--- Anthere anthere9@yahoo.com wrote:
I am interested in such a project, and I think it could have a life on its own, with some of its information being in wikipedia as well. I tend to consider Wikipedia as a "generalist" encyclopedia, which should try to stay simple, readable to most, and avoid jargon and very specialised information. Wikipedia can be a central reference, with surrounding projects, smaller, and more specialised.
Such a project must not overlap with Wikipedia or any other Wikimedia project in any significant way. For example, creating a war and conflict Wikimedia project would be unwise since that would divert energy now used to improve that aspect of Wikipedia. But that is not to say that creating a textbook on the subject would be a bad idea to have on Wikibooks (in fact, such a textbook would be most welcome). However, that is different than having individual articles on individual topics (which is the role of an encyclopedia).
I still need to see better what this project should be, but I think it should be separated, but with strong interactions with Wikipedia.
It sounds like an openly editable relational database is needed. That way small amounts of info could be used and searched for in Wikispecies while prose and encyclopedic info can be kept in Wikipedia. Such software could also be used for other database info on just about anything, so limiting this to just species and taxa may be unwise.
But I will not support any fork of our bilogy section. Any Wikispecies project *must* be complimentary to Wikipedia and cause no harm to it. The burden of proof is on those who want to start such a project if they want it to be hosted by Wikimedia.
This also brings up a very important general point: We need to develop a clear process for starting new projects (language versions are a separate matter). For example, proposals need to be made, then debated and refined. A list of any software 'must haves' and wants needs to be developed (these are very significant for Wikispecies) and then we need to determine if the project can start without the 'must haves' or if it has to wait until the software is ready. An assement on whether or not the proposed project concept could be absorbed into an existing Wikimedia project and if that proposed project would welcome also needs to be conducted. Pros and cons need to be devloped. Then we need to have a Wikimedia-wide vote to certify the project and launch it (if the software needed to run it has been developed).
-- mav
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