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Welcome to Wikifunctions

wikifunctions.org

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Re: Welcome to Wikifunctions

#101

Post by nonethewiser »

js8 wrote: post #8
userbinator wrote: post #2

There is a link on the main page titled "Decolonizing Functions", which leads to... https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Abstract_... I'm not sure if that is satire, or for that matter this whole site.

Your outrage at this seems to be analogous to outrage of people who think that it is horrible that Unix has a "kill" operation. Basically, you don't understand that "decolonization" is a metaphor for a broader historical perspective, and instead you're trying to interpret it literally and in a bad faith.

> Your outrage at this seems to be analogous to outrage of people who think that it is horrible that Unix has a "kill" operation.

The reaction is more similar to people who ARENT bothered by the use of kill, master, etc. The article about “decolonizing” functions is a shoehorned idealogical venture. A completely unnecessary political aside.

I also wouldnt call it outrage. That just seems like a way to make the point sound unreasonable without addressing its logic. If his reaction is outrage then so yours.

Re: Welcome to Wikifunctions

#102

Post by BSEdlMMldESB »

nonethewiser wrote: post #94
zelphirkalt wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone wants to use Google services to be able to read information on Wikipedia.

And not everyone wants to donate to wikpeda to solve a solved problem

improving language (and communication) is never a solved problem

Re: Welcome to Wikifunctions

#103

Post by civilized »

js8 wrote: post #100
civilized wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference is that "master" doesn't actually imply the existence of slaves in English, while "decolonization" does literally imply that there is some sort of colonialism that is being undone.

That's irrelevant unless you assume that they use the word "decolonization" in a bad faith. I argue they don't, and so it's a non-issue (people are being offended for no reason). But IIRC, the first time I encountered the word "master" in computing, it was in the context of serial link data transfer, and there was a "slave".

It's irrelevant that the usage of a word, by the word's very construction, favors the formation of false beliefs, so long as there are good intentions behind it?

The fact that a word can be used in the context of slavery doesn't mean the word always and everywhere carries the taint of slavery. What could possibly limit the reach of such a principle? Can I talk about how I like cotton shirts better than other fabrics, when the mere mention of cotton might bring some people back to an uncomfortable place?

Re: Welcome to Wikifunctions

#104

Post by nonethewiser »

js8 wrote: post #23
userbinator wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only ones talking about "decolonization" are on one very extreme side of the political spectrum and trying to inject identity politics into everything. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33607032

I don't understand your argument. Where is, aside from the word "decolonization", the author of that document trying to "inject identity politics"? And to what end? (And you certainly seem to be concerned by identity of the people making those claims..) Take a step back and think about how your statement really sounds. It's like saying that "a group of extremist geeks who wrote Unix is trying to inject violence into…

To what end? You’d have to ask the author and hope for a grounded answer. Probably internal satisfaction, virtue signaling, or advancing ideology.

> Take a step back and think about how your statement really sounds.

Why dont you tell him how you think it sounds instead of misrepresenting a consensus?

Re: Welcome to Wikifunctions

#105

Post by nonethewiser »

js8 wrote: post #26
raincole wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People also got mad at Git for having default branch named master.

Yeah, and it was misguided and irrelevant all the same. People who actually use Git understand that "master" is a metaphor, just like people who are concerned about historical views being represented understand that "decolonization" is also a metaphor for this due dilligence. Context is everything. You're not gonna be killed by Unix command, enslaved by Github, and the land you own is not going to be confiscated by p…

> People who actually use Git understand that "master" is a metaphor

I don’t think thats actually true. I think everyone knew the etymology was not slave owners. Which is the problem - its fighting a manufactured battle. Creating “systemic racism” out of thin air.

Re: Welcome to Wikifunctions

#106

Post by soared »

userbinator wrote: post #2

There is a link on the main page titled "Decolonizing Functions", which leads to... https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Abstract_... I'm not sure if that is satire, or for that matter this whole site.

> first, to recognize the contributions of people with diverse backgrounds, in order to offer more protagonists who can inspire and with whom more people can identify second, to provide examples and motivations that are relatable to under-represented backgrounds and identities, in order to reach and be more immediately helpful to more people

Seems pretty reasonable IMO. Feels like pretty mellow and easy actions to take. But the linked post I agree is a bit … condescending? Self congratulating?

Re: Welcome to Wikifunctions

#107

Post by chris_wot »

nonethewiser wrote: post #91
bawolff wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, you're not the only one to think that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2...

So Wikipedia asks me for donations but does company off-sites in Switzerland with Google?

Why is that so hard to believe? It’s a global organisation.

Re: Welcome to Wikifunctions

#108

Post by tines »

TekMol wrote: post #48
ajtulloch wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One way to view this formula is to use the fact that the Beta distribution is a conjugate prior for the binomial distribution. Essentially if you have a Beta(a, b) prior then your prior mean is a/(a+b) and after observing n samples from a Bernoulli distribution that are all positive, your posterior is Beta(a+n, b) with posterior mean (a+n)/(a+n+b). So in your example you effectively have a Beta(0, x) prior and x (“su…

Can this way to view the formula be expressed without the terms beta distribution conjugate prior binomial distribution bernoulli distribution posterior ? Because I could easily grasp that it is a "trust formula" in the way mg described it. But this way to "view" the formula is a mistery to me.

[flagged]

Re: Welcome to Wikifunctions

#109

Post by crazygringo »

vasco wrote: post #53
guy98238710 wrote: post #25

Wikifunctions is primarily intended to support Wikimedia projects, especially Abstract Wikipedia. It is the code complement to Wikidata lexemes. It might be used for cross-wiki templates to reduce existing duplication and other auxiliary tasks, but Abstract Wikipedia is the reason it was proposed.

Abstract Wikipedia is in my opinion fully wasted work. Translation is free and instant for web pages. I've lived for 6 years in different countries where I don't speak the local language (and am also not native English speaking) and you can get all the information you need by translating. This works totally fine already today with Google translate on top of pages. And the pages that are in fact missing from "the othe…

> Translation is free and instant for web pages.

And also very often quite incorrect, and you don't know where.

I think the general idea of a "universal language" Wikipedia, that gets flawlessly rendered into local languages, is laudable.

But I don't think anybody would ever edit in it directly -- what I want to see is that when somebody edits Wikipedia to add a new sentence, it attempts to translate into the "universal language" and prompt you to select from ambiguities.

E.g. if you wrote:

  I saw someone on the hill with a telescope.
It would ask you to confirm which of the following was intended:

  [ ] "with a telescope" modifies "I saw"
  [ ] "with a telescope" modifies "someone on the hill"
And it would also ask to clarify meanings, e.g.:

  [ ] "saw" - spotted visually
  [ ] "saw" - dated romantically
It would be a real dream to have translated outputs that were guaranteed to be correct, because the intermediate representation was correct, because the translation from someone's native language to that intermediate translation was verified in this way.

Re: Welcome to Wikifunctions

#110

Post by vasco »

crazygringo wrote: post #109
vasco wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Abstract Wikipedia is in my opinion fully wasted work. Translation is free and instant for web pages. I've lived for 6 years in different countries where I don't speak the local language (and am also not native English speaking) and you can get all the information you need by translating. This works totally fine already today with Google translate on top of pages. And the pages that are in fact missing from "the othe…

> Translation is free and instant for web pages. And also very often quite incorrect, and you don't know where. I think the general idea of a "universal language" Wikipedia, that gets flawlessly rendered into local languages, is laudable. But I don't think anybody would ever edit in it directly -- what I want to see is that when somebody edits Wikipedia to add a new sentence, it attempts to translate into the "univer…

I would still invest those resources into documenting more knowledge that currently doesn't exist online on their original languages and immediately translating to English. For better or for worse English is the "abstract" representation of language online and there's so much absent stuff that worrying about another universal format seems pointless.
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