[Wikimedia-l] Video: "Wikipedia, an introduction - Erasmus Prize 2015"

[Pine W]

Beautiful video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p8wFdnPfVw

Pine
___
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, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Free Bassel

[Gerard Meijssen]

Hoi,
As this is not a Wikipedia article, it is more of an advertisement, a call
to action. Urgency is key. This is not about the well known patterns of a
Wikipedia article.

This is not understood, it results at this late stage in an edit war.
Either we have a point and make it or we have a Wikipedia style article
which is to long to read. It will not be read because there is nothing
urgent, nothing that demands attention.
Thanks,
 GerardM

On 25 November 2015 at 11:20, Gerard Meijssen 
wrote:

> Hoi,
> I have looked at the article. It does not have the necessary urgency. He
> is likely to have been sentenced to death and the article reads like a
> Wikipedia article. This is Meta, it is not Wikipedia and it needs urgency.
> We appeal to the world to get involved to let his death not happen. That is
> imho what the message needs to be.
> Thanks,
>  GerardM
>
> On 25 November 2015 at 02:57, Asaf Bartov  wrote:
>
>> FYI: User:Odder has now created [[m:Free Bassel
>> ]], as a landing page to
>> link
>> from the banner.
>>
>> If anyone would like to help with a design for the banner (I concede not
>> everyone shares my taste for 10pt-black-on-white text), we would be able
>> to
>> move ahead.  There is, so far, nothing but support.
>>
>>A.
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 10:57 AM, Katherine Maher 
>> wrote:
>>
>> > Hi everyone,
>> >
>> > Thank you for raising this issue here on this list. I wanted to share
>> some
>> > more information about how we’ve been working to support Bassel to this
>> > point, in public and behind the scenes. Unfortunately, some efforts are
>> > sensitive, so can’t be shared in full on public mailing lists. But we’re
>> > committed to supporting next steps or decisions by the community, and
>> > keeping you updated going forward.
>> >
>> > Working with some other colleagues at the Foundation, we have been
>> tracking
>> > Bassel's case for some time now, in direct contact with the organizers
>> of
>> > the #FreeBassel campaign  [1], and Bassel's
>> family.
>> > The actions we have taken to date have been in coordination and approval
>> > with the #FreeBassel campaign, including:
>> >
>> >- Coordination and communication with related organizations, such as
>> the
>> >Electronic Frontier Foundation and Amnesty International. (ongoing)
>> >- Regular contact and updates with senior human rights officials at
>> the
>> >U.S. State Department. (ongoing)
>> >- Outreach to the press around Bassel’s arbitrary detention and
>> >contributions to the free knowledge movement. Please see this WIRED
>> > story, “A
>> >Jailed Activist’s 3-D Models Could Save Syria’s History From ISIS
>> ><
>> >
>> http://www.wired.com/2015/10/jailed-activist-bassel-khartabil-3d-models-could-save-syrian-history-from-isis/
>> > >.”
>> >[2] (Although we did reach out to WIRED, we cannot say for certain if
>> > that
>> >story was the direct result of our efforts or others within the
>> > #FreeBassel
>> >coordination community). (10/21)
>> >- Raising Bassel’s case in public speaking opportunities, including
>> >Lila’s keynote to the Creative Commons Summit. (10/15)
>> >- Blog post #FREEBASSEL: Free culture advocate who built 3D
>> renderings
>> >of Palmyra missing in Syria
>> > [3].
>> >(10/08)
>> >- Ongoing participation in #FreeBassel social media campaigns on
>> >Facebook and Twitter.
>> >
>> > Bassel is in a situation known as arbitrary detention
>> > <
>> >
>> http://en.alkarama.org/1763-syria-un-calls-for-the-release-of-freedom-of-speech-advocate-bassel-khartabil
>> > >
>> > [4]. Arbitrary detentions are characterized by uncertainty, lack of
>> > information, and volatility. They’re scary because we don’t know what’s
>> > happening, and often we are making decisions without a lot of
>> information.
>> > Our goal is always to support Bassel to make sure our efforts help him
>> > without putting him at greater risk. So we’ve been working with
>> experienced
>> > human rights campaigners, including the #FreeBassel campaign, to
>> understand
>> > the best actions to take at different times over the past two months.
>> >
>> > We’ve been in touch with Bassel’s family, who would support continued
>> > efforts to raise awareness about Bassel’s situation through a note on
>> > Wikipedia if that should happen. We can also join action letters (like
>> this
>> > <
>> >
>> http://www.amnesty.nl/nieuwsportaal/pers/syria-fears-life-free-expression-advocate
>> > >
>> > [5]) where the community agrees it's appropriate. If the community
>> decides
>> > to move forward with an action, we are here to help. We are monitoring
>> the
>> > discussions and activity in
>> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Banner:Free_Bassel as a place where
>> > community consensus can form. Please let us know if there’s anything
>> else
>> > we can 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] FDC recommendations for 2015-2016 Round 1 APG grant requests

[Anna Stillwell]

+1 to all the hard work for the members of the FDC and Katy Love. Thank you
all for your time, attention and care.
/a


On Wed, Nov 25, 2015 at 11:37 AM, MZMcBride  wrote:

> I should have said this earlier: a big thank you to everyone who worked on
> this funding round. From reading the Meta-Wiki pages, it's easy to see
> that there is a lot of data to process and audit and it requires a decent
> amount of work to issue these important recommendations each round.
>
> Michael Peel wrote:
> >They are organisation-specific remarks. :-) The WMF did not apply to the
> >FDC this round, hence why there are no amounts requested/allocated, or a
> >proposal to link to. The FDC felt it necessary to include recommendations
> >about the WMF anyway.
>
> I may be showing my ignorance here, but I'm still confused. The Wikimedia
> Foundation doesn't go through the Funds Dissemination Committee at all,
> then? I see a note from the "2013-2014 round2" recommendations saying:
>
> "For all future proposals, the FDC strongly emphasizes the need for a
> complete proposal: the WMF should undergo similar procedures as other
> entities in the movement."
>
> Is it accurate to say that all large Wikimedia affiliates go through the
> Funds Dissemination Committee except the Wikimedia Foundation? Or from a
> different angle: how is the Wikimedia Foundation budget allocated? Does
> the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees currently do its own direct
> allocation, bypassing the FDC?
>
> >It's worth noting that there are two meanings to the word 'project' here
> >- there are the Wikimedia projects, and then there are projects run by
> >the Wikimedia organisations (think of, e.g., GLAM or education projects).
> >It's particularly the latter case that is most relevant to the FDC's
> >work, and in this case Wikidata falls under both meanings.
>
> Sure, there are many senses of the word project, but this doesn't seem to
> answer the question asked. :-)  Wikimedia Deutschland : Wikidata ::
> Wikimedia Foundation : Wikipedia, right? If one organization is expected
> to separate out costs for its largest technical project, shouldn't the
> other be as well?
>
> MZMcBride
>
>
>
> ___
> 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,
> 




-- 
Anna Stillwell
Major Gifts Officer
Wikimedia Foundation
415.806.1536
*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, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Just to be sure: this is the location

[Yaroslav M. Blanter]

On 2015-11-25 13:27, Amir E. Aharoni wrote:
I don't remember such a... stately location since Library of Congress 
2012

(though I didn't attend the recent Princess of Asturias event).
בתאריך 25 בנוב׳ 2015 13:28,‏ "Romaine Wiki"  
כתב:




The location was nice indeed as expected, the ceremony was great (kudos 
to Phoebe, Lodewijk and Adele for the speeches), and it was fun to see 
dozens of Wikimedians in suits and ties. I still have no idea what share 
of the audience they were.


Cheers
Yaroslav

___
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, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Free Bassel

[Sam Klein]

Back at my computer:  I checked w/ Jon Phillips and folks at newpalmyra and
freebassel.org & pointed them to the Meta talk page.   It sounded from a
quick chat as though they had something planned this week, but the real
question is how could a campaign like this be best directed if it was
carried out.  I asked them to share their thoughts on what timing would be
most effective.

Gerard and I also met today a representative from Amnesty Nederland
(Amnesty was one of the previous recipients of the Erasmus Prize). They
confirmed that they've had good results by inviting people to flood the
phone lines of Embassies, and noted that for Syria many countries may not
have a dedicated embassy; but supporters can still call or write an embassy
in a neighboring country.

SJ

On Wed, Nov 25, 2015 at 8:58 PM, phoebe ayers  wrote:

> Has there been a discussion of timing for this? SJ (who is offline right
> now) just mentioned that the Free Bassel group may be planning a focused
> outreach push tomorrow through Friday. Let's coordinate with them if
> possible.
> On Nov 25, 2015 11:21 AM, "Gerard Meijssen" 
> wrote:
>
> > Hoi,
> > I have looked at the article. It does not have the necessary urgency. He
> is
> > likely to have been sentenced to death and the article reads like a
> > Wikipedia article. This is Meta, it is not Wikipedia and it needs
> urgency.
> > We appeal to the world to get involved to let his death not happen. That
> is
> > imho what the message needs to be.
> > Thanks,
> >  GerardM
> >
> > On 25 November 2015 at 02:57, Asaf Bartov  wrote:
> >
> > > FYI: User:Odder has now created [[m:Free Bassel
> > > ]], as a landing page to
> > link
> > > from the banner.
> > >
> > > If anyone would like to help with a design for the banner (I concede
> not
> > > everyone shares my taste for 10pt-black-on-white text), we would be
> able
> > to
> > > move ahead.  There is, so far, nothing but support.
> > >
> > >A.
> > >
> > > On Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 10:57 AM, Katherine Maher <
> kma...@wikimedia.org>
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hi everyone,
> > > >
> > > > Thank you for raising this issue here on this list. I wanted to share
> > > some
> > > > more information about how we’ve been working to support Bassel to
> this
> > > > point, in public and behind the scenes. Unfortunately, some efforts
> are
> > > > sensitive, so can’t be shared in full on public mailing lists. But
> > we’re
> > > > committed to supporting next steps or decisions by the community, and
> > > > keeping you updated going forward.
> > > >
> > > > Working with some other colleagues at the Foundation, we have been
> > > tracking
> > > > Bassel's case for some time now, in direct contact with the
> organizers
> > of
> > > > the #FreeBassel campaign  [1], and Bassel's
> > > family.
> > > > The actions we have taken to date have been in coordination and
> > approval
> > > > with the #FreeBassel campaign, including:
> > > >
> > > >- Coordination and communication with related organizations, such
> as
> > > the
> > > >Electronic Frontier Foundation and Amnesty International.
> (ongoing)
> > > >- Regular contact and updates with senior human rights officials
> at
> > > the
> > > >U.S. State Department. (ongoing)
> > > >- Outreach to the press around Bassel’s arbitrary detention and
> > > >contributions to the free knowledge movement. Please see this
> WIRED
> > > > story, “A
> > > >Jailed Activist’s 3-D Models Could Save Syria’s History From ISIS
> > > ><
> > > >
> > >
> >
> http://www.wired.com/2015/10/jailed-activist-bassel-khartabil-3d-models-could-save-syrian-history-from-isis/
> > > > >.”
> > > >[2] (Although we did reach out to WIRED, we cannot say for certain
> > if
> > > > that
> > > >story was the direct result of our efforts or others within the
> > > > #FreeBassel
> > > >coordination community). (10/21)
> > > >- Raising Bassel’s case in public speaking opportunities,
> including
> > > >Lila’s keynote to the Creative Commons Summit. (10/15)
> > > >- Blog post #FREEBASSEL: Free culture advocate who built 3D
> > renderings
> > > >of Palmyra missing in Syria
> > > >
> [3].
> > > >(10/08)
> > > >- Ongoing participation in #FreeBassel social media campaigns on
> > > >Facebook and Twitter.
> > > >
> > > > Bassel is in a situation known as arbitrary detention
> > > > <
> > > >
> > >
> >
> http://en.alkarama.org/1763-syria-un-calls-for-the-release-of-freedom-of-speech-advocate-bassel-khartabil
> > > > >
> > > > [4]. Arbitrary detentions are characterized by uncertainty, lack of
> > > > information, and volatility. They’re scary because we don’t know
> what’s
> > > > happening, and often we are making decisions without a lot of
> > > information.
> > > > Our goal is always to support Bassel to make sure our efforts help
> him
> > > > without putti

Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] FDC recommendations for 2015-2016 Round 1 APG grant requests

[Dariusz Jemielniak]

On Wed, Nov 25, 2015 at 2:37 PM, MZMcBride  wrote:

> Is it accurate to say that all large Wikimedia affiliates go through the
> Funds Dissemination Committee except the Wikimedia Foundation?


Somewhat, yes. The process for community consultations and feedback is in
the works, but essentially WMF currently does not undergo the same kind of
application as the affiliates. One of the reasons for this is the size of
WMF: its huge budget makes it a much more time-consuming and
expertise-demanding endeavor to evaluate it, and the FDC is composed of
volunteers (believe me, I chaired the FDC for three terms, and just
handling the two rounds is lots of work). A separate round would make it
easier, and yet it would require three sessions per year, so it would
further decrease the poll of available candidates for the FDC,

Even with WMDE the analysis is really a challenge, and their budget is
significantly smaller than that of WMF - and the quality of feedback and
evaluation from the FDC is of highest importance.  With budgets this size
it is a somewhat different set of skills and experience that is needed than
at the level of organizations with budgets roughly 100 times smaller.




> Or from a
> different angle: how is the Wikimedia Foundation budget allocated? Does
> the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees currently do its own direct
> allocation, bypassing the FDC?
>

I hope you realize that the Board has decided to set up the FDC as an
advisory body :) The FDC is making recommendations to the Board, it is the
Board that makes the allocations. As of know, the Board has not decided to
cede the WMF's initial review to the FDC, and it approves the budget by
itself.

In my personal opinion (which I often voiced during my tenure at the FDC,
and which I uphold as a Board member now) it would be reasonable, useful
and justified to have some parts of the WMF's budget undergo the FDC
process. The WMF's executive team is also generally supportive of this idea
and it is my understanding, that the conversation on how to make it happen
most effectively is ongoing. We basically need to find a sensible way to do
it, to make the best use of the FDC's, staff's, and the Board's time and
skills, for the optimal outcome.

However, I want to emphasize that even if just for symbolic reasons it is
important that the WMF serves as a paragon for other organizations in our
movement.

TL;DR: I personally would love to make it happen, but I also think it is
imperative to make it right.

Dariusz Jemielniak "pundit"
___
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, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] FDC recommendations for 2015-2016 Round 1 APG grant requests

[MZMcBride]

I should have said this earlier: a big thank you to everyone who worked on
this funding round. From reading the Meta-Wiki pages, it's easy to see
that there is a lot of data to process and audit and it requires a decent
amount of work to issue these important recommendations each round.

Michael Peel wrote:
>They are organisation-specific remarks. :-) The WMF did not apply to the
>FDC this round, hence why there are no amounts requested/allocated, or a
>proposal to link to. The FDC felt it necessary to include recommendations
>about the WMF anyway.

I may be showing my ignorance here, but I'm still confused. The Wikimedia
Foundation doesn't go through the Funds Dissemination Committee at all,
then? I see a note from the "2013-2014 round2" recommendations saying:

"For all future proposals, the FDC strongly emphasizes the need for a
complete proposal: the WMF should undergo similar procedures as other
entities in the movement."

Is it accurate to say that all large Wikimedia affiliates go through the
Funds Dissemination Committee except the Wikimedia Foundation? Or from a
different angle: how is the Wikimedia Foundation budget allocated? Does
the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees currently do its own direct
allocation, bypassing the FDC?

>It's worth noting that there are two meanings to the word 'project' here
>- there are the Wikimedia projects, and then there are projects run by
>the Wikimedia organisations (think of, e.g., GLAM or education projects).
>It's particularly the latter case that is most relevant to the FDC's
>work, and in this case Wikidata falls under both meanings.

Sure, there are many senses of the word project, but this doesn't seem to
answer the question asked. :-)  Wikimedia Deutschland : Wikidata ::
Wikimedia Foundation : Wikipedia, right? If one organization is expected
to separate out costs for its largest technical project, shouldn't the
other be as well?

MZMcBride



___
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, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Free Bassel

[phoebe ayers]

Has there been a discussion of timing for this? SJ (who is offline right
now) just mentioned that the Free Bassel group may be planning a focused
outreach push tomorrow through Friday. Let's coordinate with them if
possible.
On Nov 25, 2015 11:21 AM, "Gerard Meijssen" 
wrote:

> Hoi,
> I have looked at the article. It does not have the necessary urgency. He is
> likely to have been sentenced to death and the article reads like a
> Wikipedia article. This is Meta, it is not Wikipedia and it needs urgency.
> We appeal to the world to get involved to let his death not happen. That is
> imho what the message needs to be.
> Thanks,
>  GerardM
>
> On 25 November 2015 at 02:57, Asaf Bartov  wrote:
>
> > FYI: User:Odder has now created [[m:Free Bassel
> > ]], as a landing page to
> link
> > from the banner.
> >
> > If anyone would like to help with a design for the banner (I concede not
> > everyone shares my taste for 10pt-black-on-white text), we would be able
> to
> > move ahead.  There is, so far, nothing but support.
> >
> >A.
> >
> > On Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 10:57 AM, Katherine Maher 
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Hi everyone,
> > >
> > > Thank you for raising this issue here on this list. I wanted to share
> > some
> > > more information about how we’ve been working to support Bassel to this
> > > point, in public and behind the scenes. Unfortunately, some efforts are
> > > sensitive, so can’t be shared in full on public mailing lists. But
> we’re
> > > committed to supporting next steps or decisions by the community, and
> > > keeping you updated going forward.
> > >
> > > Working with some other colleagues at the Foundation, we have been
> > tracking
> > > Bassel's case for some time now, in direct contact with the organizers
> of
> > > the #FreeBassel campaign  [1], and Bassel's
> > family.
> > > The actions we have taken to date have been in coordination and
> approval
> > > with the #FreeBassel campaign, including:
> > >
> > >- Coordination and communication with related organizations, such as
> > the
> > >Electronic Frontier Foundation and Amnesty International. (ongoing)
> > >- Regular contact and updates with senior human rights officials at
> > the
> > >U.S. State Department. (ongoing)
> > >- Outreach to the press around Bassel’s arbitrary detention and
> > >contributions to the free knowledge movement. Please see this WIRED
> > > story, “A
> > >Jailed Activist’s 3-D Models Could Save Syria’s History From ISIS
> > ><
> > >
> >
> http://www.wired.com/2015/10/jailed-activist-bassel-khartabil-3d-models-could-save-syrian-history-from-isis/
> > > >.”
> > >[2] (Although we did reach out to WIRED, we cannot say for certain
> if
> > > that
> > >story was the direct result of our efforts or others within the
> > > #FreeBassel
> > >coordination community). (10/21)
> > >- Raising Bassel’s case in public speaking opportunities, including
> > >Lila’s keynote to the Creative Commons Summit. (10/15)
> > >- Blog post #FREEBASSEL: Free culture advocate who built 3D
> renderings
> > >of Palmyra missing in Syria
> > > [3].
> > >(10/08)
> > >- Ongoing participation in #FreeBassel social media campaigns on
> > >Facebook and Twitter.
> > >
> > > Bassel is in a situation known as arbitrary detention
> > > <
> > >
> >
> http://en.alkarama.org/1763-syria-un-calls-for-the-release-of-freedom-of-speech-advocate-bassel-khartabil
> > > >
> > > [4]. Arbitrary detentions are characterized by uncertainty, lack of
> > > information, and volatility. They’re scary because we don’t know what’s
> > > happening, and often we are making decisions without a lot of
> > information.
> > > Our goal is always to support Bassel to make sure our efforts help him
> > > without putting him at greater risk. So we’ve been working with
> > experienced
> > > human rights campaigners, including the #FreeBassel campaign, to
> > understand
> > > the best actions to take at different times over the past two months.
> > >
> > > We’ve been in touch with Bassel’s family, who would support continued
> > > efforts to raise awareness about Bassel’s situation through a note on
> > > Wikipedia if that should happen. We can also join action letters (like
> > this
> > > <
> > >
> >
> http://www.amnesty.nl/nieuwsportaal/pers/syria-fears-life-free-expression-advocate
> > > >
> > > [5]) where the community agrees it's appropriate. If the community
> > decides
> > > to move forward with an action, we are here to help. We are monitoring
> > the
> > > discussions and activity in
> > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Banner:Free_Bassel as a place where
> > > community consensus can form. Please let us know if there’s anything
> else
> > > we can do to support efforts to raise awareness for Bassel.
> > >
> > > Katherine
> > >
> > > [1] http://freebassel.org/
> > > [2]
> > 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] FDC recommendations for 2015-2016 Round 1 APG grant requests

[Michael Peel]

Hi MZMcBride,

> The Wikimedia Foundation has a section under "Organisation-specific
> remarks", but isn't included in the "Funding recommendations" chart and
> there's no amount requested, amount allocated, or proposal listed for the
> Wikimedia Foundation. Why is that?

They are organisation-specific remarks. :-) The WMF did not apply to the FDC 
this round, hence why there are no amounts requested/allocated, or a proposal 
to link to. The FDC felt it necessary to include recommendations about the WMF 
anyway.

> If Wikimedia Deutschland is required to separate out costs for Wikidata,
> does that mean that the Wikimedia Foundation is required to split out
> costs for Wikipedia and its other projects? I'd be quite curious to know
> how much money is being spent by the Wikimedia Foundation on Wiktionary or
> Wikinews or Wikiversity.

It's worth noting that there are two meanings to the word 'project' here - 
there are the Wikimedia projects, and then there are projects run by the 
Wikimedia organisations (think of, e.g., GLAM or education projects). It's 
particularly the latter case that is most relevant to the FDC's work, and in 
this case Wikidata falls under both meanings.

> The report includes this note:
>> The FDC is appalled by the closed way that the WMF has undertaken both
>> strategic and annual planning, and the WMF’s approach to budget
>> transparency (or lack thereof).
> 
> Sort of inline with the first question, but perhaps more direct: what
> power does the Funds Dissemination Committee have over the amount of donor
> money allocated toward the Wikimedia Foundation? Can the FDC only admonish
> the organization, but not actually withhold funds?


The FDC provides recommendations to the WMF Board, who then decide on them. The 
FDC doesn't handle funds directly, so in no case does it withhold, or spend, 
funds, instead it recommends doing so to the WMF Board.

Thanks,
Mike
___
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, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Just to be sure: this is the location

[Amir E. Aharoni]

I don't remember such a... stately location since Library of Congress 2012
(though I didn't attend the recent Princess of Asturias event).
בתאריך 25 בנוב׳ 2015 13:28,‏ "Romaine Wiki"  כתב:

> Hi all,
>
> As a large group of Wikipedians is going to gather in an unusual building
> today, hereby a photo so that everyone can find it. ;-)
>
>
> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Royal_Palace_on_the_Dam_of_Amsterdam_on_25_November_2015.jpg
>
> Romaine
> ___
> 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,
> 
___
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, 

[Wikimedia-l] Fw: Just say no to TPP

[Shlomi Fish]

Forwarding here from the Creative Commons distribution list. Please sign the
petition.

Regards,

Shlomi Fish

Begin forwarded message:

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 2015 12:08:27 -0600
From: "Creative Commons" 
To: Shlomi Fish 
Subject: Just say no to TPP


Creative Commons
After five years of secret negotiations between governments and corporate
lobbyists, the public has finally seen the text of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP), and the details are bad.

The provisions covering intellectual property directly threaten the public
interest and the commons. We believe the TPP should be rejected, and we need
everyone opposed to this attack on the commons to stand with us.

Add your name to oppose the TPP!


The TPP increases the term of copyright an additional 20 years for half of the
participating countries. This makes no sense. Copyright already lasts far
longer than is necessary—life of the author plus 50 years in most parts of the
world. 

And extending copyright has real costs. New Zealand estimates that lengthening
copyright will cost the public $55 million per year. In Canada, it could exceed
$100 million per year. 

The public is losing out when millions of creative works are kept locked up
under copyright instead of rising into the public domain, where they can be
used freely by anyone. 

It’s not too late to make your voice heard. The participating governments now
have to decide whether to ratify it.

We think the TPP should be rejected. Do you agree? 

Only a groundswell of opposition can stop the TPP, and it starts with your
signature and comments against the harmful TPP. Sign today!


To opt-out of any future mailings from Creative Commons, simply visit this URL:
https://donate.creativecommons.org/civicrm/mailing/optout?reset=1&jid=1822&qid=2228998&h=2b0292eac28a0a10

Creative Commons
PO Box 1866
Mountain View, CA
94042
United States


https://donate.creativecommons.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4096&qid=2228998
Contact CC at i...@creativecommons.org.

-- 
-
Shlomi Fish   http://www.shlomifish.org/
“So, who the hell is Qoheleth?” - http://shlom.in/qoheleth

Officer: Captain, there’s a new star system a few thousands of lightyears
away, and its sun has an irregular shape.
— http://www.shlomifish.org/humour/Star-Trek/We-the-Living-Dead/

Please reply to list if it's a mailing list post - http://shlom.in/reply .
___
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, 

[Wikimedia-l] Just to be sure: this is the location

[Romaine Wiki]

Hi all,

As a large group of Wikipedians is going to gather in an unusual building
today, hereby a photo so that everyone can find it. ;-)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Royal_Palace_on_the_Dam_of_Amsterdam_on_25_November_2015.jpg

Romaine
___
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, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Quality issues

[Gerard Meijssen]

Hoi,
To belabour the point, we do make errors, we will fail in expectations.
What we need is not complaining that the world is not perfect, we need to
have an approach that will improve our data and is inclusive. We need to be
more of a wiki.
Thanks,
 GerardM

On 25 November 2015 at 04:57, Gnangarra  wrote:

> this isnt about how or whats of Google its about ensuring that what we do
> is trustworthy
>
> On 25 November 2015 at 08:12, Andreas Kolbe  wrote:
>
> > On Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 11:26 PM, Leila Zia  wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > It's worth mentioning:
> > >
> > > Dominant search engines do not rely on one source of information to
> > surface
> > > results, they get information from many sources, weigh the responses
> they
> > > get based on the trust on the sources and many other factors, and
> > aggregate
> > > to find the best answer to be shown to the user.
> > >
> >
> >
> > Have you never seen Google display gross Wikipedia vandalism?[1][2] Cases
> > like that make it very clear that the Wikimedia content in question
> entered
> > Google directly, without human oversight or cross-checking against other
> > sources. What you describe sounds good, but it didn't happen.
> >
> > If even transient vandalism passes through (the Finnish vandalism was
> > reportedly deleted in Wikipedia within minutes), then so can more subtle
> > and long-lived errors and falsehoods.
> >
> > Similarly, Bing Satori's timeline is simply made up of verbatim Wikipedia
> > sentences containing a numerical year.
> >
> > We know far too little about how search engines import Wikipedia and
> > Wikidata content, and what proportion of content is checked and how.
> >
> >
> >
> > > I just used "chicken pox" as a search query in Google, I see an
> > information
> > > box on the right-hand-side of the page about the disease, and when I
> > click
> > > on Sources I get this page
> > > <
> > >
> >
> https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/2364942?p=medical_conditions&rd=1
> > > >
> > > ("See where we found the medical information") which shows all the
> > sources
> > > Google has used to retrieve information about chicken pox from, nothing
> > in
> > > that list starts with wiki. Of course, this is not the case for all
> > search
> > > queries, for some of them, Google still uses Wikipedia snippets.
> >
> >
> >
> > For medical queries, Google (rightly) prefers other sources, so those
> > queries are not presently affected.
> >
> > [1]
> >
> >
> https://www.seroundtable.com/google-world-series-cardinals-blunder-17587.html
> > [2]
> >
> >
> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_vandalism_in_Google_infobox_from_flagged_revisions_stabilized_article_25.2.2015.png
> > ___
> > 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,
> > 
> >
>
>
>
> --
> GN.
> President Wikimedia Australia
> WMAU: http://www.wikimedia.org.au/wiki/User:Gnangarra
> Photo Gallery: http://gnangarra.redbubble.com
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 
>
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Free Bassel

[Gerard Meijssen]

Hoi,
I have looked at the article. It does not have the necessary urgency. He is
likely to have been sentenced to death and the article reads like a
Wikipedia article. This is Meta, it is not Wikipedia and it needs urgency.
We appeal to the world to get involved to let his death not happen. That is
imho what the message needs to be.
Thanks,
 GerardM

On 25 November 2015 at 02:57, Asaf Bartov  wrote:

> FYI: User:Odder has now created [[m:Free Bassel
> ]], as a landing page to link
> from the banner.
>
> If anyone would like to help with a design for the banner (I concede not
> everyone shares my taste for 10pt-black-on-white text), we would be able to
> move ahead.  There is, so far, nothing but support.
>
>A.
>
> On Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 10:57 AM, Katherine Maher 
> wrote:
>
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > Thank you for raising this issue here on this list. I wanted to share
> some
> > more information about how we’ve been working to support Bassel to this
> > point, in public and behind the scenes. Unfortunately, some efforts are
> > sensitive, so can’t be shared in full on public mailing lists. But we’re
> > committed to supporting next steps or decisions by the community, and
> > keeping you updated going forward.
> >
> > Working with some other colleagues at the Foundation, we have been
> tracking
> > Bassel's case for some time now, in direct contact with the organizers of
> > the #FreeBassel campaign  [1], and Bassel's
> family.
> > The actions we have taken to date have been in coordination and approval
> > with the #FreeBassel campaign, including:
> >
> >- Coordination and communication with related organizations, such as
> the
> >Electronic Frontier Foundation and Amnesty International. (ongoing)
> >- Regular contact and updates with senior human rights officials at
> the
> >U.S. State Department. (ongoing)
> >- Outreach to the press around Bassel’s arbitrary detention and
> >contributions to the free knowledge movement. Please see this WIRED
> > story, “A
> >Jailed Activist’s 3-D Models Could Save Syria’s History From ISIS
> ><
> >
> http://www.wired.com/2015/10/jailed-activist-bassel-khartabil-3d-models-could-save-syrian-history-from-isis/
> > >.”
> >[2] (Although we did reach out to WIRED, we cannot say for certain if
> > that
> >story was the direct result of our efforts or others within the
> > #FreeBassel
> >coordination community). (10/21)
> >- Raising Bassel’s case in public speaking opportunities, including
> >Lila’s keynote to the Creative Commons Summit. (10/15)
> >- Blog post #FREEBASSEL: Free culture advocate who built 3D renderings
> >of Palmyra missing in Syria
> > [3].
> >(10/08)
> >- Ongoing participation in #FreeBassel social media campaigns on
> >Facebook and Twitter.
> >
> > Bassel is in a situation known as arbitrary detention
> > <
> >
> http://en.alkarama.org/1763-syria-un-calls-for-the-release-of-freedom-of-speech-advocate-bassel-khartabil
> > >
> > [4]. Arbitrary detentions are characterized by uncertainty, lack of
> > information, and volatility. They’re scary because we don’t know what’s
> > happening, and often we are making decisions without a lot of
> information.
> > Our goal is always to support Bassel to make sure our efforts help him
> > without putting him at greater risk. So we’ve been working with
> experienced
> > human rights campaigners, including the #FreeBassel campaign, to
> understand
> > the best actions to take at different times over the past two months.
> >
> > We’ve been in touch with Bassel’s family, who would support continued
> > efforts to raise awareness about Bassel’s situation through a note on
> > Wikipedia if that should happen. We can also join action letters (like
> this
> > <
> >
> http://www.amnesty.nl/nieuwsportaal/pers/syria-fears-life-free-expression-advocate
> > >
> > [5]) where the community agrees it's appropriate. If the community
> decides
> > to move forward with an action, we are here to help. We are monitoring
> the
> > discussions and activity in
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Banner:Free_Bassel as a place where
> > community consensus can form. Please let us know if there’s anything else
> > we can do to support efforts to raise awareness for Bassel.
> >
> > Katherine
> >
> > [1] http://freebassel.org/
> > [2]
> >
> >
> http://www.wired.com/2015/10/jailed-activist-bassel-khartabil-3d-models-could-save-syrian-history-from-isis/
> > [3] https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/10/08/bassel-missing-syria/
> > [4]
> >
> >
> http://en.alkarama.org/1763-syria-un-calls-for-the-release-of-freedom-of-speech-advocate-bassel-khartabil
> > [5]
> >
> >
> http://www.amnesty.nl/nieuwsportaal/pers/syria-fears-life-free-expression-advocate
> >
> > On Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 7:38 AM, Daniel Mietchen <
> > daniel.mietc...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Free Bassel

[Andrea Zanni]

Thanks Katherine for this mail,
it gives a lot of context and details, and also thanks for the difficult
work the WMF is doing.

Is the opinion of more experienced NGOs and activists that a dedicated
banner/ribbon/logo would be a good idea?
We all think that is an enormous power that we have as a community, so we
should use it carefully.
But is the most powerful weapon we have (well, second only to a Wikipedia
strike).

Again, thanks for your efforts.

Aubrey

On Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 7:57 PM, Katherine Maher 
wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> Thank you for raising this issue here on this list. I wanted to share some
> more information about how we’ve been working to support Bassel to this
> point, in public and behind the scenes. Unfortunately, some efforts are
> sensitive, so can’t be shared in full on public mailing lists. But we’re
> committed to supporting next steps or decisions by the community, and
> keeping you updated going forward.
>
> Working with some other colleagues at the Foundation, we have been tracking
> Bassel's case for some time now, in direct contact with the organizers of
> the #FreeBassel campaign  [1], and Bassel's family.
> The actions we have taken to date have been in coordination and approval
> with the #FreeBassel campaign, including:
>
>- Coordination and communication with related organizations, such as the
>Electronic Frontier Foundation and Amnesty International. (ongoing)
>- Regular contact and updates with senior human rights officials at the
>U.S. State Department. (ongoing)
>- Outreach to the press around Bassel’s arbitrary detention and
>contributions to the free knowledge movement. Please see this WIRED
> story, “A
>Jailed Activist’s 3-D Models Could Save Syria’s History From ISIS
><
> http://www.wired.com/2015/10/jailed-activist-bassel-khartabil-3d-models-could-save-syrian-history-from-isis/
> >.”
>[2] (Although we did reach out to WIRED, we cannot say for certain if
> that
>story was the direct result of our efforts or others within the
> #FreeBassel
>coordination community). (10/21)
>- Raising Bassel’s case in public speaking opportunities, including
>Lila’s keynote to the Creative Commons Summit. (10/15)
>- Blog post #FREEBASSEL: Free culture advocate who built 3D renderings
>of Palmyra missing in Syria
> [3].
>(10/08)
>- Ongoing participation in #FreeBassel social media campaigns on
>Facebook and Twitter.
>
> Bassel is in a situation known as arbitrary detention
> <
> http://en.alkarama.org/1763-syria-un-calls-for-the-release-of-freedom-of-speech-advocate-bassel-khartabil
> >
> [4]. Arbitrary detentions are characterized by uncertainty, lack of
> information, and volatility. They’re scary because we don’t know what’s
> happening, and often we are making decisions without a lot of information.
> Our goal is always to support Bassel to make sure our efforts help him
> without putting him at greater risk. So we’ve been working with experienced
> human rights campaigners, including the #FreeBassel campaign, to understand
> the best actions to take at different times over the past two months.
>
> We’ve been in touch with Bassel’s family, who would support continued
> efforts to raise awareness about Bassel’s situation through a note on
> Wikipedia if that should happen. We can also join action letters (like this
> <
> http://www.amnesty.nl/nieuwsportaal/pers/syria-fears-life-free-expression-advocate
> >
> [5]) where the community agrees it's appropriate. If the community decides
> to move forward with an action, we are here to help. We are monitoring the
> discussions and activity in
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Banner:Free_Bassel as a place where
> community consensus can form. Please let us know if there’s anything else
> we can do to support efforts to raise awareness for Bassel.
>
> Katherine
>
> [1] http://freebassel.org/
> [2]
>
> http://www.wired.com/2015/10/jailed-activist-bassel-khartabil-3d-models-could-save-syrian-history-from-isis/
> [3] https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/10/08/bassel-missing-syria/
> [4]
>
> http://en.alkarama.org/1763-syria-un-calls-for-the-release-of-freedom-of-speech-advocate-bassel-khartabil
> [5]
>
> http://www.amnesty.nl/nieuwsportaal/pers/syria-fears-life-free-expression-advocate
>
> On Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 7:38 AM, Daniel Mietchen <
> daniel.mietc...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> > Yes, a CentralNotice would seem appropriate here.
> > Please help flesh it out at
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Banner:Free_Bassel .
> >
> > Daniel
> >
> > On Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 3:38 PM, Gerard Meijssen
> >  wrote:
> > > Hoi,
> > > I have started a text..
> > > Thanks,
> > >  GerardM
> > >
> > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Banner:Free_Bassel
> > >
> > > On 24 November 2015 at 15:25, Pete Forsyth 
> > wrote:
> > >
> > >> +1
> > >> Gerard, or Andrea, or anybody who knows better than myself

Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] FDC recommendations for 2015-2016 Round 1 APG grant requests

[Andrea Zanni]

Il 25/nov/2015 05:01 "MZMcBride"  ha scritto:

> The Wikimedia Foundation has a section under "Organisation-specific
> remarks", but isn't included in the "Funding recommendations" chart and
> there's no amount requested, amount allocated, or proposal listed for the
> Wikimedia Foundation. Why is that?
>
> If Wikimedia Deutschland is required to separate out costs for Wikidata,
> does that mean that the Wikimedia Foundation is required to split out
> costs for Wikipedia and its other projects? I'd be quite curious to know
> how much money is being spent by the Wikimedia Foundation on Wiktionary or
> Wikinews or Wikiversity.
>
> I think this is a very good question. It would be very useful to know how
much the sister projects cost (in terms of energy, bandwidth). I'll add
that it would be useful to know how many donations come from theirs
banners.

I think I'm not mistaken to assume that there is no other cost involved (as
there is no software development for any of them).
Aubrey


> ___
> 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,
> 
___
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, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] FDC recommendations for 2015-2016 Round 1 APG grant requests

[Pine W]

Not speaking for Anne here, but in general I think all Wikimedia
movement-funded compensation should be published. This is already done in a
number of Wikimedia grant proposals, and I believe that almost all
government agencies in the U.S. are required to provide extensive data
about their use of tax money which includes salaries and pensions for
individual employees. I think this kind of transparency is appropriate.

Pine

On Wed, Nov 25, 2015 at 12:18 AM, rupert THURNER 
wrote:

> Anne, do you imagine to publish income per person that way?
> On Nov 25, 2015 04:53, "Risker"  wrote:
>
> > Thank you, Nikki.  Yes, about 70% of the costs were broken down, more or
> > less.  But almost 30% - totalling over US$635,000 - is undifferentiated
> > "floating capacity" and "administrative costs".  Those two amounts, which
> > are not broken down by program, total more than any other Wikimedia
> > movement entity except WMDE has received in the past three rounds.
> >
> > User:Risker - FDC member
> >
> >
> >
> > On 24 November 2015 at 10:13, Nicola Zeuner 
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Dear Risker, Gerard et al.,
> > >
> > > Just a quick correction:
> > >
> > > WMDE did indeed provide a detailed cost breakdown for Wikidata costs as
> > > well as other software development costs, down to the activity level,
> in
> > > table 6b, in the financial section
> > > <
> > >
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/Proposals/2015-2016_round1/Wikimedia_Deutschland_e.V./Proposal_form#Financials:_upcoming_year.27s_annual_plan
> > > >
> > > of
> > > the WMDE proposal.
> > >
> > > When first FDC member Risker
> > > <
> > >
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants_talk:APG/Proposals/2015-2016_round1/Wikimedia_Deutschland_e.V./Proposal_form#Questions_from_Risker
> > > >
> > >  and then FDC staff
> > > <
> > >
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants_talk:APG/Proposals/2015-2016_round1/Wikimedia_Deutschland_e.V./Proposal_form#budget_.26_finances
> > > >
> > > asked
> > > about a separation of costs, our response referred them to table 6b,
> and
> > > clarified that the first *eight* line items cover core Wikidata
> > development
> > > work (the remaining five items cover closely related development and
> > > community activities that support Wikidata).
> > >
> > > Hope this helps to inform this discussion.
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > > Nikki Zeuner (WMDE)
> > >
> > >
> > > Nikki Zeuner
> > > Partnerships and Development
> > > Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
> > > Tel. (030) 219 158 260
> > > Mobil: 0172 547 1261
> > > US: 1 (520) 743-6801
> > > www.wikimedia.de
> > >
> > > Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
> > > Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
> > > http://spenden.wikimedia.de/
> > >
> > > Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
> > > Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg
> > unter
> > > der Nummer 23855 Nz. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
> > > Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
> > > 
> > >
> > > 2015-11-24 14:47 GMT+01:00 Risker :
> > >
> > > > Hello Gerard -
> > > >
> > > > The recommended grant for Wikimedia Deutschland is larger than ever,
> > and
> > > > represents a 42% increase from last year's grant.  This is a massive
> > > > increase.  Please don't confuse the fact that WMDE did not get
> > everything
> > > > it wanted with whether or not Wikidata is underfunded.  Remember, the
> > > > request was not just for Wikidata funding, and despite many attempts
> by
> > > the
> > > > FDC to get precise data on the actual planned expenses for Wikidata,
> > the
> > > > committee was not provided with this information.  While the funds
> > > provided
> > > > are restricted (in that they can only be spent on the projects WMDE
> > > applied
> > > > for), WMDE can spend the entire amount on Wikidata if it wants to.
> > > Perhaps
> > > > that is where you might want to turn your attention.
> > > >
> > > > User:Risker - FDC member
> > > >
> > > > On 24 November 2015 at 04:02, Gerard Meijssen <
> > gerard.meijs...@gmail.com
> > > >
> > > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Hoi,
> > > > > So in essence one of the most relevant development project -
> > Wikidata -
> > > > > that is arguably already underfunded will be even more underfunded
> > and
> > > we
> > > > > have to say thank you for doing a good job? Ok.. I thank Wikimedia
> > > > Germany
> > > > > for doing a stellar job. It is an acknowledged source for
> inspiration
> > > > and I
> > > > > have been really happy in all the contacts that I have had with
> them
> > > over
> > > > > the years.
> > > > >
> > > > > It is not up to me to doubt the sincere efforts of the FDC but I am
> > > > > saddened that while WMF has more cash than that it can spend
> > important
> > > > work
> > > > > is curtailed .. for what? Other development projects are not
> treated
> > in
> > > > > this way a

Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] FDC recommendations for 2015-2016 Round 1 APG grant requests

[Chris Keating]

On 25 Nov 2015 03:53, "Risker"  wrote:
>
> Thank you, Nikki.  Yes, about 70% of the costs were broken down, more or
> less.  But almost 30% - totalling over US$635,000 - is undifferentiated
> "floating capacity" and "administrative costs".  Those two amounts, which
> are not broken down by program, total more than any other Wikimedia
> movement entity except WMDE has received in the past three rounds.

I think "WMDE did not attempt to attribute overheads to programme costs" is
a very different statement to "WMDE did not provide details of how much
Wikidata costs".






>
> User:Risker - FDC member
>
>
>
> On 24 November 2015 at 10:13, Nicola Zeuner 
> wrote:
>
> > Dear Risker, Gerard et al.,
> >
> > Just a quick correction:
> >
> > WMDE did indeed provide a detailed cost breakdown for Wikidata costs as
> > well as other software development costs, down to the activity level, in
> > table 6b, in the financial section
> > <
> >
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/Proposals/2015-2016_round1/Wikimedia_Deutschland_e.V./Proposal_form#Financials:_upcoming_year.27s_annual_plan
> > >
> > of
> > the WMDE proposal.
> >
> > When first FDC member Risker
> > <
> >
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants_talk:APG/Proposals/2015-2016_round1/Wikimedia_Deutschland_e.V./Proposal_form#Questions_from_Risker
> > >
> >  and then FDC staff
> > <
> >
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants_talk:APG/Proposals/2015-2016_round1/Wikimedia_Deutschland_e.V./Proposal_form#budget_.26_finances
> > >
> > asked
> > about a separation of costs, our response referred them to table 6b, and
> > clarified that the first *eight* line items cover core Wikidata
development
> > work (the remaining five items cover closely related development and
> > community activities that support Wikidata).
> >
> > Hope this helps to inform this discussion.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Nikki Zeuner (WMDE)
> >
> >
> > Nikki Zeuner
> > Partnerships and Development
> > Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
> > Tel. (030) 219 158 260
> > Mobil: 0172 547 1261
> > US: 1 (520) 743-6801
> > www.wikimedia.de
> >
> > Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
> > Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
> > http://spenden.wikimedia.de/
> >
> > Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
> > Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg
unter
> > der Nummer 23855 Nz. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
> > Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
> > 
> >
> > 2015-11-24 14:47 GMT+01:00 Risker :
> >
> > > Hello Gerard -
> > >
> > > The recommended grant for Wikimedia Deutschland is larger than ever,
and
> > > represents a 42% increase from last year's grant.  This is a massive
> > > increase.  Please don't confuse the fact that WMDE did not get
everything
> > > it wanted with whether or not Wikidata is underfunded.  Remember, the
> > > request was not just for Wikidata funding, and despite many attempts
by
> > the
> > > FDC to get precise data on the actual planned expenses for Wikidata,
the
> > > committee was not provided with this information.  While the funds
> > provided
> > > are restricted (in that they can only be spent on the projects WMDE
> > applied
> > > for), WMDE can spend the entire amount on Wikidata if it wants to.
> > Perhaps
> > > that is where you might want to turn your attention.
> > >
> > > User:Risker - FDC member
> > >
> > > On 24 November 2015 at 04:02, Gerard Meijssen <
gerard.meijs...@gmail.com
> > >
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hoi,
> > > > So in essence one of the most relevant development project -
Wikidata -
> > > > that is arguably already underfunded will be even more underfunded
and
> > we
> > > > have to say thank you for doing a good job? Ok.. I thank Wikimedia
> > > Germany
> > > > for doing a stellar job. It is an acknowledged source for
inspiration
> > > and I
> > > > have been really happy in all the contacts that I have had with them
> > over
> > > > the years.
> > > >
> > > > It is not up to me to doubt the sincere efforts of the FDC but I am
> > > > saddened that while WMF has more cash than that it can spend
important
> > > work
> > > > is curtailed .. for what? Other development projects are not
treated in
> > > > this way and a great opportunity to do even more is missed as a
result.
> > > >
> > > > Thanks,
> > > >  GerardM
> > > >
> > > > On 24 November 2015 at 03:04, Pine W  wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Thank you FDC.
> > > > >
> > > > > Many of the small and midsized APG requests fared well in this
round.
> > > > That
> > > > > is nice to see.
> > > > >
> > > > > I find it concerning that the larger the organization, the more
> > > problems
> > > > > the FDC  seemed to find with the org's budget and performance
> > > management
> > > > > practices. One would expect the larger organizations to have
mature
> > and
> > > > > robust practices in these areas. Regarding WMF 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] FDC recommendations for 2015-2016 Round 1 APG grant requests

[rupert THURNER]

Anne, do you imagine to publish income per person that way?
On Nov 25, 2015 04:53, "Risker"  wrote:

> Thank you, Nikki.  Yes, about 70% of the costs were broken down, more or
> less.  But almost 30% - totalling over US$635,000 - is undifferentiated
> "floating capacity" and "administrative costs".  Those two amounts, which
> are not broken down by program, total more than any other Wikimedia
> movement entity except WMDE has received in the past three rounds.
>
> User:Risker - FDC member
>
>
>
> On 24 November 2015 at 10:13, Nicola Zeuner 
> wrote:
>
> > Dear Risker, Gerard et al.,
> >
> > Just a quick correction:
> >
> > WMDE did indeed provide a detailed cost breakdown for Wikidata costs as
> > well as other software development costs, down to the activity level, in
> > table 6b, in the financial section
> > <
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/Proposals/2015-2016_round1/Wikimedia_Deutschland_e.V./Proposal_form#Financials:_upcoming_year.27s_annual_plan
> > >
> > of
> > the WMDE proposal.
> >
> > When first FDC member Risker
> > <
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants_talk:APG/Proposals/2015-2016_round1/Wikimedia_Deutschland_e.V./Proposal_form#Questions_from_Risker
> > >
> >  and then FDC staff
> > <
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants_talk:APG/Proposals/2015-2016_round1/Wikimedia_Deutschland_e.V./Proposal_form#budget_.26_finances
> > >
> > asked
> > about a separation of costs, our response referred them to table 6b, and
> > clarified that the first *eight* line items cover core Wikidata
> development
> > work (the remaining five items cover closely related development and
> > community activities that support Wikidata).
> >
> > Hope this helps to inform this discussion.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Nikki Zeuner (WMDE)
> >
> >
> > Nikki Zeuner
> > Partnerships and Development
> > Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
> > Tel. (030) 219 158 260
> > Mobil: 0172 547 1261
> > US: 1 (520) 743-6801
> > www.wikimedia.de
> >
> > Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
> > Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
> > http://spenden.wikimedia.de/
> >
> > Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
> > Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg
> unter
> > der Nummer 23855 Nz. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
> > Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
> > 
> >
> > 2015-11-24 14:47 GMT+01:00 Risker :
> >
> > > Hello Gerard -
> > >
> > > The recommended grant for Wikimedia Deutschland is larger than ever,
> and
> > > represents a 42% increase from last year's grant.  This is a massive
> > > increase.  Please don't confuse the fact that WMDE did not get
> everything
> > > it wanted with whether or not Wikidata is underfunded.  Remember, the
> > > request was not just for Wikidata funding, and despite many attempts by
> > the
> > > FDC to get precise data on the actual planned expenses for Wikidata,
> the
> > > committee was not provided with this information.  While the funds
> > provided
> > > are restricted (in that they can only be spent on the projects WMDE
> > applied
> > > for), WMDE can spend the entire amount on Wikidata if it wants to.
> > Perhaps
> > > that is where you might want to turn your attention.
> > >
> > > User:Risker - FDC member
> > >
> > > On 24 November 2015 at 04:02, Gerard Meijssen <
> gerard.meijs...@gmail.com
> > >
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hoi,
> > > > So in essence one of the most relevant development project -
> Wikidata -
> > > > that is arguably already underfunded will be even more underfunded
> and
> > we
> > > > have to say thank you for doing a good job? Ok.. I thank Wikimedia
> > > Germany
> > > > for doing a stellar job. It is an acknowledged source for inspiration
> > > and I
> > > > have been really happy in all the contacts that I have had with them
> > over
> > > > the years.
> > > >
> > > > It is not up to me to doubt the sincere efforts of the FDC but I am
> > > > saddened that while WMF has more cash than that it can spend
> important
> > > work
> > > > is curtailed .. for what? Other development projects are not treated
> in
> > > > this way and a great opportunity to do even more is missed as a
> result.
> > > >
> > > > Thanks,
> > > >  GerardM
> > > >
> > > > On 24 November 2015 at 03:04, Pine W  wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Thank you FDC.
> > > > >
> > > > > Many of the small and midsized APG requests fared well in this
> round.
> > > > That
> > > > > is nice to see.
> > > > >
> > > > > I find it concerning that the larger the organization, the more
> > > problems
> > > > > the FDC  seemed to find with the org's budget and performance
> > > management
> > > > > practices. One would expect the larger organizations to have mature
> > and
> > > > > robust practices in these areas. Regarding WMF in particular, my
> > > concerns
> > > > > about its budget practices are well doc