The Uzbek Wikipedia

[Nataev]

Hello everyone! EricBarbour asked me to start a new discussion about the Uzbek Wikipedia (uzwiki), where I'm an administrator. At first I'd like to give a brief summary of uzwiki and its most active users.

Uzwiki was started in 2003. Most of the editors who were active back then are no longer active. Currently there are eight administrators on uzwiki, three of whom haven't made any edits in the past year:

* Azim (no longer active)
* Ismanov (no longer active)
* Uzgen (no longer active)
* Abdulla
* Casual
* Yours truly
* Amir.Temur
* Xusinboy Bekchanov

Azim, Ismanov, and Uzgen were very active when uzwiki was just started. I guess we could say they are our "founding fathers." Since they're not active these days, I will not write much about them. Abdulla is the most experienced and knowledgeable administrator on uzwiki. He is also our only bureaucrat. He's the most level-headed admin that I know of. Casaul is our only female administrator. She's a very cautious editor, one could argue excessively so. Still, she has contributed a lot to the improvement of uzwiki. She has participated in two Wikimania conferences. I've been an administrator since 2012. I attended Wikimania 2012 along with Casual. I'm not as active as I used to be when I was a student. Still, I edit Wikipedia every now and then. Amir.Temur is our tireless editor. He is a proud Uzbek. One might say that this sometimes compromises the neutrality of his contributions. Still, he has created hundreds of great articles on neutral subjects. Xusinboy Bekchanov makes very precise edits. He, along with Abdulla, is one of the few users on uzwiki who know how to operate bots. All of our admins know Russian very well. Abdulla, Casual, Xusinboy Bekchanov, and I speak English. Abdulla, Casual, and Xusinboy Bekchanov are from Uzbekistan. Amir.Temur is from Kazakhstan. I'm from Kyrgyzstan.

Now I'd like to touch upon two problems that we're facing on uzwiki these days. First off, at the moment uzwiki is blocked in Uzbekistan. We don't really know why. Some believe that the Uzbek Wikipedia has been blocked because the Uzbek government is concerned about articles critical of its actions. Then again, we don't have any articles on uzwiki that are very critical of the current Uzbek government. Maybe the Uzbek government has blocked uzwiki simply as an "act of showmanship," as some have written. The good thing is that the blockage is not very robust: uzwiki can be accessed on an HTTPS connection. Therefore Google has started indexing articles on the Uzbek Wikipedia with HTTPS by default. Casual played a key role in achieving this. (By the way, I kind of contributed to spreading the word about the blockage. After I wrote a blog on RFE/RE about the blockage, many other news outlets ran stories about this issue.)

Another big problem uzwiki is facing is that the average Uzbek person, even if he lives outside of Uzbekistan, doesn't use uzwiki much. Therefore it's no surprise that we don't have many active users. Most Uzbeks seem to prefer using the Russian-language Wikipedia. Fortunately, in 2012 the Uzbek Wikipedia started to grow fast and the number of well-written articles on important subjects has increased since then. While the recent increases in the number of articles are mostly due to bot-created articles, the number of user-generated articles has also gone up. Still, we need to do a lot more to increase the number of our readers and attract news editors. Any ideas on how to achieve this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[thekohser]

I read on Wikipedia:

Uzbekistan is the world's seventh-largest gold producer, mining about 80 tons per year, and holds the fourth-largest reserves in the world. Uzbekistan has an abundance of natural gas, used both for domestic consumption and export; oil used for domestic consumption; and significant reserves of copper, lead, zinc, tungsten, and uranium.

And...

The government of Uzbekistan has instead tightened its grip since independence (September 1, 1991), cracking down increasingly on opposition groups. Although the names have changed, the institutions of government remain similar to those that existed before the breakup of the Soviet Union. The government has justified its restraint of public assembly, opposition parties, and the media by emphasizing the need for stability and a gradual approach to change during the transitional period

Therefore, it seems clear to me that Tony Blair's consultancy should be along any minute (if it hasn't been already), and where Tony Blair goes, Jimbo Wales is sure to follow. Oh, yeah, damn he is certain to take an interest in Uzbekistan. Jimbo will sort out any of the problems that may exist on the Uzbek Wikipedia, just as he sorted out all of the problems with the Kazakh Wikipedia.

[enwikibadscience]

Hello everyone! EricBarbour asked me to start a new discussion about the Uzbek Wikipedia (uzwiki), ....


Another big problem uzwiki is facing is that the average Uzbek person, even if he lives outside of Uzbekistan, doesn't use uzwiki much. Therefore it's no surprise that we don't have many active users. Most Uzbeks seem to prefer using the Russian-language Wikipedia. Fortunately, in 2012 the Uzbek Wikipedia started to grow fast and the number of well-written articles on important subjects has increased since then. While the recent increases in the number of articles are mostly due to bot-created articles, the number of user-generated articles has also gone up. Still, we need to do a lot more to increase the number of our readers and attract news editors. Any ideas on how to achieve this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Welcome, Mataev. Uzbekistan has some good movies playing in American film festivals, so how are Uzbek film articles on uz.Wiki? I try to see all of the Uzbek movies that play in the States, but I moved to a rural area a few years ago and cannot see any, lately. My family was split up by Stalin, half were disappeared to Siberia, then escaped to the US, the other half were sent to Uzbekistan! So I have always been curious about the country.

How are science articles, major topics?

The Russian Wikipedia is pretty good, has lots of coverage, so it seems obvious to start there. It would also be wki suicide to add the most useful political articles, so I am not sure what you can do, although I appreciate that all of you are making an effort to increase free access.

[Poetlister]

he is certain to take an interest in Uzbekistan.

What, for only eight possible BLPs that might need protecting? That's scarcely worth his while. There were 28 in Kazakhstan.

[EricBarbour]

Thank you, Nataev! This is most helpful. I'm adding your comments to our collection of info on Wikipedias other than English.

It is a poorly covered area, you probably heard of the big mess over the Croatian Wikipedia being controlled by fascists. Things like this happen on WMF projects, and we often never know anything about them, unless English-language media mentions them. There are hundreds of minor language Wikipedias that appear to be poorly run, sometimes controlled by a single person. Plus there's a tendency to generate articles using translating bots, just to "inflate" the traffic figures for that Wikipedia. The result is a Wikipedia full of crap articles, that no one actually uses.

[Nataev]

Welcome, Mataev. Uzbekistan has some good movies playing in American film festivals, so how are Uzbek film articles on uz.Wiki? I try to see all of the Uzbek movies that play in the States, but I moved to a rural area a few years ago and cannot see any, lately. My family was split up by Stalin, half were disappeared to Siberia, then escaped to the US, the other half were sent to Uzbekistan! So I have always been curious about the country.

It's good to hear that you like Uzbek movies. Some of them, especially those made in Soviet times, are indeed great. Right now we have only 17 entries about Uzbek movies on uzwiki. So, we need to write more on this topic.

How are science articles, major topics?

Since 2012 both the quantity and quality of science articles have increased a lot. Once Sarah Kendzior, an anthropologist, wrote:

Unlike earlier acts of online censorship, the ban on Uzbek Wikipedia articles does not prevent citizens from accessing political information. On the contrary, it blocks a prime venue of innocuous diversion: the thousands of articles about pop stars, national heroes, and sports figures that comprise the Uzbek-language Wikipedia.

This is no longer true. Currently the majority of featured and good articles on uzwiki are on science. Moreover, Xusinboy Bekchanov has reproduced all of the articles in the National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan using a bot. The National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan is state-published and, surprise, surprise, gives a biased account of the current president of Uzbekistan and his administration. Still, the science articles in the National Encyclopedia are pretty good, since most of them were directly copied from the Uzbek Soviet Encyclopedia. Abdulla has also created thousands of entries about galaxies using a bot.

The Russian Wikipedia is pretty good, has lots of coverage, so it seems obvious to start there. It would also be wki suicide to add the most useful political articles, so I am not sure what you can do, although I appreciate that all of you are making an effort to increase free access

You're right. I guess for now we should focus on neutral topics.

It is a poorly covered area, you probably heard of the big mess over the Croatian Wikipedia being controlled by fascists.

Wow, I didn't know about this. Luckily we don't have such problems on uzwiki. Still, I'd say the entries about historical figures who have lived in the territory corresponding to present-day Uzbekistan are a bit biased. Then again, this is natural. While most would argue that applying modern Central Asian ethnicities to people who lived hundreds of years ago are anachronistic, Soviet and Uzbek sources regard many historical figures such as Ali-Shir Nava'i, Babur, and Timur as ethnic Uzbek. Therefore, I think it's no surprise that uzwiki's coverage of these topics is in line with the commonly held beliefs of Uzbeks.

[enwikibadscience]

Welcome, Mataev. Uzbekistan has some good movies playing in American film festivals, so how are Uzbek film articles on uz.Wiki? I try to see all of the Uzbek movies that play in the States, but I moved to a rural area a few years ago and cannot see any, lately. My family was split up by Stalin, half were disappeared to Siberia, then escaped to the US, the other half were sent to Uzbekistan! So I have always been curious about the country.

It's good to hear that you like Uzbek movies. Some of them, especially those made in Soviet times, are indeed great. Right now we have only 17 entries about Uzbek movies on uzwiki. So, we need to write more on this topic.

Yes, the late Soviet period in Uzbek cinema was utterly brilliant, in my opinion, but some of the post Soviet films, also. Others like different eras, and it may be sliding now, but it is a great tradition.

[The Joy]

Welcome Nataev.

I'm curious about the Uzbek Wikipedia's view of Timur (T-H-L) (or "Tamerlane"). I know he has a very mixed reputation in Central Asia. Do you have problems with articles related to him?

Statue of Timur in Samarkand (T-H-L), Uzbekistan
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Amir ... arkand.JPG

[enwikibadscience]

Welcome Nataev.

I'm curious about the Uzbek Wikipedia's view of Timur (T-H-L) (or "Tamerlane"). I know he has a very mixed reputation in Central Asia. Do you have problems with articles related to him?

Statue of Timur in Samarkand (T-H-L), Uzbekistan
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Amir ... arkand.JPG

Wasn't there a beautiful movie about him, cinematography beauty, shot in a ruined fort outside of Samarkand, maybe 5-10 years ago? I think Uzbek cinema articles would be a good area to work; in the West, the major film festivals love the Ezbek cinema, and these articles could be translates to en.Wiki.

[Hex]

Hi Nataev,



It's great to have some insight here into a Wikipedia besides the English one.

[enwikibadscience]

Hi Nataev,



It's great to have some insight here into a Wikipedia besides the English one.

Certainly interesting to consider the poliical issues.

[Nataev]

Welcome Nataev.

I'm curious about the Uzbek Wikipedia's view of Timur (T-H-L) (or "Tamerlane"). I know he has a very mixed reputation in Central Asia. Do you have problems with articles related to him?

Statue of Timur in Samarkand (T-H-L), Uzbekistan
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Amir ... arkand.JPG

The current version of the article on Timur is a reproduction of the entry in the National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan. Timur doesn't have a mixed reputation in Uzbekistan. All the Uzbeks think highly of him. Therefore we haven't had any problems with articles about him.

Wasn't there a beautiful movie about him, cinematography beauty, shot in a ruined fort outside of Samarkand, maybe 5-10 years ago?

Uzbek filmmakers have made dozens of movies about Timur. So, I'm not sure which movie you're talking about.

I think Uzbek cinema articles would be a good area to work; in the West, the major film festivals love the Ezbek cinema, and these articles could be translates to en.Wiki.

Yep, you're right. I've written a few short articles about Uzbek movies on enwiki.

It's great to have some insight here into a Wikipedia besides the English one.

Thanks!

[enwikibadscience]

.

Wasn't there a beautiful movie about him, cinematography beauty, shot in a ruined fort outside of Samarkand, maybe 5-10 years ago?

Uzbek filmmakers have made dozens of movies about Timur. So, I'm not sure which movie you're talking about.

Okay, I just asked the equivalent of, "Wasn't there a good American movie about Lincoln?" In my defense I would love to see this movie again.

I have seen about three Uzbek films about Timur, but one was spectacularly beautifully filmed, about 15 years old, major director, won major international awards, very epic, lengthy, like 5 hours or more. There was a lot of associated buzz about the work of filming it because of the large number of extras and large cast and the filming done in historic ruins, in particular. But mostly it was a beautiful film, and I am a visual artist, and sometimes, when going to film festivals, something will come back years later and haunt you. This is one of those films.

I will go look at the Uzbek films on uz.Vikipedia, also, maybe there is a movie poster, also will check film festivals.

I think this is one of the ways Wikipedia can work, usually the other way, from en. to uz., but would be more beneficial vice-versa, especially in the arts, as a cultural transfer to get more Uzbek cultural articles on en.Wiki. What we get instead is the deletion of international arts articles for lack of notability. Meanwhile, every fanzine-sourced Pokeman character article is preserved. I once attempted an AFC about a foreign film, and it was rejected because the editor googled the titled in English, which had almost no hits, but refused to accept the foreign language title google hits.

[Nataev]

I have seen about three Uzbek films about Timur, but one was spectacularly beautifully filmed, about 15 years old, major director, won major international awards, very epic, lengthy, like 5 hours or more. There was a lot of associated buzz about the work of filming it because of the large number of extras and large cast and the filming done in historic ruins, in particular. But mostly it was a beautiful film, and I am a visual artist, and sometimes, when going to film festivals, something will come back years later and haunt you. This is one of those films.

I couldn’t find any information on a lengthy Uzbek film about Timur. Тамерлан великий (Tamerlane the Great) (1991) and Buyuk Amir Temur (The Great Amir Temur) (1996) are probably the most notable Uzbek movies about Timur. I couldn’t find out the duration of the 1991 film. The 1996 film is 120 minutes long. By the way, back in 2011 the Uzbek director Ali Hamroyev announced that Jack Nicholson had agreed to portray Timur in his new movie. But I haven't heard anything about it since then.

I think this is one of the ways Wikipedia can work, usually the other way, from en. to uz., but would be more beneficial vice-versa, especially in the arts, as a cultural transfer to get more Uzbek cultural articles on en.Wiki. What we get instead is the deletion of international arts articles for lack of notability. Meanwhile, every fanzine-sourced Pokeman character article is preserved. I once attempted an AFC about a foreign film, and it was rejected because the editor googled the titled in English, which had almost no hits, but refused to accept the foreign language title google hits.

I couldn't agree with you more. Once I was blocked for trying to keep my article about Lola Yuldasheva. Back then I was new to Wikipedia and didn't know much about writing articles. Instead of providing more sources I kept edit-warring. Therefore I was blocked. But I had provided enough Uzbek-language sources.

[enwikibadscience]

I have seen about three Uzbek films about Timur, but one was spectacularly beautifully filmed, about 15 years old, major director, won major international awards, very epic, lengthy, like 5 hours or more. There was a lot of associated buzz about the work of filming it because of the large number of extras and large cast and the filming done in historic ruins, in particular. But mostly it was a beautiful film, and I am a visual artist, and sometimes, when going to film festivals, something will come back years later and haunt you. This is one of those films.

I couldn’t find any information on a lengthy Uzbek film about Timur. Тамерлан великий (Tamerlane the Great) (1991) and Buyuk Amir Temur (The Great Amir Temur) (1996) are probably the most notable Uzbek movies about Timur. I couldn’t find out the duration of the 1991 film. The 1996 film is 120 minutes long. By the way, back in 2011 the Uzbek director Ali Hamroyev announced that Jack Nicholson had agreed to portray Timur in his new movie. But I haven't heard anything about it since then.

I think this is one of the ways Wikipedia can work, usually the other way, from en. to uz., but would be more beneficial vice-versa, especially in the arts, as a cultural transfer to get more Uzbek cultural articles on en.Wiki. What we get instead is the deletion of international arts articles for lack of notability. Meanwhile, every fanzine-sourced Pokeman character article is preserved. I once attempted an AFC about a foreign film, and it was rejected because the editor googled the titled in English, which had almost no hits, but refused to accept the foreign language title google hits.

I couldn't agree with you more. Once I was blocked for trying to keep my article about Lola Yuldasheva. Back then I was new to Wikipedia and didn't know much about writing articles. Instead of providing more sources I kept edit-warring. Therefore I was blocked. But I had provided enough Uzbek-language sources.

Yes, blocked, deleted, the en.Wikipedia answer to non-Western, non-English cultures.

[Mancunium]

Fighting Censorship in Uzbekistan, One Entry at a Time
Radio Free Europe, 17 June 2014 link

For decades, Uzbekistan has been counted among the world's most restrictive societies, ranking at the bottom of surveys on fundamental freedoms and human rights. Far from being silenced by the country's rigid censorship regime, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service, known locally as Radio Ozodlik, is pioneering ways to collect and generate information for audiences eager for knowledge and news. Radio Ozodlik recently launched the OzodWiki project, a partnership marrying the service’s reporting capabilities with the resources of the Uzbek edition of Wikipedia, the online, crowd-sourced encyclopedia.

Like virtually every other independent information initiative, Wikipedia is currently blocked inside Uzbekistan. The explanation is simple, according to Alisher Sidikov, Uzbek Service director, who says that in content and concept it is simply at odds with the country’s authoritarian order. The OzodWiki project involves hyperlinking selected words and phrases that are used in Radio Ozodlik reports to entries in Wikipedia where they are defined and explored. The relationship is mutually beneficial, enabling Ozodlik users to click through to expanded information resources, while popularizing Wikipedia by driving new topics and audience their way. In addition, Radio Ozodlik recommends current topics for Wikipedia to define, while Wikipedia sources content to Radio Ozodlik.

Sidikov explained that whenever possible, he seeks to publish reports in step with Wikipedia’s content to provide users with the fullest possible understanding of current events and maximize readership for both partners. This strategy was on display during the Euromaidan demonstrations in Ukraine and Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March: Radio Ozodlik published a series of reports using the words "Euromaidan" and "annexation," and Wikipedia posted entries explaining the terms for its readers. “It’s a nice cooperation where we don’t have to do background,” Sidikov said. “There is a team of Wikipedia contributors who add the background to those stories which are vital.” The partnership has generated related projects, including a regular radio program on Radio Ozodlik that highlights Wikipedia’s main contributors and topics for the week.

Since the launch of the partnership in February, 2014, visits to Wikipedia's Uzbek edition have risen 300 percent, totaling approximately 136,000 visits in April. Sidikov attributes much of the growth to the discovery of Wikipedia by Radio Ozodlik visitors, and the site's increased attention to current affairs. In another measure of Wikipedia's new popularity, Sidikov says that individuals have contacted it asking to write for the site. The project has also raised Radio Ozodlik's visibility, since Wikipedia frequently cites it as a source.

"When one day Wikipedia becomes accessible in Uzbekistan." said Sidikov, "there is no doubt that people will be looking up information based on Radio Ozodlik’s reports." The Uzbek version of Wikipedia, which currently logs upwards of 100,000 articles, is published with the help of Nodir Atayev, an administrator of the site who himself has contributed over 1000 entries. Ataev, 27, is a graduate of the Soros-funded Central European University. Sidikov said that Radio Ozodlik had been following the rise of Wikipedia and the work of Atayev and his partners before embarking on the project. “You’ll rarely see these types of people in our part of the world who would do it for free and just for one vital cause, which is to add information,” he said.

Copyright (c) 2014. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

[Moral Hazard]

Hello everyone! EricBarbour asked me to start a new discussion about the Uzbek Wikipedia (uzwiki), where I'm an administrator. At first I'd like to give a brief summary of uzwiki and its most active users.

Uzwiki was started in 2003. Most of the editors who were active back then are no longer active. Currently there are eight administrators on uzwiki, three of whom haven't made any edits in the past year:

* Azim (no longer active)
* Ismanov (no longer active)
* Uzgen (no longer active)
* Abdulla
* Casual
* Yours truly
* Amir.Temur
* Xusinboy Bekchanov

Azim, Ismanov, and Uzgen were very active when uzwiki was just started. I guess we could say they are our "founding fathers." Since they're not active these days, I will not write much about them. Abdulla is the most experienced and knowledgeable administrator on uzwiki. He is also our only bureaucrat. He's the most level-headed admin that I know of. Casaul is our only female administrator. She's a very cautious editor, one could argue excessively so. Still, she has contributed a lot to the improvement of uzwiki. She has participated in two Wikimania conferences. I've been an administrator since 2012. I attended Wikimania 2012 along with Casual. I'm not as active as I used to be when I was a student. Still, I edit Wikipedia every now and then. Amir.Temur is our tireless editor. He is a proud Uzbek. One might say that this sometimes compromises the neutrality of his contributions. Still, he has created hundreds of great articles on neutral subjects. Xusinboy Bekchanov makes very precise edits. He, along with Abdulla, is one of the few users on uzwiki who know how to operate bots. All of our admins know Russian very well. Abdulla, Casual, Xusinboy Bekchanov, and I speak English. Abdulla, Casual, and Xusinboy Bekchanov are from Uzbekistan. Amir.Temur is from Kazakhstan. I'm from Kyrgyzstan.

Now I'd like to touch upon two problems that we're facing on uzwiki these days. First off, at the moment uzwiki is blocked in Uzbekistan. We don't really know why. Some believe that the Uzbek Wikipedia has been blocked because the Uzbek government is concerned about articles critical of its actions. Then again, we don't have any articles on uzwiki that are very critical of the current Uzbek government. Maybe the Uzbek government has blocked uzwiki simply as an "act of showmanship," as some have written. The good thing is that the blockage is not very robust: uzwiki can be accessed on an HTTPS connection. Therefore Google has started indexing articles on the Uzbek Wikipedia with HTTPS by default. Casual played a key role in achieving this. (By the way, I kind of contributed to spreading the word about the blockage. After I wrote a blog on RFE/RE about the blockage, many other news outlets ran stories about this issue.)

Another big problem uzwiki is facing is that the average Uzbek person, even if he lives outside of Uzbekistan, doesn't use uzwiki much. Therefore it's no surprise that we don't have many active users. Most Uzbeks seem to prefer using the Russian-language Wikipedia. Fortunately, in 2012 the Uzbek Wikipedia started to grow fast and the number of well-written articles on important subjects has increased since then. While the recent increases in the number of articles are mostly due to bot-created articles, the number of user-generated articles has also gone up. Still, we need to do a lot more to increase the number of our readers and attract news editors. Any ideas on how to achieve this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Randy from Boise]

Thank you for the excellent introduction to Uz-wiki and welcome to Wikipediocracy, Nataev!

RfB

[Vigilant]

Thank you for the excellent introduction to Uz-wiki and welcome to Wikipediocracy, Nataev!

RfB

Thu Nov 28, 2013 2:41 am

[Zoloft]

Thank you for the excellent introduction to Uz-wiki and welcome to Wikipediocracy, Nataev!

RfB

Thu Nov 28, 2013 2:41 am

I sent Nataev an email to let him know we were discussing the Uzbek wiki and his country.

[Randy from Boise]

Thank you for the excellent introduction to Uz-wiki and welcome to Wikipediocracy, Nataev!

RfB

Thu Nov 28, 2013 2:41 am

Whoops, missed that. We should let sleeping threads die, methinks.

RfB

[Nataev]

Fighting Censorship in Uzbekistan, One Entry at a Time
Radio Free Europe, 17 June 2014 linkhttp://www.rferl.org/content/fighting-c ... 25174.html[/link]

For decades, Uzbekistan has been counted among the world's most restrictive societies, ranking at the bottom of surveys on fundamental freedoms and human rights. Far from being silenced by the country's rigid censorship regime, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service, known locally as Radio Ozodlik, is pioneering ways to collect and generate information for audiences eager for knowledge and news. Radio Ozodlik recently launched the OzodWiki project, a partnership marrying the service’s reporting capabilities with the resources of the Uzbek edition of Wikipedia, the online, crowd-sourced encyclopedia.

Like virtually every other independent information initiative, Wikipedia is currently blocked inside Uzbekistan. The explanation is simple, according to Alisher Sidikov, Uzbek Service director, who says that in content and concept it is simply at odds with the country’s authoritarian order. The OzodWiki project involves hyperlinking selected words and phrases that are used in Radio Ozodlik reports to entries in Wikipedia where they are defined and explored. The relationship is mutually beneficial, enabling Ozodlik users to click through to expanded information resources, while popularizing Wikipedia by driving new topics and audience their way. In addition, Radio Ozodlik recommends current topics for Wikipedia to define, while Wikipedia sources content to Radio Ozodlik.

Sidikov explained that whenever possible, he seeks to publish reports in step with Wikipedia’s content to provide users with the fullest possible understanding of current events and maximize readership for both partners. This strategy was on display during the Euromaidan demonstrations in Ukraine and Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March: Radio Ozodlik published a series of reports using the words "Euromaidan" and "annexation," and Wikipedia posted entries explaining the terms for its readers. “It’s a nice cooperation where we don’t have to do background,” Sidikov said. “There is a team of Wikipedia contributors who add the background to those stories which are vital.” The partnership has generated related projects, including a regular radio program on Radio Ozodlik that highlights Wikipedia’s main contributors and topics for the week.

Since the launch of the partnership in February, 2014, visits to Wikipedia's Uzbek edition have risen 300 percent, totaling approximately 136,000 visits in April. Sidikov attributes much of the growth to the discovery of Wikipedia by Radio Ozodlik visitors, and the site's increased attention to current affairs. In another measure of Wikipedia's new popularity, Sidikov says that individuals have contacted it asking to write for the site. The project has also raised Radio Ozodlik's visibility, since Wikipedia frequently cites it as a source.

"When one day Wikipedia becomes accessible in Uzbekistan." said Sidikov, "there is no doubt that people will be looking up information based on Radio Ozodlik’s reports." The Uzbek version of Wikipedia, which currently logs upwards of 100,000 articles, is published with the help of Nodir Atayev, an administrator of the site who himself has contributed over 1000 entries. Ataev, 27, is a graduate of the Soros-funded Central European University. Sidikov said that Radio Ozodlik had been following the rise of Wikipedia and the work of Atayev and his partners before embarking on the project. “You’ll rarely see these types of people in our part of the world who would do it for free and just for one vital cause, which is to add information,” he said.

Copyright (c) 2014. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

I was quite surprised when I first came across this article. It nicely summarizes what OzodWiki has been all about. However, the initial version of the article had major mistakes. Believe it or not, it read "The Uzbek Wikipedia ... is run by Nodir Atayev, who founded the site (?!) and himself has contributed over 100 entries." I am not a founder of the Uzbek Wikipedia, nor do I "run" it! Moreover, I don't think I have contributed 1,000 entries. I contacted the author through LinkedIn to have these mistakes corrected. She did change the article a bit. But I still don't like the sentence "The Uzbek Wikipedia.... is published with the help of Nodir Atayev, an administrator of the site who himself has contributed over 1000 entries". The encyclopedia isn't published "with my help"! I'm just an administrator there!

[HRIP7]

Nataev, I noticed a while ago that Karimov's biography in the Uzbek Wikipedia is a hagiography. No criticism, no mention of any human rights issues. What is the reason for that, in your opinion?

[Nataev]

Nataev, I noticed a while ago that Karimov's biography in the Uzbek Wikipedia is a hagiography. No criticism, no mention of any human rights issues. What is the reason for that, in your opinion?

Yes, indeed. There are a number of reasons. First off, the current entry on Karimov is a reproduction of the article in the the National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan. Obviously, government sources do not ever criticize Karimov. Second, most people are simply too scared to criticize either Karimov or the Uzbek government in general. Finally, since the Uzbek Wikipedia is currently blocked in Uzbekistan (well, sort of), the general consensus among editors of uzwiki is that having articles that criticize the current government will be counterproductive, as it may lead to further censorship.

[HRIP7]

Nataev, I noticed a while ago that Karimov's biography in the Uzbek Wikipedia is a hagiography. No criticism, no mention of any human rights issues. What is the reason for that, in your opinion?

Yes, indeed. There are a number of reasons. First off, the current entry on Karimov is a reproduction of the article in the the National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan. Obviously, government sources do not ever criticize Karimov. Second, most people are simply too scared to criticize either Karimov or the Uzbek government in general. Finally, since the Uzbek Wikipedia is currently blocked in Uzbekistan (well, sort of), the general consensus among editors of uzwiki is that having articles that criticize the current government will be counterproductive, as it may lead to further censorship.

Thanks. You're probably aware that what happened in the Kazakh Wikipedia was that much of its content, such as it was, was replaced with articles from the National Kazakh Encyclopedia. I see a potential trend here ...

What's your take on this?

[Nataev]

Nataev, I noticed a while ago that Karimov's biography in the Uzbek Wikipedia is a hagiography. No criticism, no mention of any human rights issues. What is the reason for that, in your opinion?

Yes, indeed. There are a number of reasons. First off, the current entry on Karimov is a reproduction of the article in the the National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan. Obviously, government sources do not ever criticize Karimov. Second, most people are simply too scared to criticize either Karimov or the Uzbek government in general. Finally, since the Uzbek Wikipedia is currently blocked in Uzbekistan (well, sort of), the general consensus among editors of uzwiki is that having articles that criticize the current government will be counterproductive, as it may lead to further censorship.

Thanks. You're probably aware that what happened in the Kazakh Wikipedia was that much of its content, such as it was, was replaced with articles from the National Kazakh Encyclopedia. I see a potential trend here ...

What's your take on this?

Ah, Ochilov. Isn't he the 16-year old who used to claim on his user page that his IQ score was 160? He has made only three edits on uzwiki. As far as I know, he doesn't write much about his home country.

This is sort of off topic, but he claims to have near native speaker knowledge of English on his user page. What do you guys think about that? ("I was born in 11.07.1999. ... I am studying in the third course of Academic Lyceum. ... I am Wikimedia Foundation volunteer. ... I write articles in Wikipedia, translate rules and etc. and by this way, try to help in building truly multilinual community across all Wikimedia Projects.")

As for the outfit, it's indeed a traditional Uzbek robe worn on special occasions. I wonder why Ochilov didn't give Jimmy Wales an Uzbek skullcap to go along with the robe.

[HRIP7]

Ah, Ochilov. Isn't he the 16-year old who used to claim on his user page that his IQ score was 160? He has made only three edits on uzwiki. As far as I know, he doesn't write much about his home country.

This is sort of off topic, but he claims to have near native speaker knowledge of English on his user page. What do you guys think about that? ("I was born in 11.07.1999. ... I am studying in the third course of Academic Lyceum. ... I am Wikimedia Foundation volunteer. ... I write articles in Wikipedia, translate rules and etc. and by this way, try to help in building truly multilinual community across all Wikimedia Projects.")

As for the outfit, it's indeed a traditional Uzbek robe worn on special occasions. I wonder why Ochilov didn't give Jimmy Wales an Uzbek skullcap to go along with the robe.

So, do you reckon he is a government-sponsored wunderkind or just a 16-year-old boy-next-door who happened to have the money lying around to buy Jimbo a fancy dress outfit, and lucked out on getting a scholarship to go to Wikimedia?

[Nataev]

Ah, Ochilov. Isn't he the 16-year old who used to claim on his user page that his IQ score was 160? He has made only three edits on uzwiki. As far as I know, he doesn't write much about his home country.

This is sort of off topic, but he claims to have near native speaker knowledge of English on his user page. What do you guys think about that? ("I was born in 11.07.1999. ... I am studying in the third course of Academic Lyceum. ... I am Wikimedia Foundation volunteer. ... I write articles in Wikipedia, translate rules and etc. and by this way, try to help in building truly multilinual community across all Wikimedia Projects.")

As for the outfit, it's indeed a traditional Uzbek robe worn on special occasions. I wonder why Ochilov didn't give Jimmy Wales an Uzbek skullcap to go along with the robe.

So, do you reckon he is a government-sponsored wunderkind or just a 16-year-old boy-next-door who happened to have the money lying around to buy Jimbo a fancy dress outfit, and lucked out on getting a scholarship to go to Wikimedia?

Nah, I don't think he is a government-sponsored stooge. He's just another 16-year-old kid who thinks he's smarter than he really is. Whatʼs interesting is that he never edits articles on contentious subjects. Then again, itʼs not surprising, given the current state of affairs in Uzbekistan. And those robes aren't all that expensive. I'd say you can buy one for about $30.

[HRIP7]

Nah, I don't think he is a government-sponsored stooge. He's just another 16-year-old kid who thinks he's smarter than he really is.

Ah well, maybe a perfect Wikipedian after all, then.

[Stan Dixon]

"He's just another 16-year-old kid who thinks he's smarter than he really is."

This quote explains, for me, the reason for all the faults of Wikipedia.

And of course, these characteristics are shared by a large number of editors. They haven't matured, they have simply got older!

[Nataev]

Nah, I don't think he is a government-sponsored stooge. He's just another 16-year-old kid who thinks he's smarter than he really is.

Ah well, maybe a perfect Wikipedian after all, then.

Well, yes indeed.

"He's just another 16-year-old kid who thinks he's smarter than he really is."

This quote explains, for me, the reason for all the faults of Wikipedia.

And of course, these characteristics are shared by a large number of editors. They haven't matured, they have simply got older!

[The Joy]

How widespread is the Internet in Uzbekistan? Does the government have a tight-grip on it or can ordinary Uzbeks easily get past government firewalls and censorship?

[thekohser]

How widespread is the Internet in Uzbekistan? Does the government have a tight-grip on it or can ordinary Uzbeks easily get past government firewalls and censorship?

Try this.

[Zoloft]

How widespread is the Internet in Uzbekistan? Does the government have a tight-grip on it or can ordinary Uzbeks easily get past government firewalls and censorship?

Try this.

Even worse in 2014
linkhttps://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom ... uzbekistan[/link]

[Nataev]

How widespread is the Internet in Uzbekistan? Does the government have a tight-grip on it or can ordinary Uzbeks easily get past government firewalls and censorship?

I don't live in Uzbekistan, but I do know that the country has a low Internet penetration rate. Most people access the Internet through mobile phones. As for censorship, Uzbekistan is one of Central Asia's most Internet-repressive countries.