On 3/27/07, GerardM gerard.meijssen@gmail.com wrote:
Hoi, The result would be like it was before that an increasing number of projects are not supported with a language message file. There are two parts to this problem; MediaWiki is not only used by Wikipedia and MediaWiki is not only used by the Wikimedia Foundation. Creating a message file for a language is a job that does not take long. It needs doing.
I agree on that it would be nice to have those localized files. But the proposed Wikipedia community will be the community for building an encyclopedia powered by MediaWiki primarily, not for serving possible future non-Wikimedia Foundation projected powered by MediaWiki ... as for other possible Wikimedia project, I would point out that a new language community is occupied with tasks to launch one project generally, and launching Wikipedia successfully is the most powerful and surest accelerator for other projects in many cases. I am afraid the current LangCom policy is going to the opposite way.
Also I noted every LangCom member doesn't seem to support the idea "first localization, next project". I respect your evangelism, GeraldM, but your current attitude doesn't seem to encourage people to be involved into the project.
As for "seek friendly devs", it would be nice for the launching project to have such friends, but if the more experienced editors on LangCom have difficulties to introduce them, how can those supporters of the new project, I assume potential project-newcomers, find such a help? I failed to find the sense of this argument.
Once a new project IS started, a message file HAS to be created.
I was involved into two project launching, and every time I need to localize a huge of messages. But anyway message files are respectively added in every MediaWiki versions ... we have no idea the launching project community to keep the energy to follow such massive new message additions. And I know even on major projects like Japanese Wikipedia (there I am no sysop for your information) and occasionally meet not localized messages. Some are left, some are fixed, some are left until someone urges sysops to localize. But the project itself is running every day. That's the life, isn't it? And I have no good reason to take a severe attitude for small communities around five or luckily more, while we allow such somehow lazy attitude for existing projects with over 100,000 accounts.
Every language is to be treated equal; at this moment some languages are more equal then others.
Yes, I agree with you at this point, and therefore expect you consider your approach again for pursue of equality.
Cheers,