Talk:Creation of Yugoslavia/GA1

Progress status (from reviewer Noleander)

Good Article review progress box Criteria: 1a. prose () 1b. MoS () 2a. ref layout () 2b. cites WP:RS () 2c. no WP:OR () 2d. no WP:CV () 3a. broadness () 3b. focus () 4. neutral () 5. stable () 6a. free or tagged images () 6b. pics relevant () Note: this represents where the article stands relative to the Good Article criteria. Criteria marked are unassessed

Comments from Noleander

• I will do a GA review, but will also point out issue that may arise at an FA review, since the nominator has indicated they may nominate for FA in the future. Any FA-related comments will be clearly identified below.

• Citations and sources: layout and format is consistent & uniform, and complies with MOS guidelines.

• Sources: appear to be high-quality and academic. Note that FA nominations can fail if reviewers discover that some high-quality sources (on the topic) are missing from the article. Nominator may want to double-check (before FA nomination) to ensure that all available high-quality sources are utilized by the article.

• Images: I looked at the Commons page of all images, and they appear to all have proper licensing or public domain information. None are within copyright.

• Accessibility: all images have "alt text"; however alt text is missing from the map in the top InfoBox. Is it possible to add alt text to that?

• Ran the Earwig copyright violation tool: it reported no issues.

• Page size is 6362 prose words, which is fine per WP:SIZERULE.

• Ran "Show Ref Check" tool .. reported no issues.

• (This is a tip for FA, not required for GA): ISBN warnings are showing on two books in "Further Reading":
  1. Baerlain, Henry (1922). The Birth of Yugoslavia. Vol. 1. London: HardPress, Leonard Parsons. ISBN 9781318873852.
  2. Baerlain, Henry (1922). The Birth of Yugoslavia. Vol. 2. London: HardPress, Leonard Parsons. ISBN 9781318895281

Books published in 1922 did not have ISBN. If you found an ISBN, that is reprint, which is okay. But in that case, the citation "year" field should be the year of the reprint; and the "orig-year" field should be 1922.

Summary of ISBN rules: Before 1970, ISBNs did not exist. 1970 to 2007: ISBN-10 only (cannot use ISBN-10 for editions/reprints before 1970). 2007 onward: ISBN-13 (should not use ISBN-13 for editions/reprints before 2007; however some ISBN-13 have been fabricated for ISBN-10 works).

• (This is a tip for FA, not required for GA): A picture is worth a thousand words: The key event of this article is the transition of the Yugosl. provinces from being a part of the Austria-Hungary Emp into a single sovereign nation. Is it possible to have a "before and after" pair of images that illustrate that transition? The "before" pic could be similar to the pic at top of Dissolution of Austria-Hungary article. The after could be any map of Yugoslavia.
  • For an example of how to display a pair of images side-by-side see Dam#Dam_removal.

• (This is a tip for FA, not required for GA): The images are mostly boring pictures of old men. Are there any photos or drawings of other things? Buildings? Events? Demonstrations? Protests? Battles? Varying the images will make the article more inviting and attractive.

• (This is a tip for FA, not required for GA): Some of the paragraphs are rather large. I don't think the WP Manual of Style has a paragraph size limit, but smaller paragraphs may be more attractive and impressive. Consider breaking up large paragraphs, e.g.
  • In Lead: "During the war, while fighting ..."
  • "The rules, adopted on 7 November, stipulated .."
  • "Serbia, an independent kingdom since ..."
  • "Social disorder gripped Croatia where looting ..."
  • "On 13 November, when the Armistice ..."
  • "The central committee pursued ..."

• (This is a tip for FA, not required for GA): Several sections focus on one particular province/territory. Consider adding a map at the start of each of those sections, so the readers can orient themselves and get a feel for where the place is. Ideally, all these would be the same map (e.g. File:Provinces and Sub-Provinces of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes - Yugoslavia (1918-1922).png but with the particular province highlighted in a special color. Sections that could benefit from these "locator maps" are:
  • Kingdom of Serbia
  • State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
  • Vojvodina
  • Montenegro
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina

This is just my viewpoint, as a person who has not too familiar with Yugoslavia (tho I did ride my bicycle thru N. Macedonia; Kosovo; and Montenegro many years ago :-). Other editors may not agree that locator maps are beneficial. It may be wise to include them before FA nomination ... it is easier to remove them during an FA nomination than to add them. Your choice.

• Prose is good, in the sense that each sentence is well written and has good grammar and good word choices. Meets GA requirements.

• (This is a tip for FA, not required for GA): The overall flow and understandability of the article is much improved from FAC nomination #1. However, some FA reviewers may still have concerns. Here are some examples of passages:
  • Good: "Social disorder gripped Croatia where looting of farms and businesses and destruction of property became commonplace." - Simple, direct, paints a picture.
  • Not great: "The National Council dispatched Laza Popović [sr], Svetozar Pribićević's brother Valerijan, and Dragutin Perko to Belgrade to request that ..." Do readers really need the names of all four of these individuals? Having too many details (names of people, names of towns, dates) can be overwhelming and detract from the big picture. Every time a name or date is mentioned: readers are required to do mental labor to store the name/date into their brain since it may be required soon.
  • Too many names? "In response to the Korošec's invitation to Pašić and Trumbić of 1 November,[24] the representatives of the National Council, supported by the Yugoslav Committee, met with Pašić and representatives of Serbia's parliamentary opposition parties in Geneva..." Again, maybe I am the only editor that finds the large number of named individuals distracting. If so: feel free to ignore this advice.
  • Good: "Social unrest was widespread in the country in the early period ..." This entire paragraph is nice; notice that it does not name any individuals, but focuses on big-picture events and groups. It does not ask the reader to stop and store names and dates into their brain.
  • Names? "The resolution, signed and presented by Ivo Krstelj and The resolution, signed and presented by Ivo Krstelj and Josip Smodlaka, cautioned the, cautioned the... are these names essential and beneficial?

• (This is a tip for FA, not required for GA): Another random example of an area where prose could be improved: Committees. There are quite a few.
  • "The central committee of the National Council convened in Zagreb on 23 November. The meeting, chaired by Svetozar Pribićević, assessed the overall situation as critical and demanded immediate action to avoid chaos in the country. The committee also discussed a provincial Dalmatian National Council resolution to urge the central committee of the National Council to..." Can the repetitive wording be simplified?
  • "Serbia, an independent kingdom since 1878, considered the war an opportunity for territorial expansion at the expense of Austria-Hungary. A committee tasked with determining Serbia's war aims produced a programme to establish a South Slavic state by adding the South Slav-inhabited parts of the Habsburg lands—Croatia-Slavonia, the Slovene Lands, Vojvodina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Dalmatia—to Serbia. A long, complicated passage. What was the committee and what was its purpose? Can the passage be made simpler, and perhaps avoid mentioning the committee (instead, mention the authority behind the committee?)

• Passing this for GA status. The article is in great shape already, and in fact it was already nominated for FA. Most of my comments above are suggestions for a possible 2nd FA nomination in the future. For GA criteria: the article passes all criteria. The only issue that may need addressing (for GA status) is paragraph size (a few paragraphs are rather large) but that is borderline and not a reason to decline GA status. Noleander (talk) 16:36, 2 July 2026 (UTC)