Talk:SARS-CoV-2 surpasses one million infections worldwide

Attribution for focal event
re "not sure this will work work out (it looks odd for the focal event to be attributed as "reportedly"), but, taking a look-see" - I don't think the reportedly bit is needed, only added because of Gryllida's comment above, would agree with it being removed --DannyS712 (talk) 22:29, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

Title
It should not be "COVID-19" but rather "Coronavirus" (or "SARS-Cov-2" if you want to be specific) - people get infected with the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 / Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) which is what causes the disease (COVID-19) - one does not get infected by a disease --DannyS712 (talk) 22:57, 4 April 2020 (UTC)


 * That sounds reasonable. I can't think of a reason not to act on it. --Pi zero (talk) 23:01, 4 April 2020 (UTC)
 * (I'm not completely convinced the disease name is strictly "wrong" here. But, as a I said.) --Pi zero (talk) 23:02, 4 April 2020 (UTC)
 * ...I suggested "Coronavirus" because "SARS-Cov-2" is never mentioned in the text (also why I used the title in the first place) --DannyS712 (talk) 23:07, 4 April 2020 (UTC)
 * I'll keep that in mind. However, it's what is meant, while the other is a bit sloppy.  In a few years we could be grappling with a different coronavirus. --Pi zero (talk) 23:23, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

"That"
can you explain https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=SARS-CoV-2_surpasses_one_million_infections_worldwide&type=revision&diff=4556807&oldid=4556804 - "rule 13 ("omit needless words")"? Where is this rule written? Thanks, --DannyS712 (talk) 01:06, 5 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Heh. It is (in my observation) the most famous admonition of William Strunk's 1919 The Elements of style.  Cf. The Elements of Style/Principles --Pi zero (talk) 01:14, 5 April 2020 (UTC)
 * I've never heard it before, and I don't think the words are "needless". Style guide says to refer to "one" of the listed guides, and the one I referred if both ways were valid not to change it; even if not having the words is still valid, they should be kept. --DannyS712 (talk) 01:20, 5 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Tightening up prose a bit is pretty standard in news writing, I believe. As a matter of interest, what function do you see the words performing?  To me, truthfully, it seems to mean the same thing except with more words. --Pi zero (talk) 01:56, 5 April 2020 (UTC)
 * (I'm leaving it for some other reviewer to weigh in on. Anyone?  ?) --Pi zero (talk) 02:15, 5 April 2020 (UTC)
 * I think it makes it slightly clearer and flows better --DannyS712 (talk) 02:19, 5 April 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree with Pi zero - having those two words there does not add anything in meaning. I find the word "that" is one of the most overused words in writing. Certainly it was hammered into me as a student and in employment that it should be used as little as needed. That said, I can see a few more places where words could be cut without losing meaning. Additionally I think the titles of specific people and bodies should be capitalised wherever possible e.g. Mike DeWine is the Governor of Ohio, one of fifty US state governors. --Green Giant (talk) 12:55, 5 April 2020 (UTC)
 * A side point (not about "that"): While the style guide prefers a light touch/hands-off approach to a great deal, it goes to some trouble to specify names of people's positions should not be capitalized when not directly part of the name, i.e., "Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio" but "Mike DeWine, governor of Ohio". The example in the style guide even specifically uses "governor". --Pi zero (talk) 13:06, 5 April 2020 (UTC)

I offer some larger-picture observations relating to this small by-play on stylistic details.

Detailed proof-reading is part of Wikinews article production, of course. It's certainly valuable/important for writers and reviewers to engage the low-level-detail aspect of things. The low-level aspect is the province of what Wikipedian culture calls wikignomes, and in general an effective Wikinews reviewer has to have a bit of wikignome in them so this aspect is not neglected. However, Wikinews is ultimately driven from principles of a higher level, with the low-level details in a supporting role. Our policies and guidelines minimize details in favor of generalities from which we infer specifics, the apparent origin of the historical trend of Wikinewsies teasing/criticizing Wikipedia for being overly bureaucratic. We try to keep the low-level details as low-profile as can be arranged, and when they threaten to take center stage, that's a bit worrisome.

Zooming in a bit, yes we try to accommodate stylistic differences between different varieties of English; but part of the point of that is to allow us to bypass squabbles over those issues so we can attend more to more central concerns like attribution, objectivity, accuracy. The principle of saying things in fewer words rather than more &mdash;which Strunk famously expressed in very few words as "omit needless words"&mdash; is more of a news-writing-style thing than a variety-of-English sort of thing; yes, some of Strunk's advice on writing is more idiosyncratic, but that one is pretty standard, and we tend to apply it rather generally. That is, tightening up phrasing is something we tend to do without putting a lot of effort into worrying about whether extra words are more prevalent in one or another language-variety. Granted, some particular constructs are more awkward in some dialects than others, so this isn't always 100% clear-cut; but our hope is to do something everyone can live with and move on, without having to put a lot of higher-level thought into it. --Pi zero (talk) 15:52, 5 April 2020 (UTC)

2 mil
editprotected According to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019–20_coronavirus_pandemic the world has 1.872 million cases. More then a million people live in San Jose, CA but that many people is more then the population of Phoenix, AZ plus a few suburbs. 2600:387:5:807:0:0:0:26 (talk) 16:17, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
 * This does not appear to entail any change to this Wikinews article. --Pi zero (talk) 17:22, 13 April 2020 (UTC)