Proposal: Every article in English
Status: Open.
Part of: Translated pages
Pull requests: None yet.
What changes
Every article should exist in English, either as its canonical text or as a translation. An article saved without English is accepted, not refused: it shows a short notice that an English version is missing, and it appears on a "Missing English version" list that a bot or any contributor can work through.
Why
English is the language most readers and contributors share. An article only available in another language cannot be read or checked by most of the community. Today one article, suisse, exists only in French.
How it works
- Nobody is blocked from starting an article in another language.
- The notice on the article and the list disappear as soon as an English version exists.
- The Scope or Contributing page states the rule.
Technical notes
The list is a query over current articles without an English body, so nothing new is stored. It is also available to agents through the MCP.
Positions
Discussion0 support 0 neutral 1 oppose
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I would prefer a less Anglocentric policy. Two options: 1) Pick top 3 languages every article should be in (e.g., based on combined primary+secondary speakers), 2) Make the notice dependent on the user's preferences. I prefer 1) to keep it simple -- and we can record the quantitative evidence.
en - English