Proposal:MVC Strategy Observations

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  1. Achieve continued growth in readership
  2. Focus on quality content
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  4. Stabilize and improve the infrastructure
  5. Encourage Innovation


Model–view–controller (MVC) is an architectural pattern used in software engineering. The pattern isolates business logic from input and presentation, permitting independent development, testing and maintenance of each. The need to discuss Wikimedia from a MVS point is because ...

Observations on Wikipedia Design and on MVC-based Strategy Proposals

i've been working on and keeping an eye on proposals that extend wikipedia beyond the inherent weaknesses of its present monolithic design. there are considerable examples of requests that effectively split the monstrousness - the tangly mess of overwhelming and (necessarily) over-protected and (necessarily) over-defended php code - that makes up wikipedia, along MVC lines.

i've begun an attempt to categorise the proposals by creating three categories -, [[Category::Proposals MVC Controller]],

  • of the five proposals so far, absolutely every single one of them can be merged into one proposal: provide peer-to-peer access to the wikipedia database (the "Model"). every single one of them is hampered by and made uncertain by the wikipedia foundation's "Physical Identification" rule (faxed copy of passport or driver's license) - a rule which is, itself, ridiculously easily subvertible (faked fax).
  • there are several confused proposals that are actually "Controller" proposals masquerading as or also requesting "View" features (extra GUIs) as well as "Model" access enhancements (usually p2p databasing)

due to the sheer number of proposals, and due to lack of information about how to go about pointing these things out, it's impossible to know whether the above observations will ever be noticed by anyone.

there is no place on the strategy wikimedia site marked "please put insights, observations and summaries on this page".

so - this is it.

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