Archive:Monthly Write-a-Thon/July 6, 2011

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The last Write-a-Thon was on Wednesday July 6th, 2011.

The topic last time was: Standards
Many options...suggestions included measurements, morals, grammars, agreements, and the people and things constrained thereby! Without them, we couldn't plug an appliance into the wall.

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 hearty; 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. It starts on Tuesday 1200 UTC, when it starts being Wednesday in New Zealand, and ends on Thursday 1200 UTC, when it finishes being Wednesday in Hawaii. Save the next month's 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!

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.

So how do I join in?

Joining in is really easy:

• First of all, show up on the first Wednesday of the month!
• Start a new article. Any new article is fine, although a suggested theme is given each month. Even just a stub will qualify, although the more substantive the article the better. Come back to this page and let everyone know you've started it! The earlier in the day you do this step, the better.
• Make a substantive edit (not just a copyedit) to somebody else's new article! You might need to come back a little bit later in the day to do this, once people have had chance to make all those new articles. Then come back to this page and reply to the person who made the article.
• Optionally, but preferably, mention Write-a-thon in the Edit summary of any pages you create or edit for the party! It lets others who may have forgotten know it is here.
• Congratulations, you are an official Write-a-thon partier!

Join the fun!

When you've created your new article (or improved an existing article, for that matter) on Wednesday 6th July, come and list it here! Don't forget to sign your name so everyone knows you've joined in. Then, when you've edited someone else's article come and let them know!

List your new articles here!

• Dave Volk started varenicline, a standard treatment for smoking cessation.

Then chemified Rivaroxaban and started dexamethasone. David E. Volk 23:42, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

• Anthony.Sebastian started Electric charge, having noticed that article, Electricity, defines electricity in terms of 'electric charge'. 02:22, 6 July 2011 (UTC)
• Derek Hodges started standard time at 01:21, Eastern Standard Time. -Derek Hodges 05:21, 6 July 2011 (UTC)
  • He thought about starting standard deviation, but someone got there first.
• Anthony.Sebastian started Magnetoreception (biology), as stub. 15:01, 6 July 2011 (UTC)
• Milton Beychok created new article Pound-force with a status of 2.
• Milton Beychok added a new section to Apollo program about the "Legacy" of the program.
  • Milton, I still owe that article a long read, which I look forward to with pleasure.Pat Palmer 01:21, 7 July 2011 (UTC)
• John R. Brews created new article Venn diagram with a status of 2.
• Hayford Peirce created a new article about a truly yummy Italian dish called Gnocchi alla Romana -- if you're like me, and really don't like those over-rated, doughy lumbs of nothingness called Gnocchi, you will be amazed by these! And just to make sure that you might try them, I've included a recipe at http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Gnocchi_alla_Romana/Recipes. Buon' appetito! Hayford Peirce 23:09, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

I saw the pictures and was hoping you delivered! Can you put some on dry ice and FeDEx 'em? David E. Volk 23:39, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

Hayford, where does one buy parchment paper and how is it buttered?? Milton Beychok 00:19, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

I don't use it much, but when you need it it's vital! I'm pretty sure that you can buy it in any supermarket right next to the waxed paper. Evidently it's paper treated with silicon, which keeps it from burning. To butter it (lightly), just take some soft butter, dab a piece of paper towel into the butter, and then smear it around. In this recipe I buttered it to keep the dough from sticking. Most recipes that call for parchment paper don't butter it -- it isn't needed. I have 1961 Julia Child recipes in which she butters a piece of wax paper and then puts it on top of some dish that she's cooking in a casserole. Today she'd just use a piece of parchment paper. Hayford Peirce 00:40, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

David, I sure wish someone would FedEx it to me! Actually, it's surprisingly easy to make. The only tricky part is taking the cut-out disks from the rest of the dough.... It sure tastes wonderful! Hayford Peirce 00:40, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

• Pat Palmer has been missing the party; loooooong day, but dropping by to note that I did just begin RJ11 by providing an image and supplying the metadata for an existing definition. Also, I will try to add to articles about computer standards such as XML and HTTP later this week. Yes, lame, but the best I can do.Pat Palmer 01:16, 7 July 2011 (UTC)
• I had planned to work on ZooBank and related articles, but the site seemed particularly slow today, so page loading was no fun. Will get back to it later this week. --Daniel Mietchen 02:10, 7 July 2011 (UTC)
• Aleta forgot, then had site connectivity issues, then it was Thursday. Will join in the next one, though! Aleta Curry 00:18, 9 July 2011 (UTC)
• Peter is three days delayed, but created standard (mathematics) -- a non-standard disambiguation page -- on the use of the word "standard" in mathematics. --Peter Schmitt 22:52, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

Upcoming!

• August 2011 - (theme still to be chosen--anyone?)
  • Enter suggestions on Talk page, at:  August 2011 WAT suggested themes/topics.

Previous shindings

empty form

• March 14, 2021 Power
• January 31, 2021 Stems and branches
• January 24, 2021 Round things
• January 17, 2021 Messaging and Missives
• January 10, 2021 Heavenly bodies!
• July 6, 2011 Standards!
• July 7, 2010 Celebrations!
• June 2, 2010 (no Write-a-Thon)
• May 5, 2010 Humour!
• April 7, 2010 Context or Spring Clean!
• March 3, 2010 Something you absolutely *love*!
• February 3, 2010 The Play's the Thing
• January 6, 2010 Stubs
• December 2, 2009 School
• November 4, 2009 Myths and Mythology
• October 7, 2009 Continents
• September 2, 2009 Design and Designers
• August 5, 2009 Heads of Government/Heads of State
• July 1, 2009 Sudden death
• June 3, 2009 unthemed?
• May 6, 2009 It's a Wide World or: It's a Small World After All!
• April 1, 2009 Events
• March 4, 2009 Spring Cleaning
• February 8, 2009 Thoughts and Books
• January 7, 2009 Controverises
• December 3, 2008 Retro, the 80's
• November 5, 2008 National parks
• October 1, 2008 Spring Cleaning
• September 3, 2008 My favourite bands
• August 6, 2008 Attractions
• July 2, 2008 Olympics
• June 4, 2008 Biographies
• May 7, 2008 Holidays, festivals and fetes
• April 2, 2008 Core articles
• March 5, 2008 Something you absolutely love.
• February 6, 2008
• January 9,2008
• December 5, 2007
• November 7, 2007
• October 3, 2007
• September 5, 2007
• August 1, 2007

Write-a-Thon Theme Suggestions

New Suggestions and Discussion

• What about red links in Random pages? --Daniel Mietchen 10:15, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

• I suggest "Standards". Without them, we couldn't plug an appliance into the wall.Pat Palmer 16:40, 11 May 2011 (CDT)
  • Nice thing about standards, there are so many to choose from. ;) Anthony.Sebastian 14:31, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

• I suggest "Numbers". Richard Pinch 07:21, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

• "Hometown Heroes" - write about someone famous from your part of the world (either where you're from, or where you are now).
• "Poles Apart" - find the spot directly on the other side of Earth from you, and write about someone or something in the vicinity. (Contributors on other planets, follow a similar procedure for whatever planet you're on. Contributors not on planetary bodies permitted to write about whatever they feel like.)
• Fill in an item from this interesting list of natural objects. Or this interesting list of people.
• All articles must start with the same letter of the alphabet, allowing for diacritics and transliteration (so Å, Á, and あ would all count if A were the letter, for instance).
• Photo stubs - no minimum word length, no theme requirement, but must contain an image.
• Choose a random number from 1 to 500, then go to Special:WantedPages and start an article on the topic currently at that rank.

Petréa Mitchell 19:15, 1 January 2009 (UTC)

• What will people most enjoy writing that could lead many different contributors to a short, but complete and interesting article that links to larger articles? Maybe "Events" could be a theme - pen-portraits of memorable sporting moments (see try, or notable historical events - including tsunamis, eruption of Krakatoa, comet collision with Jupiter, the birth of Dolly the sheep, freeing of Nelson Mandela, the sinking of the Titanic, assassination of Martin Luther King, the Mutiny on the Bounty, the discovery of the Americas? Can I suggest asking that every new article should have at least one external link and links to other articles here?Gareth Leng 12:31, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

• I like this idea. Further, definitions and other subpages are preferable, even for stubs. Chris Day 17:01, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

Dare I suggest that even stubs can and should be non-orphans? Basic criteria: Howard C. Berkowitz 18:00, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

• Reachable from the front page or a core article/workgroup page
• Link to at least three other articles, even if they are redlinks in a Related Articles subpages
• Have at least three other articles link to them

• I propose "childish things" as a topic. --Larry Sanger 15:51, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Er...you talkin' 'bout me again??? You can always tell who's got a toddler at home, huh, Larry? Aleta Curry 02:57, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

• • For this revival, to open it to lots of partiers, suggest theme: 'Topic of Your Mind's Desire', or, 'Whatever', or something in that vein, with the proviso that article be consistent with CZ standards. Anthony.Sebastian 02:28, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

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

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