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Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Countries

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WikiProject Countries (Rated Project-Class)
Geography portal
This page is within the scope of WikiProject Countries, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Countries on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.
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[edit] Hello

Hello everyone, I'm your newest member (and your 60th). I'm from Chicago,USA I hope to help you guys out! Creez34 (talk) 02:31, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] GA Reassessment of Brazil

Brazil has been nominated for a good article reassessment. Articles are typically reviewed for one week. Please leave your comments and help us to return the article to good article quality. If concerns are not addressed during the review period, the good article status will be removed from the article. Reviewers' concerns are here. --Malleus Fatuorum 15:42, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

[edit] GA Reassessment of Scotland

Scotland has been nominated for a good article reassessment. Articles are typically reviewed for one week. Please leave your comments and help us to return the article to good article quality. If concerns are not addressed during the review period, the good article status will be removed from the article. Reviewers' concerns are here.--Mais oui! (talk) 10:04, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Maps in country boxes

A discussion has been started here on whether the map locating the United Kingdom in that article's infobox should show the EU or not. Comments are welcome. Ghmyrtle (talk) 17:44, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Coordinates format

Hello, I have traveled from WikiProject Geographical coordinates, where we seek wider opinions on whether {{coord}} should offer a N/S/E/W labeled format for decimal coordinates (example: 43.12° N 79.34° W) either as an option or by default, or if the existing unlabeled format (example: 43°07′N 79°20′W / 43.12°N 79.34°W / 43.12; -79.34) is sufficient. Please comment there if you have an opinion on this. Thanks! --GregU (talk) 17:44, 17 January 2009 (UTC)

[edit] No "Infrastructure"

Wouldn't you know that the articles written first would be the ones with the weakest (and oldest and most out-of-date) outline? I was looking for suggestions as to where "infrastructure" should go. In the United States, it is under "economy". Guess I can't point to here as a reference. Ironically, I could point to a reference if it were a state or city. Oh, well. Student7 (talk) 00:54, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Milestone Announcements

Announcements
  • All WikiProjects are invited to have their "milestone-reached" announcements automatically placed onto Wikipedia's announcements page.
  • Milestones could include the number of FAs, GAs or articles covered by the project.
  • No work need be done by the project themselves; they just need to provide some details when they sign up. A bot will do all of the hard work.
Click here for more information or to sign your project up.

I thought this WikiProject might be interested. Ping me with any specific queries or leave them on the page linked to above. Thanks! - Jarry1250 (t, c) 21:47, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Guidelines for "China" vs. "PRC" usage

Please join the new discussion about Guidelines for "China" vs. "PRC" usage on the People's Republic of China article --Cybercobra (talk) 08:31, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Flora and fauna

Looking at the list of topics for countries, I can't see any mention of where flora and fauna should go. I don't know if it's a subject worthy of inclusion in the main country article, but presumably there should be a subarticle on it? Cheers — SteveRwanda (talk) 22:38, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Under "Geography", right?Student7 (talk) 04:01, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Pakistan

I have nominated Pakistan for a featured article review here. Please join the discussion on whether this article meets featured article criteria. Articles are typically reviewed for two weeks. If substantial concerns are not addressed during the review period, the article will be moved to the Featured Article Removal Candidates list for a further period, where editors may declare "Keep" or "Remove" the article's featured status. The instructions for the review process are here.YellowMonkey (click here to vote for world cycling's #1 model!) 05:05, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

[edit] FAR on Cambodia

I have nominated Cambodia for a featured article review here. Please join the discussion on whether this article meets featured article criteria. Articles are typically reviewed for two weeks. If substantial concerns are not addressed during the review period, the article will be moved to the Featured Article Removal Candidates list for a further period, where editors may declare "Keep" or "Remove" the article's featured status. The instructions for the review process are here. YellowMonkey (click here to vote for world cycling's #1 model!) 00:52, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Coordinators' working group

Hi! I'd like to draw your attention to the new WikiProject coordinators' working group, an effort to bring both official and unofficial WikiProject coordinators together so that the projects can more easily develop consensus and collaborate. This group has been created after discussion regarding possible changes to the A-Class review system, and that may be one of the first things discussed by interested coordinators. All designated project coordinators are invited to join this working group. If your project hasn't formally designated any editors as coordinators, but you are someone who regularly deals with coordination tasks in the project, please feel free to join as well. — Delievered by §hepBot (Disable) on behalf of the WikiProject coordinators' working group at 05:12, 28 February 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Article alerts

This is a notice to let you know about Article alerts, a fully-automated subscription-based news delivery system designed to notify WikiProjects and Taskforces when articles are entering Articles for deletion, Requests for comment, Peer review and other workflows (full list). The reports are updated on a daily basis, and provide brief summaries of what happened, with relevant links to discussion or results when possible. A certain degree of customization is available; WikiProjects and Taskforces can choose which workflows to include, have individual reports generated for each workflow, have deletion discussion transcluded on the reports, and so on. An example of a customized report can be found here.

If you are already subscribed to Article Alerts, it is now easier to report bugs and request new features. We are also in the process of implementing a "news system", which would let projects know about ongoing discussions on a wikipedia-wide level, and other things of interest. The developers also note that some subscribing WikiProjects and Taskforces use the display=none parameter, but forget to give a link to their alert page. Your alert page should be located at "Wikipedia:PROJECT-OR-TASKFORCE-HOMEPAGE/Article alerts". Questions and feedback should be left at Wikipedia talk:Article alerts.

Message sent by User:Addbot to all active wiki projects per request, Comments on the message and bot are welcome here.

Thanks. — Headbomb {ταλκκοντριβς – WP Physics} 09:00, 15 March, 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Outline of knowledge

See Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Outline of knowledge where there seems to be all the usual confusion about the difference between, state, county and territory. --PBS (talk) 12:30, 19 March 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Lists of countries

For a discussion on country lists see Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Countries/Lists of countries. --PBS (talk) 12:52, 19 March 2009 (UTC)

[edit] The Map

I love the map (or at least the minimized version I can see of it)

but am in desperate need of help to actually be able to use it. Would anyone here be kind enough to go the page's talk page (or I can move it here) and be able to tell me what the problem is?

Kostantino888Z (talk) 00:32, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Country outline contest proposal

Each country has an outline in Wikipedia's Outline of knowledge.

But they are not complete.

I'd like to propose a contest to pit country WikiProjects against each other in developing the best country outline.

We're going to need judges.

We're going to need awards.

Any ideas?

What should the notices say?

What should the rules be?

How long should the contest last? 2 months?

How should we gather WikiProjects as participants? Just let any member of a WikiProject sign that WikiProject up?

How many winners should there be?

What could participants post on their user pages if their WikiProject wins?

The Transhumanist    00:10, 19 May 2009 (UTC)


[edit] Discussion

I haven't been active on the outlines for a while now, but I understand that certain country outlines are significantly better than others? So wouldn't that mean an unfair advantage for certain country WikiProjects? --Patar knight - chat/contributions 01:03, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

Good point. The same can be said for different schools in a league. Like those schools with more students, better funding, etc. But yes, some of the outlines are WAY better. So how about this... When we send out the invites, if that's the approach we decide to take, we can skip inviting those WikiProjects for which the outline is already completed. What do you think? The Transhumanist    01:12, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
Then we'll need to have a criteria for each league? Or for inclusion in the "near-complete" league, which would be left out? Are outlines eligible for FL status? Then we could still have a league for the best outlines. --Patar knight - chat/contributions 01:28, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
Technically they are eligible for FL, but I wouldn't want to see a link dropped just because they couldn't find a citation for it. And that's really what FL's are all about: citations. The FL people also frown on redlinks, and those are an integral part of outlines (the topic of a link is as important to include as the link itself). So that pretty much nixes FL as a viable option.
The outlines that are most developed include Outline of the United States and Outline of the United Kingdom (extensive links), and those with lots of picture support include Outline of France, Outline of Japan, Outline of Vatican City, Outline of Taiwan, Outline of Thailand, Outline of Japan, and Outline of Iceland. The Transhumanist    01:40, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
Come to think of it, the ones with pictures, I did each of those in about a day. So if the contest lasts 2 months, that's not that big of a deal. We could give the almost completeds less time? The Transhumanist    01:47, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
Well for the more complete ones, the challenge could be to get those redlinks into well-sourced articles, and to get citations for the outline? It's not impossible, and it would give the average content contributor something they're used to doing. The outlines you linked to are looking good, much better since I stopped working on them a while ago. Heh, makes me feel proud to have done a bit. Well anyways, two months sounds a bit long, and enthusiasm and activity tends to wane. The MILHIST B-class assessment drive, and Tag & Assess 2008 drive both lasted about 1.5 months. --Patar knight - chat/contributions 01:57, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
How does one month sound? Yeah, we put in a lot of work with AWB and Linky on the rest of 'em, so they are all shaping up. The Transhumanist    02:07, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
One month sounds fine, as long as not during say exams. It might be problematic over the summer, but we can gauge that by having WikiProject members signing up in advance. --Patar knight - chat/contributions 02:13, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
This is very imaginative.
You have already discussed this so I hate to bring it up. But aren't the articles supposed to have the same "feel" when a reader looks at them? I think they do due to similar standards. There are local exceptions for colloquial wording. "Motorways" instead of "Turnpikes", "Sport" instead of "Athletics", that sort of thing. In view of the prolonged discussion this will seem like a naive question, but why do we need 195 outlines? I've been pointing newbie editors to just two: US and UK. If they don't like one, they can have the other!
Technically, we already have a process for recognizing good articles, don't we? Many are called and few are chosen, so having a side contest might be useful at that. Student7 (talk) 11:56, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
How would an outline on the United States benefit someone who wants to look up information on Japan?
Since countries differ, so will the subjects on their outlines (specific locations, specific people, etc.). And the maps and images will differ too. See Outline of France, Outline of Japan, Outline of Iceland, Outline of Thailand, Outline of Taiwan, and Outline of Vatican City. There's plenty of room for creativity, even though there is a standard.
Also, Google two different countries, and you will see the need for separate coverage for each.
The purpose of the contest is to get the outlines completed. Some of them are in pretty sad shape.
The Transhumanist    23:33, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
You are right. I was talking about something else entirely. I will now abandon watching this page. Student7 (talk) 11:18, 20 May 2009 (UTC)
Firstly, I want to say congratulations on the excellent idea and I'd be happy to help as a judge or whatever.
What we could do is set up a multiple-tier system similar to the English Football League system with articles getting "promoted" and "relegated" each period (a period of time would have to be decided, i.e. articles would be rejudged every period). We would award some sort of badge to the winners of each tier and this would be passed on to the winner of the next period afterwards. (if a different winner should apply).
There is a huge amount of work going to be involved whatever way you decide to do it but I will be here to help in any way I can. Best of luck. Bonzostar (talk) 18:08, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
I think the judges' work will be relatively easy. Pick the x number of best ones. Just load the pages into WP:LINKY, and browse the hell out of them. The best ones will stand out. And if none stand out, then we can always have ties.
Though I guess what is missing at this point is judging criteria. Any ideas?
The Transhumanist    23:35, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

This is certainly an interesting proposal and could be a good way to foster new enthusiasm based on national pride, or even those such as myself who enjoy a challenge and would make less-than-obvious choices. After reading the above comment about outlines, I was thinking that the sheer number of countries probably means many of the WikiProjects are nonexistent or at least inactive. If the competition becomes a reality, I therefore suggest one of those notices at the top of every page (sorry, I'm not familiar with the technology behind it). That way people who would be interested but normally keep to their own area of the wiki will be informed of its existence.

Additionally, I'd favour a longer duration rather than a shorter one. Aside from the obvious rationale such as allowing more people to participate, inter-library loans (which all article writers should take advantage of if you're not - public libraries are there for a reason!) and purchasing obscure books from online stores can take a while, and I remember an article I'd copyedited and watchlisted spending a month as a Good Article nominee. But if something else develops that's closer to the Spotlight than Seven Years in Tibet, that's fine too. Recognizance (talk) 02:58, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

Excellent idea. Keep in mind that in order to put a notice at the top of every page would require a separate proposal at WP:VPR. But we can certainly make that proposal once the details of how this contest will be run have been worked out. The Transhumanist    04:56, 20 May 2009 (UTC)
I like the idea & would be happy to help in whatever is needed. dottydotdot (talk) 18:32, 20 May 2009 (UTC)
I like the idea too, and I'll help in any way I can. Bernstein2291 (talk) 19:23, 20 May 2009 (UTC)
Please don't propose, at WP:VPPR, a notice at the top of article pages about this contest, or anything having to do with WikiProjects. That isn't going to happen; you're just wasting everyone's time to even make the suggestion. Such notices are fine on article talk/discussion pages, on WikProject pages, and on user pages, but articles are for readers, and existing notices (top templates) are to inform readers about article problems (as well, of course, as to encourage readers to fix those problems). [Notice that maintenance categories are now hidden in articles, for exactly the same reason - they interfere with what readers need to know.] Wikipedia mainspace is the encyclopedia. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 15:12, 22 May 2009 (UTC)
I was assuming talk pages, project pages, and perhaps portal pages. The Transhumanist    19:58, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Environment section needed

This is related to the "Flora and fauna" section above.

I am working on environment articles with the view to create a complete series of Environment of X articles for all countries (see Wikipedia:WikiProject Environment/Environment by country and Wikipedia:WikiProject Environment/Planning). I have discovered that the country articles are not consistent with links to the Environment of X (where they exist) and I feel that "Environment" deserves its own level two heading. Environment (not to be confused with ecology) is a large body of knowledge to describe, collate and reference. It is also of an increasing interest given the number of environmental organisations and amount of exposure in the media as well as the large number of environmental publications. Environment of X links in country articles are put under the geography section. I don't think this is appropriate since environment covers flora, fauna, climate change, environmental law, green politics, environmental issues, pollution, waste, protected areas etc. -- Alan Liefting (talk) - 23:56, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

For current coverage, see User:The Transhumanist/Lists by country/Environment of x.
For coverage of other "X of Y" country-related articles, see User:The Transhumanist/Lists by country
The Transhumanist    03:26, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] References needed

Can anyone help find references for: Greece-Kyrgyzstan relations. --Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) (talk) 15:46, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

The population given for Cook Islands is wrong. The entry for Cook Islands gives the 2006 census population as 19,589.203.97.238.175 (talk) 09:31, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] The Austria article

Since Austria is a core article for this project, and Wikipedia itself, I believe that members here would agree that it is also highly important. If anyone is interested in substantially improving the article to good or featured article status, please join this discussion at Talk:Austria#Article improvement drive. Thanks for your help, Hayden120 (talk) 04:39, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Size does matter

Something is clearly wrong here if you ask me. The current geographical map that wikipedia uses to identify where countries are(normally seen on a country page) would contradict these figures. I mean how are America and China roughly the same size and since was India 1/3 the zie of China. If you were to combine India and Pakistan together they would easily encompass more than half of China but according to these figures produced, this doesn't seem possible. —Preceding unsigned comment added by RRRAD (talk • contribs) 17:05, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Featured countries

Hi, could a user with sophisticated ability in dealing with maps have a look at ? It hasn't been updated in a year, and no longer reflects which countries are featured or not. There are comments on the file's talk page, and in the list of featured and good articles on WikiProject Countries' main page. YeshuaDavid • Talk • 21:14, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Misuse of greater than (>) sign

In the country list there is a column for percent of total land area. The values reliably get smaller as the size of the country diminishes all the way down to 0.01%. The next smaller country shows as >0.01% (meaning greater than) when clearly it should show as <0.01% (meaning less than). I tried to edit this info but was unable to. Thanks, donangelico —Preceding unsigned comment added by Donangelico (talk • contribs) 01:05, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

[edit] North Korea GA nom

North Korea is currently a good article nominee. If anyone has time to review it, that'd be swell. --Cybercobra (talk) 10:47, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

[edit] GA Class Review of the United Arab Emirates

Can someone please reassess the United Arab Emirates article. I believe it has geatly improved, and deserves a review. --MoHasanie  Talk  13:10, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Countries"
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