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FACs needing feedback
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Die with a Smile Review it now


Question on FAC process

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Hi Gog! How many "supports" does it take for an article to be approved as FA? I currently have two reviewers engaged in my candidacy process (plus one who has reviewed the images and one who left only a short but helpful comment). Should the two reviewers vote to support the article, is it enough or should I strive for more engagement e.g., by talking to the Wikiproject Gastropods crew?

Thanks! Barbalalaika 🐌 16:49, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

It doesn't really work like that. The coordinators get a lot of discretion and will weigh - among other things - the depth and thoroughness of each review, the experience of each review, how enthusiastically they support (if they do), the seriousness of anything any reviewer is not happy with, whether there is both an "expert" and a "non-expert" review, even - to an extent - how long a nomination has been open, a nominator's track record at FAC, and what they think themselves. That said, it is unusual to see an article promoted in less than three weeks or with less that three general supports; and almost unknown in the case of a first-timer. I hope this goes some way to addressing the question and feel free to ask a follow up.
In case it is helpful I paste below my standard boilerplate on attracting reviewers.

Reviewers are more happy to review articles from people whose name they see on other reviews (although I should say there is definitely no quid pro quo system on FAC). Reviewers are a scarce resource at FAC, unfortunately, and the more you put into the process, the more you are likely to get out. Personally, when browsing the list for an article to review, I am more likely to select one by an editor whom I recognise as a frequent reviewer. Critically reviewing other people's work may also have a beneficial impact on your own writing and your understanding of the FAC process.

Sometimes placing a polite neutrally phrased request on the talk pages of a few of the more frequent reviewers helps. Or on the talk pages of relevant Wikiprojects. Or of editors you know are interested in the topic of the nomination. Or who have contributed at PR, or assessed at GAN, or edited the article. Sometimes one struggles to get reviews because potential reviewers have read the article and decided that it requires too much work to get up to FA standard. I am not saying this is the case here - I have not read the article - just noting a frequent issue.

Gog the Mild (talk) 18:17, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the prompt reply, that does answer the question :) I don't think I have the necessary Wiki knowledge to provide a FA review yet, but I reckon I can start with small inputs instead of a full-on in-depth review. Barbalalaika 🐌 19:38, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The Bugle: Issue 237, January 2026

[edit]
Full front page of The Bugle
Your Military History Newsletter

The Bugle is published by the Military history WikiProject. To receive it on your talk page, please join the project or sign up here.
If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Nick-D (talk) 12:10, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Good Afternoon! I honestly don't know what else to do with this FAC. I have tried wrangling reviews from my contacts and I have started performing FAC reviews. Do you have any other suggestions? Bgsu98 (Talk) 19:31, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Oddly, less than two hours before you posted here I left a note on the nomination discussion chasing the last reviewer for a concluding comment. And in anticipation of a support - although who knows - am about to start my own coordinator's set of checks. Fingers crossed. Gog the Mild (talk) 19:56, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
That reviewer has told me in the past that she is busy during the week, so it may not be until the weekend that she responds. She was the nominator for one of the FACs I reviewed. Bgsu98 (Talk) 20:00, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
And a good quality reviewer. Did one of mine a year ago. And gave yours the thorough poking at I wanted it to get. It is on track, you have permission to start another, all is good, relax. Remember to breath. :-) Gog the Mild (talk) 20:07, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 29 January 2026

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Books & Bytes – Issue 72

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The Wikipedia Library: Books & Bytes
Issue 72, November–December 2025
  • Renewed partnerships
  • Spotlight: Strengthening Wikimedia Collaborations with and for Open Science
Read the full newsletter

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of The Wikipedia Library team – 12:43, 29 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

(This message was sent to User:Gog the Mild and is being posted here due to a redirect.)

Query re. FAC

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I have been planning to nominate an article at FAC for some time. Since my first nomination was archived, I realise that a mentor would be helpful. However, as my examinations are approaching (they will continue until mid-March and then again in May), I was wondering what would be appropriate to do at this stage.

Should I initiate a PR and seek a mentor at WT:FAC now, or should I wait? Your advice would be appreciated. Thank you. MSincccc (talk) 07:04, 30 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, a bit of a stream of consciousness. You have pre-empted my two main pieces of advice by doing a lot of FAC reviewing and having a decent number of GANs under your belt. Although have chosen a hideously difficult article to try and get promoted. Still want to try with the same one? My first advice would be to chose something a bit [or a lot] simpler and more straight forward for your first run at FAC. Or even your first ten. Fashion, Earthshot, or Foundation from your GAs look much more suitable for first FACs. Where you go next really depends on your mentor, and I would recommend starting your search for one ASAP. But if 'twere me I would want to work with you first getting it into really solid shape - eg re sourcing, DUE, MoS etc. Then give it a run at PR. The timing for that is whenever it is. Probably best avoid putting something there immediately before you start revising for a set of exams, but PR is fairly laid back and if it is a couple of weeks before you respond to a set of comments I don't think anyone will be too bothered. Does that help? Any follow ups? Gog the Mild (talk) 22:39, 30 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for your response. It does help. By the way, I was thinking of this article at present. Should I ask for a mentor at WT:FAC at present or what next? I look forward to your response. MSincccc (talk) 04:27, 31 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Good choice. In which case I suggest approaching Premeditated Chaos - who is not on the list of editors who have said they are willing to mentor, but who would IMO make an excellent mentor, especially for that article. Gog the Mild (talk) 17:39, 31 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
I appreciate your suggestion, but for it to materialise will be difficult. You can take a look through this discussion and this one for context. MSincccc (talk) 04:03, 1 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, yes, I wasn't aware of that. Looking at editors who have listed themselves as being open to mentoring, maybe Nikkimaria? Gog the Mild (talk) 14:37, 1 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]
That’s helpful. I’ll try approaching Nikkimaria. What is your view on posting a message at WT:FAC at this stage? MSincccc (talk) 17:10, 1 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Up to you, but I don't see the point. Gog the Mild (talk) 17:13, 1 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

TFA

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story · music · places

Thank you today for Siege of Utica, introduced: "2,229 years ago a Roman army landed near Utica in North Africa. This was an attempt to end the Second Punic War against Carthage, which had already lasted 14 years. Utica was besieged and large parts of the ensuing campaign revolved around this. Utica held out but the Carthaginians lost four battles in two years and were forced into a humiliating capitulation." -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:26, 1 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Today's main page features four biographies I helped to bring there, two women and two men, three opera singers (one pictured) and an actor, - a record for me, I believe ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:45, 24 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

FA mentor

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Hey there, I see you have a lot of experience with featured articles, and I was considering getting Genshin Impact to FA sometime this year. I got it to GA in January, and I would need a mentor since I've never successfully gotten an article to FA before. Let me know if you're interested! Gommeh (talk! sign!) 16:47, 3 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Gommeh, nice of you to think of me. I have not put myself on the list of editors prepared to mentor as I am usually too busy with other things. I could perhaps be tempted, but not I'm afraid for a video game; a subject about which I know little and care less. There are several editors who are on the list and specify video games. David Fuchs catches my eye, I suggest you ask them. Gog the Mild (talk) 16:58, 3 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Thought I'd ask you anyway because of the number of FA's you have, haha. Thanks anyway! Gommeh (talk! sign!) 17:01, 3 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]
David has taken 57 articles through the process, and so is not exactly a beginner. Gog the Mild (talk) 17:04, 3 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Seeking clarity

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I received this message on my talk page. Could you help me understand what it means in terms of expected behaviour? This is the fourth time I’ve received such a message, and I want to make sure I act appropriately. Thank you. MSincccc (talk) 05:32, 4 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Busy at the moment. I will answer properly as soon as I get the time. Gog the Mild (talk) 13:38, 4 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 17 February 2026

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  • Disinformation report: Epstein's obsessions
    The sex offender's attempts to whitewash Wikipedia run deeper than we first thought.
  • Crossword: Pop quiz
    Sharpen your pencil. How well do you really know Wikipedia?

Vendetta

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Hi Gog!

I hope you are doing alright!

I hope it didn't have to come to this but the article, "Die with a Smile" has received a new couple of comments to be addressed which were done as I agreed with the nominator and addressed said comments. However, I can't shake the felling this is a vendetta for my GA review on one of his articles. The article has received so far three separate successful prose reviews and an image/source review and is going through spot checks as I'm writing this. He opposes the article reaching FA status and also fails to mention more issues after the ones he point out have been addressed.

Since you are one of the coordinators I'm reaching out to you to try and sort this out. I don't mind removing myself as one of the co-nominators if that's what it takes. I do feel targeted here. MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 19:30, 18 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I'll take a look at it. @FAC coordinators: for information. Gog the Mild (talk) 12:36, 19 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]
(talk page watcher) @MarioSoulTruthFan: Sorry I diodn't have time to look in on your FAC. If I had, I would have been forced to echo the concerns of colleagues re. WP:WIAFA #1A; I would also have contested in the round the comment that FAC is precisely the place where these sorts of grammatical nitpicks can be found and fixed. A small number, commensurate to the length of the article perhaps, but WP:FIXLOOP is thing, and a thing to be avoided—otherwise FAC turns into a peer review.
En passant, I might also have waxed sardonic at the WP:ASPERSIONS and lack of WP:AGF shown in accusations of vendettas and bizarre morsels such as you are the all mighty god that knows it all... Cheers! Fortuna, imperatrix 19:43, 20 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for your comments. I appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective. I agree that FAC is not intended to function as a full peer review, though minor copy-editing and clarification are not uncommon at this stage.
I regret if any comments were perceived as personal; that was not my intent. I believe it is best that we keep the focus on the article and the criteria. Case closed. MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 20:05, 20 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Just so. Fortuna, imperatrix 20:12, 20 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The Bugle: Issue 238, February 2026

[edit]
Full front page of The Bugle
Your Military History Newsletter

The Bugle is published by the Military history WikiProject. To receive it on your talk page, please join the project or sign up here.
If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Nick-D (talk) 12:02, 26 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Re. FAC welcome

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I just wanted to let you know that I’ve been sending the FAC welcome messages to a few first-time nominators in your absence. I hope that’s alright — do let me know if you’d prefer otherwise. Cheers. MSincccc (talk) 15:32, 27 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

FYI

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Hey, I hope you are doing well. As I mentioned at my talk page, I was a bit busy reviewing and most of February passed without realizing. I was curious with the written text in User:Gog_the_Mild/Siege_of_Ariminum_(538) (as I have not heard your feedback on what I wrote) and tested it in the main article Siege of Ariminum (538). I liked it and implemented the changes, along with some other changes. Let me know your thoughts. Many thanks again for the advice. I am looking forward to hearing back from you. A.Cython(talk) 02:34, 6 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Time flies. I am planning to submit the Siege of Ariminum for A-class review at WPMH, probably at some point before the end of the month. If you have any comments, please share them before then. In the meantime I am making progress in bringing battles/sieges of the Gothic War into GA status. The Siege of Ravenna (539-540) is GA now. If you are happy with Primary sources and Background of Ariminum, then I will upgrade Ravenna's article as well with the same text, at some point after its DYK. Happy editing! A.Cython(talk) 02:14, 14 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 10 March 2026

[edit]
  • Special report: What actually happened during the Wikimedia security incident?
    A horrifying exploit took place, which could have had catastrophic and far-reaching consequences if used maliciously; instead, it seems to have happened by accident and was used for childish vandalism. How did this happen, and what did the script actually do?

Books & Bytes – Issue 73

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The Wikipedia Library: Books & Bytes
Issue 73, January–February 2026
  • Four new partnerships
  • User survey thanks
Read the full newsletter

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of The Wikipedia Library team – 12:05, 11 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

(This message was sent to User:Gog the Mild and is being posted here due to a redirect.)

WP:MTAU workshop

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Hi Gog,

Finally went back to Wikipedia:Make technical articles understandable/Workshop, now that I've got enough distance to kill my darlings. I think the two remaining stumbling blocks for the guideline to get wide acceptance is how WP:ONEDOWN is framed. Some people were afraid it would be abused to make articles too difficult while others said it's impossible to even reach that level for some topics. The other potential stumbling block is the main goal of the guideline, which we discussed may have conflicted (readable for the widest possible audience, or for the widest likely audience). Both goals can lead people to not write accessibly: People underestimate how wide the audience is and may say 'it's not possible to write this in a simpler manner'.

I was wondering if you'd be able to give your 2c on these two topics / read over the current text more generally? Thanks :). —Femke 🐦 (talk) 08:44, 16 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The Bugle: Issue 239, March 2026

[edit]
Full front page of The Bugle
Your Military History Newsletter

The Bugle is published by the Military history WikiProject. To receive it on your talk page, please join the project or sign up here.
If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Nick-D (talk) 12:07, 19 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

FAC being hold up due to image

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Hi. As you can see here that there is a discussion at common for the image [1] and nobody chimed in and its already 8 hours. This may take forever. Can I just remove the second image and leave a single non free image at infobox? 🍕BP!🍕 (🔔) 13:06, 20 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Are we talking about Leon S. Kennedy and this image File:Leon S. Kennedy.png? Gog the Mild (talk) 13:19, 20 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Yes 🍕BP!🍕 (🔔) 13:22, 20 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
(Copied to the FAC image review to centralise discussion.) Not unless your image reviewer signs off on this, which they have indicated they won't. Something I - as a FAC coordinator - could live with is removing the infobox image altogether, which - all other things being equal - would allow promotion. Once the Commons issue was resolved whichever image was allowed could then be inserted. ZooBlazer@Howardcorn33, thoughts? Gog the Mild (talk) 13:38, 20 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
@Gog the Mild: I have no issue with removing images altogether until the Commons issue is sorted out. ―Howard🌽33 13:40, 20 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

FAC review?

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Hello, would you have any interest in reviewing my current FAC? It started off well, but has since stalled for a few weeks. -- ZooBlazer 04:26, 25 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Well, you have carried out 14 FAC reviews and only ever submitted one prior nomination so I would like to find time to review it. And I am interested in seeing how you manage to write 8,258 words on a video game! But I wearing my coordinator hat, once David Fuchs posts his promised review I am likely to be looking at closing this. So I shall hang fire for now. Feel free to ping me once David has finished his review. Gog the Mild (talk) 19:26, 26 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
David has now finished up his review and struck the original oppose. -- ZooBlazer 16:34, 19 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Guild of Copy Editors/Membership/News/2025 Annual Report

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Guild of Copy Editors Annual Report

Our 2025 Annual Report is now ready for review.

Highlights:

  • Introduction
  • Membership news and election results
  • Summary of Drives, Blitzes and the Requests page
  • Closing words
– Your Guild coordinators
To stop receiving GOCE newsletters, please remove your name from our mailing list.

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 05:35, 31 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 31 March 2026

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"Featured articles comprise 6,896 out of a total of 7,161,705 articles on the English Wikipedia" ...

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is there a reason the number of FAs isn't calculated automatically with {{PAGESINCATEGORY:Featured articles}}? It also returns 6,944, if you look at the wikicode of this message :) I can go ahead and make that edit, if you'd like, but I figured there'd be a reason it wasn't done that way? theleekycauldron (talk • she/her) 12:06, 31 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Hawkeye7, Mike, Ian, any reason not to? Gog the Mild (talk) 12:16, 31 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
The only thing I can think of is that I know some editors (Sandy comes to mind, and perhaps DrKay) have used the various different FA counts to spot and then track down discrepancies (i.e. someone has unilaterally added an FA star to an article without a FAC). I don't know what they refer to to do this, so I don't know if this would make that task harder. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 22:27, 31 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
The FACBot doesn't add articles to Wikipedia:Featured articles. I've repeatedly asked if the coordinators wanted it to, but they declined. All the FACBot does is note when an article has been featured on the front page. Hawkeye7 (discuss) 01:51, 1 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia:Featured articles/mismatches - not sure how this proposal would impact that. Nikkimaria (talk) 01:55, 1 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Hi leeky, it looks as if the answer is: that's thoughtful of you and thanks; but no thanks. Gog the Mild (talk) 18:25, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Congratulations from the Military History Project

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Military history reviewers' award
On behalf of the Military History Project, I am proud to present the The Milhist reviewing award (2 stripes) for participating in 4 reviews between January and March 2026. Hawkeye7 (talk) via MilHistBot (talk) 00:30, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Keep track of upcoming reviews. Just copy and paste {{WPMILHIST Review alerts}} to your user space

Question about FAC comment

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Hello. I hope that you are doing well and that you are having a great end to your week. I do have a question about your question for me on the III (Banks album) FAC. I thought it was odd to ping me and ask for me a status update with my review, only to promote the FAC mere minutes later. I was not really given the time or space to really see the notification, let only to respond to it. I was just curious on the rationale for that?

And to answer your question, since I can no longer do in the FAC, I was waiting until Ippantekina had proceed with their review before I looped back to reread things. I must admit that I do think that it is a bit odd to promote a FAC while two reviews are still incomplete and active. I just wanted to reach out to get some clarification about this. Thank you! I hope that you have a wonderful weekend! Aoba47 (talk) 16:45, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

(talk page watcher) Aoba47, to be fair, you weren't the only one whom Gog asked and then completely ignored: Jo-Jo Eumerus and Ippantekina also received The Treatment™. Personally, I think it was one of the finest pieces of FAC coordination I've seen in a long time. Caedite eos, and all that  :) cheers! Serial Number 54129 (wake up Fortuna) 17:46, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for the response. I did see that Ippantekina was sent a similar pinged message, but I had somehow overlooked the one that was sent to Jo-Jo Eumerus. Thank you for pointing that out for me. So that would be three reviews left open upon promotion. I am just confused by this. Aoba47 (talk) 18:03, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Hi Aoba47. It was me getting over-enthusiastic combined with a bit of short-term memory lapse. I went through the review reading the comments and dropping off my standard reminders, then read the article. At which point I thought "This seems up to scratch and there seems to be a consensus to promote, let's get on with it." Completely forgetting that I should wait for the reviewers I had just pinged to respond. Many apologies.
If you still have proposed improvements which Camilasdandelions is reluctant to make - post-FAC - or if you disagree with the article being promoted ping me and I'll reel it in. And the umpteenth time I have sent myself a mental note: Think before you press that button! Sorry for messing you around. Gog the Mild (talk) 18:17, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
No worries. Thank you for the explanation and the clarification. I hope that you are having a wonderful start to your April. I honestly cannot even believe that it is already this far into 2026 lol. Aoba47 (talk) 18:44, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

A list of FAQs for FAC

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I hope you are well. While the current FAC page gives first-time nominators some guidance on getting started, there remain many questions that commonly arise once they actually engage with the process, as my experience has taught me.

If included, these queries could help new nominators—like me a couple of years ago—navigate FAC more easily. With your approval, I can create an initial list at User:MSincccc/FAQs about FAC, which could then be expanded by others over time. I also intend to propose it for discussion at WT:FAC. The page could serve as the redirect for first-time nominators before they submit a nomination.

I look forward to your thoughts. Thank you. MSincccc (talk) 04:43, 4 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I have now finished my draft list of questions, with answers where I could.

I would really appreciate your thoughts on what to do next. Thanks. MSincccc (talk) 04:01, 6 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Precious anniversary

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Precious
Eight years!

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 05:40, 4 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Gog, hope all is well. I saw that Path is scheduled to appear as TFA on 22 May, but if it's possible, I would like to try and schedule its first appearance for 29 June, the 125th anniversary of Belloc reaching Rome for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Is there any way I can change that? I'm still not entirely sure how this TFA stuff works (only done it once before), but I'm willing to write the blurb for another FA that's never been TFA so that the article can appear then. Let me know what you think. Best, ThaesOfereode (talk) 23:35, 8 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Hi ThaesOfereode, I could certainly remove it from 22 May. However, the FA tiger has been listed at pending for ten months against 29 June, which is International Tiger Day. There is nothing to stop you nominating The Path to Rome in competition and seeing what the community thinks, but no guarantee that you will be successful. If you want to try that, let me know and I'll unplug it from 22 May. Courtesy ping to Wehwalt who is scheduling June's TFAs. Gog the Mild (talk) 19:58, 13 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
I would check with the animals people to see if they intend to nominate Tiger this year. Wehwalt (talk) 20:10, 13 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Hi LittleJerry, could you skim the above and let us know? Thanks. Gog the Mild (talk) 20:13, 13 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
International Tiger Day is July 29, not June 29. I intend to nominate it for that day. LittleJerry (talk) 02:08, 14 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Well then, it's up to Gog. I'm holding the June 29 date in my preparations for June. Wehwalt (talk) 13:15, 14 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Oops! ThaesOfereode, I have removed it from May, get it nominated for June. Feel free to use this blurb, or tweak it, or create your own.
ThaesOfereode, thanks. Looks good. (Apart from "himself"; I mean, who else could he be?) The nomination needed adding to the Summary at the top of the page, which I have just done. Hopefully it will be plain sailing now. Gog the Mild (talk) 12:23, 17 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
I believe it's a useful emphatic, but I won't object to its removal. Thanks again for your patience and help with this. ThaesOfereode (talk) 12:45, 17 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Title page
Title page

The Path to Rome is a 1902 travelogue by the French-English author and historian Hilaire Belloc. Belloc recounts his pilgrimage from Toul in northeastern France to Rome. The work contains his account of events in short vignettes, his thoughts on his travels, and asides about the history and geography of places he visits. The book is mostly written in a stream-of-consciousness style, including conversations between Belloc and an imagined reader. Although the book is written primarily in English, several passages and pieces of dialogue are in other languages, and language mix-ups and comments about the contemporary linguistic landscape figure prominently. The Path to Rome was Belloc's most financially successful work and established him as a serious author. Contemporary reviews were positive, focusing on his authenticity, shrewd observations, and sense of humour. Retrospectives have similarly praised the book. Belloc himself later recounted that it was "the only book I ever wrote for love". (Full article...)
1,021 characters, including spaces.

@Gog the Mild: Sorry, I missed this somehow. I edited the blurb a little and nominated the article here, but please let me know if I screwed this up. ThaesOfereode (talk) 23:57, 16 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Guild of Copy Editors – April 2026 Newsletter

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Guild of Copy Editors – April 2026 Newsletter

Hello and welcome to the April 2026 newsletter, a quarterly digest of Guild activities since December. We extend a warm welcome to all of our new members. We wish you all happy copy-editing.

Election results: In our December 2025 coordinator election, incumbents Dhtwiki, GoldRomean, Miniapolis, and Mox Eden were reelected coordinators, and Wikieditor662 was newly elected coordinator, to serve through 30 June. Nominations for our mid-year Election of Coordinators will open on 1 June (UTC).

December 2025 Blitz: 16 of the 31 editors who signed up for the December 2025 Copy Editing Blitz edited 116,064 words in 47 articles. Barnstars awarded are here.

January Drive: 35 of the 55 editors who signed up for the January Backlog Elimination Drive edited 498,397 words in 183 articles. Barnstars awarded are here.

February Blitz: 19 of the 23 editors who signed up for the February Copy Editing Blitz edited 83,969 words in 43 articles. Barnstars awarded are here.

March Drive: 28 of the 48 editors who signed up for the March Backlog Elimination Drive edited 210,064 words in 87 articles. Barnstars awarded are here.

April Blitz: Sign up for our April Copy Editing Blitz, which runs from 12 to 18 April. Barnstars will be awarded here.

Progress report: As of 09:10, 10 April 2026 (UTC), GOCE copyeditors have processed 81 copyediting requests since 1 January 2026. The backlog of articles needing copyediting stands at 1,794 articles.

Thank you all again for your participation; we wouldn't be able to achieve what we have without you! Cheers from your GOCE coordinators Dhtwiki, GoldRomean, Miniapolis, Mox Eden and Wikieditor662.

To discontinue receiving GOCE newsletters, please remove your name from our mailing list.

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 09:28, 10 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Jupiter GAN/FTRC noms

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Hello. I'd like to inform you that the GAN mentioned here was quick failed. You voted wait on the FTRC, but have yet to change your vote. If you could do that, that would be much appreciated. JHD0919 (talk) 11:38, 10 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Zosimus about Terrentius

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Dear Gog de Mild, I am working on an article about Honorius's cousins (User:Geoffrey F/sandbox/Spanish resistance of Honorius cousins). In this piece of history, it is difficult to decipher how the sequence of events should be interpreted. I am basing myself on the literature available to me, namely Drinkwater and Kulikowski. The premise is that Gerontius is not mentioned initially, but only later, after the victory has been achieved and the cousins ​​have been taken prisoner. In doing so, I came across the names of Terrentius and Appolinarius in Zosimus's text. My changes to the article's text are based on this. I look forward to your response. Geoffrey F (talk) 09:45, 14 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds great. First things first. Zosimus is not a reliable source, and so you shouldn't be using him to cite anything. Even if he were, he still wouldn't be a high quality reliable source, as required by the featured article criteria - this article is featured. (As is Constans II (son of Constantine III). I realise that this can start to sound a bit job's worth, but that's the framework we need to work within. Separately, for your draft article if you can lay your hands on Heather's The Fall of the Roman Empire I think you would find it helpful. Similarly Kulikowski's "Barbarians in Gaul, usurpers in Britain", which is accessible at JSTOR. Gog the Mild (talk) 16:15, 14 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for saving me from this mistake. I think I'll solve it with the quote below, what do you think?

“In Zosimus (6.4.2), a certain Terentius appears as commander in Spain, a figure otherwise unattested. In the parallel tradition, especially in Olympiodorus of Thebes and Orosius, this role is instead occupied by Gerontius. This suggests that Zosimus may preserve a corrupt or confused reading, although no manuscript evidence supports emendation.” --Geoffrey F (talk) 17:18, 14 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

That reads fine. So long as you can cite it all to a modern RS or RSs. That said, if Zosimus is in a minority of one in mentioning "Terentius" at all in the article may breech WP:UNDUE. (Personally I dislike mentioning something in an article and then going on to tell the reader that it isn't so, or most likely isn't.) Gog the Mild (talk) 17:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
You are right. I will clarify it further in the article about Terentius.--Geoffrey F (talk) 18:07, 14 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

FAC

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Hi, did you get my DM? LittleJerry (talk) 00:44, 16 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The Bugle: Issue 240, April 2026

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Full front page of The Bugle
Your Military History Newsletter

The Bugle is published by the Military history WikiProject. To receive it on your talk page, please join the project or sign up here.
If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Nick-D (talk) 12:51, 17 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Just a reminder of the above article for 6 June 2026. I put the lede's text in place of a blur for you to prune away. Wehwalt (talk) 21:12, 20 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Wehwalt, done. Obviously feel free to correct, copy edit or change anything you want to. Gog the Mild (talk) 19:06, 23 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 21 April 2026

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May 2026 Administrator Elections – Schedule

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MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 19:04, 22 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Hurricane Camille

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I'm not sure what the etiquette is about replying directly on the coordination page, so I'll just note here that my equivocation with Hurricane Camille was basically a recognition that my main objection, i.e. a general distaste for storm articles in general is clearly not within the bounds of WP:FACR so it seemed unfair to impose that in a review. I don't know if that helps you or not, but I did want to clarify what I meant. RoySmith (talk) 21:15, 24 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Roy. I had read it as such, hence my inclination to promote. But I wasn't sure - as I incline to your position and suspected I may be reading into your equivocation what I wanted to see there - hence my canvassing for opinions. I am reassured, but having asked for the views of @FAC coordinators: feel that I need to give it a day or two for them to comment before coming back to the nomination. Gog the Mild (talk) 21:58, 24 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
[Copied from FACC] I probably have a conflict of interest here, when you consider that I am a hurricane editor, the GA reviewer and Hink's friend, but you were on the verge of promoting it 19 days ago and since then it has had another garnered another support from Steelkamp (talk · contribs). As a result, I am a bit confused as to why you are still loathed to promote it.Jason Rees (talk) 22:39, 24 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Hi Jason, copied to here to avoid cluttering up FACC with a side discussion. I started that FACC thread with "I was on the verge of closing this with a promotion when it attracted a criterion 1c oppose." A formal oppose which still stands. So any decision to promote will be overriding this. A coordinator can override an oppose, but does so with trepidation. Roy ended with "... not venture either a support or oppose opinion". This explicit disinclination to contradict Esculenta could be seen as negatively impacting the nomination, at best it does nothing to move things towards a consensus to promote. Going through everything in the light of this and Steelkamp's support I felt that there was "just" enough support (I don't mean by just nose counting the four formal supports) to promote over the formal oppose, but wanted to canvass my fellow coordinators. Roy's clarification of his comments - at the start of this thread - nudged me a little further towards the promote option.
In short, the difference between 19 days ago (now 20) and now is the formal oppose, which is not overridden simply by adding a further support. Does this help? Cheers. Gog the Mild (talk) 21:20, 25 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for being open to questioning and answering my question despite my conflict of interests. Talking of the oppose, I know that @MCRPY22: didnt like Esculenta (talk · contribs) initial comments/oppose and throught that it was AI generated, while Hink tried to assume good faith. As a result, I decided to run it through GPTZero which came back as 95% confident that it was AI generated, which is fine but is against Wikipedias rules on AI, which I believe only allow you to use AI for reviewing your own work.Jason Rees (talk) 00:31, 26 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for that. I think that I have already - in broad terms - addressed your additional comments, above and at FACC. But if you would like to take them further, them the review page of the nomination at FAC is probably the best place to do so. Gog the Mild (talk) 11:56, 26 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I think you forgot to properly action this after promoting it (i.e. add to FAs list, logs etc.). Since the nominator is a first-timer, I had requested for spot-checks here. FrB.TG (talk) 16:09, 25 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

It looks as it was some sort of random promote edit. I have no idea what I thought I was doing. I have removed the template and added an apology and an explanatory note. Hopefully no long-term harm has been done. Many, many thanks for picking this up and notifying me. Gog the Mild (talk) 20:37, 25 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Gog the Mild, have you seen my latest article about the cousins of Honorius? It took me a lot of work to make it, because the sources are summary [https://archive.org/details/plre-ii/page/508/mode/2up?q=Didymus ], and it was also lot of research work to find out what others wrote about it. Maby you can give some feed-back on it. Greetings Geoffrey F (talk) 09:34, 26 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

May 2026 Administrator Election – Call for Candidates

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The administrator elections process has officially started! Interested editors are encouraged to self-nominate or arrange to be nominated by reviewing the instructions at Wikipedia:Administrator elections/May 2026/Candidates.

Here is the schedule:

  • April 29 – May 5: Call for candidates
  • May 8–12: Discussion phase
  • May 13–19: SecurePoll voting phase

Please note the following:

  • The requirements to run are identical to RFA—a prospective candidate must be extended confirmed.
  • Prospective candidates are advised to become familiar with the community's expectations of administrators, which are much higher than the minimum requirement of having extended confirmed status. This includes reviewing successful and unsuccessful RFAs, reading the essay Wikipedia:Advice for admin elections candidates, and possibly requesting an optional poll on their chances of passing.
  • The process will have a seven day call for candidates phase, a two day pause, a five day discussion phase, and a seven day private vote using SecurePoll. Discussion and questions are only allowed on the candidate pages during the discussion phase.
  • The outcome of this process is identical to making a request for adminship. There is no official difference between an administrator appointed through RFA versus administrator elections.
  • Administrator elections are also a valid means of regaining adminship for de-sysopped editors.

Ask any questions about the process at the talk page. Later, a user talk message will be sent to official candidates with additional information about the process.

If you are interested in the process, please make sure to watchlist the appropriate pages. A watchlist notice will be added when the discussion phase opens, and again when the voting phase opens.

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MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:31, 29 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

April FAC stats ready to edit

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Hi, Gog, the April FAC stats are ready for you to edit. Thanks. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 13:08, 3 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

May 2026 Administrator Elections – Discussion Phase

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The discussion phase of the May 2026 administrator elections is officially open. As a reminder, the schedule of the election is:

  • May 8–12: Discussion phase (we are here)
  • May 13–19: SecurePoll voting phase
  • Scrutineering phase

We are currently in the discussion phase. The candidate subpages are open to questions and comments from everyone, in the same style as a request for adminship. You may discuss the candidates at Wikipedia:Administrator elections/May 2026/Discussion phase.

On 13 May, we will start the voting phase. The candidate subpages will close to public questions and discussion, and everyone will have a week to use the SecurePoll software to vote, which uses a secret ballot. You can see who voted, but not who they voted for.

Any questions or issues can be asked on the election talk page. Thank you for your participation. Happy electing.

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-- MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 06:22, 8 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

TFA (2)

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story · music · places

Thank you today for First Treaty of London, introduced: "It is 1359, the Hundred Years' War has been running for 22 years. Things have gone from bad to worse for the French, culminating in the French king being captured at the Battle of Poitiers, where most of the nobility of France were also either killed or captured. Yes, an opportunity to quantify a "king's ransom", and to find out just how badly the French want peace. Signed, or, strictly, sealed, in May, the name of the war is a give away that it came unstuck somewhere. Read on. Another in my occasional series of truces and treaties"! - Die Stechardin made it to the main page, - the historic woman was a flower seller ... -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:37, 8 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

May 2026 Administrator Elections – Voting Phase

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The voting phase of the May 2026 administrator elections has started and will continue until 19 May 2026 at 23:59 UTC. You can participate in the voting phase at Wikipedia:Administrator elections/May 2026/Voting phase.

As a reminder, the schedule of the election is:

  • May 13–19: SecurePoll voting phase (we are here)
  • Scrutineering phase

In the voting phase, the candidate subpages close to public questions and discussion, and everyone who qualifies to vote has a week to use the SecurePoll software to vote, which uses a secret ballot. You can see who voted, but not who they voted for. Please note that the vote totals cannot be made public until after voting has ended and as such, it will not be possible for you to see an individual candidate's vote total during the election. The suffrage requirements are similar to those at RFA.

Once voting concludes, we will begin the scrutineering phase, which will last for a few days, perhaps longer. Once everything is certified, the results will be posted on the results page (this is a good page to watchlist), and transcluded to the main election page. In order to be granted adminship, a non-recall candidate must have received at least 70.0% support, calculated as Support / (Support + Oppose), and a minimum of 20 support votes. Recall candidates must achieve 55.0% support. Because this is a vote and not a consensus, there are no bureaucrat discussions ("crat chats").

Any questions or issues can be asked on the election talk page. Thank you for your participation. Happy electing.

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MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:10, 13 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The Bugle: Issue 241, May 2026

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The Bugle is published by the Military history WikiProject. To receive it on your talk page, please join the project or sign up here.
If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Nick-D (talk) 02:56, 20 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

You may be eligible to vote in the U4C election

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I am contacting you because you previously voted in elections related to the Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee (U4C). You may be eligible to vote in the current U4C election, which is open now and closes on 2 June 2026. You can find out more about the candidates and the election on the election page on Meta, and from there you can access the vote itself. Your participation in these elections is important to the governance of Wikimedia communities, and your time spent learning about the candidates and voting is appreciated.

-- In cooperation with the U4C, Keegan (WMF) (talk)

Keegan (WMF) (talk) 16:35, 20 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 22 May 2026

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  • Recent research: WikiLambda the Ultimate
    Does Abstract Wikipedia help fight "One ring to rule them all" solutions for knowledge access - or does it implement one itself?
  • Gallery: Earth Day and Mother's Day
    Earth Day was on 22 April, and Mother's Day was on 10 May (in the US and many other countries).

June 2026 GAN Backlog Drive

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Good article nominations | June 2026 Backlog Drive
June 2026 Backlog Drive:

Do you want to become more experienced in the GA process?

  • On 1 June, a one-month backlog drive for good article nominations will begin.
  • Barnstars will be awarded based on the number of articles reviewed.
  • Mentors are available, and new reviewers (<6 reviews) get bonus points!

Interested in taking part? You can sign up here.

Other ways to participate:
You're receiving this message because you have participated in a good article review this year or participated in the previous backlog drive.

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:58, 25 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Featured Article Candidate prep guidance (comments, review)

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Hi Gog the Mild, I am working on the Stjepan Vukčić Kosača article and trying to get it ready for a Featured Article Candidate (FAC) review. Since you are a FAC coordinator and have a great track record with medieval history, I think your background fits this topic perfectly and your guidance would be invaluable during the polishing process. I previously had some FAC mentorship on the article's talk page with Peacemaker67 (before that there was a successful "peer review" from May 16, 2024), but we had to stop a while ago and haven't picked it up since. We covered the early sections, but the rest of the text still needs a review. If you're up for it, I would be very grateful if you could spare some time, when available, to guide me and help me prep the article for FA candidacy. You can see the article and the previous mentorship comments at Talk:Stjepan Vukčić Kosača#FAC mentorship comments. (Also, an earlier Peer-Review is here. I tried to get AirshipJungleman29 for this FAC but they were unable to accept at this time, but they left me some advice and few suggestions at Airship TP FAC prep guidance. All this may interest you if you accept.) Please let me know if you're interested and/or available, or please let me know even if you are not, so I can look for other options. Thanks! All the best, ౪ Santa ౪99° 01:03, 27 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Hamilcar's defeat of Spendius and Autaritus scheduled at TFA

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This is to let you know that Hamilcar's defeat of Spendius and Autaritus has been scheduled as today's featured article for 18 July 2026. Please check that the article needs no amendments. Feel free to amend the draft blurb, which can be found at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 2026, or to make comments on other matters concerning the scheduling of this article at Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/July 2026. Please keep an eye on that page, as notifications of copy edits to or queries about the draft blurb may be posted there. I also suggest that you watchlist Wikipedia:Main Page/Errors from two days before it appears on the Main Page. Thanks, and congratulations on your work! Z1720 (talk) 01:24, 29 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Books & Bytes – Issue 74

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The Wikipedia Library: Books & Bytes
Issue 74, March–April 2026
  • New partnership: Swissdox
  • User survey results
Read the full newsletter

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of The Wikipedia Library team – 10:34, 2 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

(This message was sent to User:Gog the Mild and is being posted here due to a redirect.)

TFA

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story · music · places

Thank you today for Siege of Hennebont, introduced as a "brief siege of a small town typical of a hundred or a thousand others during the Hundred Years' War. It was notable at the time for the defence being led by a woman, her husband being a prisoner. She even donned armour and rode among the fighting men. The horror! The excitement! She didn't come to the unfortunate end of a later Joan, but she did spend the rest of her life imprisoned as insane. Mostly the article is about the to and fro of armies across Brittany with the occasional short, sharp clash of armed men." -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 06:18, 6 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

In appreciation

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The Barnstar of Diligence
Noticed you've been inactive for a while; hope all is alright. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 10:42, 10 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

A note for you.

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I have returned to the FAC space only this past week after the conclusion of my examinations. It was then that I realised you had been suffering from ill health. I hope you get well soon. Meanwhile, I will keep the Welcome to FAC messages flowing for newcomers. I still remember your detailed response to my request for FAC advice earlier this year. Best, MSincccc (talk) 16:06, 11 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for that MSincccc. I hope that your examinations went well. Gog the Mild (talk) 16:45, 11 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Guild of Copy Editors – June 2026 Newsletter

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Guild of Copy Editors June 2026 Newsletter

Hello and welcome to the June 2026 newsletter, a quarterly-ish digest of Guild activities since April.

Election news: Nominations for the mid-year coordinator election ends at 23:59 on 15 June. Voting will last from 00:00 on 16 June to 23:59 on 30 June. Results will be announced on the election page.

April Blitz: 18 of the 21 editors who signed up for the April 2026 Copy Editing Blitz copy edited 122,993 words in 56 articles. Barnstars awarded are here.

May Drive: 34 of the 66 editors who signed up for the May 2026 Backlog Elimination Drive copy edited 543,972 words in 211 articles. Barnstars awarded are here.

June Blitz: Our June 2026 Copy Editing Blitz will start on 14 June and finish on 30 June. Barnstars awarded will be posted here.

Progress report: As of 22:40, 11 June 2025 (UTC), GOCE copyeditors have completed 132 requests since 1 January, and the backlog stands at 1,691 articles.

Thank you all again for your participation; we wouldn't be able to achieve what we have without you! Cheers from your GOCE coordinators.

To discontinue receiving GOCE newsletters, please remove your name from our mailing list.

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:57, 11 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]