Wikipedia talk:Wikipedia Signpost/2017-08-05/Special report

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Neat! Do the devices record any information about access/usage? Statistics comparable to Wikipedia page-views data, etc., would be useful to measure performance/success of the project, but I could imagine potential privacy concerns might exist and have to be managed, too. --doncram 02:13, 6 August 2017 (UTC)

We have little data about specific content read. We do have the number of downloads of the android app.[1] And we have comments from people who have downloaded it.User:doncram Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 03:39, 6 August 2017 (UTC)

• Thanks for this excellent summary and also for the comment. We hope to record access/usage information, but as mentioned, there are privacy and other questions to be addressed. A member of our team is conducting expanded field trials in the DR this summer and we expect to learn a great deal more from her findings. We were very fortunate to have the essential support of SIPA's masters in development practice (MDP) program, its director, Glenn Denning, and administrator Kendal Stewart, as well as Mariela Machado, who joined me to designing and overseeing the research. Same goes for the excellent student team and Dr. Sam Zidovetski from Mount Sinai Global Health.Anelsona (talk) 14:59, 12 August 2017 (UTC)

• What an incredibly waste of time and money They could've simply sent the hardware by mail and asked a local to install them (you know, placing the device on a table, connecting a power cord and pressing the on/off button). They got a free vacation out of it. The usefulness of these devices is of course incredibly limited; it would make far more sense to provide Wikipedia in its entirety to a busy location. 64GB SD cards are cheap. (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 08:25, 21 August 2017 (UTC)
  • What is super easy for one specialty (those in the tech world) is NOT super easy or intuitive for those in another specialty (physicians and other health care providers).
  • Our specific offline medical app in EN has more downloads now than the main Kiwix app. Now you might ask why did we bother to create a specific app for offline medical content in English at all? Everyone can simply download the Kiwix and than download the all of Wikipedia ZIM to make the same thing?
  • My response is simply have you heard of "One Click" by Amazon? The other answer is branding. And a third is yes 1.2 Gb is a big difference from 58 Gb. Why use a 16 Gb rather than a 64 Gb? A few dollars matters and to reduce the risk of the SD card walking away. We specifically do not want the SD card in the device to be better than what people have in their phones.
  • Also you make "connecting a power cord" sound super easy. In much of the developing world the electricity that we take for granted does not reliably exist. Also rolling out something new requires raising awareness and building relationships. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 07:49, 23 August 2017 (UTC)

1. True, but it must be possible to find someone who lives locally who knows how to place the device on a table, connect a power cord and press the on/off button. Detailed instructions can be provided.

2. I usually (try to) avoid asking questions I know the answer to.

3. I am an Amazon user. I have some spare 64GB micro SD cards laying around the house. I use them in a wildlife monitoring system. They are incredibly cheap.

4. See 1. I don't think this is an efficient way to raise awareness and build relationships. It is going to be difficult to convert them from visitors into editors. (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 15:11, 23 August 2017 (UTC)

This is about raising awareness in a countries in which we have very little awareness rather than about recruiting editors.

Results from these efforts are also going to be published in the academic press. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 07:29, 24 August 2017 (UTC)

I criticized 2 decisions: the decision to travel there and the decision to exclude all Wikipedia articles about non-medicine related topics (which limits the usefulness of the device). I would assume locals know more about the reliability of their own energy network(s) than foreigners who visit for a couple of days. I don't think it is reasonable to claim that a potential thief will steal a 64GB SD card, but not a 16GB SD card. That is not how criminals work. A criminal would stuff something in their pocket quickly, and will inspect it in more detail when they are in a relatively safe location where no one else can see them. A thief is not going to pull a SD card from the inside of an SD card slot of a working device, look at the capacity, and make a decision (to steal or not to steal, that is the question) based on that information. You are probably unable to see the capacity of the SD card while it is inside the device, and if you are really worried about that then you can simply remove the sticker or use a sticker that says "1GB". If you want to prevent theft you may want to use one of those fake GPS stickers or hide the device in a boring and cheap looking plastic box. (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 20:42, 23 August 2017 (UTC)