Dear Wikibase Community,
This is my last message for this year.
Be aware, it’s a longer one, but it contains nothing but gratitude and
enthusiasm.
I've been reflecting on what these last months looked like, and I would
like to mention that you've played a big role in it.
How so?
You've helped me understand Wikibase better. Yes, I'm still learning - just
like all of us - but I can see how I can make much more sense of your
conversations and requests today.
You introduced me to an open and welcoming culture, where new users can
find support and guidance when needed.
You responded to our surveys
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikibase_Cloud_UX_Research.pdf>
and took the time to help us understand where we needed to look more
closely and realign our goals.
You've been so patient. All these ElasticSearch struggles we've been
through. Wow. I can promise, we will do our best to make this experience as
smooth as possible in the future because we have definitely learned more
about the hick-ups of that specific feature.
You've been great advocates! I loved following your visits to presentations
where you showed your Wikibase projects to existing and new audiences.
You've been honest. There is nothing better than constructive feedback, and
I would like to thank you for that as well. Not everyone can like a logo or
a website or a new design, and that is what makes a community with
different perspectives. I appreciate that we communicate on a ground where
compliments and criticism can co-exist.
Specifically for Cloud users: you've been great co-pilots in moving from
close to open beta. We are beyond excited about this development and we can
already see the outcomes. Since we've made that change, we've seen 162
Wikibases created on Wikibase Cloud and using it.
I would also like to use this space and highlight some product successes
this year:
-
Wikibase Cloud was established as a product in its own right: hosting
nearly 800 Wikibases, with 358 active ones accessible through the Discovery
tool <https://www.wikibase.cloud/discovery> released in summer this
year, and a distinct identity, complete with a logo and homepage
<https://www.wikibase.cloud/>.
-
Infrastructure enhancements have significantly improved Wikibase Cloud's
uptime and data/service availability.
-
We transitioned from a private beta to an open beta in September,
underlining our confidence in the platform and ongoing commitment to
expanding Wikibase Cloud.
-
The Docker packages of Wikibase Suite are now in sync with the MediaWiki
releases, with the latest release for version 1.40.
-
Significant work was put into the Wikibase release pipeline to improve
and simplify the experience of people self-hosting and managing Wikibases.
-
Valuable insights from research initiatives have driven improvements,
especially in documentation <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikibase>,
and more will be addressed in 2024.
On a sad note, we have to say goodbye to our great Product Manager Evelien
Zandbergen. See announcement
<https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikibase-cloud@lists.wikimedia.…>
here.
If you want to read more about what we did this year, you can check the updates
section <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikibase/Wikibase.cloud> on our
meta page.
On a more general note, I thought it’d be nice to link to some other
highlights.
-
We visited ICOM conference this year. Take a look at our pictures
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikimedia_Stand_at_20th_ICOM_CC…>
and the blog post
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/11/28/wikimedia-at-the-icom-conference-2023/>
of this meaningful week.
-
Pilot Workshops
<https://meta.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikibase_in_Nigerian_Libraries/Phase_Two_…>
at Nigerian Library
-
Workshop <https://www.goethe.de/ins/gr/el/ver.cfm?event_id=24683756> at
Goethe Institute in Thessaloniki, Greece
-
We had great conversations with Wikibase users who shared their
experiences with Wikibase. They resulted in blog posts that are available
to everyone. You can find them with this link
<https://tech-news.wikimedia.de/>. (Spoiler, you will see many more
articles coming up on this blog in the future!)
-
We created a new visual identity
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikibase_logos#> for
Wikibase!
Let’s meet again for our next Live Session on the 25th of January, where we
will announce our quarterly goals as well as the outcomes of our end of the
year survey. :-)
Thanks again for your patience, your support and your great engagement!
Yours,
Valerie on behalf of Wikibase Cloud, Suite and Software Communications.
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 gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorstände: Franziska Heine, Dr. Christian Humborg
📢 Hey there, tomorrow it's Live Session again!
We will meet again after a two-month break.
For those who are new to the group: Live Sessions are monthly virtual
meet-ups, organized to share, discuss and learn from each other. We mostly
follow a free agenda, have presentations or tackle specific topics together.
Details about how to participate:
*Time*: 4:00 pm UTC (UTC+2 for Berlin)
*Day*: Thursday 27th July 2023
*Jitsi*: https://meet.jit.si/WikibaseLiveSession
*Notes*: https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/P/WBUG_2023_07_27
I would love to see as many of you and catch up on what you've been up to
these weeks. If you have any questions, wishes, ideas, feel free to come by
and share them as well!
See you 👋🌊
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 gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorstände: Franziska Heine, Dr. Christian Humborg
Dear community,
This is your last chance to fill in our end of the year survey
<https://wikimedia.sslsurvey.de/wikibase-cloud-user-survey-Q4-2023.>!
Thanks, already, to those who shared their perspective with us.
We can't wait to dive through your responses and share our research report
with you soon.
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 gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorstände: Franziska Heine, Dr. Christian Humborg
Dear Community,
We're about to close our end of the year survey, and we still need more
voices!
It's fully anonymous (if you want so) and it takes not more than 10 minutes.
You can find it here:
https://wikimedia.sslsurvey.de/wikibase-cloud-user-survey-Q4-2023.
Thanks so much for your help!
We appreciate it a lot.
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 gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorstände: Franziska Heine, Dr. Christian Humborg
Dear Community,
For those of you who forgot or haven't seen it yet: we're having a Live
Session today! 🎊👋
I've heard of some team members who are excited to come by and meet your
projects :)
It will be also the last time with our great Wikibase Cloud Product Manager
Evelien.
Jon, for Wikibase Suite, will join us with some Suite related topics!
I hope to see as many of you as possible!
Details for participation below:
*Time*: 5:00 pm UTC (UTC+1 for Berlin)
*Day*: Thursday 30th of November 2023
*Jitsi*: https://meet.jit.si/WikibaseLiveSession
*Notes*: https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/WBUG_2023_11_30
See you later!
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 gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorstände: Franziska Heine, Dr. Christian Humborg
Dear Community,
We're still looking for more people to fill out the end of the year survey
for Wikibase Cloud.
There are only little days left, and your experience is more than important
to our upcoming planning process for next year's activities.
We tested it, it really doesn't take longer than 10 minutes and it's fully
anonymous.
This link takes you to the survey:
https://wikimedia.sslsurvey.de/wikibase-cloud-user-survey-Q4-2023.
Thanks so much for your help 🙏
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 gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorstände: Franziska Heine, Dr. Christian Humborg
Dear Community,
Tomorrow we'll meet again for a Wikibase Live Session! 🎉
We will have space for open questions and presentations of your projects,
as well as a feedback round, facilitated by our dear Product Manager Jon
for Wikibase Suite.
We hope to see many of you joining the last session of this year!
Details for participation below:
*Time*: 5:00 pm UTC (UTC+1 for Berlin)
*Day*: Thursday 30th of November 2023
*Jitsi*: https://meet.jit.si/WikibaseLiveSession
*Notes*:https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/WBUG_2023_11_30
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 gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorstände: Franziska Heine, Dr. Christian Humborg
Dear Wikibase Suite community,
We’re thrilled to announce the release of WMDE.14, our first release
compatible with MediaWiki 1.40, based on MediaWiki 1.40.1.
Changes in short:
-
MediaWiki 1.40 release announcement
<https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikitech-l@lists.wikimedia.org/…>
-
MediaWiki 1.40.1 release announcement
<https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikitech-l@lists.wikimedia.org/…>
Also please note that, as always, the file LocalSettings.php is
world-readable. Viewing it from within the container reveals the database
password and secret key.
Upgrading your Wikibase
Please note that, if upgrading from MediaWiki 1.38 or earlier, extension
loading must be adjusted. The Wikibase extension must be enabled in
MediaWiki using the Extension Registration mechanism. If you have been
providing your own MediaWiki configuration file (LocalSettings.php) for
your Wikibase container, make sure to check these upgrade instructions
<https://github.com/wmde/wikibase-release-pipeline/blob/f2555b07494c9df691cd…>
(valid for all versions after MediaWiki 1.38).
Are you looking for documentation?
Our Wikibase documentation <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikibase> is the
way to go for our installation instructions and FAQ. For Wikibase 1.40
developer documentation, take a look at
https://doc.wikimedia.org/Wikibase/REL1_40.
Want to know what’s new?
Sign up for our mailing list to follow and participate in discussions about
Wikibase development:
https://lists.wikimedia.org/postorius/lists/wikibaseug.lists.wikimedia.org/
Got feedback or questions?
Join our channels on Telegram https://t.me/+WBsf9-C9KPuMZCDT or
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/project/view/5755/.
We can’t wait to hear what you think of the new version!
Best,
Valerie, on behalf of the WMDE Wikibase Suite team
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 gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorstände: Franziska Heine, Dr. Christian Humborg
Dear Community,
We’re happy to announce the release of WMDE.14, our first release
compatible with MediaWiki 1.40, based on MediaWiki 1.40.1.
Changes in short:
-
MediaWiki 1.40 release announcement
<https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikitech-l@lists.wikimedia.org/…>
-
MediaWiki 1.40.1 release announcement
<https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikitech-l@lists.wikimedia.org/…>
Also please note that, as always, the file LocalSettings.php is
world-readable. Viewing it from within the container reveals the database
password and secret key.
Upgrading your Wikibase
Please note that, starting with the Wikibase 1.39 release, the Wikibase
extension must be enabled in MediaWiki using the Extension Registration
mechanism. If you have been providing your own MediaWiki configuration file
(LocalSettings.php) for your Wikibase container, make sure to check these
upgrade instructions
<https://github.com/wmde/wikibase-release-pipeline/blob/f2555b07494c9df691cd…>
.
Are you looking for documentation?
Our Wikibase documentation <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikibase> is the
way to go for our installation instructions and FAQ. For Wikibase 1.40
developer documentation, take a look at
https://doc.wikimedia.org/Wikibase/REL1_40.
Want to know what’s new?
Sign up for our mailing list to follow and participate in discussions about
Wikibase development:
https://lists.wikimedia.org/postorius/lists/wikibaseug.lists.wikimedia.org/
Got feedback or questions?
Join our channels on Telegram https://t.me/+WBsf9-C9KPuMZCDT or
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/project/view/5755/.
We can’t wait to hear what you think of the new version!
Best,
Valerie, on behalf of the WMDE Wikibase Suite team
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 gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorstände: Franziska Heine, Dr. Christian Humborg
Dear Wikibase community,
An exciting year slowly comes to an end. Your input is always of great
value to us and the development of Wikibase Cloud. Please consider sharing
your thoughts with us in our end of the year survey
<https://wikimedia.sslsurvey.de/wikibase-cloud-user-survey-Q4-2023>.
As we're moving towards the end of the year, we would like to get a better
idea of what changed meanwhile and what needs to be prioritized next year.
Essentially, we would like to learn more about who is here, why you use our
product, and how you experience it. :)
Please note:
1. No questions are mandatory
2. It takes roughly 10 minutes.
3. It is anonymous.
Thanks so much for your help!
Have a lovely weekend.
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 gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorstände: Franziska Heine, Dr. Christian Humborg