[Foundation-l] PediaPress

[Magnus Manske]

On Sat, Nov 13, 2010 at 11:04 PM,  <WJhonson at aol.com> wrote:
> In a message dated 11/13/2010 11:08:33 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> magnusmanske at googlemail.com writes:
>
>
>> 1. Given the limited of number services (one, plus Robert's which I
>> missed in the thread, if it still exists), it probably seemed
>> pointless
>> 2. Any service would have to develop the appropriate interface to
>> MediaWiki first, and also integrate with Wikimedia servers, as far as
>> I can tell; therefore, users adding buttons would be non-functional
>> without Foundation's active help anyway
>> 3. PediaPress might have "bought" a head start with the extension.
>> This is pure speculation on my part, though.
>>
>>
>
> 1) Assumption.  We do not know how many services there might be. Assuming
> there is only one, because one one has been allowed is beating a man with his
> own staff.

Note that I wrote "seemed", not "seems". I trying to list possible
reasons why this facility was created the way it was. That is
different to what it should develop into now.

> 2) This is not true.  Clicking "Make a book out of this page, and hold on
> I'm going to add some more pages to this book" has nothing to do with
> integration.  I can build a list of the pages you choose, right now, with a Php
> script and without any foundation approval.  My button interface might not be
> "pretty" of course, but it would work.

Again, please read carefully. I am not talking about the book "setup",
but about the actual preview/order process. You will note that the
PediaPress button goes to [[Special:Books]], which then redirects to
PediaPress. This, at the moment, requires integration. I does not have
to, but currently it does.

> 3) Under what RFP ?  How was it chosen, how was it vetted, why is the
> process to gain this approval now closed to any rival?

Yet again, with the reading. You did see the words "pure speculation"?


I'm getting tired of having to nitpick this discussion. How about
something practical? It should be feasible to conjure up some
JavaScript to add a new button pointing to another service, though I
suspect some internal magic happens before the PediaPress redirect,
handing the book structure data over. So, back to the basic question:
Which service would be able to take a structured page list and spew
out a book?

Magnus