search talk:Transparency
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[edit] Defining the Transparency policy
In the interest of quality and transparency itself, Wikia Search needs an explicit transparency policy. This section should host the discussion that defines the transparency policy.
[edit] Requirements of the Transparency policy
The policy should
- define what transparency means in the context of Wikia Search,
- explicitly state which information is deliberately made public (transparent), and how,
- explicitly state the limitations of transparency, what is not transparent, and how.
[edit] What is Transparency?
Wiktionary defines transparency as the quality of being transparent. In turn, transparent is defined as
- (of a material or object) See-through, clear; having the property that light passes through it almost undisturbed, such that one can see through it clearly.
- (of a system or organization) Open, public; having the property that theories and practices are publicly visible, thereby reducing the chance of corruption.
- Obvious; readily apparent; easy to see or understand..
In the context of a search engine, case number two applies.
Quoting the main page:Transparency - Openness in how the systems and algorithms operate, both in the form of open source licenses and open content + APIs.This text (together with the wording for the other principles) has been added to the main page on 17:27, 27 July 2007.
- Could someone please state how it came about and who developed the text? --Rainer 08:03, 1 April 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Aspects of Transparency
What level of Transparency should Wikia Search be aiming for? Each item in the following list could be made public (transparent), or not, or something in between. Of course, this list could be made indefinitely more detailed. Please add any aspects that you feel are missing. Please express your opinion about how transparent each aspect should be.
- policies
- architecture (software, hardware, network)
- documentation
- source code
- licenses
- Project management
- plans,
- issues,
- priorities,
- results achieved,
- resource allocation (task assignment),
- project management,
- project planning,
- project controlling,
- project schedules,
- time spent,
- budgets,
- costs spent
- public communication in general
- the search engine's index (or indices)
- the search log (log of queries)
- other database content
- the set of the most popular search terms (over a selectable time range)
[edit] Relationships to other principles
- Transparency supports community involvement.
- Transparency sometimes conflicts with privacy.