Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Conference 2019: New name, new concept, eligbility criteria

[Pine W]

Hi Cornelius,

Thank you for the clarification. I suggest a change of wording, because
"the organized part of the movement" is much broader than WMF, its
committees, and the affiliates. I suggest that a suitable name for the
conference would be the "Wikimedia Affiliates Summit", which would be more
accurate than the "Wikimedia Summit".

In general, I think that it's best to ask for public comment before making
significant changes such as renaming international conferences.

Thank you,

Pine
( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )


On Tue, Sep 25, 2018 at 9:20 PM Cornelius Kibelka <
cornelius.kibe...@wikimedia.de> wrote:

> Dear Pine,
>
> yes, "the organized part of the movement" is another term to describe the
> part of the Wikimedia movement that includes the WMF, its committees and
> the affiliates.
>
> Best regards
> Cornelius
>
> On Tue, 25 Sep 2018 at 22:23, Pine W  wrote:
>
> > Hello Daniela and Cornelius,
> >
> > Thank you for this update.
> >
> > Can you clarify what you mean by "The next conference will focus on the
> > Movement Strategy process and
> > movement governance for the organized part of the movement in general"?
> Are
> > you referring to governance for the WMF and affiliates? Online Wikimedia
> > activities are organized in varying degrees, but many of those activities
> > are not included in the scope of affiliates or represented by affiliates.
> >
> > Pine
> > ( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )
> > ___
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> > 
>
>
>
> --
> Cornelius Kibelka
> Program and Engagement Coordinator (PEC)
> for the Wikimedia Conference
>
> Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
> Tel. (030) 219 158 26-0
> http://wikimedia.de
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Suspensions of affiliates

[Paulo Santos Perneta]

Dear Kirill,

Thank you, that was very informative indeed.

I forgot to mention in my previous message, those three false statements
about WMPT conduct were presented as part of the justification for the WMPT
suspension in the original notification, sent 15 July. Despite receiving
all clarifications about them as soon as 17 July, you never acknowledged
their falsity.

All the best,

Paulo




Kirill Lokshin  escreveu no dia quarta,
26/09/2018 à(s) 03:50:

> Paulo,
>
> You were provided ample details regarding these concerns, both in the
> original suspension letter and in response to the specific questions raised
> during the subsequent email discussion.
>
> If Wikimedia Portugal wants to publish the full text of the suspension
> letter and have a public discussion about it, that is entirely your
> prerogative.  In the meantime, I am not going to debate organizational
> governance practices with you based on an arbitrary and selective quoting
> of the document.
>
> Regards,
> Kirill
>
> On Tue, Sep 25, 2018 at 10:34 PM Paulo Santos Perneta <
> paulospern...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Kirill,
>>
>> Correction: The message sent to you stating we were not going to head
>> those specific requests due to its illegality was sent in 17 July, not 15.
>>
>> While we are at it, can you please explain why the AffCom has, in a
>> message dated 15 July, falsely accused WMPT of:
>>
>>- "*Not advising the Foundation of change in the bylaws or status of
>>the Chapter (Chapter Agreement, Section 7.2).*"  Note: no change was
>>made to the bylaws, and the new board elected in 15 April was immediately
>>reported to the AffCom and the WMF lists.
>>- "*The Chapter engaging in activity that might negatively impact the
>>work or image of the Wikimedia Foundation and the Wikimedia movement
>>(Chapter Agreement, Section 6.2)*"  Note: the members of the chapter
>>were being harassed by a single, rogue individual, I can't see how the
>>chapter may be blamed for a rogue individual actions, even more when they
>>were reported to the AffCom in a very timely and clear manner.
>>- "*Members of the Board of Wikimedia Portugal have been sending each
>>other legal threats, via e-mail and posted mail.*"  Note: Only the
>>already mentioned and reported rogue element, who was not effectively part
>>of any board since his mandate expired in 2017, and who, at the time, had
>>even resigned as interim president, was sending legal threats to the
>>members of WMPT. The members of the WMPT board were (and still are)
>>*receiving* legal and personal threats from that rogue element, not 
>> sending
>>them.
>>
>> All those accusations were false, but you never excused yourselves, never
>> retracted them, or even acknowledged their falsity. Can you please explain
>> it now?
>>
>> Paulo
>>
>>
>>
>> Paulo Santos Perneta  escreveu no dia quarta,
>> 26/09/2018 à(s) 02:44:
>>
>>> Kirill,
>>>
>>> I requested a clarification regarding WMPT activities, and Gonçalo asked
>>> a general clarification, also mentioning activities. In no way it implies
>>> that we have understood your request as applying only to activities - In
>>> fact, my understanding is everyone at WMPT understood it as a general
>>> prohibition of the board presenting itself and acting as a board. The fact
>>> that none of us has recalled to specifically mentioning the WMPT
>>> obligations to the Portuguese state on the message in no way implies that
>>> we have understood your initial message as relating only to activities.
>>> What came to mind immediately after that message was the activities, so
>>> that was what I asked about.
>>>
>>> I really fail to understand why you are accusing WMPT of acting
>>> clandestinely, saying you "*expect, however, to at least be told that
>>> you're planning to ignore our request*". You were clearly informed
>>> about that illegality, and that we were not going to head those specific
>>> requests, on a message we sent to you dated 15 July, which you acknowledged
>>> and answered in 8 August, saying, among other things, that you had no time
>>> to read the law. Don't you communicate between yourselves? Don't you read
>>> the cases you have at hands before coming into a public mailing list
>>> talking about them?
>>>
>>> Paulo
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Kirill Lokshin  escreveu no dia quarta,
>>> 26/09/2018 à(s) 02:29:
>>>
 Paulo,

 The request for clarification to which you refer was -- as I'm sure you
 recall -- in reference to carrying out planned activities, and had nothing
 to do with any legal matters, tax filings, or the like; the same was true
 of the committee's response:

 Olá Gonçalo,
>


> Yes, you can count on us to help solve the current situation!
>


> You understood correctly, we would like you not to introduce
> themselves as WMPT board members, but as members of WMPT and carry on with
> your activities, since all of 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Suspensions of affiliates

[Kirill Lokshin]

Paulo,

You were provided ample details regarding these concerns, both in the
original suspension letter and in response to the specific questions raised
during the subsequent email discussion.

If Wikimedia Portugal wants to publish the full text of the suspension
letter and have a public discussion about it, that is entirely your
prerogative.  In the meantime, I am not going to debate organizational
governance practices with you based on an arbitrary and selective quoting
of the document.

Regards,
Kirill

On Tue, Sep 25, 2018 at 10:34 PM Paulo Santos Perneta <
paulospern...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Kirill,
>
> Correction: The message sent to you stating we were not going to head
> those specific requests due to its illegality was sent in 17 July, not 15.
>
> While we are at it, can you please explain why the AffCom has, in a
> message dated 15 July, falsely accused WMPT of:
>
>- "*Not advising the Foundation of change in the bylaws or status of
>the Chapter (Chapter Agreement, Section 7.2).*"  Note: no change was
>made to the bylaws, and the new board elected in 15 April was immediately
>reported to the AffCom and the WMF lists.
>- "*The Chapter engaging in activity that might negatively impact the
>work or image of the Wikimedia Foundation and the Wikimedia movement
>(Chapter Agreement, Section 6.2)*"  Note: the members of the chapter
>were being harassed by a single, rogue individual, I can't see how the
>chapter may be blamed for a rogue individual actions, even more when they
>were reported to the AffCom in a very timely and clear manner.
>- "*Members of the Board of Wikimedia Portugal have been sending each
>other legal threats, via e-mail and posted mail.*"  Note: Only the
>already mentioned and reported rogue element, who was not effectively part
>of any board since his mandate expired in 2017, and who, at the time, had
>even resigned as interim president, was sending legal threats to the
>members of WMPT. The members of the WMPT board were (and still are)
>*receiving* legal and personal threats from that rogue element, not sending
>them.
>
> All those accusations were false, but you never excused yourselves, never
> retracted them, or even acknowledged their falsity. Can you please explain
> it now?
>
> Paulo
>
>
>
> Paulo Santos Perneta  escreveu no dia quarta,
> 26/09/2018 à(s) 02:44:
>
>> Kirill,
>>
>> I requested a clarification regarding WMPT activities, and Gonçalo asked
>> a general clarification, also mentioning activities. In no way it implies
>> that we have understood your request as applying only to activities - In
>> fact, my understanding is everyone at WMPT understood it as a general
>> prohibition of the board presenting itself and acting as a board. The fact
>> that none of us has recalled to specifically mentioning the WMPT
>> obligations to the Portuguese state on the message in no way implies that
>> we have understood your initial message as relating only to activities.
>> What came to mind immediately after that message was the activities, so
>> that was what I asked about.
>>
>> I really fail to understand why you are accusing WMPT of acting
>> clandestinely, saying you "*expect, however, to at least be told that
>> you're planning to ignore our request*". You were clearly informed about
>> that illegality, and that we were not going to head those specific
>> requests, on a message we sent to you dated 15 July, which you acknowledged
>> and answered in 8 August, saying, among other things, that you had no time
>> to read the law. Don't you communicate between yourselves? Don't you read
>> the cases you have at hands before coming into a public mailing list
>> talking about them?
>>
>> Paulo
>>
>>
>>
>> Kirill Lokshin  escreveu no dia quarta,
>> 26/09/2018 à(s) 02:29:
>>
>>> Paulo,
>>>
>>> The request for clarification to which you refer was -- as I'm sure you
>>> recall -- in reference to carrying out planned activities, and had nothing
>>> to do with any legal matters, tax filings, or the like; the same was true
>>> of the committee's response:
>>>
>>> Olá Gonçalo,

>>>
>>>
 Yes, you can count on us to help solve the current situation!

>>>
>>>
 You understood correctly, we would like you not to introduce themselves
 as WMPT board members, but as members of WMPT and carry on with your
 activities, since all of you are full members of the chapter and can
 participate in different activities and events. Just for the sake of
 avoiding further confusion.

>>>
>>>
 @Paulo, please carry on with all the activities planned -just introduce
 yourself as member of the chapter is needed.
>>>
>>>
>>> To conclude, from this email, that the committee was somehow instructing
>>> you to violate Portuguese law is what I might charitably call a "creative"
>>> interpretation of our words.  But let's set that aside for the moment.
>>>
>>> You are correct in that it's not your 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Suspensions of affiliates

[Paulo Santos Perneta]

Kirill,

Correction: The message sent to you stating we were not going to head those
specific requests due to its illegality was sent in 17 July, not 15.

While we are at it, can you please explain why the AffCom has, in a message
dated 15 July, falsely accused WMPT of:

   - "*Not advising the Foundation of change in the bylaws or status of the
   Chapter (Chapter Agreement, Section 7.2).*"  Note: no change was made to
   the bylaws, and the new board elected in 15 April was immediately reported
   to the AffCom and the WMF lists.
   - "*The Chapter engaging in activity that might negatively impact the
   work or image of the Wikimedia Foundation and the Wikimedia movement
   (Chapter Agreement, Section 6.2)*"  Note: the members of the chapter
   were being harassed by a single, rogue individual, I can't see how the
   chapter may be blamed for a rogue individual actions, even more when they
   were reported to the AffCom in a very timely and clear manner.
   - "*Members of the Board of Wikimedia Portugal have been sending each
   other legal threats, via e-mail and posted mail.*"  Note: Only the
   already mentioned and reported rogue element, who was not effectively part
   of any board since his mandate expired in 2017, and who, at the time, had
   even resigned as interim president, was sending legal threats to the
   members of WMPT. The members of the WMPT board were (and still are)
   *receiving* legal and personal threats from that rogue element, not sending
   them.

All those accusations were false, but you never excused yourselves, never
retracted them, or even acknowledged their falsity. Can you please explain
it now?

Paulo



Paulo Santos Perneta  escreveu no dia quarta,
26/09/2018 à(s) 02:44:

> Kirill,
>
> I requested a clarification regarding WMPT activities, and Gonçalo asked a
> general clarification, also mentioning activities. In no way it implies
> that we have understood your request as applying only to activities - In
> fact, my understanding is everyone at WMPT understood it as a general
> prohibition of the board presenting itself and acting as a board. The fact
> that none of us has recalled to specifically mentioning the WMPT
> obligations to the Portuguese state on the message in no way implies that
> we have understood your initial message as relating only to activities.
> What came to mind immediately after that message was the activities, so
> that was what I asked about.
>
> I really fail to understand why you are accusing WMPT of acting
> clandestinely, saying you "*expect, however, to at least be told that
> you're planning to ignore our request*". You were clearly informed about
> that illegality, and that we were not going to head those specific
> requests, on a message we sent to you dated 15 July, which you acknowledged
> and answered in 8 August, saying, among other things, that you had no time
> to read the law. Don't you communicate between yourselves? Don't you read
> the cases you have at hands before coming into a public mailing list
> talking about them?
>
> Paulo
>
>
>
> Kirill Lokshin  escreveu no dia quarta,
> 26/09/2018 à(s) 02:29:
>
>> Paulo,
>>
>> The request for clarification to which you refer was -- as I'm sure you
>> recall -- in reference to carrying out planned activities, and had nothing
>> to do with any legal matters, tax filings, or the like; the same was true
>> of the committee's response:
>>
>> Olá Gonçalo,
>>>
>>
>>
>>> Yes, you can count on us to help solve the current situation!
>>>
>>
>>
>>> You understood correctly, we would like you not to introduce themselves
>>> as WMPT board members, but as members of WMPT and carry on with your
>>> activities, since all of you are full members of the chapter and can
>>> participate in different activities and events. Just for the sake of
>>> avoiding further confusion.
>>>
>>
>>
>>> @Paulo, please carry on with all the activities planned -just introduce
>>> yourself as member of the chapter is needed.
>>
>>
>> To conclude, from this email, that the committee was somehow instructing
>> you to violate Portuguese law is what I might charitably call a "creative"
>> interpretation of our words.  But let's set that aside for the moment.
>>
>> You are correct in that it's not your responsibility to "lecture and
>> educate" the committee.  What *is* your responsibility, however, is to be
>> honest with the committee regarding your compliance -- or lack thereof --
>> with our requests.  If you decide, for whatever reason, that you cannot or
>> will not do as we've asked -- whether because you believe your national law
>> prohibits you from doing so, or because you and your colleagues want to do
>> something different, or simply because you think we're stupid and don't
>> feel like listening to us -- then that's your decision.
>>
>> We expect, however, to at least be told that you're planning to ignore
>> our request.  To simply thank us for clarifying it, as you did, while
>> secretly having no intention 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Suspensions of affiliates

[Paulo Santos Perneta]

Kirill,

I requested a clarification regarding WMPT activities, and Gonçalo asked a
general clarification, also mentioning activities. In no way it implies
that we have understood your request as applying only to activities - In
fact, my understanding is everyone at WMPT understood it as a general
prohibition of the board presenting itself and acting as a board. The fact
that none of us has recalled to specifically mentioning the WMPT
obligations to the Portuguese state on the message in no way implies that
we have understood your initial message as relating only to activities.
What came to mind immediately after that message was the activities, so
that was what I asked about.

I really fail to understand why you are accusing WMPT of acting
clandestinely, saying you "*expect, however, to at least be told that
you're planning to ignore our request*". You were clearly informed about
that illegality, and that we were not going to head those specific
requests, on a message we sent to you dated 15 July, which you acknowledged
and answered in 8 August, saying, among other things, that you had no time
to read the law. Don't you communicate between yourselves? Don't you read
the cases you have at hands before coming into a public mailing list
talking about them?

Paulo



Kirill Lokshin  escreveu no dia quarta,
26/09/2018 à(s) 02:29:

> Paulo,
>
> The request for clarification to which you refer was -- as I'm sure you
> recall -- in reference to carrying out planned activities, and had nothing
> to do with any legal matters, tax filings, or the like; the same was true
> of the committee's response:
>
> Olá Gonçalo,
>>
>
>
>> Yes, you can count on us to help solve the current situation!
>>
>
>
>> You understood correctly, we would like you not to introduce themselves
>> as WMPT board members, but as members of WMPT and carry on with your
>> activities, since all of you are full members of the chapter and can
>> participate in different activities and events. Just for the sake of
>> avoiding further confusion.
>>
>
>
>> @Paulo, please carry on with all the activities planned -just introduce
>> yourself as member of the chapter is needed.
>
>
> To conclude, from this email, that the committee was somehow instructing
> you to violate Portuguese law is what I might charitably call a "creative"
> interpretation of our words.  But let's set that aside for the moment.
>
> You are correct in that it's not your responsibility to "lecture and
> educate" the committee.  What *is* your responsibility, however, is to be
> honest with the committee regarding your compliance -- or lack thereof --
> with our requests.  If you decide, for whatever reason, that you cannot or
> will not do as we've asked -- whether because you believe your national law
> prohibits you from doing so, or because you and your colleagues want to do
> something different, or simply because you think we're stupid and don't
> feel like listening to us -- then that's your decision.
>
> We expect, however, to at least be told that you're planning to ignore our
> request.  To simply thank us for clarifying it, as you did, while secretly
> having no intention of complying with it in the first place is hardly
> something one does when negotiating in good faith.
>
> Regards,
> Kirill
>
> On Tue, Sep 25, 2018 at 8:24 PM Paulo Santos Perneta <
> paulospern...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hello Kirill,
>>
>> On the message the AffCom has sent on 20 May, addressed to the chair of
>> the WMPT board, answering to a request for clarification, you stated: "*we
>> would like you not to introduce themselves as WMPT board members, but as
>> members of WMPT*".
>>
>> It seems quite obvious to me that, had the board headed the AffCom
>> request, and not introduced themselves as such, the obligations of the
>> association towards the Portuguese state could not have been fulfilled.
>> Therefore I believe it is fair to say you were indeed requesting us to do
>> something out of the law.
>>
>> You also failed to address the second point, about the AffCom requesting
>> that a new General Assembly should be conveyed by some party of your
>> choice, something which is clearly against this country law, as mentioned.
>>
>> As for the validity of the General Assembly you were contesting, it
>> suffices to say it was and is recognized as perfectly valid by the
>> Portuguese state - the tax authority, namely - and by the biggest bank of
>> the country, Caixa Geral de Depósitos. Only the rogue guy that had been
>> reported to you for severe harassment and for sending very serious legal
>> and personal threats to a number of WMPT members, and the AFfCom itself,
>> saw it as problematic.
>>
>> I would also like to ask you to not make unfounded and unfair accusations
>> against me, nor indulge in personal attacks, as you have done ("*a
>> remarkable and brazen display of bad faith*"). It is not my
>> responsibility to lecture and educate the AffCom on what they should do ("*an
>> interpretation 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Suspensions of affiliates

[Kirill Lokshin]

Paulo,

The request for clarification to which you refer was -- as I'm sure you
recall -- in reference to carrying out planned activities, and had nothing
to do with any legal matters, tax filings, or the like; the same was true
of the committee's response:

Olá Gonçalo,
>


> Yes, you can count on us to help solve the current situation!
>


> You understood correctly, we would like you not to introduce themselves as
> WMPT board members, but as members of WMPT and carry on with your
> activities, since all of you are full members of the chapter and can
> participate in different activities and events. Just for the sake of
> avoiding further confusion.
>


> @Paulo, please carry on with all the activities planned -just introduce
> yourself as member of the chapter is needed.


To conclude, from this email, that the committee was somehow instructing
you to violate Portuguese law is what I might charitably call a "creative"
interpretation of our words.  But let's set that aside for the moment.

You are correct in that it's not your responsibility to "lecture and
educate" the committee.  What *is* your responsibility, however, is to be
honest with the committee regarding your compliance -- or lack thereof --
with our requests.  If you decide, for whatever reason, that you cannot or
will not do as we've asked -- whether because you believe your national law
prohibits you from doing so, or because you and your colleagues want to do
something different, or simply because you think we're stupid and don't
feel like listening to us -- then that's your decision.

We expect, however, to at least be told that you're planning to ignore our
request.  To simply thank us for clarifying it, as you did, while secretly
having no intention of complying with it in the first place is hardly
something one does when negotiating in good faith.

Regards,
Kirill

On Tue, Sep 25, 2018 at 8:24 PM Paulo Santos Perneta <
paulospern...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello Kirill,
>
> On the message the AffCom has sent on 20 May, addressed to the chair of
> the WMPT board, answering to a request for clarification, you stated: "*we
> would like you not to introduce themselves as WMPT board members, but as
> members of WMPT*".
>
> It seems quite obvious to me that, had the board headed the AffCom
> request, and not introduced themselves as such, the obligations of the
> association towards the Portuguese state could not have been fulfilled.
> Therefore I believe it is fair to say you were indeed requesting us to do
> something out of the law.
>
> You also failed to address the second point, about the AffCom requesting
> that a new General Assembly should be conveyed by some party of your
> choice, something which is clearly against this country law, as mentioned.
>
> As for the validity of the General Assembly you were contesting, it
> suffices to say it was and is recognized as perfectly valid by the
> Portuguese state - the tax authority, namely - and by the biggest bank of
> the country, Caixa Geral de Depósitos. Only the rogue guy that had been
> reported to you for severe harassment and for sending very serious legal
> and personal threats to a number of WMPT members, and the AFfCom itself,
> saw it as problematic.
>
> I would also like to ask you to not make unfounded and unfair accusations
> against me, nor indulge in personal attacks, as you have done ("*a
> remarkable and brazen display of bad faith*"). It is not my
> responsibility to lecture and educate the AffCom on what they should do ("*an
> interpretation that you somehow neglected to mention to anyone at the time*").
> As far as I know, it is the AffCom duty and responsibility to know the
> affiliate country law, at least to the degree of not commanding the
> affiliate do an illegal action, as you have done. It was my responsibility,
> as a member of WMPT, to denounce your requests as illegal, and I've done
> exactly that at the time. That's why your request for conveying a General
> Assembly through a "neutral party" was never headed.
>
> Paulo
>
> Kirill Lokshin  escreveu no dia quarta,
> 26/09/2018 à(s) 00:51:
>
>> Paulo,
>>
>> The email that the Affiliations Committee sent to you -- among various
>> others -- on May 18 read as follows:
>>
>> Dear members of Wikimedia Portugal,
>>>
>>
>>
>>> The recent developments in your chapter have been brought to our
>>> attention by a number of members of the chapter, as well as members of the
>>> community. We are monitoring the situation and in the meantime, would like
>>> to request all members of the chapter to cease from taking part in this
>>> conflict and to work to resolve differences. You may also officially
>>> request a conversation with this committee to discuss a potential mediation
>>> plan, which we are more than happy to help with. In the case of no interest
>>> in resolving your differences and moving forward, this committee may
>>> consider the de-recognition of WMPT, having taken into account also the low
>>> activity of 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Suspensions of affiliates

[Kirill Lokshin]

Paulo,

The email that the Affiliations Committee sent to you -- among various
others -- on May 18 read as follows:

Dear members of Wikimedia Portugal,
>


> The recent developments in your chapter have been brought to our attention
> by a number of members of the chapter, as well as members of the community.
> We are monitoring the situation and in the meantime, would like to request
> all members of the chapter to cease from taking part in this conflict and
> to work to resolve differences. You may also officially request a
> conversation with this committee to discuss a potential mediation plan,
> which we are more than happy to help with. In the case of no interest in
> resolving your differences and moving forward, this committee may consider
> the de-recognition of WMPT, having taken into account also the low activity
> of the group, based on the the reports submitted.
>


> In addition to this, we request that all communications regarding he
> present situation be routed directly to the AffCom discussion list (
> aff...@lists.wikimedia.org) rather than various personal communications
> channels. Please also, refrain from presenting oneself as representative of
> Wikimedia Portugal until this situation is resolved.
>


> Do not hesitate contacting this committee if you have further questions.


The request concerning "presenting oneself as representative of Wikimedia
Portugal" was in reference to people stating that they were the official
representatives of the chapter in meetings -- a fact of which you were
doubtless well aware, seeing as it was your own complaint on the subject
which prompted the committee's request in the first place.

At no time did you -- or any of your colleagues -- indicate that you were
interpreting the request as having anything to do with the execution of the
legal functions of the board, the filing of financial statements with tax
authorities, or anything of the sort.  Rather, you had responded with
questions as to how you might present yourselves to your current and
potential partners.

For you to now insist that the committee's request was a demand that you
violate Portuguese law -- an interpretation that you somehow neglected to
mention to anyone at the time -- is a remarkable and brazen display of bad
faith.

Regards,
Kirill

On Tue, Sep 25, 2018 at 6:42 PM Paulo Santos Perneta <
paulospern...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Two illegal requests, to be more precise.
>
> Last 18 May, the AffCom demanded (by mail)  that the recently elected (15
> April) WMPT board stopped acting as such. However, under the Portuguese
> law, that board, which had been elected in a validated General Assembly,
> was the only valid board of the association, and the one responsible to
> fulfill the Association obligations with the Portuguese state. If they
> doubted that, they should have requested legal advice, instead of taking
> decisions over a subject they clearly did not understood.
>
> Last 11 June, the AffCom demanded (by hangout meeting) that a new General
> Assembly must be conveyed by what they called "a neutral party", namely the
> former head of the table of the General Assembly elected in 2015. That too
> is against the law. Under the Portuguese law, when there is a legally
> elected board in functions, as was the case, it's the board (or the head of
> the table of the General Assembly, in the name of the board) that conveys a
> General Assembly (Article 173º of the Portuguese Civil Code). A General
> Assembly cannot be called by some random person designed at will by some
> external body. If the WMPT had headed the AffCom demands, the recent
> General Assembly of 1 September (realized by AffCom imposition) would have
> been illegal under the country law, being conveyed by a party that had not
> any right to do that.
>
> Concerning the alleged (by the AffCom) lack of validity of the 15 April
> General Assembly, it was completely unfounded, as any lawyer knowledgeable
> of the Portuguese law could explain to them. It was with that General
> Assembly (and not with the one of 1 September, which was a mere imposition
> of the AffCom, with almost no practical value) that WMPT submitted its tax
> form (Modelo 22) for the 2017 fiscal year, updated the names of the legal
> representatives of Wikimedia Portugal in the Revenue Services (Autoridade
> Tributária - Tax Authority), as well as regularized the access to the
> association bank account.
>
> Paulo
>
>
>
>
> Pine W  escreveu no dia terça, 25/09/2018 à(s) 22:01:
>
> >  I don't want affiliates to get a free pass to create problems or neglect
> > their responsibilities such as by failing to produce reports, misusing
> > trademarks, misappropriating funds, etc., and I am glad to see that
> AffCom
> > is taking action when it thinks that there are problems. However, I am
> > concerned that AffCom may currently have some internal issues that should
> > be addressed.
> >
> > As far as I know, AffCom hasn't shared its explanations for some of these

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Suspensions of affiliates

[Paulo Santos Perneta]

It does not surprises me in the least the AffCom had forced other
affiliates to "negotiate" with reported harassers.

On the message sent to the associates of WMPT in 18 May, the AffCom
demanded "*all members of the chapter to cease from taking part in this
conflict and to work to resolve differences*" with the reported individual
that was threatening, stalking and harassing them. They also offered "*to
discuss a potential mediation plan*" between the chapter and the harasser,
as if such a situation needed any "mediation" at all. Furthermore, they
threatened with de-recognition, in case the harasser was not appeased: "*In
the case of no interest in resolving your differences and moving forward,
this committee may consider the de-recognition of WMPT*".

it's always worth recalling that this was a situation of an entire chapter
vs. a rogue individual, a non-Wikimedian, who was harassing, stalking and
threatening a number of its members.

Paulo

Chico Venancio  escreveu no dia quarta,
26/09/2018 à(s) 00:13:

> While I cannot speak to the legality of these actions, Affcom's demand that
> we (Brazilian affiliates) meet with reported harassers was very troubling
> to me. The fact that despite our agreement with that baffling condition no
> actual mediation took place, Affcom refused to engage with communications,
> and then issued false statements about this[1] is even more concerning.
>
> [1]
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee/Brazil_Next_Steps
>
> Chico Venancio
>
> 2018-09-25 19:42 GMT-03:00 Paulo Santos Perneta :
>
> > Two illegal requests, to be more precise.
> >
> > Last 18 May, the AffCom demanded (by mail)  that the recently elected (15
> > April) WMPT board stopped acting as such. However, under the Portuguese
> > law, that board, which had been elected in a validated General Assembly,
> > was the only valid board of the association, and the one responsible to
> > fulfill the Association obligations with the Portuguese state. If they
> > doubted that, they should have requested legal advice, instead of taking
> > decisions over a subject they clearly did not understood.
> >
> > Last 11 June, the AffCom demanded (by hangout meeting) that a new General
> > Assembly must be conveyed by what they called "a neutral party", namely
> the
> > former head of the table of the General Assembly elected in 2015. That
> too
> > is against the law. Under the Portuguese law, when there is a legally
> > elected board in functions, as was the case, it's the board (or the head
> of
> > the table of the General Assembly, in the name of the board) that
> conveys a
> > General Assembly (Article 173º of the Portuguese Civil Code). A General
> > Assembly cannot be called by some random person designed at will by some
> > external body. If the WMPT had headed the AffCom demands, the recent
> > General Assembly of 1 September (realized by AffCom imposition) would
> have
> > been illegal under the country law, being conveyed by a party that had
> not
> > any right to do that.
> >
> > Concerning the alleged (by the AffCom) lack of validity of the 15 April
> > General Assembly, it was completely unfounded, as any lawyer
> knowledgeable
> > of the Portuguese law could explain to them. It was with that General
> > Assembly (and not with the one of 1 September, which was a mere
> imposition
> > of the AffCom, with almost no practical value) that WMPT submitted its
> tax
> > form (Modelo 22) for the 2017 fiscal year, updated the names of the legal
> > representatives of Wikimedia Portugal in the Revenue Services (Autoridade
> > Tributária - Tax Authority), as well as regularized the access to the
> > association bank account.
> >
> > Paulo
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Pine W  escreveu no dia terça, 25/09/2018 à(s)
> 22:01:
> >
> > >  I don't want affiliates to get a free pass to create problems or
> neglect
> > > their responsibilities such as by failing to produce reports, misusing
> > > trademarks, misappropriating funds, etc., and I am glad to see that
> > AffCom
> > > is taking action when it thinks that there are problems. However, I am
> > > concerned that AffCom may currently have some internal issues that
> should
> > > be addressed.
> > >
> > > As far as I know, AffCom hasn't shared its explanations for some of
> these
> > > actions in public, which places limits on the public's ability to
> > evaluate
> > > AffCom's choices, but the actions being described in this thread give
> me
> > > cause for concern. Included in those concerns is the claim that AffCom
> > made
> > > an illegal request of an affiliate. I would expect AffCom to do legal
> > > research (probably done by WMF Legal on Affcom's behalf) before making
> > > requests. I would also expect that the WMF Board would ensure that
> AffCom
> > > has access to any support that it needs, such as staff time from WMF
> > Legal.
> > >
> > > Regarding whether a public warning letter from Affcom could lead to the
> > end
> > > of an affiliate, I can understand 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Suspensions of affiliates

[Chico Venancio]

While I cannot speak to the legality of these actions, Affcom's demand that
we (Brazilian affiliates) meet with reported harassers was very troubling
to me. The fact that despite our agreement with that baffling condition no
actual mediation took place, Affcom refused to engage with communications,
and then issued false statements about this[1] is even more concerning.

[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee/Brazil_Next_Steps

Chico Venancio

2018-09-25 19:42 GMT-03:00 Paulo Santos Perneta :

> Two illegal requests, to be more precise.
>
> Last 18 May, the AffCom demanded (by mail)  that the recently elected (15
> April) WMPT board stopped acting as such. However, under the Portuguese
> law, that board, which had been elected in a validated General Assembly,
> was the only valid board of the association, and the one responsible to
> fulfill the Association obligations with the Portuguese state. If they
> doubted that, they should have requested legal advice, instead of taking
> decisions over a subject they clearly did not understood.
>
> Last 11 June, the AffCom demanded (by hangout meeting) that a new General
> Assembly must be conveyed by what they called "a neutral party", namely the
> former head of the table of the General Assembly elected in 2015. That too
> is against the law. Under the Portuguese law, when there is a legally
> elected board in functions, as was the case, it's the board (or the head of
> the table of the General Assembly, in the name of the board) that conveys a
> General Assembly (Article 173º of the Portuguese Civil Code). A General
> Assembly cannot be called by some random person designed at will by some
> external body. If the WMPT had headed the AffCom demands, the recent
> General Assembly of 1 September (realized by AffCom imposition) would have
> been illegal under the country law, being conveyed by a party that had not
> any right to do that.
>
> Concerning the alleged (by the AffCom) lack of validity of the 15 April
> General Assembly, it was completely unfounded, as any lawyer knowledgeable
> of the Portuguese law could explain to them. It was with that General
> Assembly (and not with the one of 1 September, which was a mere imposition
> of the AffCom, with almost no practical value) that WMPT submitted its tax
> form (Modelo 22) for the 2017 fiscal year, updated the names of the legal
> representatives of Wikimedia Portugal in the Revenue Services (Autoridade
> Tributária - Tax Authority), as well as regularized the access to the
> association bank account.
>
> Paulo
>
>
>
>
> Pine W  escreveu no dia terça, 25/09/2018 à(s) 22:01:
>
> >  I don't want affiliates to get a free pass to create problems or neglect
> > their responsibilities such as by failing to produce reports, misusing
> > trademarks, misappropriating funds, etc., and I am glad to see that
> AffCom
> > is taking action when it thinks that there are problems. However, I am
> > concerned that AffCom may currently have some internal issues that should
> > be addressed.
> >
> > As far as I know, AffCom hasn't shared its explanations for some of these
> > actions in public, which places limits on the public's ability to
> evaluate
> > AffCom's choices, but the actions being described in this thread give me
> > cause for concern. Included in those concerns is the claim that AffCom
> made
> > an illegal request of an affiliate. I would expect AffCom to do legal
> > research (probably done by WMF Legal on Affcom's behalf) before making
> > requests. I would also expect that the WMF Board would ensure that AffCom
> > has access to any support that it needs, such as staff time from WMF
> Legal.
> >
> > Regarding whether a public warning letter from Affcom could lead to the
> end
> > of an affiliate, I can understand how a warning letter could concern
> > potential partner organizations, but given our choice of problems I think
> > that this is the lesser problem. I think that Affcom's actions, good and
> > bad, should be public in almost every case. If AffCom makes an error in
> > sending a warning letter, then hopefully the affiliate can explain the
> > situation to the partner organization. If a partner decides to
> discontinue
> > a relationship, that may be regrettable (especially if the warning letter
> > was erroneous) but hopefully the loss of a partnership would be a
> temporary
> > setback from which the affiliate can recover.
> >
> > I think that expecting perfection from anyone, whether AffCom or an
> > affiliate, would be expecting too much. Hopefully organizations and
> people
> > can be "net positives" and can be engaged in continuous learning and
> > continuous self-improvement.
> >
> > One theme that is common to AffCom and affiliate boards is that they are
> > primarily composed of people who are volunteering their time. My
> impression
> > is that this often correlates with a mixed level of quality and
> dedication
> > from the participants. Improving the quality of governance 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Suspensions of affiliates

[Paulo Santos Perneta]

Two illegal requests, to be more precise.

Last 18 May, the AffCom demanded (by mail)  that the recently elected (15
April) WMPT board stopped acting as such. However, under the Portuguese
law, that board, which had been elected in a validated General Assembly,
was the only valid board of the association, and the one responsible to
fulfill the Association obligations with the Portuguese state. If they
doubted that, they should have requested legal advice, instead of taking
decisions over a subject they clearly did not understood.

Last 11 June, the AffCom demanded (by hangout meeting) that a new General
Assembly must be conveyed by what they called "a neutral party", namely the
former head of the table of the General Assembly elected in 2015. That too
is against the law. Under the Portuguese law, when there is a legally
elected board in functions, as was the case, it's the board (or the head of
the table of the General Assembly, in the name of the board) that conveys a
General Assembly (Article 173º of the Portuguese Civil Code). A General
Assembly cannot be called by some random person designed at will by some
external body. If the WMPT had headed the AffCom demands, the recent
General Assembly of 1 September (realized by AffCom imposition) would have
been illegal under the country law, being conveyed by a party that had not
any right to do that.

Concerning the alleged (by the AffCom) lack of validity of the 15 April
General Assembly, it was completely unfounded, as any lawyer knowledgeable
of the Portuguese law could explain to them. It was with that General
Assembly (and not with the one of 1 September, which was a mere imposition
of the AffCom, with almost no practical value) that WMPT submitted its tax
form (Modelo 22) for the 2017 fiscal year, updated the names of the legal
representatives of Wikimedia Portugal in the Revenue Services (Autoridade
Tributária - Tax Authority), as well as regularized the access to the
association bank account.

Paulo




Pine W  escreveu no dia terça, 25/09/2018 à(s) 22:01:

>  I don't want affiliates to get a free pass to create problems or neglect
> their responsibilities such as by failing to produce reports, misusing
> trademarks, misappropriating funds, etc., and I am glad to see that AffCom
> is taking action when it thinks that there are problems. However, I am
> concerned that AffCom may currently have some internal issues that should
> be addressed.
>
> As far as I know, AffCom hasn't shared its explanations for some of these
> actions in public, which places limits on the public's ability to evaluate
> AffCom's choices, but the actions being described in this thread give me
> cause for concern. Included in those concerns is the claim that AffCom made
> an illegal request of an affiliate. I would expect AffCom to do legal
> research (probably done by WMF Legal on Affcom's behalf) before making
> requests. I would also expect that the WMF Board would ensure that AffCom
> has access to any support that it needs, such as staff time from WMF Legal.
>
> Regarding whether a public warning letter from Affcom could lead to the end
> of an affiliate, I can understand how a warning letter could concern
> potential partner organizations, but given our choice of problems I think
> that this is the lesser problem. I think that Affcom's actions, good and
> bad, should be public in almost every case. If AffCom makes an error in
> sending a warning letter, then hopefully the affiliate can explain the
> situation to the partner organization. If a partner decides to discontinue
> a relationship, that may be regrettable (especially if the warning letter
> was erroneous) but hopefully the loss of a partnership would be a temporary
> setback from which the affiliate can recover.
>
> I think that expecting perfection from anyone, whether AffCom or an
> affiliate, would be expecting too much. Hopefully organizations and people
> can be "net positives" and can be engaged in continuous learning and
> continuous self-improvement.
>
> One theme that is common to AffCom and affiliate boards is that they are
> primarily composed of people who are volunteering their time. My impression
> is that this often correlates with a mixed level of quality and dedication
> from the participants. Improving the quality of governance in general is an
> interest of mine, and I would be interested to hear others' thoughts about
> how to do that, keeping in mind that many of these people are generously
> volunteering their limited time.
>
> Pine
> ( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
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> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Conference 2019: New name, new concept, eligbility criteria

[Shani Evenstein]

Dear Cornelius,

Could you please elaborate re the decision to not include learning and
capacity building?
Events where Wikimedians from around the world gather together do not
happen every day, and especially as there will be representatives from most
affiliates, this is a great opportunity to share knowledge and train people
so they can go back to their local communities and spread that knowledge.
Besides Wikimania, which not everyone can attend, this is the other biggest
event we have to do just that. Shouldn't we seize this opportunity,
considering that it takes so much time, effort and money to bring everyone
together?

Thanks for shedding some light on this issue.

Best,
Shani.

On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:20 AM, Cornelius Kibelka <
cornelius.kibe...@wikimedia.de> wrote:

> Dear Pine,
>
> yes, "the organized part of the movement" is another term to describe the
> part of the Wikimedia movement that includes the WMF, its committees and
> the affiliates.
>
> Best regards
> Cornelius
>
> On Tue, 25 Sep 2018 at 22:23, Pine W  wrote:
>
> > Hello Daniela and Cornelius,
> >
> > Thank you for this update.
> >
> > Can you clarify what you mean by "The next conference will focus on the
> > Movement Strategy process and
> > movement governance for the organized part of the movement in general"?
> Are
> > you referring to governance for the WMF and affiliates? Online Wikimedia
> > activities are organized in varying degrees, but many of those activities
> > are not included in the scope of affiliates or represented by affiliates.
> >
> > Pine
> > ( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )
> > ___
> > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
> > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > 
>
>
>
> --
> Cornelius Kibelka
> Program and Engagement Coordinator (PEC)
> for the Wikimedia Conference
>
> Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
> Tel. (030) 219 158 26-0
> http://wikimedia.de
>
> Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
> Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
> http://spenden.wikimedia.de/
>
> Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
> Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
> der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
> Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207
> ___
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>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Conference 2019: New name, new concept, eligbility criteria

[Cornelius Kibelka]

Just to make a clarification: I made a small mistake in a sentence that
should actually be:

Furthermore, we will invite participants from the Wikimedia Affiliate EDs
> (~10), WMF Board of Trustees (10), WMF staff (*~20*), the committees (~15
> from FDC, AffCom and Simple APG) and additional members of the Movement
> Strategy working groups, that do not come in another role (~20).


I am sorry for this error,
Best regards

Cornelius

On Tue, 25 Sep 2018 at 21:34, Cornelius Kibelka <
cornelius.kibe...@wikimedia.de> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> As Nicole Ebber already wrote a couple of weeks ago, we would like to give
> you some further information about the next Wikimedia Conference, that will
> take place from March 29–31, 2019 in Berlin, Germany.
>
> The next conference will focus on the Movement Strategy process and
> movement governance for the organized part of the movement in general. The
> program will be designed according to the status and needs of the ongoing
> Movement Strategy process and its working groups. We are hoping to see a
> diverse group of participants next year, and look forward to creating three
> days of working, discussing, and thinking together. The event is made
> possible through the generous financial support of the Wikimedia Foundation.
>
> Thus, to make it clearer that learning and capacity-building will not be
> part of the program and cut laces to the previous conference, we will
> change the name to “Wikimedia Summit” (#wmsummit).
>
> The change of the purpose of the event is accompanied by a change in the
> composition of the audience. The event will be a more focused one, and
> therefore we aim to scale down the audience to around 200 participants. As
> it is this still the Wikimedia affiliates conference, every _eligible_
> affiliate can send one (1) delegate. Furthermore, we will invite
> participants from the Wikimedia Affiliate EDs (~10), WMF Board of Trustees
> (10), WMF staff (~10), the committees (~15 from FDC, AffCom and Simple APG)
> and additional members of the Movement Strategy working groups, that do not
> come in another role (~20). You can find more information regarding this on
> Meta.[1]
>
> Registration for the Wikimedia Summit will open on November 2 and end on
> December 17, 2018. We urge participants that need a visa to register no
> later than November 19, so we can support them as best as possible to get a
> visa for the event.
>
> We will keep you updated in the further weeks and months via the usual
> communication channels. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate
> to contact us, preferably via wmsum...@wikimedia.de.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Daniela Gentner & Cornelius Kibelka
>
> [1]
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Summit_2019/Eligibility_Criteria
>
> --
> Cornelius Kibelka
> Program and Engagement Coordinator (PEC)
> for the Wikimedia Conference
>
> Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
> Tel. (030) 219 158 26-0
> http://wikimedia.de
>
> Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
> Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
> http://spenden.wikimedia.de/
>
> Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
> Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
> der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
> Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207
>


-- 
Cornelius Kibelka
Program and Engagement Coordinator (PEC)
for the Wikimedia Conference

Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 26-0
http://wikimedia.de

Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Conference 2019: New name, new concept, eligbility criteria

[Cornelius Kibelka]

Dear Pine,

yes, "the organized part of the movement" is another term to describe the
part of the Wikimedia movement that includes the WMF, its committees and
the affiliates.

Best regards
Cornelius

On Tue, 25 Sep 2018 at 22:23, Pine W  wrote:

> Hello Daniela and Cornelius,
>
> Thank you for this update.
>
> Can you clarify what you mean by "The next conference will focus on the
> Movement Strategy process and
> movement governance for the organized part of the movement in general"? Are
> you referring to governance for the WMF and affiliates? Online Wikimedia
> activities are organized in varying degrees, but many of those activities
> are not included in the scope of affiliates or represented by affiliates.
>
> Pine
> ( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 



-- 
Cornelius Kibelka
Program and Engagement Coordinator (PEC)
for the Wikimedia Conference

Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 26-0
http://wikimedia.de

Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Suspensions of affiliates

[Pine W]

 I don't want affiliates to get a free pass to create problems or neglect
their responsibilities such as by failing to produce reports, misusing
trademarks, misappropriating funds, etc., and I am glad to see that AffCom
is taking action when it thinks that there are problems. However, I am
concerned that AffCom may currently have some internal issues that should
be addressed.

As far as I know, AffCom hasn't shared its explanations for some of these
actions in public, which places limits on the public's ability to evaluate
AffCom's choices, but the actions being described in this thread give me
cause for concern. Included in those concerns is the claim that AffCom made
an illegal request of an affiliate. I would expect AffCom to do legal
research (probably done by WMF Legal on Affcom's behalf) before making
requests. I would also expect that the WMF Board would ensure that AffCom
has access to any support that it needs, such as staff time from WMF Legal.

Regarding whether a public warning letter from Affcom could lead to the end
of an affiliate, I can understand how a warning letter could concern
potential partner organizations, but given our choice of problems I think
that this is the lesser problem. I think that Affcom's actions, good and
bad, should be public in almost every case. If AffCom makes an error in
sending a warning letter, then hopefully the affiliate can explain the
situation to the partner organization. If a partner decides to discontinue
a relationship, that may be regrettable (especially if the warning letter
was erroneous) but hopefully the loss of a partnership would be a temporary
setback from which the affiliate can recover.

I think that expecting perfection from anyone, whether AffCom or an
affiliate, would be expecting too much. Hopefully organizations and people
can be "net positives" and can be engaged in continuous learning and
continuous self-improvement.

One theme that is common to AffCom and affiliate boards is that they are
primarily composed of people who are volunteering their time. My impression
is that this often correlates with a mixed level of quality and dedication
from the participants. Improving the quality of governance in general is an
interest of mine, and I would be interested to hear others' thoughts about
how to do that, keeping in mind that many of these people are generously
volunteering their limited time.

Pine
( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Conference 2019: New name, new concept, eligbility criteria

[Pine W]

Hello Daniela and Cornelius,

Thank you for this update.

Can you clarify what you mean by "The next conference will focus on the
Movement Strategy process and
movement governance for the organized part of the movement in general"? Are
you referring to governance for the WMF and affiliates? Online Wikimedia
activities are organized in varying degrees, but many of those activities
are not included in the scope of affiliates or represented by affiliates.

Pine
( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )
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[Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Conference 2019: New name, new concept, eligbility criteria

[Cornelius Kibelka]

Dear all,

As Nicole Ebber already wrote a couple of weeks ago, we would like to give
you some further information about the next Wikimedia Conference, that will
take place from March 29–31, 2019 in Berlin, Germany.

The next conference will focus on the Movement Strategy process and
movement governance for the organized part of the movement in general. The
program will be designed according to the status and needs of the ongoing
Movement Strategy process and its working groups. We are hoping to see a
diverse group of participants next year, and look forward to creating three
days of working, discussing, and thinking together. The event is made
possible through the generous financial support of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Thus, to make it clearer that learning and capacity-building will not be
part of the program and cut laces to the previous conference, we will
change the name to “Wikimedia Summit” (#wmsummit).

The change of the purpose of the event is accompanied by a change in the
composition of the audience. The event will be a more focused one, and
therefore we aim to scale down the audience to around 200 participants. As
it is this still the Wikimedia affiliates conference, every _eligible_
affiliate can send one (1) delegate. Furthermore, we will invite
participants from the Wikimedia Affiliate EDs (~10), WMF Board of Trustees
(10), WMF staff (~10), the committees (~15 from FDC, AffCom and Simple APG)
and additional members of the Movement Strategy working groups, that do not
come in another role (~20). You can find more information regarding this on
Meta.[1]

Registration for the Wikimedia Summit will open on November 2 and end on
December 17, 2018. We urge participants that need a visa to register no
later than November 19, so we can support them as best as possible to get a
visa for the event.

We will keep you updated in the further weeks and months via the usual
communication channels. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate
to contact us, preferably via wmsum...@wikimedia.de.

Best regards,

Daniela Gentner & Cornelius Kibelka

[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Summit_2019/Eligibility_Criteria

-- 
Cornelius Kibelka
Program and Engagement Coordinator (PEC)
for the Wikimedia Conference

Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 26-0
http://wikimedia.de

Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikidata] Semantic annotation of red links on Wikipedia

[80hnhtv4agou--- via Wikimedia-l]

All that red makes the page look bad, and i would like to point out the abuse 
factor here, all those red links start edit wars,
 
and should be put there if any by people,

The creation of the wikidata page also creats a problem, because it does not 
establis a lable which should be mandatory
 
and in english, 
in the save proses.  

and this problem *  
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikiProject_Labels_and_descriptions#List_of_items_without_labels_and/or_descriptions
  


>Tuesday, September 25, 2018 2:58 AM -05:00 from Sergey Leschina 
>:
>
>I want to draw your attention to the problem from the other side. On the newly 
>created page, which can be opened by the red link, there is no binding to the 
>Wikidata. This means that after the creation, the page will not automatically 
>be linked to the Wikidata. And if the project has templates that can use 
>information from the Wikidata, they will not fully work until the page will be 
>saved at least once and linked to an item. I already suggested to add the 
>parameter for this:  https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T178249
>
>If something like this will be implemented, then it will be possible to make a 
>template for the red links (with Lua and TemplateStyles) that will be 
>connected to the Wikidata. Although I agree that it is better to have a syntax 
>that will allow to make links without such difficulties.
>пн, 24 сент. 2018 г. в 20:50, Maarten Dammers < maar...@mdammers.nl >:
>>Hi everyone,
>>
>>According to  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLuM4E6IE5U : "Semantic 
>>annotation is the process of attaching additional information to various 
>>concepts (e.g. people, things, places, organizations etc) in a given 
>>text or any other content. Unlike classic text annotations for reader's 
>>reference, semantic annotations are used by machines to refer to."
>>(more at 
>>https://ontotext.com/knowledgehub/fundamentals/semantic-annotation/ )
>>
>>On Wikipedia a red link is a link to an article that hasn't been created 
>>(yet) in that language. Often another language does have an article 
>>about the subject or at least we have a Wikidata item about the subject. 
>>Take for example 
>>https://nl.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Friedrich_Ris . It has over 
>>250 incoming links, but the person doesn't have an article in Dutch. We 
>>have a Wikidata item with links to 7 Wikipedia's at 
>>https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116510 , but no way to relate 
>>https://nl.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Friedrich_Ris with 
>>https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116510 .
>>
>>Wouldn't it be nice to be able to make a connection between the red link 
>>on Wikipedia and the Wikidata item?
>>
>>Let's assume we have this list somewhere. We would be able to offer all 
>>sorts of nice features to our users like:
>>* Hover of the link to get a hovercard in your favorite backup language
>>* Generate an article placeholder for the user with basic information in 
>>the local language
>>* Pre-populate the translate extension so you can translate the article 
>>from another language
>>(probably plenty of other good uses)
>>
>>Where to store this link? I'm not sure about that. On some Wikipedia's 
>>people have tested with local templates around the red links. That's not 
>>structured data, clutters up the Wikitext, it doesn't scale and the 
>>local communities generally don't seem to like the approach. That's not 
>>the way to go. Maybe a better option would be to create a new property 
>>on Wikidata to store the name of the future article. Something like 
>>Q116510: Pxxx -> (nl)"Friedrich Ris". Would be easiest because the 
>>infrastructure is there and you can just build tools on top of it, but 
>>I'm afraid this will cause a lot of noise on items. A couple of 
>>suggestions wouldn't be a problem, but what is keeping people from 
>>adding the suggestion in 100 languages? Or maybe restrict the usage that 
>>a Wikipedia must have at least 1 (or n) incoming links before people are 
>>allowed to add it?
>>We could create a new projects on the Wikimedia Cloud to store the 
>>links, but that would be quite the extra time investment setting up 
>>everything.
>>
>>What do you think?
>>
>>Maarten
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>___
>>Wikidata mailing list
>>wikid...@lists.wikimedia.org
>>https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata
>
>
>-- 
>Sergey Leschina
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Conference Russia 2018

[Jack Gleeson]

Congratulations on such a successful event!



On Tue, 25 Sep 2018 at 14:35, Фархад Фаткуллин / Farkhad Fatkullin <
f...@yandex.com> wrote:

> Dear colleagues,
>
> This is just to let you know that this past weekend of 22-23 September
> we've successfully had our 12th Annual Wikimedia Russia Conference,
> dedicated to Wikimedia projects in the languages of Russia, as well as
> overall challenges of free knowledge creation and dissemination.
>
> This year's event was held in Saint Petersburg with live YouTube broadcast
> from the main hall (Opening, presentations, Wiki-award 2018 & Free
> Knowledge 2018 Awarding Ceremonies, brainstorming around round table
> results & closing). With 32 languages of Russia having their own Wikipedias
>
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedias_in_the_languages_of_Russia/Tables
> , we naturally use Russian as the working language of our cross languistic
> community events. You can watch the presentations & access the slides from
> the program page below
> https://ru.wikimedia.org/wiki/Вики-конференция_2018/Программа/en
>
> The event happened to be quite interesting that we started even thinking
> about organizing simultaneous interpretation into English for foreign
> Wikimedians who don't speak/understand Russian.
>
> regards,
> farhad
>
> --
> Farkhad Fatkullin - Фархад Фаткуллин http://sikzn.ru/ Тел.+79274158066 /
> skype:frhdkazan / Wikipedia:frhdkazan
>
>
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[Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Conference Russia 2018

[Фархад Фаткуллин / Farkhad Fatkullin]

Dear colleagues,

This is just to let you know that this past weekend of 22-23 September we've 
successfully had our 12th Annual Wikimedia Russia Conference, dedicated to 
Wikimedia projects in the languages of Russia, as well as overall challenges of 
free knowledge creation and dissemination.

This year's event was held in Saint Petersburg with live YouTube broadcast from 
the main hall (Opening, presentations, Wiki-award 2018 & Free Knowledge 2018 
Awarding Ceremonies, brainstorming around round table results & closing). With 
32 languages of Russia having their own Wikipedias
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedias_in_the_languages_of_Russia/Tables , 
we naturally use Russian as the working language of our cross languistic 
community events. You can watch the presentations & access the slides from the 
program page below
https://ru.wikimedia.org/wiki/Вики-конференция_2018/Программа/en

The event happened to be quite interesting that we started even thinking about 
organizing simultaneous interpretation into English for foreign Wikimedians who 
don't speak/understand Russian.

regards,
farhad

-- 
Farkhad Fatkullin - Фархад Фаткуллин http://sikzn.ru/ Тел.+79274158066 / 
skype:frhdkazan / Wikipedia:frhdkazan


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