[WikiEN-l] Re: Writing with our readers in mind

Mon Jul 11 10:51:01 UTC 2005

Jon wrote:
> A good example of the difficulties is outlined in today's featured 
> article on the Island Fox. The bit on the main page includes the 
> sentence "Its small size is a result of [[island dwarfing]], a kind of 
> [[allopatric speciation]]". Come again! To find out what that means 
> you have to wade through the technical article [[island dwarfing]] and 
> [[allopatric speciation]] - and to begin to understand the latter, you 
> also have to try to understand [[speciation]]. I think it means - "It 
> is small because it is on a small island", but why not just say that?

It means, "it is small because it is on a small island and because it 
can't breed with its larger relatives on the mainland".

I see that the article was rewritten to avoid the term "allopatric 
speciation". That's not a good change. Yes, unfamiliar technical terms 
need to be glossed. But they should be kept in the article where 
possible. Here is an excellent opportunity to mention an important 
scientific term and explain briefly what it means, while providing a 
link to an article that explains the term in more detail.