Wikipedia:Release Version/Scope

This page needs updating, as of September 2008.

This page is used to assist members of the review team in judging whether or not an article is important enough to include. It provides a higher level of detail than the basic criteria; detailed examples of pass/fail are to be provided for each section, along with some justification. It is understood that the SelectionBot importance evaluation will also be used, but this page can serve as a "reality check" against which to evaluate the automated importance data.

General points
Discussions between the editorial team have led to an agreement to aim for approximately 20,000-30,000 articles for Version 0.7. This allows a much broader scope than was used for Version 0.5 (only 2000 articles), but clearly the vast majority of Wikipedia articles would be expected to fail on importance.

As with Version 0.5, places have been considered to be a useful emphasis for Version 0.7, and are expected to comprise at least 5000 articles. This provides a geographical context for the other articles (which are often written in geographical terms, e.g., where a person was born, lived, worked, etc.). Geographical topics make up around one quarter of the content in Encyclopædia Britannica.

Version 0.7 aims to provide some degree of balance in its coverage, by ensuring that all traditions of knowledge are respected. At the same time, the hegemony of Western culture cannot be ignored, so our content will inevitably emphasize Western scientists, philosophers, etc. In addition, this release is an English language release, and it is expected that these readers will want to read about their places and notable figures from their own areas. Thus, in borderline cases it is reasonable to show slight favor towards topics relating to English-speaking people. For example, a town of borderline importance in English-speaking South Africa may be included in the release, whereas an equivalent-sized town in Mauritania may not. (In a French language release, the reverse might be true.)

Geography
Proposal: 8000 articles (see general discussion above)

According to travelgis.com there are
 * Around 3400 cities in the world with a population over 100,000.
 * Less than 3600 cities that are capitals of top level administrative divisions (such as US states, Chinese provinces, etc.) - there is considerable duplication of entries, 3600 represents the total number of entries.
 * Presumably this means that the same number (<3600) of states/provinces.

Assuming that many (but not all) of the 3400 cities are provincial capitals, and allowing for the duplication this gives approximately 6000 articles on cities and provinces. We will also want to include other place information such as mountain ranges, rivers, regions. We should be able to include all of the cities and provinces listed above that meet our basic quality requirements. There should some allowances being made for the size and importance, but this will be reflected quite naturally in the article quality (for example, compare Agdash with Texas). It is proposed that we include:
 * All cities with a population over 100,000 that are B-Class or above
 * All cities with a population over 1,000,000 that are usable Start-Class or above
 * All states/provinces that are B-Class or above
 * All US states, Canadian provinces, Australian states, Indian states, Chinese provinces, Malaysian states (which are quite autonomous), South African provinces, German Länder and Brazilian states that are usable Start-Class or above. All of those listed represent regions with significant importance based on population and political power; equivalent importance major administrative regions from other countries that are only Start-Class might also be included after discussion by the review team (perhaps initially at the held nominations page.
 * Places that are otherwise notable &mdash; as major tourist attractions, such as Acadia National Park, and towns of great historic importance, such as Arles.

Examples
These examples only indicate suitable or unsuitable importance; quality is not being considered here.


 * African cities:
 * Djougou, Benin - population >170,000, largest city in north west Benin - suitable based on importance.
 * Savé, Benin - population ~35,000 - unsuitable based on importance.
 * Asian cities:
 * Jizzakh, Uzbekistan - population 126,400, capital of [Jizzakh Province]], birthplace of Rashidov - suitable based on importance.
 * Guliston, Uzbekistan - population 56,900, capital of Sirdarya Province - unsuitable based on importance.
 * Dibrugarh, India - population 122,523, education hub, site of 1950 earthquake - suitable based on importance.
 * Namrup, India - population 20-30,000  -  unsuitable based on importance.
 * Kaili, China - population 450,000 - suitable based on importance.
 * Aba, Sichuan, China - population <70,000 - unsuitable based on importance.
 * European/Russian cities:
 * Cullercoats - population ~10,000 - unsuitable based on importance.
 * Hartlepool - population 88,611, some historic importance - suitable based on importance.
 * Cherkessk - population 116,244, and see ru:Черкесск, capital of Karachay-Cherkess Republic in Russia - suitable based on importance.
 * Ust-Dzheguta - population 32,903 - unsuitable based on importance.
 * North American cities:
 * Abilene, Texas - population 115,930, county seat - suitable based on importance.
 * Brownwood, Texas - population 18,813, county seat of Brown County but unsuitable based on importance.
 * Oceanian cities:
 * Ballarat, Victoria - "a major inland regional centre" with population 90,303, location of the Eureka Stockade - suitable based on importance.
 * Port Macquarie, New South Wales - population 37,696, best known for its koala bears and retired population - unsuitable based on importance.
 * South American cities;
 * Barra Mansa (and see pt:Barra Mansa], long article!) - population 176,151 - suitable based on importance.
 * Atalaia, Alagoas (and see pt:Atalaia (Alagoas) - population 41,572 - unsuitable based on importance.

Natural sciences
Proposal: 5500 articles

Around 18% of Encyclopedia Britannica deals with science topics (excluding social sciences and biographies), corresponding to approximately 5500 articles out of 30,000. Of this 18%, well over half relate to biology and medicine; presumably many of these are concerned with various plants and animals. The following numbers are proposed for Version 0.7:
 * Biology, excluding medicine: 2200
 * Chemistry (excluding drugs): 800
 * Geology and Earth Science: 400
 * Medicine (including drugs): 800
 * Physics & astronomy: 1000
 * Miscellaneous: 300

Examples
To be added.