Atlantic geology hits Wikipedia
Regular readers of this blog know that we're committed to open scientific communication, and that we're champions of wikis as one of the venues for that communication, and that we want to see more funky stuff happen at conferences. In this spirit, we hosted a Wikipedia editing session at the Atlantic Geoscience Society Colloquium in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, this past weekend.
As typically happens with these funky sessions, it wasn't bursting at the seams: The Island of Misfit Toys is not overcrowded. There were only 7 of us: three Agilistas, another consultant, a professor, a government geologist, and a student. But it's not the numbers that matter (I hope), it's the spirit of the thing. We were a keen bunch and we got quite a bit done. Here are the articles we started or built upon:
- Walton, Nova Scotia — the location of a once-important barite mine
- Maritimes Basin — the composite basin that encompasses much of Nova Scotia's geology
- Atlantic Geoscience Society — the society that hosted the event (see box, right)
- Atlantic Geology — the peer-reviewed journal of the society that hosted the event
- Bloody Creek crater — a recently discovered and rather rare impact crater in Nova Scotia
- Blue Beach — a globally important site for Tournaisian geology
- Tantramar Marshes — an expanse of tidal salt marshes in Nova Scotia
All of these pages are still (and always will be) works in progress. But we added 5 new pages and a substantial amount of material with our 28 or so hours of labour. Considering most of those who came had never edited a wiki before, I'm happy to call this a resounding success.
Much of my notes from the event could be adapted to any geoscience wiki editing session — use them as a springboard to get some champions of open-access science together at your next gathering. If you'd like our help, get in touch.