This made my day. Thank you, Phoebe. -Kat
On Thu, Apr 17, 2014 at 3:13 PM, phoebe ayers <phoebe.w...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello everyone! > > So, to change the subject entirely, I just discovered that this is the 10 > year anniversary of foundation-l/wikimedia-l! > > Foundation-l was founded in April 2004, and was renamed to wikimedia-l two > years ago: > http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/ > > Foundation-l was originally an offshoot from wikipedia-l, which is where > the first discussions about policies and issues on the projects were held. > It was proposed as a separate list in order to discuss "Wikimedia-wide > issues". > > Over the years, we have had debates on every subject under the sun. We've > gone through high points, hammering out constructive policies and debates, > sharing our experiences as encyclopedists and free culture enthusiasts; and > we've gone through low points, with allegations of bad behavior flying left > and right and people belaboring points beyond all reason. Sometimes -- > usually, in fact -- it's both at once, in different threads. The list has > been a place to send ideas, manifestos, and information as well as a place > to discuss with others who share our passions. > > We've debated the list and its place a lot over the years. We have talked > about moderation, but rarely done anything with it. We've implemented > posting limits (still in place: 30 posts/person/month); enforced posting > limits; forgotten to enforce posting limits; talked about stricter or > weaker limits. We've split sub-topic lists out; we've merged lists back > together. We've debated the cost in time and energy of each email, the > burden that being subscribed to the list means, how impossible to keep up > it is. We've tried summaries, filters, translations. We've talked about > languages, and tried many times (unsuccessfully to date) to make the list > truly multilingual. We've called each other out on bad behavior, and every > once in a while we've remembered to praise each other too. > > The list has chronicled the growth of the Wikimedia Foundation from the > days when we celebrated raising $50,000 in the fundraiser and held the > first board elections to today. And it has chronicled the growth of the > Wikimedia movement, across languages and communities, and of the projects, > as they changed from rather odd novelties to a core part of the internet. > > People on the list have come and gone. Sometimes, for months or years at a > time, someone will post on nearly every thread and every subject. Usually > they eventually taper off, and then someone new will take their place, > making the rest of the subscribers wonder "how do they have so much time?!" > For those who have been subscribed for a long time, these names are > recognizable because of their many posts and their (in)famous dedication to > the list. (Wouldn't it be fun if we could get those folks all together in > person, for a Wikimania panel or something?) Many subscribers never post; > others are able to find a balance. It is a truism that those who rarely > post often send the most thoughtful mails. > > People have used the list to join the movement, to get to know others. > They've also used the list to quit the movement, sometimes loudly and > angrily, sometimes thoughtfully, sometimes silently; it is always sad when > this happens. Sometimes, people have used the list to return (welcome back!) > > The list can be endlessly irritating. It's a source of conversation: "wow, > the list is blowing up right now, can you believe it?!" It also can be a > source of connection with other people who we may only know through their > emails, and a source of joy and inventive new ideas. It is disconnected > from the on-wiki communities, but is connected too. It serves as a place to > share with people across our movement, when there are few general channels > to do so. It is thousands of mails in thousands of in-boxes, over many > years. > > The list is ours, our commons, ours to take care of and to try to make > better. Happy anniversary, Wikimedia-l. > > -- phoebe > > -- > * I use this address for lists; send personal messages to phoebe.ayers <at> > gmail.com * > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> -- Your donations keep Wikipedia free: https://donate.wikimedia.org _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
