CZ:Proposals/Internationalisation sandbox

This proposal has not yet been assigned to any decisionmaking group or decisionmaker(s).
The Proposals Manager will do so soon if and when the proposal or issue is "well formed" (including having a driver).
For now, the proposal record can be found in the new proposals queue.

Complete explanation

We have already decided that having international CZs is long term goal. There have been many requests for CZ pilots to begin in other languages, but so far nothing has gotten off the ground. Inasmuch as 1) we are losing competent authors whose first language is not English but 2) we do not have the time, personnel or expertise to begin complete CZs in other languages, I propose a sandbox type setup in which those who will can go ahead and begin articles in other languages, but these will be hidden from public view until a bona fide project can be set up in that language. Note that unlike the "sandbox" we have now, these drafts would not be discarded when the user signs off.

Reasoning

There is a whole Forum board devoted to internationalisation http://forum.citizendium.org/index.php/board,21.0.html but nothing concrete has come of it, despite repeated requests and much discussion. We are losing the expertise of authors and editors whose first language is not English. We have a wiki page where people are listing the languages in which they are competent. CZ:International We have no one workspace for internationalisation, discussions are fragmented, newbies join and raise the same already-discussed issues again. If nothing else, this will help eliminated frustration and will be a positive, concrete and proactive step in the right direction. People can work in other languages without pressure and, because the drafts will be invisible, we will not risk ridicule if the standard of the foreign-language CZ is not up to that of the English-language CZ at the outset.

Implementation

We would need a technical person to tell us if this is feasible, can we section off a portion of the wiki for foreign-language articles and make it invisible to the public. Will there be one space for all, or a separate space for each.

We will need to decide what language(s), and the minumum numbers of authors at what expertise level will be required to open a wikispace in that language. Can people work without editors, or must there be at least one (or more) qualified editors fluent in the language?

Discussion

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