Archive:Monthly Write-a-Thon/May 7, 2008

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 hardy; 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. The next Write-a-Thon is Wednesday, February 6th, 2008. Save The 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, though to be a bona fide partier, you have to write your new articles when it's that day in your part of the world.

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.

What are the rules?

Rules? This is a party! There are no rules!

Well, OK, maybe there are a couple rules:

• We'll have a Write-a-Thon the first Wednesday of every month.
• To participate, you only have to do two things: (1) start a new article (even just a stub will qualify, if not too short - and please remember to include the subpages template!), and (2) make a substantive edit (not just a copyedit) to somebody else's new article. Then you can list your name here as a partier. Until then, sign in as a porch-sitter, party-crasher, or total party poop.
• Larry Sanger recommends (but does not require!) attention to:

CORE ARTICLES.

Create an article, already!

Check it out: Start an article!

Now (this time anyway) easier than ever! Stubs are not only permitted they are encouraged!

The Partiers

• Aleta was delighted to find the party room already occupied with prodigals when she arrived. Helped Louise on with her pretty gloves (it's so hard being a lady in these barbarian times, one could become furious, if that were not so unladylike!).

• Supten decided to join the party by creating a clinical data warehouse. Then he thought of playing with the word gloves and took a temporary break to avoid Aleta from trying to drag him here again! He came back to this page more than 8 hours later and was surprised to find that no one has edited anything here for such a long time! Finally he decided to skirt the Write-a-thon party for this month!

• David Volk tried to clear up a nasty infection with fosfomycin and then had a laugh with Conan O'Brien.

Keen-as-mustard and jumped the gun

• Robert scratched a few lines down on Mohs' scale of hardness.

My word, you're keen! Well done, Robert! Aleta Curry 14:46, 5 February 2008 (CST)

• I know I cheated but I'll snip away at it tonight, a promise. I heretically imported a well-done article from WP, Phenomenography, a core article for education. Stephen Ewen 16:43, 5 February 2008 (CST)

Porch sitters--article creators who didn't edit a new article

Donning some gloves to go with her skirt, Louise ducks in to say hullo to all the Write-a-Thon partiers for the day before having to dash off to her early morning capoeira class. And just for kicks and drinks, and keeping on the Brazilian theme, she offers all a caipirinha.Louise Valmoria 13:28, 5 February 2008 (CST)

First partier! Go, Lou, go! Aleta Curry 14:46, 5 February 2008 (CST)

Todd decided to swim across the pond and start an article on Charlemagne, a core article. And since the Geogra-thon didn't get off the ground, I'll throw out Ohio too.

Party crashers--contributors who didn't create a new article

• Denis Cavanagh added to the History of France by adding details on the latter French Third Republic (Not an article of its own just yet :-)) He isn't going to create an article. Since Citizendium has hit the 5,000 marks he's trying to cut down on the amount of small stubs he creates, then overlooks and then eventually forgets about. He might extend the French History article but has to go to work at Six... (He will now stop talking about himself in third person)
• Larry Sanger - Working on CZ:An extended introduction to the Citizendium. --Larry Sanger 20:54, 5 February 2008 (CST)
• The Mistress of Ceremonies is considering whether or not this will be allowed to count towards your total. Hmmm.... Aleta Curry 21:17, 5 February 2008 (CST)
  • OK, now I'm in Ohio in two ways! --Larry Sanger 09:39, 6 February 2008 (CST)
  • Worked a little on Peter Abelard, and noticed that the word "castration" managed to be worked in, in an article of just two sentences...shouldn't that be linked? Castration. --Larry Sanger 09:47, 6 February 2008 (CST)

Shy Boys, absent-minded profs, and other modest creatures

• Guess I must be one of those, although I can't remember which (or why). I'm just too busy today with other things. But before I go let me buy a round of Harvey Wallbangers (which are said to be back in vogue) for the house. I'll be back for next month's soire. Roger Lohmann 10:11, 6 February 2008 (CST)

The total party poops

Go ahead, admit it!

Special Requests

• Request/Plea/On hands and knees: please consider working on Olympic Games/Olympic articles that are also in the Core Article Initiative! ;) --Robert W King 15:06, 5 February 2008 (CST)

Questions

How come this party page has been so lull? Is the New Year Celebrations' hangover still on? Supten Sarbadhikari 06:32, 6 February 2008 (CST)

I think it's because I didn't get the announcement out to Citizendium-L last night. I tried, actually, but for some reason it wasn't actually posted until the third time I tried. --Larry Sanger 09:38, 6 February 2008 (CST)

Previous shindigs

• January 9,2008
• December 5, 2007
• November 7, 2007
• October 3, 2007
• September 5, 2007
• August 1, 2007

Official libations

• Inaugural - beer!
• September - champagne
• October - we were refurbishing the bar and only had coffee!
• November - made up for last month with more vodka than was good for us and plenty of rum.
• December - eggnog and wine
• January - Whisky and the Cocktail of the Month, a pharisee
• February - TBA--no jumping the gun; depends on what people bring

See also

• Larry Sanger, Why the Write-a-Thon worked, Citizendium Blog, August 9, 2007
• Weekly Wiki
• Article of the Week
• New Article of the Week