If one can write a definition for each category that explains how it’s different from the others, there should be separate categories. — User: Docu at , (UTC)
As if one were to stand in front of it and ask a passer-by “what’s the name of this [
I assume I’m included in the general invitation to participate in the discussion, so please bear with me for a few paragraphs.
Now that I’ve got that off my chest;), I think that the general principle should be that the names of physical, geographical objects (streets, railway stations, rivers and so on) used in categorisation should be the ones used at the location of this object
First, I am willing to accept that English is the working language on Commons. On the onther hand, it would be nice if native English speakers would acknowledge that this means that a sizeable number of users are required to use a -for them- foreign language. As a Dutchman, I’m used to speedycashloan.net emergency loans for students with bad credit this, but how about users who generally speak, write and think in, say, Spanish, French, Chinese, etcetera? At times -though not in the above discussion- I have sensed a tendency of “speak English or shut up”.
That means that, in my opinion, a category like Category:Gare de Lyon is correct. Something like “Lyon train station, Paris” would be wrong: there is an excellent categorisation using the local language, and by using a clear category tree (this is a subcat of, among others, Train stations in Paris) any user can find his way up.
Category:Lek River is not quite correct, since the Dutch name for this river is not “rivier de Lek” or “rivier Lek” but just Lek. However, I suggest that we keep it this way, as a courtesy towards non-Dutch speakers.
As to the Cabbage Square-example: I am sure that a Czech user will be able to tell me whether it is likely that I, visiting Brno and asking for directions to the Cabbage Square, would be understood. If not, then Category:Cabbage Square (Brno) is factually incorrect. Category:Zelny trh (Brno) would be correct. Anybody wishing to add, purely for the purposes of clarification, that the literal translation of its name is “Cabbage market”, is of course free to do so.
Just as one could add that the Lek is what starts as the Rhein (German) in Switzerland, is called both Rhein and Rhin (French) where it is the border between France and Germany, becomes Rijn (officially Nederrijn) when it enters the Netherlands, an becomes Lek shortly before becoming the Nieuwe Maas, and finally turning into the Nieuwe Waterweg before ending up into the North Sea.
Confusing? Absolutely, but that’s what you get when working on a global project. In case of extreme confusion, one could always add the odd redirect or two. Best regards, (UTC)
Seconded. A levelheaded approach, I think, and one that anyone could get behind. I also find it bizarre that Category:Gare de Lyon was deemed unacceptable. Mr.choppers ( talk ) , (UTC)
Are they still accepting usability software suggestions for Commons? From the various comments above, I am getting the idea that we need some actual software changes to accommodate the various language issues here. Japanese people need to be able to navigate categories in Japanese, Czech people in Czech, etc. English should be more of a fallback position – if a category has 100 subcategories but only 80 of them are translated into Russian, the remaining 20 should show in English. From a pure computing perspective, there is no reason this couldn’t be done, but I have no idea what effort would be required. Has anyone asked? Wknight94 talk , (UTC)
