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An editor would like to have this article read was a past president of the Ulster Society of Rugby Football Referees, as an improvement over what had been was a former president of the Ulster Society of Rugby Football Referees. I understand that the conflict between "was" and "former" is the locution that triggered this edit, but I'd say that neither extra adjective is needed. Saying that Baird was president of the Ulster Society of Rugby Football Referees is sufficient. He's dead, we're saying he was president in the past, and, if we had them, we'd add the dates when he served in that position. The description "past president" or "former president" only make sense to describe the situation of a living person and are pretty much equivalent. Pinging 2605:e000:9149:a600:e4d9:72c2:bbb8:9d1b for comment. — jmcgnh(talk)(contribs) 22:45, 26 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]
The problem with eliminating the "past" is that it indicates that there is a stop to his tenure instead of someone saying "was" as an unfortunate reference to he having been made a president, not clarifying that his tenure has ended and giving the impression that he very well may be continuing in that function. One step is to correct an illogical statement and another is to end any possible confusion about the status of someone's tenure. Yes he is dead and that is why "was" was used instead of "is". That way no other statements in the article need be consulted to understand just what overall context one has to apply to a single sentence. That really is not so minor when what we may want to say is not what we put into the article the way things may end up.2605:E000:9149:A600:E4D9:72C2:BBB8:9D1B (talk) 22:59, 26 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]
To my ear was a past has the same tinny sound as was a former. — jmcgnh(talk)(contribs) 23:33, 26 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]
According to this source, it looks like Baird served 1974-75 as president of the Ulster Society of Rugby Football Referees. Further, I note that the original source [2] uses the wording He was a teacher and lecturer at Stranmillis Teacher Training College and a former president of the Ulster Society of Rugby Football Referees. This still sounds a bit off to my ear, but it's evidence contrary your general campaign. I suppose if you insert "at the time of this death" after "was", it makes more sense. Pinging 2605:e000:9149:a600:e4d9:72c2:bbb8:9d1b— jmcgnh(talk)(contribs) 09:34, 28 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]
