[WikiEN-l] Discussion on English Wikipedia in languages other than English

Mon Jun 13 08:05:40 UTC 2005

On 6/13/05, David Friedland <david at nohat.net> wrote:
> Do we have a policy on this? Should we?
> 
> My opinion is that we should not allow or least sternly frown upon
> discussion on the English Wikipedia in languages other than English.

In general, I disagree with you. 

For practical reasons writing in other languages is already
'discouraged' if by no other means than the simple fact that few
others will understand it in most places. If anything at all needs to
be done, I'd suggest that someone leave a polite reminder that this is
the English Wikipedia, most english-first-languagers are notoriously
monolingual, and that the peanut gallery would really like a
translation. :)

I, for one, have been glad that speaking in foreign languages is
permitted, because it is the only way I've been able to work with
others when I've made the effort to contribute media I created to
non-english wikipedias.

If you're concerned about conspiracy, I'm afraid that the situation is
already beyond hope: Those that would wish to hide their conversations
from you could do so far more effectively by communicating via private
mailing lists or wikis. ... They could even use the 'email this user'
feature, unless you suggest that we disable it as well. :)

If you're worried that someone is making fun of you, then end your
worries: As you've pointed out, few people can read the material... so
you've been releaved of any need to defend yourself.