Dear Wikibase Cloud Community,
As many of you know, we’re currently testing the Wikibase Cloud Hosting
Policy and some of you have already submitted their Wikibases - thank
you! 🎶
That said, we’re currently at 10 responses, and we need at least 10 more
for the results to be even minimally reliable. That said, the sample size
is still too small to draw meaningful conclusions.
You can participate by submitting a short trial application:
-
one submission per instance
-
~15 minutes
-
reviewed by a committee using the policy criteria
You’ll receive:
-
a tentative outcome
-
an explanation of the reasoning
The results are non-binding and intended to test whether the policy
actually works in practice.
Current status: 10/20 responses
→ still far from a useful sample size
The pilot will run until June 30, 2026 and a summary of findings will be
shared publicly afterward. You will be receiving the first decisions by
late May.
Please note: we only use your instance email for verification (deleted
within 90 days).
There’s also an option to join the review committee if you want more
in-depth insight into how decisions are made and discussed.
Link to pilot: https://wikimedia.sslsurvey.de/WBC-Hosting-Policy
-Pilot-Application.
Also, please consider sharing the pilot application with those around you
active on Wikibase. It would help a lot!
Thank you for participating.
Valerie on behalf of Wikibase Cloud
Valerie Wollinger (She/Her)
Community Communications Manager Wikibase
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30-577 11 62-0https://wikimedia.de
Keep up to date! Current news and exciting stories about Wikimedia,
Wikipedia and Free Knowledge in our newsletter (in German): Subscribe
now <https://www.wikimedia.de/newsletter/>.
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
the sum of all knowledge. Help us to achieve our
vision!https://spenden.wikimedia.de
Wikimedia Deutschland — Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Charlottenburg, VR
23855 B. Als gemeinnĂĽtzig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt fĂĽr
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorständin: Franziska Heine
Caught a cold and will stay at home today and away from work! See you
tomorrow
Valerie Wollinger (She/Her)
Community Communications Manager Wikibase
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30-577 11 62-0https://wikimedia.de
Keep up to date! Current news and exciting stories about Wikimedia,
Wikipedia and Free Knowledge in our newsletter (in German): Subscribe
now <https://www.wikimedia.de/newsletter/>.
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
the sum of all knowledge. Help us to achieve our
vision!https://spenden.wikimedia.de
Wikimedia Deutschland — Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Charlottenburg, VR
23855 B. Als gemeinnĂĽtzig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt fĂĽr
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorständin: Franziska Heine
As usual we will be holding ​our regular monthly meeting of the Wikibase Community User Group today, in just under three hours' time.
You are welcome to bring any Wikibase-related questions or matters to discuss. Adding any relevant links to the notes in advance is appreciated!
Details on how to participate below:
When? 15:00 (UTC) (11:00 New York, 16:00 London, 17:00 Berlin)
Where? https://meet.jit.si/WikibaseLiveSession
Meeting notes: https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/WBUG_2026_04_30
Best regards,
--
Laurence "GreenReaper" Parry - WBUG Primary Contact
Dear Wikibase Cloud Community,
As many of you know, we’re currently testing the Wikibase Cloud Hosting
Policy and some of you have already submitted their Wikibases - thank
you! 🎶
That said, we’re currently at 7 responses, and we need at least 13 more for
the results to be even minimally reliable. That said, the sample size is
still too small to draw meaningful conclusions.
You can participate by submitting a short trial application:
-
one submission per instance
-
~15 minutes
-
reviewed by a committee using the policy criteria
You’ll receive:
-
a tentative outcome
-
an explanation of the reasoning
The results are non-binding and intended to test whether the policy
actually works in practice.
Current status: 5/20 responses
→ still far from a useful sample size
The pilot will run until June 30, 2026 and a summary of findings will be
shared publicly afterward. You will be receiving the first decisions by
late May.
Please note: we only use your instance email for verification (deleted
within 90 days).
There’s also an option to join the review committee if you want more
in-depth insight into how decisions are made and discussed.
Link to pilot:
https://wikimedia.sslsurvey.de/WBC-Hosting-Policy-Pilot-Application.
Also, please consider sharing the pilot application with those around you
active on Wikibase. It would help a lot!
Thank you for participating.
Valerie on behalf of Wikibase Cloud
Valerie Wollinger (She/Her)
Community Communications Manager Wikibase
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30-577 11 62-0https://wikimedia.de
Keep up to date! Current news and exciting stories about Wikimedia,
Wikipedia and Free Knowledge in our newsletter (in German): Subscribe
now <https://www.wikimedia.de/newsletter/>.
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
the sum of all knowledge. Help us to achieve our
vision!https://spenden.wikimedia.de
Wikimedia Deutschland — Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Charlottenburg, VR
23855 B. Als gemeinnĂĽtzig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt fĂĽr
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorständin: Franziska Heine
Dear Wikibase Cloud Community,
As many of you know, we’re currently testing the Wikibase Cloud Hosting
Policy and some of you have already submitted their Wikibases - thank
you! 🎶
That said, we’re currently at 5 responses, and we need at least 15 more for
the results to be even minimally reliable. That said, the sample size is
still too small to draw meaningful conclusions.
You can participate by submitting a short trial application:
-
one submission per instance
-
~15 minutes
-
reviewed by a committee using the policy criteria
You’ll receive:
-
a tentative outcome
-
an explanation of the reasoning
The results are non-binding and intended to test whether the policy
actually works in practice.
Current status: 5/20 responses
→ still far from a useful sample size
The pilot will run until June 30, 2026 and a summary of findings will be
shared publicly afterward. You will be receiving the first decisions by
late May.
Please note: we only use your instance email for verification (deleted
within 90 days).
There’s also an option to join the review committee if you want more
in-depth insight into how decisions are made and discussed.
Link to pilot:
https://wikimedia.sslsurvey.de/WBC-Hosting-Policy-Pilot-Application.
Also, please consider sharing the pilot application with those around you
active on Wikibase. It would help a lot!
Thank you for participating.
Valerie on behalf of Wikibase Cloud
Valerie Wollinger (She/Her)
Community Communications Manager Wikibase
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30-577 11 62-0https://wikimedia.de
Keep up to date! Current news and exciting stories about Wikimedia,
Wikipedia and Free Knowledge in our newsletter (in German): Subscribe
now <https://www.wikimedia.de/newsletter/>.
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
the sum of all knowledge. Help us to achieve our
vision!https://spenden.wikimedia.de
Wikimedia Deutschland — Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Charlottenburg, VR
23855 B. Als gemeinnĂĽtzig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt fĂĽr
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorständin: Franziska Heine
Dear Community,
The pilot version of the hosting policy
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikibase/Wikibase.cloud/Hosting_policy_(pilo…>
is ready to be tried against real Wikibase. You can fill in your project
details to participate in the pilot project.
Following this link, you can fill in your data to take part in the trial
application process:
https://wikimedia.sslsurvey.de/WBC-Hosting-Policy-Pilot-Application
What you need to know:
-
If you would like multiple instances to be reviewed, please submit an
application for each instance.
-
Applicants will receive individual notifications with tentative outcomes
and explanations of reasoning.*
-
No personal information will be collected aside from the email
associated with your Wikibase instance. (Please note: It will be deleted as
soon as it is verified or, at the latest, within 90 days.)
The pilot will conclude at the latest on June 30th, 2026. Afterward, a
summary of findings will be shared publicly with the community.
Thank you for participating in our pilot!
Valerie (she/her) on behalf of Wikibase Cloud
Community Communications Manager Wikibase
Valerie Wollinger (She/Her)
Community Communications Manager Wikibase
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30-577 11 62-0https://wikimedia.de
Keep up to date! Current news and exciting stories about Wikimedia,
Wikipedia and Free Knowledge in our newsletter (in German): Subscribe
now <https://www.wikimedia.de/newsletter/>.
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
the sum of all knowledge. Help us to achieve our
vision!https://spenden.wikimedia.de
Wikimedia Deutschland — Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Charlottenburg, VR
23855 B. Als gemeinnĂĽtzig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt fĂĽr
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorständin: Franziska Heine
Dear Community,
The pilot version of the hosting policy
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikibase/Wikibase.cloud/Hosting_policy_(pilo…>
is ready to be tried against real Wikibase. You can fill in your project
details to participate in the pilot project.
Following this link, you can fill in your data to take part in the trial
application process:
https://wikimedia.sslsurvey.de/WBC-Hosting-Policy-Pilot-Application
What you need to know:
-
If you would like multiple instances to be reviewed, please submit an
application for each instance.
-
Applicants will receive individual notifications with tentative outcomes
and explanations of reasoning.*
-
No personal information will be collected aside from the email
associated with your Wikibase instance. (Please note: It will be deleted as
soon as it is verified or, at the latest, within 90 days.)
The pilot will conclude at the latest on June 30th, 2026. Afterward, a
summary of findings will be shared publicly with the community.
Thank you for participating in our pilot!
Valerie (she/her) on behalf of Wikibase Cloud
Community Communications Manager Wikibase
*Due to planned absences of the review committee, the responses may start
coming in late May.
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30-577 11 62-0https://wikimedia.de
Keep up to date! Current news and exciting stories about Wikimedia,
Wikipedia and Free Knowledge in our newsletter (in German): Subscribe
now <https://www.wikimedia.de/newsletter/>.
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
the sum of all knowledge. Help us to achieve our
vision!https://spenden.wikimedia.de
Wikimedia Deutschland — Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Charlottenburg, VR
23855 B. Als gemeinnĂĽtzig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt fĂĽr
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorständin: Franziska Heine
Dear everyone,
Please take a look at the latest version of the hosting policy here:
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikibase/Wikibase.cloud/Hosting_policy_draft…
.
tl;dr
What changed?
- The hosting policy will be a binding legal document that needs to be
accepted alongside the Terms of Use.
- The required condition to have a visible Imprint/Impressum has been
removed. We still encourage instance managers to set it up to keep their
instances compliant with the law. The instructions page has been updated
based on advice from the legal counsel.
- Impersonation added as a disqualifying condition.
- The "Lack of care for data about living people and other sensitive data"
condition rephrased to make it more specific.
- The "Wiki profile" section more aligned with the information we will
actually be collecting in the application process.
- "Desirable" signals renamed to "positive".
- The positive signal "The contributing organization is from the non-profit
sector." was removed, since its essence was already addressed in other
positive signals related to absence of financial resources and the
contribution to public benefit.
- Other minor clarifications throughout the document.
Let us know what you think!
Best
Valerie Wollinger (She/Her)
Community Communications Manager Wikibase
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30-577 11 62-0https://wikimedia.de
Keep up to date! Current news and exciting stories about Wikimedia,
Wikipedia and Free Knowledge in our newsletter (in German): Subscribe
now <https://www.wikimedia.de/newsletter/>.
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
the sum of all knowledge. Help us to achieve our
vision!https://spenden.wikimedia.de
Wikimedia Deutschland — Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Charlottenburg, VR
23855 B. Als gemeinnĂĽtzig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt fĂĽr
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorständin: Franziska Heine
Dear Wikibase Community,
this Thursday is the last Thursday of the month and therefore our monthly
time to meet up and discuss current projects, concerns, questions, and
more.
This time, we would like to cater time to the second draft of the hosting
policy for WIkibase Cloud.
I set up an Etherpad to make space for questions, concerns, and additional
feedback, and you can start to bring in your topics already now. This is
also useful for those who can't make it but would like to ask things or
bring in their opinion. We can look at them and respond throughout the
meeting; you can check the notes later and catch up.
*Details on how to participate below:*
When? 16:00 (UTC) (17:00 Berlin)
Where? https://meet.jit.si/WikibaseLiveSession
Meeting notes: https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/WBUG_2026_03_26
We're looking forward to seeing many of you there 🌞🌷
Valerie Wollinger (She/Her)
Community Communications Manager Wikibase
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30-577 11 62-0https://wikimedia.de
Keep up to date! Current news and exciting stories about Wikimedia,
Wikipedia and Free Knowledge in our newsletter (in German): Subscribe
now <https://www.wikimedia.de/newsletter/>.
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
the sum of all knowledge. Help us to achieve our
vision!https://spenden.wikimedia.de
Wikimedia Deutschland — Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Charlottenburg, VR
23855 B. Als gemeinnĂĽtzig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt fĂĽr
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorständin: Franziska Heine
Hi everyone,
We would like to give a small heads-up and ask you to take a look at the
latest draft of the Wikibase Cloud hosting policy. We are still collecting
feedback until mid-March, and we’d like to hear from you what you think and
where we might need to adjust things.
Furthermore, we would also like to give you an overview of what the next
steps will look like so that you have a better idea of when your
participation will be needed as well as when we are planning to implement
the policy.
Q1 - review from the lawyers, WMDE leadership, and WMF, and a staging
version of the policy published
Q2 - a pilot project
Q3:
-
The policy comes into force
-
Managers of new & existing instances who are interested in keeping them
on a permanent basis are required to submit an application within a 3-month
window.
-
The review & decision process is formally followed
Q4 - Instances that never submitted an application get suspended
Some more insight on the upcoming pilot project:
The pilot project serves two primary objectives:
1.
For WMDE: Internally test the performance of the hosting criteria and
evaluate the robustness and clarity of the review process to the members of
the review committee.
2.
For instance, managers get an early, non-binding assurance whether their
use case would meet the future hosting criteria for Wikibase Cloud.
Scope:
1.
Instance managers voluntarily submit trial applications via a structured
questionnaire.
2.
The review committee reviews the applications.
3.
Misalignment in grading is identified, triggering conversations which
may lead to adjustments of the hosting policy and internal alignment.
4.
Tentative outcomes are shared with the instance managers and community.
5.
Learnings are incorporated into the policy.
Out of scope:
-
Please note any decisions made by the review committee during the pilot
are non-binding. When the policy comes into force, we will ask you to make
a formal submission in the UI of the platform.
-
No real suspensions or enforcements will happen during the pilot.
We will soon send another announcement that contains the form to sign up
for the process.
Stay tuned!
Valerie on behalf of Wikibase Cloud
Community Communications Manager Wikibase
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30-577 11 62-0https://wikimedia.de
Keep up to date! Current news and exciting stories about Wikimedia,
Wikipedia and Free Knowledge in our newsletter (in German): Subscribe
now <https://www.wikimedia.de/newsletter/>.
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
the sum of all knowledge. Help us to achieve our
vision!https://spenden.wikimedia.de
Wikimedia Deutschland — Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Charlottenburg, VR
23855 B. Als gemeinnĂĽtzig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt fĂĽr
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorständin: Franziska Heine