Talk:USA PATRIOT Act, Title I

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USA PATRIOT Act, Title I was a good article nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. There are suggestions below for improving the article. Once these are addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake. Reviewed version: July 19, 2006

USA PATRIOT Act, Title I has had a peer review by Wikipedia editors which is now archived. It may contain ideas you can use to improve this article.

This article was nominated for deletion on 18 April 2007. The result of the discussion was keep.

[edit] Assessment againt GA criteria

1. It is well written. In this respect:

(a) it has compelling prose, and is readily comprehensible to non-specialist readers;

Wouldn't exactly say compelling, but it is clear enough. Couple of awkward points:

"and are equally as entitled to full civil rights" would read better as "and are as entitled to full civil rights".

"Expansion of National Electronic Crime Task Force initiative" Section presumably refers to section 105 and should state as such, as do the other paragraphs.

(b) it follows a logical structure, introducing the topic and then grouping together its coverage of related aspects; where appropriate, it contains a succinct lead section summarising the topic, and the remaining text is organised into a system of hierarchical sections (particularly for longer articles);

Fine. The structure is, I guess, based on the Title itself but again, is logical.

(c) it follows the Wikipedia Manual of Style;

Generally fine, but:

New-Yorker links to a disambiguation page - please direct it to the appropriate page

FBI should be spelled out at the first appearance

(d) necessary technical terms or jargon are briefly explained in the article itself, or an active link is provided.

I think you need a little background in the article on what the title actually is - what does it mean? What is an Act, a title, a bill. Only extremently briefly of course, but the article jumps straight into what the contents are. I assume that it is something like 'The Title is part of an Act, which amends the constitution (?) of the United States, thus changing aspects of the Law and other aspects of how the State operates'. That's rubbish wording, but you see what I mean? Action needed

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable. In this respect:

(a) it provides references to any and all sources used for its material;

Only one reference provided, to a minor point. I guess most of the material in the article comes from the act itself, so a blanket statement to that effect would cover it, I suppose. Action needed

(b) the citation of its sources is essential, and the use of inline citations is desirable, although not mandatory;

The reference that is provided is not especially clearly cited - what is this link, what am I connecting to? Look at one of the citation standards for the appropriate format. Action needed

(c) sources should be selected in accordance with the guidelines for reliable sources;

Only one source provided, which seems fine for reliability. I guess the links under 'External Links' are also intended as sources, if so they should be listed under references instead. As such they seem fine, although should the original text of the act be taken from the appropriate US Government website for maximum robustness? Action needed

(d) it contains no elements of original research.

Generally fine, but:

First para of section 102 ends by saying that Salman Hamdani is believed to have been killed, where the act only says that he is missing. Sadly I'm sure the article is correct in its statement, but this must either have been derived from another source or be original research. Please cite the source, or stick to what the act says. Action needed

3. It is broad in its coverage, addressing all major aspects of the topic (this requirement is slightly weaker than the "comprehensiveness" required by WP:FAC, and allows shorter articles and broad overviews of large topics to be listed);.

Not sure if this is the right place to cover this, but this article seems to be no more that a brief summary of the Act. For 'broad coverage' I would expect to see something on the expected implications and actual effects of the act in here somewhere, media reaction, that kind of thing. From a cited source, of course! ;-) Action needed

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy. In this respect:

(a) viewpoints are represented fairly and without bias;

(b) all significant points of view are fairly presented, but not asserted, particularly where there are or have been conflicting views on the topic.

Seems neutral, fine. Although as noted above, there is nothing on points of view, so this is perhaps not surprising!

5. It is stable, i.e. it does not change significantly from day to day and is not the subject of ongoing edit wars. This does not apply to vandalism and protection or semi-protection as a result of vandalism, or proposals to split/merge the article content.

No major changes in the last couple of weeks. Fine.

6. It contains images, where possible, to illustrate the topic. In this respect:

(a) the images are tagged and have succinct and descriptive captions;

(b) a lack of images does not in itself prevent an article from achieving Good Article status.

I guess you could include images of 9/11 or of the FBI building or other topics related to the subject, but I'm not sure it would improve the article very much. Fine.

Decision: On that basis, I'm failing it - primarily for lack of properly cited references and of broad coverage of the topic. The other stuff is minor, but should be seen to. I think this is a really good start on an important topic, though, so please don't be disheartened - I hope you can address these issues relatively easily. 4u1e