Xenharmonic Wiki talk:Things to do: Difference between revisions
Mousemambo (talk | contribs) |
Mousemambo (talk | contribs) →Plain-language writing: Proposed the term "Overview" for a to-be-added plain-language section of technical articles |
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Perhaps there needs to be a Todo for a specific problem I frequently encounter in the Xen Wiki, even for critical foundational terminology articles: The very first paragraph, even the very first line, is written with math-speak and it's not rare for it to include math theory beyond high-school/algebra level. I offer the article for [[Harmonic limit]] as an example: "In just intonation, the p-limit or p-prime-limit consists of the ratios of p-smooth numbers, where a p-smooth number is an integer with prime factors no larger than p." I don't think it's a horrible article. But 1) The first line refers to "p-smooth numbers" which is higher-math-speak (regardless of it being a link, I shouldn't need to know what number theory is) and the majority of people are math-phobic and will walk away right there; (2) The article is called "Harmonic limit" and there's no use of that term in the article or explanation of what's "harmonic" about the p-limit. | Perhaps there needs to be a Todo for a specific problem I frequently encounter in the Xen Wiki, even for critical foundational terminology articles: The very first paragraph, even the very first line, is written with math-speak and it's not rare for it to include math theory beyond high-school/algebra level. I offer the article for [[Harmonic limit]] as an example: "In just intonation, the p-limit or p-prime-limit consists of the ratios of p-smooth numbers, where a p-smooth number is an integer with prime factors no larger than p." I don't think it's a horrible article. But 1) The first line refers to "p-smooth numbers" which is higher-math-speak (regardless of it being a link, I shouldn't need to know what number theory is) and the majority of people are math-phobic and will walk away right there; (2) The article is called "Harmonic limit" and there's no use of that term in the article or explanation of what's "harmonic" about the p-limit. | ||
I strongly suggest that all [[User:Mousemambo/Introduction_to_xenharmonic_music_terminology|foundational terminology articles]] should open with a plain-language introduction. I'd actually rather not have any advanced (post-algebra) math language even appear before a plain-language section is presented — one that will provide a beginner everything they need to have a strong basic understanding of the topic. I don't yet have a suggestion for what such a section should be called... "Basic summary" may sound a bit condescending, but I am unsure. I don't think that "Harmonic limit" needs a whole plain-language section. But perhaps a first line that gives a non-math summary/definition, then a paragraph of non-math explanation, and then finally a paragraph that opens with, "In mathematical terms, ...." | I strongly suggest that all [[User:Mousemambo/Introduction_to_xenharmonic_music_terminology|foundational terminology articles]] should open with a plain-language introduction. I'd actually rather not have any advanced (post-algebra) math language even appear before a plain-language section is presented — one that will provide a beginner everything they need to have a strong basic understanding of the topic. I don't yet have a suggestion for what such a section should be called... "Basic summary" may sound a bit condescending, but I am unsure. I don't think that "Harmonic limit" needs a whole plain-language section. But perhaps a first line that gives a non-math summary/definition, then a paragraph of non-math explanation, and then finally a paragraph that opens with, "In mathematical terms, ...." [[User:Mousemambo|Mousemambo]] ([[User talk:Mousemambo|talk]]) 17:03, 7 September 2023 (UTC) | ||
:After a few weeks of thinking about it, I've settled on the heading "Overview" to indicate the plain-language, non-technical introduction and summary of an article that is mostly technical and expert-level. The term is not condescending or disparaging, it's true and accurate, and it allows for subheadings. So... expert/technical/mathematical articles would start with a brief plain-language intro paragraph (newly added if it doesn't already exist), followed by a technical/mathematical/expert intro paragraph (usually an existing one), then a new "Overview" plain-language section (preceded by the automatically created table of contents). The original article would follow that. This seems to me like a good general strategy for modifying articles on my [[User:Mousemambo/Introduction_to_xenharmonic_music_terminology]] listing that need plain-language upgrades. [[User:Mousemambo|Mousemambo]] ([[User talk:Mousemambo|talk]]) 08:34, 9 October 2023 (UTC) | |||
I am thinking out loud here to illustrate my perspective. I note that the plain-language text will probably (maybe ideally) duplicate or paraphrase some text from any corresponding Wikipedia article, e.g. Wikipedia:Limit (music). But I suggest that this level of explanation is going to frequently be necessary to provide basic introductions that don't frighten people off with immediate complexity. I feel that a limited amount of duplicating Wikipedia should not be discouraged within a plain-language section or summary. Especially because one of the functions of beginner terminology articles is to encourage understanding from a xenharmonic rather than a conventional musicology perspective, and the Xen Wiki analogous article can do that. | I am thinking out loud here to illustrate my perspective. I note that the plain-language text will probably (maybe ideally) duplicate or paraphrase some text from any corresponding Wikipedia article, e.g. Wikipedia:Limit (music). But I suggest that this level of explanation is going to frequently be necessary to provide basic introductions that don't frighten people off with immediate complexity. I feel that a limited amount of duplicating Wikipedia should not be discouraged within a plain-language section or summary. Especially because one of the functions of beginner terminology articles is to encourage understanding from a xenharmonic rather than a conventional musicology perspective, and the Xen Wiki analogous article can do that. | ||