Talk:Siege of Syracuse (877–878)/GA1
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Reviewer: Mr rnddude (talk · contribs) 11:32, 6 August 2016 (UTC)
Hello there, I will be taking on the review of this article, expect a full review to be up by tomorrow Mr rnddude (talk) 11:32, 6 August 2016 (UTC)
Rate | Attribute | Review Comment |
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1. Well-written: | ||
1a. the prose is clear, concise, and understandable to an appropriately broad audience; spelling and grammar are correct. | The concerns I had below have been addressed, minor nitpicks and misconceptions I had may have been excluded for those reasons.
Questions, comments and issues;
| |
1b. it complies with the Manual of Style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation. | Article lead has bee expanded considerably, all other MOS requirements had already been met.
My main concern is with the lede of the article, the rest of the article is neatly laid out according to MOS.
| |
2. Verifiable with no original research: | ||
2a. it contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline. | All of the sources are provided in the appropriate section and are verifiable. | |
2b. reliable sources are cited inline. All content that could reasonably be challenged, except for plot summaries and that which summarizes cited content elsewhere in the article, must be cited no later than the end of the paragraph (or line if the content is not in prose). | ||
2c. it contains no original research. | I have managed to access Metcalfe, which accounts for 8/24 citations, and can confirm that WP:OR is unlikely. | |
2d. it contains no copyright violations or plagiarism. | Earwig suggests that it is rather unlikely that a vio has occurred, | |
3. Broad in its coverage: | ||
3a. it addresses the main aspects of the topic. | This comment has been addressed.
I feel that the background could be expanded a bit further;
| |
3b. it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style). | The article is clearly focused on topic and doesn't stray to begin unnecessary discussion. | |
4. Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each. | The article maintains a neutral tone throughout and uses a variety of sources to ensure that POV doesn't creep in. | |
5. Stable: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute. | The article is in a stable condition, there are no on-going edit-wars and no outstanding disputes on the talk page. | |
6. Illustrated, if possible, by media such as images, video, or audio: | ||
6a. media are tagged with their copyright statuses, and valid non-free use rationales are provided for non-free content. | Licence updated.
Minor issue;
| |
6b. media are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions. | Both images have appropriate captions. | |
7. Overall assessment. | My concerns have been addressed. |
I will be using the above table for the review. Mr rnddude (talk) 11:32, 6 August 2016 (UTC)
- Cplakidas, I have completed my initial review of the article, the article is fairly well-written and concisely covers the topic however I have both mild and more significant concerns with some criterion. Feel free to ping me if you need any assistance or as you address the issues. Thanks for the contributions it was an interesting read and part of a topic I am interested in. Mr rnddude (talk) 13:14, 6 August 2016 (UTC)
- Hi Mr rnddude and thanks for a thorough review! I will go over your concerns over the next few days. However, right off, I completely disagree with 2b. Vasiliev is the fundamental work on the subject of the Arab-Byzantine wars to this day. Even if I used more English sources (of which there is none with this particular focus and level of detail), they would simply regurgitate Vasiliev (and I've read quite a few of them). For instance, the ODB article on Theodosios the Monk lists no English references, but does list Vasiliev, Hunger's history of Byzantine literature, and two Italian journal articles. To be frank, reference-wise Vasiliev alone suffices for the events of the siege, as he includes both the primary sources and his own commentary and analysis, complemented in the French version I am using by two of the most distinguished 20th-century Byzantinists, Gregoire and Canard. Metcalfe and the others are for context and additional details, of which I will add more based on your other comments. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 13:29, 6 August 2016 (UTC)
- I'll keep your comment about 2b in mind, it's a relatively difficult topic to have many sources for and if Vasiliev is fine on it's own for this article then the other sources are practically just a bonus. Thanks for the quick response, I'll look at 2b and update tomorrow if I have anything to update with. Mr rnddude (talk) 13:33, 6 August 2016 (UTC)
- Sorry about the delay, it slipped my mind entirely. I'll get to it this afternoon. Constantine ✍ 11:11, 30 August 2016 (UTC)
- Hi Mr rnddude, I've incorporated most of your suggestions and corrections. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 21:36, 30 August 2016 (UTC)
- Much obliged, I'll be doing a final check to make sure everything is okay and pass this article. I noted your comments in the review boxes above and don't have any issue with them. Thanks for clarifying a couple points, again, some of my comments can be tiny little nitpicks that don't really affect the article in terms of GA such as my comment about contrary winds. Mr rnddude (talk) 21:44, 30 August 2016 (UTC)
- Likewise much obliged for taking the time, and suggesting a few rather necessary improvements to the article. It is always to helpful to see one's work through another pair of eyes. Best, Constantine ✍ 22:03, 30 August 2016 (UTC)
- Hi Mr rnddude, I've incorporated most of your suggestions and corrections. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 21:36, 30 August 2016 (UTC)
- Sorry about the delay, it slipped my mind entirely. I'll get to it this afternoon. Constantine ✍ 11:11, 30 August 2016 (UTC)
- I'll keep your comment about 2b in mind, it's a relatively difficult topic to have many sources for and if Vasiliev is fine on it's own for this article then the other sources are practically just a bonus. Thanks for the quick response, I'll look at 2b and update tomorrow if I have anything to update with. Mr rnddude (talk) 13:33, 6 August 2016 (UTC)
- Hi Mr rnddude and thanks for a thorough review! I will go over your concerns over the next few days. However, right off, I completely disagree with 2b. Vasiliev is the fundamental work on the subject of the Arab-Byzantine wars to this day. Even if I used more English sources (of which there is none with this particular focus and level of detail), they would simply regurgitate Vasiliev (and I've read quite a few of them). For instance, the ODB article on Theodosios the Monk lists no English references, but does list Vasiliev, Hunger's history of Byzantine literature, and two Italian journal articles. To be frank, reference-wise Vasiliev alone suffices for the events of the siege, as he includes both the primary sources and his own commentary and analysis, complemented in the French version I am using by two of the most distinguished 20th-century Byzantinists, Gregoire and Canard. Metcalfe and the others are for context and additional details, of which I will add more based on your other comments. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 13:29, 6 August 2016 (UTC)