Talk:Bender, Moldova/Archive 1

Archive 1

Archive 2

deleted link

I have deleted link to http://bendery.ru.ru/, because this is only self-advertisement. That site doesn't contain any useful information. It has abusive lexicon and tries to insult russian users. Zserghei 21:00, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

You know, dear offended Russian Zserghei, Bendery is not a place for Russian users ;) there is nothing to see for them ;) Site http://bendery.ru.ru/ shows inside picture of Russian occupied Transnistria. There is a very interesting video material about Stalinist regime in Transnistria. Also there is a very nice picture of me :)

EvilAlex 172.201.186.169 16:34, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Dear Alex, encyclopedia is not a place neither for self-promotion nor for insults. --Zserghei 18:31, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

Ancient settlement

The following piece removed:

"A settlement has existed at the confluence of the Dniester and Bîc rivers since the 2nd century, subsequently growing and coming under the successive rules of Kiev, Moldavia, Genoa, Turkey, Russia and Romania. "

It contradicts, e.g. Russian wikiarticle and not confirmed in other language versions. mikka (t) 03:36, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

Moldovan Cyrillic: Тигина

Who cares about Moldovan Cyrillic? The official language is Romanian. Romanian is written in Latin alphabet. Moldovan is written in Latin alfabet. According to the law it is forbidden to write in other way. Bonaparte talk 07:41, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Not according to the government which makes the laws of Tighina. That's not the government of Rep Moldova, but rather the gov't of the Pridniestrovian Moldavian Republic. They are the ones who are in real control. Maybe Rep Moldova "owns" it, but they don't have control over it. --Node 11:25, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Actually according to the 1992 treaty the city has a special status (the same status is enjoyed officially by Dubasari city) and both RM and PMR have the right to keep their respective authorities there (under an over-all Russian "peacekeeping force of course").

Another point I wanted to bring up is the latest census. Does anyone actually have a ref. for that?Constantzeanu 05:01, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

I have access to the 2004 census data. What would you like me to add into this article? - Mauco 23:05, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

Petro Poroshenko

As far as I know he was born in Bolhrad, Odessa oblast.--AndriyK 21:50, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

That's what the German wikipedia article on him says. bogdan 21:52, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Name

I propose using either the official name which the city itself currently uses (Bendery) or else the most commonly used name in English (Bender), while still keeping a clear mention that Republic of Moldova refers to the city as Tighina. - Mauco 23:05, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

Why is Bender the most common English name? I don't think the city has a naturalised English name, and I don't really see that Bender is used any more than Tighina. Ronline ✉ 11:12, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

The three most important English-language encyclopedias: Britannica, Encarta and Columbia use the name Tighina. bogdan 11:22, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

Yes, I would say Tighina tends to be the most commonly-accepted name. Bender is the Turkish name, AFAIK. Ronline ✉ 12:07, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

The city administration calls the city Bendery, as do most of the inhabitants. Traditionally, in English, this has been rendered as Bender. The use of the name Tighina (in English language literature) is a recent development, as the city was officially renamed Tighina after Moldovan independence. The fact that this name is now used in English - to the extent that it is - is similar to, for instance, the way that the English-language commentators at the 2006 Winter Olympics kept referring to Turin as "Torino" (its original Italian name, but not its name in English). And: In the case of Bender/Tighina there is an added twist. The renaming decision was taken by Moldova, but the territory forms part of the de facto independent republic of Transnistria and the city's authorities never recognized the validity of the renaming. Depending on one's point of view, an equally convincing case can be made for both names - with each side explaining why their name is the official name - and the definite name will probably not be settled until the disputed status of Transnistria is also settled. - Mauco 18:02, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

Was it really renamed by Moldovan authorities? In the 2001 year Law on administrative-territorial organisation of the Republic of Moldova[1] the city is called Bender. And in the two previous versions of the law, adopted in 1994[2] and 1998[3], the city is referred to exclusively as Bender. Tighina variant is not even mentioned. Judging from this, the official Moldovan name of the city is Bender, not Tighina.--Imrek 16:35, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

The sentence ".. names Бендер/Bender, Бендéры/Bendery, and Бендéри/Bendery, in Moldovan with cyrillic, Russian and Ukrainian, respectively" makes little sense to me. Does the write think that "cyrillic" is another language, different from both Russian and Ukrainian? If not, what does the "respectively" mean? Maproom (talk) 10:41, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Amending. These are three names, each with Latin and Cyrillic spelling; one name for each language. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 17:51, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

Moldova kept the name Bender after it became independent in 1991: see Law 764-XV from December 27, 2001 on administrative-territorial organisation of the Republic of Moldova, Monitorul Oficial al Republicii Moldova, no. 16/53, December 29, 2001 (subsequent modifications taken into account)

Historical accuracy

"In 1713, the fortress was the site of a skirmish (kalabalik) between Charles XII of Sweden, who had taken refuge there with Cossack leader Ivan Stepanovich Mazepa after their failed attack on Russia, and Turks who wished to take him hostage and exploit the political difficulties of central Europe." from History section.

Mazepa died in 1709. Maybe it was another Cossack leader? Perhaps Pylyp Orlyk? I will have to look this up, but if anyone can double check this first, please go ahead.--Riurik 04:08, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

Requested move

The following is a closed discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal was was no consensus for either or any move. - Deacon of Pndapetzim (Talk) 20:02, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

This page should be moved to Bender, Moldova or Bender (city) (whichever is the standard). Reasons:

1. It's the official name of the city according to the de jure authorities (Republic of Moldova). Law 764 / 27.12.2001 with subsequent modifications [4] uses Bender in article no. 8 and annex 2 and 3. It never uses Tighina.
2. It's the official language of the city according to the de facto authorities ( separatists of Transnistria). See for example this page [5] from the official site of the separatist republic.
3. It's used by international organisations ( UN [6]), UNHCR [7]) and foreign governments ( CIA [8], US Department of State [9], British Home Office [10] )
4. It's used by local sport clubs: FC Dinamo Bender
5. "Bender Moldova -futurama" gets almost twice the google hits "Tighina" gets on normal search. And 30% more on news search and google scholar. Google book search shows a large number of Romanian books, so it's not concludent about the English usage.

Xasha (talk) 01:30, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm not judging the merits of a move but why not just Bender for the target? The disambiguation page looks impressive but there are only two other articles named simply Bender: Bender (Futurama) and Bender (band). Both are rather minor topics compared with the city. Why not go for Bender for the city and Bender (disambiguation) for the dab page? If not, Bender (city) is more appropriate than Bender, Moldova since there is only one city named Bender. — AjaxSmack 04:35, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

• Support - there is merit in the move request. I agree that it should be moved to Bender or Bender (city) rather than Bender, Moldova.--Riurik^(discuss) 04:57, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

• Comment - I wasn't happy about Xasha just moving the page without any prior debate; so I am glad that a discussion is being made here. However I notice that the user also edited dozens, maybe hundreds of pages - merely changing Tighina to Bender on almost all of them, even on this page. If both names are accepted as a current descriptive name of the same place (which they are), then they should not have been changed at all, they should've been left as the original editor typed them. I wonder what the agenda is behind the changes. The discussion is just what the name of this particular entry should be, and nothing else. I have been doing some research on the matter of what the best name is. There is talk about Bender being the official name, and also talk about Tighina being the official name - and it seems that there is an argument for both! And even official sources can't decide what the official name is. However page names don't necessarily have to be based on the official name. Note that the entry for Londonderry (official name) is actually located at Derry, and that town also has a controversy about the name (see Derry/Londonderry name dispute) although it's slightly different (because Derry can also be a shortening of Londonderry). As Mauco says above: "Depending on one's point of view, an equally convincing case can be made for both names - with each side explaining why their name is the official name - and the definite name will probably not be settled until the disputed status of Transnistria is also settled." Anyway, I will let other contributors make their vote here, and hope that an amicable solution is found. Rapido (talk) 09:44, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

But all legislative acts (of the Moldovan Parliament refer to it as "Bender" and the relevant law on administrative units, calls it "Bender." And that's how one would determine the official name. TSO1D (talk) 14:12, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

My agenda is called Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names). And Tighina is not official the official name of Bender anywhere.Xasha (talk) 14:40, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

Which is a prime example of why WP:NCGN deprecates appeals to official names. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 17:48, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

But Bender is also more common in English (as proved by the use in the Englsih news both in 2007 and in the period covered by google archives, as well as use by governments of English-speaking countries and International organisations).Xasha (talk) 17:55, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

I tend to agree with this claim, and will probably support. Anyway, the burden of proof lies on those who would displace the traditional English name. But in this case, more than others, we cannot rely on an "official" name; doing so would imply a position on who is official. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 18:18, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

In this case all "official"s agree :) .Xasha (talk) 18:29, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

• Support on the balance of evidence. Bender (city) or Bender, moving the dab, would probably be best. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 18:36, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

How much time is supposed to take to be approved?Xasha (talk) 19:07, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

There isn't actually a fixed time period for these things. The idea is that the proposal should be made and discussed until consensus is reached. Usually, if there is clear support for one position and the issue and there is no longer any active discussion, then the change can be made and I think this applied to this case. I would just give it an extra day or two to see if anyone provides arguments against the move and then just make the move. TSO1D (talk) 16:41, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

• Oppose. On several grounds:

1) Tighina is a name more often used than Bender in sources. Bogdan has given below several examples, like Britannica, Columbia, and Encarta encyclopedias. From what I can judge, per total, Tighina is preferred in 2/3 of the case, Bender in 1/3 of the case.

2) All arguments presented above in favor of the move, except one, are bogus.

a) The separtist authoritis from Tiraspol are de facto controlling the city administration (thought there are 2 police units). And de facto is used by everyone, including the person who suggested the move, in the sense of "opposed to de jure". Saying "A is B because we should base on C, and in non-C cases it is always B" contradicts the basic norms of logic. Conclusion: Tiraspol authorities can not say what is official. Tiraspol authorities themselves are not official.

b) Noone says the name Bender is not used, including by UN, CIA, US Department of State, British Home Office (the later three are not foreign governments - this is just a side note about the level of superficiality with which the arguments were presented). But the same institutions also use the other name. Just as us, they do not know which name to prefer.

c) One of the local football clubs (FC Dinamo Bender) hardly qualifies for an authority in the matter. Haven't you seen hundreds of idiot declarations by footballers who otherwise do miracles on the field? If it were about some football issues, they are prime authorities. But let's not extrapolate to the ridiculous. And just as a side note, some years ago, the city had a football team FC Tighina (Fotabal Club Tighina). Please note, it was not FC Tighina Bender, but FC Tighina (just peak up any Moldovan paper from 1990s which had a football section)

d) It is a sign of twisted logic to select a few sources which slightly favor Bender, and then dismiss the ones that clearly favor Tighina with statements like: "Google book search shows a large number of Romanian books, so it's not concludent about the English usage." With all due respect, but Romanian is the official language of the country in which the city is located (even if you call the language differently, it still remains official), hence it is natural to have many books in Romanian on the matter. Think what will happen if we would dismiss all English books on New York. We will end up with "New Amsterdam" if not with some Arabic name. Conclusion: if we look, look at all sources, observe which favor what. Let's not give preference to sources based on political views or intolerance to speakers of some languages.

3) On 27 Febraury, user Xasha, has gone over cca 40 articles, and changed the name Tighina to Bender. [11] Such a bold controvercial action (which to his notice hardly touched 10% of all articles containing the name), without informing anyone, or requesting any comment, is only creating mayhem with a simple result: an outside reader will never know that Tighina and Bender are the same thing. And that is something any reader should always know when the city is mentioned. User Xasha has come to WP a couple weeks ago, and all he did since then was to get in a edit war over 4 articles, all related to Moldovans vs Romanians. And now, so much impatience, he counts every hour he has to wait. Perhaps, it won't be a bad idea to spend more time thinking than just waiting and rv-ing.

4) Historically, the locality was called Tighina (which b.t.w. is of Slav origin), until the Ottomans occupied the fortress in 1538. And even then, people referred to the Bender raia (military base) rather than to the city as being Turkish. In 1812, eastern half of Moldavia was taken by the Russian Empire. The Russians, however, have not returned the traditional names of the 3 major fortresses that were taken by the Turks: Tighina/Bender, White Fortress/Akkerman, Smil/Izmail, instead they preferred the Turkish name to emphasize that they got them from the Ottomans, not from the Moldavians, from whom the Ottomans took it in the first place. That is despite the pan-Orthodox frenzy promoted by the Russian Empire (this is used by historians as one argument to show that the "pan-Orthodox movement" of the Russian Empire was not so genuine, but very political). Now, in 1917, the town was part of the Moldavian Democratic Republic, which in 1918 united with Romania. The historic name Tighina was restored. In 1940, the area was occupied by the Soviet Union, and the Turkish name was again restored, now by the Soviets. After the fall of communism, the public, the press, the scholarly works used the name Tighina. The name Bender was however preserved officially, because there was a war in 1992, and the city was at the center of this war. Remember how it was with Vukovar - people were killing each other over a Latin/Cyrillic spelling. Why should people of the city have to suffer more, why add another issue to kill for? It was natural to wait until the conflict is over (it is not yet), and only then to officially rename. This is why Moldova has not attempted to officially rename the city. But this does not mean that scholars and simple citizens are restrained in any way to use the traditional name.

My proposal is to think the matter more thoroughly. On one side we have the official name of the city, Bender (even with negative connotations, it is still official). On the other hand we have a preferred alternative name, Tighina (which is the historical name of the city), which is an established name (not a suggestion of opinionated WPians). Why so much rush? Can't we think this better? Can't we consider alternative suggestions, like Tighina/Bender or Bender/Tighina? Maybe there will be other ideas, why make two moves instead of one, final, accepted by the entire community. Please, keep in your mind, that changing the name of this article will mean to do a work in 1000 other article using the name. Please, don't be so rush expressing your support for move, if you have not known how painstakingly routineous are those tasks.:Dc76\^talk 18:32, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

So, when are you going to present a logical argument that takes into consideration Wikipedia policies?Xasha (talk) 18:49, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

With all due respect, I believe my arguments above do not lack logic. In my view, I have presented enough reasons why "moving right now, at this hour, without further thinking and consideration" is wrong. Right now, I am convinced that the move should not be done at all. But people will tell you around that there have been cases when I changed my mind based on solid arguments. With all due respect, but the burden of proof lies (add mostly if you wish) with the one proposing the move, don't you think so?

Obviously, I have considered WP policies to the extent I understood/understand them from the past and present. (Hence I clearly stated the dychotomy: official name vs established name.) If you think I missed something, why don't you tell me what (you think) I missed.

Let me add a small observation: your remark comes only 17 minutes after mine. It took me over 10 minutes to re-read my writing and correct the spelling. Are you telling me you actually read what I wrote above? :Dc76\^talk 19:11, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

I didn't read the part about how evil am I and how the town was called 5 centuries ago, since they are not arguments about the English usage today. About your arguments (that are not real arguments anyway)

1. Except the three encyclopedias, all other data sources show predominance of Bender.
2. .

a) Has no sense, at least not in English.

b) The Department of State and Home Office are essential parts of the US and UK gvts, and their position is official. All use predominantly Bender (UN 6:1, CIA uses it exclusively, Dept of State 13:1, Home Office uses it exclusively).

c) FC Tighina became Dinamo Bender, again proving Bender is more popular. This is not an "idiot fotballer" but a name used by a club, that will be used also in international competition, if Dinamo Bender ever gets to play in such competitions.

d) Google book search is the only source I dismissed, because this is English Wikipedia, and books in Romania say nothing about English usage. (just consider calling a Romanian Wikipedia article "Londres", just because that term gets more results on Google book search than "Londra"). Notwithstanding the large number of Romanian books, Bender outranks Tighina 7:6 on Google book search. Xasha (talk) 19:59, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

You said: "I didn't read the part about how evil am I" I only referred to your impatience to change the name of the article. You went away without telling anyone, and changed in 40 places, without changing in the other 960. This is not evilness, this is creating a mess, that one needs several days to sort out. Whatever you do, do it in a civilized way, don't create mayhem.

You said "I didn't read the part about... how the town was called 5 centuries ago". Proof that you read my reply selectively. Please, tell us, why should we bother giving you detailed arguments if you don't even read them? You see, Tighina/Bender will appear not only in articles referring to the current situation, but also in those related to history. By saying "they are not arguments", you betray the fact that you don't realize where the name is being mentioned, you don't intend to thoroughly edit dozens and hundreds of articles, that you ignore the implications of frequent moves back/forward. You prefer doing a quick move, and let others clean after you. That's not nice.

a) I translate: you don't understand that "A is B because we should base on C, and in non-C cases it is always B" is illogical. Comments are unnecessary.

b) The US Department of State, the British Home Office, when they simply write a name or a word, they don't take an official position. If they use "color" or "colour", that is not an official position of the US or UK government, for God sake!

c) Good luck to Dinamo Bender in football

d) You also dismissed Britannica, Columbia, Encarta. "Londra" is an established Romanian name for "London" (I don't see why should one be tempted to look at the established French name "Londres"), like "Bucharest" for "Bucureşti". The point is, Bender/Tighina has no established English name, but an established name in scholarly works, whatever the language of the rest of the text in those works. When you get 7:6, are you sure you meant Bender (city), or you counted also dozens of other meanings of Bender? (just one example, Bender-shah = Iran, and I believe there are some hits to a name of a country) :Dc76\^talk 15:04, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

You didn't even bother to see those edits. If you have had, you would know I applied wikipedia rules ( I used Tighina for events prior to the Turkish conquest and during the Romanian administration in the interwar period, and Bender elsewhere. ) And I changed most of the links, except about 20 that didn't mention Tighina in the body of the text, but in a form. So it was no mess, it was just Wikipedia policy applied.

See above, I used Wikipedia policy on the matter of historical name.

a)Still no meaning.

b)The US and British governments don't just take some punks from the streets and pay them to create their website. Such sites are highly politized, and every mistake is a potential press scandal.

d)Then don't apply double standards: if French sources can't establish usage in Romanian, then Romanian ones can't establish usage in English. So English Wikipedia doesn't care if 1,000,000 books written in Swahili, German, Mongol or Romanian use Tighina. I counted only the explicite references to the city. Bender, without any guarantee of meaning, gets 200 times more references than Tighina, but that woulnd't be fair, since the 9600 results also include a lot of uses unrelated to this specific city.Xasha (talk) 19:56, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

• Oppose mostly as per Dc76; also think it's best to leave the status quo while status of each name is uncertain. Rapido (talk) 13:51, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

• Oppose - Dc76 outlines a cogent case for opposition, but let me add a little. First, Google Books greatly prefers Tighina over Bender Moldova, and the vast majority of results are in English in any case. Moreover, established English-language encyclopedias use Tighina. The issue of official names is rather complex here. Moldova, in de jure possession of the city, is sometimes ambivalent or uses Tighina. Transnistria, de facto in control, isn't recognised by anyone, so how much weight we should accord its opinion is questionable, especially when two recent votes have determined that the country officially called Myanmar should be located at Burma, despite the name Myanmar being used by international organisations and a good part of the English-language press (incidentally, The New York Times, which last spoke about the town during the war, called it "Bendery" at the time). In making this decision, we should look carefully at scholarly and contemporary usage and weigh the evidence, which I believe points to Tighina being overall the preferred English term. In any case, it is dangerous for us to go around randomly changing the name, because unlike Burma/Myanmar, most readers assuredly don't know Bender/Tighina are the same thing, and unlike Kiev/Kyiv, they can't readily know it either. So please, relax and think about this before we do make any move. Biruitorul (talk) 02:20, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Using Bender Moldova, without adding Moldavia and Bessarabia, other common English names for the region, gets a deformed result. Considering these observation Bender outranks Tighina 7:6. One of those encyclopedias has at least two flawed information about Tighina. Official name, as used in Moldovan law (the only authoritative source on Moldovan official usage) is Bender. Bender outranks Tighina by a signifiant margin both in scolarly usage (Google Scholar) and generally contemporany usage (Google News search). So, I see you generally use the same false reasons Dc76 uses.Xasha (talk) 09:38, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Alternative proposal

Leave this article as it is now: Tighina, but every time we refer to it, use [[Tighina|Tighina/Bender]]. Main advantage: the reader will know right away that that Tighina=Bender, with the first click, he/she will know it is a city. :Dc76\^talk 15:17, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Why does anyone has to read so many other names? I simply like and admire only Tighina. 90 1 AQ (talk) 18:48, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

In my opinion, because the sources and usages currently do not favor one over another. If/when in time Moldovan authorities return the normal situation in the city, and the city would be official renamed for the n-th time, that would perhaps seal it one way. Otherwise, this dispute here is but a small consequence of the impotence of Moldovan government to control the territory of own country. Dc76\^talk 18:58, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Shh, it's him! ;-) As for impotence - surely, the Moldovan government is potent enough to change its own legislation (officially rename the city) should it so desire? --Illythr (talk) 19:06, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Would you do that to provoke more burden on the citizens of the city? Smirnov would order a hunt on everyone using the name. (He won't bother them now for the same thing.) Don't you think those people have suffered enough.

I couldn't care less about our leaders' physiological abilities. I care more about their alcoholism, which can have/has political implications. :-) You remember the joke? "Ranishe bylo sh-sh-sh, a teper' wo-wo-wo, a tolku, br-br." The government couldn't care less than seek what we write here. I bet they don't even know what is WP. At any rate, it's all truth: let them show they can do better. Dc76\^talk 19:17, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

I mean, the Moldovan government officially considers Transnistria to be part of Moldova, with "Transnistria" itself being part of an official name. So why not add "Tighina" to the list? I doubt anyone in the city will notice, anyway. --Illythr (talk) 19:41, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Why not alphabetically (Bender/Tighina) ? However, I think they are enough proofs to show Bender is the current established English (and locally official, for that matter) name of the city known 500 years ago as Tighina.Xasha (talk) 19:56, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Seeing as how Bender is the official one, I'd use Bender (Tighina). The usage of "Tighina" in the big encyclopediae (apparently, reflecting popularity) is about the only thing that prevents me from supporting a move outright. --Illythr (talk) 21:01, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Data

• Encyclopedias:
  • Britannica: Tighina
  • Columbia: Tighina
  • Encarta; Tighina
• LC Country study for Moldova: consistently Bender; once explains that Tighina is the Romanian, and Bendery the Russian, name.
• The BBC uses Tighina and Bender in the same sequence of articles.
  • This story does not occur in the article; nor does much since 1992. For a city that has evidently not been spared history, this is unfortunate. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 18:51, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
• Google Scholar has 195 hits for Bender; 78 for Tighina
• Google Books suggests that almost all of those who write about the city and Moldova use both names; but Bender by itself does appear to be somewhat more common than Tighina.

Actually, it is like this:

• Bender: 320 hits
• Tighina: 668 hits

bogdan (talk) 19:58, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

No, since it includes a lot of non-English books, and a lot of old ones. However, Bender gets more like 736 hits on its own.Xasha (talk) 20:37, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

Including "city" to get English hits makes it:

• Bender 45 hits
• Tighina: 46 hits

One must include Moldova with both or not include it with both. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 04:44, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Try using my above search, adding -city. You'll get a lot of clear English-language references to this city.Xasha (talk) 09:25, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Xasha are you Moldopodo as per above? 90 1 AQ (talk) 05:01, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

I think there is little doubt at this point that 90 1 AQ is a sockpuppet of one of our old acquaintances. Most likely User:Bonaparte's. Dahn (talk) 05:06, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Continue?

In ref to Xasha's and Illythr's comments: Tighina/Bender or Bender/Tighina was a mere matter of taste, or even less, a random choice. But Bender (Tighina), and on the same tokken Tighina (Bender), have an advantage: we can actually name the article Bender (Tighina). We can not name it Tighina/Bender (WP would understand a sub-article). My conclusion: you both think possible a variant that contains both names. (Life proof that honest discussion leads somewhere.) Dc76\^talk 15:50, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't know, the brackets in names usually serve for clarification, like Death (band). I am not aware of the bracketed part denoting an alternative name. Besides, this is exactly the problem here - it's hard to determine which name's the more widespread one - with Bender being official, Tighina being used by major encyclopedia... --Illythr (talk) 16:00, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

You mentioned exactly the problems with it. Let's think now like this: are these problems bigger or smaller than the ones with other names? I am more concerned with the usual meaning of brackets as clarifications. For order, if nothing more logical exists, we can ask an uninvolved person to throw a coin. Dc76\^talk 16:11, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia already thought about such problems, and gave us the answer: "If no name can be shown to be widely accepted in English, use the local official name".(WP:NCGN)Xasha (talk) 20:56, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

I personally think there's some wiggle room here. Where there are competing names, the reason for picking one is: "Experience shows that the straightforward solution of a double or triple name is often unsatisfactory; there are all too many complaints that one or the other name should be first." I would venture there could be sufficient support for "Bender (Tighina)" without wailing and gnashing of teeth. I think the order (based on our various searches et al.) for primary (secondary) is sufficiently conclusive. On something like "Kiev" versus "Kyiv", it's transliteration of the same name, so a bit of a different animal.

   I did take a look in King's The Moldovans, and Bender is the preferred entry in the index, Tighina in the index says see Bender, BUT, the first time King refers to Bender in the book, he references it as "Bender (Tighina)". So we can say that we're following nomenclature used by one of the most respected references on Moldova as opposed to just an arbitrary group synthesis. —PētersV (talk) 02:00, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

I don't think is a good thing to create a precedent. Also, using a parenthetical name may confuse the reader. According to Wikipedia:Naming_conventions(city_names), the Y in a title of the form X(Y) stands for the higher level administrative division. They suggest to use parenthetical names only in historical context, but this article is clearly about the city in the present.Xasha (talk) 08:51, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

In our case there is no denying that Tighina is widely accepted in English. Dc76\^talk 20:59, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Define widely. Bender is also more widely accepted than Tighina.Xasha (talk) 21:07, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Problem is that major encyclopedia tend to conform to the widely held view (of their target audiences, that is). Take a look at the Russian talk page of this article. I wonder if that anon's post holds some ground. --Illythr (talk) 21:21, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

But news agencies and major English-speaking governments prefer Bender. I've never heard of that international organization, but I've seen their Russian site has a forum (although it didn't seem very active). Someone could ask if they do such things and where could we find an official confirmation. However, it would be strange if in 17 years that organization didn't notice no real change took place. (But nothing is impossible, see the Columbia Encyclopedia)Xasha (talk) 21:53, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

On a different side note I do believe it is incorrect to call the fortress "Tighina", seeing as how it was built by the Turks after the capture of this customs post. --Illythr (talk) 21:21, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Re-constructed. There was a fortress there before. :Dc76\^talk 21:24, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

All I found was a mention of a customs post, not a fortress. --Illythr (talk) 21:29, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

You seem to be right. Ion Nistor mentions a fortified custom post, not a fortress. No wonder Ottomans did not spend much time demolishing it. Dc76\^talk 18:18, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

Kinda amusing, btw, that not only do Moldovan authorities call it Tighina, but they also made a typo on the 100 lei banknote depicting the fortress. Thighina, yeah! :-)

Name change in the 90s

Tighina was use officialy sometimes after 1994, and before 2001, but with a high degree of certitude in 1998 (the 1998 law mentions the municipality, and not the city itself). I know there was a site having a large part of the Moldovan legislative corpus, but I can't find it right now. Could someone help?Xasha (talk) 20:14, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Try this: [12]. :Dc76\^talk 20:29, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

This one is adopted in 1990. This one - in 1994. I am not aware of any changes since then. --Illythr (talk) 20:57, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

very good links:Dc76\^talk 21:00, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Imrek provided them above over a year ago, actually. Before that I was sure "Tighina"'s the official one. --Illythr (talk) 21:02, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

From what I've seen, only the county was named Tighina, the city was always called Bender.Xasha (talk) 22:39, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

This fact makes the article from the Columbia Encyclopedia unreliable (adding to the ridiculous claim that Turks called it Bendery).Xasha (talk) 00:30, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Here I found this: Dc76\^talk 18:32, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

4. Cetatea Bender

Această cetate a fost zidită de genovezi în timpul stăpânirii lor pe malurile Mării Negre şi se numea Tighin, iar în urmă, în epoca stăpânirii turcilor în Basarabia, cetatea a fost luată de Mo­hamed al II-lea, care a numit-o Bendere, adică: „Eu vreau“. Ce­tatea a fost reconstruită şi mărită de turci, spre a conserva în ea proviantul garnizoanei, adăugând lângă cetate câteva sate numite raiaua Benderului, al cărui guvernor era un paşa. În timpul războiului ruşilor cu turcii, această cetate a fost de trei ori cu­cerită când de unii, când de alţii. La 1789 ajunse iarăşi în pose­siunea ruşilor, iar după tratatul de pace de la Iaşi, ruşii au întors-o din nou turcilor. În grabă, însă, după o discordie politică, fu re­dată ruşilor, care, întărind-o, făcură un punct strategic impunător şi însemnat în evoluţiile militare, însemnând trecerea peste Dunăre.

Cronica istorică povesteşte că pe locul Benderului a fost odi­nioară tabăra lui Darius Histape, domnitorul Persiei. Aceeaşi cronică spune că divul Traian a zidit peste Nistru un pod de pia­tră, ale cărui urme şi astăzi se văd. Lângă cetatea Benderului, viteazul Carol al XII-lea, regele şvezilor, fugind cu rămăşiţele ar­matei sale bătute de Petru cel Mare la Poltava, s-a aşezat pe acel şes întărindu-se. Iar izgonit de ruşi, abia a putut fi mântuit de turci, care cu o armată întreagă i-au venit întru ajutor, luându-l sub scutul lor.

Astfel dar pe arena ţării Moldovei s-au adaus şi ciolanele perşilor, turcilor, şvezilor din nord, peste osemintele polonilor, tătarilor, cazacilor etc., etc., încât cu drept cuvânt putem zice că acest pământ este un mozaic de oase alcătuite de coasa morţii ce-şi alesese reşedinţa în această provincie fatală pentru români...

(Constantin Stamati, middle 19th century)

I doubt someone could consider this a reliable source. Xasha (talk) 19:55, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

To cite a well-known phrase from a movie, you must be high on drugs to call Constantin Stamati non-reliable. What next? Darwin, Einstein, or Heisenberg non-reliable? :) Dc76\^talk 20:13, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Bendery (Tiahynia; Romanian: Tighina). Map: VII-10. City (1981 pop 108,000) in Bessarabia, now in Moldova, a port on the Dniester River and a major railway junction. In the past it was an important strategic point for crossing the Dniester. In the 12th century the Genovese built a fortress on the location of the Slavic settlement, and at the beginning of the 16th century Bendery came under Turkish rule.

http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/pages/B/E/Bendery.htm

BTW, the Genoese held a lot of trade posts and fortresses in the area, including Akkerman and Vicina.

bogdan (talk) 22:51, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

Hey, I kinda wonder, how come the earliest written mention of the locality was on a 1408 grant by Alexander the Good, yet it was built by the Genoese 200 years before that? --Illythr (talk) 01:46, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

Moldova kept the name Bender after it became independent in 1991: see Law 764-XV from December 27, 2001 on administrative-territorial organisation of the Republic of Moldova, Monitorul Oficial al Republicii Moldova, no. 16/53, December 29, 2001 (subsequent modifications taken into account)

According to most sources, the name of the city is Tighina. Marc KJH (talk) 16:17, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Hi, Bonaparte! I see they allowed you to run free this time over. Perhaps you are learning to be less obvious? Or just more careful to avoid your connoisseurs? :-) --Illythr (talk) 01:54, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

Here is a map from moldovan government website with the name Bender. And here is the law in the language of the state, again, from government site. There cannot be discussion against official law of the county which confirms long-established name. `'Míkka>t 17:00, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

Maybe so, but just a month ago, no consensus was reached on a move after a discussion. So how come the page was moved now with scant discussion - almost unilaterally, in fact? And, might I add, Bender isn't that long-established, and the fact it's official isn't of overriding importance - see Burma. Biruitorul (talk) 03:41, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Because he's more important than everyone else here, obviously! He went and moved the page despite the proposal's outcome, without any discussion here. First abuse of administrator status: He then tried to threaten that I would be blocked for reverted his changes because I was talking part in an "edit war", as if he somehow was not. Second abuse of administrator status: He protected the page despite the policy here Wikipedia:Protection_policy#Move_protection "administrators should avoid favoring one name over another, and protection should not be considered an endorsement of the current name." He previously put here on the talk page: "This is the official name of the city, according to the evidence presented. Period". (He has now deleted that, but it obviously invalidates his protection of the page). Third abuse of administrator status: once his protection was deemed to be disallowed, he merely got one of his admin chums to protect his preferred version, thus avoiding the prohibition... for several weeks. Anyone with any manners would open up a new debate here, perhaps try to reach compromise? or even consensus? Administrators should not be rude, unruly and disrespectful. Rapido (talk) 08:29, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

You've been replied to on the complaint page as I see. Don't be surprised with the reaction - circumventing a move protection by copypasting content has discredited your position rather throughly. Anyhow, whatever your opinion on the name may be, why did you do that? (Removed useful captions and stuff) --Illythr (talk) 10:31, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

I can only assume your opinion that it "discredited my position rather thoroughly" is based on racial prejudice, as you make no comment on anyone else who makes similar edits to this page, presumably because they change it to your liking; someone might say that the fact you are from the capital of Moldova, but (according to your user page) don't speak a word of the official language, rather 3 foreign languages might discredit your position. Rapido (talk) 08:06, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Copypaste moving when a page protection is in place is a common vandal tactic. Reverting POV-unrelated things like caption names after being asked not to is another. I didn't comment on anyone else doing the copypaste move because nobody but you an a known long-term vandal (hint-hint) actually did it (other than to repair your moves). What kind of reaction do you expect, if your only contributions to build consensus so far have been revert warring and flinging various insults at other users? Could you also share with me which race you represent? It's remarkably difficult to engage in racial bias without actually knowing your skin color, nose shape, and other such things, you know. The contents of my userpage may indeed appear discrediting to some. Copypaste moves in order to bypass administrative protection and accusing everyone who doesn't agree with you of racial bias are discrediting for everyone. Well, almost. I bet Bonny approves. :-) --Illythr (talk) 09:45, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

See wikipedia:Naming conventions. The logic here is simple, everyone knows Burma, and it is well-established English usage. But who the hell heard Bender or Tighina in the whole world? In the later case the preference is for official local name. The same with Kiev, but Dnipropetrovsk despite the fact it is overwhelmingly Dnepropetrovsk in non-Ukrainian sources. `'Míkka>t 06:00, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

That's all well and good, but process is important, wouldn't you agree? If an RM a month ago failed to reach consensus for a move, shouldn't there be a compelling (as opposed to just a good) reason for an out-of-process move? Biruitorul (talk) 16:27, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Official name as per Moldavian law

User Mikkalai has provided undiscussable legal evidence - the official name of the city is Bender. I have absolutely no clue, how come a discussion is even taking place how are we going to name the article. It reminds me the previous pointless discussion on how were we going to name the Beltsy steppe... Shall the third discussion be how are we going to name the Black Sea? I hope one day will come, when even not knowing the subject users, will simply start typing key words in Google to have an idea of the topic. Some users simply amuse themselves on Wikipedia with killing their and our time with endless original researches--Moldopodo (talk) 16:32, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Although it does influence practice because many people respect that kind of thing, Wiki naming policy isn't determined by the dictates of governments. So for instance the Ukrainian government can make as many executive decrees and pass as much legislation as they like determining that Kyiv is the "English name", but that doesn't make it so; only usage does. Deacon of Pndapetzim (Talk) 16:44, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

wikipedia:naming conventions draws difference between Kyiv and a random village in Ethiopia. If there is no significant English usage of the name, the local is preference. Unlike Kiev, I doubt that an average English speaker ever heard or gives a damn about Bender or Tighina. `'Míkka>t 17:12, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

The average English speaker doesn't give a damn about Kiev either. The people who care are eastern Europeans writing in English. The very presence of so much heated talk above I think puts this particular small city in the Kiev rather than "small village in Ethiopia" category. Maybe I'm wrong, WP:UE and WP:NAME don't really clear it up. Deacon of Pndapetzim (Talk) 18:15, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

• Kiev might be a different story, it seems to me that the proper spelling in English should be Kyiv, as official Ukrainian name and even the so called "usage" discussion point to it (Google search results: 655 000 for Kyiv Ukraine, 682 000 for Kiev Ukraine). The proprtion is quite different from the one in Bender / Tighina case.--Moldopodo (talk) 23:19, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

{Removed a huge piece of offtopic. Whoever would like to continue it is free to restore the relevant part on the talk page of the user the reply will be addressed to} --Illythr (talk) 23:14, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

User:Illythr removed some relevant arguments along with off-topic, so I bring them back--Moldopodo (talk) 10:23, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

I think the matter is quite clear: Romanian users support the name used during the 20 years of Romanian rule over the area, while others support the official name (used since the 16th century, with a short interruption cause by the Romanian rule).Xasha (talk) 19:17, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

It's somewhat amusing that Tighina is actually Slavic in origin, whereas Bender is Turk... --Illythr (talk) 19:39, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

For those who disregard official Moldavian legislation and try to engage into another pointless debate, please simply check Google search results for another time killing, so called "usage" debate: tighina moldova - 92 500, bender moldova - 171 000. I mean, if from all participating users, there is at least one really from Moldova, besides me, she/he will confirm, that even we, Moldavian speaking Moldavians say "Benderi / Bendery".

Outside but informed article naming opinion

I just ran across the latest article naming spat. Having plowed through mountains of literature in my epic (perhaps in my mind only!) Transnistrian battles with William Mauco and Des Grant and their minions of sockpuppets, I can say that I've seen "Bendery" used significantly more than "Bender" and both those far more than "Tighina." (Just as we have the English variant Dniester, trailed by Dnester and Dnestr, with Nistru far behind).
  As that literature progresses forward through time, it increasingly includes noting the name Tighina. However, "Bendery" and "Bender" will remain prevalent in English for quite some time if only because the name is frozen in time from its association with the armed Transnistrian conflict--and it will take time for that perception to thaw. (I should mention my general preference is for using "native" names in place of transliterated Russian names where those names don't agree.)
   That said, as long as we're using the "Bender" version, I firmly believe "Bendery" is far more appropriate than "Bender." Such a rename would also take care of the unfortunate circumstance where the "primary" article is currently a disambiguation page. Hope this helps! —PētersV (talk) 15:21, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

Naming

I am curious, is there another name that would be mutually agreeable? Otherwise what if we used one name for the article and one for the lead? Geoff Plourde (talk) 05:00, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

That's a very good idea. I would favour Tighina as the article name, as that is consistent with other encyclopaedias, as well as not requiring a disambiguation (as Bender, Moldova or Bender (city) does). Then Bender would take precedence in the introduction of the article. Rapido (talk) 11:54, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Other thoughts? Geoff Plourde (talk) 15:02, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

I don't think this'll work: There are only following names: Bender (official), Tighina (used in other encyclopediae), Bendery (Russian, see Vecrumba's reasoning above). As actual English usage is very difficult to determine to to the city's obscurity and interference from all those things and people, it's likewise hard to determine the right name. I understand, the local official name is preferred in such cases (Mikka's reason), but for some reason, the major encyclopedia use Tighina (valid opposition), Bendery may be more widespread, but as mentioned, this is hard to determine (Google Books points this way, though (643 vs 486 hits)). To me it's mostly a flip of the coin-type decision, except that it should say Bender in the city infobox, because the tag is called "official name". --Illythr (talk) 16:00, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

OK, what if we used Tighina to solve the disambig problem, used Bendery in the lead and put Bender in the Infobox? Geoff Plourde (talk) 17:38, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

A bit 'o Googling

Just checking...

• +bendery +bessarabia -wikipedia -site:*.md -site:*.ro -site:*.ru -site:*.ua = 5,630 matches
• +bender +bessarabia -wikipedia -site:*.md -site:*.ro -site:*.ru -site:*.ua = 2,870 matches
• +tighina +bessarabia -wikipedia -site:*.md -site:*.ro -site:*.ru -site:*.ua = 2,320 matches

• +bendery +moldova -wikipedia -site:*.md -site:*.ro -site:*.ru -site:*.ua = 85,000 matches
• +bender +moldova -wikipedia -site:*.md -site:*.ro -site:*.ru -site:*.ua = 108,000 matches
• +tighina +moldova -wikipedia -site:*.md -site:*.ro -site:*.ru -site:*.ua = 52,400 matches

Now...

• +bendery -wikipedia -site:*.md -site:*.ro -site:*.ru -site:*.ua = 109,000 matches
• +tighina -wikipedia -site:*.md -site:*.ro -site:*.ru -site:*.ua = 74,600 matches

Can't do Bender for obvious reasons, but it's clear Tighina would trail both Bender and Bendery.

This would appear to indicate that Bendery is most prevalent tending to historical or history-related materials (where one often finds Bessarabia used) while Bender has gained an edge in contemporary usage (with reference to Moldova). Tighina—while I would personally support this as well, as it addresses the disambiguation situation—comes in third in all cases. (I didn't go into doing the search intending to prove anything in any direction.) Just some fodder for discussion. —PētersV (talk) 17:08, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Well, technically, Bendery would solve the disambig issue as well... --Illythr (talk) 22:41, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

It's worth mentioning that Google hits should not be used as the sole measure of accuracy or predominance of usage. Of course if something gets hundreds of thousands of hits, and something else gets barely any, then it's obvious. But all the names seem very close to each other, even comparing 50,000 and 100,000 is too close. It's possible, just for example, that let's say perhaps a dating site has chosen one or other name on every one of its hundreds or even thousands of pages on its site. Rapido (talk) 09:00, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

---

I think it is clear that the most widespread form is Bender, also it goes along with the official legislation.

bender moldova - 171 000 tighina moldova - 92 500 bendery moldova - 89 700

I think we should leave the article named simply Bender, add up above the tag on Bender disambiguation (where should be moved the contents of the actual Bender article on Wikipedia) and further simply explain all the name confusion in the introduction. That seems to me true, easy, clear and logical--Moldopodo (talk) 19:11, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

The name Tighina is just irredentism, so I support one of the two Bender* names. (Although I personally prefer Bender).Xasha (talk) 23:27, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

OK, as I can see it, Bendery would remove the redirect issues. What about moving to Bendery, Moldova, using Tighina in the lead, and Bender in the Infobox? Geoff Plourde (talk) 00:24, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

tighina, moldovia 140,000 tighina 167,000 Geoff Plourde (talk) 00:26, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Tighina's also the Romanian name and Bendery is Russian and Ukrainian transliteration, so unless you refine your search like Vecrumba did, you're bound to get distorted results. Also, the land was called Moldavia. It is currently called Moldova. Moldovia is a kind of archaism like "Roumania". --Illythr (talk) 11:05, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

• Like I said earlier, the proper solution would be to name the article Bender, as all sources, including official legislation and usage as established by googling, show that Bender is the most widely accepted term. I think we should also use Bender in the infobox. The only place to put other names, Tighina, Bendery, would be the introduction.--Moldopodo (talk) 09:48, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

OK, well I can see we have several issues here. How about we use the solution used for Istanbul? The intro clearly states that there are multiple names with a link to a naming article. The infobox has been modified to show the names used at specific periods of time. Sound like a plan? Geoff Plourde (talk) 04:31, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

• Actually, no, the name Tighina is not "just irredentism" - a fair amount of English-language sources use it, it's been used historically, the Chişinău authorities have been known to employ it, etc. There are arguments on both sides, but there's no need to stop assuming good faith on Tighina supporters' part. Biruitorul (talk) 03:58, 20 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Indeed, I agree with Biruitorul's statement here. There also appears to be something of an opinion, as held by Xasha and Mikkalai, that because ethnically Russian editors outnumber other many ethnicities (such as Romanian ones), that their opinions are more important and that everyone else is wrong. To their credit, some of the authors of Russian related articles (who are mostly Russian judging by the edit histories) do a brilliant job on quite obscure (to Westerners) subjects... Gavrilov translation anyone? Or how about some Volapuk encoding! But let's not discredit the valid opinions of people here with "it's just irredentism" talk. Rapido (talk) 09:55, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

I don't know, Xasha and Moldopodo don't seem to be Russian, and Vecrumba here will probably cringe at such an accusation. Therefore it is indeed wise to stop discussing the users' ethnicities and "racial bias" (c) and focus on their arguments, yes. ;-) --Illythr (talk) 13:12, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

I can still recite Pushkin in the original from Russian lessons in my youth, it's only the Soviet system I have an issue with. :-) —PētersV (talk) 22:37, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

Just in case we don't make any progress here, perhaps we can at least lobby the disambiguation page so that Bender (the city) appears before "Bender (Futurama)," a character on Futurama? Seems to me "Places" should be at the top of a disambiguation page. —PētersV (talk) 05:17, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

...And the real ones before fictional at that, agreed. --Illythr (talk) 13:12, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

Let's make it clear

I think Peter's suggestion sounds good, as long as I understood it right. In fact, it is exactly what I have proposed earlier. We are going to name the article on the city Bender and move the actual article Bender (which is disambig article) to the Bender (disambiguation). We can try some voting here... P.S. Let's just try simply vote for or against this variant: Bender and Bender (disambigutaion), without making references to others. We could always make a vote for different variants and mixes (as long as they are accepted on Wikipedia). It's normal that afte all no consensus will be ever found on any suggestion as certain users simplyu deviate from the proposed variant and transfer the voting from original suggestion to another suggestions. This is not the way you can discuss things generally and reach any logical reasoning in particular. I wonder if this sabotage is a mere accident or intended desorganisation of a normal constructive debate/voting... --Moldopodo (talk) 13:17, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

For Bender and Bender (disambiguation)

• --Moldopodo (talk) 13:59, 21 April 2008 (UTC)
• PētersV (talk) 14:34, 21 April 2008 (UTC) ... Wasn't what I suggested, but an even better idea. The most major city with a name should have precedence over a disambiguation page (with cartoon robots). At a minimum, "Bender" should be the city and disambiguation is pointed to. If we can't agree on anything else, this alone would be a vast improvement on the current situation. Even for those who prefer Tighina, I believe this would at least be a short term solution to appropriately improve visibility. Especially with Putin's move to offer relations with a couple of the breakaway regions (South Ossetia and Abkhazia), there will be renewed interest in the region (given Transnistria).

  I would advise against playing with the disambig. What about utilizing the same solution used for Istanbul? Geoff Plourde (talk) 16:28, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

  With parentheses populating Bender titles already, if we can't gain support for changing disambiguation, I would suggest we consider "Bender (Tighina)" as a more appropriate title to the current "Bender, Moldova". I know this is opening a can of worms (never did get folks to consider "Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło)" as a valid compromise), but it's still a can worth considering. :-) PētersV (talk) 14:34, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

  I kind of like the look of that can - I say let's open it and see how it tastes. "Bender (Tighina)" is a compromise that should make everyone happy. Biruitorul (talk) 21:29, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

  Just to close the loop on Geoff Plourde's reference to Istanbul, I don't think that (Names of Istanbul I'm assuming) works here since both names, Bender(y) and Tighina, are in contemporary use, while Names of Istanbul is a chronology.

  Who says a Names of Bender section would have to be past and present. I was pointing out one way that people overcame the two name problem. Geoff Plourde (talk) 03:40, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

  Hi, Geoff - I didn't think the approach would work as well here--there aren't any controversies over what Istanbul has been called in the past, so that appeared to be more a resolution on how to present historical information as opposed to how resolve choices in current usage. (You should see the debate over at Kiev versus Kyiv!) No slight meant regarding your suggestion. —PētersV (talk) 13:01, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Perfectly understandable, The main point was how they did the infobox with alternative names. Geoff Plourde (talk) 17:19, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

• Weak support. The Futurama guy is objectively much more popular, and I bet most "Bender"-seekers will be interested in him, rather than in a city god-knows-where. Still, I believe that the real things should generally come before the fictional. --Illythr (talk) 18:43, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

What do you think about Bender (Tighina) ? Dc76\^talk 14:40, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Up there. Not so good. --Illythr (talk) 18:30, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Against Bender and Bender (disambiguation)

• My suggestion would be that the article would be best placed at either Tighina or Bender (Tighina) to avoid the Bender disambiguation problems. Although I prefer the former - to keep consistency with other encyclopedias and avoid the necessity for a clarification in parentheses - I have no objection with the latter being used, but there should be some balance in the introduction and infobox. Rapido (talk) 21:22, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

• Because most people want to read about Bender, the robot. If not, I'm gonna make my own encyclopedia! With blackjack...! and hookers...! In fact, forget the encyclopedia and the blackjack! bogdan (talk) 22:06, 22 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Quite possibly sad but true! And as I've indicated, I'd also support Bender (Tighina), to Rapido's above. Given the disambiguation situation, it's a solution which also notes the two quite different names, both in contemporary use, in the title. —PētersV (talk) 22:29, 22 April 2008 (UTC)
    • Indeed, sad: the other Bender is quite an interesting character who deserves more attention! :-) bogdan (talk) 23:41, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

      No, this is not Rio de Janeiro... Dahn (talk) 06:37, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

  • I'm sorry, can I vote on both sides??? :-) PētersV (talk) 22:29, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

• My understanding is that the article could be placed at one of the following three locatations: Tighina, Tighina (Bender), or Bender (Tighina). Please, also notice that before the controversial and abusive move + immediate move protect, which apparently only had one single aim: to radicalize the spirits, there was a very civilized discussion going on, and the latter two versions were gathering momentum with more moderate users. The two names, Bender and Tighina are both in use in English. None of them has a significantly more dominant usage than the other. Dc76\^talk 14:38, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

• • I didn't see any such double names on wikipedia, and I don't think it is acceptable per WP:NCGN. If we don't have Kiev (Kyiv) why should we have Bender (Tighina) (redirections excluded)?Xasha (talk) 18:21, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Allow me to introduce you to Province of Bolzano-Bozen, History of Alto Adige/South Tyrol, Biel/Bienne, Leintz-Gatzaga, Laudio/Llodio, Baños de Ebro/Mañueta, Elburgo/Burgelu, Peñacerrada-Urizaharra, San Millán/Donemiliaga, Yécora/Iekora, Lanciego/Lantziego, Villabuena de Álava/Eskuernaga, Campezo/Kanpezu, Oyón-Oion, Ribera Baja/Erribera Beitia, Salvatierra/Agurain, Harana/Valle de Arana, Elvillar/Bilar, Ayala/Aiara, Iruña de Oca/Iruña Oka, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Abaurregaina/Abaurrea Alta, Abaurrepea/Abaurrea Baja, Aoiz - Agoitz, Altsasu/Alsasua, Arce - Artzi, Auritz / Burguete, Estella - Lizarra, Ezcároz - Ezkaroze, Luzaide/Valcarlos, Noáin (Valle de Elorz) - Noain (Elortzibar), Hiriberri/Villanueva de Aezkoa, Huarte - Uharte, Gallués - Galoze, Burgui - Burgi, Sangüesa - Zangoza, Sarriés - Sartze, Uztárroz - Uztarrotze, Urdazubi/Urdax, Roncal - Erronkari, Villava/Atarrabia and Vidángoz - Bidankoze. Biruitorul (talk) 04:16, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

• • • But all those towns are officially bilingual. Bender has only one official name: Bender. Hey, I just noticed Romanian towns officially bilingual (the ones inhabited by a Hungarian majoritiy) don't have double names. Why?Xasha (talk) 13:44, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Romania has just one official language. So does Moldova, on whose territory Tighina is located. Transnistria, which controls it, has two additional ones. Given that we generally refer to left-bank localities by their Romanian name, there's no justification for employing a Russian-used only name here. Tighina is either officially monolingual (Romanian) or trilingual (Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian), so the same analogy applies. Biruitorul (talk) 14:13, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

This page says otherwise. There's no settlement called Tighina in Moldova. I don't care what names you, Romanians, use when reffering to Moldovan settlements. Bender is a Turkish name. Again, officially, there's no Tighina in Moldova : [13] Xasha (talk) 14:30, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Please see the Constitution of Romania, art. 14: "In Romania, the official language is Romanian." In places where non-Romanians form over 20% of the population, their language can indeed be used in local administration, but the country, and all its subdivisions, still have only one official language. Kindly refrain from pointing out editors' ethnicity to discredit their opinions: that is an intolerable form of personal attack. And let's not play games: Bender originates in Turkish, but given that the Ottoman Empire hasn't held power in the region for well over a century, and that the name is used, relevantly, in Russian, it's a Russian name. What's official and what is not is both debatable and not entirely relevant. Zhongguo and Bharat are also official, but we call them China and India; the question, at bottom, is what the town is called in English, not what the Chişinău or Tiraspol authorities happen to call it. Biruitorul (talk) 19:00, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm not an expert in Romanian law, but if it is so, that page should be changed. The same case with Moldova: Moldovan is the only official language in Moldova proper, part of which Bender is, and the official name, used by both the Moldovan and Transnistrian administration, is "Bender". Then who are those "we"? People calling themselves "Biruitorul"? No, Bender is the Moldovan name. The Russian name has a yery, transliterated in English as "y". As a matter of fact, the Russian name, Bendery, surpasses the Romanian name in Google's Book Search. So, both the Turkish/Moldovan one and the Russian/Ukrainian one are more adequate on Wikipedia than the obsolete Romanian name. The official English name of India is India. Also, the name used by PRC's government in foreign relation is China. The English name for Bender is Bender, as used by the US Embassy in Moldova, the latest US Department of State country reports and the CIA factbook. BTW: Christ is risen!Xasha (talk) 23:13, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

There is no Moldovan language, and please, Bender=Bendery=Бендеры. But my head is swimming after seeing those two names so many times. Adevărat a Înviat! Воистину воскресе! Truly He is Risen! Biruitorul (talk) 01:57, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Now you're being nationalistic, and indeed, all those names refer to the same city, just in different languages: Moldovan/Turkish/English, transliterated Russian/Ukrainian/English and Russian Cyrillic.Xasha (talk) 11:40, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm sorry, this has nothing to do with "nationalism" - all reliable linguists agree the "Moldovan language" is fake. And again, it's absurd to say "Bender" is Turkish - yes, the Turks came up with the name, but what is relevant today is that Russian uses Bender, or something very close to it, and that Russian is not an official language of Moldova, and is only one of three official languages in the PMR. Biruitorul (talk) 17:11, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Who cares about the names' origins? All that matters is English usage and that is what should be the focus of this discussion. BTW, Biru, not sure if you got confused or something, but "Bender" is the official Moldovan name (as in "supported by the laws of the Republic of Moldova"). "Tighina" is not mentioned in the laws of RM. So, Bender is the only official name in the official language of the country. However, "Tighina" has gained a widespread usage as well, somehow. Vecrumba's search above, however, hints that the Russian transliteration, "Bendery" is actually more popular, probably due to the 1992 conflict... --Illythr (talk) 17:24, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

An acclaimed Romanian linguist supported it. Following your logic, we should also change the name of you capital, since "Bucharest" originates in and is used today by Russian.Xasha (talk) 10:37, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

a) Please describe the "acclaimed linguist" claim in more detail. b) No! First, Bucharest (unless you'd like to offer contrary evidence) is of Romanian origin. Second, the point I was making is that Bender's etymological origins are irrelevant to this discussion - there are no Turks of appreciable numbers in Moldova (the Gagauz excluded), the Republic of Turkey has no territorial claim over the region, etc. By contrast, appreciable numbers of Russians (and Ukrainians, who use the same name) inhabit both Tighina and the PMR as a whole (which indeed has a strong Slavic majority). Russian and Ukrainian are official languages in that entity (ruled by a Russian), the Russian Federation itself has strong interests (and an army) in the zone, and so on. So saying that "Bender is a Turkish name", while correct as far as etymology, is irrelevant geopolitically today - what is relevant is its use by Russian. Biruitorul (talk) 20:46, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

a)Alexandru Graur. Or maybe, because he was Jewish, he "surely" was a Bolshevist who sold his soul to the Stalinist devil? b) Bucuresti may be Romanian, but Bucharest is a purely Slavic rendition. Moldovans are the majority in Moldova, and they call the town Bender. The fact the Russian and Ukrainian inhabitants use the same name can only support the case of Bender. I'm sure Russia can't wait to steal Moldova's wines and food canning industry. Once they'll conquer Moldova, nothing would stand against their Imperial dream of ruling the Universe. This is outright russophobia.Xasha (talk) 22:49, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

a) Kindly do not accuse me of anti-Semitism. However, given his support of the Stalinist regime, of course the scholarship he produced in the 1950s and beyond is subject to question, particularly when it comes to politically sensitive matters. Maybe you can find a contemporary Western linguist who echoes Graur's claims? b) What about the French Bucarest - is that Slavic too? Really, now - these are all slight variations on the same theme, not totally unrelated like Bender and Tighina. Romanians are the majority in Bessarabia (see the apolitical 1930 Romanian census), and refer to the town as Tighina. The fact that Russian and Ukrainian inhabitants use Bender might (assuming English usage bears this out) be a reason for introducing Bender alongside Tighina in the title. A phobia is an irrational fear, and fear of Russia - of Putin's Russia, not of Russians, is quite rational. However: the 14th Army is still there, and saying that Russia has "strong interests" somewhere does not (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact aside) imply Russia wishes to conquer a place. The US, for instance, has had "strong interests" in Latin America for about 200 years, but rarely has it outright occupied countries, instead exercising more subtle influence over the region. Biruitorul (talk) 15:25, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

a)Most important European writers of the 20th century were at some time Communists, does this mean that Europe produced only lies during the 20th century? b) Bucharest and all relevant Western forms came through a Slavic form, not directly from Romanian. Calling the only census that didn't record a Moldovan plurality in the 200 years of census records in Bessarabia apolitical clearly shows your intention to politicize the matter. The majority of Moldova's population, that calls itself Moldovan, and refutes the name "Romanian" applied by ethno-racists, calls the city Bender. I don't see any town in Romania having as title the Romany name, so no article about a Moldovan town will be called by its Romanian name. If Russia would have had the same level of implication in the internal affairs of foreign countries as the US, now you wouldn't have planty governments in ex-Soviet countries, and the Russian minority in the Baltics would be treated with some basic decency.Xasha (talk) 19:25, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

a) Three points. i) The "most" claim is utterly false for Western Europe (Britain? Germany? Spain? Even France and Italy were divided.). As for Eastern Europe, some fine literature was produced by party members, but that was generally not the case between about 1947 and 1963. ii) An ex-Communist is just that: ex. So I have no reason to question the merits of ex-Communists' writings (Koestler for instance). iii) A Communist writing outside a Communist dictatorship (Camus for instance) retains his freedom of conscience and is not bound to follow Party dictates on ideological content in the arts. iv) Finally, I reject the hyperbolic, loaded premise of your question. I never said all Communists are liars, or something as absurd as that "Europe produced only lies" for 100 years. All I said is that the work of a Communist linguist working under conditions of Stalinism might well be expected to toe the Party line and "conclude" what his superiors ask (directly or not) that he conclude. And your contemporary Western linguist has yet to materialise. b) I'm sorry, but you'll have to provide evidence that Bucharest comes from a Slavic form, and in any case, this is irrelevant, as the names are all clearly very similar, unlike Bender and Tighina. The 1897 census recorded mother tongue, not ethnicity, and did so as "Moldavian/Romanian". I have no intention to politicise anything: the 1930 count was lauded for its impartiality and modernity. The majority of Bessarabian inhabitants are Romanians of the Bessarabian variety, just as Oltenians inhabit Oltenia, dobrogeni inhabit Dobrudja, etc. That they call themselves something else is the result of Communist propaganda and fear, not a denial of their core identity. And I am sorry, but Tighina is also widely employed. Kindly refrain from calling users "ethno-racists" merely for pointing out that the Prut River divides a single people, yesterday, today and forever - Romanians are one and the same on both sides, all the way to the Nistru! Romanian in official in Romania, though we point out the Romani name of Budeşti, as it is Romania's only town that is over 20% Roma. All other towns in the Republic of Moldova are called by their Romanian names (and, curiously, the PMR too), so Tighina should not be an exception, as "Moldovan", identical to Romanian, is the official language and the renaming process happened to be interrupted by a war. Do see Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, Soviet war in Afghanistan, Soviet occupation of Romania... And I'm sorry, but nothing is stopping Baltic Russians from learning the official language and acquiring citizenship - indeed tens of thousands have done so. The Baltics have treated Russians with far more decency than what was offered to them by the Soviets - the Gulag, collectivisation, deportation, de-nationalisation, environmental destruction, and so on. Biruitorul (talk) 06:22, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

a) I didn't read the first part of your message due to its irrelevance to our topic. However: "most" is accurate, and I have to remind you that the same Romanian communist regime was the one who condemned the Soviets for invading Czechoslovakia. How come they "supported" Soviets in non-political things, like linguistics, but were against them in heavily political topics? b) Bucharest comes from a Slavic, and it's a pity you're not aware of it. I'm interested how do you explain the "ch" in the name. Yes, the 1897 combined the two mother tongues due to their similarity (and was "Moldovan and Romanian"). They did the same for Czech and Slovak, for Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian and for Spanish and Portuguese. Also the 1897 was not the first census in Bessarabia. All censuses in Bessarabia, from 1817 to 2004, counted a Moldovan plurality, except one census made during Romanian rule over the region. I don't care what Romanians thought about the census they made during a time when the Iron Guard was an influent player in Romanian politics and minority schools were closed all over Romania. We refuse to be called Romanians, and this was proved over and over again. It's not an ethno-racists job to impose a name on a people that doesn't want it. Romanians are even nowadays afraid to let the masses speak. Praise to the Bulgarians, who, despite their official policy towards Macedonians, published the unbiased results of their census. I didn't say this article shouldn't mention the Romanian name of the city, like you do with the Romany name for Budesti. All cities in Moldova are called by their official Moldovan name, as established by the Parliament of Moldova. And the Parliament said Bender's official Moldovan name is Bender. So imposing a foerign name, not used by inhabitants or the Government would be an exception. I talk about present topics, and you reply pointing me to examples from Stalin's era. Grow up man, we're in the 3rd millenium now. The Soviet Union didn't require its citizens to know Russian in 1940; not even the Romanians in 1920 required the population of its newly annexed territories to know Romanian to give them citizenship. What happens in Latvia and Estonia is a breach of human rights, and the fact that Russia did nothing about it (even if it should have) proves its peaceful objectives. BTW, collectivisation of small properties proved to be beneficial for agriculture, and is supported nowadays by the EU.Xasha (talk) 14:16, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

No, it is not accurate - it is quite false to say that "most important European writers of the 20th century were at some time Communists". Primo Levi, Giuseppe di Lampedusa, Luigi Pirandello, Heinrich Böll, Günter Grass, Antoine de Saint Exupéry, François Mauriac, Eugène Ionesco, Jean Anouilh, Federico Garcia Lorca, Nikos Kazantzakis, Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, Evelyn Waugh, DH Lawrence, TS Eliot, Graham Greene and of course Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - none of these was ever a Communist! The regime underwent a few phases - slavishly pro-Soviet (1948-56) - something in between, as de-Stalinization was being resisted (1956-68) - a nominally "independent" posture (1968-89). So it's quite possible that the regime's acolytes backed the Soviet view of linguistics in 1952 (and, believe me, linguistics can be quite a political field) while reading from a different script 16 years later - different dictators in both countries, for instance. The "contemporary Western linguist", by the way, has yet to appear. I'm sorry, but you'll have to give evidence that "Bucharest", so similar to Bucureşti, is Slavic; many Romanian words have a "ch" sound - cană, caiet, carne, curmală, etc. On 1897: please note the very different orders of magnitude. 138 total speakers of Spanish&Portuguese out of 125 million people - it's simply not relevant if 94 spoke Spanish and 44 Portuguese. With 1,121,669 speakers of "Moldavian and Romanian", though, you'd think they'd have an interest in giving a breakdown if there was any difference in language, no? So of course some of the illiterate peasants (and keep in mind, the vast majority of Romanian Bessarabians were illiterate at the time) might have said grăiesc moldoveneşte and not vorbesc română - in no way does this imply separate ethnicity or language, only differing educational level. Obviously, other censuses in Russia, the USSR and Communist-governed Moldova have an interest in denying the inhabitants' true Romanian nature, but that doesn't mean impartial observers need to play the game of denying that Bessarabians are Romanians. The 1930 census has been praised by neutral sources; minority schools were not "closed all over Romania" (source?) and the Iron Guard was still a fringe group - it was still a couple of years away from entering Parliament, carrying out its first assassination (1933), and so on. One is free to deny one's Romanian identity but that shouldn't stop serious scholars from proclaiming the truth of the matter. Kindly refrain (and please don't make me use that phrase one more time - personal attacks are not allowed) from referring to me as an "ethno-racist"; I am merely stating facts - a people with a shared language, culture, history, identity - that is one single people, regardless of the effects of Soviet propaganda or the trauma of 1940. Romania is a mature democracy and allows the masses to speak freely. I quite understand Bulgaria's reticence; "Macedonians" are Serbs turned into a fake separate ethnicity by Tito's policy of weakening and suppressing Serbian identity - a sad parallel to Bessarabia. As it so happens, "Moldovan" names are identical to Romanian ones and in this one exception, we need not take account solely of what the rogue Chişinău authorities decree. Especially because the "Moldovan" state is illegitimate and should be absorbed by its rightful owners, Bucharest, without delay. The EU (itself a dangerous neo-Stalinist creature) doesn't (yet) have a Gulag, and I do not believe that the violent means of collectivisation justified the end. What the Soviets did to the Baltics in 1940-91 was also a breach of human rights. Latvia was 52% Latvian in 1989. It faced an existential crisis. First Latvians and people who know Latvian get to have a solid hold on the state, and once they're sure of that they can think about extending citizenship to non-speakers, but former Soviet settlers really should learn to respect Latvia and Estonia, and not treat them as their colonial playgrounds, where they can live for decades without learning the language, history, etc. Biruitorul (talk) 21:20, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm not going to further discuss with a guy holding fringe opinions reminiscent of Nazi Germany. Your denial of Moldovan statality should exclude you from further debates about my country.Xasha (talk) 21:59, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

That's your prerogative; personal attack (Nazi comparison) duly noted. As long as my policy-based participation is based on facts and sources and not my personal viewpoint (and here, in arguing for Tighina, sources have been my guide all along), I reject that notion. Biruitorul (talk) 22:16, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it's official. And that should weigh heavily, but not decisively, on our choice of title, whether it ends up being Bender, Bendery, Tighina, Tighina (Bender), Bender (Tighina), Бендеры, whatever. Biruitorul (talk) 18:13, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

• Per Dc76 - the move was unilateral, against consensus, and not convincingly supported by English-language sources. Move either to Tighina (the status quo retained after the move discussion), or try a double name solution. Biruitorul (talk) 04:16, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • • The status quo is "Bender, Moldova". Xasha (talk) 13:44, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

The status quo ante unilateral move is Tighina. Biruitorul (talk) 14:13, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

The status quo is supported by Wikipedia policy.Xasha (talk) 14:30, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Whether or not that is the case, it violates process. Biruitorul (talk) 19:00, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Are there any objections to Bender-Tighina or Bender (Tighina)? Geoff Plourde (talk) 07:05, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

See above. Xasha (talk) 13:44, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Forget about Tighina. It was relevant only during 20 years a long time ago, end 19th beginning of 20th century. What's all this talk about Tighina? It's completely irrelevant today as it was fifty years ago.--Moldopodo (talk) 07:10, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

No, we shall not forget about Tighina as long as numerous reliable sources in the English language continue to refer to it as such. Biruitorul (talk) 17:11, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Indeed, as long as the major encyclopedia continue to use this name, it will remain relevant. I'm rather curious how this happened, though. --Illythr (talk) 17:24, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Probably they assumed every thing supported by Soviets is inherently evil. It's not the first time Westerners try to impose something they consider right against the will of the population. Also, it may have something to do with disinformation, see for example the false information in the Columbia Encyclopaedia.Xasha (talk) 10:37, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Please, let's not veer into conspiracism. This is 2008 material, written 17 years or so after the Soviet collapse. Biruitorul (talk) 15:25, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Exactly the same article is found in my 2002 edition of Britannica. The 17 year old population data show the real date of the article. Also, the article lacks any information about Soviet rule or the important events during the conflict in Transnistria ( In 1991, when it was written, there was no Transnistria war). Interestingly, the same 2002 version of Britannica uses "Bender (now Bendery, Moldova)" in the article "The Age of Greatness" in its Swedish history series and "Years in Turkey, 1709-14" of the Charles XII series (same in [2008 ) Should we base our decision on such an outdated an inconsistent source?Xasha (talk) 19:25, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

It's much more likely that the renaming process was started in 1991, but was canceled due to war. The Russian article mentions a referendum in the city, that overwhelmingly supported Bender. No date, source or initiator is given, though. An anon on the ruwiki talk page mentioned an "International Geographic alliance" that someone had informed of the intended new name, as the source for all the modern encyclopedia using "Tighina". --16:34, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Our decision should certainly take it into account, though no single source should be decisive. Biruitorul (talk) 06:22, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

In this page the city is called Tighina: Cetatea Tighina se află în oraşul Tighina, este din secolul XVI, fiind reconstruită în sec. XVII-XVIII. Este de o importanţă internaţională.--Olahus (talk) 18:10, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Neutral

• I think the current name should stay, maybe putting it above other categories in the main Bender page.Xasha (talk) 01:33, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Geoff's Proposal

Since we seem to be going nowhere in the naming thing I would like to propose a compromise.

I:It has long been accepted practice on Wikipedia to utilize the official name of a city as the name of an article. This practice should therefore be followed in this case.

II:Issues have come up in several cases where a city may have two popularly accepted names, or where the official name is not very popular. Tighina should be added in a special field in the userbox and in the lead to allow for clarity.

III:The naming controversy should be addressed in a dedicated section or article.

Thoughts? Geoff Plourde (talk) 04:29, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Support

• --Moldopodo (talk) 07:05, 27 April 2008 (UTC)I support Bender and think it's all logical to explain whatever there is to explain else in the intro and in the infobox. Let's hope that "pro Greater - Romania" users will not rush into here and sabotage this voting again, as they did in previous votings...--Moldopodo (talk) 07:05, 27 April 2008 (UTC)
• -Support for the official name. We already have a section that presents the different names. We could adopt a Gdansk-like solution for historical references to the city in other articles.Xasha (talk) 11:36, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Oppose

• Strong oppose; there is still no 101% certainty about what the official name is. But if we are going to campaign for only the official name to be used in Wikipedia, then let's start with Londonderry, Myanmar and Kyiv perhaps, which are places that are a lot more well known in the West compared to Tighina. I also thought that Bender (Tighina) would be a mutually acceptable compromise, but it seems that some people still wish to talk about "those evil Romanians sabotaging the poll!". Everyone's view is valid here. I don't see how voting in a democratic way is considered sabotage! Rapido (talk) 12:57, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Unfortunately sabotage is exactly what you are doing when you refer to something else than the voting, for example Londonderry, etc.. Either you do not know what WP:BEANS means, or you simply lack general culture and civility to make a logical reasoning, sticking strictly to the subject, or you indeed do it on purpose to divert readers' attention and put through some irrelevancies. And yes, mostly users supporting Greater Romania do this on Wikipedia... What a shame--Moldopodo (talk) 15:33, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Rapido,Wikipedia is not a democracy. It is common practice to use the official name, which is why I proposed it. Bender (Tighina) is a possible compromise, but apparently consensus is against it. Geoff Plourde (talk) 16:12, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Well, what can I say... There is no point continuing when bullied into complying. Rapido (talk) 10:24, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

I just looked and according to the Romanization convention, A conventional name of a place is the name listed in major English dictionaries and should be preferred over romanization at all times. That is the one we should use. Geoff Plourde (talk) 16:21, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

As the famous saying goes: "Vanzarea catre minori este interzisa... Fumatul dauneaza santatii dumneavoastra!". Rapido (talk) 10:06, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Neutral

---

• About Rapido's comment: The only one who can say what the official name of a city de jure administered by Moldova is the Moldovan Parliament, and they said the official name is Bender. As a matter of fact, the de facto administrators of Bender, not recognized by any international organization, uses the same name. So, whether you're a supporter of the rightful government or of the rebels, the official name is Bender. Exactly: those places are better known in English, and such have an established English-language name. This is not the case for Bender, and the policy of Wikipedia (WP:NCGN) says we should use official name for the title whenever we can't find an established name used by academia.Xasha (talk) 22:34, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
• About Geoff Plourde's : I can't see why Latin script should be Romanized.Xasha (talk) 22:34, 28 April 2008 (UTC)