Wikipedia:Dispute resolution noticeboard

"WP:DRN" redirects here. For the "Deny Recognition" essay, see WP:DNR.

Welcome to the dispute resolution noticeboard (DRN)

This is an informal place to resolve small content disputes as part of dispute resolution. It may also be used as a tool to direct certain discussions to more appropriate forums, such as requests for comment, or other noticeboards. You can ask a question on the talk page. This is an early stop for most disputes on Wikipedia. You are not required to participate, however, the case filer must participate in all aspects of the dispute or the matter will be considered failed. Any editor may volunteer! Click this button to add your name! You don't need to volunteer to help. Please feel free to comment below on any case. Be civil and remember; Maintain Wikipedia policy: it is usually a misuse of a talk page to continue to argue any point that has not met policy requirements. Editors must take particular care adding information about living persons to any Wikipedia page. This may also apply to some groups. Noticeboards should not be a substitute for talk pages. Editors are expected to have had extensive discussion on a talk page (not just through edit summaries) to work out the issues before coming to DRN. Do you need assistance? Would you like to help? Request dispute resolution If we can't help you, a volunteer will point you in the right direction. Discussions should be civil, calm, concise, neutral, objective and as nice as possible. This noticeboard is for content disputes only. Comment on the contributions, not the contributors. Off-topic or uncivil behavior may garner a warning, improper material may be struck-out, collapsed, or deleted, and a participant could be asked to step back from the discussion. We cannot accept disputes that are already under discussion at other content or conduct dispute resolution forums or in decision-making processes such as Requests for comments, Articles for deletion, or Requested moves. The dispute must have been recently discussed extensively on a talk page (not just through edit summaries) to be eligible for help at DRN. The discussion should have been on the article talk page. Discussion on a user talk page is useful but not sufficient, because the article talk page may be watched by other editors who may be able to comment. Discussion normally should have taken at least two days, with more than one post by each editor. Ensure that you deliver a notice to each person you add to the case filing by leaving a notice on their user talk page. DRN has a notice template you can post to their user talk page by using the code shown here: {{subst:drn-notice}}. Be sure to sign and date each notice with four tildes (~~~~). Giving notice on the article talk page in dispute or relying on linking their names here will not suffice. Do not add your own formatting in the conversation. Let the moderators (DRN Volunteers) handle the formatting of the discussion as they may not be ready for the next session. Follow moderator instructions There will be times when the moderator may issue an instruction. It is expected of you to follow their instruction and you can always ask the volunteer on their talk page for clarification, if not already provided. Examples are about civility, don't bite the newcomers, etc. If you need help: If you need a helping hand just ask a volunteer, who will assist you. This is not a court with judges or arbitrators that issue binding decisions: we focus on resolving disputes through consensus, compromise, and advice about policy. For general questions relating to the dispute resolution process, please see our FAQ page. Become a volunteer We are always looking for new volunteers and everyone is welcome. Click the volunteer button above to join us, and read over the volunteer guide to learn how to get started. Being a volunteer on this page is not formal in any respect, and it is not necessary to have any previous dispute resolution experience. However, having a calm and patient demeanor and a good knowledge of Wikipedia policies and guidelines is very important. It's not mandatory to list yourself as a volunteer to help here, anyone is welcome to provide input. Volunteers should remember: Volunteers should gently and politely help the participant fix problems. Suggest alternative venues if needed. Try to be nice and engage the participants. Volunteers do not have any special powers, privileges, or authority in DRN or in Wikipedia, except as noted here. Volunteers who have had past dealings with the article, subject matter, or with the editors involved in a dispute which would bias their response must not act as a volunteer on that dispute. If any editor objects to a volunteer's participation in a dispute, the volunteer must either withdraw or take the objection to the DRN talk page to let the community comment upon whether or not the volunteer should continue in that dispute. Listed volunteers open a case by signing a comment in the new filing. When closing a dispute, please mark it as "closed" in the status template (see the volunteer guide for more information), remove the entire line about 'donotarchive' so that the bot will archive it after 48 hours with no other edits. Open/close quick reference To open, replace {{DR case status}} with {{DR case status|open}} To close, replace the "open" with "resolved", "failed", or "closed". Add {{DRN archive top|reason=(reason here) ~~~~}} beneath the case status template, and add {{DRN archive bottom}} at the bottom of the case. Remember to remove the DoNotArchive bit line (the entire line).

Case		Created		Last volunteer edit		Last modified
Title	Status	User	Time	User	Time	User	Time
Tuner (radio)	Closed	Andrevan (t)	28 days, 1 hours	Robert McClenon (t)	4 days, 1 hours	Robert McClenon (t)	4 days, 1 hours
Wolf	In Progress	Nagging Prawn (t)	23 days, 11 hours	Robert McClenon (t)	2 days, 19 hours	Robert McClenon (t)	2 days, 19 hours
Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic	New	Randomstaplers (t)	19 days, 15 hours	Robert McClenon (t)	2 hours	Robert McClenon (t)	2 hours
Genocide	New	Bogazicili (t)	7 days, 17 hours	Robert McClenon (t)	6 days, 20 hours	Buidhe (t)	17 hours
Khwarazmian Empire	Closed	176.88.165.232 (t)	3 days, 14 hours	Robert McClenon (t)	2 days, 17 hours	Robert McClenon (t)	2 days, 17 hours
Egusi	Closed	OmoIyaLeke (t)	3 days, 11 hours	Kovcszaln6 (t)	3 days, 8 hours	Kovcszaln6 (t)	3 days, 8 hours
Double-slit experiment	New	Johnjbarton (t)	2 days, 18 hours	Robert McClenon (t)	4 hours	Robert McClenon (t)	4 hours
List of musicals filmed live on stage	New	Wolfdog (t)	1 days, 5 hours	Robert McClenon (t)	4 hours	Wolfdog (t)	58 minutes

If you would like a regularly-updated copy of this status box on your user page or talk page, put {{DRN case status}} on your page. Click on that link for more options.
Last updated by FireflyBot (talk) at 20:46, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

Current disputes

Tuner (radio)

– General close. See comments for reasoning.

Filed by Andrevan on 20:04, 9 October 2024 (UTC).

Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Closed discussion

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the dispute resolution noticeboard's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion. Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already. Location of dispute Tuner (radio) (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs) Users involved Andrevan (talk · contribs) Kvng (talk · contribs) Fountains_of_Bryn_Mawr (talk · contribs) Dispute overview Are WP:GALLERY and other images appropriate to illustrate the progress and development of tuners over time and their varying design considerations? How have you tried to resolve this dispute before coming here? Talk:Tuner_(radio)#Image_gallery How do you think we can help resolve the dispute? Users are arguing policy that doesn't exist or doesn't apply. I am trying to improve the article and these editors are throwing weight around without a sane rational basis to remove good faith improvements. Summary of dispute by Kvng WP:GALLERY is clear that these are generally undesirable. Andrevan claims that the gallery documents the development of tuners but I don't immediately get that from the pictures or captions. If we're going to try to tell that story, we need improvements but I'm not convinced telling this story is important and may introduce an WP:UNDUE issue. There is already a Commons link where these images can be perused by readers. ~Kvng (talk) 20:32, 9 October 2024 (UTC) Summary of dispute by Fountains_of_Bryn_Mawr Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker. Andrevan seems to be unaware of consensus guidelines on image use in articles,in this case adding 10 redundant[1] images of radio tuner face-plates, some scattered across unrelated sections. Trying to explan that Wikipedia is not a repository of images and that they should have MOS:PERTINENCE, be placed in context and against descriptive text, and be readable at thumbnail resulted in WP:ICANTHEARYOU on the part of Andrevan [2] [3] and reverts of any attempted improvement [4]. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 22:03, 9 October 2024 (UTC) Tuner (radio) discussion Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary. Zeroth statement by possible moderator (Tuner) I am ready to try to act as the moderator for discussion of this content dispute. Please read DRN Rule A. Comment on content, not contributors. The purpose of moderated discussion, as of any dispute resolution procedure, is to improve the article (not to address the conduct of the editors). Please state that you agree to follow the rules for the discussion. It appears that the main issue, or maybe the only issue, has to do with images. It seems that one editor wants to include a large number of images in the article, and two other editors disagree with the inclusion of the images. The editors have already referred to the image use policy and in particular the policy on image galleries, but please read it again. Robert McClenon (talk) 19:27, 11 October 2024 (UTC) My first question is: Is there an issue about the inclusion of certain images in the article? My second question is: Are there any other article content issues other than an image dispute? If so, what is the other issue? My third and fourth questions are about the images. Third, are all of the images in Commons? If not, what is their copyright and fair use status? Fourth, will each editor please state concisely why they think that the the image use policy supports their view about images? Address all of your answers to the moderator (me) and the community. Do not engage in back-and-forth discussion. Robert McClenon (talk) 19:27, 11 October 2024 (UTC) Zeroth statements by editors (Tuner) The dispute is about the number of images and their MOS:PERTINENCE to the content. I'm not aware of any other content dispute. All images are in Commons and I don't know of any fair use issues. ~Kvng (talk) 20:08, 11 October 2024 (UTC) Is there an issue about the inclusion of certain images in the article? Yes, Images unreadable at thumb MOS:IMAGEQUALITY --:> showing the subject too small... so Yamaha T-420, Onkyo T-4000 are too small - unreadable at thumb. Are there any other article content issues other than an image dispute? If so, what is the other issue? No Are all of the images in Commons? Yes Please state concisely why they think that the the image use policy supports their view about images? WP:IMAGEPOL - WP:IG is pretty clear: A gallery is not a tool to shoehorn images into an article - This is a shoehorn per adding editors own statement. a gallery consisting of an indiscriminate collection of images of the article subject should generally either be improved in accordance with the below paragraphs or moved to Wikimedia Commons. This is an indiscriminate collection of images of the article subject, no way to discern one from the other or why they are there, and no way to improve the images - they are generally unreadable.other than looking like a tuner (and some of them don't even look like a tuner). And they are already in the Wikimedia Commons. cannot be easily or adequately described by text or individual images Text already describes the evolution of Tuners and, per the current text, two images are all you need: an image of tuner vacuum tubes, an image of tuner transistors. Gallery images must collectively add to the reader's understanding of the subject without causing unbalance to an article or section within an article while avoiding similar or repetitive images, unless a point of contrast or comparison is being made These images do not collectively add to the reader's understanding because they are barely readable and repetitive so no contrast or comparison can be made. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 02:07, 12 October 2024 (UTC) 1. Yes, the issue is about the images. 2. No, there is no other dispute other than the value of the images and image gallery and whether it is telling a useful story or illustrating something useful. 3. All images are on Commons and there are no issues with copyright. 4. Basically my argument hinges on such text in WP:GALLERY as A gallery section may be appropriate in some Wikipedia articles if a collection of images can illustrate aspects of a subject that cannot be easily or adequately described by text or individual images...Gallery images must collectively add to the reader's understanding of the subject without causing unbalance to an article or section within an article while avoiding similar or repetitive images, unless a point of contrast or comparison is being made....Images should be captioned to explain their relevance to the article subject and to the theme of the gallery...Some subjects easily lend themselves to image-heavy articles for which image galleries are suitable, such as plants (e.g., Lily), fashion (e.g., Wedding dress), and the visual arts (e.g., Oil painting). Others do not My argument is that these images are not, as has been claimed, blurry, dark, unreadable, low quality, or redundant. They are clear illustrations of what a Tuner is and what a Tuner has looked like. They are selected to show a good cross-section of different images - front and back, inside and outside, Japanese, German, American, analog, digital, wood, metal, plastic, tube, solid state, etc. It is not necessary to be able to read the writing or the numbers, as those do not contribute to anything useful that isn't explained in the article itself. The point of the images is to illustrate consumer electronics and digital products industrial design. The arguments made don't hold up to scrutiny regarding the images or the policy or the consensus. Originally, I had placed the images all as thumbnails alongside the text, but I changed it to a gallery as many other articles do. There is no blanket consensus not to place these useful images, as has been claimed. If a specific image is perceived to be problematic, we could find a replacement or remove that one, but I do not see that overall, the criticisms that have been rendered on the images are policy-based or justifiable. Andre🚐 02:29, 12 October 2024 (UTC) The galleries in the examples given in green text contribute to the article in specific ways. In Tuner (radio), the gallery is just dropped at the end of an already overloaded section. It may turn out that a gallery is a good thing to have in an improved version of the article. Per WP:DEMOLISH I'm not actually opposed to retaining it if that's where we're heading (I do, however, have some skepticism about how well that will work out) but I don't yet see the beginnings of any of that in the text. The only hints that this may be coming are talk page statements from Andrevan and inclusion of dates and countries in the gallery captions. If Andrevan can show us a source or two we can use to back the story of tuner development, that would help convince me that this direction has some promise. ~Kvng (talk) 14:14, 12 October 2024 (UTC) First statement by moderator (Tuner) It appears that one editor wants to include a gallery of images of radio tuners, and two other editors disagree. I am asking each editor to provide a revised statement of why they think that the image gallery either is consistent with the policy on images or is not consistent with it. If there is no agreement, we will develop a Request for Comments on the yes-no question of whether to include the gallery in the article. So, in preparing your statement, develop a statement that will be included in the RFC for the attention of the community. Robert McClenon (talk) 17:20, 14 October 2024 (UTC) Are there any other content issues? First statements by editors (Tuner) The image gallery is consistent with both the image use policy as well as the examples of many other articles which have detailed image galleries, much larger and taking up more space and more redundant than the modest image gallery on Tuner (radio). I originally created this article back in 2004 and it was in a very poor state until I started working on it again recently. I already have a detailed narrative in the works in the article with references, and a big part of that has to do with the early growth of the FM radio and TV and American consumer electronics industry after World War II, followed by the growth of electronics development and production primarily in Japan and the production of cheap, miniaturized transistors and the growth of digital electronics. That is illustrated by the photos which show the evolution of the tuner from the days of the vacuum tube to solid state circuit boards. You do not need to be an expert to understand what a tube is and what a board is and see the little capacitors and filters and stuff and then see how the analog knobs give way to digital, tape deck looking, black, plastic hi-fi. If the specific images look a bit bad to someone, I am open to swapping out the images for better-looking images, but there's absolutely no policy basis that categorically rules out having image galleries. I do not at all see how it is a constructive or consensus building activity to just come along and remove image galleries when many many other pages have them. The images I have selected for the page are a small sampling of the many images on Commons for this topic, the ones that have decent lighting and a well-framed subject that clearly shows what it is without bad framing, reflections or weird shadows or darkness. I've chosen a chronology from 1960 to 1990, and several American units, a German unit, and a Japanese unit, one of each showing the guts, ie tube, board, or another kind of board. In some cases it's the front and back of the same thing to show a different angle and give a better idea of what you're looking at. All of this to me is reasonable to try to show what a tuner is, which shows you something you don't get from the text. You wouldn't know that a vacuum tube is a weird round thingy like a tin can or that a ceramic filter is a tiny diode that solders onto a small lead, but you do actually kind of get that from the images. You wouldn't necessarily understand the idea of turning a dial to manipulate a radio if you never saw one in real life. There are kids on this website who were born in 2005 let's say, who have never seen one of these. I think they improve the article and improve Wikipedia. Andre🚐 08:05, 16 October 2024 (UTC) Per WP:IG Wikipedia is not an image repository. A gallery of images must explain (something). Images should not be redundant such as a 1960 dial with knobs, a 1977 dial with knobs and a 1978 dial with knobs. Parts on a circuit board are by their very nature hidden in clutter, ambiguous, and the subject is too small to be read at thumb. WP:OTHERCONTENT arguments are not a good reason to keep something. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 12:24, 16 October 2024 (UTC) I am on vacation this week and won't participate again until next week. Hopefully you can keep this moving based on what I've already said. ~Kvng (talk) 14:43, 16 October 2024 (UTC) Second statement by moderator (Tuner) I have created a draft RFC at Talk:Tuner (radio)/Gallery RFC. I am asking the proponent of including the image gallery to put the proposed image gallery in the draft RFC. It will go live after we review and discuss it. Do the editors want to include statements for and against the inclusion of the image gallery in the RFC, or are they satisfied to make their cases in the Discussion section when the RFC is live? Are there any other content issues? Robert McClenon (talk) 16:34, 18 October 2024 (UTC) Ok. I added the gallery to it and I'm fine with the discussion having the statemens after live if everyone else is. Andre🚐 18:56, 18 October 2024 (UTC) Second statements by editors (Tuner) I'm back. My primary objection is that the gallery doesn't tell the story it is purported to tell. Deletion is not the only option. Improving the gallery may address my objection. I'm willing to help make improvements to see where that goes. In the spirit of WP:ATD I think we should give due consideration to non-deletion alternatives. ~Kvng (talk) 23:48, 19 October 2024 (UTC) Third statement by moderator (Tuner) I would like to include two concise statements, one in support of an image gallery, and one opposed to an image gallery for this article. Since one of the editors who opposes the image gallery is on break, probably the other one can compose the statement. After that is done, the RFC can be activated. Robert McClenon (talk) 03:33, 19 October 2024 (UTC) Third statements by editors (Tuner) Fourth statement by moderator (Tuner) I am ready to activate the RFC if there is still an impasse. However, one of the editors who had previously disagreed with the addition of the image gallery says that they are willing to discuss changes to the image gallery or compromise. So I will ask each of the editors who has disagreed with the image gallery what changes, if any, they think should be made. I will also ask the editor who has proposed the image gallery whether they have any ideas for changes to the gallery. We will keep the RFC in draft to activate if it becomes necessary. Robert McClenon (talk) 04:02, 21 October 2024 (UTC) Fourth statements by editors (Tuner) I'd be happy to compromise by advancing more constructive changes to the image gallery such as swapping out individual images if some are less liked for whatever reason, reducing the number or otherwise making adjustments. I'm also still working on, though I haven't been in the last few days, expanding the article narrative to explain more of the detail around the history of consumer electronics and stereo equipment with an eye to radio tuners specifically and the evolution of vintage hi-fi vis globalization, miniaturization, and the evolution of user interfaces, or collaborate on how we might do that. Andre🚐 04:09, 21 October 2024 (UTC) Again, my main concern is that the story of tuner evolution be more clearly told in the gallery. We can talk about how to do that but if we are doing this as original research it's not going to fly. Do we have some reliable sources to base this story on? ~Kvng (talk) 14:24, 21 October 2024 (UTC) It's not original research. Everything in the article is well-referenced and I'm making sure it's all grounded in reliable sources. Andre🚐 17:26, 21 October 2024 (UTC) My thought was to create a separate section for the gallery and add an introduction based on what you've said here and at Talk:Tuner (radio). If I created such an introduction, would you be able to source it? ~Kvng (talk) 17:41, 21 October 2024 (UTC) Yes I'm open to that. Andre🚐 17:46, 21 October 2024 (UTC) I'm also interested to know whether Fountains of Bryn Mawr thinks this approach has promise, because as you've pointed out, even if this works for the both of us, 2 vs 1 is not a consensus. ~Kvng (talk) 17:51, 21 October 2024 (UTC) WP:V -->All material in Wikipedia mainspace, including everything in articles, lists, and captions, must be verifiable. WP:IG --> Generally, a gallery or cluster of images should not be added so long as there is space for images to be effectively presented adjacent to text. We are not reinventing the wheel here, policy and consensus guidelines already cover this. It looks to me that there is not much more to "history of tuners" that can't be told in 3 or 4 images. The gallery as it stands now has no context and is primary sourced. There would have to be secondary sources backing up an intro and making these comparisons, in photographs you can read. None of that exists now. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 11:57, 22 October 2024 (UTC) WP:PRIMARY says primary sources can be used with care for simple facts. The primary sources are simply used for the names and release information for the tuners. I am not using primary sources for interpretation. Andre🚐 18:26, 22 October 2024 (UTC) You are putting them in sequence as specific steps in development, that is interpretation. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 01:06, 23 October 2024 (UTC) Not really, the sequence is based on the years.... are you saying knowing that 1990 is later than 1960 is OR? Andre🚐 01:41, 23 October 2024 (UTC) That's a convincing no to my question to Fountains of Bryn Mawr. I think we should proceed with the RFC. We still need text for Talk:Tuner_(radio)/Gallery_RFC#Reason_against_Image_Gallery. I can work on that but it will take a day or two to get to. ~Kvng (talk) 02:14, 23 October 2024 (UTC) I have added the statement. Please review and improve if necessary. ~Kvng (talk) 19:39, 25 October 2024 (UTC) I guess I don't really think "An effort to improve the gallery to address this ran up against concerns" is accurate, as all editors did was try to remove the gallery. Andre🚐 06:19, 30 October 2024 (UTC) The effort I'm referring to the discussion in this section. I've edited the statement to clarify. ~Kvng (talk) 16:46, 30 October 2024 (UTC) Fifth statement by moderator (Tuner) Do we have continued disagreement about whether to include the image gallery? Please take another look at the RFC, because if we still have disagreement, I will activate the RFC and close this discussion. Are there any other content issues? Robert McClenon (talk) 06:12, 30 October 2024 (UTC) I think the RFC is ready to go. Andre🚐 06:14, 30 October 2024 (UTC) I've made one requested adjustment to the RFC. I think it is ready to go. ~Kvng (talk) 16:48, 30 October 2024 (UTC) Fifth statements by editors (Tuner) Sixth statement by moderator (Tuner) I have activated the RFC, which will run for thirty days. If there are no other issues, I will close this thread as being resolved by the RFC. Robert McClenon (talk) 02:25, 31 October 2024 (UTC) OK, thanks for facilitating. Andre🚐 02:27, 31 October 2024 (UTC) Sixth statements by editors (Tuner) The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the dispute resolution noticeboard's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Wolf

– Discussion in progress.

Filed by Nagging Prawn on 09:44, 14 October 2024 (UTC).

Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

• Wolf (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

Users involved

• Nagging Prawn (talk · contribs)
• Wolverine_XI (talk · contribs)
• Moxy (talk · contribs)

Dispute overview

I attempted to add a sentence on the Wolf Wikipedia page citing a report from a peer-reviewed scientific journal of one wolf eating 181 Payette's Short-Winged Grasshoppers. Unfortunately, I encountered unexpected resistance, despite there having been no such disputes regarding this report in the citing literature. I was told to bring it up to the talk page, which I did. I was told to justify my edit, which I tried to do, citing precedent for similar dietary detail in other Wikipedia articles. An anonymous user concurred that it seemed worthy of inclusion, but I did not receive a rebuttal. After waiting for several weeks, I believed the support from a third party and lack of response otherwise might justify reverting the reversion. However, my edit was reverted again. Upon requesting reasons why this occurred on the talk page, I was told there was no context for the fact I was trying to add to the article. However, the citation provides this context, and upon mentioning this I received no response. After some days, I tried again to add this fact to the article, but after a few more days it was reverted again, with no new arguments given. As far as I can tell, this edit does not violate Wikipedia guidelines, so I am at a loss.

How have you tried to resolve this dispute before coming here?

I was told to open a topic about this on the Wolf talk page, so I acquiesced. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wolf#Including_a_note_about_a_paper_reporting_a_lone_wolf_that_ate_181_grasshoppers When objections were raised, I made good faith attempts to address them in this topic.

How do you think we can help resolve the dispute?

Hopefully, I would like to be able to add this observation to the article, as it is such a surprising report. It neatly demonstrates the dietary breadth mentioned in the sentence that would have preceded this edit. Failing that, I would like robust reasons why this should be excluded. I hope moderation can encourage either the addition of this fact or meaningful dialogue about why it shouldn't be added.

Summary of dispute by Wolverine_XI

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

One wolf eating 181 grasshoppers is hardly surprising. Why this user keeps on pushing this useless fact is beyond me. I'd like to hear what others have to say. Wolverine XI ^{(talk to me)} 19:14, 17 October 2024 (UTC)

Summary of dispute by Moxy

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

Odd random trivia about ONE wolf WP:INDISCRIMINATE.Moxy🍁 11:09, 16 October 2024 (UTC)

Zeroth statement by board volunteer (NotAGenious)

I am willing to act as a meditator in this dispute. I have no connection to the article or any of the users involved.

DRN is a voluntary process, and further meditation is on hold pending a summary to be provided by User:Wolverine XI. Should he not respond by next Monday, the dispute will be moderated between only you two.

In the meantime, please confirm in the respective sections below that you agree on having a moderated dispute and will follow WP:DRNA. NotAGenious (talk) 14:26, 17 October 2024 (UTC)

Zeroth statement by Nagging Prawn (agreement on a moderated dispute and the ground rules)

I agree to a moderated dispute and accept the ground rules. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nagging Prawn (talk • contribs) 03:28, 18 October 2024 (UTC)

Zeroth statement by Moxy (agreement on a moderated dispute and the ground rules)

Sure.Moxy🍁 12:39, 18 October 2024 (UTC)

First statement by volunteer (Wolf)

I will, at least temporarily, act as the moderator. The purpose of moderated discussion is to improve the article. I am asking each editor to state concisely what they want to change in the article that another editor wants to leave the same, or what they want to leave the same that another editor wants to change. Do not explain why you want that, at this time. I am only asking "What?", because "Why?" can come later. Robert McClenon (talk) 05:58, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

First statements by editors (Wolf)

I would like to add an example of wolves' dietary breadth; namely a wolf consuming 181 grasshoppers. The two other editors involved here do not want this added. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nagging Prawn (talk • contribs) 20:53, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

Wolf discussion

Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary.

Second statement by volunteer (Wolf)

It appears that one editor wants to include a mention of a wolf who was found to have eaten 181 grasshoppers, and other editors think that its inclusion is unnecessary. I am asking the editor who wants to insert the paragraph to provide the exact text that they want to insert. I am also asking each editor to make a concise statement, reflecting Wikipedia's policies and guidelines, as to why they want to include or not include the paragraph.

Are there any other content issues or questions? Robert McClenon (talk) 02:08, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic

– New discussion.

Filed by Randomstaplers on 05:28, 18 October 2024 (UTC).

Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

• Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

Users involved

• Randomstaplers (talk · contribs)
• Bon courage (talk · contribs)
• Crossroads (talk · contribs)
• Conyo14 (talk · contribs)

Dispute overview

This is my first extensive talking through a semi-controversial dispute, so forgive me if I wasn't perfect.

So, for the past month, I've had a bit of a problem with the articles wording. I edited it, it was reverted, discussion ensued. Eventually, we settled on a consensus for about a month from Mid-September to October of 2024. It was on a dispute between findings from source C and this source J, which cites source P. This is reflected in Special:Permalink/1245461692 on September 13th.

In the meantime, I decided to post some information I'd found for readers to see. I was not warned about this behavior at the time, but I feel it necessary, because I don't censor my own thoughts and biases.

On October 17th, I noticed that there were text-source integrity issues with source C, first documented at Special:Permalink/1251618081.

As a result I felt the need to rephrase certain parts of the article to better reflect the newly found reliability problems.

As I said, I'm inexperienced, but I feel there might be a content problem here, especially after seeing the referencing problems in Special:Permalink/1251618081, and the use of sources by the review that have been rejected.

Anyways, I hope working through DRN will help us improve dispute resolution in the future, and highlight areas where I, and we, need improvement.

How have you tried to resolve this dispute before coming here?

Talk:Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic

How do you think we can help resolve the dispute?

Clarifying policy, and also, what to do about this article, with regards to how it treats its references, linked here (archived)

Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic discussion

Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary.

(involved; apologies if I am not getting the formatting right) The fundamental problem here is that Randomstaplers is engaging in what another editor succinctly labeled perform[ing] amateur peer-review on WP:MEDRS sources - in this case, the Cochrane review article above called "Source C". [5] It is not the place of Wikpedia editors to negate the findings of such MEDRS sources based on personal analysis, only to reflect expert views as expressed in the highest quality published sources.

Yet, Randomstaplers is insisting on this edit. It contains the text A review from the Cochrane Collaboration, updated in 2023, claimed (contrary to the claims of some of its cited papers[165][166]) that masking had little effect on the spread of viral illness.[6] 6 is the Cochrane review itself; 165 and 166 are individual studies Cochrane cites, which Randomstaplers is here clearly using to argue against the review's conclusions. This is original research and completely contrary to the instructions of MEDRS.

That previous edit also has at least some other problems. It states about randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that Various reviews on RCTs find that masking reduces the rate of respiratory infection, but cites for this at least some sources that do not review RCTs at all, such as this and this. I can't ignore the irony that this is a clear lack of text-source integrity in their own content, the very thing they are accusing Cochrane of. Crossroads ^-talk- 22:56, 18 October 2024 (UTC)

Comment by Bon courage

The proposed edit(s) seem to be a long and elaborate way of not simply saying with the best sources say (specifically, a Cochrane Review). I think we should just summarize the best sources faithfully. Bon courage (talk) 06:18, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

Zeroth statement by possible moderator (Face masks)

The filing editor has not listed and notified the other editors. One of the other editors has replied, and so does not need to be notified, but should be listed. Other editors who were involved in the discussion on the article talk page must be listed and notified. The filing editor and the editor who has replied should read DRN Rule D and the ArbCom ruling on COVID controversies, and should acknowledge that they have read those rules. Robert McClenon (talk) 01:36, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

Acknowledged. I did notify @Bon Courage with substituted {{drn-notice}}, but they appear to have deleted the template. If we come to a resolution, we might need to notify a proxy editor, because I... kinda don't want to be the one to write it.

Collapsing long winded response ⸺(Random)staplers 04:53, 20 October 2024 (UTC)

Just to respond to you @Crossroads, the reason why I was initially compelled to edit was because RCTs on masks didn't seem to pass the sniff test, which is an engineered object... like a life jacket. I don't think it's reasonable to assign so much prominence to an life jacket RCT, which is the way I see a mask RCT: an RCT on an engineered object? Because I had a feeling that my edits might be problematic, I created a talk page thread going through the process to explain my edits, and to verify my own edits again in the future. I called it "Removal of RCTs in progress"... well, I meant removal of some RCTs to try and reduce its prominence, but... how it sounded in my head clearly didn't translate well. I changed it only recently, after I read it to myself again. Also, US regulation 29 CFR 1910.134(C), and especially This NIOSH publication from 1992 on Wikisource might be helpful to understand my point of view. In any case, I decided to reduce the prominence a bit more than I think is reasonable now, and might not have read the papers in their entirety. Also, I edit a lot of respirator articles. I guess... writing too much on certain topic, on Wikipedia, no less, can shift your POV. (You know, I expected papers to cite 1910.134 more, since that would make better sense as an RCT behaviorally, but that's besides the point- I wanted to show why I was reducing the weight of RCTs in the article. I felt that the lessened burden of policy on talk pages would allow me to express myself better, but it didn't translate well this time). I also noticed that the section in question, efficacy, was in thread mode. Tried to address that earlier, and decided to drop it pending further consensus. Only my additions got kept. Before the compromise came, I suggested Help:How to mine a source, because the more sources we cite, the more likely we might cite a source that may be dubious. Crossroads did bring up a good point to include a variety of sources, and that's what convinced me at the time to the compromise. Basically, my initial goal was trying to adjust the article to match what I thought was due weight, based on my previous editing history to other articles. But... that was a month ago, and we came to a consensus. The latest change came from me noticing that source C and its references (archived) did not notify readers that certain papers had their protocols fail, particularly Alfelali 2020. This, I feel, warrants some sort of change. (In addition, the mislink on Aelami 2015 Archive today made me extra suspicious.) What I was doing was checking the reference's references. I thought I read the policy somewhere, but I forget what it's called. In any case, journal mishaps do happen from time to time - The Lancet MMR, Cold Fusion, and the Schön scandal are what come to mind, at least for me. And the lying by omission about your references kind of reminded me of The Bell Curve. We staged a rollout so everyone could check. To try and make the article more readable and avoid thread mode, I tried to consolidate all the RCT papers in support of masking, expanded one example and note the discrepancy in source C, linked here: Special:Diff/1251793797. That edit was reverted, and here we are. I made several bold changes to the article to address these changes, expecting more editing than reverts, because of Wikipedia:Revert only when necessary, but eh, whatever. I make a lot of typos, and spend more time on articles doubting myself as a result. Anyways I think that about covers it. Any thoughts?⸺(Random)staplers 06:09, 19 October 2024 (UTC) Oh, and one more thing about my initial surprise at source C. It was directed at the source, not to anyone in particular. I was having my mind blown! Like, how could source C, that's been updated many times since 2007, still contain a mislink and omission of facts? Like, do I have to verify each paper's bibliography, from now on, before I can use it? Just to be sure they aren't lying by omission? And, as for the mislinked Pubmed from Alemani 2015 showing an experiment done through a modified mas, with significantly less filter surface area, that also blew my mind. You can't call that an N95 respirator anymore according to OSHA, and it voids the NIOSH approval...!⸺(Random)staplers 06:28, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

First statement by possible moderator (Face masks)

When I said that the other editors should be listed by the filing editor, I meant that the other editors should be listed by the filing editor. I meant that they should be listed, regardless of whether they had responded without being notified, and regardless of whether they had declined to participate in moderated discussion. The filing editor should still list all of the other editors.

I said that the editors should acknowledge that they have read the ArbCom decision that COVID is a contentious topic. I did not ask for an 800-word history, which I do not need.

Since two editors have posted, we can continue, although the listing of other editors is still required, and is the responsibility of the filing editor. The purpose of moderated discussion is to improve the article. So I will ask each editor to make a concise statement about what part of the article they want to change that another editor wants to leave the same, or what they want to leave the same that another editor wants to change. It is not important to explain why you want to change the article or leave it the same. We can discuss that later. Just tell what in the article is the subject of the dispute. Robert McClenon (talk) 00:13, 20 October 2024 (UTC)

• Listed.⸺(Random)staplers 04:37, 20 October 2024 (UTC)

First statements by editors (Face masks)

I'll ignore the previous issues that got consensus last month. The issue right now is that this contribution, which I implemented following noticing issues with Source C. It was reverted by Crossroads, and then we agreed to implement in stages. The first paragraph got added. The second paragraph then got reverted by Bon Voyage courage. Further discussion did not go anywhere with regards to improving the paragraph. ⸺(Random)staplers 04:53, 20 October 2024 (UTC)

• Corrected a typo. Dang it... they pop up more often for me than the average editor, AFAICT.⸺(Random)staplers 16:59, 20 October 2024 (UTC)

Late addition: It just occurred to me: I'd like to also discuss the addition of {{unbalanced}} to the relevant section. I posited the analogy of life jackets earlier (with regards to regulation), since for some reason, no paper has decided to cite the relevant regulation they are following for their RCT (this drove me nuts, given how much I have written on respirators).

Although we can't conduct original research, I feel we do have an obligation to let viewers know what research needs to be conducted to improve the article, because RCTs... also show that a lot of scientists read Wikipedia first. See [6] (linked paper) and particularly this paper (which is cited by the former).

I apologize for not making it clear earlier that I had read these papers earlier with regards to my copyright work, which inevitably influenced my judgement on my talk page.⸺(Random)staplers 20:57, 26 October 2024 (UTC)

So, I tried to gather all I could from the talk page and it seems that you're disputing peer-reviewed articles with what content should be addressed in the article. Granted, WP:PERENNIAL allows you to view and discuss whether a website or journal is reliable. But if two peer-reviewed journals are disagreeing with each other, then that's content in of itself. I would go with whatever is more prevalent/frequent in discussed literature/news articles. Many scientific journals can exist on RTCs and offer differing opinions, but what you're trying to edit in, feels out of place. I also feel it borders some more original research. It also doesn't exactly have a WP:NPOV. The very first statement, feels false, given that Cochrane was disputed by other journals and there was only one other non-disputed journal. The rest of the paragraph doesn't even line up correctly compared to what it would have been after the constructive edits completed. I don't think what's current is perfect though, but I also don't think your edits would have made it better. Try re-writing it again? Conyo14 (talk) 04:54, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

• @Conyo14, well you see, that's the problem. I don't have any other perspectives to work with. And the initial bold edits weren't refined, (other than the first paragraph, which was accepted).

The big problem, IMO, is a logical one. From the life jacket analogy earlier: How are we supposed to explain regulatory context of each RCT? That's why I brought up 29 CFR 1910 earlier. You change the regulation, you change the results. You change the way life jackets are regulated, the police patrols, etc. You change how effective they are.

There are a couple papers that I read in the article that point out that RCTs can't be relied on alone, and trying to imply the elephant in the room, so to speak, without directly bringing up the elephant is a challenge. (I already know WP:NOR exists, but the talk page allows a bit more leeway, and it's been bothering me, as you can tell).

I tried removal way back in September, obviously that was rejected, since I missed/forgot a few guidelines.

Now, I'm trying to figure out an edit, keeping in mind all these editorial consensuses, how to explain to readers this discrepancy, with the sources we have at the moment. (And also keeping in mind there are scientists reading this, as I pointed out above).

And on top of all that: The Cochrane source has mislinks and links to a study whose protocols were failed by the authors, and the review does not disclose this! WP:Inaccuracy, and all that.⸺(Random)staplers 05:18, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

• By the way, if any of you happen to have a ref, feel free to interject. Just because I'm making these claims doesn't mean it's original research, since I may have heard the statement from someone else and missed or forgot the source. See the first section in Wikipedia:These are not original research. Off topic: There were statements in the N95 article that were implied in the FR documents I read, before I was able to confirm them through publications and the Wayback machine for instance. But that took a while. ⸺(Random)staplers 05:34, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

  Definitely don't be worried about scientists quoting Wikipedia. They should not be reliable if they're quoting Wikipedia.

  Second off, hearing from a source but not providing it is kinda sorta OR. Conyo14 (talk) 06:26, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

  @Conyo14 - Of course most scientists won't say they are quoting Wikipedia... But even if they aren't quoting them, it influences their judgement. It's been documented in the judicial system, see [7]. Speaking of kinda sorta... yeah. If you've been editing like I have, you can see how my POV can shift, which I emphasize my POV to try and account for this.⸺(Random)staplers 06:33, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

@Conyo14 So I thought about this a little more, and it's occurred to me why our OR perspectives seem to differ. I wrote the part on the Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster, which was caused by voluntary respirator regulations. So... nobody in the disaster wore respirators.

There is also the 2001 DOL study, plus papers like this one from 2024 and this one from 2011, and this one exploring the reasons why. [8], which I mentioned on the talk page, is one of the few RCTs that actually takes usage into account, but they don't cite 29 CFR 1910.134(g)(1)(i)(a) when it comes to why they excluded people with facial hair.

Like, these connections seem obvious to me as someone who has written about respirators a lot. But obviously, I can't (and haven't) mention (or mentioned) all of this directly in the article, because this is an article about the pandemic, and I can't draw conclusions about the paper from 2024, because it just presents data.

Sidenote: A lot more papers have been published about this pandemic than any other, so it is possible that someone with my POV has written something. On the other hand, a lot of the AIHA's perspective is very much locked behind paywalls.⸺(Random)staplers 17:15, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

That is a fair assessment, though I think quoting yourself (I know you won't be doing that) would be a WP:COI. The point I'm trying to make is that a source that quotes other sources can do so as long as it is considered reliable. If you are questioning the reliability of a source, you ought to open a discussion at WP:PERENNIAL.

That being said, I very much see the connection of dots. If there is a source that shows this connection, I think that would be something that can be added in. Provided Bon courage and Crossroads agree on the language that will be added. Conyo14 (talk) 17:51, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

There are sources in the article, some put in place well before I got involved, that push back on the reliability of RCTs. The question is how to phrase it properly. If we were to give it too much detail, we would run the risk of making it seem like the RCT conversation is more important than it actually is, and obscure the lack of information. That's what I was trying to avoid with my last edit, by consolidating views as briefly as possible, per WP:Inaccuracy#Approaches to reporting potentially inaccurate material. That last edit was also trying to remove thread mode, which... might also make it more likely that the issue will be noticed (due to the WP:REALWORLD concern of having scientists being influenced by Wikipedia) rather than glossed over as a controversy, IMO.

This might be a lot to take in, so I'll put together a proposal in a few days. ⸺(Random)staplers 01:05, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

This still looks like a lot of WP:OR on your part, especially about N95s. It's not as simple as you seem to be saying; N95s meeting safety regulation is largely irrelevant here. There are all sorts of reasons why N95s might nevertheless be less effective than they are designed to be when worn by the general public; they may have poor fit, adjust them a lot, not follow mandates, etc. Plus, the topic of the Cochrane review, of the article, and of almost all mask mandates ever implemented, are "masks", not N95s specifically. All that matters here is what MEDRS reviews say about the topic of the article. If the Cochrane review is criticized by another review, that can be included, but not OR. Crossroads ^-talk- 20:52, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

• @Crossroads As I have said before, there are citations already included in the article, even before I got involved, criticizing the Cochrane study. And there's still the issue of the mis-linking to work out, which has been noted in the web archive. We can work that out later, for now, I need to come up with a workable proposal.⸺(Random)staplers 03:29, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

Second statement by moderator (Face masks)

Maybe you didn't notice that DRN Rule A says that there should not be any back-and-forth discussion between the editors. However, because there has been extended back-and-forth discussion, and it has been civil, we don't need that restriction, so I am changing to DRN Rule B, and I will allow the discussion to continue. We have one editor who wasn't listed. I am adding their name. Continue discussion. If you (the participating editors) conclude that discussion is not making any progress, I will try to refocus it. Robert McClenon (talk) 04:54, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

Second statements by editors (Face masks)

@Crossroads @Conyo14 - Crossroads, your continuous comments on WP:OR annoyed me, so after more searching, yes, policy design RCT is indeed a missing POV - from Policy Design for COVID-19:

However, without conducting a randomized controlled trial, it is highly difficult to compare different government mandates’ efficacies (Haushofer and Metcalf 2020). Given the inherent challenges in launching randomized experiments (e.g., Abaluck et al. 2021), is it feasible to design an observational study with existing data on worldwide mandate adoptions to gauge their relative efficacies? [Continues on in a paper not about RCTs]

The following is more... anecdotal, but I feel it's worth mentioning:

• This paper mentioned before doesn't cite 1910.134,
• But Willeke, when he's testing surgical masks and DFM respirator filtration efficiency of all things, and only really needs to cite 30 CFR 11 (citation 23), nonetheless cites 1910.134 in citation 21 [9]. (This paper, if you recall, was cited by the NIOSH TB guide).

Isn't that weird? The POV slant of over-focusing on 1910.134 doesn't seem unheard of.

I would be careful, Crossroads, about mentioning "OR" over and over and over again without considering the situations in Wikipedia:These are not original research, or the fact people might not have the forethought of looking things up at the moment if they are busy arguing their point. I would also suggest asking for sources respectfully before making a claim about an editor.⸺(Random)staplers 09:30, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

• I had totally forgot that I had cited this link from CIDRAP news in the past: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/study-masks-vs-n95-respirators-health-workers-spurs-concerns

By the way, heads up: I should have my proposal up in a few hours. It'll take a couple weeks to implement, even though it doesn't change all that much TBH.——Randomstapler's alt 21:30, 1 November 2024 (UTC)

Proposal

I'm going to borrow an idea from copypatrol - creating a '/Temp' page, normally used to rewrite copyright violations. This time, the page will be used to rewrite the lead and the Efficacy sections, as these are in dispute. This will be done outside (main), since the last attempt to rewrite in (main) failed due to reverting. Everyone (including those not listed on DRN) will be allowed to edit the /Temp page, subject to the following:

Set up

Since I was the one to do the initial edit, I will set this up, subject to these steps:

1. Cleaning up the talk page - All current threads will be archived. We'll be starting fresh to avoid biasing new editors.

2. I will set up the temp page with my proposed changes, along with the section headings Lead, Efficacy, and Pinned section. The pinned section will be a place where editors can briefly state policy concerns, or links to articles or odd verification failures that might change a readers point of view, but would break the flow of the article. This will be linked to by {{Unbalanced}} in the Efficacy section, so the issue is made visible to readers with minimal editorializing. If there are any concerns about editor statements, discuss on the talk page.

My mostly final statement. If changes are needed, we can discuss on the talk page later.
To alleviate any concerns, my statement will consist of only the following: Editors should be aware of the Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster, and should be aware that as of 2024-11-02, there is a mis linked paper for Alamani 2015 (PubMed). [10] (Archive Today). The viewpoint noting the lack of regulatory RCTs is supported by [11]. ⸺(Random)staplers

3. {{in use|two weeks}} will be placed in the Efficacy section on (main), and a comment will be added to the lead warning editors that the lead will be overwritten, and to go to the relevant /Temp page instead.

4. I will link to this DRN thread, and will copy first and second statements from the DRN thread (not involving this proposal) and collapse them. (Doing it this way should prevent any more controversial statements being made while the page is being set up, while providing accessible but optional context.)

The proposal will be collapsed separately, and titled "/Temp editing rules." Once that's done, people can begin editing for two weeks (around November 17th or later). The deadline can also be extended if necessary if /Temp is still not stale.

Editing

Because the /Temp page is already obscured from the public, reverting other users is discouraged. Please let it be and talk it out--contents will not be merged if not settled. If any unwanted reverting occurs, dispassionately point it out and ask to self-revert. Edits should be continually improved under Wikipedia:Bold-refine.

Once set up is done, copy-pasting will be discouraged, due to potential copyvio problems, plus the fact that verifying sources is important.

Merging to (main)

Some time after the two week mark, around (November 17th or later), if /Temp is stable, I will decide if /Temp, as it stands from the last edit that is not mine is stable enough to merge into (main). If it is, I will do the merging with the required attribution. If I miss an attribution, a minor dummy edit can be inserted after the fact. Pinned section with editor statements will be added to the talk page, and pinned. All sections will be then be closed two weeks later, around December 1st or later.

In the event no one happens to edit the '/Temp' page, or if it is not clear to me that '/Temp' is stable, or if there are any other doubts, I will ask @Robert McClennan, or someone else, to do the merging.

Steps to follow if '/Temp' merging is reverted.
Reverting at this point borders on disruptive editing and filibustering. However, if this were to occur, an RFC will be set up as to whether to prefer the (main) article, or the one in /Temp. DRN parties should refrain from voting. @Robert McClennan can close this RFC.

If you understand point 4, and there are no questions or statements to the contrary, the process will begin sometime on or after November 3rd (UTC). Once the process in Set up has been implemented, we can close this DRN request.

@Crossroads @Conyo14 @Bon courage⸺(Random)staplers 00:59, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

Could you link it directly here? Conyo14 (talk) 01:06, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

• Sure, I'll use permalink so people can check. I'll copy the collapsed section, since I'm the only author.⸺(Random)staplers 01:10, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

• I am not prepared to accept this proposal (the final judge and jury status status Randomstaplers assigns themself is particularly egregious). A WP:LOCALCON cannot deprive other editors their say. Note this whole face mask/COVID/RCT question has been subject to previous in-depth discussion with many editors to arrive at where we are (e.g.[12]). If Randomstaplers wants to draft alt text, they should do so in their userspace. Bon courage (talk) 04:22, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

  • @User:Bon courage The initial set up is done by me for practicality reasons - because I drafted the proposal. I've demonstrated I always stop to discuss first when someone reverts, so there should be nothing behaviorally that could go wrong, especially with this detailed procedure. You've also seen me cease all editing after starting this DR thread.
  • Nothing will change on mainspace save for one template and one comment. That's it.
  • Closing this edit, as I described in the proposal above, will be deferred to Robert McClenon in extenuating circumstances. If you want me to always defer to a third party before closing, we can do that.
  • As for discussion in [13], well, it's missed what we discussed just above, along with new sources. So that warrants some sort of procedure for controlled changing of the article. If editing mainspace directly is unacceptable, this is much more conservative.⸺(Random)staplers 06:13, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

    This is meant to be DRN, but you are inventing some new process. I take it then the DRN effort has collapsed? Bon courage (talk) 06:18, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

    • @Bon courage - It's because I have a feeling that there are more people that want to change the article based on discussions above. Also, the DRN process is slow and naturally excludes non-parties while the process is going on. That's not conducive to building a neutral encyclopedia.⸺(Random)staplers 06:29, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

      Well, I do not recognize your preposterous new process and will ignore it while continuing to edit Wikipedia according to the well-established community norms described in the WP:PAGs. I thought this DRN might actually discuss some concrete proposals and achieve something. But if you're out you're out. Bon courage (talk) 06:33, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

      • @Bon courage - Ahem. @Robert McClenon, what's your take on this comment with regards to DRN rules?⸺(Random)staplers 06:36, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

      I fear this is WP:NOTGETTINGIT. Your personal analysis of the 1910.134 regulation, of how Cochrane linked to other sources, of the Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster (???), etc is a confusing jumble of original research. None of this is based on following policies and guidelines like WP:MEDRS. Crossroads ^-talk- 16:33, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

      @Crossroads - If you read the statement above, you'll see that 1910.134 is not included. The reason why I brought up 1910.134, and the Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster, is to provide additional context for my confusion.

      • My point is: you shouldn't keep pressing people's confusion or beliefs - you should be leading them (or asking questions) that go to the correct sources. If they have sources they might lead somewhere, I suggest you drop the issues in the process that led them there. Like I said, not everyone has their sources remembered.
      • You seem to be pushing all the effort on me to find sourcing. While there is an obligation for the person asked to provide sourcing, at some point, providing sourcing yourself, with justification, might be helpful to the other party to drop the issue, or understand what sourcing may be needed.
      • As for the policy you cited, this is all for @Conyo14, who joined this conversation. You seem to be ignoring that fact when citing NOTGETTINGIT.

      For the missing POV, please see [14] and [15], which you seem to have neglected in your response. ⸺(Random)staplers 17:20, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

      I agree with Crossroads. This is OR. The content you want to produce is not viable. Plus, you are asking to add content that for the most part, no one agrees on the wording. Finally, you cannot claim the edits shall proceed per WP:OWN, especially since there doesn't seem to be a resolution in sight. I personally say that the wording of what's there isn't great, but what you want to include does not make it better.

      Original research includes pointing out two sources that contradict each other, or don't cite other sources, or cite the wrong sources. You may have a different discussion on that. E.g "This source says this, while this source says this" is okay. "This source says this, but doesn't cite this source in the process" is OR, not okay. Conyo14 (talk) 17:42, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

      @Conyo14 - Yes, but under OR by editors, so long as it isn't incorporated in the article, if it leads to more reliable sources, like this one (15 above), it might be worthwhile. Of course, it would be if it was pointed out in a more respectful manner, IMO.⸺(Random)staplers 17:57, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

Third statement by moderator (Face masks)

Discussion has stalled. We will go back to DRN Rule A. Do not engage in back-and-forth discussion. Answer questions by the moderator. Address your answers to the moderator and to the community. Comment on content, not contributors. I will repeat the starting question. State concisely what you want to change in the article that another editor wants to leave alone, or what you want to leave alone that another editor wants to change. Robert McClenon (talk) 19:28, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

Third statements by editors (Face masks)

I'd like to implement contribution, with some changes (not shown in this diff):
What is done:

• First paragraph is already implemented.

Summary of what will need to be added, in addition to contribution:

• {{unbalanced}} in the efficacy section, due to this this paper on regulation, mentioned above. The linked talk page section will mention this.
• Instead of mentioning the source C's link problems in the article (currently described in parenthesis like this) and disrupting the flow, the linked talk page section will mention the linking problem.
  • In other words, I will copy the statement I created above (and collapsed) in the proposal.
• Implementation of CIDRAP news can be delayed for now.
• I'm more concerned about the flow of the lead and the Efficacy section, per Wikipedia:Avoid thread mode, as well as the regulation paper, while relevant to the article, being unable to be implemented to no research being conducted.
  • This is because considerations have to be made with regards to [16] and [17] noting the influence on Wikipedia on science. The missing evidence noted in the regulation paper has to be noted. ⸺(Random)staplers 19:56, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

Clarify second bullet point in additions section.⸺(Random)staplers 19:58, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

Late addition: The "for example" phrasing might problematic, and why people might think it is OR, despite not being OR (thread mode consolidation was my focus at the time). That will be removed in a future revision.⸺(Random)staplers 16:20, 3 November 2024 (UTC)

Late(r) possible expansion: I had a look through Retraction Watch and found this paper with an expression of concern. News coverage on Australian ABC. In case there are concerns about non-RCT studies being perfectly done or something, this could serve as an interesting counterpoint in the "efficacy" section. This non-RCT was conducted in Australia.

Coupled with this paper on regulation above, this could be the impetus of a more extensive rewrite, which would negate the need for having to include {{unbalanced}}.⸺(Random)staplers 06:32, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

A late connection... I cited [18] (the one on the talk page, wondering about the lack of 1910.134) and wondered where I got it from... turns out, it's linked in the CIDRAP news article.⸺(Random)staplers 07:08, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

Another late (and hopefully the last) expansion: The NIOSH TB guide mentioned alternative respirators, like Powered air-purifying respirators instead of disposables for use in healthcare. Maybe we shouldn't be over-focusing on disposables.

Here's some 2020-and-later era reviews I found for a revision future revision of the diff above: PAPRs: [19] [20] Elastomerics: [21] Compared to disposables: (rapid) Regulation: [22] ⸺(Random)staplers 05:18, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

Fourth statement by editors (Face mask)

I've said what I can. Unfortunately, the content at this point is borderline OR and should not proceed. It feels like an essay or a research paper based on the content, which is not what Wikipedia is. I do know the language can be altered a bit better. Regardless of where the language falls, I shall accept the outcome based on the moderator's judgment. Conyo14 (talk) 23:09, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

:* @Conyo14 - For the record, be careful: you're not supposed to add sections yourself.⸺(Random)staplers 23:16, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

Fifth statement by moderator (Face masks)

There are concerns being expressed that one editor wants to add content that other editors think is original research. Wikipedia has a noticeboard to try to answer questions about original research, which is the Original Research Noticeboard. My experience has been that questions posted there very seldom get answered. If any editor is willing to try posting a query there, we can put this discussion on hold while seeing if there is an answer. Alternatively, there is a more active Neutral Point of View Noticeboard, which is also a reasonable place to ask about original research. I suggest that one of the editors identify what the content is that is questioned, and that one of the editors post an inquiry either at the Original Research Noticeboard or the Neutral Point of View Noticeboard. If we try ORN with no results, someone can then raise the issue that that noticeboard is inactive, but that isn't the issue here. The article is. Will someone please summarize what the original research issue is? Either someone can post an inquiry to a noticeboard, or I will post an inquiry to a noticeboard. Robert McClenon (talk) 18:45, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

Genocide

– New discussion.

Filed by Bogazicili on 04:07, 30 October 2024 (UTC).

Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

• Genocide (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

Users involved

• Bogazicili (talk · contribs)
• Buidhe (talk · contribs)

Dispute overview

The issue concerns examples used in Genocide studies, History and Methods sections. (Primarily, removal of examples about Americas Bogazicili (talk) 04:46, 30 October 2024 (UTC))

How have you tried to resolve this dispute before coming here?

• Talk:Genocide#European_colonialism
• Talk:Genocide#Removal_of_sourced_information
• Talk:Genocide#Incomplete_information_in_history_section
• Talk:Genocide#Additional_problems_with_recent_edits

How do you think we can help resolve the dispute?

1) Help with resolving potential WP:DUE and WP:NPOV issues 2) Help with representing the sources in the best possible way

Summary of dispute by Buidhe

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

To be honest, I have not found DR helpful before. And in this case, I'm not sure what the dispute is, so I will have a hard time summarizing it. Does BG still want to reinstate all of his edits? If so, I already explained on the talk page why I don't think they are beneficial to the encyclopedia, so I'm not sure it would be helpful to rehash. (t · c) buidhe 04:16, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

I believe that the other editor has made up their mind about the content. This is based on the fact that they have not changed their mind about any of the content they want to add, despite my introducing sources and evidence suggesting that several of their additions don't reflect the majority view in scholarship. If I am correct in this belief, further back and forth is likely to be a waste of time. (t · c) buidhe 04:02, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

Genocide discussion

Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary.

Zeroth statement by moderator (Genocide)

I am ready to act as the moderator if two (or more) editors want moderated discussion. Please read DRN Rule A and state whether you agree to moderated discussion subject to those rules. The purpose of moderated discussion is to improve the article. (The purpose of any dispute resolution procedure is to improve the encyclopedia.) Please state concisely what you want to change in the article that the other editor wants to leave the same, or what you want to leave the same that the other editor wants to change. It is not necessary at this point to explain why you want to change the article or leave it unchanged; we will discuss that later. Robert McClenon (talk) 00:32, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

Zeroth statements by editors (Genocide)

I agree to moderated discussion subject to those rules. These issues are mainly the difference in this diff. These are:
1) Giving examples to colonial (and settler colonial) genocides in Genocide#History, using United States and Australia as examples. I had also said more examples can be given in history section, overall.
2) Giving examples to genocide methods in Genocide#Methods, with some of the methods used in Americas (and these methods were not mentioned in that section).
3) Definition of settler colonies, and giving examples of settler colonies, in Genocide#Genocide_studies
4) Wording issues in second and third paragraphs in Genocide#History and other wording issues in above areas

To show WP:DUE for those examples, I provided quotes from the introduction chapters in WP:Secondary sources, such as The Cambridge World History of Genocide Volume 2 and in Oxford Handbook of Genocide Studies. I also gave examples from genocide entries in WP:Tertiary sources, such as The Social Science Encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion, and Encyclopedia of Global Justice. I tried to accommodate wording concerns (for example: [23][24]). But we've been unable to resolve the issues.

Overall, my main concern is examples mentioning Americas or indigenous people are being removed in the article. This concern is amplified by this journal article: Wikipedia’s Indian problem: settler colonial erasure of native American knowledge and history on the world’s largest encyclopedia Bogazicili (talk) 16:40, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

Khwarazmian Empire

– General close. See comments for reasoning.

Filed by 176.88.165.232 on 06:29, 3 November 2024 (UTC).

Closed discussion

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the dispute resolution noticeboard's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion. Have you discussed this on a talk page? Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already. Location of dispute Khwarazmian Empire (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs) Users involved AirshipJungleman29 (talk · contribs) Remsense (talk · contribs) HistoryofIran (talk · contribs) Dispute overview narrated already-cited author's article in an WP:RSOPINION format. 3 others are sabotaging my edit even as far as accusing me of deliberately misunderstanding WP:RSP+"not reliable for author's opinion How have you tried to resolve this dispute before coming here? Talk:Khwarazmian Empire#On_the_reliability_of_Bunyadov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Khwarazmian_Empire#CLEAN_DISCUSSION_FOR_THIRD_OPINION:_WP:RSOPINION,_HISTORY_AND_ETHNOLOGY https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Khwarazmian_Empire#Quoting_Buniyatov_and_WP:RSOPINION https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Third_opinion&oldid=1254698909#Active_disagreements (got rejected) How do you think we can help resolve the dispute? 1. Assess if my contribution fell under WP:RSOPINION. 2. Asses if the official website of a district governorship I cited is eligible as a corraboration to my edit (the two came together). 3. The book I quoted is already cited with-in the article but the adversaries even argue that "the source is not reliable for statemetns as to their author's opinion." - assess if a book is reliable or not for statements as to their author's opinion Summary of dispute by AirshipJungleman29 Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker. Summary of dispute by Remsense Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker. Summary of dispute by HistoryofIran Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker. Khwarazmian Empire discussion Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary. The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the dispute resolution noticeboard's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Egusi

– General close. See comments for reasoning.

Filed by OmoIyaLeke on 09:29, 3 November 2024 (UTC).

Closed discussion

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the dispute resolution noticeboard's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion. Have you discussed this on a talk page? Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already. Location of dispute Egusi (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs) Users involved OmoIyaLeke (talk · contribs) TochukwuEzi (talk · contribs) Dispute overview The page has been vandalized by: TochukwuEzi. The user provides no evidence for their edits, while editing the references of other editors. I decided not to restore the page to avoid edit warring. How have you tried to resolve this dispute before coming here? [25] How do you think we can help resolve the dispute? The page be temporarily locked from vandalism. Summary of dispute by TochukwuEzi Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker. Egusi discussion Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary. The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the dispute resolution noticeboard's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Double-slit experiment

– New discussion.

Filed by Johnjbarton on 02:55, 4 November 2024 (UTC).

Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

• Double-slit experiment (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

Users involved

• Johnjbarton (talk · contribs)
• XOR'easter (talk · contribs)
• Quondum (talk · contribs)
• Chetvorno (talk · contribs)
• Tercer (talk · contribs)

Dispute overview

I think a diagram in the article should be deleted. Three other editors agree, one does not. I tried applying the suggested compromise by Chetvorno but it was reverted. I asked for input on the Physics wiki project. I don't know what to do next.

How have you tried to resolve this dispute before coming here?

Talk:Double-slit_experiment#Photon_animation_is_not_correct.

How do you think we can help resolve the dispute?

Do you have any suggestions?

Summary of dispute by XOR'easter

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

Summary of dispute by Quondum

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

Summary of dispute by Chetvorno

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

Summary of dispute by Tercer

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

It seems Johnjbarton is no longer interested in DR. If that's not the case I can summarize the dispute here. Tercer (talk) 09:39, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

Double-slit experiment discussion

Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary.

• Volunteer Note - The filing editor has not notified the other editors on their user talk pages. Robert McClenon (talk) 03:29, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

Sorry can you explain what I should do? Johnjbarton (talk) 03:41, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

Per the large block of info on the top of this page, you are required to notify the involved users of this discussion on their talk page (you can use this template or a personal message). However, I've already done so for you, so don't worry about it. TheWikiToby (talk) 05:12, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

Oh. Thanks, I appreciate your efforts. However I did not want to bug these folks. I was just looking for advice. Johnjbarton (talk) 06:19, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

Looking at the discussion, I think you have all made your positions clear and have not changed each other's minds. I think at this point, you simply make a formal proposal on the talk page of the article to remove the image and let the other editors have their vote. If there is a clear consensus to remove the image, then you remove it. If an entrenched editor, then continues to revert the will of the consensus, then you ask for help resolving the dispute. Constant314 (talk) 13:28, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

I thought I already make the formal proposal and three editors plus myself agreed to remove. But one does not. So what to do?

I agree that rehashing the arguments over here is not likely to make any difference. Johnjbarton (talk) 17:01, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

Start a new thread. Make simple proposal to remove the animation. Cast the first vote. Constant314 (talk) 17:10, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

Robert McClenon thanks for your attention. I don't think this mechanism will help us. Johnjbarton (talk) 17:03, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

Zeroth statement by volunteer (Double-slit experiment)

On the one hand, there is probably not much to be gained by moderated discussion. On the other hand, the way to resolve this content issue appears to be a Request for Comments. I am ready to work with one or more editors to develop a neutrally worded RFC on the diagram in question. If anyone wants assistance with a Request for Comments, please read DRN Rule A, only because it summarizes the need for civility. I don't think that anyone has been uncivil, but a reminder about civility is often useful.

Do any editors want to work on an RFC about a questionable illustration? Robert McClenon (talk) 16:34, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

List of musicals filmed live on stage

– New discussion.

Filed by Wolfdog on 16:10, 5 November 2024 (UTC).

Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

• List of musicals filmed live on stage (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

Users involved

• Wolfdog (talk · contribs)
• EncreViolette (talk · contribs)
• DeputyBeagle (talk · contribs)

Dispute overview

User EncreViolette and I seem to be stuck (much discussed on the talk page) on what constitute reliable sources and notable sources, as well as what items (and their relevant sources) should be included or not on this kind of a list page. I think it's time for some outside and better understanding of WP guidelines--speaking for myself here. Encre has stated Every entry on a list does not have to be notable (WP:NLIST). From WP:CSC, out of the three selection criteria, the last (everything that is verifiably a member of the group) seems to fit this the most. It gives 32kb as an upper size limit for this sort of list, and this list is currently 12.52kb. I want to understand if Encre is interpreting this correctly. Also, a third user, DeputyBeagle, has earlier argued The scope of this list is too broad to add every proshot musical, so per WP:LSC we should limit it to notable proshots, or at the very least notable productions and A page from a reliable secondary source would be good - Any articles from a major source would be ideal. On 21 September, I began to remove any Takarazuka Revue plays that were unsourced or used sources that do not clearly meet notability (largely, primary or self-published sources from what I can tell, though they are all in Japanese, which is obviously an obstacle for me). Encre expressed being upset with my removals on 3 November.

How have you tried to resolve this dispute before coming here?

Talk:List of musicals filmed live on stage

How do you think we can help resolve the dispute?

Can you straightforwardly explain to us all the relevant WP policy or guidelines that can allow us next steps to move forward?

Summary of dispute by EncreViolette

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

Summary of dispute by DeputyBeagle

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

List of musicals filmed live on stage discussion

Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary.

@Wolfdog I don't believe you've notified the involved editors of this thread. I've done so for you. TheWikiToby (talk) 18:34, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

• Volunteer Note - The applicable policy on reliable sources is the policy on reliable sources. If there are questions about whether a specific source is reliable, that question can best be asked at the Reliable Source Noticeboard, whose volunteers have experience in answering questions about source reliability. Robert McClenon (talk) 16:43, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

  Excellent, thanks! I've begun the relevant discussion here. Wolfdog (talk) 20:17, 6 November 2024 (UTC)