Talk:Isle of Skye/GA1

GA Review

I am in the process of reviewing this article. Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 18:57, 6 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ah Ruhrfisch, it's yourself (as my Highland - English speaking neighbours might say). Ben MacDui ^Talk/Walk 10:16, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Always a pleasure when our paths cross, congratulations on this good article, Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 10:34, 8 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Good article nomination on hold passed

This article's Good Article promotion has been put on hold. During review, some issues were discovered that can be resolved without a major re-write. This is how the article, as of June 6, 2008, compares against the six good article criteria:

1. Well written?: Pass, generally very well written, although there are a few places that could be polished.

2. Factually accurate?: Pass. Quite nicely done and well referenced in general

3. Broad in coverage?: On hold - needs more information on climate besides just rainfall. See St Kilda, Scotland at the time of its GA pass for an example.

Will attend to asap.

I have now drafted something but getting hold of consistent data, especially for average low temperature has been tricky. I think I can find a better source and I'll update it then. Ben MacDui ^Talk/Walk 09:14, 8 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This looks good enough in first draft form to me to pass the article - congratulations Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 10:34, 8 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

4. Neutral point of view?: Pass, seems quite neutral to me

5. Article stability? Pass, looks like several editors are working together well on this

6. Images?: Pass, very nice images and well placed - watch some captions, like the one for the Skye Bridge

Tweaked Skye Bridge.

Please address these matters soon and then leave a note here showing how they have been resolved. After 48 hours the article should be reviewed again. If these issues are not addressed within 7 days, the article may be failed without further notice. Thank you for your work so far. Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 20:09, 6 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

In my opinion the new climate section (plus the addition of references for the few unreferenced sections noted below) mean this article now meets the good article criteria. Congratulations and keep up the good work, Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 10:34, 8 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Suggestions for improvement

Suggestions for improvement (things I noticed reading, not necessary to fix these for GA, but useful if going for FA):

The link to opaque is a redirect to the dab opacity. I think opaque context is meant.

Done - or at least unlinked.

Would it make sense to give a modern English "translation" of "This Ile is callit Ellan Skiannach in Irish, that is to say in Inglish the wyngit Ile, be reason it has mony wyngis and pointis lyand furth fra it, throw the dividing of thir foirsaid Lochis".[8] for those whose primary language is not English (This isle is called Ellan Skiannach in Irish, that is to say in English the winged isle, the reason being it has many wings and points of land coming forth from it, through the dividing of the aforesaid Lochs)

Do you mean moving the translation into the main text?

I did not realize the translation was in the note - sorry I missed it, but if a reviewer missed it, perhaps it should be in the main text (then again, consider who the reviewer is, not everyone is as dense as I am ;-) ) Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 13:55, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It is unclear to me what the quoted Icelandic / Old Norse text is in in a skaldic poem in the Heimskringla from c. 1230: Hungrþverrir lét herjat hríðar gagls á Skíði[12] that includes the line: "The hunger battle-birds were filled in Skye with blood of foemen killed".[13] . Is it the title of the poem or is it the line that is later given in English? Unlike Tolkien, I am not a member of the coal biters club.

Hopefully

Done. I was in the Fowl and Foetus once you know.

I did not know and am insanely jealous Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 13:55, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Needs a ref: the placename may be from a substratum language and simply be opaque. and This suggests the Irish form sgiathán is an innovation and an unlikely root for Sgiathanach. Finally, deriving the name from Scáthach involves two main problems: there would be a case of unexplained palatalisation of [s̪g̊] to [s̪g̊ʲ] and an unexplained extra element -an-.

Hopefully

Done.

Explain the the "Little Minch" in Etymology - see WP:PCR
Hopefully Done.
Refs should be in numerical order ... no plans to change signage or discontinue the English name.[19][1] is one example of several.

Understood.

There is a template to indent block quotes to the right of images - for Martin Martin's geological observations quote

OK - thanks.

Link unusual terms, like crofting in Strathaird is a relatively small peninsula close to the Cuillin hills with several small crofting communities.[28]

Done

Per WP:HEAD: capitalization of some section headers needs to be fixed, i.e. change to "Norse rule"; do not use "the" or special characters, i.e. change to "Clans and Scottish rule"; and do not repeat the title, i.e. change to just "Gaelic" or perhaps "Gaelic usage"
The Norse rule section is very short - could it be expanded or combined with the preceding section (Prehistory and Norse rule)?
The lead refers to clans Leod and Donald, the "Clans and Scottish rule" section to MacLeod and MacDonald - be consistent or explain for those who do not know these are the same.
Also avoid overlinking - Clan MacDonald and Clan Donald (same link) are each linked in the same section.
Queen Scáthach is mentioned twice (Etymology and Clans) - should she be briefly explained (she is linked)?
I would also explain Clearances and a "clearance village" in more detail (yes Clearances is linked, but a brief explanation is helpful) and give the year for the Battle of the Braes
Per WP:MOS#Quote Robert Carruther's remark circa 1852 that "There is now a village in Portree containing three hundred inhabitants". needs a reference right after the full stop.
First paragraph of Gaelic in Skye section needs a ref
Why the capitalization of Gaelic Rock Band Runrig started in Skye ...?

Sheer foolishness.

Done

Referencing the novels about Skye is fine, but the comments made about the novels (Woolf's island is not much like the real Skye, etc.) need better refs.
In Wildlife, although their dates have been given before, I would repeat them for the Martin and Johnson quotations to provide context
Some references need to have the same format - compare current refs 75 and 76.

Hope this helps, Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 20:09, 6 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, I've dealt with point 1, 3 and 4 I think. I'm not sure what you meant with explaining the Little Minch though. Akerbeltz (talk) 01:06, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Forgot to say this: the reference at the end of the section Gaelic in Skye is the source for all the data in that section. I originally had the ref in the heading but someone (probably sensibly) moved it. Do we need to ref the same document twice? Akerbeltz (talk) 01:09, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, some opinions may differ, but I would say yes, each paragraph should have its own ref (even if it repeats a ref). For FAC, which I assume this will go to eventually, an unreferenced paragraph is a big red flag. As noted, these are suggestions for improvement, but do not need to be done to pass GA. It is fine with me if you want to strike the ones that have been resolved / dealt with. Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 01:17, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I am not Scottish (alas) and I did not know the Little Minch was the strait of water to the west of Skye. So this This would also explain the use of an apparent root form in An Cuan Sgith(e) the "Little Minch" ... made less sense. See WP:PCR Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 01:24, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, reworded the Little Minch bit, should be clear now and added the second ref to the Gaelic section (might as well do it now). Can't help with the weather, it rains a lot but that's anecdotal :b Akerbeltz (talk) 11:28, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Looking good - glad to see so many responses already Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 13:55, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please let me know if I can be of further help, congratulations again on the GA! Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 10:34, 8 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]