Talk:Drum Corps International

Untitled

This article is once again standing on its own, but is now specific to DCI. Information pertaining to all modern drum corps is in the drum and bugle corps (modern) article. Lazytiger 15:12, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Thanks. It'd be nice if the trash stayed on RAMD and didn't plague the rest of the 'net. I just created a new article of DCI Division I World Champions with more in-depth info and linked to it in the main DCI article. Ross 05:43, May 5, 2005 (UTC)

"prettified" table

I wouldn't say that Flamurai's new table is any prettier or better than it was before, just different. It used to match the look of the scoring table from the Drum and bugle corps (modern) article.

Flamurai added some stuff about I&E and neutralized some Div I info. I am unsure where the line is as far as what info should be in this DCI article and what should be in the Drum and bugle corps (modern) article. We're definitely getting some overlap of information. Most of the content of the DCI article originated in the modern article, was cut and pasted here, and some of the info is now finding its way back over there. But some of it is also remaining here with slightly different wording and content.

Anyone have any ideas about where to put what and minimize overlap?

Lazytiger 18:06, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)

The new table style better blends with the Wikipedia page, image frame, etc. The other table is presenting different information. There's no need for them to be the same. I will make that table at least have the same border style when I get a chance, though.

It's important for NPOV that this article be relevant to all DCI corps, not just division I corps. I don't think overlap is necessarily a bad thing just as long as the information is consistent between the articles. It's important that a reader get enough information to understand that article. For example, this article had said, "when camps end", without a previous mention of what camps were. The reader shouldn't be expected to read Drum and bugle corps (modern) first.

– flamurai (t) 20:32, Feb 8, 2005 (UTC)

"Independent?"

I no longer recall how I found my way to this article. I had very little previous knowledge of drum corps and no previous knowledge of the organization. I became interested in the membership and added a para of clarifications. While I was reading, more questions arose.

Of the 44 references (some dead links), only one might be considered independent: A History of Drum and Bugle Corps by Steve Vickers. However, I have been unable to find any record of this book. This leads to uncertainty. Is the subject notable? Is the article simply a vehicle for the organization?

"A topic is presumed to be notable if it has received significant coverage in reliable secondary sources that are independent of the subject."

Hence, I've placed the onesource flag, hoping to elicit some indication of independence of the article from the subject.

Humpster (talk) 08:29, 25 December 2024 (UTC)

Yes, the organization is notable. Check any newspaper written in the United States in the last 50 years (from the New York Times this year to the Boston Globe in 1971). Or, just simply try looking it up on Google Scholar. Did you even try and look for sources? Why? I Ask (talk) 12:22, 25 December 2024 (UTC)

First volume of A History of Drum & Bugle Corps, edited by Steve Vickers, was published in 2002. The text was drawn from reports and editorials originally published in Drum Corps World, a newspaper also published by Vickers and others since the early 1970s. A volume 2 followed in 2003. There are copies of volume 2 available in a few libraries, check OCLC 54892759. A skilled acquisitions librarian could probably locate a copy of volume 1, too. Scans of both volumes were accessible via IA at one point, but they may have been deleted by the uploader. Thosbsamsgom (talk) 17:51, 25 December 2024 (UTC)

I have access to both volumes. Why? I Ask (talk) 18:17, 25 December 2024 (UTC)

Actually, I tried searching. The first hit was Seatgeek; but mostly I found DCI in addition to the Wikipedia article. FYI, it also turned up Marching dot com, Drumcorpsplanet dot com, and Drum-corps dot net, but they are involved and don't appear truly independent. No newspapers, no general magazines, no journals, and no scholarly articles. The book A History of Drum and Bugle Corps is cited five times but isn't listed on WorldCat. BookFinder, which I have used to verify truly exotic sources, doesn't have it either. (Results may differ.)

On the other hand, Google Scholar does, indeed, produce some articles. Information which stems from truly independent sources, without a history of involvement with DCI, would put it in context. Nevertheless, I don't think readers should have to search outside Wikipedia. It rather defeats the purpose of an encyclopedia. Nor should they have to rely only on information from DCI to learn that it is notable.

If 50 years of American newspapers generate reliable independent information about an organization, why isn't it in the article? Surely a reader in Australia, say, shouldn't have to locate an American newspaper archive to learn about a group which claims to be international.

Have there been any controversies? The subject (drum & bugle in general) seems worthy of a Ph.D. thesis, which ought to address the negative side. Since it arose from the inflexibility of others, I doubt DCI has survived for 50 years without some criticism. Could DCI be compared with the governance of international sports such as figure skating or ballroom dancing? Closer to the US, how does DCI look when compared with non-professional American football or little league baseball?

By all means, let the article rest in peace if you like. I'm just offering the perspective of a curious outsider, wondering if I can trust what I read. I want only to suggest improvement of the article and Wikipedia. Humpster (talk) 18:20, 27 December 2024 (UTC)