Wiki Project Belgium - Article Improvement Drive

Article Improvement Drive

List articles here that you think could be improved. If you're only reporting article problems (such as POV violations, unsourced biographical information etc.), list under "article problems".

• The Vlaams Blok article has just been promoted to the good article status. IMHO it is undue. The article seems to me as a one-sided description of the party failing to say that this party still exist under the name Vlaams Belang, that many scolars consider this party a far-right party, that some members of the party have been condemned for denying the holocaust, etc... The article as it is now is pure propaganda and requires an urgent improvement. Vb (talk) 18:54, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

• Pralines The article as it is now is very limited . There is room for more elaborate talks about different chocolateries in Belgium and their status . Not just the exporting ones. Streets with prominent praline vendors in for example Bruges. The chocolate line foe example deserves a mention http://www.thechocolateline.be . The fact a lot of bakers make their own chocolate and chocolates, with some pictures of the less known traditional ones in different towns.

• gebakje The typical "Gebakje", "Pateetje" Doesn't have a straight translation in English. There is the word pastry which encompasses a whole lot more. The "gebakje" entry in Dutch as it is now, isn't linked to anything else in other languages and is very sparse in its definition. I believe the existence of miles of outstretched counters in the countless bakeries in Belgium filled with the typical "dry" and "wet" small pastries should as a concept be given an existence even if a straight translation of the word doesn't exist. This is an encyclopedia after all, and not a dictionary. Something with a few pictures of bakeries and their counters . A list of what constitutes "dry" i.e. (holdable in hand and eaten) (rijsttartje, éclair, cornet au chocolat ou vanille, etc. etc. ) And a list which constsist of Merveilleux, bavarois, javanais, miserable etc. etc. etc. would be nice. All in all, what I'm asking myself here, these things feature prominently in our lives, and deserve an encyclopedia entry .. Actual ideas about implementation may vary.

• Belgian inventions !!! Come on ppl, we look like we have our proverbial dick hanging out of our pants here !!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Inventions_by_country per country : Belgium --> Zero. I can probably name a few dozen off the top of my head .. But I'll just add the fact it's been overlooked here so someone can make a serious project of it instead. 83.101.79.156 (talk) 10:19, 9 June 2012 (UTC)

category:Belgian inventions - tag away! Brigade Piron (talk) 18:19, 11 June 2012 (UTC)

Caution. Keep an eye on your work when adding to the list of Belgian inventions. Some users seem to be systematically removing entries that are being added. Keep checking your tags for some time after adding them . 83.101.79.45 (talk) 07:09, 14 June 2012 (UTC)

When it comes to inventions, single objects with multiple aspects that each can rightfully claim being invented by a person of a single country are being credited for it. For example the telephone, which has the tags : If unclear go visit the entry for it.

In the wikipedia entry for telephone, one can also see in the case when inventors who are abroad when doing their invention, their countries still get accredited for it.

Some people seem to be handling a double standard when arguing matters to discredit Belgium. 83.101.79.45 (talk) 21:12, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

bakelite Bakelite tag keeps getting blanked.

Some people argue inventions done in Flanders before 1830 aren't Belgian. I'm sure if a Flemish Inventions category gets created, there will be room for Vesalius, Simon Stevin, Mercator and then some. 83.101.79.45 (talk) 21:12, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

Drama update : The discussion in VP/PR is worth a read and a comment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Bakelite#Invention_country_of_origin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:VP/Pr#Invention_country_of_orgin 83.101.79.230 (talk) 06:31, 26 June 2012 (UTC)

• Prime Ministers of Belgium and other politicians! There are plenty of short articles on PMs and ministers of Belgium which have between them about 50 types of right-hand box! Could we please try to standardize this a bit? Brigade Piron (talk) 15:58, 10 June 2012 (UTC)

• This article about the different kinds of chocolate distinguishes between Canada, the US and then Europe as a whole : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_chocolate Belgium needs a place there, where for example the chocolate code can be discussed : http://www.choprabisco.be/engels/documents/BelgianChocolateCodeEN030507DEF.pdf or the fact Belgian chocolate manufacturers go beyond EU directives and most of them only use cocoa butter as a fat in the manufacture of chocolate . There is more than enough of a difference between the EU directives and the chocolate Belgian manufacturers make to warrant a chapter.

• A veritable deluge of "citation needed" in the health care section by country http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_systems_by_country#Belgium If I didn't know any better I'd be inclined to think someone with an agenda is trying to cast doubt on our system.83.101.83.94 (talk) 04:04, 19 July 2012 (UTC)

Added some references and removed the plethora of tags. Any Americans who live in denial and -for their sanity- need to negate the existence of actual health care on the planet who also feel the need to check the references for the sole reason of being able to delete the article will just have to learn dutch. If anyone else knows of any translated references in English, just add them to the dutch ones.Passive aggressive s**t like this is really low.83.101.83.94 (talk) 04:52, 19 July 2012 (UTC)

Thank you for actually taking action, instead of just hoping others will. Good work! Oreo Priest talk 19:43, 19 July 2012 (UTC)

• History of Belgium - this is one of the most important articles in the project and is fine until independence (1830) but most of the rest just consists of links to better articles. I've tried my best on it, but lack expertise. Can anyone help? --Brigade Piron (talk) 17:03, 4 September 2012 (UTC)

• Pancakes - In the article on pancakes, which is locked due to the fact it has a lot of vandalism, it is implied Pancake Day for France, Europe in general is on Mardi Gras.. This is not the case . Pancake day for a very large part of Europe is on Feb 2, ( Chandeleur, Maria Lichtmis, Candlemas ) . I have tried to get this fixed/added by adding to the talk page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Pancake#Pancake_day_in_Belgium_.2F_France_.2F_Netherlands_.2F_other.3F . And asking the person who locked the article to do something about it. With this I am trying here as well, in the hopes a Belgian editor who is sufficiently interested in this to take a few minutes to modify the pancakes article. Regards 83.101.83.87 (talk) 12:43, 26 February 2013 (UTC)