Talk:Boston/South Boston

Star nomination

Hello! I have been chipping away at this for awhile, and it feels like I've gotten it to a much better place. I don't know if it's star stuff just yet, I doubt the writing is up to par mainly. (It's kind of why I started contributing, to work on my written communications skills. But then all the other cool things you can to play with here keep distracting me!) Also, not sure about the whole map situation. Is it cool to have only a dynamic map in a star article? Any feedback or pointers (especially on writing) would be very welcome. I'd love to incorporate the feedback as I keep chipping away at these Boston articles. It looks like most haven't been updated in 10 years!

• Is the writing any good? (tips to improve?)
• Are dynamic maps cool, or do we need flat ones for stars?
• Can you star a bare-ass district, or should we wait until all Boston pages are up to snuff?

Thank you! --ButteBag (talk) 02:21, 22 November 2016 (UTC)

Answering your questions in order:

1. Copy-editing a Star nominee is a fine-toothed comb kind of thing, so based on my admittedly less-than-thorough reading of the article just now I can't give you a definite answer of whether it will need to be edited more. I can say that there aren't any major glaring problems that jump out at me. The tone seems right: informal, informative without being too encyclopedic, no misspellings or grammatical mistakes that I could find.
2. We currently don't have any Star articles with dynamic maps, and whether a static map is a requirement of Star status has been a matter of dispute pretty much since we first introduced dynamic maps. It's been a while since the issue has come up (as you can see, Starnom is a lonely place these days), but IIRC a slight majority of our users are in favor of allowing dynamic maps on Star articles, at least in some cases. But the anti-dynamic map minority is large and vocal enough that it really can't be called a consensus per se. I wish I had a better answer for you, but that's the scenario.
3. Finally: yes, it absolutely is possible to Star-ify a district article for a city where not all districts are up to snuff.

-- AndreCarrotflower (talk) 02:42, 23 November 2016 (UTC)

Thank you for the response Andre! For me personally, building static district level maps isn't an interesting problem to solve. Plus it would be odd to have a static and dynamic map of the same content, no? On the other hand, if a printable guide is the primary goal, a flat map seems necessary? Anyways, I'm sure I'm rehashing old arguments at this point, I'm fine leaving this as a guide until map-consensus is reached. I would still be interested in any feedback on how to improve the writing, still think that's the real weak point. Thank you all! --ButteBag (talk) 14:39, 23 November 2016 (UTC)

In addition to printability, static maps have a huge advantage in readability and customization. It's difficult to suggest that an article with only a dynamic map represents our best work, same as if we had an article with auto-generated text. Powers ^(talk) 02:50, 29 November 2016 (UTC)

While I don't want to derail a star nomination to re-litigate the dynamic vs. static map debate, it should be noted that there are a number of editors here who hold the opposite opinion regarding whether a dynamic map is "our best work" - I'm obviously one of them, and would consider removing a dynamic map and replacing it with a static map to be something that would significantly weaken an article and overall make it a far less useful tool for travelers. -- Ryan • (talk) • 03:10, 29 November 2016 (UTC)

Haha, thank you for the feedback! But "dynamic map" === "auto-generated text" is a little bit of a Straw Man for me. Is there another thread where this map discussion is taking place? Happy to post there. Anyway, I'd still love some feedback on how to improve my poor writing abilities if anyone has the time. Thank you in advance! --ButteBag (talk) 14:59, 29 November 2016 (UTC)

I don't think your writing is anywhere near as terrible as you think it is. -- AndreCarrotflower (talk) 15:19, 29 November 2016 (UTC)

@ButteBag: The subject of dynamic vs. static maps is a hotbutton topic that hasn't been re-opened in a long time, but for some of the original (& heated) discussion you can review Wikivoyage talk:Dynamic maps Expedition#Missing images and missing maps, which is probably the most exhaustive debate on the subject of dynamic maps - you'll also find other threads on that talk page that are relevant. You can also review Wikivoyage:Star nominations/Slush pile, in particular Wikivoyage:Star nominations/Slush pile#El Camino Real, for discussions of whether an article with a dynamic map can be a star article. -- Ryan • (talk) • 16:45, 29 November 2016 (UTC)

Thank you for the feedback, and pointers to previous discussions. Looks like I really kicked the hornets nest on this one! --ButteBag (talk) 21:34, 29 November 2016 (UTC)

I should apologize for lumping all dynamic maps together. My complaint is not with dynamic maps per se, just that the current implementation leaves a lot to be desired aesthetically. If a dynamic map can be devised that resolves issues of overlapping labels, excessive detail, crowding, and such, then I'd be happy to support a star nomination for its article. But no one has yet shown me such a map. Powers ^(talk) 21:51, 29 November 2016 (UTC)

Hello! I put my map-thoughts here. I've also added a few missing blurbs to the South Boston article, and some other boat information I just remembered. I think it's pretty complete now, please let me know if there is anything I can improve. Thanks again, everyone! --ButteBag (talk) 00:43, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

• Result: after a couple years with no discussion, it is clear that this nomination is not moving forward. I will consequently move it to the slush pile. If anyone feels like restarting, please do, as I am sure South Boston is a good article. --Comment by Selfie City (talk | contributions) 16:34, 20 July 2019 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

• Boston Convention.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 00:02, 15 July 2022 (UTC)

Disputed own work claims. Looks like we can't have this. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 00:17, 15 July 2022 (UTC)