[Foundation-l] A Wikimedia project has forked

[Nathan]

On Mon, Sep 12, 2011 at 7:04 PM, MZMcBride <z at mzmcbride.com> wrote:

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> Wikimedia indisputably now exists to serve the English Wikipedia. Wikimedia
> is quick to call Sue "Wikipedia Executive Director," isn't it? Or plaster
> "Wikipedia founder" on every fundraiser-related publication?
> Thanks for volunteering to clarify some of my confusion. :-)
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> MZMcBride
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"Wikipedia founder" is, well, true and meaningful.

In any case... While I'm sure that Wikinews has lacked for attention from
the WMF, it seems a reach to blame its current state on that factor alone.
It has an ecosystem problem, structural problems that are inherent in its
wiki nature, and as Kim mentioned... a potentially serious and long-term
personality problem. As I understand it, English Wikinews has for its entire
history (or nearly so) been virtually dominated by a single individual with
a reputation for volatility. This has often been cited as a drawback of
contributing there. Given the small community, it's not hard to imagine how
severe personality conflicts could lead to dramatic consequences over time.
The problem with Wikinews is the sum of all these factors, not the direct
and clear result of any lack of investment from the WMF.

Nathan