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5-Km Run

I did laugh when I read your "A 5 kilometer race is not an extremely strenuous run". I realize that you are perfectly correct within the universe of race-runners, but to the rest of us, for whom a 1-km walk is a matter for grave consideration and a "little lie down", that's funny. May we always have differences! // BL \\ (talk) 21:34, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

Thanks!

		The Reference Desk Barnstar
		Thank you for answering my Nazism vs. Fascism question on the Miscellaneous Reference Desk! --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 04:47, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

Thanks!

		The Reference Desk Barnstar
		Thank you for answering my "fanfic law sentence" question on the Miscellaneous Reference Desk! --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 18:28, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

my computer problem

It's several weeks later but the problem you helped me with (now at Misplaced Pages:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2009 July 16#Windows needs disc to boot) is fixed. It wasn't the precise solution you suggested but you were right (I think) about it being a hardware issue. Thanks! Tempshill (talk) 00:35, 10 August 2009 (UTC)

Thanks!

		The Reference Desk Barnstar
		Thank you for answering my "most successful marketers" question on the Miscellaneous Reference Desk! --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 04:47, 17:21, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

I would appreciate it

If you really took my changes into consideration. This "conflict" ur describing was an occupation. They have titled the Syrian presence in Lebanon as an occupation on the wiki article. There is no difference between the occupation and invasion. The 1982 "conflict" became a conflict because WE WERE OCCUPIED AND INVADED. There would not have been a conflict if we were not occupied nor invaded. Merci :) Lebanese bebe (talk) 13:11, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Hi Lebanese Bebe. Thanks for voicing your concerns. First of all, I'm well aware of the Israeli occupation, and I'm very much aware of the timeline. However, the purpose of the encyclopedia article is to inform people (most readers know less about Lebanese history than you and I). The article needs to be written with these people in mind. What actually caught my attention were your major changes to the introduction, notably these edits which discuss the backdrop of the invasion (you stated "The people of South Lebanon had been terrorized for years by the PLO."). The trouble is, for a reader who is unfamiliar with Lebanese history, these statements are confusing - who invaded who? Who occupied what? Did the PLO invade Lebanon, or did the Israelis occupy PLO territory?

My point is that the Lebanese civil war at large has a lot of interacting players - it's our job to write the most clear, well-written article to explain what happened historically. And most importantly - this is very key - we need to cite sources. I'm absolutely behind your position about calling the Israeli action an Occupation - that is clearly what it was, and many news and historical sources agree. What I'm more concerned about is the introduction of non-neutral point of view, especially in the very first opening paragraph. Let's work together to make this article better, and get all of the facts included, and source them with reliable references. Okay? Nimur (talk) 16:40, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Golan Heights Law

Answered here. I'm awfully busy nowadays but do feel free to call on me for Hebrew assistance. And thanks for pitching in! Cheers -- Deborahjay (talk) 21:21, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Forum comments

Please do not restore that section again. Have you ever read the contents of the {{notaforum}}, and what it says will happen to forum comments? Here it is, applied to your talk page. Please read it.

This page is not a forum for general discussion about Nimur. Any such comments may be removed or refactored. Please limit discussion to improvement of this page. You may wish to ask factual questions about Nimur at the Reference desk.

Now consider what the appropriate thing to do with forum comments is on an actual article talk page.—Kww(talk) 22:39, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

I hadn't seen your self revert of your reversion when I posted that. I hope everything is calm between us now.—Kww(talk) 22:41, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

No problem - I had not seen your justification; I think I agree with you, at least in this case. That article... (and its talkpage)... it's a trouble-spot, that much is for sure. Nimur (talk) 22:44, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

personal RFC on sneeky edit

http://en.wikipedia.org/search/?title=Talk:Planetary_habitability&diff=311665773&oldid=311665338
I'm curious to know, do you consider this kind of edit sneeky and/or not encyclopedic??
GabrielVelasquez (talk) 15:16, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

No. It looks like you edited your own comment just a moment after you first posted it, to clarify some detail. Why would that be sneaky? Nimur (talk) 16:13, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Ref desk

Much of the "noise" comes from stupid questions, homework questions, trivia quizzes posing as questions, deliberately baiting questions, questioners who haven't even bothered trying google or wikipedia itself, and from IP addresses with lots of warnings on their pages lecturing others on how to behave. FYI, when we used to go to the zoo, we fed marshmallows to the polar bears and it seemed to make them happy. So it could work for the eskimoes also. Baseball Bugs carrots 13:54, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

The question in particular, about polar bears, does not count as a "noise" question. I was able to answer it fairly well, with reliable sources, and provide some angles that the OP might not have thought about. This is why we are on the reference desk. We are not there to judge people's questions; we don't know who the OP is, where they come from, how old they are, or what expertise or handicaps they have. So, we answer the questions and we hope that we can help; and if the questions are overtly ridiculous, we remove them or ignore them. We do not increase the noise level by adding extra junk. Nimur (talk) 13:59, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

The marshmallow comment was a fair answer, even if you (and a couple of drive-bys) didn't like it. Baseball Bugs carrots 14:07, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

If that is the case, find a reference for it before posting it on the reference desk. I'm not an idiot, so don't try to play games here. Inuit did not defend themselves from polar bears with marshmallows. Stop being disruptive. Many of your contributions are helpful, and we appreciate those. Just lay off the jokes on the Ref Desk, you won't attract negative attention; and the "couple of drive-by" editors who are more irritated than I am will not feel the need to block you. If you really don't understand what the issue is, discuss it here on the talk page. Nimur (talk) 14:13, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm not an idiot either, and I recognize when people take things too seriously. I would like to hear how you think it would be best to handle the various issues I raised regarding insincere and lazy questions. Baseball Bugs carrots 14:19, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

I'll address your questions point by point:

• stupid questions - This is not your or my place to judge. We don't know the OP's age, English familiarity, or education level. Explain the issue, try to address the point of confusion, and direct the user to a reference about the topic.
• homework questions - Inform the user of the Homework policy and direct the user to a reference about the topic.
• trivia quizzes posing as questions - Ignore these, or answer them, or direct the user to a reference about the topic.
• deliberately baiting questions - Do not engage in discussion or opinion on the reference desk. Inform the user about our policy regarding WP:SOAPBOX, and direct the user to a reference about the topic.
• questioners who haven't even bothered trying google or wikipedia itself - Skip these questions, if you don't have the energy to answer them. Otherwise, direct the user to a reference about the topic.
• and from IP addresses with lots of warnings on their pages lecturing others on how to behave. - You don't know that the OP is the same as the vandal, just because they share the IP. If you don't understand the technical details of dynamic IPs or proxies, you can read about them at Misplaced Pages:Why create an account?. If you feel that the question is valid, inform the user of this page. If the question falls into one of the "vandalism categories", ignore the question; otherwise try to answer it and direct the user to a reference about the topic.

Hopefully you're picking up on a theme for how to answer questions on the Reference Desk. If you do not enjoy searching for references, then probably the reference desk is not the place to be. There are literally millions of other internet forums you can hang out in where people are less serious, less focused, and will tolerate jokes about marshmallows. But here, we are working to build an encyclopedia. Nimur (talk) 14:27, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Rather than doing the questioner's work for him, which is counterproductive for all, we should ask whether he has tried Google, or - goddess forbid - the search box. Baseball Bugs carrots 15:34, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

JAVA repaint

I tried the changes you suggested, but it still didn't work. I've posted the code on WP:RD/C; what else should I change? --204.184.214.2 (talk) 18:38, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Science desk

You may or may not be aware that there's discussion going on as to whether "medical" questions should even be allowed to stand on the ref desks at all, in any way, shape or form. Removing the original question, while still referring to it, seems rather silly. Either leave it stand, or delete it totally. Baseball Bugs carrots 23:39, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

Indeed. In fact, I was one of the originators of this debate; I've discussed my opinions here and here. I just removed a comment of yours as well (for being a joke-post in a medical advice question). My stance, if it is not clear, is that we should remove the question, leave the heading, and place a medical advice template (we have many to choose from); and have no further responses. But, there's room for discussion, because so many questions are "debatably" medical advice requests. Nimur (talk) 23:43, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

The original post had the ring of a joke to it. In any case, your view would be that the question heading would stay, in case the poster comes back, and the template would tell him to go talk to a professional. Is that it, in a nutshell? (That would presumably also apply for legal advice and the like.) Baseball Bugs carrots 23:46, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, that's basically my stance. I can see some corner-cases, where the question is explicitly in the heading, for example. But I feel that we need to simultaneously satisfy our obligation to avoid medical advice without censoring the OP. We don't want them to regret asking, we only want them to ask a professional. Nimur (talk) 23:48, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

As you say, the post currently under consideration had, in your opinion, "the ring of a joke to it." But, he also asked about cancer and psychiatric diagnosis. It's very hard to be certain; we are not qualified to make diagnoses; and the user may have a serious medical condition that needs a professional opinion and an in-person visit. This is why Kainaw and I and several others prefer a very overly-cautious, don't-touch-medical-advice-with-a-ten-foot-pole stance. Nimur (talk) 23:52, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

Well, since the rules already state not to give medical or legal advice, I'm not sure what the debate is about, unless it's just about how to format the template. Baseball Bugs carrots 23:55, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

Well if the original post had a ring of a joke to it...It must me alright for you to continue to disrespect the wishes of others that the desk be run in a professional manner. More honestly (talk) 00:07, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Please don't sockpuppet around. It was Bugs' opinion, not mine. I don't know how the OP intended that question. Nimur (talk) 00:08, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

That's a harassment-only account that I've been trying to ignore, but it's not easy. Baseball Bugs carrots 00:11, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Great. As I've mentioned above, I'm not an idiot. If you're looking to get more attention from the admins, keep up the stellar work - they'll be happy to block you. Nimur (talk) 00:12, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

I've reported that account to AIV, so it's up to them whether to take action. Baseball Bugs carrots 00:14, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

That was my point. Just because Bugs 'thinks' that a post has a ring of a joke to it...He does not have the right to continue with his antics. He has been repeatedly warned. It is getting tiresome. More honestly (talk) 00:18, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

The above user ID has only a handful of edits, most of them intended as harassment in my direction, so he's in no position to be criticizing the behavior of others. Baseball Bugs carrots 00:21, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Bugs, why is it that if I make a comment that you do not like, you feel the need to report me to some AIV? The issue I have is with your behavior at the reference desk. I don't think that makes me a harassment account. How about taking some responsibility for your actions? More honestly (talk) 00:24, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Because you have only a handful of edits, mostly directed at me. Baseball Bugs carrots 00:27, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Just because I don't have hundreds of edits, doesn't mean my opinion is less valuable, or harassing. I think your antics on the Ref desk need to stop. I also think you should stop with the games, it is getting old, and others are starting to get tired of those games.More honestly (talk) 00:30, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

That harassment account is not my sock. I don't do socks. There have been several harassment accounts lately with vaguely similar names. I've a hunch who they are, but WP:DENY applies here. I just deal with them as they turn up. Baseball Bugs carrots 00:32, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Again, its about someone else being a sock, when the subject is proper behavior at the reference desk. Is there no end to this? More honestly (talk) 00:36, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Nimur removed a comment I posted on the ref desk, I made no attempt to re-post it, and I started what was initially a calm and reasoned discussion with Nimur until you popped in here. You might be someone else's sock or you might be standalone, but it's clear your only purpose for being here is harassment. Baseball Bugs carrots 00:40, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

OK, thanks for the great discussion, guys. Glad my talk-page could serve its purpose. I'll be back in an hour or so after y'all are blocked. Nimur (talk) 00:37, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

The harassment account is indef'd and your false charge of sockpuppetry was removed by an admin, so hopefully that's the end of it. Getting back to the original point, I do support your idea of leaving just the heading and posting a template, where the right answer for medical or legal questions is to direct the questioner to a professional. Baseball Bugs carrots 00:48, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

The original point was about acting in a professional manner at the reference desk. Please refer to the above if your memory fails you. More often than knot (talk) 00:55, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Nimur, I acknowledge that we disagree about the ref desk, and I acknowledge that I sometimes don't take the questions seriously enough. But if you persist in your false accusations of sockpuppetry against me, which amounts to a gross personal attack, I shall be compelled to take action against you for it. Let's see if we can avoid escalating it to that, OK? Baseball Bugs carrots 01:03, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Are you threatening Legal Action? What do you mean by "to take action against you"? The bottom line is that you need to stop horsing around at the Reference Desk! More often than knot (talk) 01:08, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

No, ya silly. I've reported your false accusations to WP:ANI. That's what I meant by "taking action". You've been duped by these harassment socks. They're trying to get me and you both into trouble. Baseball Bugs carrots 01:10, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Legal threats are not taken lightly at Misplaced Pages. You need to retract your statement. This is about your conduct, not socks and harassment. Legal threats only add to the problem. More often than knot (talk) 01:13, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Taking someone to ANI is not a "legal threat" and is not against the rules. Harassment is, though, which is why you're now indef'd. Baseball Bugs carrots 01:18, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

AIV

Thank you. About time someone took Baseball Bugs to the cleaners. More often than knot (talk) 01:02, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Please note the above editor has been blocked as an obvious sockpuppet of a banned editor, and is not a sock of Baseball Bugs|Baseball Bugs. Please don't put any stock or faith in what they are saying, they are only here to make attacks, disrupt, and to try and pull otherwise productive editors into filing bogus reports for them. Please just ignore them. Dayewalker (talk) 01:25, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Do not disrupt Misplaced Pages to illustrate a point

Since you are no doubt expecting this, I will make it short and to the point. This is either an attempt to disrupt Misplaced Pages to illustrate a point or an indicator that you do not understand what is and is not vandalism. Either way, I might recommend that you read up and figure it out, because I doubt the next admin to deal with another stunt like this will be as friendly and pleasant about it as I am. Thank you, — Kralizec! (talk) 01:45, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Science desk cont'd

OK, hopefully the brouhaha is over. Back to where we were: I will continue to work to do better at handling the ref desks. As you may have noticed, I like to try to find information where I can. Sometimes questions or "guesswork" are necessary, to discern what the poster is getting at. And other users make worse jokes than I do. But I'll try to take even the dumb questions seriously and either provide a straight answer or ignore them. Baseball Bugs carrots 01:49, 21 September 2009 (UTC)