Thanks to Yaroslav who started this interesting conversation, and thanks
for all the comments. I agree with lots of them, but especially this: Happy
Public Domain Day!
On Tue, Jan 1, 2019 at 7:15 AM Amir E. Aharoni <amir.aharoni(a)mail.huji.ac.il>
wrote:
בתאריך יום א׳, 30 בדצמ׳ 2018, 15:55, מאת Yaroslav
Blanter <
ymbalt(a)gmail.com
:
Re main point: People, let us be serious. We missed mobile editing (well,
at least this has been identified as a problem, and something is being
done
about it). We missed voice interfaces. We are now
missing neural
networks.
We should have been discussing by now what neural
networks are allowed to
do in the projects and what they are not allowed to do. And instead we
are
discussing (and edit-warring) whether the Crimean
bridge is the longest
in
Europe or not because different sources place the
border between Europe
and
Asia differently, and, according to some sources,
the bridge is not in
Europe. Why do you think that if we keep missing all technological
development relevant in the field we are still going to survive?
False dichotomy.
Wide participation in big strategic discussion is a Good Thing, but it
doesn't mean that it's the only thing all the Wikimedians should be talking
about. There are people who are less interested in strategic discussions
and more interested in on-wiki fact-checking. Wikipedia editors' obsession
for fact-checking is its strength—our strength. It's sometimes frustrating
because it can go into silly technicalities or political ax-grinding, but
for the most part it's the main thing that keeps Wikipedia relevant,
trustworthy, and popular.
How can these fact-checking practices be harmonized with current technology
and media culture is the right question to ask. If the people who often do
this can *also* occasionally participate in strategic development
discussions, there's a chance it will be answered. Invite them.
Happy public domain day and happy new year! :)
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