Talk:Action of the Cockcroft

Content

What is "⍌0⍍" supposed to mean, in the lead section of the article? If this isn't a rendering issue, some kind of explanation should be added or the line should be removed. "I'd rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me" - George S. Patton :: markus1423 (talk) 21:02, 24 July 2017 (UTC)

When I moved the article from a sandbox, I tried to use an editing script before saving; I thought I'd sorted them all out. OK now? Keith-264 (talk) 21:46, 24 July 2017 (UTC)

@Keith-264: There is still some error in the "subsequent operations" section, with the grammar. The first sentence starts with "next day"...fix that up and I would say it meets B class in advance. Good article - there are still some structural errors that need to be corrected but this is sufficient for B class. "I'd rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me" - George S. Patton :: markus1423 (talk) 15:56, 25 July 2017 (UTC)

 DoneKeith-264 (talk) 16:53, 25 July 2017 (UTC)

Title and caps questions

Why do we have the date in the title? Wouldn't Action of the Cockcroft be more in keeping with our WP:CRITERIA? And why do we cap "Action" in the lead? Are there sources that do that? I've been looking, but not finding. Dicklyon (talk) 18:12, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

Tried to move it but was disallowed as there is a redirect from that title and I don't know how to cancel it. Regards Keith-264 (talk) 07:17, 23 April 2021 (UTC)

You can just ask nicely via WP:RMTR. I'll do that. Dicklyon (talk) 22:49, 23 April 2021 (UTC)

Comma before but?

I put commas into these sentence, before but connecting long independent clauses (showing them here without the commas):

• At 4:45 a.m. on 19 August, five tanks of the 1st Tank Brigade broke down or ditched; seven others advanced up the St Julian–Poelcappelle road behind a smoke barrage, their noise smothered by low-flying British aircraft.
• At most of the pillboxes, the German occupants retreated as soon as they saw the tanks; at Triangle Farm, Maison du Hibou and the Cockcroft, the garrisons stood their ground, suffering about 100 casualties, thirty of them being taken prisoner.

Then Keith-264 removed them, claiming "British English" as the reason. Is that a thing? To me it just reads as an error with those commas missing ("ditched but seven" what? "saw the tanks but at" what?). This was just in the lead, but I'd fix a bunch more if were up to me (but Keith claims it's his prerogative to keep the commas out, since he wrote it). Dicklyon (talk) 17:46, 25 April 2021 (UTC)

You're getting rather proprietorial, please remember that you don't speak my language and weren't taught it at school. It would be better to rewrite a sentence than interpolate solecisms. See now, Regards Keith-264 (talk) 23:57, 25 April 2021 (UTC)

True, I have no idea what you're trying to tell me. Dicklyon (talk) 03:04, 26 April 2021 (UTC)

User:Keith-264, not this rubbish again about special UK rules for commas. Nah, yeah, NAH. Comma usage does vary according to individual preferences, but unlike certain instances of spelling and lexicon (and "different than" in the US), they are not subject to so-called national styles. I reverted to Dicklyon's commas, which are entirely appropriate. Whatever the comma usage, did you write the original "the garrisons stood their ground, suffering about 100 casualties, thirty of them being taken prisoner."? What, so 30 casualties were taken prisoner? And "[noun group] being taken prisoner" is clumsy and the tense is wrong. Please concentrate on improving your style rather than falsely pumping up comma nationalism. Tony (talk) 13:38, 26 April 2021 (UTC)

Mind your manners, you ignorant ouanqueur. Keith-264 (talk) 14:46, 26 April 2021 (UTC)

Keep the commas, or use semicolons as in the bullet-point examples above, or use separate sentences (probably the best choice in these cases). Keith-264's claim about "Britishness" of avoiding necessary commas is false; he's simply creating confusing run-ons. And no editor WP:OWNs the content they right here; see also WP:MERCILESS. (Not to mention WP:CIVIL; I've taken the civility issues here and elsewhere to User talk:Keith-264.)  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  07:38, 3 May 2021 (UTC)

Dicklyon gives a very good impression of owning an awful lot of articles. And I've just removed some commas which are definitely wrong in British English, tho' common in American. DuncanHill (talk) 07:45, 3 May 2021 (UTC)

Indeed, I own all 45,000 articles on my watchlist, and all the rest, too! I plan to take over the world! Dicklyon (talk) 04:33, 13 May 2021 (UTC)

@SMcCandlish: If editors feel the need to punctuate a conjunction, all they need to to is simplify the sentence as you suggested above. It isn't brain surgery. PS [w]hat do you think of the previous editor's disparagement? Regards Keith-264 (talk) 09:08, 3 May 2021 (UTC)

Which previous editor's disparagement of whom? If you mean DuncanHill, I see someone who doesn't actually understand what WP:OWN means making an incorrect behavioral claim, and following that with a linguistically incorrect claim about British English. What both he and you appear to mean by these claims is that the usage you see in British journalism style in particular is comma-averse. This is well known, but irrelevant, because WP is not written in news style, as a matter of clear policy.  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  09:21, 3 May 2021 (UTC)

@SMcCandish: you are entirely wrong about the commas I removed. I think your behaviour here is appalling and you need to step back, if not entirely away. DuncanHill (talk) 09:35, 3 May 2021 (UTC)

You equate my prose with journalism? I suggest you stop making assumptions. I've had my say about the conduct of other editors here so I have got what I wanted. I wondered if you had considered the matter of provocation; now I know. Regards Keith-264 (talk) 10:43, 3 May 2021 (UTC)

I agree with your interpolated commas. Keith-264 (talk) 10:55, 3 May 2021 (UTC)

So good to know that you agree with yourself. Dicklyon (talk) 04:33, 13 May 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for the sarcasm, I grant you the last word. Keith-264 (talk) 06:08, 14 May 2021 (UTC)