Wikipedia:Peer review/Elliott Smith/archive1

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Elliott Smith[edit]

This article has seen some vast improvements lately and is really starting to shape up. It recently failed a featured article nomination (here) and we'd like to iron out the kinks and make it worthy. Areas I can see that are in need of critique are:

  • The wording/prose: We need help finding and re-wording the article's more unencyclopedic moments and to squash the last remnants of POV.
  • The references and footnotes: Are they handled well and are they consistent?
  • The "Cultural references" section: Is it too listy? I feel it should be condensed to something more concise.
  • The flow of the article: The lead and biography section may need re-structuring. The biography section could probably have less sub-headings, in my opinion.

Please be honest, but not too brutal. ;) - Phorque (talk · contribs) 20:40, 24 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

  • The following suggestions were generated by a semi-automatic javascript program, and may or may not be accurate for the article in question (due to possible javascript errors/uniqueness of articles).
  • Per WP:CONTEXT and WP:MOSDATE, months and days of the week generally should not be linked. Years, decades, and centuries can be linked if they provide context for the article.
  • Per WP:MOS, avoid using words/phrases that indicate time periods relative to the current day. For example, recently and soon might be terms that should be replaced with specific dates/times.
  • Per WP:WIAFA, Images should have concise captions.
  • If this article is about a person, please add {{persondata}} along with the required parameters to the article - see Wikipedia:Persondata for more information. Done - Phorque 20:05, 25 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Per WP:MOSNUM, there should be a non-breaking space -   between a number and the unit of measurement. For example, instead of 18mm, use 18 mm, which when you are editing the page, should look like: 18 mm.
  • Per WP:CONTEXT and WP:BTW, years with full dates should be linked; for example, link January 15, 2006, but do not link January 2006.
  • Per WP:MOS#Headings, headings generally do not start with the word "The". For example, ==The Biography== would be changed to ==Biography==.
  • Per WP:MOS#Headings, headings generally should not repeat the title of the article. For example, if the article was Ferdinand Magellan, instead of using the heading ==Magellan's journey==, use ==Journey==.
  • Please reorder/rename the last few sections to follow guidelines at WP:GTL.
  • Please alphabetize the categories and/or interlanguage links.
  • Per WP:WIAFA, this article's table of contents (ToC) maybe too long- consider shrinking it down by merging short sections or using a proper system of daughter pages as per WP:SS.
  • This article may need to undergo summary style, where a series of appropriate subpages are used. For example, if the article is United States, than an appropriate subpage would be History of the United States, such that a summary of the subpage exists on the mother article, while the subpage goes into more detail.
  • There are a few occurrences of weasel words in this article- please observe WP:AWT. Certain phrases should specify exactly who supports, considers, believes, etc., such a view. For example,
    • allege
    • apparently
    • might be weasel words, and should be provided with proper citations (if they already do, or are not weasel terms, please strike this comment).
  • Please ensure that the article has gone through a thorough copyediting so that the it exemplifies some of Wikipedia's best work. See also User:Tony1/How to satisfy Criterion 2a.
  • You may wish to browse through User:AndyZ/Suggestions (and the javascript checklist; see the last paragraph in the lead) for further ideas.
  • Thanks, Andy t 15:11, 25 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • I'm a bit of a fan of Elliott's, so I'll have a look at the article over the next day or so and see if there are any changes I can either make, or suggest be made. I've read this article before, and found it quite informative and useful, so I'd be happy to help if there's anything that can be done to it. Seb Patrick 18:42, 26 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Hmm, interestingly, the article doesn't make any mention of his work on the Thumbsucker soundtrack, which he was supposedly doing at the time of his death. In the end, three songs - "Let's Get Lost" and the two late covers - made it onto the soundtrack, which was completed by the Polyphonic Spree. There's a quote, I think, from the director in the Thumbsucker article, and I think the info might be worth dropping in in either the late career or posthumous sections. Seb Patrick 08:40, 27 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Some more points :
  • I find the biography section fascinating, and pretty comprehensive, but I'm not sure it isn't a bit too long for WP (particularly when you look at the number of headings listed in "contents"). To be honest, I couldn't tell you what should be cut, as it's filled with great stuff, but I think someone with a careful eye needs to pick through it and trim the fat a bit.
  • Is the "Filmography" section really necessary? Given that he wasn't really an actor at all, and there are only three items mentioned, these could surely be sufficiently served by mentions in the main article text.
  • I think "Cultural references" is a misleading header title, since all the things listed are simply tribute songs. I think "Tributes" would perhaps be more appropriate.
  • When discussing his signing to Dreamworks, the phrase "Many a fan cried "sell out" after this deal was signed, suggesting that Smith had turned his back on small labels and the independent music community." I wonder if it might be possible to find a quote to back this up, as some would probably construe this as weasel words, and that's the sort of thing that really gets the FAC people's hackles up. Seb Patrick 08:47, 27 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • It can be improved by reducing links to solitary years. A monobook tool allows this to be done with one click on a 'dates' tab in edit mode. You can then accept or reject the changes offered and/or do more editing before pressing 'Save'. Simply copy the entire contents of User:Bobblewik/monobook.js to your own monobook. Then follow the instructions in your monobook to clear the cache (i.e. press Ctrl-Shift-R in Firefox, or Ctrl-F5 in IE) before it will work. Hope that helps. bobblewik 19:21, 28 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
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