Wikipedia talk:Wikipedia Signpost/Drafts/Citations 2010-06-07

I am not sure if a special story in the Signpost is an appropriate way to cover this topic.

As far as I can see, these discussion haven't been very widely attended. They haven't even led to changes in the corresponding guidelines (WP:RS and Wikipedia:Featured article criteria) yet. Has this issue drawn wider attention or other activities, like a community-wide poll?

So far, I have trouble seeing what might set out this topic to be of special interest for Signpost readers, compared to the many more current and recent RfC, and current discussions that we haven't covered. HaeB (talk) 12:26, 7 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I saw that the next issue was due out on the 7th (today, and still needed three stories, so I thought I'd contribute one. Regarding how widely attended the discussions were, 16 editors voiced a comment between the two discussions (9 in the first, 7 in the second). I'm not sure what one considers "widely attended." ɳorɑfʈ^Talk! 12:59, 7 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I also don't think it is a good idea, journalism-wise, to cover current debates that oneself is strongly involved in, especially not if the Signpost article is making assertions about the outcomes of such debates and stating what the "general consensus" was. (See also this deletion discussion about the redirect that Noraft created and cited in the first RfC.)

To ask for technical assistance in constructing a new template, WP:VPT or Wikipedia:WikiProject Templates might be a more appropriate forum than the Signpost.

For each of these problems, there may be a good way to address it. And I don't mean to discourage Noraft from contributing to the Signpost at all, in fact help in resurrecting the "Discussion report" (the way in which the Signpost has covered notable RfCs and similar current debates previously) would be greatly welcome. However, I don't think it is a good idea to publish the article in its present state in this week's edition.

Regards, HaeB (talk) 12:26, 7 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I completely agree that it is a not a good idea, journalism-wise, to cover current debates that oneself is strongly involved in, especially not if the Signpost article is making assertions about the outcomes of such debates and stating what the "general consensus" was. I also agree that it is not a good idea to publish the article in its present state in this week's edition. I think the way to fix it is for someone else to rewrite this article in their own voice. That's the beauty of Wikipedia: I've licensed this work to be edited and rewritten at will. And I'm deleting the request for technical assistance and rewriting that section: I got the assistance I needed and the new template works well. ɳorɑfʈ^Talk! 12:59, 7 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]