Talk:Main Page

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Unrelated comments should be posted elsewhere, eg. on one of the pages grouped in Community Portal, and will be deleted here.

Main Page Design

Some people disagree with the layout of the main page. Please list suggestions below on what the design should be. miranda 01:54, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

The bright colors hurt my eyes, I liked it the way it was before. However, I do like the addition of ads that Miranda was talking about. Cbrown1023 talk 01:56, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

1. Bright and rich/deep background colors on headers (and such massive headers in general) are bad - they catch visitor's attention instead of the items which should. Header is being emphasized already with its size, boldness and/or underlining. Backgrounded headers like these make the page legible harder and subjectively much heavier (thus tiring) than the light monobook design.
2. The colors do not match. Neither blue nor red background matches the colors in the logo.
3. Mixing of right-angle and rounded designs isn't the right designing approach as well as mixing of flat and shadowed items.
4. The big accessibility problem: Headers are invisible in user agents with no style sheet support or having them turned off. Caused by mixture of CSS usage and deprecated presentational tags and/or attributes.
5. The white/blue combination used for headers doesn't meet accessibility guidelines, regardless the icon details vanish on the blue background.
6. The tuned code has been cluttered with unnecessary stuff, the semantically correct code has been turned to less correct or even incorrect.

With this being said I'm going to try to remake the page as much compromise way as possible to follow the general design rules and guidelines and on the other side to add some more colors than the default blue'n'gray-shades.
— Danny B. 03:34, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Can we make the headers match the blue and red in the logo? That's all I ask. miranda 06:20, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

ahhh i have to agree blinding --86.141.149.11 21:10, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Can you please sign in? miranda 00:18, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

I like the colors now. miranda 20:02, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

Last year's layout

I added last year's layout see http://wikimania2008.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Main_Page&oldid=1160 but at the moment there is too much chaos. -- Nichtich 21:51, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

Chaos? Majorly 22:01, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

I like it, because the colors form unity. miranda 01:08, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

WTF is this?

Wikimania 2008 election? the hell is this? 71.117.216.251 20:53, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure where it says anything about an election, but this site is for Wikimania 2008 which is a conference for users of the various Wikimedia wiki projects. --Az1568 21:01, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

EN ESPAÑOL

HAGAN UNA VERSION EN ESPAÑOL  !!! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 190.74.31.9 (talk • contribs) .

We do have a version in spanish, it's here http://wikimania2008.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Main_Page/es&uselang=es

Tenemos una versión en español, es aquí http://wikimania2008.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Main_Page/es&uselang=es --Az1568 01:28, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Why is this taking place in a country that censors the internet?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7292130.stm

Please consider boycotting if Reporters Without Borders are right. 139.165.200.118 21:58, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

Internet Enemies

Egypt

Domain name : .eg
Population : 75,440,000
Internet-users : 6,000,000
Average charge for one hour’s connection at a cybercafé : 0.15 of a euro
Average monthly salary : about 40 euros
Number of private Internet service providers : 208
Number of public Internet service providers : 1
Number of imprisoned bloggers : 1

The very rapid development of the Internet sector has allowed Internet users to find a means of
expression which the authorities have become increasingly concerned about. The Egyptian government has 
stepped up online censorship and has also cracked down harder on bloggers who express themselves 
freely.

From [1] 139.165.200.118 22:02, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

From Wikileaks.be:

Egypt has limited technical means to discourage content creation, so it relies on an old-fashioned technique -- harassment, beatings and arrests. Hala Al-Masry used to publish in a blog entitled "Cops Without Boundaries" until the government harassed her, "unknown people" beat her father, and she and her husband were arrested and signed a commitment to shut down the blog. Similar techniques haveshut down websites of opposition parties.

From Amnesty International

One year ago, Egyptian blogger Karim Amer was sentenced to four years' imprisonment for the "crime" of publishing on the internet material critical of Islam and President Mubarak.

Amnesty International considers Karim Amer to be a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned on account of the peaceful expression of his views. The organisation condemned the four-year sentence he received and calls for his immediate and unconditional release.

If you have more constructive suggestions but "boycott", please tell us. Just beeeing against Egypt is too simple and does not help any Egyptian. -- Nichtich 20:55, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply Nichtich.

Boycotting is not a great idea, but turning a blind eye is far far worse. You do realise that some people are afraid of speaking out for fear of reprisals - and of course there is the blogger locked in prison for a number of years. Holding the conference in a repressed country without speaking out is, bluntly speaking, immoral.

Openness and freedom of speech are essential ingredients of a good encyclopaedia. They are a privilege which not everyone in Egypt has the luxury of.

I'd suggest the conference organisers not just sweep this under the carpet. If the mainstream press shows the organisers uninterested in the issue it will look bad for Wikipedia.

The conference is a good opportunity to firmly but politely highlight internet censorship.

I lived in Egypt for two years, and I can tell you, definitively, that they do censore many things... one aspect of which, being the internet. Not to mention TV, movies, music... I could go on. The IP has a good point, though. Why hold this in a country that censores free speech? 164.214.1.55 10:56, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

To promote free speech? --Legion fi 04:44, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Egypt is a horrible choice of countries. Boycott Wikimania 08! Wikimania 09 in Iran! 151.199.19.65 20:33, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

The Egyptian government censoring internet use is not a reason to avoid holding the conference there as far as I'm concerned. The conference is for people who contribute to the wikimedia projects and, as many Egyptians contribute, it's as good a place as any to hold it. It's not the Olympic Games, or something which brings a tangible reward to the government, it's a conference for individuals. Why punish Egyptians for their government's policies? 87.113.72.89 20:39, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Why is this taking place in a country that censors books and the press?

Boston, Taipei, and Frankfurt are cities which have no record of censorship and were fine for previous conferences. But by going to Egypt, a country that openly, and even proudly, practices censorship, Wiki is taking a step backwards in its core philosophy. If it is the unspoken goal of this meeting to forcefeed and open up authoritarian countries to the world of Wiki freedom of information and even thought, then you should say so. Those are political reasons. Is Wiki becoming a political organization? Will it also allow itself to be censored to increase its growth as Google chose to do in China? Are Wikipedians aware that freedom of speech and press is not a globally shared ideal?

Clearly, countries that make a certified attempt, with success, to allow freedom of press and information, should be rewarded. A Wiki conference could be a nice reward and a token of legitimacy. If going to another country wasn't intended to be such a reward, or desperate desire for global integration, it would have kept its conference where 95% of its contributors live - the U.S. This award is not deserved by any Islamic countries in the Middle East or Africa. If they want democracy's seal of approval, they should earn it first!

Whatever the reasons, spoken or unspoken, a freedom of press-related conference in a nation that does not hold similar beliefs and in fact practices the opposite of free speech becomes a legitimizing act for their regime. The world held the Olympic Games in Germany in 1936, shortly before they invaded Poland and France. It obviously made no difference to their world view. It was just another opportunity to grandstand. It became the Western world's token of appeasement - and it failed.

Personally, I think an open forum on the pros and cons of holding this conference in an authoritarian country would be smart. Maybe even a vote. Egypt, if it could, would not allow the open source information that Wiki promotes and depends on for its existence, as the sample articles below should make clear. Cut off that openness, and the Wiki dream deflates and dies. I think a quick review of the well-known literature should make you understand the contradiction of your selection for a conference. Without an explanation, Wiki could become an easy target of ridicule both during and after the event.

sample links:

Egypt's Culture Minister Faruq Hosni, a candidate to head UNESCO, has drawn fire from Israel and the Wiesenthal Centre for saying he was prepared to burn Israeli books. "I'd burn Israeli books myself if I found any in libraries in Egypt..." Burning Books in Egypt? Image of burning books

"The Egyptian government is stifling academic freedom in universities by censoring course books, preventing research into controversial issues and intimidating student activists, Human Rights Watch says in a report published today. "The government's persistent violations of academic freedom have badly undermined Egypt's standing as the educational leader of the Arab world," Egypt under fire for censorship

State censorship committee bans music videos

"Book censorship is spreading in Egypt now that numerous self-appointed authorities have received the absolute right to ban, sue or destroy a book for so-called religious and security reasons." ... 'What these government and religious bodies exercise regarding literary work is a form of thuggery,' said Mohammed Hashem, owner of a local publishing house." Book censorship spreading in Egypt

"Index on Censorship condemn the recent spate of prosecutions of independent media professionals in Egypt and call upon the Egyptian government to urgently improve protection of freedom of the press. Within the space of a fortnight in September 2007, five editors and two journalists from independent newspapers have been prosecuted in respect of offences which raise serious concern about the state of press freedom in Egypt."

Legal constrictions on the freedom of expression in Egypt: A- constricting the right to issue a newspaper: " B- Delaying and censoring newspapers " C- Restrictions on the right of information flow " D- penalties in cases of publishing "

Jail time is a common penalty for violations of censorship laws. "Local and international human rights groups say that torture is used systematically in Egypt - an allegation which the authorities here deny. ...'Torture is endemic in Egyptian detention facilities,' says Elijah Zarwan of Human Rights Watch. 'The most common torture methods include electrocution and beating.'" BBC News 1/16/07 And for writing the proceeding quote there is another penalty: Egypt: Prison for Al-Jazeera Journalist Who Exposed Torture And not only journalists are punished: Torture for Bloggers and Activists

---

At an absolute minimum, Wikipedia should have clear published standards and requirements before it forces its contributors to travel half-way around the world - especially to a country that does not even practice, much less believe in, democracy and the Wiki philosophy. What were the deciding issues, if any? Does Wiki expect fair press coverage in Egypt, or anywhere else in the Middle East, about an event which could undermine their government's hold on power?

Deletion of Image?

Why did you guys not use Image:Wikimania2008 logo.png? I worked on this image in order to be used on the main page, like the previous years. I don't want my efforts to be wasted. miranda 04:45, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Fixed. miranda 04:57, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Reverted. Because of accessibility issues and easier translation images are supposed to contain as less text as possible.
— Danny B. 11:09, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Okay, I am not designing any more graphics for this project. :-) miranda 17:30, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Please add link

Please add a link to Wikimania 2008 on the Main Page. I created this page because the scholarship banner (See top of each page) points to it.

The sitenotice never included a link to that page, it was just a piped link to the Main Page (i.e. [[Main Page|Wikimania 2008]]). I have redirected that page to the Main Page, it was didn't have anything more than on the Main Page and it's probably best to not create too many pages to update. Cbrown1023 talk 00:47, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

incomplete sentence

There is an incomplete sentence:

All Wikimedians that contribute to one of the many Wikimedia Foundation projects.

Tbsmith 07:42, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

I have tried to fix it, I hope it worked. :-) Thanks for the note! Cbrown1023 talk 13:40, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

Date

"will be hosting Wikimania 2008 next summer". Um, *this* summer (iindeed within weeks). --77.101.73.67 17:47, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Fixed! Thanks a lot! Bastique 18:20, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Names of seasons

Seasons are not capitalized. "this summer", not "this Summer". 72.231.10.61 12:02, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm afraid you're incorrect on this; seasons, like days of the week or months of the year, are proper nouns and are thus capitalised.

Jdforrester 20:07, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

My understanding of this was that you don't capitalise seasons. Most style guides seem to advise against it and if you look at the Oxford English Dictionary, for instance, it has "summer" listed without a capital letter - http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/summer

Certainly, some style guides don't see the necessity, but that doesn't really mean we should listen to them (many abhor the Oxford Comma too, for example). And the OED would list Summer spelt "sdv234trm;lsdv" if a sufficiency of people thought it looked better that way. It's not a good guide to proper usage. :-)

Jdforrester 17:08, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

This is more for my own personal knowledge rather than disputing this issue, but what is a good guide to proper usage? Everything I can find on the subject (including wikipedia's own style guide) seems to say that in general usage you refrain from capitalising the seasons. Wikipedia for instance -

"Seasons start with a capital letter when they go with another noun or when they personify. Here they function as proper nouns: "Winter Solstice"; "Autumn Open House"; "I think Spring is showing her colors"; "Old Man Winter".

However, in the general sense, they do not start with a capital letter: "This summer was very

hot."" 87.114.40.172 00:14, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Ok people, seasons are both proper and improper nouns. It depends on the context, one of the most obscure parts of the english language, as most expressions do not depend on it. The rule of thumb is the classic one. If it is a proper noun (like "The Winter is cold" ), it has a capital letter. If it is an improper noun (like "this summer was hot") it does not. Simple --Legion fi 05:42, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

What happended to the good old non-template wiki pages?

Sorry, but I failed to simply add a link to Venue at the main page. Once "wiki" was for simple editing :-( -- Nichtich 09:54, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Any chance of getting videos in open formats?

The videos pointed to now (2008-July-21) appear to be exclusively in Windows Media format (for example, "mms://webcast.bibalex.org/WebCast/wiki-17-6.wmv" is one of the videos). This seems inappropriate for Wikimania. Are there any copies of the videos in open formats (perhaps Ogg Vorbis+Theora)? Thanks.