On Jan 3, 2008 4:01 PM, Lars Aronsson <lars(a)aronsson.se> wrote:
So, what can a computer scientist do to assist this
messy process?
You can extract semi-structured parameter data from template calls
in the database dumps. You can compile statistics on which
parameter names are most commonly used in various templates (e.g.
"year" vs. "age", "name" vs. "title") and give
advice to how
parameters should best be named in new templates. For each
template you can compile statistics on which parameter names
(defined or not) and values are actually used and provide feedback
on the "Template talk:" page. You can work together with
WikiProjects on the proper use of templates and infoboxes.
All good. The good thing is that any infobox is encouraging
structured data, which will be easier to massage later into a better
form than completely unstructured data, either wholly automatically or
human-assistedly.
Not to mention that doing all this stuff seems to appeal to certain
editor mindsets, so they tend to improve over time.
-Matt