I always thought we should double the community tech team. One for Wikipedia and one for the sister projects.
I guess the question is should the community try to take on this work? With movement funds of course. J Sent from Gmail Mobile On Thu, May 21, 2026 at 22:30 Nemoralis via All-affiliates < [email protected]> wrote: > Fellow Wikimedians, > > Many of you have likely already seen the Wikimedia Foundation's > announcement that the Community Tech team is being dissolved and that five > engineers and one manager are losing their roles as part of a restructuring > of the Community Wishlist process. > > The official explanation is that Community Tech will become a cross-team > "program" rather than a dedicated team, and that this model will supposedly > allow more teams to work on community wishes. However, many editors, > functionaries, and technical contributors across Wikimedia projects have > raised serious concerns about both the substance and timing of this > decision. > > Several issues are driving alarm within the community: > > • The Community Tech team was one of the few WMF engineering groups > explicitly focused on community-requested technical work. > • The engineers affected include highly experienced contributors with deep > institutional and community knowledge, including former stewards and > longtime technical volunteers. > • WMF leadership has stated that this is not a budget reduction, which > raises the question of why layoffs were necessary at all instead of > reassignment. > • The restructuring was announced amid ongoing organizing efforts > connected to Wiki Workers United (WWU), leading many contributors to fear > retaliation or union-busting behavior, regardless of WMF denials. > • There is currently little concrete information about accountability, > staffing, or ownership under the new “program” structure. > > This is no longer being viewed by many contributors as merely an internal > staffing change. It is increasingly seen as part of a broader pattern of > disconnect between WMF leadership and the volunteer communities that build > and maintain Wikimedia projects. > > In response, editors have begun organizing solidarity actions and a strike > mandate petition expressing willingness to support Wiki Workers United if > collective action becomes necessary. > > The petition is not itself a strike. It is a statement that contributors > are prepared to stand in solidarity with Wikimedia workers and defend > community accountability if requested. > > You can read the ongoing discussions here: > > - > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Community_Wishlist#May_20_update > - > > https://w.wiki/Nt5V > > If you are concerned about: > > - > > the future of community-driven technical development, > - > > the treatment of Wikimedia staff, > - > > possible anti-union retaliation, > - > > or the growing disconnect between WMF leadership and the editing > community, > > please consider joining the discussion, spreading awareness, and signing > the solidarity petition. > > Take action: https://wikiworkersunited.org/take-action-community/ > Sign the petition: https://w.wiki/Nt5n > > In solidarity, > Nemoralis > > _______________________________________________ > All-affiliates mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >
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