Talk:Misnomer/Archives/2015/March

Request for Comment

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.

NAC: Consensus had been reached that this change should be made, to include guinea pig as a misnomer, and the article had already been updated as requested. Closing as already done in accordance with consensus. Robert McClenon (talk) 04:52, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

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I have recently suggested the addition of the word "Guinea Pig" as a good example a misnomer on this article's page. It has been pointed out that too many examples have creeped in before and that they should be kept down to a manageable number. Therefore, I think Guinea Pig could replace the misnomer Norway Rat listed under the heading "Association with place other than one might assume" because guinea pigs are more well-known than Norway Rats and guinea pig has the added value of being a double misnomer (see below). Another editor here, Sundayclose, has no problem with this addition/replacement, but we would like a wider opinion about this suggestion, because the policy on this page is that there should no additions without a consensus. My addition/replacement, as an example of a misnomer, would read something like:

The Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) originated in the Andes not Guinea, and additionally is a rodent and unrelated to pigs.

Thank you for your time.03:04, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

• First, there's no such thing as "the policy on this page"; this page is not special in any way, and normal WP:CONSENSUS policy applies. Second, if we used this example, Guinea should be linked, too. Third, I like that the proposed example is both more common and is a two-for-one case. In most contexts, no one refers to a "Norway rat", we simply call them rats, so the extant example isn't particularly helpful.  — SMcCandlish ☺ ☏ ¢ ≽^ʌⱷ҅_ᴥⱷ^ʌ≼  21:03, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

• I like the replacement here as more common however I object to use of the terms "Rodent family" and implied "pig family". Rodents are an Order of mammalia. The equivalent Order for Pigs is Artiodactyla (Which includes Camels, Llamas, Whales, Dolphins, Hippos, Cows, Goats, Sheep and Deer). The Suborder Suina (Swine) is Pigs and for Guinea Pigs it's Hystricomorpha. The relevant Families are Caviidae (Cavy's) and Suidae (pigs). I'm ambivalent as to what level below Euarchontoglires and Laurasiatehrians is chosen. SPACKlick (talk) 14:33, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

• I don't see any problem with adding it, let alone replacing it. --Precision123 (talk) 17:31, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
  • I don't have a problem with replacing it, and I understand your point about adding. But simply adding one more example is contrary to the spirit of the current consensus for this article that is designed to keep the examples down to a few. As I've stated above, this article has a long, ugly history of everyone adding their favorite example, and this is not a list article. Obviously if the consensus here is to add without removing another example already in the article, I will respect that. Otherwise, however, an existing example needs to be removed. BTW, I agree with others that if guinea pig is added, Norway rat should be removed. Sundayclose (talk) 20:00, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

I think we have consensus on guinea pig as a worthy replacement for Norway Rat. I will replace it after I finish this note. I will also link Guinea as was suggested. SPACKLICK's observation is valid, rodents should not be mis-classified as a family and pigs have a distinct family name Suidae. However, I thought it best to use identifiers that the layman would understand so I used the same words but took out any reference to family. If one clicks on them they can get more information in their articles about their classification. Thank you everyone for your input. FourTildes (talk) 02:40, 3 March 2015 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.