It can often be a good thing if someone who doesn't speak a language does a lot to make a Wikipedia larger.
However, it can also create a harmful environment. (No particular accusation against Hugo.arg - I don't know the situation there)
When we have a Wikipedia with 5000 pages full of what appears to be good writing, that is good... but what if it's written in very poor language?
En.wp and other large Wikipedias are able to absorb text written by people with not-so-good commands of the target language, but only because they already have a large volunteer base and the vast majority of existing text is already up to par. Imagine, however, trying to start work at a Wiki that is in very poor language, difficult to understand, obviously written by someone who has only studied your language for a semester or two and is using a dictionary to get by. This isn't so bad if there are only 100 pages or so, but what if there are 1000, or 2000? This seems unacceptable to me.
On 23/10/2008, Cary Bass cary@wikimedia.org wrote:
Mark Williamson wrote:
Yo creo que el problema con la gn.wp es que Hugo.arg no sabe hablar el guaraní. ¿Por qué otorgamos acceso administrativo a tales dictadores que no saben hablar el idioma local? Este chavo es un lituano que nunca ha viajado a Paraguay, Argentina, o Brasil, los cuales son los países donde se habla el idioma guaraní.
I think the problem with gn.wp is that Hugo.arg doesn't speak Guarani. Why do we grant administrative access to such dictators who don't even speak the local tongue? This guy is a Lithuanian who has never been to Paraguay, Argentina, or Brazil, which are the countries where Guarani is spoken.
Mark \
I believe he's discussing http://gn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puruh%C3%A1ra_myangek%C3%B5i:Hugo.arg#Suppressions, and is complaining his templates have been deleted. Hugo.arg, who does not in fact, speak Guarani seems to have in spite of that deficiency done a great deal of work in making the Guarani Wikipedia grow.
Here is where he earned the rights from two community members...(including Kanon6917 who happens to live in Lima and speaks a small bit of Querana) http://gn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikipet%C3%A3_myangek%C3%B5i:Tekohapegua#Reques...
Anyway, Richard, if there is a serious dispute with Hugo.arg, you should bring it to meta:RFC.
Cary
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