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Please add notes to the end of this page. Thanks, WhatamIdoing (talk)

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Misplaced Pages:Requests for comment/Posturewriter

Hello. The RfC on in which you were a certifier of has been closed. You are encouraged to read the conclusion at Misplaced Pages:Requests for comment/Posturewriter#Conclusion. Wizardman 20:18, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for the barnstar. Nice to know my work's being appreciated :) Wizardman 16:08, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

Hello WhatamIdoing! Our old friend PW has created a draft version of the Da Costa article here which I've been looking over. To be honest, in my opinion, it's actually a lot better and far more detailed than the one that is currently up and I can't find anything which is COI, unsourced (97 different sources quoted!!), or biased. As much as I dread to restart anything I believe it's important to encourage editors, no matter what's happened. So could I ask you to have a look at it and gently, gently, comment on it? Thanks! Hope you're well, Avnjay 10:51, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Avnjay, I realize that you're not competent in the subject matter, but an editor of your experience should have noticed that he doesn't use 97 different sources. For example, he lists the same thoroughly outdated (1951!) textbook eighteen separate times. There are in fact only 24 references, assuming you count the two "references" to Misplaced Pages articles (one to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and another to Posturewriter's own work at Da Costa syndrome. You might also have noticed that he selectively quotes very short phrases from some of them. The most recent source is eleven years old (see WP:MEDRS#Use_up-to-date_evidence -- and it is about Chronic fatigue syndrome, not Da Costa's.

Would you like a detailed response? WhatamIdoing (talk) 16:15, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Ouch! I went back and added the 97 bit some time after I had written my post (but not saved it) which just goes to show you should never add in anything at the last minute! So, quickly sweeping my foolishness under the carpet, I've been through and collated all the sources now and changed a fair bit to better reflect the manual of style. A large part of his article is on the history of the syndrome hence all the old sources (an exception in WP:MEDRS#Use_up-to-date_evidence). There is one current source in the Merriam Webster Medical Dictionary and I have added two recent (2004) ones from the current article and the Dorland's dictionary. I will let Posturewriter know he needs to add some more. As far as short quotes go, they do seem to be referenced and do make for easier reading than lots of long quotes. I shall, however, suggest he lengthen them. Do you know of any which are quoted out of context? By all means, if you have the time and inclination, give me as much detail as you can muster, but I can fully understand if you are sick of this by now! I am really keen though to keep working with Posturewriter as I do believe a better article can be produced here. Plus I think Misplaced Pages should be a place of unending optimism! :) Have a good day!! Avnjay 15:26, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

I tried marking things that need repaired, but it's basically a disaster. The history section is much, much, much too detailed. It inappropriately blends in symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. This isn't really "history"; it's a blow-by-blow summary of selected papers whose conclusions he personally approves of. He has rejected actual works of history in developing this section (and they exist: search for "Da Costa" in this book). I see that he also "forgot" to mention that DCS appeared in cavalry (with their non-restrictive clothing and gear) just as much as infantry (who complained about their belts), and that the British Army did a massive redesign of their gear specifically to prevent DCS -- and that it did not work.

The style is horrible. Medicine-related articles do not obsessively name the year, publisher, and authors when discussing research work. That's what your citation is for. He doesn't even have complete names for some of these people. We don't blather on about "In 1987 prominent Harvard researcher Oglesby Paul presented a ten page history of Da Costa’s syndrome in the British Heart Journal..." This is an effort to tell the reader "You have to believe everything I say that this guy said. He's important. You should know his name. He published in a decent journal." Paul's paper was a routine review paper. Proper style skips this sort of stuff and gets to the actual point (which PW's summary seriously downplays because he's having trouble remembering that anxiety disorder is a functional disease of the nervous system, not a character flaw). PW isn't interested in fixing things like this, because they promote his POV. We can't even get him to quit bolding the years (to conform with WP:MOSBOLD) despite repeated efforts on that single, small point.

Perhaps more importantly, this draft seriously overemphasizes the body posture aspects (you remember that Posturewriter has self-published a thousand-page book on his personal theory that people with heart palpitations and fatigue would feel better if they exercised and stood up straight, right?) and it ignores or downplays all the DCS-related people that don't agree with him. You probably didn't notice that the current classification of this disease is nowhere to be found in this article? Contrary to what PW would have you believe, it's still on the books. It's a dysfunction of autonomic nervous system, but you can't fix nerves by lifting weights, so he's quoting textbooks and papers from the 1950s to shore up his view.

And he's chosen the 1950s with care, because mitral valve prolapse was finally figured out in the 1960s. MVP has a distinctive and easily identified heart "click". That click is clearly and recognizably described in a statistically significant subset of the early "DCS" patients, and it's one of the reasons that early researchers thought they had a truly physical cardiac problem in DCS patients. MVP runs in families -- note that I'm telling you have the current knowledge, not the half-a-century ago views -- is associated with deformities of the chest and spine, appears more in women than in men, is often diagnosed in young adults, is associated with a thin, lean body weight, makes the person susceptible to some particularly deadly infections, patients do better with less stress (less demand on the heart), have poor tolerance for exercise, are usually treated with "you'll be fine, just take it easy and call if you get sick" (only severe cases get surgery) -- does any of this sound familiar yet?

When you look at the old work, and you see that a paper reports that, say, a sixth of his patients have that distinctive click, then you really have to toss everything he's said about the "typical" patient, because he's talking about two different and unrelated diseases. It's literally like saying that you've studied the behavior of girls in school, but didn't realize until decades later that every sixth "girl" in your study was a boy. And in fact, that's what the modern sources have done. PW just didn't choose to tell you that.

The few modern papers frequently have nothing to do with DCS. One person -- a person that does not represent the scientific or medical consensus on this point (I know: you couldn't possibly have known) publishes his personal theory (in an editorial, not a peer-reviewed article) that DCS is kinda sorta an early description of chronic fatigue syndrome. PW uses that to justify his inclusion of selected CFS resources as support for his POV. (See, for example, the non-RS-compliant "disease of a thousand names" website that he cites three times).

I realize that these problems aren't obvious to a person with no background in the field, but the entire thing is so full of his POV that I would honestly recommend scrapping it and starting over. WhatamIdoing (talk) 17:27, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

Avnjay, I encourage you to read one of the newly added sources for yourself. Its contents are being seriously misrepresented. WhatamIdoing (talk) 20:05, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

I can see the stretch from "similar to" to "the same as". I am about to remove most of the CFS stuff as the sources don't stand up - the JAMA editorial says "it has been speculated...". However, the above source does seem to suggest that the condition can have a genetic cause, which would make it more than a manifestation of a mental disorder, wouldn't it? Avnjay 10:02, 25 October 2008 (UTC)

Fundamentally, your premise is entirely false. There are hundreds of conditions with a genetic cause that are not mental disorders: for example, breast cancer due to a BRCA1 mutation.

Have you ever stood up too fast, and almost blacked out? That's (acute) orthostatic hypotension.

Now imagine that you don't have to actually stand up too fast to get something of the effect; your body just has a little trouble getting enough blood up to your head, say, if you sit or stand still for a long time, or if you get hot, or if you don't stand up very slowly. That's orthostatic intolerance, which is what the OMIM page is about.

These are functional disorders of the nervous system -- like dyslexia (which also has a genetic component), where the nerves just don't work quite normally. Unlike dyslexia, these are disorders of the autonomic nervous system, which is what controls how fast your heart beats, whether or not to sweat, and that sort of thing -- including changes that keep your blood from pooling in your legs, and that send extra pressure up to your head so you don't black out every single time you stand up. The system works well in most people, and not so well in some people.

Depending on exactly how not-so-well is works, you'll get different symptoms. Some people, for example, will stand up too quickly (there are many more triggers, but it makes a nice example) and end up temporarily unconscious on the floor. In others, the same problem will immediately trigger a release of adrenaline and stimulating the heart to beat much faster (150-200% normal speed) in an effort to (temporarily) raise the blood pressure as much as possible and to get that blood up to the brain as soon as possible. In others, they muddle through, but the strain of coping with the problem is exhausting. (Most people develop odd behaviors to reduce the impact, like fidgeting when standing in line.)

Orthostatic intolerance is one of the major modern interpretations of DCS (after you remove all the MVP patients); PTSD and HVS are the other major ones. Da Costa's actual patients could be a mix of all of the above.

You are entirely right to remove the CFS stuff: you technically can't have CFS if you have OI, because OI is known to cause fatigue, and CFS is a diagnosis of exclusion. Hope this helps, WhatamIdoing (talk) 17:04, 25 October 2008 (UTC)

It's all original research. Have you noticed, by the way, that the favored 1951 textbook describes the diagnostic test for Hyperventilation syndrome, despite PW's ongoing resistance to any suggestion that some so-called 'DCS' patients actually have HVS?

Also, to clarify my earlier comment: CFS is a diagnosis of exclusion. If you have fatigue due to HVS or orthostatic intolerance, then you cannot, by definition have CFS. The opinions of self-diagnosed CFS bloggers and activists are irrelevant here: this is the nature of a diagnosis of exclusion. WhatamIdoing (talk) 18:29, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

Sommers article

WhatamIdoing: thank you for fixing the RfC, that was very helpful. It would be helpful if you could comment on the talk page discussion too. Skoojal (talk) 21:19, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

Eucalyptus oil: alternative therapy or pharmaceutical?

Hi Whatamldoing, I noticed that you recategorized Eucalyptus oil as an alternative therapy as opposed to a 'medicine', and I'm not sure whether that is the case. While eucalyptus oil is not a prescription medicine, it has a long history of recognition as a decongestant and antibacterial by medical authorities, and in fact there is pharmaceutical grade of eucalyptus oil. If it's not a medicine what's it doing in the British Pharmacopoeia? I think the confusion may lay in the fact that essential oils are typically associated with alternative medicines, but in the case of eucalyptus oil I don't think this is the classic alternative therapy because it has conventional medicine recognition, allbeit more aften self-administered in lozengers etc, but so is aspirin. Cheers.John Moss (talk) 10:59, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

BP lists many things that are not within the scope of WP:MED. I will reply on the article's talk page. In the absence of clear information that this plant extract is actually considered a pharmaceutical drug, WPMED's banner (and probably WP Pharma's) should be removed. WhatamIdoing (talk) 18:36, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

The eucalyptus oil standard in the BP is in-fact cited in the peer-reviewed Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmocology . It clearly implies acceptance as a pharmaceutical.John Moss (talk) 07:26, 28 September 2008 (UTC)

I am replying on the article's talk page. WhatamIdoing (talk) 22:37, 28 September 2008 (UTC)

RFC/Kainaw

I have a bit of a problem. I want a few people to look over Misplaced Pages talk:Requests for comment/Kainaw and tell me if I'm being too mean, too rude, too vague, too wordy, too anything. However, I do not want others to defend me. You appear to know the RFC process well. Is there a Request For Review without comments? I have no intention of continuing any discussion on the RFC as it is just going in circles, but I do want to know when I am actually in the wrong. -- kainaw™ 17:05, 1 October 2008 (UTC)

I don't think that exactly what you have in mind exists. You might consider Misplaced Pages:Editor review.

As for your conduct in this particular incident: You obviously failed to "win friends and influence people". There's a very large gap between that and being "wrong". WhatamIdoing (talk) 17:14, 1 October 2008 (UTC)

Hi, thanks for your thoughtful comment on that RFC, which I've endorsed. I hope I didn't hijack your view with my comment (that certainly wasn't my intention). Sjakkalle (Check!) 07:25, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

Query

I'm now in the process of creating a whole new page. It was previously deleted due to accusations of a lack of notability(there were only 1 or 2 notes at the time). I recreated the page again recently (but with slightly different text) and someone put it down for a speedy deletion. I objected in the talk page and gave my reasons, plus I found the time to greatly expand the page and add numerous references so as to make it notable by wikipedia's standards. Trouble is that, apparently, my refutation of the speedy deletion comment on the discussions page may not be enough, as wikipedia states that the article might be deleted, anyway.

My question is:- after having added sufficient text/notes etc. to make the article notable, and given an explanation, am I allowed to remove the "speedy deletion" tag from the main page via editing, or is this only legally allowed by the person who put it there in the first place. It's just that, having fixed everything, I don't want the page "posioned" by an outdated claim at the top of the page.Loki0115 (talk) 15:20, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

Forget it, I've just read that I'm not allowed to remove the comment as I'm the creator of the page.15:29, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

I will reply on your talk page. WhatamIdoing (talk) 16:08, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

help with deletion of a article

I created Emergency Medical Dispatcher it was a good well written article with a significant amount of links and was cited with 6-7 links. I have been away a while and come back to find some one under handed it and WP:PROD. I know that you have some experience and would like guidance on how to get the article re-instated, a simple google search shows it meets WP:V and WP:N. thanks for your help in advance Medicellis (talk) 01:16, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

I will reply on your talk page. WhatamIdoing (talk) 05:03, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your help! I was able to get the deletion author to restore the article. If I may ask what you think I can do to improve the article to make it less likey to be included in a AfD....thanks! Medicellis (talk) 23:25, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

Hi WhatamIdoing? I've just followed your suggestions on Emergency Medical Dispatcher, and as always, it looks great. I've done a bit to internationalize it further as well. Let me know what you think! Cheers Emrgmgmtca (talk) 15:14, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Wilderness acquired diarrhea

Hi!

I noticed in your last edit summary for this article that you wrote, "Rearrange, start the encyclopedic-style summarizing work". I just realized that if I do any editing on this article I should try to understand what your plans are so that my efforts would be coordinated with you. So perhaps you could help me in this regard with more info about what you plan to do?

I had a couple other questions that you might be able to help me with too. Do you have any info about the status of the merge or an opinion about its likelihood? Was Calamitybrook blocked or the subject of any other official Misplaced Pages action? It seems like that editor has stopped editing, at least under the name Calamitybrook.

Best regards, --Bob K31416 (talk) 19:59, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your response. Regarding your remarks about the Causes section, how does the following look as a place to start for making a better Causes section:

==Causes==

There are three vectors for human infection by pathogens that cause WD: fecal-oral transmission, water, and contaminated food. The major factor governing the amount of pathogen pollution in surface water is human and animal activity in the watershed. The most common pathogens that cause WD are Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Other infectious agents may play a larger role than generally believed and include Campylobacter, hepatitis A virus, hepatitis E virus, enterotoxogenic E. coli, e. coli 0157:H7, Shigella, and various viruses. More rarely, Yersinia enterocolitica, Aeromonas hydrophila, and Cyanobacterium may also cause disease.

Giardia lamblia, a common cause of WD, does not tolerate freezing and can remain viable for nearly three months in river water when the temperature is 10°C and about one month at 15–20°C in lake water. Cryptosporidium, another WD pathogen, has been shown to survive in cold waters (4°C) for up to 18 months, and can even withstand freezing, although its viability is thereby greatly reduced.

Many other varieties of diarrhea-causing organisms, including Shigella and Salmonella typhi, and hepatitis A virus, can survive freezing for weeks to months. Virologists believe all surface water in the United States and Canada has the potential to contain human viruses, which cause a wide range of illnesses including diarrhea, polio and meningitis.

It may be difficult to causally associate a particular case of diarrhea with a recent wilderness trip lasting only a few days because the incubation time may take longer than the length of time of the trip. Studies of long trips into the wilderness, where the trip time is much longer than the mean incubation time of the disease, are less susceptible to these types of errors since the diarrhea is more likely to occur while the person is still in the wilderness.

References

1. (Backer 2007, p. 1374)
2. (Backer 2007, p. 1369)
3. Prepared by Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Health and the Environment (2004) (2004), "Protozoa: Giardia and Cryptosporidium" (PDF), Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Supporting Documentation, Health Canada, retrieved 2008-08-07 {{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coeditors= and |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
4. Dickens DL, DuPont HL, Johnson PC (1985). "Survival of bacterial enteropathogens in the ice of popular drinks". JAMA. 253 (21): 3141–3. PMID 3889393. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
5. Backer H (2000). "In search of the perfect water treatment method". Wilderness Environ Med. 11 (1): 1–4. PMID 10731899.
6. Gerba C, Rose J (1990). "Viruses in Source and Drinking Water". In McFeters, Gordon A. ed. (ed.). Drinking water microbiology: progress and recent developments. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. pp. pp 380-399. ISBN 0-387-97162-9. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help); |pages= has extra text (help)
7. White, George W. (1992). The handbook of chlorination and alternative disinfectants (3rd edition ed.). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. ISBN 0-442-00693-4. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
8. Boulware DR, Forgey WW, Martin WJ 2nd (2003). "Medical Risks of Wilderness Hiking". Am J Med. 114 (4): 288–93. PMID 12681456.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
9. Boulware DR (2004). "Influence of Hygiene on Gastrointestinal Illness Among Wilderness Backpackers". J Travel Med. 11 (1): 27–33. PMID 14769284.

--Bob K31416 (talk) 23:37, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Disease template

I looked at the template that you mentioned and it looks like a reasonable way to organize the article. Furthermore, if the other related articles up the hierarchy chain (Traveler's diarrhea, Diarrhea, and Gastroenteritis) also used the same section headings of the template, then there could be better coordination between the articles. --Bob K31416 (talk) 12:16, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

Citation ref name format

Hi!

First of all, it looks like things are going well over at WAD (knock on wood) and I recognize the good work that you've been doing.

I thought it might be worth expanding on the explanation of an idea that I mentioned in an edit summary regarding a format for ref name.

First a little background. When I started editing on Misplaced Pages I used a form for ref name that used the PMID for the ref name, e.g. <ref name="PMID12321">{{ ... }}</ref>. When there was more than one citation to this reference then <ref name="PMID12321"/> could be used alone for the subsequent citations. So on the edit page there were various instances of this form, e.g. a <ref name="PMID12321"/> here or there and for another reference there would be a <ref name="PMID98789"/> here or there and a <ref name="PMID54345"/> here or there. This seems all very systematic, which it is, but I found that it wasn't so convenient to identify what the corresponding reference was for each one when I was editing the edit page. Also, when I had to create a <ref name=PMID.../> it was somewhat inconvenient to have to find the right PMID and copy it into the new <ref name=.../>.

By using instead a form <ref name=Smith2001/> it was much easier for me to find and identify this citation on the edit page and distinguish it from <ref name=Jones2003/>. Also, I didn't have to look up the PMID from the original <ref name=...>{{...}}</ref> and copy and paste it, or enter the numbers from memory. With <ref name=Smith2001> the process is much easier for me. --Bob K31416 (talk) 05:45, 15 October 2008 (UTC)

P.S. I just noticed some comments on a talk page that reminds me of an old message board admonition, "Don't feed the troll."

Here's some nice background music for building a good article like the Amish built a barn in the movie Witness".

Best regards, --Bob K31416 (talk) 14:35, 15 October 2008 (UTC)

ADA of 1990 and ADAAA of 2008

Thanks for removing all those supporting organizations from Americans with Disabilities Act... I wanted to remove the original list, but figured someone would complain. So I added the newer (huge) list instead. Now you, a much better known editor, have removed both lists. Mission accomplished. (I won't make a habit of doing things that way. Promise.)  :-) --Hordaland (talk) 19:07, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

Hooray!

		The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
		I award you with The Tireless Contributor Barnstar for being a tireless Wikipedian and a great contributor both in terms of quantity and quality. --Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 19:45, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

"Too many links" and the Bibliography in Michigan lighthouse articles

Dear WtmIdng: I noticed that you have been kind enough to post on a number of lighthouse articles the observation that there are "too many links" and the suggestion that we should improve the article by using in line citations. That makes some sense. Indeed, if you actually look at the links, you will find that all of them are there for a reason, and that they are the basis of good on line research by anyone who wants to learn about the particular lighthouse, and even enhance the article. They are the keys to the kingdom. They contain all the relevant on line information. Until the articles are greatly expanded, these provide -- at the very least -- a place for reader to find what he/she needs to know about a particular light. With respect, your suggestion (and I'm sure you mean it in the kindest and well meant way) reminds me very much of the conversation between the Emperor and Mozart in Amadeus, which went something like, 'The problem Herr Mozart, is that your work contains too many notes." Certainly there is nothing to prevent anyone, even you, from beefing up these articles. I am trying to deal with over 100 Michigan lighthouse articles in Michigan (some are very scanty), and a lot of important lighthouses that are not documented in Misplaced Pages at all. So you are invited to help, and it would be most appreciated. However, the implication that these links were put in willy-nilly is just unwarranted. These links might be moved around, if someone finds the time to greatly expand the articles, and then they'll be references and footnotes. But just removing links (if that is what your are contemplating or suggesting) is, in my opinion, not well advised. As to the Bibliography that has become the subject of your ire, these are not just repeated ad nauseum. If you take the time to look, you will discover that they vary by location, and that articles that are specific to the particular lights are often included. The general coverage of some of these works does not diminish their usefulness, and does not justify any presumption on your part that they don't specifically address a particular light. (Certainly it would be wonderful for someone to pull out all the books on all the lighthouses and put in lots of page citations. As an aspiration, I am with you.) On the other hand, this list can give the readers some direction and guidance. I think it is better to err on the side of over inclusion than under inclusion. Note also that we've included ISBN numbers, to help our esteemed readers find the books at their vendor and local library. I hope that you will give this matter some thought. I've given it a lot of thought, a lot of effort and a heckuva lot of edits. I of course welcome constructive collaboration, as that is what makes this encyclopedia work. I am writing this tome to you simply because I don't want us to have a misunderstanding. Best regards to you. 7&6=thirteen (talk) 02:15, 14 October 2008 (UTC) Stan

NOTICE: The question has been posted on the RS noticeboard.

Hello. I have decided that at long last we have a good enough question to ask the notice board and posted it. here The question has been negotiated and all parties have had input. It is possible to comment further on the notice board so any other questions or concerns can be raised there. I think that the question that I posted which is evolved from drafts of mine, Jokestress's and James_Cantor's is a good framing for the issue and gives all the information that the uninterested RS editors will need to make a determination.

I took this action because we could end up negotiating the content of this question and have about as much success as we have had with the article itself. Someone had to say enough. So I say enough already. I hope that we can resolve this question and move on to more productive editing of the article in the near future. --Hfarmer (talk) 00:37, 15 October 2008 (UTC)

Hi, WhatamIdoing. I think you were exactly correct to add at RS/N the prior related discussion on Wyndzen. However, that issue appears to be distracting folks from the inclusion of the other 22 commentaries. I hesitate to say anything there, since it was your comment. If you are seeing things the same way, let me encourage you to help focus input on the 22.

— James Cantor (talk) 15:55, 15 October 2008 (UTC)

User notice npa-2

Please see Misplaced Pages's no personal attacks policy. Comment on content, not on contributors. Personal attacks damage the community and deter users. Note that continued personal attacks will lead to blocks for disruption. Please stay cool and keep this in mind while editing. Thank you. --Mihai cartoaje (talk) 03:45, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

I have no idea why you apparently think that this reply is a personal attack. It says nothing whatsoever about you or any other person. I quoted the actual guideline, identified the relevant words, and asked you whether you could agree on classifying a specific example as falling into the obvious category. There is not one word in my response about you or any other person. Perhaps you have confused me with someone else? WhatamIdoing (talk) 05:33, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

Hi there! Absence notice

Very interesting observation on this topic on your User: page, and probably too true! You have been doing a lot of editing for me, and if I suddenly disappeared, I was afraid that you might miss me...lol. Just to let you know, I am going to be disappearing offline for about two weeks. I have a teaching commitment at a university in another province, and so will be over on the Atlantic coast, enjoying the fresh air and the waves. I'll let you know when I'm back. I may get a chance to look in on things, but won't likely have time to do much editing, between lecture prep and reading papers! I will make sure that the others on my Task Force are aware of why I'm gone. Try not to miss me (and all that evaluation work!) too much! Enjoy the rest, and I'll see you when I get back. Cheers! Emrgmgmtca (talk) 17:00, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

I'm glad to know that you'll be back. BTW, in the future, you could leave messages like this at the WT:EMS page; I expect that most people you deal with watch that page, and it would save you some trouble. WhatamIdoing (talk) 20:22, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

Med tag

Curious why you removed my WPMED tag from Talk:Habit reversal training? Piacentini, for example, is a professor of psychiatry, working in neuropsychiatry, as are most TS researhers. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 20:40, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

A brief glance at it left me with the impression that it was better classified as psychology than psychiatry. You can certainly change it if you prefer. WhatamIdoing (talk) 20:42, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

I left both (that should work). Best, SandyGeorgia (Talk) 20:43, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

Response- WAD

Hi! I just responded to one of your remarks in the Recent editing section of the article WAD. I'm only mentioning it because it is somewhat buried and you might not notice it. Best regards, --Bob K31416 (talk) 13:35, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

P.S. Wilderness acquired diarrhea (WAD) keeps dropping off my Watchlist for some unknown reason. Have you had this problem too? --Bob K31416 (talk) 13:54, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

Categorisation of dermatology articles on Misplaced Pages, input wanted

Hey WhatamIdoing. Kilbad (talk · contribs) has asked me to ask around a few people to get their opinions on the current catagorisation tree proposed at this discussion, as he seems rather eager to get going with the work but would like a few more opinions. Any chance you could have a quick look and post your thoughts? Cheers. —Cyclonenim (talk · contribs · email) 15:22, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

No. I don't have an opinion on this subject. WhatamIdoing (talk) 18:32, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Fair enough. I've just seen you make a lot of posts in the past to WP:MED, thought you might have been interested. My mistake. —Cyclonenim (talk · contribs · email) 22:28, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

I don't mind getting your note; I just unfortunately can't be helpful in this instance. WhatamIdoing (talk) 23:50, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

No worries. What're you areas of interest? Just for future reference. —Cyclonenim (talk · contribs · email) 00:12, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

My interests are probably too disorganized for you to bother with keeping track of; they don't really line up neatly with a particular medical specialty. Here are a few facts that might be somewhat responsive to your question:

I'm not a healthcare professional and have no plans to become one. If it's big enough to be seen with the naked eye, it's probably not very interesting. I dislike anatomy and anything else that is handled primarily by memorization (I'm good at memorizing things, but I won't bother memorizing something that I can look up). I'm typically useless in cardiology, dermatology, radiology, and surgery; by this statement I mean that I can contribute at a very basic level, such as copy editing or reviewing sources. If it's important, I can become an "instant expert" on more or less any narrow subject, but organizing the general field requires more than the bits and pieces of information that I have.

As I said above, I don't mind getting notes like yours, and I'm willing to do my bit to help. I don't pretend to know everything, and if I don't have, or can't get, enough information, then I'll decline to stick my fingers in the middle of the pie. WhatamIdoing (talk) 05:55, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Barnstar

You deserve another barnstar. Axl ¤ 08:43, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, Axl. It's very kind of you. WhatamIdoing (talk) 18:08, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Transparency (behaviour)

Thanks for your third opinion and the alternative suggestion -- I think they are helpful. --Daniel Mietchen (talk) 15:49, 25 October 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. There may be a perfect solution out there, but until then, I was hoping to just find an improvement. WhatamIdoing (talk) 17:06, 25 October 2008 (UTC)

What happened?

you wrote on the AfD discussion page for Vienna fingers. Everyone seems to have stopped talking. Do you know about anything?Ask the fudgecicle (talk) 18:44, 26 October 2008 (UTC)Ask the fudgecicle

I'll leave a note at the article's talk page about how to AfD works. WhatamIdoing (talk) 00:47, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

Good article status review:Homosexual transsexual

Homosexual transsexual has been nominated for a good article reassessment. Articles are typically reviewed for one week. Please leave your comments and help us to return the article to good article quality. If concerns are not addressed during the review period, the good article status will be removed from the article. Reviewers' concerns are here.

Hello I have requested a good article status review on this article. I have done this because the article needed a big rewrite and reorganization in order to make the article more accessible to the uninitiated. From a Featured article candidacy review I was informed that the articles prose was too dense and that it may not be comprehensive enough. The changes were enough in my mind to warrant reassessment of the articles good article status. As a courtesy as a big contributor I am notifying you of this.--Hfarmer (talk) 13:17, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

Experts, facts, and opinions

Hi, I didn't want the WAD discussion to get off on a digression, but I am curious about how you think and what you meant when you wrote, "Experts don't usually admit much of a distinction between their professional opinions and the actual facts: they are supposed to be identical, after all." (If you feel like discussing this, could you respond here instead of my talk page in order to keep the comments together?) --Bob K31416 (talk) 02:54, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

I've only got a few seconds, but here's the basic story: An expert is supposed to know all the relevant facts and circumstances, as well as their relative importance to the situation under consideration. In theory, his/her opinion reflects those facts and circumstances very precisely. Thus the "expert opinion" is not an opinion in the usual sense.

For example, if I say that I (a non-expert) think that a particular piece of music is a well-written fugue, then that's my personal opinion, and it's unimportant. If an expert musicologist gives the same "opinion", it's not just a personal opinion; Misplaced Pages should generally treat the expert's view as a fact. (I pick fugues for this example because almost the only thing I know about them is that there are actually "right" and "wrong" ways to arrange them.)

You might find it useful to compare Opinion to Expert witness. WhatamIdoing (talk) 23:01, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

Outside comment by Calamitybrook

The following unsigned comment was made by Calamitybrook.--Bob K31416 (talk) 15:08, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

--

When Pfizer or Merck or the U.S. government wants to investigate something, all of these WAD studies appear trivial in comparision. Results of these truly large-scale studies are well known to be sometimes unreliable.

To present Boulware as the Gold Standard compared with a few other studies of similarly tiny scale because Boulware obtained ten or twenty percent more data, is certainly open to question.

The NOLS data, with 2.6 million field days, shows negligible infection rate and wildly contradicts the rate among those who reported they treated water to Boulware and other small-scale investigators. Intuition (purely WP:OR) tells me a significant amount of the NOLS people were exposed to potentially contaminated food and water.

Study X data is Y. That's the extent of "facts" determined by any single study. Science only proceeds by collecting more data and "scientific truth" and a "scientific conclusion" are both oxymorons.

An "expert" on the other hand, might reasonably include people who have legitimately established their authority, through research and/or experience, with regard to any given topic. For purposes of Misplaced Pages generically, this probably (though not invariably) requires publishing.

Somehow, to treat a few or many studies of gargantuan scale (about dunno, lung cancer maybe?) with precisely the same approach as a handful of tiny unfunded studies about this comparatively obscure topic, is, or could be, the wrong approach. Perhaps it's a scientific question.

Paramedics in the United States

Hi there! I'm back. Please see my comments on the article's discussion page. Emrgmgmtca (talk) 16:33, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

Your recent message at WAD

Could you please rethink the message that you recently left for me at WAD? Thank you. --Bob K31416 (talk) 23:59, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

I don't understand this request.

I understand the importance of Boulware's work. However, unless Boulware is actually re-defining wilderness-acquired diarrhea as being solely "diarrhea acquired in a particular way in the wilderness", then it doesn't really matter for the point you seem to be making:

• Yes, Boulware says that drinking contaminated water causes diarrhea (i.e., plain old traveler's diarrhea, minus the illusion that the municipal water agency will disinfect the water for you). I'd have thought this notion was pretty much incontestable.
• However, No: the incontestable fact that contaminated water can make you sick doesn't mean that other causes of diarrhea aren't also happening in the wilderness.

Of course, the primary reason that the surface water (like municipal water) needs to be disinfected is because it's fecally contaminated -- which can certainly happen through people and other animals pooping in or near the water, but which also happens because people wash their dirty hands and dirty bodies and dirty clothes and dirty gear in the water. (At one level, the "hygiene" and "water" hypotheses present a real chicken-and-egg issue.)

Also, whether or not an intervention is cost-effective (one of the issues under consideration) depends on a lot more than just the fact that a disease could appear. We could screen every person in the world for certain rare genetic diseases, but the indiscriminate use of expensive genetic testing would not be an efficient use of resources.

If this doesn't make sense, then please feel free to explain what your specific issue is. WhatamIdoing (talk) 01:56, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps this helps:

As I understand it, there are several good and not-so-good studies on the subject of whether water disinfection is necessary, helpful, or wasteful.

Boulware' thinks it's important. Other (slightly older, slightly weaker) sources disagree.

You want to use Boulware to debunk the other studies. That is, since Boulware is one of the more recent and better studies (although still with some limitations), you want to use it to justify a complete elimination of the opposing viewpoint from the article.

I don't think we should completely eliminate opposing views. I would be happy to see the other viewpoints presented as minority positions, but not to have them completely eliminated. WhatamIdoing (talk) 02:21, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, but there's too much here to fix, if it can be fixed. I know this is kind of vague but I'd rather not go into detail. I think it would be best if I take a lower profile in the WAD article. I trust your NPOV. --Bob K31416 (talk) 03:12, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps it's just time to take a break. WP:There is no deadline. WhatamIdoing (talk) 07:20, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Talk: Physician assistant

deleting the PA talkpage. let me know your objections. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nomad2u001 (talk • contribs) 23:58, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the note. Blanking the talk pages for articles is a violation of Misplaced Pages's policies. For one thing, having one person unilaterally delete everything is not fair to other editors, who might actually need one of the dozen or so threads there.

I've given up. I've left a message about your inability to do anything right at WP:ANI. Given that you've been warned about this sort of behavior some fourteen times, having your account blocked is probably long overdue. WhatamIdoing (talk) 07:42, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

HT

I'm sorry about the lack of explanation with the tags - when participating in GAR, I tend to practice a WikiImp philosophy. I thought that people would come to the GAR or to me directly with questions about the tags. Thanks for the primer in HT, it was really helpful. I've posted on the talk page - let's see how that goes. --Malkinann (talk) 21:11, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

Your recent message at WAD

Hi. I'm not sure what to make of your recent message. Before we try to clarify your message, I recall that you didn't object to the deletion before when we discussed it. Are you changing your mind? --Bob K31416 (talk) 18:51, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

Whew! That's a relief. The point about a conflicting point of view by some people who published articles re water potability already appears in the article, so that's not an issue. --Bob K31416 (talk) 19:03, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

Also, note that at least some of the folks in the literature that seem to say that the water is OK really don't say that when it comes down to it. Near the beginning of the discussion page you might want to read the comment I made about Rockwell in that regard. And most recently the comment about that recent "Blog" that Calamitybrook mentioned. It's kind of laughable, that "blogger's" message seemed to be "the water is pure, the water is pure" and then he says he disinfects. --Bob K31416 (talk) 19:35, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

P.S. You might consider that it may be worthwhile to add a message or modify your current message on the WAD talk page so that others don't misinterpret it like I did. Kinda nipping a problem in the bud. Just a suggestion. --Bob K31416 (talk) 20:02, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

Roundabout

Thanks for the tip on "yes nesting", but it won't save typing. I've got them copied, & just cut & paste. ;D TREKphiler 22:48, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

Physician assistant

I have revert this page twice within the last 24 hours to your version, in fact, almost 3 times, barely missed per time for a 3RR. Also, User:68.11.139.174 has similarly been reverting. Regards, —Mattisse (Talk)

I have reported him to the 3RR, hopefully in correct format. —Mattisse (Talk) 02:02, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

He has been blocked for 48 hours. —Mattisse (Talk) 16:13, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

I think User:Barcat may be another "problem". If you look at his contribution history, it is exclusively to this article. What's with this article, that their are these devoted vandals? —Mattisse (Talk) 01:14, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

P.S. I might be thinking "sockpuppet". —Mattisse (Talk) 01:16, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Barcat's contributions don't strike me as vandalism, and they don't seem to overlap with Nomad2u001's. I've left a question for him on the article's talk page, and we'll see what he says. WhatamIdoing (talk) 01:44, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Caution about enabling disruptive editors

Sometimes a good hearted editor might have sympathy for another editor who is losing arguments. But please be careful about enabling a disruptive editor, because a single persistent disruptive editor with expert skills for disruption can significantly impede the progress of an article. --Bob K31416 (talk) 17:04, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Bob, I find this warning totally inappropriate. I have expressed my opinion at Talk:Wilderness acquired diarrhea. It happens in this case that I oppose a short paragraph that you wrote. I primarily oppose it because it inappropriately emphasizes an unimportant distinction between two very similar terms, but it also happens that nobody except you have ever bothered to draw conclusions about which groups of researchers choose this term instead of that term, and that means that you've run afoul of WP:OR. I'm sorry that you don't quite seem to have figured out that policy; I know that it is complex and I am happy to explain what I know about it. Alternatively, you can ask for an impartial review at WP:No original research/noticeboard.

I recommend that you quit looking at this as a zero-sum game in which the most important outcome is to win against Calamity. It's not "us against him." The goal is supposed to be the best, most encyclopedic article we can create, not to have an unbroken record of united stands against Calamity. When Calamity happens to have a good point, all the other editors should concede it promptly and graciously. That Calamity was 'wrong' the previous several times doesn't mean that we should assume that he'll be 'wrong' every single time. WhatamIdoing (talk) 19:27, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Re "I find this warning totally inappropriate. I have expressed my opinion at Talk:Wilderness acquired diarrhea. It happens in this case that I oppose a short paragraph that you wrote." - I'll take your word for that.

Re "I recommend that you quit looking at this as a zero-sum game in which the most important outcome is to win against Calamity." - That's not in my mind at all and never has been. --Bob K31416 (talk) 22:47, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

BTW there's a guideline that you might find useful that helps keep people's egos out of discussions, "follow the truth wherever it may lead". I saw this quote a long time ago at the bottom of a webpage for the consumer advocate organization Public Citizen and I have found it very helpful. By following this advice the important thing is finding the truth, irregardless of whether you are right or wrong to start with. --Bob K31416 (talk) 15:44, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

That'd be "finding the truth regardless," not "irregardless."

Calamitybrook (talk) 16:10, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

substitution

Just a friendly reminder: talk page messages such as {{MedInvitation}} should be subst: (see User talk:Russthomas1515. --Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 19:39, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Argh, and I'd even remembered that for once! Apparently it fell out of my brain in between 'edit this page' and 'save page'. Thanks for the note, WhatamIdoing (talk) 19:42, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

barnstar'd

		The Original Barnstar
		For the creation of Fatigue (safety). Solid article on a needed topic! FlyingToaster 21:42, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

my recent replies at Talk:Wilderness acquired diarrhea

Hi. Please note that I made two responses to your last comment and one response to another editor's comment. I thought I should mention this to you because my responses to you may have gone unnoticed because of the intervening comments of the other editor. --Bob K31416 (talk) 12:29, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Observation

Thanks for the input. I understand what you are saying. Please understand that when I was invited to join the Task Force, my impression was that Medicellis was in a leadership role and was coordinating what was going on. I actually made that statement in one of my early posts on his Talk page, and no one said anything to disabuse me of that notion. I suppose one of the things that you should probably understand is that where I work, the task force approach is commonly employed, and those task forces always have a leader, whether designated by someone or agreed upon by the group. That is who I thought I was dealing with. From what I could see, the Task Force page wasn't being used much by anyone, and wasn't really being monitored. So essentially, what I thought was that I was keeping the 'team leader' apprised of what I was up to, attempting to generate input from others on the discussion pages for particular articles, and just using the Task Force page to mark any of the projects that I completed from the 'to do' list. Frankly, I have been scratching my head with respect to what to do, since Medicellis appears to be a little too busy at the moment to spend much time here. With all of this now clarified, I will use another approach. I hope this explanation helps. Thanks for your input, and indeed, for all of your guidance up to this point. It has been genuinely helpful, and I will look forward to continuing to work with you. Cheers. Emrgmgmtca (talk) 11:26, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

In the end, it's just the "born manager" in me: I can't always resist the temptation to tell someone else how to do their job. But I'd like to emphasize that there's nothing wrong with what you've been doing, and I'm sure that Medicellis has appreciated it. I just wanted to suggest that there's a small chance that a slightly different approach might be slightly more effective. (And I agree with you: the talk page is pretty dead, so it's just a small chance -- but I suspect that it's watched by more people than have actually posted something there.)

WikiProject 'leadership' is typically in a constant state of flux. If we're lucky, a new person will get excited about something about the time that someone else is unable to contribute for a while. Generally, I think we're best off assuming that the more appropriate model is more like a bunch of friends that usually hang out together, except that instead of "Should we go see a movie tonight?" the question is more like "Hey, does anyone want to play with This article today?"

Thanks again for your tireless work. We need you. WhatamIdoing (talk) 19:22, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Trophy for you

ADHD mediation

Hello WhatamIdoing

Many thanks for taking an interest in the ADHD related pages. Mediation would be very helpful. The primary issue is about weather or not ADHD is controversial and if there are other views other then the bio-psychiatric one that deserve to be discussed / commented on.

The second issue is one of referencing. If something is say published in the British Journal of Psychiatry can the authors work be discounted just by someone call him anti pysc? The final one is the insults on both side. One of the editors have insulted my University aswell as a number of my friends. They all make numerous subtle insults of me. I have unfortunately responded in kind and also with a fair bit of sarcasm.

I am happy to change my behavior but only if the first two issues are dealt with.

--Doc James (talk) 08:16, 21 November 2008 (UTC)

Once again many thanks for taking the time and interest in this and trying to get to the bottom of my concerns.Doc James (talk) 07:39, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Navigation templates

Hi. I replied to your question on Misplaced Pages talk:Navigation templates#Navigate to topics lacking own article. --Una Smith (talk) 02:45, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

African immigrants to the United States

Talk:African immigrants to the United States, I have nothing to do with this page and until they started moving it I had never edited it. As I told them both I really don't care where the page is and only moved it back because they were destroying the history and/or leaving double redirects. Mind you with only two of them there was no real consensus to move it or not move it anyway. After the last move was pointed out to me I decided to protect whatever version it was in at the time. By the way did you also read through User talk:CambridgeBayWeather#Page moving, User talk:CambridgeBayWeather#African immigration to the United States, User talk:CambridgeBayWeather#Technical botch and (my favourite, glad I was sleeping while they discussed that) User talk:CambridgeBayWeather#African immigration to the United States redux. Cheers. CambridgeBayWeather Have a gorilla 00:36, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

WhatamIdoing, please reply to this. Thank you. SamEV (talk) 00:59, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

I have not read all of CBW's links. I have replied on the article's talk page. It's on my watchlist. WhatamIdoing (talk) 02:13, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Alexander Macomb

Dear WtmIdng, FYI, By rearranging it the way you did (and I understand why you did it), you orphaned a footnote, and it no longer appears as it once did in the notes section, as it is now after it. I am sure this was an unintended consequence, i.e., 'collateral damage.' Best regards. 7&6=thirteen (talk) 01:34, 23 November 2008 (UTC) Stan

Thanks for the note. As a result, I've crawled through that messy list, corrected some of the formatting problems, deleted a dead link, removed a duplicate link, and moved the remaining 'footnote' to the same URL system that the other links use.

BTW, if you want to present a separate list of Macomb's own writings, then it's usually put above ==See also== and titled something like ==Publications== or ==Bibliography== (or ==Works==, if it's a visual artist or musician). WhatamIdoing (talk) 01:55, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Chondromalacia patellae

I beg to differ with this edit. Should you look at the peer review page, I believe you will soon find evident that the majority of the material presented has no suitable reference and should be thrown out. If anything it is a "stub" class article and no more. Cheers! Food_Puma 14:50, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Hi, FoodPuma. Chondromalacia patellae has more than ten sentences, so it's too long to be a stub. It also has structure (section headings) and some valid references, so it's probably too developed to be a Start-class article. Therefore I classified it as C-class. The C-class standards are not actually that high. For example, it's not until it reaches B-class standards that most of it needs to be suitably referenced.

As always, you can ask for reassessment at Misplaced Pages:WikiProject_Medicine/Assessment if you continue to have concerns about it. WhatamIdoing (talk) 06:47, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Medical home

I added some information on the Medical Home page. I edited it and added information on the "Patient Centered" Medical Home. I had links and references as well. I just looked at it today and the whole thing has been deleted because it was not written in "encyclopedia format" I am confused because I wrote it in the same style that the rest of the information on the page is written in, and that has not been deleted. Please let me know what I can do. TaraLouise (talk) 15:07, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Hi, Tara. Thanks for contacting me. I'll reply on the article's talk page, which is at Talk:Medical home. WhatamIdoing (talk) 17:42, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Asherman's syndrome

Hi I had asked for a re-evaluation of the Asherman's page class as a 'start class' was way too low a grading (don't know when it was graded, perhaps before I added substantial content and references to it). I also found your more recent assessment of C-class quite low for what the page is. You said 'feel free to change'- how can I change it to a grade that is more suitable such as a B-class? Thanks Floranerolia (talk) 05:36, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your note. My assessment was based on a version from a little more than a year ago. The recent assessment was done by someone else. Certainly with the major expansion during the last year, a rating of Start-class was simply absurd, and I'm grateful that someone raised it to C-class rather than leaving it at the obviously incorrect level.

I think this article has a good chance of meeting the revised standard for B-class articles. I don't have time to read through it right now, but you can list it at the re-assessment page, or remind me in a few days if I haven't gotten back to it. If you want to review it yourself, here are a couple of quick rules of thumb:

• In terms of assessing completeness of coverage, it should have most of the stuff listed at WP:MEDMOS#Sections.
• There should be at least one decent reference in every single section, and preferably at least one per paragraph.
• There should be a reference for every direct quotation and every number.

Thanks again for the note about this article. WhatamIdoing (talk) 06:42, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for that-I'll make sure that it meets the guidelines you described before I upgrade the evaluation or ask someone else to review it. Floranerolia (talk) 11:34, 28 November 2008 (UTC)

Importance scale

Hi, I notice that you are attaching importance ratings to articles, like here. Can you tell me how these ratings are determined? Regards, Guido den Broeder (talk, visit) 18:42, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

According to the project's directions. Keep in mind that the ratings are relative to the project's scope, which is focused on diseases and their treatment, and not to the overall encyclopedia or the importance to the whole world. WhatamIdoing (talk) 19:15, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, the ratings I saw you add I can entirely agree with. Guido den Broeder (talk, visit) 19:52, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

Infant formula

Hi - have you got time and energy to work the Infant formula. The current version is just too flaked. Everytime I read it I find more misquoted references and more serious missing info. I would like someone to work with on this - we seem to be creative together if not always in agreement. It would help if we could get access to online journals i think - I don't have this. Any ideas? SmithBlue (talk) 03:02, 28 November 2008 (UTC)

It's on my watchlist, so I may be able to help out here and there, but I really can't commit to any real help at this time. (I agree that quite a lot needs to be done; the previous "push" helped a lot, but there's much more to be done.) WhatamIdoing (talk) 06:05, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Paramedics in Germany

Copied from the talk page - Part of the problem is that the information on training was poorly organized. I was attempting to follow the format of the original editor and preserve their content, but the material on training was in several locations. It has now been grouped together with appropriate subheadings. The section on Training actually contains a total of six separate references, once it is put together in proper format. I'd like to see more sources as well, but I have made an exhaustive search for English language content, and this is all that is really available. There may be more material available in German that either WinnieMD or Sebastian Scha. may wish to add references for, but I can't read it all that well, and I suspect that it wouldn't be of much help to most English Misplaced Pages users. Emrgmgmtca (talk) 11:15, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Paramedics in Australia

Copied from talk page - The last two sections now have references. The External links have been removed. Emrgmgmtca (talk) 12:17, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Medical director

Suggested changes have been made. Ready for re-evaluation. Emrgmgmtca (talk) 13:32, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Category for Diseases and Disorders

Hey there, I see from the edit history for Disease that you recently added the section on terminology, so I think your input would be very helpful in the CFD that is under way regarding my proposal to merge Category:Diseases into Category:Diseases and disorders. I hope you'll join the discussion! Cgingold (talk) 10:19, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

CIDP Edits and Edit Warring

I've made a report about your edit warring with me, and the "spam" claims. You implied I spammed the board with the link, when actually my posts were only discussion & I hadnt added cidpusa to the article,& my posts were due to my hitting the SAVE button instead of PREVIEW when I was EDITING my remarks. If you had actually checked the history, you would have seen that my multiple edits were just that. Minor editing that was saved.

You behaved childishly by having me marked as a spammer, and you couldnt even put anything in my talk page about this entire matter, choosing instead to create a war within the page. You may want to check the history next time and make sure you aren't making a hasty judgement about someone. Brattysoul (talk) 08:30, 6 December 2008 (UTC)