[Wikimedia-l] Reminder to finalize your Rapid Grant application for Wikipedia 20 by 15 December 2020

[Samir Elsharbaty]

Hi everyone!

The December round of Rapid Grants will close on 15 December. If you are
planning to submit a grant application for a Wikipedia 20 event taking
place on or around January 15, please make sure to do so by midnight UTC on
15 December 2020. For those planning to host Wikipedia 20 events after
January through the end of 2021, Rapid Grants will continue to be available
in the following months.

Please note that applications for Rapid Grants to fund events happening in
January will not be eligible for funding after 15 December due to the lack
of time available for processing those applications.

You can find more information on Rapid Grants for Wikipedia 20 and the
application form on meta. [1]

Thank you so much and looking forward to celebrating with you!

On behalf of the Wikipedia 20 team, Samir Elsharbaty

[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_20/Grants

Samir Elsharbaty (he/him)

Brand Associate

Wikimedia Foundation 
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Foundation commitment of support for LGBT+ volunteers

[Amir Sarabadani]

Hello,
I just want to mention that the userbox was created twenty days ago and is
now being discussed for deletion.

On Wed, Dec 9, 2020 at 8:23 PM Fæ  wrote:

> Hi Maggie,
>
> Thanks for publishing this nice and clear restatement of WMF's
> commitment to a safe and non-hostile environment for Wikimedia LGBT+
> volunteers and those of our community who are a part of minority
> groups that we see unfairly targeted with harassment, hounding and
> aggression across our projects. This positive response was
> impressively fast after working together to share and discuss better
> responses to the feedback from members of our WM-LGBT+ user group,
> which benefits from a highly varied global membership.
>
> There will be many readers of this email list that have no direct
> experience of the problematic behaviours or the systematic
> "unwelcoming" environment that can be experienced across our projects
> by minority groups. Here are two illustrative examples that should
> raise an eyebrow. These samples are easy to understand and show this
> is not a question of folks being too "thin-skinned":
>
> * Userboxes and user pages may include unwelcoming statements in the
> guise of open discrimination through to unpleasant "jokes". Many users
> are under the impression that user pages and user talk pages are
> semi-private and fair game for free speech and is tolerated even to
> the extent of being direct hate speech. Examples include using
> swastika or fascist images and claiming membership of hate groups.
> This is "tolerated" and some are embedded in templates used for years
> as well as on specific user pages. When a LGBT+ Wikimedia contributor
> is faced with user pages that openly and proudly are against LGBT+
> people to exist or have a family life, the project in total has to be
> judged unsafe and hostile. Within our User Group, it is not uncommon
> to find LGBT+ contributors are scared to even try editing LGBT+
> related topics on these Wikipedias.[1]
>
> * Articles in multiple languages exist that promote nonsensical and
> defamatory race theories, such as claiming that Nenets (an ethnic
> group native of arctic Russia) are part of a "neo-Mongoloid" race of
> humans. These articles appear to deliberately misuse modern genetic
> research and several have relied on user-created unverifiable and
> anti-science "genetic maps" hosted on Commons. Some volunteers have
> been persistently and politely raising these many cases using local
> Wikipedia discussion, and externally with the WMF with the facts about
> these defamatory Wikipedias for over a decade. The most common
> experience is to be dismissed as a fringe lobbyist through to
> administrators warning you from continuing to try to correct these
> issues. There has been no systemic response to correct this damaging
> misinformation, and the Wikipedias the misinformation is hosted on
> remain corrupted with hostile and racist minority views.[2]
>
> Links:
> 1.
> *
> https://fa.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%D9%88%DB%8C%DA%A9%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D9%BE%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%A7:%D8%A7%D9%84%DA%AF%D9%88%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C_%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%B1/%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%82&oldid=30403894
> User interest templates, including a userbox with Hitler portrait,
> translates to "This user likes Adolf Hitler".
> * https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usuario:Matt_Paletto User page on
> Spanish Wikipedia which uses an anti-LGBT rainbow flag for showing
> they are against same-sex marriage.
> https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usuario:Matt_Paletto Same user displays
> the anti-LGBT flag on the Polish Wikipedia stating they are against
> same-sex couples adopting children. There are at least 11 users on the
> Polish Wikipedia that use the anti-LGBT flag on their user pages, not
> as a "joke".
> * On the English Wikipedia
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Barumbarumba displays a different
> anti-LGBT symbol to state they are against the "LGBT movement". There
> are 17 users that have this symbol on their user pages across
> different Wikipedias.
>
> 2.
> * https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T256115 Tracking task for systemic
> promotion of scientific racism, raised 6 months ago. There has been no
> non-volunteer action to date.
> *
> https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E3%83%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B4%E3%83%AD%E3%82%A4%E3%83%89
> Japanese Wikipedia with a "neo-Mongoloid" article.
>
> I hope this is helpful for those not normally involved in these issues
> to wonder how we might better show respect and avoid defamation of
> minorities, whilst never having to censor our coverage of all
> (verifiable) human knowledge.
>
> Cheers,
> Fae
> --
> fae...@gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/LGBT Wikimedia LGBT+ User Group
>
> On Tue, 8 Dec 2020 at 15:24, Maggie Dennis  wrote:
> >
> > Hello.
> >
> >
> > My name is Maggie Dennis. I’m the Vice President of Community Resilience
> and Sustainability at the Wikimedia Foundation.[1] I oversee the
> Fou

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Foundation commitment of support for LGBT+ volunteers

[Fæ]

Hi Maggie,

Thanks for publishing this nice and clear restatement of WMF's
commitment to a safe and non-hostile environment for Wikimedia LGBT+
volunteers and those of our community who are a part of minority
groups that we see unfairly targeted with harassment, hounding and
aggression across our projects. This positive response was
impressively fast after working together to share and discuss better
responses to the feedback from members of our WM-LGBT+ user group,
which benefits from a highly varied global membership.

There will be many readers of this email list that have no direct
experience of the problematic behaviours or the systematic
"unwelcoming" environment that can be experienced across our projects
by minority groups. Here are two illustrative examples that should
raise an eyebrow. These samples are easy to understand and show this
is not a question of folks being too "thin-skinned":

* Userboxes and user pages may include unwelcoming statements in the
guise of open discrimination through to unpleasant "jokes". Many users
are under the impression that user pages and user talk pages are
semi-private and fair game for free speech and is tolerated even to
the extent of being direct hate speech. Examples include using
swastika or fascist images and claiming membership of hate groups.
This is "tolerated" and some are embedded in templates used for years
as well as on specific user pages. When a LGBT+ Wikimedia contributor
is faced with user pages that openly and proudly are against LGBT+
people to exist or have a family life, the project in total has to be
judged unsafe and hostile. Within our User Group, it is not uncommon
to find LGBT+ contributors are scared to even try editing LGBT+
related topics on these Wikipedias.[1]

* Articles in multiple languages exist that promote nonsensical and
defamatory race theories, such as claiming that Nenets (an ethnic
group native of arctic Russia) are part of a "neo-Mongoloid" race of
humans. These articles appear to deliberately misuse modern genetic
research and several have relied on user-created unverifiable and
anti-science "genetic maps" hosted on Commons. Some volunteers have
been persistently and politely raising these many cases using local
Wikipedia discussion, and externally with the WMF with the facts about
these defamatory Wikipedias for over a decade. The most common
experience is to be dismissed as a fringe lobbyist through to
administrators warning you from continuing to try to correct these
issues. There has been no systemic response to correct this damaging
misinformation, and the Wikipedias the misinformation is hosted on
remain corrupted with hostile and racist minority views.[2]

Links:
1.
* 
https://fa.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%D9%88%DB%8C%DA%A9%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D9%BE%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%A7:%D8%A7%D9%84%DA%AF%D9%88%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C_%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%B1/%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%82&oldid=30403894
User interest templates, including a userbox with Hitler portrait,
translates to "This user likes Adolf Hitler".
* https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usuario:Matt_Paletto User page on
Spanish Wikipedia which uses an anti-LGBT rainbow flag for showing
they are against same-sex marriage.
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usuario:Matt_Paletto Same user displays
the anti-LGBT flag on the Polish Wikipedia stating they are against
same-sex couples adopting children. There are at least 11 users on the
Polish Wikipedia that use the anti-LGBT flag on their user pages, not
as a "joke".
* On the English Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Barumbarumba displays a different
anti-LGBT symbol to state they are against the "LGBT movement". There
are 17 users that have this symbol on their user pages across
different Wikipedias.

2.
* https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T256115 Tracking task for systemic
promotion of scientific racism, raised 6 months ago. There has been no
non-volunteer action to date.
* 
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E3%83%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B4%E3%83%AD%E3%82%A4%E3%83%89
Japanese Wikipedia with a "neo-Mongoloid" article.

I hope this is helpful for those not normally involved in these issues
to wonder how we might better show respect and avoid defamation of
minorities, whilst never having to censor our coverage of all
(verifiable) human knowledge.

Cheers,
Fae
-- 
fae...@gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/LGBT Wikimedia LGBT+ User Group

On Tue, 8 Dec 2020 at 15:24, Maggie Dennis  wrote:
>
> Hello.
>
>
> My name is Maggie Dennis. I’m the Vice President of Community Resilience and 
> Sustainability at the Wikimedia Foundation.[1] I oversee the Foundation’s 
> Trust and Safety teams (operations and policy), the Community Development 
> team, and the upcoming Foundation Human Rights lead.
>
>
> On December 2nd, I met with representatives of the Wikimedia LGBT+ User Group 
> along with several Trust and Safety personnel, including Global Head Jan 
> Eißfeldt, to understand som

[Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Education Office Hours

[Sailesh Patnaik]

Dear Wikimedians,

Join the education team for the end of the year Education office hours on
17th December 2020 at 13:00 UTC! The office hours are a dedicated time and
an online space to have conversations and discussions related to Wikimedia
and education activities, listen and learn from each other's projects and
experiences.

Let's discuss how this year was for the education community, how did we
adapt to the new normal, and we will share some updates from the education
team. If you are interested, you can find more details to join the meeting
here:

https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/About/Office_Hours/December_17_2020


Looking forward to seeing you then, Please let me know if you have any
questions, also reach out to me if you want a calendar invitation for this
meeting. I will share the meeting link on the 17th.

Best!
Sailesh
-- 
*Sailesh Patnaik*
Wikimedia Foundation | Program Associate, Education
User:SPatnaik (WMF)
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Foundation commitment of support for LGBT+ volunteers

[Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l]

Hello Phil,

It would be optimal if you did not continue to use this thread in an
attempt to draw attention to your block. Were someone to open your list of
contributions on the English Wikipedia, they would find a bunch of
suppressed edits, some on arbcom pages, and a block placed referring people
to arbcom. Nothing remotely abnormal about that.

And regarding letting the “WMF sort this one out”, the WMF is not in the
business of handling individual local block appeals, at least not yet.
Community processes exist to handle such appeals, and in continuing to
hijack an otherwise constructive mailing list thread you make the chances
of appeal, if they ever existed in the first place, diminish. If you
believe the WMF should take action on your case, for whatever reason, the
avenue to pursue that is not Wikimedia-l, and I request you cease utilizing
this thread for your own purposes unrelated to this thread’s subject.

Regards,
Vermont

On Wed, Dec 9, 2020 at 01:46 Phil Nash via Wikimedia-l <
wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org> wrote:

> I prefer to let WMF sort this one out. Whether you are correct or not, my
> block has an intolerable odour about it. Will someone please open a window?
>
> ---
> New Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail replacement - get it here:
> https://www.oeclassic.com/
>
>
>
> *- Original Message -*
> *From:* Risker 
> *Reply-To:* Wikimedia Mailing List 
> *To:* Wikimedia Mailing List 
> *Sent:* 09/12/2020 01:06:18
> *Subject:* Re: [Wikimedia-l] Foundation commitment of support for LGBT+
> volunteers
> --
> I'm sorry that you've chosen to hijack this thread, Rodhullandemu.
> Nonetheless, I will point out that it was *me* who indefinitely blocked you
> in the middle of an arbitration case, for reasons that didn't actually have
> anything to do with the case, and for edits that met the requirements for
> suppression.  Those edits were also reported to the predecessor of the
> Trust & Safety department at the time. There was also nothing to do with
> Usenet - it was your own words that resulted in your block.  I hope that
> the circumstances that led to your block have improved significantly since
> that time. Your block remains appealable to the current Arbitration
> Committee, and I am certain neither I nor Roger Davies (who subsequently
> reblocked you to remove email access) would object to the block being
> reviewed.
>
> Returning to the key subject of this thread, I thank Trust & Safety for
> making a statement, and also thank our colleagues for arranging
> translations into other languages.
>
> Risker/Anne
>
> On Tue, 8 Dec 2020 at 19:07, Phil Nash via Wikimedia-l <
> wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org> wrote:
>
>> Great news. Vulnerable contributors to Wikimedia projects should be owed
>> a duty of care, not least because they make good, well-informed
>> contributions, but also that those projects should not become the preserve
>> of a socially and politically advantaged elite.
>>
>> However, what he have here is only much less than half of the story.
>> Those who are falsely accused of unacceptable, maybe criminal behaviour,
>> when there is a significant lack of evidence to support that, have little
>> or no comeback. Minds seem to be irretrievably poisoned against you.
>>
>> I make no secret of the fact that I am User:Rodhullandemu on multiple
>> Wikimedia projects. I was blocked or banned (it's not been made clear) on
>> en:WP in 2011 on the basis of some fake Usenet posts that Roger Davies
>> found, and for some reason gave credence to, despite the policy
>> [[:en:WP:Usenet]]. There is no pretending that this is not the case, given
>>
>> ---
>> New Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail replacement - get it here:
>> https://www.oeclassic.com/
>>
>> the entry in my block log on en:WP. As an experienced user on Wikipedia,
>> I know exactly what "Refer all enquiries to Arbitration Committee" means.
>> It's a code which everybody understands, and as it stands, is a defamatory
>> libel as an innuendo.
>>
>> I have asked Roger to copy those Usenet posts to me, compete with
>> headers. I have no doubt that he will be unable, or will refuse, to do so.
>>
>> Meanwhile, I cannot trust ArbCom to understand their role in relation to
>> due processs and the rules of natural justice, given the recent input into
>> my desysop on Commons from two sitting arbs, one of whom was such in 2011,
>> and one of their clerks. So I can't ask them to unblock me. They are
>> irretrievably poisoned.
>>
>> Meanwhile, WMF T&S refused to do anything to intervene when someone
>> misguidedly complained about me to them. Shameful, as I said at the time. I
>> deserve at least as much as those who are against me. Jimbo Wales's
>> decision on my appeal against my block missed the point completely. He
>> suggested that I shoud prove myself sane. That's both impossible and
>> ridiculous, and mentioned in my RFA on Commons.
>>
>> Time, perhaps, for the WMF to get its act together and say