Re: [Wikimedia-l] Grant Advisory Committee Expanded

[Abbas Mahmood]

Welcome!
Looking forward to working with the new members.
SincerelyAbbas.

> From: abar...@wikimedia.org
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 18:20:20 -0700
> To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Grant Advisory Committee Expanded
> 
> Hello, everyone.
> 
> I'm pleased to announce that we have significantly expanded the Grant
> Advisory Committee (GAC)[1] as of today, and it now numbers 30 volunteers,
> following an open process and public calls for volunteers.  The updated
> list of members is here[2].  With this expansion, we hope to achieve a
> higher degree of community participation in the Foundation's evaluation of
> grant proposals for its Wikimedia Grants program[3], as well as more
> diverse feedback and advice for grant applicants on how to refine their
> proposals for best impact.
> 
> The GAC was set up almost exactly one year ago, and has been quietly doing
> what is frankly a thankless job.  I applaud and thank the volunteers who
> have done this work so far, and look forward to easing their load a little
> now that the GAC is larger, considering an expected rise in the number of
> grant proposals they would be called upon to review.
> 
> Welcome to the new volunteers, and may we all have much success in
> fostering innovation and impactful mission-aligned activities through the
> grants program.
> 
>Asaf
> 
> [1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grant_Advisory_Committee
> [2] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grant_Advisory_Committee#Membership
> [3] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index
> -- 
> Asaf Bartov
> Wikimedia Foundation 
> 
> Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
> sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!
> https://donate.wikimedia.org
> ___
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> Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
  
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Geolocalization improvement proposal

[Birgitte_sb]

On Jul 23, 2012, at 12:48 PM, "Federico Leva (Nemo)"  wrote:

> birgitte...@yahoo.com, 23/07/2012 19:27:
>> On Jul 23, 2012, at 7:42 AM, "Federico Leva (Nemo)" wrote:
>> 
>>> birgitte...@yahoo.com, 23/07/2012 14:28:
 I am unaware of what the shortcomings of the current system are and where 
 any improvements would be felt. This makes it a bit hard to have a firm 
 opinion of the trade-offs involved with changing the system. So what 
 exactly are the problems people are having with the current geolocation 
 system?
>>> 
>>> As the page tries to prove, looks like the current system is completely 
>>> unreliable and therefore useless for most geonotices in Italy and probably 
>>> other places.
>> 
>> I think it would be useful to have a wider study of the accuracy of the 
>> current system. Privacy issues are always a concern.  I am not certain I 
>> could support gathering more exact information on users who are well-served 
>> by the current system. It would be more supportable, I think, if there were 
>> a way to turn on the browser-based system only for those who are in areas 
>> that are known to be poorly served by the current system. Or if you were to 
>> ask those who geolocate to known ambiguous areas to opt-in to browser-based 
>> geolocation. There is obviously a benefit for some people, but a cost to 
>> everyone if we were to switch wholesale. Further study to determine exactly 
>> how widespread and how significant the benefit would be is something that I 
>> think might be useful.
> 
> What if the new system happened e.g. to be needed for geonotices (to 
> distinguish regions within a country) but not fundraising (which so far cares 
> only about country, for currency/language/payment/legal purposes)?


I already was thinking it was as you said. I can't see why I would feel any 
different about using it for fundraising purposes, and I think we already use 
the separate browser data rather than geolocation to identify language. If 
anything I might be inclined to think a person would find it more desirable to 
know it.WM is hosting an event in their city, than to learn that their money is 
wanted in more targeted way. Not to put down fundraising, but I think people 
really like to know about local events. I certainly enjoy these notices. Maybe 
big city folk are too jaded to feel this way, but imagine that many other 
people must enjoy this too. I know whenever I see a local event mentioned on 
some big website, I always think of Judy Garland (if you have ever seen the 
movie "Meet Me in St. Louis") saying, "I can't believe it. Right here were we 
live - right here in St. Louis!" I don't get that magical feeling from 
fundraisers! So I definitely believe what it.WM wants to do, to connect people 
with local events, has real value. And that it has value for the individual 
people just as much as for it.WM.

The main question is whether the benefit from being able to connect people with 
local events is worth the risk of collecting more personalized of their data 
than we are accustomed to handling.  Maybe the benefit does win out for many 
people in Italy (I don't really understand enough about what degree of 
improvement you are anticipating to have a firm opinion). But it is certainly 
not worth the risk for people in areas that do not notice problems with the 
current system. This is why I am suggesting that the browser feature might only 
be limited to areas that are known to reach some pre-defined level of error 
under geolocation. Or else that it be made an opt-in feature (perhaps even 
advertised through the current geonotice in areas that are known to be a 
problem).  However I don't believe that gathering more browser data for 
everyone everywhere is a likely to be good overall solution.

Birgitte SB
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[Wikimedia-l] Grant Advisory Committee Expanded

[Asaf Bartov]

Hello, everyone.

I'm pleased to announce that we have significantly expanded the Grant
Advisory Committee (GAC)[1] as of today, and it now numbers 30 volunteers,
following an open process and public calls for volunteers.  The updated
list of members is here[2].  With this expansion, we hope to achieve a
higher degree of community participation in the Foundation's evaluation of
grant proposals for its Wikimedia Grants program[3], as well as more
diverse feedback and advice for grant applicants on how to refine their
proposals for best impact.

The GAC was set up almost exactly one year ago, and has been quietly doing
what is frankly a thankless job.  I applaud and thank the volunteers who
have done this work so far, and look forward to easing their load a little
now that the GAC is larger, considering an expected rise in the number of
grant proposals they would be called upon to review.

Welcome to the new volunteers, and may we all have much success in
fostering innovation and impactful mission-aligned activities through the
grants program.

   Asaf

[1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grant_Advisory_Committee
[2] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grant_Advisory_Committee#Membership
[3] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index
-- 
Asaf Bartov
Wikimedia Foundation 

Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!
https://donate.wikimedia.org
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Geolocalization improvement proposal

[John Vandenberg]

A location gadget would be a way to start. With a gadget, it is opt-in.
On Jul 23, 2012 7:43 PM, "Federico Leva (Nemo)"  wrote:

> birgitte...@yahoo.com, 23/07/2012 14:28:
>
>> I am unaware of what the shortcomings of the current system are and where
>> any improvements would be felt. This makes it a bit hard to have a firm
>> opinion of the trade-offs involved with changing the system. So what
>> exactly are the problems people are having with the current geolocation
>> system?
>>
>
> As the page tries to prove, looks like the current system is completely
> unreliable and therefore useless for most geonotices in Italy and probably
> other places.
>
> Nemo
>
> __**_
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> Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.**org 
> Unsubscribe: 
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/**mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Geolocalization improvement proposal

[Federico Leva (Nemo)]

birgitte...@yahoo.com, 23/07/2012 19:27:

On Jul 23, 2012, at 7:42 AM, "Federico Leva (Nemo)" wrote:


birgitte...@yahoo.com, 23/07/2012 14:28:

I am unaware of what the shortcomings of the current system are and where any 
improvements would be felt. This makes it a bit hard to have a firm opinion of 
the trade-offs involved with changing the system. So what exactly are the 
problems people are having with the current geolocation system?


As the page tries to prove, looks like the current system is completely 
unreliable and therefore useless for most geonotices in Italy and probably 
other places.


I think it would be useful to have a wider study of the accuracy of the current 
system. Privacy issues are always a concern.  I am not certain I could support 
gathering more exact information on users who are well-served by the current 
system. It would be more supportable, I think, if there were a way to turn on 
the browser-based system only for those who are in areas that are known to be 
poorly served by the current system. Or if you were to ask those who geolocate 
to known ambiguous areas to opt-in to browser-based geolocation. There is 
obviously a benefit for some people, but a cost to everyone if we were to 
switch wholesale. Further study to determine exactly how widespread and how 
significant the benefit would be is something that I think might be useful.


What if the new system happened e.g. to be needed for geonotices (to 
distinguish regions within a country) but not fundraising (which so far 
cares only about country, for currency/language/payment/legal purposes)?


Nemo

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[Wikimedia-l] Fwd: Geolocalization improvement proposal

[Birgitte_sb]

Somehow this only replied to Nemo



Begin forwarded message:

> From: birgitte...@yahoo.com
> Date: July 23, 2012 12:27:56 PM CDT
> To: "Federico Leva (Nemo)" 
> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Geolocalization improvement proposal
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Jul 23, 2012, at 7:42 AM, "Federico Leva (Nemo)"  
> wrote:
> 
>> birgitte...@yahoo.com, 23/07/2012 14:28:
>>> I am unaware of what the shortcomings of the current system are and where 
>>> any improvements would be felt. This makes it a bit hard to have a firm 
>>> opinion of the trade-offs involved with changing the system. So what 
>>> exactly are the problems people are having with the current geolocation 
>>> system?
>> 
>> As the page tries to prove, looks like the current system is completely 
>> unreliable and therefore useless for most geonotices in Italy and probably 
>> other places.
> 
> I think it would be useful to have a wider study of the accuracy of the 
> current system. Privacy issues are always a concern.  I am not certain I 
> could support gathering more exact information on users who are well-served 
> by the current system. It would be more supportable, I think, if there were a 
> way to turn on the browser-based system only for those who are in areas that 
> are known to be poorly served by the current system. Or if you were to ask 
> those who geolocate to known ambiguous areas to opt-in to browser-based 
> geolocation. There is obviously a benefit for some people, but a cost to 
> everyone if we were to switch wholesale. Further study to determine exactly 
> how widespread and how significant the benefit would be is something that I 
> think might be useful.
> 
> Birgitte SB
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Geolocalization improvement proposal

[Deryck Chan]

On Jul 23, 2012 2:59 PM, "Deryck Chan"  wrote:

>
> On Jul 23, 2012 11:48 AM, "aude"  wrote:
> >
> > On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:32 PM, Cristian Consonni <
> kikkocrist...@gmail.com
> > > wrote:
> >
> > > 2012/7/18 Cristian Consonni :
> > > > I know that the feature may be perceived as invasive so I would like
> > > > that as many people as possible share their opinion on this and I
> hope
> > > > that we can anyway start a discussion that will lead to an improved
> > > > geolocalization system, whichever we found appropriate.
> > >
> > > I am sorry to insist on this issue but having received almost no
> > > answers in the past week I fear that I was not clear in my request.
> > > But I indeed have some questions, so I restate them here:
> > > * Using browser localization capabilities may be perceived as
> > > invasive. Would you like to use browser localization tool in
> > > Wikipedia? (yes/no, why?)
> > >
> >
> > Yes, I think it's invasive and Wikipedians can be quite sensitive about
> > privacy. (even if it's all in the browser, with JavaScript, etc.)   It
> may
> > not be the case everywhere, but the IP based geolocation is good enough
> for
> > purposes of geonotices.
>
> Doesn't work well enough in the UK for our purposes - there are threads
> and threads of debate on wikimediauk-l if you want to delve into that. The
> US is the exception, not the rule, in that lat-lon geolocation actually
> works to a useful accuracy.
> Deryck
>
> >
> > Right now, we pretty much opt everyone into the geonotices, though each
> can
> > be dismissed or people can turn them off with css / js.  I think people
> > would freak out about the more precise geolocation and more would opt
> out.
> >
> > (e.g. whatever happened with Twitter's geolocation?  as far as I see,
> > people don't use it much)
> >
> >
> >
> > > * Do you think the trade-off between bothering user asking to send
> > > position information and potential benefits (more accurately localized
> > >  messages) is worth?
> > >
> >
> > Not worth it.  Not enough benefit over the current approach.
> >
> >
> > > * Are you happy with the current system ?
> > >
> >
> > Yes.  Obviously the UI for the geonotice tool can use improvement, and
> > would be nice to see more geolocation functionality in CentralNotice.
> >
> >
> > > * Do you think a deeper study of the issue (i.e. a new survey,
> > > conducted on a broader sample and in a more scientifically precise
> > > way) would be useful or would help you make a more informed decision?
> > >
> >
> > No.
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Katie
> >
> >
> >
> > > * Have you any further proposal for the use of the system?
> > >
> > > Thank you, please also use the discussion page of
> > >
> > >
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Geonotice#Open_questions_.28feedback_welcome.29
> > > for comments.
> > >
> > > Thank you,
> > >
> > > Cristian
> > >
> > > ___
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> > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Board member, Wikimedia District of Columbia
> > http://wikimediadc.org
> > @wikimediadc / @wikimania2012
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Geolocalization improvement proposal

[Federico Leva (Nemo)]

birgitte...@yahoo.com, 23/07/2012 14:28:

I am unaware of what the shortcomings of the current system are and where any 
improvements would be felt. This makes it a bit hard to have a firm opinion of 
the trade-offs involved with changing the system. So what exactly are the 
problems people are having with the current geolocation system?


As the page tries to prove, looks like the current system is completely 
unreliable and therefore useless for most geonotices in Italy and 
probably other places.


Nemo

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Geolocalization improvement proposal

[Birgitte_sb]

On Jul 23, 2012, at 5:32 AM, Cristian Consonni  wrote:

> 2012/7/18 Cristian Consonni :
>> I know that the feature may be perceived as invasive so I would like
>> that as many people as possible share their opinion on this and I hope
>> that we can anyway start a discussion that will lead to an improved
>> geolocalization system, whichever we found appropriate.
> 
> I am sorry to insist on this issue but having received almost no
> answers in the past week I fear that I was not clear in my request.
> But I indeed have some questions, so I restate them here:
> * Using browser localization capabilities may be perceived as
> invasive. Would you like to use browser localization tool in
> Wikipedia? (yes/no, why?)
> * Do you think the trade-off between bothering user asking to send
> position information and potential benefits (more accurately localized
> messages) is worth?
> * Are you happy with the current system ?
> * Do you think a deeper study of the issue (i.e. a new survey,
> conducted on a broader sample and in a more scientifically precise
> way) would be useful or would help you make a more informed decision?
> * Have you any further proposal for the use of the system?
> 
> Thank you, please also use the discussion page of
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Geonotice#Open_questions_.28feedback_welcome.29
> for comments.
> 

I am unaware of what the shortcomings of the current system are and where any 
improvements would be felt. This makes it a bit hard to have a firm opinion of 
the trade-offs involved with changing the system. So what exactly are the 
problems people are having with the current geolocation system?

Birgitte SB
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Geolocalization improvement proposal

[aude]

On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:32 PM, Cristian Consonni  wrote:

> 2012/7/18 Cristian Consonni :
> > I know that the feature may be perceived as invasive so I would like
> > that as many people as possible share their opinion on this and I hope
> > that we can anyway start a discussion that will lead to an improved
> > geolocalization system, whichever we found appropriate.
>
> I am sorry to insist on this issue but having received almost no
> answers in the past week I fear that I was not clear in my request.
> But I indeed have some questions, so I restate them here:
> * Using browser localization capabilities may be perceived as
> invasive. Would you like to use browser localization tool in
> Wikipedia? (yes/no, why?)
>

Yes, I think it's invasive and Wikipedians can be quite sensitive about
privacy. (even if it's all in the browser, with JavaScript, etc.)   It may
not be the case everywhere, but the IP based geolocation is good enough for
purposes of geonotices.

Right now, we pretty much opt everyone into the geonotices, though each can
be dismissed or people can turn them off with css / js.  I think people
would freak out about the more precise geolocation and more would opt out.

(e.g. whatever happened with Twitter's geolocation?  as far as I see,
people don't use it much)



> * Do you think the trade-off between bothering user asking to send
> position information and potential benefits (more accurately localized
>  messages) is worth?
>

Not worth it.  Not enough benefit over the current approach.


> * Are you happy with the current system ?
>

Yes.  Obviously the UI for the geonotice tool can use improvement, and
would be nice to see more geolocation functionality in CentralNotice.


> * Do you think a deeper study of the issue (i.e. a new survey,
> conducted on a broader sample and in a more scientifically precise
> way) would be useful or would help you make a more informed decision?
>

No.

Cheers,
Katie



> * Have you any further proposal for the use of the system?
>
> Thank you, please also use the discussion page of
>
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Geonotice#Open_questions_.28feedback_welcome.29
> for comments.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Cristian
>
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-- 
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http://wikimediadc.org
@wikimediadc / @wikimania2012
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Geolocalization improvement proposal

[Cristian Consonni]

2012/7/18 Cristian Consonni :
> I know that the feature may be perceived as invasive so I would like
> that as many people as possible share their opinion on this and I hope
> that we can anyway start a discussion that will lead to an improved
> geolocalization system, whichever we found appropriate.

I am sorry to insist on this issue but having received almost no
answers in the past week I fear that I was not clear in my request.
But I indeed have some questions, so I restate them here:
* Using browser localization capabilities may be perceived as
invasive. Would you like to use browser localization tool in
Wikipedia? (yes/no, why?)
* Do you think the trade-off between bothering user asking to send
position information and potential benefits (more accurately localized
 messages) is worth?
* Are you happy with the current system ?
* Do you think a deeper study of the issue (i.e. a new survey,
conducted on a broader sample and in a more scientifically precise
way) would be useful or would help you make a more informed decision?
* Have you any further proposal for the use of the system?

Thank you, please also use the discussion page of
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Geonotice#Open_questions_.28feedback_welcome.29
for comments.

Thank you,

Cristian

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