Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:WikiProject Franco-Americans

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 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the miscellaneous page below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the page's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the discussion was keep. Salvio Let's talk about it! 15:39, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

WikiProject Franco-Americans


This project has only two members, and 33 articles and pages within the scope which is very too narrow. JJ98 (Talk / Contributions)  20:04, 25 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Keep - The project is less then a year old and in theory  can have a wide range of articles that it can have an effect on. Why are you nominating it so fast before following our normal procedures?
 * Could you pls read what is bellow and try to focus your efforts on helping this projects not eliminating them.Moxy (talk) 20:35, 25 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Moxy Kindly delete all the text you have added to this discussion. On WP we link to guidelines and policies etc., we don't copy and paste them all over the place. One reason for this is to show that the text is authentic and not re-edited.-- Klein zach  00:00, 27 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Apparently Linking our guidelines  have not worked in the past -   so until it is proven that our Guidelines have been read  I will continue to try and get them read.  The  text has been  altered to emphasizes a point so many keep making. That point is we  would like our  guidelines followed. In this case we have a new project less then a year old that does not even fall under Defunct possibility yet for time. No Semi-active or even inactive has been added - it came straight here for deletion. Again we have procedures that should be  followed - That can bee seen below.Moxy (talk) 01:06, 27 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Moxy: "That point is we would like our guidelines followed." Do you own the guidelines then? -- Klein  zach  05:27, 27 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I am wishing guidelines to be followed while  showing how they weren't  and  your rebuttal is to mock me?  Please  just follow the guidelines  as set  fourth  by the community. Please try and help our projects, not impede them. Moxy (talk) 06:28, 27 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Keep for three reasons: project is less than a year old and deserves more time to develop, we don't delete wikiprojects merely because they are inactive, and the point about scope is seriously flawed. The figure of 33 is the number of articles that have been assessed by the wikiproject, not the number of articles that fall within the project's scope. Category:American people of French descent has 1,750 articles in it which is far more than necessary for a project. Hut 8.5 23:44, 25 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Keep - For the good reasons stated above by Moxy and Hut 8.5. But to address JJ98's main argument (only 33 pages assessed), I will try to resume work on this project during the month of July. If anyone wants to help me recruit members also, that would be nice. Where is the best place in English Wikipedia to post an invitation to join a "new" project? Would the talk page of the WikiProject United States be a good place? -- Mathieugp (talk) 01:49, 26 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Comment It'd be nice to have a worldwide project for French language, Francophonie, French-descent and former French Empire coverage... perhaps expand this project? 65.94.47.63 (talk) 05:27, 26 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I already created Portal:French language and French-speaking world, but no specific WikiProject for it. It thought the portal made sense under the scope of both WikiProject Languages and WikiProject International relations. -- Mathieugp (talk) 12:04, 26 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Comment In general, I think we shouldn't delete projects that are under a year old unless they are harmful in some way. The scope of this one is indeed problematic — narrow and by implication America-centric — but by all means let's give Mathieugp the chance to work on it and maybe change the name and scope. (A project on "French language, Francophonie, French-descent and former French Empire coverage" would be much more encyclopedic, but I don't know if it would get support.) The way to propose a new project is to post it at WikiProject Council/Proposals. (You could also post a message at WikiProject France.) -- Klein zach  00:00, 27 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I see great potential here - lets try and be positive with our projects. It could help a large amount of people article related to  Acadia, New France, Cajun, Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana Creole people, French American, French in the United States, Francophonie, French-Canadian, French colonization of the Americas, French language in the United States, French Louisiana, French West Indies, History of Quebec and so on.  If people are not sure about a projects scope and/or  overall impact on articles best to leave it be and move on.Moxy (talk) 06:28, 27 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Why are you concerned about the fact that the project is America-centric? Isn't Wikiproject United States a bit America-centric? Hut 8.5 06:32, 27 June 2011 (UTC)
 * No, because Wikiproject United States is matched by similar projects for other countries. It's not privileged in any way. -- Klein zach  00:37, 28 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I fail to see how that's a problem. Some ethnic groups will attract more interest and more editors than others. Groups associated with developed English-speaking countries are going to get more coverage. Why does that mean we can't have wikiprojects on them? Hut 8.5 19:54, 28 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Delete or Supported by WPUS - Regardless of what the "Guidelines" dictate they are that, guidelines and not a law seet in stone. Wikipedia is here to create articles, not Wikiprojects and if a WikiProject dies then it can be deleted. Especially in cases like this were the project apparently didn't take off. With that said, I am ok with giving the project more time to develop and I would also be ok with the project being added to the projects supported by WikiProject United States. The scope of the project seems like one that might be worth keeping. --Kumioko (talk) 18:21, 27 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Please allow our editors to collaborate at will. Wikipedia specifically allows this types of pages for the  creation of a welcoming and collegial editorial environment.  As Jimbo has stated  -  Wikipedia's success to date is entirely a function of our open community.  Could you explain the benefits of deleting this projects?Moxy (talk) 03:10, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

Identifying
Inactive wikiprojects will have inactive added, either directly or via the inactive parameter of Infobox WikiProject. There are several options in dealing with inactive wikiprojects. The usual procedure is to identify projects whose main page hasn't been substantively changed for several months, and whose talk page has received nothing other than routine or automated announcements, or unanswered queries from non-participants, for several months. Alternatively, you may wish to sort through the list of named participants, placing indefinitely blocked accounts and users who have made no edits to Wikipedia for long periods (e.g., over a year) under a separate heading (you may wish to notify the users that you have done so, in case they return). If no active members remain in the list, then the project is inactive.

Revival
Any editor may revive an inactive WikiProject. There are a number of things you can do to help revive an inactive or semi-active project. If you come up with something new, please list it here!


 * 1) Update the project page as appropriate:  replace the inactive tag with semi-active, or remove the existing semi-active tag. Archive old clutter (clean and simple is better for attracting new members), use generic WikiProject templates appropriately to organise content (e.g., Infobox WikiProject) and make use of any helpful automation the project hasn't been using (see section above).
 * 2) Provide clear suggestions on what members can do, using todo lists, tasks and cleanup listings, and perhaps linking to relevant pages elsewhere. You can use the WikiProject help template, either directly or as inspiration.
 * 3) Create any missing userbox, project banner, or user invite templates. See whether the assessment system for the project banner works, and fix it if not.
 * 4) Notify existing participants of your efforts and invite them to contribute, to make suggestions, or to leave a note on the project's talk page about what they're currently editing.
 * 5) To try to gain new participants, individually invite active users who have been substantively involved with the topic to join the project or watchlist its page.  This can be done with a personal, handcrafted message or a standardized invitation template.
 * 6) Use automation (see above) to ensure most if not all appropriate pages are tagged with the project banner, thus promoting the project to those who may be interested. (Don't go overboard with this... in general, don't tag a page not within the project's main category unless you could justify making it the project's Collaboration of the Month.)
 * 7) Provide a Special:RecentChangesLinked link on the project page, using the project's article category. (For project Wikipedia:WikiProject X, this will generally be Category:X articles, Category:WikiProject X articles, or X work group articles. Try it and see.) This gives an easy way to see recent relevant talk page discussions. Example.
 * 8) Seek out collaboration with related projects.  Tell them that the project is active, invite them to help, and ask whether there is an article of mutual interest that both groups could collaborate on.
 * 9) Notify the Wikipedia Signpost WikiProject desk of your attempt.
 * 10) Respond promptly to queries and post occasional messages at the WikiProject's talk page to let people know what you're working on and how they can help.

If you have any questions about related technical issues, try the Help Desk.

Other options
If you (or someone else) has already done the above or it simply looks hopeless, consider one of these options:

'''If you are considering taking any significant steps in this area which others might object to, take care to give appropriate notice to all parties of your proposals (including the WikiProject Council). Often it will be feasible to notify all listed participants who have been active on Wikipedia in the recent past (even if not recently active on the project). If proposing a merger, be sure to propose this at the merger target and do not take approval for granted.'''
 * 1) Merger. Consider proposing a merger with another wikiproject. This might be a related project of a similar type, with the two projects being reconstituted as part of a new one. More commonly it might be that the inactive project could become a taskforce of a parent project.
 * 2) Mark as defunct. In some cases projects are simply superceded (e.g., merged elsewhere), have served their stated purpose, or have been inactive for so long that they are unlikely ever to be revived. These may be tagged as defunct rather than inactive; see the usage notes and guidelines at defunct.
 * 3)  Deletion. In rare cases, deletion may be appropriate.  This might be appropriate for completely inactive projects which have no substantive history and serve no residual purpose even without activity (e.g., due to automation or information presented). Projects must also meet the guidelines for being marked as defunct (see defunct). WP:MFD is the appropriate forum to propose this.


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the page's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.