Translations:Course-v1:edz+11+2023 SP/en/block-v1:edz+11+2023 SP+type@html+block@897ac59a393142ea87dec6039923be45/content/en

Generally organizers report three reasons for using lists:

• Lists help organizers track and maintain a structured approach to closing a knowledge gap (such as measuring progress towards a certain percentage of .
• They assist in  finding topics, especially for non-experts.
• Prevent confusion for newcomers, guiding them to notable topics, instead of requiring them to find topics.

Historically, the movement created lists manually, pointing users at a "red link" and a citation; almost all early editathons had manually created lists of recommended articles. However, over the years community-built tools and better data has made it easier to semi-automate list building activities. We can even sometimes use advanced machine learning to create lists of topics.

<img src="https://diff.wikimedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1280px-WikiconNL2019-_DSC7420.jpg?resize=1024%2C707" />

Though most lists of content are made on-wiki, some live events, such as this workshop in the Netherlands, have tangible, physical lists.

Further reading: If you would like to learn more about the “why” of list building, Alex Stinson wrote a blog series about this :<a href="https://diff.wikimedia.org/2019/11/21/lists-in-the-wikimedia-movement-why-what/" target="[object Object]"> Lists in the Wikimedia Movement</a>