Talk:Otho Holland Williams

Working on it
I am the creator of this article. Anyway, how are you suppose to get pictures on to the article? I found a good one of Williams yesterday, but it didn't show up. I'll be working on the article in the following weeks...--(Wikipedian1234 (talk) 21:05, 10 April 2008 (UTC))

Rewrite Needed
I'm sorry, but this article is littered with inaccuracies and grammatical errors. I am endeavoring to do a major rewrite of this article. --dashiellx (talk) 12:29, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for fixing this article. I haven't had the time to edit it due to recent family issues. The article looks like B-grade material now from the Start-grade that it used to be. I think that someone needs to review this article again (Wikipedian1234 (talk) 15:55, 28 October 2008 (UTC))

About that GA review
If the editors that took this to GA are still around, I find enough issues with it that I am seriously tempted to list it at WP:GAR. (This is more a reflection on the reviewer than the editor, and may be a consequence of the April backlog drive sweepstakes.)

My issues:
 * GAs should be, with only modest prose-related exceptions, be fully cited at least at the paragraph level. This article is not.✅
 * The writing is decent enough, but there are several very short (one-sentence) paragraphs. These should be eliminated by combining into surrounding paragraphs or expansion to at least three sentences.
 * The article uses myrevolutionarywar.com as a source. This is not a reliable source, and should be eliminated.✅
 * I flagged an obvious question: how did Williams make his fortune?✅-removed mention of fortune altogether
 * I note that most of the sources used are older. This is not necessarily a problem (my Google-fu does not turn up recent-vintage biographical materials), but it does raise the question of adequacy of sources.  (For example: this source (reprint of a 1910 work) indicates Williams was deputy adjutant to Gates, not mentioned in the article.
 * Another factual issue, not cited in the article: Lincoln is described as having "taken refuge" in Charleston after Savannah. While I'm not expert on the details of these actions, Savannah ended in October, Clinton landed troops below Charleston in February.  Presumably Lincoln was there to defend the city, and wasn't cowering for three months.
 * A number of officers are linked by "first last|title last" (e.g. General Washington). Individuals ought to be fully named on first reference; remember that not all of your readers are already familiar with these figures. ✅
 * I fixed a number of MOS issues in copyediting, WP:MOSCAPS and WP:OVERLINK in particular. There may be more MOS-related issues, I only fixed those that popped out at me.

If someone with the sources is willing to tackle these issues, I'll not send it to WP:GAR right away; I suspect it'll be delisted as it is if I do.  Magic ♪piano 23:06, 2 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I'll see what I can do-(Wikipedian1234 (talk) 23:44, 2 June 2010 (UTC))


 * I figured you might still be around -- go for it.  Magic ♪piano 00:15, 3 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't fully understand what you're suggesting from your comment on the age of sources. While most of them date from before 1910, I don't understand how this would affect their credibility. (Wikipedian1234 (talk) 01:08, 3 June 2010 (UTC))
 * It does not necessarily affect their credibility; perhaps I should rephrase my concern as a lack of more modern sources. The issue is that all of your sources are old (or at least the ones for which you've listed publication dates -- your bibliography should include original publication date, publisher, and location for all print publications).  Modern approaches to scholarship may bring new details and insights (for example, a recently-discovered journal might provide new details) in the 80 years since your newest source.  The actions he was involved in have all been addressed by "recent" (since 1980, say) scholarship; you should certainly use those sorts of sources to cite the actions here, and look through them for biographic hints.  Magic ♪piano 02:45, 4 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I would use more modern sources if I were able to access them fully for free. Since most books that were published from 1930 onwards are not accessible on Google Books due to copyright, I have had to resort to books published before that date.-(Wikipedian1234 (talk) 03:18, 4 June 2010 (UTC))
 * I hear that most communities, and many organizations of higher education, have large collections of books from which you can borrow. (Colleges and universities may not let you borrow books, but where I'm from, their stacks are usually open to the public, so you can go and read the books on site even if you do not have borrowing privileges.)  Your unwillingness or inability to use these resources does not excuse the criticism; it means that you are unable to improve the article beyond a certain point.  Magic ♪piano 04:05, 4 June 2010 (UTC)


 * I think the work you've done is sufficient to strike my objections. While I feel that modern sources (e.g. works that discuss the Guilford campaign, since he was so involved in it) ought to at least be checked for biographical details (or confirmation of what older sources say), this is not something I would object to at GA.
 * That said, I'd suggest elaborating on the "race to the Dan" here. Williams had a critical role in it, and it deserves more than half a sentence.  Magic ♪piano 01:01, 7 June 2010 (UTC)

Battle of King's Mountain
Curious as to what primary source lists Williams at the battle of King's Mountain?

Assessment comment
Substituted at 02:00, 30 April 2016 (UTC)