Hi, I'm not sure why I send those emails anymore, it would be much easier if people were shouting "we don't care being read" but well.
I would love to start this email with "Good news everyone" but I can't. Mobile web is -13% this month, And yes global is "only" -1% but like last month there are some suspicious desktop activities in some languages. Unless... unless we try to estimate growth velocity and hoooo what a surprise, it seems to be accelerating. So we are on a - best case scenario to lose half of our traffic in 5 years. - Avg 2026 velocity trend scenario in 3.4 to 3.7 years - So far worst trend in 3 years And this marks 6 months of those emails and it seems the number of people caring are very low. But perhaps I mis reading the empty room ? PS: yes I still am not using Desktop data too many inconsistencies -- Christophe On Fri, 12 Jun 2026 at 19:04, Strainu via Wikimedia-l < [email protected]> wrote: > Folks, this discussion has now turned into the usual "let's talk and > decide on the best thing to do". How about we try to grasp the fact that we > need to do *all* of the above (+a few hundreds other things, probably), > see what works and (very hard for this community) leave unsuccessful ideas > die? Even then, we might discover it's not enough and that it's better to > focus our energy on some other project. But then we'll be at peace that we > have tried something instead of just talking about it. > > My2c, > Strainu > > > În vin., 12 iun. 2026 la 08:12, Gerard Meijssen via Wikimedia-l < > [email protected]> a scris: > >> Hoi, >> We are rich in what we have but we have no idea how to leverage what we >> have. Given our ideology we enabled AI by taking all our content. They take >> everything else and often provide information we have never served. For >> that we need contributors to our projects. For that we can no longer rely >> only on Wikipedia. >> >> When I edit, it is based on what I find of interest. I blog about it and >> I just posted another blogpost [1]. >> >> When we are to survive, we should be honest about what we have, its >> strengths and its weaknesses. >> Thanks, >> Gerard >> >> >> [1] >> https://ultimategerardm.blogspot.com/2026/06/about-screw-worms-and-plague-with.html >> >> On Thu, 11 Jun 2026 at 15:18, Christophe Henner via Wikimedia-l < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Hello, it's your painful neighborhood friend Christophe. >>> >>> Today, an amazing article on diff : >>> https://diff.wikimedia.org/2026/06/11/wikipedias-account-creation-process-is-broken/ >>> >>> short story long, community is shrinking almost 6% YoY. >>> >>> Traffic is collapsing. >>> Editing community is shrinking. >>> >>> The odd thing now is that we are almost at the stage when inaction by >>> fear of dissent/drama/whatever is costing us more than action with dissent. >>> Mauve that's the good news? >>> >>> -- >>> Christophe >>> >>> >>> On Fri, 5 Jun 2026 at 15:28, Gnangarra via Wikimedia-l < >>> [email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> perhaps we use stealth within article by inserting "from wikipedia*" * at >>>> the end of paragraphs, By saying "from Wikipedia" in white text on white >>>> background the LLMs will pick it up and included it in their responses as >>>> normal text. We should not use the term AI because llm are not intelligent >>>> they vacuum up the work of others,Then perhaps we could consider a false >>>> layer so the LLMs cant see the physical image, but the individual can down >>>> load images directly from commons using the size specific options this is a >>>> feature many photosite use to protect LLMs building from the individual >>>> photographers effort. >>>> >>>> On Fri, 5 Jun 2026 at 20:19, Galder Gonzalez Larrañaga via Wikimedia-l < >>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Let's take a little bit of perspective: >>>>> >>>>> People don't read Encyclopedias. They never did. People look up things >>>>> in Encyclopedias. Historically, they bought them, even with some fancy >>>>> wardrobes designed for showcasing the status of being an >>>>> encyclopedia-owner, but very few people took the time to actually read the >>>>> encyclopedia itself. >>>>> >>>>> People don't read Wikipedia, mainly because it's impossible to read >>>>> all of it. We have done the largest knowledge project in the History of >>>>> the >>>>> Humanity. We should be proud of that, but we can't expect anyone to read >>>>> all of it in a lifetime. Most of our visits were for searching for short >>>>> facts, like what's the actor in this series, when was born Jane Doe and >>>>> doing small research on a topic they just watched on TV. There were a few >>>>> that actually read the topics, researched, fell into rabbit holes and >>>>> appreciated the whole thing they were reading. >>>>> >>>>> Now this very casual fact search comes from LLMs, Google Search and >>>>> even Wikidata powered knowledge boxes. So, the peak of visits we had in >>>>> the >>>>> past is having that information in other ways, mostly from us. Indirectly. >>>>> >>>>> There's a decline, and it's going to be worse in the future, and we >>>>> must wake up, as the topic of this message claims. There are communities >>>>> doing it, innovating with multimedia, interactivity, new audiences, or >>>>> storytelling. There are communities rejecting it. The problem is if the >>>>> WMF >>>>> BoT is going to wake up and take the risks that some communities are >>>>> already taking or just reject any innovation. There are many paths to >>>>> take, >>>>> and we won't agree on which is the good one, but doing nothing is not the >>>>> best one. >>>>> >>>>> Have a nice weekend, >>>>> >>>>> Galder >>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>> *From:* Gerard Meijssen via Wikimedia-l < >>>>> [email protected]> >>>>> *Sent:* Friday, June 5, 2026 1:14 PM >>>>> *To:* Wikimedia Mailing List <[email protected]> >>>>> *Cc:* Gerard Meijssen <[email protected]> >>>>> *Subject:* [Wikimedia-l] Re: Wikipedia at 25: A Wake-Up Call (essay) >>>>> >>>>> Hoi, >>>>> When the numbers drop, there is a need for another public. For me >>>>> YouTube is an inspiration to work on Wikidata information.. I blogged >>>>> about >>>>> how it can gain us a different public.. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> https://ultimategerardm.blogspot.com/2026/06/watching-informative-youtubes-with.html >>>>> Thanks, >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Fri, 5 Jun 2026 at 09:08, Christophe Henner via Wikimedia-l < >>>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Hi this is my irregular email to try to get more widespread reactions >>>>> and engagement and discussion from volunteers to board of trustees. >>>>> >>>>> On global mobile traffic, after a -6.83% between May 2025 and May >>>>> 2024, we're shattering records with a nice -18.27% between 2026 and 2025. >>>>> >>>>> Oh yes, data may be dirty. So let's say it's even half of that it's >>>>> still a -10%. >>>>> >>>>> "Christophe why are you not using Desktop data": historically desktop >>>>> data has proven quite unreliable for many reasons (and this week the >>>>> chinese wikipedia desktop outburst is surprising and makes desktop data >>>>> hard to read (on top of other outbursts). >>>>> >>>>> So when we start playing with the -10% to 20% year over year, shall we >>>>> start mobilizing? Or we just all grab mojitos and virgin mojitos and look >>>>> at the collapse? >>>>> >>>>> Oh hey if it wasn't clear before, the one body that can muster >>>>> ressources to mobilize our movement is the board of trustees. >>>>> Every day we are not mobilizing is your decision. >>>>> Every day you are not engaging publicly in those decision is your >>>>> decision. >>>>> Every day... I could make a long list you get the idea. >>>>> >>>>> Right now the legacy you're building is a -20% trend leading to >>>>> collapse legacy. >>>>> >>>>> I know this is hard to read, I know this may trigger a defensive >>>>> reaction. But time for tiptoeing around topics and problems is long gone. >>>>> We need swift and radical and unifying actions. If we are to go through >>>>> this situation we need collective action not inaction. >>>>> >>>>> -18.27% YoY on mobile : >>>>> https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/all-projects/reading/total-page-views/normal|bar|2021-11-07~2026-06-05|(access)~mobile-app*mobile-web+agent~user|monthly >>>>> <https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/all-projects/reading/total-page-views/normal%7Cbar%7C2021-11-07~2026-06-05%7C(access)~mobile-app*mobile-web+agent~user%7Cmonthly> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Christophe >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Tue, 5 May 2026 at 10:26, Tomasz Ganicz via Wikimedia-l < >>>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> This is what almost all universities around the world are doing but in >>>>> professional way.The issue is that regular teaching needs regular time >>>>> commitment of qualified teachers which is hard to organize on voluntary >>>>> model. Also in order to maintain minimal quality of teaching you need a >>>>> system of checking teachers qualifications and skills. >>>>> >>>>> Tomek "Polimerek" Ganicz >>>>> http://pl.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Polimerek >>>>> http://www.ganicz.pl/poli/ >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> pon., 4 maj 2026, 15:22 użytkownik Felipe Schenone via Wikimedia-l < >>>>> [email protected]> napisał: >>>>> >>>>> Hi! As we know, Wikimedia's mission isn't to build an encyclopedia >>>>> (that's Wikipedia's mission) but rather "a world in which every single >>>>> human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge". Perhaps the new >>>>> landscape will slowly strip Wikipedia of its leading role in the Wikimedia >>>>> movement, and perhaps (hopefully) some other project will take over. I >>>>> agree with Chris in that our core strength is our community, and I also >>>>> agree with James in that writing tertiary sources is becoming outdated. >>>>> How >>>>> can we keep striving for our vision, while making the most of our strength >>>>> (the community) but through a project that doesn't involve writing >>>>> tertiary >>>>> sources? >>>>> >>>>> Here's an idea: Wikiversity could become so much more than what it >>>>> currently is. It could become a real "online university", multilingual and >>>>> global, where real-time courses with real humans are taught (as well as >>>>> the >>>>> asynchronous courses that already exist today). And not just courses, but >>>>> eventually entire university programs that award real degrees. I'm sure >>>>> our >>>>> community is filled with excellent teachers, academics and experts that >>>>> could lead such courses in many languages, as well as many others that >>>>> could support them in other ways (answering questions, preparing reading >>>>> material, exercises, exams, etc). We'd need to develop and integrate some >>>>> software like Zoom or Meet, and much more, of course, but that's beyond >>>>> the >>>>> point, as we could start with existing software now, and develop better >>>>> tools as we go along. Humans teaching humans, would be a good summary of >>>>> the idea. >>>>> >>>>> I could digress for a while, but I might be delusional, so I'll stop >>>>> here. However, if anyone supports or would like to talk, I'd be happy to >>>>> continue on-wiki (User:Sophivorus). Cheers! >>>>> >>>>> On Mon, May 4, 2026 at 7:47 AM AcDc CluvR via Wikimedia-l < >>>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Hi Christophe. Tnx for writing this! I used to be member of the board, >>>>> chapter, moderator, arbitration committee ... User Dolledre on some >>>>> wiki's, >>>>> mostly nl.wiki. In my opinion crawling 'our' data should not be so darn >>>>> easy for AI models. Willing to block them by hand if they keep >>>>> hallucinating on 'our' data. Interrogating like 4 of them daily, mainly on >>>>> how they work. Do know how to lead them towards total confusion. Even if >>>>> Wikipedia could develop the best AI code in the world, we would still be >>>>> sharing it. It's the paradox to sweat out till humanity is either >>>>> hallucinating as a whole either returning till mental sanity. Kind >>>>> regards. >>>>> D. PS: Want a free image of a fox eating a banana in my kitchen? ;-) >>>>> >>>>> Op za 10 jan 2026 om 00:41 schreef Christophe Henner < >>>>> [email protected]>: >>>>> >>>>> Hey everyone, >>>>> >>>>> I struggled with the object, the most honest one would be "Last exit >>>>> before irrelevance" but that would be a bit violent. >>>>> >>>>> So, Wikipedia turns 25 next week. I've been here for over twenty of >>>>> those years, including stints chairing Wikimedia France and the Foundation >>>>> Board. And honestly? I'm worried. Scared to be honnest. >>>>> >>>>> Over the last years, I've been regularly crunching data and sharing on >>>>> different channels my worries. But in the last few weeks I decided to make >>>>> a much more structured "essay" of my findings >>>>> >>>>> Since 2016, the internet nearly doubled in size. >>>>> >>>>> Our page views? Down. New editor sign-ups? Down 36%. >>>>> >>>>> The people keeping this thing running are working harder than ever, >>>>> but there are fewer of them every year. >>>>> >>>>> I wrote it all up: the numbers, what I think went wrong, what I think >>>>> we need to do about it. Fair warning: it's long, it's opinionated, and >>>>> some >>>>> of it will probably make you mad. >>>>> >>>>> *Here it is: *https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Schiste/what-now >>>>> >>>>> I'm not trying to be doom and gloom for the sake of it. I genuinely >>>>> believe we have maybe two years to make some hard calls about AI, about >>>>> money, about who we're actually serving. After that, the window closes and >>>>> we become irrelevant. >>>>> >>>>> Could be wrong. Hope I am. But I'd rather we have this argument now >>>>> than wish we had later. Well I'd rather we had this argument two or four >>>>> years ago, but now we will make do. >>>>> >>>>> Read it, tell me where I'm off base. Let's argue and debate. That's >>>>> what talk pages are for, right? >>>>> >>>>> PS: Foundation board mailing list is bcc'ed, change cannot happen >>>>> without their commitment. And fast. >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Christophe >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], >>>>> guidelines at: >>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >>>>> Public archives at >>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/X3SQ2WA7QF2XS56XV2EOPDPUZ6UQPCR4/ >>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], >>>>> guidelines at: >>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >>>>> Public archives at >>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/TYXFRDYSUH3WUYM5P4MADNQI42NZXWTX/ >>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], >>>>> guidelines at: >>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >>>>> Public archives at >>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/UD4JDQEN5P24GA7DYIWMB5NKVO5MCO2Y/ >>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], >>>>> guidelines at: >>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >>>>> Public archives at >>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/DIGXAKYMSR56ETXSHKSG6CIONMEM56RU/ >>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], >>>>> guidelines at: >>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >>>>> Public archives at >>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/WJ6VRJAZTRYTPPN44K2NSHBO5WSWLGBF/ >>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], >>>>> guidelines at: >>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >>>>> Public archives at >>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/T4FFHABPP5FUZ556732UXZ6I4SZOZMK5/ >>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Boodarwun >>>> Gnangarra >>>> 'ngany dabakarn koorliny arn boodjera dardon nlangan Nyungar >>>> koortabodjar' >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], >>>> guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines >>>> and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >>>> Public archives at >>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/Q5GJK3SHDMV6STAHD6VRWM47KDWES5ZV/ >>>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines >>> at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >>> Public archives at >>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/2QL4BSONCQYOAESTPUQB25KOTIRIFIWJ/ >>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines >> at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >> Public archives at >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/PLXHV4DAWCZLHZREQQVZGXOBCVDIN5ZC/ >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines > at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > Public archives at > https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/5KOTWMVV3XSGYOIMETICOWZOA3UYMI7P/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
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