@nshahquinn-wmf thanks for checking on this.

I have moved the repository under wikimedia-research on GitHub: https://github.com/wikimedia-research/wikimedia_project_creation_closure_dts. I was able to complete the creation dates part, but not the closure dates. I don't think I will be able to get to it before the end of Q1, so if you can take over, that's wonderful. I am happy to collaborate, for thinking through the approaches, reviews and consolidating everything. I will go ahead and assign the task to you.

Here are some updates:

• There was no single approach that works for all, the data is a consolidation of various sources. I thought it would be best to add a column to mention which source/approach was used. Also, if you can review the creation dates notebook, that will be helpful.
• For the closure dates, the notebook is a mess! I was just trying a bunch of things, feel free to scrap it. Anyway, the approaches I was trying/thinking of were (which were a bunch of suggestions I got during the hackathon):
  • For wikis closed after Feb 2012, the git blame data can be used.
  • For wikis closed before Feb 2012
    • The last revision or log performed by a non-steward and some extensions/scripts ('Flow talk page manager', 'Global rename script', 'MediaWiki message delivery', 'Maintenance script')
    • The earliest recorded date for imports in the log table of the incubator, as the content usually gets imported to Wikimedia Incubator after closure.
    • There is a consistent closure message added to the wiki's main page (example), the date of the edit that added the message/template could also be a source.