Forum:CT Archive/Proposal for a slight change to GA requirements

Hello, all. I am proposing a subtle change that I feel would better the site as a whole and promote better encyclopedic standards for our Good Articles. Specifically, this change would effect Good Article Rule 8, which currently reads, "An article must not be tagged due to an excessive number of redlinks." As the rule stands, the article can have up to five redlinks and still be awarded GA status if all other requirements are met. I have no problem with the five redlink rule. What I would like to see, however, is an addendum where no redlinks are permitted in the introduction, infobox, or other templates, in alignment with rule 8 of Featured Articles. (For reference, FA Rule 8: "An article must have no more than 3 redlinks and none in the introduction, infobox, or any templates.")

My proposal, simply yes or no, is to adopt this change to rule 8 of the GA requirements as follows: "An article must not be tagged due to an excessive number of redlinks, yet it should have none in the introduction, infobox, or any templates."

My reasoning behind this change is simple. (1) It provides an increased encyclopedic standard for our Good Articles, which is already required for FA articles. If the axiom that GAs are simply smaller FAs, then it helps create the parallel requirement. (2) While the initial rule was enacted for FAs because they grace the mainpage, we now have links to random GAs on the right-hand column of the mainpage. I periodically use these links to browse some of the articles to see if anything piques my interest. Once at the article, I read the introduction and browse the infobox. If it does not strike me, I move on. I believe visitors to our site do the same. Even though the articles are not on the mainpage itself, I believe that the links are a means of promoting our GAs and we should always have the best foot forward. If we are going to promote our best articles, they should have the best encyclopedic standard we can provide.

One last thing, for those who say that GAs are lesser articles and do not need such stiff requirements, or those who say that fixing these redlinks is too difficult, I offer this remark: We should always strive for excellence in what we offer to the public and promote on our mainpage. Laziness is not a viable excuse for a poor product and such reflects poorly on the community.

Thank you all for reading. Voting is below. &mdash; Fiolli  {Alpheridies University ComNet} 19:29, 21 July 2009 (UTC)