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Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2010-07-19/Features and admins

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Features and admins

The best of the week

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By Tony1, Adam Cuerden, Wackywace, and Dabomb87

Featured articles

Operatic excerpt from the new
featured article, Tosca|center
noicon
The Finale of Act I, sung by Pasquale Amato and the Metropolitan Opera chorus (1914 recording). As the public enter the church singing a Te Deum, Scarpia plots rape and torture.
Articles on two military vessels, SMS Blücher (upper) and the Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga, were promoted to featured article status.

Wikipedia has 15 new featured articles:

  • Tosca (nominators Brianboulton and Wehwalt), the opera by Italian composer Puccini that premièred in Rome in 1900.
  • SMS Blücher (Parsecboy and Dank), in a tragedy of errors abandoned and sunk in 1915 after being hit by British gunfire. The British rescue of survivors was then aborted because of a bombing raid by a German Zeppelin that mistook the Blücher for a British battle cruiser.
  • Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga (Sturmvogel 66, Dank, and Cla68), which figured prominently in the development of Japan's "carrier striking force doctrine", a revolutionary military strategy at the time. The doctrine was of significant value to Japan at the start of the Pacific War in the early 1940s.
  • "Once More, with Feeling" (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (Moni3 and Courcelles), first broadcast in 2001 and unusual in its conception as a musical. Notably, this nomination included a 29-second video excerpt of one of the songs.
  • Lindow Man (Nev1), the name given to the preserved body of a man discovered in a peat bog at Lindow Moss in North West England in 1984. There is evidence that he was strangled and hit on the head, and his throat cut, some time during the 1st century AD. The article has had feedback from Jody Joy, Curator of the British and European Iron Age Collections at the British Museum, and is eligible for the GLAM/British Museum joint Featured Article Prize (see the original Signpost coverage). A reconstruction of the man's head on the basis of radiography is here.
  • Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (SuperMarioMan), a 1960s British sci-fi TV series that has since been broadcast in more than 40 countries. The article is "probably the definitive resource about the series on the web", according to reviewer Bob Castle.
  • 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Historical Perspective), the shocking tale of an infantry regiment in the Union army during the American Civil War. Of its 1,100 men, roughly 300 were killed in action, 500 were discharged due to wounds or disease, and 175 were lost or discharged due to capture, resignation, or desertion.
  • Triaenops menamena, nominated by Ucucha because "bats are an underrepresented topic on Wikipedia—a pity considering their diversity and the many interesting aspects of their biology."
  • Tarrare, an 18th-century French soldier with some distinctly unsavoury habits. Nominator Iridescent says that "cat lovers may want to give this one a miss".
  • Sentence spacing (Airborne84, with previous input from Ruhrfisch). This is a surprisingly rich historical topic, and coincidentally Wikipedia's own practice is currently the subject of debate at the Manual of Style.
  • Peter Evans (swimmer) (YellowMonkey), an Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1980s who won gold and bronze at both the 1980 and 1984 Olympics.
    The delicate skirt-like ring near the top of Amanita bisporigera's stem belies the truth: it kills you about four days after you eat it.
  • Amanita bisporigera (Sasata), one of several deadly toxic "destroying angel" mushrooms.
  • Black Currawong (Casliber), a bird native to the Australian state of Tasmania. It steals food from other birds and its call has been likened to "part song and part human laughter".
  • RKO Pictures (DCGeist), the Hollywood film production and distribution company that pioneered a sound-on-film technology and supported the careers of such luminaries as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Mitchum, and Cary Grant.
  • Cotswold Olimpick Games, an annual public celebration of games and sports including sledgehammer throwing, fighting with cudgels, jumping and dancing, held near Chipping Campden in the English Cotswolds. Nominator Malleus Fatuorum comfortingly reassured reviewers, "I promise, it's all true".
Choice of the week. Nominator and reviewer Ucucha is a man of many talents, including fluency in Dutch, German and English. The Signpost asked him to select what he believes was the best new FA. "I was impressed by Sentence spacing. This is a minor topic, but there is a surprising amount to say about it. Britannica doesn't have an article on the subject, but it is a highly encyclopaedic topic. Sentence spacing is a topic that virtually everyone knows a little about, but only a resource like our new featured article can provide the relevant details."
A 1636 depiction of the Cotswold Games. The founder, Robert Dover, is on horseback carrying a wand.

Three featured articles were delisted:

  • Hurricane Dennis (quality of sourcing, citations and comprehensiveness)
  • Mount Rushmore (prose, sourcing, weight and comprehensiveness)
  • Krill (quality of sourcing, citations and comprehensiveness)

Featured lists

Seven lists were promoted:

Choice of the week. We asked Giants2008, a regular FLC reviewer and author of eight featured lists, for his pick of the crop: "Health- and science-related lists are fairly rare sights at FLC. This week, the process saw something come through it that touches on both subject groups: List of parasites of the marsh rice rat. It is a very high-quality list, particularly when it comes to sourcing; the exhaustive bibliography reveals a level of research that is a cut above typical FLs. The featured list process has long been open to criticism that it favors repetitive lists, as well as sports- and entertainment-related pages. This shows that specialized lists of strong encyclopedic value can prosper at FLC, and hopefully the process will soon see more work like this that breaks new ground."

Featured pictures

At Breakfast by Danish symbolist L.A. Ring
Ira Aldridge as Aaron in Shakespeare's revenge tragedy, Titus Andronicus, c. 1852. Aldridge was an African American who managed to become one of the most prominent Shakespearian actors of his generation, decades before slavery ended.
Velodona togata, by Ewald Rübsamen; restoration by Citron
This has been a bumper week, with 23 promotions.

Of particular significance, there are now featured pictures of 24 of the 81 chemical elements of which we can reasonably expect to gain featured pictures. It's a good start, and should the project ever achieve all 81, it would be worth celebrating. This week alone saw nine images of elements promoted:

Four images are of historical figures:

  • Kalākaua (c. 1882), the last Hawaiian Monarch. Unknown photographer, restoration by User:Greg L and Papa Lima Whiskey.
  • Charles XIV John of Sweden (1818), a French Marshal under Napoleon who Sweden selected to be their king. Painting by Francis Nicolas Jouy, after an original by François-Joseph Kinson; photo by Gérard Blot.
  • Edward Teller (1958), "the father of the hydrogen bomb". Original by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, restoration by Greg L and Papa Lima Whiskey.
  • Ira Aldridge, restored by Adam Cuerden, who stumbled on this picture while searching for images to illustrate Shakespeare. "When I researched the image and learned Ira Aldridge's story, I was amazed: he claimed he was the inspiration for a racist comic skit about black actors mangling Shakespeare, and used that to get people to come see the 'silly black person'. They were instead treated to a performance of Othello that received rave reviews. Long before the idea of race-blind casting, he played Romeo, Richard III, and Hamlet, all to critical acclaim."

The art world is represented with images of two paintings from the end of the 19th century – At Breakfast (1898), by the Danish symbolist L. A. Ring, and The Wave (1896), by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.

Three promotions depict bird life: Crescent Honeyeater and Eastern Spinebill, both by Noodle snacks, and Upland Sandpiper, by Johnath.

Two others depict sea life.

  • Marbled rock crab (male), by George Chernilevsky. This image was taken from above the crab. When asked about other angles one could photograph crabs from, George wrote: "I have photos of the big Warty crab (Eriphia verrucosa). I did them macro by the plan en claws and face. As a result I have been attacked by really strong claws. The camera has fallen to sand, and I have received blood-stained fingers. The crab hasn't suffered :)"
  • The octopus Velodona togata, in a gorgeous full-colour lithograph by Ewald Rübsamen (1910), restored by Citron. A reviewer explained that lithographs are created by using acid to etch the plate; ink can then gather in the resulting pits.

Two images illustrate American history: The Ivy Mike nuclear weapons test, by the United States Department of Energy (1952), and Signal Hill, California, c. 1923, by The Aerograph Co. Restoration by Jujutacular.

There was an astounding image of the aurora as seen from the International Space Station – witnessed from this vantage point only by a handful of people: Aurora australis.

Choice of the week. Adam Cuerden, a regular reviewer and nominator at the English Wikipedia's featured picture candidates, told The Signpost, "My choice is a fascinating view into the past of Signal Hill, California in about 1923." (The finished version is displayed at the bottom of this page with a horizontal scroller.) "Oil was discovered there in 1921, and around two years later, we get this image where oil derricks prod the sky everywhere you look. One might ask for a bit more resolution, but the impact of this image is unmistakable, and sometimes, with historic media, you have to take what's available. The panoramic shot is an impressive stitching and cleanup by Jujutacular (a multitalented Wikipedian) of a historic set of photographs in the original image he had to work with."

Three featured pictures were delisted:

Featured topics

There were no promotions. One featured topic, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., was delisted, because one of its articles is still not a good article.

Administrators

There were no promotions to adminship.


Featured picture Choice of the week: Signal Hill, California, c. 1923
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I just wanted to state again about how much I like this format. This feature has gone from being scan-worthy to being worth a thorough read. Great job, folks! - BanyanTree 15:00, 19 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I've skipped reading the Signpost for weeks because watching the FAC page is about the same thing. This touch is now more interesting. I'm impressed. --Moni3 (talk) 15:34, 19 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I can only echo the above. It's flipped from being a boring list to something I can be entertained by. On a side note, I read Tarrare because of this, and I fully agree that "cat lovers may want to give this one a miss". —Ed (talk • majestic titan) 00:11, 20 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wow. I have to agree, it looks awesome. I never had a problem with the old format, I always read it and didn't think there was anything wrong with it, but that didn't mean it couldn't still be improved, and this is definitely an improvement. -- Ϫ 07:09, 20 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Indeed, seresin has been doing a very good job on this for about three years, I think. This expands and modifies the structure he established. Tony (talk) 08:21, 20 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I'd prefer that we continue to show all of the new featured pictures. --Tagishsimon (talk) 10:45, 20 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]
What, all 23? Tony (talk) 04:33, 21 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The old style was cluttered and conveyed the FP promotions in a way that was not aesthetically pleasing, something which FPs are meant to be. The old design where the images were pulled together in small thumbnails was a bit of a slap in the face to the reason they were promoted. WackyWace you talkin' to me? 12:03, 21 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Great job on the new format. May you could add a link to a google image search that somehow shows the weeks latest FPs. Their image search has recently been upgraded. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 16:39, 21 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Make sure we cover what matters to you — leave a suggestion.
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