Purpose: Although the necessity of files used for "prettification" may be considered debatable by some, there is no doubt that this project provides substantial informative content for educational purposes. Value added: transclusion of content across multiple projects and languages, Wikimedia control of licensing when such content is included. ~ Ningauble22:57, 21 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Wikibooks questions/comments:
Wikibooks would be best used by drawing scholarly articles from experts, perhaps through a genuine peer review process. Frankly, this is the sort of thing that should have a print edition with subscribers, from which content is later distributed on the Internet platform. BD241204:04, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Wikinews questions/comments:
Wikiquote questions/comments:
It seems to be generally recognized that a good compendium of quotations is a substantive supplemental reference that offers significant "educational content"[1] appropriate for the WikiMedia vision to "share in the sum of all knowledge"[2]. Independent sources supporting the educational value of quotations include:
Isaac D'Israeli: "The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated by quotations." — Curiosities of Literature (1791-1823), "Quotation"
Hartley Coleridge: "Why are not more gems from our early prose writers scattered over the country by the periodicals? Selections are so far from preventing the study of the entire authors, that they promote it. [...] But great old books of the great old authors are not in everybody's reach; and though it is better to know them thoroughly than to know them only here and there, yet it is a good work to give a little to those who have neither time nor means to get more. Let every book-worm, when in any fragrant, scarce old tome, he discovers a sentence, a story, an illustration, that does his heart good, hasten to give it the widest circulation that newspapers and magazines, penny and halfpenny, can afford." — The Worthies of Yorkshire and Lancashire (1836), "Roger Ascham" (footnote)
Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Some men's words I remember so well that I must often use them to express my thought. Yes, because I perceive that we have heard the same truth, but they have heard it better." — Lectures and Biographical Sketches (1883) "Character"
Winston Churchill: "It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations is an admirable work, and I studied it intently. The quotations when engraved upon the memory give you good thoughts. They also make you anxious to read the authors and look for more." — Roving Commission: My Early Life (1930), Chapter 9
(It may be acknowledged that Wikiquote also contains a substantial admixture of "infotainment" content of dubious educational value, probably in even greater proportion than at Wikipedia.) Value added: en.Wikiquote has already achieved more extensive verifiable sourcing than such competing organizations as BrainlessQuoteBrainyQuote.com or ThoughtItWasThinkExist.com by practicing the wiki way. Although, like Wikipedia, it is subject to vandalistic hoaxes and still contains legacy un-sourced information, the community is actively working on cleaning up unreliable content. ~ Ningauble02:25, 22 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I wholeheartedly endorse Ningauble's statement, and would like to draw particular attention to our efforts to fully source quotes in a way that other quote providers fail to do. In due time, we will be the Snopes of quotes. BD241204:07, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Wikisource questions/comments:
Would be great if we could just get Project Gutenberg to fold its content in. This project offers great support as a host of public domain sources of information referenced by Wikipedia, but Wikipedians need to support it as well, by referring to it for such sources, instead of third party content hosts. If Wikisource is missing the public domain info you wish to cite, then add it to Wikisource and cite it there anyway. BD241204:11, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Wikispecies questions/comments:
Wikiversity questions/comments:
Purpose: It seems somewhat less self-evident, that there is a role in "Educational Content" for the creation of Educational Resources, that are not just references. Examples include courseware, and resource compendiums related to a subject, Papers and Original Research on topics that have not yet reached the standards of Wikipedia, Virtual Laboratories, and Opportunities for Original Research. If strategic planning supports the continued existence of such resouces, then Wikiversity is a natural place for them to happen in.
Wiktionary questions/comments:
Purpose: It seems self-evident to me that a dictionary is core reference "educational content"[3] needed for the WikiMedia vision to "share in the sum of all knowledge"[4] because building vocabulary and empowering people to decode available information are essential educational roles. Value added: Is there usage data available to demonstrate Wiktionary has already attained strong perceived value relative to other online dictionaries? ~ Ningauble22:57, 21 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Wiktionary is probably the next most useful general-purpose reference after the encyclopedia itself, and it certainly transcends the encyclopedia in its value of offering translations. BD241204:08, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
