Talk:Wigwag (flag signals)

Wigwag (flag signals) has been listed as one of the Warfare good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do so. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can reassess it.
Review: April 12, 2020. (Reviewed version).

A fact from Wigwag (flag signals) appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 16 May 2020 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that an officer continued to send wigwag flag signals (example flags pictured) with a bedsheet after the flagman retreated during Pickett's Charge in 1863?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2020/May. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Wigwag (flag signals).

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GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Wigwag (flag signals)/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: HaEr48 (talk · contribs) 11:53, 10 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Will take a look at this. HaEr48 (talk) 11:53, 10 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Very well-written article, and broad enough in terms of technical explanation as well as history. No copyvio or neutrality issue found. Appropriately referenced. Images have valid copyright tags (except for one mentioned below). Other than that, I also have some small feedback for improvement of this article:

"There is no indication in the manual that these codes were actually in use": Is there a secondary source for this? As it stands, it might be a little WP:SYNTH because it implies something unusual/notable about this lack of indication. Are manuals always supposed to have such indications?
- Well it is strictly a statement of fact, and in the case of the four-element code Myer explicitly notes that it was in use, which he doesn't for any of the other variants. There are a great many codes and systems in Myer's manual, but it is hard to distinguish which were actually used. He freely mixes descriptions of historical systems, systems in use, and suggested systems that might come in handy one day, without any clear distinction between them. Further evidence comes from third party sources which usually only discuss the GSC, not even acknowledging that variants exist. SpinningSpark 10:14, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  - @Spinningspark: Well, the United Nations example given in WP:SYNTH is also statement of facts, but the use to imply a conclusion is the synthesis part. But I accept your explanation that it is appropriate here. HaEr48 (talk) 15:50, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Operation section: I feel it could be improved by adding how signalmen starts sending/receiving a message. For example, how to make sure that the receiver is ready to receive/transcribe when the message starts being transmitted? Is there a preliminary signal to say "Prepare to receive a new message"? Or was it assumed that someone was always observing and ready to receive a message? In addition, are there measures such as redundancy to prevent errors in transcription?
- Done SpinningSpark 11:24, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
"They failed to achieve this and the tower remained in use until the fall of Petersburg": Is there a link for the "fall of Petersburg", for context? Or could we add whether it fell into Union or Confederate hands?
- Done (both) SpinningSpark 11:31, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
"This code is identical in execution to the General Service Code. That is, there is no difference in the signals as observed, only in the notation as written." I feel this can be clarified further (especially for a general reader like me). How can the "signal as observed" be the same, while there are now four flag motions instead of two? Is it possible to illustrate with an example maybe?
- I've added an example in detail. SpinningSpark 11:57, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  - Thank you for that. Interesting, and it clarifies my question. HaEr48 (talk) 15:50, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Myer's code remained in use in the US until 1886 when it was replaced by Morse code: to clarify, does this mean only the code is changed but it still uses the same flag wigwagging method? or was the flag movement scheme also changed? Or did the Morse code get rid of flags ?
- Done. Yes, Morse was used with flag signalling. SpinningSpark 12:14, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Can we say that the wigwag system is the dominant form of visual long-distance communication during the American Civil War? If yes, suggest stating so explicitly, as an objective indication of its notability.
- That is undoubtedly true, but I don't have a source that says that so explicitly. SpinningSpark 12:14, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  - I've put in something about it being essential, which is the closest I can find to that. SpinningSpark 12:55, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
    - @Spinningspark: Suggest adding it to the lead too, because it is a great place to establish a topic's notability. HaEr48 (talk) 15:52, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
      - Done SpinningSpark 16:31, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
File:The photographic history of the Civil War - thousands of scenes photographed 1861-65, with text by many special authorities (1911) (14782789933).jpg: Needs a more specific copyright tag.
- This is part of a great tranch of images sourced from the Internet Archive. No more specific tagging is possible than the IA's declaration of "no known copyright". Note that Commons has accepted the import of tens of thousands of images on this basis. SpinningSpark 23:42, 11 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your work in this article. HaEr48 (talk) 20:42, 11 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@HaEr48: Thank you for reviewing. I think I have new responded to all your points. SpinningSpark 13:43, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your responses. I'm passing this now; it meets the GA criteria and I have no further suggestion. HaEr48 (talk) 17:03, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Spinningspark: Any idea where to list this in Wikipedia:Good articles? HaEr48 (talk) 17:12, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Well, if it's going under "Warfare" (which is where I nominated it) it would be in "Weapons, equipment, and buildings". An alternative place to put it is in "Engineering and technology". SpinningSpark 17:52, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, added it under "Weapons, equipment, and buildings". HaEr48 (talk) 18:39, 12 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Yoninah (talk) 16:53, 10 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

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Comment or view
Article history

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Wigwag flags and torches

... that an officer continued to send wigwag flag signals with a bedsheet after the flagman retreated with the flags (pictured) during Pickett's Charge? Source: Raines, pp. 26-27, Getting the Message Through, US Government Printing Office, 1996.

Reviewed: KJSK

Improved to Good Article status by Spinningspark (talk). Self-nominated at 23:12, 12 April 2020 (UTC).[reply]

Let's see: article, yes — clearly new (and good!), long enough, and within policy. Hook is short enough and certainly intriguing (and true). Image is free, fair use, and shows up well when small. (I've also taken the liberty of importing it into Commons.) Excellent work! — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 15:33, 13 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]