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Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals/Synapsids

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The following discussion is an archived proposal of the WikiProject below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the project's talk page (if created) or the WikiProject Council). No further edits should be made to this page.

The resulting WikiProject was not created.

UnitedStatesian (talk) 00:12, 11 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Description[edit]

A project dedicated to Synapsids. I propose we create a Synapsids WikiProject as there is currently only WikiProject:Animals, WikiProject:Palaeontology and WikiProject Amphibians and Reptiles (although Synapsids are not reptiles but the synapsid page is important to the WikiProject (they use to be classified under Reptilia but are no longer classified as such)). It also allows for those who want to specialise on synapsids to have their own area as both Animals and palaeontology are quite broad and can be considered less strict.  Lavalizard101 (talk) 19:23, 7 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

List of important pages and categories for this proposed group

List of WikiProjects currently on the talk pages of those articles
Please invite these and any other similar groups to join the discussion about this proposal. See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Council/Directory to find similar WikiProjects.
Why do you want to start a new group, instead of joining one of these existing groups?

Both WikiProject Palaeontology and WikiProject:Animals could be considered quite broad and Synapsida is a major taxonomic grouping of the same importance as Reptilia (although WikiProject Palaeontology can also be used for a lot of the pages that would go in this project at the same time (as Wikiproject:Palaeontology also deals with extinct taxa and Synapsids include extinct taxa).

Support[edit]

Also, specify whether or not you would join the project.

  1. Lavalizard101 (talk) 19:23, 7 May 2018 (UTC) I may join depending on where I end up specialising at the end of studying for a BSc Hons in Palaeontology.[reply]

Discussion[edit]

  • I see no compelling reason why we need another Wiki project for this. The palaeontology project is undermanned as is, splitting it up further will only make centralised coordination harder. FunkMonk (talk) 20:29, 7 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • I more or less agree with Funk Monk. We've already had to close projects for Pterosaurs and "Sea Monsters" for lack of activity. That being said if you want to try anyway, I don't actively oppose it, I just think you're wasting your time. Abyssal (talk) 21:07, 7 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • Agree with above two, dinosaurs able to sustain itself due to large amateur interest in the topic, same interest does not exist for synapsids, and will not be able to sustain activity for a significant amount of time.Hemiauchenia (talk) 21:58, 7 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • Agree with all above comments, there's just not enough activity to be able to divide paleontology up more, WP:PALEO and WP:MAMMALS already cover all included topics. IJReid {{T - C - D - R}} 22:29, 7 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Comment I have just had a thought, what about a Synapsid taskforce? Lavalizard101 (talk) 11:44, 10 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Could work, but again, who would it consist of? Do we have any editors at all who focus on synapsid articles? FunkMonk (talk) 11:46, 10 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • I also agree with the above respondents, I would add that since there is projects for mammals and many subsets of them, this is going to overlap those significantly also. Yes I get you would bring in the fossils and its likely the projects on living species have a different focus, but between the above mentioned lack of contributors and the overlap, I think this will just run out of steam if not be a task force of one or two. Cheers Scott Thomson (Faendalimas) talk 12:45, 3 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I will just add, that with the benefit of hindsite Wikipedia may have been better off setting up projects along these lines, ie synapsid, diapsid etc instead of what they have. It would have been more inclusive of all, brought paleontology and taxonomy together which is much needed (I say that as a scientist who does both), but it is too late now. Cheers Scott Thomson (Faendalimas) talk 12:49, 3 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]
The palao project was also created surprisingly late (2008), and only then made previously started projects redundant. So it has been a bit of a mess. FunkMonk (talk) 13:47, 9 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose. One ambitious editor does not warrant a new project or task-force, especially one with substantial overlap with existing projects. See WikiProject Oligochaetes, WikiProject Phasmatodea, and WikiProject Mantodea for case studies in poorly planned projects, and a lengthy discussion regarding the relation of WP:BEETLES and WP:INSECTS, and the merits (or lack thereof) of proposed sub-projects and task forces. WikiProjects are resources for editors (humans), not subjects, and there is no compelling reason to think that this will attract a significantly different group of editors than those already active in the above projects. --Animalparty! (talk) 20:19, 8 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • Agreed with the critics above. At most, there could maybe be a synapsids taskforce/workgroup of Wikiproject Paleontology. Any other offshoots of that project should probably be merged as taskforces. We need to do a lot more such merging, because wikiprojects are dying like flies as the editorial pool shrinks, and as noted above, fragmenting major projects micro-topically tends to defeat the ability of the broader-topic ones to actually organize editorial activity.  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  04:12, 10 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]


The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the project's talk page (if created) or at the WikiProject Council). No further edits should be made to this page.
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