Dear Wikibase and Wikidata Communities,
As mentioned in our latest announcements about upcoming strategic changes,
we decided to pour our energy into ecosystem-related activities such as
federation and data governance. As you might know, our Linked Open Data
Strategy
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/LinkedOpenData/Strategy2021/Wikibase> is
built on the idea that our products are capable of building synergies as
well as growing sustainably.
With this research project, we hope to get a more nuanced understanding of
which projects are perceived to belong into which product category. We aim
to synthesize and map how people currently use the three LOD products, what
their desired use cases are, and where the boundaries between these
platforms may need clarification or additional support.
This process is part of a broader strategy to ensure our hosting
infrastructure remains sustainable and mission-aligned.
A key outcome will be a clearer understanding of:
-
What kinds of projects are best suited for each LOD product
-
Where overlap, duplication, or ambiguity exists
-
How we can make more mission-aligned, predictable decisions on growth
and hosting
Process Design
You will be invited to participate in an asynchronous card sort exercise
where you will be asked to sort imagined projects into four categories:
-
1 - Wikibase Cloud
-
2 - Wikidata
-
3 - Suite or other ways of Wikibase hosting
-
4 - Wikibase is not a suitable software for this use case
Participants will be asked to explain their thought process aloud so that
we can also ensure that we’re considering the full dimensions of each use
case (e.g., technical needs, scope, resource requirements). The results
will inform product strategy across WBC, WBS, and WD—while also offering
key insights into ambivalent or complex areas that require further
discussion.
This approach ensures everyone can participate in their own time, without
needing to attend multiple meetings.
We’re offering two ways to participate:
1. Card Sort Research Activity (Primary Method)
-
Asynchronous (early- mid-July)
-
Approx. 30 minutes
-
No technical expertise required
-
Focused on sorting and classifying use cases
-
Recorded screen and microphone
-
Optional: follow-up interview (if you’d like to talk more)
2. Extended Stakeholder Group (Optional Additional Involvement)
Includes:
-
Asynchronous activity (above)
-
Research insights discussion (synchronous, 30-45 minutes, end of July)
-
Async policy draft review (end of August)
-
Group session (August, 1.5–2 hours)
Total time: ~3.5 hours
Compensation: 35 EUR (if eligible)
Participation
We aim to recruit at least 30, ideally up to 50 community members across
the LOD ecosystem to participate in the research activities, including:
-
Wikibase Cloud users
-
Self-hosted Wikibase users
-
Wikidata users who are invested in the broader Wikibase ecosystem.
-
At least 10 marginalized knowledge holders
Join us!
We will send a link to participate in the card-sort within the next week.
If you would like to participate in the Extended Stakeholder Group, please
reach out to us via email: annie.kim(a)wikimedia.de. We will share the
opportunities as they come up, likely at the end of July and the end of
August, respectively.
Thank you for your continued care and contributions. We're looking forward
to exploring this research with you! :)
On behalf of the Linked Open Data Ecosystem,
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
Vorständin: Franziska Heine
On Thu, Sep 5, 2024 at 8:15 PM Physikerwelt <wiki(a)physikerwelt.de> wrote:
>
> Dear Luca,
>
> the communication was good I think.
>
> However, I don't understand the decision process. Who is the
> responsible person, e.g., the product manager, who eventually decided
> to cut WDQS into pieces?
>
> Moritz
The decision was defined together by the Search Team at Wikimedia
Foundation and the people in charge of Wikidata at Wikimedia
Deutschland. In particular, Lydia Pintscher is ultimately responsible
for all Wikidata product decisions at WMDE.
I would like to stress how this decision was not taken lightheartedly.
It's been three years that we know that Blazegraph is on the verge of
failing, we wrote a playbook in case of dramatic failure,[1] and we
evaluated several alternatives to Blazegraph,[2] each with its pros
and cons.
While evaluating which way to go, knowing that no solution would be a
"magic wand" that would magically solve all our problems - in fact, no
"magic solution" exists, each comes with its load of problems and
costs - we came to terms with the fact that we needed more time and
the split was a harsh, but ultimately effective solution to buy some
time in the transition to the next backend.
Hope this helps.
L.
[1] https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:SPARQL_query_service/WDQS_backend_up…
[2] https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:SPARQL_query_service/WDQS_backend_up…
Hi everyone,
Wikidata turns 13 this October, and it’s time to start preparing for the
birthday celebrations! Since launching on 29 October 2012, Wikidata has
grown into a thriving open-source knowledge base, thanks to all of you.
Each year, we come together to mark this milestone. Events and
contributions happen throughout October and November 2025, across regions
and languages, online and offline.
Why we celebrate:
-
To recognize the work and impact of the Wikidata community
-
To connect and engage with others who care about open knowledge
-
To share Wikidata with new audiences and grow the movement
How you can take part:
🎉 Join an Event: Birthday celebrations are already being planned. Whether
you’re after a hands-on editathon or an informal hangout, there are many
ways to get involved. 👉 Keep an eye on the list of events
<https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Thirteenth_Birthday/Calendar> and
find one near you.
🎈 Host Your Own: Organize something with your local community. A short
Wikidata intro, an editathon, or even a cake-cutting meetup -- every
contribution counts. 👉 Visit the birthday page for support and resources
<https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Thirteenth_Birthday/Run_an_event>
to help you promote it.
🎁 Prepare a Birthday Gift: Every year, volunteers create “birthday
presents” for the community; new features, playful content, documentation,
and more. 👉 Take a look at previous gifts
<https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Twelfth_Birthday/Presents> and add
your idea to this year’s list.
💬 Join the Online Call On October 29*:* we’ll host a call where people can
present their gifts, share updates, and celebrate live with the global
community. Details will be published soon.
💡 Need support for your event or gift idea? Microgrants are available
through Wikimedia Deutschland to help cover costs. You can apply until
September
1st via this Lime Survey form
<http://lime.wikimedia.de/index.php/897743?lang=en>.
For questions, feel free to reply here, contact me directly, or leave a
note on the talk page
<https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata_talk:Thirteenth_Birthday>. If you'd
like to discuss WikidataCon 2025, which will take place during the birthday
period, feel free to reach out to my colleague Danny
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Danny_Benjafield_(WMDE)>.
Looking forward to celebrating together again!
Cheers,
--
Mohammed S. Abdulai
*Community Communications Manager, Wikidata*
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0) 30 577 116 2466
https://wikimedia.de
Grab a spot in my calendar for a chat: cal.com/masssly.
A lot is happening around Wikidata - Keep up to date!
<https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Status_updates> 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
Hello everyone,
⏳ *Time is running out to help shape the program for WikidataCon 2025!*
The Call for Proposals is open until *1 September (anywhere on Earth)*. Do
you have an idea for a session—whether it’s a talk, workshop, panel, or
something brand new? This is your chance to share it with the Wikidata
community.
💡 Don’t worry if it’s not perfect yet—*drafts are welcome!* You’ll still
have until *8 September* to refine your proposal, but be sure to submit
your draft before the initial deadline.
📌 Submit your proposal: https://pretalx.com/wikidatacon-2025/cfp
📌 Learn more about the event:
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Event:WikidataCon_2025
<https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Event:WikidataCon_2025>
<https://pretalx.com/wikidatacon-2025/cfp>
— The WikidataCon 2025 Team
--
*Danny Benjafield*
Community Communications Manager
Wikidata For Wikimedia Projects
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30-577 11 62-0
https://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
Hello everyone!
We're excited to announce that the next Language Community Meeting is
happening soon - on August 29th at 15:00 UTC! If you’d like to join,
simply sign
up on the wiki page
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Language_and_Product_Localization/…>
.
This is a participant-driven meeting where we share updates on
language-related projects, discuss technical challenges in language wikis,
and collaborate on solutions. For example, in our upcoming meeting, we plan
to hear from the Avro keyboard developers from Wikimedia Bangladesh, who
were recently awarded a national award for their contributions to this
keyboard.
Got a topic to share? Whether it’s a technical update from your project, a
challenge you need help with, or a request for interpretation support, we’d
love to hear from you! Feel free to reply to this message or add agenda
items to the document here
<https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/language-community-meeting-aug-2025>.
Also, we’d like to highlight that the 8th edition of the Language &
Internationalization Newsletter (July 2025)
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Language_and_Product_Localization/…>
is
now available. This newsletter provides updates from the April-June 2025
quarter on new feature development, improvements in various
language-related technical projects and support efforts, details about
community meetings, and ideas for contributing to projects. To stay
updated, you can subscribe to the newsletter
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Language_and_Product_Localization/…>
on
its wiki page.
Are you interested in contributing to the technical work around language
development? There are a few newcomer-friendly technical tasks waiting for
your contribution: T399682 <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T399682>.
Cheers,
Srishti
*Srishti Sethi*
Senior Developer Advocate
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
Hello everyone,
Apologies for cross-posting.
Gentle reminder that the Fall 2025 MediaWiki Users & Developers Conference<https://www.semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_Users_and_Developers_Conf…> will be held on October 28–30th, and hosted by the TIB Leibniz Centre in Hanover, Germany.
On behalf of the Program Committee with this email we want to extend an invitation for tutorial proposals on any topic related to MediaWiki usage, deployment or development, including the MediaWiki extension ecosystem (Wikibase, Semantic MediaWiki, etc). Tutorials can be up to 90 mins long and held in hybrid format.
The call for contributions<https://www.semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_Users_and_Developers_Conf…> remains open until September 5th. To propose a tutorial or any other form of contribution talk for this conference, just <https://www.semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:FormEdit/Talk?Talk%5BConfer…> fill out this form<https://www.semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:FormEdit/Talk?Talk%5BConfer…>.
Everyone is encouraged to attend, to meet and discuss MediaWiki-related topics relating to both the Wikimedia world and uses within companies, organizations, etc.
Thank you, and I hope to see many of you in Hanover!
Lozana Rossenova, on behalf of the conference team
--
Dr. Lozana Rossenova
Postdoc Researcher
Open Science Lab
TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology and University Library
Welfengarten 1 B // 30167 Hannover
lozana.rossenova(a)tib.eu<mailto:xxx.xxx@tib.eu>
www.tib.eu<http://www.tib.eu/>
ORCID: 0000-0002-5190-1867
TIB is a public-law foundation of the Federal State of Lower Saxony. In accordance with Section 1(1) of the “Gesetz über die Stiftung Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB)” (TIBstiftG ND), its name is “Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB)”. TIB uses the terms “Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology” and “University Library” as additional designations.
Hi everyone,
We’re excited to share a new prototype that brings statement editing on
Items to mobile.
You have been asking for the ability to edit statements on Items via mobile
devices. Until now, this hasn’t been possible in the mobile view, requiring
editors to switch to desktop mode to make edits, resulting in a clunky and
frustrating experience.
This prototype is designed to show how we are trying to make contributing
to Wikidata easier and more accessible for editors using mobile devices. It
has been updated based on a first round of user testing we conducted
earlier in April. Now we’d like to get more feedback from you before we
move forward.
*What we’d like from you*
Watch the video demo of the prototype here
<https://onedrive.live.com/?redeem=aHR0cHM6Ly8xZHJ2Lm1zL2YvYy8zM2RlYjQ2N2M1Z…>
(also available on commons
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikidata_mobile_editing_experience_…>)
and tell us what you think! You can share your feedback on the project
discussion page: Wikidata talk:Usability and usefulness/Item editing
experience/Mobile editing of statements
<https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata_talk:Usability_and_usefulness/Item_e…>
Here are a few questions to help you get thinking about your feedback:
- What did you like most about the solution?
- How well did it perform compared to your expectations?
- Were there any parts of the prototype that were confusing or unclear?
- Is there anything about the solution that could be problematic or
risky?
- If you could change one thing about the solution, what would it be?
- Any other comments or suggestions?
Your feedback will help us refine the design and guide the next steps of
development.
If you’re a Wikidata editor who uses mobile devices, you can also sign up
to participate in future user testing for the editing of statements on
mobile devices. Sign up here
<https://greatquestion.co/wikimediadeutschland/bo2e7e2a/apply> to
participate in prototype testing and interviews with our UX team.
Cheers and thank you!
--
Mohammed S. Abdulai
*Community Communications Manager, Wikidata*
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0) 30 577 116 2466
https://wikimedia.de
Grab a spot in my calendar for a chat: cal.com/masssly.
A lot is happening around Wikidata - Keep up to date!
<https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Status_updates> 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
Some 11 days ago I asked a question about showing in a category which files
have de depicts field as structured data. I think that we need to be able
to more easily access this piece of data to make the next step in Commons.
I finally got some answers thanks to the help of multiple people. As I
heard multiple people are interested in this too, let me share it here with
you what I have found. Not all options are useful for me, but maybe for you
they are.
*Option 1:* haswbstatement:P180 in the search field
What it does: it shows all files with property P180 (depicts) in the
structured data.
What it does not do: showing files that are missing P180.
Example url:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&limit=500&…
*Option 2:* use the has Depictsscript script by user TiagoLubiana
What it does: script adds a dot below each file in a category (and more
places), the dot is green if the file has the depicts statement (P180), the
dot is red if the file hasn't. In this way you can quickly see which files
have or haven't the depicts structured data.
What it does not do: it does not show what the depicts is.
How to add: go to your
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyPage/common.js and add there:
importScript('User:TiagoLubiana/hasDepicts.js');
*Option 3:* use the sdc_tool script by user Magnus Manske
What it does: in the right corner at the bottom is a button, clicking on it
activates the scripts and shows what the file depicts (if any). You can
also easily add statements through the script to the files.
Issue: in my screen it shows the depicts statements right through the file
name, making them both unreadable.
How to add: go to your
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyPage/common.js and add there:
importScript('User:Magnus Manske/sdc_tool.js');
*Option 4:* run a query to see what the depicts statements are of the files
in a category.
What it does: it shows all files in a category, and if the files have any
depicts statement it shows the labels of them.
Example query: https://w.wiki/F45M
Because manually changing the category (line 8) each time you want to use
the query, I made a small script to be added to
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyPage/common.js in what you can
autorun this query with the category name added automatically. The link is
present in the expandable menu under More.
[image: Depicts.PNG]
Script to add:
// in Category namespace (ns:14) link to query for depicts of all
files in category
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Romaine/vector.js#L-21>if (
mw.config.get( 'wgNamespaceNumber' ) === 14 ) {
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Romaine/vector.js#L-22>$(function()
{ <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Romaine/vector.js#L-23>
mw.util.addPortletLink('p-cactions',
'https://commons-query.wikimedia.org/embed.html#SELECT%20DISTINCT%20%3Fdepic…'
+ mw.config.get( 'wgPageName' ) +
'%22%20.%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20bd%3AserviceParam%20mwapi%3Agenerator%20%22categorymembers%22%20.%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20bd%3AserviceParam%20mwapi%3Agcmtype%20%22file%22%20.%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20bd%3AserviceParam%20mwapi%3Agcmlimit%20%22max%22%20.%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Ftitle%20wikibase%3AapiOutput%20mwapi%3Atitle%20.%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Fpageid%20wikibase%3AapiOutput%20%22%40pageid%22%20.%0A%20%20%20%20%7D%0A%20%20%20%20BIND%20%28URI%28CONCAT%28%27https%3A%2F%2Fcommons.wikimedia.org%2Fentity%2FM%27%2C%20%3Fpageid%29%29%20AS%20%3Ffile%29%0A%20%20%7D%0A%7D%20AS%20%25get_files%0AWHERE%0A%7B%0A%20%20INCLUDE%20%25get_files%0A%20%20%3Ffile%20schema%3Aurl%20%3Furl%20.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%0A%20%20%20%20%3Ffile%20wdt%3AP180%20%3Fdepicts%20.%0A%20%20%20%20SERVICE%20%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Fquery.wikidata.org%2Fsparql%3E%20%7B%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Fdepicts%20rdfs%3Alabel%20%3FdepictsLabel%20.%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20FILTER%20%28lang%28%3FdepictsLabel%29%20%3D%20%22en%22%29%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%0A%20%20%20%20%7D%0A%20%20%7D%0A%7D',
"depicts:", "FileDepicts", "depicts:");
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Romaine/vector.js#L-24>});
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Romaine/vector.js#L-25>};
Further more I can also recommend using the gadget AC/DC for adding (not
showing) structured data (based on the files in a category or PagePile).
Enabling in your gadgets:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-gadge…
(section Interface: Structured Data).
More suggestions remain welcome!
Romaine
Op wo 6 aug 2025 om 12:16 schreef Romaine Wiki <romaine.wiki(a)gmail.com>:
> Hi all,
>
> Is there a script/gadget/tool to easily see which files in a category has
> or hasn't the depicts field added as structured data?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Romaine
>