Providence Rules Wikipedia - For a Day

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Maggie Lange, GoLocalProv Contributor

What does the city of Providence have in common with Queen Victoria, The Red Badge of Courage, Shakespeare’s Authorship Question, and the Galapagos Tortoise? It was named the “Featured Article” on the front page of Wikipedia on Tuesday.

Featured articles are considered to be the best articles by Wikipedia’s editors. According to Wikipedia, about one in 1,110 articles qualifies; out of the 3,653,528 articles on English Wikipedia, there are 3,295-featured articles. Qualifying as a “Featured Article,” will forever mark the page with a small bronze star icon at the top right corner of an articles page. And for the day yesterday, if you logged into Wikipedia's home page, you were greeted by an image of the RI state house and the headline, "Providence."

Wikipedia’s editorial committee reviews the articles for comprehensiveness, style, accuracy, and neutrality. Featured article candidates must be well-written, “engaging, even brilliant, and of a professional standard,” well-researched,

and stable. Stable articles mean that the content doesn’t change on a daily basis and its subject is not prey to constant editing wars.

The Wikipedia article on Providence features a sweeping picture of the city’s history, demographics, economy and culture. Here are some highlights from the entry:

Providence has the highest number of coffee/doughnut shops per capita of any city in the US;
There are over one thousand streets which the entry's author(s) cites as “a great number for the city's size” and “somewhat chaotic”;
Its nicknames have included: “Beehive of Industry," "The Renaissance City," and "Creative Capital";
The article also notes: “The city gained the reputation as one of the most active and growing LGBT communities in the Northeast.” The rate of reported gay and lesbian relationships is 75% higher than the national average;
Providence has the highest number of restaurants per capita;
It is among the most densely populated cities in the country, with the 8th highest percentage of pedestrian commuters.

Who knew the citizens of Providence would keep a Wikipedia page graffiti-free and without controversy? This dedication to quality trivia and fair-play minutiae has won the writers what is certainly the most esteemed of all Internet encyclopedia honors.