[Foundation-l] Re: meta-discussion for new project proposals (was Proposal for new project: Faith Wiki)

[Dovi Jacobs]

Some thoughts on the very concept of a "new project":
 
The Wikimedia concept first came into being based on an analogy to the reference shelf in a library.
 
The first, most basic and most important tool on a reference shelf is a good encyclopedia.
That gave us Wikipedia, where we began.
 
Other typical elements on the reference shelf are dictionaries 
and other language tools (Wiktionary);
and a book of famous quotations (Wikiquote).
 
A reference shelf also includes a good atlas, 
but this has been pretty well incorporated into Wikipedia.
 
Then we moved off the reference shelf and into the classroom: 
Course textbooks and study guides are in Wikibooks 
(and these make up a large part of the realm of non-fiction).
Travel guides are similar, but they were already taken by Wikitravel.
 
Then we created Wikisource for the entire realm of texts 
previously published (but not original contributions).
So we became a full library too, not just a reference shelf.
 
Then we realized that people learn not from plain texts alone
but from illustrated texts, radio and television: 
images, sounds, and video.
Hence Wikimedia Commons.
 
The entire realm of the news media was still left uncovered
(newspapers, magazines, TV news, radio, etc.),
but then Wikinews began.
 
So what is left for new projects that cannot be covered within the existing ones?
 
Not much, really. At least I cannot think of many.
 
All that seems to be left are certain kinds of original texts:
*Original fiction
*Original non-fiction *besides* study guides (which are already covered by Wikibooks)
 
I don't even know if we want projects like that or not.
 
But it does seem that the vast majority of needs are covered by the existing projects.
So I agree with the general sentiment that most of the effort should be going into bettering
the existing projects, though this does not mean there cannot be new projects. We should indeed guide people as to how they can build their ideas within the existing projects.
 
Dovi

		
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