Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use
On 20 February 2014 00:56, HaeB haebw...@gmail.com wrote: Sorry, but I think these concerns are overblown. I do not intend to fill everyone's inbox with a back-and-forth, but I do want to clarify some of my points. First, IANAL, but an academic ... who makes their first tentative edit or other normal newbies will most likely not fall under that provision, unless they are instructed by their employer to make that edit (but then, why would an organization such as an university spend money to pay someone for work in which that person has no experience whatsoever?). I know that you are familiar with the Wikimedia Foundation's Education Program, which did exactly what you are suggesting is so bizarre. Yes, many professors over the years have made their first edits as part of their paid work of teaching university courses, and I doubt they were all diligent about disclosure, or that many people minded. And it's not hard to imagine other activities an academic, with a professional mandate to provide public education, could legitimately perform on Wikimedia as part of their day job. The president of the American Historical Association wrote an article saying that historians have a professional obligation to do so. Sue Gardner gave a keynote for the American Library Association suggesting the same thing for librarians. I believe the reason universities and scholars would do this sort of thing and receive compensation for it is that, like an academic's normal day job, it serves the public interest. These are all mainstream and fairly well-understood concepts within the Wikimedia community, even though they entail (non-advocacy) paid editing. Second, you make it appear like every violation of the TOU is a felony (outlaw mistakes) and likely to be the target of legal action. In my observation as a longtime editor, the reality is different. As a comparison, the terms of use also forbid copyright infringement and require proper attribution of content. Yet as we all know, newbie mistakes in that area are very common, and even many experienced editors violate [[WP:CWW]] without facing major consequences or lawsuits ;) However, that doesn't mean at all that we should drop these requirements - they help us achieving our goal of building a body of knowledge that can be freely shared and reused. I appreciate that you think I am overreacting, but you are putting words in my mouth--I clearly understand that a Wikimedia TOU is not a legislative action by the government, and I was only suggesting that the WMF would be making a rule, not a literal law. By dismissing me in that way, you have ignored my real point, which is that the proposed text sets up a situation in which any reasonable, well-intentioned new paid editor is naturally likely to violate the site's TOU. That is not itself a reason not to have such a clause in a TOU, but it does seem like it would contribute to the feeling that Wikipedia is overly rule-bound and unwelcoming to newcomers. Last, you vehemently object to the text mentioning that people will be subject to 'applicable law'(!). Well, the Foundation doesn't make these laws, and not mentioning them in the TOU doesn't make them go away. They are not mere stumbling blocks that WMF can remove in order to make the life of GLAM professionals a bit easier. You should instead complain to the FTC or the other (non-US) legal institutions mentioned in the FAQ about this point. I did not anywhere advocate for making laws go away, or thinking that this is a TOU's role. Any person is always bound by all applicable laws in anything they do, as you say. The fact that there may be an applicable law does not necessitate making a TOU to state that unless it is constructive in some way to do so. Instead, the discussions about this topic, even on this mailing list, often see heavy participation by the minority of community members who do, or have done, professional PR work or paid work related to content contribution, often without disclosing it in these discussions. It doesn't appear anyone described by the above sentence has weighed in here yet (nor did such people dominate the recent Paid editing v. paid advocacy thread), unless that is aimed at me. You probably won't be surprised to hear that, from my perspective, these discussions are seem to suffer from the conflation paid advocacy and paid editing in pursuit of Wikimedia's mission. This discussion shows how the proposal promotes that same conflation, except it is all undisclosed paid editing that is now the enemy, still with no regard as to whether it is advocacy or not. The goal in this discussion should not be to say why paid advocacy is bad. That is a given for most people. The point of the discussion is to establish what good this proposal for the TOU would do for Wikimedia's mission, and if it is worth the potential harm. Dominic ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use
Maybe I missed something, but could you please explain why the Terms of Use would be the best place to make this kind of decisions? As I understand it, the Terms of Use are Wikimedia-wide, and I'm not 100% certain this is the kind of rule we'd want to apply on all projects the same way. The community (both language and project) might want to derive from it - either way. Kind regards, Lodewijk 2014-02-19 23:06 GMT+01:00 Stephen LaPorte slapo...@wikimedia.org: Hello all, We are asking for community input on a proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use regarding undisclosed paid editing. The amendment is currently available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Japanese, and we welcome further translations and discussion in any language. For your review, you may find the proposed amendment and background information here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_use/Paid_contributions_amendment Please join the discussion on the talk page: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Terms_of_use/Paid_contributions_amendment Thank you for sharing your thoughts and comments. -- Stephen LaPorte Legal Counsel Wikimedia Foundation *For legal reasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation. This means I may not give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer for community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.* ___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list wikimediaannounc...@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use
On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 12:15 AM, Dominic McDevitt-Parks mcdev...@gmail.com wrote: On 20 February 2014 00:56, HaeB haebw...@gmail.com wrote: Sorry, but I think these concerns are overblown. I do not intend to fill everyone's inbox with a back-and-forth, but I do want to clarify some of my points. First, IANAL, but an academic ... who makes their first tentative edit or other normal newbies will most likely not fall under that provision, unless they are instructed by their employer to make that edit (but then, why would an organization such as an university spend money to pay someone for work in which that person has no experience whatsoever?). I know that you are familiar with the Wikimedia Foundation's Education Program, which did exactly what you are suggesting is so bizarre. Yes, many professors over the years have made their first edits as part of their paid work of teaching university courses, Yes, but that comparison is a mischaracterization of what the Education Program does. Of course it does not pay (or suggest to pay) professors to make clueless newbie edits with no experience whatsoever in ignorance of community policies or the TOU. From its beginning as the Public Policy Initiative, the program included guidance for the participating instructors (e.g. training by Ambassadors), to help them understand policies and provide training experience, before they engage in their Wikipedia course work. That's far from how I understood the situation that you had been evoking, where an academic is just toying around with editing. I know you worked as a Campus Ambassador yourself, and I'm relieved to see that the very first edits of the professor you were supporting back then consisted of this kind of disclosure. I sure hope she was made aware of basic Wikipedia principles before engaging in the paid work of teaching that Wikipedia university course. What's more, the Education Program has since even hardcoded such disclosure into MediaWiki, in form of the Education Program extension for MediaWiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Courses (click through to the course pages and look at the Instructors field in the table) and I doubt they were all diligent about disclosure, or that many people minded. Actually, a whole lot of people minded. The English Wikipedia community has become quite adamant about disclosure. Last year there was a huge community controversy about a case where one Canadian professor was (in his own words) going 'underground' with his Wikipedia course, refusing to take part in the Education Program because he felt that its disclosure requirements would bring unwarranted scrutiny by Wikipedians. IIRC, in the lengthy discussions on the education noticeboard, no community members supported this position. And it's not hard to imagine other activities an academic, with a professional mandate to provide public education, could legitimately perform on Wikimedia as part of their day job. Sure, I don't see this being disputed. The president of the American Historical Association wrote an article saying that historians have a professional obligation to do so. If you meant to say that this article talks about day jobs: http://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/february-2012/scholarly-authority-in-a-wikified-world ...then I think that this is misrepresenting its content - it ends with the words Any volunteers? and says that historians should follow the example of Scientists, engineers, and programmers [who] have been contributing sophisticated entries to Wikipedia almost from the beginning, certainly not as paid editors back then. Sue Gardner gave a keynote for the American Library Association suggesting the same thing for librarians. Could you cite the exact wording where she was talking about editing as part of their day jobs? (If it helps, here is the brief summary I wrote back then for the Signpost: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2011-06-27/News_and_notes ) I believe the reason universities and scholars would do this sort of thing and receive compensation for it is that, like an academic's normal day job, it serves the public interest. These are all mainstream and fairly well-understood concepts within the Wikimedia community, even though they entail (non-advocacy) paid editing. Dominic, nobody is trying to prohibit this kind of activity per se, and personally I agree it can be a good thing. But if we get these universities to write the improvement of Wikipedia into scholars' job responsibilities (instead of those of their PR staff, many of whom engage in problematic advocacy editing), then I can't see why adding a sentence to one's user page would be so big of a burden. My employer requires that btw, even though I make no paid edits to article content. Second, you make it appear like every violation of the TOU is a felony (outlaw mistakes) and likely to be the target of legal
[Wikimedia-l] Accounts on the Wikimedia UK wiki
Dear all, As you may be aware, Wikimedia UK wikihttps://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Main_Pagewas migrated from WMF servers https://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page to that of WMUK back in September. If you previously had an account on the old wiki, but have not requested password for your account on the new wiki, please do so now. With the aid https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=56938 of the WMF server ops, we are looking to shut off the old wiki in the next few days or as soon as possible thereafter. If you haven't gotten your password to an account on the new wiki yet by that point, and especially if your account is not unified https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Unified_login, then we will have no way of confirming your identity and you will require a new account. Regards, Katie -- Katie Chan Volunteer Support Organiser Wikimedia UK +44 (0) 20 7065 0990 +44 (0) 7885 980 534 Wikimedia UK is a Charitable Company registered in England and Wales. Registered Company No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered Office: 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Board decisions on movement funding and approval issues
Dear Community Members, The Affiliations Committee has put together a public response to the Board's decision to express the dissatisfaction with the process and outcome of the decision, and thereby the opportunity lost to actually discuss and address the Board's underlying concerns. This opportunity can be restored with an open, sustained dialogue - we will be available online as well as in person at the Berlin Wikimedia Conference, among other venues - we hope the Board and other community members will commit to participating. You can find our statement at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:WMF_Board_meetings/2013-11-24/FAQ#AffCom_response(translations can be provided at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee/February_2014_Statement). The English version is copied below for your convenience. Best regards, Bence Damokos Chair, Affiliations Committee Dear Community Members, The Affiliations Committee shares the surprise and disappointment felt by many in the community with the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees’ recent decision to require all new chapters and thematic organizations to exist as affiliated user groups for two years prior to being allowed to formally organize, and the restrictions placed on the Funds Dissemination Committee. We remain committed to serving the Wikimedia mission by advising the Board and the movement at large and fulfilling the mandate given to us, but we feel the way this decision was taken and its potential negative effects warrant public comment. We are deeply saddened by the demotivating effect this decision will likely have on the volunteers building future affiliates, especially those who have already begun their organising work only to find out that the rules have suddenly changed. As a committee, we will continue to provide maximum support to current and future user groups, but that might not be enough to mitigate the immediate and long-term repercussions of this decision. We are concerned that the decision sets a negative example for good governance and transparency in the movement. This decision was not made in a process consistent with Wikimedia movement values, and the Affiliations Committee has seen no evidence that this decision will achieve the Board’s stated goals. This approach taken by the board and the contradictory messages sent by this decision and subsequent communications will only demotivate the very volunteers the Foundation proclaims it is working with to engage and empower. We share the Board’s desire to take a strategic view on how Wikimedia organisations can best achieve the goals of the movement and how we can support them in building up the necessary capacity for long-term effectiveness. Unfortunately, making a decision without any prior consultation or research does not further that discussion -- it merely introduces an arbitrary change with unclear goals, impacts, and consequences. While we appreciate the logic presented by the board, we feel ultimately that this decision was a lost opportunity to address the board’s underlying concerns. The limitations this places on future organizations creates an unfair disadvantage for developing countries and sends conflicting messages about fostering dependency on the Wikimedia Foundation for local programmatic work. By announcing the decision without proper consultation, the board has sent several mixed messages about process, alarmed groups impacted most, and discouraged affiliates from commenting by bundling and framing the two decisions in a way they fear will label them as being financially motivated to comment on. It is our hope that the Board sees the publication of its decision as the start of a conversation and that it will commit to engage the wider community, the movement stakeholders, and experts in evaluating it. We hope the conversation will be constructive, focusing on how volunteers can best be empowered to fulfill our joint mission. We are ready to participate in, facilitate, or aid that discussion in the interests of the movement. We encourage candidate affiliates, existing affiliates, and community members to leave questions, comments, viewpoints, factual briefings, and feedback on the Board noticeboardhttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Board_noticeboard or the talk page of this decisionhttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:WMF_Board_meetings/2013-11-24/FAQ on Meta. We are also happy to hear community members’ perspectives and hope to engage the Board in an open dialogue. Best regards, the Affiliations Committee On Tue, Feb 11, 2014 at 6:33 AM, phoebe ayers phoebe.w...@gmail.com wrote: Hi all, I want to draw your attention to two Wikimedia Board of Trustees decisions that were recently published, regarding funds allocated to the FDC/Annual plan grant process and Board approval of chapter/thematic organization status. In a nutshell, the Board decided to allocate approximately the same amount of funding to the FDC for the next two years.
[Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
The BBC reports that at least 22 people have died today in Kiev, Ukraine, as result of the violent clashes between the opposition and the government forces. I have briefly visited Maidan Nezalezhnosti in March 2012 on my way to a Wiki Loves Monuments workshop; the city of Kiev and the square itself were beautiful, and it is absolutely terrible to witness the events that are happening there now. My thoughts are with Wikimedia Ukraine, which I know has at least a few members living in the city of Kiev, and with other Wikimedia contributors living in that city, as well as in the rest of Ukraine. Please let us know if everyone is safe, and if there is any way we can help you. Stay safe! Залишайтеся в безпеці! Tomasz ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
Some WMUA members stay on barricades. Other help in hospitals. IDK if right now but they do regularly. --Base 20.02.2014 15:25, Tomasz W. Kozlowski написав(ла): The BBC reports that at least 22 people have died today in Kiev, Ukraine, as result of the violent clashes between the opposition and the government forces. I have briefly visited Maidan Nezalezhnosti in March 2012 on my way to a Wiki Loves Monuments workshop; the city of Kiev and the square itself were beautiful, and it is absolutely terrible to witness the events that are happening there now. My thoughts are with Wikimedia Ukraine, which I know has at least a few members living in the city of Kiev, and with other Wikimedia contributors living in that city, as well as in the rest of Ukraine. Please let us know if everyone is safe, and if there is any way we can help you. Stay safe! Залишайтеся в безпеці! Tomasz ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 2:30 PM, Bohdan Melnychuk bas...@yandex.ru wrote: Some WMUA members stay on barricades. Other help in hospitals. IDK if right now but they do regularly. --Base I've blogged about this issue at http://wikinewsreporter.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/ukrainian-civil-unrest-and-sochi-reporting/. The people I've dealt with in the chapter have been awesome all things considered in trying to support the movement by providing free information while at the same time trying to deal with everything that is going on around them. Sincerely, Laura Hale -- twitter: purplepopple ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
In Venezuela we are going through the same situation! We students are being brutally repressed by government forces just for peacefully protesting, they've killed several students in cold blod, and they infiltrate our parades to generate destruction and chaos just to try and justify their actions. Every mayor city in Venezuela is protesting against the so called son of Chavez, Cuban-controlled dictator Nicolás Maduro and his destructive economical and political policies. CNN en espanol (along with other international mass media) is making wide coverage of the situation because no national mass media is allowed to do so, they even took of air NTN24 (a Colombian news channel) for giving coverage of the situation. The only channel allowed to give coverage of the situation is the government controlled channel VTV, they only report what the government can use to their favor and very often twist stories to fit their purposes. Venezuela wants liberty and democracy, we are fighting for it, please help us by staying well informed, look for several sources not only one, and by giving us moral support! Dennis Pierri On 20/02/2014, at 09:03, Laura Hale la...@fanhistory.com wrote: On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 2:30 PM, Bohdan Melnychuk bas...@yandex.ru wrote: Some WMUA members stay on barricades. Other help in hospitals. IDK if right now but they do regularly. --Base I've blogged about this issue at http://wikinewsreporter.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/ukrainian-civil-unrest-and-sochi-reporting/. The people I've dealt with in the chapter have been awesome all things considered in trying to support the movement by providing free information while at the same time trying to deal with everything that is going on around them. Sincerely, Laura Hale -- twitter: purplepopple ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
Stay safe everyone! On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 9:22 PM, Dennis Pierri dennis6...@gmail.com wrote: In Venezuela we are going through the same situation! We students are being brutally repressed by government forces just for peacefully protesting, they've killed several students in cold blod, and they infiltrate our parades to generate destruction and chaos just to try and justify their actions. Every mayor city in Venezuela is protesting against the so called son of Chavez, Cuban-controlled dictator Nicolás Maduro and his destructive economical and political policies. CNN en espanol (along with other international mass media) is making wide coverage of the situation because no national mass media is allowed to do so, they even took of air NTN24 (a Colombian news channel) for giving coverage of the situation. The only channel allowed to give coverage of the situation is the government controlled channel VTV, they only report what the government can use to their favor and very often twist stories to fit their purposes. Venezuela wants liberty and democracy, we are fighting for it, please help us by staying well informed, look for several sources not only one, and by giving us moral support! Dennis Pierri On 20/02/2014, at 09:03, Laura Hale la...@fanhistory.com wrote: On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 2:30 PM, Bohdan Melnychuk bas...@yandex.ru wrote: Some WMUA members stay on barricades. Other help in hospitals. IDK if right now but they do regularly. --Base I've blogged about this issue at http://wikinewsreporter.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/ukrainian-civil-unrest-and-sochi-reporting/ . The people I've dealt with in the chapter have been awesome all things considered in trying to support the movement by providing free information while at the same time trying to deal with everything that is going on around them. Sincerely, Laura Hale -- twitter: purplepopple ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Srikanth Ramakrishnan Treasurer, Wikimedia Chapter [India] Donate to the Wikimedia India Chapter todayhttp://wiki.wikimedia.in/Donations ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Position of Wikimedia Spain about URAA
Dear friends: There's a response from the Board of Trustees in https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Israel/Letter_to_the_BoT_regarding_URAA#Response_from_Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees Regards, Patricio 2014-02-20 2:15 GMT-03:00 Yael Meron yaelme...@gmail.com: Hi Santiago, Thank you for your support. We hope this would bring stronger advocacy actions by the WMF as well as practical solutions for the Wikimedia projects. Regards, Yael Meron Wikimedia Israel On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 1:49 AM, Santi Navarro santiagonava...@wikimedia.org.es wrote: Hello. Wikimedia Spain members wrote an open letter to BoT where we show our position about the URAA and we support Wikimedia Israel. The letter says: == We, the members of Wikimedia España, the chapter of the Wikimedia movement in Spain, support the concerns expressed by our fellow Wikimedia Israel and other places around the World about the legal norm known as URAA. That norm, based on the legal status quo, has the effect of extending the copyright of cultural works for periods even longer than those already in force. We do not object in any way to the right of people to live out of the results of their work, be it in manufacturing, service industries, agriculture or any other human activity, but those works form the core of culture as the sum of human knowledge, and their use by all Mankind has to be protected too. While it is entirely understandable that painters, writers or photographers have the right to sustain themselves with their works, it is not reasonable that people who did not author anything should be allowed to make money out of the works of people who died fifty, seventy-five or even hundred years before. Furthermore it has to be taken into account that under the excuse of protecting the authors' rights, an unduly burden has been charged on the users of works of unknown authors, anonymous works or the ones of people who simply did not intend to claim any right at any time at all. The Uruguay Round Agreements were negotiated by 123 countries. Somebody who came across some anonymous work that could be dated at anytime in the last century, could be required to find a negotiator among the more than seven billion people on Earth, since, otherwise, he/she could be violating some state copyright law. Another aspect that URAA does not pay attention to is the fact that many works remain unattended. When talking about books, it means that they are not reprinted and are not available anymore. But it does not mean that somebody could just reprint them in order to make them known to the public. In that way people can neither buy copies of works nor make them themselves. Who is profiting by that? In other cases, photographs, pictures, rolls of film, etc., just sit rotting -literally in some cases- in storerooms, not only forgotten, also forbidden. Is there any benefit from it? So, in spite of all legal terms, we, the Wikimedians from Spain, support not just our Israeli companions, but the right of all the Human Race to have a chance to enjoy what has been done by authors. And so we expect the Wikimedia Foundation, as a provider of free knowledge sources, will do their best and fight for the shortest copyright terms possible, restricted as closely as possible to the author's lifetime. Yours sincerely, Wikimedia Spain *Wikimedia España Blog http://blog.wikimedia.es/2014/02/postura-de-wikimedia-espana-sobre-la.html *On Meta in different languages: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Espa%C3%B1a/Letter_to_the_BoT_regarding_URAA We encourage you to create a debate about it and work for free knowledge. Thank you and regards -- Santiago Navarro Wikimedia España http://www.wikimedia.org.es/ ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Patricio Lorente Blog: http://www.patriciolorente.com.ar Identi.ca // Twitter: @patriciolorente ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
My heart goes out to everyone involved in these situations. Please stay safe. On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 11:12 AM, Srikanth Ramakrishnan srik.r...@wikimedia.in wrote: Stay safe everyone! On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 9:22 PM, Dennis Pierri dennis6...@gmail.com wrote: In Venezuela we are going through the same situation! We students are being brutally repressed by government forces just for peacefully protesting, they've killed several students in cold blod, and they infiltrate our parades to generate destruction and chaos just to try and justify their actions. Every mayor city in Venezuela is protesting against the so called son of Chavez, Cuban-controlled dictator Nicolás Maduro and his destructive economical and political policies. CNN en espanol (along with other international mass media) is making wide coverage of the situation because no national mass media is allowed to do so, they even took of air NTN24 (a Colombian news channel) for giving coverage of the situation. The only channel allowed to give coverage of the situation is the government controlled channel VTV, they only report what the government can use to their favor and very often twist stories to fit their purposes. Venezuela wants liberty and democracy, we are fighting for it, please help us by staying well informed, look for several sources not only one, and by giving us moral support! Dennis Pierri On 20/02/2014, at 09:03, Laura Hale la...@fanhistory.com wrote: On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 2:30 PM, Bohdan Melnychuk bas...@yandex.ru wrote: Some WMUA members stay on barricades. Other help in hospitals. IDK if right now but they do regularly. --Base I've blogged about this issue at http://wikinewsreporter.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/ukrainian-civil-unrest-and-sochi-reporting/ . The people I've dealt with in the chapter have been awesome all things considered in trying to support the movement by providing free information while at the same time trying to deal with everything that is going on around them. Sincerely, Laura Hale -- twitter: purplepopple ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Srikanth Ramakrishnan Treasurer, Wikimedia Chapter [India] Donate to the Wikimedia India Chapter today http://wiki.wikimedia.in/Donations ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- *Victor Grigas* Storyteller http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nTVAmstteM Wikimedia Foundation vgri...@wikimedia.org https://donate.wikimedia.org/ ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
Please refrain from using this list for political claims. The purpose of this thread was to know if our WMUA fellows are safe. Thanks, Galileo Vidoni Presidente A. C. Wikimedia Argentina El 20/02/2014 12:53, Dennis Pierri dennis6...@gmail.com escribió: In Venezuela we are going through the same situation! We students are being brutally repressed by government forces just for peacefully protesting, they've killed several students in cold blod, and they infiltrate our parades to generate destruction and chaos just to try and justify their actions. Every mayor city in Venezuela is protesting against the so called son of Chavez, Cuban-controlled dictator Nicolás Maduro and his destructive economical and political policies. CNN en espanol (along with other international mass media) is making wide coverage of the situation because no national mass media is allowed to do so, they even took of air NTN24 (a Colombian news channel) for giving coverage of the situation. The only channel allowed to give coverage of the situation is the government controlled channel VTV, they only report what the government can use to their favor and very often twist stories to fit their purposes. Venezuela wants liberty and democracy, we are fighting for it, please help us by staying well informed, look for several sources not only one, and by giving us moral support! Dennis Pierri On 20/02/2014, at 09:03, Laura Hale la...@fanhistory.com wrote: On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 2:30 PM, Bohdan Melnychuk bas...@yandex.ru wrote: Some WMUA members stay on barricades. Other help in hospitals. IDK if right now but they do regularly. --Base I've blogged about this issue at http://wikinewsreporter.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/ukrainian-civil-unrest-and-sochi-reporting/ . The people I've dealt with in the chapter have been awesome all things considered in trying to support the movement by providing free information while at the same time trying to deal with everything that is going on around them. Sincerely, Laura Hale -- twitter: purplepopple ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
I visited Ukraine twice. The first time was when I was five years old, mostly in the country side and in some magical historic towns like Chernihiv, Nizhyn and Kozelets. I also spent one day in Kyiv, which left me very strong and fond memories of open blue skies, tasty ice cream, and lovely city squares. The most importantly thing happened during that visit, however, was that I saw and heard the Ukrainian language, and I immensely enjoyed spotting the differences between it and my native Russian. I was then that decided that when I grow up, I want to work with languages in some way. After many years that little dream came true, so Ukraine has a very, very, very special place in my heart. I am saddened and shocked to see fire, chaos, destruction, violence and death on the beautiful streets and squares that I visited less than two years ago. My dear friends in Ukraine, you are cool people and excellent Wikimedians. Know that I care about you and wish you peace and freedom. Please be safe; I trust you to do the right thing. -- Amir Elisha Aharoni · אָמִיר אֱלִישָׁע אַהֲרוֹנִי http://aharoni.wordpress.com “We're living in pieces, I want to live in peace.” – T. Moore 2014-02-20 17:25 GMT+04:00 Tomasz W. Kozlowski tom...@twkozlowski.net: The BBC reports that at least 22 people have died today in Kiev, Ukraine, as result of the violent clashes between the opposition and the government forces. I have briefly visited Maidan Nezalezhnosti in March 2012 on my way to a Wiki Loves Monuments workshop; the city of Kiev and the square itself were beautiful, and it is absolutely terrible to witness the events that are happening there now. My thoughts are with Wikimedia Ukraine, which I know has at least a few members living in the city of Kiev, and with other Wikimedia contributors living in that city, as well as in the rest of Ukraine. Please let us know if everyone is safe, and if there is any way we can help you. Stay safe! Залишайтеся в безпеці! Tomasz ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
On 20 February 2014 17:32, Galileo Vidoni gali...@gmail.com wrote: Please refrain from using this list for political claims. The purpose of this thread was to know if our WMUA fellows are safe. That is already a political question. Most of Ukraine or even Kiev is no more dangerous than usual. Being safe means not challenging the government or being part of the police force. -- geni ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
Unfortunately you are wrong. There is a risk to be attacked by so called titushky just somewhere near own house. My friend saw buses with gunned titusky in sleeping district of Kyiv on the other from the center side of the Dnipro river. Titusky are criminals and they would not ask you if you were challenging the government if they'd like to attack you… --Base 20.02.2014 20:00, geni написав(ла): On 20 February 2014 17:32, Galileo Vidoni gali...@gmail.com wrote: Please refrain from using this list for political claims. The purpose of this thread was to know if our WMUA fellows are safe. That is already a political question. Most of Ukraine or even Kiev is no more dangerous than usual. Being safe means not challenging the government or being part of the police force. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 12:32 PM, Galileo Vidoni gali...@gmail.com wrote: Please refrain from using this list for political claims. The purpose of this thread was to know if our WMUA fellows are safe. Thanks, Galileo Vidoni Presidente A. C. Wikimedia Argentina Galileo, that is not the policy of this list. Wishing a safe and healthy life to all Ukrainians during their time of turmoil. ~Nathan ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use
it seems my email was rejected, trying to send again: Maybe I missed something, but could you please explain why the Terms of Use would be the best place to make this kind of decisions? As I understand it, the Terms of Use are Wikimedia-wide, and I'm not 100% certain this is the kind of rule we'd want to apply on all projects the same way. The community (both language and project) might want to derive from it - either way. Kind regards, Lodewijk 2014-02-19 23:06 GMT+01:00 Stephen LaPorte slapo...@wikimedia.org: Hello all, We are asking for community input on a proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use regarding undisclosed paid editing. The amendment is currently available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Japanese, and we welcome further translations and discussion in any language. For your review, you may find the proposed amendment and background information here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_use/Paid_contributions_amendment Please join the discussion on the talk page: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Terms_of_use/Paid_contributions_amendment Thank you for sharing your thoughts and comments. -- Stephen LaPorte Legal Counsel Wikimedia Foundation *For legal reasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation. This means I may not give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer for community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.* ___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list wikimediaannounc...@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use
Hi all, A few notes from my own perspective: 1) I'm glad to see this lively debate! I hope the right solution comes out of it and is iron-clad against contingencies, insofar as possible :) 2) I don't want to see the projects used and misused as a platform to achieve goals other than our mission of sharing free knowledge -- and, as a part of that, I want to discourage contributions to articles that have an end goal other than making those articles better according to objective standards (and, of course, encourage contributions that do have the end goal of making articles better). Though I haven't checked with legal, I don't think that's a controversial statement :) *How* we discourage contributions that don't fit with our own goals is the question -- policy changes Wikimedia-wide, project-wide, something else? This is a proposal using one of the legal tools in our toolbox, the ToU, which is one of the very few Wikimedia-wide policies that can address contribution standards and is also one of the very few tools that is recognized as legally valid by outside parties (unlike for instance our internal policies like NPOV, which are just that, editorial policies). 3) I think this proposal is trying to addressing a long-standing issue of COI editing. That issue was recently brought to the forefront again by the actions of a few companies, but it's been an issue for a long while. 4) I'm glad to see Dominic weigh in with some issues from a GLAM perspective. Of course I personally am interested in GLAM issues, but I also think we collectively need to grapple with how to make the projects friendlier towards all kinds of people with things to share, including but not exclusively GLAMs and educators. For my part, I would love to see a world where contributing to Wikipedia was seen as a normal part of business for educational and cultural institutions and the people who work there; I think that would be a win for all of us, including the GLAMS. How to do that so we also preserve our neutrality and values is the challenge facing us right now: and we need to figure out specific things, like how we balance disclosure versus anonymity for these contributors, and how we distinguish good motivations from cluelessness or COI. I don't have a good answer for this personally, though I have lots of thoughts (I've worked with plenty of researchers who are in fact trying to work on Wikipedia during their paid time. And bear in mind that for academics like professors, there's often no real line between on the clock and off the clock -- you do work relating to your job all the time). Disclosure: I myself contribute hours and hours of work to Wikimedia during my day job, including writing this email, because I've made the case to my employer that my contributions to WMF as a trustee and volunteer can be seen as a professional obligation, just like helping out with a library association would be. That does not include my actual editing of Wikipedia, which I do with my volunteer hat on and in my free time. But let's face it: the lines are often blurry. For instance, I don't think my edits to engineering articles are a COI simply because I also work as an engineering librarian. But I do recognize that there are lots of different cases, ranging from that kind of mild overlap of day-job interest and Wikipedia work; to a researcher making an edit on a subject they study and (unknowingly or knowingly) over-representing their own work in the references; to someone making an edit to a company article to make it more favorable because they were paid by the company to do so. So, having clarity when we talk about these issues about what kind of cases we have in mind is important. best, -- Phoebe -- * I use this address for lists; send personal messages to phoebe.ayers at gmail.com * ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 4:00 PM, Nathan nawr...@gmail.com wrote: On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 12:32 PM, Galileo Vidoni gali...@gmail.com wrote: Please refrain from using this list for political claims. The purpose of this thread was to know if our WMUA fellows are safe. Thanks, Galileo Vidoni Presidente A. C. Wikimedia Argentina Galileo, that is not the policy of this list. Wishing a safe and healthy life to all Ukrainians during their time of turmoil. ~Nathan Just in case it was not clear what was I replying to: claims about Cuban-controlled dictators, and partisan politics in general. I'm sure this list was not created to discuss partisan claims about local politicians, just like we're not discussing Obamacare --not politics in the broad sense, of course: Latin languages don't even make a distinction, as English does, between politics and policies. Aiming to know the situation of fellow Wikimedians, whether they are in Ukraine, in Venezuela, or in whatever other place undergoing difficult circumstances, is a completely different thing. I hope it's clear now. Best, Galileo Vidoni Presidente A. C. Wikimedia Argentina ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use
phoebe ayers skrev 2014-02-20 20:16: 3) I think this proposal is trying to addressing a long-standing issue of COI editing. That issue was recently brought to the forefront again by the actions of a few companies, but it's been an issue for a long while. Please remember this is a description of the reality on en:wp. The reality looks very different on other version. On svwp we are a group of a few hundred active contributes where paid editors and volunteers have a fruitful cooperation to create valuable and neutral articles. When we have discussed this proposal on our Village Pump we think it would be good to have it as a guideline and loose recommendation but if it would become mandatory we believe it would actually hurt our community and work. We are not bigger than it is possible for me alone to inspect all new articles from nonwikipedians 24/7, and react appropriate to different problems in the articles, and recognizing patterns of strange edits, and others are able to do the same for changes in articles So please let each project decide on how to tackle the COi issue by themselves, and encourage exchange on best practices in the area. But also make sure No mandatory restrictions on all projects on contributers like this that would seriously harm the work in several projects Andes ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use
Is there a way to incorporate the local policy by reference into the TOU, something like The Wikimedia Foundation requires that all users being paid to contribute follow the disclosure, conflict or related applicable policy on each project where said users contribute.? Might that be a solution to establishing a binding policy with legal weight, without superseding local intentions? ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use
On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 12:08 PM, Anders Wennersten m...@anderswennersten.se wrote: phoebe ayers skrev 2014-02-20 20:16: 3) I think this proposal is trying to addressing a long-standing issue of COI editing. That issue was recently brought to the forefront again by the actions of a few companies, but it's been an issue for a long while. Please remember this is a description of the reality on en:wp. The reality looks very different on other version. Thanks for talking about your situation :) I do think it's right to say this has been a concern on several projects, not only enwp, but it is true every wiki is different. On svwp we are a group of a few hundred active contributes where paid editors and volunteers have a fruitful cooperation to create valuable and neutral articles. When we have discussed this proposal on our Village Pump we think it would be good to have it as a guideline and loose recommendation but if it would become mandatory we believe it would actually hurt our community and work. We are not bigger than it is possible for me alone to inspect all new articles from nonwikipedians 24/7, and react appropriate to different problems in the articles, and recognizing patterns of strange edits, and others are able to do the same for changes in articles So please let each project decide on how to tackle the COi issue by themselves, and encourage exchange on best practices in the area. But also make sure No mandatory restrictions on all projects on contributers like this that would seriously harm the work in several projects How do you seeing this as a restriction on contribution? As it is proposed it's not saying edits will be rejected, only that contributors who are paid to edit should note this on their userpage or in edit summaries. I think that every edit would still be subject to the same kind of editorial scrutiny that happens now. (note I'm not arguing that this proposal is exactly the right answer, I just don't follow the reasoning why you think it would restrict contributions). best, -- phoebe -- * I use this address for lists; send personal messages to phoebe.ayers at gmail.com * ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Position of Wikimedia Spain about URAA
Gracias Patricio Dear friends: There's a response from the Board of Trustees in https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Israel/Letter_to_the_BoT_regarding_URAA#Response_from_Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees Regards, Patricio 2014-02-20 2:15 GMT-03:00 Yael Meron yaelme...@gmail.com: Hi Santiago, Thank you for your support. We hope this would bring stronger advocacy actions by the WMF as well as practical solutions for the Wikimedia projects. Regards, Yael Meron Wikimedia Israel On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 1:49 AM, Santi Navarro santiagonava...@wikimedia.org.es wrote: Hello. Wikimedia Spain members wrote an open letter to BoT where we show our position about the URAA and we support Wikimedia Israel. The letter says: == We, the members of Wikimedia España, the chapter of the Wikimedia movement in Spain, support the concerns expressed by our fellow Wikimedia Israel and other places around the World about the legal norm known as URAA. That norm, based on the legal status quo, has the effect of extending the copyright of cultural works for periods even longer than those already in force. We do not object in any way to the right of people to live out of the results of their work, be it in manufacturing, service industries, agriculture or any other human activity, but those works form the core of culture as the sum of human knowledge, and their use by all Mankind has to be protected too. While it is entirely understandable that painters, writers or photographers have the right to sustain themselves with their works, it is not reasonable that people who did not author anything should be allowed to make money out of the works of people who died fifty, seventy-five or even hundred years before. Furthermore it has to be taken into account that under the excuse of protecting the authors' rights, an unduly burden has been charged on the users of works of unknown authors, anonymous works or the ones of people who simply did not intend to claim any right at any time at all. The Uruguay Round Agreements were negotiated by 123 countries. Somebody who came across some anonymous work that could be dated at anytime in the last century, could be required to find a negotiator among the more than seven billion people on Earth, since, otherwise, he/she could be violating some state copyright law. Another aspect that URAA does not pay attention to is the fact that many works remain unattended. When talking about books, it means that they are not reprinted and are not available anymore. But it does not mean that somebody could just reprint them in order to make them known to the public. In that way people can neither buy copies of works nor make them themselves. Who is profiting by that? In other cases, photographs, pictures, rolls of film, etc., just sit rotting -literally in some cases- in storerooms, not only forgotten, also forbidden. Is there any benefit from it? So, in spite of all legal terms, we, the Wikimedians from Spain, support not just our Israeli companions, but the right of all the Human Race to have a chance to enjoy what has been done by authors. And so we expect the Wikimedia Foundation, as a provider of free knowledge sources, will do their best and fight for the shortest copyright terms possible, restricted as closely as possible to the author's lifetime. Yours sincerely, Wikimedia Spain *Wikimedia España Blog http://blog.wikimedia.es/2014/02/postura-de-wikimedia-espana-sobre-la.html *On Meta in different languages: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Espa%C3%B1a/Letter_to_the_BoT_regarding_URAA We encourage you to create a debate about it and work for free knowledge. Thank you and regards -- Santiago Navarro Wikimedia España http://www.wikimedia.org.es/ ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Patricio Lorente Blog: http://www.patriciolorente.com.ar Identi.ca // Twitter: @patriciolorente ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Santiago Navarro Wikimedia España http://www.wikimedia.org.es/ ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe:
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use
Having led an all day workshop with different GLAM organizations in Cornwall, fresh in my mind are the stories of woe from respected museum professionals who have run into hot water on the English Wikipedia by creating official looking accounts to make edits for their institution and/or using material from their websites, including material that they personally published. Whatever happens to the TOU, we do need to create extremely easy to understand guidance for GLAM professionals, preferably at the time of account creation and initial edits. The current system is not only confusing, but is an active deterrent, at times permanently, for volunteers and professionals wanting to help Wikipedia with their expertise and leaves these type of contributors a bit embarrassed, feeling they have done something wrong and treated like a spammer, when they are exactly the types of good faith contributors that should be nurtured and prove invaluable for open knowledge content creation with a small amount of support from us. Fae -- fae...@gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use
phoebe ayers skrev 2014-02-20 21:28: How do you seeing this as a restriction on contribution? As it is proposed it's not saying edits will be rejected, only that contributors who are paid to edit should note this on their userpage or in edit summaries. I think that every edit would still be subject to the same kind of editorial scrutiny that happens now. As I said we would be happy to have this as a guideline (we actually recommend companies to do this already and many present themself this way already) But if we would start threating these users not to be welcome if they do not do this presentation it would make our cooperation worse and send some of them away. And even more if some of us by misunderstanding the mandatory writing started to threaten the big greyscale paid editors (glam people, big organizations - not being commercial compaines etc) it would really send a lot of valuable contributers away (and the paid editor are in general much better in proving sources... then unexperienced volunteers) Also I think a mandatory rule like this would be taken negative by the general public in Sweden, where good cooperation between different categories of people always is seen as an ideal, and everthing hindering a cooperation built on trust (but also transparency) is seen as negative Anders ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 11:56 AM, Amir E. Aharoni amir.ahar...@mail.huji.ac.il wrote: My dear friends in Ukraine, you are cool people and excellent Wikimedians. Know that I care about you and wish you peace and freedom. Please be safe; I trust you to do the right thing. This. -- ~Keegan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Keegan ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 12:54 PM, Keegan Peterzell keegan.w...@gmail.comwrote: On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 11:56 AM, Amir E. Aharoni amir.ahar...@mail.huji.ac.il wrote: My dear friends in Ukraine, you are cool people and excellent Wikimedians. Know that I care about you and wish you peace and freedom. Please be safe; I trust you to do the right thing. This. Yes. Friends in Ukraine and Venezuela and all difficult situations right now, I hope you are well and safe. My thoughts are with you. -- phoebe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use
On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 3:46 AM, Lodewijk lodew...@effeietsanders.orgwrote: Maybe I missed something, but could you please explain why the Terms of Use would be the best place to make this kind of decisions? As I understand it, the Terms of Use are Wikimedia-wide, and I'm not 100% certain this is the kind of rule we'd want to apply on all projects the same way. The community (both language and project) might want to derive from it - either way. Hi, Lodewijk - Geoff responded to this general concern here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Terms_of_use/Paid_contributions_amendment#Yes.2C_I_believe_it_will Hope that helps answer the question. Luis -- Luis Villa Deputy General Counsel Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext. 6810 NOTICE: *This message may be confidential or legally privileged. If you have received it by accident, please delete it and let us know about the mistake. As an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation, for legal/ethical reasons I cannot give legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer for, community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Proposed amendment to the Wikimedia Terms of Use
On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 12:27 PM, Nathan nawr...@gmail.com wrote: Is there a way to incorporate the local policy by reference into the TOU, something like The Wikimedia Foundation requires that all users being paid to contribute follow the disclosure, conflict or related applicable policy on each project where said users contribute.? Might that be a solution to establishing a binding policy with legal weight, without superseding local intentions? I tried to answer this on meta: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Terms_of_use/Paid_contributions_amendment#question_about_incorporating_local_policy_.28from_Wikimedia-l.29 Hope that clarifies a bit, given the relevant history. Luis P.S. We're replying to things on meta, since that is where the banners are directing people to go, and because it helps keep a history of the conversation in one place. -- Luis Villa Deputy General Counsel Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext. 6810 NOTICE: *This message may be confidential or legally privileged. If you have received it by accident, please delete it and let us know about the mistake. As an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation, for legal/ethical reasons I cannot give legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer for, community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] The Signpost -- Volume 10, Issue 7 -- 19 February 2014
News and notes: Foundation takes aim at undisclosed paid editing; Greek Wikipedia editor faces down legal challenge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2014-02-19/News_and_notes WikiProject report: Countering Systemic Bias http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2014-02-19/WikiProject_report Featured content: Holotype http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2014-02-19/Featured_content Traffic report: Chilly Valentines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2014-02-19/Traffic_report Technology report: ULS Comeback http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2014-02-19/Technology_report Single page view http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Signpost/Single PDF version http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book:Wikipedia_Signpost/2014-02-19 http://identi.ca/wikisignpost / https://twitter.com/wikisignpost -- Wikipedia Signpost Staff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost ___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list wikimediaannounc...@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
