Wikipedia:Peer review/Robert Sterling Yard/archive1

Robert Sterling Yard

This peer review discussion has been closed.

A script has been used to generate a semi-automated review of the article for issues relating to grammar and house style; it can be found on the automated peer review page for July 2008.

This peer review discussion has been closed.
This article has just recently been promoted to GA-class, but received little as far as a comprehensive review during the process. I am specifically looking for feedback as to whether this article is capable of successfully making its way through WP:FAC. Of course all other comments/suggestions are welcome! Note: there is very little information available about Yard's personal life (family, early life, etc), so I've done what I can as far as research. Thanks, María (habla conmigo) 12:09, 14 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Comments: from Sillyfolkboy.

I fixed a couple of minor things on the article myself.

Thanks!

Though not directly related - perhaps a short mention of Yard should be in the wilderness article. A quick check reveals that very little connects to the article, a crying shame for work of this quality. Try to find related pages/articles/people and relate them to Yard: Don't be gratuitous, just be relevant. National park might benefit too. Stephen Mather and Wilderness Act are other possibilities.

I agree, the article needs to be linked to from other articles. I added a few, but the others (Mather, NPA, NPS, Wilderness Act, etc) would have to be rewritten somewhat first, I think. I'll work on that.

Wikilinks seem sparse in areas though i'm not too sure of how to remedy this (or if it's a problem at all).

I added a couple more.

"Yard became convinced that the valley was "lost" after finding crowds, automobiles, jazz music, and even a bear show." This should be rephrased as "lost" (though probably a quote here) is a little ambiguous. Maybe say the valley was spoiled (spoilt?) or something similar.

"Lost" was the word he used, so I reworded it as "Yard stated that the valley was 'lost'". Is that clearer?

"passed up for interim Director" Small d for director here (?)

I'm never sure, to be honest! Changed it to lowercase just in case. :)

Perhaps consider removing run on referencing - as shown in the first paragraph of "Early life and career". This is more of a personal preference than policy though, i think...

The repetition bothers me as well, but I think I'll keep it for now. I have fears of {{fact}} tags from people who want every single fact and date sourced, even if it's by the same source that follows in the next sentence. Gah!

Though not necessary perhaps some internal/external links could be helpful in see also/external links sections. Ignore this if you feel it unnecessary however.

Added a couple, including the official Wilderness Society website.

Is there no more information on his death? Not even the state he died in?

Earlier in the paragraph it's said that his home was in Washington, D.C., which is where I'm guessing his bed was located. :) How about, "During his final illness, Yard ran the society's affairs from his bed, where he died at the age of 84..."? It's not stated in any of my sources where he was buried, who he was survived by, etc.

That's all i've got for the moment. I must say that I feel sorry that the good article process did not offer any improvements. I hope you find my thoughts helpful.

If these problems are all dealt with I may post more suggestions to improve the article.

If you found this peer review helpful please consider doing one yourself. Choose one from the backlog, where i found this article or take a look at WP:Peer Review.

Thanks. Sillyfolkboy (talk) 22:30, 18 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you very much for the comments and suggestions, I really appreciate it! María (habla conmigo) 17:22, 19 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from Ealdgyth (talk · contribs)

You said you wanted to know what to work on before taking to FAC, so I looked at the sourcing and referencing with that in mind. I reviewed the article's sources as I would at FAC. The sourcing looks good.

Hope this helps. Please note that I don't watchlist Peer Reviews I've done. If you have a question about something, you'll have to drop a note on my talk page to get my attention. (My watchlist is already WAY too long, adding peer reviews would make things much worse.) 13:49, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, Ealdgyth! María (habla conmigo) 20:05, 20 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ruhrfisch comments: Looks very good and pretty much ready for FAC to me - here are my comments, mostly nit-picks:

Since you plan to write articles on all eight founders of the Wilderness Society, would it make sense to add a template listing all eight to each of the articles?

You know, I thought about that. Maybe after I've finished Benton MacKaye. :)

Need to add NPS after first use of National Park Service, so resulted in legislative support for a National Park Service [(NPS)] in 1916. Yard served as head of the National Parks Educational Committee for several years after its conception, but tension within the NPS led him...

Done.

Would it make sense to combine these two sentences, to something like In 1935 he became one of the eight founding members of the Wilderness Society, and acted as the society's first president from 1937 until his death eight years later.? perhaps use "its" instead of "society's"?

Done; much better, I agree.

Assuming the editor and publishing jobs are listed chronologically, his jobs before going to Washington DC were in book publishing, so is this accurate n 1915, Yard left the newspaper business and moved to Washington, D.C. at the bequest of a friend, Stephen Mather.?

I'm not too sure of the timeline, to be honest; the small details I've found don't make it very clear. For now I've just removed "left the newspaper business and".

Also in the sentence quoted, I think it is request, not bequest (unless his friend had died)

Doh, fixed.

I would give more / explain more on the background on the naional parks in 1915 - when were the parks established, what agency supervised them then?

I'll see what I can find.

Word choice Yard's most successful publicity initiat[iv]e during this time ...?

Fixed.

There is only one so shouldn't it be "the"? The onslaught of publicity spearheaded by Yard and Mather resulted in the creation of a [the?] National Park Service;...

Yes, and fixed. :)

Needs a ref was angered when the position was given to Horace Albright, who was only 27 years old at the time.

Added.

Explain more about "National Parks Educational Committee" - was it part of the NPS?

Yes, and made clearer.

Awkward At first the only full-time employee of the association, Yard believed that eligible national parks had to be considered scenically stunning.

Re-written.

I understand it, but "The Wilderness Society and death" just sounds odd - could the death be moved to the next section, making it "Death and legacy"?

Done; definitely a better setup, I agree.

I think the MOS asks that all caps titles be made title case in refs, so change ^ a b c "R.U. JOHNSON RESIGNS AS CENTURY'S EDITOR; Robert Sterling Yard Succeeds Him in Charge of the Magazine", The New York Times (May 31, 1913). Retrieved on June 12, 2008.

Done.

Hope this helps, yours, Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 04:43, 22 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Very helpful, as always. Thanks, Ruhrfisch! María (habla conmigo) 12:14, 22 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]