Talk:Darien, Connecticut

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Contents 1 Notable retail businesses 2 McDonalds 3 Cleanup 4 Anti-semitism?

[edit] Notable retail businesses

I've removed this addition to the section:

• Baubles Jewelry Store, Sterling Silver 1070 Post Road, Darien

I removed it because when I started that section, I realized that it was open to abuse -- any business in town might be listed unless we have some standards for it. This is my proposed standard: A business that is well known throughout the town either because it is very old (not sure how old should be the cutoff) or because it is well known for doing something important or doing it extremely well, or does something innovative that no other business does. That standard could probably be refined more, but I think it's a good start.

Does "Baubles" fit the standard? If not, I'd oppose putting it back in. Anyone have any thoughts?Noroton 20:38, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] McDonalds

I added a "citation needed" mark next to the mention that the McDonald's off the highway in Darien is the busiest McDonald's in the country. Having lived in Darien for 10 years, I seriously doubt that statement. Chris Berry 18:36, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

Some google searches confirmed it. [1] I added a citation. I'm a bit suprised but I guess it makes sense. A lot of comuters probably go there on their way to NYC Lyo 02:46, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

The Stamford Advocate actually mentioned the same thing in an article a few years ago (it surprised me at the time, so I distinctly remember it). What I'm curious about is whether it's the southbound McDonalds (closer to Stamford) or the northbound McDonalds (closer to Norwalk). I'm going to try to check it out in the future.

The volume of the eastbound McDonalds would probably be related to the fact that it's the first rest stop on Interstate 95 once traveler's go over the George Washington Bridge. If New York state ever wanted to go through the trouble of putting a rest stop on the highway in that state, it would rake in a lot of money. Noroton June 27, 2006

I think this statement needs to be reworded, and confirmed for the present...the citation refers to it being the busiest *before* the air and space musuem venue was opening, so Darien's stop being the busiest location five years later may no longer be valid...there are a couple options: delete the statement outright, or find an updated citation (if the statement is still true)....if it's no longer true, either delete the statement or reword it (at least "is" to "was", if being the former busiest site is still noteable). Given the circumstances the statement cannot stay as is.TJ0513 13:50, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cleanup

The templates and images near the top are in severe need of cleaning; they leave a lot of open space, and overlap. I'd clean it myself but I don't have the proper knowledge to fix the templates readily at hand. So please, Noroton, don't make snide comments about how if an article needs cleaning, I should 'lift a finger' and do it myself. It isn't very polite.--Vercalos 22:44, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

And this is polite? "Article is very sloppy. No offense to the contributors." You sound very much like someone else I've seen around here. Same lack of courtesy, same phony shock at being called on it. Same concentration on criticizing and lack (at least initially) of constructive help. If you're not "TJ" you two sure have a lot in common. Thanks so much for the changes you've made so far, it really helps to have the contents box crowd the top of the page.Noroton 00:20, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

As opposed to having them crowded in the middle, just below the introduction?--Vercalos 00:38, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure there's an ideal solution. The top section is only so long. When the town-information box was introduced it was, overall, an improvement I think, but it caused a large blank space on the left. To try to fix that, I moved up the Twilight on the Sound picture, which still seems to help somewhat, but white space remains. I've fiddled with it some more, incorporating most of your changes, which have made improvements, but moving back down the table of contents box.

I've noticed that there are big differences in the layout depending on how big you make the screen. I usually view it as a window smaller than my entire computer screen, but when I make the viewing window as big as my computer screen, different kinds of white space develop or the table-of-contents box moves either to the midde or creates a larger white space. It might be better to move "Twilight on the Sound" back down into the page and just accept that a large white space is inevitable unless more text (eventually) goes into the top section. With the changes I've made, how do you think the page looks now? I wouldn't want to do any other layout work other than moving that "Twilight" picture down. I'd be interested in hearing what you think.Noroton 01:00, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Well, I'm taking a look at the articles for other cities, and thinking it might be a good idea to flesh out the infobox and get rid of the images(at least in the introduction. Check out Los Angeles, California and Detroit, Michigan to see examples of what I mean..--Vercalos 01:27, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Oh, and as for getting rid of the white space, short of floating the Table of Contents(which seems to mess up the formatting even more if you try floating it anywere other than the top), it seems more or less impossible.--Vercalos 01:28, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

I made an example in my sandbox if you want to see.--Vercalos 01:30, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

I made a slew of changes which basically follow the Los Angeles and Detroit pages: I put a picture into the municipality box, removed the other pictures (I think having a picture up top is important, ideally a "skyline" type of picture showing some typical scene that everybody in town sees, but I think the picture in the box will do). I relengthened the table-of-contents box by returning subheadings to recreation and education. Now, as with LA and Detroit, the layout works either with full-screen or smaller window versions. Your help was useful.Noroton 02:57, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Sorry about blowing up like that.--Vercalos 04:38, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Anti-semitism?

Where did you get the information that "In 1948 a billboard reading "Gentiles Only" greeted visitors on Hollow Tree Road."? I have not found or heard that info anywhere other than Wikipedia, despite having lived in Darien for several years. I realize that this quote, along with the information about Darien being a sundown town, has been removed but that merely makes the section about anti-semitism seem even more out-of-place and wrong. Please provide a source citation(s) to prove that Darien has an anti-semitic past and was not just used as a fictional example in Gentleman's Agreement. I am not saying it is not truth - it may very well be. I simply want proof. Without proof it's just really nasty mud-slinging. Thank you in advance! —Lilly Williams (talk) 15:27, 16 November 2006