Talk:International Palm Society

Improvements to the International Palm Society page
As a newbie page creator (I've added minor edits to lots of pages, but this is my first attempt at creating a page), I'd love some feedback on how the page can be improved, esp. regarding removing the banner that says the page relies too heavily on primary sources. At what point are there enough secondary sources so that the maintenance template can be removed? Also, at what point can the content scale be upgraded? Scottzona (talk) 12:12, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

The IPS is notable for the following reasons
The International Palm Society (IPS) has existed since 1956, during which time, it has exerted a measurable (in number of taxa described, number of citations) and lasting impact in the fields of palm biology and horticulture. It has published a peer-reviewed journal and published (or co-published) reference books that are pillars in the field of palm science. For 67 years, the journal has been the place of official publication for numerous genera and species new to science. A paragraph highlighting the journal’s history is newly included on the IPS Wikipedia page and gives a few examples. Many more examples could be included.

Through its grants program, the IPS has funded research and education projects that resulted in dozens of published papers that have advanced the science of palms. A few examples are cited on the IPS Wikipedia page. These papers explicitly cite support from the IPS. Many more examples could be added.

Through its affiliated local chapters, which sponsor palm sales and auctions, the IPS has made a lasting impact on horticulture. In its early years, the organization distributed thousands of seeds and introduced dozens of species into horticulture. When the history of palm horticulture is written, the role of the IPS in bringing species into cultivation will be writ large.

The IPS’ renewed focus on palm conservation will have an impact on palms, their habitats, and the people who live among them. The IPS has partnered with established conservation & botanical institutions, which will synergistically boost the impact of the IPS’ efforts. The projects have yet to come to fruition -- conservation requires a long perspective.

While there is no in-depth, published biography of the IPS, the organization’s role in the history of palm science and horticulture far exceeds its notoriety. The IPS is often mentioned in news reports, magazine articles, and scientific papers. Anyone reading these might wish to learn more about the IPS and might reasonably turn to Wikipedia for information. For this reason, a Wikipedia page about the IPS is justified. Moreover, at least 45 separate Wikipedia pages mention the IPS. Being able to link those mentions to an IPS page would make Wikipedia better. Scottzona (talk) 18:13, 16 October 2023 (UTC)

Feedback from New Page Review process
I left the following feedback for the creator/future reviewers while reviewing this article: The article is starting to look quite good. I did change two of your citations because I thought they could be cleaned up a little bit. I might do a bit more on that if it does not step on your toes. Thanks for contributing.

🌿MtBotany (talk) 23:49, 18 January 2024 (UTC)


 * I could use your help formatting a reference. It's for an article from a now defunct newspaper. I put the reference in as a simple article, but I'd like to link to the Google archive of the article, in case someone would like to see the referenced text.
 * Here's how I tried to do it (leaving off the ref tags):
 * I left off the date archived because I don't know it and got an error message. I tried putting in a place-holder date (2 Dec 200) and still got the error message, so I must have something wrong. Can you help? Cheers Scottzona (talk) 11:51, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
 * @Scottzona The archived date and URL is for when you found the news article on the newspaper's website. So if I found something on localnews.com/~foo they may move the page or put it behind a paywall at a later date so it is a good idea to find a stable mirror site like https://archive.org/ which will usually have a copy of most websites.
 * Example from the article:
 * https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/garden/nature-with-fronds-like-these-who-needs-anemones.html
 * https://web.archive.org/web/20171228184000/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/garden/nature-with-fronds-like-these-who-needs-anemones.html
 * Then the archive-date value is when archive.org saved a copy of the webpage.
 * In this case since it is a google scan of a newspaper the URL should just go in the regular URL field rather than in archive-url field. 🌿 Mt B o t a n y (talk) 17:18, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks so much for your insight! Cheers! Scottzona (talk) 11:18, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks so much for your insight! Cheers! Scottzona (talk) 11:18, 22 February 2024 (UTC)