Axel Boldt wrote:
Administratively, this is very nice. If they want a change in software, configuration, or hardware, they have to do it themselves. Less work for us, more control for them. I expect that many active international Wikipedias will go that route over time.
I expect and hope for the opposite, a united world community, working together in peace and harmony for the betterment of all. I oppose Balkanization, or the assumption that differences are more important than similarities.
There are many benefits to working together -- a positive change to internationalization features will benefit all languages, not just one. Going off into separate groups, with separate servers, separate software is a step away from harmony.
There's nothing wrong with people starting competing projects if they want. But that doesn't mean that we should not pursue a strategy of inclusiveness.
We want input from Spanish speaking people. That input will be harder to get if there is a totally separate Spanish organization, and if we tell Spanish newcomers "go away, there's a Spanish project for you".
I don't think our using their content, or them using ours, is any kind of insult. Why should it be? That's the whole point of the free license.
--Jimbo