On 10/13/2011 8:43 PM, Andreas Kolbe wrote:
My impression, from reading several articles in this
topic area in both projects, is that this is quite a representative example, illustrating
fundamental differences in approach between the German and English Wikipedias, with the
German Wikipedia generally aspiring to a more high-brow, rather than populist, approach.
It's worth adding that so many people from German-speaking culture have
good English skills, including virtually all of those who are interested
in pursuing the less scholarly presentation of information, that it
allows the English Wikipedia to serve as a release valve where this
might otherwise create greater divisions in the German Wikipedia's
philosophy of creating an encyclopedia. Going beyond the issue of
images, this manifests itself in their rather different perspectives on
inclusion/deletion and notability.
In all respects, this was a very insightful analysis of the situation.
It's interesting to consider some of the unexpected tradeoffs involved
in taking different approaches to making an encyclopedia.
--Michael Snow