[Intlwiki-l] [Wikipedia-l] embassies and diplomats (fwd)

[Brion VIBBER]

Giskart wrote:
> Brion VIBBER wrote:
>> Pursuant to KQ's suggestions, I've started a page on the English 
>> wikipedia:
>>
>>   http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Embassy
and now Esperanto:
      http://eo.wikipedia.com/wiki/Vikipedia_Ambasadorejo

> A good idea be would  it not be better to use the meta-wikipedia for 
> this ? Now it is used to put stuff on that is out of please on the 
> English wikipedia.  I see a future for the Meta - wikipedia as the 
> central conectionpoint between all wikipedias. A truly international, 
> multi-lingual wiki for essays and other non-encycopedia stuff but also 
> as the centre for international co-ordination. For Embassys or some 
> respresantation.  You can make different "Main Page"s on the same wiki. 
> Somthing like this; http://meta.wikipedia.com/wiki.phtml?title=Hoofdpagina
 >
> I think there will be more active in the Embassy pages if the are all on 
> 1 wiki. Then there are only  only 2 wikipedias to monitor. . If the 
> Embassy pages are all on the home-wikipedias i think some will be 
> forgotten and the traffic, if any, will only be downstream from the 
> English to the others but not upstream.

My experience with Meta has been that I check it somewhere between very 
rarely and never, which makes it useless for me for discussion or site 
announcements. On the other hand, the wikis I participate in *editing* I 
check rather regularly (en, eo quite frequently, fr at least few times a 
week; I check de for the bug reports page), and so I'm much more likely 
to notice big news / help requests / policy discussions there. Likewise 
the mailing lists (eg intlwiki-l) come directly to my inbox once I've 
subscribed, so it's tough to ignore them.

I doubt I'm alone in this, so I would expect to have an easier time 
getting ahold of, say, the French wikipedia community by writing on a 
page on the French wiki which will appear to all French wikipedians in 
their RecentChanges list than by writing on a page on meta which if I'm 
lucky someone (an "ambassador") will remember to check. If I want to get 
ahold of _everyone's_ attention, that's what intlwiki-l is for. The 
people who are subscribed to these mailing lists (the "ambassadors") are 
guaranteed to receive that, and they can then make sure there is 
appropriate local discussion on their home wikis and that everybody's 
voices are heard on the mailing list.

Someone unable or intimidated to post directly to the big list can leave 
a request at their local "embassy", which the local ambassador can send 
on to the mailing list.

But you're welcome to prove me wrong, I've been hoping we could do 
something useful with meta for a long time. :)

-- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)