Last week, we announced that a limited release of the “default values for
all languages” feature—introducing the language code "mul" for labels and
aliases—will soon be coming to Wikidata. We are currently working on
improvements for “mul” in the Termbox on Item pages. We’ve already received
feedback from some of you on the discussion pages, but we’d also love to
hear from those who prefer to *provide* *anonymous feedback*.
Many thanks for your time.
On Mon, Jul 22, 2024 at 10:03 AM Mohammed Sadat Abdulai <
mohammed.abdulai@wikimedia.de> wrote:
*(This [SIGNIFICANT Change Announcement] is relevant for all Wikidata
users working with Labels and Aliases.)*
Hello,
You may recall our previous announcement
https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org/message/MB2JU52ZTF2RSA6MZIQJUXAMGZ76BFHK/
inviting you to test out the “default values for all languages” feature,
introducing the language code "mul" for labels and aliases, on
https://test.wikidata.org. I'm pleased to announce that we are now
proceeding with a limited release on Wikidata. This feature will be
available for testing starting July 29.
Note of Caution and Tips for Testing
To try out the new feature during this limited release, you need to
add the language code “mul” to your Babel boxes
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Userboxes#Babel. A full
release will follow on the week of August 12, displaying default values to
everyone by default.
Please refrain from starting any Bot-runs for mul during the limited
release. We will use this limited release to test the performance and
verify that everything works as planned. Bot-runs for mul should only
commence after the full feature is released.
Please also test the help page
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Help:Default_values_for_labels_and_aliases
explaining how to use the feature. It will be important to get this help
page right, as the full release will initially contain an onboarding
element that guides people to this help page.
I would like to thank everyone who has participated in the previous
testing phases or provided feedback thus far. We are eager to hear more
from you during this limited release. Please do not hesitate to reach out
with questions or concerns on the talk page of the Help page
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Help_talk:Default_values_for_labels_and_aliases,
or for technical details, in this Phabricator ticket (phab:T356169
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T356169)
There has also been some discussion on the help page
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Help_talk:Default_values_for_labels_and_aliases#Strange_wording
regarding the copy used for the language. We would like to reach a
consensus before the full release. Join the discussion to add your thoughts
and input on the thread. This week, a survey will be included in the Weekly
Summary for those who prefer to provide anonymous feedback.
Cheers!
-Mohammed
On Mon, Feb 12, 2024 at 9:00 AM Mohammed Sadat Abdulai <
mohammed.abdulai@wikimedia.de> wrote:
(This announcement is relevant for all Wikidata users working with Labels
and Aliases.)
Hello,
We're excited to invite you to participate in the community testing of
the “default values for labels and aliases” feature. Based on a
long-standing community request around language fallback (T285156
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T285156), and based on your feedback
from our previous announcement
https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org/message/IIEZFOF2F7JUKGM7HSAOC4KXQYMJWWOB/,
we are currently testing this feature on https://test.wikidata.org
https://test.wikidata.org/wiki/Q42 with the release planned for Q1
2024.
What is coming?
Default values for labels and aliases (mul): Items that repeat the
same label and aliases over and over are hard to maintain and can strain
our infrastructure, especially the Wikidata Query Service. As a solution,
we are introducing the option for default values in the termbox. The
default values are considered in the language fallback chain (language code
“mul”).
Visualisation of the language fallback chain: Previously, Wikidata’s
fallback chain was not visible in the user interface, making it challenging
to determine if additional information was needed. As a first step toward
improvement, we will now clearly show what content is already available via
language fallback in the placeholders for labels (including default values).
We need your feedback
Please leave your feedback on Help talk:Default values for labels and
aliases
https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?title=Help_talk:Default_values_for_labels_and_aliases.
Your feedback will play a crucial role in verifying if the current version
is ready for Wikidata. Additionally, you can find some test Items, known
limitations and open questions there for you to review. We will analyze
your feedback one week after today's announcement.
The next steps
After you have left your feedback, please make sure that the guidelines
on Help:Default values for labels and aliases
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Help:Default_values_for_labels_and_aliases
are ready for the launch. You can also already plan bot-runs for mul,
but please be sure to start with uncontroversial cases. If there are no
blockers, we will then prepare a limited release on Wikidata in the
coming weeks. The limited release will only be visible if you put mul in
your Babel boxes. We will use this limited release to test the performance
and verify that everything works as planned. Please don’t start any
bot-runs for mul during the limited release. A full release will follow
a few weeks later, displaying default values for everyone by default, and
featuring an onboarding element that will guide people to the help page.
Bot-runs for mul can commence at this stage.
Do not hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns in the talk page
of the help page
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Help_talk:Default_values_for_labels_and_aliases
and for technical details in this Phabricator ticket (T356169
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T356169).
Thank you for your support!
Cheers,
Mohammed Sadat Abdulai
*Community Communications Manager, Wikidata*
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0) 30 577 116 2466
https://wikimedia.de
Grab a spot in my calendar for a chat: calendly.com/masssly.
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