This page is for discussion related to the development and improvement of the Physics article. As a result of a noticeable decrease in quality of the article it was decided to create a dedicated sub page where the entire contents could be reviewed and improved without the problems of working on a 'live' page which sufferers from constant flux. Other editors have suggested that I act as a form of a secretary. The purpose of this is to add a structure to the process, setting up points for discussion, allowing discussion to take place, calling for consensus after an appropriate amount of time, helping to negotiate and reach consensus, then setting up another point for discussion. Editors who want to join this process are more than welcome - the more people we have involved in the process the more valuable the outcome.
The plan is for each area of the article to be discussed in turn. Once all areas have been discussed, and before the contents are copied across to the main article, a specific amount of time can be set by for A.O.B. to allow past decisions & consensus positions to be reviewed if editors feel strongly about something (and feel it wasn't given fair hearing the first time around - or if the editor wasn't around for the specific discussion the first time around).
Once the final version is completed then it can be copied across to the main article. At that point it can then be freely edited, and the wiki process will take over on this work. The quality may well decrease again, but at least there will be a consensus version to compare with, and editors can at that point bring discussion on the main talk page as to whether the changes are better than what was decided upon here, or worse. Hopefully the majority of the work done on this project will remain intact, but obviously the final version produced here should not be permanently held in place irrespective of changes made by other editors.
To ensure that development progresses in an orderly manner there are a few key points that must be kept in mind:
Consensus is the key rule by which this process lives on. Only through this method will we arrive at a result which is going to stand up to the test and scrutiny of time. Give and take is required by all.
Editing of the WIP article itself should not take place until the specific change has been agreed upon by consensus on this page.
Discussion should generally be held within the boundaries of the current designated area. For example, if the "Future directions" section is currently being discussed then posting a lot of views on the "History of Physics" section - unless relevant to the "future directions" - is discouraged. The AOB time at the end of the process can be used bring up matters that have already been discussed.
Above and beyond Civility, a friendly and co-operative environment is encouraged. Ultimately we are all here voluntarily, and all just to try and construct a HQ encyclopedia - if folks start getting worked up then we just need to chillout. A negative environment is neither as constructive nor all that nice a place to work as a positive and friendly one. The use of smilies is encouraged. !
The first area of discussion, let's get the basic foundation of the building right before we start putting on the roof. The current layout (of the WIP - I think it would be a good idea that current always refers to the WIP page unless a link to a specific version is given) is detailed below. What stays? What goes? I think the basis here should be to work out what structure we want and a brief (i.e. one or two sentences) outline of what each chapter should be focussing on - detail will come later when each section is looked at and discussed in depth.
* 1 Introduction
* 2 Classical, quantum and modern physics
* 3 Branches of physics
o 3.1 Central theories
o 3.2 Major fields of physics
* 4 Theoretical and experimental physics
o 4.1 Fringe theories
o 4.2 Phenomenology
* 5 Applied physics
* 6 History
* 7 Future directions
* 8 See also
* 9 Notes
* 10 Further reading
o 10.1 Popular Reading
o 10.2 University Level Textbooks
+ 10.2.1 Introductory
+ 10.2.2 Undergraduate
+ 10.2.3 Graduate
+ 10.2.4 History
* 11 External links
o 11.1 General
o 11.2 Organizations
Thoughts, points, discussion and ideas welcomed. SFC9394 21:27, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
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