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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/SteveO

(SteveO and Oonce Faktory)

SteveO's 21-year old member of Oonce Faktory, an unpublished band formed in 2003. That's about it.

 * Delete. Vanity.  TB 08:23, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete but we could redirect SteveO to jackass as steve O is pretty famous. theresa knott 08:56, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete, if they ever become famous someone will write an article then. - Ams80 09:36, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Vanity. Alcarillo 13:43, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Definitely redirect SteveO to Jackass. RickK 15:09, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep, most likely. Lack of fame = Poor reason for deletion. If they've played at least five shows together, then they've done enough actual work to belong on Wikipedia's map, and I think we ought to keep the article. Perhaps the articles need rewriting/dePOVing, I haven't looked that closely.  Mike Church 17:32, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
 * I worked to make the article more encyclopedic (Oonce Faktory, that is). If they've played 5 or more shows together, I think they have enough of an existence that we should log them; they're not just some half-baked idea from wannabe rock stars who've never picked up a guitar. Wikipedia is not paper. Besides, the whole "has to be famous" thing some people have on Wikipedia is not only snobby, but actively turns people off to Wikipedia. Mike Church 19:45, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Mike, everyone has their own idea of what is and is not encyclopaedic, and (I think) everyone agrees that Wikipedia should contain those things which are encyclopaedic. The obvious stumbling block is that we'll never all agree on what is encyclopaedic, the only way to maintain a status quo is allowing everyone a say and hopefully forming some kind of concensus on specific issues, hence the existence of VfD. Personally I, and I think quite a few other people, feel that verifiability is an essential part of being encyclopaedic. Without fame, which is almost always accompanied by media coverage, it is very hard to find verifiable information. Take the remains of the SteveO article, it would be more accurately written as: 'SteveO (allegedly b. July 29, 1982) is allegedly a common nickname for Steve Newsted, bassist and composer for the Elektro Inudstrial band Oonce Faktory. At age 16, Newsted allegedly dropped out of high school to pursue his GED, and allegedly now has a degree in microcomputer business systems. He has a radio show with WGBU-FM in Bowling Green, Ohio.' How can we know whether any of that information is true if it's reported nowhere except from this guy's own website? Thus it's probably not accurate to characterise those people who require verifiable information as snobs.
 * Also, saying that people citing fame as a requirement for an article's existence is driving people away is only telling half the story. Regularly on VfD there are people who advocate keeping articles on people who aren't famous, which makes people like me look at the article and think 'Oh for God's sake, this is supposed to be an encyclopaedia, not a free diary resource for any old person to write their life story in.' Looking at this current vote, where 7 out of 8 people want to get rid of this I don't find it hard to believe that there are people who find Wikipedia, think it's a good project, have a look around, find people advocating keeping articles on non-famous people, think that's a stupid thing for an encyclopaedia to be doing and go on their way. Regards -- Ams80 23:26, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete, not notable, article contents are not verifiable. UninvitedCompany 19:53, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete, not notable. Andris 20:42, May 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete them both. I understand where Mike is coming from, but sorry, I don't believe we should have articles for every minor band ever to play a gig. --Stormie 00:34, May 8, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete both. Vanity, nobody in particular. Verifiability isn't the biggest problem here. Wile E. Heresiarch 02:28, 8 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete both per above. Agree with Ams80's discussion about verifiability. Rossami 02:34, 8 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete, along with Oonce Faktory. I'd say redirect, but isn't the Jackass fellow's name usually spelled with a hyphen (Steve-O)? —No-One Jones 00:13, 9 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Redirect SteveO to Steve-O from Jackass (you can also redirect to guide people who misspel a name - check Redirection. Delete Oonce Faktory, unless information within can be verified. - MGM 08:57, May 12, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Unverifiable noise, especially when entry is likely to occlude or be confused with an actual pop culture entry (Steve-O). --A1r 15:33, 12 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Redirect SteveO to Jackass for the time being, and delete Oonce Faktory as unverifiable. -- Cyrius|&#9998 06:44, May 13, 2004 (UTC)

title: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/SteveO


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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Deczilla

This page is an archive of the discussion surrounding the proposed deletion of the page entitled Deczilla.

This page is kept as an historic record.

The result of the debate was deletion.

DEDNonsense. Could probably be cut to one sentence, which would then make it not worth an encyclopedia article. RickK 04:24, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Not encyclopedic and never will be.  - TB 08:29, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete with a Mongo-like flair - --bodnotbod 15:59, May 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * The article even states that this...whatever it is...doesn't exist. May it incur the wrath of the Chocolate Bunny of Death!  And, I second the motion that it should be deleted not in an ordinary way, but with the aforementioned "Mongo-like flair!"  Why?  Mongo straight! - Lucky 6.9 23:33, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Obscure fictional creature. Delete. Andris 23:41, May 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * Did I? Yes, I did.  I had clicked "Watch this page" because I was too pressed for time to add it to VfD, then logged off and forgot about it.  Good, now I can remove this from my watchlist.  Delete.  SWAdair | Talk  06:29, 8 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep if obscure Burgundavia 07:14, May 13, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete, but before you do, know that the article should be sung to the tune of Godzilla by Blue Öyster Cult. --Tagishsimon

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate up to the point of deletion and is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion or on the new method of assessing voting, should be placed on other relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.

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


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Falkenstein

Falkenstein or Falckenstein ("falcons' stone" in German) may refer to:

Austria

 * Falkenstein, Lower Austria, a market town in the district of Mistelbach

Germany

 * Falkenstein, Bavaria, a market town in the district of Cham
 * Falkenstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, a municipality in Donnersbergkreis
 * Falkenstein, Saxony, a town in Vogtlandkreis
 * Falkenstein, Saxony-Anhalt, a town in Harz district
 * Falkenstein (Thuringia), a rock formation near Tambach-Dietharz in the Thuringian Forest
 * Falkenstein, Königstein im Taunus, a small town north of Frankfurt am Main
 * Großer Falkenstein, a mountain in the Bavarian Forest

Austria

 * Falkenstein Castle (Lower Austria), a medieval ruin north of Vienna
 * Falkenstein Castle (Niederfalkenstein), a preserved medieval castle in Carinthia
 * Burgruine Falkenstein (Oberfalkenstein), a neighbouring ruined medieval castle in Carinthia

Czech Republic

 * Falkenštejn Castle, a peak and medieval castle in Bohemian Switzerland

France

 * Château du Falkenstein, a ruined castle in the commune of Philippsbourg in the Moselle département

Germany

 * Falkenstein Castle (Bad Emstal), a ruin near Bad Emstal, Hesse
 * Falkenstein Castle (Gerstetten), a ruin near Gerstetten in Heidenheim district of Baden-Württemberg
 * Falkenstein Castle (Harz), a preserved medieval castle in the Harz mountains in Saxony-Anhalt
 * Falkenstein Castle (Höllental), a ruin near Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg
 * Falkenstein Castle (Palatinate), a ruin near Falkenstein on the Donnersberg in Rhineland-Palatinate
 * Falkenstein Castle (Pfronten), a ruined castle near Pfronten, Bavaria
 * Falkenstein (Saxon Switzerland), a peak and medieval castle in Saxon Switzerland
 * Falkenstein Castle (Taunus), a ruined castle near Falkenstein, Hesse
 * Old Falkenstein Castle (Alter Falkenstein or Alt-Falkenstein), a ruined castle in the Harz mountains near Falkenstein/Harz, Saxony-Anhalt
 * Falkenstein über dem Inn, domiciles of Counts of Falkenstein in the Inn valley, Bavaria

Switzerland

 * Alt-Falkenstein Castle, a ruin of a castle in Switzerland
 * Neu-Falkenstein Castle, ruins near Balsthal (Klus) in Solothurn

Dynasties

 * Counts of Falkenstein (Bavaria), an extinct medieval dynasty in southern Bavaria
 * Counts of Falkenstein (Rhineland-Palatinate)
 * House of Falkenstein, a noble family from Baden-Württemberg

Other uses

 * Castle Falkenstein (role-playing game)

People with surname

 * Adam Falkenstein (1906–1966), German Assyriologist
 * Claire Falkenstein (1908–1997), American sculptor
 * Max Falkenstien (born 1924), longtime radio announcer for the Kansas Jayhawks and member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
 * Tony Falkenstein (1915–1994), American footballer
 * Tony Falkenstein (entrepreneur), New Zealand philanthropist
 * Eduard Vogel von Falckenstein (1797–1885), Prussian general
 * Maximilian Vogel von Falckenstein (1839–1917), Prussian general
 * Waldeen Falkenstein (1913–1993), American dancer and choreographer

title: Falkenstein


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Church of Finland

Church of Finland may refer to:
 * Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
 * Orthodox Church of Finland

title: Church of Finland


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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/xaband

This page was created in 2001 and has been at X (band) since 2002. A few days ago it was moved to X (US band) and the 30-odd pages linking to it were changed. It was replaced with a "disambiguation" page which actually caused ambiguity for any external web pages linking there. A disambiguation page is unnecessary, since people aren't likely to type "X (band)". Realistically, they'll go to X. I compare this to Nirvana (band). Although there're two bands called Nirvana, there's no need to move it to Nirvana (US band). I don't think of X as a US band, just a great band. Last (and least) this X is certainly better known than any other X band. For comparison, try a Web search for its singer "Exene Cervenka". Mackerm 08:40, May 7, 2004 (UTC)

 * Previous debate of this proposal: Template:VfD-X band. - David Gerard 10:37, May 7, 2004 (UTC)

 * Keep. The current setup is clearer.  - TB 08:52, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
 * At the top, I state reasons why it's very much less clear. Would you please address them? Mackerm 21:01, May 8, 2004 (UTC)
 * I don't see it really takes more justification than that. The current setup looks clearer (c.f. Pliny) - David Gerard 00:35, May 9, 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep the page.Grant65 (Talk) 09:57, May 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep the current setup, it's entirely sensible. - David Gerard 10:37, May 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep it as it is. --Ben Brockert 21:41, May 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep it as it is, so that X (US band) can't be moved back. Whether one is slightly more popular than the other or not doesn't matter. Items to be disambiguated don't have to have parity in popularity, they just need to be abmiguous, as X (band) is. Look at Pliny, for example. Pliny the Elder is much more well known and has a lot more links than Pliny the Younger, but they are disambiguated as equals, as they should be. --Ben Brockert 17:30, May 8, 2004 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia policy says if one meaning is clearly predominant, it remains at the general title. At the top I tell how you can determine that. Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger are their commonly-used names already, so there's no need to change either of them. Mackerm 00:08, May 10, 2004 (UTC)
 * Yeah, but it isn't "clearly predominant". Of course a search on Exene Cervenka will turn up the US X, just as a search on Ian Rilen won't - David Gerard 10:56, May 10, 2004 (UTC)
 * 8,450 vs. 283 Google hits speaks for itself. Mackerm 14:17, May 10, 2004 (UTC)
 * Yes - it says "more, but hardly so overwhelming as to wipe out the smaller one." - David Gerard 14:56, May 10, 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep it as it is. I agree that nobody is likely to type "X (band)", but you say yourself that external pages might link there - do you want them to get nothing, or to get this disambiguation page?! --Stormie 00:37, May 8, 2004 (UTC)
 * I want it deleted so that the original page can be moved back where it was. Mackerm 00:44, May 8, 2004 (UTC)
 * Comment- Wikipedia policy says voters should include their reasoning with their opinion. Mackerm 15:35, May 8, 2004 (UTC)
 * Is mine better now? --Ben Brockert 17:30, May 8, 2004 (UTC)
 * It only addresses the stated least important reason. Mackerm 20:49, May 8, 2004 (UTC)
 * Your least important reason isn't necessarily the least important reason. I can now answer your question from the last discussion, "How do you prevent people from arguing on the VfD page and just vote?" You don't argue with them after they've "just" voted, that's how. --Ben Brockert 01:36, May 9, 2004 (UTC)
 * Ben, I apologize for sounding argumentative. My intent was to encourage everyone to state his case as completely as possible. Something along the lines of "on this point you're wrong because XXX, and on this point you're right, but it's outweighed because XXX." My hope is that will keep the discussion focused. Mackerm 20:13, May 9, 2004 (UTC)
 * Maybe more X US Band back and add a link at the top to the Aussie one Burgundavia 07:19, May 13, 2004 (UTC)

title: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/xaband


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Saddle point

In mathematics, a saddle point or minimax point is a point on the surface of the graph of a function where the slopes (derivatives) in orthogonal directions are all zero (a critical point), but which is not a local extremum of the function. An example of a saddle point is when there is a critical point with a relative minimum along one axial direction (between peaks) and at a relative maximum along the crossing axis. However, a saddle point need not be in this form. For example, the function $$f(x,y) = x^2 + y^3$$ has a critical point at $$(0, 0)$$ that is a saddle point since it is neither a relative maximum nor relative minimum, but it does not have a relative maximum or relative minimum in the $$y$$-direction. The name derives from the fact that the prototypical example in two dimensions is a surface that curves up in one direction, and curves down in a different direction, resembling a riding saddle. In terms of contour lines, a saddle point in two dimensions gives rise to a contour map with a pair of lines intersecting at the point. Such intersections are rare in actual ordnance survey maps, as the height of the saddle point is unlikely to coincide with the integer multiples used in such maps. Instead, the saddle point appears as a blank space in the middle of four sets of contour lines that approach and veer away from it. For a basic saddle point, these sets occur in pairs, with an opposing high pair and an opposing low pair positioned in orthogonal directions. The critical contour lines generally do not have to intersect orthogonally.

Mathematical discussion
A simple criterion for checking if a given stationary point of a real-valued function F(x,y) of two real variables is a saddle point is to compute the function's Hessian matrix at that point: if the Hessian is indefinite, then that point is a saddle point. For example, the Hessian matrix of the function $$z=x^2-y^2$$ at the stationary point $$(x, y, z)=(0, 0, 0)$$ is the matrix
 * $$\begin{bmatrix}

2 & 0\\ 0 & -2 \\ \end{bmatrix} $$ which is indefinite. Therefore, this point is a saddle point. This criterion gives only a sufficient condition. For example, the point $$(0, 0, 0)$$ is a saddle point for the function $$z=x^4-y^4,$$ but the Hessian matrix of this function at the origin is the null matrix, which is not indefinite.

In the most general terms, a saddle point for a smooth function (whose graph is a curve, surface or hypersurface) is a stationary point such that the curve/surface/etc. in the neighborhood of that point is not entirely on any side of the tangent space at that point.

In a domain of one dimension, a saddle point is a point which is both a stationary point and a point of inflection. Since it is a point of inflection, it is not a local extremum.

Saddle surface

A saddle surface is a smooth surface containing one or more saddle points.

Classical examples of two-dimensional saddle surfaces in the Euclidean space are second order surfaces, the hyperbolic paraboloid $$z=x^2-y^2$$ (which is often referred to as "the saddle surface" or "the standard saddle surface") and the hyperboloid of one sheet. The Pringles potato chip or crisp is an everyday example of a hyperbolic paraboloid shape.

Saddle surfaces have negative Gaussian curvature which distinguish them from convex/elliptical surfaces which have positive Gaussian curvature. A classical third-order saddle surface is the monkey saddle.

Examples
In a two-player zero sum game defined on a continuous space, the equilibrium point is a saddle point.

For a second-order linear autonomous system, a critical point is a saddle point if the characteristic equation has one positive and one negative real eigenvalue.

In optimization subject to equality constraints, the first-order conditions describe a saddle point of the Lagrangian.

Other uses
In dynamical systems, if the dynamic is given by a differentiable map f then a point is hyperbolic if and only if the differential of ƒ n (where n is the period of the point) has no eigenvalue on the (complex) unit circle when computed at the point. Then a saddle point is a hyperbolic periodic point whose stable and unstable manifolds have a dimension that is not zero.

A saddle point of a matrix is an element which is both the largest element in its column and the smallest element in its row.

title: Saddle point


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Namba Parks

Namba Parks (なんばパークス Nanba Pākusu) is an office and shopping complex located in Namba-naka Nichome, Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Japan, the south of Namba Station on Nankai Railway. It consists of a high-rise office building called Parks Tower and a 120-tenant shopping mall with rooftop garden. Namba Parks was developed by Jon Jerde of The Jerde Partnership in the footprint of the since closed Osaka Stadium.

There is a carnival mall on the 1st floor. For shopping, various shops are available on 2nd to 5th floor. Casual restaurants are located on 6th floor while fine-dining restaurants are on the 7th and 8th floor, where you can choose from various kinds of food, such as Japanese, Korean, and Italian. The 9th floor (topmost) has landscape garden. There is also an amphitheater for live shows, as well as space for small personal vegetable gardens and wagon shops.

Namba Parks was conceived as a large park, a natural intervention in Osaka's dense urban condition. Alongside a 30-story tower, the project features a lifestyle commercial center crowned with a rooftop park that crosses multiple blocks while gradually ascending eight levels. In addition to providing a highly visible green component in a city where nature is sparse, the sloping park connects to the street, making it easy for passers-by to enter its groves of trees, clusters of rocks, cliffs, lawn, streams, waterfalls, ponds and outdoor terraces. Beneath the park, a canyon carves a path through specialty retail, entertainment and dining venues.

title: Namba Parks


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Monty Finniston

 Sir Harold Montague "Monty" Finniston FRS FRSE (15 August 1912 – 2 February 1991) was a Scottish industrialist.

Life
He was born at 26 Aikenhead Road in Govanhill, Glasgow the son of Robert Finniston. His family were of Russian Jewish origin, and their surname had originally been Feinstein before settling in Scotland. He attended Allan Glen's School.

Monty Finniston read metallurgical chemistry at the University of Glasgow, where he gained his PhD and then lectured in metallurgy.

He spent the years of the Second World War in the Royal Naval Scientific Service, seconded to the Chalk River Laboratories in Canada working on the application of nuclear power to submarines. After the war he worked in Canada, and then was appointed Chief Metallurgist at the Atomic Energy Authority, Harwell. The years 1948–1958 which he spent there were a time of rapid development of nuclear power. Finniston initiated and oversaw a wide-ranging research programme into the many metallurgical problems associated with nuclear reactor design, involving uranium fuel elements, their light alloy cladding, and reactor containment vessels. In 1958 he moved to north-east England to become Director of the Nuclear Research Centre newly founded by the Newcastle engineering firm C. A. Parsons. When enthusiasm for atomic power waned in the early 1960s, he persuaded Parsons' board to convert the Centre into International Research and Development Ltd. (IRD), a wide-ranging contract engineering research company.

He was Vice-President of the Royal Society, 1971–72. He became chairman of British Steel Corporation in 1973, and was knighted in the same year.

In 1974 he was awarded the Bessemer Gold Medal, and in 1975 he was awarded the A. A. Griffith Medal and Prize and elected President of the Institution of Metallurgists.

In 1976 he was invited to deliver the Marlow (Scotland) Lecture to the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland. He chose the subject "The Developing Role of Management in Industry". In 1977 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath.

In 1978 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Sir John Atwell, Sir Samuel Curran, Robert A. Smith and Francis Penny.

In response to complaints from industry about a shortage of qualified engineers, the government in 1977 invited Finniston to set up a committee of enquiry into British engineering. In 1979 the committee delivered the Finniston Report, which addressed the concerns that engineering was of relatively low status in the UK. One of the main recommendations was that universities should offer engineering degrees (BEng and MEng) rather than just science degrees (BSc). This report also led to the establishment of the Engineering Council in 1982, and of WISE (Women into Science and Engineering) in 1984. Despite this chance to help Engineering in the UK, Finniston's effort was effectively quashed by the 'Big Three' institutions - the Mechanicals, Electricals, and Civils - who subsequently have done nothing to bolster the status of the Engineer in the UK, whilst other major countries have succeeded.

Sir Monty Finniston was Chancellor of Stirling University from 1979 to 1988, in succession to Lord Robbins. In 1981 he founded the Prison Reform Trust (PRT). He was President of the Association for Project Management from 1984 until his death in 1991.

He died on 2 February 1991.

Family
In 1936 he married Miriam Singer.

External sources

 * Video interview

title: Monty Finniston


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Parks Tower (Namba Parks)

Parks Tower (パークスタワー) is a 30- floor-and-149- meter high skyscraper located in the Namba Parks complex in the Namba district, Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Japan.

It was designed by Nikken Sekkei Ltd. and constructed by Takenaka Corporation in 2003. The building later earned the nickname "PS3 Building" in 2010 as it bore a striking resemblance to the original PlayStation 3 console.

title: Parks Tower (Namba Parks)


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Midland Football Alliance

The Midland Football Alliance was an English association football league for semi-professional teams. It covered Leicestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and also southern parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The league consisted of a single division which sat at Step 5 of the National League System, or the ninth level of the overall English football league system.

The league was formed in 1994, drawing its initial membership from the strongest clubs in the Midland Football Combination and the West Midlands (Regional) League, both of which became feeder leagues to the new competition. Each season, the champion club of each feeder league was eligible for promotion to the Alliance, and Alliance clubs could in turn be relegated to the feeder leagues. Successful teams in the Alliance were eligible for promotion to a Step 4 league, either the Southern League or Northern Premier League depending on geographical considerations. The league merged with the Midland Combination in 2014 to form the new Midland Football League.

History
The Alliance was formed in 1994, taking its initial member clubs from the West Midlands (Regional) League and the Midland Football Combination, which had existed since before the Second World War, having originally been formed as the Birmingham & District League and the Worcestershire Combination respectively. Their catchment areas had gradually converged, and by the early 1990s the standard of play and geographical coverage of the two competitions were considered to be similar enough that a new competition was formed to cater for the best clubs previously split across the two leagues.

The league drew ten member clubs from each of the two leagues for its inaugural season. The clubs selected to join from the Midland Combination were Barwell, Boldmere St Michaels, Bolehall Swifts, Pershore Town, Sandwell Borough, Shepshed Dynamo, Shifnal Town, Stapenhill, Stratford Town and West Midlands Police. Those selected from the West Midlands (Regional) League were Brierley Hill Town, Chasetown, Halesowen Harriers, Hinckley Athletic, Knypersley Victoria, Oldbury United, Paget Rangers, Rocester, Rushall Olympic and Willenhall Town. Paget Rangers won the first league championship by a margin of 12 points from Hinckley Athletic in the 1994–95 season, and gained promotion to the Southern League. The Alliance's status as a feeder to the Southern League was cemented when Armitage 90 were relegated in the opposite direction. Armitage went on to dominate the league in the 1995–96 season but disbanded midway through the season, with the result that their record was expunged from the table.

For the 1999–2000 season the league increased in size to 22 clubs when two clubs were promoted into the Alliance but none relegated out of it. One of the promoted clubs was Oadby Town of the Leicestershire Senior League, the first time a team from that league had been promoted into the Alliance. Two years later, the league increased in size to 23 clubs as more teams joined than left, but Stapenhill resigned midway through the 2001–02 season, reverting the number of clubs in the competition back to 22. The league expanded to 24 clubs for the 2003–04 season, at the end of which, for the first time, Alliance clubs were promoted to the Northern Premier League, rather than the Southern League, when Rocester and Willenhall Town joined the more northerly of the two leagues. The following season Coalville Town became the first Alliance team to reach the first round proper of the FA Cup, a feat which was repeated in the 2005–06 season by both Chasetown and Leamington.

With the creation of the National League System by the Football Association the league was officially defined as a Step 5 league. The champions of the Midland Combination, West Midlands (Regional) League and Leicestershire Senior League continued to gain promotion to the Alliance, although in 2008 the new East Midlands Counties Football League was formed at the Step 6 level and it was anticipated that successful teams from the Leicestershire Senior League, which is officially a Step 7 league, would now move up to the new league and that the champions of the new league would in turn move up to the Alliance if they fell within its coverage area.

In 2014 the Alliance merged with the Midland Combination to form the new Midland Football League. The clubs which had been members of the Alliance formed the Premier Division of the new league.

Structure
The Alliance was known under various sponsored names following deals with companies including Baker-Joiner, Polymac Services, Harvey World Travel, Travel Factory, and Aspire. In July 2008, it was announced that 23 teams would compete in the Alliance in the 2008–09 season, however the following week it was announced that Stapenhill had folded, leaving 22 teams in the league. The league was contested on a double round-robin basis, with each team playing each of the other teams in the division once at home and once away. Three points were awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat. Goal difference was used to separate teams on the same points.

As the Alliance was a Step 5 league, its member clubs were eligible to take part in the FA Cup and FA Vase as long as their grounds met the required standards. The league also operated two cup competitions of its own, the knock-out League Cup, which was staged every season, and the Joe McGorian Cup, which was contested between the previous season's League Cup winners and league champions and which was first contested in 1996.

According to official FA regulations, clubs from the Alliance were eligible for promotion to a Step 4 league, provided their grounds met the required standard. Clubs promoted from Step 5 leagues were placed in the most geographically appropriate Step 4 leagues as determined by the FA's Leagues Committee. The number of clubs promoted from the Alliance each season could vary, as regulations stated that the "ten most suitable clubs from the leagues at Step 5" will gain promotion. All clubs gaining promotion from the Alliance were placed in either the Southern League or the Northern Premier League. Teams finishing at the bottom of the Alliance table could be relegated to an appropriate feeder league, depending on the number of teams remaining in the division after other promotion and relegation issues have been resolved.

Attendance
Attendances at Midland Alliance matches were generally small, with many matches attracting fewer than 100 spectators. In the 2006–07 season the average attendance across the league was 124, but in the 2007–08 season this fell to 87. The best supported team in that season was Atherstone Town, whose average home attendance was 162. The worst supported team was Oldbury United whose matches drew an average of only 39 spectators. The highest attendance for a single match was 411, for the match between Stratford Town and Barwell. Barwell also took part in the match with the lowest attendance, when their game away to Oldbury United drew only 20 spectators.

The largest crowd ever registered for an Alliance match was 1,280, for the match between Racing Club Warwick and local rivals Leamington on 26 December 2005. The smallest crowd recorded was 10, for a match between Wednesfield and Biddulph Victoria on 19 April 2003.

Champions and cup-winners

The league champions and clubs promoted from the league were as follows:

The winners of the Alliance's two cup competitions were as follows:

Member clubs
A total of 65 clubs played in the Midland Football Alliance:

title: Midland Football Alliance


text:
User talk:Angela/Election

Thanks to everyone who voted for me. This page is an archive of the questions I was asked during the election campaign. --Angela. 23:30, 13 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Volunteer or Contributing?
Which Board position would you prefer if you had to choose? +sj+
 * If standing for both the positions of Contributing Active Member Representative and Volunteer User Representative, you need to specify which one you would prefer.

 * I'm still deciding. I hope to do so early next week, by which time more information on the difference between the two roles will be available. Angela. 10:12, May 7, 2004 (UTC)

 * Finally decided on "Volunteer User Representative". Angela. 16:17, May 10, 2004 (UTC)

Favorite contributions
Just out of curiosity, and i am asking this to everyone who is standing, i would like to post a question. Could you point me to two or three of your favourite contributions in Wikipedia? Not the whole bunch of them, which I am sure you all have in powers of 10, but that special article you wrote, or made substancial changes to, and makes you happy. Just to see what you've been up to :) Cheers and all the best to you all, MvHG 14:51, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

This is a hard question for me to answer. I don't feel any ownership of articles that I write, so I have never kept a record of which ones I started. This is for two reasons. Firstly, because I much prefer the idea that I'm contributing to Wikipedia as a whole, rather than simply contributing a particular article, and secondly because I know I would feel too possessive of "my" articles if I did try to keep track of them. I tend not to even put them on my watchlist to avoid problems with me wanting to keep them a certain way. There isn't any one area that I write in. Many people will focus on a topic they are interested in, whereas I tend to write articles for all different reasons. For example, I wrote Skive because Daniel Quinlan asked on IRC what the word meant. I wrote a few articles such as Québécois Libre just so I could add interwiki links from the French version and decrease the lists at Articles on fr with no interwiki link to en. I often look through special:newpages on other Wikipedias and translate articles that are new there and we don't yet have on the English Wikipedia. Often I'll write something just because I'm surprised we won't have it already and another Wikipedia does, such as Hulk Hogan (which appeared on the Main Page last August) that I translated from the German article, despite me having no interest in that. Often the articles I write are tied in with the maintenance tasks I do. For example, when checking the Images with missing articles pages, I'll sometimes write an article, such as Howler Monkey, just to de-orphan an image. The Daugherty Report article was my response to finding out I was going to be made redundant as a result of the testing cutbacks which that report advocates. Another unusual reason for writing an article was that I wrote Claudine Guérin de Tencin because someone suggested it as a name for the new server (which ended up being called Geoffrin). However, none of these are great articles. I'm just giving them as examples to show that I write across a range of areas, and that I write them for a variety of reasons. Angela. 22:00, May 11, 2004 (UTC)

 * Thanks! Its nice to see all the different kinds of answers. Happy election! MvHG 10:43, 12 May 2004 (UTC)

Picture
Oy. Why the picture of you? Because of the election? I wouldn't be surprised if it works. Men haven't changed in thousands myriads lakhs of years, have they? --Juuitchan
 * Oh it'll work alright, and there's nothing at all wrong with that. But in all seriousness, Angela does have a point about the benefits of coming across as "more of a real person" on Wikipedia. I stay anonymous and have a nondescript user name that used to be the first three digits of an IP address. This makes it harder for users to see where someone's coming from. I started noticing really strong evidence of this after Ed Poor started making comments to this effect regarding my user name. 172 11:38, 25 May 2004 (UTC)

 * No, I'm not expecting votes because of the picture. :) I put it up partly because I wanted to be more of a real person on Wikipedia. Before this election campaign, I'd not used my real name on Wikipedia, so it was a sort of first step in removing the barrier between Wikipedia and my real life. RealPhoto has an interesting discussion of the use of real photos.The part that says "a photo of yourself in reality can help you mentally AvoidIllusion that your online LifeInText is divorced from your offline identity", which was added by Sunir after I'd spoken to him on IRC about the issue, reflects how I felt about it. Angela. 22:00, May 11, 2004 (UTC)

Voting system
Hi. Due to the concerns of a number of people, we are considering adopting a new system to replace First Past the Post. What is your preference? Please respond to WikiElections AT aol DOT com. This is not an assurance that the system will be changed, but rather an attempt to gauge the will of the electorate. Danny 03:56, 12 May 2004 (UTC)

 * I don't think I have a preference. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages and I can't decide which I prefer, so I'll abstain from voting on the voting method. :) Angela. 21:01, May 13, 2004 (UTC)

License compatibility issues
One of your platforms is License compatibility issues. Another is Maintaining and defending the freedom of the project; openness to editing; free from charge; free from advertising. As you're probably aware, one of the issues the project has is the wide variation in what can and can't be used in different jurisdictions and the differing definitions of free used by contributors to the project. How will you seek to resolve the inevitable tension between those who want a completely free to use public domain Wikipedia, those who want to make full use of all works they are free to use under the copyright law of their jurisdiction, those who want a GFDL only encyclopedia, those who want a copyleft encyclopedia and those who want the best possible encyclopedia and accept all content which doesn't infringe copyright, even if some of it might be hard for all reusers, or a small number of reusers? Jamesday

 * There is tension over licensing issues. We need to find compromises, and also find out why people want GFDL only, or why they want to only allow content that is suitable under their own country's jurisdiction. If the issue is ease of redistribution, then we should work on that. We can make it easier for third party users to distribute a version of Wikipedia that is legal in England, or elsewhere, without having to prevent people uploading GFDL-compliant content. For example, by storing fair use images on a separate server and having the database downloads either separated, or clearly marked to allow people to filter these out if they need to. The image tagging that is currently taking place on some Wikipedias is a first step towards this. The future category system will hopefully be another. Suggesting that we restrict ourselves to things that are legal in all jurisdictions is impractical, so restrictions on what content we allow, beyond what the GFDL lets us do, is not something I would want to enforce.

 * At the same time though, there is no harm in promoting the idea amongst users that truly free content is better, and encouraging them to replace images with more-free versions or to seek permission wherever possible. I believe we can have the "best possible encyclopedia and accept all content" whilst still allowing people the right to reuse our content internationally, and to do that easily. The two do not need to be incompatible.

 * Some of the tensions are caused by specific problems people have with the GFDL. One solution to these concerns would be for Wikimedia to work with organizations such as the FSF and CC to ensure that future licenses are more compatible. We can't (easily) change the license of our current projects, but we can adopt future versions of the GFDL, so I believe our focus needs to lie in ensuring future versions meet our needs. Angela

The most compatible license is public domain, so does that mean that you prefer public domain content over other content? Would you want to strongly favor public domain content to maximise the freedom to reuse the work? Jamesday

 * I do not favor public domain content over that released under the GFDL. Obviously putting something into the public domain is the easiest way of making a work free, but this does not keep the work free. For example, if someone were to translate an article that was in the public domain, that translated version would not be free for others to reuse unless the translator explicitly released it into the public domain, or put it under a copyleft license. The GFDL has its problems, but it does at least prevent people being able to remove the freedoms the original author granted to their work. I think the GFDL provides a balance that PD does not. It allows freedom, whilst removing the vulnerability to exploitation. Angela

How do you believe that increasing or decreasing the acceptability of licensed content will increase or decrease the participation in the project? Jamesday

 * I don't believe it should affect participation in the project as we do not disallow dual licensing if individual users want to do that. However, we also need to recognize that this is going to be confusing for many users. If this is going to be done on any kind of large scale, the process needs to be made as simple as possible. Angela

How do you believe it will increase or decrease the chance of a competing project to fill any gaps in what we accept? Jamesday 05:53, 13 May 2004 (UTC)

 * The fact that Wikimedia currently allows only GFDL or PD text means that a competitor who set up a site allowing articles under alternative licenses would have access to more material than we do. The possibility of Wikimedia expanding and having new projects that use alternative licenses certainly needs to be explored. Whilst Wikipedia might be tied to the GFDL, there is no reason future projects need to be. The by-laws state that content will be released under the GFDL "or similar licensing scheme". These similar licenses ought to be considered during the planning stages of new projects.

 * Most importantly, this is not something the board should be deciding alone. The opinions of users from different countries need to be considered, as does advice from experts outside the project. Being aware of the discussions of copyright and licensing issues on, for example, the Japanese or German Wikipedias or on other projects such as Wikibooks, is something the board should make every effort to do. Angela. 21:01, May 13, 2004 (UTC)

Why stand?
What made you decide to stand? Martin 23:23, 13 May 2004 (UTC)

 * I've a huge passion for the project, so I expect being able to represent the foundation at board level will be highly rewarding. I've gained a lot from Wikipedia — knowledge, the opportunity to work with a wide variety of people, enjoyment, satisfaction — this is my chance to give something back, and to do so across the whole project. I've done a lot on Wikipedia over the last 15 months, and the possibility to take on a more formal role provides a new challenge. Being on the board would meet my desire for new experiences and new ways that I can make worthwhile contributions to the project. I'm also doing it because I have a strong commitment to the goals of the foundation and I believe that I can meet the pressures that serving on the board will entail, including the legal responsibilities associated with that. I'm confident I can handle the role successfully and make a difference to the project through that role. Also, because I think that, despite the demands associated with it, it will be fun. Angela. 06:28, May 14, 2004 (UTC)

Who else?
If you become Volunteer Rep, who do you feel would be most appropriate in the other elected position? Martin 23:23, 13 May 2004 (UTC)

 * I wouldn't like to state a preference for any one candidate at this stage. They all have their own merits, and if I was elected to the board, I would be happy to serve alongside any one of them. Angela. 06:28, May 14, 2004 (UTC)

Ko-wiktionary
Question moved to user talk:Angela as not related to elections. Angela. 20:27, May 14, 2004 (UTC)

Licensing issues
Hi, I hope you wouldn't mind me joining here (but feel free to relocate my question as you see fit).
 * I moved it to the end. Hope you don't mind. Angela.

You once discussed about the idea of releasing wikipedia from GFDL's 4B at Wikipedia talk:Submission Standards. The explanation then presented by Martin (MyRedDice) was that Wikipedia has never been in compliance with 4B, and therefore it was better to make it a term explicitly agreed-upon by contributors. You objected to it. Would you say that Wikipedia is in compliance of 4B, and that is why we do not need a term like that? Or would you say that we have to comply with it ? Tomos 00:35, 25 May 2004 (UTC)

 * I think at the time I was confusing 4B with 4I. I am more concerned to ensure 4I is not waived, as this would remove all author attribution. 4B is another issue. Wikipedia has never used a "title page" as such, but I don't know if this means we are not in compliance with the GFDL because section 4 is about publishing a "Modified Version of the Document", and it could be argued that the Wikipedia article is the document, even after it's been changed, rather than being a "modified version" of it. If we don't need a title page, then there would be no reason to get users to explicitly waive this right, unless we want it also apply to third-party users of the content. However, that is something for the users to decide, not for the board to impose upon them. Angela. 10:49, May 26, 2004 (UTC)

Another question, that is more directly on the compatibility issues. I would like to know if you have some opinions or ideas about how we can coordinate submission standards, terms of use, and other non-GFDL binding rules that are developed and implemented within language-specific projects independently from each other. Are there any pressing concerns you have with regards to inter-lingual coordination of non-GFDL legal elements? Tomos 00:35, 25 May 2004 (UTC)

 * This is something I've been concerned about. I've recently been involved with simplifying the disclaimers for the Simple English Wikipedia, and I wondered then whether it should include some sort of statement saying that this is just a simplified version, rather than the official version. I think one solution could be that one version (probably the English one) is approved by the board as the "official version", and other translations could link to that, in the same way that translations of the GFDL have to include a note that they are not official. There are definitely advantages to having one central copy of the official one. Other projects could then suggest adaptations to the central one, and when approved, every language would make those changes. This seems to be the only way to do it rather than letting changes happen in all languages, and then trying to make them consistent later. I think the reasons given by the FSF for keeping only one official copy of the GFDL and their other licenses applies equally to Wikimedia's submission statements:
 * "The reason the FSF does not approve these translations as officially valid is that checking them would be difficult and expensive (needing the help of bilingual lawyers in other countries). Even worse, if an error did slip through, the results could be disastrous for the whole free software community. As long as the translations are unofficial, they can't do any harm, and we hope they help more people understand the GPL."
 * Angela. 10:49, May 26, 2004 (UTC)

Do you recognize or expect any type of severe infringment that we should stop or prevent? Tomos 00:35, 25 May 2004 (UTC)

 * There are three main types that I am concerned about; GFDL infringements by sites using our content, robots violating the terms of our robots.txt and putting unmanageable load on our servers, and trademark infringements. I expect the board to be mostly involved in the last of these. The first is dealt with at pages such as Sites that use Wikipedia for content and de:Wikipedia:Projekte, die Wikipedia als Quelle benutzen, and I believe the first stages of contacting the sites is certainly something ordinary users can and should do, as they have been doing. I wouldn't expect the board to get involved in this until all normal attempts at getting the sites' co-operation had been made, although it might be helpful to make use of the Official positions idea to have someone coordinating such efforts. The second one is something that can be handled by any user contacting the sites concerned, and later handled by developers at Non-compliant site coordination if the sites refuse to stop. Trademark issues are more serious, and I would expect that it would be more useful here to have an "official person" dealing with the violators concerned. Again, this could be something part of an Official position rather than a board member, particularly in the early stages. Angela. 10:49, May 26, 2004 (UTC)

Thank you very much, Angela. I could see you have many experiences and thoughtful ideas in these matters. :-) Tomos 06:23, 29 May 2004 (UTC)

Philosophical disagreements
Have you any outstanding philosophical disagreements with the present Wikimedia board members, about what Wikimedia is or should become? How would you characterise those differences?-Stevertigo 00:40, 27 May 2004 (UTC)

 * None that I know of. Based on Jimbo's statement of principles and what is written in the bylaws, I would say agree with the views Jimbo has about the direction of Wikimedia. The only place he and I may have some disagreement is where he says the mailing list must be "the place for meta-discussions". I don't feel the mailing lists are always the best place for discussions, and I hope that when the board does not mean only Jimbo, then people might feel encouraged to hold conversations in more relevant places. I am not currently aware of the views of Michael Davis or Tim Shell, though I assume they are reflected in the bylaws in which case I can say I have no disagreement with either of them. I feel it would be useful for the board members, once there are five of them, to make public their principles, and their visions of the future of Wikimedia. Jimbo's statements page is rather dated now and it would be interesting to have an official update, and to see whether all members of the board are in agreement and also how this the users feel about those goals. Angela. 01:58, May 27, 2004 (UTC)

a democratic decision making process for Wikipedia?
I am quite impressed with your campaign platform, but there is one very important issue that I feel is not sufficiently dealt with : democratic control of Wikipedia. As Wikipedia grows, in terms of contributors, readers, articles and generally in importance, more decisions will have to be taken regarding the general direction of the project. The most critical decisions will probably be those that relate to funding and licensing. In my opinion there is a very real danger that these decisions will be made by a small elite such as the Board and/or the most committed/active Wikipedians. While I do not question in any way the integrity of the people belonging to such an elite, I think this turn of events would be highly detrimental to Wikipedia. After all, it is the contributors that make Wikipedia what it is - even the most committed Wikipedians would never be able to deal with half million+ articles - and if these contributors feel that they don't have enough say in decision making and that decisions are imposed on them, they will turn away from the project. Also, a democratic decision making process, even though it tends to take more time, leads to better decisions in my experience. pir
 * I hope that the existence of the board with elected accountable members will be more democratic than the previous situation where only Jimbo was responsible for Wikimedia.
 * As I said at User:Angela/Election, I do not want the board to be controlling the site against the will of the community. This means we need to find ways of ensuring all users can influence the decisions made. My commitment to keeping open communication between users will hopefully be the first step in enabling this. Decisions must not be made behind closed doors and the community must have full involvement in the workings of the board. It is very important that people do not feel the decisions can only be made by any small elite of users. The reason I stood for volunteer user representative instead of contributing is because I want to ensure all users have a voice in the decisions, not only those who are willing to pay dues.
 * I agree with you that it would be detrimental to change the way Wikimedia works. We are supposed to be a democratic organization, and we need to find ways of ensuring that does not change.
 * As we grow, it won't be possible for everyone to have a say in everything. I doubt that is possible even now on the larger Wikipedias as there is so much going on, but what must happen is that anyone who wants to make a good faith contribution to the discussion is given the opportunity to do so. Angela.

I can see two slightly different approaches: representative democracy, where contributors elect representatives which then take the decisions about the long-term direction. In this case it is extremely important that those representatives are accountable to contributors, that they can be deselected if they take decisions that don't reflect the interests of contributors, that the time they serve is not too long. pir
 * Your idea about representative democracy is interesting, but I do worry about the negative implications of introducing additional hierarchy. I'm not convinced at this stage in the project that we need to create formal representatives of users, although delegating tasks to certain users with official positions could be done, but more so that they are recognised as representatives of the foundation by people external to the site rather than seen as having any extra power within the site. Angela.

The alternative approach, which I would very much prefer, is the one of direct democracy. The board, elected representatives or even just any Wikipedian would propose competing plans regarding e.g. funding, licensing, etc, and then contributors would directly vote on these proposals. In my opinion the direct route of decision taking is not only technically and humanly possible (if Wikipedia shows anything it is how very different people can collaborate productively) but far preferable, because it is consensus-based and deals with the real issues rather than the more personal stuff. pir
 * I also prefer the idea that any user can contribute to discussions and plans. This is how Wikipedia and its sister projects have been run up until now. I see no reason for that to change. Whether it will scale in future when the community is ten times as large remains to be seen, but it has worked in the past, and I see that continuing. It is the users who have, and should continue to have, the most influence over the direction of the project. Angela.

Also, it could be a way to make Wikipedia less dependent on outside funding, because I am sure that if contributors are more deeply involved in decision taking, they are also much more willing to contribute financially - maybe one could even have a system where Wikipedia voters pay a voluntary Wikipedia tax. pir
 * I'm not sure if Wikipedia becoming less dependant on external funding is necessarily a good aim. I think we should be looking to increase external funding rather than relying on the generosity of the same people who already give so much of their time to the projects. I hope that with formal budgets in place and people willing to write grant proposals, that external funding will become a significant source of revenue for us.
 * I don't think I can support "a system where Wikipedia voters pay a voluntary Wikipedia tax". There are advantages to having dues-paying members, but I would not like for only those people to be allowed to vote on matters of funding etc. This stops Wikimedia being open to all users. Angela.

I wonder how you think about this problem and if you have any concrete plans on how to democratically control the amazing Wikipedia project. pir 12:52, 5 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * My aim is that any decisions made by the board result directly from discussions between users. Ideally, these would result in consensus. Where that can't be reached, I don't think we should rule out voting. These discussions must always be held in the open. We certainly don't want to give the impression that we are making back room decisions.
 * Basically, my aim is to ensure good communication, so that those who want to contribute to discussions are aware of them, and to ensure open processes so that anyone has the ability to contribute to decisions. To do this, we need to find much better ways of distributing information across projects and languages. There have been efforts to do this, but it is one area that needs to be greatly improved. Angela. 04:25, 8 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I second Pir on all these questions. I personally regret that no discussion took place on those matters before the elections. I fear that these concerns will be left behind, while those of copyright, licenses, collecting contributors' money, will be those at the front. SweetLittleFluffyThing
 * I don't think that discussions of copyright, licenses etc will force issues of democracy aside. I think they are naturally connected as when these decisions are being made, we need to make sure they are being made in a democratic way. That is, made according to discussions with users, and our normal processes of working towards consensus. Angela.

I consider the two board members will have to do this rather quickly, to ensure management of donation money, is managed in a democratic way, rather than through a centralised and ponctual system. I would like to know how you plan to make Wikimedia a real democratic association, when you plan to do, through which means. SweetLittleFluffyThing
 * In essence, I believe that keeping processes and communication open and transparent will result in Wikimedia remaining democratic. The two elected members will be accountable to the users, so they certainly should not be off making decisions without even consulting those users. They should be more interested in carrying out decisions that users have made rather than having too much influence over these themselves.
 * Perhaps we need clearer information on how people can raise such issues so that no one is left feeling they can not discuss something. I hope to encourage the use of meta for this. Creating pages there is a good place to start discussions that will lead to decisions being made, as meta is multi-lingual, rather than people feeling the English Wikipedia is a good place to discuss things which affect more than this project. Increasing links to meta from the other language wikis may be one way of making sure everyone is aware of discussions, and also aware that they can raise issues there.
 * The board itself will not be representative of a variety of languages as it is limited to only two elected positions. However, the aim of the board should be to listen to users who are from a variety of languages, so hopefully the limited experience on the board will not be an issue. The board must be there to listen to its users, not to dictate to them. Finding better ways of doing this should be one of their goals. Angela.

I'll suggest a starting point : do you think contributors to international projects, who will be *members* of local associations will be automatically members of Wikimedia Foundation ? Do you think they should pay twice to belong both to local and Wikimedia associations ? SweetLittleFluffyThing
 * I'm assuming members of local associations will be users of at least one Wikimedia project. According to our by-laws, this already makes them members of the Wikimedia Foundation, which is basically open to anyone with an account. Perhaps what you are asking is whether they will be given the same rights as dues-paying members of Wikimedia? If so, I think this is something that may be dependant on how much the dues are set at. Would it be too expensive to pay to join both? What benefits are users getting from joining both? This is probably something which the person elected to the Contributing Member Representative role will have to deal with. Perhaps it is up to the local associations to decide whether they feel people should be paying twice. Remember, it isn't necessary that anyone pays dues to Wikimedia, so a user could decide to pay dues to their local foundation, but not to Wikimedia, so I don't see that the two need to be tied together. Angela.

Do you think money collected by local associations should be partly refunded to Wikimedia ? If so, how do you plan local associations boards to be involved in budgeting the money they collected in the name of Wikimedia ? SweetLittleFluffyThing
 * I expect the local associations will be fairly autonomous, so I don't see at this point that they would necessarily be expected to give any money to the foundation. How local associations produce their own budgets is likely to be something decided within those local associations, not something which is decided by the board. The board should be there to advise and support them, but certainly not to tell them how to spend their money. However, it's really a bit too early to say anything on this. I would prefer this be discussed with those who are already involved in setting up local foundations to see what the arguments for giving or not giving money to the foundation would be. I hope to discuss this in Berlin at the weekend with those setting up the German Foundation, so perhaps things will become clearer after that. Angela.

How do you think we should manage common funds ? Do you know what other contributors think on the topic ? How do you plan to ask them ? Just a few questions. SweetLittleFluffyThing 15:55, 5 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * How funds are managed is one of the things that needs a lot of user input. We need to know where users feel the priorities are. In terms of funding for hardware, obviously, the developers need to have a large influence over this. This has traditionally been done on IRC or the mailing lists, and to a lesser extent, on the wiki. I think that this has worked in the past, and I expect it to continue to do so in future. I do not feel that the existence of the board should take away the opportunity for people to influence how the money is spent.
 * I also feel that the donors should have some say on where their money goes. Perhaps there needs to be an option whereby the people donating can specify that their donation be used for something in particular, such as a print edition, or on hardware etc. Separate funding campaigns for specific proposals would be another way to do this. For example, having a period where we ask for money specifically to raise money to advertise Wikipedia in a certain country. This then gives people the option to contribute to that particular cause or not, rather than just have one general donations link and people having no idea where their money will end up.
 * My answers to pir above will also answer your questions about democracy, so I tried not to repeat myself too much on that. Sorry for giving such a long reply but I hope I've covered all of your concerns. Angela. 04:25, 8 Jun 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Angela/Election


text:
Commissar (film)

Commissar (Комиссар, translit. Komissar) is a 1967 Soviet film directed by Aleksandr Askoldov based on one of Vasily Grossman's first short stories, "In the Town of Berdychev" (В городе Бердичеве). Berdychev is centrally located in the north of Ukraine. The action takes place during the Russian Civil War (1918–22), when the Red Army, White Army, Polish and Austrian contingents were battling for territory. Of equal importance is the fact that in Berdychev, at that time, the Yiddish language was officially instated and, from 1924, it had a Ukrainian court of law conducting its affairs in Yiddish. The plot is based upon an intimate intersection of revolutionary and Jewish cultural manners and ideals. The main characters were played by two People's Artists of the USSR, Rolan Bykov and Nonna Mordyukova. It was made at Gorky Film Studio.

Maxim Gorky considered this brief story one of the best about the Russian Civil War and encouraged the young writer to dedicate himself to literature. It also drew favourable attention from Mikhail Bulgakov, Boris Pilnyak, and Isaac Babel.

History of the film
The film was shot in the political climate of the Khrushchev Thaw, following the death of Stalin. The period is characterized by a loosening of political oppression and artistic censorship. From the outset of the production, Goskino censors forced the film director Aleksandr Askoldov to make major changes; 1967 was the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution and the events were to be presented in the Communist Party-mandated style of heroic realism.

After making the film, Askoldov lost his job, was expelled from the Communist Party, charged with social parasitism, exiled from Moscow, and banned from working on feature films for life. He was told that the single copy of the film had been destroyed. Mordyukova and Bykov, major Soviet movie stars, had to plead with the authorities to spare him of even bigger charges. The film was shelved by the KGB for twenty years.

In 1986, due to glasnost policies, the Conflict Commission of the Soviet Film-makers Union recommended the re-release of the movie, but Goskino refused to act. After a plea from Askoldov at the Moscow Film Festival, the film was reconstructed and finally released in 1988. The film is set in Ukraine, and those who know the language will spot the Ukrainisms in Bykov's lines.

The film won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival in 1988, four professional Nika Awards (1989), including one to composer Alfred Schnittke, and other awards. The film was selected as the Soviet entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 61st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Plot
During the Russian Civil War (1918–1922), a female commissar of the Red Army cavalry Klavdia Vavilova (Nonna Mordyukova) finds herself pregnant. Until her child is born, she is forced to stay with the family of a poor Jewish blacksmith Yefim Magazannik (Rolan Bykov), his wife, mother-in-law, and six children. At first, both the Magazannik family and "Madame Vavilova", as they call her, are not enthusiastic about living under one roof, but soon they share their rationed food, make her civilian clothes, and help her with the delivery of her newborn son. Vavilova seemingly embraces motherhood, civilian life, and new friends.

Meanwhile, the frontline advances closer to the town and the Jews expect a pogrom by the White Army as the Red Army retreats. Vavilova attempts to console them with a Communist dream: "One day people will work in peace and harmony", but the dream is interrupted with a vision of the fate of the Jews in the coming world war. She rushes to the front to rejoin her army regiment, leaving her newborn behind.

Themes
Commissar features strong themes of feminism and motherhood in the backdrop of the Russian Civil War of 1918, and when completed was censored by the Soviet Union due to the subject topic being deemed: "a force that opposes the very essence of human existence, a phenomenon that destroys personal ties by causing alienation, despair, and uncertainty about the future." In effect the censors saw the subject content and focus too negative for a state mandated heroic realism style, as in the opening scene a singing Madonna is passed by a marching regiment that eclipses the sound of her singing with their march. For the censors at the time, to portray the revolution as anything other than a positive change in society was a dangerous risk. Commissar was the only film ever made by the director Aleksandr Askoldov, and it nearly had him arrested by the KGB.

In this opening it is clearly foreshadowed that there would be conflicting themes about motherhood and military service, and this is furthered by the protagonist’s internal struggle between her devotion to the Russian revolution and her devotion to her child. The positivity of the feminist themes are reinforced with the witticisms of the Magazannik family, who have six children, and are more concerned with the wellbeing of their family than with the war. This is best conveyed in a scene where Yefim Magazannik (the father of the family and a local blacksmith) responds to an anecdote by Vavilova about the ideal of the soviet utopia where all men are equal in work with "but what about life?" Though the ending of the film features Klavdia Vavilova fleeing the Jewish household and her newborn son, this is due to the state-mandated style of heroic realism in film eclipsing the themes inherent to the overall work. Vavilova leaving may also be influenced by the children's favorite game, portraying the White Army hunting Jews. Immediately prior to Vavilova deciding to leave, there is a particularly brutal scene where the male children chase and bind their sister, ripping her clothes as she calls out for her mother. Their father reprimands them harshly, but Vavilova appears greatly troubled by the event and may feel a responsibility to prevent this type of brutality.

Vavilova is characterized as unquestionably manly, a 1988 film review done by James Lardner calling her "an inconveniently pregnant Bolshevik [and] a tough cookie". She is first introduced to viewers as a hardened military commissar, having just sentenced a soldier to death for going AWOL to visit his wife. She is respected by her commanding officer, which is made evident when Vavilova states that her deceased lover "was a good communist" to which her boss replies "you are all good communists". However once Vavilova relieves herself of her riding breeches and Mauser handgun, and is settled into the house of the Magazanniks, she falls out of favor with her once gracious coworkers. Once she embraces civilian life and the caveats that come with it, she seemingly loses her masculine qualities as her gun is replaced with her baby, and her leather pants are traded for civilian clothes made for her by the Magazanniks. Towards the end of the film the frontline of the conflict begins to approach the town of Berdichev, and the Red Army begins retreating, Vavilova is left behind with rationed food. The Magazanniks worry that with the coming shift of power there would bring another pogrom committed by the White Army, and Vavilova begins once again to abandon her motherly persona to relay the communist dream that all men will work in peace and harmony. The conflict inherent to the film being that while the revolution rages in the background, the true conflict is that between Vavilova’s treasured child and her patriotism and devotion to her job. In the end of the film Vavilova flees the home of the Magazanniks to attempt to rejoin her cavalry regiment at the front lines.

This complies with the film style of historic realism which acted to appeal to the masses of communist society, the protagonist acting selflessly, abandoning her child in order to join the forces attempting to save the village exemplifies this, and to a degree eclipses the feminist tone of the film in lieu of state mandated propagandist themes. Moreover, the transition from soldier-to-mother further reinforces the feminist tone of the film, as well as contributing to the thaw in Soviet dogma in the late fifties and sixties. In the journal Redressing the Commissar: Thaw Cinema Revises Soviet Structuring Myths, Andsell summarizes the lesson learned by the protagonist and the message conveyed by the director simply:

"Askoldov symbolically depicts the Thaw’s search in his heroine’s journey of physical and psychological liberation facilitated by her new, small-family environment. The stages of Klavdia’s emotional and spiritual maturation in the film reverse the symbolic 'progress toward consciousness' and the ritual initiation into the 'big family' that shaped Stalin-era Civil War discourse, reappearing in the late Thaw quasi-Stalinist narratives. Askoldov’s inverted enactment of a conventional Stalinist rite of passage shows Klavdia undergo its three main phases: separation from previous environment, transition to a new system of values and incorporation into the new community."

Socially the film retrospectively propagates a feminine pride in the socialist ideal, as Vavilova is presented as an independent and powerful woman who initially is seemingly unfazed by the death of her lover. She is more inconvenienced by her pregnancy, and is eager to go back into the fray of the Revolution. At the time of the Revolution, a major principle of the initial communist party was the freedom from discrimination based on religion and gender, and suffrage for women.

Cast

 * Nonna Mordyukova as komissar Klavdia Vavilova
 * Rolan Bykov as Yefim Magazannik
 * Lyudmila Volynskaya as Yefim's mother-in-law
 * Vasily Shukshin as Kozyrev, regiment's commander
 * Raisa Nedashkovskaya as Maria, Yefim's wife
 * Otar Koberidze as Kirill, late lover of Klavdia
 * Valery Ryzhakov as cadet

title: Commissar (film)


text:
Sepsidae

The Sepsidae are a family of flies, commonly called the black scavenger flies or ensign flies. Over 300 species are described worldwide. They are usually found around dung or decaying plant and animal material. Many species resemble ants, having a "waist" and glossy black body. Many Sepsidae have a curious wing-waving habit made more apparent by dark patches at the wing end.

Many species have a very wide distribution, reflecting  the coprophagous habit of most Sepsidae. Some species have been spread over large territories in association with livestock. Adult flies are found mostly on mammal excrement, including that of humans (less often on other rotting organic matter), where eggs are laid and larvae develop, and on nearby vegetation, carrion, fermenting tree sap, and shrubs and herbs.

Many Sepsidae apparently play an important biological role as decomposers of mammal and other animal excrement. Some species may have a limited hygienic importance because of their association with human feces. Others are useful tools in forensic entomology.

Description
For terms, see Morphology of Diptera. Sepsids are slender flies that resemble minute, winged ants. They are usually black in color, sometimes lustrous, and sometimes with silvery hairs on the thorax. The head is rounded. Sepsids have one or more bristles at the posteroventral margin of the posterior spiracle of the thorax, a character that distinguishes the family from other acalyptrates. The postvertical bristles are divergent or sometimes absent. Up to three pairs of frontal bristles are seen. They have ocelli with ocellar bristles. Vibrissae and palpi are poorly developed. The front legs of the male often have extrusions, spurs, teeth, or other ornamentation. The tibia has a dorsal preapical bristle in most genera. The abdomen is usually constricted in the basal part.

The larva is slender, tapering at the front end, and smooth except for ventral creeping welts. The larva is amphipneustic: it has two pairs of spiracles, one toward the head and one at the tail. The bulbous posterior end with its pair of spiracles distinguishes it from the larvae of other acalyptrates.

The pupa is enclosed within a puparium.

Classification
Genera include:

 * Adriapontia Ozerov, 1996
 * Afromeroplius Ozerov, 1996
 * Afronemopoda Ozerov, 2004
 * Afrosepsis Ozerov, 1996
 * Archisepsis Silva, 1993
 * Australosepsis Malloch, 1925
 * Brachythoracosepsis Ozerov, 1996
 * Decachaetophora Duda, 1926
 * Diploosmeteriosepsis Ozerov, 1996
 * Dicranosepsis Duda, 1926
 * Dudamira Ozerov, 1996
 * Idiosepsis Ozerov, 1990
 * Lasionemopoda Duda, 1926
 * Lasiosepsis Duda, 1926
 * Lateosepsis Ozerov, 2004
 * Leptomerosepsis Duda, 1926
 * Meropliosepsis Duda, 1926
 * Meroplius Rondani, 1874
 * Microsepsis Silva, 1993
 * Mucha Ozerov, 1992
 * Nemopoda Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
 * Ortalischema Frey, 1925
 * Orygma Meigen, 1830
 * Palaeosepsioides Ozerov, 1992
 * Palaeosepsis Duda, 1926
 * Parapalaeosepsis Duda, 1926
 * Paratoxopoda Duda, 1926
 * Perochaeta Duda, 1926
 * †Protorygma Hennig, 1965
 * Pseudonemopoda Duda, 1926
 * Pseudopalaeosepsis Ozerov, 1992
 * Saltella Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
 * Sepsis Fallén, 1810
 * Susanomira Pont, 1987
 * Themira Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
 * Toxopoda Macquart, 1851
 * Xenosepsis Malloch, 1925
 * Zuskamira Pont, 1987

Identification

 * Duda, O. 1926 Monographie der Sepsiden (Dipt.). Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 39 (1925): 1-153 and 40 (1926) : 1-110.This work is partly out of date but still the only review of world genera.
 * Willi Hennig, 1949: 39a. Sepsidae. In Erwin Lindner : Die Fliegen der Paläarktischen Region, Bd. V: 1-91, Textfig. 1-81a-d, Taf. I-X, Stuttgart. The only comprehensive work on Palaearctic genera and species.
 * Adrian C. Pont and Rudolf Meier The Sepsidae (Diptera) of Europe. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica Volume 37. 198 pages. ISBN 90-04-12477-2
 * A.L. Ozerov Sepsid Flies (Diptera, Sepsidae) of Russia's Fauna. Studies on the fauna; Archives of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University: Zool. Mus. Moscow. Univ. Publ.Language: Russian, title, contents and a summary in English. 184 pages.A very well illustrated guide to all 57 species from 11 genera of Sepsidae flies occurring in Russia, with keys to adults and pre-imaginal stages, and accounts concerning anatomy, phylogeny and distribution.
 * Silva, V. C. . Revision of the family Sepsidae of the Neotropical region. ii. The genus Meropliosepsis Duda, 1926 (Diptera, Schizophora). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, v. 36, n. 3, p. 549-552, 1992.
 * K. G. V. Smith, 1989 An introduction to the immature stages of British Flies. Diptera Larvae, with notes on eggs, puparia and pupae.Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects Vol 10 Part 14. pdf download manual (two parts Main text and figures index)
 * Lives in [Rocky Mountains] of Colorado, in the United States.

Species lists

 * West Palaearctic including Russia
 * Nearctic
 * Australasian/Oceanian
 * Japan

title: Sepsidae


text:
Kitale

Kitale is a town in the north west of Kenya, in the old Rift Valley province. It situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills.The town has an elevation of around 1,900 m Its population was 162,174 as of 2019. Kitale town is the headquarter of the Trans-Nzoia County, which is also sometimes generally referred to by the name of the town. Kitale is reachable by air through Kitale Airport. The postal code for Kitale is 30200.

The National Museum of Western Kenya is located at Kitale. It is a natural history museum and was originally created by Lt Col. Hugh Stoneham in 1926. Just next to the museum there is a demonstration farm with agroforestry practices run by a Swedish non-governmental organisation called Vi Agroforestry.

Location
Kitale lies between Mount Elgon and Cherang'any Hills is 72.3 km (44.9 mi) by road north west of Eldoret.

History
Establishment and settlement in the present town of Kitale was begun by the colonial district commissioner Arthur Champion and Arthur Cecil Hoey OBE, a farmer who built the Hoey's Bridge (later renamed Moi's Bridge) in order to enable access across the River Nzoia. In 1920 Mr. Champion, who was still administering the District from a site near Hoey’s Bridge, later known as the “Old Boma”, asked Mr. and Mrs. Hoey to help him choose his new headquarters in the Trans Nzoia, and thus the future township of Kitale was brought to life, it is having hitherto been merely a square on the map. The close of the 19th century saw the majority of East Africa come under British protection. This led to the establishment of national and sub-national boundaries. The greater Trans Nzoia area initially included the Uganda portion of what was known as the British East African Protectorate though this was annexed to become a part of Kenya during administrative restructuring in 1902. At this time the urban area was non-existent and the undulating grasslands formed part of Maasai grazing fields.

Christine Nichols (2014) notes that a 1908 map of the Trans Nzoia area showed numerous potential farms delineated by metal beacons stuck in the ground. A survey had been done to encourage white settlers to come to the area and Kitale appeared as a rectangle three miles by two, but in reality there was nothing there – not even one building.

In 1919, the British Government sent out settlers after the First World War and they found that what was supposed to be Kitale was just grassland and scattered trees, there was still not a single hut or person to be seen. One traveler noted: ‘It was impossible to foresee that this small area was destined to become the commercial center of the 1000 square miles of fertile land. As I moved westwards two huge lions passed me, for this was lion country where game abounded. Kongoni, reedbuck, oribi, topi and waterbuck were plentiful, and leopard well in evidence in the forested areas, their victims wild pig and monkeys.’

In reality the Trans Nzoia district was not a popular area. It had a reputation as the home of malaria and blackwater fever and it was removed from civilisation, because the nearest rail-head was at Londiani over 100 miles away and the nearest bank was at Eldoret, 45 miles (72 kilometers) away. But gradually convoys of ox wagons carrying furniture and tools traveled from Londiani and the soldier-settlers sent from England after the First World War began to occupy and develop the farms. A District Commissioner, Mr Champion, was appointed but as there were no buildings in Kitale he took up residence in what became known as the Old Boma not far from Hoey’s Bridge.

Firms began to build temporary premises near the water tank and the Standard Bank, Kitale Stores and Post Office, Howse & McGeorge, the Veterinary Office and Buck’s Hotel and Garage opened up. Permanent buildings were erected for the District Commissioner and the Police, and the Kitale Club was founded in 1924. At first there was no church and services were held in the houses of parishioners, led by the Rev. O.H. Knight, who had arrived in Eldoret in 1920. Saint Luke’s Church was built in Kitale in 1928, with the Rev. F. Tyrie as its incumbent, and the Roman Catholic church was constructed later, early in the Second World War. The hospital, with space for only four patients, was in a private house run by two nursing sisters. There was no permanent water or electricity, no permanent sanitation except pit latrines. Finally, a new hospital was opened in 1936. Water for household use was obtained by donkey transport from the stream below the Kitale Club where a small brick dam held back the water.

Settlers pressed the government for a railway line but it was not until Sir Edward Grigg became governor that there was a change of policy and it was decided to extend the railway to Jinja in Uganda via Eldoret, and to construct a branch line from Eldoret to Kitale. The railway reach Kitale in 1925 and Governor Grigg visited the district for the opening of the line. He provided funds for building Kitale School which had hitherto occupied a cramped private residence and for a new African hospital.

The prosperity of Kitale depended on the farmers but during the agricultural depression of the 1930 and locust invasions, which caused extensive damage to crops, Kitale foundered. Recovery was slow but progress was made especially when there was a new influx of settlers after the Second World War. Then Kitale achieved full municipal status and a large measure of control over township affairs. The stage was set for it to develop into an important municipality.

Climate
Kitale has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb).

Aerodromes
Kitale Airport is an airport in Kitale, Kenya. Kitale Airport is located in the town of Kitale, Trans-Nzoia County, in northwestern Kenya, North in the Former Rift Valley Province,close to the International border with the Republic of Uganda.

Its location is approximately 336 km, by air, northwest of Nairobi International Airport, the country's largest civilian airport. The geographic coordinates of this airport are:0° 58' 30.00"N, 34° 57' 36.00"E (Latitude:0.975000; Longitude:34.960000).

title: Kitale


text: Talk:Fahrenheit 9/11

title: Talk:Fahrenheit 9/11


text:
Southern Counties East Football League

The Southern Counties East Football League is an English football league established in 1966, which has teams based in Kent and Southeast London. Its two divisions are allocated at Step 5 and Step 6 of the National League System (which equates to Levels 9–10 of the overall English football league system). At its inception it was known for two seasons as the Kent Premier League and then, until 2013, as the Kent League.

There is no direct connection between this league and a previous Kent League that existed from 1894 to 1959, despite many clubs having spells of membership in both leagues.

History
The current league was formed in 1966, from teams in and around the county of Kent, when the Thames & Medway Combination (which had its origins in 1896) was expanded and renamed the Kent Premier League. The league began with fourteen teams - five of the six members of the final Thames & Medway Combination season (Deal Town Reserves, Orpington Athletic, Sittingbourne Reserves, Snowdown CW and Tonbridge Reserves) plus nine additional members (Ashford Town Reserves, Bexley United Reserves, Canterbury City Reserves, Faversham Town, Folkestone Town Reserves, Margate Reserves, Ramsgate Athletic Reserves, Sheppey United Reserves,Tunbridge Wells Rangers Reserves). Additionally the teams contested a league cup competition. Two years later in 1968 the league was renamed the Kent Football League.

During its first ten years many of the league's members were reserve sides of Southern League teams; in 1975 there was an unsuccessful proposal to exclude reserves teams from the primary division and instigate a second division. There followed several seasons by the league of discouragement of reserves teams until the 1978–79 season when a division for first teams only was established, titled Division One and reserve teams were shifted into a newly formed Division Two (which didn't exclude first teams); a Division Two knock-out cup competition was also initiated. Subsequently all divisions below the league's top division were known as the 'Reserves Section' and there was no automatic promotion/relegation from the Reserves Section into/from the top division.

The league continued with this format until the 1998–1999 season when the divisions were renamed as the Premier Division and Division One (from Division One and Division Two respectively) - with floodlights being a requirement for clubs in the Premier Division. The following season Division One was split into two equal ranked regional (North and South) Divisions with a play-off match between the two winners to decide the Division One champion. After reverting to a single Division One for the 2000–01 season, for both the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons Division One was again split into North and South Divisions. Thereafter for the following nine seasons the Reserves section was divded into two merit based divisions, Division One and Division Two, with promotion/relegation between the two divisions; Division One initially comprised the higher ranked teams from the two regional Division One leagues with the new Division Two taking the remaining teams. For the 2012–2013 season, the final one the league was known as the Kent League, the competition reverted to a two division format comprising the Premier Division and Reserves Section Division One.

In 2013 the league changed its name to the Southern Counties East League, to reflect that many of its member clubs no longer played within the county of Kent. and reverted to a single division for three seasons. At the end of the 2015–16 season, the league merged with the Kent Invicta League: the former single Southern Counties East League was designated as the Premier Division and the former Kent Invicta league became Division One.

Promotion and relegation
From 1982 the league became a designated feeder league to the Southern League and during the following twenty seasons nine Kent League clubs gained promotion. From 2004, following further rationalisation of the structure of non-League football which saw the redrawing of the border between the Southern Football League and the Isthmian League, the Premier Division champions are promoted to the Isthmian League.

Prior to the 2011–12 season clubs could be relegated to the Kent County League, although in practice this rarely happened, albeit clubs had moved in the opposite direction on being elected to the Kent League. The formation of the new Kent Invicta Football League for the 2011–12 season created a league at Step 6 rather than Step 7 allowing for a less steep transition; clubs were regularly promoted from the Kent Invicta League but until it amalgamated with the SCEFL in 2015 no clubs were relegated to this step 6 league.

Sponsorship
Following their sponsorship of the Kent League Cup for the 1984–85 season, cable-making company Winstonlead extended their sponsorship to cover the League and this ran for 15 seasons between 1985 and 1999 during which period the competition was styled as the Winstonlead Kent League. They were succeeded by brewing company Bass as sponsors for three seasons during which the league was titled the Bass Brewers Kent League. In 2002 Kent based travel agency business Go Travel were the sponsor with the competition known as the Go Travel Kent League. The sponsor changed in 2005 to the Kent on Sunday newspaper and for a single season, 2005–06, the league was known as the Kentish Observer League. There followed two years without a title sponsor until 2008 when it was sponsored for two seasons by Bulmers and named the Bulmers Cider Kent League. For the 2010–11 season, training and consultancy business Safety Net Associates were the sponsors with the league known as the Safety Net Associates Kent League. Thereafter for two seasons commencing with the 2011–12 season the league was sponsored by Hürlimann Sternbräu lager (brewed by Kentish brewers Shepherd Neame) and billed as the Kent Hurlimann Football League.

After six seasons without a title sponsor, in November 2019 shipping company Sea Pioneer was named as sponsor with the competition known as the Sea Pioneer Southern Counties East Football League – this arrangement ceased with the interruption of football in March 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league next announced a sponsorship agreement in June 2024 with Tunbridge Wells based property management firm Presence & Co., with the league to be known for the following two seasons as the Presence & Co. Southern Counties East Football League.

The League's knock-out cup competitions have intermittently attracted separate sponsorship: from 2011 to 2018 the Challenge Cup was sponsored by sportswear brand Macron; the Reserves Section cup was known for the 2008–09 season as the HAUC (Highways Agency Utilities Committee) Reserves Cup and for the following two seasons to 2010–11 was sponsored by (infrastructure provider) Blu3.

Current structure and teams
Since 2016–17 the Premier Division is designated at Step 5 with Division One at Step 6 of the National League System (which equates to Levels 9–10 of the overall English football league system). Clubs are able to move upwards to the Step 4 divisions of the Isthmian League; teams are relegated into the Kent County League which is the feeder league into Division One.

As of the 2024–25 season the two divisions comprise the following clubs

Premier Division

 * Bearsted
 * Corinthian
 * Erith & Belvedere
 * Faversham Town
 * Fisher
 * Glebe
 * Hollands & Blair
 * Holmesdale
 * Kennington
 * Larkfield & New Hythe Wanderers
 * Lordswood
 * Lydd Town
 * Punjab United
 * Rusthall
 * Snodland Town
 * Stansfeld
 * Sutton Athletic
 * Tunbridge Wells
 * VCD Athletic
 * Whitstable Town

First Division

 * Bridon Ropes
 * Canterbury City
 * Clapton CFC
 * Croydon
 * FC Elmstead
 * Faversham Strike Force
 * Forest Hill Park
 * Greenways
 * Halls AFC
 * Lewisham Borough
 * Meridian VP
 * Rochester United
 * Sheppey Sports (formerly K Sports)
 * Soul Tower Hamlets
 * Sporting Club Thamesmead
 * Staplehurst Monarchs
 * Tooting Bec
 * Welling Town

title: Southern Counties East Football League