[Wikipedia-l] The board has overstepped its mandate and authority

[Erik Moeller]

Daniel-
>> This is most definitely not a fork of Wikipedia. Wikispecies is more
>> about collecting data than writing articles. This data will be saved
>> in a way that allows all Wikipedias, not just the English one, to use
>> the data. As a project, Wikispecies has different aims to Wikipedia.
>> It is aimed at the needs of scientific users rather than general
>> users. Integrating Wikispecies into Wikimedia prevents a fork.

> *That* is what the Commons is for. Fork.

Mav is correct, in my opinion. It doesn't make much sense to have separate  
"data projects". Instead, we should pursue developing the Commons into a  
single such repository from which other projects can dynamically  
transclude their content. With one such project, it is very clear to every  
participant that the sole purpose is to store data. With many specialized  
projects, we risk that people come across something like Wikispecies and  
start treating it like it is Wikipedia.

I suggest supending species.wikimedia.org until it is clearer what  
direction this project needs to take. If no consensus can be found, a vote  
on Meta seems like a good idea (apologies if there already was one and I  
missed it).

Regards,

Erik