[Wikimedia-l] Re: AffCom Statement on Wikimedia Slovakia vs KuboF

2021-10-28 Thread Matej Grochal 
Dear Mehman

thank you for this message.
Best wishes to everyone.

Matej Grochal

On Thu, Oct 28, 2021 at 9:34 PM Mehman Ibragimov 
wrote:

> Hello Everyone,
>
> AffCom is disappointed by the recent allegations surrounding the
> Wikimedians of Slovakia (WMSVK) User Group, and the personal attacks
> against Manavpreet Kaur, a full-time contributor to the movement both
> professionally and personally.
>
> While it is not our practice to comment on matters before the Conflict
> Intervention sub-committee, out of respect for the privacy of the parties,
> in the interests of transparency, we believe it is necessary to respond to
> the recent emails posted to this list. AffCom has been engaging with Michal
> Matúšov and the Wikimedians of Slovakia User Group since May 2020. The
> dispute in question arose from a section of the 2018 Wikimedians of
> Slovakia annual report.
>
> In order to understand what happened and to determine the best course of
> action, AffCom met the User Group representatives and Michal Matúšov
> separately. After the meetings, AffCom reviewed the information and
> documentation to identify the issues and offer ways to remedy the
> questioned section in the 2018 report.
>
> To reach a consensus with the parties, AffCom explored ways that the User
> Group could voluntarily remove the disputed material. The best option was
> for Michal Matúšov to provide receipts of the disputed section for the User
> Group to review, and consequently use as supporting evidence to facilitate
> the removal of the disputed section. AffCom took this route because it
> lacks the mandate and the ability to demand the removal of content from
> User Group reports.
>
> Despite several requests, over several months, Michal Matúšov has been
> unable to provide the receipts. Instead, he requested AffCom to derecognize
> the Wikimedians of Slovakia User Group and to notify him in advance so that
> he could step in and save the group. Towards this demand, AffCom clarified,
> and still continues to clarify, that there are no specified bylaws or
> governance guidelines for User Group affiliates. This is because User
> Groups are the simplest affiliate model with no requirements for regional
> non-profit status, Board or bylaws. This structure allows groups to
> function as recognized bodies. Therefore, evaluating performance on
> unspecified standards would be unfair.
>
> It is important to note that AffCom can review implementation of bylaws if
> they have been approved by the committee. In this case, as the bylaws are
> not a mandate, they were never reviewed or approved, and as a result,
> AffCom cannot undertake office action on the grounds of bylaw violation.
>
> While we empathize with all the parties involved, we are highly concerned
> at the way this matter has been addressed in a public forum. This is
> especially so because we have clarified, to all parties, the formal route
> and redress options available. We are also extremely concerned by the
> extent of bullying that has occurred, across a number of forums. While we
> may have different views, we should strive to respect and treat one another
> with dignity and decency.
>
> As we continue to explore ways on how best we can resolve this impasse,
> AffCom wishes to request all parties to assume good faith in these
> discussions (in public and private). Our next step will be to retry
> mediation to determine the best outcome.
>
> Finally, Michal Matúšov has been the primary applicant for the User Group
> Esperanto to become a Thematic Organisation. As the conflict with WMSVK
> escalated through 2021, we made the decision mid-year to pause that
> application to try to keep Esperanto out of the WMSVK conflict. Affiliates
> involved in conflict mediation need to trust in confidentiality through the
> process. We notified Michal Matúšov, not the wider Esperanto community,
> because he was the primary applicant with whom we had been corresponding.
> We recognized that this was not fair on the Esperanto community and have
> since suggested that, until the conflict between WMSV and Michal Matúšov
> is resolved, another member of Esperanto User Group takes over the
> application to move it forward. Any further discussions on this matter will
> only be attended on official AffCom channels.
>
> In the meantime, we would like to offer our sincerest apologies to
> Manavpreet Kaur, Matej Grochal and all of those affected or upset by these
> accusations and discussions.
>
>
> *Kindly,---*
>
>
>
> *Mehman Ibragimov*
> *Vice-Chair*
>
>
> *Affiliations Committee
> *
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines
> at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
> Public archives at
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/message/52ILB24QSJLY2HQXSDWP

[Wikimedia-l] Re: What happened to the cc-by-sa-4.0 initiative?

2021-10-28 Thread Luis Villa 
On Thu, Oct 28, 2021 at 10:33 AM Luis Villa  wrote:

> On Thu, Oct 28, 2021 at 10:03 AM Todd Allen  wrote:
>
>> Certainly, any "database rights" should already be considered waived by
>> the CC license ...
>>
>
> No.
>
> All from CC BY-SA 4.0:
>
> 1.d:* "Copyright and Similar Rights* means copyright and/or similar
> rights closely related to copyright including ... Sui Generis Database
> Rights ...
> 1.h: *Licensed Material* means the ... database ... to which the Licensor
> applied this Public License.
> 1.l: *Sui Generis Database Rights* means rights other than copyright
> resulting from Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the
> Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases, as amended
> and/or succeeded, as well as other essentially equivalent rights anywhere
> in the world.
>
> *Section 4 – Sui Generis Database Rights.*
>
> Where the Licensed Rights include Sui Generis Database Rights that apply
> to Your use of the Licensed Material:
>
>1. for the avoidance of doubt, Section 2(a)(1)
> grants
>You the right to extract, reuse, reproduce, and Share all or a substantial
>portion of the contents of the database;
>2. if You include all or a substantial portion of the database
>contents in a database in which You have Sui Generis Database Rights, then
>the database in which You have Sui Generis Database Rights (but not its
>individual contents) is Adapted Material, including for purposes of Section
>3(b) ;
>and
>3. You must comply with the conditions in Section 3(a)
> if You
>Share all or a substantial portion of the contents of the database.
>
> For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 4
>  supplements
> and does not replace Your obligations under this Public License where the
> Licensed Rights include other Copyright and Similar Rights.
>

And to be clear, I think this was a mistake and told CC that at the time;
the basics of why I feel that way I collected a year or so later as
https://lu.is/blog/2016/09/12/copyleft-and-data-database-law-as-poor-platform/
and some subsequent posts. But 4.0 is what it is - an attempt to shoehorn
database rights into a copyright license.

Luis
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[Wikimedia-l] AffCom Statement on Wikimedia Slovakia vs KuboF

2021-10-28 Thread Mehman Ibragimov 
Hello Everyone,

AffCom is disappointed by the recent allegations surrounding the
Wikimedians of Slovakia (WMSVK) User Group, and the personal attacks
against Manavpreet Kaur, a full-time contributor to the movement both
professionally and personally.

While it is not our practice to comment on matters before the Conflict
Intervention sub-committee, out of respect for the privacy of the parties,
in the interests of transparency, we believe it is necessary to respond to
the recent emails posted to this list. AffCom has been engaging with Michal
Matúšov and the Wikimedians of Slovakia User Group since May 2020. The
dispute in question arose from a section of the 2018 Wikimedians of
Slovakia annual report.

In order to understand what happened and to determine the best course of
action, AffCom met the User Group representatives and Michal Matúšov
separately. After the meetings, AffCom reviewed the information and
documentation to identify the issues and offer ways to remedy the
questioned section in the 2018 report.

To reach a consensus with the parties, AffCom explored ways that the User
Group could voluntarily remove the disputed material. The best option was
for Michal Matúšov to provide receipts of the disputed section for the User
Group to review, and consequently use as supporting evidence to facilitate
the removal of the disputed section. AffCom took this route because it
lacks the mandate and the ability to demand the removal of content from
User Group reports.

Despite several requests, over several months, Michal Matúšov has been
unable to provide the receipts. Instead, he requested AffCom to derecognize
the Wikimedians of Slovakia User Group and to notify him in advance so that
he could step in and save the group. Towards this demand, AffCom clarified,
and still continues to clarify, that there are no specified bylaws or
governance guidelines for User Group affiliates. This is because User
Groups are the simplest affiliate model with no requirements for regional
non-profit status, Board or bylaws. This structure allows groups to
function as recognized bodies. Therefore, evaluating performance on
unspecified standards would be unfair.

It is important to note that AffCom can review implementation of bylaws if
they have been approved by the committee. In this case, as the bylaws are
not a mandate, they were never reviewed or approved, and as a result,
AffCom cannot undertake office action on the grounds of bylaw violation.

While we empathize with all the parties involved, we are highly concerned
at the way this matter has been addressed in a public forum. This is
especially so because we have clarified, to all parties, the formal route
and redress options available. We are also extremely concerned by the
extent of bullying that has occurred, across a number of forums. While we
may have different views, we should strive to respect and treat one another
with dignity and decency.

As we continue to explore ways on how best we can resolve this impasse,
AffCom wishes to request all parties to assume good faith in these
discussions (in public and private). Our next step will be to retry
mediation to determine the best outcome.

Finally, Michal Matúšov has been the primary applicant for the User Group
Esperanto to become a Thematic Organisation. As the conflict with WMSVK
escalated through 2021, we made the decision mid-year to pause that
application to try to keep Esperanto out of the WMSVK conflict. Affiliates
involved in conflict mediation need to trust in confidentiality through the
process. We notified Michal Matúšov, not the wider Esperanto community,
because he was the primary applicant with whom we had been corresponding.
We recognized that this was not fair on the Esperanto community and have
since suggested that, until the conflict between WMSV and Michal Matúšov is
resolved, another member of Esperanto User Group takes over the application
to move it forward. Any further discussions on this matter will only be
attended on official AffCom channels.

In the meantime, we would like to offer our sincerest apologies to
Manavpreet Kaur, Matej Grochal and all of those affected or upset by these
accusations and discussions.


*Kindly,---*



*Mehman Ibragimov*
*Vice-Chair*


*Affiliations Committee
*
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[Wikimedia-l] Re: What happened to the cc-by-sa-4.0 initiative?

2021-10-28 Thread Luis Villa 
On Thu, Oct 28, 2021 at 10:03 AM Todd Allen  wrote:

> Certainly, any "database rights" should already be considered waived by
> the CC license ...
>

No.

All from CC BY-SA 4.0:

1.d:* "Copyright and Similar Rights* means copyright and/or similar rights
closely related to copyright including ... Sui Generis Database Rights ...
1.h: *Licensed Material* means the ... database ... to which the Licensor
applied this Public License.
1.l: *Sui Generis Database Rights* means rights other than copyright
resulting from Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases, as amended
and/or succeeded, as well as other essentially equivalent rights anywhere
in the world.

*Section 4 – Sui Generis Database Rights.*

Where the Licensed Rights include Sui Generis Database Rights that apply to
Your use of the Licensed Material:

   1. for the avoidance of doubt, Section 2(a)(1)
    grants
   You the right to extract, reuse, reproduce, and Share all or a substantial
   portion of the contents of the database;
   2. if You include all or a substantial portion of the database contents
   in a database in which You have Sui Generis Database Rights, then the
   database in which You have Sui Generis Database Rights (but not its
   individual contents) is Adapted Material, including for purposes of Section
   3(b) ; and
   3. You must comply with the conditions in Section 3(a)
    if You
   Share all or a substantial portion of the contents of the database.

For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 4
 supplements
and does not replace Your obligations under this Public License where the
Licensed Rights include other Copyright and Similar Rights.
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[Wikimedia-l] Re: What happened to the cc-by-sa-4.0 initiative?

2021-10-28 Thread Todd Allen 
Certainly, any "database rights" should already be considered waived by the
CC license, so I fail to see the problem here.

Todd

On Wed, Oct 20, 2021 at 9:12 AM Strainu  wrote:

> Thank you Andreas, that was exactly what I was looking for. Everybody
> seems to agree there is more and more CC4 content out there, but
> apparently not enough to justify the investment. Hopefully the
> foundation will be able to provide more details and maybe a roadmap
> for the following fiscal year.
>
> Strainu
>
> P.S. I just hope that we're not pushing technical debt along with this
> project.
>
> În mie., 20 oct. 2021 la 17:26, Andreas Kolbe  a
> scris:
> >
> > The question about CC 4.0 was just answered in the "Conversation with
> the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees". This link will take you to the
> right place:
> >
> > https://youtu.be/Zpof5J6jjZ4?t=3738
> >
> > Database rights were mentioned in the answers, along with challenging,
> unforeseen technical requirements that would require more money, more
> effort and more technical development work to address than was originally
> anticipated. As a result, moving to 4.0 is not something the Foundation can
> commit to doing right now.
> >
> > The question came up because the UN is apparently close to adopting CC
> 4.0 for its content.
> >
> > Andreas
> >
> > On Thu, Sep 30, 2021 at 9:01 AM Andreas Kolbe 
> wrote:
> >>
> >> See also
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_use/Creative_Commons_4.0/Diff
> >>
> >> The proposed waiver of database rights that was to accompany the move
> from 3.0 to 4.0 was one of the sticking points, I believe. To quote:
> >>
> >> Where you own Sui Generis Database Rights covered by CC BY-SA 4.0, you
> waive these rights. As an example, this means facts you contribute to the
> projects may be reused freely without attribution.
> >>
> >> For further background see
> >>
> >>
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_use/Creative_Commons_4.0/Legal_note#Waiving_database_rights
> >>
> >> Andreas
> >>
> >> On Thursday, September 30, 2021, Strainu  wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Hi Isaac,
> >>>
> >>> See
> https://meta.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_use/Creative_Commons_4.0
> >>>
> >>> Strainu
> >>>
> >>> Pe joi, 30 septembrie 2021, Isaac Olatunde 
> a scris:
> >>> > Hi Strainu,
> >>> > I can't find the previous discussions.Could you please provide a
> link to the public consultations (or proposal) you mentioned to allow
> people on this list have a clear understanding of what was discussed?
> >>> > Best regards
> >>> > Isaac
> >>> > On Wed, 29 Sep 2021, 23:22 Strainu,  wrote:
> >>> >>
> >>> >> Hi,
> >>> >>
> >>> >> A few years ago there was a public consultation on moving the
> Wikimedia license to cc-by-sa-4.0 instead of 3.0. Now, obviously that never
> happened but I couldn't find the decision documented anywhere. Why was the
> proposal scrapped? Are there any plans to revisit this?
> >>> >>
> >>> >> Steainu ___
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[Wikimedia-l] Invitation to Wikimedia Research Office hours November 2, 2021

2021-10-28 Thread Emily Lescak 
Hi all,


Join the Research Team at the Wikimedia Foundation [1] for their monthly
Office hours this Tuesday, 2021-11-02, at 12:00-13:00 UTC (5am PT/8am
ET/1pm CET). Please note the time change! We are experimenting with our
Office hours schedules to make our sessions more globally welcoming.

To participate, join the video-call via this link [2]. There is no set
agenda - feel free to add your item to the list of topics in the etherpad
[3]. You are welcome to add questions / items to the etherpad in advance,
or when you arrive at the session. Even if you are unable to attend the
session, you can leave a question that we can address asynchronously. If
you do not have a specific agenda item, you are welcome to hang out and
enjoy the conversation. More detailed information (e.g. about how to
attend) can be found here [4].

Through these office hours, we aim to make ourselves more available to
answer research related questions that you as Wikimedia volunteer editors,
organizers, affiliates, staff, and researchers face in your projects and
initiatives. Here are some example cases we hope to be able to support you
with:

   -

   You have a specific research related question that you suspect you
   should be able to answer with the publicly available data and you don’t
   know how to find an answer for it, or you just need some more help with it.
   For example, how can I compute the ratio of anonymous to registered editors
   in my wiki?
   -

   You run into repetitive or very manual work as part of your Wikimedia
   contributions and you wish to find out if there are ways to use machines to
   improve your workflows. These types of conversations can sometimes be
   harder to find an answer for during an office hour. However, discussing
   them can help us understand your challenges better and we may find ways to
   work with each other to support you in addressing it in the future.
   -

   You want to learn what the Research team at the Wikimedia Foundation
   does and how we can potentially support you. Specifically for affiliates:
   if you are interested in building relationships with the academic
   institutions in your country, we would love to talk with you and learn
   more. We have a series of programs that aim to expand the network of
   Wikimedia researchers globally and we would love to collaborate with those
   of you interested more closely in this space.
   -

   You want to talk with us about one of our existing programs [5].


Hope to see many of you,
Emily on behalf of the WMF Research Team

[1] https://research.wikimedia.org

[2] https://meet.jit.si/WMF-Research-Office-Hours

[3] https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/Research-Analytics-Office-hours

[4] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Research/Office_hours

[5] https://research.wikimedia.org/projects.html


-- 
Emily Lescak (she / her)
Senior Research Community Officer
The Wikimedia Foundation
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