Wednesday, January 17, 2007
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The newly elected Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation scheduled talk on the main French TV was met with questions about a last minute deletion of the entry for bravitude, (a neologism used by Ségolène Royal, the French socialist presidential candidate and commonly heard in the French media). It was deleted from the French version of Wikipedia not long prior to the televised appearance by Devouard. The decision to delete the entry apparently perplexed the anchor commentator, who judged the term was currently noteworthy and felt his view was shared by many Frenchmen today.
Chair Nibart-Devouard then explained that since Wikipedia is written collaboratively by volunteers, its articles can be and are edited by almost anyone with access to the Web site. Therefore any article, including one on bravitude, can be added to this Wiki encyclopedia… but the article can be modified or even deleted if the verification process leads to a consensus to do so.
One might speculate whether the French media interest in the French Wikipedia’s deletion of the term bravitude will result in sufficient discussion to warrant this neologism being restored to the French Wikipedia.