Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-26 Thread James Salsman
I have another question about that document:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal/Foundation_Policy_and_Political_Association_Guideline

In particular, I believe this part is out of date:

> Legislative Activities (Lobbying)
>
> At the federal level, there are serious restrictions on lobbying, including 
> “direct” and “grassroots” efforts:
>
> Direct lobbying consists of “attempts to influence a legislative body through 
> communication with a member or employee of a legislative body, or with a 
> government official who participates in formulating legislation.”
> Grassroots lobbying consists of “attempts to influence legislation by 
> attempting to affect the opinion of the public with respect to the 
> legislation and encouraging the audience to take action with respect to the 
> legislation. In either case, the communications must refer to and reflect a 
> view on the legislation.”

I believe there has since been case law from the Supreme Court
allowing nonprofits including advocacy organizations, churches, and
civic groups, to communicate with legislators and attempt to influence
public opinion. I note that the irs.gov links from those paragraphs
are now dead.

Please correct me if I am mistaken.



On Sat, Apr 25, 2020 at 11:19 AM James Salsman  wrote:
>
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal/Foundation_Policy_and_Political_Association_Guideline
>
> On Sat, Apr 25, 2020 at 8:45 AM Andy Mabbett  
> wrote:
> >
> > On Fri, 24 Apr 2020 at 07:27, Yair Rand  wrote:
> >
> > > Also importantly, the Foundation's Policy and Political Association
> > > Guideline, which was written by WMF Legal in the aftermath of SOPA
> >
> > Link, please.
> >
> > --
> > Andy Mabbett@pigsonthewing
> > http://pigsonthewing.org.uk
> >
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-25 Thread Andy Mabbett
On Sat, 25 Apr 2020 at 16:44, Andy Mabbett  wrote:
>
> On Fri, 24 Apr 2020 at 07:27, Yair Rand  wrote:
>
> > Also importantly, the Foundation's Policy and Political Association
> > Guideline, which was written by WMF Legal in the aftermath of SOPA
>
> Link, please.

A link has been provided, off-list:


https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal/Foundation_Policy_and_Political_Association_Guideline#Limited_Trademark_Endorsement

The top of that page has an FAQ, which includes:

   Is this guideline binding?

   No. Though we intend for this guideline to be our normal operating
   procedure, the Wikimedia Foundation reserves the right to take the
   best action as circumstances require. This guideline is not a contract
   or binding policy.

and the foot of the page has:

   WMF reserves the right to deviate from this policy depending on the
circumstances.
   The General Counsel must approve any such deviation.

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

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-25 Thread Andy Mabbett
On Fri, 24 Apr 2020 at 07:27, Yair Rand  wrote:

> Also importantly, the Foundation's Policy and Political Association
> Guideline, which was written by WMF Legal in the aftermath of SOPA

Link, please.

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

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-25 Thread John Erling Blad
Can everyone please calm down.
This is (nearly) only hyperbole.

Thank you.

/jeblad

On Thu, Apr 23, 2020 at 8:51 AM Fæ  wrote:

> OPEN LETTER
>
> Dear Katherine Maher,
>
> The WMF home website landing page (https://wikimediafoundation.org)
> yesterday featured a full-page banner directing all visitors globally
> to https://www.earthdaylive2020.org. This is a site used for Americal
> political lobbying, refer to the email discussion attached.
>
> Could you, or the responsible member of your management team, please
> explain exactly how this happened?
>
> There is zero doubt that this was a serious operational error, misuse
> of WMF development time and a misuse of the Wikimedia brand. It is
> certain that you will agree that the buck stops with the CEO. The
> decision to use the Foundation's website for American lobbying is in
> conflict with your not for profit status and is in conflict with the
> charitable status promoted to donors worldwide.
>
> If the management team and yourself are going to continuing political
> lobbying and using WMF resources to raise funds for Americal political
> organizations which have no agreed relevance to the mission of the
> Foundation, there must be a published transparent governance review by
> the WMF board of trustees to examine and agree on this significant
> operational change to the public Foundation strategy and the terms for
> the CEO.
>
> Thank you in advance.
>
> Link to Phabricator task to implement the banner:
> https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
> CC: María Sefidari as WMF Chair.
>
> Fae
>
> On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 05:50, K. Peachey  wrote:
> >
> > https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
> >
> > On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 09:53, Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l
> >  wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > It seems that they just gave a link to that website, which...eh...
> > > When I opened it, I heard one sentence of the stream before I stopped
> it
> > > and read the rest of the webpage: "and then we give thanks to spirit,
> for
> > > the air we breathe, for the earth..." After reading the rest of the
> > > webpage, I un-paused it, and am currently listening to a bit of
> propaganda
> > > promoting unions and more extensive labor laws.
> > >
> > > The linked website is explicitly political, explicitly  on the American
> > > left, and explicitly in favor of certain highly contentious American
> > > political proposals. I would like to hear the reasoning for why that
> link
> > > has been shown, and it seems to me simply unjustifiable. The WMF is the
> > > host of a series of community-built projects, not a political activism
> > > organization.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Vermont
> > >
> > > On Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 5:12 PM Ziko van Dijk 
> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hello,
> > > > I can confirm that I see the same also here in the Netherlands.
> Which is
> > > > strange, there are no general elections here before 2021...
> > > > An explanation about this link would be interesting.
> > > > Kind regards
> > > > Ziko
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Am Mi., 22. Apr. 2020 um 22:50 Uhr schrieb Yair Rand <
> yyairr...@gmail.com
> > > > >:
> > > >
> > > > > The WMF corporate site (wikimediafoundation.org) currently has a
> > > > > full-page ad with the text "We are watching Earth Day Live today.
> Will
> > > > > you?". This links to an external site with the text "Click here to
> sign
> > > > on
> > > > > to the US Youth Climate Strike Coalition Earth Day Demands - From
> > > > congress
> > > > > and the next president, we demand a People’s Bailout, a Green New
> Deal,
> > > > and
> > > > > Land Back for Indigenous Peoples", and prompting readers to
> "Pledge to
> > > > vote
> > > > > for our future" and to subscribe to "US Climate Strike".
> > > > >
> > > > > Everyone here already knows how unacceptable this is, and why, so
> I don't
> > > > > think this requires any further explanation. The WMF should
> immediately
> > > > > take this down, and make certain that this kind of thing can't
> happen
> > > > > again. They've failed yet again at preventing inappropriate
> > > > > political activism in WMF's communications, and must take serious
> action
> > > > to
> > > > > fix this constant stream of terrible failures.
> > > > >
> > > > > -- Yair Rand
> --
> fae...@gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-25 Thread James Salsman
> the Foundation's Policy and Political Association Guideline, which
> was written by WMF Legal in the aftermath of SOPA to iron
> out clear boundaries on activism, explicitly rules out any political
> activism relating to environmental issues, stating:
>> Policy and political associations should protect and advance Wikimedia’s
>> mission “to empower and engage people around the world to collect and
>> develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain,
>> and to disseminate it effectively and globally.” Accordingly, we will not
>> support causes unrelated to or inconsistent with that mission. For example,
>> no support should be given to: environmental issues; [...]"

That can't be right, because there was a project to try to procure green
power when it was available, going back to at least 2009 if I remember
it's still ongoing but really hasn't made much progress because the
datacenters don't want to by renewables. They are less expensive to
produce than fossil fuel power, but tariffs still allow electric companies to
charge more for them, in order to speed their transition, supposedly.

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Sustainability_Initiative

Also, it should go without saying that people are less likely to be engaged
in producing free educational content when they are battling increasing
fires, extreme weather events, and floods from encroaching sea levels. I
guess whomever wrote "Accordingly" in that Guideline didn't think of that.

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-25 Thread Asaf Bartov
On Sat, Apr 25, 2020 at 10:54 AM Mario Gómez  wrote:

> As far as I know, criticism of political lobbying by the WMF is generally
> frowned upon here. Including aspersion casting against critics.
>

Um, what?  As a (volunteer) list administrator of this mailing list, and
indeed a (paid) Foundation staff member, I can assure you that you are
welcome to criticize any aspect of the Foundation's work here, within usual
bounds of civility (no ad hominem attacks, obscenities, etc.).

While I wish we had substantive discussions here more often than we do, it
is still an appropriate venue for discussions between the Foundation and
the communities.  Unlike more popular alternatives, this mailing list is
public, tolerant of pseudonyms, and has an immutable public archive.

   Asaf
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-25 Thread
Thanks to Greg for the quick official response from the WMF which
includes the active recognition and acceptance of the problem.

The open letter was also published on meta at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_website#Website_full_page_banner_promoting_EarthdayLive2020.org
for anyone wishing to comment or add notes on wiki rather than using
email.

Noting "in the future we will do more thorough due diligence". It may
be of benefit for the WMF to respond on Meta with any details about
what will change to ensure preventative due diligence measures have
been put in place, such as the one suggested in this email thread of
early engagement with the community rather than a Phabricator task on
the day.

Thanks,
Fae

On Fri, 24 Apr 2020 at 06:18, Gregory Varnum  wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I am responding on behalf of the Foundation in my capacity handling movement 
> communications, including managing any campaigns on wikimediafoundation.org.
>
> As others from the Foundation have stated on this mailing list in the past, 
> from time to time the Wikimedia Foundation engages in public policy matters 
> which are aligned with the advancement of the Wikimedia mission or our values 
> as an organization.
>
> Having said that, we agree with some of the criticisms you have raised. We 
> had understood the Earth Day Live campaign to be both global and apolitical. 
> However, we agree that the final campaign was both more US-centric and more 
> political than we had understood in advance. The banner is no longer running, 
> and in the future we will do more thorough due diligence.
>
> We remain strongly committed to climate sustainability as a value of the 
> Wikimedia Foundation. We will continue to advocate on behalf of it and other 
> values that uplift and advance free knowledge globally.
>
> I hope you all had a productive and safe Earth Day, and wish you all 
> continued health and safety.
>
> Yours,
> -greg
>
> ---
> Gregory Varnum
> Communications Strategist
> Wikimedia Foundation 
> gvar...@wikimedia.org
> Pronouns: He/Him/His
>
> > On Apr 23, 2020, at 3:07 AM, RhinosF1 -  wrote:
> >
> > Should this be posted on wiki for others to sign?
> >
> > Samuel
> >
> > On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 07:51, Fæ  wrote:
> >
> >> OPEN LETTER
> >>
> >> Dear Katherine Maher,
> >>
> >> The WMF home website landing page (https://wikimediafoundation.org)
> >> yesterday featured a full-page banner directing all visitors globally
> >> to https://www.earthdaylive2020.org. This is a site used for Americal
> >> political lobbying, refer to the email discussion attached.
> >>
> >> Could you, or the responsible member of your management team, please
> >> explain exactly how this happened?
> >>
> >> There is zero doubt that this was a serious operational error, misuse
> >> of WMF development time and a misuse of the Wikimedia brand. It is
> >> certain that you will agree that the buck stops with the CEO. The
> >> decision to use the Foundation's website for American lobbying is in
> >> conflict with your not for profit status and is in conflict with the
> >> charitable status promoted to donors worldwide.
> >>
> >> If the management team and yourself are going to continuing political
> >> lobbying and using WMF resources to raise funds for Americal political
> >> organizations which have no agreed relevance to the mission of the
> >> Foundation, there must be a published transparent governance review by
> >> the WMF board of trustees to examine and agree on this significant
> >> operational change to the public Foundation strategy and the terms for
> >> the CEO.
> >>
> >> Thank you in advance.
> >>
> >> Link to Phabricator task to implement the banner:
> >> https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
> >> CC: María Sefidari as WMF Chair.
> >>
> >> Fae
> >>
> >> On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 05:50, K. Peachey  wrote:
> >>>
> >>> https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
> >>>
> >>> On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 09:53, Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l
> >>>  wrote:
> 
>  Hi,
> 
>  It seems that they just gave a link to that website, which...eh...
>  When I opened it, I heard one sentence of the stream before I stopped
> >> it
>  and read the rest of the webpage: "and then we give thanks to spirit,
> >> for
>  the air we breathe, for the earth..." After reading the rest of the
>  webpage, I un-paused it, and am currently listening to a bit of
> >> propaganda
>  promoting unions and more extensive labor laws.
> 
>  The linked website is explicitly political, explicitly  on the American
>  left, and explicitly in favor of certain highly contentious American
>  political proposals. I would like to hear the reasoning for why that
> >> link
>  has been shown, and it seems to me simply unjustifiable. The WMF is the
>  host of a series of community-built projects, not a political activism
>  organization.
> 
>  Regards,
>  Vermont
> 
>  

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-25 Thread Mario Gómez
On Thu, Apr 23, 2020 at 8:51 AM Fæ  wrote:

>
> Could you, or the responsible member of your management team, please
> explain exactly how this happened?
>
>
As far as I know, criticism of political lobbying by the WMF is generally
frowned upon here. Including aspersion casting against critics.

I don't think these lobbying activities would get a wide community
consensus. Even the blackout for the EU produced a fair share of
controversy within some Wikimedia projects, and it was actually related to
our core mission.

Best,

Mario Gómez
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-24 Thread Todd Allen
Had the WMF just mentioned Earth Day, I don't think there would have been
any trouble with that. The issue here is the support of an explicitly
political organization, not just of Earth Day. I can't imagine anyone could
have had an issue with an anodyne banner saying something like "Remember
our environment on Earth Day!".

On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 2:27 PM Robert Fernandez 
wrote:

> FFS who is against Earth Day?   Every organization and company
> probably mentions it or observes it in some way.  Get over yourselves.
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-24 Thread Frank Schulenburg
Given that this page

https://www.earthdaylive2020.org/vote/

clearly aims at influencing the election of political candidates to
public office and "build political pressure", can we expect the Wikimedia
Foundation to file Form 1120-POL as mandated by the IRS?

https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/political-activities-of-exempt-organizations

Thanks,

Frank

Am Fr., 24. Apr. 2020 um 14:14 Uhr schrieb Samuel Klein :

> Everyone supports Earth Day.
> Earth Day Live was confusingly different... in a strange time.
>
> On Thu, Apr 23, 2020 at 10:42 PM Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l <
> wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org> wrote:
>
> > Adding onto this, it appears the WMF is proudly and publicly displayed on
> > the participants, which may as well be endorsements, page for Earth Day
> > Live: https://www.earthdaylive2020.org/get-involved/
> >
> > I'm simply astounded by this. Never would I have expected the WMF to take
> > such a strong political position on the American left.
>
>
> Ah yes, alongside such noted pillars of the American left as...  
> KDE, Vivaldi, Tumblr, Imgur, and Mapbox*.*
>
> Benjamin Lees writes:
> > I think we should avoid keeping "campaign" banners (even those which
> aren't expected to be controversial)
> > hidden away until the last minute.
>
> Good point.
>
> SJ
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-24 Thread Samuel Klein
Everyone supports Earth Day.
Earth Day Live was confusingly different... in a strange time.

On Thu, Apr 23, 2020 at 10:42 PM Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l <
wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org> wrote:

> Adding onto this, it appears the WMF is proudly and publicly displayed on
> the participants, which may as well be endorsements, page for Earth Day
> Live: https://www.earthdaylive2020.org/get-involved/
>
> I'm simply astounded by this. Never would I have expected the WMF to take
> such a strong political position on the American left.


Ah yes, alongside such noted pillars of the American left as...  
KDE, Vivaldi, Tumblr, Imgur, and Mapbox*.*

Benjamin Lees writes:
> I think we should avoid keeping "campaign" banners (even those which
aren't expected to be controversial)
> hidden away until the last minute.

Good point.

SJ
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-24 Thread Ziko van Dijk
Hello,
this is about different things. One is an opinion about Earth Day, one is
an opinion about the organization behind a specific event, and one is an
opinion about whether the WMF should link to this specific event.
For example, I am not against protecting the climate. I might have some
criticism about certain aspects of "Fridays for Future". I would be
definitely against my "Association of Historians in Germany" linking in
such a way to "Fridays for Future".
Kind regards
Ziko





Am Fr., 24. Apr. 2020 um 22:27 Uhr schrieb Robert Fernandez <
wikigamal...@gmail.com>:

> FFS who is against Earth Day?   Every organization and company
> probably mentions it or observes it in some way.  Get over yourselves.
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-24 Thread Yaroslav Blanter
We have this article as well:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day_Live

Best
Yaroslav

On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 10:31 PM Michael Peel  wrote:

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day is not the same as
> https://www.earthdaylive2020.org/ - but the link was to the latter.
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
>
> > On 24 Apr 2020, at 21:26, Robert Fernandez 
> wrote:
> >
> > FFS who is against Earth Day?   Every organization and company
> > probably mentions it or observes it in some way.  Get over yourselves.
> > ___
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>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-24 Thread Michael Peel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day is not the same as 
https://www.earthdaylive2020.org/ - but the link was to the latter.

Thanks,
Mike

> On 24 Apr 2020, at 21:26, Robert Fernandez  wrote:
> 
> FFS who is against Earth Day?   Every organization and company
> probably mentions it or observes it in some way.  Get over yourselves.
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-24 Thread Robert Fernandez
FFS who is against Earth Day?   Every organization and company
probably mentions it or observes it in some way.  Get over yourselves.
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-24 Thread Galder Gonzalez Larrañaga
It has been deleted. They TL has some RTs done in the previous days.

From: Wikimedia-l  on behalf of Gereon 
Kalkuhl 
Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 4:47 PM
To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

The Twitter link does not work.

Am 24.04.2020 um 15:16 schrieb Galder Gonzalez Larrañaga:
> Mmm... again?
> https://twitter.com/Wikimedia/status/1253670025426202624
> 
> From: Wikimedia-l  on behalf of 
> Galder Gonzalez Larrañaga 
> Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 11:26 AM
> To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism
>
> The concept "apolitical" does not exist if there is a goal.
>
> Nevertheless, for the future, a link to the article about "Earth" in all the 
> languages Wikimedia has would be the best solution.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Galder
> 
> From: Wikimedia-l  on behalf of Yair 
> Rand 
> Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 8:27 AM
> To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism
>
> This would not have happened had there been any oversight (community or
> otherwise), and it could have been pulled down quickly enough had there
> been any community members with the ability to edit the site. Perhaps it's
> time to reconsider how the WMF corporate site operates.
>
> I appreciate that the WMF is committed doing more thorough due diligence in
> the future. It's very important to do so. There's a very good reason why
> community consultation is required when dealing with any Collaborative
> Advocacy, but given that even existing requirements weren't followed, I'm
> not very optimistic that this new commitment holds weight.
>
> Also importantly, the Foundation's Policy and Political Association
> Guideline, which was written by WMF Legal in the aftermath of SOPA to iron
> out clear boundaries on activism, explicitly rules out any political
> activism relating to environmental issues, stating:
>> Policy and political associations should protect and advance Wikimedia’s
> mission “to empower and engage people around the world to collect and
> develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain,
> and to disseminate it effectively and globally.” Accordingly, we will not
> support causes unrelated to or inconsistent with that mission. For example,
> no support should be given to: environmental issues; [...]"
>
> The WMF just inadvertently threw its weight behind dozens of controversial
> causes that have nothing to do with our mission. I hope that the WMF will
> manage to operate more appropriately in the future.
>
> --Yair Rand
>
> ‫בתאריך יום ו׳, 24 באפר׳ 2020 ב-1:18 מאת ‪Gregory Varnum‬‏ <‪
> gvar...@wikimedia.org‬‏>:‬
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I am responding on behalf of the Foundation in my capacity handling
>> movement communications, including managing any campaigns on
>> wikimediafoundation.org.
>>
>> As others from the Foundation have stated on this mailing list in the
>> past, from time to time the Wikimedia Foundation engages in public policy
>> matters which are aligned with the advancement of the Wikimedia mission or
>> our values as an organization.
>>
>> Having said that, we agree with some of the criticisms you have raised. We
>> had understood the Earth Day Live campaign to be both global and
>> apolitical. However, we agree that the final campaign was both more
>> US-centric and more political than we had understood in advance. The banner
>> is no longer running, and in the future we will do more thorough due
>> diligence.
>>
>> We remain strongly committed to climate sustainability as a value of the
>> Wikimedia Foundation. We will continue to advocate on behalf of it and
>> other values that uplift and advance free knowledge globally.
>>
>> I hope you all had a productive and safe Earth Day, and wish you all
>> continued health and safety.
>>
>> Yours,
>> -greg
>>
>> ---
>> Gregory Varnum
>> Communications Strategist
>> Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
>> gvar...@wikimedia.org
>> Pronouns: He/Him/His
>>
>>> On Apr 23, 2020, at 3:07 AM, RhinosF1 -  wrote:
>>>
>>> Should this be posted on wiki for others to sign?
>>>
>>> Samuel
>>>
>>> On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 07:51, Fæ  wrote:
>>>
>>>> OPEN LETTER
>>>>
>>>> Dear Katherine Maher,
>>>>
>>>> The WMF home website landing page (https://wikimediafoundation.org)
>>>> yester

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-24 Thread Gereon Kalkuhl

The Twitter link does not work.

Am 24.04.2020 um 15:16 schrieb Galder Gonzalez Larrañaga:

Mmm... again?
https://twitter.com/Wikimedia/status/1253670025426202624

From: Wikimedia-l  on behalf of Galder 
Gonzalez Larrañaga 
Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 11:26 AM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

The concept "apolitical" does not exist if there is a goal.

Nevertheless, for the future, a link to the article about "Earth" in all the 
languages Wikimedia has would be the best solution.

Cheers,

Galder

From: Wikimedia-l  on behalf of Yair Rand 

Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 8:27 AM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

This would not have happened had there been any oversight (community or
otherwise), and it could have been pulled down quickly enough had there
been any community members with the ability to edit the site. Perhaps it's
time to reconsider how the WMF corporate site operates.

I appreciate that the WMF is committed doing more thorough due diligence in
the future. It's very important to do so. There's a very good reason why
community consultation is required when dealing with any Collaborative
Advocacy, but given that even existing requirements weren't followed, I'm
not very optimistic that this new commitment holds weight.

Also importantly, the Foundation's Policy and Political Association
Guideline, which was written by WMF Legal in the aftermath of SOPA to iron
out clear boundaries on activism, explicitly rules out any political
activism relating to environmental issues, stating:

Policy and political associations should protect and advance Wikimedia’s

mission “to empower and engage people around the world to collect and
develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain,
and to disseminate it effectively and globally.” Accordingly, we will not
support causes unrelated to or inconsistent with that mission. For example,
no support should be given to: environmental issues; [...]"

The WMF just inadvertently threw its weight behind dozens of controversial
causes that have nothing to do with our mission. I hope that the WMF will
manage to operate more appropriately in the future.

--Yair Rand

‫בתאריך יום ו׳, 24 באפר׳ 2020 ב-1:18 מאת ‪Gregory Varnum‬‏ <‪
gvar...@wikimedia.org‬‏>:‬


Hi all,

I am responding on behalf of the Foundation in my capacity handling
movement communications, including managing any campaigns on
wikimediafoundation.org.

As others from the Foundation have stated on this mailing list in the
past, from time to time the Wikimedia Foundation engages in public policy
matters which are aligned with the advancement of the Wikimedia mission or
our values as an organization.

Having said that, we agree with some of the criticisms you have raised. We
had understood the Earth Day Live campaign to be both global and
apolitical. However, we agree that the final campaign was both more
US-centric and more political than we had understood in advance. The banner
is no longer running, and in the future we will do more thorough due
diligence.

We remain strongly committed to climate sustainability as a value of the
Wikimedia Foundation. We will continue to advocate on behalf of it and
other values that uplift and advance free knowledge globally.

I hope you all had a productive and safe Earth Day, and wish you all
continued health and safety.

Yours,
-greg

---
Gregory Varnum
Communications Strategist
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
gvar...@wikimedia.org
Pronouns: He/Him/His


On Apr 23, 2020, at 3:07 AM, RhinosF1 -  wrote:

Should this be posted on wiki for others to sign?

Samuel

On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 07:51, Fæ  wrote:


OPEN LETTER

Dear Katherine Maher,

The WMF home website landing page (https://wikimediafoundation.org)
yesterday featured a full-page banner directing all visitors globally
to https://www.earthdaylive2020.org. This is a site used for Americal
political lobbying, refer to the email discussion attached.

Could you, or the responsible member of your management team, please
explain exactly how this happened?

There is zero doubt that this was a serious operational error, misuse
of WMF development time and a misuse of the Wikimedia brand. It is
certain that you will agree that the buck stops with the CEO. The
decision to use the Foundation's website for American lobbying is in
conflict with your not for profit status and is in conflict with the
charitable status promoted to donors worldwide.

If the management team and yourself are going to continuing political
lobbying and using WMF resources to raise funds for Americal political
organizations which have no agreed relevance to the mission of the
Foundation, there must be a published transparent governance review by
the WMF board of trustees to examine and agree on this significant
operat

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-24 Thread Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l
Gregory,

Thank you for your response.

I am happy to hear that the intent was apolitical. However, it was quite
clear from the minute the campaign went live that they had no intention of
being apolitical. Though most of the political propaganda was propagated by
people in the live-streams, the website literally had a form asking people
to pledge to vote in the American presidential elections.

If there was any intention to keep to the Foundation’s own policy, if there
was any oversight, or even just asking the operators of Earth Day Live
before allowing them to place the WMF’s logo under “participants”, this
would not have happened.

On the 18th of this month, this was recorded by the Internet Archive:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200418204146/https://www.earthdaylive2020.org/

The webpage quite plainly states, “Strike, divest, and vote for our
future.” That’s political.

It also states, “...we must strive toward the longer term goal of building
a society rooted in sustainability and justice.” Sustainability, sure;
justice, a very subjective adjective, is clearly political.

The “RSVP to the livestream” but also appears to refer to the managing
organization as the US Climate Strike.

Also, of the two press links given, one is for “strikewithus.org” and the
other “stopthemoneypipeline.org”. Those are inherently political.
Considering that the WMF is listed as one of the program’s
participants/supporters, I’d assume that at some point a WMF employee
emailed one of those addresses to inform them. Did they think it was
apolitical?

It is, of course, too late now to change anything. However, in the future,
please stray away from political activism not directly and specifically
related to the movement.

Best Regards,
Chris Gates
(User:Vermont)


On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 01:18 Gregory Varnum  wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I am responding on behalf of the Foundation in my capacity handling
> movement communications, including managing any campaigns on
> wikimediafoundation.org.
>
> As others from the Foundation have stated on this mailing list in the
> past, from time to time the Wikimedia Foundation engages in public policy
> matters which are aligned with the advancement of the Wikimedia mission or
> our values as an organization.
>
> Having said that, we agree with some of the criticisms you have raised. We
> had understood the Earth Day Live campaign to be both global and
> apolitical. However, we agree that the final campaign was both more
> US-centric and more political than we had understood in advance. The banner
> is no longer running, and in the future we will do more thorough due
> diligence.
>
> We remain strongly committed to climate sustainability as a value of the
> Wikimedia Foundation. We will continue to advocate on behalf of it and
> other values that uplift and advance free knowledge globally.
>
> I hope you all had a productive and safe Earth Day, and wish you all
> continued health and safety.
>
> Yours,
> -greg
>
> ---
> Gregory Varnum
> Communications Strategist
> Wikimedia Foundation 
> gvar...@wikimedia.org
> Pronouns: He/Him/His
>
> > On Apr 23, 2020, at 3:07 AM, RhinosF1 -  wrote:
> >
> > Should this be posted on wiki for others to sign?
> >
> > Samuel
> >
> > On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 07:51, Fæ  wrote:
> >
> >> OPEN LETTER
> >>
> >> Dear Katherine Maher,
> >>
> >> The WMF home website landing page (https://wikimediafoundation.org)
> >> yesterday featured a full-page banner directing all visitors globally
> >> to https://www.earthdaylive2020.org. This is a site used for Americal
> >> political lobbying, refer to the email discussion attached.
> >>
> >> Could you, or the responsible member of your management team, please
> >> explain exactly how this happened?
> >>
> >> There is zero doubt that this was a serious operational error, misuse
> >> of WMF development time and a misuse of the Wikimedia brand. It is
> >> certain that you will agree that the buck stops with the CEO. The
> >> decision to use the Foundation's website for American lobbying is in
> >> conflict with your not for profit status and is in conflict with the
> >> charitable status promoted to donors worldwide.
> >>
> >> If the management team and yourself are going to continuing political
> >> lobbying and using WMF resources to raise funds for Americal political
> >> organizations which have no agreed relevance to the mission of the
> >> Foundation, there must be a published transparent governance review by
> >> the WMF board of trustees to examine and agree on this significant
> >> operational change to the public Foundation strategy and the terms for
> >> the CEO.
> >>
> >> Thank you in advance.
> >>
> >> Link to Phabricator task to implement the banner:
> >> https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
> >> CC: María Sefidari as WMF Chair.
> >>
> >> Fae
> >>
> >> On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 05:50, K. Peachey  wrote:
> >>>
> >>> https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
> >>>
> >>> On Thu, 23 Apr 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-24 Thread Galder Gonzalez Larrañaga
Mmm... again?
https://twitter.com/Wikimedia/status/1253670025426202624

From: Wikimedia-l  on behalf of Galder 
Gonzalez Larrañaga 
Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 11:26 AM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

The concept "apolitical" does not exist if there is a goal.

Nevertheless, for the future, a link to the article about "Earth" in all the 
languages Wikimedia has would be the best solution.

Cheers,

Galder

From: Wikimedia-l  on behalf of Yair 
Rand 
Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 8:27 AM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

This would not have happened had there been any oversight (community or
otherwise), and it could have been pulled down quickly enough had there
been any community members with the ability to edit the site. Perhaps it's
time to reconsider how the WMF corporate site operates.

I appreciate that the WMF is committed doing more thorough due diligence in
the future. It's very important to do so. There's a very good reason why
community consultation is required when dealing with any Collaborative
Advocacy, but given that even existing requirements weren't followed, I'm
not very optimistic that this new commitment holds weight.

Also importantly, the Foundation's Policy and Political Association
Guideline, which was written by WMF Legal in the aftermath of SOPA to iron
out clear boundaries on activism, explicitly rules out any political
activism relating to environmental issues, stating:
> Policy and political associations should protect and advance Wikimedia’s
mission “to empower and engage people around the world to collect and
develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain,
and to disseminate it effectively and globally.” Accordingly, we will not
support causes unrelated to or inconsistent with that mission. For example,
no support should be given to: environmental issues; [...]"

The WMF just inadvertently threw its weight behind dozens of controversial
causes that have nothing to do with our mission. I hope that the WMF will
manage to operate more appropriately in the future.

--Yair Rand

‫בתאריך יום ו׳, 24 באפר׳ 2020 ב-1:18 מאת ‪Gregory Varnum‬‏ <‪
gvar...@wikimedia.org‬‏>:‬

> Hi all,
>
> I am responding on behalf of the Foundation in my capacity handling
> movement communications, including managing any campaigns on
> wikimediafoundation.org.
>
> As others from the Foundation have stated on this mailing list in the
> past, from time to time the Wikimedia Foundation engages in public policy
> matters which are aligned with the advancement of the Wikimedia mission or
> our values as an organization.
>
> Having said that, we agree with some of the criticisms you have raised. We
> had understood the Earth Day Live campaign to be both global and
> apolitical. However, we agree that the final campaign was both more
> US-centric and more political than we had understood in advance. The banner
> is no longer running, and in the future we will do more thorough due
> diligence.
>
> We remain strongly committed to climate sustainability as a value of the
> Wikimedia Foundation. We will continue to advocate on behalf of it and
> other values that uplift and advance free knowledge globally.
>
> I hope you all had a productive and safe Earth Day, and wish you all
> continued health and safety.
>
> Yours,
> -greg
>
> ---
> Gregory Varnum
> Communications Strategist
> Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
> gvar...@wikimedia.org
> Pronouns: He/Him/His
>
> > On Apr 23, 2020, at 3:07 AM, RhinosF1 -  wrote:
> >
> > Should this be posted on wiki for others to sign?
> >
> > Samuel
> >
> > On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 07:51, Fæ  wrote:
> >
> >> OPEN LETTER
> >>
> >> Dear Katherine Maher,
> >>
> >> The WMF home website landing page (https://wikimediafoundation.org)
> >> yesterday featured a full-page banner directing all visitors globally
> >> to https://www.earthdaylive2020.org. This is a site used for Americal
> >> political lobbying, refer to the email discussion attached.
> >>
> >> Could you, or the responsible member of your management team, please
> >> explain exactly how this happened?
> >>
> >> There is zero doubt that this was a serious operational error, misuse
> >> of WMF development time and a misuse of the Wikimedia brand. It is
> >> certain that you will agree that the buck stops with the CEO. The
> >> decision to use the Foundation's website for American lobbying is in
> >> conflict with your not for profit status and is in conflict with the
> &g

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-24 Thread Galder Gonzalez Larrañaga
The concept "apolitical" does not exist if there is a goal.

Nevertheless, for the future, a link to the article about "Earth" in all the 
languages Wikimedia has would be the best solution.

Cheers,

Galder

From: Wikimedia-l  on behalf of Yair 
Rand 
Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 8:27 AM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

This would not have happened had there been any oversight (community or
otherwise), and it could have been pulled down quickly enough had there
been any community members with the ability to edit the site. Perhaps it's
time to reconsider how the WMF corporate site operates.

I appreciate that the WMF is committed doing more thorough due diligence in
the future. It's very important to do so. There's a very good reason why
community consultation is required when dealing with any Collaborative
Advocacy, but given that even existing requirements weren't followed, I'm
not very optimistic that this new commitment holds weight.

Also importantly, the Foundation's Policy and Political Association
Guideline, which was written by WMF Legal in the aftermath of SOPA to iron
out clear boundaries on activism, explicitly rules out any political
activism relating to environmental issues, stating:
> Policy and political associations should protect and advance Wikimedia’s
mission “to empower and engage people around the world to collect and
develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain,
and to disseminate it effectively and globally.” Accordingly, we will not
support causes unrelated to or inconsistent with that mission. For example,
no support should be given to: environmental issues; [...]"

The WMF just inadvertently threw its weight behind dozens of controversial
causes that have nothing to do with our mission. I hope that the WMF will
manage to operate more appropriately in the future.

--Yair Rand

‫בתאריך יום ו׳, 24 באפר׳ 2020 ב-1:18 מאת ‪Gregory Varnum‬‏ <‪
gvar...@wikimedia.org‬‏>:‬

> Hi all,
>
> I am responding on behalf of the Foundation in my capacity handling
> movement communications, including managing any campaigns on
> wikimediafoundation.org.
>
> As others from the Foundation have stated on this mailing list in the
> past, from time to time the Wikimedia Foundation engages in public policy
> matters which are aligned with the advancement of the Wikimedia mission or
> our values as an organization.
>
> Having said that, we agree with some of the criticisms you have raised. We
> had understood the Earth Day Live campaign to be both global and
> apolitical. However, we agree that the final campaign was both more
> US-centric and more political than we had understood in advance. The banner
> is no longer running, and in the future we will do more thorough due
> diligence.
>
> We remain strongly committed to climate sustainability as a value of the
> Wikimedia Foundation. We will continue to advocate on behalf of it and
> other values that uplift and advance free knowledge globally.
>
> I hope you all had a productive and safe Earth Day, and wish you all
> continued health and safety.
>
> Yours,
> -greg
>
> ---
> Gregory Varnum
> Communications Strategist
> Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
> gvar...@wikimedia.org
> Pronouns: He/Him/His
>
> > On Apr 23, 2020, at 3:07 AM, RhinosF1 -  wrote:
> >
> > Should this be posted on wiki for others to sign?
> >
> > Samuel
> >
> > On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 07:51, Fæ  wrote:
> >
> >> OPEN LETTER
> >>
> >> Dear Katherine Maher,
> >>
> >> The WMF home website landing page (https://wikimediafoundation.org)
> >> yesterday featured a full-page banner directing all visitors globally
> >> to https://www.earthdaylive2020.org. This is a site used for Americal
> >> political lobbying, refer to the email discussion attached.
> >>
> >> Could you, or the responsible member of your management team, please
> >> explain exactly how this happened?
> >>
> >> There is zero doubt that this was a serious operational error, misuse
> >> of WMF development time and a misuse of the Wikimedia brand. It is
> >> certain that you will agree that the buck stops with the CEO. The
> >> decision to use the Foundation's website for American lobbying is in
> >> conflict with your not for profit status and is in conflict with the
> >> charitable status promoted to donors worldwide.
> >>
> >> If the management team and yourself are going to continuing political
> >> lobbying and using WMF resources to raise funds for Americal political
> >> organizations wh

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-24 Thread Yair Rand
This would not have happened had there been any oversight (community or
otherwise), and it could have been pulled down quickly enough had there
been any community members with the ability to edit the site. Perhaps it's
time to reconsider how the WMF corporate site operates.

I appreciate that the WMF is committed doing more thorough due diligence in
the future. It's very important to do so. There's a very good reason why
community consultation is required when dealing with any Collaborative
Advocacy, but given that even existing requirements weren't followed, I'm
not very optimistic that this new commitment holds weight.

Also importantly, the Foundation's Policy and Political Association
Guideline, which was written by WMF Legal in the aftermath of SOPA to iron
out clear boundaries on activism, explicitly rules out any political
activism relating to environmental issues, stating:
> Policy and political associations should protect and advance Wikimedia’s
mission “to empower and engage people around the world to collect and
develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain,
and to disseminate it effectively and globally.” Accordingly, we will not
support causes unrelated to or inconsistent with that mission. For example,
no support should be given to: environmental issues; [...]"

The WMF just inadvertently threw its weight behind dozens of controversial
causes that have nothing to do with our mission. I hope that the WMF will
manage to operate more appropriately in the future.

--Yair Rand

‫בתאריך יום ו׳, 24 באפר׳ 2020 ב-1:18 מאת ‪Gregory Varnum‬‏ <‪
gvar...@wikimedia.org‬‏>:‬

> Hi all,
>
> I am responding on behalf of the Foundation in my capacity handling
> movement communications, including managing any campaigns on
> wikimediafoundation.org.
>
> As others from the Foundation have stated on this mailing list in the
> past, from time to time the Wikimedia Foundation engages in public policy
> matters which are aligned with the advancement of the Wikimedia mission or
> our values as an organization.
>
> Having said that, we agree with some of the criticisms you have raised. We
> had understood the Earth Day Live campaign to be both global and
> apolitical. However, we agree that the final campaign was both more
> US-centric and more political than we had understood in advance. The banner
> is no longer running, and in the future we will do more thorough due
> diligence.
>
> We remain strongly committed to climate sustainability as a value of the
> Wikimedia Foundation. We will continue to advocate on behalf of it and
> other values that uplift and advance free knowledge globally.
>
> I hope you all had a productive and safe Earth Day, and wish you all
> continued health and safety.
>
> Yours,
> -greg
>
> ---
> Gregory Varnum
> Communications Strategist
> Wikimedia Foundation 
> gvar...@wikimedia.org
> Pronouns: He/Him/His
>
> > On Apr 23, 2020, at 3:07 AM, RhinosF1 -  wrote:
> >
> > Should this be posted on wiki for others to sign?
> >
> > Samuel
> >
> > On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 07:51, Fæ  wrote:
> >
> >> OPEN LETTER
> >>
> >> Dear Katherine Maher,
> >>
> >> The WMF home website landing page (https://wikimediafoundation.org)
> >> yesterday featured a full-page banner directing all visitors globally
> >> to https://www.earthdaylive2020.org. This is a site used for Americal
> >> political lobbying, refer to the email discussion attached.
> >>
> >> Could you, or the responsible member of your management team, please
> >> explain exactly how this happened?
> >>
> >> There is zero doubt that this was a serious operational error, misuse
> >> of WMF development time and a misuse of the Wikimedia brand. It is
> >> certain that you will agree that the buck stops with the CEO. The
> >> decision to use the Foundation's website for American lobbying is in
> >> conflict with your not for profit status and is in conflict with the
> >> charitable status promoted to donors worldwide.
> >>
> >> If the management team and yourself are going to continuing political
> >> lobbying and using WMF resources to raise funds for Americal political
> >> organizations which have no agreed relevance to the mission of the
> >> Foundation, there must be a published transparent governance review by
> >> the WMF board of trustees to examine and agree on this significant
> >> operational change to the public Foundation strategy and the terms for
> >> the CEO.
> >>
> >> Thank you in advance.
> >>
> >> Link to Phabricator task to implement the banner:
> >> https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
> >> CC: María Sefidari as WMF Chair.
> >>
> >> Fae
> >>
> >> On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 05:50, K. Peachey  wrote:
> >>>
> >>> https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
> >>>
> >>> On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 09:53, Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l
> >>>  wrote:
> 
>  Hi,
> 
>  It seems that they just gave a link to that website, which...eh...
>  When I opened it, I heard one 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-23 Thread Benjamin Lees
On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 1:18 AM Gregory Varnum 
wrote:

>
> Having said that, we agree with some of the criticisms you have raised. We
> had understood the Earth Day Live campaign to be both global and
> apolitical. However, we agree that the final campaign was both more
> US-centric and more political than we had understood in advance. The banner
> is no longer running, and in the future we will do more thorough due
> diligence.
>
>
Will that due diligence include advance notice to the community?  In this
case, the Phabricator task, ,
appears to have been opened the same day that the banner was to be
deployed, meaning that nobody had any chance to voice concerns before it
went live.  For banners on the projects, we have <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CentralNotice/Calendar>.  I am not saying
that every change to wikimediafoundation.org needs to be screened in
advance, of course, but I think we should avoid keeping "campaign" banners
(even those which aren't expected to be controversial) hidden away until
the last minute.

Emufarmers
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-23 Thread Gregory Varnum
Hi all,

I am responding on behalf of the Foundation in my capacity handling movement 
communications, including managing any campaigns on wikimediafoundation.org.

As others from the Foundation have stated on this mailing list in the past, 
from time to time the Wikimedia Foundation engages in public policy matters 
which are aligned with the advancement of the Wikimedia mission or our values 
as an organization.

Having said that, we agree with some of the criticisms you have raised. We had 
understood the Earth Day Live campaign to be both global and apolitical. 
However, we agree that the final campaign was both more US-centric and more 
political than we had understood in advance. The banner is no longer running, 
and in the future we will do more thorough due diligence.

We remain strongly committed to climate sustainability as a value of the 
Wikimedia Foundation. We will continue to advocate on behalf of it and other 
values that uplift and advance free knowledge globally.

I hope you all had a productive and safe Earth Day, and wish you all continued 
health and safety.

Yours,
-greg

---
Gregory Varnum
Communications Strategist
Wikimedia Foundation 
gvar...@wikimedia.org
Pronouns: He/Him/His

> On Apr 23, 2020, at 3:07 AM, RhinosF1 -  wrote:
> 
> Should this be posted on wiki for others to sign?
> 
> Samuel
> 
> On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 07:51, Fæ  wrote:
> 
>> OPEN LETTER
>> 
>> Dear Katherine Maher,
>> 
>> The WMF home website landing page (https://wikimediafoundation.org)
>> yesterday featured a full-page banner directing all visitors globally
>> to https://www.earthdaylive2020.org. This is a site used for Americal
>> political lobbying, refer to the email discussion attached.
>> 
>> Could you, or the responsible member of your management team, please
>> explain exactly how this happened?
>> 
>> There is zero doubt that this was a serious operational error, misuse
>> of WMF development time and a misuse of the Wikimedia brand. It is
>> certain that you will agree that the buck stops with the CEO. The
>> decision to use the Foundation's website for American lobbying is in
>> conflict with your not for profit status and is in conflict with the
>> charitable status promoted to donors worldwide.
>> 
>> If the management team and yourself are going to continuing political
>> lobbying and using WMF resources to raise funds for Americal political
>> organizations which have no agreed relevance to the mission of the
>> Foundation, there must be a published transparent governance review by
>> the WMF board of trustees to examine and agree on this significant
>> operational change to the public Foundation strategy and the terms for
>> the CEO.
>> 
>> Thank you in advance.
>> 
>> Link to Phabricator task to implement the banner:
>> https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
>> CC: María Sefidari as WMF Chair.
>> 
>> Fae
>> 
>> On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 05:50, K. Peachey  wrote:
>>> 
>>> https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
>>> 
>>> On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 09:53, Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l
>>>  wrote:
 
 Hi,
 
 It seems that they just gave a link to that website, which...eh...
 When I opened it, I heard one sentence of the stream before I stopped
>> it
 and read the rest of the webpage: "and then we give thanks to spirit,
>> for
 the air we breathe, for the earth..." After reading the rest of the
 webpage, I un-paused it, and am currently listening to a bit of
>> propaganda
 promoting unions and more extensive labor laws.
 
 The linked website is explicitly political, explicitly  on the American
 left, and explicitly in favor of certain highly contentious American
 political proposals. I would like to hear the reasoning for why that
>> link
 has been shown, and it seems to me simply unjustifiable. The WMF is the
 host of a series of community-built projects, not a political activism
 organization.
 
 Regards,
 Vermont
 
 On Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 5:12 PM Ziko van Dijk 
>> wrote:
 
> Hello,
> I can confirm that I see the same also here in the Netherlands.
>> Which is
> strange, there are no general elections here before 2021...
> An explanation about this link would be interesting.
> Kind regards
> Ziko
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Am Mi., 22. Apr. 2020 um 22:50 Uhr schrieb Yair Rand <
>> yyairr...@gmail.com
>> :
> 
>> The WMF corporate site (wikimediafoundation.org) currently has a
>> full-page ad with the text "We are watching Earth Day Live today.
>> Will
>> you?". This links to an external site with the text "Click here to
>> sign
> on
>> to the US Youth Climate Strike Coalition Earth Day Demands - From
> congress
>> and the next president, we demand a People’s Bailout, a Green New
>> Deal,
> and
>> Land Back for Indigenous Peoples", and prompting readers to
>> "Pledge to
> vote
>> for 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-23 Thread Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l
Adding onto this, it appears the WMF is proudly and publicly displayed on
the participants, which may as well be endorsements, page for Earth Day
Live: https://www.earthdaylive2020.org/get-involved/

I'm simply astounded by this. Never would I have expected the WMF to take
such a strong political position on the American left. If the WMF wants to
rethink their branding strategy towards "interconnection", perhaps stop
isolating those who disagree with the radical positions endorsed by
participating in Earth Day Live. It wasn't even a small thing on the
website; t took up the entire page, and the purpose of Earth Day Live is
explicitly not only about Earth. It has a number of other policies it
supports entirely entirely unrelated to the climate, and even includes a
call to vote in the American presidential election, by implication a
Democrat.

At the very least, someone at the WMF should respond to the concerns
outlined here.

Regards,
Vermont

On Thu, Apr 23, 2020 at 2:51 AM Fæ  wrote:

> OPEN LETTER
>
> Dear Katherine Maher,
>
> The WMF home website landing page (https://wikimediafoundation.org)
> yesterday featured a full-page banner directing all visitors globally
> to https://www.earthdaylive2020.org. This is a site used for Americal
> political lobbying, refer to the email discussion attached.
>
> Could you, or the responsible member of your management team, please
> explain exactly how this happened?
>
> There is zero doubt that this was a serious operational error, misuse
> of WMF development time and a misuse of the Wikimedia brand. It is
> certain that you will agree that the buck stops with the CEO. The
> decision to use the Foundation's website for American lobbying is in
> conflict with your not for profit status and is in conflict with the
> charitable status promoted to donors worldwide.
>
> If the management team and yourself are going to continuing political
> lobbying and using WMF resources to raise funds for Americal political
> organizations which have no agreed relevance to the mission of the
> Foundation, there must be a published transparent governance review by
> the WMF board of trustees to examine and agree on this significant
> operational change to the public Foundation strategy and the terms for
> the CEO.
>
> Thank you in advance.
>
> Link to Phabricator task to implement the banner:
> https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
> CC: María Sefidari as WMF Chair.
>
> Fae
>
> On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 05:50, K. Peachey  wrote:
> >
> > https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
> >
> > On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 09:53, Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l
> >  wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > It seems that they just gave a link to that website, which...eh...
> > > When I opened it, I heard one sentence of the stream before I stopped
> it
> > > and read the rest of the webpage: "and then we give thanks to spirit,
> for
> > > the air we breathe, for the earth..." After reading the rest of the
> > > webpage, I un-paused it, and am currently listening to a bit of
> propaganda
> > > promoting unions and more extensive labor laws.
> > >
> > > The linked website is explicitly political, explicitly  on the American
> > > left, and explicitly in favor of certain highly contentious American
> > > political proposals. I would like to hear the reasoning for why that
> link
> > > has been shown, and it seems to me simply unjustifiable. The WMF is the
> > > host of a series of community-built projects, not a political activism
> > > organization.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Vermont
> > >
> > > On Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 5:12 PM Ziko van Dijk 
> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hello,
> > > > I can confirm that I see the same also here in the Netherlands.
> Which is
> > > > strange, there are no general elections here before 2021...
> > > > An explanation about this link would be interesting.
> > > > Kind regards
> > > > Ziko
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Am Mi., 22. Apr. 2020 um 22:50 Uhr schrieb Yair Rand <
> yyairr...@gmail.com
> > > > >:
> > > >
> > > > > The WMF corporate site (wikimediafoundation.org) currently has a
> > > > > full-page ad with the text "We are watching Earth Day Live today.
> Will
> > > > > you?". This links to an external site with the text "Click here to
> sign
> > > > on
> > > > > to the US Youth Climate Strike Coalition Earth Day Demands - From
> > > > congress
> > > > > and the next president, we demand a People’s Bailout, a Green New
> Deal,
> > > > and
> > > > > Land Back for Indigenous Peoples", and prompting readers to
> "Pledge to
> > > > vote
> > > > > for our future" and to subscribe to "US Climate Strike".
> > > > >
> > > > > Everyone here already knows how unacceptable this is, and why, so
> I don't
> > > > > think this requires any further explanation. The WMF should
> immediately
> > > > > take this down, and make certain that this kind of thing can't
> happen
> > > > > again. They've failed yet again at preventing inappropriate
> > > > > political activism in 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-23 Thread RhinosF1 -
Should this be posted on wiki for others to sign?

Samuel

On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 07:51, Fæ  wrote:

> OPEN LETTER
>
> Dear Katherine Maher,
>
> The WMF home website landing page (https://wikimediafoundation.org)
> yesterday featured a full-page banner directing all visitors globally
> to https://www.earthdaylive2020.org. This is a site used for Americal
> political lobbying, refer to the email discussion attached.
>
> Could you, or the responsible member of your management team, please
> explain exactly how this happened?
>
> There is zero doubt that this was a serious operational error, misuse
> of WMF development time and a misuse of the Wikimedia brand. It is
> certain that you will agree that the buck stops with the CEO. The
> decision to use the Foundation's website for American lobbying is in
> conflict with your not for profit status and is in conflict with the
> charitable status promoted to donors worldwide.
>
> If the management team and yourself are going to continuing political
> lobbying and using WMF resources to raise funds for Americal political
> organizations which have no agreed relevance to the mission of the
> Foundation, there must be a published transparent governance review by
> the WMF board of trustees to examine and agree on this significant
> operational change to the public Foundation strategy and the terms for
> the CEO.
>
> Thank you in advance.
>
> Link to Phabricator task to implement the banner:
> https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
> CC: María Sefidari as WMF Chair.
>
> Fae
>
> On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 05:50, K. Peachey  wrote:
> >
> > https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
> >
> > On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 09:53, Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l
> >  wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > It seems that they just gave a link to that website, which...eh...
> > > When I opened it, I heard one sentence of the stream before I stopped
> it
> > > and read the rest of the webpage: "and then we give thanks to spirit,
> for
> > > the air we breathe, for the earth..." After reading the rest of the
> > > webpage, I un-paused it, and am currently listening to a bit of
> propaganda
> > > promoting unions and more extensive labor laws.
> > >
> > > The linked website is explicitly political, explicitly  on the American
> > > left, and explicitly in favor of certain highly contentious American
> > > political proposals. I would like to hear the reasoning for why that
> link
> > > has been shown, and it seems to me simply unjustifiable. The WMF is the
> > > host of a series of community-built projects, not a political activism
> > > organization.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Vermont
> > >
> > > On Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 5:12 PM Ziko van Dijk 
> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hello,
> > > > I can confirm that I see the same also here in the Netherlands.
> Which is
> > > > strange, there are no general elections here before 2021...
> > > > An explanation about this link would be interesting.
> > > > Kind regards
> > > > Ziko
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Am Mi., 22. Apr. 2020 um 22:50 Uhr schrieb Yair Rand <
> yyairr...@gmail.com
> > > > >:
> > > >
> > > > > The WMF corporate site (wikimediafoundation.org) currently has a
> > > > > full-page ad with the text "We are watching Earth Day Live today.
> Will
> > > > > you?". This links to an external site with the text "Click here to
> sign
> > > > on
> > > > > to the US Youth Climate Strike Coalition Earth Day Demands - From
> > > > congress
> > > > > and the next president, we demand a People’s Bailout, a Green New
> Deal,
> > > > and
> > > > > Land Back for Indigenous Peoples", and prompting readers to
> "Pledge to
> > > > vote
> > > > > for our future" and to subscribe to "US Climate Strike".
> > > > >
> > > > > Everyone here already knows how unacceptable this is, and why, so
> I don't
> > > > > think this requires any further explanation. The WMF should
> immediately
> > > > > take this down, and make certain that this kind of thing can't
> happen
> > > > > again. They've failed yet again at preventing inappropriate
> > > > > political activism in WMF's communications, and must take serious
> action
> > > > to
> > > > > fix this constant stream of terrible failures.
> > > > >
> > > > > -- Yair Rand
> --
> fae...@gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae
>
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 

-- 
Thanks,
Samuel
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[Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism

2020-04-23 Thread
OPEN LETTER

Dear Katherine Maher,

The WMF home website landing page (https://wikimediafoundation.org)
yesterday featured a full-page banner directing all visitors globally
to https://www.earthdaylive2020.org. This is a site used for Americal
political lobbying, refer to the email discussion attached.

Could you, or the responsible member of your management team, please
explain exactly how this happened?

There is zero doubt that this was a serious operational error, misuse
of WMF development time and a misuse of the Wikimedia brand. It is
certain that you will agree that the buck stops with the CEO. The
decision to use the Foundation's website for American lobbying is in
conflict with your not for profit status and is in conflict with the
charitable status promoted to donors worldwide.

If the management team and yourself are going to continuing political
lobbying and using WMF resources to raise funds for Americal political
organizations which have no agreed relevance to the mission of the
Foundation, there must be a published transparent governance review by
the WMF board of trustees to examine and agree on this significant
operational change to the public Foundation strategy and the terms for
the CEO.

Thank you in advance.

Link to Phabricator task to implement the banner:
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
CC: María Sefidari as WMF Chair.

Fae

On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 05:50, K. Peachey  wrote:
>
> https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508
>
> On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 09:53, Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l
>  wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > It seems that they just gave a link to that website, which...eh...
> > When I opened it, I heard one sentence of the stream before I stopped it
> > and read the rest of the webpage: "and then we give thanks to spirit, for
> > the air we breathe, for the earth..." After reading the rest of the
> > webpage, I un-paused it, and am currently listening to a bit of propaganda
> > promoting unions and more extensive labor laws.
> >
> > The linked website is explicitly political, explicitly  on the American
> > left, and explicitly in favor of certain highly contentious American
> > political proposals. I would like to hear the reasoning for why that link
> > has been shown, and it seems to me simply unjustifiable. The WMF is the
> > host of a series of community-built projects, not a political activism
> > organization.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Vermont
> >
> > On Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 5:12 PM Ziko van Dijk  wrote:
> >
> > > Hello,
> > > I can confirm that I see the same also here in the Netherlands. Which is
> > > strange, there are no general elections here before 2021...
> > > An explanation about this link would be interesting.
> > > Kind regards
> > > Ziko
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Am Mi., 22. Apr. 2020 um 22:50 Uhr schrieb Yair Rand  > > >:
> > >
> > > > The WMF corporate site (wikimediafoundation.org) currently has a
> > > > full-page ad with the text "We are watching Earth Day Live today. Will
> > > > you?". This links to an external site with the text "Click here to sign
> > > on
> > > > to the US Youth Climate Strike Coalition Earth Day Demands - From
> > > congress
> > > > and the next president, we demand a People’s Bailout, a Green New Deal,
> > > and
> > > > Land Back for Indigenous Peoples", and prompting readers to "Pledge to
> > > vote
> > > > for our future" and to subscribe to "US Climate Strike".
> > > >
> > > > Everyone here already knows how unacceptable this is, and why, so I 
> > > > don't
> > > > think this requires any further explanation. The WMF should immediately
> > > > take this down, and make certain that this kind of thing can't happen
> > > > again. They've failed yet again at preventing inappropriate
> > > > political activism in WMF's communications, and must take serious action
> > > to
> > > > fix this constant stream of terrible failures.
> > > >
> > > > -- Yair Rand
-- 
fae...@gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism, yet again

2020-04-22 Thread K. Peachey
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T250508

On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 at 09:53, Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l
 wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> It seems that they just gave a link to that website, which...eh...
> When I opened it, I heard one sentence of the stream before I stopped it
> and read the rest of the webpage: "and then we give thanks to spirit, for
> the air we breathe, for the earth..." After reading the rest of the
> webpage, I un-paused it, and am currently listening to a bit of propaganda
> promoting unions and more extensive labor laws.
>
> The linked website is explicitly political, explicitly  on the American
> left, and explicitly in favor of certain highly contentious American
> political proposals. I would like to hear the reasoning for why that link
> has been shown, and it seems to me simply unjustifiable. The WMF is the
> host of a series of community-built projects, not a political activism
> organization.
>
> Regards,
> Vermont
>
> On Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 5:12 PM Ziko van Dijk  wrote:
>
> > Hello,
> > I can confirm that I see the same also here in the Netherlands. Which is
> > strange, there are no general elections here before 2021...
> > An explanation about this link would be interesting.
> > Kind regards
> > Ziko
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Am Mi., 22. Apr. 2020 um 22:50 Uhr schrieb Yair Rand  > >:
> >
> > > The WMF corporate site (wikimediafoundation.org) currently has a
> > > full-page ad with the text "We are watching Earth Day Live today. Will
> > > you?". This links to an external site with the text "Click here to sign
> > on
> > > to the US Youth Climate Strike Coalition Earth Day Demands - From
> > congress
> > > and the next president, we demand a People’s Bailout, a Green New Deal,
> > and
> > > Land Back for Indigenous Peoples", and prompting readers to "Pledge to
> > vote
> > > for our future" and to subscribe to "US Climate Strike".
> > >
> > > Everyone here already knows how unacceptable this is, and why, so I don't
> > > think this requires any further explanation. The WMF should immediately
> > > take this down, and make certain that this kind of thing can't happen
> > > again. They've failed yet again at preventing inappropriate
> > > political activism in WMF's communications, and must take serious action
> > to
> > > fix this constant stream of terrible failures.
> > >
> > > -- Yair Rand
> > > ___
> > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
> > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
> > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > > 
> > ___
> > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
> > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > 
> ___
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> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and 
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 
> 

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism, yet again

2020-04-22 Thread Chris Gates via Wikimedia-l
Hi,

It seems that they just gave a link to that website, which...eh...
When I opened it, I heard one sentence of the stream before I stopped it
and read the rest of the webpage: "and then we give thanks to spirit, for
the air we breathe, for the earth..." After reading the rest of the
webpage, I un-paused it, and am currently listening to a bit of propaganda
promoting unions and more extensive labor laws.

The linked website is explicitly political, explicitly  on the American
left, and explicitly in favor of certain highly contentious American
political proposals. I would like to hear the reasoning for why that link
has been shown, and it seems to me simply unjustifiable. The WMF is the
host of a series of community-built projects, not a political activism
organization.

Regards,
Vermont

On Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 5:12 PM Ziko van Dijk  wrote:

> Hello,
> I can confirm that I see the same also here in the Netherlands. Which is
> strange, there are no general elections here before 2021...
> An explanation about this link would be interesting.
> Kind regards
> Ziko
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Am Mi., 22. Apr. 2020 um 22:50 Uhr schrieb Yair Rand  >:
>
> > The WMF corporate site (wikimediafoundation.org) currently has a
> > full-page ad with the text "We are watching Earth Day Live today. Will
> > you?". This links to an external site with the text "Click here to sign
> on
> > to the US Youth Climate Strike Coalition Earth Day Demands - From
> congress
> > and the next president, we demand a People’s Bailout, a Green New Deal,
> and
> > Land Back for Indigenous Peoples", and prompting readers to "Pledge to
> vote
> > for our future" and to subscribe to "US Climate Strike".
> >
> > Everyone here already knows how unacceptable this is, and why, so I don't
> > think this requires any further explanation. The WMF should immediately
> > take this down, and make certain that this kind of thing can't happen
> > again. They've failed yet again at preventing inappropriate
> > political activism in WMF's communications, and must take serious action
> to
> > fix this constant stream of terrible failures.
> >
> > -- Yair Rand
> > ___
> > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
> > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > 
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism, yet again

2020-04-22 Thread Ziko van Dijk
Hello,
I can confirm that I see the same also here in the Netherlands. Which is
strange, there are no general elections here before 2021...
An explanation about this link would be interesting.
Kind regards
Ziko






Am Mi., 22. Apr. 2020 um 22:50 Uhr schrieb Yair Rand :

> The WMF corporate site (wikimediafoundation.org) currently has a
> full-page ad with the text "We are watching Earth Day Live today. Will
> you?". This links to an external site with the text "Click here to sign on
> to the US Youth Climate Strike Coalition Earth Day Demands - From congress
> and the next president, we demand a People’s Bailout, a Green New Deal, and
> Land Back for Indigenous Peoples", and prompting readers to "Pledge to vote
> for our future" and to subscribe to "US Climate Strike".
>
> Everyone here already knows how unacceptable this is, and why, so I don't
> think this requires any further explanation. The WMF should immediately
> take this down, and make certain that this kind of thing can't happen
> again. They've failed yet again at preventing inappropriate
> political activism in WMF's communications, and must take serious action to
> fix this constant stream of terrible failures.
>
> -- Yair Rand
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[Wikimedia-l] WMF political activism, yet again

2020-04-22 Thread Yair Rand
The WMF corporate site (wikimediafoundation.org) currently has a
full-page ad with the text "We are watching Earth Day Live today. Will
you?". This links to an external site with the text "Click here to sign on
to the US Youth Climate Strike Coalition Earth Day Demands - From congress
and the next president, we demand a People’s Bailout, a Green New Deal, and
Land Back for Indigenous Peoples", and prompting readers to "Pledge to vote
for our future" and to subscribe to "US Climate Strike".

Everyone here already knows how unacceptable this is, and why, so I don't
think this requires any further explanation. The WMF should immediately
take this down, and make certain that this kind of thing can't happen
again. They've failed yet again at preventing inappropriate
political activism in WMF's communications, and must take serious action to
fix this constant stream of terrible failures.

-- Yair Rand
___
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