Re: [Wikimedia-l] Closure of Community Logo Consultation

[Samuel Klein]

Dear Geoff and Yana,

The recent LCA consultations have been models of collaborative policy
review.  Thank you for your thoughtful approach, and for adding background
and texture to our movement's knowledge on each topic.

Sam


On Sun, Dec 8, 2013 at 4:56 PM, Yana Welinder wrote:

> Hi Dariusz,
>
> Thanks for the note and for your appreciation. It was our pleasure to help
> work this out and reach an informed decision with the community. It also
> helped inform the larger consultation on the proposed trademark policy [1].
> Trying to reconcile the law with a decentralized movement is not always
> easy.  But it definitely makes our job interesting.  :)
>
> Best,
> Yana and Geoff
>
> [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Trademark_policy
>
>
> On Sat, Dec 7, 2013 at 10:49 PM, Dariusz Jemielniak  >wrote:
>
> > Dear Geoff and Yana,
> >
> > even though the consultation results indicate that collective membership
> > mark may have a slightly stronger support than abandoning all trademark
> > registration, the issue is clearly very divisive. Taking the way the
> issue
> > developed and its history, and past communication problems on the way, I
> > think that recognizing a lack of clear consensus as a good reason to keep
> > the status quo is sensible. I would like to thank you and commend you for
> > your hard work, but also for your flexibility - it must have been tough
> to
> > put in many hours and work on a solution you believe is best for the
> > community, and then withdraw.
> >
> > best,
> >
> > Dariusz Jemielniak "pundit"
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Dec 8, 2013 at 2:05 AM, Geoff Brigham  > >wrote:
> >
> > > Hi all,
> > >
> > > The consultation<
> > >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Logo/Request_for_consultation
> > > >has
> > > been closed on the question about the community logo registration.
> > > Many thanks to everyone who provided their comments.   Based on the
> > > consultation, we will be recommending to the Board that we withdraw
> > > WMFtrademark registration and protection of the Community logo.
> > >
> > > Many thanks to all,
> > >
> > > Geoff and Yana
> > >
> > > [1]
> > >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Logo/Request_for_consultation
> > > ___
> > > Wikimedia-l mailing list
> > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > > 
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > __
> > dr hab. Dariusz Jemielniak
> > profesor zarządzania
> > kierownik katedry Zarządzania Międzynarodowego
> > i centrum badawczego CROW
> > Akademia Leona Koźmińskiego
> > http://www.crow.alk.edu.pl
> > ___
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> > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > 
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Yana Welinder
> Legal Counsel
> Wikimedia Foundation
> 415.839.6885 ext. 6867
>
> NOTICE: This message might have confidential or legally privileged
> information in it. If you have received this message by accident, please
> delete it and let us know about the mistake. For legal reasons, I may only
> serve as a lawyer for the Wikimedia Foundation. This means I may not give
> legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer for, community members, volunteers,
> or staff members in their personal capacity.
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>



-- 
Samuel Klein  @metasj   w:user:sj  +1 617 529 4266
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[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] The Signpost -- Volume 9, Issue 49 -- 11 December 2013

[Wikipedia Signpost]

News and notes: Wiki Loves Monuments—winners announced
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2013-12-11/News_and_notes

In the media: Edward Snowden a "hero"; German Wikipedia court ruling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2013-12-11/In_the_media

Interview: Wikipedia's first Featured Article centurion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2013-12-11/Interview

Traffic report: Deaths of Mandela, Walker top the list
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2013-12-11/Traffic_report

WikiProject report: WikiProject Wine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2013-12-11/WikiProject_report

Featured content: Viewer discretion advised
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2013-12-11/Featured_content

Technology report: MediaWiki 1.22 released
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2013-12-11/Technology_report


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

PDF version
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book:Wikipedia_Signpost/2013-12-11


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

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method

[Tim Starling]

On 12/12/13 02:54, Nathan wrote:
> Bitcoin isn't native currency for anyone, and anyone who wishes
> to make a Bitcoin donation could certainly do so using a more standard
> currency.

Well, this article from a year ago argues that bitcoin is "safer" for
donors than donating national currency:



"But just don’t try to donate safely in bitcoin — it’s not accepted."
[...]

"Accepting anonymous bitcoin in addition to political currencies can
be a way of declaring that freedom of speech still does matter."

I would think that if anonymity is the main concern, a transaction
system with a public log of all transactions would not be the best choice.



The obvious time-tested choice for anonymous payment is, of course,
cash. Many charities do accept cash donations. Cash could be donated
to the local chapter by dropping it into a donation box, then it could
be either spent on local programs or forwarded to WMF.

-- Tim Starling


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[Wikimedia-l] Reimagining Travel and Participation Support grants

[Siko Bouterse]

Hi all,
We've published an analysis of the Travel and Participation Support
Program.[1]

This program is a partnership between WMF, Wikimedia Deutschland, and
Wikimedia Switzerland to fund travel for Wikimedians to attend
non-Wikimedia events.[2]  After 2 years of operation, we wanted to learn
what's working and what's not.

Some key findings from the report include:

Opportunities:

*Travel funding provides opportunities to deeply connect participants to
the movement and each other.
*Participation Support demonstrates an opportunity to reach a range of new
Wikimedia grantees, including women and participants in the Global South.

Recommendations:

*The volume of requests and grants made in this program must be increased
in order to fully realize its potential; the scale of use is too small with
the current scope and setup.
*Program pages should be redesigned for ease-of-use and if possible with a
bit of joy.
*Publicizing the program should be a priority; blogs, social media, and
on-wiki promotional campaigns to spread awareness of the program could help
boost the number of requests.
*Simpler application methods should be investigated in order to keep the
process open to a range of applicants.
*Scope expansion for the program should be considered, particularly to
include Wikimedia events.

We hope to use the data in this report as a starting point to reimagine
if/how we can better support Wikimedians to travel and participate in
events.  Please have a look at the findings and share your thoughts and
ideas on the talk page:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation_talk:Support/Analysis

Warm regards,
Siko

1. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Support/Analysis
2. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Support

-- 
Siko Bouterse
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

sboute...@wikimedia.org

*Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
sum of all knowledge. *
*Donate  or click the "edit" button today,
and help us make it a reality!*
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method

[James Salsman]

Hi Megan,

If someone wants to donate the harvestable platinum from an asteroid, would
you please make sure that an appropriately progressive excise tax is paid
to the ufohastings.com
concerns? Thanks muchly.
 On Dec 11, 2013 8:03 PM,  wrote:

> Send Wikimedia-l mailing list submissions to
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> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Wikimedia-l digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
>1. [Reminder] Language Engineering IRC Office Hour today
>   December 11, 2013 at 1700 UTC (Runa Bhattacharjee)
>2. Re: Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method (Tom Morris)
>3. Re: Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method (David Gerard)
>
>
> --
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2013 15:41:30 +0530
> From: Runa Bhattacharjee 
> To: MediaWiki internationalisation
> ,   Wikimedia Mailing List
> ,  Wikimedia developers
> ,
> wikitech-ambassad...@lists.wikimedia.org
> Subject: [Wikimedia-l] [Reminder] Language Engineering IRC Office Hour
> today December 11, 2013 at 1700 UTC
> Message-ID:
> <
> cae7qtstwanwsmcj0m2yo_jk7vnk3nvy0gr_wjsob5j3drmh...@mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> Hello,
>
> This is a reminder that the Wikimedia Language Engineering team will be
> hosting an IRC office hour from 1700 to 1800UTC later today on
> #wikimedia-office (FreeNode). Please see below for the event details.
>
> Thanks
> Runa
>
> === Event Details ===
>
> What: WMF Language Engineering Office hour
> When: December 11, 2013 (Wednesday). 1700-1800 UTC
> http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20131211T1700
> Where: IRC Channel #wikimedia-office on FreeNode
>
> -- Forwarded message --
> From: Runa Bhattacharjee 
> Date: Fri, Dec 6, 2013 at 3:19 PM
> Subject: Language Engineering IRC Office Hour on December 11, 2013
> (Wednesday) at 1700 UTC
> To: MediaWiki internationalisation
> , Wikimedia Mailing List
> , Wikimedia developers
> ,
> wikitech-ambassad...@lists.wikimedia.org
>
>
> [x-posted]
>
> Hello,
>
> The Wikimedia Language Engineering team will be hosting an IRC office
> hour on Wednesday, December 11, 2013 between 17:00 - 18:00 UTC on
> #wikimedia-office. (See below for timezone conversion and other
> details.) We will be talking about some of our recent and upcoming
> projects and then taking questions for the remaining time.
>
> Questions and any other concerns can also be sent to me directly
> before the event. See you there!
>
> Thanks
> Runa
>
> === Event Details ===
>
> What: WMF Language Engineering Office hour
> When: December 11, 2013 (Wednesday). 1700-1800 UTC
> http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20131211T1700
> Where: IRC Channel #wikimedia-office on FreeNode
>
> --
> Language Engineering - Outreach and QA Coordinator
> Wikimedia Foundation
>
>
>
> --
> Language Engineering - Outreach and QA Coordinator
> Wikimedia Foundation
>
>
>
> --
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2013 11:58:39 +0100
> From: Tom Morris 
> To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method
> Message-ID:
> <1386759519.20606.58239989.134fb...@webmail.messagingengine.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain
>
> I demand that the Wikimedia Foundation start accepting the following:
>
> Litecoin
> Namecoin
> PPCoin
> Feathercoin
> Craftcoin
> Quarkcoin
> Freicoin
> Devcoin
> Terracoin
> BBQCoin
> Netcoin
>
> Actually, scrap that, I've got an even better Ponzi scheme - sorry,
> cryptocurrency: TomCoin.
>
> And, best of all, if you start taking TomCoins I'll be happy to give you
> a million of them. No, wait, how about a billion?
>
> --
> Tom Morris
> 
>
>
>
> --
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2013 11:32:10 +
> From: David Gerard 
> To: Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List
> 
> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method
> Message-ID:
> <
> caj0tu1f8on5aa6o+98797zwyemozbvnmtewdkacrobtqs0m...@mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> It's *completely* wrong to call these things Ponzi schemes.
>
> *Technically*, they're pump-and-dumps.
>
> - d.
>  On 11 Dec 2013 10:59, "Tom Morris"  wrote:
>
> > I demand that the Wikimedia Foundation start accepting the following:
> >
> > Litecoin
> > Namecoin
> > PPCoin
> > Feathercoin
> > Craftcoin
> > Quarkcoin
> > Freicoin
> > Devcoin
> > Terracoin
> > BBQCoin
> > Netcoin
> >
> > Actually, scra

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Resolution: Media about living people

[Lodewijk]

Thanks for the pointer. I'm glad to see it was a community request
triggering this - not because of this specific amendment, but because it
proofs that it matters what people write on those places :)

(just for the record: I'm not particularly against this amendment, I
actually never assumed that files would be treated differently from texts
anyway in this kind of stuff. Just plain curiosity.)

Best,
Lodewijk


2013/12/11 María Sefidari 

>
> 11/dic/2013 21:07 "Lodewijk"  ha escrito:
>
> > > Hi Maria, thanks for sharing. To appreciate the resolution in its
> proper context, I was wondering if you could share if there was a specific
> trigger to this amendment?
>
> > I completely second the question. Cristian.
>
> Hi Lodewijk and Cristian,
>
> Sure. It was prompted by a request at the Board Noticeboard on Meta:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard#Personal_and_Moral_Rights.3F
>
> Kind regards,
>
> María
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Resolution: Media about living people

[María Sefidari]

11/dic/2013 21:07 "Lodewijk"  ha escrito: 

> > Hi Maria, thanks for sharing. To appreciate the resolution in its proper 
> > context, I was wondering if you could share if there was a specific trigger 
> > to this amendment? 

> I completely second the question. Cristian.

Hi Lodewijk and Cristian,

Sure. It was prompted by a request at the Board Noticeboard on Meta: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard#Personal_and_Moral_Rights.3F

Kind regards,

María
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Resolution: Media about living people

[Fæ]

I hope this is a coincidence. I have great difficulty believing that
the WMF board of trustees passed a resolution imagining that it would
appear to be a good thing that the *very first* action it is used for
is to justify the deletion of an artwork of one of its own members.

Whatever else is going on here, this is unfortunately timed in a way
that appears excessively pointy.

Fae

On 11 December 2013 21:53, Tomasz W. Kozlowski  wrote:
> Lodewijk wrote:
>
>> thanks for sharing. To appreciate the resolution in its proper context, I
>> was wondering if you could share if there was a specific trigger to this
>> amendment?
>
>
> How about
> https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?diff=111671264&oldid=102286853 (as
> rumour has it)?
>
>   Tomasz
>
>
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-- 
fae...@gmail.com http://j.mp/faewm
Personal and confidential, please do not circulate or re-quote.

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Resolution: Media about living people

[Tomasz W. Kozlowski]

Lodewijk wrote:


thanks for sharing. To appreciate the resolution in its proper context, I
was wondering if you could share if there was a specific trigger to this
amendment?


How about 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?diff=111671264&oldid=102286853 
(as rumour has it)?


  Tomasz

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Resolution: Media about living people

[Jane Darnell]

Thanks for this, but even with the amendments it sounds pretty weak.
The closing text just shows how helpless we are in helping subjects
when their article is under the watchful eye of some Wikipedia editor
who feels that they "own" biography articles they have been watching
for years. Though I support the intention behind this statement
("Treating any person who has a complaint about how they are portrayed
in our projects with patience, kindness, and respect, and encouraging
others to do the same"), it still offers no indication of a path
forward for such subjects.  I would like to know where subjects can
post their complaint besides on the talk page, since putting
complaints there is still a form of publication and only serves to
propagate the sensitive information that subjects want removed. Also,
the text coming after "People sometimes make edits or add media
designed to smear others" also doesn't address the problem. There are
lots of unnecessarily sensitive edits made that are not made
maliciously, but if they are sourced, are practically impossible to
have removed, if the "personal owner" disagrees. I guess for major TV
personalities and such it may be easier because there are more people
watching and editing such biographies, but in the case of marginally
notable people, they have no recourse whatsoever, as far as I can see.

2013/12/11, Sydney Poore :
> Thank you, Maria for passing this on, and to the Board of Trustees for
> adding wording to the resolution that more clearly conveys that WMF
> projects are creating content and acting as a repository for a broad range
> of media that have the potential to cause harm to living people.
>
> Sydney Poore
> User:FloNight
>
>
> On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 12:20 PM, María Sefidari wrote:
>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> We'd like to draw your attention to our recent amendment of the 2009
>> Biographies of Living People resolution. We have amended that resolution
>> to
>> refer to both text and media when considering articles or images of living
>> people:
>> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Media_about_living_people
>>
>> We believe this amendment serves to clarify our original intent with this
>> resolution, which is to urge the Wikimedia community to act with care when
>> working with all portrayals of living people.
>>
>> This amended resolution was passed at the November 2013 Board meeting.
>>
>> For the Board of Trustees,
>>
>> María
>>
>>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Resolution: Media about living people

[Andy Mabbett]

On 11 December 2013 20:06, Lodewijk  wrote:
> Hi Maria,
>
> thanks for sharing. To appreciate the resolution in its proper context, I
> was wondering if you could share if there was a specific trigger to this
> amendment?

Please also provide a link to the consultation you carried out with
the community, before making this change. I seem to have missed it.

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

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method

[James Alexander]

On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 7:10 AM, David Levy  wrote:

> MZMcBride  wrote:
>
> > It's funny, I just had a look at the wikimedia-l archive around January
> > 2012... you know, that time when Wikipedia literally shut itself down as
> a
> > political statement. The following month, the Wikimedia Foundation
> > established a "Community Advocacy" department, not to be confused with
> > lobbying, of which you're now a member.
> >
> > I can appreciate the many legitimate reasons to not accept Bitcoin and
> I'm
> > grateful for your candid thoughts on the matter, but the idea that you,
> of
> > all people, would try to claim that it might (gasp!) insert politics into
> > Wikipedia is simply disrespectful to history and reality.
>
> I interpreted James Alexander's statement to mean that it's "not our
> job" and "not our role" to make the particular political statement
> that Bitcoin's proponents seek.  This doesn't mean that it's *never*
> okay for us to engage in advocacy of a political nature, particularly
> in response to something potentially threatening a WMF project's very
> existence.  (Whether SOPA and PIPA actually posed a significant threat
> is debatable, but the action in question stemmed from the belief that
> they did.)
>
> David Levy


David is right,

I think the SOPA/PIPA decision was the correct one in the end but I very
highly respect those who did not/do not think it was. Even there I was
highly uncomfortable making a strong political statement, especially using
the project, and had to wrestle with myself a fair bit before I did it.
There is no doubt that we, as an organization and a community, are not
'neutral' in everything but I think we should avoid being political unless
we think it directly effects us and we have thought deeply about it. I have
no issue with the foundation and community advocating for internet
privacy/copyright laws etc for example but even those we need to be very
picky about. I do not think this arrises to that level yet.

On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 12:31 PM, Jake Orlowitz  wrote:
>
> I don't think we should 'make a statement' by accepting bitcoin, I think
> the currency is simply at the stage where it would be to our benefit to do
> so.
>
> Jake (Ocaasi)


Without getting into some of your other arguments at the moment because of
lack of time (through I don't agree with them all) I do think it's
impossible to avoid 'making a statement' here. Whenever we do something we
have to not only think about it from what 'we' are trying to make a
statement about but also how it will be viewed. I think it is guaranteed
that the commercial and non commercial community who has been pushing this
for 4+ years will see it as a huge win and approval for their methods and
that given their consistent strategies we will be used as a reason for many
others to sign on as well with our 'support' being paraded around.

If we're going to do it, we need to know it's going to be seen and used as
a statement  whether we want it to or not.

James
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method

[Jake Orlowitz]

I can think of a few reasons why we should accept bitcoin:

* It's consistent with our leadership in internet technology
* Our peers like EFF, and Internet archive accept it
* It's secured using the same kinds of encryption we rely on to maintain
user privacy
* It permits donations from countries that do not have Visa/Mastercard
services
* It has a fanatically loyal and growing following that is dying to give us
money in that currency

Most imporantly, current technology would permit us to accept bitcoin
without ever *holding* bitcoin.
Companies like BitPay ( https://bitpay.com/) and CoinBase (
https://coinbase.com/) are little different than accepting Visa,
Mastercard, or Paypal.  It's now possible for funds received as bitcoins to
be *immediately* converted to USD.

I don't think we should 'make a statement' by accepting bitcoin, I think
the currency is simply at the stage where it would be to our benefit to do
so.

Jake (Ocaasi)
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Resolution: Media about living people

[Sydney Poore]

Thank you, Maria for passing this on, and to the Board of Trustees for
adding wording to the resolution that more clearly conveys that WMF
projects are creating content and acting as a repository for a broad range
of media that have the potential to cause harm to living people.

Sydney Poore
User:FloNight


On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 12:20 PM, María Sefidari wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> We'd like to draw your attention to our recent amendment of the 2009
> Biographies of Living People resolution. We have amended that resolution to
> refer to both text and media when considering articles or images of living
> people:
> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Media_about_living_people
>
> We believe this amendment serves to clarify our original intent with this
> resolution, which is to urge the Wikimedia community to act with care when
> working with all portrayals of living people.
>
> This amended resolution was passed at the November 2013 Board meeting.
>
> For the Board of Trustees,
>
> María
>
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Resolution: Media about living people

[Cristian Consonni]

Il 11/dic/2013 21:07 "Lodewijk"  ha scritto:
>
> Hi Maria,
>
> thanks for sharing. To appreciate the resolution in its proper context, I
> was wondering if you could share if there was a specific trigger to this
> amendment?

I completely second the question.

Cristian.
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Resolution: Media about living people

[Lodewijk]

Hi Maria,

thanks for sharing. To appreciate the resolution in its proper context, I
was wondering if you could share if there was a specific trigger to this
amendment?

Best,
Lodewijk


2013/12/11 María Sefidari 

> Hi everyone,
>
> We'd like to draw your attention to our recent amendment of the 2009
> Biographies of Living People resolution. We have amended that resolution to
> refer to both text and media when considering articles or images of living
> people:
> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Media_about_living_people
>
> We believe this amendment serves to clarify our original intent with this
> resolution, which is to urge the Wikimedia community to act with care when
> working with all portrayals of living people.
>
> This amended resolution was passed at the November 2013 Board meeting.
>
> For the Board of Trustees,
>
> María
>
>
> ___
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> Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 
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[Wikimedia-l] Resolution: Media about living people

[María Sefidari]

Hi everyone,

We'd like to draw your attention to our recent amendment of the 2009 
Biographies of Living People resolution. We have amended that resolution to 
refer to both text and media when considering articles or images of living 
people: 
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Media_about_living_people

We believe this amendment serves to clarify our original intent with this 
resolution, which is to urge the Wikimedia community to act with care when 
working with all portrayals of living people. 

This amended resolution was passed at the November 2013 Board meeting. 

For the Board of Trustees, 

María


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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method

[Nathan]

On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 10:10 AM, David Cuenca  wrote:

> In my opinon this whole bitcoin debate is framed incorrectly. The question
> is not if it should be accepted or not, but which parameters make any
> currency or payment method acceptable.
>
> If I had to name a few, I would say:
> * less than 10% variation against WOCU (or any other currency basket) last
> fiscal year
> * at least 10b USD transaction volume last fiscal year
>
> I don't have any preference for or against bitcoin either, but I think any
> payment method should fulfill certain stability requirements. Once bitcoin
> or any other currency fullfills those requirements (the ones I have
> mentioned or others), it should be accepted.
>
> Cheers,
> Micru
>
>
It'd be simpler to state that the major factor in accepting a new payment
type is enabling donors who otherwise might not be able to donate. Adding a
currency with a small constituency might make sense, even if the currency
is unstable, if it permits donations from supporters in their native
currency. Bitcoin isn't native currency for anyone, and anyone who wishes
to make a Bitcoin donation could certainly do so using a more standard
currency.
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method

[David Cuenca]

On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 3:45 PM, Robert Rohde  wrote:

> On Tue, Dec 10, 2013 at 2:37 PM, MZMcBride  wrote:
> > Has there been any discussion about simply accepting Bitcoins but not
> > exchanging them?
> 
>
> I don't have a strong opinion on whether WMF should or should not
> accept Bitcoin donations.  However, even if we were to accept them, I
> don't believe we should be collecting them.  As I believe is already
> the case with most foreign currency donations, Bitcoins (if accepted)
> should be exchanged for dollars shortly after being received.


In my opinon this whole bitcoin debate is framed incorrectly. The question
is not if it should be accepted or not, but which parameters make any
currency or payment method acceptable.

If I had to name a few, I would say:
* less than 10% variation against WOCU (or any other currency basket) last
fiscal year
* at least 10b USD transaction volume last fiscal year

I don't have any preference for or against bitcoin either, but I think any
payment method should fulfill certain stability requirements. Once bitcoin
or any other currency fullfills those requirements (the ones I have
mentioned or others), it should be accepted.

Cheers,
Micru
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method

[David Levy]

MZMcBride  wrote:

> It's funny, I just had a look at the wikimedia-l archive around January
> 2012... you know, that time when Wikipedia literally shut itself down as a
> political statement. The following month, the Wikimedia Foundation
> established a "Community Advocacy" department, not to be confused with
> lobbying, of which you're now a member.
>
> I can appreciate the many legitimate reasons to not accept Bitcoin and I'm
> grateful for your candid thoughts on the matter, but the idea that you, of
> all people, would try to claim that it might (gasp!) insert politics into
> Wikipedia is simply disrespectful to history and reality.

I interpreted James Alexander's statement to mean that it's "not our
job" and "not our role" to make the particular political statement
that Bitcoin's proponents seek.  This doesn't mean that it's *never*
okay for us to engage in advocacy of a political nature, particularly
in response to something potentially threatening a WMF project's very
existence.  (Whether SOPA and PIPA actually posed a significant threat
is debatable, but the action in question stemmed from the belief that
they did.)

David Levy

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method

[Robert Rohde]

On Tue, Dec 10, 2013 at 2:37 PM, MZMcBride  wrote:
> Has there been any discussion about simply accepting Bitcoins but not
> exchanging them?


I don't have a strong opinion on whether WMF should or should not
accept Bitcoin donations.  However, even if we were to accept them, I
don't believe we should be collecting them.  As I believe is already
the case with most foreign currency donations, Bitcoins (if accepted)
should be exchanged for dollars shortly after being received.

Whatever else Bitcoins might be, they are certainly subject to rapid
variations in market prices and considerable uncertainty regarding the
future regulatory environment.  As such, as an investment, they would
have to be classed as highly speculative.  Some people have made a lot
of money off of Bitcoins, and some others may yet make a lot more, but
there is also the potential to lose a lot of value if regulatory fiats
or undiscovered flaws in the Bitcoin system cause their value to
plummet.  I don't think holding on to high-risk investment vehicles
makes sense for a non-profit that aims to make responsible use of
people's donations.

-Robert Rohde

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method

[MZMcBride]

James Alexander wrote:
>That said while I don't think the effort involved here is
>tiny/insubstantial the real reason I don't want to do it is because, at
>this point, it's seemed more and more like people wanted us to accept
>bitcoin more as a political statement then anything else. That is not our
>job, that is not our role, and I do not appreciate someone attempting to
>use us to make themselves look more mainstream and accepted.

It's funny, I just had a look at the wikimedia-l archive around January
2012... you know, that time when Wikipedia literally shut itself down as a
political statement. The following month, the Wikimedia Foundation
established a "Community Advocacy" department, not to be confused with
lobbying, of which you're now a member.

I can appreciate the many legitimate reasons to not accept Bitcoin and I'm
grateful for your candid thoughts on the matter, but the idea that you, of
all people, would try to claim that it might (gasp!) insert politics into
Wikipedia is simply disrespectful to history and reality.

MZMcBride



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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Ombudsman Commission applications

[Maggie Dennis]

Hi, Pine.

I'm afraid that I'm not in the loop as to where it is at the moment. The
last I heard about it was in September, when it was to undergo legal review
before being submitted to the Board. But I'll try to find out where it is
right now. :)

Maggie


On Tue, Dec 10, 2013 at 11:13 PM, ENWP Pine  wrote:

> Hi Maggie, what's happening with the Ombudsman Commission scope RFC?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Pine
>
>
> > Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2013 06:04:09 -0800
> > From: Maggie Dennis 
> > To: Wikimedia Mailing List ,
> >   Functionaries email list for the English Wikipedia
> >   
> > Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Ombudsman Commission applications
> > Message-ID:
> >   <
> camuth1y1gkyu4zxk8xzjc-hkpxlvm+t+0j9oy3wrtwu5fm1...@mail.gmail.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> >
> > Hi
> >
> > It's coming close to time for annual appointments of community members
> > to serve on the Ombudsman commission. This commission works on all
> > Wikimedia projects to investigate complaints about violations of the
> > privacy policy, especially in use of CheckUser tools, and to mediate
> > between the complaining party and the individual whose work is being
> > investigated. They may also assist the General Counsel, the Executive
> > Director or the Board of Trustees in investigations of these issues. For
> > more on their duties and roles, see
> > http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ombudsman_commission
> >
> > This is a call for community members interested in volunteering
> > for appointment to this commission. Commissioners should be
> > experienced Wikimedians, active on any project, who have previously used
> > the CheckUser tool OR who have the technical ability to understand the
> > CheckUser tool and the willingness to learn it. They are expected to be
> > able to engage neutrally in investigating these concerns and to know when
> > to recuse when other roles and relationships may cause conflict. (In the
> > past, commissioners have turned in other roles that could cause
> conflict.)
> >
> > Commissioners are required to identify to the Wikimedia Foundation and
> > must be willing to comply with the appropriate board policies (such as
> > the access to non-public data policy and the privacy policy). This is
> > a position that requires a high degree of discretion and trust.
> >
> > If you are interested in serving on this commission, please drop me a
> > note detailing your experience on the projects, your thoughts on the
> > commission and what you hope to bring to the role. The commission is
> > deliberately quite small, so slots are limited, but all applications are
> > appreciated. The deadline for applications is January 1. Any timezone. :)
> >
> > Please feel free to pass this invitation along to any users who you
> > think may be interested.
> >
> > Thank you!
> >
> > Maggie
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Maggie Dennis
> > Senior Community Advocate
> > Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
> >
> >
>
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>



-- 
Maggie Dennis
Senior Community Advocate
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method

[David Gerard]

It's *completely* wrong to call these things Ponzi schemes.

*Technically*, they're pump-and-dumps.

- d.
 On 11 Dec 2013 10:59, "Tom Morris"  wrote:

> I demand that the Wikimedia Foundation start accepting the following:
>
> Litecoin
> Namecoin
> PPCoin
> Feathercoin
> Craftcoin
> Quarkcoin
> Freicoin
> Devcoin
> Terracoin
> BBQCoin
> Netcoin
>
> Actually, scrap that, I've got an even better Ponzi scheme - sorry,
> cryptocurrency: TomCoin.
>
> And, best of all, if you start taking TomCoins I'll be happy to give you
> a million of them. No, wait, how about a billion?
>
> --
> Tom Morris
> 
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method

[Tom Morris]

I demand that the Wikimedia Foundation start accepting the following:

Litecoin
Namecoin
PPCoin
Feathercoin
Craftcoin
Quarkcoin
Freicoin
Devcoin
Terracoin
BBQCoin
Netcoin

Actually, scrap that, I've got an even better Ponzi scheme - sorry,
cryptocurrency: TomCoin.

And, best of all, if you start taking TomCoins I'll be happy to give you
a million of them. No, wait, how about a billion?

-- 
Tom Morris


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[Wikimedia-l] [Reminder] Language Engineering IRC Office Hour today December 11, 2013 at 1700 UTC

[Runa Bhattacharjee]

Hello,

This is a reminder that the Wikimedia Language Engineering team will be
hosting an IRC office hour from 1700 to 1800UTC later today on
#wikimedia-office (FreeNode). Please see below for the event details.

Thanks
Runa

=== Event Details ===

What: WMF Language Engineering Office hour
When: December 11, 2013 (Wednesday). 1700-1800 UTC
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20131211T1700
Where: IRC Channel #wikimedia-office on FreeNode

-- Forwarded message --
From: Runa Bhattacharjee 
Date: Fri, Dec 6, 2013 at 3:19 PM
Subject: Language Engineering IRC Office Hour on December 11, 2013
(Wednesday) at 1700 UTC
To: MediaWiki internationalisation
, Wikimedia Mailing List
, Wikimedia developers
,
wikitech-ambassad...@lists.wikimedia.org


[x-posted]

Hello,

The Wikimedia Language Engineering team will be hosting an IRC office
hour on Wednesday, December 11, 2013 between 17:00 - 18:00 UTC on
#wikimedia-office. (See below for timezone conversion and other
details.) We will be talking about some of our recent and upcoming
projects and then taking questions for the remaining time.

Questions and any other concerns can also be sent to me directly
before the event. See you there!

Thanks
Runa

=== Event Details ===

What: WMF Language Engineering Office hour
When: December 11, 2013 (Wednesday). 1700-1800 UTC
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20131211T1700
Where: IRC Channel #wikimedia-office on FreeNode

--
Language Engineering - Outreach and QA Coordinator
Wikimedia Foundation



-- 
Language Engineering - Outreach and QA Coordinator
Wikimedia Foundation

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[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Wikimedia NL in October and November

[Sandra Rientjes Wikimedia Nederland]

The report of our activities in October and November is available:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_chapters/Reports/Wikimedia_Nederland/201311

It is also included in this email.


Sandra Rientjes
Directeur/Executive Director Wikimedia Nederland

tel. (+31) (0)6  31786379

www.wikimedia.nl

*Postadres*: * Bezoekadres:*
Postbus 167Mariaplaats 3
3500 AD  Utrecht Utrecht




*Wikimedia Nederland: report on October and November 2013*


*COMMUNITY: supporting and mobilising volunteers and editors*

-Wikimedia Nederland Conferentie

The annual Wikimedia Nederland Conference on November 2 was attended by 138
people, many of whom had never attended a Wikimedia-event before. The
organisers has put together a varied programme, with presentations on
topics ranging from the way historians use Wikipedia to the latest software
developments. An introductory course on Wikipedia editing was especially
popular.



-Editor Training Public Library Amersfoort

WMNL is exploring ways of cooperating with public libraries. We organised
an edit-a-thon with an introductionary training in the public library of
Amersfoort. 12 people attended, 6 of whom had never edited pages before.



-Wikizaterdag 12/10, 26/10 9/11, 23/11

As usual, the Wikimedia Nederland office was open every second and fourth
Saturday of the month.



*WORK: content, collaboration and activity development*

-Editathon The Hague

Although Wiki Loves Monuments officially took place in September, we had a
small editathon aimed at improving articles on the monuments of The Hague
on October 12. The Monument Service of The Hague provided background
information.



-Wikipedians in Residence

Two new Wikipedians in Residence started work in October. Hans Muller and
Arie Sonneveld will work with the group of 12 specialised academic
libraries.

Sandra Fauconnier has been selected as the Wikipedian in Residence for The
Great Wikipedia Expedition project, a project of foundation for academic
heritage (SAE) and the Tropenmuseum.



-Design Editathon Centraal Museum (28 October)

As part of our ongoing cooperation with the Centraal Museum in Utrecht we
organised an editathon on Design. The 35 participants worked on the
articles on important Dutch designers.



-ECNC photo competition

WMNL supported the international conservation NGO ECNC in organising a
photo competition among its network of partners institutes. As a result 165
images on the relation between humans and nature were uploaded to Commons.
For WMNL this was also a pilot to see if and how initiatives by other
organisations can lead to specific new content.



-Catharijne Convent, Utrecht

A first meeting has taken place with the Museum Catharijne Convent to
discuss joint activities in 2014. This museum focusses on religious art and
heritage.



-550 years of parliamentary history

A group of WMNL volunteers and WP-editors has started a project aimed at
improving content concerning the history of the Dutch parliamentary system.



*WMNL*

-New WMNL Website

The new WMNL website was launched. It provides information about Wikimedia
Nederland’s mission and activities for the general public.



-Media coverage

An interview with three members of the WMNL community (WMNL Board Member
and WIkipedian Paul Becherer, Wikipedian in Residence Hay Kranen and WMNL
Director Sandra Rientjes) appeared in the national newspaper Algemeen
Dagblad on November 9

Sandra Rientjes was interviewed on national radio November 10.



*MONEY*

The FDC recommended to allocate WMNL € 304.000 in funds for 2014. This is
94% of the amount originally requested.



*GLOBAL: International collaboration*

-Diversity Conference, Berlin

WMNL staffmember Denise Jansen attended the Diversity Conference in Berlin.



-Wikipedia Seminar, Kulturrad Norway

WMNL staffmember Sebastiaan ter Burg spoke at a Wikipedia seminar in Oslo



-Community meetings in Germany

WMNL president Ziko van Dijk was a guest at the Cologne work shop in
October and, together with another member, at the WikiCon in Karlsruhe in
November.



-Flemish OER conference, Brussels

Ziko van Dijk represented WMNL at the 15th Anniversary Meeting of
KlasCement, a Flemish initiative similar to Wikiwijs, in the Flemish
ministry of education in Brussels (October).




*ORGANISATION: board, management and support*

-The board met in Utrecht on October 10 and via Skype on November 7.



-Boardmember Anke Peereboom resigned from the Board in September due to
workpressure. Boardmember Hans Muller resigned in November to avoid any
suggestion of a possible conflict of interest following his appointment as
Wikipedian in Residence.




*Upcoming:*

-End-of-year festive Wiki Saturday will be on December 21 in the WMNL
office in Utrecht.

-The New Years Reception will take place on January 18, 2014,  in The Hague.
__

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method

[James Alexander]

[completely personal opinion]
To be totally, completely, honest I don't really want us to collect it...
and at this point it's mostly for personal reasons.

First off this isn't really a huge new push to get us to accept bitcoin,
they have been doing this ever 5-6 months in an organized fashion
(frequently, but probably not always, started by some of the big bitcoin
bloggers or payment providers) since at least 2010 when I was involved in
the fundraiser generally trying to shame us and force us to accept it. The
pushes generally include asking everyone to send fundraising emails and
writing as many articles about it as possible. Every time it happens people
say that they are getting angry and it's "a thing". This is actually a
relatively minor burst of activity compared to the past couple years though
the fact that it is happening is to be expected given the fundraiser push
for the end of the year and the publicity that brings.

Part of me wants to say that it just isn't worth the effort. While I'm not
in the FR team anymore so things may have changed the effort to integrate a
new payment system is not tiny because it's actually very important for us
to have automatic tracking into our donation system etc. We used to have
multiple random payment e-wallet/payment methods spread out because people
had created different accounts and they were insanely difficult to keep
track of.

That said while I don't think the effort involved here is
tiny/insubstantial the real reason I don't want to do it is because, at
this point, it's seemed more and more like people wanted us to accept
bitcoin more as a political statement then anything else. That is not our
job, that is not our role, and I do not appreciate someone attempting to
use us to make themselves look more mainstream and accepted. During the
2011 fundraiser the campaign focused on the fact that we accepted
'currencies of anti internet countries' but wouldn't accept bitcoins. We
had integrated an enormous amount of different currencies (though each
individual one was not much work it was really just the original
integration that took forever). The articles and comments at the time
seemed very clearly to me to try and imply that we should not be accepting
these currencies (making it much harder for users in those countries to
give) because they were 'anti internet' and we should accept bitcoin
because it was 'pro internet'. I'm sorry, that's just not how we should be
making decisions.

The articles since then have not seemed any different (and have, perhaps,
seemed even more angry) every time I see stories asking us, or anyone for
that matter, to accept bitcoin it's always couched in the idea that "oh X
and Y accept it so why won't YOU!" and it is very clear that if we start
accepting it every story will include some variation of "Wikipedia accepts
it and therefore how can you say it isn't mainstream!". Very few (i'm sure
they exist, but I haven't found them) of the articles talk about how much
money the non profits or companies are making, they are all about trying to
make a point and prove that we should accept bitcoin because... 'freedom'..
That isn't our job and, again, I don't like people who seem to be out to
use our name for their gain.

Sorry for the bit of a ramble here :-/ at this point whenever I see another
one of these pushes I want to accept bitcoin less and I respect the bitcoin
community a bit less. It's a great idea (with some flaws, but a great idea
none the less) but...this is not how to make it a respectable currency...
it's how to make it look like a niche toy beloved by people trying to push
an agenda :-/

James


On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 12:20 AM, David Gerard  wrote:

> On 10 December 2013 23:13, Tim Starling  wrote:
> > On 11/12/13 06:58, Tomasz W. Kozlowski wrote:
>
> >> I'm sure those reading this list can Google the topic themselves, so I
> >> won't link to the many angry discussion that are taking place on the
> >> interwebs right now;
>
> > I tried Googling, including news and blog searches, and couldn't work
> > out what you are talking about. Maybe you should provide links.
>
>
> tl;dr Bitcoin fans really, really want Wikimedia to accept Bitcoin
> donations; Wikimedia is not so interested, but haven't sent a big
> Monty Python-style trademark foot down on Bitpay as yet. Nobody else
> is very aware.
>
>
> - d.
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Let's accept Bitcoin as a donation method

[David Gerard]

On 10 December 2013 23:13, Tim Starling  wrote:
> On 11/12/13 06:58, Tomasz W. Kozlowski wrote:

>> I'm sure those reading this list can Google the topic themselves, so I
>> won't link to the many angry discussion that are taking place on the
>> interwebs right now;

> I tried Googling, including news and blog searches, and couldn't work
> out what you are talking about. Maybe you should provide links.


tl;dr Bitcoin fans really, really want Wikimedia to accept Bitcoin
donations; Wikimedia is not so interested, but haven't sent a big
Monty Python-style trademark foot down on Bitpay as yet. Nobody else
is very aware.


- d.

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