Wikimedia Launches Beta Program To Test Upcoming Features

An anonymous reader writes "Wikimedia today announced the launch of a beta program simply called Beta Features. In short, the organization is offering a way for users to try out new features on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia sites before they are released for everyone. If you're reading this with bated breath, you'll be happy to know logged-in users can join the early testing right now on MediaWiki.org, meta.wikimedia.org and Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia plans to release Beta Features on all wikis in two weeks, on November 21, although the date may shift depending on the feedback the organization receives."

Comments

so

[Anonymous Coward]

what?

Consolidation

[game kid]

Wikimedia and its member sites do a lot of testing and public hearing-ing of features both on and off the main servers; this appears to be more a matter of consolidation under the Wikimedia banner, and more Google Labs-ish in general.

Truth by democracy... software by democracy

[Joining Yet Again]

Can anyone in the world submit modifications/reverts to the code with a clunky HTML interface?

It's telling that Wikipedia (which is synonymous with the Wikimedia Foundation, really) won't eat their own dog food.

Re:Truth by democracy... software by democracy

[Anonymous Coward]

Is it really? Is it 'telling' at all?

Why on earth would they want to do what you are suggesting?

Re:Truth by democracy... software by democracy

[Joining Yet Again]

Why on earth would they want to do what you are suggesting?

Yes, why would anyone try to create a useful repository by just allowing everyone to edit it?

Re:Truth by democracy... software by democracy

[smittyoneeach]

Managing 'useful' when the idea of the signal-to-noise ratio is so subjective cuts to the bone of the problem.
Wikipedia is the start, not the end, of a research effort.

Re: Truth by democracy... software by democracy

[bawolff]

Actually yes, you can submit code reverts from the gerrit web interface, which is clunky according to many peoples definitions. However that's really not what you meant. MediaWiki is meant as software for managing prose, not code. Where the code is done with git, which is a tool meant for the job. The use cases are different. The wiki software is also meant for non tech people who would be confused by things like svn or git. That said MediaWiki (and hence Wikipedia) have a web api so you can make your own command line editing tools (and people have)

Re:TFS couldn't even mention ONE example?

[tkjtkj]

It *could* have been ' a baited breath ..' .. which then would beg the question: 'baited with what? .. a dead fish'?? ' Why oh why do these errors endure! Gentlemen and gentlewomen.. the accurate phrase is " abated breath ' .. "abate : to decrease; diminution; to lessen ; abate one's breath .. to hold it .. usually in anticipation ; " to wait with abated breath .." 'An ' can precede , as in " each person waited with an abated breath" (tho this is cumbersome construction).

Re:TFS couldn't even mention ONE example?

[fatphil]

So the accurate phrase isn't "bated breath" then?
Someone should tell Shakespeare, before he writes anything stupid and wrong like this:

. Shall I bend low and in a bondman's key,
. With bated breath and whispering humbleness, Say this;

Re: Not for me...

[bawolff]

Damn sites requiring stored session information (cookies) to maintain a persistent session (logging in).

Re: TFS couldn't even mention ONE example?

[Sigg3.net]

Say what!??
The suspense is killing me!