Re: [Wikimedia-l] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
Just out of curiosity, if this legislation were to pass in Europe, and (for example) an American tourist took a photograph of a covered building in Europe and posted it when he or she arrived back in the U.S., would it be deleted on the ground that the image was non-free at the site, or kept on the ground that it was free where it was posted? Newyorkbrad On 6/22/15, Fæ fae...@gmail.com wrote: On 22 June 2015 at 13:17, James Heilman jmh...@gmail.com wrote: Yes I agree an example of what Wikipedia would look like if this regulation passed is an excellent idea. Could we base it on the geo tags? Geotags on their own would be haphazard apart from certain types of Wikipedia articles, such as those for notable buildings in Europe, designed in the mid 20th century onwards. It is possible to put some SQL queries together like this, but the resulting lists or statistics would only ever be a small slice of relevant articles that could be affected. A simple analysis for Commons can be found at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:F%C3%A6#number_of_files_under_FOP.3F which gives a sense of size, along with relevant Freedom of Panorama (FoP) categories. However, as noted there, keep in mind that it is probable that *most* public domain photographs that in some way rely on European FoP provisions are not categorized in a way that we can current track relevance to FoP, so statistics are going to remain less useful than educated guesstimates. Fae -- fae...@gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Can Wikipedia Survive? op-ed
What we need to figure out is how to allow translation of articles through micro contributions via cellphones. Maybe send out sentences one by one for translation from one language to another. Just start with the leads of articles that are deemed to be of good quality. Than when the lead is all translated join it back together and add it to that language. This would of course only apply to articles which are non existent in the target language. Maybe Amir's content translation tool could do this eventually https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Content_translation -- James Heilman MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian Starting July 2015 I am a board member of the Wikimedia Foundation My emails; however, do not represent the official position of the WMF The Wikipedia Open Textbook of Medicine www.opentextbookofmedicine.com ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 8:16 AM, Newyorkbrad newyorkb...@gmail.com wrote: Just out of curiosity, if this legislation were to pass in Europe, and (for example) an American tourist took a photograph of a covered building in Europe and posted it when he or she arrived back in the U.S., would it be deleted on the ground that the image was non-free at the site, or kept on the ground that it was free where it was posted? No one knows for sure. See https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Freedom_of_panorama#Choice_of_law ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Can Wikipedia Survive? op-ed
On Jun 22, 2015 2:59 AM, Jane Darnell jane...@gmail.com wrote: What I absolutely *love* in this piece is that it's by our own GLAM-Wiki podcast host Andrew Lih and it's in the New York f***ing Times! Yay! Truer words were rarely writ. Andrew, mad props to you. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
On 2015-06-22 19:07, Gergő Tisza wrote: On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 8:16 AM, Newyorkbrad newyorkb...@gmail.com wrote: Just out of curiosity, if this legislation were to pass in Europe, and (for example) an American tourist took a photograph of a covered building in Europe and posted it when he or she arrived back in the U.S., would it be deleted on the ground that the image was non-free at the site, or kept on the ground that it was free where it was posted? No one knows for sure. See https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Freedom_of_panorama#Choice_of_law ___ Whereas this is correct in principle, in a situation Brad describes the photo most certainly will be deleted. Also, I do not see how the photo is free in the US, due to URAA provisions. Cheers Yaroslav ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 12:21 AM, Jane Darnell jane...@gmail.com wrote: Actually, considering how effective the blackout was for SOPA, I think another action based on the most prominent images we stand to lose would be in order. So the take on the London Eye and maybe some popular buildings, art and bridges in Euro-FoP countries? This is a beautiful idea. I don't know if you could rig a java script to flag these with a red lightbox that links to the Commons page, but that would probably be more effective than any other lobbying efforts On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 12:39 AM, Sam Klein sjkl...@hcs.harvard.edu wrote: On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 8:47 AM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Are WMF and the European affiliates allowed to lobby regarding this issue? The WMF could lobby or support lobbying on such an issue. It is eligible to spend up to $1M per year tax-free on lobbying. But I don't believe it has directly engaged in anything of the sort, since the SOPA action. Sam ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Samuel Klein @metasj w:user:sj +1 617 529 4266 ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 5:17 AM, James Heilman jmh...@gmail.com wrote: Yes I agree an example of what Wikipedia would look like if this regulation passed is an excellent idea. Could we base it on the geo tags? It could be quite hard to figure out what exactly is affected (which is one of the ways in which this would harm Wikipedia, assuming the change would be retroactive - and copyright changes usually are - as sifting through all potentially affected images would be a huge undertaking). For anything built in the last 150 years, you would have to figure out who designed it and when that person died. And even if the architect has been dead for more than 70 years, that still does not necessarily mean the building is not affected Gustave Eiffel died in 1923, for example, but the Eiffel Tower is still not free to photograph at night. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
You could find candidates in the most popular images and tag them by hand. If it seems /possible/ that the image is affected, it could be faded out. As you say, that might be enough for it to be removed. If it is /likely/ that it is affected, it could be lightboxed or replaced. Julia Reda, the Pirate in the European Parliament, has a fantastic blog post summary: https://juliareda.eu/2015/06/fop-under-threat/ On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 9:45 AM, Gergő Tisza gti...@gmail.com wrote: On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 5:17 AM, James Heilman jmh...@gmail.com wrote: Yes I agree an example of what Wikipedia would look like if this regulation passed is an excellent idea. Could we base it on the geo tags? It could be quite hard to figure out what exactly is affected (which is one of the ways in which this would harm Wikipedia, assuming the change would be retroactive - and copyright changes usually are - as sifting through all potentially affected images would be a huge undertaking). For anything built in the last 150 years, you would have to figure out who designed it and when that person died. And even if the architect has been dead for more than 70 years, that still does not necessarily mean the building is not affected Gustave Eiffel died in 1923, for example, but the Eiffel Tower is still not free to photograph at night. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/guidelineswikimedi...@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Samuel Klein @metasj w:user:sj +1 617 529 4266 ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Can Wikipedia Survive? op-ed
Hoi, Magnus pointed the way forward when he started MediaWiki. When you look into the whole stack of his data related tools, you will find how they make aggregating data a whole lot easier and worthwhile. He demonstrated how people on a mobile can be asked to help with simple tasks it works well and it continues to work in production (labs willing). When you are talking micro contributions, every statement in Wikidata is one. It can easily be done from a mobile when the UI is given attention. It is known how to create articles from data. The Swedes, Dutch etc have done it often enough and it brought them more readers and more editors... Study what we already know. There is nothing new here and the solutions are there to be had. We only have to accept them. I do agree that the old old way of Wikipedia is ultimately a dead end. Thanks, GerardM On 22 June 2015 at 19:28, James Heilman jmh...@gmail.com wrote: What we need to figure out is how to allow translation of articles through micro contributions via cellphones. Maybe send out sentences one by one for translation from one language to another. Just start with the leads of articles that are deemed to be of good quality. Than when the lead is all translated join it back together and add it to that language. This would of course only apply to articles which are non existent in the target language. Maybe Amir's content translation tool could do this eventually https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Content_translation -- James Heilman MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian Starting July 2015 I am a board member of the Wikimedia Foundation My emails; however, do not represent the official position of the WMF The Wikipedia Open Textbook of Medicine www.opentextbookofmedicine.com ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
FWIW, today WIkimedia Italia had a Barcamp at the Italian Parliament to talk about Wiki Loves Monuments, FOP (which we already don't have) and related stuff. Several politicians were present and we discussed also this matter. They already alerted their MEPs. Hopefully this will contribute to the discussion. Aubrey On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 7:30 PM, Yaroslav M. Blanter pute...@mccme.ru wrote: On 2015-06-22 19:07, Gergő Tisza wrote: On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 8:16 AM, Newyorkbrad newyorkb...@gmail.com wrote: Just out of curiosity, if this legislation were to pass in Europe, and (for example) an American tourist took a photograph of a covered building in Europe and posted it when he or she arrived back in the U.S., would it be deleted on the ground that the image was non-free at the site, or kept on the ground that it was free where it was posted? No one knows for sure. See https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Freedom_of_panorama#Choice_of_law ___ Whereas this is correct in principle, in a situation Brad describes the photo most certainly will be deleted. Also, I do not see how the photo is free in the US, due to URAA provisions. Cheers Yaroslav ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
Under this new law, would images already uploaded to Commons under FOP actually have to be deleted? Surely the new law wouldn't apply retrospectively, but would just affect future uploads of photos? Personally, I view this as a much more direct threat to our content than SOPA was. I found it difficult to explain why SOPA was bad, and why we blacked out Wikipedia articles in protest, but it would be very easy to explain why this directly affects us. The 'non-commercial' aspect of Michael's arguments is the most difficult one to address, but that has always been true (thanks to the existence of the CC-NC license). I'm opposed to us restricting access to knowledge to make a point, but there is a very good case for a large site banner informing users about this issue, and how they can oppose it. Thanks, Mike On 22 Jun 2015, at 20:02, Michael Maggs mich...@maggs.name wrote: This has been mentioned before by Dimi, but bears repeating. While we may all think it's *outrageous* that tens of thousands of images may have to be deleted from Commons, we do have to make sure we have messages that will resonate with those who don't agree with us or who don't care. If our only message is that open content will be harmed, we have no answer to those who reply 'so what?' In countries such as France and Belgium, that currently have no Freedom of Panorama, we need to address arguments like these: 1. Why should people be allowed to make money by using an architect's intellectual property without permission? 2. Why does Wikipedia, a hobbyist website, think it's OK to steal other people's rights? 3. Non-commercial use won't be affected, so this is not an issue of freedom at all. It just stops people making money from someone else's creative work. 4. If Wikipedia holds itself out as non-commercial, it can and should accept non-commercial licences. The argument that 'images will have to be deleted' is based on your private internal rule which could easily be changed. Remember that in some countries there is a long history of supporting rights holders, that millions of people don't know what 'open' means, don't care, and won't be persuadable by any sort of argument based on freedom to view. To them, freedom of panorama is just a way of illicitly taking away an artist's right to protect his or her own creative work. Probably most of us reading this will say that these arguments hold no water, but we need to tackle them head-on. Michael Jane Darnell mailto:jane...@gmail.com 22 June 2015 08:21 Actually, considering how effective the blackout was for SOPA, I think another action based on the most prominent images we stand to lose would be in order. So the take on the London Eye and maybe some popular buildings, art and bridges in Euro-FoP countries? I don't know if you could rig a java script to flag these with a red lightbox that links to the Commons page, but that would probably be more effective than any other lobbying efforts ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe Sam Klein mailto:sjkl...@hcs.harvard.edu 21 June 2015 23:39 The WMF could lobby or support lobbying on such an issue. It is eligible to spend up to $1M per year tax-free on lobbying. But I don't believe it has directly engaged in anything of the sort, since the SOPA action. Sam ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe Pine W mailto:wiki.p...@gmail.com 21 June 2015 16:47 Are WMF and the European affiliates allowed to lobby regarding this issue? If so, what are they doing? Thanks, Pine ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe Romaine Wiki mailto:romaine.w...@gmail.com 21 June 2015 14:02 Hi all, This concerns all the editors and readers in the European Union and those in other European countries as well (copying is possible). *Subject* Copyrights reform in Europe going in the wrong direction, damaging Wikipedia. *What is going on?* In the European Parliament currently a proposal (amendment) is submitted that will restrict Freedom of Panorama in Europe. This means: you will be no longer allowed to upload images from
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Can Wikipedia Survive? op-ed
Gerard, I think you may be missing the point of the NYT op-ed. The issue isn't data, it's people who will use that data (whether it comes from structured data sets like Wikidata, or from dead-tree or electronic media) to create articles, curate them, maintain them, keep the various wikipedias mostly spam-free, and develop communities around them. We're not lacking in data. We're lacking in human beings and healthy, growing communities. On the other hand, I'm not entirely certain that Andrew's concerns about the use of smartphones as the primary mode of access is entirely justified. We've known for a long time that many of our editors in Asian countries edit using smartphones, often with a keyboard attached; we've even featured them in videos. But realistically, the overwhelming majority of Wikipedia *readers* have never considered, even for a moment, actively participating in editing - and it has been that way pretty much since at least 2005, and maybe earlier. We can do better, of course, and making it easier to edit on tablets in particular is a worthwhile enterprise (smartphones...well, I'm not even persuaded they're going to exist five years from now in the way that we know them today...) Risker/Anne On 22 June 2015 at 13:41, Gerard Meijssen gerard.meijs...@gmail.com wrote: Hoi, Magnus pointed the way forward when he started MediaWiki. When you look into the whole stack of his data related tools, you will find how they make aggregating data a whole lot easier and worthwhile. He demonstrated how people on a mobile can be asked to help with simple tasks it works well and it continues to work in production (labs willing). When you are talking micro contributions, every statement in Wikidata is one. It can easily be done from a mobile when the UI is given attention. It is known how to create articles from data. The Swedes, Dutch etc have done it often enough and it brought them more readers and more editors... Study what we already know. There is nothing new here and the solutions are there to be had. We only have to accept them. I do agree that the old old way of Wikipedia is ultimately a dead end. Thanks, GerardM On 22 June 2015 at 19:28, James Heilman jmh...@gmail.com wrote: What we need to figure out is how to allow translation of articles through micro contributions via cellphones. Maybe send out sentences one by one for translation from one language to another. Just start with the leads of articles that are deemed to be of good quality. Than when the lead is all translated join it back together and add it to that language. This would of course only apply to articles which are non existent in the target language. Maybe Amir's content translation tool could do this eventually https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Content_translation -- James Heilman MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian Starting July 2015 I am a board member of the Wikimedia Foundation My emails; however, do not represent the official position of the WMF The Wikipedia Open Textbook of Medicine www.opentextbookofmedicine.com ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
I introduce you FopThreat.js https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ricordisamoa/FopThreat.js, which blackens Commons files whose description pages include one of the FoP templates https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:FoP_templates. It uses Tool Labs so it may not be properly suitable for production... ;-) Il 22/06/2015 19:01, Sam Klein ha scritto: You could find candidates in the most popular images and tag them by hand. If it seems /possible/ that the image is affected, it could be faded out. As you say, that might be enough for it to be removed. If it is /likely/ that it is affected, it could be lightboxed or replaced. Julia Reda, the Pirate in the European Parliament, has a fantastic blog post summary: https://juliareda.eu/2015/06/fop-under-threat/ ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Bylaw proposal on term limits
Hi all, The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees is considering an amendment to the Bylaws to add term limits and adjust the term lengths. You can see the proposed change here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/June_2015_-_Term_Limits Please share your comments on the talk page. The proposal will be available for two weeks before the Board votes on the amendment. Best, Stephen -- Stephen LaPorte Legal Counsel Wikimedia Foundation *NOTICE: As an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation, for legal and ethical reasons, I cannot give legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer for, community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity. For more on what this means, please see our legal disclaimer https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Legal_Disclaimer.* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Call for auditors: the WMF Audit Committee is looking for community members
Dear all, The Wikimedia Foundation has an Audit Committee that supports the Board in overseeing financial, accounting, and risk reviews. This includes reviewing the WMF's annual financials and tax return, its annual independent audit, and its risks analysis. https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Audit_Committee We are forming the committee for 2015-16, and looking for volunteers from the community. Members serve on the committee for one year, from July through July. An audit of the past year's financials is carried out August-September, the WMF files its U.S. tax return in April, and publishes its annual plan in June. Time commitment is roughly 20 hours over the course of the year. Reviews are done through 3-4 conference calls. The primary requirement is financial literacy: experience with finance, accounting or auditing. If you are interested in joining the committee for the coming year, email me at *sj* at *wikimedia.org http://wikimedia.org* with 'Audit Committee' in the subject, your CV, and thoughts on how you could contribute. Sam -- @metasj +1 617 529 4266 ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Farewell
Dear Fabrice, it was a pleasure to collaborate with your work. You did a very good job and I enjoyed the atmosphere you created with your colleagues. wish you all the best Oona 2015-06-20 18:48 GMT-03:00 attolippip attolip...@gmail.com: May you fare well! We have published a few blog posts and you have been a great help to us. Wish you all the best! Best regards, antanana ED of Wikimedia Ukraine 2015-06-18 19:25 GMT+03:00 Fabrice Florin fflo...@wikimedia.org: Hello everyone, After three great years working at the foundation, the time has come to say goodbye. I will be leaving WMF at the end of June, to spend more time with my family, focus on personal art projects and consult part-time on worthy causes. I would like to thank all the community and team members I have had the pleasure to work with over the years. It has been an honor to serve our movement together — and to help our contributors share free knowledge with each other and the world. I’m particularly grateful to Katherine Maher and our WMF communications team for being such wonderful collaborators. I really enjoyed working with them to manage and edit the Wikimedia blog, help grow our team and publish some great stories together, to celebrate the heroes of our movement. Going forward, WMF's Juliet Barbara will manage the Wikimedia blog, in close collaboration with Ed Erhart. As many of you know, Ed is the former editor-in-chief of the Wikipedia Signpost and has now joined our team for the summer. I've worked with him for nearly a month now and find him uniquely qualified for this project. Starting today, please contact them directly with any questions about the blog (they are Cc:d on this message). After June 30, you can reach me at fabriceflo...@gmail.com — or follow me on Twitter ( @fabriceflorin ) or on my blog ( http://fabriceflorin.com ). The last three years have been an incredible experience for me, and I am grateful for all that I have learned from so many of you. You’ve been an inspiration to me and I have many fond memories of our time together. I wish you all the best with the next chapter of the Wikimedia movement and can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with next. Best regards, Fabrice ___ Fabrice Florin Movement Communications Manager Wikimedia Foundation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Fabrice_Florin_(WMF) ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/guidelineswikimedi...@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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Bylaw proposal on term limits
Thank you, Stephen. Some context: the Board recently discussed ways to update its composition and selection processes. In March, there was a Meta discussion about this: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees/Thinking_about_the_WMF_Board_composition Topics discussed and agreed upon by the board in recent months: * Changing term lengths to 3 years * Setting a term limit of 6 consecutive years Topics still under consideration: * Changing board size to 9 or 11 members * Selection processes: including the process for appointments a standing election committee Many of these will involve a change to the Bylaws, such as the one below. Sam On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 5:03 PM, Stephen LaPorte slapo...@wikimedia.org wrote: Hi all, The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees is considering an amendment to the Bylaws to add term limits and adjust the term lengths. You can see the proposed change here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/June_2015_-_Term_Limits Please share your comments on the talk page. The proposal will be available for two weeks before the Board votes on the amendment. Best, Stephen -- Stephen LaPorte Legal Counsel Wikimedia Foundation *NOTICE: As an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation, for legal and ethical reasons, I cannot give legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer for, community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity. For more on what this means, please see our legal disclaimer https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Legal_Disclaimer.* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/guidelineswikimedi...@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Samuel Klein w:user:sj @metasj +1 617 529 4266 ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
Owen is one of the folks who is helping to draft the letter we're writing here in the UK (and ORG will be one of the co-signatories). On 22 June 2015 at 10:03, David Gerard dger...@gmail.com wrote: Owen Blacker (Wikipedian, and Open Rights Group board member) has a blog post on the subject: https://medium.com/@owenblacker/freedom-of-panorama-is-under-attack-6cc5353b4f65 On 22 June 2015 at 09:46, Stevie Benton stevie.ben...@wikimedia.org.uk wrote: Really like the idea of flagging certain images with a light box, I think it's very clever. I know that some chapter staff and volunteers are working really hard to get some traction on this important issue Wikimedia UK is leading on a letter to the press which will be signed by other cultural and related bodies. Should be going out early this week. I know that a volunteer has written to Jimmy about this to see what publicity he can attract as well. Dimi, the movement's Wikimedian in Brussels, along with Karl Sigfrid and others, has been working on this for months, too. There's a real co-ordinated effort to push back on this. Stevie On 22 June 2015 at 08:30, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Pinging Mark H. in the Multimedia Team to ask about the feasability of Jane's clever suggestion. Pine On Jun 22, 2015 12:21 AM, Jane Darnell jane...@gmail.com wrote: Actually, considering how effective the blackout was for SOPA, I think another action based on the most prominent images we stand to lose would be in order. So the take on the London Eye and maybe some popular buildings, art and bridges in Euro-FoP countries? I don't know if you could rig a java script to flag these with a red lightbox that links to the Commons page, but that would probably be more effective than any other lobbying efforts On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 12:39 AM, Sam Klein sjkl...@hcs.harvard.edu wrote: On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 8:47 AM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Are WMF and the European affiliates allowed to lobby regarding this issue? The WMF could lobby or support lobbying on such an issue. It is eligible to spend up to $1M per year tax-free on lobbying. But I don't believe it has directly engaged in anything of the sort, since the SOPA action. Sam ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Stevie Benton Head of External Relations Wikimedia UK +44 (0) 20 7065 0993 / +44 (0) 7803 505 173 @StevieBenton Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Stevie Benton Head of External Relations Wikimedia UK +44 (0) 20 7065 0993 / +44 (0) 7803 505 173 @StevieBenton Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT.
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Can Wikipedia Survive? op-ed
a good and thoughtful piece. Obviously, we could discuss minor generalizations, or not 100% grounded intuitions, but the general picture is interesting and useful for the movement. Congrats! best, dj On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 8:47 PM, MZMcBride z...@mzmcbride.com wrote: Hi. This op-ed by Andrew Lih appeared in today's New York Times. I'm sending it here in case anyone is interested in reading or discussing it. I enjoyed the piece; congrats to Mr. Lih on getting this published! MZMcBride http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/opinion/can-wikipedia-survive.html Can Wikipedia Survive? By Andrew Lih June 20, 2015 WASHINGTON — WIKIPEDIA has come a long way since it started in 2001. With around 70,000 volunteers editing in over 100 languages, it is by far the world’s most popular reference site. Its future is also uncertain. One of the biggest threats it faces is the rise of smartphones as the dominant personal computing device. A recent Pew Research Center report found that 39 of the top 50 news sites received more traffic from mobile devices than from desktop and laptop computers, sales of which have declined for years. This is a challenge for Wikipedia, which has always depended on contributors hunched over keyboards searching references, discussing changes and writing articles using a special markup code. Even before smartphones were widespread, studies consistently showed that these are daunting tasks for newcomers. “Not even our youngest and most computer-savvy participants accomplished these tasks with ease,” a 2009 user test concluded. The difficulty of bringing on new volunteers has resulted in seven straight years of declining editor participation. In 2005, during Wikipedia’s peak years, there were months when more than 60 editors were made administrator — a position with special privileges in editing the English-language edition. For the past year, it has sometimes struggled to promote even one per month. The pool of potential Wikipedia editors could dry up as the number of mobile users keeps growing; it’s simply too hard to manipulate complex code on a tiny screen. The nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, which oversees Wikipedia’s operations but is not directly involved in content, is investigating solutions. Some ideas include touch-screen tools that would let Wikipedia editors sift through information and share content from their phones. What has not suffered is fund-raising. The foundation, based in San Francisco, has a budget of roughly $60 million. How to fairly distribute resources has long been a topic of debate. How much should go to regional chapters and affiliates, or to groups devoted to non-English languages? How much should stay in the foundation to develop software, create mobile apps and maintain infrastructure? These tensions run through the community. Last year the foundation took the unprecedented step of forcing the installation of new software on the German-language Wikipedia. The German editors had shown their independent streak by resisting an earlier update to the site’s user interface. Against the wishes of veteran editors, the foundation installed a new way to view multimedia content and then set up an Orwellian-sounding “superprotect” feature to block obstinate administrators from changing it back. The latest clash had repercussions in the election this year for seats to the Wikimedia Foundation’s board of trustees — the most influential positions that volunteers can hold. The election — a record 5,000 voters turned out, nearly three times the number from the previous election — was a rebuke to the status quo; all three incumbents up for re-election were defeated, replaced by critics of the superprotect measures. Two other members will leave the 10-member board at the end of this year. Meanwhile, the foundation’s new executive director, Lila Tretikov, has been hiring developers from the world of open-source technology, and their lack of experience with Wikipedia content has concerned some veterans. Could the pressure from mobile, and the internal tensions, tear Wikipedia apart? A world without it seems unimaginable, but consider the fate of other online communities. Founded in 1985, at the dawn of the Internet, the Well, the self-proclaimed “birthplace of the online community movement,” hosted an influential cast of dot-com luminaries on its electronic bulletin board discussion forums. By 1995, it was in steep decline, and today it is a shell of its former self. Blogging, celebrated a decade ago as pioneering an exciting new form of personal writing, has decreased significantly in the social-media age. These are existential challenges, but they can still be addressed. There is no other significant alternative to Wikipedia, and good will toward the project — a remarkable feat of altruism — could hardly be higher. If the foundation needed more donations, it could surely raise them. The
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Can Wikipedia Survive? op-ed
What I absolutely *love* in this piece is that it's by our own GLAM-Wiki podcast host Andrew Lih and it's in the New York f***ing Times! Yay! Plus I totally agree with his lead point, which holds for all languages: One of the biggest threats it faces is the rise of smartphones as the dominant personal computing device. If I had to pick the one thing that would stop me editing Wikipedia projects, then yes, this *is* that thing. Though I truly love Wikidata and I do feel strongly about the Gendergap, I agree with him and feel that the biggest threat to the Wikiverse is the demise of the desktop. On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 11:50 AM, Gerard Meijssen gerard.meijs...@gmail.com wrote: Hoi, What I absolutely hate in this piece is something that has been obvious for so long: ... , or to groups devoted to non-English languages?. It is the lack of attention and funding that has discriminated against other languages. The attitude of when it works for the big Wikipedias, it will work for the small Wikipedias is manifestly wrong and there are plenty examples to prove the point. In the app where information is to be had from Wikidata they use for instance descriptions. There are several problems with them. - They do not translate - They do not get updated - They distract people from adding statements that would improve automated descriptions. There is no single argument why we should not use automated descriptions and there are plenty why we should. To start we support over 280 languages and most of them are best served with automated descriptions. This is only one example where positive discrimination for English is actually holding us back. Thanks, GerardM On 21 June 2015 at 20:47, MZMcBride z...@mzmcbride.com wrote: Hi. This op-ed by Andrew Lih appeared in today's New York Times. I'm sending it here in case anyone is interested in reading or discussing it. I enjoyed the piece; congrats to Mr. Lih on getting this published! MZMcBride http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/opinion/can-wikipedia-survive.html Can Wikipedia Survive? By Andrew Lih June 20, 2015 WASHINGTON — WIKIPEDIA has come a long way since it started in 2001. With around 70,000 volunteers editing in over 100 languages, it is by far the world’s most popular reference site. Its future is also uncertain. One of the biggest threats it faces is the rise of smartphones as the dominant personal computing device. A recent Pew Research Center report found that 39 of the top 50 news sites received more traffic from mobile devices than from desktop and laptop computers, sales of which have declined for years. This is a challenge for Wikipedia, which has always depended on contributors hunched over keyboards searching references, discussing changes and writing articles using a special markup code. Even before smartphones were widespread, studies consistently showed that these are daunting tasks for newcomers. “Not even our youngest and most computer-savvy participants accomplished these tasks with ease,” a 2009 user test concluded. The difficulty of bringing on new volunteers has resulted in seven straight years of declining editor participation. In 2005, during Wikipedia’s peak years, there were months when more than 60 editors were made administrator — a position with special privileges in editing the English-language edition. For the past year, it has sometimes struggled to promote even one per month. The pool of potential Wikipedia editors could dry up as the number of mobile users keeps growing; it’s simply too hard to manipulate complex code on a tiny screen. The nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, which oversees Wikipedia’s operations but is not directly involved in content, is investigating solutions. Some ideas include touch-screen tools that would let Wikipedia editors sift through information and share content from their phones. What has not suffered is fund-raising. The foundation, based in San Francisco, has a budget of roughly $60 million. How to fairly distribute resources has long been a topic of debate. How much should go to regional chapters and affiliates, or to groups devoted to non-English languages? How much should stay in the foundation to develop software, create mobile apps and maintain infrastructure? These tensions run through the community. Last year the foundation took the unprecedented step of forcing the installation of new software on the German-language Wikipedia. The German editors had shown their independent streak by resisting an earlier update to the site’s user interface. Against the wishes of veteran editors, the foundation installed a new way to view multimedia content and then set up an Orwellian-sounding “superprotect” feature to block obstinate administrators from changing it back. The latest clash had repercussions in the election this year for seats
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
Actually, considering how effective the blackout was for SOPA, I think another action based on the most prominent images we stand to lose would be in order. So the take on the London Eye and maybe some popular buildings, art and bridges in Euro-FoP countries? I don't know if you could rig a java script to flag these with a red lightbox that links to the Commons page, but that would probably be more effective than any other lobbying efforts On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 12:39 AM, Sam Klein sjkl...@hcs.harvard.edu wrote: On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 8:47 AM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Are WMF and the European affiliates allowed to lobby regarding this issue? The WMF could lobby or support lobbying on such an issue. It is eligible to spend up to $1M per year tax-free on lobbying. But I don't believe it has directly engaged in anything of the sort, since the SOPA action. Sam ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
Pinging Mark H. in the Multimedia Team to ask about the feasability of Jane's clever suggestion. Pine On Jun 22, 2015 12:21 AM, Jane Darnell jane...@gmail.com wrote: Actually, considering how effective the blackout was for SOPA, I think another action based on the most prominent images we stand to lose would be in order. So the take on the London Eye and maybe some popular buildings, art and bridges in Euro-FoP countries? I don't know if you could rig a java script to flag these with a red lightbox that links to the Commons page, but that would probably be more effective than any other lobbying efforts On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 12:39 AM, Sam Klein sjkl...@hcs.harvard.edu wrote: On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 8:47 AM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Are WMF and the European affiliates allowed to lobby regarding this issue? The WMF could lobby or support lobbying on such an issue. It is eligible to spend up to $1M per year tax-free on lobbying. But I don't believe it has directly engaged in anything of the sort, since the SOPA action. Sam ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
Really like the idea of flagging certain images with a light box, I think it's very clever. I know that some chapter staff and volunteers are working really hard to get some traction on this important issue Wikimedia UK is leading on a letter to the press which will be signed by other cultural and related bodies. Should be going out early this week. I know that a volunteer has written to Jimmy about this to see what publicity he can attract as well. Dimi, the movement's Wikimedian in Brussels, along with Karl Sigfrid and others, has been working on this for months, too. There's a real co-ordinated effort to push back on this. Stevie On 22 June 2015 at 08:30, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Pinging Mark H. in the Multimedia Team to ask about the feasability of Jane's clever suggestion. Pine On Jun 22, 2015 12:21 AM, Jane Darnell jane...@gmail.com wrote: Actually, considering how effective the blackout was for SOPA, I think another action based on the most prominent images we stand to lose would be in order. So the take on the London Eye and maybe some popular buildings, art and bridges in Euro-FoP countries? I don't know if you could rig a java script to flag these with a red lightbox that links to the Commons page, but that would probably be more effective than any other lobbying efforts On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 12:39 AM, Sam Klein sjkl...@hcs.harvard.edu wrote: On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 8:47 AM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Are WMF and the European affiliates allowed to lobby regarding this issue? The WMF could lobby or support lobbying on such an issue. It is eligible to spend up to $1M per year tax-free on lobbying. But I don't believe it has directly engaged in anything of the sort, since the SOPA action. Sam ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Stevie Benton Head of External Relations Wikimedia UK +44 (0) 20 7065 0993 / +44 (0) 7803 505 173 @StevieBenton Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
Owen Blacker (Wikipedian, and Open Rights Group board member) has a blog post on the subject: https://medium.com/@owenblacker/freedom-of-panorama-is-under-attack-6cc5353b4f65 On 22 June 2015 at 09:46, Stevie Benton stevie.ben...@wikimedia.org.uk wrote: Really like the idea of flagging certain images with a light box, I think it's very clever. I know that some chapter staff and volunteers are working really hard to get some traction on this important issue Wikimedia UK is leading on a letter to the press which will be signed by other cultural and related bodies. Should be going out early this week. I know that a volunteer has written to Jimmy about this to see what publicity he can attract as well. Dimi, the movement's Wikimedian in Brussels, along with Karl Sigfrid and others, has been working on this for months, too. There's a real co-ordinated effort to push back on this. Stevie On 22 June 2015 at 08:30, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Pinging Mark H. in the Multimedia Team to ask about the feasability of Jane's clever suggestion. Pine On Jun 22, 2015 12:21 AM, Jane Darnell jane...@gmail.com wrote: Actually, considering how effective the blackout was for SOPA, I think another action based on the most prominent images we stand to lose would be in order. So the take on the London Eye and maybe some popular buildings, art and bridges in Euro-FoP countries? I don't know if you could rig a java script to flag these with a red lightbox that links to the Commons page, but that would probably be more effective than any other lobbying efforts On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 12:39 AM, Sam Klein sjkl...@hcs.harvard.edu wrote: On Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 8:47 AM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Are WMF and the European affiliates allowed to lobby regarding this issue? The WMF could lobby or support lobbying on such an issue. It is eligible to spend up to $1M per year tax-free on lobbying. But I don't believe it has directly engaged in anything of the sort, since the SOPA action. Sam ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Stevie Benton Head of External Relations Wikimedia UK +44 (0) 20 7065 0993 / +44 (0) 7803 505 173 @StevieBenton Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Can Wikipedia Survive? op-ed
Hoi, What I absolutely hate in this piece is something that has been obvious for so long: ... , or to groups devoted to non-English languages?. It is the lack of attention and funding that has discriminated against other languages. The attitude of when it works for the big Wikipedias, it will work for the small Wikipedias is manifestly wrong and there are plenty examples to prove the point. In the app where information is to be had from Wikidata they use for instance descriptions. There are several problems with them. - They do not translate - They do not get updated - They distract people from adding statements that would improve automated descriptions. There is no single argument why we should not use automated descriptions and there are plenty why we should. To start we support over 280 languages and most of them are best served with automated descriptions. This is only one example where positive discrimination for English is actually holding us back. Thanks, GerardM On 21 June 2015 at 20:47, MZMcBride z...@mzmcbride.com wrote: Hi. This op-ed by Andrew Lih appeared in today's New York Times. I'm sending it here in case anyone is interested in reading or discussing it. I enjoyed the piece; congrats to Mr. Lih on getting this published! MZMcBride http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/opinion/can-wikipedia-survive.html Can Wikipedia Survive? By Andrew Lih June 20, 2015 WASHINGTON — WIKIPEDIA has come a long way since it started in 2001. With around 70,000 volunteers editing in over 100 languages, it is by far the world’s most popular reference site. Its future is also uncertain. One of the biggest threats it faces is the rise of smartphones as the dominant personal computing device. A recent Pew Research Center report found that 39 of the top 50 news sites received more traffic from mobile devices than from desktop and laptop computers, sales of which have declined for years. This is a challenge for Wikipedia, which has always depended on contributors hunched over keyboards searching references, discussing changes and writing articles using a special markup code. Even before smartphones were widespread, studies consistently showed that these are daunting tasks for newcomers. “Not even our youngest and most computer-savvy participants accomplished these tasks with ease,” a 2009 user test concluded. The difficulty of bringing on new volunteers has resulted in seven straight years of declining editor participation. In 2005, during Wikipedia’s peak years, there were months when more than 60 editors were made administrator — a position with special privileges in editing the English-language edition. For the past year, it has sometimes struggled to promote even one per month. The pool of potential Wikipedia editors could dry up as the number of mobile users keeps growing; it’s simply too hard to manipulate complex code on a tiny screen. The nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, which oversees Wikipedia’s operations but is not directly involved in content, is investigating solutions. Some ideas include touch-screen tools that would let Wikipedia editors sift through information and share content from their phones. What has not suffered is fund-raising. The foundation, based in San Francisco, has a budget of roughly $60 million. How to fairly distribute resources has long been a topic of debate. How much should go to regional chapters and affiliates, or to groups devoted to non-English languages? How much should stay in the foundation to develop software, create mobile apps and maintain infrastructure? These tensions run through the community. Last year the foundation took the unprecedented step of forcing the installation of new software on the German-language Wikipedia. The German editors had shown their independent streak by resisting an earlier update to the site’s user interface. Against the wishes of veteran editors, the foundation installed a new way to view multimedia content and then set up an Orwellian-sounding “superprotect” feature to block obstinate administrators from changing it back. The latest clash had repercussions in the election this year for seats to the Wikimedia Foundation’s board of trustees — the most influential positions that volunteers can hold. The election — a record 5,000 voters turned out, nearly three times the number from the previous election — was a rebuke to the status quo; all three incumbents up for re-election were defeated, replaced by critics of the superprotect measures. Two other members will leave the 10-member board at the end of this year. Meanwhile, the foundation’s new executive director, Lila Tretikov, has been hiring developers from the world of open-source technology, and their lack of experience with Wikipedia content has concerned some veterans. Could the pressure from mobile, and the internal tensions, tear Wikipedia apart? A world without it seems unimaginable,
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Education] Of Education-coop cabal: what's it, who's it, how one joins it, why is it like that?
It answers all the questions, except why the limited participation is needed. Any WP-related project should be open, unless there is some special reason why that can stand up to scrutiny. The mere convenience of limiting discussion to a group of like minded people is not in my opinion a sufficient reason. Some may wonder how I can write this while a member of the enWP arbcom, which has several closed lists and does not publish internal discussion or internal votes, except for actual case decisions, My answer is the closed lists are necessary for the protection of individuals under the fundamental WMF privacy policy, but I have strongly objected to the closed nature of many of our internal processes, and I from my first day there have expressed the view that all of our actual votes should be open. I am in a very small minority on this, and the actual reason given by the majority seems to be that doing this would encourage dissenters, by revealing to people that not all our votes are unanimous. They seem to think this a bad thing. I thing it exactly the reason why they must be open. On Tue, Jun 9, 2015 at 9:15 AM, Samir Elsharbaty selsharb...@wikimedia.org wrote: Hi Bohdan, Thank you for your interest in Wikipedia Education Program https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education and the Wikipedia Education Collaborative https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Wikipedia_Education_Collaborative . The Education Collaborative is a group of experienced program leaders who have been running successful education programs for a long period of time. The group aims at helping other program leaders, educators and other program volunteers achieve their goals easier by providing the needed advice and model programs. The Education Collaborative list is an internal mailing list for the member discussions. It is closed for the members. However, the Collaborative is a transparent initiative. The activities of the Collab is publicly reported on the WMF blog http://blog.wikimedia.org/2014/11/25/education-collaborative-members-meet-edinburgh/ and the Education Newsletter [1 https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/March_2014/Education_Cooperative_Kickoff_Meeting_in_Prague ], [2 https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/November_2014/Wikipedia_Education_Collaborative_members_meet_in_Edinburgh ]. Please feel free to reach out to the Collab members listed here https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Wikipedia_Education_Collaborative#Current_members with any questions you may have about WEP or if you need help with coordinating any WEP-related events. I am sure they will be happy to help. As Vojtech has mentioned, please more read about the membership criteria here https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Wikipedia_Education_Collaborative#Membership . Generally, any active program leader can request membership of the Education Collaborative. However, they will need to meet the membership criteria e.g. the Collab need for new members, the current members/coordinators approval, etc. I hope that answers your questions. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any further questions you may have. Regards, Samir On Tue, Jun 9, 2015 at 2:10 AM, Bohdan Melnychuk bas...@yandex.ru wrote: While writing my letter of GLAM lists I recalled that I was once rejected membership in Education-coop mailing list. The reason was Closed List. As far as I know it's a list for a cabal of people who are working on Education (an[1] Education Collaborative). I know of them since their meeting in Prague[2] as a friend-wikimedian of mine attended it. The process of selecting people to that meeting was quite cabalish (with absolutely no public announcement) as well, iirc. During the meeting it was completely ungooglable, iirc. IIRC, the only mention I found back then was in some affiliate's google calendar. But I'm not about a meeting ages ago. I'm about the collaborative itself. I'm not actually a person of WEP[3] but still I'm a person who don't likes when things are hidden but there's no real reason to do it. It looks like the case for me. I don't see why should it all be that much cabalish. Doesn't collaborative a derivative from collaboration? My views on word are often somewhat perfectionist but anyway I just can't see how collaboration and making things that closed can co-exist. I'm fine with closed lists, teams and stuff in general as there are things which should not be discussed in public or it could because it's easier to make a tiny group of people do something instead of crying out to a lazy unorganised crowd. But just make it clear how can one (apply to) join or e.g. just join as a observer/non-voting commentator/whatever. Footnotes: [1] afair the page on outreachwiki was about some older formation under the name. it's probably fixed since that time) Education
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
This has been mentioned before by Dimi, but bears repeating. While we may all think it's *outrageous* that tens of thousands of images may have to be deleted from Commons, we do have to make sure we have messages that will resonate with those who don't agree with us or who don't care. If our only message is that open content will be harmed, we have no answer to those who reply 'so what?' In countries such as France and Belgium, that currently have no Freedom of Panorama, we need to address arguments like these: 1. Why should people be allowed to make money by using an architect's intellectual property without permission? 2. Why does Wikipedia, a hobbyist website, think it's OK to steal other people's rights? 3. Non-commercial use won't be affected, so this is not an issue of freedom at all. It just stops people making money from someone else's creative work. 4. If Wikipedia holds itself out as non-commercial, it can and should accept non-commercial licences. The argument that 'images will have to be deleted' is based on your private internal rule which could easily be changed. Remember that in some countries there is a long history of supporting rights holders, that millions of people don't know what 'open' means, don't care, and won't be persuadable by any sort of argument based on freedom to view. To them, freedom of panorama is just a way of illicitly taking away an artist's right to protect his or her own creative work. Probably most of us reading this will say that these arguments hold no water, but we need to tackle them head-on. Michael Jane Darnell mailto:jane...@gmail.com 22 June 2015 08:21 Actually, considering how effective the blackout was for SOPA, I think another action based on the most prominent images we stand to lose would be in order. So the take on the London Eye and maybe some popular buildings, art and bridges in Euro-FoP countries? I don't know if you could rig a java script to flag these with a red lightbox that links to the Commons page, but that would probably be more effective than any other lobbying efforts ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe Sam Klein mailto:sjkl...@hcs.harvard.edu 21 June 2015 23:39 The WMF could lobby or support lobbying on such an issue. It is eligible to spend up to $1M per year tax-free on lobbying. But I don't believe it has directly engaged in anything of the sort, since the SOPA action. Sam ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe Pine W mailto:wiki.p...@gmail.com 21 June 2015 16:47 Are WMF and the European affiliates allowed to lobby regarding this issue? If so, what are they doing? Thanks, Pine ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe Romaine Wiki mailto:romaine.w...@gmail.com 21 June 2015 14:02 Hi all, This concerns all the editors and readers in the European Union and those in other European countries as well (copying is possible). *Subject* Copyrights reform in Europe going in the wrong direction, damaging Wikipedia. *What is going on?* In the European Parliament currently a proposal (amendment) is submitted that will restrict Freedom of Panorama in Europe. This means: you will be no longer allowed to upload images from modern buildings and works of public art on Commons and not allowed to use those images on Wikipedia. Also if Freedom of Panorama is only allowed for Non Commercial purposes only, this is a problem for Wikipedia! *Some details*? It concerns the amendment AM421 proposed by Cavada and passed in the JURI committee. *When is the voting about the amendment?* Thursday 9th July But we have one chance only! *What can we do about this?* - Forward this e-mail to anyone who should know about this. - Talk to the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in your country. Especially the members of the EPP, SD and ALDE groups. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_European_Parliament,_2014%E2%80%9319 - Communicate this issue to users in your local community. - Publicise a press release about this, write about it on your website/blog, talk to the media how this can damage Wikipedia, etc. - Use social media: Twitter, Facebook, and so on... - Twitter
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
On our Village pump a not so active user states he called the office of Monsiuer Cavadas and talked with his secretary. And that she said the aim of the proposal is to keep status as it is today. That in France and Belgium they will keep restrictions for commercial use of panorama images, but that other EU countries can keep freedom for photos in their counties. And that the proposal should be seen as a reaction to the Reda report which proposed free images should be mandatory for all counties I can not verify these statements as facts, but it could be an explanation of why now this proposal (still being awful) Anders ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Farewell
Dear Fabrice, Thank you for your work, you leave the Foundation and all of us richer. I hope that your ideas will still make an impact on the movement. All the best for your next plans, Ziko Am Dienstag, 23. Juni 2015 schrieb Oona Castro : Dear Fabrice, it was a pleasure to collaborate with your work. You did a very good job and I enjoyed the atmosphere you created with your colleagues. wish you all the best Oona 2015-06-20 18:48 GMT-03:00 attolippip attolip...@gmail.com javascript:; : May you fare well! We have published a few blog posts and you have been a great help to us. Wish you all the best! Best regards, antanana ED of Wikimedia Ukraine 2015-06-18 19:25 GMT+03:00 Fabrice Florin fflo...@wikimedia.org javascript:;: Hello everyone, After three great years working at the foundation, the time has come to say goodbye. I will be leaving WMF at the end of June, to spend more time with my family, focus on personal art projects and consult part-time on worthy causes. I would like to thank all the community and team members I have had the pleasure to work with over the years. It has been an honor to serve our movement together — and to help our contributors share free knowledge with each other and the world. I’m particularly grateful to Katherine Maher and our WMF communications team for being such wonderful collaborators. I really enjoyed working with them to manage and edit the Wikimedia blog, help grow our team and publish some great stories together, to celebrate the heroes of our movement. Going forward, WMF's Juliet Barbara will manage the Wikimedia blog, in close collaboration with Ed Erhart. As many of you know, Ed is the former editor-in-chief of the Wikipedia Signpost and has now joined our team for the summer. I've worked with him for nearly a month now and find him uniquely qualified for this project. Starting today, please contact them directly with any questions about the blog (they are Cc:d on this message). After June 30, you can reach me at fabriceflo...@gmail.com javascript:; — or follow me on Twitter ( @fabriceflorin ) or on my blog ( http://fabriceflorin.com ). The last three years have been an incredible experience for me, and I am grateful for all that I have learned from so many of you. You’ve been an inspiration to me and I have many fond memories of our time together. I wish you all the best with the next chapter of the Wikimedia movement and can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with next. Best regards, Fabrice ___ Fabrice Florin Movement Communications Manager Wikimedia Foundation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Fabrice_Florin_(WMF) ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org javascript:; https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/guidelineswikimedi...@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org javascript:; ?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org javascript:; Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org javascript:; ?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org javascript:; ?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
On 22 June 2015 at 13:17, James Heilman jmh...@gmail.com wrote: Yes I agree an example of what Wikipedia would look like if this regulation passed is an excellent idea. Could we base it on the geo tags? Geotags on their own would be haphazard apart from certain types of Wikipedia articles, such as those for notable buildings in Europe, designed in the mid 20th century onwards. It is possible to put some SQL queries together like this, but the resulting lists or statistics would only ever be a small slice of relevant articles that could be affected. A simple analysis for Commons can be found at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:F%C3%A6#number_of_files_under_FOP.3F which gives a sense of size, along with relevant Freedom of Panorama (FoP) categories. However, as noted there, keep in mind that it is probable that *most* public domain photographs that in some way rely on European FoP provisions are not categorized in a way that we can current track relevance to FoP, so statistics are going to remain less useful than educated guesstimates. Fae -- fae...@gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Thousands of images on Wikipedia and Commons in danger, action needed
Yes I agree an example of what Wikipedia would look like if this regulation passed is an excellent idea. Could we base it on the geo tags? -- James Heilman MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian Starting July 2015 I am a board member of the Wikimedia Foundation My emails; however, do not represent the official position of the WMF The Wikipedia Open Textbook of Medicine www.opentextbookofmedicine.com ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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] Can Wikipedia Survive? op-ed
I agree with Jane that it is great that one of us gets to write in the NY Times. But I would slightly disagree with Andrew. Yes smartphones are becoming ubiquitous, and for smartphone users Wikipedia is a broadcast medium not an interactive one. That's not great, especially for those languages where Wikipedia is far less written than in English. But I'm not seeing this as an existential threat. I'm sure the WMF has some clue full people trying to make the site as mobile friendly as possible, I'd put money on the smartphone industry trying to cram yet more PCfunctionality into their hardware, I know that the smartphone generation are capable of doing things with their phones that I can barely comprehend - and that the kids growing up with smartphones will be more proficient still; and whilst we are seeing PC and Laptop sales fall, an element of that is market stabilisation and commodification - why worry that PC sales are falling if that just means people are replacing their PCs less frequently? If ownership of PCs was falling, people were moving all their internet activity to the smartphone, and Wikipedia was pretty much the only bit of the Internet left behind when you migrate to smartphone, then I would be worried. As it is I just see this as a change to the environment we are in, a change that makes things more difficult for us, but not one that threatens our survival. Regards Jonathan Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2015 11:59:25 +0200 From: Jane Darnell jane...@gmail.com To: Wikimedia Mailing List wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Can Wikipedia Survive? op-ed Message-ID: CAFVcA-GGPdA6m8V=imteQNEnn6zCdF0hiG73hej5dERT8z=v...@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 What I absolutely *love* in this piece is that it's by our own GLAM-Wiki podcast host Andrew Lih and it's in the New York f***ing Times! Yay! Plus I totally agree with his lead point, which holds for all languages: One of the biggest threats it faces is the rise of smartphones as the dominant personal computing device. If I had to pick the one thing that would stop me editing Wikipedia projects, then yes, this *is* that thing. Though I truly love Wikidata and I do feel strongly about the Gendergap, I agree with him and feel that the biggest threat to the Wikiverse is the demise of the desktop. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
