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Wikivoyage:Russian Wikivoyage Expedition

This page intends to organize efforts to make a Russian version of Wikitravel. Until the version is created, all discussions should be in English, so other Wikitravellers may join the discussion.

Rationale
Russian (русский язык) is one of the most spoken languages in the World. For more info, see Wikipedia.

Objectives

 * Make a travel guide for Russians, citizens of ex-USSR republics and any other Russian speakers.

According to Wikitravel Language edition policies, every language edition of Wikitravel has to represent a global view. --(WT-en) EmbrunOntario 20:35, 17 August 2006 (EDT)

Name
Why not translate also the name.

 * because that would require a dedicated server
 * to reinforce and join forces in the brand wikitravel

Goal
See the Language version policy for see what it takes to start our own wikitravel

Gather a minimum team
Members who would gladly like to contribute:
 * 220.253.93.54 19:29, 25 February 2006 (EST)
 * (WT-en) Guaka 15:40, 15 Dec 2005 (EST)
 * (WT-en) EmbrunOntario 10:06, 24 July 2006 (EDT)
 * (WT-en) Kostek 12:33, 18/08/2006
 * (WT-en) Larisa 13:30, 25/08/2006
 * (WT-en) Andrew Haggard (Sapphire) 23:25, 29 August 2006 (EDT)
 * (WT-en) MaxRus 9:51, 9 September 2006 (MSK)

Go-between
This project needs someone to step forward to be the go-between for Russian. The go-between is responsible for keeping the Russian version of Wikitravel connected to the rest of the projects, by making a monthly report, translated bug reports and feature requests and news, and keeping up-to-date on what's happening with the rest of the site.

Interface file translation
The interface file for Russian needs to be matched to Wikitravel. References to Wikipedia should be changed to and reference to the GFDL should be changed to the CC by-sa 1.0.

Expedition members can edit the file here: Project:LanguageRu.php. It may be worthwhile to compare here: Project:Language.php for the English version.

Namespaces
I've translated the namespaces as following:
 * Media: средства
 * Special: Статистика
 * Talk: Обсуждение
 * User: Участник
 * User talk: Обсуждение участника
 * Image: Изображение
 * Image talk: Обсуждение изображения
 * MediaWiki: Медиа-Вики
 * MediaWiki talk: Обсуждение_Медиа-Вики
 * Template: Шаблон
 * Template talk: Обсуждение шаблона
 * Help: Справка
 * Help talk: Обсуждение справки
 * Category: Категории
 * Category talk: Обсуждение категории

If anyone feels these namespaces are incorrect, then feel free to change them. They are currently defined in Project:LanguageRu.php --(WT-en) EmbrunOntario 20:40, 17 August 2006 (EDT)


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Wikivoyage:Scheduled downtime

Scheduled downtime could be displayed here.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Wikivoyage:Scheduled downtime


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Wikivoyage:Script nominations

__NEWSECTIONLINK__

According to the Wikivoyage script policy, scripts have to be approved by the Wikivoyage administrators. To create a script that runs against Wikivoyage, post the name and reason for the script beneath the line below.

Explain why we need the script, why it can't be done by hand, and what the script will do. If 2 administrators voice their support for the script and there are no unresolved objections, the script can be run with a bot flag. If objections arise later, the bot flag can be undone.

Scripts that have passed through this process can be found in Project:script nominations/Archive. The user page for any approved bot should include bot to indicate the wiki user responsible for operating the bot; a list of all active bots will then appear in Category:Wikivoyage bots.

NOTE: you must apply for approval on each language version of Wikivoyage. Approval on this page only allows you to run a bot on Wikivoyage in English.

Nominations

 * None currently

title: Wikivoyage:Script nominations


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Wikivoyage:Script policy

 * For bot approval requests, see Script nominations.

As with most computing tasks, editing Wikivoyage can benefit from using automated scripts – programs that modify Wikivoyage pages and images with content, or at a pace, not directly controlled by humans. This page describes Wikivoyage's policy towards scripts: what we like, what we don't like, and how to make a script that works on Wikivoyage.

Pros and cons
Scripts are good for the following reasons:

 * Repetitive work. Using a script can make repetitive tasks a lot easier to do. The script program does the work, instead of someone – or a lot of someones – having to do it by hand.
 * Accurate work. Well-written scripts don't make common typos, spelling mistakes, etc. A script will do the same task over and over pretty well.

But scripts have the following problems:

 * Unintended consequences. If you have a bug in your script, you muck up a whole lot of pages, and either we have to correct those problems by hand, or we have to create another script to clean up after it.
 * Unnecessary. Many problems that people want to make scripts for are unnecessary. The time and energy the person would have to put into creating, debugging, and running the script could be spread across a number of people doing the same task by hand. This would be less unilateral, and may actually be faster.
 * No new knowledge. In general, scripts just re-adjust the formatting or presentation of knowledge on Wikivoyage. Unless they're importing information from another database, there's nothing new added. We could better spend that time and energy adding actual travel information to the guide.

Script policy
For these reasons, we have the following rules for running scripts against Wikivoyage:

 * 1) Scripts have to be approved by the Wikivoyage administrators. To create a script that runs against Wikivoyage, post the name and reason for the script on Script nominations. Explain why we need the script, why it can't be done by hand, and what the script will do. If two administrators voice their support for the script within seven days, and none oppose it in that period, the script can be run.
 * 2) Scripts should be in accordance with our policies and guidelines and manual of style. For example, a script that reformats all restaurant listings on the site should make them look like our preferred form rather than something else. If you think we should use that something else, get the policy or style guideline changed first.
 * 3) The user page for the script's user name should describe what the script does.
 * 4) Bots have to check their talk page before making each edit to check for new messages.
 * 5) Bots without botbit should make only one edit per minute to prevent flooding the recent changes.

Read-only programs
Programs that only read pages and images (and don't modify the versions on the server) don't require an approval process. It is nonetheless preferable to use Database dumps instead of downloading large batches of pages individually, as misuse of "spider" programs may place an undue and unnecessary load on the servers. See Data request limitations.

Non-compliant scripts
Scripts that don't comply to these requirements will be blocked from reading or editing Wikivoyage pages – even if they're not doing any actual harm.

title: Wikivoyage:Script policy


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Wikivoyage:Script policy/Run

yes

title: Wikivoyage:Script policy/Run


text: Wikivoyage:Search help

title: Wikivoyage:Search help


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Wikivoyage:Use of pronouns

Wikivoyage guides will usually have many authors so it's best not to use first-person pronouns, as no one is going to know who the "I" or "we" is referring to.

As the guides should engage the reader, it's OK to use "you".

First person pronouns
Avoid first-person pronouns ("I", "we", "me", "us") and adjectives ("my", "our"). Don't refer to yourself as an author ("the author of this article thinks").

You don't need to qualify your opinions with phrases like "I think", "I found", "I enjoyed", "seemed to me", "in my opinion", etc. If you actually think or feel something, plunge forward and just say it. If you're wrong, someone else will correct or modify your statement. See Project:Be fair for more details on stating opinions.

First-person pronouns may also be a red flag that text has been copy-pasted from a destination or venue's own marketing materials. We don't want to know what the innkeeper thinks of their own hotel, we want to know how other travellers see the establishment.

Exceptions
Some exceptions to this rule should be obvious, but are listed here for completeness.

 * When speaking of Wikivoyagers as a whole, especially on pages in the Wikivoyage: namespace. "Welcome to Wikivoyage; we hope you enjoy it" is perfectly OK.
 * On talk pages, it of course makes sense to use "I", "my", etc.
 * On your own user page, it's perfectly OK to use first-person pronouns to introduce yourself.

Second person pronouns
Don't make your writing go through complicated gymnastics just to avoid the second person pronoun "you". Wikivoyage is intended to be written in a casual, informal style, so "you" is perfectly acceptable as a universal pronoun and in addressing the reader.

 * "When travelling to Thailand, one should pack clothes and a flashlight."

can be replaced with:
 * "Travellers to Thailand should pack clothes and a flashlight."

or:
 * "If you're travelling to Thailand, you should pack clothes and a flashlight."

Mixing second-person and third-person pronouns ("the traveller will need a certain degree of self-sufficiency while travelling on your own") is awkward and best avoided.

title: Wikivoyage:Use of pronouns


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Wikivoyage:Section headers

Wherever possible, section headers should be identical to the ones in the article skeleton. Don't add a "Restaurants" header to an article; make it "Eat" instead. Don't add "Introduction", but "Understand". The more consistent the sections of articles in Wikivoyage are, the easier it is for readers to find what they're looking for.

Formatting
Wiki markup has a specific format for section headers. Section headers should start with two equal signs. If there are sub-sections of the sections, their headers start with three equal signs, and sub-sub-sections get four equal signs, etc.

For example,

==Section 1== ===Section 1.1=== ===Section 1.2=== ====Section 1.2.1====

Section headers should be separated from text in the preceding section by a blank line, as follows:

...and that's all you need to know. ==Talk== The people of Frosnobish speak Frosnobian.

Capitalization
Section headers should follow the same rules of capitalization as article titles: capitalize the first word in the title, and any proper names. Everything else should be lower case.

Combining sections
When appropriate, two sections may be combined into one, such as See and do, or Eat and drink. The section name should still follow our standard conventions (e.g. "See and do" is acceptable, "Sights and sounds" is not). The word "and" should be what joins the two section names.

Combining sections should only be done when it makes sense to do so; for instance, in Walt Disney World/Magic Kingdom, the line between attractions and activities is a difficult distinction for this destination, hence the combination of the See and Do sections made sense for this article.

Dividing sections
For any but the smallest towns, Eat, Drink and Sleep are usually divided in a few subsections: by type, price, location or some other suitable criterion. This can be done also for sections that don't have any subsections listed in the template, and by criteria not listed there. See the relevant sections in Article skeleton templates/Sections and Listings.

Which section to use
See Where you can stick it.

title: Wikivoyage:Section headers


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Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy

Sex tourism, for this discussion, is travel for the purpose of engaging in sexual activities which might be illegal or less available in other areas.

Wikivoyage has to comply with U.S. law (based on server locations), which includes anti-sex-trafficking provisions.

Sometimes the term "sex tourism" is used specifically to refer to travel for the purpose of sex with children. Any information on that, whether it be in the travel guide, on talk pages, or in projectspace, is against our policies and will be deleted on sight. Note that many Western countries have laws which allow prosecution of their citizens for this, even if the act takes place in another country. Also, the countries where it takes place are cracking down heavily on it. In Indonesia, for example, conviction carries a minimum ten-year sentence and the maximum is the death penalty.

It follows from the above, and from our illegal activities policy, that any mention of children or minors in the guides in relation to the provision of sexual services is totally unacceptable as well as being illegal.

In addition, regardless of the legal situation in any given destination, Wikivoyage does not include information on any purchased sexual services, including (but not limited to):
 * Locations or listings of brothels or bars where sexual services may be purchased (directly or indirectly)
 * Listings for saunas, bars and other establishments that take payments from prostitutes or their customers as part of the cost of sexual services (this does not include charges that are the same for anyone, such as a hotel's normal room rates or a bar's normal charges for drinks). A business that would otherwise fall under this prohibition can be listed if a discussion on the article's talk page can establish that it is of significant interest to a traveller not looking to pay for sex.
 * Pricing info for prostitution
 * Tips for picking up prostitutes
 * "Quality" information on prostitutes in different destinations

Euphemisms for prostitution or paid sex may not be used to circumvent this; for example, "massage" should be used strictly for its dictionary meaning and not as a euphemism for prostitution. Expressions like "single males will be happy at this hotel" should be avoided. That said, if there is a common euphemism for prostitution in a particular area that is not widely known to outsiders, the term can be mentioned in order to prevent unsuspecting tourists from wandering into such establishments by mistake.

However, writers are free to mention other kinds of regulated adult entertainment venues on Wikivoyage in a travel guide context, such as:
 * Strip clubs
 * Stores for sex toys, fetish clothes and other sex-related products
 * Pornographic cinemas
 * Fetish clubs
 * Saunas, love hotels, and other places where consenting adults have non-transactional sex, and
 * LGBT venues (see Information for gay and lesbian travellers)

The mention of so-called or perceived "red light districts" is acceptable, provided that the context and specifics refer to the general location and non-sex-related aspects of such areas, as these may be useful to the traveller in general. For example, Amsterdam's red-light district is a major tourist attraction, even for those who have no interest in sex-tourism (e.g. soliciting prostitutes). The same goes for bars, restaurants, hotels or other sights that may be of general interest.

title: Wikivoyage:Sex tourism policy


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Wikivoyage:Shortcuts

Shortcuts are created to link to commonly used pages easily. They are redirects to the actual page. should be used on pages linked to here.

This is a partial list of redirects from main namespace to commonly used Wikivoyage-namespace pages that are currently technically in breach of policy.

title: Wikivoyage:Shortcuts


text: Wikivoyage:Single sign-on help

title: Wikivoyage:Single sign-on help


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Wikivoyage:Small city article template

''This template has a much briefer listing format than the big city article template, with fewer sections. If you think that your village or town or whatever needs more sections than are noted here, check the big city article skeleton template first for clues. Feel free to copy in some or none of those sections.''

''To quickly insert a complete blank small city template, copy the quick version into the edit box on the page you are editing. Another option is to simply type, which will expand into the template after it's been saved.''

''The "small city" article skeleton is also used for towns, villages (if they're large enough to have an article) groups of small villages and vast but sparsely-populated rural areas. The "small city", as the lowest-level article in the hierarchy, contains individual listings. The fact that governments officially consider Adrian (Texas, population 150) to be a "city" and Whitby (Ontario, population 128,000) to be a "town" does not matter. If an area like Prince Edward County is not further subdivided into towns with individual articles, you might prefer to use the similar Rural area article template.''

''Stuff in italics below is editorial comment, with suggestions for what should go in each section. You should plan on ruthlessly eliminating if you copy this code to a new small city article.''

''The first section of the small city article does not have a heading. This is a where you give a quick descriptive overview of the small city. Be sure to include some context so readers know where and what they are reading about. Links to the region and country that the city is in can be useful here, too.''

''Also include any background information particular to the city (i.e. Geneva is a French-speaking city, New Delhi can be more dangerous than other parts of India, etc), but try not to duplicate too much information that already exists in the country or region page. You don't need to mention that they speak English in Sioux Falls, for example, or that the US dollar is the currency of choice.''

Understand
''Give a deeper understanding of the city, such as its history, its culture, its mores, its politics, its relationship to other cities and the country it's in. Jokes and stereotypes about locals, etc.''

Get in
''Arrival details. For small cities, be concise. There's no reason to list every single way to get to the small city. Just give the location of the main transportation center – airport, bus terminal, or train station, schedules for planes, buses, or trains from the nearest one or two large cities, and suggestions for getting from the transportation center to the city center, or wherever all the hotels, restaurants, and attractions are.''

''If the small city is also accessible by car, give driving details and directions for getting to it from the nearest one or two large cities. Try to include the names of major highways and rough travel times.''

Get around
''How to get around once you are there: bus, train, rickshaw, ferry, gondola, etc. How much does local transport cost, where/how to buy tickets, and good discounts (week or weekend passes, 1/2 price seniors or students, etc). In a very small town with no public transit, list local taxis (if available) or indicate which areas may be easily reached on foot or cycle from the village centre. ''

See
List attractions that people come to this city for, such as museums, palaces, churches, temples, historical buildings, monuments, statues, streets, zoos, etc. You can also note here general information about attractions, such as discount tourist admission passes, need for a guide, weather warnings, good walking routes, general areas to hang out in, etc.

Do
''This is for things that travellers will do themselves. More active participation is needed for Do things than for See things. For example, going to see a river goes under See; kayak trips down the river go under Do.''

Buy
''What would be good to buy in this city? Local crafts or other specialties? Souvenirs of the region? Is this a centre of fashion or electronics shopping? Good place to buy travel equipment, general goods or anything else?''

''Where are the main commercial districts, the main street or high street in the village? Is there a local farmers' market or fair?''

Eat
''For restaurant listings and other food-related stuff. Mention any local specialties or oddities. Specific restaurant listings should be in the format below. Listings can be subdivided by price (Budget, Mid-range and Splurge) if there are more than a few. Also, give a general idea of good areas of the destination to try finding a restaurant on your own. Some travellers like (or have) to make their own food – include local food-shopping options if possible.''

Drink
''For bars, clubs, and other nightlife. Yes, many people go out to clubs and don't drink; the name of the section is still Drink. Mention any local specialties or oddities, and give a general idea of good areas of the destination to try. Good things to mention: dress code, entrance fees, safety concerns, solo-woman friendly or pick-up bar, good/bad nights).''

''There is overlap between this section and others, particularly "eat". An English-style pub serves food, as does a "bar and grill". The choice to classify these as restaurants vs. nightlife is often an arbitrary one, but each establishment is normally listed in one section only.''

''Establishments serving coffee or tea belong in "eat" if you can get a meal there. If they're marketed as nightlife (and not as food) they might fit in "drink", but at that point this section needs to be split into subsections as "English pubs", "blaring discos" and "all-night cafés" are very different in nature.''

''Winery or brewery tours are also a grey area in that they may qualify as activities ("do"). If an establishment is already listed as something to "do" or somewhere to "eat", don't list it again as nightlife just because there's something to "drink" here.''

Sleep
''This is for helping the traveller find a place to lay their weary head: hotels, motels, hostels, campgrounds, pensions, etc. Give a general idea of good areas of the destination to try to find lodging. Other good info to include is high/low season, the importance of reservation, things to request (quiet room, view, airport pick up, etc). Listings can be subdivided by price (Budget, Mid-range and Splurge) if there are more than a few.''

Connect
''Information on communications – phone, Internet, other. This is where you'd list Internet cafes or computer rental centers for staying in touch by email or on the Web. If there are free or paid wireless Internet hotspots in the district, name them here. Long-distance telephone centers, where travelers can pay to make long-distance telephone calls, would be useful here, too.''

Go next
''Information about nearby destinations that would serve as a good "next stop." Provide a brief description of other nearby destination suggestions, neighboring cities or day-trip ideas. Don't duplicate information that's up in "Get in."''

''This is normally a place to list adjacent destinations which have their own articles (for instance, Minneapolis is near Saint Paul and Ottawa is near Gatineau). If a city is on a major highway or rail line, the "go next" section will normally contain a routebox listing the next stops on the line in each direction.''

In rare cases, day trips to adjacent villages too small to have their own page could be accommodated by splitting this section into two, "nearby" and "go next", as:
 * Nearby
 * A tiny village
 * Listing for the one attraction in a tiny village
 * Another tiny village
 * Individual listing in another tiny village
 * Go next
 * Names of nearby places with their own Wikivoyage articles
 * Routeboxes for major rail and road links through the town

''It is normally only necessary to do this for sparsely-populated rural areas around small towns. Listings for suburbs of a city go in the main body of that city's article, or in districts of a huge city.''

title: Wikivoyage:Small city article template


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Wikivoyage:Software features

 * User preferences help - information about customizing Wikivoyage
 * Watchlist help - the watchlist provides a way to keep track of articles that are of interest to you
 * Page history help - all changes to Wikivoyage are available in the article's history
 * Recent changes help - view the latest updates to Wikivoyage
 * User page help - every Wikivoyager has a page of their own
 * Search help - detailed help on the Wikivoyage search capabilities
 * Special pages help - special pages include the login/logout pages, recent changes page, statistics pages, etc.
 * Namespaces help - namespaces are an organizational tool used by MediaWiki software
 * Single sign-on help - how to log in to other Wikivoyage versions
 * Tags - adding tags to a page
 * Protected page - information about pages that cannot be edited by all users

title: Wikivoyage:Software features


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Wikivoyage:Spam filter

Wikivoyage uses the spam blacklist extension to block external links to certain websites on a keyword basis. The spam filter consists of two lists of regular expressions against which edited articles are compared. If the edited text matches the regular expression, the user is warned and the file is not saved.

The pages and tools used for tackling spam are:
 * MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist - Wikivoyage-only list of hosts to block
 * Spam blacklist - global list of hosts to block, shared by all Mediawiki projects
 * MediaWiki:Spam-whitelist - Wikivoyage-only list of hosts to allow
 * Special:AbuseFilter - Filter that can be used for more complex scenarios, including non-URLs

These pages are editable only by administrators; update the corresponding talk page to request a change.

The global blacklists are maintained at Meta-Wiki. These shared lists are Spam blacklist and Title blacklist and affect all Wikimedia Foundation projects. Only Meta-Wiki administrators can edit these pages.

Advantages
Since this spam filtering system was put into place, we've had a very steep decline in the number of spam postings on Wikivoyage. This has freed up people to work on other things, like making a great travel guide.

Problems
There are a few problems with the banned content list, as it stands:

 * It's kind of unwiki -- a technological solution to a social problem.
 * It's overstretching -- the list can occasionally block a well-meaning edit.

Mistakes
Sometimes spam sites slip through the filter, and sometimes valid sites are incorrectly blocked — please report both kinds of problems on the spam filter talk page so they can be fixed. Alternatively, for URLs that are being incorrectly blocked, Wikivoyage maintained an editable spam filter whitelist. If a URL is being blocked that should not be, it was listed on this page with an explanation of why the URL needs to be whitelisted on the whitelist talk page.

title: Wikivoyage:Spam filter


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Wikivoyage:Spanish Wikivoyage Expedition

The Spanish Wikivoyage Expedition is an expedition to launch a Spanish-language version of Wikivoyage, per the language version policy.

Rationale
Spanish is the native language of about 350 million people worldwide. It is the third most widely spoken language in the world, and countries with Spanish as the official language can be found on four continents. In addition, immigrant Spanish-speaking communities are a significant part of the population in the United States, Canada, Australia, and parts of Europe.

A Spanish-language version of Wikivoyage would serve these travellers with information in their native language. In addition, Spanish speakers could add information on their native and adopted countries, regions, and cities to the es: version of Wikivoyage that could then be translated to other languages. All Wikivoyagers would benefit from local-contributed information.

Goals

 * Assemble a group of interested contributors willing to start a new Spanish-language Wikivoyage version
 * Translate the language interface file to Spanish
 * Choose a go-between who will provide a link between the new Spanish-language version and other Wikivoyage language communities
 * Launch the new language version
 * Translate key documents that are necessary for new users to understand and contribute to the new language version
 * Make Spanish-language Wikivoyage an integral part of the multilingual Wikivoyage community

Contributors
Per the language version policy, we need at least three people to commit to helping to launch this new version. These contributors are expected to help translate the language interface file (see below), translate important interface documents, and otherwise make Spanish-language Wikivoyage ready for use by other editors.

The following people agree to make this level of contribution:

 * Daniel Jurado (WT-en) djurado
 * (WT-en) Guaka 15:39, 15 Dec 2005 (EST)
 * Alvaro (WT-en) daflow
 * Jorge (WT-en) Jorge
 * Guillermo (WT-en) guillermomadrid
 * Antonio Luque (WT-en) WikiLuque
 * Leandro (WT-en) Loco085 - (trying to translate de "Special Pages")

Note: if you want to help, please create a user account and then add your name to the list above.

Go-between
A go-between for a new language version of Wikivoyage acts as an "ambassador" for the new version to the rest of the Wikivoyage community. They communicate information on developments in the new version to the rest of the community in monthly go-between reports, and they communicate developments in other languages to the new version's contributors.

Optimally, a go-between should have the following characteristics:

 * Strong Spanish reading and writing skills (not necessarily native)
 * Strong English reading and writing skills (not necessarily native)
 * Some experience with Wikivoyage in one of its language versions
 * Familiarity with Wikivoyage's goals, style, and policies

Go-betweens for previous language versions have been chosen by voting, or else just by general consensus. It's up to the Spanish-language Wikivoyage contributors listed above to decide how to choose a go-between.

Language file
MediaWiki, the software that runs Wikivoyage, uses a language interface file to make the links and names and prompts and stuff readable in other languages. We need to customize a new version to work for Spanish Wikivoyage.

The language file for Spanish Wikivoyage is Project:LanguageEs.php. It's currently a copy of the LanguageEs.php that is distributed with MediaWiki. It should be customized to a) refer to Wikivoyage, not Wikipedia; b) refer to the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license, not the GNU Free Documentation License; c) refer to travel guides, not encyclopediae. There are probably some other adaptations; it may be useful to refer to the Project:Language.php English-language file for help.

 * It seems that this is mostly done! (WT-en) Guaka 18:34, 6 Jan 2006 (EST)


text: Wikivoyage:Special pages help

title: Wikivoyage:Special pages help


text:
Wikivoyage:Spelling

This is a guide on issues of spelling and punctuation.

National varieties of English
Wikivoyage prefers no major national variety of English over any other. American English and British English differ in vocabulary (truck vs. lorry), spelling (center vs. centre), date formatting ("April 13" vs. "13 April") and very occasionally surface grammar. Indian, Irish, New Zealand, Pakistani, Singaporean and South African English are almost identical in spelling to British English, and Canada and Australia mostly use those spellings as well. These varieties are often collectively called Commonwealth English.

Some words are unique to a variety; in such cases, it's useful to gloss the meaning or the equivalent word in another variety in parentheses immediately after the first occurrence ("some drivers charge extra for the use of the trunk (boot) of their cabs"). Here, trunk and boot might not be known in some varieties, although cab and taxi are probably so widely known everywhere that it's not worth bothering with an explanation.

But it's no big deal. Don't worry if you're not familiar or comfortable with a particular variety of English. Just write in the style you're accustomed to, and eventually someone will come along and clean it up. However, it is generally seen as bad style to change the spelling without rhyme or reason or - worse yet - edit war over such trivial things as spelling. The rule of thumb for articles related to the following countries (and articles about regions, cities, parks, and itineraries within them) is:
 * United States: American English
 * Canada: Canadian English
 * Australia, and Papua New Guinea: Australian English
 * Indonesia: Australian English
 * Liberia: American English
 * New Zealand, Cook Islands, and Niue: New Zealand English
 * Ireland: Irish English
 * South Africa: South African English
 * United Kingdom and most Commonwealth countries: British English
 * Brunei, Malaysia, Malta, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, all of South Asia and large parts of Africa: British English
 * Israel, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan: American English

The rule of thumb for the articles about the following continents is:
 * Africa: British
 * Asia: American
 * Europe: British
 * North America: American
 * Oceania: Australian
 * South America: American

If the destination has no history of using English and no clear preference for the variety to use, we prefer American English spelling. This isn't because American English is somehow better or to stomp on the rights, heritage, and cultures of other English-speaking countries. We just have decided to pick one default spelling style for consistency (however, there are some exceptions).

One exception to this is the preference for the British "traveller" rather than the American "traveler" in Wikivoyage project pages such as policy and guideline pages, expedition pages, and the name of the Travellers' pub. For articles, the general rule applies.

Words

 * Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ
 * Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, Mass.

Place names

 * National Geographic Atlas of the World, National Geographic Society, Washington DC
 * CIA World Factbook

Proper names
Some proper names do not follow spelling or punctuation conventions. Write them as they are used. Don't change them to conform to spelling conventions.

 * Joaquin Miller's home, "The Hights", rests on the heights of the Oakland hills.
 * King's Cross, St James's Park and Barons Court are London Underground stations.

It can be helpful to other editors to use an HTML comment to mark unconventional spellings in proper names:

 * Café Art's<!-- sic --> - a popular cafe in the Paquis neighborhood of Geneva.

Corporate names
Wikivoyage does not follow all spelling idiosyncrasies employed by private corporations, particularly not when it comes to "corporate shouting", i.e. the practice to write the name of the company in ALL CAPS, which is considered touting.

Foreign words
In general if there is a genuine need to use a foreign word, the spelling you'd encounter at the destination should be used. For instance "Strasse" when talking about a Swiss destination, but "Straße" when talking about a German or Austrian place.

Apostrophes
Plurals should not have apostrophes, which are used for the genitive.

 * "in the 1800s"; "1920s Jazz Age"
 * "apples and oranges"; "apples' and oranges' taste"

Hyphen vs. dash
Hyphens (-) indicate conjunction. There are three main uses:
 * 1) In hyphenated placenames and personal names: Ivano-Frankivsk.
 * 2) To link prefixes with their main terms in certain, specific, constructions (ultra-expensive, non-negotiable).
 * 3) To link related terms in compound modifiers: gluten-free pizza.

Dashes: Two forms of dash are used on Wikivoyage: en dash (–) and em dash (—). To enter them, click on them in the toolbar that shows under the edit window (it enables insertion of various characters and symbols), or enter them manually as:
 * or  (or  )

Dashes are often used to mark divisions within a sentence: in pairs (parenthetical dashes, instead of parentheses or pairs of commas) or singly (perhaps instead of a colon). Dashes can clarify the sentence structure when there are already commas or parentheses, or both. In this case, use either unspaced em dashes or spaced en dashes, with consistency in any one article. You may use the following template to add an en-dash with spaces:
 * (adds a spaced en dash)

Cafe vs. café
As a general rule, omit the accent when using American, Australian and South African spellings; keep the accent when using British or Canadian spellings. However, for place names, use the name as it is spelled, regardless of the local language variant.

Although resume and coupe don't have much use in a travel guide, follow the same rule of thumb. Use accents for British and Canadian spelling, and omit the accent in Australian, South African and American spellings.

Francophone countries
For a large number of French-speaking countries, particularly in Africa, we use American spelling per the "no clear variety" rule. However, for these countries, keep the accents of loan words, when that spelling is acceptable in American English.

title: Wikivoyage:Spelling


text:
Star articles

The proud few articles that have passed the rigorous nomination process to attain Star article status are the best travel guides Wikivoyage has to offer. They essentially meet Wikivoyage's criteria for perfection, are at least competitive with the best of existing travel guides to the destination, and at best exceed all competition. If you are an aspiring Wikivoyage writer, look no further than these rigorously formatted articles to understand exactly what you should shoot for!

title: Star articles


text:
Wikivoyage:Star nominations

This is where we determine whether an article is ready to be classified as Star status. Even though the criteria are fairly objective, it's good to get some additional eyes to look over a page and confirm that it's ready before elevating it to Star. For reference, here's the general description, from Project:Article status:

''The article is essentially complete. It meets all of the above criteria. It follows the manual of style exactly or is the exception that proves the rule. Prose is not only near-perfect grammatically but also tight, effective, and enjoyable. It has appropriate illustrations, such as photos and a map. Enough breadth and depth of material is presented that anyone familiar with the subject of the article would have little to point out as absent. Future changes to this kind of article would reflect changes in the subject (e.g. a museum closes, a hotel price changes, a new airport is built) more than they'd require improvements in the coverage.'' Objective criteria for Star status varies depending on the kind of article it is. For more concrete guidance on this, see:
 * Project:City article status
 * Project:Region article status
 * Project:Country article status
 * Project:Park article status
 * Project:Itinerary status
 * Project:Travel topic status
 * Project:Phrasebook status
 * Project:Airport article status
 * Project:Event article status

If you feel that an article currently at Star status is no longer worthy, or never was to begin with, this is also the place to nominate to de-star an article.

Nominate
You can nominate any "guide" quality article you think is ready to be declared a "star". Please do not nominate an article if you know that it falls short of the criterion above — refer to the info box for a last minute checklist. If there are other nominations on this page, add yours to the bottom of the list. The basic format of a nomination is as follows:

===Article name=== This has everything we're looking for, plus a swell kitchen sink. ~

Having done this, please add the starnomination tag at the beginning of the article, after the pagebanner tag.

You may also post a note at Requests for comment to publicize your nomination — remember to tell people that partial critiques and even just a few quick words of support are welcome. These steps help draw attention to the article's nomination, improving the discussion as to whether it should be awarded star status.

Discuss
Please comment on whether you agree that the nominated article is ready, with a bullet point (*) and your signed opinion. If you think it's ready, a simple "Support" will do. If not, explain what you think is missing or not up to standards. You don't have to leave a detailed critique to vote on the star — partial critiques are welcome, and feel free to just voice your support for the hard work someone else has done.

===Article name=== This has everything we're looking for, plus a swell kitchen sink. TravelNut 25:25, 31 Feb 2525 (UTC) * The sink isn't properly formatted, and there are no "budget" places to sleep. ~

After three weeks of discussion, if a consensus is reached, then that article becomes a star, and the discussion should be archived. A consensus means that all outstanding objections should have been addressed and dropped; if issues remain then the discussion should be left open for two months to allow time to fix the article and reach a consensus. If the outstanding issues cannot or will not be addressed in reasonable time, the article should be added to the slush pile. Regardless of the outcome, it is useful to copy the nomination discussion to the article's talk page.

Successful nominations

 * Remove the nomination discussion from this page to Project:Star nominations/Archives
 * Copy the nomination discussion to the talk page of the new star article
 * Add the article to Star articles (and change the map on that page)
 * Remove starnomination template from article
 * Update the article status template on the article from guide to star
 * Add |star=yes to the Pagebanner at the top of the article (see also Template:Pagebanner if more than one icon is required)
 * If the article is currently being nominated at Destination of the month candidates, update the article status parameter in the nomination template.

Failed nominations

 * Remove the nomination discussion from this page and paste it to Project:Star nominations/Slush pile
 * Copy the discussion to the talk page of the article
 * Remove starnomination template from article
 * Add the starpotential template to the top of the article's talk page. This will add the article to Category:Star potential

Articles should only be renominated when they address criticisms from the previous nomination.

Nominations for Star status
Number of articles currently in review: Category:Star article nominations

For an archive of previous successful nominations please see Project:Star nominations/Archives.

Please add starnomination to the top of the article being nominated. This will add it to Category:Star article nominations.

Portuguese phrasebook
I believe that the Portuguese phrasebook is poised to be our second Star phrasebook after the Russian phrasebook. Every word and phrase from the Quick phrasebook article template has been translated and is accompanied by pronunciation help using three methods: 1) standard/required Wikivoyage pseudo-phoneticization, 2) IPA, and 3) audio files (via Lingua Libre / Wikimedia Commons). If there are any deficiencies that I haven't already spotted and corrected, they will be quick fixes once identified. --Nelson Ricardo 2500 (talk) 01:46, 26 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Close while it LGTM, some of it is written from a speaker who'd use en-US rather than just English in general. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 01:52, 26 August 2021 (UTC)
 * I can't help it. I was born this way. 😆 Do you have some specific examples that I should tackle? Cheers! (or did I just go too British there?) Nelson Ricardo 2500 (talk) 02:05, 26 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I've done something similar in Driving in New Caledonia where it's wholly written from an Australian perspective (with the drive on the right being over-exaggerated). But to the phrasebook, mainly spellings and the time and date section, but I'll fix that up. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 02:08, 26 August 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅. Agora Suporte. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 02:14, 26 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Is having a separate audio file for each word the standard approach? Having to play 6 separate clips to ask "Where is the toilet?" is not very useful if the reader just expects to click play on their phone when in need. I see that some later phrases are a single clip. AlasdairW (talk) 21:54, 26 August 2021 (UTC)
 * That's a fair point. When I started adding audio, I used files available on Commons, which were all seperate words. After a while, I decided to fill the gap myself for the many missing words by recording the missing words and phrases myself (via Lingua Libre, which exports to Commons). I think I should go back and record the ones where there are separate word clips to "build" a phrase. Thanks for the push; this was nagging the back of my mind! Nelson Ricardo 2500 (talk) 22:19, 26 August 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅ Any entries left with multiple audio files are alternative translations or gender differences. Nelson Ricardo 2500 (talk) 01:43, 27 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Not yet - Where's the grammar section? The Russian phrasebook has one, as do Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, French (pretty good, if I say so myself) ... For Portuguese, it doesn't need to be exhaustive, university-level stuff, but should probably cover noun gender, articles, basic verb conjugation (mainly present tense), "you", and anything else Nelson or other speakers think is fundamental to know. The Brazilian phrasebook also has an infobox about nasal sounds; should that be copied and adapted? I would also like to see the addition of at least 10-15 photos given the length of the article, although these can be added as and when quality appropriate images are found. Credit where it's due, the comprehensive use of audio files is an excellent feature, and I hope we can roll this out onto other phrasebooks soon.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 09:11, 27 August 2021 (UTC)
 * I intentionally left out grammar based on the second paragraph of Phrasebooks and Quick phrasebook article template, but I'll work on covering the topics you mentioned. The Brazilian phrasebook was actually a fork from Portuguese (or vice versa) due to overwhelming differences in pronunciation and some grammar (much greater than UK English vs US English). I'll see if some elements can be added back. Russian has only two images: the language map (which Portuguese has) and an alphabet chart (unneeded since Portuguese uses the Latin alphabet). Based on this, I didn't add images, but I agree that the article looks uninteresting and sparse without them, so I'll add some. Nelson Ricardo 2500 (talk) 15:38, 27 August 2021 (UTC)
 * @ThunderingTyphoons!, I've gone ahead and implemented your suggestions. I look forward to reading your feedback. Nelson Ricardo 2500 (talk) 20:03, 27 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Great work, as ever, and quick too. As someone with knowledge of other Romance languages, all the basic grammar makes sense to me, but as it's well explained it would also work for a general audience.
 * There are some minor changes I made myself. One thing I thought I'd run by you is whether you'd consider removing vos from the conjugation tables, particularly as its entries are crossed out anyway. Another, related, thing was whether it would make more sense to separate "he/she" from "you"; even though they're the same conjugation in Portuguese, "he/she/you sing(s)" strikes me as potentially confusing for English speakers without experience of learning other languages, but who still remember the person distinction from English class. "Você" and "vocês" would thus get their own lines in each table, and "vos" would come out altogether. You could still keep the sentence about "vos" if you think it's important, though I doubt the vast majority of travellers would encounter that word at all.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 15:22, 28 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Also, there'll probably be other aspects of the 'pronunciation' section that I'll end up questioning due to accent differences, but just for starters, and as a reminder for myself: "é : long sound as the 'e' in "bled" / ê : similar to the 'ea' in "bread"" makes little sense to me, as "bled" and "bread" rhyme in my accent. Do é and ê make the same sound, or different? It doesn't help that IPA is missing from the vowels and diphthongs/triphthongs sections, but present in the 'consonants' section (where arguably they're needed least).--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 17:39, 28 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you for your great suggestions, which are not nitpicky at all, as you stated in one of your edit comments. I want to build WV's best phrasebook and really earn that star. I have implemented your recommendations. If you find anything else that could use improvement, no matter how seemingly minor, lay it on me. Nelson Ricardo 2500 (talk) 20:24, 29 August 2021 (UTC)

Olá,. As far as I know, you are the only native speaker of European Portuguese who has contributed to Wikivoyage recently. If you have time and willingness, I would appreciate your feedback on Portuguese phrasebook. I nominated it for Star status, and I want to make sure it's as good as it can be. Obrigado! --Nelson Ricardo 2500 (talk) 08:51, 30 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Pinging, although they speak Brazilian Portuguese, they might still know the differences between the two. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 09:09, 30 August 2021 (UTC)

 * Thanks for remembering me, gajos. Right now, I don't really have the time or ability to be of much help here... European Portuguese is still somewhat complicated to me. But I promise I'll check out this article and help improve it. Ibaman (talk) 14:28, 30 August 2021 (UTC)
 * @Ibaman: Regarding this diff, rr and word-initial r are impossible to represent accurately using English spelling. Although rã = "hum" might be a close approximation for PT-BR, it is too far from PT-PT to be of use to the traveller. No flavor of r/rr in PT-PT sounds like EN "h". Maybe "rum" was a poor choice on my part. Perhaps "run" is marginally better, but combine with the ã, and there is no way no how we will ever be able be able to produce a close-enough rendering of the word using EN, which is why I added IPA and recorded sound clips throughout the Phrase list section. (I added your Nasal vowels infobox based on the recent suggestion from ThunderingTyphoons above.) Nelson Ricardo 2500 (talk) 01:00, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Also pinging the only admin of pt.voy that I know of. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 12:16, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

 * Olá @Nelson Ricardo : I've already taken a look at the link and although I'm not the best person to rate it, it seems fine to me. The little time I have doesn't help either. Despite that, I spent my vacation taking pictures to help improve some destinations on Wikivoyage. Sanjorgepinho (talk) 21:29, 2 September 2021 (UTC) Sanjorgepinho (talk) 22:45, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

More importantly, copying here what I wrote on Talk:Brazilian Portuguese phrasebook: "Just for the record, as I'm working to complete the phonetic bits of this article, I have made some decisions that I'd rather explain for clarity and comment. Whenever I must choose between "what's more sonically natural for the language" and "what would be easier for Anglophones to pronounce and be understood, even if retaining some of their natural accent", I will follow the latter. I'm trying as well to insert as much "tutorial" words, chosen for importance to the traveller's daily needs, sound and meaning, as possible. This is, by the way, the logic behind the (maybe mysterious) inclusion of that long list of names; IMHO every one of them is a good pronunciation tutorial for acquiring the language's sound and articulation." This approach complies with WV:Tone and WV:fun which are very important guidelines for my work on this travel guide, which I try to always follow.
 * yeah, I was once an admin there, together with Dario, but now I concentrate here fully. I hope he joins this discussion.

As I can see, the PT-PT phrasebook is aiming at a different objective. Let's not exchange the usual bad jokes of cultural abyss between PT-BR and PT-PT. I would only suggest that I consider my approach better suited for the needs of a travel guide. Ibaman (talk) 12:24, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

 * Hi, well ... I am sysop on Wikivoyage-pt but I am italian, I can speak Portuguese quite well but it is not my mother tongue. I prefer it to be done by someone who knows the language better. DARIO SEVERI (talk) 12:26, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Why is there no native pt-PT speakers here apart from Sangorgepinho who's been on a break? I guess most Portuguese Portuguese here speakers are from elsewhere? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 12:29, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

 * Stereotypically, the Brazilians are indeed known as more fun and outgoing, whereas the Portuguese are known as reserved yet friendly. Not surprising that the pt-br phrasebook has a different tone from pt-pt. I'll take a closer look at pt-br to see if I can borrow any more concepts from there. Nelson Ricardo 2500 (talk) 16:43, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

 * How about asking, who did about half the recordings here? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 02:06, 3 September 2021 (UTC)
 * He's been inactive since Jan '19, https://guc.toolforge.org/?by=date&user=FilipeFalc%C3%A3o. (Note to other contributors: I used Felipe's recordings in the destination articles, as he recorded the pronunciations for every municipality in Portugal. His files are not in the phrasebook under discussion.) Nelson Ricardo 2500 (talk) 02:13, 3 September 2021 (UTC)
 * How about asking ? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 06:55, 4 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I wouldn't be a great judge of pt-br or en-au, so I wouldn't ask a Brazilian to review a European Portuguese phrasebook nor an Australian to review an American English slang list. Also, Felipe has never participated on enWV, except when requested to do so on the Pub. Nelson Ricardo 2500 (talk) 19:56, 4 September 2021 (UTC)
 * re the Aus to US, I'm quite familiar with American slang but it's not the same with British. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 13:48, 19 September 2021 (UTC)

After two months, nearly all the issues have been fixed by. Promote? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 00:42, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

 * I think this is just about at star level. I have a couple of comments: First, I just added a thread to the phrasebook's talk page because "ai" as in "Renaissance" is an "uh" sound to me when I'm speaking English. I also find that pseudo-pronunciations of nasalized diphthongs that look like "ahny" and "uhnw" appear polysyllabic to this English-speaker, but their weird appearance could be remedied if sound samples could be provided for the diphthongs as they are provided for vowels and consonants. If those things are done, I think it will be a star article, with the caveat that I have good conversational and reading command of French and Italian when I'm in practice but don't know Portuguese. Ikan Kekek (talk) 06:22, 16 November 2021 (UTC)
 * @Ikan Kekek, I don't think recordings of those sounds exist, so I'll try working on them by this weekend or earlier. --Nelson Ricardo (talk) 18:40, 16 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Awesome! Ikan Kekek (talk) 19:05, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

It's almost three months, and all concerns raised have been fixed. I'd support upgrading now, but I'd leave it to to do that given they wrote most of the article + numerous audio recordings. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 08:33, 20 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I think we can wait for the recordings of diphthongs. Ikan Kekek (talk) 13:39, 20 November 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅ --Nelson Ricardo (talk) 20:09, 21 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you, and I now support the nomination. Ikan Kekek (talk) 03:04, 22 November 2021 (UTC)
 * This nomination has been here for almost nine months, and since all issues have been addressed by Nelson, are there any objections before I promote this nomination that has been quietly sitting for months? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:54, 22 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Thank you, @SHB2000! I've just made some improvements to the placement of audio files, as this has been bugging me. I am unaware of any objections or unimplemented suggestions remaining. --Nelson Ricardo (talk) 20:49, 21 May 2022 (UTC)
 * ThunderingTyphoons!, do you have any remaining concerns about the article, or can it be promoted to star now? Ikan Kekek (talk) 20:57, 21 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the prompt, . I have spent some more time going through the phrasebook, while waiting for a delayed flight in BER and now today in the Hampshire sun.
 * The pronunciation section doesn't mention that the vowel O often sounds like "oo" / a short "u" at the end of a word. The section mentions the sound often "reduces" following a T or D, but the "oo" sound seems to be fairly constant at the end of words, with the exception of nasal "ão".
 * Why is a conjugation table needed for the verb pôr? The word doesn't appear once as an infinitive or in any of its present-tense conjugated forms in the rest of the phrasebook. The tables for ser, estar and ter are justified by those verbs' importance, but what about pôr?
 * I couldn't see whether you'd noted that it's possible to drop the subject prounoun before the verb, as in Italian or Spanish, but unlike French (or English). There are examples of this in the phrases, but a short explanation would be handy.
 * It might be a matter of taste, but I think the eating section could do with a lot more example foodstuffs, particularly fruits, vegetables and seafood. The sentence "I'd like to reserve a table." would be a useful addition, and not just to the PT phrasebook.
 * I also have some issues with the illogical order of some of the sections, but as that's a guideline issue, I'm better off bringing it up on the phrasebook template.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 15:16, 22 May 2022 (UTC)
 * @ThunderingTyphoons!, thank you for the fixes and the suggestions, which I have now put in place. Let me know if I'm missing any of your favo(u)rite foods. --Nelson Ricardo (talk) 17:16, 22 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Looks great! Probably time to make it a [[Image:Cscr-featured.svg|20px]], then. I'll tell you in September after I visit the Algarve if there are any favourite foods missing.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 20:56, 23 May 2022 (UTC)

Suporte:, I deeply regret I haven't seen this nomination until just now. I don't really follow WikiVoyage too closely anymore, but when I happened to stumble upon this thread, I couldn't leave without pausing to add my thoughts, especially since (apparently) I'm one of a very small cohort of Continental Portuguese-speakers on English WikiVoyage. I deeply salute your work and what a magnificent resource this page has become! It is well-organized, comprehensive and extremely easy to follow; it's hard to imagine any Anglophone tourist without prior experience around spoken Portuguese not finding it to be an invaluable aid to their ability to understand what's said to them and be understood themselves. I see no reason why this nomination shouldn't have been concluded with the granting of the star going back to last November, and can't help but feel frustrated that your labors have been met with what must feel like endless indecision.

We would seem to have a fair amount in common as I'm also a first-generation Portuguese-American on my father's side and, as often begets the oldest child of an oldest child, grew up surrounded by tios, tias, avós and bisavós (uncles, aunts, grandparents and great-grandparents) that never learned English beyond the bare minimum required to pay the corner grocer and deposit their paychecks at the credit union. Growing up I was often teased by family members that my birth was less the result of romance or even a desire for offspring/an heir than the search for cheap translation services. 😐 In that regard they got their money's worth and I still feel mostly comfortable conversing in Portuguese when the need arises, though that's quite rare since my vovó (grandmother) passed away in 2015. Candidly, though, speaking Portuguese has never been something I've been very confident of overall since all my exposure has been strictly verbal (not to mention limited to a small sample of native speakers who hail from an isolated area (Almagreira, na ilha de Santa Maria, Açores) of an island notorious for its unique dialect! I only bring it up because while there were a few phrases on the page that I'd always heard expressed using different vocabulary, I nevertheless found everything currently there perfectly understandable, and can easily chalk up any variance to my own limited exposure.

Feel free to ping me on my talk page if you ever need assistance with anything here or elsewhere in the Wikimedia-verse; what I lack in authority within the pecking order here I believe I more than make up for in my Portuguese workaholism and enjoyment of repetitive tasks! Best wishes to you and I hope this well-deserved star as well as the Featured Topic status get awarded without further delay. — ⚞🐈ℛogueScholar 🗨₨Talk⚟   (My recent mischief)  23:56, 26 August 2022 (UTC)
 * Is there any reason to continue delaying this proposed promotion? Ikan Kekek (talk) 23:39, 17 December 2022 (UTC)

 * Support It has been greatly improved, and is an example of what an excellent phrasebook should be. A few minor points (but don't hold up promotion): Clock time could have a some examples of time which is not a whole hour (2:30PM, 3:45 etc), the photo of the school is ok, but not that beautiful and is there a photo available of a Multibanco machine without a child standing on it. AlasdairW (talk) 12:48, 18 December 2022 (UTC)
 * I was surprised to see that this article is still not a star. I will change the status in 24 hours or so unless someone posts some reason not to. Ikan Kekek (talk) 22:38, 28 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Let's hold this for a week or two until Travellers' pub is resolved. SHB2000  (talk | contribs | meta) 07:27, 29 May 2023 (UTC)

Mungo National Park
I'm kinda biased because I wrote more than 99% of the content here, but I think it's well and ready for star. But here's a checklist, using 82.3.185.12's table format:

The only thing that's missing is a static map, and there's two reasons for that:
 * 1) I'm not an Inkscape expert, but if someone knows how to do it, it'd be well appreciated
 * 2) While I did mention that it'd be well appreciated, some of the trails in the park are not actually within within the park, but it's still covered under the park's website, and this could make it confusing.

The article follows most formats off Zion National Park, and Yosemite National Park, and there is one additional thing that this article has but no other park article has – and that is that walking trails are on the dynamic map. With all this, it's why I think this article is essentially complete.

--SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 07:22, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

 * After a quick glance, I think the prose should be checked. There are constructs I find odd, and I think it could be made tighter at places without losing enjoyability. –LPfi (talk) 18:24, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

 * There could be some more details in Fees and permits. Are you allowed to deviate from trails and tracks? I suppose you shouldn't pick souvenirs, but that should probably be pointed out. What about cooking etc.? One campsite is said to have "good facilities [...] including toilets. Does that mean you don't have toilets in the other one? –LPfi (talk) 18:41, 5 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Generally not every campsite in NSW has toilets, and sometimes you have to do it in the bush. Both these have toilets, and it has been mentioned, and have included info of being able to deviate from trails and tracks in the get around section. Will do the prose soon. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 08:00, 6 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Have included about cooking facilities under the sleep section. Will do prose soon. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 09:00, 12 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Have now checked the prose and did some copyedits. Is there any particular places that need a prose check? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 00:40, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

 * I think the lead needs a prose check – I find the first paragraph confusing and difficult to follow, and the other paragraphs could probably use to be tightened up too. The details about the whereabouts of Mungo Lady and Mungo Man should probably be relegated to "Understand" since travellers can't see them anyway. Overall, it looks like a good article, with a lot of detail. —Granger (talk · contribs) 15:03, 14 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Have moved Mungo Man and Lady. Will do more prose checks soon. Thanks for the feedback :-). SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 07:24, 15 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I’ll take a look at the prose per discussion, but from an overview I’d lean toward supporting promoting this article to star status. --Comment by Selfie City (talk) (contributions) 15:36, 18 December 2021 (UTC)
 * "Located in the southern parts of the outback in New South Wales, the park is part of the Willandra Lakes region; a UNESCO mixed world heritage site – and one of only four in Australia, home to some of the world's oldest remains of modern human bodies outside Africa as well as the world's oldest cremated body; Mungo Lady and Mungo Man, making this place both naturally and culturally significant."
 * Is this park or the Williandra Lakes the UNESCO site? Maybe this sentence should be split in two. That's something I noticed earlier in the article. Otherwise I like the writing style of this article. --Comment by Selfie City (talk) (contributions) 21:52, 18 December 2021 (UTC)
 * @SelfieCity The Willandra Lakes Region is the UNESCO WHS. (the extraregion needs some tender loving care, but I'll try and and work on that soon). Maybe I should rewrite that to say "the park is part of the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area; a mixed world heritage site". Does that make it more clearer? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 12:39, 19 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Yeah. This might be an American punctuation style, but I more often see "Heritage Area, a mixed" with a comma and not a semicolon. In Australia do you use a semicolon there? --Comment by Selfie City (talk) (contributions) 12:44, 19 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Both are commonly used here. I usually have no preference for either to be fair. But I'll change it to a comma because it's pretty easy to find American English being used here, and I can only say there's a growing tendency to use US English here as well as for our US readers. (A week back, had to sign a form and couldn't resist but noticing American spellings like authorize (although this is also used by Oxford), meters, center, traveling, and honor on it. At least they spelled program the Australian way and not the British way) SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 12:55, 19 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Haha. I'm not concerned, only for consistency. I changed a couple to commas but as I saw more, I started to think it was a regional difference in punctuation. --Comment by Selfie City (talk) (contributions) 13:55, 19 December 2021 (UTC)
 * I've just changed some of those into commas and think I've done most of them, though I may have forgotten some. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 00:57, 20 December 2021 (UTC)
 * As it's more than two months, if there's no objections, I'm upgrading this article tomorrow. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 07:39, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
 * I'm going through the text intermittently, and will continue to do so. Is there an issue with the dynamic map? I can only see one of the trails that are in the key.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 12:35, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
 * You might need to zoom into the others, but all of them appear on desktop. I'll check on mobile soon. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 12:37, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Just to confirm, I can see these trails on desktop mode.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 12:49, 22 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Please hold off on starring to givef me a chance to read the article. Ikan Kekek (talk) 21:54, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Okay, sure. I'll hold it until at least next week. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 21:56, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
 * I had a look at it and the reason why you can only see the red line is probably because you can't zoom on mobile. As the other trails are much shorter than the 70 kilometre loop, with most of them hidden behind the visitor centre/woolshed marker. The blue one on the east should also be visible, but it may be small to see. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 02:19, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
 * OK, not yet. I have made these edits so far, and I'm not even through "Understand" yet. Please check my edits to see if I introduced anything factually incorrect or stylistically improvable, but star articles have to have absolutely impeccable grammar and style, and the following question in hidden text has yet to be addressed: "What does "they" refer to- emus and roos?" Ikan Kekek (talk) 04:12, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
 * I'm noticing redundancies like this: 'It's also possible to join the "Willandra Lakes guided tour" as well.' "As well" and "also" are synonymous. I also saw "there's" used for a plural subject. That may be common in Australia, but to this reader, it's not standard English. Ikan Kekek (talk) 04:18, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Apologies for that. I'll fix them just in a moment. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 04:25, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
 * I've removed 90% of those in the article. I might've missed one or two, so please let me know if I have missed any. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 05:03, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks a lot for your copyedits :-). Nothing factually incorrect. I've just clarified the wildlife and the climate section so hope it's more clearer. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 04:23, 15 January 2022 (UTC)

 * First thing I noticed is that the map has several colour codes for features that do not appear to be shown on the map. On closer examination I found them hidden under the numbered markers. Do we usually just expect readers to know this?
 * Second thing ts that there is no immediately obvious graphical indication of where the park is relative to the rest of Australia. By zooming out a lot on the dynamic map the information can be found. Do the readers just know to do this? I would suggest a small static outline map of Australia with a dot to indicate the location of the park, possibly in the intro section.
 * Where does one get more information on Mungo man, Mungo lady, the local indigenes?
 * It's different during a total fire ban, but while you may be as far away from the greenery on the east coast, you haven't escaped fire. - what does this mean? Cheers,• • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 10:05, 24 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the feedback Peter :-). Well appreciated. I'll implement them. However, regarding "static outline map of Australia", I don't know how to make static maps, but I'll try and add more in the #Get in section. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:15, 24 January 2022 (UTC)
 * "And if you do have special dietary requirements, don't be too surprised to pay twice more than usual." Does this mean twice the usual price or three times the usual price or just a lot more than the usual price? • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 10:19, 24 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Just a lot more than the usual price in the capital cities. I'll clarify that. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:25, 24 January 2022 (UTC)

As it is three months and three hours since I nominated this article for star, any last final objections before I upgrade it within the next twelve hours? -- SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:56, 5 February 2022 (UTC)

 * I wouldn't support unless I look through the entire article with a fine-toothed comb. The writing style has to be completely free of grammatical, spelling, syntax and punctuation issues and just generally impeccable. So consider that an objection. Ikan Kekek (talk) 11:28, 5 February 2022 (UTC)

 * In a very quick look, I found a long run-on sentence and several other things I corrected. No, not yet. I haven't made editing this article a priority, but that doesn't make it thereby a star article by default or something. Ikan Kekek (talk) 11:32, 5 February 2022 (UTC)

 * You can also clearly see that Peter Southwood had objections above. You can't unilaterally declare a 12-hour deadline while ignoring the comments that didn't support the nomination. Ikan Kekek (talk) 11:34, 5 February 2022 (UTC)
 * I've already fixed those issues except the static map thing (which I can do by just downloading a freely licensed map from OSM). SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 11:54, 5 February 2022 (UTC)
 * He has not passed judgment on whether you have and I voted "not yet" above, noting that I hadn't read past "Understand" or whatever and had already found a bunch of problems. And an article can't be a star because you promise to do something afterwards. Not yet, and that vote stands forever unless I change it. Star status is supposed to be extremely difficult to achieve. It's not owed to articles that are good and unpolished. Ikan Kekek (talk) 11:58, 5 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Okay, but per policy, " the discussion should be left open for two months to allow time to fix the article and reach a consensus. If the outstanding issues cannot or will not be addressed in reasonable time, the article should be added to the slush pile . In this case, it is well over two months since the nomination. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 12:30, 5 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Then maybe it has to be slushed. Ikan Kekek (talk) 18:19, 5 February 2022 (UTC)
 * I was not pinged so did not notice there were changes. Will check now. • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 14:11, 28 February 2022 (UTC)

 * Hard to identify the park (or anything else) on the static map in the "Get in" section. The map does not seem to serve a particularly useful purpose. • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 14:52, 28 February 2022 (UTC)
 * If I'm not mistaken, static maps are no longer a requirement per Wikivoyage talk:Star articles. However, I tried to add a map adjusted to highlight the park sometime ago but I kept getting an error warning (I think I was triggering an abuse filter though I'm not exactly sure). Do you know of any way to prevent this from happening? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:40, 19 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Lead opens with "No other national park in the Outback is comparable to Mungo National Park" Why? • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 14:52, 28 February 2022 (UTC)
 * This is quite a provocative statement and I think some explanation is due. If it is true, the potential visitor will want to know why, and there are so many possible reasons.• • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 08:05, 4 March 2022 (UTC)
 * Done – Special:Diff/4413433. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:43, 21 March 2022 (UTC)
 * What is the origin of the name? • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 14:52, 28 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Fixed - named after the lake, but no idea where the lake got its name and not willing to go down that rabbit hole. Maybe someone will add it some day. I dont consider this an issue. • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 08:05, 4 March 2022 (UTC)
 * I added that it was named after Mungo Cathedral in Scotland, which I think was the name mentioned by my tour guide. I don't know where in Scotland though. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:46, 21 March 2022 (UTC)
 * See Glasgow. St Mungo (or St Kentigern) is buried in Glasgow Cathedral. Also see Saint Mungo. AlasdairW (talk) 23:04, 21 March 2022 (UTC)
 * I've added it based on your comment, though please adjust anything if I've gotten anything wrong. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:18, 19 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Mungo Park is not shown on the map in the "Go next" section, so it is not clear where it lies relative to the suggested destinations, maybe show the visitor centre. This would also serve to show where the park is in relation to the rest of Australia. • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 15:09, 28 February 2022 (UTC)
 * @Pbsouthwood For this one, mapgroup used to show the shape, but there was some technical issue and the mapshapes stopped showing. I don't exactly know what happened for this one, but this discussion has a little bit of info. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 05:44, 1 March 2022 (UTC)
 * It is so annoying when that sort of thing happens. • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 12:14, 1 March 2022 (UTC)
 * It is now showing in green. • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 08:05, 4 March 2022 (UTC)
 * Don't exactly know what's happening with that template. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:40, 21 March 2022 (UTC)
 * I don't know what this (in "Go next") means: - "you'll have to redo the if you already did this loop." • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 15:09, 28 February 2022 (UTC)
 * @Pbsouthwood (apologies for the late reply. completely forgot about this) I've clarified it. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:34, 19 April 2022 (UTC)
 * I think that the normal scope for "civilisation" does not reach back as far as 40000 years. • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 13:14, 1 March 2022 (UTC)
 * and have edited accordingly. • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 13:49, 1 March 2022 (UTC)
 * @Pbsouthwood Not sure how to adjust that. In Australia, it's wildly regarded that at over 65000 years old, Indigenous Australian civilisation is the world's oldest continually living civilisation which is 25 thousand more than 40000. It's a commonality within most Australian articles, so this is not a standalone. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 11:39, 19 April 2022 (UTC)
 * I would not have questioned culture, but to me civilisation implies citizens, and usually a load of baggage the original Australians may have managed to avoid. Anyway, I am not an anthropologist or a historian, and it is an Australian article, so no worries, mate, go with Australian usage. • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 12:09, 19 April 2022 (UTC)
 * I would want to try and use what most people understand though, though I do understand that this one could be a controversial one (as they did not have buildings, farms or and not the European "civilised") SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 12:17, 19 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Then maybe just go with "culture" rather than "civilisation". I don't think many would argue that the indigenous culture has not existed continuously for a remarkably long time. • • • Peter (Southwood) (talk): 12:26, 20 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Done. Now the only uses of "civilisation" in the article should only be when referring to modern human development. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 12:33, 20 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Using this as a checklist for myself, to see what's left, here's the following left:
 * Copyedits – which Ikan will do with their fine-toothed comb
 * A static map showing where the park is in relation to Australia
 * I'm not so sure about the second one though. Australia is quite large, that I feel just a point to the park might be too broad because it could really mean anywhere in that area (because 100 km looks small on a map with the entire Australia in it). If anything, I would prefer a map of it with just the state of New South Wales, but my skills of making static maps are nearly non-existant and static maps are not required to serve in star articles. Similarly, I tried to do that again recently, but with the south-eastern states and for some reason, only a third of the map appeared in this file. If someone can help me with a map, it would be appreciated. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 09:09, 25 April 2022 (UTC)
 * The best way when the general area isn't too well-known (I wouldn't recognise NSW) is to have a small map of the continent in a corner, with the area shown in the rest of the map highlighted (something like those in Locator maps of New South Wales). You'd need to know how to glue such a small-scale map to the map proper. –LPfi (talk) 11:25, 25 April 2022 (UTC)
 * I will edit this article with a fine-toothed comb if I feel motivated to do so; it's only fair for me to say that I don't feel under any obligation to do so, and I hope that doesn't come off as unfriendly. As long as any article isn't impeccable in writing mechanics and style, it isn't a star article. Ikan Kekek (talk) 18:40, 25 April 2022 (UTC)
 * I understand and there's no rush. The article isn't going anywhere, and so are we. The sole reason why I made that list is because the "what to do" is now all over the place (but that's what happens when you get long discussions). SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 23:33, 25 April 2022 (UTC)
 * What IK means is that he might not do that at all, and unless somebody does, this won't be a star article. Saying "Perfect spelling and grammar ✅ " and "Prose near-perfect, and tight, effective, and enjoyable. ✅ " at nomination was obviously a mistake. Those "dones" should be removed, and reinserted only when somebody who feels qualified to judge has done the thorough check, or we get consensus on it, when several people have done the check without feeling like making the judgement on their own. –LPfi (talk) 09:51, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

Canberra/Acton
Can't think of anything that'll significantly improve this article. Maybe a few copyedits, but apart from that, I believe it's complete. -- SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 02:38, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
 * I've also deliberately left out chains such as Domino's, Chatime, Zambrero or 85C per Boring, if anyone's wondering. -- SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 03:18, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Remember, a star article also has to be impeccable in writing style. It's very hard to get to star status. Here's the first paragraph:

 * "Acton is a small affluent suburb west of Civic and is Canberra's university district, with the Australian National University taking up most of Acton. Right next to the ANU is the Australian National Botanic Gardens containing one of the most diverse ranges of Australian flora, and places that can make you feel you're in the middle of either the Wet Tropics of Queensland or the Tasmanian Wilderness albeit it just two kilometres from the city!"

 * I'd never call that bad or unacceptable or anything like that, but I don't find it impeccable. This might not be impeccable, either, but it's my attempt at an edit:

 * Acton is a small, affluent suburb west of Civic. It is known as Canberra's university district, since the Australian National University comprises most of its area. The Australian National Botanic Gardens, right next to the ANU, contain such a diversity of Australian flora that you will feel like you're in the middle of the Wet Tropics of Queensland or the Tasmanian Wilderness, even though you are just two kilometres from the city!

 * I feel like I could go through the whole article and edit it with a fine-toothed comb. Anyway, I think it is not yet at star level, and that's no insult whatsoever. I will probably find time to look through more of it some time in the next couple of weeks (no promises, though). Ikan Kekek (talk) 04:20, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Hi Ikan, thanks for the feedback. I'm aware that star articles need to be perfect, and that's why we even have the vigorous process ;-). A lot of the content in the article is content that's been moved from Canberra so I might've dismissed it while proofreading it, though I did a proofread through the content. But thanks for the copyedits though.
 * On another note, I'm just wondering whether you find the bus line that's marked on the dynamic map distracting? I've been commenting out transport lines on district articles recently (as you probably noticed my edit on Manhattan/Financial District), but I sort of wanted the bus line marked, so I traced the bus route myself so the grey dots don't appear. Do you find that line distracting, or would you say that line can stay? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 08:21, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
 * How many bus lines are shown, and in what color(s)? Ikan Kekek (talk) 15:53, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Just the one bus line that's coloured in red (in ca0707). If you click on the bus line it should display "ACTION bus route 53". SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 23:05, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
 * In the thumbnail in the article, that looks to be outside of the district. The thinner blue and green lines looked more likely to be bus routes to me. I see the bus line much more distinctly when I blow the map up to a full page. Are the other colored lines in the district all footpaths? It looks like they are, and I have to zoom in further to see that. Clicking the bus line isn't producing the route name or number, which I don't seem to see regardless of the degree of magnification. Ikan Kekek (talk) 23:26, 26 June 2022 (UTC)

 * That's strange. When I click the bus line, what you see on the right is what appears on my screen. As for the other thinner tracks, they are bushwalking trails inside the Black Mountain Nature Reserve. It's not a full list though; only the trails that were available on OSM were included. I did find various maps of other trails, but I'm not sure whether they're freely licensed and are compatible with Copyleft so I've deliberately omitted them just to be on the safe side. I'll clarify in the article what those other colored lines mean. -- SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 23:41, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Just another remark by me (the nominator), but I do hope that this article sets a good precedent on how university articles should look like so we never have a University College Dublin situation again. -- SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 03:56, 29 June 2022 (UTC)

[outdent]

Revisiting this – what does this article need (apart from copyedits) that's preventing it from being slapped on with the star? -- SHB2000  (talk | contribs | meta) 05:09, 30 October 2023 (UTC)

Canberra/Civic
I genuinely don't know what's preventing this from becoming a star article – it's essentially complete, as far as I can tell. The article will need a few major updates when stage 2A of Canberra's LRT opens, but that's about it. -- SHB2000  (talk | contribs | meta) 12:16, 5 June 2023 (UTC)
 * I also haven't finished adding time throughout the article, but I'm in the process of doing that right now. -- SHB2000  (talk | contribs | meta) 12:19, 5 June 2023 (UTC)
 * I think I've finished most of what I wanted to do, but it's worth noting that I have specifically chosen not to truncate Centre and Square to Ctr and Sq – the top of the page requires such to be abbreviated, but I've rarely seen Centre abbreviated to Ctr (this is the only place I've seen it abbreviated IRL). If the consensus is to abbreviate both, I'll happily do so, but until I receive a reply, I'll leave it as is. SHB2000  (talk | contribs | meta) 10:59, 18 July 2023 (UTC)
 * I think you are right, Pashley (talk) 11:23, 18 July 2023 (UTC)

 * So, I just started looking at the article. The first sentence is a little awkward to me: "Officially known as Canberra's city, Civic is what is now Walter Burley Griffin's design for a Civic Centre." Was Civic ever something else? Could you rephrase this sentence more clearly and elegantly? And then the second sentence is also awkwardly phrased: "Established in 1927, it's one of the oldest centres of Canberra and is the capital's central business district, surrounded by North Canberra and Acton." How about using what I'd consider a more standard word order? "Established in 1927, this is Canberra's central business district and one of its oldest centres." I'm not sure that's elegant enough, either, but I do think you could leave the remark about which neighborhoods surround it for later (maybe the end of the lede). Let's tackle this, next:
 * There isn't one agreed way to name this district, but Wikivoyage has chosen to go with "Civic" for simplicity. Other names for Civic include the city, Canberra CBD, or Canberra City Centre. What you see on signage may also be confusing, as whoever designed them couldn't pick a name for consistency.
 * How about:
 * This district is also called Canberra CBD and Canberra City Centre; signs are inconsistent.
 * "Understand" starts with "Civic was established in 1927, 14 years after Canberra was." How about "Civic was established in 1927, 14 years after the city was founded"?
 * I don't feel up to going through the entire article with a fine-toothed comb, but I will just point out that star-level articles don't get that way purely due to content but must have exemplary writing style - elegant, vivid, beautiful and not merely a little rough but practical. It's no shame to be primarily responsible for the creation of a good guide-level article, but this is not a star-level article and will not become one unless it is edited to have exemplary writing style. Look at the way Chicago guides are written for some examples of beautiful writing. Ikan Kekek (talk) 20:24, 18 July 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you for the feedback, . As you may know, travel writing isn't exactly my forte, but I've implemented most of your feedback with a few tweaks. The only major bit that I left was "There isn't one agreed way to name this district, but Wikivoyage has chosen to go with "Civic" for simplicity. Other names for Civic include the city, Canberra CBD, or Canberra City Centre. What you see on signage may also be confusing, as whoever designed them couldn't pick a name for consistency.", purely because I wrote it wordy to add a bit of lighthearted humour, though I'm not sure if I'm the only one who sees it that way (as a side note: I sort of took the Copenhagen districts as a source of inspiration, which is perhaps also why I didn't think twice). SHB2000  (talk | contribs | meta) 10:23, 19 July 2023 (UTC)
 * I've copyedited most of the history section – what do you think of it now? SHB2000  (talk | contribs | meta) 11:04, 19 July 2023 (UTC)
 * Now done with the Orientation section – this section is much less important, but what are your opinions on this? If this works out, I'll apply a similar level of writing style to the rest of the article, while trying to keep it as concise and less of a yellow pages fluff book (a la Buffalo) as possible. -- SHB2000  (talk | contribs | meta) 10:28, 10 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Another possible improvement that I've had in mind is to split the "Eat" listings based on location (as defined in "Outline") in addition to price. The only peeve with this is that most listings will end up falling into the "City Centre" or "City West" category. SHB2000  (talk | contribs | meta) 10:33, 10 September 2023 (UTC)
 * FTR, I dumped a bunch of markers indicating every single carpark in Civic. It will need some minor tweaks which I'll do in the next few days. SHB2000  (talk | contribs | meta) 09:17, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

Central Asia
I believe that this region article is ready for Star status, since it meets all of the requirements that the Region article status guidelines give except for a map depicting various routes throughout the region (which probably are not necessary in this case). The one thing I would note that differs from the set manual of style on this page is the listing for Historic Sites in the 'See' section: The countries are listed in reverse alphabetical order. When you rank the countries from most historic sites (Silk Road, etc.) to least, it lines up almost-perfectly with the Z to A listing of the Central Asian countries (the exception is Afghanistan, which has many sites, but due to the current situation there, very few people are likely to visit it so I feel it can go at the bottom of the list). I'm also not sure what all else needs to be done for region articles to make them Star status - most of the linked articles are Usable or better. I'm also happy to help edit things to make it a Star. Tuyuhun (talk) 18:35, 21 June 2024 (UTC)

Maintaining status
Tasks and checks:
 * Star status articles with listings without coordinates ✅, except for Walt Disney World, which is listed separately below (last verified 2021-05-30)
 * Star status articles with dead external links ✅ (last verified 2021-08-20)

Article needing attention or maybe de-star nomination candidates.
 * External links without text ✅ (last verified 2021-05-27)
 * Move into listing where ☎ phone icon used,Tel: used, phone: used and : + ✅ (last verified 2021-05-27)
 * Walt Disney World, Washington, D.C. and Chicago has a number of districts with no coordinates on listings.
 * Nusa Lembongan and Ubud needing some attention and checking if listings still relevant.
 * Big Bend National Park needs an update.
 * Isle Royale National Park has a very long sleep list and does not have a Wikivoyage style map.
 * As I pointed out, the map is better than a Wikivoyage-style map, so that's not a good reason to revoke star status at all. I also suggested that if it's really important to do so, the list of campsites could be subdivided by region. Ikan Kekek (talk) 08:29, 7 November 2021 (UTC)
 * This isn't a de-star nom though, just added it to a list of star articles that need tender loving care just like how Big Bend Nat Park is listed. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 11:28, 8 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Fair enough, but what are you suggesting should be done about the map? Ikan Kekek (talk) 18:09, 8 November 2021 (UTC)
 * It doesn't show where any of the see listings are though. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 08:34, 11 November 2021 (UTC)

Nominations to remove Star status
Number of articles currently in review: Category:Destar article nominations

Whenever possible, articles should be fixed rather than de-starred. Only nominate articles which cannot be easily elevated/restored to "star" quality. Add to the article. Vote "Star" or "Not Star".

Walt Disney World/Disney Springs
This has the same issues with Walt Disney World/Animal Kingdom except with fewer coordinates. Too much for a single person to do. -- SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 23:52, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

 * I've added about 20 coordinates but given the number of listings in this article, adding all coordinates will take a while. It should be clarified that coordinate markers do not match the numbers on the static map. --Comment by Selfie City (talk) (contributions) 14:55, 16 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks for adding them :-) I might speedy slush these once you and @Tai123.123 have finished adding coords. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 04:44, 17 January 2022 (UTC)
 * There seems to be alot of chains listed in "Buy" that may violate Boring, an example of this is Levi's. Tai123.123 (talk) 03:17, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Levi's is definitely a boring place. I'd say remove those. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 03:22, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
 * I slushed the other one, and here's what I think are boring:
 * Lacoste
 * Levi's (as what you mentioned above)
 * Orlando Harley-Davidson
 * Superdry
 * Under Armour Brand House – tho the description makes me feel a this and that to be fair
 * Uniqlo (the Japanese clothing store is everywhere now)
 * Zara
 * Starbucks
 * However, I'm not going to remove any of these except Levi's because I'd want to get an opinion of one of our Americans first. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:52, 5 February 2022 (UTC)
 * I'd say Uniqlo, Starbucks, Zara and Under Armour are boring as we have those in Canada, not sure about the others Tai123.123 (talk) 02:10, 8 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Those are worldwide chains (we have them here too), so definitely not worth mentioning. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 06:25, 8 February 2022 (UTC)

Berneray
I have no idea whether this small island merits its status, see Pro & Con on its discussion page. It's been updated and switched to Rural area. Grahamsands (talk) 19:40, 1 October 2023 (UTC)

 * It's a good article, but it isn't star status. I see several flaws in formatting and style. However, some of these may be able to be corrected. First, I recall our style guide directing that bulleted content should be prose unless it must be a bulleted list. The references to animal species, for example, should be converted to prose without bullet points. Hyphens are used where a dash would be more appropriate, and some sections don't have enough content. In fact, some listings are also listing coordinates, which would put even guide status in question. I believe some of these changes would benefit from research or local knowledge to be corrected. --Comment by Selfie City (talk) (contributions) 02:03, 2 October 2023 (UTC)

 * Barring updates, Special:PermaLink/4733626 was very much star-worthy – it's far more readable, instead of the current endless list of bulletted POIs with useful information hidden in a fluff of text. No, I'm absolutely opposed to removing the star from an article that was very much star-worthy before an overhaul (something that *shouldn't* be done on star articles). -- SHB2000  (talk | contribs | meta) 02:45, 2 October 2023 (UTC)

On de-star decision

 * Remove the nomination discussion from this page and paste it to both Project:Star nominations/Archives and to the talk page of the article;
 * Update the article status template on the article from star to guide if decision is to de-star;

title: Wikivoyage:Star nominations