User talk:Jimbo Wales

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This talkpage has been mentioned by a media organization:

Matthew Gault (8 December 2021). "Wikipedia Editors Very Mad About Jimmy Wales' NFT of a Wikipedia Edit". Vice Media. The trouble began when Wales posted an announcement about the auction on his user talk page—a kind of message board where users communicate directly with each other.

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/delist/Jimmy Wales

You're the subject on a delist FPC. Please, give us your feedback. ArionStar (talk) 01:44, 19 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A cheeseburger for one of the greatest on Wikipedia!

A visionary with an enduring legacy! MimirIsSmart (talk) 07:01, 22 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Will.i.am name

(Reposted from WP:BLPN for more visibility)

This diff explains the situation quite well I think, but I'm also happy to answer questions. I'd just like more eyes on it. The tl;dr is that we have an error in Wikipedia for more than a decade on what likely seems like a very minor point, but which has caused annoyance by the subject for many years. There are now overwhelming sources to correct the error, but I'm holding off on making the edit myself due to what is arguably a conflict of interest (I don't think so, but out of an abundance of caution I want to be careful. I think the experienced BLP editors who visit this noticeboard will do a good job of reviewing this. Jimbo Wales (talk) 09:49, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I'm curious: who would you say is the least famous person you've ever gone to bat for? Floquenbeam (talk) 16:52, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Many of the Wikipedians who have been jailed for their work in difficult places are not famous at all. Jimbo Wales (talk) 17:22, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I worded my question poorly, so that's a fair response. Floquenbeam (talk) 17:26, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. In terms of what you were asking, and assuming good faith, I think people who approach me about something in their Wikipedia entry tend to be notable, and so tend to be famous to some degree. It isn't something that I really care about; I care about Wikipedia doing the right thing, always seeking accuracy and dignity. I think for inconsequential things that are causing someone pain, there's almost always the nice thing to do and the jerk thing to do - I think we should try to choose nice when we can. Jimbo Wales (talk) 18:16, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Aside from rigid rules-based arguments (of which there are too many around here, IMHO, but Fram is probably more correct on the rules), there are two competing more humanistic points of view:

1. Let's be nice, and address an issue that apparently bothers someone and isn't really that important

2. Let's be fair, and not do something for an aquaintance of yours (or whatever is more accurate, don't want to get hung up on terminology) that we wouldn't normally do for someone else.

This seems ripe for a kind of IAR compromise, but I suspect you and Fram would strongly disagree on the particulars of the compromise. For someone who can see both points of view, it's too exhausting to try to mediate a disagreement like this. I'd say the discussion might benefit from you and Fram both kind of backing off, but I suspect you and Fram would both not want to back off if the other didn't.

My initial snark probably wasn't fair, but I found it irksome that you can canvass for support with no real consequence. I'm trying to imagine what would happen if I tried to do something similar for a notable neighbor. --Floquenbeam (talk) 19:05, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Is the proposed compromise I just made OK with you? I'm not trying to trap you into reverting, it's an honest attempt to compromise. If either you or Fram disagree I'll revert, so you don't get pinged for edit warring. Floquenbeam (talk) 19:25, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I've answered over there but I like the approach. I think Fram will want a footnote and I'm also ok with that. The main thing is getting it out of the lede and your solution does that.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 13:07, 28 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Direct link: Talk:Will.i.am#Newer sources on his name. –Novem Linguae (talk) 18:51, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I just wanted to mention that I found this extensive list of links extremely helpful. It does establish that there actually are several good sources that establish that his current legal name isn't William James Adams, Jr., but William Adams. That's the important thing.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 13:07, 28 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]