It seems like every six months or so I end exposing my frustration about the lack of attention our requests get from developers on foundation-l. In one month we will have been waiting for feedback on the LST patch a full half-year. So I thought to compile all the tips I have been given on getting features for Wikisource in one email to see if anyone else has other suggestions we have not tried.
The only suggestion I have gotten from the recent foundation-l thread is to include implementation of an extension in the development. I really don't understand what is meant by that.
Six months back I was given the following suggestions on development issues:
*be certain requests fit with the interests and priorities of the group that would actually effect it ( I think this is not an issue with the Wikisource requests)
*get someone writing code to think the requests are useful and/or neat (Mixed success)
*convince developer the feature *is actually desirable*. (We have really failed here. Even when we have gotten editors from nearly all the active languages to announce their support for a request in one place with none opposing, I have been told by a developer that he thought "there is open debate about whether this is a desirable feature" I suggest this be read as "convince Wikipedia editors to tell developers a feature is actually desirable.")
*occasionally throw in a casual request for the status of your latest (least) favourite bug. (Mixed success)
*See if you can get someone to write a toolserver tool that performs more or less the same function as MediaWiki should. This has been a remarkably successful approach at Commons, although we'd prefer the MW solution of course. ( This really hasn't been tried. I personally don't think Toolserver is capable of what we want in our requests, but I am really not certain what it *is* capable of.)
*you may want to learn PHP and the MediaWiki codebase... ( Well not an option for me personally, but Thomas V has gotten many things done by coding them himself )
An idea of my own, is to work at convincing the German chapter that a feature is important as they have employed developers. This hasn't been tried as far as I know.
I would point out progress has made been on features in the last six months. Thomas V has done great work with Proofread Page extension, another addition to his impressive resume of Wikisoure solutions. And I especially want to say how much I appreciate the work of Steve Sanbeg, who as a new Wikisoure contributer, has gotten LST to be a workable extension instead of just vague concept. I met Steve at Wikimania in Boston and he shortly thereafter got to work on coding LST. He also has some great ideas for using bots to take on the next step in the en.WS Bible project after LST is installed. So if anyone is able to attend Wikimania this year, please recruit developers!
Birgitte SB
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