Finished writing "Animal"; suggestions please

[Joshua Choi]

I've just finished putting together the Animal article, including a couple of subpages. Could someone read through it and give suggestions here? In addition, how long does an article have to ripen before it gets promoted from a rank of two? Thanks in advance for any replies.

[Hayford Peirce]

Well, it's already a "1", a "developed" article.  It can't go any higher than that except by becoming an "Approved" article.  That doesn't mean that it can't be developed further, or be improved, or be edited, or be lengthened, or be shortened. It just means that right now it covers all of the basic ground for that particular topic and is not *obviously* too short. Maybe six other people could polish it, add footnotes, etc. etc. and an Editor in that particular Workgroup could decide that it's worth approving.... Or maybe it's a perfect gem right now and doesn't need a single word changed....

[Chris Day]

Well, it's already a "1", a "developed" article.  It can't go any higher than that except by becoming an "Approved" article. 

When Joshua wrote the above note it was still ranked as a 3. I changed it to a 1 after reading this thread. By the way, anyone can change the status of an article up or down.  The only one that need editorial input is the approved status.

[Hayford Peirce]

Ah. I didn't check to see if it had changed recently....

[Howard C. Berkowitz]

It does seem to be a gem. At a first reading, I'd only suggest reemphasizing, in the section "Impacts on humans", that humans are indeed animals. One of the New York science museums once had an sign directing visitors to an exhibit on the deadliest predator on Earth; they turned a corner and faced a mirror.

(my feline associate reminds me to differentiate between deadliest and dominant. Rhonda is extremely benevolent, but observes the distinction between canine and feline  attitudes toward humans:

• "They love me and take care of my every whim. They must be gods."
• "They love me and take care of my every whim. I must be god."

Seriously, I'd urge thinking in terms of moving this to Version 1.0, and then concentrate on filling in redlinks rather than polishing too far.

[Joshua Choi]

I've taken Mr. Berkowitz's suggestions and beefed up the "Animals in ecosystems" and "Impacts and humans" sections a little more. For instance, I talked about how humans, as a species of animal, have altered much of life by redistributing and transforming substances across many ecosystems.

For now, I'm going to move on to the "Plant (organism)" article, but I'd like to see Animal moved as quickly as possible to approved status, since I feel like this article is my baby. Are there any more suggestions that you all have? What can I do to facilitate speedily approving it?

[Hayford Peirce]

Since it's already a "developed" article (status 1), only Approval is higher. Why don't you contact the Approvals Manager, User:Joe Quick, either on his talk page or by email and see what he can do to find an Editor. Once an Editor, or Editors, has approved it, then they can begin the formal process that leads to Approval.

PS -- I just looked at the list of Biology Editors and there's a whole ton of them, of whom at least four are very active at this time -- it shouldn't be hard to get at least one of them interested in this.

[Joe Quick]

Since it's already a "developed" article (status 1), only Approval is higher. Why don't you contact the Approvals Manager, User:Joe Quick, either on his talk page or by email and see what he can do to find an Editor. Once an Editor, or Editors, has approved it, then they can begin the formal process that leads to Approval.

PS -- I just looked at the list of Biology Editors and there's a whole ton of them, of whom at least four are very active at this time -- it shouldn't be hard to get at least one of them interested in this.

I've been meaning to start the process myself but have had two very busy work weeks in a row (Saturday through Tuesday for me).  I'll give it more attention on Wednesday or Thursday, but anyone and everyone should feel free to contact editors directly and initiate the process without me.

[Joshua Choi]

Thanks for the friendly help, everyone. Since I'm new, I'm happy to learn how this procedure works.

Looking at the biology editors page, I can't tell who's active and who's not—I only know that Dalton H. Baptista is active, so I'll contact him, but I don't know who else to contact. But I'd love if you'd later look at it too, Mr. Quick. Again, thanks everyone!

[Joe Quick]

Thanks for the friendly help, everyone. Since I'm new, I'm happy to learn how this procedure works.

Looking at the biology editors page, I can't tell who's active and who's not—I only know that Dalton H. Baptista is active, so I'll contact him, but I don't know who else to contact. But I'd love if you'd later look at it too, Mr. Quick. Again, thanks everyone!

It looks Like you've contacted some likely suspects.  None seem to have replied, however.  I'll give it a couple more days and then try again.

[Joshua Choi]

Well, some have replied on the talk page in the past week...but the talk seems to have died down. I'm not quite sure what happens now. Will it just stay at Rank 4 indefinitely now?

Thanks for the help!

[Hayford Peirce]

It's sorta like what Dr. Freud once asked: "What does Woman want?" or, alternatively, "What does a woman want?"  Who knows...? ("The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind....")

[Hayford Peirce]

More seriously, however, I suppose that if you've rewritten as proposed, or answered their questions, write them some follow-up messages here and there. Don't forget, however, based on my own experience, that weekends tend to be quiet (and maybe Fridays also) as Editors take time off from things....

[Daniel Mietchen]

I plan to start the approval process for "animal" but will do so only after I've finished "orchid" which has been on the list (i.e. CZ:Ready for approval) for quite some time. Please be patient with the project in a time of stretched resources - I think the shortest interval from start of an article to approval here was about a month, as for Leptotes (orchid).

[Joe Quick]

I plan to start the approval process for "animal" but will do so only after I've finished "orchid" which has been on the list (i.e. CZ:Ready for approval) for quite some time. Please be patient with the project in a time of stretched resources - I think the shortest interval from start of an article to approval here was about a month, as for Leptotes (orchid).

The gasoline article (just finalized yesterday) took 20 days.  That was an extraordinary situation, however, with a seasoned contributor as the article's primary author.  Most articles take longer.

Thanks for your work on approvals, Daniel.