Wikipedia:Dispute resolution noticeboard/Archive 148

Talk:Gay Dog Food#Notability_dispute

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Aleccat on 01:48, 21 February 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Talk:Thriller (Michael_Jackson_album)

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Carmaker1 on 07:31, 21 February 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Talk:Reza Aslan

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Azarbarzin on 22:49, 21 February 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Category talk:Jews#Indigenous peoples of Western Asia

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Bellezzasolo on 09:00, 22 February 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Talk:Singapore#Sovereignty

  – Discussion in progress.
Filed by Chipmunkdavis on 17:51, 6 February 2017 (UTC).


Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

Users involved

Dispute overview

There is a disagreement over how to present Singapore's independence in the infobox. This includes whether to note that independence was from a country, and which events to include.

Have you tried to resolve this previously?

Extensive talkpage discussion, this is the next DR step taken.

How do you think we can help?

Provide a fresh look at how the arguments interact, if the participants are talking past each other, and fresh opinions and ideas.

Summary of dispute by Jytdog

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

Summary of dispute by Lemongirl942

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

The dispute is about the independence parameter in the infobox. If we go by what most FA and GA are using, the current convention is

  • Use the most recent independence event which led to the formation of sovereign state
  • If the latest independence event was obtained from a single entity, use "Independence from...x". Otherwise if the country was independence from multiple occupiers, use "Independence" and link to the event.

--Lemongirl942 (talk) 01:17, 23 February 2017 (UTC)

Summary of dispute by Wrigleygum

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

Summary of dispute by Shiok

  • Singapore has two significant 'Independence' events, unlike most countries – from the UK (after 144 years) and Malaysia (2 years). So it is only logical to have a single word 'Independent' (current Sovereign_type) as the heading to embrace both.
  • As pointed out by another editor, there is also no 'from' parameter in Template:Infobox country. Shiok (talk) 08:05, 14 February 2017 (UTC)

Summary of dispute by Zhanzhao

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

Talk:Singapore#Sovereignty discussion

Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary.
  • Volunteer note - There has been discussion at the article talk page. The filing party has not yet notified the other editors of this request and should do so. Robert McClenon (talk) 03:49, 7 February 2017 (UTC)
Individual talkpages messages in addition to the existing note on the article talk page. CMD (talk) 16:48, 7 February 2017 (UTC)
  • The filing party's overview is brief and did not include reasons in defense of his edits to begin with. A summary of Singapore talk page discussions would also be helpful to the moderators and other editors who may have tired of the long discussions and 'wall of text'. I would include the following in the overview:
CMD proposed his bold edit here:
Independence from Malaysia
  • British colonisation: 6 February 1819
  • Self-government: 3 June 1959
  • Independence from the United Kingdom: 31 August 1963
  • Merger with Malaysia: 16 September 1963
  • Expulsion from Malaysia: 9 August 1965
The only change from the previous version is the Sovereign_type parameter, which also serves as title of the section - from 'Formation' to 'Independence from Malaysia'. The dispute is that 4 editors (Shiok, Zhanzhao, Jytdog,Wrigleygum) prefers a single word, either 'Independent' or 'Independence'. 2 editors (CMD, Lemongirl942) has argued to stick with what he proposed. Shiok (talk) 07:12, 12 February 2017 (UTC)
  • Volunteer response Hello, I am KDS4444 and I am willing to take a shot at helping resolve this conflict. First, it looks like only one of the involved parties has opted to make any summary of the dispute. This is fine, of course, so long as everyone was notified of the discussion (which, according to CMD, has been done). I have read over the discussion on the talk page, and want to make sure I understand this issue correctly. The dispute is with regard to what should be placed in the infobox of the article for the parameter sovereighty_type= and whether the nation's independence should refer to its independence from Britain or from Malaysia. Right now as I look at the article and trace its history back a week or so, I am not even seeing the sovereighty_type= parameter anywhere, so I need someone to help me out here with that. Once I get a sense of where the article currently stands and if my understanding of the issue can be verified by any of the involved parties, I will offer up some thoughts. Although I can see that there has been a certain amount of tension between the parties, I get the sense that everyone is willing to be very reasonable, which is encouraging to me. Thanks! KDS4444 (talk) 12:59, 13 February 2017 (UTC)
Hello. I kept my initial posting short and succinct and hopefully neutral, apologies if that was not what I was meant to do. The dispute mentioned is actually what to put in the sovereignty_note= field, which works alongside the sovereighty_type= field (and everyone seems to agree that "Independence" fits the type field), but functionally you're correct. The field has been removed from the article since discussing began. You can see the parameters at Template:Infobox country, and in the version that existed before the change I made linked by Shiok above here. Related to this are disputes over the contents of the subsequent established_event= lines, which were not in the initial edit but emerged during discussion. CMD (talk) 02:38, 14 February 2017 (UTC)
Keeping initial postings short is always preferred— no one likes seeing a wall of text. So now... Where do we stand? The parameter has been removed— what can I help you resolve, specifically? Obviously I can't tell you anything about the nature of Singapore history or politics... Where/ On what points do the parties have a specific dispute that there is any chance I can help resolve here? Thanks! KDS4444 (talk) 10:23, 14 February 2017 (UTC)
Hi the above infobox data needs to be restored at some point and DRN volumteers can help concur that a single word sovereighty_type= – 'Independent or Independence' will better embrace both of Singapore's two independences in the key events list. For this, you do not need to know Singapore's history. If you agree on a single-word sovereign_type, then we would appreciate an opinion whether 'Independent' (preferred by Jytdog) or 'Independence' (preferred by Zhanzhao, Wrigleygum) is the more appropriate one to use here. I can go with either term. Thanks. Shiok (talk) 11:38, 14 February 2017 (UTC)
Volunteer response Inasmuch as the parameter sovereighty_type= implies an adjective rather than a noun, "independent" strikes me as more appropriate than "independence". Also, to the extent that this is relevant here, I think that people visiting the page and looking at the infobox want to know whether or not Singapore today is perhaps an independent "country" (city-state) rather than some kind of national subunit or territory of a larger nation— regardless of when or how that status was arrived at. This is particularly true since it is such a very small place but with such a very large international presence— a reader may well ask themselves, "How can such a tiny place like that be an independent country? But then again, it is Singapore..." The details of independence from whom all belong in the article's main body. To the extent that this thought is relevant here. KDS4444 (talk) 01:35, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
What would be useful would be to help promote engagement with what is written in discussions. As I noted above in the initial summary and my slightly longer response here, the discussion is not just about the appropriate suffix of independent. The stonewalling with regards to this is unhelpful. CMD (talk) 09:02, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
I see plenty of engagement on the talk page but your points are mostly irrelevant to infobox and everyone has stopped. As KDS4444 says, those are details for the body. I have been very specific in addressing just your infobox edits already proposed, not additional ones for now or prose which we can engage further in Talk, So do you accept the volunteer's opinion (with 4 other editors) on just 'Independent' and have this DRN closed? Shiok (talk) 12:30, 16 February 2017 (UTC)
They're direct comments on infobox content. What content should be in the infobox is highly relevant to infobox content. CMD (talk) 12:47, 16 February 2017 (UTC)
Do they change the use of "Independent" as Sovereignty_type? I'm guessing not, but if you feel they are important, then we should let the volunteers consider. Please consolidate all the relevant comments together so we do not keep introducing new items to discuss as has happened on the talk page. So what are the comments that are 'highly relevant'? Shiok (talk) 06:32, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
The whole thing is one section, and that is all that was discussed on the talkpage. But yes, considering Sovereignty_type forms a sentence with sovereignty_note=, they do affect each other. The comments can be found on the talkpage. CMD (talk) 06:42, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
You are being vague by just referring us back to to the talk page. That is a wall of text editors have abandoned - which would not be the case if they find it.to be what you regard as 'highly relevant'. And I note that no one has conceded to your arguments.. I don't see anything relevant myself, so I'm waiting for you to state some of them. Shiok (talk) 07:36, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
I find it useful for readers to know how Singapore became an independent country and what country they became independent from, as noted in guidance at Template:Infobox country. Sources note this occurred in 1965 as Singapore became independent from Malaysia. This is also why the SG50 celebrations were held two years ago. Relevant talkpage considerations are this one and this one. CMD (talk) 08:23, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

I honestly no longer feel I understand the nature of this dispute. It appears that offering an interpretation of the parameters in the infobox template has not been helpful (that template, by the way, has no documentation explaining exactly what is supposed to go in this parameter or many of the other parameters; I have attempted to expand some of the documentation where I could figure out what was supposed to go where and to provide some examples of entries, but did not make it down to sovereignty type which remains undefined— this was careless business on the part of whomever created all these parameters). I am prepared to either surrender my part in this discussion and offer it up for another volunteer to consider, or to mark it as a resolution failure as I don't see us getting to an actual resolution, at least not under my guidance. KDS4444 (talk) 09:40, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

The template has some documentation in the syntax section. The parameters are much older than the creation of VisualEditor. CMD (talk) 10:07, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
KDS4444, can we raise this issue of the template for possible amendments? I could highlight this case for discussion as well. Shiok (talk) 10:36, 20 February 2017 (UTC)

How our independence came about and from which countries (2) is already listed as key events, so no 'sovereignty_note' is needed. In fact readers should know that our colonial history with UK is much longer than the 2 years in Malaysia. I just read through the long paragraphs in talk again that you referred to and still can't make out it's relevance to the Infobox list. Is there a clear message from the dozens of points and how does it affect the infobox heading and content? It seems the more you write, the further the conversation strays from your first edit. So unless you intend to update the body prose with citations where we can debate every sentence and wording, I see no point in more discussions you wanted editors to engage in.

Next, I checked the article's history for the past decade and found the following version of the infobox sovereignty section to be stable for several years since 2009. Note that the last event was "Separation from Malaysia". That is correct because it was a negotiated "Separation Agreement" which the Malaysian parliament voted to pass. So we need to revert to that, with appropriate refs.

Formation. (-->Independent)
  • Founding: 6 February 1819 (-->British colonisation)
  • Self-government: 3 June 1959
  • Independence from the United Kingdom: 31 August 1963
  • Merger with Malaysia: 16 September 1963
  • Separation from Malaysia: 9 August 1965

Shiok (talk) 10:21, 20 February 2017 (UTC)

  • Volunteer response Shiok, you are welcome to raise this issue on the infobox talk page, and if you believe your suggestions are straightforward ones then I encourage you to go ahead and edit the templatedata section and provide some useful examples for those parameters that you feel are vague or confusing. In doing that, you will probably want to make sure that your examples come from specific instances where a given parameter is actually filled in for a country's existing infobox somewhere. That aside (I am not supposed to be giving advice anyway!), I am still not sure where the remaining dispute now lies between the parties... or if there still is one. I do not feel like the participants have reach consensus on any specific conclusion, though that is not technically necessary in order for me to close this case. KDS4444 (talk) 13:30, 20 February 2017 (UTC)
  • For a start "Independence from the United Kingdom: 31 August 1963" is incorrect. This was an unilateral declaration which was not recognized by the British nor by the Malayan leadership. This should never be there in the infobox. The independence from British happened together with the merger with Malaysia. It was a combined event. --Lemongirl942 (talk) 01:30, 23 February 2017 (UTC)

Talk:Planet of_the_Apes_(2001_film)#Lincoln_Memorial_issue_again

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Firespeaker on 22:51, 5 February 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

HAL Light_Combat_Helicopter

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Icanflycanu on 14:34, 23 February 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

User talk:Timothyjosephwood

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by StephenTS42 on 16:38, 24 February 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Talk:Wish You_Were_Here_(Once_Upon_a_Time)

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by DavidK93 on 15:32, 14 February 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion
  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

User:Leksijensen sandbox

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Leksijensen on 10:10, 3 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Playerunknown%27s Battlegrounds

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Azgoodaz on 19:12, 5 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Talk:Canadian House_of_Commons_Special_Committee_on_Electoral_Reform

  – Discussion in progress.
Filed by Kirkoconnell on 18:52, 21 February 2017 (UTC).


Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

Users involved

Dispute overview

Basically, the issue at hand is the recommendations of the report. The committee had several members from several parties on it. Each member could make recommendations. The user I am discussing it with cherry picks the sections that support PR for the electoral system. The over-all view of the report, which has not been acted on, is to NOT bring in a PR system, but rather a system that rates a certain level on a scale, which in no way proclaims one voting system or another.

Comment on content, not contributors. Robert McClenon (talk) 17:24, 26 February 2017 (UTC)

Almost off the bat, this person has insulted my intelligence or my knowledge on the matter, which is fairly extensive. He out-right rejects any proof I provide and solely focuses on the sections that fit his narrative. When bias was pointed out, he doubled-down on insults, refused to understand how the report was compiled and refuted his bias by just stating that he is not, when clearly he has been. I asked him to recuse himself from further edits, given said bias, made more personal attacks and said he would not. We are at an impasse.

Have you tried to resolve this previously?

I recused myself from editing, requested the other user do the same. They out-right refused, and continued to engage in personal attacks instead of addressing the sourced concerns I had with his interpretation of the report.

How do you think we can help?

A third party review the case, one with governmental experience in Canada could not hurt, though it does seem that the PR people seem pretty out-of-gear on making sure this article says "Canada proclaims PR is the way to go". In fact, it does nothing of the sort. Nor will their be a referendum. One recommendation is to NOT have one, another one is TO have one. At best, the report is un-reliable, at worse, contradictory. So someone who could sort out that mess.

Summary of dispute by RA0808

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

My interest with this article has been to make the relevant section reflect the contents of the report as clearly and concisely as possible. The report's recommendation for a proportional electoral system and holding a referendum on the subject is clearly stated and has also been the subject of multiple reliable secondary sources (see the article).

When User:Moeburn disagreed with the other user's removal of content stating the report recommended a proportional representation system and holding a referendum on the subject and suggested that the other user was splitting hairs and/or misunderstanding the usage of the term "proportional representation", I concurred and restored the content. The user responded with unfounded accusations of bias directed at both of us. I chose to assume good faith and provided the other user a brief summary of how proportional representation is a descriptor of multiple systems, not a system itself, and provided the specific recommendation in the report (Recommendation 12) which recommended a referendum. The user then claimed the recommendations beyond Recommendations 1 and 2 were "tacked-on" representations which were somehow not valid, and accused me of being "incredibly biased". The user's later responses included claims that 4-5 of the recommendations in the report contradict each other (not specifying which), stating I was cherry-picking from the report, comparing the interpretations of results to Islam, and again claiming that the report was contradictory.

As for the user's claims of personal attacks, I disagree that I have attacked them. I concede that my comment about the user disregarding "sections of the report because [they] don't understand the topic" could have been better-phrased, but I don't believe they constitute a personal attack because I genuinely believe there is misinterpretation of the report. After reading the comments above I continue to maintain that belief. RA0808 talkcontribs 21:16, 22 February 2017 (UTC)

Talk:Canadian House_of_Commons_Special_Committee_on_Electoral_Reform discussion

Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary.
  • Volunteer note - There has been adequate discussion at the article talk page, and proper notice has been given. This case can be opened by a moderator. Robert McClenon (talk) 04:22, 23 February 2017 (UTC)
  • Volunteer note - Do the parties want to engage in moderated discussion with a moderator who knows little of Canadian politics? Robert McClenon (talk) 17:25, 26 February 2017 (UTC)

Proposed Resolution: For convienence, reccomendations can be found here. I am using the primary source in this case because taking information as it was presented is far more reliable than taking information from how somebody else has interpreted it. The more interpretations, the more unreliable a source can get - this avoids a he-said-she-said situation. Also, explicit information is better than implicit - implicit information can be interpreted in many ways and should not be presented as fact. I can see from the source in Recommendation 12 that The Committee acknowledges that, of those who wanted change, the overwhelming majority of testimony was in favour of proportional representation. This is not a recommendation that PR should be used, merely it is a statement of fact. I also disagree with the assertion When the committee says they're recommending an electoral system with a Gallagher score of 5 or less, they're recommending a proportional system from that talk page. Instant-runoff voting or AV is a system that can be fairer, with a low Gallagher score. However, then the recommendation extends to:

The Committee recommends that:

  1. The Government hold a referendum, in which the current system is on the ballot;
  2. That the referendum propose a proportional electoral system that achieves a Gallagher Index score of 5 or less

This is an explicit proposal that a proportional system is used.

There was also some dispute around the recommendation 1. It says that The Committee recommends that the Government should, as it develops a new electoral system, use the Gallagher index in order to minimize the level of distortion between the popular will of the electorate and the resultant seat allocations in Parliament. The government should seek to design a system that achieves a Gallagher score of 5 or less. This does not mention PR, or a non-PR system. It just recognises the current problem, with unfair elections, and recommends a system change. I can see no way of reading any recommendation of specific system. In any case, any implicit information is overshadowed by the explicit recommendation later on in (12).

Thirdly, there was dispute over the use of the term PR. From reading the first 3 sources given in the Proportional representation article, it is clear that there are many PR systems that could be implemented; PR just means that x% of the vote gets x% of the seats. Party lists are features of some PR systems, but not all PR systems, for example Single transferable vote.

To summarise, the report recommends that a referendum be for a PR system referendum, featuring a PR system that does not have only party lists. Nowhere in the report does it exclude a PR system, as Kirkoconnell suggested. If he feels there is implicit information, he is welcome to point it out below, but I would say that the explicit statement in (12) covers it. There are many such examples of this system that could be used. Therefore the statement included in the article On December 1, 2016, the committee released its report recommending that a form of proportional representation be adopted, and that a referendum be held on the issue. can be proved correct. The words, a form of are key here - these acknowledge that all systems may not be suitable. The summary of the report is basically, hold a referendum, on a PR system, that keeps Local MPs and avoids party lists. However, to avoid ambiguity in the text, some more information or footnotes could be added to clearly define terms. TheMagikCow (talk) 21:07, 26 February 2017 (UTC)

Thank you for your input on this User:TheMagikCow. It's good to have a third party look over both sides to come up with a solution to disputes. From this, I take it that the text of article as it stands now is OK... but can be improved by further cited information? RA0808 talkcontribs 21:15, 26 February 2017 (UTC)
The explanations is very good, and goes into the right amount of depth I feel. However, to avoid any doubt or dispute in the future, you might like to add a {{efn}} just after the first instance if proportional representation, defining that this is a term to encompass many systems. Apart from that - It looks great! TheMagikCow (talk) 21:30, 26 February 2017 (UTC)
I've added an efn to that effect (incidentally, thank you for bringing that template to my attention... I've been doing notes the old-fashioned way) which hopefully clarifies things. I suppose we wait for the other user to respond as well? RA0808 talkcontribs 21:47, 26 February 2017 (UTC)
It looks much better now! Yes, now wee wait for the other party to comment on the findings, and I will be more than happy to explain why I have concluded what I have. Both sides are very welcome to ask questions about what has been said. TheMagikCow (talk) 07:49, 27 February 2017 (UTC)
I guess my issues come from the fact that I have read the whole report and I know how the Recommendations are done. If you read the actual chapters apart from the whole, like Chapter 4, which goes into great detail arguing against what would ultimately be the recommendation. This is due to the committee make-up being no major party having a majority, therefore majority votes from other parties influencing the recommended by-lines, even if they are refuted consistently within the report, and are contradicted directly by other recommendations. (Chapter four is a great example, Chapter 9 features a rather continuous attack on referendums in general). I am satisfied with some of the changes but I feel the political realities of the committee make-up (which rendered the Committee useless to begin with) and the fact that the report is being distilled down to the tacked-on recommendations as opposed to the content of the report itself, make whatever views expressed poor representations of what happened. I could get into all the contradictory points but I simply no longer care. I remember when Wikipedia editing was fun and about getting to the holistic truth. It appears to have turned into a vindictive place for biased people to ensure their views get out. I'm happy to stop caring again. Thanks for making it easy, RR0808. -Kirkoconnell (talk) 17:02, 27 February 2017 (UTC)
Come on, let's be civil about this. I have read the chapters and know how a report works. It takes views from all sides of the political scale and reports what they have said. Chapter four acknowledges that some people do not like PR, and equally outlines the positives. The attacks you mention are attacks that members of the public have made on PR and referendums, and the report must cover this. That is what a report does, it presents an argument (both sides) and then makes recommendations. The fact that some people do not like PR, is equally as important as those that do. This preambulatory section is designed to outline all options. Then the report will give what the authors think, in the recommendations section. This is the section that outlines what the authors think should be done, taking into consideration all of the facts and views expressed. TheMagikCow (talk) 18:24, 27 February 2017 (UTC)
I think it has more to do with how the committee was done generally that lead to this issue, if I am honest. I knew off the bat that this would be the outcome. I am rather uncertain how you have could read Chapter 4 in particular and took away that the case was even for both, but I accept your outcome. The results were achieved, the article better reflects what happened and the incredibly partisan lean has been softened. May be the process will be broken down in a later section at a later time, so overall I am not displeased. I just find it exhausting to explain myself on an edit page, get completely dismissed, try again, get insulted and dismissed, and have to go to DRN for a resolution. I tried to be civil, I purposefully stopped updating. This may be spill over from years of edit wars. But still I do see a lack of holistic understanding of the committee, why it failed and why these recommendations were produced. It was political, straight up, no chaser. At least this committee did eventually get to the nowhere it was destined to get to. I sign off on the changes if you need it, but this article is still very incomplete if you ask me. But it isn't being nominated for front page so I am not that concerned either. -Kirkoconnell (talk) 18:50, 27 February 2017 (UTC)
I understand the concerns raised here, and still do feel that the report can be interpreted in many ways, the ambiguity does not help in cases like these. However, I believe that I have gone with the most obvious explicit information in the report - and my logic is explained above. If you feel that this has come to an end, I am happy to close the case now, but as always further comments between the parties are welcome. TheMagikCow (talk) 21:03, 27 February 2017 (UTC)
Speaking for myself, I don't think there is anything further to be said. RA0808 talkcontribs 17:09, 5 March 2017 (UTC)

Talk:Bertrand Russell#Nationality in categories

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Ghmyrtle on 14:34, 2 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion
  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Jroccolv on 04:45, 10 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

(Reverted to revision 769438046 by Arjayay (talk):

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by 103.230.22.15 on 12:07, 12 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Talk:The Wrong_Man#Patricia_Morrow_or_Tuesday_Weld

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Quandolaluna on 23:12, 13 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Talk:Tel Dan_Stele#Unrelated_sources

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Oncenawhile on 09:50, 12 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Tuesday Weld in The Wrong Man

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Quandolaluna on 22:21, 13 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

User talk:Reddotparty#Response_to_Mostestargue

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Reddotparty on 03:51, 17 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Talk:Silicon photonics#Fiber Optics & Silicon photonics

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Ne0Freedom on 06:16, 17 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

NHS Digital

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Sallybrownsjb on 16:22, 20 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Talk:Tel Dan_Stele#Attempt_to_resolve

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Oncenawhile on 16:54, 19 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Talk:Singapore#Sovereignty

  – This request has been open for some time and must be reviewed.
Filed by Chipmunkdavis on 17:51, 6 February 2017 (UTC).


Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

Users involved

Dispute overview

There is a disagreement over how to present Singapore's independence in the infobox. This includes whether to note that independence was from a country, and which events to include.

Have you tried to resolve this previously?

Extensive talkpage discussion, this is the next DR step taken.

How do you think we can help?

Provide a fresh look at how the arguments interact, if the participants are talking past each other, and fresh opinions and ideas.

The last comment was as follows:

  • For a start "Independence from the United Kingdom: 31 August 1963" is incorrect. This was an unilateral declaration which was not recognized by the British nor by the Malayan leadership. This should never be there in the infobox. The independence from British happened together with the merger with Malaysia. It was a combined event. --Lemongirl942 (talk) 01:30, 23 February 2017 (UTC)
British High Commissioner, Singapore - Antony Phillipson:
  • "On 9th August 2015 Singapore will celebrate 50 years as an independent nation [..] But a key moment in the journey to the events of 1965 came on 31st August 1963, 50 years ago today, when Singapore declared its independence from the United Kingdom." (published 31 August 2013) [1]
  • "Last September I wrote an article for Lianhe Zaobao on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of a key moment in Singapore’s path to independence, its separation from the UK in 1963.
I wrote then that "50 years on from Singapore’s declaration of independence from the UK the relationship between us is both strong and deep. The ties that bind us now are those of friendship, partnership and respect; and they provide a platform on which we can work together for mutual benefit, for the good of all our people, in the years to come."[2]
Shiok (talk) 08:52, 26 February 2017 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ "Singapore and the UK: 50 Years Stronger". GOV.UK. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  2. ^ "High Commissioner's speech at HM The Queen's Birthday Party 2014 in Singapore - Speeches - GOV.UK". GOV.UK. Retrieved February 25, 2017.

The original DRN discussions was prematurely archived at Archive 148 but I have copied my last post here (and edited for relevance). :

How our independence came about and from which countries (2) is already listed as key events, so 'sovereignty_note' is not needed.
Next, I checked the article's history for the past decade and found the following version of the infobox sovereignty section to be stable for several years since 2009.
Formation
  • Founding: 6 February 1819
  • Self-government: 3 June 1959
  • Independence from the United Kingdom: 31 August 1963
  • Merger with Malaysia: 16 September 1963
  • Separation from Malaysia: 9 August 1965
The last event was described as "Separation from Malaysia" all those years - this is correct because it was a negotiated "Separation Agreement" which the Malaysian parliament voted to pass. So we need to revert to that, with appropriate refs. Shiok (talk) 10:21, 20 February 2017 (UTC).
I note the non-response to my last post above as tacit agreement and move to the next change that is needed - the wording of "Merger with Malaysia" should be "Formation/Establishment of Malaysia" because it did not exist before the merger. So the final Sovereignty section should be the following:
Independent
  • British colonisation: 6 February 1819
  • Self-government: 3 June 1959
  • Independence from the UK (by Declaration): 31 August 1963
  • Formation of Malaysia: 16 September 1963
  • Separation from Malaysia: 9 August 1965 [1]
Requesting filing editor CMD to comment on changes for resolution. Shiok (talk) 05:24, 27 February 2017 (UTC)

A notice of this DRN has been placed at Singapore Talk page for final comments on the proposed changes. Shiok (talk) 11:19, 1 March 2017 (UTC)

you went ahead and implemented your proposed resolution, Shiok, but I don't see consensus here or at the Talk page for this formulation. DNR moderators, not sure what the proper format is, in this re-opened thread. My apologies if this is out of line. DRN moderators, please remove this if it is not appropriate. Jytdog (talk) 03:07, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
Yes I did so because after another week here by myself, it was clear that no further response is forthcoming. I anticipate that DRN bot will auto-archive in 24 hours without proper closure (after the first 2 weeks). So with still a few hours left at DRN, I thought posting the edits to the article will allow editors like yourself – who have decided not to be involved earlier for whatever reasons – to come in immediately if you object. Jytdog, besides the process do you have any comments on the content itself? Else I may request early closure here so we do not need to check back daily. The extension was my idea anyway. Shiok (talk) 07:23, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

Volunteer's note: I've redone the header on this listing because it appears to have been breaking our listing bot. Part of that was to remove the volunteer comment that was part of the header, so I'm reposting it below. Regards, TransporterMan (TALK) 03:22, 4 March 2017 (UTC)

Volunteer note: this case was recently archived by Lowercase sigmabot III before its conclusion. I am now attempting to continue the discussion, as there are at least two and possibly three editors who appear interested in doing this. It was not marked as either "Resolved" or "General close" by me or any other volunteer. I am uncertain as to the correct way to do this, but am taking a shot at the process. KDS4444 (talk) 20:44, 25 February 2017 (UTC)
TransporterMan, KDS4444: Hi thanks for helping restore the Talk:Singapore#Sovereignty" discussion. It has been a good experience though frustrating at times. Since my last posts and citations 6–12 days back, the only two opposing editors has been silent. And for the fourth day, the notice I placed at Singapore talk page to alert all editors to comment on the proposed edits at DRN also drew no interest/objections, so likely tacit agreement. Would either of you be able to close this as resolved, instead of letting it expire? - these are essential infobox data for countries. In any case, if there are new objections or evidence later, a new case can be raised here again. Shiok (talk) 10:34, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
  • fwiw, in my view the now-archived initial DRN thread quickly devolved into the same argument at the article talk page. It might be useful to start over with more... rigorous moderation? With regard to this re-opened thread, I am not sure where to post or what the specific question I should address is.... Jytdog (talk) 17:43, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
  • Yes mediated discussion can be useful to keep discussions on track or like determining if a party has conceded when they stop discussing - and to be realistic we should not expect many to say 'I concede' or 'you are right'. So in our case (without mediation) I believe the volunteers may have some hesitation to declare a resolution. Jytdog, I note that at Talk:Singapore, initially you also tried to mediate by asking focused questions but stopped doing so when the conversation strayed from there. If you had continued, it might have turned out differently.
The DRN is rather straightforward now and I'm surprised it dragged on so long. Previously the filing editor agreed at talk page that there is no dispute Sovereignty_type should be 'Independent/Independence'. So this DRN is merely about the Sovereignty_note which he wanted to add and has stopped objecting two weeks ago. And regardless of the DRN outcome, the Sovereignty section can be restored with just the sovereignty_type.
Next, the proposed changes to the following events are actually not part of this dispute (unless editors want it to be so), but I raised it here for convenience :
  • Formation of Malaysia
  • Separation from Malaysia (or a longer "Independence from Malaysia (Separation Agreement) "
If anyone object to these changes, they can bring it up at Talk:Singapore. If you prefer adding them to mediation here, we can continue with it. Shiok (talk) 09:01, 5 March 2017 (UTC)
  • i am looking for input from DRN volunteers to mediate the discussion. Please stop repeating your position Shiok; this is either an actual, mediated DRN thread, or it isn't, and if it isn't a) it should be closed by volunteers here and we will need to move to another means of resolving the dispute' or b) this is a valid DRN thread and we need to wait for a volunteer to start mediating. Jytdog (talk) 19:49, 5 March 2017 (UTC)

Outside party's note: I'd just decided to come back to Wikipedia for a while, and this was at the top of the noticeboard, so this was where I wound up! I'm hesitant to offer myself as a mediator, though, because this seems like an incredibly straightforward case and I'm baffled by the dispute. I am from the United States, and know little of Singapore's history, but my understanding (from our articles on Singapore and from the dispute threads) is that the Malaysia Act 1963 ended British sovereignty over all of those possessions which would go on to form Malaysia, on the explicit premise that they would go on to form Malaysia. This took effect on 31 July, but Malaysia wasn't officially formed for another month and a half. If that's correct, we're talking about a six week period during which arrangements were made to solidify the new nation. It seems misleading to imply that Singapore was a fully sovereign, autonomous nation for six weeks in 1963, unless Singapore acted as a sovereign nation in such a meaningful way as warrants discussion. In my view, it'd be like saying, "I lived in Kansas from 2005 - Jan 12, 2016. From Jan 12 - 13, 2016, I was driving to Chicago. I have lived in Chicago since Jan 13, 2016." It's just superfluous, no? I might be able to offer a more mediated response (so to speak) if someone could explain to me what's so important about those six weeks. Moralis (talk) 19:20, 6 March 2017 (UTC)

Hi I hope you will stay to moderate the discussion as you have an interest in our history. Those 6 weeks you mentioned are replete with details, especially with regards to Lee Kuan Yew's 'brinkmanship' in declaring Singapore's independence. I can expand on it at Talk:Singapore if you like, as it does not affect the current DRN (reasons given earlier). This dispute is just about the Sovereignty_note in the infobox (which I oppose). May I ask if the U.S. articles about Singapore you referred to available online? Shiok (talk) 06:05, 7 March 2017 (UTC)
Precisely. There is absolutely no source which says that on 31 August 1963, Singapore became a sovereign nation. Sure, there was a declaration done, but it wasn't recognised by anyone - the US, British or Malaya. And it would be misleading to imply this in the infobox. --Lemongirl942 (talk) 13:11, 10 March 2017 (UTC)
Before I answer your comment, can you explain how this topic would affect the main dispute - that is, whether a "sovereignty_note" parameter ("from Malaysia") should be used in the infobox? Shiok (talk) 03:46, 11 March 2017 (UTC)
Since there are no volunteers at this board moderating, I suggest that we abandon this effort and turn to other methods to resolve this content dispute. I think an RfC is a good next step. Jytdog (talk) 17:27, 11 March 2017 (UTC)
There is no response, so let me comment on your proposed RFC. Previously you stated with strong conviction that'.. the current sovereignty_type of the country… in the case of Singapore, it is simply "independent". It will take an RfC to use (sovereignty_note) "independence from" here and the likelihood of that succeeding is about zero. So please just drop that.' - so I do not see how another 30-60 days of RFC will help. If you have a change of opinion which you intend to post in your proposed RFC, then just put it here, the mediators may yet weigh in. They may be hesitant because everyone is commenting on different things previously. If you are objective and keen to get this over with, you should also be asking other editors not to stray from the main dispute - it is too difficult to resolve more than one topic at a time. Shiok (talk) 12:19, 13 March 2017 (UTC]
@Jytdog: the other matter is that your revert of my recent restoration of the Infobox Sovereignty section is unfounded. It correctly shows the sovereignty_type as "Independent" which the filing editor CMD and others do not dispute'That Singapore became independent of the UK in 1963 was not the matter under dispute' and "Independent" depicts our nation's current status. 'And not a single person has suggested otherwise'. Thus it is not part of the current dispute and can be restored even without closure of this DRN. Shiok (talk) 12:21, 15 March 2017 (UTC)
  • I've asked generally, and now will ask specifically. User:TransporterMan and User:Robert McClenon, will you please either start moderating, or close this thread? The dispute is heating up again and we need to move to other forms of DR if nothing is going to happen here. Thanks. Jytdog (talk) 17:39, 15 March 2017 (UTC)
    @Chipmunkdavis: @Jytdog: @Lemongirl942: @Wrigleygum: @Shiok: @Zhanzhao: Hi, I'm Steve, one of the volunteers here at DRN (though, admittedly, it's been quite some time). My style is somewhat different than others, but I found it's worked well in the past. Having a look at this dispute, I feel it's best if I mediate this on the article talk page going forward. Can you all let me know if you're happy to move the discussion there, and I will start the mediation process there. Cheers. Steven Crossin 22:52, 17 March 2017 (UTC)
User:Steven Crossin see note below from Robert. he is on this already. Jytdog (talk) 22:55, 17 March 2017 (UTC)
Jytdog, I see the note from Robert below - it is my assessment though that structured mediation, where a mediator (myself) works with the parties and provides guidance and input, rather than just a moderated discussion which provides structure, would be more effective here, having experience with similar disputes in the past. I also feel that the style this needs is more suitable to be done on the talk page, rather than at DRN, hence my suggestion. Steven Crossin 23:00, 17 March 2017 (UTC)
Hi this is alright with me as Robert has done his best but no one is responding. Shall I copy my last statement below to Talk:Singapore#Singapore's Infobox Sovereignty section changes or will you be starting a new section there? Shiok (talk) 06:57, 19 March 2017 (UTC)

First statement by new moderator

I will try to moderate this dispute. Please read and adhere to the rules in User:Robert McClenon/Mediation Rules. Will each editor please state, in one paragraph, what they think should be in the infobox? If there are any other issues, please also state them in one paragraph. If you have any questions about what the rules are, ask on this noticeboard's talk page, or here, or on my talk page. (Don't reply to other editors. Address your comments to the moderator and the community. Be civil and concise. Comment on content, not contributors.) Robert McClenon (talk) 18:26, 15 March 2017 (UTC)

First statements by editors

First statement by Shok

Proposed:
Independent
  • British colonisation: 6 February 1819
  • Self-government: 3 June 1959
  • Independence from the UK: 31 August 1963
  • Formation of Malaysia: 16 September 1963
  • Independence from Malaysia (Separation Agreement): 9 August 1965 [1][2]
[alternatives: "Independence of Singapore Agreement", "Separation from Malaysia" ]
Briefly, the first parameter of the infobox Sovereignty section, Sovereignty_type, is "Independent" – which no one objects to. The two countries Singapore gained its independence from (UK, Malaysia) are already listed as key events, so Sovereignty_note is redundant. Our colonial history with Britain (140 years) is also much longer than 2 years in Malaysia. The last event "Expulsion from Malaysia" has to be reverted back to "Independence/Separation from Malaysia" – it was a negotiated "Separation Agreement" which the Malaysian parliament voted to pass in order to allow Singapore to leave Malaysia. Shiok (talk) 14:20, 16 March 2017 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ "Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965". Singapore Statutes online. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  2. ^ "Singapore separates from Malaysia and becomes independent - Singapore History". Singapore National Library Board. Retrieved February 26, 2017.

Second statement by outgoing moderator

I will let User:Steven Crossin facilitate this discussion on the article talk page. This case will remain open here briefly, and then I will probably close it as being resolved through outside discussion. Robert McClenon (talk) 19:43, 18 March 2017 (UTC)

Robert McClenon, I'm one of the editors alerted by Steven Crossin about mediation on the article talk page but nothing has started there yet. In the meantime, if you are able to continue here I shall put up my first statement. Ihave been busy on assignment but seeing the DRN has expanded to other events in the infobox I would like to be involved. Wrigleygum (talk) 16:31, 21 March 2017 (UTC)

Talk:American Pekin_Duck#Previous_and_current_revisions

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by EditSafe on 01:42, 9 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Talk:Free World# Recent additions and reverts

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by Cnilep on 05:21, 22 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Black_Metaphor_(2nd_nomination)

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by 2601:C4:4000:6000:A0C4:F292:D0B5:535D on 05:25, 22 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion

Briarcliff Manor‎

  Dispute resolved successfully. See comments for reasoning.
Filed by  on 17:48, 20 March 2017 (UTC).
Closed discussion