Tol

Contentious topic awareness

Reopening an old move discussion

Hi Tol,

I'd like to ask you to reconsider your closure of this requested move back in 2023. I understand your rationale "it's quite confusing to present a proper noun in lowercase", however the subject has explicitly expressed their preference for their name to be presented under-capitalized. There are other examples of individuals with a similar preference on Wikipedia. Examples include:

bell hooks and k.d. lang

Additionally the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS 8.4) states that "Unconventional spellings strongly preferred by the bearer of the name or pen name (e.g., bell hooks) should usually be respected in appropriate contexts".

While the NYT and AP articles from 2013 and 2019 print her name conventionally, more recent sources honor her preferred style. See 1 and 2, as well as an article in the SF Chronicle, an announcement from the MacArthur Foundation and from the Columbia Law School.

Thank you for all your work across the platform. Da.mappr (talk) 00:03, 28 May 2026 (UTC)

@Da.mappr: I opened this RM; I did not close it. Wikipedia does not follow CMOS; we follow our own house Manual of Style, which applies the different standard of "when the lowercase variant has received regular and established use in reliable independent sources". If you think capitalisation in sources has changed, you are welcome to open another RM. Tol (talk | contribs) @ 06:16, 28 May 2026 (UTC)

Question from Kodyues (03:03, 29 May 2026)

I was just wondering, I’m trying to cite a article for computing and would oracle be a good source? Thanks in advance --Kodyues (talk) 03:03, 29 May 2026 (UTC)

@Kodyues: The reliable sources guideline would be relevant. Wikipedia generally prefers independent, secondary sources — which Oracle is unlikely to be — but primary sources can be used in some circumstances. Tol (talk | contribs) @ 22:59, 30 May 2026 (UTC)

Thank you Kodyues (talk) 21:21, 31 May 2026 (UTC)

Question from AbdulMalik Ay (04:42, 1 June 2026)

Hello, How do I create my own Wiki page ? --AbdulMalik Ay (talk) 04:42, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

@AbdulMalik Ay: Help:Your first article has information on how to write an article. Tol (talk | contribs) @ 08:53, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

Question from WaardeMedeburgers (20:22, 3 June 2026)

Can I use Dutch for my edit summaries on English Wikipedia? (Kan ik Nederlands gebruiken voor mijn bewerkingssamenvattingen?) I also speak English. --WaardeMedeburgers (talk) 20:22, 3 June 2026 (UTC)

@WaardeMedeburgers: I'm not aware of any specific policies or guidelines that explicitly say not to do this, but I would personally recommend against it. For instance, while not explicitly covering edit summaries, the talk page guidelines note that "This is the English-language Wikipedia; discussions should normally be conducted in English", and I would find it reasonable to apply this principle to edit summaries as well. Tol (talk | contribs) @ 05:10, 4 June 2026 (UTC)

Got it, I'll use English on talk pages and edit summaries on English Wikipedia. I also edit Dutch Wikipedia, and will use Dutch there.

I'll still use Dutch on my homepage and sandbox. Ik blijf Nederlands gebruiken op mijn homepage en sandbox. WaardeMedeburgers (talk) 14:46, 4 June 2026 (UTC)

@WaardeMedeburgers: Sounds good! Tol (talk | contribs) @ 17:10, 5 June 2026 (UTC)

Question from Idacticus (19:37, 4 June 2026)

There's a nice automatic suggestion for where links might be helpful. Is there anything like that for copy editing? --Idacticus (talk) 19:37, 4 June 2026 (UTC)

@Idacticus: If you're referring to your homepage, then yes: under "Suggested edits", click the current suggested difficulty level (e.g. "Easy edits"), then tick the box for "Copyedits" and save. Tol (talk | contribs) @ 17:12, 5 June 2026 (UTC)