Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2015 November 17

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

November 17

Wikipedia user/editor gender ratio

According to several articles the number of Male WP editors is an order of magnitude greater than the number of female editors. Are there any clear answers/references as to why? 199.19.248.7 (talk) 02:20, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

There's an internal project devoted to researching and dealing with this very issue. See Wikipedia:WikiProject Countering systemic bias/Gender gap task force. --Jayron32 03:28, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the link I'll have to read all of that later. Is it a fact that this is an "issue/problem"? Is it probable that most females don't have an interest in WP just like most males don't have an interest in becoming professional hair stylists? 199.19.248.7 (talk) 05:23, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

Well, it could be a problem if we don't have enough females to provide articles of interest to females (although we seem to have an excess of gay men, perhaps some of them can write those articles). But I don't see how the actual ratio of males to females is itself a problem. StuRat (talk) 06:24, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

There is no such thing as an "excess of gay men", Stu.  :) -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 09:11, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

I was expecting you to break into a chorus of It's Raining Men. :-) StuRat (talk) 04:32, 19 November 2015 (UTC)

I prefer cats and dogs. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 07:40, 19 November 2015 (UTC)

Given that women are slightly more than half of the population, it seems to me worth asking, "Why don't women seem to want to edit?" --71.119.131.184 (talk) 09:12, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

One problem is that topics of interest to female humans are likely to be considered as non-notable or unimportant to many males, so they will vote to delete, or they will count writings by women to be unreliable sources, to help with the delete. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 09:46, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

Consider the answer: because women who disclose their gender on WP are often harassed, stereotyped, and marginalized, as they are in many other online communities. In addition women covered by WP are also often marginalized. [1] [2] [3]. SemanticMantis (talk) 16:18, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

There's some weird ideas about gender lurking in the responses here. Jayron has linked to the task force, but here's our mainspace article Gender_bias_on_Wikipedia, which gives a hint: the internal bias on WP is notable enough to have it's own page on WP! The OP and others may get some broader context by reading a bit about gender inequality and gender stereotypes. Also perhaps Ambivalent_sexism, Gender_polarization and Global_Gender_Gap_Report. SemanticMantis (talk) 16:05, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

• My gender ratio is 1.73, according to my last bloodwork. μηδείς (talk) 17:22, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

Importing a Cat

I went on holiday to Turkey, and the resort I went to had cats. There is one that I fell in love with because, whilst most cats run away from me, this one always let me stroke her whilst she purred and fell asleep on my lap. So cute. Anyway, I was thinking of seeing if I could buy her from the resort, and import her to the UK. I think that's a fairly simple process. But what I wasn't sure about is if it's selfish - she seemed to really like me, but maybe she won't like the cold and unfamiliar environment, which doesn't have her friends or anything she knows. So, are there any studies about relocating cats and how well they take to the new environment? Thanks 92.237.191.99 (talk) 16:09, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

I don't know if importing a pet cat to the UK is so simple. See guidelines here [4]. SemanticMantis (talk) 16:23, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

(ec) It's likely to be very far from a simple process. Unless the cat already has an approved pet passport (and Turkey is not one of the "listed" countries whose pet passports DEFRA recognises), you will need to follow DEFRA's instructions for health certification here; otherwise the animal will have to spend 4 months in quarantine. You'll be liable for the costs of the quarantine, of shipping the animal, of the import licence, and of the associated vet bills and certifications. Tellingly, the DEFRA-approved quarantine places I can find online don't state their prices (they want to write you a custom quotation). All of this is sufficiently complicated, and expensive, that you should contact a vet for advice, who might in turn refer you to a specialist pet importer. Quarantining the cat is likely to cost you thousands of pounds. -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 16:37, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

I would reformulate the question title is not much about rules and certificates, it is more about how well a cat would get used to a new home/environment, especially a cat you didn't know since a long time. Akseli9 (talk) 18:11, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

Just because you hadn't seen a cat for a long time, is there some reason to believe it would cease to know you? I am not a cat person, especially because I am allergic, but my experience is that carnivores form a long-term association with people based on their smell. μηδείς (talk) 03:35, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

OP just met the cat while in holidays in a hotel. A cat who knows you since a long time will get used to your new home. A cat you just met, you'll have to lock her in her new home in order to make sure she doesn't try to go back to her hotel as soon as you open a window. Akseli9 (talk) 05:08, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

Ah, yes, I will agree with that, a cat will try to go back to its prior owner, as have many dogs. μηδείς (talk) 22:41, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

I think there was a language problem there. In English we don't say "knows you since a long time", but rather "has known you a long time". StuRat (talk) 08:46, 19 November 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for the correction. Always welcomed and useful. Akseli9 (talk) 15:00, 19 November 2015 (UTC)

StuRat's suggestion is an improvement, but he leaves out "for". A more common formulation would be "has known you for a long time". The statement "she has known me for weeks" is normal, while "she has known me weeks" is not said, at least not in the US. μηδείς (talk) 03:25, 20 November 2015 (UTC)

"John has known you a long time" is perfectly acceptable English. The "a" transforms into "for" when a specific time period is mentioned. StuRat (talk) 09:29, 21 November 2015 (UTC)

I'd go to your local RSPCA place and adopt a cat from them...you can take your time interact with however many they have there (probably lots) and pick one. It'll save you a small fortune, get you a cat immediately - and you can probably find a kitten that'll be easier to deal with and every bit as cute as the one you saw on vacation. SteveBaker (talk) 14:14, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

Agreed, it's not that hard to find a friendly cat, with all the thousands of cats available to choose from. StuRat (talk) 08:44, 19 November 2015 (UTC)