lemmings+discussion+section


 * 1.** **Account for the postings (number of revisions, time range from first to last, notation of periods of activity)**

This article has been revised over 2200 times since its original post on December 12, 2001. The first posting, known as a stub, had a total of four sentences. It has been greatly expanded since then, with the most recent revision on October 26, 2010. There were no revisions of consequence for nearly a year after the first entry. The period which had most of the revisions was mid 2005 through 2006 – most of them regarding removal of erroneous information and updates on the mythical suicidal behavior of lemmings, including a link to the 1957 Disney film White Wilderness which staged a mass lemming cliff jumping.

**2. Describe progress or development in the article from the original post to the most recent update**

The first posting in 2001 consisted of only four sentences describing lemmings. Initially it was expanded to include habitat and behavior in 2003, with the behavior information being the most talked about on the discussion pages. This interest led to a myths and misconceptions addition in 2005; classification, references, and photos were added in 2005 and 2006. A particularly grim photo of a drowned lemming is featured on the site, though there has been at least one request to remove it.

The Wikipedia entry for lemmings has been relatively stable for the past few years, with the occasional “tweak” of spelling errors, at least one vandalism rectification, and most recently the addition of a circa 1500s geographer who had proposed that lemmings fell from the sky (his explanation for their population fluctuations). Most of the activity with the lemming article is “talk” or discussion based, with questions ranging from “Do they make good pets?” and “Where can I purchase a lemming?” Overall, the current posting is informative, and appears to be science-based, but it seems the lemming is a bit of a mystery with regards to its behavior. Its severe population fluctuations have been the subject of many article updates, but the current version remains ambiguous on that particular topic. **3. Critique the quality of the article in its current state (writing quality and factual information)**

The informational quality of the lemming article is very good. The appearance; however, is lackluster. There were no photos for this article until 2007; however, the photograph of the drowned lemming is - in the words of the protesting member - disturbing, and should be removed. The addition of the link to the Academy Award winning Disney film and the controversial treatment of lemmings in that production adds interest and debunked a myth I’d believed all my life. The article is well written and covers the subject thoroughly. Particularly well researched is the background on the lemming suicide myth. The contributing factors to the myth, as well as the popular cultural references to it were informative and offered several links.

**4. Describe the discussion around the article**

The discussion around the article ranges from professional to ridiculous. There have been many discussions regarding the philosophical aspects of suicide, which in the given context appear humorous. There are also a number of questions regarding the owning of lemmings as pets.

**5. Provide background information on the most active contributors.** The two top contributors had 57 postings each. CambridgeBayWeather's wiki page is formatted entirely with links, a clever and interesting use of wiki. His revisions took place from June 16, 2006 to March 13, 2010. CambridgeBayWeather has a terrific sense of humor, and for being a tireless contributor has earned “applause…and a sausage.” Aranae - who's online identity is the biological order to which spiders belong - is wikipedia's resident rodent expert, and has contributed much of the scientific content to the lemming article. In fact, her background information states that she has started many of the rodent family pages on wikipedia. She has been an active contributor to the lemming article since December 4, 2004 and made her last edit on December 15, 2009.