Wikipedia:The Problem with Projects: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:27, 23 February 2008

Revision as of 19:28, 23 February 2008

Line 16:

Lastly, there are the cultural phenomena projects. The name really doesn't say much of anything, and I know that, but I can't think of anything else which would be roughly equivalent. This would encompass athletic activities, spectator sports, popular media, food and drink related subjects, fashion, leisure activities, and other subjects which perhaps relate to but aren't actually at the "academic discipline" level. Video games, individual broadcast or other popular media, other hobbies, and the like would be contained herein.

Clearly, not all the extant WikiProjects even come close to falling clearly into any of these groups. [[Wikipedia:WikiProject 24]], for example, is clearly about a specific program within the broadcast media, not about any broadcast medium per se. [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Myrtle Beach]] deals with a region which is not an individual self-governing nation or physically isolated from its "parent" government, and I don't imagine it is particular likely to become either of those anytime in the near future, either. Projects on topics like these, while they might be valuable for improving a limited range of articles, are probably the ones which, as it were, have the highest maintenance/development ratios, and the ones which are in that sense perhaps least useful to wikipedia as a whole. ThatThese wouldare makethe themprojects I referred to above as "ancillary" projects, atand leastthey inwould mybe, eyesaccording to this proposal, about the only ones which couldwould mostever easilyhave bea sacrificedchance of being deleted under ordinary conditions.

I should point out here that I would not include those entities which, whatever their name, are functionally still "subprojects" of a larger project. [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Sydney]], despite its name, is for all intents and purposes, at this point, a subproject of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Australia]]. Such subprojects, should, I believe, be considered to be entirely and solely the "business" of themselves and their parents. Beyond perhaps a few pages in project space for themselves, they don't particularly contribute to banner clutter or divisiveness, and should be recognized as what they apparently are, subordinate organizational entities of the parent project.