This Copy Editing Backlog Elimination Drive is a one-month-long effort of the Guild of Copy Editors to reduce the backlog of articles that require copy editing: those carrying the {{copy edit}} tag (also {{copy edit section}}, {{copy edit inline}}, {{inappropriate person}}, {{cleanup tense}}, and their redirects) and those listed on the GOCE Requests page. It will begin on 1 July 2024, 00:00 (UTC) and will end on 31 July 2024, 23:59 (UTC). The goals of this drive are:
to reduce the backlog by as many articles as possible, especially the earliest-tagged articles (those tagged in February, March, April 2023);
to complete all requests on the GOCE Requests page dating from March, April, May, and June 2024.
Drive participants can earn barnstar awards based on the number of articles—and the word counts of the articles—they copy edit. Articles listed on the Requests page count towards your total; these articles are generally higher in quality than those tagged with {{copy edit}}. You will receive a bonus score of 50% over the article's word count for articles that were tagged with {{copy edit}} in February, March, April 2023, and for articles listed on the Requests page. Awards will be given out once the drive has finished.
The drive is open to all Wikipedians; you don't have to be a member of the Guild of Copy Editors to participate. You must, however, be competent in your use of English grammar, spelling and punctuation. We strongly advise you to read Wikipedia's guide to basic copy editing before you begin working. If you're unsure about spelling, grammar or punctuation, consult the Wikipedia Manual of Style. Skilled use of English is especially important for articles listed on the Requests page.
For brief instructions on recording your work, see below. For full instructions, visit the main drive page. Further details can be found on the drive FAQ page.
Full instructions, tips, and awards
Full instructions for participants, tips, help for new copy editors, useful tags, and details of the many barnstars available for the drive can be found on the main drive page. Please read this page carefully before you begin. To sign up, please use the form in the Signing up section below.
GOCE coordinators and other experienced Guild members will carry out random checks to ensure that copy edits are of a satisfactory standard. If you are willing to help with reviewing, please sign up below.
10% of each participant's copy edits from the backlog should be checked, and all copy edits from the Requests page should be reviewed, time permitting. Please choose articles at random and do not inspect your own copy edits. After checking articles, place a {{checked}} template after the article on the listing and sign your username with four tildes (~~~~). If a rough consensus finds that a copy edit is not of an acceptable standard, the tag will be re-added and the editor will be penalized 1,200 words plus the word count of the reviewed article. The reviewer may give advice on how the edit could have been improved without penalizing the editor. Please raise any questions on the Coordinators' talk page.
Reviewers sign-up
Signing up
To sign up for the drive, click the button below. This will create a subsection in the Totals section where you will record your copy edits. Rollover totals from the previous drive are located here.
Totals
How to record articles you have copy edited:
Remove any extant {{copy edit}} tags from the article.
When you sign up, your section is automatically populated with # {{Working}} [[]] () and # {{Completed}} [[]] ():
Article titles go in wikilinks [[]]. List the article's full title (not an abbreviated version) and avoid piped links, quotation marks and italics.
Article word counts go in round brackets (): use this script to get the page's word count. Count the words in the version of the article that existed before you started editing. These brackets should not contain anything other than this number; do not use additional brackets for comments. Avoid long calculation strings (more than one line) in your word total.
Place the article you are editing on the {{Working}} line. Only work on one article at a time. When you've finished your copy edit, change {{Working}}to{{Completed}}.
If the article is from the GOCE Requests page, place *R (using plain text) after the word count. If it was tagged in February, March, April 2023, place *O (using plain text) after the word count.
Place any comments between the article title and the word count.
Do not list articles on which you have placed {{GOCEreviewed}} instead of copy editing them, or which needed no copy editing.
Do not add the 50% bonus for Requests or Oldest articles—a coordinator will apply the bonuses after the drive is over.
If you want your work checked, you can request this on the drive talk page.
Properly completed records look like this in the edit window:
9
2
Completed Dark chocolate (1,234) *O
