On 7/2/05, Timwi timwi@gmx.net wrote:
Funny, and I thought there was already widespread concensus to get rid of it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it even its original initiator and most enthusiastic supporter (Angela?) is by now convinced that the project was a failure and that the idea was unsound.
Not so much unsound as never really developed. What is the point of the wiki? There was never any agreement on whether it was for learners of English as an additional language, or whether it was for children. The way some of it is written, it may even be for English speaking adults with literacy difficulties.
With no shared goal amongst those participating, I can't see the project ever being successful. Other than Netoholic, there are no users who regularly work on this wiki. There have been some over the last few years, but no one who has stayed with it. I was never exactly an enthusiastic supporter. I just looked after it for a while.
I'd prefer the project be changed entirely to reflect something more like what was suggested at http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikikids (in all languages). People wanting to write simple versions of existing English Wikipedia articles can focus on simplifying the lead sections of those. Having that on a separate wiki has not proved useful, whereas having something that is written by and for children may be different enough from the main Wikipedia to warrant its own project.
Angela