Some Wikipedians have formed a WikiProject to improve and standardize the quality of all Apple Macintosh related articles to featured article standard. This is an important WikiProject because it will help hundreds of articles become more noticed and recognized and reliable sources of detailed and concise information in the area of business, software (including games), hardware and biographies all relating to the Apple Macintosh and Apple Inc..
Although the English Wikipedia is probably the most complete encyclopedia in existence for Apple Macintosh information, this does not mean it covers every topic in the detail that it can. The main goal of this project is to ensure that Wikipedia has concise and detailed articles about every subject relating to the Apple Macintosh and Apple Computers. There are lists of articles that need to be worked on, in their own categories including OS, Biography, hardware, software and Business. The Project also endeavors to unite Wikipedians knowledgeable about Apple and their products to work on the improvement focus article as a community and improve that article to featured status.
This WikiProject was founded by User:Wackymacs on 06:40, December 4, 2005.
To get an article to featured article status, make sure to follow these steps to ensure all articles we submit to Featured article candidates meet the FA criteria. All of these apply to almost any good article, so keep them in mind when editing even outside of Macintosh articles. The suggestions are:
Write a good lead. Be sure to write a lead that concisely summarizes the entire article into one or two paragraphs which make sense to someone who may know nothing about the subject.
Use good spelling and grammar. This is a very important aspect of an article. If you edit Wikipedia using Safari on Mac OS X, you can use the built-in spelling checker accessible from the Edit menu to check spelling in an article.
Use footnotes. Take advantage of the footnote ability Wikipedia has. Instead of including html links inside the context, include them as footnotes. See Wikipedia:Footnotes on how to use them.
Use images if possible. Images enhance articles greatly, but only use them when they are necessary, and ensure that their copyright status has been specified and we are allowed to use it on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia:Images for more information.
Use references. This is an encyclopedia, so remember to include a ==References== section listing websites, newspapers, articles, books and other sources you used to write the article. An article will not get accepted as a featured article candidate if it is missing references. See Wikipedia:Verifiability, Wikipedia:Cite sources and Wikipedia:References.
Stay on topic. Many articles are criticized for length; sticking to the subject matter helps eliminate this. Know that causes are more important than effects: The fact that Apple Computer is the maker of the Apple Macintosh (an effect from the view of the former) is not as helpful as as, say, how the new iMac explains the 1998 jump in sales (a cause of something pertaining to the company).
Keep it simple. Remember that although these are computer articles, the average reader should be able to comprehend the erudition. This is not to say that tech specs are bad—they do have their place on Wikipedia—but articles should explain terms such as "Megahertz", " RAM", and "256x256 B&W bitmap display" (taken from an actual article). And although you should use a broad vocabulary of regular, non-technical terms, do not provide such a quantity of locutions as to impel those who aspire to derive serviceable information from the article to consult a dictionary.
Use common sense. You should know what perfect articles look like. They cover everything they should without going on forever. Common sense could have told you almost all of the items mentioned above. Ultimately, assume good faith, be bold, and go out there and write some good articles.
The main articles we're working on are the current Macintosh collaboration and the FAC (the collaboration emeritus, if you will). They are stated above but are restated here:
Those looking to edit as a community are urged to focus on the above articles. If you prefer to fly solo, however, consider the articles listed below. Note that these often entail less description. These are articles which you would be hard-pressed to bring up to featured quality. Bolded articles have a high possibility of becoming the improvement focus in the near future (next few months).
The IPod article is currently very near becoming featured, and is currently being Peer Reviewed. — Wackymacs 12:39, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
There is a straw poll to see what usage to adopt as far as copyrighted items that begin with a lowercase letter (like iTunes, iMac, iBook, etc.).
Apple Macintosh goes live on the Main Page as Featured and instantly receives a ton of vandalism. Semi-protection is needed, any admin should probably do this now.
Is a Mac an Apple? Is it an Apple Mac? Or Apple's Mac? Discuss.
If you want to be a participant, simply sign your name and date using four tildes (~~~~). Please read the "Obligations" section below before you commit to the WikiProject! If you decide to leave, move your name to the appropriate section rather than deleting it so we have it as an archive.
Members
Flightsoffancy (talk)17:13, 26 May 2008 (UTC) I will adopt the PowerBook 500 page, it's sometime I am near/dear too, and wrote a full web page about in 1996
--Cjmarsicano 22:16, 14 December 2005 (UTC) First touched an Apple computer (a //c) in high school, strayed into Windoze territory a few years before the Internet, finally bought a Powerbook G4 in the Summer of 2004 with the advice and encouragement of Mike Watt.
TDS(talk • contribs) 13:06, 16 December 2005 (UTC) If I have time.
bbatsell; give me a ring »]] 11:03, 17 December 2005 (UTC)
Chris Saribay 07:40, 4 February 2006 (UTC) Made major contributions to the iBook Wikipedia article. By in large a Mac evangelist, I'm currently equipped with a 2.7 GHz Power Mac G5
GriffenMac 22:55, 4 February 2006 (UTC) - Currently have an iBook and a Macintosh SE
JGorton 23:38, 21 February 2006 (UTC) - Brought to you by an iBook G4
Crampy20 9:23pm (GMT), 25 Febuary 2006 - Apple is a great company and like all companies they have flaws, in my way i want to show all "Mac Freaks" that Apple, while great, isnt perfect...
Gwernol 04:41, 27 February 2006 (UTC) Spent four years working at Infinite Loop on QuickTime and Mac OS X technologies. Contributing to Apple software pages and history.
danamania 19:09, 2 March 2006 (UTC) I have far too large a collection of old Macs to not share it with the world. This I can do through contributing photographs.
Pyro3d 00:03, 17 September 2007 (UTC) - I can work on the iPod Games portion. I started the Vortex Article and have continues to try to keep it up to date.
JustSomeGuyToo (talk) 11:36, 27 September 2008 (UTC) Adopting the Apple SOS page
GrammarWatch (talk) 1:26, 30 September 2008 (UTC) Avid Mac owner since '86 - came across this after having set the PB1400 page right - would like to take a discerning eye to the other 603e 'Books as well - looking forward to working with all of you!
Loose associates
grm_wnr. Signed on 08:39, 5 December 2005 (UTC); moved to associate status 08:17, December 23, 2005 (UTC)
jacobolus(t). Put my name here: 09:55, 8 March 2006 (UTC)
Frijole 19:46, 4 October 2006 (UTC) can't commit to any real amount of work, but doing some cleanups and stuff where and when I can.
Firin§ 09:38, 16 October 2006 (UTC)previously SE, LCIII, 4400, iMacG3, currently an iMacG4, iBook and mini. Adminning a company with 30 macs; probably not focused enough to be a real project member, but happy to answer (lots of) questions.
ChristTrekker ⇔ no time to keep up with all the goings-on of this project (and thus not full member) but will contribute to Mac-related articles
Beforedecay 17:41, 19 March 2007 (UTC) No time or will to submit to the "obligations" list, I'm very knowledgeable of the Mac OS 9 system (this includes a huge number of programs, as well as Control Panels, Control Strips, Control Menu Module, Extensions, etc).
15:19, 2 April 2007 (UTC) I was originally a member since February 2006, under my old account name of "User:Tachikoma", but my editing has branched out to other areas, and I don't think it's fair to still call myself a full-time member.
User:3232330 12:27 12 April 2007 (UTC) I have used Macs since I was 2 years old. I currently own a Blue&White G3 Mac runing Mac OSX v10.4.
Rschen7754 (talk - contribs) 07:14, 21 December 2005 (UTC) I cannot say in good faith that I participate in this project, as WP:USRD has been taking all my time.
hydnjotalk Just stumbled here so I'm sayin' my name.
Rverduzco (talk) 21:51, 23 October 2008 (UTC) I use a Core 2 Duo MacBook running Leopard. Let's see if I can write some useful contributions and probably become a full time member later.
Former members
02:33, 3 April 2006 (UTC) -- Mac mini (left Wikipedia on September 27, 2006)
Nobody, member or otherwise, is really forced into doing anything for the WikiProject. However, we request that each member follow certain baseline duties:
Put {{User WikiProject Macintosh}} (see below) on your userpage to add it to Category:WikiProject Macintosh members, or add the page manually. Also, put {{Project Macintosh}} in your user or talk page where you can be kept up to date via the "News" section. This is not a substitute for the whole section on this page, though.
Contribute, at least minimally, to the improvement focus.
Participate in the voting for the FAC. You can vote to support, oppose, or be neutral—but vote. You can also vote to choose the next improvement focus.
Be generally active in the affairs of the WikiProject. This includes being up to date on current events (the News section above is great for that).
There's no point for your username to be in the list above if you have to struggle to meet these guidelines. As long as it's your name you're moving to the Former members section, it's fine—although we'd prefer that you step up to the plate and participate.
Templates
To further spread the word about this project, use these templates. Please realize that all the images of these templates are subject to change by a vote. Also note that when a template has "WikiProject Macintosh" (bolded), it means that it links to this page (all self referring links are bolded).
For article talk pages
{{WikiProject Macintosh}} is for all Apple products that are not and were not the focus:
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Macintosh. This means that the WikiProject has identified it as an article pertaining to Apple Computer, but is not currently working to improve it. WikiProject Macintosh itself is an attempt to improve, grow, standardize, and attain featured status for Wikipedia's articles related to Apple Macintosh and Apple Computer. We need all your help, so join in today!
This article is the currentMacintosh collaboration! It has been in the spotlight since DATE and will be until such time that it is a featured article candidate, and passes. The Collaboration is managed by WikiProject Macintosh, an attempt to improve, grow, and standardize Wikipedia's articles related to Apple Macintosh and Apple Computer.
This article is a formerMacintosh collaboration. It was in the spotlight from DATE to DATE. The Collaboration is managed by WikiProject Macintosh, an attempt to improve, grow, and standardize Wikipedia's articles related to Apple Macintosh and Apple Computer.
Wikipedia software cannot display the first letter of a title as lowercase. However, Apple has many articles that do just that. {{lowercase}} should be used, it is rendered as:
The correct title of this article is {{{1}}}. The initial letter is capitalized due to technical restrictions.
Note that it has a category attached to it. Also note that although it is not strictly for the WikiProject, it deserves mention here because of its high applicability.
{{mac specs}} is an infobox for articles about specific Macintosh models, mostly used on older (pre-Quadra) models at present. See Macintosh II for an example of the template in action. It does not put the article in any categories.
{{Apple}} is a navigational template for Apple Inc.-related articles. See it in use on the bottom of Apple Inc. It does not come with a category.
{{Apple hardware since 1998}} is a navigational template for Apple hardware articles, preferably recent ones as the name says. See it used on the bottom of iPod.
{{Apple software}}. Like the hardware template but for Apple software.
For user pages
{{Project Macintosh}} for your user page or your talk page to keep track of this project (template shown at the top of this page). It does not add a category. This is now more important then ever because of the "News" section; it is an easy way to contact all members and keep them informed.
{{User WikiProject Macintosh}} is for Babel tags. It adds the page to Category:WikiProject Macintosh members. If you do not wish to display this template, add the category by regular means to your userpage. If you do wish to use the template, put "WikiProject Macintosh" in your Babel template (don't forget to adjust the number at the start of the template as to accommodate this!) and it turns out as:
Mac articles, templates & categories currently listed for deletion.
Please add the following to the debate when listing it here: * <span style="font-size: smaller;">Note: This debate has been added to the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Macintosh/Deletion|list of Mac deletions]]. ~~~~</span>