User talk:TompaDompa/Archive 2

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Template discussion you may be interested in

Just a quick note that an editor has asked for opinions on improving the navbox {{Infectious disease}}. The discussion is here. I saw you've edited it several times, so I thought I'd let you know. I hope you're staying well. Ajpolino (talk) 15:44, 25 October 2020 (UTC)

Thank you very much, that is indeed a discussion that interests me. TompaDompa (talk) 17:02, 25 October 2020 (UTC)

List of largest empires image

Hello, you recently removed the lead image of the map of the British Empire that I added to the List of largest empires article. I'm hoping that this is a relatively short discussion between us. I'd like to respectfully present some of my opinions.

• First of all I disagree with your assertion that "This map doesn't really improve the readers' understanding of the topic". The map does improve the reader's understanding of the topic. It presents them with the map of the largest empire in the history of the world. The size of empires is a very visual thing. When many people think of an empire they think of colored highlights and boundaries on a map. Many readers may not decide to click through to the article of the British Empire and so providing them with a visual example is helpful. The addition of the map of the British Empire fits in well with MOS:LEADIMAGE. Its a natural and appropriate representation. It's not at all of any shock value.

• Second, I don't think there's anything wrong with the lead image emphasizing the top entry. I think it makes sense. It would obviously be a bit weird to include an image of the Zulu empire or the Caliphate of Cordoba because these empires (though important and significant) rank low on the list. So by this logic it follows that the empire that ranks the highest in terms of size should be the lead image.

• Third, you may be surprised to find that I don't really have a problem with including a map which highlights both the British and Mongol empires...at least not in theory. Both empires are incredibly important and are the largest in the history of the world. However I do have some concerns about how the lead image would look. I wouldn't want a reader who is new to this topic to be confused. Also including two massive empires on one map could make the image seem cluttered and misshapen. I did find some maps that appear to include both the British and Mongol empires. But I don't know how precise these maps are, or how good they look. Also, I don't know if they would be usable under CC.

I want to make clear that I have no inherent problem with making a map of the Mongol Empire as the lead image of any relevant article. I think if you looked at my edit history you would find that I have a great amount of interest in that empire and time period. But of course I do have some concerns about the Mongol Empire map being used as the lead image for the List of largest empires article because it seems rather obvious to me that the largest empire on that list should be the lead image. -TrynaMakeADollar (talk) 07:11, 25 October 2020 (UTC)

The map you added doesn't improve the readers' understanding of the topic, it actually has the opposite effect as it is misleading. It includes Antarctic claims (not included in the area on the list) and includes every territory that was ever part of the British Empire, rather than presenting a snapshot of the greatest extent (which certainly wouldn't include the Thirteen Colonies, for example). It's suitable for informing readers about which parts of the world have been under British colonial rule, but not about the British Empire's status as the largest empire in history.

I don't think the article should have only a map of the largest empire of all time. It overemphasizes the top entry to detriment of all other entries. I also don't think that the gallery this article used to have was a particularly good solution. A single map which combines the top two entries would be a good compromise, though having no map whatsoever is also a perfectly valid option.

There's no reason a map of both empires would need to get cluttered. The map you added of the British Empire is fairly cluttered, but that's mostly because there is a bunch of text. It wouldn't be particularly difficult to create a map of both empires which is colour-coded such that we can simply write "The British Empire (red) and Mongol Empire (green) were the largest and second-largest empire, respectively" in the caption—the overlap is minimal and easily solved with shading. I just happen to lack the skills to make such a map. I'll make a request over at WP:GLMAP. TompaDompa (talk) 12:05, 25 October 2020 (UTC)

Would you possibly be okay with just the Mongol Empire being the lead image? -TrynaMakeADollar (talk) 07:22, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

I think having no lead image is preferable to having a lead image which only features a single empire. TompaDompa (talk) 16:09, 29 October 2020 (UTC)