Talk:Felony

Spelling

I'm not sure what's up with this article, but I'm more and more convinced that it should use American spelling. The earliest non-stub version that I can find used it, and the concept only exists in the US these days. -- Rockstone^{Send me a message!} 10:35, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

The earliest version used offence and misdemeanour, except for one usage of misdemeanor. DuncanHill (talk) 10:53, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

Ah, the first instance used misdemeanor, the next one used misdemeanour. Odd. But that version was a stub. The first non-stub version is what we look at. -- Rockstone^{Send me a message!} 10:55, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

Also, I still think that there's a valid argument to be had that the concept of a felony is primarily an American phenomenon since other jurisdictions have abolished it, so it is appropriate to use American spelling. But I'm not like, married to the idea. I'm also not really sure when an article goes from being a stub to not being one. In any case, regardless, the spelling should be consistent throughout. -- Rockstone^{Send me a message!} 10:58, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

(e/c) What version are you claiming as the first non-stub? The earliest version had misdemeanour 3, misdemeanor 1, and offence 3, offense 0. The current score is offence 18, offense 16, and misdemeanour 10, misdemeanour 13. So no clear preference.

@DuncanHill: -- looks like the edit conflict ate your signature line. So I'm not really sure when the first non-stub is. I've gone through the history of the article and it's rather unclear when the non-stub version of the article appears, it doesn't help that all articles from Wikipedia's earliest days look like stubs today. If we do want to keep British spelling, I'm not against it, although I do feel like the fact that the distinction only exists in the US these days is an argument for using American spelling (but then again, the concept of a felony originates at common law). Whatever we decide, we should have one single spelling. --Rockstone^{Send me a message!} 21:04, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

@DuncanHill: -- let me know your thoughts! Thanks. --Rockstone^{Send me a message!} 23:36, 4 September 2023 (UTC)

(Closed) RfC: Should the felony article use American or British spelling?

The following discussion is an archived record of a request for comment. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this discussion. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.

Well, yes, I'm the OP, but WP:SNOW tells me that it should be fine to close this now; there's no chance the outcome will be any different. There is consensus to use American spelling on this article. -- Rockstone^{Send me a message!} 23:11, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

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It is unclear if this article should use American (e.g. "offense") or British (e.g., "offence") spelling. It is currently using a mixture of both, which violates the the manual of style's requirement for consistency. The original version of the article, from 2001, also used a mixture of both, so MOS:RETAIN doesn't seem to help. --Rockstone^{Send me a message!} 05:51, 8 September 2023 (UTC)

Use American Style:

1. I'm of the mindset that we should use the American style as MOS:RETAIN doesn't seem to apply as it was never clear which version dominated the article, and the distinction between felonies and misdemeanors only exits in the US; other common-law countries have abolished it, meaning that there is a stronger national tie to the US for this article. -- Rockstone^{Send me a message!} 05:55, 8 September 2023 (UTC)
2. I think using the American style makes sense. This article appears to place more focus on the American criminal justice system, as there's a large section dedicated to the American system while other countries' systems fall under the section "Other jurisdictions." Additionally, more than half of the references are American sources. 23impartial (talk) 23:07, 8 September 2023 (UTC)
3. The concept of a felony is much more important in the US than the UK and the classification of crimes as felonies largely only exists in the US. Seems a more reasonable choice if consistency needs to be retained. Timceharris (talk) 00:39, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
4. I do not have a strong determination about this. But it appears to me that the advice at MOS:RETAIN is useful and I will add my opinion to the side of the large consensus. Jorahm (talk) 17:01, 17 September 2023 (UTC)

Use British Style:

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.