Postby Psamathe » 10 May 2019, 8:06pm
I used to be a massive contributor but stopped as it all became madness. They seem to be dominated by a small group of US blokes who seem to regard “site policies” as being cast in stone and inflexible. Unfortunately different parts of the world different things apply (e.g postcodes, addressing principles, terminology) yet the site refuses to recognise this.
The competitor site WikiTravel is now based on a commercial advertising/booking service model though the content is still covered by the same CC license terms. The commercial nature of WikiTravel (WikiVoyage “competitor”) means that I’m not prepared to contribute content there.
But in my 4 months in Peru, Bolivia and a bit of Chile, unfortunately WikiTravel proved far more useful, had more content and was more accurate. Even in Cusco (tourist centre of Peru) I queried something I thought wrong (from walking around), showed the hostel owner the WikiVoyage page and their comment “Must be a different Cusco, that not this city”. Again, it comes down to the rigorous inappropriate policies blocking contributions so people give-up.
One day I wasted hours going to bus companies to buy a ticket to next destination only to find that whilst WikiVoyage listed the companies of running that route, go to the company to buy a ticket and find they have not run there for years - massively out of date and really wasted time. The bus company/route problem was the point I completely stopped using it as it was a great hindrance and alternative ways of finding out stuff was easier, quicker and worked.
Example, in Arequipa I went on a short free walking tour. Run by students for tips (so not really “free”) and it was excellent, not so much a tour of places but more a walking lecture about the historic factors that make the city what it is today, covering geology, slave trade, pre-Columbian era, catholicism and conversion methods used, etc. So I thought I’d add it as an entry in WikiVoyage Arequipa page. It was deleted within the hour because they have a policy banning walking tours! Pages of argument and debate about what a daft policy, many agreeing but policy is policy.
It’s a shame because it has great potential and possibilities but is being badly held back by a small group of people who can’t see what their attitudes are doing to the site.
Ian
Last edited by
Psamathe on 10 May 2019, 8:18pm, edited 1 time in total.
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