A recent article in the Wikipedia Signpost newsletter describes a study that found that Wikipedia may be capable of “unlimited growth.” What the heck does that mean? I can’t really say I know, but the study compares the number of new “red links” (that is, links to articles that don’t exist yet) to the number of new articles, over time.

The study seems to assume that too many redlinks makes for an encyclopedia that is too diffuse to be useful, and too few means it isn’t growing as fast as it should. I’m not quite sure I buy either premise, but the conclusion — that the project seems to be in a “sweet spot” right in between, where both numbers are rising at a similar rate — is encouraging.

One interesting tidbit: “only 3% of new articles were created by the same user who created the first link to that article.”

What are the most exciting developments in Oregon-related coverage lately? Personally, I find the coverage of rivers, creeks and watersheds — mostly led by Finetooth — very inspiring. Take a look at the articles on Johnson Creek, Balch Creek, and (shameless plug for my own project here) the Columbia River to get a feel for what’s being worked on.

Recent Collaborations of the Week — led by Aboutmovies — have also led to better coverage of Oregon newspapers and Oregon state parks, as well. (This week’s collaborations are Tom McCall and the Willamette Meteorite.) What else?