Re: [Wikimedia-l] Public Google Calendar for IRC office hours
It's already on one, the wiki itself ( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC_office_hours#Upcoming_office_hours ) , but this is another option that people requested. I don't see that as bad at all, to the contrary it should be applauded. James On Fri, May 4, 2012 at 5:09 PM, Michael Peel michael.p...@wikimedia.org.ukwrote: You cannot be serious. A google calendar for this? Fail. Completely. Please let us know when there is an open source, freely licensed, community edited calendar available. Y'know, a solution that follows Wikimedia's main principles? Mike On 5 May 2012, at 00:30, Steven Walling swall...@wikimedia.org wrote: Hi everyone, Per a great suggestion from Jan-Bart, I have created a public Google Calendar that anyone can subscribe to for IRC office hours: https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=IRC_office_hoursdiff=3714509oldid=3714468 If this isn't working for anyone, let me know offlist. Thanks! -- Steven Walling https://wikimediafoundation.org/ ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] No internet censorship in Hong Kong
It does, at least at some level, seem to be an argument (usually from different people) every Wikimania. There just isn't a way to have it in a place that everyone is happy with (especially if you want to rotate around the world. I'd also point remind people that among all of the places Wikimania has been it's also been in Taiwan in 07. It has seemed to be much better to do the selection non-politically (while not being shy about who we are and what we believe). James On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 3:25 PM, Itzik Edri it...@infra.co.il wrote: +1. I totally agree with Nathan. On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 12:49 AM, Nathan nawr...@gmail.com wrote: This is a similar argument to those made against Egypt or Israel etc. It's a facile and false notion that holding Wikimania in a particular city is an implicit political endorsement for the national government of the host city. You could just as easily interpret it in the opposite manner - holding a Wikimania event in Egypt, Israel, China, the U.S. or elsewhere supports knowledge liberalism and draws attention to the mission of the WMF in the areas where it may be most poignant. More likely, the decision of where to hold the event is made independent of political concerns and the WMF, as well as the host Wikimedians, take no political positions implicit or otherwise. ~Nathan ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] CheckUser openness
be a violation of the privacy policy to release the time/reason/performer of the checkuser. This screams of obfuscation and the hiding of information. I know the ombudsman committee exists as a check and balance, however before something can be passed to them evidence of inappropriate action is needed. Ergo Catch-22 I know checkusers keep a private wiki https://checkuser.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page and I know according to our privacy policy we are supposed to purge our information regularly (on wiki CU logs exist for 90 days) however who oversees the regular removal of private information on the wiki? My proposal would be for all users who are at least auto confirmed to be notified and be able to request all CU logs regarding themselves at any point, and any mentions of themselves on the CU wiki should be retrievable. Perhaps some full disclosure should be made here John. You are a checkuser yourself, have access to the checkuser-L mailing list and the checkuser wiki, helped to set up the Audit Subcommittee on the English Wikipedia (which carries out reviews of checkuser/oversighter actions on request); you are also a member of the English Wikipedia functionaries mailing list because you are a former arbitrator, a checkuser and an oversighter on enwp. (so have access there to express your concerns or suggest changes in standards), It seems you are complaining about a specific case, and instead of talking things out about this specific case, you've decided to propose an entirely different checkusering standard. I'll point out in passing that half of the spambots blocked in recent weeks by checkusers were autoconfirmed on one or more projects, and even obvious vandals can hit the autoconfirmed threshold easily on most projects. Full disclosure on my part: I am also an Enwp checkuser and a member of the Arbitration Committee. Risker ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l -- James Alexander jameso...@gmail.com ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikipedia redefined -- typography and UX and such
On Thu, Aug 9, 2012 at 11:10 AM, David Gerard dger...@gmail.com wrote: On 9 August 2012 19:03, Samuel Klein meta...@gmail.com wrote: When it comes to hiding the existence of other languages... our current skin has done that so effectively, that this design team didn't even cover the 'Other languages' sidebar in their design. [and every month some long-time reader of wikipedia asks me why we stopped including links to other languages, which they found useful!] Oh, someone changed this from defaulting open (like they were finally convinced to) to defaulting closed? That's nice. Who did this and when? - d. hmm, I'm still seeing it as defaulting open (Tested in new private session on firefox and incognito window on chrome). -- James Alexander jameso...@gmail.com ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Should we lock StrategyWiki?
I'll weigh in on wiki later today or tomorrow (I've been very sick and haven't been on much) but I did want to put in a couple of my thoughts: - Part of me doesn't have an enormous issue with merging content into meta if people really want it though I don't think it helps much - I think creating StrategyWiki as it's own entity when it was done was necessary and important. I don't think the strategy process would have been as successful without doing it. - I don't think that creating strategyWiki was part of a 'fad' by the foundation or others to create new wikis. We have certainly created separate wikis which I do not think needed to be made (and hurt their purpose) but Strategy was not one of them and, if anything, was the 'start' of the fad and, like most fad starters, was the one with the most legitimate reasons. Everyone follows the trendsetter because they want their results, but forget that they're different. - There are many reasons the separate wiki was/is good but to keep it short I'll give the biggest one: The StrategyWiki required a fresh community with as much activity and new blood as possible from around the projects and the movement as a whole. Meta was not, and is not, a fresh community. It does many things well but it is still it's own community with it's own rules and structure. Sadly you just can't invite a fresh, new community into an old community (it's the same reason the travelWiki proposers were saying that it would be best to start off with a fresh, new, name etc). I don't think it would have done as well if it didn't have the flexibility that a new community allowed (turning on liquid threads for example etc). Overall I think the strategy project actually showed that splitting off to a new wiki can be helpful at times and I think that it should be done for the new strategy plan (likely to start next year, at the latest, I'd imagine) should do the same and either use Strategy or a new wiki. Using Strategy would probably be best and keeping the historic pages could be helpful. James On Mon, Aug 13, 2012 at 5:58 PM, Mono monom...@gmail.com wrote: Please weigh in at http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_closing_projects/Closure_of_Strategy_Wiki On Sun, Aug 12, 2012 at 8:55 AM, Katie Chan k...@ktchan.info wrote: On 12/08/2012 16:45, MZMcBride wrote: Ziko van Dijk wrote: It seems to me that there was a period in the WMF history when it was popular to install new wikis, for strategy or outreach, instead of using Meta. I don't see the advantages of having seperate wikis, or disadvantages of Meta. Meta has always been the platform for the whole movement, not only the wiki content websites. By the way, the WCA decided not to have a wiki of its own but to use Meta. I'm not sure what a WCA is. http://meta.wikimedia.org/**wiki/Wikimedia_Chapters_**Association http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Chapters_Association ? KTC -- Experience is a good school but the fees are high. - Heinrich Heine __**_ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.**org Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/**mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l -- James Alexander Manager, Merchandise Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Wikimedia Foundation Seeks Declaratory Relief in response to Legal Threats from Internet Brands
Forwarding to Wikimedia-l since it does not appear to have come over naturally. -- Forwarded message -- From: Kelly Kay k...@wikimedia.org Date: Wed, Sep 5, 2012 at 5:46 PM Subject: [Wikimedia Announcements] Wikimedia Foundation Seeks Declaratory Relief in response to Legal Threats from Internet Brands To: wikimediaannounc...@lists.wikimedia.org A few moments ago we posted this to the Wikimedia Foundation Blog, it is self explanatory. Today the Wikimedia Foundation filed a suithttps://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/File:WMF_complaint_for_declaratory_judgement_September_2012.pdf in San Francisco against Internet Brands seeking a judicial declaration that Internet Brands has no lawful right to impede, disrupt or block the creation of a new travel oriented, Wikimedia Foundation-owned website in response to the request of Wikimedia community volunteers. Over the summer, in response to requests generated by our volunteers, the Wikimedia community conducted a lengthy Request For Commenthttp://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Travel_Guide (RFC) process to facilitate public debate and discussion regarding the benefits and challenges of creating a new, Wikimedia Foundation-hosted travel guide project. The community extended the RFC at the Wikimedia Foundation Board’s request to allow for greater community input, and to encourage input from Internet Brands. Once concluded, the RFC process revealed the community’s desire to see a new travel project created. The Wikimedia Foundation Board supports the community’s decision and is moving forward with the creation of this new project. Unfortunately, Internet Brands (owner of the travel website Wikitravel) has decided to disrupt this process by engaging in litigation against two Wikitravel volunteers who are also Wikimedia community members. On August 29, Internet Brands sued two volunteer administrators, one based in Los Angeles and one in Canada, asserting a variety of claims. The intent of the action is clear – intimidate other community volunteers from exercising their rights to freely discuss the establishment of a new community focused on the creation of a new, not-for-profit travel guide under the Creative Commons licenses. While the suit filed by Internet Brands does not directly name the Wikimedia Foundation as a defendant, we believe that we are the real target. We feel our only recourse is to file this suit in order to get everything on the table and deal head on with Internet Brand’s actions over the past few months in trying to impede the creation of this new travel project. Our community and potential new community members are key to the success of all of our projects. We will steadfastly and proudly defend our community’s right to free speech, and we will support these volunteer community members in their legal defense. We do not feel it is appropriate for Internet Brands, a large corporation with hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, to seek to intimidate two individuals. This new, proposed project would allow all travel content to be freely used and disseminated by anyone for any purpose as long as the content is given proper attribution and is offered with the same free-to-use license. Internet Brands appears to be attempting to thwart the creation of a new, non-commercial travel wiki in a misguided effort to protect its for-profit Wikitravel site. The Wikimedia movement stands in the balance and the Wikimedia Foundation will not sit idly by and allow a commercial actor like Internet Brands to engage in threats, intimidation and litigation to prevent the organic expression of community interest in favor of a new travel project, one that is not driven by commercial interests. The mission of the Wikimedia Foundation is to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:free_content or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally. We are devoted to creating and nurturing free knowledge projects supported by volunteers. Our actions today represent the full stride of our commitment to protect the Wikimedia movement against the efforts of for-profit entities like Internet Brands to prevent communities and volunteers from making their own decisions about where and how freely-usable content may be shared. http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/09/05/wikimedia-foundation-seeks-declaratory-relief-in-response-to-legal-threats-from-internet-brands/ Kelly Kay, Deputy General Counsel -- Kelly Kay Deputy General Counsel Wikimedia Foundation * http://walk.avonfoundation.org/site/TR?px=6370274pg=personalfr_id=2173s_src=BF_emailbadgeThis message might have confidential or legally privileged information in it. If you have received this message by accident, please delete it and let us know about the mistake. For legalreasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation. This means I may not give legal advice to or serve
Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF core and non core expenses
On Mon, Oct 8, 2012 at 7:07 PM, John Vandenberg jay...@gmail.com wrote: Does the merchandise store, which will cost USD 311000, have an ROI published somewhere? *Hey John, I put a bit about the shop budget at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_budget#Shop after a request from Nemo but I’m happy to try and gather more data or answer more questions as they come up. Sorry again for the slow response on that thread by the way, I was trying to get some questions answered on my side and it got buried accidentally. The currently budgeted net ‘cost’ is actually around 116k after you account for the budgeted income but obviously that depends on how popular the store is and how much we are able to give away. We’ve designed our business plan to ultimately focus on cost recovery with some extra padding to give us resources to design new product etc. Some of the costs in this budget are also about getting merchandise out to a wide range of Wikimedia events. The main focus of the shop isn’t as a revenue source as much as it’s about trying to give away merchandise to the community and spreading brand awareness. Members of both the editor and the reader community have asked for some type of merchandise operation for a long time now and we wanted to provide something that would provide that as affordably as possible (while making sure we were keeping everything high quality). The other goal of the shop is obviously to break even, including a hefty amount of donated merchandise. We don’t expect that to happen instantly but we’re going to be pushing the store more visibly to the public in the coming weeks and months. It will take time, and we’ve got plans across a number of different channels (not just WP itself) to increase visibility. * *We’ve already given thousands of dollars worth of shop merchandise away to different groups but that has generally been for larger meetups, conferences and events. This will continue but over the next week there are two projects that are going to start rolling out, including an on-wiki nomination process for individual community members to get awarded for their service as well as a data driven experiential marketing campaign (originally focusing on Social Media and tracked on meta). Keep an eye on wikimedia-l for the individual nomination roll out and if you’re interested in participating or keeping track of the marketing tests you can join the Shop Team ( http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_merchandise/Shop_teamhttp://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_merchandise/Shop_teamon meta or directly to the google group at https://groups.google.com/a/wikimedia.org/group/shopteam. We’ll also be sending out the link to the meta tracking page as it gets fleshed out.* -- James Alexander Manager, Merchandise Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Bon voyage, Jay
Oh no, when the staff found out we decided to still have the party. James On Wed, Oct 31, 2012 at 6:37 PM, George Herbert george.herb...@gmail.comwrote: Does that mean we should cancel the cake and WikiDancers? On Wed, Oct 31, 2012 at 5:56 PM, Jay Walsh jwa...@wikimedia.org wrote: Hi folks - I'm happy to report that there's been a beneficial turn of events from the original announcement a few weeks ago. Apologies for the delay in getting back you. After some reflection and conversations I've decided to change course from my original plans and stay on with the Foundation. I spent a lot of time reviewing succession plans, looking at future communications projects, and chatting with me team and realised that some awesome and important work was still ahead of me. You really only get one chance to work at an extraordinary place like the Wikimedia Foundation. We impact millions of lives every day, and the tens of thousands of people like you - our amazing volunteers - have high expectations of us. I am energized by the opportunity to protect our projects and move the platform forward. It's tough work, but it's incredible to see how it all comes together. I heard and read some really wonderful comments since Geoff sent out this notice, and I want to thank everyone for your kind words. It definitely helped me think about the work we've done together, and the incredible work that's not yet done. Looking forward to pressing ahead with you all. Jay On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 11:28 AM, Geoff Brigham gbrig...@wikimedia.org wrote: *Next week, we’re saying goodbye to our long-term Head of Communications, Jay Walsh. He will be starting shortly a new adventure working at a San Francisco based start-up in corporate communications. His last day at the Foundation will be Tuesday, October 23. The Foundation will be kicking off a search process for a new head of communications, and in the interim we’ll also be receiving communications strategy from our advisers at Minassian Media, a consultancy that helped us manage communications around Wikipedia’s tenth anniversary. Since Jay started at the Foundation in January 2008 he’s taken a lead role in shaping both the voice and identity of the Wikimedia Foundation, and has played a critical function in supporting our projects. He’s been our spokesperson on hundreds of media inquiries, helping to shape a positive and enlightened perspective on our projects in some of the biggest media outlets in the world. Jay has provided communications counsel on major initiatives to almost everyone at the Foundation, and I’m sure to many of you throughout our community. Since starting at WMF Jay has grown the communications team, which now includes roles supporting movement communications, global media outreach, and merchandise. Under his leadership we created and grew a blog which now sees up to 40 posts a month, a social media presence with over a million followers, and content published in many localized languages. Jay helped us bring the Foundation’s first four annual reports to the world, and he gave us a voice and open identity for great events like Wikipedia 10. We’ve been fortunate to have strong communications leadership for a period of rapid growth for our projects and our movement. Please join me in wishing Jay well on his next steps. We will miss him.* ___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list wikimediaannounc...@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l -- Jay Walsh Head of Communications WikimediaFoundation.org blog.wikimedia.org +1 (415) 839 6885 x 6609, @jansonw ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l -- -george william herbert george.herb...@gmail.com ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l -- James Alexander Manager, Merchandise Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] 15% off merchandise today at the Wikimedia Shop
Aye, I know it's something new and not that not all together uncontroversial. I posted about my thoughts and proposed plan on enWP last week ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_(miscellaneous)#Wikimedia_Shop_Central_Notices_and_Sale_for_Wikipedia_Birthdaywith a pointer on WP:AN) and while we got relatively little conversation on wiki I got a lot of feedback from community members off wiki as well. It was also in the signpost notes last week ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2013-01-07/News_and_notes) In fact I got 10 users emailing complaining that I was late setting it up this evening (they were right). The test planned for tomorrow (for Anonymous users in North America, without a discount) is mostly to see the potential for this to fund the Giveaway program we've been running ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Merchandise_giveaways ) that is a run away success. We see both of these as very much a test and even if it succeeds something that should only be done incredibly rarely and with community input, but I think it's a good thing to test. James James Alexander Manager, Merchandise Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 1:04 AM, Marcin Cieslak sa...@saper.info wrote: Hello, I just wanted to share my feelings: I went to en.wikipedia.org today and I saw this message on top: Happy Birthday Wikipedia! 15% off merchandise today at the Wikimedia Shop My first impression was: I think I mistyped the URL... //Saper ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] 15% off merchandise today at the Wikimedia Shop
On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 2:34 AM, Federico Leva (Nemo) nemow...@gmail.comwrote: James Alexander, 14/01/2013 10:44: The test planned for tomorrow (for Anonymous users in North America, without a discount) is mostly to see the potential for this to fund the Giveaway program we've been running ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/**Wikipedia:Merchandise_**giveawayshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Merchandise_giveaways) that is a run away success. Do I understand correctly that you meant to target the notice to USA users only? That's a good idea, probably, given the unaddressed complaints on undelivered items abroad https://meta.wikimedia.org/** wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_**merchandise#USPS_Priority_**Mail_Int.27l_reliabilityhttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_merchandise#USPS_Priority_Mail_Int.27l_reliability; but I did see it this morning, so perhaps something went wrong. Nemo The survey today is worldwide but the one for tomorrow is supposed to be North America in general (we've found that shipping to Canada and Mexico is much better overall). That said however thank you for showing me that link, somehow I didn't get my normal notification and missed it. I responded on wiki as well now but you should know that we were seeing the same problems. To be honest I was taken by surprise at how bad USPS Priority was internationally despite their promises to the contrary. Because of that we took it away as an option for International users completely and no longer use it for our flat rate shipping either (which we subsidize so that no one has to pay too much). Currently all international packages are going to be sent FedEx which we've used as a foundation for a very long timer with success. FYI: It's about 3am here so I'm going to be heading to bed but will obviously be able to answer more questions in the morning if there are any. James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] 15% off merchandise today at the Wikimedia Shop
On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 2:46 AM, James Alexander jalexan...@wikimedia.orgwrote: The survey today is worldwide And by survey I obviously mean banner...clearly time for sleep James Alexander Manager, Merchandise Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] 15% off merchandise today at the Wikimedia Shop
On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 1:01 PM, Tobias church.of.emacs...@googlemail.comwrote: First of all, I'm glad there's a Wikimedia Shop. I don't think it'll make big money, but even if it's only self-sustaining it's totally worth it. I also think that generally we should be happy to try stuff out and use banners to advertise new services. However, I share with Mono the worry that large, colorful and distracting banners are becoming the standard, rather than the exception. I think part of the reason why big banners are used is because they are easier to create: most banners are created by copying existing banners and most existing banners are those huge fundraising banners. We should remember that we have banners in all flavours: * very low key --- https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/**index.php?title=Special: **NoticeTemplate/viewtemplate=**stew2011_nomshttps://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:NoticeTemplate/viewtemplate=stew2011_noms * short small --- https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/** index.php?title=Special:**NoticeTemplate/viewtemplate=** WMDE_community_budgethttps://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:NoticeTemplate/viewtemplate=WMDE_community_budget * a bit larger --- https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/**index.php?title=Special: **NoticeTemplate/viewtemplate=**BrazilMeetupshttps://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:NoticeTemplate/viewtemplate=BrazilMeetups * do not use! --- https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/**index.php?title=Special:* *NoticeTemplate/viewtemplate=**money_or_diehttps://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:NoticeTemplate/viewtemplate=money_or_die James, was the banner type/size a conscious decision you made? Or did you just choose to go with a standard (big) banner? Regards, Tobias Thanks Tobias, I generally agree that banners have been overused, they have a big effect but a big presence and we don't want to abuse that. I'm really happy to see things like Echo being worked on in Engineering which will add a much better 'intermediate' choice for messaging which we currently really don't have. The size of the banner was a conscious choice but one I thought about for a fair bit. It's what I would generally consider a 'medium' banner but has clearly migrated itself to being one of the larger types that we use, compared to the past couple years where they tended to be significantly bigger (generally mirroring the size of the fundraising banners at the time which were significantly larger then this). These ones are around 100px which is the size or smaller (depending on the banner) then the fundraising banners this year (before they expanded). For those interested the general idea I was trying to do was to pick a size that was the smallest it could be while still getting the information across that I thought was important. In general that meant I wanted: - Everyone to know that it was a shop banner, I didn't want anyone clicking on it without knowing that's what it was ( or at least as few people as we can). - To know that it was targeted at Editors/Volunteers and that some of the merch was specifically targeted at that. - To know that it was run by the foundation so that people, hopefully, don't think that we've been hacked or that some random shop was doing this. - Be generally readable without effort I wanted to more specifically call out on the banner that the profits went to the Merchandise Giveaway Program that has been a runaway success but, to be honest, I both ran out of space and it's more of a reality for the public push because we've cut out almost all of the margin for the logged in sale. I try to support a bunch of different window sizes and resolutions and in the end it just didn't seem to work well any smaller then this (but didn't have to be any bigger). We still have some issues with the smaller side of windows/resolutions and am still looking at good ways to adapt for that but are getting there. James James Alexander Manager, Merchandise Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
[Wikimedia-l] Legal and Community Advocacy Office Hours Tuesday 18:00 UTC
Hi all, It's been on the meta office hours page for a while but I'm not sure it's been announced here yet. Geoff Brigham (WMF General Counsel) and his team will be having an office hour Tuesday January 22nd (Tomorrow or today depending on your location) at 18:00 UTC/10:00 PST to answer questions about the work of the Legal and Community Advocacy Department. The office hours will take place on the Freenode IRC network in the #Wikimedia-office room. For more information including a webchat link and time conversion links go to the Meta office hour page: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Office_Hours#How_to_participate James James Alexander Manager, Merchandise Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Office hours
I don't know if it's just an american school thing but I know the term from my professors (and before that some high school teachers) who had 'office hours' which were set hours when they could be guaranteed to be in their office without other meetings/commitments so that you could just drop by without an appointment an chat. James James Alexander Manager, Merchandise Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Sat, Jan 26, 2013 at 5:41 AM, Federico Leva (Nemo) nemow...@gmail.comwrote: Rui Correia, 26/01/2013 14:36: I am a langugage person - speak a number of them, have a passion for linguistics, etymology and philology. I had understood that it was some kind of meeting, but was naturally curious as to why it should be called office hours. Thanks for explaining, but it still leaves puzzled to call a meeting office hours, when something less arcane would do - like IRC-Chat, Wiki-Chat, Wiki-Miti, Wiki-gether Rendez-VouWiki, etc etc . I think the idea is/was that the mysterious WMF office opens for everyone to visit and chat, through IRC. Nemo __**_ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.**org Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/**mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-lhttps://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Your support is wanted: The WMF Board of Trustees is looking for a new Board member
Snipping a bunch for simplicities sake On Mon, Feb 18, 2013 at 11:14 PM, Jan-Bart de Vreede jdevre...@wikimedia.org wrote: I simply don't agree. a) Chapters are part of the community b) Whenever a vote comes up for an appointed seat that seat obviously does not vote, therefore the (s)elected seats have a majority vote on any appointed seat (5 our of 9 votes) Apart from that I would say that Jimmy's seat is a community seat, but recognise that not all share that viewpoint. Jan-Bart :-/ To be honest I don't particularly like this meme that the chapter are part of the community either. The chapters may be part of the community (and so the statement not false) but we use the phrasing in such a way as to say that they are more then they are. There may be a part of the community but they are really a very small part of it overall. Their power in board selection and movement voice (both formally and informally) is disproportionately huge and we set them up to represent the community when that is a serious misstatement. They represent their members who are a very small subset of the community and often have a very different goal and interest set then the, much larger, remainder of the community and depending on the chapter may include more donors or readers then editors. That is not to say they don't do good things at times (or that it is a problem to include donors or readers, personally I think they are part of our larger community) but we should not confuse what they actually are. Jimmy is a whole different question ;) I would certainly say he deserves a seat at the table, I prefer to just categorize him as Jimmy because he's just a class of his own in all ways :). James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Looking back at the London Conference
On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 2:13 PM, Ziko van Dijk vand...@wmnederland.nlwrote: Hello, Just to keep in mind: it has been no secret, from the beginning, that the WCA planned to hire somebody. The WMF board is supported by employees too, and I guess that the WMF has a number of regulations. Enough room for views to evolve. But it sounds good to focus on getting things started instead of focusing on process, structure etc. - I will remember that when the WMF asks again report after report from the chapters' volunteers... Ziko I just want to point out something that I think gets lost frequently... yes the WMF is supported by staff etc but it wasn't really when it was created. They had Brion working for Bomis but he was the only one for quite a while, then it had 2-3 for a while. The large amount of staff was only relatively recently when it was decided that it was beneficial and necessary for the goals that it had. It's first full year (2004) the TOTAL expenses were $23,463 , in 2005 it was $177,670 (only $16,930 being wages, the majority of it was hosting charges). You can argue that you don't agree with the increase in staff or with the goals but they waited until they had that before they grew, it wasn't out of the blue and it wasn't just because they had money. The evidence is pretty clear on that. I also think the idea that The WMF has staff so clearly the WCA should (or even the Chapters) and you're being a hypocrite by not wanting it is a disingenuous response that keeps getting repeated. They are different animals. The only ways this would be a fair comparison is if you think the chapters and/or the WCA should be the same as the WMF and/or similar. I don't think that's what most people want in the community and most chapter members involved have been quick to say it isn't what THEY want. If the aim of the WCA is supposed to be another WMF or an Anti-WMF then ... sure... I guess I can see why it's hypocritical for them to say you don't need it while they have staff but... that doesn't seem to be the case and if it is lets discuss THAT because I think that's a really bad idea. Groups should grow naturally, they should incorporate only when necessary and get staff only when necessary, trying to push them before they are ready only makes things worse. We have been having a long standing habit within the meta movement to rush towards organizations and staff long before it's necessary, pissing away money and good will. James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Luis Villa joins WMF as Deputy General Counsel
Responding to this to to make sure it gets to Wikimedia-l and to be the first to say on Wikimedia-l \o/ WELCOME! Luis seems like the perfect dGC for us with his experience and background. Watch out for Geoff he's dangerous and crafty! James Copying in Luis since I'm not sure if he's on here yet or not :) James Alexander Manager, Merchandise Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 3:37 PM, Geoff Brigham gbrig...@wikimedia.orgwrote: *Hi everyone, * * * *I’m simply thrilled to welcome Luis Villa to the Foundation as our new Deputy General Counsel.* * Thanks to Kat Walsh, I met Luis during my first months at the Foundation. Kat loves Luis, and it is no wonder why. In addition to being a superb lawyer, Luis is an open source developer, has worked with leaders in our Internet legal circles, and has a great personality that embraces our culture. * * His most recent adventure took place at the Palo Alto office of Greenberg Traurig, one of the top global law firms. There he worked with well-known Internet lawyers like Ian Ballon and Heather Meeker. Luis focused on technology transactions, helping clients create solutions to licensing problems, with a particular emphasis on open source and software standards. His clients included Mozilla, the Open Compute Project, and a variety of clients large and small. Luis successfully defended Google in the Oracle-Google/Android lawsuit, primarily working on the question of API copyrightability. I hired Luis as outside counsel to work on a tough legal matter for us, and his answers were on point, clear, and practical. * * Luis’ first contact with free software came was when he was in college at Duke University. There he studied political science and computer science, began using Linux, and helped triage Mozilla's bugzilla. A professor paid him to play with Lego, resulting in brief maintainership of the GPL’d LegOS operating system and co-authorship of the book Extreme Mindstorms. * * After graduation, Luis worked at Ximian, a Linux desktop startup, doing quality assurance and eventually managing the desktop team. As part of that, he got heavily involved in the GNOME desktop project, becoming bugmaster and then getting elected to the board of directors. After Ximian was acquired, Luis became geek in residence at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center. At Berkman, he translated from lawyer to geek, and managed, maintained, and developed several software projects. * * After Berkman, Luis started his legal ventures in life at Columbia Law School, where he was Editor in Chief of the Science and Technology Law Review, was awarded honors each year, and was co-recipient of the class prize for excellence in intellectual property scholarship. His thesis dealt with the use of software standards as part of antitrust enforcement. Outside of class, he participated in the GPL revision process, worked in the General Counsel's office at Red Hat, and developed a surprisingly strong attachment to New York City. * * After law school, Luis worked in the legal department at Mozilla, where his major project was revising the Mozilla Public License. The license got over a thousand words shorter, and gained stronger patent protections and compatibility with the Apache and GPL licenses. Luis also worked on privacy, contracts, standards bodies, and other issues. * * Outside of work, Luis is an invited expert to the World Wide Web Consortium's Patents and Standards Interest Group, and a board member and chair of the Licensing Committee at the Open Source Initiative. He also enjoys biking, photography, history, Duke basketball (men's and women's), and eating. * * Luis's first Wikipedia edit under his current user name dates to Feb. 2007. Like any good pedant, he has also been making minor spelling and grammar corrections anonymously for many years. * * So, as you can tell, we are extremely excited about having Luis on our team and wish him a warm welcome. * * * *Cheers, * * * *Geoff* -- Geoff Brigham General Counsel Wikimedia Foundation ___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list wikimediaannounc...@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Foundation's support of OTRS
On Wed, Feb 20, 2013 at 9:47 PM, Keegan Peterzell keegan.w...@gmail.comwrote: On Wed, Feb 20, 2013 at 11:36 PM, Rjd0060 rjd0060.w...@gmail.com wrote: To clarify, the Foundation support that would be appreciated here is from the tech/ops group. We've had good response from other staff on related issues, and that is much appreciated. -- Ryan User:Rjd0060 To clarify even further, from my perspective: I've been an Volunteer Response Team agent since 2009, and a leader (OTRS admin) since 2010. In that time the control of OTRS moved from a function that had a designated staff role of control to one of community management. In the past two and a half years Philippe has been our contact for support from the Wikimedia Foundation, and he has done a fantastic job supporting myself and the time with advice and Foundation resources as they have been gathered. Over the past year, Maggie Dennis has transitioned into this role as the Foundation rep for OTRS. She has done an equally wonderful job in being proactive and helping us with our thoughts and needs. I would in no way construe the support we've gotten from LCA than anything less than they have to give as far as they have been able to get us. Yes, that is a very long sentence. -- ~Keegan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Keegan ___ Yeah, I have to agree sadly that we need more tech support and this has been a thing that has been ongoing for a while. I personally think it should remain in the foundation for many reasons (the least of which is relatively large legal reasons) but we REALLY need to focus on it, or a replacement, more. OTRS is the public face of not only the projects but the foundation in general and answers an absolutely insane amount of email every year and that has been the case for a while. When I first started applying to work at the foundation my big interview ended up being about 8 hours (with a liquor break in the middle) explaining to Philippe how I thought OTRS needed to be replaced. I thought, and continue to think, that the system underserves the job and we would be better served with something else that could take much better advantage of modern advancements and clarity in purpose. Sadly at the time they didn't have the money for me to work on OTRS (and so I came to do the fundraiser) and since then I have heard rumors of it's upgrade or replacement every single year (multiple times) only to be told later that the resources aren't available. I've seen us look at the upgrade multiple times, I've heard it be called both new ceiling wax and cake frosting but not necessarily called a good option. It may be, I don't know and we (as usual with outside products) overwork it beyond measure. Even the professional OTRS folks when we were talking to them about helping upgrade basically said errr, you have HOW much in the database? and told us to just abandon it and start fresh with their new version. That said even their internal OTRS version wasn't upgraded yet last year We need to do something though, it is disappointing to me that it hasn't been a bigger priority because I think it should have been and I think it should be now. I'm not sure if an OTRS upgrade is the best option... but it is probably better then what we have. For a long while I thought we should wait and not upgrade so that we can just replace it... but clearly it's been too long for that now. James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Info: Election for WCA Chairperson
On Mon, Feb 25, 2013 at 12:45 AM, Fae fae...@gmail.com wrote: @Jan-Bart One of the early discussions before agreeing the WCA charter was the possibility of automatically counting all legally recognized chapters as members. It was felt that this would not result in a credible democratic process, indeed the current 21 members are not all very active in votes and the current voting pattern shows participation at around 2/3 of the members or less in any vote. If we counted all Chapters, then a quorum would have to be set to be artificially low. http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Chapters_Association/Resolutions/2012_votes Should any Chapter wish to vote in this election, they need only provide a statement to me and then the new Council member sends in a statement that they support the charter. The Council member need not be on the board of the Chapter. There are no fees, there are no specific duties and we are always looking for more light-weight ways of handing our processes. Any Council member recognized before the vote opens, will be eligible to vote. Err ok, I'm sorry but this actually moves to the realms of scary. You require the new Council member to send in a statement ... pledging loyalty essentially? I don't see anything in the charter that would require something like that, is it in your remit as chair? Sadly that just sounds like a way to force out reformers, if you don't support the charter you can't join the council? How do you expect to get things to change when necessary? James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Fwd: [Commons-l] FOP in Europe: does this include WWII monuments with art?
On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 3:59 AM, Tobias Oelgarte tobias.oelga...@googlemail.com wrote: The problem are not the European laws. It are the US laws that don't recognize the European FOP. That means it would be perfectly legal to host such images on an European server (in a country that recognizes FOP), but not on US servers, because they are subject to US law. I'm sorry, I keep seeing this argument and while I can understand the basic idea every time I see it I feel like little kitten dies. There is no doubt that the US FOP laws are a little insane and that the EU ones are generally much more lenient, however, it is obviously far far more complectated then that. There are plenty of EU laws which would are applicable to site/image hosting which are far more complicated and harder (or impossible) for us to follow. Overall the laws in the US have still tended to be much much better to host, and that doesn't even get into the problem of hosting in multiple locations and still trying to serve to a site hosted (or with staff) in the US. James (Personal opinion, not a lawyer and not said as a staff member) ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] WMF Legal Blog Post: WMF trademark practices for QR codes and wikitowns
On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 5:46 PM, Liam Wyatt liamwy...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks for posting a definitive answer on this topic - it is good to get clear instructions about this longstanding question, even if I don't personally agree with the outcome. However, I would like to take issue with part of this blogpost: will continue to allow nominativehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_use, non-stylized use of the “Wikipedia” word mark My instinctive reaction to reading this was to write something sarcastic, but I respect Geoff to much for that. So, I'll say it directly: Please do not say, either overtly or by implication, that the WMF gives its permission for the community to use the word Wikipedia. Nobody needs to ask permission to write the name of an organisation or website so please don't say that you've been so kind as to give us permission to do so. The WMF does not allow us to use the word Wikipedia (or refuse it) anymore than Coca Cola allows or refuses me the right to use the word coke - especially when making truthful statements like scanning this QRcode will take you to Wikipedia. -Liam Hey Liam, you may be interested in Geoff's response on the blog about this ( http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/03/08/wmf-trademark-practices-for-qr-codes-and-wikitowns/#comments). James James Alexander Manager, Merchandise Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia (Foundation) endowment
On Thu, Mar 14, 2013 at 11:36 PM, Theo10011 de10...@gmail.com wrote: On Fri, Mar 15, 2013, James Alexander jameso...@gmail.com wrote: Aye, I know for example that our page views have more then doubled in the last 5 years (since 2008) and I believe grew even more dramatically in the years before that. They increased a lot, but I don't think they more than doubled, or even doubled[2]. The rise is pretty steady from Feb 09. Regards Theo According to http://reportcard.wmflabs.org/ (which is, I believe, the official numbers from the logs and comscore) we went from 9.55B page views in July 2008 to 21.79B page views in Feb 2013. We also went from 242M uniques in January 2008 to 488M in 2013 (I believe comscore undercounts developing countries where less advertising is focused as well so that number is probably more dramatic). James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikipedia Zero wins!
On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 12:53 AM, Balázs Viczián balazs.vicz...@wikimedia.hu wrote: the favorit social media site in Brazil is Orkut. Far far more popular than facebook. If you wish to have a strong social media presence there, you'll have to be present on that. cheers, Balázs Tom or someone else from Brazi would know better then me I'm sure but that doesn't seem to have been true since 2011 ( http://www.forbes.com/sites/ricardogeromel/2011/09/14/facebook-surpasses-orkut-owned-by-google-in-numbers-of-users-in-brazil/) . Looking at the numbers now ( http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/BR) looks like FB is the #1 site now (of course, it IS Alexa ;) ). James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Fwd: [Toolserver-l] [TS logo] Fwd: Free as in Wikimedia Foundation
I somewhat agree here with the statements on the tool-server thread. I'm a big confused by the big anger about the registration to be honest... I understand that we want things to be as free as possible but when it's representative of the movement or the community having some kind of protection seems good not bad. We've always had this anger against any kind of protection despite also being angry about misuse (mostly by people outside of the community) which can not be defended against easily without 'some' kind of protection. It's public domain, and always has been, but it's also been a logo on one of our projects long enough that it's been a common law trademark for ages. The main argument seems to be that it should be available for use and reuse by the community, which I'm in no way against, but we can't even have minimal restrictions on it without claiming trademark. This idea that it should be 'reserved for the community' as many people have asked actually almost requires a tm claim. It seems like the argument should be much more about what type of restrictions we want placed on it (or not placed on it). The legal department may not always do what I think is best or be the smoothest at explaining but none of us are (I certainly am not!). However, there is no doubt that they ALWAYS mean to do what is best for the community and the projects. I have never heard one decision made where that wasn't a central reason for doing it. The amount of bad faith some people have been showing in this discussion is depressing. James On Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 11:59 AM, Samuel Klein meta...@gmail.com wrote: [Forwarding from the the toolserver-l branch of this thread] -- Forwarded message -- From: Daniel Schwen li...@schwen.de Date: Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 11:35 AM Subject: Re: [Toolserver-l] [TS logo] Fwd: Free as in Wikimedia Foundation To: Wikimedia Toolserver toolserve...@lists.wikimedia.org What a nonsense issue. This superfluous discussion is fueled by two fallacies, the confusion of copyright and trademarking and an unhealthy paranoia toward the foundation. Protection of logos associated with the wikimedia community is a good thing. The foundation is an asset to the community! They can offer legal support in cases of abuse of wikimedia related symbology. It is absurd to create a spectre of a community-suing evil foundation while at the same tie ignoring the very real threat of dilution and abuse of wikimedia symbols and resulting damage of wikimedia community reputation by spam, phishing, link farming etc. sites. Sorry, but this is alarmist hippie crap and typical netizen-outrage. -- Forwarded message -- From: Marc A. Pelletier m...@uberbox.org Date: Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 12:32 PM Subject: Re: [Toolserver-l] [TS logo] Fwd: Free as in Wikimedia Foundation On 03/19/2013 11:35 AM, Daniel Schwen wrote: Sorry, but this is alarmist hippie crap and typical netizen-outrage. I'm not sure I'd have put it in such strong words, but I agree that this is very much overblown and misguided. It's important that any marks not be misused for evil purposes, and Trademark is the method to prevent it. That the foundation is willing to step up and handle the legalities is a /good/ thing. Making sure nobody can use a mark for bad reasons *means* having to okay proposed uses. If you want something everyone can use without asking for any reason, you'll get something everyone *will* use for reasons you wish they wouldn't -- and then have no way to stop them. -- Coren / Marc ___ Toolserver-l mailing list (toolserve...@lists.wikimedia.org) https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/toolserver-l Posting guidelines for this list: https://wiki.toolserver.org/view/Mailing_list_etiquette ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Fwd: [Toolserver-l] [TS logo] Fwd: Free as in Wikimedia Foundation
On Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 2:00 PM, Nathan nawr...@gmail.com wrote: I won't argue the fact that there is value in protecting the iconography of the Wikimedia movement from abuse. What I argue with is the approach of the legal department - to unilaterally, and without notice, contradict the purpose of a set of logos by declaring ownership over them, and then to at the same time suggest the community hold a contest to create a whole new set of logos over which the WMF will supposedly not take the same action. I'll be the first to say I think the idea of having a contest to create a new logo is a bit silly. I think we should continue to use the meta/community logo and that it's allowed use for the community should be very very broad (much broader then we would allow for the Wikipedia Globe for example). I think we have enough issues with branding given what I would consider mistakes in the past and present and we don't need 'yet another' for the community (given that we also use all of the other logos to represent the community at times). I don't, however, think that they did the wrong thing here. I've been around meta and the community for a long time and I would have honestly assumed long ago that the community logo was trademarked and the foundation was just very free in letting it be used. All of the foundations trademarks were going through registration processes around the world because they realized that our portfolio did not cover us very well. This made total sense to be included in it. I guess I argue the very fact that this was intended to never be trademarked, or that if it was that the consequences of that were understood. I totally and utterly agree that the point of the logo was to have it freely available to the community to mix and mingle, and I think that should remain. That, however, is a very different question and not contradictory with trademarking. To then frame the discussion with repeated notes about the distinction between copyright and trademark makes it sound like they see this as a problem of a lack of knowledge and understanding on the part of their critics', which simply isn't the case. To be honest from everything I've read in the discussion I keep wondering if people misunderstand the reasons for trademark protection vs copyright as well. There is no doubt that the community has schooled our lawyers many times but the opposite is also try where the community has thought they understood but haven't fully. Most of the arguments that came up, especially at the start, I probably would have responded with similar copyright/tm comments. It's an incredibly common and complicated area of distinction that an awful lot of people get mixed up at times both on and off wiki (including myself). The reality is if they had suggested last year that hey, the Foundation wants to make sure these marks are protected from abuse, would anyone mind if we registered them just to make sure they aren't abused? We'll allow them to be used with a standard permission set that doesn't require a request process. then the response would've been absolutely minimal and positive. But they didn't. I agree that this would have been preferred but I can understand why it didn't happen. This certainly wasn't being done in a vacuum, they were dealing with registrations on lots of our marks at the same time. The legal team a year ago was also considerably smaller and less community experienced (and a year before that MUCH smaller). I wasn't involved but I can completely see being so overloaded by just dealing with the trademarks, most of which were absolutely no question (obviously we want the WP globe protected) to not realize that this one would be more complicated and a different animal. If you're familiar with my posts to this list, I'm not normally on the anti-WMF side of debates (for instance, wrt WCA). But when they make a boob move, I don't think its bad faith to point it out. And, not for nothing, accusing others of bad faith is generally ill advised. Anyway, this is a small bore issue, and the consequences of any outcome are mild to say the least. But, a few posts on a wiki and on wikimedia-l don't cost much ;) I am, and I don't think you're being anti-WMF, I'm sorry if it came across that way. I don't think you're being bad faith but I do think that some have been with accusations that the legal department (or the foundation in general) don't think about the community or care about them and aren't trying to do what is best for them. My experience has been that that's very very untrue and I think much of their actions have shown that. It is a relatively small issue, and I don't want to drag it along more then it needs to be. I've just been feeling like that conversation has been somewhat 1 sided and didn't want anyone getting piled on when I think they've been working really hard to do what's best. Perhaps I was missing things but I kept reading the conversation
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikitech-l] open positions at WMF
On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 1:54 PM, Isarra Yos zhoris...@gmail.com wrote: On the other hand, how hard could it be to just write an extension to integrate a wordpress database and interface into a mediawiki? Call it a new namespace on the mediawiki end, and... uh... horrible things on the wordpress end... I was going to say that if I had enough spare time I could probably pull that off, but putting this down in text it now occurs to me how utterly insane that is, especially considering how hard a time I had just making my own wordpress and mediawiki installs look the same. Even so, it definitely could be done, and it'd probably be easier to maintain and update than making something from scratch. I mean, they're both php, with somewhat similar structures... I actually don't think it would be. Mediawiki is an awesome tool for many things but we really shouldn't be using it for things it isn't good for/meant for. Wordpress is a very good, modular, option for bogs in particular and is, in my opinion, a perfectly acceptable thing to use for that. In order to have any good design setup for the blog on mediawiki we would have to be using a fair bit of rawhtml (something that mediawiki allows but was never really meant for) and very complicated templates. We would also need to have a much more understandable comment system then mediawiki has right now. Liquid threads isn't meant for this type of conversation, mediawiki itself sucks horribly for a comment type system and while flow type stuff may be helpful it is down the road and not really in scope currently from my understanding. In order to make it flexible enough for those running the blog on the front end (Staff / Volunteers etc) we would have to make it relatively easy to understand that rawhtml/template system at least at some level which is, in my opinion, too much to ask of them. They should be focused on what they are writing and other work, not trying to work around the page itself. Our current visual editor is also unlikely to be workable with that complicated of a template system in any near future. It would create an enormous amount of complication for something that doesn't need it. Dogfooding our product is great but shouldnt' be done just because it should be done where the product makes sense for the task. James James Alexander Manager, Merchandise Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Tweet this page from some or all sites???
I tend to think that they can be incredibly useful and reader friendly. I've always found it a bit disappointing we don't have it as they are probably the bigger reader request I've ever seen. That said I know that enWiki has had multiple discussions about it ending in failure. The issues mostly seem to stem from the we're not MySpace crowd which I think misses the point that we both are a social network and that we're an educational site (and should encourage sharing that information) but sigh. However! That doesn't stop other projects from doing it and I would love to see those that do. Wikinews has ha their social bookmarks template for a while now and we adapted it for the fundraiser a while ago on WMF wiki as well as a very nice version for the anti SOPA protests.. I don't have the links handy but can get them at home and I think the best thing to do would be to search through the history because they've gone through a couple variations. There is a bug on bugzilla as well to add the meta information required for a more useful Facebook share (and I think G+) which also is unlikely to be that big of a problem. The only thing to keep in mind is that we occasionally need creativity. The default way that most sites tell you to share is often problematic for our privacy policy because it either has a script call to the home sight on page load or requires an iframe (Facebook likes I'm looking at you). That said they all have options that can work for us they are just a bit more hidden. James Sent from my iPhone James Alexander Manager - Merchandise Wikimedia Foundation +1 415-839-6885 x6716 On Apr 17, 2013, at 19:28, billinghurst billinghu...@gmail.com wrote: I am wondering why there is no tweet this page capability through the WMF sites? It is so widely available through the web, and here is a range of sites that would be a prime place to do it, and NADA, no capacity. Even if we had it for something like https://blog.wikimedia.org/ would be a good place to start. Howwever, the ability to easily tweet about a book at Wikisource, an article at one of the WPs all sound like marvellous things to easily do. Regards, Billinghurst ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Tweet this page from some or all sites???
On Thu, Apr 18, 2013 at 3:05 AM, Mathieu Stumpf psychosl...@culture-libre.org wrote: Le 2013-04-18 05:00, James Alexander a écrit : I tend to think that they can be incredibly useful and reader friendly. I've always found it a bit disappointing we don't have it as they are probably the bigger reader request I've ever seen. Please provide metrics and numbers. You know how our personal impressions are biased with our personal interets. And you also know how metrics, while not providing absolute truth, assuage our biases. https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l I'm sorry, I don't keep a journal of every reader request I've ever seen or heard and I didn't try to make any claim of 'absolute truth' I said it was probably the biggest reader request I had ever seen which I stick by. Want rough numbers? Amount of people who have personally told it to me, to my face? In the 100s (over 200 less then a thousand). That I have seen 2nd hand where they were just commenting somewhere on the internet or in print? 10s of thousands. On Thu, Apr 18, 2013 at 6:39 AM, Mathieu Stumpf psychosl...@culture-libre.org wrote: ... Ok, but what I don't understand is what prevent them to share links to Wikimedia projects? At some level? Everything. We have long found that every little extra step makes it much less likely people will do something. Asking someone to copy the link and go to their site and paste it (hopefully along with a short description) means MUCH MUCH less people will do it. This is true even if that was how they were used to sharing content, however it's even more true when it is NOT how they are used to sharing content. They are used to sharing it with buttons and those buttons 'invite' them to share, to spread the knowledge they found. That isn't contrary to our goals, in my mind it's EXACTLY our goals. A book is near useless unless it's read. Why should be only be building and sharing content within Wikimedia? The vast majority of the consumers of the site could not care one thing about within Wikimedia, and that is fine. Foisting it upon them is the poor approach :D I agree. However if people are intending to give feed back on the page, especialy feedback which would be useful to improve it, I think it would be far better to keep this comments within the Wikimedia echosystem. Most of this discussion is about sharing in general, not sharing specifically to give feedback on a page. I can understand the concern about neutrality, it isn't an easy question but it isn't something that we are new too. The community makes decisions like that all of the time. It is, however, the best argument against that I've tended to hear.Overall I want to make it easy for as many people as possible to use our information ,and I think sharing buttons can be a huge help in that direction. On Thu, Apr 18, 2013 at 4:44 PM, Benoit Landry benoit_lan...@hotmail.com wrote: I regularly Tweet or (share on Facebook) diff, discussions, articles or other pages. I'm not sure an on-wiki button would necessarily augment the rate at which I post Wikipedia stuff on my social media accounts... , I think that's generally true of most wikimedians but not generally true of most of our readers. James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Why not everyone have the right to vote in the Board FDC elections?
On Sun, Apr 28, 2013 at 2:54 PM, Risker risker...@gmail.com wrote: I'd actually suggest the opposite: That the only people eligible to vote for the three elected seats be active participants within the Wikimedia projects. That would drop the staff/contractor and advisory board eligibility. Alternately, let's make everyone eligible, including chapter staffbut eliminate the chapter-appointed seats and have an election every year that involves the entire community. Risker Also speaking personally I'd completely agree. I think the chapter community, while different, certainly deserves a role in the elections but have never been fully comfortable with the separation of chapter seats (or, I imagine if they were kept 'organization seats for movement groups would probably be included too) and 'community seats'. Rather then push the different community groups apart let us push them together and have them all vote on all 5 of the community seats. Our community is spread out in to many different areas but I'd say they are all part of the wider community and I do not think any one deserves special recognition or status over the others. These are 'your' board members compared to 'our' board members, they should all be there to work for the foundation (as they are required by law to do) and the movement as a whole. James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Go away, community (from WMF wiki at least)
* I'm just going to top post here because responding to you in line won't be helpful to anybody.The staff ARE held to a higher standard, they are held to a higher standard day in and day out. If you don't think they are then you're blind. They get attacked at a level that is NOTHING compared to what they do or dish out NOTHING. They hold back because they're staff and they should hold back. Can the foundation get better? Of course it can, is every single thing Philippe said still true? Yes, in fact I'd probably be harsher about it. I'm sometimes embarrassed to be from the community when I read the mailing list and, less often, on wiki. Even I have to sit down on my hands, calm down, have a cup of tea and then go on damage control explaining to other staff members that we need to get better but that the community isn't nearly as bad as it seems sometimes. I have to remind myself that I'm not lying when I tell them that it isn't the entire community yelling at them, just a dozen or two on a mailing list and that they don't represent everyone. There is no doubt that the Foundation can get better in many areas, but I will 100% stand by my statement that the way that some portions of the community (that tend to congregate on the mailing lists and certain areas on wiki) is embarrassing and insane. Given some of the statements that are made I'm not actually sure staff SHOULD respond to those people, yet they still do in the end because they're staff, and they're held to a higher standard. Is it true that some of this is 'the wiki way' and they should 'get used to it' because 'that's how we treat ourselves'? I'd say that 99%+ of the wiki isn't anywhere near as bad though I sadly admit that some of it is though most realize that's bad. The lack of civility on wiki has been a long running problem we have all known about, yet for some reason some people have decided that targeting the staff is fair game. In the US, and most countries I know, employers have a legal obligation to ensure a healthy working environment both physical and emotional. The working environment for our staff is NOT always emotionally healthy. * * * *James* * On Sun, May 12, 2013 at 10:05 PM, Casey Brown li...@caseybrown.org wrote: On Sun, May 12, 2013 at 8:28 PM, Theo10011 de10...@gmail.com wrote: Try and be a bit nicer please. Gayle is still relatively new and this level of scrutiny might be jarring for someone. Comments like these have always bothered me. Gayle isn't some random secretary or new run-of-the-mill employee. She is a C-level staff member who has been here for more than a year and made a policy decision that people have feedback on. While the feedback may not have come in the nicest form, it is still valid and we can't just ignore it because it wasn't nice enough. As a high level staff member in charge of your own department, you need to deal with it -- this is one thing that comes with the job, unfortunately. It's an insult to Gayle to assume that she will not be able to handle criticism or answer people's responses. A C-level staff member needs to be able to handle this scrutiny, even high level scrutiny, when they were the one that made the call, and I'm sure she's more than capable of doing that. [Note that I'm speaking generally -- I personally think Gayle can handle criticism and she seems very nice. She also probably had no idea this would create dramz. My comment is directed towards the general omg think of the staff member! response to criticism that is systemic in our movement.] On Sun, May 12, 2013 at 9:03 PM, Philippe Beaudette phili...@wikimedia.org wrote: With that said: I'm afraid we're headed toward a precipice. What I'm seeing scares me. I see less and less good faith being offered toward the WMF. This is something that bothers me too. The situation is always framed as poor WMF. Yes, it is true that bad faith is assumed on both sides, but I don't really think the community (including the chapters) is the only one doing that. A lot of the reason the community responds with such little faith or with such outrage at the actions of the Wikimedia Foundation is because they do not afford them any good faith either -- the community is simply acting on the defensive. Many decisions are just handed out, are half-baked, or are handled behind closed doors, so people have no idea how to respond and feel no ownership. If people have no control over a situation, the only way to respond is to point fingers and complain. We all work on things together -- there aren't many areas that are exclusively community or WMF. If you don't let the community do anything to fix a problem or constructively contribute to bettering the situation, you're going to find yourself stuck with a lot of bad faith and complaining. Take the WMFwiki policy decision for example -- was it really necessary to discuss everything behind closed doors? Did the action need to be taken two hours
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Go away, community (from WMF wiki at least)
On Mon, May 13, 2013 at 12:00 AM, Peter Southwood peter.southw...@telkomsa.net wrote: Lets get a few things in perspective: 1. How many community members were abusive/unreasonable/whatever beyond what might be considered a startle reaction to an apparent attack without warning? 2 How many people constitute this community Divide answer 1 by answer 2 Consider how much of the response was a snowball effect of frustration due to a distinct shortage of explanation and direct answers to what might be considered reasonable questions. And yes, Welcome to Wikipedia Cheers, Peter 2 is an unreasonable number to divide by when it's such a small cross section of the actual community on these lists. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] movement blog, not WMF blog, was: Go away, community (from WMF wiki at least)
Huib: Was that the blog mailing list? I'm not actually sure that's in use at all anymore (I was never on it, I just assumed the discussions basically just moved to comcom). James Alexander Manager, Merchandise Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Mon, May 13, 2013 at 2:47 AM, Huib Laurens sterke...@gmail.com wrote: Hi Huib, we are currently reorganizing the internal communication about the Foundation's blog, and in the process have just removed your subscription. The list is going to see more confidential information in the future, and we want to focus membership more on people who need to know it. I want to emphasize that this has nothing to do with your conduct as list member, and that your interest in and support for the WMF blog (e.g. tweeting new posts) is appreciated. You can still send messages to the list, they will just need to go through moderation. -- Tilman Bayer Movement Communications Wikimedia Foundation IRC (Freenode): HaeB Strange that the blog is internal communications. Even stranger is that Erik asked to create my account, he was completly ok with it. So I'm not sure what the information on the blog is so secret that no volunteers can see it... ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [WikimediaMobile] Wikipedia Zero in Google search result
At some level there seems to be a change in google (or our) settings that are doing this everywhere. I've also been seeing a lot of links indexed and appearing in google as the primary domain too (wikipedia.org/wiki/Bostonrather then en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston, seen it on Wikivoyage as well and I assume the others). At some level we're probably going to want to figure out what's happening because at some point down the road 'something' changed just not sure on what side. James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 1:49 PM, Adam Baso ab...@wikimedia.org wrote: Hello All, We had shelved my patch, patch 64629https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/64629, in hopes that an earlier patch, patch 61809https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/61809(bug 35233 https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=35233), would resolve the issue naturally as Google re-indexed. But it appears Google has re-indexed and yet the .zero.wikipedia.org URLs are still present in Google's index, instead of the language.wikipedia.org URLs. I have thus resubmitted patch 64629 https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/64629 for re-review. We will need to further discuss whether it is appropriate to have Google completely remove .zero.wikipedia.org links from their cache, or if perhaps we need to open a support thread with Google about canonical URLs. On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 1:13 PM, Kul Wadhwa kwad...@wikimedia.org wrote: Adam Baso (copied on this email) is working on it and a fix is ready. He'll do some testing to make sure it's resolved. On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 10:22 AM, Tomasz Finc tf...@wikimedia.orgwrote: Looping Dan Foy in who's managing the Zero backlog. On Mon, May 27, 2013 at 8:01 AM, MZMcBride z...@mzmcbride.com wrote: K. Peachey wrote: Can you please file this in bugzilla https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org? https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=48856 MZMcBride ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l -- Kul Wadhwa Head of Mobile Wikimedia Foundation ___ Mobile-l mailing list mobil...@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mobile-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Children and Simple English
On Thu, May 30, 2013 at 7:10 PM, James Salsman jsals...@gmail.com wrote: Mathias Damour wrote: The only sad thing is that it won't be launched in other languages There is a longstanding proposal to create simple language Wikipedias in languages other than English and France, but it remains to be seen whether it is compatible with the current narrowing focus austerity regime. There has certainly been a long standing request for simple wikis beyond simple english (there is no simple french) but I have never seen any denials from the foundation. It has, for years, been the community and the language committee (created by the board but completely community) that has denied it as 'not an official language code' (or 'not needed' ) and just grandfathering Simple English in. Please don't bring your random dislike of the 'narrowing focus austerity regime' into it just so that you can get it on this thread too. There are enough reasons to dislike narrowing focus decisions but lets only blame it for things it actually did :). James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] PRISM, government surveillance, and Wikimedia: Request for community feedback
To try and keep the discussion in one place it would be great if people could put their comments on the meta talk page (either as well as the mailing list or as well as) I'm going to try and copy some responses there (and from the blog) as well but possibly not discussions as that gets more complicated. http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:PRISM James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Sat, Jun 15, 2013 at 2:16 PM, MZMcBride z...@mzmcbride.com wrote: Bjoern Hoehrmann wrote: * Geoff Brigham wrote: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/06/14/prism-surveillance-wikimedia/ You are not making a good case there as to what to do and why and how this community is affected and needs to act. An immediate question seems to be whether the Wikimedia Foundation should become signatory of the Stop Watching Us open letter. No, the letter puts too much emphasis on people in the United States and domestic spying and the Foundation should not give the impression that that is a special kind of bad. [...] I can see nothing obvious that the Foundation could say or do in this regard at this time, and would expect the community to develop answers to questions like mine above before calling for action. So, no, I don't think the Foundation should join those other organisations at this time. I think I mostly agree with what you wrote. As I commented on the Meta-Wiki talk page,[1] I'd much rather see Wikimedia Foundation time and energy focused on defining what we stand for in documents like Sue's recent Guiding Principles[2] or the older Values pages.[3][4] Would most Wikimedians disagree with the type of behavior exhibited by the U.S. government? I think so. The NSA's actions don't seem to align well with our values of transparency and openness and user privacy. Does that mean it's something that we need to formally denounce? No, we should just keep doing what we're doing. And, as discussed on the Meta-Wiki talk page and in the blog post, we can work to bolster efforts such as HTTPS support, which may have a real impact on the underlying issue. These types of efforts are surely a better use resources rather than signing letters. Spending limited resources denouncing the latest government abuse (or potential future abuse) that happens to be in the news (SOPA, PRISM, etc.) feels faddish (all of our San Fran neighbors are doing it!) and doesn't seem particularly mature or productive. I think it's great for the Wikimedia Foundation to reiterate its values (cf. links 2–4 below) and work toward creating a world in which we can freely share in the sum of all human knowledge. Let's do that. MZMcBride [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:PRISM [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WFGP [3] https://www.wikimedia.org/wiki/Values [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Values ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Use of YouTube videos in fundraising banners
Also, why the Wikimedia shop uses Shopify.com instead of the many FOSS alternatives? http://shop.wikimedia.org/ I have transitioned away from the shop (it's now moving to the fundraising team) so the future of that is in their hands but I can say that the biggest thing was that the FOSS alternatives required more resources then we were able to give at the time and the decision was made that getting it up and running made a lot more sense then not doing anything for now. There are a couple very powerful FOSS options for stores that I would love to see us move to eventually (and would offer us more then we are getting now to be honest) but they will require some investments of time/money/staff resources that we need to decide are worth it and that question is not easy. James James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] NSA
It's from a slide they have a bit down the page with our logal about why they are interested in http. You can search for nearly everything a typical user does on the internet You can also see the slide on Jimmy's tweet about said issue: https://twitter.com/jimmy_wales/status/362626509648834560 There is an ongoing thread on wikitech about https again stemming from this. James James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Wed, Jul 31, 2013 at 12:44 PM, Huib Laurens sterke...@gmail.com wrote: Hmmm, the word wiki isn't named anywhere. On Wed, Jul 31, 2013 at 9:43 PM, Risker risker...@gmail.com wrote: Apparently Wikipedia was or is one of the targeted websites. Risker On 31 July 2013 15:42, Huib Laurens sterke...@gmail.com wrote: How is this related to the foundation? On Wed, Jul 31, 2013 at 9:22 PM, Fred Bauder fredb...@fairpoint.net wrote: See attachment. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/31/nsa-top-secret-program-online-data Fred ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Met vriendelijke groet, Huib Laurens ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Met vriendelijke groet, Huib Laurens ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] NSA
On Wed, Jul 31, 2013 at 12:48 PM, Risker risker...@gmail.com wrote: I believe the concern derives from one of the subpages of the article: https://image.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/audio/video/2013/7/31/1375269604628/KS8-001.jpg (Credit to David Gerard for digging that out; this same issue is under discussion on the Wikitech-L list.) Risker Aye, it's a short bit down the page but included around screenshots and explanations of the tools they use to analyze traffic by keyword (and so what led to Jimmy's understandable reaction imo) James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] The Wikipedia Library
For everyones ease :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:The_Wikipedia_Library/Newsletter/Recipients James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Mon, Aug 26, 2013 at 3:51 AM, Lionel Allorge lionel.allo...@lunerouge.org wrote: Hi, Sign up to receive announcements and news about resource donations and partnerships: ' http://enwp.org/WP::The_Wikipedia_Library/Newsletter/Recipients Your link is broken. Regards. -- Lionel Allorge Lune Rouge : http://www.lunerouge.org April : http://www.april.org ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Questions about the login
On Sat, Aug 31, 2013 at 7:41 AM, David Cuenca dacu...@gmail.com wrote: 1) Is there any way to know if I have other sessions open and close them (like in Gmail)? I used another computer and I don't remember if Iogged out. Not a perfect answer for this but my understanding of the way the sessions work at the moment is that you can force other sessions closed by logging out. If you log out in one place you will be logged out in all places (this remembering is dredged up from a discussion months ago but I just tested it and it does seem to hold true :) ). Obviously that doesn't help the 'see if you have other sessions' problem but if you are ever concerned could work well. It still means you can log IN to multiple sites just once you click log out it ends all sessions. James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia and the politics of encryption
On Mon, Sep 2, 2013 at 10:58 PM, Peter Gervai grin...@gmail.com wrote: illegally collect personal data about them and *monetize it *or use to pressure or threaten selected individuals, companies or agencies. Monetize it? I am in no way going to defend my government on most of this given that I think they are doing much of it unconstitutionally and much of the rest immorally (though I will say that we would/do fight our ass off against inappropriate demands and that the demands that would be placed on us in Europe are actually worse so I really wouldn't agree with this supposition that the US is significantly worse then the rest of the world... though I'd agree that we're less 'better' then we like to claim) but how do you think they will *monetize* it? ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Planned school curriculum by MPAA
On Wed, Sep 25, 2013 at 2:43 PM, Andrew Lih andrew@gmail.com wrote: You are right, that the lack of a national US chapter holds us back. The obvious solution is to create a new group: Committee of Wikipedian Parents Interested in Education, aka COWPIE I feel like I'm obligated to make some kind of COWPIE/WALRUS related joke here but I can't come up with one yet. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Community consultation on trademark practices and Community logo
/Legal_Fees_Assistance_Program , https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Legal_and_Community_Advocacy/Foundation_Policy_and_Political_Association_Guideline [6] Board approval is probably necessary since we registered the logo in light of a Board resolution. After the Community logo was adopted as the official Meta logo, it was added to the list of Wikimedia logos in September 2008. In April 2009, the Board of Trustees adopted a resolution https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Trademark_statement directing WMF staff “to register and protect the Wikimedia marks.” The Board can provide clarification whether we should or should not register the Community mark based on the results of the community consultation.* * James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 3:44 PM, Geoff Brigham gbrig...@wikimedia.orgwrote: Hi all, We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has constructively participated in the ongoing trademark practices consultation that we started several months ago. Please feel free to continue your participation there, since all issues continue to remain open for discussion.[1] We would also like to invite community members to join the ongoing discussion regarding the trademark protection of the Community logo that we posted on Monday: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Logo/Request_for_consultation. Our goal is to obtain clear direction from the community on how we should proceed with respect to the registration of the Community logo and whether we should pursue a collective membership mark for the community. Our current consultation is part of an ongoing discussion regarding this logo. We joined this discussion on the talk page for the Community logo and Wikimedia thematic organizations.[2] We then initiated a broader discussion on trademarks in June, where the discussion on the Community logo continued.[1] That trademark practice discussion remains open and active, and we have been responding to a wide array of important issues thanks to community comments. We were first notified this weekend of a potential opposition to the trademark registration,[3] a proposal not raised earlier in the community consultation on trademark practices even though the deadline for the opposition was not until December 22. We accordingly initiated a community consultation on Monday about how you would like us to handle this.[4] Indeed, this is consistent with the legal team’s ongoing efforts over the last two years to include the community in important legal decisions and policy proposals. We have put a strong emphasis on a close working relationship with the community, such as in our discussions on the Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy, the Conflict of Interest Guidelines, the Legal Fees Assistance Program, the Political Affiliation Policy, and now the Trademark Policy.[5] In our ongoing consultation regarding the Community logo, we have asked the community to let us know whether to seek a collective membership mark (which will help maintain protection against misuse by others, while allowing free use by community members) or to abandon the registration of the trademark and its protection by WMF.[4] Collective membership mark is an idea that we started researching a couple of months ago in light of community comments in the trademarks discussion. To be clear, we have no emotional investment in the outcome. This consultation is the community's opportunity to let us know how the mark should or should not be protected. As we stated before, we are fine abandoning the trademark registration to put our limited resources against other priorities, but this decision belongs to you and the Board [6]. To ensure full community participation, we have invited users from all across the world to take part in this and continue to encourage that.[4] Our actions will be based on the community consultation underway and the Board, not on an extra-community legal action. We understand that an opposition against the Community logo trademark has been filed, and we will handle it as we do all litigation. The litigation deadlines are a non-issue to us because we will do what the community and Board tell us. Our goal is to determine the broader community intent through a community consultation that is open to everyone. If the community and Board tell us that we should abandon registration, we will do so; if you want it protected, let us know. Please join in at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Logo/Request_for_consultation and tell us what you would like us to do. Also please feel free to participate in the more comprehensive discussion with the communityhttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Trademark_practices_discussion on trademark practices. Thanks for your thoughts on this, Geoff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Geoffbrigham Yanahttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:YWelinder_
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia France] Welcome to Nathalie, our new ED
Welcome to the movement Nathalie! James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 10:25 AM, Osmar Valdebenito os...@wikimedia.org.ar wrote: Bienvenue! Welcome on board, Nathalie! :) *Osmar Valdebenito G.* Director Ejecutivo A. C. Wikimedia Argentina 2013/10/1 Nurunnaby Chowdhury n...@nhasive.com Congratulations Welcome, Nathalie! On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 10:27 PM, Nicole Ebber nicole.eb...@wikimedia.de wrote: Congratulations, WMFR and welcome, Nathalie! :) Looking forward to working with you. Nicole On 1 October 2013 17:07, Dariusz Jemielniak dar...@alk.edu.pl wrote: congrats and welcome :) pundit On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 4:34 PM, Christophe Henner christophe.hen...@wikimedia.fr wrote: Hi everyone, We have the great pleasure to announce Nathalie Martin is starting today as the new Executive Director of Wikimédia France! Her hiring is the tipping point of a process we started last January when we hired a HR firm to audit our organization and support us in finding the right person for this key role. With a background in political science and organizations strategy, Nathalie has a deep experience managing several associations of similar or bigger size as Wikimedia France. Even though she is not from the movement, we believe she'll adapt quickly to who we are. She came to Wikimania in Hong-Kong, and some of you may have had the pleasure to meet her. By coming to Wikimania she had the luck to experience in 3 day what Wikimedia is at large, to meet wikimedians from all around the world. I'm happy to say that she too suffered from PWD (Post-Wikimania Depression). If you need to contact her, her email address is nathalie.mar...@wikimedia.fr. Please keep in mind that it's her first day within our movement and she still will need few days to adapt to our awesomeness Please join us in welcoming Nathalie! Best, PS: please keep her in copy of your answers :) Christophe HENNER | Vice-chair --- › Mail : christophe.hen...@wikimedia.fr › Mobile : +33(0)6 29 35 65 94 › Tel : +33(0)5 62 89 12 01 › Twitter : @Wikimedia_Fr - Wikimédia France | Association pour le libre partage de la connaissance | Visitez notre blog http://blog.wikimedia.fr ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l , mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- __ dr hab. Dariusz Jemielniak profesor zarządzania kierownik katedry Zarządzania Międzynarodowego i centrum badawczego CROW Akademia Leona Koźmińskiego http://www.crow.alk.edu.pl ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Nicole Ebber International Affairs Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Obentrautstr. 72 | 10963 Berlin Tel. +49 30 219158 26-0 http://wikimedia.de Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- *Nurunnaby Chowdhury Hasive* Blog Editor | Prothom-Alo Blog http://blog.prothom-alo.com Assignment Reporter | The Daily Prothom-Alo http://www.prothom-alo.com Bangladesh Ambassador | Open Knowledge Network Foundation (OKFN)http://www.okfn.org Auto-confirmed, Reviewer Roll backer Editor | Bangla Wikipediahttp://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/user:nhasive Treasurer Coordinator (PR) | Bangladesh Open Source Network (BdOSN)http://www.bdosn.org Coordinator (PR) | Society for the Popularization of Science, Bangladesh (SPSB) http://www.spsb.org* *Central Team MOVers | Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad Committee (BdMO)http://www.matholympiad.org.bd Facebook: fb.com/nhasive | Twitter: @nhasivehttp://www.twitter.com/nhasive| Skype: nhasive | www.nhasive.com ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject
Re: [Wikimedia-l] It's time to reclaim the community logo
The legal team have provided some background on the hiring on Jones Day in this action. Here is their comment: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Community_Logo/Request_for_consultation#Legal_representation James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Tue, Oct 8, 2013 at 3:56 PM, tom...@twkozlowski.net wrote: Federico Leva (Nemo) wrote on September 26, 2013, 15:22 UTC: Trademark don't self-enforce, they are enforceable as long as someone believes to you when you use them as threat tools. So yes, I suppose they might. ... and given that the WMF just hired the infamous Jones Day bullies as their representative before the OHIM to fight an opposition filled by their own volunteers (me and Federico), I don't think it's an unfair view. I suggest that everyone interested in the subject read http://www.dmlp.org/blog/**2009/sam-bayard/thoughts-** jones-day-blockshopper-**settlementhttp://www.dmlp.org/blog/2009/sam-bayard/thoughts-jones-day-blockshopper-settlement and related links for an overview of a 2009 Jones Day lawsuit against a start-up company Blockshopper.com which Paul Levy called a new a new entry in the contest for grossest abuse of trademark law to suppress speech the plaintiff doesn’t like. I'm aware that, being a party of the opposition, I shouldn't really comment on the WMF's litigation tactics, but it still leaves me wonder about the point of hiring, as some say, one of the worst trademark abusers in history, as their representative in this case. Tomasz __**_ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.**org Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/**mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-lhttps://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@**lists.wikimedia.orgwikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org ?subject=**unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] New access to non-public information policy, re-ID requirements and data retention
On Wed, Oct 23, 2013 at 4:24 PM, Michelle Paulson mpaul...@wikimedia.org wrote: Hi All, I wanted to let you know that I have posted a responsehttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Access_to_nonpublic_information_policy#Rethinking_the_access_policy:_Response_to_recent_feedbackto the recent feedback we have received and very much look forward to hearing your thoughts on the ideas proposed. I also wanted to thank you all for the feedback over the past week and a half. It really helped us understand your concerns and go back to the drawing board -- this discussion has really reemphasized the value of community consultations periods to me. In the end, we want to do what works for the community and the movement. Best, Michelle Hi guys, In addition to the continuing discussion Michelle started above on whether we should check ID or not the legal team has also started responding with thoughts and some options on other suggestions and questions (such as retention time and keeping the data instead of the id). In all of these they’ve asked for thoughts if you haven’t checked the page since early/mid last week it would be great if you could check it again to weigh in. They will also be continuing to respond to unanswered questions and concerns so please don’t think your specific concern is being ignored. We have also reached out to all OTRS agents to make sure they are aware of a discussion on whether they should be included in the policy (currently only OTRS admins are). That conversation is ongoing at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Access_to_nonpublic_information_policy#OTRS_volunteers and could, again, use more comments whether you’re a member of OTRS or not. James James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
[Wikimedia-l] Reminder: Office hours to discuss Visual Editor coming up
Hey all, Quick reminder that James Forrester is holding a second set of office hours to discuss VisualEditor. These are scheduled for 1700 UTC on November 2nd (10 hours from when I'm sending this email) and UTC on November 3rd (apx 23:59:59 November 2nd or 17 hours from when I'm sending this) . For local time conversions, see https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Office_hours and click on the starting time. As always, logs will be posted on Meta after each hour completes. Thanks! James (Alexander) James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Increase in page views for the last 3 months
http://tinyurl.com/psjd6oy Appears to be the correct tinyurl now (it appears when you get to the error screen from the original one but... it's very hidden underneath a single linked period) James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Sat, Dec 7, 2013 at 4:28 AM, Itzik Edri it...@infra.co.il wrote: Error: TinyURL redirects to a TinyURL. :) On Sat, Dec 7, 2013 at 8:17 AM, Erik Zachte ezac...@wikimedia.org wrote: Here is notice that this issue has been resolved. A few days ago Christian Aistleitner patched webstatscollector to filter bogus requests. After that I patched the raw data files since last July, substracting all bogus counts. For an in-depth analysis of recent pageview trends after correction see http://tinyurl.com/pmm66v4 I also marked the bug as resolved https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=57980 Cheers, Erik Zachte ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method
[completely personal opinion] To be totally, completely, honest I don't really want us to collect it... and at this point it's mostly for personal reasons. First off this isn't really a huge new push to get us to accept bitcoin, they have been doing this ever 5-6 months in an organized fashion (frequently, but probably not always, started by some of the big bitcoin bloggers or payment providers) since at least 2010 when I was involved in the fundraiser generally trying to shame us and force us to accept it. The pushes generally include asking everyone to send fundraising emails and writing as many articles about it as possible. Every time it happens people say that they are getting angry and it's a thing. This is actually a relatively minor burst of activity compared to the past couple years though the fact that it is happening is to be expected given the fundraiser push for the end of the year and the publicity that brings. Part of me wants to say that it just isn't worth the effort. While I'm not in the FR team anymore so things may have changed the effort to integrate a new payment system is not tiny because it's actually very important for us to have automatic tracking into our donation system etc. We used to have multiple random payment e-wallet/payment methods spread out because people had created different accounts and they were insanely difficult to keep track of. That said while I don't think the effort involved here is tiny/insubstantial the real reason I don't want to do it is because, at this point, it's seemed more and more like people wanted us to accept bitcoin more as a political statement then anything else. That is not our job, that is not our role, and I do not appreciate someone attempting to use us to make themselves look more mainstream and accepted. During the 2011 fundraiser the campaign focused on the fact that we accepted 'currencies of anti internet countries' but wouldn't accept bitcoins. We had integrated an enormous amount of different currencies (though each individual one was not much work it was really just the original integration that took forever). The articles and comments at the time seemed very clearly to me to try and imply that we should not be accepting these currencies (making it much harder for users in those countries to give) because they were 'anti internet' and we should accept bitcoin because it was 'pro internet'. I'm sorry, that's just not how we should be making decisions. The articles since then have not seemed any different (and have, perhaps, seemed even more angry) every time I see stories asking us, or anyone for that matter, to accept bitcoin it's always couched in the idea that oh X and Y accept it so why won't YOU! and it is very clear that if we start accepting it every story will include some variation of Wikipedia accepts it and therefore how can you say it isn't mainstream!. Very few (i'm sure they exist, but I haven't found them) of the articles talk about how much money the non profits or companies are making, they are all about trying to make a point and prove that we should accept bitcoin because... 'freedom'.. That isn't our job and, again, I don't like people who seem to be out to use our name for their gain. Sorry for the bit of a ramble here :-/ at this point whenever I see another one of these pushes I want to accept bitcoin less and I respect the bitcoin community a bit less. It's a great idea (with some flaws, but a great idea none the less) but...this is not how to make it a respectable currency... it's how to make it look like a niche toy beloved by people trying to push an agenda :-/ James On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 12:20 AM, David Gerard dger...@gmail.com wrote: On 10 December 2013 23:13, Tim Starling tstarl...@wikimedia.org wrote: On 11/12/13 06:58, Tomasz W. Kozlowski wrote: I'm sure those reading this list can Google the topic themselves, so I won't link to the many angry discussion that are taking place on the interwebs right now; I tried Googling, including news and blog searches, and couldn't work out what you are talking about. Maybe you should provide links. tl;dr Bitcoin fans really, really want Wikimedia to accept Bitcoin donations; Wikimedia is not so interested, but haven't sent a big Monty Python-style trademark foot down on Bitpay as yet. Nobody else is very aware. - d. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method
On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 7:10 AM, David Levy lifeisunf...@gmail.com wrote: MZMcBride z...@mzmcbride.com wrote: It's funny, I just had a look at the wikimedia-l archive around January 2012... you know, that time when Wikipedia literally shut itself down as a political statement. The following month, the Wikimedia Foundation established a Community Advocacy department, not to be confused with lobbying, of which you're now a member. I can appreciate the many legitimate reasons to not accept Bitcoin and I'm grateful for your candid thoughts on the matter, but the idea that you, of all people, would try to claim that it might (gasp!) insert politics into Wikipedia is simply disrespectful to history and reality. I interpreted James Alexander's statement to mean that it's not our job and not our role to make the particular political statement that Bitcoin's proponents seek. This doesn't mean that it's *never* okay for us to engage in advocacy of a political nature, particularly in response to something potentially threatening a WMF project's very existence. (Whether SOPA and PIPA actually posed a significant threat is debatable, but the action in question stemmed from the belief that they did.) David Levy David is right, I think the SOPA/PIPA decision was the correct one in the end but I very highly respect those who did not/do not think it was. Even there I was highly uncomfortable making a strong political statement, especially using the project, and had to wrestle with myself a fair bit before I did it. There is no doubt that we, as an organization and a community, are not 'neutral' in everything but I think we should avoid being political unless we think it directly effects us and we have thought deeply about it. I have no issue with the foundation and community advocating for internet privacy/copyright laws etc for example but even those we need to be very picky about. I do not think this arrises to that level yet. On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 12:31 PM, Jake Orlowitz jorlow...@gmail.com wrote: I don't think we should 'make a statement' by accepting bitcoin, I think the currency is simply at the stage where it would be to our benefit to do so. Jake (Ocaasi) Without getting into some of your other arguments at the moment because of lack of time (through I don't agree with them all) I do think it's impossible to avoid 'making a statement' here. Whenever we do something we have to not only think about it from what 'we' are trying to make a statement about but also how it will be viewed. I think it is guaranteed that the commercial and non commercial community who has been pushing this for 4+ years will see it as a huge win and approval for their methods and that given their consistent strategies we will be used as a reason for many others to sign on as well with our 'support' being paraded around. If we're going to do it, we need to know it's going to be seen and used as a statement whether we want it to or not. James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Porn blocking in the UK: en:wp blocks on O2
Watching the o2 twitter account on overdrive most of the day has been interesting. They seem to have changed a bit of the tune of the responses from simply it's opt in parents can choose (except to complaints about childline type responses to a mix of that and we are reviewing the parental control opt-in service as soon as possible. Of course has shown change isn't impossible but isn't horribly likely. https://mobile.twitter.com/O2 Sent from my iPhone James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation +1 415-839-6885 x6716 On Dec 22, 2013, at 14:47, Andy Mabbett a...@pigsonthewing.org.uk wrote: On 22 December 2013 19:31, geni geni...@gmail.com wrote: If people chose to opt into censorship then its a bit outside our remit. Isn't the plan to make this opt-out in the near future? Even if not, if were being blocked under misleading or inapplicable categories, we have a right (and a duty) to protest. -- Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing http://pigsonthewing.org.uk ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Visually impaired
On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 2:05 AM, Gerard Meijssen gerard.meijs...@gmail.comwrote: Hoi, How is dyslexia anything BUT a visual impairment ? Thanks, GerardM Dyslexia can also has some serious auditory symptoms (processing speed, auditory memory, verbal comprehension, voice recognition.. etc). The stereotype is the reading/writing aspect but it is very much not the only one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyslexia James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Community consultation + Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director selection process
On Fri, Jan 31, 2014 at 12:55 PM, James Salsman jsals...@gmail.com wrote: We should be discussing the merits of individual candidates in the open. No... we should not. That would greatly hamper the board's ability to get good candidates. Most people who are already in a current job are not going to be willing to have open debates about the job opportunities they are seeking. Not only because their 'boss' will know but also because if they are in a public company that could cause large issues in the market etc (all for naught if they don't get selected). ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Ukraine -- is everyone safe?
:( Not much else to say. Too many to die too many to face their end. Whatever side you're on he faced a patriot's death fighting for his beliefs. It should not be, but he should be remembered along with all those who stood their conscience. My thoughts and prayers are with you all and his family in particular :(. James Whether our lives and our deaths were for peace and a new hope or for nothing we cannot say, it is you who must say this. We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning. We were young, they say. We have died; remember us. --Archibald MacLeish Sent from my iPhone James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation +1 415-839-6885 x6716 On Feb 23, 2014, at 17:01, Maryana Pinchuk mpinc...@wikimedia.org wrote: For those of you who don't read Ukrainian, a quick ad-hoc translation of the blog post. So sorry for the loss of a fellow Ukrainian and such a bright young member of the Wikimedia movement :( * * * Wikipedian Igor Kostenko dies on the Maidan. February 20, 2014, during the protests in Kiev, Igor Kostenko – an active contributor to the Ukrainian Wikipedia, journalist and geography student – died tragically. Igor Kostenko was born December 31, 1991, in the village of Zubrets in the Buchach region of Ternopil. After graduating from high school, he attended Ivan Franko University in Lviv, where he was in his fifth year of study in the department of geography, majoring in Organizational Management. In addition to his studies, he worked as a journalist for the publication Sports Analysis. Igor was an active contributor to the Ukrainian Wikipedia, writing under the username Ig2000.[1] Igor registered an account on July 23, 2011, and in just that month began writing his first articles. In two and a half years, he wrote over 280 articles and made over 1,600 edits. He had a wide range of encyclopedic interests – he wrote articles on sports topics (soccer, Formula One), geography, economics, and the history of the Ukrainian military. His article on the Nezamozhnyk destroyer of the Ukrainian and Soviet fleet in the first half of the 20th century[2] was acknowledged for its quality by the community and achieved the status of Good article. Additionally, he contributed many updates on sports events to Wikinews. Igor was also active in promoting Ukrainian Wikipedia on social media, through which he sought to gain more contributors. He was an administrator of the Ukrainian Wikipedians Facebook page,[3] where he regularly posted interesting facts from Wikipedia. In August 2013 he proposed hosting a Wiki Flashmob – inviting a large group of Ukrainians to participate in a day of article-writing on Wikipedia. The Wiki Flashmob was planned for January 20, 2014, the 10-year anniversary of Ukrainian Wikipedia, but due to the tragic events in the country, the event was cancelled. Igor believed that the flashmob would help fill Wikipedia with thousands of new articles in the course of a day and proposed a strategy to realize his dream, but unfortunately, he did not live to see it become a reality. On February 18, 2014, along with other students from Lviv, Igor came to Kiev to the Euromaidan, because he wanted Ukraine to be led by people with a patriotic spirit. On February 20th, during a protest on Instytutskaya Street, Igor died tragically: he bravely went ahead with a shield, but he was shot by two bullets, one of which struck him in the head... Today, February 23, Igor was buried in his home town of Buchach. Thousands of people accompanied him on his final journey – both students from Lviv and residents of Ternopil. In honor of Igor and the tens of others who died on the Euromaidan,[4] on February 21, the community decided to modify the logo of the Ukrainian Wikipedia with a black ribbon as a symbol of mourning. The editors of Ukrainian Wikipedia and Wikimedia Ukraine offer their condolences to the friends and family of Igor Kostenko. A page has been created on Wikipedia where you can leave your condolences.[5] Memory eternal... 1. https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D1%83%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%87:Ig2000 2. https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA_(%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BC%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%86%D1%8C) 3. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ukwiki/ 4. https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BA_%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%85_%D1%83%D1%87%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D1%96%D0%B2_%D0%84%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%83 5. https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D0%B1%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8F_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D1%83%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%87%D0%B0:Ig2000/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BC%27%D1%8F%D1%82%D1%8C On Sun, Feb 23, 2014 at 1:16 PM, Amir E. Aharoni amir.ahar...@mail.huji.ac.il wrote: Big sigh. According to Wikimedia Ukraine
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia-l archives
Hi Cornelius, There is a bug about this at the moment, we're not completely sure what it is yet because the settings on the interface side appear correct. You can still see the archives at http://news.gmane.org/gmane.org.wikimedia.foundation however for now. James Bug: https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=61792 James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Mon, Feb 24, 2014 at 1:18 PM, Cornelius Kibelka jckibe...@gmail.comwrote: Hi, I can't access the supposed-to-be-public archive of wikimedia-l anymore ( http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/). What happened? Or I am doing anything wrong? Best Cornelius Cornelius Kibelka Twitter: @jaancornelius Mobile:+351-91-9860232 (Vodafone PT) German number currently offline ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] the big red notice on the top of http://strategy.wikimedia.org - done
On Sun, Mar 9, 2014 at 1:49 AM, Bohdan Melnychuk bas...@yandex.ru wrote: But we close wiki. We not set wiki read only. Why should we use another therm than the procedure is called? Because what we DO (no matter what we call it) is set it as Read Only, it is still 100% accessible you just can't edit it. I think it does make sense that 'read-only' is more understandable then 'close' which sounds like we completely shut it off and you can't read it either. James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] the big red notice on the top of http://strategy.wikimedia.org - done
On Sun, Mar 9, 2014 at 3:24 AM, Bohdan Melnychuk bas...@yandex.ru wrote: Is it *just *can't edit? I believe at least we can't create a new acc in there. Closing is more then setting read only. We should use proper therms instead of those that more understandable by noobs. --Base Well, then we can disagree on this. I don't believe 'closed' is any more correct then 'read only' and I believe we should always strive to keep language as understandable as possible to as many people as possible. We don't always succeed, but we can always get better. James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Non-free images in collaborations
I'm confused about what you mean? The Wikivoyage logo for example is certainly marked as free https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikivoyage-logo.svg can you clarify? James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 6:08 PM, James Heilman jmh...@gmail.com wrote: @ Yana. You write But we hope to make them all freely licensed eventually and have already done so for newer logos (e.g. the new Wikivoyage logo). But commons does not reflect this https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Please advise? -- James Heilman MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian The Wikipedia Open Textbook of Medicine www.opentextbookofmedicine.com ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
[Wikimedia-l] Office Hours with Gayle Karen Young Thursday (March 13th) 19:00 UTC (noon PDT)
Hi all, Gayle Karen Young ( https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/User:Gyoung ), the Chief Talent and Culture Officer for the Wikimedia Foundation will be hosting office hours on Thursday March 13th (2 days from this announcement) at 19:00 UTC/Noon pacific. The office hours will be held on Freenode IRC in the #wikimedia-office channel. There is no planned discussion topic and this is meant as an open office hours and a chance to chat with Gayle. You can find a link to a time converted and a webchat client to join the conversation below and on the upcoming office hours page ( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC_office_hours#Upcoming_office_hours ). James Office hours start: 19:00 UTC 12:00 PDT Other times - http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?hour=19min=00sec=0day=13month=03year=2014 Scheduled end: 20:00 UTC 13:00 PDT Other times - http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?hour=20min=00sec=0day=13month=03year=2014 Webchat - http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=#wikimedia-office Office hours James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Hotmail fatal bounces
For those interested it looks like this happened for at least a couple days and was resolved yesterday (at least so much as we were removed from the blacklist), the bug ( there was some discussion with ops prior to it trying to track down the issue as well) is at https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=62838. James James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Thu, Mar 20, 2014 at 4:34 PM, Richard Ames rich...@ames.id.au wrote: Hotmail has bounced many connections with a 'fatal' error code: 550 SC-004. This happened at about 0015 on 19 March (UTC). Looking at Hotmail's error page at: http://mail.live.com/mail/ troubleshooting.aspx#errors says it was rejected for Policy reasons The result is many (all?) hotmail users have been 'disabled' in the mailing list. List users can reactivate themselves at https://lists.wikimedia.org/ mailman/options/wikimedia-l Regards, Richard. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimania-l] Setting ticket prices
On Sun, Mar 23, 2014 at 11:34 AM, Carlos M. Colina ma...@wikimedia.org.vewrote: Wait, are we in kindergarden? I think Rupert's email was sent off-list, so basically there is no need to bring it up to the list, regardless how related it is to the thread. Private discussions between two people should remain that, _private_, no? I just don't get it. M. While in general that is the goal (private emails staying private) I would say that in a case like this, no, you have no expectation of privacy when you go 'off list' to, in my opinion, harass and intimidate someone about what they did on the list. I think Nathan was completely reasonable to bring it back on list and that MZs comment is completely correct. It's like 'taking it outside' of a bar to have a fight, the bar is completely reasonable in banning you for it and it's still illegal. Rupert's email was completely unacceptable and I'm glad Nathan brought it to our attention rather then either getting into a prolonged off-list debate that helps no one or letting it lie so that no one else was aware of the attacks. James El 23/03/2014 04:33 p.m., MZMcBride escribió: I just wanted to chime in here to say that, at least in a vacuum, I found Rupert's e-mail to be highly inappropriate and I found Nathan's response to it to be wholly appropriate. Rupert, I hope to never see a repeat of this incident, in which you attempt to badger a list participant and Wikimedia volunteer off-list with uninformed and irrelevant questions under the guise of saving bandwidth and faux concern. Cut it out. MZMcBride ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- *Jülüjain wane mmakat* ein kapülain tü alijunakalirua jee wayuukanairua junain ekerolaa alümüin supüshuwayale etijaanaka. Ayatashi waya junain. Carlos Manuel Colina Vicepresidente A.C. Wikimedia Venezuela RIF J-40129321-2 +972-52-4869915 www.wikimedia.org.ve ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimania-l] Setting ticket prices
On Tue, Mar 25, 2014 at 11:39 PM, Benjamin Lees emufarm...@gmail.comwrote: On Mon, Mar 24, 2014 at 6:19 PM, John Mark Vandenberg jay...@gmail.com wrote: James, In the past you have supported a hardline position regarding publishing of private correspondence, and in circumstances when the reasons for publishing the private correspondence were of greater importance to the community than Rupert's private questions to Nathan, and lots of drama value too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requests_for_arbitration/Durova/Proposed_decision#Private_correspondence Just to be clear for the record, that was James Forrester, not James Alexander. Thanks Ben, As emufarmers points out (sorry, I would have earlier but gmail compresses this thread into the wikimania-l thread... I missed your email), but that wasn't me. I stand by my opinion (knowing that not everyone agrees). James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF FDC Proposal: we invite your participation
James, You have continued this, and related, lines of questioning of multiple staff members and of the community for quite some time now. It is clear that you have not received an answer that you find satisfactory, and I understand that, but may I ask what makes you think that you will receive an answer that is satisfactory to you by continuing to ask the same questions. It is possible, and in my opinion likely right now, that you will never receive an answer that satisfies you given the realities of the conversation. My read of the discussions (and lack thereof) that have happened here and elsewhere over the course of many years when you bring these topics up is that the level of interest in pursuing your specific agenda is not only low but, if anything, actively negative. That is not to say that many of us do not, personally, agree with the goals that you espouse just that we do not believe the foundation should be actively participating in them. Spreading us too thin is not helpful for any of our goals and focus, including in advocacy, is incredibly important. I would encourage you, James, to move on from this line of discussion. Continued work on it, whether it be via passive aggressive emails 'to' staff members (while copying in a public mailing list), attempts to rally up support through different mailing lists or via proposed surveys of the community are unlikely to change the response that has been clear for at least 5 years. I understand that you may not see these emails or proposals in the way I described but I urge you look at them through others eyes. James Alexander User:Jamesofur On Sun, Apr 6, 2014 at 4:47 PM, James Salsman jsals...@gmail.com wrote: Hi Geoff, Would you please clarify which of the advocacy topics below, if any, are precluded by the restrictions at https://web.archive.org/web/20120621122539/http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=163392,00.html ? Since multiple people have claimed that some are without saying which, it would be very helpful to have some clarity from an authority. The topics were designed to address volunteer quality of life issues on which the Foundation has not been active because they were not considered when volunteer survey respondents were polled on their advocacy preferences. I am not interested in correcting those omissions with any topics which are precluded by IRS regulations. Thank you! 1. Labor rights, e.g., linking to fixmyjob.com 2. Support the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its protocols without reservation 3. Increase infrastructure spending 4. Increase education spending 5. Public school class size reduction 6. College subsidy with income-based repayment terms 7. More steeply progressive taxation 8. Negative interest on excess reserves 9. Telecommuting 10. Workweek length reduction 11. Single-payer health care 12. Renewable power purchase 13. Increased data center hardware power efficiency 14. Increased security against eavesdropping 15. Metropolitan broadband 16. Oppose monopolization of software, communications, publishing, and finance industries ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Affiliation in username
On Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 11:08 AM, Nathan nawr...@gmail.com wrote: On Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 1:55 PM, Marc A. Pelletier m...@uberbox.org wrote: On 04/21/2014 12:07 PM, Nathan wrote: Of the 120 staffers that don't have a staff account, how many have accounts with (WMF) in the username - or accounts at all? I honestly do not know the numbers, though I'd wager most is close to reality - certainly any recent addition to the teams. Ah, interesting. I wonder why its necessary for most or all WMF staffers to have accounts with an explicit WMF affiliation. Aye, given the nature of our work the vast majority of staff have a staff account of some sort (not everyone uses separate accounts though we strongly encourage them to). In the end almost everyone on staff has a reason, at some point, to edit on a public wiki whether they are HR/Finance ( discussions or postings about FDC proposals/budget publications etc) or technical/community/grant focused. For many that need actually tends to lean towards meta and/or mediawiki only though a fair bit stretch elsewhere on the projects ( engineering and community people especially ). Philippe and I have worked hard to try and make the 'staff' user group as it traditionally stands a very 'as needed' right and so the default is now to give out no rights or smaller, more focused, rights (meta admin, central notice admin, global interface editor etc) that fit their need. ( we ask for a use case for every rights request, you can see most of them here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AvhjkTJIpW2zdDl1bVBuOU1jQUJwOHd5YmhmSzFaZHcsingle=truegid=5output=htmlsysadmin rights aren't on there because they are generally handled by engineering). Overall we don't actually require separate accounts at the moment but I strongly encourage them, I think it behooves everyone to have a clear distinction between 'personal' and 'work' actions and the separate accounts help that significantly. I also think it helps in locking down access if they depart the foundation at some point. James James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Affiliation in username
On Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 11:23 AM, Michael Peel em...@mikepeel.net wrote: Hi James, On 21 Apr 2014, at 19:16, James Alexander jalexan...@wikimedia.org wrote: Philippe and I have worked hard to try and make the 'staff' user group as it traditionally stands a very 'as needed' right and so the default is now to give out no rights or smaller, more focused, rights (meta admin, central notice admin, global interface editor etc) that fit their need. ( we ask for a use case for every rights request, you can see most of them here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AvhjkTJIpW2zdDl1bVBuOU1jQUJwOHd5YmhmSzFaZHcsingle=truegid=5output=htmlsysadmin rights aren't on there because they are generally handled by engineering). Thanks for sharing that link. It didn't work for me the first time, but removing the output= parameter fixes that, so the working URL is: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AvhjkTJIpW2zdDl1bVBuOU1jQUJwOHd5YmhmSzFaZHcsingle=truegid=5 Please can this be turned onto an on-wiki document, rather than being a google doc, as it's quite an important one that should be transparent to the community as a whole! I'd be happy to help with the wikification if that would be useful. Thanks, Mike Nemo was nice enough to add it to the the user groups page on meta so that it's linked from there as well. Right now it's on a google doc because it is a public view of the tracking spreadsheet Philippe and I use (which includes staff whose rights requests were denied or removed as well as some contact info and additional tracking (for example for the formal staff rights themselves we give training on what kind of approvals are needed for certain actions and record when that was done) and so gets automatically updated as I update that. I originally did it on a private wiki (I have a strong preference for wiki of some sort vs google docs personally) but the spreadsheet has just tended to be a significantly easier tool for tracking and updating. I wouldn't want to duplicate it on wiki unless we put my whole process there (otherwise it is significantly more likely to get out of date) and to do that would require some additional discussion and thinking. James ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Affiliation in username
I'm heading to bed but will follow up with you tomorrow from the office. Publishing is on for that sheet at the moment (that's what I'm using to show it through the link I gave) so not exactly sure what else you need but I'd love if faebot was able to help keep it synced up on wiki. Actually, others may have figured it out (I know the one on wiki works), but I just noticed that particular link was broken somehow in my email (sysadmin got added to the end). The correct, working, link is https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AvhjkTJIpW2zdDl1bVBuOU1jQUJwOHd5YmhmSzFaZHcsingle=truegid=5output=html James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Wed, May 14, 2014 at 2:58 AM, Fæ fae...@gmail.com wrote: On 10 May 2014 19:02, Fæ fae...@gmail.com wrote: On 21/04/2014, James Alexander jalexan...@wikimedia.org wrote: ... we ask for a use case for every rights request, you can see most of them here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AvhjkTJIpW2zdDl1bVBuOU1jQUJwOHd5YmhmSzFaZHcsingle=truegid=5output=htmlsysadmin James, if you open this spreadsheet and switch on publishing (go to File / Publish to the web...) then I'll take a look at Faebot keeping a table regularly synchronized on meta using the Google spreadsheets API. Ping. I would like to repeat my offer to add this extra level of openness to this information, my email might have been lost in the long thread. Is there a reason for not switching on publishing to the public spreadsheet so that the community can refer to a maintained wiki-table of the same data on meta rather than relying entirely on Google's excellent but closed-source collaboration tools? Thanks, 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] Affiliation in username
Thanks so much for the help with this Fæ! James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Wed, May 21, 2014 at 1:59 PM, Fæ fae...@gmail.com wrote: On 10 May 2014 19:02, Fæ fae...@gmail.com wrote: ... I'll take a look at Faebot keeping a table regularly synchronized on meta using the Google spreadsheets API. For anyone that may be interested in seeing which WMF employees have what advanced permissions, there is now a wikitable on meta automatically generated from the Google spreadsheet that the WMF maintains. The table is at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMF_Advanced_Permissions I don't want to encourage folks to start relying on Google spreadsheets(!), however keeping spreadsheets like this in-sync with on-wiki tables is not a new issue. Anyone interested in how I did it can find a copy of the Python script at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Faebot/code/advanced_permissions I have also asked for a meta bot flag, as I'm planning for Faebot to check/update the table once a week: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Requests_for_bot_status#Faebot 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] Slide deck about Wikimedia?
I believe the list Sue is talking about (which has some nice presentations) is at http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_room/WMF_Presentations James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Wed, May 28, 2014 at 6:09 PM, Sue Gardner sgard...@wikimedia.org wrote: Hi Yves, I've been meaning to reply as well but had forgotten. So you know: the Wikimedia Foundation tries to publish all our public, general decks on the WMF site, so that other people can use them or pieces of them, as they see fit. Not everything is there, but there should be lots of material you may find helpful. I don't have a link (on my phone) but perhaps if Tilman or somebody else who know where they're kept sees this note, they can send it to the list. If not, I'll do it later. Thanks, Sue On 28 May 2014 14:22, Yves Z zyzz...@outlook.com wrote: Thank you, Federico and Jean-Frédéric. This is what I was looking for. From: jeanfrederic.w...@gmail.com Date: Mon, 26 May 2014 09:31:09 +0200 To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Slide deck about Wikimedia? Hello, Hello, Where can I find recent presentations about Wikimedia and what each of the main projects is for? I visited outreach.wikimedia.org but didn't see slides or overviews. Thanks! You might want to check out https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Presentations. It’s probably not super up-to-date, but many folks indicate a way to get the source ODP file (usually by contacting them, SlideShare link, etc). -- Jean-Frédéric ___ 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 ___ 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] Let Commons do what it knows best and use Wikidata for it and the rest
I believe they are generally supposed to be listed at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Non-free_content which looks relatively up to date, though it does not look like the resolution actually requires it. James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Tue, Jun 17, 2014 at 9:17 PM, Pete Forsyth petefors...@gmail.com wrote: On Tue, Jun 17, 2014 at 9:10 PM, geni geni...@gmail.com wrote: exemption doctrine policy (incidentally does anyone know if there is a central list of these?) Yeah, I've often wished there was a central list at Meta (and I'm glad the legal team set up a central place for Alternate Disclosure Policies). But, at least there's Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11160614#sitelinks-wikipedia -Pete [[User:Peteforsyth]] ___ 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
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Number of volunteers. (Was: How many volunteers (not editors) ...?)
Is sysop supposed to be an on wiki sysop? James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Tue, Jul 1, 2014 at 5:23 PM, MZMcBride z...@mzmcbride.com wrote: Rjd0060 wrote: As for the Volunteer Coordinator, he was Cary Bass and left the Foundation some time ago. See https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Bastique or https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Cary_Bass . Indeed. There was also a Volunteer Development Coordinator position for a bit: https://www.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Permalink/87987. The original question remains unclear to me. How are volunteer positions which work for the Wikimedia Foundation defined? It seems unlikely we'll ever have completely accurate numbers here, but even ballparking is almost impossible without first establishing a very clear definition of who is and is not considered a volunteer and who is and is not considered working for the Wikimedia Foundation. And there are other important questions such as whether we're counting people or positions (e.g., there is overlap between sysops and OTRS responders). MZMcBride ___ 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] Where did noboards go
Hi Erlend, Have you filed a request on bugzilla yet? That would generally be the right place for all technical config requests (or issues you run into). James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Tue, Jul 15, 2014 at 10:49 AM, Erlend Bjørtvedt erl...@wikimedia.no wrote: I am sorry, but an admin at MediaWiki (?) needs to enable upload to the noboards site. We use this site to store all our documents relating to accounting, salaries, tax, etc. After the troubles mentioned, it is not any more possible to upload anything to this site. Do anyone have any idea of who, where, and how this admin rights can be changed so that we can upload? I am sorry to bother l-list with this, but at WMF and Meta there aren't any contact infos for this, whatsoever. best regards Erlend Bjørtvedt WMNO 2014-07-01 18:58 GMT+02:00 Casey Brown li...@caseybrown.org: On Mon, Jun 30, 2014 at 5:21 PM, Casey Brown li...@caseybrown.org wrote: I reopened the bug that probably broke the wiki's configuration: https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=31335 This has since been fixed by Sam Reed. See the bug for more information. The new site address is https://noboard-chapters.wikimedia.org/ and previous links might not work, so make sure everyone with access to the wiki knows to update their bookmarks. -- Casey Brown (Cbrown1023) caseybrown.org ___ 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 -- *Erlend Bjørtvedt* Nestleder, Wikimedia Norge Vice chairman, Wikimedia Norway Mob: +47 - 9225 9227 http://no.wikimedia.org http://no.wikimedia.org/wiki/About_us ___ 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] Underwater photos and videos / WMRS Microgrants 2014
I think if you are going to be releasing images or video you would be better using a Creative Commons license or similar. The RPL (like the GPL it's based on) is significantly more designed for source code and programs and the requirements make media much harder to reuse. James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Sat, Jul 19, 2014 at 3:59 PM, Milos Rancic mill...@gmail.com wrote: On Sun, Jul 20, 2014 at 12:49 AM, Todd Allen toddmal...@gmail.com wrote: Uh, wait. Please answer the question clearly and unambiguously. What exact license will the proposed contributions be under? On Jul 18, 2014 2:06 PM, Milos Rancic mill...@gmail.com wrote: I think that the best one is Reciprocal Public License [1]. What do you think? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reciprocal_Public_License ___ 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] Invitation to beta-test HHVM
Yeah, I can confirm this. It appears that when you turn on HHVM it forces the default time setting to be UTC, so if you're on a wiki which uses a non UTC default time zone (usually the time zone of the region most using the language, we do this on around 200 wikis) suddenly all of the times you are used to seeing (in the history, recent changes, contributions, signature time stamps etc) change what time they are showing which gets confusing. This does not appear to happen if you have 'manually' set your time zone (only if you are using the local default). I'm going to file a bug now for it assuming someone else hasn't. James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 1:35 AM, Anders Wennersten m...@anderswennersten.se wrote: It has to do with timezone preferences. All times in latest changes and in my edits states time two hour wrong In am not sure what you mean with take timezone into account, I just clicked into the box as stated in your mail, and then all times changed, and when I took off the feature all times went back to correct time Anders Ori Livneh skrev 2014-09-19 09:46: On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 12:22 AM, Anders Wennersten m...@anderswennersten.se wrote: I experienced no improved answer time, but all time stamps in Wikipedia for me become wrong making it impossible to use the feature. I would call this problem a thing that should have been found in an alpha text... Anders Hi Anders, Thanks for trying it out. Could you clarify what you mean? I don't see anything wrong, but I'm not very observant. If you're comparing the logged-in and logged-out views, did you remember to take into account the timezone offset preference (if set)? ___ 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] Invitation to beta-test HHVM
Bug filed at: https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=71036 To correct myself: It does NOT appear that the signature time zone is affected, that is always the local wiki default as defined in http://noc.wikimedia.org/conf/InitialiseSettings.php.txt no matter what you set in appearances. James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 2:02 AM, James Alexander jalexan...@wikimedia.org wrote: Yeah, I can confirm this. It appears that when you turn on HHVM it forces the default time setting to be UTC, so if you're on a wiki which uses a non UTC default time zone (usually the time zone of the region most using the language, we do this on around 200 wikis) suddenly all of the times you are used to seeing (in the history, recent changes, contributions, signature time stamps etc) change what time they are showing which gets confusing. This does not appear to happen if you have 'manually' set your time zone (only if you are using the local default). I'm going to file a bug now for it assuming someone else hasn't. James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 1:35 AM, Anders Wennersten m...@anderswennersten.se wrote: It has to do with timezone preferences. All times in latest changes and in my edits states time two hour wrong In am not sure what you mean with take timezone into account, I just clicked into the box as stated in your mail, and then all times changed, and when I took off the feature all times went back to correct time Anders Ori Livneh skrev 2014-09-19 09:46: On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 12:22 AM, Anders Wennersten m...@anderswennersten.se wrote: I experienced no improved answer time, but all time stamps in Wikipedia for me become wrong making it impossible to use the feature. I would call this problem a thing that should have been found in an alpha text... Anders Hi Anders, Thanks for trying it out. Could you clarify what you mean? I don't see anything wrong, but I'm not very observant. If you're comparing the logged-in and logged-out views, did you remember to take into account the timezone offset preference (if set)? ___ 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] Board of Trustee elections
On Sun, Oct 5, 2014 at 3:44 AM, Federico Leva (Nemo) nemow...@gmail.com wrote: (*) No official numbers exist... but I already opened one thread on transparency this week. Just to clarify so that I know what you're looking and can try and prioritize it. You are looking for the total number of eligible voters so that we can determine the actual turn out percentage? It could be a bit of a pain because of the lack of SUL and the fact that people can be eligible on multiple wikis but if I assume that 'same name = duplicate' then it shouldn't take too much manual jiggering after the scripts run. I will try to do that this afternoon (Sunday). I always intended to release more stats after the last election (and I know you've asked before), sadly issues came up in the pipeline and other work over came it priority wise so at the moment it would have to be in my personal time I do still want too or to find someone else who is able too :(. James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ 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] Board of Trustee elections
A completely un deduped (and so is double+ counting anyone who is eligible on multiple wikis because of activity there) number is 207911 for 2013. Caveats: This number is quick and dirty and 'reasonable' as a starting point but far from perfect, among other things: - It doesn't include 100% of the staff or developers, only the staff who had staff rights or asked and developers who asked because they couldn't vote in other ways). This is a relatively small amount of missing people. - It still includes bots and blocked users, because that was checked later in the process. I, again, think this is a relatively small amount given number of bots + blocked users with more then 300 edits relative to the total. It is possible some of the bots are very active across the board though which will be helped by the de dupping. - It is not de dupped meaning it double+ counts people who were active on many wikis or accounts, sometimes a lot (for example there are 7 entries for my personal account, 7 for my work account, and 69 for the steward DerHexer given global work). Sorting through the crap that the script spat out is more then I'm willing to do at 5am but I will try to do this later today and get this number down. My guess is this is in the 10k range. James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Sun, Oct 5, 2014 at 4:36 AM, James Alexander jalexan...@wikimedia.org wrote: On Sun, Oct 5, 2014 at 3:44 AM, Federico Leva (Nemo) nemow...@gmail.com wrote: (*) No official numbers exist... but I already opened one thread on transparency this week. Just to clarify so that I know what you're looking and can try and prioritize it. You are looking for the total number of eligible voters so that we can determine the actual turn out percentage? It could be a bit of a pain because of the lack of SUL and the fact that people can be eligible on multiple wikis but if I assume that 'same name = duplicate' then it shouldn't take too much manual jiggering after the scripts run. I will try to do that this afternoon (Sunday). I always intended to release more stats after the last election (and I know you've asked before), sadly issues came up in the pipeline and other work over came it priority wise so at the moment it would have to be in my personal time I do still want too or to find someone else who is able too :(. James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ 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] Board of Trustee elections
On Sun, Oct 5, 2014 at 5:09 AM, Craig Franklin cfrank...@halonetwork.net wrote: I think the issue is that the employee vote is now a significant proportion of the electorate. When this was originally set up, nobody complained too loudly about giving WMF staff the vote simply because their numbers were small and they were too small a constituency to sway the result on their own. The number of voters choosing to exercise their suffrage is decreasing, while the number of staff are increasing. While this illustrates a problem all on its own, it also means that WMF staff who may not be participants on the projects may now have enough pull to decide a closely fought election. I know it's too late to change the rules for this year, but I'd really recommend getting rid of the complex criteria for the next election, and dialing it back to a simple X number of edits, or Y number of patches rule. Not only would this be simpler to administer and easier to understand, but I would imagine most of the WMF staff who care enough to actually vote would probably qualify through those criteria anyway. A few worthy folk might miss out on the chance to lodge a ballot, but then that's going to be the case in any situation other than complete and universal suffrage. Cheers, Craig Franklin First off, setting aside the question about what I (personally) think should be the requirements I would say that it is in no way too late to change the rules. The election is not until mid year next year (I think we usually do it in June?) The election committee hasn't even been sat yet and they will be the ones to decide that in the end (that is not to say that we shouldn't have the discussion now too if people want, just that the decision makers aren't even decided yet). I don't have exact numbers, but I do remember that there are already very few people who wanted to vote, were only eligible as staff, and couldn't. Most of them were developers and so would be eligible via patches anyway (and most of THEM were eligible by edit count as well), among the non developers people like myself and Philippe refrained from voting because we were working with the election committee and felt that most appropriate. I don't believe there was an overwhelming vote of staff members in proportion to the total. Voter turn out is something I really want to see better though, it's something that I know we've discussed in the office and I'm sure that the election committee will have as a top priority. The biggest things I see right now is finishing SUL unification which will allow us to have '1 click' voting (and not sending people to meta first to learn about the election/candidates then to their undefined 'home wiki' to see if they can vote) completely anecdotally that seems to have consistently scared a lot of voters off and confused even some of our more experienced users (it also seems to be a bigger complaint each year) SUL will allow us to just have everyone click a start voting button on Meta and not have to go back to their home wiki. I also seriously wonder about the joint FDC/Board ballot giving people too much to look at, we know for example that over 500 people 'saw' the ballot but never submitted their vote. I also really think notifications could be incredibly helpful to get the word out, but so far that does not seem very likely to be available by then. James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ 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] Board of Trustee elections
On Sun, Oct 5, 2014 at 5:12 AM, James Alexander jalexan...@wikimedia.org wrote: A completely un deduped (and so is double+ counting anyone who is eligible on multiple wikis because of activity there) number is 207911 for 2013. Caveats: This number is quick and dirty and 'reasonable' as a starting point but far from perfect, among other things: - It doesn't include 100% of the staff or developers, only the staff who had staff rights or asked and developers who asked because they couldn't vote in other ways). This is a relatively small amount of missing people. - It still includes bots and blocked users, because that was checked later in the process. I, again, think this is a relatively small amount given number of bots + blocked users with more then 300 edits relative to the total. It is possible some of the bots are very active across the board though which will be helped by the de dupping. - It is not de dupped meaning it double+ counts people who were active on many wikis or accounts, sometimes a lot (for example there are 7 entries for my personal account, 7 for my work account, and 69 for the steward DerHexer given global work). Sorting through the crap that the script spat out is more then I'm willing to do at 5am but I will try to do this later today and get this number down. My guess is this is in the 10k range. So I was wrong about the extent of the de duplication. In the end there were about *50124* unique people marked off on the voter list (again, like above, that does still include some bots/blocked on multiple wiki users but they are only counted once each) so call it 50k. Using that number: - With a total of 1809 valid votes that is about a 3.6% turnout. - We know that another 534 people authenticated to vote but did not actually cast a valid vote (and so most likely left after seeing the ballot)[1]. That would account for an additional 1% [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2013/Post_mortem#Voter_participation ___ 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] Office Hours with VPE Damon Sicore - 9 October 2014 20:00 UTC / 13:00 PDT
Hi everyone, As our new Vice President of Engineering, Damon Sicore, just announced in his longer email to Wikimedia-l he will be having his first IRC Office hours on Thursday, October 9th, at 20:00 UTC (13:00 PDT). This hour long office hour is a chance to meet the new VPE and ask your burning questions. The office hour will be held in #Wikimedia-office on the Freenode network. You can find information on how to get online, including a link to a webchat option if you don't have an IRC client, on the meta office hours page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC_office_hours#How_to_participate. You can also find a time converter for the start of the hour at http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?hour=20min=00sec=0day=09month=10year=2014 . Like most of our public office hours this one will be publicly logged and should be posted on the meta office hour page shortly after it's conclusion. If you want to know you more about Damon you can read the Wikimedia Blog announcement https://blog.wikimedia.org/2014/09/29/damon-sicore-joins-wmf-as-vice-president-of-engineering/ or check out his personal blog http://damon.sicore.com. James [[cross posted on wikitech-l and wikimedia-l]] James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ 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] Reminder: Damon Sicore office hours in 5 minutes
On Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 2:47 PM, Risker risker...@gmail.com wrote: Log of this office hours: http://bots.wmflabs.org/~wm-bot/logs/%23wikimedia-office/20141009.txt (Will also be posted on Meta) Risker= Thanks Risker, It Is indeed at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC_office_hours/Office_hours_2014-10-09 James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ 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] Quarterly goals for WMF Legal
On Fri, Oct 10, 2014 at 3:24 PM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Hi Kirill, my understanding is that Affcom functions under the Legal department, much like the Individual Engagement Grants Committee functions under the Grantmaking department. Is that so, and if not, which department is responsible for Affcom. Those two committees are completely different. Affcom is a self operating committee created by the board and, as far as know, reports directly to the board while IEG is a committee created by staff (in this case the Grantmaking group) and they, understandably, run it (I have no knowledge of how much community members like yourself help do so of course and it certainly wouldn't surprise me if it is also partially or mostly self operating). James [While I work for LCA Affcom is in no way connected to my duties and I have no inside knowledge about whether this is somehow correct/incorrect just what I know from the years of watching] ___ 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] Wikimedia Foundation Audit - June 30, 2014
On Mon, Oct 13, 2014 at 12:14 PM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Hi Garfield, Thanks for the update. Is there public documentation somewhere about WMF investment policy? Who manages the investments, how was that firm or people chosen, and how often is the performance and risk of the portfolio and the investment manager reviewed by the Board? I am particularly interested in making sure that the investments chosen are in alignment with the values of the Foundation and have suitable risk levels, and I hope that the Board reviews these issues periodically. Hey Pine, it looks like you may be looking for https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Investment_Policy and https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Investment_Guidance. I will say that as someone on the internal 401k committee ( employee retirement program) mission and values driven decisions are incredibly difficult to balance well with our legal fiduciary responsibility and so always ended up having to be a secondary (though not ignored) issue. That is, however, a bit of a different case then the greater WMF investments since our main job is to make sure good 'options' are available for the staff to choose from rather then actually controlling their money. James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ 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] Re-licensing Wikimedia logos on Commons to CC BY-SA 3.0
On Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 9:54 PM, Allan J. Aguilar ral...@vmail.me wrote: -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA512 On Wed, 29 Oct 2014 08:15:17 -0500 Yana Welinder ywelin...@wikimedia.org wrote: To address Allan's question, this does not affect the trademark status of the logos as governed by the new trademark policy: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Trademark_policy. Thank you, Yana. However, as someone who understand little about copyright and trademarks, for me it is difficult to understand how can a logo be used commercially and not at the same time, and how can a logo be edited in any but at the same time it only can be published according to specific visual guidelines. Are the logos Free Cultural Works (as defined by Erik Möller on http://freedomdefined.org) or not? I don't think Erik was completely thinking about trademarks when he wrote that but I would say no, essentially nothing covered by a trademark would completely meet that definition. (and there would be major issues in my mind with not covering our major logos by trademark) Even the Creative Commons logos doesn't (for that matter I don't think the CC Logo is even under a CC License, at least not a by-sa one). James [not speaking for Legal/WMF etc] ___ 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] Re-licensing Wikimedia logos on Commons to CC BY-SA 3.0
On Thu, Oct 30, 2014 at 1:48 AM, rupert THURNER rupert.thur...@gmail.com wrote: The license is clear, and wmf is an expert in these licenses . So a previous trademark is void in the respect where it restricts what is defined in the license? Rupert I'm sorry, I don't completely understand the question but if I understand it correctly: I do in fact believe that they are experts in these licenses and do in fact know what they are doing here. However copyright law and trademark law are completely independent, you can very easily be allowed to do something under copyright law and not allowed to do it under trademark law (and vice versa) these are completely and utterly independent. The relicensing of the logos (under copyright law) does not affect the trademark policy or any of the Wikimedia Foundation's rights under trademark law... at all. This is just like the fact that the coca-cola logo may or may not be Public Domain copyright wise does not mean that someone can make a soda, slap the coca-cola logo on it and be safe (or, in fact, sell almost anything with the coca-cola logo on it because it's so widely recognized that it would be confusing even outside of the soda sphere). Just as an example to be clear: I don't think i've ever seen the foundation send a takedown to someone using our logos under copyright law, they were always sent because someone was abusing the trademark (pretending to be something official for example). Nothing changes about these takedowns, they are still completely enforceable and completely legitimate. There is no doubt that the distinction between copyright and trademark law can confuse (this is one of the reasons most organizations, including Creative Commons as I said earlier, keep the copyright more restricted) especially since they often use very similar terms (license, intellectual property, registration etc) but in the end it's fairly simple: they do not affect each other. Whether something is copyrighted (or even copyrightable) is completely independent, and unrelated, to whether it is trademarked (or trademarkable). James ___ 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] [Wikimedia France] WikiCheese crowdfunding - Let's photograph 'em all
This is an awesome idea Christophe! I'm only jealous that I'm not in France to take part (in the editing... editing... in no way do I want to be there mostly for the eating of course). Also, KissKissBankBank is an amazing name for a crowd funding site. James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Mon, Nov 24, 2014 at 10:22 AM, Christophe Henner christophe.hen...@gmail.com wrote: Good news everyone, Cheese articles are gonna get improved! As french, it was dreadful for us to see so few illustrations of cheese on Wikipedia. This is about to change. A group of french Wikimedians, lead by Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, designed a project to photograph many cheeses, up to 200 for the moment. This project is perticular as we aim to have it found through a french crowdfunding platform, KissKissBankBank. Of course Wikimedia France could have funded it itself, but we wanted to use the project as a way to get the larger audience aware of their ability to contribute and to give a fun image of contributing. The project in few words iss follow : * 10 cheeses per session * During the session the cheeses are photographed and their articles improved * During the sessions experimented wikimedian would train new editors * At every session every participant would enjoy eating good cheese too If you want to read more, or even contribute, about the project you can go on KissKissBankBank : http://www.kisskissbankbank.com/fr/projects/wikicheese If you have any questions, please feel free to shoot them on or off list. All the best, -- Christophe ___ 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
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Commons copyright extremism
On Thu, Dec 11, 2014 at 10:14 AM, Fæ fae...@gmail.com wrote: P.S. Stephen, you are young and handsome, in fact rather dishy to my ageing eyes. Good for you. Keep in mind that your fellow volunteers might not have been born so lucky, and that being young and pretty all too soon passes into memory, sigh. Fæ, this is not acceptable for the list (or for that matter on wiki). Stephen's neckbeard comment certainly wasn't helpful either but it's no excuse. James ___ 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] Fwd: It's the end
Also: We've actually had the DC Address for a couple years now, it's for a check processing service (Years ago they were processed by hand at the office but that took a lot longer and was no longer the most cost or time efficient way to do it). James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 12:36 PM, Pharos pharosofalexand...@gmail.com wrote: For those unfamiliar with the glories of the United States Postal Service, a P.O. Box is simply a rented mail slot in a public post office. Thanks, Pharos On Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 3:25 PM, Itzik - Wikimedia Israel it...@wikimedia.org.il wrote: Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 98204 Washington, DC 20090-8204 We have a new office at D.C? :) *Regards,Itzik Edri* Chairperson, Wikimedia Israel +972-(0)-54-5878078 | http://www.wikimedia.org.il Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment! -- Forwarded message -- From: Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia don...@wikimedia.org Date: Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 8:18 PM Subject: It's the end To: itz...@wikimedia.org.il *If all our past donors simply gave again today, we wouldn't have to worry about fundraising for the rest of the year.* Dear Itzik, This is the last email reminder you'll receive. We hope the response to today's email will let us end the fundraiser. Please take one minute to keep Wikipedia online and ad-free another year http://links.email.donate.wikimedia.org/ctt?kn=6ms=NDc2NjQ5MTYS1r=NjI3MjkzMTU0NzAS1b=0j=NTgzNjIxMTAzS0mt=1rt=0 . To protect our independence, we'll never run ads. We receive no government funds. We survive on donations from our readers. If all our past donors simply gave again today, we could end the fundraiser. Please help us forget fundraising and get back to improving Wikipedia. We are deeply grateful for your past support. This year, please consider making another donation to protect and sustain Wikipedia http://links.email.donate.wikimedia.org/ctt?kn=6ms=NDc2NjQ5MTYS1r=NjI3MjkzMTU0NzAS1b=0j=NTgzNjIxMTAzS0mt=1rt=0 . Click to donate $5 right away. http://links.email.donate.wikimedia.org/ctt?kn=2ms=NDc2NjQ5MTYS1r=NjI3MjkzMTU0NzAS1b=0j=NTgzNjIxMTAzS0mt=1rt=0 Click to donate $25 right away. http://links.email.donate.wikimedia.org/ctt?kn=1ms=NDc2NjQ5MTYS1r=NjI3MjkzMTU0NzAS1b=0j=NTgzNjIxMTAzS0mt=1rt=0 Click to donate $50 right away. http://links.email.donate.wikimedia.org/ctt?kn=5ms=NDc2NjQ5MTYS1r=NjI3MjkzMTU0NzAS1b=0j=NTgzNjIxMTAzS0mt=1rt=0 Or click to donate another amount. http://links.email.donate.wikimedia.org/ctt?kn=7ms=NDc2NjQ5MTYS1r=NjI3MjkzMTU0NzAS1b=0j=NTgzNjIxMTAzS0mt=1rt=0 Thank you, Jimmy Wales Wikipedia Founder *DONATE NOW »* http://links.email.donate.wikimedia.org/ctt?kn=6ms=NDc2NjQ5MTYS1r=NjI3MjkzMTU0NzAS1b=0j=NTgzNjIxMTAzS0mt=1rt=0 -- You are receiving this email at itz...@wikimedia.org.il as a valued donor of the Wikimedia Foundation. If you do not wish to receive any future emails from the Wikimedia Foundation, unsubscribe instantly http://wikimedia.pages04.net/WMFUnsubscribe/Unsubscribe?spMailingID=47664916spUserID=NjI3MjkzMTU0NzAS1spJobID=NTgzNjIxMTAzS0spReportId=NTgzNjIxMTAzS0 . Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 98204 Washington, DC 20090-8204 United States of America enUS14 ___ 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] Fwd: It's the end
On Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 1:00 PM, Brad Courcelles courcellesw...@gmail.com wrote: Perhaps because that is the address they want people to use if they are mailing in a check for a donation? Obviously not in Fundraising so grain of salt but I think that's exactly the reason. If someone is using the address on a donation email it's usually for a donation (and any real mail that gets sent there can likely be forwarded on to us easily). James [Switching to personal account since this isn't my work anymore] ___ 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] Cc-by-sa 4.0, Wikimedia logos
Yeah, it seems like they have the deed in a bunch of languages now but the actual full license is officially only in En,no and fi ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode#languages ) James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Thu, Feb 12, 2015 at 12:30 PM, Michael Peel em...@mikepeel.net wrote: According to the footer at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ CC-BY-SA 4.0 is currently available in 34 languages/language variants: Castellano http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.es Castellano (España) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.es_ES Català http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.ca Dansk http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.da Deutsch http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.de English http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en Esperanto http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.eo français http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.frGalego http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.gl hrvatski http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.hr Indonesia http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.id Italiano http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.it Latviski http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.lv Lietuvių http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.lt Magyar http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.hu Melayu http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.ms Nederlands http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.nl Norsk http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.no polski http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pl Português http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt Português (BR) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt_BR Suomeksi http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.fi svenska http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.sv Türkçe http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.tr íslenska http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.isčesky http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.cs Ελληνικά http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.el русский http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.ru українська http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.uk العربية http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.ar پارسی http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.fa 日本語 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.ja 華語 (台灣) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.zh_TW 한국어 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.ko . Thanks, Mike On 12 Feb 2015, at 20:26, Luis Villa lvi...@wikimedia.org wrote: CC 4 is still only in two (three?) languages (Kat may want to weigh in?) so it is premature for us to move, I think. But I'm optimistic we'll see traction in that area soon, and then we can have a movement discussion. Sorry that we can't force that to happen faster :) [To be clear, as I've said on Commons, CC 4.0 is clearly already *acceptable* for imported images - obviously free, etc. We just shouldn't be encouraging it as the *default* anywhere until there are more languages and a movement-wide discussion.] Luis On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 1:13 AM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com mailto: wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Hi, Can we get an update on the transition plan to 4.0? I am seeing increasing amounts of content with 4.0 licensing across the the web, and would like us to move sooner rather than later to 4.0 in order to maintain continuity with new content where possible. I am not a licensing expert and I sometimes get headaches trying to deconflict licenses. Thanks, Pine On Oct 28, 2014 3:00 PM, Luis Villa lvi...@wikimedia.org wrote: Hi, Rupert- I think the movement as a whole should try to move consistently to 4.0 at roughly the same time. It is confusing to re-users to have to juggle different terms for different pieces of Wikimedia content.[1] So Foundation content will generally remain 3.0 until we make 4.0 the default license across the projects. (I'm aware that some projects have taken this jump on the own, but where I've seen this, I've made similar points - for example https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_talk:Declaration_of_consent_for_all_enquiriesdiff=prevoldid=622093759 .) WMF Legal plans to launch a movement-wide 4.0 discussion when CC has issued a solid number of translations, ideally in our largest languages. I understand the first few translations will be published in the next few weeks, and there is a schedule of upcoming translations on CC's wiki https://wiki.creativecommons.org/Legal_Tools_Translation#4.0[2]. Realistically, given the holidays, and the lag for large projects, this likely means
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Cc-by-sa 4.0, Wikimedia logos
On Fri, Feb 13, 2015 at 10:05 PM, James Alexander jalexan...@wikimedia.org wrote: Yeah, it seems like they have the deed in a bunch of languages now but the actual full license is officially only in En,no and fi ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode#languages ) James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur errr... for the record I'm not sure why this sent now... it was written before Kat had said this exact same thing... James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ 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] Announcement: WMF to file suit against the NSA
On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 12:04 PM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: I'm generally supportive of this legal action, but I am troubled by this statement: I trust our legal team to make decisions about what legal actions to participate in. In general I think highly of Michelle, but this statement fits a long-running pattern I percieve in WMF governance of the board being deferential to the ED and staff. This goes back to Sue's tenure and possibly longer. I feel that the Board should respectfully ask tough questions about staff recommendations. Had the board done so, we might all have been saved from the MediaViewer, VisualEditor, and other product dramas because the Board would have been vigilant about project selection and quality control. WMF needs an activist board. All of the guidance that I read about boards in general says that good boards do due diligance, and I would encourage the WMF board to be proactive and ask tough questions. This can be done while maintaining a positive and respectful atmosphere. Thank you, Pine I think I would disagree Pine. Our board will always have a bit of an odd place because of our movement (this is not a bad thing) and will therefore be more hands on, however, a good board needs to be about oversight and strategic direction. They are NOT, very explicitly NOT about day to day management and they can not be because if they are they are unable to focus on the strategic direction part that is their primary responsibility. This includes the fact that while they should be consulted and notified about major decisions and actions (just like they were here, and if they had said that this was a bad mood I imagine that the staff would have reconsidered :) ). They should not be having votes or making resolutions about staff decisions like that, that is not the boards role. It is also not their role to challenge the staff in public, so therefore the fact that you see them saying they trust the staff to do X or Y does not actually mean that they are not challenging them behind the scenes and giving them a hard time/making them adjust things. Also, the only individual employee in the entire organization they oversee is the CEO/ED and it is through him or her that they do their work. If they think the organization is going in the wrong direction and needs correction then they should certainly take action (since they are ultimately responsible) but they work with the ED or they get rid of them if the ED isn't working with them. This is an important separation between the staff and the board and further encourages their distinct roles. Now this IS a bit different for very small organizations (including many of our chapters for example) but the foundation has been large enough to need the separation for quite some time now (this isn't a new thing because of our recent growth, I would say that WMDE and probably a couple of the other chapters are also at this level). I DO think we have an activist board, that's a good thing (not a bad thing) but I'm not sure you'd generally SEE when they decide to be activists and that is ALSO a good thing, not a bad thing. The board and staff disagreeing publicly and trying to hash out their differences causes enormous rifts within the organization and the community that are even harder to heal then the current ones between the foundation and the community (which we most definitely need to heal). James Alexander Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ 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] Announcement: WMF to file suit against the NSA
Aye, I also only have anecdotal evidince at this point (from my father who has been messaging me and myself) but the comments I've seen in the american press have been 10:1 (higher on tech sites) with generally more thoughtful comments then usual and where there are critiques they are not bad ones. So far it looks like folks are very supportive of it. This of course comes with the usual caveats of possible filter bubbles and commenters on american news sites not necessarily equating to a range of american views. James On Tue, Mar 10, 2015 at 1:15 PM, David Gerard dger...@gmail.com wrote: It's difficult to overstate how much people love us. We tell them everything about everything, and we're mostly right and try to stay neutral. But it's all written by just people! So it's cosy as well. With SOPA, we discovered that: when Wikipedia says you suck, you *suck*. So I'd expect that this will only look good for us. But I don't claim to have numbers to this effect. On 10 March 2015 at 19:55, Johan Jönsson brevlis...@gmail.com wrote: 2015-03-10 8:53 GMT+01:00 Michelle Paulson mpaul...@wikimedia.org: Hi All, I’m writing to let you know that today the Wikimedia Foundation[1] is filing suit against the National Security Agency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Agency, the Department of Justice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Justice , and the U.S. Attorney General https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Attorney_General[2] in order to challenge certain mass surveillance practices carried out by the U.S. government. We believe these practices are impinging the freedom to learn, inquire, and explore on Wikimedia sites. Since the 2013 mass surveillance disclosures, we’ve heard concerns from the community about privacy on Wikipedia. This lawsuit is a step towards addressing the community's justified concerns. We believe that the surveillance methods being employed by the NSA under the authority of the FISA Amendments Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Act_of_1978_Amendments_Act_of_2008 negatively impact our users' ability and willingness to participate in our projects. Today, we fight back. An op-ed http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/10/opinion/stop-spying-on-wikipedia-users.html?_r=0 by Lila and Jimmy about the lawsuit, and Wikimedia's stance on government surveillance, appeared in The New York Times this morning. Additionally, we just published a blog post https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/03/10/wikimedia-v-nsa/ with more information about the suit. (The post will also up on Meta for translation). Curious question, by the way: how controversial would you expect this move to be domestically? From e.g. a Swedish perspective, the NSA is an intelligence agency of a foreign power and the other mentioned organizations are either largely uncontroversial and seen in a positive light (Amnesty, PEN, HRW) or unknown, but will it affect how the WMF is seen in the US? //Johan Jönsson -- ___ 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] Announcement: WMF to file suit against the NSA
On Thu, Mar 12, 2015 at 10:12 PM, MZMcBride z...@mzmcbride.com wrote: A page on Meta-Wiki collecting information about this lawsuit might be nice to have. When we were rolling out I put the FAQ at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_v._National_Security_Agency/FAQ for translation etc. The base page is currently just a redirect until there was more to put there but could certainly get used. James Alexander Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ 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] A transition and a new chapter.
On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 11:53 AM, James Alexander jalexan...@wikimedia.org wrote: Denver that a departure from a role like this only allow you to take on different roles ;). Remember that a departure auto correct can be both a dangerous and wondrous thing. James Alexander Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ 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] A transition and a new chapter.
I know you will find an interesting and awesome next chapter but it is certainly a bittersweet pill to see you heading out. I've enjoyed working alongside you for the past 5 years from debates about jimbo banners to what show we should play at Science Tuesday. You have been a huge presence in the movement since it's very creation and you better not completely disappear. Denver that a departure from a role like this only allow you to take on different roles ;). I'll have time to do this more later this month I'm sure but may your next adventure be as or more fulfilling then your last :). Sent from my iPhone James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation +1 415-839-6885 x6716 On Apr 13, 2015, at 11:27, Brion Vibber bvib...@wikimedia.org wrote: It's been a long journey -- I remember that 2007 office well, and the crazy times before even that. :) Best of luck on what's next! -- brion On Apr 13, 2015 11:12 AM, Erik Moeller e...@wikimedia.org wrote: Hi all -- As Lila noted, since January 2008 I've worn many hats at the Wikimedia Foundation, and in the six years before that I was a Wikipedian, MediaWiki developer, and member of the WMF board of trustees. I became involved in Wikipedia when I was 22 years old. :) The Wikimedia movement has accomplished amazing things, but I believe it's time now for me to do something different and new. It's been a long and incredible journey, and one I am privileged to have helped to shape. When I joined the Foundation in December 2007 we were a staff of a dozen people, with barely enough funds to keep the lights on. Since then, we've tackled challenges of a complexity and scale faced by few other organisations. In doing so, we’ve been generously supported by people all over the world who are grateful for the gift of free knowledge. I’m proud of and happy with what we've achieved. Reaching people on mobile. Pioneering new approaches working with universities. Painstakingly building a visual editing experience on top of wikitext. :) I’m glad we’ve taken a stand when it matters (SOPA blackout, NSA lawsuit) and that we don’t shy away from complex issues such as community health and diversity. I’m excited that Wikidata is growing in leaps and bounds with the help of Wikimedia Germany, and that more and more powerful tools and services are being built on the basis of Wikimedia APIs and data. I’ve always believed that Wikimedia chapter and affiliate organizations are key to the success of the movement, and I hope they are going to truly thrive in years to come. But it's time. As the leadership team begins to coalesce under Lila, I want to open up space for the organization to learn and explore anew -- and I’d like to rediscover for myself what it means to tackle challenges outside of my areas of comfort and familiarity. I’m very interested in the technical challenges of federated collaboration, and am looking forward to getting my hands dirty in that domain. I also want to explore how to make patterns of ethics, policy, and self-governance more accessible and re-usable for communities. In short, I’m itching to immerse myself in new problem spaces and new ideas. Lila, Damon, Terry, myself and others in the org have been discussing how to organize product going forward to set the org up for success in the years to come, and we’ll have an update on that very soon. This is a very natural point for me to pursue something new. What Wikimedia does in the world is wonderful important. I’m sure I will continue to cross paths with many of you in future as I continue to move in free culture circles, and I very much look forward to it. I’ll continue to be @ WMF full-time through April, and will make myself available as necessary afterwards, for when the org needs human institutional memory that surpasses digital archives. I wish you all success and joy :-) Love, Erik -- Erik Möller VP of Product Strategy, Wikimedia Foundation ___ 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] Design of BoT election banner
Aye, I asked a designer to give some nice options and presented them to the committee. While there are certainly some people who have not liked the banner I have generally heard good feedback overall from community members (significantly more good then bad) and have made adjustments to the banner to make it more accessible after some comments over the past 2 days. The banner is certainly a bit more colorful then most but that is, indeed, very much on purpose. The board specifically asked Philippe and I to create some banners that are a bit flashier so that we could draw attention to the call for candidates (and the desire for diversity) and, later, the election itself. There was a strong concern that the traditional banners were significantly harder to notice and pay attention too and that drawing your eye was important for this work. There is no doubt that *any* banner gets complaints and is at some level intrusive. However, I will say that it was important to me, personally, not too be 'too' flashy. This is an election banner, not a fundraising banner, and that's why I made it clear to our designer that it had to be smaller and 'relatively' simple comparatively (this is actually smaller then many/most banners that are shown for non-fundraising purposes just brighter) and I think we came to a safe balance. James Alexander Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 9:03 AM, Gregory Varnum gregory.var...@gmail.com wrote: I should note it was a WMF design consultant that did this and not a volunteer (well - that it was not a committee volunteer I can verify). My understanding was they were working from UX team's guidelines as they design other banners for WMF. The request that we received was to go with a banner design that was intentionally not the same as others. However, I will pass the notes along for the next designs. Also, I recognize it wasn't about the banner's existence or performance - I meant that I hear complaints about the design of nearly every banner that goes up. I cannot, off the top of my head, think of a recent banner that I haven't heard a few folks offer opinions about improving the look of. My personal opinion is that it's an ongoing process, and the banners used often reflect a snapshot in strategies being tried at that exact moment. -greg On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 11:45 AM, Szymon Grabarczuk tar.locesil...@gmail.com wrote: Oh, it's not about the idea of banners or about their usual performance, it's about this particular ribbon. When I set anonnotice or sitenotice on a big wiki, I aim the statement to be aligned with UX... discoveries. Don't set extensive dark backgrounds (unless it's about to be accessibility-oriented), use one colour palette, don't use many icons, borders or any additional/unnecessary/redundant elements in general, be consistent. WMF has UX team (it even has a Visual Experience Designer), I kindly suggest to watch their efforts and make our users benefit from that. On 22 April 2015 at 16:58, Gregory Varnum gregory.var...@gmail.com wrote: To be clear by our banners I meant Wikimedia banners - not elections banners. ;) -greg On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 10:57 AM, Gregory Varnum gregory.var...@gmail.com wrote: I appreciate that there are basically always concerns with our banners. Generally, I hear from volunteers on nearly every banner we use. ;) That said, it would be helpful to have some more constructive feedback to pass along to the next committee. What exactly would you suggest be changed? Passing along the note and some people disliked the banners is unlikely to produce much actual change. Anything specific we can pass along? Also, any examples of alternatives can be saved and passed along as well. -greg (User:Varnent) Coordinator, 2015 Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 10:21 AM, Szymon Grabarczuk tar.locesil...@gmail.com wrote: I must agree with that. I've received clearly negative feedback from several volunteers. On 22 April 2015 at 13:18, Amir Ladsgroup ladsgr...@gmail.com wrote: It's horribly ugly, I expected more. I don't want to de-value someone's work (a person or persons that I don't know) but we had way better designs before. Best -- Amir ___ 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 -- *Szymon Grabarczuk* Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU Head of Research Development Group, Wikimedia Polska
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Next steps regarding WMF-community disputes about deployments
James Alexander Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur On Thu, Apr 23, 2015 at 11:03 AM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Hi Pete, Philippe is on vacation, so I'm forwarding this to Rachel. Pine He pops in every once in a while during his break but while he is away Maggie and I are splitting his work up (and this is, for better or worse, well before Rachel's time). On Apr 22, 2015 11:59 PM, Pete Forsyth petefors...@gmail.com wrote: Philippe, can you address what you were talking about here last fall -- was the draft feature, and the way it directed new contributors toward the Articles for Creation process, the thing you alluded to, that WMF did in response to ACTRIAL? If so -- has there been any study of whether its intended outcomes panned out? If not -- could you outline what you meant by [WMF] proposed and built a set of tools to directly address that problem without compromising the core value of openness? Pete [[User:Peteforsyth]] I do not believe he was talking about the Draft feature, which came later. I think he was referring to the Page Curation https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Page_Curation tool which I know for a fact was created in direct response to ACTRIAL because one of the big complaints was the difficulty with patrolling new pages. While I wasn't directly involved it was one of the first software products I remember (either as a community member or staff member) the Foundation trying to engage closely with the community throughout it's development to create something that would work well. I also think it was the first product with a Community Liaison (who, incidentally, had been the most active page patroller for multiple years before as a community member). ___ 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] Board of Trustee elections
On Wed, Apr 29, 2015 at 1:03 AM, rupert THURNER rupert.thur...@gmail.com wrote: Hi James, is there any good reason to keep the exception? Imo it is a wrong signal we send out. At the end of the day all good governance rules suggest to minimize administrative tasks. And by definition everything which a client does not see, I.e Content or software, is administrative. Rupert [ended up being long, sorry :( ] Are you speaking about the staff rule only or all of them? I had one of the committee members call me out for calling it an 'exception' before and their argument made sense to me, so I'm currently trying to think of them all as they recommended as different ways to be enfranchised. That may sound a bit like word play but... the more I've thought about it the more I agreed the exception word sounded wrong. Speaking just for myself I would say yes to generally all of the different rules (though I would, personally, lower the edit requirements). This because I do not think the community is one group and until and unless we parcel out seats to different groups (which I'm not actually sure we should do, I'd prefer them all to be more general 'community' seats). As part of that I don't think we should be strict with what we consider the community because I think, in a very real sense, each of the how to vote options represent a way to ensure the community and the stakeholders can be involved. I think that having the other options actually sends a better message then not having them. *Editing: *Obviously editors are the biggest group here, and the vast majority of staff who would be so inclined to vote will fall here too (I qualify on both my volunteer account and my staff account for example, though given my election role I don't vote at all). That's how it should be, and I honestly don't see that changing. It's also why I probably wouldn't fight too hard if the other options were remove simply *Staff: *I have always thought that the Staff need to be considered part of the community. While they have different roles at times (and at times share roles with volunteers) the Us v Them mentality that can become part of the thinking for both groups is poisonous to the projects as a whole. In order for it to succeed everyone needs to be seen as on the same side. There are never going to be many people who would qualify as Staff but don't qualify as Editors (at least with their staff account and we've never drawn a distinction for voting historically) and still want to vote but I think encouraging them to think of themselves as part of the community (and to send the message that they are) is important. [I also think it's good to involve staff in governance wherever possible, though not exclusively obviously, they need to feel part of it. Similar reasons why a corporation often gives out stock to their employees which allows them to own part of the company and to, indeed, vote for the Board of Directors.] *Developers*: Again we've historically had very few people who met this requirement, wanted to vote, and didn't qualify through some other means (usually editing) but MediaWiki is not just the software we run it's also, essentially, a full fledged project that an enormous amount of 3rd parties use. I would love to find good ways to encourage the community of 3rd party developers to take part in this governance. *Current/Old Board/FDC/Advisory Board: *I see this mostly as not booting those who have been in the trenches and know what the work actually entails. I could certainly see other groups, including affiliates, who might make sense to be in this list (though with the current structure I have some concerns of double enfranchisement even if I personally wouldn't choose the current structure) but I don't currently see great reasons to get rid of the options we have other then just 'simplicity'. That isn't a horrible reason of course, I'm just not sure it's necessary. (obviously not speaking for the committee or with my staff hat on though obviously, as Greg said, those roles influence me.. though most of it hasn't changed since long before I was staff) James Alexander Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ 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] Board of Trustee elections
On Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 11:30 AM, Itzik - Wikimedia Israel it...@wikimedia.org.il wrote: Any response or input from the Election Committee? I think Greg said it relatively well earlier as the coordinator for the committee (I am it's staff advisor). At this point the committee has decided on the voting requirements and it is highly unlikely to change for the current election cycle. They did have serious discussions about everything mentioned in this thread both on their list and during the first committee meeting but in the end decided that they did not believe there was a strong need for change right now. When this conversation came back up it was broached whether we wanted to revisit and no one said expressed a desire to. Also as Greg said I think this is a good topic for a permanent election committee which I very much think should exist. James Alexander Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ 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] Board of Trustee elections
On Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 11:55 AM, Nathan nawr...@gmail.com wrote: On Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 2:43 PM, James Alexander jalexan...@wikimedia.org wrote: On Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 11:30 AM, Itzik - Wikimedia Israel it...@wikimedia.org.il wrote: Any response or input from the Election Committee? I think Greg said it relatively well earlier as the coordinator for the committee (I am it's staff advisor). At this point the committee has decided on the voting requirements and it is highly unlikely to change for the current election cycle. They did have serious discussions about everything mentioned in this thread both on their list and during the first committee meeting but in the end decided that they did not believe there was a strong need for change right now. When this conversation came back up it was broached whether we wanted to revisit and no one said expressed a desire to. Also as Greg said I think this is a good topic for a permanent election committee which I very much think should exist. James Alexander Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur This is a weakness in the process. Itzik raised an issue and was told it was too early to discuss. He raised it again when the elections approached, and is being told its too late. Obviously the committee conducted its deliberations on this question in secret, which is a strange approach considering there have been requests and a desire for open discussion from the community. I agree, I also wish that the committee had more time to make the decision. I had hoped to seat them in January and they would have had a lot of time to discuss this both here and elsewhere. Sadly we were waiting for the board on a couple things and were unable to seat them until recently and at that point there was a time crunch and things needed to be decided quickly. As both Greg and I said however, these arguments were in no way ignored, when I introduced the topic (in one of the very first emails to the committee) I listed all of the questions here about staff voting, chapter staff/board, edit requirements etc and then backed off. The committee discussed all of those and decided, in the end, that this was the right decision. It's also worth pointing out that many of the people in this discussion agreed that the community requirements are so low that there should be no reason any interested employee (of the WMF or elsewhere) can't qualify under other criteria, eliminating the need for a special franchise for WMF employees. On a completely personal level I actually think the requirements could be lowered. We already had at least 1 individual who I think was a perfect fit for the FDC for example but was unable to run and had to move himself to ineligible because of the edit requirements (he may have had over 150 edits this year and be very active in the movement as a whole but he did not have the 20 edits in the past 6 months required). However the committee decided not to do so and that is their prerogative. Unfortunately it appears that anyone interested in adjusting the criteria will need perfecting timing while broaching this subject next year. This is why Greg (and myself. and the election committee from last year who made a proposal http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Standing_Election_Committee, and from what I've seen the election committee from this year) want to have the board create a standing committee. That standing committee would be empowered to have this discussion at any point and to discuss the positives and negatives both themselves and with the community and make a decision. They are much less likely to run into the problem that a one off committee has where decisions need to be discussed and made and quickly so that they can get other logistics in place. James Alexander Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation (415) 839-6885 x6716 @jamesofur ___ 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
