View source for Wikipedia:WikiProject Greater Manchester/Newsletter/February 2009

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! style="background-color: #F0E68C; border: 2px #007FFF solid; text-align: center;" |'''The [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Greater Manchester|Greater Manchester WikiProject]] Newsletter'''
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[[Image:WP-GM-LOGO2.png|100px|left]] 
<big>'''The [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Greater Manchester|WikiProject Greater Manchester]] Newsletter'''</big><br/> [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Greater Manchester/Newsletter/Archive|Issue XIV]] - February 2009 <br />
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[[Image:Fairytale left.png|30px]] [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Greater Manchester/Newsletter/January 2009|January issue]]<br />{{center|<small>Got any suggestions?<br /> — ''Add them [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Greater Manchester|<span style="color:#C0C0C0;">here</span>]]''</small><br/>}}
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;Looking back at 2008

With the new(ish) year, I think it's right to look back over the year just gone. Last year was massive for our project, with lots of successes building on a successful 2007.  In terms of featured content, we became the leading wikiproject in 2007, but 2008 saw us cement our status as one of the UK's leading wikiprojects: having started the year with most FAs (two more than London and Yorkshire), but falling behind in terms of GAs, we now have more FAs and GAs than any project under WP:UKGEO. While our aim is to improve all articles related to Greater Manchester, not collect trophies, we now lead the field by a long way and everyone deserves to feel proud for their part.

We've had articles featured on the main page, both in DYK? and as today's Featured Article, but success is more than a matter of numbers; the project has grown into a community where editors join together to provide information and improve Wikipedia. A great example of this is the work our project did on [[Denshaw]]. Back in April, it was targeted by vandals and as a result was featured in national news. We stepped in and improved and protected the article, showing what WP:GM is capable of. This is undoubtedly the noisiest project in the UK and it's strength comes from the wide range of interests of its many members. We've even been so successful that we were accused of forming a claque.

During 2008, our numbers have increased and, while [[Template:WPGM Inactive Participants|some have left]], we've welcomed many strong editors who will help bring the project more success. With so much emphasis on Good and Featured articles, it's sometimes easy to forget that a lot of effort goes into articles that don't get recognition. The table below shows that the number of B-class articles has increased since the start of 2008, and that the proportion of stub-class articles under our project has gone down.
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{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size:75%;"
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! &nbsp; !! {{Top-Class|category=Category:Top-importance Greater Manchester articles|Top}} !! {{High-Class|category=Category:High-importance Greater Manchester articles|High}} !! {{Mid-Class|category=Category:Mid-importance Greater Manchester articles|Mid}} !! {{Low-Class|category=Category:Low-importance Greater Manchester articles|Low}} !! {{No-Class|category=Category:Unknown-importance Greater Manchester articles|No}} !! Total 
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! {{FA-Class|category=Category:FA-Class Greater Manchester articles|FA}}
| 3 || 1 || 2 || 6 || || '''12''' 
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! {{A-Class|category=Category:A-Class Greater Manchester articles|A}}
| || 1 || || || || '''1''' 
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! {{GA-Class|category=Category:GA-Class Greater Manchester articles|GA}}
| 5 || 1 || 4 || 1 || || '''11''' 
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! {{B-Class|category=Category:B-Class Greater Manchester articles|B}}
| 15 || 20 || 25 || 20 || 8 || '''88''' 
|-
! {{Start-Class|category=Category:Start-Class Greater Manchester articles|Start}}
| 21 || 70 || 124 || 165 || 79 || '''459''' 
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! {{Stub-Class|category=Category:Stub-Class Greater Manchester articles|Stub}}
| 3 || 23 || 102 || 393 || 84 || '''605''' 
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! {{Assessed-Class}}
| 47 || 119 || 264 || 592 || 171 || '''1193''' 
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! {{List-Class|category=Category:List-Class Greater Manchester articles|List}}
| || 3 || 7 || 7 || || '''17''' 
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! {{Unassessed-Class|category=Category:Unassessed Greater Manchester articles|Unassessed}}
| || || || || 211 || '''211''' 
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! Total
| '''47''' || '''119''' || '''264''' || '''592''' || '''382''' || '''1404''' 
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{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size:75%;"
|-
! &nbsp; !! {{Top-Class|category=Category:Top-importance Greater Manchester articles|Top}} !! {{High-Class|category=Category:High-importance Greater Manchester articles|High}} !! {{Mid-Class|category=Category:Mid-importance Greater Manchester articles|Mid}} !! {{Low-Class|category=Category:Low-importance Greater Manchester articles|Low}} !! {{No-Class|category=Category:Unknown-importance Greater Manchester articles|No}} !! Total 
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! {{FA-Class|category=Category:FA-Class Greater Manchester articles|FA}}
| 7 || 4 || 5 || 3 || || '''19''' 
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! {{FL-Class|category=Category:FL-Class Greater Manchester articles|FL}}
| || 2 || 2 || 8 || || '''12''' 
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! {{A-Class|category=Category:A-Class Greater Manchester articles|A}}
| || 1 || || || || '''1''' 
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! {{GA-Class|category=Category:GA-Class Greater Manchester articles|GA}}
| 8 || 8 || 12 || 8 || || '''36''' 
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! {{B-Class|category=Category:B-Class Greater Manchester articles|B}}
| 14 || 26 || 40 || 31 || || '''111''' 
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! {{C-Class|category=Category:C-Class Greater Manchester articles|C}}
| 9 || 12 || 29 || 29 || 1 || '''80''' 
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! {{Start-Class|category=Category:Start-Class Greater Manchester articles|Start}}
| 14 || 89 || 212 || 335 || || '''650''' 
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! {{Stub-Class|category=Category:Stub-Class Greater Manchester articles|Stub}}
| 2 || 51 || 153 || 623 || 1 || '''830''' 
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! {{List-Class|category=Category:List-Class Greater Manchester articles|List}}
| || 3 || 21 || 15 || || '''39''' 
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! {{Assessed-Class}}
| 54 || 196 || 474 || 1052 || 2 || '''1778''' 
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! {{Unassessed-Class|category=Category:Unassessed Greater Manchester articles|Unassessed}}
| || || || || 1 || '''1''' 
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! Total
| '''54''' || '''196''' || '''474''' || '''1052''' || '''3''' || '''1779''' 
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My own experience of Wikipedia has been positive and enjoyable, especially due to WP:GM. I've worked on interesting subjects with nice people, and hopefully the experience is similar for others. We've covered subjects as varied and interesting as castles, mummies, computers, Olympic swimmers, and wind farms, stuff I probably wouldn’t know about if it wasn’t for Wikipedia. I enjoy being a part of this project, and as we approach the WP:GM's second birthday (24 February) I'm sure it will continue to go from strength to strength in 2009.

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<small>Written by [[User:Nev1|Nev1]], based on a template by [[User:Jza84|Jza84]] | '''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Greater Manchester/Newsletter/February 2009|Single-Page View]]'''</small>
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'''Would you like to write the next newsletter for [[WP:GM]]?? Please nominate yourself at [[WT:GM]]! New editors are always welcome!'''
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; Project News

January has been a very successful month, with lots of article promoted, and hopefully more to come in January:

*Promoted articles:

[[Image:Oldham above Chadderton (2).jpg|100x100px|right|View of Broadway in Chadderton]]
:{{classicon|GA}} '''[[Chadderton]]''' is a town in the [[Metropolitan Borough of Oldham]]. It has a long and interesting history beyond that of its [[mill town]] façade; a Celtic hill fort, a medieval lordship and still an important industrial and metropolitan town.

:{{classicon|GA}} '''[[Manchester Liners]]''' was the first pasenger and cargo shipping company to operate on the [[Manchester Ship Canal]]. It was founded in 1898 and closed in 1985.

:{{classicon|GA}} In 2006, '''[[Controversy over the usage of Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man|controversy]]''' was caused when [[Sony]]'s first person shooter game ''[[Resistance: Fall of Man]]'' featured a representation of [[Manchester Cathedral]] without permission from the [[Church of England]].

:{{classicon|GA}} '''[[Nico Ditch]]''' stretches from Ashton-under-Lyne to Stretford and according to legend was dug in a single night to defend against the Danes. 

*'''Article news''': [[Cine City, Withington]] is at WP:GAN, please keep an eye on these articles and if any issues are raised in their reviews help to address them. Unfortunately, despite [[User:Joshii]]'s effort the Greater Manchester portal did not become featured.

; Aims

Our short-term aims remain:
*Obtain GA status for [[Salford]].
*Obtain GA status for [[Kersal Moor]].
*Obtain GA status for [[Manchester city centre]].
*Obtain GA status for [[Congestion charging in Greater Manchester]] and [[Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund (TiF)]].
*Get a lead/static image in every infobox of every town in the county.

; Member News

There are now 48 active members of WikiProject Greater Manchester (with a further 14 members inactive since 1 July 2008) as 2 new members joined the project in January:

*[[User:Chaosdruid|Chaosdruid]]
*[[User:Skinsmoke|Skinsmoke]]

Welcome from everyone, and let's remember to make new members feel included in the project! If you need help, you can go to the [[WT:GM|project talk page]], or perhaps look at the [[WP:GM#Participants|list of members]] to see if anyone can help. The project is always looking for new members, and if you spot an editor who makes good changes to Greater Machester related articles why not invite them to join up by adding this template to their talk page: <nowiki>{{SUBST:Welcome WPGM}}</nowiki>.

;Thanks

A big "'''thank you'''" goes to '''''all''''' the editors who help make this WikiProject what it is; no edit goes unnoticed.

; Reminders...

*''Images!''<br />There are some good images around, but more are still needed if we're going to get a "'''lead/static image in every infobox of every town in the county"'''! The [[:Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Greater Manchester|requested photographs category]] lists ''some'' of the articles needing images.

*''Articles needing attention''<br />Please remember that the [[:Category:Stub-Class Greater Manchester articles|list of stubs needing expansion]] and the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Greater Manchester/Cleanup listing|list of articles needing cleanup]] are in permanent need of attention.

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{{center|<small>Delivered on 1 February 2009 by [[User:Nev1|Nev1]]. If you do not wish to receive future newsletters, please add two *s by your username on the Project Mainpage.</small>}}