Re: [Wikimedia-l] Annual Plan FY15-16
Thanks for the update. I've drafted some questions and comments about the new version. The updated plan is located on Foundation Wiki; can it be copied to Meta where it's more accessible to the community for discussion? Thanks, Pine Pine On Wed, Jul 1, 2015 at 7:09 PM, Lila Tretikov l...@wikimedia.org wrote: All, I want to provide an update on the Annual Plan. I’m happy to let you know that the Board of Trustees has approved the proposed 2015-16 Wikimedia Foundation annual plan. Thank you for your patience as we have worked to incorporate your feedback and review with the Board. The approved plan includes $68.2 million in revenue, with $65 million of spending and $3.2 million for the reserve. In addition, we will raise $5 million for our endowment, which will help secure long-term support for our mission. In total, this accounts for a 17% growth in total budget. The plan also includes a stretch goal of exceeding the fundraising target by 20% to contribute additional funds to the reserve. The approved and updated plan is now available here https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/2015-2016_Annual_Plan. In our last Metrics Meeting, I presented an emerging strategy for the Wikimedia Foundation that focused on building a strong core in the near-term, allowing for innovation in the long-term toward our mission of ubiquitous shared knowledge. Strengthening our core has been our focus over this past year. We published the Call to Action https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/State_of_the_Wikimedia_Foundation#2015_Call_to_Action , which refocused us on community and technology, introducing new thinking and skills to the WMF, and improved products for the world. We have made significant changes this past year that are showing early results. But this is just a start. The world is changing rapidly in areas like mobile, user behavior, media formats, and access to knowledge. In order to make free knowledge available for generations to come, we need to continually improve our work and challenge our thinking. The Annual Plan for this year is focused on building our capabilities as a springboard for future innovation. In this year’s plan, budget adjustments are designed to fill in the gaps in current user needs, in particular in the areas of community (including affiliates and partners), technology, and communication. The plan builds on the foundational work from this past year, when we set up team structures and introduced new focus to align our organization with communities and demands for knowledge. For the first time, this year’s plan also introduces a Quarterly Metrics Scorecard to track our progress on delivering on our commitments. We will use both top-level and departmental metrics to measure our progress and report back. I also want to acknowledge some of the issues with this year’s Annual Plan process. We shared the first draft with you late, giving you limited time to provide feedback. We introduced a new, lighter weight format in the first iteration that left some of you with questions about proposed changes. This final, approved version has been updated to clarify our rationale, incorporate the feedback we did receive, link our plans to success metrics, and orient the next year within a broader strategy. As always, we continue to iterate toward a better process. Going forward we plan to have an extended window for your review and comments so we can refine our plan with your valuable feedback in mind. Thank you. I look forward to working together as we continue to strengthen our core capabilities to support our mission and prepare for our emerging strategy. ~~~Lila ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Annual Plan FY15-16
Thanks SJ and Lila. I've posted comments and questions on the talk page. Responses can wait until next week. Have a nice weekend, Pine Pine On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 3:21 PM, Lila Tretikov l...@wikimedia.org wrote: Hello all, You can now find a copy of the 2015-16 Annual Plan on Meta to better support conversation and questions: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2015-16 We will do our best to reply to your questions in a timely manner, but please note that tomorrow is a U.S. holiday and then we move into the weekend. Due to this, we may not be able to respond to questions on Meta until early next week. Thank you in advance for your patience. Lila On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 8:21 AM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks for the update. I've drafted some questions and comments about the new version. The updated plan is located on Foundation Wiki; can it be copied to Meta where it's more accessible to the community for discussion? Thanks, Pine Pine On Wed, Jul 1, 2015 at 7:09 PM, Lila Tretikov l...@wikimedia.org wrote: All, I want to provide an update on the Annual Plan. I’m happy to let you know that the Board of Trustees has approved the proposed 2015-16 Wikimedia Foundation annual plan. Thank you for your patience as we have worked to incorporate your feedback and review with the Board. The approved plan includes $68.2 million in revenue, with $65 million of spending and $3.2 million for the reserve. In addition, we will raise $5 million for our endowment, which will help secure long-term support for our mission. In total, this accounts for a 17% growth in total budget. The plan also includes a stretch goal of exceeding the fundraising target by 20% to contribute additional funds to the reserve. The approved and updated plan is now available here https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/2015-2016_Annual_Plan. In our last Metrics Meeting, I presented an emerging strategy for the Wikimedia Foundation that focused on building a strong core in the near-term, allowing for innovation in the long-term toward our mission of ubiquitous shared knowledge. Strengthening our core has been our focus over this past year. We published the Call to Action https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/State_of_the_Wikimedia_Foundation#2015_Call_to_Action , which refocused us on community and technology, introducing new thinking and skills to the WMF, and improved products for the world. We have made significant changes this past year that are showing early results. But this is just a start. The world is changing rapidly in areas like mobile, user behavior, media formats, and access to knowledge. In order to make free knowledge available for generations to come, we need to continually improve our work and challenge our thinking. The Annual Plan for this year is focused on building our capabilities as a springboard for future innovation. In this year’s plan, budget adjustments are designed to fill in the gaps in current user needs, in particular in the areas of community (including affiliates and partners), technology, and communication. The plan builds on the foundational work from this past year, when we set up team structures and introduced new focus to align our organization with communities and demands for knowledge. For the first time, this year’s plan also introduces a Quarterly Metrics Scorecard to track our progress on delivering on our commitments. We will use both top-level and departmental metrics to measure our progress and report back. I also want to acknowledge some of the issues with this year’s Annual Plan process. We shared the first draft with you late, giving you limited time to provide feedback. We introduced a new, lighter weight format in the first iteration that left some of you with questions about proposed changes. This final, approved version has been updated to clarify our rationale, incorporate the feedback we did receive, link our plans to success metrics, and orient the next year within a broader strategy. As always, we continue to iterate toward a better process. Going forward we plan to have an extended window for your review and comments so we can refine our plan with your valuable feedback in mind. Thank you. I look forward to working together as we continue to strengthen our core capabilities to support our mission and prepare for our emerging strategy. ~~~Lila ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [tangential] Dutch universities start Elsevier boycott plan
This is one legacy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cost_of_Knowledge On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 6:36 PM, David Gerard dger...@gmail.com wrote: https://universonline.nl/2015/07/02/dutch-universities-start-their-elsevier-boycott-plan This is pretty big news. (and in conclusion, Elsevier delenda est.) - d. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Lane Rasberry user:bluerasberry on Wikipedia 206.801.0814 l...@bluerasberry.com ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
[Wikimedia-l] Changes in Engineering leadership
Dear all, I wanted to let you know that Damon Sicore’s last day with the WMF was June 30th. Damon has served as the Vice President of Engineering and played a role in our strategic thinking as we retool to fulfill our mission of delivering free and open knowledge to the world. We wish him well. Some of you may have questions about this transition and our plans for Engineering leadership. There’s a small FAQ attached below that should address some of the immediate questions about next steps. While I know you may have additional questions, we can’t share more regarding personnel issues. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality. Lila Q. Why did Damon leave? Damon’s departure is a personnel issue, so we are not able to comment on it. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality and Damon’s privacy. Q. Who will manage Engineering and Technology? Lila and our interim Chief Operating Officer Terry Gilbey will be sharing oversight for the Engineering and Technology teams at the C-level. They'll work closely with the strong leadership of the audience verticals and individual teams. Lila, Terry, Katie Horn, Toby Negrin, Trevor Parscal, Wes Moran, and the C-team are committed to doing our best to minimize disruption to your day-to-day work, and to support you during this transition. Q. Who will guide Engineering decisions and set goals? The basic direction for the Engineering team is articulated in their approved Q1 goals. The team will continue to deliver on these commitments. The audience team leads will meet regularly with Lila to ensure that their work remains aligned with the WMF’s technical vision. Q. What does this mean for the new Engineering and Technology department structure? The department structures for Engineering and Technology remain the same. The audience verticals reflect the emerging strategy, and we believe they remain the best way to organize the WMF’s teams, based on the work we have ahead of us in the next few years. Q. Will there be any additional department reorganization as part of this? We’re not planning any additional organizational changes. Q. What does this mean for the ongoing CTO search? We are already underway with the CTO search; this will continue as planned. The CTO role is an important part of executing against the WMF’s engineering strategy. We look forward to bringing on board a new CTO with the leadership, perspective, and skills that the position entails. Q. Will we recruit for a new Vice President of Engineering? What is the timeline? Our priority will continue to be filling the CTO role. Once we have identified a CTO we’ll revisit the role of VPE, to ensure that the new CTO’s perspective is taken into consideration. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Changes in Engineering leadership
Lila, Will any consideration be given toward selecting a new leader for the engineering team who has been an active volunteer with a Wikimedia project for some period of time? Thanks, Todd On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 5:35 PM, Lila Tretikov l...@wikimedia.org wrote: Dear all, I wanted to let you know that Damon Sicore’s last day with the WMF was June 30th. Damon has served as the Vice President of Engineering and played a role in our strategic thinking as we retool to fulfill our mission of delivering free and open knowledge to the world. We wish him well. Some of you may have questions about this transition and our plans for Engineering leadership. There’s a small FAQ attached below that should address some of the immediate questions about next steps. While I know you may have additional questions, we can’t share more regarding personnel issues. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality. Lila Q. Why did Damon leave? Damon’s departure is a personnel issue, so we are not able to comment on it. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality and Damon’s privacy. Q. Who will manage Engineering and Technology? Lila and our interim Chief Operating Officer Terry Gilbey will be sharing oversight for the Engineering and Technology teams at the C-level. They'll work closely with the strong leadership of the audience verticals and individual teams. Lila, Terry, Katie Horn, Toby Negrin, Trevor Parscal, Wes Moran, and the C-team are committed to doing our best to minimize disruption to your day-to-day work, and to support you during this transition. Q. Who will guide Engineering decisions and set goals? The basic direction for the Engineering team is articulated in their approved Q1 goals. The team will continue to deliver on these commitments. The audience team leads will meet regularly with Lila to ensure that their work remains aligned with the WMF’s technical vision. Q. What does this mean for the new Engineering and Technology department structure? The department structures for Engineering and Technology remain the same. The audience verticals reflect the emerging strategy, and we believe they remain the best way to organize the WMF’s teams, based on the work we have ahead of us in the next few years. Q. Will there be any additional department reorganization as part of this? We’re not planning any additional organizational changes. Q. What does this mean for the ongoing CTO search? We are already underway with the CTO search; this will continue as planned. The CTO role is an important part of executing against the WMF’s engineering strategy. We look forward to bringing on board a new CTO with the leadership, perspective, and skills that the position entails. Q. Will we recruit for a new Vice President of Engineering? What is the timeline? Our priority will continue to be filling the CTO role. Once we have identified a CTO we’ll revisit the role of VPE, to ensure that the new CTO’s perspective is taken into consideration. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Changes in Engineering leadership
Todd, I'm not speaking for WMF or Lila here, just repeating what I've heard in other circles: it's rare to find a software engineer or designer who's an experienced Wikimedia content contributor. More common, but still far from plentiful, are experienced engineers who've contributed to MediaWiki and other open source tech tools. Pinging Quim in case he can give us some demographics of Wikimedia's volunteer tech pool and whether he thinks it might be possible to find an engineering executive in that pool. Pine Pine On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 6:21 PM, Todd Allen toddmal...@gmail.com wrote: Lila, Will any consideration be given toward selecting a new leader for the engineering team who has been an active volunteer with a Wikimedia project for some period of time? Thanks, Todd On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 5:35 PM, Lila Tretikov l...@wikimedia.org wrote: Dear all, I wanted to let you know that Damon Sicore’s last day with the WMF was June 30th. Damon has served as the Vice President of Engineering and played a role in our strategic thinking as we retool to fulfill our mission of delivering free and open knowledge to the world. We wish him well. Some of you may have questions about this transition and our plans for Engineering leadership. There’s a small FAQ attached below that should address some of the immediate questions about next steps. While I know you may have additional questions, we can’t share more regarding personnel issues. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality. Lila Q. Why did Damon leave? Damon’s departure is a personnel issue, so we are not able to comment on it. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality and Damon’s privacy. Q. Who will manage Engineering and Technology? Lila and our interim Chief Operating Officer Terry Gilbey will be sharing oversight for the Engineering and Technology teams at the C-level. They'll work closely with the strong leadership of the audience verticals and individual teams. Lila, Terry, Katie Horn, Toby Negrin, Trevor Parscal, Wes Moran, and the C-team are committed to doing our best to minimize disruption to your day-to-day work, and to support you during this transition. Q. Who will guide Engineering decisions and set goals? The basic direction for the Engineering team is articulated in their approved Q1 goals. The team will continue to deliver on these commitments. The audience team leads will meet regularly with Lila to ensure that their work remains aligned with the WMF’s technical vision. Q. What does this mean for the new Engineering and Technology department structure? The department structures for Engineering and Technology remain the same. The audience verticals reflect the emerging strategy, and we believe they remain the best way to organize the WMF’s teams, based on the work we have ahead of us in the next few years. Q. Will there be any additional department reorganization as part of this? We’re not planning any additional organizational changes. Q. What does this mean for the ongoing CTO search? We are already underway with the CTO search; this will continue as planned. The CTO role is an important part of executing against the WMF’s engineering strategy. We look forward to bringing on board a new CTO with the leadership, perspective, and skills that the position entails. Q. Will we recruit for a new Vice President of Engineering? What is the timeline? Our priority will continue to be filling the CTO role. Once we have identified a CTO we’ll revisit the role of VPE, to ensure that the new CTO’s perspective is taken into consideration. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wiktionary language study
The flashcard function idea is not essential, given the availability of superior free, open-source, multi-platform flashcard programs like Anki. But it might be a good tool for engaging folks. There are Swadesh lists for many languages, which should be supplemented by more contemporary words and phrases. It seems interesting and possibly grant-worthy. But finding the talent to persevere is non-trivial. On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 12:50 PM, d...@bisharat.net wrote: Of possible interest - perspectives on use of en.woktionary fr.wiktionary for vocabulary learning/review, with focus on African languages: http://niamey.blogspot.com/2015/07/wiktionary-as-tool-for-african-language.html An idea buried in the text: Would it be possible to develop a kind of flashcard function based on random page by language where entry headwords for the chosen language would be generated without the definition(s)? Don Osborn Sent via BlackBerry by ATT ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Dennis C. During ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Changes in Engineering leadership
... Tone deafness of the WMF, and thank my phone for silly spelling. On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 7:47 PM, Todd Allen toddmal...@gmail.com wrote: You're talking to one now, and I know several others. Now speaking for me, I would never want to be VP of anything, and so I'm certainly not asking this on my own behalf, but that's not necessarily true of everyone. Regardless, I'd at least like to see some preference given toward volunteers who might apply and encouragement for them to do so if qualified. There's been, to put it mildly, some tone deafness of the VPN in dealing with the community, and though some of the people engaged in that were indeed volunteers as well, I have no idea if that was actually their idea. (I hope not.) Perhaps having some people who have been volunteers actually in charge might help to bridge that disconnect. On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 7:30 PM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Todd, I'm not speaking for WMF or Lila here, just repeating what I've heard in other circles: it's rare to find a software engineer or designer who's an experienced Wikimedia content contributor. More common, but still far from plentiful, are experienced engineers who've contributed to MediaWiki and other open source tech tools. Pinging Quim in case he can give us some demographics of Wikimedia's volunteer tech pool and whether he thinks it might be possible to find an engineering executive in that pool. Pine Pine On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 6:21 PM, Todd Allen toddmal...@gmail.com wrote: Lila, Will any consideration be given toward selecting a new leader for the engineering team who has been an active volunteer with a Wikimedia project for some period of time? Thanks, Todd On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 5:35 PM, Lila Tretikov l...@wikimedia.org wrote: Dear all, I wanted to let you know that Damon Sicore’s last day with the WMF was June 30th. Damon has served as the Vice President of Engineering and played a role in our strategic thinking as we retool to fulfill our mission of delivering free and open knowledge to the world. We wish him well. Some of you may have questions about this transition and our plans for Engineering leadership. There’s a small FAQ attached below that should address some of the immediate questions about next steps. While I know you may have additional questions, we can’t share more regarding personnel issues. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality. Lila Q. Why did Damon leave? Damon’s departure is a personnel issue, so we are not able to comment on it. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality and Damon’s privacy. Q. Who will manage Engineering and Technology? Lila and our interim Chief Operating Officer Terry Gilbey will be sharing oversight for the Engineering and Technology teams at the C-level. They'll work closely with the strong leadership of the audience verticals and individual teams. Lila, Terry, Katie Horn, Toby Negrin, Trevor Parscal, Wes Moran, and the C-team are committed to doing our best to minimize disruption to your day-to-day work, and to support you during this transition. Q. Who will guide Engineering decisions and set goals? The basic direction for the Engineering team is articulated in their approved Q1 goals. The team will continue to deliver on these commitments. The audience team leads will meet regularly with Lila to ensure that their work remains aligned with the WMF’s technical vision. Q. What does this mean for the new Engineering and Technology department structure? The department structures for Engineering and Technology remain the same. The audience verticals reflect the emerging strategy, and we believe they remain the best way to organize the WMF’s teams, based on the work we have ahead of us in the next few years. Q. Will there be any additional department reorganization as part of this? We’re not planning any additional organizational changes. Q. What does this mean for the ongoing CTO search? We are already underway with the CTO search; this will continue as planned. The CTO role is an important part of executing against the WMF’s engineering strategy. We look forward to bringing on board a new CTO with the leadership, perspective, and skills that the position entails. Q. Will we recruit for a new Vice President of Engineering? What is the timeline? Our priority will continue to be filling the CTO role. Once we have identified a CTO we’ll revisit the role of VPE, to ensure that the new CTO’s perspective is taken into consideration. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Changes in Engineering leadership
Thank you for this announcement Lila. Good luck to Damon in his future endeavours; Good luck to the leadership of the engineering teams during this transition; And, good luck for recruiting the important CTO role soon! Sincerely, -Liam / Wittylama On Friday, 3 July 2015, Lila Tretikov l...@wikimedia.org wrote: Dear all, I wanted to let you know that Damon Sicore’s last day with the WMF was June 30th. Damon has served as the Vice President of Engineering and played a role in our strategic thinking as we retool to fulfill our mission of delivering free and open knowledge to the world. We wish him well. Some of you may have questions about this transition and our plans for Engineering leadership. There’s a small FAQ attached below that should address some of the immediate questions about next steps. While I know you may have additional questions, we can’t share more regarding personnel issues. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality. Lila Q. Why did Damon leave? Damon’s departure is a personnel issue, so we are not able to comment on it. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality and Damon’s privacy. Q. Who will manage Engineering and Technology? Lila and our interim Chief Operating Officer Terry Gilbey will be sharing oversight for the Engineering and Technology teams at the C-level. They'll work closely with the strong leadership of the audience verticals and individual teams. Lila, Terry, Katie Horn, Toby Negrin, Trevor Parscal, Wes Moran, and the C-team are committed to doing our best to minimize disruption to your day-to-day work, and to support you during this transition. Q. Who will guide Engineering decisions and set goals? The basic direction for the Engineering team is articulated in their approved Q1 goals. The team will continue to deliver on these commitments. The audience team leads will meet regularly with Lila to ensure that their work remains aligned with the WMF’s technical vision. Q. What does this mean for the new Engineering and Technology department structure? The department structures for Engineering and Technology remain the same. The audience verticals reflect the emerging strategy, and we believe they remain the best way to organize the WMF’s teams, based on the work we have ahead of us in the next few years. Q. Will there be any additional department reorganization as part of this? We’re not planning any additional organizational changes. Q. What does this mean for the ongoing CTO search? We are already underway with the CTO search; this will continue as planned. The CTO role is an important part of executing against the WMF’s engineering strategy. We look forward to bringing on board a new CTO with the leadership, perspective, and skills that the position entails. Q. Will we recruit for a new Vice President of Engineering? What is the timeline? Our priority will continue to be filling the CTO role. Once we have identified a CTO we’ll revisit the role of VPE, to ensure that the new CTO’s perspective is taken into consideration. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org javascript:; ?subject=unsubscribe -- wittylama.com Peace, love metadata ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Changes in Engineering leadership
On Jul 2, 2015 5:32 PM, Ricordisamoa ricordisa...@openmailbox.org wrote: Il 03/07/2015 01:35, Lila Tretikov ha scritto: (Snip) While I know you may have additional questions, we can’t share more regarding personnel Personal? No, personnel. It means, more or less, issues about an individual, relating to his/her employment. Pete [[User:Peteforsyth]] ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Changes in Engineering leadership
Il 03/07/2015 01:35, Lila Tretikov ha scritto: Dear all, I wanted to let you know that Damon Sicore’s last day with the WMF was June 30th. Damon has served as the Vice President of Engineering and played a role in our strategic thinking as we retool to fulfill our mission of delivering free and open knowledge to the world. We wish him well. Some of you may have questions about this transition and our plans for Engineering leadership. There’s a small FAQ attached below that should address some of the immediate questions about next steps. While I know you may have additional questions, we can’t share more regarding personnel Personal? issues. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality. Lila Q. Why did Damon leave? Damon’s departure is a personnel issue, so we are not able to comment on it. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality and Damon’s privacy. Q. Who will manage Engineering and Technology? Lila and our interim Chief Operating Officer Terry Gilbey will be sharing oversight for the Engineering and Technology teams at the C-level. They'll work closely with the strong leadership of the audience verticals and individual teams. Lila, Terry, Katie Horn, Toby Negrin, Trevor Parscal, Wes Moran, and the C-team are committed to doing our best to minimize disruption to your day-to-day work, and to support you during this transition. Q. Who will guide Engineering decisions and set goals? The basic direction for the Engineering team is articulated in their approved Q1 goals. The team will continue to deliver on these commitments. The audience team leads will meet regularly with Lila to ensure that their work remains aligned with the WMF’s technical vision. Q. What does this mean for the new Engineering and Technology department structure? The department structures for Engineering and Technology remain the same. The audience verticals reflect the emerging strategy, and we believe they remain the best way to organize the WMF’s teams, based on the work we have ahead of us in the next few years. Q. Will there be any additional department reorganization as part of this? We’re not planning any additional organizational changes. Q. What does this mean for the ongoing CTO search? We are already underway with the CTO search; this will continue as planned. The CTO role is an important part of executing against the WMF’s engineering strategy. We look forward to bringing on board a new CTO with the leadership, perspective, and skills that the position entails. Q. Will we recruit for a new Vice President of Engineering? What is the timeline? Our priority will continue to be filling the CTO role. Once we have identified a CTO we’ll revisit the role of VPE, to ensure that the new CTO’s perspective is taken into consideration. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Changes in Engineering leadership
I think most VPNs are tone deaf. ;) Yes, in general I would like to see more respect from WMF for the collective wisdom of the community and for the use of volunteer time. Appointing a technical or content contributor to an executive role would be a good thing IMO. Pine On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 6:48 PM, Todd Allen toddmal...@gmail.com wrote: ... Tone deafness of the WMF, and thank my phone for silly spelling. On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 7:47 PM, Todd Allen toddmal...@gmail.com wrote: You're talking to one now, and I know several others. Now speaking for me, I would never want to be VP of anything, and so I'm certainly not asking this on my own behalf, but that's not necessarily true of everyone. Regardless, I'd at least like to see some preference given toward volunteers who might apply and encouragement for them to do so if qualified. There's been, to put it mildly, some tone deafness of the VPN in dealing with the community, and though some of the people engaged in that were indeed volunteers as well, I have no idea if that was actually their idea. (I hope not.) Perhaps having some people who have been volunteers actually in charge might help to bridge that disconnect. On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 7:30 PM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Todd, I'm not speaking for WMF or Lila here, just repeating what I've heard in other circles: it's rare to find a software engineer or designer who's an experienced Wikimedia content contributor. More common, but still far from plentiful, are experienced engineers who've contributed to MediaWiki and other open source tech tools. Pinging Quim in case he can give us some demographics of Wikimedia's volunteer tech pool and whether he thinks it might be possible to find an engineering executive in that pool. Pine Pine On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 6:21 PM, Todd Allen toddmal...@gmail.com wrote: Lila, Will any consideration be given toward selecting a new leader for the engineering team who has been an active volunteer with a Wikimedia project for some period of time? Thanks, Todd On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 5:35 PM, Lila Tretikov l...@wikimedia.org wrote: Dear all, I wanted to let you know that Damon Sicore’s last day with the WMF was June 30th. Damon has served as the Vice President of Engineering and played a role in our strategic thinking as we retool to fulfill our mission of delivering free and open knowledge to the world. We wish him well. Some of you may have questions about this transition and our plans for Engineering leadership. There’s a small FAQ attached below that should address some of the immediate questions about next steps. While I know you may have additional questions, we can’t share more regarding personnel issues. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality. Lila Q. Why did Damon leave? Damon’s departure is a personnel issue, so we are not able to comment on it. Thank you for respecting that confidentiality and Damon’s privacy. Q. Who will manage Engineering and Technology? Lila and our interim Chief Operating Officer Terry Gilbey will be sharing oversight for the Engineering and Technology teams at the C-level. They'll work closely with the strong leadership of the audience verticals and individual teams. Lila, Terry, Katie Horn, Toby Negrin, Trevor Parscal, Wes Moran, and the C-team are committed to doing our best to minimize disruption to your day-to-day work, and to support you during this transition. Q. Who will guide Engineering decisions and set goals? The basic direction for the Engineering team is articulated in their approved Q1 goals. The team will continue to deliver on these commitments. The audience team leads will meet regularly with Lila to ensure that their work remains aligned with the WMF’s technical vision. Q. What does this mean for the new Engineering and Technology department structure? The department structures for Engineering and Technology remain the same. The audience verticals reflect the emerging strategy, and we believe they remain the best way to organize the WMF’s teams, based on the work we have ahead of us in the next few years. Q. Will there be any additional department reorganization as part of this? We’re not planning any additional organizational changes. Q. What does this mean for the ongoing CTO search? We are already underway with the CTO search; this will continue as planned. The CTO role is an important part of executing against the WMF’s engineering strategy. We look forward to bringing on board a new CTO with the leadership, perspective, and skills that the
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wiktionary language study
I agree: there are excellent free-software flashcard programs out there, and no need to duplicate that functionality. This does suggest that convenient export functions (e.g. by category, by language) in formats expected by Anki etc. could enable a lot more use of Wiktionaries as sources for vocabulary study. A. On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 5:56 PM, Dennis During dcdur...@gmail.com wrote: The flashcard function idea is not essential, given the availability of superior free, open-source, multi-platform flashcard programs like Anki. But it might be a good tool for engaging folks. There are Swadesh lists for many languages, which should be supplemented by more contemporary words and phrases. It seems interesting and possibly grant-worthy. But finding the talent to persevere is non-trivial. On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 12:50 PM, d...@bisharat.net wrote: Of possible interest - perspectives on use of en.woktionary fr.wiktionary for vocabulary learning/review, with focus on African languages: http://niamey.blogspot.com/2015/07/wiktionary-as-tool-for-african-language.html An idea buried in the text: Would it be possible to develop a kind of flashcard function based on random page by language where entry headwords for the chosen language would be generated without the definition(s)? Don Osborn Sent via BlackBerry by ATT ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Dennis C. During ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Asaf Bartov Wikimedia Foundation http://www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! https://donate.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Invitation to WMF June 2015 Metrics Activities Meeting: Thursday, July 2, 18:00 UTC
REMINDER: This meeting starts in 30 minutes. On Thu, Jun 25, 2015 at 1:16 PM, Praveena Maharaj pmaha...@wikimedia.org wrote: Dear all, The next WMF metrics and activities meeting will take place on Thursday, July 2, 2015 at 6:00 PM UTC (11 AM PDT). The IRC channel is #wikimedia-office on irc.freenode.net, and the meeting will be broadcast as a live YouTube stream. Each month at the metrics meeting, we will: * Welcome recent hires * Present a community update * Present reports/updates that are focused on a key topic or theme; the topic for July's meeting is Community Consultation on Strategy * Engage in questions/discussions Please review https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Metrics_and_activities_meetings for further information about how to participate. We’ll post the video recording publicly after the meeting. Thank you, Praveena -- Praveena Maharaj Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Engineering Wikimedia Foundation \\ www.wikimediafoundation.org ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
[Wikimedia-l] Wiktionary language study
Of possible interest - perspectives on use of en.woktionary fr.wiktionary for vocabulary learning/review, with focus on African languages: http://niamey.blogspot.com/2015/07/wiktionary-as-tool-for-african-language.html An idea buried in the text: Would it be possible to develop a kind of flashcard function based on random page by language where entry headwords for the chosen language would be generated without the definition(s)? Don Osborn Sent via BlackBerry by ATT ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
[Wikimedia-l] New email subscriptions, Texans rewrite articles on their state's revolution, and more: this week on the Wikimedia blog
Here are some of this week's stories from the Wikimedia blog. New content experiments are marked with an asterick (*), and we'd love to hear your feedback on them. • These Texans are on a quest to improve Wikipedia’s coverage of their state’s revolution* https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/06/30/improving-wikipedia-texas-revolution/ • The Wikimedia Foundation’s “Got Your Back” when it comes to user privacy https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/06/29/whos-got-your-back/ • Get email updates from the Wikimedia blog https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/06/30/email-updates-from-the-blog/ • ACLU files amended complaint on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/07/01/wikimedia-nsa-update/ • New French partners for The Wikipedia Library https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/06/28/wikipedia-library-new-partners/ • Developing a Songhay Wikipedia from scratch: Mohomodou Houssouba https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/06/26/developing-songhay-wikipedia/ • Wikipedia Picks: disaster, trial by battle, and more* https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/06/26/wikipedia-picks-disaster-battle/ You can find new articles each weekday—and our new email subscription service—at http://blog.wikimedia.org/. Best, Ed Erhart Editorial Intern Communications team Wikimedia Foundation ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] This Month in Education: June 2015
Hello everyone, Sorry for cross-posting. Many excited updates are waiting for you in the new issue of This Month in Education. A teaching award goes to our great educators in Uruguay, Wikipedia Education Program kicks off in Hong Kong, the Swedish education program makes great contributions last term and many other updates! Enjoy reading! This Month in Education: June 2015 *Updates, reports, news, and stories about how Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects are used in education around the world.* - Uruguay: A Wikipedia project in foreign languages receives a teaching award https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/June_2015/A_Wikipedia_project_in_foreign_languages_receives_a_teaching_award_in_Uruguay - Hong Kong: The First Wikipedia Education Program in Hong Kong https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/June_2015/The_First_Wikipedia_Education_Program_in_Hong_Kong - Greece: Adult school graduates learn to edit Wikipedia and inspire their peers https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/June_2015/Greek_adult_school_graduates_learn_to_edit_Wikipedia_and_inspire_their_peers - Sweden: Mid-year Summary from the Wikipedia Education Program https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/June_2015/Mid-year_Summary_from_the_Wikipedia_Education_Program_in_Sweden - Mexico: New video tutorial for Commons created by students https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/June_2015/New_video_tutorial_for_Commons_created_by_students - Armenia: Wikimedia Armenia New Office, Annual Conference, and WikiCamp 2015 https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/June_2015/Wikimedia_Armenia_New_Office,_Annual_Conference,_and_WikiCamp_2015 - Argentina: Argentina contributes to a massive cross-border course of free knowledge in Spanish-speaking countries https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/June_2015/Argentina_contributes_to_a_massive_cross-border_course_of_free_knowledge_in_Spanish-speaking_countries - Israel: Education Program Extension enabled on Hebrew Wiktionary https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/June_2015/Education_Program_Extension_enabled_on_Hebrew_Wiktionary - Global: New recognition certificates for program students, teachers and leaders https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/June_2015/New_recognition_certificates_for_program_students,_teachers_and_leaders - Media Articles of interest in other publications: Uk, India, Palestine and more https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/June_2015/Articles_of_interest_in_other_publications *Headlines https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Education/Newsletter/June_2015 · Highlights https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/June_2015/Highlights · Single page https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/June_2015/Single · Newsroom https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/Newsroom · Archives https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter/Archives · Unsubscribe https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global_message_delivery/Targets/This_Month_in_Education* *--* *Samir Elsharbaty,Communications Intern, Wikipedia Education ProgramWIkimedia Foundation* *The This Month In Education Team* https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Newsletter ___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list wikimediaannounc...@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Annual Plan FY15-16
Lila - thank you for this plan, and for continuing the course started with the call to action. It is welcome to see this more detailed format, and that you are taking feedback into consideration. Pine - The page on Meta has been updated. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2015-16 https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2015-16 Sam On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 11:21 AM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks for the update. I've drafted some questions and comments about the new version. The updated plan is located on Foundation Wiki; can it be copied to Meta where it's more accessible to the community for discussion? Thanks, Pine Pine On Wed, Jul 1, 2015 at 7:09 PM, Lila Tretikov l...@wikimedia.org wrote: All, I want to provide an update on the Annual Plan. I’m happy to let you know that the Board of Trustees has approved the proposed 2015-16 Wikimedia Foundation annual plan. Thank you for your patience as we have worked to incorporate your feedback and review with the Board. The approved plan includes $68.2 million in revenue, with $65 million of spending and $3.2 million for the reserve. In addition, we will raise $5 million for our endowment, which will help secure long-term support for our mission. In total, this accounts for a 17% growth in total budget. The plan also includes a stretch goal of exceeding the fundraising target by 20% to contribute additional funds to the reserve. The approved and updated plan is now available here https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/2015-2016_Annual_Plan. In our last Metrics Meeting, I presented an emerging strategy for the Wikimedia Foundation that focused on building a strong core in the near-term, allowing for innovation in the long-term toward our mission of ubiquitous shared knowledge. Strengthening our core has been our focus over this past year. We published the Call to Action https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/State_of_the_Wikimedia_Foundation#2015_Call_to_Action , which refocused us on community and technology, introducing new thinking and skills to the WMF, and improved products for the world. We have made significant changes this past year that are showing early results. But this is just a start. The world is changing rapidly in areas like mobile, user behavior, media formats, and access to knowledge. In order to make free knowledge available for generations to come, we need to continually improve our work and challenge our thinking. The Annual Plan for this year is focused on building our capabilities as a springboard for future innovation. In this year’s plan, budget adjustments are designed to fill in the gaps in current user needs, in particular in the areas of community (including affiliates and partners), technology, and communication. The plan builds on the foundational work from this past year, when we set up team structures and introduced new focus to align our organization with communities and demands for knowledge. For the first time, this year’s plan also introduces a Quarterly Metrics Scorecard to track our progress on delivering on our commitments. We will use both top-level and departmental metrics to measure our progress and report back. I also want to acknowledge some of the issues with this year’s Annual Plan process. We shared the first draft with you late, giving you limited time to provide feedback. We introduced a new, lighter weight format in the first iteration that left some of you with questions about proposed changes. This final, approved version has been updated to clarify our rationale, incorporate the feedback we did receive, link our plans to success metrics, and orient the next year within a broader strategy. As always, we continue to iterate toward a better process. Going forward we plan to have an extended window for your review and comments so we can refine our plan with your valuable feedback in mind. Thank you. I look forward to working together as we continue to strengthen our core capabilities to support our mission and prepare for our emerging strategy. ~~~Lila ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Samuel Klein @metasj w:user:sj +1 617 529 4266
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Annual Plan FY15-16
Hello all, You can now find a copy of the 2015-16 Annual Plan on Meta to better support conversation and questions: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2015-16 We will do our best to reply to your questions in a timely manner, but please note that tomorrow is a U.S. holiday and then we move into the weekend. Due to this, we may not be able to respond to questions on Meta until early next week. Thank you in advance for your patience. Lila On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 8:21 AM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks for the update. I've drafted some questions and comments about the new version. The updated plan is located on Foundation Wiki; can it be copied to Meta where it's more accessible to the community for discussion? Thanks, Pine Pine On Wed, Jul 1, 2015 at 7:09 PM, Lila Tretikov l...@wikimedia.org wrote: All, I want to provide an update on the Annual Plan. I’m happy to let you know that the Board of Trustees has approved the proposed 2015-16 Wikimedia Foundation annual plan. Thank you for your patience as we have worked to incorporate your feedback and review with the Board. The approved plan includes $68.2 million in revenue, with $65 million of spending and $3.2 million for the reserve. In addition, we will raise $5 million for our endowment, which will help secure long-term support for our mission. In total, this accounts for a 17% growth in total budget. The plan also includes a stretch goal of exceeding the fundraising target by 20% to contribute additional funds to the reserve. The approved and updated plan is now available here https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/2015-2016_Annual_Plan. In our last Metrics Meeting, I presented an emerging strategy for the Wikimedia Foundation that focused on building a strong core in the near-term, allowing for innovation in the long-term toward our mission of ubiquitous shared knowledge. Strengthening our core has been our focus over this past year. We published the Call to Action https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/State_of_the_Wikimedia_Foundation#2015_Call_to_Action , which refocused us on community and technology, introducing new thinking and skills to the WMF, and improved products for the world. We have made significant changes this past year that are showing early results. But this is just a start. The world is changing rapidly in areas like mobile, user behavior, media formats, and access to knowledge. In order to make free knowledge available for generations to come, we need to continually improve our work and challenge our thinking. The Annual Plan for this year is focused on building our capabilities as a springboard for future innovation. In this year’s plan, budget adjustments are designed to fill in the gaps in current user needs, in particular in the areas of community (including affiliates and partners), technology, and communication. The plan builds on the foundational work from this past year, when we set up team structures and introduced new focus to align our organization with communities and demands for knowledge. For the first time, this year’s plan also introduces a Quarterly Metrics Scorecard to track our progress on delivering on our commitments. We will use both top-level and departmental metrics to measure our progress and report back. I also want to acknowledge some of the issues with this year’s Annual Plan process. We shared the first draft with you late, giving you limited time to provide feedback. We introduced a new, lighter weight format in the first iteration that left some of you with questions about proposed changes. This final, approved version has been updated to clarify our rationale, incorporate the feedback we did receive, link our plans to success metrics, and orient the next year within a broader strategy. As always, we continue to iterate toward a better process. Going forward we plan to have an extended window for your review and comments so we can refine our plan with your valuable feedback in mind. Thank you. I look forward to working together as we continue to strengthen our core capabilities to support our mission and prepare for our emerging strategy. ~~~Lila ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
[Wikimedia-l] [tangential] Dutch universities start Elsevier boycott plan
https://universonline.nl/2015/07/02/dutch-universities-start-their-elsevier-boycott-plan This is pretty big news. (and in conclusion, Elsevier delenda est.) - d. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
