Since the Images files on Wikimedia.org are in a constant state of flux
and the last 80GB archive of images is 8 months old (made in
November of 2005) I wrote a program in C that scans an XML dump of the
English Wikipedia, then constructs and outputs
a bash script that uses CURL in a non-obtrusive manner to download any
missing images from Wikipedia commons and
Wikipedia. The program runs in background and is low impact.
invoke from your /MediaWiki/images/ directory as:
/wikix/wikix < enwiki-<date>-pages-articles.xml > image_sh &
./image_sh >& image.log &
The program will invoke CURL (if loaded) after it outputs a full
download script which will resync any remote wiki with the
master images on Wikipedia and Wikipedia Commons.
Enjoy.
The source code and makefiles are attached as text (since the program
is small) and the tar gz is also available from
ftp.wikigadugi.org/wiki/images
Jeff V. Merkey
all: wikix
wikix: wikix.c
gcc -g wikix.c -o wikix -lssl
clean:
rm -f wikix
Dear Wikimedians,
I have decided resign from the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation.
There are many reasons behind my decision. Overall, it's not because
I'm unhappy being involved with Wikimedia, though I am concerned about
certain events and tendencies that have arisen within the organisation
since the start of this year. I would prefer to be involved in
Wikimedia from a different angle rather than focusing my attention on
Board matters. I'm certainly not leaving -- just leaving the Board. I
still intend to be involved with editing the projects, and with the
formation of the Wikimedia Australia chapter, and, if the
opportunities still arise, I hope to continue promoting the projects
at conferences and other events.
It's been a great two years and I've enjoyed the role, but the
collaborative consensus-based nature Wikimedia had before the start of
this year continues to deteriorate and it's no longer an environment I
can work effectively in.
My resignation will be effective upon the election of my successor.
Elections will be held in September, and the planning for those should
begin immediately. Discussions are currently underway about general
restructuring of the Board, and it is possible more positions will be
available by the time the election starts. I would like to encourage
anyone who shares the Foundation's goal of distributing free content
to become more involved in the organisation and to consider standing
in the upcoming elections.
There are a lot of changes planned to the structure of the Foundation
but I'm confident Anthere and Jimmy will manage those well and in
accordance with what is best for the projects and the communities
behind them.
Please contact me offlist if you have any questions.
Angela.
--
Angela Beesley
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
http://wikimediafoundation.org/
My earlier comment was actually in reference to this paragraph below. Once
again, Michael is certainly one of the most active members of the board, even
if it is not always visible to everyone.
Danny
In a message dated 7/1/2006 2:04:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
beesley(a)gmail.com writes:
It's been under discussion since I told the Board I was resigning on
June 2. An interim replacement was discussed, but there was no
agreement between the remaining active members of the Board (basically
Anthere and Jimbo) on who that should be, which is why my resignation
is now not effective until September rather than the original planned
date of July 1st.
In a message dated 7/1/2006 2:04:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
beesley(a)gmail.com writes:
I don't think two months to organise an election is too short. This is
about electing someone from the community, not about bringing
"visionaries from the outside world". Such people are more likely to
be appointed than elected, and that will take place separately.
Just to point out what was clearly an oversight, Michael Davis is certainly
an active member of the Board, though his work is behind the scenes. It is his
dedication and meticulous attention to financial matters that keep the
Foundation running.
Danny