It is with some degree of sadness that I have to bring this to
wikimedia-l, but it's something that has to be done I am afraid
In December 2011, I dealt with an OTRS complaint by an individual
relating to a photograph of her which was being used in her articles
on Wikipedia. She was not happy with the image.
Inline with the WMF Resolution dealing with images of living
people,[1] I followed: Treat any person who has a complaint about
images of themselves hosted on our projects with patience, kindness,
and respect, and encourage others to do the same.
The image[2] was removed from the article and replaced with another
suitable image. The subject also provided another image via OTRS.[3]
Fast forward to November 2014, and on Dutch Wikipedia an editor known
as "EvilFreD" performed what is known as BTNI reverts over numerous of
my edits going back several years. It's one of the most pathetic
policies on any project, which basically says that with no thought on
how poor an image is, it should never be replaced without two months
of mindless discussion.[4]
EvilFreD has left a message on my talk page and I responded to him
informing him of the complaint about this image.[5] After my revert
noting BLP, another admin, MoiraMoira has left a message on my talk
page.[6] Given the timeframe (2 minutes) it is possible she didn't see
it, so I asked her to please look at the above note to EvilFreD. Her
response: "Hello, I'm very clear here: this is the Dutch wikipedia.
And there is no space to troll or challenge other people. If you
continue this behaviour, a timeout will follow. You should know
better. ~~~~"
My removal, because Moira refused to do so, is met with one of the
most pathetic, trollish comments I have seen;[7] an insistence that I
speak in Dutch, not English. MoiraMoira then immediately protects the
article.
Is this treating people who complaints about themselves with kindness
and respect? Or is there something else going on on Dutch Wikipedia
that I don't care to know about? It's not the first time I have met
such resistance for the removal of problematic images on Dutch
Wikipedia, as was demonstrated here.[8][9]
Given the trollish nature of comments directed towards myself, and the
threats of blocks by MoiraMoira if I dare to challenge them on this
issue, would someone who has the patience to deal with such behaviour
please intervene and deal with this issue. Be mindful, you will need
to speak Dutch, and will also be willing to divulge private
information from OTRS in order to satisfy the people on this project.
Also, please note, that in discussion with the subject she was fine in
having the image kept on Commons, but didn't want it used in her
article in the infobox. I think this is the least we can do for
article subjects on our projects.
Regards
Russavia
[1] http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Images_of_identifiable_people
[2] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Justine_bateman_7-10-2007.jpg
[3] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Justine_Bateman_NYC.jpg
[4] https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:BTNI
[5] https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overleg_gebruiker:Russavia#BTNI
[6] https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overleg_gebruiker:Russavia#Bewerkingsoorlog
[7] https://nl.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Justine_Bateman&diff=42577573&ol…
[8] https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overleg_gebruiker:Russavia#Image_on_Prostitut…
[9] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Deletion_requests/File:9.000919_…
Hi folks,
Hope those of you in the US have had a lovely holiday weekend. I'm getting
caught up and it’s been interesting to read the discussion this article has
prompted -- as this thread has made clear, there’s a lot to discuss, and
people have passionate feelings about the issue. I'm learning a lot. I’ll
leave some more follow-up on the particulars of the policy issues to the
Wikipedia Zero team, but I wanted to clarify some questions people raised
at the beginning on how I happened to be quoted.
The quotes from the article were never intended to represent the official
WMF position -- they were my own musings and spontaneous thoughts, taken
from what I had thought was just a friendly conversation. Last month I was
at an event hosted by the new US television network Fusion to speak on a
panel about millennial digital activism, and after the panel I chatted
about the future of the internet with someone to whom I had just been
introduced. I shared some thoughts, mostly about the ability of the
internet to increase collaboration. I made a couple of comments related
specifically to Wikipedia, including Wikipedia Zero, but they were more
just me exploring my own nascent ideas, not acting as an official voice. I
didn't know it would be used in a story related to net neutrality, nor did
I have the impression that I was being asked for an official position of
the Wikimedia Foundation. Talk about a surprise to find myself quoted in
the Post!
I think we were all surprised to see my words represented so officially,
and it’s unfortunate they were used as the basis for representing the
position of the Foundation on net neutrality. What IS true is that I -- and
we -- passionately believe in the importance of Wikipedia Zero. Access to
knowledge is a fundamental right, and Wikipedia Zero is one important tool
that helps realize that right. It also gets us one step closer to that
vision of a world where every single person on the planet has free access
to the sum of all human knowledge -- which is certainly why I am here (and
why a lot of you are too).
Warm regards,
Gayle
Hello rubin16 and all,
I wanted to follow up on Lisa's email. As she said, the decision to limit
fundraising in Russia was not a political decision or a response to
sanctions or US laws on Russia.
We are a diverse, global movement that spans the world, and we exist mostly
online. However, our work takes place in the physical world, and each
country has its own unique operating environment. At the WMF, we are
constantly assessing what this means for the work of the movement.
In that context, we feel that laws in Russia offer a number of possible
interpretations. So, out of an abundance of caution, we are not taking
donations from Russia right now. If we feel the situation changes, we'll
let people know.
As Lisa also said, this does and will not have any impact at all on how the
WMF continues to support the Russian language Wikipedia, and its sister
projects. We pool our funding and make our budget decisions independently
from the geographical source, if any, of the funding.
We hear your point on transparency and advance notice, and it is a fair
one. That said, sometimes we will need to quickly pause fundraising
operations in different places while we gain clarity around how best to
operate. We are making numerous decisions every day to respond to a wide
variety of issues and considerations. I would like to commit to advance
notice, but I don't think that will always be possible given the need for
flexibility and speed at times. Nevertheless, I am reflecting on how to
better address an issue like this in the future.
I appreciate the additional questions, but, as these are matters currently
under consideration, I'm not in a position to share further right now.
Thank you,
Geoff
On the topic of increasing diversity, a tech task that can be driven by
non-tech Wikimedians as well.
Wikimedia is planning to participate in Google Summer of Code 2015 and the
simultaneous FOSS Outreach Program for Women round 10. We want to increase
geographical diversity among candidates by involving local Wikimedia groups
in the promotion of these programs. This, in turn, could help increasing
the technical capacity of these groups. Interested? Please check
Connect Wikimedia groups, Google Developer Groups, and computer science
university departments
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T925
Italy, Russia, China, and Japan have been mentioned already. Adding other
locations is up to you. We are looking for local drivers. The Engineering
Community team and others can help from a distance, but this won't work
without local promoters.
PS: you can register to Phabricator with your Wikimedia account, and you
can subscribe to tasks in order to receive updates -- see
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Phabricator/Help
--
Quim Gil
Engineering Community Manager @ Wikimedia Foundation
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Qgil
Dear colleagues,
I need your help.
In a weeks time, I am invited by the Norwegian Science Council to meet them
and lecture and discuss about how they can nurture and contribute to the
Wikipedia.
The Science Council (Forskningsrådet) organizes all the universities,
colleges, and institutes sector as regards research, through funding and
program evalution.
The task is that they will first produce a "do-it-your-self-kit" to
scientists and researchers on how they can fulfill they obligation of
educating the public. Thereafter, they will work more targetedly with
pinpointing and contributing directly to the Wikipedia, probably Commons
too.
Our good partners in the Arts Council Norway have already worked with us
for a long time on their public outreach obligation, and will take part in
the meeting and speak about how they have nurtured the outreach of cultural
heritage through Wikipedia and Commons.
QUESTION:
Where can I find good overviews of:
- Examples of universities or institutions who have "used" Wikipedia to
educate the public
- Examples of professions or individual researchers who have done the same
- Examples of formal co-operations between science and Wikimedia movement,
as reference
- Examples from your chapter of co-operation with science / universities
Thank you all,
Erlend
--
*Erlend Bjørtvedt*
Nestleder, Wikimedia Norge
Vice chairman, Wikimedia Norway
Mob: +47 - 9225 9227
http://no.wikimedia.org <http://no.wikimedia.org/wiki/About_us>
