Wikipedia:WikiProject Oregon/Oregon Encyclopedia

The following is a response to the Oregon Encyclopedia, an online encyclopedia about the state of Oregon.

Letter
To whom it may concern,



Wikipedia articles can be edited by anyone. Since this is a fairly new phenomena, many have difficulty evaluating the collective result. Some value the content as a starting point in their research, while others find its use in a small part of their larger work, and some liken Wikipedia to a piece of property, perhaps in a bad neighborhood, ripe to be vandalized. It is this final perspective that we aim to improve.

As common experience has taught us, vandalism is difficult to prevent and remove, yet easy to inflict. So it would seem logical to conclude that Wikipedia is destined to go down in a flaming heap of expletive graffiti. In practice, it is becoming more and more difficult for vandals to leave such blatant advertising. In fact, a handful of automated "bots" are constantly at work looking for and removing recent vandalism; no one need touch a mouse to counter most of it. After all, vandals are quite predictable, doing the same basic things endlessly: A perfect task for a vigilant robot.

In addition, tens—maybe hundreds—of thousands of editors, perhaps motivated by a bit of pride in their contributions, monitor some subset of articles. Upon recognizing vandalism, they—with a few mouse clicks—remove it. Persistent vandals are warned a few times; if they continue recklessly, they are soon blocked, not able to edit anything at all. Vandalism simply vanishes a few seconds after being committed, never to be seen by casual users. Valuable content is restored.

There are but a very few bad apples who vandalize Wikipedia regularly, and it takes considerable effort to tarnish an article in a way that lasts. There are many more people with an interest in improving Wikipedia, hoping to leave a permanent contribution to the project. It is this which makes Wikipedia useful, with a minimum of two edits being saved every single second.

As for the accuracy of the articles, many "WikiProjects" have formed dedicated to improving various categories of articles by removing false content, adding reliable source references, and by presenting the content with a neutral point of view. Thanks to the continual efforts of the members of these projects, and the overlapping support each one provides to Wikipedia, false content has become difficult to find. One only has to scroll down to the bottom of each article to see a list of references, and if none exists, simply challenge the content. This is hardly a reckless way of presenting knowledge. Recall that "Aunt Betty" was apprehended and dealt with quite quickly.



Wikipedia editors in Oregon earn recognition for encyclopedia coverage of the state
Oregon's most comprehensive collection of encyclopedia articles, the Oregon portal of Wikipedia, was awarded "Featured Portal" status on February 10, 2008. This honor is shared by only 99 of 548 such portals on Wikipedia.

EncMstr, an Oregon-based writer and administrator for Wikipedia who contributed to some of the articles linked from the portal, had this to say:

"Compared to [other] featured portals, Oregon's has significantly more depth and breadth, and is far more interesting and dynamic—every view is new. One can quickly find the most obtuse article related to Oregon through the portal. This doesn't seem to be the case for the geographically-based other portals."

Attaining "Featured" status for this portal is the latest in a string of successes for wiki enthusiasts in Oregon.
 * Oregon State Capitol is one of several Oregon-related articles to receive the highest-possible rating for a Wikipedia article: "Featured Article." On January 10, it appeared on the front page of Wikipedia; it was accessed over 22,000 times that day.
 * The recently instituted Collaboration of the Week program, initiated by Aboutmovies, has increased productivity on Oregon-related articles. Articles such as Barlow Road, Neil Goldschmidt, and History of Oregon have undergone significant expansion in recent months. With continued diligence, these articles could improve to the point of getting "Featured" as well.
 * Newcomer Mtsmallwood has written extensive and well-cited articles about the history of steamboats in Oregon, filling a gap in the history of the state's development. See Steamboats of the Columbia River, Steamboats of the Oregon Coast, and related articles.
 * Articles with a strong Oregon connection now number over 5,500. Many are mere "stubs"; essentially placeholders for future articles, but often containing a bit of useful information nonetheless. However, over 2000 are bigger and better-sourced than stubs. Literally hundreds of edits are made to Oregon-related articles every day.

Wikipedia has exacting standards for verifiability, neutrality, and notability, which are enforced vigorously. Verification is completely transparent with inline citations; readers are encouraged to consult underlying reliable sources if performing serious research. Content is always expanding, and enforcement is carried out by volunteers; so the occasional counterexample is easily found. But in an active project, such examples are very much the exception, not the rule, and are by and large quickly corrected.

Oregon, with its strong affinity for open content and an emphasis on community, boasts two groups which keep it particularly adept at meeting Wikipedia's high standards: WikiProject Oregon, a loose collection of Wikipedia editors devoted to Oregon-related content, collaborates on the Wikipedia web site, and Portland WikiWednesday offers wiki enthusiasts an opportunity to network and collaborate in person once a month.

Participants in these groups have included a missionary priest from Wasco County, a lawyer and owner of a timber company in the Coast Range, a Willamette University law student, a computer programmer, a ski instructor, the president of a national sporting league, a former legislative employee, and even the Oregon-based inventor of the Wiki, Ward Cunningham. These volunteers have developed a strong working knowledge of writing encyclopedia articles in a collaborative, online environment, and in welcoming new volunteers into the fold and helping them maximize their contributions.

Both groups are enthusiastic about the OHS/PSU-sponsored Oregon Encyclopedia, and have begun to explore ways to collaborate with the project.

Those interested in writing and editing material about Oregon-related subjects are encouraged to visit the Wikiproject Oregon web page to learn more. Or better yet, just click "edit" or "discuss" on any Wikipedia page in need of improvement; after a few edits, helpful fellow editors are sure to offer tips about how to get more involved.

Contact: Pete Forsyth, (503) 453-9766 (email), ____, ____

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How to collaborate with Oregon Encyclopedia
Assuming that those planning out the Oregon Encyclopedia want to collaborate on maximizing the impact of their project, what can we suggest? What is ideal, and what kind of smaller steps might they be willing to take if our "ideal" suggestions are not acceptable? Is there an opportunity here to make requests of the OHS and/or PSU, or to offer anything to them?


 * They could use a wiki-based writing/editing process.
 * They should adopt a Creative Commons-compatible license.
 * I (Pete) suspect they won't go for this, but we should be prepared to make a strong case if given the opportunity.
 * Maybe we can persuade them to release, say, 100 of their 3,000 articles to CC, and publish them simultaneously on their own site, and on Wikipedia. They could study the results, and report on the pros and cons; this could be a bit of "living history" for them.
 * They should relax their requirement that materials be entirely original, allowing the inclusion and improvement of articles that are published on Wikipedia (under a free license).
 * With a wiki-based site like Wikipedia, the line between composition and publication is effectively eliminated. Contributors do not consciously pursue publication; they simply compose in a pre-published format. Many people now compose in this medium, and denying republication effectively freezes out such contributors.
 * Again, they may not be willing to change the rule overall; but perhaps they would be willing to accept a couple of articles as a "test." Maybe one of our FA's, or a stub that really should be improved on?
 * Oregon Encyclopedia will be putting a heavy emphasis on conducting public events, and reaching out to hard-to-reach communities. We should volunteer to plan and/or help lead some of those meetings. We should also request that they include Wikipedia in their presentations, and help participants understand why they might want to work on Wikipedia in addition to Oregon Encyclopedia.
 * We have an article on Oregon Encyclopedia. We should also find a way to prominently note its existence on Portal:Oregon as the site evolves, as a service to readers. We should request that the Oregon Encyclopedia site should link to, and provide a brief description of, Portal:Oregon.
 * OHS has access to lots of documents and photographs that could help Wikipedia. Can they make their library more accessible to Wikipedia editors in some way? Can they help clarify the copyright status on images that may be useful on Wikipedia?