Request for Assistance: making Nmap a Wikipedia Featured Article

[Fyodor <fyodor () insecure org>]

Hi folks!  I think we all know and love Wikipedia, and many of you are
probably aware that Nmap has an entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nmap

The current article has certainly come a long way from its initial
creation by an anonymous user from a German IP in 2003:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nmap&oldid=1956689

Despite many improvements over the last 7 years, the article has only
moved from "stub class" to "start class" on the quality scale.  It is
ranked "start class" by "WikiProject Computing", "WikiProject Computer
Security", and "WikiProject Free Software", as shown on its talk page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Nmap

Even more important than these project ratings is that Wikipedia has
its own "Featured Article" rating, as described here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_articles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_article_criteria

There is also a lesser status of "Good article" (which the Nmap entry
has also not attained):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_article

Note that these ratings are about the quality of the article text and
how well it follows current Wikipedia best practices.  They aren't
reflections on the importance or quality of the subject itself (Nmap
in this case).  Heck, even the articles for "Storm Botnet", "4Chan",
and "ROT13" are classified as Featured Articles.

For comparison to the Nmap article, here are some Featured Articles
related to computer security:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_botnet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Openbsd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROT13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptography

I suspect that one reason that the Nmap WP entry has been somewhat
neglected is that we already provide excellent (IMHO) documentation on
the nmap.org site, man pages, book, nsedoc, etc.  But I still think
that both the Nmap Project and Wikipedia would benefit by having a
better Nmap entry.

So I'm hoping to find a volunteer (or more) with good Wikipedia skills
to lead this project!  I'm a bit too close to Nmap to feel comfortable
editing the Wikipedia entry myself, plus I feel like I've already done
my share of documentation by writing the book and maintaining the web
site :).  Who wants to give it a try?  I think the key tasks are:

o Know Wikipedia's rules for Good Article, Featured Article, etc. and
  how handle the promotions (community reviews, etc.).  If you don't
  know this already, Wikipedia does have great documentation (see links
  above).

o Try to define the deficiencies in the article that have kept it at
  start-class.  I think there is a community review process you can
  use to help.

o Begin addressing those deficiencies.  This probably involves many of
  your own edits, plus soliciting volunteer help in specific areas
  from Nmap-dev and from the Wikipedia community.  I think there are a
  lot of people who would respond if you mention a specific need (like
  adding a needed section if you give them the section title).

o Keep us on nmap-dev informed of the project status.  At first I was
  going to create a separate list for this, but I believe it can be
  coordinated and/or on Wikipedia itself (e.g. the Nmap talk page)
  just fine.

o Once the article warrants a higher classification such as "Good
  Article" or "Featured Article", initiate the proper reviews to make it
  happen.  It is important not to do this prematurely, as failing a
  Featured Article Review might hurt the article's chances going
  forward.

Anyone up for this?  People often tell me they would like to assist
the Nmap project, but they aren't programmers.  Well, here is your
chance!

Also, if anyone has more suggestions/ideas on this topic, send them in
to nmap-dev!

Cheers,
Fyodor
_______________________________________________
Sent through the nmap-dev mailing list
http://cgi.insecure.org/mailman/listinfo/nmap-dev
Archived at http://seclists.org/nmap-dev/