User:DGG/talks/NYPL

(preliminary draft)

• Wikipedia and other sources

• What is distinctive about Wikipedia (Wikipedia:Five pillars, Wikipedia:Simplified ruleset)

• A free encyclopedia, free to read and to use, free of copyright (except Fair Use)
• A comprehensive modern encyclopedia, with world-wide coverage, and at least some information about almost anything a person might look for in an encyclopedia; larger than print encyclopedias; extensively hyperlinked and categorized; lists; images; watchlists and other software tools
• Verifiable, with references for the information, to check for accuracy and to get more material
• Open content: anyone can contribute – widest range of interests and knowledge; numerous contributors; Wikiprojects encourage collaboration
• Neutral and factual: all major points of view are covered, with sources for them (Wikipedia:Neutral point of view)
• Uncensored: with respect to sex, politics, and other difficult topics
• Open community: self-governing, with minimal structure; everyone is a volunteer

• In comparison to other sources

• Other free web sources

• ask.com for quick basic information
• IMDb.com for detailed information on movies
• WorldCat for comprehensive information about books
• Google News Search: for current events
• Wikia for details on games and hobbies

• Library sources and library web sources (NYPL)

English Wikipedia contributors by country (2007)

Size of English Wikipedia by subject (2007)

• Wikipedia's coverage

• What are the problems?:

• Accuracy; updating; stability; edit wars/WP:OWNership
• Fairness; WP:COI
• Poorly covered areas
• Uneven depth

• Where is it strong:

• Popular culture: TV, movies, games
• Computers; Medicine; Sports; Politics
• United States, Great Britain
• WP:Featured Topics, WP:Featured Articles, WP:Good Articles

• Where it is weak or erratic (Wikipedia:WikiProject Countering systemic bias)

• Classic literature and drama
• History and Religion
• Africa, most of Asia, Latin America

• Where it is too difficult for most people?:

• Mathematics and Linguistics

• Nitty gritty (Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia)

• Evaluating an article

• Sourcing (Wikipedia:Verifiability; WP:RS)
• Article history (sometimes an old version might be better)
• Talk page - Wikiprojects rate their own articles; discussion of article improvement

• Quality and priority designations (Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Assessment)
• Problem designations

• Examples:

• The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009 film) (and at IMDB). Compare H.M.S. Pinafore (19th century topic easier to illustrate) and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
• Bill Clinton compared with Malcolm X
• Fairy tale
• Macintosh

• Getting started (Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia)

• Discussing an article; Wikiquette; Consensus
• Correcting/expanding an article; WP:CITE; WP:MOS
• Writing a new article
• Researching an article with library and other resources

• Edit an article in Category:New York City stubs!