Template:Did you know nominations/Boots theory

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The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by SL93 (talk) 12:21, 27 March 2022 (UTC)

Boots theory

  • ... that according to the "boots" theory, poverty is more expensive than being rich? Source: Men at Arms (1993)
    • ALT1: ... that according to Captain Sam Vimes's "boots" theory of socio-economic unfairness, "the reason the rich [are] so rich" because they don't spend as much money are able to spend less money on necessities? Source: ibid
      • ALT1a: ... that according to Captain Sam Vimes's "boots" theory of socio-economic unfairness, "the reason the rich [are] so rich" because they are able to spend less money on necessities?
    • ALT2: ... that Terry Pratchett's estate endorsed a rival inflation index to CPI with a greater focus on staple items, named after his Discworld character Sam Vimes? Source: Guardian
    • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Woody (Toy Story) 2
    • Comment: The "boots" theory is one of those classic things from Discworld which, while getting a chuckle out the common geek, hasn't really risen to an acceptable level of notability until recently. For that first reason, it lends itself to a DYK hook very well. I do hope TheTranarchist forgives me for jumping the gun a little, but I think such a good hook shouldn't fall by the wayside because the article's creator is a new editor.

Moved to mainspace by TheTranarchist (talk). Nominated by Sceptre (talk) at 00:55, 12 February 2022 (UTC).

  • Hook comments: glad to see this one making the rounds :) for the main hook, "wealth" might be a better foil to "poverty" rather than "being rich". For ALT1, it reads more like a personal responsibility sermon (i.e. avocado toast argument) than what I think boots theory might be going for. theleekycauldron (talkcontribs) (she/they) 05:51, 12 February 2022 (UTC)
    No problem, glad to see it as a DYK! Also, in regards to the reception section, should it be remade as a subsection of the VBI (including supermarket responses)? Not sure if those were removed during the move and conflicting edits accidentally or due to some sourcing issue. TheTranarchist (talk) 01:38, 12 February 2022 (UTC)TheTranarchist
    @Theleekycauldron: Good point about ALT1; I've edited it to be much closer to what it means (with the original wording struck out, for context in the discussion). Also, good point about the main hook; it's up to the promoter, but I like it. :) Sceptre (talk) 19:00, 12 February 2022 (UTC)
    • Thanks, Sceptre! I've crossed out ALT1 in full and put yours in as an ALT1a, since hooks should generally be copy-paste ready to go for promotion. theleekycauldron (talkcontribs) (she/they) 04:19, 13 February 2022 (UTC)
      Full review needed now that hook issues have been discussed. BlueMoonset (talk) 04:45, 1 March 2022 (UTC)
  • Okay, full review! New enough, long enough, neutral, interesting, QPQ done. My preference would be for ALT0. Overall, the article is mostly ready, but I do have two concerns: (a) Would it be possible to have a secondary source for the plot summary in the first paragraph of the Conception section? If such a source doesn't exist, that's probably fine, but it would be better if it did have one in the interests of a fully well-cited article. (b) This isn't technically a DYK requirement, but the Vimes Boots Index section is a bit confusing to someone who goes in not knowing what at all it's talking about (e.g. me). It would be great if it could be clarified a little at the beginning: what kind of index are you talking about when you say "their own index"? What are the CPI and the RPI? A little clarification there would make this article much friendlier to non-experts (slash non-UK-residents?) when they click on it from the main page. Aerin17 (tc) 17:11, 10 March 2022 (UTC)
    Pinging Sceptre and TheTranarchist again to check in. I see TheTranarchist clarified the VBI description last week (thank you!), but the plot summary is still missing a source. Can one of you look into that please? Hoping to get this review finished up! Aerin17 (tc) 21:20, 23 March 2022 (UTC)
    @Aerin17: I've removed the bit about his upbringing informing his incorruptibility, as I personally can't find a source to substantiate it. For the other sentence – saying the passage comes from Vimes comparing his experiences of poverty with his fiancé's – is evident to anybody who reads the book (like saying "Harry Potter is a wizard who goes to Hogwarts"; it's plainly stated in the paragraphs immediately preceding the quoted passage), but if it needs a pro forma citation to the book, I can add one. Sceptre (talk) 23:01, 26 March 2022 (UTC)
    Looks good to me, thank you! Aerin17 (tc) 01:17, 27 March 2022 (UTC)