Template talk:Did you know/Riek Machar

Riek Machar

The following discussion is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Crisco 1492 (talk)

• ... that Riek Machar, first Vice-President of South Sudan, was once was assistant to Omar el-Bashir, President of Sudan?

• Reviewed: Paederus ([1])
• Comment: I have tried to make the article as neutral and factual as possible, but it is about a living person and from the edit history it is clear there is controversy. Not sure if that disqualifies the subject from DYK ...

5x expanded by Aymatth2 (talk). Self nom at 16:32, 9 August 2011 (UTC)

DYK check doesn't show 5x expansion. Crisco 1492 (talk) 00:33, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

The current version has 6,192 characters. It is a 5X expansion with new, sourced material. If you run DYK Check on this version from 26 July 2011, just before the expansion, you get 972 characters. This version from 9 July 2011 has 903 visible characters. But if you go back and check the 122.110.161.95 version from 8 December 2009, DYK Check gives 3,658 characters. The 122.110.161.95 version was quickly pruned back down by User:Sesel with the comment "If this isn't potential libel, I don't know what is". The size has bounced up and down. It seems that DYK Check compares current size to the maximum size ever reached, rather than to the size shortly before the expansion, which is what is relevant. Still, the edit history shows the subject is a controversial BLP, see comment above. Maybe blander subjects are more appropriate. Aymatth2 (talk) 01:42, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

The calculation is given at Wikipedia:Did you know/Fivefold day explanation, but Wikipedia:Did you know/Meanies is also relevant. The spirit of the rule is that a nomination counts only if a stub has been turned into an article. If the stub had previously been puffed up with unsourced content and then deflated when the puff was removed, the puffed-up size is irrelevant. In this case, I think, this is the first version with a significant amount of sourced content. I would judge previous versions as stubs - but that is a subjective view. Aymatth2 (talk) 02:11, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

Well argued. I will base the count off of the immediately preceding revision, which means it checks out.

Article: Length and date okay. Seems to be NPOV, with "successfully" in the source text. No media files, so no copyright worries there. Paraphrasing is fine.

Hook: Interest is rather low, considering that they were recently the same country. Anything else? Hook fact is cited, length is fine.

Any ALT suggestions? Crisco 1492 (talk) 07:15, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

How about ALT1 below? Aymatth2 (talk) 13:57, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

ALT1... that Riek Machar, first Vice-President of South Sudan in the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) government, once fought against the SPLM?

ALT2... that Riek Machar, first Vice-President of South Sudan in the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) government, once fought against them, with government support?

A little more in-depth. Crisco 1492 (talk) 14:16, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

ALT2 sounds as if the government supported him in fighting against the government, which is true in a sense. Confused? Read the article... I like it. Aymatth2 (talk) 15:27, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

ALT2 is good to go. Crisco 1492 (talk) 01:31, 17 August 2011 (UTC)