User talk:Gidonb/Archive 2008

Archive

Please leave civilized messages in any major language originating from Eurasia or Ethiopia. Answers will usually be in English. If the discussion is ongoing elsewhere, or more relevant to an article's talk page, please consider leaving a note drawing my attention to that page. I am flexible: your page, my page, talk page, whatever is more relevant or suits you best. However, please do not post the same message at multiple locations. I look forward to your communication!

Speakers of foreign languages only: Feel free to add one of the following icons before your text: {{ar icon}}, {{am icon}}, {{de icon}}, {{es icon}}, {{fr icon}}, {{he icon}}, {{it icon}}, {{no icon}}, {{tr icon}}, {{zh icon}}, or the language of your choice.

Please no more calls for assistance from the Dutch Wikipedia. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Tiina Sanila

Tiina Sanila a Skolt female singer from Sevettijärvi

Not sure if I've gotten around to thanking you for the cleanup on this article, but I really appreciate it. DJW, from a former Illinoisian! -Yupik 08:34, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for your note, Yupik. I am glad you liked my edits! gidonb 12:46, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

RFA Thanks

Thanks for your support on my Request for adminship, which was successful, with votes of 49/0/0. Lemme know if you need help on something I might know a little something about....(check my userpage).
cheers, Casliber | talk | contribs 14:03, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Hi Casliber, thank you for your note. I am impressed with the outcome. Cheers and good luck! gidonb 17:07, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for your support in my recent successful RfA. --Anthony.bradbury 21:01, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

You are most welcome. Congratulations! gidonb 22:25, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment on my my RfA, which was successful. I learned a lot from the comments, I appreciate everything that was said, and I'll do my best to deserve the community's trust. Thanks again! And thanks for your kind words and support. --Shirahadasha 04:55, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

You are very welcome! gidonb 10:58, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for your comment on my RfA, which was successful. Lyrl^Talk _C 00:57, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

You are welcome. Good luck! gidonb 12:03, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

"Jewish descent" versus Jew

Jews praying at the Kotel

See the discussion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Judaism#"Jewish descent" versus Jew concerning the problems of using the term "Jewish descent" versus "Jew" as well as the related proposal. Thank you, IZAK 10:03, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

I have added my opinion to the discussion. Best, gidonb 15:02, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

The neo-lachrymose conception of Jewish-Arab history

I have responded to your comment on the AfD. Can you please take a look (also at the details I have provided under my keep vote) Thanks --Aminz 07:34, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for responding. Peace. Aminz 06:46, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

You are most welcome. Thank you for communicating so well, now again! I hope you can do something with my advice of improving existing articles. Someone pointed out another page where this content may be relevant. gidonb 15:55, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Image:1915 Dance by Rodchenko.jpg

File:Bronenosets Rodchenko.jpg

An old public domain poster by Rodchenko

Hello, Gidonb. An automated process has found and removed a fair use image used in your userspace. The image (Image:1915 Dance by Rodchenko.jpg) was found at the following location: User talk:Gidonb/Archive 2. This image was removed per criterion number 9 of our non-free content policy. The image was replaced with Image:Example.jpg, so your formatting of your userpage should be fine. Please find a free image to replace it with. User:Gnome (Bot)-talk 22:48, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

It was left there in a thank you message by a new admin. The example image as a replacement is just fine. gidonb 15:01, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

re Yeaboy2

No, thank you for doing the original tracking and marking work. Herostratus 18:52, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

My pleasure. I have just given the last warning to another vandal. [1] Perhaps you can see if he should be blocked. gidonb 18:53, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

OK his disruptions have stopped for now. gidonb 18:58, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

See Netstar and Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Netstar for more information

Netstar

The Pleiades, an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Taurus. NASA photo

Since the prod tag has been removed numerous times, I'm procedurally sending it to AfD. I also listed WTC-Chaz on the AIV page as well for his constant template removal and the attack page he created. Wildthing61476 18:59, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Excellent, thank you! gidonb 19:00, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

What do the two of you mean, he is allowed to remove the prod-template himself? It even says so! Greswik 19:04, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Hi Greswik. It went along with more disruptions, but Wildthing changed to Afd, which solved the problem. gidonb 19:06, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Hi Greswik, actually this had more to do with his removal of the {{Db-attack}} attack template I had placed on an article he had created, which has since been deleted. Wildthing61476 19:07, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

The prod template itself says it is legal to remove it. "You may remove this message ... or if you otherwise object to deletion of the article for any reason." and then " If this template is removed, it should not be replaced." So you shouldn't have replaced it as you did. To take it to AfD is the solutions when someone just removes it, so it is right now, except for your incorrect warnings: unless they are about something else than the removal of the prod-template. Greswik 19:11, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

I had already removed the warnings. I saw this person remove templates on several pages and create an attack page. gidonb 19:14, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, now some admin decided it was a speedy delete. Good thing, more obvious vandalism then :-) Greswik 19:16, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

The speedy delete rolled out of the AfD. [2] gidonb 19:38, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Loyd Williamson

Contemporary dance

I am new to Wikipedia and just began these pages..Do you have any suggestions? Loyd Williamson and Actors Movement Studio (Actorsmovementstudio 18:05, 29 May 2007 (UTC))

Welcome again to Wikipedia! The welcome message that I have put on your talk page contains excellent links for the beginners. In addition, the db-bio template that I have put on the Lloyd Williamson page and the notification on your talk page contain links to pages that deal specifically with notability by Wikipedian standards. Enjoy Wikipedia! gidonb 20:52, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

See also User talk:Actorsmovementstudio

Brandon Goldstein

I'm quite disturbed by the "speedy deletion" of my article on up and coming writer Brandon Goldstein. He is part of a new generaton of writers that will be our next Vonnegurts and Palahniuks. Maybe call me ahead of the times, but i believe the article is relavent. If there's anyway for it to be reinstated, I'd gladly continue to add references to it!

I am sorry that Wikipedia did not meet your expectations. The article mentioned that author Brandon Goldstein had written one book. Was it published? At a a major publishing house? The article did not mention it. I could not find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or even Google Books. I could not find information on Mr. Goldstein through a regular Google Search. There was an actor by the same name, however, who is probably notable by Wikipedian standards. I did leave a message on your page that I am proposing the page for speedy deletion because of the lack of notability assertions in your article. The message contains the relevant links to this process, including how to establish notability and how to appeal. There is no problem recreating the article if (and when!) he meets the Wikipedia threshold of notability. Usually we can even undelete the page. Why don't you paste the references here, so we can look at them together and see if Brandon Goldstein currently (that is without an attempt at crystal balling) meets our criteria. I wish him (or you) the best of success in his (or your) literary career! Best regards, gidonb 08:45, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

In response the user vandalized this page [3] and his account was blocked.

RfC

Just wanted to let you know that I opened an RfC on myself in response to the concerns raised during my RfA over my actions in the Gary Weiss dispute. The RfC is located here and I welcome any comments or questions you may have. CLA 04:54, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Hi CLA! I do not know anything about this. But thanks for notifying! Best regards, gidonb 20:19, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

Renaming of a category you created

Hi there, just letting you know that I've nominated a category you created, Category:Dutch people by province of birth, for renaming at WP:CFD here, and that its Category:Natives of Foo–style sub-categories (in which you may or may not take an interest) are up for speedy renaming to Category:People from Foo at my suggestion at WP:CFDS. Yours, Bencherlite 23:48, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Hello Bencherlite. Thank you for the notification. At the time I used the format of another country for the category's name, but I do not recall which one, as this was in August 2005. We are now in June 2007, and Wikipedia has more and better standards, which I of course support. I voted accordingly. gidonb 09:33, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

No problem. Thank you. Bencherlite 14:32, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

You are welcome! gidonb 22:19, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Prem Reddy

Prem Reddy's hospital in Sherman Oaks, California

Nicely done on the Prem Reddy article. I was actually in the process of putting the criticism section back in myself, but you beat me to it! You probably haven't been following the issue closely (it's a Southern California thing), but this guy's been under a lot of fire lately for his shady business practices. He (or some employee) pretty much replaced the neutral Wikipedia article with a press release. Keep up the good work! --Noone234 02:05, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

I had never heard about Prem Reddy. I was doing my Wikipedia chores when I ran into the removal of a criticism section under the summary of "fighting vandalism". Such actions take some cheeck, but happen all too often. Welcome to Wikipedia and thank you for the compliments! gidonb 05:47, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

Ethiopian Civil War

Tanks in the streets of Addis Ababa after rebels seized the capital

Hello, I saw you are a member of the Ethiopia WikiProject. When you get the chance, please improve Ethiopian Civil War as the article is a two sentence-stub. Thanks, Perspicacite 02:44, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Hello Perspicacite. Back from vacation, I saw that a lot of work has been done. My expertise (if any) is the Geography of Ethiopia, but I promise to edit the article where needed! Best regards, gidonb 11:56, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

Talk:Christian Torah-submission

Hi Gidonb: Hope all is well. Would you mind taking a look at the discussions at Talk:Christian Torah-submission. You will no doubt have something to add. Thanks. IZAK 13:32, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

GidonB, I'm not sure why you have a problem with the template removal. There seemed to be a consensus to do this, so I am in the process of making the merge per Wikipedia:Merging_and_moving_pages. You may look over the article to see that this is the case. Please advise if you see this as incorrect. Namikiw 16:17, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Hi Namikw, I missed your intention to execute the merger right away. Sorry about that! gidonb 11:52, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

Romeo Niram

File:Niram.jpg

Romeo Niram - image of the artist

Hi Gidonb, I have removed a speedy deletion tag you placed on this article as it does assert notability. I am guessing from this diff that you actually meant to prod the article, not speedy tag it. Also I am prodding the article, as there is no cooperation on improving it: that in itself is not a valid reason to prod it. Anyway, there seem to be a lot of references for the article at a quick glance though almost all of them are not in english, so I wouldn't know about the reliability of those sources. If you still think the article should be deleted, there is always AfD. - TwoOars 19:02, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Hello Two Oars. I first put the importance and reference tag and after it was twice removed, I intended to prod it. True, I used the wrong template. However, the user who until then only disrupted, started to add links and learn our procedures, which I was really after. I am happy with the results and your removal of the template, as my only intent was that the user would start to communicate with the rest of us and clarify/reference why in his opinion this person (possibly himself) was of any importance to the encyclopedia. It happens all too often that people think this is some lawless personal PR space. I doubt whether I will AfD it, but I will learn the current situation. Thank your for being the "good cop" this time! That too is an all-too-often underestimated function. Best regards, gidonb 22:53, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

I continued to improve the article with formats and interwiki. After some references were included and the anon new user started to cooperate instead of deleting all service templates, I am going to leave the AfD (if at all) to a subject matter expert. gidonb 08:12, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Ok, that's cool. I think the article is ok now. Thanks for your efforts in improving it too. - TwoOars 18:17, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

No problem. My pleasure! gidonb 18:41, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Hello, Gidonb. Thank you for rearranging the article.I have added more reference myself, one biography in Spanish, one in Romanian, a reference from The Portuguese Movement for Contemporary Art in Portuguese and another one from a Spanish newspaper. There are many references but very few in English."The user", that is I, didn't start to cooperate sooner because you were posting messages as I was writing the article, 2 minutes apart. I am sorry I kept on deleting the posts you were putting,

but I did not understand why you were putting them when the article was not over yet, and I didn't see on time your message to contact you on my talkpage. Anyway, thank you for your help. It took me several days to understand where to contact you on your page. You told me that, but I had no idea where exactly to write to you.So I put the Help note on my page.Now, I hope I contact you at the right page, I hope this is the place for that! I find it very badly explained, maybe this is the problem with so many articles badly written, the help resources are enormous, never-ending but too much info. can be very bewildering. Now that I am beginning to learn the foreign language of wikipedia, I can prepare some more articles. Can I rely on your help for that? I would like to expand several articles that already exist. Do I have to cite new references for every new data I put in? Why so many articles have no references and are still left with no marks for deletion?

Thank you for your Time, I know it's precious but nobody is born a wikipedist. Well, I can at least aspire, can't I?:)Many thanks for taking the trouble of improving the article. I will keep on improving it myself, as I study all the wikipedia help content. Have a nice evening, Arind 23:09, 13 September 2007 (UTC)Arind

McCanns

An article that you have been involved in editing, Kate McCann, has been listed for deletion. If you are interested in the deletion discussion, please participate by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Kate McCann. Thank you. TerriersFan 23:09, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

Hello TerriersFan. Thank you for the notification! Best regards, gidonb 23:37, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

hello ! do you know Birthdate of Kate McCann/Healy (../../1967) ? (scuse my english i am french) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.254.39.96 (talk) 18:15, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

I do not have a clue what her birthday is. gidonb 18:30, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

merci ! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.254.39.96 (talk) 19:06, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

Hi, I can source the birthplaces of Kate and Gerry to Liverpool and Glasgow respectively. However, like you, I can't source either of their birth dates. TerriersFan 19:34, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Hi TerriersFan. Thank you for the info! Regards, gidonb 19:37, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Jewish Autonomous Oblast

Flag of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast

Hi, Gidonb. Your recent edits deleted important sections of many articles in the category of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast of Russia. In the future, please state the reason for your edits, instead of simply deleting with no reference to why you chose to delete certain passages relevant to the articles. Thank you. Culturalrevival 12:55, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Hi Culturalrevival. My edits removed overcategorization, the extreme trivial details of every village through which a tour passed that was part of a meeting that is currently being AfD for non-notability, excessive titles that are not according to our style guide, and excessive and double "see also"s (such as references to items within a list, which was itself also added under "see also"). The edits were according to our style guides and were properly summarized, yet reverted with such edit summaries as "vandalism" (no more and no less!). A complaint about this situation was immediately removed by you from your talk page, again as "vandalism"! Cues about your behavior by others were removed as well. Please note that you do not "own" the articles on the Jewish Autonomous Oblast and try to work by our different rules and guidelines, among which WP:CIVIL and WP:Overcategorization. Just deleting cues from your colleagues at Wikipedia, does not make the issues go away. gidonb 14:10, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Hi Gidonb. I offer you my apologies. I am sorry. I reacted to quickly. I appreciate your contributions to Wikipedia. Thank you. Culturalrevival 01:16, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

Apologies accepted. Lets continue improving the Jewish Autonomous Oblast articles together. For example, did you happen to make a picture of Waldheim (Jewish Autonomous Oblast) that you can share with Wikimedia? Best regards, gidonb 04:22, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for your understanding. Also, I agree. I will look for such a picture - and how to load it. Thanks again. Culturalrevival 05:02, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

Also, I appreciate your recent contributions to the Valdgeym article. Thank you. Take good care in the meantime. Culturalrevival 02:49, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

Hello Culturalrevival, thank you for the positive feedback! Best regards, gidonb 16:58, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

Suspected sock puppets of Haham hanuka

A Chanukkia

On this recent SSP report, can you provide diffs? I am having trouble finding what you say is there. I'd especially like to see the (pay-per-view pornosites), as that is definitely indef blockable. Thanks. Leave diffs on the SSP report. — Rlevse • Talk • 01:39, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

you need to put the warning tag on TRFA's talk page too. — Rlevse • Talk • 01:40, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Hi Rlevse, user Haham hanuka is entirely banned from using Wikipedia after years of trolling. I hope with a block you meant the sockpuppet. I did put a warning on his talk page, but is was removed by him. The pay-per-view pornsites were the first complaint after using the sockpuppet, also removed (this one from the talk page). Please understand me that I am tired of dealing with this banned user, who has terrorizes entire sections of Wikipedia. Others who dealt with him in the past, have also had it. I do appreciate your efforts. gidonb 07:28, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Hello Stifle! I need your expertise at Wikipedia:Suspected sock puppets/Haham Hanuka. Thank you for any feedback! Regards, gidonb 14:24, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Will do, but it won't be today as I have currently more pressing issues. Stifle (talk) 15:44, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Hi Gidonb. While I don't remember encountering either Haham hanuka or TRFA, I'm fairly sure they are the same users based on their contribution histories and date fo banning/account creation ([4] [5]). I'm willing to block TRFA, but would prefer it if another admin would give a second look first. —Ruud 15:47, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Thank you Agathoclea, Stifle, Ruud Koot, Jpgordon and Rlevse for your contributions in stopping this sockpuppetry!!! The banning of Haham makes a huge difference in the stress level of editing a great deal of Israel, Nazism, sexual orientation, gender and porn-related articles and frees valuable resources for constructive editing and maintenance. Best regards, gidonb 21:48, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Hi Gidonb. Thank you for alerting me to TRFA/ Haham hanuka and his disturbing activities. I will remain alert and I salute you for your vigilence. Dogru144 13:35, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

Hi Dogru144, thank you for your warm words! Best regards, gidonb 16:59, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

Reform vs. Progressive Judaism

Menorah

Hi Gidon, how have you been?: Please see the present discussions at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Countering systemic bias/open tasks#WikiProject Judaism needs help - geographical bias concerns. Your input would be greatly appreciated. (They are the result of discussions that unfolded at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Judaism#Concern about duplicating Reform and Progressive labels.) The basic question is that some editors want to assert that the term "Progressive" should now subsume the term "Reform" in more ways than one, some of it perhaps relating to the prejudice against the name "Reform" coming from Israeli circles. Please take a look and see what you could contribute. Thanks so much, IZAK 09:05, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Izak, I am sure that the already participating Wikipedians can address this bias, if at all, well. gidonb (talk) 10:56, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

ME/CVS Vereniging

A Dutch landscape: Windmills at Kinderdijk

In view of your many contributions to Netherlands, please consider the following. ME/CVS Vereniging (ME/CFS Association) is one of the three patient organizations for Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis and post-viral fatigue syndrome in the Netherlands. The deleted article now is at deletion review. The references are in a foreign language and an issue at DRV is whether there was enough reference material independent of ME/CVS Vereniging's control or anyone associated with ME/CVS Vereniging to create a Wikipedia article. Please consider participating in that DRV to assist in determining whether the references are independent from ME/CVS Vereniging or in some way connected to ME/CVS Vereniging. -- Jreferee t/c 17:03, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

I have done my best to add my two cents to the discussion. Thank you for your flattering assessment of my "many" contributions to Netherlands. I have to disagree. Best regards, gidonb (talk) 10:54, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Sock?

Sock puppet

I'd be happy to help, but I don't recall being overly familiar with Hanum. Perhaps you could enquire at the admin board? >Radiant< 12:06, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

Hi Radiant! I probably approached you because you had blocked him in the past. In the meantime the sockpoppet was also blocked. Thank you for your willingness to assist! Regards, gidonb 12:10, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

List of massacres during the Second Intifada

Talk:List of massacres during the Second Intifada Looking for outside input into a long-term controversy over the naming and scope of this list. As you participated in the afd, please help us out. Thanks. <<-armon->> 11:48, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

Admin

Hi. I'd like to nominate you as an admin, as I think you're qualified. Let me know if you're interested. Epbr123 (talk) 18:45, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Hi Epbr123. Thank you for your assessment and kind offer. During the last 4 years I have managed fairly well without the buttons and, while there are some actions I could not undertake as a non-admin, there were also some actions in defense of our encyclopedia that I had more freedom to undertake. That said, I am always looking out for new challenges and may be interested in the near future! Your kind offer was especially heartwarming as the endless struggles against vandalism, pov, bias, and sockpuppetry, can get quite lonely. It is always good to know that one's hard work gets noticed! Best regards, gidonb (talk) 18:04, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Baiki, Arran and Sami Siida of North America articles

A Sami family in Norway around 1900

Gidonb - I want to thank you for your starting the Baiki page and all of your contributions to it since 2005. I was the one who included the Sami Siida of North America and Arran connections to all three pages. I just wanted you to know that these were friendly inclusions. I know Faith and the late Mel Olsen and they and I have worked for many years on projects and have a long history together. I thought it was natural for them to cite each other, since they have been advertizing on each other’s magazine and newsletter. I thought that it was a minor edit because I didn’t think it would be controvercial. That was the reason for the minor edit. There wasn’t hostile intent.

I did remove some of your tags because much of it is described in their official website. I left the Sami Council citation as that has to clarified further because of some changes in Sapmi (possible name change of the Council, etc.), but I believe that they are still recognized by the Council. You did a good job on rewriting the article.

Thank you for your contributions – Take Care… Dinkytown (talk) 03:36, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Hi Dinkytown. I did not know precisely where to place these new articles, which were not entirely written according to our standards. I did ask for extra advice. The link to the other magazines is automatic through the category and is not a small edit. Sorry I am tough when I get so much praise! Wikipedia chores, you know. Thank you for you warm words and good luck with all your activities! Regards, gidonb (talk) 03:47, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks Gidonb - I'm a newbe here so I haven't gotten to the level of catagorizing articles yet - just writting them. I'll learn that next and see what else I can do to help. Take Care... Dinkytown (talk) 22:17, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Gidonb - I just saw your revert for citations for the Sami Siida of North America. Let me see what I can find or change - take care... Dinkytown (talk) 22:40, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Dinkytown, it was not so much a revert, as pointing out what bothered me. If this has not been stated by an external source, please just rephrase without the comparison. Best regards, gidonb 14:22, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

IDF Chief Military Rabbis

Israeli rock star Aviv Geffen - Could he be more famous than an Israeli military rabbi?

Hi Gidon, long time no speak: In looking at the IDF's Military Rabbinate article, only Chief Military Rabbi Shlomo Goren has an article. Articles are still needed for rabbis:

• Mordechai Peron (1968-1977),
• Gad Navon (1977-2000),
• Israel Weiss (2000-2006),
• Avichai Rontzki (2006- ).

Happy Chanukah! Thanks, IZAK (talk) 14:16, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

Most of these persons are not all that important for an English language encyclopedia. Notable by Wikipedian standards, yes. If you do want to write an article on one of these, perhaps start with Gad Navon. Good luck! gidonb (talk) 10:03, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

I did hear from one editor that she had material that could be translated from the Hebrew Wiki. I do think though, that the IDF Chief Chaplain position is a key position. There are English Wikipedia article for all the soccer players of Israel's teams and for the gazzillions of rock stars. What's a handful of military rabbis compared to that?, and I daresay they have more significance and notability. Sincerely, IZAK (talk) 04:21, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

Wouldn't that also depend on the rock "star" or soccer player in question? A problem with the "key position" of Israeli chief chaplains is that the population that wants halakhic opinions in the IDF often prefers the opinions of rabbis outside the Army. The IDF chief rabbis have articles at he.wiki. gidonb (talk) 19:20, 25 December 2007 (UTC)

Template talk:Chabad

Chabad world headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway

Hi again Gidon: There has been a sharp increase in the debate at Template talk:Chabad#Controversy Again! as part of ongoing differences of views between opposing editors, some of whom are pro-Chabad POV warriors and others. If you could drop by and give this matter your consideration and input it may help a lot because the way things are unfolding it looks like it may be headed for more serious arbitration which can hopefully be avoided. Thanks a lot, IZAK (talk) 17:51, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, but I pass. gidonb (talk) 10:05, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

Ok. I figured that out already. IZAK (talk)

Jewish history in Saudi Arabia

Night image of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Hi Gidon: An odd situation has arisen in the course of adding to Category:Jewish history by country. In that parent category (part of the larger Category:Jewish history) the "Jewish histories" of any country has been categorized under "Category:Jewish country-xyz history" but Category:Jewish Saudi Arabian history has now been challenged because it contains articles about events "before" Saudi Arabia came into official existence. But my objection is, in that case, one could then exclude the facts and events of Jewish history within almost all modern countries because when Jewish history events happened in them hundreds or even thousands of years ago, the modern countries in whose territory they happened had not yet come into existence. See the discussion at Category talk:Jewish Saudi Arabian history. Thank you, IZAK (talk) 04:17, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

I think you managed well. gidonb (talk) 19:21, 25 December 2007 (UTC)

Censoring the "truth"

Aristotle said: To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, and of what is not that it is not, is true.

You stated on my talk page, "Please do not add unsourced or original content. Doing so violates Wikipedia's verifiability policy. If you would like to experiment, please use the sandbox. Thank you. gidonb (talk) 06:06, 25 December 2007 (UTC)"

You or whoever is replacing my words are not giving any sourced content either, your so called facts are based purely on myth of which any sane person can tell is not true, the Gas vans were not created by the Nazis and were most certainly NOT used in the destruction of the European Jews or anyone else for that matter.

I will await a reply from you but I will expect you to find viable sources to prove your gas van theory, without using crack pot ideas or disproven eye witness accounts with no backing.

Coder62.

Coder62, you will find more information on the pages Citing sources, reliable sources, verifiability to which you were already referred after inserting revisionist blurbs. I can also refer you to No original research, Neutral point of view and What Wikipedia is not. You will be blocked if you continue your disruptive behavior. gidonb (talk) 17:43, 25 December 2007 (UTC)

Gidonb, I can also refer you to the same information pages, you have not cited sources either, you are falling back into a safe hole you have dug for yourself by using a one sided argument as fact to ban people who attempt to show another side to the story.

You and everyone else who allows this censoring to continue should be ashamed of yourself, Wikipedia is a crackpot website and quite frankly is full of lies and half truths.

Dont worry I will not attempt to speak the truth further and I hope your silencing and one sided campaign one day will stop.

Coder62. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Coder62 (talk • contribs) 23:42, 25 December 2007 (UTC)

Ok, then this will be for the record only. I am not engaged in any campaign whatsoever. I just do my Wikipedia chores according to our policies as detailed in my response above. gidonb (talk) 00:11, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

In that case if your doing your chores then dont delete something with citations and references that you dont agree with and put something up with NO citations and references, thats not doing your chores thats destroying evidence to keep to the claim of a totally one sided argument. You also stated, "The next time you vandalize Wikipedia", lets stop here and look at the word vandalize, "Vandalism is any addition, removal, or change of content made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of Wikipedia. The most common types of vandalism include the addition of obscenities or crude humor, page blanking, or the insertion of nonsense into articles"

Ok so lets list these and what I did and see if I am doing what you say I am:

1) Vandalism is any addition, removal, or change of content made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of Wikipedia. A) If I was doing that I would post, "Europe as a country does not exist and you are all in the matrix", what I did was post citations and refences to websites that you didnt like.

2) Vanalism include the addition of obscenities or crude humor" A) Post where I did this if you can try to admit that I actually did this?

3) "Page blanking or the insertion of nonsence into articles" A) I didnt do any page blanking so I guess what we are left with is your interpretation of, "Nonsence", which only further backs up my point of your one sided campaign to silence what you personally do not believe to be the truth and since you have deleted my comments and put your own crackpot and debunked theorys up instead this shows a large amount of, "vandalism" from yourself.

Coder62. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Coder62 (talk • contribs) 11:54, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

These were the warnings you received for repetitively adding your revisionist blurbs to Wikipedia:

"Welcome to Wikipedia. Everyone is welcome to contribute constructively to the encyclopedia. However, adding content without citing a reliable source is not consistent with our policy of verifiability. This is especially important when dealing with biographies of living people, but applies to all Wikipedia articles. Take a look at the welcome page to learn more about contributing to this encyclopedia. If you are already familiar with Wikipedia:Citing sources please take this opportunity to add your original reference to the article. Thank you."

"Please do not add content without citing reliable sources. Before making potentially controversial edits, it is recommended that you discuss them first on the article's talk page. If you are familiar with Wikipedia:Citing sources please take this opportunity to add your original reference to the article. Contact me if you need assistance adding references. Thank you."

"Please do not add unsourced or original content. Doing so violates Wikipedia's verifiability policy. If you would like to experiment, please use the sandbox. Thank you."

"This is the last warning you will receive for your disruptive edits. The next time you vandalize Wikipedia, you will be blocked from editing."

The first two warnings were issued by John, the second two by me. This is a chain of standard warnings, with gradual increments in the seriousness of the language, issued to people for the repetitive adding of original research and extreme fringe theories to Wikipedia who engage - also given the previous warnings and suggestions to discuss matters on the talk page - in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of Wikipedia, without willingness to adhere to our policies. Remember that the fact that you are technically able to add any content to our website, does not mean that this corresponds with our policies or wants. It happens all too often that our deliberately low contribution threshold is mistaken for lawlessness or anarchy. gidonb (talk) 07:03, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

Interesting how you side step my comments by quoting what I have already told you, so you basically have agreed with me about running a one sided website, you stated I was, "repetitively adding your revisionist blurbs to Wikipedia" so now we are at the root of the problem, it wasn't about citations its about being a revisionist. I can now understand that your, "polices or wants" are regarding the fact that you do not wish anyone to think you adhering to truth, so rather than check scientific citations and references you would rather delete that and instead use myth citations.

For example, see this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Hoss

Here you destroyed my evidence time and time again, I even gave a refence to a BOOK written by a BRITSH military sergent who bragged about beating a confession out of Rudolf Hoss, instead you actually deleted this now there is no meantion of this, your changing history in your one sided campaing to silence the truth by destroying evidence that his confession was false.

On Wikipedia ladies and gentlemen it wouldn't even shock me to see, "How the Nazi's dropped a nuke on a Jewish make-shift village in 1942, which by the way was said after the war by the allies.

So once again you have failed to answer my questions by giving PROOF that Nazi gas vans EVER existed other than eye witness accounts and you dont even bother to delete work posted here that has zero references like you claim mine had.

Coder62. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Coder62 (talk • contribs) 17:40, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

I am trying to remain patient despite your odd accusations, so let me again take this one step back. You asked why your repetitive insertions of holocaust revisionism materials are considered vandalism. A legitimate question to which I gave a detailed answer. You now want to discuss your revisionist reservations for several of these articles. You may ask general questions or raise general concerns about these articles on their respective talk pages. If you feel that a source is missing for a particular statement within the text, just write {{fact}} after the text in the article and I am sure that the reference will be added in due time. Please make sure that you read the already referenced articles beforehand. gidonb (talk) 13:59, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

Meskie Shibru-Sivan and Jews and Judaism in the African diaspora

1890 map of Africa

Shalom. I'm writing about your recent addition of Meskie Shibru-Sivan to the list of "Notable Jews in the African diaspora". Because of WP:BLP, the references we cite to include people in that list must explicitly say that the person is Jewish. My Hebrew isn't as good as it used to be, but I don't think I saw anything to that effect on the Mooma page or on the somewhat longer biography it linked to.

I would really appreciate if you could either (a) tell me that I missed a reference to Shibru-Sivan's Judaism or (b) point me toward an article (in English or Hebrew) that mentions that she's Jewish. Thank you. — Malik Shabazz (talk · contribs) 10:10, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for writing me. The sources I could find so far imply that she is Jewish. Give me some more time, I will look for an explicit source. gidonb (talk) 12:17, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. I found this article. I think it's sufficient. — Malik Shabazz (talk · contribs) 23:58, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

Excellent!!! Thank you for your efforts, Malik! gidonb (talk) 00:34, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

Pamela Levy

[[Image:Nuvola apps important yellow.svg|left|48px|]] Another editor has added the "{{prod}}" template to the article Pamela Levy, suggesting that it be deleted according to the proposed deletion process. All contributions are appreciated, but the editor doesn't believe it satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, and has explained why in the article (see also Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not and Wikipedia:Notability). Please either work to improve the article if the topic is worthy of inclusion in Wikipedia or discuss the relevant issues at its talk page. If you remove the {{prod}} template, the article will not be deleted, but note that it may still be sent to Wikipedia:Articles for deletion, where it may be deleted if consensus to delete is reached. BJBot (talk) 22:59, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, bot :-D I did not write this article, but invested time in it before. I am glad you were programmed to pick that up! gidonb (talk) 14:10, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

Pictures of Apple River, Illinois

Apple River - The railroad between Freeport, Illinois and the Mississippi River in the foreground and Chestnut Street in the background, Winter 2008

Thank you, that's great. Pictures of places really give an idea of what the place looks like and that may come in handy if that place is mentioned in a work of literature - my main focus - or even just to get a clearer idea of what the America looks like. Please do add more if you have some for other locations too!Zigzig20s (talk) 02:39, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for your feedback and warm words, Zigzig20s. I added pictures of Warren, Illinois to Wikimedia Commons and Wikipedia today, also in other languages. I will try add a few pictures every day from my personal albums. Regards, gidonb (talk) 12:17, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Sergio Luque

Composer Edward Top

Dear Gidonb,

Thanks a lot for your warm welcome message.

I did erase the information on the awards because I haven't been able to find independent sources about them in the "online" world. I thought of adding that line again until I found them. In general, I am still looking for independent sources on this composer.

I have a question: I have found some independent sources in Spanish, I will add them if you consider it pertinent.

FWIW, I first I created a mini bio about this composer, to have at least something on him in the Wikipedia. As his name appeared in another Wikipedia article (in Spanish), in red letters. That's why I started his entry.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Música_mexicana_moderna_y_contemporánea

One thing, before I added the information on his awards the "importance/significance" of the article was asserted by RMHED. So why, if the article as it is now is basically the same as the one judged significant by RMHED, is this article bearing a notability tag again?

19:35, 17 January 2008 RMHED (Talk | contribs) (2,057 bytes) (importance/significance is asserted) (undo) http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sergio_Luque&oldid=185040446

Kind regards,

Sorry for the belated answer. In the meantime you have referenced the article and things look better now. You may also want to check out an article I wote about a composer you may know, Edward Top, and which I improved for answering you (but then so many unrelated things came up and the problem had already been resolved). Best regards, gidonb (talk) 10:47, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

AfD nomination of Elias Khoury (lawyer)

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem where both George and Elias Khoury studied

[[Image:Nuvola apps important.svg|left|48px|]]An editor has nominated Elias Khoury (lawyer), an article on which you have worked or that you created, for deletion. We appreciate your contributions, but the nominator doesn't believe that the article satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion and has explained why in his/her nomination (see also "What Wikipedia is not").

Your opinions on whether the article meets inclusion criteria and what should be done with the article are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Elias Khoury (lawyer) and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~).

You may also edit the article during the discussion to improve it but should not remove the articles for deletion template from the top of the article; such removal will not end the deletion debate. Thank you. BJBot (talk) 15:00, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

The result of the discussion was keep

George Khoury

[[Image:Nuvola apps important yellow.svg|left|48px|]] Another editor has added the {{prod}} template to the article George Khoury, suggesting that it be deleted according to the proposed deletion process. All contributions are appreciated, but the editor doesn't believe it satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, and has explained why in the article (see also Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not and Wikipedia:Notability). Please either work to improve the article if the topic is worthy of inclusion in Wikipedia or discuss the relevant issues at its talk page. If you remove the {{prod}} template, the article will not be deleted, but note that it may still be sent to Wikipedia:Articles for deletion, where it may be deleted if consensus to delete is reached. BJBot (talk) 16:00, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

The result of the discussion was keep

Infobox Criminal

Please add it to: Marwan Barghouti (convicted mass murderer), Mordechai Vanunu and Tali Fahima. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.0.218.235 (talk) 15:06, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for asking, you help me clarify once more that my edits are NPOV. As a matter of fact, I have included all three inidviduals (male, female, Israeli, Palestinian) in criminal categories. You are very welcome to check the histories of the articles! For Vanunu, I also dicussed the issue on the talk page... gidonb (talk) 12:01, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

CfD nomination of Category:Israeli immigrants

Yemenite Jews on their way to Israel

Category:Israeli immigrants, which you created, has been nominated for deletion, merging, or renaming. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments at the category's entry on the Categories for discussion page. Thank you. – Good Ol’factory ^(talk) 10:51, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Thank you so much for your note, Good Ol’factory! The proposal is to move the category, which I created 3 years ago, to a new standard format across countries. I always support such proposals and supported the name change. Keep up the good work, Good Ol’factory! gidonb (talk) 23:58, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Rutherford University

Patriot Bible University in Del Norte, Colorado, another alleged diploma mill

I think you did a nice job with the new article about Rutherford. I notice that they claim accreditation from International States Parliament. As you may have seen in User:Orlady/Stuff I'm working on, I collected information about that organization, but I was not able to learn enough about it to write a proper article. If you find more information, maybe some of my collection will be useful to you in writing an article. --Orlady (talk) 17:28, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Thank you so much, I really appreciate your feedback! The page you referred to, was exactly the page that I found when searching for info. I will see if I can gather enough information, lets say for a stub. The website is very vague, and I mostly see names of people who are in some way associated with the organization or education businesses using the organization's name as a reference. gidonb (talk) 23:55, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

I have a take on the organization. I could just start writing or wait for your opening and take it from there. Regards, gidonb (talk) 00:59, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

Please start writing! Almost all that I "know" about the organization is on that page. Feel free to use any of the content I gathered (or not). --Orlady (talk) 01:02, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

I believe the article is in a steady state now. Please see International Parliament for Safety and Peace. I would appreciate your comments and improvements! Regards, gidonb (talk) 10:53, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

Jo Daviess County, Illinois

Warren - Main Street in Winter 2008

Are you still adding pictures to the villages, cities, and unincorporated areas of Jo Daviess by chance? If you plan to continue doing so, that will save me the trip of going to the county for those pictures. If not, no worries, just let me know. I think the ones you have posted so far have been great. Now that it is spring, its the time for more pictures from me I think.--Kranar drogin (talk) 16:32, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for the compliments! I still have a few pics, will see what I can do. There are many places in the county, however, that I have not visited. Please drop me a note when your pics are online! We had a wonderful time out there. gidonb (talk) 21:29, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Rfb participation thanks

Hello, Gidon.

I wanted to personally thank you for taking part in the project-wide discussions regarding my candidacy for bureaucratship. After bureaucratic discussion, the bureaucrats decided that there was sufficient significant and varied opposition to my candidacy, and thus no consensus to promote. Although personally disappointed, I both understand and respect their decision, especially in light of historical conservatism the project has had when selecting its bureaucrats. If you have any further suggestions or comments as to how you think I could help the project, please let me know. Once again, thank you for your support. -- Avi (talk) 19:20, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Avi, by your readiness to contribute your talents at a higher level of administration, you have shown a strong commitment to Wikipedia. Consider the outcomes of the discussions as a bus that missed you, as opposed to you missing out on anything. Perhaps we will be so lucky that you propose your candidacy once more in the future! Regards, gidonb (talk) 21:13, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

thank you very much for those very kind words!! -- Avi (talk) 21:17, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

You are most welcome! gidonb (talk) 21:27, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Eilat

A glimpse of blue waters from the Darb el Hajj - today Ovda - approach to Eilat

Returned category "Coastal Cities in Israel" to Eilat. It is. Thank you, Shir-El too 21:13, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

I know. I had added the cat and immediately removed it because I did not want the make a point while claiming elsewhere in a discussion that Israeli coastal cities are as objective as coastal cities can be. This was probably a bit overcautious, but I plan on overhauling both the coastal and port categories when the discussion is over. In the meantime, thanks for re-adding the cat! Regards, gidonb (talk) 21:26, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

A bit convoluted, but "Oh what tangled webs we weave..." Also added Haifa to the category. See you @round! Shir-El too 17:40, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Life is complicated. I try to untangle, or at least not make it more complicated than necessary. At Wikipedia there is already plenty of "action" with vandalism and POV pushers. But thank you for the update and additional edits! Regards, gidonb (talk) 22:04, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Results of the discussion were keep. gidonb (talk) 18:54, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Category:Rape victims

The rape of noblewoman Lucretia

[[Image:Ambox warning pn.svg|left|48px|]]A tag has been placed on Category:Rape victims, requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done because the article appears to be a repost of material that was previously deleted following a deletion debate, such as articles for deletion. If you can indicate how Category:Rape victims is different from the previously posted material, or if you can indicate why this article should not be deleted, I advise you to place the template {{hangon}} underneath the other template on the article, and also put a note on [[Talk:Category:Rape victims]] saying why this article should stay. An admin should check for such edits before deleting the article. Feel free to leave a note on my talk page if you have any questions about this. Please read our criteria for speedy deletion, particularly item 4 under General criteria. If you believe the original discussion was unjustified, please feel free to use deletion review, but do not continue to repost the article if it is deleted. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself. We welcome your help in trying to improve Wikipedia, and we request you to follow these instructions.

Deletion discussion was here.--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back (talk) 14:18, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Hello TFMWNCB, sorry for not checking for a possible deletion. While clearly I would have voted against, I support any fairly achieved community decree and hence also this speedy deletion! I will leave a note to speedy the speedy! Best regards, gidonb (talk) 21:52, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

The category was already deleted. gidonb (talk) 21:54, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Farris (mineral water)

Speedy

Norwegian mineral water - blatant advertising?

[[Image:Nuvola apps important.svg|left|48px|]]A tag has been placed on Farris (mineral water), requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under the criteria for speedy deletion, because the article seems to be blatant advertising that only promotes a company, product, group, service or person and would need to be fundamentally rewritten in order to become an encyclopedia article. Please read the general criteria for speedy deletion, particularly item 11, as well as the guidelines on spam.

If you can indicate why the subject of this article is not blatant advertising, you may contest the tagging. To do this, please add {{hangon}} on the top of Farris (mineral water) and leave a note on the article's talk page explaining your position. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but don't hesitate to add information to the article that would help make it encyclopedic, as well as adding any citations from reliable sources to ensure that the article will be verifiable. Feel free to leave a note on my talk page if you have any questions about this. Ecoleetage (talk) 00:17, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Blatant advertsing? Hah! I object to the speedy. I just moved the text which is not mine from Farris. This is the article I was organizing. The moved text can be kept under its entry or merged into the Brewery that own the brand. You are welcome to AfD or suggest a merger! gidonb (talk) 00:24, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Adding that image to a "new" article probably wasn't a very good call - sorry if I contributed t the confusion here. If you're working you're way through all Bjørnøy in Norway you may need something containing more energy than Farris to get you through though ;o) Finn Rindahl (talk) 00:45, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

That's fine, thank you for writing. Both of you gave me somewhat of a difficult time making copy-edits and concentrating on this lake in Norway as part of my "project of the week." I am not planning on all the Bjørnøyas, but am proud of the complete disambiguation page. Moving Bjørnøya in Svalbard to Bear Island (Norway) was also a difficult task. The Bjørnøya (Haram) article is already beyond stub status. Bjørnøya (Larvik) is a decent stub. I may write another article or two if I find more important Bjørnøyas. gidonb (talk) 00:53, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Good luck & happy editing then! Finn Rindahl (talk) 01:11, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Finnrind, thank you. Also for pointing out that the Bjørnøya (Stavanger) article already existed as Bjørnøy! Regards, gidonb (talk) 01:13, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Now this has been an interresting exercise ;o) Instead of a short stub this is turning into a decent stub/ short article just because someone (wrongly IMHO) tagged it speedy del. Keep up the good work, regards Finn Rindahl (talk) 17:03, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Ehem, those to citations you combined where actually to two different pages under ringnes.no - one contained the excact date and the other the production in liters... Finn Rindahl (talk) 17:36, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Sorry about that. Just revert me! gidonb (talk) 17:43, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

AfD nomination

Drink some water and calm down everyone :-)

[[Image:Ambox warning pn.svg|48px|left]]An article that you have been involved in editing, Farris (mineral water), has been listed for deletion. If you are interested in the deletion discussion, please participate by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Farris (mineral water). Thank you. Do you want to opt out of receiving this notice? Ecoleetage (talk) 00:47, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for the permssion to AfD...I just did. :) Ecoleetage (talk) 00:47, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Note The article in question is no longer up for Speedy Delete, so please do not tag it as such. It is now in the AfD forum and the Wikipedia community will weigh in on its merits. Thank you. Ecoleetage (talk) 00:49, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

I restored the speedy tag, only because I think I should not have removed it. I added a hangon template instead explaining why I object to the speedy deletion. There was no case for speedying. gidonb (talk) 00:53, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

I withdrew my AfD nomination of Farris (mineral water), based in large part to your editorial input to both the article and the AfD discussion. I sincerely hope that my AfD nomination did not create any undue stress. I hope you can accept the following as a token of my appreciation:

		The Rescue from Deletion Barnstar
		I, Eco Lee Tage, award User:Gidonb with this star for saving Farris (mineral water) from deletion. Please present this barnstar at any participating Oslo supermarket to claim your free six-pack of Farris (mineral water) :) Ecoleetage (talk) 00:14, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Hello Ecoleetage, your barnstar and the withdrawal are much appreciated! I'll stick it into the collection and will think of you when drinking Farris (mineral water)! ;-) Best regards, gidonb (talk) 22:30, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Yared

Yared

My pleasure! Oh, in view of your interest in Ethiopian subjects, please check out an article that I recently worked on: Yared -- I did an expansion on that, and any input you can offer would be welcomed! Ecoleetage (talk) 23:02, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Looks great, Ecoleetage! I had nothing to add, but could do a little maintenance. Regards, gidonb (talk) 23:24, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Thank you very much! I am very flattered that you considered my contributions to the Yared article to be worthy of such merit. I have an interest in Ethiopian history and culture, so please feel free to recommend any articles where I may be of some editorial service. Be well. Ecoleetage (talk) 13:06, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Hello! I just got word that Yared was cited as a Did You Know? honouree for 25 June. Cheers! Ecoleetage (talk) 19:00, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

Photographer's barnstar

Horsefarm with stagecoach rental on the Stagecoach Trail in Apple River Township, somewhat west of the village of Apple River (January, 2008)

Hey! Thanks for the barnstar. Yeah, I have taken a lot of photos of Ogle County (which can all be found on Commons). Since I live in the county, I figured I would take pictures of everything. I am not around as of much right now since I am helping the genealogy group take pictures of all the headstone in the county (which is going to take a long time), and haven't decided yet if those would be worth to also upload to Commons. Don't want to break rules and whatnot, so will look into that. Thanks again for the barnstar!--Kranar drogin (talk) 19:45, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Hello Kranar, thank you for your response. You are most welcome! Upon your encouragement, I picked up uploading pictures again from our Dubuque, Iowa and Jo Daviess County, Illinois vacation and thought I should leave a few words of appreciation for your efforts to illustrate the articles of your home county. Best regards, gidonb (talk) 19:56, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Barnstar

Lolium multiflorum

Thanks. I liked that little grass article, also, I'm surprised anyone noticed it. I generally just start plant stubs about plants that are viral hosts, or Ivoirian rainforest and endangered species. It's not an area likely to attract attention. --Blechnic (talk) 15:39, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

You are most welcome. Less attraction is sometimes a blessing. Over the years I have extensively dealt with some of the most contentious subject areas around here: Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine, terrorism, Israeli settlements, religion, conspiracy theories, crime. Luckily, I dealt with these in somewhat of a balancing act, but believe me it can get hot at times. Same and even worse applies to addressing vandalism and spam, which I have done quite a bit over the years. In five years, I was blocked once (just a few hours), and my pages were constantly vandalized. If you are interested in natural science, you should be happy that you can edit in relative peace! Best regards, gidonb (talk) 18:47, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Farris (mineral water) continued

Did You Know?

If you have not done so yet, I would recommend nominating Farris (mineral water) for the Did You Know? competition at WP:DYK. Thanks. Ecoleetage (talk) 14:11, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Hang on, I'm working on expanding the Norwegian version and then this one (Going slowly, a bit distracted by maintenance on Commons and my RfA at Norwegian wikipedia). Might stand a better chance in a day or so ;o)Finn Rindahl (talk) 15:10, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Ecoleetage, thank you for the suggestion and sure, why not? When Finnrind is ready. Finnrind, do I have voting rights at the Norwegian Wikipedia? Best regards, gidonb (talk) 18:53, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

No, sorry. Even though you have 43K+ Wikimedia edits you still would need 200 edits at No:wiki just to vote ;) Any comments to my questions below? Finn Rindahl (talk) 19:35, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

200 is not so bad. I will get there one day. I just wrote my first article in Italian, another language a barely know. Perhaps I should pick up Norwegian editing... gidonb (talk) 21:08, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Still thirsty?

Ringnes, the owners of Farris, produce beer

I've expanded the Norwegian article a bit now, but would appreciate some advice before I proceed with expanding Farris (mineral water) here.

• Does the way the text is organised in the Norwegian version make sense - the headlines are History with sub Larvik Bad (spa), production and Royal assosciation, Water with sub Sources, Mineralcontent and Healtheffect, and finally Design. To many divisions etc or is this ok? Other ways of organising it?
• Should quotations from Norwegian sources be presented in Norwegian as well as in Englis translation?
• Do you think we should include Template:Infobox Bottled Water (as in Evian for instance)?

Regards, Finn Rindahl (talk) 18:52, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

These are my thoughts: Basically only the top-level titles are helpful. The second level are the ideas around which the paragraphs are built, you must have have these, but should not spell them out. The intro should knock everyone over - a reader so (s)he will want to read more, a Wikipedia-colleague, so (s)he will not want to nominate your article for an AfD. So after the first sentence (a boring definition) come a few superlatives to which you return later at length, e.g. Farris is a brand of mineral water produced in Larvik. It is Norway's oldest and by a distance best-selling bottled water. It has been mentioned in the literature as having positive health effect. In the chapters you detail when and how it was started, how much is produced and what the edge is over others (Thomson), which minerals are in it and how they get there, and which health effects are indicated and by whom. When translating do not give the original text. Instead, reference the texts, so people can look them up. Infoboxes are always helpful. 20:07, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Infoboxes aren't always helpful, I've seen some rather horrible examples of the opposite... ;o) But I do agree on this one. I'll give it a shot then&since it's a wiki I'm trusting that you and others will rephrase where needed and clean out typos, spelling and grammar. Thank you, Finn Rindahl (talk) 20:20, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

You are most welcome. I will do my best, but your English seems just fine. gidonb (talk) 21:12, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

I think this is as far as I'm getting based on present avvailable sources and the wikitime I have just now. Take a look, and feel free to DYK it (or have Ecoletage do so) if you like. I ommitted headlines all together, but it could very well be that some should be added. Regards, Finn Rindahl (talk) 17:56, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Yoram Rubin

The monument at the site of the assassination: Solomon ibn Gabirol Street between the Tel Aviv City Hall and Gan Ha'ir (in the back). The monument is composed of broken rocks, representing a political earthquake.

[[Image:Ambox warning yellow.svg|left|48px|]] A proposed deletion template has been added to the article Yoram Rubin, suggesting that it be deleted according to the proposed deletion process. All contributions are appreciated, but this article may not satisfy Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, and the deletion notice should explain why (see also "What Wikipedia is not" and Wikipedia's deletion policy). You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the {{dated prod}} notice, but please explain why you disagree with the proposed deletion in your edit summary or on its talk page.

Please consider improving the article to address the issues raised because even though removing the deletion notice will prevent deletion through the proposed deletion process, the article may still be deleted if it matches any of the speedy deletion criteria or it can be sent to Articles for Deletion, where it may be deleted if consensus to delete is reached. Do you want to opt out of receiving this notice? Nudve (talk) 10:35, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

I believe this ought to be discussed at an AfD, if at all. gidonb (talk) 10:50, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Very well. -- Nudve (talk) 11:05, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

[[Image:Ambox warning pn.svg|48px|left]]I have nominated Yoram Rubin, an article you created, for deletion. I do not feel that this article satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, and have explained why at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Yoram Rubin. Your opinions on the matter are welcome at that same discussion page; also, you are welcome to edit the article to address these concerns. Thank you for your time. Do you want to opt out of receiving this notice? Nudve (talk) 11:07, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your cooperation :) Cheers -- Nudve (talk) 13:21, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

My pleasure! :-) gidonb (talk) 13:25, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Result of the quick AfD discussion was merge gidonb (talk) 13:12, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Barnstar thanks

A barnstar

Thank you very much for the barnstar. I am glad to see that somebody appreciates my body of work. --Sharkface^T/_C 22:18, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

You are most welcome. Fully deserved! Best regards, gidonb (talk) 22:32, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks a lot, Gidonb! however, I can't help but wonder: how come it were the few minor edits I made to Uzzi Ornan that especially caught your eye? -- Nudve (talk) 04:23, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

It's an article I wrote and occasionally get back too. I saw you had improved it with wikis and the like, then saw you did this to many Israel-related articles, and hence gave out the Working Man Barnstar. This particular star is for a lot of small improvements. Congrats again. You deserved it. Best regards, gidonb (talk) 08:31, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

Yet another "thank you for the barnstar" message. Having interacted in connection with International Parliament for Safety and Peace and Rutherford University (and probably other articles that I don't specifically recall), I recognize you as a creator of quality, reliably sourced content, which makes your positive feedback all the more meaningful. --Orlady (talk) 18:26, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

You are most welcome. Thank you for the positive feedback! Regards, gidonb (talk) 15:21, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

Jerusalem FAR

Jerusalem, viewed from the Mount of Olives

Jerusalem has been nominated for a featured article review. Articles are typically reviewed for two weeks. Please leave your comments and help us to return the article to featured quality. If concerns are not addressed during the review period, articles are moved onto the Featured Article Removal Candidates list for a further period, where editors may declare "Keep" or "Remove" the article from featured status. The instructions for the review process are here. Reviewers' concerns are here.

I hope to be in time responding. I have a lot to say on this article and the way it evolved. Still need to organize all my thoughts though. Thanks you for the notice. gidonb (talk) 00:52, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Note: I did not respond in time. The featured status process fell before I found time to answer in a constructive manner.

RFA Thanks

Thank you for your support at my RFa. It has now closed, and I was successful. I shall do my best when weilding the mop, and I look forward to working with you in the future. StephenBuxton (talk) 22:03, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

You are most welcome. Glad you made it. We can always use good admins! Regards, gidonb (talk) 00:49, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for voting in my RfA, which passed with 90 support, 2 oppose, and 0 neutral. All the best, Ben MacDuiTalk/Walk 20:28, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Thank you. Glad you made it! gidonb (talk) 17:43, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

Consolidated "Ships by navy" category discussion

Navy boats of 5 countries, during "Operation Enduring Freedom" in the Oman Sea.

Because you had commented in one or more of the WP:CFD discussions for Category:Royal Thai Navy ships (discussion here), Category:Imperial Russian Navy ships (discussion here), and Category:Royal New Zealand Navy ships (discussion here), I wanted to let you know that they have been closed, and consolidated into a new discussion with several similar proposed category renames. Please take a look at the new proposal. All comments are welcome. — Bellhalla (talk) 14:29, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Thank you, Belhalla. I will try to look into the matter. gidonb (talk) 00:48, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Sorry I did not contribute to the discussions in a timely manner. These were very busy months for me with lots of things on mind. gidonb (talk) 18:04, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

International Parliament for Safety and Peace

I have opened a discussion on the talk page of this article, to which you have made extensive contributions. You will probably wish to comment there. DGG (talk) 03:37, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Answered on that talk page, albeit 6 months later. This is untypical of me, but I did not feel like dealing with it at the time. gidonb (talk) 17:43, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

ABN Amro

[[:File:ABN AMRO.svg|right|thumb|200px|ABN Amro: Use the format of the quality press and sources or the preferred letter set of the company?]] You should know that ABN AMRO always used all-capital letters when identifying itself. I've passed this dispute along in the Administrators' noticeboard. Steelbeard1 (talk) 10:41, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

So does Time. We have policies regarding this issue. Could have changed the name right away to ABN Amro but suspected there would be some response (nationalistic and other), so I took the look through the longest possible road. It is nevertheless a clear-cut matter. You are, of course, always welcome to suggest changes in our policies!. gidonb (talk) 17:26, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

This is no consensus and the company is officially ABN AMRO in all-capital letters. Steelbeard1 (talk) 17:35, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

If you wish to start a procedure to change the name, you can make your claims at Talk:ABN Amro. Please do not use force to change the name and respect your peers. We have just completed a name change according to the longest possible procedure. gidonb (talk) 17:37, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

I've done that too many times already. I've passed this to the administrators. Steelbeard1 (talk) 18:10, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

It is much better than the edit warring you did beforehand. But why not start a procedure for name change as I have done? List the reasons and the policies according to which you believe the name should be ABN AMRO and until then respect the previous community decision. Please remember that anyone can edit here, but we do have rules, policies, and procedures! Regards, gidonb (talk) 18:18, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Note: This ended up in a big mess, with huge disrespect for our procedures. I like to work with civility and according to procedures, so I pulled out from the discussions. In this case the content matter was less important to me than the form. At the time I lacked the resources to properly address these form issues. It happens. gidonb (talk) 17:43, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

Jo Daviess County

Winter landscape in Scales Mound Township, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, north of Scales Mound, Illinois (2008)

Hey, you still about. I am back, more relaxed, my life is less chaotic now. Thanks for the barnstar. I see you did a bit of work on some of the Jo Daviess County articles. Thanks for all your contributions. Do you live in the county?--IvoShandor (talk) 16:38, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

Hi there Ivo! You are most welcome, glad to have you back! I made some photographs while traveling through Jo Daviess County, which I shared withe Wikimedia. Also was inspired to write and expand some articles. Some categorization already comes natural when looking around. Although it was freezing cold around New Year in Jo Daviess, we truly enjoyed ourselves. The actual destination that mini-vacation was Dubuque, Iowa. Also picturesque and surprisingly well-fitted to spend time with the kids. Best regards, gidonb (talk) 17:02, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

Parachute Express

Hi! I did indeed delete the initial version of this article, which simply stated "Parachute Expree is an American children's musical group formed in Los Angeles, in 1984. Its members are Donny Becker, Janice Hubbard, and Stephen Schwartz." Wikipedia's speedy deletion criteria are such that an article on a band, group, person, etc. must indicate "why its subject is important or significant," which that clearly didn't.

The current state of the article is infintely better, explaining exactly why Parachute Express are a significant band, with references to back it up. Great work! --Stormie (talk) 00:19, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

Thank you, Stormie! Yes, that certainly is far less than needed for an article (and the amount of work I usually put into new articles), however a simple warning would have prompted me to expand. It is customary to put a warning about a pending deletion on the creator's talk page. As I said on your talk page, I had forgotten about the page. Now at least I am reassured that not much creative work had been lost!!! Thanks and best regards, gidonb (talk) 00:56, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

My RfA

Thank you for supporting me in my RfA, which passed with a count of (154/3/2). I appreciate the community's trust in me, and I will do my best to be sure it won't regret handing me the mop. I am honored by your trust and your support. Again, thank you. –Juliancolton Tropical Cyclone 19:22, 27 September 2008 (UTC)