User blog comment:MisterWoodhouse/Fandom is upgrading to a modern version of MediaWiki/@comment-11733175-20190623155321/@comment-11733175-20190624083555

Improving on the past is commendable (and hopefully something you'd do in general), but these are words I've seen so many times before. It's really not surprising user sentiment was low and I'd hope those that stayed after the merger would be able to identify what contributed to that. Improved user sentiment within a closed group of marginally more informed users is a good start (which if we're being honest is what the council is), but keeping that momentum and expanding it is something that has been lacking for a while.

If this is the first step among other changes then I look forward to seeing what comes out of it. But so far this looks like an investment to save money in the long run and dressing it up as solely for the benefit of users isn't inspiring much confidence. Be honest about who else this benefits upfront instead of engaging in a PR campaign that you don't think people will question the motivation of.

Having said that, upgrading mediawiki brings many benefits by itself. So if we take this at face value, then it hopefully provides something that has been asked for ever since the last upgrade and maybe suggests some lessons have been learned from then as well.