WikiFur:Starting a new language

Furry fandom extends around the world. Not all of us can read and write well in English, so WikiFur is provided in multiple languages to better serve the global community.

As of June 2011, WikiFur's projects and affiliates cover nineteen different natural languages. We'd like to cover more.

If you are interested in starting a new language, please contact WikiFur's custodian. To gain rights on an existing language project, try to contact the colleagues on that wiki first - note that you do not need rights to start editing!

Requirements
To start a wiki in a new language, you will need:


 * Good writing skills in your chosen language; native-speakers are preferred
 * Enough English to know when an automated translation is incorrect
 * The ability to stand apart from community conflicts, at least on the wiki itself
 * A good amount of free time that you are willing to spend both writing articles and promoting the wiki

Remember, you cannot do it alone! However, you may have to start many articles before others join you. It's a good idea to give regular status updates in a public forum or journal to show your progress and encourage participation.

Hosting on WikiFur
WikiFur offers hosting on a server provided by Timduru, and managed by the custodian - you just have to turn up and start editing. Automated database backups and statistics are also provided.

Partnering with WikiFur
If you are an experienced server operator, you may wish to "go it alone". We do not recommend this approach - it takes a long time to create a high-performance, robust and properly backed-up wiki - but it is up to you.

WikiFur is willing to partner with furry wikis in languages that have not been established at WikiFur, provided that:
 * Your project is a furry encyclopedia adhering to the neutral point of view
 * The wiki uses the same free license as WikiFur and offers open editing
 * You keep reasonably up to date with interlanguage links and MediaWiki updates

Partners are listed on the home page and your articles are linked from ours. We can also host backup dumps and generate statistics from them if you provide them.

Reviving an existing language
Not all languages succeed the first time. Sometimes founders overestimate the time they have to spend, or just lose interest in the project. In other cases, the community just isn't big enough to support a wiki yet.

Whatever the reason, it is sometimes necessary to revive a project that has fallen quiet. The best way to do this is to simply take control and start editing. On a wiki, you can make sweeping changes without any special powers. Founders are, however, encouraged to grant such powers to new editors who are making an honest effort to improve the wiki.