text:
User talk:Daniel Quinlan

Archived discussion: Archive1, Archive2, Archive3

Please use section headers and add comments to the bottom. Thanks! — Daniel Quinlan

On WP:PIA primary articles and WP:ECR discretion
Hey. The Evyatar protection request was already archived, but I got your note via ping. So, my understanding and modus operandi is that admins don't have discretion about WP:PIA WP:ECR for non-preemptive requests (which I approach as at least one recent disruptive or otherwise contested edit by a non-WP:XC user) of primary articles. This in contradistinction to related pages, where I do feel like we have the discretion to add an expiration (recent example), or downgrade, or lift outright, anything else. Might be worth seeking clarification about this at WP:ARCA. Also ping the filer of this request and a user who is more familiar with this area of arbitration policy than most admins. Thanks and best wishes, El_C 02:34, 3 February 2024 (UTC)

 * If you want to leave that particular article indefinitely ECP, that's fine with me. Someone can always make a request on WP:RFPU.
 * Regarding WP:ECR, it says the . Given that it says both and, it seems quite intentionally discretionary and note that's for a page that.
 * Also, the next item intentionally includes page protection (even mentioning pending changes) which seems to indicate page protection is a broader option and not limited to indefinite ECP:
 * Finally, if you look at the enforcement logs for WP:CT/A-I, semi-protection and non-indefinite terms are definitely used sometimes in circumstances when the administrator deems it appropriate. I suspect that's due to articles being less related, less disrupted, or both. Pinging you because you're the only person who responded to my question about this case on Discord (which I asked before the request was handled). Regards. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 03:12, 3 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Having just reviewed the article it looks a lot more ARBPIA primary topic than I originally assumed after reviewing the lead earlier. In general, if something isn't completely primary I go with something around 6 months to a year in hopes that the conflict will cool and the article won't see conflict related editing. In this situation, though, my initial impressions of the article were wrong. I saw the request come through while I was taking a break at work and only took a peek at the lead which led to me giving you bad advice. Sorry about that. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 03:23, 3 February 2024 (UTC)
 * No worries. I was about to go with a year of ECP before I saw it had been handled. It's definitely in the topic area, but it's been almost free of disruption the last few years. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 03:29, 3 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Daniel Quinlan, sure, protection could be supplanted with blocks and other actions according to 'preference,' but like WP:GS/RUSUKR and WP:GS/AA sanction regimes, the default of WP:ECR is indef WP:ECP. A default which (all) the respective logs reflect, though of course there are outliers. To touch on what SFR says, this page about the Israeli outpost is a primary article par excellence. Which unlike related content, is guaranteed to always remains so. It contains material that will remain contested and contentious for the foreseeable. El_C 03:52, 3 February 2024 (UTC)

Ilia Topuria
Please semi-protect his page instead of fully protecting it. He is now the UFC Featherweight champion and those details cannot be changed. Please educate me on who made the choice to fully protect his page. Marty2Hotty (talk) 14:48, 18 February 2024 (UTC)

 * The article is fully protected because people were edit warring over his nationality. Right now, people are edit warring over his nationality on related articles such as List of UFC champions. There is an ongoing discussion at WP:DRN. Hopefully, we can lower the page protection level soon. The article has been updated now. If you would like to make any edit requests on the talk page, please make sure you include a . That includes providing a source if necessary. Thanks. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 18:07, 18 February 2024 (UTC)

Another sock of Boeing/City of London School vandals
appears to be another sock of the vandals at Boeing and City of London School. — Archer1234  (t·c) 10:16, 19 February 2024 (UTC)

 * Probably. If they resume, please report them to WP:AIV. Thanks. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 10:21, 19 February 2024 (UTC)

Garrett Morgan
The article probably should have been protected, but I'm not sure BLP (or even BRDP) applies to someone dead for over 50 years. Was I missing something in the edits? Daniel Case (talk) 03:13, 23 February 2024 (UTC)
 * You're totally right, I must have autopiloted the pulldown menu in Twinkle . I'll fix the log, etc. Thanks. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 03:19, 23 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Fixed. Calling it full autopilot. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 03:47, 23 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Don't worry. You're not the only admin who's done this. A while back someone else protected Marlon Brando under BLP (I know his performances often make him seem immortal, but he has been dead for 15 years). Today I saw that in the past someone had cited BLP violations on a past protection of an article about a fictional character. Daniel Case (talk) 20:44, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

Suspected permissions gaming at recently protected page
Hey, Elim Garak a page you recently protected appears to have someone WP:PGAMEing and edit-warring should you please take a look?—blindlynx 23:58, 25 February 2024 (UTC)

 * Blocked. In the future, when you encounter this type of blatant disruption, could you please report it to the appropriate noticeboard such as WP:ANEW, WP:AIV, or WP:ANI? Thanks. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 00:13, 26 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Thank you, will do! I wasn't sure what the appropriate board was but i guess anyone will do?—blindlynx 00:16, 26 February 2024 (UTC)
 * No worries. I probably would have used WP:ANEW for this one. If you look at the top of any of those pages, there's an index of noticeboards. For issues with disruptive users, look under the section. If there are multiple issues or it's especially urgent, WP:ANI is usually a reasonable choice. For spam and vandalism, use WP:AIV. Regards. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 00:20, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for March 5
An automated process has detected that when you recently edited Goodies (song), you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page Usher.

(Opt-out instructions.) --DPL bot (talk) 18:07, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

Editor experience invitation
Hi Daniel Quinlan :) I'm looking for people to interview here. Feel free to pass if you're not interested. Clovermoss 🍀  (talk) 17:13, 9 March 2024 (UTC)

Graharipu
Admin sir, Please lock the Graharipu article. 2409:4085:8C87:3CA4:0:0:81C9:5B00 (talk) 23:57, 11 March 2024 (UTC)

 * Hi, please request page protection on WP:RPPI. Thanks. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 00:40, 12 March 2024 (UTC)

RFA2024 update: no longer accepting new proposals in phase I
Hey there! This is to let you know that phase I of the 2024 requests for adminship (RfA) review is now no longer accepting new proposals. Lots of proposals remain open for discussion, and the current round of review looks to be on a good track towards making significant progress towards improving RfA's structure and environment. I'd like to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has given us their idea for change to make RfA better, and the same to everyone who has given the necessary feedback to improve those ideas. The following proposals remain open for discussion:

 * Proposal 2, initiated by, provides for the addition of a text box at Requests for adminship reminding all editors of our policies and enforcement mechanisms around decorum.
 * Proposals 3 and 3b, initiated by and, respectively, provide for trials of discussion-only periods at RfA. The first would add three extra discussion-only days to the beginning, while the second would convert the first two days to discussion-only.
 * Proposal 5, initiated by, provides for a trial of RfAs without threaded discussion in the voting sections.
 * Proposals 6c and 6d, initiated by, provide for allowing users to be selected as provisional admins for a limited time through various concrete selection criteria and smaller-scale vetting.
 * Proposal 7, initiated by, provides for the "General discussion" section being broken up with section headings.
 * Proposal 9b, initiated by, provides for the requirement that allegations of policy violation be substantiated with appropriate links to where the alleged misconduct occured.
 * Proposals 12c, 21, and 21b, initiated by, , and , respectively, provide for reducing the discretionary zone, which currently extends from 65% to 75%. The first would reduce it 65%–70%, the second would reduce it to 50%–66%, and the third would reduce it to 60%–70%.
 * Proposal 13, initiated by, provides for periodic, privately balloted admin elections.
 * Proposal 14, initiated by, provides for the creation of some minimum suffrage requirements to cast a vote.
 * Proposals 16 and 16c, initiated by and, respectively, provide for community-based admin desysop procedures. 16 would desysop where consensus is established in favor at the administrators' noticeboard; 16c would allow a petition to force reconfirmation.
 * Proposal 16e, initiated by, would extend the recall procedures of 16 to bureaucrats.
 * Proposal 17, initiated by, provides for "on-call" admins and 'crats to monitor RfAs for decorum.
 * Proposal 18, initiated by, provides for lowering the RfB target from 85% to 75%.
 * Proposal 24, initiated by, provides for a more robust alternate version of the optional candidate poll.
 * Proposal 25, initiated by, provides for the requirement that nominees be extended-confirmed in addition to their nominators.
 * Proposal 27, initiated by, provides for the creation of a training course for admin hopefuls, as well as periodic retraining to keep admins from drifting out of sync with community norms.
 * Proposal 28, initiated by, tightens restrictions on multi-part questions.

To read proposals that were closed as unsuccessful, please see Requests for adminship/2024 review/Phase I/Closed proposals. You are cordially invited once again to participate in the open discussions; when phase I ends, phase II will review the outcomes of trial proposals and refine the implementation details of other proposals. Another notification will be sent out when this phase begins, likely with the first successful close of a major proposal. Happy editing! theleekycauldron (talk • she/her), via:

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 10:53, 14 March 2024 (UTC)

Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick
Hi there, could you take a look at Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick and perhaps re-introduce protections (if necessary)? It seems like the paid editors are back on there to reintroduce the same edits made by the sockmaster "Anne Barrington". I'm not entirely sure if they are *exactly* the same people from the SPI, as it is also possible that the individual themselves has engaged and paid other individuals that may or may not be "Anne Barrington". I've nevertheless made a report. Thank you. John Yunshire (talk) 16:03, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

Invitation to participate in Wikipedia study
Hello, I have been contacting editors with experience in specific areas of editing to participate in a survey study. In order to limit access without forcing editors to disclose their identity in the survey form itself, I have been contacting them via email, which you have disabled for your account. If you would like to participate, please send me an email through Wikipedia and I will follow up with additional details and a link to the survey. Jonathan Engel (researcher) (talk) 13:08, 18 March 2024 (UTC)

The Lion King II
Hey, there. While I did open up a discussion about the recent changes at Talk:The Lion King II: Simba's Pride a few days ago, I apologize if I have ever bitten the newcomers; it was never my intention to hurt or upset anyone. Also, keep up the good work, as usual. Thanks, Lord Sjones23 (talk - contributions) 19:44, 24 March 2024 (UTC)

 * Thanks. I did see that discussion which seems to have been somewhat productive and suggests that the new editor has something positive to contribute. I also want to emphasize that the guideline is not just about being welcoming, it's about educating newcomers through constructive feedback in edit summaries and talk pages. When newcomers' edits are reverted in a bitey way, instead of it being a learning experience, it often leads to edit wars. If you feel the need to apologize, perhaps offering one to the editor on the article talk page would be appreciated. Regards. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 20:35, 24 March 2024 (UTC)
 * No problem. Also, as an addendum, the IP's edits to the plot summary turned out to be unneeded after all. Otherwise, thanks for your understanding. Best wishes, Lord Sjones23 (talk - contributions) 20:54, 24 March 2024 (UTC)

Request renewing an IP block
Hi! Back in January, you blocked 2603:8000:2A00:3EE6:0:0:0:0/64. The same editor is back, engaging in the same pattern of edit warring and adding unsourced content. Given their history and some rather nasty personal attacks against me in the past, I'm inclined to request an extended vacation approaching three months. ~ Pbritti (talk) 04:39, 25 March 2024 (UTC)

 * Hi. That was a while ago and I don't remember them off the top of my head. Could you please report them to WP:ANEW? I'll try to take a look at the report later. Thanks. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 05:04, 25 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm nodding off now, so ANEW will have to wait a few hours. If you have a chance to take a peek before I get around to it, let me know. Otherwise, thanks for the heads up. ~ Pbritti (talk) 05:06, 25 March 2024 (UTC)

Contentious topics question
Í don’t want to edit the page or anything, í just wanted to ask why the Chola Empire is a contentious topic. Blackmamba31248 (talk) 01:58, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

 * All edits related to related to India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan fall under WP:CT/IPA. The contentious topics article has more information and general sanctions is a good overview of all topics covered by sanctions (which includes contentious topics). Daniel Quinlan (talk) 05:39, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

About Analyticalreview
Looks like you already got a free trial of what dealing with that editor is like, also just saw this happened, apologies to everyone for all that (even though I'm not the main culprit). Pob3qu3 (talk) 03:40, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2024 Iranian strikes in Israel
Can you protect this page please? Pornography is being spammed... Ecrusized (talk) 17:50, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

 * It looks like already added a brief protection. If you ever need to request page protection, the fastest way is to submit your request at WP:RPPI. Regards. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 20:55, 14 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Yeah, sorry. I had to get this to somebodies attention fast because extreme hate speech was being spammed in edit summaries. Ecrusized (talk) 21:15, 14 April 2024 (UTC)
 * That's fine. It looks like the edit summaries have all been handled too, which is good. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 22:09, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

thanks
Thank you for stepping in and blocking an apparent vandal of Deaths in 2024 DarkStarHarry (talk) 18:10, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

Your recent 24 hour block on User:FlyJet777
Just thought I’d let you know this editor has gone back to their old ways at the topic they were blocked for edit warring as soon as the block expired. Don’t know if you want to take another look? Equine-man (talk) 18:34, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

 * After reviewing things briefly, the edits from that FlyJet777 is reverting look a little more like vandalism (i.e., removing candidates) than the edits in the previous content dispute. They could certainly be cautioned about their edit summaries being inadequate. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 19:28, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
 * @Equine-man I am just re-adding names of candidates that were previously removed by the IP address @Daniel Quinlan mentioned. So what wrong am I doing here? That was clearly vandalism and I reverted it. Precisely the reason I wrote "Rv vandalism" in the edit summaries. FlyJet777 (talk) 20:02, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
 * You don't need to ping people on their own talk page.
 * Only 37% of your edits have an edit summary which is rather low and when you do include an edit summary, it's often the default summary or minimal. If you're reverting vandalism such as, please realize it's not going to be obvious vandalism to anyone unfamiliar with this election. Reversion of subtle vandalism is better explained with more than just "Rv vandalism". And if it truly is vandalism, you should also be warning the editor on their talk page (eventually reporting them to WP:AIV), not just reverting the change.
 * It also seems like you are using the minor edit flag on some edits that should not be marked as minor: . Daniel Quinlan (talk) 20:46, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

List of equipment of the Armenian Armed Forces Protected Page Reasoning
Hello, I was wondering if you could explain the reasoning for protecting the page under the Armenia-Azerbaijan contentious topic, as it prevents new users like myself from making edits to the article. Also, the protection duration is indefinite, was wondering if you could also provide reasoning for that. Thanks UnknownHye (talk) 10:19, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

 * WP:GS/AA encourages administrators to use extended confirmed protection. I used an indefinite duration because the article had a significant history of reverted edits. After reviewing the article history, I have reduced the protection level to semi-protection. We may need to restore ECP if the article experiences significant issues at the new protection level. Regards. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 17:42, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

Gazette protection reduction
Hi, I'd like to request a reduction in the level of protection you implemented at The Gazette (band). It definitely needs some protection, but the problem edits all came from IPs and one brand new editor. I suggest semi-protection cause it'd be nice to tidy it up a bit, like adding a secondary source for the death instead of just a primary one, and clean up stuff like the WP:SELFREDs and large amount of all caps. The article is getting a lot of views now, and I feel that last one in particular makes Wiki look bad. lol Xfansd (talk) 22:56, 17 April 2024 (UTC)

 * I would like to lower the protection level, but it doesn't seem like sufficient headway has been made on the talk page towards resolving the content dispute that resulted in edit warring or at least explaining the relevant WP:MOS or policies to everyone clamoring for the change. If the band has indeed said something to the effect of the deceased band member being "eternal" then perhaps a consensus can be reached by mentioning it in the text of the article while keeping the infobox accurate. (If no such statement has been made then it's more of an exercise in explaining our policies and guidelines, linking the appropriate pages and sections, etc. And we could consider semi-protection based on unsourced changes.)
 * Please feel free to ask me again if more headway is made. Thanks. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 00:16, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

 * Hi, was about to message you to actually prolong the protection. Some fans already announced on Twitter that they would immediately change it again once the protection is over. They also don't seem like people one can talk reasonably to, insulting me as a POS, among other things: https://twitter.com/RUKICORE/status/1780610614164947395/photo/1 - so I'm afraid once the protection is gone, the page will simply just be vandalized again. Seelentau (talk) 13:09, 18 April 2024 (UTC)
 * That is unfortunate, sorry. Regardless, please try to assume good faith for people commenting on the talk page. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 13:15, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

Elegant variation
Thanks for the pointer to the WP:ELEVAR essay here. I definitely share some of those misgivings, which was why I labelled my replacement suggestions as only "near-synonyms". Nice work finding better ways to the same end!

Just for the record, the essay doesn't really touch on parts of speech other than nouns - or even on common nouns, after the very first illustration of the idea in the lede. Maybe it ought to be broadened, though? Or maybe not; the elegant variation article has somewhat similarly narrow scope, and directly addresses that point as well, so maybe other sorts of variation would not fit well under this umbrella?

- 2A02:560:59A1:EF00:51BD:7C45:D59E:A2DE (talk) 07:31, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

 * Overdoing variation can be a problem with verbs too. It's also important to avoid inadvertently changing the meaning away from what sources state. My general approach is to look for opportunities to consolidate repeated information as suggested in WP:ELEVAR and to take cues from reliable sources. Those two approaches usually provide enough variation to alleviate the worst cases of overly repetitive text. Regards. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 18:09, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

Mexica
The last edits to the Mexica are inaccurate. Not only are the dates wrong but the Mexica people are an existent ethnic group in Mexico today. The edit makes it seem like they no longer exist, which isn’t true — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2603:8000:CF01:6AAD:78CA:676A:E1F7:A756 (talk) 13:15, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

Question
Hello, colleague. How can I edit from List of Wikipedias? With respect. Smpad (talk) 09:21, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

 * There's more information at . I don't really know any more than what it says, but I hope that helps answer your question. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 11:29, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

RFA2024 update: phase I concluded, phase II begins
Hi there! Phase I of the Requests for adminship/2024 review has concluded, with several impactful changes gaining community consensus and proceeding to various stages of implementation. Some proposals will be implemented in full outright; others will be discussed at phase II before being implemented; and still others will proceed on a trial basis before being brought to phase II. The following proposals have gained consensus:

See the project page for a full list of proposals and their outcomes. A huge thank-you to everyone who has participated so far :) looking forward to seeing lots of hard work become a reality in phase II. theleekycauldron (talk), via MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 08:08, 5 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Proposals 2 and 9b (phase II discussion): Add a reminder of civility norms at RfA and Require links for claims of specific policy violations
 * Proposal 3b (in trial): Make the first two days discussion-only
 * Proposal 13 (in trial): Admin elections
 * Proposal 14 (implemented): Suffrage requirements
 * Proposals 16 and 16c (phase II discussion): Allow the community to initiate recall RfAs and Community recall process based on dewiki
 * Proposal 17 (phase II discussion): Have named Admins/crats to monitor infractions
 * Proposal 24 (phase II discussion): Provide better mentoring for becoming an admin and the RfA process
 * Proposal 25 (implemented): Require nominees to be extended confirmed

Rapidly changing IP
Thanks for reviewing my RPP request. Saw your recent comment suggesting to warn the user, but since this IP is rapidly changing (sometimes multiple times per day), it is doubtful they are seeing them. Nevertheless, they've been warned here, here, and now here in addition to your warning. I will continue to carry it out until we reach the final level. The IP range appears to be a wireless mobile carrier, however, so page protection might be preferred over blocking the IP range should we reach that stage. Thanks. --GoneIn60 (talk) 13:31, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

 * I think that's enough warnings. It may help to discuss the disagreement on the article talk page where they seem to have engaged previously. An inline comment in the article is sometimes helpful as well. If they continue, I would recommend reporting to WP:ANEW or WP:ANI. In cases where a disruption is from a single editor, page protection is generally not the first step as discussed in WP:PREEMPTIVE. Regards. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 21:43, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Fulfulde Wikipedia
okay is good I understand I talked with fulfulde Wikipedia community okay added me to English wikipedia editors group thank you so much here my WhatsApp number Adamu ab (talk) 06:38, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

 * In general, if you can't get help on the Fulfulde Wikipedia, then the Meta-Wiki is the best place to ask questions. Regards. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 09:30, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

Pioneer Courthouse Square
That page was "permanently" semiprotected quite some years ago. It seems that someone decided to unprotect it, and the persistent troll is still at it. You should reimpose semi status not for a couple of months but for much, much longer. Like maybe another 10 years. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:34, 17 May 2024 (UTC)
 * This looks like the first occurrence of this recurring theme about the square, nearly 18 YEARS ago. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:38, 17 May 2024 (UTC)
 * When the article was unprotected, it did go six months without being disrupted again so it seemed appropriate to try a non-indefinite duration. If the same disruption resumes when protection expires, feel free to let me know and I'll strongly consider a longer duration (or make a request on WP:RFPP with these details). Daniel Quinlan (talk) 03:50, 17 May 2024 (UTC)
 * I've also asked the guy who unprotected it a couple of years ago, to look into it. Evidently the troll wasn't checking it on a daily basis, but once he found out, he's been activated, so to speak. Like "releasing the kraken." I think there were some related articles that also required protection, but I don't recall just now what they were. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 05:25, 17 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Unfortunately, we can't predict whether a disruptive editor will return and never unprotecting any indefinitely protected article would be a worse option. Pioneer Courthouse Square and Pioneer Square, Seattle seem like the primary targets. It's probably Sockpuppet_investigations/Pioneercourthouse who has a history of vandalizing the articles when they're semi-protected so ECP would be my inclination if they return. Anyhow, it's no big deal to reprotect them for a longer duration, possibly indefinitely, if and when it's needed. Regards. Pinging you as a courtesy. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 06:06, 17 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Yes, we can predict it, in this case. It was needed 18 years ago, and it still is. Keep in mind that the mere fact we have to talk about this is feeding that troll. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 13:58, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

Rare
Although a word may have a rare spelling that doesn't mean it can't be in the article. That goes for the definition. Regarding the lead (lede) information presented there is not required to only be there. Delectable1 (talk) 06:00, 2 June 2024 (UTC)

 * Hi . Alternative spellings are sometimes placed in the lead section, but the alternative spelling doesn't seem common enough to justify mentioning it in this article and the MOS encourages trying to avoid clutter in the lead section. You could start a discussion on the talk page if you think "cleptocracy" needs to be mentioned. Regards. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 06:26, 2 June 2024 (UTC)

 * I was thinking people probably don't realize that you are an admin. Anyway, not necessarily wanting to get into a discussion with you but maybe a little back-and-forth would be fine. Assuming that you and I thoroughly know the Wikipedia guidelines or almost at least, I would say you and I could agree on adding some of the content (even without the rare spelling).Delectable1 (talk) 07:01, 2 June 2024 (UTC)

 * I'm just an editor like anyone else on that article, not performing administrative actions. I think the definition in the lead section is probably sufficient, but the article would likely benefit from further discussion on the origination and rising usage of the term, provided we can find solid sources to support a new section of the article. And that might be a good place to further discuss the definition if there's more to be said than what's in the lead. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 06:49, 2 June 2024 (UTC)

 * I suppose I'll look at adding that.Delectable1 (talk) 07:01, 2 June 2024 (UTC)

Protection
Hello Daniel Quinlan, you protected 2024 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu following my request at Rfpp for persistent sockpuppetry by WP:SPI/Srimonbanik2007. The master who has targeted the winning party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam with different accounts for months is now using an IP range which was previously reported at the SPI, to restore the edits of their socks. The master is socking with IP and accounts almost everyday. Could you protect Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for some months till the election trends calm down. Thanks. - SUN EYE 1  08:23, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

 * Hi Sun Eye. Please submit a request at RfPP. I'll try to take a look later if it hasn't already been handled. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 08:30, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

The Looney Tunes Show
I reported The Looney Tunes Show for page protection a while ago, which you granted. Unfortunately the slow "edit war" continues even after protection. I am starting to suspect there are some sockpuppets as well, but I not enough to go to SPI. I am not sure if this goes to the ANEW, AN, ANI, or DRN? Any thoughts? --Classicwiki (talk) If you reply here, please ping me. 04:39, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

 * If it's an edit war, you could report it to ANEW, but I would start by identifying the parties involved and issuing them an edit warring warning. If one or more people continue edit warring after being warned, then proceed to ANEW following the guidance for reporting issues there. You could also try to start a discussion on the talk page to air out the disagreements involved and see if consensus is possible. Finally, you could request full page protection on WP:RFPP, but I would recommend including specific examples to illustrate repeated edits, etc. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 05:20, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

Sockpuppet Investigation
Dear @Daniel Quinlan I filed a sockpuppet investigation, for a user that you banned last week. Person uses other ip ranges and continue its edits. I would be happy if you review it. Thank you.

Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/2003:EA:4F00:0:0:0:0:0 Göycen (talk) 09:07, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

Gagniuc / Markov chain again
He's back. JBL (talk) 18:14, 29 June 2024 (UTC)

 * Thanks. I've warned the editor. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 19:14, 30 June 2024 (UTC)

Possible violation of WP:DR and spirit of WP:AGF at Talk:Jinn
Hi there. I'm part of part of couple of months long going dispute and preparation for RfC at Jinn, (starting around here). At the suggestion of  Bookku   (here), I was wondering if you could take a look at this post by  VenusFeuerFalle and see if you find it in breach of WP:DR spirit of WP:AGF as  Bookku    (our informal dispute facilitator) and myself do. (I'm having trouble finding an admin to do this and found your name on WP:LA, so I hope this is not too far out of your comfort zone.)

Example:

Many thanks if you can help. --Louis P. Boog (talk) 16:32, 30 June 2024 (UTC)

 * It sounds like a complex situation. I recommend posting a report on WP:ANI following the instructions on that page. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 18:51, 30 June 2024 (UTC)

Hello wikipedia adminstrator, regarding Masoud Pezeshkian article
it is good that the article is protected now, but before it was protected the ethnic background of mr pezeshkian was edited and now part of it is removed. please revert it to the previous version inwhich it states both of his paternal ethnic background. please check the last versions of the article historic before it was protected. i hope you revert it and add the correct information again which was sourced well. thanks--Hedayts (talk) 20:38, 6 July 2024 (UTC)

 * If there is a specific change you would like to request, you can make an edit request on the article talk page. Regards. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 20:47, 6 July 2024 (UTC)

Please unprotect Edit filter/False positives/Reports
Hello. I'm writing regarding your recent protection of Edit filter/False positives/Reports.

That page is the only place that IPs are supposed to report false positive edit filter hits. I understand that there has been disruption recently, but we generally don't protect the page due to disruption—indeed, disruption occurs on the page almost every day. And, when we do block, it's usually for extremely short periods of time (such as mere hours), and only when absolutely necessary. I understand that this particular master enjoys hitting the page repeatedly, but would you please lift the protection (or at least shorten the length)?

Thank you!

— Red-tailed hawk  (nest) 03:19, 8 July 2024 (UTC)

 * Hi . I literally just posted about this on WP:EFN because I was concerned 1 day might have been too long. I'll go ahead and lower the duration. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 03:22, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I lowered it to 3 hours. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 03:25, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Sounds good. Thank you! — Red-tailed hawk  (nest) 03:27, 8 July 2024 (UTC)

Ali Ahmed (Soccer Player) Family Background
The first source cited in the article Ali Ahmed (soccer) states:

"Ali and his four siblings grew up in the Toronto district of Lawrence Heights — “The Jungle,” the locals call it, a neighbourhood fraught with gun violence and drive-bys — after their parents, mom Muna and dad Afendi, emigrated from Ethiopia’s Oromo region in the late 1980s."

The edit saying his parents are from the Oromo region of Ethiopia should be allowed. JavaNiceDay (talk) 04:26, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

 * If there is a specific change you would like to request, you can make an edit request on the article talk page. Regards. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 04:28, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

Joseph Williams (music publisher)
Hi, can I ask you (or any tps) to take a look at the recent changes to the above? I came across this as someone was editing elsewhere to try and include this person. It was a refirect to a London music publisher. This looks like a hijack to me? Many thanks, Knitsey (talk) 01:21, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

 * It looks like someone beat me to it. Both accounts are globally locked. Regards. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 09:34, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Thank Daniel! Knitsey (talk) 15:21, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

Economy of england
Dear Daniel, is there a chance the Economy of England could be unprotected or have a protection decrease? I'd love to edit it and improve it, and have some content to add with sources, but sadly nobody can. 2A0A:EF40:EDE:B201:4824:E15F:48BC:7448 (talk) 20:56, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

 * No, the current page protection level is appropriate and necessary due to severe sockpuppetry issues on the article. You can always make an edit request on the talk page to request a specific change. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 21:09, 20 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I hate sockpuppetry! 2A0A:EF40:EDE:B201:4824:E15F:48BC:7448 (talk) 21:14, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

Disallowed edit
A private edit filter had prevented me from responding to the other Daniel's comment. Can you please allow it?197.0.60.67 (talk) 21:44, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

 * False positives should be reported at Edit filter/False positives/Reports. Daniel Quinlan (talk) 22:59, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

title: User talk:Daniel Quinlan


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Audio compression

Audio compression may refer to:

 * Audio compression (data), a type of lossy or lossless compression in which the amount of data in a recorded waveform is reduced to differing extents for transmission respectively with or without some loss of quality, used in CD and MP3 encoding, Internet radio, and the like
 * Dynamic range compression, also called audio level compression, in which the dynamic range, the difference between loud and quiet, of an audio waveform is reduced

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Audio compression


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Talk:Audio compression

yes, it should ---

This page has nothing to do with speech compression.

There are two meanings to "audio compression", one of them level or loudness compression, i.e. dynamic range reduction, and the other bit rate reduction.

Speech compression is mostly different, in that audio compression uses sophisticated perceptual coding methods, and speech compression uses mostly least-mean-squares compression methods, which work well for speech because of the very limited gamut (mathematically speaking) involved in the spoken voice. Suggesting a merge is wrong on multiple counts, and would, frankly, constitute such a level of misinformation as to constitute vandalism in my opinion. Woodinville (talk) 06:50, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

^Agreed! I tried to change this earlier today simply to state "Audio Compression" is a term for compressing audio first and foremost, and the compression of adio data can also be called audio compression in layman's terms, but the way the wiki page has it, it reads as though "Audio Compression" is the main entry. This is absolutely unnecessary, and it re-writes standard usage. The reason I even came here to change it in the first place, is that i just watched a dosumentary on MP3 players that sited the terms wrong, and when I went to wiki to offer a reference [funny, isn't it?] I realized they had simply copy and pasted the wrong usage from here. i simply changed it to INCLUDE "audio compression" on the DRC page and i was rudely scolded and the entry removed by a previous author and basically told to get lost if I wasn't going to "learn how we do it here". Very Troll like and territorial. Worse than vandalism, elitism. To treat me like that when I am a professional audio engineer for 30 years making a very simple and quite obvious correct addition, is simply not in anyone's interest. When wikipedia starts letting common usage slip because we have trolls that are territorial over these pages, then what is the point? I fully believe in peer review, but some guy claiming to be an expert that sits HERE all day watching over his pride and joy, is NOT peer review. He also deleted some VERY ACCURATE additions to the description of the MP3 format, which were otherwise incomplete, and are now how he had it before. He didn't even add any of the details I included, even though ALL of them were very concise, accurate and well phrased. This is simply spite. He said "please don't come and change things based on personal opinion without citations like you did in the DNR page ..." He did not add "neds citation", he did not cite any of his own additions, he simply walked all over me and told me to get lost. Nepotistic, elitist and quite dysfunctional. My first offering of help to this project, adding much needed detail to his incomplete and thus incorrect entry, but it gets abused like that. I'll go back to being an actual studio engineer with a life. It seems this topic is just being roosted by a territorial admin that doesn't know all the things they claim to. Good luck with that. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.110.45.209 (talk) 07:04, 28 March 2020 (UTC)

title: Talk:Audio compression


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Dynamic range compression

Dynamic range compression (DRC) or simply compression is an audio signal processing operation that reduces the volume of loud sounds or amplifies quiet sounds, thus reducing or compressing an audio signal's dynamic range. Compression is commonly used in sound recording and reproduction, broadcasting, live sound reinforcement and some instrument amplifiers.

A dedicated electronic hardware unit or audio software that applies compression is called a compressor. In the 2000s, compressors became available as software plugins that run in digital audio workstation software. In recorded and live music, compression parameters may be adjusted to change the way they affect sounds. Compression and limiting are identical in process but different in degree and perceived effect. A limiter is a compressor with a high ratio and, generally, a short attack time.

Compression is used to improve performance and clarity in public address systems, as an effect and to improve consistency in mixing and mastering. It is used on voice to reduce sibilance and in broadcasting and advertising to make an audio program stand out. It is an integral technology in some noise reduction systems.

Types
There are two types of compression: downward and upward. Both types of compression reduce the dynamic range of an audio signal.

Downward compression reduces the volume of loud sounds above a certain threshold. The quiet sounds below the threshold remain unaffected. This is the most common type of compressor. A limiter can be thought of as an extreme form of downward compression as it compresses the sounds over the threshold especially hard.

Upward compression increases the volume of quiet sounds below a certain threshold. The louder sounds above the threshold remain unaffected.

Some compressors also have the ability to do the opposite of compression, namely expansion. Expansion increases the dynamic range of the audio signal. Like compression, expansion comes in two types, downward and upward.

Downward expansion makes the quiet sounds below the threshold even quieter. A noise gate can be thought of as an extreme form of downward expansion as the noise gate make the quiet sounds (for instance: noise) quieter or even silent, depending on the floor setting.

Upward expansion makes the louder sounds above the threshold even louder.

Design

The signal entering a compressor is split; one copy is sent to a variable-gain amplifier and the other to a side-chain where the signal level is measured and a circuit controlled by the measured signal level applies the required gain to the amplifier. This design, known as a feed-forward type, is used today in most compressors. Earlier designs were based on a feedback layout where the signal level was measured after the amplifier.

There are a number of technologies used for variable-gain amplification, each having different advantages and disadvantages. Vacuum tubes are used in a configuration called variable-mu where the grid-to-cathode voltage changes to alter the gain. Optical compressors use a photoresistor stimulated by a small lamp (incandescent, LED, or electroluminescent panel) to create changes in signal gain. Other technologies used include field effect transistors and a diode bridge.

When working with digital audio, digital signal processing (DSP) techniques are commonly used to implement compression as audio plug-ins, in mixing consoles, and in digital audio workstations. Often the algorithms are used to emulate the above analog technologies.

Controls and features
A number of user-adjustable control parameters and features are used to adjust dynamic range compression signal processing algorithms and components.

Threshold
A compressor reduces the level of an audio signal if its amplitude exceeds a certain threshold. Threshold is commonly set in decibels (dBFS for digital compressors and dBu for hardware compressors), where a lower threshold (e.g.−60 dB) means a larger portion of the signal is treated. When the signal level is below the threshold, no processing is performed and the input signal is passed, unmodified, to the output. Thus a higher threshold of, e.g.,−5 dB, results in less processing, less compression.

Threshold timing behavior is subject to attack and release settings (see below). When the signal level goes above threshold, compressor operation is delayed by the attack setting. For an amount of time determined by the release after the input signal has fallen below the threshold, the compressor continues to apply dynamic range compression.

Ratio
The amount of gain reduction is determined by ratio: a ratio of 4:1 means that if input level is 4 dB over the threshold, the output signal level is reduced to 1 dB over the threshold. The gain and output level has been reduced by 3 dB. Another way of stating this is that any input signal level over the threshold will, in this case, be output at a level which is only 25% as much over the threshold as its input level was.

The highest ratio of $$\infty$$:1 is often known as limiting, and effectively denotes that any signal above the threshold is brought down to the threshold level once the attack time has expired.

Attack and release
A compressor may provide a degree of control over how quickly it acts. The attack is the period when the compressor is decreasing gain in response to the increased level at the input to reach the gain determined by the ratio. The release is the period when the compressor is increasing gain in response to reduced level at the input to reach the output gain determined by the ratio, or, to unity, once the input level has fallen below the threshold. Because the loudness pattern of the source material is modified by the time-varying operation of compressor, it may change the character of the signal in subtle to quite noticeable ways depending on the attack and release settings used.

The length of each period is determined by the rate of change and the required change in gain. For more intuitive operation, a compressor's attack and release controls are labeled as a unit of time (often milliseconds). This is the amount of time it takes for the gain to change a set amount of dB or a set percentage towards the target gain. There is no industry standard for the exact meaning of these time parameters.

In many compressors, the attack and release times are adjustable by the user. Some compressors, however, have the attack and release times determined by the circuit design and cannot be adjusted. Sometimes the attack and release times are automatic or program dependent, meaning that the behavior may change depending on the input signal.

Soft and hard knees
Another control a compressor might offer is hard knee or soft knee selection. This controls whether the bend in the response curve between below threshold and above threshold is abrupt (hard) or gradual (soft). A soft knee slowly increases the compression ratio as the level increases and eventually reaches the compression ratio set by the user. A soft knee reduces the potentially audible transition from uncompressed to compressed, and is especially applicable for higher ratio settings where the changeover at the threshold would be more noticeable.

Peak vs RMS sensing
A peak-sensing compressor responds to the peak level of the input signal. While providing tighter peak level control, peak level sensing does not necessarily relate to human perception of loudness. Some compressors apply a power measurement function (commonly root mean square or RMS) on the input signal before comparing its level to the threshold. This produces a more relaxed compression that more closely relates to human perception of loudness.

Stereo linking
A compressor in stereo linking mode applies the same amount of gain reduction to both the left and right channels. This is done to prevent image shifting that can occur if each channel is compressed individually.

Make-up gain
Because a downward compressor only reduces the level of the signal, the ability to add a fixed amount of make-up gain at the output is usually provided so that an optimum output level is produced.

Look-ahead
The look-ahead function is designed to overcome the problem of being forced to compromise between slow attack rates that produce smooth-sounding gain changes, and fast attack rates capable of catching transients. Look-ahead is implemented by splitting the input signal and delaying one side (the audio signal) by the look-ahead time. The non-delayed side (the gain control signal) is used to drive the compression of the delayed signal, which then appears at the output. This way a smooth-sounding slower attack rate can be used to catch transients. The cost of this solution is added audio latency through the processor.

Public spaces
Compression is often applied in audio systems for restaurants, retail, and similar public environments that play background music at a relatively low volume and need it compressed, not just to keep the volume fairly constant, but also to make quiet parts of the music audible over ambient noise.

Compression can increase average output gain of a power amplifier by 50 to 100% with a reduced dynamic range. For paging and evacuation systems, this adds clarity under noisy circumstances and saves on the number of amplifiers required.

Music production
Compression is often used in music production to make instruments more consistent in dynamic range, so that they "sit" more nicely in the mix with the other instruments (neither disappear during short periods of time, nor overpower the other instruments during short periods). Vocal performances in rock music or pop music are compressed for the same reason.

Compression can also be used on instrument sounds to create effects not primarily focused on stabilizing the volume. For instance, drum and cymbal sounds tend to decay quickly, but a compressor can make the sound appear to have a more sustained tail. Guitar sounds are often compressed to produce a fuller, more sustained sound.

Most devices capable of compressing audio dynamics can also be used to reduce the volume of one audio source when another audio source reaches a certain level; this is called side-chaining. In electronic dance music, side-chaining is often used on basslines, controlled by the kick drum or a similar percussive trigger, to prevent the two from conflicting, and provide a pulsating, rhythmic dynamic to the sound.

Voice
A compressor can be used to reduce sibilance ('ess' sounds) in vocals (de-essing) by feeding the compressor's side-chain an equalized version of the input signal, so that specific, sibilance-related frequencies (typically 4000 to 8000 hz) activate the compressor more.

Compression is used in voice communications in amateur radio that employ single-sideband (SSB) modulation to make a particular station's signal more readable to a distant station, or to make one's station's transmitted signal stand out against others. This is applicable especially in DXing. An SSB signal's strength depends on the level of modulation. A compressor increases the average level of the modulation signal thus increasing the transmitted signal strength. Most modern amateur radio SSB transceivers have speech compressors built-in. Compression is also used in land mobile radio, especially in transmitted audio of professional walkie-talkies and remote control dispatch consoles.

Broadcasting
Compression is used extensively in broadcasting to boost the perceived volume of sound while reducing the dynamic range of source audio. To avoid overmodulation, broadcasters in most countries have legal limits on instantaneous peak volume they may broadcast. Normally these limits are met by permanently inserted compression hardware in the on-air chain.

Broadcasters use compressors in order that their station sounds louder than comparable stations. The effect is to make the more heavily compressed station jump out at the listener at a given volume setting. This is not limited to inter-channel differences; they also exist between programme material within the same channel. Loudness differences are a frequent source of audience complaints, especially TV commercials and promos that seem too loud.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has been addressing this issue in the EBU PLOUD group, which consists of over 240 audio professionals, many from broadcasters and equipment manufacturers. In 2010, the EBU published EBU R 128 which introduces a new way of metering and normalizing audio. The Recommendation uses ITU-R BS.1770 loudness metering. , several European TV stations have announced their support for the new norm and over 20 manufacturers have announced products supporting the new EBU Mode loudness meters.

To help audio engineers understand what loudness range their material consists of (e.g. to check if some compression may be needed to fit it into the channel of a specific delivery platform), the EBU also introduced the Loudness Range (LRA) descriptor.

Marketing
Most television commercials are heavily compressed to achieve near-maximum perceived loudness while staying within permissible limits. This causes a problem that TV viewers often notice: when a station switches from minimally compressed program material to a heavily compressed commercial, the volume sometimes seems to increase dramatically. Peak loudness might be the same—meeting the letter of the law—but high compression puts much more of the audio in the commercial at close to the maximum allowable, making the commercial seem much louder.

Over-usage

Record companies, mixing engineers and mastering engineers have been gradually increasing the overall loudness of commercial albums. This is achieved by using higher degrees of compression and limiting during mixing and mastering; compression algorithms have been engineered specifically to accomplish the task of maximizing audio level in the digital stream. Hard limiting or clipping can result, affecting the tone and timbre of the music. The effort to increase loudness has been referred to as the loudness war.

Other uses
Noise reduction systems use a compressor to reduce the dynamic range of a signal for transmission or recording, expanding it afterward, a process called companding. This reduces the effects of a channel or recording medium with limited dynamic range.

Instrument amplifiers often include compression circuitry to prevent sudden high-wattage peaks that could damage the speakers. Electric bass players often use compression effects, either effects units available in pedal, rackmount units, or built-in devices in bass amps, to even out the sound levels of their basslines.

Gain pumping, where a regular amplitude peak (such as a kick drum) causes the rest of the mix to change in volume due to the compressor, is generally avoided in music production. However, many dance and hip-hop musicians purposefully use this phenomenon, causing the mix to alter in volume rhythmically in time with the beat.

Hearing aids use a compressor to bring the audio volume into the listener's hearing range. To help the patient perceive the direction sound comes from, some hearing aids use binaural compression.

Compressors are also used for hearing protection in some electronic active hearing protection earmuffs and earplugs, to let sounds at ordinary volumes be heard normally while attenuating louder sounds, possibly also amplifying softer sounds. This allows, for example, shooters wearing hearing protection at a shooting range to converse normally, while sharply attenuating the much louder sounds of the gunshots, and similarly for musicians to hear quiet music but be protected from loud noises such as drums or cymbal crashes.

In applications of machine learning where an algorithm is training on audio samples, dynamic range compression is a way to augment samples for a larger data set.

Limiting

Compression and limiting are identical in process but different in degree and perceived effect. A limiter is a compressor with a high ratio and, generally, a fast attack time. Compression with ratio of 10:1 or more is generally considered limiting.

Brick wall limiting has a very high ratio and a very fast attack time. Ideally, this ensures that an audio signal never exceeds the amplitude of the threshold. Ratios of 20:1 all the way up to ∞:1 are considered brick wall. The sonic results of more than momentary and infrequent brick-wall limiting are harsh and unpleasant, thus it is more common as a safety device in live sound and broadcast applications.

Some bass amps and PA system amplifiers include limiters to prevent sudden volume peaks from causing distortion or damaging the speakers.

Side-chaining

A compressor with a side-chain input controls gain from main input to output based on the level of the signal at the side-chain input. An early innovator of side-chain compression in an effects unit was the Eventide Omnipressor from 1974. With side-chaining, the compressor behaves in the conventional manner when both main and side-chain inputs are supplied with the same signal. The side-chain input is used by disc jockeys for ducking – lowering the music volume automatically when speaking. The DJ's microphone signal is routed to the side-chain input so that whenever the DJ speaks the compressor reduces the volume of the music. A sidechain with equalization controls can be used to reduce the volume of signals that have a strong spectral content within a certain frequency range: it can act as a de-esser, reducing the level of vocal sibilance in the range of 6–9 kHz. Another use of the side-chain in music production serves to maintain a loud bass track without the bass drum causing undue peaks that result in loss of overall headroom.

Parallel compression
Inserting the compressor in a parallel signal path is known as parallel compression. It is a form of upward compression that facilitates dynamic control without significant audible side effects so long as the ratio is relatively low and the compressor's sound is relatively neutral. On the other hand, a high compression ratio with significant audible artifacts can be chosen in one of the two parallel signal paths. This is used by some concert mixers and recording engineers as an artistic effect called New York compression or Motown compression. Combining a linear signal with a compressor and then reducing the output gain of the compression chain results in low-level detail enhancement without any peak reduction; The compressor significantly adds to the combined gain at low levels only.

Multiband compression
Multiband compressors can act differently on different frequency bands. The advantage of multiband compression over full-bandwidth compression is that problems related to a specific frequency range can be fixed without unnecessary compression in the other, unrelated frequencies. The downside is that frequency-specific compression is more complex and requires more processing capacity than full-bandwidth compression and can introduce phase issues.

Multiband compressors work by first splitting the signal through some number of band-pass filters, crossover filters or filter banks. Each split signal then passes through its own compressor and is independently adjustable for threshold, ratio, attack, and release. The signals are then recombined and an additional limiting circuit may be employed to ensure that the combined signals do not create unwanted peak levels.

In music production, multiband compressors are primarily an audio mastering tool, but their inclusion in digital audio workstation plug-in sets is increasing their use among mix engineers. The TC Electronic Finalizer included a three band compressor and was a popular audio mastering tool around year 2000.

On-air signal chains of radio stations commonly use multiband compressors to increase loudness while avoiding overmodulation. Having a louder sound is often considered an advantage in commercial broadcasting.

Serial compression
Serial compression is a technique used in sound recording and mixing. Serial compression is achieved by using two fairly different compressors in a signal chain. One compressor generally stabilizes the dynamic range while the other aggressively compresses stronger peaks. This is the normal internal signal routing in common combination devices marketed as compressor-limiters, where an RMS compressor (for general gain control) is followed by a fast peak-sensing limiter (for overload protection). Done properly, even heavy serial compression can sound natural in a way not possible with a single compressor. It is most often used to even out erratic vocals and guitars.

Software audio players
Some software audio players support plugins that implement compression. These can increase loudness of audio tracks, or level out the volume of highly-variable music (such as classical music, or a playlist that spans multiple music types). This improves the listenability of audio played through poor-quality speakers, or when played in noisy environments (such as in a car or during a party).

Objective influence on the signal
In an article published in January 2014 by the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, Emmanuel Deruty and Damien Tardieu performed a systematic study describing the influence of compressors and brickwall limiters on the musical audio signal. The experiment involved four software limiters: Waves L2, Sonnox Oxford Limiter, Thomas Mundt's Loudmax, Blue Cat's Protector, as well as four software compressors: Waves H-Comp, Sonnox Oxford Dynamics, Sonalksis SV-3157, and URS 1970. The study provides objective data on what limiters and compressors do to the audio signal.

Five signal descriptors were considered: RMS power, EBU R 128 integrated loudness, crest factor, R 128 LRA, and density of clipped samples. RMS power accounts for the signal's physical level, R 128 loudness for the perceived level. The crest factor, which is the difference between the signal's peak and its average power, is on occasions considered as a basis for the measure of micro-dynamics, for instance in the TT Dynamic Range Meter plug-in. Finally, R 128 LRA has been repeatedly considered as a measure of macro-dynamics or dynamics in the musical sense.

Limiters
The tested limiters had the following influence on the signal:
 * increase of RMS power,
 * increase of EBU R 128 loudness,
 * decrease of crest factor,
 * decrease of EBU R 128 LRA, but only for high amounts of limiting,
 * increase of clipped sample density.

In other words, limiters increase both physical and perceptual levels, increase the density of clipped samples, decrease the crest factor and decrease macro-dynamics (LRA) given that the amount of limiting is substantial.

Compressors
As far as the compressors are concerned, the authors performed two processing sessions, using a fast attack (0.5 ms) in one case, and a slow attack (50 ms) in the other. Make-up gain is deactivated, but the resulting file is normalized.

Set with a fast attack, the tested compressors had the following influence on the signal:
 * slight increase of RMS power,
 * slight increase of EBU R 128 loudness,
 * decrease of crest factor,
 * decrease of EBU R 128 LRA,
 * slight decrease of clipped sample density.

In other words, fast-attack compressors increase both physical and perceptual levels, but only slightly. They decrease the density of clipped samples, and decrease both crest factor and macro-dynamics.

Set with a slow attack, the tested compressors had the following influence on the signal:
 * decrease of RMS power,
 * decrease of EBU R 128 loudness,
 * no influence on crest factor,
 * decrease of EBU R 128 LRA,
 * no influence on clipped sample density.

In other words, slow-attack compressors decrease both physical and perceptual levels, decrease macro-dynamics, but have no influence on crest factor and clipped sample density.

title: Dynamic range compression


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Hoatzin

The hoatzin or hoactzin  (Opisthocomus hoazin) is a species of tropical bird found in swamps, riparian forests, and mangroves of the Amazon and the Orinoco basins in South America. It is the only extant species in the genus Opisthocomus which is the only extant genus in the Opisthocomidae family under the order of Opisthocomiformes. Despite being the subject of intense debate by specialists, the taxonomic position of this family is still far from clear.

The hoatzin is notable for its chicks having primitive claws on two of their wing digits; the species also is unique in possessing a digestive system capable of fermentation and the effective breaking-down of plant matter, a trait more commonly known from herbivorous ungulate-ruminant mammals and some primates. This bird is also the national bird of Guyana, where the local name for this bird is Canje pheasant.

Description
The hoatzin is pheasant-sized, with a total length of 65 cm, and a long neck and small head. It has an unfeathered blue face with maroon eyes, and its head is topped by a spiky, rufous crest. The long, sooty-brown tail is bronze-green tipped with a broad whitish or buff band at the end. The upper parts are dark, sooty brown-edged buff on the wing coverts, and streaked buff on the mantle and nape. The underparts are buff, while the crissum (the undertail coverts surrounding the cloaca), primaries, underwing coverts, and flanks are rich rufous-chestnut, but this is mainly visible when the hoatzin opens its wings.

It is a noisy bird, and makes a variety of hoarse calls, including groans, croaks, hisses, and grunts. These calls are often associated with body movements, such as wing spreading.

Young wing claws
Hoatzin chicks have two claws on each wing. Immediately after hatching, they can use these claws, and their oversized feet, to scramble around the tree branches without falling into the water. When predators such as the great black hawk attack a hoatzin nesting colony, the adults fly noisily about, trying to divert the predator's attention, while the chicks move away from the nest and hide among the thickets. If discovered, however, they drop into the water and swim under the surface to escape, then later use their clawed wings to climb back to the safety of the nest. This has inevitably led to comparisons to the fossil bird Archaeopteryx, but the characteristic is rather an autapomorphy, possibly caused by an atavism toward the dinosaurian finger claws, whose developmental genetics ("blueprint") presumably is still in the avian genome. Since Archaeopteryx had three functional claws on each wing, some earlier systematists speculated that the hoatzin was descended from it, because nestling hoatzins have two functional claws on each wing. Modern researchers, however, hypothesize that the young hoatzin's claws are of more recent origin, and may be a secondary adaptation from its frequent need to leave the nest and climb about in dense vines and trees well before it can fly. A similar trait is seen in turacos, whose nestlings use claws on their wings to climb in trees.

Taxonomy, systematics, and evolution
The generic name Opisthocomus comes from Ancient Greek ὄπισθοκομος ópisthokomos derived from ὄπισθε ópisthe (ὄπισθεν ópisthen before a consonant) "behind" and κόμη kómē "hair" altogether meaning "long hair behind" referring to its large crest.

The hoatzin was originally described in 1776 by German zoologist Statius Müller. Much debate has occurred about the hoatzin's relationships with other birds. Because of its distinctness, it has been given its own family, the Opisthocomidae, and its own suborder, the Opisthocomi. At various times, it has been allied with such taxa as the tinamous, the Galliformes (gamebirds), the rails, the bustards, seriemas, sandgrouse, doves, turacos and other Cuculiformes, and mousebirds. A whole genome sequencing study published in 2014 places the hoatzin as the sister taxon of a clade composed of Gruiformes (cranes) and Charadriiformes (plovers). Another genomic study in 2024 instead places it as the sister group to the Phaethoquornithes (containing numerous aquatic bird orders). The combined group was found to be sister to the Mirandornithes (flamingos and grebes).

In 2015, genetic research indicated that the hoatzin is the last surviving member of a bird line that branched off in its own direction 64 million years ago, shortly after the extinction event that killed the nonavian dinosaurs. Another genetic study from 2024 instead suggested a Late Cretaceous origin (around 70 million years ago), but found that this early divergence is shared with a majority of extant bird orders, making it no more primitive than them.

Fossil record
With respect to other material evidence, an undisputed fossil record of a close hoatzin relative is specimen UCMP 42823, a single cranium backside. It is of Miocene origin and was recovered in the upper Magdalena River Valley, Colombia, in the well-known fauna of La Venta. This has been placed into a distinct, less derived genus, Hoazinoides, but clearly would be placed into the same family as the extant species. It markedly differs in that the cranium of the living hoatzin is characteristic, being much domed, rounded, and shortened, and that these autapomorphies were less pronounced in the Miocene bird. Müller discussed these findings in the light of the supposed affiliation of the hoatzins and the Galliformes, which was the favored hypothesis at that time but had been controversial almost since its inception. He cautioned, however, "that Hoazinoides by no means establishes a phyletic junction point with other galliforms" for obvious reasons, as we know today. Anything other than the primary findings of Müller are not to be expected in any case, as by the time of Hoazinoides, essentially all modern bird families are either known or believed to have been present and distinct. Going further back in time, the Late Eocene or Early Oligocene (some 34 Mya) Filholornis from France has also been considered "proof" of a link between the hoatzin and the gamebirds. The fragmentary fossil Onychopteryx from the Eocene of Argentina and the quite complete, but no less enigmatic Early-Middle Eocene (Ypresian-Lutetian, some 48 Mya) Foro panarium are sometimes used to argue for a hoatzin-cuculiform (including turacos) link. As demonstrated above, though, this must be considered highly speculative, if not as badly off the mark as the relationship with the Cracidae discussed by Miller.

The earliest record of the order Opisthocomiformes is Protoazin parisiensis, from the latest Eocene (about 34 Mya) of Romainville, France. The holotype and only known specimen is NMB PG.70, consisting of partial coracoid, partial scapula, and partial pedal phalanx. According to the phylogenetic analysis performed by the authors, Namibiavis, although later, is more basal than Protoazin. Opisthocomiforms seem to have been much more widespread in the past, with the present South American distribution being only a relic. By the Early to Middle Miocene, they were probably extinct in Europe already, as formations dated to this time and representing fluvial or lacustrine palaeoenvironments, in which the hoatzin thrives today, have yielded dozens of bird specimens, but no opisthocomiforms. A possible explanation to account for the extinction of Protoazin between the Late Eocene and the Early Miocene in Europe, and of Namibiavis after the Middle Miocene of sub-Saharan Africa is the arrival of arboreal carnivorans—predation which could have had a devastating effect on the local opisthocomiforms, if they were similarly poor flyers and had a similarly vulnerable nesting strategies as today's hoatzins. Felids and viverrids first arrived in Europe from Asia after the Turgai Sea closed, marking the boundary between the Eocene and the Oligocene. None of these predators, and for the matter, no placental predator at all was present in South America before the Great American Interchange 3 Mya; this absence could explain the survival of the hoatzin there. In addition to being the earliest fossil record of an opisthocomiform, Protoazin was also the earliest find of one (1912), but it was forgotten for more than a century, being described only in 2014.

Hoazinavis is an extinct genus of early opisthocomiforms from Late Oligocene and Early Miocene (about 24–22 Mya) deposits of Brazil. It was collected in 2008 from the Tremembé Formation of São Paulo, Brazil. It was first named by Gerald Mayr, Herculano Alvarenga and Cécile Mourer-Chauviré in 2011 and the type species is Hoazinavis lacustris.

Namibiavis is another extinct genus of early opisthocomiforms from early Middle Miocene (around 16 Mya) deposits of Namibia. It was collected from Arrisdrift, southern Namibia. It was first named by Cécile Mourer-Chauviré in 2003 and the type species is Namibiavis senutae.

Feeding and habits
The hoatzin is a folivore—it eats the leaves (and to a lesser degree, the fruits and flowers) of the plants that grow in its marshy and riverine habitat. It clambers around along the branches in its search for food. The hoatzin uses a leathery “bump” on the bottom of its crop to help balance its weight on the branches. The species was once thought to eat the leaves of only arums and mangroves, but the species is now known to consume the leaves of more than 50 botanical species. One study, undertaken in Venezuela, found that the hoatzin's diet was 82% leaves, 10% flowers, and 8% fruit. Any feeding on insects or other animal matter is purely opportunistic or accidental.

One of this species' many peculiarities is its unique digestive system, which contains specialized bacteria in the front part of the gut that break-down and ferment the foliar material they consume (much like cattle and other ruminants do). This process is more efficient than what has been measured in many other species of birds, with up to 70% of the plant fiber being digested. Unlike ruminants, however, which possess a rumen (a specialized, chambered stomach for bacterial fermentation), the hoatzin has an unusually large crop that is folded into two chambers, with a large, multi-chambered lower esophagus.

Serrations on the beak help cut leaves into smaller pieces before they are swallowed. Because they lack the teeth of mammals, hoatzins don't regurgitate their food, or chew the cud; instead, a combination of muscular pressure and abrasion by a “cornified” lining of the crop is used as an equivalent to remastication, allowing fermentation and trituration to occur at the same site. The fermented foliage produces methane which the bird expels through burping. Its stomach chamber and gizzard are much smaller than in other birds. Its crop is so large as to displace the flight muscles and keel of the sternum, much to the detriment of its flight capacity. The crop is supported by a thickened skin callus on the tip of the sternum, which helps the bird support the crop on a branch during rest and while digesting its food. A hoatzin's meal takes up to 45 hours to pass through its body. With a body weight as low as 700 g, the adult hoatzin is the smallest known animal with foregut fermentation (the lower limit for mammals is about 3 kg).

Because of aromatic compounds in the leaves they consume, and the bacterial fermentation required to digest them, the birds have a disagreeable, manure-like odor and are only hunted by humans for food in times of dire need; local people also call it the "stinkbird" because of it. Much of the hoatzin’s diet, including various types of Monstera, Philodendron and other aroids, contains a high concentration of calcium oxalate crystals, which, even in small amounts, can be greatly uncomfortable (and even dangerous) for humans to consume.

Breeding
Hoatzins are seasonal breeders, breeding during the rainy season, the exact timing of which varies across their range. Hoatzins are gregarious and nest in small colonies, laying two or three eggs in a stick nest in a tree hanging over water in seasonally flooded forests. The chicks are fed on regurgitated fermented food.

Relationship with humans
In Brazil, indigenous peoples sometimes collect the eggs for food, and the adults are occasionally hunted, but it is generally rare to consume mature birds, as hoatzin meat is reputed to have a bad taste. Its preferred habitats of forests and inland wetlands are threatened by Amazonian deforestation. The hoatzin is believed to remain fairly common in a large part of its range, but its population is likely decreasing due to habitat loss. The hoatzin is the national bird of Guyana.

title: Hoatzin


text:
Mission Elmira

During World War II, Mission Elmira was the landing of a significant part of the 82nd Airborne Division’s glider train in Normandy on the evening of 6 June 1944 as part of Operation Neptune, the assault phase of Operation Overlord.

Mission composition and purpose
Elmira consisted of 176 Douglas C-47 Skytrain troop carrier aircraft acting as glider tugs, 36 Waco CG-4 gliders, and 140 of the larger Airspeed Horsa gliders, divided into one serial of 26 and three serials of 50 tug-glider combinations. One additional C-47, which had returned to base earlier in the day without dropping its stick of paratroopers, accompanied the last flight of the mission. The planned and briefed landing zone for the gliders was LZ W, located two miles (3 km) southeast of Sainte-Mère-Église, but a smaller landing zone had also been put in operation that morning north of the town on Drop Zone O.

Elmira was considered an essential mission, delivering two battalions of glider artillery and 24 howitzers to the 82nd Airborne. It consisted of four serials of aircraft, the first to arrive ten minutes after Mission Keokuck, a similar but much smaller mission to reinforce the 101st Airborne Division. To reduce congestion over the landing zones, two serials of mission Elmira were delayed two hours until just before sunset. These carried both battalions of glider field artillery and their guns. Because the missions were flown on British Double Summer Time, both were daylight missions, with the first wave taking off at 1907 and arriving at 2104, and the second wave taking off at 2037 and arriving at 2255.

Mission details

The first two serials of 76 tug-glider combinations came under heavy ground fire just before the release point. Two C-47s were shot down after release and half the survivors suffered battle damage. Unknown to the troop carriers, troops of the German 795th Georgian Battalion occupied part of the landing zone, and the "Eureka" transponding radar beacon landing aids had been moved two miles (3 km) to the northwest on Drop Zone/Landing Zone O. The C-47s released their gliders for the original LZ, unaware of the aids on LZ O. Although the 82nd Airborne considered the landings inaccurate because they did not land on LZ O, most came down within 2 mi of the original LZ. Of the 3 Wacos and 21 Horsa destroyed, most were the result of German mortar and artillery fire after landing.

The second wave of mission Elmira arrived at 2255 just as the terrain was enveloped in shadow, and since no other pathfinder aids were operating, headed for the Eureka beacon on LZ O. Approximately halfway there, it came under the most severe ground fire of the day, since the route to LZ O passed directly over and along the German lines. Despite this, damage was similar to that of the serials that had come in two hours earlier, with three C-47s ditching on the way home. The last two glider serials had mixed accuracy. The first released early and came down near or within German lines, but the second came down on Landing Zone O, except for 5 who followed their briefing orders and landed on LZ W. Even so, virtually all of the personnel of both battalions made their way to the 82nd Airborne positions by morning, and had 15 of their 24 guns in operation by sundown of June 8.

Casualties in mission Elmira were 15 killed, 17 wounded, and 4 missing among the glider pilots; and 33 killed and 124 wounded among the passengers. Strom Thurmond, then a lieutenant colonel in a civil affairs unit was at age 41 credited with being the oldest person attached to the division to go into Normandy with the invasion. He later became the longest-serving senator in United States history.

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title: Mission Elmira


text:
ECM

ECM may refer to:

Economics and commerce

 * Engineering change management
 * Equity capital markets
 * Error correction model, an econometric model
 * European Common Market

Mathematics

 * Lenstra's Elliptic curve method for factoring integers
 * European Congress of Mathematics
 * Equivalent circuit model for Li-ion cells

Science and medicine

 * Ectomycorrhiza
 * Electron cloud model
 * Engineered Cellular Magmatics
 * Erythema chronicum migrans
 * Extracellular matrix

Sport

 * European Championships Management

Technology

 * Electrochemical machining
 * Electronic contract manufacturing
 * Electronic countermeasure
 * Electronics contract manufacturing
 * Electronically commutated motor
 * Energy conservation measure
 * Engine control module
 * Enterprise content management
 * Error correction mode

Other uses

 * East Camberwell railway station, Melbourne
 * ECM Records, a record label
 * ECM Real Estate Investments, a defunct real estate developer based in Luxembourg
 * Edinburgh City Mission, a Christian organization in Scotland
 * Editio Critica Maior, a critical edition of the Greek New Testament
 * Elektrani na Severna Makedonija (Електрани на Северна Македонија), a power company in North Macedonia
 * Energy Corrected Milk, in farming
 * Episcopal Conference of Malawi
 * Every Child Matters, a UK Government initiative for children
 * Every Child Ministries, a Christian charity for African children
 * Exceptional case-marking, in linguistics

title: ECM


text:
Talk:Diving duck

Untitled
Tony, is there a reason why the pic isn't in the taxobox? Just asking. I can do it for you if you wish but I didn't want to go ahead if there was a reason why you put it where you did. Adrian Pingstone 12:20 7 Jul 2003 (UTC)

It mentions that they're part of the Anatinae family twice.. Should it say this?

I thought this article was about 'diving ducks' and not 'dabbling ducks'. At the bottom of the systematics, this can be found:

FAMILY ANATIDAE Subfamily Aythyinae: dabbling ducks

I'm not knowledgeable on the subject so I don't want to edit it but it doesn't seem logical. Regards, --ogenstein 02:39, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

Genus Bucephala not treated in systematics section
Bucephala is mentioned in the article text, but missing entirely from the systematics section. --arkuat (talk) 00:10, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
 * It's Merginae (or Mergini): seaducks, not diving ducks. Dysmorodrepanis (talk) 02:34, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

title: Talk:Diving duck


text:
Opisthocomidae

Opisthocomidae is a family of birds, the only named family within the order Opisthocomiformes. The only living representative is the hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) which lives in the Amazon and the Orinoco delta in South America. Several fossil species have been identified, including one from Africa and one from Europe.

Phylogeny
The phylogeny below is based on the work of Hughes & Baker 1999 and Mayr & De Pietri 2014. Traditionally classified among the fowl-like birds (Galliformes), recent studies have favored Opisthocomidae's placement within the Neoaves.

Taxonomy

 * Family Opisthocomidae Swainson 1837
 * Genus ?†Foro Olson 1992 (mid-Eocene, USA) - cuculiform?
 * Species †Foro panarium Olson 1992
 * Genus ?†Onychopteryx Cracraft 1971 (Early Eocene of Argentina) – falconid? A nomen dubium
 * Species †Onychopteryx simpsoni Cracraft 1971
 * Genus †Protoazin Mayr & De Pietri 2014 (late Eocene of France)
 * Species †Protoazin parisiensis Mayr & De Pietri 2014
 * Genus †Namibiavis Mourer-Chauviré 2003 (Middle Miocene of Namibia)
 * Species †Namibiavis senutae Mourer-Chauviré 2003
 * Genus †Hoazinavis Alvarenga, Mayr & Mourer-Chauviré 2011 (Late Oligocene and Early Miocene of Brazil)
 * Species †Hoazinavis lacustris Alvarenga, Mayr & Mourer-Chauviré 2011
 * Genus †Hoazinoides Miller 1953 (middle Miocene of Colombia)
 * Species †Hoazinoides magdalenae Miller 1953
 * Genus Opisthocomus Illiger 1811
 * Species Opisthocomus hoazin (Müller 1776) Illiger 1811 [Phasianus hoazin Müller 1776 ]

Description
The only living representative is the hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin), which lives in the Amazon and the Orinoco delta in South America. Several fossil species have been identified, including one from Africa and one from Europe.

The hoatzin is a stunning, colourful bird from South America. The hoatzin is found in the rainforest of the Amazon. It has a long, permanently erected crest which gives the species a stunning silhouette. This gregarious species is often found in groups of more than 40 birds, and up to 100 birds during breeding season which occurs during rainfalls. The nest is a flat platform in bush or tree above water. The chicks are semi-precocial and leave the nest at about two to three weeks of age. The adults feed them with semi-digested slimy mass from their crops, and the young are fed during the first four or five months of their life. The young nestlings can jump out into the water, and swim with wings and feet, in order to escape predators at nest. Hoatzin embryos are known to develop very quickly compared to other birds.

The hoatzin lives in tropical forested wetlands of 200 to 500 meters elevation. The hoatzin is an arboreal species and is folivorous, feeding on leaves, flowers and fruits of a small number of plant species. It has a large crop that uses bacteria to break down the leaves that it eats. The hoatzin is unique because it has bacteria in its crop that breaks down its food while it is still in the crop. This is a process called foregut fermentation. It rarely drinks because its diet includes water. The hoatzin is sedentary and widespread in suitable habitat. They are noisy birds, calling in unison, uttering large numbers of varied sounds.

In addition to foregut fermentation, the hoatzin has a highly modified skeleton to accommodate its large crop, and in the young of this species, wing claws at the wrist joint which are used to climb among the branches of the nest tree.

title: Opisthocomidae


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Robert McIntyre (politician)

Robert Douglas McIntyre (15 December 1913 – 2 February 1998) was a Scottish physician and a Scottish National Party politician and Member of Parliament.

McIntyre studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow, and worked as a GP and a consultant pulmonologist. He came to political prominence in 1945 when he won the Motherwell by-election, becoming the SNP's first ever Member of Parliament.

McIntyre served as the Leader of the Scottish National Party from 1947 to 1956, and as President of the SNP from 1958 to 1980. He was the Provost of Stirling from 1967 to 1975. Known affectionately as "Doc Mac", he was often referred to as the "Father of the SNP".

Early life and medical career
McIntyre was born in Motherwell, the son of John Ebenezer McIntyre, a minister of the United Free Church of Scotland. He was educated at Hamilton Academy and Daniel Stewart's College. After a short period working at an accountants' office, McIntyre managed to acquire the necessary qualifications to attend the University of Edinburgh, where he initially studied Chemistry, before switching to study Medicine.

At university, he was Chairman of the University Labour Party and an active member of Edinburgh University Socialist Society. He also served as the University Labour Party's delegate on the Edinburgh Trades and Labour Council in 1935.

In December 1938, McIntyre graduated with an MB ChB, and joined a general practice in Warwick, England as an assistant. Following brief spells as a General practitioner in Musselburgh and Polmont, he served as a house surgeon at Stirling Royal Infirmary, and then as House Physician at Bangour Village Hospital. In this period, he developed an interest in the area of public health and studied at the University of Glasgow to gain a Diploma in Public Health. After qualifying, McIntyre was appointed as Senior Resident at Hawkhead Hospital in Paisley; a hospital for infectious diseases. The early-1940s witnessed a dramatic increase in the confirmed cases of diphtheria in Scotland. McIntyre was in charge of a major campaign of diphtheria immunisation directed at Paisley's schoolchildren, visiting every school in the area to persuade the children and their parents to get themselves vaccinated against the lethal disease.

Robert McIntyre then took up a position under Glasgow Corporation's Department of Health as Port Boarding Medical Officer, based at Greenock. This involved his being part of a team which had the responsibility of ensuring that ships were free of infections before they proceeded up the River Clyde to Glasgow, and also liaising with the vessels' medical staff.

Following his defeat at the 1945 general election, he served for a short period as a locum GP on North Uist, before obtaining a position with Stirling County Council as a Tuberculosis Officer responsible to the Medical Officer for Health. With the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, McIntyre was appointed as Consultant Chest Physician at Stirling Royal Infirmary. He would remain in the post until his retirement.

Political career
McIntyre had joined the Labour Party in 1936, and was active in Labour politics at Edinburgh University. However, he had become increasingly disillusioned with the Labour Party's commitment to Scottish home rule and had been disappointed when he and his fellow students at the Edinburgh University Labour Party had sent a resolution to the Scottish Council of the Labour Party, only to be informed that the council was not involved in the formation of Labour Party policy. Steeped in Scottish history and culture, he believed in the right of small nations to self-government.

In 1940, McIntyre joined the Scottish National Party and became the party's membership secretary when it was still headed by John MacCormick, but he resisted MacCormick's later attempts to change the SNP from supporting a policy of full Scottish independence to supporting a modicum of Home Rule. MacCormick would leave the SNP in 1942 from which point McIntyre became the party's leading figure, serving as National Secretary (1942-1945) and as vice-chairman (1945-1947), before being chosen as Chairman (leader) of the SNP in May 1947.

On 13 April 1945, shortly before the end of World War II, McIntyre won the Motherwell by-election, with a narrow majority of 617 votes over his Labour opponent. He made history as the first SNP candidate to be elected as a Member of Parliament. Upon arriving at Parliament, he had difficulty finding the customary two sponsors to allow him to take his seat, as members did not want to break party loyalties. Two reluctant sponsors were found but McIntyre chose to present himself to the Speaker alone, later writing "I very clearly stated to the people of Motherwell and Wishaw that I would give no allegiance to the London-controlled parties". A vote to waive the rule was lost, and eventually he accepted the sponsorship of James Barr and Alexander Sloan "under protest".

He lost the seat only three months later at the 1945 general election, to the Labour Party. He then returned to his medical practice, working in Stirling Royal Infirmary to treat and prevent tuberculosis. However, he continued to stand at every subsequent general election, up to October 1974, also standing at a bye-election in 1971, thirteen in total, the most unsuccessful attempts by a former MP to be re-elected to the UK Parliament.

After McIntyre stood down as party leader in 1956, he was elected as President of the Scottish National Party, holding this office until 1980. In 1956, he was also elected as a member of Stirling Burgh Council, a position he held until 1975. He was Provost of Stirling from 1967 to 1975. McIntyre was first (and last) vice-president of the Celtic League (from 1961 to 1971). Gwynfor Evans was president at the time.

In 1962 he was nominated by the Scottish Nationalist Association as a candidate for Rector of the University of Glasgow, where he finished second behind Albert Luthuli who was then the President of the African National Congress.

Personal life
McIntyre married Letitia Macleod in 1954 and they had one son together.

Robert McIntyre died on 2 February 1998, aged 84.

title: Robert McIntyre (politician)


text:
Bondage cuffs

Bondage cuffs are restraints designed for use in sexual bondage situations. Compared to conventional handcuffs, they are wide wrist and ankle restraints generally made of leather, often padded with soft leather or fake fur. Bondage cuffs may be fastened at the wrists and/or ankles by a locking mechanism, by a buckle or by velcro. They are secured around the wrist or ankle, and the cuffs may then be attached to each other or another object.

They may be fitted with D-ring attachments or buckles to which nylon webbing, chain or another restraining strap may be attached. The straps may have a loop mechanism to allow the tightening of the straps.

Bondage cuffs are typically secured to each wrist and ankle, and to each other and other objects depending on the needs of each play. A set of cuffs may be used to create a hogtie, and a pair of ankle cuffs can be used together with thigh-width straps to create a frogtie. They are typically used in conjunction with other bondage equipment, such as leg spreader bars.

Safety considerations
Bondage cuffs are designed to be safer than conventional handcuffs. Unlike bondage cuffs, the primary design goals of handcuffs are not comfort and safety, but immobilization and prevention of escape, and they are not padded to try to reduce the risk of nerve damage and other injuries. Nevertheless, as with all restraint devices, it is still possible for the use of bondage cuffs to cause serious injuries if misused or not monitored carefully.

Ordinary bondage cuffs are not designed to be safe when used to carry any significant load. Suspension cuffs are a specialized form of bondage cuffs, designed to be used to suspend the body during suspension bondage.

title: Bondage cuffs