Wikivoyage talk:Go-between reports/German/German Wikivoyage Report for 2 July 2006

In Trouble

The report says "DE has been in some trouble for quite a while with few admins contributing to the project".

Not quite right. I realize things have gone less well in the last couple of weeks, but even now it's still the most active non-English wikivoyage.

-- (WT-en) Colin 02:25, 6 July 2006 (EDT)

I meant that it's been trouble, because of the decline of administrators activitely contributing. If three administrators haven't been around in over three months. DerFussi has been around, but he's also upset about IB and was having feelings about leaving (I don't know where he still stands). Also, it's true that DE is the most active non-EN Wikivoyage, but I felt that there is still a problem with retaining users, because new users were not being welcomed. I've since unilaterally to make welcome new users my main responsibility. If the two other DE users that most often work on DE help with welcoming and 'tutoring' new users on DE I'm sure activity will increase. I know what you mean that I may have been exaggerating a bit (I probably was), but there are some issues that need fixed. -- (WT-en) Andrew Haggard (Sapphire) 02:35, 6 July 2006 (EDT)

Shit! An edit conflict. Now I have to write it again. The problem is not the activity. The problem is the sellout of WT (and especially the way it has been done) and the upcoming ads. So almost every main contributor and admin decided to resign. And when the ads appear the remaining main contributors will go too. And besides. I will have an eye on my articles - not more (and I would help in case of emergency). If you need an wiki-policeman on de:, ask IB to employ one. I don't waste my little free time by working for a commercial website. -- (WT-en) DerFussi 02:49, 6 July 2006 (EDT)

I copy and paste everytime there is an edit conflict. Copy and paste makes life much easier. Well, I guess we know where he stands, now. DerFussi just confirms my point that DE is in trouble. -- (WT-en) Andrew Haggard (Sapphire) 02:53, 6 July 2006 (EDT)

I think it's definitely harder without the help of some of the most experienced German-speaking Wikivoyagers. However, there are lots of contributions, the site is growing, and there is one active administrator. We've never had more than two active admins on de:, anyways. I think that concentrating on growing the pool of admins is a good idea; the larger the number of admins, the easier the job is for each one. I guess I'd just say that Wikivoyage de: needs a lot of work before it's as healthy as it could be, but I don't think it's on the edge. --(WT-en) Evan 08:53, 6 July 2006 (EDT)

Evan, I'd ask that you do pay careful heed to the concerns on de: — a credible threat by a number of respected admins to fork the project is on the edge in my book. Having this happen is not in anybody's interest and would set a dreadful precedent. (WT-en) Jpatokal 09:10, 6 July 2006 (EDT)

I think it's a bad idea, too. I really want to work with the people who are talking about a fork to deal with their concerns. Based on (WT-en) Hansm's suggestions, I've posted some ideas on changing the language version policy and technical infrastructure policy so that de: and other non-English speakers feel that their voices are better heard. Anyone concerned about the problem should probably concentrate energy there. I'd love to get some momentum going to move tech discussions and language version discussions to shared:.

Mostly I want to foster the community of active contributors on de:. Looking at it objectively, de: is growing and the important thing is to continue to encourage that growth. --(WT-en) Evan 09:27, 6 July 2006 (EDT)

I don't think any of us want to see a fork, if it's preventable. A lot of the problems seem to be cultural and the language issue is making communication very difficult. I want to thanks (WT-en) Andrew and (WT-en) Jpatokal for staying so involved on other language versions. Sometimes babelfish just doesn't cut it.

I'm really interested in the good suggestions (WT-en) Hansm had regarding making things a little less Anglocentric by moving things to shared. I think more good stuff can come out of increased communitcation-- we jsut have to keep the conversation going... (WT-en) Majnoona 12:07, 6 July 2006 (EDT)