Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Virginia/Archive 1

Ways to get attention
I strongly recommend that you place the project on the List of WikiProjects and that you plaster your banner anywhere and everywhere you can. I only found out about your project today, and am in the process of placing the project banner on all the relevant pages I encountered today. I have also put it on my list of banners. One small suggestion, however: maybe you could make the flag image a bit bigger. It is relatively small right now. Badbilltucker 19:31, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Yep, planning on doing so! We just started the project officially yesterday :-) plange 20:43, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
 * That would explain why I hadn't seen it before. Best of luck on what should be a rather demanding, but I hope rewarding, endeavor. Badbilltucker 20:46, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
 * I found out about the project today and have added the tag to many articles within its scope. Hopefully this will pull in people from a variety of areas with interest in Virginia.Joshua4 17:22, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Don't be shy about adding the tag to stubs. See the long tail. --Joshua4 11:12, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

well i like totlly think this is stupid —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.26.106.9 (talk) 19:53, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

i hereby secede from this project...
I plan on starting a WikiProject for West Virginia sometime soon and was wondering if you disloyal traitors to the Union (j/k) would like to cooperate on all matters of the current state of WV before June 20, 1863 (ie when we told y'all to "go take a hike" after you guys bet on a losing horse, lol) and the events related to the partition of the state? Cheers.

PS--That was all tounge-in-cheek, btw.  young  american (ahoy-hoy) 12:11, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Sure, secede, and condemn yourself forever to inbreeding jokes! Nah, joking aside, I think it would be more than suitable for our project to assist in matters concerning the history of Virginia prior to the split. It was Virginia, after all!  Good luck on your project!  As we just now are getting on our feet, we have not yet organized a very thorough schedule, but let us know when you begin work. ~ (The Rebel At) ~  12:18, 25 August 2006 (UTC)


 * WP:WikiProject West Virginia
 * WikiProject West Virginia

Virginia in the Civil War
We've been waiting for ya'll! The American Civil War task force has started a state-by-state treatment of U.S. states in the American Civil War, hence the new category Virginia in the Civil War and the stub, Virginia in the Civil War. I went ahead and placed Category:Virginia in the Civil War on your WikiProject Virginia/Categories page under Category:History of Virginia. See WikiProject Military history/American Civil War task force for more info. Thanks! &bull; CQ 16:04, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks CQ, I'm a member of both ACW task force and this one, so let me know how I can help! plange 17:23, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Proposition for template
Would a template similar to the be good for the colonial governors as well? T REX speak 06:02, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Sounds like a good idea to me! Have any other states done one we can perhaps steal ideas from? --plange 06:16, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Awesome job!!! --plange 04:42, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Portal
OK, have set up a Portal! Need help finishing it and am also open to whatever else we should add. You'll notice I'm missing some things in the Fact area, and also have done the Attractions page if anyone wants to tackle that. Am also wondering what else we should add to show off our great state? Perhaps have a whole History box? --plange 05:09, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

Core Biographies
WikiProject Biography has finished their compilation of core biographies (200), which is basically a worklist of articles that we'd like to get to FA. Some of them are Virginians (of course!!), so I thought I'd list them here so we can perhaps work together to get these up to snuff....
 * George Washington
 * Thomas Jefferson

Did I miss any others? --plange 01:48, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Tagging talk pages and assessing articles
Hi. If you still have work to do tagging talk pages and assessing articles, my AWB plugin might be of interest to you.

The plugin has two main modes of operation:
 * Tagging talk pages, great for high-speed tagging
 * Assessments mode, for reviewing articles (pictured)

As of the current version, WikiProjects with simple "generic" templates are supported by the plugin without the need for any special programatic support by me. I've had a look at your project's template and you seem to qualify.

For more information see:
 * About the plugin
 * About support for "generic" WikiProject templates
 * User guide
 * About AWB (AutoWikiBrowser)

Hope that helps. If you have any questions or find any bugs please let me know on the plugin's talk page. --Kingboyk 15:01, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Is this something to put in the newsletter?
I've written at least a stub for each of the primary state highways in Virginia except for the minor routes that serve state facilities. --NE2 03:32, 19 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Definitely! Go ahead and go to the Outreach department and add it to November's-- Great work! I think things like this are definitely newsletter material so we can all get a sense of how the project's doing, plus tootin' a horn ain't a bad thing ;-) Did any of them have material to nominate it for a WP:DYK? --plange 04:04, 19 October 2006 (UTC)
 * I think they're all over five days old. Maybe if I make an article about the facility routes in general, I'll nominate it for DYK: "...that in the U.S. state of Virginia, many driveways of state facilities are maintained as primary state highways?" --NE2 04:20, 19 October 2006 (UTC)
 * That would be a good one, I didn't know that! --plange 04:30, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

Invitation to new WikiProject
A new WikiProject has been started, and may be of interest to members here. It is WikiProject National Register of Historic Places. It covers all listings on the Register, in all states and territories. Should you be so inclined, please feel free to join. And spread the word to any other interested parties. -Ebyabe 19:57, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

Project directory
Hello. The WikiProject Council has recently updated the WikiProject Council/Directory. This new directory includes a variety of categories and subcategories which will, with luck, potentially draw new members to the projects who are interested in those specific subjects. Please review the directory and make any changes to the entries for your project that you see fit. There is also a directory of portals, at User:B2T2/Portal, listing all the existing portals. Feel free to add any of them to the portals or comments section of your entries in the directory. The three columns regarding assessment, peer review, and collaboration are included in the directory for both the use of the projects themselves and for that of others. Having such departments will allow a project to more quickly and easily identify its most important articles and its articles in greatest need of improvement. If you have not already done so, please consider whether your project would benefit from having departments which deal in these matters. It is my hope that all the changes to the directory can be finished by the first of next month. Please feel free to make any changes you see fit to the entries for your project before then. If you should have any questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you. B2T2 19:24, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Whaa?
Has the A-Class disappeared? Do we not have any articles that are A class. It doesn't show up in the assessment table. T REX speak 17:48, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

AID vote on Jamestown!
Someone from the project has nominated Jamestown, Virginia - please vote! --plange 17:14, 31 October 2006 (UTC)


 * I was the one who nominated this article for improvement. It needs a lot of help, and will be getting worldwide attention next year with the 400th anniversary celebration. Although it is in my main field of writing, it needs more than I can do. I was wondering if members of this Wikiproject would consider a vote in support? Article Creation and Improvement Drive Many thanks,  Mark in Historic Triangle of Virginia 21:28, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Virginia folklore
I was writing up the article on the Varmint of Burke's Garden last night, and it got me to thinking about possibly creating a "Virginia folklore" category. Trouble is, I can't really think of anything else that might fit in the category, other than the Bunny Man in Vienna. Any thoughts? --User:AlbertHerring Io son l'orecchio e tu la bocca: parla! 18:35, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
 * There certainly is probably a lot of content that could be filed under Virginian folklore, but it would require having a good source reference to create the necessary articles. As is, I'd like to think there's enough folklore to support a category, since apparently we have categories for shopping malls and golf courses.  You've my support.  ~ (The Rebel At) ~  18:40, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
 * I don't really have a good, usable reference for that, I'm afraid - I can pick a few things from various travel books and whatnot. If we could come to a consensus as to what would constitute folklore in Virginia - maybe come up with candidates for the category - I'd be amenable to slapping the label on them. --User:AlbertHerring Io son l'orecchio e tu la bocca: parla! 01:55, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
 * That is a good question of what constitutes folklore. Dictionary.com's definition as traditional customs, beliefs, and legends, of a people.  I'd reckon that perhaps the definition might better be how often its cited.  If you hear something from your grandfather and can't find any other sources to back it up, maybe it doesn't belong on the Wiki. :)    ~ (The Rebel At) ~  02:05, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Chiming in, as that was a major aspect of my Master's Degree -- we do have to be careful of not doing any WP:OR, so we can only include, like RebelAt says, things from verifiable sources that have already tagged it as folklore. I'm sure there are books out there on Virginia folklore... --plange 15:36, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Oh, agreed - I don't want to add anything that would violate WP:OR. But I think that some things, like the Bunnyman, are fairly obviously folkloric in nature, and they are documented in numerous sources.  Maybe the wreck of the ol' 97? --User:AlbertHerring Io son l'orecchio e tu la bocca: parla! 22:32, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Possible subproject?
I would like to call to your attention the fact that the recently formed WikiProject University of Virginia has recently been userfied, after only three days of existence. To me, this does not reflect very well on wikipedia, because the group had already gathered three members in those three days. Considering that the scope of the UVa project technically falls within the scope of your project, I was wondering if you thought that there might be a chance for the UVa group to become a subproject of some kind of your own group. I also think it would set a good precedent for all the other state-sponsored universities out there which could potentially make the unmanagable number of existing WikiProjects even more unmanagable. Thank you for your consideration of this matter. Badbilltucker 15:53, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
 * I certainly don't see why this shouldn't occur. We have an Education division thats designed specifically for such things, and it hasn't even been touched yet.  Thus, I think the UVa folks could work from that area of the Va project.  ~ (The Rebel At) ~  18:46, 17 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Agree, UVA could easily fit as a subproject. There are a bunch of folks who have been editing the College of William and Mary article during the past year, and I feel likewise about possibly formalizing that. Both fit well within the Education category, as would public schools, etc. My 2 cents. P.S. Please vote for the Jamestown article in WP:AID if you haven't already. We need more votes. Mark in Historic Triangle of Virginia Vaoverland 11:19, 22 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Agree - I do not see why it should be denied as a sub-project, especially under the scope of this project. (Is my agreement too late?) -- Chrislk02 (Chris Kreider) 17:50, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Nope, not too late. If the WP:UVa people are still interested, we can set up the education page and get them rolling.  ~ (The Rebel At) ~  23:15, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Template:Protected Areas of Virginia
Swiped the format from the Pennsylvania template and went ahead and created this - I figured it would be nice to have. I'll go ahead and stick it on the existing articles. --User:AlbertHerring Io son l'orecchio e tu la bocca: parla! 02:35, 28 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Aaaaaaand done. --User:AlbertHerring Io son l'orecchio e tu la bocca: parla! 07:02, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Rambot mystery
Now, I was given to understand that some years ago, user:Rambot created boilerplate entries for all towns compiled by the US Census.

So why, only today, was a micro-stub created for Lovingston, Virginia, which appears to be the county seat for Nelson County? How could a county seat -- even for a small county -- be overlooked? --Calton | Talk 06:32, 29 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Doesn't it have something to do with which places are incorporated? --User:AlbertHerring Io son l'orecchio e tu la bocca: parla! 07:41, 29 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Another answer could be simply that accidents happen. Items are overlooked or missed.  Though, it may be a sign that we should cross check the rest of the counties to make sure that no other county seats have similar issues.  ~ (The Rebel At) ~  15:12, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

A look at List of county seats in Virginia shows 7 red-links:


 * Lunenburg County, Virginia – Lunenburg, Virginia
 * Mathews County, Virginia – Mathews, Virginia
 * New Kent County, Virginia – New Kent, Virginia
 * Nottoway County, Virginia – Nottoway, Virginia
 * Powhatan County, Virginia – Powhatan, Virginia
 * Prince George County, Virginia – Prince George, Virginia
 * Sussex County, Virginia – Sussex, Virginia

And that's not counting any blue-links which may be bad micro-stubs. I'm not a resident of the Commonwealth, so I leave this up to you folks who know about these things. --Calton | Talk 08:00, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia Day Awards
Hello, all. It was initially my hope to try to have this done as part of Esperanza's proposal for an appreciation week to end on Wikipedia Day, January 15. However, several people have once again proposed the entirety of Esperanza for deletion, so that might not work. It was the intention of the Appreciation Week proposal to set aside a given time when the various individuals who have made significant, valuable contributions to the encyclopedia would be recognized and honored. I believe that, with some effort, this could still be done. My proposal is to, with luck, try to organize the various WikiProjects and other entities of wikipedia to take part in a larger celebrartion of its contributors to take place in January, probably beginning January 15, 2007. I have created yet another new subpage for myself (a weakness of mine, I'm afraid) at User talk:Badbilltucker/Appreciation Week where I would greatly appreciate any indications from the members of this project as to whether and how they might be willing and/or able to assist in recognizing the contributions of our editors. Thank you for your attention. Badbilltucker 22:25, 29 December 2006 (UTC)