Talk:Spin

Driving

What about taking a spin in your car? -- 24.149.203.252 03:04, 8 December 2007

The Spin model name is using by Chevrolet. I don't like the name because it reminds me to oversteer or bad handling. --Love Krittaya (talk) 11:19, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Dutch Band

The page states Spin (band). Allright, but in 1976 Dutch studio pop musicians group Spin charted in US Billboard Top 100; it's not included here! Verrekijker 00:15, 25 December 2005 (UTC)

Spinning - main use

I think "spinning" should go straight to Spinning (textiles), not the dab page. Zargulon (talk) 16:58, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

Main use of the term "spin"

In my opinion, the primary usage of the word "Spin" relates to the rotation of an object, and secondarily to propaganda. I think those two uses are most commonly intended when talking about "spin". With respect to "spinning", I agree with Zargulon above, that "spinning" should probably redirect to Spinning (textiles) article, with a hatnote back to this page for "other uses".

Regarding the current lead for this disambiguation page, I do not feel it meets the guidelines described here Wikipedia:Disambiguation#What not to include. Disambiguation pages are not intended to describe word origins, they are intended to only include the minimum description to help direct readers to the usage they are interested in. I changed it once, but am not interested in an edit war, so will leave it to others to change, if they wish. OvertAnalyzer (talk) 16:20, 28 August 2022 (UTC)

The words "spin" and "spinning" are used in a wide variety of ways, many of which refer directly back to the original meaning (turning fiber into yarn) – for example this is where political "spin" comes from, or the idea of "spinning a yarn" (telling a story), spinning sugar (like cotton candy), why a spider "spins" a web, etc. etc. Other uses generally come from the sense of rotation (which itself came from the motion of a spindle). I think it’s helpful to include both of these definitions here because (a) they are both very common, the most likely reasons a reader will be directed to this page, and (b) explain the origin of the other senses of the word, either directly or indirectly. If the sense of spinning thread is not mentioned then readers may come away with the mistaken impression that spinning thread relates to rotation (instead of vice versa). But I don’t think any reader is going to be confused by a lead section which mentions both of these, nor is it excessively long or burdensome to put 2 sentences at the top. Previously this disambiguation page mentioned neither of these definitions, burying both of them (and their categories) near the bottom of these long multi-category lists. –jacobolus (t) 20:14, 28 August 2022 (UTC)

I think spinning should also go to this disambiguation page. The word spinning is also used to refer to objects which "spin" (rotate) like wheels, tops, etc. –jacobolus (t) 20:18, 28 August 2022 (UTC)

As for WP:D, WP:DABDIC says that for a disambiguation page, "A short description of the common general meaning of a word can be appropriate for helping the reader determine context." That’s what we are talking about here, not "list of dictionary definitions", an extended essay about the history of the word, or whatever. –jacobolus (t) 20:23, 28 August 2022 (UTC)

@Jacobolus: You are correct that readers could leave the page without knowing that most references to spin are derived from spinning thread, but that is OK because that is not the purpose of the page. The purpose of a disambiguation page is strictly to direct readers to the article that best addresses the topic they are looking for. It is not to define a word or describe its origin. The first disambiguation page example given in WP:DABDIC is Mercury. The Mercury DAB page does not explain that both the planet and element derive their names from the Roman god. The page does provide brief definitions of each. The definitions provided are only long enough to direct the reader to the article they are interested in. If the reader chooses Mercury (element), they will find an etymology there. They can also find a different etymology related to the Roman god at Mercury (mythology). My first attempt at summarizing the spin DAB page can be seen here: 15:29, 28 August 2022‎ OvertAnalyzer. The definitions are just long enough to permit the reader to locate the article they are interested in. I included in the lead what I think is the most common use for the word "spin", and what I think is the most common use for the word "spinning". OvertAnalyzer (talk) 21:34, 28 August 2022 (UTC)

The DAB page Mercury would be improved if the first section were rewritten to be 3 or 4 sentences instead of a bullet list. But if you insist on that format you can put spinning in the sense of turning fiber into yarn and spinning in the sense of rotation up at the top in bullets, and other uses later. It will still be much better than the state of a few days ago where neither of these primary definitions was mentioned explicitly, buried at the end of a long undifferentiated list. –jacobolus (t) 16:28, 29 August 2022 (UTC)

The closest thing to a "common general meaning" of the word is the one relating to rotation, but even that is only relevant to some of the entries. I don't see a need to mention the etymology of the word: that's beyond the scope of dab pages, and readers interested in that (or any other aspect of the word as such) can follow the link in the box on the right to the Wiktionary entry.

In principle, a dab page can list at the beginning the few most commonly sought entries, if there are any (in the sense of MOS:DABCOMMON and as done at Mercury), but it seems that the only eligible entry would be the one for Spin (physics) (see the Wikinav data: in July, that article got 425, or over a quarter, of the clickthroughs from the dab; for comparison, the textile and propaganda entries got 45 clicks each, while the link for Rotation was followed 39 times). Uanfala (talk) 10:21, 29 August 2022 (UTC)

@OvertAnalyzer: I agree that the primary usage of "spin" is the rotation of an object. But I strongly disagree that "spinning" should redirect to Spinning (textiles). That would mean Spinning (textiles) is the WP:PRIMARYTOPIC, in which case that article should just take on the primary "Spinning" title without any disambiguation. But I don't think that Spinning (textiles) is the primarytopic for "spinning". The most common usage of "spinning" is probably just as the continuous tense of "spin", again as it relates to rotation, so it makes most sense to redirect "spinning" to "spin". Bennv123 (talk) 13:37, 29 August 2022 (UTC)

Also, I do agree that the etymology in the introduction is not in line with MOS:DAB and should be removed. Bennv123 (talk) 13:46, 29 August 2022 (UTC)

1. Etymology has no place here.

2. Uanfala is correct – WikiNav shows that readers are looking for Spin (physics) more than all the other leading destinations combined. If anything should be at the top, that should be. —swpb^{T • go beyond • bad idea} 15:27, 30 August 2022 (UTC)