On Sat, May 2, 2009 at 11:09 AM, Yoni Weiden yonidebest@gmail.com wrote:
The question is - shouldn't there be one set of standards for all Wikipedias? I think it is "unfair" that I can read about Simpsons episodes in the English Wikipedia, while those how speak Hebrew cannot.
The German Wikipedia has always had much tighter inclusion criteria than English. While English is open to having an article on every Pokemon, every episode of the Simpsons, and lots of other pop culture, German has defined inclusion criteria that are much more like a traditional encyclopedia in scope. As a result, they have significantly fewer topics.
Andrew Lih, author the Wikipedia Revolution, pointed out a consequence of this that I had never appreciated. Because German is much more "encyclopedic" in scope and appearance, they also get taken more seriously and are seen as more reliable. (Flagged revisions and other tighter editorial controls also help.) As a result they have an easier time approaching governments and others for assistance, such as arranging image donations.
Historically, I've always felt more was generally better, but this helped me realize there can also be advantages to choosing to focus on less.
Back to the original question, given that there do exist substantial differences in inclusion criteria even amongst the largest projects, any attempt to standardize at this point would be massively disruptive to someone, and so it is probably not a good idea.
-Robert Rohde