WikiProject Oregon has existed since March 2006 (after a previous incarnation as theOregon Wikigroup Project, which was started in March 2005), and has experienced a lot of growth in late 2007 and 2008. This page is for keeping track of the project's milestones, successes, and other navel-gazing sorts of things. You may also be interested in theAdmin sub-page, which keeps track of the specific articles we monitor, or theAssessment sub-page, which keeps track of the importance and quality of those articles.
We also have anIntroductions page, in which members are encouraged to write up a brief intro of who they are and what Oregon topics interest them.
Where has Wikipedia excelled at providing information about Oregon? Share your stories here! (Note, many of these will include significant contributions from folks who haven't joined our project. No need to worry about such pesky details! These stories are meant to be useful in explaining to Oregonians why Wikipedia is cool, so "whether it's WPOR" or not isn't really important.) (See alsohttp://www.aboutus.org/Wiki_success_stories )
Barlow Road: During aCollaboration of the Week, Wikipedia editors noted that several historic sources said that Sam Barlow's party went overLolo Pass during their 1845 trip across the Cascades. This claim does not jibe with the geography of the region and other details of the trip. From a careful reading ofJoel Palmer's journals, editors discovered where the misunderstanding originated, and wrote up a more accurate account of the journey.
Mary Ramsey Wood: This Oregon pioneer is reputed to have lived to 120 years of age, in many supposedly authoritative sources. Partially on this basis, she was named the "Queen Mother of Oregon" by the Oregon Legislature. Wikipedia editors searched the census records of 1880 and 1890, and determined that she was in fact no older than 97 when she died.
List of Oregon ballot measures: The Oregon Secretary of State maintains historic information about ballot measures, but it is not as useful as it could be; the complete list contains no hyperlinks to detailed information about the measures, or other relevant information. Wikipedia has a better version which includes every single Oregon ballot measure.
William Pope McArthur: One editor created an article on a historical figure, William Pope McArthur. Within a few hours a "domino effect" of collaboration among several editors from different states led to the creation and expansion of several articles.
Wikipedia editorZab noted a discrepancy between the namesLake Creek and Lakecreek, and contacted theUSGS. The USGS approved an official name change as a result of his proposal. (SeeTalk:Lake Creek, Oregon for more details.)
Johnson Creek existed as a neglected placeholder article for over a year, untilone editor made it his mission to expand it. Enthusiasm for the article grew quickly as fifteen other editors expanded the article in several dimensions. In less than two months, the article's rating rose fromStub all the way toFeatured Article. The success of this article has inspired work onFanno Creek.
Number of English Wikipedia articles in WikiProject Oregon (blue), and total WP Oregon pages (includes categories, templates, portals, images, etc.)—2007 through March 2009
You received this invitation because of your history editing Oregon articles or discussion of Oregon topics. The Oregon WikiProject group discussion ishere. If you are interested in joining, please visit theproject page, and add your name to the list ofparticipants. New members mayread about existing members and introduce themselves here.
Did You Know awards: For every five DYKs featured on theDYK template that is part of theMain Page, you get a bronze DYK award. When you reach 10, then you trade the bronze in for the silver. Five more and trade up for gold (15 total). Get a platinum award with 50 DYKs. After that, keep the platinum and start collecting a second set, then third,... Collect them all! Self-awarded, just place with your userboxes.
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