User:Hindustanilanguage/Report on the Skype Call of Urdu Wikipedians

Report on the Skype Call: A Gathering of Urdu Wikipedians

Date: April 29, 2014

Time: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM IST

Participants:

Muzammil (M)
Shuaib Nadwi (S), Admin, Urdu Wikipedia, India
Tahir Mahmood (T), Admin, Urdu Wikipedia, Saudi Arabia
Qaisarani (Q), Urdu Wikipedian, Finland
Irfan Arshad (I), Student, Pakistan

Introduction

The Skype call brought together five dedicated Urdu Wikipedians to discuss key issues affecting the Urdu Wikipedia community. With participants from India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Finland, the dialogue aimed to strengthen connections and enhance collaborative efforts within the community.

Agenda Overview

The meeting revolved around ten key points, primarily focusing on:

Community engagement and location of contributors.
Content quality and concerns regarding language purity.
Technical challenges faced in editing.
Outreach strategies for expanding the Urdu Wikipedia.

Key Discussions

1. Participant Introductions:

Each participant shared their background and experience with Urdu Wikipedia. Muzammil, who initiated the call, emphasized the importance of strengthening the community.

2. Contributor Locations:

Shuaib noted a higher number of contributors from Pakistan, although there are also active participants from India.

3. Language Concerns:

Participants discussed the balance between purist language and the use of neologisms. Tahir highlighted the need for community consensus before implementing changes, particularly on TranslateWiki.

4. Article Creation and Quality:

Muzammil congratulated the community on surpassing 50,000 articles, but raised concerns about the quality of bot-assisted articles. Shuaib clarified that while initial article creation is crucial, efforts are ongoing to expand and improve content.

5. Content Analysis:

The discussion revealed that while cities and personalities are well-covered, science topics are lacking due to debates on language use.

6. Notability and Technical Challenges:

The group debated criteria for article notability, suggesting that referencing English Wikipedia could serve as a guide. They also addressed typing issues and the potential for new fonts to improve this aspect.

7. Outreach Efforts:

Suggestions for organizations that could host Wikipedia workshops included Maulana Azad National Urdu University. Target cities for outreach in India included Delhi, Lucknow, and Hyderabad.

8. Future Plans and Editathons:

Participants discussed the possibility of organizing editathons, acknowledging the need for more technically skilled users to participate in planning.

9. Documentation:

The conversation was recorded for documentation purposes, with participants expressing interest in receiving a copy.

10. Concluding Remarks:

The meeting concluded with a positive outlook, emphasizing the importance of ongoing interactions to elevate the Urdu Wikipedia.

Outcomes

Geographic Distribution: Predominantly Pakistani contributors, with some from India.
Terminology Changes: A plan for implementing changes through community consensus.
Content Focus: More articles on cities; a noted deficit in science topics.
Article Quality Goals: Articles should ideally be between 100-200kb.
Notability Guidance: English Wikipedia criteria considered valid for determining notability.
Technical Solutions: Ongoing discussions to resolve typing issues.
Outreach Initiatives: Identified potential organizations and target cities for future workshops.
Editathon Planning: Need for strategic planning to increase participation in editathons.

This meeting fostered a collaborative environment, addressing various challenges while identifying actionable strategies for the growth and enhancement of Urdu Wikipedia.