[Wikipedia-l] Starting a new language: Upper Sorbian

Tue Apr 6 09:55:49 UTC 2004

"Peter Gervai" <grin at tolna.net> schrieb:

> I can talk from experience. 
> 
> HU was existing since 1991, and contained 5 pages (when I last counted). One
> main page with dead links, 1 page with real, short content, and the others
> varying from "hehehehe" to "*** your *** *** mother".

1991? Sounds improbable, given that the Wikipedia project as a
whole only exists since 2001.

> I convinced brion to flush it down the toilet and start again, and invested
> considerable amount of time to get it started. Now, with 5 or so permanent
> editors it is alive and probable won't die anymore. 
> 
> What a new language needs is more than zero permanent editor with dedication
> to create as much articles that makes it look like a worthwile waste of time
> for the people walking nearby. I'd say without 3 dedicated editors (friends
> preferably) a new language should not be started. It is probably going to
> get extinct soon, because there are at least 50 articles required to be
> created before people consider it serious.

And a single person writing will likely give up before that point is
reached, while a small group will tend to give the positive feedback
that makes people continue. On the other hand, often the first group
will come from single persons who just arrived at approximately the
same time, so I would still like not to discourage single people from
editing a new language Wikipedia.

Perhaps we could have people from a 'related' language keep an eye on
such small languages. A number of Dutch speakers (among which yours
not so humbly) have helped the Frisian Wikipedia to start up in that
way, and I think some French did with Occitan (?). The idea is to
welcome people on the 'small' Wikipedia in the same way one would do
on the 'big' one - say hello, wikify their contributions etcetera.

This way new contributors might find themselves in a 'spread bed', and
be more likely to stay long enough that a second and third one has
come in between.

Andre Engels