Outline of knowledge WikiProject update - 04/02/2009 

Hi everyone.

Things are going slow again.  Where have you been?!

Maybe what you need to get you going is a little competition...

 Who are we competing with? 

Encyclopedia Britannica.  Specifically, with its Outline of knowledge (presented in its volume called the Propaedia).  Currently, they're kicking our asses.  You've really got to check out their Outline of Knowledge (available only in the encyclopedia's paper edition - not the online version).

Portals. Informally, of course, just for the fun of it.  There are around 600 portals.  We're about 100 behind them, with about 500 outlines.  Let's blow past them and leave 'em in the dust!

 Confusion in editors at large 

Now that the country outlines have been moved to the encyclopedia proper (article space), recruiting help on these is of high priority  it will soon be time to alert all relevant editors to the nature and function of these and how they relate to other country coverage on Wikipedia.

However, I've noticed instances in which editors do not understand the nature and function of outline pages, and complain that they are redundant to articles.  Well, ya.  (That's the point of an outline - to provide the essentials in a structure for greater understanding, for easy viewing and faster reading, and to provide a topical guide).  

A few editors over the years have viewed outlines as redundant to portals, not understanding the purpose and scope of outlines, nor the benefits provided by their structure and standardization.

These problems of misunderstanding need to be solved before "going public", to prevent their expansion as the community's awareness of these pages increases.  Consider the response we'd get now if we announced these pages on the talk pages of 500 WikiProjects, 500 article talk pages, and placed links in 500 see also sections, etc.

That could be a nightmare.

So...

 Encyclopedic and administrative support 

I've been working on a couple things that will help alleviate confusion and hopefully reduce the need for editors to ask questions and seek advice.   They're drafts, still under construction.  Please look these over and jump in and help complete them (directly or by providing feedback):

First is an  article draft, intended to replace the current Outline article.

Next is a  on the Outline of knowledge and its outline pages.

Let me know what you think.  Do they help you understand outlines better and how to develop them on Wikipedia?  What is missing?  How can they be improved?

The Transhumanist