[Foundation-l] Language autonomy and "readiness" (was: Swedish, Spanish, French Wikinews set up)

[Erik Moeller]

Daniel Mayer schrieb:

>The others I'm less sure about and would
>really like to know what those language communities think.
>  
>
Aside from what people's feelings are, it is important to collect 
empirical data. So far, your claim that Wikipedia will lose contributors 
to in-the-news articles because of Wikinews is unproven. It may in fact 
be the other way around, given that Wikinews prominently links to as 
much Wikipedia material as possible.

>My point is that each language community needs to decide
>among themselves if they are ready to start a new Wikimedia project in their
>language.
>
That's a different subject deserving of its own thread. I feel that 
whether or not a language community should have the right to decline a 
project should depend in large part on what its reasons are to do so. I 
am perfectly willing to say that the Chinese community should be allowed 
to make that decision, since they will have to pay the consequences if 
Wikipedia will be blocked because of Wikinews.

But the arguments that have been brought up against the French Wikinews 
are just the same that have been brought up against Wikinews in general: 
It could harm our reputation, it could lead to legal problems, etc. 
Whether these arguments outweigh the benefits of the project has been 
addressed in a global vote. So I don't see a reason why the French 
community should be able to deny people the right to work on a French 
edition of Wikinews.

Now, your argument is about "readiness". This is an interesting point, 
and the question of readiness should perhaps be handled in a different 
manner from the question of whether the project should be launched at 
all. When I launched the French Wikinews, I did not talk to the 
community beforehand and give them time to prepare for the launch. This 
may have ruffled a few feathers, and made it look like a decision that 
came from outside, rather than a genuine choice of the French Wikinews 
participants.

What is a good solution to that problem? Perhaps, as soon as the 
required number of contributors is reached, there should be a vote on 
when the desired launch date is. "Never" would not be an option in that 
vote, but it could have a scope of, say, 4 weeks. This would also be a 
test of whether the people who pledged to participate are actually still 
around and interested, so the vote could have the same minimum number of 
participants.

I am opposed to delaying the creation of Wikinews just because a 
Wikipedia in the language in question is still too small. That would 
create a hierarchy of projects. When there are participants, the project 
should be launched - but the timetable for the launch could be set by 
the community.

Regards,

Erik