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Traffic report

Unsurprisingly, sport leads the field – or the ring

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By Pythoncoder, Stormy clouds, and Igordebraga
This traffic report is adapted from the Top 25 Report, prepared with commentary by Stormy clouds (October 14 to 20); Pythoncoder (October 7 to 13); Igordebraga (September 30 to October 6); and Stormy clouds and Igordebraga (September 23 to 29)

Rogue Killers (October 14 to 20)

Horizontal bar graph depicting the most popular Wikipedia articles for the week of October 14 to 20, 2018

Another week, another series of deaths. The report is topped by two deceased men: a slaughtered opponent of the Saudi regime and a technological tycoon. Following on from this sombre note, however, we have a list dominated to an intense degree by visual media, from new Netflix releases to a virtual tour of all big releases currently airing in your local multiplex. Not the most diverse report of all time, dominated as it is by just a handful of issues, but interesting to compile all the same. Enjoy.

For the week of October 14 to 20, 2018, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:

Rank Article Class Views Image About
1 Jamal Khashoggi 1,364,473 The brutal story which captivated the world this week revolves around Khashoggi, a journalist, famed in the West for his work with The Post, disappeared in the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, leading to (now confirmed) suspicions that he had been murdered by the Arabian authorities. Of course, Saudi Arabia was ostracized internationally owing to their blatant brutality—just kidding, they have liquid gold. Must have been rogue killers. Maybe #18 was involved.
2 Paul Allen 1,141,490 Another death, though one with less geopolitical ramifications; Allen, along with his bespectacled friend, founded Microsoft and subsequently became one of the wealthiest men alive (and owner of the Seahawks). Sad day for fans of technology. Even sadder for Internet Explorer users, who are just finding out about his demise now.
3 The Haunting of Hill House (TV series) 1,082,865 The latest streaming sensation on our all-powerful content tsar charts highly on the Top 25 Report, following in the well-trodden footsteps of seemingly every series in the platform. I haven't seen this one, but it is tinged with horror; based on #5; and stars Michiel Huisman, perhaps best known as a regenerated dragon's paramour.
4 A Star Is Born (2018 film) 972,305 The fourth iteration of the cinematic classic, starring an acting musician and a directing actor, is also the best, and will aim to convert the considerable swathes of wiki-interest it has attracted into gold, the work of a cinephilic alchemist.
5 The Haunting of Hill House 907,143 Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel, a seminal cornerstone of mid-twentieth-century horror literature alongside the corpus of literary royalty, has been adapted into a popular Netflix miniseries (#3).
6 Halloween (2018 film) 791,624 When one sees the repetitive rebooting of dormant horror franchises, all dull, stale, monotonous and trite, I wonder why Hollywood bothers. Then Halloween slashes its way to a $77 million opening weekend, and one wonders no more.
7 Venom (2018 film) 747,146 Venom is comfortably one of the worst superhero adaptations in recent memory, with bland characters, a comically laughable plot, non-existent tension, and an intriguing ability to be both ludicrously toned-down and simultaneously grossly over the top. So kudos to Sony Pictures for out-doing their last horrendous swing at the character, and kudos to the droves of cinema-goers who ensured that poor Tom Hardy will have to slog through several sequels.
8 Deaths in 2018 694,717 Another week, another appearance in the Top 25 for the list of the deceased, buoyed this time by our top two entries.
9 Lady Gaga 577,955 Lady Gaga has become intimately reacquainted with the Fame Monster and its associated harbingers following her sublime starring turn in #4, and it is likely she will be in the Oscar conversation come awards time. Not bad for the musician, who intriguingly derived her stage name from our #13.
10 Neil Armstrong 507,392 The first is a handful of real-life figures in the Report owing to their appearances in cinematic biopics, the Air Force pilot turned pioneering lunar Voyager is the subject of the fittingly named First Man, where he is portrayed sublimely by Ryan Gosling.

UFC, Politics, and More Superheroes (October 7 to 13)

Horizontal bar graph depicting the most popular Wikipedia articles for the week of October 7 to 13, 2018

This week, readers continued to be interested in the event that turned violent... err... more violent (#1, #3, #5, #15, #19). Further down the list is a different kind of fight—this one over the US Supreme Court (#7, #23, #25). Wikipedia readers also went to the movies a lot this week, with entries related to new releases Venom, A Star Is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, and 22 July from Netflix (#2, #4, #12, #13, #14, #20, #22). Rounding out the list is the latest Trump administration departure (#6), a royal wedding (#8), another Banksy prank (#9), American athletes (#11, #17), Hurricane Michael (#16), and #MeToo (#21). This leaves 3 spots this week related to deaths (#10, #24, and #18, unless you're the Saudi government).

For the week of October 6 to 13, 2018, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:

Rank Article Class Views Image About
1 Khabib Nurmagomedov 3,083,061 Nurmagomedov beat Conor McGregor in UFC 229 to become the new UFC lightweight champion. UFC is a mixed martial arts competition, which basically means that you're trying to beat up your opponent by any means possible. Oh, and then this guy did this. No thanks.
2 Venom (2018 film) 1,521,579 There's been a lot of buzz around this film, which—despite being critically panned—has proven to be a hit with audiences. It grossed $35 million in the US and Canada last weekend, giving it the number 1 spot once again and a total domestic haul of $142 million. It just goes to show that moviegoers really, really, really like superheroes. The film, directed by Ruben Fleischer, tells the story of Spider-Man antihero named Venom, played by Tom Hardy (whose acting is considered one of the highlights of the film). The film was made by Sony Pictures and, despite it being about a Marvel character, Marvel does not consider it to be in the official Marvel Cinematic Universe.
3 Conor McGregor 1,341,613 After a brief stint in boxing, this was supposed to be McGregor's return to mixed martial arts, the combat sport which brought him his fame. And just like the fight linked above (which ended in a technical knockout), it probably didn't end the way McGregor hoped. Of course, he probably made a lot of money along the way, so that helps. Can't say I watched, but there you go.
4 A Star Is Born (2018 film) 1,326,315 #2 for this weekend's US/Canada box office is the fourth remake, considered to be a favorite for awards season. With Hollywood's obsession with remakes and sequels, it's surprising it took this long for a remake to come out.
5 UFC 229 1,056,495 Pictured to the left is the Las Vegas arena where the fight took place (see #1).
6 Nikki Haley 902,500 This week, Haley became the latest high-profile departure from the Trump White House, which has had an astonishingly high turnover rate. Haley, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, will leave at the end of the year. Comments by the POTUS suggest that Jim Mattis and Jeff Sessions may be on the outs as well. Sad!
7 Brett Kavanaugh 831,313 Ugh. Don't remind me that this guy is on the Supreme Court. What a sad, sad day for America. Please, never mention this name to me ever again, unless it's part of an impeachment effort.
8 Princess Eugenie 811,346[a] There was another royal wedding last week. With this one happening so close to the last one, the page views were lower; it probably didn't help that Markle and Prince Harry sort of stole their thunder with an announcement of their own.[b]
9 Banksy 727,223 Banksy made headlines again this week, when a copy of his painting Girl with Balloon shredded itself after being sold at auction for £1,042,000 (US$1.373 million). (Or did it?) Of course, this just increased its value. The painting has now been renamed Love Is in the Bin.
10 Deaths in 2018 703,425 "All our times have come
Here, but now they're gone..."
I gotta have more cowbell!
  1. ^ Combined views; during the week, the article was moved from "Princess Eugenie of York" (583,283) to "Princess Eugenie" (228,063).
  2. ^ What, you think I'm going to read articles about this topic?

October and articles are stripped bare (September 30 to October 6, 2018)

Horizontal bar graph depicting the most popular Wikipedia articles for the week of September 30 to October 6, 2018

October starts with the most prevalent subject being the United States Supreme Court dispute (#2, #8, #13, #19, #20, #21) that dominated late September—a current Justice (#17) thankfully owes her entry for matters outside that. And if you though that wasn't aggressive enough, there was a MMA event (#25) that ended with the fighters (#5, #11) attacking/being attacked by people outside the ring, something you'd expect more from wrestling (#7). While on bad boys, the Report is topped by the solo movie of comics antihero Eddie Brock a.k.a. Venom—and yet, the new release that brought in bonus entries was A Star Is Born (#3), with both stars (#10, #12), one of whom also directs, entering the list. India looked for Gandhi in his holiday (#6), a doctor when Google homaged him (#14) and an actor when his widow died (#22). Otherwise, Charles Aznavour (#16) joined the year's deaths (#4), Patrick Mahomes (#9) keeps winning, Banksy (#24) trolled an auction, Elon Musk (#18) continues to see negative repercussions of the joint he smoked, and readers sought more about a Netflix movie on wolf hunters (#23) and Forest Whitaker's brother (#15).

For the week of September 30 to October 6, 2018, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:

Rank Article Class Views Image About
1 Venom (2018 film) 1,721,610 Spider-Man's sometimes evil, sometimes antiheroic counterpart got his solo movie, though completely divorced from said hero as Sony Pictures still wants to make Webhead-related movies without needing to ask for Marvel Studios to help. Critics blasted Venom, though deeming it a bit watchable due to Tom Hardy's unhinged performance as Eddie Brock (and his superpowered dark side); audiences were more acceptive, and the movie made $200 million worldwide in a single weekend.
2 Brett Kavanaugh 1,456,383 In spite of the hearings regarding a sexual assault incident (#8), the Senate confirmed Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court by just two votes.
3 A Star Is Born (2018 film) 1,088,531 The other big release of the week, the fourth remake of a famous story of musicians falling in love and she rises to fame while he decays,[a] starring Bradley Cooper (pictured), who also directs, produces, and co-writes. It finished as second in the box office behind our #1, but got much better reviews, being lauded as a possible award contender.
4 Deaths in 2018 714,104 "À Tout le Monde, à tous mes amis
Je vous aime, je dois partir
These are the last words I'll ever speak
And they'll set me free"
5 Khabib Nurmagomedov 677,003 The Russian UFC Lightweight Champion saw his title contested by former champion Conor McGregor (#11) in Las Vegas (#25), and still won—but followed it by some violence off the octagon that made Dana White refuse to give him the belt back, fearing the crowd would pelt him with whatever they had on hand.
6 Mahatma Gandhi 659,348 Mohandas's birthday was on October 2, leading Indians to once again research the activist who inspired the Gandhi Jayanti holiday.
7 WWE Super Show-Down 625,858 One more WWE pantomime, only this time in Australia! Among the events of the night, Charlotte Flair (pictured) won the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship.
8 Christine Blasey Ford 625,685 The testimony of this college professor accusing Brett Kavanaugh (#2) of sexually assaulting her back in high school inspired an FBI supplemental background investigation... without the statements by herself, Kavanaugh, and dozens of other witnesses due to restrictions imposed by the White House. Go figure. Ford still doesn't want him impeached, hoping the mid-term elections elects mostly Democrats.
9 Patrick Mahomes 541,537 The 2018 Kansas City Chiefs season so far has been a 5‒0, so the quarterback responsible is at the center of attention.
10 Lady Gaga 493,663 Stefani Germanotta followed the steps of Janet Gaynor, Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand by getting the lead role in A Star is Born (#3), with acclaim that must have satisfied a woman who once sung "I live for the applause".
  1. ^ though the first is about actors—sounds familiar?

Supreme Allegations (September 23 to 29)

Horizontal bar graph depicting the most popular Wikipedia articles for the week of September 23 to 29, 2018

More so than any report in recent memory, this iteration of the Top 25 Report is dominated by one major story: the ongoing confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh for the vacant seat on the US Supreme Court, and the allegations of sexual misconduct levied against him. The story accounts directly for some eight of the items listed below, the majority of which reside in the top half. With view counts of just over 300,000 sufficient for a place in the report, there is no denying that it was a quiet week for Wikipedians. However, the perusers of the encyclopedia ensured that the report has some diversity, with entries originating from the silver screen, the back pages of the newspapers, and even Reddit. Thus, an undeniably unusual report, dogged by sexual assault and the cryptic complexity of American politics; yet nonetheless, a curious list, and one that we hope you enjoy.

Without further ado, for the week of September 23 to 29, 2018 the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:

Rank Article Class Views Image About
1 Brett Kavanaugh 2,451,649 History has a tendency to repeat itself, it seems. In 1991, a Republican nominee for SCOTUS was embroiled in controversy during their confirmation hearing as a result of allegations of sexual harassment made by our #7, leading to furore and debate galore amongst the public and a chasm-like schism between members of Congress on the issue. Once again, this week, Capitol Hill has consumed itself with such matters, as Kavanaugh, Trump's nominee for the vacant seat on the court, has been accused of sexual assault by Ford, and this has inadvertently created a political firestorm, with raging rhetoric between those who believe the allegations and those who accuse them of being a political stunt aimed to stall the nomination until mid-terms. Evidently, this has captivated Wikipedians worldwide.
2 Christine Blasey Ford 1,613,591
3 Bill Cosby 836,293 Completing a trio of sexual assault related stories in the Top 3 for this week, we have the sweater-wearing celebrity behind The Cosby Show, who has seen his star fall dramatically amidst a conviction for rape. Cosby, once dubbed "America's Dad" at the height of his popularity, was sentenced to a jail sentence of between 3 to 10 years during the week, leading vast swathes of Wikipedians towards his article.
4 Deaths in 2018 719,113 Once again, the list of the fallen attracted swarms of Wikipedia's denizens, morbid curiosity and intrigue propelling them to the list like a moth to a flame (bröther). Interestingly, the list remains so high despite the fact that none of the victims of the Reaper feature in this iteration of the report.
5 Lindsey Graham 616,461 Lindsey Graham has taken a starring role in the investigation and confirmation hearings of #1, representing the GOP by supporting Kavanaugh in spite of the allegations. This has led media outlets to declare him to be Trump's greatest ally in the Senate. Graham seems determined to enact the President's will to select a nominee for the Supreme Court, as detailed in the Constitution. Luckily, Graham has always upheld the importance of this executive right.
6 Tha Carter V 601,874 The long-delayed and possibly last album by rapper Lil Wayne (#8) got finally released on September 28.
7 Anita Hill 575,395 Anita Hill was a major source of controversy in American politics of the early 1990s, shaking Capitol Hill in a manner which only Monica Lewinski would replicate throughout the decade. Hill alleged that she had been the victim of sexual harassment perpetrated by Clarence Thomas (#12) during his confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court. The controversy swirling around #1 and #2 has obviously brought Wikipedia's attention back to this starkly similar case. History has a tendency to repeat itself, it seems.
8 Lil Wayne 570,512 Dwayne Carter, self-proclaimed "Best Rapper Alive" who isn't one of the Reptilians but certainly looks like a giant gila monster, released Tha Carter V (#6) after six years of work.
9 Tiger Woods 560,038 The most famous name in world golf, and the second most decorated player ever, both in terms of PGA Tour wins and majors, Tiger Woods has exploded back into the spotlight this season, rediscovering form after—to the world—it seemed he was finished. Tiger confirmed his return as one of the sport's apex predators with a comfortable victory at the season-ending Tour Championship, and subsequently celebrated by losing four games for the US team at #16. Next month, he will face Phil Mickelson in a winner-takes-all match in Vegas. If Phil's game is as desolate as his dancing (thank me later), then Tiger will likely reign supreme.
10 Asia Cup 485,664
I don't like cricket, no, oh no; I love it
The Indian sub-continent has an affinity (to put it mildly) for cricket. Throughout the past fortnight, fans of the sport were treated to a veritable festival of the game, played using its more approachable ODI system, as the best nations of Asia competed fiercely with each other. This tournament, played in the UAE culminated with a closely contested clash between reigning champions India and their Bengali neighbours, with India triumphing by three wickets to retain their throne.

Exclusions

  • These lists exclude the Wikipedia main page, non-article pages (such as redlinks), and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Since mobile view data became available to the Report in October 2014, we exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (5–6% or less) or almost all mobile views (94–95% or more) because they are very likely to be automated views based on our experience and research of the issue. Please feel free to discuss any removal on the Top 25 Report talk page if you wish.
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  • I wonder, is Ugh. Don't remind me that this guy is on the Supreme Court. What a sad, sad day for America. Please, never mention this name to me ever again, unless it's part of an impeachment effort. an accepted way to comment on a sensitive political issue? Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk, contributions) 19:54, 28 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
    Does anyone know if traffic reports are conventionally supposed to be NPOV like articles are? --Joshualouie711talk 21:26, 28 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
    Under the recent generations of leadership of The Signpost it seems there is less emphasis on NPOV here than before. I think we should be careful about it. Bias is bias, and even if its only a traffic report, I think its best to keep such statements to the op-eds. It also contributes to the narrative that Wikipedia is a collection of left-leaning perspectives. And a comment such as the one made about Kavanaugh betrays an American-oriented bias, which I think is most disappointing for our users. I doubt the editors have ever made such comments about politics outside the West, and that in its own right shows a different from of bias, regardless of where the relevant comment falls on the left-right political spectrum. -Indy beetle (talk) 22:58, 28 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
    Indy beetle some people still fail to understand that The Signpost is not a collection of Wikipedia articles: The "Traffic report" section reports on the most popular articles on Wikipedia during the latest publication period, serving as a guided commentary on what was hot and what was not with the readership. As with the "Featured content" section the "Traffic report", serving as a curated list, generally has a lighter tone compared to the rest of the publication. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 08:31, 29 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
    Bias is bias and it is ubiquitous; there is no escape from bias by virtue of its nature. Omitting and segregating objectionable content does not free it from bias, nor are the objections from a place beyond bias, so relying on such omission and segregation to avoid bias is only successful insofar as the readers deem it no longer objectionable according to their biases. This is a problem not of insufficient objectivity or neutrality, but in the legitimation of objectivity and neutrality as coherent concepts and achievable goals, since only a belief in the latter can sustain the former. Unfortunately, Wikipedia clings to its fictions because they are useful and fundamental to its self-concept, so much so that their rejection is such an existential threat that only the faithless would do so. Beyond that, it is a problem of insufficient participation, since only through participation can one represent one's own perspective.
    The views of any post are those of its author, and the views of The Signpost are those of its team, since any creative work is a reflection of its creator. The same is so with biases. It is therefore unreasonable to expect any body to embody that which is beyond its constitution. If someone wishes to change those views and biases, then they are free to effect that change, in this case by participating in the creative process of producing the next issue (whether here or at the Top 25 Report, from where the "Traffic report" is sourced). Just as the response of the Wikipedia community to the gender gap and other systemic biases has been through content interventions such as WikiProject Women in Red, the response of anyone who objects to the content and biases of The Signpost can intervene by writing and editing it before publication. This cannot free it from bias anymore than anyone can be, but it will help ensure the content is not deemed objectionable by the readers according to their biases, since their participation will ensure their biases are better represented in the publication. —Nøkkenbuer (talk • contribs) 19:28, 29 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
    We sign the articles for a reason, it's not only a list of the popular articles, but in a way incorporates the opinion of the writer about them. And mostly, with a comedic tone to make reading more fun - to the point that when someone complained about bias, Wikipedia Humor was added atop the Top 25 Report. igordebraga ≠ 18:43, 3 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]
    You may have noticed that this is not an article. If you need a box to put it in, it is an essay, with a byline, in Wikipedia space. If you don't like it, you may claim a full refund from your vendor. Or write your own.
    Thank you to all the Signpost writers for your efforts to keep us informed and amused. 213.205.240.199 (talk) 23:35, 28 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • Just a note of appreciation for all the work you put into this page. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 21:22, 28 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • How many pantomime performers break bones during Their performances? Sad to see such a crude bias here. MPJ-DK (talk) 12:40, 29 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE shows are not legitimate contests, but purely entertainment-based, featuring storyline-driven, scripted, and choreographed matches, though matches often included moves that can put performers at risk of injury if not performed correctly. This was first publicly acknowledged by WWE's owner Vince McMahon in 1989 to avoid taxes from athletic commissions. Since the 1980s, WWE publicly has branded their product as sports entertainment, acknowledging the product's roots in competitive sport and dramatic theater. - that is a direct quote from the lede of our article on WWE. I didn't pen the piece to which you refer, but to describe it as a crude bias is highly unfair. Stormy clouds (talk) 19:36, 30 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • Did anyone else feel like Lindsey Graham was describing Wikipedia:Requests for adminship with stunning accuracy during his volcanic speech? Here's the transcript. Graham wasn't the first Republican to say that the hearing wasn't a job interview, but he hit RfA right on the head with "you're looking for a fair process? You came to the wrong town at the wrong time, my friend." and "This is going to destroy the ability of good people to come forward because of this crap." When he shouted "your high school yearbook!", he chillingly pointed out all the years-old incidents always brought up at RfA. There is also room for philosophical debate: Graham said "To my Republican colleagues, if you vote no, you're legitimizing the most despicable thing I have seen in my time in politics.", and there's often a lot of controversy about those who support RfA candidates purely because the oppose votes seem unsubstantiated. I hope I'm not turning anyone off RfA by saying all this 😕. wumbolo ^^^ 19:00, 29 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
No. DS (talk) 02:24, 1 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Clarification, please
The Signpost is looking for new talent.
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