Talk:Nick Stone (author)

Ethnicity

I've just removed this again. Unless he prefers one over the other, these categorisations are entirely arbitrary. They classified him as Haitian and as a Haitian person of European descent but he could equally well be categorised as British (or Scottish) and a European of Haitian descent. Really, we're best ignoring this sort of categorisation per the spirit of WP:BLPCAT. I also think that there may be issues relating to overcategorisation but I'm not pursuing those right now because, as I've said, I don't think we can cat this stuff at all unless we have explicit self-identification. - Sitush (talk) 02:01, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Scottish blood; Haitian blood; English born and citizenship. It is not difficult to understand mate. Under your rationale, a Chinese man born in England would not be ethnicity Chinese? I don't think there is much to discuss, as I have now referenced this section to respectability. He has great-aunts and grandparents who are natives of the land for goodness sake. Cheers! Savvyjack23 (talk) 02:19, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

And I refer you to WP:BRD. He has plenty of non-Haitian relatives also, one of whom taught me many years ago. Now stop your edit warring, please. - Sitush (talk) 02:22, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

There is no edit war. You in fact are the one having a row with me. You're word isn't suffice, while references are a better witness. Good day. Savvyjack23 (talk) 02:24, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

You want a discussion? Let's discuss. Explain my references provided. Do not think I will not counter your accusation if you cannot. Savvyjack23 (talk) 02:27, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Savvyjack, I've been around here for a while and the chances are high that I know what I'm doing. It doesn't mean I'm always right, of course, but you'd be far better off trying to discuss your position here than warring about it in the article. Please could you review WP:EW and WP:3RR for details concerning what constitutes edit warring etc. Also note that you were bold in adding those Haiti-related categories (I can see that you are interested in Haitian stuff), I reverted you and at that point you should have come here per our convention.

I've left your valid new citations in there (thanks) and fixed the grammar, overlinks, phrasing etc as appropriate and per our Manual of Style. In addition, I removed some aspects of what you had added that simply do not appear in the sources that you cited; for example, the claim that Stone met Nicole in Vienna and details of her full name, not to forget the weird idea that the city of Glasgow is some sort of ethnic grouping.

If you'd care to find a source that shows he self-identifies as primarily Haitian then I'm open to reading it. Otherwise, I really do not see how you can favour one over the other. Nationality and citizenship have nothing to do with ethnicity. - Sitush (talk) 02:53, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Haitian stuff is of no relevance. If you've read my Savvyjack23 page, you would find that this is merely my starting point. In fact, I have strong interest in England; strong and for my own reasons. All Hail the Queen! Savvyjack23 (talk) 03:01, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

I'm not sure what your point is here. How does this last response from you help to improve the article? - Sitush (talk) 03:04, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Excuse me but when did I infer that he is primarily Haitian? He is English born, I would never take that away from anybody. He is indeed a British citizen. The mere category for Haitian people or Haitian people of European descent is correct. Anyone who has lived in Haiti or is Haitian would fit into this category. Furthermore he would have the right to own land being that he of Haitian blood and has lived there for 5+ years. Citizenship and nationality has nothing to do with ethnicity! I agree! The man has Scottish and Haitian roots born in England. Why are we having a row? Savvyjack23 (talk) 03:10, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Being that I have gotten your approval to have this information up, are we really here to discuss categorisation? Savvyjack23 (talk) 03:14, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

All that being said, the way your have described that section is better than the job that I did. However, I do not believe it is necessary to repeat his date of birth. It looks a bit excessive. Savvyjack23 (talk) 03:17, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

(edit conflict) You are not understanding the issues, are you? Did you read WP:BLPCAT as I suggested? Did you note the implications of the opening paragraph there? That is, the spirit of the thing. Are you aware of our attitude to neutrality and can you explain how adding Category:Haitian people satisfies that? I'm pretty sure that one thing you will not be aware of is the amount of trouble that the X of Y descent categories have caused on Wikipedia: there have been several discussions about doing away with them entirely. Finally, it is not true that "anyone who has lived in Haiti ... would fit into this category". I've lived in several countries but, for example, no-one in their right mind would call me Scottish. If you've actually been deploying that rationale on other articles, I'm going to have to do some checking up on your edits, sorry. - Sitush (talk) 03:26, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Regarding the d.o.b., please note that lead sections are intended to summarise articles. In this instance, the real problem is that the lead is ridiculously short. - Sitush (talk) 03:28, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Why would you, are you ethnically Scottish? His mother is Haitian. According to the Haitian Constitution of 2012, dual citizenship is available to all Haitians, everywhere due to the diaspora, including offspring due to Jus sanguinis. You have lived in many countries, I do not doubt, but I doubt you have lived in Haiti. I don't enjoy the categorisations either, you are the one bickering with me just to put back the section I wrote. You have also broken the 3RR rule. I believe in resolving things as well and you should have came to the talk page before making your reverts after I made my sources available. It doesn't take a wikipedian expert to realize that. Savvyjack23 (talk) 03:36, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

No, I haven't broken 3RR and the onus of BRD was on you, not me. It is becoming more clear to me that you are not actually reading what I say or link to. Another example of which is that you seem to have misunderstood my point abuot when it is ok to categorise someone a Haitian or Scottish or whatever person. You said "Anyone who has lived in Haiti" qualifies, which is patently absurd as my own Scottish example shows. - Sitush (talk) 03:40, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

By the way, you seem to have ignored completely my point about neutrality. For example, it is just possible that we could add both Category:Haitian people and Category:Scottish people, although I'm not very comfortable with the idea. Actually, I'm really uncomfortable with it. - Sitush (talk) 03:45, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

I have. Okay, so should there be a categorisation such as "English people of Haitian descent" ? At first I put this and it wasn't available. Would you consider this? This would not need additional categorisations as we do not know if he actually holds Haitian citizenship. So originally that was my intent, so you;'re right. And yes you have reverted me 3 times you can go back and look, but we're discussing. I prefer to do it this way as I am sure your intentions are good, so I do not see a need. That doesn't solve much in the long haul. And believe me, I have witnessed edit-wars. I can name some for you that are happening this very moment. It's madness! They also do not reference their work! Savvyjack23 (talk) 03:52, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Ahh yes, I forgot to include Scottish people into that as well. And, no I think that is overboard. For example however, Americans (born) of Haitian descent, the only category I would put is "American people of Haitian descent" and nothing more. Savvyjack23 (talk) 03:54, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

I support the neutral stance. I would create this category but I've never done so before. He could also have "English people of Scottish descent" ? Are there such categories for Englishmen on here? Savvyjack23 (talk) 03:57, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Categories can be created, yes. That doesn't mean that they should be created. As I've tried to explain, this is opening a big can of worms and the best thing to do is to leave it well alone. In any event, the likelihood of a category such as you propose having more than just this one article in it seems pretty slim to me. I think it would likely end up at WP:CFD very quickly.

Anyway, I've asked for some other people to comment here. Let's see what they say, if anything. We have a formal process for this - WP:30 or anything else in the dispute resolution mechanism could be used at present - but I simply dropped a neutral note at User talk:Drmies because that page gets a lot of visitors and they include many of our most experienced contributors. - Sitush (talk) 04:02, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

I agree, but I do believe it makes it easier to find people according to their descent, but to actually try to classify them can have a price among users because there are a lot of mistakes and I admit that my categorisation was one. But our personal indiffernces aside, a creation of such category could be considered neutral and might be a welcomed move being that there are others like it. - Sounds good to me, I welcome whomever you wish to partake in this discussion. Thanks Savvyjack23 (talk) 04:10, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Comment by JJ: Category:Haitian people is a subcategory of Category:People by nationality. What's his nationality? Also, List of Haitians says:

"This is a list of Haitians, born in Haiti or possessing Haitian citizenship, notable in Haiti and abroad. Due to Haitian nationality laws, dual citizenship is now permitted by the Constitution of Haiti, therefore people of Haitian ancestry born outside of the country are not included in this list, unless they have renounced their foreign citizenship or have resided extensively in Haiti and made significant contributions to Haitian government or society."

If we're really straight, the category "People with a Haitian mother" could be used... Joshua Jonathan -Let's talk! 19:07, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

JJ you are absolutely right about that. As per my conversation with Sitush, we came to this reasoning. If we had to give it a category, there's two of them that would be applicable; English people of Scottish descent and English people of Haitian descent. All else would probably fail. Categorisations stink, but they are there for use until that changes. So what can I say? Savvyjack23 (talk) 05:28, 22 March 2014 (UTC)

Nationality vs. Descent

Copied from User talk:Savvyjack23 ___ If you breach WP:BLP again at Nick Stone (author) then I'll be considering administrative action. Find a source where he self-identifies his nationality - Scottish, English, Haitian - or drop it, please. - Sitush (talk) 12:33, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Sitush, who's talking about nationality?!?!?! Descent does not mean nationality. Oxford dictionary: "Descent: a person's family origins." Example: ...to be of Scottish descent. [1] I included sources where Stone briefly describes his family origins (descent), speaking as a English national (citizen/countryman/place of birth/jus soli). Oxford dictionary: Nationality: "The status of belonging to a particular nation." [2] I never said, he was a Scottish or Haitian national (citizen), nor did he. Here's a perfect example. "A person of Chinese parents was born in the UK, would make him a English/British citizen/national (his nationality) but of Chinese descent (origin, ethnicity)." I can get 10 administrators right now on this immediately to give their inputs, which would considerably be in favor of these cats. Please, save yourself from looking like a complete m***n on this subject, since you cannot distinguish the difference between national and descent. This is why these cats are available and to used for. When somebody says I am half this or half that he isn't talking about citizenship, rather, ethnicity (descent). Nick Stone source I included in the article in March: [3] Savvyjack23 (talk) 18:01, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

You know exactly what I mean. You used "citizenship" on the CFD talk page but you have no idea what citizenship he holds, nor do you know whether he prefers to be English of Haitian descent, Scots of Haitian descent, English of Scots descent, Scot of English descent, Haitian of English descent etc. You can't go making assumptions when it comes to BLPs and you have been told this before. So stop it. It isn't about whether the existence of the categories is valid but about who you put in the categories. I know that we have a source where he says he is half-Haitian/half-Scots descent but that doesn't mean he identifies as primarily English. For example, see Cyrus Pallonji Mistry. - Sitush (talk) 18:24, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Sitush I'm sorry, are you the official spokesman for Mr. Stone? Cyrus Pallonji Mistry's case is different where he is a citizen/national of one of his parents origins. Had there been another country he grew up in that was not related to Ireland (lets say Japan), he would be Japanese (national citizen, not ethnicity) and then being of Irish and Indian descent (family origins). My argument above is the argument I am sticking with as originally intended. I can provide you a million cases on Wikipedia. Furthermore, it doesn't matter what Mr. Stone prefers; he made it public information and elaborated on his ancestry. Is he an English national? Based on the information we know, this is a yes. Is he of Scottish and Haitian origin by the way of his parents. From what we know this is true as well by the way of his Scottish father and Haitian mother. Does this make him citizens of both countries? NO. Cyrus Pallonji Mistry would be considered an ethnic Englishman because his roots are foreign. I will ask for help on this. Savvyjack23 (talk) 20:19, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Have you read WP:BLP yet? You still seem to be assuming things and you cannot do that in BLPs, no matter how logical you might think your assumption is. Take it to WP:BLPN if you want. - Sitush (talk) 20:31, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

I've read WP:BLPN; what part of "he made this PUBLIC information in an interview" do you not understand? He doesn't sound like he's shying away from the fact. So are you saying that his family origins might be harmful to his image? I believe you are beginning to sound prejudice. My logic on this is the standard consensus of subjects of this kind. Universally accepted truths make things true for the time being, until we change our thinking. Savvyjack23 (talk) 21:02, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Where has he made public that he prefers to be considered an English citizen or national? How can he be a Scots person of Haitian descent and an English person of Haitian descent? (Being half of each doesn't make him fully either). Show me the sources and I'll go away but, thus far, you just keep saying that he has declared it. - Sitush (talk) 21:07, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

there is a clear diference between Nationality and Decent as stated clearly above by Savvyjack23 (talk · contribs). @ Savvyjack23 always learn to accept a Good Faith. And refrain from using foul languages on other editors. The use of the word Moroon is unacceptable on wikipedia, on this note, you need to tender an unreserve apology to Sitush. Wikicology (talk) 21:31, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

You, too, seem to be unfortunately missing my point. I do not deny that the man says he is of half-Haitian and half-Scots descent. Neither makes him English. Savvyjack has been trying to categorise him as both English of Haitian descent and Scots of Haitian descent but those are not all of the permutations and we don't know what the guy himself says on the matter. Basically, Savvyjack is trying to hinge everything on "Haitian" because that has been, I think, on of their pet subjects. Just as we do not assume caste or religion is inherited from parents, so we should not do here unless he self-identifies a preference. Some cases are simple, sure, but this one is not. - Sitush (talk) 21:36, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

English of Haitian descent, English of Scottish descent*. I'm sorry for my foul language Sitush, that was very uncharacteristic of me; my emotion have gotten the best of me. Again Sitush, I think you are being prejudice with that statement. It is not a "pet peeve," rather an editor with an interest to improve pages, specifically the most underdeveloped in the Caribbean and so Haiti has been a start. There is nothing wrong with that. Thanks for your input Wikicology. Savvyjack23 (talk) 10:47, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

I'm getting confused myself now! Does he identify as English? IIRC, he spent time in Haiti as a child; he certainly spent time in Scotland (I knew his dad, years ago, although I've never met Nick). Plenty of people are born in one place but do not consider themselves to be of it and, given the present hoo-hah regarding possible independence for Scotland, I'd be very wary of labelling him as English unless he says he is. I think you'd be better with a category called "People of part-Haitian descent" etc, although I still really don't see the point and I know from past discussions at the Village Pump that many others also do not see the point. - Sitush (talk) 10:59, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

___ End copy

Take a look at Patrick O'Brian. He was born in England, born to one Irish and one German parent. He is categorized as "English people of German descent" and "English people of Irish descent". Since there is no such thing as combination ancestries in one category on Wikipedia (the categories on this would be infinite); for example "English people of German and Irish descent", they are instead mentioned separately. This is just how it is, I don't know how much more I can possibly convey. One last example, (maybe England is too old of a country to realize this) take a look at the United States. The U.S. is home to many ancestries as it has only been a nation for a bit over two hundred years. Now, we have immigrants come here from all over the world, who in turn have children born here, while being granted citizenship/nationality at birth. Now that child is an American by the way of birth and nationality, however his origins are foreign and so the words descent of is a way of mentioning ones ancestry (descent), which is not on the same lines as nationality. The first-generation American is only American, however he could pursue to return to his family's origins and acquire dual citizenship with one (or both parents') if it is allowed by all parties involved. So not only will that child still be American but will be all two (or three like in O'Brians case however he didn't take this road) and be able to vote in those countries and not need a visa to go there to visit. This would make him more than one nationality. Now he has legal allegiances to all countries involved. Anyway, I hope this helps. I cannot spend any more time on this subject. Patrick O'Brian is just one of many categorized like this and rightfully so. Many good articles as well etc. Savvyjack23 (talk) 21:00, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

You still do not have consensus and your original change was bold. Therefore, per WP:BRD you need to revert yet again. I'm getting fed up of this and since you say that you do not have any more time to spend on the subject, I'll be doing it for you. - Sitush (talk) 23:17, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

Listen stop citing WP:BRD you're using it incorrectly. Right now, you are pushing your own opinion on this and the only one advocating your argument. I have a second. Savvyjack23 (talk) 06:45, 7 August 2014 (UTC)

Cnilep, Solar-Wind, WhisperToMe, Stefan2, Jpgordon, Future Perfect at Sunrise. Fellow Wikipedians, I have summoned you all here to hopefully acquire your inputs in regards to nationality vs. descent, if you are familiar with the subject. This has been an ongoing subject of debate on this talk page and there hasn't been much feedback to help move this along. If you all could spare a few minutes to offer your insights, it would be much appreciated. Thank you kindly. Savvyjack23 (talk) 07:12, 7 August 2014 (UTC)

 Comment: His website states: "And, being half Glaswegian and half Haitian, I knew better than to hope for little more than the sun coming up the next morning." - This means he is of Haitian descent but not necessarily Haitian citizenship. He can be of Haitian descent even if only one parent is Haitian. WhisperToMe (talk) 07:27, 7 August 2014 (UTC)

Instead of pinging a few, I had suggested that you take this to BLPN, Savvyjack. I've lost count of how many times I've said that I acknowledge the Haitian and Scottish descent point and that my problem relates to whether we can prefix that with "English of ...". Yet again, especially bearing in mind the sensitivities of people claiming to be Scots, I would remind you that unless we have self-identification then we do not know whether he would prefer to be Scots of Haitian descent etc. And given the problems that are here and the usually rather trivial nature of descent categories, it might be easier simply not to bother. - Sitush (talk) 07:32, 7 August 2014 (UTC)

I added it to BLPN on my own: Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons/Noticeboard#Talk:Nick_Stone_.28author.29.23Nationality_vs._Descent_.28Determining_descent_and_nationality_of_Nick_Stone.29 - IMO there should not be any dispute about the Haitian category *unless* there is evidence against him having Haitian descent. If the idea is whether he is part-Scottish or not, then the dispute should be totally focused on that. WhisperToMe (talk) 07:36, 7 August 2014 (UTC)

Sitush, in this case the prefix would denote one's nationality. In his case he's an English citizen and thus an "English person". Sir with all due respect, I have made a very valiant effort. Instead of pointing at me to take it to "BLPN", why don't you move your thumbs; I'm not your lap dog. So far you are your biggest contributor. Savvyjack23 (talk) 07:43, 7 August 2014 (UTC)

I didn't even realize that it had said half Glaswegian, I assumed it was just Scottish. I would have to do my research. Thanks for putting it on the BLPN. Savvyjack23 (talk) 07:49, 7 August 2014 (UTC)

• To me, the word "descent" refers to the origin of one's ancestors. If different ancestors come from different places, then you could say that you are descending from multiple places. The place could be a continent, a country, a province, a village or any other location. For example, I am of Earth descent, because my parents, grandparents and other ancestors lived on Earth. I am also of Smolandian descent because I had ancestors living there in the 19th century, and of Stockholm descent because my parents were born here. On the other hand, to me, the word "nationality" refers to the country of which I am a citizen, i.e. the country whose name appears on my passport. --Stefan2 (talk) 11:43, 7 August 2014 (UTC)

• Sorry I am late to the party. Just a point of order. The subject of a bio does not need to self identify his nationality. Not sure where that notion came from. That applies to sexuality, religion, and, and, what am I missing. We go by what reliable sources have identified him as for nationality. I will probably revert myself since this is under discussion. Everybody please read WP:BLPLEAD again. Thank you, --Malerooster (talk) 21:52, 7 August 2014 (UTC)

• No, religion and sexuality are examples at WP:BLPCAT but it applies to any categorisation that is personalised and likely to be contentious. For example, we do not categorise people by caste precisely because it causes so many problems, nor do we allow mention of their caste in the article text unless they self-identify. He is not an English citizen but, for the umpteenth time, I have no problem with him being described "of Haitian descent" and "of Scots descent", other than the fact it is usually complete trivia. It is putting "English" in front of it that I really object to because it isn't a given. Is everyone here forgetting WP:V or what? Don't make assumptions about things, whether in a BLP or elsewhere. - Sitush (talk) 17:02, 9 August 2014 (UTC)

He is not an English citizen Where are you getting that from or are you saying that there isn't sourcing for this? --Malerooster (talk) 01:19, 10 August 2014 (UTC)

I'm saying that there isn't sourcing and that there won't be, at least unless Scotland votes for independence later this year. There is no such thing as English citizenship: everyone at present whom you might think to be English is in fact British. In addition, and in part because of that, I've been saying that we do not know if he prefers to be identified as English or Scots (or, indeed, Haitian). There are a lot of Scots nationalists around, for example, whom you would not want to cross swords with. - Sitush (talk) 04:02, 10 August 2014 (UTC)

Okay then, you just answered your own question; he is British of both Scottish and Haitian descent. There is no denying he is British at all if you do not have "evidence" to support him being English (after all he was born there!) And yes, we know that British is the nationality only because there is a "United Kingdom," but amongst themselves they refer to themselves as Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh etc. because they know they are all British! So either way there will be a cat for descent. Savvyjack23 (talk) 05:56, 10 August 2014 (UTC)

And your point is? That some sort of category might be usable is not in question - I've said as much on several occasions, although sometimes with a grumble about why we bother at all. (And I will find that VPP discussion because I'm going to reboot it). You've been repeatedly adding the "English of" and that has been my main problem. If you must add Category:People of Haitian descent and Category:People of Scottish descent then go ahead, as I've said previously. - Sitush (talk) 06:13, 10 August 2014 (UTC)

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