Volume 5, Issue 1 — 2009-01-03 From the editor: Getting back on track ArbCom elections: 10 arbitrators appointed Virgin Killer page blocked, unblocked in UK Editing statistics show decline in participation Wikipedia drug coverage compared to Medscape, found wanting News and notes: Fundraising success and other developments Dispatches: Featured list writers Wikipedia in the news WikiProject Report: WikiProject Ice Hockey Features and admins The Report on Lengthy Litigation Archives·Newsroom·Tip line·Single-page·Subscribe Episode 68: Wikipedia's Nicotine High Year-end rundown including: Stanton project; stats showing user slowdown; more censorship; printed posters from Commons and predictions for 2009. Subscription · Feedback · Talk to us on skype! WikiVoices Next Skypecast: coming soon :-) (details/sign up) Latest: Episode 38 2nd Dec 2008 - Arbcom Election Fever!

• A straw poll on whether a 'trial' implementation of FlaggedRevisions should be enabled on en.wiki is currently open.
• Featured portals is considering appointing a new Featured portal director, discussion is at the Featured portal candidates talk page.

Discussions in the following areas have requested wider attention:

See also: Wikizine · In the media · News · Announcements · Mailing lists · Meetups

Wikipedia is, by number of articles, the largest encyclopedia ever to exist. However, many articles are stubs, or otherwise need attention. If you like, go ahead, be bold, and jump right in. If you are not ready to fly solo, you can participate in a Collaboration.

• Respond to a request for comment, Wikiquette alert or provide a third opinion.
• Adopt a basic topic list, to help develop and maintain a table of contents to a major subject on Wikipedia.
• Give a requested editor review.
• Can you draw or take pictures? Make a requested image.
• Peer review or give feedback on some articles.
• Make recommendations on articles listed at Good article reassessment.
• Respond to the Reward board or Bounty board.
• Are you good at photo editing? Then try cleaning up some of these images, or helping out at the Graphics Lab.
• Can you use GIS tools? Help make requested maps.
• Can you communicate in another language? There are articles that need translation into English. You can also proofread a translation.
• Let SuggestBot suggest pages for you to improve.
• Update pages with old (ref or note template) citations to the new references format.
• Patrol new pages and help improving new articles.
• Frequent IRC user, or a wikignome? Visit WikiProject Spotlight to join in on their latest collaboration.
• Category:Wikipedia backlog always needs attention.

Here are some tasks you can do:

• Wikify: Sunil Verma, Cantinero, Marcelo Dascal, Library of Congress Classification:Class E -- History of America, Joseph Carens, Miles (band), More...
• Copyedit: Keelsathambur, Jim Baen's Universe, Hanayo, Child sexuality, Magic item (Dungeons & Dragons), Gas oil separation plant, More...
• Update: Chas Dingle, Irma Anderson, Bob Hope (Emmerdale), Jose Parica, Liam Connor, Lake Arrowhead, California, More...
• Style: Los Angeles Area Council, Repertory, Poverty in Africa, 100-Minute Bible, That '80s Show, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, More...
• Cleanup: Psychopathic: The Videos, Tha Underground Stylystiks Compilation Album Vol. 1, Cutt & Stitched, The Galaxy (album), Microsoft Dynamics, River City Rivalry, More...
• Verify: Eligmodontia, Muscomorpha, Caledonia Opera House, Hybotidae, Y'all, Exoskeleton, More...
• Neutrality: Lisa Kimmey, Arlington Christian School, Peter R. Dolan, Dwight Morrow High School, Nandoni Dam, FMeXtra, More...
• Original research: Ghostbusters (franchise), The Centurions (TV series), Euro-Trance, Jeff Tortora, African Unification Front, Carbon tax, Meritocracy, Entryism, Exit number, More...
• Merge: Via Flamina, Text bombing, E-mail bomb, Apendics shuffle, Kenneth james gibson, Issues and Answers, More...
• Articles to be split: List of Scotland international footballers (alphabetical), More...
• Stubs: Al-Fakhura school massacre, Freedom Forum, Incase Designs, Nomad Shadow, Samaritan's dilemma, Belfast West by-election, 1950, More...
• Expand: Paul Lampathakis, Wissembourg, Bajan, Typhlops cariei, Ablon, Acqueville, Calvados, More...
• Article Requests: Olympic Australis Opal, Jietai Temple, Corsican Hare, Massawa Island, SIAM Review, Walwyn's Castle, Mount Akaishi, Abvolt, L. kimchii, Guitarrero Cave, Jadwiga Kaliska, Lake Rahui, More...
• Image Requests: Fordlândia, New Law Tenement, Medicine bundle, Unitarian Chapel, Liverpool, Stalingrad Madonna, Broadhead catfish, Plus-size model, Istanbul Metro, Wright Patman Dam, Creme de papaya, More...
• Mediation Cabal: Arborsculpture, Mogadishu, Family Foundation School, Harold Pinter, Kapap, or Help mediate an open case!

Not sure where to report a certain type of problem with article content? If it exists, it is probably listed at Wikipedia:Maintenance.

To improve the quality of articles that are short or lacking in detail, Wikipedia's community organizes collaborations to expand articles.

The Amazon River flowing through the rainforest

The Core Topics Collaboration works to improve essential Wikipedia topics. The current collaboration is Amazon rainforest.

The Amazon Rainforest (Brazilian Portuguese: Floresta Amazônica or Amazônia; Spanish: Selva Amazónica or Amazonía) is a moist broadleaf forest in the Amazon Basin of South America. The area, also known as Amazonia, the Amazon jungle or the Amazon Basin, encompasses seven million square kilometers (1.7 billion acres), though the forest itself occupies some 5.5 million square kilometers (1.4 billion acres), located within nine nations: Brazil (with 60 percent of the rainforest), Peru (with 13 percent of the rainforest, second after Brazil), Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. States or departments in four nations bear the name Amazonas after it. The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world.

You can help pick the next Core Topic collaboration article.

Active improvement teams

• Countering systemic bias
• Version 1.0
• Cleanup Taskforce
• Spam fighting team
• Categorization projects

WikiProjects

WikiProjects are ongoing team efforts to improve articles having to do with a particular subject, and to manage the logistics of that topic. Hundreds exist—examine the master list to find one that interests you. They are separate from, though may work with, Collaborations.

Language translation

Wikipedia is not just in English. Versions exist in many different languages. To fill in some of the English Wikipedia's gaps, we translate articles from other languages into English. You can view a list of articles that need translation from any language, or, in a few cases, by only one language (this is only available for the more popular languages).

Wikipedia has many help pages, policies, and departments. Here are some of the most general. For a comprehensive list of Wikipedia's departments, see the Wikipedia department directory.

• Wikipedia help – Browse help pages
• Where to ask questions

• The Manual of Style guidelines and tutorial
• How to edit a page
• Contributing
• How to write a great article
• Where to find information for articles
• A list of template messages
• What special pages are
• Tools for editing
• Request newspapers or magazines

Wikipedia has many established policies, guidelines, conventions, and traditions. This is a very brief sampling of some of the most important; for more information, see the main policies and guidelines page. Policies and guidelines apply to both articles and how to work with fellow editors. For easy access, the shortcuts to the pages are also listed.

Article standards

Working with others

New user information

Introduction · Sandbox · Help · Adoption · What Wikipedia is not · Glossary · Account benefits · Planning school assignments

Ways to communicate

Contact (overview) · Discussion pages · Mailing lists · IRC chat · Meetups · User pages · Requests for comment · Public watchlists · Regional notice boards · Administrators' noticeboard · Requests for article feedback · Local Embassy

Community support groups and programs

Welcoming committee · Editor assistance · Wiki-adoption · Birthday Committee · Harmonious editing club · Kindness Campaign · Reach out · Stress alerts · Wikipedia awards program · Dept. of Fun · One featured article per quarter · Missing encyclopedic articles

Common procedures

Featured content · Good articles · Requests for feedback · Deleting a page (full policy) · Moving a page (naming policies) · Protecting a page (full policy) · Reverting a page · Administrator nominations (summaries) · Category-based access

How to resolve conflicts

Stay cool! · Be nice to newcomers · Alert others · Dispute resolution · Arbitration policy

Community information

About Wikipedia · Goings-on · About Wikimedia · Wikipedians · Wiki-adoption · Donations · Administrators · Babel · Culture · Games · Humor · Mottoes

Related communities

For images, there are free tools like GIMP and ImageMagick, and commercial ones like Photoshop that provide a variety of processing filters. The preferred formats are Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) for drawings, and PNG for pictures. You may also use JPEG. Vector graphics are preferred to raster images for drawings, because they can be scaled as needed without losing information, and because they can be more easily edited. Please remember to follow our guidelines and policies when uploading images.

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