[Foundation-l] English Wikipedia ethnocentric policy affects other communities

Jeff V. Merkey jmerkey at wolfmountaingroup.com
Thu Dec 21 22:04:35 UTC 2006


If you need some C code to instrument this, I will write it over the 
holiday. In essence,
you create numbers for users, and they are THAT NUMBER. What NAMES THEY USE
then becomes irrelevant. Its simply a mapping issue to map the names to 
a single numerical
record.

For examples on how this is implemented in the Native NetWare File 
System, please go and look at the
source code for this FS. You can download it from HERE:

ftp://www.wolfmountaingroup.org

under the NWFS file system. I have to do this to support multiple 
namespaces when I wrote the original
NetWare File System for Novell SMP 10 years ago. This other code on the 
WMG servers was the open source
clone of the NWFS for Linux and Windows.

Take some time to look at it. Particularly HASH.C

Jeff

Jeff V. Merkey wrote:

>You know, the solution to this is so easy. File systems have dealt with 
>multiple namespaces for a long time. Here's how you do this
>(are you reading this Brion). I deal with this crap in File System 
>design all the time and the NetWare file system had to solve this
>problem with namespaces.
>
>1. When a user is created, you create a unique NUMBER (like a file 
>directory number) and associate it with a NAME from the name space in 
>which it was created.
>2. The database for the various languages (as, nv, chr, en, nl, etc.) 
>all store this number and associate it with NAMESPACES stored somewhere
>in the database. If someone created an English name, then you store the 
>name in the EN database along with the number. If someone logs into 
>another language wiki and there is no text name for that namespace, your 
>REFERENCE the default name.
>3. When someone creates a new name on another wiki they always have THE 
>SAME DIRECTORY NUMBER or USER NUMBER and then you associate this name as 
>an ALIAS.
>
>Easy to implement and easy to track. USER NUMBERS should be tied to IP 
>ADDRESSES and IP ADDRESS RANGES with the autoblock detection in 
>MediaWiki, but instead of blocking, USE IT TO RESOLVE THEIR DEFAULT NAME.
>
>Jeff
>
>David Gerard wrote:
>
>  
>
>>On 21/12/06, Yann Forget <yann at forget-me.net> wrote:
>>
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>>>In your options below, you forgot the main argument GerardM has
>>>expressed in this thread: that the problem faced by the English
>>>Wikipedia upto now will nearly disappear *because* of SUL.
>>>   
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>How will the problems disappear?
>>
>>e.g. how does the problem of admins on a given language Wikipedia not
>>being able to read usernames in unfamiliar scripts disappear with SUL,
>>rather than get worse? GerardM has declared that adding a user-ID to
>>the username is utterly unconscionable for no well-defined reason, so
>>the only option that leaves is that all Wikipedia admins must be able
>>to read all scripts used on any Wikipedia (and have the fonts and
>>browsers to be able to do so) to be admins. I can only presume you and
>>he hold that a superior option from a usability point of view.
>>
>>
>>- d.
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>>foundation-l mailing list
>>foundation-l at wikimedia.org
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>>
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>
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