Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Appalachia/Archive 1

Welcome to the new project

First off, I'm a novice when it comes to creating project pages, so if something doesn't look right or if it looks like something normally found on project pages is missing from this one, by all means change it or add it. I'm just learning as I go along.

Feel free to add at will to the list of articles needing attention, I just added what I could think of off the top of my head. Also, be sure to add the template — {{AppalachiaProject}} — to discussion pages of relevant articles you encounter.

I'll get started on the overhaul of the Appalachia article, since it's one of our flagship articles. Bms4880 (talk) 22:34, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

Appalachia overhaul outline

Over the next few days, I'm going to be working off and on to improve this article. This is a broad outline I'm going to follow, unless there are any objections. If I've omitted anything, be sure to add it.

I. Lede
II. Geographic and political boundaries

A. Brief description of mountains

B. Appalachian Regional Commission

III. History (this will focus on its history as a cohesive region)

A. Early nomenclature

B. Early awareness as a single region (e.g., 1800-1865)

C. Civil War

1. Complex sentiments in Southern Appalachia

D. William Frost, Horace Kephart, national forests

E. 1930s— New Deal, Nevin Fenneman, USDA survey (1935)

F. 1960s— War on Poverty, Caudill, Harrington

G. Recent history

IV. People and culture

A. Ethnic influences

B. Religion

C. Folklore

D. Music

E. Literature

F. Language

V. Economy

A. Agriculture

B. Industry

1. Logging

2. Mining

3. Manufacturing

C. Labor unrest

D. Tourism

E. Federal government initiatives

F. Transportation (truncate and branch off to its own article)

Bms4880 (talk) 19:23, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

List of subranges of the Appalachian Mountains

I'm going to create a list of subranges of the Appalachian Mountains, and I've come up with the outline below. If there is a better way to present this, then by all means suggest it. Also, I'm only vaguely familiar with the northern and central parts of the range, so if you're familiar with these areas please check my accuracy.

Northern Appalachians

Long Range Mountains

Annieopsquotch Mountains

Chic-Choc Mountains

Notre Dame Mountains

Longfellow Mountains

White Mountains

Mahoosuc Range

Presidential Range

Green Mountains

Presidential Range

The Berkshires

Taconic Mountains

Allegheny Plateau

Catskill Mountains

The Poconos

Allegheny Mountains

Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians

Piedmont

Blue Ridge Mountains

Northern Blue Ridge Mountains (i.e., north of Roanoke Gap)

Southern Blue Ridge Mountains

Eastern Blue Ridge Front

Black Mountains

Great Balsam Mountains

Western Blue Ridge Front ("Unaka Front")

Iron Mountains

Unaka Mountains

Bald Mountains

Great Smoky Mountains

Unicoi Mountains

Blue Ridge cross-ridges

Grandfather Mountain

Roan Highlands

Plott Balsams

Cumberland Plateau

Cumberland Mountains

Crab Orchard Mountains

Bms4880 (talk) 21:02, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

Category

I created a category, Category:Subranges of the Appalachian Mountains, to organize these subranges. If I missed any, be sure to add them. Bms4880 (talk) 20:29, 8 January 2010 (UTC)

User box

I created one for interested project members. Geologik (talk) 23:07, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

This user is a member of WikiProject Appalachia.

{{User:Geologik/Userboxes/WikiProject Appalachia}}

That's excellent. I moved it to the templates section. Bms4880 (talk) 23:16, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. :) I tweaked the box a bit. Found an actual map of Appalachia on commons and changed the colors. I can leave it as is, change it back, or if anyone else is interested, they can play around with it. Geologik (talk) 23:29, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

I changed the text color to black, as it was difficult to read the white text on the teal background. Other than that, it looks great. Feel free to play around with the other two templates, if you get a chance. Bms4880 (talk) 23:58, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

Dark Holler: Old Love Songs and Ballads

I just created an article on Dark Holler: Old Love Songs and Ballads. Just a stub but has some interesting things about Appalachian music/culture, especially related to Madison County, North Carolina --Omarcheeseboro (talk) 01:44, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Not a stub; look at the definitions. You've got a song box, footnotes, etc. Nice start. Dwalls (talk) 04:39, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Omar- I'm going to write an article for the Wallin Family, so if you get a chance, post any of the liner notes' biographical info for Lee, Cas, and Berzilla to my talk page. Cohen usually gives good notes. Bms4880 (talk) 14:29, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Yeah I just re-read the liner notes last night after writing the article..they're really good. I will try to type some stuff up tonight. --Omarcheeseboro (talk) 14:49, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Btw-- While browsing through the Cecil Sharp book last night, I noticed that Sharp transcribed songs from someone named Floyd Chandler and someone named Anelize Chandler, both of whom lived in Madison County, North Carolina. He visited their house on Aug. 28-29, 1916. I'm sure it's Dillard's family, but I'm not sure how they're related. Anelize sang a version of The Daemon Lover (House Carpenter) for Sharp, and Floyd sang "Young Hunter". Bms4880 (talk) 18:49, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

I created a short article for the Wallin Family. Check over the folk revival section if you get a chance, the sources seemed confused regarding what was released when and who appeared on what. Bms4880 (talk) 22:14, 16 March 2009 (UTC)

Appalachian music

I've added plenty of cited material, but it really needs a few more photographs and especially some sound files. I'm not really familiar with uploading sound files to Wikimedia, but if anyone does, an article of this nature could really benefit from sound samples. Bms4880 (talk) 22:06, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Appalachian Granny Magic

What's this?? Is that the proper term? Bms4880 (talk) 19:50, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

Oh, dear! It looks like the article started out as pure original research, and got cleaned up a bit over time by the addition of some references (which may or may not actually support the content). The title still seems to be original research, as is much of the content. I can see merit in an article about "Appalachian folk medicine" (or possibly "Folk medicine in Southern Appalachia"), but this amalgamation of folk medicine, dowsing, faith healing, storytelling, etc., with speculation on relationships to Christianity and Native American traditions, doesn't look encyclopedic.

I suggest repurposing this as an article about folk medicine, and changing the title accordingly. See http://uncpress.unc.edu/browse/book_detail?title_id=1153 (also in GoogleBooks) and http://www.library.appstate.edu/appcoll/research_aids/spoteete.html and http://books.google.com/books?id=MU-43z3ZiToC for some possible sources. --Orlady (talk) 21:40, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

That's what I was thinking— just move it to "Appalachian folkore" or some such title, and completely revamp it. I'll add it to the list. Foxfire 1 and the other sources they list discuss herbal remedies and superstitions, but I'm pretty sure they don't call it "granny magic." Bms4880 (talk) 22:45, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

Dillard Chandler

I created an article about this interesting fella, if you have a chance please review. Thanks!

--Omarcheeseboro (talk) 09:12, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

Looks good. I made a few minor changes and added some stuff. Bms4880 (talk) 21:41, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

Great improvements, thanks! --Omarcheeseboro (talk) 22:00, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

WP:NOT#PLOT

Apologies for the notice, but this is being posted to every WikiProject to avoid accusations of systemic bias. Hiding T 13:25, 27 April 2009 (UTC)

List of Appalachian Regional Commission counties

I've been slowly compiling this for awhile, and today, behold, for it is complete. If you can think of a more appropriate title, feel free to move it. Bms4880 (talk) 21:32, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Our Southern Highlanders

I've expanded this article, but it could really use a scan of the book's cover in the lede, preferrably one showing a picture of Kephart (if one exists). Also, if anyone has access to an edition of this book published before 1923, scan and upload a few of the photos, which are safely in the public domain. I've added a few photos gathered on my various excursions to the area, but it's hard to beat the old ones. Bms4880 (talk) 00:01, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest

This article is now up and running. I'm not a biologist, so someone may want to glance over the flora, fauna, natural history, and environmental threats sections to make sure I didn't butcher any terminology. I also couldn't make sense of the term "ecoregion," so I wasn't sure whether or not to include it in the ecoregion category. Bms4880 (talk) 00:06, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

Logging / Lumber Camps

Besides Last Train Elkmont [1], does anyone have recommendations for good references about the history of logging in Appalachia? Thanks. --Omarcheeseboro (talk) 12:16, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

I couldn't find anything comprehensive, just local histories. The Elkmont operations were probably typical of the region, though. Most books on the history of Appalachia have a chapter on logging. Bms4880 (talk) 14:27, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

For example, Ch. 3, "The Last Great Trees," in Ron Eller's Miners, Millhands, and Mountaineers (1982), pp. 86-127. See also the entry "Lumber Industry" in Encyclopedia of Appalachia, pp. 501-504. Dwalls (talk) 18:29, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the suggestions. --Omarcheeseboro (talk) 19:08, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Appalachian - popular culture

Is anyone attached to the "Popular culture" section on Appalachia? I'm thinking of dumping it. Bms4880 (talk) 14:46, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

It certainly is a miscellany of doubtful value. As a list, it should go. I think there could be value to a narrative summary of thoughtful essays on images in popular culture of the sort undertaken by such writers as Dwight Billings, Gurney Norman, J.W. Williamson and others. This might well include references to several of the films and TV programs mentioned in the list. Dwalls (talk) 15:58, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Kentucky regions

Is there a difference in Kentucky's "Eastern Mountain Coal Fields" and "Cumberland Plateau" regions? They are both listed as regions in the state's infobox, but the map under "Geography" on the state's article suggests they are the same. Bms4880 (talk) 20:37, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

Transportation

I went ahead and started the Transportation in Appalachia article and did some formatting and small edits. The transportation section in the Appalachia article needs to be summarized now with a direct to this new article. --Triadian (talk) 05:33, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

• Thanks for doing that. I'll spruce up the article when I get a chance. Bms4880 (talk) 13:23, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

The Heartland Series

I created a new article for the Knoxville television program The Heartland Series, split off from WBIR-TV. I mention this here as this long-running documentary series on Appalachia may be relevant to other topics that others have worked on. --Orlady (talk) 23:55, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Alexander Arthur

I pieced this together from short sections in various sources. If anyone has a comprehensive source on Arthur, the "Early life" and "Later life" sections of this article could use some expansion. Bms4880 (talk) 00:52, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

Upper Big Branch mine explosion

We'll want to keep an eye this one. I'm not sure how much more it will develop, but if it's anything like Sago, the article could get out of hand quickly. Bms4880 (talk) 13:21, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Move

The Appalachia article was moved around again. --Guerillero | My Talk 19:39, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

Flora of Appalachia category

Someone created a category called Category:Flora of Appalachia (United States). Should this not be moved to Category:Flora of the Appalachian Mountains? Bms4880 (talk) 18:11, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Invitation to help with the Eastern Mountain Coal Fields task force

Eastern Mountain Coal Fields task force		An invitation to join us!
		You're invited to be a part of the Eastern Mountain Coal Fields task force, an attempt to better organize information in articles related to Eastern Kentucky Coal Field region of Kentucky. To accept this invitation, click here!

Hello, WikiProject Appalachia! We are looking for editors to join the Eastern Mountain Coal Fields task force, an outreach effort which aims to support the development of articles relating to Eastern Kentucky in Wikipedia. We thought you might be interested, and hope that you will join us. Thanks!

J654567 (talk) 21:36, 13 November 2010 (UTC)

A consideration for cross project consolidation of talk page templates

I have started a conversation here about the possibility of combining some of the United States related WikiProject Banners into {{WikiProject United States}}. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please take a moment and let me know. --Kumioko (talk) 19:40, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

US Collaboration reactivated & Portal:United States starting next

Casliber recently posted a suggestion on the talk page for WikiProject United States about getting the US Wikipedians Collaboration page going again in an effort to build up articles for GA through FA class. See Wikipedia:U.S. Wikipedians' notice board/USCOTM. After several days of work from him the page is up and ready for action. A few candidates have already been added for you to vote on or you can submit one using the directions provided. If you are looking for inspiration here is a link to the most commonly viewed articles currently under the scope of Wikiproject United States. There are tons of good articles in the various US related projects as well so feel free to submit any article relating to US topics (not just those under the scope of WPUS). This noticeboard is intended for ‘’’All’’’ editors working on US subjects, not just those under WPUS.

The next item I intend to start updating is Portal:United States if anyone is interested in helping. Again this is not specific to WPUS and any help would be greatly appreciated to maximize visibility of US topics. The foundation has already been established its just a matter of updating the content with some new images, biographies and articles. Please let leave a comment on the Portals talk page or let me know if you have any questions or ideas. --Kumioko (talk) 19:03, 15 January 2011 (UTC)

Work

If there is anything you would like done or pictures from the northern Appalachia taken please drop by my talk page. I would be more then happy to help. cheers --Guerillero | My Talk 00:52, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

See the list on the project page. Bms4880 (talk) 14:35, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

George Washington Harris

I've expanded the article, George Washington Harris, one of the earliest authors to make humorous light of Appalachian stereotypes. Bms4880 (talk) 19:15, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

It looks close to GA quality --Guerillero | My Talk 21:29, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. We'll leave it at B for now. Bms4880 (talk) 22:40, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Anne W. Armstrong

I've created an article for Anne W. Armstrong, author of This Day and Time (1930). Bms4880 (talk) 22:08, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Birth in Southern Appalachia

Is there a point to this article? And some of the information looks dubious. Bms4880 (talk) 19:21, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Yikes! I tried to figure out what to write as a lead section, but I couldn't figure out what to say about the topic. I think it might be possible to take contents out of that page and parcel them out to an article on Appalachian folk medicine and possibly another one on public health in Appalachia, but it's not going to be easy... --Orlady (talk) 21:51, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

Yikes squared! It's 2013 and this article is still a mess... --Orlady (talk) 23:32, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Nice job on the revisions. Bms4880 (talk) 15:38, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

I didn't nearly finish with it, but I do feel better about the current version of the article. Having looked at sources, I think some of the article content possibly should be converted into the beginnings of a new article about Health in rural Appalachia (or something like that). However, that still would leave an article about two semi-related topics: (1) current trends in maternity care, childbirth, and infant mortality and (2) traditional medical practices related to childbirth. --Orlady (talk) 21:53, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Popular pages

I am requesting a monthly statistics report listing the 300 most-viewed pages in this WikiProject. The list will be linked from the WikiProject page. I find these lists useful. They identify articles that get more user attention than we might have predicted -- and therefore may deserve more attention than they have received.
I am asking for the list page to be located at Wikipedia:WikiProject Appalachia/Most-viewed pages. --Orlady (talk) 04:26, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

I have no issues with that --Guerillero | My Talk 13:29, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

That's a good idea, and the link to the project watchlist have proven very helpful. I monitor it several times per day. Bms4880 (talk) 21:35, 18 July 2011 (UTC)

Our project made it to the list at http://toolserver.org/~alexz/pop/list.php some time ago, but it didn't get crawled in August. Maybe next month! --Orlady (talk) 21:28, 3 September 2011 (UTC)

Category:Media about Appalachia

Hi, just a note that I felt it was time for such a category. Category:Appalachian culture is getting pretty crowded. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 19:46, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

FWIW, the subject category is now Category:Works about Appalachia. --Orlady (talk) 19:32, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

Encyclopedia of Appalachia online

The Encyclopedia of Appalachia is now online. So far, it's only the music section, but there's a lot of potential in that one section! See it at http://encyclopediaofappalachia.com/ --Orlady (talk) 02:22, 27 July 2011 (UTC)

Good. And to think I was going to buy my own copy. I've added a link to the Appalachian music article. Bms4880 (talk) 21:31, 28 July 2011 (UTC)

How much would a full printed copy set a person back? --Guerillero | My Talk 06:53, 4 September 2011 (UTC)

The last I checked, a used copy on Amazon, about $50 to $60. Bms4880 (talk) 23:50, 4 September 2011 (UTC)

Pageview stats

After a recent request, I added WikiProject Appalachia to the list of projects to compile monthly pageview stats for. The data is the same used by http://stats.grok.se/en/ but the program is different, and includes the aggregate views from all redirects to each page. The stats are at Wikipedia:WikiProject Appalachia/Most-viewed pages.

The page will be updated monthly with new data. The edits aren't marked as bot edits, so they will show up in watchlists. You can view more results, request a new project be added to the list, or request a configuration change for this project using the toolserver tool. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know. Thanks! Mr.Z-man 22:59, 2 October 2011 (UTC)

Hmmm... wonder why it's not picking up the Appalachia article (30k+ hits)? Bms4880 (talk) 23:05, 2 October 2011 (UTC)

Well... It's only picking up articles that I listed in the category for "B-class" articles for the project. The form for requesting this stats list asked for the address of the project's B-class category. Since we don't have article ratings, that was a stumper for me, but I found several B-class articles and created a new category for them. Apparently we are going to need Mr.Z-man's advice to figure out how to get the rest of Wikiproject Appalachia into the system. I suppose it might mean that we have to implement article ratings... --Orlady (talk) 20:03, 4 October 2011 (UTC)

I set up article ratings, as that seems to be necessary to get some of these other features to work... --Orlady (talk) 19:31, 5 October 2011 (UTC)

The page linked above still has only those 4 articles, but some very interesting article stats for October are findable at this page. --Orlady (talk) 13:21, 14 November 2011 (UTC)

• Hurray, Wikipedia:WikiProject Appalachia/Most-viewed pages is updated now! --Orlady (talk) 22:23, 19 November 2011 (UTC)

That looks much better. I wonder if there would be any use for a "Moonshining in Appalachia" article? Bms4880 (talk) 19:45, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

Hmm... I am sure there would be readers for such an article, and there is undoubtedly a great deal of potential content that is too detailed for inclusion in Moonshine or Moonshine by country#United States. --Orlady (talk) 19:49, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

Proposal to add WikiProject Appalachia under WikiProject United States

Greetings, I am a member of WikiProject United States, it was recently suggested that WikiProject Appalachia might be inactive or semi active and it might be beneficial to include it in the list of projects supported by WikiProject United States, which Kumioko and me have added some of the projects like WikiProject American television and WikiProject United States Government under the {{WikiProject United States}} banner. After reviewing the project it appears that there have not been any active discussion on the talk page in some time and the only content updates appear to be simple maintenance so being supported by a larger project might be beneficial. This discussion is intended to start the process of determining if the project members are interested in the project being added to the projects supported by WikiProject United States. If have any thoughts, questions or comments, please let me know. JJ98 (Talk / Contributions) 10:44, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

We already rejected this before --Guerillero | My Talk 13:01, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

I have no problem with this, though keep in mind members have been working on various Appalachia-related articles. We just haven't updated the project page in awhile. Bms4880 (talk) 21:06, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

I am also a listed member of WikiProject United States, and I have not yet perceived a benefit from making individual projects into subprojects of that super-project. --Orlady (talk) 13:23, 14 November 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for your comments, just FYI though it is not going to convert into a task force any time soon. Take it look what it did, just like WikiProject West Virginia, District of Columbia or Idaho for examples. Most of the projects have little activity and they are still active. JJ98 (Talk / Contributions) 05:30, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

Well, since there is no objections, I am going to add to the WikiProject United States banner myself. JJ98 (Talk / Contributions) 01:26, 23 November 2011 (UTC)

Please don't take away our project's separate identity, though, by replacing our banner with the American flag. --Orlady (talk) 01:59, 23 November 2011 (UTC)

I agree. Please let us keep our identity. WP:USA is much like the Standard Oil Octopus grabbing up more and more and more smaller projects. --Guerillero | My Talk 03:47, 23 November 2011 (UTC)

Jj98, I'm fine either way, but there were clearly two objections and no affirmatives. Bms4880 (talk) 14:50, 23 November 2011 (UTC)

Sacred Harp and New Harp of Columbia

Looking at the "most-viewed pages", as discussed above, I notice that Sacred Harp is one of the top 100 pages in both October and November, but New Harp of Columbia is near the bottom of the list (number 549 out of 556 in November). Considering that New Harp of Columbia is in active use in Knoxville, if nowhere else, I would think that it would get more hits. If I understood the relationship between the different schools of shape-note singing, I'd work on building some better links between New Harp of Columbia and related articles. Are there any experts around who can tackle this? --Orlady (talk) 16:24, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

New Harp of Columbia has two incoming links and a few redirects, while Sacred Harp has several dozen incoming links. That might explain the former's poor page hit performance. Bms4880 (talk) 18:56, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

Indeed. If I knew more about the subject, I would add some more backlinks to New Harp of Columibia... --Orlady (talk) 05:26, 9 December 2011 (UTC)

A cursory search through my entire personal library of Knoxville history turned up nothing. I did find a blurb in the Children's Museum book. I'll check the ETHS stuff this afternoon. Bms4880 (talk) 18:34, 9 December 2011 (UTC)

I found the 1978 edition in our library, and it has two excellent introductions, so I've expanded the article. Someone with a background in music might better comprehend the seven-note uniqueness. Bms4880 (talk) 20:21, 12 December 2011 (UTC)

Eastern Mountain Coal Fields

Someone is disputing the correct name of this region. The lede, as it stands, is unacceptable. If the name is incorrect, the article will need to be moved. Bms4880 (talk) 14:30, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

The lead definitely was unacceptable; I edited it. I also think the article name is incorrect; I've never much liked it....

I recall that this and other articles used to be flagged by Wikipedia:WikiProject Kentucky/Eastern Mountain Coal Fields task force, but that task force seems to have been amputated from the Kentucky Wikiproject when it was subsumed into WikiProject United States. Discussion of the name needs to happen on the article talk page, and the Eastern Mountain Coal Fields task force participants need to be engaged. --Orlady (talk) 18:21, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

I will do some research on JSTOR. --Guerillero | My Talk 18:29, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

I've started a discussion at Talk:Eastern Mountain Coal Fields#Requested move. --Orlady (talk) 19:16, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

Grasshopper valley?

I've been working on George Went Hensley, and the sources describe him as pastoring in Grasshopper Valley, Tennessee. I can't turn up any evidence of this place, however. Can anyone fill me in about it? Mark Arsten (talk) 21:17, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Based on this, it probably refers to the Grasshopper Creek Valley between White Oak Mountain and the Tennessee River, west of Cleveland, Tennessee. I'll try to get coordinates. Bms4880 (talk) 21:56, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

This looks like the place. It's about 10 miles northwest of Cleveland, Tennessee. Bms4880 (talk) 22:02, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Appalachian = "whitetrash" and "hillbilly" citation

There is a discussion Talk:Steeler_Nation#Hillbilly_and_Appalachia_references. referencing a subregion of Appalachian fans as "hillbilly" and "white trash" (not my words) based on a free publication citation, also stating that the fanbase (not the team or the team's city) is the sole Applachian fanbase. Please add your insight. Thank you. MarketdiamondMarketDiamond 23:21, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Looks like the article has been edited to remove such confusion. Bms4880 (talk) 19:19, 30 August 2012 (UTC)

The edit is extremely helpful and a massive improvement, however IMHO the current edit alluding to "white trash nation" still is offensive and not factually based. Please feel free to join the discussion!Marketdiamond (talk) 19:07, 15 September 2012 (UTC)

Request for Comment: Steeler Nation Criticism

NOTE: The source uses Appalachia as justification for conclusions, thus its inclusion here.

• Please feel free to read & comment here. Thank you. Marketdiamond (talk) 19:04, 15 September 2012 (UTC)

Commented. Looks like it will be removed. Bms4880 (talk) 03:07, 16 September 2012 (UTC)

Appalachian statistical areas

• I created a page for this under my username since it is incomplete, if anyone can help fill out the table so we can create a regular Wikipedia article for this, that would be great! Nicole21532 (talk) 01:46, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

• Um... Don't believe everything you read in Wikipedia. ;-) Although the article statistical area describes "statistical area" as a well-defined construct related to U.S. metropolitan areas, micropolitan areas, etc., that's not true. See Talk:Statistical area and User talk:Buaidh#"United States" statistical area article titles for discussion. Let's not perpetuate this bit of Wikipedia misinformation by creating more articles about spurious "statistical areas".

The term "statistical area" is a generic one whose meaning depends on the context. The U.S. Census uses the term to refer to all types of areas for which census data are reported (see Participant Statistical Areas Program and Tribal Statistical Areas Program), not just for metro-type areas. The Australian Census also uses the term that way ([2]). I also have found the term used (for example) in keeping track of fish in Alaska and New Zealand, city of Baltimore neighborhoods, and analyzing health statistics in Utah. --Orlady (talk) 03:14, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

Battle of Blair Mountain

I'm offering a bounty (payable as a donation to the Wikimedia Foundation) for improvements to the Battle of Blair Mountain. £15 for bringing it up to B-class, another £40 to get it to Good Article status, and another £100 to get it to Featured Article. --OpenToppedBus - Talk to the driver 16:31, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

Ledes

User:Look2see1 is trying to replace the current lede of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest with [this]. I can't stand ledes that consist of technical jargon rather than a straight-up definition of the subject. Is anyone aware of a recent policy shift regarding ledes of ecological articles? Bms4880 (talk) 14:24, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

WP:Lead section applies. I saw merit in the sentence crafted by the other user, but I don't like that user's idea of demoting the rest of the lede to a "Description" section, so I tried to split the difference there. The long lead section covers all of the major points about this type of forest. Now we just need to make sure that all of the content in the lead is also in the body of the article. --Orlady (talk) 14:46, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

Thanks. I can live with that. All points in the lede are covered in the article. Bms4880 (talk) 15:24, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

Jesco White, is a START article???????????

CAN ANYONE tell me why the bio for Jesco White is a start class article in this project?????Coal town guy (talk) 14:13, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

I believe it fits "Start" better than "Stub." It appears to go beyond the most basic description of the topic, though is still quite incomplete. Bms4880 (talk) 16:01, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

I assigned the "Start" class to it, basically for the reasons given by Bms4880, plus the fact that another Wikiproject had rated it as start. For the record, I looked at it because it was one of the most-viewed pages in this WikiProject, I had no idea who Jesco White is, and the article didn't have a rating. I don't normally place a lot of importance on the rating of articles, but ratings can be useful as an indication of the condition of the most highly viewed articles. --Orlady (talk) 18:01, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

I understand...Coal town guy (talk) 18:20, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

ANOTHER article question

Can ANYONE tell me HOW the article Granny woman achieved a start class rating?? Please table a look at thisCoal town guy (talk) 14:15, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

Like in most cases, the original author did the first quality review and accessed it as start class. --Guerillero | My Talk 15:04, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

As Guerillero's comment suggests, it's common for article creators to rate their own articles at a higher level than is appropriate. I believe that in principle, someone else is supposed to assign the rating, but often article creators do that themselves. Anyone can assign a new rating; if you think the current rating is too high AND that rating was assigned by the person who wrote the article, you shouldn't feel any qualms about downrating it. --Orlady (talk) 17:53, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

Clearly a stub. I thought we got rid of this article when it was called "Appalachian granny magic." Bms4880 (talk) 16:11, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

I have already changed it to a Stub....it is however of concern that there are artyicles out there that are Start class that are a paragraph about semi factual people or places....Coal town guy (talk) 16:25, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

We might be able to merge this with Childbirth in rural Appalachia. Bms4880 (talk) 16:40, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

Having worked to resolve issues with Childbirth in rural Appalachia, I think it's best to leave Granny woman as a separate article. Childbirth in rural Appalachia is still a mishmash of topics, not all of which have anything to do with childbirth. Adding the content of Granny woman to that page would only exacerbate that situation (because granny women weren't concerned solely with childbirth). Meanwhile, the current version of Granny woman (after a thorough pruning by Coal town guy) is focused, sourced, and reasonably inoffensive. Kudos to Coal town guy for his work there! --Orlady (talk) 17:53, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

I will get to the article in some time as I am working on a FL list attempt for WV counties. While I am familiar with the subject matter, I may at times defer to others for content as I will not be able to preclude my "emotive" observations. I would at that time appreciate the assistance of the community. Many thanks allCoal town guy (talk) 18:00, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

URLs for Appalachian State University manuscript collections

FYI: A lot of hyperlinks to sources in the Appy State library manuscript collections have gone bad. The library web search wasn't much help, but I am finding that material about Appalachia is locatable at http://collections.library.appstate.edu/appcoll/list.html --Orlady (talk) 20:43, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

Appalachia-related categories at WP:Categories for discussion

Participants in this WikiProject may want to comment regarding a couple of items currently at WP:CFD:

• Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2013 June 27#Category:Appalachian Trail people - Category was proposed for deletion. Any comments should be placed on the linked CFD page.
• At Wikipedia:Categories for discussion#Opposed nominations there is a proposal to rename Category:Flora of Appalachia (United States) to Category:Flora of Appalachia and rename Category:Trees of Appalachia U.S. to Category:Trees of Appalachia. Both of these proposals are currently hung up. --Orlady (talk) 19:55, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

More CFD action related to the Appalachian Trail: this discussion is a proposal to delete both Category:Rivers on the Appalachian Trail and Category:Mountains on the Appalachian_Trail. Also, the Appalachian Trail people discussion noted above is still open and there's a proposal called "Trail categories" (probably not going anywhere in its current form) to delete a bunch of "trail" categories, including Category:Appalachian Trail. --Orlady (talk) 03:28, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

Fictional hillbillies

There's a discussion at WP:VPP regarding the appropriateness (or lack thereof) of Category:Fictional hillbillies. Members of this Wikiproject might be able to offer some insightful advice. See Wikipedia:Village_pump_(proposals)#Eliminate_or_Rename_"Fictional_Hillbillies"_Category. --Orlady (talk) 03:16, 18 September 2013 (UTC)

Religion in Appalachia

Is anyone feeling motivated and qualified (and brave enough) to write Religion in Appalachia? This is a complex and interesting topic, both historically and in the contemporary context. Appalachia-religion-related topics like snake handling periodically get a lot of external attention (which ought motivate this wikiproject). The "Religion" section in the Appalachia article can only scratch the surface of the topic. The print Encyclopedia of Appalachia and the writings of Howard Dorgan (if someone has access to these items) should be valuable resources.

Given the complexity of the topic and the potential controversy when attempting to describe someone else's religion, I'm thinking that this might be something we could work on collaboratively on a page in this project space before taking it to article space. --Orlady (talk) 15:35, 22 September 2013 (UTC)

I can certainly help with it. The EOA does have an excellent section on religion. I think I used it for the Religion section in Appalachia. Bms4880 (talk) 17:20, 22 September 2013 (UTC)

FYI, I created Category:Religion in Appalachia (and a parent category Category:Appalachian society) to help move forward on this topic. --Orlady (talk) 15:34, 23 September 2013 (UTC)

Excellent Category, I was going to add this cat to the Speaking in Tounges page, which does indeed happen in some Appalachian religious practicesCoal town guy (talk) 16:11, 23 September 2013 (UTC)

I'm familiar with this subject because this program at Drew University but I don't have any reference materials close at hand. But I know they exist! I'll see what I can come up with. I know there are scholars focusing in on this subject. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 18:44, 23 September 2013 (UTC)

I started a draft article at Wikipedia:WikiProject Appalachia/Religion in Appalachia. At this point, it mostly consists of Bms4880's text from the "religion" section of Appalachia. I added some content on Hinduism based on an online sample article from the Encyclopedia of Appalachia. I figure that the article needs to have a much more thorough treatment of the strains of Protestant Christianity in the region, as well as some coverage of other religions. --Orlady (talk) 02:36, 25 September 2013 (UTC)

Category:Mountains on the Appalachian Trail

Category:Mountains on the Appalachian Trail, which is within the scope of this WikiProject, has been nominated for possible deletion, merging, or renaming. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments at the category's entry on the Categories for discussion page.

This is a follow-up to a discussion on Rivers on the Appalachian Trail that resulted in the deletion of that category and a decision of "No consensus" on the Mountains category. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 18:35, 23 September 2013 (UTC)

Good Old Mountain Dew

Hey fellow Appalachia editors, I am currently working on bringing Good Old Mountain Dew up to GA status. I have a copy edit coming, tomorrow I think, but I would like someone to look over the article to make sure the facts sound straight. Thanks --Guerillero | My Talk 04:51, 15 January 2014 (UTC)

Popular pages tool update

As of January, the popular pages tool has moved from the Toolserver to Wikimedia Tool Labs. The code has changed significantly from the Toolserver version, but users should notice few differences. Please take a moment to look over your project's list for any anomalies, such as pages that you expect to see that are missing or pages that seem to have more views than expected. Note that unlike other tools, this tool aggregates all views from redirects, which means it will typically have higher numbers. (For January 2014 specifically, 35 hours of data is missing from the WMF data, which was approximated from other dates. For most articles, this should yield a more accurate number. However, a few articles, like ones featured on the Main Page, may be off).

Web tools, to replace the ones at tools:~alexz/pop, will become available over the next few weeks at toollabs:popularpages. All of the historical data (back to July 2009 for some projects) has been copied over. The tool to view historical data is currently partially available (assessment data and a few projects may not be available at the moment). The tool to add new projects to the bot's list is also available now (editing the configuration of current projects coming soon). Unlike the previous tool, all changes will be effective immediately. OAuth is used to authenticate users, allowing only regular users to make changes to prevent abuse. A visible history of configuration additions and changes is coming soon. Once tools become fully available, their toolserver versions will redirect to Labs.

If you have any questions, want to report any bugs, or there are any features you would like to see that aren't currently available on the Toolserver tools, see the updated FAQ or contact me on my talk page. Mr.Z-bot (talk) (for Mr.Z-man) 05:33, 23 February 2014 (UTC)

WikiProject United States again?

This edit on the project page indicates that WikiProject United States is the "parent project" for this Wikiproject. When and how did that come about? I thought we had rejected that idea. --Orlady (talk) 21:10, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

We did. It's possibly an error on Liz's part. She's tagging project articles at a rapid pace. Bms4880 (talk) 21:15, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

Thank you for fixing that Bms4880. I would argue that we are still an active project but YMMV. --Guerillero | My Talk 22:38, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

We're doing work on Appalachia-related articles, we're just not as talkative as other projects (this can be a good thing, if you've seen the NRHP project talk page). Bms4880 (talk) 23:27, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

Free access to Oxford University Press online references during Library Week

Oxford University Press is giving U.S. users free online access to a number of useful references this week only -- see http://global.oup.com/academic/librarians/national-library-week/ . I am finding American National Biography to be useful for filling in blanks in some biographical articles. Grove Music also looks like it may be useful in editing Appalachia-related articles. --Orlady (talk) 14:21, 15 April 2014 (UTC)

Cove Hardwood Forest Article

Starting this week, I am going to be working to create an article for the Cove Hardwood Forest. This topic was listed under the Articles in need of attention section on the Wikiproject Page. Creating this article is a project for my Junior Composition English class at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Things I am planning on including are sections on location, conditions, wildlife, problems affecting the area and habitats, and demographics. I am open to suggestions from anyone on things that need to be covered in the article. Allyleah817 (talk) 21:51, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

Let us know if you need any help. You'll find some basic info and a few sources in the Cove Hardwood Forest subsection of the Great Smoky Mountains article. Bms4880 (talk) 13:09, 22 July 2014 (UTC)

I am no longer planning on creating this article. I can achieve my word count requirement through my first article. Sorry about that. Allyleah817 (talk) 20:30, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

Ironweed Festival

Hi there! I'm planning on creating a new article of ironweed festival and wanted anyone involved to be aware. Right now, I 'm thinking about developing history and event. I'm starting the editing in my sandbox, if you would like to a look. I'm open to suggestions, comments, or feedback. JonieXie (talk) 22:05, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

Comment on the WikiProject X proposal

Hello there! As you may already know, most WikiProjects here on Wikipedia struggle to stay active after they've been founded. I believe there is a lot of potential for WikiProjects to facilitate collaboration across subject areas, so I have submitted a grant proposal with the Wikimedia Foundation for the "WikiProject X" project. WikiProject X will study what makes WikiProjects succeed in retaining editors and then design a prototype WikiProject system that will recruit contributors to WikiProjects and help them run effectively. Please review the proposal here and leave feedback. If you have any questions, you can ask on the proposal page or leave a message on my talk page. Thank you for your time! (Also, sorry about the posting mistake earlier. If someone already moved my message to the talk page, feel free to remove this posting.) Harej (talk) 22:47, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

Free Appalachia e-books available through Wikipedia Library

Hello project members, just letting you all know that McFarland & Company has offered free e-book versions of its titles to experienced Wikipedians. The publisher has a good collection of titles on Appalachia. See Wikipedia:McFarland for instructions on how to get them. Best, The Interior (Talk) 17:04, 31 December 2014 (UTC)

WikiProject X is live!

Hello everyone!

You may have received a message from me earlier asking you to comment on my WikiProject X proposal. The good news is that WikiProject X is now live! In our first phase, we are focusing on research. At this time, we are looking for people to share their experiences with WikiProjects: good, bad, or neutral. We are also looking for WikiProjects that may be interested in trying out new tools and layouts that will make participating easier and projects easier to maintain. If you or your WikiProject are interested, check us out! Note that this is an opt-in program; no WikiProject will be required to change anything against its wishes. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!

Note: To receive additional notifications about WikiProject X on this talk page, please add this page to Wikipedia:WikiProject X/Newsletter. Otherwise, this will be the last notification sent about WikiProject X.

Harej (talk) 16:56, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

2016 Community Wishlist Survey Proposal to Revive Popular Pages

Greetings WikiProject Appalachia/Archive 1 Members!

This is a one-time-only message to inform you about a technical proposal to revive your Popular Pages list in the 2016 Community Wishlist Survey that I think you may be interested in reviewing and perhaps even voting for:

• Fix and improve Mr.Z-bot's popular pages report

If the above proposal gets in the Top 10 based on the votes, there is a high likelihood of this bot being restored so your project will again see monthly updates of popular pages.

Further, there are over 260 proposals in all to review and vote for, across many aspects of wikis.

Thank you for your consideration. Please note that voting for proposals continues through December 12, 2016.

Best regards, Stevietheman — Delivered: 17:52, 7 December 2016 (UTC)

Popular pages report is back!

Hi all, the Community Tech team has been working on bringing back the popular popular pages reports (see what I did there?). The new report can be found at Wikipedia:WikiProject Appalachia/Popular pages. You are requested to remove the old page from Wikipedia:WikiProject Appalachia/Most-viewed pages and redirect it to the new URL. We're hoping to make the link consistent across all projects. If you do not want to do that and want to stick with the old URL (not recommended), you can ping me and I will take care of it. Thank you! -- NKohli (WMF) (talk) 22:05, 30 March 2017 (UTC)

Actually, I've made the redirect myself and if you want to revert it and keep older link, let me know. Thanks! -- NKohli (WMF) (talk) 22:19, 30 March 2017 (UTC)

Mary Harris Jones listed at Requested moves

A requested move discussion has been initiated for Mary Harris Jones to be moved to Mother Jones. This page is of interest to this WikiProject and interested members may want to participate in the discussion here. —RMCD bot 18:29, 25 January 2018 (UTC)

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One of your project's articles has been selected for improvement!

Hello, Please note that Interstate 81, which is within this project's scope, has been selected as one of Today's articles for improvement. The article was scheduled to appear on Wikipedia's Community portal in the "Today's articles for improvement" section for one week, beginning today. Everyone is encouraged to collaborate to improve the article. Thanks, and happy editing! Delivered by — MusikBot talk 00:05, 29 January 2018 (UTC) on behalf of the TAFI team

Coyaha people listed at Requested moves

A requested move discussion has been initiated for Coyaha people to be moved to Yuchi people. This page is of interest to this WikiProject and interested members may want to participate in the discussion here. —RMCD bot 19:17, 2 February 2018 (UTC)

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Carl D. Perkins listed at Requested moves

A requested move discussion has been initiated for Carl D. Perkins to be moved to Carl Perkins (politician). This page is of interest to this WikiProject and interested members may want to participate in the discussion here. —RMCD bot 06:00, 18 April 2018 (UTC)

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A new newsletter directory is out!

A new Newsletter directory has been created to replace the old, out-of-date one. If your WikiProject and its taskforces have newsletters (even inactive ones), or if you know of a missing newsletter (including from sister projects like WikiSpecies), please include it in the directory! The template can be a bit tricky, so if you need help, just post the newsletter on the template's talk page and someone will add it for you.

– Sent on behalf of Headbomb. 03:11, 11 April 2019 (UTC)

Mary Harris Jones listed at Requested moves

A requested move discussion has been initiated for Mary Harris Jones to be moved to Mother Jones (labor organizer). This page is of interest to this WikiProject and interested members may want to participate in the discussion here. —RMCD bot 17:32, 31 January 2020 (UTC)

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Appalachia (Mesozoic) listed at Requested moves

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The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come listed at Requested moves

A requested move discussion has been initiated for The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come to be moved to The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1961 film). This page is of interest to this WikiProject and interested members may want to participate in the discussion here. —RMCD bot 15:03, 13 June 2021 (UTC)

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Sources for Story on Appalachia Wiki Editors

Greetings,

I am working on a story for the outlet 100 Days in Appalachia about Appalachia Wiki editors on Wikipedia. I would like to extend an invitation to the editors of the Appalachia Wiki to participate in an interview for my story. If you would be interested, please let me know.

Writerinappalachia (talk) 15:32, 16 June 2021 (UTC)

Draft article

Hi. If anyone has a thought as to how to improve the draft article Draft:Center for Rural Development so that it is accepted -- which has proven to be a surprisingly difficult effort -- please lmk. Thanks.--2603:7000:2143:8500:1841:AF34:6839:55A4 (talk) 18:29, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

Invitation to participate in 2022 WVU Amplifying Appalachia Edit-a-thon, March 20-25

Hi y'all!

Some of you might have participated last year in West Virginia University Libraries' Amplifying Appalachia Edit-a-thon, which was a huge success, with 94 editors, 61 articles edited or added to, 291 references added, and 24,400 words! One of those additions was the [Appalachia|Queer Appalachia page], which is incredible.

We're holding the event again, asynchronously, during the third week of March (March 20-25).

Our Edit-a-thon is focused on amplifying the stories and figures of under-represented Appalachian artists, writers, and other creators, particularly womxn, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and other disenfranchised communities. We have been lucky enough to work with Art+Feminism and our event is held under that umbrella!

If you want to participate, please sign up through this link: https://artandfeminism.org/edit_a_thon/amplifying-appalachia-2022-edit-a-thon/ ... which will take you to our event dashboard, which has some starting points for pages that need some attention (under construction as of 2/4/2022). The password to join is "wvu2022".

Rhizomesandranch (talk) 15:01, 8 February 2022 (UTC)Rhizomesandranch

New FA

Saint Vincent Beer is a brand new FA that touches on religion and alcohol in Northern Appalachia --In actu (Guerillero) ^{Parlez Moi} 11:16, 4 June 2022 (UTC)

Bluegrass music listed at Requested moves

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