Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Backlog elimination drives/September 2022

"Words"

Hi! I'm new to "backlog elimination drives", so I'd like to know what the explanatory section means by saying "words". Is that the total number of words left in the readable prose of an article after copyediting is complete? Thanks. Nythar^T.C 02:01, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

@Nythar: The word count is the total number of words before you start copyediting. You can use Prosesize to get a word count, although editors have noted some issues with it (it doesn't count bulleted lists, for one). Happy editing, Perfect4th (talk) 02:52, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

@Nythar: Like Perfect4th said, the word count is for before editing happens. I generally use Word Counter as an external counter for when a significant portion of an article is not considered prose. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 02:54, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for both of your replies, but what is its purpose? Nythar^T.C 04:33, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

@Nythar: It's just a number that determines what shiny Internet trophy you may win at the end of the drive, which ultimately doesn't mean anything in the long run. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 06:56, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

@Tenryuu: To clarify my question: What is its significance in relation to the drive? Is it just a random number? Nythar^T.C 07:01, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

@Nythar: Article word counts are totaled together for places on the leaderboard. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 07:08, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

@Nythar: GOCE editors keep track of the word count for each article they edit during the drive, recording the count in their section of the drive page. It may help to look at an example; see Lfstevens's section in the previous drive. Based on those counts, that editor received recognition on their talk page for their work during the drive. That's it. There is no requirement to track all of your words, but most editors find it fun and motivational to do so. – Jonesey95 (talk) 14:13, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

It looks like somebody's started before the Drive has?

What it says on the tin. As far as I'm aware, it doesn't start for about another 10-11 hours?

Asparagusus (interaction) 13:44, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

I’m not that bothered, and I doubt the other coordinators are, seen as it’s a couple of hours, it could just be time zones. Thanks, Zippybonzo | Talk (he|him) 09:28, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

The edits have been reverted. The drive starts and ends at 00:00 UTC. Time zones essentially do not exist when it comes to Wikipedia editing; that way madness lies. – Jonesey95 (talk) 14:34, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

Edit checks

First time participating in one of these - would anyone be willing to check my edits on Bad Girls: The Musical? I've never written a WP plot summary and I suspect even this edit is too verbose, but struggling to cut it down. The article has its own issues with sourcing etc but I couldn't let it lie. BeReasonabl (talk) 14:11, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

Thank you for your participation. It looks as though you've done a thorough job at Bad Girls: The Musical. You've certainly cut down the length of the Synopsis section, which was very long; and reduction in length was part of what was explicitly asked for. Dhtwiki (talk) 03:48, 3 September 2022 (UTC)

@BeReasonabl: You knocked the 2500-word plot down to a reasonable 500 words. That's right on target, great work! I've looked it over and will leave you some notes on your talk page later today. – Reidgreg (talk) 14:57, 3 September 2022 (UTC)

Advice on edit

I am currently editing the article Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015, which was tagged in October 2021 for overly long sentences, conversion of long prose list(s) to bulleted list(s). Ordinarily, this wouldn't have posed any questions, but I noted that the main "afflicted" section is a verbatim summary of the bill's provisions. How does one approach this kind of content - should it be left as-is or should it be further summarised? BroVic (talk) 21:59, 3 September 2022 (UTC)