User talk:24.18.171.99/Archive

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We hope that you choose to become a Wikipedian and create an account. We hope you enjoy your time here on Wikipedia as a Wikipedian! Bushytails 21:49, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

Also, after you create an account, you may wish to use the "Show preview" option more often instead of making lots of small edits, as it clutters the article history. Thanks, Bushytails 22:07, 16 October 2005 (UTC).

Your edits to articles

What are you trying to do to the articles procrastination and human sexual behavior? You make abundant use of the word "you", and wikipedia entries are supposed to only be written in the third person. Also, please use the [[wikipedia:show preview|preview button[[ when doing edits, rather than making many minor edits. The page history for procrastination shows you making 73 changes edits since I edited it last night. This has really clogged up the edit history, and has made it difficult to see the changes made to the article. Please also consider creating an account, as this means you can be more trusted in the wikipedia community. Graham/pianoman87 talk 09:54, 19 October 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for the tips

Do to them? Why, expand them, of course. Sorry not in proper style. New at this. Others seem to be converting them rather quickly. I'll do same as time permits.

Didn't know about the 3rd-person rule. Having third-person rule in an informal public resource seems odd. Oh well. Will study the rule and comply.

As for # of edits, added changes as I saw them (during rereads). Will try to save them up in the future for larger edits.

Still in learning curve. But climbing fast.

24.18.171.99

Couldn't find the "third person rule"

It wasn't in the style guide, but I did find this:

In this regard the following quote from The Chicago Manual of Style deserves notice:

Rules and regulations such as these, in the nature of the case, cannot be endowed with the fixity of rock-ribbed law. They are meant for the average case, and must be applied with a certain degree of elasticity.

Clear, informative and unbiased writing is always more important than presentation and formatting. Writers are not required to follow all or any of these rules: the joy of wiki editing is that perfection is not required.

Instructions for instance, are rather awkward in the third person.

Please direct me to the third person rule, as I really want to read it.

BTW, this is a weird way to do email. Had trouble noticing it at first. Like it though.

Thanks.

There isn't really a "third person rule" actually written down in wikipedia. It is really an offshoot of the fact that wikipedia is an encyclopedia, and the writing must be relatively formal. Formal writing is almost always in the third person, so it is considered to be the best style on wikipedia. Using the third person means also makes it harder to commit grammatical mistakes. I am generally very picky about use of "you" in articles, and I try to fix instances of "you" wherever I find them.

Also, can you reply on my talk page, rather than here, or at least give me a note on my talk page when you respond here? I didn't get a chance to check my watchlist for a reply so I didn't see your message until an hour after you wrote it.

Thanks. Graham/pianoman87 talk 12:04, 19 October 2005 (UTC)

Oh, and it is also good to sign talk pages with four tildes (like this "~~~~" , to get a link to your user page and a timestamp like my message above. The user page is usually used for writing a description of yourself, see wikipedia:user page. However, unless you are the only person to ever use this IP address, I'd advise you to create an account if you want a user page, so that the community can really be sure who you are and your aims at wikipedia. Graham/pianoman87 talk 12:12, 19 October 2005 (UTC)

Okay, I've had time to mull over this issue for awhile...

I searched through the wikimaterial on rules and style and found nothing on third-person. The emphasis seems to be on usefulness. You mention formality, and in the case of the sex article, let me point out that it contains words like cock ring, rimming, and handballing. I think formality went out the window a long time ago on this article. There are exceptions to every rule, and who wants to read an article on dating and sexual technique that reads like a automobile repair manual?

As for the procrastination article, we really need to be asking who is likely to read the article. I think it is people with a procrastination problem looking for a solution. That makes the second person style most appropriate. If you are going to explain to someone how to overcome their personal problem, you might as well address the solution directly to them. It maintains greater relevance that way.

At the moment, I don't have any aims at wikipedia. Just having fun expanding a couple articles. If I continue enjoying myself, I just might sign up.

But I'd much rather spend my time editing than talking about editing.

"~~~~"

OK. But wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not an advertisement place. Maybe it's just me, but excessive use of "you" sounds like the writer is talking down to the subject, in the way advertisers do. I am *really* strict about the writing standards of wikipedia. Graham/pianoman87 talk (I won't use four tildes because the timestamp will be incorrect).

Spelling

I use google search to check for misspellings. I put in a word like "goverment" into the search box, followed by "intitle:talk site:en.wikipedia.org", all without the quotes, to stop google from searching talk pages and to make it search in wikipedia.org. I then check the results, and if any come up, I press shift enter to open that site in a new window and I edit the article. Because I don't use a bot, I find out a lot about obscure wikipedia articles this way. For example, I found the biographies of Fernão Mendes Pinto and Hellé Nice, both of which are fascinating articles, by doing a google search for "Portugese". When google says something is a supplimental result, it means that it may no longer apply now because google caches its pages - i.e. the misspelling has probably been fixed. Wikipedia search is good for finding stubs with misspellings, which probably need cleanup. However, wikipedia search no longer shows the context of the word, and it used to be the case that when no context was shown, the misspelling was definitely fixed. This is why it is less useful now. The search index also has not been updated since July this year. I also only check for words with my screen reader jaws for windows mispronounces, as it is hard to tell when I've found an occurrence of a misspelt word that way. My favourite words to check have been "portugese", "offical", "goverment", and "inital". Graham/pianoman87 talk 09:53, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

Procrastination

Hi, please use a registered nickname so everybody easily recognise your additions. About procrastination: The Theories section handles about theories, not some single factors which may lead to procrastionation. Theories have the function to explain a general phenomenon, causes exist to explain results. In this sense the theories section should not be moved or crippled.--Keimzelle 01:05, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

YES! I would recomend that you register an account. It only takes five seconds! -- Mac Davis ญƛ. 12:40, 31 December 2005 (UTC)