Wikipedia talk:WikiProject California

Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/WikiProject used

See also Discussion of the WikiProject California in Spanish.

Hi I just signed up and want to help but I need direction. Thank you. Ericmalibu 00:28, 12 August 2020 (UTC)

50,000 Destubbing Challenge Focus of the Week

Hello there. This is an invitation to join the 50,000 Destubbing Challenge Focus of the Week. £250 (c. $310) is being given away in May, June and July with £20 worth of prizes to give away every week for most articles destubbed. Each week there is a different region of focus, including the week ending July 5th dedicated to the US, though half the prize will still be rewarded for articles on any subject. There's a potential £120 to be won in total for destubbing on any subject or region of your choice. Sign up if you want to contribute at least one of the weeks or support the idea! † Encyclopædius 12:11, 28 April 2020 (UTC)

I support the idea and might be interested, but the US on the week including the 4th of July, seriously? CJK09 (talk) 16:33, 28 April 2020 (UTC)

A question

Is there a name for the system of ridge-and-valley foothills along the western side of the Sacramento Valley from approximately Wilbur Springs in the south to Paskenta in the north? It's a pretty distinct geological/geographical region just from looking at a map, and might deserve an article of its own, but I just can't find a name anywhere. CJK09 (talk) 06:16, 5 May 2020 (UTC)

Manzanar featured article review

I have nominated Manzanar for a featured article review here. Please join the discussion on whether this article meets featured article criteria. Articles are typically reviewed for two weeks. If substantial concerns are not addressed during the review period, the article will be moved to the Featured Article Removal Candidates list for a further period, where editors may declare "Keep" or "Delist" the article's featured status. The instructions for the review process are here. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 22:11, 9 May 2020 (UTC)

Collapsed tables do not open headers?

In most of the California county pages I've looked at, the (sortable) tables are all collapsed to a title line using 'collapsible' and 'collapsed'. In my environment, at least (Chrome on Linux) when I show these tables, the headers fail to show. In most cases this means the table is impossible to understand, it's just columns of numbers with no context. And of course, without the headers they are not sortable, either.

Changing the classes to (apparently now preferred) 'mw-collapsible' and 'mw-collapsed' fixes this problem locally (to some extent-- the way the tables are built, when they collapse the headers are still visible) but it seems to be a systemic issue across many pages. I've not looked across wikipedia more generally, only at some California county pages, so I don't know how widespread this is. I'm hoping an experienced editor knows where and how to fix this problem.

76.226.67.112 (talk) 08:05, 24 July 2020 (UTC)

Territorial evolution of California

I just spent some effort cleaning up, organizing, removing superfluous content, and adding missing content to this article. I welcome any reviews or feedback. I realize placing it in sections now makes the look and feel different than other similar state articles, but I think those other articles could also benefit from sectioning the data for easier reading. Please let me know what you think. Hopefully I'm not off base. I also think it is about as complete as it can be, given the type of article, so it might be due for an update of the article's quality and importance scale. Thank you. OvertAnalyzer (talk) 01:35, 1 August 2020 (UTC)

Contributing to La Jolla Cove

Hello! My name is Jessica and I am a student in a Policy Analysis course at the University of California San Diego. We have been assigned to contribute to an article and I am interested in adding some more up-to-date information about the California sea lions at La Jolla Cove on the La Jolla Cove article. I think other people can see my Sandbox (?) to see what I'm working on. Thanks! Jlw040 (talk) 17:59, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

• @Jlw040: You seem to be on the right track. Here are a few suggestions:

1) Consider starting the section with a brief one or two sentence explanation of what the "controversy" is. That way people won't have to read the entire section, unless they want the details.

2) The section is long enough, you might want to organize it into subsections so people can zero in on what they are most interested in about the controversy, but the length doesn't necessarily require subsections.

3) I recommend including a very brief definition of "hauling out" when you first use it in the body. I know you have a link in the lead of the article, but I think a brief clarifying definition is always helpful for such an unusual term.

4) Normally external links (links that take you outside Wikipedia) are not acceptable when they are imbedded within the body of the article. If necessary to support the article, they can be placed in a separate section at the end of the article called "External links". See Wikipedia:External links. External links such as "Hanan & Associates" and "La Jolla Swim Club" should not be imbedded. OvertAnalyzer (talk) 23:15, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

@OvertAnalyzer: Thank you for the feedback! I greatly appreciate your simple and straightforward suggestions. I have added a brief summary, divided the work into subsections, defined 'hauling out' in the lead and in my section, and removed the external links. I kept an external link at the bottom as you mentioned to the La Jolla Town Council Joint Task Force on California Sea Lions page because I believe it includes documents that further support my research and offers more specific local opinions on the issue. Let me know what you think! Sandbox, Jlw040 (talk) 22:44, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

• @Jlw040: I think your changes have improved your section of the article. Maybe some detailed copy editing would be helpful, but I'm probably not the right person for that. I was left with one question. It sounds like the problem started in 2013, but it does not explain what happened to trigger this. Is it a growing population of animals, are they moving south for some reason, or are there other factors involved? If you don't know, that is fine, but it might be helpful to explain that if you do know. Good luck with your assignment, and thank you for contributing to Wikipedia. OvertAnalyzer (talk) 00:50, 20 August 2020 (UTC)

@OvertAnalyzer: My understanding is that, since their protection by the MMPA in the early 70s, the population of CSLs has quickly bounced back from over-harvesting for their oil and hides. The Southern California population(s) were inhabiting the Channel Islands and using them as a rookery (place where they breed) but are "overflowing" onto mainland California. La Jolla serves them well because orcas and great whites aren't terribly common, and with the marine reserve they have plenty of food to support this new growing population. Here's a study that discusses more of the recent population trends of CSLs in central and southern California. Thanks again for your expertise! Jlw040 (talk) 16:15, 20 August 2020 (UTC)

• @Jlw040: I made a few formatting and punctuation changes, and broke up the last long paragraph into smaller pieces. If you don't agree with my changes, you are welcome to revert them. A couple final suggestions: 1) find a way to break up the sentence that starts "In 2017 the City increased ...". That sentence would be easier to read, if it can be split up, 2) I've been told references are generally supposed to be placed after the punctuation mark (see examples at Template:Ref). OvertAnalyzer (talk) 23:35, 20 August 2020 (UTC)

@OvertAnalyzer: I think your changes make it easier to read, and I took your suggestions as well. Thanks! Jlw040 (talk) 17:11, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

• @Jlw040: Good job! OvertAnalyzer (talk) 22:47, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

Area Code Map

This question concerns the California Area Code pages, which are listed under the broader umbrella of WikiProject California. There is an error in the area code listings. The northern portion of Mono County is in the 530 area code. However, the most detailed listing of that area code is missing this. The county listing under 530 reads ". . . . . Modoc County, Nevada County . . . ." It leaves out Mono County. To edit would require the changing of several links, something beyond my Wikipedia skills. Eventually I was looking for a map that would show enough detail to determine the exact southern boundary of the 530 area code. I haven't found that yet, but came across the above error while looking — Preceding unsigned comment added by Exsmokey (talk • contribs) 15:54, August 31, 2020 (UTC)

Don't forget to strike the tilde key four times to sign your postings. BeenAroundAWhile (talk) 04:32, 1 September 2020 (UTC)