Wikipedia:WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Membership/News/2018 Annual Report

Welcome to the Guild of Copy Editors' (GOCE) annual report for 2018, a summary of activity in our Drives and Blitzes, and the ever-busy Requests page. Thank you to everyone who has helped improve the standard of Wikipedia articles by making them "say what they mean and mean what they say". This year, editors working with the Guild helped remove 1,497 articles from the {{copy edit}} backlog and respond to over 660 requests for copy edit.

We have continued to reduce the backlog of articles tagged for copy editing (see graph to right); albeit with a pronounced see-saw pattern that reflects the alternating schedule of drives and blitzes. Because Wikipedia editors tag about 400 articles for copy editing every month, the backlog count tends to decrease in drive months and increase in non-drive months. 2018 started with 1,194 articles tagged; according to our monthly records, this count gradually climbed and peaked at 1,449 in April before being halved to an all-time low of 716 in May. In the subsequent months, the backlog total repeatedly crossed the 1,000 mark before hitting a six-month low of 825 in November and rebounding to 1,112 at year's end. The backlog was also shortened from eight to seven months.

The Requests page grew in both popularity and productivity, with more editors bringing more requests for copy edit which were completed at a quicker pace. The number of copy editors who remained active with the Guild throughout the year increased. Two editors were inducted into the GOCE Hall of Fame, and four editors were recognized for their long-term collaborations with the Guild.

Thank you all for your hard work throughout 2018; we hope you'll continue to be enthused and inspired to improve the standard of prose in Wikipedia. Happy editing!