Re: [Wikimedia-l] The reinstatement of James Heilman (Olatunde Isaac)

[reachout2isaac]

Personally, i'm not sure if James would like to be reinstated but I think the 
involuntarily removal of a community elected member without community 
consultation is barbaric and unethical. However. In my perception, I believe 
Maria Sefidari's appointment is "interim", perhaps for a fresh election to be 
conducted. However the BoT should clarify her status. She's a good candidate to 
me, if she would like to run for a proper election.

Best,

Olatunde Isaac.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

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Feb 2016 13:22:26 
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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: The reinstatement of James Heilman (Craig Franklin)
   2. Re: The reinstatement of James Heilman (Todd Allen)
   3. Re: The reinstatement of James Heilman (Fæ)
   4. Re: I am going to San Francisco (Oliver Keyes)


--

Message: 1
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 2016 22:09:00 +1000
From: Craig Franklin 
To: Fæ 
Cc: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] The reinstatement of James Heilman
Message-ID:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Patricio's email on the topic makes it quite clear that María was appointed
to the seat vacated by James Heilman:

https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2016-January/081540.html

And, as we are all aware, James was himself appointed as the result of an
election.  Unless the relevant authorities in Florida have overturned
María's appointment and I have not heard about it, she is sitting in the
seat formerly occupied by James.

I don't disagree that it would be a good thing to have a formally agreed
procedure on how to handle vacancies that might arise in these
community-selected seats, but that doesn't change the reality that we must
deal with here and now.

Cheers,
Craig

On 27 February 2016 at 21:47, Fæ  wrote:

> On 27 February 2016 at 11:33, Craig Franklin 
> wrote:
> > While it's nice to think that everyone might be able to kiss and make up,
> > the trustees (particularly Jimmy) and James have been mauling each other
> > politely in public for the best part of two months.  I don't think it's
> > realistic to expect that everything can just go back to the way it was,
> and
> > expect that the BoT would function properly again with James back in
> > place.  Keeping in mind his former position as a community selected
> trustee
> > has already been filled with Maria Sefidari, at any rate.
>
> Correction: Maria Sefidari was a "candidate for community selection",
> she was not selected by the community but appointed using an post
> election invented procedure for political convenience. If Maria wishes
> to become a community selected board member she would need to *win an
> election*, until that time she is in reality an appointed member.
>
> I hope that Maria will run for a proper election at the earliest
> opportunity. She was a good candidate and would be a better
> representative if correctly elected.
>
> Fae
> --
> fae...@gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae
>


--

Message: 2
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 2016 05:16:08 -0700
From: Todd Allen 
To: cfrank...@halonetwork.net,  Wikimedia Mailing List

Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] The reinstatement of James Heilman
Message-ID:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

It may be that at this point, reinstating James would not be a terribly
feasible idea, even if it is a nice thought. And, well, it's a volunteer
position. I wouldn't blame him at all if he's no longer even willing to
serve in that role.

I think, however, that the suggestions that have been put forth for a
neutral outside review of the situation are long overdue. And the Board
also needs to seriously reconsider what was (not) communicated when the
situation occurred. Essentially, we got a load of say-nothing PR garbage,
not a frank and thorough explanation, of why a trustee overwhelmingly voted
for by the community had been involuntarily removed without consulting that
same community.

I think there are a few points that need to be thought through. First, it
needs to be clarified what really happened. Jimmy has publicly and bluntly
accused James of lying about the circumstances of his departure, but has
also steadfastly refused to say what he consi

Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimania-l] Community Village and Meetups at Wikimania 2016

[reachout2isaac]

Hi Ginevra,

No scholarship was awarded to any member of the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria. 
This is worrisome as Nigeria will not be represented at Wikimania. I don't 
think this is a good idea and I wonder why American and European countries have 
more representative than Africa. This is demoralizing and the community is not 
happy about it. 

Warmest regards,

Olatunde Isaac,
Manager, Wikipedia Education Program Nigeria
Coordinator, The Wikipedia Library, Yoruba.
Secretary, Wikimedia User Group Nigeria.
Phone: +2348166620737 
Email: reachout2is...@gmail.com 
User page: Wikicology 
Facebook: Olatunde Olalekan Isaac.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

-Original Message-
From: Ginevra Sanvitale 
Sender: "Wikimania-l" Date: Fri, 11 
Mar 2016 10:05:40 
To: Wikimedia Mailing List; Wikimania general 
list (open subscription); 

Reply-To: "Wikimania general list \(open subscription\)"
 
Subject: [Wikimania-l] Community Village and Meetups at Wikimania 2016

Hi people,
it's finally time to send your applications for the Community Village at
Wikimania 2016:

https://wikimania2016.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_village

And you can also start planning your meetups:

https://wikimania2016.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meetups

Finally, remember that the calls for discussions, posters and trainings
closes on March 20, so you have 10 days left!

Have a nice weekend,


Ginevra
Wikimania Programme Committee

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimania-l] Community Village and Meetups at Wikimania 2016

[reachout2isaac]

Hi Ginevra,

No scholarship was awarded to any member of the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria. 
This is worrisome as Nigeria will not be represented at Wikimania. I don't 
think this is a good idea and I wonder why American and European countries have 
more representative than Africa. This is demoralizing and the community is not 
happy about it. 

Warmest regards,

Olatunde Isaac,
Manager, Wikipedia Education Program Nigeria
Coordinator, The Wikipedia Library, Yoruba.
Secretary, Wikimedia User Group Nigeria.
Phone: +2348166620737 
Email: reachout2is...@gmail.com 
User page: Wikicology 
Facebook: Olatunde Olalekan Isaac.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

-Original Message-
From: Ginevra Sanvitale 
Sender: "Wikimania-l" Date: Fri, 11 
Mar 2016 10:05:40 
To: Wikimedia Mailing List; Wikimania general 
list (open subscription); 

Reply-To: "Wikimania general list \(open subscription\)"
 
Subject: [Wikimania-l] Community Village and Meetups at Wikimania 2016

Hi people,
it's finally time to send your applications for the Community Village at
Wikimania 2016:

https://wikimania2016.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_village

And you can also start planning your meetups:

https://wikimania2016.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meetups

Finally, remember that the calls for discussions, posters and trainings
closes on March 20, so you have 10 days left!

Have a nice weekend,


Ginevra
Wikimania Programme Committee

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Disabe Media Viewer for non-logged-in users and logged-in users on Wikimedia Commons

[reachout2isaac]

While this might be a valid request, I'm a bit concern about the % of the 
participants in the RFC. I don't think it's a good idea for this % of 
participant to make a binding decision for an entirely disjoint community many 
hundred if not thousand times it size with neither participation nor even 
consultation. This seem like a Kangaroo RFC to me. Consult the larger 
community, reach a consensus then return here for implementation.

Best,

Olatunde Isaac.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

-Original Message-
From: "Marc A. Pelletier" 
Sender: "Wikimedia-l" Date: Mon, 14 
Mar 2016 10:40:54 
To: 
Reply-To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Disabe Media Viewer for non-logged-in users and
 logged-in users on Wikimedia Commons

On 16-03-14 10:33 AM, Steinsplitter Wiki wrote:
> Per commons Policy's the RFC is valid.

Then the policy is broken.  It seems more than a little insane to me
that an opinion poll having had participation of a few % of a small
community (active commons users) can make a binding decision for an
entirely disjoint community many hundred times it size with neither
participation nor even consultation.

At the very least, the opinion of logged out users should be sought or
at least vaguely estimated in some manner (I can think of several easy
client-side ways of doing a quick opinion poll of at least a sample of
them; or a couple of metrics giving hints).

That RfC is akin to asking the print newspaper owners about making new
rules for all web sites.  While I've no doubt that their collective
opinions would be very good for them, I'd like something a bit more
objective.  :-)

-- Coren / Marc


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[Wikimedia-l] Help

[reachout2isaac]

Hello Wikimedian Colleagues,

I tried to send a mail to affiliates-own...@lists.wikimedia.org but all to no 
avail. It seems the e-mail address is currently not working. Any help?

Olatunde Isaac. 
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

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Sender: "Wikimedia-l" Date: Thu, 15 
Oct 2015 21:19:10 
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Subject: Wikimedia-l Digest, Vol 139, Issue 49

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Q1 Fundraising Update (Erik Zachte)
   2. Recognition of Iraqi Wikimedians (Carlos M. Colina)
   3. Recognition of Wikimedians of Uzbekistan Community
  (Carlos M. Colina)
   4. Please upload Wikiconference USA presentations to Commons (Pine W)
   5. Recognition of Wikimedia Digitization User Group
  (Carlos M. Colina)
   6. Introducing the Wikimedia Affiliates mailing list
  (Carlos M. Colina)
   7. Re: Introducing the Wikimedia Affiliates mailing list (Pine W)


--

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2015 15:13:22 +0200
From: "Erik Zachte" 
To: "'Wikimedia Mailing List'" 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Q1 Fundraising Update
Message-ID: <007901d1074b$45c539f0$d14fadd0$@infodisiac.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;   charset="UTF-8"

I also feel disheartened about this yearly controversy, which seems to go 
nowhere.
I also am scared by even considering 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising#/media/File:Sept2015BannerEx.png

In my opinion this very ambitious budget (maybe too ambitious if such extreme 
doomsday measures are needed to reach our goals),
may well be putting our reputation at risk, and perhaps even alienate part of 
our community.
"Trust arrives on foot but leaves on horseback"

So who should we address to bring about change, and set more modest goals?
I belief fundraising is doing as they're told, the best they can.
The Wikimedia Foundation gets a lot of flak in these discussions.
But isn't WMF operating within limits set by the Board of Trustees?
Lila can propose a budget, but the Board is ultimately responsible, needs to 
approve that budget, and can amend it.

Erik Zachte 

(disclaimer: I'm speaking in my role as volunteer, not as contractor for WMF)  


-Original Message-
From: Wikimedia-l [mailto:wikimedia-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of 
Peter Southwood
Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2015 12:38
To: 'Wikimedia Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Q1 Fundraising Update

+1

-Original Message-
From: Wikimedia-l [mailto:wikimedia-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of 
Andreas Kolbe
Sent: Wednesday, 14 October 2015 7:01 PM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Q1 Fundraising Update

On Fri, Oct 9, 2015 at 9:56 PM, Leila Zia  wrote:

> I saw that banner and I want to do all I can to help you not use it 
> even if it performs 20% better. I put my story in p.s. so it's easier 
> to skip for whoever chooses to skip. This is a true story. :-\
>

On Fri, Oct 9, 2015 at 10:58 PM, Pete Forsyth  wrote:

> I agree, that banner does not reflect the values of this movement. 
> Pure and simple; it's not a grey area, and not worth my time to 
> discuss for the 97th time.
>
> Personally, I long ago gave up participating in these discussions, for 
> the most part -- because the same valid points get made over and over 
> again, and the same *AWFUL* errors are made year after year in the 
> fund-raising campaign.
>
> Leila's post here is heartening, and I'm glad that somebody has the 
> energy to articulate the concerns so well. I, myself, do not; I have 
> simply lost faith in the integrity of the Wikimedia Foundation's 
> fund-raising operation. I am, honestly, ashamed to tell people that I 
> used to work in the fund-raising department there (though I believe 
> the work we did was valuable).
>
> I recently heard from a high-ranking executive at a software company. 
> She told me that she had given money to the Wikimedia Foundation, and 
> then looked into the WMF's budget, and the messages in the campaign 
> she had responded to. The word she used to describe her feeling was 
> "mortified."
> She had considered asking for her money back, but had decided against it.
>
> Fortunately, she was sophisticated enough not apply her negative 
> feelings to Wikipedia, but rather to the Wikimedia Foundation. But can 
> the WMF afford to assume that will always be the case?
>

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Help on Yoruba Wikipedia Project

[reachout2isaac]

Dear all, 

I don't know if it is appropriate to discuss this here but I believe I can get 
a useful advice here. The Nigerian language Wikipedia projects (Yoruba, Hausa, 
Igbo) need urgent attention. English language is the official language in 
Nigeria but the Yoruba language constitutes one of the major languages in 
Nigeria. The other two languages are Igbo and Hausa.
Today, Yorubas along with the Igbos are the most educated ethnic groups in 
Africa but in spite of this potentials, there are poor readership level and 
contributions to the Yoruba Wikipedia projects. In fact, several existing and 
prospective Wikipedia editors as well as scholars and student who can 
contribute significantly to the project are not even aware of the existence of 
the Yoruba Wikipedia. Speaking in March 2012, in Lagos State, southwestern 
Nigeria, Jimmy Wales said:  Wikipedia has seven active editors working in 
Yoruba language 
("[http://m.voanews.com/a/wikipedia-co-founder-adding-more-african-languages-144875665/180406.html),
 an extremely low number, less than 0.0001% of active editors on the English 
Wikipedia. In fact, the seven active editors have reduce to 1 or 2. The truth 
is, I can't point to any active editors contributing in that project.
The Wikimedia User Group Nigeria under the leadership of Olaniyan Olusola will 
need every supports at the disposal of the WMF to preserve the Project. We are 
currently planning to organize a conference entitled "WikiYoruba 2016" that 
will involve Yoruba Language scholars and student who can contribute to the 
project.
I'm a native speaker of Yoruba language with good written skills in Yoruba 
language. I'm an experienced Wikipedian who has created over 500 articles on 
the English Wikipedia and I intend to use my experience to improve the Yoruba 
Wikipedia Project. You may also want to see 
(https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:PEG/Wikicology/100_articles_contribution_to_Yoruba_Language_Wikipedia)
The Content translation tool is currently unsupported by Yoruba Language. Had 
it been its working, I would have translate hundreds of English Wikipedia 
contents.

Please we need the help and all forms of support to improve the project.

Cheers,

Olatunde Isaac (User:Wikicology)
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN

-Original Message-
From: wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org
Sender: "Wikimedia-l" Date: Sun, 15 
Nov 2015 12:00:28 
To: 
Reply-To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Wikimedia-l Digest, Vol 140, Issue 29

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Paris (Bodhisattwa Mandal)
   2. Re: Q1 Fundraising Update (Pine W)
   3. Re: Paris (Mardetanha)
   4. Re: Q1 Fundraising Update (Anna Stillwell)
   5. Re: Paris (Christophe Henner)
   6. Celebrating Parisian culture and libertarianism (Fæ)


--

Message: 1
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2015 07:57:30 +0530
From: Bodhisattwa Mandal 
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Paris
Message-ID:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Solidarity from India for this tragic incident. Good to know that
Wikipedians in and from Paris are all safe.

Bodhisattwa
On 14 November 2015 at 12:28, Natalia Szafran-Kozakowska
 wrote:

> User Paterm, Polish wikipedian living in Paris is also well.

As is John Cummings, a UK citizen currently working as Wikimedian in
Residence at UNESCO in Paris.

--
Andy Mabbett
@pigsonthewing
http://pigsonthewing.org.uk

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Message: 2
Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2015 19:04:03 -0800
From: Pine W 
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Q1 Fundraising Update
Message-ID:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

By the way, was there any follow up at WMF to Risker's suggestion from
awhile ago that its budget get a peer review from a similarly situated
organization?

I've taken a peek at the discussions in the current round of FDC proposals.
I have some concerns about WMF staff critiquing the budgets of affiliates
while WMF's own budget practices are in need of improvement. I would like
to see WMF make efforts to improve that will be reflected in th

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Farewell

[reachout2isaac]

Anna Koval, you are a mentor and a leader with high self esteem. I do 
appreciate all your contributions to the Wikimedia movement. You have added 
value to leaders who will multiply value to others and we are proud of you. Our 
well wishes are always with you for your health, wealth, and success. Thank you 
again for everything.

Best, 

Olatunde Isaac,
Manager, Wikipedia Education Program Nigeria
Phone: +2348166620737 
Email: reachout2is...@gmail.com 
User page: Wikicology 
Facebook: Olatunde Olalekan Isaac.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

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Sender: "Wikimedia-l" Date: Tue, 09 
Feb 2016 18:22:33 
To: 
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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Outcomes from the Consultation on Wikimedia movement
  conferences/Wikimania (Chris Keating)
   2. Re: Farewell <3 (Steinsplitter Wiki)
   3. Re: Farewell <3 (Felix Nartey)
   4. Re: Farewell <3 (Sydney Poore)


--

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2016 18:09:20 +
From: Chris Keating 
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Outcomes from the Consultation on Wikimedia
movement conferences/Wikimania
Message-ID:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Just to add my thoughts on this. I think the whole discussion is quite a
novel situation in WMF-Community relations, as we have never dealt with an
issue quite like this before.

Firstly the good (and even though this section is shorter, it's just as
significant):
1) The WMF is consulting and discussing, not simply doing. This is a good
thing (and hopefully it's possible to agree that it is a good thing, even
if you disagree with the handling of the consultation, or indeed the
conclusion reached). If you don't think it's a good thing, please compare
it with say (for instance) the Haifa letter.
2) We do now have a clear statement of what benefits Wikimania brings the
movement, which we didn't have before. Again, this is good. :-)

However there are a few areas where I still have some concerns about the
direction this is going:
3) I am still really unsure who is owning this process, either within the
WMF or in general. Generally, I think clear responsibility and
accountability *eases* difficult conversations and so far as I can tell
they are  lacking in the conversation about "what should happen with
Wikimania". Is it the WMF's view that Wikimania in its current form is
broken and change is needed - if so who represents that view to the
community? (Or if not, what *is* the WMF's view?) Equally, I am not really
clear what the Wikimania Committee sees its sees its role as these days. In
general I am all for ad-hoc groups going and doing things but I think we
are some way past the limit of that model with Wikimania.
4) I don't see a 55-47 vote on a menu of 3 options as being a particularly
strong indication of community consensus. Indeed, it's pretty clear there
isn't a consensus, and it would be a shame if people proceeded on the basis
that "There was a consultation and the answer was X - so we're doing X".
That said, I would be really happy to hear voices from the WMF or the
Wikimania Committee saying "The important factors we see are X, Y and Z.
>From the consultation showed lots of other people were thinking X and Y
(though less Z) and P and Q were also important which we hadn't thought
about. As a result, we are intending to do: This.

Thanks,

Chris

On Tue, Feb 9, 2016 at 4:57 PM, Nathan  wrote:

> On Tue, Feb 9, 2016 at 10:54 AM, Risker  wrote:
>
> > Hello Gerard, I believe the topic of capping costs is a reasonable one
> > because, simply put, there are not unlimited resources within the
> movement.
> > Some of us have the financial wherewithal to attend "on our own dime",
> but
> > many of our colleagues from around the world are not in that position.
>
>
> Let's stipulate that there isn't a lot of empirical evidence proving the
> value of Wikimania to the movement. I think the same could be said for tens
> of millions of dollars in WMF spending. Considering the comparatively tiny
> cost of Wikimania, it makes much more sense to me for the WMF to put its
> own operations through a cost/benefit crucible. This is just one more
> example of the WMF being much more demanding on money spent outside the
> organization than it is on 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Recognition of Maithili Wikimedians User Group

[reachout2isaac]

Congratulations to Maithili Wikimedians User Group.


Best, 

Olatunde Isaac,
Manager, Wikipedia Education Program Nigeria
Phone: +2348166620737 
Email: reachout2is...@gmail.com 
User page: Wikicology 
Facebook: Olatunde Olalekan Isaac.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Outcomes from the Consultation on Wikimedia movement
  conferences/Wikimania (Marc A. Pelletier)
   2. Recognition of Maithili Wikimedians User Group (Carlos M. Colina)
   3. Recognition of Wikimedia Community User Group Turkey
  (Carlos M. Colina)
   4. Re: Recognition of Maithili Wikimedians User Group (Tito Dutta)
   5. Re: Recognition of Maithili Wikimedians User Group
  (Olaniyan Olushola)
   6. Re: Dead links/Wayback Machine bots? (Martin Pascal)
   7. Re: Farewell <3 (Ziko van Dijk)


--

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2016 15:55:27 -0500
From: "Marc A. Pelletier" 
To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Outcomes from the Consultation on Wikimedia
movement conferences/Wikimania
Message-ID: <56ba523f.1080...@uberbox.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

On 2016-02-08 5:53 PM, Ellie Young wrote:
> The Community Resources team at the WMF recently held a consultation

I will join my voice to the chorus expressing concern and dismay at the 
completely ridiculous interpretation of that minor discussion - it 
clearly does not resemble a mandate to make such a sweeping change to a 
movement-central event like this.

[Obvious disclaimer: I am the lead organizer of the 2017 edition of said 
event so clearly I am not unbiased]

I've never been a fan of the old bidding process - having been its 
victim in the past and seeing the large amount of wasted effort and 
demotivation it must necessarily generate - and I agree wholeheartedly 
that the *process* needs to be reexamined.  But even *that* 
reexamination requires more than a couple weeks on a talk page with a 
couple dozen people involved.

Something of the scope of the changes that consultation is claimed to 
warrant, however?  Farcical.

Wikimania is the beating heart of our movement.  We should be deploying 
efforts to be more inclusive and place it within reach of a larger 
segment of the community, not chopping it up.

-- Marc




--

Message: 2
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2016 22:59:21 +0200
From: "Carlos M. Colina" 
To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Recognition of Maithili Wikimedians User Group
Message-ID: <56ba5329.7070...@wikimedia.org.ve>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

Dear all,

On behalf of the Affiliations Committee, I am honoured to announce the 
recognition of a new Wikimedia User Group in South Asia: Maithili 
Wikimedians User Group [1]. Their main focus is the development of free 
content in Maithili, a language spoken by over 30 million people in 
Nepal and India.

Welcome to the family!!


1: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Maithili_Wikimedians_User_Group
-- 
"*Jülüjain wane mmakat* ein kapülain tü alijunakalirua jee wayuukanairua 
junain ekerolaa alümüin supüshuwayale etijaanaka. Ayatashi waya junain."
Carlos M. Colina
Socio, A.C. Wikimedia Venezuela | RIF J-40129321-2 | 
www.wikimedia.org.ve 
Member, Wikimedia Foundation Affiliations Committee
Phone: +972-52-4869915
Twitter: @maor_x


--

Message: 3
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2016 23:00:10 +0200
From: "Carlos M. Colina" 
To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Recognition of Wikimedia Community User Group
Turkey
Message-ID: <56ba535a.4080...@wikimedia.org.ve>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

Dear all,

It is my pleasure to announce, on behalf of the Affiliations Committee, 
the recognition of a new member of the family of affiliates, this time 
in the Middle East: Wikimedia Community User Group Turkey [1]. Among 
their many interests, is the development of projects with educational 
institutions, museums and libraries within Turkey, in order to develop 
free content related to Turkey and of course, in Turkish.

Hoş geldiniz!

1: https://meta.wik

Re: [Wikimedia-l] An Open Letter to Wikimedia Foundation BoT

[reachout2isaac]

Dear Ido.

I share your concern about these problems and thanks for exercising your right 
to voice your concerns. I'm a bit worried about the  potentially devastating 
effects of these problems on the Wikimedia Projects. Personally, I don't want 
to have any reason to lose confidence in the BoT but I think the community 
deserves clarity on certain issues. Volunteers and affiliates are major 
backbones of the Wikimedia Foundation and they need to understand why certain 
decision is taken by the WMF. I probably do not understand why the BoT decided 
to remain silent on pertinent issues raised here over a month now. This is 
worrisome and heartbreaking.

Best,

Olatunde Isaac
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

-Original Message-
From: wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org
Sender: "Wikimedia-l" Date: Thu, 18 
Feb 2016 12:00:25 
To: 
Reply-To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Wikimedia-l Digest, Vol 143, Issue 85

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: An Open Letter to Wikimedia Foundation BoT (Ilario Valdelli)
   2. Re: An Open Letter to Wikimedia Foundation BoT (Andrea Zanni)
   3. Re: An Open Letter to Wikimedia Foundation BoT (Cristian Consonni)


--

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2016 11:15:24 +0100
From: Ilario Valdelli 
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] An Open Letter to Wikimedia Foundation BoT
Message-ID:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Hi Ido,
your email is interesting and reveals an important issue: the governance of
a no for profit organization is a little bit different from that of a
"commercial" company.

In my opinion there is an unclear definition of the stakeholders and the
definition of the importance of these stakeholders and the relations they
have.

Missing a clear definition of these entities and how they are related and
what kind of potential conflicts can be generated by them, it can only
drive to the current picture.

Kind regards

On Thu, Feb 18, 2016 at 9:04 AM, ido ivri  wrote:

> Dear members of the WMF Board of Trustees,
>
> I’ve been following the recent events silently - from the voting out of
> James Heilman, to the unfortunate timing of recruiting Arnnon Geshuri and
> the lack of clear, timely communication around WMF strategy in in general
> and specifically around the so-called “Knowledge Engine” grant, received by
> the Knight Foundation.
>
> Even more alarming to me, is the slew of exceptional community-facing
> employees who left (or are leaving) the Foundation, accompanied by muffled
> sounds of discontent from staying Foundation employees.
>
> I’m breaking my silence because I’m very concerned. My concerns stem from
> my past experiences with facilitating strategic changes and my experience
> in grantmaking - both in and outside of the Movement.
>
> I’m concerned because it’s evident that the Foundation is undergoing a
> deep, strategic change. But this change is not accompanied by the required
> transparency, honesty and accountability required by the Foundation in
> order to truly transform in a way that's beneficial for the organization
> and its community.
>
> I’m concerned, because while the “Knowledge Engine” grant provides only a
> specific example, it underlines a larger picture that is disturbing:
> concealment (rather than openness) as a default, lack of consultation with
> the community and weak, general communication around important matters only
> after bad press. I also suspect that the vocal members of the community are
> right, and that a $250K grant is not the issue, but it part of a bigger
> move that will require significantly more resources for the Foundation to
> implement.
>
> Lastly, I’m concerned because all this stirs no clear communication from
> the Board of Trustees. A Board of Trustees implies there should be trust
> between the Board and its constituents. I suspect this isn’t the case
> anymore.
>
> If any APG-receiving affiliate conducted itself in such a non transparent,
> dishonest manner and with lack of clear, timely communication with its
> community and stakeholders, it would get seriously reprimanded by the
> Foundation: its board audited, its budget cut, etc. Expecting the
> Foundation to be held to a lower standard than any of its worldwide
> affiliates is just hypocritical.
>
> I urge the Board of Trustees - Don’t forget that the community of
> volunteers and affiliates is a 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] An Open Letter to Wikimedia Foundation BoT (Olatunde Isaa)

[reachout2isaac]

The BoT have made some mistakes in the past few days, in the ways they've 
handled information, silent on critical situation that requires urgent 
clarification, and how they kept the community in the dark about certain 
decision. This is painful and that was a poor decision on their part. We have 
every right to be disappointed in them but that doesn't mean we should give up 
on them. The WMF's mission is not about us, it's not about them but about 
millions of people across the world that find the Wikimedia projects useful and 
helpful. It is easy to believe in people when they are succeeding and it's easy 
to be disappointed in them when they are failing. The BoT should understand 
that the Wikimedia projects we have today was built by the community with the 
efforts of thousands of volunteers across the world and it took many years to 
build this amazing resources. Patricio Lorente and his team should focus on 
what is productive and try as much as they can to avoid anything that is 
counterproductive. They should learn to consult the community and staffs in 
taking some decision that is likely to generate controversies.


Best,

Olatunde Isaac


Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

-Original Message-
From: wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org
Sender: "Wikimedia-l" Date: Sat, 20 
Feb 2016 09:25:07 
To: 
Reply-To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Wikimedia-l Digest, Vol 143, Issue 111

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: An Open Letter to Wikimedia Foundation BoT (Ziko van Dijk)
   2. Technical issues of Wikimedia [was: Particularinterests and
  common ground] (Amir Ladsgroup)
   3. Re: Technical issues of Wikimedia [was: Particular interests
  and common ground] (Szymon Grabarczuk)
   4. Re: Technical issues of Wikimedia [was: Particular interests
  and common ground] (Milos Rancic)
   5. Re: An Open Letter to Wikimedia Foundation BoT (Chris Keating)


--

Message: 1
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2016 01:50:49 +0100
From: Ziko van Dijk 
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] An Open Letter to Wikimedia Foundation BoT
Message-ID:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Dear Ido,

Thank you for your e-mail. I am also grateful to many other people who have
contributed to give us a better understanding of the past and the present
(it is a lot of work).

I would like to read your opinion about two things that I find astonishing
and urging for a remedy:

* How it could come so far that staff members so openly applaud critical
voices about their boss, Lila Tretikov. This is a really terrible signal
about the state of the Foundation. Ido, do you agree with William Beutler
in the Signpost that it is not possible to imagine how the staff and Lila
Tretikov can go on together?

* We have heard from some of the board members. I actually miss the voice
of the chair. It is the task of a chair, certainly in a crisis like this,
to contribute to more clearness, what the Board is thinking, what it
intends to do next. Ido, imagine that the board makes a new start possible,
which would include a new community election. Would you regard that to be
helpful?

Kind regards
Ziko






>
>
>
>
>
>


--

Message: 2
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2016 02:02:57 +
From: Amir Ladsgroup 
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Technical issues of Wikimedia [was: Particular
interests and common ground]
Message-ID:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Hey Milos,
You talked about things that I'm in no place to comment but I want to
emphasize on this part of your email:
"For the last 8 years, just two things have been working without
problems in WMF: Money and tech infrastructure (servers, "plain"
MediaWiki, optimizations etc.)."
We hear about technical issues of Wikipedia a lot. We hear Wikipedia is
behind in technology, that it's underperforming. etc. etc. It's not just
you. It's a lot of people in the community of editors too. I highly doubt
that I can comment on this matter, there are definitely better people but I
can't keep it anymore. Maybe my perspective as a non-WMF employee who works
in technical issues would be worth publishing.

The process of getting something technical done is as the same as editing
in wiki. It needs a certain amount of expertise like editing most of the
articles as well. Anyone can make a patch for every part o