Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2011-01-10/Features and admins
Featured topic of the year
2010 in featured topics
"In the past year, the
The numbers have shifted from 2009, during which there were 32 promoted FTs, 50 promoted GTs, 13 demotions, and 15 supplemental additions. However, this reduction in numbers is despite a major change in the process: as of September 1, a new requirement has been that at least half of the articles in a featured topic must themselves be featured (up from a third); if this is not the case, the topic is eligible instead for good topic status. As a result, 23 topics went from featured to good, bringing the total number of featured topics to below the 100-mark (currently there are 94 FTs and 141 GTs). Beyond that, a shift in running the process was made, as I have mostly taken over from User:Rst20xx, who became inactive about halfway through 2010.
As for specifics on what areas have been strongly represented in promotions, most have come from the MILHIST project—particularly as a result of
Of the topics promoted in 2010, what was the featured topic of the year? That was one of the first topics of 2010, the Australian cricket team in England in 1948, which currently contains 42 articles, 24 featured and 18 good. It's one of the largest topics we have, and even for someone who could care less about cricket, I found it to be a great read, and enjoyed watching the progress the topic made.
As featured topics are not an oft-traveled area of wikipedia, I wanted to note about the value of the process. Namely, creating a topic allows a group of similar articles to become examples of our best work, since people interested in one article may be interested in another article in that topic. Those wishing to read about
If you want to contribute a topic but need ideas on one, I can always provide some help. You can find topics in anything if you look hard enough, which is one of the joys of working on them."
Featured articles
- Nev1; picture above)
- Suillus spraguei (nom), an attractive, edible mushroom of eastern North America and eastern Asia (nominator Sasata).
- Nergaal).
- Round Church, Preslav (nom), an early 10th-century Bulgarian church building, known only from studying its ruins. The only written reference to its existence in medieval sources does not amount to certain identification (TodorBozhinov).
- Sigi Schmid (nom) (born 1953), a German-American soccer coach who became one of the most successful collegiate coaches of all time in the US (Cptnono).
- Governor of Kentucky (nom), the office of the chief executive of the US state of Kentucky, and the centrepiece of a new featured topic (Acdixon).
- ).
- Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (nom), a condition featuring attacks of muscle weakness in the presence of an overactive thyroid gland (Jfdwolff).
- ; picture at the right)
- Bernard Bosanquet (cricketer) (nom) (1877–1936), a cricketer who was transformed from a very average batsman into an international, match-winning all-rounder through his invention of the googly, a completely revolutionary style of bowling, in which the ball is spun in the opposite direction to normal without the appearance of anything abnormal (Sarastro1).
- ; picture at the right).
The Signpost asked FA regular
- "Once again, all the articles are of the highest quality. I have chosen Henry Wood as my favorite this week because of the number, density and quality of references to off-line print sources. Who can fail to agree with Wood's wise words: "I do not like ladies playing the trombone or double bass, but they can play the violin!" However, I do find myself sympathising with the critic who described a third of Wood's audience at a performance of Schoenberg as hissing, another third "not hissing because it was laughing, and the remaining third ... too puzzled either to laugh or to hiss." "
Three featured articles were delisted:
- Halloween (1978 film) (nom): referencing and prose
- Herbig–Haro object (nom): referencing and prose
- History of the Philippines (nom): referencing and MoS compliance.
Featured pictures
- Golden toad (nom; related article), a male of this strikingly coloured species, which has been considered extinct since around 1989, part of a world-wide decline in amphibian populations (created by Charles H Smith).
- Noodle snacks)
- Noodle snacks).
- Orange-lined triggerfish (nom; related article), promoted after considerable debate about sharpness, piscine mucus, and the blurring effects of water (Hans Hillewaert (photography), Papa Lima Whiskey (editing to sharpen the image); picture at the bottom)
- Chick Bowen said, "Such consent is not necessary, either legally or ethically, as long as the photograph is taken in a public place and is not demeaning or intrusive, which this image is not. See Commons:Photographs of identifiable people." (created by William Warby; picture at the right)
- GreatOrangePumpkin).
Featured sounds
Three sound files were promoted:
- Fridae'sDoom).
- Bencherlite).
- Sven Manguard)
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Discuss this story
I definitely like the FT of the year writeup. Nice job to Wizardman and whoever dreamt that up!