Running an edit-a-thon

If you are thinking of running an edit-a-thon and need more information you can contact Ewan McAndrew (ewan.mcandrew@ed.ac.uk) for advice.

The programs and events dashboard is a good tool for managing events. It is:

• easy to use
• tracks contributions during the event so you can see how many edits or new have been made
• tracks the progress of the event
• works with many languages
• is compatible with any Wikimedia project

There are three different types of programs

• Basic Program
• Edit-a-thon
• Article Scoped Program

How to set up an event:

1. Navigate to the programs and events dashboard.
2. Log in to your Wikipedia account (if you do not have one you need to make one).
3. Give permission for OAuth and the Dashboard to interact with pages using your account.
4. You can select your language by clicking on the dropdown in the top right hand corner next to your username.
5. Click on ‘Create an Independent Program’.
6. Select ‘Create New Program’.
7. Choose from:
   • Basic Program.
   • Edit-a-thon.
   • Article Scoped Program.
8. Fill out the form.
   • Program title.
   • Institution.
   • Home Wiki - this is the main Wiki for your program.
   • Tracked Wikis – Wikis to track edits.
   • Program description.
   • Select whether you want your program to be private or not.
9. Fill out the next form including: 
   • Choose the start and end of activity time when contributions will still be counted.
   • Specify if your start and end times are different to activity tracking.
10. Click ‘Create my Program!’

The Programs and Events Dashboard - a staging area to manage Wikipedia assignments and events

Further Resources 

• Running an editathon training library on the dashboard.
• Editathon page on wikipedia.
• How to run a wikipedia editathon.

© Ewan McAndrew and Hannah Rothmann, University of Edinburgh, 2020, CC BY-SA 4.0, unless otherwise indicated.