Ting Chen wrote:
Tim Starling wrote:
Ting Chen wrote:
Hi folks,
since its creation I wondered why this happend. Why is there a classical chinese Wikipedia? This language has no native speakers and is not used by any relitious or official institution as official language.
Because at the time it was created, we had not yet given GerardM and his team of rules lawyers the power to decide all wiki creation issues. There was a sentiment that we as a community should make our own decisions on language issues, rather than to delegate it to some standards body who might not have similar interests at heart. And some people held the opinion that while language study and preservation is not our core mission, it'd be nice if it happened anyway, especially if there is no significant cost to the organisation.
I totally agree with you on the issue of language conservation. Actually I had even thought about the possibility to use our wiki to do such things. I had read quite some articles for example on Scientific American about the problems of language conservation that the researchers are facing. And I think that wiki can be a technical way for them.
But the classic chinese is another case. Classic chinese is a dead language, and to write about the modern Olympic games with such a language is simply original research. It has nothing to do with language conservation.
Surely a pedagogical study of Classical Chinese is more relevant to our educational mission than Wikiquote's enormous sitcom dialogue collection, or Wikipedia's in-universe sci-fi/fantasy character studies.
"No original research" should be considered a project policy, not a Foundation policy. Original research is an immensely valuable activity, and Wikimedia should not be opposed to it on principle.
-- Tim Starling