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Talk:Main Page/Archive 14

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56 table-of-contents sections, 13 archives of old talk and 6 pages of talk about layout and colours? Give me a break! Why don't people devote their time to producing content? Miguel 19:38, 2004 Feb 24 (UTC)

 * Actually 10 pages of talk about layout. Perhaps we devote our time to layout so that it looks good enough to attract more people producing content and not lost them baffled with arcane Main Page. ;)

Forseti 08:40, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Critiques of the new front page
IMO, the new page looks a lot better than the old one. However, it's getting a little cluttered. I think we should avoid the "web-portalish" look (i.e. a painfully overwhelming layout; visit http://www.lycos.com/ for an example). I would reduce the amount of text in the "Featured article"/"In the news" to 75% of what it is now. Connelly 06:59, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

I like the new front page!
Congrats on the new-look main page - much more professional looking! dramatic 20:11, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * Good. I was afraid to be de-sysadmined when I brought it live! -- Kaihsu 20:13, 2004 Feb 23 (UTC)
 * In which case, I would have strongly defended your actions as "being bold" →Raul654 20:26, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)
 * Agreed. Bravo all. Query: Any reason "A day in history" is not "Today in history"? jengod 20:28, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

 * Mav thinks we might be unable to keep this reasonably up to date.—Eloquence
 * We can't do any worse than other encyclopedias. -- Kaihsu 20:34, 2004 Feb 23 (UTC)
 * I think mav has a point. I hate to say I told you so, but 2 days ago on the village pump I said this was gonig to be high maintence. →Raul654 20:35, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

 * You are wrong. You will see.—Eloquence
 * We have a lot of sysops, right? Some of all those can easily fix & update the mainpage at times they just feel like it. —Sverdrup(talk) 21:33, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * Why not just say "In history" instead of "A day in history"?

The new colors totally suck!!! I like the old ones better.
 * The new colors are much betta, imho. jengod 20:37, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)
 * New colors are much better! Perl 21:12, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Looks good. The division into a normal and a community main page is also a good step towards a more "professional" look. Thanks. DrZ 20:56, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * I dunno, I don't like it. Maybe I'm just too used to the old one, but somehow I can't say I'm too fond of the new one. PMC 21:19, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

It's a lot clearer. Much less busy. And with pictures. Ooooh. And spaces between lines. Aaaah. It might be good to have an in-depth front page, too. Good work overall, IMO. Mr. Jones 21:34, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Congrats on the new main page, it's looking fab! -- Graham :) 21:41, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

I agree - it looks fantastic. Keeping it up to date might be a challenge, but I think it can be done. Ambivalenthysteria

At first I thought "ugh!" then "wow, that's gonna be a lot of work, summarizing everything every day, glad I'm not an admin," and finally "y'know, I think I like it!" :) It's growing on me.  Good work!  --zandperl 02:17, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Very nice, but looks difficult to maintain. Metasquares 03:35, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Excellent. Thank you! MH 11:31, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

It looks fantastic. Very professional. Jpo 16:01, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Amazing redesign. -Itai 16:04, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Too much scrolling
I prefer the old frontpage, there you could see all the 'in the news', 'recent additions', 'featured pages', etc. categories at once. And it was just half a page of scrolling to the bottom. Now the frontpage is too large - once can't see all the 'changing' categories at once. Abigail 11:44, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

Second this comment. I do not want the chief Wikipedia presentation (seen by everyone) to look just like some commercial web page. It should fit on a single (nominal) screen. The main page should be, essentially, a collection of pointers to more, not images and bitty comments/teasers. Change the new style. It's not good for Wikipedia! ww 17:02, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

I agree and disagree. I think it should fit on a single view, but I love the new layout. —Noldoaran (Talk) 02:50, Feb 25, 2004 (UTC)

Date Standard
23 February or February 23--obits has the former, the rest has the latter. What do we do? jengod 20:37, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

 * Why not just wikify the obituary dates, so that the users' preferences will make them all look the same? Arwel 21:26, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Ah. I see, although the dates in Template:Holidays are wikified, they're not formatted as dates are in ordinary articles. Something for the developers to look at! Arwel 21:32, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Unprotected MediaWiki Messages
I protected the 6 embedded tags of the new page design, assuming that not protecting them was an oversight. Maximus Rex 20:43, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I assume one rationale for moving it in the first place was to make these sections editable while reducing the risk of vandalism.—Eloquence 20:47, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

 * I think having the content in the mediawiki namespace will discourage casual vandals, so it might be ok to leave these unprotected. I think it's worth trying anyway, particularly while it's new and a lot of people are wanting to make edits. Angela. 22:05, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

 * Sure thing. I learnt how works just today, and I don't think casual vandals will (bother to) figure it out. Chalk one up for security through obscurity ;^)

 * P.S move this thread outta here fast! Just joking :-) -- Arvindn 15:33, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC)

In the news
I'd just like to say that I really like having full sentences for "In the news" - as it was before, it was like solving a mystery to figure out *why* something was in the news. →Raul654 20:48, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

I suggest rewording the request for comments slightly
Since this page will be seen by large numbers of complete newcomers, it might be better to say
 * Please let us know what you think about our new Main Page on its discussion page!

rather than the discussion page. Otherwise people might think the link goes to a general discussion page, and we'll get things posted here that should be on the Pump, at the Desk, or somewhere completely different. - IMSoP 21:09, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Ooh, thank you, Kaihsu - IMSoP 21:30, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

More info!
The new mainpage lacks these things:

 * A larger number of selected articles
 * More info in the first paragraph! State our goal right there! (as it was) (our aim is to create a comprehensive and free encyclopedia-ish)
 * More text, on all issues.

We could however skip the obituaries. I can't see why they are not news like the rest.

I confess that the I liked the old layout, but we'll see what I say in a 3 days when I've accustomated mystelf to the new MP. It looks fresh, at the least. —Sverdrup(talk) 21:39, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * More links do not mean more information. This Main Page his fewer links, but much more context for the individual pages, which increases the incentive to actually follow the links. I have rarely ever followed a link from the old Main Page, to be honest. We may add more to the individual sections, but this should not be at the expense of the length of the summaries.—Eloquence 21:48, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

 * Maybe we don't use the wiki in the same way. I hardly ever clicked the categorizing links formerly to the left (no critisim against their being in the new MP), but often followed links in Featured articles - New articles - in the news and Anniversiaries.

 * You have a point, on that we should be clear with what we wish to present, and keep the info volume of the MP low to keep usability at high - but I have a simple adjustment I'd like to be done: why not move anniversiaries to the right, and make the left section be 3-4 items like the current featured article and did you know. That'd look good to me, also if the almanac-like info we want to keep in the main page is slightly shrunk in text size.

 * Note: the split of 'cyclopedia and community main page is a great move, a Win-win.
 * —Sverdrup(talk) 22:02, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Since January 2001 we have been working on 212954 articles in the English version. -- This is not true. Lirath Q. Pynnor
 * Argh, your right. I don't see how anyone could have missed that. This needs to be fixed immediately!!! Perl 21:47, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * We've started in January 2001 -- this is bad grammar. Perhaps we need more sysops? Lirath Q. Pynnor
 * I nominate Lir! Perl 21:55, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * One of your existing admins just fixed the grammar problem. :-) Hopefully that's fast enough for you, Lir. Jwrosenzweig 21:58, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * In reality, this should probably just be changed to a msg. Perl 22:23, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

New layout
It's nice that the new layout has more details, but it seems a little too slick - makes it look kind of corporate, if you know what I mean. The old way looked more "folksy" somehow.

Is "We've started in January 2001" correct grammar? Doesn't sound right.

Tualha 21:54, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I most definitely like this new layout, it doesn't seem "corporate" to me, but just "modern" and oriented a little more towards quick facts. But I think there need to be more of the old links to policy pages, FAQ pages, and those kinds of things.  Those seem to be missing from the current version. -- Dan Carlson 22:00, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

 * Have you seen Main Page?—Eloquence

Reworking intro paragraph
''Welcome to Wikipedia, a multilingual, free-content encyclopedia being written collaboratively by thousands of Internet users since January 2001. We're currently working on xxxxxx articles in the English version, and you can help, too. Visit the Community Main Page to find out how.''

Comments? I think something more like that would be much more welcoming, a deficiency of the current text, IMHO. -- Seth Ilys 21:56, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * January 2001 is kind of a sacred date - I'd like to keep it in there. Also one of the first questions many journalists ask.—Eloquence

 * Makes sense. -- Seth Ilys 22:04, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I agree that keeping the date in is a good idea. Angela. 22:05, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)~

 * I like it. -- James Anatidae @965, 23 Feb, 2004

Just want to say the new layout looks more modern and much nicer than the previous cluttering one. Particularly pictures are eye-catching. It's very good. -- Taku 22:15, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

Seductive layout...
It works like the glossy paper wrapper on a book. It's much more accessible to a first-time user. Wetman 22:23, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * Agreed. Kent Wang 22:28, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

I really like the new layout. Nice work! Tannin

Question
I wanted to change the gutenberg bible image to the one I [[media:Gutenberg Bible.jpg| uploaded and put into the article yesterday]] (it's a lot better than the current one), but the messages used on the main page don't show up on MediaWiki custom messages. Where do I go to change them? →Raul654 22:38, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

Nevermind - they aren't linked from the custom messages page, but I guessed the URL(s). →Raul654 22:48, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

Table Borders
I've noticed the large table cells containting "Featured Articles" and "In The News" look different in Mozilla Firefox (0.8 Windows) and IE6. They have black borders in Firefox and light gray borders in IE. You can make them look the same by adding "border:lightgray" to the style attributes of these two TD elements. New look is great, by the way. User:Farmerchris 22:41, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

This applies to the two large cells at the bottom of the page too ("Browse Wikipedia by topic" and "Wikipedia in other languages"). Farmerchris 22:45, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Maintenance needs
The new design looks great! In following its development as a test page, I didn't think it was ready yet, but I've definitely reconsidered. I like the commitment to Today in history. We also need to do more to keep our news section up-to-date, with heavier turnover than we had under the old design. All this means we need quite a few sysops working on it regularly. The design change has generated some enthusiasm, now we need sustained interest. --Michael Snow 23:03, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * At least for now, you don't need to be a sysop to edit the various components at the page (see links at the top of this page).—Eloquence 23:13, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

I would like a link to the Announcements page. Modster 23:05, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I would like it to always be editable by non sysops. (i'm not a sysop) Perl 23:14, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I second. I'm not interested in being a sysop, but I think that, with the sections as mediawiki messages, they're sufficiently protected from vandalism and straightforward in their layout that there's no need to restrict them. - Seth Ilys 23:35, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Hey, there's no link to edit the Obituaries section! --Michael Snow 00:33, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Yeah, I noticed this. It'd be good if this were the case. Ambivalenthysteria 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Very Good
I like the new main page a lot. It looks better, it's more categorized, and easier to access for first time users. The pictures of the featured articles, news, etc makes it much more professional. It does not have some of the categories the old one does eg: Welcome, newcomers however I don't mind. The only thing I think would be nice is have an old version main page at least temporarily until people get used to the new one. ZackDude 23:38, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I like it, but i'm still divided on it.

--Saint-Paddy 23:53, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * The welcome newcomers type of stuff is on the new community main page (Main Page). I believe an old version of the main page is at Main Page/Old. Gentgeen

Did You Know...
That it wasn't Eqbal Ahmad's brother Daniel at all, it was Philip Berrigan's brother. Please read the article more carefully before putting that on the main page! I'm a sysop and I'd change it but I don't know how, it uses a message for that now and I have no idea how to change those. Sarge Baldy 23:44, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

 * In general, just edit MediaWiki: messagename . In this case, the actual links are at the top of this talk page. Dori | Talk 23:48, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

 * Thanks. I noticed the section doesn't refresh until the main page is updated again, that seems kind of bothersome. Sarge Baldy 23:56, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)

Much better
I'm very happy overall with the new front page. Although total information content has dropped (with the movement of many things to the Community Main Page), it really grabs your attention with the photographs and immediately relevent facts.

If I had to note a disadvantage, it would be that this page encourages reading above writing of articles; this may not even be a disadvantage.

Derrick Coetzee 00:04, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * This main page is for readers (who outnumber writers IIRC 20-40 to one if not more). I think it was a great idea to separate the two functions. The old main page (which I helped design and itself was a great improvement over the really old main page) tried to do too many things at once. --mav 02:25, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

It's Great!
Simply put: nice job guys.

Spectacular!
I really enjoy the look, though I'd shave a bit off the top (ie, move the Welcome to Wiki to a sidebar) and reduce the size of the topic boxes just a bit if I could get four boxes showing instead of just two (on my 17" monitor). Keep working on it! Denni 00:41, 2004 Feb 24 (UTC)

Beautiful
The main page is lovely. The pictures are especially nice although maybe a little bit much. However, I have a question about the Did you know... section - what exactly is it's purpose, and what kinds of articles go there? How is it different from the Featured article? -Alex S 01:41, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * It's the new incarnation of "new pages", but the name is obviously confusing. Unless someone objects, I'm going to change it shortly. →Raul654 01:44, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

Alternative headings for Did you know

 * Propose an alternative heading, then I can tell you if I have objections.—Eloquence

Just to throw out a few ideas: →Raul654 02:07, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)
 * "Featured new article" Voting: Alex S
 * "New article du jour"
 * "New article spotlight" Voting:
 * "New article"
 * "Did you know..." Voting: Kingturtle, Perl, —Eloquence, Seth Ilys, Elf, Jengod
 * "Hot off the presses"
 * "Now Showing"
 * "Freshly Written"
 * "New and Improved" Voting Mr. Jones

Creates a much better first impression. Looks more professional and modern. Well done guys. Splitting the community from encyclopedia elements is retrospectively a rather sensible move. ChrisG 01:59, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Disasterous
Cluttered with excessive information, the layout stretches far too low. No one wants to scroll that much. In short, it's a complete disaster. I would reccomend immediate reversion to the former format until a better idea surfaces. And by 'better idea' I mean just about any idea in the entire world. 172.171.61.76 01:54, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Actually the old page was cluttered with excessive information. Much material has been removed for this version. I suspect you are browsing at a very low resolution, may I ask which?—Eloquence

 * I don't know why, but I think the previous main page looked better. Probably due to lack of good pics for front page or maybe its the lack of colours. Maybe I had got used to the colour scheme. I would suggest that while you keep the pics, revert to the old scheme where coloured borders and header names are in bold inside a darker background while the article links are in a lighter colour. The colours used earlier were soft and soothing. I really can't say if Eloquence is right about clutter. Maybe some stuff was removed but a lot of links have been pushed down. I would rather say the previous compact layout was better. The old look was closer to BBCi (neat) most stuff within one scroll on my mouse and BBCi (not BBC news) front page has a soft colour scheme. The new look is like CNN (yuck) lots of things have been pushed down. The pics are almost black and white. Which gives it a dull look. Maybe the pics do not fit in with a colour scheme. Another thing the pics are thumbnails. They are very small. Whatever there size, more colours will look better anyway. AY 03:12, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Unique nature of Wikipedia is submerged
While I would not call it a disaster, it is inferior because information about What Wikipedia is all about is submerged, and nearly invisible. For that reason alone, I think we should seriously go back for now, and get to the drawing board. At the very least, one of the columns (right hand side?) should be dedicated to Wikipedia information, languages, Village Pump, Announcements, etc. This is a revolutionary project and right now it looks like YANAIS (Yet another news and information site). Also, there is way too much white space in the layout, and not an effective use of real estate. Fuzheado 02:23, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I completely agree with Fuzheado here. I don't think many people go to WP/Main_page for news. It is not my home page anymore. Humus sapiens 04:18, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * See below re: real estate. Have you seen Main Page?—Eloquence

 * For the record, although I think that page is ugly, I think the introduction is good - better than what we have on the current main page. →Raul654 02:27, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

 * The current main page is for readers who greatly outnumber writers. --mav 02:28, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * But we also risk not being able to turn our readers into writers, which is what makes Wikipedia flourish. It's not apparent from the new main page that this is what we're about. Maybe the text about what we are is no smaller, but the pictures and layout draw the most attention, such that I'd be liable to skip the top message. Fuzheado 02:32, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I think it is fair to say that most people did not become Wikipedia editors by visiting the Main Page and reading about Wikipedia being editable, but by coming across an article via a search engine and noting its editability. That being said, however, it is important for us to draw attention to Wikipedia's editability.

 * If you think that the images draw attention away from this fact, I think it would be premature to conclude that we must eliminate the images. On the other hand, we may want to think about ways to draw more attention to this small introductory paragraph which contains so much important information. Maybe a change of the border color, maybe an image which represents Wikipedia's editability? As a start, I have added a link directly to editing the sandbox.—Eloquence

 * That's why I strongly suggest that we rework the introductory paragraph. I suggested a revision above that (to me at least) is much more welcoming to potential new contributors... -- Seth Ilys 03:51, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

vertical space preservation ideas
In order to allow more information density on the new page, I suggest putting the "More ..." links on the same line as the section captions. Right now there is plenty of vacant space to the right of the caption. Let the fonts stay as they are, just move the links like "More featured articles..." upwards. Bevo 02:08, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I think having a little whitespace is a good idea. We need to stop trying to push too much information into the Main Page. This makes it hard to read and causes fewer people to actually follow the links.—Eloquence

 * I agree with Eloquence. Low information density is something to strive for - just look at Google's main page. →Raul654 02:16, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

 * There is an important difference in Wikipedia's new main page and Google's main page:  Google's fits on one screen.  Wikipedia's doesn't.  To me that's a reason Google can be so free with whitespace, and it's also a reason that Wikipedia should try harder to put more information on that top-most screen. Bevo 02:30, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * If this is important to you, please create an alternative layout on Main Page/Temp (current content can be overwritten). We can then vote / discuss which version we should use.—Eloquence 02:35, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

 * Fair enough! (except that that page seems to have been overwritten already with a text-only variation; should I revert it to one that's similar to the new page?) Bevo 02:40, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Ah! Should that have been Main Page/Test instead? Bevo 02:46, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Fooled me once! With those  (etc.) tags, I find I can't simply try new ideas. 8-( Bevo 03:12, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Google's goals are completely different than Wikipedia's. It's not a good comparison. I'll take a look at Eloquence's. Fuzheado 02:38, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Pictures! Argh!
Guys - before posting pictures to the main page, PLEASE make sure the image page contains full, complete license information. If we're going to feature pictures, I want to make we've got them well documented. →Raul654 02:19, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

Usability problem
I know this is inherent in the Wiki system, but when I click on the images on the main page, my brain expects to go to the article, not the bigger version of the image. This is counter-intuitive. Is there any way to change this? RadicalBender 02:20, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I agree, and also, put a black border stroke on those pictures! This is News layout 101 here, something one learns in high school newspapering. Fuzheado 02:38, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I'm sure we could benefit from your experience in working on improving the design. Have you seen the MediaWiki namespace links at the top of this page? They allow you to edit the different components of the page. Please go ahead and make changes which you think would be beneficial.—Eloquence

 * Is it possible to change the border on the pictures using the advanced image syntax? I haven't seen anything about that. RadicalBender 04:11, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * The problem can be temporarily solved by doing a #REDIR ECT Julius Caesar from the Image: page of the Caesar pic on the main page. The Image: page info is available if you check back. —Sverdrup(talk) 16:43, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

New Main Page - comment
Very professional looking. Should attract users of the encyclopedia (not just editors) and all to explore. Disagree with others that think it is a disaster. It looks great! - Marshman 02:35, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Congratulations
Congratulations Eloquence (and others). Your hard work over the last week and a half have paid-off.The new main page moves us foward by a decade. mydogategodshat 02:41, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Major issue with new concept
Folks, this is not to impugn the good name of the folks who worked on the page. Kudos for being bold and moving us forward. However, the prominence (and selection) of the feature article sets us back. What used to be clear in the old design -- neutral, international, multilingual and participatory -- is severely damaged in this new version. We have an article about the "Irish Houses of Parliament." I have nothing against the Irish :), but this is so far afield from what a stranger would have seen before, where no particular emphasis or viewpoint was provided. I'm no Luddite, and I do support a graphical and rich new front page, but I really do worry about Wikipedia's inclusiveness if singular items get to overwhelm all the great things done within the community.  I'd like to get others' opinions about this, because it took me a while to figure out why I did not have an affinity for this new design, and I think this is it. Fuzheado 02:53, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Do I understand you correctly - you think that selecting individual featured articles with pictures is not neutral?—Eloquence

 * It definitely can be. If you do a quick content analysis of what's on the new page, it's very one dimensional, and dare I say non-NPOV.

 * The old page had serial lists of topics, emphasizing science, mathematics, arts, history, how to write for wikipedia, deaths, new articles, anniversaries. The new page, has Irish houses of parliament, Israel-Palestine, Albania, Peerage, Electoral College, Rudyard Kipling, European Greens, Pope Gregory, Roman Empire, Christianity, Estonia.  See the trend? It's all West, and not a good reflection of the diverse content inside Wikipedia.  Perhaps it's just this initial version, which has not been through the rigors of the wiki process.  But can you perhaps see the danger?  Fuzheado 03:03, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * And to add (and talking to myself) this page will NOT be going through the full rigor of the wiki process because it is protected, and subject to editing only by the administrators. I'm not sure if this was considered in the initial thinking for this page, but in the past, there was only a handful of lines that were debated as to daily content changes, and now it's the entire page. Fuzheado 03:10, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Yeah, well... Do you really think that if something that was deemed important on all news sources occurred in Asia, or Africa, or Australia, that we would not include it? Yahoo is probably biased toward the U.S., but look at . There are exactly two articles in the WORLD section that are not in the West: Haiti (which would probably be in the West) and Uganda. But, I suppose you do have a point, I do admit that we could be a bit more attentive to the 2 million-death civil wars that occur in Africa frequently, sadly...

 * And the reaosn it's protected is to prevent vandalism... if you saw Goatse on the front page, would you be likely to venture to this site anytime ever again? ugen64 03:16, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

 * Actually, it's much easier to put goatse on the Main Page now -- with links to editable messages and images. -- Toby Bartels 05:51, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I understand your concerns. However, I think the Main Page is truly a magnifying glass for the rest of Wikipedia. There is a bias toward western news on current events, there is a bias toward western culture on Featured articles. But this bias is not so readily visible because these pages are not as prominent.

 * I think we have sweeped this issue under the rug for too long. It is important to make our problems visible in order to be able to fix them. I see this as a good opportunity to do so. Clearly we need more volunteers from the Eastern world to work on the pages which function as a source for material on the Main Page.

 * That's of course an easy excuse for me not to make any changes on the Main Page ;-). I do think it is very important to keep an eye on NPOV and balance in descriptions and pictures, and I hope you will be there to remind us when we have failed to achieve that balance. But I also believe that article selection should be a fairly machine-like process, where simply the next artice on Featured articles is picked and added to Template:Feature tomorrow, without regard to the content. If we add a selection process here, we risk other types of bias.

 * Would an article about a CIA operation to install a certain dictator be featured on the Main Page? Would there be an edit war about it? The only way to avoid that, IMHO, is to proceed in robot like fashion in adding one article after the other from Featured articles. If that results in bias, then the only way to deal with that bias is to actually remove it from the source, the list of featured articles, which may very well be a good thing.—Eloquence 03:17, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

 * From what I see much of the page remains the same. The contents of the bottom half is right out of the old main page. The main difference is instead of having a list 3 or 4 new articles or featured articles there is just one of each with a link to a much more complete list. I do agree with you however that the admins that monitor this page will have to be concerned with presenting a NPOV. Because there are fewer articles mentioned, page contributors will have to look at how each addition changes the ideological balance. mydogategodshat

 * MDAGS, good point, and with the split of the page into separate parts, it will be more challenging to do that. Fuzheado 03:36, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Eloquence and Ugen64, your points are well taken, and am glad to see the individual sections of the front page are indeed editable in parts, using MediaWiki-namespace names. That's a great step forwared, and kudos.  And that will make it easier to balance out the (currently) overwhelmingly European outlook on the front page.  But it is indeed an important question to ask re: wikipedia.  The new main page is delving deeper into "news and journalism" than in the past, which was purely "reference".  It was indeed "machine-like" in terms of content, because articles were selected because of date, newness, categorization, etc.  But now much more real estate is dedicated to human-decided editorial. That's a big step, and bound to be more contentious. My goal in bringing this up is to merely highlight this shift, and make sure folks are vigilant.  I would personally like to see the category list moved up in prominence, so that it at least has a fighting chance against the editorial parts of the main page.  Fuzheado 03:36, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

MediaWiki msgs and page caching update issues
IIRC, the page cache, especially for anons, are dependent on when the page was last saved. Therefore changes to the MediaWiki msg pages on the Main Page will not be reflected on the Main Page for most readers until those readers either force a reload or the Main Page is edited and saved. This is less than ideal, IMO. --mav 03:12, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I'll experiment with this right now.—Eloquence

 * It works better than expected, at least in Konqueror -- I don't even have to hit shift+reload, when I reload the page the update is immediately visible. I suspect any caching issues you see are unrelated to the MediaWiki namespace, as it appears that updates to MediaWiki pages automatically expire the cache.—Eloquence 03:20, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

 * I had to hit Shift-Reload (on Main Page, using Netscape 7 for Solaris, after editing Template:Totd). *shrug* -- Toby Bartels 06:28, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Wasted whitespace makes page far too tall
Is there anything we can do about this? silsor 03:24, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

 * We could get rid of the header that says "Main page from Wikipedia, the free encyclo". It is redundant, wastes space, introduces white space in an ugly area, and saps initial impact from the page. mydogategodshat

 * Are you referring to the left/right balance? There should probably be an additional news item at least. Also, could you add the screenshot, with a proper filename and caption, to Main Page/Screenshots?—Eloquence

 * We could also drop the font size a wee bit; would compact it slightly and make line breaks better on narrower screens/windows. Elf 04:27, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

congrats
No matter earlier discussion regarding the Plain vanilla main page, I would like to thank all people who volunteered their time and effort to make the new main page possible. Indeed, it's more beautiful. But we may still need to have something simpler for users with old computers, PDAs, etc. So, an additional plain vanilla main page wouldn't hurt, if we can maintain it. Optim 03:25, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Having a link to a simpler Main Page at the top of this one makes sense. Maintaining the two should be easy - just update the MediaWiki msgs and both versions get updated. --mav 03:57, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Changes
Please see Main_Page/Test8 for my ideas on how to tighten the page up. Basically remove the "archive" sections from the vital main page space and integrated the "more" links tighter with the text. jengod 04:02, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)
 * I like it. One of my biggest complaints with the new design is there's too much white space. I feel your version takes care of that problem nicely. Sarge Baldy 04:07, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

 * Your test8 is better use of space. However, I'd also like to see how the "community" page could be highlighted more.  It is just too easy to miss it. Fuzheado 04:09, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Added Wikiwhat? - Wikommunity Main Page - Wikwestions and Answers jengod 04:19, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

 * I like it. -- Decumanus 04:21, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * No way, sorry. That's just plain ugly.—Eloquence

 * Oog. I am very much in agreement.  Please, let's not fall into the "portal trap" where we must find some way to fill in every single pixel of space.  Can we add Wikipedia is not ESPN.com? RadicalBender 04:36, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I find the placement of the "More" links confusing. Sometimes they're at the top, sometimes at the bottom, sometimes right aligned, sometimes left - please try to make that consistent.—Eloquence

 * I much preferred the "More blah..." being on separate lines and off to the right. They get lost when they run into the paragraph or are listed as bullets as if they're just another item in the list--which they aren't. White space set them off & made them much clearer. Elf 04:31, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Main_Page/Test8 Okay, while "More blah..." hate aside, I personally thing obits and holidays are a.) stupid b.) slow--this page HAS to be sexy. Functionality too, yes, but people need to get an impression of our brand from the main page (forgive the vapid marketing-speak), and they can understand it further by exploring some of our bajillion pages. Anyway, it tightens up someone what if you kill obits and holidays and switch the new section to beneath news. jengod 05:22, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)~

Jengod - I like the way your version looks over the look of the current Main Page. I would, however, use the holiday section in place of the 'Did you know...' section. But since some people really like the sections you removed, I think a better option would be to try to streamline the 6 sections, instead of reducing them to 4. --mav 07:06, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

I think a merger of the recent deaths and the In The News is in order. In fact, it's already part way there. →Raul654 07:08, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

This test8 is like my thinking. Some tweaking, but overall it's much better than the current rev. —Sverdrup(talk) 14:58, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

headers again
Does anyone mind if I change these to start the headers at the appropriate level? I did a quick preview and it didn't seem to muck everything up... Dysprosia 04:22, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * I was the one that smalled 'em up--I think it tightens the page up--the top-level headers are so blaring, IMHO. jengod 05:23, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)
 * It violates the Manual of style - which doesn't look good if the Main Page is nonconformant. Dysprosia 05:28, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * You could also, argue--as I am about to do :)--that the Main Page falls outside the bounds of the Manual's normal guidelines, seeing as how it is the functional equivalent of a title page or table of contents, and inherently different from a regular text page.
 * You could also argue, as I am about to do that the Wikipedia has no sense of dedicated "table of contents" nor "title page" ;) The Main Page is a Wikipedia article, just as any other... Dysprosia 06:13, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

I agree with jengod in theory -- the Main Page is different from the encyclopaedia articles. (As mav pointed out once, it doesn't have to follow our downcase naming conventions either.) However in practice??? Well, I don't really care about the size of the headers -- so jengod's change is fine by me -- but I must disagree about the size of the introductory text.

I think that Wikipedia is different from the other encyclopaedias on the Internet -- very different. It's a wiki, and we need to make that prominent. The introductory text does a reasonable job at that (I might write it differently, but it's no big deal). However, with the size reduction, we invite readers to skip over it and look at the pretty pictures. Now, I like the pretty pictures, don't get me wrong! But we also need them to notice why we are special -- we're a wiki. It doesn't do much good to strongly emphasise how "you" can edit any article if we put it at 85% size! This paragraph really should be at normal size, like the other material on the page -- it's at least as important!

-- Toby Bartels 06:39, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * Agree with Toby. jengod 06:47, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

 * All links, in the directory format, moved up from the bottom of the page to be visible. Ditch obituaries, news and especially featured articles. Restore new pages (!!). Tighten all the white space at the top that makes the page look like someone's homepage from 1996. Information rich. Inviting. My two cents. -- Decumanus 06:53, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * The worst thing about the old/new page, in my opinion, is that for all intents and purposes, for newcomers, the same of this web site is Main Page==Decumanus.

great look
I'm a fan oof wikipedia anyway - but now have good reason to have it as my start page, great work and the new look is informative and attractive. Thanks to all those who put it together, as well as to all who participate in wikipedia and this resource! corqspy

 * Thanks! --mav

Cycling content
It seems like the content is being changed every hour. I realize that this is due to the "newness" of the page, but hopefully it will slow down a tad (not too much though :) Dori | Talk 06:09, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)
 * I'm just amazed that my idea for a featured article spot on the main page has gone from planning phase (around Dec 20 or so) to front and center on the main page in just over 2 months :) →Raul654 06:11, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

 * Not to rain on your parade, but the idea has been around since July 2003 at least.—Eloquence 06:32, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

 * Damn! Oh well →Raul654 06:35, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

Ah, but was it Raul654's suggestion that actually worked? America may have been discovered by the Vikings, the Basques, the Egyptians, the Polynesians, the Chinese, and millions of Siberians' descendants -- but Columbus discovered it too, and his discovery changed the world! -- Toby Bartels 06:52, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * Yes, actually. I started the threat here on talk mainpage, and (when it seemed like everyone pretty much agreed), I suggested that someone who knew html better than I "be bold" and do it. I can't remember who, but someone went ahead and made the change. And that was that. →Raul654 06:54, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

Got it. No life→Raul654 06:57, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)
 * (cur) (last) . . 11:30, Jan 13, 2004 . . Bmills (adding Featured Articles)
 * The most effective approval process around here really does seem to be to have one person mention an idea on the talk page, and then another person implement it. Huge debates, complex voting and mailing lists, on the other hand, are a fairly enjoyable way to waste our time with not too much danger of changing anything (c.f. talk:VfD and its many cousins). Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 09:29, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Pretty good, except for the yellow box, side bars and blank whitespaces
Looks pretty good! A few points though:-)- the welcome box in yellow is too wordy, and important points are not highlighted. And if the latest announcements/comments (such as the now existing sentence asking for comments about the main page) are going to form a permanent feature, its all the more important. Basically the main body of the page is fine, but the yellow box looks more like a statutory warning than a pleasant welcome!:-) Also, can the side bars and the standard top menu be slightly changed? Maybe if the matter below the side bar extends to the full width of the screen with a horizontal break emphasised (through light line/ colour) it would be better. (The browse wikipedia by topic can extend fully thereby avoiding too much of white space) KRS 06:25, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Straw poll
Which version do you like best?

The usefulness of this poll is disputed.

New Version(s)

 * Toby's change evilly added after the poll was begun
 * ... producing this! (Toby Bartels)
 * Anthony DiPierro

 * With Jengod's 2nd changes
 * mav (I like the overall look better, but miss the holidays section; IMO it would still fit)
 * Holidays can be part of today in history--just a thought... Jengod
 * Not all holidays happen on the same day every year. --mav
 * This is the best in the poll ... (Toby Bartels)
 * Anthony DiPierro
 * User:Dramatic

 * Jengod's 1st changes
 * →Raul654 07:00, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)
 * jengod 07:12, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC) pretty sure my first edits were good--not so sure about second edits. ;)
 * Baldhur
 * Gentgeen
 * Marshman Not sure about differences with these versions, but like the box at top best in this one
 * ChrisG I like all the new versions better than the old, but this is probably the best. But where are the links to other languages/link to browse by topic on the top right which I thought were useful?

 * Before jengod's changes
 * ... although I'd rather start with this, then change the font size ... (Toby Bartels)
 * Otherwise we're going to have "death by 1,000 nitpicks." RadicalBender 13:48, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * Dori
 * Should keep obituaries (more important than holidays, in my opinion). Need to keep everything short, though, to use up less screen space. --Michael Snow 19:01, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * Angela

 * Any of the new versions are fine
 * SimonP 17:04, Mar 6, 2004 (UTC)

Old Version(s)

 * Previous main page
 * Jamesday 07:56, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * I like the new changes. But they still need plenty of work. Until I see something I adore, my vote belongs here. Kingturtle 08:22, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC) P.S. I like the new version better now. But until there is a Community Page button, I cannot endorse the new system. Navagation is less convenient for me now than it was before. Kingturtle 00:30, 28 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * Former page had community, categories and Wikipedia activity (new articles) front and center. It would be nice to brings aspects of that to the new design. Fuzheado 08:59, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * The old one, without any question. I don't mind color changes or minor layout modifications, but I liked the overall concept. Clean and to the point. rschroev 15:40, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * Moriori 22:30, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC) Fifty-fifty on design, but having to scroll down pages to find info previously featured on the left is a no no
 * Anthony DiPierro Using "font-size" is a terrible idea.
 * JDR ... pls consider frmt usefulness ... recent changes to items in "new and improved" version gives nothing meaningful to watch ... (classic version gave a nice list of related article changes)
 * Infrogmation 21:23, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC) Somewhat prefer the old version. IMO, keep it simple and quick loading.

Other

 * This new one is amazing!... (Piero Pirrone) 08:09, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * I agree w Piero. I like it the way it is now, and I can't tell where to vote for that. Sam Spade 10:16, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * Which are you voting for? You've listed yourself (almost) under the old version! (If you just mean to comment, then remove the "*#" markup and it'll be clearer.) -- Toby Bartels 08:17, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * Piero, not sure which one you're voting for, please move your vote to the correct place. Dori | Talk 13:57, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

Change to the worse + remedies
I think that the new desing is change to the worse. First: it doesn't looks well in 800*600 resolution. Second: former design was more compact without unnecessary distractions (like Featured article). I especially enjoyed Selected Articles - you can glance & click to what interests you and it was short and orderly. Even on 800*600 one could view Selected Articles and headers of Encyclopedia and Community. Third: on former everything seemed in place - now the real content is left at the bottom behind Featured Article and In the news sections.

If you want to keep new design anyway, I think that remedies should include:
 * restoring Selected Articles on top as it was supposed to be quintessence of Wikipedia. In the news, recently featured, Holidays, Obituaries and A day in history could go there in form of pure links (wiki is not news portal anyway, is it?)
 * moving Featured article (with somewhat shrinked photo) to the right column with Did you know below it - these are not terribly important things and so should be kept in supporting right column not main central one). Also Featured article text is too long - it should be about half that lenght.
 * The central, widest column should be occupied by Browse Wikipedia by topic as it is IMHO most important thing on the page - a set of entry points to Wikipedia system.
 * While it seems good to move Community thingies to separate page, somewhat more of it should be on main page. It could be one-liner of links in their own color box like:
 * Community: New to Wikipedia? - Guidelines - Policies - Village Pump - Contact us Forseti 08:50, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I agree with Forseti's comments, and worry that the community has been lost in the new design. The "Welcome newcomers" is two clicks away, as is "About Wikipedia".  Featured article and did you know, both non time sensitive "features" should be grouped together, and made smaller.  The topics should be back up top.  Wikipedia is a reference site first, and a news site second. Fuzheado 08:55, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Um, Welcome is the first link, as well as the first word]] on the page. In my opinion, Wikipedia is a website first, a refrence second, a news site somewhere way down the list.  With that in mind, we need to understand our market and make sure we grab the reader so they come back a second time.  The old page didn't do that, just about the opposite, really. Gentgeen 09:41, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * You can't reasonbly expect anyone to click on that first "Welcome" link. They're in reading mode and will likely never go back to visit it. Fuzheado 09:44, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I made Main Page/Temp9 so you could see what I mean. Sorry, I haven't much time so it's done only as illustration and needs to be filled up. I merged several Temps and Tests for this. But of course Featured Article needs to be shortened. Comments please. Forseti 11:15, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

New design
I like the new look of the main page. Congratulations and thank you, it is a huge improvement. -- Baldhur 11:13, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

How did you create the tags that were used for the test page Main Page/Test8? Bevo 09:35, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * See MediaWiki namespace —Sverdrup(talk) 14:29, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Great
This new frontpage is much more attractive! And it's a great idea to add a sample article... It's nice to read about other topics of ours without looking for it! Definitely, I love it! pycoucou

 * I loooove it! --Ryan and/or Mero 12:33, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

Can we have something about carnival day? (brazil) Perl 13:35, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

New page design is a great improvement
That's my opinion. -- The Anome 01:26, 27 Feb 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:Main Page/Archive 14


text:
Lemkos

Lemkos (Лeмкы; Łemkowie; Лемки; Lemkovia) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region (Лемковина; Лемківщина) of Carpathian Rus', an ethnographic region in the Carpathian Mountains and foothills spanning Ukraine, Slovakia and Poland.

Lemkos are often considered to be a either sub-group of Rusyns, Ukrainians or their own ethnicity. Members of these groups have historically also been given other designations such as Verkhovyntsi (Highlanders). Among people of the Carpathian highlands, communities speaking the same dialect will identify with a different ethnic label when crossing borders due to the influence of state-sponsored education and media. As well the same community may switch its preferred identification over time. In Slovakia between the 1991 and 2001 censuses, the number of people identifying as "Ukrainian" declined by 2,467 people (an 18.6% decrease) while those reporting Rusyn as their national identity increased by 7,004 people (a 40.6% increase). It is not clear however, if this refers to the same individuals switching their identification, more young first-time respondents choosing Rusyn, or migration.

The spoken language of the Lemkos, which has a code of rue under ISO 639-3, has been variously described as a language in its own right, a dialect of Rusyn or a dialect of Ukrainian. In Ukraine, almost all Lemkos speak both Lemko and standard Ukrainian (according to the 2001 Ukrainian Census). Ukraine itself categorizes Lemkos as an ethnic subgroup of Ukrainians and not as a separate ethnicity. In the Polish Census of 2011, 11,000 people declared Lemko nationality, of whom 6,000 declared only Lemko nationality, 4,000 declared double national identity – Lemko-Polish, and 1,000 declared Lemko identity together with a non-Polish identity.

Etymology
The ethnonym Lemko derives from the word (лем). The term is thought to have first originated as a nickname for users of the word lem in the borderlands between the Lemko and Boyko regions: the easternmost extent of usage of the word on the north side of the Carpathians. (On the south side of the Carpathians, the analogous nickname, lemak, was used in the lem-lyš isogloss area.) The ethnonym eventually entered use in academia and was first recorded in print with the 1834 publication of Grammatik der ruthenischen oder klein russischen Sprache in Galizien ( lit. 'Grammar of Ruthenian or Little Russian Language in Galicia') by Yosyp Levytsky. As an endonym, Lemko only entered wider use in the early 20th century. Prior to adopting the name, Lemkos would refer to themselves as Rusyns (Русины) or Rusnaks (Руснaкы, Руснаци). By the interwar period the popularity of Lemko as an endonym had grown, and appeared in periodicals such as Lemko and Naš Lemko.

Polish authorities also played a hand in popular adoption of the term  leading up to World War II. Concerned by the potential for Ukrainian nationalism in the region, authorities sought to encourage Rusyn identity as a counter. This led to promotion of the exaggerated historicity of Lemkos as a distinctive ethnographic group and of their corresponding ethnonym.

In the aftermath of WWII, Lemko finally supplanted Rusyn and Rusnak as the term of choice for the Rusyns on the north face of the Carpathians in Poland.

History

Several hypotheses account for the origin of the Lemkos, however, like all Rusyns, they most probably have a diverse ethnogenetic origin. The Lemkos (and other Carpatho-Rusyns) are considered to be descendants of the medieval White Croats,    affected by the migration of Rusyn-influenced Slovaks, and the Vlach/Romanian migrations in the 14th and 15th centuries.

The Lemko Region became part of Poland in the time of the medieval Piast dynasty but was frequently disputed with the neighbouring Rus', as can be seen by taking the town of Sanok as an example: In 981CE Vladimir I of Kiev invaded the area and took it over from Poland. In 1018 it returned to Poland, in 1031 it went back to Rus', and in 1340 Casimir III of Poland recovered it for Poland. The gord of Sanok is mentioned for the first time in Hypatian Codex in 1150.

Lemkos (or their progenitors) became an ethnic minority as part of the Austrian province of Galicia in 1772. Mass emigration from this territory to the Western hemisphere for economic reasons began in the late 19th century.

Prior to World War I, Lemkos begun to develop conflicting national identities. While some adopted the Ukrainian nationality, others favored the concept of the All-Russian nation (the so-called "Old Ruthenian" identity). As the Greek Catholic Church was keen on promoting the Ukrainian identity, some of the pro-Russian Lemkos begun converting to the Orthodoxy. One of the most notable Orthodoxy converts was Saint Maxim Sandovich, a Lemko peasant who, after a brief experience as a Greek Catholic monk, converted to Orthodoxy, became a priest and begun spreading Orthodoxy in the region.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was highly suspicious of the pro-Russian Lemkos, as well of Sandovich himself. This led to a series of imprisonments before the breakout of World War I, including one of Sandovich himself. After the war broke out, Sandovich was imprisoned again, and executed without trial. In 1914, the Austro-Hungarian authorities created the Thalerhof internment camp, where they imprisoned Lemkos suspected of spying for the Russian Empire. During the war, 1767 people died in the Thalerhof camp.

In the immediate aftermath World War I, Lemkos founded two short-lived republics, the Lemko-Rusyn Republic in the west of Galicia, which had a russophile orientation, as well as attempted to merge with Czechoslovakia and the Komancza Republic, with a Ukrainophilic orientation.

During the time of the Second Polish Republic, the identity conflict between the Lemkos intensified. In 1926, following a conflict with their local Greek Catholic priest, the Lemko people of the village Tylawa underwent a massive conversion to Orthodoxy. This event, known as the Tylawa schism begun a wave of mass conversions in the region, during which many villages completely converted to Orthodoxy, while some remained either loyal to Eastern Catholicism or divided between the two religions. As the Catholic Church was unwilling to hand over their temples to the Orthodox Church, in many convertite villages new churches had to be built.

It is estimated that about 130,000 to 140,000 Lemkos were living in the Polish part of the Lemko Region in 1939. Depopulation of these lands occurred during the forced resettlement, initially to the Soviet Union (about 90,000 people) and later to Poland's newly acquired western lands (about 35,000) in the Operation Vistula campaign of the late 1940s. This action was a state ordered removal of the civilian population, in a counter-insurgency operation to remove potential support for guerrilla war being waged by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) in south-eastern Poland.

Some 5,000 Lemko families returned to their home regions in Poland between 1957 and 1958, (they were officially granted the right to return in 1956), the Lemko population in the Polish section of Lemkivschyna only numbers around 10,000–15,000 today. Some 50,000 Lemkos live in the western and northern parts of Poland, where they were sent to populate former German villages in areas ceded to Poland. Among those, 5,863 people identified themselves as Lemko in the 2002 census. However, 60,000 ethnic Lemkos may reside in Poland today. Within the Lemko Region, Lemkos live in the villages of Łosie, Krynica-Zdrój, Nowica, Zdynia, Gładyszów, Hańczowa, Zyndranowa, Uście Gorlickie, Bartne, Binczarowa and Bielanka. Additional populations can be found in Mokre, Szczawne, Kulaszne, Rzepedź, Turzańsk, Komańcza, Sanok, Nowy Sącz, and Gorlice.

In 1968 an open-air museum dedicated to Lemko culture was opened in Zyndranowa. Additionally, a Lemko festival is held annually in Zdynia.

Religion

An important aspect of Lemko culture is their deep commitment to Byzantine Christianity which was introduced to the Eastern Slavs from Byzantium via Moravia through the efforts of Saints Cyril and Methodius in the 9th century. Originally the Lemkos adhered to Orthodoxy, but in order to avoid latinization, directly entered into Union of Brest with the Roman Catholic Church in the 17th century.

Most Lemkos today are Eastern rite or Byzantine-rite Catholics. In Poland they belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church with a Roman Catholic minority, or to the Ruthenian Catholic Church (see also Slovak Greek Catholic Church) in Slovakia. A substantial number belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Through the efforts of the martyred priest Father Maxim Sandovich (canonized by the Polish Orthodox Church in the 1990s), in the early 20th century, Eastern Orthodoxy was reintroduced to many Lemko areas which had accepted the Union of Brest centuries before.

The distinctive wooden architectural style of the Lemko churches is to place the highest cupola of the church building at the entrance to the church, with the roof sloping downward toward the sanctuary as opposed to their neighbouring sub-ethnic groups such as the Boykos who place the highest cupola in the middle. Both groups styles have three cupola with numerous eaves.

Language/dialect

The Slavic dialects of Central Europe form (or formed, prior to standardization) a dialect continuum with few distinct boundaries between neighbouring varieties. However the question of language boundaries has become a controversial political issue since the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and later the Soviet Union into "nation states", each having only one official language. The Lemko dialects share many features with other Carpathian ones, which are often grouped together as the Rusyn language by outside linguists.

The Lemko dialect has been influenced greatly by the languages spoken by geographically neighboring peoples and ruling elites, so much so that some consider it a separate entity. Lemko speech includes some patterns matching those of the surrounding Polish and Slovak languages.

Metodyj Trochanovskij developed a Lemko Primer (Bukvar: Perša knyžečka dlja narodnŷch škol, 1935) and a First Reader (Druha knyžečka dlja narodnŷch škol, 1936) for use in schools in the Lemko-speaking area of Poland. In 1934, Lemko was introduced as the language of instruction in schools in the Lemko region. The pupils were taught from textbooks prepared by Trochanovskij and published by the State Publishing House. However, shortly before the outbreak of World War II Polish authorities replaced them with Ukrainian texts. Important fieldwork on the Lemko dialect was carried out by the Polish linguist Zdzisław Stieber before their dispersal.

According to the Central Statistical Office of Poland, in the school year 2010–2011, Lemko was taught as a first language in twenty primary schools and interschool groups, and ten schools and interschool groups at junior high level, with 188 students attending classes.

In the late 20th century, some Lemkos/Rusyns, mainly emigres from the region of the southern slopes of the Carpathians in modern-day Slovakia, began codifying a standard grammar for the Lemko dialect, which was presented on the 27 January 1995 in Prešov, Slovakia. In 2013 the famous novel The Little Prince was translated into Lemko by Petro Krynyckij.

Lemkos in fiction
Nikolai Gogol's short story The Terrible Vengeance ends at Kriváň, now in Slovakia and pictured on the Slovakian euro, in the heart of the Lemko Region in the Prešov Region. Avram Davidson makes several references to the Lemko people in his stories. Anna Bibko, mother-in-law of the protagonist of All Shall Be Well; and All Shall Be Well; and All Manner of Things Shall Be Well, is a Lemko "guided by her senses of traditionalism and grievance, not necessarily in that order".

In the critically acclaimed movie The Deer Hunter the wedding reception scene was filmed in Lemko Hall in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, which had a significant immigrant population of Lemkos at one time. The three main characters’ surnames, however, appear to be Russian, possibly Polish and Ukrainian (Michael "Mike" Vronsky, from Polish Wroński, Steven Pushkov, and Nikonar "Nick" Chevotarevich) and the wedding was filmed inside St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral, which is also located in Tremont.

Location
The Lemkos' homeland is commonly referred to as the Lemko Region (Лeмкiвщина; Лeмкoвина; Łemkowszczyzna). Up until 1945, this included the area from the Poprad River in the west to the valley of Oslawa River in the east, areas situated primarily in present-day Poland, in the Lesser Poland and Subcarpathian Voivodeships (provinces). This part of the Carpathian mountains is mostly deforested, which allowed for an agrarian economy, alongside such traditional occupations as ox grazing and sheep herding.

The Lemko region became part of Poland in medieval Piast times. Lemkos were made part of the Austrian province of Galicia in 1772. This area was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until its dissolution in 1918, at which point the Lemko-Rusyn Republic (Ruska Lemkivska) declared its independence. Independence did not last long however, and the republic was incorporated into Poland in 1920.

As a result of the forcible deportation of Ukrainians from Poland to the Soviet Union after World War II, the majority of Lemkos in Poland were either resettled from their historic homeland to the prеviously German territories in the North-Western region of Poland or to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Only those Lemkos living the Prešov Region in present-day Slovakia continue to live on their ancestral lands, with the exception of some Lemkos who resettled in their homeland in the late 1950s and afterward. Lemkos are/were neighbours with Slovaks, Carpathian Germans and Lachy sądeckie (Poles) to the west, Pogorzans (Poles) and Dolinians (a Rusyn subgroup) to the north, Ukrainians to the east, and Slovaks to the south.

Notable Lemkos

 * Anytchka, singer
 * Bohdan Ihor Antonych, poet
 * Mary Beck, Detroit politician
 * Thomas Bell, American novelist
 * Dmitry Bortniansky, Russian-Ukrainian composer
 * Emil Czyrniański, chemist
 * Steve Ditko, comic book artist, co-creator of Spider-Man
 * Oleksandr Dukhnovych, writer
 * Bill Evans, American jazz pianist and composer
 * Teodor Gocz, Lemko activist, creator of the Lemko Culture Museum in Zyndranowa
 * , musician
 * Misia Furtak, musician
 * Andrew Kay, inventor of the digital voltmeter (1953), and inductee of the Computer Hall of Fame for founding Kaypro Computer
 * Nina Petrovna Khrushcheva, wife of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev
 * Ivan Krasovs'kyi, Lemko ethnographer/historian
 * Volodymyr Kubiyovych, Ukrainian geographer
 * Seman Madzelan, Lemko writer and activist
 * Adrian Mikhalchishin, Ukrainian chessmaster
 * Yuriy Mikhalchishin, Ukrainian politician, member of Ukrainian party Svoboda, son of Adrian Mikhalchishin
 * Nikifor, painter
 * Radoslav Rochallyi, writer
 * Maxim Sandovich, Orthodox saint
 * Andrij Savka aka Andrew Sawka, bandit, folk hero, Lemko "Robin Hood", led peasant revolution in 1651
 * Khrystyna Soloviy, Ukrainian folk singer
 * George Stroumboulopoulos, Canadian television personality with Ukrainian-born mother
 * Petro Murianka (Piotr Trochanowski), Lemko poet, involved with contemporary Lemko issues
 * Metodyj Trochanovskij, Lemko grammarian
 * Andy Warhol (birth name Warhola), American artist, major figure in the pop art movement
 * James Warhola, American artist
 * John Warhola, American artist
 * Julia Warhola, American artist

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

title: Lemkos


text:
Odile of Alsace

Odile of Alsace, also known as Odilia and Ottilia, born c. 662 - c. 720 at Mont Sainte-Odile), is a saint venerated in the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. She is a patroness saint of good eyesight and of the region of Alsace.

Saint Odile is commemorated on December 13 and would be celebrated on December 14 in Alsace. Most calendars mark the feast day as December 14.

Biography
Odile was the daughter of Etichon (also known as Athich, Adalrich or Aldaric), Duke of Alsace and founder of the Etichonid noble family. According to the 9th century "Life of Odilia", she was born blind. Her father did not want her because she was a girl and handicapped, so her mother Bethswinda had her brought to Palma (perhaps present day Baume-les-Dames in Burgundy), where she was raised by peasants there.

A tenth-century legend relates that when she was twelve, Odile was taken into a nearby monastery. Whilst there, the itinerant bishop Erhard of Regensburg was led, by an angel it was said, to Palma where he baptised her Odile (Sol Dei), whereupon she miraculously recovered her sight. Her younger brother Hughes had her brought home again, which enraged Etichon so much that he accidentally killed his son. Odile miraculously revived him, and left home again.

She fled across the Rhine to a cave or cavern in one of two places (depending on the source: the Musbach valley near Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, or Arlesheim near Basel, Switzerland.) Supposedly, the cliff face opened up in order to rescue her from her plight. In the cave, she hid from her father. When he tried to follow her, he was injured by falling rocks and gave up.

When Etichon fell ill, Odile returned to nurse him. He finally gave up resisting his headstrong daughter and founded the Augustine monastic community of Mont Sainte-Odile Abbey (also known as Hohenburg Abbey) for her. in the Hochwald (Hohwald), Bas-Rhin, where Odile became abbess and where Etichon was later buried. Some years later Odile was shown the site of Niedermünster at the foot of the mountain by St. John the Baptist in a vision. There she founded a second monastery, including a hospital. Here, the head and an arm of St. Lazarus of Marseille were displayed but later transferred to Andlau. The buildings of the Niedermünster burned down in 1542, but the local well is still said to cure eye diseases.

St. Odile died about 720 at the convent of Niedermünster. At the insistent prayers of her sisters she was returned to life, but after describing the beauties of the afterlife to them, she took communion by herself and died again. She was buried at Ste. Odile. She was succeeded as abbess of Mont Sainte-Odile Abbey by her niece, Saint Eugénie d'Alsace.

Veneration
The cult of St. Odile spread rapidly, and spread outside France to Germany. She was mentioned in the litanies of Freising, Utrecht and Ratisbon at least from the 9th century. Amongst the common people, pilgrimages to her shrine were popular, and were by no means limited to the masses; from Charlemagne onwards, emperors also conducted pilgrimages in her honour. Indeed, Charlemagne granted immunity to the convent at Hohenberg, which was later officially ratified by Louis the Pious on 9 March 837.

By the 14th century, Odile's cult had grown so strong that her relics were split and removed to Corbie, Prague and Einsiedeln. She enjoyed especial popularity in Strasbourg. The strength of her cult is supposed to have been a result of her patronage of the blind and partially sighted, which was especially pertinent in a time before the invention of spectacles.

St. Odile was long considered the patron of Alsace and eye patients, at least since before the 16th century; however, this was made official in 1807 by pope Pius VII. Her feast day is 13 December.

Cultural representations
As the patroness of ocular afflictions and ear diseases, St. Odile is often depicted with a pair of eyes on a book - particularly fine examples of such images can be found from the 14th-16th centuries. A notable sculpture of her exists at the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, which portrays the event of her baptism. The larkspur is connected to St. Odile as well and is believed to cure eye diseases in popular medicine and superstition.

A Life of St. Odilia was written about the 10th century, mostly dedicated to the retelling of her legend, the antagonism of her father, and the death of her brother Hughes. From internal evidence, it seems that it was based upon an earlier, 8th century Life; however, as an account of her life, it cannot be considered to have much historical validity.

Legacy
Mont Sainte-Odile and Sint Odiliënberg, is named for her.

St. Odile pilgrim's chapel, near Freiburg
In the valley of the Musbach, a small river that runs near Freiburg im Breisgau, pilgrims have venerated St. Odile for centuries. In ca. 1300 a chapel was built; the present church was started in 1503 and finished in the 18th century. The church is built adjacent to a spring whose water contains radon, which is supposedly beneficial to eyesight. In the 18th century the spring became part of the church building: in 1714 the source was included by enlarging the building, in 1780 the cave with the source in it was renovated and decorated in the fanciful style of the time.

Places where she had been

 * Barr, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France
 * Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany: St. Odile's Church
 * Arlesheim, Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland

Other places dedicated to her

 * Absberg, Bavaria, Germany (St. Odile's Church )
 * Bettringen, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (St. Odile's Church )
 * Buttisholz, Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland (St. Odile's chapel )
 * Eppingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (St. Odile's Mountain )
 * Fehren, Canton of Solothurn, Switzerland (St. Odile's Church )
 * Gohr, Dormagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (St. Odile's Church )
 * Graz, Styria, Austria (St. Odile's Institute for the Blind )
 * Hofen, Bönnigheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (St. Odile's Church )
 * Kersbach, Forchheim, Bavaria, Germany (St. Odile's Church )
 * Lörrach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (St. Odile's Church )
 * Losheim am See, Saarland, Germany
 * Möschenfeld (Grasbrunn), Bavaria, Germany: St. Odile's Church )
 * Offenhausen, Bavaria, Germany (St. Odile's Chapel )
 * Paris, France, Sainte-Odile, Paris
 * Plochingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (St. Odile's Chapel )
 * Randegg (Gottmadingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (St. Odile's Church )
 * Sankt Ottilien, Eresing, Bavaria, Germany (Abbey St. Odile )
 * Schorndorf, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (St. Odile's Mountain )
 * Stuttgart-Münster, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (St. Odile's Church )
 * Walzenhausen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Switzerland
 * Wengen, Burgheim, Bavaria, Germany (St. Odile's Church )

title: Odile of Alsace


text:
Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Green Oaks, Illinois, United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known drugs; today, it sells medical devices, diagnostics, branded generic medicines and nutritional products. It split off its research-based pharmaceuticals business into AbbVie in 2013.

Abbott's products include Pedialyte, Similac, BinaxNOW, Ensure, Glucerna, ZonePerfect, FreeStyle Libre, i-STAT and MitraClip.

Foundation and early history
In 1888 at the age of 30, Wallace Abbott (1857–1921), an 1885 graduate of the University of Michigan, founded the Abbott Alkaloidal Company in Ravenswood, Chicago. At the time, he was a practising physician and owned a drug store. His innovation was formulating the active part of alkaloid medicinal plants—morphine, quinine, strychnine and codeine—as tiny "dosimetric granules", producing more consistent and effective dosages for patients than the liquid preparations previously used, which deteriorated over time. In 1922, the company moved from Ravenswood to North Chicago, Illinois.

International expansion
Abbott's first international affiliate was in London in 1907; the company later added an affiliate in Montreal, Canada. Abbott India Ltd was originally incorporated on August 22, 1944, as Boots Pure Drug Company (India) Ltd. The company name was changed to The Boots Company (India) Ltd on November 1, 1971, and to Boots Pharmaceuticals Ltd on January 1, 1991. On October 31, 1995, the name was changed to Knoll Pharmaceuticals Ltd and on July 1, 2002, to their present name Abbott India Ltd. Abbott started operations in Pakistan as a marketing affiliate in 1948; the company has steadily expanded to comprise a work force of over 1500 employees. Currently, two manufacturing facilities located at Landhi and Korangi in Karachi continue to produce pharmaceutical products. In 1962 Abbott entered into a joint venture with Dainippon Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, to manufacture radio-pharmaceuticals. In 1964, it merged with Ross Laboratories, making Ross a wholly owned subsidiary of Abbott, and Richard Ross gained a seat on Abbott's board of directors until his retirement in 1983. The acquisition of Ross brought Similac under the Abbott umbrella. In the years following the acquisition, Pedialyte and Ensure were introduced as nutritional products by Ross Laboratories while under Abbott's leadership.

In 1965, Abbott's expansion in Europe continued with offices in Italy and France.

According to Harvard professor Lester Grinspoon and Peter Hedblom, "In 1966 Abbott Laboratories sold the equivalent of two million doses of methamphetamine in powder form to a Long Island criminal dealer".

21st century
In 2001, the company acquired Knoll, the pharmaceutical division of BASF, for $6.9 billion. In 2002, it divested the Selsun Blue brand to Chattem. Later in 2002, it sold Clear Eyes and Murine brands to Prestige Brands. In 2004, it acquired TheraSense, a diabetes-care company, which it merged with its MediSense division to become Abbott Diabetes Care. In 2006, Abbott assisted Boston Scientific in its purchase of Guidant Corporation purchasing the vascular device division of Guidant.

In 2007, Abbott acquired Kos Pharmaceuticals for $3.7 billion in cash. At the time of acquisition Kos marketed Niaspan (extended release niacin), and Advicor (niacin/lovastatin).

In 2007 the company was to sell two diagnostics divisions to General Electric, but the parties did not agree on the terms of the acquisition.

On 8 September 2007, the company sold the UK manufacturing plant at Queenborough to UK manufacturer Aesica Pharmaceuticals.

Abbott's Ross Products was renamed Abbott Nutrition in 2007.

In 2009 Abbott acquired Advanced Medical Optics of Santa Ana, California, selling it to Johnson & Johnson in 2017. In 2009, Abbott opened a satellite research and development facility at Research Park, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In February 2010, Abbott acquired the pharmaceuticals unit of Solvay S.A. for US$6.2 billion (€4.5 billion), gaining many additional pharmaceutical products and an increased presence in emerging markets.

In 2010 the company acquired Hollywood, Florida-based laboratory information management system company STARLIMS for $123 million, $14 per share. That year Abbott said it would buy Piramal Healthcare of India's large generic drugs unit for $3.72 billion.

Spin-offs
In 2004, Abbott spun off its hospital products division into a new 14,000 employee company, Hospira, which was acquired by Pfizer in 2015.

In October 2011, Abbott planned to separate into two companies, one for research-based pharmaceuticals (AbbVie) and the other for medical devices, generic drugs sold internationally, and diagnostics, with the latter retaining the Abbott name. Abbott Nutrition, whose products include Similac, Pedialyte, Glucerna, and Ensure, also retained the Abbott name. In preparation for the reorganization, Abbott made severe budget cuts and took a $478 million charge in Q3-2012. The separation was effective as of 1 January 2013, and AbbVie was listed in the New York Stock Exchange.

Further developments
On 16 May 2014, it was announced that Abbott would acquire the holding company Kalo Pharma Internacional S.L. for $2.9 billion in order to secure the 73% it held of Chilean pharmaceutical company, CFR Pharmaceuticals, which the company said would more than double its branded generic drug portfolio.

In December 2014, the company acquired Russian pharmaceutical manufacturer Veropharm (Voronezh) in a deal worth $410 million, which included three manufacturing facilities. Abbott, which already employed 1,400 people in Russia, said it planned to set up a manufacturing presence in the country when the deal closed.

In September 2015, the company announced it had completed its acquisition of Tendyne Holdings, Inc., a private medical device company focused on developing minimally invasive mitral valve replacement therapies. Tendyne was acquired for a total transaction value of $250 million. In January 2020, the Tendyne Mitral Valve became the world's first commercially available solution for Mitral Valve Replacement Technology. Abbott obtained CE Mark for the device which now makes it possible to implant it in Europe outside of a clinical setting. The US clinical study for federal approval is still ongoing.

In February 2016, the company announced it would acquire Alere for $5.8 billion. In January 2017, Abbott announced it would acquire St. Jude Medical for $25 billion (each share receiving $46.75 in cash & 0.8708 shares of Abbott common stock, equating to an approximate value of $85). On 3 October 2017, the company closed the Alere acquisition making the surviving entity the market leader player in the $7 billion point-of-care diagnostic space within the broader $50 billion in-vitro diagnostics market with this takeover. With the acquisition of Alere, the company also obtained the subsidiary Arriva Medical, which is the largest mail-order diabetic supplier. Arriva Medical announced business closure after Abbott acquisition effective 31 December 2017.

In 2017, the FDA approved Abbott's FreeStyle Libre glucose monitoring system, which reads glucose levels through a self-applied sensor without finger pricks.

In August 2018, Reuters reported that Abbott Laboratories was among the top five companies for branded generic drugs in Russia.

In November 2018, Abbott received United States FDA clearance for FreeStyle LibreLink, a glucose reader smartphone app.

In January 2019 purchased Cephea Valve Technologies, Inc. which is developing a less-invasive replacement heart valve for people with mitral valve disease.

In March 2020, Abbott received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the US FDA for a SARS-CoV-2 test during the COVID-19 pandemic. The tester is small (comparable to a small toaster), and produces results within 13 minutes. Detroit received these tests on April 1, 2020. Also in March, the firm received EUA for a molecular COVID-19 test that runs on its m2000 RealTime lab-based platform. In April 2020, itt received EUA from the FDA for its third COVID-19 test, an antibody test that helps detect the IgG antibody to SARS-CoV-2 using the company's ARCHITECT laboratory instruments. In May 2020, it received EUA from the FDA for another lab-based COVID-19 antibody test that helps detect the IgG antibody to SARS-CoV-2 using the company's Alinity i system. Also in May, it received EUA from the FDA for a molecular COVID-19 test for use on the company's Alinity molecular laboratory instrument.

In August 2020, Abbott received EUA from the FDA for its credit-card-sized $5, 15-minute, portable COVID-19 antigen test, BinaxNOW, compatible with the  NAVICA mobile app.

In October 2020, Abbott received EUA from the FDA for its lab-based COVID-19 IgM antibody blood test. In December 2020, its rapid (20') antigen BinaxNOW COVID-19 test received EUA from the FDA for home use. Forbes reported in January 2021 that the firm had delivered more than 400 million COVID-19 tests, 300 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.

In September 2021, Abbott acquired Walk Vascular, LLC.

In January 2022, Abbott introduced Lingo, a line of consumer biowearable sensors that collects a range of biological readings to optimize exercise and nutrition regimens.

In May 2022, Abbott received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for FreeStyle Libre 3, the latest version of its continuous glucose monitor.

In August 2022, Abbott received FDA approval for Proclaim Plus, a multi-use spinal cord stimulation system designed to target chronic pain. The Proclaim Plus system is capable of treating six independent pain sites and has a recharge-free battery life of up to 10 years.

In October 2022, Abbott received EUA from the FDA for its real-time PCR test Alinity m MPXV; this marks the first FDA emergency authorization for commercial monkeypox testing.

On July 5 2023, Abbott received approval from the FDA for its leadless pacemaker system Aveir DR. In August, the company announced it would acquire Bigfoot Biomedical.

Today, Abbott operates in over 160 countries.

Acquisition history

 * Abbott Laboratories (Est. 1885, Abbott Alkaloidal Company)
 * Ross Laboratories (Acq 1964)
 * SmithKline Beecham (Acq 1982, later sold)
 * Knoll (Acq 2001)
 * Selsun Blue (Sold to Chattem 2002)
 * Murine (Sold to Prestige Brands 2002)
 * Clear Eyes (Sold to Prestige Brands 2002)
 * i-STAT (Acq 2004)
 * TheraSense (Acq 2004)
 * Guidant (vascular device division) (Acq 2006)
 * IntraLase Corp (Acq 2007)
 * Advanced Medical Optics (Acq 2009)
 * Solvay Pharmaceuticals (Acq 2010)
 * STARLIMS (Acq 2010)
 * Lab Data Management Ltd (Acq 2008)
 * IDEV Technologies (Acq 2013)
 * OptiMedica Corporation (Acq 2013)
 * Veropharm (Acq 2014)
 * Topera, Inc (Acq 2014)
 * Kalo Pharma Internacional S.L. (Acq 2014)
 * CFR Pharmaceuticals
 * Tendyne Holdings Inc. (Acq 2015)
 * Alere (Acq 2016)
 * Epocal, Inc. (Acq 2013)
 * Arriva Medical (Acq 2012)
 * St. Jude Medical (Est 1976, Acq 2016)
 * Pacesetter, Inc. (Acq 1994)
 * Daig Corporation (Acq 1996)
 * Heart Valve Company (Acq 1996)
 * Biocor Industria (Acq 1996)
 * Ventritex (Acq 1997)
 * Tyco International (Angio-Seal division) (Acq 1999)
 * Endocardial Solutions (Acq 2005)
 * Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (Acq 2005)
 * MediGuide (Acq 2008)
 * AGA Medical (Acq 2010)
 * LightLab Imaging (Acq 2010)
 * Nanostim Inc (Acq 2013)
 * Endosense (Acq 2013)
 * CardioMEMS Inc. (Acq 2014)
 * Spinal Modulation (Acq 2015)
 * Thoratec Corporation (Acq 2015)
 * Apica Cardiovascular Limited (Acq 2014)
 * Levitronix (Medical division) (Acq 2011)
 * Getinge Group (Heat pump technology division) (Acq 2014)
 * Thermo Cardiosystems (Acq 2010)
 * Cephea Valve Technologies, Inc. (Acq 2019)
 * Walk Vascular, LLC (Acq 2021)
 * Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (Acq 2023)
 * Bigfoot Biomedical (Acq 2023)

Accounts
For the fiscal year 2021, Abbott Laboratories reported earnings of US$7.071 billion, with an annual revenue of US$43.075 billion, which grew 24.5% on an organic basis versus the year prior. Abbott's year-end 2021 stock price was $140.74.

Taxation
On 19 March 2019, it was reported that Abbott was a long-term user of the Double Irish tax structure, a legal but controversial Irish taxation tool used by US multinationals to reduce US corporate taxes on non-U.S profits. Abbott's Irish holding company, the Bermuda-resident Abbott Laboratories Vascular Enterprises (ALVE), employed no staff in 2017, but was responsible for distributing Abbot's products and licensing its technology worldwide. Newly filed accounts showed that ALVE was incorporated in 2003 and had a pre-tax profit of €2 billion in 2016 and 2017 on revenues of €5.2 billion; no taxation was paid on these profits. ALVE had never filed accounts in Ireland since 2003 as it was structured as an unlimited liability company (ULC); however, new EU accounts directives required ALVE to file Irish accounts in 2018. These accounts listed ALVE's registered office as the address of Ireland's largest tax-law firm, Matheson, who have been identified with Double Irish tax structures for Microsoft and Google.

In September 2021, the Irish Times reported that Abbott was using the Single Malt tax tool to shield profits on its COVID-19 testing kits.

Organization
Abbott's core businesses focus on diagnostics, medical devices, branded generic medicines and nutritional products, which have been supplemented through acquisitions.

, the firm's divisions are:
 * Nutrition: Pediatric nutrition (e.g., Similac, Isomil, and Gain), Adult Nutrition (e.g., Ensure and ZonePerfect) and special dietary needs (e.g., Glucerna and Juven)
 * Diagnostics: core lab, molecular, point of care, rapid diagnostics and Informatics
 * Medical devices: rhythm management, electrophysiology, heart failure, structural heart, neuromodulation, diabetes care
 * Established Pharmaceuticals: branded generic drugs sold exclusively in developing markets

Management
Miles D. White joined the company in 1984, holding positions including senior vice president of diagnostic operations, executive vice president, executive chairman, and CEO. In 1996, Robert B. Ford joined Abbott, holding various positions including executive vice president of the company's medical device business.

In November 2019, White announced that he was stepping down as CEO after 21 years. In March 2020, Robert B. Ford took over as president and CEO, and later chairman.

Recognition
Abbott was ranked 86th on the Fortune 500 list of largest US-based corporations in 2022. Fortune also named Abbott as one of its Top 50 World's Most Admired Companies in 2021, among its Blue Ribbon companies in 2021, and to its Change the World list in 2020. In 2022, Abbott was ranked #10 in Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in Sports for Libre Sense and received an Honorable Mention for the World Changing Ideas Awards. The Galien Foundation named Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre as Best Medical Technology within the last 50 years (1970-2020).

The company has been listed on the Seramount/Working Mother's "100 Best Companies" list for 21 years in a row, named a top company for executive women by Seramount, and included on Science magazine's Top 20 Employers list. The company has also been recognized as a top company by DiversityInc for diversity within the company for 19 consecutive years (2004-2022) and has been included on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 18 consecutive years.

Nutrition
Pediatric nutrition products manufactured by Abbott Laboratories include:
 * Similac
 * Similac Gain
 * Similac GainPlus
 * Similac GainSchool
 * Similac Neosure
 * Similac Tummicare HW
 * Isomil
 * Pedialyte
 * PediaSure
 * PediaSure Plus
 * PediaSure Plus 10+

Adult nutrition products manufactured by Abbott Laboratories include:
 * Ensure
 * Glucerna (Ensure Diabetes Care in India)
 * Juven
 * ZonePerfect

Diagnostics
Diagnostics products manufactured by Abbott include:
 * i-STAT (While intended for a human audience, the point of care analyzers also demonstrate utility for the veterinary profession and are marketed by Abaxis.)
 * Alinity
 * Architect
 * IDNOW
 * Digival
 * BinaxNOW

Medical devices
Continuous glucose monitors:
 * FreeStyle Libre
 * FreeStyle Libre 2 Sensor
 * FreeStyle Libre 3 Sensor

Cardiovascular devices manufactured by Abbott Laboratories include:
 * MitraClip
 * Confirm Rx
 * Amplatzer Piccolo Occluder
 * Heartmate
 * Xience
 * CARDIOMEMS
 * Gallant ICD
 * CentriMag
 * Aveir DR

Neuromodulation devices manufactured by Abbott Laboratories include:
 * BurstDR Technology
 * FlexBurst360 Technology
 * Proclaim DRG Neurostimulation System
 * Infinity Deep Brain Stimulation System
 * Proclaim XR Recharge-Free Spinal Cord Stimulator
 * NT2000IX Radiofrequency Generator
 * Proclaim Elite Recharge-Free SCS System
 * Prodigy MRI SCS System

Leuprorelin
In October 2001, the US Department of Justice, states attorneys general, and TAP Pharmaceutical Products, a subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories, settled criminal and civil charges against TAP related to federal and state Medicare fraud and illegal marketing of the drug leuprorelin. TAP paid a total of $875 million, a record high pharmaceutical settlement. This comprised $290 million for violating the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, $559.5 million to settle federal fraud charges for overcharging Medicare, and $25.5 million reimbursement to 50 states and Washington, D.C., for filing false claims with the states' Medicaid programs. The case arose under the False Claims Act with claims filed by Douglas Durand, a former TAP vice president of sales, and Joseph Gerstein, a doctor at Tufts University's HMO practice. Durand, Gerstein, and Tufts shared $95 million of the settlement.

There have since been various suits concerning leuprorelin use, none successful. These lawsuits have focused on either the over-prescription of the drug or the lack of warnings about its potential side effects. Between 2010 and 2013, the FDA updated the Lupron drug label to include new safety information on the risk of thromboembolism, loss of bone density and convulsions. The FDA then said that the benefits of leuprorelin outweighed its risks when used according to its approved labeling. From 2017 the FDA evaluated leuprorelin's connection to pain and discomfort in musculoskeletal and connective tissue.

Humira
In March 2003, British company Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) stated its wish to "initiate discussions regarding the applicability of the royalty offset provisions for Humira" (Adalimumab) with Abbott Laboratories in the High Court of London. In December 2004, the judgment ruled for CAT.

Abbott was required to pay CAT US$255 million in lieu of royalties the MRC, the Scripps Research Institute and Stratagene would have received on sales of Humira after December 2004. Some of this sum was to be passed to its partners in development, including US$191 million for the UK Medical Research Council (MRC), plus a further $7.5 million over five years from 2006 providing that Humira remained on the market.

Operation Headwaters
In October 2003, Abbott Laboratories and two of its units agreed to pay a total of $600 million in the first combined civil settlement and criminal conviction for offering kickbacks to agents of "Operations Headwaters", an undercover investigation by the FBI.

Depakote
On 2 October 2012, the company was charged with a $500 million fine and $198.5 million forfeiture for illegal marketing of Depakote for uses not approved by the FDA. The court also sentenced Abbott to a five-year term of probation and court supervision. Shareholders then brought derivative suits against the company directors for breach of fiduciary duty. Following Abbott's spinoff of its research-based pharmaceuticals business, it no longer owns the commercial rights and associated responsibilities for Humira and Depakote.

Glucose monitors
In 2021, two of Abbott Laboratories' subsidiaries, Arriva Medical LLC and Alere Inc, had to pay $160m to resolve claims that they had fraudulently billed Medicare for glucose monitors. The US Department of Justice said that Arriva used free glucose monitors to induce patients to order more consumable supplies, then took kickbacks on the increased sales. The company was also accused of charging Medicare for glucose monitors given to patients who were ineligible, or even dead.

Plant shutdown
In February 2022, Abbott recalled baby formulas from the market and shut down their Michigan plant after complaints of illness and death in infants caused by serious bacterial infections. Following Abbotts' meeting the initial requirement of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the facility reopened in June 2022.

Deep Brain Stimulation Device Recall
On July 18, 2023, Abbott recalled its Proclaim and Infinity IPGs due to complaints from patients who are unable to exit MRI mode. The use of the affected IPGs may require surgery to remove the device and replace it with a new device.

There have been 186 reported incidents and 73 reported injuries. There have been no reports of death. Noted by Gita Amar, a PR representative for Abbott Laboratories on this issue. "The company has communicated this action to physicians and regulatory bodies. No products need to be returned to the company or replaced."

Sponsorship
In 2015 Abbott became the title sponsor of the World Marathon Majors.

title: Abbott Laboratories


text:
Holofernes

In the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, Holofernes (Ὀλοφέρνης; הולופרנס) was an invading Assyrian general, who was beheaded by Judith, a Jewish widow who entered his camp and decapitated him while he was drunk.

Etymology
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, the name is of Persian origin: holo (unknown signification) + fernes or phernes, from Old Persian *farnah = "glory" (see also ancient Persian names Artaphernes, Dataphernes, Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus).

Biblical account
According to the Book of Judith, Holofernes had been dispatched by Nebuchadnezzar to take vengeance on Israel, which had withheld assistance in his most recent war. Having occupied every country along the coastline, Holofernes outlawed the worship of any god other than Nebuchadnezzar. Despite being warned against attacking the Jewish people by Achior, the leader of the Ammonites, Holofernes laid siege to the city of Bethulia, commonly believed to be Meselieh. The city almost fell to the invading army because Holofernes' advance stopped the water supply to Bethulia, which led to its people encouraging their rulers to capitulate. The leaders vowed to surrender if no help arrived within five days. Bethulia was saved by Judith, a Jewish widow, who entered the camp of Holofernes, seduced him, and got him drunk before beheading him. She returned to Bethulia with the severed head. The assassination of Holofernes led to the defeat of his army.

Identification
The Roman Catholic Church has traditionally maintained that the book of Judith is a historical record from the reign of Manasseh of Judah. As a result, this Holofernes would be the commander-in-chief of Ashurbanipal's armies. Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin has speculated that the book of Judith could be a roman à clef, a historical record with different names for people and places, which would explain the different names.

There are historical references to a "Holofernes" in the Persian king Artaxerxes III Ochus's army, which led some to speculate that this is the Holofernes described in this book. However, this idea is generally rejected as implausible.

Because the Hebrew manuscripts from the Middle Ages refer to the Maccabean Revolt, Hebrew versions of the tale in the Megillat Antiochus and the Chronicles of Jerahmeel identify "Holofernes" as Nicanor; the Greek version used "Holofernes" as deliberately cryptic substitute, similarly using "Nebuchadnezzar" for Antiochus.

In popular culture
Holofernes is depicted in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Monk's Tale in The Canterbury Tales, and in Dante's Purgatorio, in which Holofernes is to be found on the Terrace of Pride as an example of "pride cast down", XII.58–60. As a painter's subject he offers the chance to contrast the flesh and jewels of a beautiful, festively attired woman with the grisly head of the victim, a deuterocanonical parallel to the Yael sequence in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the New Testament vignette of Salome with the head of John the Baptist.

There is also a mention to Holofernes in the song That Unwanted Animal by The Amazing Devil.

title: Holofernes