19 January 2012 I am the subject of the "Venkatraman Ramakrishnan" entry. I was touched when offered a knighthood by the British government, and accepted it in the same spirit that I accepted the Padma Vibhushan conferred by the Indian government a year ago. However, before accepting, I ascertained that the use of the title "Sir" is entirely optional. I am not comfortable with titles so I do not use it. Please do not add it when describing me. Riboman ( talk) 08:23, 19 January 2012 (UTC)
26 July 2012 Titles: As I said above, I checked with the OFFICIAL authorities about whether the use of the title was compulsory. They assured me it was purely optional. I do not use it. Now somebody who appears to have no interest in the ribosome or indeed science has made it his business to amend my page and stick on the title. I hope that he will respect my wishes. There is absolutely no requirement that knights are required to be addressed or referred to as "Sir." All of the organizations I belong to, including Trinity College, have respected this. Further, I hope that people will respect the policy on living persons in Wikipedia. I hope other Wikipedians will weigh in on this. Thanks.
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The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it. |
Given the storm in a teacup, I would like to clarify a few facts. Firstly, I have made it very clear that I felt both touched and honored to have been awarded the knighthood. Yes, it is traditional for people awarded it to use the title, but it is a mistake to confuse the honor of a knighthood with the right that comes with it to use the title. Not only am I uncomfortable with titles, but I am also a US citizen, whose constitution Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 forbids titles. Precisely because of these issues, I sought a clarification prior to accepting it. I was assured by the officials in charge that I did not have to use the title and there would be no conflict with US laws. Given the clarification, I felt it would be insulting to decline the honor, and a disservice to the organizations and colleagues who have supported my work over the years. Thus I certainly do not mean to be disrespectful to anyone, let alone an entire country that I admire in many ways and where I live entirely by choice. However, I think it is important to distinguish between what is traditional and what is obligatory and not jump to conclusions. [unsigned, edit by Riboman, and accidentally removed, maybe. Restored by Drmies.]
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Dear Riboman, I am sorry it took me six years to run into the above discussion, and I wish to offer you my apologies--better late than never... On the bright side, a few more conscientious Wikipedia editors have been keeping an eye on your article to keep it clean; I just noticed some content that was degrading and insulting and have scrubbed that from the history. If you have any concerns, you can always try to use the {{Admin help}} template--instructions are at Template:Admin help (sorry, I can't explain it better). Wikipedia:Volunteer Response Team has more information on other ways to redress issues. Thank you, and again, my apologies for this late, late response. Drmies ( talk) 16:04, 30 January 2018 (UTC)
19 January 2012 I am the subject of the "Venkatraman Ramakrishnan" entry. I was touched when offered a knighthood by the British government, and accepted it in the same spirit that I accepted the Padma Vibhushan conferred by the Indian government a year ago. However, before accepting, I ascertained that the use of the title "Sir" is entirely optional. I am not comfortable with titles so I do not use it. Please do not add it when describing me. Riboman ( talk) 08:23, 19 January 2012 (UTC)
26 July 2012 Titles: As I said above, I checked with the OFFICIAL authorities about whether the use of the title was compulsory. They assured me it was purely optional. I do not use it. Now somebody who appears to have no interest in the ribosome or indeed science has made it his business to amend my page and stick on the title. I hope that he will respect my wishes. There is absolutely no requirement that knights are required to be addressed or referred to as "Sir." All of the organizations I belong to, including Trinity College, have respected this. Further, I hope that people will respect the policy on living persons in Wikipedia. I hope other Wikipedians will weigh in on this. Thanks.
Unbecoming responses |
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The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it. |
Given the storm in a teacup, I would like to clarify a few facts. Firstly, I have made it very clear that I felt both touched and honored to have been awarded the knighthood. Yes, it is traditional for people awarded it to use the title, but it is a mistake to confuse the honor of a knighthood with the right that comes with it to use the title. Not only am I uncomfortable with titles, but I am also a US citizen, whose constitution Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 forbids titles. Precisely because of these issues, I sought a clarification prior to accepting it. I was assured by the officials in charge that I did not have to use the title and there would be no conflict with US laws. Given the clarification, I felt it would be insulting to decline the honor, and a disservice to the organizations and colleagues who have supported my work over the years. Thus I certainly do not mean to be disrespectful to anyone, let alone an entire country that I admire in many ways and where I live entirely by choice. However, I think it is important to distinguish between what is traditional and what is obligatory and not jump to conclusions. [unsigned, edit by Riboman, and accidentally removed, maybe. Restored by Drmies.]
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Dear Riboman, I am sorry it took me six years to run into the above discussion, and I wish to offer you my apologies--better late than never... On the bright side, a few more conscientious Wikipedia editors have been keeping an eye on your article to keep it clean; I just noticed some content that was degrading and insulting and have scrubbed that from the history. If you have any concerns, you can always try to use the {{Admin help}} template--instructions are at Template:Admin help (sorry, I can't explain it better). Wikipedia:Volunteer Response Team has more information on other ways to redress issues. Thank you, and again, my apologies for this late, late response. Drmies ( talk) 16:04, 30 January 2018 (UTC)