Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2017-02-06/Traffic report

Traffic report

Cool It Now

Week of January 22 to 28, 2017

Cool It Now: Things may be a bit crazy in American politics these days, but the Traffic Report reminds you that people around the world are also focused on more relaxing activities such as movies, television, and sports, or remembering those who have recently died, including actress Mary Tyler Moore (#2). --Milowent

For the full Top 25 this week, see Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/January 22 to 28, 2017.

For the week of January 22 to 28, 2017, the ten most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:

Rank	Article	Views	Notes
1	Donald Trump	2,893,734	At #1 for the second week in a row. His viewcounts are amazing! Top notch! Most viewed article ever!
2	Mary Tyler Moore	2,331,504	This American actress died on January 25. Moore's characters often broke from stereotypical images of women and pushed gender norms, and thus she became a cultural icon and served as an inspiration for many younger actresses, professional women, and feminists.
3	Melania Trump	1,588,064	During Donald Trump's campaign, Melania's popularity wasn't always as high as her husband's, but relied on what she did herself. Most notably for this Report, the apex of her popularity was in July 2016 when Melania's convention speech, which lifted some passages from Michelle Obama's 2008 nominating speech for her husband, put her article ahead of Donald's. Now that Melania is officially the First Lady of the United States, we'll have to see if the two articles have any more correlation in views.
4	John Hurt	1,212,592	This British actor died on January 25.
5	Split (2016 American film)	1,164,561	Another psychological horror film from M. Night Shyamalan (pictured), released in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada on January 20. On a $9 million budget, it has already grossed over $100 million. Up from #13 (906K views) last week.
6	Bessie Coleman	1,108,864	The first African-American pilot. On January 26, 2017, the 125th anniversary of her birth, a Google Doodle was posted in her honor.
7	New Edition	1,088,599	The best American boy band of all time returned to claim a rightful spot in the Top 10. OK, cool it now, Milo. It was actually the airing of a three part miniseries, The New Edition Story, that was responsible. But I am listening to Cool It Now, right now, as I start reading about the popular Indian film that follows this entry.
8	Raees (film)	1,088,599	The Indian action film starring Shah Rukh Khan (pictured) was released on January 25. I really have no idea what it is about but the trailer is exciting, the only thing it is missing is The Rock .
9	Ed Roberts (activist)	1,028,161	A pioneering leader of the disability rights movement, the subject of a Google Doodle this week.
10	Resident Evil 7: Biohazard	950,183	This videogame in the Resident Evil series was released on January 24. I'm still listening to New Edition (#7) by the way, the YouTube playlist is on Mr. Telephone Man now, this still really holds up.

Week of January 15 to 21, 2017

Clothes of the First Ladies: I picked one hell of a week for my first report, that's for sure. The

Martin Luther King, Jr (#9) before the Republican Party outlaws the right to protest. Further down, the list is mostly about media, with the results of the 74th Golden Globe Awards lingering on. It took me all day to compile this list, so I don't know yet if this will be the last time I've done this or not, but it is fun to do and I have learned a lot. – Maplestrip

For the full Top 25 this week, see Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/January 15 to 21, 2017.

For the week of January 15 to 21, 2017, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:

Rank	Article	Views	Notes
1	Donald Trump	4,487,438	I find it rather weird that the United States doesn't seem to have a system for dealing with botched elections. The Russian interference aside, both major presidential candidates were going through legal situations ranging from tax evasion to email classified information to literal rape right as the election was held. Even the president-elect has posted on his Twitter that he believes massive voter fraud had taken place. Regardless, I suppose none of these are good reasons to do a re-election, so it seems to be official now. President Donald Trump .
2	Melania Trump	2,235,322	News media only seems to care about Melania Trump's shoes, jewelry, and gown this week. Maybe that's because the second foreign-born her son , rather than in Washington with her husband. I personally quite like Mrs. Trump, so I hope she'll become more politically influential later on.
3	Chelsea Manning	1,976,999	One of the final acts of 44th President Barack Obama (#4) was to commute the prison sentence of several hundred people, including some who have been convicted for espionage and treason over the years. Among them is 29-year-old Chelsea Manning, who, in 2010, relayed 700,000 military files to WikiLeaks. This political act has been praised by many who found the 35-year prison sentence much too harsh, though some say Manning could have been sentenced for 90 years for what she did. I'm personally quite happy to see her go free, but I don't know if that's because I'm not interested in patriotism or because I'm not American.
4	Barack Obama	1,463,253	Everyone wants to know how Obama will go down in history, and everybody seems to be talking about how successful his administration has been. I don't think comparing him to the likes of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln is really fair, but for my two cents, I think people will remember Obama quite fondly.
5	A Series of Unfortunate Events	1,192,275	People are probably searching for the television series (#16), though of course it might have reignited interest in Lemony Snicket's book series. Weird that this article outperformed that of the TV series this much, though.
6	Ivanka Trump	1,174,350	President Trump's oldest daughter promised Barron Trump . I am sure Ivanka will take on a big role during this presidential term.
7	Queen Victoria	1,161,981	I am quite impressed by Britain's ability to wedge an old queen between all of this contemporary American politics. The US premiere of Victoria was last week, spurring more interest into the royal family's history. TV series on that topic seem to be popular recently.
8	Betsy DeVos	1,123,350	President Trump's pick for Secretary of Eduction is clearly the most controversial. Her lack of experience with America's world-infamous student loan system has been pretty harshly criticized by liberals, as has her belief that not all federally-funded schools have to follow the same federal laws (like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).
9	Martin Luther King Jr.	1,008,665	Last week was Civil Rights Movement chief spokesman. Of course, this got people interested in the man who was assassinated 49 years ago. I don't think King would have liked the new president.
10	xXx: Return of Xander Cage	940,185	The continuation of a film series that started in 2002 once again features Vin Diesel in the lead role, so I am not surprised to see it high on this list.

The 26th place goes to
Melania Knauss, and Eric Trump
all follow, as the political theme continues.

Week of January 8 to 14, 2017

A Pat on the Back: Awards are the main theme this week, with the arrival of the 74th Golden Globe Awards, the traditional beginning of Oscar season, and the unexpected (certainly by its recipient) award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama to his Vice President, Joe Biden. Even some longstanding entries, such as Elizabeth II and Donald Trump are tied into the awards given this week. Also, the people of India seem intent on awarding Aamir Khan's Dangal the title of "highest grossing Indian film of all time". – Serendipodous

For the full Top 25 this week, see Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/January 8 to 14, 2017.

For the week of January 8 to 14, 2017, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:

Rank	Article	Views	Notes
1	La La Land (film)	1,101,692	The acclaimed contemporary musical starring Oscars in March.
2	Ryan Gosling	1,092,495	Surprisingly, this is the universal object of female lust and male envy's first appearance on this list, as he reminded us to our collective chagrin that aside from being infuriatingly handsome he's also a good actor, having won a Golden Globe this week, immediately bolstering his Oscar chances.
3	Meryl Streep	1,002,185	Another surprise first entry for the Greatest Actress of Her Generation^TM, who used her acceptance of a Golden Globe this week to deliver an eloquent 6-minute takedown of America's soon-to-be President. Needless to say, the Trumposphere was triggered, with some arguing that she had lost all her earned respect. I have to wonder how many of them have ever watched Sophie's Choice anyway.
4	Eva Mendes	894,263	So great was the storm of Gosling worship this week that even his wife was swept up in it.
5	Donald Trump	870,811	Everyone was waiting for Donald Trump's Twitter response to Meryl Streep's speech, and when it came it was surprisingly restrained, arriving as late as 5 am. He still described her as "a Hillary flunky who lost big" though.
6	Dangal (film)	857,116	Down from #1 and over a million views last week. Bollywood , a world where star power counts for a lot. So it's not surprising that his latest film is already breaking records, having made ₹1.07 billion (US$15.78 million) in its first three days.
7	Joe Biden	788,801	The current Vice President of the United States began his tenure as a bit of a punchline, but when he lost his eldest son to brain cancer in 2015 his unflappable grace in the face of tragedy earned him national respect. So perhaps it isn't surprising that Barack Obama's surprise award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to his VP in the closing days of his Presidency, which could have been seen as indulging in political nepotism, appears to have been greeted with universal approval.
8	Emma Stone	749,814	The well-liked actress earned a Golden Globe for her performance in La La Land , placing her at pole position in the Oscar race.
9	Barack Obama	735,915	The man who, for the next 5 days as of this list date, remains the President of the United States, used his final days to award his VP Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom (see above).
10	Elizabeth II	724,759	For the 12th consecutive week, the longest-reigning British monarch in history places on this list thanks to The Crown, the Golden Globe-winning $100 million melodrama about her early years in which she is played by Claire Foy, who this week also won a Golden Globe for her portrayal.

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I frequently enjoy The Signpost's content, especially the Traffic Report but I think I like the report with less political axe-grinding. Typically the writing is good on the report but there's a very fine line between witty snark and pathetic bitterness. Chris Troutman (talk) 20:57, 7 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Chris, I am interested to hear what comments you found unfavorable. E.g., we are finding a split of opinion over Trump where there are almost no non-U.S. readers who don't want us to flay Trump alive (which we try not to do), and where in the U.S. there are some people who have expressed dislike for comments about Trump that are negative even when factual. That's why I tried to play it light in the Trump entry in the topmost top 10. We are in interesting times where politics are dominating the chart more than usual.--Milowent • ^hasspoken 23:57, 7 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I agree these are difficult times and I know there's a wide variety of opinion but I noticed comments like "the United States doesn't seem to have a system for dealing with botched elections", "literal rape", and "everybody seems to be talking about how successful his administration has been" miss the mark. I don't mind Maplestrip registering her opinion. I balk when that opinion is presented as fact. I understand these are divisive issues; I just think Signpost can do better since it usually does. Chris Troutman (talk) 00:23, 8 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

As for "everybody seems to be talking about how successful his administration has been", I was actually referring to people criticizing the Obama administration for various reasons. At the time of writing, I saw a lot of posts and articles in my feed related to how Obama would be remembered compared to other US presidents. That was not intended to be a compliment. The "literal rape" comment may have been a bit on the nose, but per various dictionary definitions ("unlawful sexual activity ... carried out forcibly ... incapable of valid consent ..."), any kind of sexual assault can also be referred to as rape. I'm sorry if this word usage has been uncomfortable. As for the first statement regarding botched elections: that was indeed a somewhat personal statement, or even a personal frustration as someone who follows international news. Clearly, the United States election was messed up, right? Even the president has said that voter fraud has taken place. Whether or not this means that there should be a "do-over" is subjective, but I found it odd that the US doesn't even seem to have a system in place for such a situation. I never read anything along the lines of "if this Russian hack is confirmed, we should do X." I hope I manage to justify my use of language somewhat. I agree with the fact that adding me to the traffic report group wouldn't exactly result in more political diversity here, which has been an issue for a while now... ~Mable (chat) 10:40, 8 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, to clarify, I did not state that tax invasion, rape, or illegal usage of a private mailing server actually took place. I just stated that the election happened while investigations and court cases regarding these situations were still ongoing. Surely that is an issue worth addressing? ~Mable (chat) 10:44, 8 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

As I've said, our current situation leads to difficult editorial decisions. I won't argue the facts of what has been in the news because I don't want to derail this discussion nor do I deny we're in some really odd political territory. I'd certainly shy away from coverage that can be divisive although I guess that perception of what's divisive depends on what communities you interact with. I'm a student in Pittsburgh so I see both ends of the US spectrum here. Serendipodous has continually been on the money with his writing so I'd only suggest you follow his lead for where to draw the line. I value Traffic Report and I'd hate to have editors like me become alienated by a descent into the filthy world of wholesale politics. I totally understand where you're coming from, though. I'm just not where you are. Having international voices in The Signpost is important so I encourage you to continue. Chris Troutman (talk) 11:05, 8 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I'll try to do better next time - thank you for the criticism! ~Mable (chat) 11:42, 8 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Slipping in with my Editor in Chief hat on, I'm glad to see this discussed. As we do for almost every edition (since politics are a running theme), we considered the extent and nature of the political commentary prior to publication; while we may have reached a different conclusion than you did, Chris troutman, I want to assure you it was not out of a lack of consideration, or a lack of sensitivity to the issues you raise. As far as I'm concerned, one of the important and valuable aspects of the Traffic Report -- which distinguishes it from the Top 25 reports that are its basis -- is the voice of the author. (And the voice of the writers is one of the core assets of the Signpost, going back to 2005.) One way of addressing your concerns that I'm very open to is recruiting more people, of more backgrounds, to offer their own analyses -- and this is a good time for that. But I'm not inclined to ask our contributors to tone down their views, at least not in this case. I consider the quality of research and writing to be the determining factors in what we publish here, not the "slant" of the author's views. Chris, thank you for articulating your position. Maplestrip, thank you for your work on this, and for taking the criticism in stride -- and {{u|Milowent]] and Serendipodous, thanks as always for your leadership on this section! -Pete Forsyth (talk) 21:43, 8 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Week of January 8 to 14, 2017 section seems to either have the wrong view count numbers for Donald Trump article or have it in the wrong place in the list. Mm? —{{u|
T/C|☮️|John15:12|🍂 09:54, 10 February 2017 (UTC)[reply
]

P. S.: Personally, I enjoyed getting to hear the author's commentary. I assume NPOV doesn't apply to this, so IDK what the fuss is about; it certainly gives a nice change of pace from reading article content. Just my 2¢. —{{u|

T/C|☮️|John15:12|🍂 09:54, 10 February 2017 (UTC)[reply

]

Goldenshimmer, thanks for the note re Trump viewcount, I have put the correct number - the old one probably was an artifact from a prior report that we forgot to update, he was still #5 that week. And thanks for weighing in on our commentary as well.--Milowent • ^hasspoken 13:59, 10 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I feel it should be officially noted here that plenty of men also lust after Ryan Gosling. --Roisterer (talk) 03:09, 13 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure if the title was inspired by the number one hit single

talk) 11:17, 14 February 2017 (UTC)[reply

]

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