Hello All
I'm Monika, longtime reader of this list. I've been following this conversation on newcomers (who identify as women) and the perils of disclosure of professional affiliations with some interest, and it seems relevant and valuable to share with this group details about the project in working on and invite your help.
I'm a WIR for Oclc's 18-month Wikipedia + Libraries project. This fall OCLC is running an online training program for US public library staff to learn about engaging Wikipedia in their libraries for their communities. The curriculum will cover a wide variety of subjects related to Wikipedia (it's history, pillars, issue of reliability, authority control, organization and user roles, editing and editorial flow, COI, etc.). Through observation, exercises, case studies and small assignments, the participants slowly learn best practices, then strategies to apply what they know about editing to improve info literacy in their communities. By the end the goal is to have the participants be confident that they can engage Wikipedia, understand what they are doing and how it works, have a plan for next step in editing and designing programming.
The course will take place on Webjunction, a learning place for libraries that's been serving 80,000+ library staff globally since 2003. By participating in the nine week course, US public library staff will earn a certificate and some can apply for continuing education credits for their participation. As a WebJunction course, the focus will be on how Wikipedia editing and programming is relevant to library work. Public library staff participating will see how Wikipedia make sense to them as information professionals and possibly, give them reasons to make Wikipedia editing and outreach a part of their staff duties. The curriculum will make suggestions about activities to try at their libraries and include guest speakers who have edited and done outreach as public library staff.
Given the interest in this thread on helping newcomers, I would like to invite folks in this list to consider participating in the program as a volunteer guide for one (or more) of the course modules.
I ask because was I reading Fluffernutters story with a great smile - I completely agree that feeling comfortable to ask questions is critical to learning to participate in something new -- especially a big project like Wikipedia, which has many esoteric technical features, so many guides and policies, but few opportunities to converse informally with human Wikipeidans as a newcomer. For this reason I am interested in recruiting a few thoughtful, helpful editors will be interested in joining this program to mentor / guide newcomers in this online training program. And in return, you can learn more about public libraries. Public libraries and Wikipedia share values and commitments to civility and open access to information.
But most of the participants in the nine week course (Sept 13 - Nov 15; six live online sessions) will be new. 77% of public library respondents in the preview webinar survey said they use Wikipedia weekly but have never edited Wikipedia. 98% said Wikipedia is relevant to their jobs. They would benefit from meeting and getting help and support from real human Wikipedians familiar with the social norms and aspects of the technical open interface.
The course will take place on WebJunctions learning platform. To ensure privacy, the interactive forums are all held there. Guiding and mentoring would require about hour or three for a 2 week module (and you could help out in more than one module). Modules are (roughly): 1) about Wikipedia, 2) editing 101, 3) Wikipedia and information literacy programs, 4) Wikipedia and community outreach.
Please feel free to email me directly if you are interested or fill out this simple form.
oc.lc/wikiguides
Thanks - MSJ
Sent from my mobile phone possibly using voice control, please pardon errors
Sent from my mobile phone possibly using voice control, please pardon errors
On Aug 8, 2017, at 5:00 AM, gendergap-request@lists.wikimedia.org wrote:
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Today's Topics:
- Re: FYI - GGTF case appeal (Neotarf)
- "Selective incivility" (Neotarf)
- Re: How to increase the diversity of Wikimedia technical contributors and staff? (Fluffernutter wiki)
- Re: How to increase the diversity of Wikimedia technical contributors and staff? (JJ Marr)
- Re: FYI - GGTF case appeal (Risker)
- Re: FYI - GGTF case appeal (Neotarf)
- Re: How to increase the diversity of Wikimedia technical contributors and staff? (Peter Southwood)
- Re: FYI - GGTF case appeal (Risker)
- Re: FYI - GGTF case appeal (Robert Fernandez)
- Re: FYI - GGTF case appeal (Neotarf)
Message: 1 Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2017 08:21:56 -0400 From: Neotarf neotarf@gmail.com To: "Addressing gender equity and exploring ways to increase the participation of women within Wikimedia projects." gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Gendergap] FYI - GGTF case appeal Message-ID: CALikuNn1xBxX+YmfZcjfSZutu3=8ncW5=-OM2TBAsR511Hhfxw@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
I have no way of investigating something I was not supposed to find out about in the first place. Given Wikipedia's culture of retaliation against anyone who speaks out, I am unlikely to find out more, but it did seem credible. These agreements are becoming more common, for instance here a female employee wanted to get out of her non-disparagement agreement but Angel List said no. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/technology/silicon-valley-sexual-harassme... Also the internal Google gender manifesto that was just leaked "Until about a week ago, you would have heard very little from me publicly about this, because (as a fairly senior Googler) my job would have been to deal with it internally, and confidentiality rules would have prevented me from saying much in public.But as it happens, (although this wasn’t the way I was planning on announcing it) I actually recently left Google..." https://medium.com/@yonatanzunger/so-about-this-googlers-manifesto-1e3773ed1...
On Mon, Aug 7, 2017 at 3:16 AM, Risker risker.wp@gmail.com wrote:
On 6 August 2017 at 23:08, Neotarf neotarf@gmail.com wrote:
......
Women who do not want to interact on these terms, with individuals who are quite probably minors, are being silenced. I have heard that professional women are being recruited for Wikipedia, women whose employers would ordinarily be expected to protect them from a 'hostile work place', but they are being required to post their real identities on their talk pages, along with the names of their employers. and a COI form statement. They are also required to sign a non-disclosure agreement that prevents them from revealing any harassment they experience in Wikipedia, or from even revealing they have been required to sign an NDA. These women will join Wikipedia, and listen to the pitch and eat the bagels, and Wikipedia gets to count them as female editors, but very few of them go on to make that second edit, because it's their professional reputation on the line.
If Wikipedia wants women editors they are going to have to come to terms with this.
This is a very inflammatory thing to say, Neotarf, and I need to insist that you show some proof of this. Links to discussions or requirements, please. This is far too sensationalistic to allow it to sit here without serious evidence.
Risker/Anne
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