Archive:Monthly Write-a-Thon: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 20:59, 30 September 2008

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What's a Write-a-Thon?

It's a bunch of people getting together on a wiki at a particular time to do a bunch of writing. It's like an online party! Heck no, it is an online party! It's also an excuse for infrequent wikiers to show up and party hardy; to exchange ideas with people we might not "meet" otherwise.

But hey, why not show up in between the write-ins, too!

When?

Write-a-Thons happen the first Wednesday of every month. The next Write-a-Thon is Wednesday, October 1, 2008. Starts on September 30th, 1200 UTC, when it starts being Wednesday in New Zealand, and ends on October 2nd, 1200 UTC, when it finishes being Wednesday in Hawaii. Save The Date! Put it on your calendar! Set yourself a reminder!

Any new article you create, and any edit you make to somebody else's Write-a-Thon article during that time period will count, though to be a bona fide partier, you have to write your new articles when it's that day in your part of the world.

Our first Write-a-Thon took place Wednesday, August 1, 2007 and was considered a roaring good time--we had about 30 partiers creating something like 50 articles, and editing lots.

What are the rules?

Rules? This is a party! There are no rules!

Well, OK, maybe there are a couple rules:

  • We'll have a Write-a-Thon the first Wednesday of every month.
  • To participate, you only have to do two things: (1) start a new article (even just a stub will qualify, if not too short - and please remember to include the subpages template!), and (2) make a substantive edit (not just a copyedit) to somebody else's new article. Then you can list your name here as a partier. Until then, sign in as a porch-sitter, party-crasher, or total party poop.

This month's Party Theme

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 --

Spring Cleaning!

Or “housekeeping”, for those of you for whom it’s not Spring.

Let’s mass-attack some of our outstanding chores, particularly “lists”, such as:

(You can also be inspired by some of the theme suggestions, below. Or propose one yourself--just scroll down. Or write about something that takes your fancy--or the first thing that comes into your head--JUST DO IT!)

The Partiers

  • Aleta could not believe the length of the cleanup lists, above. Started with fantasy on the requested articles page and edited liver, which she hopes will help make up for missing the Biology Workgroup week (I was travelling). Aleta Curry 18:09, 30 September 2008 (CDT) Decided that even relatively poor starts to food and Tanzania were better than nothing at all. Need medicine. Will be back to tackle poodle and other stuff on the list. Aleta Curry 18:55, 30 September 2008 (CDT)

Keen-as-mustard and jumped the gun

Porch sitters--article creators who didn't edit a new article

Porch-sittin' until someone joins her for the party, Louise starts off the party by fulfilling a criteria of Wanted Pages--the Liver--which ironically, also fulfils the criteria of spring cleaning, in a way ;) Good morning and happy Write-A-Thon, everyone! Let's make this a big one for our Mistress of Ceremonies, Aleta! Louise Valmoria 16:00, 30 September 2008 (CDT)

Party crashers--article contributors who didn't create a new article

  • Aleta's here, sort of. Contributed to liver and started metadata page cleanup while thinking of something to start. Aleta Curry 17:37, 30 September 2008 (CDT)
  • Bruce Tindall, who did some work related to East Africa for Amnesty International ... uh ... many years ago, did a little bit of editing on Aleta's Tanzania article and hopes to do some more tomorrow. But it's not Wednesday in California yet? It is by Coordinated Universal Time, one of the "wanted" articles that he hopes to begin when it really is Wednesday in his home town (which is infested by invasive Aussie eucalyptus trees, who probably also think it's Wednesday already). By the way, I hope the capitalization on Coordinated Universal Time is OK; if not, somebody tell me! Bruce M.Tindall 20:16, 30 September 2008 (CDT)

The shy ones, absent-minded profs, and other modest creatures

The total party poops

Special Requests

Questions

Hmmm...cleaning isn't a bad topic in some of the technology groups. For Computers, defragmentation (separate for disk and memory), garbage collection (computers). For Health Sciences, Hemodialysis, Peritoneal lavage. For Engineering, Clean room, Laminar flow, Electrostatic precipitator, High Efficiency Particulate Air filter.

I've been meaning to write about biosafety containment labs (should this be under Biosafety Level or something else?) Is this biology or health sciences? Howard C. Berkowitz 11:41, 30 September 2008 (CDT)

Any things come to mind? Aleta, when she recovers, might take on Dog grooming or the subset Dog bathing, to say nothing of Cat grooming. The dog of my boyhood, when told he was to receive a bath, would look up (most intelligent dog I ever met), and Terry would clearly communicate "It is a good day to die." Howard C. Berkowitz 11:43, 30 September 2008 (CDT)


A great deal of Wanted Pages appear to be chemical elements. I know there must be a template somewhere for this, but could someone who regularly writes for the chemistry section please point me in that direction so any willing Write-A-Thon participants can help out? Or is this to be saved for a future Chemistry Week? Louise Valmoria 17:12, 30 September 2008 (CDT)

Well, that's a good question that I don't know the answer to....Aleta Curry 18:47, 30 September 2008 (CDT)
There is a good reason for there being many elements on the wanted articles list. There is one template that exists on every element pages that depicts the periodic table. Each cell in the table links to the element at that location, consequently every element page we have links to every element in the periodic table. Does that make sense? Chris Day 20:25, 30 September 2008 (CDT)

It's a wrap!

empty form

Official libations

2007

  • Inaugural - beer!
  • September - champagne
  • October - we were refurbishing the bar and only had coffee!
  • November - made up for last month with more vodka than was good for us and plenty of rum.
  • December - eggnog and wine

2008

  • January - Whisky and the Cocktail of the Month, a pharisee
  • February - schnapps and the Cocktail of the Month, the caipirinha (considered the national drink of Brazil)
  • March - port wine (which should probably live at port (wine), no? (Someone put that on their list, please....Oh, *someone* did--thanks, Ro) and the Cocktail of the Month, a Dead Aunt
  • April - Akpeteshie hot and fresh from Ghana. And cool shandies and spritzers if that took your fancy. Lotsa staggering around the bar after this party!
  • May - Was it champagne? No, we were dry, I think.
  • June - Were we abstaining yet again?
  • July - Sherry
  • August - pineapple juice Well, that's all right, I guess!
  • September - Given the music theme, i assume it was pop?
  • October - Drano? How about red wine, which is the subject of about 50% of all questions submitted to newspapers' house-cleaning columns? Cranberry juice would do nicely, too.
Drano?? What did I miss???

Bonus point winners

  • Louise for a) getting the party started b) combining housekeeping with Biology.

Write-a-Thon Theme Suggestions

New Suggestions and Discussion

Go ahead and propose one!

  • National Parks - most countries have them but Citizendium doesn't...yet.
  • I had a thought the other day - why don't we have a Subpages day - either separate or as a Write-A-Thon theme? There's tons of them Bibliographies, Related Articles and Definitions that need writing. --Tom Morris 11:48, 4 July 2008 (CDT)
It's a good thought, Tom, and I can see where the subpages need doing. Trouble is, whenever the Write-a-Thon has been too narrowly restricted, particularly when the suggested 'theme' is really a codename for 'work', it doesn't go over well. The WaT's great success is the fun, write-what-you-want atmosphere.
Maybe a separate subpages initiative?
Aleta Curry 18:25, 4 July 2008 (CDT)
Edited to add: Actually, why don't I add this in to October's spring clean? The more options, the more likely people will find something they like doing. Aleta Curry 18:33, 4 July 2008 (CDT)
  • Could fall under the category of 'Attractions', and 'National Parks' also covers some of these too. Most countries also have at least one UNESCO Heritage Listed location--could well be worth a shot, as these locations would have a rich history as well as artistic/cultural significance. Louise Valmoria 20:16, 6 August 2008 (CDT)

Future Theme Schedule

  • November - National Parks - most countries have them but Citizendium doesn't...yet.
May I suggest a separate theme for each workgroup, and a campaign to obtain a commitment from each member of each workgroup to start a new article, however stubby, but thoughtfully and excellently stubby. A rhetorical question. Incidentally, CZ has no article on Rhetoric, a fascinating subject with roots in antiquity and above-ground branches and fruit in the 21st century. --Anthony.Sebastian 19:31, 19 August 2008 (CDT)

See also


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