Abstract Wikipedia/Early discussion topics

This is a list of early discussion topics that we will need to tackle for creating Abstract Wikipedia. The list is a draft and can be extended or shortened, and the order is not fixed yet. Think of this as a sneak preview – we can’t have all the conversations at once, but want to make sure that we cover them all.

Obviously, if you want to discuss things earlier, by all means, feel free, but when we’re prioritizing answers and so on, we’ll try to follow this outline in order to keep conversations more manageable.

Communication channels

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The discussions happen on-wiki and on mailing list (and whether this is a good idea is actually an early discussion topic as well). Under each topic, add the links to where this is being discussed. Some of these might turn out to be rather quick, others might take considerably longer.

General topics to discuss

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  • Naming and logo of the project and its components
  • Data and evaluation model for the code repository (Wikifunctions)
  • Security and safety models for the code repository
  • Safety and Code of Conduct within the new community
  • Early community seeding considerations
  • How to effectively communicate about the project (onboard potential contributors, have easy to understand documentation and communication channels, etc.)
  • How do we structure our engagement with the Wikipedias, and with which Wikipedias?
  • How do we reach out to other Wikimedia communities?
  • How and whether do we reach out to non-Wikimedia communities?
  • Early planning of code development work
  • Licenses for the different parts of the project
  • Ethical considerations, particularly regarding diversity, representation and sustainability
  • Ethical considerations regarding AI aspects of the project
  • How to incorporate external expert knowledge and advice
  • How to invoke the code repository from other Wikimedia projects
  • Theoretical and practical underpinnings of the natural language generation
  • Usage of the ontological knowledge in Wikidata
  • Usage of the lexicographical knowledge in Wikidata
  • Where should the Abstract Wikipedia content be created and maintained?

Some early ideas

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The following are suggested by Adam Sobieski and also extended on the Ideas page:

The following are suggested by François Jourdain (talk) 20:27, 22 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

  • Beta testing with useful material and a sponsored team of translators Feed the translating machine with user manuals from manufacturers (and potential sponsors). They already pay professionnals to manually translate. It could be used as a Rosetta stone. Other mondial organisations like United nations or Catholic church offers lenghtly texts already translated in many languages. Reference needed for previous projects which did it.
  • Build a symbolic language so basic programming Z-objects (if then else, loop, etc) may be displayed as arrows and such. This mini-dictionnary should start with universal symbols like mathematic operators, electronic diagrams, etc.
    Similar to task T301418, please add ideas there! --DVrandecic (WMF) (talk) 00:07, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Allowing the user to display two languages at once. For me, in french, it's sometimes easier in english because the world use english, and I often use english sources, so I learn english keywords. It would also be useful to display the symbolic language beside any language.
    Good idea, we should have something like that. Would you sketch up how a screen could like? --DVrandecic (WMF) (talk) 00:08, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]