[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] The Signpost -- Volume 8, Issue 18 -- 30 April 2012

[Wikipedia Signpost]

Paid editing: Does Wikipedia Pay? The Consultant: Pete Forsyth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/Paid_editing

News and notes: Showdown as featured article writer openly solicits commercial 
opportunities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/News_and_notes

Recent research: Barnstars work; Wiktionary assessed; cleanup tags counted; 
finding expert admins; discussion peaks; Wikipedia citations in academic 
publications; and more
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/Recent_research

Discussion report: 'ReferenceTooltips' by default
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/Discussion_report

WikiProject report: The Cartographers of WikiProject Maps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/WikiProject_report

Featured content: Featured content spreads its wings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/Featured_content

Arbitration report: R&I Review remains in voting, two open cases
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/Arbitration_report

Technology report: What Git means for end users, design controversies and 
pertinent poll results
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/Technology_report


Single page view
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Signpost/Single

PDF version
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30


http://identi.ca/wikisignpost / https://twitter.com/wikisignpost
--
Wikipedia Signpost Staff
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[phoebe ayers]

On Tue, May 1, 2012 at 5:42 PM, Risker  wrote:
> On 1 May 2012 18:13, Samuel Klein  wrote:
>
>> David Gerard wrote:
>> > The arbcom "clerking" role evolved from the tedious paperwork of
>> > arbitration getting annoying. Best not put a bureaucracy in place
>> > until it's absolutely needed. We have enough of a tendency to
>> > instruction creep without planning it in advance ...
>> >
>>
>> Thomas Dalton wote:
>> >
>> > I don't think we are at the beginning of that discussion. The WMF
>> > board's resolution  instructing Sue to sort out the creation of the
>> > FDC (which followed on from lengthy discussions on meta, and had a
>> > great deal of consensus) is pretty clear about what the FDC will be
>> > doing. There are plenty of details to be finalised, but the basic idea
>> > of what the FDC is there to do is already decided.
>>
>> The most significant block of work that was done ad-hoc last year
>> which would presumably be done by the FDC this year, was requesting
>> and reviewing annual plan and budget deatils from chapters that needed
>> infrastructure grants.
>> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_chapters/Plans_2011-2012
>>
>> That was reportedly a difficult process, in which some parties felt
>> paperwork was tedious and annoying or underspecified and inconsistent.
>>  It would be good to preempt that this year.
>>
>>
> I don't see how having a clerking staff would make this process any less
> challenging; the chapters and partner groups would *still* have to come up
> with the budget, justify it, explain what it was going to be used for, and
> all the clerking in the world isn't going to change that.
>
> Risker

I don't have a strong opinion about clerks vs paid administrative
help, or both. But I think what SJ is getting at is, like any large
budgeting or grantmaking process, there will be a fair amount of
paperwork that will have to be done by someone. Things like:

* Request tracking: when were requests received, were they
acknowledged, what stage of the review process are they in?
* What format do budget requests of various types go in? Are requests
in that format? Are templates made, and provided?
* Is guidance for making proposals easily accessible and clear? Is it
up to date?
* Are questions to the FDC answered? The OTRS queue or other address
monitored? Who do people write if they have general or specific
questions?
* Is there missing information in the proposals? Anything easily
corrected that needs to be added? Is something unclear? Do
translations need to be made? Are monetary amounts converted to a
standard? Are different accounting practices explained and reconciled?
* Are other aspects of global budgeting (via the WMF, the chapters,
etc) and other necessary information for the FDC made available?
* Are questions from the FDC (to the Board, WMF, etc.) tracked? Did
answers make it back to the FDC?
* Are reminders sent about the timeline? Are all interested parties
communicated with about annual deadlines?
* When is the FDC meeting? Are members supported for meetings
(scheduling, travel, etc?) Are minutes taken and posted in a timely
manner?
* Are decisions communicated to the community? Translated? Is there an
FAQ, and who writes the answers?
* When members are elected/appointed/whatever, is the
election/appointment process clear, fair and done well?

etc. etc. etc. And that's just off the top of my head.

None of  this has to do with the substance of "is xyz program/annual
budget clear, thoughtful and impactful, and something someone in
Wikimedia should be doing" -- which hopefully is the kind of analysis
the FDC will be providing -- but it is a substantial amount of work!

-- phoebe

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Risker]

On 1 May 2012 18:13, Samuel Klein  wrote:

> David Gerard wrote:
> > The arbcom "clerking" role evolved from the tedious paperwork of
> > arbitration getting annoying. Best not put a bureaucracy in place
> > until it's absolutely needed. We have enough of a tendency to
> > instruction creep without planning it in advance ...
> >
>
> Thomas Dalton wote:
> >
> > I don't think we are at the beginning of that discussion. The WMF
> > board's resolution  instructing Sue to sort out the creation of the
> > FDC (which followed on from lengthy discussions on meta, and had a
> > great deal of consensus) is pretty clear about what the FDC will be
> > doing. There are plenty of details to be finalised, but the basic idea
> > of what the FDC is there to do is already decided.
>
> The most significant block of work that was done ad-hoc last year
> which would presumably be done by the FDC this year, was requesting
> and reviewing annual plan and budget deatils from chapters that needed
> infrastructure grants.
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_chapters/Plans_2011-2012
>
> That was reportedly a difficult process, in which some parties felt
> paperwork was tedious and annoying or underspecified and inconsistent.
>  It would be good to preempt that this year.
>
>
I don't see how having a clerking staff would make this process any less
challenging; the chapters and partner groups would *still* have to come up
with the budget, justify it, explain what it was going to be used for, and
all the clerking in the world isn't going to change that.

Risker
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Samuel Klein]

David Gerard wrote:
> The arbcom "clerking" role evolved from the tedious paperwork of
> arbitration getting annoying. Best not put a bureaucracy in place
> until it's absolutely needed. We have enough of a tendency to
> instruction creep without planning it in advance ...
>

Thomas Dalton wote:
>
> I don't think we are at the beginning of that discussion. The WMF
> board's resolution  instructing Sue to sort out the creation of the
> FDC (which followed on from lengthy discussions on meta, and had a
> great deal of consensus) is pretty clear about what the FDC will be
> doing. There are plenty of details to be finalised, but the basic idea
> of what the FDC is there to do is already decided.

The most significant block of work that was done ad-hoc last year
which would presumably be done by the FDC this year, was requesting
and reviewing annual plan and budget deatils from chapters that needed
infrastructure grants.
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_chapters/Plans_2011-2012

That was reportedly a difficult process, in which some parties felt
paperwork was tedious and annoying or underspecified and inconsistent.
 It would be good to preempt that this year.

SJ

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Thomas Dalton]

On 1 May 2012 22:31, Risker  wrote:
> I'm just making it clear from my perspective that I find it concerning that
> there are discussions about the infrastructure to support the FDC when we
> are at the very beginning of the discussion about what the FDC should
> actually be doing, and that  there are some considerably more disparate
> views about "what they will do" than meets the eye.

I don't think we are at the beginning of that discussion. The WMF
board's resolution  instructing Sue to sort out the creation of the
FDC (which followed on from lengthy discussions on meta, and had a
great deal of consensus) is pretty clear about what the FDC will be
doing. There are plenty of details to be finalised, but the basic idea
of what the FDC is there to do is already decided.

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] article feedback tool, do the links really point where they should to?

[rupert THURNER]

On Tue, May 1, 2012 at 11:28 PM, rupert THURNER
 wrote:
> when looking at an article, a little "improve this page" popped up at
> the bottom. can it be that some of the links are misguided?
>
> "learn how to edit" does not link to the "learn how to edit" page
> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_Feedback_Tool/Editing).
> but it links on a page telling how to navigate around, how to create
> an account, and how to edit.
>
> the "learn how to edit" page,
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_Feedback_Tool/Editing
> does not contain a short reason or wizard to create an account.
>
> the help icon "?" pops up a little window saying "wikipedia wants to
> know what you think".
>
> on this little pop up there is a link "learn more" (about wikipedia
> wants to know what you think obviously?) which then links to a help
> page showing on top an image (png) where one should enter the
> feedback. 
> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_Feedback_Tool/Version_5/Help)
>
> then i tried to type in feedback into that image - which finally made
> me write this mail :)

and - if you really press edit - one ends up at an article saying:

This article has a long history of vandalism. Please note that such
disruption will be met with blocks from editing. Please report
vandalism on this article to the administrator's vandalism
noticeboard.
This article uses British English and spellings such as "artefacts"
should not be changed to American English spellings such as
"artifacts".
Thank you.

Note: This page has been semi-protected so that only autoconfirmed
users can edit it. If you need any help getting started with editing,
see the New contributors' help page.


rupert

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Risker]

On 1 May 2012 17:13, Thomas Dalton  wrote:

> On 1 May 2012 22:11, Risker  wrote:
> > I agree that it is likely they'll need some kind of support.  The type of
> > support they will need is mostly dependent on what their scope and
> > responsibilities are, though.  This is very much cart-before-the-horse in
> > my mind, kind of like hiring the cafeteria staff before you decide
> whether
> > or not you're going to have a cafeteria.
>
> All Sue has done so far is ask for some information in order to inform
> a discussion. We're a long way from actually appointing any clerks.
>
>

Yes, which is why I provided the information about the roles of the English
Wikipedia clerks.  Having said that, the FDC Advisory Committee is having
its first meeting today, according to the Meta page (I note that the names
of the Board members and outside members aren't included on the list yet).
I'm just making it clear from my perspective that I find it concerning that
there are discussions about the infrastructure to support the FDC when we
are at the very beginning of the discussion about what the FDC should
actually be doing, and that  there are some considerably more disparate
views about "what they will do" than meets the eye.

Risker/Anne
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[Wikimedia-l] article feedback tool, do the links really point where they should to?

[rupert THURNER]

when looking at an article, a little "improve this page" popped up at
the bottom. can it be that some of the links are misguided?

"learn how to edit" does not link to the "learn how to edit" page
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_Feedback_Tool/Editing).
but it links on a page telling how to navigate around, how to create
an account, and how to edit.

the "learn how to edit" page,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_Feedback_Tool/Editing
does not contain a short reason or wizard to create an account.

the help icon "?" pops up a little window saying "wikipedia wants to
know what you think".

on this little pop up there is a link "learn more" (about wikipedia
wants to know what you think obviously?) which then links to a help
page showing on top an image (png) where one should enter the
feedback. 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_Feedback_Tool/Version_5/Help)

then i tried to type in feedback into that image - which finally made
me write this mail :)

rupert.

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Nathan]

I'd advise against clerks, honestly. The term "clerk" can mean anything you
want it to mean. As Yaroslav pointed out, in a legal setting judicial and
court clerks can be quite influential. In government administration, at
least in the U.S., a clerk is often an elected position with
responsibilities delineated by statute. Because there's no commonly
understood role, it's subject to creep. And filling the role with a
volunteer has a lot of potential pitfalls.

I agree with Thomas and Risker that it's likely administrative support for
the FDC will be necessary... but I think it makes more sense to have it be
professional, paid administrative support of a limited capacity.
Scheduling, note-taking, travel arrangements, etc. If there is a concern
about having a WMF paid staff member closely involved with the FDC,
allocate the FDC a specific budget (including other costs, such as travel)
and allow the committee to do the hiring.

Unlike Risker, I think a lot of what the FDC will do is already fairly well
known. Nothing is set in stone, but to me it sounds like the unknowns
revolve around the composition of the committee and how it will decide to
distribute funds. We know it will be a committee of people, with meetings
both in person and virtual, that makes funding decisions for Wikimedia; as
such, its administrative needs really aren't that opaque. It should be
roughly similar to what the board of trustees needs now.

Nathan
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[David Gerard]

On 1 May 2012 22:02, Risker  wrote:

> More particularly, since Sue has asked about "job descriptions", the two
> "clerk" areas on English Wikipedia are sockpuppet investigations and
> arbitration committee pages. The former is quite active in the process
> itself, including blocking of suspected sockpuppets; in many cases, they
> act as "checkusers without the tool".  Arbcom clerk responsibilities are
> more oriented to keeping cases together, properly formatted, and tracking
> voting.  English Wikipedia has repeatedly refused to permit the development
> of any other recognized "clerking" roles within the project, usually with
> good reason.


Yes. The arbcom "clerking" role evolved from the tedious paperwork of
arbitration getting annoying. Best not put a bureaucracy in place
until it's absolutely needed. We have enough of a tendency to
instruction creep without planning it in advance ...


- d.

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Thomas Dalton]

On 1 May 2012 22:11, Risker  wrote:
> I agree that it is likely they'll need some kind of support.  The type of
> support they will need is mostly dependent on what their scope and
> responsibilities are, though.  This is very much cart-before-the-horse in
> my mind, kind of like hiring the cafeteria staff before you decide whether
> or not you're going to have a cafeteria.

All Sue has done so far is ask for some information in order to inform
a discussion. We're a long way from actually appointing any clerks.

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Risker]

On 1 May 2012 17:06, Thomas Dalton  wrote:

> On 1 May 2012 21:47, Michael Snow  wrote:
> > I don't know, is it actually that hard to make a determination that
> creating
> > this kind of support role is useful? We may not have worked out all the
> > details of the process, but it seems clear that the process will have a
> > certain "weight" appropriate to the importance people are placing on this
> > issue. That could make it quite natural to need clerks, even if we don't
> > know yet exactly what the clerks will do. If people like SJ and Sue are
> > anticipating a possible need, that's a decent indicator that we might as
> > well have the conversation and not simply postpone it.
>
> I think it is fairly obvious that the FDC will need some kind of
> administrative support. The only question is whether that should come
> from volunteer clerks or WMF staff. There are pros and cons to both,
> so it's a conversation worth having.
>

I agree that it is likely they'll need some kind of support.  The type of
support they will need is mostly dependent on what their scope and
responsibilities are, though.  This is very much cart-before-the-horse in
my mind, kind of like hiring the cafeteria staff before you decide whether
or not you're going to have a cafeteria.

Risker/Anne
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Thomas Dalton]

On 1 May 2012 21:47, Michael Snow  wrote:
> I don't know, is it actually that hard to make a determination that creating
> this kind of support role is useful? We may not have worked out all the
> details of the process, but it seems clear that the process will have a
> certain "weight" appropriate to the importance people are placing on this
> issue. That could make it quite natural to need clerks, even if we don't
> know yet exactly what the clerks will do. If people like SJ and Sue are
> anticipating a possible need, that's a decent indicator that we might as
> well have the conversation and not simply postpone it.

I think it is fairly obvious that the FDC will need some kind of
administrative support. The only question is whether that should come
from volunteer clerks or WMF staff. There are pros and cons to both,
so it's a conversation worth having.

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Risker]

On 1 May 2012 16:47, Michael Snow  wrote:

> On 5/1/2012 12:37 PM, Risker wrote:
>
>> On 1 May 2012 15:00, Sue Gardner  wrote:
>>
>>> Hey folks,
>>>
>>> I had a 90-second conversation the other day with SJ about whether it
>>> would make sense for us to use volunteer "clerks" as support for the
>>> FDC (Funds Dissemination Committee), and I'm wondering if anyone can
>>> point me towards any documentation of the role -- a description of how
>>> it's typically used, either inside Wikimedia or outside. I have the
>>> gist, but am curious to learn more, if anyone's got links they could
>>> point me towards.
>>>
>> I'd suggest that before giving any thought to whether or not the FDC
>> process would benefit from clerking, it would be better to determine what
>> that process actually is, and whether or not the members of the FDC think
>> that clerking would be useful.  In other words, this decision is at least
>> a
>> few months down the pike.
>>
> I don't know, is it actually that hard to make a determination that
> creating this kind of support role is useful? We may not have worked out
> all the details of the process, but it seems clear that the process will
> have a certain "weight" appropriate to the importance people are placing on
> this issue. That could make it quite natural to need clerks, even if we
> don't know yet exactly what the clerks will do. If people like SJ and Sue
> are anticipating a possible need, that's a decent indicator that we might
> as well have the conversation and not simply postpone it.
>
> If some kind of clerk position is created, I expect it can evolve fairly
> naturally as the funds dissemination process itself gets more developed.
> It's not that different from arbitration clerks, who have picked up various
> tasks over time as it was deemed practical and helpful for them to do so.
>
>
Really?  As best I can tell (given the paucity of information available at
this point), it won't be any more complex than the Grants Advisory Group;
that certainly doesn't need clerking.  I am actually quite concerned that
there is consideration to create a bureaucracy to support a committee whose
responsibilities haven't even been delineated; doing so would set the
course for the committee before the FDC Advisory Group even gets its teeth
into the question.

More particularly, since Sue has asked about "job descriptions", the two
"clerk" areas on English Wikipedia are sockpuppet investigations and
arbitration committee pages. The former is quite active in the process
itself, including blocking of suspected sockpuppets; in many cases, they
act as "checkusers without the tool".  Arbcom clerk responsibilities are
more oriented to keeping cases together, properly formatted, and tracking
voting.  English Wikipedia has repeatedly refused to permit the development
of any other recognized "clerking" roles within the project, usually with
good reason.

Risker/Anne
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Michael Snow]

On 5/1/2012 12:37 PM, Risker wrote:

On 1 May 2012 15:00, Sue Gardner  wrote:

Hey folks,

I had a 90-second conversation the other day with SJ about whether it
would make sense for us to use volunteer "clerks" as support for the
FDC (Funds Dissemination Committee), and I'm wondering if anyone can
point me towards any documentation of the role -- a description of how
it's typically used, either inside Wikimedia or outside. I have the
gist, but am curious to learn more, if anyone's got links they could
point me towards.

I'd suggest that before giving any thought to whether or not the FDC
process would benefit from clerking, it would be better to determine what
that process actually is, and whether or not the members of the FDC think
that clerking would be useful.  In other words, this decision is at least a
few months down the pike.
I don't know, is it actually that hard to make a determination that 
creating this kind of support role is useful? We may not have worked out 
all the details of the process, but it seems clear that the process will 
have a certain "weight" appropriate to the importance people are placing 
on this issue. That could make it quite natural to need clerks, even if 
we don't know yet exactly what the clerks will do. If people like SJ and 
Sue are anticipating a possible need, that's a decent indicator that we 
might as well have the conversation and not simply postpone it.


If some kind of clerk position is created, I expect it can evolve fairly 
naturally as the funds dissemination process itself gets more developed. 
It's not that different from arbitration clerks, who have picked up 
various tasks over time as it was deemed practical and helpful for them 
to do so.


--Michael Snow

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Risker]

On 1 May 2012 15:00, Sue Gardner  wrote:

> Hey folks,
>
> I had a 90-second conversation the other day with SJ about whether it
> would make sense for us to use volunteer "clerks" as support for the
> FDC (Funds Dissemination Committee), and I'm wondering if anyone can
> point me towards any documentation of the role -- a description of how
> it's typically used, either inside Wikimedia or outside. I have the
> gist, but am curious to learn more, if anyone's got links they could
> point me towards.
>
>

I'd suggest that before giving any thought to whether or not the FDC
process would benefit from clerking, it would be better to determine what
that process actually is, and whether or not the members of the FDC think
that clerking would be useful.  In other words, this decision is at least a
few months down the pike.

Risker/Anne
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Office hours reminder

[Steven Walling]

On Tue, May 1, 2012 at 12:24 PM, Tom Morris  wrote:

> On the IRC front, I note that Sue last had an IRC office hours session on
> 13 March and there doesn't seem to be any scheduled sessions with Sue in
> May. Might it be an idea to have another office hours session with Sue soon?


I've currently got a suggestion in for Sue to have an office hours on 5/11,
we're just in the midst of scheduling. :)

Steven
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Office hours reminder

[Tom Morris]

On the IRC front, I note that Sue last had an IRC office hours session on 13 
March and there doesn't seem to be any scheduled sessions with Sue in May. 
Might it be an idea to have another office hours session with Sue soon? 

-- 
Tom Morris




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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Yaroslav M. Blanter]

On Tue, 1 May 2012 15:18:24 -0400, Samuel Klein wrote:
On Tue, May 1, 2012 at 3:06 PM, Yaroslav M. Blanter 
 wrote:


Based on this definition, I would not like to be called a clerk. May 
be an
Arbcom clerk is ok, because they are supposed to keep records and 
undertake
routine administrative duties, but not for FDC, whise members are 
expected to advise.


The advisory group would not be clerks.  The question is whether it 
is

helpful to also have clerks, to handle record-keeping and routine
administration to support the work of the FDC + advisors.

SJ



Then I probably misunderstood Sue's question. I was under impression 
she was asking about smth else.


These clerks probably would then have a role similar to Arbcom clerks.

Cheers
Yaroslav

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Samuel Klein]

On Tue, May 1, 2012 at 3:06 PM, Yaroslav M. Blanter  wrote:

> Based on this definition, I would not like to be called a clerk. May be an
> Arbcom clerk is ok, because they are supposed to keep records and undertake
> routine administrative duties, but not for FDC, whise members are expected to 
> advise.

The advisory group would not be clerks.  The question is whether it is
helpful to also have clerks, to handle record-keeping and routine
administration to support the work of the FDC + advisors.

SJ

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Yaroslav M. Blanter]

On Tue, 1 May 2012 12:00:23 -0700, Sue Gardner wrote:

Hey folks,

I had a 90-second conversation the other day with SJ about whether it
would make sense for us to use volunteer "clerks" as support for the
FDC (Funds Dissemination Committee), and I'm wondering if anyone can
point me towards any documentation of the role -- a description of 
how

it's typically used, either inside Wikimedia or outside. I have the
gist, but am curious to learn more, if anyone's got links they could
point me towards.

Thanks,
Sue



I am not a native speaker, and this is what I get from Oxford 
Dictionary


a person employed in an office or bank to keep records and accounts 
and to undertake other routine administrative duties: a bank clerk
an official in charge of the records of a local council or court: a 
clerk to the court
a lay officer of a cathedral, parish church, college chapel, etc.: 
a chapter clerk


2 (also desk clerk) a receptionist in a hotel.
an assistant in a store; a salesclerk.

3 (also clerk in holy orders) formal a member of the clergy.

Based on this definition, I would not like to be called a clerk. May be 
an Arbcom clerk is ok, because they are supposed to keep records and 
undertake routine administrative duties, but not for FDC, whise members 
are expected to advise.


Cheers
Yaroslav

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Thehelpfulone]

And the SPI (Sockpuppet Investigations) clerks are described at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sockpuppet_investigations/SPI/Clerks#Clerks
.

On 1 May 2012 20:03, Thomas Dalton  wrote:

> The English Wikipedia ArbCom's clerks are described here:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration_Committee/Clerks
>
> On 1 May 2012 20:00, Sue Gardner  wrote:
> > Hey folks,
> >
> > I had a 90-second conversation the other day with SJ about whether it
> > would make sense for us to use volunteer "clerks" as support for the
> > FDC (Funds Dissemination Committee), and I'm wondering if anyone can
> > point me towards any documentation of the role -- a description of how
> > it's typically used, either inside Wikimedia or outside. I have the
> > gist, but am curious to learn more, if anyone's got links they could
> > point me towards.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Sue
> >
> >
> > --
> > Sue Gardner
> > Executive Director
> > Wikimedia Foundation
> >
> > 415 839 6885 office
> > 415 816 9967 cell
> >
> > Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
> > the sum of all knowledge.  Help us make it a reality!
> >
> > http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate
> >
> > ___
> > Wikimedia-l mailing list
> > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Thomas Dalton]

The English Wikipedia ArbCom's clerks are described here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration_Committee/Clerks

On 1 May 2012 20:00, Sue Gardner  wrote:
> Hey folks,
>
> I had a 90-second conversation the other day with SJ about whether it
> would make sense for us to use volunteer "clerks" as support for the
> FDC (Funds Dissemination Committee), and I'm wondering if anyone can
> point me towards any documentation of the role -- a description of how
> it's typically used, either inside Wikimedia or outside. I have the
> gist, but am curious to learn more, if anyone's got links they could
> point me towards.
>
> Thanks,
> Sue
>
>
> --
> Sue Gardner
> Executive Director
> Wikimedia Foundation
>
> 415 839 6885 office
> 415 816 9967 cell
>
> Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
> the sum of all knowledge.  Help us make it a reality!
>
> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate
>
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list
> Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l

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[Wikimedia-l] "Clerk" role description?

[Sue Gardner]

Hey folks,

I had a 90-second conversation the other day with SJ about whether it
would make sense for us to use volunteer "clerks" as support for the
FDC (Funds Dissemination Committee), and I'm wondering if anyone can
point me towards any documentation of the role -- a description of how
it's typically used, either inside Wikimedia or outside. I have the
gist, but am curious to learn more, if anyone's got links they could
point me towards.

Thanks,
Sue


--
Sue Gardner
Executive Director
Wikimedia Foundation

415 839 6885 office
415 816 9967 cell

Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
the sum of all knowledge.  Help us make it a reality!

http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Updated Terms of Use

[Jussi-Ville Heiskanen]

On Tue, May 1, 2012 at 4:47 PM, Nathan  wrote:
> Richard, you removed some relevant language:
>
> "Certain activities, whether legal or illegal, may be harmful to other
> users and violate our rules, and some activities may also subject you to
> liability. Therefore, for your own protection and for that of other users, 
> *you
> may not engage in such activities on our sites*. These activities include:
> [..] Using the services in a manner that is inconsistent with applicable
> law."
>
>
> I think that expecting the ToS to condone violations of laws that are in
> some way "anti-freedom" is unrealistic. It seems like it would be difficult
> to craft language to do that well.
>
> ~Nathan

Would you like an opportunity to phrase that language in a sense that does
not suggest Wikimedia is in support of laws that are "anti-freedom"?

-- 
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Jussi-Ville Heiskanen, ~ [[User:Cimon Avaro]]

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[Wikimedia-l] best practices in scheduling a meeting

[phoebe ayers]

Hi all,

This is a small but common task :) I was writing up some tips for
scheduling a meeting in the wiki-verse for someone and thought what
the heck, I should put this on meta as well. So here it is:

http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Best_practices_in_scheduling_a_meeting

Please edit -- I know many of you schedule far more meetings than I
do! Hopefully it will be a useful resource, especially for people new
to Wikimedia who need to schedule such meetings.

cheers,
phoebe

-- 
* I use this address for lists; send personal messages to phoebe.ayers
 gmail.com *

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[Wikimedia-l] Office hours reminder

[Philippe Beaudette]

Office hours with Gayle Young, the WMF Chief Talent and Culture Officer, will 
begin in about 90 minutes in #wikimedia-office on the freeness IRC network. 
Logs will be posted at the conclusion.

See you there!


---
Philippe Beaudette

Director, Community Advocacy
Wikimedia Foundation Inc.

phili...@wikimedia.org

Sent from my iPad. 
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Editor retention implies social features

[Bod Notbod]

On Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 09:04, Jan Kučera  wrote:

> people in the community still think
> commercial/noncomemrcial are two different worlds - they arent. There
> is only one user, who actually does not care a lot about a site being
> commercial/uncommercial...

I'm going to assume that by "user" you're primarily talking about our
readers rather than regular contributors.

I think it's difficult to estimate whether they care that the site is
"uncommercial". We don't have a test-wiki or a competing site that
shows ads and is funded by those. Who can say with confidence that if
there was an ad-funded Wikipedia that users wouldn't flee? So we can't
know if they care or not.

> if you have bad software you will
> never have great content...

Which raises the question: are you saying Wikipedia content is bad?
Wikipedia's position in the most visited websites would appear to say
that users disagree with you.

> The example can be myself - I am missing chart features withint
> MediaWiki/Wikipedia, I filled a bug, nothing happens, I may leave the
> community for good... This is the same story over and over again.
> Foundation did not really care till now...

I too have a long outstanding feature request to do with improving
watchlists (grouping pages together so you could have eg a soccer
watchlist and a politics watchlist). I put out a plea some years ago
and it looks like it may finally happen as someone on the Google
Summer of Code program is going to give it his best shot this summer.

Instead of leaving the project why not try and form a relationship
with some programmers and nudge them towards working on your
idea/needs? Be the squeaky wheel looking to be oiled. And be patient.
If you can't achieve what you want due to missing features at the
moment, surely there are other things you can contribute that you
would find fulfilling?

The fact that my watchlist doesn't have the functionality I desire has
meant that I haven't used my watchlist much, but there's still 1,001
things to do that have nothing to do with a watchlist.

Bodnotbod

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Updated Terms of Use

[Nathan]

Richard, you removed some relevant language:

"Certain activities, whether legal or illegal, may be harmful to other
users and violate our rules, and some activities may also subject you to
liability. Therefore, for your own protection and for that of other users, *you
may not engage in such activities on our sites*. These activities include:
[..] Using the services in a manner that is inconsistent with applicable
law."


I think that expecting the ToS to condone violations of laws that are in
some way "anti-freedom" is unrealistic. It seems like it would be difficult
to craft language to do that well.

~Nathan

On Tue, May 1, 2012 at 9:34 AM, Richard Symonds <
richard.symo...@wikimedia.org.uk> wrote:

> I don't think it does say that, or if it does, I can't see where. You're
> certainly liable if you break a law in your own country, but I don't think
> you've broken the terms of use. It says that
>
> > "Certain activites may subject you to liabilities... [for example] using
> > the services in a manner that is inconsistent with applicable law."
>
>
> This means, to my eyes, that you're potentially liable (to someone) if you
> break the law in your own country - which makes perfect sense to me.
>
> But then, I am not a lawyer, nor do I work for the WMF.
>
> Richard Symonds
> Wikimedia UK
> 0207 065 0992
> Disclaimer viewable at
> http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia:Email_disclaimer
> Visit http://www.wikimedia.org.uk/ and @wikimediauk
>
>
>
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Updated Terms of Use

[Richard Symonds]

I don't think it does say that, or if it does, I can't see where. You're
certainly liable if you break a law in your own country, but I don't think
you've broken the terms of use. It says that

> "Certain activites may subject you to liabilities... [for example] using
> the services in a manner that is inconsistent with applicable law."


This means, to my eyes, that you're potentially liable (to someone) if you
break the law in your own country - which makes perfect sense to me.

But then, I am not a lawyer, nor do I work for the WMF.

Richard Symonds
Wikimedia UK
0207 065 0992
Disclaimer viewable at
http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia:Email_disclaimer
Visit http://www.wikimedia.org.uk/ and @wikimediauk



On 1 May 2012 14:25, Jussi-Ville Heiskanen  wrote:

> Does this new TOS mean that Chinese violate WMF TOS if they
> view legal US material on the Wikimedia site? In case it is against
> Chinese censorship laws.
>
> --
> --
> Jussi-Ville Heiskanen, ~ [[User:Cimon Avaro]]
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Updated Terms of Use

[Jussi-Ville Heiskanen]

Does this new TOS mean that Chinese violate WMF TOS if they
view legal US material on the Wikimedia site? In case it is against
Chinese censorship laws.

-- 
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Updated Terms of Use

[Jussi-Ville Heiskanen]

Tell me what I am missing here. please. Do these new rules not
mean Chinese internet users are violating our terms of service,
if they evade Chinese state censorhip to view our content?

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Announcement: IRC Office Hours

[Bod Notbod]

Just thought I'd bump this thread due to the IRC sessions imminence
and add value with a link to Gayle's staff page on the Foundation
wiki:

http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/User:Gyoung

Bodnotbod

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Update on the CISPA drafting process, and its significance to the Wikimedia movement.

[Jussi-Ville Heiskanen]

On Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 11:29 AM, Alec Meta  wrote:
> On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 8:37 AM, Jussi-Ville Heiskanen
>  wrote:
>> There have been drastic changes to the CISPA language, (and
>> here "drastic" is an understatement).
> ...
>> At this point I think *any* action by Wikimedia would be misinterpreted.
>> There is no-longer any text there that would affect Wikimedia directly.
>
> I think we should take our cues from the American Library Association.
>  Wikimedia is really an outcrop of the Public Library movement.   If
> the librarians oppose it, we are on solid ground opposing it to.
> Indeed, we can justify our opposition merely by pointing to the ALA's
> position--   Librarians are like the Military in the US-- everyone
> loves librarians.
>
> Going full black may not be justified, but releasing a statement of
> some kind (or a small banner of some kind) might be appropriate.
>
> Also, remember that we are a global organization.  If the US
> 'legitimizes' universal cyber-surveillance, it could have deep
> ramifications for our readers editors living under authoritarian
> regimes.  Even if the US is a good steward of these new powers, non-US
> users are unlikely to be so lucky.
>
> The language is reportedly in flux.  I strongly suggest taking our
> cues from the ALA.   If they librarians oppose it, let us oppose it
> too.
>

I totally agree with all of the above, butI think we have a good opportunity
to frame the argument as one of Obama and the People against a corrupt
system on the Hill. Not Wikimedia as a nine-hundred pound gorilla against
the peoples duly elected representatives.

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[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] The Signpost -- Volume 8, Issue 18 -- 30 April 2012

[Wikipedia Signpost]

Paid editing: Does Wikipedia Pay? The Consultant: Pete Forsyth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/Paid_editing

News and notes: Showdown as featured article writer openly solicits commercial 
opportunities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/News_and_notes

Recent research: Barnstars work; Wiktionary assessed; cleanup tags counted; 
finding expert admins; discussion peaks; Wikipedia citations in academic 
publications; and more
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/Recent_research

Discussion report: 'ReferenceTooltips' by default
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/Discussion_report

WikiProject report: The Cartographers of WikiProject Maps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/WikiProject_report

Featured content: Featured content spreads its wings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/Featured_content

Arbitration report: R&I Review remains in voting, two open cases
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/Arbitration_report

Technology report: What Git means for end users, design controversies and 
pertinent poll results
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30/Technology_report


Single page view
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Signpost/Single

PDF version
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-04-30


http://identi.ca/wikisignpost / https://twitter.com/wikisignpost
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost

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