Follow us

Monday, August 10, 2015

GSoW TAM13 Workshop flyer for editing class.





This is the worksheet I handed out at the "Learn to edit like a GSoW editor and change the world Mwahahahaahhaha! workshop.

It is possible that the directions will make little sense without context. If you have questions please contact us at GSoWteam@gmail.com


==============================================================


To edit a Wikipedia page...
1) Click on the Edit tab at the TOP right of the page.
2) Make your change
3) Click Preview at the bottom of the edit screen and review your changes. If correct then put a reason for the edit in the “Edit Summary” box.
4) Click Save
5) Congratulate yourself!

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Adding a Hyperlink...

Add two brackets around the word/phrase/name like this...

[[James Randi]]

The words inside the brackets must match the Wikipedia page you want to hyperlink to exactly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE - I've come to realize that the following examples of verbiage may not be the best for non-native English speakers. So below these examples I offer other examples that use more common words than "evangelism" and "billet reading". 

Often an editor wants to hyperlink to a Wikipedia page but wants other words to appear.

Examples...

You want the page to say... “One of his earliest reported experiences is that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the one-ahead.”

You want to explain what the “one-ahead” and “evangelist” is. So you want to make a hyperlink to those Wikipedia pages that will explain what those terms are. The Wikipedia page for “evangelist” is actually called “Evangelism” And the Wikipedia page for “one-ahead” is actually called “billet reading” But those words would not sound correct to the reader of your James Randi page.

One of his earliest reported experiences is that of seeing an [[Evangelism]] using a version of [[billet reading]].”

This is the correct way the edit will look once you are done.

One of his earliest reported experiences is that of seeing an [[Evangelism|evangelist]] using a version of the "[[billet reading|one-ahead]]"

Use the “bar symbol” in-between the words. The “bar symbol” is located below the backspace key. The left side is written exactly as the Wikipedia page you want to link to. The right side is what you want the reader to see.

Here are other examples of how this sentence could look...

According to [[James Randi|Randi]], one of [[Ray Hyman|Hyman]]'s earliest reported experiences is that of seeing an [[Evangelism|evangelist]] using a version of the "[[billet reading|one-ahead]]"

More examples....

This is from the Harry Houdini Wikipedia page...

" Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, [[straitjacket]]s under water, and having to escape from and [[apnea|hold his breath]] inside a sealed milk can."

Obviously if the sentence read... "and having to escape from and apnea inside a sealed milk can." it would make no sense.  The phrase "hold his breath" is NOT a Wikipedia page. So we can't link to a Wikipedia page called "hold his breath"  The editor wants to explain the phrase "hold his breath" for anyone who wants to know that it means "apnea".

From the Christopher Hitchens Wikipedia page...

"... describing himself as a socialist and a Marxist, Hitchens began his break from the established political left"

The word "socialist" should be defined with a hyperlink for anyone not familiar with the term.

The page you would use to get more information is called "Democratic socialism".  Obviously the sentence "... describing himself as a Democratic socialism and a Marxist..."

So the edit when written correctly would look like this ...
" describing himself as a [[Democratic socialism|socialist]] and a Marxist, Hitchens began his break from the established political left..."


Lesson 2 – Adding a authorlink to a citation...

  1. Randi, James. "Teleportation Magic Established By Science, At Last!”. Swift (Blog). JREF. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
    You want to make the name James Randi hyperlink to his Wikipedia page.
First click on the “Edit” tab on the TOP right of the Wikipedia page.

Find the reference/citation that needs to have the authorlink added to. It probably will look something like this.

<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/1194-teleportation-magic-established-by-science-at-last.html |title=Teleportation Magic Established By Science, At Last! |last=Randi |first=James | work=Swift |publisher=JREF |type=Blog |accessdate=January 19, 2011}}</ref>

You will add this |authorlink=James Randi|   (make sure it is a lower-case "a" in "authorlink")

You will add it right after the word “James” in the citation above. It will look like this when done correctly.

<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/1194-teleportation-magic-established-by-science-at-last.html |title=Teleportation Magic Established By Science, At Last! |last=Randi |first=James |authorlink=James Randi| work=Swift |publisher=JREF |type=Blog |accessdate=January 19, 2011}}</ref>

Remember that you must write the authorlink exactly as the Wikipedia page you are linking to appears.


Stat Tool - http://stats.grok.se/

NOTES

Monday, August 3, 2015

The GSoW Vaccination Project - Feb - July 2015

From time to time GSoW likes to unite the entire team to focus on one subject. For 6 months we focused on all things concerning vaccinations. It took us a couple months to find our feet and actually get the ball rolling, once done the team was passionate about getting things done. (Not all work mentioned below was completed during the Vax focus months)

We take great pride in showcasing our work, these pages generate hundreds of thousands of page views each year, and will continue to do so year after year. All work is exponential as we can build off the pages created, as well as translate them into other languages.

Officially we finished the Vaccine project, but team members will continue to work in this area as there is much work left to be done. We will be moving on to a new focus Jan - June 2016 on a topic still undecided. If you have suggestions please comment here on our blog or write to us at GSoWteam@gmail.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ENGLISH 

Charlie Sheen's Wikipedia page (thanks to Gene) and is getting about 4K views a day.


Northern Rivers Vaccination Supporters (Brand New Page) - This page was written by one of the new English editors, James Williams, about a group of concerned citizens in the part of Australia with the lowest vaccination rate. The article was reviewed by Susan Gerbic, Janyce Boynton and Leon Korteweg.

Fun Fact - The NRVS people were unaware of the creation of their Wikipedia page, it was decided that as the Brisbane Skeptics were having a SkeptiCamp on Saturday July 4th and at least one member of the NRVS team would be in attendance, GSoW would delay announcement of the page.  Susan Gerbic and James Williams gave the skepticamp organizers a video where James surprised the audience with the page. Video here


Brian Deer - Updated by Jim Preston - Before & After - This is the Science reporter that exposed anti-vax Doctor Andrew Wakefield. 

Every Child by Two - Page rewritten by Janyce Boynton - Before & After Founded in 1991 by Rosalynn Carter and Betty Bumpers to "raise awareness of the critical need for timely immunizations and to foster a systematic way to immunize all of America's children by age two."

Sherri Tenpenny (before) & (after) - Susan Gerbic - with the assistance of Jo Alabaster & Phil Kent (non-GSoW)

Leon Jaroff - (Brand New Page) - Written by Janyce Boynton, this biography is about the founding editor of popular science magazine Discover, and co-founder of CSICOP, the first successful skeptical organisation in the United States. (reviewed by Leon Korteweg)

Stephanie Messenger (Brand New Page) - Susan Gerbic - This is the anti-vax author of Melanie's Marvelous Measles which encourages children to seek out and embrace measles in order to make themselves stronger. The Melanie's Marvelous Measles Wikipedia page was written by Susan Gerbic in May 2015.

Steven Novella - Page updated and rewritten by various GSoW editors

The Mark Crislip/QuackCast page was an embarrassment. It is what I call a "non-scroller" which means you don't have to scroll to see the whole page.  Our community really should be ashamed that we allow pages like this to exist on Wikipedia.   Sean Whitcomb got to work and turned out this amazing transformation.  We contacted Mark for audio and I think he wins for funniest Intro Audio.  After

Rachael Dunlop now has a brand new page (with audio) written by new editor Sean Whitcomb. Rachael has been sitting on our list since we started collecting people to put on our list. She kept getting passed over, not because we were worried that there wouldn't be enough information, but because creating a page from scratch is a lot of work. I think Sean and team did a terrific job. Rachael was also featured on the front page of English Wikipedia as a Did You Know... Here are the stat views during that day.


Michelle Bachman - page updated by Janyce Boynton with HPV statements.

Bill Maher - Quotes from scientific skepticism community added concerning Maher's anti-vax comments. "Tara Parker-Pope and former Senator Bill Frist have called his criticism of the H1N1 flu vaccinations unscientific. Infectious diseases expert Paul Offit has written that misinformation about vaccines from celebrities like Maher has put children at unnecessary risk. Offit says that celebrities like Maher are seen as "less credible" and would still be considered just "great entertainment" if they weren't joined by the former Director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Bernadine Healy and influential pediatrician, Dr. Robert Sears.  OncologistDavid Gorski has also criticized Maher's beliefs about vaccines several times in ScienceBlogs, and when Maher received the Richard Dawkins Award in 2009, Gorski wrote it was inappropriate. Skeptics, including mathematician and science writer Martin Gardner, neurologist Steven Novella, and magician Jamy Ian Swiss have also strongly rebuked Maher, characterizing him as anti-science, uninformed and potentially endangering the health of fans who take his "non-medical" advice.  Maher responded to the criticism, saying, "What I've read about what they think I'm saying is not what I've said. I'm not a germ theory denier. I believe vaccinations can work. Polio is a good example. Do I think in certain situations that inoculating Third World children against malaria or diphtheria, or whatever, is right? Of course. In a situation like that, the benefits outweigh costs. But to me living in Los Angeles? To get a flu shot? No.'"
Maher's Wikipedia page receives ~50K views a month

David Gorski - Brand New Page created - Oncologist and editor of Science Based Medicine Website - critic of alt-med and anti-vax. 

Scott Lilienfeld - Brand New Page created - Janyce Boynton

Dorit Reiss - (Brand New Page) - Monica Quijano - Immunization advocate focuses on legal issues concerning vaccination.

Measles - András G. Pintér - Before After (Pseudoscientific claims added - Stefan Lanka and the €100 000 to be payed)

Wendy Sue Swanson - editor Janyce Boynton - Brand New Page created Wendy Sue Swanson (born 1974) is a pediatrician, educator and author best known for her Seattle Mama Doc blog. As a doctor and a mother, Swanson advocates the use of online tools, such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, to strengthen communication between healthcare providers and patients. Swanson asserts that online technologies can assist patients and families in becoming stewards of their own health. Swanson has dedicated her career to helping physicians learn to use online tools more effectively in helping patients make informed decisions based in science. "While we don't have the capability just yet," Swanson states, "my goal is to prove that an empowered and informed patient reduces health care costs and improves outcomes.

This Did You Know? Appeared on the front page of Wikipedia May 2, 2015


HUNGARIAN

Kanyaró (huwiki) - András G. Pintér - Before After (Hungarian Measles page. Antivax movement section and pseudoscience section added)

HLakos András - András G. Pintér - Brand new page (well known infectologist, MD, specializing in Lyme and other diseases spread by ticks, often debates anti-vax activists)

PORTUGUESE

Steven Novella - Nix Dorf - New Page Created

DUTCH

Steven Novella - Rian van Lierop - New Page Created

-----------------------------------------------------------
A lot remains to be done. We barely got a part of the way through all the ideas on our work list. Editors will continue to pluck away at the list, but we will be moving forward. Jan-June 2016 we will focus on a yet undecided area. If you have an opinion on the matter please contact us on our Facebook Page.

As usual if you would like to know more about the GSoW project, please check out our YouTube channel. There you will learn all about the project, what to expect when training and afterwards. This project is not for everyone, so please inform yourself before writing to us at GSoWteam@gmail.com