Week6 -- Wikipedia Edits——BAI SHIQI（백시기)

Summary
This week, I worked on translating and editing the terms “civil society” and “right to repair” on Wikipedia. At first, I thought it’d be easy, but I quickly realized that translating these kinds of terms was a lot more complicated than I imagined. It was also a really interesting challenge.

Translating “civil society” made me realize how different the idea can be depending on the culture. In Western countries, it’s mostly about NGOs and advocacy groups, but in developing nations, it can show up more in community organizations and volunteer efforts. On the other hand, “right to repair” involves a lot of technical and legal terms, which made me realize how much attention to detail is needed when translating—not just language but also the concepts behind it.

Interesting Discoveries

1. Different Views of Civil Society: I didn’t realize how differently “civil society” is understood in different places. In the West, it’s mainly tied to NGOs, but in some other countries, it’s more about grassroots community work.
2. Repair Rights as a Social Issue: I thought “right to repair” was just about letting people fix their gadgets, but it’s actually a bigger issue. It challenges monopolies on knowledge and resources, and it’s about fairness too.

Challenges I Encountered

1. Translation Accuracy: Translating terms like “advocacy groups” was tricky because in different contexts, they could have different meanings. Choosing the right term was important to keep the original meaning intact.
2. Legal Language: The term “right to repair” involves some pretty complicated legal stuff, like the DMCA in the U.S. It was tough because I had to make sure the translation was both accurate and easy to understand.
3. Cultural Differences: Many examples mentioned in the “civil society” entry weren’t well-known outside their own countries. I had to include a lot of extra background information to help readers understand what I was talking about.

Conclusion
This editing task was super rewarding, and I got a better sense of how important translation really is. It’s not just about changing words; it’s about bridging cultures and ideas. I’m definitely planning to keep editing and contributing to Wikipedia in the future!

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