User:Notafish/Questions à deuxfrancscinquante
As Commons is rapidly growing, I believe it is high time that we addressed the issue of language policy and finalized it.
So far, as I have understood it, only plants and animals have reached a certain consensus using latin binomial.
General principle
[edit]Name of files
[edit]Media files can be uploaded with whatever name. ex. diezauberflote.jpg is as valid as lafluteenchantee.jpg It is best if the title of the media file is meaningful whichever language is chosen. please add here possible restrictions concerning file names due to software restrictions
Titles of articles
[edit]Glossary :
- Main article : the article that will contain all media files on a subject
- Redirect : well, redirect ;)
- Disambiguation (see {{disambiguation}})
The titles of "main articles" have to be defined (see table below), but when a consensus has been reached the following applies :
- Interwikis to the different wikipedias should be used whenever possible, so as to allow the research engine to find the name in the desired language
- Anyone can create redirects from their own language to the main article page
- Anyone can add a description on the main article page in their own language, providing that it does not impeed the legibility of the article, ie. the media files presented in the articles don't appear after three pages of description. One language should be chosen for main description at the top of the article, other languages should be used at the end of the article.
- Anyone can add a disambiguation page leading to articles, in order to clear any ambiguity inferred by the use of different words for different things in different languages.
ie. Bride is a briddle in French, not a 'just-married woman'; journal is a newspaper, not a diary etc.
Categories
[edit]So far, categories have been written out in English
- Categories cannot be re-directed (from on language to another).
- Can we imagine making as many categories as there are languages, and have the wiki choose which categories will be displayed depending on what language interface the user has chosen ?
ie. I am using the French interface, categories will appear in French. Categories should allow interwiki links using for example a syntax such as : [[Category_fr:gnagnagna]] [[Category_es:gnugnugnu]] [[Category_en:gnognogno]] which would result in interwikis on the side bar on category pages. Main category would be English, displayed by default when none other is available, otherwise Category at the bottom of the page would display the preferred language.
- We could also add on a page as many categories as there are languages... what a mess !
On the use of languages
[edit]| type of file | policy | example |
|---|---|---|
| animals, plants | latin binomial | |
| music, art | native | Die Zauberflöte, not "The Magic Flute" |
| people | native | Jeanne d'Arc, not "Joan of Arc" |
| places | native | Breizh or Bretagne, not Britanny |
| specialty foods | native | Cassoulet, Rösti |
| other | free |
Questions to be answered if we decide the above rules
[edit]Places :
- Countries : What about countries with several official languages ?
ie. Belgique - Belgie
- Regions : What about regions with local languages or dialects
ie. Breizh Bretagne
- Cities : idem question countries
- Battles : Bataille d'Austerlitz ?
People :
- Popes : Latin name ? Country of origin name ?
- Ancient names
ie. Pline l'Ancien, Pliny the Elder, Gaius Plinius Secundus ?
Autres trucs dans ma tête, rien à voir avec la choucroute
[edit]What Commons is/is not ?
[edit]- User:Eddideigel in Village pump "Commons is not an independant being, it is a humble servant [to other wikis]"
- User:Chris 73 in VP : The Commons is "the" free image and file archive for the Wikimedia projects".
- User:OldakQuill "Though Commons serves other Wikimedia projects, it is also an independant media archive".