WikiProject Unreferenced articles backlog drive

[Starship Enterprise]

Wikipedia:WikiProject Unreferenced articles/Backlog drives/February 2024 (T-H-L) will ask users to add one and only one reference to unreferenced articles

The mission is to move articles from Category:Articles lacking sources (T-H-L) to Category:Articles needing additional references (T-H-L). This is the only thing they want to accomplish

More than 100 users have signed up

[FelinaLavandula]

Do you get anything for this except points and pride? I might sign up.

[Ming]

Do you get anything for this except points and pride? I might sign up.

You get the shame of having everyone being able to see that you helped author a poorly referenced article. So that's something.

[Randy from Boise]

This actually sounds like a fun little warm up exercise in place of picking through the five day old New Articles queue to find a handful of GNG passes to mark as patrolled. That's a pretty joyless exercise these days with all the articles from Draft space being listed...

t

[rnu]

Wikipedia:WikiProject Unreferenced articles/Backlog drives/February 2024 (T-H-L) will ask users to add one and only one reference to unreferenced articles

The mission is to move articles from Category:Articles lacking sources (T-H-L) to Category:Articles needing additional references (T-H-L). This is the only thing they want to accomplish

More than 100 users have signed up

Great. "Let's not actually improve Wikipedia, but make it look like we improved it." At least call it Project Potemkin.

[ArmasRebane]

I don't see the issue? Articles with at least one reference are better than articles with none, and going through the list also means articles that should be triaged for merging, deletion, or need more substantial edits are more likely to be noticed.

[The Blue Newt]

I don't see the issue? Articles with at least one reference are better than articles with none, and going through the list also means articles that should be triaged for merging, deletion, or need more substantial edits are more likely to be noticed.

It’s a bit…agricultural?…isn’t it? Move the manure pile from here to there enough times, and someday you have compost!

[Starship Enterprise]

I don't see the issue? Articles with at least one reference are better than articles with none, and going through the list also means articles that should be triaged for merging, deletion, or need more substantial edits are more likely to be noticed.

the drive page says to not do that

it would be too productive

[Randy from Boise]

I don't see the issue? Articles with at least one reference are better than articles with none, and going through the list also means articles that should be triaged for merging, deletion, or need more substantial edits are more likely to be noticed.

Correct. This will get a lot of unviewed articles (n=112,000) touched. Some shitty ones will get cut, a couple decent ones will be fleshed out, many will have at least SOME fact verified. It's hard to see much downside here.

They should give 1/2 point for a second footnote and not give 1/2 point for reviewing things, but that's a minor detail in a non-contest for no prize.

t

[ArmasRebane]

I don't see the issue? Articles with at least one reference are better than articles with none, and going through the list also means articles that should be triaged for merging, deletion, or need more substantial edits are more likely to be noticed.

the drive page says to not do that

it would be too productive

Eh, it says the opposite to me:

If no reliable source can found with the best of your effort, according to WP:BEFORE, there are a few options:

(recommended) Make a new thread at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Unreferenced articles if you are unsure.
PROD the article if it is obvious that the article should be deleted.
AFD the article if it is not obvious that the article should be deleted.
Merge discussion and redirect the article if the article has some useful content but it is not notable.

[Zoloft]

Reactions are mixed I see.