Wikipedia:WikiProject Wikify/Old
 | It has been suggested that WikiProject Linkification be merged into this page. (Discuss) |
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Wikiproject Wikify Welcome to Wikiproject Wikify! We are currently working on a significant backlog, and need your help! |
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To-do list is empty: remove {{To do}} tag or click on edit to add an item. |
The Wikification Project is a WikiProject based on Category:Articles that need to be wikified. The aim is to build on the current wikification process, get more editors involved and support those currently involved in wikification of articles. The project also aims to simplify the wikification process and explain it more clearly so as not to confuse newcomers and to encourage participation. Feel free to request an example of wikification on the talk page.
Scope and goals
Of the 6,908,084 articles on Wikipedia only around 1,000+ are of Featured Article standard; of those remaining, many are poorly written, badly linked and in need of general care and attention. Wikiproject Wikify aims to improve the layout and presentation of these articles, not necessarily to FA standard but so that they are useful, readable articles.
The wikification process is simple, and we welcome input from any editors who would like to help out, either on a regular basis, or one or two articles when you have time. The greatest contribution to the project is inviting members, as this helps build support and ensures that there are people to clear the backlog.
Adding articles to the list
Recently many articles that are tagged for Wikification have not needed attention or have other issues that mean they cannot be Wikified. This is probably due to a misunderstanding of what Wikification is for.
What articles need Wikification
An article needs Wikification if it:
- Has no specific lead paragraph and / or has no sections headings.
- Has no internal linking (wiki-links).
- Has no Infobox or templating and may require it.
An article should not be tagged for Wikification when:
- It may be a copyvio (copyright infringement) - check it on copyscape.com then tag it.
- It is uncategorized - tag it with {{uncat}}
- It has basic Wiki formatting and headings but is poor prose or has bad grammar - that needs tagging for cleanup ({{cleanup}}) or copyediting ({{copyedit}}).
How to add articles to the list
To tag an article for Wikification add {{wikify}} to the top of the article, within 24 hrs this will be dated by a bot (see bots section below).
How to help
The wikification process can be done in a few easy steps as follows:
- Find an article to work on. Articles are sorted by date - see Category:Articles that need to be wikified. Many editors choose to work on the oldest articles first, so that none of them sit around for too long waiting for attention. It should be relatively easy to wikify an article even if you are not familiar with the subject. Sometimes the to-do list (above) will include a certain set of articles to wikify; if so, please look at these first.
- Check if the article is a copyright violation. There are a few red flags that indicate text was probably illegally copied into Wikipedia - this actually happens quite frequently. User:Kjkolb/Copyvio has a quick guide, you may also like to use copyscape.com for finding copyright violations. Instructions for reporting violations are at Wikipedia:Copyright problems.
- Check if another article already exists on this subject. New users often do not do this before creating articles, which leads to content forks. Use the search button at the left of the screen to check for duplicate articles, and create a redirect if necessary.
- Wikify!
- Make links to other articles by putting "[[" and "]]" on either side of relevant words.
- Format the lead (first section / opening paragraph).
- Arrange section headers as described at Wikipedia:Guide to layout.
- Add the class="wikitable" tag to plain html tables.
- Add an Infobox if applicable.
The page is now wikified! However, please remember to:
- Remove the {{wikify}} tag. That will remove it from the list.
- Enhance your edit summary. You can encourage others to help with the wikification backlog by using something like the following as your edit summary when you save your changes:
- Wikified as part of the [[WP:WWF|Wikification wikiproject]]!
It also helps to put this notice on user talk pages of members who may be interested:
 | Hi there! I thought you might be interested in WikiProject Wikify. We're currently recruiting help to clear a massive backlog ({{subst:PAGESINCATEGORY:All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify}} articles), and we need your help! If you have a spare moment, please join and wikify an article or tell your friends. ~~~~ |
The code for doing so is as follows:
{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Wikify/Invite a member}}
You can also notify other WikiProjects about articles within their scope that need wikification by searching for category intersects between Category:Articles that need to be wikified and categories that fall within the scope of a WikiProject.
Wikify as many articles as possible as often as you can! Wikification can go quite quickly once you get the hang of it.
Use the newly created task box if you like:
The code for this is:
{{WikiProjectWikifyTasks}}
Articles that can't be wikified
In some cases articles cannot (for various reasons) be wikified, and in these cases one of the following may apply:
- Nominate the article for deletion, if appropriate. Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion is a good guide; add {{subst:prod|your reason for deletion here}} to the top of the article if you think deletion would be uncontroversial. See Wikipedia:Articles for deletion if you think discussion is warranted or you aren't sure.
- Tag for other problems. If you happen to notice that an article has problems beyond simple formatting and you can't fix it yourself, please add the appropriate tag from Wikipedia:Cleanup resources to the article itself. Put short articles (less than about 3 paragraphs) in one of the stub categories or else add the generic {{stub}}.
Help
Wikifying an article is about formatting and linking the article to follow Wikipedia guidelines. General information on editing a page (if you have not done this before) or on wiki syntax is found at Wikipedia:How to edit a page whilst Wikipedia's style guidelines can be found at Wikipedia:Manual of Style.
Once you begin to wikify an article there is a template that you can add to the talk page of the article that can help you keep track of what you've done and organize a wikification effort.{{User:The_Thadman/Template/Wikification}}
An alternative, cut-down, modified version made by a member of the project is available:
{{User:Draicone/Wikify}}
Tools
- Can We Link It? - tool for suggesting and adding possible wiki links to articles. Progressively learns what's a good and a bad link. See here for more info. Also checks for unbalanced wiki syntax, which is sometimes a problem when articles are added by new users.
- The Wikipedia Toolbar for the Firefox web-browser can make editing, formatting and linking much more efficient.
- Also useful is the wikification toolbox containing quick links to Wiki guidelines and handy code snippets
Bots
Some bots perform actions related to wikification, currently they are:
- Pearle and DraiconeBot change the {{wikify}} tag to {{wikify|Date}} to categorize article by month. It does not add wikification tags to articles.
- User:SmackBot canonicalises and dates tags, also unsubsts where it can.
- Bluebot tags and updates tags.
- Gnome is preparing to add wikification tags to articles.
Category maintenance
Every once in a while, the deleted wikify by month categories should be rechecked for articles. For a variety of reasons, some articles have their wikify tag removed after they are placed, only to have it replaced, with the same date, after the last articles in the monthly category are completed and the category deleted. These articles will remain in the deleted categories and unwikified, unless someone comes across them by browsing or searching and wikifies them. Fortunately, articles are still listed in deleted categories, like Category:Wikify from July 2006. To go back or forwards in time, simply change the month in the URL. Categories up to two years before the present should be checked. It is necessary to go back so far because "new" articles keep cropping up, even in very old categories.
Also a procedure for checking typos, such as "Febrary" or "2007 March" or "1 Dec 2006" would be useful.
Progress
 | This page has a backlog that requires the attention of willing editors. Please remove this notice when the backlog is cleared. |
List of participants
There are no membership requirements in order to participate in the Wikification project. Getting involved in the project can help to improve your article editing skills and introduces you to a wider range of articles. Below is a list of some of the regular contributors. You are welcome to add yourself to the list.
To add yourself to the list, simply use the following template, replacing username with your username:
{{Wikipedia:WikiProject_Wikify/table|username}}
If you may not be active, or simply need to set a different status, use the following with any of 'Wikibreak', 'Busy', 'Inactive' or 'Stressed' as status:
{{Wikipedia:WikiProject_Wikify/table|username|status}}
Some examples:
| Draicone (talk • contribs) | Active |
| Draicone (talk • contribs) | Inactive |
| Draicone (talk • contribs) | Busy |
| Draicone (talk • contribs) | Wikibreak |
| Draicone (talk • contribs) | Stressed |
As a member of the project you are advised to put the {{WWF alerts}} box on your talk page. This template uses special code to display a box when there is important project news or your help is needed with a task. Otherwise it remains hidden. Add it to your page using {{WWF alerts}} and remember to keep an eye out for it!
To boost member numbers, we've developed a banner that you can put on your userpage advertising the project:
 | This user is a member of WikiProject Wikify. There is currently a massive backlog of articles (27,984 articles) that need to be wikified, and we need your help! If you have a spare moment, please visit the project page and wikify an article, or tell your friends about the WikiProject. |
To display it, simply add the following to the top of your userpage:
{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Wikify/Userpage banner}}
There is also a userbox: {{User wikiproject-wikify}} which will give you
| [[wiki]] | This user is part of the wikification drive. |