Achim Raschka wrote:
Dear all,
I want to start a new Wikiproject called Wikikids. After a starting phase it should be a Wikipedia from children for children. The following proposal I posted at http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikikids an http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_new_projects#Wikikids but there seems to be no reaction. It would be great if we can discuss this at the projects discussion page at Meta.
Wikikids should be a Wikipedia-version for children aged between eight an sixteen years. After a starting phase when adults will construct the Wiki together with children it should be a Wikipedia from children for children. The idea is to have articles in a simple language without much scientific words and other stuff. The themes should be specific for children´s interests.
As a new project Wikikids will have the same starting problems any other project has too. It is thought, that Wikikids will be a Wikipedia in the full control of kids between 8 and 16 years old and also the sysos of this project will be children too. At the starting phase there will be some adults to help constructing the Wiki and get a start in writing the articles, but that should be as long as there are enough children to take control. From that time on, adults will be allowed to write articles inbetween the rules of Wikikids (first of all: simple language), but they will be users like any others under the control of children administration.
Problems
There are some problems to be discussed, but I think, it will be possible to handle them. For example there should be the problems of
- what is an encyclopedia, what kind of aricles should be find in
an encyclopedia?
- how about the copyrights of articles and pictures?
- ...
One major problem that is not mentioned, is how do you know when someone is between 8 and 16 years old, except when they tell you. I am long past 16, but what's to prevent me from saying that I qualify. How can this be reconciled with the right to edit anonymously, which is one of the important features of a wiki.
Ec