[Wikipedia-l] Re: Press release : Logo putsch onthe FrenchWikipedia !

[The Cunctator]

> From: Of Jimmy Wales on Friday, December 12, 2003 10:43 AM
> 
> Ruimu wrote:
> > In theory, each wp entry should be the perfect translation of the
same
> entry
> > in any language, don't you think ? (IMO encyclopedic goal is to try
to
> reach
> > universalism.)
> 
> I see what you're getting at, but I'm not so sure that it's right.
> 
> Consider an article on the [[Statue of Liberty]], which was a gift
> from France to the United States.  Both articles will state that fact,
> and give some details, but the French language article might quite
> naturally and properly say more about some of the particularly French
> aspects of the story.

> Readers in different languages will have somewhat different
> backgrounds and interests.  Different backgrounds mean that we must
> take into account different assumptions on what the reader will
> already be familiar with.  Different interests mean that we must take
> into account different emphasis on what the reader will expect to
> learn from an article.

I'm not convinced that we should have as a goal that the articles
reflect the biases of the readership. I would expect both entries on the
Statue of Liberty to tell the complete story. I have trouble seeing this
as anything other than a defense of provincialism.

> > Then, basic rules should be the same, and the Chinese NPOV is to be
> > the same as French one or Rwandese one.
> 
> But yes, NPOV is the same, and in the _essentials_, there should be
> very little difference between articles in different languages.

If NPOV is the same, then we shouldn't have as a goal articles which
reflect different biases.