Talk:Current events/Archive 3

An important reason to put some effort into this section is that people at the search engines will be searching on current events stories. Probably a very significant percentage of searches on Yahoo, Google, etc., on any given day, are on topics that are big at the moment. If we make an effort of adding relevent links to the Current events page, and then make an effort to create good articles for whatever that page is linking to, we will be able to get lots of traffic from the search engines. We will also establish a reputation for being a place where people can come to find information on stuff that is happening right now.

So be bold in adding new topics to Current events, and feel free to improve the organization of the page.

- Tim

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Do we really need this ? This is an encyclopedia not a tabloid after all. The

point about search engine search is questionable. It would be best to put some

porn to attract audience to Wikipedia. Huh ?

-- Kpjas

One great advantage Wikipedia might have over other encyclopedias is our ability to have timely articles. I think it is good strategy to focus efforts in those areas where we might have a competitive advantage. - Tim

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Are we keeping them ? News become obsolete so quickly.

Besides, it is IMO pointless

to make empty links to news items !!!
-- Kpjas

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The links to articles we don't have are there for two reasons. 1) People can add links to current events without having to know in advance whether we have an article. 2) People are encouraged to create articles for subjects we don't have, for the reasons stated on the main page.

And of course we are keeping the articles. I can't imagine why we wouldn't. What would be an example of a current events article that would not be worth keeping? - Tim

Interest fades, importance diminishes ...

Omaha beach took a tragic toll of lives. Do we think it proper to include the

names in an encyclopedia?

Encyclopedia is encyclopedia. There is even a page devoted to pointing out

what wikipedia is not. Another one - it is not 'News of the World' like

tabloid. Would you include rumours in an encyclopedia ???

If someone thinks that some current event is worth making a link to it, he/she

should write the article instead. Waiting for someone else to pick it up

can eventually result in empty links to obsolete news items.
--Kpjas

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Kpjas, there are many important topics that become important (sometimes, only temporarily) because of their prominence as part of current events. This doesn't mean that we need to develop news articles, per se. I hope we don't try to do that. Instead, we should develop encyclopedia articles--that, sometimes, actually concern breaking (i.e., newly developing) news. Again, we aren't trying to write news articles, here, but background articles necessary for a good understanding of the news.

The suggestion that, in offering encyclopedia articles about topics that have become important due to their importance in current events, Wikipedia is (or wants to be like) a tabloid, is absurd. --LMS

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and, of course, the new and exciting 'holiday' category can be changed seasonally! --MichaelTinkler, who was in a former life COMPELLED to create seasonally-changing bulletin boards.

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I'm a believer in this page now. I checked it today and saw the link to the Leonids, which are coming up this weekend. Yay! <>< tbc

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Y'know, if there were one or two other people working on this page daily, I would work on it daily too (or so I predict). What do you think? It's just not nearly as useful if it isn't updated daily. --LMS