Metadata, machine-readable, data reuse: Are strategies to improve offline take-up within the scope of the task force?

Metadata, machine-readable, data reuse: Are strategies to improve offline take-up within the scope of the task force?

Mediawiki stores articles in flat text files. The data dumps can include some implied metadata, primarily via category memberships. Data reusers, including offline Wikipedias, prefer resources which are easily parsed and processed, one of the reasons Mediawiki moved to xml-based output. However, the content itself includes very little support for reuse. Articles are not uniform in layout, elements, or syntax use within a single language or project, let alone trans language or project.

The lack of uniformity or metadata is a significant bar to the use of Mediawiki content for offline applications, as well as online applications.

Should the task force make findings statements such as this, assuming no proposal is presented which specifically addresses this question?

Amgine22:46, 18 November 2009