Jump to content

Talk:Actions along the Matanikau

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Featured articleActions along the Matanikau is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do so.
Featured topic starActions along the Matanikau is part of the Guadalcanal Campaign series, a featured topic. This is identified as among the best series of articles produced by the Wikipedia community. If you can update or improve it, please do so.
Main Page trophyThis article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on September 23, 2015.
On this day... Article milestones
DateProcessResult
March 20, 2007WikiProject peer reviewReviewed
March 23, 2007WikiProject A-class reviewApproved
March 30, 2007Featured article candidatePromoted
September 21, 2008Featured topic candidatePromoted
On this day... Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on October 9, 2007, October 9, 2008, October 9, 2009, October 9, 2010, October 9, 2012, October 9, 2017, October 9, 2018, and October 9, 2022.
Current status: Featured article

Proposal to remove date-autoformatting

[edit]

Dear fellow contributors

MOSNUM no longer encourages date autoformatting, having evolved over the past year or so from the mandatory to the optional after much discussion there and elsewhere of the disadvantages of the system. Related to this, MOSNUM prescribes rules for the raw formatting, irrespective of whether a date is autoformatted or not). MOSLINK and CONTEXT are consistent with this.

There are at least six disadvantages in using date-autoformatting, which I've capped here:

Disadvantages of date-autoformatting


  • (1) In-house only
  • (a) It works only for the WP "elite".
  • (b) To our readers out there, it displays all-too-common inconsistencies in raw formatting in bright-blue underlined text, yet conceals them from WPians who are logged in and have chosen preferences.
  • (c) It causes visitors to query why dates are bright-blue and underlined.
  • (2) Avoids what are merely trivial differences
  • (a) It is trivial whether the order is day–month or month–day. It is more trivial than color/colour and realise/realize, yet our consistency-within-article policy on spelling (WP:ENGVAR) has worked very well. English-speakers readily recognise both date formats; all dates after our signatures are international, and no one objects.
  • (3) Colour-clutter: the bright-blue underlining of all dates
  • (a) It dilutes the impact of high-value links.
  • (b) It makes the text slightly harder to read.
  • (c) It doesn't improve the appearance of the page.
  • (4) Typos and misunderstood coding
  • (a) There's a disappointing error-rate in keying in the auto-function; not bracketing the year, and enclosing the whole date in one set of brackets, are examples.
  • (b) Once autoformatting is removed, mixtures of US and international formats are revealed in display mode, where they are much easier for WPians to pick up than in edit mode; so is the use of the wrong format in country-related articles.
  • (c) Many WPians don't understand date-autoformatting—in particular, how if differs from ordinary linking; often it's applied simply because it's part of the furniture.
  • (5) Edit-mode clutter
  • (a) It's more work to enter an autoformatted date, and it doesn't make the edit-mode text any easier to read for subsequent editors.
  • (6) Limited application
  • (a) It's incompatible with date ranges ("January 3–9, 1998", or "3–9 January 1998", and "February–April 2006") and slashed dates ("the night of May 21/22", or "... 21/22 May").
  • (b) By policy, we avoid date autoformatting in such places as quotations; the removal of autoformatting avoids this inconsistency.

Removal has generally been met with positive responses by editors. Does anyone object if I remove it from the main text in a few days’ time on a trial basis? The original input formatting would be seen by all WPians, not just the huge number of visitors; it would be plain, unobtrusive text, which would give greater prominence to the high-value links. Tony (talk) 12:53, 21 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Need to correct. The picture shows Mr. Obama instead of the Map reffered in notes. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.12.90.200 (talk) 21:29, 23 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

23-23 September

[edit]

That's what the map says. Brutannica (talk) 01:22, 24 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Coordinate error

[edit]

{{geodata-check}}

The following coordinate fixes are needed for

The Lat/Long position listed for the Matanikau River is incorrect. The mouth of the river is at 9°26'02"S 159°58'02"E.

Deadlywit (talk) 20:32, 3 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The actions treated in the article covered a rather extensive area. I've tweaked the coordinates to correspond to a point nearer the center of the area. Better now? Deor (talk) 21:21, 3 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]