On 10/25/02 11:41 AM, "Stephen Gilbert" canuck_in_korea2002@yahoo.com wrote:
--- erik_moeller@gmx.de wrote:
<browser localization redirect>
Is there any problem with that? I strongly agree with Cunctator and others that a static, language-"neutral" frontpage is a very, very bad idea, esp. from a usability perspective.
Yes, this is what I want as well. The only objection that has been raised (to my knowledge) is that people may get directed to the wrong language. I don't understand this objection, as we should be using the language preference setting in each visitor's web browser. Also, a person would still be one click away from any other language, and he could set a language in his Wikipedia preferences should he desire.
Summary of the text below: "Fine with me, as long as 'www.wikipedia.org' doesn't redirect to 'en.wikipedia.org'."
1) There doesn't seem to be any major philosophical objection to a browser localization redirect of "http://www.wikipedia.org/".
I only see a secondary philosophical objection. The objection is based on the argument that first people should be encouraged to contribute to the Eng-lang Wikipedia before others, not from the principle that English is better, but from the principle that "from a strict efficiency point of view, the goal of a comprehensive and neutral encyclopedia would benefit from dealing with issues in only one central article with as many actors as possible debating/working together rather than several different articles with only a couple of persons in each place, even though they are updating their own articles from the other wikis", as Anthere eloquently put it. (I'm not claiming she advocates this position. She just described it well.) This objection would be pretty much obviated with better backend integration and interlanguage tools.
It's not a major objection, especially since the plan is to integrate the backend.
2) I would very much like to see a test implementation of this before it gets put on the live site.
3) If this could be implemented without redirecting English to "en.wikipedia.org" (thus introducing a new URL schema) that would be good, until or unless all the consequences of a new URL schema are worked out.