[WikiEN-l] strategy.wikimedia.org - slightly overwhelmed by discrepancy between "interactive" proposals and wikimedia goals

[phoebe ayers]

On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 12:29 PM, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton
<luke.leighton at googlemail.com> wrote:
> i'm in need of some help.  there are a number of proposals which
> recommend the use of java and flash, and, unfortunately, the java
> applet advocates are alarmingly.... unreasonable and vocal.
>
> the deployment of any programming language as a means to express
> and/or extend wikimedia pages is so at odds with the principle of a
> universally editable encyclopedia that i am having great difficulty
> even comprehending why anyone would advocate them, in direct
> contravention of the key strategic goals of wikipedia.
>
> here's articles essentially calling for the same thing: a means to do
> interactive / animated wikipedia.  the first three are great - the
> second three are incomprehensibe:
>
> http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/Proposal_talk:Text_or_Syntax_driven_Charts,_Diagrams,_Graphs_and_more
> http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/Proposal_talk:Inline_SVG_preference
> http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/Proposal_talk:Foundations_for_Interactive_Articles
>
> http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/Proposal_talk:Add_OpenLaszlo/Java_support_to_make_interactive_content_possible
> http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/Proposal_talk:Java_applet_support
> http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/Proposal_talk:Allow_upload_of_flash_animations

<snip>

Hi,

It looks like you've added comments to the talk pages of these
proposals already, which is probably the most helpful and relevant
place to do so. The other thing that could be helpful would be
starting a separate page just to compare, contrast and discuss these
related proposals.

There could be a separate task force just for these issues (media
support), as suggested here:
http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/Emerging_strategic_priorities#Other_Task_Forces
and that might be a good place to discuss such things with other
interested parties. I think the page just needs to be started.

(note: for anyone interested in a general class of proposals like
this, the task force pages listed at
http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/Emerging_strategic_priorities all
need to have links to the relevant proposals added to them, and new
task forces can be started).

Also, as a general gentle reminder, I don't think any of the proposals
you list were made in bad faith; someone clearly thought there were
benefits to be had as well, and maybe those benefits and (alternative)
ways to get them would be worth focusing on.

-- phoebe

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