[Wikinews-l] Re: Contents of Wikinews-l digest

Send Wikinews-l mailing list submissions to wikinews-l(a)Wikimedia.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikinews-l or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to wikinews-l-request(a)Wikimedia.org You can reach the person managing the list at wikinews-l-owner(a)Wikimedia.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Wikinews-l digest..." Today's Topics: 1. RE: Wikinews language creation rules modified (David Speakman) 2. Bulgarian Wikinews launched (Erik Moeller) 3. Poll on Chinese Wikinews launch (Erik Moeller) 4. Fair use on Wikinews; local uploads disabled (Erik Moeller) 5. Wikinews Design Contest Open for Submissions (Erik Moeller) 6. Intent to launch pt., pl., ro. Wikinews; further procedure (Erik Moeller) 7. Polish, Portuguese, Romanian Wikinews set up (Erik Moeller) 8. Credentials verification using VoIP set up (Erik Moeller) 9. Re: [Foundation-l] fr.wikinews logo (Erik Moeller) 10. Wikinews: New State of the Wiki report (Erik Moeller) 11. Polish Wikinews report (Dariusz Siedlecki) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 12:59:47 -0800 From: "David Speakman" <david(a)speakman.com> Subject: RE: [Wikinews-l] Wikinews language creation rules modified To: "'Wikinews mailing list'" <wikinews-l(a)Wikimedia.org> Message-ID: <001301c50c8e$cae8a220$a905a8c0(a)beancomp.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Sounds good to me. -- David Speakman http://www.DavidSpeakman.com 501 Moorpark Way #83 Mountain View CA 94041 Phone: 408-382-1459 -----Original Message----- From: wikinews-l-bounces(a)Wikimedia.org [mailto:wikinews-l-bounces@Wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Erik Moeller Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 10:56 AM To: Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List; wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikinews-l] Wikinews language creation rules modified I have modified the rules at http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikinews/Start_a_new_edition New: At least 3 signing users have to be Wikimedia regulars (>200 edits + 3 months participation in a project) in the language they vote on. ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 23:28:36 +0100 From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Bulgarian Wikinews launched To: foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org, wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org Message-ID: <42069A14.5090901(a)gmx.de> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed The Bulgarian edition of Wikinews is now set up at: http://bg.wikinews.org/ An announcement has been posted on the Bulgarian Wikipedia Village Pump, as well as on the user talk pages of all interested users (all users who signed up had user pages on bg:, and several had far more than 200 edits). I'd like to ask the Board to discuss in the meeting tomorrow what steps are required to decide whether the Chinese Wikinews should be launched. Regards, Erik ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2005 08:40:21 +0100 From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Poll on Chinese Wikinews launch To: foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org, wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org Message-ID: <42071B65.7010102(a)gmx.de> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed I've set up a poll at http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikinews/China to help decide whether we need a formal vote among the Chinese users or all users before launching the Chinese Wikinews edition (because of the risk of censorship). Please vote. Regards, Erik ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 04:17:40 +0100 From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Fair use on Wikinews; local uploads disabled To: wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org, foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org Message-ID: <420EC6D4.8070009(a)gmx.de> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed Local uploads have been disabled on the English Wikinews from the start. Uploads are only possible through the Wikimedia Commons. This is meant to make the upload of "fair use" images as well as images under other non-free licenses impossible, and generally encourage use of the Commons. The decision to disable uploads on the English Wikinews was made in accord with Jimmy. Uploads on the other wikis were only enabled to begin with in order to allow them to replace the logo. Since that has now happened, local uploads are disabled there as well. In order to nicely integrate a link to the Commons into the sidebar, I suggest using [[MediaWiki:Currentevents]] as well as [[MediaWiki:Currentevents-url]], which are pointless in Wikinews anyway since the entire wiki is about Current Events. You can point those directly to [[Commons:Special:Upload]], which will then put users on the Commons upload form if they are logged in. The decision to disable uploads is not permanent and subject to change. The reasoning behind this decision is as follows. Wikinews is a project which directly competes with major news organizations, magazines and newspapers. It also allows and encourages commercial use of its content. Fair use of photos from a news agency, for example, is very difficult to justify under these circumstances. But regardless of the legal arguments, there is also the practical argument that Wikinews will soon be perceived as a threat, because most of its stories are based on reporting done by others -- and we give it away for free, while they charge money. These people will eventually try to stop us by all means necessary. There is a distinct possibility that we will face issues similar to SCO v. Linux, where a competitor accuses us of stealing content -- even if we didn't. Fair use, being so volatile in its definition, makes a successful attack more likely and opens us up to additional legal risks. That is why uploads will not be enabled until it is fully clear under what circumstances non-free licenses can be allowed. Work is currently being done on the English Wikinews to formulate a "fair use" policy. I encourage other Wikinews editions to do the same. Fair use on Wikinews could encompass things like logos, graphics, screenshots -- or photos that have not been produced by competing organizations and companies. Once that policy is written, we shall submit it to the Board for approval and possibly legal review. If it passes that review, uploads will be re-enabled. The same goes for all the other Wikinews editions. In the meantime, I ask you to only upload images under free licenses or in the public domain, directly to the Wikimedia Commons. Uploading them there does not affect the image syntax at all -- you can use them like you would use a local image. But they will not show up in Wikinews Recent Changes. If the Board would like this decision to be reverted, please let me know. Otherwise I will coordinate the next steps as described. All best, Erik ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 08:14:51 +0100 From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Wikinews Design Contest Open for Submissions To: foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org, wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org Message-ID: <4214446B.9010408(a)gmx.de> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed Help us create a unique visual identity for the Wikinews project! http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikinews_design_contest The Wikinews design contest, which will run until April 17, 2005, consists of two components: * www.wikinews.org multilingual portal * site stylesheets You can also offer prizes for the best designs! If you can't contribute a design, please offer a prize, to increase the incentive to contribute. While the contest is running, please also feel free to edit the existing portal at: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Www.wikinews.org_portal All best, and good luck to all participants, Erik Möller ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 07:33:11 +0100 From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Intent to launch pt., pl., ro. Wikinews; further procedure To: foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org, wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org Message-ID: <42158C27.4080805(a)gmx.de> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed As per the procedure on http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikinews/Start_a_new_edition I'd like to launch three new editions later today or tomorrow: Portuguese, Polish, and Romanian. For Portuguese, I count Carlosar as a valid vote, because he has made 3000+ edits on the English Wikinews, and he is a native speaker. For future editions, I'd also like to suggest changing the language procedure in the following way: The "activity on existing Wikimedia projects" requirement can be dropped if a few support pages (FAQ, Mission Statement, etc.) are created on Meta for the project to be launched. These can be translations or original creations. Such an effort indicates a genuine interest in working on a Wikinews edition in a language. It also reduces the dependency of new projects on existing ones -- we already know that many key people working on Wikinews have not done substantial work on Wikipedia or other Wikimedia projects. There would still be a requirement of at least 5 signatures, so it's not just one person playing an overarching role. If this works out, perhaps we can substitute one procedure for another; I prefer the translation procedure, because it also makes sure that certain pages are in place before the wiki is set up (a problem on some new editions which were essentially blank for several days). I'd like to credit the Memory Alpha wiki for this procedure, which has successfully used it for setting up new languages. Regards, Erik ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 03:46:43 +0100 From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Polish, Portuguese, Romanian Wikinews set up To: foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org, wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org Message-ID: <4216A893.8070106(a)gmx.de> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed As announced and in accordance with the existing language policy, three new Wikinews editions have been set up: http://pl.wikinews.org/ - Polish http://pt.wikinews.org/ - Portuguese http://ro.wikinews.org/ - Romanian I left messages for the users who have pledged to participate (and who could be located), and on the respective Wikipedia Village Pumps. Good luck to the new editions! Peace, Erik ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 13:01:12 +0100 From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Credentials verification using VoIP set up To: wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org Message-ID: <42187C08.2060306(a)gmx.de> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed Ilya Haykinson has proposed a policy for requesting accreditation as a Wikinews reporter. This is not meant to be the only way to do original reporting, but a way to be recognized at events as a Wikinews reporter. The cool part is that he has set up a voicemail account people can call in order to verify credentials: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Credential_verification Any call made to that number is sent to an internal mailing list (subscription requires approval, currently all sysops will be approved): http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikinews-accreditation Anyone on that list can then take a verification request and respond to it. People can also simply check the list of accredited reporters on Wikinews itself. Regards, Erik ------------------------------ Message: 9 Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 14:29:43 +0100 From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Re: [Foundation-l] fr.wikinews logo To: Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List <foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org>rg>, wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org Message-ID: <421DD6C7.8030701(a)gmx.de> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed I suggest editing MediaWiki:Tagline and putting the "beta" there. That might be done for any Wikinews editions which does not yet have a sufficient level of activity. This is better than defacing the logo, in my opinion. It turns out that it is very difficult to predict that activity, and I don't think the current process on Meta is really anywhere close to doing that. The Swedish Wikinews is very active, for example, thanks in large part to a handful of dedicated editors -- but that might change any day. Of course, all the editions are suffering from the current slowness, and recent downtime. One notable difference in Wikinews to other projects is that a quick glance at the frontpage gives you an impression of the level of activity: if you only see old news, obviously the project is not very active. This is good if it is seen as an incentive to work on it, bad if it frustrates people and makes them give up on the project. Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikisource, Wiktionary in the different languages all have their phases of activity and inactivity, but nowhere are those phases more visible than on Wikinews. Switching the project into read-only whenever it enters such a phase seems like a bad and un-wiki idea; perhaps you could create a template like this for the frontpage instead: The French edition of Wikinews is currently not very active. Please participate in building this website into a useful resource! Ideas for increasing activity are collected at [[Wikinews:Building Wikinews]]. Here are a few suggestions to increase activity: 1) Translate. It is much easier to translate a well-written article than to write a new one from scratch. Wikinews articles have to grow to publishable quality very fast, "stubs" aren't helpful, and references are a strict requirement. As such, writing them takes a lot of effort. But the English Wikinews, for example, is now publishing articles at a reasonable rate. As an author of that edition, I also get great satisfaction out of knowing that my work is going to be translated into languages I do not speak. 2) Prominently link the equivalent of http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Submit_a_story - this helps to attract people who do not know about the Wikinews process and just want to get their feet wet. 3) Have brief news items on the frontpage which aren't fully developed stories yet. This should only be done until real stories are being published regularly, so as to not conflict with the [[Current events]] pages on Wikipedia. 4) Edit MediaWiki:Sitenotice and point people to the IRC channel, mailing list and Village Pump. Building a community helps to create a feeling of identity and the desire to protect that community, which is an incentive to do work on the site. 5) Organize and participate in events like the design contest or the Wikinews chats. Point people on Wikipedia to these events to get them interested in the project. 6) If you are a software developer, help us to implement MediaWiki features like category RSS feeds and dynamic article display. http://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1411 is the only code currently being actively worked on, to my knowledge. Please also join the international Wikinews channel at #wikinews -- a lot of good people are hanging out there who may help you to answer questions with the project. Regards, Erik ------------------------------ Message: 10 Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 12:17:53 +0100 From: Erik Moeller <erik_moeller(a)gmx.de> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Wikinews: New State of the Wiki report To: foundation-l(a)wikimedia.org, wikinews-l(a)wikimedia.org Message-ID: <42205AE1.7050705(a)gmx.de> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed I've written a new, detailed report on the current state of the Wikinews project. If you haven't kept up, or want to read my opinions on where we are headed, the report is at: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/User:Eloquence/State_of_the_Wiki Comments are welcome. All best, Erik ------------------------------ Message: 11 Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 13:39:04 +0100 From: Dariusz Siedlecki <datrio(a)gmail.com> Subject: [Wikinews-l] Polish Wikinews report To: wikinews-l(a)Wikimedia.org Message-ID: <283332d205022604391660e6df(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Well, I decided to write a quick report on the state of our Wikinews project. You can view this report at http://pl.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikipedysta:Datrio/Polish_Wikinews_report_-_Feb… Everyone is open to ask question on the page's talk page, or edit this article and add his own thoughts on the project. -- Best regards, Dariusz Siedlecki ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Wikinews-l mailing list Wikinews-l(a)Wikimedia.org http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikinews-l End of Wikinews-l Digest, Vol 2, Issue 2 ****************************************