Dealing with inactive WikiProjects
Identifying
Inactive wikiprojects will have {{
inactive}} added, either directly or via the inactive parameter of {{
Infobox WikiProject}}. There are several options in dealing with inactive wikiprojects. The usual procedure is to identify projects whose main page hasn't been substantively changed for several months, and whose talk page has received nothing other than routine or automated announcements, or unanswered queries from non-participants, for several months. Alternatively, you may wish to sort through the list of named participants, placing indefinitely blocked accounts and users who have made no edits to Wikipedia for long periods (e.g., over a year) under a separate heading (you may wish to notify the users that you have done so, in case they return). If no active members remain in the list, then the project is inactive.
Revival
Any editor may revive an inactive WikiProject. There are a number of things you can do to help revive an inactive or semi-active project. If you come up with something new, please list it here!
- Update the project page as appropriate: replace the inactive tag with {{
semi-active}}, or remove the existing semi-active tag. Archive old clutter (clean and simple is better for attracting new members), use
generic WikiProject templates appropriately to organise content (e.g., {{
Infobox WikiProject}}) and make use of any helpful automation the project hasn't been using (see section above).
- Provide clear suggestions on what members can do, using
todo lists, {{
tasks}} and cleanup listings, and perhaps linking to relevant pages elsewhere. You can use the {{
WikiProject help}} template, either directly or as inspiration.
- Create any missing userbox, project banner, or user invite templates. See whether the assessment system for the project banner works, and fix it if not.
- Notify existing participants of your efforts and invite them to contribute, to make suggestions, or to leave a note on the project's talk page about what they're currently editing.
- To try to gain new participants, individually invite active users who have been substantively involved with the topic to join the project or watchlist its page. This can be done with a personal, handcrafted message or a standardized invitation template.
- Use automation (see above) to ensure most if not all appropriate pages are tagged with the project banner, thus promoting the project to those who may be interested. (Don't go overboard with this... in general, don't tag a page not within the project's main category unless you could justify making it the project's Collaboration of the Month.)
- Provide a
Special:RecentChangesLinked link on the project page, using the project's article category. (For project Wikipedia:WikiProject X, this will generally be Category:X articles, Category:WikiProject X articles, or X work group articles. Try it and see.) This gives an easy way to see recent relevant talk page discussions.
Example.
- Seek out collaboration with related projects. Tell them that the project is active, invite them to help, and ask whether there is an article of mutual interest that both groups could collaborate on.
- Notify the
Wikipedia Signpost WikiProject desk of your attempt.
- Respond promptly to queries and post occasional messages at the WikiProject's talk page to let people know what you're working on and how they can help.
If you have any questions about related technical issues, try the
Help Desk.
Other options
If you (or someone else) has already done the above or it simply looks hopeless, consider one of these options:
- Merger. Consider proposing a merger with another wikiproject. This might be a related project of a similar type, with the two projects being reconstituted as part of a new one. More commonly it might be that the inactive project could become a taskforce of a parent project.
- Mark as defunct. In some cases projects are simply superceded (e.g., merged elsewhere), have served their stated purpose, or have been inactive for so long that they are unlikely ever to be revived. These may be tagged as defunct rather than inactive; see the usage notes and guidelines at {{
defunct}}.
- Deletion. In rare cases, deletion may be appropriate. This might be appropriate for completely inactive projects which have no substantive history and serve no residual purpose even without activity (e.g., due to automation or information presented). Projects must also meet the guidelines for being marked as defunct (see {{
defunct}}).
WP:MFD is the appropriate forum to propose this.
If you are considering taking any significant steps in this area which others might object to, take care to give appropriate notice to all parties of your proposals (including the
WikiProject Council). Often it will be feasible to notify all listed participants who have been active on Wikipedia in the recent past (even if not recently active on the project). If proposing a merger, be sure to propose this at the merger target and do not take approval for granted.
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