SignWriting Encyclopedia Projects...new SignWriting Wiki

Sat May 29 14:22:45 UTC 2010

SignWriting List
May 29, 2010

Hello Gerard!
Thanks so much for this message, which mentions that we now have the incubator needed to move step by step forward, towards acceptance as an ASL Wikipedia someday, through the proper procedures required by the Wikimedia Foundation. We want to do everything needed to make this happen...

Steve is working towards solving the technical issues. I know Steve is working on, for example:

1. wiki links

2. images in text

3. the entire user interface needs to be written in a sign language in SignWriting, not in English, like it is now

4. right now, the SignWriting MediaWiki Plugin, which the SignWriting Wiki is using, is a "read only" viewer, and the articles in SignWriting are being brought in, once they are written in other software, such as SignPuddle Online for example...so one of the big goals is to add the SignText Editor to the SignWriting MediaWiki Plugin so articles are written directly in the SignWriting Wiki, rather than in other software - when that happens, it will be a big step forward...

Those are four things I know of right now...but I think it is important that Steve gives us his real "to-do-list" from his perspective, because I am really just a lay person watching this unfold with great joy, and partially clueless about the software development behind the scenes ;-))

But I am sooooo happy and grateful to all of you for creating this step forward...It is exciting to read the articles in the SignWriting Wiki!

Val ;-)

-------------

On May 29, 2010, at 6:43 AM, Gerard Meijssen wrote:

> Hoi,
> The creation of a wiki for SignWriting is a very exciting development. In the language committee we have indicated that technical issues are what prevents a Wikipedia for sign languages at this time. The SignWriting wiki is effectively an incubator for the technology needed and for the languages to write the minimum number of articles they need for acceptance as a new language.
> 
> Given all the technical issues, I am of the opinion that a requirement for localisation can be waved. Sign languages with SignWriting would introduce the writing in lanes ie top to bottom with characters moving slightly to the right or left.
> 
> What I am looking for is agreement what technical issues need to be solved before a sign language can become a Wikipedia. Compatible policies are not an issue. I am thinking of being able to include images in the text and having wiki links. What else is absolutely required before we can move forward once there are sufficient articles ?
> Thanks,
>       GerardM
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Valerie Sutton <sutton at signwriting.org>
> Date: 28 May 2010 21:04
> Subject: SignWriting Encyclopedia Projects...new SignWriting Wiki
> To: SLLING-L at listserv.valenciacc.edu
> 
> 
> Hello SLLING List members -
> 
> We are working towards the goal of providing written literature in sign languages.
> 
> We have started a new project. It was just posted on the web yesterday. Here is the information:
> 
> New Special Feature
> Posted May 27, 2010
> 
> Go to:
> 
> SignWriting Site
> http://www.SignWriting.org
> 
> 
> 1. SignWriting Encyclopedia Projects
> Writing Encyclopedias in the Sign Languages of the World
> http://www.signwriting.org/encyclopedia
> 
> 
> 2. SignWriting Wiki
> Wiki-style Articles written in Any Sign Language
> http://www.signbank.org/wiki
> 
> 
> 3. Blogs on the ASL Wikipedia
> Incubating ASL for new Wikipedia
> http://www.signwriting.org/blogs/#Meijssen
> 
> 
> 4. SignWriting Image Server (SWIS)
> Display and edit SignWriting images with fast installation
> http://www.signbank.org/swis
> 
> 
> 
> The new SignWriting Wiki is open to anyone who wishes to add a category for their sign language, and start writing articles in SignWriting using SignPuddle Online, and then transferring the articles from SignPuddle Online into the SignWriting Wiki for viewing and reading by the general public.
> 
> The SignWriting Wiki is the incubator, or the development site, hopefully for a future ASL Wikipedia (or Wikipedias in any sign language we hope someday).
> 
> The SignWriting Wiki is the test area for our new software, the SignWriting MediaWiki Plugin, by Steve Slevinski.
> 
> In the future, it will be possible to write the SignWriting articles directly in the SignWriting Wiki, without having to transfer them from SignPuddle Online...so there is ongoing software development behind the scenes to make this happen...
> 
> But for right now, this is a big "first step" and I want to thank Steve Slevinski, Adam Frost (Deaf ASL editor who posted the first two articles in the SignWriting Wiki in ASL) and Gerard Meijssen from the Language Committee of the Wikimedia Foundation, for their hard work and encouragement...
> 
> The first two articles added to the ASL SignWriting Wiki are based on the ASL videos by Lucinda O'Grady Batch, of the history of Charles-Michel de l'Épée and the history of Laurent Clerc. Both videos were first transcribed into SignWriting by Charles Butler, and placed in SignPuddle Online, and then Adam Frost transferred them into the SignWriting Wiki for people to read. You can read them at these links:
> 
> ASL SignWriting Wiki
> http://www.signbank.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:ASL
> 
> History of Charles-Michel de l'Épée
> http://www.signbank.org/wiki/index.php?title=Charles-Michel_de_l%27%C3%89p%C3%A9e
> 
> History of Laurent Clerc
> http://www.signbank.org/wiki/index.php?title=Laurent_Clerc
> 
> 
> Any feedback is much appreciated, so write anytime -
> 
> 
> Val ;-)
> 
> 
> Valerie Sutton
> Sutton at SignWriting.org
> 
> SignWriting
> Read & Write Sign Languages
> http://www.SignWriting.org
> 
> SignPuddle
> Create SignWriting Documents Online
> http://www.SignBank.org/signpuddle
> 
> SignWriting Wiki
> Wiki-style Articles in Sign Languages
> http://www.signbank.org/wiki
> 
> SignWriting List
> Technical Support: Ask questions...
> http://www.SignWriting.org/forums/swlist
> 
> SignWriting Literature Project
> Writing Literature in Sign Languages
> http://www.SignWriting.org/literature
> 
> SignWriting Encyclopedia Projects
> Writing Encyclopedias in Sign Languages
> http://www.SignWriting.org/encyclopedia
> 
> Deaf Action Committee For SignWriting
> Center For Sutton Movement Writing
> a US educational nonprofit organization
> PO Box 517, La Jolla, CA, 92038, USA
> Tel: 858-456-0098  Skype: valeriesutton
> 
> 