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Author Topic: New opportunities and policies at Wikipedia  (Read 2797 times)

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Offline Dank55Topic starter

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New opportunities and policies at Wikipedia
« on: February 02, 2008, 04:17:12 PM »
Anyone who's interested in getting your stuff on to Wikipedia, please visit our project page at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Robotics

There's so much to say, let me just hit the high points:

1. This is not guaranteed, but it appears that we (I guess I mean roboticists and friends) have won a great victory at Wikipedia...not so much a rule change, but a change in attitudes and level of support.  If you can get some "secondary source", say a newspaper or even an impartial online reviewer, to favorably mention your robotics project, and if other students, hobbyists and roboticists think that your information is accurate and your work is pretty neat, then it will probably survive the review process.  Having your stuff displayed on Wikipedia is generally considered to be a great honor.  Wikipedia is the top .org site in the world by number of hits, and in terms of "credibility" and "goodwill", there's no other site even close.

2. If you're new to Wikipedia (and aren't we all, the place is huge), you will probably want help with creating your article, so just sign up at that project page as a member and you'll have all kinds of people offering help.  Wikipedia is very nice to people who want to share their stuff and are not trying to game the system.  You may have heard horror stories about how you need to have your asbestos underwear on if you post things there, but that only applies to the people who are trying to buck the system.  We don't bite.  Really.

3. I, and other editors, have been challenging some established attitudes.  And, at the moment, it appears that we won.  We were told that the new more favorable attitudes would probably take years to develop.  It tooks days.  Yes, we're proud. Explanations are on the project page.

4. Lastly, _the changes that we expect to see absolutely depend on your cooperation_.  Everyone knows that just because something gets written up in a small-town newspaper, that doesn't make it worthy of an encyclopedia.  What does make it worthy is the knowledge that similar articles are being read and commented on by lots of independent people who know what they're talking about.  That means you!  We won't be able to sustain our success without you.

Dan

« Last Edit: February 02, 2008, 04:18:57 PM by Dank55 »
Dan, dank55 on gmail.com and Wikipedia

Offline Dank55Topic starter

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Re: New opportunities and policies at Wikipedia
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2008, 06:50:58 PM »
We have moved stuff specific to new editors to the outreach page of the project, at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Robotics/Outreach

No one person speaks for Wikipedia, certainly not me.  Also, the fact that we are winning the war today does not mean we will be winning tomorrow.  All I can say is that, so far, not a single admin has spoken in opposition, and the discussion has been carried on in the most active admin forum, called the Admin's Noticeboard, here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:An#Please_help_me_bring_more_roboticists_to_WP

And a footnote, when I say above "your stuff displayed on Wikipedia", please note that it's a bad idea to create an article on Wikipedia saying "Here's what I've done, isn't it great?"  Only people who are impartial to the subject should edit or create articles on Wikipedia.

Dan
« Last Edit: February 02, 2008, 06:54:14 PM by Dank55 »
Dan, dank55 on gmail.com and Wikipedia

Offline Dank55Topic starter

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Re: New opportunities and policies at Wikipedia
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2008, 01:36:57 PM »
No one person speaks for Wikipedia, certainly not me, but there is general agreement at Wikipedia that robotics is a current "target".   That means...if you have something you want to say to the world about robots, it would be a great idea to join the conversation now.  The world is full of people who used to be considered experts of one kind or another, whose own kids get their answers from Wikipedia now instead.  If you want to be one of the people responsible for "peer reviews" of robotics articles, you don't have to be a genius and you don't need any track record at Wikipedia, but you have to create an account if you don't have one and post your name at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Robotics/Participants (or email me if you don't know how to do that).  A good page to read would be http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Robotics/Outreach.  Be aware that the relationships that are forged at the beginning of every Wikiproject tend to dominate articles in that project going forward, so please don't wait.

If you want to meet the most accomplished, most interesting, and nicest people involved in robotics in the world, Wikipedia is the place to do it.  Every day, just by responding to people who have edited robotics articles, I wind up chatting with many people who work at the top robotics companies and teach at the top schools.  And...my skills aren't that great.  If you're friendly, you're willing to learn a little bit about what to do on Wikipedia, and you have something helpful to offer, you will have no trouble making friends.
Dan, dank55 on gmail.com and Wikipedia

Offline Trumpkin

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Re: New opportunities and policies at Wikipedia
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2008, 10:27:19 AM »
don't triple post. (although i do it to) try not to  ;).
Robots are awesome!

Offline HDL_CinC_Dragon

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Re: New opportunities and policies at Wikipedia
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2008, 11:19:57 AM »
Awesome stuff Dank. Did you create all that stuff??
-EDIT- Now I see that your a participant rather that the father :P Thank you for bringing this to us :D


There, I added my name to the participation list :)
« Last Edit: February 05, 2008, 11:27:18 AM by HDL_CinC_Dragon »
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Offline Dank55Topic starter

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Re: New opportunities and policies at Wikipedia
« Reply #5 on: February 05, 2008, 12:44:34 PM »
Not a problem, Trumpkin, i just got kind of goofy because I'm excited, this SO rocks.

HDL, welcome!

Dan
Dan, dank55 on gmail.com and Wikipedia

 


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