Talk:BoysTown (Beaudesert)

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 PrimalMustelid talk 01:17, 6 November 2023 (UTC)

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• Comment or view
• Article history

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• ... that BoysTown was reported as having the largest case of child abuse in Australia's history? Source: [1]
  • ALT1: ... that former rugby league player Joe Kilroy said he was bashed regularly by staff at BoysTown, and described the school as being "run like a prison"? Source: [2]
  • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/List of songs recorded by Alessia Cara

Created by Damien Linnane (talk). Self-nominated at 06:03, 22 September 2023 (UTC). Post-promotion hook changes for this nom will be logged at Template talk:Did you know nominations/Boys Town (Beaudesert); consider watching this nomination, if it is successful, until the hook appears on the Main Page.

• Comment: @Damien Linnane: I would change "is regarded" to "was reported" in the hook. Maybe try an ALT2? Viriditas (talk) 23:43, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

@Viriditas: Thanks for your comment. I'm definitely happy with that change and have modified the original hook. Damien Linnane (talk) 03:13, 23 October 2023 (UTC)

@Damien Linnane: Reading the lead, it says that the school was "operated by the De La Salle Brothers". It's not until we get into the body of the article that we discover that it was a religious organization. How do you feel about changing the lead to read "operated by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools" or some other equivalent? Viriditas (talk) 21:02, 23 October 2023 (UTC)

@Viriditas: The very first line of the body clarifies the De La Salle Brothers are a Catholic organisation. I thought that was adequate but I've just clarified this in the lead as well in the hopes of expediting this review. I'm very confused by the wording "operated by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools", and I expect any reader would be as well. Damien Linnane (talk) 23:55, 23 October 2023 (UTC)

@Damien Linnane: Your latest change is perfect. Looking at the rest now. Viriditas (talk) 23:56, 23 October 2023 (UTC)

• BoysTown was a Lasallian educational institutions in this context, it is acceptable to make the title singular (Lasallian educational institution). For an example, see this link:[3] Viriditas (talk) 00:00, 24 October 2023 (UTC)
• The first allegations of sexual abuse were made in 1997... I think this should be the start of a new paragraph. Viriditas (talk) 00:04, 24 October 2023 (UTC)
• Complaints against BoysTown dramatically increased in 2012, after a feature on 60 Minutes...in what was described by 60 Minutes... 60 Minutes should be in italics. Viriditas (talk) 00:08, 24 October 2023 (UTC)
• Sentencing Judge William Everson described Brophy as a "cowardly, evil pedophile", and BoysTown as a "gulag right in our midst".[5][8][9] Generally, a quote should be followed by a single citation. I assume you are citing the material before the quote? Then it would help to move the cites to that point or place. Viriditas (talk) 00:12, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

@Viriditas: I've fixed these minor issues. I've moved one inline citation. Two sources both backed up the direct quote, which I've always thought was acceptable, but I've just deleted one of them in the hopes it will expedite this review process.

While I appreciate your effort to help improve the article, I feel like these suggestions go extremely beyond what a DYK check needs to do. If you have further minor suggestions, can we just discuss them on the talk page, or would you be comfortable just making the changes yourself? For example, I assume it would save you significant time to just put '60 Minutes' in italics yourself, rather than clarifying that to someone else that it needs to be done. Damien Linnane (talk) 00:31, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

Points taken. Feel free to add the second source back in. Viriditas (talk) 00:34, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

Article was new and long enough at the time it was submitted (6262 char.); it is well-sourced, neutral, and I assume BLP-compliant based on my reading of the sensitive topic. No copyvio detected (just the usual false positive for direct quotes). The hook is cited and interesting and the QPQ was completed. I prefer ALT0 as having 92 char. while ALT1 is too long for my tastes at 148 char. Commentary: This article is well written and informative. If future work and expansion is performed, it would be instructive to compare and contrast this case with others that are similar in scope, depending of course on the sources available to do this. Thank you for your coverage of this important and timely topic. Viriditas (talk) 00:34, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for the review Viriditas. Sorry to get a little defensive; the article is indeed better now because of your suggestions. Damien Linnane (talk) 00:45, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

Juvenile detention

So, I've found sources that say in passing boys were referred to BoysTown after getting in 'trouble with the law'. I also know for a fact that some Boys Homes in NSW accepted both orphans and wards, and also children who were sentenced to stay there as a form of juvenile detention (often, the two groups of children were in no way seperated). However, I'm having a hard time trying to figure out if the children at BoysTown who came into contact with the law were sentenced to serve time at BoysTown, if they were referred there as part of a diversion program, or if they were just sent there on a less formal basis by child protection after coming into contact with the police. If anyone knows the answer to that, please let me know. Damien Linnane (talk) 09:34, 23 September 2023 (UTC)