On 4/22/06, Jimmy Wales jwales@wikia.com wrote:
We have to draw a line somewhere, and we can argue internally endlessly without getting much resolution. So a useful technique is to try really hard to reference some external standards.
Perhaps the project should be officially renamed to "WikiTextbooks" to avoid misunderstandings - or would that be overkill? People probably base their ideas of what is acceptable on a) the content that is already there, b) the name "Wikibooks" suggesting an open-ended project to create books using wiki technology.
I agree that clear standards of what a "textbook" is are needed. But besides these, I think it is important to work out a way to get Wikibooks from "here" to "there".
For projects which are deemed outside the scope, as an alternative to deletion, it might be a good idea to have "Votes for adoption" - books tagged in this form could continue to be developed for the time being, but people would be encouraged to find a different, free content wiki to host them. Once there is consensus about a new home, the Wikibooks version would be redirected there.
This would recognize the fact that in its first couple of years, Wikibooks hasn't been very strict about the "textbook" requirement. People may be understandably concerned to have their work deleted without trace, having links break, etc. A gentle process might help to strengthen the textbook focus of the project without making people too mad about it.
Just some ramblings from a non-Wikibooks editor,
Erik