How is a one-off ban comparable in any way with a structured effort to develop a policy in consultation with the community, and then implement it together?
Lodewijk On Sat, May 23, 2020 at 10:02 PM Todd Allen <toddmal...@gmail.com> wrote: > Worked out great the last time WMF tried to pull something like this, > didn't it? > > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_response_to_the_Wikimedia_Foundation%27s_ban_of_Fram > > > Oh, wait. By "worked out great" I mean "was an unmitigated disaster." One > wonders if the folks at the WMF are capable of learning from mistakes, and > one is not encouraged by the apparent answer. > > Todd > > On Fri, May 22, 2020 at 3:59 PM María Sefidari <ma...@wikimedia.org> > wrote: > > > Hello everyone, > > > > Today, the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees unanimously passed a > > resolution and published a statement[1] regarding the urgent need to make > > our movement more safe and inclusive by addressing harassment and > > incivility on Wikimedia projects. The statement builds on prior > statements > > from 2016 and 2019,[2][3] affirms the forthcoming introduction of a > > universal code of conduct, and directs the Wikimedia Foundation to > rapidly > > and substantively address these challenges in complement with existing > > community processes. > > > > This includes developing sustainable practices and tools that eliminate > > harassment, toxicity, and incivility, promote inclusivity, cultivate > > respectful discourse, reduce harms to participants, protect the projects > > from disinformation and bad actors, and promote trust in our projects. > > > > Over the past nearly twenty years, the movement has taken a number of > > unique and sometimes extraordinary steps to create an environment unlike > > anything else online: a place to share knowledge, to learn, and to > > collaborate together. In order for the movement to continue to thrive and > > make progress to our mission, it is essential to build a culture that is > > welcoming and inclusive. > > > > Research has consistently shown that members of our communities have been > > subject to hostility and toxic behavior in Wikimedia spaces.[4][5] The > > Wikimedia 2030 movement strategy recommendations have also identified the > > safety of our Wikimedia spaces as a core issue to address if we are to > > reach the 2030 goals, with concrete recommendations which include a > > universal code of conduct, pathways for users to privately report > > incidents, and a baseline of community responsibilities.[6] > > > > While the movement has made progress in addressing harassment and toxic > > behavior, we recognize there is still much more to do. The Board’s > > resolution and statement today is a step toward establishing clear, > > consistent guidelines around acceptable behavior on our projects, and > > guiding the Wikimedia Foundation in supporting the movement’s ability to > > ensure a healthy environment for those who participate in our projects. > > > > * Developing and introducing, in close consultation with volunteer > > contributor communities, a universal code of conduct that will be a > binding > > minimum set of standards across all Wikimedia projects; > > > > * Taking actions to ban, sanction, or otherwise limit the access of > > Wikimedia movement participants who do not comply with these policies and > > the Terms of Use; > > > > * Working with community functionaries to create and refine a retroactive > > review process for cases brought by involved parties, excluding those > cases > > which pose legal or other severe risks; and > > > > * Significantly increasing support for and collaboration with community > > functionaries primarily enforcing such compliance in a way that > prioritizes > > the personal safety of these functionaries. > > > > Together, we have made our movement what it is today. In this same way, > we > > must all be responsible for building the positive community culture of > the > > future, and accountable for stopping harassment and toxic behavior on our > > sites. > > > > We have also made this statement available on Meta-Wiki for translation > and > > wider distribution.[1] > > > > On behalf of the Board, > > María, Board Chair > > > > [1] > > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/May_2020_-_Board_of_Trustees_on_Healthy_Community_Culture,_Inclusivity,_and_Safe_Spaces > > > > [2] > > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/November_2016_-_Statement_on_Healthy_Community_Culture,_Inclusivity,_and_Safe_Spaces > > > > [3] > > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/Archives/2019#Board_statement_posted_at_Community_response_to_the_Wikimedia_Foundation's_ban_of_Fram > > > > [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Harassment_survey_2015 > > > > [5] > > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Insights/2018_Report#Experience_of_harassment_has_not_declined_since_2017_and_appears_to_remain_steady > > > > [6] > > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recommendations/Provide_for_Safety_and_Inclusion > > > > == Statement on Healthy Community Culture, Inclusivity, and Safe Spaces > == > > > > Harassment, toxic behavior, and incivility in the Wikimedia movement are > > contrary to our shared values and detrimental to our vision and mission. > > They negatively impact our ability to collect, share, and disseminate > free > > knowledge, harm the immediate well-being of individual Wikimedians, and > > threaten the long-term health and success of the Wikimedia projects. The > > Board does not believe we have made enough progress toward creating > > welcoming, inclusive, harassment-free spaces in which people can > contribute > > productively and debate constructively. > > > > In recognition of the urgency of these issues, the Board is directing the > > Wikimedia Foundation to directly improve the situation in collaboration > > with our communities. This should include developing sustainable > practices > > and tools that eliminate harassment, toxicity, and incivility, promote > > inclusivity, cultivate respectful discourse, reduce harms to > participants, > > protect the projects from disinformation and bad actors, and promote > trust > > in our projects. > > > > Specifically, the Foundation shall: > > > > * Develop and introduce a universal code of conduct (UCoC) that will be a > > binding minimum set of standards across all Wikimedia projects. > > > > ** The first phase, covering policies for in-person and virtual events, > > technical spaces, and all Wikimedia projects and wikis, and developed in > > collaboration with the international Wikimedia communities, will be > > presented to the Board for ratification by August 30, 2020. > > > > ** The second phase, outlining clear enforcement pathways, and refined > with > > broad input from the Wikimedia communities, will be presented to the > Board > > for ratification by the end of 2020; > > > > * Take actions to ban, sanction, or otherwise limit the access of > Wikimedia > > movement participants who do not comply with these policies and the Terms > > of Use; > > > > * Work with community functionaries to create and refine a retroactive > > review process for cases brought by involved parties, excluding those > cases > > which pose legal or other severe risks; and > > > > * Significantly increase support for and collaboration with community > > functionaries primarily enforcing such compliance in a way that > prioritizes > > the personal safety of these functionaries. > > > > Until such directives are implemented, the Board instructs the Foundation > > to adopt and implement policies for reducing harassment and toxicity on > our > > projects and minimizing legal risks for the movement, in collaboration > with > > communities whenever practicable. Until these two phases of the UCoC are > > complete and operational an interim review process involving community > > functionaries will be in effect. In this interim period, the Product > > Committee of the Board of Trustees will also advise the Trust & Safety > > team. > > > > To that end, the Board further directs the Foundation, in collaboration > > with the communities, to make additional investments in Trust & Safety > > capacity, including but not limited to: development of tools needed to > > assist our volunteers and staff, research to support data-informed > > decisions, development of clear metrics to measure success, development > of > > training tools and materials (including building communities’ capacities > > around harassment awareness and conflict resolution), and consultations > > with international experts on harassment, community health and children’s > > rights, as well as additional hiring. > > > > The above efforts will be undertaken in coordination and collaboration > with > > appropriate partners from across the movement, seek to increase effective > > community governance of conduct and behavioral standards, and reduce the > > long-term need of the Foundation to act. It is the shared goal of the > Board > > and Foundation that these efforts advance a sustainable Wikimedia > movement > > and support, rather than substitute, effective models of community > > governance. > > > > We urge every member of the Wikimedia communities to collaborate in a way > > that models the Wikimedia values of openness and inclusivity, step > forward > > to do their part to create a safe and welcoming culture for all, stop > > hostile and toxic behavior, support people who have been targeted by such > > behavior, assist good-faith people learning to contribute, and help set > > clear expectations for all contributors. > > > > -- > > > > > > María Sefidari Huici > > > > Chair of the Board > > > > Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/> > > _______________________________________________ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
