Wikimedia talk:Discussions/2012
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Moving to WMF hosting?[edit]
Just a thought, but many chapters have wikis hosted on WMF (uk.wikimedia, nyc.wikimedia, etc). This might be good for us too, especially because of the spam problems we currently have at this location. Ajraddatz 13:55, 1 February 2012 (EST)
- The spam problem has been annoying, but not overwhelming. As a legally autonomous organization it's important to have our sites in Canada, and under Canadian law. This may not make a big difference on this site which will primarily serve a function similar to that of Meta. It will make a difference on some other potential sites where material is more easily posted under Canadian copyright law. Eclecticology 18:37, 1 February 2012 (EST)
Wikipedia in Mi'kmaq[edit]
Good day, just a note to let you know that a new Canadian Wikipedia has been created. This is the Mi'kmaq Wikipedia (micmac). You can see it in the Incubator at [1]. Hopefully, it will become active enough to have his own Wikipedia soon.
Bonjour, juste une petite note pour vous informer qu'un nouveau Wikipédia canadien a été créé. Il s'agit du Wikipédia en mi'kmaq (micmac). Vous pouvez le voir dans l'incubateur à [2]. Espèrons qu'il deviendra assez actif afin d'avoir son propre Wikipédia bientôt.
Merci et bonne journée, Thanks you and have a good day, Wela'lin Amqui 11:40, 3 February 2012 (EST)
- Excellent development. Eclecticology 16:32, 3 February 2012 (EST)
And it doesn't look like a lot of people is aware of it, but the Cree Wikipedia has been around for a while : [3]. We only need to get more involve with communities of each nations in order to see those wikis develop. Amqui 20:31, 6 February 2012 (EST)
Canadian Aboriginal Languages Wikipedia Coordination on Meta[edit]
Good day, I started a Canadian Aboriginal Languages Wikipedia Coordination page on Meta to coordinate the efforts on all small wikis in Canadian aboriginal languages. You are welcome to join and bring your suggestions. Thanks you, Welalin, Amqui (talk) 19:27, 10 February 2012 (UTC)
- I think too we need to consider what to do about those languages where the number of speakers is too small to provide the critical mass of users that will make a Wikipedia in that language viable. This has come up for me with an old friend interested in the Klallam language. It has only 4 or 5 native speakers left. How can we best help in such circumstances? Eclecticology 19:56, 10 February 2012 (EST)
- I understand the situation you are talking about. First, (don't quote me, it is my personal understanding of it) it's possible to create a Wiki in the Wikimedia's Incubator no matter how active it is and how many natural speakers it has if it's a real natural language (should have an ISO 639 code then). In those cases, the best way we can help it is to help set up this Incubator Wiki so the motivated speaker can start contributing with content. We have to understand that if there's only 4 or 5 speakers left, the Wiki will most likely stay in the Incubator for ever, but it's still accessible by everybody, so this is still a very positive thing for Wikipedia and the language itself). My personal advice in all those cases is to go forward despite the obstacles we may see, if the project works, then they won't have any other choices then to create the real Wiki. I read the Language Committee considers a Wiki active when it has three active contributors. I hope it answers your question and don't hesitate if you have anymore interrogation about the Wiki creating process or the Canadian Aboriginal Languages Wikipedia Coordination itself. If the Klallam language ends up with less than a dozen articles in the Incubator, it's still a success in my opinion. Amqui 14:00, 11 February 2012 (EST)
- Thanks for the comment; all we have is personal understandings. My friend has clarified that it's Ditidaht (code dtd) instead of Klallam (code clm) that she has been working with. I had misinterpreted the implications of her residence at Becher Bay. Ditidaht is a bigger language; it has 8 speakers. :-) I don't know if separate Wikis are an answer for these small languages; we cannot assume that the remaining elders who still speak the language are also computer literate. On the reader side, few people are aware of incubator. Eclecticology 15:12, 11 February 2012 (EST)
- I understand your worries about the accessibility and the publicity of the Incubator, that's something that had been discussed several times and you are welcome to bring your points about this on the Incubator talk page, especially if you have any ideas on how to improve it. As far as only one language per wiki, that's pretty much the rules of Wikimedia unfortunately, but there is work-around. For example, on the Wikipedia in Cree, there is different languages or dialects in the Cree language family and those will be incorporated in the same Wiki. So that's one solution there, create wiki for language family, i.e. for example, Ditidaht would be part of a Wakashan Wikipedia. That being said, I'm open to any suggestions you or your friend might have. Amqui 15:28, 11 February 2012 (EST)
- I just saw your line, "we cannot assume that the remaining elders who still speak the language are also computer literate", and that's exactly the gap I intent to fill with Canadian Aboriginal Languages Wikipedia Coordination and perhaps support from this Chapter. I agree this is a big challenge, but I think every effort worth it. Amqui 16:55, 11 February 2012 (EST)
- I understand your worries about the accessibility and the publicity of the Incubator, that's something that had been discussed several times and you are welcome to bring your points about this on the Incubator talk page, especially if you have any ideas on how to improve it. As far as only one language per wiki, that's pretty much the rules of Wikimedia unfortunately, but there is work-around. For example, on the Wikipedia in Cree, there is different languages or dialects in the Cree language family and those will be incorporated in the same Wiki. So that's one solution there, create wiki for language family, i.e. for example, Ditidaht would be part of a Wakashan Wikipedia. That being said, I'm open to any suggestions you or your friend might have. Amqui 15:28, 11 February 2012 (EST)
- Thanks for the comment; all we have is personal understandings. My friend has clarified that it's Ditidaht (code dtd) instead of Klallam (code clm) that she has been working with. I had misinterpreted the implications of her residence at Becher Bay. Ditidaht is a bigger language; it has 8 speakers. :-) I don't know if separate Wikis are an answer for these small languages; we cannot assume that the remaining elders who still speak the language are also computer literate. On the reader side, few people are aware of incubator. Eclecticology 15:12, 11 February 2012 (EST)
- I understand the situation you are talking about. First, (don't quote me, it is my personal understanding of it) it's possible to create a Wiki in the Wikimedia's Incubator no matter how active it is and how many natural speakers it has if it's a real natural language (should have an ISO 639 code then). In those cases, the best way we can help it is to help set up this Incubator Wiki so the motivated speaker can start contributing with content. We have to understand that if there's only 4 or 5 speakers left, the Wiki will most likely stay in the Incubator for ever, but it's still accessible by everybody, so this is still a very positive thing for Wikipedia and the language itself). My personal advice in all those cases is to go forward despite the obstacles we may see, if the project works, then they won't have any other choices then to create the real Wiki. I read the Language Committee considers a Wiki active when it has three active contributors. I hope it answers your question and don't hesitate if you have anymore interrogation about the Wiki creating process or the Canadian Aboriginal Languages Wikipedia Coordination itself. If the Klallam language ends up with less than a dozen articles in the Incubator, it's still a success in my opinion. Amqui 14:00, 11 February 2012 (EST)
Ray, I know this is a pretty old conversation, but if you are still tracking it, and if your friend is still interested, there have been a lot of development in this regards on Wikimedia. So, ask him, and give him my contact information. We will create a Wikipedia in his language in the Incubator and provide him with the support he needs. Thanks, Amqui 22:04, 2 October 2012 (EDT)
Wikimedia Canada Outreach - Cuba[edit]
I have visited Cuba many times and each visit I am surprised by their limited access to Internet resources. A growing number of Cubans are gaining access to WiFi devices such as laptops and cell phones. I would like to start discussing the possibility of outreach by Wikimedia Canada to the Cuban people.
At this stage, I am not sure of the political risks associated with this idea or what assistance or barriers would exist with the Cuban government. So far here is what I have organized with respect to this idea:
1) I have a friend who is a lawyer from Colombian that speaks Spanish and has some skill in English and French. They are interested in assisting with understanding the laws in Cuba around this subject and acting as a delegate for talks with the Cuban government.
2) Benoit has mentioned that Wikimedia Switzerland has played a role in developing an inexpensive appliance that provides a read-only copy of Wikipedia and image thumbnails over WiFi.
3) Preliminary reading on Wikipedia, including these articles:
I would like to have some feedback on this idea as it is both political and unique for Wikimedia Canada.Alan.ca 03:54, 18 July 2012 (EDT)
- I think there is a lot of potential for Cuban outreach, both on the content-creation side and the content-distribution side, although it might require a slight re-wording of our mission statement. We should should probably first get the approval of the WMF's lawyers to make sure we won't get them in trouble. If the WMF isn't allowed to support charities that do business in Cuba, we may have to separately incorporate Encyclopedians Without Borders. Jeffery Nichols (Arctic.gnome) (talk) 17:49, 21 July 2012 (EDT)
- Because of the language Iberocoop should probably have the first chance at this. It would also help to have personal contact with someone in Cuba. Even if we ignore Cuba and the Dominican Republic there are excellent outreach opportunities for us in the small countries of the Caribbean. Whether we need to tweek our mission statement remains to be seen. Our financial independence is more important in such undertakings than the opinions of an Americn lawyer. "Wikipedians Without Borders" (or something similar) has a certain allure. Eclecticology 14:19, 22 July 2012 (EDT)
Canadian Aboriginal Languages Wikipedia Coordination[edit]
Bonjour, j'ai créé une page Canadian Aboriginal Languages Wikipedia Coordination sur Meta afin de coordonner les efforts des différents petits Wikis en langue autocthone du Canada. Vous êtez invités à venir le rejoindre et à apporter vos suggestions. Merci, Welalin, Amqui (d) 10 février 2012 à 20:31 (CET)
- Same thing for Wikimedia Indigenous Languages, qui a une portée internationale. Amqui 16:45, 19 September 2012 (EDT)
The page in the title would need to be updated. It is linked from the main menu on the left of the screen. Amqui 22:01, 2 October 2012 (EDT)
Maybe we should do a bit of cleaning on Projects too. It would be best to separate past and current projects in my opinion. Amqui 22:06, 2 October 2012 (EDT)
Program Ideas for 2013[edit]
If you have any program ideas for 2013, please list them here and provide links if they exist.
- Contribution month 2013