Talk:Free Zone (Scientology)

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On changing the name/title of the topic

Hello,

I’m proposing a name change to this article’s title, on the basis of “Free Zone” being a long-outdated spelling/stylization — “Freezone” being the ubiquitous endonym, recognized as such from an Etic perspective as well.

The spacing and capitalization as “Free Zone” is not reflective of the reality within the community itself, Scientology discussion and criticism, or academic ethnography.

In short: no one has used “Free Zone” for a very long time; it fell out of favor decades ago. It’s even a source of correction among people who dane use it in the presence of Freezoners.

I think it would thus be pertinent and appropriate to change the article’s title for accuracy’s sake. “Free Zone” is an incorrect, outdated and rarely-used (in any context) exonym.

Thank you for your time!

-An experienced Scientology researcher -.+ThAYYta+.- (talk) 05:06, 30 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I checked each of the external links to the indie scientology websites and there seems to be no standard. Some call it "Freezone" and others "Free Zone". Grorp (talk) 09:43, 4 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

That's true for old long-established websites and groups, (like from the Usenet era to early 2000's) however in practice "Freezone" and "Independent Scientology" both take precedent over "Free Zone" almost every time nowadays. It's worth looking into what the current English-speaking Independent Scientology field (such as on Facebook, Ron's Org groups, or in the reporting of Tony Ortega) actually use in discussion. I've even witnessed newcomers and watchers get chewed out for using the outdated "Free Zone."

If I'm not mistaken, even the latest ethnographies on Freezoners use the non-spaced version.

It's not a huge deal of course, but it would more accurately reflect the self-identity of Independent Scientologists and lead to more standardization.

-.+ThAYYta+.- (talk)

Germany paragraph

@Jacquesparker0: I'm not sure I completely agree with the removal of the Germany paragraph. Yes, it was positioned awkwardly by being placed before the section "The Church of Scientology and the Free Zone". I'm thinking of reworking the article Scientology status by country and this Germany paragraph would be relevant (here). It shows the contrast between how Germany sees the Church of Scientology (dangerous organization) and Freezone (relatively harmless hobby). I wanted to at least make a note of this particular edit here for when I get around to reworking the "status by country" article. It's possible that that research would turn up other countries that shun CoS but don't care about the independents, in which case a section here called, perhaps, "Perception by government authorities" or something similar. On the other hand, that 'news' is 24 years old. Just tossing around the idea. Grorp (talk) 09:43, 4 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hi @Grorp. I think making a section called "Perception by government authorities" makes sense for that paragraph (plus it expands the article in a nice way). For now, I'll reverse my edit to retain the paragraph, so later we could rework it into something that better fits the article. --Jacquesparker0 (talk) 19:46, 4 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

This article's factual accuracy is disputed?

According to WP:WTRMT:

"Maintenance templates are not meant to be in articles permanently. Any user without a conflict of interest may remove a maintenance template in any of the following circumstances: [...] When an article talk page discussion has not been initiated (for templates requesting it)"

The "This article's factual accuracy is disputed" tag was added here:[1]

The only discussion of this was here:[2]

I do not think that the above discussion from nine years ago justifies a permanent "This article's factual accuracy is disputed" warning when there was never an actual dispute over the article's factual accuracy.

Also, the wrong template was used. WP:RSPM is the correct method to request that the name of a Wikipedia article be changed. @Laval:, please follow the instructions at RSMP if you still wish to request a name change.

In the meantime I propose removing the template. --23:56, 5 March 2024 (UTC) by Guy Macon Alternate Account

Agree. I'll take it off. if somebody has a specific concern. please state it specifically. North8000 (talk) 03:12, 6 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

A directory of freezone websites in the External links section

@RicoRichmond: See WP:NOTDIRECTORY, WP:LINKFARM and WP:LINKSTOAVOID. I'll elaborate. If one of those Freezone organizations was discussed in the article, with appropriate independent reliable sources, then adding a link to their website under "External links" might be appropriate. But these organizations are not discussed in the article, and the list of organizations as seen in this version represents a directory. Take a look at the aforementioned 3 policies. And if you still think it is appropriate to link to a list of 10 freezone organization websites, then I suggest starting a formal discussion on it, such as using the Request for comment process. ▶ I am Grorp ◀ 05:12, 9 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]