Hoi, Technically there is nothing stopping Wikidata from hosting multiple infoboxes on the same subject. The big thing about such infoboxes is that their layout is the same for all subjects in the same category. This does not mean that every one looks the same but it does mean they follow a consistent pattern.
When people talk about things like colours and stuff, it becomes highly emotional but in the final analysis at this stage it is just more bike shedding. It should be obvious that attributes like colour can be overriden.. Given that info boxes will not be supported in the near future ...
The notion that people should curate the info boxes locally is something that I do not subscribe to. Not being able to agree on data and sources is the same as not being able to reach a neutral point of view. This does not mean that multiple sources may not agree but equally it does not mean that different sources cannot be maintained from within Wikidata.
Finally, when Wikidata provides data and info boxes, it does not mean that any project is compelled to use it. As Wikidata matures, it will become increasingly clear that it is not the best practice. Thanks, GerardM
On 14 June 2012 12:11, Gregor Hagedorn g.m.hagedorn@gmail.com wrote:
While I agree that it is desirable to support simple, preformatted Infoboxes that can, with minimal effort be re-used in a large number of language versions of Wikipedia, I strongly disagree with the demand to make this the only choice.
I think the present Wikidata approach to allow local Wikipedias to customize their infoboxes by accessing wikidata properties property-by-property is the right path.
The large Wikipedias with many editors have invested considerable creative energy into making quite a large number of infoboxes elaborate information containers. That includes formatting, images and hand-crafted links in both the "field name" and the "field value" side. Some values are expressed through svg graphics, other values expressed through background color coding, etc.
Limiting the usability of Wikidata to plain vanilla infox boxes could cause considerable resistance in these communities. And although small Wikipedia will profit a lot from Wikidata, without the engagement of editors from the large Wikipedias into curating Wikidata content, the increased synergies will not happen.
Another issue is that (I believe that) Wikidata does not have a notion of ordering properties. Correct? This is no issue for the present Wikidata approach because infoboxes remain curated in each local Wikipedia. However, in a centralized "one size fits all" approach, replacing existing infoboxes where information is presented in a logical order with an alphabetical property order would create huge resistance (and would be a complex issue that Wikidata would have to deal with, allowing property ordering and filtering).
I believe that Wikidata correctly aims to provide a smooth transition path, where it is possible to obtain only part of an infobox from wikidata and inject wikidata content into existing infobox layouts.
That said: I would encourage a third party contributor to try to create a default Wikidata infobox generator in a way (extension installable in multiple Wikipedias) that enables a wikipedia to autocreate a good looking, plain vanilla infobox with minimal effort.
Gregor
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