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_ General Discussion _ Export function disabled

Posted by: Emperor

Fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Jimbo_Wales#Why_did_Wikipedia_change_its_export_function_so_it_no_longer_works_with_any_other_wikis.3F

QUOTE(Wikipedia)
Why did Wikipedia change its export function so it no longer works with any other wikis?

Earlier this year Wikipedia changed Special:Export, so that everything exported is in a different format than the one it had previously used for years. This means that other wikis, such as wikia, can no longer import pages. Was that done on purpose? Dream Focus 22:17, 30 April 2012 (UTC)
You will probably get a quicker answer at WP:VPT where the techie types hang out.--ukexpat (talk) 02:30, 1 May 2012 (UTC) I'm afraid I don't know anything about it.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 09:46, 1 May 2012 (UTC)


This is subtle, but a huge nail in the coffin of the interwiki collaboration idea.

For a decade, the writers of Wikipedia assumed that if there was ever a reason to, they could easily take their content elsewhere.

Now database dumps don't work and Special:Export doesn't work.

The WMF has completely broken the trust of the original user base.

New license, new terms of use, and two key features of the wiki are disabled.



Posted by: Text

QUOTE
The WMF has completely broken the trust of the original user base.



>Not looking hard enough to realize that this was already evident by january 2007


Posted by: jsalsman

QUOTE(Emperor @ Tue 1st May 2012, 12:42pm) *
QUOTE(Wikipedia)
Why did Wikipedia change its export function so it no longer works with any other wikis?
... Now database dumps don't work and Special:Export doesn't work....
What is supposed to be wrong here? Export and http://dumps.wikimedia.org/enwiki/20120403/ are fine.

Posted by: Fusion

Why is there a need to export? What indeed is the point when on most wikis you cannot then import the result without special privileges? Yoiu can just cut and paste the source code. The CC licence terms can be satisfied with an appropriate link.

Posted by: Emperor

QUOTE(Fusion @ Tue 1st May 2012, 4:11pm) *

Why is there a need to export? What indeed is the point when on most wikis you cannot then import the result without special privileges? Yoiu can just cut and paste the source code. The CC licence terms can be satisfied with an appropriate link.

Export when it was working was nice. You could bring along templates and include all the history. It was always buggy though and didn't work well for larger articles with extensive histories.

Posted by: Michaeldsuarez

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical)#Why_did_Wikipedia_change_its_export_function_so_it_no_longer_works_with_any_other_wikis.3F (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Village_pump_%28technical%29&oldid=490191137#Why_did_Wikipedia_change_its_export_function_so_it_no_longer_works_with_any_other_wikis.3F)

It's the result of Wikia's out-of-date software. Wikia users should petition their profit-making masters for more up-to-date software.

Posted by: Emperor

QUOTE(Michaeldsuarez @ Tue 1st May 2012, 5:16pm) *

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical)#Why_did_Wikipedia_change_its_export_function_so_it_no_longer_works_with_any_other_wikis.3F (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Village_pump_%28technical%29&oldid=490191137#Why_did_Wikipedia_change_its_export_function_so_it_no_longer_works_with_any_other_wikis.3F)

It's the result of Wikia's out-of-date software. Wikia users should petition their profit-making masters for more up-to-date software.


With all the millions Wikipedia gets in donations every year, why can't they make it easier? What percentage goes towards improving these technologies? Why is the board not demanding better?

If Wikia can't even get imports to work, what chance do the rest of us have?

So MediaWiki goes from 1.000323 to 1.000324 and the whole system breaks? What kind of excuse is that? If doing the upgrade was going to make Wikipedia's export function break, they never should have gone ahead with it. Idiots! Idiots!

Posted by: Tarc

QUOTE(Emperor @ Tue 1st May 2012, 6:27pm) *

QUOTE(Michaeldsuarez @ Tue 1st May 2012, 5:16pm) *

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical)#Why_did_Wikipedia_change_its_export_function_so_it_no_longer_works_with_any_other_wikis.3F (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Village_pump_%28technical%29&oldid=490191137#Why_did_Wikipedia_change_its_export_function_so_it_no_longer_works_with_any_other_wikis.3F)

It's the result of Wikia's out-of-date software. Wikia users should petition their profit-making masters for more up-to-date software.


With all the millions Wikipedia gets in donations every year, why can't they make it easier? What percentage goes towards improving these technologies? Why is the board not demanding better?

If Wikia can't even get imports to work, what chance do the rest of us have?

So MediaWiki goes from 1.000323 to 1.000324 and the whole system breaks? What kind of excuse is that? If doing the upgrade was going to make Wikipedia's export function break, they never should have gone ahead with it. Idiots! Idiots!


So why is that Wikipedia's problem and not Wikia's?

Posted by: Emperor

QUOTE(Tarc @ Wed 2nd May 2012, 9:14am) *

So why is that Wikipedia's problem and not Wikia's?


Wikipedia's mission is to collect and share information. Technical problem are their problem, but yes you're right responsibility for anything is something they'd probably best never accept, nevermind the millions of dollars they have collected for the purpose of fixing problems like this.

Posted by: Mister Die

QUOTE(Emperor @ Wed 2nd May 2012, 1:27pm) *

QUOTE(Tarc @ Wed 2nd May 2012, 9:14am) *

So why is that Wikipedia's problem and not Wikia's?


Wikipedia's mission is to collect and share information. Technical problem are their problem, but yes you're right responsibility for anything is something they'd probably best never accept, nevermind the millions of dollars they have collected for the purpose of fixing problems like this.
Everyone knows that the millions collected goes to having articles on golden showers and anal sex in Swahili and Tswana.

Posted by: Tarc

QUOTE(Emperor @ Wed 2nd May 2012, 9:27am) *

QUOTE(Tarc @ Wed 2nd May 2012, 9:14am) *

So why is that Wikipedia's problem and not Wikia's?


Wikipedia's mission is to collect and share information. Technical problem are their problem, but yes you're right responsibility for anything is something they'd probably best never accept, nevermind the millions of dollars they have collected for the purpose of fixing problems like this.


I realize that you're probably swamped with work caused by the 3 people per month who visit the uncyclopedia, but that didn't answer the question. Try again?

Posted by: Emperor

QUOTE(Tarc @ Thu 3rd May 2012, 11:54pm) *

QUOTE(Emperor @ Wed 2nd May 2012, 9:27am) *

QUOTE(Tarc @ Wed 2nd May 2012, 9:14am) *

So why is that Wikipedia's problem and not Wikia's?


Wikipedia's mission is to collect and share information. Technical problem are their problem, but yes you're right responsibility for anything is something they'd probably best never accept, nevermind the millions of dollars they have collected for the purpose of fixing problems like this.


I realize that you're probably swamped with work caused by the 3 people per month who visit the uncyclopedia, but that didn't answer the question. Try again?


I don't work on the uncyclopedia. You might be thinking of Somey? I think he helped out on it years ago, but I am not sure if he still does.