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dyk

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Hey, Epicgenius! So here's the thing about dyk: if you haven't created preps, you have no idea what prep-setters and admins at dyk do or what challenges they face. Many editors who are regular nominators and reviewers think they'd be willing to admin, but have never filled preps, and when they become admins and start moving preps to queues, they quickly realize they didn't know what they were volunteering for. A prep-setter doesn't just create a balanced set. They also do a quick re-review on many of the hooks; you get to know whose hooks you don't have to review too heavily, but you always have to at least go check for a recent edit war or tags. If the nominator or the reviewer are new or known to be sloppy, you'll have to do a full re-review of that hook. Often prep-setters have questions they have to ask at the hook, and they deal with pushback from noms/reviewers/passersby for that. Then once you've finished a prep you have to deal with fallout at DYK talk and ERRORS. Admins do the exact same thing -- a re-review, because prep-setters miss things too, then the move (fairly simple), posting questions at DYK talk and pinging involved parties, dealing with pushback from them, and finally any fallout at ERRORS when someone finds an error you missed. So if you think you would be willing to admin at dyk, definitely go fill preps for a while to see if you like it or not. Some people love it -- I did, and I like adminning there -- but not everyone is cut out for it. It's a high-visibility job. People catch your mistakes, and the only way to prevent that is to catch other people's mistakes first. —valereee (talk) 15:20, 5 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Valereee, thanks for the advice. That is good to know. I think this sort of stuff should be enjoyable for me, even if a bit difficult. I just read the project page on prep areas, and it seems a bit difficult to get a good balance on hooks. epicgenius (talk) 15:23, 5 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

That's one of the most fun parts of setting preps. The thing to do for your first prep is pick the bottom empty set (which right now gives you three days to fill it but normally six days.) Count to figure out whether the image hook needs a bio or a non-bio (it alternates by day). Go find one, vet it, and transfer it. That'll let the other prep setters know you'll fill that set. Not that they or an admin won't move stuff in and out if they need it or think another set is better for that hook, but in general one prep-setter works on a set. Then start putting the puzzle together -- no more than four bios (alternating in the set with non-bio), no more than one music/science/military/whatever subject. Not too many from any one country, though 2 - 4 USA hooks will be necessary. A balance of geographical area, not all from English-speaking countries. A balance of long and short. And of course a quirky. It's an art. Don't be afraid to trim or tweak hooks, but read the nom first if you do, as there may have already been discussion. Keep on top of talk in case someone asks a question about one of the hooks in that set, because some people won't realize they need to ping you as the promoter. :) Ping me any time, and Yoninah will often leave pointers on how to improve at your talk. When she stops, you know you're getting near the point of competence. :) —valereee (talk) 15:47, 5 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Happy Holidays

Peace is a state of balance and understanding in yourself and between others, where respect is gained by the acceptance of differences, tolerance persists, conflicts are resolved through dialog, people's rights are respected and their voices are heard, and everyone is at their highest point of serenity without social tension. Happy Holidays to you and yours. ―Buster7 ☎

Subway articles

Once again, very impressive work on very important station complex and line articles. There is more to be added about the change in BMT plans re:Canal Street. Eventually, Clark Street Tunnel should be its own article. Also, the citations for IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line are really messed up and include self-published sources like nycsubway.org, and there is more history that could be added. A lot of my older GA nominations should be looked at again for things like this. Also, for Union Square, it is worth mentioning the impromptu 9/11 memorial, and the post-2016 election post-it notes (https://mashable.com/article/power-of-post-it-note-protest-subway-therapy, https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/post-it-notes-left-union-square-election-preserved-article-1.2913344, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/12/19/post-election-subway-therapy-sticky-notes-taken-down-but-not-thrown-out/, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/nyregion/subway-election-therapy-wall-sticky-notes.html). Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 14:25, 2 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Kew Gardens 613, the pleasure is mine. I do agree that the Clark Street Tunnel should get its own page in the future. I've also noticed that there's a lot more that can be said about the Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line, especially its construction, and will have to work on it gradually. The biggest mess, though, is the Canal Street article - there are a lot of details about the BMT station that are just not mentioned at the moment, and the article in general needs more refs.

As for the Union Square station, the article already mentions both the 9/11 memorial and the post-it wall (the second paragraph of 14th Street–Union Square station#Artwork). I thought one paragraph would be sufficient, seeing as how the artwork was not sanctioned by the MTA but seems to be covered by multiple reliable sources. – Epicgenius (talk) 14:38, 2 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I fully agree. I missed it somehow. Don't forget the Stantec studies, like the one that found making Clark Street accessible was infeasible, and which provides some sourcing for station layout (i.e. platform length/width). Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 15:17, 2 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It also is probably worth mentioning the 1990 fire in the Clark Street article. Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 15:30, 2 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I agree and can get around to that soon. In the meantime, I was looking at the study for Union Square, which says: This technology does not meet ADA standards, and since there is currently no technology that does, there is no fully accessible solution for the southbound platform. We are including an option for providing elevator service to this platform in this report with the understanding that this will not provide a fully accessible solution at this time. So I suppose this means the southbound platform can get an elevator, it just won't be ADA-accessible because gap fillers, by their very nature, are ADA-inaccessible. – Epicgenius (talk) 15:47, 2 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah. Also, unrelated, but the 1990 Clark Street Tunnel fire was very notable, and there were major reports done on fire safety/communication, etc. in its aftermath. It would warrant an article of its own. Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 16:06, 2 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I also think the 1990 Clark Street fire should get its own article. (I think the fire happened just east of the Clark Street station, though, not in the tunnel under the river.) In terms of recent NYC Subway disasters, the fire has had at least as much of an impact as the 1991 Union Square derailment or the 1995 Williamsburg Bridge subway collision did. – Epicgenius (talk) 17:11, 2 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Also-the provisions in the Eastern Parkway Line used for the Clark Street Tunnel connection were initially intended for a line over the Manhattan Bridge. Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 14:27, 5 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

That is interesting. If we can find a reliable source for this, I could add it to the Borough Hall or Eastern Parkway Line articles. – Epicgenius (talk) 14:35, 5 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I have seen reliable sources for this-if you cannot find them, I can look for them after I get my final paper for the semester done today. Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 14:49, 5 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I started a draft Clark Street Tunnel article here: User:Kew Gardens 613/sandbox 7#Clark Street Tunnel. Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 14:41, 7 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Have you seen this article before? Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 16:53, 10 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Kew Gardens 613, I have, but thanks for clipping it. The first part of that source seems to largely duplicate the New York Herald Tribune ref that's already in the Fulton Street station article. But it has some info that isn't mentioned in the NYHT source, specifically the 535-foot length of the station. The second part of the source could be used for the Broad Street station article though. – Epicgenius (talk) 17:00, 10 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Outstanding work on the article. We really shouldn't be using The Station Reporter as a source. Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 18:44, 10 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

There is stuff to be added about flooding/water intrusion problems at Canal. Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 17:52, 16 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

There was a report put out. I found two articles I had clipped (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times/98305321/, https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union/99774843/) Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 17:57, 16 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. I've noticed quite a bit of info about how Canal Street's proximity to the old Collect Pond contributed to tons of water problems there. I can add these sources in later. – Epicgenius (talk) 18:04, 16 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It was a paper, not a report. I haven't found it online. Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 18:14, 16 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I found it. Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 18:18, 16 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

This journal is a great source for construction details. I found one article with details on underpinning and other aspects of subway construction from 1919, one on sewer siphons, SI transportation, and Columbus Circle construction Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 18:40, 16 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

That's very interesting. I might have to look through this journal to, um, shore up some architectural articles as well. That Canal Street article was really detailed, and I expect the others will be no different. – Epicgenius (talk) 18:46, 16 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Also one on train dispatching, the Manhattan Bridge Plaza, and the ENY tunnel Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 18:57, 16 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry for spamming here, but also Joralemon, and here, excavation, the Atlantic Av improvement, and Brighton Line improvements Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 19:08, 16 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

No problem. I will just add all these links to a subsection of User:Epicgenius/sandbox/to do, where we can both track it easily. – Epicgenius (talk) 21:59, 16 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Signaling, car design, and ventilation, and IRT track design as well Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 18:47, 16 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

There is this thorough masterpiece on Dual Contracts construction. Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 19:15, 16 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Bumping thread for 30 days. Epicgenius (talk) 22:32, 27 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Bumping thread for 60 days. Epicgenius (talk) 16:30, 6 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Bumping thread for 360 days. Epicgenius (talk) 17:03, 11 September 2023 (UTC) – Epicgenius (talk) 17:03, 11 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Kew Gardens 613, by the way, we might want to flesh out User:Epicgenius/sandbox/article-draft1, my sandbox on the Manhattan Bridge subway closure. I'm planning to bring the Manhattan Bridge article to GA, which will probably require condensing the Manhattan Bridge#Trackage history section, and the closures are a notable topic that I've been meaning to finish writing about for a while. – Epicgenius (talk) 23:12, 12 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Epicgenius I have been very busy, but, when I have a chance, will try to get back to this. Amazing work on all the bridge articles. Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 13:17, 26 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The 2025-2029 Capital Program recently came out. Some articles may need to be updated to reflect this. – Epicgenius (talk) 13:42, 19 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Updating the complex articles (since they are all extremely short)

1 World Trade Center

Needs history section
Needs design section, which I will write shortly
Needs destruction section
"List of tenants" may need to be split to a separate article due to length
"92nd Floor" section needs removed and incorporated into above "Destruction" section

2 World Trade Center

Needs history section
Needs design section
Needs destruction section
Potentially needs rewrite, after reading it I spotted a few errors

3 World Trade Center

Actually has a history section, but needs expanded
Rewrite Destruction section
May need a "design" section

4 World Trade Center

Has history and destruction sections
Both need expanded
More images needed

5 World Trade Center

Half of the article is about 9/11, meaning half of the article is about 1 day when the structure existed for 31 years
Needs a design section
Either the gallery section needs removed or expanded to comply with MOS, it's currently just 3 images chilling around

6 World Trade Center

7 World Trade Center

Needs architecture section
Needs more history pre-2001
The destruction section may need to be summarized per WP:SUMSTYLE

I added the above subheaders just in case we need a list of things to do. :) Sir MemeGod :D (talk - contribs - created articles) 16:36, 6 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Sir MemeGod: Thanks for starting this section. I might move this to User:Epicgenius/sandbox/to do when we're done figuring out what to do (since idk where else to put it). Epicgenius (talk) 16:41, 6 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

By the way, Construction of the World Trade Center has some info about the Twin Towers' structural design, so we can copy some of the relevant info into these articles. – Epicgenius (talk) 16:46, 6 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

DYK for Joseph Raphael De Lamar House

On 29 March 2025, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Joseph Raphael De Lamar House, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the exterior of the De Lamar Mansion (pictured) was cleaned using toothbrushes during the 2000s? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Joseph Raphael De Lamar House. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Joseph Raphael De Lamar House), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

1=Laun chba ller 00:02, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

DYK for Raymond C. and Mildred Kramer House

On 29 March 2025, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Raymond C. and Mildred Kramer House, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the Raymond C. and Mildred Kramer House was one of fewer than half a dozen houses built in Manhattan during 1934? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Raymond C. and Mildred Kramer House. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Raymond C. and Mildred Kramer House), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

1=Laun chba ller 00:03, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Competition question

Hi Epicgenius. I'm trying to start up my own WikiCup-like contest for June/July, where the focus would be on poor-quality sports articles; see User:BeanieFan11/Sports Cleanup Contest format. One of the main problems I've run into is how to keep track of points, given that it appears the competition, if held, would receive a large participation and many submissions. As you're the WikiCup judge, I was wondering if you would know whether having a bot such as LivingBot keep track of the points for my contest would be plausible -- the contest's drafted scoring system is here. I'd appreciate your thoughts. Thanks, BeanieFan11 (talk) 22:06, 29 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@BeanieFan11, thanks for the message. For your contest, yeah, I think it would be a great idea to have a bot keep track of submissions. You could reach out to LivingBot's maintainer, @Jarry1250, to see if he'd be interested in having the bot run for your competition as well. – Epicgenius (talk) 00:30, 30 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

745 Seventh Avenue Expansion

Hi Epicgenius! I noticed you've started editing the 745 Seventh Avenue article that I drafted. I was originally intending on finishing the article and putting it in for a GA review (often taking inspiration from the way you write your GAs on skyscrapers), but I've become quite busy irl for the time being. As for the article's future expansion, I have some sources you might find helpful if you want to expand the "Design" section:

[1] This source is already cited in the "History" section but also includes some discussion of the screen display at the building's base (which will certainly warrant its own subsection).
The Stern book and Privately Owned Public Space book also include some discussion of the building's design
[2] This article discusses some modifications Barclays made to the building's crown
[3] This is a primary source but it gives good coverage on the updated screen display that replaced the old one in 2019.
[4] I was intending on using this source to expand the construction section, but it also gives some decent information on the building's design.

As for information I haven't been able to find, I've struggled to find extensive architectural critiques on the building. I also haven't been able to find an article actually confirming that Barclays modified the building's crown in 2010. The one I included above only discusses the plans to do so. I also found this article about a zoning dispute during the building's construction but couldn't find anything about the outcome of dispute.

I was also wondering how you think the two sections should be divided. I was confused as to whether to include changes that Barclays made to the building's design (like the new screen or modified crown) in the "History" section, or if they should be mentioned in the "Design" section.

Either way, thanks for helping with the article! I'll be around making additions and will become more active when I have time. RyanAl6 (talk) 02:36, 31 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@RyanAl6, thanks for the sources and commentary, I appreciate it. I'm flattered that you've been using my GAs as inspiration. I've had this on my radar since 2022 but never got around to it, so thanks for writing the article.

As for the changes that Barclays made to the building's design, I would say that we could describe them briefly in the History section, but the details of the modifications should go in the Design section. – Epicgenius (talk) 02:37, 31 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Page moves

You've done some edits to the Cedar Point article. Can you offer an opinion on these page moves:

Thanks.—JlACEer (talk) 00:58, 1 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@JlACEer, sure, I can take a look at Cedar Downs. Thanks for letting me know. (I already commented on the other two.) – Epicgenius (talk) 01:11, 1 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Delancey Street improvement

Greetings EG. Excellent job on resolving the problem that led to an impetuous clarification needed on the Kenmare Street section. Somehow I'd tumbled down there (weeding out junk that didn't belong in the article) and (evidently blinded by abatis in the lead) missed any mention of Kenmare Street. Thus when I got to that section and it gave no indication of even why it was in the article I laid on a template and kept going, figuring somebody who knew NYC (like you do) could do a better job of sorting out the what and why than trying to untangle things from far, far away on a smartphone.

Sure, I should have read the article again from the top. My bad. But you nailed it, and solved a glaring problem through the completely snark-free addition of just six words. Great job, as usual. 2601:196:180:DC0:416B:7E47:7466:8CC6 (talk) 20:00, 1 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, I appreciate it. It happens to the best of us, and I initially missed the mention of Kenmare Street in the lead as well. Thanks for bringing this issue up as well - while a cleanup template may look visually jarring to some people, you raised a good point that Kenmare Street isn't mentioned outside the lead, which it should have been, anyway.

Ironically, I was trying to sort out this mess using a smartphone. (The {{clarification needed span}} template is kind of hard to edit on mobile, so I was trying to edit the old revision of the page. However, the advanced mobile editing interface doesn't allow old versions to be edited, which forced me to use Twinkle to restore the old version first.) – Epicgenius (talk) 23:20, 1 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You're welcome. I don't know if they've made a recent change or not - it seems to me they have - but for the first time I am aware that in fact one can edit entire pages at once on a smartphone. Previously, only the copy of the lead paragraph was available if one wanted to do any "whole page" (or at least multiple sections) edit to a previous version. Which forced me (anyway) to toggle to Desktop View (on a bloody smartphone) to handle such edits, not at all infrequent when well-meaning but overzealous new changes reviewers lay on a multiple "mass" revert. Now if one selects the previous version (in Wiki editing mode) the whole page is available. Still a challenge to manipulate on a smartphone, but potentially much easier than having to scroll and cursor around as if using a magnifying glass attempting to edit in Desktop Mode on a smartphone. Which also (finally) will make relocating content from section to section on a smartphone possible, where previously one was forced to do so in separate sequential "relocating/relocated" paired edits.

I don't know anything about the technology of reverting/restoring (and thus aware only of the existence Twinkle), but see if you have the same experience choosing a previous version of a page to edit on a smartphone. 2601:196:180:DC0:31A5:B5B3:B90F:46D2 (talk) 13:55, 2 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, I also remember that the regular mobile editing interface didn't allow you to edit entire pages. Not sure if that's still the case, but this is why I've been using advanced mobile editing (which unfortunately is only available to logged in users). It truly is inconvenient to have to make multiple edits just to move things around.

I also tried editing on the iPhone app at one point, but its functionality is even worse because it's intended for readers, not editors. With the iOS app, there is no way to do stuff like edit talk pages unless you're leaving a comment—which is just one of the many reasons I switched back to mobile editing in the browser. Epicgenius (talk) 15:14, 2 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Aha. That's why there's no "advanced mobile editing" on my phone. Well, at least it appears one can edit entire pages on one now (and not have to revert to Desktop Mode to do so). All best. 2601:196:180:DC0:3035:37BF:E425:E05F (talk) 20:07, 2 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Merchant's House Museum scheduled for TFA

This is to let you know that the above article has been scheduled as today's featured article for 15 May 2025. 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/May 2025, or to make comments on other matters concerning the scheduling of this article at Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/May 2025. Please keep an eye on that page, as notifications of copy edits to or queries about the draft blurb may be left there by user:JennyOz, who assists the coordinators by reviewing the blurbs, or by others. 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! Gog the Mild (talk) 16:25, 2 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Your GA nomination of Joseph Raphael De Lamar House

The article Joseph Raphael De Lamar House you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Joseph Raphael De Lamar House for comments about the article, and Talk:Joseph Raphael De Lamar House/GA1 for the nomination. Well done! If the article is eligible to appear in the "Did you know" section of the Main Page, you can nominate it within the next seven days. Message delivered by ChristieBot, on behalf of Vacant0 -- Vacant0 (talk) 17:44, 2 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Howard Milstein

Hi Epicgenius, I'm working to make additions to the Howard Milstein article. Milstein is the Head of Emigrant Bank, as well as a real estate developer in New York City. Since you've contributed to the Emigrant Bank page in the past and you seem interested in articles related to NYC, I hope you'll be interested in the edit request I posted here: Talk:Howard_Milstein#Additions_to_page. Thank you, SmilingForest (talk) 17:45, 2 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, and thanks for reaching out. Sorry to disappoint you, but unfortunately, I do not review COI requests anymore. – Epicgenius (talk) 23:11, 2 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Your GA nomination of Taliesin West

The article Taliesin West you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Taliesin West for comments about the article, and Talk:Taliesin West/GA1 for the nomination. Well done! If the article is eligible to appear in the "Did you know" section of the Main Page, you can nominate it within the next seven days. Message delivered by ChristieBot, on behalf of Rollinginhisgrave -- Rollinginhisgrave (talk) 01:05, 3 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Congratulations! That's a place I've seen, long ago. - My story today is about an opera singer born OTD in 1870. I have problems to say something as informative about Mirella Freni, as the DYK nom shows. -Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:55, 3 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The Freni hook was improved while I wrote this ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:19, 3 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]