User talk:Ground Zero/Archive 2018

Re: Egypt

Thanks. You should head over here, it is really not what people would imagine and fear for that matter. Inexpensive, picturesque and interesting, but of course dusty and loud ... as you might have read. ;-) Ceever (talk) 16:02, 7 January 2018 (UTC)

An award for you!

	The Wikivoyage Barncompass
	For taking up the torch recently in the endless struggle to shorten and simplify United States of America. -- AndreCarrotflower (talk) 02:15, 13 January 2018 (UTC)

I'm not going to clog your page up with barncompasses, but I wish you'd been around four years ago when I was planning my trip up to the Prairies. The information you've been adding to places like Selkirk (Manitoba), Grand Beach Provincial Park etc. would have been invaluable! -- AndreCarrotflower (talk) 02:24, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

Hey Andre, it is amazing what you can find when you put your mind to it. Manitoba and Saskatchewan are the two provinces I haven't visited, so I am learning about them by ridding them of outline articles. I hope you can add some colour commentary for places you've visited (unless you've already done that). Regards, Ground Zero (talk) 02:32, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

CNR vs. CNoR

I see you edited "The CNR never built a railroad in Canada" in North Battleford SK, leaving the text as "In 1905, North Battleford came into being when the CNR built a railway on the north side of the North Saskatchewan River."

Indeed, CN was not building "railroads" or even railways in 1905. While Harriet Tubman was building railroads in the 1850's and they ran underground, CN looks to have been created much later as a dumping ground for various lines which had gone bust (CNoR, Grand Trunk Pacific) or were owned by the government (Intercolonial Railway). CNoR (Canadian Northern Railway) was an ill-fated third national carrier which tried to compete with CP and GTR, but which went belly-up in 1915. Much of the CNoR infrastructure no longer exists, the little that's left is mostly CN now. Nonetheless, in 1905 "the CNoR built a railway on the north side of the North Saskatchewan River." K7L (talk) 14:36, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

Quite right. The article shouldn't have used an acronym without defining it anyway, and of course the CNR didn't exist in 1905. I've clarified it. Ground Zero (talk) 14:48, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

Star status for Gaspé

Don't get me wrong, I truly appreciate your confidence in my work. However, unlike the other status levels, an article can't be upgraded to Star status unilaterally - it has to be as the result of a successful nomination at Wikivoyage:Star nominations.

Currently, Gaspé is Usable, and only because Ypsilon filled the Eat section with a nominal bit of information. When I'm done with it, I hope for it to be at Guide status. Star status would require, among other things, a static map rather than a dynamic one. (That's an element of policy that I vehemently disagree with and have been pushing for some time to change, but for now it is what it is.)

See Wikivoyage:City guide status for further details.

-- AndreCarrotflower (talk) 20:47, 14 February 2018 (UTC)

Okay, I was unaware of the process. I had posted at Requests for Comment some time ago and there was no response, so I figured it was okay. Now I know. Thanks. Ground Zero (talk) 21:18, 14 February 2018 (UTC)

Proposed deletion

I really don't think this page should have any content. I'd suggest blocking such usernames on sight, and anyway, that user is now globally locked. Wouldn't deletion be best? Ikan Kekek (talk) 23:30, 24 March 2018 (UTC)

Yeah, I would agree with that. I was using a very light touch with this user, probably too light. And you're right that the user name demonstrates ill-intent, and is offensive. Ground Zero (talk) 05:38, 25 March 2018 (UTC)

So what about deleting the page? Ikan Kekek (talk) 08:03, 25 March 2018 (UTC)

Share your experience and feedback as a Wikimedian in this global survey

Hello! The Wikimedia Foundation is asking for your feedback in a survey. We want to know how well we are supporting your work on and off wiki, and how we can change or improve things in the future. The opinions you share will directly affect the current and future work of the Wikimedia Foundation. You have been randomly selected to take this survey as we would like to hear from your Wikimedia community. The survey is available in various languages and will take between 20 and 40 minutes.

Take the survey now!

You can find more information about this survey on the project page and see how your feedback helps the Wikimedia Foundation support editors like you. This survey is hosted by a third-party service and governed by this privacy statement (in English). Please visit our frequently asked questions page to find more information about this survey. If you need additional help, or if you wish to opt-out of future communications about this survey, send an email through the EmailUser feature to WMF Surveys to remove you from the list.

Thank you!

WMF Surveys, 18:36, 29 March 2018 (UTC)

"Recently" I did a search...

'Recently ' (i.e 31-03-2018) I did a search based on some comments on edits :

https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?search=insource%3Arecently&title=Special:Search&profile=default&fulltext=1&searchToken=dqo893d8bh4nu7y7rqonoh54y

Is this a word along with "recent" to be avoided without additional context? On some UK related articles I've tried to reword pages (or at the very least leave comments) so it is. ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 08:39, 1 April 2018 (UTC)

Yes, you're doing great work. Keep it up! Ground Zero (talk) 12:47, 1 April 2018 (UTC)

Would appreciate some copyediting , after my attempted rewords on a few more articles, not necessarily UK based this time.ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 16:49, 1 April 2018 (UTC)

Sure, I'll take a look. One thing to keep in mind is that Wikivoyage is a travel guide, so our first priority is to tell people what the current situation is. We usually don't need to tell people when things changed, so "Recently the providers have started offering cheaper rates..." can be replaced by "The providers offer cheaper rates...." Sometimes writers like to indicate something has changed for the benefit of readers who may be returning to a place, so they write, "the new airport opened Jan 2018" (or "recently"). That's fine, but when you see "the new airport opened Jan 2010", you can remove the history - we can just say that there is airport. Regards, Ground Zero (talk) 20:05, 1 April 2018 (UTC)

A comparative needs to have something to compare to, otherwise it looks silly. And sometimes historical info is of interest. I for one deem the box on U4 in Berlin/City West of some interest, as I would an information fifty years hence "Terminal 3 of BER Airport exudes all the charm of the late 2030s..." Hobbitschuster (talk) 20:08, 1 April 2018 (UTC)

Hobbitschuster, in "cheaper rates", the comparison is implied, or it can easily be replaced by "cheap rates", if you prefer. That also implies a comparison, because they are only cheap compared to others.

As far as history goes, please note that I wrote "We usually don't need to tell people when things changed". In most cases, the historical info is mostly of interest to the writer and of little use to the reader, but there are exceptions. Ground Zero (talk) 20:20, 1 April 2018 (UTC)

Another aside here is an indefinite future, An example expression like "The new transit line will open in the next few years" is not good whereas "The transit extension to Newplace is planned to be operational by late 2018" gives an indication as to when it will need updating. Comments?ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 08:30, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Unless were are talking about Berlin Airports, which have no opening dates ;-) Hobbitschuster (talk) 17:42, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Reminder: Share your feedback in this Wikimedia survey

Every response for this survey can help the Wikimedia Foundation improve your experience on the Wikimedia projects. So far, we have heard from just 29% of Wikimedia contributors. The survey is available in various languages and will take between 20 and 40 minutes to be completed. Take the survey now.

If you have already taken the survey, we are sorry you've received this reminder. We have design the survey to make it impossible to identify which users have taken the survey, so we have to send reminders to everyone. If you wish to opt-out of the next reminder or any other survey, send an email through EmailUser feature to WMF Surveys. You can also send any questions you have to this user email. Learn more about this survey on the project page. This survey is hosted by a third-party service and governed by this Wikimedia Foundation privacy statement. Thanks!

WMF Surveys, 01:34, 13 April 2018 (UTC)

Your feedback matters: Final reminder to take the global Wikimedia survey

Hello! This is a final reminder that the Wikimedia Foundation survey will close on 23 April, 2018 (07:00 UTC). The survey is available in various languages and will take between 20 and 40 minutes. Take the survey now.

If you already took the survey - thank you! We will not bother you again. We have designed the survey to make it impossible to identify which users have taken the survey, so we have to send reminders to everyone. To opt-out of future surveys, send an email through EmailUser feature to WMF Surveys. You can also send any questions you have to this user email. Learn more about this survey on the project page. This survey is hosted by a third-party service and governed by this Wikimedia Foundation privacy statement.

WMF Surveys, 00:44, 20 April 2018 (UTC)

Manila changes

Hi, I noticed that you reverted some changes I did in the Manila page (mostly about to remove ambiguities with the Metro Manila page). No problem with that, but maybe you reverted by accident since the comment in the reversal was about currency? --Krauser levyl (talk) 04:56, 2 May 2018 (UTC)

Sorry about that. I seem to have reverted your edits by mistake. I've restored them now. 09:18, 2 May 2018 (UTC)

Ajaccio, France

i helped out some. --Kelvo833 (talk) 02:21, 13 May 2018 (UTC)

McBride

Question on North Country Lodge addition, is the phone number correct? Does not match their web site. --Traveler100 (talk) 19:14, 6 June 2018 (UTC)

• Thanks for catching that. I don't know where that other number came from. Ground Zero (talk) 19:26, 6 June 2018 (UTC)
  • It was a BC number so I was not sure. Only looked because there was not country code on it. --Traveler100 (talk) 19:43, 6 June 2018 (UTC)
    • I suspect it came from a review site that I use to collect some info. I usually use the hotel or restaurant's own site for that sort of info if it's available, so I don't know why that error found its way in. Ground Zero (talk) 20:05, 6 June 2018 (UTC)

Be aware that you have received an award

The Wikivoyage Barncompass

Please note that your persistent work both in removing superfluous words, as well as and your enforcement of regular measurement formats over hrs hours, mths months and yrs years have been noted and admired by me for some time. As of this year, your current work on eliminating words which unnecessarily date our Wikivoyage's article's articles should also be noted as noteworthy are fab. Please be aware that you should take note that this award is considered to be well deserved. Technically, you are a star, literally. ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 14:39, 3 July 2018 (UTC)

Ha! Thanks for the creative and amusing award! Ground Zero (talk) 14:41, 3 July 2018 (UTC)

Agreed - your affinity for brevity is even rubbing off on me! -- AndreCarrotflower (talk) 16:55, 3 July 2018 (UTC)

As of now, you are still earning this barnstar =) --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 23:02, 11 August 2018 (UTC)

Fleet

Hi again. Thanks for your Fleet edit, but just a heads up: it looks like you have made a mistake with the timing format, introducing such times as "9AM - 17:00" to listings several times. I would fix it myself, but I'm on mobile at the mo, which is difficult to use for edits of that nature. Cheerio, ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 08:02, 6 July 2018 (UTC) ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 08:02, 6 July 2018 (UTC)

Yep - that looks odd. I did only half the job there. Thanks for pointing it out. Ground Zero (talk) 09:02, 6 July 2018 (UTC)

Vancouver by bus

User:Pabfigaro today deleted the Greyhound Canada entry in Vancouver#By bus. Was that deletion premature? I'll let you decide. The separate Greyhound USA entry is still there. TheTrolleyPole (talk) 23:44, 17 July 2018 (UTC)

• @TheTrolleyPole: Thanks for the heads-up. I agree with you that the deletion was premature, and have restored the text, with adjustments. Ground Zero (talk) 01:50, 18 July 2018 (UTC)

Cape Spear

I notice you removed "people have died here" from St. John's#Cape Spear. Why? This is not an isolated incident; there was a drowning at the same spot three years prior. K7L (talk) 02:30, 27 August 2018 (UTC)

Drowning, but nothing says that he fell off the cliff. Ground Zero (talk) 04:57, 27 August 2018 (UTC)

Cheers

Thanks for looking after my user talk page while I was away :-) --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 10:08, 21 September 2018 (UTC)

You reverted my edit

I can understand if you did not agree with me at Talk:Main Page, but did you have to revert it? Was this a mistake? --Comment by Selfie City (talk about my contributions) 02:47, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

Yes, definitely a mistake. My apologies. I am editing pnly on a phone these days, so I am particularly prone to fingerslips. Ground Zero (talk) 02:51, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

Okay, just checking. Thanks for responding quickly. --Comment by Selfie City (talk about my contributions) 02:52, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

Reverted edit

Hi! You reverted one of my edits in the pub without any explanation. Was that done intentionally or by mistake? If I wrote anything inappropriate that was not my intention, but I would like to know what it was so that I don't do it again. Best, MartinJacobson (talk) 19:58, 6 October 2018 (UTC)

I owe you an apology. I wasn't aware that I had done that. I have restored your comments. I am working exclusively on a phone that, at times, seems to hate me. Thank you for you understanding. Ground Zero (talk) 20:10, 6 October 2018 (UTC)

I saw the last discussion on your talk page and suspected that it was another fingerslip. No worries, and thank you for responding and restoring the edit so quickly! MartinJacobson (talk) 20:18, 6 October 2018 (UTC)

Congratulations

"Ontario is done." So every Ontario article is usable or better now? Fantastic! --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 18:50, 17 December 2018 (UTC)

I believe so, yes. And thank you. Ground Zero (talk) 19:08, 17 December 2018 (UTC)

Had been intending to do this for some time, you work spurred me on to create Wikivoyage:Canada Expedition. Hopefully you will find useful. --Traveler100 (talk) 06:53, 18 December 2018 (UTC)

@Traveler100: thank you for that. I'm sure it will come in handy at some point. Ground Zero (talk) 23:22, 27 December 2018 (UTC)

Italian star ratings

Are they in fact arbitrary? I thought they had specific meanings. Ikan Kekek (talk) 01:56, 20 December 2018 (UTC)

WV:WTA says to avoid star-rateings because: "Ambiguous. Does this mean an independent authority awarded five stars (if so, which one? there are many rating systems) or is this the establishment's opinion of their own product?" Star ratings began with Michelin, who awards up to three stars. There are hotels that now claim to be "six-star" hotels. Those aren't Michelin stars. Ground Zero (talk) 02:05, 20 December 2018 (UTC)

I remember User:Pashley pointing to a TripAdvisor article about all the manipulation of ratings, etc., that goes on in Italy. A few internet searches didn't reveal anything for me, though. --Comment by Selfie City (talk | contributions) 02:30, 20 December 2018 (UTC)

Bingo: Wikivoyage:Travellers' pub/2018#Fake_reviews, which links to [1]. --Comment by Selfie City (talk | contributions) 02:37, 20 December 2018 (UTC)

That's about fake Tripadvisor reviews, not fake stars. It's better to do a web search on "meaning of italian hotel stars". That gets results like this. Ikan Kekek (talk) 03:13, 20 December 2018 (UTC)

The article does question the usefulness of the star ratings, but I have restored them to the article in question. Ground Zero (talk) 03:22, 20 December 2018 (UTC)

It does. It presents a complicated picture. Ikan Kekek (talk) 06:44, 20 December 2018 (UTC)

"This year"

I tried to reword some articles... "this year" in certain contexts is a "to be avoided phrase" ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 17:52, 30 December 2018 (UTC)

@ShakespeareFan00: Thank you! I find "this year" to be a problem because it was often written years ago so it's no longer true. Even if it was written in 2018, the reader won't know that. Happy new year to you! Ground Zero (talk) 04:00, 31 December 2018 (UTC)