User talk:Mr Mancala

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Archive for 2007

Tsolo

The first game I came across that I now realise was a Mancala game was one we had in the family in England in the 1960s and called "Tsolo", played on shaped cardboard with small seashells. Ever heard of it? --Interesdom 08:04, 21 January 2008 (EST)

Perhaps this game? Many games in southern and eastern Africa end with the suffix -solo, such as Isolo, Nsolo, Tsolo. Solo is even used in French as a generic term for mancala games which make use of a four-row board. I think Tsolo (or Tsoro) is played in Zambia (at this time known as North Rhodesia), which could have been a reason for marketing it in English speaking countries. Seashells (small cowries) are used as counters some African countries, e.g. Kenya and Tanzania (probably in Mozambique and the Comores as well)

Yes, that is exactly the game I remember, box lid and all. :) --Interesdom 14:17, 21 February 2008 (EST)

Photo

That photograph was taken by me on a trip to Urubici, Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. A copy is also in Wikipedia Commons, and I was surprised to see that Wikinfo cannot use the Commons database.

- Zarco 18:53, 24 January 2008 (EST)

Multilingual Wikinfo

Thanks for your good wishes and support on Croatian Wikinfo. I initiated this variant in September 2007, justly after seeing the start of your German Wikinfo, but my personal knowledge of German was too modest and limited to a passive listening (no good writing). Now I animated here several colleagues better in German (fluent at least in Austrian variant of Vienna), and they can write some German texts on Adriatic cultures & Balkans geography if needed.

Concerning Cro variant, as you suggested we intend also to cover in a near future many diverse topics, but one needs for this some time and more Croatian editors in different thematic fields. So far the popularized bulky (and problematic) Wikipedia here had a strong monopol in informing, and I know hardly dozen Croats well using also Wikinfo, but I think the last one is more serious and must have a better future.

From actual January, I intend also to initiate an 'embryonal incubator' (Latin topics) for the future Latin Wikinfo, because I am (except Croatian & South-Slavic) among foreign languages the most fluent in Latin due to my basic education in Classical cultures (then I know partly-medium French and lesser Greek, English, etc.). As a Latinist, my first working decade was in botanical gardens, with translating in Latin nearly 80 scientific papers + many Latin summaries; in Botany the texts published in Latin persisted up today as obligate & inevitable language for recognizing & authorizing new original discoveries (cf. Living Latin). - On the other hand, also in Croatia (see Croatia Latina), Latin persisted as official public language during 2 millennia (from Roman occupation in 2nd cent.B.C. up to 1848); thus many older people here know well it, and finding editors may be no problem. Therefore I would appreciate your opinion (and general support) for this possible variant of Wikinfo. Azlovric, 31. January 2008

Thank you. Just keep on going, perhaps adding (at least) 1 or 2 articles per week. Maybe we will have a hundred articles in the Croatian language at the end of the year. I also very much appreciate your knowledge of Latin. We need and love people who have knowledge like you. Articles in any language are welcome (I believe so). If people would like to join the German section, that would be great too. We use, btw, the German names for geographic places, e.g. Laibach for Ljubljana. - Mr Mancala 04:16, 31 January 2008 (EST)

Math

Please see Image:DefSigma.png and how it displays in addition. Fred 11:01, 16 February 2008 (EST)

Seems to work there. I'll try again. Thanks. - Mr Mancala 11:05, 16 February 2008 (EST)

To make such an image just go to a wiki with working math tags, enter the code and copy the resulting image when you preview your edit. Fred 12:03, 16 February 2008 (EST)

Template:SSSD

I have converted the links on Template:SSSD, Super Search in German for one word titles. Please translate the language there and also on Template:SSD which would have the same content as Template:SS but in German with links converted to give German results. Fred Talk 16:39, 1 March 2008 (EST)

Thanks for the revert

At [1]. That editing identity, Centurion 10 has been appearing after my posts on the 'net in various places. Not exactly stalking but kinda doing as he did at the offensive material talk page. The games we create for ourselves, huh?

If you're interested in creating an analysis about why Islamics are greatly offended by depictions of their prophet, the article might want to trace the reasons that were given many years ago when that unwritten policy became popular. Recent depictions (the cartoons) go against a long tradition, if you follow? A parallel situation, perhaps, was India that long resisted any change in their caste system. It seems to me like a conservative sort of hanging onto the past. -- but that's just my opinion. Terryeo 04:03, 18 April 2008 (EDT)

Move

That's just me. I fuss about details a lot. But surely the rename does no harm.--User:Taxwoman 07:41, 30 April 2008 (EDT)

User:The truth hurts

User:The truth hurts! looks a bit like that user with the very disgusting username that you blocked a few days ago. Both say nasty things about someone called Vicki. Here's what he wrote]. User:AaronCarson deleted it and warned him/her. Proxima Centauri 16:39, 22 May 2008 (EDT)

Thank you. I blocked this user for a month. Too bad that I need to waste my time for the mentally ill. She should consult a psychologist. - Mr Mancala 16:49, 22 May 2008 (EDT)

Ach

Please look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Fred_Bauder#Mr._Mancala Fred Talk 08:52, 29 May 2008 (EDT)

I did and I replied. -Mr Mancala 14:17, 29 May 2008 (EDT)

German and English

Mr Mancala, if I see an article of yours that is in German, and I would like to read it in English, is it possible? Do you have versions of all your articles in both languages? Also, if an article is available in more than one language, how do I find the other versions?--AaronCarson 17:00, 30 May 2008 (EDT)

Dear Aaron, many of my German articles (if I've written them for Wikipedia or Wikinfo) are in English, too. They should have a link to other Wikinfo languages at their top (though sometimes I forget the link, which should be corrected). See Kalah / Kalaha or mancala / [[mancala (Deutsch) as an example for what I mean. Recently I've started to publish a(n unpublished) book on abstract strategy games, which I cut into individual articles. These articles are in German and often don't have English articles on the same subject. I expect Wikinfo to grow over the years so that eventually English articles will also be written. - Mr Mancala 03:23, 31 May 2008 (EDT)

Thanks for your kind reply. Yes it makes sense that the articles on one of your favourite subjects (Mancala games and related topics) would be mostly available in one language, which I assume is your mother toungue? I'll let you know if I find any that don't have links at the top. --AaronCarson 17:29, 3 June 2008 (EDT)

Hagger

Don't delete the common pages, such as Hagger that he uses. He will have more trouble moving if you don't. Fred Talk 14:46, 4 June 2008 (EDT)

UR new articles

Just a note, I see that you have created two new articles. One is from Wikipedia. Even though it is noted on the page---the page history must reflect that. In the page history, "Via WP" or "From Wikipedia" or any open source must be mentioned. Please make sure to mark in the summary where it came from. Thanks.WHEELER 18:32, 6 June 2008 (EDT)

Both are from Wikipedia. If it's necessary, I will do it in the future. I never did it in the 800+ articles I imported. There seems to be a considerable uncertainty what you "must" do. Some have argued that Wikinfo is violating the GNU licence because it doesn't give a direct link to the original history of the article (except for the German articles). - Mr Mancala 01:27, 7 June 2008 (EDT)

Criticism page

Hey, you seem to know your way around, do "Criticism" pages count as real articles? As in, I'm making a Criticism to original research page in Romanian and I'm wondering if I should put it under a category, count it as an article etc. Anime addict 13:13, 6 July 2008 (EDT)

I suppose, they count. If you have many, you could create a category if you want. In English, there are a few dozen articles, so they have a category. In German, there is just one critical article, so we have not yet a category for them. - Mr Mancala 13:23, 6 July 2008 (EDT)

I was just thinking to put them in the main Articles in romanian category (if they're big enough and not one line or so). So I guess it's ok. Anime addict 13:40, 6 July 2008 (EDT)

Yeah, like you did, I just saw it now :D Anime addict 13:41, 6 July 2008 (EDT)

Hey

Hy, I just saw the other day that you asked Fred to make me sysop and I thought I should find a way to thank you, so I made a page for the Mancala games in Romanian (partial translation). Cheers! Anime addict 13:39, 9 July 2008 (EDT)

Cool, that's great! - Mr Mancala 13:47, 9 July 2008 (EDT)