On 11/13/2010 11:08 AM, Ryan Kaldari wrote:
What's the URL for Robert's service? I would love to try it out. If the service isn't mature yet, is there a code repository somewhere?
Ryan Kaldari
Much of what I was trying to get started was covered on this very mailing list. If you go into the archives and look up Wikijunior to see some of the efforts that were made, including some initial publications that were made through Lulu (that were also removed from Lulu at the request of the WMF). The organizing efforts were being done on Wikibooks as much as could be done, and that was pretty much where it ended too.
The problem was that PediaPress offered money, which we didn't. There isn't really a name to the group as it was only loosely organized, but there were several volunteers working with me at the time we were trying to put things together. I also paid out of my own pocket for a couple of trial runs to see how the system could work, and tried to make a business case for the effort. I was also looking for some kind of partnership and noting that handing money was quickly going to be a major issue. It was also something that the WMF did not want to get directly involved with for reasons that I understand completely too.
Much of the motivation for the whole effort I was involved with centered on the original promise that Wikijunior was going to be set up for making printed versions of the Children's books created by that project. Apparently some money was given to the WMF by some donor with some guidelines on how the project was to be set up. To the best of my knowledge that money has never been fully accounted for other than being swallowed up by the operations of the server farm and the general operations budget of the WMF. As an administrator on Wikibooks at the time, I felt personally responsible for maintaining the Wikijunior community and to follow through with the promises that were made in terms of getting those printed versions of Wikijunior books out to the public.
It never happened, however. When the PediaPress deal was announced, it sort of sucked whatever wind was left in the effort out, and some other needs in my own life came up that also took precedence.
I keep holding out hope that eventually things are going to change, and I wouldn't mind trying to put together some other similar effort again to restart the momentum that was lost years ago. Unfortunately most times I try to do that it falls flat on its face with nobody else interested in helping out or even considering the idea. I was hoping to have a more volunteer effort like what is being done with the wiki projects or perhaps more like Distributed Proofreading that would help prepare and publish the books. I still think something like that is needed, but at the moment there is no home and the only URL I can give is my e-mail address at the moment.
There have been some semi-recent changes in the publishing industry that I think makes a volunteer effort work out much better where everything that is going on including how the funds are raised and spent being more out in the open can happen. My problem is merely getting people together that are interested in something like that at the moment or even finding a forum to present the idea. I have hoped that Foundation-l would be that forum, but apparently it isn't.
-- Robert Horning ____________________________________________________________ Refinance Now 3.4% FIXED $160,000 Mortgage: $547/mo. No Hidden Fees. No SSN Req. Get 4 Quotes! http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL3241/4cdef42d13dde1d3a9dst04duc