Your two rights on Wikipedia Options

[thekohser]

I've heard it said that users have two rights on Wikipedia:

1. The right to "fork" the database
2. The right to leave the project

So, I'm thinking about forking the English Wikipedia. How exactly does one go about doing that? I thought that the Wikimedia Foundation had given up about 18 months ago with trying to produce regularly-available data dumps of the entire project, presumably because their servers were choking on the process.

Is it now incumbent on a forker of the mother database (the "mother forker") to execute the entire process from "outside" Wikipedia?

And another question -- how might one fork the Simple English Wikipedia, which has a much more manageable 25,704 articles?

Greg

[Nathan]

Find the data dumps then import them into your database?

[thekohser]

Find the data dumps then import them into your database?

Sure, but where are these elusive data dumps? I thought the last stable, successful one was back at the end of 2006!?

Greg

[GlassBeadGame]

Find the data dumps then import them into your database?

Sure, but where are these elusive data dumps? I thought the last stable, successful one was back at the end of 2006!?

Greg

I don't think there is anyway to execute a dump from upside as you would need sufficient permissions on the database, so you would have to rely on an existing publicly available dumps. It would still be an interesting project even if the dump was rather old. After all it's not like the project is improving anymore. You could insist on IRL identities of editors, respect experts, treat businesses with respect, exercise editorial restraint and implement BLP reform. I think the approach would be like marble sculpture. Cut away everything that doesn't look like an encyclopedia. You would have a much better product within a year, even with only modest number of committed editors.