Wikinews interviews 0 A.D. game development team

0 A.D. is a historical, open source, strategy game, published by Wildfire Games. It focuses on the period between 500BC and 500AD. The game will be released in two parts: the first covering the pre-AD period, and the second running to 500AD. With development well underway, Wikinews interviewed the development team.

Aviv Sharon, a 24-year-old Israeli student responsible for the project's PR, compiled the below Q&A, which the full team approved prior to publication.

((Baptiste Domps))  Could you introduce the development team of 0 A.D. ?

((Aviv Sharon)) We are Wildfire Games, a group of approximately 15-20 people from around the world developing 0 A.D., a free, open-source game of ancient warfare. Cumulatively, about 100 different people have contributed to 0 A.D. over time. Our ages have ranged from 15 to >65 and our locations range from North America and Europe to India and New Zealand. The contributions to 0 A.D. are coordinated by a team of department heads led by a lead producer, Erik Johansson (feneur), who is 25 years old from Sweden.

((BD))  Who are the participants ? Salarieds or benevolents ?

((AS)) All contributions to 0 A.D. so far have been on a voluntary basis only. To speed up development, however, we have decided to raise enough money to support 160 hours of paid development of the 0 A.D. codebase. We have tentatively selected the team member who will receive this compensation, Philip Taylor (Ykkrosh), but decided to hold off for a few months until we start using these funds to wait until he has more time to dedicate to 0 A.D. development. Otherwise, 0 A.D. development will continue to be voluntary, and all funds donated to 0 A.D. will be used for team expenses only, such as website hosting costs.

((BD))  Why did you want to make games?

((AS)) There are several different reasons. Originally, 0 A.D. was born out of a desire to innovate within the RTS genre. We felt, and still feel, that this genre has a lot of potential for innovation and we wish to explore that with some different rules. 0 A.D. started out as a total conversion mod for Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, until team members at that time ran into the limitations of changing a closed-source game. Hence, as a wish to break free from the limitations of other games' engines, the standalone version of 0 A.D. was conceived and its development continues to this day.

Some other reasons include a deep appreciation of ancient history; the wish to improve our skills and be recognized for our talents; and a determination to prove that a group of volunteers collaborating over the internet can make a game that rivals the commercial, proprietary AAA titles.

((BD))  Why did you choose a free license?

((AS)) People are spending more money, time and attention on playing computer games than ever before, and games are constantly evolving into a more nuanced medium of expression and a greater part of our culture. Just observe how much people play on Facebook and their mobile devices. We think this culture should allow gamers to learn how their games work, change them, share them and redistribute their works. This freedom to tinker is what Free, Open-Source Software (FOSS) is all about and so we hope a lot of people tinker with 0 A.D.

((BD))  How do you coordinate ? What technical and financial resources has 0 A.D.?

((AS)) We mostly coordinate over a forum system we have, as well as a Trac system for task management and technical documentation. We also conduct discussions over IRC (#0ad and #0ad-dev on QuakeNet), that get more concentrated on the weekend, and Saturday afternoon in particular, when we have our weekly meeting.

((BD))  Which type of participants do you need? 'Amateurs' can they participate?

((AS)) Amateurs can definitely help with tasks like documentation and spreading the word about 0 A.D. For other tasks, we do require some prior knowledge in fields such as software development, 3d animation etc.
Our main personnel needs are in three fields: Programmers, artists and sound people. We have many applicants for sound contributors but need a manager to oversee them. For programming we need capable gameplay, AI, sound and graphics programmers, proficient in C++ and/or JavaScript. Finally, in the art department, we could use some more texture artists, 3D artists, animators, and illustrators to draw 2d icons for the game's user interface.

((BD))  It's been 10 years since 0 A.D. is developing, what obstacles have arisen and how have you resolved?

((AS)) The biggest obstacle we have run into is underestimating the scale and complexity of an RTS game. When embarking upon this journey in 2001, nobody thought that completing this endeavor would take this long. Evidently, making an RTS game requires a great deal of programming features, art assets and more. And, as we discovered the hard way, the first draft of anything is seldom good enough. For example, one of the most important engine components, named "Simulation", was simply planned wrong the first time around. Simulation is in charge of changing the state of each entity in the "world" represented in the game, like handling harvesting resources, doing damage to stuff and handling death. Sadly, over time it got implemented in such a haphazard way it devolved into an unstable, unpredictable ball of mud. Debugging became difficult and attracting new programmers from joining the development effort became impossible. Over time, fewer and fewer developers stayed on with 0 A.D. and it seemed as if the project was in grave danger of ending, the way many initiatives on the internet spontaneously do.

Thankfully, one of our programmers, Philip Taylor (Ykkrosh) from the UK, fixed this situation almost singlehandedly over the course of a few months in 2009-2010. Ever since simulation was fixed, it's been smoother sailing and the pace of development picked up considerably. We have recruited several programmers and are constantly adding new features, most recently a prototype opponent AI, which is a big milestone for us.

((BD))  What are you proudest of about your game?

We are proud of the way our fans go "wow" over screenshots, in-game videos and their direct experiences with the game. We get comments like, "It's like Empire Earth, Age of Empires, and Rise of Nations had a baby and it came out free!" and "This can't be open source. It rocks too much!". We're proud we've built a community of enthusiasts on our forums, Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere, and continuously generated some buzz around 0 A.D. We hope to justify this hype and lead the project to completion.

((BD))  What is the schedule for 2011?

((AS)) One big upcoming feature is random map scripting, which allows for much more variety in gameplay without having to manually draw new maps all the time. Our prototype opponent AI is set to get even smarter at all aspects of gameplay, and, with time, will be able to execute any of a variety of strategies to win the game. However, generally speaking, we don't make long-term plans because they never seem to work out. So far, since August 2010 we have released an alpha version every 70 days on average, and we intend to keep releasing more alpha versions until the game is feature-complete. Then we will enter a beta phase, playtest and fix bugs until a point when we decide the game is done, hopefully sometime in 2012.


Interview de l'équipe de développement du jeu 0 A.D.

0 A.D. est un jeu vidéo de stratégie en temps réel (STR, en anglais RTS) en cours de développement. Alors que le développement avance, Wikinews a interviewé Aviv Sharon, étudiant en Israël, qui nous a répondu au nom de l'équipe.


Wikinews interviews German music video director Uwe Flade

Uwe Flade is a music video director from Germany. He has worked with numerous artists, including Depeche Mode, Rammstein, Apocalyptica, In Extremo, Nickelback, Franz Ferdinand and Tarja Turunen. Wikinews conducted an exclusive email interview with him, available below.

((Wikinews)) Tell us about your work, and how you came to be involved with directing. What stands out about you, and what inspires you?

((WN)) How has the advent of the Internet—and the switch at networks (such as MTV) from almost exclusively music videos to original programming—changed the way that artists approach what they want from a music video? Has the "big budget" music video disappeared?

((WN)) Is it difficult to make a planned plot for a video fit the music and the short time on offer?

((WN)) Your credits span across many artists and genres. What's it like working with such a broad range?

((WN)) Which of your works would you say you enjoyed working on the most?

((WN)) Were there any projects that you didn't enjoy making?

((WN)) Do you have anything new in the works at the moment?

((WN)) Do you find commercial pressures, such as ensuring videos are not subject to censorship or filming deadlines, conflict with your interests as an artist?


Interview mit dem deutschen Regisseur von Musikvideos, Uwe Flade

Deutschland, 30.03.2008 – Der 36-jährige Uwe Flade ist einer der Großen in der Szene der Videoclip-Regisseure Deutschlands. Er hat mit zahlreichen Künstlern zusammen gearbeitet, darunter Depeche Mode, Rammstein, Apocalyptica, In Extremo, Nickelback, Franz Ferdinand und Tarja Turunen. Benutzer unserer englischen Wikinewsschwester führten ein exklusives E-Mail-Interview mit ihm.

Ich beschäftige mich schon eine Weile mit Musikvideos, guckte jeden Tag stundenlang MTV. In den 90-ern war es sehr inspirierend und aufregend all diese neuen und visuellen Stilrichtungen zu beobachten. Leute wie  Gondry, Glazer, Jonze, Mike Mills aufsteigen zu sehen. Ich versuchte dann so um 1999 herum eine kleine Gesellschaft für Filmproduktionen aufzubauen, nachdem ich in einigen Bürojobs bei Fernsehstationen und anderen Produktionsfirmen festgesteckt hatte. Ich machte ein paar kleinere Sachen und bekam dann die Möglichkeit einem Freund eine Idee vorzuschlagen, der in einer aufsteigenden deutschen Band spielte. Sie übernahmen das Konzept und ich erstellte mein erstes Video. Es war eine heiße Sache und das Video bekam einige Sendezeit. Die nächsten Jobs kamen nicht so leicht rein, aber ich war in dem Genre, das ich so liebte. Ich kämpfte hart, was mir immer mehr neue Aufträge einbrachte.

Ich sammle die ganzen Ideen und ich kann nicht wirklich erklären, was mich inspiriert. Manchmal bringt mich eine Dusche auf neue Gedanken, manchmal sitze ich einfach vor meinem Computer bis mir ein Einfall kommt. Zu Plätzen zu fahren, an denen ich noch nicht gewesen bin, inspiriert mich ebenfalls stark.

Das große Budget ist nicht vollständig verschwunden, aber die Anzahl der Künstler, die viel ausgeben, ist jetzt viel kleiner und die Budgets sind im Allgemeinen ziemlich runter gegangen. YouTube hat sich ebenfalls stark verändert. Das hypererfolgreiche hausgemachte Video für Ok Go „Here it goes again“ war ein Meilenstein dieser Entwicklung. Es wurde über 31.000.000 mal auf YouTube abgespielt und angesehen, gewann jede Menge Preise und eine Menge Publicity. Deshalb ist der hausgemacht-handwerkliche Stil seitdem zu einer großen Sache bei den Musikvideos geworden, die die Kürzungen der Budgets kreativ wendete. Vor einigen Jahren war Fatboy Slims „Praise You“ ein Außenseiter, aber jetzt ist er ein großer Teil des Gesamtbildes.

Ich glaube, die Künstler wollen auf den Videos einfach nur gut aussehen, das kommt an erster Stelle. Einige von ihnen wollen immer noch, dass etwas Originelles passiert, aber mit den allgemein schrumpfenden Budgets musste ein neuer Stil entstehen, um aus den meist sehr begrenzten finanziellen Mitteln möglichst viel an Kreativität herauszuquetschen und zurzeit haben die Künstler ohnehin keine Wahl.

Für mich ist es eine Herausforderung und immer noch die Freiheit zur Kreativität in diesem Genre, die mich reizt. Ich habe so viele Sachen gelernt, indem ich sie einfach ausprobiert habe, und spiele einfach mit ihnen.

Es ist eine großartige Bandbreite, ich war fasziniert von den unterschiedlichen Anforderungen und Charakteren, die ich bisher getroffen habe. Ich mag es persönlich lieber unterschiedliche Stile auszuprobieren, einfach um der Kreativität ihren Lauf zu lassen und immer wieder neu herausgefordert zu werden anstatt das gleiche Rezept immer und immer zu wiederholen.

Neben den großen internationalen Projekten für Depeche Mode habe ich am meisten meine Zusammenarbeit mit meinen Freunden der „Sportfreunde Stiller“ genossen. Ich drehte 10 Videos für sie und es ist wesentlich anstrengender für alte Freunde zu arbeiten, weil die Angst zu versagen viel persönlicher ist.

Hmmmm. Da sind schon ein paar ;-)

Ich arbeite an einer medienübergreifenden Arbeitsgruppe aus Designern, Animateuren und Regisseuren und plane einen Kurzfilm.

Tatsächlich fühle ich mich durch diese Dinge eher herausgefordert als genervt. Die Band und das Label bezahlen für die ganze Sache, so definieren sie die Grenzen, das ist völlig okay für mich. Die Fernsehzensur in Deutschland is nicht sehr steng und ich habe nicht so viel Erfahrung mit diesen Dingen in den Vereinigten Staaten. Ich sah einige Bestimmungen für das US-Fernsehen, sehr lange Listen von Dingen, auf die man achten muss. Meine Videos brechen nicht wirklich diese Regeln, aber egal, es gibt 'ne Menge davon … das ist es, was ich dachte.


Wikinews interviews Mr. Orange of IWL in Taiwan about wrestling

Pro-wrestling, a sport derived from Greco-Roman freestyle wrestling, is often connected with the idea of sports-entertainment. Popularized by  Japanese and American federations (e.g. World Wrestling Entertainment, New Japan Pro Wrestling, etc.) the ongoing events and news are often discussed on the Internet. As such, television programs and other mass media focused on pro-wrestling are commonplace in Japan, America, and Europe.

In Taiwan, fans do not simply watch the TV shows and discuss them via the Internet, but some of them participate in the sport of wrestling through communities from the Internet or colleges. Although a Taiwanese wrestler recently won a world-class pro-wrestling title, due to policies that focused only on promoting key athletic sports like baseball, billiards, basketball, and taekwondo (i.e. those with more possibilities to win a gold medal in the Asian Games or Olympics), governmental officials lost a great opportunity to promote sports like wrestling, which has many potential participants.

What's the vision of wrestling in Taiwan? How did the communities drive TV spectators and wrestling fans and government officials pay more attention in wrestling? Is wrestling a future key sport in Taiwan? Wikinews Journalist Rico Shen visited the "2008 IWL Spring Festival", organised by a fan community and interviewed "Mr. Orange", well-known commentator of WWE TV shows broadcasted by VideoLand Max TV in Taiwan, to prospect the future of wrestling.

((Opening)) Hello, everyone! In my side is "Mr. Orange", WWE TV show commentator of VideoLand Max TV in Taiwan, I will do a special interview for topics related to wrestling, and he will do an overview of wrestling in Taiwan with his experiences.

((WN)) Glad to see an unofficial wrestling match in the Taipei City Mall. How did you involve in wrestling initially?

Mr. Orange: Since I'm in a childhood, I often watch (wrestling) shows with my neighborhood to a period when going to kindergarten. And then, I progressively understood the meaning of wrestling and finally involved in it.

((WN)) In what region of a wrestling match did you watch at first?

Orange: Europe and America. Matches in there are often packaged and refined excellently such as theme music, introduction, momentum of wrestlers better then matches in Japan, which just contained traditional rules.

((WN)) On the other way of wrestling in Taiwan, what are the opportunities, possibilities, and threats?

Orange: It was considered as a bad sport and not well-known in public opinion in Taiwan. As of some unofficial communities like us, we held periodical friendship matches to help the public correct their biased and wrong view of wrestling, especially the quote: "Wrestling played reality not just a fight, scuffle, or violent sport." Because we [the wrestlers] were fully prepared in several professional trainings, we did wrestling without just acting and dishonesty although we player for spectators. For example, as of a famous sport from Korea - taekwondo, it fought without killing the other one but just to did enough with their best. "Since I entered into the ring, I should do my best in a match to respond expectations from spectators rather than its results." That's a theory gained from a stable law of an action movie, its content besides of starting and ending should be rich and not to be hollowed.

((WN)) In what opportunities did you become a commentator from a wrestling fan?

Orange: Generally, I'm not a notable person, I just use the media as a promotion tool because we [the public] can't look down the strengths and impacts of public opinions and mass media. At that time, due to some coordination on behalf of broadcasting rights of TV programs, and many serious piracy and copyright issues in Taiwan, furthermore, pirates often used discussion boards to promote piracy. Those badly harmed several companies who do an agent of genuine copies. And accidentally, after a TV broadcaster grasped its opportunities on wrestling TV programs, I finally joined their production for commentary and planning of wrestling programs until now.

((WN)) Undergoing with trendy changes of wrestling?

Orange: I met those opportunities coincidentally because when no one want to do it, and senior elites from media industry may not spare time to do production. I felt luckily on those undergoing experiences.

((WN)) Before (its) production, what's your opinion on similar programs especially in Chinese-language?

Orange: It's difficult or impossible for a broadcaster to produce their own and significant program because the public opinion have their wrong bias on wrestling. If the bias can be corrected, I think the public will not consider it as just a "fighting" or a "violent" sport, or to say: "What are they doing?" I chose the series programs of World Wrestling Entertainment because of its packages rather than a fistfight match which contained several complex rules like points or fouls, or just results rather than its content. Generally, if a significant program can be promoted, I think several wrong bias of wrestling should be corrected.

((WN)) Generally OK. In your opinion, which pro-wrestling match do you recommend?

Orange: There were several feature or significant matches in their own years. But I recommended two classic matches like NWA Championship in 1989 - "Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat", and a Steel Cage Match in 1981 - "Ric Flair vs Jimmy 'Super Fly' Snuka".

((WN)) Back to the topic of wrestling in Taiwan, besides of media, which tool will you use to promote it?

Orange: The Internet - another media, a better way differ than mass media. By the way, by holding periodical friendship matches, it will work more effective. And of course, we [the IWL] hope the (friendship) matches can be held not only in Taipei but also in several divisions in Central or Southern Taiwan to correct conceptions on wrestling in a simple but relaxed match style.

((WN)) If promoted via a portal of "citizen journalism"? Briefly, "citizen journalism" is a commentary, introduction, or a coverage with what incidents he or she witnessed or experienced differ than mass media.

Orange: Really, that's a very better way to promote it because when connecting the Internet, the public frequently read topics related to current events like politics, society, and entertainment, focused by mass media and differ than what the common people need to know like some incidents just happened in their peripheral areas.

((WN)) Finally, do you have any expectation on wrestling in Taiwan.

Orange: We [the wrestlers and wrestling fans] hope the common bias of "violence" can be properly corrected. After all, a pro-wrestling match is always ruled by its own policy, every wrestlers should undergo several strict trainings. As of IWL in Taiwan, we restrict our participants by a strict policy, and don't welcome athletes without any wrestling basis to join our community and fight in a ring because wrestling is like a gamble in consequence. Furthermore, parents should persuade their children not to imitate any wrestling moves at home. Like a submission, if not knowing its principle, a damage will be caused in one's body. Roughly to say, DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME.

((WN)) OK, many thanks for this interview, "Mr. Orange".


台灣摔角界：基層體育若要興起，觀念必須被導正

摔角，是一項從角力延伸出來的運動，目前眾所皆知者，則是將此掛上「職業」一詞。常被網路上討論的，特別是在美國、日本的團體（例：世界摔角娛樂、新日本摔角等），皆是透過節目，形成觀眾的矚目焦點。

在台灣，除了基本的收視群眾、討論族群外，事實上，參與這項運動的基層群眾，卻大有人在，特別是網路社群、大專院校社團等，儘管兩年前，台灣曾有一位選手，在國際的摔角比賽中，拿下世界冠軍，揚名立萬，但卻因為政策的推展，與體育項目的重視程度，使得這項運動，有人參與卻未獲重視，斷送台灣推展摔角運動的大好機會。

摔角在台灣的前景如何？如何讓基層消費者（收視族群、討論族群）與政府機關，更重視這項運動？讓一項具潛力的運動項目，變成未來之星？對此，維基新聞的記者Rico Shen特別藉由台北地下街，一場非官辦的摔角競賽中，訪問目前緯來育樂台的知名摔角主播「橘子」先生，來為這項運動進行展望。

Rico Shen的開場
大家好，在我身旁的是緯來育樂台知名摔角主播「橘子」，本次針對摔角相關議題，進行訪問，並藉由他的經歷，來檢視台灣摔角的發展。

WN
很高興來到台北地下街，看到一場民間自辦的摔角比賽，當初，是什麼動機讓您接觸摔角這項運動？

橘子：從小時候，跟著鄰居一起看（摔角）節目，然後到了幼稚園，最後，從不懂看到懂，並開始投入這項運動。

WN
第一次接觸到的競賽，是東方的還是西方的？

橘子：歐美地區的比賽，因為他們（指歐美一帶）的比賽，很懂得如何進行包裝，光是選手的出場、氣勢，都比傳統上的，特別是日本的比賽更具風格。

WN
反觀台灣摔角界，在發展上，有什麼可能？機會？或是危機？

橘子：台灣一般大眾對於這東西（摔角）的觀點，普遍來說不是很好，甚至說完全不了解，像是我們（民間的摔角團體），就希望透過定期的表演賽，讓民眾了解到這項運動的正確觀念，特別是：「摔角不是暴力、打架，是玩真的。」我們敢做，就是因為我們有受過充分且專業的訓練，而且，摔角絕對「不打假的」、「不套招」，雖然這是一種表演。以跆拳道為例，它的目標不是取人性命，而是點到為止。「我既然站上了擂台，就要把輸贏擺一邊，因為，觀眾對一整場摔角比賽的滿意度，遠比比賽的勝負來得格外重要。」就像一部動作片，好的結局一定要有各種不同的過程，而且不能空洞，否則就毫無意義。

WN
什麼機緣，讓您從摔角迷，變成知名的媒體人？

橘子：我不能算是名人，我們只是借重媒體的力量，作為一種宣導的管道，畢竟，輿論、大眾傳播的力量是巨大的，不容被忽視。當時，因為有廠商在談節目代理案，再者，台灣的盜版與智慧財產權等問題都非常地嚴重，更嚴重者，盜版者還藉由討論區亂散布宅配點，使得代理正版的廠商，其相關權益嚴重受損。卻沒想到，電視業者也看到了節目播送的商機，因此，就找上了我，來協助節目的規劃、製播，直到現在。

WN
都跟著摔角的演變來走？

橘子：其實這些機緣，都算是巧合，因為當沒有人要做的時候，就會想到要去嘗試它，再加上一些老資格的媒體人，不一定有時間來協助，因此，參與摔角節目的製播，在後來也給了我好運。

WN
踏進節目製播的領域前，對於其他同類節目，特別是以華語製播的部份，有什麼看法？

橘子：倘若真要自行發展專屬自有的產品，目前會比較困難，甚至是不可能，這是因為輿論、大眾的接受度，以及對於職業摔角，抱持錯誤的觀念所致，如果這些錯誤觀念可以適當地被修正的話，我想，大眾們不會把「職業摔角」當成是「打架」，或者說「這些人在幹什麼」。我當時選擇世界摔角娛樂的原因，是因為它在整體的包裝，而不像格鬥技，有著繁瑣的規則，像是扣分、點數等，或者只看結果，不看內容。因此，要推展自有的專屬品之前，錯誤的觀念，是絕對要被修正的。

WN
大致上先到此為止。那就您個人而言，看過最有印象的職業摔角比賽？

橘子：每個年代都有其特色的比賽，但是，Ric Flair對抗Ricky Steamboat，爭奪NWA世界重量級冠軍的比賽（1989年5月7日），以及更早前（於1981年4月19日），Ric Flair對抗Jimmy "Super Fly" Snuka的鐵籠賽，這兩者都是非常經典的競賽。

WN
回到台灣摔角的話題，在推展上，除了媒體之外，還有什麼模式？

橘子：另一種媒體─網路，是個不錯的方式，但是，透過實際進行表演賽的方式，更具有一定的效果，當然，我們（IWL）希望不只在台北，甚至更多的地方，都能夠進行表演賽，以輕鬆的方式，讓群眾知道摔角的正確觀念。

WN
如果是「公民新聞」？就是一個公民，針對其週遭人、事、物，藉由其觀點，進行介紹與評述。

橘子：這確實是一個非常好的模式，因為我們只要連上網路，你看到的討論串，大多是政治、社會、娛樂等時事，卻都不是我們生活週遭的大小事，而且，落差甚鉅，因為媒體關切的時事，卻都不一定是我們想要知道的，甚至，人們關切的，反而是週遭的人、事、物。

WN
最後，給台灣摔角運動的期許？

橘子：我們希望能導正一般大眾所想的錯誤觀念─「暴力」，畢竟，職業摔角比賽，也是有其規則所在，上場的選手，都必須經過嚴格的訓練。以我們（IWL）為例，不但有嚴格的規章，來約束所有選手，甚至，我們不希望沒有任何底子的人，隨意地在擂台上比賽，因為，這（運動）就是在拿自己的生命在開玩笑。此外，絕對要勸導家中的孩童，不要抱著好玩的心態，去模仿選手的招式，因為在不懂這些知識的情況下，很容易受傷，像是關節技，沒有去深入了解，就觸及那些招式牽涉到的節點，就會受傷。

WN
好的，感謝「橘子」接受本次專訪。


Wikinews interviews Ritchie Lai of NBA Asia about the gaming industry

Sporting games are more popular with younger gamers and sporting people with a conjunction from two industries, between sporting and gaming. Although games from the NBA series are not the official games of the World Cyber Games, but with fashions of the NBA, and PC gaming population having a stable scale, the NBA game series attracted not only basketball and game fans but also sporting and gaming media world-wide, and its market was progressively expanded from America and Europe to Asia and other countries.

With those issues in mind, Wikinews Reporter Rico Shen briefly interviewed Event Director of NBA Asia Corporation Ritchie Lai about the sports gaming market developments at the NBA 2K8 Asia Championship Taiwan Qualifier.

((Rico Shen)) Nice to visit this gaming competition by NBA Asia. After I received and read the official press release, I'm really surprised that Japan was not selected as the qualifier stage of the NBA 2K8 Asia Championship Tournament, but Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea were. I know that Japan is one of the great gaming countries of the world, why didn't NBA Asia consider not to select this country and instead select Korea?

Ritchie Lai: Generally, Japan is a notable gaming country, but due to some factors on market share, sponsorships, and gaming population in Japan, we finally decided to give up this plan even though we tried to enter the sport gaming market into Japan.

((RS)) As of some facts on the Gamerscore Blog, famous in Europe and America, several cyber-gaming competitions are often held in many divisions from Europe and America.

Ritchie: You got the point. Because the notability of NBA and the prosperous of the gaming population and market in Europe and America, some of the game stores were risen up with conjunction of the sporting industry.

((RS)) It's a good idea with a conjunction between the gaming and sporting industries. I remembered that a sports game had to be named as the official game of the World Cyber Games since 2001, and during some gaming expositions like G-star in South Korea and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, show organizers often held a large-scale cyber-gaming competition which included PC games and console games for gamers from several countries world-wide. As of some good examples, would the NBA consider to cooperate with some show organizers about holding a gaming championship during a game exposition?

Ritchie: Lots of expositions have their regulations for participated companies so that some expos may not arrange the cyber-gaming competition during the expo. If we [the NBA] also consider factors on sponsoring, market share, background and the nature of gaming companies, it must be complexed. But this marketing style is a good idea for us to improve notabilities for companies from sporting, exposition, and gaming industries. We may consider to try this style in the future.

((RS)) Nice, thanks. It's really rare and special for the public because the NBA often held activity on sports but sometimes on gaming competitions especially in Taiwan.


亞洲籃球電玩市場 NBA系列遊戲仍有伸展空間

運動競技類電玩，因為是運動與娛樂的結合，進而成為基層（運動）消費者的討論話題，也帶動了運動競技類電玩的買氣，雖然NBA系列的電玩，並非世界電玩大賽的指定項目，但因為全球的「NBA熱」，加上PC Game族群有一定規模，進而帶動籃球迷對於同類電玩的高度關注，相關的市場也漸漸被拓展，有鑑於此，維基新聞的記者Rico Shen做了一個簡短且重點式的訪問，希望藉由亞洲NBA項目總監黎田的一些資訊，探究NBA亞洲地區的電玩市場。

Brock：您好，在收到貴單位發給的新聞稿，並大致了解之後，著實讓我驚訝，因為這次的電玩亞錦賽，選擇了新加坡、台灣、香港、韓國等國家，但是，知名電玩大國日本卻意外落選，緣由是？

Ritchie：基本上，日本雖然是電玩大國，因為當地（日本）電玩市場的分佈、廠商的贊助，以及當地玩家的族群結構問題，儘管我們（NBA）曾進行這類的嘗試，但最後卻取消了這計畫。

Brock：據我所知，以歐美知名的GamerscoreBlog為例，只要是知名的電玩比賽，歐美地區幾乎想得到的重點地區，都會列為比賽的地方。

Ritchie：的確，這也是因為歐美地區電玩市場與其族群的興盛，其實也正因為NBA在歐美的知名度，才會有相關的電玩店竄起，甚至也和運動產業進行結合。

Brock：電玩與運動產業結合，是個不錯的主意，我記得世界電玩大賽，每年都會考慮選擇一項運動類遊戲做為官方比賽用的遊戲，甚至，國際上某些電玩展覽，像是韓國G-star與日本的東京電玩展，都會在展覽期間，舉行各類遊戲的競賽，讓各國玩家進行交流，如果是以NBA的立場，未來是否考慮與電玩展覽進行結合？

Ritchie：各項展覽都有他們的基本規章，某些展覽不一定有開放單項遊戲的競賽，倘若再把前述的贊助問題與廠商結構等因素納入，就會更加複雜，畢竟，市場分佈仍應該是第一個要被考量的要素。不過，這個提議倒是一種很好的構想，我想這種行銷的模式，對於遊戲、廠商、會展，都可以獲得適當的加分效果，我們會考慮看看。

Brock：謝謝！因為印象中在台灣的NBA宣傳活動，總是以運動產業為主，而這種以電玩為主的活動，確實非常特別。


Wikinews interviews Tatsuhisa Yabushita of NBGI

Many rhythm gamers are anticipating the release of "Taiko no Tatsujin 11: Asian Version", the Namco Bandai Games Inc. (NBGI) beta version of which was recently showcased at the 2008 Taipei Game Show.

In fact, several managers from amusement stores in Taiwan frequently imported large quantities of arcade games, including rhythm games. Eventually, some slot machine developers modified codes from several game consoles like the Wii, PlayStation 2 (PS2), and Sega Saturn to fulfill needs for amusement arcades, but they risked hardware failure and copyright infringement.

But before those modifications happened in Taiwan, many rhythm games just used songs from other arcade machines due to copyright issues from enrolled songs.

The upcoming game will benefit Mandarin-language gamers after its release, but it may hide some secrets behind the development of "Taiko no Tatsujin 11: Asian Version". Wikinews reporter Rico Shen recently interviewed the producer of "Taiko no Tatsujin" Tatsuhisa Yabushita to talk about some of the background of this upcoming game and its series.

((Rico Shen))  It became a hot topic after the NBGI decided to showcase the "Taiko no Tatsujin 11: Asian Version" at the 2008 Taipei Game Show, and it's different from past series' because the NBGI acquired several Mandarin-language songs from the Cross-Strait area (Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong) especially. When you choose them, what factors go into the decision?

Tatsuhisa Yabushita: We [the NBGI] enrolled those various songs based on their own performances and rankings from Cross-Strait countries. But we'll still keep several songs from Namco original, Japanese-pop, and classical music in this upcoming game.

((RS))  I believe that a developer should be aware of international copyright coordination before choosing a song for a game, not only in rhythm games, but also games of other types. For instance, I know that some controversy erupted in Taiwan after some covers of Japanese songs were recorded in other languages without agreements from the original singers and composers. Before the release of this upcoming game, have you coordinated with record companies about the copyright issues?

Yabushita: Everyone should respect copyrights, as you said. I guarantee that every song from the "Taiko no Tatsujin" series in console and arcade versions is licensed through coordination with those companies.

((RS))  Some gamers may be confused because the console version of the "Taiko no Tatsujin" series is only available for PS2. After the release of the "Taiko no Tatsujin 11: Asian Version", will the NBGI release different versions in different countries similar to the way "Taiko Drum Master" was released with special designs for American and European gamers?

Yabushita: Currently, we'll focus our developments on the arcade version and temporarily not to consider different releases for different countries. This is because we will evaluate opinions from amusement stores and gamers after its release.

The "Taiko no Tatsujin" series became a hot topic after amusement stores imported several arcade machines in Taiwan. The release of the "Taiko no Tatsujin 11: Asian Version" aims to please countries speaking the Mandarin language.


維基新聞訪問知名電玩製作人藪下達久 暢談「太鼓之達人亞洲版」相關話題

由NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.（下簡稱NBGI）研發的「太鼓之達人」系列，即將問世的亞洲版，搶先在台北國際電玩展中亮相，吸引了眾多台灣音樂玩家的注意，事實上，台灣地區部分遊樂場業者，也有多次引進大型機台的紀錄，甚至有投幣機開發商，透過更改家用主機系統模組的方式，作成仿大台電玩的機台，確實引起了一股風潮，但在此之前，該系列僅有收錄日本的流行歌曲與電玩音樂，兩岸三地的歌曲則是在其他遊戲中，才有亮相的空間，原因多半和版權問題息息相關。

雖然太鼓之達人的亞洲版即將問世，對於華語地區的玩家確實是一項利多，但背後隱藏的部分因素，確實有值得探討的地方，因此，在近期，維基新聞的記者Rico Shen（以下簡稱RS）特別針對亞洲版來台首度亮相的狀況，重點地訪問「太鼓之達人」系列遊戲製作人藪下達久（以下以NBGI代稱），為玩家指點迷津。

RS：太鼓之達人亞洲版的來台，確實引起了一股風潮，而且，不同於歷代版本的是，這次的版本特別收錄了兩岸三地的華語歌曲，是否可以說明這次選擇歌曲的依據？

NBGI：這次的亞洲版我們是依照兩岸三地的華語歌曲的表現，進行選擇歌曲進入遊戲的條件，不過，我們仍然會在這遊戲中，保留部分電玩原創歌曲，讓其他遊戲的玩家也可以來參與。

RS：相信開發者應該知道，選擇任何歌曲進入遊戲前，都一定要經過版權相關的協調程序，無論音樂或其他類型遊戲，比比皆是，特別是因為台灣曾經有發生多個日本歌曲被翻唱成國台語歌，但並未獲得原唱者授權，結果引起一股爭議。而在這遊戲亮相前，是否有和相關單位協調版權事宜？

NBGI：確實如您所提的例子，版權是很重要的，因此所有「太鼓之達人」系列的遊戲，無論大台或家用版本，我們都有和相關單位進行協調，因此都是有經過授權的。

RS：另外一點是很多人好奇的，因為歷年來，「太鼓之達人」系列都僅只在PlayStation 2的平台中亮相，因此，想請教一下，亞洲版會不會像以往專為歐美地區玩家設計的「Taiko Drum Master」一樣，發行時因地制宜？此外，有沒有考慮在其他的平台中亮相？

NBGI：我們主要會先以大型機台版本做為主力，暫時不會有移植或因地制宜的考量，因為一切要看大型機台上市後，業者與玩家的反應。

「太鼓之達人」系列在台灣的風潮，的確可以從遊樂場業者引進的情形看出端倪，雖然其亞洲版本將在問世後，對華文國家的遊戲市場帶來正面效益，但是，要讓玩家盡興之前，開發者仍應考量到尊重音樂者版權的基本常規，才能讓音樂界、遊戲界、消費者達成三贏。


Wikinews interviews US National Archives Wikipedian in Residence

Dominic McDevitt-Parks, a prolific contributor to Wikipedia and a graduate student in history and archives management, agreed to answer a few questions about his new role as "Wikipedian in Residence" at the US National Archives and Records Administration.

"Wikipedians in Residence" are volunteers placed with institutions, such as museums and libraries, to facilitate use of those institutions' resources on Wikipedia.

According to a Pew Internet report, 42 percent of Americans use Wikipedia as an online source of information. The online, collaborative encyclopedia boasts more than 3.5 million articles in English and versions in over 250 languages. Given the website's vast readership, the Archivist of the United States has proclaimed himself "a big fan of Wikipedia" and emphasizes the need for the National Archives to work with the project. The Archives posted the internship listing in March, expressing its desire for an employee who "will work as a community coordinator and strengthen the relationship between the Archives and the Wikipedian community through a range of activities".

McDevitt-Parks, who describes himself as a "history buff, a word nerd, a news junkie and an occasional pedant," is a 24-year-old graduate student at Simmons College in Boston. On Wikipedia, he has contributed for more than seven years under the username "Dominic", his work focusing mostly on Latin American history.

He began his work at the Archives in late May, and since then he has undertaken numerous projects, including uploading onto Wikipedia 200 photos taken by Ansel Adams for the National Park Service. Although those photos have always remained in the public domain, accessing their high-definition versions could be problematic. Researchers who wanted to view the files had to visit the Archives facilities in College Park, Maryland.

McDevitt-Parks is also preparing a "Today's Document challenge" on Wikipedia, where works featured as "Today's Document" on the Archives' website are also the main focus of newly written or expanded encyclopedia articles displayed on Wikipedia's home page. The first — and so far only — winner of the challenge was the Wikipedia article "Desegregation in the United States Marine Corps", which incorporated an Archives-held photo of the first African-American recruit to the US Marine Corps. Before the challenge, according to McDevitt-Parks, "a thorough history of desegregation in the U.S. Marines didn't exist in Wikipedia's knowledge ecosystem. The topic wasn't totally ignored, but simply split among related entries; a devoted, focused article never existed solely in its own right."

The "Wikipedian in Residence" position falls within the Archives' social media staff within the Open Government division of Information Services, since the institution's goal is to distribute as much content to the widest audience possible. The internship is 40 hours per week from mid-May to late August.

((Wikinews))  Before you started your internship, how close of a relationship did the National Archives have with Wikipedia?

((Dominic McDevitt-Parks)) There was no official relationship, however the National Archives has long been supportive of Wikipedia. Earlier this year, for instance, the National Archives hosted a meetup in the main DC location in honor of Wikipedia's tenth anniversary. The Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, is incredibly friendly to Wikipedia, as are many of the National Archives' staff. As he wrote after WikiXDC, "As an agency, I look forward to our staff learning more about the fabric and culture of Wikipedia and how to get involved." He also penned a letter to the Wikimedia Foundation offering support from the National Archives for the successful Washington D.C. bid for Wikimania 2012. In all likelihood, this is not a relationship that will end after this summer, either.

((WN))  Why is it important that institutions like the National Archives foster this sort of relationship with Wikipedia?

((DMP)) Archives and other such institutions preserve our cultural heritage not just for the sake of keeping them, but so that we may access and use them. In the 21st century, accessibility is about more than just having exhibitions or a public research room; it is about having a digital presence and proactively delivering content to people with an information need, whether or not they were looking for a particular document from an institution's holding. Wikipedia and its sister projects are perfectly suited for this purpose in a number of ways. The most obvious is visibility. There is no institutional web site in the world that is more popular among general web users than Wikipedia, which is one of the top 10 ranked web sites according to volume of traffic. Its article on a given topic will nearly always rank higher in search engine results than any institution's page, even one about a document actually held by that institution. In general, Wikipedia is the first and often only place online searchers will go to learn about the issues and items in which an institution might specialize. This means that there is no better way to reach the public than Wikipedia, and there is no better way to make one's holdings accessible and—just as important—discoverable than by making it directly available on Wikipedia. The pervasiveness of Wikipedia also means that work to improve it will have much more impact than many other education and outreach programs.

Wikimedia's projects can do more than just reach people, though. It's not merely a content host or a forum, like YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. Wikimedia is a community with an intellectual mission. It will not only make holdings findable, but it will add value to them. They write encyclopedia articles related to the holdings of cultural institutions, or to subjects for which holdings are valuable source material or illustrations; they organize, categorize, and even sometimes digitally restore images; they transcribe and proofread textual documents. They are doing this for their personal fulfillment, nearly always without the knowledge and cooperation of associated cultural institutions. Indeed, thousands of Wikimedians are already engaged in their own little projects which donated content or expertise can help along; both parties are interested in adding value to their work by partnering with the other.

Finally, Wikimedia is unique among the major online fora and hosts for cultural content in that it shares cultural institutions' commitment to open access and public education. Wikipedia is a non-profit, and creating free public knowledge is its sole purpose. All original content is released under a free copyright license so that it can be widely disseminated without permission or fee. In fact, its commitment to freedom of information is so strong that it often cannot even accept works from some cultural institutions which restrict their use in some way (such as by disallowing derivative works or requiring non-commercial use), and making institutions truly free and compatible with Wikipedia is one of the jobs of Wikipedans in Residence. Wikipedia is not just a venue for presenting our cultural heritage, it is an active ally for all institutions that seek to do so.

((WN))  What aspect of having a Wikipedian in Residence is seen as most valuable to the National Archives? What would you, personally, say is the greatest benefit to any cultural institution from engaging with the Wikimedia community?

((DMP)) For the National Archives, all of the above apply. This is about public outreach and increasing access and use. NARA wants to find users where they are, not just wait for them to visit, and the people are on Wikipedia. According to David Ferriero, the National Archives would like this collaboration with Wikipedia to exemplify their "commitment to the Open Government principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration." Wikimedia partnerships are so promising because they can be extensions of any institution's mission in a number of conceivable ways.

((WN))  You have already told The Washington Post that other institutions have hired Wikipedians in residence, including the British Museum, the Museu Picasso, and the Archives of American Art. Do you know of any other institutions that may develop similar relationships with Wikipedia in the near future?

((DMP)) You can see a listing of other Wikipedian residencies here. There have been several, but still less than ten, and each situation has been unique. I can't really speak to any specific future collaborations being worked on, as I am not privy to those negotiations. However, I will say more generally that these relationships are only going to become more common. Wikimedians and chapters around the world have been in touch with various institutions interested in working with us. I saw and met many of these people firsthand at GLAMcamp NYC, which was attended by dozens of excited representatives from cultural institutions attracted by the prospect of a relationship with Wikipedia and just as many incredibly motivated Wikimedians who are involved in reaching out to these institutions.

((WN))  Are there other — non-Wikimedia — opportunities online you feel the National Archives should look for?

((DMP)) The goal of cataloging, describing, digitizing, and transcribing the entire holdings of the National Archives is an impossible one using traditional methods and within traditional budget constraints. Cultural institutions need to engage the interested public to become active partners in preserving cultural heritage, rather than simply consumers. The work with Wikimedia is an important aspect of that new thinking, but there are all sorts of allied projects out there that would also make good partners. This includes similar crowdsourced projects for scanning and transcription, which the National Archives is already seeking out, as well as other specialized groups interested in digital history or particular topic areas.

((WN))  How have your experiences — both in school and in Wikipedia — prepared you for this job?

((DMP)) I am a history geek and an archivist-in-training. In my life off of Wikipedia, I have an undergraduate history degree, have worked in library/archive settings before, and am currently pursuing master's degrees in both history and library science (archives management). I think these real-life experiences in their field are one of the main reasons that the National Archives was comfortable letting me on to their staff. I hope to be able to relate to the people and the practices here on a higher level than the average Wikimedian. I believe strongly in the work and the mission of the National Archives completely apart from how it syncs up with Wikipedia.

As a Wikimedian, I have been deeply immersed in various aspects of the project for many years now. I first started back in 2004, and have been an administrator since 2005. Along the way, I served as arbitrator, CheckUser, oversighter, and OTRSer, gaining a useful perspective on some of the project's inner workings and (for lack of a better word) governance. I've also done outreach to real people as a Wikipedia Campus Ambassador for university students in Boston. I am cross-project Wikimedian, having also been very involved in Wiktionary over the years, where I am also an administrator. I have written content ranging from dictionary definitions of modern colloquialisms to articles on Chilean revolutionaries. But, most importantly, I hope that my familiarity with the culture and practices of Wikimedians will help facilitate this National Archives collaboration.

((WN))  Having worked in the National Archives for a few weeks now, has your approach to or perception of your work in Wikipedia or the National Archives changed in any way?

((DMP)) I really wasn't sure what to expect when I got here. The staff have all been exceedingly welcoming and cooperative which is a major relief. The real work has been figuring out what I can do and where best to spend my time. Most of the National Archives' documents are not digitized, and possibly not even cataloged on the item-level. Those certainly include some items that Wikimedians would like to use for their projects, but it remains to be seen how much I can realistically do in one summer with those documents. I do want to get as much digital content as possible on Commons, but aside from the technological challenges we face at Commons in trying to figure out how to do mass uploads, the situation with the National Archives' scan files is just as much of a barrier. They are often confusingly named, difficult to locate, or incomplete. I hit the ground running with the upload of an important batch of Ansel Adams photographs, but it turns out that that was actually the lowest-possible hanging fruit.

((WN))  What challenges do you foresee having to face in your work?

((DMP)) The real challenges are about organization, both of documents—as I mentioned—and of people.

One of the biggest challenges is that we need Wikimedians to get on board with the project in a big way. This is an incredible opportunity for us as a project, but it requires a special community effort to take full advantage of it. We need volunteers to tag articles, to categorize media, to help with templates and coding tools, to write related article content, to transcribe and proofread texts, to add new images to articles, to digitally restore images, and so on. I can personally serve as the point of contact between the National Archives and Wikimedia, but it needs to be much more than that to be a successful project. At this point, the project spaces I am creating on-wiki are my attempt to create an inviting and useful infrastructure to serve as a hub for this effort, but they are not organically grown like most Wikimedia projects. I, and various helpers with templates and coding, have magicked them into existence in the last few weeks. They need participants to sign up and adopt them as their own so we can really get the ball rolling.

((WN))  The New York Times reported in January that less than fifteen percent of Wikipedia's contributors are women. The article raised concerns that this gender gap has affected the relative emphasis of topics covered on the encyclopedia. In what ways would this problem affect your own efforts to organize the Wikipedia community, and how do you plan to address it?

((DMP)) This is an issue that I care strongly about. (And somewhat relatedly, I served, and will continue to serve, as Campus Ambassador at a women's college, and it was a wonderful experience.) The problem is really about more than gender imbalance; it's about having a community that represents a diversity of backgrounds, viewpoints, and personalities. Those of us who work in the humanities can also sometimes feel like a minority on Wikipedia, as one would expect from a male-dominated culture. There is a lot of room for improvement on Wikipedia of articles related to women's history—as well as the history of minority and non-Western peoples—and the National Archives has some incredible resources for these topics. One of the things that I would like to be able to do at the National Archives is to tap their existing pool of volunteers and funnel them towards NARA-related volunteerism on Wikimedia projects. As a national organization with various facilities and presidential libraries throughout the country, there is a lot of potential for various local volunteer communities to get involved. Institutions like the National Archives have volunteers eager to help their cause, but who would otherwise not get involved in Wikipedia, and this group of people likely has a very different demographic makeup than Wikipedia as a whole. I can attest that the library/archives community is certainly not male-dominated. The National Archives is interested in collaborating with Wikipedia not because it wants to lay work at the feet of the Wikipedia community specifically, but because it wants Wikipedia to be a platform for the public at large to be able to become active participants in preserving and interpreting their cultural heritage. This plan also means organizing a corresponding corps of Wikipedian volunteers to welcome and mentor such new editors.

((WN))  Which aspects of this particular internship attracted you more than any other job opportunity you could have obtained?

((DMP)) I am a longtime, obsessive Wikimedian with a passion for history who is studying to become an archivist. Every aspect of the opportunity attracted me as soon as I learned about it. :-)


Wikimedia to społeczność z intelektualną misją - wywiad z wikipedystą-rezydentem z Archiwów Narodowych USA

Wikipedyści-rezydenci to stosunkowo nowa forma współpracy pomiędzy najważniejszymi instytucjami kulturalnymi, jak archiwa, muzea czy biblioteki, a społecznością Wikimediów. Pozwala ona na lepsze wzajemne poznanie się i zrozumienie swojej specyfiki, co jest pierwszym krokiem do owocnego dla obu stron współdziałania. Jak dotąd inicjatywy tego rodzaju najszybciej rozwijają się w USA i Wielkiej Brytanii, powoli pojawiają się także w kontynentalnej Europie, m.in. w Hiszpanii. Aby uzyskać więcej informacji na ten temat, przeprowadziliśmy rozmowę z Dominikiem McDevitt-Parksem, amerykańskim wikipedystą będącym obecnie na stażu w charakterze wikipedysty-rezydenta w Administracji Archiwów Narodowych Stanów Zjednoczonych.

Wywiad został zrealizowany i opracowany przez zespół anglojęzycznego wydania Wikinews, w szczególności przez wikireportera Ragettho, gdzie ukazał się 30 czerwca 2011. Tłumaczenie przygotował Powerek38.

Wikipedyści-rezydenci są ochotnikami przydzielonymi do instytucji takich jak muzea czy biblioteki, aby uczynić łatwiejszym wykorzystywanie zasobów tych instytucji przy tworzeniu Wikipedii.

Według danych ośrodka Pew Internet, 42% Amerykanów korzysta z Wikipedii jako źródła wiedzy w Internecie. Tworzona przez społeczność internetowa encyklopedia zawiera już ponad 3,5 mln artykułów po angielsku, ma także ponad 250 innych wersji językowych (w tym wersję polską, zawierającą ponad 800 tysięcy haseł – przyp. tłum.). Mając na uwadze ogromny zasięg Wikipedii, Główny Archiwista Stanów Zjednoczonych (stojący na czele Archiwów Narodowych – przyp. tłum.) ogłosił, iż jest "wielkim fanem Wikipedii" i podkreślił konieczność nawiązania przez Archiwa Narodowe współpracy z tym projektem. W marcu 2011 Archiwa rozpoczęły rekrutację na specjalny staż, podczas którego stażysta miałby pracować jako "koordynator społeczności i wzmocnić związki między Archiwami i społecznością wikipedystów poprzez różnorakie działania".

McDevitt-Parks, który określa siebie mianem "maniaka historii, fanatyka słów, nałogowca wiadomości i okazjonalnego pedanta", jest 24-letnim absolwentem historii na Simmons College w Bostonie. Edytuje Wikipedię od ponad siedmiu lat jako "Dominic", pisząc głównie o historii Ameryki Łacińskiej.

Rozpoczął pracę w Archiwach pod koniec maja i od tego czasu podjął już liczne projekty, m.in. załadował do Wikipedii 200 zdjęć wykonanych przez Ansela Adamsa dla National Parks Service (agendy rządu federalnego USA zarządzającej parkami narodowymi – przyp. tłum.). Fotografie te już od chwili swego powstania były zawsze w domenie publicznej, jednak trudno było zdobyć ich wersje w wysokiej rozdzielczości. Badacze chcący uzyskać dostęp do tych materiałów musieli odwiedzić osobiście archiwum w College Park w stanie Maryland.

McDevitt-Parks pracuje także nad konkursem "Dokument dnia" w angielskiej Wikipedii, mającego zachęcić do tworzenia lub rozbudowy artykułów na temat prac eksponowanych na stronie głównej Archiwów jako "Dokument dnia". Pierwszym i jak dotąd jedynym zwycięzcą konkursu został artykuł Desegregation in the United States Marine Corps (Zniesienie segregacji rasowej w piechocie morskiej USA), do którego włączone zostało przechowywane przez Archiwa zdjęcie pierwszego afroamerykańskiego rekruta przyjętego do piechoty morskiej. Według McDevitta-Parksa, przed rozpoczęciem konkursu "kompletna historia zniesienia segregacji w amerykańskiej piechocie morskiej nie była części ekosystemu wiedzy zgromadzonej w Wikipedii. Kwestia ta nie była zupełnie ignorowana, ale informacje na ten temat były porozrzucane w kilku artykułach na pokrewne tematy. Nie było natomiast artykułu skupiającego się w całości na tym zagadnieniu".

Stanowisko wikipedysty-rezydenta zostało umiejscowione w zespole archiwów ds. mediów społecznościowych, który z kolei należy do Działu Otwartej Administracji w ramach służb informacyjnych Archiwów. Ma to związek z faktem, iż do zadań tej instytucji należy upowszechnianie posiadanych zasobów wśród możliwie jak najszerszej publiczności. Staż trwa od połowy maja do końca sierpnia i obejmuje pracę przez 40 godzin w tygodniu.

Wikinews: Jak bliskie były związki Archiwów Narodowych z Wikipedią przed rozpoczęciem Twojego stażu?

Dominic McDevitt-Parks: Nie było żadnych oficjalnych związków, chociaż stosunek Archiwów Narodowych do Wikipedii od dawna był wspierający. Na przykład na początku tego roku Archiwa zorganizowały w swojej waszyngtońskiej siedzibie specjalne spotkanie poświęcone dziesięcioleciu Wikipedii. Główny Archiwista USA, David Ferriero, ma niezwykle przyjazny stosunek do Wikipedii, podobnie jak wiele osób spośród personelu Archiwów. Ferriero napisał wkrótce po obchodach dziesięciolecia: "Jako szef agencji rządowej, chciałbym aby nasz personel nauczył się więcej na temat istoty i kultury Wikipedii oraz możliwych sposobów udzielenia jej wsparcia". Napisał także list do Fundacji Wikimedia, w którym zaoferował pomoc w organizacji Wikimanii 2012 w Waszyngtonie. Wygląda na to, że nie jest to relacja, która zakończy się tego lata (po zakończeniu stażu).

Dlaczego rozwijanie takich relacji między instytucjami w rodzaju Archiwów Narodowych a Wikipedią jest ważne?

Archiwa i inne podobne instytucje służą zachowaniu naszego dziedzictwa kulturowego, ale nie chodzi tu tylko o przechowywanie go, lecz również o zapewnienie nam dostępu i możliwości korzystania z tych materiałów. W XXI wieku ten dostęp to coś więcej niż tylko organizowanie wystaw czy prowadzenie czytelni, to także obecność cyfrowa i aktywne dostarczanie treści do osób potrzebujących informacji, nawet jeśli nie szukają oni konkretnego dokumentu z zasobów danej instytucji. Wikipedia i jej projekty siostrzane pod wieloma względami idealnie nadają się do tej roli. Najbardziej oczywisty aspekt to widoczność. Nie ma na świecie strony internetowej prowadzonej przez instytucję, która byłaby bardziej popularna wśród szerokich rzesz internautów niż Wikipedia, będąca w pierwszej dziesiątce najwyżej notowanych stron internetowych pod względem generowanego ruchu w sieci. Artykuły na jakikolwiek temat niemal zawsze są w wyszukiwarkach wyżej niż strony instytucji, nawet jeśli tematem jest dokument przechowywany właśnie przez tę instytucję. Mówiąc ogólnie, Wikipedia jest pierwszym i często jedynym miejscem, w którym internauci szukają informacji na temat zagadnień i zasobów, w których specjalizują się takie instytucje. Nie ma więc lepszego sposobu na udostępnienie zasobów, i co równie ważne na uczynienie ich dostrzegalnymi, niż bezpośrednie umieszczenie ich w Wikipedii. Zasięg Wikipedii oznacza także, iż prace na rzecz poprawy jej jakości mają większy skutek niż wiele inicjatyw edukacyjnych czy popularyzatorskich.

Ale rola projektów Wikimediów nie kończy się na docieraniu do ludzi. Tu nie chodzi tylko o bazę treści, taką jak YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter czy blogi. Wikimedia to społeczność z intelektualną misją. Ta społeczność nie tylko ułatwi znalezienie treści, ale doda do nich nową jakość. Napisze artykuły encyklopedyczne związane z zasobami instytucji kulturalnej lub na tematy, dla których te zasoby są cennym źródłem wiedzy lub ilustracją. Wikipedyści organizują, kategoryzują, a czasem nawet cyfrowo restaurują zdjęcia, przepisują i poddają korekcie źródła pisane. Robią to dla osobistej satysfakcji, niemal zawsze bez wiedzy i współpracy stosownych instytucji kulturalnych. Tysiące wikipedystów jest już zaangażowanych w swoje małe, osobiste projekciki, dla których materiały lub doświadczenie instytucji będą pomocne. Obie strony są zainteresowane dodaniem do swojej pracy wartości poprzez wzajemne partnerstwo.

No i wreszcie, Wikimedia są wyjątkowe wśród głównych stron internetowych zajmujących się treściami kultury, ponieważ podzielają zaangażowanie instytucji kulturalnych na rzecz otwartego dostępu i edukacji publicznej. Wikipedia jest projektem non-profit i jej jedynym celem jest tworzenie bezpłatnej, dostępnej publicznie wiedzy. Wszystkie treści tworzone specjalnie dla Wikimediów są publikowane na wolnych licencjach, dzięki czemu mogą być szeroko rozpowszechniane bez pozwoleń i opłat. W gruncie rzeczy to zaangażowanie na rzecz wolności informacji jest tak silne, iż często Wikimedia nie mogą zaakceptować prac nawet części instytucji kulturalnych, które w jakiś sposób ograniczają użycie tych zasobów (np. wykluczając tworzenie dzieł pochodnych lub użytek komercyjny). Uczynienie instytucji naprawdę wolnymi i kompatybilnymi z Wikipedią jest zresztą jednym z zadań wikipedystów-rezydentów. Wikipedia jest nie tylko witryną do prezentowania naszego dziedzictwa kulturowego, jest też aktywnym sojusznikiem wszystkich instytucji, które chcą to robić.

Jakie aspekty goszczenia u siebie wikipedysty-rezydenta są najbardziej wartościowe dla Archiwów Narodowych? Jaka Twoim zdaniem jest największa korzyść, którą instytucja kulturalna może odnieść z angażowania się w działalność społeczności Wikipedii?

W przypadku Archiwów Narodowych sprawdza się wszystko to, o czym już powiedziałem. Chodzi tu o lepsze dotarcie do społeczeństwa, ale także o ułatwienie dostępu do zasobów i ich wykorzystywania. Archiwa chcą znaleźć użytkowników tam, gdzie oni przebywają, a nie tylko czekać aż sami przyjdą. A ludzie są właśnie na stronach Wikipedii. Według Davida Ferriero, Archiwa Narodowe chcą zademonstrować poprzez współpracę z Wikipedią swoje "przywiązanie do zasad otwartej administracji państwowej, takich jak przejrzystość, współuczestniczenie i współpraca". Partnerstwo z Wikimediami jest obiecujące, ponieważ może być rozwinięciem misji każdej instytucji na wiele sposobów równocześnie.

Powiedziałeś już, w wywiadzie dla The Washington Post, że wikipedystów-rezydentów zatrudniły już także inne instytucje, takie jak British Museum, Museu Picasso czy Archiwum Sztuki Amerykańskiej. Czy wiesz już o kolejnych instytucjach, które w bliskiej przyszłości mogą nawiązać podobne związki z Wikipedią?

Pełna lista miejsc pracy wikipedystów-rezydentów znajduje się tutaj. Mamy już kilka takich przypadków, ale wciąż mniej niż dziesięć, a każda z tych sytuacji to zupełnie inna historia. Nie jestem w stanie wypowiedzieć się na temat prac nad przyszłymi inicjatywami współpracy, ponieważ nie jestem wtajemniczony w te negocjacje. Mogę jednak powiedzieć bardziej ogólnie, że tego rodzaju związki będą coraz częstsze. Wikipedyści i lokalne organizacje partnerskie Fundacji Wikimedia z całego świata kontaktują się z różnymi instytucjami, które są zainteresowane wspólną pracą z nami. Osobiście spotkałem wielu spośród tych ludzi podczas imprezy GLAMcamp w Nowym Jorku, w której wzięły udział dziesiątki podekscytowanych przedstawicieli instytucji kulturalnych zainteresowanych perspektywą nawiązania relacji z Wikipedią. Spotkałem też nie mniejszą rzeszę niewiarygodnie zmotywowanych wikipedystów, którzy są zaangażowani w docieranie do tych instytucji.

Czy widzisz jeszcze jakieś inne możliwości, poza Wikimediami, z których Archiwa Narodowy powinny skorzystać?

Zadanie katalogowania, opisywania, digitalizowania i transkrypcji całego zasobu archiwalnego Archiwów Narodowych jest nie do zrealizowania przy użyciu samych tradycyjnych metod i przy tradycyjnych ograniczeniach budżetowych. Instytucje kulturalne muszą zaangażować zainteresowanych obywateli jako aktywnych partnerów w zachowywaniu dziedzictwa kulturowego, a nie ograniczać ich rolę do konsumentów. Praca z Wikimediami stanowi istotny aspekt tego nowego sposobu myślenia, ale jest wiele zaprzyjaźnionych projektów nadających się na dobrych partnerów. Mam tu na myśli projekty społecznościowego skanowania i transkrypcji, w co Archiwa już się angażują, a także inne wyspecjalizowane grupy zajmujące się cyfrową historią czy konkretnymi obszarami tematycznymi.

Na ile Twoje doświadczenia - zarówno z Wikipedii, jak i te wyniesione z uczelni - przygotowały Cię do tej pracy?

Jako wikipedysta od wielu lat jestem zaangażowany w różne aspekty projektu. Zacząłem edytować w roku 2004, a od 2005 jestem administratorem. Po drodze byłem też już arbitrem, checkuserem, zajmowałem się też oversightem i OTRS, co cało mi użyteczną perspektywę na wewnętrzne funkcjonowanie projektu i (chociaż to nie jest dobre słowo, ale nie mam lepszego) sposób zarządzania nim. Docierałem także do realnych ludzi jako ambasador Wikipedii na kampusie uczelnianym w Bostonie. Jestem wikimedianinem przekraczającym granice projektów, ponieważ od lat jestem także bardzo zaangażowany w Wikisłownik, gdzie również jestem administratorem. Pisałem teksty od słownikowych definicji współczesnych kolokwializmów aż po artykuły o chilijskich rewolucjonistach. Co najważniejsze, mam nadzieję, że moja znajomość kultury i praktycznego funkcjonowania społeczności wikipedystów pomoże rozwinąć tę współpracę z Archiwami Narodowymi.

Przepracowałeś w Archiwach Narodowych już kilka tygodni, czy przez ten czas Twoje spojrzenie na tę instytucje lub na Wikipedię uległo jakimś zmianom?

Tak naprawdę nie wiedziałem, czego się tutaj spodziewać. Wszyscy pracownicy przyjęli mnie bardzo ciepło i z gotowością do współpracy, co było dla mnie wielką ulgą. Prawdziwym zadaniem było określenie czym mogę się zająć i jak najlepiej mogę wykorzystać ten czas. Większość zasobów Archiwów Narodowych nie jest zdygitalizowana, a całkiem możliwe, że nawet nie jest do końca skatalogowana na poziomie pojedynczych dokumentów. W tej grupie z pewnością znajdują się też materiały, które wikipedyści chcieliby wykorzystać w swoich projektach, ale zobaczymy jeszcze jak wiele będę w stanie z tym zrobić w czasie jednego lata. Chciałbym załadować jak najwięcej zdygitalizowanych już materiałów na Wikimedia Commons, ale pomijając nawet bariery techniczne z jakimi Commons borykają się w kwestii masowego ładowania plików, barierą jest również sytuacja z plikami skanów, jaka panuje w samych Archiwach. Często są one ponazywane w sposób mylący, trudne do odnalezienia lub niekompletne. Zacząłem od załadowania ważnej części fotografii Ansela Adamsa, ale okazuje się, że na razie zerwałem z drzewa tylko najniżej rosnący owoc.

Jakie wyzwania spodziewasz się napotkać w swojej pracy?

Prawdziwe wyzwania dotyczą organizacji, zarówno dokumentów, o czym już mówiłem, jak i ludzi. Jednym z wyzwań jest to, że musimy skłonić wikipedystów do zaangażowania się w projekt w bardzo poważny sposób. To jest dla nas jako dla projektu niesamowita szansa, ale wymaga wyjątkowego wysiłku społeczności, abyśmy mogli w pełni z niej skorzystać. Potrzebujemy ochotników do oznaczania artykułów, do kategoryzowania multimediów, do pomocy przy szablonach i technikaliach, do pisania artykułów na powiązane tematy, do przepisywania i sprawdzania tekstów, do ilustrowania artykułów, do cyfrowej obróbki starych zdjęć (restauracji), i tak dalej. Ja mogę służyć jako łącznik między Archiwami Narodowymi a Wikimediami, ale to zdecydowanie nie wystarczy, aby ten projekt współpracy odniósł sukces. Obecnie tworzę na Wiki strony w przestrzeni wikiprojektu, mające stanowić zachęcającą i pomocną infrastrukturę, która posłuży jako podstawa dla tego wysiłku. Nie rozwijają się one jednak w sposób organiczny, jak większość projektów Wikimediów. Z pomocą różnych specjalistów od szablonów i kodu stworzyłem je w ciągu ostatnich kilku tygodni, ale potrzebujemy uczestników, którzy przyłączą się i uznają te narzędzia za własne. Dopiero wtedy to wszystko naprawdę ruszy.

W styczniu The New York Times napisał, że mniej niż 15% edytorów Wikipedii to kobiety. W artykule podniesione zostały obawy, że ta dysproporcja płci odbija się na doborze tematów, jakie są opisywane w Wikipedii. W jaki sposób ten problem wiąże się z Twoimi własnymi wysiłkami na rzecz organizowania społeczności i co zamierzasz w tej sprawie zrobić?

Jest to zagadnienie bardzo bliskie mojemu sercu. Na marginesie dodam, iż byłem, i wrócę do tego w przyszłości, ambasadorem Wikipedii na kampusie uczelni tylko dla kobiet, i było to wspaniałe doświadczenie. Problem nie ogranicza się tylko do nierównowagi płci, chodzi o stworzenie społeczności oddającej różnorodność środowisk, punktów widzenia i osobowości. Ci spośród nas, którzy tak jak ja zajmują się humanistyką, również czasami mogą czuć się w Wikipedii mniejszością, co jest zresztą do przewidzenia w kulturze zdominowanej przez mężczyzn. Jest wiele do poprawienia, jeśli chodzi o artykuły Wikipedii na temat historii kobiet, podobnie jak historii mniejszości oraz ludów spoza świata zachodniego. Archiwa Narodowe mają niesamowite materiały dotyczące tych tematów. Jedną z rzeczy, które chciałbym osiągnąć w Archiwach Narodowych, jest wpłynięcie na ich istniejącą grupę wolontariuszy i ukierunkowanie jej na działania związane z obecnością Archiwów w projektach Wikimediów. Archiwa Narodowe są instytucją ogólnokrajową, posiadającą różne jednostki w całym kraju, w tym biblioteki prezydenckie, co stwarza szerokie pole do działania dla rozmaitych lokalnych społeczności wolontariuszy. Instytucje takie jak Archiwa dysponują wolontariuszami chcącymi pomóc w bliskich im sprawach, ale nie są to osoby, które w innym wypadku zaangażowałyby się w Wikipedię. Prawdopodobnie struktura demograficzna tych grup jest zupełnie inna niż Wikipedii. Mogę zapewnić, że społeczność skupiona wokół archiwów i bibliotek w żadnym razie nie jest zdominowana przez mężczyzn. Archiwa Narodowe nie dlatego są zainteresowane współpracą z Wikipedią, aby pracować wyłącznie na rzecz społeczności tego projektu, lecz aby uczynić Wikipedię platformą umożliwiającą szerokiemu spektrum osób aktywny udział w zachowaniu i interpretacji ich własnego dziedzictwa kulturowego. Te plany wiążą się także ze zorganizowaniem stosownej grupy wikipedystów witających i uczących takich nowych edytorów.

Co sprawiło, że wybrałeś właśnie ten staż spośród wszystkich innych możliwości podjęcia pracy, jakie przed Tobą stały?

Jestem wieloletnim, obsesyjnym wikipedystą i zarazem pasjonatem historii, który kształci się, aby zostać archiwistą. Każdy aspekt tej szansy wydał się atrakcyjny natychmiast, gdy tylko się o niej dowiedziałem.


Wikinews interviews You-peng Wang of Taipei Electrical Commercial Association

Besides becoming a political stomping ground for the Pan-Green and Pan-Blue coalitions, there are other changes from past years of Taipei Audio Video Fair (TAVF). With those changes in mind, Wikinews reporter Rico Shen interviewed You-peng Wang, chairman of the Taipei Electrical Commercial Association (TECA), the main organizer of TAVF, about the 60th year anniversary of TECA and the changes to the show.

Rico Shen: This show features exhibition at the twin halls, The Grand Hotel and Taipei World Trade Center, why did TECA decide to exhibit at these two halls?

Wang: In past years of TAVF, many participants promoted subwoofers, loudspeakers, and AV-media devices for sale, but some world-class Taiwanese companies may need good environment for the Hi-End experiences. As of this year, you can see some exhibitors imported a truck container house or rented a guest room for soundproof and high quality experiences and to serve senior AV-media consumers.

Rico Shen: Particularly the Hi-End quality is the best arrangement for TECA. Also, I sincerely congratulate TECA for the 60th year anniversary. By the way, what are the changes in Taiwan's AV-media industry?

Wang: In the past, some Taiwanese companies served as agencies and foundries for international manufacturers. They used original design manufacturers (ODM), manufacturing for other brands. Now, local brands and products (OEM) with good quality are increasingly marketed to the world, receiving praise by world-class professional media outside of Taiwan. We at TECA are proud of this success.

Rico Shen: In recent press conferences, some gaming and video companies cooperated with AV-media companies for high-definition and quality promotion. It caused some companies to become notable. What does TECA think about this trend and fashion? Does TECA support this way of promotion or cooperating?

Wang: We are extremely encouraged by our member companies who cooperate with different companies from the other industries like gaming, video, and information technology. I believe they've seen good factors at high-definition AV-media infrastructure in Taiwan.

Before returning to TWTC, Wang mentioned on the effectiveness of soundproofing, after a visit to a container house, some exhibitors thought soundproofing to be a key factor when experiencing loss-less Hi-End sound and said: "We must provide the best experience and conditions to show the greatest performances of loudspeakers". The interview below mentions the "quality conception".

Rico Shen: At the 60th year anniversary of the TECA this year, besides of the twin halls exhibition, what's the reason for the feature of the "Global Audio & Video History Corridor" Pavilion at TWTC Hall?

Wang: If you're involved with the AV-media industry for the first time, you may not understand the evolution of its industry especially "old antiques". We made several old consumer AV-media players available to trace back on the history of the AV-media industry world-wide. And newbies (new consumers who just got involved with this industry) can learn the evolution of this industry by viewing the display of notable AV-media products from the past to the present.

Rico Shen: I just forgot to say something at Yuanshan, because TAITRA and Taipei Computer Association (TCA) ever held "Exhibitors' Coordination of 2008 Computex Taipei" last month, and I interviewed Enoch Du, the Secretary General of TCA. Both of those mentioned the recent issue of traffic problems. With the twin halls' exhibition, how the TECA solve the traffic issue during the show?

Wang: We [TECA] submitted the traffic solutions to the Department of Transportation of Taipei City Government and applied the shuttle bus service to Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) for the visitors' convenience to go TWTC or Yuanshan and back. During the weekend hours, MTC will supply more shuttle buses to decrease the waiting period. For the MRT stations, we decided to improve the MRT shuttle bus service at MRT Yuanshan Station rather than Taipei City Hall Station because Capital Bus Co., Ltd has served the Taipei 101 shuttle bus for a long period.

Taipei Audio Video Fair in this year is different than the past years. It is not just a "local domestic show" but conjoined education with enjoyment so that the 2007 TAVF takes advantage of the show's contents. The quality of a show is more valuable than the results to keep its good image with the media and the public.


維基新聞訪問電器公會 探究台北音響影視展變革

雖然今年的影音展，藍綠要角幾乎到齊，但跳脫政治，來看這項電器展的內容，與往年的展覽相比，確實讓人為之一亮，因此，在開幕系列活動後的空檔，記者Brock訪問了台北市電器公會的王友本理事長，希望藉由主辦單位的訊息，來了解六十週年的改變。

Brock：首先，這次參觀，是為了一項非常特別的創舉─「雙展館」，圓山（台北圓山大飯店）與世貿（台北世貿中心），兩地同步展出的背景，是基於何種考量？

王：往年在台北音響影視大展，許多廠商都會推出擴大機、音響等週邊進行促銷與展示，而部分商品也因為在國際知名，甚至品質上超越其他國家，進而會有一些特殊的需求。在這次展示中，除了世貿中心有貨櫃車改造隔音設備的創舉，當然，為了要服務高品質的玩家（意指：資深的消費者），公會也特地選擇一些具有隔音設備的客房，讓部分廠商展示影音設備，以求高品質的聽覺感受。

Brock：品質的講究，從公會的安排也可看出一二。另外，欣逢公會六十週年，在此也特別恭喜公會。不過，話說回來，在這六十年的經營中，台灣的影音產業是如何做轉變的？公會的看法？

王：以往，台灣是以代工市場聞名，當然也不乏國際品牌的代理，也帶動ODM市場的轉進與興起。隨著台灣的自創品牌開始崛起，漸漸地，眾多優質產品也開始行銷國際，甚至在國際的專業影音平面媒體上，或得好評，這都是台灣的驕傲。

Brock：最近，部分遊戲與影視業者為了要宣傳高影音品質的效果，就和影音產業結合，進而打響知名度，有關這種趨勢，公會是如何看待？

王：我們（公會）是非常鼓勵會員廠商與相關產業的廠商進行合作的，因為影音產業會帶動週邊商品的買氣，您所指的遊戲業者，必定是看好高畫質影音的前景，才會有這類的合作。

在回到世貿前，王理事長曾經提示到隔音效果的作用，經過實際走訪後，部分廠商也在接受訪問時，認為隔音效果會影響到一個人品味聽覺的感受，也表示：「要展現優質的效能，就要有好的環境。」確實應證了王理事長所提出的「品質觀」，這種「品質觀」不只是隔音效果，也和接下來的訪問內容相關。

Brock：在今年，公會的六十周年慶中，除了雙展館同步展出，另外在世貿館也設置了一個「時光隧道」的展區，這項區域的特色？

王：相信如果是剛接觸影音的人，可能對於「老骨董」不甚瞭解，我們透過這項展區，讓一些資深的玩家，回味一些歷史，包含留聲機、老電視，這些就時代的產物，我們以演進的方式，一一呈現在眼前，讓更多人瞭解到影音產業的歷史。

Brock：方才在圓山忘了說，雙展館這件事，其實在前一陣子，貿協與公會的「台北國際電腦展協調會」，以及我請教台北市電腦公會杜總幹事的結果，都有提及交通問題，面對這次展覽的兩展區同步展出，公會的因應方式？

王：為了面對這項展覽的交通問題，我們就在先前已經向交通局提出解決方案，並向大都會客運申請接駁車往返世貿與圓山（大飯店）的服務，當遇上假日時段，會加開專車來協助疏運，而在捷運站部分，考量101本身有提供（捷運站）接駁車的關係，因此在圓山展區，才有請業者（圓山飯店）的中型巴士加強服務。

台北音響影視展，確實不同於往年，且讓參觀者有一種「不只是內銷展」的印象，這次將享樂與教育的意義結合，對於一項單純的內銷展來說，的確有加分的效果，內銷展不要光只是單純的販售，有時，展覽品質的呈現，對於外界給予的印象，會顯得比成果更加珍貴。


Wikinews Shorts: November 28, 2008

A compilation of brief news reports for Friday, November 28, 2008 .

The battle between the Indian security forces and terrorists which have taken over various targets across the city of Mumbai has entered the third day as the Indian security forces work to clear out and rescue remaining hostages as the death toll continues to rise.

Indian forces stormed the Oberoi Trident hotel, freeing over 200 hostages there. However, reports say that 24 to 30 hostages were still killed there. Meanwhile, Indian commandos also entered the Mumbai Chabad house, where they discovered the bodies of 5 hostages.

The last area of fighting that remains is at the historic Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel, where gunfire and explosions have been reported.

Sources

Edna Parker, who became the world's oldest person over a year ago, has died at the age of 115 years and 220 days in a nursing home in Shelbyville, Indiana in the United States. Parker was born on April 20, 1893. She had been recognized as the world's oldest person by Guinness World Records ever since Yone Minagawa of Japan, who was four months older than her, died in 2007.

According to UCLA gerontologist Dr. Stephen Coles, Parker was the 14th oldest validated super centenarian in history.

Sources

According to the United Nations refugee agency, 13,000 people have fled into Uganda from a rebel advance in the Democratic Republic of Congo in just two days. Some of those who crossed the border said that their relatives were killed by the rebels of General Laurent Nkunda.

Nkunda's forces declared a ceasefire last week, but they say that this does not apply to operations against foreign militia. They are now attacking Rwandan Hutu militas.

Sources

The disease pancreatic cancer, which affects American actor Patrick Swayze, has spread to his liver. Reports say that he has begun to say his farewells to friends and family members in an apparent preparation for death.

Swayze, who just finished filming a new U.S. television show in Chicago, Illinois called The Beast, had publicly announced his condition in May. The reports come after an unknown source told the National Inquirer on Thursday that his cancer had spread.

Sources


Brèves : 28 novembre 2008


William Shatner sells kidney stone

Star Trek star and actor William Shatner has sold his kidney stone for charity.

It has been announced that the actor sold his kidney stone to the online gambling website, GoldenPalace.com for US$25,000. The money will be donated to Habitat for Humanity, a Christian charity organization that builds houses for the poor.

"When I was contacted about selling my kidney stone to GoldenPalace.Com for an original price of US$15,000 I turned it down, knowing that my tunics from Star Trek have commanded more than US$100,000," Shatner said. He said that he countered by offering to sell the ring-sized stone for US$25,000.

Shatner refused selling the stone at an auction or on television. When Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Shatner, he offered to sell it on his show, an offer that Shatner also refused.


William Shatner vend un calcul rénal

La vedette de Star Trek, William Shatner a vendu un calcul rénal à une vente caritative.

Il sera vendu 25 000$ sur le site d'un casino en ligne, en:GoldenPalace.com, les fonds seront reversés à Habitat for Humanity qui construit des maisons pour les pauvres.

« Lorsque j'ai été contacté pour vendre mon calcul sur GoldenPalace.com j'ai d'abord refusé car le prix demandé était de 15 000 $ seulement, alors que mes tuniques que je portais dans Star Trek ont fait 100 000$ ». Il a ensuite proposé la somme de 25 000$.

Shatner avait refusé de vendre à une enchère ou à la télévision. Lorsque Jimmy Kimmel a interviewé Shatner, il lui avait proposé de lui vendre son calcul pendant une émission mais il a refusé.


World celebrates Chinese new year

Millions of people celebrated the arrival of the Chinese Year of the Dog throughout the world's time zones.

Chinese families spent New Year's Eve cleaning their houses to get rid of bad luck from the past year, before celebrating with reunion dinners.

Throughout China and the world's Chinatowns, dragon dancers danced and fireworks went off to mark the arrival of the new year.

In the Chinese lunar calendar, the Chinese Year of the Dog ends on February 17, 2007, making it 385 days long, or 13 months. The last time a Chinese year was this long was in 1944.


Världen firar kinesiskt nyår

Miljontals människor över hela världen firade det kinesiska nyåret och det nya året – hundens år. I Kina och i världens alla Chinatowns dansade drakar under fyrverkier.

Kinesiska familjer tillbringade det gångna årets sista timmar med att städa sina hem för att inte det årets olycka skulle följa med in på det nya året.

Det nya året kommer att avslutas den 17 februari 2007 efter 385 dagar vilket gör det till det längsta året i den kinesiska månkalendern sedan 1944.


World celebrates new year for Gregorian Calendar

Millions of people celebrated the arrival of the new year as the clock struck midnight on December 31, 2005, throughout the world's time zones.

Sydney, Australia led the way with red lights on the Harbour Bridge and over 80,000 fireworks over the water. Over 1.2 million people were reported to have attended this celebration, making it one of the largest in the world.

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Times Square to see the historic lowering of the Waterford crystal ball, a tradition began in 1906.

London celebrated the New Year at midnight GMT with a ten minute firework display featuring fireworks launched by and from the London Eye observation wheel. The countdown to midnight was marked by a laser lightshow and with photos of olympic heroes projected onto a nearby building. An estimated 200,000 people watched the firework display, up on the previous year, despite a tube strike which closed many Underground stations.

Among other notable celebrations across the world was Toronto, which celebrated the new year in Nathan Philips Square.  It is the first time the annual event was broadcast to all of Canada.


Mundo celebra a entrada do Ano Novo pelo Calendário Gregoriano

À medida que  chegava a meia-noite, milhões de pessoas davam as boas-vindas ao Ano Novo com fogos de artifício e outras celebrações.

Sydney foi uma das cidades que deram início às comemorações, iluminando com  luzes vermelhas a Ponte do Porto de Sydney e mais de 80 mil  fogos de artifício sobre a água. Calcula-se que tenha sido uma das maiores Celebrações, com mais de 1.2 milhões de pessoas.

Em Nova York pode ter sido o palco da  segunda maior celebração, com entre 800 mil  e 1 milhão de pessoas. Uma bola de cristal é jogada de Times Square para marcar a passagem do ano.

Em outros lugares a queda de objetos celebra a entrada do anos novo. Em Elizabethtown, na Pensilvânia é um M&M gigante,  em Fredericksburg, Virginia, são duas pêras.

Na cidade de Toronto, o ano novo foi celebrado em Nathan  Philips Square. Esta foi a primeira vez que o evento  foi transmitido pela televisão por todo o Canadá.


World's oldest leather shoe found in Armenia

What is believed to be the world's oldest leather shoe, over 5,500 year old, has been found in a cave in Armenia by a team of archaeologists.

The Armenian shoe is in a perfectly preserved condition and is a few hundred years older than the one found on Ötzi the Iceman, making it the oldest piece of leather footwear in the world, and the oldest footwear yet found in Europe. Researchers published details in the journal PLoS ONE.

The leather shoe was found in a cave dubbed Areni-1, near the village of Areni in the Vayots Dzor province of Armenia, on the Iranian and Turkish borders.  "I was amazed to find that even the shoe-laces were preserved," recalled Diana Zardaryan, the Armenian PhD student who made the discovery.

According to researchers, the shoe, made of cow-hide, consists of only one leather piece and was probably customised to the wearer's foot. It was relatively small, measuring the corresponding to European size 37 or US size 7 women, however, it could have been worn by a man.

It was kept in excellent condition by a thick layer of sheep excrement, which acted as a seal, helping it survive the millennia. The shoe contained grass, although the archaeologists were uncertain as to whether this was to used to maintain the shape of the shoe and/or prepare it for storage.

"We thought initially that the shoe and other objects were about 600-700 years old because they were in such good condition," said  co-author Dr. Ron Pinhasi from the University College Cork in Ireland. "It was only when the material was dated by the two radiocarbon laboratories in Oxford and in California that we realised that the shoe was a few hundred years older than the shoes worn by Ötzi the Iceman".

The shoe and the cave will continue to be researched. "We do not know yet what the shoe or other objects were doing in the cave or what the purpose of the cave was", said Pinhasi, "We know that there are children's graves at the back of the cave but so little is known about this period that we cannot say with any certainty why all these different objects were found together".

Currently, the oldest known footwear are sandals made from sagebrush bark, found in Fort Rock Cave, Oregon in the United States.  These shoes were discovered in 1938, and have been dated to about 10,000 years before present.

Discoveries within the cave move early bronze-age cultural activity in Armenia back by about 800 years. Additional discoveries yielded an extensive array of Copper Age artifacts dating to between 6,200 and 5,900 years ago.


5,500 ஆண்டுகள் பழமையான காலணி ஆர்மீனியாவில் கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்டது

5,500 ஆண்டுகள் பழமையான தோலினால் செய்யப்பட்ட, நன்கு பதப்படுத்தப்பட்ட காலணி ஒன்று ஆர்மீனியக் குகை ஒன்றில் இருந்து கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

அயர்லாந்தின் கோர்க் பல்கலைக்கழகக் கல்லூரியைச் சேர்ந்த பன்னாட்டுத் தொல்லியலாளர்களைக் கொண்ட குழு ஒன்றே இதனைக் கண்டுபிடித்துள்ளது. ஆர்மீனியாவில் அரேனி என்ற இடத்தில் உள்ள இந்தக் குகையின் நிலையான குளிர் மற்றும் உலர் சூழ்நிலையே இந்தக் காலணியை இவ்வளவு காலம் பாதுகாத்து வைத்துள்ளதாக அவர்கள் தெரிவித்தனர்.

"ஒரு முழுத்துண்டு தோலினால் இழையப்பட்ட இக்காலணி ஒரு துறைசார் வல்லுநர் ஒருவராலேயே செட்டப்பட்டிருக்க வேண்டும்," என முனைவர் ரொன் பின்காசி தெரிவித்தார்.

இக்காலணியின் இரு மாதிரிகள் ஐக்கிய இராச்சியத்திலும், கலிபோர்னியாவிலும் உள்ள இரண்டு ரேடியோகார்பன் ஆய்வுகூடங்களில் வெவ்வேறாகப் பரிசோதிக்கப்பட்டதில், இரண்டும் ஒரே முடிவுகளையே கொண்டிருந்தன.

முன்னராக ஐக்கிய அமெரிக்காவின் மிசூரி மாநிலத்திலும், இசுரேலின் யூடியன் பாலைவனத்தில் கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்ட காலணிகளே இதுவரையில் கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்ட உலகின் பழமையான காலணியாக இருந்து வந்துள்ளது.


Writers Guild of America ends strike

Hollywood writers have voted to end a three-month strike that crippled film and television production.

Yesterday, Patric Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America West, said they will end the 100-day strike. "The membership has voted. Writers can go back to work," Verrone said.

Nearly 3800 members of the guild, both the east and west coast unions cast their ballots in New York City and Los Angeles, with more than 92 percent voting to end the strike. The writers will be back to work today and new episodes of televisions series should come as early as four to six weeks.

The strike occurred over the streaming of television, movies and other creative work over the Internet and how writers should be paid for that content. Under a tentative agreement, the writers would get a maximum flat fee of $1,200 per program in the first two years, then two percent of a distributor's gross revenue in the third year.

The strike ended after entertainment company heads including, Leslie Moonves, the CEO of CBS, Peter Chernin, the president of News Corporation and Robert A. Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company and union officials such as Verrone and executive director David Young worked out a deal.

Moonves said the deal was a fair one, according to the Associated Press. When speaking to the entertainment publication Variety, he said, "I think there was some miscommunication early on. It was important that we started speaking eye to eye. Ultimately, getting the percentage of streaming revenue was important to (WGA), and I understand it."

The end to the strike means Hollywood's annual celebration, the Academy Awards, can go ahead as scheduled, February 24. The threat of picketing writers had reduced the Golden Globes last month to a news conference. Sid Ganis, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the executive producer of this year's 80th Academy Awards, Gil Cates, will hold a news conference today to reveal their plans for the award show since there will not a be picket line in front of the Kodak Theatre where the award show will be held.

The strike stopped production of dozens of television shows and slowed production on movies. One Los Angeles economist says it cost the local economy at least $3 billion. However, the city of Los Angeles believed losses to only be around $380 million.


Fim da greve dos roteiristas dos EUA

Os roteiristas de Hollywood votaram pelo fim da greve de três meses que incapacitou a produção de filmes e séries para a televisão.

Ontem, Patric Verrone, presidente do Writers Guild od America, região oeste, disse que eles terminaram a greve de 100 dias. "A comunidade votou. Os roteiristas podem voltar a trabalhar," disse Verrone.

Quase 3800 membros da associação, ambos da região leste e oeste, preencheram cédulas de votação nas cidades de Nova Iorque e Los Angeles, e mais de 92 por cento dos votos foi pelo fim da  greve. Os roteiristas disseram que voltarão a trabalhar hoje e novos episódios de séries de televisão são esperados para dentro de quatro a seis semanas.


YouTube access returns to Thailand

YouTube videos could once again be viewed today in Thailand, nearly six months after the video-sharing website was blocked for hosting a video that showed images deemed offensive to Thailand's monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Information and Communications Technology Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said the ministry unblocked YouTube after the website said it had developed ways to block Thailand viewers from seeing contents that violate Thai laws.

In April, YouTube was blocked in Thailand after a video was uploaded that showed graffiti scrawled over the king's face, and feet being placed over the king's face; both highly offensive acts in Thai culture. Against the king, the offense is known as lèse majesté, a crime that can carry severe penalties.

Sitthichai told The Nation newspaper that the unblocking of YouTube is not in response to an apology issued in May by the video uploader.


Vuelve el acceso a YouTube en Tailandia

30 de agosto de 2007Bangkok, Tailandia —

Los videos de YouTube, el famoso hospedador de miles de videos, pueden ser vistos en Tailandia nuevamente luego de que el sitio web fuera bloqueado por mostrar imágenes que ofendieron al monarca de Tailandia, Bhumibol Adulyadej.

El Minsitro de Información y Tecnología en Comunicaciones taiandés, Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, dijo que el ministerio desbloqueó a YouTube luego de que el sitio web declarara que había desarrolado modos para bloquear a los visitantes tailandeses al sitio para que no vean contenidos que violan las leyes de Tailandia.

En abril, YouTube fue bloqueado en Tailandia luego de que fuera subido un video que mostraba un grafiti en el rostro del rey y pies puestos en la cara del rey; ambos actos son considerados actos de ofensa en la cultura tailandesa. Contra el rey, la ofensa se conoce como lèse majesté, un crimen que puede acarrear varias penas.

Sitthichai dijo a The Nation que desbloquear a YouTube no es una respuesta a la disculpa (hecha en mayo) de quien subió el video.


YouTube announced the release of Taiwan Traditional Chinese website

YouTube announced that Taiwan Traditional Chinese website has been released yesterday in Taipei City, Taiwan, and the unique web address will be shown as "www.youtube.com.tw" or "tw.youtube.com". Users from YouTube Global Sites can access Taiwan Site. This site launch will be a benefit for users preferring reading Chinese more than other languages.

In the press conference, co-founder Steve Chen explained the reason choosing ".tw" address, "With lots of good experiences using Traditional Chinese Site in Hong Kong, I think Taiwan should also be. We improved search functions to find more in Taiwan." He remarked. "YouTube has lots of international sites in many countries including Taiwan, with a keyword, you can find lots of different results in different sites." YouTube International Manager Sakina Arsiwala said.

Not only the launch by the performance of Eight Generals and Steve Chen, YouTube also invited China Television Co., CommonWealth Magazine, Lion Travel Co., Ltd., and Taiwan Broadcasting System to share experiences of partnership. "We should learn some conceptions on sharing and public service needed in this networking era." Yuan-hui Hu (President and CEO of Public Television Service, Taiwan) remarked at the Partner Panel of the Press Conference.

After the Press Conference, YouTube held launch and site experience activities at Xinyi Plaza of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi and invited registered users participating in "Beautiful Taiwan" online video competition.


YouTube台灣正體中文版問世 媒體界與旅遊業聯手相挺

知名線上影片網站YouTube，今天在台灣宣佈發行專屬台灣的正體中文版本，並且網址以「www.youtube.com.tw」的方式，確定紮根台灣，而原先擁有全球YouTube帳號的使用者，也可以透過台灣網站進行登入，權限不受影響，對於部分對於英文不太懂的台灣地區的使用者，將是一項利多。

YouTube創辦人陳士駿在記者會中，說明了網址結尾選擇「.tw」的緣起，並表示，有了之前香港繁體中文的使用者經驗，在台灣的正體中文使用者經驗會更好，因為影片的搜尋內容功能，都可以貼近台灣的特性，而YouTube國際事業部經理阿席瓦拉（Sakina Arsiwala）表示，YouTube在部分國家（包含台灣）都有不同的站點，因此同一關鍵字的搜尋，也會有結果上的差異，另外，部分專屬的功能也會只在台灣的站點中亮相。

在台灣的啟動記者會中，除了有象徵台灣文化的八家將與創辦人陳士駿一同啟動的儀式之外，主辦的YouTube也邀請策略夥伴中視、天下雜誌、雄獅旅遊、台灣公廣集團分享合作經驗，當中，台灣公廣集團胡元輝總經理還表示，分享與公共服務的基本精神，是現在網路世代不可或缺的發展趨勢，YouTube的經驗，也值得其他網站學習。

在記者會結束後，主辦單位除了在新光信義新天地商圈安排表演與慶祝活動，另外也開始邀請台灣地區使用者參與「台灣之美」網路影片選拔賽，並分專業組與業餘組進行，12月18日截止收件，屆時會選出十位專業組與40─60位不等的業餘組，匯聚成「台灣之美集錦」。


"Massive" oil spill in Alaska

BBC News is reporting "up to 267,000 gallons (one million litres)" of crude oil has leaked from a pipeline in the Prudhoe Bay oilfield. Although not as large as the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, this is thought to be the largest spill on record affecting the Alaska North Slope.

The Alaska Wilderness League reports that there is "no confirmation" of the quantity of oil lost; but it points out that it is not only the oil that causes problems. The cleanup efforts will also have environmental impacts.

The Associated Press first reported this spill on 2 March.


Oljeutsläpp på en miljon liter i Alaska

Oljeutsläppet upptäcktes den 2 mars och har åtgärdats, men vid en undersökning för några dagar sedan uppskattade man att omkring en miljon liter råolja täcker en yta på ungefär en hektar.

Alaskas vildmarksförbund kallade utsläppet en miljökatastrof och en taleskvinna på delstatens miljödepartement bekräftade för AP att det var det största utsläppet någonsin i regionen.

Många har propagerat för att USA ska minska sitt beroende av olja från Persiska viken genom att exploatera sina egna oljetillgångar i Alaska. Miljövänner har invänt att det kommer att skada den känsliga vildmarken som bland annat har stor betydelse för många flyttfåglar.

Oljeutsläppet nu påminner om utsläppet 1989 då oljetankern Exxon Valdez gick på grund i södra Alaska och släppte ur 42 miljoner liter olja längs med drygt 2 000 kiliometer kust.

Denna artikel är en kort telegramartikel. Vet du mer om ämnet den beskriver kan du hjälpa till med att utvidga den.

11 mars 2006: Oljeutsläpp på en miljon liter i Alaska
4 februari 2006: Grundstött tankfartyg drogs loss i Alaska

19 mars 2006: Andra oljekatastrofen på två månader i Estland
11 mars 2006: Oljeutsläpp på en miljon liter i Alaska

28 januari 2011: Städning på Mount Everest startar
6 juli 2008: Första el-macken i Stockholm
16 februari 2008: Mildaste vintern på 250 år
25 januari 2008: Skövlingen av Amazonas regnskog ökar
19 januari 2008: Europakommissionen sänker miljömålen

• USA
 • Miljö

• Olja
• Petroleum
• Oljesanering
• Alaska
• Prudhoe Bay, Alaska
 • Oil spill
 • Alaska North Slope

Händelser 11 mars • mars • 2006 • kvartal 1 • vecka 10
Publiceringar 11 mars • mars • 2006 • kvartal 1 • vecka 10


'Black box' found near crash site of Airblue flight

Investigators have found the black box of an Airblue flight that crashed into the Margalla Hills of Pakistan's capital city on Wednesday. The flight data recorder was also recovered Saturday morning. Airblue Flight 202 departed from Karachi, Pakistan, and was bound for the capital Islamabad when it crashed into the Margalla Hills due to bad weather conditions. All 152 people aboard, including the 6 crewmembers, were killed.

Junaid Amin, the head of Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority, told CNN the recorders will be sent to either Germany or France, which have the necessary resources to analyze the data. Such an investigation could take months to complete, however.

The black box records communication data and technical information such as speed and altitude, as well as conversations in the airplane cockpit. It could thus help investigators determine why the plane crashed.


Fue encontrada la caja negra del vuelo 202 de Airblue

2 de agosto de 2010Margalla Hills, Pakistán —

2 de agosto de 2010

Los investigadores encontraron la caja negra del avión de Airblue siniestrado dentro de la zona conocida como Margalla Hills de Pakistán. El sábado por la noche se recupero el registro de datos del vuelo. El avión despegó de Karachi, Pakistán y estaba alcanzando la capital Islambad cuando se estrello en el Margalla Hills a causa de las condiciones climáticas desfavorables falleciendo todos sus ocupantes, en total 152 personas.

Junaid Amin, responsable de la autoridad civil de aviación de Pakistán dijo a CNN que los registros serán enviados a Alemania o Francia, países con los recursos necesarios para analizar los datos. La investigación puede demorar meses en completarse. Los registros almacenados son información técnica, registros de comunicaciones, y conversaciones en la cabina de mando que ayudaran a determinar porque el vuelo se accidentó.

«Se estrelló un avión de Airblue en Pakistán» — Wikinoticias, 29 de julio de 2010.


'Brakes failed': fourteen killed in Guatemala bus crash

At least fourteen former paramilitary group members are dead as the result of a bus crash in Guatemala. BBC News Online reports at least 25 other paramilitaries were injured. According to the Herald Sun, at least 50 were injured in the crash.

The incident happened when the bus was near the city of San Marcos. In the early hours of the morning, the bus departed from the mountain road and went into a ravine that is 50 metres (164 feet) in depth. There were approximately 60 passengers on the vehicle when the accident occurred.

Injured survivors of the crash were transported to local hospitals. One of the survivors of the accident explained to the local media that "[t]he driver was going very fast and when we got to the curve his brakes failed and we went into the ravine". Rescue crews have also suggested that braking system problems were the cause of the crash. According to BBC News Online, road traffic collisions often occur on the mountainous Guatemalan roads.

All of the passengers of the vehicle are participators in a reforestation project, and were travelling towards the municipality of Concepción Tutuapa to receive payment for their work on the project. The project was which was created by the government to give them employment. Previously, the military had created the group to assist in fighting against left-wing rebels during the Guatemalan Civil War.


Μετά από συντριβή λεωφορείου στη Γουατεμάλα σκοτώθηκαν 14 άτομα

Το ελάχιστο 14 πρώην παραστρατιωτικοί είναι νεκροί ως αποτέλεσμα συντριβής λεωφορείου στη Γουατεμάλα. Το BBC News Online αναφέρει ότι τουλάχιστον 25 άλλοι παραστρατιωτικοί τραυματίστηκαν. Σύμφωνα με το Herald Sun, τουλάχιστον 50 άτομα τραυματίστηκαν.

Το περιστατικό έγινε όταν το λεωφορείο ήταν κοντά στην πόλη του Σαν Μάρκο. Νωρίς το πρωί, το λεωφορείο αναχώρησε από τον ορεινό δρόμο και πήγε σε χαράδρα 50 μέτρων (164 πόδιων) βάθος. Στο λεωφορείο υπήρχαν περίπου 60 επιβάτες όταν έγινε το ατύχημα.

Οι τραυματισμένοι επιζώντες της συντριβής μεταφέρθηκαν σε τοπικά νοσοκομεία. Ένας από τους επιζόντες δήλωσε στα τοπικά ΜΜΕ ότι "ο οδηγός πήγαινε πολύ γρήγορα και όταν προσπάθησε να πατήσει φρένο δεν τα κατάφερε και το λεωοφορείο ανατράπηκε στη χαράδρα, που ήταν βάθους 50 μέτρων". Το όχημα είχε 60 επιβάτες όταν συνέβη το ατύχημα.

Τα συνεργεία διάσωσης  θεωρούν επίσης ότι τα προβλήματα πέδησης ήταν η αιτία της συντριβής. Σύμφωνα με το BBC News Online, τα αυτοκινητιστικά ατυχήματα  είναι συνηθές φαινόμενο στις ορεινές περιοχές της Γουατεμάλας.

Όλοι οι επιβάτες του λεωφορείου είναι συμμετέχοντες σε πρόγραμμα αναδάσωσης, και ταξίδευαν προς τον δήμο του Κονσέπσιον Τουτούαπα για να πληρωθούν  για τη δουλειά τους στο πρόγραμμα, που  δημιουργήθηκε από τη κυβέρνηση για νέες θέσεις απασχόλησης. Στην δεκαετία του 1990, ο στρατός είχε συστήσει αυτήν την παραστρατιωτική  ομάδα  για να βοηθήσει στη καταπολέμηση των αριστερών ανταρτών κατά τη διάρκεια του Εμφυλίου Πολέμου της Γουατεμάλας.

11 Ιανουαρίου 2011