Talk:Xavier Mertz

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Xavier Mertz has been listed as one of the History good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do so. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can reassess it.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
September 30, 2011	Good article nominee	Listed

A fact from this article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "Did you know?" column on July 20, 2011.

The text of the entry was: Did you know ... that Xavier Mertz is suspected to have died as a result of eating dog liver?

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GA Review[edit]

This review is transcluded from Talk:Xavier Mertz/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: SilkTork (talk · contribs · count) 16:48, 29 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'll take a look and start to leave some comments within the next few days. I am taking on board a batch of reviews, so it may be some time before I start to comment. I am also by nature a fairly slow and thorough reviewer who likes to check out sources, so this is unlikely to be quick. However, I am always willing to help out on the editing, and will make direct minor adjustments myself rather than list them. I always welcome discussion, and see the review process as entirely collaborative. SilkTork ^{✔Tea time} 16:48, 29 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Tick list[edit]

GA review – see WP:WIAGA for criteria

Is it reasonably well written?
A. Prose quality:

B. MoS compliance for lead, layout, words to watch, fiction, and lists:
Is it factually accurate and verifiable?
A. References to sources:

B. Citation of reliable sources where necessary:

C. No original research:
Is it broad in its coverage?
A. Major aspects:

B. Focused:
Is it neutral?
Fair representation without bias:
Is it stable?
No edit wars, etc:
Does it contain images to illustrate the topic?
A. Images are copyright tagged, and non-free images have fair use rationales:

B. Images are provided where possible and appropriate, with suitable captions:
Overall:
Pass or Fail:

Comments[edit]

Good, clear, factual prose. SilkTork ^{✔Tea time} 19:00, 29 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]
This is an informative, clear, well organised and presented and very readable article. It clearly meets the formatting and presentation aspects of the GA criteria. I just need now to research the content and sourcing aspects of the criteria. SilkTork ^{✔Tea time} 19:26, 29 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

That's frustrating - the texts that are on GoogleBooks are either not visible at all, or are limited to a range of pages not used in this article! SilkTork ^{✔Tea time} 19:36, 29 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thankfully Slicing the silence: voyaging to Antarctica by Tom Griffiths provides adequate support. SilkTork ^{✔Tea time} 19:54, 29 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Very thorough! Apterygial (talk) 01:16, 30 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

As eating the dogs' livers is such an essential part of the story, it might be worth mentioning that is what they did during this sentence: "They immediately turned back west, gradually using the six remaining dogs to supplement their food supply." The comments in this source may be speculative regarding why the men ate the livers, and that Mawson gave Mertz more of the livers; but if the detail is also present in the major sources, it would be of value. SilkTork ^{✔Tea time} 20:02, 29 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I've added that Mertz ate more of the livers than Mawson, but in Legacy section, where it is better put in context with hypervitaminosis A. Apterygial (talk) 01:16, 30 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Two sources mention Mertz singing on the day of the accident. This gives some indication of his character, and I think is of value. "Mertz sang his student's songs as he skied ahead of the sledges.". SilkTork ^{✔Tea time} 20:08, 29 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Added. Apterygial (talk) 01:16, 30 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Several sources, such as this one, mention that Mertz bit off part of a finger. SilkTork ^{✔Tea time} 20:18, 29 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This is a sourcing issue. I've certainly heard that story, but I would say there's a good chance it could be a myth. None of the sources I used for this article—sources that investigate the story in a great deal of depth—mention it, which indicates that they don't lend it any credence. Nor does Mawson's official account of the expedition, The Home of the Blizzard, mention it, and most critically, neither does his diary; his entries in the final days of Mertz's life are quite confronting, and if Mertz did something like this I'm sure it would have made it in. I think this could have been a story that surfaced later, perhaps during Mawson's lecture tour, when to help sell tickets he may have "embellished" the story with extra details. Apterygial (talk) 01:16, 30 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Pass[edit]

I am satisfied from reading various sources that the article is neutral and accurate. I feel as part of the ongoing development of the article that more details regarding Mertz could be used to flesh out his character and personality, but as regards GA criteria, the current level of detail is sufficient.

This is an enjoyable, informative and well presented article. SilkTork ^{✔Tea time} 20:30, 29 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, and thanks for taking the time to review the article. Apterygial (talk) 01:16, 30 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

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