Archive:Monthly Write-a-Thon

Wednesday July 6th, 2011

Standards

Many options to choose from this month... suggestions include measurements, morals, grammars, agreements, and the people and things constrained thereby! Without them, we couldn't plug an appliance into the wall.

The Write-a-Thon will be revived on Wednesday July 6th, 2011!

We know that not everybody has Wednesday at the same time though, so to make it fair our Wednesday lasts 48 hours! Therefore, Write-a-Thon starts on July 6th, 1200 UTC, when it starts being Wednesday in New Zealand, and ends on July 7th, 1200 UTC, when it finishes being Wednesday in Hawaii.

What's a Write-a-Thon?
It's a bunch of people getting together on a wiki at a particular time to do a bunch of writing. It's like an online party! Heck no, it is an online party! It's also an excuse for infrequent wikiers to show up and party hearty; to exchange ideas with people we might not "meet" otherwise.

But hey, why not show up in between the write-ins, too!

When?
Write-a-Thons happen the first Wednesday of every month. It starts on Tuesday 1200 UTC, when it starts being Wednesday in New Zealand, and ends on Thursday 1200 UTC, when it finishes being Wednesday in Hawaii. Save the next month's date! Put it on your calendar! Set yourself a reminder!

Any new article you create, and any edit you make to somebody else's Write-a-Thon article during that time period will count!

Our first Write-a-Thon took place Wednesday, August 1, 2007 and was considered a roaring good time--we had about 30 partiers creating something like 50 articles, and editing lots.

So how do I join in?
Joining in is really easy:
 * First of all, show up on the first Wednesday of the month!
 * Start a new article. Any new article is fine, although a suggested theme is given each month. Even just a stub will qualify, although the more substantive the article the better. Come back to this page and let everyone know you've started it! The earlier in the day you do this step, the better.
 * Make a substantive edit (not just a copyedit) to somebody else's new article! You might need to come back a little bit later in the day to do this, once people have had chance to make all those new articles. Then come back to this page and reply to the person who made the article.
 * Optionally, but preferably, mention Write-a-thon in the Edit summary of any pages you create or edit for the party! It lets others who may have forgotten know it is here.
 * Congratulations, you are an official Write-a-thon partier!

Join the fun!
When you've created your new article (or improved an existing article, for that matter) on Wednesday 6th July, come and list it here! Don't forget to sign your name so everyone knows you've joined in. Then, when you've edited someone else's article come and let them know!

Upcoming!

 * August 2011 - (theme still to be chosen--anyone?)

New Suggestions and Discussion

 * What about red links in Random pages? --Daniel Mietchen 10:15, 4 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I suggest "Standards". Without them, we couldn't plug an appliance into the wall.Pat Palmer 16:40, 11 May 2011 (CDT)
 * Nice thing about standards, there are so many to choose from. ;) Anthony.Sebastian 14:31, 4 July 2011 (UTC)


 * I suggest "Numbers". Richard Pinch 07:21, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

Petréa Mitchell 19:15, 1 January 2009 (UTC)
 * "Hometown Heroes" - write about someone famous from your part of the world (either where you're from, or where you are now).
 * "Poles Apart" - find the spot directly on the other side of Earth from you, and write about someone or something in the vicinity. (Contributors on other planets, follow a similar procedure for whatever planet you're on. Contributors not on planetary bodies permitted to write about whatever they feel like.)
 * Fill in an item from this interesting list of natural objects. Or this interesting list of people.
 * All articles must start with the same letter of the alphabet, allowing for diacritics and transliteration (so Å, Á, and あ would all count if A were the letter, for instance).
 * Photo stubs - no minimum word length, no theme requirement, but must contain an image.
 * Choose a random number from 1 to 500, then go to Special:WantedPages and start an article on the topic currently at that rank.


 * What will people most enjoy writing that could lead many different contributors to a short, but complete and interesting article that links to larger articles? Maybe "Events" could be a theme - pen-portraits of memorable sporting moments (see try, or notable historical events - including tsunamis, eruption of Krakatoa, comet collision with Jupiter, the birth of Dolly the sheep, freeing of Nelson Mandela, the sinking of the Titanic, assassination of Martin Luther King, the Mutiny on the Bounty, the discovery of the Americas? Can I suggest asking that every new article should have at least one external link and links to other articles here?Gareth Leng 12:31, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I like this idea. Further, definitions and other subpages are preferable, even for stubs. Chris Day 17:01, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Dare I suggest that even stubs can and should be non-orphans? Basic criteria: Howard C. Berkowitz 18:00, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Reachable from the front page or a core article/workgroup page
 * Link to at least three other articles, even if they are redlinks in a Related Articles subpages
 * Have at least three other articles link to them


 * I propose "childish things" as a topic. --Larry Sanger 15:51, 6 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Er...you talkin' 'bout me again??? You can always tell who's got a toddler at home, huh, Larry?  Aleta Curry 02:57, 7 May 2009 (UTC)


 * For this revival, to open it to lots of partiers, suggest theme: ' Topic of Your Mind's Desire ', or, ' Whatever ', or something in that vein, with the proviso that article be consistent with CZ standards. Anthony.Sebastian 02:28, 30 June 2011 (UTC)