RENDER/Supporting Tools for Wikipedia/Article List Generator

Article List Generator

Authors can use the Article List Generator to create lists of articles. You can search individual categories and combine, intersect or exclude categories. The search results can be refined further by using various filters. The results are displayed in a list. The list can be used to obtain an overview of a specific topic and the available materials relating to it. The ALG has being developed within the RENDER project.

Screenshot of Article List Generator (EN)

Usage

The Article List Generator is available on this page.

Functionality

You can search in categories and subcategories by selecting a certain depth within the category tree. You can combine, intersect or exclude categories. You can refine the results by chosing several filters. Several filters can be selected simultaneously, but you should bear in the mind that the Article List Generator does not form the intersection of the filters.

List of available filters:

General:

• All pages: All the pages are displayed that fall into the combination of categories defined in the search query.
• Article ratings: Excludes from the results any articles for which fewer than 60% of readers using the Article Feedback Tool said that they had found what they were looking for.
• Large pages - This filter shows articles that are significantly larger than the average article size in the category being searched. The system first calculates the average size in bytes of all the pages searched, together with the standard deviation. The article is classified as "large" if it is larger than the average by more than a specified multiple of the standard deviation. The threshold is currently set by default at five times the standard deviation. At a later stage of development, there are plans to enable users to set the threshold themselves.
• No links to this article: Articles that cannot be reached from any other articles because no links point to them are termed orphaned pages orphaned pages).
• No images: Filters out articles that do not contain any images.
• Pending changes (12 h): Changes to a Wikipedia article which has to be authorized by someone before they can be activated (see sighted versions). This filter lists articles to which changes have been made more than twelve hours ago but have not yet been reviewed – i.e. no one has authorized them.
• Small pages: The filter first calculates the average size of all the searched pages. Articles are displayed if they are less than a quarter of the average size. It is intended that in later versions of the Article List Generator, users will be able to set the threshold themselves.
• Change Detector – The Change Detector investigates the currentness of Wikipedia articles by comparing editing activity in different language versions. It lists articles that may need revising. Incorporating the Change Detector into the Article List Generator has the advantage that you can use it in combination with other filters to search for outdated articles in a particular category or combination of categories.

Templates:

• Template:Cleanup: The Template:Cleanup may apply to the whole article or to parts of it. It indicates that the article needs to be cleaned up.
• Template:Technical: Template:Technical is inserted into articles that cannot be easily understood by non-experts and therefore need to be changed.
• Template:Update - Articles that contain the Template:Update.
• Template:Globalize - Articles that contain Template:Globalize are written mainly from the point of view of a particular country, although the topic is more general.
• Template:Refimprove - Articles that contain Template:Refimprove lack references or sources; these need to be added.
• Template:Neutrality - Articles that contain the Template:Neutrality.

Format

• HTML
• WikiText

Additionally, you can use a e-mail function.

Languages

At present, the Article List Generator is available for the following language versions:

• German (de)
• English (en)
• French (fr)
• Czech (cz)
• Slovak (sk)

Further languages will be supported in future.

Further plans

• Maintenance after the RENDER project ends in September 2013
• Availability for all language versions and to allow users to set some parameters themselves, e.g. the threshold for the “large pages” filter.
• Expansion of the list of filters hence adapted to individual needs. See also the "How To" at this page.

Suggestions on these points are welcome! In case you have questions contact us on the talk page or via e-mail.