Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Darknet market/archive1


 * The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was archived by Graham Beards via FACBot (talk) 23:23, 14 November 2015.

Darknet market

 * Nominator(s): Deku-shrub (talk) 20:18, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

This article is about the little know yet vibrant ecosystem of marketplaces that have evolved on the Dark Web first pioneered by Silk Road. Opening with a from Ryan Compton illustrating products available, it provides unrivaled coverage of such market's history, statistics, structures and reactions. In what is effectively a criminal ecosystem filled with fraudsters, drugs dealers and fierce market rivalries, the pages provides a reliably cited set of information for anyone who wants to ask the question - is this for real?

I went through a brief peer review and after the months of contributions I've put into this, I would be delighted if the article were to receive featured article status.

Deku-shrub (talk) 20:18, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

On a very brief glance, a lot of the refs don't name their publications. --Lenin and McCarthy |  (Complain here) 04:16, 10 November 2015 (UTC)
 * could you direct me to a bot to fix this? Deku-shrub (talk) 20:00, 10 November 2015 (UTC)
 * There isn't one. This has to be done manually. Graham Beards (talk) 14:21, 11 November 2015 (UTC)

Oppose: This certainly is an interesting and unusual topic area, and thanks are due for the work done to date. Unfortunately the article at present is some way off featured article standard, and I think needs considerably more work. Here are a few points:
 * The lead is too short and does not comply with the requirements of WP:LEAD. It is not an adequate summary of the article for a reader ignorant of this topic.
 * What is the purpose of the first (barely visible) image and its accompanying caption?
 * There are uncited statements throughout the article
 * There are examples of poor English. In the first "History" subsection alone I found:
 * "By the end of the 1980s, newsgroups like alt.drugs become centres of drug discussion and information, however any deals were arranged entirely off-site directly between individuals." – tense and punctuation errors
 * "One of the better-known web-based drug forums, The Hive, launched in 1997 to serve as an information sharing forum for practical drug synthesis and legal discussion." Not a complete sentence
 * "Since the year 2000 until the present day..." – tautologous (last four words not needed).

The article needs a thorough copyedit, and attention to the other points I've listed. Brianboulton (talk) 01:02, 13 November 2015 (UTC)
 * I'll have to read into lede best practices before I can improve this.
 * The opening image may be used contrary to Wikipedia best practices, I think it's a fantastic infographic which invites further analysis and serves to peak the curiosity of the reader.
 * That may be so, but the object of images and statements in a WP article is to inform and explain, not "peak the curiosity of readers". Unless the purpose of the image is clear to the general reader there is no justification for it. Brianboulton (talk) 00:55, 14 November 2015 (UTC)
 * I don't see uncited statements, I can't see it at all any more I've reworked it so many times. :(
 * Uncited statements: Second paragraph of "Silk Road" section; third (single line) paragraph of "Post-Silk Road" section; first paragraph of "Search and discussion" section; almost all the "Market operations" section. Brianboulton (talk)
 * It's a fair cop. Each of those are original research from myself to tie a narrative together The market operation section has the citations at the top, I didn't think it'd add value repeating this. Deku-shrub (talk) 18:06, 14 November 2015 (UTC)
 * I fixed the poor english issues you referenced
 * The entire article needs copyediting by a third party. Brianboulton (talk) 00:55, 14 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Okay Deku-shrub (talk) 18:06, 14 November 2015 (UTC)
 * More specific feedback appreciated! Deku-shrub (talk) 20:56, 13 November 2015 (UTC)

Closing comment - Sadly, this article is clearly not ready for promotion to FA. There are problems with the prose, citations, single-sentence paragraphs, proseline and others. Graham Beards (talk) 23:23, 14 November 2015 (UTC)

Graham Beards (talk) 23:23, 14 November 2015 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.