CZ:Core Articles

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What are core articles?

Core articles are our top priority articles--articles that are most in demand and most important for us to include in an encyclopedia that has any hope of being comprehensive.

Our leading authors and editors believe this initiative is very important. We hope you'll set aside your relatively specialized interests for a while, and join the contest to create reliable introductions to the most basic topics known to humanity.

How does the core articles initiative work?

Essentially, we list our unwritten core articles here on this page, negotiating about which articles really are our highest priority. We then invite people to write articles on those topics, awarding points for any draft that is 250 words or longer. We tally points on CZ:Core Articles/Scores.

Page format

This is one big long page, divided into sections, one for each workgroup. Each section should be written in three columns. However, make sure the columns break after each workgroup. (So each workgroup header is in one column which spans all three.) Total number of articles on page will be about 4,000. So it will be a big page, but that's OK, it's not too big.

Each line of a workgroup's section begins with # so that the entries are numbered. Most important (highest point value) entries should be listed first. Format of a line evolves like this:

The original entry simply says "French painting" is worth 5 points:

# [[French painting]] (5)

Once Jane Doe has written a draft article over 250 words, she may take credit:

# [[French painting]] (5) - [[User:Jane Doe|]]

Someone confirms that Jane has written 250 words, writing "OK":

# [[French painting]] (5) - [[User:Larry Sanger|]] - OK

Finished.

Note: anyone may edit any section of this page so that the section is in conformity with these formatting guidelines! Be Bold!

Topic choice

Each workgroup nominates 99 topics (33 per column). Exceptions are Biology, Health Sciences, History, Geography, Business, Games, Hobbies, and Sports, which may nominate 198 topics (66 per column). For some already-existing article lists, for ideas, please see [1] and [2]. List articles in only one workgroup. All topics must be either completely unwritten, a micro-stub, or status=4. Note: top priority articles that are status=4 (unedited from Wikipedia) should be listed, but with an asterisk--which indicates that, to get the points, a person must either completely replace or rewrite the article.

Attaching points to topics

Each workgroup may award 10 points for the five most important articles in the group, 5 points for the ten next most important, and 2 points for the 14 next most important (down to #33, the bottom of the first column). The rest (in the middle and right columns) are worth a point apiece.

The first and/or most motivated editor attaches points to articles. If after a reasonable period it appears no editor is going to step up, then the most qualified and motivated author issues the points.

Claiming points

None of these articles may come from Wikipedia, if you want it to count. In fact, if you want, you can entirely replace a status = 4 Wikipedia-sourced article with a new CZ article. Please do.

For now, we do not track first draft authors on the talk page or the metadata page of an article, but only on CZ:Core Articles.

Authors may claim points on CZ:Core Articles/Scores only after their article length (and non-Wikipediahood) has been OK'd.

The "Miscellaneous" category

Articles that we'll definitely want, but which aren't obviously located in any existing workgroup, should be placed in Miscellaneous. There can be up to 300 articles listed here. Make sure there are no duplicates (overlap with workgroup lists). Each of these will be worth 1 point, unless any editor decides otherwise.

Original proposal and forum board: http://forum.citizendium.org/index.php/topic,1221.0.html

Natural Sciences

Astronomy

topic

topic

topic

Biology

bear

mitosis (10) - Larry Sanger - OK This is just for purposes of illustration

zoology

I'll have to learn the wiki coding, but here find some potential "Core" articles starting with letter "A"--Anthony.Sebastian (Talk) 20:28, 20 September 2007 (CDT)

Acid-base physiology
Adaptability
Adipose tissue biology
Adenovirus
Adrenal physiology
Aging
Agriculture
Amino acid metabolism and function
Animism
Ants
Antigen
Apocrine gland physiology
Arterial system
Oswald T. Avery (DNA as the genetic material)

Well, bear in mind that on the proposal in question, there are only 200 articles in each of Biology and Health Sciences--and they have to be the 200 "core," most important, articles. I suspect there would be a lot more than 200 biology articles if you were to continue the list at that level of specialization. --Larry Sanger 20:34, 20 September 2007 (CDT)

Agree re "core" concept. Thinking to make a draft list of potential core topics biology, then cull to a 200 core by consensus of Workgroup. --Anthony.Sebastian (Talk) 19:22, 21 September 2007 (CDT)

Some 'potential' core topics starting with letter "B" and not already listed as Biology articles:

Baboons
Bears
Bioterrorism
Bone
Buffon, Comte de
Butter
Butterflies
--Anthony.Sebastian (Talk) 19:51, 21 September 2007 (CDT)

Anthony, don't forget we already have a list high priority articles that has been whittled down somewhat (CZ:Biology_Workgroup#High_priority_articles). Another source of our most wanted articles is on the Biology/Related Articles subpage. I suggest we put out list together on the workgroup page and gain a a consensus onm our 200 unwritten articles. I'm sure we could all come up very different lists. Chris Day (talk) 09:45, 25 September 2007 (CDT)

Earth Sciences

1. Atmosphere
2. Cainozoic
3. Dinosaur
4. Earth (10)
5. Earthquake
6. El Niño-Southern Oscillation
7. Fossil
8. Glacier
9. Geology (5)
10. Holocene
11. Mesozoic
12. Mountain
13. North Atlantic oscillation
14. Ocean
15. Paleontology
16. Paleozoic
17. Plate tectonics (5)
18. Precambrian
19. Quaternary
20. Soil
21. Thermohaline circulation (5)

Miscellaneous

Articles that we'll definitely want, but which aren't obviously located in any of the above workgroups.

See also

• What's Your Article?
• What's Your Message?