The Signpost
← Back to Contents
View Latest Issue


Traffic report

Doodles' dawn

Contribute  —  
Share this
By Serendipodous

It's a relief to see Google Doodles having an impact again; their wide coverage means that they inspire curiosity on many subjects which, for reasons of nationality, ethnicity or gender, might not be known in the English-speaking world. It's a shame then, that Wikipedia so often fails to keep up; articles on Google Doodles are almost invariably C-class, and seldom do justice to their subjects. Still, interest in Google Doodles has been waning in recent months—Audrey Hepburn last week was the first to top the list since December—so any rise in popularity is worth celebrating.

For the full top 25 list, see WP:TOP25. See this section for an explanation for any exclusions.

For the week of May 11 to 17, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the 5,000 most viewed pages, were:

Rank Article Class Views Image Notes
1 Dorothy Hodgkin C-class 1,818,292
The Nobel Prizewinning pioneer of protein crystallography got a Google Doodle on her would-have-been 104th birthday on 12 May.
2 Conchita Wurst Start-class 1,579,871
It wouldn't be Eurovision without some unsettling political subtexts, and while Russia's not-quite-invasion of Ukraine may have had less impact than expected (they both gave each other points, albeit not a lot) the same cannot be said for its antediluvian restrictions on the LGBT community, (Eurovision is known as the "gay Superbowl", after all) reaction to which almost certainly played a part in this gender-bending Austrian singer's triumph over bookies' favourite, Sweden's Sanna Nielsen.
3 Brown v. Board of Education Good Article 1,314,710
This week marked the 60th anniversary of this landmark US Supreme Court decision, that effectively ended the Jim Crow apartheid that had characterised the American South and parts of the West since the Civil War. While it should be noted that America marked the anniversary under a black President, most news articles covering it have noted how far the US still has to go.
4 Maria Gaetana Agnesi C-Class 1,140,470
This 18th century prodigy, who spoke seven languages by the time she was 11, discovered the algebraic curve somewhat insensitively known as the "Witch of Agnesi"; a not-particularly clever pun on the Italian words versiera (sheet, the name of the curve) and avversiera, (female devil). Yes, can't have our women dabbling in all that diabolical math, now can we? Only in the modern era has the curve gained scientific applications, appearing in such phenomena as x-rays and power dissipation in resonant circuits, leading to long-overdue recognition and a Google Doodle for her 296th birthday on 16 May.
5 Godzilla (2014 film) B-Class 833,060
It seems that Hollywood's trust in Gareth Edwards, director of the microbudget scifi flick Monsters, was well placed, as his take on the Godzilla mythos has emulated its hero, stomping the box office to dust with $93 million in three days. Critics seem to like the movie too; it's RT rating is currently 73%. Personally, I had issues with it, but then, what do I know?
6 Amazon.com B-Class 685,552
This article suddenly reappeared in the top 25 after a long absence, but at least it has a reason: Amazon Fire TV; a digital streaming device to watch online content on an HDTV. How it distinguishes itself from the three or four other such devices currently on the market is a matter of some dispute.
7 Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site Start-Class 638,076
Otherwise known as Monroe Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas, this was one of the segregated schools that triggered the dispute that led to the Supreme Court resolution that ultimately ended segregation in public schools.
8 Mother's Day C-Class 623,525
The second Sunday in May (that's May 11 to all you ingrates who forgot) is far and away the most popular time of year to celebrate Mother's Day, and, even as the day fell, panicked college students in all participating countries rushed to their computers to learn they'd blown it.
9 Narendra Modi B-Class 604,300
Thanks to an effective ad campaign and a sound economic record as Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat, Modi led his Hindu nationalist BJP to victory with a stomping 282 (52%) seats. A Hindu nationalist and a member of the RSS, Modi is considered a controversial politician and debate still surrounds the extent of his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots during his tenure as Chief Minister. The Indian National Congress, the party that has mostly led India since its independence, came in second with 44 seats, its worst showing in any election in India's history.
10 Indian general election, 2014 C-Class 544,994 You'd think, given the push that Indians often give articles on this list, that their election, which concluded on 12 May, would be higher up.
← Previous "Traffic report"
Next "Traffic report" →
S
In this issue
21 May 2014 (all comments)
  • News and notes
  • Featured content
  • Traffic report
    • + Add a comment

    Discuss this story

    These comments are automatically transcluded from this article's talk page. To follow comments, add the page to your watchlist. If your comment has not appeared here, you can try purging the cache.

    The profile of Modi in the signpost seems a bit grotesque. Linking him to the assasination of *Gandhi? Seems a stretch. Guilt by association? Looks like systemic bias at its worst. Rather embarassing really. According to the RSS article " a former RSS member, assassinated Mahatma Gandhi", and I can't help but wonder how old Modi was at the time? Candleabracadabra (talk) 02:25, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

    • Sure enough, Modi was -2 when Gandhi was murdered. So tying him to the assasination does indeed seem completely out of line. Disappointing. And the "slick ad campaign" is pretty pointy too. Effective might have been a better word choice? Candleabracadabra (talk) 02:30, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    • Seriously, this kind of pin-pointing and seems like systematic bias, linking Modi with assassination of Gandhi, is so far fetched. Moreover, Modi is not the governor but the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Amartyabag TALK2ME 05:58, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    I edited it. Candleabracadabra (talk) 06:15, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    I don't really care, but in my defence I was simply saying he was a member of the group, not that he was directly involved with Gandhi's assassination. All this is very weird sometimes; should I consider myself a journalist at this point? If so I wish I could earn money doing it; maybe then I'd dedicate more time to my research. As is, I owe as much to journalistic ethics as a youtube commenter. Serendipodous 10:45, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    The political bias and prejudice in the traffic report's notes does seem to be increasing over the recent weeks. In the end, WP:NPOV doesn't apply here and the editors of the Signpost putting in the time and effort are just volunteers and should be commended but you don't want the bias to go too far. Readership may decline which will be contrary to one of the Signpost's main aims. At least Godwin's law wasn't invoked this time :). Gizza (t)(c) 11:59, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    Serindipodous, I did not realize the Signpost is editable. So these issues were fixable. I think it's cool that you make the updates provocative and thought provoking. In this case I think the perspective was skewed in a partisan way that wasn't constructive. But we all make mistakes. Thanks for your efforts. Candleabracadabra (talk) 13:13, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

    FYI, I've rewritten it. The original version was way too biased. Even for me :) --regentspark (comment) 13:26, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

    • I did not at first realize the Signpost was a newsletter I could edit, so the mistake is mine. I could just have fixed the problems and have done so now. Thank you for your efforts to keep us informed, updated, entertained, and challenged Serendipodous. Candleabracadabra (talk) 14:24, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    • I saw the note that Google Doodle articles tend to be C class. Any chance Google would be willing to share upcoming plans so we could alert editors to work on them? I realize there may be some secrecy involved, but I bet we could come up with a workable solution.--S Philbrick(Talk) 14:19, 2 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

    Eurovision

    Since when has the Eurovision Song Contest been known as the "Gay Superbowl"? I've never heard it called this (unsurprisingly, since "Superbowl" means nothing to 99% of the population of Europe), and I can't find a single source ever calling it this other than a couple of bloggers. Mogism (talk) 18:38, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

    I read it in The Economist. Serendipodous 19:52, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    By any chance do you actually mean you read a posting on a blog hosted by The Economist which includes the line 'gays across the continent’s more liberal East planned parties to celebrate the kitsch aesthetic of what PinkNews, a Europe-wide news website, has taken to calling the “gay World Cup” ' and selectively misquoted it to try to belittle Eurovision? Mogism (talk) 20:02, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    No I didn't read it in a blog; I actually still read print. And why would what I called it belittle Eurovision, unless associating something with homosexuality belittles it? Serendipodous 20:07, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    Our article on it doesn't mention this "fact", and indeed some general internet searches don't mention it either - I'd guess its stretching it to say it's known as based on your reading of one article in one publication you know UNDUE and all that. --86.2.216.5 (talk) 21:31, 25 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

    For the 150 thousandth time, this ISN'T AN ARTICLE. The rules don't apply. Serendipodous 21:46, 25 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

    Who said anything about the rules having to apply. You are writing an article for the signpost, which as best I can tell isn't supposed to be a tabloid. Applying good editorial standards like giving proper weighting to stuff and not repeating a one off as if it's a broadly understood term, is something surely being strived for? You know the editing policies which apply for the encyclopedia weren't pulled out of no where to be a pain, but because they are good standards to maintain quality. So I guess your message is that I don't give a shit about producing a good quality articles for the signpost, I'll reserve that for mainspace?--86.2.216.5 (talk) 23:00, 25 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    • As 86 said. You, as a writer for what is the largest internal Wikipedia newsletter, have an obligation to maintain a degree of decorum. That you answer constructive criticism with what appears to be exasperation is quite concerning. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 05:17, 26 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    OK, so what should I have said instead? All I wanted to say was that Eurovision was popular with gays. It is. I don't really understand the problem with how I phrased it. Serendipodous 08:44, 26 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    Serendipodous is an excellent writer. It is a joy to read the report and see her observations.--Milowent • hasspoken 20:05, 29 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    You should have used a term that is actually widely used and not made up. The "World Cup" reference would have made sense, even if it is not actually used. "Super Bowl" is, in Europe, an insignificant sports event from the US that appears to be very popular over there. Some people here watch it on TV or in sports bars, but it is not widely popular. The Eurovision Song Contest (sometimes called the Grand Prix after the original name of the contest) is widely popular in Europe with public viewings and many private parties centered around the show. The radio stations speak of nothing else for a week before. The most fun is the voting, where political sentiment can also be measured. This is in no way a gay-only thing, so calling it the "Gay Superbowl" is a misnomer at best. Best to do some research before using a term like this, even if it makes sense to you. It is just the best pan-European fun we have at the moment, as we continue to dig out of the financial crisis. Let's call it the Eurovision Song Contest, shall we? --WiseWoman (talk) 07:01, 31 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    I didn't make it up! I read it in a newspaper. I wouldn't have used it otherwise. Serendipodous 07:39, 31 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    Do you have a reference? I can't find it using the databases. Thanks! --WiseWoman (talk) 19:43, 31 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

    Witch of Agnesi

    A far more interesting name than for example Cayley's sextic - the witch of Agnesi is always the first curve I check in any dictionary or list of curves. Maybe someone should mis-translate a few more curve names? All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 20:54, 25 May 2014 (UTC).

    Not an article, but

    Should there be a link to a disambiguation page? If not, I fixed it.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 19:32, 30 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]
    The Signpost: doing it for free since 2005.

















    Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2014-05-21/Traffic_report