Talk:Simon Boas

Assessment

@Ktkvtsh: I saw you assessed this as C-class. Could you give me some feedback, as I'd like to improve it to GA? Curb Safe Charmer (talk) 19:48, 21 October 2024 (UTC)

@Ktkvtsh: I note that mw:ORES gives it an assessment of B or higher. Curb Safe Charmer (talk) 16:29, 23 October 2024 (UTC)

I will give you some feedback later today. Ktkvtsh (talk) 16:41, 23 October 2024 (UTC)

@Ktkvtsh: Thanks for re-grading. Any feedback? Curb Safe Charmer (talk) 07:10, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Needs a photo, if possible. Any assessment higher than B would need to be requested elsewhere. Ktkvtsh (talk) 21:48, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Potential sources

• https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/prioritise-the-truly-important-things-377722/
• https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2025/17-january/books-arts/book-reviews/book-reviews-a-beginner-s-guide-to-dying-by-simon-boas-and-meditations-for-mortals-by-oliver-burkeman
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ng9l07vy9o

Curb Safe Charmer (talk) 11:08, 23 April 2025 (UTC)

GA review

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

---

This review is transcluded from Talk:Simon Boas/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: Curb Safe Charmer (talk · contribs) 16:39, 8 April 2025 (UTC)

Reviewer: MCE89 (talk · contribs) 07:28, 27 October 2025 (UTC)

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

Hello, I'll be reviewing this article. Overall I think there's still a little bit of work to do to get this article to GA status, but given that this has been in the queue for a while I'm happy to give you time to work on it if you think you'll be able to address these issues within a reasonable time frame. I've added some comments below on the most pressing issues — just ping me once you're done responding to these and I'll complete my prose review and spot checks. MCE89 (talk) 07:28, 27 October 2025 (UTC)

@MCE89: I've addressed your initial feedback (thank you) so please could you continue with your review. Curb Safe Charmer (talk) 14:09, 29 October 2025 (UTC)

@Curb Safe Charmer: Looks much better! I still do have some NPOV concerns:

• He showed an early commitment to social justice — I don't think this can be said in wikivoice, as we don't objectively know why he took this career path and whether it was reflective of his inner commitment to social justice. We could instead just say He began volunteering in refugee camps as a teenager Fixed
• ...where he strengthened the island's global development partnerships while also serving his local community — This reads as WP:PUFFERY. Instead, I'd suggest more straightforwardly presenting his objective achievements in the role. If secondary sources support the claim that he successfully strengthened global partnerships, give specifics about how he did so. Fixed - I don't think it was puffery, but I have removed the first part of the statement as I only have primary sources on the work he did at JOA.
• His candid essays on mortality — Candid according to whom? reference added

Otherwise the prose is looking good. I've added my prose comments below — once you've responded to these I'll do my final spot checks. MCE89 (talk) 11:59, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

Hi @MCE89. I hope you are doing well. Sorry for my interfere. Since you had started reviewing this article as a part of October 2025 GAN backlog drive, it has been a quite long time still you didnot complete the review. If you have free time then, Would you please complete it as soon as possible? Best Regards ! Fade258 (talk) 01:37, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

Thanks for the reminder @Fade258. @Curb Safe Charmer, there are still some outstanding comments that it doesn't look like you've responded to yet (including the points about potential non-neutral language in the lead above). Can you confirm whether you'll be able to action the remaining points? MCE89 (talk) 01:42, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

@MCE89: Sorry for the late reply, and for the recent inaction on this GA. I am undergoing cancer treatment and also have had a bereavement - my mum's funeral is on Monday. So my editing has dropped to almost zero, unless I am seeking an activity to take my mind off things. If you could give me say a further week, I can get this finished. Curb Safe Charmer (talk) 22:31, 10 December 2025 (UTC)

I'm so sorry for your loss. Of course, please take as long as you need. MCE89 (talk) 10:39, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

@MCE89: I think I've addressed all your feedback now. Thanks! Curb Safe Charmer (talk) 19:08, 21 December 2025 (UTC)

@Curb Safe Charmer: Looks good. I've made a few minor direct edits to the article, but feel free to undo any that you don't like. I've also added my spot-checks below — just a couple of issues to be resolved. There's also one sentence that's now unsourced and should be sourced or removed: In March 2009 he became country director for Palestine at PlaNet Finance, a Paris-based NGO. MCE89 (talk) 15:38, 24 December 2025 (UTC)

@MCE89, I hope you are doing well. Did you finish the review? Fade258 (talk) 15:00, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

@Curb Safe Charmer Have you had a chance to fix the things I noted in the source spot check below? Once that's done and the one unsourced sentence mentioned above is sourced or removed this should be ready to pass. MCE89 (talk) 13:07, 17 January 2026 (UTC)

@MCE89: thanks for being patient - Wikipedia hasn't been a priority for me recently. I have commented out the bit about PlaNet Finance as this was only sourced to LinkedIn though I hope to find a replacement source. I have addressed the issues in the source verification table. Curb Safe Charmer (talk) 19:35, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

Looks good — I did a few more spotchecks and didn't see any issues. Will pass this now. MCE89 (talk) 07:24, 26 January 2026 (UTC)

Initial comments

• I think the lead needs expansion to more fully cover the contents of the article Fixed
• There are a couple of examples of non-neutral statements being made in wikivoice. For instance, the lead refers to his inspirational writings. In my view it's fine to say that they were widely described as inspirational, but we can’t call the writings themselves inspirational in wikivoice Fixed
• I would not reference his LinkedIn for things like the fact that he graduated with distinction. Fixed - no source found other than LinkedIn If it hasn’t been commented on in a secondary source, it's likely not WP:DUE for inclusion (I would in fact remove everything currently cited to his LinkedIn). More generally, I would suggest that you consider cutting some of the primary-sourced content throughout the article on this basis.
• There are a few sentences that are currently unsourced:
  • In November 2012, they moved to Nepal where he worked for the same organisation as coordinator of its Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases. - Currently unsourced Fixed apart from the date
  • and the Daily Mail. He also read it on the BBC Radio 4 programme Broadcasting House. - Also unsourced Fixed
  • the day of the royal visit. - Also unsourced Fixed
  • The book is to be published in seven other countries including Germany, Japan, Latvia and Taiwan. - Unsourced, Fixed and possibly out of date? made it past tense; added translation info to bibliography

Prose comments

• His writings about his terminal illness diagnosis—widely described as inspirational—were featured — I know that "widely described" was my suggestion, but just make sure that this is also contained in the body with sources to support the claim that others described his writing as inspirational

  Not a problem, at least the following describe his writing as inspirational: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

• develop the reconstruction plan for Gaza after the first war — I think "first war" is a bit ambiguous here, given that there have of course been past conflicts in the region. Perhaps 2008–2009 Gaza war? Fixed
• an intern with a Palestinian news agency as part of a masters in journalism — Suggest changing this to an intern with a Palestinian news agency studying a masters in journalism for clarity Fixed
• ...and was recognised by the World Jersey Cattle Bureau — I would cut this — it's sourced only to their Facebook post, and it feels unnecessary to say that he promoted their cattle and that they then recognised him for it  Done
• In September 2023, when he was age 46, Boas wrote an article in the Jersey Evening Post where he announced that lumps in his neck and difficulty swallowing had been diagnosed as terminal throat cancer. — I think this phrasing could be simplified to something more like In September 2023, aged 46, Boas wrote in the Jersey Evening Post that he had been diagnosed with terminal throat cancer after experiencing lumps in his neck and difficulty swallowing.
• Some of the proceeds from the book will be donated — Do we know whether this has happened yet? If so, change to "have been donated"; if not, change to "it was announced that some of the proceeds would be donated..." Fixed
• The book was due to be published — Likewise, can we say whether this has happened yet? I am not sure about the Japanese translation, but the rest have.
• Regarding the "Cyclists are Cunts: A Poem" book, is there a source that names Simon Boas as the author? I can only find sources that attribute it to "S B"  now referenced to The Times

This table checks 9 passages from throughout the article (15.5% of 58 total passages). These passages contain 11 inline citations (17.7% of 62 in the article). Generated with the Veracity user script. MCE89 (talk) 15:38, 24 December 2025 (UTC)

Reference #	Letter	Source	Archive	Status	Notes
Both volunteer for the homelessness charity Shelter and their local food bank.
6	a	telegraph.co.uk
At the age of 16 he delivered his first humanitarian aid convoy to a refugee camp near Mostar in Bosnia with a church group, encountering mass graves and bombed out villages.
4	b	thetimes.com			Mostly verifies, but I don't see "near Mostar" or "with a church group" in the source Fixed
In 2004 he went on to work for the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS).
1	c	thetimes.com			I don't see this in the source Not sure. - it says "and programme co-ordinator with the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute" - just not the year.
After their marriage, the couple lived in the Gaza Strip
1	f	thetimes.com
His third and final article was published on 13 May 2024.
17	b	jerseyeveningpost.com
letter from them which said how moved they had been by his charitable work and courage.
24		bbc.co.uk
before being published posthumously in hardback by Swift Press on 12 September 2024.
27		bbc.com	web.archive.org		This doesn't seem to be in the source, which was published before 12 September 2024 and therefore couldn't verify this replaced reference
Cyclists are Cunts: A Poem (16 April 2024; ISBN 979-8-32-300354-9)
1	g	thetimes.com
38		cyclistsarecnuts.com
18	b	jerseyeveningpost.com

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.