[Wikitech-l] MediaWiki as a Wikimedia project

[GerardM]

Hoi,
When the Wikimedia Foundation wants to make MediaWiki an official project,
it has the potential to make this change happen. With this change, the WMF
however assumes responsibilities that it currently does not have. It
currently does not take responsibility for the way Brion has too much on his
plate to finish the many things he did not finish. It can at this moment
selfishly urge Brion to do whatever because of WMF priorities.

When the WMF takes responsibility for MediaWiki, it should take much more
notice of all the other organisations that use MediaWiki and have developed
their own changes to accommodate needs that the WMF does not feel for its
projects. Doing this will bring the power of all the people who also
developing MW, and it will bring the need for integration and support that
has not really been addressed up to now.

If this move is intended to bring more volunteer developers to MediaWiki I
am afraid that it is just window dressing. It will not make much of a
difference because people come and stay as they like. If you TRULY want more
developers, having someone dedicated to coaching the people who are new to
the MediaWiki code would make much more of a difference. Having someone
coach people who are doing projects and stuff in Universities would really
help.

Sure, MediaWiki is strategic to the Wikimedia Foundation. It is not only
strategic to the WMF. In order to take the role of "owning" the project, it
is important that the WMF considers how this new role gives responsibilities
and if the WMF wants to take up this burden.

Thanks,
    GerardM

On 1/6/07, Erik Moeller <erik at wikimedia.org> wrote:
>
> I'd like to reopen the discussion about whether we officially consider
> MediaWiki a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. Currently, the
> position of the Foundation on this issue appears somewhat ambiguous.
> While we run the Subversion repository, the website, the mailing
> lists, and pay the two lead developers, MediaWiki is listed, for
> example, on:
> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Our_projects
>
> not as a Wikimedia project, but as a "related project." It is also not
> part of our usual list of projects. On the other hand, mediawiki.org
> carries the "A Wikimedia Project" button.
>
> My view is that we should make this the consistent, official view and
> consistently promote and list MediaWiki as a Wikimedia Foundation
> project wherever other Wikimedia projects are listed. My hope is that,
> in doing so, we will make MediaWiki more prominent and attract more
> volunteers to work on it, just as on other Wikimedia Foundation
> projects. I also believe that this will help in making MediaWiki
> strategy a key part of the Foundation's general project strategy.
>
> What are other people's thoughts? The only downside I can see is that
> this might be seen as a move to exercise additional control over the
> direction of development. But already, all major code changes to the
> core have to be approved by Brion, who is a Foundation employee. I
> actually think it will be easier to identify our responsibility
> towards outside users if we consider MediaWiki to be a key part of the
> free culture movement that the Wikimedia Foundation must support.
>
> --
> Peace & Love,
> Erik
>
> DISCLAIMER: This message does not represent an official position of
> the Wikimedia Foundation or its Board of Trustees.
>
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