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Portal:U.S. roads/AFD/2012

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Selected article

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Yikes.

I know it's still early, but I'd like to nominate Interstate 290 (New York) for the portal on AFD 2012. If only so we can use this picture. Thanks to Doug Kerr for taking the picture and to Imzadi1979 (talk · contribs) for uploading that beauty to Commons. –Fredddie™ 22:48, 9 September 2011 (UTC)

Might be better as the picture. Either way, here's a possible lead/caption:
Interstate 290 is a freeway chosen by the FHWA to pilot the solution to the constant complaint that the U.S. Highway shield has become square and boring through the years while the Interstate shield has remained largely unchanged. Dave (talk) 04:10, 10 September 2011 (UTC)
I would rather this be the selected picture, with a caption idea:
Interstate 290 in New York made an attempt to dress up as a Maryland route for Halloween. Dough4872 01:23, 15 September 2011 (UTC)
How about we find a bunch more sign goofs and replace our shield set at the top of the portal with them? –Fredddie™ 03:45, 1 October 2011 (UTC)
Anybody live near Sacramento that can verify that the errant "I-50" shield along US-50 still exists? Dave (talk) 23:27, 16 January 2012 (UTC)
I have a possible idea for the selected article: write a blurb about the non-notable side street I live on. Dough4872 01:35, 15 September 2011 (UTC)
That would only work if you don't link to a article... Imzadi 1979 → 01:43, 15 September 2011 (UTC)
  • An unsigned Interstate out of Alaska or Puerto Rico, with the blurb written as if the highway is actually signed. (Alaska might work better since only A-1 has any freeway sections). An alternate to the idea is to use one of the mainland unsigned Intererstates like I-295 or I-595, but also written as if the Interstate designation is fully signed. Imzadi 1979 → 01:43, 15 September 2011 (UTC)
  • Interstate 99 - could throw in some Bud Shuster jokes here. Dough4872 01:48, 15 September 2011 (UTC)
I would need to see a killer lead proposed before I could support this. Frankly, the I-99 jokes have been done a few times now, and for the most part they aren't funny anymore. Dave (talk) 16:54, 20 September 2011 (UTC)
User:NE2/I-99 could work. Dough4872 03:04, 22 September 2011 (UTC)
Oppose per User:NE2/I-99. –Fredddie™ 05:12, 22 September 2011 (UTC)
Maybe we can reword a bit to make it sound real. Dough4872 17:48, 23 September 2011 (UTC)
  • U.S. Route 91 - Just a thought, but perhaps we could write up a lead about this highway being placed on the "endangered species list" along with the extinct US Route 66 and US Route 99 or perhaps this could be a DYK hook? Dave (talk) 16:54, 20 September 2011 (UTC)
It would sound better as a DYK hook. Dough4872 02:51, 26 October 2011 (UTC)
It'd be even better if we dressed it up with something that looks like the {{Taxobox}}. –Fredddie™ 03:54, 26 October 2011 (UTC)
I started a mockup blurb for this at User:Moabdave/sandbox, feel free to play with the taxobox or any other idea. Dave (talk) 23:12, 15 January 2012 (UTC)
Added a taxobox, which I think looks awesome. It may be a bit long for the blurb, however. –Fredddie™ 07:07, 16 January 2012 (UTC)
Davey likey =-). OK more seriously, Yeah the taxobox does take up a lot of space for a "blurb", but this is workable. It could easily be shrunk by scaling the graphics, etc.) Or maybe we could temporarily rearrange the portal to accommodate the larger space required? (there is precedent for doing this on AFD, for example the "in the news" section has been temporarily replaced in the past). However, I think this is the most viable proposal presented so far. Dave (talk) 23:27, 16 January 2012 (UTC)
I added the binomial "names" of the other highways. If we rearrange a few things for AFD, we could possible pad the blurb a little more. I'd like to see something about an extinct species in Nevada (US 91 Alt. in Las Vegas) and the oh-so-similar species that took its place. Since it's the strip, we could call US-Alt 91 Alternus luminaria and the state route Argentus luminaria. –Fredddie™ 09:47, 20 January 2012 (UTC)
Nice touch with the binomial name for US-163. =-) I agree we've got to work Las Vegas Blvd. in this hook somewhere. How about we go total Roadrunner and Coyote with the binomial names with something like, "Streetus Opulance" or "Dinericus disappearicus"? Dave (talk) 19:06, 20 January 2012 (UTC)
Ok with Fredddie's work this is really coming together, but it will require some re-arranging of items on the portal to make room for the taxobox that Fredddie has made. However, I really think this is a good,workable idea for the USRD portal for AFD. Any objections to bending the rules more than ususal, by removing or re-arranging sections to make room for Fredddie's taxobox? (we should get this out of the way before Fredddie and myself invest too much more time on this). Dave (talk) 19:06, 20 January 2012 (UTC)


OK, I have another idea to build off of US 91. That is, if we bend the rules to allow for something special on AFD. We could turn the portal into something that resembles a telethon or a Save the Children commercial. Let's give it a working title of "SAVE THE HIGHWAYS". We put together four "endangered" highways and run them each for six hours. Then on April 2, the portal goes back to normal. Feel free to add on to this list, but here are a few ideas for the other three routes: –Fredddie™ 19:53, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

  • Lincoln Highway (Via honestus) - thought to be extinct, but making a rebound in refuges
  • U.S. Route 16 (F. sparsicus) - exists only in the western Great Plains
  • New York State Route 17 (Lipseae meridie - New York southern (tier)) - currently being eaten alive by an interstate
This could be good as an annual concept for the SA: the "endangered highway". I don't think we get enough traffic at the portal on a daily basis (even AFD) to justify changing the content more frequently. Imzadi 1979 → 22:02, 20 January 2012 (UTC)
I agree with Imzadi's point that changing the portal every 6 hours may be overkill. However, if we were to completely replace the portal with the telethon idea, we could feature all 4 at the same time (assuming others don't come along). The image that came into my mind was the "Have You Seen Me" blurbs that used to appear on Milk cartons years ago, and still appear in weekly mailers in some markets. But that may be overkill. However, regardless, the Via honestus idea is awesome. Worst case we could fit that into the US-91 blub, assuming that is the selected option. Dave (talk) 22:48, 20 January 2012 (UTC)
I don't like the idea of completely replacing the portal with the four articles. I would rather have the US 91 blurb used for the SA and have a selected picture and did you know hooks, possibly related to endangered or extinct roads. Dough4872 00:09, 21 January 2012 (UTC)
Regardless of what happens with this proposal, "Did you know that New York Route 17 is being eaten alive?" is a good AFD DYK hook. Dave (talk) 20:58, 21 January 2012 (UTC)

Selected picture

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Which way are we going?

I think this is pretty interesting, but I like the Boring picture. --PCB 02:39, 19 January 2011 (UTC)

Find one that has all four directions, and we have a deal. –Fredddie™ 02:43, 19 January 2011 (UTC)
File:014 12.24.100.136 wrong way concurrency.jpg is almost all four. Its 3. --Admrboltz (talk) 05:16, 21 January 2011 (UTC)
A clever photographer caught an Amish farmer breaking the rules to beat the competition to market along Pennsylvania Route 897 in Terre Hill.
Renominate for AFD per IRC discussion. Dough4872 02:23, 30 June 2011 (UTC)
A shield for Interstate US1 in The Bronx.

Dough4872 02:11, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

How about combining this with the "Interstate 173" shield that was used last year, and the above I-290 shield above with a caption like, "will the real interstate highway shield stand up? Dave (talk) 21:00, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
  • My vote is for the tri-directional wrong-way concurrency photo that Admrboltz mentioned. We did the Interstate shield error gag last year two years ago, so let's do something else this year. Imzadi 1979 → 22:59, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
    •  DoneThat photo is:
Which way are we going?
Imzadi 1979 → 03:27, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
I don't find this to be the most entertaining. As Fredddie said, it needs to have all four directions to be funny. Dough4872 04:05, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
The problem with the other choices though is that we've done the mistaken Interstate Highway marker two years ago, and the tractor photo relies the caption for the joke. That caption contains information that's [citation needed], so I can't support it. Four directions isn't likely, and three is better than two, and still quite confusing... unfortunately if you check the map, the road is physically headed north, so I can't alter the caption to mention the fourth direction. Imzadi 1979 → 07:02, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
Personally, I like the I-US1 shield because unlike the I-173 picture from two years ago, it has the letters "US" in the shield, which is very nonstandard and a very awkward way to mark a US route. If this was just an I-1 shield, I would see your point. Dough4872 16:14, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
It's still an Interstate Highway marker created with the wrong number. The I-290 square marker will still be on the portal for the day as the link to the New York portal. How many fake Interstate markers do we need this year? Imzadi 1979 → 16:39, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

Did you know?

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This section is to hold any hooks, or alternate hooks appropriate for the April Fool's portal special edition. If a second, humorous variation of a hook can be written, it can be added here to run a second time.

  •  Done... that there's this road out in Nevada that is like, totally out of this world dude! Dave (talk) 20:14, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
    • Support. Dough4872 22:04, 25 March 2011 (UTC)
    • Support as one of my first choices. Imzadi 1979 → 00:15, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
  • ... that Interstate 40 (marker pictured) crosses Death Valley?
    The six routes of Death Valley in 2007
    The six routes of Death Valley in 2007
    Isn't "Death Valley" more applicable to the part of the road through Greensboro. Dough4872 03:47, 1 September 2010 (UTC)
    I concur with Dough. I have never heard of the Pigeon River Gorge as Death Valley. In addition, the subsection of the article linked is the subject of one of the September 2010 DYKs. — Viridiscalculus (talk) 19:13, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
    When it comes to AFD, we bend the rules. An article or a hook can appear a second time for AFD if there is a humorous angle that can be exploited a second time. US 491 appeared once as a SA, but was used again with the Main Page/TFA blurb Dave wrote for an AFD TFA. There have been duplications for DYKs already, so that's why I reposted it here. As for calling it Death Valley, I had found a reference to that term when I nominated the hook here, but the location is escaping me. Maybe we can pie that link text to "kills people" instead of "crosses Death Valley", but there's potential to mine this factoid for AFD coverage. Imzadi 1979 → 20:50, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
    However, the death valley stuff is tagged "citation needed" in that article. With that said, I-40 also passes relatively close to the real Death Valley, with it's western terminus in Barstow California not that far away, so perhaps that could be worked into as some sort of pun. Dave (talk) 16:50, 9 September 2010 (UTC)
    If you can get sources for this area being commonly called Death Valley, how about something like, "I-40 traverses 3,000 miles, from Death Valley to Death Valley".Dave (talk) 03:41, 11 September 2010 (UTC)
    The problem with that is that I-40 doesn't really pass through California's Death Valley. However, that would be pretty interesting. --PCB 01:39, 19 January 2011 (UTC)
    • Comment I really like this one if I-40 through Greensboro as Death Valley can be supported. It also allows us to use our old project image.  VC  20:58, 25 March 2011 (UTC)
  • ...that El Camino Real is ten miles long and runs through central New Mexico? — PCB 15:37, 7 April 2011 (UTC)
I get the joke, most people in California associate "El Camino Real" with US-101 (as it largely follows the path of the old El Camino Real). However, I doubt most people outside of California would get this. But it is a good start, perhaps this could be combined with a picture of a US-101 shield just to give the east coasters a hint? Dave (talk) 15:55, 7 April 2011 (UTC)
This Midwesterner got the joke, but as written, it wasn't that funny. Imzadi 1979 → 16:23, 7 April 2011 (UTC)
Yes I know that this is a reference to the 2000 presidential election and most younger folks won't get the joke, but hey it's worth a shot. =-) Dave (talk) 04:20, 10 September 2011 (UTC)

General discussion

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I realize that AFD is only a few days away, and that we need to start finalizing things soon, but I have a few general concerns. There's been a big discussion about how appropriate it is to run jokes on the Main Page for April Fool's Day. Personally, I like a little levity to show that we don't take ourselves too seriously. I guess I'd like to see some things for the portal run in the "weird, but true" or the "mildly misleading, but still accurate" vein. In the end, this is still an encyclopedia, and we should take ourselves a bit seriously, and reflect that role

  • Article: The US 91 blurb would fit this as it's being written in a bit alternate style, but I think the fake scientific names need to go as falsehoods and over the line.
  • Photo: the tri-directional wrong-way concurrency and the Interstate US 1 photos fit that concept, but we have no idea that the tractor is driven by an Amish gentleman, so we can't say that.
  • DYKs: with a little tweak, the NV-375 hook (I'd remove the "like" and "dude" to remove the Valley Girl tone), the DE/MD-54 hook, the US Highway shield hook and the US 29 hook all fit that mold. I think it's a stretch to say that NY-17 is being "eaten alive" by I-86, so that would have to be rewritten to fit an encyclopedic tone, and then it loses the joke totally.

In some ways, I'm kinda leaning towards not doing a special AFD edition of the portal next year. Convince me that we can be tongue-in-cheek without lying to our readers. Imzadi 1979 → 00:32, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

I see your point; and have mixed feelings on your proposals. While I understand and agree with your reasoning, I would add that portals are not held to the same standard as wikipedia's main page, nor do they need to be. While Wikipedia's main page is highly visible and intended for a general audience, one has to be both somewhat knowledgeable about Wikipedia's workings, as well as having a topic level interest to even know that a certain portal exists. With that said, my editing time will be limited for the next week or so and will happily defer to the judgement of the group on this matter. Dave (talk) 03:05, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
This might not be the Main Page, but it's still a Featured Portal. The AFD content for P:MISH is all in the totally accurate, but weird category. I think the closest I came to misleading readers was omitting that BS I-375 isn't signed. The point is that we should hold ourselves to a higher standard, and we still can have fun. Imzadi 1979 → 03:38, 29 March 2012 (UTC)
Well that sucked to put in the effort for US-91 for nothing, but c'est la vie. I would add though that I view the binomial names as inside jokes, not misleading. I don't see them being any more misleading than 2 or 3 of the DYK hooks currently on the main page (the one to the Janet Fish article I would say is the most "misleading" of them, I had to read 2/3rds the article before I got the joke.). Dave (talk) 02:22, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
I wouldn't say it's for nothing. We have to come up with stuff for next year after all. Imzadi 1979 → 02:30, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
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