(CC'd mediawiki-enterprise since it is relevant.)
On Mon 14 Jan 2013 11:56:50 AM EST, Dmitriy Sintsov wrote:
This does
point to another possible way to backport the changes -- some
sort of compatibility extension. That allows the core to remain stable,
but allows people to use some newer extensions if they need the
features.
I am not sure Wikimedia would like to put their efforts on this.
Agreed. I didn't say they should.
The WMF is focused on its vision (which doesn't include supporting
non-WMF users of MW). In the mean time, they've made this software
available for the world to use.
My own experience shows that most of site owners are
quite greedy
people. Maybe I am bad at business though.
People are people.
We're slipping off topic here, but in as far as this relates to users of
MediaWiki, I'll continue.
First, I should say that I've worked closely with people across the
spectrum of business. I've worked with, and count as friends, several
small business owners who run on-line sites as their core business.
On the other "side", I have friends who work at or run non-profits or
charities including some at the WMF.
My friends who are site owners are, on the whole, no more
self-interested than any of my other friends. They are focused on
maintaining the business just as my friends at the WMF is focused on
keeping Wikipedia and its sister sites running.
If we want something more from MediaWiki, we can ask the WMF for it,
but, since we have the GPL license on the software, we are also
empowered to do it ourselves if the WMF is not interested in helping.
Semantic MediaWiki is a great example of this happening and many non-WMF
users of MediaWiki use SMW.
I think MediaWiki core alone can (and does!) benefit many people outside
the Foundation in just the same way that SMW does. We have the power to
make it more suitable for our own non-WMF uses.
--
http://hexmode.com/
Language will always shift from day to day. It is the wind blowing
through our mouths. --
http://hexm.de/np