Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Wikimedian in Residence, Museums Galleries Scotland
Hi! Let me know if there's any museum/gallery openings, or exhibition launches, that I can cover on Wikinews (within easy travel distance of Edinburgh). I've a far-better camera now than when I did the National and the Portrait Gallery. Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD On 12.02.2015 13:35, Sara Thomas wrote: Hello everyone, Just wanted to take the time to introduce myself, I'm Sara Thomas, the new Wikimedian in Residence at Museums Galleries Scotland, currently on a four month secondment to Glasgow Museums. It's the second residency in Scotland, following Ally Crockford's at the National Library of Scotland, and I'm really happy to be on board. I'm going to be working with a number of different organisations, and if anyone has an interest in getting involved I'd invite you get in touch either here or through the project page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GLAM/Museums_Galleries_Scotland All the very best, and I look forward to getting to know you all better! Sara Thomas Wikimedian in Residence, Museums Galleries Scotland (seconded to Glasgow Museums) ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Wikimeets in the papers - worth publicising?
You know, here in Edinburgh I could find dozens of venues where it might be a pub, but allowed those under 18; or, it was open to all, but also served alcohol. What I never-ever-ever want is the same venue as we had today. I've been in better-presented student squats, that were fighting eviction; with better-quality coffee, better chairs (not ones that looked as-if they were stolen out a skip), and with walls where the plaster was not - for want of a better description - rotting. Starbucks would've been better than The Brew Lab, so no more Edinburgh Wikimeets in there please! Took them 20 minutes to make me a coffee, they'd no change when I went to pay with a £5 note, and they still insisted on charging the 30p card fee when I paid that way to help them out. I could readily buy a pint of small-batch, hand-brewed, craft ale for less than they wanted for a mediocre coffee in a venue where you wonder if plugging into an electrical socket will make your hair stand on end. Had I not been there for a meeting, I would've read them their character, called them on the place being an utter shit-hole, and left. I'm glad I did not try to encourage the Glasgow Openstreetmap crowd, or Edinburgh Linux group, to come along; I would've been near-mortally embarrassed. On 22.09.2014 14:01, Charles Matthews wrote: On 22 September 2014 13:53, rexx wrote: We have pubs in Oxford, Coventry, Cambridge, Manchester and now Liverpool that are usually relatively quiet and uncrowded, so conversation is much easier. Dan Haigh and I have done informal initial training a couple of times in the pub - its easy enough one-to-one and you can get a new editor started in 20-30 mins. On a point of detail, the Cambridge meetup is in a brasserie-type place, rather than a pub (we head off to a pub later if folk want). And it starts middle of the afternoon, which is between midday and early evening peak times. The pub-or-not debate seems quite significant to me, as the community-and-how-to-grow-it debate in microcosm. If you understand why a meetup that starts in a pub will always be in a pub, you have a clue why entrenched cultural factors in the online community also seem quite stubborn. Charles Links: -- [1] mailto:r...@blueyonder.co.uk -- Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Wikimeet in Edinburgh, 28 September
On 15.09.2014 12:00, Crockford, Ally wrote: There will be a Wiki meetup taking place in Edinburgh on Sunday, 28 September from 1pm at The Brew Lab, 6-8 South College St. This will be our 7th meetup in Edinburgh, and we very much hope that we will see many faces both new and old! The Brew Lab is located on South College Street, just behind the University of Edinburgh's Old College, and provides food, coffee, and free WiFi. More details on the event, including directions and a map, are available here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meetup/Edinburgh_7 [1] Please share widely with any Wikimedians in Scotland or near Edinburgh who might be interested in joining us! [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meetup/Edinburgh_7 Have you pencilled in, Begin planning for Wikimedia Scotland on the agenda? ;-) -- Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Non-renewal of Wikimedia UK fundraiser agreement
On 21.05.2014 03:09, Stevie Benton wrote: Wikimedia UK regrets to have to announce to the community that the Wikimedia Foundation’s outgoing Executive Director, Sue Gardner, has given us formal notice of her decision under her mandate from the WMF board not to renew our fundraising agreement, thereby excluding us from this year’s fundraiser. On 21.05.2014 09:37, Michael Maggs wrote: This has been the case for the last two years, so although the decision for this year is disappointing in practice nothing has changed. We have written an open letter to Sue about this decision. A copy of our letter to Sue can be found here [1] on the Wikimedia UK wiki. [1] https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/File:Open_letter_to_Sue_Gardner_regarding_non-renewal.pdf On 21.05.2014 09:10, Deskana wrote: For those not up on the governance, what are the practical ramifications of this for the chapter? On 21.05.2014 09:37, Michael Maggs wrote: The major effects are the movement will still not benefit from the available Gift Aid of perhaps £300,000 annually, and that donor details remain held by the WMF in the US. The charity’s lack of access to donor details hinders us from engaging with UK donors, keeping funds flowing without repeated public appeals, and converting donors into supporters and volunteers. On 21.05.2014 09:39, rexx wrote: There are two practical implications: 1. It means that nobody receives Gift Aid on the donations taken by the WMF which originated in the UK. Our donors who wish to make use of Gift Aid are denied the opportunity and the movement as a whole loses around £200,000 - £300,000 which would be claimable from HMRC Given we're not a cough 'large multinational online retailer' cough, what's claimed can't exactly be taken and spent outside the country. (obviously monies that are claimed back by WMUK would reduce the amount that we ask for from the FDC). Perhaps 'chump change' in-comparison, but in-country processing is fractionally cheaper. Once set up, it is less-likely to put 'fraud prevention' hurdles in front of potential donors. 2. It insulates us from our donors. We have no means of establishing a relationship with the huge donor base in the UK, which prevents us from encouraging them into playing more of a role in the Wikimedia movement. This is the most-damaging aspect of not trusting WMUK to act as a fund processor. On 21.05.2014 11:43, Charles Matthews wrote: Heres an argument on your side of the case, though: the feedback from the fundraiser, particularly from old dears who have sent a cheque because Wikipedia is the best thing on the Internet, is motivating like little else. Of course it would be an improvement if WMUK did payment processing, but, as I must have said before (on the wiki), not going to happen simply by playing the autonomy card, because that has been done. I think the 'open letter' is the only reasonable response Wikimedia UK, as a registered charity, can give. They can hardly boycott Wikimania in protest, can they? The Charities Commission can't help here either; all they can do is stand on the sidelines, shaking their heads, as the WMF rejects hundreds of thousands of pounds of British taxpayers' money. Money that, given the rich multicultural nature of our society, could be used to help increase contributors across poorly-served languages. I hope the WMF are keeping their fingers, and toes, crossed about none of the UK's capricious press picking this up and running with it. All I can see are the highly-negative ways in which they could spin it, and damage public goodwill towards the movement. Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Hillsborough page
On 30 Apr 2014, at 01:04, Harry Burt wrote: Some more today on the BBC (and probably others): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27203371 [14] Its currently on the BBC homepage with the description The charity that represents Wikipedia in the UK has condemned edits made from government computers after more insults and vandalism emerged. This is what they've got from two IP addresses? Or, can we take it that: Government machines were also used to vandalise, or troll, on several pages, including: [...] means the press are chasing other GSI addresses? Looks like a good write up (factually accurate) with some choice quotes from Stevie. On 30.04.2014 03:23, Jon Davies wrote: Vandalism, surely! Yes, and yes. There was a time when this would be used to knock Wikipedia. Fingers crossed this will calm down now but you never know. The UK's tech press, including the BBC, are now capable of having as much fun as we did with the US government[1]. I wonder how good they are at finding out more IPs, and linking them up to government departments, or offices. [1] http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews_investigates_Wikipedia_usage_by_U.S._Senate_staff_members -- Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] I'm Not in Love...
On 2014-02-24 09:37, Jon Davies wrote: Are you a groupie now Mr Mabbett? I believe Andy is impervious to such 'Rubber Bullets'. :P On 22 February 2014 18:15, Andy Mabbett a...@pigsonthewing.org.uk wrote: ...but I did meet 10CC's Graham Gouldman today, and recorded his voice for Wikipedia, along with those of Wishbone Ash founder Martin Turner and Pink Floyd album-sleeve designer po Powell All three recordings are now on the respective articles. -- Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing http://pigsonthewing.org.uk [1] ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l [2] WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk [3] -- JON DAVIES - CHIEF EXECUTIVE WIKIMEDIA UK. Mobile (0044) 7803 505 169 tweet @jonatreesdavies Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). Telephone (0044) 207 065 0990. Visit http://www.wikimedia.org.uk/ [4] and @wikimediauk Links: -- [1] http://pigsonthewing.org.uk [2] http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l [3] https://wikimedia.org.uk [4] http://www.wikimedia.org.uk/ ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GSM: +44 (0)788 987 8314 | brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Launching a Wikipedia for children soon, you may help !
in growing the content and in maintenance tasks, - older children, teenagers that don't (yet) edit Wikipedia can have the chance to do it here, and to make a good work. The advantage is both the amount of work they can bring, and what this work can bring to them, like for the younger ones and like any Wikipedia editor. http://en.vikidia.org/wiki/Vikidia:For_children_or_by_children%3F [4] Vikidia representatives used to work on a proposal to be adopted within a multilingual Wikikids project. They no longer ask for it and decided to remain it independent from the Wikimedia Foundation and now to open a Vikidia in English. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikikids/Vikidia%27s_withdrawal_of_the_adoption_proposal [5] Vikidia is handled by the Association Vikidia, located in France, a non-profit-organization. The servers are hosted by Tuxfamily, a non-profit-organization that host free softwares and free content projects. Vikidia is free according to the principle of Free Knowledge. The general license used is CC-BY-SA. Vikidia especially implements and complies with the articles 12, 13 and 17 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. http://en.vikidia.org/wiki/Vikidia:Relation_to_the_Rights_of_the_Child [6] -- Mathias Damour 49 rue Carnot F-74000 Annecy 00 33 (0)4 57 09 10 56 00 33 (0)6 27 13 65 51 mathias.dam...@laposte.net http://fr.vikidia.org/wiki/Utilisateur:Astirmays [7] ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l [8] WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk [9] -- Richard Nevell Wikimedia UK +44 (0) 20 7065 0753 Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). WIKIMEDIA UK IS AN INDEPENDENT NON-PROFIT CHARITY WITH NO LEGAL CONTROL OVER WIKIPEDIA NOR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ITS CONTENTS. Links: -- [1] https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/EduWiki_Conference_2013/Abstracts#Wikikids_-_Mathias_Damour [2] http://en.vikidia.org [3] http://en.vikidia.org/wiki/Vikidia:Talk/2014/8 [4] http://en.vikidia.org/wiki/Vikidia:For_children_or_by_children%3F [5] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikikids/Vikidia%27s_withdrawal_of_the_adoption_proposal [6] http://en.vikidia.org/wiki/Vikidia:Relation_to_the_Rights_of_the_Child [7] http://fr.vikidia.org/wiki/Utilisateur:Astirmays [8] http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l [9] https://wikimedia.org.uk ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GSM: +44 (0)788 987 8314 | brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] WMUK slide scanner
On 2014-02-14 17:13, David Gerard wrote: On 14 February 2014 17:00, Andy Mabbett a...@pigsonthewing.org.uk wrote: On 14 February 2014 16:16, Katie Chan katie.c...@wikimedia.org.uk wrote: we have the Ion Film2SD Pro as shown on https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Volunteer_equipment#Multimedia. Let me know if you want to borrow it. I'd love to please. Would it be possible to have it for a few weeks - I've a lot to get through! If it's as compact as it looks, perhaps I could have it on Tues or Thurs, at UCL? Is anyone able to bring it there, from the office? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ion-Film2SD-Negative-Scanner-Electronics/dp/9800340114 I remember a discussion on commons-l a while ago about negative scanners. The Ion kit was considered better-than-nothing but not good. OTOH, not many of the high-quality Nikon negative scanners around. (Though that would be a *damn* fine piece of kit for the office.) How good are the results from this Ion? Any example links? I've several photographer friends, and they work with 'real film' every now and then. Their approach in such cases is to use a camera mount to photograph developed (negative) film and process that into digital photos. Fiddly, yes; but the results I've seen are very impressive, capturing the feel of film photography without a lot of work developing actual postive prints. Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GSM: +xx (0)xxx xxx | brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk
[Wikimediauk-l] Wikinews coverage of Strasbourg EU Parliament visit
For those who might not track Wikinews, or follow it on Facebook, here's my report from the visit to the EU parliament https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wiki_loves_the_European_Parliament_in_Strasbourg Thankfully the hoo-haw about France's lack of FoP was resolved with a permissions email to OTRS from someone in the Parliament. I'll be looking to do more video-based reporting over the next couple of months, but I think the new 'pop-out' method of displaying video is hideous. A result of NIH syndrome, methinks? Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GSM: +44 (0)788 987 8314 | brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Wikinews coverage of Strasbourg EU Parliament visit
On 2014-02-12 20:15, Fæ wrote: The ticket is https://ticket.wikimedia.org/otrs/index.pl?Action=AgentTicketZoomTicketNumber=2014020510008962 Thanks for a useless link, Fæ. Since I quit OTRS quite some time ago - for what were simply personality clash reasons, as-opposed to ability to provide professional support services, that's, ... 'useless'. As the emails were not a release from the copyright holder, the photographs are still up for deletion on Commons. I note that the copyright licence on wikinews may mislead reusers if the copyright holder of the building has not agreed to unconditional free reuse of photographs. From what limited correspondence I can see, deletion of these images is only going to reflect badly (and, that's putting it mildly) on Wikimedia groups/orgs/whatnot. Can we, *please* have some people running things who're not nice and fluffy? Who get things done, rather than doing nothing and offending nobody? I name no names because I'm pretty-sure a lot of people who could meet that 'wish' do not, due to people who put positive PR before meeting the movement's longer-term goals hamstringing them. Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GSM: +44 (0)788 987 8314 | brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] No Sanity Clause?
On 2014-02-10 16:19, Michael Peel wrote: On 10 Feb 2014, at 16:18, Michael Peel em...@mikepeel.net wrote: On 10 Feb 2014, at 16:11, brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org wrote: All join in now, ... Head - Desk. Head - Desk. Head - Desk. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Deletion_requests/Files_in_Category:European_Parliament,_Strasbourg You have to be glad that MEPs are not that-likely to click through to images with deletion templates, and then onto this embarrassment. As the nomination says, there’s no FOP in France, so pictures of modern buildings in France can’t go on Commons without clear permission… I’m not sure whether that should be an embarrassment for Commons or for the MEPs… ;-) I have here, still pinned to my jacket, a bright-yellow press accreditation card from the EU Parliament. That, quite clearly, and within the guidelines issued to us, covers permission to film, take photos, etc, etc both inside and outside the European Parliament. Since the argument for deletion is being based upon French law, it's only the French MEPs who should be *seriously* embarrassed. Although, I am tempted to send this on to Christian Engström as yet-another-stick with which to beat them up about copyright. -- Brian McNeil Wikinewsie.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk
[Wikimediauk-l] Tom Morris for enWN CheckUser
As a smaller community, English Wikinews generally struggles to meet minimum voter participation requirements, sensibly, imposed by the WMF. One of our other CheckUsers has recently retired due to other commitments, leading to Tom Morris suggesting he add 'Deerstalker and Digital Magnifying-Glass' to his admin Mop 'n' Bucket. I'm not canvassing on Tom's behalf, but would appreciate if those who know him would take the time to review the request. Suffrage for voting on CheckUser rights, due to the nature of the task, is based on activity across all WMF projects. https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Requests_for_permissions#Tom_Morris_.28talk_.C2.B7_contribs.29_.E2.80.94_CheckUser Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Invitation to Chapters and Photographers for the European Parliament Project 2014
Quoting Andy Mabbett a...@pigsonthewing.org.uk: On 30 December 2013 09:31, Jon Davies jon.dav...@wikimedia.org.uk wrote: Is there anyone volunteering to take this forward? We can offer financial support and the loan of equipment. I'd be interested in participating, with a view to making audio recordings as part of the ongoing voice intro project; and assisting generally. Similarly, I'd be interested in working on this. I also suspect, with there being a nascent Belgian Chapter, it would be worthwhile getting in touch with them. In addition to audio, I've got kit to do reasonable-quality video. Only proviso: I'm not doing Nigel Farage unless I get to interview (read: Paxo) him. :P Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GSM: +44 (0)788 987 8314 | brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Invitation to Chapters and Photographers for the European Parliament Project 2014
Quoting Harry Burt harryab...@gmail.com: Hey all. If you haven't seen it already, UK Wikimedians, and the chapter, will probably be interested in [1], a proposal to film, photograph, and talk to MEPs. Having only had a brief glance over the email, it seems like a very credible opportunity that Wikimedia UK will want to support in spirit, if not in more concrete terms. I post an extract below. I apologise if someone has already posted this, but I can't recall anything. Have you had much/any takeup on this, Harry? Were I still living in Belgium, I'd be along grabbing whatever A/V I could, and sniping about Belgian laws on Interior Ministry rules on press credentials. Hopefully, you can persuade some of the folks pushing for the Belgian chapter I was told could never happen, to happen, to go do this. But now I live in Edinburgh, it's the Scottish Parliament I want access to. Aff-Comm has recognised The Wikinewsie Group (TWG), but having that running as an NGO will take time. The IMMI is why TWG is aiming for recognition and registration in Iceland, but I'd rather see a Yes vote next year see Scotland take similar press-freedom measures. Wedging a 'foot in the door' with help from WM-UK has to be worthwhile. Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GSM: +44 (0)788 987 8314 | brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Wikidata tartan!
On 30 October 2013 23:00, Deryck Chan deryckc...@gmail.com wrote: Actually, it's the Scotland 2000 tartan. The middle strip of the tartan pattern looks remarkably similar to the Wikidata logo. https://twitter.com/deryckchan/status/395685266167308288/photo/1 Highland dress made from this tartan should be the official uniform of Wikimedia Scotland (or even Wikimedia UK!) Quoting Jon Davies jon.dav...@wikimedia.org.uk: My old knees would get way too cold Deryck! Don't be silly! Where the kilt stops, the thick wool kilt socks start. But, I'm not going out and having another kilt made. They're not cheap, and I can be a smug git over the fact I've no problem fitting into one made for me over 20 years ago. Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] A couple of proposals for perusal
On Tue, 2013-10-29 at 12:08 +, Stevie Benton wrote: Hello everyone, I had a couple of really interesting conversations last week that have led to some good ideas. I wonder if you might like to take a look and share any thoughts. Firstly, I'm in touch with a fairly senior manager of a local authority library service. We've talked about how Wikipedia is widely used in public libraries and I wondered how we might engage with those people. I've put together a draft proposal at https://wiki.wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Draft_proposal:_Thurrock_Libraries and would love to get your views. I've been dropping off Wikipedia brochures and cheat-sheets in quite a few of Edinburgh's public libraries. There is an interest from staff, but a lack of time. A bit more work on the city's politicians, and they'd probably okay staff attending training/workshops during their regular hours. The only library staff likely to attend otherwise are the small 'army' of volunteers that help keep Edinburgh's libraries running (a million times better than stacking supermarket shelves through Workfare). As I suspect is the case in many of the UK's libraries nowadays, quite a few of the staff in Edinburgh are multilingual. I'd hope that UK-targeted literature, in languages other than English, might be one thing to come out of Wiki Takes Leicester. Brian McNeil. -- Wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GPG Key Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Early Photography in Scotland Edit-a-thon Edinburgh rescheduled
On Mon, 2013-10-28 at 16:30 +, Crockford, Ally wrote: Just an announcement that the Early Photography in Scotland edit-a-thon which had to be postponed from its original date of 19 October has now been rescheduled for this Saturday 2 November! The event is hosted by the National Library of Scotland and will take place between 10:00-17:00 at the NLS Boardroom on George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. Ah, well. Now clashes with EduWiki in Cardiff. Brian McNeil. -- Wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GPG Key Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
[Wikimediauk-l] National Museums Scotland listings to 1 December 2013
and regimental histories. Join Information Services staff in a workshop on how to use these resources and other sources of information. National Museum of Rural Life Wester Kittochside, Philipshill Road, East Kilbride G76 9HR Go Wild in Autumn 12 - 20 October, 11:00 - 13:00 and 14:00 - 16:00 Cost included in museum admission. To book call 0300 123 6789 or enquire at the Information Desk on arrival A different country-themed activity every day, offering kids the chance to try something new, from puppet, badge or mask making to Enviro-art. You can also pick up a trail at the Information Desk on arrival for a self-guided tour and find out about the history of the countryside in Scotland, farming machinery, the Wester Kittochside flora and fauna and the animals on the 1950s working farm. Halloween in the Country 31 October, 17:00 - 19:00 (normal museum opening hours 10:00 - 17:00) Free, no need to book. Children under 12 to be accompanied by an adult Join in the spooky fun on this, the scariest night of the year! Take part in apple-dooking, scary trails and lots of spirited activities. Autumn Stargazing 13 November, 19:00 - 21:00 (normal museum opening hours 10:00 - 17:00) Free, no need to book. Children under 16 to be accompanied by an adult Try your eye for astronomy with the Clydesdale Astronomical Societyhttp://www.clydesdaleastro.org.uk/ (weather permitting) and find out what the heavens have to offer this autumn. National Museum of Flight East Fortune Airfield, East Lothian, EH39 5LF What did you do in the War, Great-Grandad? 12 - 20 October, 12:00 - 16:00 Cost included in museum admission Find out what your Great-Grandad might have done during the World Wars this October half-term. Learn how to research your family's military history then make your own family history scrapbook to take home. Air and Scare Halloween 26 - 27 October, 10:00 - 17:00 Cost included in museum admission Come and hear spooky tales and join in with some scary activities... if you think you're brave enough! Listings are now available as RSS feeds: National Museum of Scotland http://www.google.com/calendar/feeds/450bg9ocjee745agvs7smrni1s%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic National War Museum http://www.google.com/calendar/feeds/6dkrkkv41o09a9sfddmd9acpgk%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic National Museum of Rural Life http://www.google.com/calendar/feeds/o8c44s12818teeaamd6011p6v0%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic National Museum of Flight http://www.google.com/calendar/feeds/87lfdldrp2p0iucrsd2ldbs3b4%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic Museum addresses: National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF National War Museum, Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, EH1 2NG National Museum of Flight, East Fortune Airfield, East Lothian EH39 5LF National Museum of Rural Life, Wester Kittochside, Philipshill Road, East Kilbride, G76 9HR For booking, opening times and location details, contact National Museums Scotland on 0300 123 6789/www.nms.ac.ukhttp://www.nms.ac.uk For images or any further information please contact the press office on 0131 247 4391 or email me...@nms.ac.ukmailto:me...@nms.ac.uk Notes for Editors: National Museums Scotland looks after museum collections of national and international importance and provides loans, partnerships, research and training in Scotland and internationally. Our individual museums are the National Museum of Scotland, the National Museum of Flight, the National Museum of Rural Life and the National War Museum. The National Museums Collection Centre in Edinburgh houses conservation and research facilities as well as collections not currently on display. Esme Haigh Marketing Communications Assistant National Museums Scotland Chambers Street Edinburgh EH1 1JF Tel: +44 (0) 131 247 4391 http://www.nms.ac.uk/ Our exclusive summer exhibition is now on! Discover the epic tale of Mary, Queen of Scots until 17 November 2013. www.nms.ac.uk/mary National Museums Scotland, Scottish Charity, No. SC 011130 This communication is intended for the addressee(s) only. If you are not the addressee please inform the sender and delete the email from your system. The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of National Museums Scotland. This message is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998 and Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. No liability is accepted for any harm that may be caused to your systems or data by this message. - End forwarded message - Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org | http://wikinewsie.org | https://en.wikinews.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. GPG Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Alastair McCapra's conflict of loyalties between CIPR and WMUK
Quoting Fæ fae...@gmail.com: snip * the thread on Wikipediocracy was started on 10 September 2013 Simple question: When did Wikipediocracy become a member of Wikimedia UK, and able to dictate how the charity operates? A casual inspection suggests it's just a front for malcontents to feed their grievances, or manipulation, into The Signpost - in it's distinctive Yellow Journalism style. I've my grievances with The Signpost, far more than I've any worry that Alastair is incapable of managing (i.e. not voting on) issues where his COI is present. Brian McNeil. -- Wikinewsie.org | http://en.wikinewsie.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. Tel: +44 (0)788 987 8314 | Email: brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org GPG Key Fingerprint: 7C3D FFD5 5ED5 B80F 1D18 A52B E84C 8928 6ABC A7AD ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Wiki Loves Monuments deadline rapidly approaching
Quoting Chris Keating chriskeatingw...@gmail.com: well done everyone! I see the UK ended up the 5th-biggest country in terms of the number of contributors, and 8th in terms of total photos uploaded. Not bad for a first attempt! I only got out taking photos one afternoon, and one late-night. Many thanks to everyone who took photos, and even more thanks to everyone who helped organise it! It was fun to try and get some half-decent photos. But, you'll get more Edinburghers if you do Wiki Loves (listed) pubs[1]. [1] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Conan_Doyle_pano_001.png ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
[Wikimediauk-l] Fwd: New display on Higgs boson at the National Museum of Scotland
One for the science geeks... ---BeginMessage--- Please find to follow media release from National Museums Scotland: [MediaLogo_pink] [2Line2Col_process] Hunting the Higgs Boson Friday 27 September 2013 to Sunday 16 February 2014 National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh Admission: Free A new display at the National Museum of Scotland charts the search for the Higgs boson and the continuing quest to discover the fundamental structure of the universe. Hunting the Higgs boson explores the journey by scientists at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, to pinpoint the Higgs boson particle. The famous particle is named after Professor Peter Higgs, who first proposed the theory of its existence back in 1964 when working at the University of Edinburgh. Scientists have been hunting for the elusive particle since the mid-1990s. Through personal artefacts loaned from Professor Higgs, material from CERN and objects charting the history of particle physics, this small exhibition provides an introduction to the ground-breaking scientific discovery. Over 7000 scientists, engineers and support staff from over 40 countries worked out of CERN in the search for the invisible particle. 48 years after Peter Higgs' theory was published CERN announced that they had found a new particle consistent with the Higgs boson. Following its discovery Professor Higgs commented that he didn't expect this to happen in his lifetime. An array of commemorative medals presented to him for his impact on the world of physics, including one from the Royal Society of Edinburgh to mark the Higgs boson discovery, can be viewed in the exhibition. Also on display is a slice of prototype magnet from the Large Hadron Collider presented to Higgs when the experiments which finally found the Higgs boson were still in the planning stages, nine years before the first beam was fired around the accelerator. The technology behind the discovery of the Higgs boson has had a huge impact, and has resulted in many real-world applications including use in medical scanners and solar panels. In 1989 the solution for storing and sharing vast amounts of information in use at CERN came from Tim Berners-Lee and eventually grew into the World Wide Web. Tacye Phillipson, Senior Curator of Modern Science at National Museums Scotland commented, Particle physics is an incredible collaborative endeavour. This small exhibition shows how far it has come in the quest to understand our universe, and the impact that the technology developed in the hunt for the Higgs boson has had on our everyday lives. Hunting the Higgs boson was developed in partnership with the University of Edinburgh. 24 September 2013 Ends Further information and images from Susan Gray, Press Office on 0131 247 4288, or email s.g...@nms.ac.ukmailto:s.g...@nms.ac.uk Website www.nms.ac.ukhttp://www.nms.ac.uk/ Notes to Editors 1.National Museums Scotland is one of the leading museum groups in the UK and Europe and it looks after collections of national and international importance. The organisation provides loans, partnerships, research and training in Scotland and internationally. Our individual museums are the National Museum of Scotland, the National Museum of Flight, the National Museum of Rural Life and the National War Museum. The National Museums Collection Centre in Edinburgh houses conservation and research facilities as well as collections not currently on display. 2.The National Museum of Scotland reopened in summer 2011 following a three-year, £47m redevelopment. Since then it has entered the top ten most popular UK visitor attractions (ALVA), becoming the most popular attraction in the country outside of London. With over 4 million visitors since re-opening, the Museum is also one of the top 20 most popular art museums and galleries in the world (The Art Newspaper). It was also voted the number one museum in the UK in TripAdvisor's inaugural Travellers' Choice Awards earlier this year. 3.CERN The name CERN stands for 'Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire', the European Council for Nuclear Research. It is the European particle physics laboratory on the border between Switzerland and France, was founded in 1954 to increase international scientific collaboration. It brings together scientists from all over the world, sharing the costs as well as the knowledge of complex experiments into particle and nuclear physics. Our exclusive summer exhibition is now on! Discover the epic tale of Mary, Queen of Scots until 17 November 2013. www.nms.ac.uk/mary National Museums Scotland, Scottish Charity, No. SC 011130 This communication is intended
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] At a loose end this weekend? Take some pics and snap out of it!
Quoting Michael Maggs mich...@maggs.name: http://www.wikilovesmonuments.org.uk/?page_id=75 What, in London, hasn't been photographed? Oh, wait, ... Tomorrow's triathalon. Anyone in the city fancy themselves as a sports photographer/reporter? Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Fwd: National Museums Scotland listings to 27 October 2013
Quoting geni geni...@gmail.com: Been there. Have they started admitting the existence of the Kingdom of Strathclyde yet? Aye, whut? Deal wi' tha Weegies? Awa wi yon pish! [Trans: There is some in-jest rivalry between Edinburgh, the long-established - universally recognised - capital of Scotland, and some place near where Parliament likes to keep their Nucleur Weaponz.] Anyway, don't ask me questions like that, Geni! I live in The People's Republic of Leith! :P On a more-serious note; is it worthwhile me forwarding these? I get about one a month, I can probably get people invites to the press previews on most paid exhibitions (See Peter Doig's enWP for all I managed out of that; but, ...). Brian McNeil. -- The Wikinewsie Group. | http://wikinewsie.org | brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
[Wikimediauk-l] Wikimania 2014: On journalism
We're looking a year ahead, so we should have plenty of time to sort things out. But, the UK has some particularly-talented Wikinewsies (I'm looking at Iain Macdonald, Tom Morris and Paul Williams in particular). It would be short-sighted, in the extreme, not to ask the UK-resident Wikinewsies to get involved. Given the direction I've seen Paul heading off in (to Wikinews' great loss) I suspect he would make a great 'Head of Broadcasting' for next year's Wikimania; and, with Wikimedia UK's support, could help make sure Wikimania 2014 is the 'most-online' annual conference to-date. [All sessions webcast live, all recordings thereof online faster than the BBC does with iPlayer.] The major snag for me, a Wikinewsie in Edinburgh, is it looks-like Wikimania 2014 clashes with the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe. (I already have interest from a local community Radio station, which might lead to free use of high-end gear, and a few other things in-the-works). But, anyone who is planning to travel to the UK for Wikimania should bear that in-mind! If you want to come up to The Athens of The North, post-conference, start looking at those accommodation bookings right now. Otherwise, you'll be camping somewhere in the vicinity of Arthur's Seat. Regardless, and no-matter how hard Wikimedia UK tries to promote their London Wikimania, I can promise you us lot up in Scotland will keep knocking you off the front page when it comes to headlines in the press. Does anyone else have some 'creative ideas' about Wikimania 2014 having a 'token presence' in Edinburgh? (The Fringe venue I want to 'hijack' is close-enough to the Edinburgh Uni CS facilities I was hacking - 25 years ago - that, we could run an armoured fibre straight into JANET). It's simply too-good an opportunity to miss. And, where I strongly agree with the broad-criticisms Jimmy made of mainstream media in his HK keynote, I know that the news division of the WMF (i.e. Wikinews) could wipe the floor with the Mainstream on the independence debate. Brian. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Tony Benn, and Wiki-literature
Quoting Stevie Benton stevie.ben...@wikimedia.org.uk: Hi Brian, That all sounds really interesting, nicely done! I don't have your mobile number but I am connected to you on Skype. If there's a good time to contact you please let me know and I'll ping you and we can take it from there. Happy to help in whatever way is useful to you. If I'm on, ping me. I also have using Commons, or Archive.org on a forthcoming Edinburgh City Council agenda - and will be speaking to their solicitor anyway. FYI: http://wikinewsie.org/Edinburgh2013/ A recording of Tony's talk on Tuesday is near the bottom. And, I've still about another 50GiB of video footage to process, edit, etc, etc, etc. I'm in Maidenhead next week, but have to get back up here for the Friday evening to film a charity concert (and, probably, do half the sound engineering). ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Tony Benn, and Wiki-literature
Quoting Thomas Morton morton.tho...@googlemail.com: On 15 Aug 2013 12:03, Andy Mabbett a...@pigsonthewing.org.uk wrote: I must confess I have mixed feelings about use of video for this. While it is generally a richer media, a talking head adds little over a still image and audio. The files are larger and one of my aims with the project was to have something light and easily and cheaply downloadable. Id say there is space for both. As well as being ligjtweight audio also has the advantage of being simpler to record and get sorted - but if someone is willing to do video then audio at the same time should be trivial to achieve. Video is, then, perhaps value added? Not exactly well-thought-out, but we'd a rather nifty collection of software duct-tape for Wikinews' Paralympics work. I rented a VPS for that month, installed a dropbox client on it, and our reporters at the Paralympics simply dropped their media into Dropbox. On the VPS? It picked up all non-free media formats (audio, and video) converted them to free formats, then pushed them where was-appropriate via NewsieBot (Commons, Wikinews, or our closed Wiki). OwnCloud is the 'libre' alternative, but I've simply no time to do this justice. (You try being frontline support when the 800lb gorilla on the other end of the line is British Telecom asking how their £5milln is being spent :P) I'd say that I have a general idea of how to build a workflow and tool-chain several generational iterations ahead of Andy's ideas - one that would support what he's proposed (at the low-end); but, at the end where I want to work, multiple resolutions would be output (from 720p down to 'works with the original 8Mbps ADSL'). Splitting audio off from video is pretty trivial, and simple cross-edits are easier than you might think (look for some of the 'teaser' stuff on facebook.com/wikinews). I'm delighted Jimmy took advantage of the Wikimania keynote to raise news coverage, but saddened that our work was not mentioned. The Signpost's editors continue to attack Wikinews - with the obvious goal of installing themselves as Wikimedia's Fourth Estate. But, no avenue exists to call for closure of their trashy tabloid. A bit of a hectic email, as I need to get back to work. I hope to be in Iceland, end-Sept or begin-Oct, for setup of The Wikinewsie Group. That, thanks to a few handy contacts, will include a tour round the likely home for any TWG servers - those will not be cheap, largely because I'm going to stamp my feet and demand we're set up to be mostly NSA-proofed. And, running their preferred operating system (yes, it can host linux VMs). Brian McNeil -- Wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. On a positive note, BBC presenter Evan Davis (Today Programme; Dragon's Den) has just supplied a cracking voice recording which is now on his article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Davis Nice :D ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Tentative schedule for London WIkinews Workshop
On 27 July 2012 13:44, Richard Symonds richard.symo...@wikimedia.org.uk wrote: We've got a camcorder you can borrow for the day? It's HD and has a tripod... On Fri, 2012-07-27 at 13:55 +0100, Stevie Benton wrote: We also have a really handy sound recorder if you fancy doing some podcasting, too. We'll see once I'm back from the US. Whilst I'm over there I'll be picking up a few components for my media PC (the really good sound card I want is about 15-20% cheaper over there). That won't be completed until nearer Christmas, but will have 8 audio inputs and I'll be starting with just a couple of higher-res/larger sensor webcams. And as I noted a comment about this now being a closed list, I'll plug http://wikignomes.com. I bought the domain a couple of years back, and have done nothing with it. So, I've now set it up as a WordPress multisite install. -- Brian McNeil -- Wikinews Accredited Reporter | https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. http://wikinewsie.org | GSM: +44 (0)788 987 8314 ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
[Wikimediauk-l] Possible WIkinews workshop
Since Wikimedia Australia have managed to secure press access and credentials for the Paralympic Games, I've been asked if I could run a Wikinews workshop in London shortly before the Paralympics. I'm curious as-to what interest there would be, outwith those from Down Under. Brian McNeil -- Wikinews Accredited Reporter | brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
[Wikimediauk-l] National Trust hiring geeks...
Thought this might be of interest to some folks on the list... http://www.theitjobboard.com/r.php?t=36195_70549_8867026_17384 Brian McNeil -- Wikinews Accredited Reporter | brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. Unless otherwise stated, the contents of this message are confidential. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Possible WIkinews workshop
On Thu, 2012-07-19 at 16:41 +0100, Tom Morris wrote: On Thursday, 19 July 2012 at 13:35, Brian McNeil wrote: Since Wikimedia Australia have managed to secure press access and credentials for the Paralympic Games, I've been asked if I could run a Wikinews workshop in London shortly before the Paralympics. I'm happy to attend and help. Good. I've a couple of people responded off-list that they'd be interested too. Brian McNeil -- Wikinews Accredited Reporter | brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. Unless otherwise stated, the contents of this message are confidential. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Edinburgh photography workshop
On Wed, July 11, 2012 2:58 pm, geni wrote: If interested, the project page for the workshop is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Scotland/Edinburgh_Photography_Workshop Whats the justification for using google documents? Not my choice to do so. I believe Peter used this as a form which people who may have little-to-no experience editing a wiki will find the easiest to navigate. Early next week I intend to put together a short welcome email with checklist, which will gently remind people if they don't have an account on a Wikimedia wiki to create one, and point them to basic editing help. Brian. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Edinburgh photography workshop
On Wed, July 11, 2012 3:37 pm, geni wrote: On 11 July 2012 15:14, Richard Symonds richard.symo...@wikimedia.org.uk wrote: it's on a system which we have full control over, although the servers are run by Google, obviously! The difference is that we have some control over it. What other system would you suggest? happy to hear suggestions! Well the publicly posted list appeared to be working fairly well and allows people to judge if this is an event they want to attend. The most effective way of dealing with privacy related information is not to collect it in the first place and since Mcdonald Road Library is hardly a controlled area there is no real reason to. The publicly posted list is not up-to-date. Sorry, *wasn't* - someone wisely deleted it. Brian. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Edinburgh photography workshop
Yep, Andrew. Unlucky for you - 13th in the auto-created spreadsheet. ;-) On Wed, July 11, 2012 4:09 pm, Andrew Gray wrote: On the format, a wiki is practical for our users, but not for people new to the system - even if they are comfortable editing, using a complicated table is definitely a deterrent. We actively discourage posting contact details, for obvious reasons, which adds an extra hurdle to confirming - as we need names and contact details, we have to be able to follow up is they don't post them. (unrelatedly, I did sign up, but no email - can someone check if I am in fact registered?) - Andrew. On 11 Jul 2012 15:37, geni geni...@gmail.com wrote: On 11 July 2012 15:14, Richard Symonds richard.symo...@wikimedia.org.uk wrote: it's on a system which we have full control over, although the servers are run by Google, obviously! The difference is that we have some control over it. What other system would you suggest? happy to hear suggestions! Well the publicly posted list appeared to be working fairly well and allows people to judge if this is an event they want to attend. The most effective way of dealing with privacy related information is not to collect it in the first place and since Mcdonald Road Library is hardly a controlled area there is no real reason to. -- geni ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
[Wikimediauk-l] Edinburgh photography workshop
From 20 - 22 July 2012 we are looking forward to hosting the first Edinburgh Photography Workshop. The intent is to improve photography skills amongst attendees, share the tricks of the trade and show how to make the most of your photographs throughout Wikimedia's projects, focusing on Wikimedia Commons and Wikipedia. Several currently non-Wikimedians from Edinburgh have already shown their interest in the workshop and are keen on learning more about photography and Wikimedia's projects. If interested, the project page for the workshop is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Scotland/Edinburgh_Photography_Workshop We're now up to a dozen signed-up attendees, although there's some concern Peter may not be able to get over from Hamburg due to WM-DE possibly not resolving funding issues. Once the workshop is over, I'll provide a brief report on how it's gone so anyone interested in running a similar event can do so. Brian. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Russian Wikipedia blackout.
On Tue, 2012-07-10 at 10:33 +0100, James Farrar wrote: It's interesting to the community to learn that other countries and languages have similar problems to those that have affected us here. s/affected/been inflicted upon/ Remember Virgin Killer and the IWF[1]? This quote from the 'quite lively' discussion on the Wikinews article is quite, quite insightful when it comes to looking at the people oh-so keen to screw up the Internet with a think of teh chillun! mindset: Perhaps the offence is in the eye of the beholder. The possible response of paedophiles has no more right to influence the rights of the rest of us to see such a thing that the possible response of foot-fetishists should dictate picture of shoes. So, are the people who devote oh-so much effort, demanding considerable attention, in 'protecting' the entire world from child pornography - instead of going after those who produce it - perhaps borderline paedophiles? An amusing comment in discussion around Wikinews covering the Russian blackout[2] was that there's growing evidence that blacklists on this sort of material, which are invariably leaked regardless of security measures, provide a go-to directory of extreme and extremist material. The requisite technological infrastructure is likely far more expensive than adequately funding the correct legal bodies (police etc.) to go after the hosts and producers. [1]https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/British_ISPs_restrict_access_to_Wikipedia_amid_child_pornography_allegations [2]https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/% 27Imagine_a_world_without_free_knowledge%27,_in_Russia ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Yes, another charity wants your money
On Mon, July 9, 2012 9:52 am, Gordon Joly wrote: snip Become a Friend today and as part of your Friends pack youll receive discounts to museums and attractions, and lots more benefits to help you get even more out of your visits to the waterways. Wikimedia UK has members, but no Friends. Perhaps this should change? Interesting idea; but, what's going to catch people's attention more would be Friends of Wikipedia. That might be worth pushing up to the WMF, and across to Cultural Partners (list currently down). What people could be offered in-return for becoming Friends is kinda hard to see. P.S. Nobody in their right mind would use an ampersand in their legal name in the age of the web, would they? amp; why not? :-) Brian. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Welsh Education Minister
On Mon, 2012-07-09 at 23:45 +0100, Deryck Chan wrote: We *are* WMCY and WM Scotland. Now let's giddy up and get on with the nice stuff! Scotwiki (dot org) Have you? B. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] [GLAM] Soldiers' letters
On Wed, 2011-10-26 at 17:55 +0100, Tom Morris wrote: On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 22:55, Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org wrote: A QR code could be placed at a relevant war memorial, Is that such a good idea? I like QR codes as much as the next person, but sticking them on war memorials may probing the limits of taste in Wikimedia outreach. Believe it or not, that's why I was careful to say *at*, as-opposed to *on*. I know I've a reputation for being crass, insensitive, and bloody-minded; but, vandalising war memorials is something I'd not contemplate. :P I'm glad to see others chime in regarding the potential for certain memorials being non-notable, or having insufficient reliable sources to get beyond stub status. The point here is not to drive traffic to Wikipedia, but to allow people to quickly access very personal documents. Even just doing everyone listed on a single monument will be notable enough to garner press coverage. From that, it will - hopefully - be possible to encourage other non-wiki people to get involved and carry out the same work for their local memorials. I've no idea how far this should be pushed, or how far it might go if it gains traction. The fallen of WW-I were not repatriated; I lived in Flanders for over ten years, I've seen the rows, and rows of white crosses in war cemeteries over there. I know a very large number of people visit these sites every year. If anyone can suggest a way to tastefully cross-link memorials in the UK listing those who died with the actual graves, that would seem the next logical step here. Brian McNeil. -- http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil - Accredited Reporter. Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] [GLAM] Soldiers' letters
On Wed, 2011-10-26 at 14:53 -0700, iain.macdon...@wikinewsie.org wrote: As I've remarked before - every so often I decide to unsubscribe from this list, then something else interesting comes up. You were sane enough to unsubscribe from stroll-l/sfoundation-l, though? Right? Some of these memorials don't even have information notices (the one in the village I grew up in, for instance). Where there is sufficient information for one, might the WMF/projects/WMUK/whoever collaborate with local authorities - supplying info, images etc for an information board, which could in turn point people in the direction of further resources? (Disclaimer: I haven't thought that through. I'm thinking aloud.) You're probably thinking along similar lines to myself. These memorials were constructed in the 1918-1925 period, with funds raised locally. The material that could build a Wikipedia article is likely buried in parish newsletters, and long-ceased-publication local newspapers. The monument is less important, in terms of the data we have an opportunity to access, than the people it commemorates. Wikipedia is very much cold, hard facts, this is very, very personal. Commons, Wikisource, and possibly Wikibooks - to me - seem the appropriate projects to work on with this material. If the entire 'roll call' from a monument is processed, then the supplementary items - such as theatre tickets, or restaurant receipts - from someone's last night before going to the front can be put on display locally to the monument (eg, in a local library). The rationale behind doing this through WMF projects is to have the information available globally. Right now, someone in Australia may well know that their great-grandmother emigrated after her husband was killed in WW-I. Being able to see the letter he wrote the night before he died, and a list of the personal effects handed to the widow, is what I see making this a project of value. WW-I has oftentimes been billed as The War to end all Wars; the more personal you make that, the better. Battles A, B, and C with X, Y, and Z killed is cold statistics; changing those who died from statistics into 'real people' just seems the right thing to do. Who knows? Buried in amongst the thousands of last letters may be a few people as articulate as Owen or Sassoon. Original Message Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] [GLAM] Soldiers' letters From: Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Date: Wed, October 26, 2011 10:37 pm To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org On Wed, 2011-10-26 at 17:55 +0100, Tom Morris wrote: On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 22:55, Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org wrote: A QR code could be placed at a relevant war memorial, Is that such a good idea? I like QR codes as much as the next person, but sticking them on war memorials may probing the limits of taste in Wikimedia outreach. Believe it or not, that's why I was careful to say *at*, as-opposed to *on*. I know I've a reputation for being crass, insensitive, and bloody-minded; but, vandalising war memorials is something I'd not contemplate. :P I'm glad to see others chime in regarding the potential for certain memorials being non-notable, or having insufficient reliable sources to get beyond stub status. The point here is not to drive traffic to Wikipedia, but to allow people to quickly access very personal documents. Even just doing everyone listed on a single monument will be notable enough to garner press coverage. From that, it will - hopefully - be possible to encourage other non-wiki people to get involved and carry out the same work for their local memorials. I've no idea how far this should be pushed, or how far it might go if it gains traction. The fallen of WW-I were not repatriated; I lived in Flanders for over ten years, I've seen the rows, and rows of white crosses in war cemeteries over there. I know a very large number of people visit these sites every year. If anyone can suggest a way to tastefully cross-link memorials in the UK listing those who died with the actual graves, that would seem the next logical step here. Brian McNeil. -- http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil - Accredited Reporter. Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] World Wars project
Chris, I assume Fae has mentioned to you that the National Archives of Scotland might be interested in doing something around soldiers' wills? As-opposed to a more formal last will and testament, these documents are a final letter to loved once to be delivered if they were killed. Along with each, their CO would have returned personal effects which might include items like ticket stubs for a theatre show seen the night before they went to the front. How, and where in the family, this could work with Wikimedia projects is what I'm not entirely sure on. On Mon, 2011-10-17 at 15:35 +0100, Chris Keating wrote: I see from the 2012 activity plan that there's a budget for a World Wars project [1]. Is there a leader for this? An online presence? Hello! :-) The short answer is Yes, sort of, me. And no, not yet. And I would love to speak to you about it (and to anyone else interested in what we can do with the World War I centenary). The longer answer is; There is a really big opportunity both for Wikimedia UK and indeed the whole movement connected to the World War I centenary. For a period of about 4 years there's going to be increased public interest in this area. Around some key dates the number of people researching World War I topics on Wikipedia (everyone from primary-school children to journalists) will be massive. What's more, pretty much every museum and archive in the country which has any relevant collections is going to be doing *something* related to World War I in 2014. Further - it's not just us - this is a massive global event; 2014 is a major centenary for almost every European nation and lots of non-European ones. This is something I've long had in mind - a couple of years ago I started the Great War Centennial project on-wiki, which was then incorporated into the Military History Wikiproject. However, it didn't get very far (particularly not compared to the Battleships wikiproject). Since I've been on the Board, I have been very gradually making contacts both within Wikimedia (including the military history wikiproject) and with potential partner institutions about what Wikimedia UK could do in this regard. I know Milhist is up for doing more outreach, indeed one of the Milhist coordinators is is UK-based and has been contacting the Ministry of Defence about releasing more of their material under the Open Government License, which is great. The budget we've put in for 2012 could yet be spent in a number of different ways. And I hope this won't just be a 2012 activity - I would like to see us make this an ongoing area of activity, certainly to 2014, quite possibly beyond. I am keen to move this further, though I don't have much time spare until the New Year as I'm mainly occupied on the Fundraiser. So at the moment I'm mainly collating interested parties, with a view to getting a core group of Wikimedians together who want to shape what we do with this, and a core group of partner institutions, and putting the two groups together in a room in January or February and seeing what they come up with in terms of inspiration for the period 2012-2014. Some (but not all) of the decisions about how the WW1/WW2 allocation in 2012 budget is spent will already have been taken by then, but not all of them, and as I say I think the 2012 budget figure is a beginning not an end. If anyone's interested in this, please wave :-) I can be persuaded to invest in and read some books, although if the books were to come out of the budget and then be placed in Wikimedia UKs hands afterwards that would be preferable. We can already handle support investment in books, via the Microgrant scheme: http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Microgrants Thanks, Chris ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org Brian McNeil. -- http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil - Accredited Reporter. Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] A little wiki hacking
On Wed, 2011-09-28 at 13:53 +0100, Harry Burt wrote: On Wed, Sep 28, 2011 at 1:45 PM, HJ Mitchell hjmitch...@ymail.com wrote: The same could be said of Welsh, or Latin, or a handful of other languages with a dedicated Wikipedia. I'm on the fence as to the usefulness of these projects, but I thought I'd just point out that there are a few of them. ;) Harry (HJ Mitchell) Oh, sure. But Scots is the most marginal case of the lot, I think, which is why I was reminded of it by the original post. I'm going to chime in here onHarry's post, as-opposed to getting further down the rabbit hole on this discussion. I live in Edinburgh. I am surrounded by people who speak Scots. They don't even know they do so. If you mention Scots as a language to them, they *might* think of the poetry of Rabbie Burns. If they're smart, they may say they speak a Scottish dialect of English. Personally, I would say the difference between Scots and British English is more than the difference between Brit.Eng and U.S.Eng, but less than the difference back to Shakespearean English. I'd go as far as saying you can only call it a distinct language if you're one of the people south of the border who demanded subtitles for Rab C. Nesbitt. Whether or not the sco language code is justified, is a point I'll defer to linguists on. As I say, Burns is the best-known example of it, and I've no passion to glorify the poetic musings of an ex-tax collector. Brian McNeil. -- http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil - Accredited Reporter. Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] A little wiki hacking
On Wed, 2011-09-28 at 10:02 +0100, Michael Peel wrote: On 28 Sep 2011, at 09:58, Harry Burt wrote: Sorry to ask such a tangential question, but what is WMUK's position on non-English wikis that might be suitable for a Scottish audience (e.g. Scots)? Will it seek to actively promote interest in them? In general, yes, most definitely. In reality, we need to have speakers of the language, and people from the appropriate geography, involved so that it's not just English people promoting them. ;-) Finding those people has proved to be very tricky in the past (as is currently being demonstrated by the few people that have signed up or left apologies for the Edinburgh wikimeet this Saturday, http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meetup/Edinburgh_3 ). Mike, I think I've identified the biggest problem there: Geonotices are opt-in only. I've *never* been presented with one, and I'm not even sure where I'd enable such. That is,... stupid (yes, being my notoriously blunt self). Whilst the WMF does not want to irk people to the extent Facebook does with their perpetual extreme makeovers, there is nothing wrong with saying we have a real-world event in your area, click here to view, or here to disable such notices. We could easily be missing dozens of people with 4-figure-plus edit counts because it might be intrusive to tell them fellow Wikimedians are in the area. Incidentally, Rock Drum has done a great job on tarting up the Wikimedia in Scotland page! Kudos are due there. Brian McNeil. -- http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil - Accredited Reporter. Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] We are now accepting Direct Debits
___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org -- Gordon Joly gordon.j...@pobox.com http://www.joly.org.uk/ Don't Leave Space To The Professionals! ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org Brian McNeil. -- http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil - Accredited Reporter. Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Question: UK versus regional branding
On Thu, 2011-09-15 at 15:10 +0100, Katie Chan wrote: There seems to be an unspoken underlying assumption in this thread that efforts that can be seem to be directed as appeasing Scottish nationalists would not at the same time upset unionists. I'd say that is assuming the extreme unionist position; that there is *only* the United Kingdom, or Great Britain. Those holding such a position are in a very, very small minority. Wikimedia in Scotland seems like a fair balance though. Exactly. Scotland has a well-defined geographic, and cultural, identity. It isn't appeasing nationalists to accept reality. Brian McNeil. -- http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil - Accredited Reporter. Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Question: UK versus regional branding
On Tue, 2011-09-13 at 12:15 +0100, Thomas Dalton wrote: On 13 September 2011 09:22, Fae fae...@gmail.com wrote: Are there any views for or against using an image of Wikimedia in Scotland rather than just the WM-UK logo? My concern is that some will resist joining in a UK branded programme but would rush to support a country specific initiative. If it gets better results, we could follow a similar pattern for Wales and avoid appearing to push UK in every document (or teeshirt). Before signing the chapters agreement with the WMF, we were careful to amend it to include permission for us to call ourselves Wikimedia Scotland (etc.) in order to leave our options open for this kind of thing. You could, therefore, use a Wikimedia Scotland logo (with some small print making clear that both Wikimedia Scotland and Wikimedia UK are trading names of Wiki UK Ltd. on anything more important that a t-shirt). The downside of that is that it harms brand recognition, since neither brand is getting used as much as a single brand would be. The only question really is whether the benefit from appeasing Scottish nationalists outweighs the harm from splitting our brand. I don't know enough about Scottish nationalism to know, but I can believe that it would be. A simple illustration of the view from this side of the border was expressed in today's freebie paper, the Metro. Surprisingly, it's near-identical to one I personally used over ten years ago when living in Belgium: Scottish first, European second, and British last. That, as I'd hope people south of the border understand, is because to much of the rest of the world Britain = England. All three of the major UK political parties are looking seriously to, at a minimum, devolve their Scottish presence and give it far more autonomy. Further to that, a recent survey found that over 30% of the population expect to see a truly independent Scotland in their lifetime. Scottish national identity, and political awareness, has come a long, long way since I was a student chucking past-their-sell-by-date duck eggs at the Iron Lady. Brian McNeil. -- http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil - Accredited Reporter. Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Phone hacking, a Wikinews special
My money is on scared. And, in many, many cases I'd still bet that this is the case. Over the last 6+ years the only people kicking this issue back into the sunlight have been Private Eye. At least two police investigations have been closed in an unseemly manner, with claims everything was already known. Given recent revelations, this is obviously not the case. Police have seemingly been bribed, blackmailed, or otherwise compromised. Ditto for our elected _servants_ in Westminster. I can't wait to see what comes next; will The Dirty Digger need to fall off the back of a yacht when the FBI and Australian Federal Police investigations ramp up? Will half the UK's politicians be forced into early retirement on their index-linked final salary pensions that resemble those they've taken away from the majority of UK public servants? Pass the popcorn! I'll take this over Corrie anyday. On Thu, 2011-07-21 at 23:39 +0100, Roger Bamkin wrote: Now that the barndoor is open it appears that most MPs and journalists can now not only see it but they can write load and long pieces about it. Question: Did they know about all this before? Were they ignorant? Were they scared? Or did they just not see it? On 20 July 2011 21:14, Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org wrote: Forgive the cheekiness, but this seems most apt as a subject to bring up on the WM UK list. If you've not heard about the NoTW phone hacking, I congratulate you on having very, very effective reality-defenders. Otherwise, assuming you've been like me and enjoying the tabloids being vilified, what questions would you like put to Robert Greenwald on the issue? This is for an original article on Wikinews, and Robert was the producer/director of OutFoxed: Rupert Murdoch's war on journalism. He exposed the overbearing hands-on force downmarket with Fox. What sort of things would people like him asked to speculate about regarding the (now 6 yr+ debacle over phone voicemail hacking). Brian McNeil. -- http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil - Accredited Reporter. Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org -- Roger Bamkin Chair WMUK 01332 702993 (aka @Victuallers) ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org Brian McNeil. -- http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil - Accredited Reporter. Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
[Wikimediauk-l] Phone hacking, a Wikinews special
Forgive the cheekiness, but this seems most apt as a subject to bring up on the WM UK list. If you've not heard about the NoTW phone hacking, I congratulate you on having very, very effective reality-defenders. Otherwise, assuming you've been like me and enjoying the tabloids being vilified, what questions would you like put to Robert Greenwald on the issue? This is for an original article on Wikinews, and Robert was the producer/director of OutFoxed: Rupert Murdoch's war on journalism. He exposed the overbearing hands-on force downmarket with Fox. What sort of things would people like him asked to speculate about regarding the (now 6 yr+ debacle over phone voicemail hacking). Brian McNeil. -- http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil - Accredited Reporter. Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] We need to talk to the public catalogue foundation
Let's be blunt; when someone in the US decides to take copies of all images where the paintings have entered the public domain, they will not be able to do a thing about it. Organisations should not need beaten over the head with Bridgeman vs Corel; but, someone will do it. On Thu, 2011-06-23 at 20:59 +0100, Michael Peel wrote: I've met with them several times; as you can see, the discussions didn't get very far... Mike On 23 Jun 2011, at 20:56, geni wrote: The public catalog foundation has been busy digitising the nation's art. All those paintings held by government institutions and local councils. Pretty nice. Their website is here: http://thepcf.org.uk and the paintings can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/ Some very nice stuff there. Unfortunately they claim copyright. My favorite example is this. It's a Fayum mummy portrait about 1700 years old: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/portrait-of-a-lady-31089 And yet if we open up the meta data: Copyright Victoria and Albert Museum / Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation This image is copyrighted. The artist for this painting http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/the-launching-of-hms-royal-sovereign-at-portsmouth-25-apri25872 died 1873 and yet we open up the meta data and Copyright Hampshire County Council Museums Service / Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation . This image is copyrighted. The rest of the text runs: The Public Catalogue Foundation is committed to respecting the intellectual property rights of others. The copyright in paintings and images reproduced by the Public Catalogue Foundation belong to a variety of organisations and individuals including the collections that own the paintings and third party rights holders. Permitted Use of This Image: This image and data related to the image may be reproduced for non-commercial research and private study purposes. For ALL other uses other than those outlined above, including commercial uses, users should contact, in the first instance, the contributing collection using the contact information provided on the Your Paintings website. Where the underlying painting is in copyright, further permissions will also be needed. Protection of Image Copyright: This image is protected with a secure invisible digital watermark that allows the Public Catalogue Foundation to identify unauthorized use of the image. Further Information: Any queries should be addressed to copyrightoffi...@thepcf.org.uk Lovey. We could just ignore this and let the Americans take care of matters but it might be smarter to stage an intervention before we get NPG mark 2. -- geni ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org -- Brian McNeil. -- brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org | Wikinews Accredited Reporter. http://en.wikinews.org | http://www.wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] two-letter UK domains: any use?
On Fri, 2011-06-10 at 11:00 +0100, Fae wrote: My understanding (based on creating QR code templates in Wikipedia and discussing this issue some months ago) is that Wikimedia does not own enwp.org. If this has changed or someone is prepared to negotiate with the owner I would like to know as this might be of immediate benefit in how QR codes can be shortened as currently best practice forces us to not use it as an official redirect method (though I use it informally as below). The owner of enwp.org seems to be one Thomas Kjoerberg. Incidentally, enWN also has enwn.net, and it's built right in to the wiki; look for the Shorten URL link down the left. This is owned by Jon Davis (ShakataGaNai), an enWN crat, and current WMF employee. -- Brian McNeil. -- brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org | Wikinews Accredited Reporter. http://en.wikinews.org | http://www.wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Schools projects
___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org -- Brian McNeil. -- brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org | Wikinews Accredited Reporter. http://en.wikinews.org | http://www.wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Schools projects - evening courses
___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org -- Roger Bamkin (aka Victuallers) ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org -- Roger Bamkin (aka Victuallers) ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org -- Roger Bamkin (aka Victuallers) ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org -- Brian McNeil. -- brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org | Wikinews Accredited Reporter. http://en.wikinews.org | http://www.wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Info: Press interest in Wikipedia articles for 'super-injunction celebrities'
On Wed, 2011-05-25 at 22:11 +0100, David Gerard wrote: On 25 May 2011 09:46, Gordon Joly gordon.j...@pobox.com wrote: I think that the Wikimepdia community should be glad that the Twitter exposure and the question in Parliament (under parliamentary privilege) deflected interest away from the Wikipedia entry. Although the original Telegraph journalist/editor didn't quote it, I did say in talking to the journalist that UK editors would be liable personally for edits they made :-) For future reference: _Wiki editors in England and Wales_ - provided the super-injunction holder has not been granted corresponding restraint by the Scottish Courts. Legal advice provided to Wikinewsies indicates they'd have a great deal of trouble getting that from the courts here - or prosecuting because someone broke some silly English judge's ruling. -- Brian McNeil. -- brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org | Wikinews Accredited Reporter. http://en.wikinews.org | http://www.wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Info: Press interest in Wikipedia articles for 'super-injunction celebrities'
On Sat, 2011-05-21 at 19:49 +0100, James Farrar wrote: I heard an except from an interview with Jimbo on BBC London radio this afternoon; paraphrasing, his attitude was because the name has been named in reliable US sources, US editors will ensure it stays in enwiki. Something I stumbled across today: http://www.city-law.net/news/2010/Wikipedia_article.htm So, it'll stay in - sure. However, someone in the US may well have to ask for legal assistance (EFF, ACLU?) in - via the Foundation - telling an out-of-touch man in a white, powdered wig and dress to, eff orf!. -- Brian McNeil. -- brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org | Wikinews Accredited Reporter. http://en.wikinews.org | http://www.wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
[Wikimediauk-l] Editing help
Piggybacking on the Wikipedia workshops stuff,... I've got an Australian university using Wikinews as a class assignment for final-year students. I could really, really do with an incredibly concise editing guide. They're not showing a lot of 'clue' when it comes to markup, filling in templates, and so. But, they're doing a reasonable job contributing despite that. Anyone point me at some documents I can get Prof. Blackall to tell them are 'required reading'? -- Brian McNeil. -- brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org | Wikinews Accredited Reporter. http://en.wikinews.org | http://www.wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Editing help
On Sat, 2011-05-14 at 12:21 +0100, Roger Bamkin wrote: The other is the cheatsheet ... google will find it for you Winner! A cheat sheet is like flypaper for lazy students. :D On 14 May 2011 10:05, Chris Keating chriskeatingw...@gmail.com wrote: Have a look at: http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Bookshelf In particular, the Welcome to Wikipedia booklet - it takes people gently through the basics of editing and has a handy quick reference guide. Obviously it's based on Wikipedia not Wikinews but shoul still be helpful! Chris On Sat, May 14, 2011 at 9:59 AM, Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org wrote: Piggybacking on the Wikipedia workshops stuff,... I've got an Australian university using Wikinews as a class assignment for final-year students. I could really, really do with an incredibly concise editing guide. They're not showing a lot of 'clue' when it comes to markup, filling in templates, and so. But, they're doing a reasonable job contributing despite that. Anyone point me at some documents I can get Prof. Blackall to tell them are 'required reading'? -- Brian McNeil. -- brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org | Wikinews Accredited Reporter. http://en.wikinews.org | http://www.wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org -- Roger Bamkin (aka Victuallers) ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org -- Brian McNeil. -- brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org | Wikinews Accredited Reporter. http://en.wikinews.org | http://www.wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] London Wikipedia Academy, podcast feature
On Sat, 2011-04-30 at 17:58 +0100, Charles Matthews wrote: There is a short feature by Harriet Vickers, who was there on 13 April, now available from http://poddelusion.co.uk/blog/ as episode 81 (i.e. a week ago, not their Royal wedding special). Sadly for the rest of you, it's an interview with me, rather than related directly to the talks. 34 minutes or so in, as it says. Anything *but* the royal wedding, _pu-leez!_ :-P -- Brian McNeil. -- brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org | Wikinews Accredited Reporter. http://en.wikinews.org | http://www.wikinewsie.org Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Wikipedia logo on University Challenge?
On Thu, 2010-08-05 at 14:07 +0100, Thomas Dalton wrote: On 5 August 2010 10:18, Stephen Tilley step...@tilley.net wrote: Do we know if the BBC asked for permission to use another organisation's logo in this way? I don't see why they would need to. There is certainly no trademark violation, since the way it was used couldn't confuse anyone into thinking the BBC was associated with Wikipedia, and think the fair use exemption to copyright would apply (they are essentially providing commentary on the logo). This is not the United States of America. It is *fair dealing*, not fair use. But, yes. Essentially Thomas is correct. -- Brian McNeil, Wikinewsie. http://www.wikinewsie.org | http://en.wikinewsie.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil Wikinews is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF), a 501(c) registered non-profit which is also responsible for Wikipedia. Wikinewsies are community-accredited freelance journalists who are regularly published on the English-language Wikinews. They do not represent the WMF, or Wikinews, in an official capacity. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Contractor position available for a GLAM-WIKI organizer
Hi Michael, This looks interesting - but not to me as a potential jobseeker. However, depending on my personal finances at the time, I might be very interested as attending as a member of the press. ;-) Brian. On Thu, 2010-07-08 at 12:48 +0200, Michael Peel wrote: Hi all, I've put a job advertisement below for the position of a GLAM-WIKI organizer. The deadline for applicants is 17.00 BST on the 20th July 2010. Please feel free to pass the advertisement on to anyone that you think might be interested. I'll be posting it on the WMUK blog in the next day or so, internet access permitting... If anyone has any queries, please let me know - either on this mailing list or off-list - and I'll do my best to answer them. Thanks, Mike Peel (with Wikimedia UK Company Secretary hat on) --- Job Title GLAM-WIKI Conference Organizer About Us Wikimedia UK is a not-for-profit association set up to promote and support Wikipedia, its sister projects, and other open educational resources in the UK . Open content refers to information which is available for copying, reuse and modification, including for commercial uses, without cost or restriction other than attribution. We were established in 2008 and are one of around thirty similar associations in countries around the world. We work with museums, universities, businesses and media companies to make more freely licensed content available via Wikipedia and similar projects, and to help other people re-use content from Wikipedia. We seek to have a close relationship with cultural institutions, other open content organizations in the UK, and with the community of Wikimedia readers and editors. Job Description The GLAM-WIKI conference will be a two day meeting between Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) and Wikimedians. It will likely be held in the British Museum on 26-27 November 2010 (TBC), and will have around 200 attendees. The event will be primarily funded by Wikimedia UK. The aims of the meeting are to: - Bring together the cultural sector and Wikimedia to discuss common ground from a UK-specific point of view (similar to a previous meeting held in Australia last year) - Discuss the positive and negative aspects of previous interactions - Discuss future ways of cooperating with each other We seek an organizer for this conference who will prepare and run the event. Specific tasks that they will be responsible for include: - Preparing a full budget for the conference, and locating sponsors as necessary. - Approaching speakers and organizing the program for the meeting - Ensuring that the event is advertised to both the GLAM sector and Wikimedians, and that there are adequate numbers of attendees from both groups - Preparing all other aspects of the conference to ensure that it runs smoothly on the day - e.g. preparing the venue, catering, audiovisual, etc. - Quantifying and reporting on the outcomes of the conference The successful candidate will report to the Company Secretary, Michael Peel, on a day-to-day basis. They will also be expected to provide reports to the Wikimedia UK Board at its monthly meetings. Candidate The following skills are required: - Excellent written communication - Good organizational capability - Ability to work with minimal supervision - Internet connection and ability to work from home - Must be comfortable working in a consensus-orientated environment The following elements are preferred: - Previous experience organizing conferences - Knowledge of the Wikimedia projects and community - Knowledge of the UK cultural sector - Knowledge of the relationships between Wikimedia projects and the GLAM sector Duration and salary This is a part time contractor position that will start on 1 August 2010 and will run until 14 December 2010. Most work will be done from home, however the organizer will expect to be present at the venue for several days preceding the event, and of course during the event itself. The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring that they can work within the UK. Payment will be in the form of two lump sums - one following from the creation of a budget for the meeting and a preliminary outline of the schedule; the second following from the successful completion of the event. The amount will be commensurate with the experience of the successful candidate and will fit within the overall budget for the event. Reasonable expenses (including travel to the UK if necessary) will also be paid from the event budget. Application Please send a CV and cover letter to michael.peelwikimedia.org.uk by 17.00 BST on 20 July 2010. // EOF ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] T-shirts
On Mon, 2010-05-24 at 03:30 +0100, Thomas Dalton wrote: On 24 May 2010 03:28, Brian McNeil [Wikinewsie] brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org wrote: Why not? The main reason not to do it is the amount of work involved in setting it up. At the moment, we are limited far more by volunteer time than money. We need convert money into time by hiring staff, not time into money by forming this kind of partnership. I think there needs to be a benefit in addition to the money if this is going to be worth doing. I have to disagree. And, will try to do so as reasonably as I can. You are quite correct that the WMF, and chapters, having staff is a key priority. I am, thankfully, not a lawyer (nor do I play one on TV). It is the expertise of such people that could see boilerplate agreements drawn up that volunteers/members such as myself could take to local suppliers. From there, you might only build a £300-400 pound/year income with one supplier. But, join the dots, ... Take it around the UK. How many cities? How many articles for local places? A few hours of a lawyer's time to craft good 'standard' contracts, an hour or two of the time of volunteers like myself; it pays for itself very quickly, establishes a steady income stream, and encourages people to contribute because a tourist from the other side of the world might go home with the text, or picture, from an article they've contributed to. It fits with the attempts at some sort of rapport with museums. Their gift shops will sell T-shirts; think the British Museum doing a tee with an excerpt from the [[w:Howard Carter]] article, a related picture they've donated to Commons, and a payment to the WMF to put the enWP logo on it. Cafepress sucks, is overpriced, and 'over there'. Long-term I'm not talking about shifting a few dozen T-shirts; more like thousands per-year, per-city. To the intelligent tourist, it is embarrassing to go home with an I visited X, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt - with a Made-in-China label on it. No. With a little luck, and some help from a UK-based equivalent to Mike Godwin or Dan Rosenthal, you could have a lot of local companies looking to give money to the WMF, and protecting the trademarks for us. Seriously, just look at your local city, and its heritage. Look at the Wikipedia[1], and Commons[2] stuff for Edinburgh's most famous green space. Nothing featured pic/article-wise there. Good enough for a T-shirt though, and a real incentive for people to get featured material around that. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princes_Street_Gardens [2] http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Princes_Street_Gardens This ended up overly-long; but, I assume people will see why I immediately thought of Thomas as 'doing an an Iain (Dr No) Paisley impression'. Again, Kul is CC'd. I know how busy he's usually kept, and how careful the WMF is in entering into any agreements. It may be quite some time before he could comment on what I'm suggesting, but this is preemtive action; such businesses are usually poor when it comes to respecting copyright. More likely they'll defy the requirements to work within the legal framework and hope they don't get caught. It doesn't have to be like that, but a flat no is opening the door to the Wild-Wild-East flooding the EU and US with counterfeit goods bearing WMF logos. What, above all, we can't afford is volunteer time policing that. Brian McNeil. -- Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. · Freelance, community-accredited, journalist. Wikinewsies do not officially represent the Wikimedia Foundation, its chapters, or any of the officially registered projects; all work is done on a freelance basis. http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil | http://www.wikinewsie.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
[Wikimediauk-l] T-shirts
Since I pulled out of Board candidacy because, well, I've insane work requirements/issues at the moment, ... My list access is sporadic intermittent. I've found what seems like a really good T-shirt shop in Edinburgh; and, they do print-to-fabric instead of crappy transfers or expensive, and likely to crack, screen printing. The main reason for me seeking such is to get accredited reporter tees for Wikinewsies; however, depending on the Chapter's mandate to fundraise and permissions with relation to logos, my chat with the owner indicated he'd be delighted to do local-area tees, with Wikipedia/Commons content appropriate to the area (Think T-shirt with WP logo, image of Edinburgh Castle, and intro text from the associated article.) To be blunt, the CafePress offerings are overpriced, and just not tempting enough for people to buy. I've CC'd Kul as he's likely to have the effective final say on drawing up deals with local businesses like this. But, I'm hoping the idea has appeal to a lot of UK Wikimedians. Thoughts? I've - finally - got a couple of days off (well, I'm doing 1830 to 2230 overtime today, Monday), but can have a chat with the guy in the shop this afternoon, or Tuesday. There's potential for something a million times smarter than the I visited location, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt stuff; with most reasonably-well-made tees costing around £20 to buy, but there being a 100% markup, I think it'd be easy to ask for a £1/tee licensing fee for the logos. Does WMUK have that authority? For the Londoners, I think the corollary would be shirts featuring the enWP text for Carnaby street, but only available from a couple of shops in the street. It seems the headache in the past has been looking for a global supplier; turn this on its head, license locally, and have tourists collecting Wiki-related T-shirts for the places they visit while supporting the WMF... Brian McNeil. -- Facts don't cease to be facts, but news ceases to be news. · Freelance, community-accredited, journalist. Wikinewsies do not officially represent the Wikimedia Foundation, its chapters, or any of the officially registered projects; all work is done on a freelance basis. http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil | http://www.wikinewsie.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] T-shirts
On Mon, 2010-05-24 at 00:49 +0100, Thomas Dalton wrote: On 24 May 2010 00:29, Brian McNeil [Wikinewsie] Does WMUK have that authority? It is an interesting idea. I don't think WMUK has the authority to do it unilaterally (we can sell t-shirts to members at cost price, but once you start to get commercial we need to consult the WMF), so you were right to CC Kul. What do you see as being the benefits of doing this? I think the financial benefits wouldn't be worth the effort (we make hundreds of thousands of pounds a year from donations, I wouldn't expect us to make more than a few thousand pounds a year at £1 a t-shirt). Do we think the PR/marketing side of it would be a significant benefit? Well, it's the think small, but multiply by hundreds of places sort-of idea. You go into one of these places that makes up tees, with a design featuring WMF-owned logos, and they will - most probably - just print the thing for you. The clincher is, WMUK, and parent WMF, will see nothing financially. If you strike a deal, and local Wikimedians do the designs to appeal to those who frequent the locale, or are there as tourists, you give the person running the business something they can sell and we're required to put in very little effort. A pound for every T-shirt that tourists buy with a WP logo, a photo, and the text: Edinburgh Castle is a castle fortress which dominates the sky-line of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle here since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Why not? -- Brian McNeil [Wikinewsie] brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org http://www.wikinewsie.org | http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Fwd: Wikimedia UK - help us build our future
On Mon, 2010-04-05 at 23:04 +0100, Thomas Dalton wrote: On 5 April 2010 23:02, Gordon Joly gordon.j...@pobox.com wrote: But A. N. Other might choose to publish their home address? Yes, they could. Guys, I'm back on my own PC, now having replaced the power supply. I hold more to Gordon's comments; the law may have changed, and I would not have to disclose my address, but if serving in a board capacity I can see no circumstance where I'd withhold such information from a WMUK member. The board *serves* the members, and, to be honest, even if the registration requirements no longer require these details be divulged, I would argue that being prepared to give personal contact details to a member being a matter of course as far as the duties go. Unfortunately, with my PC outage (PSU died), I've no idea if I got registered as a candidate in time. I'm trying to look into that right now; I'm wanting to stand on a basis that WMUK could support my pet project (Wikinews) and improve things for itself. As some on-list may know, I had to resign from the WMF Communications Committee for a 'technical' conflict of interest (I will be blunt, speak my mind, c where I see it as appropriate, WMF becoming ultra-conservative on such. However, in service on a Chapter board I see no serious issues, and an opportunity to run a recruitment drive in Scotland.) If I've - through my semi-desperate email registered as a candidate, I'm open to any queries on how I'd like to see WMUK grow. I'm very ambitious about getting WMUK seen as serious and respectable, I do want to push Wikinews issues, but I only want to do so where I can see a short-to-medium term benefit to WMUK. So, if I'm up as a candidate, spam me with questions! -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Membership Fee Cut
On Fri, 2010-02-19 at 00:41 +, River Tarnell wrote: Brian McNeil: And this is an argument for what, exactly? No argument; I'm merely pointing out that a direct comparison between WM-UK and the NT might be misleading, since their fundraising methods and goals are quite different. There seems to be little to no 'goals' to WMUK fundraising at the moment. Well, at least beyond getting the organisation stable and passing funds on the the WMF itself. You trimmed all the positive points I made to denigrate the proposal by insinuating I'm advocating sky-high membership fees. I was suggesting where we might seek to get members' benefits - and make it worth paying a slightly more respectable amount. To have the money to do so you can't set membership below the price of two pints of beer. I've read my post again, and I really can't see how you came to this conclusion. I trimmed the rest of your post because it wasn't relevant to the point I was making. I insinuated nothing. I have expressed no opinion on either side of the discussion, so I have no reason to do so. In fact, in the very text I quoted, you indicated that you found the NT membership fee to be a little steep. I find it unlikely that someone would read this text and come to the conclusion that you believe WM-UK should charge as much for membership. I was not suggesting WMUK charge as much as the National Trust, no. This was where I was concerned that suggestions for member benefits to go after was dismissed. PS: Assume good faith might be a little trite, but it's not a bad idea. I've always regarded that as Wikipedia-specific; where you can debate into old age over the content of the project. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Ordnance Survey consultation - should it be made free with no restrictions?
On Sat, 2010-01-30 at 21:58 +, geni wrote: 2010/1/30 David Gerard dger...@gmail.com: On 30 January 2010 20:29, Michael Peel em...@mikepeel.net wrote: What do you think would be the best approach to take here? A single official comment from Wikimedia UK? Persuading lots of Wikimedians to emphatically say yes? Both of these? It isn't clear to me whether they want detailed, logical responses or large numbers of responses saying the same thing, although I haven't read through the whole document yet... Both, possibly. Considering the PM Petition response was basically fuck off, this one may take a bit of leverage. OS are *resisting bitterly*. Wonder if a representation from WMF would help or hinder. The data or the maps though. Copyright wise the two present a different situation. However It's not as significant as it might seem. Open street maps combined with contour data from the 7th series which is drifting into the public domain render the issues mostly one of convenience. In terms of challenges tracking down copies that the owners will let you scan of OS maps already in the public domain is going to be more of a long term challenge. This is a political thing that the WMF, or at least WMUK, should be taking an active interest in. Were OS in the US all the data would be PD. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Schoolchildren told to avoidWikipedia - Telegraph
On Sun, 2010-01-10 at 18:34 +, Thomas Dalton wrote: 2010/1/10 Charles Matthews charles.r.matth...@ntlworld.com: Shrug. Admins are never obliged to enforce policy if it gives a stupid result. ArbCom are obliged to make some sense out of what the policy pages say, bearing in mind the good of the mission. Asking for 1500 admins to come up with a consensus position is fairly futile. Asking an Arbitrator is consulting an informed person. I know what I'd think of an admin who blocked a school project on this technicality. i'll concede that what is recommended should be well thought through, but my feeling is that this could lead to second-best advice being given. You have some really big problems with your understanding of how Wikipedia works... First, you claim that ArbCom should be deciding our policy on role accounts and now you claim that admins should. You are completely wrong on both counts. Policy is determined by THE COMMUNITY. Right. And policy is enforced by admins, bureaucrats, checkusers, admins, stewards, and project arbcoms. The issue on role accounts is that anyone who can use them can change the registered email address and password. So, shared accounts are out. Any admin or, more appropriately, checkuser will tell you that generating a lot of similarly formed account names will raise suspicion. It's a common troll modus operandi - and it has been done from school IP addresses. I think Charles is speaking from the perspective of someone with access to nonpublic data. My concern is that said data may require accessed. On rare occasions a school's IT administrator may be contacted if they're a persistent source of vandalism; most admins never see that nonpublic information and may make blocking decisions they feel in line with policy but absent that knowledge. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Schoolchildren told to avoidWikipedia - Telegraph
now for all intents and purposes replaced Britannica), I would likewise be unimpressed if they were to do so. On the other hand, of course, as you say, Wikipedia can be an excellent starting point for research. I personally use it often precisely for that reason. [Full interview: http://enwn.net/bbC8] Now, that's in tertiary education. It was the creation of articles on Latin-American literature. What, exactly, would stop an A-level class from trying to bring an article on their school or a notable local building or location up to Good Article status? I'm over 22 years past the Scottish secondary education system; there was no Internet in schools then, and the few computers were a novelty that pupils knew more about than teachers. [I was one of the pupils that basically ran our school's BBC Micro lab because the teacher was a mathematician.] So, the question really has to be *where* does this fit within the national curriculum and it's devolved counterparts? Are there any honest-to-goodness teachers in WMUK? Can we recruit some? The WMUK wiki is a great place to put together some sort of teachers' guide - but it needs input from real teachers who know the curriculum. They can set out lesson plan frameworks. It could be improving students' English by improving existing articles; delving into local history (with the availability of local newspaper and library archives); or some other possibility I haven't thought of. Perhaps what's needed isn't a press release to counter the Telegraph's negative coverage but, for WMUK members to actually approach their own secondary schools, highlight the guidelines and a few choice quotes, and try to help them join the 'cult-of-wiki' ;-) Mostly this would be Wikipedians; Commoners could do so in relation to Wikipedia Loves Art. With my focus predominantly on Wikinews I'm watching with interest as what appears to be an Illinois highschool student, without visible school staff support, teaching himself to be a sports journalist by covering local inter-school sports tournaments. There is, honestly, nothing to stop pupils putting together a school newspaper submitting some work to Wikinews. There are a range of projects under the WMF banner. There's no way I could do a Wikipedia Academy because that's not my project. In all honesty, I only call myself a Wikimedian on the basis of having learned enough to legally and correctly upload content to Commons and tag, copyedit, or change Wikipedia articles without violating policy. This ended up longer than I expected; could a strategy of grassroots work, with 'learning experience' errors, be a better use of resources than countering UK mainstream media reportage? -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Schoolchildren told toavoidWikipedia - Telegraph
On Thu, 2010-01-07 at 13:10 +, Steve Virgin wrote: I could not agree more. Whoever wrote the guidelines for the government is a smart cookie. There is that clear implication that learning how to judge the credibility of any piece of information presented to you is a valuable skill. At issue is when it might be appropriate for schoolkids to start using the adult Wikipedia. No teacher can prevent them doing so outside school, so a locked and vetted version appropriate to the curriculum is the best way to start understanding the significance of whatever a search engine will throw at you. I'd be happy to help draft a guide on use of Wikipedia by schools if someone starts it. The one on Wikipedia isn't really appropriate for kids of 12 or under. It's also not focussed enough to be quickly useful to educators - it shouldn't just be a case of telling people to question the veracity of an article on Wikipedia but, to question any story you dig up via the Internet. -- From: Charles Matthews charles.r.matth...@ntlworld.com Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2010 12:57 PM To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Schoolchildren told toavoidWikipedia -Telegraph Steve Virgin wrote: As a Board member I personally believe we should be attempting to promote our Schools Project here and that should sit at the heart of any release. Feel free to wrap any or all your very valid points below inside and around the idea/goal of the project, should you agree with me. To refresh: the Board has been looking for opportunities to 'work with teachers' or 'trainers' or 'academics' to help them see the advantages of Wikipedia in terms of use with students. This could be in terms of collaborative research projects that can put these skills into practice. In could be in terms of helping teachers or trainers build additional skills in the groups they train. The bigger objective is to lead to new volunteers for Wikpedia and new content. I suggested writing a concise guide for teachers and posting it on the WMUK site for two reasons, firstly because the point had been raised on this list in December, and secondly because I know how to get that written, having done a book chapter on this in 2007. If there is a need to integrate with other work, by all means put forward a way to fit it all together. I'm sure it is right to 'migrate' the message from a rebuttal of what journalists have to say, to our own ground. I see no inconsistency here, in fact, just a discussion of ways and means. Charles -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Schoolchildren told to avoid Wikipedia - Telegraph
On Thu, 2010-01-07 at 01:21 +, Thomas Dalton wrote: 2010/1/7 Bod Notbod bodnot...@gmail.com: On Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 7:50 PM, Thomas Dalton thomas.dal...@gmail.com wrote: ■ you can find a pre-checked Wikipedia collection of 5,500 articles targeted around the national curriculum at http://schools-wikipedia.org. Wow! I've been volunteering on Wikipedia since 2004, during some periods very heavily, and I've never even heard of that! I can't believe it has escaped my attention! You should have been at the last Wikimedia UK AGM - one of the people responsible for Wikipedia for Schools gave a very interesting talk about it. To see Wikipedia for Schools mentioned by the UK Government as a recommended educational resource is a delight to me. I interviewed a couple of the people involved when the 08/09 version came out: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/2008-09_Wikipedia_for_Schools_goes_online As is highlighted in the article, through working with wiki volunteers the charity was able to fill out key items on the national curriculum. The whole thing, and the way it is moving, gives me hope that future generations will be taught to be critical of sources that present themselves as an authority. There is always the suspicion that those, such as the Telegraph, who might fear this change to a more critically thinking populace will dismiss and condemn it. Then again, I, personally, highly value critical thinking and a more long-term approach to issues and problems. I see the government accepting people will use Wikipedia, and cautioning them on how to judge an article, as a highly significant step forward in a process leading to a more informed and critical electorate. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Schools to get free access to online encylopedias
On Tue, 2010-01-05 at 17:44 +, Chris McKenna wrote: I'd suggest that some FoI requests to likely ministries/departments asking how much they spend annually on such subscriptions, and which budget it comes out of. I'd suggest the Home Office; Communities and Local Govt; Business, Innovation and Skills; Children and Schools; Culture, Media and Sport; Health; Wales and Scotland. Many sources made freely available (well, taxpayer-paid) through libraries are the very sources Wikipedians reply on to access papers c to expand and flesh out Wikipedia articles. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Telegraph runs story ...
On Sat, 2010-01-02 at 23:24 +, Michael Peel wrote: The next press release, due to go out tomorrow evening, will be about a donation of images from the Mary Rose Trust: http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Press_releases/Mary_Rose_Trust_donation Please help! If this goes down well in the media, then it will be a great precedent for getting more organizations to make their content available by Wikimedia websites. You mention the Tropenmuseum; there's more than just the image donation there. They're providing high-resolution images and Wikimedia volunteers are carrying out the costly, time-intensive process of digitally restoring them. The Mary Rose pics won't need restored, but Commons offers some interesting services to museums. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Telegraph runs story ...
On Sun, 2010-01-03 at 00:40 +, Michael Peel wrote: On 3 Jan 2010, at 00:35, Brian McNeil wrote: Durova's already done what she can with the image in the release at the moment. If you can figure out how to best add a mention of digital restorations, please do... I'd like to work that in, the closest to an appropriate place I see is the about Commons section, and I'm stumped for a wording. I had a few edit conflicts making some changes; mostly taken from the English Wikinews' style guide. The repeat one was spell out all numbers of twenty or less. I also figured the standard date format should be 'daynumber monthname year' - a UK-style/standard. There were a couple of American spellings in there too, mostly on soft words that a spell checker will accept either of. I don't think WMUK needs a style guide as long as Wikinews' but, it might be an idea to note points as we go along that should be consistent. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Press release (Public Domain Day)
On Thu, 2009-12-31 at 18:44 +, Douglas Gardner wrote: Out of interest, is it legal to upload these at 00:00UTC, or at 00:00 where WMF is based? That's a question for an international copyright lawyer. Since the servers actually run on UTC; why not ignore these quaint ideas of adjusting time based on where people are in the world. :-P -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Wikimedia UK Open decisions
On Tue, 2009-12-22 at 15:39 -0800, AndrewRT wrote: Thanks for the tip - I'll give it a go snip Try Audacity for the conversion. Load up MP3, if needed do noise removal, compress to peaks, export as OGG and fill in the metadata. Noise removal is the slightly confusing one. What you want to do is select a second or two of quiet/background noise in the recording; pick the noise removal option from the menu; click the sample button to build a noise profile; then pick from menu again and apply the noise profile to the full recording. Never had a file done that way fail to upload. Plus Audacity is Free software. The folks that do Wikivoices (featuring myself, Mike Peel, Skenmy, and Jimmy Wales on Wikinews this evening 8pm) have a lot of experience cleaning up and editing recordings. Once you've done a couple of clean and uploads they can probably offer some really good advanced tips. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Public domain day
On Mon, 2009-12-21 at 23:42 +, Andrew Turvey wrote: Well worth doing and well written - many thanks for this. We're getting together quite a list of press contacts and it's the kind of story in a news-light time of the year that could fly well. When should it be put out? Given that 1 Jan falls on a Friday and the previous Monday is a bank holiday, does Tuesday 29th make sense? Yes. That's a week to see who you might can get signed up to it. Also coincides with a WMUK board meeting, so if anything needs approving at that level (although I'm not sure it needs to) we can do that as well. I guess we should add some bits at the end: - explaining who WMUK - link into Britain Loves Wikipedia? Headline? Wikipedia looks forward to Public Domain Day? I sent out a few emails to see who might be interested in this. I'm waiting on a response from the US Copyright Office as to precisely which of Yeats' works will be PD on January 1. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Public domain day
On Mon, 2009-12-21 at 17:08 +, David Gerard wrote: 2009/12/21 Charles Matthews charles.r.matth...@ntlworld.com: Draft, then. Worth noting: It's A Wonderful Life only became a popular Christmas movie once it had entered the public domain. So Mr. Ford may be well worth mentioning - people who read will certainly take the opportunity to push his works. Send to the more literary publications? I took Charles' draft, put it on the wiki, and did a slight rewrite. David's suggestion is an excellent point to add to a detail I inserted - build the membership. http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Press_releases/Public_domain_day -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Public domain day
On Mon, 2009-12-21 at 17:31 +, Charles Matthews wrote: David Gerard wrote: 2009/12/21 Charles Matthews charles.r.matth...@ntlworld.com: Draft, then. Worth noting: It's A Wonderful Life only became a popular Christmas movie once it had entered the public domain. So Mr. Ford may be well worth mentioning - people who read will certainly take the opportunity to push his works. Send to the more literary publications? Well, if you wanted Ford Madox Ford in, you'd mention The Fifth Queen, on the grounds that many more people could tell you who Henry VIII's fifth queen was than are interested in the unreliable narrator. I see Brian has started [[Press releases/Public domain day]] on the WMUK wiki. So we can get into detail there. Yes, this might be an upmarket topic: it would be easy to email the London Review of Books, New Statesman, The Spectator. and I'll volunteer to do that once we're good to go. I wasn't so sure at first glance how to email the right person at The Economist, but well worth the effort (huge circulation). The Guardian seems to be shuffling things around and online. There is, as you point out, a great opportunity to put WMUK before a highbrow audience. Yes, Wikibooks should be alerted to, and invited to contribute to, any release on this. However, the idea of audiobooks, or even single poems from Yeats, was what caught my eye. I have a sneaking suspicion there's one or two UK celebs could be persuaded to records stuff for Commons; getting a featured audio on Wikipedia would stroke their egos. Stephen Fry reading his favourite Yeats poem anyone? -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Public domain day
On Mon, 2009-12-21 at 19:23 +, Charles Matthews wrote: WMUK list CC Steve Virgin Charles Matthews wrote: Brian McNeil wrote: Stephen Fry reading his favourite Yeats poem anyone? Have you seen the recent Doonesbury strand about celeb voices for satnav? This one actually might have some legs. So Stephen Fry is represented by Hamilton Hodell: http://www.hamiltonhodell.co.uk/page.asp?partid=3 And is so pro-Web it hurts: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7926509.stm So this is to follow up, surely. Who would like to contact the agency, explain that a smallish gesture of recording a poem on own machine and posting it to Commons is something Stephen could do to back up his comment on the BBC page: The past co-exists? Which is very Yeatsian. And doing it on New Year's Day would be symbolic timing. I would be more than happy to draft something and have a few people pick it over before sending. I would like to actually be cheeky enough to capitalise on the WikiVoices session Mike Peel and I are doing on Wednesday with Jimmy Wales. That is, if a good appeal for a far more valuable than money donation can be drawn up by Wednesday, why not ask Jimmy to send it to Stephen Fry's agent? Anyone else we could target as poetry lovers and such? I know there is the talent within the Wikimedia fold to make up for sub-optimal recording conditions but, I do see an opportunity to make works entering the public domain a cause for celebration. So, who among the UK and Ireland's celebrities might want to do their bit for the Wikimedia fundraiser by donating their voice to a recording of Yeats, available from January 1, 2010? -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Wikimedia UK Open decisions
On Mon, 2009-12-21 at 00:57 +, Andrew Turvey wrote: Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org wrote: From: Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Monday, 21 December, 2009 00:22:23 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain, Ireland, Portugal Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Wikimedia UK Open decisions This is the one that bugs me. It is technically possible to record Skype conference calls. All that is required is one participant running a call recording program. Yes - I've been doing that with the MP3 Skype Recorder programme. However, this saves it as MP3s, which can't be uploaded to the wiki. So I then convert it to OGG using CyberPower's Free Mp3/Wma/Ogg converter and the ogg wont upload either! All I can say is we're working on it! Try Audacity for the conversion. Load up MP3, if needed do noise removal, compress to peaks, export as OGG and fill in the metadata. Never had a file done that way fail to upload. Plus Audacity is Free software. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
[Wikimediauk-l] WikiVoices #51 / English Wikinews Writing Contest 2010 - #wikiwednesday
Mike Peel has near-confirmed/agreed to do WikiVoices #51 (previously Not the Wikipedia Weekly). I'm there, Durova is ringmaster, and Jimmy Wales will also be in on it. It's the 23rd, 8pm UK time, and via Skype, a Skypecast (funny name for a podcast) should be available shortly thereafter. The idea is to see if a few Wikinews articles can be put together during the recording session. Up to around 15 additional call-ins can be supported provided people mute mics as appropriate to avoid a wall of background noise. It will also be another point to promote Wikinews' 2010 writing contest, which starts on January 25. Alas, so far we've not dug up any prizes - in a couple of previous competitions I've put up some cash - the idea of it being paid editing goes away when you're looking at about 10p/article. Please complain bitterly, but *constructively*, about any of the neglected Wikinews landing or help pages; if you've a relative that relates you the news blow-by-blow, send them our way, and if you're a twit, send it out with the #wikiwednesday tag. Competition: http://enwn.net/WWC2010 WikiVoices #51 http://enwn.net/7F9Cf The for Wikipedians Wikinews intro http://enwn.net/197b The for your friends who might try Wikinews intro http://enwn.net/6bc42 -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org|http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil Content of this message in no way represents the opinions or official position of the Wikimedia Foundation or any of its projects. signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Wikipedia guide for teachers
On Sun, 2009-12-06 at 08:30 -0800, AndrewRT wrote: I forgot to mention - I was speaking to someone at the Wikimedia Seminar last Thursday and they mentioned that their sister is a teacher (11-16yos) and often has problems with students using Wikipedia inappropriately (in the sense of repeating things that aren't true). She said it would be useful if we could put together a, say, 5 page guide, on the best way to use Wikipedia. Does anyone know if there is anything similar already out there and could anyone help out with putting something like this together? Eleven through sixteen is a broad range. I know there's several project administrators fall in that group but... For the 11-13 range I'd suggest they use Wikipedia for Schools. They can install it locally if they like, and actually letting the upper-end 15/16 loose on the mediawiki install would be the *perfect* education on how Wikipedia can have false information inserted. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org|http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil Content of this message in no way represents the opinions or official position of the Wikimedia Foundation or any of its projects. * Problems replying? Forward bounces to bria...@skynet.be to raise with Godaddy Hosting. signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Wikipedia guide for teachers
On Sun, 2009-12-06 at 16:48 +, Thomas Dalton wrote: 2009/12/6 Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org: For the 11-13 range I'd suggest they use Wikipedia for Schools. They can install it locally if they like, and actually letting the upper-end 15/16 loose on the mediawiki install would be the *perfect* education on how Wikipedia can have false information inserted. Wikipedia for Schools is about censoring Wikipedia. It doesn't make it any easier to do good research. Mmmm? Do you make a habit of telling children aged eleven they can look things up on a website with pictures of an adult performing autofellatio? -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org|http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil Content of this message in no way represents the opinions or official position of the Wikimedia Foundation or any of its projects. * Problems replying? Forward bounces to bria...@skynet.be to raise with Godaddy Hosting. signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Wikipedia ordered by judge to break confidentiality of contributor
On Wed, 2009-12-02 at 17:36 +, Bod Notbod wrote: On Wed, Dec 2, 2009 at 5:28 PM, Charles Matthews charles.r.matth...@ntlworld.com wrote: Agreed, but my point really is that anyone dealing with the media would be better prepared with some knowledge of other instances. And I don't instantly have the facts (some of what I know about this might be ArbCom-related and so privileged). Never mind the legal technicalities, I'm still snorting coffee over my desk at the bit that says: 'The open nature of the site has led to embarrassing instances in which pages have been edited to contain false information. Tony Blair’s entry was once edited to state that his middle name was “Whoop-de-do’’.' I bloody love Wikipedia, I do. If you have a twitter account, might want to follow these guys then... FakeAPStylebook Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair should be referred to as he despite being a hermaphroditic alien reptoid. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org|http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil Content of this message in no way represents the opinions or official position of the Wikimedia Foundation or any of its projects. * Problems replying? Forward bounces to bria...@skynet.be to raise with Godaddy Hosting. signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Paying for news
On Wed, 2009-12-02 at 00:12 +, Michael Peel wrote: On 30 Nov 2009, at 18:17, Thomas Dalton wrote: 2009/11/30 Michael Peel em...@mikepeel.net: Does someone want to start drafting a press release that can be sent out, then? Ok, here's a first draft: http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Press_releases/Free_online_news Steve Virgin's just rewritten this - any comments on the latest version? The current plan is to send it out tomorrow morning. I like this new version. Needs a few more eyeballs over it to check for grammar and so. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org|http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil Content of this message in no way represents the opinions or official position of the Wikimedia Foundation or any of its projects. * Problems replying? Forward bounces to bria...@skynet.be to raise with Godaddy Hosting. signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Paying for news
On Mon, 2009-11-30 at 16:31 +, Michael Peel wrote:
Does someone want to start drafting a press release that can be sent
out, then?
[CC'd wikinews-l, people there please see WMUK mailing list for prior
discussion - papers behind paywalls is the topic with Mr Murdoch one of
those most desperate to do this.]
Uhm Points I'd cover/emphasise.
* Slight element of conflict Wikipedia/Wikinews where people seek to do
extensive WP coverage of recent events (turning recently-deceased's
BIO into hagiography).
* [[WN:NPOV]] still applies.
* Require credible sources, or well-documented Original Research.
* WN a project in the shadow of WP for the time being.
* Opportunity for aspiring journos to learn wiki tech.
* Operates as a wannabe wire service and has unashamedly copied from
BBC News website (eg {{haveyoursay}}).
If a release does go out, I promise to take the be nice pills for a
couple of extra weeks. ;-)
--
Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil
Content of this message in no way represents the opinions or official
position of the Wikimedia Foundation or any of its projects.
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Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Help us on Britain loves Wikipedia!
On Sun, 2009-11-29 at 18:10 +, zeyi wrote: Dear All, Our initiative, Britain loves Wikipedia is coming. According the plan, the event will launch at the Victoria and Albert Museum on Sunday, 31 January 2010, followed by a series of events each weekend at museums or galleries around the UK. It would be great if members can join this event at many volunteering point. Currently, there are three entries to join in this event: 1, designing Poster: Poster will be used to advertise this event on local avenue, college campus and other public areas. 2, designing T-shit: T-shit will be given to volunteers on that day, which need to be remarkable, and represent our logo. 3, signing for volunteers: in the event date, we need volunteers on museums to lead people, assist museum staff, even encourage people to join Wikimedia UK. Please check the date and location from http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Initiatives/Britain_Loves_Wikipedia, and sign the event which is suitable for you to attend. Please do contact Project leader Mike Peel or me for helping any issues above. All ideas and comments are welcome! I would (although not yet a WMF-GB member) be delighted to chase up Chamber's Street Museum in Edinburgh to do a day. I got dragged round there from around age 8 (32 years ago) by my grandfather. He was a teacher and ex-mining engineer from WWII. At that thime they had a lot of hand-made (but look like Hornby) models of engineering work. I would be most interested in knowing if they still have them hidden away somewhere. As a kid I loved going round and pushing all the buttons to make things like bridges raise and mineheads run. Those would make great little video clips for commons if I can borrow some sort of decent vid-cam. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil Content of this message in no way represents the opinions or official position of the Wikimedia Foundation or any of its projects. signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Would anyone like to talk to Rory Cellan-Jones about the falling number of editors?
On Wed, 2009-11-25 at 13:08 +, Gordon Joly wrote: Michael Peel wrote: I've just spoken to Rory by phone, and managed to touch on a number of different topics with him - including the Usability Initiative, the bookshelf project, Britain Loves Wikipedia and other local events, etc. There were lots of issues that I didn't cover (different language versions, strategy, different viewpoints on the numbers, ...), so I would encourage others to also get in touch with him. Apparently, Mr Ortega's work is based on people who register an account and make one edit or more. The WMF stats are based on slightly different metrics; only people with five or more edits are classed as contributors. I am not a scientist or, more importantly, a statistician. But, these seem like radically different criteria for an analysis. I've had no other calls/emails from any other media organizations about this story. The Press Association are looking for comment. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil Content of this message in no way represents the opinions or official position of the Wikimedia Foundation or any of its projects. signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] School project
On Thu, 2009-11-12 at 15:44 +, zeyi wrote: Hi, all, According to the school project we set up, (check here if you need more information http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Initiatives/Schools_project), I have discussed the possibility with the head of sixth forum, she suggested two things. one is we need some documents to prove that Wikipedia and relevant projects have affected school age students on some way, which will give more sense to committee who can accept us to host the workshop on schools. Second, we need more detail proposal to explain our school project and the content of workshop. I can complete the proposal with cooperating to others. However, I am wondering that any one has resource about how Wikipedia and relevant projects influence school students? anything is helpful, reports, survey, blog and academic articles? Cormac can give you the more dry academic stuff; that might depend on the audience. The more populist stuff is Wikipedia for schools[1], the announcement of the 08/09 version[2]. Wikinews coverage of the 08/09 version being released[3]. I can probably dig up contact addresses for Andrew and Mary from *somewhere* in my address book. [1] http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/charity-news/wikipedia-for-schools.htm [2] http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/charity-news/2008-wikipedia-for-schools.htm [3] http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/2008-09_Wikipedia_for_Schools_goes_online -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Brian_McNeil Content of this message in no way represents the opinions or official position of the Wikimedia Foundation or any of its projects. signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Notes from the Cbinet Forum
On Tue, 2009-10-27 at 17:10 +, Andrew Turvey wrote: - SIon Simon, another politician present, mentioned that the copyright debate is highly polarised between the industry and free copyright advocates, both sides are deaf to the other and they need to engage. Despite this the discussions on copyright have been largely one sided, unbalanced, with some fairly extreme language used - copyright warriors, green ink brigade. a generation of stealing etc. That's a complete and utter misrepresentation of the other side. It's a random representation from some file-sharer or other. He has obviously made absolutely any effort to talk to the other side. If you get the chance, suggest he talk to Richard Stallman, in fact, urge him to do so. I've been following the Pirate Party mailing list the past few days. They don't want the abolition of copyright; they've read what RMS has to say on the topic, and their interest is more in seeing a complete reevaluation of copyright in the context of it being a social contract. Not just rights granted to a copyright holder by society, but responsibilities that come with them - like not just letting things enter the public domain when copyright expires, put actually taking the time to put them out there, freely available. Creative works are, collectively, our cultural heritage; with regard to music, the vast majority creating it see little to no financial reward for doing so. The 'industry', on the other hand, has a long and shameful history of assuming they have a right to be paid over and over and over again for exactly the same piece of work. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Next board meeting: this evening, with a different format
On Wed, 2009-10-21 at 14:56 -0700, AndrewRT wrote: I notice now there's actually a Skype extra called Pamela for Skype which can be used to record. It's available as a free 30 day trial or €18 to buy - something like that might be worth doing, particularly if we could get one for free! There used to be a free Skype recorder for Windows - I found it unreliable. I ended up buying SkyLook which integrates Skype with Outlook - very nice. However, on GNU-Linux the Skype recorder is completely free and I've had no problems with that. You're just not using the latest version of Skype. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Cbinet Forum
On Tue, 2009-10-20 at 16:30 +0100, Bod Notbod wrote: On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 11:58 PM, Andrew Turvey andrewrtur...@googlemail.com wrote: Peter Mandelson is a keynote speaker, which could be an important opportunity to put the case for public domain to a key decision maker. My question: what should I focus on at this conference and what should I aim to get out of it? Shoot Peter Mandelson in the head at point blank range wearing a Wikimedia UK bandana and shout INFORMATION WANTS TO BE FR! I expect that would get the odd headline here and there. A bit of publicity for us. If you're not keen on a lengthy prison sentence a decent kick in the balls should get us at least onto page four or five. This may not be a professional approach to Peter Mandelson, but WMUK simply lacks the funds to hire a professional hitman. :-P Can't abolish the *unaccountable* Lords fast enough for me. Although I'm none too happy about rumours the Dark Lord may be exiting that chamber to stand in a safe Labour seat. What is, actually, conspicuously absent from the discussion is whether anyone has a *right* to make a profit on these creative works. Copyright is a social contract; society grants a work's creator(s) a limited duration monopoly to allow them the *opportunity* to make a profit. Arstechnica has a good article relating to this today. Those well-entrenched and profiting from creative works have a 100+ year history of scaremongering and depriving the public domain what they agreed to give it in the first place. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Cbinet Forum
On Mon, 2009-10-19 at 23:58 +0100, Andrew Turvey wrote: We've been invited to go along to a conference next week organized by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on creative industries. Although we made it clear to them that we are not-for-profit and a lot of the programme is not particularly relevant, they were very keen to get us to go along, even to the extent of giving us a free ticket. The website is at http://www.cabinetforum.org and the agenda is: * New business models for online content: How can a viable business be made out of online content without relying on advertising? Wikipedia is not the only project. Wikinews is CC-BY. Content can be copied and used on an ad-supported site. See http://enwn.net/aEDd My question: what should I focus on at this conference and what should I aim to get out of it? As mentioned earlier, get names, and, I'd add, try to get any press there to mention you were present. -- Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Wikinewsie.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] AGM dates
From: Michael Peel em...@mikepeel.net On 26 Sep 2009, at 12:52, Al Tally wrote: On Sat, Sep 26, 2009 at 12:44 PM, brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org wrote: From: Andrew Turvey andrewrtur...@googlemail.com - Al Tally majorly.w...@googlemail.com wrote: also, where is it going to be? That's the biggest factor for me. I think the idea was London - Seddon could you confirm? Just a semi-idle question. Once the membership grows somewhat would it be expected that future AGMs would be held somewhere further north? The last was held in Manchester. Perhaps we should hold one in Glasgow at some point? Or will that be a little too far north? That'd suit me fine, I'm less than 30 miles away. And probably by the time you did that I would have sorted out membership. Brian. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Daily Mail on Flagged Revisions
Uh, what? I snipped half a dozen paragraphs that had been copied word-for-word from the Daily Mail's website. That's a copyright violation. The link isn't. Brian. -Original Message- From: wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Paul Williams Sent: 26 August 2009 13:48 To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Daily Mail on Flagged Revisions Under that logic, posting the link is a copyright violation as it does not belong to us. 2009/8/26 Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Both this list and wikien-l are public. To repost a substantial portion of a news website's article on either of these mailing lists is a copyright violation. Brian. - Forwarded Message - From: Andrew Turvey andrewrtur...@googlemail.com To: English Wikipedia wikie...@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Wednesday, 26 August, 2009 13:20:00 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain, Ireland, Portugal Subject: Daily Mail (England) on Flagged Revisions Local english tabloid puts it's slant on the news. Unfortunately we didn't get any quote in there. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208941/Free-edit-Wikipedia-appoints -volunteer-editors-vet-changes-articles-living-people.html ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org http://uk.wikimedia.org/ ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Daily Mail on Flagged Revisions
On which basis it would be wisest to *not* post this material here. I base that on having been reprimanded for similar actions on other lists, and feedback from the technical people that it is very difficult/inconvenient to remove posts from the archive. So while it might be convenient, someone will have serious headaches if the Daily Mail demands the content be removed from the archive. Brian. -Original Message- From: wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Paul Williams Sent: 26 August 2009 14:05 To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Daily Mail on Flagged Revisions I was merely stating that your logic is flawed. We aren't claiming any ownership of posts to this list, or content ownership. It's just being reposted as a convienience. 2009/8/26 Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Uh, what? I snipped half a dozen paragraphs that had been copied word-for-word from the Daily Mail's website. That's a copyright violation. The link isn't. Brian. -Original Message- From: wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Paul Williams Sent: 26 August 2009 13:48 To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Daily Mail on Flagged Revisions Under that logic, posting the link is a copyright violation as it does not belong to us. 2009/8/26 Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org Both this list and wikien-l are public. To repost a substantial portion of a news website's article on either of these mailing lists is a copyright violation. Brian. - Forwarded Message - From: Andrew Turvey andrewrtur...@googlemail.com To: English Wikipedia wikie...@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Wednesday, 26 August, 2009 13:20:00 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain, Ireland, Portugal Subject: Daily Mail (England) on Flagged Revisions Local english tabloid puts it's slant on the news. Unfortunately we didn't get any quote in there. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208941/Free-edit-Wikipedia-appoints -volunteer-editors-vet-changes-articles-living-people.html ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org http://uk.wikimedia.org/ ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org http://uk.wikimedia.org/ ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
[Wikimediauk-l] Wikinews' article on the National Portrait Gallery threat
Wikinews has its article up for review. It should be published and in Google News pretty much as-is. http://tinyurl.com/WN-NPG It is quote long and mindful of the discussion over the weekend. Brian. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] [Foundation-l] sue and be damned FOI to NPG
I have a response from the National Portrait Gallery's press spokesperson that they are drafting a release to issue today. Obviously they've received a lot of interest on this. Brian. -Original Message- From: wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Peter Coombe Sent: 12 July 2009 11:18 To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] [Foundation-l] sue and be damned FOI to NPG But even if FOI is deemed to apply to photographs of artwork, they could release the files and still maintain their claim of copyright http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/yourRights/index.htm#receive They could also claim commercial interest (IMO reasonably) as a reason not to comply with such a FOI request, but this is at least tested against the public interest. http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/yourRights/exemptions.htm#43 Pete / the wub 2009/7/12 Dahsun dah...@yahoo.com I agree that the WMUK shouldn't get directly involved, but if without making any reference to the case in hand they request the same information under the FOI then I would have thought they were indirectly rather than directly involved. As for whether the FOI has an exemption for artwork, well I'd be interested in what the lawyers have to say on this as there is some legalese in the legislation that I can't get my head around. However the National Portrait Gallery has its own handy http://www.npg.org.uk/about/foi.php section on FOI, and I don't read that as containing any substantial claim of exemption from the Act for the gallery. They also have some fine objectives including the provision of access to the national collection of portraits for all sections of the population but reassuringly not the restriction of access to the national collection of portraits only to those who can visit the gallery in person or maximising of the commercial use of the images --- On Sat, 11/7/09, David Gerard dger...@gmail.com wrote: From: David Gerard dger...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] [Foundation-l] sue and be damned FOI to NPG To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Saturday, 11 July, 2009, 1:00 PM 2009/7/11 Dahsun dah...@yahoo.com: Perhaps the air would be slightly clearer if Wikimedia UK were to make Freedom of Information Act requests to the NPG and other Publicly funded galleries for the highest def digital photos they have available of any artworks in their possession. WMUK getting directly involved in this would be very bad for WMUK's (legal) perceived separation from WMF. Of course, WMUK could meaningfully comment that claiming copyright on something four hundred years old is more than a little odious - it's not like the painter will paint another painting if only th NPG can make legal threats. That said, your approach is most certainly particularly amusing :-D I expect they'd claim these were commercial works and the core of their business or somesuch. - d. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] FW: National Portrait Gallery threat of legalaction
Yet, here is some earlier correspondence that apparently doesn't exist. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Kaldari/NPG_email Brian. -Original Message- From: wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Tom Holden Sent: 14 July 2009 00:15 To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] FW: National Portrait Gallery threat of legalaction They seem quite reasonable really... From: wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Brian McNeil Sent: 13 July 2009 18:33 To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikimediauk-l] FW: National Portrait Gallery threat of legal action Statement from the National Portrait Gallery. -Original Message- From: Eleanor Macnair [mailto:emacn...@npg.org.uk] Sent: 13 July 2009 16:41 To: Brian McNeil Subject: RE: National Portrait Gallery threat of legal action Dear Brian As requested please find attached a statement from the National Portrait Gallery about the matter referred to in your e-mail. I do hope this is helpful and please do let me know if you have any further questions. Best wishes Eleanor -- Eleanor Macnair Press Officer Communications Development National Portrait Gallery St Martin's Place London WC2H OHE Direct T 020 7321 6620 F 020 7930 1998 www.npg.org.uk http://www.npg.org.uk/ click here http://www.patronmailuk.com/bnmailweb/PatronSetup?oid=29 to register for the Gallery's e-newsletter This e-mail, and any attachment, is intended only for the attention of the addressee(s). Its unauthorised use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted. If you are not the intended recipient, please destroy all copies and inform the sender by return e-mail. P Please consider the environment; do you really need to print this email? _ From: Brian McNeil [mailto:brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org] Sent: 11 July 2009 16:23 To: Eleanor Macnair Cc: sc...@wikinewsie.org Subject: National Portrait Gallery threat of legal action Dear Eleanor, I am a freelance journalist looking into reports that the NPR has threatened legal action against a non-resident U.S. citizen. The following email has come into my possession, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Dcoetzee/NPG_legal_threat I have contacted the culture secretary, shadow culture secretary, and a number of organisations within the UK for comment. I would appreciate a statement of the NPR's position on this, and if they consider the current legislation that makes such threats possible appropriate in the modern world. Regards, Brian McNeil Wikinews. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] [Foundation-l] About that sue and be damnedto the National Portrait Gallery ...
I have emailed the culture department, pointed them at the legal threat, and asked a few questions and for a statement on this. Brian. -Original Message- From: wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Sam Blacketer Sent: 11 July 2009 12:23 To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] [Foundation-l] About that sue and be damnedto the National Portrait Gallery ... On Sat, Jul 11, 2009 at 11:43 AM, David Gerard dger...@gmail.com wrote: In fact, the more legal success they have with this approach (and they do have a plausible cause in the UK, if they throw enough money at arguing so), the more *utterly radioactive* the publicity for them will be. I'll be calling the NPG first thing Monday (in my capacity as just a blogger on Wikimedia-related topics) to establish just what they think they're doing here. Other WMF bloggers and, if interested, journalists may wish to do the same, to establish what their consistent response is. What they think they're doing is protecting their revenue. I've just posted on commons explaining where I think the NPG are coming from. To cut a long story short, they are a non-profit making gallery and licensing reproductions makes them a sizable annual income. They are also key members of a group which co-ordinates other UK museums and galleries on copyright law. They can't just decide to give up this case; they will fight it, if needs be, in court. Expect the NPG to argue that allowing WMF to host reproductions would, in effect, extend Bridgeman v Corel worldwide, thereby depriving galleries of a significant income from reproduction fees - income which would not therefore be available to fund restoration of pictures etc. They are also likely to say that the result would probably be that galleries would be unable to afford to run websites containing reproductions, so it would actually diminish public access. I doubt that the media battle will be one-sided. The NPG has a large number of influential friends. -- Sam Blacketer ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Using Wiki software in higher Education: Interview request
I've emailed him and asked him to take a look at the discussion here. Brian. -Original Message- From: wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Turvey Sent: 02 June 2009 00:17 To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Using Wiki software in higher Education: Interview request Could Cormac travel to London do you think? - Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org wrote: From: Brian McNeil brian.mcn...@wikinewsie.org To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Monday, 1 June, 2009 23:20:13 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain, Ireland, Portugal Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Using Wiki software in higher Education: Interview request Not a Brit, but IIRC Cormac Lawler was doing his PhD on Wikiversity. -Original Message- From: wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Turvey Sent: 01 June 2009 23:17 To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Using Wiki software in higher Education: Interview request Sorry this should have been using Wikipedia/Wikimedia in Higher Education. The overall course is about the use of wikis in general, and they are asking one of us to do a particular interview on the use of Wikipedia/Wikimedia in universities. Regards, - Andrew Gray andrew.g...@dunelm.org.uk wrote: From: Andrew Gray andrew.g...@dunelm.org.uk To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Monday, 1 June, 2009 13:23:58 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain, Ireland, Portugal Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Using Wiki software in higher Education: Interview request 2009/5/31 Andrew Turvey andrewrtur...@googlemail.com: We have recently been approached by a company asking for someone to be video interviewed on the subject of how Wikipedia can be used in universities. The company is a spin off from Imperial College in London and is partly public owned and partly privately owned. They are currently preparing courses in new technology, which are expected to be used by over 100 higher education institutions around the world. Sorry, I'm a little confused - is this using Wikipedia in higher education, or using wikis in higher education? -- - Andrew Gray andrew.g...@dunelm.org.uk ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
[Wikimediauk-l] Merchandise
I know this may be early days, but I see mention of chapter negotiations and this is a somewhat related issue. Most people here (not in the wider public) know about the Cafepress store for Wiki merchandise, but it doesn't really cut it anymore. I am aware that alternatives are being looked at, but this may not be global coverage, and would likely not cope with localised merchandise for WM UK. I know the Wikimedia name is covered in the chapters' agreement(s), but if you wanted to do a members-only T-shirt, could you do Wikimedia UK, Supporting the Wikipedia Mission shirts from a local supplier to keep shipping costs down? Obviously a cut goes to the WMF, but this seems like a good point to cover in any future agreement. Brian. ___ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
