# Talk:Saybrook Colony

Figured I should ping @Gazingo: and @IntentionallyDense: for this; large portions of the article is sourced to the Historical Marker Database, which is user-generated and thus inappropriate for use on the wiki. No harm on either the reviewer or writer here, but this article is just not sourced to a GA level. Many of the citations are confusing, such as a BBC page on Cromwell (instead of any of the books or biographies available on the topic) or John Winthrop's 1639 History of New England. I really do think this needs a large revision of sources towards more academic publications in order for these to be truly reliable sources for the topic at hand.  Generalissima (talk) (it/she)   03:24, 5 October 2024 (UTC)

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'm not super familiar with non science sources so that is why I missed this. I will be more deligent in the future. IntentionallyDense (talk) 04:07, 5 October 2024 (UTC)
@Generalissima: @IntentionallyDense: I've fixed the issues with the sources, was unaware HMDB wasn't allowed as the markers themselves are usually put up by local historical societies. Gazingo (talk) 16:01, 5 October 2024 (UTC)
I'm going to ask for a second opinion here. hopefully someone will weigh in soon. IntentionallyDense (talk) 17:44, 5 October 2024 (UTC)
@Generalissima Just wondering if you think the sourcing issues have been adeqautely addressed? IntentionallyDense (talk) 15:45, 14 October 2024 (UTC)
Definitely an improvement; one of the citations is misformatted (Journal articles hosted on JSTOR should use template:cite journal instead of cite website, and include volume and issue. There is still a lot of stuff I would be hesitant to use unless I had absolutely zero other options (local historical society pamphlets, modern press coverage, etc.) I'm also unsure why the two sources in further reading, which appear to be the highest quality available, are not used.
I'll ask a couple editors who I know have done articles on early American history before, Guerillero, Relativity and Dugan Murphy; hopefully this is not too much of a bother for them and they'll be able to give more specific insights!  Generalissima (talk) (it/she)   15:59, 14 October 2024 (UTC)
What insights do you seek? Dugan Murphy (talk) 01:48, 16 October 2024 (UTC)
@Dugan Murphy Any major sourcing issues here? From my very basic search there doesn’t appear to be many sources available on the topic but I’m not too comfortable with this area and wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything obvious here. Thanks! IntentionallyDense (talk) 02:21, 16 October 2024 (UTC)
Going to ping @Gazingo in regards to why the further reading wasn't used. I fixed ref 7. Thank you for your valuable opinion. IntentionallyDense (talk) 18:05, 14 October 2024 (UTC)
I don't know much about Connecticut and I've never heard of the Saybrook Colony before. A quick Google Books search brought up this book, this book, and this book. I don't see any of these in the current references list. I imagine there are many other scholarly works that treat Connecticut history more generally that include sections or mentions relevant to this topic. Dugan Murphy (talk) 18:44, 16 October 2024 (UTC)
The further reading section predates my edits and consist of a book concerning a period after Saybrook was absorbed and a book about the larger history of Connecticut which only briefly mentions Saybrook. I admit I should use the latter, or a more recent Connecticut History to verify some of the basic facts about the colony. Gazingo (talk) 23:16, 14 October 2024 (UTC)