User talk:ThunderingTyphoons! Voyage Tips and guide

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Welcome to my talk page! Feeling confused? Worried? Frustrated? Celebratory? Got an idea or just need a chat? Leave me a message below, and I'll reply as soon as I can.

It's best to discuss most matters on-wiki, but if there's something you need to communicate in private, feel free to send me an email. While I will never disclose the contents of your email to anyone else, if the matter is not confidential, I'll reply on your talk page.

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Older discussions can be found at: Archive 1 (2013-2015) Archive 2 (2016-2018) Archive 3 (2019-2021)

Hey pal I need some help Rn 001 project travel (talk) 16:25, 3 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hiya. What do you need help with? --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 16:51, 3 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

I’ve been blocked from most wikis for no good reason for things that are way too small for a block like it is genuinely unbelievable that those people became adminsRn 001 project travel (talk) 17:04, 3 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

Sorry, I'm only an admin here, so if it's not something related to Wikivoyage, I can't help you.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 17:08, 3 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

K guess I’ll make some edits on hereRn 001 project travel (talk) 17:14, 3 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

To address your comment, when I first moved to the U.S. from Australia, my Australian licence was accepted for renting a car and driving, but if I wanted to buy alcohol or enter bars, it was a bit of a hit or miss. It all depended on how familiar the cashier/bouncer was with my Australian licence, and I have actually been denied entry to bars for not bringing passport. This is no longer an issue since I now have a U.S. licence, but the point I'm making here is that your foreign licence may be accepted for driving if you are a short term visitor, but that does not necessarily mean it will be accepted as proof of age. The dog2 (talk) 16:36, 4 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

I agree, which is why I didn't add it back. However, UK workers are very familiar with EU licences and would always have had to accept them in the past, so I should think they'd still be fine now even if the law isn't clear.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 16:51, 4 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hi!

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Thank you. /Johan (WMF)

18:14, 4 January 2022 (UTC)

Hey, sorry that was my mistake. I was trying to copy and paste some stuff and ending up pasting in the wrong window. The dog2 (talk) 13:50, 16 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

Easily done 🙂 ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 16:08, 16 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hello. The A49 definitely does end in Ross-on-Wye (you can verify that here) but you can get to the Forest of Dean and Monmouthshire via the A40 and the A449 takes you to Ledbury, the Malverns etc. I'm quite new here though so I may be misunderstanding the road template here. Thanks :) --Ferien (talk) 14:10, 17 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hi, welcome to Wikivoyage :) Our guiding principle is that the traveller comes first. The exact end point of the road matters on Wikipedia, and it matters to cartographers, but it doesn't really matter to the reader/traveller. They just need to know which road to take in order to get to an obvious next destination from the subject article (e.g. if driving from Ross to Birmingham, you initially need to take the M50, so even though the M50 finishes 40 miles south of Birmingham in Gloucestershire, the routebox for the M50 on the Ross article mentions Birmingham).

For this example, I think I'm right in saying that travellers driving from Hereford to the Forest of Dean would normally take the A49. The fact that they have to take another road after reaching Ross doesn't change this.

Is that logical? --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 15:37, 17 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

Yeah, that makes more sense. Thanks :) --Ferien (talk) 19:12, 17 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

@Ferien I didn't take the time to analyse this case, so feel free to dismiss it, but you could also put a "to xx". I haven't seen many cases of that style used, but I used that format on here. If it goes unnumbered, you can just mention "continues unnumbered" and if it changes merges into another highway or freeway, just mention "merges into xx". But I know very little on how road numbering works in the UK, and my comment was based on the numbering systems I've seen in Australia and the US. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 12:40, 18 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

There were only up to 7 entries per area. So simple enough for the reader to choose one.

You removed the headlines stating the area of the restaurants. Now it's harder for the traveller to find a suitable restaurant in an area the traveller wants to go to. Or to find a restaurant where the traveller stays nearby. Flightnavigator (talk) 22:15, 10 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hello. Bloomsbury isn't that big, tbh. The traveller can see where the restaurants are marked on the map if hyper-localness is desired. Overall, I think you're doing a valuable job on updating the 'Eat' sections of London, but please don't take offence at my touch-ups based on local knowledge.

Would you mind taking a look at WV:Boring? WV discourages adding chain restaurants when there are enough independent options. It might not necessarily be easy for you to know which restaurants are chains, but a general rule of thumb is if it's called "[rest. name] [area]", or "[rest. name] [street]", it's likely to be a chain. I was going to drop you a message about this, but you beat me to it.

But anyway, thanks for all the updates.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 22:30, 10 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

i see the case regarding the chain restaurants.

just the area headlines are helpful for tourists. let's say somebody wants to visit the London Bridge and eat there something. I gave that person up to 7 options in very small walking distance. Now there is one long list without seeing what's nearby. Using the map is less convenient, because the map does not give further information what kind of cuisine the restaurant has. Flightnavigator (talk) 22:38, 10 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

ah now i found it. now the lists don't fulfil this rule of Wikivoyage anymore: Avoid long lists. Now they are "Long undifferentiated lists" which should not exist on Wikivoyage.

With the geographical headlines it was differentiated and that rule was fulfilled. Flightnavigator (talk) 22:54, 10 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

Well, actually, I left the South Bank geographical headings in place, because that is a much larger district you can't quickly cross on foot. By contrast, districts like Bloomsbury, the City and Leicester Square are compact enough that a geographic split isn't needed.

From any listing, you can click the marker (the coloured box with the number), and that opens a map centred on that listing.

Removing the chain restaurants cut those lists down considerably. For small neighbourhoods like Bloomsbury, another way of avoiding long, undifferentiated lists is to be more selective when adding new listings. 7±2 good quality eateries under budget, mid-range, and splurge (and an optional specialist heading such as street food, markets, whatever), is enough in the vast majority of cases.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 08:33, 11 May 2022 (UTC). Edited one sentence at 11:39, 11 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

i still find the subheadings "around the train station Paddington" and "around the tube station Bayswater" better than just "Paddington" and "Bayswater"

Because tourists from other countries coming to London don't know if Paddington is a big district with big walking distances in between.

When stating 'around the tube station', the reader knows he can reach the restaurant in just 2-5min of walking from a station he or she is using anyway.

A good amount of tourists takes the London tube so they know where the tube stops are. Flightnavigator (talk) 17:33, 12 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hi again. You make a decent point about stations possibly being better known than areas among tourists (probably not just those from other countries either). However, the practice in our London district articles is to subdivide by neighbourhood, when further geographical precision is needed. It may well be that all such subdivisions on London district articles would be better done by proximity to major landmarks or stations, and perhaps you'd like to propose that as an idea on Talk:London. But, I think while the existing convention is in place, it makes sense to use the same style of geographical subheadings in each section of every London district article.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 11:22, 13 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

in the Budget restaurant section the bold subheadings are just a pain for the eyes. They look the same as every restaurant name in the listing. The non-bold underlined subheadings lead to a way better readability of the whole Budget section. Flightnavigator (talk) 09:15, 23 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hi, @Flightnavigator: As far as I know, we don't use underlined headings anywhere in Wikivoyage. If you think we should, make a proposal at Wikivoyage talk:Section headers and try to build a consensus. But while the current policy is in place, I would ask that you adhere to it. I appreciate your hard work on updating lots of articles, but we have an in-house style that has been built over years of discussion, and the opinion of one person on what is "a pain for the eyes" is not going to change that style without persuading other members of the community.

If you don't wish to argue for a change in policy, I would appreciate your help in replacing the underlined headers you've added with boldface. Let me know what you're going to do. All the best, ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 10:50, 23 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

Thanks for your answer. I gonna make a proposal. Flightnavigator (talk) 13:53, 23 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

Okie-dokie. It might also be worth posting notes on WV:RFC#Policy planning and proposals and the Pub, as I'm not sure how well-watched that talk page is.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 14:12, 23 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

I wonder if it's true that upper class Brits are no longer trained to speak in RP in schools like Eton. For instance, Rose Leslie and Tony Blair are both from Scotland, but when you hear them speak, they both use RP, and you don't even hear a hint of a Scottish accent. And on the BBC, of course guests will speak in a wide variety of accents, but if I'm not wrong, most news anchors still speak in RP.

One thing I've noticed though is the Prince William's accent seems closer to the BBC anchor accent than to the Queen or Prince Charles' accent.The dog2 (talk) 12:59, 17 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

As you know, I didn't go to one of those schools, so couldn't tell you about what they learn. In Edinburgh, I was mistaken for "one of those posh Scots who sound like they're from the home counties" by a Geordie; "no, I actually am from the home counties..." --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 13:53, 17 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

I watched a documentary made by Richard Dawkins once (though I won't recommend it if you are sensitive since he made that documentary to promote atheism, and described religious people as "barking mad"), where he went to talk to a Chasidic Jew living in London, and it was very obvious from his accent that English was his second language even though he was born and raised in London. I would presume his that first language was Yiddish since that is the first language of the vast majority of Chasidic Jews in New York, but I won't discount the possibility that Chasidic Jews in London speak a different language. But anyway, while it's true that Yiddish is not generally widely spoken in London, I won't be surprised if you will hear people speaking Yiddish to each other in the streets if you go to the Chasidic Jewish neighbourhoods. The dog2 (talk) 16:47, 17 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

You definitely will hear Yiddish if you go to Stamford Hill. There's like 3000 speakers in about a square kilometre neighbourhood. But hearing languages other than English isn't unusual in London, and there are dozens of more common languages that aren't broadly confined to a single area. The traditional Yiddish East End (2-3 mi south of SH) is pretty much gone and the English-speaking descendants of the Jews who lived there are now dispersed around the country.

I'll probably add some other common languages (i.e. those spoken by hundreds of thousands) to that section, such as French, Portuguese, Polish, Turkish, Kurdish, Romanian. Maybe even Mandarin, though a lot of the speakers were students from PR China who may well have returned home and not been replaced since 2020.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 19:35, 17 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

OK. With regard to mainland Chinese, they have traditionally preferred to move to the U.S., with Canada in second place. One thing I have noticed is the Canadian universities are regarded to be the second most prestigious after American ones in mainland China, while in Singapore, British universities are regarded as more prestigious than Canadian ones, but still behind American ones (in general; of course Oxford would be regarded as far more prestigious than the University of Alabama, for instance). I have seen a video of a mainland Chinese shop worker being verbally harassed by Hong K,ong independence activists in the UK, in which she was told that she does not belong in British society and should go back to China, but I can't remember where the video was posted, unfortunately. I don't know how common such incidents are, but I won't be surprised if that has scared many mainland Chinese from moving to the UK. But in any case, most ethnic Chinese that I ran into when I visited London were Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong or Malaysia (though the Malaysian Cantonese speakers usually also know how to speak Mandarin). The dog2 (talk) 19:53, 17 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

From some time in the mid-2010s (after a lot of political cosying up between the Xi and Cameron governments) until 2020, there were lots of Mainland Chinese students studying in the UK, mostly for a single semester or year on a study abroad programme. The vast majority of the individuals didn't settle, but taken as a whole the populations grew because greater numbers were arriving each term as the programmes became more popular. I'm not plugged in to the university world anymore, but I imagine the cooling of relations between the UK and China, plus the restrictions on travel that seem to still be in place in the PRC have dented the numbers of students significantly. Might have to see if there are any reliable sources on the Mandarin population of London post 2020! --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 20:16, 17 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Sure. But just so you know, mainland Chinese are hardly the only Mandarin speakers around. Most Malaysian Chinese also speak Mandarin fluently, though they usually have a very distinctive accent, and they're usually multilingual; the average Malaysian Chinese typically speaks Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese and perhaps one or more other dialects of Chinese (so in Penang for instance, the average ethnic Chinese resident is able to speak Hokkien, Cantonese, Mandarin, Malay and perhaps another Chinese dialect if they're not Hokkien or Cantonese). And I know that there is a huge Malaysian Chinese community in the UK. I myself am a fluent Mandarin speaker, though unfortunately, Chinese language and culture is not as well preserved among Singaporean Chinese millennials as it is among Malaysian Chinese millennials, though your average Singaporean Chinese millennial should still be able to conduct a basic conversation in Mandarin. The dog2 (talk) 20:39, 17 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hi there. May I ask why my edits were reverted on England? I see no copyright issues and some of the content was copied from Wiki Travel to begin with, with its own twist.

• Exactly. Please, don't. Ibaman (talk) 18:45, 4 July 2022 (UTC)Reply

I didn't know that was against the rules, I'm sorry. Would you be open for me to edit what I changed with my own wordings?

Posted on your talk page. It would be better to start over from scratch in your own words rather than try to edit copied content, but frankly the England article is pretty good already. There are plenty of articles on Wikivoyage (for instance smaller English towns and cities) that are incomplete and more worthy of your time. You may wish to search up a few places you know well and see how those articles could be improved - or even create a new article for a town we don't already have!--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 18:56, 4 July 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hi TT!, based on Special:Diff/4496509, I've nominated you for bureaucrat as you put your hand up for it. Good luck, and hopefully we'll have a second, worthy active bureaucrat within two weeks ;-). Cheers, --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 00:51, 11 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

Cheers for that. I suppose I should write a few words to support the nomination.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 08:17, 11 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

After 20 days, congratulations on becoming Wikivoyage's ninth 'crat! Now we have another active bureaucrat and I believe the first who wasn't here from the times of Wikitravel. Happy editing and enjoy being demoted to the bottom of the Wikivoyage hierarchy ;-). SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 08:08, 31 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

Still, I get a new varnished broom handle, right? Right? --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 08:59, 31 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

Nah, you get a 31-centimetre primeval stick as an add-on. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 09:08, 31 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

I'm ready to talk. What do you want me to say? BrandonJuanWilliams (talk) 19:46, 24 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

I mean, unless you're going to change your entire editing philosophy, I don't think we have anything to say to each other.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 20:01, 24 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

This looks like an impersonation attempt of Brendan. Shall we block? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 21:41, 24 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

Everything that I did, that was just a long running prank. Whad'ya say mate? I'll create an account by the name of AussieQuarantineGuy and I'll stick to that. BrandonJuanWilliams (talk) 02:18, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

G'day mate AussieQuarantineGuy (talk) 02:25, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

Blocking has to have some rationale behind it. If this person isn't here to build a travel guide, for instance, it will become clear fairly quickly.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 05:57, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

It looks like Libmod to me (possibly also because Australians rarely say "Whad'ya say mate?" or "G'day mate", signalling that it's not Brendan nor is it Basa Pulu Kokos), but agree that there needs to be a rationale behind it. I've filed a CU request so we won't need to do anything. If they're CU confirmed, stewards will lock the two accounts, and if they're not, then we'll need to further analyse their behaviour. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 06:47, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

Thanks, that had crossed my mind.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 07:37, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

The three accounts (the two above + BrendanJohnWilliams2 have now been CU confirmed by Sotiale; although no information was given about Libmod, it's clear that these aren't Brendan's sock accounts per "but these accounts have a different timezone compared to the IP you suspect". Should we now block for impersonation? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 08:04, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

I've blocked them all, but haven't requested locks. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 08:07, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

So what has been confirmed? That both of these accounts are linked to a third account? We knew that already by the user's own admission. What does "the IP you suspect" refer to; Libmod? I don't get where the impersonation element comes in, since that BJW2 account didn't have any contributions before you blocked it.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 08:14, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

The IP I was referring to was 45.115.232.14 (talk · contribs) which Sotiale confirmed that the owner of the three accounts aren't operating in the same timezone as 45.115.232.14 (UTC+10). The impersonation bit comes from Wikipedia's duck test. The CU didn't give us a whole lot of new info, but we know this is not Brendan – it's someone impersonating them. As impersonation violates Wikimedia's ToU, m:Terms of use#4. Refraining from Certain Activities, the blocks can be justified, whether or not it was Libmod. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 08:35, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Am I to assume that 45.115.232.14 is understood to be the original Brendan / Telstra vandal? --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 10:12, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

Yep. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 10:21, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

Ah k.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 10:29, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Reply

Should we link the official gov.uk page in the infobox added? https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/her-majesty-queen-elizabeth-ii ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 12:01, 9 September 2022 (UTC)Reply

Good idea, Done. I also removed the links to Wikipedia, which are generally not allowed outside of listing templates. Thanks for suggesting and adding the cautionbox.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 12:24, 9 September 2022 (UTC)Reply

I was just wondering, who are the soldiers in the King's Guard? I'm surprised that they are not some elite commandos, as you'd expect of a unit responsible for protecting the head of state. In Singapore, whenever a Guard of Honour (which is comprised on four contingents from the army, navy, air force and police respectively) is mounted for the President, the army contingent is almost always made up of commandos (and on those rare times when the commandos don't get that honour, it will be made up of a special type of elite infantry called guards), while the navy contingent is always made up of naval divers because those are considered to be the elite units worthy of protecting the President. The dog2 (talk) 22:49, 12 September 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hi. The guards comprise five infantry regiments (Coldstream, Grenadier, Irish, Scots and Welsh Guards) and two cavalry regiments (the Blues and Royals, and the Life Guards). They're essentially regular army regiments that rotate between 'normal' military service and their guard duties. Although there is a certain prestige attached to the regiments, most of the guards you'll see on a daily basis at palaces are guardsmen (equivalent to private), corporals, lance corporals and sergeants, i.e. the rank and file.

The thing that a lot of tourists fail to appreciate is despite the Napoleonic get-up and theatrical ceremonies, the guards they see in London and elsewhere are armed soldiers doing an important job as well as showing off. My dad was a Welsh Guard for 16 years; part of his career was spent guarding Buckingham Palace, Windsor, the Tower etc and the rest was split, as with any other soldier, between training and deployment - to West Berlin, Cyprus, the Falklands etc. For each infantry regiment, there's a ten-year rotational cycle: they do a two-year stretch at the palaces, followed by eight years of active training and readiness for deployment, then back to the palaces for another two-year stint.

To be honest, I don't think commandos would do a better job of guarding than, well, guards (in fact, the opposite), since their speciality is carrying out small targeted raids behind enemy lines. Ditto for divers; their specialist skills lie elsewhere. But having said that, a guard of honour is not the same thing as a guard. The former is a specific ceremonial job (usually for special occasions that honour someone or something, where using 'elite' units makes some sense), while the latter is a full time job of guarding life and property - in shifts! The guards regiments do both jobs, of course, so probably have the most varied careers in the British army.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 11:37, 13 September 2022 (UTC)Reply

Ah, I see. That makes sense then. In Singapore, the day to day guarding of the President is the responsibility of the military police instead of the commandos. The commandos and naval divers are considered to have the toughest training in the entire Singapore military, while guards in the Singapore context are just a special type of elite infantry, but with tougher training that any other type of soldier besides the commandos and naval divers that makes them proficient in amphibious assaults and helicopter-based operations. That is why these are the units usually selected to mount a guard of honour. But speaking of the ceremonial guards, I thought only commissioned officers are allowed to carry the regimental colours. Is it different in the UK? To my knowledge, that tradition in Singapore was inherited from the UK, so things must have changed if it is no longer true. The dog2 (talk) 12:42, 13 September 2022 (UTC)Reply

I don't know much about that, but the guards regiments have the full gamut of ranks, including officers. The colour is just one flag, so if it needs to be carried by a commissioned officer that's no problem.

Yeah, day-to-day guarding being handled by MPs makes more sense.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 13:30, 13 September 2022 (UTC)Reply

From what I have observed, it seems like women's football has really taken off in England in the past two years or so. Should we cover it in the UK article, or should it just be in the England article? The dog2 (talk) 17:03, 11 December 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hi. Yes, it has really taken off and should be covered somewhere, though on which article I'm unsure. You may want to convene with Grahamsands who seems keen on footie, or at least knowledgable about it (I'm neither if truth be told, and not just because the men's team lost to France!).--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 17:28, 11 December 2022 (UTC)Reply

I'm neither but add any material that attracts a large travelling audience. Men's football has long done so and in several countries women's now also does. I've therefore added all the first-tier women's teams to English city pages and intend to do so for France. Not for Scotland, where attendances remain tiny. The relevance to WV is that "football" is the answer to two travel-related questions: 1) what the hell can I do in Wigan? and 2) where the hell is Qarabag? The European tournament draw often throws up unexpected fixtures in obscure places, and within seconds a mass audience is searching for info on that place. Grahamsands (talk) 19:42, 11 December 2022 (UTC)Reply

@Grahamsands: So looks like it is worth covering in the England article, but do you think it should also be mentioned in the United Kingdom article? The dog2 (talk) 20:28, 11 December 2022 (UTC)Reply

I added a few lines there, to acknowledge the WSL but that the other home nations aren't so well developed. Grahamsands (talk) 21:43, 11 December 2022 (UTC)Reply

apols for randomly chiming in, but 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷 ;-). I watched the game yesterday morning in my motel; not going to lie, France only really won because of their goalie (but England's passing was ten times superior, IMO). SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 22:13, 11 December 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hi tt! Thanks for the copyedits to my exit numbering addition (or should I say junction numbering?). Didn't know that exits were called junctions in the UK, but I guess that's something new I learned. I've obviously been influenced by Queensland's, NZ's or Canada's exit numbering system where exit 253 means 253 km to the NSW border (QLD), exit 398 means 398 km to Cape Reinga (NZ – Auckland Region), or exit 165 meaning 165 km to Vancouver (Canada – British Columbia); I've deliberately omitted the US because it uses both (and uses mile-based exit numbers). Anyway, thanks for the copyedits :-) --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 23:10, 11 December 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hi. I guess since a junction is not just an exit, but also an entrance, it can't be called an exit ;-) Everywhere I've been in Europe, the junctions are numbered sequentially, but the distance numbering makes sense when there are hundreds of kilometres between major cities.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 11:27, 12 December 2022 (UTC)Reply

Happy holidays, ThunderingTyphoons!! Hello ThunderingTyphoons!, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! It has been a pleasure to have you as a fellow Wikivoyager this year. Wherever you are, enjoy the festive season and stay warm (if you're north of the Tropic of Cancer)! Your help in maintaining, improving and expanding Wikivoyage will always be appreciated. Greetings from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. --SHB2000 on 11:50, 24 December 2022 (UTC)Reply

Thanks, mate. Lovely station trees. I'm well north of the Tropic of Cancer, where it gets dark at 16:00 this time of year. Merry Christmas to you.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 16:15, 24 December 2022 (UTC)Reply

Regarding Special:Diff/4590065, my friend. Did you forget to place {{tout}} on User talk:JuliaD03? If you didn't, that's okay (as I've placed one just now); we all forget to do things sometimes. --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 05:09, 4 January 2023 (UTC)Reply

Thanks. I often don't bother to do that with a single case of 'tout and run' - they're likely never coming back, so won't see any messages.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 07:45, 4 January 2023 (UTC)Reply

Fair enough and understandable. (meanwhile me grinding for the last four hours trying to learn every policy on Wikibooks without being able to comprehend that policies can have variations...) --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 07:59, 4 January 2023 (UTC)Reply

Where do you find the time?! --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 08:06, 4 January 2023 (UTC)Reply

Maybe four hours was a bit of an exaggeration (as I was also baking a few cakes whilst reading), but you see, I recently passed an RfA on Wikibooks to combat the excessive vandalism and one of my commitments was to get involved with the project more (and am learning new facts as I copyedit many poorly-written childrens' books like b:en:Wikijunior:Languages/Welsh). As for the time, I'm off till the 25th but I'm headed to Tasmania in two days but I've basically had this entire week off to do some planning before I finalise my itinerary, hence how I have the time. I don't usually have this much time on my hands, though. --08:40, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

Cramming policies on an unfamiliar wiki must be better with the promise of cake.

I started editing the Wikiversity French course for about two days some time ago until I became demoralised by how little had been achieved in the 15 or so years that it had existed. Now I reserve my proactive work exclusively to Wikivoyage, only doing the odd helpful edit elsewhere as and when I spot them (usually while reading WP or browsing my beloved Wiktionary). That said, there are a couple of things I could fix on that Welsh 'book'.

Enjoy your hols in Tassie.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 17:46, 4 January 2023 (UTC)Reply

Rename:

• The Flag of Ascension Island.svg → Flag of Ascension Island.svg

Rkt2312 (talk) 17:50, 16 February 2023 (UTC)Reply

Special:Contributions/122.104.186.255. Thanks. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 04:40, 24 February 2023 (UTC)Reply

@Koavf: Done, global locks requested. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 06:29, 24 February 2023 (UTC)Reply

Thanks, both. I was asleep in bed.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 07:46, 24 February 2023 (UTC)Reply

I forgive you. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 07:49, 24 February 2023 (UTC)Reply

Hello Jamie!

While trying to quote something in a conversation I noticed that we are missing this template here. Would you consider adding it? I could add it myself but it does require the addition of a CSS styling page which only admins can do, if I'm not mistaken. - Klein Muçi (talk) 14:30, 3 March 2023 (UTC)Reply

I can't seem to leave messages. Apparently something about "Salting user+talk pages of old pages or harassed users" - Chris.sherlock2 (talk) 01:43, 19 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

@Christ.sherlock2: I'll investigate into this. I think it's a global edit filter that's preventing you from leaving messages. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 01:54, 19 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

Done. I've pasted the message that the abuse filter stopped you from sending on my talk page. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 01:57, 19 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

Thanks :-) much appreciated! - Chris.sherlock2 (talk) 03:33, 19 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

Oh... it's still happening... any idea what this is all about? error is still "Salting user+talk pages of old pages or harassed users" - Chris.sherlock2 (talk) 13:42, 19 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

Something in your edit probably resembles typical edits of a banned user, or some specific kind of vandalism. I tried to check whether there was some obvious mistake in the filter, but it is too complicated for me to easily find the culprit (and it is hidden from ordinary users, so I shouldn't say much anyway). –LPfi (talk) 19:56, 19 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

It's nice seeing your name on the recent changes list again :-). --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 22:59, 24 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

Thanks :) You'll never get rid of me! --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 16:41, 25 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

Lol, but why would we want to get rid of you? ;-) SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 22:22, 25 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

but how the hell do you guys deal with temperatures like this but worse and on a more frequent basis during winter?! Makes me wish it was summer here right now :-(. --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 09:14, 21 June 2023 (UTC)Reply

and happy summer solstice for you tomorrow :-). --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 09:15, 21 June 2023 (UTC)Reply

We're just used to it, I guess! Both in terms of acclimatisation, and also in knowing how to dress for the weather and having architecture and home design adapted to the climate; the same architecture often fails to keep us cool during heatwaves. UK winters are very mild (compared to basically everywhere else on the same latitude) due to the gulf stream, but they're dark and dismal - it's only daytime between about 8:00 and 16:00, and when it's overcast it will basically just be dusk for that whole time.

Also, 3ºc isn't even frost weather so I think you're just being a bit of a wimp. Put a jacket on, you'll be fine ;-) --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 10:34, 21 June 2023 (UTC)Reply

My tolerance to the cold is a bit, uhm, poor, even when I had three layers on. I mean, very poor (but in my defence, my ancestors were from a place just 9° from the equator, even though I don't think that has anything to do with living 33° from the equator). More so given that I live near a major river that flows into Sydney Harbour, I kinda am a wimp. Oh well... SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 12:24, 21 June 2023 (UTC)Reply

I swear you've been to the Arctic before! How did you survive?! --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 16:32, 23 June 2023 (UTC)Reply

That'd be "a bit chilly", yes, I'd put on my shoulder season jacket and knit cap. Winter would be about ten degrees colder. But to be honest I don't really enjoy cold either. In Northern Finland (1000 km north from Helsinki) you may experience -40°C on winter nights...

Greetings from Midsummer's Eve in Finland, it's "great barbecue weather" +24°C now. --Ypsilon (talk) 18:20, 23 June 2023 (UTC)Reply

I don't think I've ever been under -10ºc, though that may well change soon. Here, temperatures more than five degrees below freezing are incredibly rare, even at night. Enjoy the warmth and light while you can, Ypsilon, and have a great Midsummer tomorrow. I'll be in Windsor Great Park. ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 20:11, 23 June 2023 (UTC)Reply

Well, two puffy jackets during summer (it was in the low tens/high single-digits in Tromsø, slightly colder elsewhere) did the solution. I've actually experienced colder temperatures much closer to home (≈ -5°C/268.15K). SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 22:43, 23 June 2023 (UTC)Reply

Just a little something fun here: [1]. Here's a short clip some people speaking Louisiana Creole, which is supposed to be different from the Cajun French that descendants of the Acadians who were expelled from Canada by the British spoke. Let's see how much you can understand. The dog2 (talk) 22:00, 28 June 2023 (UTC)Reply

And here's another one with longer dialogue: [2]. Maybe you'll be able to pick out the differences with Cajun French. The dog2 (talk) 23:39, 28 June 2023 (UTC)Reply

You know, I think you shared those exact videos with me before! It's funny timing, though, because tonight I made a jambalaya for dinner (my best one yet, IMO). Also, I'm temporarily moving to Canada next year, so I'll have to listen out for some Acadians and see if I can understand them. The Québécois are difficult enough to decipher. Hope everything's good with you.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 19:48, 2 July 2023 (UTC)Reply

I'm well, thank you. Since you're a francophile, while you're living in Canada, you absolutely must plan a trip to Louisiana. You can fly into New Orleans, experience the Creole culture, then rent a car and drive out to Lafayette and Lake Charles for Cajun culture. Also, if you're interested in history, there is a slavery museum near Louisiana's capital Baton Rouge, in which the plantation house and slave cabins have been preserved. The dog2 (talk) 23:43, 4 July 2023 (UTC)Reply

Hiya. I don't drive at all, but would certainly like to visit Louisiana one day if possible. Good recommendations :-) ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 11:42, 5 July 2023 (UTC)Reply

Not Just Bikes moment... (sorry, I just came across this discussion and found it too hilarious not to mention this)

In all seriousness, though, visiting the US (outside the northeast) without a car is tricky. I was lucky to have family who were more than willing to drive me around (since I didn't drive back then due to vision impairments; I do now) and relied on Ubers (and even tried to hitchhike a few times), but I'm not sure how feasible it is to travel for 200 km on an Uber, and much of my experience of travelling on Ubers for ≈135 km was in Florida. --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 12:08, 5 July 2023 (UTC)Reply

In New Orleans, you can get by with public transport if you're only visiting the French Quarter and the CBD, or you only visit places near the streetcar line like Tulane University. But New Orleans' two most famous soul food restaurants are in Tremé, which would be hard to get to without a car. The dog2 (talk) 14:47, 5 July 2023 (UTC)Reply

Anywhere within a city I think you can reasonably get to one way or another (if you have enough time!) Accessing the countryside will be more difficult, just as much in Canada as the US. But just putting it out there, I'm always up for meeting other Wikivoyagers in person and perhaps becoming fellow travellers :-) ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 16:10, 5 July 2023 (UTC)Reply

Lovely to see your username again in RecentChanges :-). (I know I've said this before too, but you're presence was missed :-() --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 13:03, 30 September 2023 (UTC)Reply

Thanks :-) Sadly, I don't have as much free time these days. However, I'm on one of the wikis as a reader almost daily so am still available if anyone wants to reach out. And I've no plans to leave Wikivoyage.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 13:27, 30 September 2023 (UTC)Reply

Hi, Thundering, you might have noticed that I reverted two of your edits reverting Koavf's addition of H2 headers.

Although policy is to discuss every single change to established templates, this is a case where m:Ignore all rules can be applied – it is not an established policy, but a loose guideline. The reasons are largely technical, with the main issues being: 1) you cannot link the specific discussion without a header; 2) the lack of a header is particularly evident on the newer MediaWikis that link the last discussion on the top (although it has yet to arrive on Wikivoyage, see a user talk page on enwiki for how this would work; 3) such a change has no adverse effects on the template itself – a discussion would have been more appropriate instead of outright mass-reverting Koavf's constructive edits.

Hope that elaborates on my reverts.

--SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 11:40, 20 October 2023 (UTC)Reply

Hi. A discussion prior to the original change would have been most appropriate, per Wikivoyage:Using MediaWiki templates, but an undiscussed change can be reversed without discussion due to status quo bias. That said, I’m not surprised that someone undid my reversion.

I don’t think the policy necessarily calls on us to discuss every change to every template (granted, it’s open to interpretation), but it definitely makes the point that changes to popular templates should be discussed, and that applies here.

Sadly I am going to insist on a discussion for the above reasons and also because I don’t agree with the inclusion of the header in the template or with your assessment that there are no adverse effects:

1. The change reduces flexibility, making it harder to

a. write a custom message followed by the template;

b. or write a custom heading rather than the one prescribed by the template.

2. The talk page interface already prompts you to add a topic header when starting a new discussion (at least on the 2022 version), and beginning a post with a topic header is really something users should be doing anyway.

Sorry! --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 12:53, 20 October 2023 (UTC)Reply

Oh, right – I forgot about the new Discussion tool for adding a new topic (I removed that unwieldy tool for new discussions a while back). In that case, I'm now not so sure – but I'd also like to hear from Koavf, too. --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 20:11, 20 October 2023 (UTC)Reply

I'm primarily concerned about semantics and having these hanging conversations with no header is just poor document creation and could maybe have some accessibility implications or make it harder to generate outlines, follow threads, etc. I don't really see a reason to not have proper semantics. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 20:12, 20 October 2023 (UTC)Reply

Sorry if I wasn't clear, but I'm not against starting welcome messages with a header, nor arguing for "hanging conversations". I'm against incorporating the header into the template. It's better to start all new conversations with a new header, but that doesn't mean the header must be enforced through a template. ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 21:00, 20 October 2023 (UTC)Reply

BTW, I started a discussion on one of the template talk pages earlier, but was on mobile so ballsed it up.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 21:03, 20 October 2023 (UTC)Reply

Since you're familiar with French politics, what are the rules on this? I have Christian friends who say grace before every meal; in Singapore, that's absolutely not an issue, and people are generally respectful of that so long as you don't take too long and don't force your non-Christian friends to do it. How would the average French person feel if someone were to say grace at the dinner table before eating? Would it be considered disrespectful because it goes against laïcité? The dog2 (talk) 16:20, 9 November 2023 (UTC)Reply

In general, no, but it depends on the context and the individuals involved. I'd really prefer it if you didn't write inaccuracies as fact. ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 19:20, 9 November 2023 (UTC)Reply

What is this about then? And with regard to the ban on pro-Palestinian protests, this is where I got it from. The dog2 (talk) 19:26, 9 November 2023 (UTC)Reply

You'll need to translate "No, street prayers are not illegal in France, but...". The

Reuters article seems to misrepresent an incident where large numbers of worshippers outside a specific mosque undergoing renovation were blocking the public highway as a national ban on public prayer, which would be unconstitutional. Some protests are banned, on a case by case basis; there's no general ban on any protests, which would again be unconstitutional.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 20:50, 9 November 2023 (UTC)Reply

I see. In that case it wouldn't be that different from Singapore then. In Singapore, if you go an open field to pray and don't inconvenience anyone, your right to do that is constitutionally protected. But if you block the road or pavement and cause disruption to traffic, then the police will step in ask you to go somewhere else to pray, and you will be arrested for disrupting public order if you fail to comply. The dog2 (talk) 21:26, 9 November 2023 (UTC)Reply

Yep, seems sensible.

It looks like both the British and French interior ministers erroneously declared pro-Palestine protests illegal, believing their utterances had more power than they really do.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 21:59, 9 November 2023 (UTC)Reply

Happy holidays, ThunderingTyphoons!! Kia ora, ThunderingTyphoons!, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thank you for all the hard work you've put in the last year to make Wikivoyage the place it is today. Enjoy the festive season from wherever you are in the globe. Greetings from Te Moeka o Tuawe, Te Tai Poutini, Aotearoa. (Fox Glacier, West Coast, New Zealand) --SHB2000 on 00:15, 24 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

Kia ora, SHB2000! Have a lovely Christmas. Nadolig llawen, ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 19:01, 24 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

Re our previous conversation at the Pub, I've been thinking about it. I'm not going to stick it on the map in the bottom right, because like you said, it needs to apply specifically to the content that is CC-by-SA 4.0. So, my plan is to stick it on 1) the initial page where you click on anything on the map and where I used the wm-api "extract", and 2) to stick it on the page where you click "more" and it actually loads the Wikivoyage page. I hate to use you as a free lawyer (though you're much cheaper than my other attorneys). Really really appreciate your help with this and seriously nothing it out of bounds on your feedback... I was really hesitant of posting it publicly here but I made the decision to do it and I'm so glad I did because I get actual real and important feedback like yours. Brycehughes (talk) 09:22, 24 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

Ok, it's done and pushed, although might take a while (up to 72 hours) to propagate to where you are, depending on your geolocation. Thanks again and hope you you're having a good holidays. Brycehughes (talk) 06:14, 26 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

Thank you for your helpful reverts, I'm sorry that I wasn't aware we aren't allow to add galleries into the lead. I have made note on that.

May I please add it under one of the sections? Best wishes. 2A00:23C7:69B1:501:C44B:966D:B5CD:2E7 22:36, 22 January 2024 (UTC)Reply

I'm sorry, it appears we don't allow image galleries at all. That's okay. I'll add the pictures from the gallery under different sections and split them up :) 2A00:23C7:69B1:501:C44B:966D:B5CD:2E7 22:38, 22 January 2024 (UTC)Reply

Sorry, my edit summary could have been clearer. But yeah, you've got it. They're nice pictures, but are better when spread out throughout. Thanks! --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 23:13, 22 January 2024 (UTC)Reply

(cc @Ikan Kekek: as well) Well, how does it feel to have "UNLIMITED POWWERRRR!"? Feels great, ain't it? /s

(never mind that it's April 2, 15:05, as of when I'm typing this)

--SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 04:06, 2 April 2024 (UTC)Reply

Indescribable.-- ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 06:53, 2 April 2024 (UTC)Reply

Hmm, what if the three of us combined the UNLIMITED POWWERRRR! – that'd be even more indescribable, wouldn't it? --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 08:10, 2 April 2024 (UTC)Reply

Huh, I hadn't realised you were a bureaucrat now. I'm sorry I missed the nomination in January; I was being a monsieur in Paris. Congratulations, ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 11:07, 3 April 2024 (UTC)Reply

Haha et merci beaucoup, kind gentleperson! No need to apologise – I miss a lot of things too, especially on the other wiki I'm an admin on. --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 11:10, 3 April 2024 (UTC)Reply

Hello! My name is Chuck, and I'm working on fixing the catagory Category:Bureaucrats, Can you add {{Template:User Wikivoyage/Bureaucrat}} to your userpage? It will transclude the catagory to your userpage.

All the best -- Chuck ^Talk 16:51, 21 August 2024 (UTC)Reply

Hello Chuck. Done, no probs.-- ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 03:52, 23 August 2024 (UTC)Reply

Thanks for your service as a Wikivoyage bureaucrat. As you may be aware, our Wikivoyage:Bureaucrats policy indicates that 'crats who have not edited on the English Wikivoyage in over 12 months and performed at least one admin and/or bureaucrat action should have their bureaucrat flag removed. This is for account security purposes, not a reflection of a loss of trust or any disappointment.

Your last edit was on 2024-09-27, but your last admin or bureaucrat action on 2023-10-23.

As such, your bureaucrat perms will removed on 2024-11-06 unless you make an admin/bureaucrat action in the interim.

All the best,

--SHB2000 (t | c | m) 08:33, 5 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

Gosh, it's been a while, hasn't it? :-O I don't envisage being this inactive forever, so I should probably find some admin tasks to do in the next month! --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 20:22, 5 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

In fact it hasn't been as long as you thought; you have to be a sysop to edit the spam list. All the same, I will try to be more active as it's been weighing on my conscience a bit...--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 23:59, 5 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

Hmm, that's true – I've been using XTools which doesn't seem to account for edits to the spam blacklist. Anyway, cheers for the admin actions – it'd be a real bummer to lose you as a bureaucrat. SHB2000 (t | c | m) 00:35, 6 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

Hey I know it's a relatively minor thing, but it still bugs me because I've mentioned it more than once before: I'm not a "they", but a "he". Please try to remember this in future, as I try to remember your preference? --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 20:11, 6 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

Hey my sincere apologies for that – I'll try my best to remember in the future for sure. --SHB2000 (t | c | m) 07:06, 7 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

No apologies necessary, mate.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 02:17, 8 October 2024 (UTC)Reply