[Wikipedia-l] Re: Software Assisted Context Resolution (from wikitech-l)

Mon Mar 31 13:07:08 UTC 2003

At Mon, 31 Mar 2003 22:27:19 +1000, 
Tim Starling (ts4294967296 at hotmail.com) wrote:
> > > * The original page is moved to a disambiguated name. This 
> name is 
> >selected
> > > by the user who creates the second page.
> > > * All existing links are updated via the pipe trick to point 
> to the
> > > newly-disambiguated primary article.
> >
> >Sounds like a bad idea - any pages that previously referred to 
> the old
> >page _wrongly_ would now be even more wrong. There will be rare 
> cases where
> >one disambiguation subject would be the only one that had links, 
> but more
> >commonly there are a few links that go to other disambiguation 
> subjects. So
> >I would very much prefer to have disambiguation done by hand, or 
> at least
> >under human control.
> 
> I did have another idea for what to do in this case. Perhaps all 
> the links 
> to the old page could remain pointing to what is now an automated 
> disambiguation page. Readers (not necessarily editors) could be 
> prompted to 
> select the right link. Their choice is reflected by updating the 
> referring 
> page. Of course the link could be manually fixed later, if 
> something goes 
> wrong.
> 
> -- Tim Starling.

I understand what you are getting at here Tim, but I don't think
it is reasonable to push an editting task on a reader. Now, if
they show any editting interest in the page that is a different 
matter. Then you could (perhaps) ask them to fix a few links
while they are there. You would have to give them a means to
chicken out though.

The optimum would go a little like this...

1. Reader clicks on some link
2. Oops, what am I doing at this disambig page
3. Correct destination is radio button 1, or 2, or 17
4. Wiki software fixes calling link AND...
5  Reader transparently moves to desired destination.
6. Gaz wins Lotto next day and retires ;-)

But then what do you do if THAT reader got it all wrong?

Gaz

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