Roundup: Jimmy Wales Speaks at Wikipedia Conference in India & Other Wikipedia Items

Reports from Wiki Conference India.

• Wikipedia rivals traditional encyclopedias in accuracy (Q & A Interview with Jimmy Wales, via Livemint)

• Wikipedia hosts India conference amid expansion push (via BBC News)

Outside the campus a small group of protesters demonstrated against the depiction of the map of India on Wikipedia, which they say is an inaccurate and illegal representation of the country’s borders.

The site’s founder, Jimmy Wales, who flew in for the event, seemed unconcerned by the protests.

“I want Wikipedia to be neutral on such topics. It’s not up to us to decide what’s the correct map of India, but it is up to us to explain to people that there is this controversy.”

• Wikipedia plans various initiatives in India” (via IANS)

Elaborating on its initiatives in India, the foundation’s chief global development officer Barry Newstead told IANS that the foundation aims to launch several initiatives to improve access to knowledge.

“We are planning to partner with schools and come up with appropriate versions of Wikipedia useful for children,” Newstead told IANS.

• Wikipedia’s future lies in India, says co-founder Jimmy Wales (via DNA)

Talking about the editing procedure for articles, Wales said that cumbersome rules are stopping people from making contributions. He said he realised this when, even as an experienced Wikipedia editor, he could not figure out the right way to rename a Wikipedia page. “We should get rid of this stuff, especially in large languages like English,” he said.

• “More contribution from local languages”, Jimmy Wales at Wikipedia Conference (Tech2.com)

Wales encourages page translations in local languages rather than machine translations. He says, machine translations lose out the cultural aspect. He also points out the need for a modern UI, just like how simpler and easier it is on Facebook. “Knowledge is the path to peace. We must study what our opponents believe too,” said Wales.

Other News

• “Wikipedia Gets $500K from Brin and Wojcicki — But What It Really Wants Is Small Donors” (via AllThingsD)

• “Wikipedia Mistake Led To Erroneous Ellison Story” (via Airlock Alpha)

• “Don’t believe Wikipedia. I am NOT related to George W. Bush” (via Salt Lake Tribune)

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