WeRelate:Suggestions/EVENT page type

Historical events are often mentioned in genealogy. While WeRelate (WR) is probably not the best place to create pages of that sort (such content being more suited to Wikipedia), having specific WR pages as a reference point could be quite valuable.

For example, Savage often makes note of the matter when someone is either a victim or known accuser during the Salem Witch Hysteria. On the pages of our transcript, each such reference could be linked to Wikipedia (WP). While linkages of that sort would be helpful to the reader - we might want to have a different perspective - what are all the pages in Savage that refer to those events in 1692? If we had a page on WeRelate associated with the Witch Trials, with our transcript linking there (instead of directly to Wikipedia), we have exactly that in the "What Links Here" for that page. Having our own such page fortunately does not condemn us to separate reproduction of the scholarship on WP - no more than creation of PLACE pages required us to revisit existing content on WP (an example of this in current practice, Mather's Magnalia Christi Americana - both contains an extract of the related WP page and, if you consult "What Links Here", will show all the pages in Savage citing this reference).

Interestingly, an event page type could also be like our existing PLACE page type, in that it provides useful structure. For Place pages, the enclosing dimension is location of a piece of global geometry - historical events likewise have an enclosing structure. For example - the Siege of Petersburg - historically encloses events like the Battle of the Crater and Actions at the Boydton Plank Road. In turn, the overall campaign would be enclosed by an event for the American Civil War.

Exactly like PLACE pages, EVENT pages would provide a location where event-specific genealogically-relevant sources and practices can be discussed. Specific cemeteries, sources and repositories come to mind as useful.

Some of what is suggested here could probably be accomplished with categories, but I suspect that is rather less than what we might get with an explicit page structure. Perhaps someone more familiar with wiki category features will comment on how this approach might be better, worse, or just different, from doing something coming from that direction.

(Final notes: In hindsight, this extension seems so obvious, that I expect it has already been contemplated, if so - forgive me for not being aware of the discussion. Also, carrying the argument above into military unit organization and history, by creating an explicit MILITARY page, is left as an exercise for the reader!)--Amelia 10:26, 6 July 2012 (EDT)

--jrm03063 11:28, 5 July 2012 (EDT)

I like this idea for the benefits of the page structure and hierarchies, etc. Regarding the specific example of the Salem Witch Trials, there is a category already. (A basic one, that could be much more interesting and have WP content and a template, but it does exist ;-)