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Wikipedia: Collaboration of the week

From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.

Each week a Collaboration of the Week will be picked using this page. This is a specific topic which either has no article or a basic stub page, the aim being to have a featured-standard article by the end of the week, from widespread cooperative editing.

The project aims to fill gaps in Wikipedia, to give users a focus and to give us all something to be proud of. Anyone can nominate an article and can vote for the nominated articles. Every Sunday, the votes are tallied, and the winner will be promoted for a week to potential contributors.

The current Collaboration of the week is African art.
Last week's COTW was Partition of India - see how it improved.
Weekly Collaborations

GENERAL

BY REGION

BY SUBJECT

TRANSLATIONS

DEFUNCT / INACTIVE

The next winner will be selected on Sunday, December 13, 18:00 (UTC).
Previous winners can be found at History.
Removed nominations can be found at Removed.

Contents
1 Selecting the next Collaboration of the Week
2 Candidates for next week

2.1 Underground Railroad
2.2 First Indochina War
2.3 Economy of Europe
2.4 Economy of Asia
2.5 Costa Rica
2.6 Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
2.7 Nobel Prize in Literature
2.8 League of Nations
2.9 Antique
2.10 Richard Nixon mask
2.11 Anti-Masonic Movement
2.12 American comic book
2.13 Trade
2.14 Destruction of American Indigenous peoples
2.15 Culture of Europe
2.16 Age of Discovery
2.17 Roman technology
2.18 Hala'ib Triangle
2.19 Radio drama
2.20 Cossack
2.21 Great Sedition Trial
2.22 Imam
2.23 Culture of China

3 To nominate an article, please click on "Edit" on the right.

Selecting the next Collaboration of the Week

The Path to a Featured Article
  1. Start a new article
  2. Do some research
  3. Write a great article
  4. Check against the featured article criteria
  5. Get creative criticism
  6. Apply for featured article status
  7. Featured articles
  • Voting
    • Please vote for as many of the following candidates as you like.
    • Only registered users should vote.
    • To enter your votes, simply edit the appropriate sections by just inserting a new line with "# ~~~~". This will add your username and a time stamp in a new numbered list item.
    • A vote will be taken to include a pledge that the voter will contribute to the article if it is selected.
    • Please add only support votes. Opposing votes will not affect the result, as the winner is simply the one with the most support votes (see Approval voting).
  • Tie-breakers
    • In case of a tie, voting will be extended for 24 hours. If there is still a tie, the candidate that was nominated first wins.
  • Nominations
    • New nominations can be made at any time and should be added at the end of this page. Please use the template at the bottom of this page.
    • If the page you are nominating already exists, please add {{COTW}} to the top of its talk page. This expands to:
This is a candidate for collaboration of the week. Please visit that page to support or comment on the nomination.
  • Considerations for nominations
    • Please only nominate articles which don't currently exist or are stubs. (Two paragraphs or less of information or fewer than 1,000 characters)
    • For non-stubs, submitting the article to pages needing attention, cleanup, peer review, or requests for expansion may be more appropriate.
    • Giving reasons as to why an article should become the COTW may assist others in casting their vote.
    • Can the wider community easily contribute to the article? Or is it something only a small number of people will know about?
  • Pruning
    • The nomination will be moved to Removed if it has not received 5 votes after 7 days on the list, 10 votes after 14 days, 15 votes after 21 days, and so on.

Candidates for next week


Underground Railroad

Nominated November 11 2004; needs 30 votes by December 23 2004

Support:

  1. Neutrality (hopefully!) 22:19, Nov 11, 2004 (UTC)
  2. J3ff 22:25, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  3. Aranel ("Sarah") 18:12, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  4. AndyL 08:44, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  5. Shorne 10:12, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  6. Rj 17:16, Nov 13, 2004 (UTC)
  7. Sarge Baldy 02:16, Nov 16, 2004 (UTC)
  8. ALoan (Talk) 14:34, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  9. Burgundavia 04:23, Nov 18, 2004 (UTC)
  10. McMullen 15:06, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  11. The KoG | (talk) 22:11, Nov 19, 2004 (UTC)
  12. Minh Nguyễn (talk, blog) 03:23, 20 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  13. Dmn / Դմն 21:17, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  14. Spangineer 16:21, Nov 24, 2004 (UTC)
  15. Dhartung | Talk 21:10, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  16. Key45 02:39, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  17. | (talk) 08:10, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  18. Slugokramer 17:37, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  19. Radagast 02:30, Dec 5, 2004 (UTC)
  20. Denelson83 05:49, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  21. Peter O. (Talk, automation script) 03:56, Dec 6, 2004 (UTC)
  22. Jacob1207 01:41, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  23. Pedant 21:13, 2004 Dec 8 (UTC)
  24. Amgine 22:41, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  25. Big_Iron 10:42, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • An important and inspiring movement that deserves a more detailed account. Harriet Tubman was also a brilliant and courageous leader, and the article on her could be expanded. Shorne 10:12, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)----
  • How disappointing, I was expecting an article about slaves escaping via the Northern Line ;-) Dmn / Դմն 21:17, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • Absolutely needs improvement. A critical period in US history and essential to the radicalization of the abolitionist movement. --Dhartung | Talk 21:10, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • Am I the only one who went to this page expecting an article about the tube/metro? Seems not, since they have the disambiguation ;) --Martewa 11:40, 28 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • This article could also use some info on the current underground railroad helping soldiers who have finished their contracted terms of service but are being forced to remain in-service, to escape the country, and possibly mention of 'draft-dodger' assistance groups during the Vietnam era etc., as they are all related by the theme of escaping repression with the help of strangers. Pedant 21:13, 2004 Dec 8 (UTC)

First Indochina War

Nominated November 19 2004; needs 20 votes by December 17 2004

Support:

  1. The KoG | (talk) 21:05, Nov 19, 2004 (UTC)
  2. Litefantastic 21:07, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  3. AndyL 21:36, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  4. Jiang 22:12, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  5. Shorne 00:32, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  6. MisterSheik 00:43, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  7. KNewman 04:10, Nov 21, 2004 (UTC)
  8. J3ff 20:27, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  9. NeoJustin 22:02, Nov 21, 2004 (UTC)
  10. gadfium 23:46, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  11. Burgundavia 07:53, Nov 25, 2004 (UTC)
  12. Dhartung | Talk 21:06, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  13. --Sentience 23:57, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  14. PZFUN 11:00, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  15. Tarquin 13:51, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  16. Pedant 00:40, 2004 Dec 9 (UTC)

Comments:

  • I'm surprised that an event with such major implications on the world is so lacking in information. The war broke the back of the French empire; it gave rise to Ngo Dinh Diem and Ho Chi Minh, the two most loved-hated men on the planet at the time; perhaps most importantly, it's conclusion laid the groundwork for the Second Indochina War, more popularly known as the Vietnam War. It deserves more attention. -- The KoG | (talk) 21:05, Nov 19, 2004 (UTC)
  • I'll contribute if I can, although I'm not sure how much I could help. -Litefantastic 21:07, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • This article is pitifully short. We certainly need far more information about the glorious efforts of the Vietnamese comrades (such as Bác Hồ) to drive out the French colonialists before they so splendidly kicked the asses of the Yankee imperialists not too many years later. Shorne 00:32, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • This was one the first things I looked for information about on Wikipedia. I am very interested in reading what people write about this. MisterSheik 00:43, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • Battle of Dien Bien Phu is, ironically or perhaps not, far longer and more detailed. There is naturally a domestic French political story here as well which isn't even mentioned. --Dhartung | Talk 21:06, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • The title should be reconsidered. This first phase of the long war in Indochina following World War 2 is not the first war ever fought in the region. The confusing terminology apparently comes from the Indochina War article, which also needs editing. --Sentience 23:57, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
    • Actually, First Indochina War is the name used by most historians regarding this conflict. True, it is not the first war in Indochinese history. The title simply refers to the fact that it was the first war after World War II. Just as the next conflict is known as the Second Indochina War in some circles, although as I stated, we know it as the Vietnam War. -- The KoG | (talk) 13:09, Dec 1, 2004 (UTC)

Economy of Europe

Nominated November 20 2004; needs 15 votes by December 11 2004

Support:

  1. Grunners 19:59, 20 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  2. Jerryseinfeld 00:46, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  3. Dmn / Դմն 01:20, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  4. The Anome 13:25, Nov 21, 2004 (UTC)
  5. Meelar (talk) 18:06, Nov 21, 2004 (UTC)
  6. CGorman 19:25, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  7. SimonP 20:06, Nov 21, 2004 (UTC)
  8. NeoJustin 21:59, Nov 21, 2004 (UTC)
  9. Graham ☺ | Talk 00:49, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  10. KNewman 19:57, Nov 22, 2004 (UTC)
  11. Scottbeck 00:13, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • Began this article a few days ago, as it was something sorely lacking. It is based on the Economy of Africa article, but with slight adaptations. An article such as this is obviously a huge project, many parts of which require quite specific knowledge, and this could be gained by promotion as CotW. Many sections are currently just headings, or have a brief sentence, it is also a highly linked too page. Grunners 19:59, 20 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • Oppose. Article needs work, but is not a stub. DAVODD «TALK» 22:54, Nov 20, 2004 (UTC)
    • not a stub, but far, far short of what it should be. A complete article would dwarf what is currently there, which is ultimatly a template with some brief sections. Grunners 00:48, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • This article is far from being short. It is longer than most articles on wikipedia and is definitely not a stub. Sure, some empty sections need filling, but we need to set priorities. The continents that dont even have articles (i.e., Asia, the Americas, and Oceania) should have higher priority. --Jiang 11:20, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)
    • Since its nomination this page has recieved a lot of attention, and therefore probably no longer qualifies for COTW. Grunners 13:57, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
      • So long as it qualified when it was first nominated, it can stay on until it is pruned: expansion after an article is nominated does not disqualify it. If it is a decent standard now, fewer people will vote for it and it will be pruned in due course anyway. -- ALoan (Talk) 14:14, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)


Economy of Asia

Nominated November 26 2004; needs 15 votes by December 17 2004

Support:

  1. Jiang 00:06, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  2. Xed 11:28, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  3. Fredrik | talk 14:50, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  4. J3ff 00:35, 28 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  5. KNewman 18:09, Nov 28, 2004 (UTC)
  6. Norman Rogers 14:38, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  7. Paul 11:41, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  8. Grunners 23:02, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  9. __earth 04:02, Dec 2, 2004 (UTC)
  10. PZFUN 11:00, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  11. ZayZayEM 02:29, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • This article does not currently exist, compared to what we have at Economy of Africa and Economy of Europe. Asia is the most populous continent in the world with 60% of its populations. Many countries (eg China and India) are major players in the global economy and competition for resources in the area (Spratly Islands) may be a catalyst for future wars. --Jiang 00:06, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • I copied the template from the Economy of Europe. Sorry if it looks weird, I'm no good with HTML and stuff. At least, it's a start :). KNewman 18:09, Nov 28, 2004 (UTC)
I have applied the template to the other "economy of" articles. Now that the foundations are there, it is time to start writing the articles. Norman Rogers 14:38, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)
The writing has begun! I've spent a lot of time today working on this article, it seems to be coming along nicely. Grunners 23:02, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • I've written some material for the pre-1945 period. Hope somebody can proofread it. __earth 04:02, Dec 2, 2004 (UTC)

Costa Rica

Nominated November 26 2004; needs 20 votes by December 24 2004

Support:

  1. Neutrality/talk 17:02, Nov 26, 2004 (UTC)
  2. Paul-L 12:18, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  3. Jiang 08:57, 28 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  4. Martin Wisse 09:47, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  5. --Wonderfool 12:12, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  6. Sayeth 17:09, Nov 29, 2004 (UTC)
  7. Martewa 01:13, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  8. McMullen 03:09, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  9. Paul 11:44, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  10. Burgundavia 21:29, Dec 1, 2004 (UTC)
  11. PZFUN 11:00, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  12. Spangineer 15:49, Dec 2, 2004 (UTC)
  13. CJCurrie 22:21, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  14. I'm in—Trevor Caira 00:06, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  15. ZayZayEM 02:30, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • Each country should really have a good overview page. Martin Wisse 09:47, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)
    • Agreed. This one really needs improvement. CJCurrie 22:21, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Second Taiwan Strait Crisis

Nominated November 26 2004; needs 10 votes by December 10 2004

Support:

  1. Jiang 00:11, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  2. Xed 11:26, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  3. J3ff 20:11, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  4. Loren 23:11, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  5. Neutrality/talk 21:49, Dec 1, 2004 (UTC)
  6. PZFUN 11:00, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  7. The KoG | Talk 01:31, Dec 6, 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • This 44-day bombardment of Quemoy by Communist China in 1958-59 left over 1000 killed and was a major issue in the 1960 U.S. presidential election between Kennedy and Nixon. The article is currently a one liner. --Jiang 00:11, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC)
    • Wouldn't it be wiser to start with the First Taiwan Strait Crisis? This article is as small as the one you've nominated. KNewman 01:51, Nov 26, 2004 (UTC)
      • It doesn't really matter which one we start first. I chose this one because of its relation to the U.S. election. Either one had to do with U.S. foreign policy, Chiang Kai-shek, and Communist bombardments. I already wrote something on the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis that is not a stub. --Jiang 07:10, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Nobel Prize in Literature

Nominated November 29 2004; needs 15 votes by December 20 2004

Support:

  1. ✏ Sverdrup 16:32, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  2. Dhartung | Talk 10:36, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  3. ALoan (Talk) 11:11, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  4. Slugokramer 17:32, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  5. Burgundavia 21:30, Dec 1, 2004 (UTC)
  6. AnyFile 15:00, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  7. Stirling Newberry 08:41, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  8. Ellipse 19:39, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  9. Calton 01:43, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  10. Litefantastic 13:48, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • The article on one of the most prestigeous prizes consists of a stub text and a list that should really be at List of Nobel Prize in Literature winners. ✏ Sverdrup 16:32, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • Ooh, lots of stuff could be here. This is the second most controversial Nobel, after the Peace Prize. --Dhartung | Talk 10:36, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
    • Absolutely - history, procedures, controversial winners (and non-winners), ceremony, reactions... --Calton 08:46, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • All of the other Nobel prize articles are similar to this one: a short (sometimes microscopic) lead and a long list of prize winners - the longest, Nobel Peace Prize, only has a three paragraph lead. Following on from the "dance" suggestion (i.e. a collaborative topic rather than one article), it may be worth nominating all of the Nobel prize articles rather than just Literature. -- ALoan (Talk) 11:11, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)

League of Nations

Nominated November 30 2004; needs 20 votes by December 28 2004

Support:

  1. AndyL 23:06, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  2. Paul 06:46, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  3. KNewman 15:14, Dec 1, 2004 (UTC)
  4. McMullen 17:16, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  5. Grunners 18:41, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  6. ALoan (Talk) 18:43, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  7. GeorgeStepanek\talk 20:49, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  8. Rj 21:24, Dec 1, 2004 (UTC)
  9. PZFUN 11:00, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  10. Litefantastic 14:46, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  11. Dhartung | Talk 07:20, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  12. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus 18:52, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  13. gadfium 03:17, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  14. Johnleemk | Talk 13:37, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  15. – Xezbeth 22:17, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  16. --Yu Ninjie 14:18, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  17. Amgine 22:43, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • While not a stub this article is barely a point form outline that barely touches upon the history of this important institutionAndyL 23:06, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Antique

Nominated December 2 2004; needs 10 votes by December 16 2004

Support:

  1. Gentgeen 10:16, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  2. Grunners 19:35, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  3. Paul 21:05, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  4. Stirling Newberry 17:31, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  5. ZayZayEM 02:31, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • just a disambiguation page right now. The primary meaning (a really old thing people pay way too much for) should be expanded. Gentgeen
  • support, although not so sure on your definition, but then being American you probably don't see many antiques :P (just kidding) Grunners 19:35, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • This sounds like a wonderful topic to expand.

Richard Nixon mask

Nominated December 2 2004; needs 5 votes by December 9 2004

Support:

  1. Litefantastic 14:49, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • Just because it's on the VfD and is a seventy five word stub is by no means cause to believe it cannot achieve greatness. -Litefantastic 14:49, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • Shouldn't this article be merged with the Mask? There are masks for many presidents of the US. I suppose, it doesn't make Richard Nixon's mask special. KNewman 18:51, Dec 2, 2004 (UTC)
  • I think the list of characters who've worn one is the only reason this need exist. For some reason the Nixon mask holds a special appeal in (at least) US culture that other reviled presidents can't achieve. It must be the ski-jump nose ... --Dhartung | Talk 07:23, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • the Nixon mask is special, it is by no means suitable for merging into the article Mask, one of the reasons it's so specialis that the caricature face is so readily recognised by people throughout the world, Nixon's face is one of those that lends itself to caricature well. Also, Nixon was one of the first Presdents of the US that was openly ridiculed, and was the butt of jokes, until Nixon, most Americans actually showed respect for the President, even if they didn't actually respect him. Presidents since Nixon are more likely to be hated and more likely to be thought of as evil rather than humorous... this all affects the way the mask of Nixonis perceived. Nixon's presidency was in some ways a turning point in American history. Pedant 22:10, 2004 Dec 8 (UTC)

Anti-Masonic Movement

Nominated December 3 2004; needs 5 votes by December 10 2004

Support:

  1. KNewman 14:25, Dec 3, 2004 (UTC)
  2. Bogdan | Talk 19:57, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • I was quite surprised not to find an article on one of the most famous American right-wing organizations of the 19th century (well, maybe, the second most famous after the KKK, though the Klan was formed some 35 years later). I could only find a very small article on the Anti-Masonic Party in the US, but is this really all there is? KNewman 14:25, Dec 3, 2004 (UTC)
  • Any article on the anti-Masonic movement should also make reference to the Know-Nothing movement. AndyL 17:10, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • I merged the Movement with the Party, because officially it started out as a movement and later turned into a party. KNewman 04:35, Dec 6, 2004 (UTC)

American comic book

Nominated December 3 2004; needs 10 votes by December 17 2004

Support:

  1. ike9898 16:42, Dec 3, 2004 (UTC)
  2. BTfromLA 18:23, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  3. ←Hob 20:30, 2004 Dec 3 (UTC)
  4. Modemac 22:12, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  5. Tverbeek 22:23, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • This article needs some historical and artisitic context from people that aren't too close to the subject. Some good pictures would help, too. ike9898 16:42, Dec 3, 2004 (UTC)
  • How does this fit the COTW criteria, which is for "a specific topic which either has no article or a basic stub page"? ACB is a huge article of almost of featured status --Tagishsimon (talk)
    • What T said. -Litefantastic 03:08, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
      • Alright, sorry. I neglected to read the policy. ike9898 04:02, Dec 4, 2004 (UTC)

Trade

Nominated December 3rd 2004; needs 10 votes by December 17th 2004

Support:

  1. Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus 18:51, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  2. KNewman 21:17, Dec 3, 2004 (UTC)
  3. SimonP 21:28, Dec 3, 2004 (UTC)
  4. Paul 21:41, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  5. AndyL 02:33, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  6. Stirling Newberry 20:45, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

Destruction of American Indigenous peoples

Nominated December 4 2004; needs 10 votes by December 18 2004

Support:

  1. Tagishsimon (talk) 00:10, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  2. Litefantastic 03:09, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  3. JOHN COLLISON [ Ludraman] 10:45, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  4. AndyL 03:45, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  5. SimonP 07:47, Dec 6, 2004 (UTC)
  6. The Anome 20:22, Dec 7, 2004 (UTC)
  7. Pedant 21:33, 2004 Dec 8 (UTC) strongly support this topic

Comments:

  • The destruction of the Indians of the Americas was, far and away, the most massive act of genocide in the history of the world." Going by the rationale of WP:CSB, this is something we should be writing about, uncomfortable as it might be for many Wikipedians. The current article starts from the perspective of a book about the holocaust: it should be developed into a structured treatment of the phases and geography of settlement, linked to scholerly estimates of death rates. The title could be changed, though in view of the subject matter, it seems fairly appropriate. --Tagishsimon (talk)
  • If needs be, must. That didn't come out sounding right. Considering that the entire populations of two continents were badly ravaged, I would consider this highly relevent in the world today. The lack of a large existing article dealing exclusively with this subject may be a case of not seeing the forest for the trees. -Litefantastic 03:09, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • This subject would best be treated in an article that covered all aspects of the post-European contact decimation of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The discussion of this broader subject is necessary because there is considerable arguement over the relative effects of introduced diseases and oppressive colonialism, and to what extent the former was deliberately spread by the latter. Of course this broader subject would be titled accordingly, something like Decimation of Pre-Columbian populations.--Pharos 10:07, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
    • Although decimation suggests only 10%, not 95%, were killed. I was suggesting that we look at all aspects; sorry if that was not clear. "Pre-Columbian" is not exactly as obvious as "American"; cf. Decimation of Pre-Hitler population. --Tagishsimon (talk)
  • Is this article just about the one book American Holocaust or is it about the Native American genocide generally? I don't think the term American Holocaust is generally used and it's not self-evident that it refers to Native Americans. I agree an article is necessary, not sure if this is the right titleAndyL 16:09, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • This looks POV almost by definition. You do, of course, realize that "pro-life" forces refer to abortion as the "American Holocaust". Stirling Newberry 17:30, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • Definitely pick a more scholarly-sounding title. I don't have any offerings over what to call those killed, though. Any title which effectively indicates who this heterogeneous group of people were is going to, unfortunately, have European origins and references, I don't see any way around that. I don't think "Holocaust" works that well though; it implies (to me) a singular (systematic) act, whereas what we are talking about here are decentralized (albeit often systematic) acts against many different groups of "native" people perpetuated by many different groups of "European" people (quotes added only to emphasize the problematic nature of the terms). All of that being said, there should be some article on this, though I think deciding its title and its approach/scope would be something to work out ahead of time. Personally I think it should be one page which branches out to others; i.e. "Decimation of Pre-Columbian populations" or something like that, which then has little summaries which lead to other pages, "Decimation of indigenous populations by Spain/England/Portugal/France/whomever" etc. But that's just a suggestion.--Fastfission 04:27, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • I've renamed to page to "Mortality rates arising out of the European colonization of the Americas" since American Holocaust was thought by others to be POV. I'm happy that the search for /the/ NPOV title should go on. --Tagishsimon (talk)
  • I just can't vote for an article with such a ridiculously long name. We have to think of a shorter name. KNewman 02:39, Dec 6, 2004 (UTC)
  • I voted for the article but I agree the name is far too wordy. Can we think of something more succinct? Genocide of Native Americans? Native American Depopulation (too euphemistic?)AndyL 03:45, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • OK then I propose Devastation of Native American populations; this deals with the etymological objection to "decimation"(literally meaning loss of 10%), the POV of "holocaust" and "genocide" (if we are to cover non-genocidal aspects), the over-euphemism of "depopulation", and the US-implying "American". Although I personally think "American Indian" is the better term, I yield that to the current consensus, which has located its article at Native American.--Pharos 07:02, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • I agree that this topic needs a longer article and a shorter title. The Encyclopedia of North American Indians covers this topic in an article titled "Disease", which doesn't help us much. - SimonP 07:47, Dec 6, 2004 (UTC)
  • Maybe, Aftermath of the European colonization of the Americas? Or Consequences of the ... ? KNewman 12:06, Dec 6, 2004 (UTC)
  • Still POV. Most of the deaths in the aftermath of European colonization were from disease, not direct killing. This is not to carry a brief for slavery, conquest, pillaging and so on, but both the chosen titles and some of the comments here indicate, to me at any rate, that this is an attempt to grease POV down the rails. The term "Age of Discovery" is also POV - though one with greater tenure. My suggestion is thus to find a real NPOV term for the entire period - include both the achievements of exploration and conquest while documenting the mortality, misery and perfidity associated with them. Stirling Newberry 18:01, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • There are a lot of hits for "native american" and "genocide" in google. I think we can call an article "Genocide of Native Americans" if we open the article by saying:" Genocide of Native Americans refers to allegations that European settlers and/or the United States government pursued a deliberate policy of eliminating Native American nations through the nineteenth and, some allege, into the twentieth century. " Point being the term "genocide" is widely used to describe what happened, NPOV requires us to contextualise the term as an allegation, not to avoid using it altogether. AndyL 18:19, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
    • I don't find an article on "The Abortion Genocide", which has plenty of google links as well. The phrase implies something which never happened: namely a culpable and conscious single decision to eradicate the inhabitants of the Americas. One can certainly point to many individual actions which amount to genocide, and genocidal attitudes (one might add that many native groups had genocidal ambitions against competing tribes as well). It's a frame and the variations proposed don't seem to get away from the basic attempt to draw Holocaust parallels. Stirling Newberry 20:43, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
    • The spread of European diseases, the agreed main, though not only, cause of the massive deaths, was arguably partly caused by malevolent actions, but there is far from a consensus that most of these deaths can be attributed to genocide. Let me say explicitly that I think the focus of this article should be on the remarkable historical fact of the death of 9/10 of the native populations of the Americas, not broader to cover every aspect of colonization(best done elsewhere), and not narrower(focusing only on the genocidal aspects).
    • Don't forget the buffalo. Or bison. I'm sure theres a difference--Wonderfool 14:29, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • A few names I've dug up in history books:
    • Destruction of the American Indian - seems to be the most common name in older works
    • Demographic disaster
    • Impact of the European conquest of the Americas
    • Destruction of the native peoples of the Americas
- SimonP 19:01, Dec 7, 2004 (UTC)
I think Destruction of the native peoples of the Americas seems to be the most apposite title so far. -- The Anome 20:24, Dec 7, 2004 (UTC)
I like Impact of the European conquest of the Americas better; it implies that the article would also discuss what the survivors went through. -Litefantastic 21:42, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)
    • I would suggest Post-Columbian Depopulation since that is a term used by the various POVs on this subject and describes the documentable event. Stirling Newberry 20:48, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)
      • Is this article intended to only cover depopulation? The original title, "American Holocaust," also covered the cultural obliteration that followed the European arrival. - SimonP 07:53, Dec 8, 2004 (UTC)
        • The term Post-Columbian Depopulation is used in the book "American Holocaust". And there is ample room within an article on it to detail subsidiary effects: enslavement, cultural obliteration, conquest, disruption of economic and social patterns etc. Stirling Newberry 22:46, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • I'm suggesting Destruction of American Indigenous peoples as the best fit. "Native Americans" is usually used to refer to Aboriginal peoples in Canada and the US rather than in all of the Americas so I think "Indigenous peoples" is better understood. "Destruction" explains what happened without either being euphemistic (such as with "depopulation") or POV (Genocide suggests a deliberate act, "Destruction" simply describes what occured without assigning blame).
    • So if I write a big long section on what the Aztecs did to other native cultures pre-columbus that is OK? I think this fails the smell testStirling Newberry 22:47, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
No. The destruction was in fact a deliberate act, there are plenty of historical references for this. Genocide is an almost inadequate term as from 87 to 99 percent of the population of indigenous 'Native American"/"American Indian" has been killed. This ranks as an equal to the Nazi Holocaust of the Jews and Gypsies and cripples and elderly... all combined. I suggest Genocide in the Americas with redirects from any appropriate titles, but the title doesn't matter so much as the content. There is no need not to assign blame when the evidence exists for who ordered various acts of genocide. We assign blame for the Jewish Holocaust to Nazi Germany, why not assign blame in this case? I would oppose watering this article down just to prevent assigning validly assignable responsibilty for this.Pedant 21:33, 2004 Dec 8 (UTC)
Sorry, there's absolutely NO proof that the spread of disease was intended. The one cite that keeps being brought up over and over again, the smallpox-infected blankets, is from an 18th century letter, IIRC, it was a suggestion, and there is no proof that it was ever carried out. Please read the article as it stands and learn something about epidemiology.
This is not to absolve the Europeans of what they DID do. If a man kills one Indian and another nine die of disease, he's still guilty of that one death. But calling it genoicide is exaggeration. Zora 22:02, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Culture of Europe

Nominated December 4 2004; needs 5 votes by December 11 2004

Support:

  1. Grunners 15:48, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • Recently a great many "Culture of ......" articles have been written, but there is nothing at all on the great mix of cultures prevalent in Europe, or the effect had by immigration and changing borders. Grunners 15:48, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
However, we could do a "culture of.." for each cultural zone of Europe (like Culture of the Balkans, of Scandinavia, etc) See: Cultures of Europe (from Britannica) Bogdan | Talk 21:23, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Age of Discovery

Nominated December 4 2004; needs 5 votes by December 11 2004

Support:

  1. RJH 18:29, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  2. Paul 19:18, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  3. SimonP 02:16, Dec 5, 2004 (UTC)
  4. Pharos 02:52, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  5. Thue | talk 21:04, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • This article, together with Age of Exploration, provide very minimal coverage of what was a significant period in human history. Even the History of the World#Rise of Europe section almost covers it better. I haven't found another page that might cover this topic at a high enough level. — RJH 18:29, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • I think the two articles Age of Exploration and Age of Discovery should first of all be merged, maybe into Age of Exploration and Discovery. Otherwise, support.Paul 19:18, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • I merged them both into Age of Exploration, which got slightly more Google hits than Age of Discovery. - SimonP 04:40, Dec 5, 2004 (UTC)
    • I agree that Age of Exploration is better than Age of Discovery, as the latter can sometimes describe scientific discoveries of the period, as by Galileo. Perhaps "European Age of Exploration" would be more accurate. I would like to point out there is already a good amount of useful information on explorers and explorations in Category:Explorers. There is also at least one national article, Portugal in the period of discoveries. --Pharos 02:52, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  • Both this and the proposed article on the effects of this conquest need to be joined in one NPOV article. Age of discovery is POV - admittedly one we should document since it is a well tenured POV. So too are many of the attempts, such as "American Holocaust", to go in the other direction. The coverage of this period and its effects is a lacuna in the current Wikipedia, it's part of our mission to fill it, but to do so in a manner which presents the documentable events and viewpoints Stirling Newberry 18:05, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
    • The European discovery of the Americas is just one part of the Age of Exploration, and to be fully explained it deserves its own article. - SimonP 19:07, Dec 6, 2004 (UTC)

Roman technology

Nominated December 4 2004; needs 5 votes by December 11 2004

Support:

  1. Bogdan | Talk 19:55, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  2. Litefantastic 13:49, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  3. Pedant 21:15, 2004 Dec 8 (UTC)

Comments:

  • A large article already, defiantly needs work, but not a contender for CotW Grunners 02:09, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Hala'ib Triangle

Nominated December 5 2004; needs 5 votes by December 12 2004

Support:

  1. Grunners 02:07, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • Important area in North African politics, shown on agreat many maps but yet a blank article. I'm doing research with a view to writing it, but if anyone can beat me to it that'd be fine and dandy, even better if they have maps :) Grunners 02:07, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Radio drama

Nominated December 6 2004; needs 5 votes by December 13 2004

Support:

  1. Calton 01:41, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  2. Litefantastic 13:50, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • Right now the article is woefully thin, lacking in any real history or technique, and, to boot, almost wholly British -- modern British, at that -- in viewpoint. Radio drama had a huge history in the US, and the only acknowledgement of this is a single mention of Orson Welles's Mercury Theater production of War of the Worlds.
    • Yeah. We can hardly beare to forget such classics as The Shadow. -Litefantastic 13:50, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Cossack

Nominated December 6 2004; needs 5 votes by December 13 2004

Support:

  1. Mikkalai 05:59, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
  2. Calton 08:33, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • A well-known word with surprisingly poor and confusing article for quite a long time. Mikkalai 05:59, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Great Sedition Trial

Nominated December 7 2004; needs 5 votes by December 14 2004

Support:

  1. KNewman 04:24, Dec 7, 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • There is no article on what some U.S. historians consider a black page of American history - the Great Sedition Trial of 1944. The article on the American comic book, however, is too long to read. What a shame... KNewman 04:24, Dec 7, 2004 (UTC)
    • If it is important to you, start the article you regard as important. --Tagishsimon (talk)
      • I nominated this article only because I felt this was an important historic event that needed our attention the sooner the better. Secondly, I know very little about this trial and decided not to start a tiny stub and let someone knowledgeable work on it. This is gonna be my last COTW nomination. KNewman 16:17, Dec 7, 2004 (UTC)
      • Probably we need to put the Collaboration article on COTW in the first place.Mikkalai 21:22, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)
        • I'll get on with the substantive work of starting the Great Sedition Trial article. --Tagishsimon (talk)
  • While it is good that the topic was brought to an attention, IMO it is hardly broad enough to require crowded editing. Two-three dedicated persons will do. Mikkalai 23:21, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)
    • I think it would make more sense to change the name of the article to Smith Act Trials and expand the article so that it also discusses the 1941 trial of SWP leaders and the 1949-1951 trial of Communist Party leaders. AndyL 01:32, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
      • I'm happy to see that change made. --Tagishsimon (talk)
        • With a redirect from the present title of course. Pedant 00:47, 2004 Dec 9 (UTC)

Imam

Nominated December 7 2004; needs 5 votes by December 14 2004

Support:

  1. Wonderfool 14:43, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • Important individual in the Muslim faith--Wonderfool 14:43, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Culture of China

Nominated December 8 2004; needs 5 votes by December 15 2004

Support:

  1. Jiang 03:04, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Comments:

  • This article is basically a link farm. The world's oldest continuous civilization, currently home to a quarter of its population, should have plenty to cover. We recently expanded Chinese art, which is part of Chinese culture, amid criticism from Britannica. This article is even more needy. --Jiang 03:04, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

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