On 11/28/05, Rowan Collins <rowan.collins(a)gmail.com> wrote:
On 28/11/05, luis(a)cyber.law.harvard.edu
<luis(a)cyber.law.harvard.edu> wrote:
Yes, but it is infrequent-by-many- i.e., I'd
guess virtually everyone
tries to do it once, and it is an early task that forms a key first
impression of the quality of the software for admins. It really is
something that should be fixed if mediawiki wants to become more than
just the wiki that powers wikipedia.
Well, 2 obvious answers that somebody is bound to make:
1) MediaWiki doesn't exactly "want" to become more than the wiki that
powers Wikipedia - development of the core codebase is very much
driven by the needs of the Wikimedia Foundation, and there is no
intention among the core developers to change that emphasis.
This is a very good point that a lot of users miss. The function and
shape of mediawiki, like any other open source effort, is driven by
the needs of the core developers, or those paying their salary. Free
open software is free as in freedom. Anyone can extend the software,
by patching and trying to keep up with changes while lobbying to get
patches accepted into the base. And getting those changes into the
base is more likely if it enhances the purposes intended by the core
developers.
In any event, mediawiki is already more than just the wiki that powers
wikipedia, there are quite a few happy users including me.
2) Can you clarify what you think makes the current
customisation
process difficult, and - even more usefully - can you suggest how it
might be improved? Is it just that the existing method isn't clearly
documented (or that the documentation itself is too hidden)? Or is the
on-wiki "MediaWiki namespace" system, with [[Special:Allmessages]] as
a guide, fundamentally flawed? Or is it more the LocalSettings.php
parts you're reffering to, or the division of features between the
two?
And one should keep in mind that the reason that this particular area
of customization is a bit complicated is to meet the needs of
Wikimedia. A lot of the complication is there to support localization
via the Mediawiki namespace.
--
Rick DeNatale
Visit the Project Mercury Wiki Site
http://www.mercuryspacecraft.com/