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

Brion Vibber brion at pobox.com
Wed Dec 20 23:57:06 UTC 2006


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Neil Harris wrote:
> Different-script blocking on en: must therefore stop as soon as SUL is 
> implemented.
> 
> But, since human-readable usernames are essential to managing the wiki 
> system, and for many people names not in their native script are not 
> human-readable, there must necessarily be some sort of solution to the 
> name-incomprehensibility problem before SUL goes live.

I should just point out that SUL *changes nothing* with regard to this
situation.

It has always been preferable for the same username to mean the same
person on all wikis, but it isn't enforced until the system is ready to
do that. That's all SUL does.

A person may have different usernames on each wiki; they've always been
and always will be free to do that. SUL does not change that.

A person may also use a nickname for their signatures which is cuter or
easier to type. Always have been, always will be. SUL does not change that.

It might be useful to be able to make nicks more pervasive in their
visibility. SUL does not change that.

That doesn't depend on SUL, nor does SUL depend on it in any way.

- -- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)
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