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Collectibles as rewards for several kinds of improvement to articles related to Firefly/Serenity (sci-fi)
A sample BrowncoatAward barnstarCheck back every week or so for updates; any duplicate FF/S items I end up with will be added here as additional rewards.
Request: Be the principal improver and "process shepherd" in moving an article relating to Firefly (TV series) and Serenity (film) at least one assessment class or reviewed status higher (as detailed below), and get incidentally very relevant reward items with real collectible value. I'll pay for the packaging and shipping (including bag-'n'-board or sleeve-'n'-toploader, as applicable). In addition to specific, non-virtual rewards covered below, all completed reward levels also include the {{BrowncoatAward}} barnstar illustrated here (or a different barnstar if requested and it seems appropriate, for those who already have BrowncoatAwards). Photos of reward items available on request (use e-mail; I can't just post them here, since they're copyrighted and it wouldn't be covered by fair use). Alternative bounty: For anyone who is entirely anonymous and does not want anyone to have contact information for them, I'll be happy to make a donation on your behalf, per the Wikipedia:Bounty board, in the approximate value of the offered reward items instead of sending you the items.
Rewards: There are different rewards for different levels of article improvement. I "upgrade" the offered rewards with addtiional and/or better items as I accumulate more duplicate things I don't want to bother eBaying away.
For "Featured Article" status: A limited edition (of 5000) Serenity: Better Days #1 variant cover comic book (it eBays for around US$25 as of September 2010). From Dark Horse Comics, in association with the California Browncoats club and the Kids Need to Read Foundation. It is a charity fundraiser edition, exclusive to the 2008 San Diego ComicCon, with a variant cover featuring wrap-around pencil art by Will Conrad. Condition: NM. Plus 2 Serenity promo trading cards (Inkworks 2005, serial numbers SP-1 & SP-CEE), NM-M condition, I'd probably say M, but my eyesight isn't 20/20 any longer; worth about $1-3 on eBay. There is only one of this reward!
For "A" class up from "GA" (or from "B" if "GA" is skipped): A "Serenity: The future Is Worth Fighting For" promo post card, NM-M condition, with blue, moody art of Mal & River. Value probably around $5. Plus 2 Serenity promo trading cards, SP-1 & SP-CEE, as above. There is only one of this reward!
For "Good Article" status up from "B": The World of Serenity, a 6-page trifold full-color promo brochure with cast & Whedon bios, a really nice full-page group shot of the Big Damn Heroes, and "Serenity" movie logo in large size. 8.5 × 35.5 in. (8.5 × 11 in closed), condition: VF+ to NM, sells for around $20 on eBay as of October 2010. Plus 2 Serenity promo trading cards, SP-1 & SP-CEE, as above. There is only one of this reward!
For complete "B" class up from "Start"/"C": 4 Firefly/Serenity promo trading cards (SP-1 & SP-CEE, as above, plus 2006 P-1 & P-2, all in NM-M condition, with P-2 being worth $2-6 on eBay, the rest $1-3). There is only one of this reward!
For "Start"/"C" class up from "Stub" or non-existent: 2 Serenity promo trading cards (SP-1 & SP-CEE). There are over 20 of this reward available.Browncoat is a great candidate, as there's almost no real information there, and a great deal missing (there's an entire notable-in-itself documentary film about BCs, a network of regional BC websites, the annual, international "Can't Stop the Serenity" global charity fundraiser, etc.)
Un-limitations: I want to be as incentivizing as possible.
Except as noted, these rewards apply to any article directly connected to the Firefly/Serenity 'verse, including articles about the episodes and comics or other media, about Browncoats or "Can't Stop the Serenity", about actors or crew, about production or other involved companies, whatever.
A "tag-team" of two or more editors can each qualify for rewards where there are multiple rewards available (and they actually appear to be working together and not edit-warring. >;-)
Rewards are cumulative on request: A new article all the way to FA (new/Start/C to B to GA to A to FA would net 2+2+4+2 (12) cards, plus whatever non-card stuff I add to the GA bonus, and the ltd. ed. comic, but only if you specifically request the duplicate cards (since you might not want them, and they can be used as incentives for improving more articles).
Anyone with concerns about my trustworthiness with regard to sending you the rewards can examine my eBay feedback score (e-mail me from my WP user page and ask for my eBay ID).
Just let me know on my talk page that you intend to claim one or more of these bounties, and for what article, and (eventually) when the goal is reached. I'll review article history and I'm not going to deny a reward just because you weren't the only person improving the article; I just need to see focused effort on improvement. If you have any questions regarding if a contribution will qualify please contact me first.
Definitions of status/assessment levels:
"'Featured Article' status" and "'Good Article' status" don't include restoration of delisted FA's or GAs, unless the work to restore the status is quite significant and mostly single-handed (e.g., the article Serenity (film) itself, down to "B" class as of this writing, probably doesn't apply, since fixing it looks like a big group effort and not much to fix, really).
"'A' class" means assessed as that class by a relevant, broad project (WikiProject Film, WikiProject Science Fiction, WikiProject Biography/Arts and Entertainment, WikiProject Books, etc., as applicable, just not WikiProject Firefly which has a conflict of interest), or by an independent peer review.
"Complete 'B' class" means satisfying all 6 of the explicit B-class criteria as defined at WP:ASSESS#Grades (B -> More detailed criteria -> [show]); I'll be the judge of that, regardless of project assessments or lack thereof - projects too often hand out "B" assessments to articles that don't even meet half of these criteria.
"'Start' class" and the rarely used "'C' class" class both mean the same thing here: A basic but well-written article that stands okay on its own, with no dispute/cleanup tags, all facts reliably sourced, and not something so fanwanky/crufty that it is likely to be deleted or merged; essentially, something good enough for WP:DYK, but not fulfilling all "B" class criteria yet. Brand new articles qualify in theory, though it's hard to think of a notable topic within scope that has no article yet. One thing that does qualify is re-development of a summary section at another article into its own full article like Malcolm Reynolds was from List of Firefly characters (do not attempt this with a minor character or other cruft, or it will just get merged back into the source article where it belongs). River Tam (presently a redirect) is perhaps the most obvious candidate, as long as one is aware of the WP:NOR and related issues that led to the article being blanked and redirected to the extant summary (a lot of cleanup will need to be done on the history-preserved material, or a new article written from scratch).
I reserve the right to impose a waiting period (up to 1 month, or until resolution of disputes if any apply) on fulfillment of any reward if I suspect that something bad may happen like an AfD, the undoing of an article split, or a dispute about a newly-granted status/assessment grade. (That said, I want to give these items away, as I have too much stuff, and eBay is too tedious for things that aren't worth a bundle.)
Limit on rewards: See each reward for availability of collectibles. No limit to the number earnable by one editor. I'll update this listing as rewards are claimed and new rewards become available.
Request: Add at least two reliable sources to 20 articles in the Unreferenced BLP category. Please provide diffs
Reward: The BLP barnstar see below
Limit on rewards: 2 per user.
Expires: 6 months from offer (March 26, 2011) on January 1, 2010
UPDATE: So far, 402 articles have been removed from the backlog. Given the considerable number of articles remaining, I've decided to change the criteria of the reward system so that there will not be a loss of motivation. As of Oct 10 the system will be as such:
20 articles = BLP barnstar
50 articles = Citation barnstar
90 articles = Tireless contributor.
The offer will now expire at the end of the year. -Reconsider| speak 05:08, 10 October 2010 (UTC)
