[Foundation-l] Seeking clarification

[Jason Safoutin]

> Message: 5
> Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:21:07 -0500
> From: Dan Rosenthal <swatjester at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Foundation-l] Seeking clarification
> To: Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List
> 	<foundation-l at lists.wikimedia.org>
> Message-ID: <B78BCFC6-963E-4FF4-9B28-1524032D0C65 at gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes
>
> And yet for every good story Wikinews has, it is buried under 100 crap  
> stories, conspiracy theories  about the WMF, self-deprecating leaks,  
> etc.
>
> Clean up the rampant bias within many Wikinews stories, and maybe  
> you'll get there.
>   

Contributers write about what they want. If it follows policy and 
guidelines then we have no say as to what is news. Just because you 
consider a story trivial or "crap" doesn't mean they are. That's what we 
call a POV...you can add that remark to the comments section though. If 
you dislike a news story then you dislike it. That's your problem and no 
one else's.

> For once I agree with GerardM. Wikipedia did breaking stories first.  
> It did them best. And it still does.
>   

And shouldn't. It's an encyclopedia, whether you choose to accept that 
fact is your business.

> Wikinews may eventually grow into a truly outstanding organization,  
> but it's not there yet. 

Know of any "trivial" CJ agencies interviewing heads of states? Or the 
WWW inventor? It's not there because the "news" section on WP forces the 
people looking for *news* to an encyclopedia.

> While you say that Wikipedia contributors are  
> only thinking about themselves, turn that around on Wikinewsies? You  
> aren't the only news site out there. You certainly aren't the only WMF  
> project out there, nor are you the biggest. Remember that you are a  
> smaller cog in a much larger wheel. 

Wikipedia is not the WMF's only project. The quicker that WMF/board 
realize that, the better off everyone could be.

I never said once Wikinews was the only news site nor the only WMF 
project. Not once.

> The WMF can't be as effective as  
> it is if it does not focus on its strengths, which right now are the  
> Wikipedias and Commons. Maybe soon Wikinews will be one of the  
> strengths too, but it's just not quite there yet IMHO.
>
> -Dan
>
>   
Each project = equal treatment. This is not a contest of the best WMF 
project. Cannot sit here and call us the biggest database of free 
*collaboartive* knowledge if we are competing. Want to compete, enter a 
race.

Jason Safoutin (DragonFire1024)