Tell us about Finnish Wikipedia

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Finnish Wikipedia

Finnish – fi

Questionaire

Contributors

Wikimedia Statistics can be difficult to interprete. What is your impression, how many steady contributors do you have?

On daily basis 10-30, weekly basis less than hundred. --Usp 20:52, 28 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

257 logged users to edit in month fi:Toiminnot:Tilastot. --Usp 14:53, 27 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Are your contributors mostly native speakers?

Yes, almost entirely. --Usp 20:52, 28 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Swedish-Finnish contributors speak Finnish as their second language (5.5 % of population). --Hartz 18:00, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Where do your contributors live (regions/country)?

In Finland. --Usp 20:52, 28 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

How common is it that your contributors meet in real life?

We have had local meetups once or twice a year, but they are usually rather small events with 5–15 participants. Our 100,000th article was celebrated with a seminar in 2007. --Silvonen 07:36, 7 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Other Wikipedias

Do you have special contacts with another Wikipedias (maybe in related languages)?

Not as far as I know. --Hartz 18:00, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Do you translate a lot from other Wikipedias? Which ones?

Quite a lot from English. --Usp 20:52, 28 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Organization and support

Is there a Wikimedia chapter in your country? How does your language relate to it?

Unfortunately we don't have a local chapter. --Hartz 18:00, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Are there work groups in other organizations about Wikipedia?

Not as far as I know. I would be surprised if there were. --Hartz 18:00, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Your Wikipedia and the linguistic community

Is there a language institution for your language, like an Academy, or a club of people interested in your language? Do you have contact with them?

We use the recommendations of Kielitoimisto, the Finnish Language Office of the Research Institute for the Languages of Finland, and sometimes our contributors contact them for additional advice. --Silvonen 07:02, 7 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Who (else) supports you?

All who donate to Wikimedia foundation, of course! --Hartz 18:00, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

How looks your public outreach for your edition? Do you have flyers, give lectures, trainings etc.?

Fikipedia is occasionally named as source in notable newspapers, etc. --Usp 20:52, 28 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Do you get feedback from readers?

Not systematically. --Usp 20:52, 28 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

What other encyclopedias exist in your language?

Most recent and comprehensive are "Fakta 2001", "Suuri tietosanakirja" and "Factum". I believe Finnish Wikipedia beats these hands down. --Hartz 18:00, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Content

Does your edition concentrates on certain topics, like your region and language, or Latin Wikipedia on Roman history and Christianity?

Almost every contributor is Finnish so anything Finnish is naturally in focus but separation is done or is aimed to be done between general view and Finnish view. Recentism is also acknowledged. --Usp 20:52, 28 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Did your edition enjoy text donations, for example from older encyclopedias?

In the early stages some content was added from Pieni tietosanakirja ("Small Encyclopedia"), published by Otava between 1925 and 1928. It was assumed that its copyright had expired, but it was later decided that direct copying should not be encouraged due to vague interpretation of Finnish copyright law. --Hartz 18:00, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Language

Is there a generally accepted norm about your language (spelling, dictionary, pronunciation)?

Kielitoimisto (the Finnish Language Office of the Research Institute for the Languages of Finland) develops the official spelling recommendations. Their Kielitoimiston sanakirja is the authoritative dictionary of Finnish, but there are many other good dictionaries, too. --Silvonen 07:23, 7 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

How do you deal with different spellings, dialects etc. (like B.E. lift and A.E. elevator)?

Unlike in English, there aren’t any competing general language standards. We use mainly Kielitoimisto’s recommendations and a number of special dictionaries to resolve conflicts. In some cases, Kielitoimisto accepts more than one alternative, and then we discuss and discuss... and finally we might vote on the title of an article, as in the infamous Pitsa vs. Pizza case. --Silvonen 07:23, 7 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]