User:Jonny Tightchest/sandbox

This is a note to declare the intention of editing the articles about titanomagnetite and perhaps staurolite

This note is intended as a statement of completion regarding an edit of the article "Titanomagnetite" involving the mineral's curie temperature.

Staurolite
Clarity

The article uses clear, plain language. The information given is simple to understand and occasionally gives tidbits of useful side-note style information without getting sidetracked for too long.

Structure

The article is divided into Title, Properties, Name, Occurrence and Use. This is appropriate and nothing here is out of line, but there can definitely be some additional subjects about this mineral that can be discussed and shared on Wikipedia, especially since this is one of the first minerals introduced to geologist as students. It is mainly this fact, it can easily be imagined, that will be addressed if this article would be edited by a student editor.

Balance Coverage

Though missing some potentially informative subject matter, the article seems balanced in the topic that is being discussed.

Neutrality

The article does not seem bias in any fashion. Of course when discussing the topic of Staurolite, it is unlikely that any controversial material is brought up. There are very few individuals in the world, one would hope, that are interested in political action or feel strongly on a personal level about this subject. Staurolite is not an economic mineral, and so there are no entities that are particularly interested in manipulating information in an effort to increase profits with this mineral.

Talk Page

The talk page seems calm as far as activity is concerned. One contributor is concerned with a discrepancy with the formula of the mineral. This inquiry was answered with what seems a competent response which was backed by a number of references. Another individual inquired on the reason "fairy stone" did not redirect to this page. Very little can be read from this without falling into speculation.

Sources

All sources function, bringing the user to the expected site. The sources http://www.williamlstuart.com/tag/fannin-county/ and http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/fai.shtml refer to staurolite as "fairy stone" or "fairy crosses". This is interesting as this mineral is not referred or even suggested to be named such in any material I have yet stumbled upon about this subject. The reference https://books.google.com/books?id=FAOVVDxBq4kC&pg=PA41&lpg=PA41&dq=cruciform+twinning&source=bl&ots=TUSd7ZXnEe&sig=5CxfEulxIkbao_mm40-Fmg88pDU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjUm4KlzMXXAhXCwVQKHWgFCCUQ6AEIejAO#v=onepage&q=cruciform%20twinning&f=false gives what appears to be a thorough lesson on crystal structure and twinning with staurolite being an example discussed.

It may be suggested as a further source a reference: "A Dictionary of Geology and Earth Sciences (4 ed.)" from the Oxford University Press if any additional material can be found.

Suggestions for improvement

Further categories need to be added that would give this article more depth. A category dedicated to staurolite's crystal habit and structure would be of interest, as this is what is usually the main draw of attraction to mineral enthusiast or new geologist. A history of the minerals' lore from ages past may be a good addition if anything can be found. Often times stories about a minerals uses in folk medicine or ritual can be found to exist that may appeal to the reader. The user that asked about the redirection of "fairy stone" may have appreciated such a contribution to the article.

Drafting Contributions
It has been noticed that the article "Albite" is poor in its division of headings (having none) and is generally plain and bland in both information and structure. This will be addressed beginning with this contribution draft.

The article will be divided into standard subheadings that most articles that reference minerals commonly take.

These include: Properties, etymology, occurrence, use, ect. There are some grammatical incidences of sloppiness which need attention as well.

There will also be an attempt to insert words such as "albeit" into the article to add poetic flavour.

In an effort to create valid subcategories that are full and valuable to a reader, further information will be added to the article from valid sources.

Such as:

https://www.minerals.net/mineral/albite.aspx

From this source, additions will include: Albite is an end-member of an isomorphous solid solution series along with Anorthite on the opposite end of the series spectrum. Albite is the sodium end-member with anorthite being the calcium end-member. Intermediate members in this series include Bytownite and labradorite. Oligoclase and Andesine are often not seen as a separate mineral from albite but rather as a variety although lower in purity. Often times, potassium can replace the sodium characteristic in albite at amounts of up to 10%. When this is exceeded the mineral is then considered to be anorthoclase.

https://www.britannica.com/science/albite

The main use for albite is by geologist, as it is identified as an important rock forming mineral. There is some industrial use for the mineral such as the manufacture of glass and ceramics.

https://www.mindat.org/min-96.html

Associated minerals include Biotite, hornblende, muscovite, orthoclase and quartz

It must be noted that the entry for albite in the French Wikipedia is superior to that of the English. What the procedures are for transfer of information within Wikipedia as far as plagiarism ect. is concerned will need to be addressed with one of the T.As, but this may be a source or rough guideline to shoot above.

Reflective Essay
The experience of contributing to an internet based public resource with the goal of increasing the availability and accessibility of information to the public is something that has become possible for anybody to achieve if an internet connection is available. It was found to be a pleasure to be exposed to this opportunity and delivers a tool that may be invaluable personally, as a working knowledge in an environment such as Wikipedia will go far in lowering a huge initial boundary to contributing to the website in the future if the need would arise.

During the training, it was required of the students to critic an article. For this section, the article for staurolite was reviewed. Though there were parts of the review that were positive and others that suggested that some editing may be advisable, the main thing that was realized from the evaluation phase was the fact that the article was open to editing from anybody, allowing for personal bias or perhaps outright attempts to misinform. This was of course understood to be very unlikely in the case of the article for staurolite, being mentioned in the critic, but in review of some of the proposals of my classmates for their article edits, this thought was repeatedly brought to bear. It was unfortunate to see such blind negativity on a subject born out of ignorance and "media based perspective alignment", for lack of a better term. This experience, enhanced by a realization that this is a 4th year university course, and that only age determines suffrage in this country, hammered home the need for information of depth to be as free and open as possible for everyone.

My drafting contributions were reviewed by a fellow student and the suggestions that were given, such as using more peer reviewed journal articles and ensuring that information isn't repeated will be taken. It was nice to have a peer take the time to look over my work.

When reviewing the article for albite, the decision to have this article be the subject of my contribution was easy. The article was written in nearly point form with no subheadings. The information was written seemingly in haste with the only intention appearing to be the placement of information on the page with no effort of making it pleasurable to read. Though the information seemed accurate, there was much that could be added and some organization seemed like an easy task.

The first edits involved the placement of subheadings and an addition to the uses of albite with a link to the source where the information was found. Even with this minor editing the article looks much more presentable to the reader. Most of the information will be re-written to be more readable and the additional information from the listed sources will be added. During the editing process, a new source was found that was excellent, gemdat.org, and this will be used during the final editing.

Wikipedia has grown into a behemoth of information on the internet, and I use it everyday for quick access to information and as a source of news through the Ongoing Events page off the English Wikipedia home page. I usually find the articles on this site thorough and of high quality. It was very surprising to find an article so quickly that needed attention. Obviously, an attempt to have all human knowledge available on one database is a formidable task, and I am excited to have the opportunity to contribute.