SignWriting report after the Wikimedia Hackathon in Amsterdam

[Stephen E Slevinski Jr]

Hi SignWriting List,

I was privileged to take part in the Wikimedia Hackathon in Amsterdam 
this year.  A three day event that covered all things Wikipedia and more.
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Amsterdam_Hackathon_2013


At the beginning of the event, everyone introduced themselves and a big 
board was created that covered all of the people and topics.

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/File:Proposed_projects_for_the_Wikimedia_Hackathon_2013.jpg

My sticky for SignWriting is on the far right, second group from the end.



Before any language can have a new Wikipedia (or other project), it 
needs to start on Incubator and reach a certain level of activity. 
Previously, it was impossible for Incubator to support sign languages, 
so a special server needed to be built on Wikimedia Labs for each sign 
language project.

My main goal for the hackathon was to enable a SignWriting viewer on 
Incubator.  Mission accomplished!  Soon, we will start the transition 
from Wikimedia Labs to Incubator for the ASL Wikipedia Project.
http://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wp/ase


I have been informed by the language committee that any sign language 
(with a valid language code) will be automatically approved for the 
Incubator now that this technology exists.  We still have lots of work 
to continue, but this basic level of support is enough to start.

Additionally, I have a user script available on the English Wikipedia 
that anyone can enable to view SignWriting on the English Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Slevinski


There were many people at the hackathon that were interested in and 
supportive of written sign language.  I was informed that the idea of 
SignWriting is supported throughout the Wikimedia organization and 
various committees.  Several people reviewed the technical basis of the 
project and approved of the design.  It was a very positive event and 
I'm deeply grateful I was able to attend.

Sometimes it seems like an overwhelming amount of work still needs to be 
completed, but today I celebrate the achievements that our team has made 
possible.

Regards,
?Steve
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20130529/acdce0c4/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: eddefjgb.png
Type: image/png
Size: 242682 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20130529/acdce0c4/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: aefgihde.png
Type: image/png
Size: 68278 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20130529/acdce0c4/attachment-0001.png>