Increasing Category Content

by berk

We are bombarded daily with information everywhere, from televised newscasts and billboard advertisements to interpersonal discussions and much more. There is no end to the stream of information, yet the Open Encyclopedia Project (OEP), which aims to be a comprehensive repository of information, just captures an infinitesimal portion of human knowledge. Despite this wealth of information, we can still sometimes find it difficult to add content to our categories.

Here are a few suggestions to help build your categories:

• List items. When encountering "writer's block", simply listing items can help build a framework for future editing when more inspiration comes. Some categories almost automatically build themselves. There is an endless supply of new movies and music groups; novels and books are being written by an increasing number of authors; and, snapshots of history change everyday. Finding items to list in other categories may be more difficult, but possible (e.g., Computers has programming languages, Society has religions, and Turkey has cities). Items can be listed as sections in a category or as individual subcategories. Keep in mind to at least add stubs to the subcategories to avoid leaving them empty.

• Read. Reading for your category may seem like common sense, but it does not always happen. Prolific readers of a particular topic generally have more to say about it, which translates into more sections for the category. Reading helps generate ideas of new topics or subcategories to add. Even if you discover an interest or idea in a completely different category, your contribution in that category still builds OEP. Newspapers and magazines are particularly good sources of diverse topics. You should properly cite the sources. This also helps for the information to be verified or updated in the future by others.

• Learn related topics. We may be interested or be knowledgeable in a particular category in which we edit, but this may not apply to all subcategories. A Science editor may have a strong Mathematics and Physics background, but not know much about Astronomy or Chemistry. If an editor does not exist for the sub-category, then not only does it become our responsibility, but it would probably also be relatively sparse. You may not need to be an expert in the related field, but basic knowledge will at least lead to several stubs for the sub-category, and the growth of the parent categories.

• Stubbing. The astute reader would have noticed that every suggestion above involves some variation of "stubbing" (writing a short section to fill an empty category). Some may refer to stubs as low quality space-fillers. Instead, the main idea is that not every section requires a well-researched article. Sometimes, the definition of a term or explanation of a concept is adequate. Every category and sub-category should at the very least have an overview description and some basic information. And if the editor has the desire in the future, he or she can develop the dissertation in place of or in addition to the previous stubs.

With the army of editors contributing daily to the development of OEP, this project has a bright future. Nonetheless, the depth of human knowledge grows faster than we can record it. There will always be something to add somewhere in your category. If you feel lost at any time, I have always found many volunteers eager to help at OEP. Happy Editing!