On Fri, Jun 26, 2015 at 4:28 PM, Juergen Fenn jfenn@gmx.net wrote:
Dear Leila,
thank you for elaborating how this mailing came about.
I would like to address the ethical aspect of your project.
In saying
"For the purposes of this research, we are taking the following approach: we take a more global approach to identify missing content, rank them by their importance, and recommend them to editors. The editor should make the final call whether the recommendation they receive should go to the destination language."
you certainly leave it to the editor whether or not to take action and actually translate an article you have suggested.
However, I think a threshold is crossed here with the Wikimedia Foundation interfering into the editors' business. It has generally been accepted that the Foundation will not care about content creation, except for handling DMCA takedown requests as office actions.
It still has to be addressed whether the Foundation may solicit the creation of content, and if so, in which manner? I gather from the discussion on German Wikipedia that most experienced editors think no. This is a volunteering project, and everyone taking part in it decides for himself what he would like to do. We have never had suggestions like this. Indeed, I think this is a delicate matter concerning the relation between the Community and the Foundation that should be dealt with in the first place. Which roles do we play? Or, which roles do you change, or rather play with? when sending out such a suggestion?
And, of course, an opt-in for such experiments would be fine. I think a lot of people would even be inclined to subscribe to such a list because after all we are interested in what you are doing, aren't we? ;)
Best regards, Jürgen.
I see no reason why anyone should be restricted from good faith solicitations to add content. I particularly do not see why the WMF wouldn't be permitted to do so; obviously the volume and quality of content available across all projects is a core concern of the WMF. Soliciting the creation of content - i.e. identifying gaps and asking volunteers to pitch in - is not the same thing as "managing" content on the projects themselves. Any such concerns are confusing the core mission of the WMF with the legal particulars of Section 230 safe harbor.