Talk:Homeopathy/GA3
GA Review
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Reviewer: Berchanhimez (talk · contribs) 13:19, 9 October 2020 (UTC)
First of all, I'll start by saying it's nice to see the editor who delisted the article from GA a "few" years ago, and who recently failed it again due to lack of repsonse from the nominator working to bring it back up to GA status - I agree completely with the 2012 decision to delist, which I reviewed to help decide if I'm comfortable taking this on. It will take me at least a day to go through all the prose, which I will be doing offline and will only post here when I am complete with the whole article (although it may come in chunks so I don't lose the edit if something glitches), and I'll likely start with criteria 2-6 first as I find they help me get very acquainted with the article so that the prose review can be more complete. I've spent about 20-30 minutes doing a cursory review of the article and the criticisms provided in the failed review, as well as the 2012 delisting, and I think the article has a shot at being able to be listed again (i.e. isn't a quick fail). Many of my comments are likely to be nitpicking, and I am happy to work with the nominator regarding any disagreements as to whether a change is required to make it meet the good article criteria. I will return later to complete criteria 2-6, and expect to be able to have the full review completed NLT Monday morning or so, if it even takes me that long (will heavily be based on my workload at work). If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to ask or bring them up to me. Regards, -bɜ:ʳkənhɪmez (User/say hi!) 13:19, 9 October 2020 (UTC)
- Thanks a lot for starting this Berchanhimez. Take the time you need. As you are probably aware it is a controversial topic area here on Wikipedia so there may be some things that I can't change without wider consensus (cites in the lead is a recent one). Happy to work with you and answer any questions you have. Cheers AIRcorn (talk) 21:41, 9 October 2020 (UTC)
- Not a problem, and I understand that completely regarding prior consensus - I've looked through the past discussions I can find to try to comply with past consensuses, but if I make suggestions that are against some consensus I missed please feel free to simply tell me so and I won't hold it against the review. I've read through the article completely a couple times now with an eye towards the "grand" criteria (as opposed to "petit" criteria like grammar/etc) and will hopefully complete my third readthrough specifically for prose quality, spelling, grammar, etc either later today or tomorrow at the latest. I've also during these first two readthroughs been doing a random spot check of sources - that they verify the material they purport to, etc - and so will post that review now as well. My next step over the next few days is going to be to critically read every word of the article, now that I understand the flow/organization/etc - for the grammar, prose, and direct in-line citation of sentences with quotes/contentious material/etc. Also see further commment at the bottom under "comments". -bɜ:ʳkənhɪmez (User/say hi!) 14:05, 12 October 2020 (UTC)
- Thanks for this. I hope to work through this in the next few days. AIRcorn (talk) 23:11, 14 October 2020 (UTC)
- I'm happy for you to take the time you need. I will post on your talk page or ping if I feel progress has stalled. On another note, given that this is a contentious subject, I am happy to ask for a second opinion to ensure we are not missing anything - but I am also fine with completing the review myself. If you would like me to ask for a second opinion just let me know. Please give me a ping when you're done with edits or comments on my suggestions/concerns. Thank you Aircorn :) -bɜ:ʳkənhɪmez (User/say hi!) 23:33, 14 October 2020 (UTC)
- Thanks for this. I hope to work through this in the next few days. AIRcorn (talk) 23:11, 14 October 2020 (UTC)
- Not a problem, and I understand that completely regarding prior consensus - I've looked through the past discussions I can find to try to comply with past consensuses, but if I make suggestions that are against some consensus I missed please feel free to simply tell me so and I won't hold it against the review. I've read through the article completely a couple times now with an eye towards the "grand" criteria (as opposed to "petit" criteria like grammar/etc) and will hopefully complete my third readthrough specifically for prose quality, spelling, grammar, etc either later today or tomorrow at the latest. I've also during these first two readthroughs been doing a random spot check of sources - that they verify the material they purport to, etc - and so will post that review now as well. My next step over the next few days is going to be to critically read every word of the article, now that I understand the flow/organization/etc - for the grammar, prose, and direct in-line citation of sentences with quotes/contentious material/etc. Also see further commment at the bottom under "comments". -bɜ:ʳkənhɪmez (User/say hi!) 14:05, 12 October 2020 (UTC)
- Thanks a lot for starting this Berchanhimez. Take the time you need. As you are probably aware it is a controversial topic area here on Wikipedia so there may be some things that I can't change without wider consensus (cites in the lead is a recent one). Happy to work with you and answer any questions you have. Cheers AIRcorn (talk) 21:41, 9 October 2020 (UTC)
GA review – see WP:WIAGA for criteria
- Is it well written?
- A. The prose is clear and concise, and the spelling and grammar are correct:
- See below in collapsed section(s)
- B. It complies with the manual of style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation:
- I believe that the Explanations of perceived effects section could be "proseified" and would be better that way, but I am open to disagreement on this.
The article needs a pass for compliance with summary style - there are multiple sections which have primary articles yet go into very deep detail here - those need to be pared back.it's fine after discussion.
- A. The prose is clear and concise, and the spelling and grammar are correct:
- Is it verifiable with no original research?
- A. It contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline:
- I'm marking this as done, but I am going to trust User:Aircorn to take time to fix the few duplicated ref-names and/or other CS1 errors that are present in the article.
- B. All in-line citations are from reliable sources, including those for direct quotations, statistics, published opinion, counter-intuitive or controversial statements that are challenged or likely to be challenged, and contentious material relating to living persons—science-based articles should follow the scientific citation guidelines:
For James Tyler Kent's 1905 Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica, 217 preparations underwent provings and newer substances are continually added to contemporary versions.
This sentence, since it references the specific book, should have an inline citation for it.- I am happy with the citations in the article and did not find any contentious/quoted material that is not cited appropriately. -bɜ:ʳkənhɪmez (User/say hi!) 14:50, 25 October 2020 (UTC)
- C. It contains no original research:
- A spot check of approximately 50 citations I could access over two different read throughs (I ensured I didn't duplicate the same citation twice) shows that the material is supported by the citations it's attributed to.
- Aside from this, I believe that the Explanations of perceived effects should be rewritten as prose instead of as a list - it's currently unclear to the quick reader that the entire list is sourced to [19]:155–167.
- D. It contains no copyright violations nor plagiarism:
- Earwig tool finds no copyvio, but there are a few smaller issues which must be taken care of before I can feel comfortable passing this criterion.
- A. It contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline:
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- Is it broad in its coverage?
- A. It addresses the main aspects of the topic:
- I think this article is organized marvelously well. As it is a pseudoscience, it makes complete sense to put history above the actual practicing of the "science", but that then comes as the next main section (preparations) for those readers who are looking for such information. The evidence (for/against, primarily the second per WP:DUE and WP:FRINGE), the efficacy, and the regulations/legislation around the topic are all discussed later on.
- B. It stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style):
- A. It addresses the main aspects of the topic:
Done |
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- Is it neutral?
- It represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each:
- I see no problems with the current article with bias or due weight. As the four (necessary) cites in the first sentence confirm, homeopathic medicine is not medicine and is a fringe pseudoscience - thus "due" weight is to give almost all weight with very limited exceptions to the sources and content which discusses it as a pseudoscience. I did not see any overtly biased or even covertly biased statements in my read through, nor did I see anything masquerading as neutral which was really trying to push a viewpoint. However, I am putting this on hold because of the issues I identified above - there certainly could be some bias issues after the article is pared back to comply with summary style, so I will re-review this once the summary-style is fixed.
- It represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each:
- Is it stable?
- It does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute:
- I see no active edit wars or any current major content disputes - it is worth remembering that articles like this will always have a large edit rate simply because many people are interested in the topic. The last 500 edits do not show any large scale edit wars or anything concerning on this front. -bɜ:ʳkənhɪmez (User/say hi!) 13:19, 9 October 2020 (UTC)
- It does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute:
- Is it illustrated, if possible, by images?
- A. Images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content:
- Unfortunately, no ultimate source is given for File:Hahnemann.jpg - making the copyright status unverifiable that I can see. I am hoping I'm just missing something, and I would be willing to consider passing over this one image given it's survived 15 years on commons undeleted, but I do believe that the letter of the GA requirements would require this to be rectified, if not the spirit as well.
- There is a source given for File:Mortar2.jpg, but I doubt it would pass muster on commons as it is now, as the user who uploaded it claims they do not remember anything about the date it was taken and there is no metadata information to potentially verify that... but this should be easy to rectify by replacing with another picture of a mortar and pestle if you wouldn't mind.
- Both replaced/removed so no problems.
- No other image licensing issues found - all are purportedly free so there are no fair use rationales to evaluate.
- B. Images are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions:
- The image of the oscillococcinum pills is very generic - there does not appear to be any distinguishing feature of them versus any other small white pills - thus I'm not sure what benefit including the image has. It also doesn't appear to be relevant to the section it's placed in at a minimum - while it's "200C" pills, that isn't related to the appearance of the pill - or this isn't specified in the prose at least. Aside from that, all images look to be relevant, and I will still be working on the remainder of the review, but I do believe this image should be reconsidered before pass/fail determination is made.
- A. Images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content:
- Overall:
- Pass or Fail:
- Overall, this article can certainly be a good article, but it will need a decent chunk of work here. I am not comfortable passing it in its current state given primarily the summary style violations, but I am happy to leave it on hold and even extend the hold time if you are able to actively work on paring it back for the two sections I point out. Please feel free to ask me any questions you have on my review, and to ping me as you take care of issues so I can re-review and start turning some of these purple bubbles to green check marks for you. I will also, as I mention below, be reviewing the prose of the two "summary sections" (i.e. preparations and evidence/efficacy) after they are pared back in line with summary style. Regards, -bɜ:ʳkənhɪmez (User/say hi!) 13:35, 13 October 2020 (UTC)
- Pass or Fail:
First prose review
Extended content |
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Homeopathy:
History:
Preparations and Treatment
Evidence and efficacy
Regulation and prevalence
Veterinary use
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Neutrality/MOS review
Preface: This is and will always be a very controversial/contentious article, and especially so for the lead section. For this reason, I am going to be very stringent in my review, and attempt to point out things that may have the air of non-neutrality, so that they can be evaluated and discussed. As with the prose review, I am more than happy to work with you and discuss if you disagree with anything I bring up, and we can work together to come to a decision. There may also be some prose review things pointed out here, but I believe most of that has been taken care of so I'm trying to focus solely on neutrality/MOS now.
Neutrality/MOS |
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Comments
One of these pictures of Hahnemann might be good substitutes: taken from a book published in 1837. a Daguerreotype from 1841. ArcticDragonfly (talk) 09:19, 12 October 2020 (UTC)
- Thanks for that, and User:Aircorn feel free to use either of those images, and feel free to begin working on the issues I've already identified if you'd like - I do not have a problem with you actively working on it while I complete my review. As you have said, this is an article that I don't know how many other people would've taken on, and I am going to be taking great care to ensure it meets all criteria and solidly so for your benefit. The last thing I want is for this article to pass a good article review here then ultimately be delisted quickly by "detractors" because they find some minor technical issue like "that one section is too long per "summary style"!!!!" or something. I realize that I am asking a lot of work from you to rewrite entire sections during a review, and I'm sure I'll end up with probably 10kb of nitpicks about prose/grammar when I finish that part of the review. Thus, I'm happy to extend the on-hold time past a week for as long as you're willing to commit to actively developing the article towards improvements - because I think that it's close enough and that you seem willing to put in the work to get there. I plan to complete my prose review within a couple days, and I apologize for the review taking this long - again, I am trying to get this extremely correct for your benefit so that this article is a "strong GA" which someone who wants to demote can't just find some flimsy reason that we miss. Regards -bɜ:ʳkənhɪmez (User/say hi!) 14:05, 12 October 2020 (UTC)
- p.s. somehow I pinged User:ArcticDragonfly when refactoring their comment to be on one line (for ease of organization, as I have a feeling this section may get long) - apologies for that. -bɜ:ʳkənhɪmez (User/say hi!) 14:07, 12 October 2020 (UTC)
Thanks for the review. I apologise, for my absence. I had computer issues and then a busy weekend. I appreciate the time and effort you have put into this. I will reply to your points below. AIRcorn (talk) 02:28, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
Comments that are Done |
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Thanks again for taking the time to review this. AIRcorn (talk) 02:28, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
- The book for the "explanations" section seems to be available for free checkout on the internet archive library. I think turning it into a table, but moving details into a paragraph or two (so that the table only includes "placebo effect", "unassisted natural healing", etc).
- Happy with the citations/copyright concerns I identified, but again I'll hold off on a full in depth neutrality/sourcing review until the prose is in its "final" state. I am also happy to let the evidence/efficacy section slide provided the one subsection (explanation of effects) is improved as above. I also am not certain but I think that Ethics and safety may be better bumped up to its own level 2 heading instead of subsection of "evidence/efficacy" - but again I'm open to your opinion on that.
- Appreciate you looking on the dilutions section reduction. Upon another look, I'm happy leaving the regulation section as is. I can't see much to add and the size is not overwhelming at this time. I will note that Regulation and prevalence of homeopathy seems to be the "main page" for this, but at the same time this article isn't overly detailed - that article could be expanded tons more than this one. Happy for you to take the time you need on the dilution section.
- Happy with the pictures and with your commitment to work through the prose issues. I'm in no rush if you're not, so as long as you'll check in every few days and it looks like you're making progress on the article I'm happy to leave it on hold for a reasonable amount of time. I'll update the above sections momentarily. -bɜ:ʳkənhɪmez (User/say hi!) 13:43, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
- Berchanhimez I reduced the dilutions section and managed to also do some to the efficacy section. It might be worth another look now. Cheers AIRcorn (talk) 20:53, 22 October 2020 (UTC)
- Just to note I've seen this, have done a cursory look at the work and it all seems good for now, but I will give you the benefit of a full review, including the parts I "postponed" (neutrality mainly) within the next couple days (likely on Sunday, if not sooner). I will actually ping you when the full review is complete. -bɜ:ʳkənhɪmez (User/say hi!) 13:09, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
- Aircorn Great work on the article. I've done my "final" review for neutrality now that you've made the prose changes, and I've found a few more prose issues. If you'd go through the second review and make changes as you see fit, or discuss/explain why you feel they shouldn't be made, I am happy to look again when you get a chance. I am happy to work with you to resolve disagreements on the necessity of specific changes, and after we go through this set of recommendations I think it'll likely be passable, but I'll do one final pass just for completeness sake. I won't make you wait for that final pass unless I see any "failing" issues in the article - but I may offer you recommendations anyway if that's okay. My end goal with this overly-thorough review is to ensure that there is no question that this is a good article and to ensure that this controversial topic is in compliance with policy and guidelines - especially the neutrality, which is why I brought up some issues that may seem minor or nitpicky. As before, I'm happy for you to take the time you need, but if you think it'll be over a 3-4 days, please just let me know and ping me when you're done with this set of changes. Only other thing is I'd like you to reconsider the oscillococcinum picture and whether it's actually descriptive :) -bɜ:ʳkənhɪmez (User/say hi!) 14:50, 25 October 2020 (UTC)
- @Berchanhimez: I think I got everything. Like usual changed most (not necessarily with your suggestions, but hopefully to clarify things a bit). Disagreed on a few, but that is fine. Let me know if any are sticking points and I can have another think about them. This has been a very thorough review, probably one of the most thorough I have been through. Thanks for taking the time to do this, it is much appreciated. Oh, I found another picture and changed the description fro oscillococcinum. Hope this one works better. AIRcorn (talk) 23:17, 28 October 2020 (UTC)
- Thank you for your hard work on this User:Aircorn - I think it's in a position now where there's unlikely to be any decent argument that it doesn't meet the GA standards - and in fact in my opinion it's well above them. This was my goal - to get it to a point that people couldn't "complain" about it being a GA or being non-neutral, etc. Thanks for your work and patience through this process - I'll be completing the listing soon. Pleasure working with you. -bɜ:ʳkənhɪmez (User/say hi!) 13:15, 29 October 2020 (UTC)
- @Berchanhimez: I think I got everything. Like usual changed most (not necessarily with your suggestions, but hopefully to clarify things a bit). Disagreed on a few, but that is fine. Let me know if any are sticking points and I can have another think about them. This has been a very thorough review, probably one of the most thorough I have been through. Thanks for taking the time to do this, it is much appreciated. Oh, I found another picture and changed the description fro oscillococcinum. Hope this one works better. AIRcorn (talk) 23:17, 28 October 2020 (UTC)
- Berchanhimez I reduced the dilutions section and managed to also do some to the efficacy section. It might be worth another look now. Cheers AIRcorn (talk) 20:53, 22 October 2020 (UTC)