Disabling ULS ([[bugzilla:46306]]) by default cause loss of typing tool in Malayalam Language wikis. Although it is possible to enable from preference, it need to load unnecessary components and not-logged in users has no such privilege.
All these wikis enjoyed some kind of built-in typing tool atleast since 2007. ULS itself replaced a more responsive, simple and easily identifiable Narayam typing tool.
Version: wmf-deployment
Severity: normal
| Status | Subtype | Assigned | Task | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resolved | None | T57683 Bugs caught by mw.loader.inspect() (tracking) | |||
| Resolved | Nikerabbit | T58292 Make ULS more lightweight | |||
| Open | Feature | None | T27815 Allow user to set the language preference when creating an account | ||
| Open | None | T161517 Allow anonymous users to change interface language on Commons with ULS | |||
| Open | None | T5665 Auto-detect interface language for anonymous users on Wikimedia projects | |||
| Open | None | T58464 Allow anonymous users to change interface language on Wikimedia wikis with ULS | |||
| Open | Feature | None | T49802 [New UserLogin] Supersede language selection bar with UniversalLanguageSelector | ||
| Duplicate | Nikerabbit | T15097 Deploy ULS/UniversalLanguageSelector to all Wikimedia wikis (tracking) | |||
| Open | None | T76456 Language Engineering tracker of trackers (tracking) | |||
| Resolved | • santhosh | T62329 Universal Language Selector non-availability impact detection (tracker) | |||
| Resolved | None | T62327 Enable IME by default for Wikimedia Malayalam Wikis |
(In reply to comment #0)
All these wikis enjoyed some kind of built-in typing tool atleast since 2007.
ULS itself replaced a more responsive, simple and easily identifiable Narayam
typing tool.
I note Narayam was undeployed a while ago
I've also no idea if it's in a working state with relation to HEAD of master of MediaWiki core
Disabling ULS is temporarily (see bug 46306 comment 115).
So this bug report will automatically fix itself once ULS is enabled again.
What we needed to do in the meantime? No typing tool available by default and it is not available for anonymous users even with any settings.
This is not an enhancement. We are asking to reinstate a taken away feature which is essential for users who need to contribute in a language which is not available in normal / common keyboard.
It is almost 2 weeks since edit options disabled. Any progress?!! Please don't repeat comment 2, we clearly understood that. What we need is a typing tool.
(In reply to comment #6)
What we need is a typing tool.
Hi praveenp. Out of curiosity, what do Malayalam users do on other sites? Even if UniversalLanguageSelector were re-enabled right now, it is pretty much exclusive to Wikimedia wikis (Wikipedias, Wiktionaries, etc.). How is this problem solved or worked around elsewhere on the Internet?
viswaprabha wrote:
(In reply to comment #7)
if UniversalLanguageSelector were re-enabled right now, it is pretty much
exclusive to Wikimedia wikis (Wikipedias, Wiktionaries, etc.). How is this
problem solved or worked around elsewhere on the Internet?
That is an interesting question. People have been using various IME methods in Malayalam. Not any particular one is clearly dominant. But a large percentage of Malayalam 'speaking' community has been even avoiding typing in Malayalam script just because of the initial complex efforts required to install and learn an IME. So they would use something nicknamed 'manglish', Malayalam words written using English letters.
With the introduction of Narayam a few years back, many such users had turned to start typing in proper Malayalam script. Often, a person will open a blank new wikipedia page, choose the Narayam IME, type in whatever (s)he wanted and copy paste it to the 'other' page. In the end, he would just leave the Wikipedia page without saving it! This same practice would continue just as WM projects threw off Narayam and introduced ULS.
So, as you may see, Narayam/ULS was even helping a lot of people to fulfill their non-Wikipedia inputting needs!
As for one, I frequently use such temporary Wikipedia pages (in their respective local language versions) for typing (non-frequently) words in Tamil, Devanagari, Telugu, Kannada etc.
(In reply to comment #6)
It is almost 2 weeks since edit options disabled. Any progress?!!
The underlying changes in ULS are currently throughly tested before getting deployed. We all want it to get deployed again rather sooner than later but we also want it to be tested really well, hence I can only ask for some more patience.
MZMcBride, Wikimedia projects are often in languages not really/properly used anywhere else (or not in daily/public life), like it or not. MediaWiki/Wikimedia clearly strives to provide a higher language support than is standard/common, so it's IMHO rather pointless to continuously repeat in random bugs that doing so has a cost etc. etc. IMHO. Curiosity is fine and this comment by me is more offtopic than yours, but you may want to address the topic/open the discussion from a wider point of view in a more general forum.
(In reply to comment #7)
(In reply to comment #6)
What we need is a typing tool.
Hi praveenp. Out of curiosity, what do Malayalam users do on other sites?
There are are various typing tools available including IBus, SCIM, Keymagic etc which need various levels of admin rights to install and manage. Malayalam typing tool available in Wikimedia wikis popularly used to type and copy Malayalam to other sites without installing additional softwares.
Since you are curious, let me share the information that unlike other sites, content of Wikimedia wikis are generated by voluntary editors from various fields and many of them are not computer proficient.
(In reply to comment #9)
The underlying changes in ULS are currently throughly tested before getting
deployed. We all want it to get deployed again rather sooner than later but
we
also want it to be tested really well, hence I can only ask for some more
patience.
Is there any option to call / enable IME from mediawiki:common.js in the meantime?
Viswaprabha and praveenp, thank you both for your responses. They were very helpful to me. I now have a slightly better understanding of the issues and complexities here. The anecdote about Wikimedia wikis being used as an input tool for other sites was particularly interesting and neat. :-)
(In reply to comment #11)
Is there any option to call / enable IME from mediawiki:common.js in the
meantime?
Probably, but it's not recommended. I'd suggest waiting for bug 60304 to be resolved, which will probably happen in the upcoming week. The bug comments at bug 60304 aren't very useful, but the linked Gerrit change 108988 is nearly ready. The proposed code change just needs to be merged (approved) and then deployed (after being scheduled at [[wikitech:deployments]]).
(In reply to comment #12)
Probably, but it's not recommended. I'd suggest waiting for bug 60304 to be
resolved, which will probably happen in the upcoming week.
A Built in input mechanism is essential for our wikis because of problems like above mentioned ones. However current situation (ULS disabled by default) generally welcomed because experienced users are familiar with other input options and are happy with a lighter site. Also they don't need to load additional webfont framework for the sake of IME now. Although I didn't use Built in input feature since the deployment of ULS, personally I believe this is bad and inability to edit in Malayalam will seriously discourage new users (including those who experimenting anonymously).
ULS disabled by default is really creating a serious problem also in Samskrit wiki. Recently we conducted sa wiki workshop for a group of volunteers who were from different states of India. Now they are introducing sa wiki in their places and many new users are expressing their discouragement because of the inablility to search and experiment. Better to solve this at the earliest.
shubha: Please see https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Universal_Language_Selector/Announcement_Feb2014 and https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Universal_Language_Selector/Upcoming_Development_Plan
In short: Most of ULS will come back soon, but webfonts delivery will need to specifically be enabled by each user via a checkbox in the Language Panel.