Talk:If Day

Note about article creation

I've lived in Winnipeg my whole life and had never heard about this event until I saw it mentioned in passing on a TV show. I could only find one article of any substance on If Day, so I tried to distill some of the main points and make a quick wikipedia page about it. Don Dueck (talk) 19:59, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

Has this been TFA?

Because, if it has not, it would seem to go well on April Fool's day. It could be easily be made to be misleading, but it would be honestly factual. But it's all just my opinion.76.95.96.150 (talk) 03:04, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

No, it hasn't been TFA, and that's not a bad idea. Nikkimaria (talk) 13:50, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

Footage?

Is there any recording of the day that could be linked to? Might be of interest. Surv1v4l1st ^{(Talk|Contribs)} 03:02, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:If Day/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Hchc2009 (talk) 17:03, 17 August 2011 (UTC)

I'll read through this and start the review proper tomorrow. Hchc2009 (talk) 17:03, 17 August 2011 (UTC)

An enjoyable article on a fascinating incident - happy to pass at GA.Hchc2009 (talk) 15:16, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

1. Well-written:

(a) the prose is clear and concise, and the spelling and grammar are correct;

Some minor bits to address:

• "loan drive" - worth linking, explaining or adding a footnote to explain what a "loan drive" is.
• "were considered a loan" - this implies they weren't a loan; surely they were?
• "The campaign began on February 16 and continued until March 9." Worth adding which year. (It's in the lead, but not in the main text)
• "Manitoba’s fundraising target was $45 million and Winnipeg’s was $23,569,000." - I'd forgotten what Manitoba was, and had to skim back up again, and then look it up. Could you link, or say "the province of Manitoba"? Also, it might be worth saying "and Winnipeg's contribution to this was $23..." in order to make clear that one is part of the other.
• Financial figures - I'd advise adding today's equivalent sums to this and later figures you cite. Let me know if you need any help with this.
• "It was believed that bringing the war (or, rather, a simulation thereof) to..." "They believed that..."? This would clarify who believed this.
• "North America" - to check, you do mean the whole of North America, and not just Canada?
• "prevent a rush on emergency shelters" - "a rush to buy emergency shelters" would be less informal.

• No, the shelters weren't being bought; these were public air-raid shelters established in urban centres as a precautionary measure

• Could you go for "a rush to emergency shelters"? It would ensure that this couldn't be misinterpreted. Hchc2009 (talk) 07:59, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

• Done

• "Residents of northern Minnesota" - I'd recommend "of neighbouring northern Minnesota", to help those who don't know where it is!
• "3500 Canadian Army members participated in the simulation..." I think that the MOS doesn't like paragraphs starting with numbers. Would recommend "The simulation included 3,500 Canadian..."
• "Winnipeg JCs" - I'd expand or link "JCs"
• "using uniforms rented from Hollywood and painted sabre scars on their faces" - "painted sabre scars" didn't read quite right. How about "wearing uniforms rented from Hollywood and sporting fake sabre scares on their faces"? I'd also link Hollywood.
• "Erich von Neurenberg" - given the context, I'd specify if this was his real name or not and who he was (e.g. a businessman, a politician etc.)

• Don't know - my sources all use that name and none give any further details on him, and I've been unable to find any elsewhere

• I'd recommend an nb footnote or an explanatory clause just saying that it's unclear if this was his real or a fictional name then. Personally, I'd feel sorry for the chap if that was his real name during the Second World War in an Allied country! :) Hchc2009 (talk) 07:59, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

• Done

• "and Minto and Macgregor armouries" - "the Minto and Macgregor"
• "at 6:30 am, and at 7 am on February 19" what date was the 06:30? (or do you mean "at 6:30 am on February 19, and at 7 am..."?)
• "blackout" - worth linking etc.
• "fired blanks" - worth linking etc.
• "The first mock casualty was reported at 8 am. " - "reported" reads oddly (reported to whom? or reported for treatment? etc.)

• Don't know to whom or the circumstances, this is all that's given in the source

• "woman who cut her thumb preparing toast" - I loved this bit! :)
• "One council member, Dan McClean, escaped" worth clarifying if this was a "simulated" escape or if he really ran off.

• He really ran off, but I think this is implied?

• OK.Hchc2009 (talk) 07:59, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

• "visiting Norwegian ambassador to the United States Wilhelm de Morgenstierne" - "the visiting"

• Probably a matter of taste, and I'd just as soon leave it as-is

• OK.Hchc2009 (talk) 07:59, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

• "the following decree, which was posted throughout the city:" - if this is a direct quote, you'll need speech marks around it.

• Nope, per WP:MOSQUOTE blockquotes do not use speech marks

• Ah, on my screen it wasn't looking like a blockquote because of the short bullets. You're quite right.

• "area churches" - "churches in the area"?
• "One satirical story" - I wasn't clear if who was being satirical (e.g. the fake Germans, the locals, etc.)

• Technically it was the locals, but it isn't clear whether this local was a fake German or not, and the article wasn't attributed to anyone

• "A newspaper carrier " - carrier? In the UK we'd call these a "deliverer" - is this a North Americanism?

• No, deliverer or deliveryperson is the one who goes door to door delivering subscriptions, whereas a carrier sells on street corners or at newstands. Amended to "seller"

• That's clearer, thanks. Hchc2009 (talk) 07:59, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

• "buffalo coats" - as in real buffalo coats? I'd never heard of these before!

• Technically they were bison, but "buffalo coat" is the traditional nomenclature - great heavy things made from bison, worn by police and other officials, popular from the late 1800s to mid-1900s. I tried one on as a child, and while I was quite warm I couldn't stand up.

• They must be heavy! Hchc2009 (talk) 07:59, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

• Easily 40 pounds (18 kg) each, depending on size. Nikkimaria (talk) 15:08, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

• "The event had its intended result: within a week of the event, the city had surpassed its war bond sales quota. The entire province's quota was met less than two weeks after the events of If Day. The If Day event not only resulted in Victory Bond sales well over Greater Winnipeg's goal, but brought Winnipeg's innovative efforts to the attention of people throughout North America. " felt largely duplicative to "The money raised for the Victory Loan campaign on If Day was $3.2 million, which was the city's largest single-day total.[20] Winnipeg passed its $24 million Victory Loan quota on February 24, largely because of the effects of If Day.[21] The provincial total for the entire campaign was $60 million, well above its target quota of $45 million. The campaign raised approximately $2 billion nationwide for the war effort." - or is there a subtle difference?

• Mostly addressed, except where noted above. Nikkimaria (talk) 21:22, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

(b) it complies with the manual of style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation.

2. Factually accurate and verifiable:

(a) it provides references to all sources of information in the section(s) dedicated to the attribution of these sources according to the guide to layout;

• Fine.

(b) it provides in-line citations from reliable sources for direct quotations, statistics, published opinion, counter-intuitive or controversial statements that are challenged or likely to be challenged, and contentious material relating to living persons—science-based articles should follow the scientific citation guidelines;

• Fine.

(c) it contains no original research.

• The article uses primary material quite heavily, although one key book and documentary on the event (secondary sources) are also referenced. At the moment, it looks on the right side of the line, but I'll double check once I've worked through the prose.Hchc2009 (talk) 10:46, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

Broad in its coverage:

(a) it addresses the main aspects of the topic;

• Good.

(b) it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style).

• Fine.

Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without bias.

• Appears neutral.Hchc2009 (talk) 10:28, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

Stable: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute.

• Stable.Hchc2009 (talk) 10:28, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

Illustrated, if possible, by images:

(a) images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content;

• Yes, all good under the pre-1949 justification.

(b) images are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions.

• Yes, good pictures.

Good to know...

Funny that after World War II there was a town that had a similar exercise over what would happen if the communists had taken over, and that incident gets laughed at by dismissers of the communist threat. ---------User:DanTD (talk) 02:11, 18 January 2016 (UTC)

A song about If Day

A band called They Might Be Giants recently wrote a very catchy tune about If Day. (From the album “Book”, 2022) 68.231.191.55 (talk) 01:19, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

Neurenberg or Neuremburg

Although this is a feartured article, I believe I have found a major inconsistency as the supposed Gauleiter Erich von Neurenberg, seems to also be called Neuremburg later in the article. As far as I can tell, he was named the later, but then again, I can't access the source right after his name. Sources:[1][2] XCBRO172 (talk) 05:15, 17 March 2024 (UTC)

Fixed. Nikkimaria (talk) 05:19, 17 March 2024 (UTC)