Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Yukon Quest/archive1

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The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was not promoted by Karanacs 17:53, 21 April 2009 [1].

Yukon Quest

Nominator(s): JKBrooks85 (talk)

Since the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is going on right now, I figured it might be the right time to nominate this fellow 1,000-mile sled dog race in Alaska. This is the first time I have attempted to create an article about a race, but I feel the article is comprehensive, correctly illustrated, adequately cited, and accurate. It presents its information in a clear, informative way and addresses the subject without bias. The dead links tool has detected no problems, and the reftools citation check has revealed no problems as well. As always, I appreciate all comments, questions, and concerns, and don't hesitate to drop a note on my talk page for anything that can't be addressed here. Thank you for your time, and have a great day! JKBrooks85 (talk) 11:47, 13 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • Comments -
  • ARGH! You have three big red Invalid ref tag... notices in the middle of the article.
  • Serves me right for making a last-minute change before going to bed.
  • Current ref 25 (John Schandelmeier...) needs a last access date. Same for current ref 31, 47 (same author)
  • Added.
  • Be nice to have ISBNs for the books.
Otherwise, sources look okay, links checked out with the link checker tool. Ealdgyth - Talk 15:37, 13 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Comments - I've made it through most of the race route, and am quite happy with what I'm reading overall. Here are a few thoughts from me, as I get over the shock of seeing a JKBrooks nom that has nothing to do with the Hokies:-)

  • Heh, you missed out on Rampart Dam before this one (but don't worry, I'm just waiting for the NFL draft to be over :)).
  • "and the limited support allowed mushers". Doesn't read that great, at least to me. Try "allowed to mushers" or "that mushers are allowed".
  • Changed.
  • Musher Lance Mackey, who held the quickest-finish record before Schuelle, is the only musher to have won the race four times." See the redundancy?
  • Changed.
  • In the last two sentences of the lead, there are a couple places where commas could be inserted, seeing as you're using serial commas. Not something I'd be too worried about, though.
  • Changed.
  • Pre-race preparation: There's an "in order" here that can go. Also one in the next section, and another in the section after that.
  • Removed.
  • Two photos are on the left side below second-level headers, which the MoS discourages.
  • The action in those photos is going left to right, which is why I put them on the left side. If it really bothers you, I can move them over to the right side.
  • Eagle to Central: One use of Biederman's Cabin is misspelled as Biderman's Cabin.
  • Fixed.
  • Two Rivers to Fairbanks: Hyphens needed for Whitehorse to Fairbanks route.
  • Fixed.
  • References are out of numerical order once ([59][57]). Not a big deal, but would be nice to see them in order.
  • I believe that's because it's a duplicated citation. Is there an easy way to fix that?
  • Participants: "The race attracts anywhere from 47 (in 1988 and 1989) to 21 (in 1996) mushers each year." Why is the higher number given first? I would also ask this of the linked list.
  • Fixed.
  • "to reach Dawson City (the midpoint of the race) and complete the race." A little redundancy with "race". I'd recommend changing the parenthetical part here.
  • Fixed.
  • Penalties: "The last instance of a team being removed for poor care took place in the 1998". This part of the sentence leaves the reader hanging, if you get my drift. :-) I'm also not thrilled to see a dollar amount start a sentence.
  • Fixed. I spelled out the dollar amount.
  • History: "Despite its problems, however, the Yukon Quest continues to operate on an annual basis." Despite changes the tone, and I don't think that however is needed on top of it.
  • Fixed.
  • The first decade: "In 1989, 39 mushers completed the race, the most that have finished a single race." Again a redundancy with "race".
  • Fixed.
  • "race officials awarded him the Red Lantern Award." This time, "award" is a little repetitive.
  • Fixed.
Not easy to pick out these minute flaws, but it's important for our readers to have the best-written article possible. Almost finished with it now. Giants2008 (17-14) 02:36, 15 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Continuing review here to avoid clogging the page. Shouldn't be too much more to look at. Giants2008 (17-14) 18:50, 17 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Support - I left a few notes, but there's nothing to prevent me from supporting. The article has everything one would ever want to know about this race, and is well-written and presented. I cleaned up several things; please check to ensure that they are okay. Giants2008 (17-14) 02:47, 20 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Tech. Comment -- Based on the checker tools [for dabs and external links], and WP:REFTOOLS for ref formatting, all three are up to speed. Best, --₮RUCӨ 23:51, 13 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • See also contains links that are already in the text or could be worked into the text (see WP:LAYOUT), and I believe the main template in the Sled dogs section is incorrectly employed. Main is used when this article is a summary of another article; see also or further might be better used here. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 20:30, 15 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Support Comments from Dabomb87 (talk · contribs) This is very good. EDIT: All issues have been resolved.

  • "From Eagle to Central is a total trail distance of 233 miles separated by a checkpoint at Circle." I don't see how distance can be "separated".
  • Fixed.
  • All in all, the sentence structure in the "Eagle to Central" section is very repetitive, "X miles from here is there". Try to mix it up a bit.
  • Take a look and see if what I've done makes it better for you.
  • "is a cabin located at mile marker 101"
  • Fixed.
  • "valley containing"-->valley that contains
  • Fixed.
  • "attracts anywhere from 21 (in 1996)[75] to 47 (in 1988 and 1989)[76] mushers each year."
  • I wasn't sure what you were pointing to here, but I moved the citations to the end of the sentence.
  • "several racers are recognized by special awards given for various feats performed on the trail. " "recognized" seems redundant, receiving awards is a recognition in itself.
  • Reworded the sentence.
  • "but Lee was forced to rest more often." "forced"-->had or needed, I doubt that he was forcibly made to rest more often
  • "founded with the intent to encourage self-sufficiency"
  • Fixed.
  • "This rule came into play in 1993" "came into play" is a bit too loose for me; maybe "introduced" or "implemented" or "enacted"?
  • Changed to "applied".
  • "prior to "-->before (multiple occurences)
  • Changed where found.
  • "Mushers must start the race with at least 14 dogs, and must finish with no fewer than six dogs." Remember that nagging WP:MOSNUM rule about comparable quantities ? :)
  • Gah. Unfortunately, yes.
  • "Participating dogs are not allowed to receive injections during the race, are not allowed to be under the influence of performance-enhancing substances such as steroids, and the race marshal may remove any team from the race because of inadequate dog care." The third idea (inadequate dog care) seems too separate from the first and second (potential substance abuse) to warrant being connected with a comma, perhaps a semicolon or a whole new sentence?
  • Take a look at the change.
  • "official latitude whether"-->official latitude on whether
  • Fixed.
  • "race first was imagined in 1983" word choice bothers me, maybe "conceived" or "created" instead of "imagined"?
  • Replaced.
  • "of whom only 13 finished."
  • Removed.
  • "it is considered the most difficult sled dog race in the world, and has been called the toughest race in the world." Redundant phrasing?
  • I don't think so, because different sources are saying those two things. If you don't believe one source, you might believe another. What do you think?
  • Well see, when you use the quotes, as in the "Route" section, it doesn't sound as redundant because it emphasizes that these are two different ideas said by different people. So, perhaps add quotation marks (and a ref) to this phrase in the lead? Dabomb87 (talk) 15:16, 11 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • "Racers also cannot accept"
  • Removed.
  • "Wildlife also is common, and participants sometimes face challenges from moose and wolves along the trail." I'm trying to see what "is common" means here. Maybe, "Wildlife along the trail, such as moose and wolves, sometimes poses challenges to participants."
  • Reworded.
  • "there are several traditional preparation stages before the start of the competition" "There are" can be an indicator of weak sentence structure and redundancy, let's see if we can eliminate some here: "several traditional preparation stages precede the competition"
  • Reworded.
  • "The Scroggie Creek dog drop is located at the"
  • Removed.
  • "Alaska/Yukon" Use an en dash instead of a slash.
  • Changed.
  • CommentsNeat article. I just have some minor quibbles.
1)The lead does not adequately summarize the article and needs to include some mention of the junior quest.
  • Added.
2)I think the article data content is very good but the prose needs improvement. I see some run-on sentences and awkward sentences. For example this sentence: "In the competition, which began in 1984, a single musher and a team of 6 to 14 sled dogs race for 10 to 20 days while following historic 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, mail delivery, and transportation routes between Fairbanks, Dawson City, and Whitehorse." places too many different ideas into the same sentence. There are three sentences in that one sentence.

NancyHeise talk 02:04, 8 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Better now, thanks. NancyHeise talk 01:06, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose, 1a. I was encouraged by the comments above, but on reading, I didn't get far before being mired in problems. Below are just from the lead and first section—a careful copy edit and wikilink audit are needed.
    • All the red links are yuck. One or two, I can stomach, but not this sea of red. Either create stubs or maintain a wishlist on the article Talk page or a relevant WikiProject page. Once they are created, go back and wikilink. The current effect is of being "unfinished".
      • Thanks for the comment. Filling the red links is a work in progress, and if it's any consolation, most of them are concentrated in the first quarter of the article.
    • "... but are not allowed to replace the dogs at any time or their sled without penalty." Oddly written. Why not "replace the dogs or their sled at any time"?
      • According to the copy of the rules I looked at, the dogs may not be replaced, and replacing the sled involves an eight-hour penalty.
    • "Veterinarians are present at each checkpoint and dog drop to insure the health and welfare of the dogs" I'm pretty sure the vets are ensuring unless they have insurance agencies staffed with veterinarians out there.
      • Fixed.
    • Why is "quickest-finish" hypenated?
      • Reworded.
    • "It is a qualifier for the long-distance race and is run concurrently with the longer race." How can it be a qualifier if it's run concurrently?
      • Added "next year's"
    • "the exact course of the Yukon Quest varies slightly from year to year." What is the word "exact" doing?
      • Removed.
    • "in a weather-shortened 2003 race" You want "the weather-shortened" unless there were more than one.
      • Changed.
    • "In odd-numbered years, the start and finish lines switch locations—the race starts in Whitehorse and ends in Fairbanks." Is that anything after the dash really needed? Ending with "start and finish lines switch locations" is surely good enough.
      • I'd hope it's good enough, but I wanted to make sure.
    • "Because it is run in early February, racers endure ..." Dangling modifier. --Laser brain (talk) 16:46, 15 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • More problems, I'm finding issues in any section I pick at random to start reading. The issues I mentioned above were representative only—I urge you to find a fresh copy editor to go through this. It's rough.
      • I've gone through the history section again and removed some of the redundancies. I also have contacted additional FAC reviewers for their opinions. I think the prose is on par for a FA, but I'm not exactly unbiased. :)
    • "Because of the harsh conditions, the Yukon Quest has been called ..." Are you sure you don't want "Due to" or "Owing to"?
    • Second decade: "This problem was rectified in the 1996 race ..." I'm sure you mean "for the 1996 race".
      • Changed.
    • Third decade: an oddly cobbled-together section that jumps all over the place chronologically. Facts are sprinkled and/or repeated, but there is no cohesiveness.
--Laser brain (talk) 21:01, 20 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.
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