Wikipedia:WikiProject Vital Articles
Ask yourselves: why didn't you look up Wikipedia's articles about economy, Dmitri Mendeleev, man, or land even though you know little about them? Simple, because they suck. Millions of people feel the same way too. This is not acceptable on our side and this must be changed by making these articles good.
Subpages
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Vital Articles/Tools - technical how-to on how to use tools and scripts
Past work
- 30 kB drive
- 47 articles expanded to 30 kilobytes; 26 July 2022 – 31 August 2022
- Vital GA Drive
- Land to good article status, unsuccessful; 1 September – 15 November 2022
Function
This WikiProject is designed to be a public space that has neat stuff to do or learn about, and to serve as a place where you sit down, relax, and make edits or discuss with others. Its purpose is to improve the Vitals articles and lists. We always welcome anonymous and new people here (and if you are one of them, have a chat at the talk page!)
There is no such thing as "joining" or "registering" for this WikiProject, as it is an overarching project that aims to gather other WikiProjects together for collaboration. If you're actively improving vital articles, you're already a member of this WikiProject. If you want to find people that are working on Vital articles, use this link to find recent edits and talk to them directly.
Tasks
- Wikipedia:Database reports/Vital articles update report
- No backlogUnassessed vital articles – -2 articles in total
- No backlogVital articles with unknown topic – 0 articles in total

A list of articles needing cleanup associated with this project is available. See also the tool's wiki page and the index of WikiProjects.
Improving a Vital article
While we might not know the exact formula for mass-producing Vital GAs, we do know ways to tackle and improve these kind of articles. Here are some techniques that you can use:
- Don't be afraid to try and don't be a perfectionist. Yes, that paragraph that you just wrote might not be there once the article is at GAN, but it will be an important stepping stone for recognizing further improvement. As long as your own content is significantly better and more reliable than the rest of the article, you've done a good job.
- Be concise and keep the summary style in mind. An article should not be too long or else the readers will become dizzy (~60 kB of readable prose is the ideal size). Pro tip: one of the best way to quickly raise article quality is to trim bad content, such as cruft, unsourced sections, original research, etc.
- Be mindful of systematic bias. For vital articles specifically, the most commonly encountered bias is American-European bias. For example, there's a tendency of using European allegories or paintings to illustrate abstract ideas. Don't just swap these images for the sake of diversity however. Remember, the best images are the one that is relevant, high-resolution, sharp, shows the subject clearly in the small thumbnail and is applicable to all cultures.
- Patrol sources and ensure their quality. If you find a low-quality source, either replace it with higher-quality ones or jank the content if it doesn't warrant inclusion in the first place. The WP:RSP list, User:SuperHamster/CiteUnseen and User:Headbomb/unreliable are some of the best tools available to detect bad sources, though remember to use your own judgement as well.
- Copyedit the text and make sure that the text looks more Wikipedia-like. If in doubt, take a look at Wikipedia:Basic copyediting, Wikipedia:Writing better articles, WP:Manual of Style and more.
If you had completed all of these basic techniques, here are some of the more specialized yet powerful ways that you can improve Vital articles. Enjoy these dishes with extra Wikipedia:Ignore all rules and common sense:
- Use the bold, revert, discuss cycle to garner attention and quickly adding improvements the (old) Wikipedia way. This method is especially useful for editing popular country articles provided that you're prepared. Just make an edit that you think it would improve the article, the edit then gets reverted, and both people discuss to reach a better solution.
- Use AutoWikiBrowser and other automated tools to quickly correct errors in many Vital articles. For example, you can use AWB to monitor typos and fix them accordingly. Detailed instructions for some tools such as WP:PetScan and user scripts can be obtained at Wikipedia:WikiProject Vital Articles/Tools.
- Import good content from subtopic articles. For example, in a section about the properties of numbers, it may be helpful to get the content from smaller scope articles such as natural numbers. However, you will need to attribute the source per Wikipedia:Copying within Wikipedia and can be pretty tedious when messing with the template. An IAR and simpler way might be to make a talk page section and list all of your articles that you've copied, including their oldid.
- And perhaps, the most spicy of 'em all is using large language models such as ChatGPT, GPT-3, etc. for brainstorming ideas on Wikipedia. These neural networks as of 2023 are one of the most powerful tool to face the writer's block and give clues at expanding broad-topic articles, and they have the potential to do far more in the future. It should NOT, however, be used to generate original content because of original research and verifiability policy. For tips on using large language models, see Wikipedia:Using neural network language models on Wikipedia and Wikipedia:Large language models.
Awards
We have a good roster of awards given to those that help us advance the goal to make all Vital Articles GAs and FAs. These awards may be awarded by anyone to anyone worthy.
Barnstars
{{subst:Vital Barnstar|1=message ~~~~}}
– good old barnstar, given to those that have done a good job.
![]() |
Vital Barnstar | |
{{{1}}} |
{{subst:The Vital Articles Barnstar|1=message ~~~~}}
![]() |
The Vital Articles Barnstar | |
{{{1}}} |
Userboxes
- {{User Vital}} – for members of the project.
![]() | This user contributes to vital articles on Wikipedia. |
- {{Vital userbox}} – good old userbox, given to those that have done a good job.
![]() | This user has received a Vital barnstar. |
- {{Good Vital infobox}} – Userbox for those that have successfully nominated a Vital good article.
![]() | This user has helped promote vital good articles on Wikipedia. |
- {{Featured Vital infobox}} – Userbox for those that have successfully nominated a Vital featured article.
![]() | This user has helped promote vital featured articles on Wikipedia. |
Assessment
For mobile readers, you can click here to switch to desktop mode to read the table more easily. This Vital article assessment scheme is meant to be subjective and complementary to Wikipedia:Content assessment.
Dashboard
Article alerts
For article alerts about a specific level, see:
For article alerts on all vital articles (levels 1–5):
Today's featured articles
- 24 May 2025 – Chinese characters (talk · · hist) will be Today's Featured Article; see blurb
- 23 May 2025 – Ezra Pound (talk · · hist) will be Today's Featured Article; see blurb
- 22 May 2025 – Dracunculiasis (talk · · hist) will be Today's Featured Article; see blurb
- 20 May 2025 – Cher (talk · · hist) will be Today's Featured Article; see blurb
- 19 May 2025 – Malcolm X (talk · · hist) will be Today's Featured Article; see blurb
- 18 May 2025 – Margaret Sanger (talk · · hist) will be Today's Featured Article; see blurb
Today's featured article requests
- 29 Jul 2025 – Gaetano Bresci (talk · · hist) has been proposed for Today's Featured Article by Grnrchst (t · c); see discussion
- 15 Jul 2025 – Manitoba (talk · · hist) has been proposed for Today's Featured Article by Z1720 (t · c); see discussion
- 08 Jul 2025 – Edgar, King of England (talk · · hist) has been proposed for Today's Featured Article by Z1720 (t · c); see discussion
- 04 Jul 2025 – George Washington (talk · · hist) has been proposed for Today's Featured Article by Z1720 (t · c); see discussion
Did you know
- 03 May 2025 – Flower (talk · · hist) was nominated for DYK by Dracophyllum (t · c); see discussion
- 30 Apr 2025 – Soliloquy (talk · · hist) was nominated for DYK by MallardTV (t · c); see discussion
- 24 Apr 2025 – Emperor Yingzong of Ming (talk · · hist) was nominated for DYK by Min968 (t · c); see discussion
- 22 Apr 2025 – Night (talk · · hist) was nominated for DYK by Rjjiii (t · c); see discussion
- 19 Apr 2025 – Technical geography (talk · · hist) was nominated for DYK by GeogSage (t · c); see discussion
- 16 Apr 2025 – Nothofagus menziesii (talk · · hist) was nominated for DYK by Alexeyevitch (t · c); see discussion
- 14 Apr 2025 – Iblis (talk · · hist) was nominated for DYK by VenusFeuerFalle (t · c); see discussion
- 13 Apr 2025 – Golden Temple (talk · · hist) was nominated for DYK by Ophyrius (t · c); see discussion
- 06 Apr 2025 – Rosa Parks (talk · · hist) was nominated for DYK by Spookyaki (t · c); see discussion
- 04 Apr 2025 – Rule of inference (talk · · hist) was nominated for DYK by Phlsph7 (t · c); see discussion
- (2 more...)
Redirects for discussion
- 09 May 2025 – The L (talk · · hist) →Chicago "L" was RfDed by GilaMonster536 (t · c); see discussion
- 08 May 2025 – Imam Reza (talk · · hist) →Ali al-Rida was RfDed by Denniscabrams (t · c); see discussion
- 08 May 2025 – Semi-presidental system (talk · · hist) →Semi-presidential republic was RfDed by MrPersonHumanGuy (t · c); see discussion
- 07 May 2025 – Pope John XXIV (talk · · hist) →Pope John XXIII was RfDed by HadesTTW (t · c); see discussion
- 07 May 2025 – San Diego, United States (talk · · hist) →San Diego was RfDed by QuietHere (t · c); see discussion
- 07 May 2025 – Automatic lubricating cup (talk · · hist) →Lubricant was RfDed by Steel1943 (t · c); see discussion
- 07 May 2025 – Automatic Lubricating Cup (talk · · hist) →Lubricant was RfDed by Steel1943 (t · c); see discussion
- 06 May 2025 – Durre Menthor (talk · · hist) →Tau Ceti was RfDed by SevenSpheres (t · c); see discussion
- 06 May 2025 – Zldksnflqmtm (talk · · hist) →Keanu Reeves was RfDed by JnpoJuwan (t · c); see discussion
- 03 May 2025 – Cyanogen hydride (talk · · hist) →Hydrogen cyanide was RfDed by Cremastra (t · c); see discussion
- (30 more...)
Files for discussion
- 09 May 2025 – File:CatherineSienaMeo.jpg (talk · · hist) (on Catherine of Siena) was FfDed by Magog the Ogre (t · c); see discussion
- 09 May 2025 – File:Would? - Alice in Chains.ogg (talk · · hist) (on 1, 2, 3) was FfDed by George Ho (t · c); see discussion
- 04 May 2025 – File:Shenzhen Metro Corporation logo full.svg (talk · · hist) (on Shenzhen Metro) was FfDed by Sinsyuan (t · c); see discussion
- 09 Apr 2025 – File:China Crosses Yalu.jpg (talk · · hist) (on Korean War) was FfDed by JayCubby (t · c); see discussion
Featured article candidates
- 08 May 2025 – Misti (talk · · hist) was FA nominated by Jo-Jo Eumerus (t · c); see discussion
- 21 Apr 2025 – Rani of Jhansi (talk · · hist) was FA nominated by AirshipJungleman29 (t · c); see discussion
- 19 Apr 2025 – One Direction (talk · · hist) was FA nominated by Jolielover (t · c); see discussion
- 18 Apr 2025 – Arab–Khazar wars (talk · · hist) was FA nominated by Cplakidas (t · c); see discussion
- 18 Apr 2025 – Chris Pratt (talk · · hist) was FA nominated by 750h+ (t · c); see discussion
- 14 Apr 2025 – Punic Wars (talk · · hist) was FA nominated by Gog the Mild (t · c); see discussion
- 07 Mar 2025 – Peking Man (talk · · hist) was FA nominated by Dunkleosteus77 (t · c); see discussion
A-Class review
- undated – Piri Reis (talk · · hist) was put up for A-Class review
- undated – Maximiliano Hernández Martínez (talk · · hist) was put up for A-Class review
- undated – Yuna Kim (talk · · hist) was put up for A-Class review
Good article nominees
- 09 May 2025 – Symbiosis (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by Chiswick Chap (t · c); start
- 08 May 2025 – Ann Radcliffe (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by LEvalyn (t · c); see discussion
- 05 May 2025 – Soliloquy (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by MallardTV (t · c); start
- 25 Apr 2025 – Xuande Emperor (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by Min968 (t · c); start
- 25 Apr 2025 – Wanli Emperor (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by Min968 (t · c); start
- 25 Apr 2025 – Jiajing Emperor (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by Min968 (t · c); start
- 25 Apr 2025 – Zhengde Emperor (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by Min968 (t · c); start
- 25 Apr 2025 – Hongwu Emperor (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by Min968 (t · c); start
- 08 Apr 2025 – Yongle Emperor (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by Min968 (t · c); start
- 08 Apr 2025 – Chenghua Emperor (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by Min968 (t · c); start
- (23 more...)
Featured article reviews
- 18 Apr 2025 – Augustus (talk · · hist) was put up for FA review by AirshipJungleman29 (t · c); see discussion
- 17 Apr 2025 – Kylie Minogue (talk · · hist) was put up for FA review by PHShanghai (t · c); see discussion
- 31 Mar 2025 – Stephen Crane (talk · · hist) was put up for FA review by AirshipJungleman29 (t · c); see discussion
- 24 Mar 2025 – Anne Frank (talk · · hist) was put up for FA review by Ali Beary (t · c); see discussion
- 23 Mar 2025 – Angkor Wat (talk · · hist) was put up for FA review by Z1720 (t · c); see discussion
- 05 Mar 2025 – Redshift (talk · · hist) was put up for FA review by Hog Farm (t · c); see discussion
- 21 Feb 2025 – Edgar Allan Poe (talk · · hist) was put up for FA review by Boneless Pizza! (t · c); see discussion
- 25 Jan 2025 – Nahuatl (talk · · hist) was put up for FA review by Erinius (t · c); see discussion
- 14 Jan 2025 – Hydrogen (talk · · hist) was put up for FA review by Boneless Pizza! (t · c); see discussion
Featured topic removal candidates
- 03 Apr 2025 – Everglades (talk · · hist) was nominated for FT removal by Armbrust (t · c); see discussion
Good article reassessments
- 03 May 2025 – Matrix (mathematics) (talk · · hist) was nominated for GA reassessment by Z1720 (t · c); see discussion
- 03 May 2025 – Ctenophora (talk · · hist) was nominated for GA reassessment by Z1720 (t · c); see discussion
- 25 Apr 2025 – Production–possibility frontier (talk · · hist) was nominated for GA reassessment by Z1720 (t · c); see discussion
- 21 Apr 2025 – Kingdom of Nri (talk · · hist) was nominated for GA reassessment by Z1720 (t · c); see discussion
- 21 Apr 2025 – Bill Haywood (talk · · hist) was nominated for GA reassessment by Z1720 (t · c); see discussion
- 21 Apr 2025 – Carbon (talk · · hist) was nominated for GA reassessment by Z1720 (t · c); see discussion
- 16 Apr 2025 – Golden Temple (talk · · hist) was nominated for GA reassessment by Boneless Pizza! (t · c); see discussion
- 07 Apr 2025 – Magnus Carlsen (talk · · hist) was nominated for GA reassessment by Z1720 (t · c); see discussion
- 18 Mar 2025 – Beyoncé (talk · · hist) was nominated for GA reassessment by SNUGGUMS (t · c); see discussion
- 07 Mar 2025 – Battles of Lexington and Concord (talk · · hist) was nominated for GA reassessment by Z1720 (t · c); see discussion
Requests for comments
- 07 May 2025 – Anthony Fauci (talk · · hist) has an RfC by Jtbobwaysf (t · c); see discussion
- 03 May 2025 – Abd al-Mu'min (talk · · hist) has an RfC by Blazing73 (t · c); see discussion
- 28 Apr 2025 – Perth (talk · · hist) has an RfC by PastelLilac (t · c); see discussion
- 25 Apr 2025 – Spanish Civil War (talk · · hist) has an RfC by Hh1718 (t · c); see discussion
- 25 Apr 2025 – Michael Caine (talk · · hist) has an RfC by Barry Wom (t · c); see discussion
- 21 Apr 2025 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (talk · · hist) has an RfC by PromQueenCarrie (t · c); see discussion
- 20 Apr 2025 – Torture (talk · · hist) has an RfC by Helper201 (t · c); see discussion
- 15 Apr 2025 – Tetris (talk · · hist) has an RfC by Lazman321 (t · c); see discussion
- 06 May 2025 – Taiwan (talk · · hist) RfC by 49.157.47.20 (t · c) was closed; see discussion
Peer reviews
- 03 May 2025 – Flower (talk · · hist) has been put up for PR by Dracophyllum (t · c); see discussion
- 02 May 2025 – The Queen Is Dead (talk · · hist) has been put up for PR by Cathodography (t · c); see discussion
- 30 Apr 2025 – Rosa Parks (talk · · hist) has been put up for PR by Spookyaki (t · c); see discussion
- 25 Apr 2025 – Hedonism (talk · · hist) has been put up for PR by Phlsph7 (t · c); see discussion
- 03 Feb 2025 – Carl Friedrich Gauss (talk · · hist) has been put up for PR by Sushidude21! (t · c); see discussion
- 28 Oct 2024 – Nayib Bukele (talk · · hist) has been put up for PR by PizzaKing13 (t · c); see discussion
- 22 Jun 2024 – Brown bear (talk · · hist) has been put up for PR by Wolverine XI (t · c); see discussion
Requested moves
- 09 May 2025 – Non-binary gender (talk · · hist) is requested to be moved to Non-binary by Elantrisadjusts (t · c); see discussion
- 09 May 2025 – Turkey (talk · · hist) is requested to be moved to Türkiye by Vinizex94 (t · c); see discussion
- 08 May 2025 – Siege of Constantinople (674–678) (talk · · hist) is requested to be moved to Siege of Constantinople (668) by Boverisuchus (t · c); see discussion
- 08 May 2025 – Jammu and Kashmir (state) (talk · · hist) is requested to be moved to Jammu and Kashmir (1952–2019) by 5.32.57.18 (t · c); see discussion
- 07 May 2025 – Kurmanji (talk · · hist) is requested to be moved to Northern Kurdish by Zemen (t · c); see discussion
- 07 May 2025 – Ohio State University (talk · · hist) is requested to be moved to The Ohio State University by Vanleos (t · c); see discussion
- 05 May 2025 – Life of Samuel Johnson (talk · · hist) is requested to be moved somewhere else by Howardcorn33 (t · c); see discussion
- 05 May 2025 – Ancestral Puebloans (talk · · hist) is requested to be moved to Ancestral Pueblo peoples by Plumber (t · c); see discussion
- 05 May 2025 – Eswatini (talk · · hist) is requested to be moved to Swaziland by Rreagan007 (t · c); see discussion
- 04 May 2025 – The Lion King (musical) (talk · · hist) is requested to be moved to The Lion King (stage musical) by Georgia guy (t · c); see discussion
- (19 more...)
Articles to be merged
- 10 May 2025 – Society (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Social by 2804:14C:5BB1:9473:40F4:115E:2804:CAC1 (t · c); see discussion
- 01 May 2025 – Gas chromatography (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Gas detector by Klbrain (t · c); see discussion
- 22 Apr 2025 – Atlantic hurricane season (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to List of Atlantic hurricane seasons by Hurricanehink (t · c); see discussion
- 21 Apr 2025 – Fishery (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Fisheries Economics by Uncle Bash007 (t · c); see discussion
- 19 Apr 2025 – Coin magic (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Coin manipulation by Piotrus (t · c); see discussion
- 06 Apr 2025 – Particle horizon (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Cosmological horizon by Johnjbarton (t · c); see discussion
- 17 Mar 2025 – Data (computer science) (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Digital data by Fgnievinski (t · c); see discussion
- 09 Mar 2025 – Cone snail (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Conidae by Ornithopsis (t · c); see discussion
- 07 Mar 2025 – Owner's manual (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to User guide by SMcCandlish (t · c); see discussion
- 27 Feb 2025 – History of California (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to History of California before 1900 by Natg 19 (t · c); see discussion
- (12 more...)
Articles to be split
- 09 May 2025 – Non-binary gender (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Elantrisadjusts (t · c); see discussion
- 07 May 2025 – Republican Party (United States) (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Moxy (t · c); see discussion
- 04 May 2025 – Second Vatican Council (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Gramix13 (t · c); see discussion
- 28 Apr 2025 – Organ (biology) (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Just-a-can-of-beans (t · c); see discussion
- 28 Apr 2025 – King Zhaoxiang of Qin (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by 66.206.124.146 (t · c); see discussion
- 26 Apr 2025 – Coen brothers (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by ClovisBarnhopper (t · c); see discussion
- 23 Apr 2025 – Suez Crisis (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Srnec (t · c); see discussion
- 22 Apr 2025 – 24 Hours of Le Mans (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Spyder Monkey (t · c); see discussion
- 19 Apr 2025 – Neoliberalism (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Cognsci (t · c); see discussion
- 18 Apr 2025 – Addiction (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Cognsci (t · c); see discussion
- (86 more...)
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Statistics
See also
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Vital Articles/Article alerts – specialized noticeboard for Vital articles
- File:Wikipedia’s poor treatment of its most important articles.pdf (2011)
- File:Fun or Functional? The Misalignment Between Content Quality and Popularity in Wikipedia (WMF Research Showcase 2015-09-16).pdf
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Vital Articles/Readability (2016)