A+Christmas+Carol+Discussion+Section

1. Account for the postings (number of revisions, time range from first to last, notation of periods of activity) 2. Describe progress or development in the article from the original post to the most recent update 3. Critique the quality of the article in its current state (writing quality and factual information) 4. Describe the discussion around the article 5. Provide background information on the most active contributors.

@http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol

1. With approximately 3,500 revisions, the Wikipedia site for __A Christmas Carol__ was first created on August 20, 2002, while its most recent revision was on October 23, 2010. The month of December has had the most activity for the site, most likely because of the Christmas spirit that everyone has during that time of year! The most revisions made to the site was in the year 2008.

2. The site was created in 2002, with a “bare-bones structure” that consisted of a brief two-sentence summary of __A Christmas Carol__ by Charles Dickens, and its TV/movie adaptations. By the end of the year, only a few paragraphs were added, addressing themes and a critique, but still no picture. A list of other story adaptations was continually added throughout 2004. In May 2005, an image of Charles Dickens’ novel was finally inserted to the Wikipedia site. Since then, the site has changed drastically, with constant updates, edits and revisions. In late 2005, different headings were created for the site, including a plot synopsis, characters of __A Christmas Carol__, and external links. Throughout the years, the plot summary, list of principal characters, adaptations, and sequels have developed into substantially longer and more informative posts. In 2008, the plot of the novel was divided into five different staves. History of the manuscript, legacy, impact, and an allusion to history were added to the site in 2009. By 2010, several pictures were added, depicting the novel itself, Charles Dickens, and a variety of images from scenes in the story.

3. Overall, the quality of the article is well-written with minor errors- I feel like it is missing a couple commas here and there, but generally, the content of it is valid. __A Christmas Carol__ was always a scary story to me growing up, especially with the naughty Ebenezer Scrooge and ghosts that entail the story, but I honestly chose to investigate on the novel because the 7th Grade Language Arts class that I am observing and will be student-teaching next semester will be reading __A Christmas Carol__ in December, and I wanted to read some background information about it. I compared Wikipedia’s plot of the novel to SparkNotes, and both have generally similar summaries, main characters and themes; Therefore, it is safe to safe to state that the article’s factual information regarding the novel is accurate. However, I think that Wikipedia's plot of the novel is missing some content and details that might further entice readers to read the novel.

4. There are 19 discussion topics under the Discussion section of Wikipedia's __A Christmas Carol__ – ranging from the meaning of the title of the novel to the number of ghosts to Charles Dickens being paid for publishing. One discussion that I found interesting, “Goose, Turkey, or Chicken”, differentiates different versions of the play and how it depicts the largest animal in the butcher’s shop. Another discussion argued that the Wikipedia site for the novel is not a GA Review, criticizing the edit of the article, it’s plot section, list of characters, and external links. Someone retaliates to the criticism of almost twenty bullet points and mentions that it would be difficult to cite from a scholarly source. Yet another discussion topic admits to removing “pop style peacock phases” in the article, such as “the greatest Christmas Story” and “the most popular Christmas book of all time” because the article should be informative and more encyclopedia-like rather than a “dustjacket blurb”.

5. The most active contributor, Sensei48, has edited the site 14 times between December 2007 to December 2009. The user is a teacher, writer and musician, and contributes to articles on music, film, history and literature. He is a secondary school teacher, and has visited 42 of the 50 states. Stbalbach, with 12 edits, is another active contributer to Wikipedia’s page for __A Christmas Carol__. He has a Bachelor’s in History, enjoys literature and classic novels, and re-writing Wikipedia articles.