User:WugapodesOutreach/2021 LSA splash page

An Euler diagram of distinctive features.
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If no one has said it yet, welcome to Wikipedia! We're excited to have you! This is the user page for my second account which I use during outreach events because it makes things easier to find in the future. I use this user page as a sort of landing page for edit-a-thon participants, so take a look around! If you have questions, you can post on my user talk page, and if you want to know more about me and my other Wikipedia stuff, my main account is Wugapodes.

Are you here for the 2021 LSA Annual Meeting edit-a-thon?

Thanks for joining our 6th annual edit-a-thon! This page is meant to help orient you to Wikipedia and give you ideas on what to work on. Each section contains ideas for how you can help and they are roughly organized by the size of the undertaking. Not everything can be done in a day, but you're always free to come back and keep working on something! Feel free to add your own ideas too!

Simple-ish tasks

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These are tasks you can probably do in a few minutes. With experience, most of them can probably be done in seconds.

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You've heard of [citation needed] but did you know we also have tags like [according to whom?] and [quantify]?

Wikipedia's software allows you to turn any text into a link, but when Wikipedia doesn't have an article by that title, you get a red link like this one. Many people think that they shouldn't add red links, but the truth is that red links can help the encyclopedia grow! A wiki works best when many people make small changes because these small changes invite other people to make further improvements. Some editors spend their time creating articles that have the most red links. Others look through red links and replace them with redirects to existing articles or sections on the topic. If you see a phrase that you think would make a good title for an encyclopedia article, make it a link no matter what color it winds up being. If someone disagrees, they'll fix it.

Ask questions

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Wikipedia has a number of templates that let readers ask questions about the article they're reading right in the article. These templates are related to {{citation needed}}, but ask specific questions about the text like {{How many?}}, {{according to whom?}}, and {{Like what?}}. When readers see this, it invites them to add the answer if they know it. Some editors spend their time looking through these questions and trying to answer them. By asking questions, you help improve the article and inform other readers about its current quality. You can find a full list at Inline cleanup tags.

Medium-sized tasks

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These are tasks that require non-trivial time, experience, or resources to complete and/or learn.

Substantial or longer-term tasks

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These are tasks to which you could easily devote a day or more, or tasks which are part of larger, multi-editor projects.

Linguistic Society of America Centennial in 2024

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This subsection is transcluded from User:Wugapodes/LSA Centennial, a centralized page for tracking the improvement effort.

The Linguistic Society of America is celebrating its centennial in 2024 which provides a great motivation to improve the coverage of linguistics and linguists. It's a large task, so feel free to help with some of the goals or articles linked below.

Goals

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Recently created stubs to improve

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Useful sources

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  • Sebeok, Thomas A (2002). Portrait Of Linguists. Bristol: Thoemmes Continuum. ISBN 9781843710066.

Advice for new editors

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Usually, the "see also" section goes at the bottom, but depending on what you need, the following links may actually be more helpful than reading the prose below. Feel free to poke around.

Getting around Wikipedia

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Wikipedia is like the Smithsonian Institution. We have exhibits (articles) that are worked on by curators (editors) who discuss issues, plan exhibits, and simply hang out in areas behind the scenes.

Wikipedia can seem like a big and strange place if you've never worked behind the scenes before, but once you get oriented it's easy to get the hang of. Think of Wikipedia as a big building and the editors as occupants. Each page on the site is like a different room. Articles are like museum displays in a museum and the article talk pages are like the backstage areas where we work on the displays. You can make changes to the displays---and unlike most museums we encourage touching the exhibits, but sometimes you need to discuss things to figure out the best way to present the material.

Your user page is like the front door to your office: you can decorate it up to a point, but make sure that the decorations tell us about the work you (want to) do around the encyclopedia. Your user talk page is like the inside of your office: people will drop by to ask questions, give you notices, and sometimes chat a bit. Just like talking in your office, posting on your own talk page is like talking to yourself, so if you need help go to someone else's office.

The Teahouse is like our front office or reception area. Editors are there to field questions and point you to the right rooms. The Help Desk is like...well...a help desk. The Reference Desks are like library desks and editors there will try to help you find sources and materials to improve the exhibits.

Our policies and social contracts

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The following are social contracts that members of the site have (directly or indirectly) agreed to prevent larger problems: