Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Melville Island (Nova Scotia)/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 promoted by GrahamColm 10:56, 15 July 2012.

Melville Island (Nova Scotia)

 * Nominator(s): Nikkimaria (talk) 16:44, 29 June 2012 (UTC)

This non-island was the site of a POW facility beginning in the late 1700s, and was used for that purpose at intervals into the 1900s - along with being a receiving depot for escaped slaves, a quarantine hospital, a Foreign Legion recruitment centre, a military prison, a town fair...it might not be as well known as its neighbouring non-island Deadman's Island (probably because of the name), but I believe this article to be a comprehensive and well-sourced account of the site. Nikkimaria (talk) 16:44, 29 June 2012 (UTC)

Comments
 * Lead - "British Foreign Legion" looks like it needs to be linked to somewhere, or even redlinked - I must say I've never heard of it, and I'm not the best person to suggest a relevant wikilink target for this.
 * I don't know that there is a good wikilink currently, though redlinking is fine - here's a tiny bit of info, if you're interested


 * I've linked McNab's Island to McNabs Island, which I presume to be identical. Any idea which form is correct (i.e. apostrophe or no apostrophe)?
 * I've seen both, so I guess we'll go with what our article uses


 * I'm dropping in wikilinks as I read through. Feel free to revert anything that doesn't seem appropriate.
 * Geography - "Area birds include..." - maybe "Local birds include..."?
 * Should Halifax Citadel be linked to Citadel Hill (Fort George)? This link says the weather station there is inactive.
 * Early settlement - "...for £65" - any idea how much this would be in today's terms?
 * Heh. I had added a conversion, but was told at ACR not to include it. Nikkimaria (talk) 22:03, 29 June 2012 (UTC)
 * I've got links to some long threads discussing this at User:Dank/Copy2. - Dank (push to talk) 23:50, 29 June 2012 (UTC)

Simon Burchell (talk) 20:46, 29 June 2012 (UTC)

Support on prose per standard disclaimer. I've reviewed the changes made since I reviewed this for A-class. Always a pleasure. - Dank (push to talk) 23:47, 29 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Support I reviewed this at the ACR a month or so ago, and all my comments have been dealt with. Good work. Mark Arsten (talk) 16:05, 30 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Comment - Lead seems awfully short; its under 2k, in a 25k article. The last paragraph, especially, might need to be expanded or merged. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 03:36, 5 July 2012 (UTC)

Comments
 * "frequent outbreaks of infections diseases" infectious
 * "to harrass and distress that" should that be harass? - Lemonade51 (talk) 16:53, 5 July 2012 (UTC)

In the opening image, is the island visible in the distance Melville Island, or was the photograph taken on Melville? Inter change  able  01:35, 9 July 2012 (UTC)
 * The former; Melville is the land in the middle of the image, with the buildings on it. Nikkimaria (talk) 02:49, 9 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I think that should be clarified. Inter  change  able  15:31, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

Support Comments  -- interesting subject, Nikki; no ce this time, just comments:
 * The site was first discovered by Europeans in the 1600s -- "first discovered" is a bit tautological; think you can only discover something once so suggest either "first seen" or simply "discovered".
 * Aboriginals linked under Early Settlement but not in the lead.
 * fear of "fever" -- particular reason for putting fever in inverted commas?
 * Because it's a colloquial term used by the source, and it's unclear what disease was actually meant. Nikkimaria (talk) 15:19, 9 July 2012 (UTC)


 * fifteen French fishermen and 16 other prisoners within a sentence or two -- unless I've missed something, doesn't seem consistent rendering of double-digit numbers, whatever the standard pls check throughout.
 * £1000 in 1804 (£68,634 as of 2010) -- why comma for 1000s in the second figure but not the first?
 * WP:MOSNUM: commas required for five figures, not for four. Nikkimaria (talk) 15:19, 9 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Heh, I wouldn't expect anything but MOS compliance from you, Nikki, nevertheless I find commas for 1000s much clearer with all the four-digit figures and all the years flying around here... Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 23:19, 9 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Not a big thing but the first two paras of Napoleonic Wars begin with "The land" -- perhaps start the first para with "Melville Island" (since it's a new section anyway).
 * Changed to "the site" on first - it's not actually called Melville until being renamed in the second paragraph. Nikkimaria (talk) 15:19, 9 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Fair enough. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 23:19, 9 July 2012 (UTC)


 * In late 1805, a group of officers broke parole and escaped; this led the garrison captain to restrict the purchase of prisoner-made goods -- sorry, do we know exactly why one led to the other (a file in a cake or something)?
 * (though Cuthbertson disputes the likelihood of this claim) -- suggest this might be better in a footnote than in the text, otherwise introduce the chap to us as "historian   Cuthbertson disputes..." or some such.
 * Approximately 1535 French prisoners -- again suggest comma for 1000s, all these four-figure numbers are starting to look like years to me... ;-)
 * Accounts of prison life vary: Cuthbertson says... -- fine as is if you introduce him earlier, otherwise pls do so here.
 * He had also been accused of cruelty by American newspapers, though some prisoners defended him and the veracity of the media claims is questionable -- think you want a comma after "defended him".
 * Don't think so - two-part response to accusation of cruelty, not a three-part list or separate clause. Nikkimaria (talk) 15:19, 9 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Exactly right -- directly after I saved this bunch of comments, I went back in and removed this one -- guess I didn't save the edit (well, it was late)... ;-) Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 23:19, 9 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Reference Fascinating Canada : a book of questions and answers -- I'd expect to see title case for what appears to be a book title (same for a few others) and not sure why we have spaces on both sides of the colon here, others don't. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 13:49, 9 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Except where noted, should be addressed. Thanks for the comments, Ian. Nikkimaria (talk) 15:19, 9 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Tks. I disagree with the 1000s/commas thing even if strictly within MOS, per my comments above, but won't withhold support on that count -- well done. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 23:19, 9 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Comment: a lot of the licencing is quite weak; files such as File:1878-melville.gif do not state their US copyright status, although it is in fact clear that such files entered the public domain before the required 1996 date. More problematic, however, is File:1855-Melville Island.jpg, which asserts a life+100, despite the author's date of death not being listed. [It was published in 1855, apparently. It is therefore possible the author lived to 1912.] If that can be ascertained, then there are still corporate/individual issues to consider, and whether the work was published in the US within 30 days or not (1923 being the date if it was. URAA considerations come in if not). Grandiose (me, talk, contribs) 12:39, 10 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Bland died in 1893. I've added some tags to the other images. Nikkimaria (talk) 13:33, 10 July 2012 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.