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GA Review

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First of all, let me say you've written a good article on an interesting subject. Thanks! Below are some specific areas where I think it could be improved. I think with just a tiny bit of work, this will easily be a "good article."

Specific statements I have questions or comments on

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The specific statement, as copied from the article, is italicized.

Other things

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  • I think there is inconsistent use of italics and quotes to designate words that are being discussed. For example, in the lead section, time-out is mentioned once with italics, and once with quotes. I would like to see, for example, all sample words and phrases using one or the other (not switching back and forth between italics and quotes) See Wikipedia:Mos#Italics, specifically the "Words as words" sub-section.
  • Perhaps the entire article should be converted to use the singular, including renaming the article to "Truce term." The lead sentence would start "A Truce term is ... Wikipedia:Naming conventions#Prefer singular nouns The naming conventions page does offer an exception when the article subject is a class. One example of that is Arabic numerals, where the article is about the class or set of ten symbols called the "Arabic numerals". I think this article is about truce terms in general, not about a specific set of truce terms, and should thus conform to the convention of using the singular.
  • Article structure — I think the structure of the article can be improved in terms of how the sections are organized.

    Current structure:
    - Opie study
    - Post-Opie UK studies
    - Gestures
    - New Zealand
    - US
    - Australia
    My proposal: (The order of the countries is alphabetical for want of a better order. You could put UK first, since it will be the largest section, if you think that's better. The main difference is the Opie and subsequent UK studies are grouped under a "United Kingdom" heading, and the Gestures section is separated from the different country sections instead of being in the middle of them.)
    - Australia
    - New Zealand
    - United Kingdom
    ---- Opie study
    ---- Post-Opie UK studies
    - United States
    - Gestures

  • The article has a bias toward the English language. It would be nice if there could be treatment of truce terms as used in other languages and cultures. But this can be something to work on in the future, I wouldn't expect this to be dealt with before gaining "good article" status.
    • I would absolutely love to find sources on what the rest of the world uses! If you look on the talkpage I've been making notes as I get information from elsewhere but what is really needed is sources. I'm gradually working my way through other language wikis to ask for help but it may well be that there is little or no scholarly literature on these things in many countries and cultures. As you can see, the french children use pouce (thumb) and hold up their thumbs, which is fascinating because the scots use thumbs too. No sources though and no way yet of knowing whether that is general or particular. I was going to try the Indian and Chinese wikis next.Fainites barleyscribs 21:53, 27 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Comments and questions on each of the above points can be made under each point (with correct indenting) to keep things organized. — LinguistAtLarge • Talk  20:20, 23 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

    • The only other point is - now that all the "See also's"" are linked into the article, the see also section ought to go strictly speaking - which I think is a pity. Fainites barleyscribs 22:37, 27 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
      • I think you can use your judgment. While links are not generally repeated in the text and see also section, I think there is room for editorial judgment and common sense to come into play. I'll let you decide on this. — LinguistAtLarge • Talk  23:27, 27 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

A couple more things

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  • "More recently the use of time-out" --- Use a year or other time reference, instead of "recently". For example "Since the 1950s, the use of time-out..." or "In the late 20th century ...". I didn't change it, since you have the literature and can give the most accurate time reference for this. The reason for this is that an encyclopedia article should not reference the time when it was written, it should be more timeless.
  • Round out/expand the lead a bit more. --- See if you can work in a bit more about gestures, namely the T-shaped gesture, and a bit more about United States/New Zealand truce terms. Currently the lead is mostly focused on the UK and the Opie studies (in my opinion), but should be a more balanced introduction and summary of the entire article.
  • The wikilink in "National Australian Dictionary Centre" seems out of place. If you're linking to a dictionary, then it should be italicized, but if you're making a reference to an organiztion, "National Australian Dictionary Centre", then I'd prefer either no wikilink, or a link to the whole center National Australian Dictionary Centre if you think that Centre should have an article. The way it is now it threw me off a bit.
There's not much I can do about the fact that its all English language derivatives at the moment except continue to hunt for information but it would certainly make FAC difficult! Fainites barleyscribs 20:46, 28 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

 Done} Looks good to me. — LinguistAtLarge • Talk  21:06, 28 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! Fainites barleyscribs 21:10, 28 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]