Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals/ForesightAndFuturesStudies


 * The following discussion is an archived proposal of the WikiProject below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the project's talk page (if created) or the WikiProject Council).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The resulting WikiProject was created at WikiProject Futures studies

Description
This proposal is undertaken in tandem with a class project for the University of Houston’s Strategic Foresight Program that we are helping teach in Spring 2012 (as described here). However, there is a broader aim beyond the class project to create momentum for an ongoing improvement of the Wikipedia pages falling under this project. The class exercise is an initial catalyst. The two users proposing this project are both in the foresight/futures field but are also experienced Wikipedians (one is returning to Wikipedia after a long absence with a new account) and want to help both the class exercise and the broader Wikiproject follow Wikipedia community policies well.

This proposed project hopes to spark and support a sustained, coordinated effort by Wikipedians to add, improve, and better organize Wikipedia’s content on foresight, the specialist practice imagining and considering alternative possible futures and how they were, are, and will come to be thought about, and futures studies (the term futurology is also still sometimes used, though generally not by specialists, who consider it outdated), which is the study of same. These scope of the project’s articles would include methods for eliciting and examining potential futures for all purposes (including commercial, political, community, and academic); the history and critique of how futures/the future has been and is considered; biographies of notable persons in the field; and articles on theories, practices, and methods. There may also be overlaps with science fiction, alternate history/counterfactuals and utopianism in history and political science, quantitative forecasting, strategy in management studies etc. As with all or most Wikiprojects, the primary of the project would be aiding the collaborative coordination of article enhancements in the chosen specialist domain, involving both veterans and newbies of both futures/foresight and Wikipedia, and according to the encyclopedia and community policies and ideals of Wikipedia. John b cassel (talk) 00:59, 8 January 2012 (UTC)


 * List of important pages and categories for this proposed group
 * futurology
 * anticipatory_thinking
 * systems_theory
 * strategic_management
 * planning
 * future
 * works_about_the_future
 * futurologists
 * futurology_books
 * technology_forecasting
 * planning
 * future
 * works_about_the_future
 * futurologists
 * futurology_books
 * technology_forecasting


 * List of WikiProjects currently on the talk pages of those articles
 * Please invite these and any other similar groups to join the discussion about this proposal. See WikiProject_Council/Directory to find similar WikiProjects.


 * (note: while foresight/futures studies can be considered to be part of the historical, social, or political sciences, this Wikiproject seems dedicated to the hard sciences such as chemistry and biology, so I question if this is a good fit?)
 * Additional Projects of Relevance
 * (particularly methodology of history)
 * (particularly the cultural history of)
 * class project for the University of Houston’s Strategic Foresight Program
 * (particularly methodology of history)
 * (particularly the cultural history of)
 * class project for the University of Houston’s Strategic Foresight Program
 * (particularly the cultural history of)
 * class project for the University of Houston’s Strategic Foresight Program


 * Why do you want to start a new group, instead of joining one of these existing groups?
 * Foresight and Futures Studies is an inherently a interdisciplinary field which cuts across a variety of other subjects as diverse as geography, sociology, political science, ecology, demography, technology studies, economics, management, cultural studies, and others while at the same time containing its own bodies of specialist knowledge for theory and practice. Most foresight and futures specialists think of themselves as interdisciplinary and not belonging to any of the traditional disciplines such as sociology. There are several professional international associations for foresight / futures practitioners and scholars (including the World Futures Studies Federation, the World Future Society, and the Association of Professional Futurists ). From discussions we’ve observed and participated in with members of these groups, many are concerned that representation of their field on Wikipedia needed improvement but few had familiarity with Wikipedia’s culture and policies. That is why we have come to make this proposal, along with the class exercise. We want to create a WikiProject that is a venue for coordinating collaboration on Foresight/Futures topics for specialists and newbies equally, in the finest tradition of Wikipedia, and also one that affirms the distinctiveness of foresight/futures as a body of practice and knowledge.

Support
Please specify whether or not you would join the project.
 * 1) John b cassel (talk) 00:59, 8 January 2012 (UTC)
 * 2) Yes, I second this proposal and will be part of this project Zhanli2012 (talk) 01:25, 8 January 2012 (UTC)
 * 3) I second this proposal and will be part of this project User: Effieamana
 * 4) I am also interested in contributing to this project User: Ritchey
 * 5) I support this proposal and look forward to learning more, sharing what I know, and contributing to this project. Viriditas (talk) 02:31, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

Discussion
Just a question about the name: would there be a problem with simply calling it "WikiProject Futurology"? — Jeraphine Gryphon (talk) 02:48, 8 January 2012 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the good question, Jeraphine! Professional and academic specialists in foresight and futures generally dislike the term futurology (you'll see that its never used on professional futurist/foresight organization sites). "Futurology" is seen as a relic of the past (with the possible exception of the UK where "futurology" is still seems used a bit currently, but that's an outlier) - a buzzword from the 1960-70s which is associated with a particular long-gone golden age characterized by a kind of overexcited faddish type of foresight (here's a prime example) that seems a bit embarrassing and outmoded today. I do think that futurology should be covered as a part of the history but would put off many people in the field if it was the title of the project Zhanli2012 (talk) 04:59, 8 January 2012 (UTC)


 * Initially I meant to ask about "WikiProject Futures"; basically, can you think of a shorter name than "WikiProject Foresight and Future Studies"? Later you'll be happy about deciding on a shorter name. :P — Jeraphine Gryphon (talk) 06:10, 8 January 2012 (UTC)


 * That could be a very good idea. The reason why I was reluctant to do that initially was that there was a previous proposal about potential future that did not succeed, that was more focused around speculative ideas generally, and I hoped to differentiate that proposal from this one.  Also, as Zhanli2012 pointed out, the naming has been a key issue in this field, such that mentioning both "foresight" and "futures studies" reaches out to different cultural branches.  However, perhaps "futures" is sufficiently inclusive.  John b cassel (talk) 00:01, 9 January 2012 (UTC)


 * The name "WikiProject Futures" is a bad idea. Futures usually refer to a type of derivatives financial instrument. 76.65.128.132 (talk) 07:00, 12 January 2012 (UTC)


 * This confusion happens all the time when working on speculative financial instruments, so based on that experience I agree that "Futures" is out. 99.47.199.58 (talk) 14:44, 13 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I'd personally be fine with "WikiProject Foresight" although perhaps not everyone in the field of futures would pick as that as a preference. Still, I think it may be the best solution for now. Zhanli2012 (talk) 19:53, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

Doesn't "WikiProject Futures Studies" make the most sense now? — Jeraphine Gryphon (talk) 02:48, 14 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I think it might. Given that naming is such a contentious issue in the field, I think it is appropriate to let more folks weigh in, but I think that's a fine direction to go in, pending other discussion.  Thanks :-) John b cassel (talk) 18:42, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

I found something interesting: Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:WikiProject Futures Studies. — Jeraphine Gryphon (talk) 02:55, 8 January 2012 (UTC)


 * Interesting! This previous WikiProject seems to have failed for lack of activity. We hope that our classroom exercise and outreach to other wikiprojects will give our attempt a running start and build momentum. Thanks for the info - is there any chance of finding out who the original creator of that project was? Zhanli2012 (talk) 04:59, 8 January 2012 (UTC)


 * I'll try to ask an admin to take a look. — Jeraphine Gryphon (talk) 06:10, 8 January 2012 (UTC)


 * I asked admin Fastily here, the only two members listed at the old project were:


 * - last active in 2007
 * - last active at the end of last month
 * — Jeraphine Gryphon (talk) 06:30, 8 January 2012 (UTC)


 * Thanks, Jeraphine Gryphon! I hope to be in touch with these users to see if they would be interested in a revitalized project. John b cassel (talk) 00:01, 9 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Jeraphine!! I know Wendyinfutures IRL and have actually previously discussed this proposal idea with her (but I didn't know about the old WikiProject). I was planning to ask her to join the project later when it was up and running- I don't think she's a regularly active Wikipedian but certainly someone who is very knowledgable about futures. I wanted to primarily seek out interest from regular Wikipedians here first Zhanli2012 (talk) 19:51, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

I myself have no knowledge in futures studies and my interests mostly lie elsewhere, but I think this project is a great idea and should be useful for Wikipedia. — Jeraphine Gryphon (talk) 06:10, 8 January 2012 (UTC)

This WikiProject is now up and running. I have created WikiProject Future studies, to match the name of the subject as used for the corresponding article in the encyclopedia (see Future studies). The previous WikiProject was slightly misnamed, as it capitalized "studies". If you feel the WikiProject's name is not the most appropriate, I'll be happy to discuss the alternatives with you on its talk page. I look forward to working with you on Wikipedia's coverage of this subject. See you there. The Transhumanist 06:23, 16 January 2012 (UTC)


 * ''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 project's talk page (if created) or at the WikiProject Council). No further edits should be made to this page.