Re: [Wikitech-l] Geonotice improvements that could make Wikinews great (among other benefits)

One of the great frustrations of Wikinews for me is that it doesn't have a system for identifying and pointing users toward opportunities to get out into the offline world and do original reporting.  A fine-grained cross-project opt-in geonotice system could be a solution. Here's how I imagine it working: there is a new opt-in geonotice (in addition to the current one that reaches everyone in the specified geography).  For the opt-in geonotice (which would hopefully be able to reach across projects, since many causal Wikinewsies visit that site only rarely) any trusted user could add new items to let nearby people know about reporting or photography opportunities.  For these opt-in notices, we would not need to lock down the ability to add items like we do for the current geonotice system (it's a fully protected page), since people who opt-in will expect a bit a noise. So, for example, I would set a notice that Senator Chris Dodd is holding a public discussion about health care reform on such-and-such date in Hartford, Connecticut.  I mark this as a photo opportunity and a reporting opportunity.  The system sets a default radius (or better yet, users specify the radius they want to be notified within) and everyone within x kilometers of Hartford who has opted in to the notice gets a watchlist message pointing to more details.  I can imagine a wide range of tips and events that could be spread to the right people with such a system. This would do a couple things: it would draw in new users to Wikinews, and given enough participation it could provide a resource that is useful for professional journalists.  Journalists are eager to figure out useful ways to tap the knowledge of amateurs, and a widely used geography-based tip-line is something that Wikimedia still has a chance to be the first organization to do well.  I think finding a way to play a major part in the ongoing changes in the journalism world ought to be a high priority for the Foundation. -Sage Ross (User:Ragesoss)