User:Howard C. Berkowitz/Strong Articles: Difference between revisions

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Orphaned articles, isolated articles, or walled gardens of articles, are problems because it is difficult or impossible to reach through following a logical set of wikilinks. Readers can find the material only if they enter just the right search string, which does not let them take best advantage of Citizendium's knowledge navigation.
 
 
Orphaned articles, isolated articles, or walled gardens of articles, are problems because it is difficult or impossible to reach through following a logical set of wikilinks. Readers can find the material only if they enter just the right search string, which does not let them take best advantage of Citizendium's knowledge navigation. Citizendium should be made up of '''strong articles''', which j


A '''strong link''' is a wikilink that is:
A '''strong link''' is a wikilink that is:
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An article is orphaned when fewer than three strong links point to it. An article is isolated when it cannot be reached through a series of strong links from the main page, a workgroup page, or a Core Article. Walled gardens are a set of articles that have strong links among one another, but all articles within the set are isolated.
An article is orphaned when fewer than three strong links point to it. An article is isolated when it cannot be reached through a series of strong links from the main page, a workgroup page, or a Core Article. Walled gardens are a set of articles that have strong links among one another, but all articles within the set are isolated.


==Practical use==
==For authors of new articles==
When writing an article, consider to what it can link, and what should point to it. If the author cannot come up with three potential strong links to it, perhaps that means that some more general articles need to be written first, to establish context.  
When writing an article, consider to what it can link, and what should point to it. If the author cannot come up with three potential strong links to it, perhaps that means that some more general articles need to be written first, to establish context.  


Those strong links need to be created, so part of creating a new article is editing three or more pages so they link to the new page.
Those strong links need to be created, so part of creating a new article is editing three or more pages so they link to the new page.
 
==For workgroup editors==
Editors, perhaps assisted by some future automated tool, need to stay aware of orphaned, isolated, or walled material. Creating strong links to an article does not constitute substantial editing of the article; an editor can still nominate that article for Approval if the editor made changes to the article itself, or to articles linking to it, only to prevent orphaning.  
Editors, perhaps assisted by some future automated tool, need to stay aware of orphaned, isolated, or walled material. Creating strong links to an article does not constitute substantial editing of the article; an editor can still nominate that article for Approval if the editor made changes to the article itself, or to articles linking to it, only to prevent orphaning.  
 
==For Citizens, and perhaps Indexers==
In the process of reading articles, a Citizen may come across an article that is
==Need to consider==
==Need to consider==
*"Permanent stubs", a class of article that is legitimately isolated, because the only reason it exists is to have a "linkable definition".
*"Permanent stubs", a class of article that is legitimately isolated, because the only reason it exists is to have a "linkable definition".

Revision as of 15:55, 19 November 2008


Orphaned articles, isolated articles, or walled gardens of articles, are problems because it is difficult or impossible to reach through following a logical set of wikilinks. Readers can find the material only if they enter just the right search string, which does not let them take best advantage of Citizendium's knowledge navigation. Citizendium should be made up of strong articles, which j

A strong link is a wikilink that is:

  • in the body of an article
  • in a Related Articles page
  • in explicit indexing pages
    • a redirect to a subsection, that redirect having an associated definition
    • a common prefix, such as AN-

An article is orphaned when fewer than three strong links point to it. An article is isolated when it cannot be reached through a series of strong links from the main page, a workgroup page, or a Core Article. Walled gardens are a set of articles that have strong links among one another, but all articles within the set are isolated.

For authors of new articles

When writing an article, consider to what it can link, and what should point to it. If the author cannot come up with three potential strong links to it, perhaps that means that some more general articles need to be written first, to establish context.

Those strong links need to be created, so part of creating a new article is editing three or more pages so they link to the new page.

For workgroup editors

Editors, perhaps assisted by some future automated tool, need to stay aware of orphaned, isolated, or walled material. Creating strong links to an article does not constitute substantial editing of the article; an editor can still nominate that article for Approval if the editor made changes to the article itself, or to articles linking to it, only to prevent orphaning.

For Citizens, and perhaps Indexers

In the process of reading articles, a Citizen may come across an article that is

Need to consider

  • "Permanent stubs", a class of article that is legitimately isolated, because the only reason it exists is to have a "linkable definition".