Talk:John Horsefield/GA1

GA Review
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Reviewer: MathewTownsend (talk · contribs) 21:02, 24 June 2012 (UTC)


 * I'll review this soon. MathewTownsend (talk) 21:02, 24 June 2012 (UTC)


 * review
 * This is a wonderful article on an interesting man with fascinating insights into the times. I found a few issues to mention to you:
 * Thank you. There are plans afoot to expand the coverage of these Lancashire botanists & the artisan/popular science movement of the time. - Sitush (talk) 20:20, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "a journalist, amateur botanist and the first chairman of the Manchester Cryptogamic Society,[3] says he received some education " - "says" should be "said" -past tense; the "he" is Horsefield?
 * I have fixed the subject issue but have not yet sorted out the tense. I think that I usually get away with present tense for all sources but it is no big deal and I'll sort it out before the night is over. - Sitush (talk) 20:20, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * I don't want to go made about this but, for example, at James Tod (a FA of which I am by far the major contributor) I say things such as Crooke also says that Tod's "knowledge of ethnology was imperfect ... William Crooke (another of mine) died a long time ago. - Sitush (talk) 21:02, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "This instruction took the form of the employees reading out lessons while they worked at their handlooms." - not quite understanding - the employess were working at the handlooms and (at the same time) reading the lessons out loud to Horsefield? (for which the weaver charged his employees two shillings?)
 * Yes, you have understood it correctly. I cannot see how to make this any more clear - it is a seemingly bizarre situation. - Sitush (talk) 20:20, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "thus meeting a broad church of people" - don't understand the "broad church" part.
 * I have linked broad church - it could be changed to "wide range" or something, I guess. - Sitush (talk) 20:20, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * I think there should be a colon before a quote e.g. "had such sympathies and recounted:" [blockquote] and "Horsefield explained the didactic purpose of these societies:" [blockquote], (removing "that" and "as").
 * Some do, some don't. I never have and cannot recall it being raised as an issue. Is there anything in MOS about this? That thing is so big it is sometimes difficult to track things down, but I would guess WP:MOSQUOTE. - Sitush (talk) 20:20, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * might help to add a little context as to who Richard Buxton was, without the reader having to click the link
 * Yes, my mistake. Now done, but you may think the sentence clumsy. - Sitush (talk) 21:12, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "This change was necessary, says Horsefield, as previously the president" - not sure how to handle this one - maybe the leading sentence and quote need to be changed, as it seems awkward to have a blockquote taking up in the middle of a sentence.
 * I have amended with this edit.Is that ok? - Sitush (talk) 21:23, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Also, should use past tense "said" instead of "says".

MathewTownsend (talk) 19:29, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * See my comment above re: the Tod FA. - Sitush (talk) 21:02, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * link orrery
 * It was already linked in the preceding para. - Sitush (talk) 20:20, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "teetotal Hobson" - teetotaler?
 * I am not sure that I understand your point here. He was a teetotaler but his state was teetotal. I'll have to get my dictionary out, but I fairly sure that it is acceptable. Certainly "the teetotaler Hobson" is not going to work in that sentence without jigging it around a bit. - Sitush (talk) 21:23, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Prestwich & Whitefield Heritage Society, Information received from researchers of the Prestwich & Whitefield Heritage Society, based on parish records has an error: "Harv error: There is no link pointing to this citation." I haven't figured out how to fix it yet.
 * Can you check it again, please? I spotted that the very next citation was mangled for some reason, so perhaps it was that which was throwing the error. - Sitush (talk) 20:20, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Do you think all those red links are going to get articles? e.g. some of the publications?
 * I would like to think the books would because they are seminal publications, but I will not be writing them & so have unlinked. I may well do the Cryptogamic Society, after I waded through Leopold Hartley Grindon and a few other stubs I created while doing this one. - Sitush (talk) 20:20, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Maybe a mention of his life of extreme poverty should be in the lede, as it's threaded throughout the article.
 * Indeed. That is a good call. I have made quite a few adjustments to the lede and trust that it is now more to your liking. I have often admitted to being not good at writing that section - some sort of mental block. - Sitush (talk) 21:12, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Very nicely written!
 * I had a couple of very good copyeditors on board these last few days - and  can take some credit for that. It wouldn't surprise me if  also cast an eye. - Sitush (talk) 20:20, 25 June 2012 (UTC)

(copied from my talk page) I don't think any of the issues are worth arguing about or preventing a GA. Perhaps the blockquote issue bothers me the most, but probably there's no fixed rule, so ..... I'll drop it. This man and these botanists are wonderful to read about. MathewTownsend (talk) 21:36, 25 June 2012 (UTC)

GA review-see WP:WIAGA for criteria (and here for what they are not)

Very nice! Congratulations. MathewTownsend (talk) 21:40, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * 1) Is it reasonably well written?
 * A. Prose: clear and concise, correct spelling and grammar:
 * B. Complies with MoS for lead, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation:
 * 1) Is it factually accurate and verifiable?
 * A. Provides references to all sources:
 * B. Provides in-line citations from reliable sources where necessary:
 * C. No original research:
 * 1) Is it broad in its coverage?
 * A. Main aspects are addressed:
 * B. Remains focused:
 * 1) Does it follow the neutral point of view policy.
 * Fair representation without bias:
 * 1) Is it stable?
 * No edit wars, etc:
 * 1) Does it contain images to illustrate the topic?
 * A. Images are copyright tagged, and non-free images have fair use rationales:
 * B. Images are provided where possible and appropriate, with suitable captions:
 * 1) Overall:
 * Pass or Fail:
 * 1) Is it stable?
 * No edit wars, etc:
 * 1) Does it contain images to illustrate the topic?
 * A. Images are copyright tagged, and non-free images have fair use rationales:
 * B. Images are provided where possible and appropriate, with suitable captions:
 * 1) Overall:
 * Pass or Fail:
 * B. Images are provided where possible and appropriate, with suitable captions:
 * 1) Overall:
 * Pass or Fail:
 * Pass or Fail:


 * Thank you for your efforts, and thanks also to the several people who have assisted in this particular venture over the last few months. These stories need to be told. - Sitush (talk) 23:23, 25 June 2012 (UTC)