Talk:Desert island

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[edit] Puzzling turn of phrase in the first paragraph

The first paragraph contains the following sentence:

This society can either be utopian, based on an ingenious re-creation of society's comforts (such as can be seen in the novel Swiss Family Robinson and, in a humorous form, in the TV series Gilligan's Island) or a regeneration or even regression into savagery (a theme of William Golding's Lord of the Flies and Alex Garland's The Beach).

I'm not sure see the utility of the word "regeneration" in this context. Any objection to my changing the text to read

This society can either be utopian, based on an ingenious re-creation of society's comforts (such as can be seen in the novel Swiss Family Robinson and, in a humorous form, in the TV series Gilligan's Island) or a regression into savagery (a theme of William Golding's Lord of the Flies and Alex Garland's The Beach).

--CKA3KA (Skazka) 22:52, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

No objection here! Lusanaherandraton 00:33, 7 December 2005 (UTC)
Done. --CKA3KA (Skazka) 18:18, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Deserted Island

Isn't it deserted island? Quadzilla99 23:23, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Is this article both pedantic and wrong to equate/redirect Desert island with/to Deserted island

'Desert island' is now a re-direct to deserted island. Why is this? Isn't 'desert island' in common usage?

The introduction states: "A deserted island (also known as a 'desert island') is simply any uninhabited island: the word "desert" in this context is an adjective meaning "desolate and sparsely occupied or unoccupied," and does not imply arid desert climate." However this contradicts the [a] common popular usage as defined by Collins Cobuild Dictionary (1995): "A desert island is a small tropical island, where nobody lives."

The article has a link to Merriam-Webster Online but all this leads to is one definition of the verb desert with no mention of desert island.

I propose we move the article back to 'Desert island' and explain the term broadly in its full context. -- Kleinzach 00:27, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

Please see that I have struck out the above and replaced it with a. After further discussions I now understand that there is a genuine difference of opinion about the meaning of 'Desert island' which is reflected in the different dictionaries. It may be a Brit/US English distinction. In any case, the entry should presumably note the differences. -- Kleinzach 23:59, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Requested move

I propose moving this page to 'Desert island' (which at the moment is a re-direct to this article).

Reasons are given above (Is this article both pedantic and wrong to equate/redirect Desert island with/to Deserted island ). The present article is inaccurate, needs re-titling and a re-edit. -- Kleinzach 00:46, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

  • Support; The Oxford English Dictionary calls it a "desert island". And a "deserted island" would need to have been occupied once, for it to be deserted, which isn't what this article is about. Masaruemoto 05:15, 18 October 2007 (UTC)
  • Support Correct english--victor falk 23:54, 18 October 2007 (UTC)
  • Support. While I disagree with both arguments given above — there's nothing wrong with "deserted island" — desert island is vastly more common. (But why not list this as a formal move request?) Doops | talk 23:57, 18 October 2007 (UTC)
Comment: I thought I had listed this formally - it's been noted at Wikipedia:Requested moves - is there something else I should do? -- Kleinzach 01:10, 19 October 2007 (UTC)
Nope. My bad. Doops | talk 14:01, 19 October 2007 (UTC)
  • Support Due to desert island being the common (or at least more common) usage, for instance desert island discs.Someone another 01:52, 19 October 2007 (UTC)
  • Support "Desert island" sounds delicious! How do I get there? Ewlyahoocom 07:42, 20 October 2007 (UTC)
Take the second left after dinner. ;) Someone another 14:07, 20 October 2007 (UTC)
I think you mean diner. Doops | talk 15:03, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Move now made to Desert island

Thank you for the unanimity expressed above. I have now made the move and will change 'deserted island' to desert island' where that change is straightforward and uncontroversial.

I have amended my original comment (Is this article both pedantic and wrong to equate/redirect Desert island with/to Deserted island) above now that I understand the question better.

I am hoping we can all agree to record the different definitions of a 'desert island' in a suitably NPOV way which satisfies all opinions. Anyway please see my editing and make comments! Best. -- Kleinzach 00:07, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

Please remember to fix double redirects when you make page moves! There are quite a few to this page when you check "What links here" on the article page. Dekimasuよ! 04:11, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
OK. I hope I have caught them now. -- Kleinzach 06:25, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

Doops - thanks for the 'tweak' - can you name the 'several' dictionaries? At the moment we only have Merriam-Webster. I think we also need a ref. to the OED. -- Kleinzach 06:39, 22 October 2007 (UTC)