This is an archive of discussions about contested featured article candidates that were nominated in May 2004. Warning: not in perfect chronological order.

May 2004

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Vowel

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(the vowel article series)

This is more a nomination for a whole list of articles, whose top is the vowel article. An excellent introduction, and I would especially commend the table of vowels, which links to further sub-articles, each of which is illustrated with a sound file. Smerdis of Tlön 15:03, 7 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

  1. a discussion of the role of vowel shifts in regional accents. For instance, there is very little actual vocabulary or syntactic difference between Manchester English and Newfoundland English, and consonantal differences are almost nil. But vowel shift renders both almost impossible to understand by someone native to most regions of North America, especially when spoken rapidly.
  2. I have yet to run into a sound file on Wikipedia. I will admit I haven't exactly been looking, but this article cries for sound samples. I would vote feature in a heartbeat if I could actually hear what I'm asked to (sorry, "envision" is not the word, but you know what I mean). Denni 00:50, 2004 May 8 (UTC)
    • Each indivual vowel listed on list of vowels has a link to a sound clip. Nohat 03:31, 2004 May 8 (UTC)

FWIW, I believe this nomination is relatively moot now, since vowel itself has been voted up. Smerdis of Tlön 23:37, 17 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

MAD Magazine

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This seems comprehensive and well-written. Could do with some images, but as they are all probably under copyright, that may be impossible. --Woggly 12:22, 5 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

  1. Rewrite the first couple of paragraphs. Once into the article, the author seems to have found his/her pace, but the lead-in is a bit awkward.
  2. Reduce the superlatives. "Brilliant" and "some of the best satirical writers and artists of a generation" may be overstating things slightly, and are also statements of opinion.
  3. Alfred E Neumann has a history of his own. This article should expand on that, including providing information on what he was originally called.
  4. "Real" advertising in the pages of MAD is a major philosophical break from MAD's previous stance, and has affected both its credibility and its sales. Any discussion of the current state of the magazine must include that.
As a contributor to Everything2 as well as Wikipedia, I suggest the author take a look at how some of its noders have handled this topic. MAD is certainly one of the icons of my generation, and I would like to see it receive the credit it is due. Denni 22:01, 2004 May 5 (UTC)

Clover

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A nice piece of work, with pictures and Latin names, discussing clover. -Litefantastic 11:47, 4 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

War of Currents

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Well written historically detailed article on why we use AC instead of DC. - Bevo 19:44, 4 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

  1. rewrite the rather stiff lead-in
  2. provide a little bit more background on Edison/Tesla re. their research into and implementation of the generation of electricity. No more than a few paras, but readers should have some history on what led up to the war.
  3. remove the technical information. This is a story of human conflict, not a treatise on current carrying capacity
  4. do a thorough copyed for syntax and appropriate word choice. Read it aloud to yourself and see how it sounds.
BTW, a terrific title - sure caught my interest. Please leave a note on my talk page when you think this is ready for another look. Denni 04:13, 2004 May 5 (UTC)
Good work has been done, but there is still enough room for improvement to delay its "featured" status. --Zigger 01:43, 2004 May 9 (UTC)

Slashdot trolling phenomena

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Fascinating discourse on an important facet of one of the most prolific web communities on the internet. Extremely thorough and shows off a more atypical topic, while still being well-written and comprehensive. It's fun and interesting. -Xmnemonic 11:51, 4 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Jesus Christ

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This is easily one of the best articles on Wikipedia. I just saw it was nominated back in Sep. 03 but was knocked down due to a very tendentious objection. I expect the same user will object again, but I think there's a fair chance of an override. JDG 08:08, 3 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Burning Times

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Self Nomination, but yes, I know, it still needs a photo (working on it really soon) and perhaps a couple 'tweaks'... Comments are appreciated! Morwen Celeb'Kuruni

Article offered by securiger is devastating. Author appears to be offering the foundation mythology of one of the religions invented in the 20th century as history; since it primarily libels another religion, needs strong evidence and balanced input to even belong in this encyclopedia. Alteripse 04:31, 20 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Adolf Hitler

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Good history, well constructed article. Might still need some tweaks for NPOV though. Sarge Baldy 19:33, May 19, 2004 (UTC)

Immortality

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Self-nomination (I only added a few minor things. There were many contributors) The article is interesting and presents a variety of perspectives on the idea. It is comprehensive without being boring and includes relevant quotes. Chubtoad 18:54, 15 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

===Common sense===Bold text

(the belief, not the pamphlet)

This is a really interesting article--it explains the underlying philosophy clearly, and it's an article that only Wikipedia would have. I enjoyed it immensely. Not a self-nomination. Meelar 18:20, 15 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Wicca

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Self-nomination. Well, sort of. I've edited and added here and there. I really like this section, and I think it's a subject worth checking out. I think there will be a few people who don't understand what it is and don't want to read the article, but I'm willing to take that chance. It seems like there should be more in the article, but there's nothing else to put.

Alfred Thompson Denning

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Good (but short) article (with good examples) of an important and interesting character. -- Kaihsu 13:01, 2004 May 12 (UTC)

Baseball

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I'm shocked that baseball isn't on the list yet -- this is a superb article about a fun yet complex (and highly notable topic.) Adam Conover 21:37, May 13, 2004 (UTC)

(Addition: While I made one or two copyedits today, that's it; I've barely worked on the article, so I don't consider this a self-nomination.) Adam Conover 21:38, May 13, 2004 (UTC)

Imatinib

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Self-nomination. This drug is the first anti-cancer drug that doesn't simply kill rapidly-dividing cells but actually targets the mutated proteins (tyrosine kinases). A lot of basic science, but this pill is going to attract a Nobel prize somewhere in the next few years. Jfdwolff | t@lk

Saddam Hussein

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A very thorough, interesting piece. This is a topical article with useful references as well. 4.247.239.4

Oppose - it needs to get below 30KB in size and needs an expanded lead section. --mav 10:39, 9 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
The article still needs to be below 30KB in size, but I'm lifting my opposition for now to give people a chance to do that. --mav 08:58, 21 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
I added an abstract/lead section. See my comments below. 172 12:33, 19 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
It is still 42 kilobytes long. --mav
So what? There are many featured articles that go over 30K. Please change your vote to abstain so that this section can move up to the unopposed nominations sections and where it can attract copyeditors. Afterwards, we can both change our abstain votes to oppose votes at the last minute. 172 11:25, 20 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
De-featuring is harder than preventing an article from being featured in the first place. I will give a conditional objection. --mav 08:58, 21 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
Support - very thorough and surprisingly well sectioned and laid out. The length is of benefit if anything (keep under 30kB? Why? Are Wikipedia running out of storage space?) Zoney 20:09, 11 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
Support, looks comprehensive Oppose - abstract/lead section is too short. Many readers want to know the essential without have to browse thru the whole article. Andries 20:13, 11 May 2004 (UTC) Andries 21:06, 19 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
I added an abstract/lead section. See my comments below. 172 12:33, 19 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
Support - The article is very informative. The lead is very brief, but it contains the essentials. Compare George W. Bush. Acegikmo1 21:09, 11 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
Abstain (as main author) - I think that a couple of sections need work, so I cannot vote in support of the feature just yet. But I'd like to promote the features process, which would provide incentives for further copyediting, once the two opposition statements are withdrawn. 172 12:33, 19 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose - This article has been the site of too many conflicts lately, which seem to have ended mostly through exhaustion, not a good editorial strategy. It should have time to settle and attract contributors, such as the ones who were driven away and had valid concerns. VV 12:10, 20 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
V formulated his objection in an awkward way, I think. Only the end result counts, I believe. If the current article is not good then state these valid concerns (where and why), otherwise I think the objection is unfair and needs digression. Andries 12:20, 20 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
His point is a valid one - DNA was de-featured due to a long term edit war over that article. It seems like this article has more than its fair share of edit wars as well. --mav
Actually, everything has been pretty clam on the article since the re-write. I don't care if it's featured, but I'd like to see it spend some time on the "nominations without objections" section of this page in order to attract copyeditors. 172 08:01, 22 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
Wouldn't listing it on Wikipedia:Peer review do the same thing? Just a sugestion. Gentgeen 20:26, 24 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]


John F. Kennedy assassination

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Silver

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Self nom [1]. I would like some feedback on how to further improve this article in order to get it into FA shape. If it is already there, then great, if not, then please tell me what still needs to be done. NOTE: I already plan a minor expansion with a book reference I have. --mav 11:57, 23 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Object. I think the chemical portion of the article is OK (as far as I can judge), but the rest of the article should be better for a featured article.
The history section merely states some facts, and does not form any kind of story. I think the fact that silver has been used for coins deserves some more text; this could go with a picture of silver coin or so (something better than the current image, at least).
The "Precautions and health effects" section reads like a point by point summary and is very unclear (what is carcinogenic?, who is Dr. Robert O. Becker and why is his opinion relevant?). Some other suggestions (not required for me to support this article) would be :
  • more data on export and import of silver (top-10 producing/consuming nations in a table?)
  • The isotopes section contains a lot of numbers - maybe these become more comprehensive in tabular form.
  • Are there any books dedicated to the subject?
Jeronimo 18:57, 23 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
Ah - OK. I was thinking more along the lines of chemistry and not history. Oh well. --mav 04:15, 24 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]
Neutral, but... there has got to be a better term than "silvery" to describe silver's appearance. - jredmond 18:25, 24 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Space burial

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(Adjourning to talk page.)Markalexander100 07:13, 28 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Four-stroke cycle

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Excellently written, well illustrated article - Bevo 15:42, 22 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Diabetes Mellitus

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(Includes Type 1, 2, 3 & 4)

Wikipedia's diabetes mellitus article provides an excellent overview of one of the most serious and fastest growing diseases of our time. The article is of adequate length, neutral, includes pictures and is neately divided. But, it is not just the quality of the article that make it a worthy candidate, rather it is the importance of the topic at hand.

According to the World Health Organization, diabetes is a growing epidemic and is among the top 5 causes of death in developed countries. Less than two decades ago it affected 30 million people, now that number has grown by 6 times. To make matters worse, diabetes is growing as fast as ever, and by the year 2025 it is expected to double.

The International Diabetes Federation currently reports that diabetes affects 200 million people worldwide, and kills 4 million per year. But, this number doesn't tell the whole story. Many animals, including all known breeds of cats and dogs may have diabetes. It is believed that 50% of people with diabetes do not even know they have the disease, imagine how many would know their pets do.

Unlike most other diseases, diabetes affects people of all ages and economic backgrounds. In fact, diabetes is more common in highly developed countries. However, it is expected that diabetes will increase by 170% in developing countries by 2025.

In addition, diabetes greatly increases the risk of dozens of diseases and has many complications, such as blindness and kidney failure. By curing diabetes the prevalence of a number of other diseases will be lowered. For example, the risk of heart disease may quadruple in diabetics, breast cancer risk rises by almost 20%, and women with type 1 diabetes are 10 times more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers have also found links between diabetes and other diseases, including asthma.

Diabetes is a huge economic burden. In the US alone it costs $132 billion dollars per year in direct costs. If you add in lost productivity, the number grows to $196 billion. The total health care cost of a diabetic is 3 times higher. And of course, we will never be able to measure the pain, anxiety, and inconvenience it causes.

Diabetes is one of the most important disease of our time and raising awareness is the first step to stopping this epidemic. In fact, the complications and health problems associated with diabetes are only due to the unsatisfactory control of blood glucose. Theoretically, if one monitored and controlled his or her blood glucose perfectly, diabetes would not be a health concern. However, that never happens and half of diabetics are unaware of the disease that is eating away at their life. People need to be informed.

By the way, I already wrote everything necessary to make diabetes mellitus the featured article when I was unaware of the peer process. Check it out, it's all done: [2] --Exigentsky 22:36, May 31, 2004 (UTC)

Problems, as I write this, are fixable with sufficient time and effort. they include: spelling and grammar difficulties (eg, verb agreement -- which do not, mostly affect clarity), non-uniformity of coverage (some medical terms are explained, some are not), oddities of intention (is this article meant to help those with DM or who have relatives with it, or is it intended to list facts about DM? -- I think it should do the second while it does the first), and so on. I should say that I think we have 95+% 99% of a featured article as it stands. ww 19:55, 1 Jun 2004 (UTC)

PGP

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(or Pretty Good Privacy)

This article discusses the most widely used system for secure communication (eg, email). It has recently been reviewed and updated by one who participated in some of the history, thus resolving some rather obscure points, technical, political, historical, and spelling. Not too technical, but fairly covers some of the pitfalls. A good, brief, account of a part of a large topic of importance, including public policy issues. Should even evoke a smile or two. Worth featuring. ww 14:41, 7 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]


Evolution of sex

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Excellent article, with images to boot! --Lexor|Talk 06:22, 18 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]