Worst Wikipedia article titles

[AndyTheGrump]

What Jake says ^

I'd have gone with 'incident'. Not because it is an ideal word to use - the aircraft industry for example routinely misuses it - but because it is at least vaguely neutral, until what actually occurred, and what if anything motivated it becomes clearer.

The issue would never arise of course if Wikipedia didn't insist on becoming a latest-news amalgamator, with all the opportunities for trolling, arguments about titles, and just plain getting-the-facts-wrong that doing so entails.

[Beeblebrox]

Now titled as 2021 Waukesha Christmas parade car rampage (T-H-L)

It seems like most such incidents tend to get moved within the first few days, indeed at appears this has been moved at least twice already, and more alternatives are being actively discussed on the talk page. "Rampage," while certainly more accurate than "car crash" it feels like a tabloid headline to me, it seems likely it is going to be moved again to "incident" or "attack."

[L.R. Lee]

"Kenosha unrest" is a bad title.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenosha_unrest
>$52 million in damage and it's only "unrest". I wonder how high the damages need to get to quality as "riot"?

[Midsize Jake]

I wonder how high the damages need to get to quality as "riot"?

The "riot" vs. "unrest" question isn't determined by monetary damage amounts, it's determined by the behavior of the people involved. Otherwise, you could have a perfectly peaceful and calm protest march, but if someone accidentally destroys an original Van Gogh during it, suddenly it's a "riot." Doesn't make sense, see? And since the protesters didn't kill anyone, and arguably didn't even seriously injure anyone, then you have to go with "unrest." Obviously Kyle Rittenhouse killed two people, but he wasn't a protester, he was just a right-wing teenage goon with a gun who'd been watching too much propaganda.

As I recall, there's a rulebook somewhere that lays this out in detail, but it's probably only available on Kindle.

Anyway....

[MrErnie]

Aaaaand it's been moved back to car crash. I'd make a joke and say it should be moved to "2021 Waukesha Fender Bender" but the actual "incident" is so tragic, senseless, and depressing that even a joke isn't appropriate.

There's plenty of vehicle ramming events listed on Wikipedia, so editors could look there for some naming examples or guidance.

At the template page, it's currently the only one (mis)listed as a "rampage," and there are none that are called a "car crash."

Part of the hesitation seems to be that editors don't want to call this an "attack" because that could impugn the character of the accused (per BLP), but it's hard to see busting barricades, zig zagging through crowds, and plowing over a mass of people as just a pesky ole inconvenience that could happen to any of us on our way home from work.

[L.R. Lee]

I wonder how high the damages need to get to quality as "riot"?

The "riot" vs. "unrest" question isn't determined by monetary damage amounts, it's determined by the behavior of the people involved"

>$52,000,000 in damages is an impressive amount of putatively non-riotous "behavior".