On Feb 21, 2016, at 3:54 PM, Thyge ltl.privat@gmail.com wrote:
I really wonder why wikimedia discussions have migrated to FB. ...
On Sun, Feb 21, 2016 at 4:00 PM, Brandon Harris bharris@gaijin.com wrote:
Because Talk pages suck as a medium for conversation and allattempts to fix this have been shot down with venom.
This is a very important point to discuss -- and actually circles us back to the topic of post-mortems.
When software features are unpopular, it is very important to carefully consider the reasons for their unpopularity. Here, Brandon, I think you're implying that there is fundamental resistance to change. I disagree; I think the attempts (Liquid Threads and Flow), though there was great technical merit in them, were approached in ways that felt threatening to Wikimedians.
If we disagree on this, that's OK -- I don't expect to resolve this disagreement here on the list. But I do think we should have a thorough, careful evaluation of how the Liquid Threads and Flow projects were approached. It should include what factors contributed to and detracted from their popularity among Wikimedians. That, I think, would establish a shared understanding that would support discourse about whether or not it is possible to design better discussion software, and how that could be more effectively approached.
Why were past efforts shot down?
Is it possible to imagine an effort that would not be shot down, but embraced?
What would need to be different?
These are the kinds of questions I wish the Wikimedia Foundation would get better at asking and exploring.
-Pete [[User:Peteforsyth]]