -are conjugation, but follows the fare pattern (io sopraffaccio or sopraffò, tu sopraffai, egli sopraffa.. past participle sopraffatto etc. etc). Last but not the least I've answered to your questions on my talk page. Buona domenica. --Barmar 07:29, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

• Welcome back! I have deleted the bad sopraffare entries, and I shall now correct the conjugation table and get the bot to add the correct entries. Thanks for spotting it. SemperBlotto 07:45, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

birds

Hi. Could you tell me who is the birds expert here? I notice that golden oriole is not included, but oriole is. The golden oriole is the basic bird (Oriolus oriolus) but there is a long list of varieties. I would like to know the policy about these kind of entries before I start making a heap of entries that later will just be deleted ;-) -- Algrif 10:36, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

I don't think we have a bird expert. I shall create golden oriole and, if you agree with that entry, you could use it as a base, or improve it first. Cheers SemperBlotto 10:40, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

p.s. Wikipedia capitalizes it, but I think that is probably wrong. SemperBlotto 10:43, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Thx a mil. Looks good. Birders tend to capitalise all birds, but I think that if blackbird (for instance) is not capitalised, then none of them should be. Furthermore, we don't capitalise any animals, so why should birds be different? Cheers. -- Algrif 10:57, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Italian red words

Salve! Following your example, I've just created an Italian sandbox where I've started copying the zillions of tiny pieces of paper where I've been writing Italian missing words until now. These words come from the news, books, newspapers and magazines and all of them are pretty common. Please feel free to make them blue whenever you want, they're all but my pet words, on the contrary I'd be glad if they become blue soon. --Barmar 13:47, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

OK - And you can do the same to any of mine that I have difficulty with! SemperBlotto 13:53, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

-eous

What did you use to find all of those derived terms for -eous? Nadando 18:09, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

The online version of the OED using *eous as search word. SemperBlotto 18:46, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for correcting my errors. Sorry, just a little bit inattentive. I'll pay more attention. Sentinella 13:59, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Semper Blotto, the gargantuan list of derived terms which you added to -eous is erroneous; many of the terms do not derive thence — some, obviously do not (as they don’t even end in -eous). Whilst it is, of course, extremely useful to have massive lists of derived terms at affixes’ entries, those lists are only useful if they are correct. Likewise, the ability to scan the entire OED for words ending in -eous is undoubtedly useful, but as such a search is a word-ending search, and not a suffix search, and will therefore yield false positives, it is necessary to manually inspect the compiled list after conducting the search. Please take more care in future — -eous is now listed for clean-up. On the plus-side, however, at least that massive list has given us a large number of red links which we ought to turn blue! 23:10, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

I like it! bd2412 T 00:57, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Except that some of these words aren't derived from -eous. The word extraneous, for instance comes from Latin extrāneus. The ending was thus added in the parent word, before there ever was an English language. I'm also unclear why the word snail appears in the list. The list needs to be proof-read. --EncycloPetey 01:11, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

The OED doesn't have a separate entry for every headword; the headword snail-nacreous is defined in the entry for snail, so if you search for words ending in -eous, the entry for snail will make the list. Also, might there be some sort of intellectual property issue with importing a massive list of words from the OED? Do the OED's criteria for inclusion constitute some sort of art or creativity or whatever it is that makes something copyrightable? —Ruakh_TALK 01:31, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

OED can't own the list of all words ending in -eous (by the way, does this list cover all Wiktionary entries ending in -eous?) - so unless OED has compiled there own such list, we are pretty much in the clear. Cheers! bd2412 T 01:36, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Of course they can't own the list of all words ending in -eous, and I didn't mean to suggest that they did. I meant only that they might own the list of their words ending in -eous. If I compiled and published a list of words that I considered fun, I believe it would violate my copyright for someone else to compile and publish the derivative work consisting of words ending in -eous that I considered fun. But, I don't know whether compiling a dictionary constitutes an artistic effort, with a dictionary's word-list being copyrightable. —Ruakh_TALK 02:42, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

As long as they claim to be assembling an authoritative lexicon (they can't leave out attested words that they consider not fun), they are really in no position to control the use of the words collected therein. We can not copy their dictionary, but we can make a list of all -eous or -istic or -ism words therein. But don't we have any that they lack? bd2412 T 02:45, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

• In the future, I'll be happy to generate such a list from Gutenberg words, where there isn't any possible conflict, from using their resources. (Plus, then independent citations are inherently available by searching http://www.google.com/?q=site:gutenberg.org.) Alternately, I can search the smaller set of Wiktionary words just as easily. --Connel MacKenzie 02:59, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Yes. I generated this list in a hurry and was then involved in real life. When I returned to the wiki I had forgotten to clean it up. I shall try to do so today (but many false positives will probably remain). SemperBlotto 07:11, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

dog-fight

I'm positive it is spelled dogfight, if you'd like to contact me I am JetLover on Wikipedia. The wikipedia article is spelled dogfight, every spelling I've seen of it is spelled dogfight. 67.150.170.194 21:42, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Oh, thanks for fixing my links. 67.150.170.194 21:50, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I think you are correct. I have made your redirect into an alternative spelling (this is not -pedia). SemperBlotto 21:53, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

slattern

No, not you. Should slatternliness be listed as a derived term of slattern? –Wouldn’t it be better listed as a derived term of slatternly? Or should it be listed at both entries? Opinions please… † Raifʻhār Doremítzwr 13:27, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Well, I suppose a derivative of a derivative is still a derivative - I won't object to either proposal. SemperBlotto 13:31, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

I’m uncertain myself. I suppose listing derivatives of derivatives of derivatives is like giving etymologies for every word in a chain stretching back to the earliest-known etymon, despite that information being given multiple times for all of the words. It just seems a bit redundant, that’s all. Maybe this needs policy clarification — what do you say? † Raifʻhār Doremítzwr 13:46, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

I don't think some sort of policy would be very helpful. More the usual rule of reasonableness. In this case slatternliness should be listed as a derived term at slatternly, but whether to list it at slattern is up to the editor. There are certainly cases where one wouldn't do that; would you list antidisestablishmentarianism at establish? But one would list it at disestablish, and we find that that is exactly what was done. Robert Ullmann 13:59, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Ah, but should antidisestablishmentarianism even be listed at disestablish? –It is only fairly distantly related to it, and, historically as well as morphologically, is really more closely related to disestablishmentarianism. 14:10, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Yes. Not at establish, where the sense is very broad, not specific to church and state, but at disestablish which is the word in the chain that takes on the specific sense related to an established church. Robert Ullmann 14:19, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

So is it down to whence a specific meaning begins to emerge? † Raifʻhār Doremítzwr 15:31, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

In that case, yes. But in the general case, whatever is reasonable and useful. Robert Ullmann 15:36, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

*Groan* –It’s always difficult to express terms like reasonable and useful in wikilawyering-proof terms. I guess that’s a job for the future if and when it ever becomes an issue. † Raifʻhār Doremítzwr 15:49, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

mantle

Why did you remove my contribution:

1. (idiomatic phrase) "assume the mantle" - to assume a position, role (origin: putting on the robes, mantle, associated with that position or office)

Its true, isn't it? --124.188.230.12 08:33, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

• You added a verb definition to a noun. What you need to do is add assume the mantle in a ====Derived terms==== section, and define it there. SemperBlotto 08:37, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

VolkovBot

Please unblock asap as the bot got the flag now --Volkov 06:06, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

• OK - let it rip! SemperBlotto 07:13, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

tuppenny-ha'penny

Hi. Not comparative? More tuppenny-ha'penny = cheaper. (Clumsy, and probably difficult to find examples. But even so....) (BTW tuppenny... 2xp and 2xn ;-)) -- Algrif 14:35, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

• I know - but it didn't seem right. SemperBlotto 14:36, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

lombardo

Hi! I saw you deleted lombardo twice in 2006. I created again that page, but I think the content is very different from what you deleted. Is there anything wrong with it? Thank you for the attention! Sentinella 22:00, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

That's fine. By the way - don't bother creating plurals for nouns or adjectives. We have a bot that does it automatically (if the base form uses the standard templates). SemperBlotto 22:03, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

"Stupidity"

How come you have blocked a lot of people (with no contribs) with the reason "stupidity?" What were they doing? Cheers, JetLover 22:29, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

• Adding stupid articles - that have been deleted. SemperBlotto 07:05, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

Incase> Obsolete/Archaic of Encase?

http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=incase&diff=2977043&oldid=2977039

Why is Incase an obsolete of "Enclose" and not "Encase"? Encase is quite obviously the closer of the two.

• Well, the OED lists incase and encase as spelling variations of each other with the meaning of enclose. Perhaps we should just list inclose simply as {{alternative spelling of}} enclose. By the way "quite obviously" doesn't mean anything - we need proper evidence. SemperBlotto 21:24, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

True. I'm no wiki regular, and I understand the need. But the way I see it, there's no evidence for either way, but the similarity suggests that it's an alternative spelling. I'll leave you to make the change in case I screw something up (lawl pun!.. nevermind.). Perhaps mentioning both that it is alternative spelling of enclose and also that it means "to enclose"? I don't know the conventions for wiktionary, so it'd be better if someone else does it. I was just a bit irritated that it was reverted without an explanation, that's all. Thanks.

imbetween

you deleted imbetween? what kind of dialect elitism is this? every southerner uses this word.75.57.98.66 21:15, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

• You'll need to provide proof - it isn't in any dictionary I can find. SemperBlotto 21:16, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Not a word. SemperBlotto was perfectly right to delete it. --Neskaya ^talk 21:22, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

I have started a discussion in the tearoom. SemperBlotto 21:26, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

WITN

Sorry about that.I could have sworn last time I checked, it was in header. Circeus 15:04, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

User:Mcent

Back again ... maybe we should range-block Tiscali again for a while? Robert Ullmann 09:39, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

I'm in two minds about him. These days I only block him when he changes account name even though the previous one has not been blocked - and give the reason as "multiple account abuse" rather than WF. The problem is that even though 99% of his edits are fine (even useful), they ALL have to be checked, and he can never go into our whitelist. I'll go along with whatever you think best. SemperBlotto 09:43, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Right now he's adding the conjugation tables to a lot of French verbs. Which seems useful. Robert Ullmann 09:51, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for leaving me alone for a while. --MCent 11:17, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

cum

Can you take a look at cum. It doesn't actually say 'with' though the etymology points to the Latin section which does. RJFJR 16:14, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

OK, I've expanded it a bit. SemperBlotto 16:49, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Help?

Hi, I was wondering how to structure the noun form entries. Every noun forms has 3 properties which differ from other forms; "2 numbers, 4 cases and (indefinite)/Template:def", and all those properties give different meanings in the English translations (except perhaps the and Template:acc). Now I would like to ask you what would be the best way to set this up.

• To put the English translation of the form first, then (indefinite)/Template:def, the case, the number and the original form + translations of the nom, singular, indef. (I hope this isn't needlessly complicated). E.g. the word manns which means "[of] a man" and is the (indefinite) the genitive singular of maður (meaning "man").

'''manns''' {{m}}
# [of] a [[man]], the {{context|indef|lang=und}} the genitive singular of ''[[maður]]'' (meaning "[[man]]")

• One could also use:

'''manns''' {{m}}
# the {{context|indef|lang=und}} the genitive singular of ''[[maður]]'' (meaning "[[man]]"), meaning "[of] a [[man]]"

What do you think? --BiT 18:02, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Sorry for the delay in replying. Well, for Italian entries, we just say "plural of", "feminine of" and the like - and onky put an English translation on the base entry. Not everyone thinks that is the best option, but is the easiest to automate (we generate forms of verbs, nouns and adjectives with a bot). Do what you thnk best - if nobody else objects. SemperBlotto 18:47, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Bureaucrat (xtra buttons)

Good morning, and here, have some extra buttons. The good news is, it isn't really that much extra. You'll see a couple new links in Special pages. They're pretty self-explanatory. The one thing you have to look out for is that while you can easily make a user into a sysop, you cannot simply do the reverse. It takes a steward or developer to do that. You can also rename a user. Do read WT:MV before doing so, and watch for impersonators, etc. --Dvortygirl 04:42, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Roger - wilco. SemperBlotto 18:41, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Noting lemma forms in WT:ELE

Given edits like this, you seem to have an opinion about whether certain types of information belongs in non-lemma entries. You may want to express your opinion at WT:BP#Noting lemma forms in WT:ELE. Rod (A. Smith) 01:07, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

it iwikis

While randomly checking the work my bot is doing adding iwikis, I noted a large number of your entries getting +it edits; I assumed that was because you had created them since RobotGMwikt stopped running (yes), and that of course the it.wikt already had them (no, it turns out). In fact, the it.wikt is importing your work (and Barmar's), creating lots of new enties; (that still need work to complete translating them). Did you know about this? (;-) Robert Ullmann 17:13, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Yes. It seems to be User:Filnik who is importing the words. Some other people are making a half-hearted attempt to convert them to it.Wiktionary format, but nobody is converting English translations into Italian definitions. Most of the needed templates are missing. But what the Italian wiktionary team do is no real concern of mine - I am not a contributor there. (The motive is probably to bump up the abysmally small number of Italian words there.) SemperBlotto 08:49, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

uninitiated

This needs both an adjective and a noun definition - currently one with a definition of the other. SemperBlotto 15:23, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Good point. Is this both the singular and plural? "The uninitiated are..." sounds fine but "the uninitiated is..." sounds odd. RJFJR 15:27, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Plural use only (unitiated people considered as a group) - can't remember what we call those words! SemperBlotto 15:30, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

could be plurale tantum or collective. RJFJR 15:57, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

How does it look now? RJFJR 16:01, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Fine. SemperBlotto 16:43, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Plurals

Sorry. I keep on expecting the templates to do more than they do. I've been spoiled by the power of the WP templates. On the one hand, Wiktionary has more rules and structure; but on the other hand the templates don't seem to help with/exploit the structure. I'm still learning Wiktionary and unlearning WP. DCDuring 09:32, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

Wiktionary:Frequency lists/Italian1000

nell is most certainly nell' as I have converted apostrophes to space before counting. There are also still some typos which are typically due to faulty OCR software, the most common example being i instead of l as ii, as well as proper noun and single letters coming from formating instructions. Matthias Buchmeier 08:48, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

I have uploaded a list containing all words with at least 2 occurrences to my user page. Matthias Buchmeier 09:33, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

I believe that most the non-standard accents are OCR software failures (many of these subtitles files seem to to be OCRed scans). I have also seen similar errors on the Spanish frequency list, however less frequently as Spanish only knows the acute accent on vocals, the tilde on n and diaresis on u. A list of candidates for erroneous spellings can be probably be filtered out employing aspell in batch-mode (with the "list" option, which generates a list of presumably wrong words). That is what I did with the Spanish list, however it requires a manual revision as there will be some properly spelled words in list. Matthias Buchmeier 14:11, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Translinguals

How are translinguals to be handled? DCDuring 19:24, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

I knew there should be an issue about sci. Latin, didn't know term translingual. Thanks. DCDuring 19:31, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Why are you deleting my entry

I have entered a entry for Nortel, to complete the bottom links to the other sister sites on the Nortal Portal on Wikipedia [3] Why did you delete it without asking to on a talk page?

68.49.138.47 07:54, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

It is just the name of a company - this is a dictionary. SemperBlotto 08:49, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

It follows the format of the other companies: IBM, Microsoft, Windows, Macintosh, Apple Computer, Apple Computers, Kellogg Company, Benedict Arnold company, LEGO, DuPont, Netscape, Linux...... Jack12 08:55, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

If you want to delete this entry just because it is a company then you need to delete ALL other companies from this system, otherwise explain what I have done incorrect and I will gladly add, change, edit or explain it. Jack12 08:59, 16 October 2007 (UTC) Jack12 09:39, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

Google, British East India Company, Rice Krispies, GCI, JCB, DJ Company, xerox, AOL, CRO, CBC, NBC, SABC, PLC, Hyundai, Samsung, Pepsi, KIA, AT&T, NEC, SAS, Mobil, MSNBC, General Mills, AMD, SGK, IRT, DIS, Sony, Lamborghini, Daewoo, Jell-O, ABC, etc, etc, etc,....

69.140.189.5 11:11, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

Make your point at Wiktionary:Requests for deletion#Nortel. Other people (not just me) will make a decision. SemperBlotto 11:14, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

You should have explained that before you blocked me. 68.49.138.28 11:19, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

As you pointed out All the information on the IBM page is just about a company. As stated here [[4] we are deleting company entries. 69.140.184.148 19:14, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

Netscape

The Netscape page is identical to what was on the Nortel page that was deleted. 69.140.184.148 19:48, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

trendline

Why delete this instead of having it properly defined? sewnmouthsecret 21:25, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

By all means give it a definition if you know it. SemperBlotto 21:27, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

Just checking.. I just didn't know it. I will look it up. Thanks. sewnmouthsecret 21:29, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

You may find that the normal spelling is trend line by the way. SemperBlotto 21:32, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

pudding basin

Capitalisation was an abberation.

Yes, the definition was of a noun - corrected. Could be said to be attributive but if someone looked it up and just saw the noun sense it wouldn't help much. Not quite sure how to format it (related term?) as attributive.

On a general point, I note that you have mentioned 'pudding-basin'. How did you come to a decision to use a hyphenated form? This has often puzzled me. I added the entry to satisfy a link from 'pudding', so I didn't actually make a specific decision myself. House 16:35, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

I understand that there is a general rule in English grammar that two word nouns get hyphenated when turned into an adjective. Of course, not everyone does this - try a Google for the two forms of haircut (in quotes) - (unfortunately Google lumps them both together). If you decided to have a separate entry for pudding-basin it would be linked via a =====Related terms==== section. SemperBlotto 16:48, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

Catholic Church

What was wrong with the changes? They reflect consensus over at Wikipedia? -- 98.193.26.175 20:45, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

Well, it looked wrong to me. How can the Eastern Orthodox Church be part of the Catholic Church? Isn't that difference what the Great Schism was all about? SemperBlotto 21:09, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, my wrong

I'm the one whom you just sent a message to (wasnt logged on). Sorry about the spelling, I thought I knew the words. The GCC are the "Gulf Cooperation Council", I should have checked whether GCC might mean another thing in English before just typing it, anyway, I corrected the satement.

--Maha Odeh 10:38, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

Thanks

Thanks for "making" me fix single-point urban interchange. Laziness (to write a proper definition) is not a good thing.  :-) —msh210℠ 16:52, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

Storytelling of ravens

I put the collective noun for ravens as an alternate definition of "storytelling." I'm not necessarily refuting your decision to delete my entry, but please explain. (Note that Wikipedia has the definition of "storytelling" that I added in its article on collective nouns.) --Reallybored999 18:51, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

Zero hits for the phrase "storytelling of ravens" in Google books. Can you find an example of use? SemperBlotto 18:57, 24 October 2007 (UTC) - I notice that you have not cited your source in w:List of collective nouns for birds

I found some blog hits here and here, though I am unsure if this is durably archived.

I found other odd sites here and here. If you let me know if these will work, I will add cites. sewnmouthsecret 19:29, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

I’ve always known the collective noun for ravens to be a “conspiracy [of ravens]”, only — related in meaning to a “murder of crows” et cetera. † ﴾^(u):Raifʻhār ^(t):Doremítzwr﴿ 20:30, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

Apparently, many sites out there state numerous different collective nouns for the same animal. It's hard to find use, though. sewnmouthsecret 20:42, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

I did not cite the source, but nonetheless, the page "w:List of collective nouns for birds" does confirm what i had written. I intend to change it back and i would appreciate your not reverting it as this definition, however obscure, is legitimate.--Reallybored999 22:13, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

100 000 edit counts! Wow!!

Dear SemperBlotto, alias Sir Geoffrey Jeffery Knaggs, do you realize you are currently holding this Wiki-world record by becoming the most edited Wiktionarian in the world? You had recently surpassed the 100 000 edit mark! My goodness gracious! Just wanted to say that particularly with the title of "Sir" on behalf of your honour and respect for such achievement! Congrats! :) On Wheezier Plot of the Malay Wiktionary11:11, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

• Nothing better to do with my time. SemperBlotto 11:13, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Prekariat, lumpenproletariat

Hi, i just created Prekariat, a neologism from sociology thats been used frequently in german media recently. Its related to Proletariat, but not quite the same. Have you heard of precariat being used as en english translation? Can you clarify? See: babelfish, [5].

From our discussion on IRC:

<mutante> do you understand Prekariat or is the term not used in english yet ...
<Connel> I suppose we could /invent/ a neologism for it in English
* Connel thinks it might be invented as "precariousization" in GenAm
<linkyW> http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/precariousization
<Connel> "precariousizationist"?
<Connel> "precariat" just doesn't have a memorable ring to it

Also, in that context, are you sure lumpenproletariat is English and not German but starting with capital L? Greetings, Mutante 08:06, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

• Well, the OED has lumpenproletariat as an English word (some of its quotes are capitalized though). precariat is unknown to me - there are Google hits with and without the capital - I can't really help with that one. SemperBlotto 10:34, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

snarfle

Hi Jeff,

Could you put some quotes in "snarfle", please? It's just that this isn't in either of my dictionaries (OED 2nd ed, Chambers 1998) and Wiktionary is the only dictionary on onelook that features the word. Is it an Americanised form of "snuffle", I wonder? — Paul G 08:58, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Paul - This is what the online OED has -

1. intr. To sniff or snort; to make any of various snuffling and slobbering noises like those of an animal eating greedily. Hence: to eat greedily (also fig.). 

1985 Playboy Apr. 176/2 A man called Danny, a grinning, shambling Irishman..who snarfled and hing-honged incomprehensibly. 1989 R. HANSEN Nebraska Stories 86 The kid snarfled at his hot dogs. 1996 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (Nexis) 12 Feb. 10A, New Mexican ranchers who overgraze public lands is [sic] no more seemly than Californians snarfling at the Defense Department trough. 2004 E. FREDERICKS Fatal Distraction 180 Norm [sc. a dog] was snarfling through donut boxes.

   2. trans. To consume or use rapidly or in large amounts; to eat greedily; to grab or snatch. Also with up. Cf. SNARF v. 

1990 J. MORROW Only Begotten Daughter (1991) II. x. 174 Where was Phoebe now? Hollywood, Julie speculated, nailing down her dreams of cinéma-vérité eroticism, snarfling up lines of cocaine from her desk on the paramount lot. 1990 Phoenix (Arizona) New Times (Nexis) 27 June 99 Let me tell you, these boys laugh a lot when not snarfling all-you-can-eat grub. 1999 Antigonish Rev. Winter 68 Fringe benefits include free rejects, which you'd snarfle without compunction, knowing they'd otherwise just be used to..clean screens.

I'll try to find some independent quotes. SemperBlotto 10:40, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

That's great - thanks for those. I wanted to check so I could add it to the rhymes (to come). — Paul G 17:24, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

FWIW, I have heard this word conversationally, but thought it was spelled snarffle. --Connel MacKenzie 06:06, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

frocio

The register of the translation is wrong: it means "queer", "faggot" (as it is derogatory) rather than just "homosexual" (which is neutral). I'll change this. — Paul G 17:24, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

• Thanks Paul - and should my "See also" by a "Synonyms"? SemperBlotto 17:54, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Italian descendants

Is there an Italian descendant of Latin quaerō? I can find Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian descendants, but not French or Italian, possibly because of a more significant spelling change. --EncycloPetey 22:24, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

• Hmm. All I can think of is questione, questionario (nouns but verb is domandare) and possibly questura and questore. The verb questionare means to question in the sense of to dispute. The verb questuare means to go on a quest. SemperBlotto 22:36, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

  Then there may not be a direct descendant. Oh well, at least I see we're getting some new Italian entries out of my question. --EncycloPetey 22:43, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

  Have a look at [6] - some of these words seem to be the ones you are looking for. SemperBlotto 22:47, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

  Hi! I'm sorry for my intromission, but I saw your discussion here, and I have to say that the Italian direct descendant of Latin quaero is chiedere (my Italian etymological dictionary confirmed it to me). Bye! Sentinella 22:28, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Your Name

what does it mean

What does what mean? SemperBlotto 10:59, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Usernames do not have to mean anything. However, you could always look up semper and blotto. SemperBlotto 11:02, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

You know, it was maybe 6 months before it occurred to me to think of meaning, rather than just a name ;-) Robert Ullmann 11:29, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

But is it true? (especially the semper bit) (I can't do smileys - I fall over!) SemperBlotto 11:31, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

User names do not have to be true. However, you could always look at the pix on someone's home page. Robert Ullmann 11:40, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Oops SemperBlotto 11:47, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

{mf} to {m|f}

Some part of your setup generates uses of {mf}, which we are changing to {m|f} (if you haven't looked at WT:GP, this handles a number of the combinations, e.g. {{m|f|n|p}} produces m pl or f pl or n pl) Could you change it? Don't worry about the existing ones, they will all get fixed. Robert Ullmann 12:11, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

• OK - I have changed the Python script that generates such adjectives. There are a few such nouns in which the "mf" is added as text - I shall have to remember to use "m|f" instead. SemperBlotto 12:23, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

I was checking on AF's change to the template in this entry, and grinned when I saw the inflection line :-) Robert Ullmann 15:00, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

humedad

Is it OK if I put in a correct entry? Algrif 13:50, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Yes please. I was going to ask for it to be wikified - but it got cleared so I just deleted it. SemperBlotto 13:55, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

OK. BTW, quite by chance I added on to (which has been on my "do" list for some time now) only to see that you have recently deleted a bad entry. I hope the new version is OK. :-) Algrif 14:03, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Why did you delete Get on up???

Why did you delete Get on up???

No definition. SemperBlotto 16:01, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Do you have a definition, do you know the meaning of "Get on UP", can you tell me it??

Thank you very much friend, mmm but there is a problem.... can you add more details, can you add more details about definition of Get on up??? Please, then i'm going to add more songs where we find the sentente Get on up, ok???? Let me know. Thank you again.

Maybe it means to make love????? Do you confirm it??? Let me know.

• Yes - it is as if the man was talking to his penis! SemperBlotto 16:22, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Cardinal Nephew

Thanks so much for adding definitions for a number of words I added {{rfdef}} to. But why did you delete Cardinal Nephew?—msh210℠ 20:45, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

• Sheer ignorance. SemperBlotto 22:39, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

infall

I think your description of the meaning of infall is way too specific. Seems to me it's anything extraterrestrial that falls due to gravity. [7]

Also, whilst I agree it can be a noun, surely it can also be a verb.

I've posted this to people at Wordweb: Surely this is a verb as much as it is a noun - like rain - 'It's going to rain'(verb), 'there's going to be rain'(noun). 'The broken satellite began to infall'(verb), 'the broken satellite became infall'(noun). Regards, Mannafredo 08:47, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

I have expanded the definition of the noun, and added the adjective infalling. Usage as a verb seems to be reasonable, but can you find actual usage? SemperBlotto 09:13, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

New admins.

Hi,

The votes to grant administrator privileges to Goldenrowley, RJFJR, and Jyril have all passed, if you could do the honors. :-)

Thanks,
—Ruakh_TALK 02:12, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

• All done (we need a {{welcomesysop}} template) SemperBlotto 08:21, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

  Do you really think so? I find those templates so impersonal and "dead". I'd personally rather like a simple "Congratulations :) have fun man" than a mile long template. --BiT 09:21, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

  Thanks. And I'm not sure a full template message is needed; just say something like, "congrats, consider yourself embuttoned, RTFhelpfulM". ;-) —Ruakh_TALK 18:34, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

Please help

Wiktionary:Changing_username#Edmundkh_-.3E_EdmundEzekielMahmudIsa. Thanks a lot! --Edmund the King of the Woods! 09:25, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

Why do you call yourself "Edmund the King of the Woods!"? It looks like you are just trying to confuse people. Denied SemperBlotto 09:33, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

That's just my signature. But now I revert back. Okay? Thanks! --Edmundkh 19:10, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

Lab equipment

Yes. Keep an eye. Thanks for correcting Büchner funnel Algrif 16:50, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

Christmas Contest 2007

I've had someone ask me about the Christmas contest this year. Will you be running it? I've an idea related to the Easter contest from earlier this year, but it could just as easily wait for Easter. --EncycloPetey 20:41, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

• I haven't thought of any good ideas - so please go ahead yourself. SemperBlotto 22:08, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

Italics

Is the best way to place plant genera and species in italics, and families, orders etc. not in italics? The sources I use vary with this. Best regards Rhanyeia♥♫ 18:20, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

vista

I'm sorry, but i think my add about vista(ویستا) in persian, must be here! why? If somebody want to know what the sound "vista" means in another languages, he/she can search vista in wiktionary. Did you know meaning of vista in persian, befor? I thonk now! I believe, sound of a word is not least important than writing a word! — This unsigned comment was added by Ghafarkhani (talk • contribs) at 12:08, 15 November 2007 (UTC).

• If you edit here, you must abide by our rules. We do not list words by how they sound, but by how they are written. SemperBlotto 12:11, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

Lone Ranger

That was fun. The Sloane Ranger etymology(?) has the derivation. When a word is of such recent manufacture, it almost doesn't seem right to use the linguistic notion of "derived". I was thinking of adding some "proper adjectives", like Chaucerian and Runyonesque, both of which have some currency. We do have a few other secular ones, like Shakespearean, Elizabethan, Georgian or Georgean, Victorian, Edwardian. Any others come to mind? Interesting how proper nouns become ordinary words over time ("raglan", "pants", "cashmere"). DCDuring 18:55, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

• Yes, all those and more e.g. Pinteresque, Shavian - I'm sure there are lots more. SemperBlotto 20:00, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

humorously

"The OED lists humourous as an alternative spelling used especially in the 1700s to 1900s. That's good enough for me. SemperBlotto 17:58, 28 October 2007 (UTC)"

Ok, so firstly I don't have access to a copy of the oed to hand at the moment, but their site lists no results for "humourously":

http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50109260?nearest_to=humourously

Secondly, should a spelling that MAY have been used in the 18th/19th centuries be listed as a modern british English spelling? If archaic spellings should be listed, where would the cut-off point be? Would you put middle or even old english words in a modern english dictionary?

— This unsigned comment was added by 137.222.215.52 (talk) at 17:18, 17 November 2007 (UTC).

We have ==Old English==, ==Middle English==, and ==English== entries. The given time period counts as modern English, even if it has fallen out of mainstream current use. We use {{dated}}, {{archaic}}, and {{obsolete}} to indicate varying degrees of such disuse. Rod (A. Smith) 22:54, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

Noöne

No-one has a riderect page. It redirects to no one. Expand Noöne if you want, but please do not delete it. — This unsigned comment was added by 71.237.244.5 (talk) at 19:02, 17 November 2007 (UTC).

Central Europe

What is the Italian translation for Central Europe? Would you please add the translation and create the entry? The word Central Europe (and its translations in the languages of Central Europe and neighboring areas) is one of my pet projects. Thanks. --EncycloPetey 18:13, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Done. But I'm worrying about the second capital letter. Are you also interested in the associated adjective? SemperBlotto 20:03, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Sure...however you can contribute is always good. --EncycloPetey 20:08, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Take a look at it:WP for how they capitalize (different between the article title and text). --EncycloPetey 20:16, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Yes, that was the source of my worries. Lowercase "c" seems to be the more usual though. SemperBlotto 20:18, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Er, shouldn't Europa settentrionale be northern Europe? --EncycloPetey 20:27, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

PS - There are several users up for admin on WT:VOTE, if you care to vote. --EncycloPetey 18:14, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Wiktionary:Votes/sy-2007-11/User:ArielGlenn for admin

We need a bureaucrat to act on this. (Presumably one not beset with silly American holidays this week.) Thanks. --EncycloPetey 05:46, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Er, thanks for the buttons... and now, got any pointers to documentation? Even if it *is* a silly American holiday today. Oh btw someone was looking for a UK Wiktionarian a coupe days ago to go on BBC radio, so I pointed them to you. Did they find you or not? ArielGlenn 17:54, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

I have been thinking of basic documentation for sysops - most people just suck it and see. The mistake that I made when I tested "rollback" on becoming a sysop was that I tested it on my own user page - it rolled back everything up to some vandalism a year previous - i.e. it rolls back ALL updates made by the last user. I'll have a look at the subpage you are preparing. (And, yes, I got an email but I wasn't interested). SemperBlotto 19:44, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

recompence

Hi. Google it. You'll find it at least merits a common misspelling. M-W even lists it as a correct word. - Algrif 17:09, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

• OK - I'll let you add it. SemperBlotto 17:11, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

I made the bed ... I have to lie in it. ;-) - OK -. Algrif 17:37, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Spannungsbogen

Since the rest of the definitions were in English and linked to English pages, I assumed that this was canon. This is my first attempt at Wiki editing, so I'm sorry if I've misstepped. MidnightGeranium 18:53, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

Wiktionary:Votes/bt-2007-11/User:DerbethBot for bot status

It's been marked as passed but no one's flipped the switch; would you be willing to make it happen? I guess DVG is still unavailable. Thanks! ArielGlenn 01:55, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

wrongfully deleted new visitors contributions.. not very welcoming!

Hi- My first entry was deleted.. I posted an information request at the information desk... please explain. [/ Information Desk item 5:15 on Nov 25] Please google it also. --96.232.188.7 19:14, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

I'm really sorry.

I shouldn't have edit warring. Can you unblock my IP? I know that I didn't get discussion the right way, can you also please tell me the proper way to give a discussion more attention?

I know I did a huge mistake, you will probably not forgive me, I won't edit warring again. I was wondering, could you unblock my IP so I can pay for my mistakes? I promise, I will be more careful next time. I'm truly sorry about the edit warring. And I find a week being too harsh personally. I don't know if you will forgive me, but it's worth a try. TheBlazikenMaster 18:24, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

Blocked user here requesting help at wikipedia

I am an admin at Wikipedia. A user with an account there has requested help with the block of his ip account on Wiktionary. We explained to him that we have no control over procedures here. He has expressed his desire to apologize and seeks unblocking. I am relaying the text he posted and take no position whatever with respect to the propriety of the block. His message is "I wanna apologize to SemperBlotto to the way I spoke to him/her. On Nevermind, I really wanna discuss. All I was trying to do was getting discussion, I wanna apologize for the edit warring. But I get no chance since I'm blocked. Can someone please unblock me, I promise I will calm down. But please get my IP there unblocked somehow, I need another chance, this was just a mistake I did."--71.247.35.138 18:31, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

Well, thanks for trying to help me. But I really doubt I can get unblocked within a week, after the edit warring I've done. Maybe I should just forget about it, and use some other dictionary as a source. TheBlazikenMaster 18:38, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

(should be noted—although perhaps obvious—that this user's IP is blocked anon-only, and his/her login is not blocked, and works just fine; so all the noise is just that) Robert Ullmann 22:38, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

Okay, move along. nothing to see here:-)--71.247.35.138 23:24, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

Next time I will find a way to get discussion some attention without edit warring, I know there is a way. 194.144.87.74 17:23, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

Tassellatura too

Hi, I'm Alberto (Almit39) Marini and my not updated homepage is http://www.mi.imati.cnr.it/~alberto. In these days I'm adding to Wiktionary and Wikizionario (secondarily) lexical materials concerning geometry and math in English and Italian. My present objeactive is a good set of terminological items to offer to Italian speaking students of a new engineering course in San Marino (I'll teach geometry). In my opinion additions to en.wiktionary presently are more convenient than additions to poor it.wiktionary. My knowledge of English language isn't very good (as you can see), but I can manage a pretty extended set of math related terms: hence now I'm working on quantity rather than on quality, relying on indulgent collaboration of English speaking users. In general I'm strongly interested in Indices and your message brought me to discover Index:Italian and Index:All languages. Thanks. And best wishes. Almit39 18:51, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

Blocked entries after apespeak in Appendix:List of protologisms by topic

I am perplexed because the definitions were blocked on grounds of "silliness". Doesn't every protologism look silly to someone? I think the proposed listings were less silly than the next one, "Coyotus interruptus" and tried harder than 90% of all listings on the paqe to live up to the banner at the top, "Help Wiktionary change the world!" (Just a few inches up your talk page, someone referred to November 22 as a "silly American holiday". Can't win!)

1. Perhaps there was a dissonance between the silliness of the words themselves and the seriousness (I thought) of the program detailed throughout the definitions. Why not try restoring them and see if someone responds productively-- isn't that the reason for protologisms in the first place?

2. A bigger objection might be the length of the definitions which threatened to crawl beyond the parameters of a dictionary listing. Do you have time to take another look and try to edit them down yourself?

3. Concerning the proposed ideas--

a. John Pfeiffer in The Emergence of Man (about 1965) reports an observation of chimpanzees entering a large tree as a troup, breaking off many dead branches, and throwing them down. (Trying to make the tree safe for inexperienced youngsters who might trust the wrong branch to swing on?)

b. Anne Russon (1997) observed orangutans at Camp Leakey, Borneo, figuring out the lock mechanism on the food storage shed door, sucking on hoses humans had used to siphon gasoline, and attempting other human technological stuff.

c. Birute Galdikas (2003) reported orangutans in trees, reaching down to shake loose tall "snags" (sorry for the pun-- it means tall dead stumps) and throwing them down in an attempt to scare away intruding humans.

d. The challenge is to train apes, who can access tall trees more efficiently than humans, to recognize the distinction between live and dead branches, and reward them in some way which motivates them to do the work. A robot or human-computer-robot-combination which can do this might now be the proverbial 18 months away. In my judgment all four ape species have brain and hand capacity to operate an anvil pruner etc.

e. Clearing hazardous biofuels is no small business (or minor edit). The 2003 fires in southern California cost 6 billion dollars; the recent round may come close, they are still counting. It is worth spending big money to devise a solution, however "silly".

3. Maybe someone would object to the possible political reference in "bushfire" in which case edit it out. However, in the Chicago Tribune in July 2001 there was a wirephoto of the Chief Executive with a hatchet in his hand and the headline, "Bush Takes a Whack at Forest Fires". The President has repeatedly spoken out forcefully about this problem. My concern is that he is proposing to give it to the big established profit-driven companies who might use it as a pretext to kill lots of big healthy trees which are an easy source of trade lumber.

4. I am sorry that a dispute would have to the be means of my encountering someone named Knaggs. Growing up in Cincinnati, my next(?)-door neighbor was Mr. Nelson S. "Ted" Knaggs Sr. (1907-92) who l;ived at 3130 Ferguson Road. Ted was the Vice President of Hilton Davis Chemical Corp. and published a book, Adventures in Man's First Plastic: the Romance of Natural Waxes, about his travels around the world (including Nepal as early as 1946) in pursuit of raw materials his firm could use. I mowed his lawn many times. He had a greenish 2-ft.-high cement cast of a Peruvian moon god on his property and several genuine Japanese stone lanterns which he had flown to the U.S. His youngest son Dave was a little older than me.

I haven't read all that (life's too short). But yes, I shouldn't have blocked you - this list is, after all, meant to be somewhere where people can put silly words (I don't think it is ever cleaned out). Very interesting about your neighbour - I have been trying to find a copy of his book for some time, but it doesn't seem to be available in the UK (outside of the British Library). SemperBlotto 20:08, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

Incredible Hulk

Personally I would RFD Incredible Hulk before Hulk, but I don't feel inclined to do so. If you object to the latter, perhaps you would be more persuaded to RFD the former? DAVilla 02:44, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

Re:Bot

Hi, SemperBlotto. Actually I ran the bot for a single article to check if it's doing ok. I intended to ask for permission afterwards. But by blocking my bot and including the IP address block too, you prevented me from editing pages with my normal user account on that IP and thus I couldn't ask for anything... I mean, shouldn't good faith be assumed? Am I supposed to be a vandal (remember you also explicitly blocked my normal user account by blocking the IP too) just because I tried a bot run against a single article while monitoring it? It really cuts the joy of contributing here.

Don't get me wrong. I can understand the bot account block. Just I don't understand why blocking the IP address too. Basically I was kicked out without doing any harm.

I'll start the bot voting now. Cheers, Malafaya 20:46, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

The blocking of bot was just fine, I mean, as I'm not going to use it until it's approved, it wouldn't make a difference. My point was the IP address block: no one using that IP address (me, my wife, my cat...) could edit any page. Fortunately, I have dynamic IP address and I renews to another one, or else I wouldn't be able to even write here on your talk page. Thanks and regrads, Malafaya 22:27, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

bot flag for User:AutoFormat

While long ago authorized, this was not flagged as a number of people liked seeing it in RC (then). There are now a number of request to flag it. (Particularly I think because it is munching its way through all the Han entries at present ;-) So may it have its flag now? Tx, Robert Ullmann 14:51, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

• Made it so. SemperBlotto 16:05, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
  • Thank you!—msh210℠ 21:17, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

week

Concerning week, what is the meaning of "Saturday week"? As an American born when I was, I have never heard it: I've only seen it in (I think British) books. I've always assumed it was an adverb; hence, my addition of it as that POS. If it's not, then what is it? (And if it's not, then we need a usage note ad loc. indicating what the phrase "Saturday week" means.)—msh210℠ 20:04, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

• I'm always amazed at these unexpected differences in UK/US language. "Anyday week" is the Anyday after the next one. "I'll see you on Saturday week" is the same as "I'll see you a week, Saturday" or "I'll see you a week next Saturday" - how would Americans say that? I'll see if I can come up with a usage note that makes sense (but I'm pretty sure that it's not an adverb). SemperBlotto 22:08, 3 December 2007 (UTC) p.s. "fortnight", "month" and even "year" can be used in the same way, but are not used anything like as often.
  • Stateside, I think it depends on where you are in the week. If it's Monday, and I'll see you on Wednesday, nine days later, I'll say "I'll see you next Wednesday" — but some people will understand that to mean "I'll see you in two days". (Those people might say instead "I'll see you a week from Wednesday", which is unambiguous.) So there's ambiguity in that case, and others like it. If, on the other hand, it's Thursday now and I'll see you on Tuesday, in five days, I'll say "I'll see you next Tuesday" (since it's past a weekend), and I think that that's unambiguous. I also think there's no ambiguity to "I'll see you next Tuesday", said on Monday: it means eight days later. But no one (that I've heard) says "Monday week" or "I'll see you a week, Saturday" or "I'll see you a week next Saturday". (I'm sure there must at some point have been a thread on this in alt.usage.english.)—msh210℠ 17:36, 5 December 2007 (UTC)
    • Please note, you must be careful about the meaning you convey when you say see you next Tuesday. Cheers! bd2412 T 07:46, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

Happy birthday

Some cake has been eaten on your behalf. :) --Dvortygirl 06:13, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

I hope you enjoyed it. I found my old Beatle LPs and played "when I'm 64"! SemperBlotto 08:06, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

mamgatism

Shurely shome mishtake? Widsith 12:03, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

• That would explain why the Wikipedia link didn't work (and stop calling me Shirley). SemperBlotto 12:26, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

bot request

Could you use your bot to add entries for some regular Italian verbal (and adjectival) suffixes? I imagine it wouldn't be too much to change the and add the {DEFAULTSORT} and change the category to Category:Italian suffixes. That would save me a lot of time too. --Keene 14:07, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

If you fancy it too, maybe a few other-language bot-created suffix entries could be added? It would be nice to have a full set of something. --Keene 14:09, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

These suffixes are already on my "to do" list. I was going to add them manually as I couldn't think of an automatic method that wasn't more labour intensive. But don't hold your breath - my "to do" list is very long. SemperBlotto 16:31, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

All Italian verb endings now added as suffixes. I won't do languages that I don't know well. SemperBlotto 17:04, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

amphiphilic and amphipathic

Hi again. Before I put my foot in it (easily done !); are these two terms identical? Can I make a copy paste entry? Or is there a subtle difference that my basic knowledge of chemistry is missing? Ciao - Algrif 18:17, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

• I don't believe that there is any difference in meaning between these two. amphiphilic is the more usual term amongst chemists. SemperBlotto 19:57, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

plain sailing

Hi again. Well, I ummed and ahhed about this too. But finally, looking at quotes such as the one I used; to wit

• .... and it was reasonably plain sailing to win the match from there it seems that we normally use an adverb to qualify. So I assume it is in fact an adjective. However, I stand to be corrected. I'm never too clear about noun phrases that consist of adj+noun. To err is human, after all, (even if I do live in Alicante.). - Algrif 15:08, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

Let me sneak in two cents' worth here. In "reasonably plain sailing", the adverb "reasonably" is simply modifying the adjective "plain," not the noun "sailing." The whole compound term "plain sailing" is indeed best taken as a noun. -- WikiPedant 19:25, 22 December 2007 (UTC)

invariant number

FYI: template {{inv}} is a number template, so you can do {{m|inv}}: (removed) and so on Robert Ullmann 10:31, 17 December 2007 (UTC)

I thought we were dropping three-lowecase-letter templates?—msh210℠ 20:04, 17 December 2007 (UTC)

zooagglutinin

Dear SemperBlotto, it seems you deleted the page on zooagglutinin due to a copyviolation. The information was available on Transwiki:Zoo- Could you help me with your decision? Thanks. Phantommine 11:52, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

• It is a direct copy of text in wordinfo SemperBlotto 12:12, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

• • Oh, dear. Thanks. Check out phyte, while you're at it, I think it meets the criteria, then, too. Phantommine 12:43, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

  • Where is it a copyvio from? It doesn't match word info. The only match I can find is answers.com, which is using the information taken from Wikipedia (i.e. they copied our transwikied page). --EncycloPetey 15:21, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

Ah, good, we don't need to worry about it then. Thanks! Phantommine 15:59, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

aigiaphyte

I don't know, the transwiki web page and on google both have it simply as "a plant found growing on beaches or strandlines". Phantommine 17:19, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

• I shall delete it then - you must not add words if you don't know their meaning. SemperBlotto 17:20, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

okie-dokie! Phantommine 17:28, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

Curtis Neeley

How long have you blocked this user for? I've cc'd you my reply to his vituperative email. — Paul G 20:47, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

• I blocked him for a month. But after a number of nasty emails I was thinking of making it permanent. His contribution was blatant spamming for his website of the same name. SemperBlotto 22:11, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

New admins

User:Matthias Buchmeier, User:Opiaterein, User:Algrif, and shortly User:Arne List. Thanks, and Merry Christmas! DAVilla 16:27, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

It would be nice to get a bureaucrat to help with the bit of backlog at Wiktionary:Changing username (I was recently pointed a new user there). By the way (and this is maybe more directed at DAVilla, but it's relevant), my impression is that the whole point of having a separate bureaucrat class is to have them be the ones deciding whether consensus exists at an admin nomination, not just have any admin do so and then ask a bureaucrat to flip the switch. Anyway, merry Christmas from me as well... at least it still is in my time zone. :-) Dmcdevit·t 02:38, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

It'll have to be another -crat. I don't approve of changing Usernames - just stop using to old one and start using the new. SemperBlotto 08:33, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

Query re: PoS templates

I'm trying to gauge the value of various things I can do for Wiktionary. Among the things I've been doing is using pos templates and infl to do the things they do, including standardizing the appearance of entries, adding pos categories, doing inflections on the assumption that these were all good things. Are they? The reason I am asking you is a recent change you made on quid. You added the missing verb PoS. I noted that you did not use either the infl or en-verb template. I am interested in understanding why you did not. Are they bad in some way that I don't understand? Is it your expectation or hope that there will be an automated process that will clean up regularize the entries? Do you add categories manually? Do you not like the inflection line clutter? Please understand that I am in no way objecting to whatever you choose to do (within policy, of course). I only wanted to take advantage of this concrete case to check my own assumptions and priorities. Thanks in advance. DCDuring 16:34, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

• Pure laziness. I can't always remember the format of all these templates and then it is far easier not to use them. Feel free to amend any such entry. SemperBlotto 17:16, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

Ah, normal human motivation at work. Thanks for the prompt response. DCDuring 20:47, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

sucrose

This entry was listed on the Category:Requests for translation table cleanup list that's why I modified it. I noticed that you reverted my changes and simplified this entry which is great. In the new version, the translation table does not have a gloss. If I understand the rules, this is accepted in Wiktionary if there is only one sense. However, I still would like to add the gloss because one never knows when a new sense will be added. Would you agree with this practice? Panda10 23:29, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

• Yes, go ahead. I merged the two definitions because there is really only one thing called sucrose and could not conceive of there being two translations in any language. SemperBlotto 23:31, 28 December 2007 (UTC)