A dash of Arsenikk: This week the Signpost interviews Arsenikk, an editor of six years who has brought sixteen lists through our featured list process, mostly regarding transportation in Norway but also about the 1952 Winter Olympics and World Heritage Sites in Africa. Arsenikk tells us about why he joined the project, what moves him, and how editors can join the sometimes daunting world of featured lists.
A diagram of the stations on the Oslo Metro, one of Arsenikk's several featured lists on transportation in Norway.
On joining Wikipedia
My original interest in Wikipedia arose from reading about airlines, and especially destination lists—information I was not able to easily find elsewhere. I started adding some content on the Norwegian Wikipedia, but quickly switched to the English edition, largely because I found that the standards (especially referencing) are higher. I enjoy researching and writing full-length articles and enjoy the feeling of knowing an article is "complete". Wikipedia is largely a work in progress, and featured content allows the satisfaction that, at least in one small area, we are finished. The featured processes not only fix individual issues, but allows feedback on ways I am systematically wrong, which allows me to correct all future articles I write.
On featured lists
Featured list (FL) reviewers are nit-picky and it is necessary to keep track of a wide array of guidelines, styles, recommendations and common practice. The easiest part, although perhaps the most time-consuming, is filling in the tables. Once the general structure has been established, adding additional entries is often trivial. I find the atmosphere at featured list candidates (FLC) very welcoming and uplifting. Even though the purpose of the candidacy review is to provide criticism, I have never felt any negativity.
Except for station lists, my transport-related lists have been ground-breaking in the sense that I did not have an existing "template" FL to copy. This makes them much more difficult to compose, as a user-friendly and encyclopedic structure must be established while keeping in mind issues such as accessibility for the color-blind. At the same time, these were often lists where the FLC process contributed a great change in the list's structure, and thus the process was of the greatest value. Although considerably more work, such lists also give more satisfaction; it is in many ways similar to solving a puzzle. Someone else nominating a list using the same structure I "invented" gives a priceless feeling of humility.
For editors new to FLC, I would recommend starting off with a scope (topic) which has several existing lists. Look at the newest FLs and copy the structure. It is also important to read the criteria, the Manual of Style and other guidelines to understand the standards the article will be measured by. A featured list review should concentrate on the small issues rather than serve as a tutorial. For articles, I would strongly encourage taking the article to both good article and peer review before its candidacy, although this is rarely needed for lists. The featured process is first and foremost a place for article improvement, so take all feedback as constructive advice. Reviewing is an important part of the learning process; being able to assess and articulate feedback betters one's ability to refine one's own contributions.
Holkham National Nature Reserve (nom) by Jimfbleak. Holkham National Nature Reserve is England's largest national nature reserve, covering 3,900 ha (9,600 acres) and comprising a wide range of habitats. The reserve, also an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, was created in 1967; however, human settlement in the area dates back to the Iron Age. The reserve has over 100,000 visitors a year, endangering its wildlife and sand dunes.
La Coupole (nom) by Prioryman. La Coupole is a Second World War bunker complex in northern France which was built by Nazi Germany to launch V-2 rockets at London. The structure, built into the side of a disused chalk quarry, has a prominent concrete dome above it and was designed to prepare dozens of rockets daily. However, Allied bombings and later seizure ensured that construction was never fully completed. The complex is now used as a museum.
Pink Floyd (nom) by GabeMc. Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved international critical and commercial success with their progressive and psychedelic music. Formed in 1965, the group's first members were university students active in London's underground music scene. After experiencing several line-up changes the band saw their greatest successes in the 1970s. Pink Floyd began dissolving afterwards, although the members have occasionally reunited for sets.
Rhythm Killers (nom) by Dan56. Rhythm Killers is the second studio album by Jamaican musical duo Sly and Robbie. Released in 1987 on Island Records, the album reflected the duo's earlier cross-genre endeavors and incorporates contrasting musical elements and disparate styles. Rhythm Killers, promoted with two singles, was released to commercial acclaim and charted in four countries. Although on several "best albums" lists, it is currently out of print.
Manuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto Alegre (nom) by Astynax and Lecen. Porto Alegre (1804–1875) was an army officer, politician, abolitionist and monarchist of the Empire of Brazil. He began his military career at the age of seventeen, serving for more than 35 years before going into politics, eventually serving as Minister of War. After service in the Paraguayan war in the 1860s, he returned to politics.
H-58 (Michigan county highway) (nom) by Imzadi1979. H-58 is a county-designated highway in the US state of Michigan that runs east–west for approximately 69 miles (111 km) between the communities of Munising and Deer Park in the Upper Peninsula. The roadway was initially constructed in the late 1920s but required an Act of Congress to be paved through the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore; parts of the road remain unpaved.
Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! (nom) by Crisco 1492. Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! is an Indonesian drama film directed by Djenar Maesa Ayu and released in 2008. It follows a young writer who is dealing with the aftereffects of being molested as a child. Based on two of Ayu's short stories, most of the cast and crew were amateurs and film students. The film was a critical success, winning several awards and placing on two lists of the best films of 2008.
Frank Berryman (nom) by Hawkeye7. Berryman (1894–1981) was an Australian Army general. He joined the Army during the First World War, leading an unremarkable career until the Second World War; during the war he commanded troops in the Middle East and Pacific before ultimately serving as Australian Army representative at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay. His post-war career saw him lead the military against a coal strike and manage the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales.
Archaeoindris (nom) by Maky. Archaeoindris fontoynontii is an extinct, giant lemur and the largest primate known to have evolved on Madagascar; its genus, of which it is the only member, may have gone extinct as recently as 350 BCE. The species was first described in 1909 based on subfossil fragmentary jaws; much of the bones of its lower body have not been discovered. The animal was likely as large as a gorilla.
Featured lists
Six featured lists were promoted this week:
Golden Spikes Award (nom) by Bloom6132. The Golden Spikes Award has been given annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States since 1978. Recipients are judged to best exhibit and combine "exceptional on-field ability and exemplary sportsmanship". The most recent winner is Mike Zunino.
Christian Bale filmography (nom) by Tomica. The English actor Christian Bale has appeared in numerous motion pictures, television programmes, and advertisements since his debut in 1986. Although several of his roles were critically acclaimed, his breakout role is generally considered to be in 2000's American Psycho.
Train discography (nom) by Holiday56. The American pop rock band Train has released 9 albums, 3 extended plays, 25 singles, and 20 music videos. They made their debut in 1996 with an eponymous album, finding their greatest success in 1998 with Drops of Jupiter. Their most recent album, California 37, was released in April 2012.
300 win club (nom) by Muboshgu. In Major League Baseball, the 300 win club is the group of pitchers who have won 300 or more games. The frequency of this has varied over the ages as rules change, sometimes working in favour of the pitcher and sometimes in favour of the batter. The most recent member is Randy Johnson (2009).
List of aircraft operated by Braathens (nom) by Arsenikk. The Norwegian scheduled and charter airline Braathens opearted 118 aircraft of 15 types between its establishment as Braathens SAFE in 1946 and its merger with Scandinavian Airlines in 2004. Over half were variants of the Boeing 737.
LMFAO discography (nom) by Holiday56. The American electro and hip hop duo LMFAO have released two albums, one extended play, sixteen singles, and sixteen music videos. They made their debut with the EP Party Rock in 2008, which was rereleased as an album the following year. Their most successful album has been 2011's Sorry for Party Rocking.
Featured pictures
Five featured pictures were promoted this week:
Crew of STS-107 (nom; related article), created by NASA and nominated by Pine. STS-107 was the final mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia that ended with deaths of all of the shuttle's seven-member crew.
Sign painting (nom; related article) by Jjron. Sign painting is the act of using paint and brushes to create signs on 2- or 3-dimensional surfaces. As an art it is endangered by computer-generated signs.
Chinese pole acrobatics (nom; related article), created by Ludo29 and nominated by Alborzagros. Chinese poles are vertical poles on which circus performers climb, slide down and hold poses. They are generally between 3 and 9 metres (10 and 30 ft) in height and approximately 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) in diameter.
Endeavour silhouette (nom; related article), created by NASA and nominated by Pine. In this picture, Space Shuttle Endeavour appears to straddle the stratosphere and mesosphere, two parts of Earth's atmosphere; the orange-coloured part is the troposphere.
Space shuttle Endeavour appears to straddle the stratosphere and mesosphere
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