This is a long thread, with a somewhat confusing first post. One of the core ideas I can pull out of it, is along the lines of: "we should have more dynamically variable content for different audiences/needs". I.e. For any given topic: Some people want the 10 word version, Some people want the 2 sentence version, Some people want the 2 paragraph version, Some people want the 2,000 word version, Some people want the 20,000 word version, and Some people want the n-subarticles version.
This is a broad set of ideas that has come up regularly over our history. It has obvious connections to Wiktionary and Wikidata for the shortest "versions". It has obvious connections to the spectrum of Mergism to Seperatism.[1] It has obvious connections to manual of style guidelines about intro/lead-sections.[2] It has obvious connections to Simple Wikipedia and the various adapted-for-kids/schools versions (WikiJunior, Vikidia, and many more). It has obvious connections to different display/consumption types (widescreen vs tablet vs phone vs audio).
The first two version-types have been proposed, or implemented, in various forms many times. A few years ago I made a summary table of the existing variations, in an attempt to stop the wheel-reinvention.[3]
Making complex content be /dynamically variable/ in length, has also been tried externally before. As I wrote in an earlier Strategy discussion: "For example, The Encyclopedia of Life had an interesting "complexity slider" interface in their early versions, that let readers set how complex or scientific/formal they wanted their content [See ancient screencast at youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28T7q01pG50&t=167 (30 seconds worth) and the preferences panel that let the reader restrict the content to "Authoritative sources only" youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C05jAgJkuPw&t=198 (40 seconds)]. -- A 10 year old person doesn't (always/often) benefit from the same content as a PhD, and we want to help both. The books The Diamond Age and Ender's Game contained the idea of software that auto-adapted to suit the educational needs of the user. To me that's the final goal, and it's a long way off, but we can make steps and experiments towards it."[4]
Sadly, EoL removed that feature and I don't know why; perhaps due to software complexity or perhaps due to the complexity for authors of writing different versions. I do think dynamic content is an incredibly important goal that we should work towards, but I also think we're already in midst of many incredibly important and vastly complex goals and I suspect we don't have the capacity to scale to encompass many more simultaneously. However, Eventualism is (generally) what got us to where we are, and is likely what will get us to where we want/need to be.
TLDR: I hope some people collaborate on a wikipage to write down the various ways a dynamic content system might technically work, so that we can analyze the pros/cons of each method more efficiently than in a tangent-filled email thread. I hope we eventually have a glorious scifi future where the computers automagically adapt content, neutrally(!), to best fit our individual needs in the moment. I hope we can figure out a smooth transition path to move everyone happily towards that long-term future goal, perhaps as part of the Strategy discussions. I hope nobody attempts to get it all done too soon. ;-)
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mergism and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Separatism [2] https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q10966628 and related sections within other pages. [3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Concise_Wikipedia#A_summary_of_existing_shor... [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Wikimedia_Strategy_2017/Cycle_1...