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Manual Of Style

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More stringent notability...

David Gerard

30 Mar 2012 30 Mar '12

6:23 p.m.

Just a quick straw poll: When was the last time you looked at the Wikipedia Manual of Style for use in your own writing? And not to tell someone else they were wrong about something. Me, I can't remember. I think I *have*, but it would have been years ago. - d.

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Andreas Kolbe

30 Mar 30 Mar

6:34 p.m.

About four months ago, to check what the current rule was about image placement at the beginning of a subsection (before or after the header). On Fri, Mar 30, 2012 at 6:23 PM, David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com> wrote:

Just a quick straw poll: When was the last time you looked at the Wikipedia Manual of Style for use in your own writing? And not to tell someone else they were wrong about something. Me, I can't remember. I think I *have*, but it would have been years ago. - d. _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l

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Fred Bauder

6:40 p.m.

Just a quick straw poll: When was the last time you looked at the Wikipedia Manual of Style for use in your own writing? And not to tell someone else they were wrong about something. Me, I can't remember. I think I *have*, but it would have been years ago. - d.

I have no need to. The Manual of Style should reflect best practices. I would only consult it if it needed correction. Fred

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Alan Liefting

9:05 p.m.

I would rarely consult the MOS since it simply documents "common sense" and common practice (as a rule) I discovered recently that there is no MOS for category pages so I had a stab at starting one. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Categories Alan On 31/03/2012 7:23 a.m., David Gerard wrote:

Just a quick straw poll: When was the last time you looked at the Wikipedia Manual of Style for use in your own writing? And not to tell someone else they were wrong about something. Me, I can't remember. I think I *have*, but it would have been years ago. - d. _

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Steve Bennett

1 Apr 1 Apr

12:11 a.m.

On Sat, Mar 31, 2012 at 5:23 AM, David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com> wrote:

When was the last time you looked at the Wikipedia Manual of Style for use in your own writing? And not to tell someone else they were wrong about something.

What's wrong with that? That's how most rulebooks work - people internalise the rules, and only consult the written form when two people's understanding of the rule differs. The reverse case would be worse: if you were frequently consulting the MoS before making changes, it would imply that the rules were arbitrary, hard to remember, and lacked internal logic and consistency. Steve

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David Gerard

7:43 a.m.

On 1 April 2012 01:11, Steve Bennett <stevagewp(a)gmail.com> wrote:

On Sat, Mar 31, 2012 at 5:23 AM, David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com> wrote:

> When was the last time you looked at the Wikipedia Manual of Style for > use in your own writing? And not to tell someone else they were wrong > about something.

What's wrong with that? That's how most rulebooks work - people internalise the rules, and only consult the written form when two people's understanding of the rule differs.

So what's your answer to the question? - d.

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Steve Bennett

10:21 a.m.

Oops, your question wasn't rhetorical? :-) I haven't consulted it in years, but nor have I ever really used it to beat people over the head with. Steve On Apr 1, 2012 5:44 PM, "David Gerard" <dgerard(a)gmail.com> wrote:

On 1 April 2012 01:11, Steve Bennett <stevagewp(a)gmail.com> wrote:

On Sat, Mar 31, 2012 at 5:23 AM, David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com> wrote:

> When was the last time you looked at the Wikipedia Manual of Style for > use in your own writing? And not to tell someone else they were wrong > about something.

What's wrong with that? That's how most rulebooks work - people internalise the rules, and only consult the written form when two people's understanding of the rule differs.

So what's your answer to the question? - d. _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l

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Richard Farmbrough

12:17 a.m.

I probably consult it every couple of weeks. Usually to check some change hasn't been sneaked in, or for something that isn't covered. Or because someone has told me I'm wrong. It is a shame that it is such a battleground sometimes. But it's also a shame that the basics aren't obvious to more people - i.e. favour readability over almost everything except accuracy. On 30/03/2012 19:23, David Gerard wrote:

Just a quick straw poll: When was the last time you looked at the Wikipedia Manual of Style for use in your own writing? And not to tell someone else they were wrong about something. Me, I can't remember. I think I *have*, but it would have been years ago. - d. _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l

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Alan Liefting
Andreas Kolbe
David Gerard
Fred Bauder
Richard Farmbrough
Steve Bennett