[Wikimedia-l] next Wikidata office hour on IRC

[Lydia Pintscher]

Hey everyone :)

We'll be doing another office hour on IRC for all things Wikidata on April
12th at 4PM UTC.
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?hour=16&min=00&sec=0&day=12&month=04&year=2016
has
your timezone.
I'll give an overview of what's been happening over the past 3 months and
give an update on what's coming up. We'll have time for questions as well.
If you have any topics you'd like to bring up please let me know. As always
there will be logs for people who can't attend.
Hope to see many of you there.

Cheers
Lydia
-- 
Lydia Pintscher - http://about.me/lydia.pintscher
Product Manager for Wikidata

Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24
10963 Berlin
www.wikimedia.de

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.

Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 Nz. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207.
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] The Case for Federation: Should Parts of WMF Be Spun Off?

[Gnangarra]

Spinning off comes with issues, as we will encounter issues like we
currently have with the QRpedia coding as thats now under the control of
WMUK all of the data being collected is sbject to UK provacy issues that
resulted in all the reporting functions being shut down... We also add to
the issue that when something like this looses local support those us who
are active users have no way to get improvements or changes...


   - Local laws for where its operated will be an issue
   - interest in maintaining and development will wain when communities
   choose other priorities because there isnt a local demand
   -

The reality is break out areas only generates further expenses with further
levels of management, only areas which service outside organisation and can
independently revenue generate like the mediawiki should be considered.
Like wise travel is an option given how much travel chapters & WMF create
using a WMF agency for booking could be beneficial, such an agency could
also consider insurance for travellers to cover cameras, laptops, other
similar such devices we carry , that would generate a revenue stream and
open avenues for event sponsorships.

NO I dont see fundraising department as an independent revenue generating
business,

Breaking up the WMF  to create more bureaucracy isnt the way go, every
thing should still be operated under the ED and BoT


On 25 March 2016 at 07:57, Erik Moeller  wrote:

> 2016-03-21 13:53 GMT-07:00 Mark A. Hershberger :
> > We've since held three meetings[3][4][5] and have planned two more.
> > During the meeting planned for about six weeks from now[6], we intend
> > to have a format that allows us to respond to questions or concerns from
> > the larger community.
>
> This is very encouraging, Mark, thanks for the summary! It sounds like
> there's already quite a bit of traction for creating a MediaWiki
> focused organization. I'll try to join the upcoming meetings and
> provide input/help where I can. Is there an active asynchronous
> conversation space about this somewhere (talk page, listserv, forum,
> whatever)? If not, should we use
> https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Talk:MediaWiki_Stakeholders%27_Group
> for ongoing conversation about this?
>
> Thanks,
> Erik
>
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 
>



-- 
GN.
President Wikimedia Australia
WMAU: http://www.wikimedia.org.au/wiki/User:Gnangarra
Photo Gallery: http://gnangarra.redbubble.com
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 

[Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia DC Book Grant Program Announcement

[Keilana]

Hello all! (Apologies for cross-posting!)


I’m pleased to announce the second round of Wikimedia DC Book Grants, a
pilot program in which we help provide editors with resources they need to
improve Wikimedia projects. If you live in the United States and actively
edit Wikimedia projects, you are eligible; you do not have to be a member
of WMDC or edit English projects.

Applications are open for one week, from today through Monday, April 4. We
expect to let people know by April 10 whether or not their grant request
has been funded.

More information is available on the Wikimedia DC website [1].

Apply for a grant here: https://podio.com/webforms/14722557/986696


[1] https://wikimediadc.org/wiki/Book_grants

Thanks,

Emily Temple-Wood
Vice President, Wikimedia District of Columbia
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia DC Book Grant Program Announcement

[Asaf Bartov]

Excellent. :)

Does that mean there have been (positive?) conclusions from the first
pilot?  Is that assessment documented somewhere?

   A.

On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 11:56 AM, Keilana  wrote:

> Hello all! (Apologies for cross-posting!)
>
>
> I’m pleased to announce the second round of Wikimedia DC Book Grants, a
> pilot program in which we help provide editors with resources they need to
> improve Wikimedia projects. If you live in the United States and actively
> edit Wikimedia projects, you are eligible; you do not have to be a member
> of WMDC or edit English projects.
>
> Applications are open for one week, from today through Monday, April 4. We
> expect to let people know by April 10 whether or not their grant request
> has been funded.
>
> More information is available on the Wikimedia DC website [1].
>
> Apply for a grant here: https://podio.com/webforms/14722557/986696
>
>
> [1] https://wikimediadc.org/wiki/Book_grants
>
> Thanks,
>
> Emily Temple-Wood
> Vice President, Wikimedia District of Columbia
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 




-- 
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
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia DC Book Grant Program Announcement

[Kirill Lokshin]

We did a preliminary assessment of the first pilot's outcomes in December,
with very promising results (50+ new articles created, 10+ articles
promoted to GA, and solid plans for continuing work).  Our plan is to
conduct a more detailed evaluation in August/September and include those
results in our annual report.

Kirill

--
Kirill Lokshin
President
Wikimedia District of Columbia
kirill.loks...@wikimediadc.org
https://wikimediadc.org

On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 3:39 PM, Asaf Bartov  wrote:

> Excellent. :)
>
> Does that mean there have been (positive?) conclusions from the first
> pilot?  Is that assessment documented somewhere?
>
>A.
>
> On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 11:56 AM, Keilana  wrote:
>
> > Hello all! (Apologies for cross-posting!)
> >
> >
> > I’m pleased to announce the second round of Wikimedia DC Book Grants, a
> > pilot program in which we help provide editors with resources they need
> to
> > improve Wikimedia projects. If you live in the United States and actively
> > edit Wikimedia projects, you are eligible; you do not have to be a member
> > of WMDC or edit English projects.
> >
> > Applications are open for one week, from today through Monday, April 4.
> We
> > expect to let people know by April 10 whether or not their grant request
> > has been funded.
> >
> > More information is available on the Wikimedia DC website [1].
> >
> > Apply for a grant here: https://podio.com/webforms/14722557/986696
> >
> >
> > [1] https://wikimediadc.org/wiki/Book_grants
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Emily Temple-Wood
> > Vice President, Wikimedia District of Columbia
> > ___
> > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > 
>
>
>
>
> --
> 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
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 
>
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia DC Book Grant Program Announcement

[Asaf Bartov]

Great, I'm glad to hear!

(not sure why we're cross-posting to the gender gap list.)

   A.

On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 12:52 PM, Kirill Lokshin <
kirill.loks...@wikimediadc.org> wrote:

> We did a preliminary assessment of the first pilot's outcomes in December,
> with very promising results (50+ new articles created, 10+ articles
> promoted to GA, and solid plans for continuing work).  Our plan is to
> conduct a more detailed evaluation in August/September and include those
> results in our annual report.
>
> Kirill
>
> --
> Kirill Lokshin
> President
> Wikimedia District of Columbia
> kirill.loks...@wikimediadc.org
> https://wikimediadc.org
>
> On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 3:39 PM, Asaf Bartov 
> wrote:
>
> > Excellent. :)
> >
> > Does that mean there have been (positive?) conclusions from the first
> > pilot?  Is that assessment documented somewhere?
> >
> >A.
> >
> > On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 11:56 AM, Keilana  wrote:
> >
> > > Hello all! (Apologies for cross-posting!)
> > >
> > >
> > > I’m pleased to announce the second round of Wikimedia DC Book Grants, a
> > > pilot program in which we help provide editors with resources they need
> > to
> > > improve Wikimedia projects. If you live in the United States and
> actively
> > > edit Wikimedia projects, you are eligible; you do not have to be a
> member
> > > of WMDC or edit English projects.
> > >
> > > Applications are open for one week, from today through Monday, April 4.
> > We
> > > expect to let people know by April 10 whether or not their grant
> request
> > > has been funded.
> > >
> > > More information is available on the Wikimedia DC website [1].
> > >
> > > Apply for a grant here: https://podio.com/webforms/14722557/986696
> > >
> > >
> > > [1] https://wikimediadc.org/wiki/Book_grants
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > >
> > > Emily Temple-Wood
> > > Vice President, Wikimedia District of Columbia
> > > ___
> > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > > 
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > 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
> > ___
> > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > 
> >
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 
>



-- 
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
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia DC Book Grant Program Announcement

[Rob]

Systemic bias issues on Wikipedia are often exacerbated by the lack of
digital resources in certain subject areas.  (Another reason for this
librarian to get annoyed when people say everything is online.)  The
book grant program is a great way to help address this.


On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 4:00 PM, Asaf Bartov  wrote:

> Great, I'm glad to hear!
>
> (not sure why we're cross-posting to the gender gap list.)
>
>A.
>
> On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 12:52 PM, Kirill Lokshin <
> kirill.loks...@wikimediadc.org> wrote:
>
> > We did a preliminary assessment of the first pilot's outcomes in
> December,
> > with very promising results (50+ new articles created, 10+ articles
> > promoted to GA, and solid plans for continuing work).  Our plan is to
> > conduct a more detailed evaluation in August/September and include those
> > results in our annual report.
> >
> > Kirill
> >
> > --
> > Kirill Lokshin
> > President
> > Wikimedia District of Columbia
> > kirill.loks...@wikimediadc.org
> > https://wikimediadc.org
> >
> > On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 3:39 PM, Asaf Bartov 
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Excellent. :)
> > >
> > > Does that mean there have been (positive?) conclusions from the first
> > > pilot?  Is that assessment documented somewhere?
> > >
> > >A.
> > >
> > > On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 11:56 AM, Keilana 
> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hello all! (Apologies for cross-posting!)
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I’m pleased to announce the second round of Wikimedia DC Book
> Grants, a
> > > > pilot program in which we help provide editors with resources they
> need
> > > to
> > > > improve Wikimedia projects. If you live in the United States and
> > actively
> > > > edit Wikimedia projects, you are eligible; you do not have to be a
> > member
> > > > of WMDC or edit English projects.
> > > >
> > > > Applications are open for one week, from today through Monday, April
> 4.
> > > We
> > > > expect to let people know by April 10 whether or not their grant
> > request
> > > > has been funded.
> > > >
> > > > More information is available on the Wikimedia DC website [1].
> > > >
> > > > Apply for a grant here: https://podio.com/webforms/14722557/986696
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > [1] https://wikimediadc.org/wiki/Book_grants
> > > >
> > > > Thanks,
> > > >
> > > > Emily Temple-Wood
> > > > Vice President, Wikimedia District of Columbia
> > > > ___
> > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> > > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > > > Unsubscribe:
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > > > 
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > 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
> > > ___
> > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > > 
> > >
> > ___
> > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > 
> >
>
>
>
> --
> 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
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 
>
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia DC Book Grant Program Announcement

[Sam Klein]

Wonderful!

I still think Erik's suggestion long ago that there should just be an
Amazon bot that automatically approves & logs book orders from long-time
editors, was a great one.  There might still be a need for these
higher-overhead programs (possibly e.g. for people who want more privacy
about their request?) but this would be a lovely service in many regions.

SJ

On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 12:52 PM, Kirill Lokshin <
kirill.loks...@wikimediadc.org> wrote:

> We did a preliminary assessment of the first pilot's outcomes in December,
> with very promising results (50+ new articles created, 10+ articles
> promoted to GA, and solid plans for continuing work).  Our plan is to
> conduct a more detailed evaluation in August/September and include those
> results in our annual report.
>
> Kirill
>
> --
> Kirill Lokshin
> President
> Wikimedia District of Columbia
> kirill.loks...@wikimediadc.org
> https://wikimediadc.org
>
> On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 3:39 PM, Asaf Bartov 
> wrote:
>
> > Excellent. :)
> >
> > Does that mean there have been (positive?) conclusions from the first
> > pilot?  Is that assessment documented somewhere?
> >
> >A.
> >
> > On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 11:56 AM, Keilana  wrote:
> >
> > > Hello all! (Apologies for cross-posting!)
> > >
> > >
> > > I’m pleased to announce the second round of Wikimedia DC Book Grants, a
> > > pilot program in which we help provide editors with resources they need
> > to
> > > improve Wikimedia projects. If you live in the United States and
> actively
> > > edit Wikimedia projects, you are eligible; you do not have to be a
> member
> > > of WMDC or edit English projects.
> > >
> > > Applications are open for one week, from today through Monday, April 4.
> > We
> > > expect to let people know by April 10 whether or not their grant
> request
> > > has been funded.
> > >
> > > More information is available on the Wikimedia DC website [1].
> > >
> > > Apply for a grant here: https://podio.com/webforms/14722557/986696
> > >
> > >
> > > [1] https://wikimediadc.org/wiki/Book_grants
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > >
> > > Emily Temple-Wood
> > > Vice President, Wikimedia District of Columbia
> > > ___
> > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > > 
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > 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
> > ___
> > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > 
> >
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 
>



-- 
Samuel Klein  @metasj  w:user:sj  +1 617 529 4266
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] any open search engine for web project starting

[Dan Garry]

A few of us from Discovery (myself, Tomasz Finc, Erik Bernhardson, and some
others too) had the opportunity to meet Sylvain recently when he was in San
Francisco. We chatted about touch points between Discovery and Common
Search.

One important thing I personally learnt from chatting to Sylvain is that
the challenges are *very* different for building an in-site search (like
Discovery) and building a web search (like Common Search). Data that's
critically important for one may be close to irrelevant for the other.
Scaling issues for one may not even exist for the other. We did identify a
few areas where Common Search may be creating datasets that would be useful
for us in Discovery; Sylvain said he'd be in touch with us if that happens.

We're going to keep in touch and see if we can help each other out in the
future.

Thanks,
Dan

On 18 March 2016 at 22:15, Erik Moeller  wrote:

> 2016-03-18 21:44 GMT-07:00 SarahSV :
> > On Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 5:17 PM, carl hansen 
> > wrote:
> >
> >> https://about.commonsearch.org/
> >>
> >> "We are building a nonprofit search engine for the Web"
> >>
> >> Sounds alot like Knowledge Engine, if there were such a thing.
> >> Any overlap with wikimedia projects?
>
> > Thanks for the link, Carl. Erik and Lydia are advisors, so perhaps they
> > could say a bit more about it.
>
> Sylvain has been working on this stuff for a while, blissfully
> ignorant of Wikimedia's discussions of search engines, rocketships and
> so on. He reached out to me shortly before the public announcement and
> we've talked a bit about governance, community & funding models. I've
> agreed to provide some continued advice along the way but have not
> otherwise been involved.
>
> He recently posted on wikitech-l asking for suggestions how
> Wikipedia/Wikidata could be integrated:
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikitech-l/2016-March/084984.html
>
> There's a lot of heavy lifting still until Common Search can become a
> viable project even for narrowly defined purposes but I think it's a
> very worthwhile effort. It also is -- I think correctly -- based on
> the largest pre-existing open effort to index the web, the Common
> Crawl. This could lead to a mutually beneficial relationship between
> Common Search and Common Crawl. From a Wikimedia perspective, it might
> develop into an opportunity to jointly showcase some of the amazing
> stuff that Wikidata can already do.
>
> Erik
>
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 
>



-- 
Dan Garry
Lead Product Manager, Discovery
Wikimedia Foundation
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] any open search engine for web project starting

[Andreas Kolbe]

Dan,

I understand you are currently only working on internal search,
representing stage 1 of this project. But does the long-term vision of the
subsequent stages still include things like –

1. incorporation of non-Wikimedia sources in search results,
2. an open source knowledge engine like IBM's Watson (i.e. an answer engine
based on structured data),
3. an open source search engine,
4. public curation of relevance (i.e. volunteer-based search results
ranking)?

1 and 4 remain mentioned in the Discovery FAQ[1] on MediaWiki; 1, 2 and 3
have been mentioned in recent on-wiki discussions by Jimmy Wales.[2] In
fact, I see little in the Knowledge Engine grant agreement that is
incompatible with the FAQ and those recent discussions.

From a fundraising point of view, I could fully understand why the WMF
might consider it a desirable long-term goal to turn wikipedia.org into a
high-traffic search and answer engine. I am not sure how successful such an
attempt would be – internet users have a marked preference for one-stop
shops, and it would take some really nifty features to entice users away
from the established search and answer engines – but I do understand why
the idea would be attractive.

Andreas

[1] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Discovery/FAQ
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Jimbo_Wales

On Tue, Mar 29, 2016 at 12:14 AM, Dan Garry  wrote:

> A few of us from Discovery (myself, Tomasz Finc, Erik Bernhardson, and some
> others too) had the opportunity to meet Sylvain recently when he was in San
> Francisco. We chatted about touch points between Discovery and Common
> Search.
>
> One important thing I personally learnt from chatting to Sylvain is that
> the challenges are *very* different for building an in-site search (like
> Discovery) and building a web search (like Common Search). Data that's
> critically important for one may be close to irrelevant for the other.
> Scaling issues for one may not even exist for the other. We did identify a
> few areas where Common Search may be creating datasets that would be useful
> for us in Discovery; Sylvain said he'd be in touch with us if that happens.
>
> We're going to keep in touch and see if we can help each other out in the
> future.
>
> Thanks,
> Dan
>
> On 18 March 2016 at 22:15, Erik Moeller  wrote:
>
> > 2016-03-18 21:44 GMT-07:00 SarahSV :
> > > On Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 5:17 PM, carl hansen  >
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > >> https://about.commonsearch.org/
> > >>
> > >> "We are building a nonprofit search engine for the Web"
> > >>
> > >> Sounds alot like Knowledge Engine, if there were such a thing.
> > >> Any overlap with wikimedia projects?
> >
> > > Thanks for the link, Carl. Erik and Lydia are advisors, so perhaps they
> > > could say a bit more about it.
> >
> > Sylvain has been working on this stuff for a while, blissfully
> > ignorant of Wikimedia's discussions of search engines, rocketships and
> > so on. He reached out to me shortly before the public announcement and
> > we've talked a bit about governance, community & funding models. I've
> > agreed to provide some continued advice along the way but have not
> > otherwise been involved.
> >
> > He recently posted on wikitech-l asking for suggestions how
> > Wikipedia/Wikidata could be integrated:
> > https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikitech-l/2016-March/084984.html
> >
> > There's a lot of heavy lifting still until Common Search can become a
> > viable project even for narrowly defined purposes but I think it's a
> > very worthwhile effort. It also is -- I think correctly -- based on
> > the largest pre-existing open effort to index the web, the Common
> > Crawl. This could lead to a mutually beneficial relationship between
> > Common Search and Common Crawl. From a Wikimedia perspective, it might
> > develop into an opportunity to jointly showcase some of the amazing
> > stuff that Wikidata can already do.
> >
> > Erik
> >
> > ___
> > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > 
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Dan Garry
> Lead Product Manager, Discovery
> Wikimedia Foundation
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 
>
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,