Talk:Cowboy pool/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Nehme1499 (talk · contribs) 16:36, 22 March 2022 (UTC)

I'll take this review. Nehme₁₄₉₉ 16:36, 22 March 2022 (UTC)

Comments

Lead

• Ideally, we shouldn't have sources in the lead. With the sentence with more standard pocket billiards characteristics, do you mean that cowboy derives from thirty-eight, which itself is a form of pocket billiard game? If so, I would remove the source (Shamos, Michael Ian (1993)) from the lead, since it's already included after the sentence Thirty-eight is the intermediary game from which cowboy is directly derived.
  • Done Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 22:24, 22 March 2022 (UTC)
• If applicable, I would add an infobox (similarly to how it's included in Straight pool or Nine-ball).
  • I just feel like there's not really enough info to make it worthwhile. It's an amateur game with so much still undefined. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 22:28, 22 March 2022 (UTC)

History

• The parent game of cowboy pool is English billiards, is itself a hybrid...: I don't understand the double "is". Do you mean The parent game of cowboy pool is English billiards, which is itself a hybrid...?
• For the entries written in italics (such as "the winning game" or "thirty-eight"), are we sure they should be formatted that way? These examples don't seem to be covered by WP:ITALICS (which includes foreign words, scientific terms, major works of art...)
• Although popular enough that its rules remain listed in authoritative rule books alongside just a handful of other games, apart from a small sanctioned tournament held in 1914, cowboy pool is strictly an amateur game: I understand the meaning, but I feel like the sentence structure is a bit clunky. Can it be reworded in a clearer way?
  • I have fixed the above. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 22:25, 22 March 2022 (UTC)

Rules

• The balls have a set opening placement: The one-ball: the second "the" shouldn't be capitalised.
• All Foul shots in result in the player losing all points: (1) should "Foul" be capitalised? (2) is the first "in" correct? Should the sentence be interpreted as "all shots, which are foul, result in the player losing all points", or as "all shots, which are foul, and which go "in", result in [...]"?
• the opposing player comes to the table with cue ball in position except in the case of a scratch: a bit clunky. Shouldn't there be a "the" before "cue ball"? And I'd probably add an en dash (–) before except.
• I would add a comma before and the failure to do so.
• garners no points: I'd replace "garner" with "gives" or "earns", as I don't think the average reader is familiar with the word.
• Generally, there are quite a few technical terms given the nature of this article. I'd that there is a good balance here, as (generally) only what's necessary is explained. I'd still give a brief explanation of what it means to "scratch", since it's important to the conclusion of the game.
  • Done the above. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 22:25, 22 March 2022 (UTC)

Sources

• For source 9 (bestbilliards.com), I'd replace the regular dash with an en dash (–).
• I think the Shamos, Michael Ian (1993) source is better formatted as a "Bibliography", omitting the pages, and have {{sfn}} templates with the specific pages as inline sources.
  • I've taken the liberty of taking care of the Shamos, Michael Ian (1993) source. Nehme₁₄₉₉ 01:08, 23 March 2022 (UTC)

Other comments

These comments don't come at the expense of me promoting the article, but it would be nice if they were dealt with:

• No images: is it impossible to find an appropriate image for the article? Since the setting seems quite simple, couldn't you take a photo yourself of a pool table with the 1, 3 and 5 balls appropriately placed?
  • I think it'd likely be a mess for me, as this is usually played on an English billiards table, rather than a modern nine-ball table. There are, however, a few images in Shamos' book. I have a copy somewhere I'll pull out and upload. Might take a couple days though. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 22:23, 22 March 2022 (UTC)
    • I see. The issue with using images from books is that more often than not they are copyrighted, so we can't host them on commons. Maybe you could try asking a friend? Anyway, take care of this whenever you get the time.
• Have there been derived games/variants of the game?
  • Fraid not. It's a super obscure pool game. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 19:53, 22 March 2022 (UTC)
• And is there any pop-culture reference to cowboy pool?
  • It's mentioned in a few novels, but nothing worth mentioning. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski ^{(talk • contribs)} 19:53, 22 March 2022 (UTC)

(I'd expect the answer to the latter two to be no)

• • Following the changes made to the article, I'm happy to promote it to GA. Nehme₁₄₉₉ 01:10, 23 March 2022 (UTC)

Assessment

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose, spelling, and grammar): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.

   a (reference section): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR): d (copyvio and plagiarism):

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

6. It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free content have non-free use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

7. Overall:

   Pass/Fail: