[Wikipedia-l] Cart before the horse (was: www.wiki vs. en.wik)

[Poor, Edmund W]

All this talk about changing from www.wikipedia.org to en.wikipedia.org is a matter of putting the cart before the horse. We've come up with a bright idea and are contending over whether or not it's a good solution.

First, we must define exactly what the problem is. Maveric and Tarquin have tried to do this, among others. Allow me to recap, in part.

Some non-English wikipedias often feel ignored & sidelined. Spanish Wikipedia forked. Susning.nu may be seen as a fork. 

Further unilateral discussion, such as the last 200 or so e-mails this week, to determine the fate of the relationship could prejudice the outcome of negotiations, leading the vary ones we wish do woo back think: "Why do THEY get to decide everything? I'm outa here!" and then say to us: "Adios, amigos!"

Lars brought up the concepts of ambassadors and embassies. I don't think we should impose on other langugae communities the restriction of speaking only through an ambassador. Yet it would substantially help us English speakers to appoint an ambassador -- someone like Maveric, who is passionately devoted to the project, willing to work hard, and is eager to understand the viewpoints of others despite his own linguistic limitations.

We need to take a fresh look at why our brothers created their fork(s). Obviously, it seemed good to them. I'd like to know why it did so.

Ed Poor