Talk:Sailor/Archive 1

Latest comment: 11 years ago by DocRushing in topic Definition
Archive 1 Archive 2

High importance

Without actually counting, it looks like over 500 articles link here. I think this article needs to be improved to serve as a better gateway to the maritime articles. Haus42 16:05, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Integrated some info from Merchant Navy and upgraded to start-class. Haus42 23:55, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Definition

Don't believe what they say. Though some Navy officers claim that they're not sailors, the opposite is true. Claiming to not be sailors is like saying "i'm better than you." So stand with me and declare that Officers ARE sailors. And if you're an officer and claim to not be a sailor, you're a disgrace to the Navy, a disgrace to the U.S. and you should have joined the Army.

The anonymous comment above appears to have come from a displeased or malcontent former or present enlisted member of the US Navy.
The snarky, impudent, and insulting tone of that note does not encourage confidence in its message.
That user has overlooked the basic proposition that, depending on the context, the word sailor may refer to any mariner, or it may refer to a mariner other than an officer.
Again, depending on the context, an officer (Naval, Coast Guard, or Merchant Marine) may or may not be properly described as a sailor.
DocRushing (talk) 19:46, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
I'm sure Royal Navy officers would hate to be a disgrace to the U.S. GeeJo (t) (c)  03:54, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
In colloquial English sailor is a term used for a homosexual: why has this been removed?
It's been moved to Sailor (disambiguation) GeeJo (t) (c)  03:54, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
This article shows sailor and mariner to have the same meaning. In the maritime industry the term sailor most often refers to unlicensed deck. KAM 15:05, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
In Britain, a sailor is a member of the Royal Navy; a seaman/mariner/seafarer is a member of the Merchant Navy. A Sailor is definitely not a Seaman! ...Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen refers to Army, Navy, and Air Force. The general consensus here seems to be that a Sailor is not a Seaman, though the American interpretations mentioned here are completely alien to the British & Irish.

Tar (nautical)

Hopefully no problem with merging that stub into here. It is only a dict definition. Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley talk contrib 19:02, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

Merging Tar not supported - Tar article to be expanded

Kevin Murray 00:18, 21 October 2006 (UTC)


Writing

This is a very poorly-written article. It sounds more like a "did-you-know" sort of thing, from a personal website, than it seems like an encyclopedia article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.108.129.246 (talk) 15:04, 17 February 2009 (UTC)

I agree, the latter half of the "Notable Mariners" section sounds unencyclopedic. Examples include the sports section ("Merchant sailors have also made a splash in the world of sport") and the part that describes the yearning sailors have for their wives. 90.212.107.187 (talk) 21:21, 22 February 2011 (UTC)
I also agree. The "life at sea" section seems very unencyclopedic. "Professional mariners live on the margins of society..."? Really? So sailors are like a prostitute or some type of professional criminal or something? Can that be verified? "...Yet men and women still go to sea. For some, the attraction is a life unencumbered with the restraints of life ashore. Seagoing adventure and a chance to see the world also appeal to many seafarers."? Sounds more like a childrens book or a highschool essay then an encyclopedia article. Facts, sources, verification???

Sailors and mariners

I have always heard of sailors and mariners, and I wonder what the difference between the two terms is. Freddie Warmbread (talk) 14:26, 31 August 2010 (UTC)

Boatmen?

The introduction should clarify that the article refers to persons on seagoing vessels only as opposed to persons on boats on rivers or canals. The term "Boatmen" appears NOT to refer to any person on board a vessel. It referred to people on narrowboats and to watermen on boats ferrying people across River Thames. At least in Liverpool, it refers to workers performing line handling services for vessels arriving or departing from the dockside: Port of Liverpool, Ancillary Services, Terms and Conditions, clause 1:

  • (b) "Boatmen" shall mean the persons employed by the Company to perform line handling services, and shall include linesmen.
  • (c) "the Company" means The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company ...

--AHert (talk) 12:24, 25 July 2012 (UTC)