Signpost reaches the Midwest
Today, it's the turn of WikiProject Ohio to give us an interview probing deep into of how they manage to run a project covering one fiftieth of the United States, and the workings of how they manufacture their successes and other articles. They have gathered a staggering 66 pieces of Featured content, and 164 Good articles. 83 members might sound like a lot of Wikipedians to work on the topics of Ohio, but we selected just three to give us a flavor of what goes on behind their scenes. Our interviewees this week are Vjmlhds, Frank12 and Wikipelli.
What motivated you to join WikiProject Ohio? Do you live or have you ever lived in the state?
- Vjmlhds: As a life long Ohioan, I wanted to make sure that I did all I could to make Ohio related articles the best they could be.
- Frank12: I've only lived in Ohio and I was willing to team up with other Ohioans and those with interest in Ohio-related articles to provide useful and accurate content.
- Wikipelli: My family's history is rooted in Ohio. I have a great interest in the history of Ohio – specifically, the Columbiana County area.
Do you contribute to the projects of any other US states? How would you compare activity at WikiProject Ohio to activity at other state projects?
- Vjmlhds: No, and I can't really answer the second part, since I'm more focused on this project.
- Frank12: I have, many of them in other Midwestern states due to my fascination with the region. I can't really say either, but I get the impression that Ohio has a great deal of pride among its residents that are willing to showcase the great qualities of the state.
- Wikipelli: I have also been active in Virginia history projects.
Have you contributed to any of the project's 39 featured articles, 17 featured lists, 2 A-class articles, and 164 good articles? Are you currently working on promoting an article to FA or GA status?
- Vjmlhds: I've done my fair share of work on a couple of articles that meet those standards – The Miz (GA) and Cleveland (FA). And I've tried to get a few others up to that level, but to no avail...but I'm still working on it.
- Frank12: Yes, but nothing of great addition. If anything I try to add interesting tidbits, but I'm sure I'll contribute a lot if it's of a strong personal interest to me, which I've done here and there with other articles.
In addition to cities, counties, and geographic features, what are some interesting articles covered by the project?
- Vjmlhds: I like articles about the pro sports teams (especially the ones in Cleveland), as well as Ohio State Buckeyes football, plus I've done work on articles about pro wrestlers from the state (including The Miz as mentioned above).
- Frank12: I find the geographical articles very interesting as well as sports and college/university articles.
- Wikipelli: I like the articles relating to the NRHPs.
WikiProject Ohio has a large number of child projects, including ones for Cincinnati, Cleveland, Youngstown, Ohio State Highways, the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Browns, Columbus Blue Jackets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Ohio Wesleyan University. Do you consider this a large project that needs to split off its major cities, or are those projects not doing so well as the statewide project?
- Vjmlhds: I think things are going along OK as is.
- Frank12: For now I think they can stay under the Ohio scope, but I wouldn't be surprised if one day the 3 Cs could go off on their own.
What are WikiProject Ohio's most urgent needs? How can a new member help today?
- Vjmlhds: The biggest thing any current or future member can do is just keep a look-out to make sure things stay up to standard.
- Frank12: Go after the articles that interest you most or you feel you can contribute to the best, and have fun with it!
Anything else you'd like to add?
- Vjmlhds: O-H....I-O!
- Frank12: I'll second that!
Next week, we'll take you on a trip to the orphanage. In the meanwhile, check out some other lost gems in the archive.
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