Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2018-02-05/Traffic report
TV, death, sports, and doodles
- This traffic report is adapted from the Top 25 Report, prepared with commentary by Stormy clouds (January 14 to 20), and igordebraga and Serendipodous (January 21 to 27)
Netflix got me wrapped around its finger (January 14 to 20)
This week's report is considerably more diverse, for better or worse. As ever, television has a dominant effect on the reading habits of Wikipedia's users, with Netflix maintaining its chokehold, securing eyes both on its own site and over here. The return of a pair of crime dramas also provided some intrigue for the readers of the wiki. The leading article, however, is that of Dolores O'Riordan, the lead singer of the Cranberries, who died tragically at a young age during the week. As ever, we can thank Reddit and Google for a couple of entries on the Report, and sports gasp also managed to make its way in, encroaching on the fiefdom of period drama fanatics. With the apparent addiction to television that is suffered by many a reader on Wikipedia, it is little wonder that we spend our time like zombies, clicking through tangentially related links. Long may it last, I say.
For the week of January 14 to 20, 2018, the most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dolores O'Riordan | 
|
2,536,032 |  |
Beginning with musical tragedy, we have the death of the lead singer of The Cranberries (#4). This decade has had a remarkably high rate of attrition for talented musicians, and the death of my fellow countrywoman hit harder than most. From brave political statements to a oft-used ballad about rêves, the singer left a mark in her short life. Anyway, this is too upsetting to set the tone for the Report as a whole, so I shan't linger. |
| 2 | Martin Luther King Jr. | 
|
1,130,743 |  |
The national holiday to celebrate the champion of civil rights fell this week stateside, as it does every year. Intrigue surrounding the pastor was likely piqued by the fact that many media outlets drew parallels between a holiday designed to mark the life and death of the man who vanquished segregation, and Donald Trump's vitriol and rhetoric. |
| 3 | Gianni Versace | 
|
1,051,793 |  |
The legendary fashion designer is, perhaps not surprisingly, the subject of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, the second season of American Crime Story. While the enterprise has not received the approval of Versace's family members, it seems to have riveted the readers of Wikipedia. If it can emulate the quality of its predecessor, we may perhaps truly understand why exactly the assassin (#5) decided to leave the icon on the floor. |
| 4 | The Cranberries | 
|
1,018,955 |  |
The band lost their lead singer, Dolores O'Riordan (#1), following her untimely demise in London. This prompted an outpouring of wiki-emotion and interest in the group, propelling them to the top 5 for the week. |
| 5 | Andrew Cunanan |
|
869,460 |  |
The assassin of #3, Cunanan is also investigated thoroughly in the second season of the glove fits , as he was cremated following his death.
|
| 6 | Queen Victoria | 
|
782,363 |  |
Another article which attracts constant attention from Anglophiles, Victoria is a staple of the report. She has seen her interest increase greatly as a result of the crown , but it can't be denied that Wikipedia's users are captivated by period drama focused on British queens.
|
| 7 | Deaths in 2018
|
|
765,887 |  |
Led by the demise of O'Riordan (#1), and a pioneering footballing legend, there was a lot of traffic at the list of the dead this week. Let's hope we are not in for another celebrity apocalypse. |
| 8 | Elizabeth II |
|
735,840 |  |
Once again, Elizabeth Regina makes her way onto the Report by virtue of The Crown. Having written extensively about the series due to the high presence of second screeners, I finally decided to indulge in the series and binge watched it in its entirety. On the whole, I found it to be very entertaining, and yes, found myself journeying to the pages of the characters in the period drama – am I part of the problem? |
| 9 | Schöningen Spears
|
|
641,099 |  |
Another week, another Reddit entry sparking intense interest on Wikipedia. While I don't frequent r/TIL myself, I, as a commentator, do have to thank the moderators for introducing variety into the report. This one relates to wooden spears, which, through DYK , as you clearly have the knack for it.
|
| 10 | Case Keenum |
|
612,896 | I have never understood why Minnesota of all places adopted the Vikings as their sporting idols. I mean, Miami Dolphins, I get. 49ers, sure. But why the Vikings? Because it is cold in Minneapolis? Because you enjoy historical anachronisms? Demographics indicate that it should be the Saxons. It truly puzzles me, as someone who stems from a Viking town. Nonetheless, Keenum's story this year has been remarkable, progressing from third-choice QB to a Super Bowl contender. The air will be let out of the balloon, though, when the Norse legions get wiped out by a ragtag volunteer army and their venerated general – or not. |
Going through changes (January 21 to 27)
Feel like the report was pretty much the same from week to week? We've got you covered, as only four entries remain from the last report, the ever-present death list and the subjects of the TV shows Wikipedia readers seem to watch. Most of the changes are sports related: three entries in the build-up to Super Bowl LII, the possibility of another gridiron league returning, an association footballer making his debut, the two winners of the Australian Open, the latest UFC event... and on a darker, off-field note, two entries regarding the closure of a scandal akin to the Weinstein effect, as a pedophile physician who regularly abused American gymnasts is sent to prison. Also shifting things are three Google Doodles - that including the top two entries of the week - and a Reddit topic, four Indian entries (a new Bollywood epic, two historic figures depicted in it, and a national holiday), the Oscar nominations and the latest turmoil the US government has put itself into.
For the week of January 21 to 27, 2018, the most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virginia Woolf |
|
1,497,132 |  |
The feminist icon and author of, among other books, Mrs Dalloway received a Google Doodle celebrating her 126th birthday. |
| 2 | Sergei Eisenstein |
|
1,169,678 |  |
Like Virginia Woolf, pioneering Soviet filmmaker Eisenstein was born in the 19th century, peaked in the 1920s (including the iconic 1925 film Battleship Potemkin), died in the 1940s, and received a Google Doodle for his birthday (only this time a nice round number, 120). |
| 3 | USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal |
|
1,074,940 | 
|
In 2016, while it was revealed Russia was doping so many athletes to the point a whole slew of them were banned, another Olympics powerhouse saw a scandal that was as bad, if not worse: a former USA Gymnastics national team physician was denounced for sexually abusing over 150 athletes – including McKayla Maroney, seen to the left doing that famous "not impressed" face in illustrious company – since 1992. This week, said physician was sentenced to prison. |
| 4 | Tom Brady |
|
980,001 | 
|
Unlike some of my friends, I don't care for American football. That being said, one of said friends is ecstatic that the Jacksonville Jaguars are incompetent and couldn't stop Brady and the New England Patriots from reaching a second consecutive Super Bowl and his eighth overall. |
| 5 | Padmaavat |
|
920,105 |  |
India, ya know I love ya but baby you crazy. This week, a historic epic based on the poem Padmavat and starring Deepika Padukone (pictured) was released and is already making some big crore in spite of controversy – Padmaavat has been accused of being right wing and anti Muslim - that led to the movie being banned from a few Indian states, riots, firebombing, death threats to the director and cast, and even threats of mass suicide. |
| 6 | Republic Day (India) |
|
832,560 |  |
There. See? National holiday! Fun! Do that. Instead of threatening to murder people or set fire to things. Many Indians took it to watch the movie in our previous entry, despite increased security. |
| 7 | List of Super Bowl champions |
|
766,992 | .jpg) |
Self explanatory, really. Super Bowl LII is next week, and people wanted to remind themselves of the previous 51. The biggest winners are the Pittsburgh Steelers with six, though they can be matched by the New England Patriots if last year's result - seen in the picture, Tom Brady (#4) lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the fifth time - repeats. Add the extended success to the fact that he's married to one of my country's most beautiful women and you can see why many downright envy Brady. |
| 8 | Deaths in 2018
|
|
765,887 | |
Needs no introduction. And maybe the most notable death last week was Mort Walker, finishing off an impressive 68 years of writing Beetle Bailey. |
| 9 | Rani Padmini |
|
730,645 | .JPG) |
The legendary 13th–14th century Indian queen (Rani) who is the main character of Padmaavat (#5). |
| 10 | 90th Academy Awards |
|
711,802 | 
|
The latest Oscar contenders were announced by Andy Serkis and Tiffany Haddish (the latter, clearly struggling with the teleprompter), with the most nominated film being The Shape of Water (#13) amid the expected (most nominees, including Academy regulars Daniel Day-Lewis, Denzel Washington, and Meryl Streep) and surprises both good (Get Out for Best Picture! Logan for Best Adapted Screenplay!) and bad (The Boss Baby?!). The ceremony is on March 4th. |
Exclusions
- These lists excludes the Wikipedia main page, non-article pages (such as redlinks), and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Since mobile view data became available to the Report in October 2014, we exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (5–6% or less) or almost all mobile views (94–95% or more) because they are very likely to be automated views based on our experience and research of the issue. Please feel free to discuss any removal on the Top 25 Report talk page if you wish.
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Why is the Minnesota NFL team called the Vikings? See also