[Wikimedia-l] WikiData and WikiSpecies
Denis Barthel
denis.barthel at wikimedia.de
Mon Jun 3 11:50:13 UTC 2013
Disclaimer: I am writing this as a community member of the German
Wikipedia, where I have been active for many years in the
WikiProject:Biology. As an amateur I had to learn throughout the years,
that taxonomy is pretty tricky, much more than it seems at first sight.
Though it seems so easy to map taxonomical data in a database due to its
seemingly strict hierarchical nature, I'm afraid it is much more tricky
to implement as taxonomy is a discipline with a lot of traps to step in.
That doesn't mean, that it shouldn't be tried, but when considering to
do this: please get advice of professional taxonomists (not only general
biologists) before planning things like that from a purely technical
point of view. Be aware of heavy differences between the various, but
binding codes (Zoology, Bacteriology, Botany s.l. and cultivated
plants). Be aware of the necessity of concurring data trees working with
the same objects. Be aware of the continous changes of taxonomy and the
current tendency of dismissing defined ranks for the benefit of nodes.
Such professional advice could be useful to avoid failures due to
missing expertise in the very beginning. Just a hint.
Best regards,
Denis Barthel
Am 03.06.2013 12:01, schrieb Federico Leva (Nemo):
> Nikola Smolenski, 03/06/2013 11:44:
>> What if this interface would exist? I believe it could be made really
>> quickly and easily.
>
> It's not about interface only, for instance the search backend is
> completely broken and useless for Wikidata, AFAICS.
> From what I understand, the interface for Wikidata data is provided by
> client sites such as Wikipedia. There are no plans for inclusion of
> Wikispecies as client site, but if/when Wikispecies' needs are
> implemented this doesn't imply Wikispecies would be useless, rather
> that it would have easier access to data and could focus on its scope
> i.e. presenting such data. Currently it tries to do both and IMHO
> fails at both.
>
> Nemo
>
> P.s.: There are also connected problems like sv.wiki becoming a
> Wikispecies/Wikidata on its own with a million species bot-entries,
> but it's another story.
>
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