Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2013-04-29/WikiProject report

This week, we traveled to the Japanese Wikipedia's WikiProject Baseball for perspectives from a version of Wikipedia that treats WikiProjects as their own unique namespace (プロジェクト:) independent of "Wikipedia:". WikiProject Baseball was started in November 2005 to cover the game of baseball, including leagues in Japan, the United States, and elsewhere. The project's members noted that language barriers create difficulties in contributing between the English and Japanese Wikipedias, a challenge we also encountered in preparing this interview for publication. We interviewed もきゅもきゅー, CHELSEA ROSE, and Num.


 * What motivated you to join WikiProject Baseball? Do you follow Nippon Professional Baseball or Major League Baseball? What is your favorite baseball team?
 * もきゅもきゅー: The reason for joining was simple, I like baseball of course. My favorite baseball team in Japan is Chiba Lotte Marines and in America is the Detroit Tigers.
 * CHELSEA ROSE: Although I do not directly participate in the project, I am involved in editing the project's related articles. Enthusiasm has gradually faded, but there is still some interest. I was a fan of the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in the past. I don't have a favorite team in MLB (I find the lack of bunting strange) but I think it is interesting to watch purely as a sport.
 * Num: I joined because I have been involved in the sport of baseball. I feel that many happy baseball fans who love baseball should get a good understanding of the rules, information that is fundamental to Wikipedia. I favor no team in particular, although I may go to see Yomiuri Giants and Saitama Seibu Lions since they are relatively local.


 * How does WikiProject Baseball keep track of its articles? Does the project tag or assess the quality of articles? Is this standardized across the entire Japanese Wikipedia?
 * CHELSEA ROSE: It's on a project-by-project basis. We primarily work on efforts that lead to the improvement of the articles, such as those mentioned above.
 * Num: We do standardize some of the terms used in the articles and the abbreviations for teams.


 * Does WikiProject Baseball collaborate with any other Japanese-language WikiProjects? Is there any overlap in the membership of WikiProject Baseball with that of other sports projects? Are there any resources the sports projects don't currently share that they should?
 * CHELSEA ROSE: I personally have been participating in the soccer player project. But this is just what I happened to come to participate in at that time, I do not necessarily have a focus on both. Even if they do not collaborate, those who are involved in baseball on a daily basis seem to focus a lot on the articles. Since there is no communication between the other languages, I do not know what's right even in the Japanese version.
 * Num: There is a related project called WikiProject Baseball Players, although I'm not involved in that. At the top is a WikiProject Sports, there is also a project called Sectoral Activities Guide which serves as a guide to baseball.


 * Do you read or edit baseball articles in other languages? Has the Japanese Wikipedia benefited from translating material from other languages of Wikipedia? Are there any important articles on the Japanese Wikipedia that are currently neglected by the English Wikipedia?
 * Num: I worked on 振り逃げ (swing relief), which has attracted attention due to the trouble that occurred in a game in Japan. The article has been greatly revised and content has been enhanced. The English version is uncaught third strike and has been retouched with reference to the Japanese version.


 * What are the project's most urgent needs? Can contributors from the English Wikipedia help the Japanese WikiProject Baseball? How can Japanese Wikipedians contribute to the English Wikipedia's articles about baseball?
 * もきゅもきゅー: The challenge is to enrich various articles. To tell the truth, more and more members would be nice. I feel if Japanese editors do not know English, writing English sentences is difficult since translation sites for Japanese to English are poor. New editors, before coming to help, should write to users of the Japanese version for help or try to find a someone in Japan from English-speaking countries like America or Australia. If you find a good translation site, use it. I sincerely hope and want to write a good version of these for the Japanese version.
 * CHELSEA ROSE: You become the talk of the whole article baseball related project or rather, according to the author's official policy that the Japanese version of Wikipedia, and of course, to determine information, whether it is a necessary source within it, we sift through I think that is important. Articles such as athletes, seems difficult priority sides tend Eteshite so mad. To contribute to the English version myself is difficult, because I am not good at English, but editors from the English version who are skillful at Japanese are welcome. There is a growing interest in the MLB in Japan in recent years, so I'd like to thank the authors of the articles regarding the MLB. Thank you all!

Next week, we'll mix our scientific disciplines. Until then, discover the mysteries of life in the archive.