Talk:Micronations

What should be included in this article?

There are hundreds or thousands of micronations around the world, a lot of them in the bedrooms of teenagers or in the backyards of cranky old guys. Most of these micronations cannot be visited, or are not places of interest. I think it would be a bad idea to let this are become a list of a whole bunch of non-travel-related pet projects as it would distract from micronations that can be visited by travellers.

Specifically, can Qarsherskiy be visited? Is it worth visiting? The new listing for it and the Newport News article do not provide any information on how to get there or why to go there. Without that information, I don't think the Qarsherskiy is relevant to travellers. Ground Zero (talk) 18:10, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

I agree. —Granger (talk · contribs) 16:37, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

Ditto. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 22:09, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

I've removed, but already another micronation, the Conch Republic has been added, even though the Key West article does not identify any points of interest associated with it. Should this one be removed too, so that this article doesn't become just a copy of the Wikipedia list of micronations? Ground Zero (talk) 02:59, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

Yes. A possible rule of thumb: If a listing in this article doesn't make any claim of being visitable and the micronation isn't mentioned at the relevant destination article, it can be removed from this article without discussion. —Granger (talk · contribs) 03:38, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

Another possible criterion is whether it has a WP article (e.g. w:Conch Republic but not w:Qarsherskiy) which has the advantage of letting arguments about notability go on WP rather than here. Also age: CR was founded in 1982, Q in 2023. Pashley (talk) 06:44, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

I am not sure we should rely on Wikipedia (some micronations with an article there may not be viable destinations), but the micronation should be described well-enough somewhere for us to be able to assess whether it is worth listing. A good Wikipedia article might do that, but a good article – or even a good listing – here would also do it. Qarsherskiy isn't listed in Newport News so the entry here is worthless. The Conch Republic is listed as a restaurant in Key West, likewise worthless (is the "nation" a marketing ploy?). Akhzivland is redlinked, no useful description here.

I think somebody contemplating adding an entry should first make the effort to write information on it corresponding to a usable article (get in, eat, sleep, see and do), and entries not linking to such an article or listing (which mentions the micronation state) could be deleted from here with little reflection (except allowing time for improving a started listing or article).

–LPfi (talk) 08:22, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

New article: Micronations

Swept in from the pub

Much to my surprise, we don't seem to have an index of micronations yet, so I created one. Not quite sure if this is a travel topic or an extraregion? Thoughts and additions welcome. Jpatokal (talk) 08:07, 3 May 2023 (UTC)

I think in principle, this could be a totally valid topic: there's novelty to going there, you can learn about the local customs at these places, and there are some important facts about possible scams and fake visas, etc. to be aware of if you're traveling there. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 08:18, 3 May 2023 (UTC)

Why would it be an extraregion, though? It's no different to a travel topic on tropical rainforests, per se. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 08:37, 3 May 2023 (UTC)

We should be careful here. Only a very few micronations are traerl destinations, i.e., places where a visitor can see or do something, such as Republic of Molossia. In most cases, a micronations is a teenager's bedroom, or some guy's house. They are not worth seeing for themselves, but the founders will be keen to have an opportunity to write about their pet projects. We don't want to encourage them. Ground Zero (talk) 10:39, 3 May 2023 (UTC)

For what it's worth, on en.wikipedia they're highly prone to vandalism/silly edits, e.g. Bir Tawil. Brycehughes (talk) 20:04, 3 May 2023 (UTC)

I'm not terribly worried about silliness: we can apply standard WV rules for what's a valid POI, and teenagers' bedrooms aren't. Jpatokal (talk) 22:07, 3 May 2023 (UTC)