To report an error when this list is currently on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
Before making a suggestion, please read the selected anniversaries guidelines. Please remember that this list usually defers to supporting pages when there is disagreement, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
Q1: Why is [Insert event here], an event that is "more important and significant" than all the others that are currently listed, not posted?
A1: Relative article quality along with the mix of topics already listed are often deciding factors in what gets posted. Any given day of the year can have a great many important or significant historical events. The problem is that there is generally only room on the Main Page to list about 5 events at a time, so not everything can be posted.
As stated on Wikipedia:FAQ/Main Page, the items and events posted on the Main Page are chosen based more on how well they are written, not based on how much important or significant their subjects are. It is easier for admins to select a well-written, cited, verifiable article over a poor one versus trying to determine objectively how much a subject is important or significant.
Keep in mind that the quality requirements only apply to the selected bolded article, not the other links. Thus, an event may qualify for multiple dates in a year if there is an article written in a summary style and an article providing detailed content; if one of those pages have cleanup issues, the other page can be bolded as an alternate.
Another criterion is to maintain some variety of topics, and not exhibit, just for example, tech-centrism, or the belief that the world stops at the edge of the English-speaking world. Many days have a large pool of potential articles, so they will rotate in and out every year to give each one some Main Page exposure. In addition, an event is not posted if it is also the subject of this year's scheduled featured article or featured picture.
Q2: There are way too many 20th-century events listed. Why aren't there more events from the 19th century and before?
Q3: This page seems to be biased toward events based in [Insert country or region here]. What can be done about it?
A3: This again is attributed to the systemic bias of Wikipedia. Many users are generally more interested in working on good, well-written articles pertaining to their home country. Since this is the English Wikipedia, there will be more English-speaking users, and thus more articles pertaining to English-speaking countries. And if there are more users who are from the United States, there will probably be more well-written articles about events based in the United States. Again, if you would like to further help mitigate the systemic bias in Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:WikiProject Countering systemic bias.
Q4: Why is the birthday/death anniversary of [Insert name here] not listed?
A4: There are only four slots available for birth and death anniversaries. As with the events, article quality and diversity in time period, geography, and reason for notability are all contributing factors in whether an article gets selected for inclusion.
Q5: Are the holidays/observances listed in any particular order?
A5: Yes, there is a specified order: International observances first, then alphabetically by where observed.
Q6: Some of the holidays/observances that are listed have dates in parentheses beside them. What do they mean?
A6: There are two reasons that some holidays/observances have dates next to them:
Non-Gregorian-based holidays/observances are marked with the current year as a reminder to others that their dates do in fact vary from year to year.
National Days, Independence Days, and other holidays celebrating the nationhood of a country are generally marked by the year of the significant historic date being observed.
Today's featured article for December 6, 2024
Wikipedia:Today's featured article/December 6, 2024
If I had a guess, simply due to lack of space coupled with there already being a major Canadian topic in the Halifax Explosion (and possibly it having a round number anniversary - 95th). It'll probably be back on next year if I had a guess, and most certainly in 2014 on the 25th anniversary. Resolute15:44, 6 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]
From the looks for things, as it appeared in 2004/05/06/07/08/09 and 2011, it was not included this year so that other articles that either had not been included before or had not been included for a few years could appear. It is no reflection on the incident that it has not appeared this year. See Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries for the principles that govern selection of the five or so items each day. BencherliteTalk15:59, 6 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, that's the idea. We have a pool of 15 eligible articles, out of which 5 or possibly 6 that can be featured in any one year. The Montreal massacre is simply out of rotation this year. —howcheng {chat}17:12, 6 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]
"On this day" calls the Halifax explosion of 1917 as the largest manmade accidental explosion, but the supporting article List_of_the_largest_artificial_non-nuclear_explosions says the N1 rocket explosion was larger (and equally accidental and manmade).
@Ham II: thanks for your comments. I chose a bust image because it has been several weeks since a bust was used as the OTD image, and I strive for variety. I did not select the Nefertiti Bust because it had been used in 2018 and 2019 as the OTD image, and I wanted to bring other images to OTD. The Bela I bust image was in the selected images bank at the top of the page, so I used it. If anyone has additional images that can be used for OTD, I invite you to add it to the selected anniversary day. Z1720 (talk) 14:36, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Z1720: Now that 6 December has passed, I've replaced the photo of the bust with the image I suggested. Is this the best way to ensure that that image is the one that appears for Béla I in the selected images bank in future years? To expand on why I wanted the photo of the bust replaced, it's too recent and idealised – as a general rule, the closer in time to its subject an artwork is the more suitable it is. Ham II (talk) 22:05, 8 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]