s59438msl0 wrote:FOR SHAME - ALL OF YOU.
alma wrote:SHAME ON YOU!!!
It seems to me a bit ironic that the people who say things like this have contributed exactly 0 edits to IMSLP.
http://imslp.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/s59438msl0
http://imslp.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Alma
I'm not entirely sure why you believe you have the right to speak for IMSLP contributors, or why you believe you are entitled to anything. But perhaps you can enlighten me.
* * *
In any event, I've been thinking about why there is a disconnect between my intentions and what is reflected in these discussions. I think a piece of it may be summarized by the following chart which I put together today:
http://imslp.org/wiki/Special:UCNB, which shows the number of edits for the top 100 users since January 1, 2015. (Sorry, only user ID for now - but if you don't know who user #1 is then you haven't been around much.) The Wikipedia counterpart to that chart is
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia ... .80.931000.
One number I want to draw your attention to is the #1 to #100 ratio, namely, the number of edits of the hundredth user as a percentage of the number of edits of the first user. This ratio for Wikipedia is 11.98%; it is 0.48% for IMSLP. Frankly, it is probably much lower than 0.48% given user #1 also did the vast majority of copyright tagging which is not included in the edit count (if included, the count would likely more than double).
Why am I bringing up these numbers? I think in all the emotional discussions in this thread there lacks a certain quantitative aspect to put things in perspective, which I think also helps explain a bit of my thinking process and why I reached the conclusion I did. A major difference between Wikipedia and IMSLP is domain specificity - the music library/copyright aspect of IMSLP causes it to be hyper-specialized which in turn means significantly fewer users can meaningfully contribute, whereas you can almost always find your niche on Wikipedia. This also I think explains my response to Notenschreiber -
Notenschreiber wrote:Bocchacio wrote:Now what we learned these days (if we did not know this before already) is that in the end of the day IMSLP is not owned by the community but rather by Edward alone and he can in principle do with IMSLP whatever he likes (theoretically we could wake up one day and IMSLP is just gone if he pulled the plug). So this clear difference between what motivates me to contribute and what reality is like can be quite frustrating and make people stop working on the project anymore.
For me this is really a very important point. I don´t think at all, that Edward has the tendency to "pull the plug", but he can do it, if he wants to do so.
That is intolerable. IMSLP has become an important part of the musical community and nobody should have the power to terminate the project.
I agree 100%. It is absolutely intolerable, and preventing it is the ultimate and most important goal of these recent changes. This is also what the top music librarians from national libraries were worried about at the IAML conference last June, and why they hounded me on my revenue sources. They understand how hard it is to raise money as a classical music library - even they themselves (as national libraries) worry about money. And they understand how crucial money is to long term preservation, no matter how much we try to coat it otherwise.
I absolutely want to make sure IMSLP does not get "unplugged". I would otherwise have wasted at least 10 years of my life. But I can't just hand off IMSLP to the next random person who passes by, now can I? My vision is to have a strong IMSLP supported by both contributors and paid staff - an IMSLP that is immune to the whims or personal circumstances of crucial people. Life happens - people move on, get married, find a new job, and so forth. Not having any income means contributing to IMSLP is the first on the chopping block. And as I mentioned before, unlike 10 years ago, IMSLP is not a new or novel thing anymore - as IMSLP gets bigger and bigger and people start to take IMSLP for granted, contributing to IMSLP also starts to look more and more like a profession.
And, to circle back to the chart I had earlier - in case anyone is wondering, I consider the first user a close personal friend of mine. I talk to him every week, and I know how much he has sacrificed for IMSLP. I've discussed the recent changes with him many times, and he is entirely supportive. If you want to say who can "unplug" IMSLP, I'm not the only one. And yes, one of the near term goals is to lessen his workload by working with other top contributors, both to spread out the contribution base but also so that he can get some much deserved rest.