User talk:UndercoverClassicist

Dawkins

Hiya. I see (because I am nosy) that you've been working on the other, slightly less famous Richard Dawkins. FYI, the photo in the infobox was taken in 1908; it's a crop from a group photo of the Sparta excavation staff of that year, in the archive of the BSA and available online here. (You will notice your pal Wace on Dawkins' right.) The photo appeared in a public exhibition of the work of the BSA at Burlington House in 1936, so it's now in the public domain in Greece and the UK, but unfortunately not in the US, where the copyright term on anonymous photographs is 95 years after publication rather than 70. It will be fair game for the Commons in 2031. If someone were feeling ambitious and wanted to perform an additional public service, that someone might crop out the image of J. P. Droop (standing, second from right) from this photo and add it to his WP article on a fair use basis, since it currently lacks an image of the man himself. I am of course far too lazy to do such a thing myself, even if I knew how. Choliamb (talk) 14:43, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

Ah, nice one -- I don't think I'd actually ever seen a photograph of Droop, or for that matter of anyone in that little band apart from Dawkins and Wace. It's not the director's most flattering photograph -- I don't know if you saw the almost dashing one taken by Stoneman and held by the NPG -- but as far as I can tell it's the "least unfree" option; the NPG are notoriously pugnacious about defending their copyrights, even when those rights are completely imaginary. UndercoverClassicist ^T·C 19:55, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

(I ended up having a bit of a change of heart here -- as it's a 1908 photograph with any anonymous author, assuming it somehow entered the public record -- e.g. an archive -- within 50 years or so of creation, it's PD in Greece. By the same token, assuming that it was in some archive or another by 1931, it's PD US. Given that it's now in the BSA archive, has been since at least 1936, the only scenario in which is has a US copyright is if it was stuck in a drawer until 1932, then archived in the following four years in full compliance with US formalities. That seems unlikely, so absent any evidence, I've put it and the one of Dawkins, Bosanquet and AN Other at Palaikastro onto Commons.). UndercoverClassicist ^T·C 06:36, 30 September 2026 (UTC)

You probably saw that I replaced your version of the photo with a higher-resolution version a few days ago (although I did not bother to replace the crops of Dawkins and Droop). I also changed the US license to PD-1996. The source of the photo is a glass-plate negative in the collection of the BSA, and there is no evidence that it circulated or was published outside the School at any time before the exhibition at Burlington House in 1936, so PD-US-expired is not applicable. But PD-1996 will cover it. I forgot about that option when I wrote my message above, until I went back to check the Hirtle Chart again. Cheers, Choliamb (talk) 13:02, 7 October 2026 (UTC)

Thank you -- I'd gotten there eventually (as you'll see on the Droop crop), but must have forgotten to do so for the main image. I gather that being entered into an (at least theoretically) publicly accessible archive counts as "published" for Commons purposes, but was working on 1936 as the terminus ante quem, since being displayed in a public exhibition definitely counts as publishing. Thanks for fixing. UndercoverClassicist ^T·C 13:42, 7 October 2026 (UTC)

You may be interested in File:Sikinos, church of the Episkopi ('Temple of Apollo Pythios') in 1907 (BSA 11, 1911-1912, fig. 2).jpg. It's a photo of the so-called "Temple of Apollo Pythios" (now the church of the Episkopi) on Sikinos, taken by Dawkins in 1907. It's not mentioned in his article, and there's no reason why it should be, but it is of course the same building that Frantz, Thompson, and Travlos studied in 1967, and that we discussed in her FAC. I had forgotten that Dawkins wrote about it too, until I saw the title in his list of publications. The BSA archive had a good scan of the photo, so I uploaded it, since there is, somewhat surprisingly, no good modern photo of the facade of the building in the Commons. Choliamb (talk) 17:54, 9 October 2026 (UTC)

Yes, the connection occurred to me -- there's a Ross connection too, of course, since he was the one who originally "identified" it. I've stuck the image into Dawkins's article, displacing the (not particularly illuminating) modern photo of Artemis Orthia. I think there's something to be said for including whatever we can that's actually the work of someone's hand; there's also something about being able to see, as far as is possible, through Dawkins's eyes and look at something much as it looked to him. Of course, almost all of this is missing from the Sikinos article, so we'll have to add that to the (long) list of classical desiderata for this site! UndercoverClassicist ^T·C 19:57, 9 October 2026 (UTC)

Well...

It's been some time since we had one of your articles at FAC, so it was great to see Frantz's article on the Main Page today.

I hope you are doing well, and that you will be making a return in the near future. After all, you happen to be our classicist-in-residence... Best, MSincccc (talk) 05:58, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

Thank you, MSincccc -- that's very kind. I hope you're doing well. UndercoverClassicist ^T·C 20:24, 29 September 2026 (UTC)

TFA

story · music · places

Thank you today for Alison Frantz, about an "archaeologist and photographer of classical Greece. If you've seen a photograph of an ancient Greek artwork in a 20th-century book, there's a good chance it was one of hers. She also helped to reconstruct the only Byzantine building still standing in the Agora of Athens, played an important role in the decipherment of Linear B, and had an interesting and only-recently-uncovered turn as a spy during the Second World War."! - I have two topics in the OTD corner - check out story and music ;) -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:15, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

Question from Deputy-Hazelnut (05:49, 23 September 2026)

Greetings mentor, I recently expanded the article on the Battle of Kirk Kilisse article quite a bit, and would like to have it reassessed for a higher quality class, as it is still listed only as a stub. What’s the best way to do that? --Deputy-Hazelnut (talk) 05:49, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

You can post a request for assessment on most WikiProject pages (e.g. WikiProject Military History). If the article's in really good shape, you might consider putting it forward for a Good Article Nomination (GAN), which overwrites the previous classification. UndercoverClassicist ^T·C 11:25, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

Books & Bytes – Issue 76

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(This message was sent to User:UndercoverClassicist and is being posted here due to a redirect.)

Email?

Did you get the email I sent through the system? Wehwalt (talk) 21:05, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

I did -- I replied a little while ago. UndercoverClassicist ^T·C 22:02, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

Question from Sinethemba Masinga (02:08, 24 September 2026)

What do I do when I want to write my own story not edit someone's --Sinethemba Masinga (talk) 02:08, 24 September 2026 (UTC)

Question from Deputy-Hazelnut (10:09, 24 September 2026)

Greetings, mentor, I'm afraid I have made severe mistakes with my big article expansions for Stefan Toshev, Ivan Fichev, Mihail Savov and the Battle of Kirk Kilisse. When I was writing them, I did all the necessary research and writing myself but also used ChatGPT to help me make it sound more Wikipedian and encyclopedic, as well as with structuring, or if I was using words and constructing sentences poorly. The AI did not do anything substantial to my texts, but still, I kinda used it as a "writing Wikipedia article teacher." However, today I have learned that, outside translation and copyediting, AI is forbidden on Wikipedia, and I don't know exactly what to do with my articles. Should I delete my text from them and start again? All the references there are correct and taken from actual sources, and deleting my hard work is a bit discouraging, but if necessary, then so be it. On another note, am I to be punished for these mistakes, like banned or restricted from editing articles? I promise not to use AI for anything but grammar fixes and translation from now on. I require your urgent directions on how to proceed. Best regards, Deputy-Hazelnut --Deputy-Hazelnut (talk) 10:09, 24 September 2026 (UTC)

Hello -- the short answer is, yes, LLM-generated text is not permitted on Wikipedia, with a few exceptions that don't apply here. As you say, the right thing to do would be to delete the LLM-generated text and start again. We're not really in the business of "punishing people" -- blocks and bans on Wikipedia are intended to prevent further damage rather than to get retribution on the people who caused it -- but persistent use of LLMs, or indeed any other behaviour that breaks the norms and expectations established here, can be a reason to block somebody if that seems to be the only way to persuade them to stop. UndercoverClassicist ^T·C 22:28, 25 September 2026 (UTC)

Understood. I will delete the neccessary texts and start over. Thank you! Deputy-Hazelnut (talk) 03:13, 26 September 2026 (UTC)

Question from ALIE OSMAN TARAWALIE on ALIE OSMAN TARAWALIE (08:42, 25 September 2026)

I want to write about myself --ALIE OSMAN TARAWALIE (talk) 08:42, 25 September 2026 (UTC)

(talk page stalker). Please don't do that; it is strongly discouraged. See Wikipedia:Autobiographies. Bishonen | tålk 12:44, 25 September 2026 (UTC).

Question from BorninCampbellton (14:08, 25 September 2026)

Hello mentor :)

I'd like to add an info box to the article that's currently in draft and being reviewed (Marie Wadden). Are you able to advise me how to do that? I tried to upload an image of Marie but couldn't.

Lisa --BorninCampbellton (talk) 14:08, 25 September 2026 (UTC)

Hello -- have you seen the page {{infobox person}}? You'll find a blank version of the infobox code there, which you can copy-paste in and then fill in the parts for which you have information. Images are a good thing if we have them, but it's not the end of the world if an article doesn't have one. UndercoverClassicist ^T·C 13:05, 3 October 2026 (UTC)

Thank you kindly. BorninCampbellton (talk) 13:43, 9 October 2026 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free image File:Carl Blegen Photograph 1937.jpg

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Request for reviewing a FAC

Hello, @UndercoverClassicist. You were one of the reviewers of Wuhsha al-Dalla in the article's first nomination. Can I ask you to drop by and comment in the current nomination? Otherwise, it will get archived due to limited support. Thanks. Amir Ghandi (talk) 07:50, 29 September 2026 (UTC)

Question from Wikifactsautor (10:24, 29 September 2026)

Hey, hope you are keeping well. As a new Wikipedia editor, I'm looking for some guidance. Before committing to a long article, is it recommended to start by creating a stub? --Wikifactsautor (talk) 10:24, 29 September 2026 (UTC)

Question from Jarvisikkim (03:25, 30 September 2026)

Hello, how can i add someone’s profile in wikipedia.? I have the relevant link for that information too --Jarvisikkim (talk) 03:25, 30 September 2026 (UTC)

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Your nomination of "Sappho" fresco (Pompeii) is on hold

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Hey how are you --Kris7809 (talk) 12:48, 3 October 2026 (UTC)

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How do i reaet my phone to factory settings with code --Kris7809 (talk) 12:48, 3 October 2026 (UTC)

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How to edit apks and api --Kris7809 (talk) 12:55, 3 October 2026 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free image File:Richard MacGillivray Dawkins BSA Portrait.jpg

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Question from Leuchar55 (01:10, 4 October 2026)

Note: Leuchar55's mentor AviationFreak is away.

How do I add redirects? --Leuchar55 (talk) 01:10, 4 October 2026 (UTC)

Hello! Create a page at the term you want to be redirected, and then enter the following source code:

#REDIRECT [[Name of target page]]

For example, if you think Example should redirect to Elephant, then create a page at Example with the source code #REDIRECT [[Elephant]].

There are various templates that you can then put underneath to help categorise the redirect page, such as {{rcat shell}}, {{r with possibilities}}, {{r from alternative name}}, and so on, but those are "nice to have"s rather than necessities. UndercoverClassicist ^T·C 10:56, 4 October 2026 (UTC)

Question from FuzzyCinderBlox (16:14, 6 October 2026)

Dear UndercoverClassicist, I frequently use Wikipedia, but today is the first time I've edited an article. An elder in my professional field died this year and I edited the article about him to reflect this. I heard about his death through my professional peers and viewed his memorial page to validate the news. I did not add a citation to the article. It is brief and covers only his professional life. I doubt it's visited often, but wanted it to be accurate. Hope this is appropriate activity. Yours, FuzzyCinderBlox --FuzzyCinderBlox (talk) 16:14, 6 October 2026 (UTC)

Your nomination of "Sappho" fresco (Pompeii) has passed

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Appreciation of your work on the Classics

Hi UC, I know we've had slight disagreements in the past, but I just want to say that I truly appreciate your works on the Classics. The Classics, to me, is an arcane yet interesting area in academia, and I'm glad you're making it more accessible to the general public. It prompted me to think if there was some broad East Asian-equivalent of studying Ancient Greeks and Romans, and I suppose there is Sinology, but its scope includes modern-stuff. I dunno, I'm thinking about working on Xi'an Stele someday... Anyways, you've done a lot of good work on here. Kudos to you. Icepinner (Come to Hakurei Shrine!) 03:41, 7 October 2026 (UTC)

• Thank you -- this is a really lovely message. Good luck with your work and research: the Xi'an Stele looks like a fascinating object, and I suspect the story of how it came to be created and to survive to the modern day is just as interesting. UndercoverClassicist ^T·C 06:29, 8 October 2026 (UTC)

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Question from Najibu Rumah Dayyabu on Illuminati (comics) (01:57, 9 October 2026)

I want join illuminati because I like money more --Najibu Rumah Dayyabu (talk) 01:57, 9 October 2026 (UTC)

Your nomination of Ekkyklema has passed

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