Talk:Ashdod

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Good article Ashdod has been listed as one of the Geography and places good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can delist it, or ask for a reassessment.
This article is within the scope of the following WikiProjects:

Contents

[edit] older entries

Maccabe : One E or two EE?

I put a Maccabee in parens. :(

Maccabi

Maccabi is better. It is not one E anyway. Shmuliko 03:57, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

The official name is Maccabi. -- Ynhockey (Talk) 09:02, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] GA review 03/28/07

This article seems to be getting fairly well organized, but still does not meet the good article criteria. The images at the top of the article seem out of place, and should be integrated into sections within the article better (history, economy, perhaps). The history section seem very good, but is largely unreferenced. I would move 'modern times' into the history section as a subsection.

Economy & Transportation should be expanded, and referenced. Transportation should include descriptions of all transportation options in the city; roads, street layout, mass transit, buses, air travel, major highways, etc. the Israel Railways template also seems rather awkwardly placed here. I'm not sure what purpose it's serving.

A demographics section on the population is completely missing from the article. The small bits of info under 'income' would fall under this section, and you should include some general population statistics, perhaps census data, etc.

Create a 'government section, and provide details about the mayor & city council there. Move the list of mayors to a separate article, linked to as a 'see also' link from this section.

'Culture & sports' is largely just a list, and should be expanded. Sports might be a subsection within a 'culture' section, but 'culture' also encompasses cultural attractions, media, popular culture, annual events and fairs, and more.

You're going to have to explain what 'Chassidic Rebbes' is. I have no idea?

'Sister cities' should be referenced. There is a Sister Cities International website, but Ashdod has no sister cities listed on that site.

Overall, good start! For help with inline citations & references, please refer to WP:CITE. The good article criteria can be found at WP:WIAGA. You might also try looking at WP:CITIES for suggestions on the structure of city articles, and maybe look at some of the FA & GA articles there for suggestions. Good luck! Dr. Cash 20:07, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Top Picture

On a similar vein, cities' top picture is usually one that actually shows it, either some skyline or aerial photograph. The current photo of the MonArt Center should be moved to the appropriate section and be replaced with a representative one. My use of the Image:Ashdod 2005, rooftop view p2.JPG was reverted - if there is something wrong with the image, then use a different one, but the MonArt is not a good general image. TewfikTalk 18:46, 9 July 2007 (UTC)
I didn't like the rooftop, since it is showing only small neighborhood, far from city center and can not represent anything. The MonArt became one of the city symbols. It can be changed by some aerial view, but meanwhile we have no such image. :( Shmuliko 04:45, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
What about Image:Ashdod Yad-le-Banim.JPG or Image:BeginBlvd.JPG? I particularly favour the latter, which shows a central boulevard, an underpass, and some of the tall buildings and lanmarks. TewfikTalk 23:42, 11 July 2007 (UTC)
I placed Image:BeginBlvd.JPG in modern time history as contrast between it and Image:Ashdod57.jpg, I think it makes the job. The Image:Ashdod Yad-le-Banim.JPG shows small concert hall and doesn't represent anything. The couple of residents buildings in the background (who put them in administrative, culture and arts area?) does not make it suitable to be a top image. Shmuliko 05:01, 12 July 2007 (UTC)
If you live there, perhaps you could go to one of the tall buildings and take a few shots? I understand the contrast you are trying to draw, but if we don't find a better image for the infobox, perhaps another of the modern pictures could do the same job (since the refugee camp is on the beach, perhaps a picture of the beachfront)? Cheers, TewfikTalk 06:51, 12 July 2007 (UTC)
Correct. But meanwhile I can't find such an image. Instead MonArt is kind of symbol.
What refugee camp??? I missed the point.Shmuliko 10:00, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Good article nomination on hold 07/14/07

GA review (see here for criteria)
  1. It is reasonably well written.
    a (prose): b (MoS):
  2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.
    a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):
  3. It is broad in its coverage.
    a (major aspects): b (focused):
  4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.
    a (fair representation): b (all significant views):
  5. It is stable.
  6. It contains images, where possible, to illustrate the topic.
    a (tagged and captioned): b lack of images (does not in itself exclude GA): c (non-free images have fair use rationales):
  7. Overall:
    a Pass/Fail:
  • On Hold

[edit] What needs to be done

This article is much improved since its last nomination, and is getting close to but still does not meet the good article criteria. I placed it on hold for seven days.
1. It is reasonably well written: A lot of the prose seems have been written by a non-native English speaker. This in itself is not a problem, but the prose in this article is sometimes awkward. Remember to use simple declarative sentences. For instance,

  • "The time was noted by James," should instead read,
  • "James noted the time."

or

  • "The food was eaten by Susan," should instead read,
  • "Susan ate the food."

Thus,

  • "Today the city is an important industrial center in the country" should read "Ashdod is an important industrial center."

or

  • "The statement of Ptolemy and Josephus that it was a maritime city, despite its standing 4 miles from the shore," should read, "Despite its location four miles from the coast, both Ptolemy and Josephus described it as a maritime city."

Numbers in the prose itself should be spelled out, unless they are very large or complex. For instance,

  • "213 people marched in the parade" should read,
  • "Two hundred and thirteen people marched in the parade."

But: "As of 2007, the city's population is 123,456." Correct.

Comment The MoS seems to recommend 213 over spelling out. TewfikTalk 19:17, 17 July 2007 (UTC)
Recommendations: Eliminate passive voice where it remains in the article. Also, check the article against the Wikipedia:Manual of Style, and make sure everything is consistent.
Done. I think.

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable:

a) The Bible should not be used as a factual, independent historical record. If you want to include references to the Bible in the history section, then preface the sentence with "According to the Book of Daniel," or something like it, so that the reader knows he is reading a biblical reference.
Done.
b) The "Biblical references" should be folded into the "History" section, with the above in mind, or else all biblical references should be taken out of the "History" section and put into a separate section.
Done. Except the Book of Nehemiah part. The women of Ashdod there means all philistinian women. I don't think I should move it to Biblical mentions. It also referenced with respectfull Hugo Winckler.
c) There are quite a few statements, and even paragraphs, that have no citations at all. I tried to tag them with a "citation needed" tag.
Done. I think.Shmuliko 19:45, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Good article ok 07/22/07

GA review (see here for criteria)
  1. It is reasonably well written.
    a (prose): b (MoS):
  2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.
    a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):
  3. It is broad in its coverage.
    a (major aspects): b (focused):
  4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.
    a (fair representation): b (all significant views):
  5. It is stable.
  6. It contains images, where possible, to illustrate the topic.
    a (tagged and captioned): b lack of images (does not in itself exclude GA): c (non-free images have fair use rationales):
  7. Overall:
    a Pass/Fail:
  • Pass

All current photos have fair use rationales.

This article has shown tremendous improvement. Good job.

  • One outstanding question thought. It is clear to me, from reading the article, that Ashdod is an ancient city, and that its population at the start of the last century was about five thousand. Yet, in the 1950s, surveyors arrived to build the new city of Ashdod. It's not clear from the article where the new Ashdod was built. Next to the old one? What happened to the old city? Please clarify this in the article.--Mcattell 16:16, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] GA on hold

This article has been reviewed as part of Wikipedia:WikiProject Good articles/Project quality task force in an effort to ensure all listed Good articles continue to meet the Good article criteria. In reviewing the article, I have found there are some issues that may need to be addressed.

The lead does not appear to adequately summarize the article, some subsections are too short to warrant there own section (eg. Museums and exhibitions, Sea Transport) and the article is under-referenced. These statements need inline citations:

  • "The city absorbed another blow in 605 BCE, when Nebuchadnezzar conquered it. In 539 BCE the city was rebuilt by the Persians, but was conquered in the wars of Alexander of Macedon."
    • Done Shmuliko 19:11, 22 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "The city prospered as Izotus under the Hellenistic rule, until the Hasmonean Revolt. During the rebellion Judas Maccabeus arrived at its gates, but did not conquer it. He left it for his brother Jonathan, who conquered it in 147 BCE and destroyed the Temple of Dagon."
    • Done Shmuliko 20:22, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "Fearing encirclement, Egyptian forces retreated on October 28, 1948 with a majority of the city's residents."
    • Done. Shmuliko 07:05, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Most of the "Modern times" section
    • Done. Shmuliko 20:22, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "taking into account the prevailing southern winds which take air pollution out of the city."
    • Done. Shmuliko 07:29, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "The plan had its problems, however, including asymmetric growth of upscale and poorer neighborhoods and the long-time lack of a main business and administrative center."
    • Done. Shmuliko 07:29, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "The city was planned for a maximum of 250,000 inhabitants, and an additional area in the south was reserved for further development. However, the southern border of the city was proclaimed a national nature reserve, Ashdod Nitzanim Sand Dune Park, which makes future city growth problematic, with the last of the seventeen neighborhoods of the development plan now under construction."
    • Done. Shmuliko 07:29, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "The first mall to open in Ashdod was the Forum Center which was built in the industrial zone and was very popular until additional malls were built in the residential neighborhoods."
  • "Lev Ashdod Mall was opened in 1993 and soon became the most poular shopping and recreation place among the population of Ashdod."
    • Done. Shmuliko 07:30, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "Lev Ashdod Mall was followed two years later by Ashdod Mall which opened in 1995 and was at the time the biggest mall in the city. Despite this fact, however, it was not successful and is currently being redesigned."
  • "The Sea Mall is a three floor mall which now the largest in the city."
    • Statement changed. I can't find any statistics. Shmuliko 06:34, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "Star Center is a new mall which has proven to be popular to the extent that it is will double in size in 2007."
    • Done Shmuliko 17:03, 25 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "An interchange is under construction, planned to open in 2009."
    • There is the press release note supporting this sentence. ref22 Shmuliko 05:49, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "The interchange is intended to continue the freeway section of Highway 4 further south by removing the traffic light at this junction, and it will also utilize grade separation with the railway."
    • There is the press release note supporting this sentence. ref22 Shmuliko 05:49, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "The passenger railroad connection to Ashdod opened in 1992 after the renovation of the historical railway to Egypt."
    • Done. Shmuliko 14:04, 29 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "The station was upgraded in 2005 when a new terminal building was built."
    • Done. Shmuliko 09:21, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "The station is modern and has all the usual facilities, but road access to it is old and clumsy. A new access road is currently under construction."
    • Done. Shmuliko 11:55, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "The traffic at this gateway is constantly growing, especially due to cruise ship activities."
  • "In the 1960s Ashdod accepted a large number of immigrants from Romania, followed by a large number from Georgia and India in the 1970s. More than 60,000 Jews immigrated to Ashdod from the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s."
    • Done Shmuliko 20:22, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "Ashdod also receives a significant amount of internal migration, especially from the Gush Dan region."
    • Done. Shmuliko 14:04, 29 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "Over 95% of Ashdod's population is Jewish, over 30% of whom are religiously observant."
  • "There is also a Protestant church, which mostly serves the Scandinavian seamen who arrive at the port."
    • I can't find any written source, but as local resident I know exactly were it is. What reference can I provide? Shmuliko 07:02, 18 September 2007 (UTC)
      • Shmuliko, how about a photograph, to be added to the 3 other photos in under the religion section? It may satisfy the reviewer. -- Derwig 08:08, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
        • It's the Scandinavian seamen part that needs referrncing. Epbr123 08:27, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
    • Done. Additional info added. Image added. Please enlarge the image to see the referencing for Scandinavian seamen part. Shmuliko 06:34, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "Robert Hayim was chosen to the council chairmanship in the first municipal elections, in 1961"
    • Done Shmuliko 20:22, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "The orchestra was awarded the Israel Prize in 2006."
    • Done - Derwig 11:42, 16 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "the institute was established in 1966, and serves as a home for 600 young musicians in different fields."
    • Done - Shmuliko 13:08, 16 September 2007 (UTC)
  • The sister cities and famous sportsmen.
    • Done for spotsmen - Shmuliko 12:43, 18 September 2007 (UTC)
      • Done for sister cities Derwig 14:24, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

I will check back in no less than seven days. If progress is being made and issues are addressed, the article will remain listed as a Good article. Otherwise, it may be delisted (such a decision may be challenged through WP:GA/R). If improved after it has been delisted, it may be nominated at WP:GAC. Feel free to drop a message on my talk page if you have any questions. Regards, Epbr123 10:29, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

The only major problem left is that the lead needs expanding. You can have until 5th October to fix this. Epbr123 17:59, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Pass! Good work. Epbr123 13:28, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] CBS statistics

Why don't any income statistics for Ashdod appear in the article? Here's a basic breakdown. -- Ynhockey (Talk) 12:10, 6 June 2008 (UTC)