Mathias Damour wrote:
The only sad thing is that it won't be launched in other languages
There is a longstanding proposal to create simple language Wikipedias in languages other than English and France, but it remains to be seen whether it is compatible with the current narrowing focus austerity regime.
And there is no Wikipedia in Simple French anyway...
JP
2013/5/30 Benoit Landry benoit_landry@hotmail.com
There is a longstanding proposal to create simple language Wikipedias in
languages other than English and France
Sorry, but... really!? France is a language now? Pft...
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Le 31/05/2013 04:10, James Salsman a écrit :
Mathias Damour wrote:
The only sad thing is that it won't be launched in other languages
There is a longstanding proposal to create simple language Wikipedias in languages other than English and France, but it remains to be seen whether it is compatible with the current narrowing focus austerity regime.
I'm afraid my message was not clear enought, I meant *Wikikids-type* projects should be launched in other language than existing active and well developed Vikidia in French and Wikikids.nl in Dutch ! I mean it should be a new set of project, not other "simple language" versions of Wikipedia.
The new Wikikids to launch in other languages would be in particular in German *and in english*, thus this page http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikikids/Relation_to_Simple_English_Wikipedia
Here is an extract of http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikikids/For_children_or_by_children_%3F **************************************************************************
Who should Wikikids be written for?
Wikikids is a free encyclopedia designed for 8-13 yeas old children. However, this description is of use to define what it is geared toward, but it doesn't exclude its usefulness to others.
The Simple English Wikipedia ultimately has a similar purpose, yet it is designed primarily to speak to /language level/ rather than its audience's /age range/.
/*See : Wikikids/Relation to Simple English Wikipedia http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikikids/Relation_to_Simple_English_Wikipedia*/
We may imagine a documentary resource that, beyond considerations of age range, would address a comprehensibility level of any particular subject. Indeed, at any age we can be considered a beginner in a particular field of knowledge, and would need simple documents to take our first steps.
However, as we become more familiar with the basic ideas in a field, we become able – whatever our age – able to explore and better comprehend ever more complex documentation. A child that is impassioned by archaeology would certainly take advantage of Wikipedia articles or even subsequently specialized articles if they do not contain too much technical jargon.
The crucial quality for a documentary resource for children is to take them seriously and to take into account their learning level without stooping to infantilization. We may keep as a criterion that the quality of a children-directed content should be such that it could, without embarrassment, be offered to someone in a learning situation on that subject, whatever his age, be he a non-native speaker, a high school student in another language or just someone needing, in a particular field, to start from scratch.
We may even be cautious in not making the reader feel inferior, be they adult or teenager, by making them feel that the content was not designed for him.
The fact that a resource devoted to 8-13 years old children could be used for adult learning can constitute a guaranty against risks of infantilization. The achievement would be that any person, be he 8 or 88, when starting from scratch on a subject, would know that he could find what he needs on such a wiki. **************************************************************************
Le 30/05/2013 21:18, Mathias Damour a écrit :
Hence the Wikikids proposal ! Our clue on fr.vikidia.org (one of the existing Wikikids-like project) on it being actually used by children is the numerous messages they drop on the Guestbook when invited to write "what they think of Vikidia" by a sitenotice : http://fr.vikidia.org/wiki/Vikidia:Livre_d%27or : Many thanks and enthusiasm ! :-) The only sad thing is that it won't be launched in other languages (and as a WM sister project) without your help and support (to fix the proposal, ask questions, write a RFC...)
See : http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikikids just set down : http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikikids/Relation_to_Simple_English_Wikipedia
On Thu, May 30, 2013 at 7:10 PM, James Salsman jsalsman@gmail.com wrote:
Mathias Damour wrote:
The only sad thing is that it won't be launched in other languages
There is a longstanding proposal to create simple language Wikipedias in languages other than English and France, but it remains to be seen whether it is compatible with the current narrowing focus austerity regime.
There has certainly been a long standing request for simple wikis beyond simple english (there is no simple french) but I have never seen any denials from the foundation. It has, for years, been the community and the language committee (created by the board but completely community) that has denied it as 'not an official language code' (or 'not needed' ) and just grandfathering Simple English in. Please don't bring your random dislike of the 'narrowing focus austerity regime' into it just so that you can get it on this thread too. There are enough reasons to dislike narrowing focus decisions but lets only blame it for things it actually did :).
James
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