User talk:Willscrlt/sandbox/LaraLove aka Jennavecia with Pretzels navigation

Please leave your comments about the LaraLove aka Jennavecia with Pretzels navigation redesign below. Thanks!

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Maybe even shorter?

In the Welcome box you have "Search the 2,552,109 articles in the English Wikipedia". Why not shorten it to just one line: "Search the 2,552,109 articles in English". That says it, I think, and avoids any impression that this is England's Wikipedia. --Hordaland (talk) 15:17, 13 September 2008 (UTC)

Hi. I like shorter, and that's a good idea. It's funny, but I don't think that I ever thought of the "English Wikipedia" as meaning the "Wikipedia of England". Working on several different editions of Wikipedia and Wikibooks, I am very used to seeing "English Wikipedia", "German Wikipedia", "Wikipedia Italiano", "English Wikibooks", "Spanish Wikibooks", etc. I am also used to abbreviating the same as en.wiki, de.wiki, it.wiki, en.books, es.books, etc. The abbreviated name is shorter, but it's not at all user-friendly for someone new to the site. Omitting the language from the name is somewhat of a disservice to the other Projects, and probably offensive, because en.wiki is already seen as the famous elder sibling in the family who is always in the spotlight. Jealousy and hard feelings would likely be even greater if we dropped the "English" moniker there, as if to say we are the "only Wikipedia (that matters)". So, while I think brevity is good, this is one case where we could take that to an extreme that could cause more problems than it will help. Of course, if the consensus is to remove it, then that's what we will do. I just don't think that's a good idea for smooth relations. If it weren't for that, I'd agree with you 100%. --Willscrlt (Talk) 22:08, 13 September 2008 (UTC)

I don't quite understand your answer. Seems to me that "in English" does mean "in the English language", and should be acceptable to everyone.

That said, you and I have some similar thoughts about smooth relationships and what may be offensive. One of my pet peeves (found on several of the front page proposals) is the use of "in other languages". Other to whom? Making people seem to be other is usually unnecessary. One can instead say "in many languages" or "in over 250 languages". (That is a bit off-topic here. Just pointing out a way of thinking that I find commendable.) Cheers, --Hordaland (talk) 10:24, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

I re-read it and I don't quite understand it either. <blush> I think I misunderstood you probably because I was half asleep or something. Yes, "in English" should be fine and it is shorter. I also agree with your comments about "other" languages. However, if we are thinking of the same spot on the page, I am pretty sure that is currently in a template that is not one that I edited. A lot of the information in the proposal is actually still coming from the real front page (or rather pieces that plug into the front page template). It is appropriate to mention it, but it's not a change that is part of my proposal (I think). I would support either of those wordings, though. --Willscrlt (Talk) 15:02, 14 September 2008 (UTC)