User:MSchmahl

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Tip of the day...

Section edit button

At the top of each section of an article (if it has sections, that is), located on the far right of the screen, is an [edit] button. The button is offset slightly above the section, and sometimes new users get confused and think it belongs to the section above it. When you click on the edit button, the edit window opens up, displaying the source text from the section immediately below the edit button. Please use these whenever you can. You can set your preferences to have the section headers themselves to act like the [edit] links.

[edit] Useful links

[edit] Article criteria

In no particular order, an article should:

be organized well
be written well
engage the reader's attention
be neither too short nor too long
use lists appropriately and sparingly
be well-referenced
be comprehensive
use a neutral tone
include appropriate illustrations
be independent of temporal and cultural context

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[edit] Tomorrow's featured article

The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union. The Commission operates in the method of cabinet government, with 27 Commissioners. There is one Commissioner per member state, however Commissioners are bound to represent the interests of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. One of the 27 is the Commission President (currently José Manuel Barroso) appointed by the European Council with the approval of the European Parliament. The present Barroso Commission took office in late 2004 and is serving a five-year term. The term "Commission" can mean either the college of Commissioners mentioned above, or the larger institution; including the administrative body of about 25,000 European civil servants who are divided into departments called Directorates-General. It is primarily based in the Berlaymont building of Brussels and its internal working languages are English, French and German. (more...)

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[edit] Mathematics featured article

Portal:Mathematics/Featured article/2008 24

[edit] Philosophy featured article

Portal:Philosophy/Featured article/2008-24

[edit] What is "notable"?

Recently, I've been browsing some proposed policies, essays, and user pages regarding "notability", "fame", "importance", "relevance", and the like.

"Notable" is synonymous with "verifiable".

I agree, in essence, with Jimbo Wales's opinion that 'notable' is shorthand for WP:V combined with WP:NPOV. The fact that a topic has been covered, or referred to, by multiple, independent sources, makes that topic notable enough for coverage by Wikipedia. Note the emphasis on "multiple". Any single source can be biased, confused, or hoaxed, but if several independent sources agree on something, it's much more likely to be a representation or approximation of Truth.

A "notable" topic is one on which a casual visitor might be looking for further information.

Let's assume, for a moment, that Wikipedia has attained its goal of being a reputable encyclopedia. Imagine a (non-editor) reader visits Wikipedia, with the intention of acquiring a bit of knowledge. In this situation, "notable" means: "Is a random visitor likely to be seeking information on this topic?" If so, Wikipedia should attempt to provide some reliable information on the topic. For example, my physics professor might make a passing comment about Qubit Field Theory which intrigues me. So, (in an ideal world), I come to Wikipedia and look it up. At present I only find a stub, but I also find a suggestion for further reading. On the other hand, Fred Johnson, my upstairs neighbor, who works at 7-Eleven on the graveyard shift, is not likely to be the topic of a search by anyone who is not personally acquainted with him. So Qubit Field Theory has an article, and Fred Johnson doesn't.

"Notable" means that, in the absence of a Wikipedia article on a topic, I would still have heard of the topic.

This is perhaps the most controversial facet of my viewpoint of notability. But perhaps it is the most essential. Wikipedia, being quite consciously a tertiary source, is not in the business of creating knowledge (WP:OR, WP:NOT). The business of Wikipedia, rather, is to compile and report on human knowledge, acquired through other means. This is one reason that, in my opinion, The Game was correctly deleted. If I had not stumbled on the Wikipedia article on The Game, I would have remained blissfully unaware of its existence. On the other hand, I have heard about Mao and Nomic independently of Wikipedia (see Metamagical Themas et al), so their inclusion is appropriate

[edit] Regarding lists

Simply put, I think most lists on Wikipedia are inappropriate. Remember, Wikipedia is supposed to be an encyclopedia. Having a "List of English words containing Q not followed by U" is not in the nature of an encyclopedia. It smells like original research and is an easy target for linkspam. Some lists become a dumping-ground for links. The {{listdev}} template actively encourages users to add items to lists without troubling them to ask themselves, "Is this information appropriate for use in an encyclopedia?" These lists often grow to huge proportions, overwhelming and diluting the point of the article itself.

This is not to say that all lists are bad. A list should, like an article itself, illustrate and exemplify the concept under discussion. For example, a "list of police states" could appropriately include 1984, since this is a canonical example familiar to most of the English-speaking world. However, such a list could easily be polluted with every movie, novel, short story, video game, or weblog that portrays such a government. Ideally, a list should contain no more than six, or at the extreme upper limit, maybe a dozen entries.

I agree that lists are (occasionally) entertaining, but should an encyclopedia really include an article such as a list of fictional cats?

(Note: I made up the example "List of English words containing Q not followed by U" off the top of my head, but then searched for it, and found it actually existed!)

[edit] Webcomics that I like

Sluggy Freelance	read it
The Order of the Stick	read it
General Protection Fault	read it
Kevin & Kell	read it
8-bit Theater	read it

[edit] Test pages

Mark V. Shaney writes a Wikipedia article.

Some excerpts:

Roosevelt's lasting popular legacy is the spectral type G2V yellow star at the Mount Rushmore Memorial.
"Our 1905 was clearly orchestrated by the Moon and the Sun itself orbits the center of the structure. The architecture commands attention by virtue of their visual display.
The Protocols can be viewed directly without discomfort or safely with binoculars. Hazy conditions, atmospheric dust, and high humidity contribute to the general election race. The election, normally held in November, will take place in an airplane.
In a decisive move, Taft's people purchased support of a top-secret military space shuttle.
From about 0.7 solar radii, solar material is hot and dense enough or hot enough to garner 435 electoral votes.
As President he firmly believed in the ambient gas in the 19th century.
After the assassination of Czar Alexander II in 1881, he dropped out of law and preferred judges rather than Egyptians.
Different latitudes of the chapel were festooned with a council of bishops.

[edit] A koan

One evening, my father asked me, "What have you learned today?"

I replied "Nothing,"

My father beat me and sent me to bed with no supper.

The following evening, my father asked me, "What have you learned today?"

I replied "Nothing."

My father, with a tear in his eye, exclaims, "Most wonderful!" and embraced me.

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