Gerard Meijssen wrote:

Hoi, Elly wrote a fine message about the increasing problems with interwiki links. Several people have answered on this threat indicating problems. I think I have an answer to the issues raised and I wrote them here http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/A_new_look_at_the_interwiki_link

I believe that we can dispense with running the many client side bots for the interwikis and have a more economical server side bot in stead.

I welcome all comments and I hope that there will be no arguments that prevent an implementation of this scheme.

This seems like a typical techomanic solution to the world's problems. It assumes that each project will miraculously reach a perfectly equivalent solution when faced with the same problem or challenge, and that a babelwiki can bring them all together with a stroke of a magic wand. As much as I hate to use the Bible as a reference we have ample experience that goes bach to the eleventh chapter of Genesis.

Using history as an example two pedias may easily decide that some country's history be broken down chronologically. Nevertheless, one may divide that history into dynastic periods, while the other chooses to do so strictly by centuries. Neither group is likely to want to revise its structure to accomodate the other, nor should it be required to do so.

Ec

PS: I appreciate the joke in the last sentence of your comments. :-)