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December 22

Policy related to places

Hello,

I want to add an article for a place in delhi cantonment. However, i am unsure about the relevant Wikipedia policies on this topic. I tried searching on DuckDuckGo to no avail And the results of Wikipedia search gave unrelated things. What are the relevant policies? KhubsuratInsaan (talk) 11:16, 22 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

You may find this guide a good starting point. Be sure in particular to study the section on notability. You may also want to look up articles about similar places (if those articles exist) and review them to get a sense of what does and does not go into such an article.

It looks like you're new to Wikipedia. (Welcome!) You may find it easier to write an article from scratch and get it past article review or new pages patrol if you spend some time here first editing other pages and getting to understand the culture. That's not a strict requirement, just something a lot of people benefit from when they first arrive! -- Avocado (talk) 14:28, 22 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

And the place for new editors to ask questions is the Wikipedia:Teahouse (although we're happy to help here too, especially with references). Alansplodge (talk) 15:24, 22 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

thank you. i will keep this in mind next time i want to ask a question. KhubsuratInsaan (talk) 12:56, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

thank you for the detailed reply ❤️ KhubsuratInsaan (talk) 12:56, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Indian city classification

I was looking at Classification of Indian cities. In tier Y, there are more than 100 cities listed. But in the reference given there are only 88. I even looked what appears to be official website, there's no new circular of new list. [1] Are there any other circulars or should I just remove extra cities. Also, as my main purpose to look for a tier classification, was to use it as approximation for urban (Tier X and Y) and rural districts (Tier Z). Is there any other department which does this kind of classification, please let me know. -- Parnaval (talk) 17:13, 22 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

That circular by the Department of Expenditure indicates that classification of cities depends on the latest census. Entities using the classification after yearly update seemingly are easy to find ( https://7thpaycommissionnews.in/classification-of-indian-cities/), regarding a specific source explicitly mentioning their is an update the department link to look for has to be related to the census. --Askedonty (talk) 21:28, 22 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

December 27

Black Cube, Melissa Nathan,&U.S. presidential candidates

Black Cube has a wikipedia article, Melissa Nathan is mentioned in the article It Ends with Us. Both are googleable. My question is if either Black Cube or Melissa Nathan were ever hired to discredit John Kerry or Hillary Clinton? I realize that in Melissa Nathan's case, if she had been hired for that, it would probably have been before she formed The Agency Group PR.Rich (talk) 06:52, 27 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The link should have been to It Ends with Us (film). --Lambiam 19:16, 27 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Griggsville, Missouri?

The Robert Fiske (actor) article claims (without a source) that he was born in Griggsville, Missouri. I can find no evidence whatever that such a place has ever existed. There is a Griggsville, Illinois, which is about 20 miles northeast of the IL/MO border (which I think is the river, and presumably was in 1889). Was there really a Griggsville in Missouri, or is this a simple mistake? The only substantive author (to the biographical part of the article) is long departed Wikipedia. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 20:12, 27 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I can't find an obit for Fiske in Newspapers.com, and the Findagrave entry [2] simply says he was born in Missouri. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:37, 27 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

[Edit Conflict] I wondered if it might be something to do with the Mississippi changing its course, but it seems not. However, if Griggsville, Illinois is correct, he could be added to that article's Notable person [sic] section, doubling its complement!

The 'Missouri' inclusion was (as you may have noted) in the article as created in 2005, so at least we know it's not the result of vandalism.

I notice that the Unreliable sources IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and the Internet Broadway Database also state Griggsville, Missouri, which may of course have been taken from Wikipedia, and Find a Grave gives merely Missouri. However, The Movie Database does give Griggsville, Illinois. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.1.223.204 (talk) 21:42, 27 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Indications in Ancestry.com are that he was merely born "in Missouri", not a specific city that I've found. Even though the original article writer has been offline for over 9 years, maybe his email still works? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:54, 27 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I'm wondering if there is some circular WP:CITOGENESIS between ourselves, Findagrave, and IMDb. I too considered the "moving river" hypothesis, but it's much too far away. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 22:42, 27 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Who Was Who on Screen (1977) confirms he was born in Griggsville, Missouri. No danger of citogenesis there. The search term "Griggsville, MO" throws up a few non-Fiske results on Google and Google Books, but I can't find precisely where it is. --Antiquary (talk) 09:22, 28 December 2024 (UTC) Ah, here we are, it's in Pike County, Missouri [3]. --Antiquary (talk) 10:00, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Griggsville, IL, is also in Pike County, Illinois and if you look up the zip code (62340) given on that web site you also land in Illinois. The two Pike Counties are direct neighbours, but there's no indication of any common history or even a shift in the state border. --Wrongfilter (talk) 10:15, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

That sounds ominous. Also, the more of my Google and Google Books hits I follow up, the fewer check out. The evidence that this place ever existed outside of Fiske's say-so looks rather slight. Here is one cite from 1907, and there are one or two more from the 19th century, but confusion with Griggsville, IL can't be ruled out. --Antiquary (talk) 10:46, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks everyone. I'll flag the birthplace in the article is questionable (and the whole article as poorly sourced), but I think there's enough uncertainty for me to not "fix" it. And I'll refer to this discussion on the talk page, for the (probably very unlikely event) that some future person cares enough about this rather minor actor to do more thorough research. Thank you. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 08:04, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

One thing I noticed in Newspapers.com is that Missouri papers that referred to Griggsville usually made it clear that they were talking about the one in Illinois. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:08, 1 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

December 28

Why do news reporters name the programme they are reporting for?

This is an example by BBC News. ―Panamitsu (talk) 05:44, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

You have linked to a BBC TV program where at 0:40 the presenter introduces "Our science correspondent Pallab Ghosh" who signs off his report "Pallab Ghosh, BBC News". His report includes statements by two experts each identified by name and affiliation. The video typifies the high standard of journalism where BBC emphasize distinction between source and editorial content. Incidentally, a good BBC TV reporter tends to become a "household name" (the likes of Clive Myrie, Fiona Bruce, Sophie Raworth, Reeta Chakrabarti, Steve Rosenberg, Michael Buchanan and more). Edit: I apologise to Pallab Ghosh for initially misspelling his name and thank Antiquary for correcting me. Philvoids (talk) 11:19, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Pallab Ghosh, but I'm sure he's used to it. --Antiquary (talk) 11:29, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

As I understand the question, it is not why reporters identify themselves, but why for instance Ghosh does not sign off by simply saying "Pallab Ghosh", full stop. --Lambiam 10:29, 31 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It's a standard practice, which might even be in their contracts. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:55, 31 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I seem to recall American channels using clips from the BBC. Such sign offs would serve to identify the source in these cases.--User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 17:22, 1 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

THat was my thinking, too. These days they tend to have on-screen watermarks, but reporters still sign off with "Jennifer Superior Bitch, Infinity News. Alex". -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:55, 1 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Navigation lights

Does the fact that aeroplane/ship navigation lights are green and red cause problems for pilots who are red-green colour blind? How do they deal with that? Can they even become pilots? ―Panamitsu (talk) 22:49, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I couldn't be a pilot because of my red-green colour blindness, but people with a mild version can apparently - this is a link to the UK's Civil Aviation Authority's guidance on colour vision requirements. Mikenorton (talk) 23:25, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

How fascinating. Thanks. ―Panamitsu (talk) 00:21, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Similarly, red-green colourblind people may not be able to become helmsmen.

You might think it would have been more convenient to make those lights red and cyan, as far fewer people are red-blue colourblind, but when navigation lights on ships were introduced, bright blueish lights couldn't be made. That only became possible with gas discharge lamps. Traffic lights and railway signals these days (often using LEDs) use a slightly blueish green, so that most colourblind people can see the difference between red and green. PiusImpavidus (talk) 11:55, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

They could have agreed (and still could agree) on assigning distinct flashing patterns, like •••—— and —••—• . --Lambiam 20:48, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Flashing patterns would be a very poor method for aircraft and probably ships also. Navigation lights are meant to give a quick indication of the relative position and heading of another aircraft/vessel. When seeing navigation lights a pilot instantly has an indication of the relative flight direction of the other aircraft based on which red/green/white lights are visible. Also there are already the anti-collision lights, red flashing beacon on the tail at least and white flashing strobes on the wingtips and tail. How could a pilot possibly decode flashing lights reliably enough and quickly enough to determine relative heading? fiveby(zero) 18:06, 1 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Wouldn't that be a problem because the sky/ocean is blue? I understand that the lights are used at night so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. ―Panamitsu (talk) 22:39, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It would involve more complex lighting circuits/equipment and massive world-wide retrofitting, which (I suggest) would be prohibitively expensive, to solve a relatively minor 'problem' more easily answered by simply not employing colour-blind people in the relevant positions. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.1.223.204 (talk) 13:12, 31 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Flashing lights have been used on lighthouses for a long time. They use an assembly of lenses and shutters rotating around a fixed light, using a low-friction bearing. This works fine for stationary lighthouses, but is more problematic on moving ships. There's more wear and the lens assembly could jam or rotate at variable speed. Better to use an electric light, switched repeatedly by a rotating switch powered by an electric motor (all available late 19th century), but both switch and lamp have to switch reliably at least a million times. No problem today, but there's still the issue of recognising a flashing pattern if it's intermittently obscured. It's considered acceptable for lighthouses and buoys, which are usually more or less where you expect them to be, but a moving ship may be a different matter. PiusImpavidus (talk) 14:45, 1 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

When I answered telephones and sold passenger tickets for Eurostar I had to pass an Ishihara test, the same as signalmen and train drivers. DuncanHill (talk) 21:27, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Depending on the signalling system, train drivers may also have to discriminate red from yellow/amber. This is less important for road users. And states of tracks and signals are colour-coded on the computer monitors of signalmen, but it should only take a simple software update to accommodate colourblind signalmen. (Yes, there're still some old-fashioned signal boxes in some countries; I've passed the one at Severn Bridge Junction on my way to Wales.) I don't see the objection against colourblind ticket sellers. PiusImpavidus (talk) 11:58, 31 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

December 29

Domains

Are Eritrea's .er and Belarus's .by ever used in domain hacks? .er could be used in shortcut to Blogger, blogg.er, like goo.gl and youtu.be, and .by could be used in domains such as drive.by and in Nordic place namesmas by means "village" in Swedish and "city" in Norwegian and Danish. And can South Africa's .za and India's .in be used directly after the main part, such as in piz.za and drive.in? Also, can .pl, .cz, .sk and .hu addresses contain diacritics, such as gdańsk.pl, česko.cz, košice.sk and magyarország.hu? --40bus (talk) 10:10, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

See URL#Internationalized URL. PiusImpavidus (talk) 11:30, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Plusimpavidus has only answered the last sentencee.

The answer to the first part is entirely dependent on the policy of the controller of the ccTLD in question, and that controller may or may not publish a policy. Technically, of course they could be used: the government of Tonga sells .to domains to any interested party, as I presume you know.

According to our article .by The Operations and Analysis Centre under the President of the Republic of Belarus allows for anyone (not only for those who reside in Belarus) to register a second level domain such as something.by, and it also says he .by code is used for domain hack by institutions from the German state of Bavaria (German: Bayern), such as bayern.by, the Bavarian Tourism Agency. Since "by" means "town" or "city" in Norwegian, it's also used by some Norwegian newspapers, such as osl.by for an Oslo newspaper, and trd.by for a Trondheim newspaper, however, neither of these statements appear to be sourced. When I just tried it, trd.by seems to redirect to a Norwegian casino site.

Our articles .er and .za say nothing about whether the ccTLDs are available to anybody outside Eritrea and South Africa respectively. .in doesn't explicitly address the question, but in talking about the use of subdomains it repeats "in India" several times. ColinFine (talk) 20:38, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Colored asphalt markings

What's the purpose of such blue, green, pink marks on street grounds? I've seen them in multiple places in Warsaw (typically in non-traffic places, such as sidewalks) where they've stayed for several months or even years without being erased. From what I've read, those marks can be made for some roadworks, but I'm not sure. Brandmeister^talk 20:06, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I've seen them used for several purposes, mostly for marking the course of some underground pipe or cable, but also for marking a distance such as 500m from a given spot. In the first case, there is a sequence of similar markings, not too far apart from each other. In the second case the marking is usually accompanied by a number or some code. --Lambiam 20:55, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

See utility location. --142.112.149.206 (talk) 22:09, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

In my experience (UK) they appear in preparation for invasive ground works, most recently in our road prior to the installation of the third set of broadband cables under our pavement. Apparently, existing suppliers and their customers get sniffy if new upstart suppliers not only add their own cables, but put a shovel through the existing cables in the process! Different colours may denote gas, water and telecommunication lines.

There is also an occasional rash of markings that outline potholes; whether this is done to guide the repairers of potholes, or as a placebo to pacify local road users, is not always clear. It is possible that the process accompanies the calculation of a cost for the work; the expenditure may not be forthcoming.^{[citation needed]} -- Verbarson ^talk_edits 21:24, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks all. Brandmeister^talk 11:31, 2 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

January 1

Peugeot's rivalry

Did Peugeot have any rivalry with other auto manufacturer that became famous or was famous but forgotten, like Lancia and Audi in 1983 and Ford and Ferrari in the 1960s? --Donmust90-- Donmust90 (talk) 19:15, 1 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

When does competition rise to the level of rivalry? Peugeot was unexpectedly beaten in speed by Panhard et Levassor in the Paris–Bordeaux–Paris race of June 1895. --Lambiam 00:07, 2 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Peugeot, Citroën, Renault and Simca were the big four French automakers post World War II - and therefore rivals. The first two have merged, Renault is still around, but Simca has disappeared. Xuxl (talk) 11:40, 2 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

While the Simca brand, after having been acquired first by Chrysler and then PSA Peugeot Citroën, has disappeared, the factory in Poissy that Simca acquired from Ford France in 1954 is still in full operation.

The Lancia–Audi and Ford–Ferrari rivalries alluded to in the question were not about rivalry between companies, but rivalry between racing teams; see Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia and Ford v Ferrari. --Lambiam 16:03, 2 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

January 3

British weather website

Is there any British weather website which has daily data for stations in the United Kingdom? The starlingroot.ddns.net is not working anymore, it worked a few months ago. The "Historic station data" page on MetOffice's website has only monthly data, and the MetOffice WOW - Weather Observations Website has only hourly data. And is there any English-language website having weather observations for different cities and countries in Europe, similar to e.g. Infoclimat? --40bus (talk) 13:16, 3 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You might find windfinder.com useful. Although primarily aimed at coastal leisure activities, it also covers inland areas. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.6.84.253 (talk) 03:07, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

wunderground.com used to have this. IDK about now. 2601:644:8581:75B0:0:0:0:DA2D (talk) 18:47, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

January 4

Goal number one

How do you forgive and forget? (not sure if that's off-topic for the reference desk. if it is, sorry in advance.) TWOrantula^TM (enter the web) 05:47, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

By deciding to. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:05, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

One can decide to forget, but will it work? --Lambiam 09:22, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Here is an essay on the topic, by a practitioner of mindfulness, that you may (or may not) find helpful. More advice: [4], [5] and (written from a Christian perspective) [6]. --Lambiam 09:32, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

(OR, in that I have no published sources for this, though I was taught it by others): Forgiving does not necessarily mean forgetting - it also doesn't necessarily mean condoning. It means not carrying ill will. In my experience, once I see the cost (to me) of bearing the resentment, and how illusory are the apparent benefits of doing so, it is easy to choose to let it go. ColinFine (talk) 14:25, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Shall we forgive the OP for forgetting that we don't offer advice?DOR (ex-HK) (talk) 17:38, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I'd suggest searching the web. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:47, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The injunction does not apply to all advice, but is aimed specifically at giving medical or legal advice. --Lambiam 23:14, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Westminster Coroner's Court

I'm trying to research a sudden death that occurred in the London Borough of Merton. Please help me find information about Westminster Coroner's Court, also known as "Inner West London Coroner's Court". They appear to have no website, and publish no court listings. They claim that coroners records are closed to public access for 75 years.

But other coroners courts in the UK, for example "London Inner South Coroner’s Court", publish their court listings and say that inquests are public and anyone can attend.

Why is there are difference? Why is "London Inner South Coroner’s Court" open to the public, but "Inner West London Coroner's Court" is not? Surely all coroners courts operate under the same laws?

Thanks for your help Cylopi (talk) 12:41, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

As you can see from [7] coroners' courts are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. I can assure you, however, that inquests held by the Westminster coroner are as public as inquests held by any other coroner. 2A00:23D0:54D:2001:7843:31E3:192B:798 (talk) 14:56, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Where can I find unmarried men list in Science/Maths?

Like Brahmagupta, Issac Newton, Nicola Tesla, Arthur Eddington.

I want to exclude Archimedes due to his unknown marital status, Leonardo da Vinci as he have romantic relations and Galileo Galilei who has 3 children out of wedlock. HarryOrange (talk) 14:08, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Do you have any reason to suppose that such a list exists, @HarryOrange? ColinFine (talk) 14:27, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Just to encourage celibacy HarryOrange (talk) 14:30, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Why did you pipe the correctly-spelled "Isaac" Newton to the incorrectly-spelled "Issac" Newton? -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 18:37, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

And do the same strange thing to Nikola Tesla? Cullen328 (talk) 23:03, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Champagne explosion

I had an unopened bottle of cheap champagne (Barefoot Rosé if that matters) left over from NYE, and about 10 minutes ago the thing spontaneously exploded. It had been just sitting there at room temperature. No serious damage but there is champange and broken glass all over the place now, and I'm in the process of cleaning it up. Are these explosions a usual occasional occurrence? I'm used to champagne bottles being thicker than regular wine bottles for obvious reasons, but this one seems on the thin side in retrospect, maybe as an economy measure. Could that be? I'm surprised it doesn't happen on store shelves if it happens at home. Thanks. 2601:644:8581:75B0:0:0:0:DA2D (talk) 18:39, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I does happen.^[8][9] Sometimes a cause can be identified. When a bottle of champagne is stored in a freezer, or a fridge whose temperature setting is too low, the contents may freeze, causing it to expand. This can lead to minute cracks in the glass, weakening its strength. Thawed in a relatively warm environment, the pressure of the gas can then result in fracture. Another potential cause is premature bottling, when fermentation has not run its fill course ands the wine still contains yeast and sugar. (Almost all wine sold as "champagne" in the US, also when labelled "Brut", contains residual sugar to accommodate the local taste.) When warmed up, fermentation resumes and pressure increases. Finally, a small fraction of bottles is damaged in handling or comes with production defects, not detectable through visual inspection. --Lambiam 22:42, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. No idea about refrigeration before I bought it, but I got it off the shelf at a big supermarket, carried it home, and it sat in the exact same place in the room for several days before going kablooie. All I can think of is that carrying it home might have bumped it around or something. Oh well, no big deal in the scheme of things. 2601:644:8581:75B0:0:0:0:DA2D (talk) 01:20, 5 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Once upon a time soda pop used to come in reusable glass bottles, and I read somewhere that this would happen from time to time with the larger sizes. And indeed, sometime around 1980 a large bottle of Coca-Cola, probably 1.5 liters, exploded while sitting in my cupboard. --142.112.149.206 (talk) 02:51, 5 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Organizations

Are there any international organizations headquartered in Australia, similar to UN and World Bank are headquartered in the US? --40bus (talk) 22:04, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

We have a Category:International organisations based in Australia. --Lambiam 23:05, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

January 5